HE saw me in my need and came to my aid, HE sent HIS angels to protect me, HE dried my tears and comforted me. HE stretched out HIS wings to provide a shelter and lifted me from my sorrow.

Giving Up - Not an Option

Have you every just wanted to give up? Give in to what others believe and toss your own thoughts or beliefs out the window? Today I felt like crap and the worst of it all, I am soley responsible for how I felt. Tonight the Pastor continued his teaching on James and tonight was all about controlling our tongue, how it can be used for good or for destruction. I've been working hard on trying not to give into "knee jerk" reactions, be quiet listen and then speak. It's really quite simple but not that simple to do because of the human nature of external forces. That's a test that if not prepared for can really cause a lot of grief for all involved.

So here I am, at a crossroad, should I go this way or that way? David came to a crossroad, and took a wrong path and suffered the consequences for his choice. and he was a man after God's own heart. So what's the difference between David and I? I love God with all my heart, sole and mind. I do my best to love others as I love myself and put the needs of others before my own. So then this should be simple, right?

Well I guess we shall see in the next coming days. all I know and cam be assured of, is that I won't be alone!

Fifty Two First Days of Spring

What is it about this time of year that wakes me up from the fog I have been in for the last several months? I air has a certain "feel" to it that makes me open up all my windows! I love to sit on my back porch and listen to the wind chimes tinkle in the breeze, watch the birds fly from tree to tree and most of give thanks that I get another day to bask in God's glory.

When others are clean sweeping their houses, I chose to sweep the cobwebs out of my head to make room for new things, like making new relationships, which is a little scary for me, but so far God has kept HIS promise that no harm would come to me. HIS love is unconditional and as Luther reminded us this morning, HE had us in mind when HE gave it all, that we would be with HIM in heaven the very next second we took our last breath on this world. Until today I wanted to be able to choose the way I died, which would be from old age, but now, I want to live for HIM. I want to live my life so that others will see HIM in me.

Today is a very special day indeed for me, other than the dusting off of the cobwebs. First of all, I have been married to my love for Twenty Seven years. I can't imagine what we were thinking, but I am thankful that God has watched over us these past years. We have been through some rough times, but God prevailed. We have been through some great times, but God prevailed. But we have been through them together. God also blessed us with two great kids, well they are young adults now.

It was baby dedication at chuch this morning. There were several babies that were dedicated this morning, two of which were very special to our hearts. Something about babies just makes everything wonderful especially when you have know them since birth! It reminds me of God's promise to us from Hannah.

A very special couple that we have adopted, joined the church today. My heart just overflows! I love them very much and I know that God has great things for them. The wife is soon to be baptized which will bring tears of joy to my eyes! We love them so and cannot wait to see what God will do in their lives as they open their hearts to HIM.

Just when you think God is through blessing you, He does something so unexpected for our human nature to comprehend. Thank you Jesus for saving me, for loving me through my failures, for blessing me when I don't feel worthy of any blessing, and for being faithful and true to your promises!

Letter to Mom

Recently changes and series of events in my life have stoked the fire of desire in my heart to long to share them with my dearly departed Mother, Virginia Gail "Whitted" Stone. Sometimes a girl just needs to be able to pick up the phone on a spur the moment and talk to Mom. Sometimes it's just because you want to hear their voice and make the excuse of needing to ask them a question that only a Mother would know, and other times you just need to "download" while they patiently listen, others were times when I just needed to be put back together.

That's what it was like between my Mom and me. I remember in my early years while serving in the Air Force and stationed at my first base, about a million miles away so it seemed at the time, I went through a lot of quarters calling home.

Everytime I called, she always dropped whatever she was doing, unless of course it was a pot full of hot water, and took time to listen to me. I loved to hear what she was doing right at that moment, and her words would transport me back to the kitchen stool where we sat many a night talking and laughing.

I cherish those moments, and if I could go back in time, I wouldn't change anything. I know God had a plan for me then, just as he has now. So if I could pick up the phone I would in a minute, but since I can, I know that God will relay the message!

Let's Talk About Love

I've been thinking a lot about love lately, after all, June is the month for weddings. The birthstone are pearls and alexandrite (a purpleish color) and the flower is the rose. I see a little romance in there somewhere. Growing up, June brought the June bugs, a little brown, oval shaped bug that flew. My Mom and I convinced Baby Girl that they loved the toes of little girls, so she had to be careful not to get bit by one.

Anyway, back to the love thing. This weekend, Hunny Bunny and I will travel through three states (Florida, Alabama, and Tennessee) to witness such a reunion. It will take us about 8 hours to get there, we will spend the night, get up the next day, attend the wedding, spend another night, get up the next day and head home. I could think of a lot of other things that I could be doing, like cleaning out my clothes closet, doing some mending, scrapbooking, or just being lazy. Nevermind the time spent getting there to turn around and come back. Seems like a waste to me. But then I remember the reason - it's all in the name of Love.

You know what I'm talking about. The kind of love that makes you feel all warm inside everytime you think about that special person. Your every thought is on them, you want to spend every waking moment in their presence, you anticipate the next time you are together, and everytime you hear their voice, it just intensifies the feeling even deeper, and then before you know it, BAM! you are hooked - you have fallen in love!

I remember the first time i fell in love. I was looking in all the wrong places. Eventually I did meet the love of my life, but in the most unexpected place....

At the cross.

What's love got to do with it? Everything. Think about the moment you fell in love with Jesus. His journey was a long one, a necessary one, and if He had it His way, He would have made a detour, but the Father had other plans. He loved His son so much, He was willing to give Him up so that we could have eternal life with Him, all in the name of love. In the garden the night before Jesus was arrested, He pleaded with the Father and prayed so hard, that He sweated blod drops, in the name of love. He was beaten and spat upon. Even as He hung dying on the cross, He did it all in the name of Love. The cross displayed the kind of love that makes you feel all warm inside everytime you think about Christ dying for your sin. Your every thought is on Jesus, you want to spend every waking moment in Christ's presence, you anticipate the next time you are together, and everytime you hear His voice, it just your love for Him is even deeper, and then before you know it, BAM! you are hooked - you have fallen in love and He has stolen your heart! You are His and He is yours, eternally joined, all in the name of love.

So, let's talk about love. Are you ready to committ the rest of your life to just one person? What sacrifices have you made lately, all in the name of love? Are you ready to have your name written in red all in the name of love? Are you ready to experience the kind of love that is selfless and true? Let me know when you are ready to talk about Love. I promise, your heart will not be broken.

Does God Have a Cell Phone?

I know weird that I would blog about talking to God via a cell phone, but bear with me.

On my drive home tonight, I noticed more than usual all the people talking on their cell phone while driving. Recently I've made a new pact - not to talk/text/check my email while I am driving-not even at the stop light. It's been hard, but I've managed to be pretty good about it. I put it in my purse after I've made the "I'm on my way home, do you need anything" call to the Hunny Bunny. That way the temptation is out of sight and most importantly out of ear-shot.

I stopped at the ATM, got my pentence, and headed for Wendy's. Special request from Baby Girl because she is working longer than her schedule and we all know she gets cranky if she doesn't eat at least twice a day! Anyway, I'm pulling out of the ATM and this girl pulls up and is on her nice "pink-skin covered" phone just a yacking. She doesn't even skip a syllable and continues to walk into the lobby continuing with her conversation. Don't get me wrong, she wasn't talking very loud, in fact you wouldn't even know she was on the phone unless you saw her lips moving. I just wondered to myself what was so important that it couldn't wait until she was done inside? Was there some emergency with the other party on the other end? Was she talking to her "BFF" about her day and how she couldn't wait until the weekend so they could hang out? Was she talking to a her Mom or Dad setting them at ease "no of course I am not talking and driving?" Or was she just venting about how she just doesn't get it?

What if God had a cell phone? Would we instantly pick it up to ask him what he would like for dinner, should we go to see a movie or to dinner on Friday, or what shade of eye shadow should I wear with my new turquose dress? Would He be our Number 1 Friend in our circle of friends and would "1" be His speed dial number?

Doesn't God want us to "call" on Him for every little detail of our lives? If we are honest with ourselves, we don't. I don't. Maybe we don't want to ask Him, because we are afraid of what the answer will be. I am. I'm afraid that He will ask me to do something outside my comfort zone, like that visitation thing, or prayer meeting.

When my kids were little, one thing I always tried to make them understand, was if they wanted something, no matter what it was, all they had to do was ask. There would be times when I said no, yes, maybe or go ask your Dad, which they found out later was just another delay tactic on my part. But what I really wanted them to learn was to try, and ask. Son Boy will tell you that he doesn't ask because he already knows what the answer will be, but sometimes he does ask for the "that's a duh" thing.

You can't get an answer unless you ask. God promises to give us the desires of our hearts (Psalms 37:4) all we have to do is ask, simple as that.

So what are the desires of your heart? Do you desire to have a closer relationship with God?

All you have to do is ask!

Home Sweet Home

I just finished reading an article in the one and only magazine that I subscribe to, More-for Woman of Style and Substance, http://www.more.com. Time to Move AWAY FROM HOME? by Lesley Jane Seymour, Editor-in-Chief. It was all about home, not just a physical place, but the place that calls to our heart, the place where memories are made.

What do your remember about your childhood home? Was it just a space to go home after the school day or was it much more?

I grew up in a very small town, and to this day, the population has not grown by much. There are a few remaining landmarks, the elementary school where I spent my first 5 years, the old gym, a marker that marks the spot of the old high school that stood for over 50 years, the one and only church in town, and the old gas station, which is now a house. The first house I first called home, consisted of four rooms: a kitchen, a living room, and two bedrooms. My two brothers and I shared one room and my parents the other. Since there was no indoor plumbing and no bathroom, an outhouse at the back of the yard served as our bathroom. We took baths in the sink until we outgrew and moved to a double washtub. There were two heating stoves in the house, one in the kitchen and one in the living room. I remember that there was always a pot of water on each to keep the air moist and when all the water evaporated, it left a white ring around the inside rim. My father attempted to add on a bedroom for the boys as well as a bathroom, but never finished it for whatever reason. The "bathroom" ended up being my bedroom as a teen-ager and the shell of the bedroom become out playhouse. In the backyard there was a garden on the opposite side and also a shed, which we claimed as ours, that is when our father was no where around. I remember smoking my first cigar with my middle brother behind that shed and how sick we got. Beyond our back yard was the world, or so we thought and we would go into the woods and find an adventure. That's the physical place that I called home.

My parents divorced when I was 11 or 12 and so we moved in with my maternal Grandmother's old house. This was the same one that my Mother experienced her high school years at and one where I finally got my own room. The ceilings and walls were painted with this drab green and both were covered with all kinds of grafitti. I would spend many a night just staring up at the ceilings reading the words and wondered what those walls saw and heard.

I moved in my senior year to the "city" and this time I really did have a room to call my own. Finally I could be free to express myself, but most of all felt like I really found a place to call home. I had a couple of friends the last year I stayed in that house, a new one that I had met at my new high school and one that I become friends with in the 8th grade. We would spend many a night staying up late talking and giggeling, talking about so and so and you know what so and so said. On Saturday nights, we had family night. We would make homemade pizza and play a variety of board games. Sometimes we won, but most of the time, my Step-Dad did. We always said he cheated, but now I know it was just skill.

Eighteen years ago this halloween, we closed on the house we now call home. These walls have heard and seen a lot of things. Two babies grew up in this house. Eighteen years of holidays, family gatherings, and a place for my children to call "home." Now that my husband and I are moving closer and closer to an empty nest, we too have thought of downsizing. Not by any means that our home is huge, but the more and more I think how empty it it will be in a few years, the more I want to compress the space. But then I think about the next generation to come - grandchildren. Yes I can wait, patiently, for the pitter patter of little feet with little arms raised saying "pick me up I need a hug and a kiss" and to hear those sweet little words "I love you Grandma," I think for now, I can look forward to these next few years as we watch the memories unfold in front of us. I'm looking forward to growing old with my Hunny Bunny, sitting on the back porch watching the sun come up and go down, to the phone ringing, and hearing the voices of my grown married children as they bring us up to speed on their life happenings.

My mother seet me one of those little inspirational cards to calm my homesick heart during my first duty station, that simply said "Home is where the heart is." I've kept that little card as a reminder that it doesn't matter what kind of a house that I live it, but rather it is the occupants that make the living worth while.