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!

Sound asleep...and its night, mind you...

Tell me a Story, please.

I was reminded today of one of the believers greatest treasures...one of our greatest weapons against depression, apathy, discouragement, and unbelief. One of the strongest tools for building up ourselves, or brothers and sisters and the entire church.

That secret weapon..that incredible tool is simply this...

The power of the word of our testimony.

How many times in scripture did the Lord admonish the children of Israel to remember...remember aloud...to each other and to their children, to rehearse what God had done, to tell and re tell the story...to paint His words and works on the door posts of their houses so that they might be reminded in their comings and in their goings, to build alters of remembrance. How many traditions do the Israelies have, even today that stem from the telling of God at work in their midst.

This is one of God's simplest yet greatest lessons that the church today gives very little attention to yet if practiced can build up not only ourselves but the body of Christ. I've seen this practice at work and boy does it work.

Think back to when you've had a mighty work of God in your life... what made it more real? ...the telling of it...

What about when you began to hear of the possibility that God might be bigger than you thought...might work the impossible? had done so for someone you knew or knew of?....

What happened in you when you began to hear of God's workings? Didn't faith rise up inside of you? Didn't you think to yourself...Yes, Amen!...I knew He was like that!...somewhere inside you really already knew He was greater than you had imagined..you only needed to hear the testimony of it to be encouraged and reminded.

There was a time when our church wanted to reach out to our neighborhood (we met in a house church setting)..to let them know that we weren't nuts, nor were we dangeous...:) we were just really serious about the Lord and having the church in our city. We invited people from all the churches we knew who were like us and we all met up in our neighborhood one Sat. morning. We had planned a weekend of meetings at the local highschool and had already invited the neighborhood through flyers, radio ads, etc. Now we took it to the streets. We prayed in the front yard of one of the saints then with banners and poster signs in hand we began marching down the streets of our neighborhood toward the highschool for our first meeting. There were probably about 100 of us and we sang as we went. It was a bright fall day with crispy air and the strength of numbers gives you courage so we sang loud and strong. Many of our neighbors waived as we passed by. It was a beautiful thing...right up until we got almost to the school...suddenly the police arrived...one of our neighbors had called them...and some of them came out on the street to yell at us and shout obscentities at us...but guess what? We had permits and had done everything rightly so the police proceeded to protect us rather than remove us...:) They escorted us into the highschool and advised our unruly neighbors to depart.

Later that day and on through the weekend different neighbors tentatively came into our meetings. They were able to see for themselves that we posed no threat to the neighborhood and actually served the same God many of them did.

Was anyone saved that weekend, you ask? Well not unless you count the brothers and sisters in the church there. The messages preached that weekend became the ground work for a deep move of God in that church. For years afterward the saints there and those who had joined us that day referred back to those meetings as a beginning reference point for an entire eyeopening journey in Christ. (the Lion and His Lioness)..and we had the added benefit of now being "public" in the community...no longer hidden but a light set on a hill. Personlly I will never forget the experience nor what God did that weekend in me, in my children, in my church family. It was deep, powerful, and lasting...and as long as those of us who were there tell the story...well ...you see my point?

This is just one testimony of God's amazing greatness...and I am encourged myself just hearing it again.

So I'm issuing a challenge to you...think back to some times that God has been faithful in your life...to some times when he has moved in you or your family or your situation...remember how good He was then or how miraculously He intervened. Now tell me about it. I don't want to hear about lepers in Africa being healed...I want to hear about something first hand. You can write it here or you can do a post of your own and drop me a line to let me know..but I'd love to see this practice reinstated in the church...the practice of His saints reminding themselves of Who God is, what He has done and just How faithful He really is.

Let us remember... Let us declare our Lord!

...and then let us tell it to our children's children and write it on the doorposts of our hearts!

In the News

I don't know about you but I am very disturbed by the situation happening over in Texas with the 400+ children being taken into protective custody. I know and agree that we as a society must protect the innocent among us and we cannot tolerate physical or sexual abuse of children, that goes without saying. However removing over 400 children from the only life they have ever known as well as their mothers with no evidence of abuse other than the testimony of a 16 yr old who cannot be found and the perception that these people are weird...well this is very distrubing to me. It is a very strange situation but there has to be a better way to handle it. If homeschooling is wrong then many of my friends could be in danger of losing their kids, if wanting to isolate your children from this world is wrong, then many a movie star should be scrutinized for keeping their kids behind walls and bars and having nannies and governesses to shelter their kids from the world. Just because these people are different, are isolated, are naive to our modern world, doesn't make them child abusers. These kids are isolated and naive to our culture, they don't know TV or video games or even dolls and crayons! Their very culture may define abuse but no one knows yet if these things they are accused of are true...and in the mean time hundreds of kids have to be being traumatized by the very government trying to protect them! There has to be a better way!
I heard today that the men of the compound have offered to leave if the government will allow the mothers and children to return to the compound with social workers and guards to watch over them there. This seems like a reasonable idea to me, comfortable familiar surroundings...safe and secure in the only world they have ever known. I realize that no matter what your beliefs, if they transgress the laws of the land, you are subject to those laws and we cannot allow even religious beliefs to cross certain lines... so this must be sorted out... but it is a very difficult situation for everyone involved - parents, children and government officials as well.
There really does have to be a better way! I'm praying someone finds it, I'm praying for everyone involved.

April 18th update:
The state is apparently bringing testimony that several minor girls under the Tx marrying age of 16 either are pregnant or they have given birth before the legal age. From what I am hearing there was/is more concrete evidence of the practice of marrying underaged girls off to older men or men in general with or without the girls' consent other than the sixteen year girl's testimony. This is, of course, unacceptable. Children need protection and either their mothers are unable or unwilling to provide that protection so I would think the state has no choice. So sad.

Guess what?

My youngest daughter started school today! Hooray! She is enrolled in a Dental Assisting program and can go on into Dental Hygiene if she wants..and she wants..it is what she has been interested in for a long time. So glad she's finding a path!
...And to celebrate...
she and I are going here

How cool is that?!?

Proud Mama

He did it !!

Now to get him to shave that beard...:)

In the Motherhood

if you haven't seen this hysterical web show called
In the Motherhood...you have to!
Taken from real life stories from real life moms, each webisode is about 7 minutes long and they are So funny.

Dinner Conversation...

Jada (to her mom) " That Gigi is a special lady....

cause her window goes all the way down"

Gigi (overhearing) "Well that certainly makes me dang special!"

Jada - "and beavers build dams"

Poppi - "That's great cause Gigi being a special lady and beavers building dams goes together. What makes you so funny?"

Jada - "I learned it on Curious George"

The Jersey Boys

If you haven't heard...they've taken the story and songs of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and created a huge Broadway hit. If you get a chance to pick up this CD or see the show...

DO IT!

Its absolutely fabulous!

Jesus' Day

"Jesus' Day"..as Jada says....perhaps more than any other day today is Jesus' Day...yes Christmas is important...He had to be born...yes, Good Friday is important, He had to die...but Hallelujah for Resurrection day!!!!..without it all that prefaced it would have been useless.

Hallelujah!!!

He is alive...without the resurrection...our faith is in vain...

Thank you, Lord for living ..for living in heaven, for living in your Father....for living in the earth through your church...for living in me!

Hallelujah you LIVE!

Taxes

They are done and boy am I glad! I get back all those business losses...:)
I have no time for deep thoughts these days...sorry...

Barlow Girl- Enough

LIF
Lyrics I feel....

All of you, is more than enough for, all of me,

For every thirst and every need,

You satisfy me, with your love,

And all I have of you is more than enough.

You’re my supply, my breath of life,

still more awesome than I know,

You’re my reward, worth living for,

still more awesome than I know.

Love these lines from the Chris Tomlin song

"Enough" I keep hearing them over and over in my head

"still more awesome than i know"

Amen to that!

I have friends who are published!!

Does everyone know that AmyDeanne over at 160 Acre Woods has just published her new book? Way to go AmyDeanne!! I'm thrilled just to know her...and the book is really cool too!

Check it out!

Some stuff going on...

Got a few things going on around here...

Hubby is exploring creative opportunities...lets just leave it at that...

(Jada saw this pic and said "there's Poppi and his little Penelope...that's me!") :)

Daughter got promoted and we are all adjusting to an immediate schedule change requiring lots of nites with Jbear.

Jadabear has learned how to play games on the computer via PBSkids.org .

Gran has been away for several weeks...she's coming home this weekend...for a couple weeks anyway...hooray!

Bekaboo is bringing her!! Hooray! and maybe her hubby too!!

Firstborn is leaving the Toasters...on his last few gigs with them now...he's finishing his MBA and looking to use it.

Me...well I'm still plugging away at this business thang....I'm not too terribly motivated just now so its kinda slow going...but I'm still at it....I try to devote at least 10 minutes per day to thinking on it..usually while I'm in the tanning bed...:)

Planning a winter getaway with hubby in a couple of weeks...to south Florida...yeah...now we're talkin...then I can lie on the beach and think on this business thang....

I think we've decided...

I think we'll be exchanging this

for V day...reminds me of the last time I did this....

:)





Wed update:
Oh yes, I forgot to mention that we'll be going here as well...:)...and you thought we weren't being very romantic...(smiling to myself...)

Ideas please...

V Day is coming up soon...any sweet, preferably a bit unique, ideas I can use?..for my hubby that is...:)

I don't do valentines for the kids...:) they have to get their own...:)

Amazin' ain't it?

I've been in a few church meetings lately and I'm struck by and even amused by what passes for "prophecy" these days...then again it makes me kinda sad that God's people need SO much encouragement to believe Him for even the simplest things. With that thought...here are some really good prophecies for 2008 sent to me via email.

THE TOP TEN PREDICTIONS FOR 2008
1. The Bible will still have all the answers.
2. Prayer will still work.
3. The Holy Spirit will still move.
4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.
5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.
6. There will still be singing of praise to God.
7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.
8. There will still be room at the Cross.
9. Jesus will still love you.
10. Jesus will still save the lost.


and the email I received with these predictions included this pearl of wisdom...perhaps the deepest thing said...
"God whispers in your soul and speaks to your mind. Sometimes when you don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at you. It's your choice: Listen to the whisper, or wait for the brick
I hate that brick!!!!" LOL Gotta agree wholeheartedly with that one! :)

PS I realize this post sounds cynical...its not really...

Judges of all things...

I flipped my bible open to Judges this morning...can you believe that? Judges, of all places! Guess that's what you get when you "flip" open scripture...:)

You know what? I read stuff I don't ever remember reading or hearing before...it was all about the time in the early days of the Israelites settling in the promised land....they sort of wondered around and did as they pleased...and some of it was terrible..they made war and killed unsuspecting villiagers and kidnapped women and consulted priests on the mind of the Lord...one guy actually hired a priest, made an ephod and a teraphim and then made a couple of graven images too, just to cover all his bases, then some members of another tribe came along and stole them...all of them including the priest...?? What was up with that? and somehow God still actually directed them and blessed them...even in their misguidedness...because they were the children of Israel....yet repeatedly its says two things in the passages of scripture that I was reading..it says..."In those days there was no king in Israel"...and it also says "every man did that which was right in his own eyes". Of course I've heard numerous sermons on this subject however this time I was very struck by those two things.

To me it is obvious that the one is very dependent on the other...it seems to me that because there was no king in Israel, every man did that which was right in his own eyes....they tried pretty hard actually to do whatever it was they thought they were supposed to do...and God actually blessed them and their efforts...but it was a very sad effort indeed...almost humorous if you could overlook the death and destruction that followed everywhere. It was strongly implied that things would be different with a king in charge.

The arrival of The King certainly changes everything... even though we may dwell in the place He has led us and are trying really hard, crying out to Him for help and advice...(He may even have bailed us out a few times...He is very merciful that way, you know...)

Still, having The King reigning supreme is the thing that is truly necessary. Having Him in charge relieves us of the necessity of doing what is right in our own eyes.....His eyes replace ours...it frees us to simply live under His banner. How incredible is that!?!

I'm so thankful I don't have to figure it all out myself...that is His job!

Boy did I get an eyefull flipping open to Judges like that!

Regrets

I'm having a few regrets here...ever have any of those?
My Princess is making some things very clear to me...I see it now...The way I spent more time ordering her mommy around than playing Barbies with her...the way I loved to read..to myself that is...but treated reading to her like a chore...and hence she regarded reading as a chore...still does...the way I shushed and shooed her and her siblings away and rarely ever had time for romps in the yard or fort building under the dining room table...but always had time for correcting and chastising and making sure the teeth were brushed and the toys put away...growing up with me as a mom certainly had its drawbacks...and I see them all now so clearly...routine and order and staying within the lines...God help me...I see it all ...a harsh and rigid picture.
If we only knew then what we know now..right?
I know, I know, I shouldn't be so hard on myself...I had 3 kids, I had to keep house and make dinners and lunches and do laundry, monitor homework and drive to baseball and ballet....it all seems like a dream now...was I really just getting by to get by...marking time til "one day" ? Keeping order for God knows what? It surely looks that way...
I am impressed with how sad that really is...how wasted so much of it is and how you never really "get" things til its too late...(why is that?)
I think it has something to do with original sin. Not that I wasn't a believer...I was...and trying so very hard...but this is a perfect illustration of how Adam's screw up has affected me..he screwed up..and infected his kids..then they screwed up and infected theirs and so on all the way to me...so I followed suite and screwed up my kids..no matter how hard I tried I had no chance of doing it right...
But thank the Lord, that's not me now...not that I'm completely liberated from the effects of sin...not quite yet...:) but I have come to understand that today is all we really have...everything changes and life slips away very quickly...as King Solomon said life truly is "just a vapor" and one day "poof" its gone. Thank God mine isn't gone just yet...I still can redeem the time...My Princess is teaching me some valuable lessons and maybe things will be different this time...for her and her cousins to come, at least as far as I'm concerned...that really is why they call it grand, you know...its like a second chance... a chance to right some of the wrongs you were too young and stupid to know were wrongs the first time around...a chance to move a little more slowly and savor the moments that life is made up of....maybe I still have time...time to smell a few flowers, read a few books...build a few forts...

The Princess....

The Princess...

Happy Freedom

Paper and bows have flown to the four winds...dinner has been devoured and dishes are in the wash...Its been a fabulous Christmas season and promises more to come...my son just arrived with his girl and a long New Years weekend lies ahead. We are richly blessed!
This year, for some reason, words from several of the traditional Christmas hymns have hit me squarely between the eyes....as if I had never heard them before, particularly Oh Holy Night.
Now I don't think that Christmas is really any special day as far as God is concerned, actually Jesus was most likely born in the spring...and I imagine Father God is much more impressed with the days His Son died and rose again to live forever. I really don't believe there is magic in this particular day, every day is a day the Lord has made...however the Christmas season does give us opportunity to remember and reflect if we can stop a minute to listen...to really hear the message all around us.
The lines from O Holy Night are part of that message that spoke especially loudly to me this year and very powerful if you really hear them.

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining, It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining. Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!

O night divine, the night when Christ was born; O night, O Holy Night , O night divine! O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!

Truly He taught us to love one another, His law is love and His gospel is peace.

Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother. And in his name all oppression shall cease. Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we, With all our hearts we praise His holy name. Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we, His power and glory ever more proclaim! His power and glory ever more proclaim!

what truth! The world did lay helpless in sin and devastation til He appeared and changed everything. When Jesus came the soul of man could find hope for the very first time....truly it was a new and glorious day.... Everything began to change with the birth of that baby... a day of hope for freedom was born for all mankind....a hope that had only been whispered in the generations before, now began to beat louder and louder in the hearts of those with ears to hear and eyes to see.

His death ansd resurrection fulfilled that great Hope that His birth had allowed...chains were broken...forever...and every slave...which would be you and me...was set free...if only we can see and embrace that reality of realities...

we are free!

He has ended our oppression once and for all!!

With all our hearts we praise His holy name and proclaim His power and glory forever!

I hope you found time to listen this season...

Merry Christmas! and Happy Freedom Day!

Thanksgiving shots

Put em to work, I say! that's sweet potato casserole in the making

Awwww

I know, she looks ragged..but...tree's up.... its magic time :)

Well..now its up...thank goodness for a little help!

Now its headlong into the madness that is Christmas!! yay!

In the Moment

I live in suburban Atlanta....its very typical of suburban southern cities actually....lots of little houses built in the 50s & 60s...some bigger brick ranch houses interspersed...and then some newer subdivisions sprinkled in...with even newer condos and townhouses, and what we fondly call McMansions in the mix...here in GA they are often sitting empty due to the mortgage crisis. There are lots of trees and big yards along side the Walmarts, Walgreens and grocery stores...plenty of churches and yard sales galore on a Saturday. I take a fairly scenic route in to work and for a few miles drive through just such neighborhoods before entering busier more commercial areas. Right now the trees are vibrant with autumn color and the sky is blue..(in case you haven't heard, it has stopped raining in northern Georgia)..the air is brisk and the smell of fall leaves is in the air. One house I pass...a brick ranch with a big yard, has chickens...and occasionally I see one or two out front....they make me smile. I often drive to work through this stretch with my sunroof open even if its chilly....a perfect time and place to spend a few moments with the Lord. I find myself thanking Him for all the good things in life..and right now they are most prominent in my mind...things are good..for me and my hubby, for my children...all the people I love are in pretty good places right now....but I have lived long enough to know that nothing lasts forever and it may not be long until I am spending that drive crying out to Him for mercy and help. Don't get me wrong..I'm not being negative or pessimistic...just realizing fully how wonderful life is at this point in time, yet knowing that trials will certainly come again...
til then, I believe I'll just enjoy living in the moment....
I am consciously taking time to be grateful.....today all is well...

I passed that brick house today with the chickens....today they were ALL out front.....it was quite the contrast to the McMansion just across the street....they made me smile...for now...all is right with the world. Thank you Lord for this moment in time!

New paths

Its been a very busy season in my life lately...I'll share more later about what I've been up to...besides the usual of broken appliances, car repairs, house maintenance, visitors and the like...:) not to mention autumn adventures like the fair... the Apple Festival and the Pumpkin Patch..:)
Trying to keep up any kind of house, spiritual or physical has been challenging to say the least...and unfortunately my blogging has suffered as well.
Did I mention I went to the Opera a couple weeks ago? No, I don't believe I did..:) It was fun and I got to dress up..and I mean really dress up! Not my usual cup o tea but certainly an interesting experience.
Did I tell you my nephew whom we haven't seen much in 20 years came to visit and then my son and his girl? No? well they did...
and the dryer burned out and the chimney got cleaned so we can have a fire as soon as it get cooler...we're almost there... and we had a bonfire and made smores...:) New fun for Jada...:)...my mom too..she had her very first smore...can you believe that??
I'm on a fun kick...well sort of...more like an "experience" kick. See most of my adult life Ive spent exploring and encouraging experiences...new ones and old ones passed on to the next generation...like smores..:)
We didn't do much growing up...as children, our experience was very limited...and when I married my man...which BTW was 31 yrs ago last Friday...he wanted to explore life to the fullest...sounded good to me...so off we went..trying new things, going to new places, meeting new people. its been great..and different..and sometimes weird...but certainly educational...and it has given me a great appreciation for peoples and places everywhere and an ability to enjoy the beauty in the world around me...even if it is outside my own comfort zone...for this I am eternally grateful. Anyway... we have tried to pass this love of adventure and appreciation of things different on to our kids and to a great extent I believe we have been successful. We have also tried and try to expose our kids and now Jada to all the fun things in life we can, and to share those experiences together.
Hence the Pumpkin patch and the Apple Festival...you should have heard my son and daughter reminiscing about when they were kids at their favorite orchard in PA. Nothing like it..:)
This exposure to new experiences has made for lots of memories, great family bonding and opportunities galore for lessons in life, love and Jesus. There is a great amazement in me for the many paths my Lord has allowed me to explore... and I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow from those paths.
Very soon, Nov 1st actually, I'll be embarking on yet another new adventure full of firsts and new experiences...and like anything new, I'm very excited, a little bit nervous and kinda scared......and as with any new thing, I'm sure I will make lots of memories, do some great bonding and learn lessons galore.
I would very much appreciate your prayers as I head off down this new path that He has placed in front of me. Nov 1st I launch my new business
Carte Blanche Assistance.
Take a look and let me know what you think.

GA State Fair

We paid a visit to the North Georgia State Fair
last week with you know who....fun, fun, fun!

We're tired now!

I'm a Pioneer

Labor Day weekend was spent in San Antonio...we got to see lots of interesting things and visited the historic Alamo.

Of course most everyone knows the story of the battle for Texas independence that took place there and the sacrifice made by almost 200 men for the cause of liberty. The total annihilation of those brave men spurred the rest of Texas on to eventually win their independence from Mexico and to go on to become a state in our great nation. Their brave actions have never been forgotten nor should they be for Texas as a state and we as a nation stand on the shoulders of these and a host of other amazing men and women across our country. Our nation's pioneers, men, women and children all, struggled to explore, claim and conquer this great land of ours. They risked much and the cost was often everything but they willing paid the price so that others could go farther than they....so that their children and grandchildren could experience a better life, a life of freedom.

Yes, the frontier was an exotic and intoxicating place. It was wide open where men could roam wild and free...it was lush and beautiful...the land of milk and honey where all your dreams could come true... So incredible and wonderful that it was well worth the risks involved...or so it seemed until they were upon you, I'm sure. Then it became very clear...the frontier could be a dangerous and terrifying place as well. I often wonder if those pioneers second guessed themselves as the rain refused to fall on crops or Indians raided their farms, as sickness or loneliness overwhelmed or as Santa Anna descended upon the Alamo...would they have given anything to be back in the arms of civilization? I'm sure they were just as human as the rest of us and most certainly would have wished it so....but given the option...many, many of them, and not only those at the Alamo but on every American frontier, chose...yes chose, certain death rather than surrender. Their freedom, their right to pursue freedom and the future freedoms of their children depended on gaining and holding new ground. Because of these brave, possibly naive, undoubtedly idealistic pioneers...our nation stands today.

Two sentences jumped out at me when we were touring the Alamo. Sentences that resonated somewhere deep inside of me and I knew in an instant that this was the voice of the Holy Spirit reminding me of who I am and what my calling is about. Reminding me of the place in Christ's body He has called me to.

The first was this:

"Life on the Frontier"
A frontier is both a line between cultures and a place where cultures overlap.

If you read my "Traditional" post you must realize that I am a part of a small segment of Christian society...a tiny portion who cannot subject themselves to the traditions of men when it comes to life in Christ's body, who finds themselves distracted, frustrated, and unfulfilled in a traditional environment. Perhaps I'm a bit of a rebel, perhaps civilization makes me uncomfortable and leaves me feeling confined. All I know is that my spirit longs for the lush and wild freedom of open spaces... so every time I visit civilization(translates traditional church) I find I can only handle it for so long til once again I'm heading out to the frontier....some place where I am free to roam and explore and conquer new land in Him....this is my natural habitat...my calling...it is who He has made me to be since before time... and though I may be idealistic and naive...I believe this land still exists and can be mine for the taking.......I'm most at home living on that frontier line.

Oh I've lived long enough now to know that this freedom doesn't come without a cost and though the land is free, the freedom isn't. Still somehow He gives the grace to keep on keeping on.

Life on the frontier has been costly for me so far and often I have longed for the comparable safety of civilization...but given the option, just as so many of those pioneers before me...I can't seem to go back...I can't chose that safety in exchange for the rewards of frontier life even with the isolation and danger I realize exists and almost certainly await me.


The freedom of the Christian world and of my children's children depends on someone...me if necessary, giving all to gain Christ....and though this may sound arrogant to some, to me it is reasonable and a matter of responsibility.... given that option, and I have been...I chose freedom, abundance, depth of spirit and an enduring connection to others of like passion alongside certain difficulty and sacrifice, ...perhaps even death in the wilderness... if it means a greater future of liberty for the body of Christ. It is my gift to Christ for His Bride, the least I can do.



So this is where I willingly live...on the frontier...that line between cultures..and where cultures overlap...between the traditional church and the non traditional...between religion and freedom..between God's last move and His next one...a no man's land if you will. It is a frightening and dangerous place to be yet awesomely beautiful and Christ filled. I am reminded that no land is gained unless someone goes out there past the current line of civilization to take a stand.


and the second sentence was this, in speaking of the defenders of the Alamo specifically:

All behaved with the bravery peculiar to free men and with a decision becoming of the sacred cause of liberty.

What more needs be said....Lord!...that I may behave with that same bravery...that kind peculiar to free men and women...who willingly give all that others may experience that liberty.

I am them...they are me...or at least very like me as I am inside.....the me He has called me to be....I am a pioneer living on the frontier of Christianity....naive, perhaps...idealistic, most likely....but free, free to roam His realm, free to know Christ in the power of His resurrection...and just possibly participating in pushing the frontier out a little bit farther to a greater freedom for all.

LIF

Lyrics I'm feelin today...
I think you can go here to hear them on YouTube but I can't add the clip to my post..:(

Awesome new song from David Crowder Band!


Everything Glorious!!

The day is brighter here with You
The night is lighter than it's hue
Would lead me to believe
Which leads me to believe

(chorus)
You make everything glorious
You make everything glorious
You make everything glorious
And I am Yours
What does that make me?

My eyes are small but they have seen
the beauty of enormous things
Which leads me to believe
there's light enough to see that

(chorus)
You make everything glorious
You make everything glorious
You make everything glorious
And I am Yours

From glory to glory
You are glorious
You are glorious
From glory to glory
You are glorious.
You are glorious
Which leads me to believe
why I can believe that

You make everything glorious
You make everything glorious
You make everything glorious
And I am Yours


So much to be said for these lyrics...
We all know the day is glorious and a reflection of Who He is but as said here...even the night is not as dark as would be implied because of Who He is...He also created the night and even the darkest of nights are made glorious because of Him...He is light even there...ever tried squeezing your eyes shut tight in a dark room...when you open them again...wal laa... you can see...maybe only the dark outlines of shapes.. but there is a certain amount of illumination. I am reminded that even darkness is glorious in Him...it has His light and His purposes...

I love the line that says
"My eyes are small but they have seen the beauty of enormous things"

I have seen Him and some measure of His glory...which leads me to believe that God is greater...greater than I could ever think or imagine...my small glimpse has changed my life.

Squeeze your eyes shut real tight...then open them up and see Him...He is Glorious! He has made YOU glorious.... He makes all things Glorious!

Have a Glorious weekend!

Sights From Texas

The gorgeous Riverwalk in San AntonioVisit to Threadgill's (birthplace of Austin's music scene) . Nobody told us, we found this place on a fluke. It has an amazing history and was really fun to see.
daughter and hubby, the greatest attraction in Tx as far as we're concerned..:)
Cabela's...we've gotten the catalogues forever but this store takes the cake...it covers acres, really!

Me and hubby practicing our aims.... he outscored us all..."good eye honey!"
A trip out to the western town of Banderas..can you see the cowboys riding off into the sunset in the distance...this town was the real mccoy!

Yummy orchards...pickled okra, apple butter...ummm!

The Alamo

I was here last weekend...


I walked down this hallway ...and was reminded of some things that have been embedded in my spirit for as long as I can remember...maybe I'll share a bit when I get the chance...
Hope your holiday weekend was good.

What "Traditional" means to me

becky's comment on my last post caused me to think about describing my idea of the "traditional" church...you know its really hard to get on the same page with people and all of us are coming from our own matrix, the view we have as determined from our upbringing, secular forces, current times and lingo....
to many people the word traditional in the context of church, brings to mind something high and orthodox...Catholic, Episcopal, or Anglican, something with robes and ceremony...to others it means the church of their fathers...which could be Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Pentecostal, with hearty preaching and singing... and more programs than you can shake a stick at.
The newer more casual churches...the mega churches, seeker churches, contemporary churches, and the like, even most house churches..these are what most consider to be outside of tradition...to be cutting edge...God's new move...and well they may be...He is never still, constantly moving though sometimes it appears it is two steps forward and three steps back...however none of these really fit into my mentality of being truly outside of tradition..though in some aspect they may be, still each of them fits into the basic mold of "how to have church" mostly made up by man.

This factor in its self is what makes them all traditional to me.

No matter how you dress them up each of them still has the basic "one person leading everyone else sitting in front of them listening" the "clergy/laity" mentality...the "greater/lesser" mentality... this works just fine for a while, after all, the disciples sat at Jesus' feet and listened....they followed Him around and watched too...and for a while they did a few little chores for Him and with Him...but one day all that came to an end...He physically left them...then the Church was born and She was glorious! and He was alive in Her, living on the earth again!
...too big, too wild and too wonderful to fit into the traditions of men....She met everywhere She could, every time She could, in every scenario imaginable...with or without someone to stand in front of Her and explain how it was done...She was in close communion with Her Lord and She figured it out as She went along, He stood in front of Her and explained how it should be done....she exploded the bonds of tradition and touched Him in ways never before seen or imagined. It took several hundred years before man could get the harness back on her... but of course over time she calmed down like a good girl and man could once again get in front of Her... in the traditional way....which is where the church stands today in most places you look.....containable and managable...dare I say broken...or at least bridled.

....but let me tell you this...shhh let me whisper it lest "they" hear...and you know who "they" are.... :)

Around the world there are exceptions to this standard...there are small pockets of resistance....saints who meet together in ways other than the "traditional"....ways that might seem strange to other believers...but brothers and sisters are there...seeking Him out...living gloriously as the Church, often by trial and error, but as much as possible, considering our modern matrix, following Him outside of tradition... Let me tell you, She still exists with the same wild and uncontainable exuberance of Acts...She still lives in freedom...and, I hate to break it to you...its almost always outside of tradition....
Needless to say, that is where I want to be...Free to love Him, to follow Him, to explore His realm....I truly hope this is the kind of Christian experience you are living in...the kind with Him in front!

Can you tell that when it comes to church, I'm not into tradition?

Jesus Freak

I found this to be very interesting....I learned a few things about my own history...and if we care to look, about the history of the church in this country.

Growing up in the late 70's I have nothing but incredible memories of the Jesus Movement. The Deep South was at least 5, maybe 10 years behind the west coast as far as this movement was concerned so as far as Alabama went I grew up smack dab in the middle of it....and let me tell you...it left an indelible mark. What a time it was...the Jesus Movement swept across my community like a tidal wave...washing everything in its path with freedom, joy, excitement... and trouble....like all new movements with the imprint of Christ, it was fought against tooth and nail by the religious traditional Christians of the day...don't think it doesn't happen even still..it is simply the way of mankind to resist change and anything we do not understand.
How could long haired, unkempt, psalm singing, blue jean wearing, miracle believing, street evangelizing kids possibly be touched by God, saved by God, cleansed by God or accepted by God?!? How could these ragged, heathen looking, often heathen acting, young people possibly know anything of God or His ways or lead anyone else to Him?? It was beyond the imagination or scope of many...especially those heretofore regarded as pillars in the church.
But see Him, know Him and love Him we did....
well, not me exactly at first....I was knee deep in the traditional world...but I couldn't help but be drawn to this exuberant fresh display of the body of Christ, this living witness of the Holy Spirit, by the reality of what I saw happening,,..not only in the very churches who were fighting this so strongly but i the entire community. Fortunately, a tiny church pastored by my 2nd cousin (once removed for all you Southerns) opened their doors to these masses of young people in our area who were seeking they knew not what...and they found it there in that full gospel, spirit filled little church. Before long the congregation of about 50 was completely over run...the "movement" led by the Holy Spirit Himself took charge and we were caught up in the wave. Famous speakers came to our small town...to "speak", "lead revivals", and generally see what was going on...stirred by these men of God, traditional youth groups ventured out enmasse to find out what was happening locally and at my cousin's tiny church, which seemed to be one of the few places in the immediate area allowing the kinds of things written of in scripture and who was embracing the Jesus people...these youth groups..enmass, got saved upon being in one or two meetings and never went back to their traditional churches...much to their parents dismay and their churches relief....one night an entire football team got saved in a random prayer meeting we held weekly...they never went back to their traditional church either....this phenomena was spreading all across town...deacons were furious....Sunday School teachers were frantically teaching the Four Spiritual Laws...teen agers were asked to sit down and shut up or leave...so leave they did..and soon after their parents followed...supposedly to keep an eye on the kids....our little church in particular, now counting in the hundreds...and others in the area were filling up...with crazy on fire for God fanatical Jesus Freaks! It was wild...fantastic....unbelievable...incredible...it was happening spontaneously all over north Alabama and I was a part of it...gloriously blessed to see hundreds of people both young and not so young come to Christ...almost like magic...all that was needed was to breathe His name and they fell on their faces crying out for Salvation...one local high school (public, mind you, lest you think it was a Christian school) shut down for several days to allow the students time with God after classes had to be stopped for lack of attendance with kids crying and praying in the halls...I know what you're thinking...no, I'm not exaggerating...at all...gangs of youth went out weekly to witness to the homeless, the drug addicts and just kids hanging at the local hangouts...more got saved, addicts were delivered, sick were healed young and old alike...miracles happened daily...it was almost more than an average person could absorb...we were caught up in some supernatural tsunami with no explanation and no end in sight.
By now I had completely abandoned my traditional upbringing for the much more exciting and frankly the more realistic of the two worlds...I was living right in the middle of the book of Acts...and needless to say...like the disciples of old, I was, have been and forever more am changed....many were....of course some were along for the the ride..thats how it always is...but many many were marked forever with His mark and still today, 30 years later, follow Him. ..of coursel all good things must come to an end..and the furor of the Jesus Movement eventually died down..though as the linked article mentions..modern mega church may never know how much they owe to those glorious days....that tiny little church of 50 now boasts regular attendance of 4000+ and counting....

As for me, I will never again settle for what was before...I will always know...no matter what the Christian churches of today look like...that there is more...there is something deep and spiritual, real and non surface ...and completely un-containable...There is Christ! ...who if He so choses can sweep in like a flood and overwhelm any society on earth.

Personally I believe that many Christians who lived through that era are the very ones drifting, unsettled and unhappy with church and their spiritual walk as it is today. Yes, there was sin mixed in with the glory...yes there was a lot of misunderstanding...yes the Jesus Freaks took things perhaps too far or interpreted things in a weird new way....and though there was much to be found fault with.... the free love, the God accepts everyone as they are, never judge anyone mentality of the day...Oh wait...maybe that was the part we should be holding onto....
all I know is that I, as well as the Church at large, was forever marked...and some of us are never going back...never forgetting what He did...what He has done...what He is capable of...even in our limited understanding... cause you know...the spirit of Jesus is the spirit of prophesy...what He has done..He will do...
He is the same yesterday,today and forever

She's Baaack!

Isn't this a fantastic idea for a meme...not that i have time to do it..but I'd love reading yours...like this one over at Gina's