My Wonderful Son!

This is my baby boy performing with his band, the Toasters, here in Atlanta last winter. He's the white kid, 3rd from the left. :D
I am so proud of him and his talent! He is living his dream and seeing the world (from the back of a van) :-)
He is an incredible musician and learning to be a good business man too. - His singing isn't too bad either. :) Guess he takes after me in that department. lol
Plus he still loves his Mommy! Now that's the good stuff.

Awesome Song in my heart today

We delight ourselves, in You, Lord
Rejoicing in You always..
We've lost all trust in the flesh
And we're completely
Dependant on You.

We sing "You alone are good
You alone are worthy
To the glory and the honor
and the praises of our God...

We Live! We Live! We now live."

My Beautiful Princess!

We did it! We ordered Bekah's wedding gown!
Oh my goodness, she was so beautiful in it! She has searched extensively, (she's one of those who has to look at all her options then go back to her first choice :) ) and decided upon this gorgeous creation by designer Maggie Sotterro (sp?) Of course that was the dress she "knew" was "the one" the first day. And Oh Baby, is it ever! So lovely and so flattering...so expensive! Diamond White and Frost are the correct terms, I believe. Her figure is outstanding anyway so she could wear anything but this one is killer. And she's old-fashioned enough to not want her groom to see her in it until the moment she comes down the aisle. He's gonna be blown away...as should be. :) and her father will be blown away when he gets the bill! LOL
she says its the dress version of her ring. :) and you know, they really do look alike...well enough...I'll post a pic after the blessed day so fiance won't have a prayer of seeing her in it early. haha

From the mouth of babes...

Love this quote from one of our Albanian brothers....

"Bread of Life is Ecclessia, like Lord Jesus Christ Himself"

She is a beautiful thing to behold...and possibly more like Her Lord than we suspect. :-)

Cheers! Its Friday!

Appreciation

I've been thinking about how to enjoy more of life...Someone whose blog I read had asked the question of how to seize and enjoy a moment in time when all kinds of other distractions are going on around you. You're having breakfast with your mom but you just graduated school and don't know where you will be working or living and the big situation totally eclipses the moment of breakfast with your mom. Or the day is lovely but there are so many bills to think of that you don't notice. The question came up again last night at the weekly sisters meeting of our house church...how to hear the voice of the Lord in the bustle of your life...or see a saint in need when your own needs are overwhelming....is life just one big rush to the finish?

It has been a habit of mine, I don't know when it really began but it seems to work for me....I stop...just for a minute sometimes and take notice. And somehow the moment seems to be saved in my mind, heart, spirit...like a photograph. I've often wondered what makes photography such a striking and powerful element as compared to film or video. My husband said recently to me that photography captures a moment and forces you to look at it rather than rushing onward visually and mentally. I think that is what I try to do with the moments I want to keep....
Our lives are so forward moving, so fast.... our senses are so bombarded by life and the world and all we see and hear.....
if I can only stop time for one moment and really look at something...the blue sky, 15 minutes chasing my granddaughter around on all fours, a breezy car ride with my husband - windows down-radio up, a quick turn to the Lord in the middle of a busy day...life has more meaning.
Here is what I do...
I say to myself...I want to enjoy this thing, person, event, moment in time....I look at it with knowledge that I am doing so.
Remarkably they become as a photograph in my mind or spirit and I appreciate them. I think it is something to do with the act of appreciation.
I know that the world will keep turning and my life will continue to move forward. Situations will arise, bills will come, trouble will come, things wil be super busy...
But by the simple act of knowingly and intentionally stopping to appreciate the moment...I experience and enjoy more of life, more of love, more of the Lord.

Generations

>I was talking the other day with my brother about the path the children of those of us in the non traditional church have to travel... we agreed that the next generation will have a strange and difficult road. As if our generation was and is not strange and difficult enough. :)
He commented on an interesting conversation he had with a 20 something yr old brother who has visited several of our churches and been around a bit. > He said that he wants church life and has seen a lot of the churches in our circles, but they don't seem to really work.
I think that is an interesting observation or thought. This young brother said that we( my generation)have taken a lot of ground and that he hopes that they (the next generation) will take a lot more. He said that they (the next generation) needs us. Our experience was and is of great value and he hopes that we could find the next mountain peak together. My brother (of the older generation) was encouraged to see the interest and conviction, the desire that some young believers have to press on into the heights and depths of Jesus Christ, as am I.

Yes, our generation, and I'm not really talking about age here but about life experience in the church, has definitley taken some ground but the taking isn't over for us. Some of us are still pressing onward. Funny that that younger brother (or anyone we know in our circles for that matter) is looking for something that "works". I guess I did too at his age. I wonder what "success" he is thinking of? Probably a visible one...which is not really a very good measuring stick since everything we "see" with our natural eyes is temporary anyway. Even the "mountain" image and the "taking ground" implies "getting somewhere" or success. But I think it depends on whether or not you have eyes to see - spiritual eyes...Every day I see saints who are finding Him, knowing HIm, and breathing Him into their daily lives. They are being built together into a House for God Himself to live in, they actually make a difference in unseen realms and sometimes in visible ones.
When you see with natural eyes it seems that God is always starting over and never accomplishing very much but maybe that is just how things appear in the visible realm, eh? Could it be that His building and purpose are unseen by human eyes?.....
So I'm not really sure that attaining something or finding something that "works" is truly the goal for Him or for us in this life. I think of the words of a song written in the heart of the church during a time of deep discovery of the Lord.... "success means nothing, failure the same".

Perhaps it has nothing to do with visible attainment, success or failure...perhaps it is the pursuit of Him.

May the generations that come to follow after us in the pursuit of our Lord be less focused on accomplishment and actually "see" more of the invisible building and purpose of God.

Independence

I love that my kids are so independant and I hate that they are so independant!

My little girl is getting married! I can hardly believe it. Seems like only yesterday she was worrying about toe shoes and playing softball. (yes she did both) Or acting in the school play or going to the prom...now she's out of college and engaged! My how time flies,... whether you're having fun or not. lol
Her fiance, a future Navy pilot cutie, is visiting this weekend and there is much work to be done. Registrys to be filled and photographers to discuss and guests lists to compile. I think he will be glad to get back to his day job. :) Seriously though...he's a great guy and she's a lucky girl. I expect they will have a great life together. They will be off and running after the wedding with the Navy dictating the next several years of their lives but they are well equipped to handle it.
All 3 of my kiddos are making their own ways and doing just fine.
They are very independant, which is good, I raised them to soar!.......but like puppydogs..(see earlier post) they love their mommy and daddy. For this I am eternally grateful!

In Response

In response to Sarah's post- http://sarahhero.blogspot.com
...more musings on the subject of growing kids.

Someone once said that kids are like dogs and cats....
when they are young they need everything, to be trained, walked, fed, bathed, cuddled and in return you have their absolute devotion and adoraton. They are delighted when you come in and sad when you leave and under foot in between. They love to be petted and come to the table when called. Just like a puppy dog. haha
But when they become teenagers...well things change...
and like so many kittycats..they become "their own personalities" coming and going as they please - forget training! Appearing to eat when they choose then disappearing again into their rooms or out with friends, withholding their affection until they desire to be touched, holding themselves cool and aloof.
Don't worry though...those days pass and if handled with care...when they turn 20 or so,(I know, its a long time to wait) they miraculously return to being the wonderful puppydogs we once knew. Loving and affectionate and actually desiring the company of their families.

Miracles do happen.. :) This one I have actually seen with mine own eyes.

Surviving

Well, we are surviving.
How lame is that to think that what we personally are going through has any resemblance to the survival that is going on in this nation!
Gasoline has stablized at $2.99 per gal. for regular gas and we aren't seeing too many closed gas stations. That's pretty much it for Georgia, thank goodness, but the drama of the past week has been overwhelming as we have watched it unfold. Of course our little survival is nothing compared to that of hundreds and thousands across the southeast. The shelters in Atlanta are overflowing with evacuees and I personally do not see hope of them returning to LA for a very long time if ever. Its a strange thing to hear disagreement on what to even call these poor survivors...refugees, evacuees, displaced...how silly to waste time on such things at a time like this. As for the finger pointing...I think there will be enough blame to go around...

"Lord! Our neighbors and fellow Americans are suffering, please have mercy. Only You know why and we will probably never understand but please have mercy, Lord. Perhaps the masses will turn their hearts to you in this time of distress. May it be so."

Onward we go... He is blue skies!