Thursday, March 25, 2010

Where I'm From

Thanks Gretchen http://momentsofclaritybygretchen.blogspot.com/ for this idea.


I am from tomato preserves, Brach's candies from the refrigerator, and homemade Chex mix.

I am from the farm house on the blacktop...modest, welcoming, and the smell of dirt, farm life and freshly oiled road.

I am from mulberries that stain your bare toes, walnuts on the ground and cicada shells in the trees.

I am from Sunday dinner at Grandma's and big brown eyes, from Frank & Eva and Charles & Evelyn and Ronnie & Barb.

I am from the quiet family who you've never seen upset and the outspoken who make their feelings known.

From "I don't know. Are you able?" and "Coffee will stunt your growth and turn you black."

I am from the Christian Church with long wooden pews and a baptistry under the stage floor.

I'm from Barnard, Missouri and ham salad made from bologna and goulash with a bay leaf hidden somewhere inside.

From the woman who danced with Jesse James, the trombone player & violinist who played in a big band, and the shy, smitten man whose friend hid the girl's purse so they'd have to meet again.

I am from family photos in dresser drawers, delicate wedding rings in the jewelry box and old cars in the pasture.

How could a girl ask for more?


Want to make your own? Check out http://www.swva.net/fred1st/wif.htm

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

10 Things Tuesday

I'm going to try one word responses, this week...no reason...just shaking things up a bit.

1. Weather
2. Ring
3. Memories
4. Travel
5. Kids
6. Homeschooling
7. Friends
8. Tacos
9. Opportunities
10. LOST

That was a stretch for me. I'm not a woman of few words.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

10 Things Tuesday

1. I got to eat supper tonight with five other homeschooling moms. We had a nice chat, tossed around ideas for future activities and made plans for a group lesson next week.

2. I got to be in "big church" this past Sunday. The youth minister's wife graciously volunteered to take over one week of Children's Church. That means I am only teaching one Sunday a month and in the nursery one Sunday a month and get to hear Rob preach the rest of the weeks.

3. I get to pick up my wedding set from the jewelers on Saturday. I realized a few months ago that one of the prongs was broken. I immediately stopped wearing it so as to not lose the diamond. It will be so nice having it back on my finger where it belongs.

4. I have a purring, sweet, calico kitty on my lap right now. For some reason, she has decided to be personable again. I think she's finally forgiven us for bringing home the kittens.

5. I forgot to tape LOST tonight, but my wonderful hubby remembered and I am getting ready to watch it as soon as I'm done with this post.

6. I have lots of soup leftover from tonight's dinner. That means tomorrow night's supper is taken care of!

7. We took the kids to see Alice In Wonderland on Sunday. We all really enjoyed it.

8. In a few weeks, I get to travel with my Rob & the kids to NW MO for Rob to preach a revival in Faucett, MO. It is really close to my extended family and, for the most part, I will have nothing to do during the day except to go visit with them. Every evening, I will get to listen to my favorite preacher. What a great way to spend a week!

9. There are two boxes of Girl Scout cookies in my house right now. They will probably not be here tomorrow evening.

10. I am now done with my ten things and I can go watch LOST with my sweet hubby. Great way to end the night!!!

Friday, March 12, 2010

Hope for the hopeless

One of my cousins committed suicide last night. I hardly knew him as a child and didn't know him at all as an adult. Sadly, I hardly know that side of my family. Still, I'm sitting here mourning. I'm mourning the loss of a life. I'm mourning for his son who found him and had to take on the responsibility of notifying others, and a daughter who will never understand how her dad could do this. I'm mourning for his father who is now planning his own son's funeral. I'm mourning for his mother who will never be able to mend a lost relationship. I'm mourning for his brother and his sisters who lost a brother long before he took his own life. I'm mourning for a lost and hurting world that goes through the motions day after day with no hope.

I have always held the belief that suicide is a very desperate act by a deeply troubled or selfish individual. I never could understand how a sane person could look at it as an alternative to life. It suddenly dawned on me tonight. All it takes is to look at this life without the benefit of knowing Christ.

If you don't have Him in your life, you can't know hope. You can't know grace or forgiveness or selfless love. It breaks my heart. It absolutely tears me up inside. How very sad to live without knowing why. To read the headlines and see the horrors that happen in our own backyards and not see anything better or beyond all this. It's no wonder that a 44 year old man would want to end it all. I don't know how someone could go even that long.

I wish I could show everyone how hope-filled their lives can be. I want to take this world full of hopeless, hurting people and hold them in my arms. I want to show them my savior. Please God, shine through me! Please show me how to love and offer comfort and peace to a world who has forgotten you.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

TEN THINGS TUESDAY

1. My house is clean. My wonderful hubby has been doing a great job with the dishes and I've been mostly keeping my nose above water. The laundry, on the other hand...

2. There is a pork roast in the crock pot. We will be pulling it apart later and making tacos. Mmmm, yummy.

3. I'm getting excited about ministry again. I've been eagerly anticipating Rob's graduation from seminary for some time now. Up until very recently, I had hoped that it would mark the end of not only our time in Edinburg but our time in located ministry all together. I didn't care what he did as long as he wasn't the senior minister of a small church somewhere. Now, I'm still looking forward to his graduation, but in a different way. First of all, I'm enjoying the wait time instead of just getting through it. Secondly, I am very excited to see where God will take us next. Will He say, "Stay" or does He have somewhere else for us? I really don't know what the future holds and I'm excited about that!

4. We have finished one more chapter of The Weaver. We now move on to Solar System, Stars, Time & Seasons. However, this does move us ever closer to the unit on the human body. For some reason, I am petrified of teaching my children about the reproductive system. They might start to suspect that their parents...umm...well...ahem.

5. Lost is on tonight, tonight. Lost is on tonight.

6. Yesterday, I finally mailed off all my "thank-you" and "praying for you" notes that I've been working on for the last two weeks.

7. The weather has been positively Spring-like lately!

8. I got to make two cakes last weekend and I get to make another one this weekend.

9. The LORD is filling my life with so many friendships right now. This is something I've missed for a while now. I'm so very thankful for this.

10. I am leaving right now to visit Wal-Mart and the library all by myself!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

But you ain't got no legs...

Lately, Rob and I have been listening to sermons during lunchtime. Today we listened to Jeff Walling's sermon "Witness Unveiled" from the OCC Preaching & Teaching Convention.
His text was Revelation 10 and 11. He spent a lot of time on the following verses...

So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, "Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey." I took the little scroll from the angel's hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.
Then I was told, "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings." - Revelation 10:9-11

He said that when John ingested the scroll, it became part of him. They were now inseparable. He also gave an illustration of where the world is and where the church is in relation to good vs. evil. He made the point that we are all too often standing with our hand on the shoulder of the world and only a few short steps behind where it stands. He went on to say that one who "eats" the Word will stay rooted in one spot and that while the world moves to and fro, he will stand.

That got me to thinking about where I'm standing. I try to stay rooted in one spot. I try to stand still and be an example. I try to lead and teach and minister to others. Then I realized that I'm trying all this with no legs. I have not made a meal out of God's word. I sample it now and then. I read it, but not as regularly as I should. I do a little more in-depth study, but usually only for a lesson I'm preparing to teach.

Jeff Walling wrapped up his sermon with this, "A lost world is waiting but until we eat and drink we won't have what it takes to be the witnesses you and I are called to be." How can I stand with no legs? How can I teach my children and be an example to them with my face in the dirt? How can I be a Christian almost all my life and be so lacking?

I want this to change. I want the teaching and truth and hope that is found in the Bible to be so much a part of me that it pours out through everything I say and do. In order to be effective in all that I do, in order to not get swayed by every passing diversion, I need to be nourished. I need to grow strong, sturdy legs that are rooted in Christ and can not be moved.


Tuesday, March 2, 2010

TEN THINGS TUESDAY

1. I had a great time in Joplin last week. I love seeing family and friends! On Friday night, the kids spent the night w/family and Rob and I had a hotel room to ourselves!

2. I am now only watching one extra child on weekdays.

3. My home is filled with the mouth-watering aroma of a corned beef slowly baking in the oven.

4. I have the privilege of decorating two cakes this week. They are both sculpted cakes - El Toro Loco (a monster truck) and Lightning McQueen. I love doing these types of cakes. Can't wait to get down to business!

5. Lost is on tonight. Since we missed it last week, we get to watch two hours worth. Rob and Robby have Boy Scouts tonight, so we'll record it and watch it later with no commercial interruptions.

6. Have I mentioned how much I love my new vacuum cleaner?

7. Several people have been on my heart lately. I feel led lately to pray more than I have in a long time. I feel like it's the best thing I can do for these people.

8. In addition to the new desire to pray, I'm feeling led to start up a card ministry. It's something I've thought about for a long time now. I've decided that when someone is on my heart, first I will pray then I will drop a card in the mail letting them know that I am praying and thinking about them. Then I'll pray some more.

9. While in Joplin, I visited a teacher's supply store. I found some write on/wipe off mats that I had been looking for. (It's the simple things in life that please me.)

10. I've been hearing birds singing. There is hardly any snow left on the ground and the temperature is s-l-o-w-l-y climbing.