He Has Them All In His Hand

Today I was reading 3 stories in the Christian Chronicle about the deaths of a couple, a 17 year old and a five year old, all from different parts of the country. I somehow ended up at the site for a child named Ethan Powell who died from leukemia at 16 months. As most of you know once you find one site on YouTube then similar subject matters also show up. There were several of children who are suffering from one type of illness or another. But the one that just tugged at my heart was of a little girl that was born without a face. Her name is Julianna and she is now 6 years old. She has an incredible spirit although her face is so disfigured and she can only speak through sign language. Don't ask me why I kept clicking, so many children suffering in so many different ways. There was a set of 16 your old conjoined twins Abby and Brittany Hensel who have embraced living as two in one body. Then site after site of memorials to children who have passed away. Some at birth, some later, some by disease, some by abuse, some by car accidents, or falling out of windows. On and on it went.

Don't ask me what possessed me to just keep on clicking. I guess it was just another reminder of how we are surrounded by people in pain and most time we don't even know it. All it takes is a trip up to Children's Hospital and you are quickly reminded. Little Gillian Deans has been in Medical City PICU for almost a month now and still has a minimum of a week to go. She now has a permanent tracheotomy. I don't know how Steven and Kimberly do it. Imagine day in and day out caring for a child who requires 24/7 nursing care (which they never totally get). Yet the Deans continue to look to strength from our Almighty God and praise Him for the miracle of Gillian. So many blogs where people are doing that as well...their faith is a written testimony for all of us to read even if we don't know them.

And now I am asking why am I posting this? Just an opportunity for all of us to thank God for the blessings in our lives. We are not guaranteed anything. And perhaps you could just stop after reading this and say a prayer for all the children and families out there who struggle daily just to survive another day. If you need a name, pray for Gillian or for Avery Akeman or Mallory Kirby, all children who are connected to our R.E. family.

And we sing "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus name. On Christ the solid rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand."

Blog Readers

You just never know who is reading your blog. You may remember on April 25th I listed several tickets that I had to different events for the taking (with only 2 takers by the way) Anyway... a couple of days later I recieved this message on my gmail account. I had no idea about any of this information about the Cowboy Hall of Fame and thought it might give some of you an idea of something to do one day this summer.

"As I monitor our name on Google Alerts, your blogged info came up. When I viewed it, I read that you had purchased an "advertisement" book and was offering coupons that you would never use. That is what Google picked up and "alerted" me about. I would personally like to invite you to visit our museum, Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame. We showcase the worlds' largest collection of lifestyle wagons. Our collection has over 60 restored wagons to their original condition. We have a hearse wagon that is from the 1600 era, a wagon owned by Jesse James, two wagons that were in John Wayne movies (McClintock and Quiet Man), not to mention a US Mail Wagon, lumber wagon, Opera Coach, Doctor's Buggy and many many more. In addition, we also showcase over 70 men and women who have made a significant impact on the sport of rodeo, cowboy and the horse industry. We have people such as Buck Taylor, George Strait, Red Steagall, Lane Frost, Don Gay, Light Crust Doughboys, and even Willie Nelson. Each inductee has a booth containing personal memorabilia that is on loan to us by them. We also have an exhibit of Chisholm Trail artifacts, The John Justin Jr. Trail of Fame (contains person information and memorabilia) of Mr.. Justin who was part of the founding family of Justin Boots and a leader of Fort Worth. There is also the History of the Charro and Zigrang Bit Collection (over 100 antique steel horse bits). On May 15, we will debut our newest exhibit -- hands on learning for children -- The Adventures of the Cowboy Trail. Here children will learn to pack a chuck wagon, create their unique brand, learn about how a cowboy packed and readied for the trail (saddling a horse), and an arrowhead dig. We are excited about this exhibit and know that many children (and adults) will be amazed at what the cowboy of yest-er-year went through on the old dusty trail! We also offer a wonderful Western Gift Shop and the Jersey Lilly Photo Parlor where you can dress in costume and be photographed in a vintage-style sepia photo. And if you do visit, the Cowboy Cattle Pen Maze is just one block away and you can use your coupon there too! I thank you for your time, and hope that you will take me up on the offer to visit."

To which I say "Who knew"?

Principles To Live Life By

In Our Journey (a daily devotional book), Monday's thought had this reading entitled 8 Principles To Live By and I thought they were interesting, and thought I would share.

1. I will do all things unto the Lord.
Romans 14:1-9
2. I will live in the light of the judgment seat of Christ.
Romans 14:10
3. I will consider my weaker brother in all I do.
1 Corinthians 8:13
4. I will do nothing unless I am sure it is the right thing to do.
Romans 14:22
5. I will do all things to the glory of my God.
I Corinthians 1o:22
6. I will avoid what may appear wrong even if I know it is not.
1 Thessalonians 5:22
7. I will abstain from things which could enslave me.
I Corinthians 6:12
8. I will seek always to do what I believe Jesus would do.
Romans 12:1-2

I don't know about you but if I made it my goal to follow these 8 principles there are areas of my life that would be quite different. Especially number 3, 5, and 6. What about you? Do any of these challenge you? Or do you have others you would add to the list?

I Confess, I Am Impatient

I read this devotional thought today on my Encouragement For Today on Crosswalk.com. Such truth here for me and where I am right now. Hoping to find joy in waiting in expectation!

God, Could You Please Hurry?

Amy Carroll

"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end."Ecclesiastes 3: 11 (NIV)

Those of us that have lived in rural areas know that tractors on the road are a fact of life. However, just because they are a fact of life doesn't make them any less irritating if you're in a hurry! I followed a tractor down one of our narrow two-lane roads recently. At one point I completely lost my patience for its pace and started yelling (unheard--thank goodness), "Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!" It didn't speed up the tractor at all. How many times have I approached God's timing the same way? And it never hurries Him up either. I admit God often does not operate at a pace that pleases me, and I want Him to hurry, hurry, hurry! I'm thinking Sarah, Abraham's wife, felt the same way. After waiting 10 years for a baby that God had promised Abraham (read Genesis 12-21 for the complete story), Sarah decided to "help" God. Surely 10 years was too long for anybody to wait. So Sarah gave her maidservant Hagar to her husband, and the two of them had a child. Soon the two women were at odds. Talk about a soap-opera! Finally, fifteen years later, the child promised by God to Abraham and Sarah was born. God was not late. His timing was perfect. It was Sarah who was in a hurry and rushing things, but she found out that there was a price to pay for manipulating her circumstances. I know Sarah and I are not alone in our desire for God to hurry up. I once heard it said that we are people with gods on our wrists. In Isaiah 55:9, God says, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." (NIV) God's timing is part of His ways. I may be tapping my watch, but He is never late. He may seem slow, but He is always right on time. Has God made a promise to you that is slow in coming? Has He planted a dream in your heart that has yet to come to fruition? Don't give up hope! God is faithful, and you can rely on His perfect timing. Fix your eyes on Him and enjoy the journey to your destination. There are things to be learned along the way that will enhance the joy of a promise fulfilled.

Cool Picture

Thought this picture I found on someone elses blog was so cool.
Can you find the baby?

Steve and I spent most of the morning at a new chiropractor. I hate health insurance and having to change doctor's all the time because your insurance doesn't stay the same or they drop a doctor. We didn't get any relief today, but that is okay, a good chiropractor would not touch you without looking at your x-rays first, so we are hoping to get some relief on our followup visit tomorrow.

Saw Simon Cowell on Ellen this afternoon and he predicted David Cook would win AI, but then tonight he gave all 3 rounds to David Archuletta. So how about you? Who did you like the best tonight? I have to actually agree that David A. did an outstanding job tonight. I just appreciate how humble he is.

Mutual Submission

First of all is there anything better than a homemade grilled hamburger? Tonight we grilled hamburgers for my parents and then watched the finale of Dancing With The Stars. The burgers were great. I am rooting for Kristi to win Dancing With The Stars. Don't really care which David wins American Idol tomorrow night. Neither one of them would cause me to spend any money on their album.

Now on to today's post title. The other day I read this on a blog "I've often heard people question the whole idea of putting your needs before another because that is what Christians are commanded to do. To be honest, I've seen this concept abused most of the time. Sort of like the whole "wives should submit themselves to their husbands" topic. What does that mean exactly?"

I know I have bragged on him here before, but I am so very thankful to be in a marriage where it is easy to be submissive to my husband. I don't know if I have mentioned this in a previous blog, but Steve and I are complete opposites. You name it and we do not have it in common. He is a morning person, I am a night owl; he likes things planned, I like spontaneous; He likes to save money, I like to spend; I love playing games, he does not; I love to swim, he does not....and on and on it goes. But we have a GREAT marriage and the reason why is that we understand that the Lord brought us together for His purposes. We mutually serve one another. I wish I was as good at it as Steve is, but I continually try to work on getting better at putting his needs before my own. God placed me in Steve's life to make his life better and he in mine to make my life better. When you have a husband that is the living example of Ephesians 2:25-27, it is easy to be submissive. "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself." Steve actually proposed to me promising to do his best to live out this verse and I can say for almost 19 years he has done it amazingly well. That is why it is easier for me to fulfill Ephesians 2:22-23 "Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything." It brings me joy to put Steve's needs before my own, I just wish I was half as good as he is at doing it. Maybe one day I will be.

Call me optimistic but I hope there are more marriages out there where this mutual submission is lived out than not. After all it is the way that God meant for it to be.

More Pictures

Sorry that the pictures aren't formatted very good, I just can't figure out how to do it??? Anyway, here are a few more...


This was a presentation before the Passion of Christ called the Potter where this man gave us the spiritual applications of God molding each of us as he made this vase from clay. This man also plays Jesus in the play.













This is the Christ of the Ozarks. Built in 1966 and over 67 feet tall.













Christ of the Ozarks at Sunset from our seat at the Passion of Christ.

Eureka Springs Pictures

So here are some of the pictures from our trip to Eureka Springs.



When we drove up to the cabin these geese greeted us.

This is the cabin we stayed in. It was called Bayberry.

You can kind of see the deck on the right hand side.

I fed the squirrels on the deck some peanuts, then watched them eat them.

This was the entrance to the Tabernacle in the Holy Land Tour. The Priest's name was Ben he was a retiree from Kansas who now plays the part of Dan the Priest.

There was a life size replica of the tabernacle

The Ark of the Covenant

The replica of a house in Bethlehem on the Holy Land Tour.

Replica of the Inn at Bethlehem. 8-10 people would sleep on mats on the floor. The entrances were small to keep the Roman soldiers out. I am thinking perhaps it was better to be born in the stable with more room than this?

This was one of about eight outdoor sets of the Passion of Christ

This is Peter at the Sea of Galilee telling us about his life with Jesus and us being Fishers of Men

I don't remember what they called these fish but we counted 17 of them at the Sea of Galilee.

Home Sweet Home

We got home about 7:00 p.m. I always have mixed feelings about being home. It is good to be home but I just enjoy being away. What I don't enjoy is riding in the car especially when it is the same thing I have seen many times before (as it is coming and going to Omaha). This time going was better since we went to Eureka Springs first. That was all new territory and 1/2 of it really pretty.

We came home via McKinney so that we could stop and eat at Ruby Tuesdays. We first ate at one in Tennessee and noticed on our way out of town there is now one in Mckinney. We like their hamburgers.

One thing I will enjoy is being back in our bed. Sleeping in a double bed doesn't quite work for us, especially with Steve having to constantly move with his hurting shoulder. We are looking forward to finding a chiropractor/physical therapist this week to help him out.

Well, better get to doing all that laundry :) Hope everyone has a great weekend!

For The Birds

I love birds. They amaze me. I find it amazing that when God was creating birds He did not just say this a bird. But this is a yellow bird, red bird, blue bird, brown bird, black bird, orange bird and even PINK or how about those Fruit Loop birds? If that was not enough He said this one will sound like this and that one will sound like that; this one will fly like this and that one will fly like that or better yet this one won't fly but spend most of their time on the ground with their head stuck in the sand, but still be a bird? This one will have to wave it's wings up and down continually to fly but this one will just be able to catch the wind and soar. This one won't land on branches but will land on the side of a tree and then start pecking at the tree with it's head (which I will have to especially encase their brain so they can do). This one will stand on one foot and be fun to have as decoration in people's yards :)
I find it fascinating too that different birds live in different regions. Gives us another reason to convince our husbands to travel.

This is a Red Warbler. It landed on the tree in front of me on the deck today and just had the most unusual sound. I wish he would have stayed longer, but he flew away fairly quickly.

The little yellow finches are so bright and pretty.
Then there is the ugly black crow. Do you ever think he wonders "why did I get the short end of the stick?"

Anyway...thanks and praise to God the creator for giving us variety. It makes life so much more interesting.

Steve and I will be heading back to Richardson tomorrow. Hate the thought of having to drive, but look forward to being back in my own bed!!!!

GPS

Yes, I love my GPS. Not that a few times it does some really strange things. On the way to Omaha Sunday it had us doing something really crazy outside of Joplin Missouri but after a few turns that made no sense to us we just got back on the Freeway and kept going and it caught up. But today I took my mother in law to get a perm. It was a 3 hour process and after an hour of sitting decided I would go shopping. I typed in the store I wanted to go to (Catherine's) and it took me right to it. I needed to go get a gown. I brought one I had not worn in awhile and every night it is not moving with me and I end up choking. Weird I know. Anyway...my favorite part of the GPS is when I don't make the turn it tells me to and it says "recalculating", sometimes I drive around in circles just to see what it will do. Now one day maybe it will be smart enough to say "stop it".

Yeah For Wireless Access

Steve's brother Russ surprised me with setting up wireless access at his mother's house. Thanks Russ! So I have spent today catching up on blogs and emails while Steve took his mother to three different appointments. Russ lives about 500 yards from Steve's mother and has had the burden of being her full time care taker since Steve's father passed about 5 years ago. Since her accident back in March he has had to leave work several times a day to either take her to therapy or to come home and take the dog out. Chewy (the dog) is 14 years old and has gone blind and has diabetes. She requires lots of extra attention. So this week our goal is to give him some relief from both of their care.

I spent the morning sitting out on the back deck reading a book called Mad Mary by Liz Curtis Higgs. I think I have already read this book because as I am reading it several things feel familiar but I cannot remember how it ends. Does this happen to anyone else besides me? I do the same thing with movies sometimes. I don't remember seeing them till almost the end and then I remember the ending. Don't know what that says about my attention span. Anyway...it was a beautiful morning and I enjoyed the deck even though I didn't see the wildlife that I usually do when I am here. Steve's dad always kept the bird feeders filled around the deck and there were always beautiful finches (all different colors), but you can tell the touch of his hand is not here. I know Russ does the best he can because he works full time and gets called in for all sorts of overtime. I sat and could not help but wish I could physically get out and help trim dead branches off trees and mow the back. There are 10 acres to be mowed and the back hasn't been cut and doesn't look as good as it used to. But...I would never say a word, and I definitely cannot help out.

Steve is still having problems with the pinched nerve in his neck and is having to sleep upright in the lounge chair. If anyone has any advice for a pinched nerve between the neck and shoulder, we would appreciate hearing it. Heat hasn't helped much, or ice. Medication is sure not working.
I think he needs to do some neck stretches, but he says it hurts too much to try. Anyway....let us know if you have a miracle cure.

We worshipped in Joplin, Missouri yesterday morning. On the way there we saw a stretch where one of the tornadoes had gone through Saturday night. Mostly a lot of trees that had been uprooted or bent. They did encourage their Life groups to not meet and to go out and find ways to minister to the people who had lost property. We tried to watch the news here in Omaha to see what we could find out, but guess it wasn't too important here in Nebraska? Don't know how 21 people can die and 100+ injured and it not be leading news, but it wasn't.

Well that is all the rambling I have for today. Hope everyone has a great week.

Blogging from Eureka Springs

Well, I really didn't plan on blogging this soon on our trip, but we are stuck inside with it raining today. Nothing like renting a cabin with a porch and view so you can sit out on the deck and enjoy nature, just to be stuck inside! So...things are going well and not so well at the same time. Steve has had to sleep upright in a chair for the past two nights because the pinched nerve in his shoulder makes it too hard to sleep. So a romantic cottage and separate sleeping arrangements. Nice huh? There is a wonderful jacuzzi tub that we both have been able to take advantage of. It has helped his shoulder in the mornings and really helped my foot last night. My feet were very swollen after spending the day at the Passion of Christ. We did the 2 1/2 hour Holy Land Tour and toured the Creation and Bible Museums and then watched the outdoor Passion last night.

I actually enjoy the Promise at Glen Rose better than this presentation of the Passion because you can tell they are just miming words or putting motions to prerecorded words here, but it is still very impressive. Although it is rather a tame production because even after scourging Jesus there was no blood on his back. But it was a nice day. We had decided to do that on Friday and then just use Saturday to kick back at the cabin assuming their would be more tourist here on Saturday than Friday. So...glad we did that as we would would not have wanted to be touring today when it is much cooler, 62 degrees and raining.

This morning we have fed ducks that came to our porch some cheddar crackers, and some squirrels on our porch railing some peanuts. I have watched 3 red headed woodpeckers chasing each other and then listening to them peck on the trees. If I had brought my cable I could have downloaded some pictures for you, but didn't think about it and didn't pack the cord, so will just have to tell you about it now and post pictures later.

Finding places on the internet can be interesting. Somehow our experience has been they look better on the internet than they actually are. While this cabin is adequate, it isn't exactly what I had hoped for. The furniture is antique so not just real comfortable to relax and sit in. The kitchen is well stocked though. While the cabins are on Lake Lucerne, it is not much of a lake. I would define it more of green pond. You can't really see the water from our deck. But you can definitely hear the geese!

I don't know how we got internet access today as we don't have cell phone access here (no connectivity) and yesterday and the night before when I tried to email my mom and tell her we made it here safely, we could get nothing. Today, still no cell phone bars, but internet seems to be strong. So there you have it.

We will be leaving tomorrow for Omaha and I won't have wireless access there, so probably won't be posting. Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

My Name Is Joy

First of all thanks to those that took the time to answer yesterday's blog, I found your answers to be very interesting.

Today was the end of this year's Ladies Bible Class and we had a sharing session. I was sharing that while I was able to attend Ladies class more faithfully this year, I did not spend the time I could have studying the lessons at home. But I would go to class even if I had not completed the lesson and would still be blessed by listening to what the other women had to say. I went on to confess to the class what I had said in my blog a few days ago about being numb but just trying to continue to do the next right thing.

Yesterday I read this quote from the Screwtape Letters in God On Mute. This is where a senior demon is talking to his nephew about the times when people can no longer sense God's presence and His purposes have stopped making sense.

"Sooner or later God withdraws, if not in fact, at least from their conscience experience...He leaves the human to stand up on it's own legs-to carry out from the will alone duties which have lost all relish...Our cause is never in more danger than when a human-no longer desiring but still intending to do God's will--looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys".

A few years ago Karla Gerdes told me that God had told her that my name is Joy. I have not ever forgotten that, but continue to struggle to live into that name. So I was saying this morning that I will continue to walk in obedience and know eventually the joy will catch up with me and I will actually feel it. Several ladies were very sweet to affirm me and tell me that while I may not feel joy, that I am giving others joy. Then the most amazing thing happened. We had been singing several songs that Karla had picked up and she began the next song on her list. It just happened to be...

The Joy of the Lord
The joy of the Lord will be my strength
I will not falter, I will not faint
He is my Shepherd, I am not afraid
The joy of the Lord is my strength
The joy of the Lord,The joy of the Lord,
The joy of the Lord is my strength
The joy of the Lord will be my strength
He will uphold me all of my days
I am surrounded by mercy and grace
And the joy of the Lord is my strength
The joy of the Lord,The joy of the Lord,
The joy of the Lord is my strength
The joy of the Lord will be my strength
I will not waiver, walking by faith
He will be strong to deliver me safe
The joy of the Lord is my strength
The joy of the Lord,The joy of the Lord,
The joy of the Lord is my strength

It was not a coincidence. It was once again my God singing over me. Way too cool!!

Just want to let everyone know that Steve and I will be on vacation the next two weeks, so not sure that I will be blogging. I might borrow his blackberry and try if there is just something burning, otherwise check back about the 22nd.

Hymn Memories

Mike Cope recently asked a question on his blog that got 126 responses. So I thought I would post it here and see how many of the 40+ readers of this blog might respond. So here it is...

"“A song we used to sing in worship that I miss (because we no longer sing it) is _________ .”

I have a few. Here is what is at the top of my list:
There Is A Fountain
What Can Wash Away My Sin
Jesus, Thy Name I Love
His Grace Reaches Me

5th of May Punny

Thanks to Susan Thomas here is a punny post.

Hellmann's Mayonnaise

Most people don't know that in 1912 Hellman's Mayonnaise was manufactured in England. In fact, the Titanic was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Vera Cruz, Mexico, which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after its stop in New York . This would have been the largest single shipment of mayonnaise ever delivered to Mexico. But as we know, the great ship did not make it to New York. The ship hit an iceberg and sank, and the cargo was forever lost.

The people of Mexico, who were crazy about mayonnaise, and were eagerly awaiting its delivery, were disconsolate at the loss. Their anguish was so great, that they declared a National Day of Mourning, which they still observe to this day. This National Day of Mourning occurs each year on May 5th and is known, of course, as Sinko de Mayo.

My Kitchen

So I will try and take a break from the serious posts for a few days. Becky Campbell threw down the gauntlet on her blog for us to post about our kitchen, so here it goes.

Kitchen Questions
Three electric appliances I couldn't give up:
My George Forman Grill-I use it about 4 times a week, as that is the way I cook most of my meats.
Waffle Iron-yummmm, love homeade waffles (with p-nut butter on them of course)
Crockpot-love anything that does the cooking where I don't have to stand

Three of my favorite gadgets:
Pampered Chef Self Sharpening Knives-When I need them they are ready
Pampered Chef Ice Cream Scoop-Makes even the hardest icecream easy.
Pampered Chef Pecan Crusher(don't know what the real name is)-love those walnuts in my oatmeal

Three Favorite Cookbooks:
This is a hard one because I don't cook from cookbooks. But if I do need a recipe I just go online to Allrecipes.com or Bettycrocker.com

So everyone else make Becky happy and post your favorite kitchen stuff.

Ressurection

I heard this song on the radio yesterday. I think I had heard it before, but this time it spoke to my heart. For months now I have talked the talk believing what I am saying, but not really feeling it in my heart. There have been moments where I have connected to God in worship, but most of the time I just feel numb. This has not always been the case. I am not sure why it is that way it is now, I just know that it is. So this song will be my prayer. Only God can resurrect my passion for Him. Right now all I know to do is stay faithful to His call.

Resurrection
by Nicol Sponberg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXGRIjmZeZM

I'm at a loss for words, there's nothing to say
I sit in silence wondering what led me to this place
How did my heart become so lifeless and cold
Where did the passion go?
When all my efforts seem like chasing wind
I've used up all my strength and there's nothing left to give
I've lost the feeling and I'm down to the core
I can't fake it anymore.

Here I am at the end
I'm in need of resurrection
Only You can take this empty shell and raise it from the dead

What I've lost to the world what seems far beyond redemption
You can take the pieces in Your hand and make me whole again,
You speak and all creation falls to its knees
You raise Your hand and calm the waves of the raging sea
You have a way of turning winter to spring
Make something beautiful out of all this suffering

Facing Giants

The article I referred to yesterday in Charisma magazine is entitled "Don't Run From Your Giants" by Judy Jacobs. I want to just write several of the different quotes that caused me to think. See what you think.

"Know this: There will always be an opposition to your mission. Whenever you step out and begin to walk in obedience to God, there is going to be some kind of opposition from the devil. As soon as Jesus was baptized by John, He had to face temptation in the wilderness. Our opposition and adversity takes different forms at different times. Today it may be health problems. Last year it may have been a financial bind. Next year perhaps you will lose your job. You can have trouble with your children or conflict in your marriage or a difficult relationship with someone on the job. Sometimes opposition is discouragement, sleepless nights or the stress of having too much to do. God never promised that you were going to float along on this journey of life, smelling roses and never having another problem from the day you were saved. He did promise, 'When you pass through the water, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.' (Is.43:2)

Get it through your head that trials, tests and all kinds of difficulties are inevitable. God will allow as many of them as you can handle, and He always knows how much you can handle. Your part is to decide now that you are going all the way with Him, regardless of how much it hurts. You can be sure that He will train you and strengthen you every step of the way because He wants you to be able to take every step in 100 percent faith. Always remember that it is the devil that brings temptation, but it is God who brings the tests. It's all for your benefit. It's all for your growth.

Some of us started out fighting. But then we started looking at the problems. We started looking at the giants. Stop looking at the giants and start looking at God. He's bigger. God wants to show you, both by helping you through hardships and by delivering you from them, how powerful and faithful and loving He is. He is the lily of the valleys (Song 2:1) But how will you know that HE is the lily if you don't have any valleys? He is the 'Bright and Morning Star' (Rev. 22:16) But how will you know He is shining so brightly if you have never encountered any darkness. Hes is the deliverer. But in order to deliver you, God has to have some kind of tribulations to deliver you from! He is the healer. But how will you know that He is the healer if you don't ever experience His healing touch?

God always takes what Satan intends for evil and turns it into something good. (Romans 8:28)"

I am such a slow learner. God continues to tell me that what I have been going through for the past three years (and other times) has a purpose. I still can't see it, but I rest in His promises that He is my Ephesians 3:20 God and He will do immeasurably more than all I can ask or think. I heard a song on the radio today that continued this theme. I will post it tomorrow.

God Does It Again

As God often does with me He reinforces a thought He has given me by telling it to me again. So after the past two days of God On Mute this morning I was reading an article in Charisma magazine and then later a devotional thought by Greg Laurie on Crosswalk.com. So today I will share what Greg Laurie has to say about ingratitude and tomorrow (unless God preempts with something else) I will post the Charisma article. I think I am getting it God, I really am.

"Although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened." (Romans 1:21)

A man who was nailing down a loose shingle on a roof lost his footing and began to slip. Working three stories above the ground, he was terrified at the thought of falling to his death. He started shouting, "God, help me! I am falling! God, do something!" Just as he came to the edge of the roof, his belt loop caught on a nail and stopped him long enough to grab hold again. He shouted, "It's OK, God! I got caught on a nail."That is how we can be. We cry out to God. He answers our prayers. Then we say, "It's OK, God . . . everything seemed to work out."

But do we ever stop and think that God might have worked through certain circumstances to come to our rescue? My point is, we need to put as much zeal in thanking God for what He has done as we put into pleading with God when we are in need.I heard about a hospital chaplain who kept a record of some 2,000 patients whom he had visited, all who seemed to be in a dying condition and showed signs of repentance. Among those restored to health, he felt that only two showed a marked change in their spiritual lives after their recovery.

In other words, when these people thought they would die, they repented. But when they recovered, they forgot about God.What would you think of a person who always wanted things from you, but never offered a word of thanks in return? We can be that way with God, can't we? Let's remember to thank Him."

I wish I could say that this is not me, but unfortunately, it definitely is!!

Wondering Why

So this is a followup to yesterday's post. Peter Greig in God On Mute gives several reasons why our prayers may go unanswered.

1. It was a stupid request-He gave the example of asking God to help him not run out of gas before he got to a gas station. How is God suppose to do that? Drop a filling station down from the sky?
2.Some prayer contradict other prayers-for example two teams both praying to win, or a bride asking for no rain as a farmer is asking for rain.
3.Some answered prayers would be detrimental to the world and the lives of others-Praying that God stops every storm would put the eco-system in danger and more people would ultimately be in danger than hurt in a storm.
4. Some prayers aren't answered because creation is "subjected to frustration" and has not been fully "liberated from it's bondage and decay" Romans 8:10-21
He gives a great example of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who knew God could save them, but said "But even if he does not"....they would still worship Him only.
In John 16:33 Jesus says "in this world you will have trouble", so we should actually consider blessings to be the exception to the rule instead of expecting life to be trouble free.
5. Some prayers aren't answered the way we think they should because our understanding of God is wrong-We need to believe in God more than we believe in miracles. To our faith we need to add faithfulness that regardless of what happens, we trust God. He tells a great story about a lady named Margaret that had cancer of the throat. People would say things to her indicating that it was so unfair that she should suffer "like this" She wrote a reply to give to the well meaning assessors of her situation:
'This is not the worst thing to ever happen! Cancer is so limited. It cannot cripple love, shatter hope, corrode faith, eat away peace, destroy confidence, kill friendship, shut out memories, silence courage, quench the Spirit, or lessen the power of Jesus" He goes on to say that our prayers for ourselves are almost entirely aimed at getting rid of the negative at any cost rather than praying that the negatives be faced in the proper attitude.
6. Some prayers aren't answered because God has something even better for us.
7. Some prayers are not answered because they are selfishly motivated.
8. Some prayers aren't answered because God himself is a greater answer than the thing we are asking for. He wants to use our sense of need to draw us into a deeper relationship with Himself.
9. Some prayers are not answered because God will not force one to do what they do not want to do.
10. Some prayers are not answered because God's will is being directly contested by "the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms"
11. Some prayers are not answered because there are areas of disobedience in our lives.
12. Some prayers are not answered because we just don't believe they will be.

I just found this chapter to be thought provoking because I have always heard that God always answers prayer with a "yes, no, or wait awhile". Perhaps as this author suggests there are times when because of the reasons above and other reasons as well, God does not answer the prayer that we are praying.

On a totally unrelated note. Anyone else bummed to see Brooke leave American Idol. I didn't just like her voice I liked her honesty and just the way she was not full of herself. I will be sad that she is no longer in the running.

More On God On Mute

Today is the first day I picked up God On Mute since the Silent Retreat. There were just several things that really rocked my thinking that I wanted to share with you today. The chapter was entitled "Wondering Why"?.

The author Peter Greig has a wife who has suffered from epileptic seizures. After having surgery to remove a brain tumor and thinking it had been a success her seizures returned at which time he wrote the following:

"One night as I sat slumped on the sofa trying to come to terms with the effects of yet another seizure, God seemed to whisper five words in my ear 'I know how you feel.' Whether or not I had imagined the voice, it had an immediate impact on me. I replied angrily out loud, 'No, You don't!'
I was in no mood to be patronized. Especially not be a God who'd just let me down once again. 'How can you pretend to know how I feel? If you knew how this felt You'd stop these seizures!' Tears were scalding my cheeks. 'When did You ever see the face You love more than any other contorted demonically, blue and gasping for air? When did You ever have to sit there whispering the stupidest prayers that were every prayed, feeling totally and utterly helpless? God, I don't think You have any idea how it feels to be one flesh with someone and to watch that person spasm and writhe as if her bones where breaking. When did You ever experience all that?'

Silence......Brushing away the tears, my gaze settled on a a familiar postcard on the shelf above the fireplace, just a little to the left, beneath the mirror. It was Salvador Dali's depiction of the crucifixion--Christ of Saint John of the Cross. God knew where I was looking because He waited a moment before whispering just five more words: 'That's how I felt then.'

He then posts this scripture from the Phillips translation "Happy are those who know what sorrow means, for they will be given courage and comfort." Matthew 5:4

Wow! Those God moments when you hear Him whisper something to you can be amazing times! This one for sure sent chills down my spine. Perhaps you have had a time that you could bless us all by telling us about it. There is so much more in this chapter but I will post the rest tomorrow so that you don't have to read this entry all night.

Handling Pain

Today when I logged on my visitor count was at 7777. Hope that means this is going to be an extraordinary day!! Ha-I know with God everyday is extraordinary.

When I saw the title of this article this morning, it took me back as I don't generally think when I am in pain that it is necessarily the direct hand of God. This article gave me a lot to think about.
Tell me if it hit any cords in you.

How To Speak about God When He Hurts Us
John Piper www.desiringGod.org

The book of Lamentations is the heart-cry of Jeremiah when he and his people were being hurt by God, and by their enemies, and by their own sin. How he speaks of this divine hurting shows us some of the various ways we may speak about God in our own pain. If we affirm them all, then not one of them will be taken amiss.

The Lord directly does the hurting (2:1-4)."The Lord in his anger has set the daughter of Zion under a cloud! . . . The Lord has swallowed up without mercy all the habitations of Jacob; . . . He has cut down in fierce anger all the might of Israel; . . . he has burned like a flaming fire in Jacob, consuming all around. . . . 4 He has killed all who were delightful in our eyes in the tent of the daughter of Zion.

"The enemies have done the hurting and God has exalted their might (2:16-17)."All your enemies rail against you; they hiss, they gnash their teeth, they cry. . . . The Lord has done what he purposed; . . . he has made the enemy rejoice over you and exalted the might of your foes.

"The enemy has done the hurting, as if the Lord were not watching! (1:9-11; 3:49-50).Her fall is terrible; she has no comforter. 'O Lord , behold my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed! . . . Look, O Lord, and see, for I am despised.' . . . My eyes will flow without ceasing, without respite, until the Lord from heaven looks down and sees.

"The hurting happens as if by God's "forgetting" and "forsaking" them (5:20). "Why do you forget us forever, why do you forsake us for so many days?

"The Lord will repay the enemies who did the hurting on earth (3:64). "You will repay them, O Lord, according to the work of their hands."

The Lord will follow his hurting with compassion (3:32). "Though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love."

God's hurting us is not "from his heart"--not his deepest delight (3:33).
"He does not willingly [literally "from his heart" millibboi] afflict or grieve the children of men."

In his hurting the Lord shows mercy every morning (3:22-23). "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

God's decisive mercy is his causing the erring people to repent; he removes the cause of his own wrath (5:21). "Cause us to return (hasibenu) to yourself, O Lord, and we will return (wunasub)! Renew our days as of old."

When God is hurting us, wait patiently for the salvation of the Lord (3:26). "The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him."

In and after God's hurting us, he is our only hope and portion (3:24). "'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in him.'"Pastor

Best Laid Plans

First of all, I am not my mother. Any time we ever had company when I was growing up, if my mom invited you to dinner at 6:00 you walked in the door sat down and began to eat. She was always so organized. I try really hard to be that organized, but still never have everything read when everyone walks in the door. Last night was no exception. I was still cutting avocado's, onions and bell pepper when everyone arrived and then I sliced my finger really good and had blood gushing like I had actually cut it off, when all I really did was just slice it. So in the end dinner was ready at 5:50 instead of 5:30 (which was okay since some guest didn't arrive until 5:45) AND we didn't get to play Buzzword :(
The good news is there was healthy conversation for 3 hours so there wasn't a need to play a game. So, that is okay we will have to invite others over another time just to play games. In fact our Life Group is doing that tonight since it isn't a regular meeting night but we can't go because we are going to the Senior Banquet.

I couldn't help but laugh this morning as they were presenting the seniors when I thought about Devin Lee who is moving the furthest by going to a school in Rhode Island to study culinary arts.
This is the same kid that the first year he went to camp with me had to sleep on a pallet next to my bed because he would not stay in the dorm with the other boys because he was homesick.
How times change! Then Matthew Nelson is going to study filmaking and has a desire to make documentaries in the mission field. I remember as 8th grader he filmed a LTC drama for me. It is indeed one of the blessings of being able to watch kids grow up, watching them come into their own faith and seeing where God leads them. Who knows one day they may be outstanding in their field and I will say "I knew them when....."

Buzzword Is The Game

So...because Steve is a punster and enjoys words, I chose a word game for tomorrow night. It is called Buzz Word. Has anyone played it? I have once. You have a word like "ball" and then there are phrases that are clues and all the answers have to have ball in them. Like:
Found on top of spaghetti (meatball), The entire thing, maybe with bees (the whole ball of wax),
backhanded at Wimbledon (tennis ball), a pearl on green felt (cue ball), etc. Hope it will be fun.

Just wanted to also let readers know that I purchased one of those discount books yesterday from a salesman I could not say "no" to at Staples and here are some coupons I will never use and I will be glad to give them to whoever asks for them first. If you don't want to put it here on the blog then you can email me at lynnleaming@gmail.com. The coupons all expire Dec. 2008.

Adventure Landing (Coit in Plano)- Buy One Laser tag get one free, buy one game of golf, get one free, One go cart ride, one free, 100 free gameroom tokens
Explode Rock Climbing (Midway in Carrollton)-purchase of one day pass gets you one free
These golf courses buy one green fee/get one free:
The Lakes Course or the Old Course-600 W. Campbell, Garland
Westridge, Cotton Ridge Road-McKinney
Plantation Golf Club in Frisco
Lake Park in Lewisville
Indian Creek in Carrollton
Woodbridge in Wylie
The Bridges in Garland (Blackburn Rd.)
Town East Executive Golf Course-Sunnyvale

Celebration Station in Mesquite-one day pass/one free; one laser tag/one free; 40 tokens/40 free

Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame-Fort Worth-one admission/one free

Dick's Sporting Goods-$10.00 off a $50.00 purchase (there are 6 of these)
Champs-same as above (6 of these)
Foot Locker- Same as above (4 of these)
Foot Action-same as above (2 of these)

Enterprise Rent a car-10% off or free upgrade or double upgrade

Planet Pizza (Coit in Plano)-free unlimited ride and softplay stamp with purchase of the same; buy 20 tokens get 20 free

Strikz Bowling in Frisco- 2 for 1 bowling

Cowtown Cattlepen Maze-buy one get one free

The Ice at Stonebriar-Frisco-buy one get one free

Dallas Stars-buy one get one free (six of these) Expire Dec 2008

Hawaiin Falls-One regular day pass/get one child free (2 of these); one lunch combo/one free (3 of these); season pass/one free (only one);
At Hawaiin Falls in Lewisville-one island golf/one free; one pipeline race course ride/one free;
50 tokens/50 free

There are lots of restuarants I will not go to either, but way too many to list, so if you have a favorite, let me know and I will see if it is there.

I only paid $20.00 for this book and it was fund raiser for Miles of Smiles. Definitely a better bargain than the $60.00 makeup kit he tried to get me to buy first.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

Family Watchdog

I did not know that there was site where you could see if any offenders lived in your neighborhood. www.FamilyWatchDog.us It was developed by John Walsh from Americas Most Wanted .

When you visit this site you can enter your address and a map will pop up with your house as a small icon. There will be red, blue and green dots surrounding your entire neighborhood. When you click on these dots a picture of a criminal will appear with his or her home address and the description of the crime he or she has committed.

One street over from me is a man who committed burglary. Two sex offenders live close to the church building (one male, one female). Interesting that there are not many offenders in Sachse, Wylie, Rockwall, but oh my...look at South Garland.

While I think this is an important tool to help keep children safer, I could not help but think what it would look like if there was a box over my house for everyone to see my sins. I am glad there isn't!

Expelled

First of all thanks to all who responded about possible games to play. Looks like Apples to Apples is a favorite.

Today Steve and I went to see Ben Stein's movie Expelled. It was very interesting although I found some of it hard to follow. If you don't know, the movie is about Evolution vs. Intelligent Design. The premise being that we are losing the freedom in America to teach Intelligent Design and those that have done so have been fired from the colleges and universities they were at. He traveled from coast to coast and oversees and interviewed people on both sides of the debate.
I don't claim to be any kind of expert in the scientific realm. I do know that when I worked as a librarian at the Superconducting Super Collider in the early 90's that I came in contact with some of the smartest scientist in the world. I was responsible for talking with them and then finding the articles and books they needed for their research. It was the first time that I had actually had conversations with evolutionist. I did come to realize that whether you are a creationist, theist, proponent of intelligent design or evolutionist they all take faith in something.
I just choose to put my faith in God who I believe created all things. But I cannot explain where God came from and therefore cannot be intolerant of thinking that says we all came from a Big Bang or as one man says in Expelled we all came from a group of protons on a crystal. They have no proof either, just theories and that is where their faith lies.
After seeing this movie I am not sure what my response should be. I do know if I was a parent I would be reading my children's science books to see what they are being taught. We should make sure that intelligent design dialogue is not being stifled and we are welcome to share our beliefs without fear of repercussions. If you want to examine both sides a little closer you can look at http://www.expelledthemovie.com or http://www.expelledexposed.com.

Game Suggestions

Saturday night we are having a few friends over to dinner to celebrate Steve's retirement. They don't all know each other. Anyone have a fun group game to reccomend that we play? Steve isn't much of a game player, but I don't know what else to do besides dinner. So...tell me
your ideas of what you would do with an evening of friends coming over. I would appreciate
the help.

Is It Just Me?

Is it just me or does it seem sacreligious to mention the Father and Son and Holy Ghost in this song? And....why are Father and Son not capitalized but Holy Ghost is AND would not it have meant more to say "like I need the Father, Son and Holy Ghost"

I didn't think I heard it right and had to look it up and sure enough.

I Need You by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill

I wanna drink that shot of whiskey
I wanna smoke that cigarette
I wanna smell that sweet addiction on my breath
I wanna ride across West Virginia in the back seat of a Cadillac
You know some cowboys like me go out like that
So I need you
Like a needle needs a vein
Like my uncle Joe in Oklahoma needs the rain
And I need you
Like a lighthouse on the coast
Like the father and the son need the Holy Ghost
I need you
I wanna get lost in some corner booth, Cantina Mexico
I wanna dance to the static of an AM radioI
wanna wrap the moon around us, lay beside you skin on skin
Make love til the sun comes up, til the sun goes down again
Cause I need you
Like a needle needs a vein
Like my uncle Joe in Oklahoma needs the rain
I need you
Like a lighthouse on a coast
Like the father and the son need the Holy Ghost
I need you, OOH I need you

Steve's Retirement Day

Steve retired today after working 24 years for the City of Dallas. I was blessed to go and be a part of his party. I know that I am his wife, but I was taken back from all the good wishes that were poured out on Steve today. One thing that was very obvious in the comments that were made about Steve is that people knew of his faith and it was not that he just talked about it he lived out a servant's heart among his peers.
These two men do not work for the City anymore, but they had hired Steve 24 years ago, so they came back to see him. The one in the blue shirt said that hiring Steve was the best thing he ever did.
There were so many people there they were all out in the hallway during the speeches. Several people said that Steve's new bosses (who he had less than a year) had no idea the scope of Steve's influence, so they did not book a large enough room.
They presented Steve with a nice plaque and a picture of City Hall signed by all of his commrades.

Don't know if you can see it very clear, but his cake had an airplane on it because of Steve's love

of flying and said "Taking Flight into a Happy Retirement" which also honored his love of puns.

This is Steve's co-worker Trafton. They have worked together since 1986. Trafton is the only one I know who actually puts in more hours than Steve. It was so sweet because he said he was so sad to see Steve leaving that he could not eat any of the snacks they were serving because his stomach hurt.


Steve what a blessing it was hearing so many people talk about what an influence you had been in their lives. I am the one that is going to be blessed now more than ever having you home so much more. I can't wait to see what God is going to do with us next!

Tax Funny

Hope you all got your taxes filed so you can get your Economic Stimulus check. How are you going to spend your money. If you are like me it is already spent.

Praising God Anyway

One of the things that God continues to do with me is show me other people who have managed to live life well in spite of their disabilities. Alot of you may have already seen this video, but I just recieved it in an email this week. Nick Vujicic is amazing and inspiring.
http://www.wretch.cc/video/ritahsia&func=single&vid=2282608&o=time_d&p=0

You can discover much more about him at http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/
I can only pray that God will continue to prompt me to live life praising Him for what I do have and not focusing on my limitations. May I just empty myself of me and allow Him to use me for His glory

Hymn Story

I love reading the stories behind hymns that have been written. I read this one in God On Mute and had never heard it before, so thought I would share it.

"In 1842, and Irishman named Joseph Scriven graduated from Trinity College, Dublin, and promptly fell head over heels in love with a girl from his hometown. They got engaged and, with great excitement, planned their wedding and began dreaming about their future together as husband and wife.

The eve of their wedding arrived at last, and Joseph's fiancee saddled a horse to go and see him. Tragically, it was one of the last things she would ever do. A little later, Joseph saw his bride-to-be riding toward him, and he grinned. But suddenly, just as she was crossing the bridge over the river, her horse bucked and threw her like a rag-doll down into the river below. In blind panic, Joseph ran to the river, calling out her name. He plunged into the key waters, but it was too late. His bride was already dead.

Heartbroken, Joseph emigrated to Canada, where eventually he fell in love again. In 1854, Joseph was due to marry Eliza Roche, but she fell ill and grew progressively worse. The wedding was repeatedly postponed until, three years later, Eliza died. Joseph Scriven would never again give his heart to another.

Back home in Ireland, Joseph's mother was deeply concerned for heartbroken son, and he in turn was concerned for her. One night, Joseph penned a poem to comfort here, little knowing that it would become one of the best-loved songs of all time. Several years later, a friend found it in a drawer at Joseph's house and was deeply moved. "The Lord and I wrote it together," Joseph explained. That poem, forged out of so much disappointment and pain, continues to call millions of people in their own Gethsemane's to admit their grief, their trials and temptations, their sorrows and their every weakness to Jesus in the privilege of prayer.

What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bare!
What a privilege to carry
everything to God in prayer!
Oh what peace we often forfeit,
Oh what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness
Take it to the Lord in prayer."

My God of Humor

First of all, Stacy T. if you read this please email me as I lost all my email addresses when my computer crashed and I want to email you.

Now to my weekend at the Ladies Retreat. It is always interesting the different reactions you get from people when you mention a Silent Retreat. So many women we talked to said "I could just never do that." Why is it that so many of us (me included) find it difficult to just stop and be quiet before the Lord? We had 32 Ladies at this retreat and for about 18 of the ladies it was their first experience. Over and over we heard how surprised they were at how quickly the time went by. Some really great stories about their God encounters. Not free to share their encounters but I will share mine.

Since I could not really get out and walk around the grounds, or take a hike to the river. I stayed on the wrap around porch of the lodge. It was very wooded. A few years ago another woman had told us about an awesome encounter with a bird, so I prayed to God that I would know that He was with me if I could see a rabbit. In the meantime I was reading a book entitled "God On Mute". About 3 hours went by and I then read this prayer:
"Abba Father. I know all this stuff about your love in my head, but my heart gets hard to it and I'm tired. Please do whatever You've got to do (and I mean whatever) to unclinch my fists. Pry open my eyes to that I can see Your tears and soften my heart so that it moves me deeply. I don't understand why You don't just answer my prayers, but I do choose to trust that You have heard me, that you actually do care and that you're somewhere out there on my case. Abba, Father, thank you for all the ways You have blessed me. I honestly don't know what I'd do, where I'd be or even who I'd have become without you. Abba Father, I am going to try to trust you today. Amen."

As soon as I said that prayer I saw two ladies leaving the lodge and walking across the field and I cried out to God "do you really care that I can't walk across the field or that to hear the river I am having to listen to a water CD on my headphones?" Immediately, I heard God sing over me "Oh, yes I care, you know I care, my heart is touched with your grief. When you're way grows weary your long nights dreary just know I dearly care". After recovering from a cry, I then said "well maybe there are no rabbits in this area. I had heard some birds but could not see them, I said "just send some thing from your nature for me to see" Within a couple of minutes a wasp was flying around me. I just started laughing and said "Funny God, why am I not surprised that you would choose to show me again that your ways are not my ways". No sooner had the wasp flown away than a bee came. Now remember for 3 1/2 hours prior I had seen neither or anything else. About 30 minutes later I was still reading and looked down on my notebook and there was the tiniest worm I have ever seen crawling on my notebook. Only about 1/2 inch and it would crawl by pulling up his back and go a step, pull up his bach and go another step and on and on it went and I thought it was as if God was saying to me, "if I can care for this tiny, tiny creature, I definitely care for you." When I told some others this story one of the ladies said "He was also telling you to just keep walking forward one inch at a time." I pray I can be faithful to do just that. Thank you God for our time together, I look forward to many more.

Anniversary Thoughts

Today is the 3rd anniversary of my accident. Before I go there, I have a couple of other observations.

First, there are a lot of you who read this blog that don't make comments even when I ask for them. Is it a time issue? But thanks to those that did.

Secondly, did anyone watch Oprah yesterday? She was talking about the New Earth book I posted about a few days ago. She said she was a Christian and said that she had made the conclusion that Jesus dying on the cross wasn't just so that we could go to heaven, but it was to leave a Jesus consciousness, so that the rest of us would know how to live life. I found that interesting.

Third, did anyone watch American Idol gives back last night? I teared up listening to them sing "Shout To The Lord". I was so surprised that they were allowed to sing that song with millions of people watching! Yeah God!

Now, to my anniversary date. I guess this will always be a marker in my life. It does continue to amaze me that it has already been three years. Just doesn't seem possible. I was telling Steve this morning that the piece of the puzzle I will never have is what it was like for him and my family and friends to go three weeks without knowing if I would be okay and not having any response from me. My mom did tell me today that one day she was out in the hall praying and just asked God to give her a sign that I was okay and then when she came in my room and took my hand I squeezed her hand really hard. She asked me a couple of questions to which I shook my head "no" and then she called Steve in, but I would no longer respond. I just can't imagine how difficult it must have been but can only imagine by putting myself in their shoes and thinking how I would have felt if it were one of them.

I continue to have my struggles in understanding why I didn't receive total healing, but constantly try to keep it all in perspective. Today I walked Albertson's again and while I came home exhausted I did walk Albertson's, so those are the things I have to remind myself of and try to keep a positive thought process instead of the negative. Focusing on what I have not what I don't. What I do know is I cannot even imagine how I would have made it through the past three years if it were not for God and my faith in Him. I am so thankful that I have Hebrews 13:5 to cling to.

Tomorrow is the Ladies Silent Retreat. I cannot tell you how many people have ribbed us saying how can women be silent. The 32 ladies going on this retreat will be blessed by just the quiet time they get to spend in communion with God. I wish more could experience that blessing.
So won't be blogging again until Sunday. Everyone have a blessed weekend.

Are you Hungry

A Hunger To Know Jesus Christ

Am I? I read this article earlier this week in my daily devotional book "The Journey" and found it thought provoking. Hope you do too.

"The first evidence of the Holy Spirit's presence in your life is a new hunger to know Jesus Christ. When the Holy Spirit is working in some one's life is that Jesus Christ begins to be seen as attractive. He ceases to be detached and mystical but becomes real. It is the Holy Spirit, who makes that happen.

Recently, I was in the south of England for a series of meetings in a church. A family brought an eighteen-year old girls who was living with them for a time and who had never been exposed to the Gospel in this way before. God began to work in her life and she borrowed a Bible and spent the whole of one day reading from it. At the meetings we held, she drank in everything that was said but found it difficult to understand why no one seemed to want to talk about Christ after the service was over. People stayed for coffee and talked about the weather or their holidays, but no one seemed to want to talk about Christ! There are some super people in that church, many of them very godly, and this young woman's observation was a generalization perhaps, yet what she observed is so often true. When there is not a hunger for Christ and a longing to know Him better and deeper, the Spirit of God is either absent or He is being quenched and grieved. The Christian life is not just an experience or feelings, it is not just knowing what we believe, but in the words of Paul, it is knowing whom we believe (2 Timothy 1:12) Knowing Him better is the expression of the Spirit's life within us."

By Charles Price (www.livingtruth.ca)

One Answer

15 of you have read my post yesterday and only one person commented with my question "What would you say?". I really am interested in other's thoughts here. But in the meantime, today in one of my devotional readings this is what Max Lucado says and I thought it was perfect.

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

"Innocence slaughtered. Goodness murdered. Heaven's tower of strength pierced. Mother's wept, evil danced and the apostles had to wonder, When all that good falls apart, what can good people do?
God answered their question with a declaration. with the rumble of the earth and the rolling of the rock, He reminded them, 'The Lord sits on His throne in heaven'.
And today, we must remember: he still is. He is still in His temple, still on His throne, still in control. And He still makes princes out of prisoners, counselors out of captives, and Sundays out of Fridays. What He did then, He will do still. It falls to us to ask Him to do so."

What Would You Say?

Today I was having a conversation with someone who said "I really wish I could say that God intervenes, but I don't think he does." When I disagreed they began to cite various instances such as: a boy that went blind, a man with Alzheimers, a baby that died, a woman with cancer, my accident, children who are abused, etc. and they asked how did God intervene? I looked up the definition of "intervene"
1. to come between disputing people, groups, etc.; intercede; mediate.
2.to occur or be between two things.
3.to occur or happen between other events or periods
4.(of things) to occur incidentally so as to modify or hinder

So maybe I was wrong and perhaps God doesn't intervene but instead He intercedes. The definition of "intercede" is:
1.to act or interpose in behalf of someone in difficulty or trouble, as by pleading or petition
2.to attempt to reconcile differences between two people or groups; mediate.

I think I have come to the point in my life where I know that there are just some mysteries about God that I will never understand. He has told me "His ways are not my ways", and while I wish it was all more black and white, somehow it excites me to know that one day the mysteries will all be known. But to not think that God is involved in every detail of our lives leaves us with no hope and no reason to pray. So what would you say to someone who thinks that God does not intervene in life circumstances?

Vengeance

I admit I am a vengeful person. I am always hoping that a policeman will come by and catch the perpetrator. Today it was a guy that blatently ran a red light. He was at least 3 car lengths behind me and I stopped at yellow and he just kept barreling through. I so hoped that a policeman would have seen him and given him a ticket. But lass, he got away. That vengeful spirit also raises it's head when people are speeding. I just want them to get caught!! Where are the police when you want them?

How Should We Respond?

I am sure a lot of you have seen this Youtube footage of Oprah and some of the things she is promoting through the book New Earth by Eckart Tole. If you have not seen it you can view it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW4LLwkgmqA.

This is my question. How should we as Christians respond to things like this? I am afraid if most are like me, we just tend not to get involved. When I first saw this I was very disturbed and then I started thinking perhaps it would be better to get involved in the discussion. I am still processing my thoughts. There is a danger that lies in getting involved as it gives an opening to Satan to suck me into false teaching, but on the other hand do I trust the strength of the Holy Spirit to lead me into all truth? By not getting involved in the discussion we do not have the opportunity to speak truth into the discussion. When those around us are discussing the New Earth we have nothing to contribute. Instead, if we actually read the book too then we could better counteract the lies with truth. Here is the dilemma for me Proverbs 16:17 says "The highway of the upright avoids evil; he who guards his way guards his life" and I Thessalonians 5:21-22 says "Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. " So to me that verse could be contradictory because I don't know how you test everything but avoid evil. Then if you read the same verse in the King James it actually says to "abtain from the very appearance of evil". Then add to the equation Romans 16:17 "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them." The dictionary defines avoid as: to keep away from; keep clear of; shun.

I guess the bottom line for me is that I don't have to roll around in the mud to know that it is actually dirty. I am not sure why we use the logic that we must participate in order to be relevant? So...I would love to hear your thoughts on this issue. It is so broad because it is the same standard I set for myself for books that I read, movies I watch, music I listen to, etc. But at the same time, I don't want to appear to be "holier than thou", even though I know I Peter 1:16 says "be holy as I am holy". So how do we relate to the world around us but not be of the world around us? Tell me how you walk the tight rope.

Marriage Bliss

Marcie sent this in an email today. We are going out tonight to celebrate my parent's anniversary, so I thought it was an appropriate post for today. May we all love our spouses just a little bit more today and cherish the love that the Lord has blessed us with.

This is article is from the Fort Worth Star Telegram on Wednesday, April 2nd.

They kept their wedding vows for 75 years, through the deaths of their own children, the lives of three new generations and the inevitable changes in each other.
"He was 120 pounds at most, ever," Ms. Grimm said. "She was a fat granny."
While Josie was described as a talker, JC said little.
"He couldn't hear real well and he didn't talk much anyway," said Marla Williamson, another granddaughter. "That was his way of socializing with you was to share Dr Pepper."
The fridge is still loaded with Dr Pepper. The little Fort Worth house unchanged.
"They stayed together the whole time," Ms. Williamson said. "They slept in this bed."
Mrs. Cox insisted on being JC’s sole caregiver, even up until the moment they entered a nursing home last month.
"She was still ironing his clothes three weeks ago," Ms. Williamson said. “She was going to make sure, even though he never went anywhere, his clothes were going to be starched.”
The granddaughters said their intimacy was apparent until the moment they died. A few days ago, Mr. Cox took Mrs. Cox's hand and he slipped away.
"Holding hands, and that's how they died," Ms. Williamson said. "Pa died holding onto Granny."
Just five hours later, she let go too as her family whispered to her.
"Your children are waiting for you, and Pa is waiting for you," Ms. Grimm said. "It's OK. You can let go and we'll all be OK together. And a minute later, she passed."

Word Of God Speak

First of all Happy 39th Anniversary to my mother and dad! God has been so gracious and kind to grant them another year together. We give Him thanks and praise. They have been blessed with such a great marriage and we have been blessed to have them model for us what a marriage centered in God's love looks like.

This morning as I was going out to buy them a card I heard an old familiar song on the radio, but in leiu of yesterday's post it had new meaning.

Word of God Speak by Mercy Me
I'm finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it's okay
The last thing I need is to be heard
But to hear what You would say

[CHORUS]Word of God speak
Would You pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to seeYour majesty
To be still and knowThat You're in this place
Please let me stay and rest
In Your holiness Word of God speak

I'm finding myself in the midst of You
Beyond the music, beyond the noise
All that I need is to be with You
And in the quiet hear Your voice

I pray that more and more each day I will fall deeper and deeper in love with the Word of my Father and find great joy in meeting Him there.

If you want to hear the song you can click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JK_6osCH74