The Next Generation

The following are some quotes I read today from an article in "Answer" magazine.

"Last November four U.S. states-led by California-voted to recognize only heterosexual marriages. But homsexual rights activist took consolation n a new study which indicates that they are winning thehearts of the next generation even among evangelicals. A survey of Americans last fall found that young adults (ages 18-34) were more likely to support homosexual marraiges than the general population (46% versus 29%). Among evangelicals, young adults were also more supportive of homosexual marriage (24% versus 10% of the general evvangelical population)."

So this is my question? What responsibility do those of my generation have in making sure that we help our young people develop Biblical world view?? We are living in the age of tolerance. Where do we draw the line? Seems like it just keeps getting moved further and further and if the next generation doesn't know how to stand up for God's truth then eventually the U. S. could look like Sodom and Gomorrah. So how do we turn the trend the other direction? Wait till you see what I am reporting on tommorrow and we'll explore this a little bit further.

Be Careful What You Ask For

In a Brooklyn upscale pet shop, an elderly woman burst into the store. "I want to buy a canary, but it's got to be a real good singer. I've got good, hard U.S. cash, but I'm only paying only for a good singer."

The shop owner began moving a ladder towards a small cage on a shelf about fifteen feet up, near the ceiling of the store. "Ma'am, I'm forty years in this business. In that cage is the best singer I've ever had ."

"Don't think I'm gonna feel obligated to pay for something I don't want just because you're climbing up a ladder like a monkey. I want a canary but it's got to be the best singer."

By this point the shop keeper was coming down from the ladder. "Ma'am, this bird is a veritable feathered Caruso!" Placing the cage on the counter, the bird burst into melody after melody.

Awed, the woman murmured, "This bird is really a good singer."

Suddenly in a shrill scream, "Hey, what's with you? This bird's only got one leg."

The pet store owner was unperturbed, "Lady what do you want a singer ? . . . . . or a dancer?"

The other day I ran into someone who said "I have been praying for patience" to which I replied "I learned to not pray for that a long time ago." We ask God for more patience and He will allow us to be put into situations that grow our patience. I have found he doesn't just give you more patience. If I do need more patience, which I am sure I do, then I pray for me to have an increasing measure of the fruit of the Holy Spirit, because my understanding of Galatians 5 is that it is one of the fruits of His presence in my life.

Longing For God

A few weeks ago I picked up a book at Mardels entitled "The Furious Longing For God" by Brennan Manning. I had read his "Ragamuffin Gospel" several years ago and wanted to read something else by this great author.

The forward of the book says that we all know that God loves us, but unfortunately that fact just remains in our mind. Until it actually gets into our heart it is just information. Once it gets into our hearts is where transformation starts and that is what this book is about translating information into transformation.

The premise of his book began in 1978 when he attended a 30 day silent retreat (we do a one day silent retreat at R.E. and many people say I couldn't do that?? can you imagine 30 days??)A Jesuit Priest had him read Song of Solomon 7:10 "I am my beloved's, and his desire is for me." For the next 30 years he has prayed that passage and his hope is that the reader will also and learn the following things.
1.The drumbeats of doom in your head will be replaced by a song in your heart, which could lead to a twinkle in your eye.
2.You will not be dependent on the company of others to ease your loneliness, for He is Emmanuel-God with us.
3.In a significant interior development you will move from I should pray to I must pray.
4.You will live with an awareness that the Father not only loves you, but likes you.
5. You will read Zephaniah 3:17-18 and see God dancing for joy because of you
6. Off and on throughout the day, you will just know that you are being seen by Jesus with a gaze of infinite tenderness.

I look forward to seeing what else Brennan has to say.

Finding God In The Shack

Hope you aren't tiring of my reports from the classes of the Christian Book Expo. There were just so many good classes. I was particularly interested in attending "Finding God In The Shack" because I had read the book and have had conversations with people who didn't think it was as good as I did. This class was taught by Randal Rauser, who teaches theology at Taylor Seminary in Edmonton, Canada.

He said there was about 30% of the book that he would not have agreed with the theology, but you can't throw the baby out with the bathwater. He said the best thing about The Shack is it got people dialogueing. In his book he talks about the six conversations it stirs, but he only talked about two of those with us.

First it helped us see the transcendence of God. God is beyond all our concepts of him. He compared it to his young Son asking him how fast does light travel and he answers 100,000 light years and he says "is that as far as it to Colorado?". God comes down from heaven and comes to our level because we cannot understand Him. God desires relationship. He already knows our thoughts but he still delights in hearing them.

So as not to ruin the plot if you haven't read the book, I will not reveal how God reveals himself to Mac. Just trust me in that it isn't our usual way to view God. But God had to reveal himself differently because Mac had been abused by His earthly father and could not relate to God as Father. It is like a child who gets the flu after eating strawberry shortcake. They will not eat it again because of the association of getting sick after eating it even though there really was no relation. Jesus was God's provision of accommodation. God will meet us wherever we are.

The shack also causes us to wrestle with evil. He stated there is not a large section of books in the bookstore entitled "The Dark Night Of The Soul". He told the story of the day his daughter got lost from him in the store for about an hour and how difficult that was, but can not imagine how he would have continued with life if she had never been found. He stated that honesty is the first step in healing. It's okay to ask why? Why does and all powerful God allow evil? It is for the greater good. We have free will. We don't need to feel that we need to give people explanations for theri pain. We just sit and cry with them. We will contribute to the problem if we say "this is why God allowed this to happen." He gave the analogy of his young child playing a play piano that only has four keys. Four keys may produce perfect harmony and no dissonance. But you cannot play a song with 4 keys. The question is not "where is God", but the correct question is "where is the church".

Randal was most impressed and challenged by Mac's extending of forgiveness. Forgiveness is the one thing Christianity offers the world that they cannot get anywhere else. He told the story of the Green River killer who killed 78 women. During the Victim Impact Statements, one father said that God had told him he needed to forgive the perpetrator. The killer began to cry. Forgiveness is the greatest power God gives us to give to others.

I didn't' buy his book at the expo, but plan to order it, as I would like to see what his other 4 observations are.

Questions From An Atheist

One of the most interesting sessions we attended at the Christian Book Expo was a two hour debate between one of America's leading atheist, Christopher Hitchens and four apologetics: William Lane Craig, Lee Strobel, James Denison and Doug Wilson.

I have to admit that in my naivete I had not really been exposed to much about atheism or their arguments, I just knew they did not believe in God. Christopher actually says he is not an atheist, as that would mean he might could be convinced there is a God, but that he is an anti theist. To him to believe in God, even if all the scientific evidence proved it to be so would be immoral.

Here is what he says:
"It is masochistic to think we wouldn't be able to derive a right thought or right action without a celestial dictatorship that guards us while we sleep, that convicts us of thought crimes, that supervises our every waking moment. That is the origin of totalitarianism in the obeisance that he demands of us and will continue to judge us and persecute us, even if we are dead. How horrible to live in gratitude to an alterable dictatorship to which whose installation we had no say. I refuse it on moral grounds. The fact that the dictatorship is benign makes it insufferable."

"Christianity authors something horrible, vicarious redemption. Applauding a human sacrifice, particularly cruel and revolting, one that took place before you were born to fulfill a prophecy in which you had no say, condemning you either to punishment and sin if you don't accept it or if you do accept it, offers you the chance that your own sins can be forgiven you. It requires compulsory love as well as compulsory fear. It is no way to teach morals to demand love and at the same time, command fear. There is nothing more immoral that telling someone they must believe in this nonsense in order to be saved."

Mr. Hitchins based most of his arguments on two points:
1. Why would a God that really cares, sit and just let injustices and suffering happen? He mentioned the case of Elisabeth Fritzl who was locked in a dungeon for 24 years by her father, who repeatedly raped here. "Where was your God then, what did He do for her?"
2. He has a long list of atrocities that were carried out through history in the name of religion. "Name me one moral action that could not be also made by an unbeliever. How many wicked actions or vile statements can be attributed to religion?"

The apologist did their best to talk about free will and that nothing about Christianity is compulsory. They made the point that God redeems all that He allows. They told him with Christianity justice is coming,whereas if you are an atheist, justice never comes. They appealed to him to show how in his universe there is a basis for anyone to care about anyone's behavior. They challenged him to answer if "God is not real, why He feels the need to debate". They asked "What does your universe have to support your debate?" They asked "seems to me that atheism is for the strong and smart, what hope do you have for the weak?" He had no answers to these questions. And actually never offered any proof that God cannot exist.

If there could be a "do-over" I would have liked the debate to just be between Lee Strobel and Christopher, because Lee was an atheist and knows the arguments but in his own quest to dispute Christianity actually found the evidences to prove that it is true.
Although, I don't know that all the evidences in the world would ever change this man's mind. After researching him on the internet I found that he had some things happen in his life that would make anyone question "where was God?". I guess it is easier to argue against Him than accept that He was actually there allowing something as tragic as your mother dying in bed with her lover after making a suicide pact. In his world there is no redemption or justice for that. For us? We trust and have faith in a God who promises to work ALL things together for good for those of us who love Him.

Self Talk To Soul Talk

Another class I attended at the Christian Book Expo was by Jennifer Rothschild. I didn't realize when I went to this class that she was the author of a book that I had begun reading awhile back, "Lessons I Learned in the Darkness:walking by faith and not by sight". It wasn't that the book wasn't good that I didn't finish it, just I am really bad about starting books and putting them down and starting another one (the reason I currently have 20 books around my chair!)
Anyway...you would not know it to look at her but Jennifer is blind. She lost her sight at the age of 15 to retinal pigmatosis. She walked into the room with her husband, and I became fascinated watching her interactions because whereever the voice was that was speaking she looked directly at them. As she gave her talked she looked back and forth across the room and I could have sworn she was making eye contact with me. She told us she does not see anything.

Jennifer's talk was entitled "A Makeover For Your Thought Closet: Turn Your Self Talk Into Soul Talk", which is the name of her new book. She began by showing us her Clothes Scanner, which when she held it next to the material would tell her what color it was, so that she would be able to match colors. She made the anology of how we all like to clothe ourselves well physically, but what about the way we clothe our lives? She suggested we clothe our lives through our thought closet.

Here are a few quotes from her talk:

1.The song does not say it is well with my circumstances, but it is well with my soul.
2. At some point in her life (she is now 46)she realized she was giving the enemy the opportunity to steal her joy.
3. All of us talk to ourselves either constructively or destructively.
4. If you sow a thought you will reap an action. If you sow an action you will reap a habit. If you sow a habit you will reap character and if you sow character you will reap destiny.
5. There is a difference between the "what if's" and the "What is"
6. Who you are and what you struggle with are not the same thing.
7. Let struggles refine you not define you.
8. We must trust God more than we trust our feelings.

She used the 2 Corinthians 10:5 passage as her text "we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." She had some practical advice on how to do do that.
1. RECOGNIZE what you say to yourself. What would happen if you wrote down everything you said to yourself and gave it to someone else to repeat to you? Philippians 4:8 is the standard of what we should think about "Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise."
2.REFUSE those thoughts that do not belong. Visualize a door to your thoughts and that each thought has to knock to gain entrance. If I invite a negative thought in then chances are I will treat it like a dinner guest and feed it. If I take it captive then I take authority over it and do not allow it entrance until it speaks truth.
3. RELABEL by replacing the negative thought with truth, i.e. "I am an idiot" with "I am fearfully and wonderfully made."
4. REPEAT leads you to a habit of believing the postive thought and be clothed in the libertating truth of God.

She mentioned that she has a 10 year old son and when he says "I am stupid", she says "I am sorry, but you are not allowed to talk to my son that way."

I really needed these words of wisdom from Jennifer because my self talk is often pretty critical and destructive and she gave me some great tools for turning it around into what my loving Father God would say to me.

Wake Up Call

I'm going to take a break from the Christian Book Expo postings today because there is so much to say about Ladies Bible Class today. We started a new study by Ruth Graham Lotz entitled "I Saw The Lord (A Wake Up Call For Your Heart)". If today's lesson is any indication of how the rest of the study it will be, it is going to be great!! I really wish more women could benefit from it. We only had about 12 present today. Let me just say that if you are reading this and are not in a small group Bible study, you are missing out. It is a great opportunity to grow close to a group while growing closer to the Lord together.

Ruth begins by saying this study is designed "to be a roadmap for your journey toward a revival of your heart and a fresh encounter with God". Definitely just the prescription I need in my life at this moment.

This first week's lesson was entitled "You're Sleeping" and was from 2 Chronicles 34:1-33. It is the story of King Josiah and how at the age of 8, when he became King (because his father had been assasinated)he went against the ways of his father and grandfather (who had been the eviliest king in Judah's history) and began destroying all the idolatry in the nation and rebuilding the temple of God. Idolatry and child sacrifice were rampant and Babylon was on the verge of capturing Judah.

Here are the things that God spoke to my heart during this study.

1. What are the areas of my life that need to be destroyed or renewed? Am I willing to tear down everything so that Satan does not have a foot in my heart?
2. Am I focused more on religiosity than relationship? Do I spend more time doing than being?
3. What causes God's Word to get lost to me?
4. How do I need to restore my temple?
5. I can ask the Lord "what do you need me to do for you" and He will say "nothing". God just wants be to be available for Him to do His work through me.
6. I need to move from who I want to be to who God wants me to be.
7. It is not enough to have the right relationship, it must be a love relationship.
8. There is 18 inches from the head to the heart. I can have head knowledge without it penetrating my heart.
9. Would God look at my relationship and like Abraham call me His friend?
10. I can always have the assurance that if I seek God, I WILL find Him.

Heaven and Hell

We attended an interesting panel at the Christian Book Expo on Heaven and Hell. The panelist were Sam Storms, J.I. Packer, Randy Alcorn and Don Piper.

To be honest, my notes don't include who said what so I am just going to randomly post some of the things that were said.

We have a misconception that because heaven lasts for eternity that we will face boredom in heaven. But look at Jude 24-25 "Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault. 25 All glory to him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time! Amen." There will be an eternal increase of our joy and we will bask in God's glory forever and ever.

We are currently in the New Testament order of life moving toward the Heavenly order of life.

Interesting that in the book "The Five People We Meet In Heaven" that one of them is not God?

According to Revelation 21 God's location will change when Heaven is revealed "Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever."

Do I live like I know where I am going? Shouldn't I have a better trip on the way? Our anticipation of Heaven should be reflected in our life on earth.

Joy will be the air we breathe in the new earth.

The thought of people in hell will not be able to destroy the joy of heaven. People in hell chose to be there.

While we all think we have questions we want to ask when we get to heaven, John 17:24 indicates that they will all be irrelevant. "Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!"

We must see God for all He is, not just for who we want Him to be.

Jesus referred to Hell, more than anywhere else in the Bible.

"Wait and see" gives us hope, not necessarily information.

The panel recommended an excellent study of Heaven and Hell is in C.S. Lewis' book "Beyond the Shadowlands."

New Normal

So I am going to start out with the speaker at the Expo that impacted me the most. That would be Don Piper, the author of "90 Minutes In Heaven." I was looking forward to hearing Don because I was given this book when I was recouping from my accident and it really helped. In case you don't know the story the shortened version is Don was in a vehicle accident and declared dead by four different EMT teams. While they were waiting for the medical examiner to come and declare him dead another preacher felt led by God to pray over Don and after 90 minutes of being dead while the preacher was singing "What A Friend We Have In Jesus" Don Piper came back to life and began singing with him. During that 90 minutes he saw heaven.

Don was in the hospital for 13 months and had 34 surgeries. If you remember my external fixator, well he was the first in the United States to wear one. They figured they might as well try it because otherwise He would just have to have an amputation. Don was angry at God for letting him experience the beauty of heaven and then send him back to earth. He didn't understand the "why", but now knows it was for Him to give hope to others and to share the message that heaven is real.

There is way too much to his story to post here, but I recommend his book. It is a very good read. But Don, did make several comments that I want to etch into my brain and reframe the way I think about my own existence these days.

"Turn your pain into purpose."
"I won't ever be the same, but I don't have to be worse."
"I was knocked down, but not knocked out."
"I can be a victim or a victor."
"I can turn my mess into a message."
"I can turn my test into a testimony."
"I can turn my disappointment into a divine appointment."

Don is living in the shadow of 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, "All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us."
He emphasized that we will find much more peace in extending our hand to someone else in pain rather than shaking our fist at God.

So...I hope that I can begin focusing much more on others and not so much on myself. I am going to step aside and allow God to use me to bless others. I am determined to let my test become a testimony. So if you see me having a pity party, please remind me that I am a victor, not a victim.

Where to Start??

As promised I will begin posting my insights from the Christian Book Expo that Steve and I attended Friday and Saturday. There were so many nuggets I don't know where to start. I guess that is what I would like to say first. Over the years Steve and I have attended numerous Christian conferences of one kind or another. I don't think we have ever come away from one thinking it was a waste of time. We always come home motivated to go deeper in our spiritual walk. And we come home always sad that more of our friends and those we were in fellowship didn't get the same blessing because they didn't attend. Realizing that not everyone can attend everything, but we know so many people that have never attended anything but their own church services. Nothing wrong with that, but once again, it is missing opportunities for growth.

Alot of times when I go to these conferences I feel like I am just drinking from a fire hydrant. I guess that is just an indication of how thirsty I let myself get. I come home motivated to go deeper and "do better" but that enthusiasm quickly disappears because of my lack of spiritual discipline. I am in hope that some of the things I heard this weekend will make more of a life long impact.

Let me start by saying this weekend reinforced what I have been saying on this blog for awhile and that is that I need to change my "stinkin thinkin". I have spent way too long allowing entrance into my thoughts and not camping out in the Truths that God has revealed to me. I will tell you about some specific speaker's and what they said in the days to come, but let me just leave you with some quotes tonight that convicted my heart that I need to change my "stinkin thinkin".

Don Piper-"If I know where I am going, shouldn't I have a better trip on the way?" "Our anticipation of heaven should be reflected in our life here on earth."

Randy Alcorn-"Every step we take brings us closer to heaven or further away. No one stands still"

Andy Andrews-"God does not teach us to swim only to let us drwon when the waters are rough." "Answers may be unavailable, but perspective is always there." "If you are breathing, you have not accomplished what God wants you to accomplish, and if you haven't accomplished what God wants you to accomplish you have not fullfilled your purpose."

Max Lucado-"What if faith was my default."

Calvin Miller-"Praise that worries about propriety (the way you look) will never really be praise." "If God really did show up at our services, would we be prepared."

Jennifer Rothschild-"It may not be well with my circumstances, but it is always well with my soul."

Sheila Walsh-"Forgiveness is God's gift for us to live in a world that is not fair." 'We will not be able to bow at the foot of the cross and point to anyone but ourselves."

Alex and Brett Harris-"Give up what you cannot keep to gain what you cannot lose" (they were quoting Jim Elliot)

Randal Rouser-"Aim at earth and miss heaven. Aim at heaven and earth gets thrown in." (quoting C.S. Lewis) "In a world of suffering the question is not 'where is God', but 'where is the church.'"

I will say I had one disappointment this weekend and that is that I did not pay close enough attention to my intenerary and missed the book signing by Ron Hall and Denver Moore the author's of "Same Kind Of Different As Me." I would have loved to shake their hands and tell them how that book impacted me.

Christian Book Expo Update

Really need to get to bed so that I can be up early in the morning to attend day 2 of the Christian Book Expo. First of all let me say I was amazed at how poorly attended this event was. I don't know who dropped the ball on advertising, but unless an amazingly greater amount of people show up tomorrow, they are going to lose big bucks on this thing. There were so many choices of great speakers and we heard several. But the highlight was the evening worship. It was awesome! They would have a speaker give a 5 minute talk and then a worship song by Travis Cottrell, Cindy Morgan and Heather Headley. I had never heard of Heather Headley but she has a powerful voice and the lyrics touched my soul. The speakers were Max Lucado, Liz Curtis Higgs, Andy Andrews, Henry Blackaby, Lysa TerKuerst and Michelle Hammond. They all had personal stories that they shared how the Word had become alive in their lives. I hope to spend time in the next few days just unpacking some of the truths that touched my heart during the lectures and worship tonight. I did leave tonight realizing that I have really not lived life to the fullest that God intends for me.
Can't wait to hear what He wants to tell me tomorrow.

Christian Book Expo

Steve and I are going to the Christian Book Expo at the Dallas Convention Center tomorrow and Saturday. Looking forward to hearing some great authors talk about their books. I am most looking forward to hearing Don Piper of "90 Minutes In Heaven". Hopefully, I will have something interesting to post after we get back. You can find more information about the Expo at www.christianbookexpo.com.

12 Year Old Orator

Chuck Colson mentioned this 12 year old girl on his Breakpoint post today who made a speech on abortion to her 7th grade glass. I went out and watched it on Youtube and thought she did an amazing job.
It is rather lengthy, but well worth the watch. I love how she ends the video with a quote from "Horton Hears A Who!" I know for certain I could not have done this at the age of 12.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I could not help but think how the world would be different if we actually remembered St. Patrick's Day by his Lorica that was written in 377 A.D., instead of wearing green, leprechauns and drinking beer???

Lorica of Saint Patrick
"I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth and His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection and His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In preachings of the apostles,
In faiths of confessors,
In innocence of virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.

I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me;
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's hosts to save me
From snares of the devil,
From temptations of vices,
From every one who desires me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a multitude.


I summon today all these powers between me and evil,
Against every cruel merciless power that opposes my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of women and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.
Christ shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that reward may come to me in abundance.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through a confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation"

What would have to be different about my life for me to that every eye that sees me, sees Christ; every ear that hears me speak, hears Christ; when people spoke about me, it reminded them of Christ; when people think of me, they would think of Christ. There are not enough pages for me to write all the differences that would have to happen. But maybe today I can take one more small step in that direction.

I Need You

This morning I was in the car and heard a song I had not heard before. The words resonated with my heart right now. Imagine my surprise when I came home and looked it up and saw that it was a Leann Rimes song (because the channel was KLTY). I can just imagine if I really hungered and thirsted after God and realized how totally dependent I actually am on Him, what a difference it would make in my life. I just think if I keep on pressing on, that one day I will get to where I want to be. I am thankful that God continues to love me all the same while I make the journey.

I Need You

I don't need a lot of things
I can get by with nothing
Of all the blessings life can bring
I've always needed something
But I've got all I want
When it comes to loving you
You're my only reason
You're my only truth

I need you like water
Like breath, like rain
I need you like mercy
From heavens gate
There's a freedom in your arms
That carries me through
I need you

You're the hope that moves me
To courage again
You're the love that rescues me
When the cold winds, rage
And its so amazing
cause that's just how you are
And I can't turn back now
cause you've brought me too far

I need you like water
Like breath, like rain
I need you like mercy
From heaven's gate
There's a freedom in your arms
That carries me through
I need you
Oh yes I do

Voices

Tonight in Life Group we talked about how to listen to God's voice among all the other voices we hear everyday. I thought John Ortberg made a great observation. God's voice only leads us to the thinking of Galatians 5 (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control) If we are feeling fear, anger, sadness, lonliness, etc. we can pretty well know that it is not God's voice. It then becomes my choice as to whose voice I will listen to.

I needed to hear that. I have a choice. I can see Satan going "rats she figured it out". I pray more and more I can set my mind on 1 Peter 1:13 "Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed."

Congratulations Trey and Sara

Steve and I went to Trey Laminack's wedding tonight. Trey is a friend I went to camp with for about 6 years. He was always the fun factor at camp. God has blessed him with a great sense of humor and a great love of children. He is currently a children's minister. I don't know his wife Sara, a drama teacher, but I do know she will be blessed to have Trey for a husband.

Their wedding was beautiful. The music was very unique. The opening song was in German and the song Sara marched down to was sung in Italian. Both were sung by high school students of Sara's, and they were absolutely amazing!!

The bridesmaids dresses were some of the prettiest I have seen in a long time. I think the color would be considered plum.

The flowergirls and ring bearer were Trey's nieces and nephews and they were adorable!! His older niece Madison was a Jr. Bridesmaid and she was beautiful. I had seen pictures of her on Stacy's blog, but had not seen her in a few years. Amazing how fast time flies.

There was a unique aspect in the wedding. The bride and groom's mother's poured water from pitchers into glasses and then Trey and Sara took them and poured them into a container along with the minister (who said He was representing God) who also poured his water at the same time. It was beautiful symbolism.

Trey and Sara are going to New York on their honeymoon and if you know them you would know it is the perfect place for them to go. Trey has a good friend Jonathan Root who actually performs on Broadway, so he will get to visit him while they are there.

Someone had made Sara and Trey a beautiful piece of stained glass with an "L" in the top. It hung at the front of the stage and was breathtaking. I told Trey I thought it was for me since it had an "L" on it. He said the guy that made it for him, would probably make me one too. I bet he would for a really pretty price!

Anyway...congratulations Trey and Sara! May the Lord bless you and keep you, may His face shine down upon you and give you peace.

This and That

Thought I would just blog some random things today.

Yesterday when we ate at Chuy's the silverware was in a wrapper that had prayers on the back of it. I found them interesting.
Protestant: "Bless, O Lord, this food to your use and us to thy service, and make us ever mindful of the needs of others. In Jesus Name. Amen"
Catholic: "Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy Bounty. Through Christ our Lord. Amen."
Jewish: "Lift up your hands toward the sanctuary and bless the Lord. Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who bringest forth bread from the earth. Amen."

Kind of surprised they didn't have a Muslim one. Still thought it was a nice touch.

Then after my post the day before on the homosexual that came into CAREcorp, I got a response from a staff member from the church I mentioned. Not sure how that works that people get notified if you mention them in a post, but makes me more conscious of what I am saying.

Went to the sleep disorder doctor today and got a new c-pap mask. Not looking real forward to using it tonight as it now has a piece that leans against my forehead. It will take some more getting used to. I went back in because I am not as rested as I used to be. If the new mask doesn't do the trick, I will have to have another sleep study.

Finally, tonight on World News Tonight, there was a story on kids sending each other text messages on their phones containing nudity. Two thirteen year old boys are being charged with child pornography for sending pictures of a girl classmate in the nude over their phones. My first question?? Why do thirteen year olds need cell phones?? I kind of understand why teens who drive might need them, but thirteen year olds?? I think kids are spending way too much time on those phones and perhaps parents should take a more active role in monitoring their use. I am not sure why their is a need for anyone to use them all day long. My friends get aggravated at me because I just use mine in times of need...never just to chat. Oh...unless it's primetime and I want to save on long distance calls.

Happy 85th Birthday Daddy!

If you had told me over 2 years ago that my father would still be here with us, I would have asked "how?". When he took himself off of dialysis they gave him weeks to a couple of months. That was 2 years ago last January. Today we celebrated his 85th birthday. I wish I would have taken pictures, but someway my camera got broken and the screen on it is shattered :( Anyway...we had heard that Chuy's was a good Mexican restaurant, so we went there. It was not disappointing (unless you were Steve who is a Tex-Mex only kind of guy). I got the chicken tomatillo enchiladas and they were delicious. We then went by the Cheesecake Factory and let him choose a flavor to bring home. He chose Lemon-Raspberry. We then came home and watched an old John Wayne movie "Island In The Sky".
It was just a sweet day and especially that he felt well enough to celebrate.

I am thankful that the Lord has been good and blessed us with more time with my father. It is so hard to watch your parents get old and not be able to do the things they long to do. It's hard watching them make decisions that you don't think are best, but they in their independence need to make. Then it is hard to make the hard decisions for them, like when to give up driving, etc.

Fortunately, my father makes all that fairly easy as He is just a gentle and easy going fellow. I know that He wishes life was more than it is, but He also recognizes it could be so much worse. I am the most thankful that He is not suffering. I pray the Lord continues to bless Him with that until He does call Him home. A day we don't look forward to, but indeed will celebrate as we know He will have a Father that says to him "well done, good and faithful servant."

Only My God

Today we finished our study of God's Amazing Grace in Ladies Bible Class. One of the final questions was "which aspect of grace did you find to be the most challenging". My answer was "extending to grace to homosexuals". I just find the thought of their behavior disgusting and don't know how to reach out to them in a grace filled way. But...I know that Jesus would want me to be salt and light to them just like anyone else. So....2 hours later I am working CAREcorp (our ministry to those in need). It was a busy day and our 12:00 appointment showed up at 12:30 at the same time as our 12:30 appointment. I helped the woman who just needed food as Andrea helped the woman needing help with her utilities. While I was finishing up with my woman our next appointment came in and Andrea was still busy. So I went over and introduced myself to Michael, who had come in for rental assistance and who I thought to be homosexual. I thought to myself "this is not funny God". I listened to Michael's story, was able to offer him some help. Got him a few bags of food to help out as well. At some point he mentioned that he was HIV positive. I asked him some about that and he was diagnosed in 1999. I asked Michael if he had a church home and he said "Cathedral of Hope" which made it conclusive that indeed he was homosexual. I told him we would welcome Him to come visit with us anytime and then I asked him if I could pray with him.
After we finished he said "Wow, thank you, that was nice". And I shook his hand again, and thought to myself "thank you Holy Spirit, only you could have given me the appropriate words to say, and by the way God...I do think you are funny!" Be careful where you need to grow, as He will always provide you with the opportunity.