Take Two

Started the night with dinner. I love my family. Period. I also like brats, sauerkraut and black and tan. I also enjoy banana cream pie at the Purple Bar in Nonna's.

Yes, we are sisters. Believe it.

Ended the night with a concert. Emotional, beautiful, heart-felt Celtic music.

L.s.R.

More Than Fingers-Crossed

We went to a concert on Friday night. Heard 3 wonderful artists. Had a little issues with our seats...but I won't go into that. It always seems something of that nature happens to us and then we end up sitting next to weird people.

I am not gritting my teeth in the above pic...I promise. And I only turned around and glared at the talkative couple once (okay, twice)....but I couldn't help it. Gabby couples, hick-billies and children are all in the same category to me....well, not in normal life, but at concerts, in restaurants and at weddings they are. They are annoying. Okay, I like children. The well-behaved kind.

But in all seriousness, we really did have a good time!

******

"And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of his maidservant....." Luke 1:46-48

*

I have been meditating on these verses for about two weeks.

I want to have the spirit of Mary. Just a little while before she sang this song to the Lord, this single girl of around 13 years was told that she would be the mother of the Savior of the world.

*

I am sure she saw her dreams of being married to Joseph come crashing down.

I am sure she thought of what her family would say to her; how the neighbors would gossip.

I am sure she thought of being labeled a whore for the rest of her life.

But instead, this girl of 13 praised Christ for blessing her.

For choosing her.

*

Whatever doubts and fears she had, they could not compare to her joy that she had in her Lord. That is where she found her freedom. God chose Mary because she had faith like a trusting child. Mary knew her Father would take care of the 'little details' in her life.

*

I so want to be like Mary. Even-keeled and not given to emotion.

I want to be constant in Christ.

'In whatever state I am in,' I want to praise God.

I want to bless Christ with my spirit. With my attitude. With my outlook on life.

L.s.R

Oh, Happiness!

Scent of crushed cedar. Old couple walking their Yorkies together. Autumn sky with no clouds. Running on an 'Indian Summer' day. Quiet time. My slippers. Avocados and cream-cheese. An answered prayer. The love of my family. Folding laundry. The sound and feeling of the ceiling fan this a.m. A mom and daughter dressed-up in Dalmatian costumes. Gaining an extra hour. Ironing my clothes. Reading Nehemiah--He was a wise, brave man. Hugs and kisses from my dogs. Leaves on the ground. My purple ipod. Mars Hill Church. Church Music by DCB (you have to smile when 'Oh, Happiness' comes on). Late night talks with friends. Hope. Prayer. My orchid (even though it is not blooming, I have hope in you, little plant of mine). Chubby babies. My marathon bumper sticker. Listening to Rush Limbaugh. Songs with a beat, that make you want to dance. Songs that are simple but deep, that make you cry. Singing very loud with the windows down. Plans for traveling. Blizzard in Colorado. Fire in a fireplace. Candles burning. Jeans, flannel shirts and cowboy boots. Apple Cider. My little cubbies in Awanas. Preppy, green jettas. Reading Pioneer Woman's blog. Cooking and cleaning. A tall, skinny, vanilla latte from Starbucks. Training for another marathon.

All these things bring me happiness.

"Faith by its very nature must be tried, and the real trial of faith is not that we find it difficult to trust God, but that God's character has to be cleared in our own minds. Faith in its actual working out has to go through spells of unsyllabled isolation. Never confound the trial of faith with the ordinary discipline of life, much that we call the trial of faith is the inevitable result of being alive. Faith in the Bible is faith in God and against everything that contradicts Him--I will remain true to God's character whatever He may do. " Oswald Chamber's October 31st devotion.

"Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10

L.s.R

Worshiping Thru The Mundane

I read this from John Piper's BLOG this morning...I really needed to be reminded of this when my alarm went off this A.M.

'"Mark Driscoll has a great word in his book The Radical Reformission: Reaching Out Without Selling Out, "Every day, people eat, sleep, work, play, love, and hate, but they do not know why. Not knowing where they come from or to whom they are going, they lack the ability to make their lives meaningful. Consequently, our culture is filled with "successful" people who are mired in anxiety and confusion because they do not know the point of all their toil. But the gospel reveals Jesus as Lord over all of life, who infuses even mundane tasks such as dishwashing with meaning as acts of worship."

*

This also makes me think of Stephen Curtis Chapman's song "A Moment Made for Worshiping." When you first hear the title of that song, you think he's talking about a mountain top experience or miracle moment where everything is going so right that you can't help but worship.
But instead, the first line of the song is: 6:30 Monday morning.
In other words, the ordinary moments of the everyday are the moments made for worshiping. Everything we do can and should be done as an act of worship. This infuses even the most mundane activities with meaning.

*
And, ironically, it rescues the more amazing moments from futility as well, for it turns out that even those moments derive their meaning not from themselves, but from God.
"So then, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31).
"Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (Colossians 3:17)."' ~Pat Perman

L.s.R

.With Quiet Words.

Emotive, unstable, you're like an unwinding cable car.

Listening for voices, but it's the choices that make us who we are.

Go your own way.

Even seasons have changed

just burn those new leaves over.

So self-absorbed you've seemed to ignore

the prayers that have already come about.

*

This is the correlation of salvation and love .

Don't drop your arms, I'll guard your heart.

With quiet words I'll lead you in.

*

Backing away from the problem of pain you never had a home.

You've been misguided,

you're hiding in shadows for so very long.

Don't you believe, that you've been deceived,

that you're no better than...

The hair in your eyes, it never disguised

what you're really thinking of.

*

This is the correlation of salvation and love.

Don't drop your arms, I'll guard your heart.

With quiet words I'll lead you in.

This is the correlation of salvation and love.

Don't drop your arms, I'll guard your heart.

*

With quiet words I'll lead you in.

You're so brilliant, don't soon forget.

You're so brilliant, grace marked your heart.

*

Between salvation and love, don't drop your arms.

You're so brilliant.

I'll guard your heart. Grace marked your heart.

With quiet words I'll lead you in and out of the dark.

Don't drop your arms. With quiet words I'll lead you in.

~Anberlin

*****

"Soft words make hard people.

But hard words make soft people."

Mark Driscoll

*****

"Lead me to the Rock,

Who is higher than I."

*****

"Happiness is a beautiful thing.

Joy is indescribable."

*****

"How He loves."

L.s.R

Mama Mia!

Peace. Loveliness. Serenity. Restfulness. Hope.
I love my Orchid. It came home over a month ago and it's still kickin' and bloomin'!

********
In other matters, I think I found the nectar of youth for hair.

Moroccan Oil. It smells divine and my hair is shinier and smoother. It is! I love the little bottle and the branding. Ms. Underwood uses it....but this is not why I bought it...just saying.
********

And I know the first thing to go on my Christmas list. Training for the Marathon is going to start in a few months and this legging/yoga skirt will come in handy.

I wish I was a yoga-type girl, but I am not. I would only do it because it sounds cool, not because I want to. And that is not a good reason. I am more of a walking/running/biking type. Actually, I am more of a gym type. But I never, ever go to the gym. Running and walking is free and I enjoy being outside, but if I had all the money in world I would go to the gym and sign-up for a spinning class. I will do a spinning class someday. I don't know how I got down that rabbit trail, but I will sleep better tonight :)
********

Hurray for fall walks and strong north winds. Hurray for I Love Lucy late at night. Hurray for fresh ironed clothes. Hurray for a sister that loves me and is my Roomie. Hurray for girlfriends. Hurray for parents and a dad that always dreams higher and tries new things. Hurray for Colorado and Thanksgiving. Hurray for Mountains. Hurray for Valleys. Hurray for black spray paint. Hurray for Obama getting is ego cut in two (Rio de Janeiro 2016!). Hurry for the ability to work. Hurray for love. Hurray for VS Mag. Hurray for slippers. Hurray that this post is over!

L.s.R

My Paper Heart Is Yours

"When God is taking us to a place we've never been before, we envision that it's going to be better than where we are. And ultimately, that's true. But often we have to go through a wilderness to get there...

...God has a purpose for the wilderness, but it's hard to see it when we're in it. It can be frightening if we don't know what to expect. The most frightening thing about it is the thought that this may be our final destination...We need to be walking so close to the Lord that we hear His voice in the midst of any upheaval in our lives.....We must walk perfectly within the light God has given us, not running ahead, not lagging behind, not striving to go somewhere else...

*

...When traveling in the wilderness, there is a good possibility that God will not reveal our final destination...it wouldn't be a walk of faith...full magnitude of what's ahead [would be] to much for us to comprehend...we may get in God's way by thinking to small, [or] become doubtful...God takes us through these wilderness times because He wants us to learn a walk of faith whereby we trust Him for every step. We recognize that the wilderness is a place where God calls us to forsake what's comfortable and move into the unknown so He can guide us where we need to go...

*

...Embrace the wilderness and say, "I want to be with You, Lord, even if that means staying in the wilderness until You're ready to bring me out." As Moses said, "If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here" (Ex. 33:15). Once you are out of the wilderness, don't forget it. Remember and talk about the goodness God showed you there, and how He sustained you and how you trust He will continue to do so. It will strengthen your faith and the faith of those around you...

*
...God wants us to dream. He puts dreams in our heart for His purposes. But in our dreaming, He doesn't want us to exclude Him. God's Word says we will perish if we don't have a vision, but the vision we have must be His...And He wants us to surrender all of them. That way He can tell us which of them are from Him and in line with His will...Even if the dream in your heart is from God, you still won't see it fulfilled until you give it to Him. The dream has to be realized His way...

...When God wants to make changes in our lives, and we're willing to let Him, He starts by cutting away all that is unnecessary. In this process, He strips from us everything that could hinder our future growth, in order to prepare us to bring forth good fruit. Our life may look barren during that time, but God is actually freeing us from anything that does not bring forth life...process of surrendering all to the Lord...God puts dreams in our heart to give us vision and inspiration and to guide us to the right path. That's why we have to make sure the dreams we have are not from our own flesh. The only way to be sure of that is to lay all of our dreams at His feet and let them die. And we must also die to them. The ones that are not from Him will be buried forever. The ones that are from Him will be given new life...
*
...We don't want to be just wishful thinkers, always living in a dreamworld and never seeing anything of significance materialize. We don't want to be continually chasing after something God is not blessing. We want to live with confidence that our hopes, dreams, and expectations are based on God-given certainty that He is behind them. We want the hope that comes from God alone and is built on a foundation of His promises to us...This kind of hope is an anchor to the soul...
*
...Even if you are certain God has given you a vision or dream for your future, He will still ask you to surrender it to Him so thoroughly that you will think it's as good as dead...
*
...God doesn't want any part of you to be unsurrendered, not even the dreams He has put in your heart...dying to your dreams is difficult, but if you reach up and take your Heavenly Father's hand, He will shine His light on the situation and walk you through the process step by step."
~Stormie Omartain
"Just Enough Light for the Step I'm On"

"....if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance." Romans 8:25

L.s.R