January 2012
1 post
1/9/56
A birthday is something that we celebrate big in our family, if at all possible. Everyone comes to my house and sits around the table eating what the birthday boy or girl has special ordered for me to make. Much laughing, talking and celebrating goes on along with opening presents and eating lots of cake (that our best baker Rachelle usually makes). We tell stories on one another and laugh...
November 2011
1 post
A Day (or Week) in the Life Of.....
Today was a first for me. My. First. Wreck. Even though I rear-ended a guy on I64, I still don’t think it was my fault. He had been driving like a maniac for 3 miles previous…at least 80 miles an hour. (Found out later he was late to a court date for a speeding ticket) Then ended up in front of me tail-gating the guy in front of him. It was pouring rain this morning and really...
October 2011
1 post
Perseverance
Not only so, but let us also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and character, hope. Romans 5:3
I don’t know why as Christians we almost always associate “hard” with bad and “easy” with good. Because in God’s world that is definitely not the case. I’m sure that you would agree...
September 2011
1 post
Punishment and Love
Hebrews 12:5&6
And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”
Sometimes in life we have questions…questions for God about hard things…bad...
August 2011
3 posts
20 Months
Today marks 20 months since Rick exited the earth for heaven. It doesn’t seem possible…but my daily life screams that it is very real and very possible. I wish there was some way to describe life after great loss. A way to talk about it that includes the emotion of it. Grief is such a strong emotion…a very personal experience…a very long hard journey.
I’ve changed…kicking and screaming...
Wrestling
Genesis 32:25 & 31
25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.
I’m not much for wrestling. My son-in-law LOVES the fake wrestling (sorry George)…he hates it when I call it fake. You...
Showing our Hand
Luke 6:8-10
But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out...
July 2011
1 post
Remembering
This photo was taken in the Smoky Mountains July 18th, 2009
Philippians 1:3
I thank my God every time I remember you.
This Monday, July 18, will be my 35th wedding anniversary to the sweetest man ever. I say, will be, because it still, very much feels like I am married. I have yet to use the word “widow” in a conversation when I’m talking about myself. Although the...
June 2011
4 posts
Raised Beds, Weeds and God
Matthew 13:24 -30, 36-43
Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir didn’t you sow good...
Potato Bugs, Weeds and our Hearts
Have you ever seen a potato bug? Ugly. Disgusting. Fat. I could go on, but I’ll leave it at that for now. When I see a potato bug a strange thing happens to me. I have to kill them. All of them. Like right now…I can’t wait ‘til later to do it…kill them. It’s kind of overwhelming. The killing part that is. Because where there is one potato bug there...
Daughters
Psalm 115:14
May the LORD make you increase, both you and your children. May you be blessed by the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth.
What can I say? I love my children. I love my sons. I love my daughters. I am blessed. For those that have children, you are reading these words and nodding in agreement…knowing you feel the same about your sons and daughters. God did something...
Do Not Fear
Isaiah 41:10
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
I am doing something this week that 17 months ago, I would not have been able to do. And something that I never wanted to have to do.
Travel alone.
I know for most of you this may not sound like a big deal. But for this...
May 2011
3 posts
Rabbits & Flowers & Babies & Stuff
Life on this earth just continues to amaze me. How one day just blends right into the next until here we are…going into June 2011. How can that be? I should still be young with little children around my ankles and lots of bills to pay and a husband that comes home from work every night. Instead, I am older (some days feeling older than others), now with grand kids around my ankles at...
New (almost)
IICorinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
Sometimes I get in a “mood” to clean. But, not just clean…I want things to look new. But, being the tight-wad that I am (and not having an endless checking account), I cannot just go buy something “new” because I feel like it…or because I think...
A Mother's Love and Instruction
Proverbs 1:8,9
Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.
Mother’s Day…I have not celebrated it with my mama since 2000. I miss her. Being able to thank her for what a wonderful mother she had been to me was a highlight of my year. She really was...
April 2011
10 posts
Accident
2 Corinthians 6:4-10
Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way; in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right...
Samson
Galatians 5:1
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
II Corinthians 3:17
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
Above is a picture of my miniature Schnauzer, Samson. He is almost 7 years old, but is still a big baby. He evidently didn’t listen when we...
Debra
Proverbs 22:1
A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.
There are moments, although they may be fleeting, when God shows up and does something very personal. A moment in time that is designed just for us…showing His love, involvement and compassion for His child. I had one of those moments today at work. Totally unexpected…and...
Dandelions, Rocks and Sticks
Exodus 4:2
Then the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff”, he replied.
Ecclesiastes 9:10
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.
The above picture is of my granddaughter Galilee. She was inspecting Dandelions. It happened that on...
Save Us
Psalm 60:4
Save us and help us with Your right hand, that those You love may be delivered.
A family member having emergency surgery and not getting the outcome that is prayed for…a friend faced with the reality of her mom needing to go to a nursing home…another friend starting chemo and radiation…a new friend living daily with grief and a drug addiction…a young man...
March 2011
6 posts
"Radical" Chapter 9 The Final Chapter
It’s hard for me to believe that we have finished the study of Radical. This book is unlike any other book I have read for quite some time. I have repeatedly told our Sunday night group of girls that we do not want to approach this book as if it has a finishing point. Just because we have finished the study does not mean what we gleaned from it has to come to an end. It should be just...
"Radical" Chapter 8
Going through my day…everyday…life just seems to reveal more and more of this fallen earth. Our flesh. Sin. Struggles. My mind at times goes back to a simpler time when I was a child. I think of how much different it was then (we won’t mention how long ago that was). But, the reality is…for me it was simple because I was a child. For my parents, I’m sure they...
Pictures On a Wall
This morning after I laid Galilee down for her nap (my precious 14 month old grand-daughter) I thought I would fold a load of clothes. By the way…these clothes have been in the dryer, crying out to be removed from their dungeon, for almost a week! Anyway…back to the story! My laundry room is also my mud room and has a very long wall with no window on it. On that long wall, I placed...
"Radical" Chapter 7
After reading this chapter and teaching this lesson, I’m beginning to wonder if maybe this chapter should have come first. This chapter seems very foundational to me…with the rest of what we have learned building upon what we believe in this one.
We are having great discussion in our Sunday night study…I wish you could be with us to hear the hearts of other women and also so...
"Radical" Chapter 6
So here’s the deal…I thought I was doing just fine…well…maybe at least doing okay…in my daily walk with the Lord…until I read this little orange book called “Radical”. It is rocking my world and making me think so far outside the standard American “Christian box”, that I can’t even SEE the box anymore. I think about what God is...
"Radical" Chapter 5
Oh, how I love the LORD! These past few days have had challenges for me and hours of sadness. I have much on my plate (as we all do) and also much on my financial plate that has been trying to weigh me down and make me worry. But, God wants to make Himself known to us in ways that will let us KNOW He is near to the brokenhearted and those who have needs. Tonight I had supper with my son...
February 2011
8 posts
"Radical" Chapter 4
A new week. A new day. New thoughts. A new heart. God can and does make ALL things new. I keep reminding myself of that over and over. For so long after Rick’s death, I didn’t really care if anything happened the next day…or the day after that…or after that. You get the picture. If I did the same thing everyday, I considered it a victory…even washing clothes...
"Radical" Chapter 3
Before I get started on the lesson for this week, I have to share an emotional moment I had today. On the way home from work I got stopped in traffic for a moment on I-64. I glanced in my rear view mirror and saw something that made me have to take a longer look. Behind me was a small truck with a man in it who was wearing sun glasses. He looked so much like Rick…the shape of his...
"Radical" Chapter Two
If you are like me the first chapter of “Radical” was well…RADICAL! This. Is. A. Hard. Book. I think that you, after reading chapters 1 & 2 will agree with me. Lot’s of new ideas and lots of new questions that go right a long with the ideas! In this book and throughout our study we are going to be asked to continually search to see if our understanding of the gospel...
Missing Rick
Psalm 10:14, 17 & 18
But You, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless. You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.
Proverbs 14:13
...
Radical Chapter 1
Welcome to the first chapter of “Radical”! I am so excited to study this book with you! My prayer is that as we go through this together it becomes more than just a “study”, it becomes part of who we are for Jesus. Sunday night at our girls group we had some pretty intense discussion. We are being faced with the reality that what we have been taught in Church and living...
January 2011
9 posts
Radical Lesson 1
Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.
We are getting ready to embark on a journey together…a “Radical” journey! It would be easy for us as we read this book, to read it like any other. Just for information or reading it and making a list of things to do from it. Neither is what I want for myself or for you as we read together.
I am...
Life
Ephesians 4:1
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
We will be studying together the book “Radical” during the next several weeks. I am so excited to get started. But, as I told the women in the study earlier…I already feel like I want to start going la la la and put my fingers in my ears so I don’t have to...
Radical
Are you ready to get “Radical”? If you haven’t heard of, read or been introduced to this very special book I would love to be the one to do it! The book Radical, written by David Platt who ministers to the Church at Brook Hills, in Birmingham, Alabama is just that…a very Radical book.
This is what the back of the book says:
In Radical, David Platt challenges you to...
Good Health
3 John 2 Dear Friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.
After writing about the Family Table I thought it might be helpful to remind ourselves of ways to help that table be as healthy as possible. According to this verse in 3 John, God is saying to us through John that His desire for us is to enjoy good health. If...
Family Table
Proverbs 31:15 She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family… Matthew 8:11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven. Revelation 19:9 Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the...
Work
But, as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded. 2 Chronicles 15:7
Tonight I did something I have never done. I’ve done something similar, but not exactly this. At least I can’t remember if I have. Are you wondering what it is? Are you ready? I went to a Jazzercise Class. (-: Wow! I thought walking, lifting some weights now and then, hoeing,...
December 2010
7 posts
New
Revelation 21:5
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
A new year…a clean slate…a new beginning. There is something special about the word “new”. Something hopeful and exciting. To think that we can wipe away the old and start over again. ...