Hold Fast...

Hold fast, help is on the way...
Hold fast, He's come to save the day
What I've learned in my life
One thing greater than my strife,
Is His grasp..
So hold fast
Mercy Me

I'm sitting at my desk at work, trying not to cry my eyes out....
Last nite I received a desperate cry for help for someone I love very much, from someone I love very much...both of whom I have seen the hand of God work so deeply and miraculously in over the years...yet still again they stand in desperate need of Him, where I have stood and stand so often myself...can we all say, "Amen"?
Today I received not one, but two, two announcements of miracles...miracles I personally have prayed for and believed for and held on to God for....true get up out of wheel chair level miracles!!
Its absolutely incredible....my spirit is shouting and dancing and crying and praying all at once...in joy and pain...all at once....thankfulness and desperation....all at once...
What a life of paradox we live in Christ...He truly is The All and in all....

Pray with me for my loved ones in pain...rejoice with me for my dear ones' miracles...
God is good...all the time...He does hear our petitions and He is a very present help in time of trouble.

Thank you, Lord that you are in control, you have ordered the footsteps of the righteous and you know their path....Your desire is to bring all things to completion in your Son...may your work be established in the hearts and lives of those in desperate need of You and may you complete that which has been committed unto you against that day....hold fast, Lord.

Its Here!

Yesterday I heard this song on the radio

Happy birthday Jesus

I'm so glad its Christmas

All the tinsel and lights

And the presents are nice

But the real gift is You.

Happy birthday Jesus

I'm so glad its Christmas

All the carols and bells

Make the holiday swell

But it's all about You

Happy birthday Jesus

Jesus I love You!

Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir

....and suddenly
it was Christmas!!

Some pics from the holiday

Courtesy of my new camera...:)















Me and my sibs....too many cooks in the kitchen? naaah

Nephew and his mom...silly



















Kate and her cakes...chocolate fudge cheesecakes....yum!

Happy Thanksgiving

Here's a repeat of my post from last Thanksgiving....hope yours is full of thankfulness...

So Excited!!

Guess what? I got my Christmas present already!
My new Canon Powershot A540 camera!! Got a printer/scanner too so now I can scan in any old thing for my blog AND get in some current photos of Jadabear among others...Yeah!! I wanted to have the camera before the holidays so I could capture every moment...:)..of course..:)..now to figure out how to work everything...:)
As for the schedule...I will be picking Jada up tomorrow from her other grandmother who will be spending the Thanksgiving holidays here in ATL...we'll have her for 24 short hours before heading down to Jax...she will be staying in ATL with her daddy's side of the family....:(...but we'll have her for Christmas!!
On Wed...both my sibs and their children, as well as my girls and son in law will all be making our way to Jax for a big family get together...we can't wait! Only my son and Jada will be missing.. we will be missing them too but soon...Christmas is soon....
Friday we'll be home and back to work on Sat...
Hectic, but worth it...
then we'll be in full swing for Christmas....so you may not hear a lot from me this week...K?

We have ritual foods we always make for holidays..
there MUST be turkey...although we never make it any other time of year...and I could easily live without it...its a must..as far as the hubby and kids are concerned...
I always make Cornbread dressing...or stuffing as its known in other parts of the country...though I do not stuff the bird with it...:)
Always have green beans...always have mashed potatoes...and rolls...usually sweet potatoe casserole with a thick crust of pecans and brown sugar on top and sometimes squash casserole too...we'll be having that one this year.....No wonder we have to sleep it off!!
Do you have a ritual meal for Thanksgiving?

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to you all!!

Happy Birthday, Girl!!

Today is my Bekaboo's birthday...She is all grown up now...a married woman with a life of her own..but always she will be my little girl, my princess, my sunshine...my friend...
I love you Bek and miss you bunches...can't wait to see you next week!

Juggling

Its starting to rev up...the holiday season I mean...
and we are juggling...juggling money and work schedules and flight schedules and sleeping arrangements and..and..and...
Its busy, even stressfull... but fun...or it will be soon....right??
Next week most of my family will be getting together for Thanksgiving in Jacksonville, FL. We can't wait to see each other...to be together again...if only for a couple of days. Of course lots of juggling is involved.....:)
It will be the first time we have all been together since the wedding in April, but before that we hadn't been all together in about a year and a half so no holidays for a while. We haven't even seen Bek & James since April...a few dear faces will be missing ....but ahhh, that's life....what is new is that we are travelling to them this year...
....we'll get to have a few days off... we'll get to drive a lot....we'll get to see most of our kids...we'll get to see Jadabear...we'll eat a lot...we'll shop a little...and if we manage it just right...it will all have that oil we were talking about the other day and will actually be mostly pleasant and enjoyable...
Its a lot of work to make these things happen.....but that's just what you do when you really want something....you juggle...

Today was a perfect fall morning.....chilly...foggy...leaves carpeting the front lawn from the rain yesterday...and a friendly squirrel sitting on the corner of my roof eating an acorn and lording over me the fact that he was completely out of reach. ha!
No worries for him..he has tons of acorns buried in my yard...no juggling required...
Somedays I wouldn't mind being a squirrel.....:) Hopefully next Thursday won't be one of them.

...a merry heart...

Ahhh...much better today....
and now a dose of that humor I was prescribed..... sent to me by a fellow blogger...

Why kids should not be left alone.....LOL!!

Warning...not a particularly uplifitng post.....

Ok. ..I just lost my entire post!

...as I was saying...I had a kinda crappy weekend....
Oh, it looked pretty good from a distance...
a party...
shopping...
the opera...
shopping....
but it is the oil in between that determines whether a thing is good or not ....
Let me preface this by saying that we, my hubby and i, had a hectic week last week starting on Tues....
He had a lot of extra holiday work...I worked a lot too....on Thurs I drove an hour to mingle for an hour and a "work party" thing with no decent hor'derves in sight...then an hour home...
On Sat I spent the afternoon shopping and running errands and not eating much....hubby was running late for work soooo...forgot his phone so..... no communication after 3pm ...
I arrived home at 7pm starved...can't start dinner til hubby arrives (remember he forgot his phone...he has this illness..food is key...I can't start anything for dinner) did I mention I'm starving...he shows up at 7:30...starving...I'm grouchy and tired and hungry...he's grouchy and tired and hungry...sparks fly...and not the romantic kind either...(I'm sure you have no experience with this kind of thing...)
Sunday dawns...hubby goes bike riding...I try to relax...we have tickets for the opera...the Barber of Seville is intown....it is a very nice experience....now I can say I've been to the opera and I didn't even fall asleep thought I was tempted at first....
right after the opera we head for Sears..they are having their "Friends and Family" night where I get additional discounts....no food inbetween..hubby can't do fast food and nothing else is fast enough or cheap enough....
We do our shopping at high speed...not much fun but we do get a few things done....we are now starving...again...
Home and dinner by 9pm...we are grouchy and tired again...attitudes are everywhere again... as you can see, not the ingredients for a relaxing fun weekend...
So I suppose the "oil" in this case would have been more rest....more space between stuff...and MORE FOOD!
Does anyone see a spiritul lesson here??
So today we begin again....hubby is off...perhaps he will rest...
I will be home early...we will have dinner at a decent time....a few things could get done around the house....perhaps there will be oil....who knows...it could happen...

My Immovables....

Thank you to each of you who tried with human words to express who Christ is to you and in you. It seems we have much in common...a common theme is that of Love...He is love...and inspite of all...He Loves...He just does...its Who He is....
He is everywhere and in everything. This is critical in the deep places of my spirit and maybe yours too...He is our breath and for some of us, our song.
Most of us share in the knowing that He is our rock, our shelter and our comfort....I was a little surprised to find so many of us view Him as a comfort...though, of course He is, it was probably the most common theme other than love...it is encouraging to see that so many of us turn to Him for our comfort when there is no other...
One sister said "He is my Way"....He is ours too...perhaps we don't think of Him in that terminology but that is one benefit of sharing with others...you get new perspectives...How do you act?, how do you react?, what do you do in a given situation?...You act Christ, you react Christ, you do Christ...He is the HOW...the Way. He is flowing like water so each "how" is fluid and unique.
I love the thought from one sister...without Him, I am nothing, I am dead. Goodness how much truth is there in those few words! We are indeed dead already and without Him to raise us to new life we remain dead...dead men walking!
My immovables include many of these same thoughts....here are a few other things He has built into me...
The unshakable bedrock knowing that He is totally and completely in control. He is in charge of me, my life, my loved ones lives, His church, the elections, the war, everything. He knows what He is doing and He already knows the outcome. He is working all things for our good and His glory. He has a purpose and a plan and nothing can touch me except it pass through Jesus Christ...and I say that with fear and trembling, believe me...
I know that I am hidden in Him, marked off in Christ before the foundations of the world. He chose me and nothing can seperate me from Him... His grace is totally amazing!!

Another bedrock immovable in my spirit is that this is not about me..it has never been and never will be..I am a small, even microscopic piece of the big picture...this is really all about Him...His needs, His desires, His kingdom....and He went to extreme lengths and still does today to accomplish His purposes...I am so thrilled to be a part.

There was a time when I thought that if I tried harder, prayed more, obeyed better, the outcome would be different but I have learned that I cannot ever measure up, and that only He can live the Christian life through me. I have found that my spirit is alive and free, not fettered to this earth or this time frame but free to roam eternity with my Lord and search out the deep places of God...and He is anxious for me to explore Him.

Thank you, Lord for the building you have done in me and continue to do...never stop working in me and never let me forget from whence I have come. Please never leave me to myself but always draw me to you, for with out you I am dead.


I hope you gained from our little sharing time...I hope you felt your spirit leaping within you as you articulated who He is in you, :).... I hope your spirit resounded at the sharing of the saints together....I know mine was amening like crazy! :)
thanks, I needed that!


Eph 3:16-19
That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
May be able to comprehend with all saints what [is] the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Talk to me....

So the election is over and today I'm back to wandering...unfocused...drifting...
I really need to talk to someone about the Lord...speaking Him outloud makes Him more alive in me...stirs my spirit...lifts me to places I can't get to on my own....the bounding and rebounding of Him shared together in the spirits of the saints.... it gives Him volume and texture...makes Him more vivid.... you know all that, right?
Well, there's no one around I can talk outloud to.....Sooo....
How 'bout you?... yeah you,...help a sister out...
Tell me about your Lord...tell me what you really know of Him...deep down in the immovable places of your spirit....(I like that word, immovable, in relation to His work in me, don't you?)
Don't tell me what He's gonna do...what He is capable of.... or what your pastor says about Him...
Tell me what YOU personally know of Him....
by experience (key word here) ...
not what you have heard but what you have handled of the Word of Life.
Who Is This Lord to you??
Maybe this is a place we can meet and share Him together...in spirit...
and though its not "outloud"...perhaps it will suffice....

Get out....

I arrived at the cute little elementary school this morning amidst a drizzly chilly rain and trekked through red mud to stand in a line extending from the library down the hall and halfway to the front door. There was a nice variety of the populace represented.....black, white and some inbetween....men in business suits or work jeans, well dressed women with manicured nails...some in sweats.... high heels, workboots or sneakers and one lady in sandals despite the wet chilly weather of November...
There were older and younger, a few outrageous hairstyles, a balding gentleman, a 20 something with piercings and a large black man in a suit with a huge silver cross around his neck...one of the workers was inquiring of a young man if she knew his grandmother...she did....
Others were waiting with their young children...for some reason many schools were dismissed for the occasion...and though most were well behaved, one little boy of about 6 or 7 was crying huge sobs and begging to go home...his mother kept shushing him and possibly pinching him..:) but she didn't get out of line.... and no one asked her to...though I don't think I was alone in feeling relieved when they departed.
One lady seemed to be having some problem and had to wait for the workers to get more information on her....some were commenting that the crowd had grown from previous years...one was speculating as to the technology of the new ballot machines....
Cell phones were banned so it was rather quiet (an unusual environment in public place these days...) but sample ballots and amendments were provided for our reading enjoyment...
As I looked around that elementary school library tears filled my eyes....here we stood...the heart and soul of America...a living picture of freedom. Today we were democracy in action...my heart swelled with pride...
After 45 minutes I walked out of that school....a proud participant in our democratic process....
I did it! I voted!
I hope you do

This busy hectic life.....

Wow! was last week a burner or what?!? Hiking on Monday...working two jobs Tues and Wed...catching up on all the chores I'd missed on Thurs.....Dirty Rotten Scoundrels on Friday...(It was awesome, girls and a fun nite out with my baby)...Sat...finally some lazy time...run some errands, then work at 2nd job on Sat nite...Sunday....I am so fried I sleep in til 11am, then sit by the fire awhile and last but not least...clean the house...well vacumn, dust and clean my bathroom....Whoa! Is it gonna be like this til New Years?!?! Probably.....though this week should be easier...should is the operative word here.
Tonight I fancy doing some Christmas shopping...for me this is extremely early...:)

Its so strange but I find that I have nothing in my head, have you ever been there???...no deep thoughts...no problems to attempt to detangle....no bills on my mind needing paying...(that's a good thing :))....but it really is kinda strange that I have absolutely nothing on my mind or stirring in my spirit....fells like I'm in a bubble just floating along....i do have one thing kind of on the edge of my thoughts...maybe later I'll get focused on it...but for now...it doesn't seem to want to be thought about...:)...maybe I'm just tired....
Well, it can't last...and I wouldn't want it to....boring! But it is a nice break from the drama that can be life.....
So what's on your mind today?

DRS

Since birmingham girl was inquiring.....hubby and I are going to the Fabulous Fox Theater tonight, courtesy of our lovely bekaboo and her hubby. They provided orchestra level tickets to see the famed Broadway Play, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, as our anniversary gift (yes, this anniversary does keep on going and going...:)) and we are so excited to be attending!
I'll pick up hubby just after work, we'll grab a bite to eat...hopefully at some snazzy Buckhead hotspot, then we'll be off for an evening of fun....wish you all could join us...now wouldn't that be a blast?!?!

PIctures as promised...yay for blogger!

....we used hubby's new camera phone so we'll see how they turn out...:)

Hiking to the top of Amicalola Falls...this is a rest stop by the creek...its almost straight up but my hiking shoes were fabulous!

The falls, the highest in Georgia...a mile from top to bottom..

Does the sky get that blue everywhere??

That's me on the stairs...:) no doubt shouting Hallelujah! :)

I have to agree with Much Afraid...the water does sing a happy song on its way down the mountainside...

view from the top...well almost the top....

God made a glorious world..but God does not live in nature....

God lives in ME!

GA Mtns.

Has blogger been a bugger this week or what?!?!

We had a glorious time in the GA mtns last weekend. We had spectacular weather and the leaves were awesome!! We visited apple orchards and quaint little towns, saw incredible vistas and marveled at God's handiwork, saw pumpkins lying in the fields, hiked the Amicalola Falls and watched a raccoon struggle to hang onto a branch high above the highway....very funny little fellow...he made it to safety...but I'll bet his mama scolded him for being out in the daytime...haha..... We enjoyed gourmet cuisine and a roaring fire. We gazed at the stars from a lucious hot tub...yum! Hopefully blogger will let me post pictures...not of the hot tub...so forget that...lol

I wonder...do Christians appreciate nature just a bit more...does everyone feel that strong feeling of sheer joy with the urge to praise God when experiencing the glory of His creation? Can it even really be "seen" without Him? I suppose some do feel strongly, as that is where pantheism (sp?) comes from. But I know for me, something strong and perhaps supernatural wells up within me when I gaze upon His beautiful world. I cannot imagine living my life without the wide-eyed wonder that comes from knowing my Lord. He makes everything new, if only in my eyes for that moment...somehow I see it as new...so much beauty to marvel at...
and this is only a fallen world we are talking about .....

The joys of life and nature do seem to lose their glow when my eyes drift away from Him...
Lord help me keep the eyes of my heart turned toward You...in so doing, all the world shines brighter...