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."

and now..a Jadaism

Jada (a new kindergardener): "We have a new girl in our class, she's blind and uses a white cane."

My Mom: "How can the teacher teach her anything since she can't see?"

Jada: "Well she doesn't have an ear infection."

Duh :)

LIF

Having a LIF moment(see this post for reference).....I'm liking the words to this song....

I can't remember the last time I heard a contemporary Christian song that spoke so much Truth. I hope Christians are listening..., anything else really is NOT us.



Identity
John Waller

You are love

So I am love

You are joy

And so I am, joy

You are peace

So I am peace

Lord everything you are

Now becomes me

The line between

Where you begin

And where I end

Is gone, now I'm in… YOU,



(Chorus)


I know who I am

You're my true, born identity

I'm not the one I used to be

For now there is no separating You…from who I am



You are strong

So I am strong

You are power

And so I am…powerful

You are mercy

So I am mercy

Cause everything you are

Has now become me



Anything less is not us

Anything less is not us

Anything else is not who we are