November 2008

Hi, guys, hope you had a beautiful Thanksgiving filled with blessings and praise to God for them.  I did and it was glorious to have an entire day that was all about giving thanks!

Mostly I’m spending the weekend with the fam but in between (hey, a girl has to have sanity breaks! ;-)) I’m going to be doing some cleanup of the blog.  I’m gonna try to not lose any posts or comments but I make no promises!

Love you all!

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My first annual Thanksgiving post — hurray!  Yes, I know it’s 2 days early but I expect to be busy-busy-busy the rest of the week as I’m sure most of you will be as well.  Our Thanksgiving is considerably pared down this year both by necessity and by choice.  While I expect that we will have a nice meal (one of the top things on my thanks list!) and have the extended fam over for dessert later as is our custom, I am really trying to get back to being THANKFUL.  Who needs a holiday for stuffing oneself to the point of feeling sick or a launching point for the all-around grazing on stuff we don’t usually eat that proceeds through New Year’s?  I don’t, for sure!

I was going to try to do a post reflecting how thankful I am for all the changes that the Lord has brought to my life this year, including you, my bloggy friends.  Then I realized the thanks and praise and worship in my heart are far too great for me to try to express in any one post. So I found some songs to express the thanks and the praise I give to God for all of the many blessings He has given me in my life. I plan to center my Thanksgiving preparations and celebration around praising God and, if I get wrapped around the details of food, company, cleaning the house, I’m gonna come listen to these songs and recenter my heart.

I wish you all a beautiful Thanksgiving, however you choose to celebrate (or not for those non-US readers) and I thank you all for the friendship, love and support you have shown me these last few months. I’ll look forward to seeing you on Monday!

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Hi guys! I didn’t mean to take a powder on you but I had one of those… life interludes … yeah, that’s a good phrase for when life gets crazy-busy.

• My stepfather has been critically ill. It rather surprised me that I have cared as much as I do — and it surprised Study even more!! — because I have had some hardness of feelings towards him related to… well, it doesn’t matter. Suffice it to say that, thanks be to God, my heart is not as hard as I had thought. It’s hard to be hundreds of miles away in a situation like that. You find yourself jumping every time the phone rings.

• Tuesday I took the Big Kid for his college orientation.  We found out that there was a snag or two in his application process — he was accepted and all but you know you have to have all the red tape exactly in order — so I chased that around a bit. Then Wednesday we went online to register for his classes and he got his first taste of one of the most frustrating parts of college — when the classes you want are either closed or not offered at all. We finally picked him 4 classes (your basic core curriculum stuff) but instead of him having to go to school just 3 days like we had hoped, he’ll have to go every day. Good thing gas has come down, yes? We did get the news that this particular college (many will not) will defer payment of his tuition until after the drop/add period, which is when the Bright Futures Scholarship will disburse funds. That means we only have to front the money for books! PRAISE GOD!! I had no idea how we were going to cover that tuition. And God provided. AGAIN.

• Now I have to say that being immersed in all of this college stuff has made me want to go back to school — they even offer online and weekend courses. Dude, where was all that a few years ago back in the dark ages when I was there?

• Friday the Big Kid woke up to find that his very back molar had broken in the night, just about right in half. I am sorry to say that I reacted in a manner that did not reflect the glory of God at all but I completely lost it based on the $$ factor (we have no dental insurance) and that his home dental care is spotty at the most optimistic. I asked God’s forgiveness (after all, this is the child for whom I am so desperately praying to come to Christ and I sure didn’t model anything anybody would want to emulate) and then I went to the Big Kid and apologized and asked his forgiveness. He wasn’t buying it. We came to a truce of sorts but he says that I always overreact and get nuts like that and then want to apologize later and he wonders how sincere my apology is if I keep doing the same behavior. GULP. BIG GULP.

• We had our last Bible study on Thursday of the Anointed, Transformed, Redeemed study of David with Kay Arthur, Priscilla Shirer and Beth Moore. It was a bonus feature of the DVD study and it was pretty fun to watch these women interact extemporaneously since in the other 6 parts they had no interaction. This is going to sound weird, but it was an eye-opener to realize that Christian women, serious women with hearts for God and teaching ministries, can cut loose and have fun and just about end up on the floor from cracking one another up. I guess I had forgotten that joy and humor are gifts from God!

• Let’s see what other boring little details? Oh yeah. At the time of this writing, I still have NO IDEA how many peeps to expect for Thanksgiving. Can you say YIKES?

I am working on a faith-based post that I will hope to get up on Monday at some point. I hope all of you are doing well and hope to get back to regular posting and reading (I have HUNDREDS of posts in my reader!) ASAP. I miss you guys!

This is a scheduled post.

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I often wake up with all sorts of thoughts running through my head but my first cognizant thought this morning (yes, even before coffee!) was the song “Trust and Obey.”  I don’t hear it sung very often anymore but it was big when I was in church in my younger years.  I absolutely know that God put it in my heart for a reason.  I wouldn’t be surprised if there isn’t a challenge upcoming in my day today where this reminder will stand me in good stead but, challenge or no, I will trust and do my best to obey.

Oh, and by the way, even if you’re really excited to share something that you’re CERTAIN God has put in your heart?  Still a good idea to keep the cup of coffee away from the arm you use for mousing! That side of my desk and my coffee collided in a rather unpleasant accident this morning!

Here it is for any of you who don’t know it or would just like to hear it again:

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I am doing this post early so I don’t know what Iris, at Grace Alone, who so generously sponsors Thankful Thursday is going to choose for her theme.  But I really felt moved to do my Thankful Thursday post about love.

• I am blessed to have love of all kinds in my life starting with the most important and perfect love — that of God.  That love is beyond compare and priceless beyond anything I can imagine.  I can’t imagine that I would give my children for anyone or anything and yet He gave His Son for me.  It humbles me so that I don’t even have words to express my gratitude and my praise for Him. That Christ loved me enough to die for me — love like that just brings me to my spiritual knees.

• I have the love of my earthly father whose unconditional acceptance and love is something that I wish everyone could have in their lives.  My sisters and I share the love that goes with shared lives with all the losses and joys that go with it.  The love that even quarrels or infighting can’t quell.   My friend Lynn and I love one another as sisters without the past history that tends to make sisters squabble.

• I am thankful to have the love of my children and to have experienced the absolute love without boundaries that goes with being a mom.  It put so much of life into perspective when they placed those tiny bundles (okay at 9 lbs 2 ounces, my 18-year-old wasn’t quite tiny!) into my arms.

• I’m thankful for the love my husband and I have. Studly and I have a love that’s like lasagna.  Do you know how lasagna and other baked foods often taste better the next day because the seasonings have had a chance to be absorbed, the flavors have blended?  That’s us. Tried and tested, we choose one another every single day. (And I think I almost have him ready to agree to renew our vows on our 20th anniversary in April!)

• I am thankful every day for all of the love that I have been given from all of the people who have walked into or through my life.  I am thankful every day that I have the chance to love the people in my life. Love may not be quite all we need (obedience to His word and faith come to mind as well) but it sure is a good start!

May God bless you all on this Thankful Thursday.

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Wow, I let too long go by! Where is this year going?

• 22. I am thankful for the gift God provided of a small project to do here at home that will help to pay for Studly’s meds this month.
• 23. I am thankful that we are enjoying some cool weather finally. Really feels like it helps to clear and clean the air!
• 24. I am thankful for coffee. The smell of it, the taste of it, the wake-up it provides to my body every morning.
• 25. I am thankful for the gift of taking my son to his college orientation tonight. Without the Florida Bright Futures scholarships, he wouldn’t be able to go to college right now.
• 26. I am thankful that Studly knows exactly the spot along the musculature of my shoulder to apply pressure when I am getting a nasty headache.
• 27. I am thankful that, even though money is shorter than I would like it to be this year, I still am able to support a charity or two.
• 28. I am thankful for that it is the season for the Salvation Army bell ringers! My kids have been taught, since they were able to walk up to the kettle on their own, to drop money in there for people who are less blessed than we are. Just the sound of those bells makes me happy for some reason — I guess a signal that Christmas is almost here.
• 29. I am thankful that this year my love for the holidays seems to have returned. Last year was awful beyond words but this year I am pumped! Financially it’s not going to be what I’d hoped (whose is?) but that puts more of the emphasis on FAMILY and I LOVE that!
• 30. I am thankful that I have found such a wonderful church home. Love for the Lord abounds there and it is not a show-off kind of church where you have to dress just so or behave in a certain manner. It’s all about praising the Lord and being taught through His Word.

Don’t forget that you can see more “1000 Gifts” blogs at A Holy Experience!

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It belongs to Lori at I Will Take It, Lord, All You Have To Give.  It is SO incredibly relevant today.  I guess it has always been relevant but particularly so today…

Here’s a small excerpt to whet your appetite:

After quoting a part of a letter to Donatus from St. Cyprian, Lori writes:

for we have the HOPE that can change the world,
we have the PEACE that can not be explained,
we have the LIGHT that must shine for all,
we have the LOVE of Christ in our hearts.
We are the Christians who MUST choose to make a difference.

And here’s the link to the post: I Dug For This One

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shamelessly borrowed from Amydeanne at the 160 Acre Woods, who got it from Chelle at From His Heart To Mine.  Visit AdventConspiracy.org to learn more and to sign up.  I did! Dollar by dollar, minute by minute, we can change the world!

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How was your week last week? Was your spiritual walk strong or did you stumble a bit? Maybe you stepped off of His path altogether once or twice? Maybe you slipped off the path of righteousness and you’d really like a “do-over” because, in hindsight, you can clearly see where you went wrong.

Great news! God specializes in do-overs for His children!I f you goof — no, let’s call it what it is — if you sin all you have to do is to repent and you get another chance!

Your sin is washed away!

Is repenting the same as saying “I’m sorry?” No, not exactly. My King James Bible shows the definition of “repent” as to “change mind.” My NLT Life Application Study Bible gives the definition of “repent” as a verb meaning “to turn from sin and change one’s heart and behavior; to feel regret and contrition.” So to be sorry is a part of repentance but the other part is to turn from sin and change one’s heart and behavior.

John the Baptist preached, in Matthew 3:2, that we should “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

We all slip off His righteous path or occasionally step away from His will for us for not one of us is without sin.

As Paul said in Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

This happened with me this week. It was building all week long — fear, insecurity, temptation to do something I knew to be wrong. (And let’s not forget that, were my faith what it should have been, there should have been no fear!) I wasn’t in the Word as I should be having missed a couple (or 3) days of my Bible Before Breakfast study. I had some critical family issues going on. I missed my Thursday night Bible study. God, even with all that I was doing wrong, still blessed me by providing a short-term project to provide a little bit of income to help pay for Studly’s meds this month.

Still I did not fall to my knees and beg for His help. I allowed one thing to build on top of another thing. I sinned and, in so doing, I let the enemy win. And, hey, I’m in good company with that. Do you remember the story of David and Bathsheba as told in 2 Samuel 11? David was at a fork in the road at several different points. He could have turned back to the righteous path at any time. He gave in to his own will for a time with ever-escalating acts against what he knew to be God’s instructions and let the enemy win. If this could happen even to David why should I have been surprised that it happened to me this week?

And yet I was. I was devastated. Did it mean that all my growth as a Christian wasn’t real? Did it mean that my faith was weak or that I didn’t love God enough? Once I got past my shame, I prayed, I begged forgiveness, I repented.

In Luke 15:7, Jesus Himself says that “joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.”

This is just miraculous to me!! Using human logic, I would think that those who need no repentance, those who live just and Godly lives should be more a cause for joy. I don’t even have the words to express how much I am thankful to and how much I want to praise my God Who is joyous that I repented!

Is your life completely out of control? Are you drifting and lost? Have you walked a path inconsistent with what the LORD wants for you? Jesus Christ on the cross provided a “do-over” for us for certainly we can do nothing on our own to overcome our sins.

To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. Ephesians 1:6-7

And it gets better yet: Not only are we forgiven and accepted, we are made new. My sins for which I have repented (and yours!) don’t exist anymore to God.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

When I found myself continuing to beat myself up even after I had begged forgiveness and prayed, it was all about my own guilt. Maybe it was my conscience driving the point home so that I would hopefully never fall out of His will quite that spectacularly again.

One last verse to share:

Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrightous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. Isaiah 55:7

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