daddyO and Honey

Washing Dishes

2012-02-04T23:07:00.009-06:00

Recently our church had an event and some serving dishes were needed. I reached into my china closet (passed on to me from my mom and dad) and packed up what I had. There were several pieces. I remember feeling excited to have some serving dishes to share. That night as we returned home I stacked the dishes up and planned to wash them the next day.

I mentioned to Daniel as I was washing the dishes the next day that I didn't really remember mom using these dishes that had been passed down to me. He reminded me that at holidays he remembered some of them being taken out of the boxes and used. I told him that was true. My mom had a very hospitable personality and welcoming spirit but there were limited friends and relatives who came to visit at our house so I do not have memories of watching or experiencing hosting people in our home in the same way that Daniel and I have experienced since our marriage. Although, I learned in other ways how to be hospitable. Mom was a gift giver and so much of the time her gifts were gifts of food! She was a great cook!! Ahhhh, so many memories of wonderful meals. It seemed to be like magic the way she cooked. Putting ingredients together and it always turned out yummy!! I would watch and participate as we took cookies and cakes to express our love, appreciation, sympathy to friends. It makes sense that she would have dishes to put food on for her loved ones as we celebrated each holiday.

All of my memories of how kind my mom was to others, and what a loyal friend she was came out loud and clear in her life as I watched and experienced my life with her. So now as I wash the dishes the memories come back and I am so grateful for the experiences that come in odd ways.

Intercessory Prayer

2012-01-20T10:38:00.014-06:00

I feel called to prayer -- the point in my life that I think the calling came was the summer of 1989. We had a unique opportunity for Daniel to work on a recruiting project for the CIA. There was much stateside traveling with the opportunity so we packed up the girls and hit the road. We rented our house out to a young couple for the summer; closing off one bedroom for our belongings. We traveled by car and put nearly 8,000 miles on the car. In each city we visited we would stay at least a week or more. I decided that I would find a new book on prayer in each town. We were staying in a hotel at each location, so when the girls would go down for naps or for the evening I would read. The books I read are old books now and there has been much published since then, but it was the catalyst that spurred me to pray very specifically. God knew I would need this experience the rest of my life.

Well that is the back drop of what I am getting to enjoy now. It brings tears to my eyes as I read the Lima Team newsletter this morning and watched their Christmas gift give away. I love having the specific Peruvian names that the Lima team have met so in prayer the ministry feels real to me. What JOY it is when we hear about the ones who walk into the Light! We can make a difference by asking God on behalf of others. Don't give up on that!!
This is my list of Peruvians I am praying for - looks like I may need a bigger piece of paper!! JOY!

Last night we hosted a "Sweet Hour of Prayer." We had a great group who God called to join us and we plan on doing it again. We took our Hope church directory and cut it up in sections. Each of us took a section and prayed for each member specifically. It was sweet!!
Joining us were Amy and Kyle Passmore, Chelsa Istre, and Robert Butts

I will leave you with a quote from Richard Foster, in Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home. "The truth of the matter is, we all come to prayer with a tangled mass of motives - altruistic and selfish, merciful and hateful, loving and bitter. Frankly, this side of eternity we will never unravel the good from the bad, the pure from the impure. But what I have come to see is that God is big enough to receive us with all our mixture. We do not have to be bright, or pure, or filled with faith, or anything. That is what grace means, and not only are we saved by grace, we live by it as well. And we pray by it."

Ann Voskamp at Holy Experience wrote about prayer in the home recently. Her writings never disappoint.

Bear up under the NAME

2012-01-13T14:34:00.012-06:00

The name of God, Elohim, Mighty Creator - the one who was there before the beginning. God's creation is a gift to us, a way to show Himself to us, to appeal to us and teach us about HIM!! There is power in creating all that we see. We each are created and are sacred. I want to renew my sense of wonder and gratitude for the things He made.

Thoughts of people being created incapable of loving is hard to imagine. I love the thought that we come into the world made in the image of God and part of that is the capability to love. Good question to ponder - Why do we love?

I want to grasp the beauty of today and not be focused on its' flaws. As I walked this morning I prayed for several people in my life and one of them was my mother in law, Alice Orozco. I want for her to be able to see what God still has for her in life. Her life has changed with her husband now living in a nursing home in Austin, 25 minutes from her home. Please join me in prayer. I know there are more experiences God has for her. I get into this spiral so easy myself. It has to be very intentional that I choose to look at the beauty and not the flaws. God is sustaining us each day with His creative power. How do you think God wants to bless you today as He is Elohim?

Merry Christmas

2012-01-02T14:35:00.029-06:00

Yes, that is an armadillo from Texas at Perini Ranch!

We were so blessed in November and December of 2011 to have such wonderful time with both of the girls and their husbands and grandchildren. Our hearts are over flowing with gratefulness to God!!

I like to list all of the things I would like to experience with the family during a visit. Our time has a beginning and end and I know myself too well to not list what I would like to see happen. Of course not all of the experiences I list happen, but we did get to almost all of it.

My list: play games, have conversation about God and His Word and read some in the Bible, a visit to Monks (a favorite place of Hannah and Jason in Abilene), out to eat to celebrate the completion of all classes for Jason's Masters degree in International Affairs at GWU, cook together, take pictures, of course - exchange gifts, a little shopping (I'm still learning what Jason's style is), have a time at Hope worshiping God together in song (I love to sit next to Alison and Hannah and hear them sing).

A really fun night at the Massingill home was one of the unplanned events that was a favorite. We gathered around and sang while many played their favorite instrument!!

We also were able to visit with some of Hannah and Jason's friends who have married and stayed in Abilene!!
Abby and Evan Young, Hannah and Jason, Justina and Marshall Thompson

Playing Phase 10 at Monks!

Treat from Hannah - We got our nails done together!

Our crew we had for Christmas Lunch - complete with a surprise entertainment from Robert Butts!

We have a tradition of putting books under the tree each year. We have packed up the books and all is back in the attic. Jason is back at work and the rest of us will return tomorrow. Good bye to our Christmas of 2011!!

I Love to Cook

2011-12-18T19:54:00.007-06:00

A phone call came yesterday asking me to make communion bread for our church, Hope church of Christ. It is quite a treat that we have homemade communion bread each week. I would like to share the recipe and encourage you to make it sometime. It is nice to have communion with the family while they are in town for Christmas! It is a great recipe that even young bakers can make.

Communion Bread
2 cups of wheat flour
1/3 cup of brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Mix and then add the liquid
1/3 cup oil
2/3 cup water

Roll out and cook for 20 minutes on 350. Serve when you are ready. I cut mine in quarters because we use four trays!

Thanksgiving ~Christmas

2011-12-06T18:50:00.046-06:00

The celebrating time came and the details had come together. I want to give a shout out to Alison and Justin-- Alison is the planner of all planners. She loves to have people in their home, and to prepare for all of the children. There were a total of 24 adults and 18 children!! Everyone had a chair and LOTS of choices of food. Justin cleaned windows, set up tables, prepared the yard and helped in EVERY way Alison asked!! Notice the children's table!! The table had brown paper on it and there were crayons for the children to draw, there was popcorn, candy and marshmallows, and fruit on skewers on each of the tables. We all took leftovers home!!

We got to help Alison create these little "Mayflower" boats for each child with their name on the sail!

Chelsey and Lindsey from TAMU (interns) and Kami

One of the families made a trophy and organized a washers tournament complete with a tournament seeding, with a poster. The washers tournament brought lots of cheers! John Mark is trying his best!

Wes and Stacey Yoakum won!! Notice the trophy - it may have to be passed on year after year!!

There was a salad bar put together by the four interns with everything you can imagine.

The children had a trampoline in the front and a joy jump castle in the back yard and at some point in the evening there was the showing of the Polar Express. Corban, Kellen, and Kase - the Joy Jump Castle was enjoyed by all!!

Tara and Kase, Sarah, and Stephanie - even with all of the people we had plenty of room!

START THE CHRISTMAS MUSIC!

We decided we would not wrap presents but we would have door 1 and door 2 - we put sheets over 4 chairs. Daniel and I would put a gift behind the sheet and call someone to lift up the sheet and get their gift. It was a fun time! "Christmas Morning" - really the day after Thanksgiving began with donuts!!

Excuse the bulk of pictures of Corban -- but if I only had a video! Before opening presents we talked about our anticipation of the gifts and how that was the excitement we wanted to grow when we thought about Jesus coming. We decided to get into the excitement about Jesus with a song. "Give me a J - J, Give me an E- E, Give me an U-U......what does that spell?? Jesus!! Well, Corban became the most animated ever, moving to the tune! Great laughter came from all of us and as you can see Cailyn stood waiting for the part where she would say JESUS!! (that was her part, not the dancing as Corban proceeded to do) There was definitely JOY by ALL!! Do you see Door 1 and Door 2 in the background??

Down on the floor - lifting his leg!! So funny!! Can he express himself any louder!!

Peaking under the door to grab a present!! We may have to make this a tradition!

JOY~JOY~JOY

2011-12-01T21:41:00.000-06:00

We enjoyed more than two weeks in Lima and just returned home today, Wednesday, Nov 30. I would like to give you a glance at how most of our days were spent in Lima. Alison and Justin gave us their bed and they slept in Cailyn's room. Her room is very big and even with her trundle bed there is room for an extra mattress. So we slept in comfort and enjoyed our own space. On the first morning Corban and Cailyn headed to our bed and we read and talked!!

Cailyn has to be at school by 9:00am. She wears a uniform which makes for a simple dressing time. Breakfast time before Cailyn is off to school.

While she is at school, Corban enjoys us reading and playing with puzzles, stacking blocks and playing with all of the animals that he has. One of the new animals we learned about was the Ibis!!! He is just getting into dinosaurs and so we enjoyed pretending with all of sounds they make. The door to the back yard is a sliding glass door and Corban is ready for it to be unlocked as soon as breakfast is over. Out he goes to kick balls and find snails....we brought a magnifying glass and he loves to check out all of the snails and leaves in the backyard. The boy can really kick the ball and he is always ready for a ride on the tricycle or walk to the park (he calls his adventures)!!

Cailyn gets out of school around 12:30 except on Wednesday and that is because she has ballet. We went early to pick her up and looked at the ballet class practicing through the window. She will have a ballet performance the day after we leave. Pictures will have to do!! The little girls at her school have their hair always fixed with hair twisted and then in rubber bands. Alison enjoys fixing Cailyn's hair, but Cailyn is very good at fixing it herself. On the first Sunday night as we went to meet with the community of believers here we noticed she had fixed three ponytails and had some hair hanging down also...made us think of some others in our lives who are free spirited with their taste in fashion. She is also very good at dressing herself. She wears leggings under most of her outfits and so she has one of every color. When she matches it all up we are always surprised to see her outfits!! I remember Alison wanting to pick out her outfits at four years old.

Corban is quite the charmer. He loves to smile and move around with lots of activity. Some of his favorite question are "what was that sound?" or "what does that mean?" There are workers everywhere you look - shoeshiners, workers in the parks raking leaves, workers cutting trees, workers cleaning windows, workers helping you get a parking place when getting into the grocery store or coffee shops, workers sweeping in front of residents and watering the yards. Corban notices each one and is constantly saying, "he working". He is able to say everything he wants to in English and Spanish. He talks constantly.

When Corban wakes up there is time to play in the backyard - we talked about some of Jesus' followers being fisherman and we pretended to go fishing. We also had a grand game of kickball. Cailyn is very celebratory when she wins!!

Each evening as the children went to bed the four of us played Settlers of Catan, speed Scrabble, and talked about their lives in Lima, the ministry of teaching about Jesus and enjoying outings with girls and guys groups.

Lee Fletcher and Wes Yoakum getting ready for Catan.

The girls (alison, angela, cathie, tara, stacey, and kami) gathered for a time of meditation and praying. This is a new monthly activity lead by a friend,who is in Lima with her children and husband (he is the director of Feed the Hungry in Lima, Angela and Ryan Smedes.

Lord Willing, Lima, Here We Come!

2011-11-13T13:39:00.015-06:00

As I layed down last night to go to sleep I asked Daniel to read to me the entry for November 12th in Jesus Calling. Side note - I reached to get something out of the car yesterday as we were doing a last errand and a sharp pain came in my back! It has stayed with me as I have put ice on it and prayed for God to relieve me.

So I wanted to know what was written in the book for November 12th. It started out "This is a time of abundance in your life. Your cup runneth over with blessings. After plodding uphill for many weeks, you are now traipsing through lush meadows drenched in warm sunshine. I want you to enjoy to the full this time of ease and refreshment. I delight in providing it for you." Sounds like He wants me in Lima!! HaHa!!

I do see this trip from the Lord so I leave you with some pictures of preparation!! I know God will take care of this back muscle issue. I'm expecting and know He has a plan!!

As we put our 4 duffle bags in the back of the car Cele, (short for Celebration, she was born near Thanksgiving) our Australian Shepherd thought she was going too!!

Gluten free snacks for the flights.

And most important . . . books and scripture to keep my mind busy as I fly. Daniel laughed and said he shouldn't be surprised after all of these years why I would have so many books to take. I can't wait to dive into some that I have never started! Hope to memorize some new verses and let them take me to places the Spirit wants to encourage me in!!

Luke 11:9-10 So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be open to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be open.

Libraries

2011-11-01T16:31:00.010-05:00

My first memory of a library is the one that I volunteered in when I was a girl scout. My mom would drop me off and I would work for an hour or two. I went to locate it on the google map but I can't seem to find it. My next memories of libraries were more about socializing than actually reading. Reading a book wasn't something I enjoyed for many years. So naturally why would I go to the library except to visit with friends. I certainly did not like to read during this season of life!!

As my senior year of college came to an end I realized my mom was right. It would be helpful to get certified to teach school -- just in case I didn't find a job with my criminology degree. Doesn't make sense now, but it did then. Enter the time in which I realized what I had missed growing up. The children's literature classes in college exposed me to the best of all of the children's books. I loved it!!

So as I marched on I couldn't get enough of great books. I enjoyed watching Reading Rainbow with the girls. I would write down all the books they suggested and try to check them out at the Bryan Library. I plan on having some Reading Rainbow time on youtube with Cailyn and Corban real soon!! During this time, 1987, College Station opened a small library and it was so nice to have it close to the house. As our girls grew up they also didn't like the library. I had so many books on the shelves out in the garage that they wanted to just go get one out of the garage. They did enjoy the summer activities at the library and even enjoyed the A&M church of Christ library!!

The girls will remember the Bryan Public Library but if they go back to find it; they will find it has a new name!!

I'm glad to say both of the girls enjoy reading and have found the wonders of all of the free items that are in the public library!! Alison has even found a small one in Peru for the kids. When Cailyn and Corban were here last year, we went every Tuesday morning for reading circle time. What fun!!

So it makes sense when I went in today to get a library book -- lots of memories flooded my mind. I put a smile on my face. I love to read!!

Time Flies

2011-10-25T07:43:00.008-05:00

The time from Aug. 1 - almost Nov. 1 has just flown. We have had a trail of people come through Abilene. We so enjoy friends from seasons of the past.

Haley Edmiston came home from Thailand to take care of some health issues and she got to stay in her old bedroom. It just seem like old times - except there was not a trail of baby powder from the bedroom to bathroom! Haley lived with us the first year we were in Abilene.

Patti and Charles Turk came to visit their daughter, Lindsey, who is a senior here at ACU. They are from Mississippi. Patti and I met when we were about five years old. She and Charles are Aggies, but they moved from College Station just as we were arriving in 1980. We have stayed in touch off and on all through the years. It was so much fun to visit. Our husbands connect too and that is always a plus. Historical side note: I met Patti in twirling class in Houston, Texas around 1961. My mom put me in twirling class at five because I had been born two months premature and the doctor told her it would be good for my coordination. From twirling came my days in juggling. Funny how some seasons melt into others.

I have finished two books in the past few months. Radical by David Platt and One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. Both of them made an impact on me. They are both books that I would recommend. I need to put them up on Pinterest (come follow me). Yes, that is another thing that has come into my life. I do not spend much time on this site (yet), but it is fun to have a place to put all of the ideas that would be fun to try. Recipes and books will probably be my favorite categories. Well, and then the grandkids!!

A new job opportunity has come in these months also. I am a part-time worker at Team Financial Strategies. This company is owned by Jody Team. Jody and Rachel Team were a young married couple we met many years ago in College Station. There are two locations of TFS -- one in Abilene where Jody is based and one in Grandbury. I'm learning all kinds of things mainly on the computer. The Teams have two adorable girls about the ages of Cailyn and Corban. We babysat the girls this week.

And that brings me to the next season. We will be spending Thanksgiving (before and after) with Alison-Justin-Cailyn-Corban!! WHOOP!! We have lots of stuff packed and plan on another night of packing as well. They left quite a bit here when they left in January and we have bought quite a bit. Remember the book store I worked at last year - Abilene Educational Supply? Well, when things go on sale at 90% off it is just hard not to purchase educational supplies...so fun!!

Where is My Camera??

2011-10-04T21:00:00.000-05:00

My Camera is hanging on the hook in the computer room where we keep it but it somehow didn't get pulled out on a very exciting week -- the pictures would have been so good.

I will just have to drop some names and you will know how good it was!! We started out by getting a surprise visit from Phil and Patti Grassie from NM, and from DC, their wonderful son, Jason Grassie, our son-in-love!! We enjoyed laughter, talk of God and how our lives were going!! The only thing missing was our Hannah!! (next time)

As the evening came Mark Clancy from Lima arrived to spend several days with us. We were then introduced over Skype to his sweet one in Lima, Kami Hill!! Nothing like up to date media that gives us such fun experiences!!

When we woke up on Sunday morning, another arrival had come -- Matt Worthington, from DC...again these guys left their wives in DC, so no Jessie with him!! (next time) Matt was in Abilene for the ACU Summit! He spoke at Summit about Teach for America and how the church can help the public school.

We enjoyed long talks, laughter, and Blue Bell!! But NO PICTURES!!

A Tiny Book in the Bible -- Obadiah

2011-09-09T09:30:00.000-05:00

As I continue my study and reading of the minor prophets - Obadiah comes up. Abandon Pride is the title of the chapter. My ears perk up because this is a sin I have been aware of in my life.

"Pride is the urge to stand alone, to stand above all else. It inevitably crowds other people into an increasingly small space; it blinds one to the value of God. Pride is the natural enemy of faith." Dan Schmidt, Unexpected Wisdom.

In Obadiah 3-4..."The pride of your heart has deceived you,
you who live in the clefts of the rocks[a]
and make your home on the heights,
you who say to yourself,
‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’
Though you soar like the eagle
and make your nest among the stars,
from there I will bring you down,”
declares the LORD."
-- WOW! That is a scary thought..

"Come follow me"...what does that assume??? The author reminds me, there is one ahead of me -- above me, Jesus Christ! I am not the leader of my life. We know that but do we act on that? In pride, we somehow think we know best, we are in control, the boss. How is it that we can really think that??

I Peter 4:11 Anyone who speaks should speak words from God. Anyone who serves should serve with the strength God gives so that in everything God will be praised through Jesus Christ. Power and glory belong to him forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 4:1-2 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Matt 20:26-27 But it should not be that way among you. Whoever wants to become great among you must serve the rest of you like a servant. Whoever wants to become first among you must serve the rest of you like a slave.

A servant, so grateful for the service they can give, not wanting recognition but wants to please the master. If we are to walk with Jesus, servanthood can not be looked past. It is the way of life Jesus showed to use as an example. We know how to live because we watch HIM and we are letting Him transform us into His likeness!

The BANK!!

2011-09-02T15:15:00.000-05:00

We have watched the construction for months and opening day has arrived!! All of campus is buzzing and many have cleared their calendar in the last days to help with clean up before the grand opening. Daniel's office volunteered to pick up trash as the feeding of the 5,000 happens, but the folks pretty much cleaned up after themselves so there wasn't much cleaning to do.

The Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center will have an all-night extravaganza of games, prizes and food. This will allow plenty of time for students, faculty and staff to familiarize themselves with the facility. Daniel was part of a group who enjoyed a tour this week before the opening. He is counting on the pool to supply some relief for his back as he continues to recover from his surgery. I hope to get over there and enjoy the facility also. Pam and Dr. Money were so excited for the day to come for the grand opening.

At chapel Dr. Money challenged all to look up as you enter in to the facility each time and ponder the verse they have as a theme verse.

He also told the students that he felt the name of the facility was just too long and so he asked them to name it. He said he had heard of a few names already and commented that "The Bank" would be a fine name. The only name he asked not to be used was "The Money Pit"!!

The facility is just wonderful. Two levels complete with a leisure pool for volleyball/basketball, water walkers, and lap lanes for swimmer. The original ACU pool is also available for lap swimming. You can see the fountain in one of the pictures as well as the ACU logo. There are many machines and even a classroom upstairs for a bicycle class. There is an 1/8th mile track marked off on the second floor and as you walk/run the track you look down upon the first level. We enjoyed great fellowship as so many entered and enjoyed touring the facility. Can't wait to use this!! I even found a few places to sit and visit in the future with all of those wonderful ACU students that encourage me so much.

..the righteous will live by his faith...Habakkuk 2:4

2011-08-28T18:22:00.000-05:00

Back in February I posted about the first chapter in a book entitled Unexpected Wisdom. I have continued through this jewel of a book and would like to share some of the other chapters.

Habakkuk - Don't Fear the Dark was the title of the chapter and it was a great writing of encouragement and new insight. I love the word "journey". The author reminded me the faith I brought into my conversion is the same faith I need all through the journey of my life. It is a process. He also mentions that we rarely grow in a 5-star hotel, it is with challenge(darkness) that we move along.

"though now for a short time you have had to be distressed by various trials so that the genuineness of your faith —more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire —may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." I Peter 1:7

I want to learn that darkness does not last forever. A lie that satan wants to tell us all. I have always told the girls that God doesn't play hide and seek in the sense that it is a game to harm us, to irritate us but there are times that God just doesn't speak. He has His own timing and when Habakkuk doesn't hear from God it presents darkness. When he finally does hear from God it isn't what Habakkuk wants to hear.

This week, I caught myself asking for something to go smooth and easy. I think that is fine, but isn't it just like us to want it to be smooth and easy? I also want to grow into who God wants me to be. That means I need experiences that show that my faith will stand firm. I look at a situation and see only a small piece. God is seeing the whole picture and so I need to realize as darkness comes my perspective needs to change. What is God trying to accomplish when I get into a situation that I don't like, that I don't feel safe in? Dying to self is part of the darkness, realizing I must trust!

I love the picture of Habakkuk 2:1 "I will stand on my guard post and station myself on the rampart; and I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me..." How could a book that only has three chapters (Habakkuk) be so good? It gets better and better. The author says something that is important for us to all remember as we walk in darkness and stumble. These difficulties are not ignored but neither are they what shape our lives. "That influence is reserved for God"

Part of our worship is the process of walking through darkness and calling out, waiting and listening to God. We know He is real and we will not let the world convince us otherwise!

P E A C E

2011-08-22T08:30:00.000-05:00

While choosing my flight recently to Washington DC, I decided to fly in early afternoon so I could get on the metro and to Hannah and Jason's condo without all of the afternoon traffic. I arrived early enough to get to the grocery store before either of them arrived.

Later, as I walked into their apartment with hands completely full, I took a deep breath and put my bags down. Such peace came over me! This is the place where Hannah and Jason spend each evening and eat their meals, visit, put their decorating touch on, and live day in and day out. I walked through each room and prayed a blessing over it. God made my arrival such a JOY. I sat and read a bit before Hannah arrived. It was quiet and restful after a day of travel.

Many of the evenings I spent in DC I would walk down to the Potomac canal that is right on the side their apartment complex (by Fort McNair). There are benches along the water and it is so pleasant. I enjoyed the alone time and quiet. I would call Daniel some nights while I experienced this special time. Mainly I observed people, thought about different subjects that came to my mind and talked with God about all that He was providing me with as I visited. There were helicopters that came over head and there were sail boats that I enjoyed as I would sit and watch.

Hannah was a great patient and Jason could not have been any better at care taking!! Each day Hannah improved and as a week went by she began to get around. We really enjoyed cooking together and planning the meals. Their small group at NCC provided several meals. I had prayed they would experience community in this way during this time. What a wonderful feeling to be taken care of and thought of during a time of surgery.

On Friday night, I suggested they get out of the house and grab a movie!! I couldn't resist taking their picture. Their balcony was home for me that night and the clouds were beautiful(complete with their tomato plant -- yielding 12-13 tomatoes). So peaceful!!

The last weekend I was there we were able to enjoy worship on Sunday morning, took in some sights at the National Arboretum, and helped good friends, Matt and Jessie, move into their apt. I was there before and after the surgery, for recovery and even a few days that Hannah showed me some places that are important to the two of them.

After two weeks, Hannah drove me over to Baltimore to catch my plane. We went early and took in lunch and my first pedicure!! We shopped and said our goodbyes. My heart is peaceful as I experienced our sweet kids' world. They are in God's hands and He is a tender Father. Thank you for peace.

August 18, 1979 -- 32 years of Walking Together

2011-08-17T16:20:00.010-05:00

Don't we look grand....I love that I still miss Daniel when I leave town and that he calls many several times a day when I'm gone. I wrote words 2 years ago when I was in Lima as Corban was being born. Yes, we were apart -- me in Lima and him in Abilene - 2 years ago. But this year we are together in Abilene and have a movie and making dinner together planned.

As our girls have gotten married, it has caused me to reflect on our marriage in a realistic way. They have only really watched our marriage with marriage in mind for some short years. It is not quite fair for them to measure their marriages that are so new, and that are two completely different people against what they see in ours. We have had years to work it all out and still are in many ways.

God has been gracious to us and we have made many mistakes as we have travels. There has been much forgiveness and I always tell Daniel he is more gracious to me than I am of him.(continuing to ask for this more in my life)

When we do counseling with others on marriage we have a list of three things we feel we did well and three things we messed up. We talk about what we can see now and couldn't see back then. All by the grace of God have all of our days together been accomplished.

So today, I love where God has us and look with open hands for what He has for the future!!

To DC and Back

2011-08-11T10:40:00.009-05:00

With my nifty little spiral in hand, I began to list all of the things I was thankful for as I got settled into my airplane seat both going to DC and coming back home recently. Here is my list -- it made all the difference in the world where my mind went as I experienced what my brain tells me can be very stressful and full of anxiety.

Giving thanks for:

takeoff was on time

no large men in my space

went to bathroom on plane before take off and survived

very happy stewardess, sense of humor

a little boy's voice

a mom sat next to me

the smile God put on my face

my pill works

Kathy Troccoli music on my iPod

aware of elderly woman near me

water was available

great reading of One Thousand Gifts - my eucharisteo book

able to get my carry-on bag up into loading space

aware of people I can pray for

my books are so comforting, what I am used to, familiar

faithfulness in my life

being invited by Hannah and Jason

Hannah's insurance

availability for me to come

pilots who know how to fly

friends of Hannah and Jason who I look forward to meet while in DC

Daniel - his tender care for me, his love, all of his calls and emails checking on me (he had left for Denver on Sat. and I left on Mon. to ride to Dallas and fly out so we weren't together for a couple of days prior to my leaving)

Wallace Family - who let me spend the night and so willingly drove me to the airport on Tues. morning

I then began to name some our the people who are part of my community, Hope church of Christ, and was so very thankful for their gifts and abilities. I give thanks for what is happening in their lives and how they are walking with God.

As I came home last night I enjoyed the list again....

calm feeling

"love never fails" on a back pack of the young girl who sat on my row

plenty of room

a mom and a high school student sat on my row

again a great book to read

right temperature

ears are not hurting

no long time to sit on plane before taking off

got to talk with Alison before getting on plane

WONDERFUL day in Baltimore (I flew out of BWI)with Hannah - Panera Bread (gluten free) and my first pedicure, shopping at Arundel Mills Mall -- wow, think she plans to take Jason some weekend

text from Hannah as get on plan and just as I land

will see Daniel soon

my reading brought a picture of a homeless man -- good thoughts

arm rest is movable

no rain on the day I fly

Hannah was released to drive before I left, leaving her available to drive today

aisle seat

ticket was a great price

"While I may not always feel joy, God asks me to give thanks in all things, because He knows that the feeling of joy begins in the action of thanksgiving." Ann Voskamp

"Eucharisteo is elemental to living the saved life", Ann Voskamp

2011-07-19T12:39:00.008-05:00

Because I read slow, I have to go over chapters I have read before so I can really remember what I have read. There is a book, One Thousand Gifts, I have been reading since Easter that I want to use to make a change in my view -- in my language. Changes in the way you view life and then translate that into words is very difficult. The subject of the book is giving thanks. Eucharisteo. I had to Google it to get more information and understanding.

Events can happen so fast that my giving thanks goes out the window. I am challenged by the idea to give thanks in all things. There is a new song out that mentions maybe the hard times are how God is making a way for me to grow. So especially in the harder times I need to give thanks. I want to live with my hands open and receive whatever God gives -- and give thanks.

that my morning of play with Corban is over skype

that we have been given a time of caregiving to Daniel's parents

that my body is trying to get me to eat different

that friendships come slow in a new town

that i watch as friends struggle

that i struggle

As Ann Voskamp ends a chapter she says, "our own emptiness, might actually become places to see. To see through to God." He wants the glory in all of our life. She ask questions like "how do I live ready? How do we live fully so we are fully ready to die?" Her answer, "Without this Jesus, no, no one can be ready."

Today, I want to tell others about Him. I want to put myself with the ones who need a word from the Lord. I must get out there, put myself in places for God to use me. This author is also asking me in my giving thanks for everything to pay attention to what I do have. She mentions she is a farmer's wife, a mother of six, she realizes she has the stars that rise each night in her sky, she will embrace her children who the Lord has created, she knows that there is One who created the snow that she sees out her window. Living fully is fully taking in all that you have. We look past so many gifts of the day. Another one of her quotes is, "as long as thanks is possible, then joy is always possible."

How many people do you know that are looking for JOY?? Are you?? Euchariteo is the answer, giving thanks. This weekend we were at a wedding and the preacher told the couple (and all of us) it is hard to be critical when you are appreciative. Giving thanks can turn our lives around!! I had never really thought about the first sin being ingratitude. Adam and Eve being discontent with what God had given. Am I living this today? Has it crept in slowly?

Voskamp brings up the question from Jesus -- "Where are the other nine?" Do you remember the story? Luke 17:17-19. "Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" "Thanksgiving is the evidence of our acceptance of whatever He gives. Thanksgiving is the manifestation of our YES! to His grace."

Starting out may be hard because we have never tried to give thanks for all things. Voskamp suggest writing them down, putting a name to each blessing, as Adam names each animal in the beginning. She starts out... (1) morning shadows across the old floors; (2) jam piled high on the toast; (3) cry of bluejay from high in the spruce; (16) leafy life scent of the florist shop; (17) the creak of her old knees; (18) wind flying cold wild in hair. Do you get the idea? It is a complete change in your thoughts unless you are naturally a thankful person and have recognized these blessing in your life all along.

There is so much for me to learn on this subject. I could think of it all day long. The author challenges me, "if living eucharisteo is the key to unlocking the mystery of life, this I want. To learn how to be grateful and happy, whether hands full or hands empty. That is a secret worth spending a life on learning."

No Pictures!!

2011-07-04T14:43:00.005-05:00

Blogging brings JOY but I have had trouble with my cursor freezing up when I try to download new pictures. Do I really need pictures to describe all of the thoughts that whirl around in my head? Too many to write, but I will go a few directions.

My walking/running. I started back today and I always enjoy it! It is when I'm sitting in my house with so many other things beckoning me that I decide to put it off. But this morning, I decided to listen to the Beatles as I started out. All of the songs were about love and so my mind went to marriage. From this end, it is wonderful, but I know there were and really still are some tough places. I am so grateful that God has taught us as His people to push on, to forgive, to give grace, to not feel I need to have the last word, to know that He will be glorified through our marriages as He heals us from our selfishness. Praise Be to God!!

My reading. I have too many books going on at one time, but I love to have new ideas and to ponder what others think. I do not think of myself as creative, but as I put new thoughts into my mind, God takes me where He wants me to go. I sit and try to be silent. The idea of desire and pursuing have caught my attention in the last two days. Even when I went to bed last night, I chose a devotional on the names of God to read. Not knowing where it would take me, the subject of praising God for how long He has pursued me came up. I love that picture. Know today, you have been pursued since before you were born. You are worthy of love and your identity is completely wrapped up in Christ.

My eating. I'm not sure I really have found out what is at the crux of the feelings I have in my stomach, but I am feeling better. I'm learning how to make my own hummus, enjoying spinach as always, making lots of smoothies, finding new treasures in the grocery store. I go soon to visit with a nutritionist. Drawing in new information will be fun and will take me to a new place.

My love for DAniEl. 2011 has brought lots of new feelings as we have dealt with so many health issues. We had never in our 31 years of marriage dealt with surgery in either of our lives. God gives us seasons to bring us to new places. I welcome this even though it is hard. I have enjoyed LOTS of years of plenty with Daniel and his protection and gentleness with me. It is now a time that I get to serve Daniel in this time of healing. Love grows with new experiences, if we let it. God is love and we are being called daily to become more in the image of our Father.

Swamp Tea

2011-06-09T08:30:00.012-05:00

As I have ventured out on blogville I have found a LOT of gluten free sites. I have limited myself because it can be too much information all at one time. I have had the sensing from God to walk slow and enjoy, don't get overload with celiac information. One of the sites, Nicole Tatum at Glutenfreefaces.com had a give away and guess what -- I WON!! It all came in the mail today!

I usually look ingredients up as I come across them and so when Hannah mentioned she has made "Mrs. Lisa Cobb's Swamp Tea" I went to look everything up. Can I drink this or do I need to substitute some items to make it gluten free?? Well, as it turns out it is all fine and so I will make it this morning when my sweet friend, Lynn Spivey comes over. She is from College Station and she is here in Abilene visiting her mom. Can't wait for the visit and the Swamp Tea.

Swamp Tea

6 small tea bags or 2 family size tea bags
4 cups boiling water
1 1/2 cups sugar -- you can always try less
6 oz. can frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
6 oz. can frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
10 cups water
Ice
Lemon slices or orange slices to garnish
Seep tea bags in boiling water (removed from stove top and covered) for 10 minutes. Remove tea bags and discard. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. In a large container (it must hold at least 1 gallon) combine the tea, juice and water. Stir well. Serve over ice filled tea glasses and garnish with lemon/orange slices. Or pour into ice filled serving pitcher containing lemon/orange slices. Makes 1 gallon (16 cups, about 12 ice tea glass)

It's Been a While!

2011-06-05T20:39:00.011-05:00

Howdy out there,

We have continue to go to Austin/Bastrop every other weekend and so the time just slips by and I don't check into our blog. We stayed in Abilene this weekend and had a relaxed time with a couple we enjoying meeting while in College Station. Johny and Lindsey Garner. They brought their 9 week old sweet Nathan on this visit. Johny visited with some friends from his ACU days and we enjoyed some late night visit time.

We enjoyed a great time at Hope today. Damon Parker, our preacher, presented his #6 child tonight, Barrett. We enjoyed the Lion King theme song and Damon raised Barrett at just the right moment. We all laughed and knew "only at Hope". He then proceeded to preach with Barrett in his arms the entire time. We just love those Parkers. We rejoice with them with their new addition.

I have been diagnosed with Celiac Disease and so I have start a gluten free lifestyle. It has been good for the most part. I am still feeling some pressure after eating at times and feel I will gain some new insight as i visit with a nutritionist later this month. Below is a recipe I tried and enjoyed with ice cream on top.

Apple Clafouti
1 cup gluten free pancake mix
3 apples, cored, peeled and sliced
1 T cinnamon with 1/4 cup sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup milk
3 eggs
1 t vanilla
Preheat oven to 350, generously spray 10" round pie dish
lay the sliced apples in the pan, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture
mix pancake mix, eggs, buttermilk, milk, and vanilla, pour over apples
Bake 30 min.

Don't Let It End!!

2011-04-24T21:52:00.008-05:00

As the close of the day comes, I find myself not wanting it to come to the end. Easter, the actual day went way too fast for me. Even the season of Lent went too fast for me. I end the day with going through the verses of the crucifixion and the details of the empty tomb. Both are familiar, but I look for things I haven't noticed before. I love to see God's Word new.

Actually, the entire semester has slipped away from me and that is how day seems also. My thoughts of anticipation of Easter have been different for me the last two years. I am learning more about denying myself of what comes so naturally and I continue with that journey even as today comes to an end. The word VICTORY has come to me several times today and it is JOYOUS to think about my own experience of being raised up with Christ. My continued seeking on the things from above will govern my days and I look forward to the day I will be revealed with HIM in glory.

I saw this celebration today on Facebook and it is how I feel in my heart. I want to enjoy this in all seasons, but I have been able to let the season of Easter prompt new JOY! Let all of us encourage one another as the days walk by. Rejoice in the Lord, again I say REJOICE!!

Take your shoes off and CELEBRATE!!

A Quick Read!! Mudhouse Sabbath, by Lauren Winner

2011-04-20T20:21:00.005-05:00

http://www.amazon.com/Mudhouse-Sabbath-Lauren-F-Winner/dp/1557253447

Lauren Winner converted from Judaism to Christianity in early adulthood. She points out disciplines and rituals that are part of the Jewish faith that could enhance our walk with Christ. There are activities she misses that were part of her Jewish faith experience and each chapter is about some of these topics. Some of the chapters are prayer, candle lighting and weddings, food, aging and our bodies. Mudhouse is the name of the coffee shop where Winner enjoys some down time on a Sunday afternoon. She explores her thoughts as she does things differently in her Christian walk but also enjoys drawing in some practices from her Jewish faith. I loved the way she invites Christians into a deeper and more daily walk of faith.

Hearing God's Voice

2011-04-14T08:24:00.009-05:00

Last year I went through a study called, Discerning the Voice of God and in August 09 I was given a book entitled God Guides. There have also been other verses and conversations that I have encountered that have influenced me as I have tried to listen more to God.

Since January I have been praying about opening a retail store. I know that sounds like something I have never done before, but after working at Abilene Educational Supply the past few months, the thought came to me. They have been open for 66 years and ACU has decided to close the store since there is a need for space for a new nursing program at ACU. Every person that comes into the store is sad they are closing and there is a real need for an educational supply store.

I prayed, I went to the small business bureau, I asked others for their opinion, and asked them to pray. I came up with a name, I found a location, and got the rent down to the budget I needed to operate with. It took a lot of think time. All the while I was praying and taking steps as I waited for God to answer.

As I listened and prayed about something completely different than considering opening a store, I heard God answer me this past weekend. We were at the hospital visiting Daniel's dad and I was answering three emails while Daniel and his dad visited. As I answered the emails I realized I desired more time to think about what I should be praying for in their lives1 and then actually praying for them. As I look back at all three emails, I asked them each to pray for me this week. Another thing that impacted my thinking was the simple act of looking at a recipe suggestion in my inbox that looked good. I began to think about how my time as I have worked since beginning work in December has been full and there has been very little time for extra things like fully connecting with others, having them in our home and trying a new recipe!! Now don't get me wrong, community is very important to us and we have had people in our home and have enjoyed a game night or two, since December. Time was a big part of what I was thinking about. As I finished the emails, I looked up at Daniel and said, "I'm not going to do the store."

I realized that God had allowed me to do a lot of thinking and dreaming about all of the people I have met at the store and all of the conversation that I have enjoyed since working at AES. I love to connect resources to people - the 12 yr. old girl who is looking for just the right Bible study, the missionary that is moving to Abilene and needs a rent house, the single mom who is trying to explain sexuality to her 2nd grade little boy. I meet a zillion people a day and it is so much fun. But then you have to come to reality, there is much more to running your own store than meeting people and finding resources. God has much more for me to do than all of the details of running a store and He will provide these situations and opportunities without having a store to operate. I don't know what it will look like specifically, but I know it will involve people and me learning to love.

If you wonder if God still speaks, I say YES!! It takes time and it takes being still and listening, it takes expecting to hear from him. He desires to walk close to us and guide us as we make decisions. He wants the glory and I know that I must leave time to think, pray, and listen if I am going to walk on the path He has for me.

As that Saturday ended, I looked back in my prayer journal to April 2, 2009 -- this is what I found, "thank you for all the time you given me to journey, to walk with you and others, to study and not have to give my time to a full time job. I feel I have so much on my heart and my thoughts, it would be hard to set it aside each day."

Thank you God for bringing that back to me two years later!! Peace to you my friends!!

Immediate

2011-03-07T20:54:00.006-06:00

Last week at work (book store)I had a time where I was a bit panicked about feeling a dizzy. I didn't understand it and I was the only one at the store working. I immediately thought "wish I could ask Haley (Edmiston) if an apple or a banana would be best to eat." I had a banana but knew I could get someone to bring me an apple. I knew that there was a big time difference in Abilene,Texas and Phayoa, Thailand (where Haley is). So I thought, "man, don't I know of other nutritionist"? I thought of two but didn't have their phone numbers. About that time an email came into my inbox on my phone. You won't even guess!! It was Haley!! That told me that she was up and I could call her. I called and explained my situation and she prayed with me and we talked briefly.

Now, if that isn't God taking care of me, I don't know what is!! What a JOY to know God has His eye on me.

I love reading out of the devotional, Jesus Calling, Sarah Young. I will share the calling from March 6th.

Jesus Calling to me: "Continue on this path with Me, enjoying My Presence even in adversity. I am always before you, as well as alongside you. See Me beckoning to you: Come! Follow Me. The One who goes ahead of you, opening up the way, is the same One who stays close and never lets go of your hand. I am not subject to limitations of time or space. I am everywhere at every time, ceaselessly working on your behalf. That is why your best efforts are trusting Me and living close to Me.
Hebrews 7:25
Therefore He is always able to save those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them

Ps. 37:3-4
Trust in the LORD and do what is good;
dwell in the land and live securely.
Take delight in the LORD,
and He will give you your heart's desires.

Surprises from the Lord

2011-02-24T19:20:00.008-06:00

You never know what the day will bring. I started my day with meeting with a Social Work grad student here at ACU, Lisa Marciniak. She and I met last September and she had just arrived on campus from NY. Within about two weeks she asked if we could discuss the Bible. I was excited to have spiritual conversations in the near future. We have continued to meet and pray for one another, visit about our lives and enjoy some Bible study. This morning was no different. We visited, took prayer requests from one another and I shared the story of Jonah with her. We really were fixing to leave one another and she mentioned that she felt God recently take her to the cross and say, "This is enough" or maybe a question "Isn't this enough?" She had been fighting the thought of being baptized. Lisa and I had never talked about this topic. As she spoke I asked her a few questions and we visited about some of her questions and thoughts. She seemed to be hung up on when and where....simple decision in my mind. Finally I told her today would be a good day, or if I were talking to her tomorrow, I would say today would be a good day. I also told her each day satan keeps you from it, he has checked off "another day". Later she said this didn't set well with her that satan checked off another day he had kept her from being baptized. As we finished she said, TODAY at 5:00, at Jacob's Dream on ACU campus I will be baptized. WOW!! We prayed and I met up with her small group from her congregation and some other friends. It was a precious time, she gave her testimony ~ her journey of finding God. She was baptized and we sang. My heart is full of JOY when God's handiwork is so clear!!

Unexpected Wisdom, Jonah

2011-02-20T14:43:00.010-06:00

A very slow pace is what I'm taking with the book on minor prophets,Unexpected Wisdom. Jonah is the first chapter and I'm still pondering what all was verbalized. As I took a fresh, new look at this part of God's Word, I related. I wrote in the margin ~ "God calls me to places I don't want to go." Did Jonah not go because he was afraid or stubborn or did he just not want to go to a city of such awful people? Why don't I want to go?

Jonah was a prophet. Didn't prophets love God and want to follow the plan God had for them. Weren't they excited to take the news to others? (Notice in the text that Nineveh is referred to as a great city in 1:2, 3:1 and 3:3 - an exceedingly great city.) I could also ask those questions of myself. I really enjoyed this examination of self.

All of this reminds me of the two questions David Platt brings up in his book, Radical (you can ask for the first chapter to be emailed to you at this site) What is God saying and what do I do about it? It's an old predicament for humans. The author of Unexpected Wisdom, Dan Schmidt, describes submitting as "to listen and obey takes me outside myself, away from my own direction and into the realm of another. I relinquish control over my own destiny when I let another's words direct me. I am no longer my own master."

Can't wait to post about the next chapter ~ Habakkuh, Don't Fear the Dark...oh, so good!! peace to all.

A Walk and A Few Phone Calls

2011-02-12T12:01:00.011-06:00

As I think about Daniel's recent back surgery and more recently his dad's brain surgery, I realize it is very important to focus on encouraging activities when you are feeling discouraged. It is with JOY that I realize that God supplies all we need in order to think upon the things He sees best for us. As Daniel and I drove back to Bastrop after spending time at the hospital, I needed to adjust my thoughts - I was feeling a bit anxious. I struck out and walked down the streets of Bastrop. It was in the historic district and it kept my mind full of pretty houses and yards. The air was cold, but there was no snow or ice. Before I knew it 30 minutes had passed and my thoughts were on positive things. True, honorable, right, pure, lovely and good repute, excellent and worthy of praise. Why does He wants us to dwell on these things? He wants us to remember the things on earth that are positive that keep us walking in ways He can use us!!

The first steps I took were to get connected with God and His nature. After I got back home, I got praise music going and then realized the front porch was calling my name. I went out to sit and then it occurred to me that I would enjoy talking with some one. I gave two friends a call. One from Abilene and one from College Station. It was an encouraging time as we spoke about a prayer time, updated each other on health in each other's lives, new marriages and babies being born, and about books we were reading. Friendship, community~God wills for us to commune with others and again I felt encouraged.

At the end of my time, it was great to see how God wills for us to think on good things. I love being impacted by God, My Father and His Son and Spirit. So refreshing!! So much better than anything I am capable of in myself!!

Training My Heart

2011-02-06T14:07:00.006-06:00

In Abilene the sun is not out today, the music in our house was a bit too slow and serious and my heart seemed a bit low. So I have fought today to turn it in another direction. Daniel requested breakfast out and so I went. It is not my favorite but I moved on, training my heart. As we returned there were things to do around the house and we stayed busy until around noon. I ask if we could go on a walk, thought that would be good for the heart. As we started walking I ask for a heart that was grateful and one that thought of others. God gave us a wonderful time. We walked farther than Daniel expected he would want to go. I haven't measured it yet but I am anxious to tell him just how far he was able to go.

As the walk we talked about the prophet Jonah. This is the first minor prophet in the book we are reading. As we walked we talked about how God called us to Abilene and how He had prepared us for this move. I will have to confess I do not think I have allowed myself to enjoy all that God has for me here. One of the things God has called me to do and I have just not planned it and carried through with is VISITING! I love to be visited and I love to visit, so why have I resisted?? It's like God is asking me to go places I don't want to go. We continued to talk about a prophet bringing the Word of the Lord to the people and how we all are at a place to hear from the Spirit and able then to bring the Word of the Lord to one another. That is exciting news. We would love to hear from others as they hear from the Spirit.

When we got back home, we sat down and read through Jonah and reflected on what we read. The fact that Jonah tells the sailors that he is a Hebrew and that he fears the Lord God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land brings the sailors to a point of actually speaking to God. God is glorified just by us telling others it is He who makes a difference in our lives.

Grace is given to Jonah and to the great city of Nineveh. God will go out of His way to give us grace. He continues to be patient with me. When you look at the message Jonah gave it was very simple, "Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown". Wow! We don't have to have an exciting message or be eloquent, God does the pricking of hearts and brings people to understanding of Himself. The great city believed and a fast was called. Why do we worry about our message? My heart deceives me. These people had no background with God, yet they called on him and God did not overthrow them.

Two quotes about grace from the book:
"Grace is resisted only to the point that people cling to idols."
"The recipients of grace are to "pick up a bucket and dump it on someone else."

My heart is at a different place now -- training my heart, exercise everyday!!

UNEXPECTED WISDOM BY DAN SCHMIDT

2011-02-03T09:28:00.009-06:00

As the snow has continued I checked out our book shelf for a book I have not read. I looked at several ~ Pilgrim Heart by Tippens, Here and Now by Nouwein, I, Issac take Thee, Rebekah by Zacharias, or do I try to finish Abba's Child by Manning...I settled on Unexpected Wisdom by Dan Schmidt. I have not been disappointed in the direction I was lead. It is major insight from the minor prophets.

How many times do you skip past the introduction in a book?? This is not one you want to pass. He uses the analogy of a closet in describing the minor prophets as packed to the brim and you open it up having really forgotten what all is in the closet. This is what my craft closet looks like. It is also a Cailyn and Corban closet and also contains all of our games. You don't really know what all you will find until you sit and dig!!

Another analogy the author mentions is that the minor prophets is like the sea. You dive in and won't see the bottom for a good long while. Prophets are messengers from God. They know His message and they are bringing it to God's people. God has much to say and wants to show Himself to us all - then and even now in our lives today.

Ps. 50:3
Our God is coming; He will not be silent!
Devouring fire precedes Him,
and a storm rages around Him

II Cor. 4:8-11
We are pressured in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; 9 we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed. 10 We always carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who live are always given over to death because of Jesus, so that Jesus' life may also be revealed in our mortal flesh.

Life is hard for all of us at different times and with different situations. The minor prophets have a message for us today. I will list the chapters and you will see how practical the reading is, but not just the book, more importantly the Bible~~especially the minor prophets.

Receive and Extend Grace

Don't Fear the Dark

Abandon Pride

Use Power Well

Choose Wisely

Be Courageous

Stay Close

Keep Your Heart Soft

Radiate Integrity

Hope

Let me know if you pick this book up. Daniel and I are reading it together and would love to hear your thoughts!!

Team Orozco/Thompson/Grassie

2011-01-27T21:31:00.000-06:00

For the first time since Hannah and Jason wedding in May the whole clan was together. We wanted to have a relaxing time and yet had certain things we wanted to happen. I like to have the meals planned and food purchased, and I had a list of events to suggest for our time. We all enjoy games so we knew when the kids went down each night we would try some new game.

Alison, Justin and the kids arrived from College Station on Monday, Dec 27th in the early afternoon. Hannah and Jason arrived later in the evening, but still in time for a late dinner. The kids were already in bed and so we sat up and visited for a bit. The following day we all headed out to the Jump Around "inside park" on Tuesday morning. If you can imagine LOTS of JOY JUMPS, tunnels to crawl through, slides to come down -- you have pictured it right. Afterwards we headed to the house and enjoyed some time relaxing while the kids napped. When the kids woke up we had the traditional opening of presents and it was a GRAND affair! I have thought about the word "celebrate" more this Christmas than any other. Daniel and I read the Purpose of Christmas by Rick Warren out loud to one another and we decided to start a new tradition. A celebration party in honor of Jesus. It was a time of laughter and enjoyment as we are so thankful for the birth of Jesus - that God came to be with us through His Son, that God is for us and and that God loves us. That is certainly much to celebrate. We had some games that the kids enjoyed - Corban is very fond of music and dancing and we had a relay game that Cailyn participated in with us. The adults enjoyed the balloon game the most!! We had balloons all over the house even after Hannah and Jason left on January 1st!!

Corban with his new Black and Decker tools.

Cailyn twirling around in her new gown!!

We tried our expanded version of Settlers of Catan and it was great. If I remember correctly Justin won!! The next night we played speed scrabble and on New Year's Eve we brought out Scattergories. Having six making their own list for that game brought quite the variety of answers and some interesting conversation - I"ll just leave it at that!! Our New Year's Eve also included Alison's famous twice baked potatoes and a wonderful fire with smores in the backyard before the kids went down.

Daniel had given the guys a combined gift of a round of golf and a 60 golf ball bag - they went out on Wednesday morning to try it out. Of course Daniel was one week away from having back surgery!! Justin reported Daniel still shut them out. I think it was more about fun and "male bonding" than the score. It was Daniel's treat to himself to do this with the guys. Meanwhile the girls (and Corban) went to downtown Abilene and had a great walk and picnic at the park across the street from the Grace Museum, the location of Hannah and Jason's wedding. It was a beautiful day. Naps were had by many when the park and golf were over.

When the girls were growing up one of their favorite things to do was make donut holes and so Hannah got Jason in the kitchen and Alison helped a bit too (mainly by eating, hahaha) We sent Alison and Justin to the store for milk and pretended to eat the donuts while they were gone. We played a bit of Wii that night and enjoyed one of Jason's favorite movies - The 13th Warrior.

Alison bought a ginger bread house kit to do while we were all together. It took all that could help!! Cailyn and Corban mainly enjoyed putting the candy both in their in mouth and on the house. It was a fun time!! We headed out to the park on New Year's Eve day and played Bocce Ball and had a picnic that ended with feeding the ducks!! The weather was wonderful the whole time we were all together.

My heart is full as I know that we were not scheduled to see the girls and their families!! Couldn't have enjoyed it more!! Daniel and I are so blessed. One last thing I will tell about is our blessing time. We verbally blessed the girls and their husbands and they each blessed one another. We had communion together and enjoyed some conversation about how we had grown in our experience of taking communion.

I keep thinking of one more thing. We stole an idea from the Mills family here in Abilene. We had a jar of money that we put on the kitchen table the last morning we were together. There was a piece of paper for the girls and their husbands to make a guess. The understanding was that the person closest to the correct amount would claim the money. Each of them put their number down and we were witness to how Justin chose his number. He told Cailyn to pick a number from 1-9 and after hesitating he put that number last. He continued to give her a range 1-8, 1-7 and last of all 1-6. She picked each number and he wrote them in order starting from the end of the number. When we sat to find out who would receive the money we asked them how they chose their number. We all laughed at what Justin had done. But the joke was on everyone else. Cailyn had picked a number 34 cents from the exact amount. So we told Justin he had to take some of the coins out to the mall and let her ride on the riding toys.

God is our giver of gifts and His gift of our family gathering was wonderful!! Not to be forgotten for a long time!!

PS...Hannah and Jason had so much to take back they ended up mailing a good size box back instead of taking another suitcase!! That is one gifted couple!! Now Alison and Justin are in the process of packing up all of their gifts and purchases to head to their home in Lima -- lots of packing going on round here!!

Well, I had meant to get this out earlier this week but as I post this, lima kids are in the air...a new chapter!!

Good Morning

2011-01-20T09:49:00.010-06:00

I know it has been since November since I have written but we have had quite the excitement since then. There have been trips to other states, Christmas, starting of a new job, lots of games and laughter, a whole week with the whole family and then there was daniel's surgery on Jan. 4th. No excuses just reality!!

Not sure I will catch you up but i will send you to alison's blog so you can see the pictures of our Christmas. It was a wonderful time with all the kids and grandkids!!

Cailyn and Corban and their parents will leave next Monday and so I have tried to think through what more do we want to do. We need to finish Charlotte's Web with Cailyn and cook a bit more together with her. Yesterday we made

marshmallow fruit dip.

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 carton (6 oz) cherry yogurt
1 carton (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 jar (7 oz) marshmallow creme

Complete with apples, pineapples, and mandarin oranges.

Even Corban loved it.

All of our meals since Sept. have been fun to gather up with Alison. She is a wonderful cook and we have shared (her doing a lot of the cooking) the kitchen experiences. Back in Lima, Alison gets her meals planned a head and so we tried to do this here. Sometimes working better than others. Last night we tried a new recipe and boy it was wonderful. It is one she will be able to repeat in Lima!! Yeah!!

Sherry's Aussie Chicken
4 boneless skinless chicken, seasoned with sea salt
6 slices of bacon
honey mustard (you can make your own if you would like)
1 tbsp of oil
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 cups of colby/jack cheese

Season the chicken breasts with salt and cover and refrigerate for 30 min. Cook bacon until crisp.

Heat oil in skillet and place chicken and saute for 3-5 min. until brown. Move chicken to 9 x 13 pan.

Apply the honey mustard to each breast, then layer with mushrooms, bacon and cheese.

Bake 350 for 30 min. or until cheese is melted and chicken is done. (be sure to cut into a breast to see that it is fully cooked before serving. Serve with honey mustard sauce.

Well, we have a few more things we want to do before they leave and so off we go. peace to all!!

Expectation and Waiting ~ Be Alert and Ready!

2010-11-28T13:49:00.009-06:00

If you give a mouse a cookie....are you familiar with these children's books?? Well if not, each of the books in this series is about giving a character one thing and it leading to another thing and another thing and another. How this worked out in my life began several years ago when Rachel Landolt introduced me to an author, Ruth Hailey Barton. She has put together an organization called The Transforming Center and I receive their eReflections email. (You can sign up for free, too.) This weeks eRelection email newsletter is about Staying Awake Spiritually.

The Transforming Center puts out a schedule of verses to read during the time called Advent. I have not really known much about Advent. But I enjoy anything that might be used as a tool to enhance my experience with God, His Son and Spirit. So Daniel and I enjoyed reading the first verses this morning. There are a set for each of the four Sundays before Christmas, some for Christmas Eve and some for Christmas Day. The Transforming Center encourages the process of reading, lectio divina, and I will let you investigate that. Very interesting and very helpful in our spiritual formation. It is all a process and don't let it overwhelm you. Take it a little at a time and enjoy all that God has for you.

Mattew 24:44...the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Enjoy this time on earth as we all expect and wait for Jesus to return and reflect on when He was here in the likeness of men.

My Spiral

2010-11-11T15:58:00.020-06:00

After listening and taking notes on my second lesson about the Holy Spirit I have wanted to take the spiral everywhere I go so I can share what I have learned. The lesson mainly dealt with the fact that the Holy Spirit has been here from the very beginning and then took a front seat in our lives as He was sent to each of us.

After writing this post three times, I have had a hard time really explaining what were new thoughts and why it spoke to me. So I will try once more and see what comes. I had read the verses about the glory of the Lord filling the tabernacle, Exodus 40:34, and about the glory of the Lord filling the house of the Lord (temple) in I Kings 8:11. The insight that when we come to Christ that the Holy Spirit lives in me was a teaching that seems to have come way back in college probably. But to think that at one time the plan was for God's presence to be in tabernacles and temples and that NOW the Spirit fills us as His temple was just refreshing. What a powerful thought, God's Spirit, the Holy Spirit doesn't want to be in a bldg. He wants to be in such close contact with me, He dwells within me. WOW!!

Again, I have thought about how powerful Jesus is and yet not noticed that the Spirit was mentioned in scripture so much as Jesus lived here as man!

Jesus is anointed with the Spirit and with power by God, Acts 10:38

Jesus had been conceived by the Holy Spirit Luke 1:35

Jesus begins to baptize with the Holy Spirit Matt 3:11

Jesus' blood through the Holy Spirit offers Himself to God so we can be cleansed Hebrews 9:14

Jesus was raised by the Holy Spirit from the dead, Romans 8:11

Jesus gave orders to the apostles by the Holy Spirit, Acts 1:1-2

Chris Seidman mentions that "we get that Jesus makes me whole and forgives me and I get to go to Heaven, but do we understand and act on the fact that the Spirit comes before we die and is transforming us NOW, before we go to Heaven." He points out that the big deal in Acts 2:38 isn't Heaven, it is the forgiveness of sin and the promise of the HOLY SPIRIT. We are distinguished as His people because we have the Spirit.

Come!

2010-11-04T15:33:00.012-05:00

Revelation 22:17
"The Spirit and the bride say, "Come " And let the one who hears say, "Come " And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost."

I'm listening to Chris Seidman's lessons on the Holy Spirit and I love listening to some new thoughts and seeing verses new as if I have never seen them before. This verse in Revelation, I had never noticed the Spirit along with the Bride (us, the church) both say COME!

Do you think of the Spirit being God manifested on earth at this time? What we think of the Spirit will effect how powerful He will work in our life. Jesus did leave and when he left he said, I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." John 14:16-18

As we become Christians we receive the Spirit. The Spirit was there in the beginning Genesis 1:1-2, the name for God in verse one is Elohim - a plural form of God, meaning the Father, Son, and Spirit were there. I had understood that but beyond the story of creation I had not really noticed that the Spirit was mentioned as "US". Two examples of "US" are in Genesis 11:7 and Isaiah 6:8. Of course in the NT the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are mentioned in Matt 28:19. So the concept of there being three in one is a teaching in the Bible. We may see it as a mystery and some use the word Trinity (although that word isn't in the Bible). God's ways are different than ours and we only know impart at this time.

Chris Seidman encourages his student to not think of the Spirit as God's intern or a step down on the ladder from God. The Holy Spirit is God. He uses these verse:
Colosians 2:9 "For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form" (all 3).

I Corinthian 6:19 "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?"

Ephesians 2:22 "in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit"

I John 3:24 "The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us."

Acts 5:3-4 "But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit ... You have not lied to men but to God." They are referred to as the same.

All of these tell how God is relating to us now through the Spirit. The Father and Son are present, but right now on earth God relates to us through the Spirit who lives in His people.

The Holy Spirit will always lead us closer to Jesus and the Father.

The Holy Spirit will lead us to unity. In my past there were times I felt that some people wanted to speak of the Spirit and some wanted to only use the name of God or Jesus. Satan wants us to not speak of the Spirit. Understanding the difference between His power and the person that the Spirit is will help me grow. There is no division of the Father, the Son and the Spirit. The Spirit will draw us closer to one another as we share who the Spirit is, it's like talking about God, He is God!!

Daily Activities

2010-10-31T21:10:00.013-05:00

Cailyn wakes up each morning and wants to know what "activity" are we going to do after breakfast!! Her breakfast is cheerios almost every morning and Corban will pretty much eat anything you give him (strawberries, blueberries, banana, apple sauce, toast, yogurt)!! We head out to the library on Tues. mornings and she loves the read along time even though she only sits or stands on her colored square instead of participating in all of the movements. She is very much into obversing and not performing. She picks out some books and does some of the puzzles and we are on our way. In the meantime we start out encouraging Corban to listen to the stories and end up giving him a "nack" as he says it so he will sit still. We have enjoyed many different activities.

Cooking chocolate pudding ~ even Corban got in on this activity!!

We have moved on to lower case "a", working through the letters in her name. We read this book and she did a great job of making an apple. She would sit and let you read to her almost every minute of the day!!

Daddy O has lots of practice with tea time with little girls. Cailyn thinks it is so funny that Daniel wants to do "her activity"

Before the night ends we have learned to play dominoes and of course our singing time with Daddy O. Yes, she wanted to wear her glasses and Baby Lima wanted to sit and enjoy our singing time. She sang full voice that night ~ her favorite song, Our God is an Awesome God!!

CHANGES

2010-10-21T22:37:00.006-05:00

As i ran today the word "changes" came to me. My mind was flooded with changes!

a new house being built since I was last on this street

our house is lived in now, not as it was when it was first built

the girls have both married

I have starting running

grandchildren are here in the states

there are friends I don't talk to as often anymore

there are other friends who I keep up with more these days

These were some of the first that popped into my mind. The constant I most enjoy is that God walks with us, He is always on this journey with me, actually me with Him. I take comfort in this idea. I have been going back through the Experiencing God study and I'm on the chapters about God speaking to us. I love the process of listening and then realizing I have read scripture that I've read many times but now a new thought is there. I love to just think on those new thoughts and wonder what am I suppose to learn. I try to journal my thoughts so I don't lose them.

October 22nd was my mom's b-day. Many memories flashed in my mind. I had a friend ask me if I remembered my time with mom after I was married and even after I had children. Good question. I remember much, it was a great exercise as I am now the "momma" with adult married children and married children with their own children. Relationships with your married children is precious. I love to watch Alison still giggle as Justin teases her or listen to her jokes toward him. Watching Alison and Justin parent has made me very proud of their selflessness that is required. Daniel and I recently were able to be hosted by Hannah and Jason in their first home. They were so gracious as they shared their home and let us in on some prayer requests as they begin this season. I loved to watch them as they walked hand in hand on the water front they live near. Our relationship with our parents is such a process. I could only thank God a million times over as He took my mom to be with Him in 2000. So if she were here I would still want her advice on how to handle these ever growing relationships with the girls as they have married and grow into adulthood. She was a great example and God helped me work through her weak areas in order to show me she was human. So helpful!!

So changes, I don't want to be afraid of what God has around the corner. I want to be content with today and excited about tomorrow!! Changes, what changes are happening in your life??

We are having TOO MUCH FUN!!

2010-10-11T16:35:00.023-05:00

Probably my favorite activity with the girls when they were little was going to the library and getting specific books to talk about whatever subject we were into at the time!! I have found a great site that gives ideas for art work and books reviews about certain subjects. Cailyn and I did the Upper Case "C" last week. We enjoyed the cutest book entitled Bob and Otto - about a caterpillar and a worm!! We have carried that book in the car all week. Baking cupcakes was also part of our time of talking about "C".

Cailyn doesn't like carrots and so we made up a song about "i don't like carrots..." (much laughter!!) We are going to talk about leaves this week. Can't wait to do some leaf rubbings and read some books about leaves!! Cupcakes on the front porch were enjoyed by ALL!!

Another activity we have enjoyed is a couple of trips to the children's museum. This is the museum Hannah and Jason got married in and so every time we go we have sweet memories. There is a tot spot activity on the first Friday of the month and it is a time for 3-5 year olds to visit the museum and to participate in an art project. It was all about doing art with metals last week. Cailyn was proud of her artwork!!
Fun on the pretend ambulance,and Corban is running the lights for a Broadway Show while Cailyn is saying, "Honey, you go, I'm getting dressed up!!

The ACU Homecoming Carnival was fun this year in a whole new way for Daniel and I since we were able to share it with Corban and Cailyn. As you can see the FULL FACE PAINTING was the first thing Cailyn wanted to do. Of course immediately her nose itched but she did a great job of leaving it on until bath time later. There were lots of joy jumps, joy slides, a great petting zoo!

Cool weather, Relaxing, Games, Laughter,and Eating!!!

2010-10-03T22:23:00.018-05:00

As soon as I got on the airplane to come home from DC, I began to journal -- I didn't want to forget my reflections of our trip to see Hannah and Jason. Since then I have tried to think of words that would describe the time. We totally enjoyed a hug and just being in Hannah and Jason's presence. Our love for them made them the main attraction and not the sites in DC. If the Lord wills, there will be other trips to DC, but we wanted to relax and enjoy our kids!!

We took two games -- Bocce Ball, I got a set for them at Target on sale for 15.00. It was a great set, the brand and weight of balls I was looking for. So, yes, we took it in our suitcase which made it very heavy. The second game, you know, our favorite right now -- Settlers of Catan. They liked it so much we played two different nights.

We also went to a great pizza place -- Vapiano, located in Chinatown. This was an upscale, somewhat eclectic place. No servers/waiters, just cooks behind a counter. Each client receives a plastic card that is scanned by the cooks as you order. The seating was a mixture of family style, long tables and another section more along the lines of a sports bar. It was really loud and colorful and full of energy. Of course we raised the median age by a few years! The food was good and we had a great time. Our picture kinda wraps up the night at Vapianos!

I made "Thanksgiving" dinner since we will not see them at Thanksgiving. Complete with dressing, turkey from the deli, green bean casserole, rolls, and pie for dessert -- apple, Hannah's favorite, and pumpkin, Jason's favorite. We actually all loved it!!

One of the fun things was that we were able to get our eyes on Hannah's school. She is a speech pathologist working with mostly 18-22 yr. olds. The architecture of the building is quite unique. Each section of the building has different ages and activities. They even had a really neat garden that the students work with. All of the students are disabled in some way.

We also were able to attend the church they are part of. Daniel and I are reading a book that their preacher, Mark Batterson, has written entitle In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day. It is challenging us to ask ourselves whether we are a people who run from our fears or are we a "lion chaser" -- people who face our fears, as hard as it may be. Are we praying bold prayers or do we just want life to be easy?

So, our trip felt wonderful as we were able to know where they are and what it looks like.

Thank you, Father for the time with our kids.

As Daniel and I leave on the metro -- Our last glimpse

I Know You've Heard!!

2010-09-29T22:49:00.014-05:00

Yes, the GRANDbabies are here!! We have totally enjoyed each moment!! The first treasured moment that Daniel has described to many was when they first arrived. Daniel was not at the house, but pulled up about 3 minutes after they arrived. Cailyn came barreling out of the back door and ran as fast as she could jumping into Daddy O's arms!! It was precious!! Our hearts are content with the relationship that God has provided us with Cailyn and Corban.

Cailyn sleeps on my side of the bed on a pallet on the floor. She wakes up about 7:00 am ready to play. Corban is soon awake and so breakfast begins. Corban has learned the word "puppy" since being here and he wants to spend every minute out in the back with the sand box, slide or pool. He has a love/scared relationship with Cele, our dog. We have enjoyed his smiles and friendly personality. He has warmed up to us very fast and I have even been able to put him down at night and naps. He puts himself to sleep very easily!! I have tried to teach him where his nose is and he has responded by wrinkling up his nose when I mention it!! Corban is in motion at all times although yesterday when we were at the library he was willing to sit and read books as he fed himself grapes!! He eats really well!!

Today, Cailyn and I had the morning to ourselves and she played with the playdough - we pretended to make pancakes with butter, broccoli, and a volcano with lava flowing out of the top.

We took a walk down our street, chased a butterfly, enjoyed the shade, admired the flowers in other people's yards, and put acorns in our pockets.

They both take their naps around 1:00 so Alison and I enjoy talking or quiet time, which is nice. Cailyn loves books and so she has a pile in the living room and in her bed. Last night Alison walked into the room as Cailyn held a book up reading, "In my Father's house there are many mansions...." She loves to joke like her mom and her favorite joke is to call you a long string of silly names, like Honey yogurt juicy apple, she just laughs and laughs!! Right before Hannah and Jason's wedding Cailyn decided to call Jason, Uncle Juicy Apple, and she of course thinks this is funny too!! Jason has decided he will accept the name!! He is such a good sport!!

Justin has done a wonderful job of connecting with churches as he is seeking funds for the family to return to Peru. We all have no doubts that God wants them in Lima as we watch all of the activity that the Spirit is doing among the Peruivans they have met. Please join us in asking God for support to come to them so they can return to their home and live out what God has for them!! Justin celebrates his 30th birthday in the states on Friday!!

Alison and I have enjoyed conversation, playing with the kids together, and a fun night at Dittos for Kids - a resale event for children items!! We have introduced Settlers of Catan to Alison and Justin and we have played nearly every night since. Alison and Justin have won every time!!

The Simple Things

2010-08-28T14:07:00.008-05:00

There are a few new things in our daily lives that have been fun to discover. We would like to tell you about them.

First, food....a new snack...

Pepperidge Farm, Goldfish, Baked graham snack, made with whole grain, cinnamon flavor. There are 300 goldfish in the package and 50 is a serving. 5g of total fat, 7g of sugar. Slip them in a baggie and hit the road!!

Lipton Diet Green Tea, buy them in a 12pack, contains no juice, sugar free. We both enjoy these.

Food for the spirit -- Blessing Your Spirit by Sylvia Gunter and Arthur Burk

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Daniel and I find our spirits need to be refreshed. We are partners and it is God's will that we refresh one another. We have begun practicing what this book offers. Each day there is a blessing (actually there are several to pick from)and you choose which one you want to bless one another with. We do it usually as we go to bed. I will give you an example below. Look at the Bible and see how the "spirit of man" is described.

in anguish - Job 7:11, willing - Mark 14:38, different - Numbers 14:24, stubborn - Deuteronomy 2:30, sorrowful - I Samuel 1:15, passed to someone else - II Kings 2:9, moved - John 11:33, watched over - Job 10:12, patient - Ecclesiates 7:8....there are so many examples. Very interesting study.

We always sit close and put our hand on one another and bless one another. Wow, it is powerful to be blessed....

Day 4 God Fights for You
____________, I bless you with being led by the Spirit to respond to problems with faith, not as a slave out of a victim mindset of avoidance, blame-shifting, or rationalization. I bless you with perseverance, not a spirit of fainting and giving up. I bless you with embracing problems, viewing them as challenges, and as opportunities for faith, as new ways to see the many facets of God and how He will work in them and through them to work things out in His plan.

Day 6 God's Presence
"Ps. 16:7 says "even at night, my heart instructs me" I bless you______________, with fullness of joy in the night watches as the Spirit of God ministers to your spirit. The nighttime is the first-fruits of God's creation; therefor it is holy. I reject and break off of you every claim of the enemy to the night hours. I proclaim that it is God's holy time when He delights to visit you and to minister to you. I bless you with experiencing His presence in the night watches as your subconscious mind and your spirit are open to the Spirit of God, so He can minister to your spirit while your conscious mind is not cluttering up the works.

Blessings on you!

Ecclesiastes

2010-08-27T09:04:00.005-05:00

Every once in a while I enjoy turning to a book in my Bible and just moving from one underlined verse to another. These would be verses God has brought me before in my study or as I have listened to some teaching. It jogs my memory and is very rich. Last night I did this with the book of Ecclesiastes. Enjoy where I have been and I'm sure many of you have been in this book about life.

"under the sun"
1:3,9
2:11

"I"
1:12,13,14,16,17

2:13 "And I saw that wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness", that is an interesting contrast. truth.

2:25 "For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him?

3:11 "He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart.."

4:9 One of my favorite verses -- "Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up."

5:1-2 "Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil. Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few."

5:20 "For he will not often consider the years of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the gladness of hi heart." This tells me to be content!!

7:13-14 "Consider the work of God, For who is able to straighten what He has bent? In the day of prosperity be happy, but in the day of adversity consider - God has made the one as well as the other so that man may not discover anything that will be after him." (his future)

10:4"If the ruler's anger rises against you, don't leave your place,
for calmness puts great offenses to rest." Man, that sounds like a great relational tip!!

11:1-2 "Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days. Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth."
11:5-6 "Just as you do not know the path of the wind and how bones are formed in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things. Sow your seed in the morning and do not be idle in the evening for you do not know whether morning or evening sowing will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good." SERVE!!!

12:13-14 "...fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. Because God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil."

We Said Good-Bye

2010-08-13T08:21:00.006-05:00

Deanna Meredith came to Hope church of Christ one Wednesday night and we met. She has a smile that is very contagious!! It's been a couple of years now and God has moved her on this morning to the next season in life. She was called by God when she was 18 to go to a foreign country to teach about God's Son, Jesus!! What an exciting purpose she feels. She has been a wonderful addition at Hope and she will now move on to the Church of Christ in Falls Church , her supporting church. She will be added to this page soon, I'm sure. Her home congregation will also be supporting her, Grace Crossing, A Community Church of Christ. I know it is a JOY for them to have one of their own to help as she follows the call on her life.

We were able to have Deanna live with us for only one month but it was fun, and comfortable. Such peace is in her young heart and such purity of desire in her walk. She will touch people as she steps into VA., Houston and then on to Chile in Jan. 2011. Begin today to pray for Deanna and her team mates.

Blinn Reunion

2010-08-02T12:59:00.012-05:00

We left last Thursday and went on a short trip. When we pulled into our garage on Sunday night we had driven 1,000 miles. We spent one night in Bastrop with Daniel's folks and enjoyed a time of sharing pictures on the computer with them. We even Skyped with Alison and the kids for a bit. We headed to College Station and each met with a few friends for lunch and then drove on down to Houston. Friday and Saturday night we enjoyed great conversation and laughter with several friends from our Blinn College days in Brenham(1974-76). Daniel and I met there and our dating days began. Two of the groomsmen at the wedding were in attendance and you will notice the guys still look the same, hahaha. Troy Nicar and Clent Hood

On our return trip from Houston we drove through San Antonio and stopped to see Jason and Lindy's (our niece who lived with us for 3 years) new baby, Elias. Helen (Daniel's sister) and Randy were there, beaming as grandparents for a 2nd time. Shelly and Ryan were also there(Lindy's sister and brother, our niece and nephew). A special part of the trip for Daniel was driving 80mph out on I-10 between Kerrville and Junction - definitely a guy thing!

Learning to Love Well!!

2010-07-24T15:08:00.022-05:00

Isaiah 58:5 -11 (God has brought this section to me in 3 different situations in one week, none were related -- think the Spirit is speaking!!)

Isn't the fast I choose:
To break the chains of wickedness,
to untie the ropes of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free,
and to tear off every yoke?

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
to bring the poor and homeless into your house,
to clothe the naked when you see him,
and to not ignore your own flesh [and blood]?

Then your light will appear like the dawn,
and your recovery will come quickly.
Your righteousness will go before you,
and the LORD's glory will be your rear guard.

At that time, when you call, the LORD will answer;
when you cry out, He will say: Here I am.
If you get rid of the yoke from those around you,
the finger-pointing and malicious speaking,

and if you offer yourself to the hungry,
and satisfy the afflicted one,
then your light will shine in the darkness,
and your night will be like noonday.

The LORD will always lead you,
satisfy you in a parched land,
and strengthen your bones.
You will be like a watered garden
and like a spring whose waters never run dry.

Deuteronomy 15:7-11
"If there is a poor person among you, one of your brothers within any of your gates in the land the LORD your God is giving you, you must not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Instead, you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him enough for whatever need he has. Be careful that there isn't this wicked thought in your heart, The seventh year, the year of canceling debts, is near, and you are stingy toward your poor brother and give him [nothing]. He will cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty. Give to him, and don't have a stingy heart when you give, and because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you do. For there will never cease to be poor people in the land;that is why I am commanding you,You must willingly open your hand to your afflicted and poor brother in your land."

The weekend of July 17-18 the Hope shepherds and wives had a retreat together. We all pitched in and organized to have a speaker and food and the Mills hosted our gathering in their home. Daniel put together some structure for us to benefit from prayer and discussion time. We also went through the Hope member directory and caught each other up on what is happening in their lives. We are all prayerful about each one of the sheep and it was refreshing to be able to speak of each member to each other!!

Mark Hewitt of Love and Care Ministry in Abilene spoke to us. After spending the morning with Mark, I continue to pray that I never look at a homeless or poor person the same. I really want to work on having a snack pack available in our car at all times to hand out. Just this week I was reminded by my niece that my parents' love for her is what makes her know there is a God. Our love toward the homeless and poor may have the same impact. The Lima Team has been using a phrase that keeps coming back to me - you have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you (John Bunyon). I have even thought of this as I have been reading The Hiding Place. We have so many opportunities to love others well. Daniel and I have so enjoyed the others God has put us with to shepherd our group in Abilene.

Daniel and Cathie, Mark, Laura and KB, and Mitzi and Foy.

On Friday night, July 23, we enjoyed a party celebrating our sweet friend, Kelli Bryant. She is currently studying at Oxford University. but came through Abilene with her parents. Many from Hope gathered to hug and listen to her stories, eat and laugh!!

Of Course, I Cried

2010-07-03T16:26:00.007-05:00

Many of you have followed the Lima Team in their Frazalatera. The funds came in very fast and they were so encouraged. Thank you so much!! Daniel and I didn't even get our funds there before their goal was met. We will act faster next time!!

As I watched the video on John Mark and Tara Davidson's blog, of course, I cried. I hope you will enjoy it as well. Continue to pray for the future of this community. They will be having a medical mission week with these same families in late July. Several from the states will be helping out with this. We are so blessed to watch God's hand in so many ways.

2010-06-28T21:01:00.004-05:00

Cathie asked me to share from some of my reading, so here it is.

your little red wagon - a conversation on approaching God
Alex Himaya - The Church at BattleCreek, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Heard Himaya refer to his book while visiting their congregation during a visit to Hannah.

Many of us have great memories of pulling our red Radio Flyer wagon around behind us as kids and all the adventures that centered around the treasures we were hauling or the adventures we were headed toward. While those memories are good one the author talks about another imaginary wagon we continue to pull around behind us. The ones with all the baggage we cant or wont let go of. More often than not this baggage is bad stuff that we allow to continue to haunt us even into our adult years. Sadly, even after we have been cleansed by the power of Jesus’ blood, we continue to pull that heavy load of forgotten (at least by God) garbage. Himaya asks a stark question of all of us wagon pullers, could it be that God is more concerned with us than what is in our wagons? Reconciliation (being made compatible with God) is the theme. The author relates this to the process of having one key open all the locks in a house. To do this they took the key to one lock that was staying in the house to a locksmith who them matched all the rest of the locks to fit with the one key. 2 Corinthians 5:18 says, “All this is from God who reconciled us to himself…

A good 100 page read.

The FEAST by Joshua Graves.
There is a question brought out by this book that is almost haunting - what if Jesus really meant the stuff he said? Sounds almost comical to ask, but based on the way we tend to practice religion (or as Foree Grove, A&M church pulpit minister, likes to call it - high church), you would think we would answer the question with our own question - Do you think he really meant all that stuff he said?

Graves leads us to think about our being a spiritual movement rather than an institutional religion. Believers are referred to as followers of the Way, but sometimes we appear to be leaders of my way (our way if we think we are part of a group who all think/act the same way). So thinking about how to be followers of Jesus is the adventure The Feast takes you on.

In the chapter entitled Wrestling with the Real Jesus, Graves uses Heb 13:11-14 to make a point. In particular, the last part of this passage, Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. Quoting from Charles Campbell’s The Word on the Street: Performing the Scriptures in the Urban Context, we read, “it is not that we good Christians take God outside the camp, outside the walls of the church. We go outside because God is already there.” To often, for me at least, it seems that I wait impatiently for seekers to walk into the doors of our churches so we can lead them to the good news. It is even better if they know how to behave as Christians do because that speeds up the process of getting to believing! So much for the go into all the world admonishment in Matthew. I am in need of a daily reminder that ALL THE WORLD is ALL AROUND ME.

A great read if you really want to be challenged to consider if you are practicing a system of beliefs or living a way of life.

Letters from Dad by Greg Vaughn is my current read. A number of years ago Vaughn began meeting with a few guy friends and encouraged them to write letters to their family members. Very intriguing, convicting, and challenging so far.

MY FICTION world has included over the past couple of years books written by Clive Cussler, founder in 1979 of National Underwater and Marine Agency. Many of his books are adventure stories based on the history behind the ships and other lost artifacts that they have gone hunting for. If you watched the movie Sahara, then you have experienced one of Cussler’s books turned movie. I follow his writings from a website called Cusslermen. These are my easy reading so I have been able to get through 15 or so of his NUMA and Oregon series in 2 years. Recently, I completed Sea Hunters, which is part fiction and non-fiction. It is the historical story of a number of sunken vessels and the actual story of NUMA’s search for them.

So, there you have it.

Concepts from God's Way of Life

2010-06-17T16:58:00.010-05:00

Recently I have started back on my building up to my running plan. I don't listen to any music while I run, but I have recently asked God to bring to my mind some of His concepts for life as I run. It has been fun and fascinating.

This morning ~ I will try to lay out the trail of my mind.

As I ran down one street a woman crossed in front of me and had a big dog on a leash. I decided to turn left there - it occurred to me, we each take different paths.

As I continued to run it began to get harder. I thought, life is hard, you have to work at it.

There were many flowers and a few cars that were red. Of course the blood of Christ came to mind and the more I ran, the more I saw of red. It was everywhere.

There were birds singing and I thought, there are times that we sing and then times we just need and want to be quiet.

There was a moving truck and I thought about the seasons in life, moving not only physically from place to place, but emotionally from A to Z.

I saw a bird fly to the top of the tree, and I thought I know there are times that we are at the top of something in life, but in general God wants us to give our seat up.

Our neighborhood is known for rattlesnakes and so I'm always on the look out for snakes especially in the empty fields that are at the end of the street. That, of course makes me think of Satan, such a sneaky one, lying in wait for an attack on God's people.

As I run on my street to get home, for some reason I always think of cows....I know that sounds funny. I'm not thinking of myself as a cow, but I do think of how cows come home to eat at the end of the day. I'm glad to get home when I arrive!!

When I get home I am ready for some water. I pray that I never get tired of Living Water from God. He is my refreshment!!

Running really isn't something I love, but I enjoy it more now than I have in the past.

New Things in Our Lives

2010-05-30T15:06:00.016-05:00

Tried a new sugar cookie recipe and I would like to recommend it!! I didn't put the sprinkles on them, but I really enjoyed them.

New game in our closet!! Settlers of Catan. Rachel and Sean Landolt drove through and spent the night and taught us how to play. We are hooked now and so when you come, you will have to play!!

New Blackberry phones in our hands ~ ~ mine is the RED one. Our phones were exactly alike before May 1 (for the past 2 years) and they were very easy to get mixed up. Matter of fact twice we have been at the Pope's house and mixed our phones with hers. I kept calling Daniel and would get Beth Pope on the phone and kept wondering what the deal was!! Life is wild anytime you are with Beth Pope!! Since my new phone came in the middle of the wedding details I really am daily learning new things about it. I have enjoyed it!!

The best newness that we have in our life is a person - Jason Lee Grassie!! Our new son-in-love!! What should I tell you about him? Well, for starters he had enough wisdom to go slow in the beginning of his time with Hannah, to come and sit in our living room and ask Daniel --"Is there anything I need to know as I begin to date Hannah?" That is just the beginning of his humbleness!! Jason is a person who is good at making decisions and he is also totally confident enough to ask for advice before making his final decision. Jason is a very hard worker and if something doesn't work one way, he will try another way!! Remembering names is another gift that he has. Very personable when he meets you and is a great listener. He is a seeker of God's Word and has insightful questions. Well, I think you get the idea, We are totally in love with him and impressed with how God has fashioned his life. He is a grad student at GWU and works full-time with Frank Lucas, an Oklahoma representative. DC is the first home for Hannah and Jason and they are off to a fabulous start!!

Recap in Pictures

2010-05-24T21:09:00.020-05:00

Hannah and I picked up Alison, Cailyn and Corban on Fri., April 30th. We had a rough drive because Corban wasn't really enjoying his seat. He was very happy to be in Abilene. Cailyn slept on a mat of blankets on the floor of on my side of the bed. We were able to sing and read and pray each night. What a JOY!! Corban slept in the room with Alison ~ he had a harder time getting use to a place other than his own bedroom. I pray his weeks back home can be settled back into a routine for his sake and Alison and Justin. We tried to keep the kids bed schedule for the most part. During the day we had "adventures"!!

The Grace Museum

Vulnerability

2010-04-23T10:03:00.009-05:00

Written April 23rd
....Coming home with a new child or being a new bride ~~ these roles can put you in a season of vulnerability. I do remember questioning my mom about getting from raising a newborn to having such a loving relationship with her and getting to know God as I grew up. How was I going to repeat that experience with Alison, our first born? It would be easy to have an ABC plan and it also would be easy to give into the fear that is quick to come.

The years that our girls have dated and married (Hannah's sweet day is quickly approaching) have helped me see our marriage as new when we actually have been married over 30 years. It is helpful to see how the guys have pursued them - flowers, notes of endearment, laughing. Watching them has reminded me what we can lose or forget along the way. Fear can enter in and we become vulnerable and give up on this relationship that can at times be so hard.

This week, I heard that Do Not Be Afraid is the most frequent command in the Bible. I need to go check that out on Bible Gateway. The next chapter in Sacred Parenting sites verse after verse about fear and what God wants for us as parents. Satan is constantly trying to convince us to give in to fear and vulnerability, which can lead to robbing our children of experiences needed for their growth. The author reminds us, "Courage doesn't always get rewarded with success...through sacred parenting we learn to act courageously, regardless of how afraid we may feel. And when we step out in faith, we allow God to shape our souls in ways that will develop us far beyond the parenting part of our lives."

I am finally finishing up this post today, May 23rd. As you know much has been happening in our lives even when I wrote this back in April. I did not finish the book, Sacred Parenting before Alison and Justin left to return to Lima, so let me know if you have purchased it and are reading it and what you think.

Many pictures will follow about our wonderful time with Alison/Justin and the grandkids and also of the great experience of Hannah and Jason's covenant with God and one another. Blessings to all!!

Listening and JOY

2010-04-16T10:30:00.010-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I experienced a time of more intense listening. The idea of listening as a spiritual discipline came to mind. I found it very hard to hold back, I so enjoy talking and I certainly have to pray against pride. Listening is fun, though, when it is intentional. I spend time with one of our precious girls at Hope and we had a time of reading the Bible and praying together. Our reading time was mainly reading and letting her comment - I told her I only wanted to listen. She is very wise for her age and I totally loved some of her comments. When we prayed we enjoyed just some silence. We were sitting at Jacob's Dream on ACU campus and we could hear the sound of the water and the birds. It was wonderful and a great memory we now share. The same week I read the next chapter in Sacred Parenting entitled Seizing Heaven - How Raising Children Teaches us to Listen to God. Not an accident that something on listening came my way. I love the way God puts experiences together for us.

Verses shared in this chapter include:

Listen and understand. (Matthew 15:10)

He who has ears to hear, let him hear. (Mark 4:9)

Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, ‘Listen to me, everyone and understand this.’(Mark 7:14)

Consider carefully how you listen. (Luke 8:18)

Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you, (Luke 9:44)

My sheep listen to my voice. (John 10:27)

Gary L. Thomas says, "Listening to God provides the true test of our humility. Humble people listen; prideful people never seem to have the time to wait on God."

The next chapter is on JOY. It taught a lesson that I also learned from Calm My Anxious Heart. Think about the two most often requests you have for your children -- Protect them and Change them .... is that true in your prayer life? Well, Gary Thomas suggest a third request. Prayers of thankfulness. They have a way of putting life in perspective. Praying for only protection and change has the emphasis on fear and their weakness. As we put into practice thanking God for His work in their lives, thanking Him for the progress they are making, thanking Him for who our children are (their strengths) then the mind set is very different.

This whole chapter is about JOY and how God wants us to not be so serious. I love the sense of humor Daniel has added to our family. I'm way to serious and need too read the verses about JOY more often!!

Guilt

2010-03-26T17:51:00.008-05:00

The third chapter in Sacred Parenting is about guilt. Something that just comes along with our fallen humanity!!

William Sullivan ~

"There is in repentance this great mystery--that we may fly fastest home on broken wing."

Psalm 38:4 My guilt overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear.

Gary L.Thomas, the author points out how Samuel was a faithful servant and yet had sons who did not walk with God, and then he also points out Kings Ahaz and Asa who fell from God's favor and yet had sons, Jehoshaphat and Hezekiah, who were faithful servants. He reminds us we are "not raising robots; we are shepherding image bearers of the Creator God who live with freedom of choice, their own wills, and a personal responsibility of their own."

There are some good things about guilt if we will allow God to work in our lives.
1. Guilt can point us to God
2. Guilt can motivate us to do better
3. Guilt can remind us of God's providence
4. Guilt can teach us to love mercy (my favorite)
5. Guilt has a positive "hidden agenda"

The picture of God that Gary Thomas gives at the end of the chapter was precious and reminded me that my picture of how God parents me affects how I look at my own parenting. That picture of who God is becomes so important as we live out our lives in the Way!!

Sacred Parenting

2010-03-01T22:16:00.018-06:00

Walking around at a local flea market I stumbled across a book I have been wanting to purchase. Sacred Parenting by Gary L. Thomas. I read one of his other books, Sacred Marriage awhile back. This author really makes me think.

As I read the first chapter, I asked Daniel, "Why did we decide to have children?" We laughed because we weren't really trying to have a child when Alison came around so Daniel's reply was, "We didn't, God put all of that in motion!" So why did we have another child?? As I read this first chapter, Gary L. Thomas says as God's people he feels having children is not about us but all about Him. He goes on to say, "We are called to bear and raise children for the glory of God." Now if you believe that statement, then it really makes a difference when parenting gets difficult.

The context of II Corinthians 7:1 isn't parenting, but Thomas thinks it is helpful in parenting.

"Dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God."

Thomas continues, "Christian parenting is truly a sacred journey. It invites us parents to purify ourselves, to use the process of raising kids to perfect holiness, and to do this consistently, every day, out of reverence for God. If we enter it armed with this understanding, each segment will gain new meaning and purpose -- even the difficult ones."

You may ask yourself why do you do all that you do for your child? If the answer is just for the joy or for the proud moments in our children's lives then that will not last for long. Another Thomas quote that I pondered and talked with Daniel about was this...."to pin our hope and joy on the response of a sinner (our children)in his or her toddler years or teen years is to beg for disillusionment and to risk waking up in despair." We must have a higher calling than our own hope or joy, it must be out of reverence for God. Good read and that was just the first chapter.

Chapter 2 - The Hardest Hurt of All..."Sunshine without rain is the recipe for a desert."

Raising children teaches so much. We build character and we hit serving dead in the face. Letting our children struggle through challenges forms and matures them. It is just so hard, though, to watch. Many times we step ahead and fix it and our children lose out on the experience God has meant to shape them for the future He has planned for them. We make the journey harder when we are chasing our tail trying to make it easier. A good question for us to ask is what do we want for our children as they grow up -- comfort or character. This book is helping me see we must choose service and character over the pain-free life. Do you really think we are helping our children when we coddle them and let them avoid hard experiences? It has been so very hard for Daniel and I to watch the girls struggle with things, but we have mentors that have helped us, encouraged us to let them walk through disappointments. I have never wanted my immaturity to handicap them, although I know I have struggled with this. God has been very merciful to them and us!! I do believe that God sees His kingdom more important than our children's personal comfort. The author encourages you to ask your children as they grow, "What do you think your daddy and mommy feel most passionate about?" They serve as our heart's mirror in a way, Gary Thomas suggests. As we become parents it is interesting to ask what would God do as a parent in this situation? God let His Son suffer because there was a bigger picture. There are some values that are more important than our happiness and comfort.

At the end of chapter 2, the author says, "Sacred parenting calls me to accept the hardest hurt of all -- for the sake of God's kingdom and for the sake of our children's own development. I need to allow my kids to face challenges, failure, rejection and pain, and then teach them to use these seemingly negative events to fuel their sense of mission and to foster their dependence on God."

Missions

2010-02-27T20:43:00.013-06:00

I think it gets in your blood!!! Well, there is just an excitement to hear about the next mission team that the A&M church of Christ is supporting during their training year. Joy for Daniel and I that we are in Abilene now that the mission teams train with the Halbert Institute located at ACU.

The Concepcion Team (Deanna Meredith, Wesley and Ellen Shutt, Sara and Chad Lukkason) came over last night minus one of the couples (Reid and Meredith Overall). We talked from 6:30pm-10:00pm at least. We love hearing their thoughts and know from having Alison and Justin's experiences that they will learn so much about themselves and about God through this journey.

They will train until January 2011 and Lord willing will fly to their new homes in Chile. They are each looking for support so as you pray remember them. This is a faith-building experience as you contact congregations and talk with people about supporting your financial needs. If any of you out there have a missions committee looking for missionaries to support, contact this group.

We are doing well. I enjoyed a few days in Tulsa with Hannah. She will really miss Tulsa when she moves. She has made a home for herself there in the two years she has attended University of Tulsa. On Monday, Mar 1, she begins her last seven weeks of interning in a rehab center. She is thinking this is the direction she will begin to look for a job in DC. She has been with a school district since January. Can't wait -- I know she will be a beautiful bride, God has blessed her in so many ways!!

Abilene Snow

2010-02-11T21:48:00.012-06:00

Isn't this what everyone in Abilene is doing? Downloading their snow pictures and posting them!! We were in Lima when the last snow came to Abilene so today was fun for us.

Daniel got to come home around noon and we have totally enjoyed a day of relaxation. We are ready for this everyday!! Having Daniel home everyday not the snow...

Cele enjoyed the snow!! We also had a special visit from Phil Grassie, Jason's dad. Phil and Patti live in New Mexico so it was quite a treat to be able to sit and visit. They were missionaries in Brazil and so we were able to listen to some missionary stories!! Great fun!! We love getting to know the parents of the young man who will be Hannah's life partner. God is just so good!!

Looking out our front door!!

Bible Warriors

2010-02-07T09:28:00.015-06:00

Grant Parker, Maddie Parker, Rebecca Lopez, Allie Lopez and Samantha Istre

Daniel and I teach the Hope Bible Warriors (3-6th graders). There are about six students that come every Wed. night. This spring we are going through some OT stories. Since our bldg does not have an oven we decided to have the kids come to our house for Bible class last Wednesday. We wanted to make unleavened banana bread. We had been talking about the Passover and the escape from Egypt that the Israelites made. We enjoyed singing and playing and reading and cooking. It really opened up a new opportunity to enjoy them on another level. Enjoy the pictures!!

Pondering With the Lord

2010-02-05T19:59:00.024-06:00

The weather was just too wonderful to not get out today, well, this afternoon. I got into my walking clothes and headed out to restart my way back to running. I began speaking out loud to God immediately, almost like it was going to burst out. I confessed a mistake that I should have figured out at least nine years ago. Peace came immediately and I know that I am forgiven. I'm such a slow learner, but I am determined that I have learned it this time!! My walk was short as my plan has it that way. 15 min. brisk walk is my next step!!

As I came in, Daniel had the radio on and Focus on the Family was interviewing Robert and Bobbie Wolgemuth and their two adult daughters. (scroll down on the page to listen) The interview was about the parenting of their two daughters and about Robert's book, She calls me Daddy. I decided I wanted to just sit and listen to the 20 min. interview. I found myself tearing up - so many memories as I listened. Daniel and I had so many of the same feelings that were projected in this interview. What a joy to be parents, determined not to hand off the job of parenting to anyone else, a mix of love and discipline, listening to music and singing in the car...we definitely enjoyed the ride. It was also very hard and there were many prayers and mistakes we made. I'm overwhelmed by the love God gives in my heart for my girls. I know there are many parents out there that have experienced the same. How can we understand the deep love of the Father? We understand just a bit by being parents!!

One of the activities the woman of Hope (our church community) does is tell the feeling of our hearts at our weekly gatherings. My friend, Chelsa, uses the word SASHET, and each letter stands for a feeling(sad, angry, sacred, happy, excited, and tender). That is a beginning point, but we can use any word to describe where our heart is at that point. It has been very helpful for us to gain insight as to where we each are. Earlier in the week I told her my heart was feeling very dependent on God and today, as we gathered for our Friday lunch at the building, I felt relaxed in the Lord (even though my circumstances aren't all at peace). That is what I told God as I walked today, even though I made a mistake, I will confess and move on. My heart is still going to be relaxed!! Try this with some of your friends, it has been quite helpful and fun!!

2010-01-28T17:10:00.006-06:00

Wow, what have I been doing the last month?? I'm convinced that my trips to Lima, are truly a work out. My body isn't what it used to be and I want to take it all in with the grandchildren, well, with our girls and their guys too!! I think I wouldn't be lying if I said, I have been recouping on many levels.

A new year brings excitement that we actually can have every day, a new start on things, a new outlook, changes if we would like. One of the things I decided I wanted to experienc in 2010 is biographies. So I am on my second one, Flying Without Wings, Personal reflections on being disabled, Arnold R.Beisser.

Wedding planning is going great. Fairly low key, and enjoyable. Hopefully, I will get to drive to College Station tomorrow for the ladies, Red Dress Tea!! No ice, please Lord as I leave town.

We have run into several families moving to Abilene that we knew from College Station and there have been a few AFCers show up at Hope (our congregation) on Sunday nights. I realize people give me energy, I love to meet new people and enjoy relationships from the past. Thank you, God, for friendship and for the purpose you put together for community!!

Another thing I have enjoyed in this new year is my Thurs. noon Bible Study. I will leave you with some thoughts from this study, One in a Million.

Exodus 13:17-18, 21-22
When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, "If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt." So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle.

By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.

In this season God continuously reminds me, I love my people and I will do what is best for them. Trust Me!!

Rich Times!!

2010-01-03T22:41:00.036-06:00

On the tails of our Nashville trip we drove home, washed clothes and both worked a few days. Then we headed to Dallas and spent the night with John and Charlene Wallace. They are long-time friends from Bryan/College Station and are parents of missionaries and understand all that our hearts are engaging in. We left our car there and they drove us to the airport. What a blessing. It was very cold and drizzling when we left Dallas.

We flew into DC and Hannah and Jason were ready to treat us to a metro ride. Jason's apt. is directly above a metro station and that was wonderful. We enjoyed an Amtrak trip over to Baltimore and saw lots of snow. At 4:20am Christmas morning we took a hotel shuttle to the airport and off we flew to Miami. During many hours of layover in Miami, we did all kinds of things to keep the cost down, flying from Baltimore was one of them. During our layover we slept, played cards, acted silly in the airport, and ate Chinese food for breakfast. Lots of fun and lots of tired moments. We arrived in Lima much later than expected because our Miami flight kept getting pushed back. (We did get 3,000 pts. from American Airlines for the delay) We got in bed around 3:00am, Dec. 26th. The next days were full of laughing, playing, cooking, eating, and just plain old family time. The six adults enjoyed a great conversation stemming from the two books, For Women Only and For Men Only, by Shaunti and Jeff Feldhahn. Great reads!!

Our only regret (other than more time with the kids and grandkids) is that we did not get to visit with the whole Lima Team. Time was just too short. We did enjoy an evening of talking with Mark Clancy. Daniel and Jason got to have a morning of prayer with the guys and Jason enjoyed some soccer on Monday night with the group. We tried to take it all in!! God is gracious to us always!!

Hannah, Jason, Daniel and I headed back to DC and enjoyed some time at the Smithsonian and the Korean, WWII, and Lincoln Memorial on New Year's Eve. We found a neat bakery and a used book store before the night was gone. Hannah and Jason had dinner out and celebrated the coming new year on the rooftop of Jason's apt. Daniel and I stayed in and watched Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ~~~ think we are getting really old. Jason was the perfect guide on the metro!!
All together we had 6 flights, 2 Amtrak rides, walked, rode the metro several times, drove in Lima taxis, and a hotel shuttle bus....we are learning to travel. And I guess with Hannah moving to DC in May after her marriage to Jason all of these skills will do us well both in Lima and DC!!

We have left our Lima kids in Lima and dropped off Jason in DC, Hannah has flown back to Tulsa for her last semester and we are settling back into Abilene!! Our hearts are full of memories!!

Gaylord Opryland in Nashville

2009-12-17T09:38:00.001-06:00

Daniel and I took off last Wed. evening for our trip to Nashville. Daniel was attending his annual Southern Assoc. of Colleges and Employers conference. Our first stop was at the Grimaldo's home. Wow!! I wish I had a picture of those girls, they have grown into fine young ladies. They were so easy to catch up with with all of their activities having moved to Kellar recently. We enjoyed a great meal cooked by Lisa, and Jose was the perfect host. Could not have asked for a better night!!

We drove out the next morning very early and it took us 12 hours to get to Nashville. The Gaylord Opryland Hotel is 59 acres of resort under one roof. The Christmas season was bursting from the seams in every corner. There are four sections to the hotel and you have a main "street" that you stay on as you walk through each. As you get off the main "street" there are many Christmas trees, water falls, poinsettias, a boat ride like the San Antonio river walk, many places to sit and eat or drink some coffee. There are performers to your left and right (singing and dancing), a huge fireplace in the section we stayed in and so many paths off the main street you get lost. Out in front of the hotel was a huge nativity scene, complete with Luke 2 being read over loud speakers. Check out the pictures, hard to describe all that this hotel presented to our eyes!! We were most thankful for a company that spoke the Word of the Lord so boldly through the scriptures. Hard to take it all in!!! I did leave the hotel a few times and did get lost, but always seemed to find my way back to home base. Daniel had MANY long hours of meetings, but we were able to have dinner a couple of times together in the hotel.

We were able to have dinner with our long time friends, Mark and Amy Phillips. What JOY, we laughed and talked for a couple of hours.

On Sunday morning we headed over to Shelbyville, TN, to have a time of great loving on and fellowship with the Fairlane church of Christ. This congregation supports Alison, Justin, Cailyn and Corban while they are in Lima. You are not going to find a more loving, caring group than these folks. There were so many we spoke to and they really love our kids. It was an humbling time and also a time of God's graciousness shown to us. Thank you, Lord Jesus!!

On the left is Patti and Geoff Geisman, the preacher and his wife, and then Pat and Juan, the Spanish congregation preacher and wife. On the right is Buddy and Mary Ellen Koonce, their grand daughters and son, Doug, at the end of the table. Buddy and Doug came to the weekend retreat held for the Lima team, families, and supporters at the A&M church before they moved overseas.

We left Nashville on Wed. morning and got home about 11:00pm last night, after 15 hours on the road. We did stopp for an hour to get out of the car and eat dinner in Mt. Pleasant. Great trip, but our beds felt SO WONDERFUL last night!! We are here until early Fri. morning and then we head to College Station to visit a few friends and on to Jaime and Elizabeth's Wedding in Houston. We will, Lord willing, see my brother, Mitchell and his family, Alisa, Storie and Lindsey and then travel through Bastrop to see Daniel's parents on our trip back home!! What a worldwind trip, but we love to see family and don't get down to Houston or Bastrop as often as we would like.

Introducing.....

2009-12-08T23:08:00.000-06:00

Daniel and I have truly had our eyes opened as we watch what God has planned for our family when it comes to young men (and their families) that will join our girls on their journey here on earth!! Justin brought with him - Teri and Andy, Allie and Preston. You can see us all as we enjoyed Christmas 2008 in Costa Rica last year. We have been so blessed to enjoy many Thanksgivings and Christmas Day meals with them while living in College Station. We especially enjoyed Christmas of 2004 when Alison and Justin exchanged their marriage vows. What JOY!!

Now we introduce the other family God has brought us through Jason's love for Hannah!! Phil and Patti Grassie, Jason and his sister, Lauren and Andy Simons. (pray for Andy as he serves our country in the military in Afghanistan). The Grassies joined us in Abilene this year for Thanksgiving. You can read what Hannah thought about the weekend on her site. Our hearts were full as we enjoyed much conversation and laughter, singing and praying together.

We will be able to share some of this family excitement as Hannah and Jason join Daniel and I on a flight to Lima coming up soon. We will have a day that laps over Teri, Andy, Allie and Preston's visit. We love the extended families that God has gifted us with!!

Hay Day 2009

2009-12-05T20:40:00.001-06:00

Today we attended a tradition that is part of one of our Hope families. Hay Day consisted of a ride out in the country to about a 600 acre farm, a big barn set up for dinner and a kitchen to serve food from. We had singing on a stage as well as some banjo and bass playing!! The event also included a hay ride behind a tractor. I got to sit by a senior ACU student and had wonderful conversation!! One more activity to bond us together as a community!! We played a game where a person was timed while they put on jeans, boots and suspenders and then ran out to find the two plastic cows in the pasture. It was a reenactment of the farmer who is called in the middle of the night to come get his cows off the road and back on the other side of the fence. Much laughter and hospitality!!

There Is a Hole in My Sidewalk, By Portia Nelson

2009-11-20T20:39:00.000-06:00

I was first introduced to this poem last year and I had really forgotten about it and then it came to my ears two days in a row this week....I want to share. What do you think??? Watch out for holes!!!

Chapter One
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost…I am helpless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.

Chapter Two
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend that I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in this same place.
But, it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

Chapter Three
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep whole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in…it’s a habit…but,
My eyes are open
I know where I am
It is my fault.
I get out immediately,

Chapter Four
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

Chapter Five
I walk down another street.

Kake and Karaoke

2009-11-09T07:25:00.000-06:00

You can always know the house will be packed for these Saturday nights when the Hope Church of Christ mixes dessert with performing. We have experienced Talent and Pie and this past weekend we had three hours of Kake and Karaoke. Wow, we laughed so hard!! One of the comments was "there is no shame!!" I will leave a few pictures to tell some of the story, but i will tell you these pictures don't even begin to explain the laughter we enjoyed!! I have no idea how many cakes there were, but I was number 39 when I entered "Grandma Hawkins' Apple Cake" in the mix.

In the first picture, the three girls are Rebecca, Maddie and Allie, singing You Are So Beautiful to Me. Daniel sang Mona Lisa, Wow, did I say he is my wonderful husband and that he has the most romantic voice!!

The mother-daughter duo is waiting for Play That Funky Music White Boy to come on. It was so much fun to have all of the generations laugh and play together. Of course some of us just performed at our seats. Mitzi and Debbie sat behind me and laughed the entire time!!! Debbie thinks we need to do this once a month and is convinced we might have to tear down the walls to get all of us in the place!!

One of our young married wives is quite embarrassed as her new husband performs with shoes off to Billie Jean. There were many times as he sang that she just covered her eyes. Debbie is sure this performance had to have been practiced at home!! We will never know!!

The person who STOLE the show on many occasions was Damon Parker, our preacher. He even had a hard time getting back up on the stage to preach on Sunday evening. He had memories of the night before with a completely different context!! He sang rock and roll, he sang Love Shack with the girls, he sang rap with the guys (boy he knew the words and has the moves!!) and last and most importantly he sang to his life partner, wife, and mother of their five children Lady in Red!!

Wonderful Women in the Lord

2009-10-31T18:21:00.000-05:00

This week God gifted me with three opportunities to see young women He is growing for His kingdom. I know that He wants them for Himself and they each are yielding in their own ways. My faith is encouraged as I experience strong young faith that will carry on the next generation.

Kasey Smith - wow, she and I met through two avenues at the same time. No doubt God wanted us to cross paths. She was attending the Hope church of Christ congregation when I came to Abilene. I had seen her there but not really met her yet. Then I attended a mentoring event last Fall and she and I got matched up as mentor/mentoree. She is a junior at ACU. She was a resident manager in the girl's dorms last year and this year. She is great at talking with others and so helpful as an example. She has great leadership skills. She has worked with Leadership Camps for ACU for several summers and was over all of the counselors this past summer. We were so fond of her and impressed that when Daniel had a chance to choose a student leader for his U100 class that he teaches she chose her!!! (that is a class all freshman take) She is very responsible. Part of the mentoring program is that she and I get to hang out on some kind of regular basis. We went to lunch this past week and enjoyed catching up.

Shannon Buchanan - First off, this young lady was a friend of Hannah but it was a friendship they didn't get to really develop. Their friends were in the same circle and so when I mentioned to Hannah how fond we were of Shannon; Hannah raved and raved about how wonderful of a person Shannon was. This young lady is the one who shows up on Wednesday night with a baked pie for someone special at Bible study, she is the one who is ready to use the drill when we were repairing the new bldg. for Hope, she is the one who is co-in charge of the 9 dinner teams at Hope who provide dinner each Sunday night, do you get the idea. Along with this servant action is a heart that loves people and wants to learn more and more about God. She and her boyfriend, Brandon were able to have dinner with us this week. What a JOY!! We talked about how it feels to be parents and let go of your children, how children need to grow in the Lord and how it doesn't always look the same as their parents. Shannon is another one who works with the students in the dorms. She is actually over both girls dorms. Those freshmen are in good care!!

Elizabeth Fike - It happened that we were sitting across the table from Elizabeth last fall eating a meal with people who attend Hope church of Christ. She mentioned that she had actually gone out on a real date the night before. I ask her about it and she mentioned the young man's name(Jaime) and where he worked. It sounded very familiar to me and so I ask if his room mate was Jason Grassie (Hannah's boyfriend)and she said yes!! Well, my brain started rolling because I knew Jason and Jaime were planning on going to Brazil together in the spring and that they were good friends. Small world!!! Well, the year has gone and Elizabeth and Jaime are to marry in Dec. and Hannah's now fiancee will be the best man!! Today we enjoyed a bridal shower here at the house. Elizabeth is sweet, sweet, has experienced truly a physical healing from the Lord and such a tender heart. She sat and visited with us today telling us how humbled she felt as she hears how her home congregation is all pitching in to make her wedding date a beautiful one. She and Jaime will live in San Antonio after their marriage in Dec. We will miss her!!

Gathering Up Rocks

2009-10-28T22:40:00.000-05:00

We had a beautiful Saturday in Abilene last week. We decided, well Daniel talked me into going with him to pick out some rocks for our flower beds. Now we didn't go down to a rock store or Lowe's or anything. We headed about 12-15 miles out of town to our friend's house, the Istre Family. Wonderful family who lives off the land and raises animals for food, makes great homemade bread, and just totally enjoys being a family of God. They have 29 acres and they built their home on the land. They had told us that there were some rocks on their land that we could have when they heard we were wanting some for our flower beds.

We headed out on the 4-wheeler. Boy, it was fun and the younger boy in Daniel came out and really wanted to drive a bit faster than I wanted to go.

We were successful after climbing down into a dry creek or two and shoveling up some rocks. Some we could only see the tops and would dig and have no idea how big they were until they were uncovered. We like them so much that we may have to go back for some more.

We love all of the adventures God is giving us in Abilene!!

Calling All Cooks

2009-10-26T16:25:00.000-05:00

I have a new recipe that I tried recently. I would love to hear from you if you try it and would love to get some more tried and true recipes for the upcoming season!! Don't shy away if you do not like cranberry, I'm telling ya, this is great!!

Cranberry Cream Cheese Pie
It’s a little bit cheesecake, a little bit cranberry crunch,
and a whole lot delicious!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 60 minutes
1 (9-inch) unbaked pie crust
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (14-ounce) can EAGLE BRAND® Sweetened Condensed Milk
(NOT evaporated milk)
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons light brown sugar, divided
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 (16-ounce) can whole berry cranberry sauce
1/4 cup cold butter or margarine
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
Preheat oven 425°.
Bake pie crust 6 minutes; remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 375°.
In large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in EAGLE BRAND until smooth. Stir in lemon juice. Pour into prepared pie crust.
In small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon brown sugar and cornstarch; mix well. Stir in cranberry sauce. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture.
In medium bowl, cut butter into flour and remaining 2 tablespoons brown sugar until crumbly. Stir in walnuts. Sprinkle evenly over cranberry mixture. Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until bubbly and golden. Cool. Serve at room temperature or chill thoroughly. Store leftovers covered in refrigerator.

Tip: I cooked it for about 25 minutes and then i spread out the mixture on top so it wasn't so clumpy. This is a keeper!!

Bits and Pieces

2009-10-22T17:07:00.000-05:00

Being gone for 5 weeks to Lima, Peru, can no longer be my excuse for not posting more, but I think I have gone through a period of needing less people time. Posting is people time to me. Not sure where that is coming from but I'm pushing myself to engage since coming back. I feel a bit behind with my community because ACU started while I was gone and the students/friends I get with are deep into a schedule already. I feel it has passed me by. Although, I am totally embracing this time, trying to find the balance of down time and active time, trying to allow this time to do it's work in me. Maybe it is the Spirit wanting me to rest a bit. Haley Edmiston and I were talking last week and she reminded me that I am one who "goes after, values, enjoys" peace. We weren't talking about peace with man, although I do value that too. She was reminding me of the times I enjoy and set aside for quiet. I do love music but I have enjoyed silent times, reading time, reflecting and journaling time as she noticed when she lived with us. So, I am wanting to yield to what I feel it best but also not allow myself to drop off. How do you measure your people time? Is it something you are aware of?

I have begun a new study since getting back to Abilene. Anointed, Transformed, Redeemed. It is a workbook that while I have not stayed up with all of the lessons, I have totally enjoyed the pace that God is taking me on.
Some highlights from the study I have enjoyed are remembering that the first mission David performed as King was to bring back the ark, and the ark represented the presence of God. We should each day make ourselves God conscious or God aware. We also have enjoyed looking up the word "establish".
Romans 16:25
Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past..
Ephesians 3:17
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love
Col 1:23
if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel.
II Peter 1:12
So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have..

We have been reminded in this study that we are sustained by God and positioned for a purpose. We are each like David, "For David, after serving his own generation in God's plan, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and decayed. We are still living out our "serving our own generation". We are where we are for a purpose, for a kingdom purpose.

Exodus 33:15 Lord, if Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from this place."

A Gift from God

2009-10-02T07:48:00.000-05:00

When God called us to Abilene, we knew there would be work He had planned for us before we moved here. It would be waiting and we were excited. We feel we are on a mission, learning new lessons about ourselves, meeting new people, and getting out of our comfort zone we had in College Station for 28 years.

When I came home from Lima, I had really missed worshiping in my own language and all of the relationships that God had given me. I have found myself a bit tearful out of JOY as I commune with my church family at Hope. Last weekend was our last Sunday in the Hwy 351 location, the building I have always known as the location of gathering for Hope. We moved out and are now at a new bldg. (to us) on Judge Ely. (very close to ACU campus) There has been lots of work at the new bldg. -- painting, pulling carpet up, replacing trim, scraping of the floors, new walls, updating lots of details.

The ones who organize our worship time put together a wonderful time for all on our last gathering time on Hwy 351. One of the things they did was ask the congregation to put on cards what Hope -- the community of Hope - meant to them. Below are the messages that came. We are a group of about 125. Enjoy and know this is what it means to "...sharing with all, as anyone might have need. And day by day continuing with one mind in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God.."

Hope is an amazing place. I will forever be grateful that I am part of this group of people. May the Lord continue to bless this body.

Hope is a supportive community of believers and seekers that aim to serve God and those around them.

How do I express how I feel about HOPE in just one note card? I’m not sure I could do it if you gave me the whole pack of note cards! I love how we’re all different—and in our diversity and difference, we find strength instead of weakness. I love how we pray and pray. And then pray again, followed by prayer… and then lift each other in prayer while we’re separately from each other. I love how HOPE changed my heart! I’ve come to LOVE the word “hope.”

My experience at Hope has expanded my understanding of the freedom in Christ and a new appreciation for the role of shepherds.

Hope means just that—HOPE! (Too many ways to list here.) It means an opportunity for Mike & me to be free to grow as God directs.

Hope is my welcoming family when I visit home.

Hope is my family and place of safety.

Hope is a place where the broken people of God come together and stand as one in the strength of our Savior! For when we are week, then we are strong!

Hope has freed me from viewing my faith as a set of rules and led me to a deeper intimacy with Christ.

Hope means community, love, & acceptance.

I love the singing and preaching because it’s what we have left of New Life.

To me, HOPE means renewal. It means freedom from sin and from the past—a new beginning. It means joy, fellowship in community, encouragement and exhortation. It means purpose and direction, allowing Christ to change the world and use me in the process. HOPE is the body of Christ as it was meant to be.

My awesome new family! Loving, sweet! :)

Hope has grown up my family, Alison, Justin, & Cailyn; Hannah; now us. Praise the Lord.

Hope church has been a place of joyful uplifting worship of sincere believers & convicting sermons.

Hope has allowed me to see the most unlikely heroes, and to be led by those who scarcely knew they were leading.

Hope means to me a community that loves each other & serves their neighbors & takes care of the needs without question.

Hope has been my lifeline in many ways. I feel like the people here are my spiritual family, and I am grateful God has placed me here.

Hope, my family, a group I share my joys & sorrows with.

Hope is: *a place where prayer is taken seriously *a place where sinners aren’t shunned * a place where the weak receive help *a place where our praises to the Father can be freely unleashed *A GODSEND.

I am so overwhelmed by the Spirit that is here at Hope—from the leaders all the way through the congregation.

HOPE is healing to the broken and strength when nothing seems to go right. It brings people out of the darkness and gives them courage, strength, perseverance, and peace.

Hope is family style meals—family in the times of joy and trouble, prayer and service.

HOPE to me means family.

Hope means family to me. It means open, honest, and safe community that calls each other to a higher standard for the name of Christ. It means being broken with one another and allowing others to help carry our burdens for a time when they get too heavy. Being a part of Hope means responding to needs and finding ways to extend our faith past the doors of a building. Being a part of Hope means that we won’t get everything right but we are willing to acknowledge it and try again, keeping loving others as a priority.

The Hope Congregation has been great for Allene and I. At our age the time of services the Elders (wonder why) along with the good people of the congregation mean a lot to us. However, First and foremost it is a place to worship God. Now, i would like for all to know that my vision has degenerated to the point thait i may not recognize within the building even if you are standing close by. So, please don’t think I am being unfriendly if i fail to greet you. Massingill.

Hope is family.

Hope is a place that feels like home.

I am forever changed because of HOPE. I have experienced grace and mercy, I have witnessed mutual submission, I have seen the power of transparency, I have experienced healing, I have seen Jesus.

Hope has been a warm and welcoming place of worship. A place where everyone is excepted no matter where they find themselves in life, and no matter how broken they feel. A place where people are loved and supported. Being at Hope has allowed opportunities for me to serve in ways that I haven't before, and it's provided challenges that have resulted in great personal and spiritual growth. Hope has been a faith building and life transforming experience for me.

All the wonderful people make HOPE a truly wonder place. Damon is the best preacher I have ever heard.

As I sat there, I heard God say, "I have so much more for you here, more than you have experienced in the first year". I look forward to all that I get to experience with my family of Hope. If you do not have a place of belonging with a community of believers, do not give up, continue to pray and ask, continue to look and explore, it is God's will that we do life together.

This is the dinner team we are on. We were in charge of the first meal at the new bldg. It was given great success by the Lord!!

A Kite!!

2009-09-19T13:21:00.000-05:00

A prayer I prayed back in 2006 was, Lord, please let Alison meet the love of Hannah's life before she leaves on her mission journey." The girls have always been close. Alison was so welcoming to Hannah in high school, letting her be a part of all group activities. There was never any of this, you are the little sister, you are not our age, I just want to be with MY friends without you. When Alison ended up at ACU there was no question Hannah wanted to go to ACU because her sister was there and she even wanted to graduate from high school early. And so she did. There was also the day in 2005 Alison called and ask what do you think of Hannah living with Justin and I for the summer? I didn't feel it was a good idea, Alison and Justin had just married. This would be their first summer as a married couple. Alison ask for a pros and con list, I never made it. The next time we talked about it, Alison just said, Hannah is going to live with us. And for the most part I think the summer went just fine. So to think of Alison leaving the states and not really getting to know who Hannah would marry while she was gone to live in Lima was a thought I wanted to talk to God about. Ask of my Heavenly Father about my desire.....

Hannah and Jason Grassie started dating in July of 2008 at about the same time Alison and Justin moved to TN. (Daniel and I had a great time getting to know Jason from July - Dec of 2008 since God had moved us to Abilene.) But Alison and Justin didn't have a visit planed back to Abilene so we didn't think of them meeting Jason. Almost immediately after starting to date, Hannah headed off to Zambia for several weeks in July, 2008, and she was going to fly back into TX on July 27th. Daniel jumped at the chance to visit with Jason and so he asked Jason if he would like to drive from Abilene to Houston with him to pick Hannah up from the airport. Jason took him up on it. After picking up Hannah, the 3 of them (Daniel, Jason and Hannah) joined us at Sean and Rachel (Hudgens)Landolt's wedding. Alison (without Cailyn or Justin) flew into CS from TN for the wedding. We all spent the night at Ray and Phyllis Powell's house. We had about an hour to visit after the wedding and before we all hit the bed. Alison flew out the next morning around 6:30am. That was the last night Jason saw Alison until May 2009 when Alison, Justin and Cailyn came home for furlough in Abilene. We spent some brief time that weekend and Hannah and Jason had to get back to OK. (Yes, in the meantime Hannah had moved to Tulsa for graduate school and Jason moved from Abilene to Norman, OK to work and live with his sister)

The meeting was brief but the prayer was answered still.....(1) Alison did get to meet the love of Hannah's life BEFORE she moved overseas, and (2)Yes, Hannah and Jason are engaged!!! Thank you, Lord for answered prayer!!

Oh, the title, A Kite. Hannah enjoyed a great kite flying experience with an engagement ring attached at the National Mall in DC. What were they doing in DC??? That's a whole other prayer answered for another day!!

Charlie W. Sneed says, "Marriage is not so much finding the right person as it is being the right person!"

God has lots of adventures planned for these two!!

Easter Morning in Tulsa (it was cold and drizzling)

Right before Jason moved to DC in Aug. (acting silly, of course what else do we expect out of them!!)

What My Eyes See

2009-09-09T19:24:00.000-05:00

My time in Lima is almost over and I wanted to post some things that are common here. Our days start out and we hear salsa music as early as 7:00am that comes from a class being taught near by. We play with Cailyn outside in their backyard which is really a luxury because most homes do not have backyards. When we head anywhere we go through the front door and on to an outer door. The front yard is between these two doors and it is all private. Our two guards are out front. Yes, every street has a guard with a guard house. No guns or anything, not real sure what they would do if there were any problems. We have enjoyed watching Cailyn socializing with Pedro and Jose, our street guards. We head down to the end of the street, take a right and then a left and we are at the main road where we usually get a taxi to go ALL places. We have seen much of Lima through the taxi window.

We have enjoyed going to the grocery store and seeing how things are here in Lima. I have joked about all of the types of milk. There seems to be whole aisles that are milk. The silver and red bag (that is the milk) - in order to get 2 gallons of milk you have to purchase 8 of these bags. You then pour the milk in a larger pitcher when you get home. Water comes in only those large bottles and you buy 6 at a time, again you pour that into a smaller pitcher when you get home. There is only about 3 rows of canned goods. Most of the fruit and veggies come fresh. The avacados are huge. We like that!! I am a big fan of animal crackers or graham crackers. When you purchase crackers of this sort, they come in a package with 9 "snack packets". All portions are very small. I keep thinking i want a WHOLE box of crackers not 10-12 crackers!! Alison did a wonderful job of planning her meals and it has been a pleasant part of our day. Justin runs to the corner for bread and that is another thing -- so many bakeries!!!

You will also notice little stands that sell fruit, veggies, candy, soda, nuts, bread.....People sell all kinds of things on the street. Very few are just beggars. Lots of people, many of them young, sell nuts, cigarettes, magazines, or tupperware while you are sitting at a light. They also juggle, do acrobatics and wash your windows, all for money. When you park at Starbucks they are there to wash your car while you are gone. These are just some of the glimpses I have of Lima. Cleaning is another thing you notice - you will notice a lady at the park washing the inside of the trash can. They have very pretty parks and workers are constantly sweeping up dirt, trash and leaves from their area. They are constantly washing their house windows and sweeping off the area in front of their stores.

Most importantly I wanted to be with Alison and Justin and share in their second child being born. It has been a JOY and a birth I will not forget. So very different from Cailyn and how fun to have a new story. If you really want the "mother details" read them on alison/justin's blog. There is just something about "mom's view" of the whole birth event!!!

2009-08-26T13:43:00.001-05:00

A blog I follow says it all for today. Thoughts whirl for me today, family in the states and a new baby in Lima presents much to lay in the Father's hands.

The book I brought to help walk me through my time in Lima, Praying God's Names, has been a joy to me and a steady dose of guiding me each day to remind myself of who God is and how He loves me.

I depend on Daniel for many things in my daily life but i really depend on him when we travel and especially when I fly. Flying isn't something I enjoy or haven't enjoyed up to this point. I guess as God presents life to me these days, I better get to likin' it!! Erika Pourrajabi and Lynn Spivey drove me down to the airport in Houston to catch my flight out of Houston to Lima. I chose Houston because it is the only direct flight. There is only one flight to step on, get use to and land. No connections. As I stepped out of the car I'm thinking," do I have my passport, money, my purse" (oh, no I don't have a purse) Daniel was trying to help and decided he would make things simpler and take my cards out and my money out and put in a neat coin purse and he would put my purse in the suitcase but somehow it didn't get into my suitcase. oh, well. I have used one of alison's the whole time I have been here. As i realize i had everything out of the car I stepped up to ask for a cart to get my bags up to the desk. A young man comes with a cart and loads everything, he takes me in and ask if I have weighed the bags. Oh, yes, we have weighed them til we are blue in the face. They are both as close to 50 lbs as they can be and my carry on is close to 35lbs. I also had a book bag for my journals, my Bible, my reading glasses, my passport and coin purse.

As i walked on the outside of the airport, entering in and beginning this task of flying by myself God gave me a picture that I literally smiled about. It was me and Jesus arm and arm, I wasn't without a companion. The best person on earth would have been Daniel but God knew he was not with me and so Jesus showed up to walk me in. It was what I have learned this summer as God's "mercy of confirmation". God confirming to me, you are not alone, and you are in my will. Confidence comes with knowing you are in the will of the Father. I absolutely smiled and enjoyed my stroll with Jesus. The second time I received this message of God as my husband, Ish in the Hebrew, Hosea 2:16, was on Sunday morning. We attended a congregation worship time and the praise singing was of course all in a language I didn't know but that didn't stop my heart from being able to worship God. Alison told me bits and piece of what was being sang but I also recognized words I am familiar with. One of the women who sang was one of the many in the world suffering from cancer. She had a fashionable scarf on and Alison had pointed her out the week before. She sang such words of praise and we did too that were about God being all we wait for and all we need as we walk on earth. As I was enjoying the praise music I realized I had fullness of JOY, and again God comforted me as I stood without Daniel. My ish saying, I am all you need, I have given you a wonderful earthly husband but I will always be your spiritual husband and you are never alone. I bring to you all that you need. Isaiah and Jeremiah describe God as the husband of his people Israel and in the NT Jesus is the bridegroom and the church is his bride.

These experiences God has given me do not downplay my love for Daniel at all. I miss Daniel even now as I experience these first days with Corban-- especially all of our talk time and how he helps me work through verbally and emotionally with all of my thoughts.

God always shows Himself when we most need Him. I know He is always there but am not always as aware of His presence how I was in these two experiences. Blessings to all you.

Corban Luke Thompson

2009-08-23T22:38:00.000-05:00

It all started at 2:55 at home, headed to the hospital 6:30pm and Corban Luke at 8:30pm!!!

well, i have tried to link alison and justin's blog from here twice and it just doesn't want to work. i will just list it here and see if you can get to it. thethompsonfamily.wordpress.com

alison has written some of the details. I will just post a couple of the pictures i got and write the details later. I am back home and mark clancy (single guy on the lima team) is spending the night. he stayed with cailyn while we were at the hospital and wes yoakum (another dad on the lima team) walked me home from the hospital. what a blessing for the hospital to be so close.

Well here he is....

30 years

2009-08-19T11:07:00.000-05:00

I"m a day late b/c my day in lima seemed to go so fast yesterday. i hope daniel will be able to scan a picture of our wedding and post it here. this is a dual project that i haven't told him about yet!! He is so good at doing "my" projects and enjoying them as if they were his!!

We got married after my four yrs. of college and him spending two yrs. at Blinn College and three yrs. in the Navy. We enjoyed his 4th year in the military as young marrieds in San Diego. What a 9 month honeymoon!! Our memories are so wonderful with the exception of us having some personality adventures to get thru our first year. For those of you who know us well, know that our strong personalities have needed much prayer and working out with one another.

Our wedding took place at the chapel on the University of Houston campus. It was a nice neutral place for our beginning to take place. Beautiful chapel with lots of stained glass windows. I loved it. I actually had to take a UH course in order to get married there. I took a parenting class and remember enjoying it.

My sweet Daniel has so many qualities that I didn't really know when we married. I knew he was kind to his mom, but not how that kindness would spread out through all of these years toward me. His tenderness during my parents' journey to death was remarkable. He really should write a book about it. He was there for me and for my parents in so many ways. I know his actions spoke love to my dad. (my mom died in 2000 and my dad in 2002). In so many ways he did for me things i didn't even know i needed. I always say Daniel would have sat for hours listening to me work through my grief, but that was a time that i realized all of the emotional pain and grieving was even better dealt with by lying down at night and knowing God understood without all of the talking. Although we did have many conversations over the nearly 15 years of Mom's cancer , we had talked much out as her final days came.

I didn't realize what a character he would be with children either. Our girls have so enjoyed his sense of humor and silliness when they were little-- well, even still. The singing was another thing. Daniel loves to sing and that came in quite handy with the raising of children. He didn't mind bathing the girls and reading each night. He was willing to lay down with them and rub their backs as they both enjoyed each night.

Daniel has always desired to lead our family and be our spiritual guide. He is great at protecting too. I have even gotten frustrated with his over protective spirit at times. He calls and checks up on me many times in the day and will go to the store for me at most any hour.

We have so enjoyed our empty nesting days. It has been 5 years since Hannah left our home in CS and we enjoy lazy days at the house and we also enjoy dinner and a movie. Our adventure to move to Abilene has been a JOY and we have been able to lean on one another in ways that all of those friends in CS may have provided for us but without them we have become closer. God's plan for marriage - what a complex thought and yet it is all about LOVE, looking out after another as a gift from God.

I love daniel and will be forever indebted to God for the mercy He has shown me in marriage.

Daniel's thoughts
The idea of being 53 is cause enough to realize that life is flying by. Add to that being married for 30 years, then you realize how this journey is near impossible without the grace of God.

Cathie's kind words above are evidence of God's grace in each other's lives. The book I could write would better highlight the bonehead things I thought and did, the mistakes or wrong paths I led us on, the harsh and unkind words I spoke. But, because of love, Cathie lifts me up as our families spiritual leader, encouraged me in this area and walked beside me, pushed from behind at times, and modeled to our girls that this was the pattern we were going to follow. part of my joy was being a part of the wonderful ideas Cathie has had for many of our family activities and events. A couple of those activities include:

Moms and Girls Purity weekend - Cathie took this idea and made it an event that many of our friends were able to be a part of. It just seemed natural to help with the supplies and cooking. I remember watching and listening to their lessons and their interactions and thinking how fortunate my girls are to have a mom that reminded them to not put her in a box, because she easily lived outside the boundaries.

Camp Iron Springs - for over a decade we did this as a family. Teaching together started in our first couple of months working on the Joy Bus, so it was natural to do this at camp. It was a great vacation for our family. Some of the young kids we met there are now our adult friends.

Cathie is my wife of noble character gift from God. She is my example of prayer without ceasing. Her example, actions, words, and life have made me the husband, father, granddad, and friend that I am.
Our journey has been impacted by the counsel of so many friends (special thanks to Ray&Phyllis Powell). The early foundation of our Chula Vista church family (especially Bob&Betty Covington), the nearly 28 years of being mentored in Aggieland (too many to list), and now our new journey in Abilene (especially the Mills and Popes) all speak to the grace afforded us.

I love Cathie dearly, more so than what I naively thought when we were first married. Both of our families have greatly supported and loved us. Our friends have encourage us and walked with us through thick and thin. I can only imagine what the next 30 years will be like.

If you are ever through Abilene, please stop by. Sit with us on our front porch rockers or back yard chairs and let's share together the grace of our Lord.

2009-08-16T23:48:00.000-05:00

As i continue to read about the names of God and pray thru who He really is I have enjoyed some new thoughts that may seem old to some of you but it is like i've never thought about the concepts in this way.

Bearing the image of God -- what does that mean to you? how do you put that into your daily life? Alison and I had a bite to eat with Tara Davidson (another wife on the Lima Team) and one of the things we talked about was bearing out the image of God in their neighborhoods. There are men who are guards right outside each of their front doors, and they stay there for hours. There are two on Alison and Justin's street. Pedro and Jose. Tonight as we came in Alison ask Pedro if he would like to have some coffee. He said of course!! It only took him a few minutes to finish and ring the door bell. That is bearing the image of God. God is such a gracious host. As we get to know God better it will be easier to bear His image.

Every human life is sacred -- do you really think that when someone seems so different than you? I am with so many people in Abilene and now in Lima that i do not know. I'm unfamiliar with what are all of their needs, which one of them does He want me to touch? I have to realize He will direct me. It takes me listening to know what He wants me to do and how i am suppose to be used in each of these sacred creations of God. The Lima Team is at this point as they begin their ministry, their hospitality of the Lord. They are having a special time of prayer as they begin to met many new people who are search for our God.

God gives us the capacity to love -- Why do people love, how do they have the ability to love, what makes them want to love, what if people don't even believe in God yet they are people who love, how does this happen?? I feel this goes back to us being formed in the image of God. Even when we do not believe that doesn't change the fact that we are sacred and were created in the image of God.

God is perfect, not needing to have anything added to or subtracted from him to improve on his nature!! This is the God we serve, Elohim!!

Tea Party and Pool Time

2009-08-12T21:45:00.000-05:00

Each day it is fun to look into my suitcase and see a treat to give to Cailyn and then play with it. We had a totally wonderful tea party yesterday morning. Hannah gave Cailyn the tea pot and cups for her birthday and i brought her felt food. Wonderful treat sewn by Angela Robinson!! We ordered the peanut butter/jelly sandwich and a ham, cheese, lettuce, tomato sandwich with a chocolate treat, and chips, and four donuts with icing and sprinkles on them!!

We also have enjoyed swimming lessons with our Lima Team friends, Kellan and Parker. She is very good with Justin in the water, going under the water and enjoying picking items up from the floor of the pool.

A cute phrase that Cailyn says everytime we head out toward a taxi is "people's flowers". That means, those are flowers that belong to other people and she knows not to pick them. Today I told her i wanted a picture of her and the "people's flowers."

First Days in Lima!!

2009-08-09T14:43:00.000-05:00

These are the faces of two of Cailyn's friends from Arequipa, Peru. Their parents are missionaries also. They were actually staying with Alison and Justin when I arrived. It was great to see some of the families who will be partners in Peru for Christ. I have been following their websites. They are working on a neat library book project.

We have gone thru about 20 plus loads of clothes. Well, not quite that many but we have kept the washer and dryer going with all of the container items. We have all of the baby items ready and in drawers. Of course we still have a neat stack of specific boys and girls items.

Cailyn and i have had some great reading time and lots of time of talking. Her eyes are very expressive and she doesn't need words at times. She loves her guards which are stationed right out in front of the house. Jose and Pedro are their names. She always wants to greet them as we leave the house. She really embraces the culture in ways that would be harder for us as adults. She gets excited to share the tunnel experience she enjoys traveling through as she goes to different places and she wants to be the person to hand the taxi driver the money and says Gracias everytime we are getting out of the taxi.

At home the boxes have taken up lots of room and time but we are beginning to see the entry way and living room. Each room is being filled with bits and pieces from so many in the states. Baby blankets from Susan Whitton and friends from Fairland church of Christ, recipes books from Lanette Schulte, diaper bag from Rachel Landolt, goodbye book and beautiful picture from Hope church of Christ are just a few.

Cailyn goes to school on MWF mornings. A Peruvian teacher (Teacher Lilly) teaches a few students at each of the student's homes and the moms get to be the teacher's aide. They rotate each week. Alison will wait until the baby is here for several weeks before the classroom comes her direction. She comes home very tired and takes a nap and then has swimming lessons on MW. I'm excited to be a part of each of these experiences. Parker and Kellen Davidson are part of this routine too so it is nice to see a familiar face. They are actually the only 3 in the swim class so far!!

You can see Kellen, Parker and Cailyn really enjoying some play time in the Davidson's front yard. We encouraged one another with a time of worship and praise last night at the Davidson's house. My friend Chelsa Istre in Abilene gave me a recipe for communion bread and it was a hit!! After our time in the Word we all headed for pizza at the best playground around.

Alison and i have much more to do so i best end here but do pray for her. She is experiencing the pains of a sciatic nerve on the right side.

A Shot of Maroon!!

2009-08-03T20:50:00.000-05:00

We had the best week ever this past week. Two families from Aggieland came through and gave us a visit!! First of all, Bob and Janice Garner came poking around Abilene. If you know Bob, then you know how SLOW he drives and on top of that (wish i had taken a photo) he was driving the RV and pulling a jeep. They were on the way to Red River and stopped by. We got to eat dinner and show off all of the new stuff on the ACU campus. (Jacob's Dream and Hunter Welcome Center with the Labyrinth) We enjoyed dessert (Blue Bell, of course) and laughed til our whole body hurt!! Boy, it was wonderful.

Second, we had a wonderful time with Bob and Pam Mann. My prayer partner for over 14 years, Pam, knows each step our family has taken with so many curves. It feels good to know someone that well!! Pam was here for the ACU Choral Reunion. They worked on many songs -- some pretty hard music -- and then recorded it for a CD. Bob and Daniel talked as much as us girls and enjoyed conversation about the house and sports. We enjoyed getting caught up with our kids news. We even got to hear what the sex their grandbaby due in December. They received the news in Abilene!!

Could we ask for more wonderful friends!!! I know it takes years to develop them but, I know God is working right now on our new season with friends like this in Abilene!!

I head out to College Station on Thursday. I get to ride with Ann and Darren Reese of the Thailand Team. They are so sweet to take me along. I will drive on to Houston on Friday with Erika Pourrajabi, Teri Wenzel and Allie (Justin's mom and sister) and Lynn Spivey. I fly out at 3:55pm on Friday to Lima. I really can't believe it is here and yet it seems to be so many years in the planning. Baby Corban or Baby Mya will come sometime in mid-Aug, as the Lord wills.

The book of encouragement I bought for my trip is Praying the Names of God, by Ann Spangler. I will post some thoughts as i read through it. Blessings to all!!

Baby T

2009-07-27T22:24:00.000-05:00

Well, in the last month i have had 2 friends from College Station call and talk and not realize that Alison was pregnant. I think it has been so a part of our lives the last 8 months that i forget who i have told and who I haven't. She, Justin and Cailyn have 3 more weeks before they get to meet Baby T. Justin will hopefully get to be the one to tell us all what the sex is when the baby is born. He got to do that with Cailyn and it was so exciting.

One of the things that i have prayed for as i pack for my trip are "flat things" for cailyn. Oh, yes, I leave on Aug. 7th from Houston and will get to stay for 5 weeks. There is so much a grandma wants to purchase but not all of that will fit into my suitcase but "flat things" will. So below are some of the "flat things" God has provided. It has been fun to shop for what is best to take.

Christopher Churchmouse was a character we read about with the girls when they were little. The church library had the whole set with cassette tapes to go with each one. Recently Cailyn has been talking about how tall her Baby Lima (her favorite baby doll) is and so i thought it would be fun to put up a measuring chart and measure her. The sequence book about the snowman is really neat it has all kinds of sets of three pictures that tell the story of something making changes as in a sequence. (plants, egg to chick, a tub empty, half-full and then overflowing...)

Shapes, of course and stickers of all kinds of things. A neat little magnetic board that is a baby and you dress it up with magnetic pieces and of course a felt barn set. Oh, won't this be fun and they are all flat and can fit into my suitcase!!

All of you grandmas out there know what i'm going thru, so much excitement and thinking of memories we will make. I can't wait for the 7th to come. What fun. I feel so blessed to have the funds to go visit, husband that can be without me for several weeks (although daniel and i don't like it when we are a part) and a job that allows me to pick up and leave when i want. I am very blessed. I pray my heart always stays as thankful as i feel now.

Memories of Mom

2009-07-22T09:02:00.000-05:00

When I woke up this morning, my ankle automatically stretched forward and a memory of mom doing that in bed in the morning came. Wow, where did that come from? I guess as Baby T arrives (Aug. 19th is the due date) I think of mom. I laid in bed and tried to remember the first memory I have of my mom. Those memories involve my grandmother, Catherine Verde Strickland, who housed all of the babies in Harris County (Houston) that were picked up from abusive situations in their home. She had a seven bedroom house that my dad added many of the rooms on for her. The authorities would pick the children up, and if they were under school age they came to my grandmother's house. They all wore one piece, striped jumpers. My mom got a pair for my brother and I. I still have my pair. Mom wanted me to feel like one of the kids. Mine had my name on the back unlike all the rest. My mom would go each day to help with all that had to be done with the children - like a daycare, but it was 24/7. So my first memories of my mom involve serving, giving, being a part of children's lives. Wow, that is a powerful legacy. As I think of all of this, it is a bit painful and then there is powerful surge of love. I guess it is like that for many of us who have such great memories and are left on earth without their physical closeness. I know I could write for hours and not cover my memories. The thoughts are a bit overwhelming.

When I was born I was two months premature. So when I was about 5 yrs old, my mom put me in twirling lessons to help my coordination. That lead to many events in my life, but one of my first memories was the Christmas Day Parade. In Houston, it was always held downtown, cold, cold mornings. Because I was so young, mom would walk the whole parade on the sidelines so that she was always there. That seems like a little thing, but that could be the picture of how life with mom was. She was so good at encouraging me and walking along side. Our generation calls that mentoring. It has been instilled in me for all of my life.

When my grandmother died, I was 5 yrs. old. I actually missed three months of my kindergarten year b/c my grandmother died. That was not a big deal back then. They would pass you on to the next grade and so they did. Mom didn't handle losing her mom so well, and we were actually taken care of by one of the ladies that had helped my grandmother with all of those babies. She would come to our house each day and help mom. This was a painful time for my mom, but it was healthy for me to reflect on later b/c it was important that I also see my mom's humanness. As wonderful as she was she had limits like we all do. She passed on fear of darkness to me and of being alone when my dad would leave on his trips. He was a truck driver, out of town a lot. Those are things I have had to work thru with God's help all of my married life. I don't think of those being problems for me now, although I don't like for Daniel to be away from home.

My mom was the type who encouraged strong, loyal friendship in my life. It has paid off because I love friendship and see 99.9 percent of my life as working on relationships, enjoying them and learning about myself and God in these relationships. I think of God being very relational, so this was a big concept my mom instilled in my about who God is. She allowed for many "fun" activities - wrapping houses, playing jokes, going out of town on short trips, slumber parties,and lots of football games (remember, I was a twirler). She taught me about open communication that talks a subject out until there is understanding. She talked about taking people to Heaven with you, not enjoying God's blessings alone. She would point out our blessings and how we were to share with others. I felt very supported as a teen and as a college-aged daughter.

When I was a young mom, my mom would challenge me to parent intentionally and to laugh a lot with the girls. Discipline was very important, but relationship was always the trump card. I remember wishing she could give the ABCs of parenting when Alison was born. Most of our girls' young lives mom had cancer - 14 yrs. Alison was 3 yrs. old when it began. We talked a lot about dying and made lots of memories intentionally all of those years. Mom died in Dec. 2000. She got to know Justin just a bit and she was always copying pictures of Alison and Justin. I'm so glad for all of the days of my life spent with my mom. Thank you, Lord Jesus. To all of the moms out there - your relationship with your children teaches them so much about who God is and what relationship is all about. Pass on the love of Christ!!

Incense to God

2009-07-05T12:36:00.000-05:00

Prayers are needed at all hours of each day but I would like to request a few from the mission field. satan is at work all of the time to destroy the faith of those bringing the love of Christ and the path to Him for others.

The Zambia Medical Mission Team has left and are on their way to the adventures of 2009. Notice there are Audio Reports on the site. They are really neat to experience as they begin to record from Zambia, you will hear noises or silence from that culture. As you go to the site you will notice one of the youth who has participated in past years recently passed away and his mom died also after that post was written. This family needs our prayers. One of our own at Hope has gone on his first flight ever as he wants to serve in Zambia. Ryan Maxwell. We first met Ryan as part of the youth group that Justin and Alison had the opportunity to work with. We pray a mighty work will continue to grow in Ryan's heart. He will be a freshman at ACU in the fall. Please pray for the Prathers family, for Ryan's first Zambia trip and for the whole process. They will post stories of the 2009 trip. Book mark this and follow along with prayers.

Another team that I want to bring to your attention is the Cochabamba Mission Team. Laura Wallace Bull is on that team and we knew Laura's family many, many years ago in College Station. Her parents live in Grapevine at this point and we have stayed in touch with them. This family is 10 steps in front of us as far as having children overseas and they have helped and encouraged us in many ways they don't even know about. While Laura and her husband, Gary and boys were visiting in the states the youth group in Cochabamba had a bus accident and 3 youth were killed. This team and these families are in much need of prayer. Please pray for them each day as they heal both physically and emotionally. The Bulls are cutting their furlough short and are suppose to leave in less than 24 hours and the passports are missing. Please pray for the Bulls as they transition into Bolivia and begin to minister as God will lead them to do.

Another of the Lima Team will be leaving the states this week also. Mark Clany. He will arrive late on Tues. and will stay with Alison and Justin as he gets settled. We pray sweet blessings on Mark also. He will be a wonderful addition to the Lima Team that is actually in Lima!! John Mark and Tara and the kids will return from the states in the coming weeks also. Keep the Lima Team in your prayers. There was a story that Justin told at the Hope church of Christ while visiting. A man in a bus asked Mark and Justin about his life as it pertained to God's will and there was a conversation. It was one of those situations where God speaks to you and say, "Stop, and talk to someone for Me!!" I continue to ask for "a man in a bus" to come along not only to the Lima Team but to each of us as we walk as God's people.

Look out there and see who God wants you to talk with and serve today!! Expect that the Spirit will speak to YOU TODAY!!

Dallas Adventure

2009-07-04T10:36:00.000-05:00

I know I'm so behind in posting that I'm on a roll and you will just have to read a couple at a time!!

Daniel and I met Hannah and Jason for some play time in Dallas last weekend. How can it be that an entire week has gone by. We enjoyed a picnic at Fountain Place, a tour of the Holocaust Museum and a really neat rest at Thanksgiving Square. Fountain Place is in downtown Dallas and is a beautiful eating area in the middle of lots of business buildings. Very shady and the water fountains are calm and inviting as you can tell from our pictures.

When we arrived at the Thanksgiving Square, we didn't imagine the sight of the ceiling of the chapel. There was an ascending ramp that took you from ground level to the top of the bldg. that housed the chapel. It was a small room with about 10 chairs in it with a table that had a clear bowl for people to put their Thanksgiving prayers in. We all sat enjoying the air condition and were in awe of the stain glass ceiling. The picture was taken by Daniel as he layed on the floor. Daniel started a few songs that we all sang and enjoyed and then ended our time with a Thanksgiving prayer. This was a very special time of refreshment. Go check it out.

On Sunday morning we attended a worship time at Richland Hills church of Christ and ran into several friends even though the bldg. is so huge. We grabbed lunch with Hannah and Jason and off we went to our separate places. Them back to Ok. and us to meetings (Sunday - Wednesday) in downtown Dallas. Daniel is a board member of the Southern Association for Colleges and Employers and the board gathered to plan a conference in Nashville that we will attend in mid Dec. I enjoyed the restful, reading time in the hotel.

2009-06-14T14:13:00.000-05:00

This book was first mentioned to me by Janet Jerigan, Lynn Spivey's sister, a new friend at Hope. She had suggested it as one of our book club books. The second time it came up was with a conversation with Mitzi Mill, another new friend from Hope. (our builder) She had both this book and Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by the same author. I looked today and didn't realize this author has many books out there.

I picked it up Friday, when i sat in the lobby of the Colonial Country Club. Daniel and many other ACU staff arranged an ACU alumni luncheon in Ft. Worth. Do ask him about it, it was a great success. All of those Aggie mom's club meetings and Reveille Meetings paid off in giving the inspiration to this and other luncheons for ACU. I went along with Daniel to Ft. Worth even though all i really did was ride, read and ride back home. One of Daniel's love languages is together time. It was important to be with him as he rode over and back from Ft. Worth. I read three chapters the first time i picked the book up and have enjoyed the cheerleader type reminders of how important my faith is and how important it is to continue growing.

Since this is not my copy of the book, I took notes on the reading so i could actually process it all. Faith is something that impresses Jesus.

Luke 7:9 says Jesus marveled at the Centurion's faith when he said in v. 7..."just say the word, and my servant will be healed."
Matthew 15:28...Jesus answers the canaanite woman, "O Woman, your faith is great; be it done for you as you wish.

Telling stories of God's activity in our lives is so important, this helps all of our faith increase. More often than not those stories come in the middle of some overwhelming difficulty. Author Jim Cymbala, says, "Faith grows best on cloudy days."

A focus on God's promises as Abraham did when God told him to "Leave." We must step out each day and believe God is good on His promises. It won't make sense at times. Even this week as I was going thru my Bible study on "Discerning the Voice of God" the fact that God works supernaturally and usually ask for a change in the course of our life was mentioned. This is faith that is described in....

I Corinthians 2:5 "that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God"

Jim Cymbala takes you as the reader through David's prayer in Ps. 51,asking things that only God can do in His life. (pure heart, steadfast spirit and willing spirit to sustain him). Cymbala also used Joshua's address in Joshua 23. (recall what God has done, v. 3, look to the future v. 5, take stock of obedience v. 6-8, love the Lord your God v. 11 and last but most powerful v. 14 NOT ONE WORD of God has failed)

At the end of this book i am resolved to pray for more faith. Faith that provides spiritual strength to obey.

Hebrews 4:2 "For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard."

II Peter 1:3 "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness."

I Peter 4:11..."whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever.

Because of Our Kids

2009-06-11T17:52:00.000-05:00

Daniel and I have always had a large group of friends in our age group, but more often than not, we spend much of our time with younger people. God has handed many from a younger generation to us as good friendships. Many of these friends have come our direction as an outpouring of our girls' relationships. As if they went ahead of us and planted friendships that would then bless us at another time.

Mark Clancy was in Abilene this past week, and we were able to sit and visit and pray together. It was a great time to talk about Mark's transition from Costa Rica, to the states for a few weeks and then on to Lima. He is only a few steps behind our kids in arriving in Lima. As 2009 has developed, it is becoming clear that God's plan, and not the Lima team's, is for them to arrive in Lima in stages. (the Davidson's in Jan., our kids in May, Mark in July, Yoakums in August and the Fletchers later this year after the baby comes). It is always great to sit and visit with the Lima Team members. Somehow, it makes us feel closer to our own children in Lima.

Another couple of "kiddos" we enjoy are Jessie Reyna and Matt Worthington. Jessie and Hannah met the first week of school during their freshman year. A true jewel of a friend of Hannah's. Jessie and I have enjoyed meeting this past year and now she brings Matt along sometimes. Matt was also a friend of Hannah's. We met him the day they graduated, May, 2008. He has just received an assignment with Teach for America in Washington DC. We are excited to watch them enjoy the blessings of the next season of their lives. Jessie, you may remember for a previous post, is heading off to Seattle for graduate school.

All of these young friendships make us feel young and close to our own girls and Justin. What blessings God continues to hand us in Abilene. Thank you, Lord Jesus.

The Gift of Friendship

2009-06-06T13:00:00.001-05:00

New friendships are part of the adventure God gave Daniel and I in moving to Abilene. I want to share with you one of the friends I met through Hannah. As Hannah moved to Tulsa I got to know Lael. As you listen to her words and her own journey of events you will understand what a gift she has been to me!!

From Lael:
I’m currently sitting on a plane, taking the familiar flight from Seattle to Dallas. We just passed a magnificent snow capped mountain beneath the right wing and there’s another, more jagged one, topping off the clouds in the distance. I miss these things like crazy when I settle myself down each semester at Abilene Christian University.

This will be my last flight to Texas as a student, and I’m quite excited by that idea. I’m finishing out my BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) degree with a 2-dimensional concentration and am anxious to see what’s next in life.

I entered into my art major with my technical drawing skills and discerning artistic eye tucked under my arm, never anticipating that I would walk out claiming photography as my niche, assuming the title of “photographer,” and needing to accommodate a collection of cameras in my suitcase.

In this picture (above) you see me standing with three photos at my senior art show, where my featured medium was photography. This series in particular was part of the preparatory process for a multiple exposure project I did with four rolls of film. Before getting started, I tested the idea of shooting through a roll of film, rewinding it almost to the end, reloading it, and then reshooting over already-exposed negatives. It’s not a highly original idea but there were some variables I wanted to test out, especially since I was out to capture several layers of images.

I’ll spare you the details, but I got a pretty good success rate (and 6 out of 24 is good). I tracked the entire project on a blog called Wanderlust Film, which involved the journey of a roll of film from Hawaii to New Zealand to Washington to Texas, through the hands of family and friends.

Speaking of blogs, I owe a lot to the genius who came up with this concept. It has become an unexpected networking tool for me since beginning my food (and thought and whatever else I want) blog in October of 2007. One Hungry Soul opened up the opportunity to intern for a great start-up known as Foodzie. Web-based but highly personal, this company is passionate about seeing artisan food producers and growers succeed in their small businesses. I play an (appropriately) unglamorous intern’s role, writing and editing copy for the new producers’ stores being set up on the site. However, in July I’ll be heading to San Francisco to work at the Foodzie headquarters, doing food photography and more complete writing assignments - all an extension of what I do through my blog and love so much.

My love for creating in the kitchen came from my mother and my love for capturing through a camera lens came from my father. My mom dedicated herself to raising us four children and allowed sewing projects and recipes to be her creative outlets. As soon as I was capable, she had me (and eventually my younger sister) in the kitchen helping cut vegetables for salad or stir mixtures in pots. Even earlier than that, we were setting the table and spending the hour before dinner hanging around the kitchen nagging her about when it was going to be done and what she was doing each step of the way. As I’ve observed college friends in the kitchen and tried to explain a bit of what I do and why, I realize that I learned a lot through osmosis – through simple observation – and the rest through battling through my own recipes (and reading a lot of Cook’s Illustrated).

Photography crept into my life in the most casual of ways, but it was my dad who really helped me gain an eye for the beautiful details in life and inspired me to capture them. When I left for college, he’d email me photos of the flowers in his garden or the sun setting behind Mt. Baker, taken from our front porch.

I’m hoping to take my continually developing skill-sets and find a niche for myself as a photographer, writer, food-lover, etc. as I head to Auckland, New Zealand in September (though paying the bills through almost any means will do at first). As much as this is a step forward with much newness, it is also a major step back, to a place where I spent my childhood years and haven’t set foot in fifteen years.

My family moved to New Zealand when I was four years old, as my parents had connects there that turned into a job opportunity for my dad. I spent four very formative years acquiring an accent that lingered barely a year once we moved back to the States. The memories began to blur within another four years, as talk of returning became more realistic and less hopeful.

It’s a dizzying sort of prospect to move back there, but I am growing in confidence in these steps being laid down before me. I am returning for an indefinite period of time and am going to intern for North Shore Church of Christ, through an ACU program known as Worldwide Witness, for the first four months.

I am itching to discover what is in store. My hunch is that it will be exhilarating, challenging, uncomfortable, humbling, refreshing, and everything in between. Still, I’m not hung up on any particular expectations. God continues to surprise, and he is ultimately trustworthy and good when all is said and done.

--
Lael
http://onehungrysoul.blogspot.com/

The Book of Ruth

2009-06-05T10:29:00.000-05:00

Wow!! As I ran this morning i reflected on our book club night that the women of Hope (our church community) had last night. There were so many things that came out of this evening. First of all let me introduce the characters!!

Left to right - Deanna, Rachel, Shannon (in the back)Janet, (young girls of Corina) Rebecca, and Alyson, Kelli (in back), Me, Krista, Catherine, Corina ,

God just puts things together. When I arrived last fall, Janet told me they used to have book club nights but that she just couldn't get them organized and wondered if I would do that. I was new and love to read and so we did our first one on the Shack, the second one on Sacred Rhythms and our third last night on the book of Ruth. Kelli offered to facilitate and I offered my home. Shannon offered her wonderful homemade bread and I tried some new butter spreads and chili pepper jelly. As we all settled into our seats there were many comments about how wonderful the bread was.

Our facilitor, Kelli has a masters in divinity and has been teaching Bible classes at Hardin Simmons. She has just been accepted into the U of Oxford and we have all been praying for months about that next step for her. So we were in wonderful hands as we dove into this book.

What a wonderful book written from a woman's perspective. Oh, the conversation brought out all of our experiences and how they have effected us. We talked about suffering and compared Naomi to Job. We talked about the lovingkindness of so many characters in this story and the big turn Naomi did between ch. 1 and ch.2. We visited the topic of how we saw the gospel in this story. It really is all about Jesus.

Ruth 4:14,15 "Blessed is the LORD who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may his name become famous in Israel. May he also be to you a restorer of life and a sustainer of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him."

When we drew to the end, Shannon ask, "Can we meet in about 2 weeks and do the same thing with the book of Esther?" So that is the plan. One of the thoughts I felt from the Holy Spirit this morning was that last night spurred on increased energy put toward our desire for God's Word and enjoyment of women fellowship offered at Hope!!

Wow, No need to Go Out!!

2009-05-31T21:20:00.000-05:00

I enjoyed another fun day in the kitchen with new recipes!! It always makes it fun for Daniel to like what i have decided to try. He is a trooper with my cooking after all of these years. (30 yrs. of marriage, Aug. 18th) And yes, I will be in Lima waiting on Baby T on that day but we will have much to celebrate!! Baby T is due on Aug. 19th.

Rice and Veggie Stir Fry

2 cup brown rice
1 cup fresh or frozen broccoli
baby carrots - as much as you want
3 T. olive oil
1 cup sweet corn
½ t. garlic powder
½ t. sea salt
¼ cup soy sauce

Boil two cups of water. Stir in rice. Cut broccoli into bite sized pieces. cut baby carrots into thin slices. Stir-fry broccoli and carrots in olive oil and garlic powder for 4-5 minutes. Stir in rice, salt and corn. Heat through. Add soy sauce and serve.

Baked Teriyaki Chicken

2 teaspoon cornstarch
2 teaspoon cold water
5 tablespoons white sugar (I used equal)
5 tablespoons lite soy sauce
2 tablespoon and 2 teaspoon cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 boneless/skinless chicken breast

1. In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the cornstarch, cold water, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger and ground black pepper. Let simmer, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens and bubbles.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
3. Place chicken pieces in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Brush chicken with the sauce. Turn pieces over, and brush again.
4. I lined my pan with heavy duty foil then poured most of the thickened sauce over boneless breasts but reserved a little. Cooked, covered with foil for 30 minutes, removed foil, poured remainder of sauce over and bake another 20-30 minutes. cooked at 400 degrees

Can try with Salmon too!!

2009-05-30T12:21:00.000-05:00

A couple of years ago, Daniel and I attended a Bible class on Sunday morning at the Highland church of Christ, in Abilene. There was a girl who spoke briefly of going through a tough time of grief and how her friends (her community) had helped her. During her grieving, there were times she didn't want to come to meet with others and yet, through encouragement from others, she did. She walked through the motions and eventually found herself at a different place. She referred to a book that she read during this time called The Water Will Hold You. I wrote the name of the book down and recently bought it while in College Station getting my Half Price Books fix. We don't have this store in Abilene.

I am reading this book like I do so many others -- slow. Today, I decided that i would read more than just a little. I was unsure if the book was true or not, so I began looking online. The site I have linked you to is one of questions and answers about the book, but there is much more information than just this book. The author, Lindsey Crittenden, writes short essays, and I'm excited to learn more about her. She was a skeptic and the book takes you through her journey of getting to know about God and about prayer. Some of her thoughts are new ones to me b/c of our different life experiences. I have enjoyed adding to my experiences through her book.

Her first words in learning to pray were "God you are here, God I am here." She taps first into her life experiences up to this point-- praying for her cat at age 10 and then the twenty-third Psalm. It helped me renew my thoughts about what parents teach their children. Even if all of those nightly devotionals you wanted to do but didn't get done - God's Word is implanted in our children hearts. It's in there and will come out as our children search for God and develop their own faith. When Lindsey heard things like "God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires know, and from whom no secrets are hid" she had to reckon with the thought, "I'm not alone, there is someone in the passenger seat." It wasn't a welcomed thought at first. She felt she needed to get used to prayer as you meet a new friend. The fact that she was a writer helped in the sense that you don't wait til you know what to write to sit down and write. You have to make writing (prayer) "a habit, to go to it the way I went each morning to the desk. Not to summon prayer, but to tap into what was already there." She even became giddy about the fact that prayer was always available. Have we lost that thought? Is it so available and so much a part of our lives for so long that we have lost our giddiness to be alone with God?

When Lindsey heard the words "inquiring and discerning heart" used in a prayer she realized "thinking wasn't just allowed but sanctioned." Her eyes were totally opened to a new way of looking at life when she learned about and embraced prayer, what she calls "pure acknowledgment of life."

I'm about half way through the book, but encourage you to check out her site and enjoy as you will.

Free Faxing

2009-05-29T21:33:00.000-05:00

Daniel found this info. in the May, 2009 issue of INC. Magazine:

Send it online for free. My Fax, the online service that lets you send and receive faxes over e-mail, now has a free version. It lets you send two faxes a day, of up to 10 pages each, without entering a credit card number or even setting up an account. Simply go to myfax.com/free and enter your contact information, as well as the name and fax number of the person you want to contact. Then upload and send your file. The service can send Microsoft Word documents, PDFs, and files in 175 other formats.

Southwestern Chicken Soup

2009-05-28T19:11:00.000-05:00

This recipe came into my inbox yesterday and I gave it a try tonight. I won Daniel over, he was unsure about the beans but I put plenty of meat in there and he liked it!!
Southwestern Chicken Soup
Makes 5 servings

Ingredients
1 12 oz jar salsa verde
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast, baked in the oven ahead of time
1 15 oz. cannellini beans, i used great nothern beans
3 cups chicken broth
green onions
sour cream
tortilla chips

I baked the chicken in the oven, sprinkling them with roasted rosemary (we use this on everything).

Empty the salsa in the pan and heat for 2 minutes, thinly slice the chicken and add the chicken, beans, broth. Bring to a boil, lower to simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

Top each bowl of soup with green onions, a dollop of sour cream, and tortilla chips.

Real Simple, Oct. 2004

Life Together, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

2009-05-25T09:27:00.000-05:00

Stumbled across this tiny book at a garage sale and it sat on my book shelf until Mike Cope mentioned it in a recent blog. I grabbed it and read. There were some chapters I almost got lost in, but others that I totally related to. I enjoyed the fact that the author used so many scriptures.

Ps. 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. This is the very first sentence in chapter one. This book spoke to me on so many levels.

Zech 10:9 When I scatter them among the peoples,
They will remember Me in far countries,
And they with their children will live and come back.

Our kids fly out tomorrow to Lima, Peru.

Since we have been living in Abilene, we have enjoyed getting to spend time with the Thai Team who is supported by the A&M church of Christ during their training year. They will be leaving for Thailand in early September. By the way, the Thai Team had a wonderfully successful garage sale on Saturday (they are in the transition from training to spending time with their families). Haley Edmiston is in the back, light hair and holding one of the babies. We have had the honor of having her live with us since we moved to Abilene.

We have also been able to get to know one of the girls on the Conce Team (Chile). Deanna Meredith attends worship time and Bible class at Hope church of Christ, our home congregation. Their full time training will begin later this year. It seems we have been around the idea of missionaries for all of our married life. Our family has watched the Aggies for Christ send many out each summer and both of our girls started going on mission trips with the youth group when they were in 8th grade. There have been so many Aggie reports on Sunday evenings in College Station - telling how other Christians were a joy and strength to so many college students. This is true for us each time we meet together in homes or in the many bldgs.

Team Conce (Chile) - Deanna is in the back with the purple jacket.

Bonhoeffer says, "the christian needs another Christian who speaks God's Word to him. He needs him again and again when he becomes uncertain and discouraged, for by himself he cannot help himself without belying the truth...we meet one another as bringers of the message of salvation."

The chapters in this book are: Community, The Day with Others, The Day Alone, Ministry, and Confession and Communion. God's People and His Word are so much a part of our lives, our every day life if we allow Jesus Christ to be our unity, our peace. "Through him alone do we have access to one another, joy in one another and fellowship with one another."

It is hard for me to say what I liked the most but i really loved the idea of a chapter on ministry. Some that Bonhoeffer spoke to were the ministry of holding one's tongue, of meekness, of listening, of helpfulness, of bearing, of proclaiming, and of authority. Oh, so many good thoughts, but I will tell a bit about the ministry of bearing. We are all familiar with the verse, "Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ", Galatians 6:2. But what does that look like? This is what Bonhoeffer says, "Bearing means forbearing and sustaining. The brother is a burden to the Christian, precisely because he is a Christian. For the pagan the other person never becomes a burden at all. He simply sidesteps every burden that others may impose upon him." We, of course, were a burden to God and Christ had to bear our burden.

Isa. 53:4-5 Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

Peace to all of you, Check this book out.

Don't calculate without God

2009-05-23T23:25:00.000-05:00

As i read alison's latest blog tonight, i teared up. Later i journaled so i could process and really understand why i cried. Then I picked up a study i'm going back thru -- a study on the book of James, Course Setters, Kym Hindt. I would like to share some of the thoughts from this because it was such an encouragement to me. God's ways are so much higher than ours and so as we read His Word we have much deeper spiritual thoughts than would just naturally come from our own thoughts.

"Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him." I think a lot of times one of the temptations that crops up is that we calculate without God in the picture. We know He is there but we project into the future and don't take in account all of God's activity and how it rarely turns out how we think it will.

Ps. 119:32 I shall run the way of Your commandments,
For You will enlarge my heart. (NAS)

Ps. 119:32 I pursue the way of Your commands,
for You broaden my understanding. (HCSB)

In the first chapter of James we are encouraged to endure...it is God who enlarges our hearts, broadens our understanding and gives us the power, His power to endure. When we are in a crisis we must take care of our faith. It is not our feelings that will carry us thru but our confidence that comes from our relationship with God. The knowledge we have of God's character, no matter what our situation is.

Ps. 16:11 In your presence is fullness of JOY!! (go read that whole chapter, it is the best!!)

Our faith will be tested and then confirmed and that will benefit each of us. We will be affirmed in our walk as we go thru all of these situations. God is faithful, we know that to be truth!! We are developing endurance as we go thru trials so we are ready for opportunities in the kingdom that God has prepared for each of us. The author reminds me, the more difficult the battle, the sweeter the victory. I know this to be true!!

He wants us to be perfect, complete, lacking in nothing -- sounds like spiritual maturity to me. His answer to gaining spiritual maturity is asking for wisdom, figuring out not how to get out of the trial but how to endure it. Wisdom - having spiritual insight during our difficulties especially. God is that perfect parent who is anxious to help when His children ask. (Prov. 2:2-6, Matt. 7:7-11, Ps. 81:10) We must believe and have a trusting heart. And last but NOT least having a spirit of humility.

I love this song, it is one Janie Bason taught us how to sign. It makes my heart beam!!

Give thanks with a grateful heart,
Give thanks to the Holy One,
Give thanks because He's given
Jesus Christ His Son.

And now let the weak say "I am strong."
Let the poor say "I am rich."
Because of what the Lord has done
for us
Give thanks.

Transformation

2009-05-19T16:00:00.000-05:00

As Alison, Justin and Cailyn packed up this morning our house went through a transformation. The master bedroom closet had been home for Cailyn to rest each day and evening. The pack and play fit just perfect. Thank you, Mitzi Mills(our builder) for making my closet so big!! We had a potty chair and books in the master bathroom and as we move into the kitchen you could see the little tikes table that used to be Allie's (justin's 10 yr. old sister). In the dining room/living room we set up Alison's toy box that my dad built for her and Hannah's bookshelf that my dad built when she was born. Of course toys and books were of plenty!! The stool that my dad built the girls was used for brushing our teeth, washing our hands, and for Honey to sit on because i couldn't fit at the little tikes table!! We had stickers, map pencils, play dough, elmo dvds, my rocking chair (over 50 years old) and lots of special books laying all around. Daniel and I played with Cailyn til our hearts over flowed. We took her to the zoo and sang to her every night before bed time. Storing up memories until Baby T comes in Aug. was a true gift from God!! We found a great dvd of memory verses put to song. Cailyn enjoyed them and was singing "keep me as the apple of your eye" before she left. And oh, yes, we enjoyed our visits with alison and justin!! We played mexican train dominoes and cooked homemade pizza. Justin was eating ice cream as he left, and Alison feels like she needs to walk off all of this American food that she hasn't had the rest of her pregnancy!! Alison and Justin spoke Sunday night at the Hope church of Christ about some of their struggles in Costa Rica and I feel they benefited from being so open and honest about their growth process. Daniel and I got in the car as they left and ran errands. It is best to keep our eye on what God has for us in Abilene as we watch our kids listen to His voice as well. You can all say prayer of praise on the Orozcos account for getting through their first furlough visit with our kids!!