"To Live in the Hearts of Those You Leave Behind is not to Die."
~Robert Orr~

Battle Hymn of the Republic

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage of where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He has loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword:
His truth is marching on....

Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on....

In the beauties of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make us holy, let us die that ALL be FREE!
While God is marching on......

We sang this at church today and the words in the second verse just bring me to tears every time...
To those who serve and those who have served...
to those who send sons and daughters to serve...
to those who faithfully send husbands and wives to serve....
for fathers who serve, for mothers who serve...

thank you...
thank you...
thank you...
May God Hold you in the palm of HIS hand.

(photo found here)

I'm over here today....sipping a cup of inspiration....
please join me...

"If you are willing and obedient, you will eat from the best of the land."
Isaiah 1:19

I have a friend. She is in a word OBEDIENT. When we met the Lord had placed on her heart something much larger than herself, and she in obedience, began what she knew she could not do on her own.

She was recently away on a trip to Ireland where she hoped to step away and hear the Lord's voice and see confirmation that she was doing HIS will. She was desperately trying to "be still" and KNOW God's purpose and His plan.

She shared with me that her daily prayer is this:

You also know my daily prayer-- “Lord, as I commit my work to you,I thank you that you are causing my thoughts, ideas, words, actions, and deeds to be lined up with your will, so that I will be established and have success. I am earnestly seeking His plan. Many are the thoughts in a man’s mind but it is His will that will be established. "

Head over to the Cafe for the rest of the story....

THANKFUL THURSDAY!

I received this in an email this week~
To all who serve and to the families who send them away...
~THANK YOU~
a simple sign of thanks...
How neat is that...one man, one idea...
all in the name of gratitude.
I LOVE that on THANKFUL THURSDAY!
If you haven't seen the video on "how to thank a soldier" it's really neat!

The word of the week is TIME....
I am thankful for the gift of time...
time to live, time to love, time to notice, time to THANK....

I am blessed..
to live freely...
I am blessed...
for the friendships that God has placed in my life...
those near...
to laugh with,
those far....
to pray with,
those who live in my house...
(who SURPRISED me and cleaned out a book bin without prompting from me...)
HALLELUJAH!
for the rain and the sun...

All placed purposefully by the hand of God....
He is GOOD, ALL the time!

There is a whole lotta thankin' goin' on over at Iris'

LIVE WELL is JUST BELOW!!
It was a doozie of a day!



I have TWO posts today...which explains why it's been STRANGELY silent over here for a few days!! I realized that after I posted this Word Filled Wednesday that those ladies at LIVE WELL are likely laughing...SALT....we are supposed to avoid TOO much salt in OUR bodies...and yet we are reminded to NOT LOSE our saltiness....
hmmmmm....

At one time in history salt was something, a commodity in the ancient Roman world. It shouldn't surprise us that Jesus used the reference of salt. The people understood the importance of salt, they understood just how valuable it was. So when Jesus tells them on the Mount that they "are the salt of the earth," they understood. Salt was what kept foods from spoiling, and if we as Christians are the "salt" of the earth, then we are to keep the world from spoil and rot.
Hmmmmm.....
I'm supposed to be "salt" to the world...do my part to preserve life...
Salt does not lose saltiness...pure salt is just that. BUT in Jesus' analogy, we CAN lose "saltiness."
HOW?
We become complacent, defeated, lazy....
and we lose our "saltiness..." the very SPIRIT of the Lord. Jesus was telling the people 2,000 years ago the same message we need to hear today.
Just how SALTY are you?

Head over to the 160 acre woods for more WORD FILLED WEDNESDAY...it's a blessing indeed!

While Darlene is sailing the Caribbean, I am grateful that she asked me to "help host" this week.
If you are participating this week, we'd love to visit and encourage you on your Live Well journey. Leave your link below and here's to Living Well....

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
Mark 1:35

It was a doozie of a day. One of those "what next" kind of days. We all have them, the circumstances are not important, the fact that everyone reading this knows EXACTLY what "those" kind of days do to us.
They defeat us. They send us through drive through lanes ordering things that we KNOW we don't want or need. They send us to the drug store for the candy bar the size of our heads. They cause us to IGNORE the walk or run or bike. Those days discourage us, they defeat us, BUT only if we let them.

~LIVE WELL~
~even in the middle of a disaster of a day~

Just the other day, my "doozie" of a day, I knew what to do..and instead of running to the pantry for the biggest tub of chocolate chip cookie dough you've ever seen, I decided to do what Jesus did when he found himself overwhelmed. I went to a solitary place.

THAT my friends is easier said than done. Everyone was home, (each contributing in their own special way to the doozie of a day) so "getting away" was going to be harder than it would seem. I don't have a mountain to retreat to, I don't have a desert to walk into....
The only mountain I could see was the mountain of laundry and that wasn't what I was looking for.

There often is no where to hide or retreat to. We live busy lives, and yet if we don't retreat to a "be still and know that I am God" (psalm 46:10) place, we find ourselves engaging in those habits we are fighting so hard to break. The discipline we work so hard to gain, vanishes in a Biggie French fry instant.

That day, I knew what I needed, and it was to be alone with God. So, I found solitude in the most unlikely of places, my driveway. I knew that I had at least 10 good minutes before they'd even think of looking out there. I laid down on the driveway, closed my eyes in the sun and prayed...prayed for peace, prayed for will power to not drown my frustrations in unhealthy habits, prayed for strength to "run the race with endurance!" You know it was not a desert retreat or a mountain top, but I felt God out there on the driveway. I felt His presence. I felt His power.
I had found solitude in the midst of my chaotic life. It can be done, we just have to get creative.

The people eventually found me. "What in the world is mom doing lying on the driveway?" "Mom, you look weird!" Someday they will understand. They will understand the need for stillness in this crazy life, on crazy days. They will understand soon enough that if you don't go to HIM in the middle of it all, you'll likely find yourself not LIVING WELL.

There is so much to Living Well....it is a complete Mind, Body and Spirit...a submission and acceptance that I am perfectly and wonderfully made(psalm 139:14), and a knowledge that my completeness lies in Him and not in a half-pound bag of M&M's. It's a choice to Live Well, it's a choice to Live Purposeful, it's a choice to Live this gift of Life.

Live Well along with us today, leave your link below.

SOMETHING FOR SUNDAY


A few weeks ago my Maddie bought herself a book that we'd read about in BRIO magazine.
(which by the way is the MOST FABULOUS teen magazine out there! Focus on the Family puts it out, but it is contemporary and full of "girl things!" We LOVE it around here!)

Anywho.....
Do Hard Things was the book that she wanted. It's by the Harris brothers, the young men who began the Rebelution online! These boys are challenging their youth peers to DO WHAT'S HARD.

Here is the official book description from the site:

The next generation stands on the brink of a "rebelution."

With over 16 million hits to their website TheRebelution.com, Alex and Brett Harris are leading the charge in a growing movement of Christian young people who are rebelling against the low expectations of their culture by choosing to "do hard things" for the glory of God.

Written when they were 18 years old, Do Hard Things is the Harris twins' revolutionary message in its purest and most compelling form, giving readers a tangible glimpse of what is possible for teens who actively resist cultural lies that limit their potential.

Combating the idea of adolescence as a vacation from responsibility, the authors weave together biblical insights, history, and modern examples to redefine the teen years as the launching pad of life and map a clear trajectory for long-term fulfillment and eternal impact.

Written by teens for teens, Do Hard Things is packed with humorous personal anecdotes, practical examples, and stories of real-life rebelutionaries in action. This rallying cry from the heart of revolution already in progress challenges the next generation to lay claim to a brighter future, starting today.

As a mom of one, soon to be 3 teenagers, THIS is exactly the kind of things that I want to see them reading along side their Bible. It's modern, it's real, it's challenging and it is what they need to hear. Their parents need to hear it too! Maddie devoured the book, we talked a lot about it, and she passed it on to a friend. We all have choices to remain status quo or to join the Harris boys as "rebolutionaries." If we are asking our kids to "DIVE DEEP" shouldn't we be willing to do the same. "Long term fulfillment and eternal impact..." WOW, that is awesome!

Having a teenager in the house does change things....and from what I've seen so far....a "REBELUTION" is a GREAT thing....I think I'll join her!

It was just something for Sunday!

This week the Internet Cafe welcomes Kim from To Know Him, to the team. She is going to be our Cafe Chat gal!

Café Chat is The Internet Café's weekly meme! On Saturday of every week there will be a new open ended question for us to chat about and your objective is to write a response to the question of the week and then post it on your blog!

"A good question can change your life. You don’t believe me? What about questions like, “will you marry me?” or “do you want to have a baby?” A simple yes or no to either of those questions could change the direction of your whole life. Are you convinced yet? If you are convinced about the fact that questions can change your life than we are at a good starting place, and if you are not sure yet, stick with me over the coming months to see if you change your mind."

What is one habit, negative pattern, or sin that has been passed down your family line from generation to generation that you do not want to pass down to your own family line? What steps are you taking to make sure the habit, pattern or sin is not repeated in your own family?

When I read this question I had a response immediately. I grew up in a wonderful home...A Leave it to Beaver house. I was unconditionally loved and disciplined. It was a great childhood.

You see growing we "went" to church and lived the "right" way but we never had the opportunity to experience the passionate Christian life that we want for our children. Like many of us, it was a weekend experience for me.

When I look at the teens who are involved in churches and in youth ministries, I see kids who are more likely to seek that out in friendships and in their lives as they leave home. The resources available today are so much greater than anything our parents had to offer us, and it's our responsibility as parents to be an example and encourage them into not only a youth church experience, but a whole life Christian experience.

One of the things that I lacked as a young teen was any sort of Christian service. I know that I spent many years living with a mentality that I was "doing enough," when in reality I was really not doing much at all. I just did not understand what I COULD and SHOULD be doing. As I look back I realize what an example I NEED to be to my children. They NEED to see me serve, they NEED know that as a family we pray and study the Bible, and they NEED encouragement in the form of books and music that I can encourage and guide them to.

It's my heart and my husbands heart to help our children learn that being a Christian girl or guy means so much more than attending a church service on Sunday and saying daily grace. It's about your life and how you include God in every single detail of that life! I have seen the difference that being involved has made in the lives of some amazing young people around me. They are witnesses and they are examples of what I pray I can lead my children to. Each of them has gifts and talents given generously by God....It is my prayer that my children will embrace the title of this blog that is my heart and
"Take it Lord, All YOU Have to Give."
(image from Christart.com)

WHEW!!

Since LAST Thursday the days have been flying by!

I have lots to be thankful for this Thursday, including wonderful visits with THE MOM's (his and mine...) THE DAD'S (his and mine) it was wonderful to have time together...there is a list a mile long of the blessings in my life, but this week I've got a story to tell....
it's dedicated to all you out there who don't FILE RECEIPTS and the people who feel sorry for them.

Now I know that this is not SPIRITUAL in any way, but it IS what I'm thankful for...and my neighbor and good friend DAVID reminds me that "God looks after the STUPID."

CASE IN POINT...
I received my birthday gift....from the mom's, enough to BUY photoshop....I've had my eye on it for awhile. With the birthday blessing I marched myself into that little piece of heaven known as Staples and bought me my very own copy...(even asked if it worked with Vista...."ABSOLUTELY" the clerk replied....)
I couldn't wait to get it home and download it...
but it wouldn't work...
I had to call in my TECH SUPPORT, who thankfully lives with me and appreciates those clean clothes~ AFTER I'd fallen into the bed, he found the trouble.
IT WAS FOR A MAC COMPUTER....

Not a problem
FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO SAVE RECEIPTS....
(I know there are lectures to come....the first in line will be MY MOM, and right behind her, my buddy Marcy...who is the most FAITHFUL receipt collector I've ever witnessed...)I've heard it all before and it sounds like that teacher from the old Charlie Brown movies..."wha, wha, whom, wha..." It just never registers with me...

I had bought the software and the car was a MESS...had a few minutes between Tae Kwon Do and picking up for Ballet...and I did what any "neurotic about the inside of the van mom" would do...I picked up every scrap of paper I could find and TOSSED it in the PUBLIX trash can...in a STAPLES BAG....
you guessed it....receipt and all.

UH OH!
What were the chances that they would take pity on me, return the software and send me on my way.
I pled my case to the Staples lady....
(did I mention I paid cash...no way to trace the truth in my story!)
She called for back up, the Staples manager...
"Agh, give it to her."
Did I hear him right??? I can exchange it...
I skipped back to the software aisle...I swear I heard the hallelujah chorus!
THANK YOU STAPLES PEOPLE! I LOVE YOU!!

You saved me from myself....it was EASY!
GOD does look out for the stupid...I'd have been out 90 dollars..my stomach was in knots...
So there you have it...
My thankful Thursday includes those nice people at Staples who took pity on me...

I PROMISED my better half that I was turning over a new RECEIPT leaf...I'm going to keep them from now on...
He just laughed..and I know that my friend Marcy is laughing too...
but come on, people change, it's a new decade for me...
I'm too old to dig in the trash...


Iris our faithful hostess has lots more gratitude over at her sight...much more spiritual than mine I assure you...

blessings!

I do it every week....and I SHOULD be reminded when I grocery shop of the FRUIT that the SPIRIT so willingly gives to those who seek it...

Fill me up a cart of LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS and SELF CONTROL!
We learned these thanks to an awesome CD that my friend the QUEEN gave us called Crazy Praizes!

It's the BEST version of the FRUITS I've ever heard!!

It just seemed to speak to me this week!
ENJOY!
and head over to the 160 acre woods for MORE WORD filled Wednesday...I promise you'll be blessed!!

I'm a few days late on this...but the new issue is out...
There are some WONDERFUL articles in this issue...
Mine is in there too....
"What kind of fragrances please our God?"
Take a DEEP BREATH in and go check it out!

Happy Mother's Day!
This year we'll have a real treat, both "moms" get to be the guest of honor today!
What a blessing it is that our moms have gotten to watch us grow into adulthood....
see the fruits of their labors.
They've gotten to see their children's children, I can't imagine a greater joy, other than seeing your children's children have a child.
I was also blessed to have a gram that lived to see that 3 times over.
It reminds me of the Sara Groves song:

Remind me of this with every decision.
Generations will reap what I sow.
I can pass on a curse or a blessing to those I will never know. .
To my great-great-great-granddaughter, live in peace. To my great-great-great-grandson, live in peace. To my great-great-great granddaughter, live in peace. To my great-great-great-grandson, live in peace, live in peace...

I've been passed on a BLESSING, I can only pray that I continue to do the same....
generations WILL reap what I sow.
Thank you MOM'S for passing on a blessing to us....
I pray that you have peace that the legacy that you are leaving will allow your great-great-great granddaughters and grandsons to live in peace...

to you both on your day....
and to all those out there who are examples of FABULOUS moms to me....I watch you all, I learn from you all, and I am blessed that God placed you on my path....each of you is a gift.

thank you
and
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Please post this button to your blog and spread the word!




Café Chat is The Internet Café's weekly meme! On Saturday of every week there will be a new open ended question for us to chat about and your objective is to write a response to the question of the week and then post it on your blog! The question for this week is below.


This week in honor of Mother's Day the question is

"What is the greatest lesson have you learned from your mother or other mom like figure in your life?"

This weekend I've got both mom's with me...(mine and his) and I've learned unique lessons from each of them. They are both reflections of love...they love their families above anything else, a gift I've gotten to witness and for which I'm forever grateful.

First, my mom.
Life being what it is, is not always neat and tidy.
She taught me about relationships. First, they are tough and require work. Having had some challenges within her own immediate family, she was determined to create a home of harmony. She took it upon herself to make sure that fences were mended and that no difference, big or small would EVER get in the way of our relationships with each other. Mom was the HEART of our home...she was and is a domestic diva....she can still sew on demand! She taught me, without words that being a wife and mom ARE a calling, and a worthy one at that.

The other "mom" has taught me unaware the value of raising a "good man." The truth is that someday my "baby boy" will go out into the world seeking his true love. She prepared mine. No, he isn't perfect (she WILL disagree:)) but the lessons he learned in his childhood home were ones he brought with him to our marriage. Not having a brother, I never much thought about it, but now raising a son I see it much more clearly. I'm not just raising my son, I'm raising someones husband.....It's a tough job and my mother in law can rest in that she "taught" her baby well...
I pray I'll do the same.

My husband and I often talk about that while our mom's are very different, they BOTH raised us in very much the same ways. We came to our relationship with similar family values, and perspectives on family life. It was a gift then and it continues to be a gift that I pray I pass on to my children, values and faith that they will take with them as they go on. There is no greater gift that we can give them....one that I've been given by not one, but two moms...

THANKFUL THURSDAY!


This week we have been preparing for the "MOMS" to arrive. Hayden makes his Communion this weekend and we'll have both moms (mine and his) to share Mother's Day with. I have a special post just for them...but this week I've been thinking about my own journey to motherhood....it was a L~O~N~G road, the infertility route, which miraculously ended with not one but 3 children. I know now looking back God had some work to do in me BEFORE He allowed these lives to be under my care....and I'm ever grateful that He did what He did, although at the time I wasn't sure WHAT God was doing.

This week I finished a picture in art class....(going once a week makes the process SLOW, and this being my first portrait, it was EVEN SLOWER, but I was determined to finish it for Mother's Day...each mom will get one one!) Each time I see this picture (from a few years ago) I see

JOY!


Any mom knows that we aren't LAUGHING all the time. There are those particularly tough days, weeks, even months where we need the reminder just how important the calling to be a mom is....
This picture does that for me...I have it posted on my desk, to take me to that place....
the joyful place of motherhood...
There are days!
I am today thankful not only for the gift of motherhood, but in the journey that taught me so much! Only God in His wisdom could have known just how much I needed to learn and grow before He entrusted these children of His to my care...

now if you promise not to tell "the moms" here is the painting...I'm learning that an artist is NEVER happy with her own work, and could play on forever with it, but I was happy with it. Our teacher is a master and she encourages every step of the way, without her help this would never have come to fruition. Thanks Marmie.....(another addition to the gratitude list this week!)

hop, skip or jump on over to Iris' for another dose of gratitude!

WORD FILLED WEDNESDAY!

With Mother's Day this weekend, it just seemed fitting to use this verse....
now that I am a mother it means all the more!
enjoy!

"may your father and MOTHER be glad;
may she who gave you birth REJOICE!"
proverbs 23:25

head over to the 160 acre woods for more....

In "other" words is just below...
but I had to share this.

My birthday was this past weekend...and just today a friend of mine, Emma (who is part of a group fondly known as "the trips" as in triplets...) who also happens to be one of my favorite people on the planet, presented this to me....
Emma, it's going in a very special book, my BIBLE....to remind me of you each time I see it...It's Emma's version of Proverbs 31:25 instead of laughing at the days to come, we'll have fun in the sun!!
Emma I love that!
You are a miracle and a blessing!
love you girlfriend!
HOW SWEET IS THAT!?

Therefore I am now going to allure her;
I will lead her into the desert
and speak tenderly to her.
Hosea 2:14

I have to admit, this one caused me some research. I needed to dig into Hosea to see exactly what was going on at the time. I was puzzled by the word 'allure.' To allure means to entice, and in this passage God is going to entice them into the desert where He will speak to her. Her of course is Israel and He is God. But why 'allure?'

It may be the only place that He can get them to "listen." Then the LIGHT BULB went off!

I "know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Rom 8:28). It's dry, it's lonely out there in the desert, it's a wilderness experience, but it's in those places where God does His best work in us.

I've walked in that desert place, and one thing that I've noticed is that in the silence, in the dryness, I can hear God clearly, IF and only IF I choose to listen.
It is through faith that I've learned to understand that this is no longer a place to complain about but rather a time to thank God for His infinitely mysterious ways. It's in this desert that He can and will reveal what He desperately wants me to hear.

My buddies James and Paul are ever reminding us of this in their letters:

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Romans 5:3-4

Then the message in Hosea begins to come clearly into focus. I should be willing to be 'lured' into the wilderness, the desert...but I often kick and scream like a tantrum throwing child who can't have that toy in aisle 5 of Wal Mart. That's what I need to resist. Think of them, David, Paul, Moses...each one led to into the desert (Moses literally) only to emerge closer to God, closer to His will in their lives.

I have to wonder where we would be if we were never asked to go to "that desert place, walk in the wilderness." I know for myself it's been in those desert places where I've been forced to come face to face with trusting God. It's in learning to say "BLESSED BE THY NAME."

And blessed be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's all as it should be
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say, Lord
Blessed be Your name, Lord

So the next time I'm lured into the desert, I'll try to resist the temptation to run or throw a tantrum. I'll remember the words of Hosea...
God is only "luring" me to teach me, to guide me, to change me and grow me if I'll let him. It will likely not be a day in the park, the desert never is, but I can be sure that as faithfully as the sun rises each day, I will not EVER be left alone in the desert....
God leads me in, speaks tenderly (and sometimes not so tenderly) then when His work there is through, he'll allow me to emerge so much better than when I entered....

To see more "In Other's Words" join Heather at Titus 2 Woman.