Congratulations to Ian and Leslie 7/17/10

The whirlwind weekend has almost concluded.  Ian and Leslie had a lovely wedding today and an amazingly delicious rehearsal dinner last night at Mama's Boy.  I know everyone is tired, but it really was a sweet time with lots of wonderful and memorable moments.  If fell in love with Leslie's little nieces and nephew.  They're such cute kids. 

I actually introduced Leslie and Ian over 5 years ago.  When things were rough I always felt bad about it, but today was a happy ending!  I'm so thankful to have been able to witness the Lord's hand in bringing them to this point.  He is so kind and patient with all of us.

Tomorrow is our last Korea meeting and band practice, then we're off to South Korea for 2 and a half weeks or so.  Other than being momentarily wiped out I'm really looking forward to the trip.  Our God is such a good, good God.  It's indescribably nifty to belong to Him and be a part of His kingdom.

My Latest Awesome Adventures 7/11/10

I mentioned the minor collision I had with a truck a few posts back.  Here are a few more scrapes (no pun intended) that I've gotten myself into recently.

2 weeks ago I opened a door on my foot.  There was no good reason for this.  It made a blue bruise and bled.  The bruise on the outside of my foot still really hurts when I wear flip flops.

1 week ago I sprained my ankle playing soccer (all by myself).  I was at a park and there were lots of people around.  It was pretty classic.  I'm dribbling the ball around the field in my little Sambas.  I'm having a grand old time.  It's the first time I've played soccer since I got hurt in '07.  "La dee dah!  Oh what fun!"  And then my left ankle turned, I bounced down to my knees and then my head did a little bobble and I made some awful shriek.  I kind of limped back up and hobbled around until the sting went away.  I thought it was fine until I got home and iced it and it swelled up and I had to use crutches for the next few days.  That was a first for me.  I've never needed crutches before and I've never sprained my ankle before.  It was a fairly useless experience.

A couple of nights ago I topped every dumb thing I've ever done.  It was ridiculously awesome.  Yes.  I was with friends at the Fox Theater.  We were sitting way up top -- like 2 rows from THE top.  I had to pee.  I didn't want to make everyone on my row move.  The 2 seats on the 2 rows directly behind me just happened to be empty.  I decided to climb over them so's not to disturb anyone.  So, I clear the first row just fine.  I go to step over the last row and decide to do a cute little leap.  There was no floor behind the last row.  Yeah.  So, I free fall 5-10 feet in the pitch black darkness.  I was falling long enough to say, "Ooooooooooh craaaaaap!" with arms and legs flailing. Then I made my loud splat onto the concrete.  I caught myself with my left knee, hip, boob and right hand.  I have some bruises and minor abrasions to prove it.

After my less than graceful descent I noticed that a young girl on the top row had seen the entire event.  Her eyes were as big as saucers.  She probably thought she had just witnessed a suicide attempt.  No, little girl, I'm just an idiot.  I promptly hopped up before any ushers could come to my aid.  I whispered to the little girl that though I made a lot of noise I really wasn't hurt and I scurried to the bathroom to do what I had set out to do in the first place.  I emptied the old bladder and shook my head in utter disbelief at what I had just done.  I also put my sweater on and took my glasses off in hopes that I could disguise myself and not be recognized by the bystanders of my little stunt.

I was in utter disbelief that I had just launched myself over the cliff of the back row at the Fox.  Oh my!  I still laugh out loud when I think of it.  Yep, that was the most awesomely awesome thing I've ever, ever done.

1 Wedding and a Trip to South Korea 7/10/10

We're in the home stretch before our trip.  Barry and I are both in a wedding next Saturday and then we'll leave the next week for our South Korea trip.  I've got our first of 2 band practices tomorrow.  The details are steadily falling into place and the Lord has been so kind to put together such a great team.

It's been a busy time.  The kids just got back from Kids Camp and then last night was a bachelorette party for a dear friend.  Good and busy times!

oh great. 7/6/10

I've got to pick, practice, organize, etc. the music for our Korea trip and a friend's wedding.  I'm avoiding that by coming to this handy little link called "new post."

I started the day off right by grazing some one's beautiful, brand new, massive truck that was parked on the side of the street this morning. I was creeping up the hill in the neighborhood with the sun in my eyes and the morning dew and condensation still thick on the windshield.  My wipers were going and my defrost was on high and I couldn't. see. a. thing.  It was 7am and I was thinking, gee I'm glad kids aren't out playing this early, cuz I'd hit 'em.  Then THWAP! Bump.  Bump.  Bump.  sliiiiiide. 

oh great.

So I get out of my car to find out WHAT I hit since I couldn't see anything.  Wonderful.  A truck.  And look it's like the perfect color to blend in with the world around it.  No wonder I hit it.

I left my name and number on their windshield and told them I was SO SORRY, which I am of course.  It's almost noon and they haven't called yet.  I keep rehearsing in my mind that when they do I will keep it simple and accept full responsibility and promptly give them my insurance info.  Sigh... (I've found that you can't sue the sun or the water on your windshield and that people really aren't interested in your very valid reasons for doing dumb things.)

This whole "accepting responsibility thing" keeps chasing me around.  Obviously the spiritual posts as of late have been all about how the Lord is pointing out my part in our walk together.  Even my mini bio up top says that I'm trusting Him to do the work.  He's really pointing out that it's not all Him.  I've got to put forth effort too.  I think I'm having a hard time coming to terms with this.  I don't really like the idea that my choices or lack thereof can alter the course of my life, even if it's just 1mm at a time.  The big choices have obvious impact, but it's all the little choices that cause you to drift.  As we all know, eating to much, over sleeping, choosing to be lazy, watching dumb TV, not giving time to the Word, not guarding your heart and thoughts etc. are the things that little by little create undesirable change.  We can't just walk away from the guard post and expect to stay on track.  Okay Lord, you're right.  Please help me to make the right choices toward godliness.

Where the Rubber Meets the Road 7/6/10

I really am deeply convicted about my need to grow in the Word and continue to move forward in God.  If I were to be honest with myself I'd have to say that I'm probably softer and lazier than I've ever been.  I've grown so comfortable in my life that I just don't want to move.  Ouch.  I clicked on this link here and read my own Words from 2007.  They applied so much to where I'm at that it was almost scary.  Double ouch.

God, please help me to put action into these convictions.  I'm so far from where I need to be.  I know you give us goals not to condemn us but to give us direction so we know where to aim.  Please help me to focus my effort and energy into Your direction and goals for my life.

POH 3 7/5/10

So, I got the kids packed earlier today, which is great, but... why am I still up???  I don't have an answer for that question.  It's after midnight and I'm driving one of the church vans full of kids to camp in the morning.  That's what coffee is for, I guess.

I just watched an episode of Glee online to see what is was all about.  (I've seen a lot of people on facebook make comments about it.)  Don't get me wrong, it was very entertaining and I loved the music, but you know, there were a lot of ideas presented that were so very contrary to the Word of God.  I know, it's the world and that's what we should expect, but the way it was presented was disturbing to me for some reason.  "Go ahead and have sex before you're married.  Life is all about experiences..."   That's a big fat lie.  Here's another one:  "There's only one thing required for you to be a man and that's GUTS."  That's not true either! There were a lot of wrong ideas and opinions presented in a very bold and entertaining way.  I'm not trying to knock TV, but I am examining the ideas that are dumped into our heads when we tune in.

To tie this into what I've been reading I want to think about the fact that there really is no reliable compass for morality within the heart of man.  We don't know better.  The Bible has it pegged in Jeremiah when it flat out tells us that the heart of man is deceitful.  We think we've got it figured out and a lot of our conclusions about life and relationships make sense (to us) and for the most part seem to be right on, but they're just not.  The only, only, ONLY accurate plumb line for all of life and relationships is the Word of God.  I'm talking to myself here.  As I've mentioned in the past couple of posts I'm finding myself years into this Christianity thing and I'm being reminded that my heart is no less prone to wander than it was before I met Christ.  I still need the Word.  I need to read it, memorize it, lean on it and let it live and work in me so that my life can be conformed to Heaven's ideas and standards.  He desires abundant life for us!  But, there is a little work required on our part.

Like Jesus said, our work is to believe.  But, how can we believe in something we don't know about?  The Holy Spirit, faithful counselor that he is, has been reminding me that it's up to me to take the time to grow in the knowledge of God by reading the Word.  How can conviction and transformation be at work in my heart if it isn't turned toward the Almighty and His thoughts?

I've drifted a bit and I need to remember my Maker and His infinite kindness toward me.  I want to want His Word and his ways more than I want the next great coupon find or landscape project or bike ride.  I want to want to make Him smile more than I want to please even my husband or kids.

Transformation of the heart can only come from Him, but if I don't choose to put myself into the shaping power of the Word I will stunt the process.  Come fan the flame.

POH 2 7/3/10

Great book.

I'm in the middle of Chapter 9 and there are so many things I would've liked to type in and process here, but I joined a small group at church that's reading another book ("A Better Way to Pray" A. Wommack) and I've spent my extra time reading and processing it. It's a great book, too! I highly recommend it.

So, here's another stream of consciousness post. Sorry.

We're less than a month away from going to Korea. This time the team has 12 members -- much more manageable size. My dear friend, Leslie is getting married the weekend before we leave. I'm looking for a dog sitter for the 2.5 weeks we're gone. I sprained my ankle 2 days ago playing soccer. (Ouch.) I'm heading up to my mom and dad's today so the kids and I can see the fireworks on the lake. (Barry has to work. He's such a wonderful man!) The kids leave for KidsCamp on Monday morning and I'd like to get them packed BEFORE Sunday night.

Back to the book...

So, I really felt drawn to read it. I'm just going to type in an excerpt from what I've just read. This is Jerry Bridges stuff. It's just so good and reminds me that we never outgrow the need to stay in God's word and hide it in our hearts. It's only by reading the Word and letting it sink in that we come to fear the Lord and avoid conforming to the patterns of this world.

Here Jerry has been talking about the fact that we each will always have a propensity toward sin. He explains in depth the fact that we are responsible for our own choices. Each time we sin it is because we choose to, but we cannot resist without the power of the indwelling Spirit of God. Here are his suggestions based on scripture to stay on the path of holiness:

"The crucial question then is, "How do we destroy the strength and vitality of sin?" If we are to work at this difficult task, we must first have conviction."

Okay, my words here. When you've walked with Christ for years, there are times when you may recognize a particular shortcoming in yourself. Maybe it's not something that seems even big enough to tackle, but when we step back and realize that we are always called to press on in our growth in Christ we know we need to address it. For example, you may find that you tend to be judgmental in your heart toward others. Even though you may not act on these thoughts, you know they are not right. This is what I like about this book. Jerry reminds us that the motivation for growing in holiness and godliness never comes from ourselves. He gives a clear explanation that we as believers MUST humble ourselves by staying in the Word and dependent on the Spirit or we will not progress.

Back to Jerry.

"We must be persuaded that a holy life of God's will for every Christian is important. We must believe that the pursuit of holiness is worth the effort and pain required to mortify the misdeeds of the body. We must be convinced that "without holiness no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14).

"Not only must we develop conviction for living a holy life in general, but we must also develop conviction in specific areas of obedience.

"These convictions are developed through exposure to the Word of God. Our minds have far too long been accustomed to the world's values. Even after we become Christians, the world around us constantly seeks to conform us to tits value system. We are bombarded on every side by temptations to indulge our sinful natures. That is why Paul said, " Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let God remake you so that your whole attitude of mind is changed" (Romans 12:2).

"Only through God's Word are our minds remolded and our values renewed."

That's just good stuff, especially for those of us who have been in the church for a long time and who tend to forget that we are continually been pulled along by the world's current, even when we don't realize it. It's only when we look to the Word of God intently that we see how far we've drifted.