Extravagance

On the news they say that Shaquille Oneill is divorcing his wife and selling his house for 32 million dollars. Does anyone else find this amazing? How can anyone justify living in a house like that? Is a 5 million dollar house just not enough? Imagine how much good could be done if he settled for a 2 million dollar house and donated the 30 million to help the poor. How many $100,000 dollar homes could be bought for 30 million? If my math serves me right isn't it 300??


Yesterday I got a Tourneau catalog in the mail. I guess this store is at the Galleria. I quickly gave Steve a note and told him to add this watch to my Christmas Wish List.
After all it only cost $47,350.00. It consists of 551 diamonds and an alligator strap. Then I repented and told him I would settle for the least expensive watch in the catalog as it was only $895.00. Can you believe it? People actually spend these kind of prices for a watch? My luck I would forget I had it on and the next thing you know it would be in the shower or even worse the pool, since I am used to wearing my $35.00 waterproof watch.

How is it that some people will pay more for a car than we paid for our house? There are just so many other things that people with money could be doing with their money besides being extravagant. Like Becky, I enjoy reading Larry James blog to keep me in touch with the reality of how many people have to live in our country, much less the world as a whole.

May we all be better stewards of the blessings God has given us and share what we can with those that are in need, after all "the Lord loves a cheerful giver".

Time Expired

Well if you have read Tobin's blog she has posted about what kind of funeral she wants (and for those of you that don't know her, she says she wants to be put on a raft and put out to sea and then someone shoot an arrow of fire and torch her???). Today I got this email and thought it was humorous. I guess a lot of people think of their burial plans ahead of time. I will have to really start thinking more creatively!!

This woman died, but had a great sense of humor and always used to say that when she died she wanted a parking meter on her grave that says "Expired". Her nephew bought her one on ebay! She said that her grave is right by the road so everyone will be able to see it. Many people have stopped to get a chuckle.

I Love Lucy

I was looking through a ministry catalogue tonight and saw that there is an I Love Lucy Bible study. Now I don't know about you but this really appeals to me!! I knew there was a Mayberry Bible Study and a Beverly Hillbillies study. Now there is also a Gilligan's Island too. But for me it would have to be I Love Lucy. I might just order the series to see how they make spiritual applications of Vita-meata-vegamin, or the episode with her eating spaghetti in the booth next to William Holden, or smashing the grapes in Italy or climbing over Richard Widmark's fence to get a grapefruit or getting caught in the freezer. If I was creative maybe I could think of the points here, maybe if Carolyn is reading she can do it for us because she is so much more creative in her writing than I am. Anyway...I do love to laugh at Lucy.

Hope you are all planning on joining in with a Life Group this Sunday. Whatever you study you will be blessed by the relationships that you will make.

It Is Finished

Well I finished the jigsaw puzzle tonight at 8:23. There is just a feeling of accomplishment after completing a puzzle. It is almost anti-climatic. And just like I feared, it was missing 2 pieces!! I am sure they are in Ruidoso somewhere (where Andrea and I first started assembling this puzzle). Anyway...Here it is:

The two missing pieces.

You can't tell real good but it had little vinettes in it of the prodigal son, the good samaritan, the good shepherd and the sower. The sheep were the hardest as they were all so similar. It was a good distraction while it lasted :)

Holiday Traditions

There are certain things I like to do on certain holidays. On Thanksgiving I watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. On New Years I watch the Rose Bowl Parade. On Labor Day I watch the Jerry Lewis Telethon. So I was really disappointed today when the telethon got preempted for a golf game!!! I guess that Time Warner televised it on another channel, but I missed that announcement and it was on channel 15 labeled as Leased Access?? But it did come back on for the last hour and I got to cry once again as I listened to Jerry sing "You'll Never Walk Alone". There are so many stories of so many families living with such horrible diseases but they live day to day hoping for a cure. So I passed the day channel surfing while I worked on a 750 piece jigsaw puzzle. I will have to post a picture of it when it is finished. I always have this nightmare that I will do all this work and get down to the end and a piece is missing! Hope you all had a great day!!

I Am An Addict

Yes, I am here to admit that I need to join a support group. I am an addict. I have tried to beat this addiction on my own and I just can't do it. I thought I had it beaten for a few months, but it has got the best of me again. Since I have confessed this to you all, I will go ahead and tell you what I am addicted to. I hope you will not think any less of me. The truth of the matter is I am addicted to children! I just love them. They bring such joy to my heart! I don't know how I thought I could not be in ministry with them? So a few weeks ago I heard the Lord whisper to me that just because I am not a children's minister right now, it doesn't mean I can't still minister to children. So Steve and I have volunteered to help in the 5th and 6th grade Sunday Morning class. This is a great group of kids and we will enjoy being able to learn from them. Then tonight I got to practice with the CAREkids! They were so very sweet! How in the world can MacKenzie Stevens and Katie Siburt be old enough to be a CAREkid? Granted they opened CAREkids up to Kindgergartners this year, but still. I will be blessed to sing some Christmas carols with them for their Christmas program this year.

So just when I think I have this addiction whipped, one of those little ones gives me a hug and I am a goner. I am glad the Lord has given me that passion and I really do hope that I never get tired of the fix or cured of this addiction!

Repetitive Movie Watching

Last night the movie "Everafter" came on and even though I had seen it four times, I could not resist staying up (past my Saturday night bedtime) and watching it again. I just love this movie! It is for sure my favorite Drew Barrymore movie. I don't exactly know what the appeal is? Just a nice clean romance movie I guess. There are very few movies that I like to watch a second time, much less 4-5 times. These are some of my other favorite movies to repeat:
Gone With The Wind
Sound of Music
All the Shirley Temple Movies
Sleepless In Seattle
You Got Mail
Green Berets
Pollyanna

What are some of yours?

Treasured Hymns

Today my sweet husband surprised me with a gift--a new Ipod. He thought I would enjoy it on the plane ride to Kauai in October. I spent the day finding music to download and then will add some of my favorite songs from albums. While I was searching I found a Casting Crowns version of "Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus". I just started crying. I wish we would sing the old hymns more often for they continue to speak to my heart. It is indeed sweet to trust in my Jesus.

Hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!


’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
And to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise,
And to know, “Thus says the Lord!”

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust Him more!

O how sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to trust His cleansing blood;
And in simple faith to plunge me’
Neath the healing, cleansing flood!

Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life and rest, and joy and peace.

I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.

Inconsiderate Shopper

Today I thought I would try a different venue for my grocery shopping and went to the Walmart Neighborhood grocery. I used one of the electric scooters because it was the once a month big day shopping. Not once, not twice, but three times I just had to sit and wait for another person to let me by. I would be going one direction they would pull their basket up in front of me going the opposite direction and then just stand there and peruse the shelves. I could not get around them and just had to wait patiently until they were finished. I did finally say "excuse me" and one person moved. I just found this to be very annoying. It would of only taken a moment of their time to move and let me by. I don't know why they were so inconsiderate. I think people just get too intent on their "own" business and forget there are others around and then again maybe I just need to be more patient. The other day Steve and I were at a restaurant and I walked in on my crutches and not one person offered to let me sit. Not even the parents who were standing and their two children ages 8 and 6 (just a guess) were sitting. Once again perhaps I shouldn't think I should have special consideration, but I just pray when I am totally well that I will remember to be much more considerate to the handicapped.

IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS

Merry Trujillo sent me this through an email and I thought I would share it with all of you. After you read it, I will give my thoughts on it.

DEAR GOD:
I want to thank You for what you have already done. I am not going to wait until I see results or receive rewards; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until I feel better or things look better; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until people say they are sorry or until they stop talking about me; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until the pain in my body disappears ; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until my financial situation improves; I am! going to thank you right now. I am not going to wait until the children are asleep and the house is quiet; I am going to thank you right now. I am not going to wait until I get promoted at work or until I get the job; I am going to thank you right now. I am not going to wait until I understand every experience in my life that has caused me pain or grief; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until the journey gets easier or the challenges are removed; I am thanking you right now. I am thanking you because I am alive. I am thanking you because I made it through the day's difficulties. I am thanking you because I have walked around the obstacles. I am thanking you because I have the ability and the opportunity to do more and do better. I'm thanking you because FATHER, YOU haven't given up on me.

There are verses in the Bible that cause me to think "Will I ever obtain that?" I Thessalonians 5:16-18 is one of those verses "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." God's will for me is that I am joyful, prayerful and thankful. I struggle with all three. Unfortunately, my flesh nature is more pessimistic than optimistic, more critical than praiseworthy, more complaining than thankful. But I am thankful for days like today when an email reminds me of the goal and returns my thinking to where it needs to be. I pray that I can be continually giving thanks for all circumstances. Thanks Merry for the reminder!

My Ma'ma'

So as promised her is a post about my mother (I tenderly call her ma'ma'). As I mentioned yesterday my mother had me when she was 17 years old. She turned 18 a month after I was born, so needless to say she was very young when I was born. But fortunately she had great support from grandparents on both sides of the family. When I was three my mother recommitted her life to the Lord and from that point on was faithful to involve me and my brothers in the life of the church. Her father was an elder in the church. My birth father did not go to church with us although he never kept us from going. My mother always made sure we had the best she could provide. We had a lot of fun times with aunts, uncles and cousins. One of my favorite Christmas memories was a year when I could not decide between a Betsy Wetsy doll and a Bride doll, so I told Santa to bring me either one and to my surprise I got both of them!! My mom always made all the holidays very special.

My mother has always been a very private person so I will not post what happened in our family that resulted in a divorce when I was 12. Through no fault of my mother she was left with three children to care for and only a high school diploma. She received a whopping $150.00 per month child support. but she got a job as a Head Start aide and provided for us the best she could. I don't remember the time frame but she eventually became the secretary for our church. Then when I was 15 the Lord brought a wonderful Christian man into her life and ours and they were married. As I said yesterday we became a family of 6.

From the get go we were family, not a step family. We never referred to each other as "step".
My parents made sure that we had open communication and we had family "pow-wows" where everyone would go around the table and say what was on their mind. If you were the object of someone else's concern you were not allowed to argue or defend. You just made a commitment to try and do better in the future. And they let us bring up things about them as well. It worked for us.

My mother has always been my greatest supporter and cheerleader. Since I didn't get married until I was 36, she was my travel partner. We had some great trips together and have some very special memories. My favorite was a fall tour we took that included Bush Gardens. I got her on a water ride promising her that we would not get wet (because I didn't at Six Flags) but we got absolutely swamped! And if you ever meet her you will have to ask her about the man that offered to take our bags at the New Jersey airport ("my car is just out back" he said, and guess who was going to follow?)

There is so much more I could tell you about my mother, but I will close by just saying I really don't know how I would have made it through these past 28 months without her. She has taken such good care of me. Not just physically (although she has worked endlessly at my house) but emotionally and spiritually all the while also taking care of my dad whose health has taken a drastic turn for the worse in the past year. She has an inner strength that I have always admired. Her own life has been riddled with tragedy (her father died when I was 5, her mother died of leukemia when I was 19, she lost a sister to tuberculosis when she was 16, she lost a brother, niece, nephew, and brother-in-law all in one car accident, she lost a sister to an alcoholic driver, she lost a sister to cancer) and yet her faith in the Lord has remained strong.
God has always been at the center of her heart. I am thankful that she showed us what a surrendered life looked like. She did not just "talk the talk" but she walks it in unconditional love for all of us to see. She has sacrificed so much for me, but always makes me think it is her pleasure to do so. Never guilts me about anything. I am so very blessed!

I love you ma'ma'. Happy Belated Birthday Post!

Belated Birthdays Blog

Today was Steve's 55th birthday. Late last night as I was lying awake, waiting to fall asleep it dawned on me that while I have told you a lot about Steve this month, I did not Blog about my sister Caren on her birthday, nor my mom on hers, nor either of my brothers on theirs. See we have a lot of August birthdays!! So let me just tell you a little about each of them and what they mean to me.

Brad's birthday was on the 4th and he was 45. Brad is the baby of our family. I remember when my mother was pregnant I so much wanted her to be having a girl, so I had fun dressing toddler Brad up in my walking doll clothes (tights, hat and all!!). When I was 15 we became a blended family and we went from three kids to six. Brad was still the youngest (Five teenagers and Brad was 6). Therefore he never could get a word in edge wise and grew up being more quiet than the rest of us. By the time he was 10, all of us had left home. So then he became an only child and was blessed to have all my parents attention focused on him. He was really good at sports and they were able to support him in all that he did. He is now a great father to two girls Alyssa and Aly and he has been their coach and has supported them in all of their activities . They all live in Olympia Washington so I don't get to see them very often. My favorite story about Brad is that when I moved back home to go to graduate school he was a teenager and one day asked me if I would iron something for him. I told him I would be glad to teach him how to iron to which he replied "why? I am going to get married some day". Well, thankfully he did not keep that chauvinistic attitude and is quite a great cook! I have admired Brad's strength in the midst of his own tragedy and his love and support during mine.

Brent's birthday was on the 10th and he turned 52. Brent is the middle child (2 years younger than I). Our relationship was a little bit more combative as kids because we were so close in age. The memory I goad him with is I had been left to babysit he and Brad and we were having soup for lunch. Brent wanted a cracker (or two) and I told him he could not have any until the soup was ready and I promptly took them away from him to which he punched me so hard in the stomach it knocked the wind out of me (and he ate the crackers). I also bear a scar on my hand from when I was in high school and was knocking on his window for him to let me in the house (I didn't have my key) and he was sleeping so soundly he could not hear me and I knocked so hard the window broke and my arm went through it. Today Brent lives in Denver and has three children. The light of his life is his 6 year old granddaughter Alyvia. Brent is also a good father, but the thing I admire the most about him is that he never settles. He is always trying to better himself and goes into job interviews convincing people the mistake they would be making if they did not hire him. He has a good sense of his value.

My sister Caren's birthday was the 24th and she was 53. When our parents married she was 14 and I was 15 (another sister Cathy was 15, and brother Steve was 16). The amazing thing is when I think about Caren I can't really remember when she wasn't my sister. We have always been blessed with a good relationship. She even named her daughter after me (Danette Lynn).
She has two children Daniel and Danette and they all live in Denver. Caren got married right out of high school and her husband was in the service so we have never been blessed to live close to one another and yet we have this great relationship because we share a strong love for the Lord. I love her even more today because she is taking me with her to Hawaii in October (just kidding). Anyway, the thing I admire the most about Caren is her constant optimistic attitude. She always looks on the positive side of things. She has had to live the life of a parent with a prodigal child and has done so with the love of Jesus.

And finally there is my mother who turned ?? on the 18th. She would probably not like me to tell you how old she is so let's just say she had me when she was 17 and I turned 54 on the 26th of July. So this post isn't an hour read I will post more about my mom tomorrow. Because I have a lot I want to share with you about her.

I am thankful for the family God has blessed me with. I just wish we all lived in the same city so we could be with each other more often. Unfortunately, none of us are very good emailers, or callers with each other. Everyone communicates well with my mom and she keeps us all up to date on each other. So check back tomorrow to learn more about her.

Moutain Top of God

Several years ago I heard Joe Beam give the testimony of his life and I remember that he said something like this "if God told me that I could go back and live my life over I would ask Him, 'but would I be as close to you as I am now?' God would say 'No, but you would have the chance to make new choices'. I would say 'no thank you, I would rather have the relationship that we have now.' I am not there yet...I think I was closer to God prior to my accident 28 months ago. However, there are things I have learned that I would not have known then. This thought came to me as I heard this song from Third Day today. The lines that caught my attention were "That I must go through the valley To stand upon the mountain of God" I look forward to being on the mountain top one day!

MOUNTAIN TOP OF GOD
Third Day

Thought that I was all alone
Broken and afraid
But You were there with me
Yes, You were there with me
And I didn't even know
That I had lost my way
But You were there with me
Yes, You were there with me
'Til You opened up my eyes
I never knew
That I couldn't ever make it
Without You
Even though the journey's long
And I know the road is hard
Well, the One who's gone before me
He will help me carry on
After all that I've been through
Now I realize the truth
That I must go through the valley
To stand upon the mountain of God
As I travel on the road
That You have lead me down
You are here with me
Yes, You are here with me
I have need for nothing more
Oh, now that I have found
That You are here with me
Yes, You are here with me
I confess from time to time
I lose my way
But You are always there
To bring me back again
Sometimes I think of where it is I've come from
And the things I've left behind
But of all I've had, what I possessed
Nothing can quite compare
With what's in front of me
With what's in front of me
(After final Chorus)
I thought that I was all alone
Broken and afraid
But, You are here with me
Yes, You are here with me.

Happiness Scale

Briefly watched a portion on Oprah today and she was discussing happiness with a doctor. She said you could go online at Oprah.com and take a test, so I did. My score was in the medium range (not real high, but not low) then there was this quote:
"Dr. Holden says the key to being happy is overcoming "destination addiction," which he defines as "living in the not-now." "It's always about tomorrow, so you're chasing 'more,' 'next' and 'there,'" he says. "You promise yourself that when you get there, you'll be happy. And I promise you, you won't, because you'll always set another destination to go for." Instead, Dr. Holden says if you are unhappy with your life or looking to improve your score, there are two things you can do. "We have to learn to let go of our past, we have to give up all hopes for a perfect past. Let the past go, it's gone." After that, he says, "Take a vow of kindness. Be kinder to yourself and to others."
So the key? Don't live in the future or the past, live today. Too bad Dr. Holden doesn't know that Jesus already told us that in Matthew 6:34. Too bad I don't remember that in my own life as I am guilty of that "destination addiction", thinking that "if only" it would be better. Again if I embraced Philippines 4:11 and Hebrews 13:5 I would be content with today. I am thankful we have a Father who is full of grace and mercy, because I am way too human!!!!

Another Tuesday Post

Yeah! My guy Will Bigham won "On The Lot".

AND

My guy Terry Fator also won "America's Got Talent". Interesting that he was from Mesquite and the other finalist Cas Haley was from Arlington.

But...the worst thing about the evening was having to listen to David Hasselhoff sing "This Is The Moment". Why does this guy think he can sing? Too bad they couldn't have pushed the "X" box on him!!!

Walmart Observations

Sure hope I don't offend anyone with this post. Today I waited in the car at Walmart while my mom picked up a prescription. My car was on the end facing the front door so I began observing all the people coming in and out. I could not help but notice there are a lot of Walmart shoppers who do not have much fashion or common sense. Here some things I said to myself as I was sitting there.
If you are wearing aqua capris, don't put a grey mans t-shirt with them.
-Why were you carrying a package of boxes (the kind you put together) where you could not see where you were walking instead of pushing them in a cart?
-Do you really think that tugging and twisting the back of your husbands pants is going to keep him from falling? (he was elderly, he would have been better off with a walker or cane)
-If you have to keep pulling up your top over your breast as you walk, perhaps you would do better with something with straps?
-Do you not have white underwear to wear under your white shorts?
-Lady, have you not heard about the damage that 2nd hand smoke does to children?
-If cell phones are not bad enough, now every other person has an earphone? (I am sure it is so their significant other can call them if they forgot something)
-A white bra with straps with a black tube top makes what kind of sense?
-Should women over 60 really wear biker shorts?
-Should people 50 pounds overweight wear shorts in public (yes I know this applies to me and I don't)
-And don't get me started on all the women's choices of dress shoes with casual shorts (why does anyone want to walk in Walmart with high heeled shoes on?)

I may be really wrong, but something tells me if I had been sitting in the parking lot of Dillards or Macy's today I would not have seen the same thing.

On another note my mom and I ate lunch at Cheddar's and it was fun seeing all the school teachers in their different school t-shirts all dressed alike. Could not help but wonder why there are so many more female teachers than males? Guess the same reason there are more female Bible class teachers than males.

A Voice In the Wind

Tonight I finished a book entitled "A Voice in the Wind" by Francine Rivers. Sarah Snyder had told me about this book (which is the first in the Mark of the Lion series) several years ago and I had gone out bought all three books. I had tried reading this first book two other times and just could not get into it. This time I started it in Ruidoso and have anxiously awaited each moment to continue to read it. So I immediately picked up the 2nd book "An Echo in the Darkness" and began it hoping to find out what happened to Haddassah. I know some of you have already read this series, and for those of you that haven't you will want to. I found it convicting of my own faith and how much do I really trust in the Lord even when I do not understand the whys? Haddassah was a Christian slave when they were persecuting Chrisitians simply for Roman entertainment. I think all of us have contemplated if we would be bold in the midst of persecution. I would like to think so, but what if you were a mother watching your children die? I remember years ago hearing a story from the Book of Maccabees of a mother with seven sons who appeared before King Antiochus of Syria. He wanted each to deny God and began with the oldest. As each refused the torture became worse and worse (including scalping, cutting out tongues, etc) until he came to the youngest and he told the mother to convince him to deny God or he would die the worst of all. She said to her son "look at the sky and earth my son and remember who made them from nothing. Do not fear. Be worthy of your martyred brothers." After killing the last son, then the mother was killed as well. I cannot fathom the strength that it would take to endure such, but I am thankful for those that have laid down their lives in a way that allows the rest of us to take hope that we would be able to be strong for the Lord as well if He ever asked that of us.

Too Friendly?

In the last week I have had two men be "friendly" and left me wondering were they "too friendly?" The first was at the airport when I landed in El Paso. The steward pushing my wheelchair was very verbal, but then he kept patting me on the shoulder. Then after he put the luggage in the trunk he came and closed the door for me and again patted me on the shoulder. I knew he was just being nice but it did make me feel rather uncomfortable. Then yesterday at the grocery store the little Asian man taking my groceries out for me asked me how I hurt my leg. He then stopped the cart and patted me on the shoulder. Then I got in the car as he finished putting the groceries in the trunk of my car. I rolled down the window to tell him thank you and he came and took my hand and kissed it. Once again I knew this was a sweet gesture, but it made me feel uncomfortable. I don't know why the compassionate touch of both of these men made me feel uncomfortable, perhaps it should not have. I guess I am just not used to such gestures of compassion from total strangers. I am sure if I had not had crutches or a cane they would not shown the same concern. What do you think?

Happy Birthday Steve!

Today is Steve's 31st spiritual birthday. I wish I knew the date of my baptism (all I know is the year). Anyway...Steve likes celebrating today more than his physical birthday. He wouldn't give me any gift ideas and I was at a loss, so I just tried to make him a special dinner. I put a tablecloth on the kitchen table with cloth napkins, candles and our china. I made his favorite meal which is meatloaf (but tried a new recipe) and a sugar free chocolate pie. Fortunately to Steve this was a really big deal and he was so appreciative.

Thanks to all of you who commented on the last post about our anniversary, let me continue our story in telling you about why I am so thankful for this sweet man God has given me to call husband. Steve became a Christian while he was in the Air Force. His little brother went to VBS with a friend and that church contacted Steve's parents and studied with them (they had been Methodist) They watched the Jewel Miller filmstrips and then they shared them with Steve (he was in North Dakota at the time). Steve made the decision to get out of the Air Force to go to Preston Road School of Preaching. After graduating he was not able to find a pulpit position because of being single, so he fell back on his accounting skills and degree. Preston Road is where he met Mark and Kay Henderson who ended up coming to San Benito and introducing the two of us. Now skip to our story in California...

When Steve came out to California on Memorial Day Weekend, I had planned a week full of activities (Chino Air Museum, Spruce Goose, Queen Mary, Universal Studios, etc.) I mentioned I had been praying for a sign. The first thing I asked is for God to show me that Steve was a spiritual leader. At 36 I had struggled to find a man who was a spiritual leader and being raised in a family where my birthfather was not a Christian, this was really important to me. Well, when I told Steve of the week's agenda he said "this sounds fun, but I would like us to start each day having a devotional time together". That first morning we began in 1 Peter and talked for 4 hours!!!!

When Steve proposed to me he promised that he would do his best to follow Ephesians 5:25 and love me the way Christ loved the church. I can honestly say that he has kept that promise.

The thing I love most about Steve is His love for the Lord and for His word. He is so much more disciplined than I am and for the 18 years we have been married he has read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation every year but one (one year he decided to try a different method of study)

If he already didn't have my deepest respect add on the past two years where he has absolutely sacrificed everything to take care of me and make sure that I have the best care possible. He has been amazing at holding down his own job and taking care of so many more responsibilities at home and making sure that I did not want for anything.

So I am very thankful for this day when my husband was reborn and became a servant of the Lord. I am indeed the grateful recipient of the unconditional love he pours on me because of the unconditional love that has been poured out on him.

I love you Steve! Happy Birthday! I am so thankful that the Lord blessed me with such a wonderful husband!

18 Years and Counting

Today Steve and I celebrated 18 years of marriage. We worshipped together at Highland Oaks and then went to Ralph and Kocos in McKinney for lunch. We had never been there. Typical of our eating experiences I really enjoyed mine, but Steve not so much. I had a shrimp medley plate and he had a seafood platter. I think if he would have asked for tartar sauce he might have enjoyed it better. We then went to see Bourne Ultimatum. Not a romantic movie, but nevertheless we both enjoyed it. Also a testimony of how a movie can have no offensive language and no sex and still be a blockbuster.

Thought I would reflect back on our 18 years. Steve and I actually met 28 years ago when some mutual friends introduced us. I was living in San Benito (where his friends Mark and Kay also lived) and Steve was living in Dallas. He came down for Easter one year and we met and went to lunch. After that we were pen pals for 10 years. Steve would write me short letters and I would write back, but never thought much about a relationship. 10 years later the same Mark and Kay were living in San Diego and I was living in Chino, CA. Steve was coming out to celebrate their son Josh's 13 birthday at Disneyland. Mark and Kay invited me to join them. They came back to my house and we had a bar-b-que with my foster daughters and as Steve and I were grilling the chicken, we kind of had a conversation that went something like "too bad we don't live closer together". Well, I was a brazen hussy and when he returned home I actually wrote a letter and suggested that perhaps we could do more than just write letters. Perhaps we could call (long time before email) and actually even fly and visit? Well that was in April and Steve made the first trip to California Memorial Day Weekend. We spent the week touring different L.A. sites. I had prayed for some very specific signs for God to show me if Steve was "the one". He answered them all. We were engaged in June and married in August. (long story made really short)

We have been blessed with a great marriage. We testify to God's sense of humor in that we are complete opposites. But the one thing we do have in common is our love for the Lord and our commitment to love one another with His love. We know that He put us together to serve one another. We have withstood several major disappointments, but have grown stronger.
I am so blessed to have a partner that is commited to making sure that we share heaven together one day. He helps me to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus. I look forward to continuing this journey called life with this gift that God has given me. I can only pray that I will be as good of a wife to him as he is a husband to me.

Steve gave me this really cool prism candle and a cross necklace.

I've Been Tagged

When I returned home I had been tagged by Liz with these rules...1) I have to post eight random facts about myself, 2) I have to list these rules and 3) I have to tag eight other people.

So here we go:
1)I was born and raised in El Paso (except for the 4 years I lived in Mobile Alabama)
2) I began teaching Bible class at the age of 16 with a sweet lady named Kathryn Hicks and have taught most years since then
3)On the first day of graduate school I thought I was "hot stuff" and was walking and noticed two nice looking guys, when I tripped, fell to the ground, dropped my books and tore holes in the knees of my hose. Both the guys just sat there and did not even offer a hand, so they weren't even worth my fall.
4)I was a social worker at three different church of Christ supported Children's Homes for a period of 15 years, one in San Benito, TX, one in Springhill, TN and the last in Chino, CA.
5)I worked as a reference librarian at the Superconducting Supercollider. I was the only employee in the library that did not have an MLS. It was an interesting time working with the top scientist of the world.
6)I love to swim. I swam competitively when we lived in Alabama and have a shoe box full of the ribbons I won. Backstroke was always my favorite stroke.
7)My favorite vacation was when Steve and I rented a cabin in Breckenridge, Colorado. It was a solar house and just really pretty. A creek ran behind it and the roof to the hot tub upstairs opened up to the stars! Would love to go back.
8)My favorite dessert is cheesecake. My favorite is "chocolate fudge brownie" at Cheesecake Factory. Yummmm!

So now instead of tagging eight people as the rules said, if you are reading this and want to be tagged and let us all know some new things about you, then consider yourself tagged.

Home Again

Back from Ruidoso. Andrea and I had a really nice time, just not near long enough! First of all the weather was perfect!! Gorgeous days and cool nights. The last night sleeping with the windows open we both needed a blanket. We were both amazed at how beautiful the cloud formations were. I guess because we never see the sky that blue here, they just looked different. Because they have had a good summer of rain, everything was really green. It is always special to be at the family cabin. There are just so many memories there.

Unfortunately, the town is really changing and becoming much more commercial. They are building a lot of new structures out of stucco. It is taking a lot of the character away in my opinion. There seemed to be two types of stores, the old trade post stores that just sell a lot of junk and then expensive stores with apparel and stuff that you could buy at the Galleria. It didn't use to be that way. There used to be more unique stores. Nevertheless, I did manage to buy some things including a very unusual cross made of various kinds of turquoise and stones. I could not resist.

The cabin was as I remembered it. We enjoyed sitting out on the deck, and while I did not enjoy the increase in traffic noise, it was fun to watch the hummingbirds and deer. I guess there has been an increase in deer and the Ruidosians find them to be problematic, but for us it was a novelty. We just saw a few where we were staying but the day we visited my aunt at her cabin we saw at least a half dozen at a time. She also had a really blue bird I had never seen, she said it was called a Stellar Jay. We also saw Woodpeckers. I forgot to take a camera, so did not get any pictures.


One thing I did learn is that 3 evenings is not long enough to work a 750 piece jigsaw puzzle! We worked so hard and at 2:00 a.m. the last evening I could see no end in sight so had to put it all back in the box! (Andrea had given up at midnight) So know I guess I will have to try and recreate it here at home.


I don't know that I am ever ready for a vacation to be over! But back home and will try to find some routine. I'll close today by posting a picture of the "Leaning Loo of Ruidoso". It is the outhouse that my grandfather frequented while I was growing up. It is still there, although as you can see it has sunk into the ground and no longer usable, none the less another memory that makes this place special to me.

How Could I Forget?

I forgot to mention (before I leave in a few minutes) to ask you all to send a prayer of praise up to God for the good news I got at the doctor yesterday. Everything looks so good that I don't have to go back for three months!!! This is huge for in 29 months I have never been able to go more than a month. It still remains unclear as to whether I will be able to walk on my own without a cane or crutches, but I am certain if I work hard enough, that will come too. So today I will be traveling all by myself and will see how I navigate the airport. Fortunately, they do offer wheel chair assistance! Thanks for those prayers!

Ruidoso Here I Come

I have shown this picture before. It is the Schuller family cabin in Ruidoso. My aunt Gee Gee maintains it (even though she lives in Massachusetts) because we all have such great memories of the summers we got to spend there growing up. The cabin was built in 1933, so it is very rustic. It isn't in a very wooded area and I guess they had to cut some of the few trees down because of disease. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to just being there and chilling. Taking some books to read and a jigsaw puzzle I have been wanting to work. I leave tomorrow and will visit my aunt (I call her Nanny) in El Paso tomorrow night and then will pick Andrea Landry up at the airport on Saturday and we will drive up to Ruidoso and stay until Wednesday. Andrea's son DJ is stationed in Alamogordo so we will stop and have lunch with him on the way up. I am not taking my computer with me, so will not be blogging, but will give you an update when I return. Please pray that this will be a great time for God and I to reconnect. I will miss Steve. Traveling just isn't his thing and the one time he went to Ruidoso with me he just thought it was too commercialized. He doesn't have the same connection as I do with my childhood. It was always a very special time with my grandmother. This will be my first time to go without her there, I will miss her. But I am sure we will play some Scrabble in her honor. I'll be back on the 8th and will look forward to catching up on all of your blogs and seeing how the Lord blessed you while I was gone.

Hairspray

Today my mom took me for a belated Birthday celebration (since I was gone last Thursday). We went to see Hairspray and then to eat at the Veranda Tea Room. Hairspray had some great music in it and some good laughs. I thought John Travolta was a riot as the mother. I have to admit I did not remember the old Hairspray movie being about segregation/integration. It brought back memories of my childhood living in Mobile Alabama. I remember very clearly the "whites" only drinking fountains. I remember that my family was eating in a Seafood restaurant and and older man and little boy coming in whose skin was black and they would not seat them and made them leave and me asking why? Then my seventh grade year was the first time they tried integrating our schools. Those poor kids were treated so badly. They had to have so much courage to come back day after day. I remember our bus had to take a new route because they were afraid that the black community would throw rocks through the windows. I know that we still have a long way to go before all Americans are considered equals, but I am so very thankful that we have come as far as we have! When I lived in California I had a sweet friend named Rubin White. She gave her testimony of how her father was killed by the Klu Klux Klan and how one of the leaders was an elder in the white church of Christ in town. She remembers her father calling she and her siblings around his death bed and telling them if they did not forgive these men, then Satan would win. Rubin then got chosen to be an intern for Lyndon Johnson. When she went to take the test, she was escorted by some women who were sent to protect her. She was stubborn and did not want their protection and insisted they let her go to the bathroom by herself, where several white girls jumped her, tore her dress her community had made her and left a scar on her face that she still bears to this day. But she talks about how she would go through it all again if she would be able to share the scriptures with President Johnson as she remembers having Bible studies with him. She gave an awesome testimony of forgiveness. May those of us who proclaim to be Christians live out Galatians 3:28 "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus".

Sweet Surprise

Today I was surfing some sites and went to the Children's Ministry site for Saturn Road church of Christ. To my surprise there was an entry entitled Cecilia's Goodbye to Lynn. Trey Laminack had added the comment "hope I didn't ruin the surprise". Well...I clicked on the video and my friend Cecilia (who by the way actually told R.E. about me and then I was contacted to interview for the cm position) is talking about me! I was so surprised. I am not sure why I have not seen this myself, but anyway...it was a sweet message to hear today as I sat here and wondered after the ACU workshop, "now what?" Just thought I would share it with all of you. Cecilia and I met years ago when I was in Mesquite as her in-laws attended the church there and her name was all over the media room because she and her husband Gary had been there before moving to Saturn Road. She introduced me into children's ministry and has been a great mentor. Her comments here are way too kind, but I appreciate them none the less. It has been such a blessing to be a part of the Children's Ministry Network and be elbow and elbow and heart to heart with such great workers in the Lords' Kingdom. I am so humbled that God allowed me to be among them and call them friends.

http://www.youtube.com/v/GuZlyyxFPT0

Home Safe

Steve and I got home today about 3:00. We had a good drive home and surprisingly I stayed awake the entire time. Usually when we travel Steve drives and I always end up drifting off to sleep. I was sure that would happen today because I only got about 3 hours sleep last night. Not sure what happened but my nasal passages clogged up and I was having trouble breathing. Finally at about 3:30 a.m. I tried propping up in bed and sleeping in an upright position and that allowed me to finally fall asleep, but when the alarm went off at 7:00 I just could not move. The services we had looked at going to both started at 9:00, so I asked Steve if it would be okay if we skipped.

After eating breakfast we headed home. Steve and I don't travel a lot because Steve is a home body and when we do we usually fly because I don't do well in the car for more than about 4-6 hours. Today was the best time we have ever had driving together. Like I said earlier, I actually stayed awake. We spent some time dreaming about retirement and where me might like to live. Then we just started a game where we would name a song and see if the other one could sing two lines of that song. Yes, we have totally opposite taste! As He is seeing if I can sing C.W. McCall's "Wolfcreek Pass", I am giving him Leslie Gore "It's My Party". It was pretty funny so then we would name an artist and see if the other could sing any song they sang. Once again he says Meatloaf and I say The Carpenters. He says Lobo and I say Captain and Tenelle, should I say more? The next thing we knew we were in Fort Worth!

We both commented at the God billboards along the way. Our favorite was "Next time you want to curse, use your own name". I had not seen that one before. The other one said "You are my child, make me proud." What I liked about both of these is there were no church names attached to them, just a message.

Well after three nights in a row of minimum sleep I am ready to go to my own bed and get some good shut eye. Hope everyone has a great week!

Another Blessed Day

Well my workshop is now a thing of the past. I thank God for His mercies and strength of enabling me to present. Today's numbers were smaller, but about 6-7 people who attended yesterday came back today. I considered that humbling because there were 3 other sessions they could have chosen. I was once again reminded how very blessed I have been to be in ministry at Richardson East where ministry to children is valued. Where our elders see the value of ministry to children and support it with the finances that are needed to adequately provide the resources to aid in the teaching of our children. I heard from churches where there is no curriculum and as teachers anything they want including glue or whatever they buy themselves. They don't feel supported by their leadership and don't think the parents give any thought to what is being taught in the classroom. A couple of people asked if I could come to their church and speak to their leadership, so we will see if those are doors the Lord would like me to step through, or if those opportunities come.
I then was able to go to lunch with a good friend who is now a children's minister in Amarillo. It was good to catch up and hear how her ministry is going for her. She touched my heart as she wanted to take a picture of me (on her cell phone) before I left because she wanted to show her kids my picture. See the kids who are now 7th graders were praying for me when I was in the hospital and some of them still come up and ask her how her friend is doing. She wanted them to have a face to the story. God has been so amazing through all of this to show me how many people have be so very faithful to pray for me.
Steve and I were so tired, we decided to stay in Abilene another night and head home tomorrow. When I log off I need to find out times of worship at Highland. We think that is where we will go in the morning. Hope all of you have a wonderful worship and Lord's day.
Thank you so much for your prayers and positive comments for this weekend. God again showed himself as my Ephesians 3:20 God and blessed it more than I could have asked or imagined!

Thanks for the Prayers!

Thank you so much to all of you who prayed for me this morning! It made all the difference. I had such a peace and felt that God blessed the time. Steve set in both sessions and he gave me positive feedback. I asked him if he was being objective and he assured me he was. One of the children's ministers I have admired for years is Marti O'Rear. She is now at Greenville Oaks in Allen, but for a long time was at Highland in Abilene. She was one of the first female children's ministers in our fellowship. So when she walked into my workshop today I felt like I should get up and get out in the audience. She is so sweet and one of the most humble people I know. She has been out of Children's Ministry a few years before coming to Greenville Oaks so she made me feel as though I helped her remember some things. I appreciated her kindness. Another woman who has gone to camp with Jami and I was also in the 2nd session. She is a children's minister in Houston. She had been a special education teacher and changed to children's ministry. She is the first cm this church has had and this is her first position. Then I ran into another friend who is the children's minister in Amarillo. She used to be the cm in Belton. She said she came by my room last night and was surprised to not see it filled with all the stuff I usually do (lots of visuals and science experiments, etc.).
One time she presented at another workshop I also presented at and she and I were there till wee hours of the morning setting up, so she knows me well. She said she is coming to my sessions tomorrow. I have to tell you I would rather speak in front of strangers than people I know!
Tresia Eason and Lady Denise are also speaking tomorrow to preschool directors. They are staying at the motel right next to ours. We are all getting ready to go out and eat bar-b-que at a place Houston recommended (although I am sure Edd already knew all about it) called
Joe Allen's. It will be fun just fellowshipping. Hope you all have a great weekend!

2nd Post Identity Theft

Okay...the wierdest thing just happened. I read Kristi's blog and then wanted to see who commented and saw someone named Lynn commented. Oh! I say. Kristi knows another Lynn? I click on the name to see who it is and it brings up my blog profile!!!!! So I am really disturbed. Did anyone know that someone could take your name and post to someone else's blog? I did not. And now I don't know what to do as I don't want anyone misrepresenting me. Guess I will have to do a little research when I get home. If anyone else has any knowledge about this, let me know!

My Birthday

Today is my birthday. I spent it driving to Abilene and setting up for my workshop tomorrow. We did get to stop and eat at Cracker Barrell on our way out (I love their pecan pancakes!) but by the time we finished getting everything set up I was so tired we did not go out for my birthday dinner as planned. I love Abuelo's here in Abilene. It is nothing like the one in Plano! So I usually go to this one when I am here. I guess we will go tomorrow. So tonight I had a Whopper from Burger King in the motel room. Woo hoo! Steve got me a really sweet fountain I wanted from Garden Ridge. When I get it hooked up, I will have to take a picture of it and let you see it. And if you would like to give me a present, I would so much appreciate your prayers going up for me tomorrow and Saturday at 8:30 and 9:45. Those are the times of my workshops for the next two days. Pray that the technology I worked on in Power Points goes well, and that I will remember the things I have prepared, but most of all that God will use me to bless those that have accepted His call of Psalm 78:4 "We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done."
Oh....and praise God with me for the great weather! This is the first time in many years of coming here to Abilene for the workshop that that I did not break a sweat! It was/is great!

Luminous Parenting

I found this downloadable book online today at http://childspirituality.org/experience.pdf by Donald Ratcliff. He has some very helpful things to say to parents about their role in helping direct the spiritual growth of their children. I thought I would post his closing remarks as I found them very convicting. Blessing to all you moms and dads as you try to live God's call in front of your children.

Luminous Numinous Parenting
G. K. Chesterton is quoted as concluding about schools, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried.” Chesterton’s words may, indeed, summarize much of what this book has been about. Encouraging the spiritual development and experience of the child is far from easy and at times is not very convenient. Most of us prefer the easier alternative when we are given options. But our children’s
current faith, and the preparation for their later faith as well as eternal destiny, should be important considerations, perhaps even the highest priority in our lives and theirs. The ideal is that we surrender most of the concern for self and sacrifice time, money, and energy for the spiritual welfare of our children. But of course, to provide them with what they need spiritually, we need to be spiritual healthy as well, and that requires a careful balancing of our emotional and spiritual welfare with that of our children. It is a balance that sounds obvious, but can be difficult to achieve in real life. We should seek to be luminous parents. The dictionary describes luminous as to a steady light, a light that is diffused but also bright, enlightening, and inspiring. In my study of child development, over and over again the researchers spoke of the importance of parents being consistent, dependable, reliable. To be the best possible spiritual influence for our children, we need to seek that ideal of being a steady light. The light need not be dazzling to be effective. Sometimes it is in the background, it is diffused, as we live out life with our child, and then comes to the forefront when needed, at “the teachable moment” when the child asks a question or shares a spiritual experience. It includes the latent influence of regular routines, including faith related practices in the home and comments during everyday experiences that highlight the work of God in our lives or the beauty of God’s creation. But it is bright in the sense that there is no hedging on the importance of spiritual experiences and living out the Christian life consistently, regardless of the cost. As parents we should enlighten and inspire our children, both in the special times where the focus in on Christian beliefs and experience, and in mundane life day by day.
Balancing the constant light of being luminous is the need to emphasize and live out the numinous in our lives. The numinous, you will recall, is the sense of the Holy, the mysterious, the “otherness” of the spiritual realm. Even though we may try to package God in convenient ways in our attempts to understand His ways, He is always beyond us. Our understandings are partial, and life gives us experiences where we do not understand what God is doing or why He does some things. We need to share with our children that mystery, the sense of the holiness of God, that makes us tremble in awe and wonder at His greatness. They probably experience that otherness of God already, and they need to know we experience it as well. To try to be numinous parents, we should walk in the Spirit. The Greek word for “Spirit” in the Bible is pneuma, so we might say we shall be “pneumenous” parents. We rely upon the Holy Spirit for direction and redirection. We stay sensitive to His leadings, both when we read scripture and when we spend time alone in prayer and meditation before God. The Holy Spirit provides a way for us to share at the deepest levels with our child, because she too can partake of the Source of the numinous, live in the numinous, and thrive in the numinous. Even if the luminous attempts fall short of what we wish it could be, we can still connect in the numinous of the Spirit. Of course the luminous numinous does not just relate to spiritual development and experience. Luminous numinous parenting can infuse other areas of life with our child as well—from the dinner table, to attending a ballgame, to disciplinary approaches. We seek to illumine our child, and we may be illumined in the process. We walk in the numinous of God, whether we sense His mysterious otherness or not, and we affirm God’s numinous in our children. Teaching, being taught, and the presence and leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives and those of our children--that should be what parenting is all about.

Another Sunday

Where does time go? Can't believe it is the beginning of another week, and the last complete week of July at that! Almost every Sunday morning as I am dressing I listen to Charles Stanley on the television. I find him to present the Word in very practical application. This morning he said something that caught my attention, "Disappointment in life is inevitable but discouragement is a choice". I don't like being discouraged, I would much rather be optimistic, but I don't often make the choice to change my attitude. It is so much easier to play the victim than take ownership of the attitude and make the changes I need to make. After his sermon, I changed to contemporary Christian digital music and the song "Lord, Reign In Me" came on and as I sang the words, I thought to myself, "Yes, Lord, I need you to once again be the Lord of every part life...I give you back the control, again".

Well then the morning progresses. We went to Highland Oaks this morning and what did we sing there? You got it, "Lord Reign In Me".

Over all the Earth

You reign on high

Every mountain stream, every sunset sky

But my one request

Lord my only aim

Is that you reign in me again

Lord reign in me

Reign in your power

Over all my dreams

In my darkest hour

You are the Lord of all I am

So won't you reign in me again

Over every thought

Over every word

May my life reflect the beauty of my Lord

'Cause you mean more to me than any earthly thing

So won't you reign in me again.

The curse has been broken as the minister, Tim Spivey, was at Highland Oaks this morning. He had a really thought provoking lesson on communion. He talked about how communion was never meant to be an individualistic experience, but that it is a community experience and is it possible to just take the bread and wine and not really partake in the Lord's Supper. He said yes it was. That we must be in fellowship and loving those with which we partake in order to be a part of the supper as the Lord intended it to be.

We also had a really great time of corporate worship. Not sure what the difference was, the worship leader? the 12 person praise team? the acoustics?, but it sure was vibrant singing. Even my Steve who usually doesn't comment much about the singing part of service noticed the difference. The worship minister had written a song entitled "Until He Comes" about communion that was really inspiring. It made me think if I would ever be able to write a song to God? Maybe not, but I bet I could write Him a lot more thoughts than I have, which would be the same just not with musical notes.

Then we had a blessed time of seeing old acquaintances. Tim and Carol Perkins, George Baker, Judy and Jessica Litalien, Pete and Susan Sifford and their girls Jenny and Abby, Chris and Liz Moore and their son Jeremy, Clint and Claire Gerdes. Past and present friends from Mesquite, Richardson East and Highland Oaks. Just brought home that family is always family no matter where you are.

Hope you also encountered God in a special way today. I would love to hear about it!

Children Matter

I have spent the day finishing my research for my talk at ACU next weekend. I read a really good book today entitled "Children Matter" by Scottie May, Beth Posterski, Catherine Stonehouse and Linda Cannell. It was filled with really good information on the spiritual development of children. But what I really liked was the prayer at the closing of the book and I thought I would share it with you.

Now to our loving and holy God, to the Lord Jesus, our Good Shepherd, and to the indwelling Holy Spirit. We pray for each person who ministers with children. May they have...
Eyes to see your glory,
Ears to hear your voice,
A mouth to speak your truth,
Hands to do your work,
A heart to share your love,
Knees to bow before you,
And feet to follow you all the days of their lives.
In Jesus Name,
Amen and amen.

I think this is a prayer not only for children's workers, but also one we could pray for each child or each member of our family.

May you all have a wonderful celebration of worship in community tomorrow. We will see if the minister at Highland Oaks will be there for our visit, or will it be 4 out of 4?

Proud Great Aunt

Thanks for all the prayers for my mom. Her colonoscopy went well, they found a few small pockets of diverticulitis, but nothing serious. We aren't sure why, but they did biopsy her stomach. We will not get those results back until the first of next week. He said they did not find anything signficant but her stomach was "aggravated".



Since I don't have children of my own, I have enjoyed watching my nieces and nephews grow up and now their children. I have three great nephews and three great neices. Back in April I introduced you to Talon Jon. His mother Danette is my namesake (Danette Lynn). I thought you might enjoy seeing how he has grown in such a short time. At his 4 month check up he was just a few ounces short of 16 pounds! Wonder how old he will be before I get to see him? I hate that all my family members (except my parents) live so far away and we just don't get together often enough.

Lunch Today

Well Andrea and I met at the Veranda Tea Room at Antiqueland on 75 and Plano Parkway. It was really good! I had a trio plate with spinach salad, chicken salad and a fruit cup. It was a nice environment with white table cloths and fresh flowers. It was nice and quiet (except for a lunch group of red hat ladies who kept ringing a cowbell to maintain order :) ) I want to go back when I can walk more because after eating there were so many neat things to look at in that store.

Then I got to play Bunco tonight. I tied for the most losses and in a roll off lost the roll off. Now something seems strange to me that the person that winds the roll off for biggest loser wins the "prize money", when they are not really the biggest loser? Because they won the roll off. I think I should anarchy and make them change the rules. Can't you tell what a gracious loser I am? It is always a night of fun.

Tomorrow my mom is having colonoscopy, I would appreciate prayers that there is nothing seriously wrong with her.

Chewing Gum

My mom gave me an idea to try to curb my nighttime munchies...chew gum. It seems to be working :) Don't know where this day went, it went by so quickly. Looking forward to having lunch with a friend tomorrow at a new place (I always love trying new places). I will have to tell you about it if it is any good. Yesterday we had a fun experience at Black Eyed Pea. We go there fairly often and don't usually see anyone we know. Yesterday, our table was right next to some old friends in Mesquite who now go to Saturn Road. While we were visiting with them in walked about 6-8 people from Richardson East who were all eating together. Then, right across from us they sat two couples who were really good friends of my parents so I went over and spoke to them. Then at the end of our meal the friends from Mesquite left and at their same table they sat a new group and I recognized a lady. It took me a few minutes to figure out where I knew her from, but I finally remembered she was one of my nurses in Rehab at Baylor. I went over and said hello to see if she remembered me and she did. She was thrilled to see me walking. So anyway...made lunch kind of interesting.

Sunday's Thought

Hope you all had a great Sunday! It has taken Blogger 30 minutes to let me post, so this will probably post after midnight :(



Steve is reading a book called "Gripped By The Greatness Of God" by James McDonald. He read me this story yesterday and I wanted to share it because it really spoke to my heart.

"God gets glory through the hopefully superior ways His children endure the suffering of this sinful world. So bad things do happen to good people. God is sovereign even over that. Helen Rosevere was a medical missionary in the Congo. Even though she had gone there to serve and share the gospel she was brutally attacked. This pure, gracious, innocent woman of God was humiliated and raped, but hung on with her life to a faith in God that refused to be shaken. While she was recovering from this horrible event, Helen leaned hard on the Lord. That's always the way it is isn't it? As you go through a painful experience, you either get closer to the Lord or further away. Trials will always push you. Either they wedge between you and God, pushing you from him, or the weight of those same burdens drives you closer to Him..."



"Recovering from her ordeal in the Congo, Helen wrote a comment we should all consider. She wrote a question as if written from God's own mouth: 'Can you thank me for trusting you with this experience even if I never tell you why?' Can you thank God for the hardest part of your life?"



I love how different authors can get me to reflect on my circumstances in a different light and challenge me to have a better attitude. I don't know if I can thank God yet for my circumstances but I look forward to the day I can.

Party In Heaven

Years ago I read a book by Tony Compolo called "The Kingdom of God is a Party". It had a great story in it about Agnes, who was a prostitute. Tony was at a diner late one night when Agnes and a friend came in and he heard a conversation between the two of them in which Agnes mentioned that the next day was her birthday. The other prostitute said in a harsh tone "So what? What do you want me to do, throw you a party or something?" Agnes replied "You don't have to be so mean; I was just saying it's my birthday. I don't expect a party, why would I? I have never had a birthday part my whole life". Tony waited till she left and then asked the cook, Harry, whether Agnes came to the diner every night to which Harry replied "yes" and at the same time. Tony talked to Harry about throwing Agnes a party, so Harry made the cake and Tony brought the decorations. When Agnes arrived the next night the place was full of other prostitutes, Agnes was so surprised she was speechless and after blowing out her candles she said that she did not want to eat the cake but wanted to take it home and savor the moment. When she left Tony stood up on a chair and said a prayer for Agnes after which Harry blurted out "Hey, you did not tell me you were a preacher, what kind of church do you belong to anyway?" Tony says it was just one of those God replies when he said "the kind of church that throws parties for prostitutes at 2:30 in the morning". To which Harry replied "No you don't. There ain't no church like that. If there was, I'd join it. Yep, I'd join a church like that."
I have always loved this story and today as I was listening to my stereo a song came on that I don't remember hearing before. First let me explain that my stereo holds 50 cd's at a time and I have it set where it scrambles them all up and plays this song and that, so I never know what is coming next. When I heard this song today I had to type in the lyrics to even find out who sang it. It is Michael English and the song is "Start A Party". The lyrics reminded me of Tony's story and then this phrase really caught my attention "When a lost one is found, all of heaven assembles. If we each do our part, this party could last for years"
It made me think about when was the last time I even cared about the party in heaven thrown for the redeemed sinner? And how guilty I am of not doing my part of sharing the Good News. So hopefully you will join me in making sure we help the party to continue. Here are the rest of the lyrics.

Start a Party
Starting my day, with big preparations
Going out strong, with great expectation
I want the world, to know that my Jesus lives
I have a clue, that my reputation
Could show that God's love, has an open invitation
I wont miss the chance, that someone might call His name
I wanna to start a party
Up in heaven
And get those angels dancin'
For a new heartbeat
It's a righteous celebration
Singin' hallelujah
I wanna start a party
Angels rejoice, and the demons all tremble
When a lost one is found, all of heaven assembles
If we each do our part, this party could last for years

Harry Potter's Newest

Today I joined a friend and her granddaughter at the movie theater to see the newest Harry Potter movie. When Harry Potter first came out I was very cautious and even presented a video at church on the possible dangers of children watching Harry Potter. I then decided I could not give it a fair assessment without seeing it. When I did see it, I was less concerned and saw it as a movie where good triumphs over evil and friendships are valued. However, it still concerns me that the whole series is about wizards and witches. Anyway...I would not recommend this newest movie especially to children younger than 12. While "good" still triumphs over evil (or evil over worse evil?) and friendship is still valued and important, there is so much more darkness in this movie. Lots of scary creatures. I guess I tend to justify these movies because there is no bad language or sex. I am amazed at Rawlings imagination. I would never be ever to concoct this world she has created. So I wonder if Harry's power came from prayer instead of a wand; would people still want to see the movies?

Nightime Munchies

So here I am on day four of my commitment to eat healthier. I have done pretty well with the Lord's help. Last night I ate out with some friends at On The Border and while I didn't do perfect (too many chips, but not as many as I would have before), but I ordered a salad knowing that I would eat chips. On side note, while we were sitting there two teenagers got into a brawl and were physically attacking each other. Fortunately, a man stepped in and broke it up. Anyway...back to my thoughts for this post. I do fairly well everyday up until about 8:00 p.m. and that is when I am the hungriest? Tonight I ate an apple at about 9:00, but it did not curb my hunger. Usually, I would have chips, popcorn, wheat thins, etc. So anyway...does anyone have any suggestions of low carb snacks I could try that would also curb my munchies and hunger at night? I would appreciate any suggestions. Too, perhaps you could pray and extra prayer around 8:00 at night for me that I have the strength to resist the urge.
Finally, you may already know about Godtube but Steve sent me another email today with a link to a Godtube clip. I did not know this site existed. This particular clip is about a young man who was born with no arms and no legs. It is about 15 minutes in length but really inspiring. I will keep it so that the next time I am having a pity party I can watch it and remind myself that I am indeed blessed. http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=9bc6025b51155e26f6ce Hope everyone has a great Friday!

That's God

Thanks for the sweet comments about yesterday's post. I appreciate you reading.
Steve forwarded me this email yesterday and it was so sweet I thought I would share it with you.

NOW THAT'S GOD
It was one of the hottest days of the dry season. We had not seen rain in almost a month. The crops were dying. Cows had stopped giving milk. The creeks and streams were long gone back into the earth. It was a dry season that would bankrupt several farmers before it was through. Every day, my husband and his brothers would go about the arduous process of trying to get water to the fields. Lately this process had involved taking a truck to the local water rendering plant and filling it up with water. But severe rationing had cut everyone off. If we Didn’t see some rain soon...we would lose everything. It was on this day that I learned the true lesson of sharing and witnessed the only miracle I have seen with my own eyes. I was in the kitchen making lunch for my husband and his brothers when I saw my Six-year-old son, Billy, walking toward the woods. He wasn't walking with the usual carefree abandon of a youth but with a serious purpose. I could only see his back. He was obviously walking with a great effort ... trying to be as still as possible. Minutes after he disappeared into the woods, he came running out again, toward the house. I went back to making sandwiches; thinking that whatever task he had been doing was completed. Moments later, however, he was once again walking in that slow purposeful stride toward the woods. This activity went on for an hour: walking carefully to the woods, running back to the house. Finally I couldn't take it any longer and I crept out of the house and followed him on his journey (being very careful not to be seen...as he was obviously doing important work and didn't need his Mommy checking up on him). He was cupping both hands in front of him as he walked, being very careful not to spill the water he held in them ... maybe two or three tablespoons were held in his tiny hands. I sneaked close as he went into the woods. Branches and thorns slapped his little face, but he did not try to avoid them. He had a much higher purpose. As I leaned in to spy on him, I saw the most amazing site. Several large deer loomed in front of him. Billy walked right up to them. I almost screamed for him to get away. A huge buck with elaborate antlers was dangerously close. But the buck did not threaten him...he didn't even move as Billy knelt down. And I saw a tiny fawn lying on the ground; obviously suffering from dehydration and heat exhaustion, lift its head with great effort to lap up the water cupped in my beautiful boy's hand. When the water was gone, Billy jumped up to run back to the house and I hid behind a tree. I followed him back to the house to a spigot to which we had shut off the water. Billy opened it all the way up and a small trickle began to creep out. He knelt there, letting the drip, drip slowly fill up his makeshift "cup," as the sun beat down on his little back. And it came clear to me: The trouble he had gotten into for playing with the hose the week before. The lecture he had received about the importance of not wasting water. The reason he didn't ask me to help him. It took almost twenty minutes for the drops to fill his hands. When he stood up and began the trek back, I was there in front of him. His little eyes just filled with tears. "I'm not wasting," was all he said. As he began his walk, I joined him...with a small pot of water from the kitchen. I let him tend to the fawn. I stayed away. It was his job. I stood on the edge of the woods watching the most beautiful heart I have ever known working so hard to save another life. As the tears that rolled down my face began to hit the ground, other drops...and more drops...and more suddenly joined them. I looked up at the sky. It was as if God, himself, was weeping with pride. Some will probably say that this was all just a huge coincidence. Those miracles don't really exist. That it was bound to rain sometime. And I can't argue with that... I'm not going to try. All I can say is that the rain that came that day saved our farm...just like the actions of one little boy saved another. I don't know if anyone will read this...but I had to send it out. To honor the memory of my beautiful Billy, who was taken from me much too soon... But not before showing me the true face of God, in a little, sunburned body. *~THAT'S GOD ~*

Have you ever been just sitting there and all of a sudden you feel like doing something nice for someone you care for? THAT'S GOD!
He speaks to you through the Holy Spirit Have you ever been down and out and nobody seems to be around for you to Talk to? THAT'S GOD!
He wants you to speak to Him. Have you ever been thinking about somebody that you haven't seen in a long time and then next thing you know you see them or receive a phone call from them? THAT'S GOD!
There's no such thing as coincidence. Have you ever received something wonderful that you didn't even ask for, like money in the mail, a debt that had mysteriously been cleared, or a coupon to a department store where you had just seen something you wanted, but couldn't afford. THAT'S GOD.
He knows the desires of your heart. . Have you ever been in a situation and you had no clue how it is going to get better, but now you look back on it? THAT'S GOD!
He passes us through tribulation to see a brighter day. NOW THAT'S GOD!!!!!!!!

Don't tell GOD how Big your storm is. Tell the storm how Big your GOD is!

Misunderstood Post

I just want to make a clarification from my Sunday post. I was not saying it was a great day for a nap because Matt Cole preached at Richardson East. He had a great message, and I loved his sense of humor talking about his kids and Brooke. I was saying it was a great day for a nap that afternoon because of the rain. So "anonymous" whoever you are, I appreciate you letting me know that I was misunderstood. Reading back over the blog I can see where you might think that is what I was saying.

Accountability

Accountability is not a word I like very much. But it is the only way I usually do what I need to do. I decided this time I will make myself accountable to my fellow blog community. I am a carbohydrate addict. I lost 100 pounds while I was in the hospital because they limited my carbohydrate intake and I eliminated sweets. In the last 8 months I have put 30 of those pounds back on because I went back to my old eating habits. Starting today I am committing to once again limit my carbohydrate intake and remove sweets from my diet. I know that there will be so many benefits and blessings to eating healthier. I also know that every time I have deliberately made this decision I have come under major attack from Satan. So I am asking for you to pray that I will resist the temptations he will place in my path and find my strength in the Lord and motivation to make my temple one that He will delight in residing. If you have any good ways that you flavor meats I would love to hear about them. I bought a couple of rubs at the store today. It is hard to find marinades without high sugar content. Part of the challenge will be not getting tired of eating the same things, as Steve is rather picky in what vegetables he will eat and about the only salads he will eat is coleslaw and tossed salad. Anyway...he also wants to do this, so I am sure he will be his usual loving self and not complain at anything I fix. So I will claim the Philippians 4:13 promise that I can do all things through Christ Jesus who gives me strength.

It Happened Again

Third Sunday in a row there was a visiting preacher??? I am getting a real complex. No one said today where John was at Richardson East, but I have to assume he was on vacation. What a great day for a nap!! Unfortunately because of the rain I had to miss the Espinosa's going away reception. Because of my tears in both knees I have to be exceptionally careful for the next several weeks, and my crutches tend to really slip on wet surfaces. So I took a nap, and loved waking to the roaring thunder. I have always loved thunder, I even have CD's I listen to at night sometimes of either thunderstorms or ocean waves. I have just always found the sounds of water calming. Rivers, beaches, rain...all my favorites. What sounds are calming to you or do you enjoy?

Miracle Grow

This is yesterday's post, but for some reason last night Internet Explorer went down and I could not get the pictures to load or this to post so at 12:30 a.m. I gave up and went to bed. Computers are great when they work, but oh so frustrating when they don't. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Enjoy the sunshine :)

My sister Caren fixed a great meal tonight. We had shrimp and steak kabobs with rice pilaf, broccoli, salad and mango. We had yummy key lime pie for dessert. She had brought tropical decorations from home. We ended the evening with a swim. It was a fun evening.

As promised here are some pictures of all my pretty flowers in my backyard. It is amazing what a little color can do. Finally, I am on my way to bed and I am excited because the last thing my sister and brother in law did for me is move my bed back to my room. So tonight Steve and I will once again be able to snuggle. Caren and Mel will leave in the morning to go back to Denver. I am sure they are exhausted! We are so grateful for everything they did for us while they were here. I will miss the house being full of activity and fun!

Rained Out Dinner

Well, we didn't get to have our tropical dinner because of the rain. We will try again tomorrow night and if it still rains, we will just move it inside. Instead my sister and I went to Garden Ridge this afternoon and found most of the flowers to be 75% off so we got a lot of flowers. Several years ago Steve and I had all the foliage removed from around the pool because it just made keeping the pool clean so difficult and with everything so close to the pool it was very difficult to do the trimming. I love having more deck around the pool, especially when we have kids over to swim, but I miss the pretty foliage. So I have purchased several flower pots and I keep them full of silk flowers. Yes I know it sounds tacky. I love flowers, I just don't enjoy all the work that goes into keeping them looking pretty and it just doesn't take long for them to die in my yard because there is not much shade in the backyard. The bad thing about silk flowers is they fade but it had been about 4-5 years since I bought the last ones. So I stocked up tonight. Unfortunately, the greenery was not on sale. So $95.40 later and my back yard is full of blooms! I will have to take pictures tomorrow and post them. Can't believe we are already at Friday again! Just seems time passes more quickly every day. Everyone have a great day!

Hard Days Work

My sister Caren and her husband Mel are here from Denver for the week. They came down specifically to help with some chores for my mom and dad and for me. We are all staying together at my house and having a great time! But, we have really been working hard! Monday we cleaned out my garage and took lots of stuff to Goodwill. We can once again get both cars in the garage. Today we worked hard out in the back yard cleaning my pool deck and trimming all the foilage. It looks so nice! My brother in law brought his power washer and it did such a great job cleaning the deck (that had not been cleaned the last two summers), but unfortunately we did not get to eat our grilled hamburgers outside because the rain today made the furniture all too wet to sit in and we had all taken our showers and got dressed. Anyway...I am so thankful for their servant hearts and all the hard work! Tomorrow, we head over to my mom's and will do some things around her house. But can't wait till tomorrow night because Caren is going to make us a Tropical Dinner Surprise. I'll have to tell you about it tomorrow. Happy Fourth!

Great News

Great news at the doctors today! Nothing majorily wrong with my leg. The doctor said he was thrilled with the healing of the leg and that everything looked totally realigned. I am so thankful! The pain in my knee is a meniscus tear. It was caused by me just turning the wrong way on my walker. It should heal in about 4 weeks and in the meantime, I am just back on crutches to help me walk with minimum pain. Thank all of you for your prayers. I went to Kaboom Town tonight to watch the fireworks. They are always so good. I just lucked out by a last minute decision to pay for parking and we had great seats. Hope everyone else has a wonderful Fourth!

Oh, No The Leamings Are Coming

Well, two weeks in the row we have visited a church only for the regular minister to be gone and someone else taking their place. I am starting to think they must know we are coming :)
The speaker this morning at Farmers Branch was awesome. I think his name was Michael Miller. He had a great sermon about us being Jesus to the world. But what touched me most of all is we sang "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus". Remember a few days ago I blogged about looking up to Jesus? Well, how many years have I been singing this song? And not until today did the lyrics "and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace" catch my attention, or make me realize what they mean. It for sure reinforced me to keep my eyes upon God and if I do, the things of this earth will not have my attention, only God will. Hope we all will look up more this week!