Entitled...

I read this blog post yesterday and it really stuck with me.  There are so many times that I think I have made something happen or that I deserve something.  Most of the time I can creep into that mindset without even realizing it.  I start thinking things like the ones he mentioned in the blog post:

Life should revolve around ME.
Relationships are about meeting MY needs.
Fruitful ministry is the result of MY effort.
The things I have are because of MY hard work.

In reality, everything I have and everything I am has nothing to do with me and everything to do with the God who lives in me and who I allow to use me when He sees fit.  I love the list at the end of the post of questions that I feel like I should ask myself more often:

Who did it?
Who grew it?
Who led it?
Who inspired the idea?
Who got you through the crisis?
Who took it to the next level?
He did. As in, not you.

You should take a second and read the whole post - it's really good and filled with reminders that every good and perfect gift is from him, including my trials. (See also James 1).

Longing

So, I realize this isn't the first time I've broached this topic here on the old blog.  And really, I could be doing something more productive, like posting pictures from Christmas parties and Christmas presents made.  But this is what's in my head and heart right now, and I think I want to get it out.  In writing. 

Lately, I've had the privilege of spending time with my friends who have kids.  I absolutely adore getting to hang out with these families.  Monday night, I was keeping one of my friend's little boy while they went to her husband's company Christmas party.  Sweet boy is growing through some separation anxiety.  So as soon as mom and dad walked out the door, he was hysterical.  It didn't last too long, but there was absolutely nothing I could do to comfort him.  Because I'm not his mom.  Sure, he likes me.  I get told often I'm good with kids, we play well when mommy and daddy are around, but I am not mom, the one who brings the most comfort.

I was struck sitting there a little later that evening as the boy slept, how much I long to be the one who comforts my child, the one who some child needs more than anyone else. (Wow...that sounds codependent...but really, I just long to have a family).  I have a longing, a desire, that is most definitely not being fulfilled right now.  And deep down, I'm okay with that.  But there are moments like Monday night when it just hits me that those desires are still there.  I desire to be a wife.  I dream of being a mom.  I long to have a family all my own. 

I am tempted in the midst of these desires to sucked into discontentment, comparison, jealousy, and maybe even a little anger. But throughout all of these thoughts, the truth that I know runs through my head.  Delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4).  My God has always done what's best for me and He does not change (James 1:17).  As cliche as it may be, my God has a plan for me, one I know that I can trust (Jeremiah 29:11). And so many more, but this post is getting long. 

The things that encourage me most (other than truth from God's Word, of course) in times like these:
- Community. Single girls walking through the same emotions I am.  We are reading a book right now called Shattered Dreams.  I'm not very far into it, but I can tell you for sure that this book is going to touch deeply on my dreams of being married and having a family. 
- Married friends.  It might seem crazy, but I am never so blessed as when my married friends let me step in and be a part of their families.  Let me sit down at the dinner table with them like I belong there, because sometimes I feel like I don't.  Let me love on their kids and not feel like I'm completely missing out on a phase of life.  And just being my friend.  I read an article on Relevant's web site not to long ago that sent me to tears as I was reminded of how blessed I am by the married friends in my life.
- The simple reminder that God's not done.  He doesn't have a timeline that looks like mine.  And for that I am thankful. 

What encourages you when you find discontment growing in your heart?

15/30: Hanging in...

So, I'm still feeling the sinus infection.  Yuck.  I finally called the doctor this morning and got an appointment for tomorrow morning.  Yay!

Random what-I'm-learning-right-now moment: God never leaves or changes.  I know, pretty basic stuff.  But it keeps hitting me.  We've been talking about it a little at community group.  I've been reading Hosea - talk about a reminder that the Lord is ALWAYS there.  And there are some harsh words used in there about how He feels when we choose to walk through life apart from Him.  All that to say, I've been encouraged and reminded and thankful that our God is always the same, He never lets go of us, and He never stops welcoming us back whenever we come to our senses after walking away.  Thank goodness!

And today's outfit.  This is one of my favorite sweaters.  I pretty much always feel cute when I wear it.  And I needed the extra help today - you know, with it being Monday and feeling blah.

The End

As I sit here and think about the last year, as I'm sure you know, it's not filled with all happy thoughts.  It's been rough.  But in all the things that were thrown at me, there was such a sweetness that came in my relationship with God.  Such a nearness.  Because it was the only way I could keep plugging on - with Him right beside me.  And when I sit and ponder that part of this last year, I could not be more thankful for the way things have gone.  Not that I'm wishing for another year like 2009 - I could definitely do without that for a while.  But I will be forever grateful for the way God has shaped me, and molded me, and drawn me to him this year.  It has been one heck of a roller coaster for which, in hindsight, I can say that I am grateful for. 

As I laid in bed last night after I rang in the new year with my family, I prayed for the year to come.  Because, you see, things seem to be looking up.  No more studying, the possibility of buying a house, and just some fun stuff on the horizon for my life.  And while things looking up is good, it also scares me.  Braun did all the talks for the ski trip.  He talked about kings of the Bible, and how some of them were faithful to God, some weren't, and some were faithful based only on the circumstances of their life.  I don't want to be the latter.  I don't want to be someone who only walks closely with the Lord when things are hard.  My prayer for 2010 is that I would grow closer to the Lord, not out of desperation in hard times, but solely because I love Him and want to know Him more. My prayer is that my life would bring glory to God, in good times and in bad.

Glory to God 

Glory to God

Glory to God Forever

Take my Life and Let it Be

All For You and For Your Glory

Take my Life and Let it Be Yours

         - Glory to God, Steve Fee

Read

Glory To God Lyrics

here.

 

Much thanks...

I'm cutting it close today, but this is honestly the first time I've had to sit down at my computer all day. Yikes! Today I am so thankful for my God, and here's a few of the reasons why:

• My God has delivered me from my sins. For You, O Lord, Have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living. Psalm 116:8-9
• My God does not hold my sin against me. Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1
• My God does good things for me. The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. Psalm 126:3
• My God answers my prayer, despite my consistent failure. Many times he delivered them, but they were bent on rebellion and they wasted away in their sin. But he took note of their distress when he heard their cry. Psalm 106:43-44
• My God has redeemed my life and continues to redeem the circumstances of my life. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 1 Peter 1:18-19
• My God is not done with me yet. ...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ. Philippians 1:6

All these things the Lord has reminded me of just today. And because of that, I am thankful for some of the hard things I've gone through in the last few months to bring me to this place. A place of restoration. A place of thankfulness. A place that is so full of God's grace that you just can't help but trust Him and know that it is only through Him that you are here..

Cartwheels of Joy

Though the cherry trees don’t blossom and the strawberries don’t ripen,
Though the apples are worm-eaten and the wheat fields stunted,
Though the sheep pens are sheepless and the cattle barns empty,
I’m singing joyful praise to God.
I’m turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior God.
Counting on God’s Rule to prevail, I take heart and gain strength.

Habakkuk 3:17-19 (The Message)

Yesterday I was catching up on my Google Reader from the weekend, and read this entry. (You should go read it, it's short). I could kind of relate. For a lot of this past year I've just felt off. It's been hard, for some of the big reasons I've mentioned on here, and for some smaller stuff that I've just been wrestling through, and some struggles that seem to master me over and over again no matter how hard I try to avoid them. When it boils down to it, this year has just been hard. Hard physically. Hard emotionally. And if I'm really honest, hard spiritually. I loved these verses that she pointed out in her blog post (and can I talk about how much I love The Message translation sometimes?!). I feel like this year has been one where the trees of my life haven't blossomed, and things have felt empty. But amidst all the hard stuff, there has also been the overwhelming joy that can only come from God. Amidst the hard times, I can stand in church or at a retreat or in my car as I'm driving down the road and sing joyful praises to my God. These verses were such a sweet picture to me of this year. In every challenging and hard thing I've walked through, the Lord has been there. Walking with me. Restoring me. Teaching me. Growing me. And if that doesn't make you want to sing praises and turn cartwheels I'm just not sure what will.

Atrophy

So...as I'm slowly easing myself back into running, I realize how much my running muscles are out of practice. I was reading a blog that I read frequently this morning, and very much related to the analogy she used to talk about how relationships take work in order to stay in shape the same way our muscles do. I tend to forget this. For some reason I think that my friendships can run on auto-pilot. I am about the worst person at keeping up with friends. You can ask any of mine that have ever moved away, it is not my strong suit. This is my favorite part from the entry:

"Anything atrophies if we stop using it. Including relationships. Especially relationships.

Marriages and friendships are either getting better or getting worse. There is no hover posture for relationships.

We are either taking steps to repair, restore and increase closeness and intimacy, or we are not. And when we do not, it begins to atrophy. The relationship loses effectiveness and impact."

I see this as a challenge. A challenge to fight for the relationships God has placed in my life. To not sit by idly as they atrophy.

Worship

Last night I was sitting and catching up on my bible study for community group. I was loving several things it had to say about the greatness and goodness of God and how that should stir our hearts to worship. I was particularly hit by this quote from Louie Giglio's book The Air I Breathe that was in the margin.

"Worship is our response to what we value most...So how do you know where and what you worship? It's easy. You simply follow the trail of your time, your affection, your energy, your money, and your allegiance. At the end of that trail you'll find a throne; and whatever, or whomever, is on that throne is what's of highest value to you. On that throne is what you worship."

Those words were super convicting to me. It was very humbling to sit and think about how often people or position or things have ended up on those thrones! And challenging to consider how I make sure I get God there and keep Him there.

The Challenge to Sacrifice

Let me tell you a story. I promise it will be short. I have a friend named Kristin. Kristin went to Africa this summer. Among some other things, she spent a few days with a girl named Katie. Whenever Kristin was telling us about her time in Africa, she sent us the link to Katie's blog. I started reading and couldn't stop. I was so compelled by what this 20 year old girl was doing that I went back to the beginning of her blog and read it all. I couldn't get out of my head this girl - barely out of high school - who had moved to Africa. Left everything - family, boyfriend, college, comfort. Went where God called her. And is doing amazing things. She is essentially a mom to 13 little girls. She started a sponsorship program. She takes in sick children and cares for them when no one else will. I am challenged by her. I couldn't get her story out of my head...for a while. Then I let it slip. I did nothing with the challenge I felt God had issued.

Then I sit down to read another blog I read frequently. And there I find that Jenny is talking about Katie. And is raising money so that Katie can buy the land for a medical clinic. Jenny is selling things on eBay so that she can send money to Katie. Certainly I can give up something. Eating out. Shopping. Sonic diet cokes. So, challenge reissued, and this time I think I'll actually do something about it. I have never sacrificed the way Katie has, but there some very small things I can sacrifice to help her out. It's a start. I challenge you to read Jenny's blog about Katie...I read it with tears in my eyes.

Revived

I've been in a funk. I think it started about when this happened...I just haven't realized it. A lot has happened this summer. From failing a test, to my living situation becoming unsure, to losing Mama, I have just been on a bit of an emotional roller coaster. You just have to love how when you're already there - in the ditch of your emotions - that Satan knows how to take you even farther. He taunts you with struggles that you had thought you had conquered years ago. He convinces you to believe hundreds of lies about yourself...about your relationships...about your place in the world.

Needless to say, life has not been pretty lately, I dare say it's been ugly. But God, in his infinite wisdom and timing, is always there. When you think you can't go farther into the emotional pit, you find yourself reading Psalm 143 . From the very first verse, I could relate to the psalmist when he said to the Lord, "come to my relief." Through the words of this psalm and the Shane Bernard song that comes pretty much directly from its verses, I decided I needed a new mindset about the place where I had gotten emotionally. Yes, I had been spending time with the Lord. Yes, I had been asking him to pull me from the pit. But the reasons I was asking him for it were about me. I wanted to feel better...plain and simple.

I don't think anyone would blame me for asking to be pulled out of the funk I was in. But the more I sat with the God's Word, the more I realized that I wanted God to have the glory for getting me out. The chorus of the Shane Bernard song says, "Revive me, Revive me, Not for me, But for Your name." That became my prayer that day. Revive me, FOR YOUR NAME, Lord. Revive me so that I can focus on serving the people you've placed in my life. Revive me so that You can use me in the lives of my high school girls as school starts back up. Revive me so that YOU will be glorified...not me. That is my new prayer. Things are shifting. I can feel it. It's slow, it's gradual, and it's still not easy, but I know that if I keep praying for God to be glorified, then I am going to be in the best place I can possibly be, funk or not.

Remembering Mama

I wish that I could take the words that Deborah spoke at Mama's funeral and post them right here on this blog. She did an excellent job of portraying who she was and how much she will be missed in our lives.

My precious Mama was a woman who loved God and loved people. And she was a fighter. These are three things that were consistently heard in the hours we spent at the hospice reminiscing and hearing from people who loved her.

She loved her family. She spent more hours than you could count loving me and my sisters. Slumber parties at her house. Trips to Amarillo to shop for back to school clothes. More clothes than you were allowed to take back in the TJ Maxx dressing rooms. Taking me to Olive Garden - just the two of us - and me thinking it was the biggest deal. Converting Papa's old workshop into a playroom for us - complete with pool table and dress up clothes. Taking me with her when she volunteered at the hospital. Sewing the three of us matching Christmas & Easter dresses every single year. She showed her love with her time and the way she lavished gifts on us. I swear we could have had enough gifts for a small nation of children under the tree every Christmas.

She loved everyone placed in her life. I thought it was normal from a young age to sit with all of her and Papa's friends and dinner parties and to play dominoes. She was so very intentional with all her relationships. When she moved into the retirement community where she'd been for the last seven years, she got a roster of everyone's name before she even moved and started learning their names and when she would meet them, she would mark them off. Such a people person.

She loved her God. Countless hours at the prayer room, bible studies, teaching Sunday School. And her life was just lived in a way you knew the love of Christ was flowing through her.

She was a fighter. Mama had a stroke thirteen years ago that left her without feeling in her entire right side. She never, not for one day of that thirteen years, stopped fighting. There was one physical struggle after another, more surgeries than you could count, and she kept on going, striving to be independent, and attempting to live as though there was nothing wrong with her body!

She was also a ball of fire - to the end. Things were done the way Mama thought they should be. Whether it was teaching me to make dressing (which is my favorite food) and making me add more of one season after another until you almost wanted to scream. Or us rearranging the furniture in her apartment until it was just so. Or how she had relayed a message to her housekeeper her last week in the hospital stay from the staph infection that she was coming home, so she needed to "dust, dust, dust".

All these are great & wonderful memories, but more importantly, I learned from my Mama what it looks like to honor God with your life. To love people the way He did. And to fight like crazy to make every single day He gives you on this earth count. That's the legacy my Mama left me. It's hard to imagine life without her. Sometimes I don't think it's really hit that she's gone - it came so fast. But I am so thankful that she is in heaven with our Saviour, no longer confined to a scooter, no longer in pain, and reaping the rewards of a life well lived.

Me with Mama as a little bitty baby. I was her first grandchild...I think she was kind of crazy about me :)

Me with Mama (on the right) and my dad's parents after my Baylor graduation. Mama was also a Baylor Bear - Sic 'Em!

The whole family with Mama at her 75th surprise birthday party a couple of years ago.

And a couple of the many, many dresses she sewed for us! (Check out the hair!!!)

I have put my hope in Your Word.

So...needless to say...this time in my life is a little interesting. The last month or so of emotional downers have left me a little drained. My community group has been doing Beth Moore's Esther bible study this summer and it has been wonderful, but I found myself longing for some less structured time in the Word. I've been slowly reading through the Psalms when I'm on breaks from structured bible studies. I was reading in Psalm 119 the other day and was just really hit with what my love of God's Word should look like. All through the psalm it talks about his love for the Word and how it sustains him. Here's just a sampling:

- I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your Word. (vs 16)

- My soul faints with longing for your salvation, but I have put my hope in your Word. (vs 81)

- Your Word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. (vs 89)

- Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. (vs 97)

- How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! (vs 103)

- Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (vs 105)

- Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart. (vs 111)

- You are my refuge and my shield, I have put my hope in your Word. (vs 114)

- The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. (vs 130)

I long to feel that way about God's Word. I think there are times in life when studying it has been joyful for me, but it has never been the thing I would stake my hope on or the thing I never neglect. I tend to get in a box-checking rut of just opening it every day because I am supposed to and forget the kind of life that can be found there. It's my desire that I would move out of seeing the Bible as a text book and a requirement and seeing as God's words to me, a help in my time of trouble, the place where I can be replinished when I am run down after a month like I have just had, and the words in which I can put all of my hope in.

Surreal

I'm sitting here. In a hospice. My Mama is dying. It came on sudden. It is sad, but she has been fighting the physical effects of a stroke since 1996, and I am happy that she is headed to a place where she'll be able to feel her whole body, not just her left side. Where she won't have to ride a scooter. And where she gets to be with the One who changed her life and made her the woman that she was.

Sitting with my family today, and reflecting on her life has made me so thankful for the legacy that she is leaving for me. I have a grandmother who loves Jesus with all her heart. I was thumbing through her bible today, and happened upon this verse underlined, with my name and 1983 written next to it: "But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children." She has sought the Lord with her life, she has served people, and she has taught me how to fight, and she will be missed so much.

I just got here today. I have been working this week, because of course, like everything else in life (think crazy surgery in the middle of tax filing season), it happens when work is crazy and the timing makes for insanity. I feel like I spent most of this week torn between two worlds. The world where I could be useful, and do my job, and the world where I really wanted to be, with my family. I am thankful that I get to be here now. With my family. It has fun to sit with my family and tell stories about her life and just remember who she has been in our lives. It has been emotional, but good.

I'm not sure why I'm sitting here writing this, but I haven't blogged in a while. It's what's going on in my life. So, there you have it.

I heart community

Community is a word we throw around a lot at Watermark. I've been hearing about the wonder of it since I started going to church there over four years ago, but only in about the last year has it become something that I really understand. I am a part of an awesome group of girls composed of Sarah, Jen, Karla, Katie, Caroline (up until she got married this month), myself, and led by sweet Caryn. These girls have really become community to me. A group of girls who truly know me. They know my struggles, they know my hurts, they know my victories. They help me make decisions. They are wise counsel in my life. They tell me when I'm headed the wrong direction with my thinking. I am so thankful for them and everything that they are in my life. I love you girls - You have made me believers in this thing we call community!

Me & Sarah at Caroline's wedding.

Caryn, Jen, & Karla at Caroline's wedding.

Katie, Jen, Karla & me at D T0wn.

Jen, Sarah, Karla & me waiting in line for ICE!

Reminder

I'm so quick to forget that despite the fact that I screw up and live my life to the contrary, I have a God who loves me with a love I don't understand and a God who is faithful regardless of the circumstances. I found out Monday that I didn't pass my last test. I have to take it again. Since then all I seem to be able to focus on is how I mess things up for myself and how I just don't quite measure up. But God is so faithful to remind me that His love for me is far greater than a love that is dependent on whether or not I am a CPA. Thank goodness!!!

Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol Him, all you peoples. For great is His love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord. Psalm 117

God-sized goals...

I saw this quote on the Living Proof Ministries blog, and couldn't help but copy it.   

Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Grab life by the mane. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Consider the lilies. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshipping what's right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze a new trail. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don't try to be who you're not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away. Chase the lion.                     - Mark Batterson

There are so many things in this quote that just resonate with my soul, but none as much as talk of setting God-sized goals and dreaming big.  If you know me well, you know that I tend to live life on the safe, some might say conservative side of things.  I have friends who work on commission - that freaks me out.  I have friends that have jobs that don't relate at all to their college major - not me! I have friends that have big, lofty, even scary goals for their lives.  Not me. I am a planner.  I like don't really like when things don't go according to that plan.  So, I sit in my little bubble.  Doing what I know will work out.  Doing what is safe.  I'm not sure how to step out of it, I've lived there most of my life.  Really, if I'm honest, I'm sitting here currently trying to formulate a plan to get myself to be a dreamer.   Ironic -  I don't think it works that way.  So, I guess I just move that way, one step at a time.

Christmas

I know that pretty much everyone has posted this video on their blog. And, honestly, I've stopped watching the videos that people post because I'm just kind of tired of them. But, I finally sat down and watched this one, and I honestly can't get it out of my head. I spent some time on www.adventconspiracy.org and I'm actually inspired by it. Their slogan, if you will, is simple.

Worship Fully

Spend Less

Give More

Love All

Sounds fairly simple, but I know I get so caught up in the giving and receiving at Christmas. And I don't think the giving and receiving is bad, but I'm working on stepping a little out of my comfort zone this year. I'm making some of my gifts in an effort to spend less. It sounds small, but for me, it's a step. I know there are so many more things I can do, and I want to figure out what that looks like for me. BUT, what it boils down to, is this video challenged me, and I think it will do the same for you if you give it a chance.

Faithful

One of the character traits of God that has always resonated with me is His faithfulness. Even when I don't feel it, or even when I don't see it, he is ALWAYS faithful. I love this song. I sat and really listened to the words last Saturday in front of a fire at the lake. And today I was listening to it again sitting on my grandparents back porch looking at the river. And I love it. I long to be faithful even when I can't see or hear Him. He has taught me that He is always faithful, and I long to be the same.

FAITHFUL
There’s distance in the air

And I cannot make it leave

I wave my arms ‘round about me

And blow with all my might
I cannot sense you close

Though I know you’re always here

But the comfort of you near

Is what I long for

When I can’t feel you

I have learned to reach out just the same

When I can’t hear you

I know you still hear every word I pray

And I want you

More than I want to live another day

And as I wait for you

Maybe I’m made more faithful

All the folly of the past

Though I know it is undone

I still feel the guilty one

Still trying to make it right
So I whisper soft your name

And let it roll around my tongue

Knowing you’re the only one who knows me

You know me

Show me how I should live this

Show me where I should walk

I count this world as loss to me

You are all I want

You are all I want

Congo...

Rescue those being led away to death;

hold back those staggering toward slaughter.
If you say, "But we knew nothing about this,"

does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?

Does not he who guards your life know it?

Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?

Proverbs 24:11-12

At church on Sunday, our pastor talked about the crisis that is happening in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I knew that there was unrest, but I truly had not idea to what degree. Here are a few of the statistics...they are sobering.

• 5.4 million people have been killed in the violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 1998. MOre people have died there than in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Darfur combined.
• 45,000 people die every month in what is being called Africa's World War. This is the deadliest conflict since World War II.
• One of the primary weapons used in this particular war is rape. 80% of women living in the Congo today are victims of rape and 75% of all the rapes that take place in the world happen in the Congo.
• The violence has forced civilians to flee their homes and head for already over-crowded IDP (Internally Displaced People) camps where it is virtually impossible to access health facilities, find clean water sources, and locate nutrional food. Most deaths are a result of these types of conditions, an indirect result of the violence.
• The Congo has been named as one of the most dangerous countries in the world for children, whether they are killed by the violence, die from desperate conditions, or are recruited by the rebels and forced into unspeakable acts of violence themselves.

For more information about what's happening in the Congo, watch these videos. One from CBS, one the BBC, and one from our church service Sunday. The BBC one is the shortest, and if you only watch one, watch it. It really is sobering.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=3706833n

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7700111.stm

http://www.watermarkradio.com/index.php?id=153&series=113&message=0

For more information on ways you can help and give go to http://community.wr.org/Page.aspx?pid=1274

Mesmerizing...

I missed yesterday. I was at the lake...with zero cell phone reception. It was actually quite wonderful. I love getting out of the city. It is SO energizing to me. I love time away, time with friends, and just relaxation.

I spent a couple of hours yesterday morning here...in front of this wonderful fire. Reading, journaling, praying. Just good time curled up in front of a fire.

I was thinking yesterday as I was sitting there about how there are two things that I can stare at for hours. Two things that are absolutely mesmerizing to me. Fire and stars. I love them both. And both I usually only get to experience when I get out of the city. Not that we don't have a fireplace in our house, because we do, we just never use it. And stars...don't even get me started on stars. To me, they are the most amazing, worship inducing thing that God created. They leave me awe struck every time. I've never took a good picture of stars, but I stole this one from google images, but there is nothing like being in a place where you can walk out the back door and be greeted with stars as far as the eye can see. I just love it!
What parts of God's creation just make you want to sing?