Kathy's Klavier

Signing Off!

2009-04-09T19:49:00.002-05:00

I decided that I need to officially sign off from blogging since I never seem to have the time anymore. I truly enjoyed it for a season, but for now, I have too many other things going on in my life to keep this blog going. I met some wonderful people here who were faithful readers and whose blogs I kept up with. Thank you all for your kind words and encouragement and thank you for your wonderful blogs that were so inspiring to me. I hope to continue to drop in to read yours when I am able. And who knows, maybe things will calm down for me one day and then I can write again.

But before I go, let me assure you that everything is well with me and my family. My husband is doing fine and hopes to retire from teaching in about a year from now. My children are both still doing the same things they were the last time I wrote about them. I still work at the same job, though my workload has increased greatly and I've been given some opportunities that I never dreamed would happen. I remember an older Christian lady there telling me that she never tried to promote herself, but her promotions came from the Lord. I understand now what she meant. I didn't ask for the new opportunities at work, but they were given to me. I also still play the piano at a church other than my own, and this extra income has helped us with our kids' college expenses. I seem to have more work to do with that job also, as there is new leadership in the church. If my name or my blog ever crosses your mind, please say a prayer for me. Sometimes life can seem overwhelming, but I know that I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!

One Year of Walking!

2009-03-12T20:52:00.002-05:00

A year ago today I posted about Losing Weight. I made this statement within the post - "I really believe if I can start walking 10,000 steps a day, I should lose a few pounds without changing my eating. I guess this will be an experiment to see if it works." Well, here I am one year later and 10 pounds lighter. It worked! I was able to lose the 10 pounds without having to give up food, but only by increasing my exercise. I have continued my walking even though it was hard to do through the winter because it was already dark when I got home from work. But now the days are longer, plus we have daylight savings time so I can walk my two miles when I get home from work. I plan to keep walking and I hope to keep the 10 pounds off.

Beautiful Women

2009-03-05T17:35:00.002-06:00

It seems like everywhere you look you see images, pictures, TV shows, movies, etc., with beautiful women. It seems like Hollywood has set a standard for the way an American woman is “supposed” to look, and at times, I believe we all get caught up in that image. But only for a while. Then there comes the point when we realize that this Hollywood standard is not even the least bit realistic. And that is the point where we realize that we don’t all have to wear a size 2 and have long legs, and we don’t all have to have flawless skin, and we don’t have to have plastic surgery just because our aging skin is sagging or becoming a little bit wrinkled. It is like a new freedom when you reach the point where you can accept the way God made you and realize that He had a purpose for creating you the way He did.

Now, I said all that to say this: If I lived in a time long ago when we didn’t have the constant exposure to all the gorgeous women, I honestly believe that I would think I was the most beautiful woman in the world. The reason? Because that is how my husband makes me feel. My husband is so good about giving me compliments and making me know that to him I am beautiful, that it makes me want to always try to look my best. If any men are reading this, I hope you are doing this for your wife. It is a wonderful blessing to have a husband who makes me feel so special.

Excitement Downtown

2009-02-17T11:43:00.003-06:00

So, guess what I'm doing right now? I'm sitting in my office at work looking out the window at the Extreme Home Makeover bus just down the street. That's right - they are in my city this week to make over a house and apparently right now they're doing some things downtown. In fact, I think I just saw the crew get out of the bus. I suppose they are taking some pictures or shots around town for the show. They had police escorts and everything. Oh well, excitement is over now -- I gotta get back to work!

(A couple of hours later)...I went out to my car to get my umbrella, and there was Ty Pennington and a photographer. I said hi to him and he said hi to me. Fun day!

Love

2009-02-14T21:11:00.000-06:00

Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails.

Talking Too Much

2009-02-09T14:42:00.000-06:00

I recently learned something about myself. Or maybe I knew it all along. What I learned is that I don’t like to be around people who talk too much. I don’t mind being around people who talk a moderate amount, or even people who talk a lot, but it’s talking too much that I don’t enjoy. I realized it places a burden on me – the burden to have to listen to all that talking. I have always tried to be a good listener, and I think I’m pretty good at it, but there’s a limit to how much and how long I can sit and listen. I hope this doesn’t sound mean, but I just needed to say it.

Truth Mixed with Error

2009-01-29T14:45:00.003-06:00

Have you heard the Christian radio program called Revive Our Hearts? Nancy Leigh DeMoss is the teacher and today’s program was so good that I would like to encourage you to please take the time to go to http://www.reviveourhearts.com/ and read the transcript or listen to the program. Please do it. But if you are like me, you probably won’t take the time to do it, so let me copy and paste a couple of things she said here. The subject was Deceiving God’s People and it is packed full of things we as Bible-believing Christians need to know about teachings today that have some truth and some error and the deception is much more subtle than say, New Age teachings. Click here for the full text. Below are excerpts from the program:

...Today I want to talk about something that’s a little more subtle, and that is we have many widely-respected, best-selling authors, pastors, and teachers in the Christian world who are deceiving God’s people. Again, I don’t know their hearts so I can’t say whether they have an intent to deceive…..Some of these teachers and teachings are very, very popular today and particularly popular with young people or with new believers. These are teachings and books that are being promoted in church youth groups, in Christian high schools, and in Christian colleges. They are rampant. They are widespread and they are not as completely erroneous as the teachings we talked about in the last session. These are more truth mixed with error. Some truth and some error, which makes it even more subtle……So I’m not picking on particular books or authors. I just want you to get the concept of how error works itself in….
…Then, ultimately, you can’t depend on me or anyone else to tell you what is truth and error, what is right and wrong. You need to develop a spiritual centeredness on the Word of God, a groundedness in God’s Word, and spiritual antennae that go up so that you know what is truth and error. You can discern yourself…
…First of all, there’s this whole area of what I call shallow, feel-good Christianity. A lot of this involves self-help or self-esteem teaching that is packaged in biblical terminology but in many cases it is really devoid of the gospel. This is a psychological message with a thin covering of theology. It starts with ourselves rather than God. God is a positive God. So you have little or no concept of His holiness, His wrath, His justice, and again virtually no mention of the cross, the blood of Christ, atonement for sin, the resurrection of Christ…..
…These don’t just define who we are, they are who we are. You take these out and you have nothing left. You have no substance. You have no life. You have no hope. But in this kind of teaching, none of that is considered really necessary. They miss the gospel entirely….
Now let me give you one more illustration. This is a book that at the time of when we’re recording right now is very, very hot in the Christian world. I walked into my local Christian bookstore the other day. It was front and center. As of today, I think it’s the number eight bestseller on Amazon.com on their ratings, which is huge, huge, huge. This is a Christian book. This is not a New Age book. This is not a book written by some New Age guru. This is a book that purports to be a Christian book….But the problem is that mixed in with a smattering of helpful insights in this book is a perspective on the nature of God, on the trinity, on salvation, and on other core doctrinal issues that is incompatible with Scripture…..The test of validity of a book or a teaching or a radio program is not: Does it work? Does it help somebody? Does it make somebody feel closer to God? The test is: Does it accord with the Scripture? That’s where I go back to the Scripture. by Nancy Leigh DeMoss - Revive Our Hearts

Conversation and Gossip

2009-01-28T11:22:00.000-06:00

When it comes to conversation, most people’s favorite subject is themselves. Have you ever been around someone who talks only about themselves and everything about their life? Some people never give you a chance to talk about things that are going on in your life, and when you do, they somehow find a way to turn it into a conversation about their life. I guess this is a normal thing since the subject we all know the most about is ourselves. But I’ve noticed that when I am around people like that, after a while I just stop telling them anything at all about things going on in my life because I feel like they really don’t care. If they ask me something about myself or my family, I’ll answer, but I get discouraged when they only want to talk about their own life and never seem to care about things that are important to me. Because of this, I have tried to become aware of my conversations with other people by not only talking about myself, but asking them about things that are important to them. I know that I fail sometimes because I love talking about my kids. But I really want to start working harder on not monopolizing conversations with talk about me and my family, but by asking questions about others’ lives to show that I really am interested.

Another thing that really bothers me is when I’m in a situation where I can’t walk away and the other person starts telling me something about another person – like gossip. It makes me very uncomfortable and usually when this happens it is a situation where I have to be around the person and I don’t have the option of walking away. And I’m sure that I do this also. Gossip is a very hard thing to “not do”. So, that’s the other thing I need to work on with my conversations – trying not to talk about other people in a way that puts them down.

·Colossians 4:6 NIV
Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
·Proverbs 20:19 NIV
A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid a man who talks too much.

Bible Prophecy Will Be Fulfilled

2009-01-20T21:14:00.003-06:00

Today, we as Americans, as well as people all over the world, were able to witness history being made. There was so much exposure, so much media coverage that you couldn't help getting involved whether this was the man you voted for or not. There was all the build up over the past few days, then the live coverage today with the invocation by Rick Warren, the song by Aretha Franklin, and most importantly the swearing in of our new president. But my favorite part of the day was something I heard on the Christian radio station. There is a five-minute program called Prophecy Today by Jimmy DeYoung, where he looks at current events in light of Biblical prophecy. I just want to mention a couple of points that he made on the program today. Jimmy DeYoung said that world leaders look forward to working with the new president as they confront the problems of today. He also reminded us that God is in control and there is no power that be except that ordained by God (Romans 13:1). He said that God instituted human government and has used it down through the centuries to set this world in place for His plan to be played out. Revelation 17:17 says that God puts it in the hearts of world leaders to accomplish His will. One other thing he said is that God will use President Obama to set the stage for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled. To hear the full program, click here. It is always interesting to hear Jimmy DeYoung's prophetic perspective on the daily news.

Beside Still Waters - the CD

2009-01-13T20:29:00.003-06:00

I recently mailed some of you a copy of my CD. Thanks for your interest and for letting me know you received it! Now, after all that, I have found a way to put some of my music on the Web. If you would like to hear some samples from my CD, "Beside Still Waters", please visit my New Page and listen. You can click on whatever song you would like to hear. Below, I will give a little background about those six songs....

1. Reflections -- Reflections is one of my few compositions that was written with practically no effort. I was playing around with different sounds on my synthesizer and I just started playing this. I thought it sounded really pretty, so I decided to write it out. It is one of my favorites.

2. Sunset Over the Bay -- In Sunset Over the Bay, I was trying out a method of writing this style of music that I read about on the internet. At the time, a friend was planning her wedding and I had the intention of giving her this music to be played during the wedding prelude. I asked my friend to tell me where one of her favorite places was and she said she loved the pier at Fairhope, Alabama overlooking the Mobile Bay. So, I titled this, Sunset Over the Bay.

3. Twilight Winds -- I love the sound of a saxophone, so again I was playing around with the sounds on my synthesizer and came up with Twilight Winds (because the saxophone is a “wind” instrument) to use the great sax sound.

4. An Evening on the Bodensee -- An Evening on the Bodensee is a result of my trip to Germany in 2005. It represents a boat ride we took one night on this beautiful lake which is a natural border between Germany and Switzerland.

5. Dreams Come True -- Dreams Come True was the first one I wrote in 2005 when I became interested in composing music for relaxation. It actually started out as a simple piece of music to try out a computer program where I could put different instrumental sounds together. It turned out sounding really nice with the flute and violin sounds, so I named it Dreams Come True because I had a dream of creating a CD using different instrumental sounds. And the day I wrote this one just happened to be a holiday from work – the holiday was Martin Luther King’s birthday.

6. Solitude -- Solitude is another one that came to me easily as I sat down at the piano and just started playing.

No Subject

2009-01-10T07:20:00.002-06:00

Do you ever get emails from people and they didn't put anything in the subject line? Sometimes in that case it will say "no subject". I titled this post No Subject because I can't think of anything to write about at the moment, but I wanted to post something. I just remembered, though, that some people have asked me whatever became of the situation with the dogs at the house next door. I probably need to go back in history and see what I wrote the last time about that, but that just seems like too much trouble to have to search through all those old posts. Hmmm....a good reason for putting labels at the bottom! But anyway, I will just tell you what is going on right now.

The pit bulls are gone and have been since shortly after the last time I wrote about this situation. But the poodle is still there -- this is the dog they had tied up in the bushes and someone in the neighborhood noticed and called the humane officers. They came out several times, and after that, the dog was put in the backyard. That was good. However, now, this sweet little poodle spends half of the time outside of the yard and roaming loose, mostly at my house. This doesn't threaten me because it is a nice dog. But it is starved of attention. When I pet him, he just craves more. I feel so sorry for it. As for the people who live there, well, that is another story which I can't go into detail about here. I will say, however, that my daughter and my son are both concerned about their parents living next door to this situation. My daughter is very fearful about it. Please pray for God's protection over us -- I trust that He will protect us.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.....You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day. Psalm 91:1, 5

A Plea for Purging

2009-01-05T20:19:00.003-06:00

It's been a while since I've done an update on A Plea for Purging. My son, Aaron, is still in the band and playing drums. The band took some time off the last few months of 2008 for several reasons. One reason was because they lost a band member and they had to get someone new in there. The main reason they took off was to have some time off the road to write music for their next CD, and then to go into the recording studio to make the new CD. That is all finished now and the new CD will be out in March of this year. They are about to head out on the road again, but first they have plans to make their first music video. I believe they will be shooting that within the next week or so. I will let you know when or if the video is going to air on TV!

My CD is Ready

2009-01-02T07:55:00.008-06:00

Christmas holidays are coming to a close. I haven't been off work for the full two weeks, but my employer was very generous in giving us two and a half days (paid) off the week of Christmas and two days (paid) off this week of New Years. I am very thankful to have a job with such wonderful benefits as this. The week of Christmas was the best! We had both of our kids home and our son's girlfriend also. We enjoyed our time with them as well as time we spent with our extended families.

While Aaron was at home, he was able to do the finishing touches on my CD that I recorded early in 2008. I had mentioned it in a couple of posts back in April. Here is a part of the first post describing the type music on the CD:
I am having a great time arranging all the music because I'm playing all of it on my synthesizer. It has all kinds of sounds so sometimes I am using nature sounds in the background of the music. This music is all slow, soothing, relaxing music which would be great to play when you are trying to go to sleep. All I need is a title. Here are some of the titles of the songs on the CD -- Dreams Come True; Magical Sleep; Reflections; Lullaby; Solitude. There's more, but what I need is your help in coming up with a title. I would like for the title to give some idea of the purpose of the CD which is relaxation.

I ended up deciding on the title Beside Still Waters. I would love to give a copy to anyone who wants it. Have a happy new year, 2009!

Pictures from Christmas 2008

2008-12-29T12:07:00.003-06:00

Would you like to see some pictures I took on Christmas? Please go to my MySpace page, and look in my Christmas 2008 picture folder to see. You'll see pictures of my family including husband, my kids, my parents, my sisters and nieces and nephews. Aaron and Leah are my kids, and Meghan is Aaron's girlfriend.

Gifts and Gift Bags

2008-12-23T15:30:00.000-06:00

I have been blessed this Christmas season with many unexpected gifts. I mean, I have gotten some nice things from some very nice people. I always try so hard to make my list of everyone I need to buy presents for, but then some people who I never would have thought to buy a gift for bring gifts to me. It is truly a special blessing. At first, I am tempted to think, oh no, they got me something and I don’t have anything for them. But then I realize that is not the reason they gave me a gift. They gave me a gift not because they felt obligated, but simply because they wanted to thank me for something or because they just wanted to give me a gift. I know these people are not going to read this blog, but I would like to say how much these thoughts have blessed my life this Christmas season, and I pray that God will bless each of them richly.

And every time I get one of these gifts, I get so excited about the gift bags! I recycle gift bags by using them for gifts that I give, and every time I get a present in a gift bag, I am thinking, oh goody, now I have another gift bag! Why am I this way? Is it because I was short on gift bags this year? I mean I could have gone to Wal Mart or Target and bought some gift bags, but no! I just re-use old gift bags. And then, if that is not weird enough, after all this I get super conservative about using them. I have them but I won’t use them because I think I might need it at some time in the future. I do this with other things also and I do not know why I always try to conserve things and not use them. What would really be the difference in using it now, or using it in the future?

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

2008-12-22T16:32:00.002-06:00

Christmas has to be the most wonderful time of the year -- I know it's true because there's a song that says those very words! And I knew it was Christmastime when I got up this morning and all the bedroom doors were closed. That means my daughter and my son are both home. Our family is all together for several days. This could only happen at Christmas! My son's girlfriend was supposed to arrive today, but there were flight problems and now she won't be here until tomorrow. I hope all goes as planned and she makes it here on time so she can spend Christmas with our family.

Iron Bowl

2008-11-29T18:36:00.004-06:00

This post won't mean much to you unless you are from Alabama. But I am an Alabama fan, that is the University of Alabama. Our team has had several bad years and our biggest rival, Auburn, has beat us for the past six years. This year is our year -- we are undefeated, ranked number one and next Saturday get to play in the SEC championship game. But the part that is better than any of those things is the fact that today, Alabama beat Auburn 36-0!! I am not a sports fanatic, but I am a die-hard Bama fan and all I can say is...................

ROLL TIDE!!!!

Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T07:36:00.002-06:00

Today is Thanksgiving Day and I have so much to be thankful for! I'm sure my list would be very similar to yours if I started naming all my blessings. I have a wonderful family, and last week my husband and I celebrated 28 years of marriage. We have a daughter who is such a great person and is working hard in college. I am so happy that she is with us today for Thanksgiving. We have a son who is using his creative gifts that God has given him and he's actually living his dream. He isn't with us today and I miss him so much, but he has a sweet and beautiful Christian girlfriend and I am happy that he's getting to spend the holiday with her family in Pennsylvania. He sent me a picture of the snow yesterday and said he's never experienced a white Thanksgiving before. Another thing I'm thankful for is that we have full time jobs, and part time jobs also. At work the other day I was talking to another employee and we were saying how we wished we were off that day. There was a client sitting there in the reception area and he heard us talking. He said that he just wished he had a job. I realized right then how blessed I am just to be able to work and pay bills and have all the "stuff" I have. But all of that cannot compare to having peace in your soul. Of everything I have, my greatest blessing today is the peace that passes understanding which comes directly from God and a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Today we will go to my parent's house for the traditional feast complete with turkey, my mom's homemade dressing, macaroni and cheese, peas, green beans, squash casserole, broccoli casserole, turnip greens, four layer delight and a lot more that I can't even remember. My sisters and some of their families will be there also. After that we'll go to my mother-in-law's house to see her for a while. I love this day and I love eating all that food. I just wish I wouldn't get full so quick and could eat more!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Psalm 106:1

Life is Busy

2008-11-20T21:02:00.003-06:00

Life is just so busy! I miss my blogger buddies and I miss blogging! I hope you are all doing well and that you have a happy Thanksgiving. I have so much to be thankful for! I don't know what happened, but I should have never written that Lazy River post back in February, because ever since then my life has gotten busier and busier and I can't seem to slow down. I'm ready to float again for a while!

I Love Jesus

2008-10-30T09:12:00.001-05:00

I believe that sometimes Christians have doubts about their salvation and they begin to wonder if they are really saved. In fact, I think we’ve probably all experienced this feeling at some time or another. So, how do you know for sure if you’ve truly done all the right things that make you a Christian? The first thing to remember is that Jesus did everything that needs to be done. There is nothing we can do to save ourselves; it is only because of what Jesus has done for us through his death on the cross that we can have the hope of salvation and eternal life. We have to believe this and that takes faith. Ephesians 2:8 says, For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. The Bible is the Word of God, and you can believe what it says!

What I’m about to say is just my opinion, so just take that for what it’s worth. I believe that if a person has truly been “saved” or “born again” or whatever term you want to use, it will be evidenced in the way they live their life. I don’t think you’ll be perfect all the time because we are still human and we mess up and make mistakes. But I do think that you will want to strive toward perfection and you will be disappointed in yourself when you do mess up and sin. I believe you will love the Lord so much that you will want to do the things you know will please him. Do remember when you first fell in love? When you are in love, you desire communication with that special person. You just can’t seem to get enough of them and you want to do special things for them, the things you know they like. You want to be with that person as much as possible, and you think about them all the time. That is sort of what it’s like when you love Jesus. You want to please him and do the right things just because you love him. I remember when I was a little kid and my parents took us to church every single Sunday morning and night. I thought it was so boring to have to sit through the sermon at church and I can remember thinking that when I grew up, I sure didn’t want to marry a preacher because then I would have to go to church every Sunday for the rest of my life. I guess I thought that after I got out from under my parents that I wouldn’t have to go to church anymore. But the funny thing is, I grew up and I didn’t marry a preacher, but I still go to church every Sunday, not because I have to or because anyone is making me, but because I want to! I desire to worship, praise, and to learn as much as I can about God, Jesus, and the Bible. I still have a long way to go but I plan to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12:1

Beach Trip

2008-10-24T11:12:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, my husband and I took a little trip together. We drove down to Orange Beach, Alabama and stayed in a condo which is owned by my sister’s fiancé. It is a very nice condo with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. My sister has helped him decorate it really cute. Just behind it, there is a lagoon, or some kind of small body of water, and we were told that an alligator lives out there. The whole weekend we tried to see it, but he never came out while we were there. We didn’t do much during our weekend there, but we sure enjoyed just being lazy and lying out in the sun on the beach. The weather was so great, with high temperatures in the 70’s. It was my first time to go to the beach in the fall, and after always going in the hot, hot summertime, I think now in my older age, I might prefer the beach at this time of year. And you can’t go to the beach without eating some seafood, so we went out twice to seafood restaurants. I was still able to get my walking in by taking nice, long walks down the beach. I sure needed it after eating all that seafood!
I think our warm weather has finally ended for this year. It is actually cool enough out now to wear a light jacket. I love it! We haven’t had to turn on the heat in the house yet, but I’m sure that isn’t too far off. It started raining late yesterday afternoon and has continued through today. This morning was one of those days you just wish you didn’t have to go to work and could stay inside and enjoy a good book or something.
I’d like to do a little update on A Plea for Purging. For anyone new to this blog, that is the name of the Christian heavy metal band my son is in. The guys have been taking some time off the road, only doing weekend shows or a small tour once in a while. They’ve been working hard to write all the new music for their next CD with Facedown Records. Aaron said they have enough songs written now and they are practicing and getting ready to record at the end of next month. I guess they’ll start touring again after the Christmas holidays. I sure hope Aaron gets to come home for Christmas. I haven’t seen him in almost three months!

Block

2008-10-18T06:24:00.002-05:00

I know I don't have writers block because I'm not a writer. So, I guess I just have "block". Maybe it is because I am always so busy and I never get to stop and think about what to write anymore. I do get to stop in and read some blogs once in a while but not nearly as often as I would like. I've seen the "Blogs that I Follow" on some of yours and I wondered where you got it. But now that I have finally signed in to my account, I just saw it. So I need to add that to mine also.

This is something really sad that happened about a week ago. It was a normal Friday, school day and then football game that night. A young girl, 13 years old, who was one of my husband's students, was in the high school band and the way I understand it they were getting ready to play at the football game that night. I think she was just socializing with friends when she suddenly collapsed. Just that fast, she was gone. She had been in school all day and everything was normal, and without any warning she just died. It's just one of those things we cannot begin to comprehend with our human minds. I can't. The next day my husband was grading papers and he showed me the paper she had done just a few hours before her death. He said she was a precious girl. I feel for her family right now and I know it's been a tough week for them.

When things like this happen, it is always a reminder to ask ourselves, "am I ready"? If today is my last day on this earth, or if Jesus comes back today, am I ready to go? Are you ready? Is there anything you would change in your life if you had 24 hours notice?

Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. James 4:14 (KJV)

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. James 4:14 (NIV)

Footprints

2008-09-27T08:02:00.003-05:00

I am involved in a women's mission group which meets once a month at my church. I decided to start going to it a little over a year ago because I felt out of touch with things going on at my own church since I play on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights at another church. I love both churches, but I didn't want to be completely out of the loop at my own church. So one of my friends was in this women's mission group and I thought it would be a good thing for me to be involved with. It has really been such a blessing and I've become more aware of the importance of mission work inside and outside of our country. When I went for our September meeting a couple of weeks ago, we had a speaker from a local ministry called Footprints. This is a ministry to families who have premature or sick babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Units of our local hospitals. I am so excited about what they are doing because I know from experience what it's like to have a premature baby in NICU. (Read my story). The ministry has even expanded now beyond our local hospitals and there's no telling where the Lord will take it from here. Please take a look at the Footprints Ministry blog when you have a chance, and pray for the families who will learn about Jesus through their connections with the NICU and Footprints.

I am copying these verses from the Footprints Ministry's page -- they are the verses that spoke to the young lady who started the ministry when she felt the Lord leading her in this direction yet didn't know how she would do it.......

How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like a morning fog-it's here a little while then it's gone. What you ought to say is if the Lord wants us to we will do this or that. Remember it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it." James 5:14-15, 17

My Last Day

2008-09-23T17:50:00.005-05:00

Today is my last day in my 40's! I can hardly believe it! Tomorrow, September 24, I start a new decade and I have to admit, I have not been looking forward to this. But what can you do except make the best of it. So, my husband is about to take me out tonight for my birthday dinner since Wednesday will be such a busy day for me with work, then the activities at the church where I play the piano. So, without much time for posting right now, please go back and read my post from last year, My Best Birthday Present. I have been so very blessed to share my birthday with my firstborn for the past 26 years! Aaron, in case you happen to read this, I love you and Happy Birthday tomorrow!

Blogging

2008-09-20T07:36:00.000-05:00

Lately, my life has gotten so busy it seems, that I haven't had a chance to post. I apologize to my blogger friends if you are still even checking my site. I want to post but every day it seems like by the time I have worked all day, come home, walk, fix supper, eat and do a few things around the house, then it is time for me to go to bed. And believe me, I take my bedtime very seriously! I NEED my sleep and since I have to get up at 5:30 during the week, I try very hard to get in bed by 9:30. But just to update you on what's going on, I am still walking every day and have kept off the weight I lost. The days are getting shorter and shorter so I keep having to start my walk earlier to get back before dark. Pretty soon, it will be dark when I get home from work so I will only be able to walk on the treadmill. At work, I've had some changes, good changes, so I'm thankful for that! I won't go into it all here, but I will need to rely on the Lord to help me with the new responsibilities. My motto for my job and my life has always been from Colossians 3:23......
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.

Destiny, Fate, or God's Will?

2008-09-04T09:25:00.001-05:00

Do you believe if something is “meant to be” that it will automatically just happen when the time is right? Or do you believe that we have to take matters into our own hands and make things happen by our actions? Here are a couple of definitions of the word destiny: 1) an event (or a course of events) that will inevitably happen in the future; 2) the ultimate agency that predetermines the course of events. Even though I never realized how I felt about this subject, now that I think about it I am realizing that I’ve always believed that if something is really “meant to be” then every choice a person makes will eventually lead them in the direction that will finally accomplish the event that was meant to happen. I know that many times when counseling my daughter when she’s had boyfriend problems, I have said to her “well, if it’s meant to be then it will happen.”

As a Christian, I can’t really separate things that are “meant to be” from the will of God. I think a lot of people use the words “destiny” or “fate” but Christians usually say “God’s will”. Do you think God automatically works out His will no matter what choices we make? It is all really mind-boggling to think about. I do believe that ultimately God will work things out for his purposes to be accomplished. What about the doctrines of predestination versus free-will? These are just some things that I think about sometimes and I would love to find out what others think about them.

Isaiah 55:9
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Two Posts in One

2008-08-25T19:46:00.002-05:00

1. Fay Came to Visit
Tropical Storm Fay made her way to our state and brought bunches of rain, wind, power outages and tornado warnings. Thankfully, we kept our power and didn't have any damage at our house, but I know a lot of people who did lose power for a while. I put my dogs in out of the storm overnight Saturday night. There is one little dog left at the house next door, some kind of poodle type dog. It rained all day long Saturday and the poor little thing had no dog house and no shelter during the storm. I couldn't bear to see it sitting in the middle of the yard out in that rain.
This morning Fay came back to dump a whole bunch more rain and caused tornado warnings right when everyone was driving to work. It's been interesting, but at least we don't have the drought any longer. And our temperatures have been so much better this summer than last summer when we had like 12 consecutive days over 100. I don't think the temps have even reached 100 this summer. Praise the Lord!

2. How I Spent My Time
This is just something I was thinking about when I was at the hairdresser's getting my hair highlighted tonight. I was thinking about all the time I spend on looking a certain way. This morning I spent about an hour and a half showering, fixing hair, putting on makeup, etc. Tonight I spent almost two hours at the salon getting my hair done, and later I will spend about 30 minutes on the treadmill. That's ridiculous!! When today is done I will have spent nearly 4 hours on trying to look good!
How much time did I spend today on my spiritual self -- reading the Bible and praying? Just something to think about.

Update on the Dogs

2008-08-21T18:15:00.001-05:00

I'm sorry that I haven't put an update on the dog situation yet. In case anyone doesn't know what I'm talking about, it's about the post, "What Next" that I did almost two weeks ago. That morning I was telling about the next door neighbor's dog climbing the fence and getting into my yard with my dogs. Somehow, the dog got back into his own yard, but two more times that day, he came into our yard. That evening my husband went next door and told the people their dog was in our yard. The man wasn't home at the time, but the woman called him to come take care of the situation. He did come home and assured us that he would have someone come pick up this dog (in other words, he would get rid of it) and it wouldn't cause us any more problems. Sure enough, since that day I have not seen that dog again. They did still have one pit bull in their yard but it wasn't causing us any problems. However, in the last two or three days, I have not seen that one anymore, either. So, at this point, I am happy with the situation and I hope it stays this way!

Let's Play Tag!

2008-08-16T06:21:00.010-05:00

I have been tagged three times lately by three different people, so I am going to try to catch up on these today. So, Kay, BP, and Liz here are my answers for the tag games.

Kay of Loop de Loops in La La Land tagged me for the first one -- I'm am supposed to list six quirky things about myself. One reason it has taken me so long to do this is because I've been trying to figure out what these six things will be. Here are the rules:
1) Link to the person who tagged me.
2) Mention the rules.
3) Tell six quirky yet boring, unspectacular details about myself.
4) Tag six other blogger´s by linking to them.
5) Go to each person’s blog and leave a comment that lets them know they’ve been tagged.

Six quirky things about me:
1. When my husband and I go for our walk, I have to have him on my left side. I can't stand for him to get on my right side.
2. On my bathroom counter I have a basket thingy for my makeup and another small plastic tray thing for my hot roller clips. While the counter can be a total mess and the makeup is just thrown into the makeup basket with no order whatsoever, I have to have every single roller clip in the other tray completely and perfectly lined up. I don't know why, but they have to be in perfect order.
3. I don't like tomatoes but I love salsa.

4. Every night when I go to bed I have to put an extra blanket on my side of the bed. But, it has to be turned the right direction -- the white side has to be down and the colored side up, and the end with the tag on it has to go toward my feet and not toward my face.

5. When I play the piano, I don't like for someone to turn pages for me -- I like to turn my own pages because no one else can turn them at exactly the right time for me.

6. Strongly scented candles or perfumes give me headaches.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BP of Raindrops & Rainbows Tagged me for this one:
It’s a random tag, and here are the rules!
1.) Link to the person who ‘tagged’ you!
2.) Post the rules on your blog!
3.) List 6 random facts about yourself!
4.) Tag 6 people at the end of your post!
5.) Let each person know they have been tagged by commenting on their blog!
6.) Let the tagger know the entry is posted on your blog!

Six Random Facts About Me:

1. I love Mexican food -- could eat it every day.

2. I'm turning 50 on my next birthday.

3. I got to see Elvis Presley (the real one) in concert one time.

4. My middle name is Jo. My nickname given by hubby when we were dating is K-Jo and some family members still call me that.

5. I am the second of four daughters born to my parents.

6. Not proud of this but it did happen.....I had a little wild streak during my teenage years and was grounded most of tenth grade because of coming home late one night and I had been drinking beer. At that time I had not even turned 15 yet. Thank God for parents who wouldn't let something like that go unnoticed!

*One more I just thought of in honor of USA's Olympic swimming gold medalist -- when I was a teenager, I had a life-size poster of Mark Spitz wearing his red, white and blue swim suit and his 7 gold medals -- it was hanging on the back of my bedroom door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now, for the last one, Liz of Kentucky Bound tagged me to do the 7 song tag. This is probably the easiest one for me since I love music.

The rules:
List 7 songs you are into right now. No matter what genre, whether they have words, or even if they are not any good, but they must be songs you are really into right now, shaping your summer. Post these instructions in your blog along with your 7 songs.Then tag 7 other people to see what they're listening to. (You don't have to do this, but if I can find the songs on You Tube I am going to add a link so you can listen to them if you'd like.)

1. You Are Everything - Matthew West

2. Only Hope - Switchfoot

3. Find You Waiting - Decemberadio

4. Open Arms - Journey

5. Hanging by a Moment - Lifehouse

6. Here Without You - Three Doors Down

7. Remembering - by KJo

I know I'm supposed to tag people, but it's taken me so long just to get this done I don't have time left to do the tagging. So, if you haven't done one of these games, please consider yourself tagged!

What Next?

2008-08-09T07:26:00.003-05:00

I've heard of "blogging in real time", at least I think that is what it's called when you are writing about something as it is happening. And that's what I'm doing right now at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday morning when I should be sleeping late because it is my only day of the week that I don't have to be somewhere early in the morning. But, as I was in my bed I was hearing some kind of squeaking bark sound that made me get up and follow the sound. Hmmmm.....guess where the sound led me? It led me out my back door and to the yard of my next door neighbors. I can hear where the bark is coming from but I can't see it until I walk a little further out and look toward the back of their yard along the fence that runs between our yard and theirs. The little pit bull that seems to be the nicer one is barking at something in my yard, yet I can see my two dogs in their usual spots just having a leisurely morning. Nothing is bothering them and now I see it. The other pit bull that had come unchained in my last post is IN MY YARD. It is back there in the same yard with my dogs! So the other pit bull is barking because her pal has crossed the fence. Now what do I do? I'm going to let hubby handle it when he wakes up. Thankfully, the dog wasn't attacking my dogs or anything like that. But I just don't like this. Now that it knows how to get over here, it will be doing this all the time just like that other dog months back. Oh, I just got an idea! I think it is finally time for a nice, high privacy fence!

As I've been typing this I don't hear the barking anymore so I just got up and went out to look. I didn't see the dog so I don't know where it is now. But I just had a thought. I hope my husband can realize this also if he has to go and deal with the next door neighbors. We can handle this with anger toward them, or we can handle it with the love of Christ and then have the chance to witness to them. I think they would be more open to hearing about the love of Christ if we show love toward them in our attitudes. Sometimes, it is a challenge to do things the way they should be done as a Christian. But that is when we have to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit that lives inside us -- to help us do the things we aren't able to do in our own strength.

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being... Ephesians 3:16

The Dogs Next Door (continued)

2008-08-04T08:38:00.002-05:00

I really don't mean to get so caught up in the people who live next door to me and their dog situation, but here I go again. So, I mentioned before that they had two pit bulls in the backyard with one of the dogs being kept chained up under a tree with nowhere to go during storms. So, one day recently we noticed a third pit bull back there in a cage. But now, the first one that was chained up is gone and the third one was chained up. Thursday afternoon, we saw a humane officer's truck at their house and he put something in their mailbox. The next day, he was there again taking pictures and as we found out from him, investigating someone's claim of cruelty to animals. I found out that day that they also had a poodle tied up in the front yard behind the bushes and apparently someone saw it and called the humane officer to investigate. No one was answering the door so he waited for hours in their driveway until someone came home. But in the meantime we talked to him and I told him there was a dog chained up in the backyard also, but when he went back there to look at it, the dog had gotten loose and was running free in their backyard. Of course those dogs and my dogs all started barking at this man when he was near the backyard and at that time, the mean pit bull tried to climb the fence into the yard with my dogs! Thankfully, the man was able to stop the dog from climbing the fence, but he did ask me to put my dogs inside for a while. When someone finally came home next door, he talked to them and they told him they would chain the mean dog back up, but so far, it's still free in that backyard. It hasn't tried to come over the fence again that I know of. I'm just ready for this story to end. I hope the next time I write about it, I'll have some good news to share!

Another APFP Video

2008-07-31T17:23:00.005-05:00

This is my son, Aaron, playing for A Plea for Purging last Saturday night.

Video from my Vacation

2008-07-31T07:30:00.001-05:00

This was at A Plea for Purging's show last Saturday night. It's mostly showing the audience having a good time.

Back from Vacation

2008-07-29T19:50:00.002-05:00

I have been on vacation for a few days and just got back. And I finally got to meet one of my blogger friends in person! Here's how it happened......My husband wanted to go to Kentucky to hear our son's band play this past weekend since it would be their last show on the road with their guitar player, Lyle. When I realized that my blogger friend Liz of Kentucky Bound lives near where the band was playing, I emailed her and we decided to meet. Liz and her husband drove into town after we arrived and we had a nice visit before the band arrived. I want to thank you Liz for taking time out of your day to spend with us -- we really enjoyed getting to meet you guys!! After that, Eddie and I went out to eat with the band and then we went to their show.

Next stop on our trip was the Smoky Mountains at Gatlinburg. We took the tent and camping stuff and stayed at a good campground right next to a little mountain river. Okay, maybe I'm not so fond of sleeping in a tent on an air mattress, but it really wasn't that bad especially being able to hear the water from the river just behind our tent. The first day there we went horseback riding. The second day we hiked a 2.7 mile trail up a mountain to see Rainbow Falls. We were pretty much wiped out after that! It was worth the hike because the waterfalls were beautiful, but my muscles are paying for it today! I'm sure glad I've already been walking a 2.3 mile walk most every day in my neighborhood, however, it is not the same as walking uphill the whole way. And today before we left, I walked around and shopped in Gatlinburg for a couple of hours. The rest of the day was spent driving home -- about a 7 hour drive. It was a nice trip and I thank God for safe travel! I will try to post some pictures soon.

Desires of the Heart

2008-07-24T08:42:00.002-05:00

Have you ever wanted something so bad you could almost taste it? Well, I've never considered myself a "material girl" and have for the most part been content with what I have. But not too long ago I found something that I want so badly that I cannot stop thinking about it. It's almost like, "I have to have this!" I sit and think about what it would take to able to possess this desire of my heart and what the cost would be. It is exactly what I've wanted and always dreamed of having, yet when I think about the cost, I realize that it would cost much more than I want to pay. But at times I am almost willing to pay the high price plus all the extra expense that would come along with satisfying my desires. My dream house on six secluded, peaceful acres, with 3500 square feet, four bedrooms/three bathrooms, a pool and a hot tub, and covered porch all the way around the house is so very enticing! But what I have to remember is that I have a daughter in college and we're trying to keep from borrowing money for that, and my husband is not yet tenured at his teaching position because he changed counties two years ago. Also, this house is farther away from my job so I would have to pay a lot more in gas expenses to drive to work and to my church job. Plus, the house is almost twice the size of my current house which means heating and cooling costs would be much higher. So, what can I do? Pay the high price to have my dream come true, or wait and see what God has in store for me? I know what the right answer is. But why is it so hard to wait?

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:14

Praise

2008-07-18T08:36:00.002-05:00

Don't you just love getting compliments from other people? Of course you do! It makes me feel so good when someone tells me that I look good in a certain color, or they like my piano music, or when someone says that I have a sweet spirit. When someone praises us or gives us a compliment it builds us up and encourages us to try to continue doing whatever it was that initiated their uplifting comment. Because I know how good it makes me feel to get a compliment, I like to try and compliment other people so they can be encouraged.

The Bible teaches us to praise God and to give Him compliments. Years ago I was a part of Bible Study Fellowship and they taught us a form of praying that always starts with praise to God. Every day we need to tell God how wonderful He is, just because He is God and because he deserves our praise. God is awesome, powerful, almighty, loving and merciful. I could go on and on. Reading the book of Psalms is a good way to learn how to praise God. And then after we give Him the praise he desires and deserves, you will automatically start thanking Him for so many things. Not only will God be honored and glorified by our praise, but you will start feeling so much better and it will give you a much more positive outlook toward everything in your life!

From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised. Psalm 113:3

One More Dog Comment

2008-07-14T11:17:00.002-05:00

Okay, so maybe I'm not crazy about pit bulls living next door to me. But I really felt sorry for one of those dogs this weekend. We had some powerful thunderstorms with bunches of lightning that brought us some great rain that we needed. But one of those dogs is kept tied up under a tree at the back of that yard all the time. It had nowhere to go during those storms except under that tree. At one point it was trying so hard to get loose from that chain during the storm. It was barking and begging to be free. During another storm it was just huddled down under the tree getting soaked. I really felt sorry for that dog and I can't believe that anyone would treat their animal that way.

A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel. Proverbs 12:10

This is Cool!

2008-07-08T08:16:00.003-05:00

In my last post I told about Rush of Fools trailer and gear being stolen. Our local news channel carried the story last night and it is on their website. I thought this was so cool that the website story has Bible verses in it. Read it here. A friend just now told me that she watched the news this morning and that the trailer had been found. I'm not sure about all the equipment, but hopefully I will hear more soon.

Rush of Fools

2008-07-06T05:46:00.003-05:00

A couple of days ago, Rush of Fools trailer was stolen. It had all their gear in it, so they've lost everything they need for playing music. Please pray for this band as they have to go back on the road next week -- they will need new equipment. Read their blog about to learn more about this. Wes Willis of Rush of Fools got married yesterday. It was a lovely wedding yet very simple with a relaxed atmosphere. I'm not sure how long they will leave it there, but at the moment there is a picture of Wes and Michelle on Rush of Fools my space page.

A Plea for Purging

2008-07-02T08:01:00.005-05:00

There is a music festival called Cornerstone going on in Bushnell, Illinois. That's where A Plea for Purging is this week. I suppose you could compare Cornerstone to Woodstock, except that it's for Christian rock bands. My son and the guys in A Plea for Purging love going to this festival and look forward to it all year long. They will get to play several times this week and hopefully pick up some new fans, sell some merchandise, and tell some people about Jesus. Here is a list of the bands that will be playing there. I looked through the list and saw a couple of pretty famous names on there like David Crowder Band, Hawk Nelson, and Skillet, plus some others I have heard of. My nephew's band, Fall Empire Fall from Tampa, is also playing. Some other bands playing there have stayed at my house at different times and I would like to mention them -- Burden of a Day, Gwen Stacy, Once Nothing, With Blood Comes Cleansing, and there may be some others but I can't remember them all. But it is always an honor to wake up, leave my house for work and have to step over all the band guys sleeping on my den floor.

A Plea for Purging is on the Facedown Records label. I wish the guys a great week and some good times with all their friends!

Lifehouse's Everything Skit

2008-06-28T16:41:00.001-05:00

If you haven't already seen this video, please watch it. Make sure to watch all the way to the end -- it is amazing!

My Fear

2008-06-25T08:54:00.004-05:00

For anyone who has been reading this blog for a while, you might remember a post I did last September about my neighbor's dog. If you haven't read it or don't remember it, you can read it here.....Love Your Neighbor's Dog. Back then, I thought I had a problem. I wish this one was that simple.

Well, here is an update about the house next door. Those people moved out of the house but didn't sell it. They are renting the house to a young couple with two young children. The new people living there have now gotten some dogs and to me they look like pit bulls. I have heard too many stories of pit bulls attacking people or other animals, so I am not happy about this. I know that I shouldn't be living in fear, though I also believe that fear is not all bad. We need a certain amount of fear to keep us safe from harm, but I think my fear of vicious dogs goes beyond that. I am praying a lot about this situation. There are also other things I see going on at this house next door that have me concerned. I'm really having to trust God to help me with all this. I've noticed that when someone else is going through a difficult situation, it's so much easier for me to tell them to trust in God than it is for me to actually trust God when I'm going through a difficult situation.

Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. Psalm 56:3

Journey

2008-06-22T05:57:00.002-05:00

I know I usually talk about Christian bands or music, but one of my favorite secular groups is Journey. I have loved them since the 80's and now they have a new singer that sounds so much like the former singer. I love this interview they did on CBS telling how they found the new guy.

Controversial?

2008-06-20T09:00:00.002-05:00

I've made it known very clearly in my blog that I believe the Bible and that it is the Word of God. Therefore, if the Bible states something, then I believe it and to me there is no controversy. Some things aren't as clear as others, but this one leaves no question in my mind when I read these verses. It is as clear as black and white. I'm not the one who said it -- I'm just a Bible believer and if God says it through his word, then that settles it, no questions asked. I am not even going to type out the verses - but please look them up yourself and leave a comment with your thoughts. I doubt if anyone will leave comments because of the nature of this subject. But I would really like to know your thoughts. You can do it anonymously if you don't want your name in there. The focus verses are Romans 1:26-28, but please read verses 18-32 to get the full meaning.

There is always hope in Christ. I am certainly not pointing my finger at anyone for their sin, I just wanted to bring to light something in the Bible that is not talked about very often in this world. We are all sinners and maybe we haven't committed that sin, but we each have our own faults and failures which makes us no better than people who've committed the sins mentioned in the Romans verses. But one of my favorite verses of hope for every kind of sinner is in 1 Corinthians 6 where it names all kinds of sins and says that these kinds of people cannot inherit the kingdom of God, but then leaves us with the hope that comes only through Jesus. Here are the verses -- I love it!

Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderes nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11.

One Year!

2008-06-17T21:20:00.002-05:00

Today is my one year anniversary since starting this blog! I can't believe a year has already passed. I have really slowed down on my posts the past couple of months and I'm not really sure why. I think one reason is because I've quit doing blogging from work and when I get home in the evenings I'm just not in the mood. But I will try to continue to post at least once or twice a week. I've met some wonderful people through blogging and that, I believe, has been the very best part of this adventure. I hope that one day I can meet some of you in person!

Something to Say

2008-06-12T08:21:00.003-05:00

I guess the reason we blog is because we feel like we have something to say and this is a good way to say it. I recently got the new Matthew West CD which is called "Something to Say" and it included a bonus DVD about what he recently had to go through. I guess it was about a year ago that he was getting ready to record the new CD and he began having trouble with his voice. He ended up going to the doctor, then had to be on voice rest, and then had to go through surgery on his vocal cords. For a musician, a singer whose life revolves around singing with that being his means to support his family, this was a really scary thing. If you have a chance to get the CD and watch the DVD, it's really good and you go right through the process with Matthew. It all served to draw him closer to God and to help him realize that God is the one who is in control. Go here to hear a clip from the documentary and click on "Nothing to Say Documentary" on the right-hand side of his page. Thankfully, he is able to sing again and the CD is out now.

I was able to relate to Matthew West because I am a musician. I don't know what I would do if my ability to play the piano was taken away from me. My husband could relate to him because he felt called to teach, and when he went through his illness he lost his voice and didn't know how he would ever be able to teach. So, if you have something important to say, be sure to say it while you are able, whether it is through music, speaking, blogging, or any other way. Through His Word, God gives each Christian something to say and we need to take advantage of the talents and gifts He has given us to be able to tell the world about Him.

2Co 4:13 - Show Context
It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak...

1Th 2:4 - Show Context
On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.

What I've Been Doing

2008-06-03T14:01:00.002-05:00

Last week I had the whole week off work for vacation. It was wonderful! We decided not to go on a trip since gas prices have gotten so high. Instead, we got new carpet in our bedroom. It's a huge room and was a major ordeal just to get prepared for the carpet. But now the room is nice and clean, and the carpet looks great. And my closet got cleaned out because it had to be carpeted also and I had to get everything out of the way.

Saturday I went to another family reunion, this time for my mother's side of the family. It was nice -- I saw relatives that I don't get to see often and I met some relatives for the first time. This week it's back to work which hasn't been so bad. The Alabama heat and humidity have come back full blast! I'm afraid my walking outside will soon be coming to an end. I'll have to start using the treadmill which I don't look forward to. I have good news about my walking experiment -- I have lost 10 pounds which was about the amount I was hoping to lose. I didn't have to change what I was eating -- I just had to be consistent with my daily walking. Now I'll need to continue it for the rest of my life if I want to stay at this weight. I actually now weigh what my drivers license says my weight is!

Friday Favorites

2008-05-30T10:24:00.002-05:00

This is going to be about one of my favorite Bible verses and a personal testimony. When I was 15 years old, this verse helped to turn my life around. As a teenager, I was doing some things I knew a Christian person should not be doing. I won't go into detail about the things I was doing, but I always had this little nagging voice in my mind telling me that what I was doing was wrong. However, I wanted to do these things so I would try to find ways to justify doing it. I would tell myself that the Bible didn't specifically say not to do this particular thing. But then one summer I was at church youth camp and my pastor was speaking to us. He asked us if we knew a reason why we shouldn't do these kinds of things. And then he told us the reason why and he used this Bible verse to explain it. The verse was Colossians 3:17 -- And whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father by him. As soon as he read that verse, the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and showed me that I could not do the things I was doing in the name of the Lord. At that moment I changed and I had a desire to stop sinning and to let Jesus be the Lord of my life. The Bible is powerful and can speak God's word to us when nothing else can.

Fruit

2008-05-27T06:26:00.003-05:00

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control... Galations 5:22-23

If you are looking at two trees that are bearing fruit, an apple tree and an orange tree, can you tell just by looking at them which one is the apple tree and which is the orange tree? Of course you can, because you know what apples and oranges look like. The evidence that a tree is an apple tree is that the fruit growing there are apples. The evidence that a tree is an orange tree is that the fruit growing on it are oranges. In the same way, if you are a Christian, people should be able to look at your life and recognize that you are a believer because of the fruit your life bears -- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Not too long ago, someone described me as a "happy person". Hopefully, what they thought was happiness, was actually the joy that can only come from being in Christ. Being happy is dependent on circumstances around us, but joy is something God-given and it doesn't go away when life throws us difficult situations. What kind of fruit does your life bear?

Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. Luke 6:44

...for out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. Luke 6:45b

Divine Design

2008-05-22T08:20:00.004-05:00

What a great week it's been having A Plea for Purging and Jake at my house! It used to bother me that I am not a neat freak about my house, and I wished that I cared more about having a perfectly clean house all the time. But no matter how much I wanted to be that way, it just isn't in my nature to get all upset when the house gets messy. And now I have come to realize that God had a purpose in creating me the way He made me. It was by divine design that things can be messy and it doesn't bother me. God already knew that I was going to be having a bunch of guys staying at my house from time to time, and if I had been a neat freak, I wouldn't have been able to handle the sleeping bags laying around the floor, the luggage sitting around, unmade beds, laptops and cell phones plugged in everywhere, and towels hanging around. What I always thought was a flaw in my personality, I now see as a gift from my Creator for the purpose of doing what He created me to do. It has been a blessing to me and my husband having these guys stay at our house.

Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Romans 12:13

Full House

2008-05-19T08:31:00.003-05:00

There's a band at my house. Three of them have been here since Wednesday, and the rest of them came in Friday night. They eat a lot. We keep on having to go to the grocery store to stock up on more milk, sweet tea, and food. The drummer is playing his drums..............in the house. The guitar players are playing electric guitars in the garage and they have really big speakers that carry sound throughout the neighborhood. I wonder when the cops are going to show up at the door. We probably won't even hear them knock. The ones who weren't busy yesterday watched TV the whole afternoon and night -- the same show the whole day. The merch guy uses my computer pretty much anytime he's awake. My daughter came yesterday so she's sleeping on an air mattress in our room since her room has been taken. The band will be here for a few more days.

This is my life and I love it. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Against all Hope

2008-05-15T10:46:00.003-05:00

A few days ago I was reading the Bible and once again, something it said just jumped out at me and struck me in a way it never has before. "Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed..." This was in the book of Romans and it was talking about how Abraham believed and had faith in something God told him would happen, even when it looked humanly and physically impossible! Abraham and his wife were well beyond the child-bearing age and Sarah had not been able to have a baby yet. He was 100 and she was 90. In my mind, there's no way this couple would be having a baby. But God told Abraham that he would be the father of many nations and his descendants would be as many as the stars in the sky. Abraham didn't weaken in his faith and he believed that God had the power to do what he said he promised. And it happened -- Sarah gave birth in her old age and that was the beginning of the Jewish nation. God keeps his promises.

Do you sometimes have situations in your life that look completely hopeless? Remember Abraham's faith and belief in God's promise even when it didn't seem possible. Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed. If God has promised us something in his Word, we need to have faith that he is able to keep his promise. I don't think this means that because we want something to be a certain way that it will happen just because we say we have faith. But I think it means that if God promised something in scripture, it will happen and we just have to have faith in his promises. Do you have any personal experiences where something looked hopeless, but God kept his promises?

...who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, "So shall your descendants be." And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore "it was accounted to him for righteousness." Romans 4:18-22

Mommy Memories

2008-05-10T02:36:00.001-05:00

I'm not sure if it's because Mother's Day is approaching or what, but today I am having one of those days when I think about my kids and miss the days when they were little. I talked to Aaron on the phone a few nights ago. He was so excited because he had driven the van through the night in Arizona and he saw a real live mountain lion in the wild. He said he first saw some elk and just a few minutes later he went around a curve and right in the middle of the road was a cougar. Then it ran off and up into the mountains. Aaron said he yelled and woke up all the other guys, but it all happened so fast they didn't get to see the cougar. But he was so happy the rest of the night just because he saw that animal!

As my son told me this story with all his enthusiasm, I was transported back in time. I was no longer listening to a 25 year old man with tattoos and earrings who plays the drums in a heavy metal band, but I was listening to (and seeing in my mind) a precious little boy who used to sit in the recliner with his Daddy while looking at the National Geographic Mammals book. That precious little boy spent many hours looking at those animal pictures and soaking up every bit of knowledge he could possibly get. He always loved learning and experiencing new things. Which is probably why he enjoys what he's doing right now. He is constantly seeing new places, meeting new people and experiencing life the way most of us never get to. But when I look at Aaron now, I still see my cute little boy with the active imagination, the love for learning and the charismatic personality that he's always had. I thank God for the memories I have -- my children may be far away from home and far from being little children anymore, but I will always have my memories.

Friday Favorites

2008-05-09T08:37:00.002-05:00

Sandi wrote a great post this week. I just love this -- The Bible is my GPS!

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. Isaiah 42:16

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. Psalm 119:105

It's All About Me

2008-05-07T08:59:00.005-05:00

Wow, that title sounds really vain! Honestly I don't like that phrase, it's all about me. But, I took this personality quiz that I found on Kay's blog and here is what it said about me...

You seem to be far from having a Type A personality. Your attitude to life is more of the "smell the roses" kind. You know how and when to relax. The hostile, aggressive and competitive part of you surfaces rarely. You are easy to be around, and people tend to feel relaxed and comfortable in your presence. It's a very healthy attitude towards life. Just make sure you don't miss important opportunities because of being too cool and relaxed. Picking up a challenge and competing a little bit for your place in the sun can add some spice to your life.

I am pretty satisfied with that result! I just couldn't handle being a Type A personality. And I really do stop and smell the roses. During our walks, my husband and I pass this one house that has a sweet dog that's a lab, and they also have some beautiful roses planted right next to the sidewalk, so we stop and pet the dog and smell the roses! The downside of my personality is that I do sometimes miss important opportunities simply because of my procrastination and forgetfulness.

Here's the link to the quiz if you'd like to try it out! (I hope my sister who reads my blog will take it and let me know her results.)

Temptations

2008-05-04T06:23:00.005-05:00

When I put the title of this post, I realized that I might get some hits from people searching for a singing group called the Temptations. But this isn't about a singing group, it's about sin and temptation. One thing my pastor always says about being a Christian and sinning is this.....I sin all I want to sin, in fact, I sin more than I want to sin. What he's really saying is that as a Christian he doesn't want to sin at all, but being human it happens sometimes and it happens a lot more than he wants it to. I can relate to that every time I hear him say it. I wish that I could live a perfect life and never do anything wrong but the fact is that I sin much too often. We are all tempted by different things. But the encouraging news is that the Bible says that God will not allow us to be tempted by more than we can handle, and that he will provide a way to escape the temptation so that it doesn't turn into sin. Being tempted is not sin, but what we do with that temptation is what's important. God gives us a way to escape the temptation, but the choice is ours at that point -- we either take the escape route or we go ahead and sin. I'm just thankful to know that whatever it is that tempts me is not going to be bigger than what I can handle. And if I end up sinning rather than escaping, then it's my own fault and my own choice and I will have to live with the consequences.

Another encouraging thing the Bible says is that Jesus is not a high priest who doesn't understand or sympathize with our weaknesses, but he does understand because he was tempted in all the same ways as we are. The difference is that Jesus never yielded to the temptation and he never sinned. But it's comforting to know that he understands what we are going through.

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are -- yet was without sin. Hebrews 4:15

Blogging

2008-05-02T20:59:00.003-05:00

I've wondered why sometimes bloggers just seem to disappear and don't post on their blogs for weeks at a time. I think I'm beginning to find out. I seem to have less and less time for blogging lately. Sometimes other things in life become more important and you just have to get your priorities in line. Maybe I can get back on track soon!

Creator and Creations

2008-04-28T14:23:00.006-05:00

I've mentioned before that I enjoy writing music, mainly instrumental music. If anyone ever tried to steal the music I've written and claim it for their own, I don't think I'd have any trouble at all proving the music is mine. Each piece I've written was given a name. By just hearing the name, I can tell you almost everything about that piece of music. Without looking at it, I can tell you what key it's written in, how many sharps or flats is in its key signature, how many beats are in each measure, the time signature, the story behind the music and exactly what instruments I had in mind to play it. Or this could all be reversed -- if I heard the first measure of anything I've written, I could tell you the name of it as well as all the things I just listed. That's because I wrote the music; since I created it I know everything about it because it's special to me.

On a much larger scale, God created each and every person. He knows us by our name and he knows every little detail about us, much more detail than I know about my musical compositions. Satan tries to steal us away but he can't if we are in Christ. We have been bought with the blood of Christ and he is able to hold on to us. We belong to Him and He loves us. He knows the exact number of hairs on our heads at any given time of the day, He knows every thought we think, every place we visit, He knows the exact day, hour and minute of our birth, and He knows what will happen in our future. He even knew us before we were born. To me, these are comforting thoughts. It's comforting to know that we have a God who really knows us and loves us because we are his and He created us. And if He can know all of this about us, surely we can trust Him to take care of our needs and to take care of our children when they are out of our hands. God IS the one who is in control of this universe and He is more than able to take care of every situation in our lives.

O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. Psalm 139:1-4

Walking Update

2008-04-28T08:29:00.005-05:00

On March 12, I started a personal experiment of trying to walk 10,000 steps a day without changing my eating habits to see if I could lose a few pounds. You can read about it at "Losing Weight". I have done really well with increasing my daily exercise, and my husband has even joined in with me. It all started because I had an approaching doctor's appointment and I wanted to lose a few pounds before that time. I went for that appointment a week ago, and I got a good report -- I am very healthy! As far as the weight loss goes, I had lost four pounds in about six weeks. It doesn't sound like a lot, but I am only five feet tall, so each and every pound shows up on me. I am continuing to walk and am hoping to lose about five more pounds eventually. The doctor looked at his chart and said that my weight falls within the normal range and that I'm not overweight. That made me feel better, but I do still have my personal goal that I'd like to reach.

Reflections

2008-04-24T12:31:00.007-05:00

Do you know, or are you one of those people who can never sit still? Some people seem to always have to be doing something or staying busy. I am not one of those. I have no problem with just doing nothing sometimes. In fact, I need that! When I have a weekend that is full of activities and I don't get my relax time, by Monday I feel like I didn't even have a weekend.

There is a river just a short walk from the office where I work. Each day on my break I walk down to the river for exercise, or to just sit and enjoy the solitude. Most of the time there is a breeze at the river and the water is usually flowing. However, on a rare occasion there will be absolutely no wind or breeze, and the water is completely still – so still that you can see a perfect reflection of the trees in the water. It is one of the most beautiful sights to see at the river. Since the first time I saw that, I always look now to see if I can see the reflection of the trees in the water, but usually the breeze moves the water so that I can't see the relection.

If our lives are constantly busy, always doing something, and we never sit, relax and meditate on God or on the Bible, I believe we miss hearing the Holy Spirit speaking to us and guiding us. Sometimes, we need to just sit still so the reflection of the Lord can be seen in our lives.

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Psalm 46:10

For this is what the Lord says: "I will extend peace to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream.... Isaiah 66:12

Here is Rush of Fools singing "Peace Be Still".

Missing What You Never Had

2008-04-23T09:01:00.003-05:00

Have you ever heard the expression that you “can’t miss what you never had”? Do you believe that statement? Can you miss something or someone you never had? I believe that you CAN miss what you never had. Some people may not even realize they are missing something, yet they are constantly looking for it. I notice that so many people don’t seem to have contentment in life. They are always looking for something new or someone new to fill the void that is ever present. They may become satisfied for a while, but then they start looking again and again trying to find that missing piece in their life. I honestly believe that most of the time, what these people are missing is a relationship with Christ, the God who created them. I can’t even imagine what life would be like without knowing the peace, the love and the contentment that comes from my relationship with Jesus Christ. If anyone reading this feels that you are missing something you never had, please start searching the Word of God. You may find exactly what you need to fill the void.

The fear of the LORD leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble. Proverbs 19:23

If they obey and serve him, they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity and their years in contentment. Job 36:11

Dove Awards

2008-04-22T09:05:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow night the Gospel Music Channel will broadcast the annual Dove Awards. This is kind of like the Grammys but it's for Christian music. I am so excited for one band that has been nominated for four different awards. Rush of Fools has been nominated for new artist of the year, pop/contemporary album of the year, their song “Undo” for pop/contemporary song of the year, and “Undo” for song of the year. The reason I'm happy for this group is because I know Wes Willis, the lead singer. He goes to my church. I don't know if they will win any of the awards because they are up against some of the best artists in Christian music like Mark Hall of Casting Crowns, Chris Tomlin, Jeremy Camp, and they're up against Mandisa for new artist of the year. I hope I can find a way to watch this show, because I don't have that gospel music channel.

God Sees What We are Meant to Be

2008-04-20T13:44:00.004-05:00

Last week, I posted my husband's story in his own words, about his battle with an illness that we thought was going to take his life. I wanted to say one more thing about that which he didn't include. That illness started in 1977 and I believe it was 1983 when he started to improve and was eventually able to get off all medication permanently. And now, in 2008, he has been able to work as a teacher for over 20 years, and he rarely even has to use any sick leave. He actually has enough built up right now to be able to retire a year and a half early. God is good, and he's worked a miracle in Eddie's life.

I noticed a line in a song by Matthew West today. The song is You Are Everything (click to listen), and that line says, "You're the one who looks at me and sees what I was meant to be." When our families and I looked at Eddie back then, we saw someone possibly without a future. But God saw the plans that he had for him to get well and to become everybody's favorite teacher. God saw the loving and supportive father that he was meant to be. The Bible says that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ -- not troubles, hardships, persecution, or anything else. No matter how bad things look sometimes, and no matter how much we mess up in our Christian lives, nothing can separate us from the love of God through Christ.

For I am convinced that neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38

Eddie's Story -- Conclusion (Part 3)

2008-04-17T05:28:00.003-05:00

...continued from yesterday(scroll down for Parts 1 & 2)

Over the years Dr. Campbell would refer me to doctors at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. They would do numerous tests on me as well, including blood work, numerous types of x-rays involving digestive organs. They also did a test where they stuck needles in certain areas of my body to test for muscle damage. Needless to say, this was no fun at all. They tried me on certain physical therapies on my hands since I was now experiencing contractures of my hands, making my hands resemble someone who had rheumatoid arthritis. The proctoscopic exam was nothing I would ever want done again either, as they would be checking for blood in the stools. The UAB doctors would eventually feel I was mostly showing the symptoms of scleroderma and lupus erythematosus.

I would also experience Raynaud’s phenomenon, a condition where your hands would not receive good circulation in cold weather, causing them to become numblike and quite pale. Another very peculiar activity would happen to my body. Little sores would develop deep under the skin of my hands and would work their way up to the surface. They would be painful. Calcium started accumulating in certain areas of my body, such as at the back of my forearms underneath near the elbows, and in my groin region. The groin region was probably where lymph nodes were present. These calcium deposits would start opening up, causing a white pasty material to ooze out. After a while, I would squeeze these areas, knowing what was about to happen.

One time I bumped the backside of my upper arm, and it caused an abscess there. Eventually that area would become painful, requiring a surgeon to open it up and clean it. It left a terrible open wound, looking much like a shark took a chunk out of my arm. It was horrible looking. But amazingly, my arm healed over time only leaving a small scar. And also surprising to me, it seemed that I began to feel much better. For months during 1982 I would go through the same nagging symptoms. I would wake up in the morning with a fever for some reason, and after I took some Ascriptin for the fever and it broke, I would then feel well enough to go to work. I was working back at Jackson Hospital again, by the way. After this incident with the abscess in my upper arm, the disease’s activity lessened considerably. It’s almost like my body needed to get something out of it with that experience.

The disease would end up changing the way I looked. It changed my facial appearance and even my hair color to some extent. The joint contractures in my hands remained. The upper body muscle damage remained. My voice was also affected. When the disease was very active, my voice would weaken during the day. I would begin the day talking with my normal voice, but as the day wore on my voice would weaken to a whisper even though I was trying to talk louder. My speech was also not very clear. My voice is much stronger now, but I still have the effects of the disease with my voice being different now.

I would like to feel that the Lord has miraculously healed me of the muscle disease. However, he left me with some evidence of the disease’s effects to remind me from what He has delivered me. I certainly hope I have become a stronger Christian as a result of this disease. I am so thankful to my wife, parents, friends, and church family for their prayers and encouragement over the years. Thank you, Lord, for working mightily in my life! May You receive all the glory!

Eddie's Story - The Diagnosis (Part 2)

2008-04-16T07:05:00.005-05:00

continued from yesterday...(scroll down to read Part 1)

I decided to get an appointment with a civilian doctor since Maxwell would only let me see a physician’s aid. I became frustrated when all of the doctors’ offices I called said it would be a few months before their doctor could see me. My mom suggested I call Jackson Hospital and talk to the ladies I used to work with in Medical Records when I was in high school. As a part-time employee of Jackson Hospital, I had an employee doctor who would do a yearly physical for free. I called to see if they thought my former employee doctor would see me again at a much sooner time. Dr. Fred Campbell’s office was very accommodating, giving me an appointment right away with Dr. Fred Campbell.

I am a Christian, and this had to have been the Lord bringing Dr. Campbell back into my life. As I sat there on the examining table with only my shirt pulled off, Dr. Campbell right away noticed something suspicious about my upper body. He immediately suspected an autoimmune disease such as polymyositis or dermatomyositis. He wanted to admit to Jackson Hospital right away and start me on large doses of Prednisone, an anti-inflammatory drug that would help with what he suspected would be elevated enzymes indicating an autoimmune disorder.

I learned that an autoimmune disease is a condition where the body attacks certain parts of itself. It sends antibodies to certain parts of the body, destroying these targeted areas. My body was attacking the muscles especially.

The blood tests done would confirm Dr. Campbell’s admitting diagnosis. I had an active autoimmune disease going on inside my body. Large doses of Prednisone were administered by mouth, and this would prove effective in lowering the enzymes in question. I also had a muscle biopsy done on my calf muscle to verify the activity. It would also be positive of autoimmune activity.

I was discharged from Jackson Hospital after about a week in the hospital, feeling so much better about my situation now. I would now enter a new chapter with my muscle disease. I would now begin to show the side effects of the large dosage of Prednisone I was taking. I was feeling much better but beginning to gain considerable weight due to retaining fluid. I developed the characteristic “moon face” that accompanies the taking of Prednisone. I felt better but looked terrible. It would get to the point that I would no longer even recognize myself in the mirror. This can be quite alarming when you don’t even recognize yourself anymore. However, I am still hoping and praying for the Lord to heal me.

When you are only 21 years old, and your health is so poor as mine had become, it made me really trust the Lord more and more and really start to think more about spiritual matters in my life. The muscle disease was causing me to think more seriously about being a Christian.

I would end up becoming addicted to Prednisone. It can cause your adrenal glands - located on top of your kidneys – to become suppressed and quit producing the hormones they produce that your body needs. I would try to stop taking Prednisone several times, but would be met each time with terrible results. It would be like my body was an engine trying to run without any lubricant between the rubbing engine parts. It was extremely painful to say the least. I would receive temporary relief with a shot called ACTH at Dr. Campbell’s office. I would feel fantastic for about 1-2 days but the terrible pain would return. So I would end up taking the Prednisone again. I did take much smaller doses than initially – 5 mg daily – but couldn’t completely stop taking the medication. Eventually I would be able to stop taking Prednisone without the painful adverse effects.

to be continued...

Eddie's Story (Part 1)

2008-04-15T05:46:00.000-05:00

I'd like to introduce you to my sweetheart and husband of 27 years. He is going to tell his story in his own words. This will be broken into several parts.

Eddie’s Disease Story

It was in the summer of 1977 when I began to notice some things about my body that didn’t seem quite right. I was nearly 20 years old at this time. I was on a summer missions trip to Michigan when I had an opportunity to lift some weights and was surprised to discover that I could not lift the weights like I used to be able to do. I just thought I was terribly out of shape at the time and passed it off. I also noticed that summer that the palms of my hands at times became itchy. And there was not the flexibility in my wrists when I leaned back on my hands.

I returned to Montgomery from Michigan in early August and was determined to try to get “back into shape.” I tried lifting weights at home but would encounter immediate severe headaches when doing military presses. I enrolled in a body conditioning class for the fall quarter at Auburn University at Montgomery. We ran, exercised, and lifted weights in that class. I became very concerned when I could not do any sit-ups, had difficulty with weights still, and my running was extremely slow. I then decided to go to the doctor to get checked.

As a military dependent, I had base privileges at Maxwell Air Force Base’s Hospital. I made an appointment and was only able to see a physician’s aid. He examined me and did some medical tests. I would later find out that the tests seemed to suggest to him that I had mononucleosis, the “kissing disease.” He suggested I take it easy and check back with him at a later time. This went on for months, all the while I am thinking I had mono.

Near the end of winter in early 1978, I went to practice softball with some of the men from church when my future father-in-law commented to me that I looked like I was running in slow motion when I ran the bases. We had played softball together in the past. So of course I became more concerned about my health situation, knowing that I was not getting better and did not feel mononucleosis was an accurate diagnosis of my condition.

I finally became so irritated with seeing only a physician’s aid that I demanded seeing a real doctor. Maxwell Hospital agreed to let me see an Internal Medicine doctor, Dr. Melida DeLerme, and admitted me to the hospital to do more intensive tests and also to do a bone marrow biopsy. I was beginning to think that we were going to find out what was really wrong with me finally. I spent a week in the Maxwell Hospital. They did numerous blood work tests and I endured the very painful bone marrow biopsy, feeling we were about to find out my problem. I was discharged a week later with the diagnosis “elevated liver enzymes” and was given an appointment to return in a month. It was the worst blow to my hopes. I was so upset. I was angry at the hospital and doctor for not being able to find out the cause for my symptoms. This was perhaps the lowest point I felt during the entire time before being correctly diagnosed. Needless to say, I was not a very pleasant person to be around that weekend.

I could not believe they could not find out what was wrong with me. At this time, I could not even lift my head up normally while lying in bed. I had to roll over sideways and then lift my head. My voice was becoming weaker as was the rest of my body. I was a very discouraged and desperate young man.

to be continued...

Sunrise

2008-04-14T08:14:00.004-05:00

I was listening to the radio this morning and one line in a song stuck out to me. I can't remember the exact words but it said something like there would be no sunrise without a night. It made me start thinking about how beautiful the sunrise is. But there is no way we would get to experience the beauty and hope that comes each morning if there hadn't been a night of darkness before it. Life is like that sometimes. We have to sometimes go through experiences that are difficult -- like a long, dark night. While you're going through these things you feel like you'll never see the light of day again. But finally, like the sunrise, you come out on the other side and you can see the beauty of hope in the situation that once seemed hopeless. In the next two or three days, I would like to share with you a story of a long, dark night which actually lasted several years, and the beautiful sunrise of hope that followed.

....weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5

Friday Favorites

2008-04-11T08:47:00.003-05:00

Today's post is dedicated to A Plea for Purging. I told my son the other day that I can't believe they have been doing this, touring, for as long as they have -- almost two years now! He said he couldn't believe it either. They've been featured in a couple of magazines and I picked out one of the articles as my favorite today. Read the review from HM Magazine. I would also like to list my favorite songs they do, starting with my very favorite as #1.

1. Slaying of the Serpantine Dragon
2. Death Has Been Swallowed Up in Victory
3. Resurrection of the Beast
4. While the Sparrow Sleeps
5. Hymn of Praise
6. Everything and Nothing

I love #6 "Everything and Nothing" because it has a few lines where all the guys sing together -- I mean real singing with a melody and everything! Here are the words the bro-choir sings.....

For your kingdom, for your glory

for your eyes to fall upon me.

My JESUS, My Savior

2008-04-10T07:03:00.003-05:00

Do you watch the TV show, American Idol? I am a music lover, so I do watch the show on Tuesday nights because I love the singing. I did not watch it last night for their charity show called Idol Gives Back. But I found out that the contestants sang one of my favorite songs at the end, a Christian song! I couldn't believe it! So, I looked it up on You Tube and sure enough, they did. But, in the true Hollywood tradition, they left out one very important word, the second word of the song, and they replaced it with another word. They left out really the most important word of the whole song.........Jesus. The first line of the song should be, "My JESUS, my savior......" Anyway, here is the video of "Shout to the Lord" if you want to hear it.

Lust, Adultery and Murder

2008-04-09T09:09:00.005-05:00

If you enjoy reading, you need to read this book! Let me give you a little taste of one of the story lines, which is amazingly similar to things we hear in the news pretty often. This very nice looking man who has a great career in a very high position sees a beautiful woman and becomes obsessed with her. He makes up his mind that he must have her and his lust gets out of control. He has his people to go and get her, and even though she's married to someone else who is fighting in the war, and he knows this, they sleep together and she becomes pregnant. After trying his best to cover up his transgression, his plan fails. The plan was to get her husband home from war to spend time with his wife so that he would think she got pregnant from him, her own husband. Since that didn't work, this successful man in the very high position makes sure the woman's husband gets killed at war so that he can marry the woman.

This book has it all, lust, sex, murder. The name of the book? The Holy Bible. The story I just told about is found in 2 Samuel and it is about King David, a man after God's own heart. David did some really bad things, but he found forgiveness in God. Hey, if there is hope for David, there's hope for us! Through Jesus Christ, we can find forgiveness for sin......any sin. He can cleanse us and give us abundant life.

Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered..... Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord"-- and you forgave the guilt of my sin. "Selah" Psalm 32:1; 5

To My Special Friends

2008-04-09T08:57:00.003-05:00

I have met some of the most wonderful people through blogging. I have never seen you in person, and I have never spoken to you on the phone or verbally in any way. Yet, you have become so special to me and I feel so close to you that it's almost like we have been friends for many years. I have received emails from some of you requesting prayer for very real needs in your lives or in the lives of people close to you. I am so honored and yet humbled that you trust me in this way. What a blessing it has been to see answers to specific prayers. I thank God for bringing us all together through blogging.

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you. Philippians 1:3

Beside Still Waters

2008-04-07T08:16:00.006-05:00

I really need to post something new today. I just haven't had a chance. I have spent this weekend finishing the recording process of my CD. Now I have to wait until my son can do the last steps for me because I don't know how to do that part. The CD title suggestions some of you gave were really great and each one of them helped to get me thinking in other directions. Of course my husband also had ideas. I think the title we've chosen is going to be "Beside Still Waters." It references the 23rd Psalm and to me, that psalm represents peace and contentment. For those of you who expressed an interest in receiving a copy of this CD, I will just need an address so I can mail you one when it's done. You can send it to my email now, Kbeste@aol.com, or you can wait until I let you know that it is finished. I am so excited to finally be doing this and I can hardly wait to have it on a CD.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies : thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. Psalm 23

Springtime

2008-04-04T08:20:00.004-05:00

My quest to exercise more by walking 10,000 steps a day has been made so much easier because of the arrival of springtime and daylight savings time. With extra daylight after getting home from work, I've been able to wait until hubby gets home from work so that we can walk together. And I just have to say that springtime in Alabama is absolutely beautiful! We have so enjoyed seeing everything blooming during our walks -- azaleas, tulips, dogwood trees, cherry trees. And the weather this time of year, at least for a couple of weeks, is perfect. So, we've been enjoying it while we can because we know by May, the heat will be here and it won't be as enjoyable.

There are some days that I can't walk outside because of various reasons, so at those times I have to resort to walking on the treadmill. To me, it is so much harder to do that because it's boring and the treadmill is so loud I can't hear the TV. But I have found the answer that makes treadmill walking time seem to pass more quickly, and helps me walk faster. I don't have an ipod, but I still have the old walkman CD player. I have found that putting in A Plea for Purging's CD makes me walk so fast and it keeps my attention because I'm listening to that fantastic drum-playing and the extraordinary guitar sounds so much that I don't even realize that I'm exercising. I would say, try it, but I think most of my readers can't handle this hard kind of music. And it's probably only a mother's love that makes me enjoy it. But it works for me and if you decide to try it, let me know if it helps your walking routine.

Absent from the Body, Present with the Lord

2008-04-03T12:17:00.002-05:00

Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:6-8

I have lots of aunts, uncles and cousins. This week, another of my aunts left this earth and has gone to her heavenly home. I have just come from the funeral, so death is on my mind right now. I don't see death as a morbid subject, because it is really a part of life and something everyone has to deal with at some point. After hearing about my aunt's life, I feel comforted rather than sad. She had a Hope, the same Hope that I have. My aunt's hope was in Jesus and I believe with all my heart that today she is finally looking at her savior. I do feel sad, though, for her daughter because now both her parents and her only sibling are all gone.

I hope this doesn't seem disrespectful, but I enjoyed going to the visitation last night because I got to see relatives I haven't seen in a long time. Since my grandparents died, we don't get together anymore. I didn't realize how much I have missed some of my cousins, especially Randy. Randy is my age and his family lived next door to my family when we were growing up. He was my first playmate and he was like a brother to me back then. We played together all the time and I have great memories. We stayed somewhat close as teenagers, but as adults I rarely see him. But the best part is, we have a family reunion planned later this month so we will all be together again and this time I won't have to rush back to work. I will be able to visit cousins, their children, aunts and uncles as long as I want.

Something else that was really interesting for me was to see the different generations that have come from each set of parents (meaning from my dad's brothers and sister). It's amazing to see how one married couple and the way they live their lives affects all the generations to follow them. It's really something to think about.

Suggestions Needed

2008-04-01T05:25:00.006-05:00

I feel like I've kinda neglected my blog lately, as well as reading other blogs. I've had several extra things going on which has kept me from having enough time to do everything. So this post will just be some miscellaneous thoughts.

One day last week I won tickets on the radio to our city's Riverfest. We have this really nice amphitheater by the river and Matthew West and Sonic Flood were to play there Saturday night. First, a local band played and then some guy talked for a while and then it was time for Matthew West. By that time it was raining, so we sat in the rain and listened to this great Christian singer/songwriter. If you listen to Christian radio at all, I'm sure you've heard some of his music. When he finished, Sonic Flood didn't get to play because it was raining harder and they cancelled the rest of the show because of "liability". I wanted to hear the band but I was also soaked and was glad to go home and get dry.

Yesterday, I was at work and it was around the time most people go to lunch. I got two phone calls from people who work there telling me they saw that my car had a flat tire. Thankfully, I work with some people who are very nice and several of the men offered to change the tire, and someone even took it to the tire place, had it repaired and brought it back to work and put it back on my car. Since my husband works 25 miles out of town, he was really grateful for this help.

Some of you might remember that I recorded a CD for my mother for Christmas. Well, I am now working on a new instrumental CD, but this one will be all original music written by me. That way, if I decide to sell it, I won't have any copyright issues to deal with because I own the copyright to all the music. I am having a great time arranging all the music because I'm playing all of it on my synthesizer. It has all kinds of sounds so sometimes I am using nature sounds in the background of the music. This music is all slow, soothing, relaxing music which would be great to play when you are trying to go to sleep. All I need is a title. Here are some of the titles of the songs on the CD -- Dreams Come True; Magical Sleep; Reflections; Lullaby; Solitude. There's more, but what I need is your help in coming up with a title. I would like for the title to give some idea of the purpose of the CD which is relaxation. I thought about something like "Dreamless Sleep". If you have a suggestion for a CD title, please leave me a comment with your idea. Anyone who gives a title suggestion will get one of my CD's if you want one.

Tagged!

2008-03-31T21:09:00.004-05:00

I have been tagged by Kentucky Bound to write a six word memoir about myself.

Now, the rules are to tag five people.
If you've been tagged, here are your official guidelines:
Write your own six word memoir
Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like
Link to the person that tagged you in your post
Tag five more blogs with links
Remember to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.

So, here are my six words:

Dependable

Musical

Quiet

Creative

Punctual

Easy-going

I know that I'm supposed to tag five people, but I'm doing good just to get these six words on here. So, please tag yourself if you'd like to play. I would love to read yours!

That's My King

2008-03-29T08:00:00.000-05:00

Visiting in Prison

2008-03-28T08:50:00.003-05:00

The Holy Spirit amazes me sometimes. Have you ever had a Bible verse that you haven't read in a long time to just come into your mind for no reason and it's like it's telling you to do something? Well, I guess I shouldn't say for no reason, because when the Holy Spirit speaks to our spirit, it is usually through the Word of God and it is for a reason. Here is what happened....last night I was in my kitchen cooking supper and for some reason I started thinking about someone I know who is in prison right now. And then almost as quickly as the thought of him came to my mind, a verse popped into my mind. And I wasn't even sure if it was really a verse or if I had it mixed up with something else. Here is what it says: 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' I had to go back and check the Bible to see if it really did say something about visiting those in prison.

I've always remembered the feeding, clothing and sick part of these verses, but I have never even thought about the visiting in prison part. We, as a society, usually reject the people who have been convicted of crimes and especially the type of crime this person committed. We think, put that person in prison and give them what they deserve. And then we forget about them. At least, I do. But for some reason, this verse about visiting them in prison was written in bold letters across my brain just after I thought about my relative who is in prison. I want to visit him now. He was a respected man with a good job and a family. But he made some mistakes and now he's suffering the consequences. Jesus doesn't tell us to reject these people, he says that when we visit them then we are doing it unto Him. I have never set foot inside a prison, but now I'm thinking that I need to do this.

Read Matthew 25:31-46

My Daughter Said...

2008-03-27T08:00:00.004-05:00

Last weekend my daughter came home for the Easter weekend. We went out to eat at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants Friday night and when we were sitting there eating, my daughter said that she hopes when she gets married that her husband treats her the way her daddy treats me. Even though she didn't realize it, she had just given my husband one of the greatest compliments he could ever get. What a testimony! And it is true -- he treats me so good. I told her not to settle for anything less.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. Ephesians 5:25

About my 10,000 steps....
I've been getting over my goal almost every day for at least two weeks now. As far as the weight loss goes.........it ain't happenin' yet! But I'm gonna keep walking.

Meme of Fives

2008-03-27T07:19:00.002-05:00

Meme of Fives
I was tagged by Kay of Loop de Loops in La La Land for the Meme of Fives

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.

2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.

3. At the end of the post the player thn tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves a comment, letting them know they got tagged and to ask them to play and read your blog.

What was I doing 10 years ago? 1998

1. Being a mother to a 15 year old boy and a 10 year old girl.

2. Working at a medical equipment place but only during the hours my kids were at school.

3. Enduring my son's driving because he had his learners permit. (I am a horrible driving teacher!)

4. Playing the synthesizer at my church and helping with youth choir.

5. Going to soccer games.

5 things on my to-do list today ~

1. Work at my job all day

2. Walk 10,000 steps

3. Cook supper

4. Relax at home tonight

5. Be nice to people who are not nice (this is everyday at work)

5 Snacks I enjoy ~

1. chips and salsa

2. potato chips

3. chocolate

4. chocolate chip cookies

5. bananas

5 Things I would do if I were a billionaire ~

1. Get hotel rooms every night for A Plea for Purging

2. Buy a new house

3. Get my husband some horses and a barn

4. Hire an interior decorator for my new house.

5. Hire a personal shopper to buy my clothes so I wouldn't have to do it.

Five of my bad habits ~

1. laziness

2. letting housework accumulate

3. eating chips and salsa when I get home from work

4. I leave my shoes all over the house.

5. I make a mess around my piano by leaving music all over the place.

Five places I have lived ~

1. The house my parents lived when I was born (in this city)

2. The house we moved to when I was 11 (in this city)

3. The house I shared with a friend when I moved out (in this city)

4. The first house my husband and I lived in (in this city)

5. the house we live in now

Five jobs I've had ~

1. Receptionist in a law firm

2. Clerical position in medical equipment supplier place

3. 3rd grade teacher

4. Postal employee

5. Piano teacher

I will tag five people but please don't feel obligated to participate if you don't have time!
Strawberry
Sister Sheri
Lori
Live Out Loud
Sandi

Disappointments

2008-03-25T09:39:00.003-05:00

This morning I was thinking about how often people disappoint me, but how Jesus never does. I don't think it matters who the person is -- anyone can disappoint us. But I think the disappointments are greater when it is someone we expect a lot from, someone we think is supposed to be a Christian, or especially someone who we think is a great Christian example to others. But really it shouldn't surprise me or cause me such great disappointment when this happens, because those people are human. I have probably disappointed people too many times to mention. I disappoint myself sometimes and wonder how I can do some of the things I do and think some of the things I think and still call myself a Christian.

Jesus is the only standard we should measure ourselves against. He is the ultimate role model and example we should try to be like. He will never disappoint.

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. Romans 7:15

The Resurrection

2008-03-23T06:13:00.005-05:00

What is it that proves Jesus really rose from the dead?
Well the answer to that question is very simple...the Bible. And now that we've dealt with that question I want to move to another question. I don't want to talk about how we prove the resurrection, the Bible proves the resurrection. It is the Word of God and it says Jesus Christ rose from the dead and that settles it. The issue, frankly, is not what proves the resurrection, the issue is what does the resurrection prove? What does the resurrection prove? And the answer is, basically, the full redemptive plan and purpose of God. In fact, the resurrection is the key to everything. (John MacArthur)

Happy Easter! Today we celebrate the resurrection of our savior, Jesus Christ. I used a quote by John MacArthur who is the preacher on a the radio program, Grace to You. I heard this sermon a few days ago and I found the text of it on his website. He talked about that there were many, many books written on how to prove the resurrection. But he said the Bible says it, so that is all the proof we need. If you are interested in reading the complete text of John MacArthur's message, click here. Have a wonderful Easter!

He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Matthew 28:6

One More Video

2008-03-22T07:11:00.000-05:00

Ask and you shall receive! This one is for Kay because she wanted to hear my southern accent. I showed it to my daughter and she laughed -- I don't know why, maybe because I was narrating my little video? Anyway, you won't get the full-effect southern accent here as you would if you heard me talking to my family and sisters. I was trying to talk more properly. But anyway, here is one more video of Little River....

The Passion of the Christ

2008-03-21T09:19:00.003-05:00

A few years ago a movie came out called The Passion of the Christ. It was a huge success and widely supported by Christians. Churches rented out theaters so their members and friends could all go see the movie together. I think almost every Christian I know went to see it. I heard amazing reviews about it from everyone. I almost felt like as a Christian I was obligated to go and see this movie. I felt like other Christians expected anyone who claims to be a Christian to see this movie. But I was hesitant and I kept holding back, not going to see it. I had already heard a preacher describe in great detail what Jesus went through, and I had heard that this movie was very graphic. I didn't go, mainly because I am not good with movies that have a lot of graphic and violent scenes. I almost started to feel like I wasn't doing my part as a Christian because I had not seen this movie. Almost. That was until I heard a pastor say something that I think I already knew in my heart. He said that though it was a great movie and he encouraged everyone to see it, it wasn't necessary. Here is the part that stuck in my mind to this day......he said the scripture is sufficient. And that is so true. I no longer feel bad for not having seen the movie. God's word is sufficient to speak to our hearts of everything God needs to tell us. It always was before the movie came out, and it always will be.

We actually bought the movie a couple of years ago, so maybe I'll watch it this weekend.

Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. Matthew 27:26-31

Alabama the Beautiful

2008-03-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

Little River Falls

Little River

The top part of DeSoto Falls

The inside of the church built around a big rock. Eddie is at the pulpit and the big rock is just behind him.

The outside of the church -- I'm standing there beside the big rock.

DeSoto videos

2008-03-20T05:58:00.000-05:00

These are very short videos I took at DeSoto State Park. Be sure to turn your sound on.

Spring Break

2008-03-19T08:55:00.005-05:00

This week is spring break for the school system where my husband teaches. I took off work Monday and Tuesday so that he and I could get away for a couple of days. We had a great time and went to northeast Alabama to DeSoto State Park, home of DeSoto Falls and Little River Falls. I don't know if the people who live in the southern or central part of this state even know about the beauty that is in that part of Alabama. They've had lots of rain recently which made the waterfalls the best I've ever seen them. Tomorrow I hope to have some pictures posted. At DeSoto Falls, I can't get the complete magnificence of the place into one picture, but here is one on DeSoto's website. We did some great hiking trails, one that followed Little River. The water in the river was so beautiful and green. I have never seen it so pretty. Tuesday, after we left DeSoto, we went to Scottboro to the Unclaimed Baggage store, and then to Grant, Alabama and saw Cathedral Caverns. After that we stopped in Boaz where they have a bunch of outlet stores. It was a fun trip. We had planned to camp out in the tent, but we ended up staying in the lodge at DeSoto because my hubby felt bad about having me sleep in a tent without "facilities" nearby. The lodge was great and came with a free breakfast the next morning.

With all the hiking we did, it was easy for me to get past my 10,000 steps while we were away. And it was a lot more enjoyable than a treadmill! BP asked me to tell what changes I've made in order to reach 10,000 steps a day. On the days when I'm at work, I have tried to start walking for about 10 minutes on my morning and afternoon breaks (weather permitting) and to walk a little longer during my lunch break. And then, in the evenings I have either taken a 30-minute walk in my neighborhood, or walked on the treadmill for 20 minutes to finish out and reach my 10,000 steps. I've even gone over 11,000 a couple of times. But my husband thinks my pedometer cheats. It really does seem to add up those steps quickly! But the main thing is, I know that I'm getting more exercise than I was before.

Check back in tomorrow for pictures of our trip!

Update and Friends

2008-03-16T13:14:00.004-05:00

A few days ago I mentioned that my goal is to start walking 10,000 steps a day. Since that day I have gone over 10,000 steps each day and am also trying to eat less without actually going on a diet. I have to be realistic. I don't want to go on a diet and lose weight only to gain it back after I am finished. I want to learn a lifestyle of exercise and eating the right amounts to maintain the weight I hope to be soon.

I would like to thank Kay of Loop de Loops in La La Land for presenting me with this friends award. It really means a lot to me that Kay considers me a friend. I love her blog and her writing style. I hope to be reading a book that she writes in the future! Thank you Kay!

Friday Favorites

2008-03-14T08:00:00.002-05:00

This year's presidential campaign has been so different from any other that I can remember. I'm not big into politics and I don't feel educated enough on the issues to even discuss it, but there is one thing I do know. I know who I don't want to vote for in November. But no matter who wins, I can take comfort in the fact that God is still in control because Romans 13:1 says this....Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

My favorite for today is not a blog, but a statement made in an email I read recently. The statement was made by a close friend of mine, a young yet mature Christian lady. She let me read her email response to someone else who apparently had said some not very nice things about a certain presidential candidate. I thought my friend's response was very mature and very Christ-like. Here is what she said, though I will leave out the name of the presidential candidate......
"As far as politics, I am called to uplift and pray for leaders, so I have nothing negative to say about [insert name of the candidate] or any other political candidates. I plead the blood over my family (to not be deceived), our nation, world, Hollywood etc.. I pray that and thank God that He is in control and that Americans will use biblical wisdom and discernment when choosing our leaders."

I like this so much because I realized that so many people, me included, say such negative things about the candidates that we don't like when we should really be praying for Americans to use biblical wisdom and discernment when we vote. I do believe we need to let the truth be known about where each candidate stands on the issues, but that can be done without attacking the person. And then, after we've researched each one and prayed for wisdom to vote wisely, if the one we feel is wrong wins, we need to remember what Romans 13:1 says --the authorities that exist have been established by God.

Losing Weight

2008-03-12T08:08:00.009-05:00

I have a doctor's appointment coming up in April. I hate the part when you have to get weighed, but I know it has to be done, so I would like to lose a few pounds by then if I can discipline myself. I've tried to change my eating habits but I haven't done very well with that, so I decided instead to start exercising more. Really, all I'm doing is trying to walk 10,000 steps a day. I'm using a pedometer, and on a normal day without adding extra steps, I usually walk about 5,000 - 6,000 steps. So far, I haven't made it up to 10,000 steps, but yesterday I walked 9700. I really believe if I can start walking 10,000 steps a day, I should lose a few pounds without changing my eating. I guess this will be an experiment to see if it works. Of course, the only way I'll know if I lost weight is by the way my clothes fit because I am not ready to face the reality of my weight yet. It's hard to face the truth right now because for many years my weight stayed between 110 and 115 without even trying. I was able to eat whatever I wanted. But then middle age set in and everything changed. If this doesn't work I guess I'll have to go to Weight Watchers. I know that works -- my friend has just lost over 60 pounds during the past year and she looks great!

So, here I am trying to lose weight my own way -- not wanting to make the effort to go to a place that I know works and will give me the support I need to lose the few pounds I need to lose. Aren't we like that in our Christian walk sometimes? We try to take matters into our own hands and fix problems ourselves without praying or looking into the Bible to find the message God might have for us. We want a quick fix, or results that we can see immediately. But like the slow, steady weight loss that happens with Weight Watchers, sometimes we can't immediately see how God is working in a situation to meet our needs in his perfect way. He needs to be our starting point, not a last resort!

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Proverbs 31:30

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. Psalm 130:5

You Just Know...

2008-03-10T08:52:00.004-05:00

I've been reading the book of Romans in the Bible lately. The whole Bible is wonderful to me, but right now this particular book is so incredibly amazing, overwhelming and humbling. I use to kind of skip over Romans because I thought it was so hard to understand. I'll admit even now, it is deep, but it is absolutely full of necessary teachings for Christians. I don't understand everything that is in there, but the more I read it the more the understanding comes to me. And that's the Holy Spirit -- He reveals the meaning of his Word to us, maybe not all at once but gradually sometimes. Romans is not a book that you can just casually skim over quickly. For me, I have to read slowly and stop and absorb almost every verse. I don't mind taking my time with it. It is changing my life and growing me spiritually in a way that can only happen by reading the Word.

There are so many things I want to write about from Romans, but this post would get too long if I mentioned everything I've learned. One verse that stuck out to me in Romans 8 a week or two ago is verse 16: The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. For some reason, I thought this verse was so amazing because to me it says that the Holy Spirit confirms with my spirit that I am his child. I have such a hard time putting into words what I'm thinking right now about this, but it's like when my daughter asked me how I knew for sure that her dad was "the one" I was supposed to marry. I told you her when the right one comes along, you just know. I don't know what is is but you just know deep inside. That is how it is when the Holy Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are God's children -- you just know. You know that you've believed that Jesus died on a cross for the sins you've committed and then he confirms it in your spirit so that you don't have to wonder if your belief is real or not.

What an awesome God of love we serve. He has given us the Bible which is his holy Word, and he's given us his Spirit to witness with our spirit.

T.G.I.F.!!!

2008-03-07T08:01:00.004-06:00

I'm having one of those "mommy" days. Most of the time I am completely fine with my empty nest, but once in a while I start thinking about those days when my kids were little and how cute they were. When Aaron was really young, I guess he caught the excitement of "Friday" from us because when he would get up on Friday mornings, he would say, "It's Friiiiidaaaaayyy!" and he had his own hand motions to go with it complete with little boy sound effects. It's just one of those things you never forget about your kids.

One of those special memories we have of Leah is when she was about 3 years old, we went on a little trip to Desoto State Park in northeast Alabama. It's always been one of our favorite places to go. On the over three hour trip back home she was so tired out that she fell asleep in her car seat. We tried to stop somewhere to see some waterfalls but she just couldn't wake up. So we just had to forget about that and continue our ride home, and we never heard a peep out of her the whole trip back. So, right when got into our city I told Eddie to stop at McDonalds to get something for supper. We thought she was still sleeping because she hadn't made a sound for three hours, but the minute we pulled into McDonalds we heard this sleepy little voice in the back seat say, "I want a happy meal." It was so cute and so funny that we still think about it this many years later.

And since I'm having this mommy day, I'll leave a link to one of my favorite posts about my kids called Doors.

When You Walk Through the Fire

2008-03-06T08:28:00.001-06:00

Today I want to post these verses of encouragement for my friend, Cliff of Seek Him First and Wixy's Gone Bananas. Lately it seems like he's been going through the fire with one thing after another. And this week, his brother has passed away. I just want him to know that I'm thinking about him and his family during this difficult time.

But now, this is what the Lord says-- he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze..." Isaiah 43:1-2

Never Changing

2008-03-04T13:28:00.004-06:00

I don't know, sometimes I wonder if something is wrong with me. I never change anything. In my house, my furniture stays in the same spot because I never move it around. Well, actually I did move things around a little in the living room on New Years. But in the den, everything always stays the same; in my bedroom, everything stays the same. I am so embarrassed to say this, but it's the truth.....all the blinds on my windows were already there when we moved into the house in 1994. And worse than that, even the curtains in the living room have not been changed as long as we've lived there. I lived in the last house for 13 years and the drapes that were hanging in the living room when I moved in were still hanging there when I moved out. Look at my blog -- it always has that green at the top and a white background. Other people change the look of their blog, but I just leave mine the same, always. I wonder sometimes, is this normal? Is something wrong with me?

Celebration in Heaven

2008-03-03T13:23:00.007-06:00

I was going to use this for my favorites this Friday, but I can't wait until then. This is such exciting news for one of my blogging friends that I want to share it with everyone. Sandi's dad has been very sick and in the hospital. They weren't sure if he was going to make it through. She's mentioned before that she wanted her dad to give his life to the Lord and wanted her pastor to visit him. Today the angels are rejoicing in heaven along with Sandi! Last night her dad gave his life to Christ. Please take a minute to read Sandi's short post from last night, A Day to Rejoice Part 2, and rejoice with her!

In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. Luke 15:10

Are You Sincere?

2008-03-01T07:54:00.004-06:00

Before I started this blog, I wrote a few blogs on my Myspace page. Even though I didn't have any readers, I knew that my daughter would read it there, so most of my blogs back then were things I wanted to say to her. Today I am posting one I did there in January 2007.

Are You Sincere?
I say that I am a Christian and I really am, but I hope that I never do anything in my life that causes other people to question whether that is true or not. Anyone can say "I'm a Christian," but the Bible says that we are known by the fruit in our lives. It really bothers me when someone says they are a Christian, but then I don't see anything in their life that has anything to do with Christianity. I hope that the way I live my life is proof to other people that I am a true believer. While I know that doing "good works" and being a good person is not what saves me, I do believe that a saved, born again believer in Jesus Christ will strive to be a good person simply because of their love for the Lord. I want my life to always bring honor and glory to God. If I'm using foul language, hating other people, gossiping, having a horrible attitude, etc., that would not bring honor and glory to the Lord, and it would make other people wonder if I really am a Christian.

So.....if you say that you belong to Christ, please live the way you would if he was by your side every minute of the day.

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." Matthew 7:21

Friday Favorites

2008-02-29T01:11:00.001-06:00

Strawberry did a very thought-provoking post that I wish everyone would read. There are a lot of deceptive teachings out today, and there are people in our country with a lot of influence who sometimes support these beliefs. Please read Strawberry's Teachings - True or False.

**I just noticed that Strawberry has posted a Part 2 for Teachings - True or False. **

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Matthew 7:15

Encouragement

2008-02-27T08:07:00.003-06:00

Romans 8:18
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

The verse above is so encouraging to me, so I decided to share it in hopes that you will also be encouraged. I've been reading several blogs recently of people who have been going through some really tough times. Some have given the details and some haven't. But whatever you might be going through today that makes life seem almost unbearable, remember the verse above, that no matter how big our suffering is here on earth, it can't even compare to how great and glorious it will be when we finally finish this journey and meet our Savior. I know it is hard to comprehend this at the time you are going through the sufferings, and sometimes we don't even want to hear it. But I think we eventually start looking for answers in our sufferings and this verse gave me what I needed to hear one time when I was going through a tough time. If you haven't read the whole chapter of Romans 8, I encourage you to get a Bible and read it. It is such great reading! Here is a link for Romans 8.

I'm Good at Math

2008-02-25T18:00:00.001-06:00

A while back I did a post called Feeling Inadequate (just click on that title if you want to read it). Well, that bridal tea I was helping with was yesterday. My job was to do a fruit tray, and as easy as that sounds, I was really stressing over it. So what I ended up doing was buying a great big custom-made fruit tray at Publix, and then I arranged it on a pretty silver tray and had some fruit dip in the center. One of the other ladies helped me arrange it and I was very pleased with how it looked. But here's the good part....while we were setting things up and getting ready for the shower, someone asked who was good with numbers (math) because we had to settle up on the money part of it because one lady had spent a lot more than anyone else by buying the gift from the hostesses. Every lady was saying, not me, not me, so I told them that I'm good with math and could figure it up. And I told them I'm a lot better with math than with decorating and they were all so happy not to have to do the math. It felt so good to have something that I could do well and felt comfortable with. It really did help my feelings of inadequacy! And I actually enjoyed the shower and visiting with everyone. The bride was so appreciative that it made it worth all the trouble.

...God has arranged the parts of the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 1 Corinthians 12:18-20

The Gift of Eternal Life

2008-02-23T07:44:00.005-06:00

As I promised in my last post, I want to tell you how to be ready when Jesus returns. I consider this the most important message I have ever or will ever post on this blog. It is the heart of everything I believe and everything my life revolves around. I hope to answer the question, "What must I do to be saved?" In Christian circles, we call it different things at different times but it all means the same thing -- getting saved; being born again; becoming a believer; being a Christian; making a profession of faith. In the simplest terms, let me answer the question in this first paragraph. In the Bible when Paul and Silas were in jail they prayed and sang until God sent an earthquake that opened all the doors and loosened the prisoners' chains. It scared the jailer and caused him to rush to Paul and ask him, "What must I do to be saved?" The answer was so simple -- "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved, and your house." After this the jailer and his family were baptized and the Bible says that the jailer rejoiced, or was filled with joy because he and his family had become believers. (see Acts 16:30-31)

Some might ask, where did this term "born again" come from? It comes from the Bible where Jesus told a man that no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. In simple terms, being born again refers to a spiritual birth, which is what happens when you become a believer in Jesus Christ. In this same conversation Jesus goes on to say the famous verse of John 3:16 -- For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (see John 3:1-21)

Now, let me break it down a little bit more.

1. The first step is to realize that we are sinners and that we need a savior. The Bible says that there is no one righteous, not even one, and that every person has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (see Romans 3:10, 23)

2. Next there's good news and bad news....first the bad news. We are all sinners and the Bible says that the wages of sin is death! Now the good news...in the same verse that tells us the wages of sin is death, it says but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (see Romans 6:23) God demonstrated his love for us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (see Romans 5:8)

3. And finally, do you believe that Jesus Christ, God's son, died in your place? Do you believe that he took the punishment for the sins of every person? If you believe this in your heart, ask the Lord to forgive you of your sins and accept Him as your Savior. Remember, it is a gift from Him. The gift becomes yours when you believe it and accept it. Here is what the Bible says about it....if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. For who everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (see Romans 10:9-10, 13)

I welcome comments on this post. To my Christian friends, please add other verses in the comment section that you think might be beneficial to someone seeking answers. Thank you!