Pink and Blue Chairs

Pink and blue camp chairs changed my life......

I know...very strange you say, well, if you've got a minute, here's the story...or at least part of it.

Some years ago, not too long after we had departed from the traditional church world, we stumbled upon a lovely group of people who amazingly enough, all wanted the same thing we did in our Christian experience...reality in Jesus Christ.
God led us to them and that is a story for another day...but today I will tell you a bit about how we achieved the impossible...we explored and experienced real church life, just as you imagine it to be from reading the book of Acts and we did it together with this group of people.

We did it from those pink and blue chairs...

The very first corporate thing we did together was to throw out the Sunday church service...we moved the meetings to Sat. and Tues nights...then we added different kinds of meetings...song meetings..picnic meetings...brothers meetings, sisters meetings...business meetings (yuck!)
We went along like this for a while and God said it was good.
Then one day we decided that this wasn't enough...we could hear our Lord calling us onward, we couldn't really get to know Him sitting in a pew...so what could we do next to make our relationships with Him and within the body more real?
We felt we should erase the line between clergy and laity and become simply brothers and sisters....so we decided to push back all the pews and sit on the floor...except that didn't go over so well for very long with the, shall I say, grownups in the group...that's when we decided to purchase the chairs. They would be low enough to the ground to keep the playing field leveled yet comfortable and portable for the variery of meetings we were enjoying.

And so the pink and blue camp chairs came into our lives...
and God said it was good!

And boy did they change things too!

Suddenly people spoke up in meetings, those who had never done so before started songs or prayed aloud. People asked questions and answered them, they laughed outloud in meetings, some took off their shoes while others told them to put them on again. The casualness of life invaded our church and we became family.
Everywhere we went as a church, those chairs went with us. To conferences and potlucks, to campouts and bible study, to backyard barbecues and baptisms, literally everywhere.
When the pushed back pew set up was no longer cutting it we discussed moving together into a neighborhood so we could spend more time together loving our Lord in daily life...eventually some moved...some didn't...but one weekend we planned an experiment...we held an entire weekend of meetings, meals and fun in the neighborhood some had moved to...and eveyone else was to come for the weekend, to stay and eat and sleep over. It was an experiment in community. How would this lifestyle work? could it work? Would we love it? or hate it? did we need it or could we live without it? That weekend everyone came...we all piled into the few homes already available in the neighborhood, kids, bibles, casseroles and all. Then we walked between the homes for every meal, meeting and event. Everywhere we traveled during the weekend...we brought our bibles, our song books and our chairs. We set up shop wherever we happend to be and church life sprang up among us. Then we knew it...this was no longer optional, we needed this kind of church and each other, daily, to see our Lord more fully. This became our lifestyle...brothers and sisters living and loving Him together and God said it was very good.
For the next several years we grew up there in the church and in the Lord and some of the dearest saints in this world sat next to me in those pink and blue camp chairs. ..

A few years ago, and many miles down the road, with our own two chairs in tatters, I was forced to make the very difficult decision to throw them out. It was in effect the end of an era, the end of innocence perhaps, the end of so much.
And though time marches on and I no longer have the luxury of seeing saints outside my door on a daily basis...I will never regret nor forget, nor recover and I do not wish to. In this environment our lives were turned upside down and melted together in ways beyond imagining, not just for this lifetime but for all eternity.

Who would have ever thought it could all begin with pink and blue camp chairs?

Life and Death

I read an interview this week with actor Kirk Cameron..you know the kid from the television show Growing Pains? Well he's all grown up and a serious Christian now with a new movie coming out by the same producers as Facing the Giants. Its called FireProof. While I know nothing about the movie I other than it will be glorifying to the Lord (that's what these people do) I was taken with something Kirk said in his interview...
He said " You wouldn't walk through an Aids hospital with the cure for Aids in your pocket and never get it out or mention it...well we have the cure for death."
Wow...I was really taken by that...we Do indeed have the cure for death...that cure is Life...Jesus Christ conquered Death...He IS the cure our world needs.
Have a Living, Breathing, Glorious Sunday.

More of our summer

Jada and her daddy..she was so excited to see him.

4th of July in the Georgia mountains

My most favorite picture of all time I think

My kids who are headed off to Hawaii to serve our country... on the beach of course

They did help me paint before they left...what do you think of my red wall? We're not done yet.....:) What are you up to?

Tony Snow

I'm shedding tears this morning for Tony Snow. America has lost a friend.

Summer so far...

Here are some of the things we have been up to this summer so far:

The Renaissance Fair
Jada's Pre-K graduatioin
Going to the park
Enjoying cousins ....
Watching them hit home runs and hanging with the family.

It takes a champion to give himself a chance when nothing's going his way.

Did you see this? Wow!

Why do I need the Church?

Now take this in context...if you know me you know I DO NOT mean "why do I Go to church?" Going to church and living the Church are completely different things to me....:)
I can think of a zillion reasons why I need the church but I recently heard a beautiful prioritizing of why I need the Church. Here are the top 5 reasons that were given, I even like the order.

1. The Church helps me focus on Christ = Worship
2. The Church helps me face life = Fellowship
3. The Church helps my faith to develop = Maturity
4. The Church helps me find my purpose = Purpose in His house
5. The Church helps me fulfil life's mission = Purpose in the earth

Oh my goodness, it actually...

Oh my goodness, it actually works. The voice you hear when you click on listen is me is that cool or what. listen

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Hey, hope you are having...

Hey, hope you are having a great night. I am just checking out my new Jott Program. Give it a trial. listen

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LIF

I heard this song today for the first time. I don't know if its new or old.

It touched me....I love these words for they express where I am just now.

"Come and fill my soul with who you are
In my silence, You still hear me"

Wow. Thank you, Lord that you hear even when I don't/can't speak, when I am at a loss for words.

You DO fill me up with WHO you are.

- A Loss For Words -

Charles Billingsley
I've prayed in the silence

And felt your presence near

I've walked in the garden

And found you waiting there

I have stood with the masses

To lift my hands in praise

I've knelt there all alone and called your name

Yet today I'm just not sure

Of what I should say

I am empty, You are holy

Come and fill my soul with who you are

In my silence, You still hear me

CHORUS

You are holy, you are worthy

The blessed Son of God, the morning star

You are glorious, you are marvelous

But there's so much more, to who you really are

To who you really

Absolutely Beautiful

I'm so distant from His "breath", His "ways" my true "habitation" these days that this is almost over my head. But I still hear enough of His voice to recognize Life when I hear it. Oh my goodness!! Doesn't it just take your breath away??

Birthday Girl!

What an exciting weekend I have just lived through! As long as 6 months ago my hubby began getting things, including me, ready...In Feb. he insisted we get tanning packages (remember Valentines Day??), he encouraged me to get my highlights done...we mapped out our vacations for the year( I complained they were all biking trips!)but he trudged ahead anyway...he arranged all our lodgings and even when our vacation dates changed from Memorial Day weekend to the weekend before my birthday(his sister was supposedly going to be out of town on the holiday) I wasn't too suspicious...though of course I figured he'd do something for me, he's not the type to forget and after all.... I was turning 50!

Come the weekend we loaded up and traveled to our hometown in Alabama to just chill out, lie in the sun and visit relatives. Sounds exciting, right?? He asked me to bring a nice outfit for Saturday night cause he was taking me out to a new restaurant for my birthday. Okay...so I was a little bummed that he wasn't doing much...but then I figured I'd get a great present instead. :) Friday we basically lazed around, meeting in-laws for a T-ball game and dinner out. (Little did I know that my sisters and friends were eating out just across the highway and hubby was on the phone periodically to amke sure our paths didn't cross! Had we run in to any one of them I would have caught on right away). On Saturday we dropped Jada off at the cousins and then spent the day across the river in a neighboring town just tooling around eating lunch and ice cream and just hanging out. Hubby wanted us to get home and get ready for our dinner out at a rather early time I thought but hey, if we were driving any distance I could understand that. So we headed home to get dressed about 3pm with plans to leave the house around 4:30..on the way his mom called and asked if we could run her out to a local restaurant where she was supposed to meet her Sunday School class for dinner. I was just a tiny bit irritated that now we would have to be on a schedule..her schedule and I did inquire as to who would have taken her out there if we hadn't been in town...since we're never in town....but he pointed out that he never gets to do things for her and it was right on our way...How could I argue??

As we arrived at her destination...a cool little country barbecue type place with a logcabin feel and red checkered table cloths...she mentioned that my hubby's aunt and uncle would be there and we should come in and see them for a minute. I truly never thought a thing about it. It was so completely something she/we would do that I never gave it a thought, of course we would run in and say hi. Upon on entering the restaurant we headed upstairs to the loft which is an area you can reserve for groups with my mother-in-law leading the way and my husband in the rear. When we reached the top of the stairs my mother in law stepped aside and 50+ guests, who had all been squatting so as not to be seen from the first floor, jumped up and shouted surprise! I about fell over! I was completely in shock! At first I wasn't registering what was happening,,,,then I saw my son (who lives in Orlando),then my daughter and her hubby(who live in Jacksonville)...then my cousin whom I haven't seen in at least 10 years! then an old old friend and another and another...it began to dawn on me! They were all here for me! To see me! I couldn't decide whether to laugh or to cry so I did some of each! I hugged every single person and exclaimed over them and how they had managed to get there or to keep the secret. Unbeknownest to me, my sisters and cousins had spent the two days before hanging out and scrapbooking a memory book for me. I think they had as much fun doing that as they did surprising me. :) My kids had jumped through numerous hoops to make it happen and to get themselves there without me knowing, wisely keeping Jada out of the loop, :) and several people had come from afar. It was wonderful seeing them all again and so much fun having everyone there at the same time!

Its really kind of weird being on the receiving end when you are the one who usually does the planning for such events but it was done very well and I had a wonderful time!

The food was good, I blew out all the candles and opened lots of gifts. I also got to sing (not happy birthday either) with my extended family for the first time in probably 30 years. It was so awesome!...and we still sound pretty good together too!

With so many cameras on hand, I felt like a victim of the paparazzi the entire night. I'm looking forward to getting all those pictures back...but here are a few I already have....

Here they are lying in wait for me...

The look on my face!

Here's my gang, minus Jada but then she was busy with her cousins running wild. :)

My lovely sisters!

Happy Birthday to ME! Loved it!

Check this out!

What a blast I had this past weekend! My hubby, along with some helpers pulled off a surprise, 6 months in the planning...and I was truly clueless! Go here to read about it!

Yard Sales and such

I've lived in the same neighborhood for 3 yrs. In that time no one has befriended me...no one has welcomed me, no one has hardly even spoken to me. I find that appalling, don't you? Neighbors should be...well... neighborly.

A few months ago some things began to change. A new president was elected to the homeowners association...new committees were formed by newer more enthusiastic neighbors. Before I knew it I was on a committee...before I knew it I was head of one....now things are different...much different. We have had meetings and made plans...we have officially welcomed 4 new families to our "hood". People greet one another on the street and stop their vehicles to say hello to neighbors working in their yards. They meet for barbecue at the pool or offer assistance in times of need.

This weekend we had our first big "neighborhood" event. We had a HUGE community yard sale...and it was a huge success! 24 families participating! Loads of fun and loads of customers! Tomorrow we will compile all our leftover stuff and sell it on the cheap down by the entrance, with proceeds going to the association, all the while hanging out together...tonight we had an impromptu neighborhood party. It was well attended and a blast! People feel like they are a part of something, people feel welcome...people like our neighborhood...I like our neighborhood.

In a few weeks we'll be having a movie night, an ice cream social, a 4th of July Parade...all kinds of things planned and who knows what unplanned....yeah...its nice to have good neighbors...its nice to have fun neighbors...its nice to have neighbors who know your name.

Quote of the day...maybe the month

"You never know where Wonderful may come from...."
Zalaine

Graduation

Jadabear is graduating...from Pre-K. Apparently its a big deal...who knew?? lol

I'll be hosting lunch with family coming in especially for the occasion. I'm sure there will be cake and balloons...and probably gifts and cards....surely not...Oh my goodness!

Well it is a special day...at least school's out for the summer afterward...and we get a 3 day weekend! :) Gotta love America!

Congratulations to all you graduates out there...whatever the level! :)

Whose fault is it anyway?

How do you handle problems, difficulties, barriers? Ignore them? Work harder? Separate yourself from the instigators? Blame someone? Persevere?

You know...there is a lot of mess in this world...a lot of very, very difficult stuff. Mountains we can't seem to get over...ever...and you know...when there is someone to blame it all seems easier...ah yes, I can deal with such problems so much better if someone is to blame. Whether its someone else's fault we have this trouble we are in...or whether its our own fault...and we deal with it...we have the capacity to deal with it. Actually we love it when its someone's fault...blame is easy...and when we ourselves are responsible...well we can either easily forgive or we can beat ourselves down and promise to try harder...either one works. Somehow we work through or around these kinds of situations.

In the face of obstacles and problems we are taught all our lives to hang in, work harder, to persevere.

But what about when all our blame or hard work or perseverance does nothing...makes not one little dent....what about when the problem we are experiencing, the difficulty we find ourselves in, the situation that won't budge...what about when its God's fault? What then?

I have found myself in just such a scenario. I have found myself in a place I don't want to be, in a situation I am ill equipped to handle. I have found that all my begging and pleading is to no avail...all my hard work has been in vain...

for God will be God and He will have exactly what He wants and He will have me exactly where He wants me to be. Wriggle and struggle though I may...He has placed me in just this spot and there is no escape...no answer that I can see...no way out...and no end in sight....except He create a door out of thin air...which of course He could...but somehow i don't think He is going to ...not for a while anyway...I think this is of His making...its not my fault...not anyone elses fault...only His. Remember when He shut up the womb of Hannah, Samuel's mother...for years...God did it...it was His fault and Hannah had no recourse, no explanation. He is God..He doesn't owe us an explanation after all.

I was thinking about this recently and in the eyes of my spirit I saw a small stream trickling over rocks in my being, flowing downward from a mountain...this is common for me, as i sense His spirit in me, I often sense water...what was uncommon was this...my spirits eye followed the stream backwards uphill to a large dam built away up the mountain...and behind the dam...a huge reservoir....I have a reservoir within me..I know it...I smell it...I saw it....but He has built a dam, a big white dam to block all that water from flowing out... He is in control of all that I am, all that I have inside...of where I am and who I am...and right now...there is only a trickle of water flowing down.....its His fault.

Sometimes being exactly where God wants you...isn't where or what you thought it was going to be.

Out of the mouth of babes...

Gigi: hully, hully, J, we're gonna be late!

Jada: what does that mean, hully?

Gigi: Its just "hurry" with an accent, like someone with a different language would say it...Gigi's just being silly.

Jada: God made lots of different languages in the world, didn't He?

Gigi: yes, He did.

Jada:....and He speaks all of them, doesn't He?

What R U up 2?

I'm practicing my text messaging...cause I want one of these...
for business purposes, of course. :)

Latest reading material...In Her Shoes....pretty good actually though not my usual style.

Checking this out...the original is right in my neighborhood...

Planting a few of these.....I luv, luv these longer days!

*************************************
Update...I was just informed that I am getting my toes done tonight...courtesy of my loving daughter...I adore pedicures!

Barb's shoppe

Please check out my friend. Barb's new online gift shop A Chelsea Morning's Little Shoppe. She makes fabulous stuff and she's a real sweetheart too!