Sunday Singings - Meekness

Jesus embodies meekness, one of my words for the year.  Our God can be small enough to hear us....His strength is shown in His meekness as He reaches out to us.  This song seems to say it all....as I continue to learn on meekness, while I am the receiver of meekness from my God.

I hope you enjoy this song for my Sunday Singings...dedicated to my grandmother.  Thanks for your sweet words and prayers of encouragement this past week.  Our daughter-in-law will have surgery on Thursday as they continue their journey for a child.  Our prayers are still going to heaven for Elise's family.  Thanks! How beautiful is the Body of Christ.

I will return in the new month with my own thoughts and words....which are many after this heart stretching month of January.

Not Re-inventing the Wheel

I have heard this saying all my life, "don't re-invent the wheel."  So many times we try to do exactly that.  I can even do it with my blog post.  If someone else has said it more eloquently, why try to capture the truth in my own words? Why not let their words speak my heart?  The Bible always crafts words better than I, as well as other writers.  Today, I am not even going to try to re-invent the wheel.  These authors words penetrated my heart this past week, so I will let them speak...may you be blessed.

Charles Spurgeon - By perseverance, the snail reached the ark.


Tender hearts give the same kind of shelter.  But his comes from being shaped by the whipping gale force winds of the alleyway.   - Jan Meyer - The Allure of Hope-God's Pursuit of a Woman's Heart

This perseverance can be either hard or tender.  We all know women who can gut it out. That's easy.  Tender perseverance is an art. - Jan Meyer


Jan Meyer, also quoting C.S. Lewis
It can all be worth it.  We can be shaped by the winds of trial with a confidence that we will give shelter and life along the way.  But as C.S. Lewis said, "Probably this will not, for most of us, happen in a day; poetry replaces grammar, gospel replaces law, longing transforms obedience, as gradually as the tide lifts a grounded ship.
(Can you say Amen to that?

"We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same  image...."  2 Corinthians 3:18
Oswald Chambers - Utmost for His Highest
Beware of anything that would spot or tarnish that mirror in you.  It is almost always something good that will stain it - something good, but not what is best.

Totally Healing for Elise

This morning I began receiving text as our precious friends made a two hour trip to another city to walk the journey of totally healing for their grand daughter Elise, whom I mentioned in my post on Sunday.  Her parents and family will miss her here on earth, but know that now she is totally new in the arms of Christ.

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

 ¹ The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
 ² He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
 ³ he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
   for his name’s sake.
⁴ Even though I walk
   through the darkest valley,^[a]
I will fear no evil,
   for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
   they comfort me.

 ⁵ You prepare a table before me
   in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
   my cup overflows.
⁶ Surely your goodness and love will follow me
   all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
   forever.

Comments are off today, instead I ask you lift this family up in prayer during their loss.

The Silent Pain

This photo was taken by our son, Allen, of Benjamin and I for an Anti-Abortion paper he wrote for English in College.

This post is dedicated to Sanctity of Life Week.

Most of us just assume life will go according to some rules.  We will marry our prince charming, establish a home, fill the home with the children we desire, graduate them from college, attend their weddings, bounce grand babies on our knees while enjoying retirement.  Life rarely goes according to our Garden of Eden ideas.  Heaven will hold that perfect vision, not this sin-filled world.

Sometimes in our journey, reality checks come.  You start to see that everything isn't a bed of roses.  Finances haven't turned out how you expected, you walk through miscarriages, a child's rebellion shatters your world, an abuse from the outside world brings you to your knees and God isn't finished with your children, as you watch them struggle.

When your children are struggling and they remain under your roof, one has a false sense of being able to control the struggle.  You continue to release them, but somehow you feel you can cushion the blow.

Our son and daughter-in-law have been married 6 years.  They started out the vision of a young married couple.  She finished her college degree while he established himself in his own business.  They bought a house, cars, fun toys and vacationed.  They gave themselves time to mature while getting to know each other.  Then the day came, like most young couples experience, and the decision to have children was made.

What was not in the plans was infertility.  Everyone around them was having children, both inside and outside of marriage, so how would they have known they had a different path to walk?

Infertility doesn't only hit the couple experiencing it, it hits the whole family.  As my daughter-in-law has experienced one miscarriage and empty arms at this time, so have I.  Each time she hears of another pregnancy, she hurts and each announcement of another grandchild being born, I, too, ache for a grand baby.

In the midst of our family praying through their journey of infertility, we have very close friends dealing with another ache.

Their daughter married one year after our son.  We have known the family since our children were born.  The daughter followed the dream also...waited, got further along in her career and her husband's degree plan and bought a home.  The pregnancy came!  The rejoicing began.  Then the pain that shatters a whole family happened.  The diagnosis for the new baby girl was that she could not live outside the womb.

Both couples are believing Christians, raised in Christian households.  Both couples have surrendered  their trial to the Lord to bring Him glory.  Both couples have dealt with, and still are dealing with "WHY?'  Both sets of grandparents...to-be-grandparents, pray for their children's journey.

Our children are no longer under our roofs.  We can't protect them...but we both know God is Sovereign.

I share all of this in case there is someone who can be encouraged.

My daughter-in-law has started a blog to document their journey... Alien Encounters of the Womb

The story on my side bar is from the Aunt (age 15) of the baby that will be received into heaven upon her birth.  Elise (click to read the Aunt's story of her niece)

All of our prayers are to lift Him up and stand firm on His promises as the journey continues for both families.

May we all remember the Silent Pain that many women walk in everyday.  The empty cradles or infant graves that they deal with each day.  Our world doesn't allow us to walk through life without thorns, and yet we have a Savior that wore the thorns so that we will be perfect, lacking in nothing.


Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. ⁴ And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.  James 1: 2-4

Do What? Really?

Now don't I sound like my 20-year-old by saying, "Do What? Really?"  Those are the words I would have heard her say if she was standing in my position over a week ago.

While in a decision with other women, I was stereotyped to my face.  Now I realize that stereotyping is just something most humans do and I have fallen into the trap more times than I can count.  But I think I have been a skilled "stereotyper" by hiding it from the person who I am stereotyping.  Now I am not proud of that...just saying.

Here is the false  "stereotype" said to my face.

"All Home Schoolers are Millionaires!"

Choke, choke...now do you hear my daughter?  "Do What? Really?"

Well, if all home school families are millionaires then I need to make a trip to our bank...something is wrong and the numbers on our account aren't accurate.  Somehow we missed out on that advantage the last 23 years of home schooling.

"I don't want to home school my teenage son so he can play video games like all the home school high school kids do all day!"

Again..."Do What? Really?"

Well, I didn't get that memo when I raised four home school teenagers.  What was I thinking...instead I drove tens of thousands of miles taking them to music lessons and home school sports, while wasting my time from 8 to 4 each day trying to educate them.  Wow!, you mean I could have just set them in front of the video games and enjoyed my million dollars!

Stereotyping isn't fun and I felt the sting as I gasped and tried to decide if I should even try to explain.

But just in case you have the same stereotype of home schoolers, I thought Benjamin and I would share with you our "non-conventional" school day this week.

The sun and temperatures just called us to take our school outside.

Handwriting was done on the picnic table.

Math was done on the fence.  Yes I labeled the fence post (don't they look like fence post you would see on a million dollar house?) and he did his addition and subtraction facts.  He tossed a rock to hit the fence with the correct answer...so we combined math and exercise.

Benjamin believed there were four leaf clovers...so we investigated...since our yard is full of green clovers.
Discovery....only three leaves on a clover.

Painted with watercolors after the reading of "The Clown of God".

Making shadows in the backyard...discussing the sun's position in the sky.

I hope I will think twice before I stereotype again....what we usually assume is miles from what is reality!

It's A Dirty Job, But Someone Has to Do It

There are jobs that we all don't want to admit need to be done.  I so enjoy posting on making a wonderful dessert I had pinned on Pinterest or a finished project, but life isn't all Pinterest and success.  Life tends to have twist and turns which can clog us up....so was the case for six days in our home.

Yes! it was clogged!!!!!!!!!!  The boys toilet.

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For six days I attempted to unclog that thing.

I used the plunger!

I used the auger!

I even watched You Tube videos and followed all instructions

I put bleach in and let it stand.

I twisted the arms of my sons and hubby to try also....no one was winning this clogged fight.

I knew from day one what to do...don't we always?

But instead the job became a mountain and procrastination set in.

My home builder son said, "Oh!, NO mom don't do that!", but he wasn't living in the house with a clogged toilet.

So I got up..."took the bull by the horns" and pulled my resistant sons into the bathroom to conqueror the beast.  They could use their strong muscles and I would direct the action to win this battle.

Yes we did...we took the toilet off the floor...we wrestled with the clogging substance and WON!!!!

Those dirty jobs we don't want to do  usually are accomplished in  only  minutes.  Yes, it took a whole 20 minutes to get it all taken care of and back into its rightful place.

Now is there a lesson here or what?  January is still the beginning of the year.  I am looking at the battle we won and seeing how the twist and turns caused the problem, but it was accelerated  by procrastination.

Lesson learned....don't make a mountain out of a mole hill...stare it straight in the face and pull that hill down fast.

The Too Busy Card

Our society has an obsessive epidemic with pulling out the "too busy" card in response to life.  We proudly display our card as a sign of our significance and worth.  We wear it proudly.  We retrieve our card at a moment's notice.

"Can you take a meal to a sick family?"

"Oh, I would love to, but I am TOO BUSY"

During our "busyness" we become deaf to the still and gentle promptings of the Holy Spirit.  Who can hear over the anthem of busyness playing in our lives?

This past week I was the recipient of the "too busy" card, as well as having paid the price for using the card myself one too many times.

January 8th, I woke to another year of my life.  This birthday was just another birthday of many but today I would be the receiver and the reaper of the card.  My adult children, who live close to us, were all "too busy" to come to see me.  Each made a call or text to wish me Happy Birthday.  As I released grace to each of them, I still felt the sting of the "too busy" card.

The next morning I woke to an email.  My Uncle had died unexpectedly the morning of my birthday.  I was now the reaper of the "too busy" card.

In November, we traveled to a family member's 50th Wedding Anniversary, which caused us to travel through the city of my uncle's residence.  A gentle and still small nudge came from the Holy Spirit...
"on your way home, stop and see your Uncle."

The trip became longer than I had expected. I was determined not to use the "too busy" card. We took the time to make sure we had visited with our extended family, not rushing back for prior obligations.  Traffic backed up for miles, which slowed down our traveling time home.  Our son repeated his need to finish a project for school.  As we neared my Uncle's city, I quietly resolved that the visit wasn't going to happen. We were "too busy".

I stuffed my frustrations and told my husband to proceed through the town.  I glanced out my window toward my Uncle's house situated just two miles off the highway and whispered to myself, "next time, I will make it a priority, I promise."

Next time wouldn't come.  My next visit with my Uncle will be in heaven.  My next trip to his town was for his funeral on Saturday.  I hugged on relatives and promised to see them soon...I didn't pull out my "too busy" card.

I don't feel condemnation, I feel convicted.  The "too busy" card robs us of the blessings God has for us.  He knew the day of my Uncle's entry into heaven, I didn't.  He gave me the last opportunity to take my two sons to see him - I, however, pulled out the "too busy" card.

Comments are closed today because this is too close to my heart!  Today, I am celebrating my Uncle with a resolve to put away my "too busy" card and slow down to visit those I love and miss so much.

In Just A Year

What a difference a year makes.

Well I think the actual words to the song are "What a difference a day makes, twenty-four little hours, brought the sun and the flowers, where there used to be rain."...now I am humming the song in my head, you still get the point.

We can get so caught up the whirl-wind of life that we can live with tunnel vision, whatever is happening...either good or bad, can lead us to forgetting "time changes everything".

So today I celebrate "What a difference a Year makes" through pictures.

Last year by this time we had already had four snow storms....so unlike Texas. (2011)

January 2012 - overly warm temptatures and wonderful sunshine

His looks have just changed so much and he left age 5 behind last week...yes mother still wants to pickle her little ones at this age, but I must, I must, let them grow up.

Where I thought we were going to live until we could buy a house. Covered with snow...prior to a summer of drought and record breaking heat.

Our new rental and rain after a summer drought.  A warm winter and rain.

The only thing certain in life is CHANGE!!

What will life look like in another year....for now I am enjoying today.

Yes, I did turn a year older also (thank you for the birthday wishes)...on the 8th, I share my birthday with Elvis.

Our other son turned 16 on the 3rd and Benjamin on the 6th....life goes on.

Meekness

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My spiritual word this year is Meekness.  One of the fruits of the Spirit along with a quality mentioned in the Beatitudes will be my focus this year.  This is a very big word for God to place on my heart.  I have no clue where this will lead this year, but He has said it and I am following.  As I have started my research on meekness, I am soberly aware that this is a fruit of the Spirit I am not walking in.  The Lord's idea of meekness and our society's understanding of meekness are at extreme opposite ends.  The Lord says that the meek will inherit the earth, vastly different from our thoughts of people who are meek.  Kay Arthur confirmed this word to me through her book.  The Holy Spirit quickened it to my spirit.

Does meekness connect to "spunk"?  I am starting to see the two are meant to be products of the other.  True meekness brings a "childlike" faith of releasing things to a Sovereign God, which allows our outward self to skip in "childlike" faith.  Meekness brings confidence in God's plans and releases worry, frustation, disobedience and striving...once again allowing us to embrace the "spunkiness" of life.

My journey into meekness has only began...below is the starting line.  Since it is a Fruit of the Holy Spirit, I am praying the Holy Spirit will bring meekness and the understanding of meekness into my life this year.

• Moses was meek - Numbers 12:3 "Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth."
• Zeph. 2:3 - "Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD'S anger."  
• Is. 29:19 - "The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel."  (notice the meek will obtain fresh joy!!!) 
• Ps. 37:11 - "But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace."

Surely our understanding of this remarkable characteristic must be askew! Bible commentators generally agree that modern man, living in our Western, Judeo-Christian cultures, lacks this godly attribute. Meekness, being a fruit of the Spirit, is an attribute of God Almighty Himself and important to our being in His image and a true witness. Indeed, this characteristic will largely determine how much peace and contentment are in our lives and how well we do during trials.

Meekness is what results when one's spiritual knowledge, understanding and passions are in right balance.

This is very important regarding trials because meekness is the opposite of self-will toward God and of ill-will toward men. In his commentary on Matthew 5:5, Matthew Henry writes, "The meek are those who quietly submit themselves to God, to his word and to his rod, who follow His directions, and comply with His designs, and are gentle towards all men" (p. 1629).

Meekness is the fruit of God by His Spirit working in us. Godly sorrow softens our stiff-necked rebellion in our hearts so that we are made receptive to the workings of the Creator to produce His image in us. Therefore meekness, along with the qualities already mentioned, also includes our becoming pliable, malleable, submissive and teachable. A New Testament term for this condition might be "childlike."

This is not a virtue to ignore because carnal men consider it weakness. It may appear to them as weakness, but the spiritual reality is that it is great strength, an attribute of Almighty God and a fruit of His Spirit we greatly need.

Read more: http://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.sr/CT/PERSONAL/k/237/The-Fruit-of-Spirit-Meekness.htm#ixzz1inzRr35l

This year will be exciting to see what God does in my life in the area of meekness.

Spunk or Moxie?

Main Entry:	spunk  [spuhngk]  Show IPA
Part of Speech:	noun
Definition:	courage, nerve
Synonyms:	backbone, determination, doggedness, fortitude,gameness, grit, gumption*, guts*, intestinalfortitude, mettle, moxie*, pluck, resolution, spirit,toughness, true grit

goole image....now this is Spunk or Moxie!!

Recently I heard someone describe life after 50 as the years that women regain their "spunk" which is a characteristic of young girls.  For some reason that has just stayed with me as I  mauled it over and over again in my heart.  I let my memory go back to the age of unrestricted "spunkiness".  Some of you have never left it behind...your blogs always show "spunk".  I, however, allowed it to slip through my hands as the balls of life I was juggling filled my hands to capacity.

One of my words for this year is just a fleshy, fun word - Spunk.

Do you know when you are feeling "spunky"?  After I heard this thought on my age, I started to see when I felt "spunky".  As I felt it, I started to become acquainted with this again.

I felt it start to crawl up my spine as I got up from my seat at my friend's daughter's wedding to join my friend on the dance floor.  We are in our 50's and share similar backgrounds of having been in the drill team in high school.  These shared experiences has brought us to laughter many times.  I have put away my dancing shoes (and my teaching of dance), years ago, so  for me, to venture toward a dance floor was a pure spark of "spunkiness".  We both joined the group in a line dance with giggles and laughter, while celebrating the marriage of her daughter.  Here I felt a little spark.

The following week found me downtown Grapevine at night.  Grapevine is known as the Christmas Capital of Texas with its streets lined with lights which blink to the sounds of Christmas Carols.  Along main street is a large white gazebo where you could see people dancing to the music.  Benjamin said, "let's dance, Mom!"  Now I have to admit dancing in my home with my children yes!, but dancing out in a public gazebo - it hasn't happened, until I felt that "spunk" set in.  I grabbed Benjamin's hands and danced him around the gazebo.

I was starting to recognize "spunk" again when I ventured onto the sunlit basketball court with my teenage son. He has been in a slump in making baskets.  I strolled onto the court as if I knew what I was doing and asked for the basketball.  Now remind you I WAS NEVER IN SPORTS - I danced.  I took the basketball and challenged him in a shooting contest.  I started to shoot the ball and low and behold...it went into the basket! In fact, it went into the basket nine times in a row.  I was winning...it took him a couple of tries before he could beat my record of nine baskets.  There it was, my "spunk".  I knew when to leave the court when other teen boys came to shoot...so I stepped aside and cheered from the sidelines...again acting more like a girl than a mom.

Now one of my words for this year is to get my "spunk" back.  I don't know what forms it will come in...and I am sure there will be times I look silly.  I just think it is time to let that little girl back into my life.

Okay are there any of you who need to add some "spunk" in  your life?  Those of you that have it...well, I am watching you!

High Ho, High Ho

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"High Ho, High Ho, now off to work we go."  Now are you singing it?
It is January and for me that means making a plan.  So this year, I think I will take it one month at a time...mark down some objectives and see what happens.  I know not to plan too far in advance and not to be too set in my plans...God seems to always come along and change them anyway.

First goal for this month..."High Ho, High Ho - Off to the Gym I Go!!!" 
I worked out alot this past year, but the scales didn't reflect lower numbers. I did, however, lose a couple of inches, but not enough to change my clothes size.  I have also observed that I am an emotional eater.  Now since confession is good for the soul, I hope acknowledging that fact will help me to watch it.  So when I'm in a stressful event or just feeling bored - I need to learn how to relieve that feeling by a more productive way... other than eating.


Second goal of the month - Clean out and Organize my pantry and refrigerator
After the holidays, both need attention. I need to cook up some freezer breakfasts and meals for the remaining basketball season.  If I have healthier alternatives available to both my teenage son and me, we will eat better.

Third goal - Well, the appointment is set...UGH!!!!!!!!  So that annual doctor's appointment that was three years ago...well, it is finally on the calendar and I must go!

Fourth goal - Do something fun that re-energizes me.  It is too easy to be caught up in children's schedules and never leave any time for play.  I am going to work on at least one fun thing for each month.  I think I might take a weekend off to go see my friend...this is something I have never done and it would be good for me to try something new and refreshing.  She is one of my friends who says, "pull up your big girl panties and deal with it!"

Fifth goal - Do something creative.  I think I will paint my laundry room.  It connects to my kitchen and I sooooooooooo LOVE my kitchen walls that I will carry that color into the laundry room.  I will put in some accents of red to cheer me up while I am doing that weekly chore.

How about you? Do you have some things you are planning on this month?  So, here it goes for my once-a-month goals...we will see what twists and turns happen.

Start at the Beginning

This week holds three birthdays in our household, two basketball games, return to school schedule and a new year.  Could you load anymore in one week?

January the beginning of the year.  Genesis the beginning of His Story.  My Bible at my side, the music I sing to lift my spirit to His throne room playing, the empty calendar to be filled by His design - beginning.

As in the past I have shared music that has reached past my flesh to my spirit.  There are times to just dance around with fun music and then times to stop and allow God to speak through His composers.

My daughter-in-law shared with me this Christmas season the music inspired by The Story written by Max Lucado.  Today I want to share the site that tells about this inspiring work.  For some this genre of music may not be your style...but the words still speak truth.  This video only presents the music and the words.

http://www.thestorycd.com/ - this link supplies information on this CD.

I share one of my favorites from this CD...I hope you have time to be inspired and remember that from the Beginning He had a Plan for each of us.  Look what He sees..."I see a star, He sees a galaxy....Who but You would dream your dream in me?