Sunday, February 22, 2009

Life is picking up speed!!


We are feeling very comfortable and settled in many ways. Daniel is still hanging things for me as items come to the forefront. The latest item that has gone up is a beautiful piece my friend, Janice Attaway, sent us. Janice took over for me at the ticket office at the high school, but we have known each other since our children were small. She made this piece herself, and it happens to be the name of our congregation, so we are thrilled.

We found ourselves needing a second car because the one we were driving wasn't safe for long highway trips. We, well I, searched on Craigslist for about one week and found about 11 cars I thought would be ones we would want to look into. Daniel went through the list and picked the top 4. I emailed our number 1 choice, and the owner emailed back saying, "Hi Cathie, This is Dickie Porche. I received your email about the car we are trying to sale." Well, long story short, they are parents of one of the couples from our Sunday school class in CS. We saw the car on Monday and bought it on Wednesday. God just handed it to us. Funny how easy somethings are!!

We are enjoying having groups in our home and the latest was a group of married folks from Hope. (our congregation is called Hope church of Christ) We enjoyed dessert and laughed at some of our embarrassing moments during our married lives. There was young and old. Daniel and I are nearly the oldest in our congregation. We want to begin to introduce to our CS friends all of the people God is bringing into our lives. In the picture you will see from left to right, Philip and Janet Jergins (Janet is Lynn Spivey's sister), KB and Laura Massingill (KB is one of the elders), front and center is David and Kayla Christianson, and our youngest couple Heather and Kent Akers, our youth minister and wife (married on July 28th)

I have begun a study with the ladies at Hope on the names of God, and it has been wonderful. As we get to know Him better, our worship becomes more meaningful. A study of Psalms has also come my direction on the ACU campus. I'm getting to know a few women on campus through this study, and I'm definitely learning lessons from Psalms that I have never known. The funniest thought I have had is: Your family has walked all the way to Jerusalem and it is time to enter the temple. There comes the time for the men to continue on up the 15 steps into the next area of the temple and this is the time in which you, a woman, do not get to go any further. Your husband goes and experiences all there is beyond the court of women. Now it is time to walk home and of course as a woman you have a zillion questions for your husband. What was it like, did it have a particular smell, who did you stand by and what were your feelings as you experienced this event???? Just think, the veil has been torn and we are able to enter into God's presence without anyone or anything keeping us from Him. Praise be to God! Poor guys, they probably wished after that long walk home that their wives could have gone on into the temple further. hahaha!! Or maybe you aren't like me with all of these questions??!!

More about the court of the women, http://www.bible-history.com/court-of-women/index.html Click on the illustration and any others that interest you. Peace!!

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Peaceful and Satisfied!!



"I'm satisfied and at peace" was the phrase I kept thinking as i settled in to have some time with God. I was sitting in my new house, in the bedroom, in a comfy chair, a blanket covering my legs, and my little table on my side. I had my little handmade chapel from George Skyrock, my prayer journal from Haley Edmiston (it is from Thailand and it is the journal i used to write prayers in for Baby T, the first go around and it is time to pull it out again), my prayer journal that i'm almost finished with that Shanna French (one of the young wives we met at A&M church )gave me, my coffee cup from Debbie and Jim Murphy, my chai tea that Hannah introduced to me, and a candle. I thought i had it all when about that time I heard Haley start playing a sweet, quiet praise song on her guitar just in the next room. Ahhhh, my heart feels so taken care of. Thank you, Lord Jesus.

Those that know me well know i love books and resources. I went to the ACU library today looking for a resource and found some interesting reading.

1. Christian Counseling Today, Vol. 15, No. 4 is a wonderful issue on Relationships. Check it out. I have tried to find it online but couldn't find it. But i did find a wonderful article from another issue on prodigal children. http://hfbcshrinkwrap.wordpress.com/2008/01/28/rebellious-children-the-prodigal-of-piper/

2. Sacred Parenting, http://www.garythomas.com/. If this book is anything like his others, it will be very practical and have strong Godly teaching. The information on the back says it is not a how-to book but one that teachs parents how they will learn about God through their children. I have almost finished another one of Gary Thomas' books, Sacred Marriage and recommend it to both married and singles.

3. I, Isaac, Take Thee, Rebekah I heard the author, Ravi Zacharias speak years ago on Focus on the Family and ordered the CD of his sermon that he has now written a book about. http://books.google.com/books?as_auth=Ravi+K+Zacharias&source=an&ei=saaJScjxNaKBtwfF2LmfBw&sa=X&oi=book_group&resnum=4&ct=title&cad=author-navigational