Around the World in 80 Days

First of all, a big shout out to the FBI in Huntsville who are taking child predators, long time fugitives, and all the other "bad guys" and basically "squaring them away" and putting them behind bars for a long time. I don't know who these good guys are specifically, but I think they need (though they would never ask for or expect them) some kudos. Not the bars. Well, maybe the bars. Or maybe a big kiss. Who's to say?? I guess it all depends...

Next on the agenda... the great Northwest! A couple of things here...
1) Mis padres just came back from Lake Louise and the Victoria area in Canada. They reported snow but they are also reporting the very same report as 18 years ago when we went as a family.
It is STILL the most beautiful place to visit!
2) Nashville Preds have been sold to our friendly Canadian Billionaire who also bought 30 acres up north (beyond our borders) and an arena. So, given that information, how long do you think that Nashville has to beef up sales for the games before we are without a world class hockey team? I say it's a done deal and they have started renting storage units and selling their halter tops. They are gone and it is such a shame because I hear that they are really good. I know, I have not been doing my part to support but I have trouble understanding them talk, I usually cannot find the puck watching a game, and all the violence... I am a Southern girl and I guess that sometimes we have trouble with whole hockey thing no matter how good they are. Maybe it is just me. I will listen to 104.5 THE ZONE when they are discussing the Preds and I think that is at least something...
3) Mis padres are travelling on Thursday to the great Northwest again (they got back yesterday) for sweet Besher's wedding. That would be my cousin, Beth's, wedding. Her name is Dorothy Elizabeth and she is using polka dots in her wedding because her nickname is "Dot". I say that is nothing but cute! Thankfully, her groom is not named Polka. He is named Ernie, which also is cute. However, if you saw him, you would use a different word besides "cute". The guy is a good looking guy and it is my understanding that he thinks Beth can do no wrong and treats her like the princess that she is. I say Amen to that! I am really excited for her and wish I could go.

Finally, I know several people going to Spain in early July. One is running with the bulls. (Begin praying at your earliest convenience.) The others are just going to see if Taco Bell in Nashville is the same as Taco Bell in Spain. If you are going to Spain in early July, let me know and perhaps we could orchestrate a mixer of some sort for vacationing Americans over in Spain. I'm thinking we should name it. We could call it:

"Christi's Connections"

or

"Americans Abroad"

or

"You're Going To Have Some Ex-SPAIN-ing To Do When You Get Home"

or

"Come-Have-Ice-Cream-With-Other-High-Falootin'-Americans-Who-Think-Idaho-or-Utah-Aren't-Good-Enough-to-Vacation-at".

Who knows - maybe my parents will show up??

"All We Are is Dust in the Wind"

"He knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust."

Psalm 103:14 NIV

"What a blessed relief to be reminded that God knows me - in fact, he knows me so well He understands that apart from Him I can do nothing.

I don't have to prove myself to God.

I don't have to worry about disappointing God.

I don't have to earn His respect.

I don't have to deserve His blessings....

He created me in the first place....

I am just a little dust person infused with the very breath of God!"

--Just Give Me Jesus

Anne Graham Lotz

I was reading this verse and little devotional yesterday and it occurred to me yet again just how much God loves me and wants the best for me. No matter how it looks to me, God's ways are best and I don't have to understand, prove myself, earn or deserve anything He chooses to give me. Left to my own devices, I would succeed at making a complete mess out of everything that I try to "fix" for Him - from events, people, or circumstances into my life. Isn't that sad? For me.

Then tonight I was talking to my friend, Carrie, and she mentioned hearing teaching tonight on the Valley of Dry Bones. The message that she carried away with tonight was the fact that those old bones are not going anywhere without the complete sustaining power of God. Together putting these two pieces together, it once again reminded me how very incompetent and unable we are without Him. We pray for our own will to be done, we talk about things which we cannot possibly fathom and take credit for things that God blessed us with. What is wrong with us?

My favorite part of the devotional is when she calls me " a little dust person infused with the very breath of God." So this is it. We are strictly dust walking. Think about that. We are able to hold our human form solely based on God's benevolence and grace that allows a little of Him to inflate our skin with His holy breath. Somewhere along the way, we have allowed that breath from God to penetrate our heads and our egos and not so much in a good way. Why do we think that God's way is not good enough? Why is God's timing not quick or slow enough? Why do we think that the thoughts formed in our heads trump the very Mind of God who created the tapestry of who you are, the earth on which you walk, and the number the days you have left in your life?

Unfortunately, I find I am just that arrogant to think my ways are better. Praise the Lord, He doesn't think so. Do I throw some temper tantrums when I don't get my way? Yes. Do I pray for God to do it my way? Yes. Do I thank the Lord when things are just as He wills it to be and doesn't resemble in any way, shape or form what I desperately wanted? Not enough but I am trying. I trust Him and when I answered His call on my life to follow Him for the rest of mine, there were no promises with regard to comfort or convenience. There was a call from Him and then we began to walk together. Period. There were no caveats. There were no bargains. I am a dust person infused with the very breath of God. My body, my mind, and my life is strictly the venue. He is what people want to see. Not me. Anything at all attractive in me is the Spirit of God and His likeness. I pray that you can see Him and His choices for me written all over my dusty life.

To God be all the glory and honor.

A Good Thing!

I am sick today. I went home to Texas last weekend and, as is usually the case, a few days later, I come down with a cold. I knew it was probably coming as both my parents, sister, brother-in-law and little niece and nephew were all under the weather to some degree or another. It was still a great visit and good to be home. Lots of good conversation and discussion about love, life and the whole shebang. Nevertheless, all that good gum-flapping allowed germs to fly out and I caught 'em.

I was talking to my friend, Amy, this morning and it occurred to me about how it is really odd that I am talking to her at 10 AM in the middle of the week. She and I both work (long and hard, I might add - Can I get an AMEN, Amy??) and it was nice that she had a cancellation and I was sick enough to be home so we could get together and chit chat. Then, an A-Ha moment...

THIRTEEN REASONS WHY BEING SICK IS ACTUALLY A GOOD THING:
1) When you're sick, you get to sleep longer in the morning ... a good thing.

2) When you're sick, you can do laundry all day which means you won't have to do it on Saturday when you want to be outside ... a good thing.

3) When you're sick, (and you're not in the bed) you can spend time flipping your mattress (which I did), so that you get much more even wear out of your expensive mattress ... a good thing. (Did you know that your warranty on your mattress is not valid if you don't flip it?? Seriously. The things you learn on the radio...)

4) When you're sick, you get to catch up on phone calls with friends and family before they are tired from the day's activities ... a good thing.
**BONUS: On the phone, you still get to share stories but not share germs!!!

5) When you're sick, you get to update your blog, which seems to get lost in the shuffle of daily activities even with the best of intentions ... a good thing.

6) When you're sick, you get to take notice of your health and really be thankful for the times that you are up and moving and raring to go ...without kleenex, hot tea, and a Z-pack ... a good thing.

7) When you're sick, you get to enjoy the quiet of the morning as everything is waking up and see some of the nicest moments of the day ... a good thing

8) When you're sick, you get to hang out in comfy clothes all day if you want rather than wearing "work clothes" ... with pantyhose ... a good thing.

9) When you're sick, (and you're in the bed [with a flipped mattress]) you get to avoid the temptation of going to Starbucks for high-calorie and high-dollar drinks when you are in the area ... a good thing (unless you are actually a barrister with access to Starbucks products, which then, unfortunately for you, you have no way out of that temptation and I am so sorry!)

10) When you're sick, you can go to the gym during "older people hour" and have your pick of the machines because let's face it... who wants for single "worked out" men to see us with red noses and breathing heavy ... BEFORE we get on the machines ... Definitely a good thing.

11) When you're sick, you get to spend time reading books you have wanted to read but by the time you get home, the only thing you want to read is the alarm clock and the back of your eyelids ... a good thing.

12) When you're sick, you get to enjoy your home that the Lord has seen fit to bless you with ... a good thing.

13) When you're sick, you get to spend as much time as you want just being, reflecting on the goodness of God and the blessings we so often take for granted. You get to pray whole-heartedly about issues of the heart, and read about instance after instance in God's Word where He chooses to speak to His children in a period of quiet reflection. A lot of the time, He speaks not when we are on top of the world, but when we are not doing well. Perhaps it is not that He doesn't speak in the good times, but most probably that we don't listen for Him in the good times. It is in the periods of illness, sadness, loneliness, and confusion when the Lord chooses to demonstrate His Almighty power in the biggest and most profound ways ... a good thing.

Today, may the Lord bless you and may you hear His lovely voice ... a very good thing!

My Commitment As A Christian

I have seen this written in a couple of places but nobody seems to know where exactly it came from. If you know the originator of this writing, let me know so I can give credit where credit is due. The moment I read it, I got chills. I now have it hanging beside my computer so I see it everyday. I think of it kind of like a life's mission statement - my goal would be to try to memorize it sometime soon. What a great testimony to be able to affirm this commitment daily!

I'm part of the fellowship of the uanshamed.

I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made.

I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ.

I won't look back, let up, slow up, back away, or be still.

My past is redeemed, my present makes sence, my future secure.

I'm finished and done with

low living,

sight walking,

small planning,

smooth knees,

colorless dreams,

tamed visions,

mundane talking,

cheap living,

and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity.

I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded.

I now live by faith,

lean on His presence,

walk by patience,

lift by prayer,

and labor by power.

My face is set, my gait is fast,

my goal is heaven, my road is narrow,

my way rough, my companions few,

my Guide reliable, my mission clear.

I cannot be bought,

deluded,

or delayed.

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifce,

hesitate in the presence of the adversary,

negotiate at the table of the enemy,

or meander inthe maze of mediocrity.

I won't give up, shut up, let up

until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, preached up

for the cause of Christ.

I am a disciple of Jesus.

I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me.

And when He comes for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me -

my banner will be clear!

And AMEN!

And the Madness Marches On...

Well, I have to respond to the past weekend of basketball scores, exits of the next tier of teams and the final four. Where shall we start...ahhh, the good 'ol Aggies.

I mentioned before I will have to give props where props are due and let's do that. Seriously, can we all pitch in and buy Billy Gillespie something. I have re-thought it through and I think they deserve more than an ice cream that I previously offered. The turnaround they have had in the last three years is nothing less than remarkable and even though they run around in those gosh awful looking colors, it did not hinder them from putting the ball through the hoop over and over again. I hate it they lost on free throws. I have made myself a promise...I promise to "bank" (these puns come out of nowhere) on anyone who is named "Acie" on, honestly, many levels: good name, good player, good guy apparently. Can't personally vouch for him but the rumor mill swirls with heavy compliments. I can vouch for his epidermic artwork, which is extensive, and it appears that everything is spelled correctly. That being said, Alicen, I am sorry but you have not made it to the Final Four.

Onward and upward to the grand state of Tennessee.

Both of our teams, the Commodores and the Vols made a sad exit last weekend. I did not see the Tennessee game but I did see the Vandy game and made an exciting discovery. I work out with one of the Vandy assistant coaches! How 'bout 'dem apples?!?!?! We're close, I tell ya. I do see him most evenings at the beloved Y but had NO idea that he was employed by the black and gold. We're co-laborers for crying out loud! I mean, he is tall but what exactly can you deduce from that? I have a cousin that is short but he is not a jockey. No, I'm kidding. All of my cousins are at least medium-sized.

The Vandy game was a great game. It kept my attention. I heartily enjoyed the game until the last 2.5 seconds when Biggin' did not call time out. What is going on there? Am I losing my hearing or why was there no whistle signifying time out? I've read all about the changing pivot foot of Georgetown and blah, blah, blah. To me, I did not get the whole "let's-just-bring-the-ball-down-court-and-we'll-launch-one-if-we-have-time-when-we-get-down-there" kind of attitude. I am not a basketball star. I am one of my cousin's medium-sized cousins. Someone help me with this scenario. I am quite sure that I missed something on that whole play that was called. Was there no plan and if so, was THAT it??? You lose by uno point-o and I didn't hear the whistle. Yo no Se`!!! I am asking my friend and co-laborer if his whistle broke. I'm not going to ask him now, of course...maybe in August when he's not so tender.

Then, there was my birthplace in the midwest. The Jayhawks. I don't have much to say about this team as I was only born in this state and I have not been back in 30 years or so. So they lose to UCLA. Ok. What else you got? I could get up for them for a short while but I think my Kansas blood has turned Tennessean, or at least Texan. It takes too much effort to learn a team in the middle of the tourney. Plus, I've got 1000 wedding invitations to address and I have trouble multi-tasking those particular tasks. I need to be able to get emotional at games and that just leads to mountains of "redo" invitations. You make a choice...

Those are my thoughts about the developments this past weekend. Here are some repercussions from this past weekend.

I helped a friend make picks (and by "helped a friend" I mean, "chose independently")several weekends ago about the tourney and how it would turn out. Though I have certain shallow allegiances to certain teams, I am vaguely aware that the team needs to have talent and skill (and a certain amount of money to throw at the refs....WHAT? DID I SAY THAT? I am just kidding! Seriously...) to advance to the final four and then to the finals. Here is the funny thing...

I did NOT pick one of my teams to go beyond the Elite Eight,

so...

even though they all lost,

I AM AT THE TOP OF THE POOL!!!!

Yeah for me!!!!

(I fear this will be short-lived adulation.)

Let it be known that I picked Ohio State to win the whole kit and kaboodle.

Stay tuned...

The Value of Being Known - Part 2

I closed my sentiments last time by saying that there will never be anyone who knows you as well as the Lord Yahweh God knows you. No sibling, parent, spouse, child or friend can know your every thought, heartache, and challenge.

What's more is not even you can know you the way God can?

That might sound preposterous given we live in an age of "Enlightenment". Let's face it. Everyone wants to be able to tell you who you are, what you like, and what you need to do. We have therapists and counselors to tell us how bad our childhood was and how we need to love ourselves more, magazine quizzes to know what kind of friend we are and what color we would be in a box of 64 crayons, and psychics and tarrot card readers to channel our loves ones so we can make nice with them and get on with our lives. We have teachers who tell us to study more, friends who tell us to party more, and society that tell us to do more, give more, take more, work more, tolerate more, enjoy more, relax more all in the name of finding out who we are, what we like, and what we should be doing.

Here is the real enlightenment - Yahweh God knows you better than you will ever conceive of knowing yourself. He deciphers things about you that you haven't even realized are confused on your own. He ingrains things deep within you that you couldn't even fathom on your own. He orchestrates things in your life for your good and His glory where you couldn't play the simple melody line on your own. He just knows you better and more comprehensively than is available to us in our finite minds.

Psalm 139: 5-6

5 You have enclosed me behind and before,

and laid Your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

It is too high, I cannot attain it.

David is overwhelmed by the concept that God knows him better than he could know himself. More than that, there is not a stone left unturned in our lives that He hasn't checked out thoroughly. He is not waiting for us to reveal anything about how we feel or think about anything. I don't have to help explain myself to Him. He knows my intentions and when my mind will change and where I miscommunicate things to Him. He just knows. It is the ultimate relationship. It is, by far, the most personal and intimate relationship accessible to us.

In the movie, "The Mirror Has Two Faces", Rose (played by Bah-bra Streisand) has a great quote.

"You know what I envy about those in love?

I'd love it if someone knew me, really knew me.

What I like, what I am afraid of ... what kind of toothpaste I use.

I think that...would be really wonderful."

Here is my point, even Bah-bra wants to be known and she is known by millions around the globe and still it is not enough. It will never be enough.

Sometimes I admit I get caught thinking like Ms. Streisand. Now, don't go nuts because 99% of the time I strongly disagree with her ultra-liberal stance on things. However, when she delivers those lines, I can relate to that line of thinking sometimes. However, the Lord brought this to my mind that really has made me re-think that thought process.

Your spouse, whoever it is, Scott, Jim, Henry, Brad, Trey, Blake, Mark, Charles, or Mr. Yet-To-Be-Determined, though they may be the most loving, sensitive and attentive to your needs (and I am quite certain that they are) can never compare to the love, sensitivity, and attentiveness of the Lord God, Creator of you. For example:

Your spouse knows that you like your coffee with one packet of Splenda and a splash of cream.

Your God knows that you like your coffee with 467 granules of Splenda and 1.1372 oz. of cream.

Not even you know that.

Your spouse knows that he should tell you that he loves you very sweetly and very often.

Your God knows that you would be like "buttah" in his hands if he said some certain "Alicen" words or certain "Amy" words at 18 decibels between 6:17 and 6:21 in the evening.

Not even you know the specifics of that.

Your spouse knows that you love to slip on fuzzy socks and curl up with a good love story during a thunderstorm.

Your God knows that after the thunderstorm, the most beautiful love story is when He artfully paints the arch of His promise and uses not just your typical 7 basic colors but over 150, 000 color gradients, the indigo and aqua hues reflecting the water and the shades of persimmon and corals reflecting the sun.

Not even you know the miracle of that.

To be truly known is the desire of everyone's heart. Only God fills that desire. To long for someone else to fill that desire is longing for something that is not Biblical. It is not possible for anyone to be known by anyone the way God knows His creation. He is the only one who can fill that need. Everyone else is an unworthy and sinful substitute.

Lord, I pray that I never believe the lies that there is someone who can fill this need in my life better than you can. Only you know what is best for me and that is You, Father. Remind me in my moment by moment weaknesses that only You satisfy and to expect that from someone else is unfair and unfaithful to You. Please allow me to see the facade of the cheap substitutes I replace You with and give me the strength and faith to place You back in Your rightful place.

The Value of Being Known - Part 1

There is something profound about "being known". I don't mean what your name is or what job you go to everyday, but truly and utterly known - from what secret music group you love but would die if anyone knew, to what you have a passion for, to what makes you laugh so hard you cry, to what makes your heart swell, to you greatest fears. I think everyone longs to be known in a very real sense - to be connected with someone so closely that your thoughts and feelings are known just as they are happening. I can attest to the fact that there are those friends who can see into your mind's eye when certain things happen and they know what you are thinking. They can read your eyes just like they were reading a open journal of your life. Sometimes that "picture worth a thousand words" is my face when somebody's name comes up and my mouth is tilted into the slightest smirk. A jeweler can count the all the facets of a diamond though it would take quite the investment to see and count each individual cut. With us, there is an infinite number of facets found in one person - so many moods, ideas, thoughts, experiences, challenges and dreams that it almost seems beyond the realm of possible to know all these things about someone.

But God does.

1 O LORD, You have searched me and known me.

2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

You understand my thoughts from afar.

3 You scrutinize my path and my lying down,

and intimately acquainted with all my ways.

4 Even before there is a word on my tongue,

Behold, O LORD, You know it all.

In the first part of Psalm 139, we find David calling out to the LORD, or Yahweh. It is the covenant name of God and it speaks of intensity and intimacy of their relationship. Not to cheapen God's name in anyway but it is likened to when we call our loved ones by personal nicknames. A lot of times, these are names that not everyone knows about but by those that know you and love you. They are names that signify time spent together and a deep relationship that goes beyond the moniker that your attendance lady would use to check if you were at school or not. A lot of times it speaks to your character and who you are. As it is with God Almighty, Yahweh is His name that speaks to His character and who He is.

"Yadah" is the Hebrew word for "searched" meaning "to explore, to dig deeply into, spy out". Yahweh God understands and knows us because He digs into us and has unlimited access into the depths of our lives. He knows us in our passive lives ("when I sit") and He knows our active lives ("when I rise").

I know someone in the FBI and though I have yet to directly discuss this with him to get it directly from the "horse's mouth", I know somewhere in my "knower" that they have some sort of "stalking" equipment and they can find out anything they want to know, about anybody they want to know about. I'm sure he would never call it "stalking" equipment but for lack of a better word (which I guess would be "surveillance"), we will use "stalking". In a very real sense, they can "know" you. Perhaps I am wrong or maybe I watch too many movies. Who's to say? My point is that even though they can get lots of private information, the FBI has limits to what they can get access to. They may know where you live and your credit score but they cannot find out every heart's intention and mind's decision. Only God has unlimited access to that part of you.

Verse 2b "You know my thoughts from afar" - Others see your actions; God sees into your heart. He created you and relished the fact that he knows exactly how you think. What is so huge about that is that the God of all knowledge, the Creator of every human life, Sustainer of the world, would care enough to spend precious time on knowing my thoughts.

I worry about really silly, unimportant things like:

• When can I wear white pants again?
• When is Jessica going to realize she was better with Nick?
• Why can we not wear open toe shoes to work but we can wear sling backs? Are not my newly pedicured toes more attractive than my "winter-ed" heels?

See? Ridiculous, really! And still, He has chosen to sift through these crazy desires, thoughts, simple wonderings and hopes to know each of them as well as He knows His own. And, He does the same sifting through for you. He knew, based on verses 3-4, and was deeply familiar with David's comings and goings and knew the thoughts that would develop into words and the very intentions behind those words - YEARS before David was created.

He doesn't just concern Himself with the big things of life like your salvation or your job choices, marriage issues or health problems. He is concerned with the very little things as well. Why would He care about those silly little things? Because we were created to worship and have fellowship with Him and that doesn't just happen in the critical "decision-making-times" of life. It happens in the ins and outs, ups and downs, and same boring routines that we find ourselves in day in, day out.

There is NO ONE - no sister, brother, mother, father, spouse, child, or friend - who cares more about those little things than the Lord does.

There is NO ONE who cares more about you than the Lord does.

There is NO ONE who knows you like the Lord does.

There is NO ONE who ever will.

Lord, thank you for being so accessible to us and accessing us as you will. The blessings that come from being known by you are too many to count or even acknowledge in so many cases. I pray that we would be an open journal when it comes to fellowship with the Lord and we would trust Him with our struggles, desires, and dreams of what is and what will be. Only He has the sovereignty to provide shelter from the storm, a change in the weather, or a peace in the middle of the storm. I pray that we would not withhold anything that is rightly due Him from our praise, our trust, our loyalty, and our service. May our lives be a living journal of what you can do when we are open to your indwelling within us, even in the little things.

The Madness (...and Music?)

I will admit it. I think it is only fair for you to know.

I am a bandwagon fan of the NCAA.

There. I said it. It is out in the open. I am only subtly ashamed but ashamed nonetheless. Bring on the stones.

My question is, how are you people not bandwagon fans and do you have more hours in the day than I do? I would love to religiously follow some of these teams but a girl has to primp sometimes, go to the gym sometimes, eat sometimes and sleep a few winks every now and then. Oh, yeah, and work 8 hours. How do you have time to see it all? I don't know but I do spend time following the tournament and if you will allow me, I have to send a few shout outs to some of these proud moments I watched this weekend.

First of all, let's go with the "hometown" peeps -

Can I get an AMEN for the representation of Tennessee in the Sweet 16? You have to give it up for the orange and white. And how proud am I to wear my Vanderbilt badge to work today? Please tell me you saw "the block". Please tell me you didn't miss it. Fabulous! They'll show it again - probably 137 more times before it is all over. Love it!

Now for the REAL hometown peeps -

I guess the best thing to say would be...

WHOOP!!!!

Can we talk for un momento about the rise of the Aggies (not those at the "beach" - although props to them, too) but those mired in College Station, Texas? Ladies and Gents - they have learned what to do with the big, round ball. My allegiance is not to them, but I have to give credit where credit is due and these lanky men deserve an ice cream. Maybe more. Perhaps they will rise to the level of the Lady Bears of Baylor U from a couple of years ago. There is always room to dream. I say this primarily for my oldest friend ever (light on the "old"), Alicen, for the purpose of "gig-ging" her but in all seriousness, Aggies give new meaning to the saying "pull yourself up by your boot straps". They certainly have from three short years ago when they were cleaning the castle basement and I have to commend them for their season ranking and their current job of mopping the floor with the joes served up to them. Cinderella, you have finally made it to the ball. (The pun was not intended.) Heads up for if they win, I will so be claiming "Texas" status loud and proud.

Now for the sad news...

Poor Kentucky.

What do you say except that Kansas is just better. I have no ties to Kentucky except that an old paramour rooted for them so I kind of got interested. Isn't that funny how things change but yet remain the same? (And by "funny" I mean "sad" but this is neither the forum nor the audience.... Aren't you lucky? - You dodged a bullet there!) I know everybody is up in arms about Tubby, but come on - cut the guy some slack. Please don't make me quote Janet Jackson on this blog. Please don't. It just seems that we have the case of "What Have You Done For Me Lately?' and lately, it hasn't been enough. See, now look. I've "Gone and Done It." Now, JUST STOP! Don't Make me quote Shania anymore either! Tubby just needs a little time at the "Copacabana" and he will be fine. He can hang out with ... Coach K ... and apparently Barry Manilow. They could be the 70's beach rendition of the Blue Man group? (By the way, do those guys scare anybody else? I just don't get that.) OK, enough of crazy talk.

Kansas was just better. What else can you say? Here is the simple equation:

More talent = more points more than likely.

And, I am about to claim the favorite female prerogative, the perpetual mind change. Carrie, get out your white out. I am rethinking my choice for the champion. I had Ohio State but I think I am going to pick Kansas after more thought. "That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!" (Colin Raye????)

Did I mention I was born in Kansas?

GO JAYHAWKS!!!

My personal Psalm 139

I was given the opportunity to teach this familiar Psalm this morning for my Bible study class. At first, I was a little nervous. Not for the actual teaching so much as the ability to take an all too familiar passage and bringing a new perspective to it. I enjoyed studying the passage throughout the last 10-14 days or so and digging deeper into the heart of Psalms. I did run into a problem while I was studying and praying through the lesson.

How can I possibly communicate the proper elevation of Almighty God with only 1 hour and a finite vocabulary filled with concrete and very measured terms? David is so clearly speaking to the omniscience of God, the omnipresence of God, the omnipotence of God. Praise for our God who is outside of time and space and who fits into no box we could ever create for Him. I think I might have said this before but sometimes we have a tendency to try to make God fit into our image we have conjured up for Him, with dimensions and boundaries. We think (or hope) there must be places He goes and places He can't (or doesn't), big things He knows with small pockets of undiscovered private things He knows nothing about. When we develop these false ideas of God and who He is, we, in actuality, become idolators worshipping a "false god". We have created and images graven in our mind's eye that are at the very least, inaccurate. He is so far beyond these ridiculous parameters we put around Him.

That still leaves me with a question. How do I classify in the clearest of terms, the greatness of El Shaddai? I came to this conclusion...

You don't.

You don't because you can't possibly.

There are no words to capture the essence of our Jehovah God and the scope and space He inhabits. The only way to begin my futile attempts at understanding the greatness of God, is to try and grasp who I am, how far I fall short, and how I am truly nothing but wind-swept dust without God's own breath inflating my lungs and his right hand gently pulsating my heart every moment of every day. It is so easy for me to take for granted the basics because I do nothing to keep them sustained. They just are. And they just continue without my help. When I finally get to the point that I realize that every step I walk, every sound I verbalize, every thought that passes through my mind, and every intention of my heart is only there because of God's grace and love for me, I will perhaps have barely scratched the surface of the most elementary of understanding with regard to God's deserved place in my life.

I am going to blog on this topic more in depth this week. Tune in.

God's Story

I mentioned in my last post that I had been working, travelling and sick. I guess I should have added "reading" to that list of things I have been doing because I finished reading another book. I read God's Story: Finding Meaning for Your Life through Knowing God by Anne Graham Lotz and it was excellent. The best thing about it was that I got something totally different out of it than what I thought I would get. Love that when God reveals something of His character in a way that is so unexpected. Another reason I liked this book is because it has a 100-page study guide and lots of teaching outlines with it for personal and group study. For those of you who are not big readers (in that you don't like to read books without pictures) it is a longer book - approximately 400 actual pages to read but the good news is that when you pick it up it looks much longer than that. The last 125 pages are all extra study notes and the like. See, you only have to read 275 of those pages! Yahoo for you! Like before, I will list the chapters for you to peruse:

I AM Your Creator

1. I Fill Your Emptiness

2. I Mend Your Brokenness

I AM Your Father

3. I Forgive Your Sinfulness

4. I uproot Your Bitterness

5. I Redeem Your Wastedness

I AM Your Savior

6. I Share Your Loneliness

7. I Overcome Your Helplessness

8. I Calm Your Fearfulness

9. I Understand Your Weakness

I AM Your Redeemer

10. I Reject Your Religiousness

11. I Banish Your Hopelessness

There are too many passages to quote that I just love so I can't pick just one. All I can say is that, I learned about things of the Lord on each page and how He has orchestrated meaning for our lives today all the way back into Eden. This book confirmed, yet again, that the Lord will use whatever means necessary to demonstrate His glory and elicit praise from His children.

On a personal note, I find the Lord revealing Himself to me in the strangest places right now. Should it be strange to have the Lord reveal characteristics of Himself to me wherever He chooses? Is He not there in the most unfortunate of places, the most comfortable of silences, the most intimate of moments, and the most unusual of situations? Surely He is. He is there to comfort or compel you, challenge or champion you, and cast vision or captivate your attention. Wherever you are and whatever you're doing, He is there waiting to reveal Himself to you. And, unfortunately for me, He is usually not shouting. Don't you wish He would just shout it outloud sometime? He is probably not going to get my attention with a trip wire. Most of the time, you just have to be prepared and ready to hear His still quiet voice. When do we get prepared and ready to hear Him? It is not in the moment before He chooses to speak. It is in the hundreds of thousands of moments prior to that. This preparedness is an ongoing process. It is dynamic in that there is ebb and flow and always moving and changing. It is not a place that you arrive at and park. There is no parking in preparation. When He decides to speak, and if you are His child, He will speak to you, you will miss the message without proper preparation of knowing His character, His promises, and His desires for your life all found in His inerrant Word. After all, it is God's Story. He wants you to read it, take notes about it, study it, understand it, apply it, live it, breathe it, share it. It's the best selling autobiography ever written. Be part of something bigger than you could ever be by yourself. Be part of God's Story.

This book is a great read and I highly recommend it.

Welcome Back!

Thank you so much for coming back! It's been a while, huh?

Been working, been travelling, been sick, NOT been blogging. Sorry about that. I have had several people inquiring about me and requesting updates on the blog. So, I am totally sick right now but here I am to answer the call.

I actually do have an entry in draft form from about a week and a half ago. I read some of it to my mom and she told me it would be in my best interest to NOT put it on a public blog. "Either change your entry or change your last name" I believe were her words. No, she wasn't really that harsh. She thought it was hilarious but was concerned it was something that "only a mother could love". What?? It had to do with a walk to work, a large squirrel and a lesson in preparation. This is all I can say publicly but am willing to share privately if you so desire to hear the story.

Today is Thursday and you know what that means... Thursday Thirteen!
By the time most of you read this, it will be Friday, but I think we go by the publish date so I am still in the clear with regards to accuracy. So, what will the top 13 things of today be... so many choices... The selection of the week is...(drum roll please)... Thirteen Favorite Spring Break Locations! Yahoo! Spring Break is upon us and who doesn't want to be thinking about getting out of Dodge (especially if you're from Dodge - no offense, of course to the "Dodgers".)

Here we go... (in no particular order)
1) Vail, Colorado - zipping around on skis
2) Bahamas - relaxing on a boat - a big boat
3) Aspen, Colorado - getting stuck in a snowbank on a snowmobile
4) Beaver Creek, Colorado - a day on skis followed by an evening at the spa
5) North (or South) Louisiana - enjoying lagnaippe with friends
6) Virgin Islands - relaxing on an island -after getting off a really big boat
7) San Francisco, CA - walking the hills and watching the stars
8) Seattle, WA - braving the rain, drinking coffee with family
9) Banff, Canada - captivated by and breathing in Lake Louise
10) Dallas, TX - being "home" without really being home
11) Hiking, Anywhere - any mountain worth seeing is worth hiking
12) Florida - enjoying sun, sand, and surf
13) Home - wherever family is at is where I would love to be.

How 'bout you?

Well, nuts!

Well, it has taken me more than a few more days to write a new post. What can I say, I've been otherwise occupied. It's funny, you get a new job and all of a sudden, you just don't have as much time to blog as you once had. Huh. Weird. Unfortunately, when you read this post, you're going to wish I had waited a little longer to post until something more profound came along. I would be lying to you if I told you that when this topic presented itself, I didn't think about it for while. A long while. More time than I care to admit honestly. Again, money to those who can explain how my mind works and why it is the way it is.

Ready? Here we go.

Today is supposed to be a BEAUTIFUL day. "Spring-like" they said. While thinking how awesome it was going to be today, I was walking to work and I saw an overweight squirrel. Perhaps we should call it a "chunky" squirrel or more like a "husky" squirrel. It wasn't quite to the obese stage as far as squirrels go, at least not in my 30 or so years of squirrel observation. I noticed him because I was watching the construction that I walk by everyday on the way to my building and some movement caught my attention. I looked down in front of me and noticed that little buddy had trouble picking up his hindparts and moving them out of the way before I stepped on him. He lurched at the last second across the sidewalk and made it into the bare shrub bush to "safety". I promise you, as I watched him, he turned around and looked at the potential "scene of the accident" as if to say, "Sheeesh! That was close!" I feel pretty confident when I say, I bet he was sweatin' it underneath that new spring growth of fur. What happens next, embarrassingly enough, is true. I actually thought I was just thinking until I realized that I was speaking, actually audibly verbalizing my thoughts. This is what exited my mouth.

"Well, buddy! You almost didn't make it. You better lay off those nuts you've been inhaling for the last several months. You know, they are full of fat. I know, it is considered the "good" fat but let's focus on the operative word "FAT". And it looks like you weren't eating Walnuts or Almonds all winter either but probably the really high fat content cashews or peanuts."

And when I turned around, and realized that the person behind me thought I should not be working at this medical center but quite possibly ADMITTED to this medical center, I had to agree. Their face was priceless and I walked briskly along, covering up my name badge so as not to be reported to the powers that be. Seriously, how do you get out of a situation like that gracefully and with any shred of dignity? I have just monologued with an overweight squirrel. I insulted him and gave him diet tips. Can I be really writing this down for you to read? This is reminiscent of another rodent story from my past. What is it with me and vermin?

From the Library of...

One of the things that I truly love doing is reading. I love it. Love the cover, love the contents, love the pictures, Love everything. Love it! (In honor of the Oscars this evening, I am channelling a movie. Bueller? Bueller? Who wants points, people?) To me, there is nothing much like getting lost in a good book. Hot tea in one of my favorite cups, flannel pants, fuzzy socks, view of the outside.... (sigh)... happiness on the horizon. My discipline goes out the window when I am reading. I lose sleep. I almost miss appointments. I choose not to clean my house. It is almost a bad habit. Is that possible? From time to time on the blog, I want to share about books that have really spoken to me or say something that I think some of you would really like.

I have not quite finished this book yet, but I will be finishing it this evening. It is a great book by Elyse Fitzpatrick called Idols of the Heart: Learning to Long for God Alone. (P&R Publishing, (c) 2001) Even if the last chapter is completely out of character for this author and is totally off the mark (and I can't imagine that it would be anything less than stellar as the rest has been), I would still recommend it because the first 11 chapters are well worth reading. I first heard of this book at a "Reviving Your Heart" conference with Nancy Leigh DeMoss in Memphis last year. She highly recommended this book for all women no matter what stage in life you are at: college, career, single, married, with kids, without kids. The book is written...

"for those of you who desire to live a godly life and yet find yourself in a recurrently disappointing struggle against habitual sin. This book is written for you who find yourself constantly tripping over the same bad habit, the same embarrassing weakness and the same sinful slavery that you hoped to be free of years ago. In this book you'll learn that idolatry lies at the heart of ever besetting sin that we struggle with." (p.15)

Are you a people pleaser? Do you struggle with your thought life and the war that Satan has waged on your mind for months or even years? Do you desire holiness? That sounds like an easy one BUT... do you desire holiness more than you desire comfort, approval, friends, a spouse or children, a better job or living with your own "small sins" that are "no big deal"? You, my friend, could be struggling with idolatry. After reading this book, I had no other choice but to face the fact that I was struggling mightily with idolatry in my own life. I am going to be honest, that was an eye-opener for me. I know in my life, like you do in your life, what my personal areas of weakness are. I did not count idolatry as one of them. This book is very insightful and if you will allow it, very revealing about where we honestly stand before a holy and righteous God. It is appropriate for individual study as well as small group Bible study as it has study questions at the end of each chapter and plenty of notes to promote additional study if one so chose to do so.

I want to list the chapters of this great read to give you a taste of what could be to come for your own personal library.

Introduction: Observing the World's gods
1. Rachel's gods and You
2. Undivided Adoration
3. Of First Importance
4. The Heart Changer
5. Better Than Life
6. Knowing Your Heart
7. Thinking About Your God
8. Longing for God
9. Willing to Obey
10. Resisting Your Idols
11. Crushing Your False gods
12. Delighting in God

See, doesn't that sound like good stuff? Not sold yet? Let me give just a little excerpt of wisdom in this book. (It's hard to choose what passage to put in here because I have so much of the book underlined or highlighted!)

"Man looks to idols to calm his fears and produce desired benefits - to bring him happiness. To identify your idols, begin to look at the thoughts and imaginations that bring you happiness...

Instead of fashioning idols out of wood and stone, we fashion them in our imagination - worshipping that which we believe will bring us happiness. We don't carve a good spouse out of a piece of pine, but we worship the thought of the joy that one would bring us. We don't chisel out a facsimile of the successful man or woman, but we believe that's where our joy can be found. We believe that our happiness is bound up in having our expectation fulfilled. These beliefs function as gods just as surely as if we had carved them from wood or overlaid them with silver." (p. 114, 116)

I am excited about getting her other books because this one was so good. Heavy on truth and not stuffed with fluff. Thank you, Elyse, for being so forthright and honest about an area that had gone unnoticed by me but not unnoticed by the Lord. It is in these books of reflection and revelation that it becomes clear that although the truth can be hard to hear, my life and my walk are better for it. May the Lord receive all the glory due Him through your impact on your readers.

Do You Hear What I Hear?

When I first started this job, I was put in an office with 8 cubicles and nine office mates. I was excited because my previous job was a lot of travelling and really, no colleagues to speak of. That was one of the reasons I was so excited about this job. I am at the very back of the office and I kept noticing how quiet it was in the office, no music (not even elevator music) pumped through a muffled cubicle wall, not much talking and even the phones were not ringing - they were "purr-ing". Just for my own information...did you know that phones could purr? Me neither. I've got my phone at home set to the tune of "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee" at the loudest volume. I actually didn't know I could adjust the volume on these old (you know, looks like a rotary but has push buttons) phones until I was out of the office for a minute and an office mate kindly told me that my phone was so loud that she thought the next office could here it. Oops! The main thing that bothered me was that I missed my phone call - a sign that there was life outside of these silent puffy walls.

I finally decided to go out on a limb after about 4 days and ask some questions. I felt like I should prepare for what the next 40 years would look like for me in this office. I had to ask if this lack of sound was typical, was the noise maker of the office out for a while, or are my cubicle walls really INCREDIBLE, top-'o-the-line, noise-reducing panels. I was told, "Oh yeah, you are in the 'quiet' (air quote) office." REALLY?? My response was, "Well, I think that I have been misread and therefore misplaced unless I was hired to liven the 'quiet' (air quote) office up."

I want to say here that I truly do love my job and the noise level has risen above silent a few times and for that I am thankful. I do really like all the people in my office. There are some really sweet girls and I enjoy working with them. I expect that before too long, I will be able to call them my friends and we will get to invest in each other's lives and maybe get to the point that we can mutually pray for each other as I believe the Lord has called us to do. I look forward to that day.

I sit here today with, so far, 7 people out of my already quiet office. I am one of two. What strikes me is that as I have sat here listening to the quiet and little pecking of a keyboard, the verse keeps resounding in my ears:

"Be still and know that I am God."

Psalm 46:10

It is in the quiet times that His Presence is seemingly heard all around me. In the purr of the phones ringing several cubicles away, it is the Potter's wheel whirring around, pausing, then starting again, the clay being molded never leaving the touch of the Potter's Hands. In the pecking of the keyboard, I hear Him actually chipping away the mire from which we choose to live in and revealing a vessel that has been exposed to the some tough lessons but reflect a raw beauty ready to be refined. In the hum of the AC, I hear the firing up of the kiln preparing to burn away the remaining dross. And in the silence, and there are plenty of periods of just that, I hear God's approval as He admires the work He created, sitting in the display case for others to see. I hear His chest rise and His sigh of a work well done. He sees the work for what it started out as, a worthless piece of clay with no form and no particular beauty in itself but when submitted to the Hand of an Almighty and creative God can make others stand in awe. The true beauty is that the admiration is not directed at the work of art. It is directed to the Worker of art, the Creator of the clay, the Architect of the design, and the Designer of beauty. It is God and the fruition of His dreams for your life.

Be still. Enjoy the silence. God knows that it is here in the silence that you hear the most profound noises ever made - God at work in the lives of His creation.

May your life the work of art He created you to be today and forever.

The First Thursday

Thursday Thirteen

There is a "blog thing" that has something to do with Thursday Thirteen. As I am finding my way through the blogging world, I hit these walls of "un-knowledge". Some people might call it ignorance. I will choose to call it "un-knowledge" because, honestly, I like the word better and the connotation. How kosher is it to call yourself ignorant on your own blog and then expect people to read it? However, you may reserve the right to call yourself whatever you wish on your blog, whether that be ignorant, functioning at Mensa level (like Jessica Simpson does), or Wonder Woman! More power to ya! Did you know that Jessica's I.Q. is at that particular level? I was unaware of this fact. Anyway, on this blog, the word "un-knowledge" is a functional word and so we (and by "we" I mean "me, myself, and I") will use it at will But, I digress...

The point with Thursday Thirteen is...I don't know. I guess because they have the same inital consonant digraphs. Why not Thursday Three? Why not Thursday Thirty-Three? Who knows? If you do, leave a comment and let us all know and reduce the "un-knowledge" floating around here. You probably don't even have to be right, just convincing.

Here is the first Thursday Thirteen:

My Favorite Movie Quotes:

13) "Love the purse, love the shoes, love everything! Love it!"
12) "Hi Daddy! Hi!!"
11) "What's your dream? Every'body gots to have a dream."
10) "Let's just take a step back. No, I was wrong. I'm sorry. Take a step forward. Now take a step back . . . and then a step forward . . . and then a step back . . . and then we're cha-chaing."
9) "Surely you can't be serious. I am serious and don't call me Shirley."
8) "Newman, what are you doing? I'm thinkin'. Well think me up a cup of coffe and a chocolate doughnut with some of those little sprinkles on top, while you're thinkin'."
7) "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."
6) "Say 'hello' to my little friend."
5) "I want the fairy tale."
4) "Come on, Cletus! Come on! It ain't nuthin but a short walk. You might walk over, but you limpin' back."
3) "Do you think behind every chance is another chance and another chance? It is the worst kind of extravagance the way you spend your chances."
2) "Drink your juice, Shelby. Drink your juice!"
1) "DON'T TALK ABOUT ME LIKE I'M NOT HERE."

After listing these quotes, I realized that there are way more than 13 that I could list. So, we will have to have a continuation later on. How about if I say these are my favorite 13 for February? Points for those who know movie titles to these quotes; however, you know the rules about points. Check the comments section of "The Ear of the Beholder" for my points policy. Or ask Helen.

What did I miss? Let's see your list. Remember, my five brilliant nieces and nephews are reading (?) so let's not teach them any "new" words. I know several of you have got some goodies!! Spill it! Andele aqui!