.....that is, time for my last baby to fly the coop.  In four days we take our dear daughter to the airport for her trip to Canada.  She is almost packed and tomorrow has been set aside to finish that task completely.  I have mixed emotions.

As any mother would, I have sad feelings about my daughter leaving home.

On the other hand, as so many friends keep encouraging me, this is what we raised her up to do.

I've cried a few tears......but don't tell anyone!  (Only my pillow knows about that.)

But I've also thought about a few things I just might look forward to......like taking over her little bathroom for myself!

I'm anxious for her.  I want her roommates to like her, I mean, REALLY like her!

And I'm excited for her to spread her wings and really FLY!

So, basically, I feel like a mess......a happy, weepy, proud, blithering idiot MOM!!!!

We are having Vacation Bible School this week.  We have had small numbers like 9, 7, and 11 kids.  We have enjoyed the opportunity to really be with the kids and have conversations with them instead of just referee-ing or herding them. :-)  Our dear friend Mr. Tim is leading and doing a wonderful job as always.  The kids listen to him so well and he understands how to teach a full range of ages all at once.  Dear daughter's boyfriend is here for the week to help out, too.  So when the Preacher comes down and I come in with the older daycare kids there is a pretty sweet worker to kiddo ratio.

"Pray without kissing"    (the Bible word is ceasing so it was a good guess for a young reader!)

"Mr. Tim, can you come back and do VBS again before summer is over?"

"Mom,  I didn't want you to come back yet...."       (this little guy wanted to stay alot longer!)

One little girl was awfully bashful on Monday morning.  By Tuesday morning she ran into the opening rally and was happy to join in and smiled all day long.  She just needed to feel comfortable.

And my heart is full of love and joy as I see us having an impact on little hearts for eternity.  Well, GLORY!

As kids, my brother and sister and I used to look forward to the occasional opportunity to wrestle with our dad on the living room floor.  For some reason we pronounced it "rassle" and it was pretty much a free-for-all!  Our daddy was a county deputy and he always seemed to have some special move up his sleeve.  He would get one or the other of us pinned down and start the whisker rub.  I tried to tough it out when I was in this uncomfortable situation; after all, I was born believing I am one tough chick.  But at some point even I would give in and holler "Uncle!" when I thought I had had enough.

Yesterday was one of those days when I wanted to holler out to my Heavenly Father and shout "Uncle!"  It was no one thing, it was just one of those tough days when everything was a challenge.  The Bible is clear that God will not give us more than we can take, but so many times I wonder how much more my Father thinks I can endure!  At the end of one of those days I just want some milk and cookies and my nice soft bed.  I feel like that is my due reward for toughing it out.

I suppose you can already see the comparison here.  It's not that deep of a thought!  Just like my daddy would pull some new move on us and make us work a little harder to tackle him, my Heavenly Father sends new things to me and makes me look at my life just a little differently in order to tackle the challenge of the day.  And, let's face it, it seemed like a much more palatable choice to holler "Uncle!" and get the whisker rub over with so we could get back to the fun than to just wait it out for my daddy to decide to stop! :-)  And I guess there are alot of tough days when I give in pretty quickly and try to holler "Uncle!" to my Heavenly Father so I can be done with the challenge and just get back to the usual routine.  But I wouldn't have this special little memory of my daddy and my siblings and I "rasseling" around and being tough with each other if I just hollered "Uncle!" at the first rub of the cheek.  And I wouldn't have stories in my heart of times when God made me tougher....or softer.....or more humble....because of the challenges He brought to me if I had given up every time it was a bit uncomfortable.

Thank You, Heavenly Father, for making me face challenges each day that make me stronger in You.  Thank You for not always listening when I started to holler "Uncle!" but You knew the lesson I needed!  Ps 73:26

This past weekend I spoke at a Ladies Retreat in Wyoming.  The theme verse was Romans 12:5 "So we, being many, are members of the body of Christ, and every one members one of another."  We talked about the different systems in the body that must be healthy and working in unison to have an effective body.

The brain is  the control center of the body.  The pastor is like the brain.  The Central Nervous System is the coordinator of communication and behavior.  Sounds like the pastor's wife to me!  She relays messages about pain and illness and helps get out the word for reactions to these situations.  She gives instructions to organize programs and activities.

We talked about the skeletal system being made up of bones and cartilage.  These are designed to support and protect the vital organs where the life is.  The circulatory system is about moving or transporting.  We compared communication to moving and how good communication moves you along a happy path and poor communication moves you along a, well, bumpy path.

The digestive system shows a wonderful picture of reading and studying God's Word.  The Word in us makes us healthy.  I have coined a term that I call "anorexic Christianity."  People who suffer with anorexia eat just barely enough to survive and do not have a healthy life.  Many Christians just listen a little in church sometimes and think that is enough to make them spiritually healthy.  It takes personal study of the Word of God.

 And then, it was easy to talk about the Excretory System......yup, the poop.  If the health and nutrition of the Word of God goes into our hearts, then the waste of sin will be taken out of our lives.  If sin is allowed to build up in our lives, we become filled with toxins and are no longer profitable but poisonous.

All the parts must be working together in harmony to have a healthy  body.  A church is made up of all kinds of people who have all different kinds of talents and abilities.  We all need to have a check up and be sure we are doing our part to make the body of Christ healthy and effective.

Yesterday I was reading Facebook.  Now, I know that some people hate FB, but I look at it just like anything else in life......it is the responsibility of the user to behave and not abuse the tool.  Anyway, a certain post caught my attention and made me very sad.

According to the Urban Dictionary the Bible is apparently an ancient novel full of murder, incest, homosexuality, corruption and more that is often read to children on Sundays.  This is not an exact quote but does include the major descriptions listed.  I was so sad to read this.  I realize that not everyone accepts the Bible as Truth or believes in the saving power of Christ.  There is so much wisdom and so many wonderful miracles in the Bible that even if you just wanted it to be a story book it would have so much to offer.

I want to go on record here that the Bible has changed my life.  The God of the Bible is real and alive.  He has made my whole life completely different than it would have been without Him.  That makes me happy!

Don'tcha just hate when someone asks you, "what are your priorities?"  That means I have to stop and evaluate things.  Then, of course, I have to start picking and choosing what things I need to do first.....and sometimes that is not the same as what I AM doing first.  Keeping the main thing the main thing can be so hard.

In my family right now, the priority is helping my dear daughter keep on track toward getting ready for a 6 week mission trip to Canada followed immediately by heading off to college.  She is not always the best at sorting through which project needs to be done first and is often distracted when she finds something more "fun" that could be done.  I am easily distracted by "more fun" or sparkly things too :-)

This morning we sat down and discussed some of the things she needs to have accomplished.  A few of them had been completed and I just needed to get an update.  Other tasks were starting to overwhelm her.  And a few things had been intentionally pushed to the very back of her mind.  Pretty normal!  We discussed a short list and evaluated how much time was really available early this afternoon.  The departure date is still a ways off, so at times it feels like we have forever to get ready, and then days like today it feels as if we are way behind!  But the date is scheduled and she is leaving.

It made me think of Christ.  Oh, He never lost track of His priorities, but have I lost track of keeping Him in first place in my list?  He IS coming back.  The date is set.  Sometimes it feels like it will never get here and other days I just can't believe He is still waiting.  And I have certain things to accomplish before that date as well.  I must be busy about my Father's business of sharing with everyone I can that Christ wants a personal relationship with them and I can tell them how to start that process!  I must be busy training my kids, and even though one is already married, I still have a place of influence in his life, so the job goes on.  I will have a responsibility for grandchildren someday.  I do have the responsibility of daycare kids now.

I can't get all sidetracked with the "fun" things like singing His praises and testifying of His blessings.  I have to keep those things in proportion to the work that I am to be doing.  Priorities.  I must keep evaluating my life and be sure I am as efficient for Him as I can be.......because He is coming back!

People say things like "She's really going through a test" or "That family has had one trial after another".  Are these two things the same? What does each of these words mean?

Trial   Think of a courtroom where a trial is going on.  What do you see in your mind's eye?  Do you see the judge and the attorneys and the defendant?  Do you see the media?  Do you see.......the public?  That's the key to understanding the use of the word trial.  When we are given a trial or are tried by God it is a very public thing.  People around us know about it like our family members and our church family.

Test   For this word, think of a classroom.  Now what do you see?  Do you see a teacher or proctor?  Do you see several students sitting at desks with their sharpened No. 2 pencils ready?  Do you hear the teacher say, "You may open your tests and begin, but keep your eyes on your own papers"?  That is the key!  A test is something that only you see; it is personal and private.

Sometimes God gives us trials like when we lose a job or when we have a serious illness or death in our family. At other times He gives us personal tests like when we are struggling to control jealousy in our heart or when our child's attitude is grating on our nerves and we are tempted to lose our temper.  Both kinds of situations come from God and are designed to strengthen us in some way....just sometimes privately and sometimes publicly.

I realize that there are many people in this world that do enjoy exercise.  At different times in my life, I have been one of them.  But at others times......when I have neglected my health and am out of shape and lazy.....I really REALLY do not like exercise.  Getting back in the routine is harder than the routine itself.  And the same is true in our spiritual lives.

Ecc. 3:10b  "...to be exercised in it..."  In the first part of this verse King Solomon told us that he had seen that God intentionally gave hard, painful, scary things to His very own children to bring about a specific purpose.  And part of that purpose is for us to be exercised in these trials.

"Exercise" is a word that conjures up pictures of stretching and working and some soreness and stiffness and working through pain.  Bleh!  That does not sound fun to me at all.  But my faith must be stretched and worked and pushed to new limits in order for it to grow or strengthen.  When there is strengthening and growth there is improvement.  My faith is being made better when God sends these trials to me.  That's a pretty interesting thought to try to wrap your brain around.

Comparing God as my Heavenly Father to my daddy here on earth makes this concept very clear though!  My daddy and momma sent us outside to play in the field all the time so that we could get exercise.  My Heavenly Father has my best interests in mind when He sends things to strengthen me.  And it's nice to know that He doesn't just send trials for no reason.

From the end of this verse we can learn that God doesn't waste hurts.  Thank You, Father, for not hurting me just to be mean.  Thank You for sending things that will make me stronger.  I especially thank You that they are things You have designed and are not random or unplanned.

Ecclesiastes 3:10 "...which God hath given to the sons of men..."

...which God...   God is my Heavenly Father.  He is holy and perfect and I cannot comprehend those traits, but I can understand Him as a Father.  When I accepted Christ as my personal Savior, I became adopted into the family of God!  I am a D.O.G. -- Daughter Of God!

...hath given...   My daddy has given me lots and lots of things in my life!  He has given me compliments and kisses and gifts and treats and wonderful gifts.  He and my momma have given me a clear picture of how a godly husband and wife should love each other.  He has also give me chores and certain vegetables (yuck!) and  a few whoopings.  Obviously, my daddy had to sometimes give me things that I did not like, but that were good for me.  Whenever he gave me anything, though, it was intentionally chosen or selected with my welfare in mind.  I may not have always liked what my daddy presented to me, but it was for my own good.

...to the sons of men...   This phrase is not just referring to the male gender.  It actually means mankind or the human race.  Hmmmmm, I think that includes pretty much everyone I can think of!

So, let's pull this all together:  God, who is my Heavenly Father, intentionally presents things He has designed and chosen for me.  I may not like the situations He sends to me, but they are for my good and His glory.  And He gives them to everyone who is anyone.  He is not picking on me, but working to accomplish His plan through me with careful design.

I feel a little better about these scary trials when I remember that they are not random or pointless!

Ecclesiastes 3:10  "I have seen the travail which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it"

I have seen...  The book of Ecclesiastes was written by King Solomon, the wisest man in history.  He had traveled far and wide looking for the meaning of life.  And this verse is one of many where he lays out what he has seen and observed.

the travail...  The word "travail" is often used to refer to childbirth and the pains of labor.  When I try to define this term I find myself using words like pain, hard work, and suffering.  When we had our first child I would definitely have added the word scary!  When I was going through my labor it was the only thing I could think about or focus on.

Times of trial can be described in very much the same way.  They are painful.  They are scary.  The situation you are in becomes the filter through which you view everything else in life.

BUT....travail has a purpose or a desired outcome.  It doesn't last forever; it has a definite ending time.  And our trials are very much the same.  When God sends a trial to my life, He does have a specific purpose He is trying to accomplish through it.  He always has the desired outcome in mind that I would be refined and drawn closer to Him through it.  And no matter how overtaken and downcast I am during the trial, I know that they really do not last forever.

Sometimes my trial or travail is life-encompassing and I know that it is going to change the whole course of my life.  At other times my trials are just little bumps in the path but they do grab MY attention.  Whether illness or catastrophe or just a "down in the dumps" day, I am so glad to know that it will not last forever, and God has some designed purpose for my day!

Everyone I know has had to go through hard times at some point in their life or another.  I am no exception to this rule.  But I have a Heavenly Father who watches over me and stays right by my side.  He sent me a love letter to remind me of His thoughts toward me.

Our family went through a very dark valley nine and a half years ago when my husband (the Preacher) had a massive stroke and was expected to die.  It's a long story that has heartache and fear and uncertainty as it's
"dragons."  I was the damsel in distress along with my two kiddos who were just eight and thirteen at the time.  The Preacher was so critically ill that he spent a month in the hospital and it was over two years before our family felt like we had found our "new normal."  And my heart cried out to God so many times each day for strength to keep on, and wisdom to make decisions, and comfort for a heart that was broken and trying to mend.

My God answered me.  In fact, He answered me each and every single solitary time I cried out to Him.  He gave me some very special verses in His Word that I clung to and read over and over.  I recently told Mark's story again at a ladies retreat.  I have a sort of abbreviated script version I tell people who want to know what happened to him.  But I had not told his story in great detail for a very long time.  It is a hard story to tell without becoming emotional and I don't ever want to lose that sensitivity for what God did for us through this.  It is truly not a story about us but about what God did in our lives so that others could see His love and mercy and GRACE.  I'd like to spend the next several posts on this blog sharing some of the verses that God gave to me and I pray that God's Word will be a healing balm to hearts that are hurting.

My husband's story is "A Story of Grace" and of God's never failing mercies!

My journey as a homeschool mom will be ending in two weeks when dd (dear daughter) dons the yellow/gold robe and gives her speech.  Like so many other "final" events in our lives, this one is bittersweet.  It is bitter because something is ending, but sweet because something else is beginning.

I had investigated, researched, and observed homeschooling for over a year before we stepped onto that path.  I was excited and fearful and apprehensive all at the same time.  I was excited because we had made this decision in the best interests of our children.  We had joined the ministry and homeschool would let us design a flexible schedule for our school assignments.  It also would let me tailor our curriculum to the strengths and weaknesses of our kids' learning styles.  I had personally loved school and was looking forward to being "back" in the classroom.

I was apprehensive because I had investigated, researched, and observed homeschooling for over a year before we stepped onto that path.  I had seen it done well and I had seen it done quite poorly.  I wanted to set the standard for our family high, so I was apprehensive that I might reach too far and let myself and my children down.  I wasn't sure how I would handle some of the inevitable challenges.  I didn't want to fail.

I was fearful because not everyone supports homeschooling.  It's not like I was giving my kids experimental drugs to grow horns and a third eye, but none the less, I knew that a big sector of society would frown on our choice.  Nobody likes to open themselves up to criticism.  And I was afraid that we would not have the support of some of our family members.  It turned out that some of the ones I thought would give us the most support thought we were the craziest.  And some of those I thought would scorn us to shame, actually encouraged us and expressed their admiration.  You never really know what to expect or from whom to expect it!

Now, neither dd or ds (dear son) completed everything I had planned for them.  Neither of the kids is fluent in a foreign language including my favorite sign language.  Neither of them took piano lessons like I had dreamed they would.  But . . .

Both of our children have a long list of extra curricular activities to go along with their academics.  We made sure that if they didn't advance quite as far as we had wished for in a certain subject that at least they had a very strong foundation and knew what we said they knew in that subject.  They have traveled and experienced all sorts of food and people and culture.  And they both have great hearts for their Lord.  That is definitely a sweet part!

So, congratulations, dear Ashleigh!  I am as proud of you as I was proud of your brother.  I send you off to establish your own life with confidence that you will make it an amazing journey.  I can say that I have done my very best for you.  And even though you fly away from our nest, remember that we will always be right here cheering for you and loving you!  I love you!

(and now I am done homeschooling!!!!!!!!)

As kids, my siblings and I would often ask each other "If you had to be blind or deaf, which would you pick?"  Then a friend recently asked on facebook "How do you describe color to a blind person?"

Try to imagine for just a moment what it is like not to hear anything.  At all.  Ever.  Most of my day has some kind of noise.  If I am in a conversation I obviously hear voices and speaking.  If I am down in the daycare I hear the babies jabbering or the bigger kids pretending.  When I go to bed at night I hear the fan and the humidifier.  When I first wake up in the morning I hear the Preacher telling me I've NOT heard the alarm clock!  I usually have music playing wherever I am even if I am alone and just relaxing.  I cannot imagine a world without sound. And I cannot find the words to "explain" sounds.

Then try to imagine a world of darkness.  Even in my own home where I decide the placement of every piece of furniture, I cannot walk around with my eyes completely closed and not bang into something.  My favorite color is pink, and while I know how it makes me feel, I don't think it looks the same or feels the same to everyone else.

I can't imagine how it feels to live without something I have had my whole life.  And the same is true for my Christian walk with the Lord.  I accepted salvation and gave my life to the Lord when I was four years old.  My whole life has been lived in a Christian home focused on pleasing God with our actions, words, and thoughts.  I have "always" had the confidence that I was a child of God with a home in Heaven.  I have "always" been able to call out to my Father in prayer and give Him my burdens.

I can't imagine how it feels to live without God.  How do I explain to people that their hopelessness and their despair does not have to rule their lives?  How do I explain what God's love feels like when others are hurtful to me or disappoint me?  How can I explain why I always have a smile ready to share?

The only way I can describe what I have "always" had that others do not understand is to take them to the One who gave it to me!  God is how I keep pushing on when other people think it's time to give up.  God is the One who shows me love when I'm fed up with everyone else.  God is the confidence I have to do things that others think are upside down and backwards.  God is the peace I feel when life is upsetting.

I don't think I can really describe what music sounds like or what color looks like, but I can describe what makes me have such a different life!  It's God.

Jesus loves me                                   Jesus knows me
This I know!                                      This I love!
For the Bible                                      Watches me from
Tells me so.                                        Heaven above.
Little ones to Him belong                    Sees my heart and hears me pray
They are weak                                   Guides my footsteps
But He is strong.                                 Lest I stray.

Yes, Jesus loves me!                           Yes, Jesus knows me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!                           Yes, Jesus knows me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!                           Yes, Jesus knows me!
The Bible tells me so.                          He knows and loves me so!

"Jesus is all I need" has been playing on the Pandora station I am listening to this morning.  My time with God this morning was about keeping the first things first.  Matthew 6:33 instructs me to "Seek ye FIRST the kingdom of God..."

There are days when I feel like I need to be rescued from pressures and stresses of life.  But Jesus is all I really need.

I am often so busy working down my "to do" list that I resemble a head with my chicken cut off.  But Jesus is all I really need.

I hear of the struggles others are facing and my heart grows heavy with concern and sorrow.  But Jesus is all I really need.

One of my very favorite verses is Psalm 73:26.  It says "My flesh and my heart faileth, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."  My flesh fails me at every turn because I just don't have what it takes to override sin in my life.  My heart fails me when I become discouraged and disappointed in myself.  BUT GOD!!!  God has the strength and power that my heart needs.  And He has all of it that I could ever use up!

Whatever is happening in your life, your attitude can determine whether it destroys you or not.  So if God is the strength my heart (attitude), I can get through ANYthing!  And He is my portion forever.  I will never run out of His strength, I will never use up my allotment, it will never expire.

Yuppers.  Jesus is all I need.  "The Lord is my Shepherd - - what else could I want?"

My name is Missi and I am a homeschool mom.......and I'm proud of it!  We began homeschooling 10 years ago when our "job" in the ministry was to travel around the nation.  We could never expect our kids to attend a week of school, miss two weeks, attend three weeks, miss one week and learn anything.  That attendance record would also be very frowned upon by any school administration!  So after much prayer and research we began our homeschooling journey.

I figured it would be a little slice of Heaven since I was such a dedicated student myself.  Well, let's just say there were SOME  days when it was heavenly and my two kids were angelic in their dedication to the acquisition of knowledge. And then there were other days when it was just yucky.

But we had decided at the very beginning that if we were going to take this non-traditional track that we were going to do it with gusto and see it through to the very end.  We have set high standards for our kids.  They have both learned that sometimes not making it all the way to mom & dad's expectations is how they find out their limitations.  Exceeding our expectations has given them, and us, the thrill of finding their strengths and talents!

And in eight short weeks it will all be over.  Yup, the baby of the family is getting ready to spread her beautiful wings and fly the coop.  I am so proud and happy and anxious!  In fact, I feel quite a bit like I felt the day she was born.  This milestone in her life has been prayed about and planned for just like her birth was.  It marks a huge change in the dynamics of our home and family.  It is, in so many ways, MY graduation too!

So here's to you Sweetie!  Let's have a great party to celebrate what you have accomplished!  And here's to all the other homeschool families out there........keep the goal in your sights.  When I look back, the journey has been incredible for all of us!

We've been busy, just like everyone else.  We've been so busy, in fact, that I haven't gotten to be creative in a very long time.  Now, we made a trip two weekends ago to put vinyl lettering on a church van but I was honestly quite nervous about that project.  This weekend's project was just for fun and relaxation!

I picked up a set of metal electric burner covers at the local thrift shop.  I then modge-podged some of my favorite scrapbooking paper to the inside of the cover.  I made a couple of pockets out of complimenting paper.  Add a few silver metal clips (glued on with Ailene's Tacky Glue) and a handful of bling gems and woooo-hooooo!
One of the pockets holds cards with dinner entrees written on them.  The other pocket holds blank cards for future use.  On the back of each entree card is a list of the needed ingredients for that dish.  As you plan your menu for the week, take the card for each night's dinner and clip it onto the board.  Just a glance at the board in the morning and you will have a clear reminder of your dinner plans for that evening.  The list of ingredients on the back should help any sous chefs in your kitchen be able to get things set up for you!

I'm thinking this is a great way to upcycle old cookie sheets too.  My daughter liked mine so much that she made her own version with rustic styled paper and used wooden clothes pins to hold her cards.  It is the perfect chore or appointment board!  We got the original idea from Pinterest but made a few changes so it would be more suited to our personal style and needs.

I have a husband....you know him as the Preacher.  He is a walking, talking miracle.  Almost ten years ago he had a massive stroke, but God healed him.

Last week a friend of ours had heart surgery and then suffered a stroke.  She was in the same hospital the Preacher was in all those years ago.  She was moved into the same ICU that the Preacher was in also.  She could not talk at all and had paralysis.  We were in the area by "Divine coincidence" and stopped for a visit.  It was hard to see my friend in that condition.  Memories of the Preacher's time there came flooding back especially when I learned she had the same doctor he had had.  We prayed with her and her family and then went home with heavy hearts.

Last night we called her husband's cell phone to check on them.  He asked us to hold on, put the phone on speaker phone and . . . my friend said hello to us!  It was amazing!!!  She has been moved out of ICU, is walking around and talking just as clearly as she ever did.  I couldn't detect any slurring or forgetfulness or hesitation as would be so common with a stroke patient.  It is nothing short of a miracle and the staff in ICU were calling her the "miracle lady."

"Praise God from Whom all blessings flow
 Praise Him all creatures here below"

Our God is real and He is still working in the lives of regular ordinary people.  Ask for the miracle.  Submit to His will.  Rejoice and give Him the glory however He answers your prayers!

Numbers 14 tells about the Children of Israel totally messing up....again.  But this time it was particularly bad.  God had brought them out of slavery in Egypt, saved them from Pharaoh's vicious army, parted the Red Sea and brought them through it, provided crystal clear water in the desert, provided the perfect finger food, and kept their clothes from wearing out just to name a few things.  He had also brought them right up to the border of the very land He had promised to them.  WOW!  And He had shown them how spectacular that land was with grapes the size of basketballs, honey that actually flowed and a lushness that they could only imagine after hundreds of years in the desert of Egypt.

And then they snubbed Him.  Seriously?  God came down in a cloud so they could see Him and have something visual to relate to and yet they snubbed their noses at His power?  They griped at what He had given them and said it would have been better if they died in the desert.  That's pretty nervey of them, don't you think?  So God said (in essence) "Fine.  You keep throwing that up into my face; then you can have it."  And right at the very brink of the Promised Land He turned them around and sent them back out into the desert and said, "Live there until everyone over the age of 20 is dead except Moses, Joshua and Caleb."

Now, HOLD ON.  You mean to tell me that God the Father gave them great gifts and provided for them and they were flipping their heads at Him and being ungrateful and demanding?  Sounds like human children.  And you mean to tell me that God the Father chastened them over and over (He says ten times) and yet they kept ramping up the snottiness?  Hmmmm, sounds like human teenagers.  And then they made insulting remarks to Him and told Him they could have done better for themselves by themselves?  Sounds like human grown ups.

So, what did God do?  He said (in essence), "That's it.  You won't learn any other way than to get just what you said you wanted.  So turn yourselves right around and get back into the wilderness and go without the blessings I had planned and stay there until all of you that are old enough to be accountable for your actions are dead....D.E.A.D."  At this point I want to type a very tiny "wow" because I am kinda whispering it.  As a mommy I have done that to my kids.....well, basically.  I have corrected and scolded and disciplined and finally, when they wouldn't shape up out of their belligerence, I have pulled the plug.

It all seems like a very childish scenario to me.  Those foolish, self-centered, immature Children of Israel.  And yet . . . maybe . . . well, if I look closely . . . yup.  I do the same thing to God.  We all do.  We snub our noses at His will and we gripe about the blessings He gives us and we are never satisfied.  Somehow we think He can never get it quite right for us.  Really?  I know that God is a righteous Judge and that He is holy and perfect.  But I have a hard time relating to those concepts most of the time.  However, I can completely relate to God the FATHER who is constantly dealing with me the ornery, stubborn, cantankerous, spiteful, snotty little child.  I am ashamed when I look back and see how often I have been insolent to the God who created the very world and designed my whole life forever ago.

I think the whole family picture is correct.  I am definitely a child of God.  I need to focus on growing up.    Father, please help Thou my unbelief.

People who know me well know that my favorite holiday is Christmas and then my birthday.  After that though.....it's Thanksgiving!  And I love to be thankful.  In fact, my parents instilled in us the need to be very thankful for everything at all times.

So today I am writing a list of things that I am thankful for:

* the Preacher and sweet daughter bought me an early birthday present - a netbook!

* a friend who had a stroke after open heart surgery has regained movement and speech and is out of ICU!

* cellphones......I am thankful for this often b/c I can call my folks or my married son and his wife whenever I want to without worrying about the long distance bill!

* Bible colleges that take a stand on the Word of God

* Christian friends who will guide your kids in the same path as you would when asked for advice

* coffee.....yup, I'm serious.  I love the taste!

* online reading programs for my Bible reading

* honey cough drops

* Christian friends all across the nation who encourage me even when they don't target me with their actions

Take a few minutes every day and be thankful for one or two or a hundred things!  God blesses me every day  even when it is blizzarding outside.  If you look, you WILL find something every day in your life too!  Try to make it a new habit and give it a conscious effort this week.  Maybe even share some of your blessings here!

Exodus 28 is a detailed description of the garments God wanted prepared for Aaron and his sons.  The priests were going to carry the responsibility of the spiritual condition of the entire nation of Israel.  God clearly describes how the priests must be clean and holy themselves so that they can perform the duties  required to make the sacrifices for atonement.  It was such a sacred duty and required such purity of the priests' own hearts that God instructed bells to be sewn around the hem of the garments so that as Aaron moved around in the Tabernacle his garments would make noise.  The flip side of that is that if his garments didn't make noise, it was an indication that God had found him to be unworthy and had stricken him dead.  That's pretty heavy responsibility! 

I'm pretty sure that I can perform certain duties in my day-to-day life without the purest heart.  And before you gasp in mock judgement, just think about it for a minute.  Every human being "can" perform tasks without their hearts being into it.  When I am in the middle of washing dishes or cooking supper and the Preacher asks me to bring him a certain screwdriver, I am not always happy about the interruption.  Oh, I probably take him the screwdriver and smile, but I'm not all butterflies and fairy dust on the inside.  And I can usually pull it off well enough that no one around me can tell what's up.  But God can.

God looks on our hearts and not at our actions.  The Bible says that God can even tell the difference between a thought and an intention.  Was that a little sigh I let out because I "had a thought" or was it because my intention was to mark how displeased I was that MY plan was disturbed?  Even if I can fool myself into justifying some sinful action, God can see the intentions of my heart for what they really are.

So.  Since God is already seeing us and our motives for what we truly are, even in day-to-day duties, shouldn't we all maybe put a little more effort into being genuine with our actions?  Otherwise God considers them empty, vain, and sinful.  I'm glad I don't get struck down by lightening when my heart isn't pure, but maybe if I had to wear bells on my clothes because of the possibility it would help me think about it differently.  My clothes would be telling on my heart!

The Preacher and I went on an overnight trip to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary.  We went to Saratoga Resort and Spa in Saratoga, WY.  I had a wonderful massage....and fell asleep.  We had a super dinner....and split dessert.  We did NOT sleep in.......no, we did not.  I got up and made a strong cup of coffee in the Keurig coffee pot our lovely room and put it in the insulated cup, put on the snuggly robe provided for the day, took a deep breath and headed out barefoot on the sidewalk at 15* to a little tipi.  By the way, yes, I LOVE coffee and, yes, I go outside barefoot when it is stupid cold.

Anyway, this little tipi was sitting over top of a small roundish hole in the ground that has been lined with smooth river rocks and had three or four steps of red slate going do into it.  It was our own private little pool of hot springs water to soak in.  The tipi is a nice replica of the "real thing."  Each of the four tipis had a little sign outside it that described the Indian it was named for and a small digital thermometer to tell the temperature of the water.  While the little pools is "man made" in its finish and decoration the phenomenon of the hot springs is not.  There is a thermometer, but no thermostat.  The Preacher chose a pool that was right about 98*.

And then we began the wonderful soaking tradition of doing nothing but soaking.  And about three minutes into that sacred process often called "relaxing" we both looked at each other and smiled.  Not a romantic smile.  Not a laughing smile.  But an understanding smile of how hard it is just to sit there!  In our culture so many of us run around "like heads with our chickens cut off" (Farnum-ism by Papa Bill).  And we wish and wish for time to just sit down and do nothing.  But it is really hard to shut your brain off!

And yet the Bible says "Be still and know that I am God."  As a little girl I was told many times a day to "be still" and it meant be quiet.  I was also told to "sit still" and it meant stop wiggling.  I am sure my Heavenly Father wants me to be quiet about something or stop trying to just do things often.  But I think He also wants me to rest and make myself at peace because I know He is God and He is in control.  Hmmm, that is often pretty difficult, too.  But I must.  The Grammar Geek reminds us that this sentence is written in the form of a command not just a statement.  There is no choice.  If you think there is a choice, just try ignoring His sovereignty for awhile and He will give you no other choice BUT to be still.

So, whether you're barefoot in cold, snowy ground or not, and whether you have a private, tipi-covered hot pool for soaking or not, use your heart's imagination to pour a cup of coffee and just be still for a while.....in your Heavenly Father!

Thinking about my daddy today made me think of some of the words of wisdom he has given me.  Some I heeded and some I obviously did not.  Here are a few of my favorites . . .

"If you know how to act like a lady and when to act like a lady and you can be the toughest ol' broad you wanna' be the rest of the time!"

"You kinda have to grow up but you never have to be old."

"You better not be crabby or I'll stick a balogna sandwich in your ear!"  (and he did once)

"Never sit between you momma and me......you don't belong there."

"Always treat a woman like a thoroughbred and she'll never act like a nag."

"There's a BIG difference between a woman and a lady."

"I love you."

Happy Birthday, Daddy.......I love you!

Most people who know me very well know that I call my parents "momma" and "daddy."  It's actually kind of a Southern or Appalacian thing I adopted a long time ago.  These terms seem to hold a very endearing feel.  I have known my parents my whole life and am really very close to both of them. 

I also have a Heavenly Father.  I often begin the day with a prayer that starts out something like "Good morning, Lord God Heavenly Father..."  I actually read this little way of addressing God in a Christian novel about an Amish woman.  I adopted it for my own because I felt like it had both the personal, intimate feeling and the reverent, honoring feeling that my Father and my God deserve.

Then I hear people refer to God so casually.  I'm talking about Christians here.....people who claim to be part of the family of God.  What is happening to the fear of the Lord?  I am NOT afraid of my daddy but I certainly respect him.  I am one of three people on this earth who get to call him daddy, but I am not one of the millions who could call him Duane.  If I ever decided to call him "my old man" or "hey, Anderson" he would be one very insulted man and I would be one very sorry soul!  He gave me life and he has sacrificed A LOT to make that life everything wonderful he could. 

Christians are doing this to God though.  Oh, they may not call Him "the man upstairs" or whatever, but I see them no longer capitalizing His name or pronouns referring to Him.  I hear them talking like He is a genie in a bottle who they can just ask for any little thing and expect Him to answer exactly how they want.  It bugs me.

Yup, I've been called the Dictionary Dork and the Grammar Geek and the Spelling Queen and a few other sweet little loving names.  Yup, I'm very old school and follow the old paths in so many areas of life.  Yup, I'm a conservative and have been labled "old fashioned" and "way, way, way too strict."  But I insist that God deserves all the respect and honor that I can possibly find to give Him.  Yes, He is my Abba Father.  In Hebrew culture the term Abba was similar to our term daddy.  And God is my personal God whom I love and tell everything to.  But He is the God who created the universe and who sent His Son to die in my place.  He is holy!  He deserves all the respect I can give Him and then He deserves sooooo much more!

People will say it's a little thing, but I am determined to never give up the capitalization of God's name when I write.  I refuse to call Him by slang terms or to "dumb down" the way I talk about Him to others.  Who's with me?  Are you going to stand around and let people make our Holy God less and less respected?  "It takes one little step to begin a journey of a thousand miles."  Use the shift key when you write His name and use the names He has given us to use.  He has done so much more than we can comrehend and deserves our respect in every area of life!

This morning I read Luke 10 where Jesus tells the story of the man who was robbed on the way to Jericho.  This poor guy didn't do anything to provoke the attack so it certainly couldn't be called "his fault."  Now he's laying there in a dirty ditch all beat up, in pain, and........naked.  He's obviously been beaten pretty badly or I'm thinking he would have been humiliated to be seen like that and would have dragged himself out of the ditch and, at the VERY least, have hidden his nakedness.  It would take quite a whopping to put me into such a state that I would just lie there in the ditch of a very busy highway and let people see me naked.

Now, who should come along on this very public and busy highway but a religious leader.  Oh, I suppose other people happened by......it was a very busy highway.  I doubt very much that the thieves robbed and beat this poor guy to a bloody pulp in broad daylight on a very busy highway and right in front of a religious leader.  So, it stands to reason that people had been walking past this guy and not even checking to see if he was alive.  But the religious leader stopped!!!!  Oh, yes, he did.  He stepped off the very busy highway where he was very busy travelling and went over to the poor, beat up, naked guy in the ditch on a very busy highway.  Are you catching my emphais that this was a very busy highway?  It's important to the story, because LIFE is a very busy highway that we are all travelling down.  So this religious leader stops his life and goes over to check on the man in the ditch who didn't do anything to deserve to be in this situation.  And then he walks off.

What?! Are you kidding me!!!!!  The first person who came over to the scene of the crime walked away without even covering the poor guy up?  This leader knew the Law and what a huge humiliation it was for this man to be exposed like that.  And religious leaders were supposed to be sensitive and devoted to the care of others.  Was it too gorey a mess and he couldn't stomach the guys injuries?  Well, why not call out to others on the road to help him?  Was he embarassed by the guy's nakedness?  Now, that's just silly.  What would be embarassing about helping someone else cover up?  I just don't get it.....I really don't get it.

But then I look at my own life.  Have there been times when someone came into my very busy life and it was glaringly obvious that they needed help, but I just left them to their own defenses?  Have there been times when I encountered someone in a jam that they did not create or deserve but I let somebody else lend a hand?  I have to say yes, I have neglected people.  I have skirted around the visitor at my church who smelled bad and dressed funny.  I've said "I'll pray for you" to get someone to quit "rambling" when they needed a patient listening ear.  Each of us that claim to be followers of Christ should work hard to pay attention to those in need......whatever their need.  I need to step out of my busy life and really give a hand to others who need help, encouragment, support, or just a shoulder to lean on.  I sure don't want to be the one who ends up in a ditch and exposed with all my need just out there for the world to see and have another Christian realize what I need but walk away and leave me. 

Thank You for this picture, Lord.  You were willing to be beaten, naked, and abandoned in Your pain on Calvary for me.  You didn't hold back any part of the process even though You are a King and I am just a sinner.  "Let me see this world, dear Lord, as though I were looking through Your eyes..."  

It's not a law, but it is a pretty well-known fact.  The Preacher's wife very often sits on the front pew.  Some of these wives sit near the front because they are the Hostesses of the church and need to be ready if the Pastor needs them .  Some of them sit up front every service because trying to pick which friend or visitor to sit with just causes a hassle and hurt feelings.  Some of them need to be near the piano or organ.  Some sit on the front pew because they have terribly short attention spans and need to be close to the action with few visual distractions.  Sure, some of them are setting an example of how to behave one's self, but a few are actually "grounded" there by their husbands. So why do I sit on the front pew?  Well, for all of the above reasons!


And, my, oh, my, what a view I have from up there!  Why, I can "see out the eyes in the back of my head" all kinds of interesting things.  Such as.....


 I can "see" who is singing along with the hymns and who is standing silent.  Of course, when I adjust the focus on these folks, I can "see" who isn't familiar with the songbook or who struggles to understand how the verses are written out differently than the chorus.


I can "see" who is fidgeting because it is too warm.......or in OUR building....who is too cold; and I make sure to have the pretty afghans laying in better places next week.   I can "see" which husbands and wives are not sitting as closely as usual and wonder if they are struggling.  I can "see" who sniffles all the way through the sermon; and I can pray that God is working in their heart.


I can "see" which little tykes are wiggling way way way too much; and I can offer to have them sit with me so mommy and daddy can listen without distraction.  I can "see" the mommy who is trying to console a tired baby; and I can make sure the nursery is clean and open so they can have privacy but still hear the Preacher.


I can "see" which teenagers are goofing around or passing notes or casting glances; and then I know which ones need me to say hello and ask how they are doing. 


I can "see" who sits alone; and I know exactly who needs to be introduced around and made to feel more welcome.  I can also "see" who plops down in their usual spot and never reaches out to anyone; and I know who needs a hug or special conversation.


I could go on and on with all I see from the front pew.  But mostly I can "see" what is most important.  I can see the Preacher.  Now, I'm not trying to be coy here, but rather, I am being very serious.  There is obviously a lot going on in the pews behind me every service....that's the way it is in a crowd of people.  But there is so much more going on in the pulpit before me!  Do you ever stop and ponder, I mean really ponder that it is God Who is speaking.  I sometimes can't believe that GOD from Heaven is talking to my puny little heart when the Preacher stands up to speak.  Remember the God that simply said words and the whole universe popped into existence?  Yuppers, my friend, THAT God is speaking to you and me.  The God that sent His Son.......His one and only Son.......to take my punishment of death is speaking.


I sit on the front pew because I learned a long time ago that that's where I can catch the most blessings!  Sure, lots of people can sit two or three rows or maybe all the way at the back and catch blessings.  But I want to be right up front where there's no chance of anyone else intercepting the ones meant for me or of them wearing out before they can get back to where I am.  I want to sit in the "spit zone" because that's where there are "showers of blessings!"

.....say what!  Oh yes, I said that marriage is like a small round chocolate cookie sandwich.  "And this," you say "is how you begin a new blog?"  Yup.  Yesterday was my 25th wedding anniversary and I've been thinking a lot about marriage, and of course, waxing philosophical.  Aside from the obvious comparisons like "it's sweet" or "people love it or hate it" and such, let me explain.

The divine Oreo cookie is a delicious combination of two chocolate wafers and just the perfect dollop of cream frosting.  I prefer mine dunked in a glass of milk just long enough to soak up some milk, but not so long as to become soggy.  Not everyone eats Oreos this way.  In our marriage the Preacher has always handled all of the financial burdens and I even check with him before I spend $25 or so.  Not every marriage works this way.  In our marriage I organize the kitchen cupboards a certain way and really like them to stay the way I organized them even if the Preacher was searching around in there for something to fix for lunch all by himself.  Not every marriage works this way.

But I think the comparison that started this whole line of thinking was the comparison in my mind between "becoming one flesh" and twisting the Oreo apart to eat it.  I can feel when the Preacher gets home before I hear him.  If I'm not feeling well, the Preacher can tell it just by looking in my eyes even if there are no symptoms to be seen.  We are literally one flesh.  We are definitely two separate but similar parts, much like the two chocolate wafers of the Oreo.  What brought us, and keeps us, together  is the frosting or our love.  Once the two wafers are sandwiched together and joined by the frosting it is considered one cookie.  Now, isn't that just the most beautiful picture of marriage!

And on the flip side......if you break apart the cookie, it must go through some really painful twisting.  A little bit of the frosting stays on both of the chocolate wafers no matter how skillfully you separate them.  And the breaking apart of a marriage is the same.....no matter what causes the separation.  I've seen so many marriages come apart and often watched someone I thought was a tough cookie crumble in the process.  Cookies are much stronger when they're whole.

I am so blessed and so grateful to have my cookie intact!  Now, I love Oreos, but I love, love, l-o-v-e, LOVE the Preacher!  And we've got some really good frosting holding us together!