Congratulations!

Hooray for K! She's all done dental assisting school and has a great job already in this difficult economy. Way to go girl!
J wanted to have a Diploma Party so that's what we did. Complete with cake and presents!

The Letter

I received this in my inbox this morning....

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Some of you may not appreciate it, but I have no way to know who leans in this direction and who doesn't.

To those that are offended, I apologize up front.

THE LETTER June 17, 2009 - 10:36 ET

Related Links Sign the petition: An open letter to our nation's leadership

GLENN: I got a letter from a woman in Arizona. She writes an open letter to our nation's leadership: I'm a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you're willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now. You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would horribly feel so disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut job am I? Will you please tell me?

Well, these are briefly my views and issues for which I seek representation:

One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S., I'm not a racist. This isn't to be confused with legal immigration.

Glenn Beck's Common Sense Now available in book stores nationwide...

Two, the TARP bill, I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you no, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal.

Three: Czars, I want the circumvention of our checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution and honor it.

Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There is more to say.

Five, universal healthcare. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision. Don't you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night and then go on break. Slow down!

Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. Shrink it down. Mind your own business. You have enough to take care of with your real obligations. Why don't you start there.

Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes. Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. I do not trust them with taking the census over with our taxpayer money. I don't trust them with our taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before taxpayers get any more involved with them. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, hello. Stop protecting your political buddies. You work for us, the people. Investigate.

Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no. I work for my money. It is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs. That is the only redistribution of wealth that I will support. I never got a job from a poor person. Why do you want me to hate my employers? Why ‑‑ what do you have against shareholders making a profit?

Nine, charitable contributions. Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources. Butt out, please. We want to do it ourselves.

Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we'll be better off just getting into it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful. Have you ever ripped off a Band‑Aid? We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.

Eleven, transparency and accountability. How about it? No, really, how about it? Let's have it. Let's say we give the buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk. Please try ‑‑ please stop manipulating and trying to appease me with clever wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.

Twelve, unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now.

Take a breath. Listen to the people. Let's just slow down and get some input from some nonpoliticians on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a parent and a grandparent. I work. I'm busy. I'm busy. I am busy, and I am tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.

I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not. It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face. I am not laughing at your arrogance. Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it but you should expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children. We did not want the TARP bill. We said no. We would repeal it if we could. I am sure that we still cannot. There is such urgency and recklessness in all of the recent spending.

From my perspective, it seems that all of you have gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back. You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess that you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on you to bring our concerns to Washington. Our president often knows all the right buzzword is unsustainable. Well, no kidding. How many tens of thousands of dollars did the focus group cost to come up with that word? We don't want your overpriced words. Stop treating us like we're morons.

We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented. You think we're so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work , pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone and we are now looking up at you. You have awakened us, the patriotic spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office. We have cancelled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn't ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us when he will rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution.

Democrat, Republican, independent, libertarian. Understand this. We don't care. Political parties are meaningless to us. Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution and that is all that matters to us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be loyal to us, not to them. Because we will get you fired and they will not save you. If you do or can represent me, my issues, my views, please stand up. Make your identity known. You need to make some noise about it. Speak up. I need to know who you are. If you do not speak up, you will be herded out with the rest of the sheep and we will replace the whole damn congress if need be one by one. We are coming. Are we coming for you? Who do you represent? What do you represent? Listen. Because we are coming. We the people are coming.

Birthdays

Here's what we're doing tomorrow night for my birthday. :)

AND tomorrow is also....my son's birthday.
Happy Birthday Son! We love you So much!!

Blessed be the name of the Lord!

Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful 
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

Blessed Be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name

Feeling abundant today

He's back!

He's home(in Hawaii at anyway) from Iraq!!!! Hooray!
Thanks so much for all your prayers!

Photos and Stories

Photo's and Stories

I've seen this meme on a couple of blogs and thought it sounded fun so here goes.
1.) Find my 6th photo file;
2.) Choose the 6th photo in the file;
3.) Post and tell story and
4.) Tag 6 friends to carry meme forward

This is a photo of my son's girlfriend, Irene, my granddaughter, Jada and my daughter, Katy. this picture was taken a couple of years ago when my son and Irene came up from Orlando to visit us. We went out to Kennesaw Mountain which is one of the higher points around Atlanta and the scene of the historic last stand defense of Atlanta during the Civil War, the one in the movie Gone With the Wind. Its a beautiful place and from the top of the mountain you can see all the way to downtown Atlanta even though its about 20+ miles as the crow flies...the perfect place for a last defense. We rode an old school bus to the top to check out the view, climbed around on boulders and witnessed a Civil War cannon demonstration, not to mention tried on some Union and Confederate hats. Everyone had a nice day and Irene loved it. Jada also loved hanging out with her mom, uncle and Irene.


I won't be tagging anyone but if you'd like to participate...go ahead...:)

Shade

I love the shade on a very hot day...flowers swaying and scenting the air....cool breezes...green grass....low hanging branches...birds twittering.....I love it...

I love the shade...
* on my deck before 10 am and after 4pm with its pots of impatiens overflowing and gardenia bush blooming
* on my front porch after 4pm...with the wind chimes tinkling...and rocker rocking
* in the park outside my office...any time...quiet, breezy, flowers, trees, water flowing(sometimes when there is no drought in GA)...

Its 88 degrees today...a good day for shade....

This spoke to me today

HOLY LOVE
Andy Park

Holy love, flow in me, fill me up like the deepest sea
Like a crashing wave pouring over me, holy love flow in me

Many sorrows cannot quench your love,
darkness cannot overwhelm it

When I find you I find healing
When I find you I find peace
And I know that there's no river so wide
No mountain so high, no ocean so deep
That you can't part the sea

She was a Dancin' Queen

Ain't nothing like it....that very first dance recital...
The music
The excitement
The costumes
....the make up!

When we All get to Heaven

The past is washing over me just now…it has been for a few weeks now. Is it a cleansing flow? I’m not sure but the pain isn’t as acute as it has been. Reaching out to brothers and sisters who I love dearly and have been missing for what seems like an eternity, I have recently been made aware of just how wonderful heaven must be.

My son in law made a statement at his and my daughter’s wedding that bears repeating…he said

“having all the people I love in the same place at the same time…that’s heaven to me”

I think I can see it…through a glass darkly, I can possibly see just what heaven might be like….It is a place where all my brothers and sisters and I can be together…with no miles, no differences of opinion, no walls, without any of this life’s pain or the smell of flesh between us…all is truly peace and light and the purest of joy, fellowship complete…

I can almost see it…through the veil…and it is a place I long for...a place I miss though I can’t actually say I’ve ever being there…or perhaps I have been… in my spirit and maybe even a few times in my body too. :)…some gatherings of the saints are beyond words, you know.

I have never been one for pie in the sky religion and “when we all get to heaven” sentimentality…. I firmly believe that eternity, for us, begins right here and now the moment we meet Jesus, we step into what has been ever ongoing between the Father and the Son, and we begin partaking of what our spirits have always known and sought to partake of… a life meant to be lived out from eternity past into eternity future…inside of Him. This has been my experience in Christ...to live in the eternal Now.

Yet today…this week…these touches from the hearts and spirits of my brothers and sisters tell me that one day…in the sweet bye and bye…there is more, more than we can currently manage in our frail humanity…One Glad Day we will truly know as we are known and dwell in a place of oneness we can only dream of and our flesh prevents us from just now. Something in my heart is longing for that day today….as tears fall…. tears of pain and of joy, all at the same time…but greater still.....tears of longing.

The little black dress

Update: :) thank you all for your kind words. As Trish was inquiring, I was on my way to a fund raiser/party with my hubby for his work. Unfortunately I had laryngitis and couldn't talk to anyone..:( lol...He's been bugging me for weeks to get a dress and come with him...it was actually fun... He does lots of this stuff but I rarely go...I'm thinking of making it more of a priority. :)

Things to do...

1. Help with the neighborhood Yard Sale (huge traffic yesterday!)
2. Shop for a little black dress...party on Thurs...MUST find something!!
3. Grocery Store run
4. Pick up Mom at the airport
5. Check out a great chair I found on Craigslist (well that may have to wait) but its a really great chair!

Stories

I should preface this by saying that we have never been rich...hardly even middle class by most standards, though rich in life...therefore every purchase, every possession must serve its purpose, even dual purposes, well. When we were young and starting out each acquisition was of significant importance....many possessions were gifts or hand me downs from family or friends. The art work and knick knacks, mementos, books, photos...everything, even the frames for the photos had significance...even sentimental attachment. I loved living in a house full of stories. On any given day...a guest in our home, and there were many, could point to an object or pick up an item of interest and there would be a story to tell, a history that was inexplicably interwoven with ours, with the church, with the people we loved. Glorious stories...stories of miracles and Life, laughter, hope and Love...lots of love.
Upon moving to Atlanta we packed everything up and loaded our truck. All our possessions...all our history, all our stories,...were boxed away into storage while we lived an aesthetically clean life for some months in an apartment. Needing only the bare necessities, we lived a sterile kind of existence with few mementos around us.
Sometime later we purchased our home and began the lengthy process of unpacking, determining the new "look" for our new surroundings and settling in. At first only the basics went into the house..sofas and beds, tables and chairs...no pictures on the walls, no artwork or mementos in place. All those boxes...and there were lots of them, went into the garage to be sorted through at a later date. All those memories and treasures were there awaiting our new "look", our new life...
But during that interval,...
some things happened, big things that changed everything....and by the time we discovered that our new "look" wasn't going to be anything like our past life...it was decided that all that history would be better left in those boxes in the garage.

These days my home is a work in progress...we still aren't rich...we can't just go get a new whatever when ever we think about it...we have to plan and shop and save..and because our history is boxed up in the garage we have lots of empty places in our home and our hearts...places waiting for replacements...waiting for a new persona...we are reinventing ourselves I suppose, or being reinvented by the Lord who is ultimately in charge and the possessions we currently own and display are much more recent...our history is, in some ways...very short. Almost nothing in my house has a story now...everything is straight off the shelves at TJ MAxx or Craigslist and the only story associated with it is how much of a bargain we got it for or how well it matches our decor.

Our community is planning a neighborhood yard sale in May. I knew I really needed to clean out and get rid of some things, though I wasn't exactly sure what, So......

Yesterday I opened those boxes in the garage.....
30 years of stories came rushing out... all with voices clamoring...
Some gently and sweetly,
Some with stabbing pain and grief...
and I have to say, I'm getting rid of a lot of stuff...history...baggage...stories....its almost all going.
Someone else will use these things and never know...the love, the joy,... the grief, they have meant.

It was a hard day yesterday...I felt emotionally wrung out....but today is a new day...new stories waiting to be written..I have drawn a deep breath and put many a piece of history into the Yard Sale pile...cried over a few, smiled over a few...kept a few...to be boxed away again...stories to be kept in the dark...yet in my heart...waiting for a day when it might not be impossible to bring them to the light again.
Stories worth the telling....

OH MY GOODNESS!!!

Did you see this?
Youtube won't allow me to upload the video but you must check out this link

Christian Music Video Body Worship Dance - Worthy Is The Lamb

Isn't this beautiful? I should have posted it for Easter...but then He is Worthy and Risen every day ...so every day is Easter...right? :)

Let's have a Tea Party!

On April 15th this is happening all across the country. There will be a massive one held right here in Atlanta. What do you think?... are ya feelin' patriotic...or just plain fed up?

You've got to read this!

This post, by my dear friend, Vicki, is absolutely wonderful. I've been thinking about this topic myself a lot lately. Please go and check this one out. Have a great weekend!

Upside Down

I've been thinking lately...with the recession, mortgage crisis, financial crisis, new currency standard, world unrest etc. etc....ever feel like we are spinning round and round and may very well have fallen down a well...we may very well be on a road going nowhere as a nation, as a people..as a world? I think perhaps we have been in this state for quite sometime but haven't realized it...it reminded me of these lyrics...or I should say, these lyrics reminded me of this upside down state we find ourselves in today in our world. Nothing is as it appears, right becomes wrong and wrong becomes right. All I can think to say is "Lord, Help!"

“LIVING LIFE UPSIDE DOWN” lyrics by Russ Lee

Chorus:
What if we’ve fallen to the bottom of a well
Thinking we’ve risen to the top of a mountain
What if we’re knocking at the gates of hell
Thinking we’re heaven bound
What if we spend our lives thinking of ourselves
When we should have been thinking of each other
What if we reach up and touch the ground
To find we’re living life upside down.

The Very First

Jada's very first test...ever. :)

My daughter...the model

My lovely daughter is appearing as a model in an ad for an upscale hair salon in the Atlantan magazine. The ads will run every edition for the entire year. How cool is that?? Check it out.

Urgent message

UPDATE 03/10/09

I ran this by my hubby last night and he pointed out to me that prophesy in the NT...is always about Christ...hardly ever about "what's going to happen", and never about the end times etc. He also pointed out that Christians in scripture and the early church were usually taken by surprise when calamity came and forced to rely on the Lord for help. Only the book of Revelation deals with the future in any real meaningful way and there are 2 ways to look at it...one is that its about the end times...the other...that its the Revelation of Christ and His Church...I go with that one personally...SOOOO...then he pointed out that David Wilkerson has been saying such things for years(Constance you aren't that off:))...and that Americans tend to get all into the "calamity" "end times" mode whenever the stock market in this country goes down...totally ignoring the persecution of Christians in Darfur or China, who I'm sure think its the end of the world on a regular basis with far more reason.
He was not impressed...consequently...as well as following my own gut...I will say as I noted below, like the 5 virgins with their laps filled with oil, I intend to practice common sense and stock my pantry...on the other hand I'm not going to get too bent out of shape over things like this.
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Have any of you seen this?
I have great respect for David Wilkerson so I'm listening up. It won't hurt me to have some extra supplies on hand either.

The hook takes you back....

Ever notice how a song can take you back?
Lately I've been listening to an online praise radio station while I'm at work (I can plug in my earphones and no one knows...:)) Its called Praise on Fire Radio and I get them here. They play really awesome praise songs one after another with no commercial interruption...you should try it. Anyway...the music is mostly wonderful with very little of the Top 40 kind of thing, although in the middle of the day it can get kind of weird with music that sounds like it was written and recorded by someone sort of wandering with nothing to say.
but MOSTLY...its really really good!

ANYWAY...I sometimes hear the song "This is the air I breathe" Not the commercial version but a very "living" kind of version.

With those earphones in....

.... I am instantly transported back in time to the first time I ever heard it...ever have that happen?

Try filing mindlessly for hours with your earphones plugged in...its like being in another realm...and when this happens...that "other realm" becomes amazingly real.

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Suddenly I am standing in a large living room with about 40-50 people...yeah, I mean large, but the room is full...there are a few chairs, a love seat and one sofa but everything else has been moved out of the room and everyone is standing in a large circle. When we stop singing everyone will sit down right where they are now standing its so packed. Three fourths of the people there are under 30 (not me, but almost everyone else)..and boy can they sing! There is no music but as they raise their voices in this song, every harmony imaginable rises toward heaven...it is trapped between the walls and bodies all around and it seems to reverberate off the surroundings, penetrating your very being til you can't tell if its on the inside or outside of you.

I am standing with hands raised, in direct contact with brothers and sisters on either side of me,... and its incredible!... Since I am usually singing at the top of my voice but don't yet know this song...I am quiet....enjoying the priviledge of being washed...being poured into...being ministered to in a deep way...

and they sang it like this:

"This is the air I breathe, this is the air I breathe your Holy Presence, living in me.
This is my daily bread, this is my daily bread, your very Word, spoken IN me.

And I , I'm desperate for You, desperate for You....

She is the air You breathe, She is the air You breathe. Your holy presence, living in Her.
She is Your daily bread, She is Your daily bread, Your very Word spoken in Her.

And She, She's desperate for You, desperate for You....

And we, we're desperate for You...desperate for You

And I, I'm desperate for You...."

Times like these...the veil of flesh gets mighty thin, people....

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Then, all the sudden..my boss rings me to ask how my project is coming along.....

Deep...or not...

Well its Sunday afternoon and I'm sitting at the computer licking peanut butter off my fingers to try and type something. Today I have bought groceries and cleaned a little, I have wondered if my brakes need work and if my husband is feeling ok. I have conversed with my mom, my daughter, the auntie who had J overnight and the aforementioned hubby who answers in monosyllables...which makes me wonder if he feels ok. I have a pain in my cheek which makes me wonder if I have a sinus infection and I have appreciated, for the umteenth time, the gorgeous paintings I found and hung over my bed...ok, so all this sounds rather humdrum and boring...not terribly deep nor interesting...and that, my friends, is the point...I am ordinary, humdrum and even dare I say it,... boring. I haven't had a deep thought in ages...I can't actually remember when the last time I did have a deep thought... well maybe a few weeks ago when I read The Shack...but certainly that didn't last long nor has one crossed my mind since.
Apparently I don't think very deeply anymore...which means I have nothing to say...nothing worth writing about in cyberspace anyway...so if you used to come here for inspiration or something I suppose you'd better just give up on that...I'm a pretty shallow pond these days and not likely to bring forth any timely wisdom any time soon. I have become my worst fear...ordinary.
Will I one day again sip from the deep inner wells of the spirit and have life to share?....maybe...but for now...I'm just one of those completely surface kinda folks I usually can't bear to be around.

Lists

I am a list person..
at least I always have been in the past.
These days I'm flyin more by the seat of my pants
less gets done...
but more fun is had by all. :)
This weekend the agenda includes( and notice that I am including the entire weekend in the general scope of things as opposed to specific lists for specific days)



1. Shop for household decor(I am still trying to get decorated after living here 4 yrs)
2. Shop for sales on slacks and any remaining sweater that may still be on the shelf somewhere (they are just about replaced with t-shirts down here)
3. Shop for shower gift (baby is a girl)
3. Shop for groceries(Snyder's has out a new chocolate covered, peanut butter filled, pretzel..OMGosh!)
Are you noticing a trend here??

5. Church attendance
6. Hiking
7. Jada time
8. Pay bills
9. Eat out
10. Super Bowl! (We are a house divide on teams this year:))



What are you doing this weekend?

Alive

It's amazing how His Spirit works...don't you agree?
I'm not sure what it is...but I can go for a period of time without feeling His presence, without sensing Him...without having that quickening....sort of missing it, sort of feeling overwhelmed with the busyness of life and not really remembering what it is I am missing...then something small...ever so small, will spark in me...usually brought on by an inner urging, turning me to focus on Him for a time...paying attention to His Word or some book about Him or turning the words of a song into a prayer or a conversation with another believer, one of those kind where your spirits do more talking that your mouths...and suddenly...almost without noticing, with little effort on my part...I feel alive.

Do you know what I mean by alive?

That sudden burst of creative energy that causes you to have incredible ideas and thoughts and to know that anything is possible or that awe filled inspiration of looking at nature and sensing something so much greater...in the very same landscape you took for granted only yesterday. Its like looking through His eyes...I think it IS looking through His eyes and sensing by His Spirit and knowing with His confidence that you have power inside and can accomplish anything or that there is a high purpose to this walk and life has real meaning... thinking thoughts outside of your own depth...that come from God knows where...literally...

And when I slip away from this incredible Aliveness...usually without even noticing how the cares of my life are taking me away or how I haven't connected with Him lately... for a time I don't even notice that my life has become dead and boring and dreary...so monotonous and colorless...I only know that something is wrong...terribly wrong...and I think " it can't have always been like this....surely it won't always be this way"...then I remember that I used to feel alive...and I miss it so...but most of the time I can't seem to remember how to get back there...and Christian music or Sunday sermons or daily devotional do little to help.

Then after a while...sometimes after I have given up on ever sensing that Aliveness again...His Spirit is gracious to prompt me and draw me...and I turn again into Him...and Life is there. Sometimes only a tiny spark...but enough to remind me...and quicken me,...a glimpse into what is and what can be that causes me to hunger for more.

Crashing

Well, its Sunday night...the Eagles have lost the NFC championship game to the Cardinals...the ribs are gone...
and my son and his girlfriend, who have been visiting for a couple of days are preparing to head back to FL tomorrow. Sigh...I suppose all good things must come to an end.

At least I have one more day off to look forward to...thank you Martin Luther King Jr! :)

Jack is Back!

Yeah!
In case you missed the 4 hour premier Sun. and Mon. you can catch up here.

A miracle in my heart

01/10/09 - 11:04AM
(A bit of a disclaimer if you will;
I removed this post earlier because I was afraid it might embarrass my husband, might be misunderstood, might sound...a little over the top. Upon several requests, I am re-posting it. Those of you who know him know that I am understating if anything....)


We have a tradition in our house...it is this:

On Christmas morning when everyone is first up and before we go down to the living room, we stop on the stairs...the landing, just out of sight of the tree...(when we had no stairs, all the kids came in and sat on our bed)...and my husband...the gentle, and wise man of God and father that he is, tells the story of Christmas...the real story of Who He is and why He came...and how that impacts our world, our family...how it makes all the difference.

He has done this for some 25+ years...for as long as we have had children of any age to understand at all. Always done with their age level in mind...thoughtfully and spirit filled....one of the many ways he has changed lives...our lives...the lives of myself, my mom and each of my kids, everyone who really hears him....and now its time for another generation.
This is the first year that Jada has been old enough to know what awaits downstairs and at the same time old enough to wait and to listen...and to understand that this day... Christmas Day and what it represents...is bigger than her, bigger than us...it is bigger than the whole world.

This man.... that God has given me as a husband, my children as a father and now my granddaughter as a grandfather....has the uncanny ability...the anointing if you will...to speak Life...literally, into the lives of those he comes in contact with...be it at work, in the grocery store, at the hair salon, on the bike trail, where ever he spends any time...and you know what...people long to hear Life...they crave food for their spirits and don't even know what it is...or why the sound of his words help them.
He is real and amazing and filled with God...and overflowing with a God given ability to deposit Christ into hearts and spirits. There are so few who can do this...it stuns me...literally stuns me to hear what is perpetrated as Life to those who are so desperate for it, by those who have NO idea whatsoever how to impart Christ. .....yet my household is incredibly blessed, this man, this gifted man, this master of impartation, sits today...in suburbia USA, on the stairs on Christmas morning...imparting Life into those around him who at this moment happen to be his family...a gift hidden from the world...yet oh so powerful.

I came to know the Lord through this voice, I mean really know the Lord. I came to know His house and His purpose through words spoken from this Christ filled heart,... as have many many others. I love to hear it still, Life that is, I need to hear it always...Life never grows old and never ceases to be birthed in us if we have opportunity to hear and receive.
... and now he begins again...with a new little heart....

This quote from the latest Thoene book "The Eighth Shepherd" really said it for me....

"I can hear his voice creating a miracle in my heart..."
Bodie & Brock Thoene- The Eighth Shepherd


Roms. 10:14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

Happy New Year!

I pray this new year brings you all the colors of Joy and the ability to find it in the most unusual places.

The blue in the flames of your fireplace, the blue in the eyes of someone you love, the blue in the sky on a cold winter's day.
The red in your grandchild's cheeks and lips, or a crisp apple or juicy tomato.
The green of new leaves, or fresh paint, a tennis ball or an old green comfy sweatshirt.
The yellow of the sun on a bright summer's day or daffodils in spring or squash in summer.
The purple of twilight, eggplant parmigiana from your favorite cook, your son's faded purple favorite ball cap or the birthday card your little one makes for you.
The orange of sunset, a leaf in the fall...or your favorite sales catalog.

...and though every day in the coming year will not seem glorious....and some days will even seem dark and difficult....may each of us feel the arms of our Savior around us and His perfect Joy in our hearts.

Happy New Year!

Christmas Stuff

I guess you can tell I'm a pretty busy girl. :) So forgive me if I combine several good post ideas into one.

Jada and her caroling friends at our neighborhood caroling night.

Waiting for the caroling wagon with Aunt Bekah, just in from Hawaii.

Too much Christmas fun and a late night with "Chronicles of Narnia"

The local Candy Cane Hunt with new friends.

Building gingerbread houses at the local Candy Cane Hunt. It was about 30 degrees that day with a stiff breeze making gingerbread house building a chilling event. :) Of course the Caroling night it was about 55....Thats the South for you. Up and down like a yoyo this time of year.

So...there's some of what we've been up to. The Christmas Program at church is tomorrow night and J is excited that her mommy, daddy, auntie Bekak and Papi will be present..I only get a slight nod along with her Granny. :)

Hope you're having fun along the way this holiday season too!

Stethoscope

The Amazing Scarf

I promised I'd let you know how the scarf adventures turned out so here it is....

After Thanksgiving stroll
Making holiday goodies

shopping on Black Friday

I kept the scarf for 10 days...which fell over Thanksgiving and Black Friday. The scarf accompanied me for our holiday celebrating, family time and afterward for shopping on Black Friday and Christmas cooking on the weekend. To my thinking, the entire time was just a little piece of Americana...things almost every American was doing in their on way at about the same time, individually, yet the same. This is the thing, maybe more than any other, that makes America great, the bonds of sameness that we all enjoy...or suffer for that matter...our commonality.

What a great picture of our lives in Christ...different and certainly individual, yet connected by the sameness that makes it all something deeper, powerful and infinitely worthwhile.

....Funny how something like a winter scarf could do something amazing....

The Scarf

I am a part of a sisterhood....
so big and so diverse that I cannot fully comprehend it. The faces and lives of my sisters reflect that of Christ to me if I will only stop to notice. Everyone of them different yet the same..in Him. I am so blessed to be a part of His great family in the earth and to share that in a micro way with 11 other beautiful sisters through the magic of the traveling scarf....it is a link to these eleven sisters scattered around the country even the world. Through the travels of our scarf we are connected, a picture of our true reality. Because though separated by miles and timezones, cultures and continents we actually stand outside of time and space, hand in hand together with our Lord. Our traveling scarf denotes this, a cord that binds us together. It is a tangible representation of what is true, the invisible made visible. Its a magical bond that reflects His binding of us together. I'm up for an adventure...with the scarf...with my sisters! I'll let you know how it turns out. :)

James

Tomorrow my wonderful son in law will leave on his deployment to Iraq. Please keep him and my daughter in your prayers. This will be a long separation for them and she will be alone in a strange place while he serves his country in a dangerous foreign land. Pray God's keeping and blessing on them both and may the time fly. He is truly a second son to us and we are so blessed to have him in our family! We love you James!

A couple of weeks ago we traveled to Jacksonville, FL to see them before his deployment. My son and his girlfriend and my daughter and granddaughter joined us for a great family time together. Here are some pics from the weekend.

James, Bek, Irene, and Jeff

Me and my daughters

Poppi and his Jada

My sweet girls

I Voted!

Hooray! I did it! I stood in line for one and one half hours in the cold (GA cold that is) and voted my conscience. The lines here in Atlanta are long and I believe that on Nov. 4th they will be extraordinarily so....I didn't want to miss out on this opportunity. It is SO important, especially this year and we see it here in our state clearly. Please pray...please vote.

Pour My Love On You (worship video w/ lyrics)

Just heard this song for the first time this morning in a worship service. Amazing chorus! I immediately thought of my husband whose entire life consists of pouring out himself on his Lord. Those of you who know him can agree I'm sure. He is continuing to do so even as our lives are so very different these days...he has always maintained that His Lord was, is, and always will be ENOUGH....and so He is proving Himself to be. God what a song! God, what a heart to be able to pour yourself out on HIm no matter what!

32 years

Tomorrow it will be 32 years since I walked down the aisle and pledged my self, my life, my love to this man.

Did I know what I was getting into? Absolutely not!

Have there been hardtimes? yes

Times I thought we wouldn't make it? yes, those too

Would I do it all over again? Absolutely, yes!

It has been the adventure of a lifetime and I would love doing it all again!

He is my life, my love, and my salvation. He has shown me the world in ways I would never have known and shown me the Lord in ways I could never explain nor can hardly comprehend even now. Without him I would be one of the many lost sheep wandering in the wilderness not only of this life but of the spirit. With his gentle guidance I have found great joy in this earthly existence and incredible freedom and purpose in the kingdom of God. I thank my God daily for this man He has given me to walk with me, to be my friend and lover, and to show me the way home.

The journey thus far has been amazing...not stoppin now.

Happy anniversary, baby, I love you.

This moment

I have a friend who often speaks of living IN the moment....I look at the world of finance...of life as we, my generation, have known it and see clearly that what has always been will not necessarily always be and I am reminded to see...really see the moment I am in. Yes, there is eternity...but when does that actually begin?

This moment....that truly is what our lives should and must consist of isn't it...this moment in Him, this moment of turning to Him...the NOW...this is where eternity and time intersect, where spirit and body connect...this moment.

Progressive Party

My neighborhood association is planning a Progressive Dinner Party for the holidays. Won't that be fun?!?
...and in case you don't know what that is, here is a description I found on line.

"If you're looking for a way to socialize that requires little work or expense and that keeps the party moving all night, then a Progressive Dinner Party may hold the answer for you. At a Progressive Dinner a group of friends plan a meal together where each course is served at a different participant's home, so that the party literally moves from place to place throughout the evening.
This party style works especially well for friends who live close to one another either in a neighborhood, an apartment building or a condo complex. Then everyone can walk from home to home without worrying about organizing cars and designated drivers. It also facilitates digesting between courses!"

Count me in!

Reading....or trying to

I don't usually have a reading list one but just now I do have a few things lined up.

1. A.D. Chronicles #8 (I don't know the name yet but I know I have to read it)
2. Millionaire Women Next Door
3. Duct Tape Marketing
4. Book Yourself Solid
5. The Secret to the Christian Life (again)

Can you tell I'm trying to focus on business?

What's on your list?

What Big Bang?

Have you heard what's happening tomorrow..Wednesday, Sept. 10th our time ?
This is what's happening...scary isn't it? and the Grid that they are using is what is supposed to replace the internet in time...
I emailed this story to my children and here is the response I received back from my daughter, Bekah,the science girl...

"I've heard rumor and mention of some project to attempt to simulate the Big Bang. Scientists kind of baffle me with this one. If you think about it, there are very few laws in science. Lots of theory, little law. One is the Law of Conservation of Matter, another Conservation of Energy. Neither can be created nor destroyed. Matter can be reconfigured. Blocks can build new things, and large things can be broken down into pieces. Energy can be used or produced or converted. When you burn a log, the matter doesn't go away, it just changes form. Its energy changes from a measurable potential energy into heat that is dissipated in the air. Going with these 2 laws, how do you come up with a "big bang theory?" Where did this matter come from? Where did this unfathomable amount of energy to cause the combustion come from? Think about all the matter and energy, just on earth. Spontanaity doesn't explain it to me adequately. Faith and creationism allow me to accept and explains what science cannot. I don't think science and faith are competing schools of thought. I think the only way science makes any sense at all is through the prism of faith."

I'm So proud!

I agree with Mrs. Mac

My friend Mrs Mac says it nicely so let me just agree..."Way to go, Sarah!" ...."She makes McCain shine."