GOD & I: OUR HOLY ENCOUNTERS
"This is what the Lord says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
'I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.'" Isaiah 48:17
So after sailing all day Saturday and half day Sunday, we landed in Juneau. Sunday morning we had a worship service with Dr. Stanley before getting off the ship to enjoy Juneau. Steve and I had reserved a Whale Watching excursion that took 4 hours of our shore time. We were hopeful to see whales, but could not have imagined what we were going to be blessed to see. It is called bubble netting. Most whales do not spend time in community, so sitings are usually of a lone whale, but there are times they come together in an effort to feed. You can read about the interesting process here: www.alaskawhalefoundation.org/education/bubble_net/bubble_net_feeding.html Here is the best video I was able to take, wish we had been closer:
I had wished we were this boat as they were alot closer to the whales than we were. Seems like they could have taken turns?? As it was each boat was only allowed 30 minutes and then they were suppose to move on. Our driver dropped a microphone in hopes that we could hear the whales, but there were about 5 other boats in the area so there was too much noise. The brown building is the state capital building, one of the few without a dome. No, we didn't see Sarah Palin.
So we are back from our amazing Alaska adventure and have 1200+ pictures to show for it. No...I will not post them all here, but will spend the next few days giving highlights of each day.
We began our trip in Seattle arriving the day before our launch and staying at the Sea-Tac Marriott. We were able to get two $200.00 vouchers by delaying our flight for an hour and a half, which we didn't mind doing. Friday morning the bus picked us up at 10:30 a.m. and it was off to the cruise. Immediately we were taken back at the size of the ship! It was huge! We sailed on Holland America's Zaandam. When we boarded our ship the room wasn't quite ready so the first thing we got to do was enjoy our first of many buffet's. It was all everyone had told us it would be...way too much food to choose from. We then checked in our room and within 30 minutes our luggage showed up.
We then set sail at 4:00. We had signed up for the early dinner at 5:30 p.m. and were paired with two other couples. The Crawfords were from Columbus, Mississippi. Sammy was an associate pastor of a Baptist church who had been at the same church for 30 years and his church had given him the cruise as a gift. The Mayers were from Michigan and ran a 1400 acre gladiola farm. We really enjoyed getting to know both of these couples during the week.We enjoyed our welcome from Charles Stanley. We returned to the room to find chocolates on our bed and our drapes pulled. Steve was the first to figure out that the rugs in the elevator were going to indicate the day of the week. We both commented that we were amazed how well we slept the first night. Must have been the rocking of the boat. Stay tuned tomorrow for a look at our port in Juneau.
On our way to Alaska tomorrow. I have decided not to take the computer with me and take a break and vacation from that addiction. So you will have to wait till after the 20th to see the pictures and get an update. I know you will be waiting with baited breath :) I can promise you that I will not be missing this heat while I am gone. Hope we will return home to all things being well with you and yours.
So if you Google "places to retire in Tennesee" you will find the number one recommendtion is Maryville, so we checked it out today. Nice town, still a little larger than what we think we are looking for but it definitely had some pluses. Major one is that it is only 30 minutes to the Great Smoky Mountains. It has everything you would want, including my number one requirement. We are blessed to have a Garmin and that has helped us to find a lot of things including a church of Christ. So we were pleasantly surprised to find this church looked fairly modern and not that small. So then we found the 2nd church of Christ which was more like what we expected. They must be looking for a minister, because one was not listed, just the youth minister. Oh yes, we turned the corner and found out we were mistaken the sign was just in the yard of the house, here is the actual church. Wow! I am pretty sure it was bigger than R.E. We then headed to the Great Smoky Mountain Scenic drive. 77 degrees, sunroof and windows down, 18 miles along the river. It was beautiful! Tomorrow it is on to Nashville and the wedding. We got a great deal on the Sheraton Downtown on Priceline....woo hoo!
Boy have we been seeing the 18 wheelers on this trip! And numerous police suv vehicles, sometimes 3 or 4 at a time. Never have to worry about that with Steve driving as he ALWAYS goes the speed limit. Anyway...just thought I would post a few pictures of the trucks. I have been taking lots of pictures with our new camera so that I can be in good practice for our Alaska trip. Our Avalon was excited to see so many relatives. Some carrying interesting loads. I had no idea that trucks could run away from home :0 I was amazed to see this one, because I did not know Fruit Stripe gum still existed. I loved this gum as a kid. There were even flying trucks.
Finally today we took a ride on an Incline Train. It was a 72.7 grade built in 1895. It was interesting but definitely not worth $14.00 a piece for 30 minutes. Tomorrow it is on to Knoxville.
Steve and I are on our way to a wedding in Nashville. The wedding isn't until Thursday but we decided we would come early and just spend some time exploring Tennessee. We have both thought it might be a good place to find our "small town America" to retire. After talking on our trip today Steve is thinking maybe he would like Ohio or Wisconsin because there would be more opportunities to enjoy aviation events. We have heard that Ohio is one of the lower cost of living states. But most of all we want to go where God can use us...we realize that He can use us anywhere, but we are feeling called not to just be involved in "church" but to be more missional in the community where we live. We said maybe we should just stop at little churches on the way and ask them what they are doing and how could they use us. Just kidding...but it does bring up the question "how do we know where God wants us to go?" So for now we are just open. Today we are in Jackson with no plans yet of where we are heading tomorrow. I think we probably should have stayed in Memphis and then we could have taken the southern route. Guess we can still go south from here, but came a little bit out of the way. So stayed tune to see where we end up next.
We were creative today and besides spending time talking about retirement, we played a singing game. We tried to see who could come up with the most Beatle songs. We could only think of four so we then decided to try songs with a city or state in the lyrics. Steve won this one. I didn't keep track but we came up with a bunch. We then went on to songs with numbers in them and songs with names of birds. I then said songs with people's names, but by this time Steve was "songed" out.
You can't be a part of what has been going on the past couple of days and not think about death. Makes me wonder what my legacy will be when I die? Have to admit I can't help but wonder if Michael Jackson did not like being considered weird why he didn't do more to change his image. Okay and am I the only one whose favorite MJ song is "Ben"?
And Farrah Fawcett?? Hopefully after I die I will have contributed more to the world than being famous for my hair. Actually...I did find this picture of my Farah Fawcett hair that I cut myself. But today I went to see "My Sister's Keeper" and there is a seen where a 17 year old is dying and her younger 12 year old sister asks her "are you afraid to die?" and then asked "where do you go when you die?" She said she was not afraid to die and then replied, "I don't know, but where ever it is I will wait for you." It just made me think that if I didn't know that death is actually our victory and that life after death is so much more than we can ever imagine then how would I face death? Without God and His love facing death has to be scary. I am so thankful that when my time comes that I will be able to die in peace. However, I do think it is worth thinking about what kind of legacy I will leave when I die. I hope and pray that it will be one that glorifies my Father and causes other people to want to know Him better.
(our first attempt to download pictures from Steve's Blackberry)
Last night Steve treated me to a night of Il Divo for an early birthday present. If you are not familiar with Il Divo, Simon Cowell (yes from American Idol) had an idea of putting together four men who could sing classical music but not opera. He searched for two years before putting together an international group: Spanish opera and zarzuela baritone, Carlos Marín, a French pop singer, Sébastien Izambard, and two classically trained tenors, Swiss Urs Bühler and American David Miller. Each of them have amazing voices on their own, but put them together and they are just bone chilling. Even though 90% of the concert was not in English, I still really enjoyed it. But here is the problem. Since it wasn't in English I had no idea what they were singing. My favorite song was one called Hallelujah. Listen to it and then read the rest of the post.
I thought it was so beautiful and had to research today to see what the lyrics actually said imagine my surprise when I put them into a translation service and discovered this:
A soldier home today returned and a sick boy he was cured and today there is not I work in the forest of the rain The deserted was saved because of a good deed and today nobody repudiates it Hallelujah [Chorus:] Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah An atheist that managed to believe and a hungry one today has to eat and today they donated to a church a fortune That the quick war will be finished That in the world to the end will reign the peace That there will not be any misery Hallelujah [Chorus:] Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Because the norm be the love and govern not the corruption but the good thing and the best of the pure soul Because God protect us of a badly final one Because a day we can learn Because to put an end to so much fury Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Because a day we can learn Because to put an end to so much fury Hallelujah
Have to say though I was glad they changed the lyrics from the orginal ones of Leonard Cohen.
Now I've heard there was a secret chord That David played, and it pleased the Lord But you don't really care for music, do you? It goes like this The fourth, the fifth The minor fall, the major lift The baffled king composing Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah
Your faith was strong but you needed proof You saw her bathing on the roof Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you She tied you To a kitchen chair She broke your throne, and she cut your hair And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah
Baby I have been here before I know this room, I've walked this floor I used to live alone before I knew you. I've seen your flag on the marble arch Love is not a victory march It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah
There was a time you let me know What's really going on below But now you never show it to me, do you? And remember when I moved in you The holy dove was moving too And every breath we drew was Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah
You say I took the name in vain I don't even know the name But if I did, well really, what's it to you? There's a blaze of light In every word It doesn't matter which you heard The holy or the broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah
I did my best, it wasn't much I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you And even though It all went wrong I'll stand before the Lord of Song With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah
Lesson learned? Just because the lyrics have the words Hallelujah, doesn't mean it is a religious song.
For their encore they did come out and do an amazing rendition of Amazing Grace. And yes, it was in English.
I am thankful that God has allowed me to spend another Father's Day with my Dad. He wanted to go to the Great Buffet for lunch, so we did that on Friday. Today was simple, he didn't want a dessert, so I just took him some grapefruit. He loves grapefruit that is peeled. It took me about 45 minutes to peel him four, but it was worth it because he was so pleased. I have to admit doing this made me appreciate my mom, because she peels them for him all the time, and it is quite a bit of work to get all that skin off. Anyway...that's my dad, so easy to please, and very appreciative of just the simple things in life.
I am just thankful for the gift he has been to me and the most important gift he has given me which is the gift of having a father who has a heart for our Father. He is a wonderful vessel that God has loved me through and I am eternally greatful. I am not ready to say goodbye to my Dad, but he is sure ready to go home. I will just be grateful for each day until God calls him. Recent picture of my Dad and his great grandson Talon
I love going to weddings. It is just fun to watch a couple start life together, really clueless as to what really lies ahead. There is such innocence. I love sitting next to my husband during a wedding and just reliving our own vows and being thankful that 20 years later I can have all confidence that we have kept those vows to one another.
Today's wedding of Erin Snyder and Marshall May had to be one of the funner weddings I have been to, in that Marshall and his groomsmen seemed to have fun. Hopefully that means that he will keep things lively in their marriage. And I must say that Sara did an amazing job in sewing all the bridesmaid dresses.
One thing I have noticed about weddings is people do not arrive late. At Richardson East people are always talking about "R.E. time" because no one ever gets to Bible class on time. It is almost like it is just acceptable to be there at 9:15. As a Bible class teacher I find this to be very frustrating because you do have a couple of kids that get their early (because their parents are also teachers) and you have to begin class for them, and yet the kids that come in so late want to do the activity but don't get to because you are ready to move on to the next thing. Anyway... my question is why can people get to wedding's on time, but not Bible class? I guess one thing that makes it easier is weddings are usually later in the day. Anyway...just wonder if God thinks our excuses for being late to meet Him are acceptable?
I don't think much of what I miss by living in the city, but my recent trip to my brother's in Olympia have motivated me to once again think about moving out in the country. Here are a few pictures from his place. I love sitting out on a deck, and this was the view from my brother's. The haze did not go away enough to see Mt. Ranier, but it was still a pretty valley below. Two different days and deer showed up to eat plants and grass in the back yard. There were rhodendrums everywhere. His were lavendar and purple, but there were beautiful pink, yellow and orange as well. Eventually wherever we move, I want to have a deck to just sit out and enjoy reading and God's beauty of nature. My mom and I both enjoyed a ride in my brother's Rousche Mustang. What a life :)
My friend Andrea sent me an email today with this story and I thought it was just a sweet reminder of who we are called to be.
"Excuse me, Are you Jesus?" This is really powerful and makes one think!!!! A few years ago a group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago. They had assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night's dinner. In their rush, with tickets and briefcases, one of these salesmen inadvertently kicked over a table which held a display of apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly missed boarding.
ALL BUT ONE!!! He paused, took a deep breath, got in touch with his feelings, and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned.
He told his buddies to go on without him, waved good-bye, told one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and explain his taking a later flight. Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal floor. He was glad he did. The 16 year old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears running down her cheeks in frustration, and at the same time helplessly groping for her spilled produce as the crowd swirled about her, no one stopping and no one to care for her plight.
The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put them back on the table and helped organize her display. As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become battered and bruised; these he set aside in another basket.
When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl, "Here, please take this $40 for the damage we did. Are you okay?" She nodded through her tears. He continued on with, "I hope we didn't spoil your day too badly."
As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered blind girl called out to him, "Mister...." He paused and turned to look back into those blind eyes. She continued, "Are you Jesus?"
He stopped in mid-stride, and he wondered. Then slowly he made his way to catch the later flight with that question burning and bouncing about in his soul: "Are you Jesus?" Do people mistake you for Jesus? That's our destiny, is it not? To be so much like Jesus that people cannot tell the difference as we live and interact with a world that is blind to His love, life and grace..
If we claim to know Him, we should live, walk and act as He would. Knowing Him is more than simply quoting Scripture and going to church. It's actually living the word as life unfolds day to day.
You are the apple of His eye even though we, too, have been bruised by a fall. He stopped what He was doing and picked you and me up on a hill called Calvary and paid in full for our damaged fruit.
This morning we attended worship with my brother Brad in Olympia, Washington. I thought the minister had a good sermon from Exodus 6. He talked about how God's timing is not our timing and what lessons God can teach us when He asks us to wait. He started out by saying that "we are always in a hurry and God never is". He said when God asks us to wait we usually do 3 things: 1. We WONDER what God is up to and how He will respond. 2. We WORRY because He isn't moving at our speed and think He may not respond at all 3. We WHINE asking God what's taking so long?
He stated that God will actually answer our prayer when He can manifest His power in such a way that He will get the most glory.
God told Moses I AM (not "I was" OR (I will be)
It is never about what we are doing for God but what He is doing for us.
In waiting for God's plan to be revealed we will see a revelation of God's power and a revelation of God's person.
Exodus 6:2-3-God also said to Moses, "I am the LORD. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them."
They only knew God partially, not totally who He was as LORD=Yahweh. If we don't wait, we will not know God for who He totally is either.
We can be confident that God will always finish what He starts.
Seems like this summer is going to bring more travel than usual. Today, my mom and I leave for Olympia, Washington for my youngest niece's graduation from High School. After we return on the 10th, I will be home two weeks before Steve and I head off for Nashville for a friends' son's wedding. Then we are home a week before we leave on our Alaskan cruise.
So....won't be blogging a lot, but will have lots of pictures to share after each trip.
Everyone have a GREAT summer!!
Thursday, June 04, 2009
This note was in a Focus on The Family email that Steve forwarded to me today.
June Declared 'LGBT Pride Month' President Barack Obama has proclaimed the month of June 2009 as "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month." "The LGBT rights movement has achieved great progress," Obama states in the official proclamation, "but there is more to be done." The most recent reliable figures, from a study called the "National Health and Social Life Survey" in 1994, found that 2.8 percent of American men and 1.4 percent of American women reported some level of homosexual or bisexual identity. [OneNewsNow.com; Edward O. Laumann, et. al., The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States, University of Chicago Press, 1994]
No, I am not going to post comments about President Obama. What struck me about the article were the statistics. 2.8 percent of men and 1.4 percent of women report some level of homosexual behavior. Does that surprise anyone else besides me? How does such a small percent of the population have such a loud voice? Unfortunately, I think it is called media.
My niece Danette (who just happens to be my namesake Danette Lynn) and her two year old son, Talon, came for a visit from Denver this weekend. It was such a blessing to get to spend this one on one time with her. Danette has a special place in my heart, not just because she is my namesake but mostly because she is the only sibling's child who actually takes the time to stay in touch with me. She never forgets my birthday or anniversary and stays in touch via email, she ALWAYS sends thank you notes for anything I have given her. It was so sweet of her to come because she realized that my dad would never be ever to travel to Denver again and she wanted him to see his great grandson. Well, this weekend she even grew more dear in my eyes because I got to see what a GREAT mother she is. She has done a great job of raising her son Talon (along with her husband Steve). Talon was one of the most well behaved two year olds I have ever been around. And he just had adorable antics and was cute as a button. We really enjoyed our time together. Here are just a few pictures of our time together.
I said I would blog about the other Pursuit of God chapter entitled "Meekness and Rest'. Meekness would be an area of my life that drastically needs improving. This paragraph spoke to my heart.
"In a world of men we find nothing approaching the virtues of which Jesus spoke in the opening words of the famous Sermon on the Mount. Instead of poverty of spirit we find the rankest kind of pride; instead of meekness, arrogance; instead of hunger after righteousness we hear men saying,"I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing"; instead of mercy we find cruelty; instead of purity of heart, corrupt imaginings; instead of peacemakers we find men quarrelsome and resentful; instead of rejoicing in mistreatment we find them fighting back with every weapon at their command."
"There are two things standing in contrast to each other, a burden and a rest...The burden borne by mankind is a heavy and a crushing thing. The word Jesus used means 'a load carried or toil borne to the point of exhaustion.' Rest is simply realize from that burden. It is not something we do; it is what comes to us when we cease to do. His own meekness, that is rest."
"The meek man cares not at all who is greater than he, for he has long ago decided that the esteem of the world is not worth the effort."
"The meek will not care what people think of us so long as God is pleased."
He closed with another heartfelt prayer: "Lord, make me childlike. Deliver me from the urge to compete with another for place or prestige or position. I would be simple and artless as a little child. Deliver me from pose and pretensee. Forgive me for thinking of myself. Help me to forget myself and find my true peace in beholding Thee. That thou may answer this prayer I humble myself before Thee. Lay upon me Thy easy yoke of self-forgetfulness and through it I may find rest. Amen"
I did not get to go the the Pursuit of God discussion tonight because I have a special friend in the Holy Butterfly class and they were doing their closing program.
But in reading the two chapters we were suppose to cover tonight there were some thoughts that Tozer related that again were some "ah ha" moments for me.
In the chapter entitled "Restoring the Creator-Creature Relation" there were these thoughts: "We are right when, and only when, we stand in a right position relative to God, and we are wrong so far and so long as we stand in any other position." "God being who and what He is, and we being who and what we are, the only thinkable relationship between us is one of full Lordship on His part and complete submission on ours." "God was our original habitat and our hearts cannot but feel at home when they enter again that ancient and beautiful abode."
And the chapter ended with this amazing prayer: "O God be thou exalted over my possessions. Nothing of earth's treasures shall seem dear unto me if only Thou art glorified in my life. Be Thou exalted over my friendships. I am determined that Thou shalt be above all, though I must stand deserted and alone in the midst of the earth. Be thou exalted above my comforts. Though it means the loss of bodily comforts and the carrying of heavy crosses, I shall keep my vow made this day before Thee. Be Thou exalted over my reputation. Make me ambitious to please Thee even if as a result I must sink into obscurity and my name be forgotten as a dream. Rise, O Lord, into Thy proper place of honor, above my ambitions, above my likes and dislikes, above my family, my health and even my life itself. Let me sink that Thou mayest rise above. Ride forth upon me as Thou didst ride into Jerusalem mounted upon the humble little beast, a colt, the foal of an ass, and let me hear the children cry to Thee, 'Hosanna in the highest." Amen
This is getting long, so I will post about the other chapter tomorrow. I can only hope that one day I will know the Lord the way Tozer does and be able to say a prayer such as this.
Today I was on Facebook and looked at some pictures of a girl who is a senior that was from my time at the Mesquite church. She had a picture of her senior tea and I was wowed! I did a senior tea at my house for a couple of girls and it was nice, but these tea oozed of elegance and yet fun. Look at the difference between my table and the one at this tea. Just left me feeling a little envious that I don't have those creative gifts.
I went to watch Jennifer Matthews graduate from the University of North Texas today. First of all I just want to praise her for completing her degree. First is not easy to be a single mom of a 3 year old, work and go to college. But she did it!
I found some of the titles of the dissertations for the PHD's to be rather interesting. Here are just a few:
An Actor-Partner Interdependence Model of Attachment Process, Conflict Resolution, and Psychological Abuse on Relationship Quality in a Community Sample of Heterosexual Couples
A Regulatory Role for N-Acylethanolamine Metabolism in Arabidipis thanlian Seeds and Seedlings
From Reactionary to Responsive: Applying the Internal Environmental Scan Protocol to Lifelong Learning Strategic Planning and Operational Model Selection
The Global Village Playground: A Qualitative Case Study of Designing an ARG as a Capstone Learning Experience.
An Exploration of the Relationship between Effectiveness of Filial Therapy Training Groups and Group Cohesion
An Examination of the Adoption of Preservation Metadata in cultural Heritage Institutions: An Exploratory Study using Diffusion of Innovations Theory
Don't you just feel smarter by reading the titles?
"And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will." --Romans 8:27 This verse popped out at me today. I think I have always focused on verse 26, where we are told the Spirit intercedes for us with groans. I don't know about you but I don't always know what to pray in every given situation. It is comforting to know that is when the Holy Spirit will help me, and intercede for me. But what was new is seeing that the Spirit pleads in harmony with God's will. So many times I have wondered "what is God's will for my life?" So again it is something I do not need to worry about, just trust that the Spirit will do His job and will make sure my prayers line up with God's will. It is interesting that following Romans 8:27 is Romans 8:28. "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." There are times when I am overwhelmed with the way life is going. I am so distressed that I don't even know how to pray, so I just sigh or groan. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit takes my groans and sighs and turns them to prayers to the Father. No matter what is happening, God is going to take my present circumstances and bring good out of bad. But His ultimate goal is take all that happens, the good and the bad, the happy and the sad, and make me more like Jesus. I find that comforting to know. Thank you God for taking my feeble attempts to pray and giving me the Spirit who makes them into what you would have them to be.
Last night our chapter in the Pursuit of God was entitled "The Gaze Of The Soul" and was about faith. Tozer had some comments about faith that once again were attention getting. Here are a few that I particularly liked.
"Faith is a redirecting of our sight, a getting out of focus of our own vision and getting God into focus."
"When we lift our inward eyes to Gaze upon God, we are sure to meet friendly eyes gazing back at us."
"When the habit of inwardly gazing Godward becomes fixed within us, we shall be ushered onto a new spiritual life more in keeping with the promises of God and the mood of the New Testatment."
"Believing is directing the heart's attention to Jesus. It is lifting the mind to 'Behold the Lamb of God' (John 1:29), and never ceasing that beholding for the rest of our lives. At first it may seem difficult but it becomes easier as we look steadilyat His wondrous person, quietly without strain. Distractions may hinder, but once the heart is committed to Him, after each brief excursion away from Him, the attention will turn again and rest upon Him like a wandering bird coming back to it's window."
So who knew all these years when we sang "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look into His wonderful face", that we were really singing about faith and what it looks like?
Father God, may I keep my eyes turned towards you more and more and less and less on me on my circumstances.
Yeterday we went to the Highland Oaks campus in Plano for worship with my mom. Christopher Green was the speaker and he spoke about submission in their new "One Another" series. He said some good things but the one that caught my attention the most is that when we submit to one another we are really submitting to Christ.
Ephesians 5:21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
I know I knew this, but it hit me anew yesterday. Why is it that so often we forget that it doesn't matter what we do, when we do it, it is as if we were doing it to Christ Himself. Perhaps if I kept that at the forefront of my mind at all times, I would do a better job of being Christlike.
I do think that this submission thing is the reason Steve and I have such a special marriage. Interestingly, it was just about a year ago (May 19, 2008) I blogged about how opposite Steve and I are but how our marriage works because of our mutual submission (Steve definitely being better at it than I)
Putting our needs aside and putting someone else first is not natural. It is only when we realize that we are really serving our Lord when we do that, that it makes it easier, and eventually maybe we won't even have to think about it, it will just become our nature. "Oh to be like Him."
I have been wanting to write this post since Wednesday, but just have not taken the time to do it. Steve and I are attending a discussion group on A.W. Tozer's book "The Pursuit of God:the human thirst for the divine".
There are some really deep thoughts in this book and I just thought I would post a few of the quotes that have caused me to stop and think a little.
"Complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth. Acute desire must be present or there will be no manifestation of Christ to His people. He waits to be wanted."
"Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever."
"Eternity will not be long enough to learn all He is, or to praise HIm for all that He has done."
"No point is nearer to God than any other point. It is exactly as near to God from any place as it is from any other place. No one is in mere distance any further from or any nearer to God than any other person."
"God is forever speaking Himself out to His creation. God is speaking, not God spoke, but God is speaking."
So today in Ladies Bible Class we finished the "I Saw The Lord" study. There were several comments in the video today that caught my attention that I thought I would share.
The lesson was about God's call on Nehemiah's life and Nehemiah's desire to rebuild the walls. He prays this prayer in Nehemiah 1:5-7, 11: "Then I said: 'O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome god, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites including myself and my father's house have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses. O lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.'"
Made me wonder if I have ever had that kind of passion in a prayer?
If God is the Lord of your life you can't play it safe. We must do whatever the burden demands. Faith is like a muscle...the more your exercise it the stronger it gets. Don't look at what resources you have before you step out. Trust God will supply all my needs. God will never call me without equipping me first.
There was also this verse from I Samuel 2:35 "I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind." So could God say that of me??
On a side track Henry Blackaby was talking about how he hears a lot of people complain about the condition of a church and try to explain why they are leaving to find another church and he said he will just ask those people "do you think God knew the condition of that church when He made you a part of it?" That is a soapbox of mine. Do I know other members well enough that when they leave I actually feel like one of my fingers or toes is missing? God does make us body and when someone leaves we should notice our body is not complete.
Sunday was Senior Sunday at Richardson East where we honor the seniors by giving them a Bible. It is always accompanied by a slide show of the children growing up. They also put together a little book where the parents write their child a note of blessing. In his sermon, John mentioned how children are a gift from God. And my head said "I wonder why God did not want us to have that gift?" Today I read someone's Facebook post that said "children are such a blessing" and my mind thought "I wonder why God didn't want us to have that blessing?" When John mentioned in his sermon what was going on in 1991 when this senior class was born, I thought "that is the year we miscarried". Don't think I realized before that our child would have been a senior this next year. Steve named our baby Pat, because it was a gender neutral name.
Another mystery from God that we will not have the answers to in this lifetime. I am not sure why God thought it wasn't best that Steve and I have children, but I have to accept that it was His plan for us. A lot of people tell me that He blessed me with hundreds of children, and while it is true I have been blessed to minister to children, it doesn't take away the pain on days like Sunday when I remember that I will not have the blessing of children or grandchildren. But there is always the hope of heavenly reuinions. And there is the confidence that God is faithful to supply all my needs (in His way and in His time).
Two weeks ago today I woke up with a cough. Today it was better, but still there. What was better today, is I didn't break out in a sweat. That has been happening for two weeks as well, several times a day. The doctor said it was just my bodies way of fighting off the infection, even though I wasn't running a fever. I thought that was strange. So hopefully the "no sweat" day means I am finally on the mend.
You think because of not feeling well, I would have lost a bunch of weight when I weighed in at Weight Watchers today, but...not the case. I gained .2 pounds. Just glad it wasn't more as the doctor had told me the prednisone would probably cause weight gain because of water retention.
Today's discussion at Weight Watchers was good because it was on "stinkin thinkin" and all the negative things we tell ourselves that sabotage whatever we are trying to accomplish, in my case weight loss. I am learning to just take it one day at a time and not look at how far I have to go. She ended with a quote that I thought was good "Whether you think you can or can't, you are right." Henry Ford
So for those of you who are regular readers of my blog, I apologize for a couple of weeks of minimal posting. I cannot get over this upper respiratory infection and it is just zapping all my energy from me. I haven't done much more than sleep for a week now. I went back to the doctor today and am on another antibiotic. Hopefully, it will do the trick soon.
So I don't have anything from my own thoughts to post again, but thought another article by Greg Laurie was thought provoking. I don't know that I have ever thought about God's righteousness in the way he references it. I really liked the last paragraph.
"God Is Righteous For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright. --Psalm 11:7 Not only is God truth, not only is God holy, but the Bible also teaches that God is righteous. Holiness describes His character, while righteousness and justice describe how He deals with mankind. In the book of Exodus, we read about Pharaoh, who hardened his heart by holding on to the children of Israel when the Lord had instructed him to release them. As the Lord sent a series of plagues to Egypt, Pharaoh said to Moses and Aaron, " 'I have sinned this time. The Lord is righteous, and my people and I are wicked' " (Exodus 9:27). Even that hard-hearted, powerful ruler came to realize that the Lord is righteous. We know God is omnipotent, all-powerful. If He were all-powerful without being righteous, He would just be a celestial tyrant doing whatever He wanted wherever He wanted to do it. If He were righteous without being powerful He would be unable to execute justice on this earth. But the good news is that God is all-powerful--and He is righteous. The psalmist says, "For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright" (Psalm 11:7). He can do whatever He wants, but He does the right thing in every situation. We ought to thank Him for that!"
Steve and I had reserved a Whale Watching excursion that took 4 hours of our shore time. We were hopeful to see whales, but could not have imagined what we were going to be blessed to see. It is called bubble netting. Most whales do not spend time in community, so sitings are usually of a lone whale, but there are times they come together in an effort to feed. You can read about the interesting process here: www.alaskawhalefoundation.org/education/bubble_net/bubble_net_feeding.html
I had wished we were this boat as they were alot closer to the whales than we were. Seems like they could have taken turns?? As it was each boat was only allowed 30 minutes and then they were suppose to move on. Our driver dropped a microphone in hopes that we could hear the whales, but there were about 5 other boats in the area so there was too much noise. 
The brown building is the state capital building, one of the few without a dome. No, we didn't see Sarah Palin.
