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Showing posts from September, 2011

The Head of the Year

Every fall my pastor and his wife take a few days away and quiet down somewhere seeking the Lord for His direction for the coming year. I think this is fantastic. What a great time of year to do this! It goes right along with the fall Jewish feast of Rosh Hashanah where our Jewish friends and also many followers of Jesus Christ celebrate their Hebraic roots. There's a saying, "No man knows the hour or the day" so the celebration began this year on September 28 lasting through September 30. I love Rosh Hashanah and as a Christian I celebrate for these reasons: The shofar or Ram’s Horn is blown representing the crowning of the people’s king. The celebration of music and dance is joyful and worshipful. One day the final trumpet will sound when Jesus comes back for His Bride and we will meet Him in the air! It is the entering into a time of serious reflection for a solid week ending on Yom Kippur, a day of fasting. This is a neat time of pressing into the Lord making s

Desert Diversion

Our trip to New Mexico was filled with happy times. So much caught our eye as we passed little towns on the highway and when we arrived in Las Cruces, we couldn’t have been more comfortable staying with our family there. Their home, set back in the foothills of Soledad Canyon, is beautiful. We were constantly on the go visiting scenic mountain views from hiking trails, borrowing saucers so we could slide down the beautiful White Sands hills, visiting the huge Farmer’s Market, and touring the old city of Mesilla with its historic landmarks and shops and eating authentic Mexican food. Most importantly, Dice got to spend days with his cousin, Wayne, enjoying memories and creating tons of new ones! Our family loves Wayne’s wife, Linda, and we appreciate all the cooking she did as well as entertaining us with stories of her busy life. What can be better than precious time with family? Currently, I’m putting together a new slide show. These are a few of the photos I will be featuring

Another Road Trip

When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money. Susan Heller I’m packing it up again. This time it’s a road trip to New Mexico. What is fun about these long strips of desert driving is the stopping in the little towns with shops and cafes. I like the oasis they provide amidst all the cactus and dust. I had lunch with my girlfriend, Maureen, yesterday. We meet every few months to prioritize our friendship over a luscious lunch usually in nice places with tablecloths. I know it’s a woman thing. Maureen said: “ Again you are going somewhere? ” I didn’t realize how many times I have been able to pick up and go over the summer. What a blessing! I better stop calling myself a homebody who likes to stay put in my cozy home because it isn’t always the case. This time, we are visiting my husband’s family in New Mexico. Dice was an only child and often misses the comfort that family brings now that his own parent

Smarty Pants

“Preconceived notions are the locks on the door to wisdom.” Merry Browne No one is more surprised than me when I realize I’m not all that smart at times. On my recent trip to the mall to shop for end-of-summer discounted 70 percent clothing, I learned something about myself. I thought I was buying clothes; but I was developing an open mind! I always thought I was too large to wear white pants so I never bought them. When I was visiting my sister in Chicago, she looked stunning in them and we are the same size. I found a $40 pair reduced to $8 and had to try them on. They looked great and were nice and long for my tall frame. I bought them! Preconceived ideas are haunting. I cringe at the times they wiggle themselves into my personal Bible studies. How arrogant to think I know what a passage is all about because it is familiar to me. Sometimes I forget that God’s Word is alive and full of power and can change me unlike any other written concepts. I heard a great sermon about mar

Costa Rica

A few years ago, my husband and I revisited beautiful Costa Rica. This time our daughter, Amy, joined us. Today's post is a trip down memory lane! The Toucans were beautiful! Amy met new friends and they joined her on the Zip Line Canopy Tour. Adventurous! We spent a day in the rainforest. Beautiful! My post links today to Shanda's blog, A Pause On The Path . I am participating in "In Search of Beauty." Be sure to visit and enjoy God's beauty everywhere.

Wolf in Christian Clothes

I don’t like it when people use Christianity to promote themselves. I have to tell you what happened to me this week. I bumped into a contractor-business friend when I was at Home Depot last week. This guy has been seeking our company’s employment. But something always disturbed me about our conversations. The best way I can describe him would be “slick” even though we talked about topics near and dear to my heart like Jesus, prayer, missions and scripture. So that day, Mr. Slick again asked me if I had any need for his construction business. Actually, I did. I described the particulars of a recent sale and the price I was willing to pay for construction. He agreed, I scheduled him for the job and we departed company. A few days went by and I received his faxed proposal bid and that’s when I felt like the wind got knocked out of me. It was almost twice the amount of our verbal agreement at Home Depot! Why was I so angry? Besides being taken advantage of, I was disappointed. How I had h

Truimph Through Storms

The air has been dry with scorching temps in my desert town, so when my prayer partner, Glenda, invited me to a women’s retreat up in the mountains of Prescott, Arizona, I agreed to go. We were refreshed in the afternoon mountain rains and we were refreshed in our spirits as we praised the Lord, listened to wonderful teachings in the Word and attended workshops! It was a great time away and it is what is on my heart today as I link up with Shanda at A Pause on the Path. This is Glenda and I settling in at the conference: Here’s a tidbit from one of the teachings we received Friday morning that sparked my interest. The backdrop was Acts 27. Paul, as a prisoner, was sailing for Rome and they encountered strong headwinds. Some wanted to abandon the ship, but Paul persuaded them otherwise because he had a word from the Lord. The crew received Paul’s encouragement and when they hit land, they had to swim to shore along with non-swimmers holding on to debris from their broken ship.

Layman's Commandments

Some clever writer wrote these good words to enhance our lives. I'm linking this post today to Spiritual Sundays. 1) Prayer is not a "spare wheel" that you pull out when in trouble, but it is a "steering wheel" that directs the right path throughout. 2) Why is a Car's WINDSHIELD so large & the Rear view Mirror is so small? It is because our PAST is not as important as our FUTURE. So, Look Ahead and Move on. 3) Friendship is like a BOOK. It takes few seconds to burn, but it takes years to write. 4) All things in life are temporary. If going well, enjoy it, they will not last forever. If going wrong, don't worry, they can't last long either. 5) Old Friends are Gold! New Friends are Diamond! If you get a Diamond, don't forget the Gold! Because to hold a Diamond, you always need a Base of Gold! 6) Often when we lose hope and think this is the end, GOD smiles from above and says, "Relax, sweetheart, it's just a bend, not the end!

The Available Husband

Jesus makes a great husband not to mention an awesome communicator. Here’s what happened to me this morning in my kitchen as I finished cleaning up after breakfast. My kitchen faucet lever snapped off while the water was flowing full blast and steaming hot. I panicked like a crazy woman. My hubby just left for the Recreation Center in a nearby town 15 miles from our home. I couldn't reach him on his cell. I was in a tizzy and that’s when I called on the Name of the Lord. I picked up the broken piece amidst the blast of steaming water and tried to fit the jagged edges together to at least shut off the flowing water. It worked. Years ago we nicknamed my husband “Dice” for fun and it fits him perfectly because you never know what you are going to get. I learned that he didn’t even have his cell phone with him this morning! When I finally calmed down and resumed praying, Jesus got a heavy dose of praise for being there. I thought long about the immediacy of Hi

More Than A Walk

I heard an interesting message on Christian TV. The teacher‘s main point was that lost souls are won only by hearing the truth. He validated intercessory prayer and spiritual warfare as legitimate biblical principles, but he hammered the point that Paul is our example and as he traveled to the lost and preached the Word of God, he won souls because they heard the truth. This teacher clearly does not like the movement taught in many Christian circles called “prayer walking.” Prayer Walking, in a nutshell, is intercession for your neighbors and your neighborhood. I attended a Prayer Walking seminar several years ago and I don’t think it harmed me or that I harmed anyone. I remember receiving a lot of handouts and going home with acute awareness for my neighbors’ mortal souls and final destination. I assimilated the teaching as best I knew how to in the course of my day careful not to make a performance or a doctrine out of what I learned. I’ve always been one to start my day

Friday Funnies ~ What Are You Cooking for the Labor Day Weekend?

My friend, Lori, asked me: “What do you think you’ll be cooking for the Labor Day weekend?” I think I will tell her “Redneck Turtle Burgers.” This is a recipe I got from a gal in Missouri who has a great sense of humor! She forms ground beef patties, topped with sharp cheddar cheese, wrapped in a bacon weave, then the next step, is to add hot dogs as the heads, legs with slits for toes and tail. Place on an oven rack, covered loosely with foil and baked for 20-30 minutes at 400 degrees. A little crispy, not too crunchy...just how a turtle should be, no? Wishing all of you a fun and safe Labor Day weekend! This post links to Kim, hostess of Friday Funnies.