Thanks Be To God

Today the Mending Hearts Ladies came to visit the house.  I so look forward to this each year.  I gave a short devotional.  Here it is:
Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! II Corinthians 9:15
During this season you see people everywhere, fighting the traffic and the crowds to get just the perfect gift for a loved on.  Or perhaps they are trying to decide if they should buy a specific gift or just give a gift certificate.  Either way, they are out there in the hustle and bustle of the holidays; some don't feel the least bit in the mood - just doing this our of habit.  Then there are others who live for "gift giving"... it puts them in the Christmas spirit to be able to shop!
Most people love the Christmas season and what it stands for, but some can't see beyond the Christmas trees, the beautiful lights and the expectation of gifts.
What a heart God had when he sent his "only begotten Son" to this earth 2000 years ago, to live as a man, to know the hurt and pain that you and I do - yet he lied a spotless life, and was crucified so that we could live without sin and one day live with Him eternally.  What a love of people God had.  To send His Word to us in the flesh, how unselfish!  This is the way we should live our life today - unselfish to the point that we want others to have what we would love, whether it be a gift, or maybe that spiritual gift of salvation trough Jesus Christ our Lord.
This season means to me, to be the season in which we truly show our love to others, - unselfishly, - with fervor!!  We should be so in love with our God that our faces shine with His presence... our eyes should light up for Him!!  People should recognize us as having something they want!!  And we should be ready to share Jesus with them when we are approached!!!
1 John 4:9  In this was manife4sted the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.

Surviving the Attac of the Flaming Nutcrakers

Friday evening we were finishing up putting out the Christmas decorations for our first open house.  Darrin was working on unwrapping Bobby Sue's nutcrackers.  I took one of the boxes that I thought just had ornaments in it and moved it to the kitchen.  The counters were full of stuff so I set the box on the stove and was going to tape it shut in a few minutes.  As usual I got distracted and started putting ornaments on the upside down tree.  I said to Darrin it smells like something is burning.  He said it sure does and we both headed toward the kitchen.  Just as Darrin came around the corner the box on the stove burst into flames.  Darrin knocked it off the stove onto the floor and started flinging the items out of the box.  Two boxes of ornaments and four nutcrackers wrapped in paper.  He ran outside with the box and I tried to put our the paper around the nutcrackers and get them out of harms way.  Darrin ran back into the house and grabbed the squirter on the sink and squirted everything.  Ashes were everywhere half way up the white cabinets.  They were floating through the air and I was spatting at them and Darrin thought I was on fire and squirted me.  From head to toe I was soaked.

A Needed Warning

Today we went to a Air and Space Museum.  The planes were awesome and the space crafts were cool.  Listening to Sherman and Charles talk about WWII was amazing and fun.  But this quote from a speech stood out and breaks my heart:

"With the monstrous weapons man already has, humanity is in danger of being trapped in this world by its moral adolescents.  Our knowledge of science has clearly outstripped our capacity to control it.  We have many men of science, but too few men of God.  We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount.  Man is stumbling blindly through a spiritual darkness while toying with the precarious secrets of life and death.

The world has achieved brilliance without wisdom, power without conscience.  Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants.  We know more about war than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living.  This is our twentieth century's claim to distinction and to progress."  - General Omar Bradley - November 10, 1948.

Who are we not talking to?  What do we need to do to get them to hear?  Why are we not going out?  Where do we need to go? When will we take the time?

We need to share Christ with everybody!

Saying Goodbye

Saying goodbye is never easy.  Thanks to good friends and good family this was not so hard. 

Jared did a great job to show what a good man and good father my dad was. 

 My sisters made it easier by just being there.

It's the Small Blessing That Count!

Rough rides are expected.  That is what it has been for the past 5 weeks.  The unknown is frightening and sobering.  I am clinging to this verse today Isaiah 41:10 - Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

Helping Dad through this final stage of his life is hard. 

I am thankful for the friends that God has put in my path.  Bobi Ann and her sweet family.  I know that Bobi Ann is my prayer warrior and faithful friend.  I feel those prayers that I know come from her family when I just don't know what to do to help to make Dad comfortable.

I am thankful for my friend Karen that has been a vital part of my cloud of witness.  So many times she has put me back on track and offered her help to me.  Today she said she would just rearrange her schedule and come clear across town just to cut my fathers hair. Simple acts of kindness from two people God has placed in my life.

I am also thankful to my living God and Savour for the smallest of pleasures.  Dad's first bird in the bird feeder was the most amazing little red bird.  He danced in the window for Dad for more than 15 minutes.

The sky that He painted tonight was very impressive with it beauty.  Could not pass up to opportunity to take several photos of it.

Thanks for the small blessings!!

Senior Trip 2010

I spent one amazing week on Senior Trip with 24 outstanding young adults.  I was challenged on many levels on the trip.  I met and made many new friends and built stronger relationships with those I already new.

We did the usual things like stopping at the same fast food places and taking pictures at the welcome to Colorado sign.

It took two days to drive there in two buses.

We went white water rafting.  That was quite the experience.  We were in the lead boat. Pat was our guide. 

We went down the Arkansas River it was flowing at 3400 csi.  It was wild and exciting and I got thrown around in the boat. 

We got to help rescue a boat that had flipped over.  That was a lot of paddling.

The next day we went out to the rocks for climbing and repelling.  I tried the rock climbing but did not have the strength to get very high.

The view was amazing.  I loved all the mountains that surrounded us.  I just could not get enough of God creation.

I  wish I had had the nerve to go on top and try to repel.  That would have been so cool.

On the third day we went mountain climbing.  I started out with my camel pack leaking all over my back.  We had to dump the water.  Noah's Ark hires some of the best people on earth to be guides.  David Jones was our guide and he supplied my water for me and when Maria's boots fell apart he took his boots off and gave them to her to wear.  He then put hers on and tried to walk out in them.  By the time we got to the bottom David was barefoot.

The forth day we drove to Colorado Springs and shopped and ate lunch outside on the patio.  We biked down Pikes Peak.  I love that to most!  I loved the speed, the snow, the cold, the view. The one hour ride up was so fun with the girls so scared.  We laughed so hard that Caroline had tears.  The three hour ride down the hill was just amazing.

Thoughts and Prayers

The past 10 days have been just a whirl wind of emotions... thoughts... prayers.... questions... prayers... and blessings.  With Dad being sent home from the VA with hospice care came a new season for Darrin and I. 

I have thought about what a great man my Dad has been.  I remember the moments when he took us trick or treating when we were small and the trips to see Santa.  The parades, theater, symphony, hikes, mountain climbing, camping, Boy Scout events all have great memories including the Minute Man walk we took when I was about 8.  The $20 I found on the ground and Dad hung on to it for me and the many times over that I asked for part of that to spend.

Dad took us all to see the "World" at least twice a year.  We would pile into the station wagon and travel across country Mom, Dad, Milo, Wendy, Liz, Me, Trish and Pam along with Dolly the black lab and two cats Puff and Ruff.  We saw places like Carlsbad Caverns; Rockport, Maine; The Giant Redwoods; Kennedy Space Center and lots of time in the Mobile area at the river.

God gave me Darrin 10 years ago.  He knew what He was doing. Darrin has been just amazing in all that he is willing to do.  He has given up events that he has looked forward to for the better part of a year in order to be there for me.  He has cared for Dad in ways that a son-in-law should not have to.

From day to day I do not know what is in store.  Learning the lesson to just trust.

So Much To Catch Up On

Wow, It is amazing what God has done during this season!!!  I am in awe of all that He can and does for me.  April is always such a hard time for me.  But God took this year and turned it around and turned into a celebration of life and hope. 

God sent me all the way to Japan to learn this lesson.  We will all have tough times, rough spots and things that just seem more than we can handle and God tells us of these things.  But His promise of grace and peace and His victory over everything is what will get us through.

I have never felt so full of life as I do right now. 

New Year New Project

This year I took on a new project. Project 365 where I take a picture everyday and post it for all to see. I have it posted on Facebook and Flickr. I have enjoyed it and thought I would share it here as well. I stuck a bunch together so they will be small but if you go here http://www.flickr.com/photos/realracegirl1/ you should be able to see them better.