Friended Simulcast With The Ladies

What? No books are mentioned in this post? You have got to be kidding me!

Three weekends ago we had a fun simulcast event at the church called "Friended".  In it we talked about how to be a friend like Jesus -- to go first, to forgive and to trust in Him for a friendship that will always last.

Here's a few pics from our fun day!

Fonda and the young women testing the photo booth. Who knew Selfie sticks were so difficult to use?

Breakfast

You will see these flowers at a few different events this fall...but here is use #1.

Jim never believes me when I tell him that all of my party decorations come in handy in the future.  He thinks I should get rid of them rather than store them.  Pshaw!

Finishing up breakfast before we start the video.

Assignment #1: Take a photo of your group and post it on Instagram

Lunch at Magnolia Super Burger.  Yes the sign does advertise both Elk and Buffalo burgers!

Those of us who made it to the end of the event snapped a quick pic in the photo booth.

We had a great day and sharing our stories with Alyssa and Amanda made it even sweeter.  Women mentoring women...sharing hearts, lives and stories...that is what I love about Women's Ministry.

What a Weekend

So much fun, it's taken me a week to put in into words!

My wild weekend started off with these two beautiful ladies.  Kelley, Kristina and I began the night with dinner and drinks at Cyclone Anaya's and followed it up with Luke Bryan's "Huntin', Fishin', and Lovin' Every Day" Tour, along with Granger Smith and Brett Eldredge. What a fun night we had! 

I slept in on Saturday morning and only crawled out of bed when Bri called and invited me to join her and Kelli at Meagan's for the Southwest Classic Game -- Arkansas vs Texas A&M.  (The guys were golfing.)  I can't say many kind things about the game...but these two cuties made up for it.

Minnie Mouse, Babs Bunny and Ariel made an appearance.

During the game, the girls helped me put all of the finishing touches on the games for our Fellowship at Field Store Women's Progressive Dinner.  We had a great turnout (22!) and so much fun.  I laughed so much.  We are quite the competitive group...especially when it came time for the photo scavenger hunt!  There are photos that cannot be seen in public unless someone is there to explain what is happening. 

We are missing Nancy in this picture...but the rest of the gang is accounted for.

Sunday morning I drug my aching body out of bed and then to church.  We had a sweet time of worship and fellowship followed by the celebration of our 'Jo' birthdays...Jo, Joe and Joseph.  I came home to Jim's delicious brunch and enjoyed the quiet of our house.  The kids were all gathering at Meagan's for the Texans game, but I just couldn't.  I chose to stay home and enjoy my beautiful flowers instead.

Gerbera daisies that look like fall.

Instead, I curled up with a good book!  I curled up in bed, on the couch, on the loveseat...anywhere I could find a place of quiet and solitude.  And I had read the WHOLE THING by the time I went to bed Sunday night!

Young Jane Young: A Novel by Gabrielle Zevin
(Fiction)

Un-put-down-able book of the year for me!

This was my first book from The Bookshelf Thomasville's 'Shelf Subscription, an independent book store in Georgia whose podcast ('From the Front Porch') I listen to faithfully. I did a happy dance when I opened my first package to reveal not only a book I had been wanting to read, but an autographed copy!

This is the story of a political affair between an older politician and his intern, BUT from the viewpoint of the women caught in the storm.  We hear from the mother of the intern, the intern herself, her daughter and the politician's wife. The story jumps back and forth in time (thus the daughter) revealing a little more of how each person played a part in the outcome. I found it to be well written and to bring up the conversation of how the politician moves forward with just an asterisk by his name while the women never truly recover and find themselves as either the butt of the joke or the one that bears all the blame and shame.

I would love to sit down to discuss this one with someone soon.  I thought the author did a great job of neither condoning the affair or excusing either party while still asking the questions about power, fame, responsibility and naiveté.

Aviva Grossman, an ambitious congressional intern in Florida, makes the mistake of having an affair with her boss--and blogging about it. When the affair comes to light, the beloved congressman doesn’t take the fall. But Aviva does, and her life is over before it hardly begins: slut-shamed, she becomes a late-night talk show punch line, anathema to politics.

She sees no way out but to change her name and move to a remote town in Maine. This time, she tries to be smarter about her life and strives to raise her daughter, Ruby, to be strong and confident. But when, at the urging of others, Aviva decides to run for public office herself, that long-ago mistake trails her via the Internet and catches up--an inescapable scarlet A. In the digital age, the past is never, ever, truly past. And it’s only a matter of time until Ruby finds out who her mother was and is forced to reconcile that person with the one she knows.

Young Jane Young is a smart, funny, and moving novel about what it means to be a woman of any age, and captures not just the mood of our recent highly charged political season, but also the double standards alive and well in every aspect of life for women.

★★★★☆

Experiencing God 20 Year Later

This past spring, I facilitated a group of three ladies through the Experiencing God workbook.  It was a wonderful experience that I wouldn't trade for the world.  These three ladies and I, two of whom had studied with me multiple times before, built a relationship that was unlike any I have been honored to be a part of in past organized Bible studies. There were some very REAL conversations had around that table!

We were even inspired to create our own t-shirts to represent this new found vulnerability:

To say this was a sweet time of fellowship just doesn't seem to do justice to the experience.  I believe it could best be described as 'Koinonia' - fellowship, intimate partnership, or as the workbook describes it "...the most complete expression of a love relationship with God.  When you live in this kind of love relationship with God, you will have the same quality of loving fellowship with other believers." 

I had been a part of this same study over twenty years (and three churches) ago.  As we came to the close of this study I realized how many truths from back then are still part of my faith today (though I couldn't have told you where they came from until I completed the study again).

So here are a few of the truths that struck a chord with me this go around and that I want to hold on to:

1. Ask probing questions to discover God's activity around you. (pg. 84)
2. God made us mutually interdependent, that is why we need the church body. (pg.128)
3. I want my heart's cry to be like David Livingstone: Lord, send me anywhere, only go with me.  Lay any burden on me, only sustain me.  Sever any tie but the tie that binds me to Thyself.  (pg. 166)
4. Spiritual adultery -- "following a method instead of depending on God." (pg. 173)
5. In God's kingdom, how you do something is as important as what you do. (pg. 216)
6. A sign of health in the body of Christ is how quickly one person hurts and someone else feels the pain.  (pg. 223)
7. Regularly ask your spouse spiritual questions. (pg. 255)
• What has God been showing you in your quiet time lately?
• Has God placed a particular burden on your heart as you have prayed? etc.

Looking back, there was a tremendous amount of growth in my faith the last time I worked through this material.  My challenge this time is to remember that it is God that brings the growth and to be willing to wait patiently for that next growth spurt.  I didn't recognize it during the last one...and I might not realize it happening even now.  I need to trust that He is more concerned that I have an intimate love relationship with Him than with what I do for Him as a result of this study.

Have you ever retaken a Bible study?
What was your experience like?

I would love to hear!

An Unexpected Gift

I had a surprise when I walked into my office this morning. A white nondescript plastic mailer addressed to me. I wasn't expecting anything from Amazon or Barnes and Noble, so I had no idea what it might be. Imagine my surprise to open it and find this.

A gift copy of Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth's new book, Adorned: Living Out the Beauty of the Gospel Together. 

From the book jacket:
The Titus 2 model of older women living out the gospel and training younger women to do the same is vital.  It's how we all thrive, how we are adorned, and how we adorn the gospel...together. 

Imagine older women investing themselves in the lives of younger women, blessing whole families and churches.  Imagine younger women widening their circle to include women who've walked further down the road.  Imagine women of all ages and seasons being transformed by the gospel, displaying its beauty, and making it believable to those around them. 

This rich study of the instructions to women in Titus 2 provides a roadmap to help you experience the kind of community and influence God designed you to have in the church and the world. 

This is my heart's cry...the passion that the Lord has stirred in me for years and is even now stirring anew as He lays younger and younger women on my heart.  As the back cover says so beautifully:

Woman To Woman.

Older And Younger.

Side By Side.

Life On Life.

This is God's good and beautiful plan.

I can hardly wait to start reading!

What's Making Me Happy Right Now?

1. Tyler Candle Company's Fine Laundry Detergent for my linens.

Seriously, this stuff smells amazing.  I purchased a sampler package from Tyler Candle that included a small candle, a car freshener and a very small bottle of this 'Glamorous Wash".  One day on a whim I used it to wash the sofa throws.  What a difference it made.  Now I use it on my sheets and towels too.  I love crawling into bed and catching that waft of pleasantness that you only get the first day or two after using regular detergent.

2. Cozy Dearform Slippers

In January, I was rushing to make it to our annual Popcorn and Pajamas Movie Night with the ladies at church.  I wasn't going to make it home to change into my pajamas, so I ran by the store and picked up a pair.  I decided to grab some slippers to complete the ensemble and I love them.  I have Dearform lightweight ones that I usually wear all year long...but on our few cold evenings in 2017, these have felt so snuggly and warm that I think I'll keep them out until the temps get above 90 again.  LOL!

3. 'Not-a-meal-plan' meal planning.

Three weeks ago I desperately needed to make a grocery store run.  We were out of everything after all the holiday festivities and the large meals that came with them.  I also knew that I could make a big shopping run but then I wouldn't know what to cook.  So, I pinned a few recipes in Pinterest, added the items needed to my list and made a makeshift plan that could easily be adapted to cover last minute guests or to allow for a quick throw together when you've had a hard day at work.  I cooked three nights in the first week.  That's a record for me lately!  When I get stuck I can look on this list, pull up a pin and within an hour (usually less), voila, we have dinner!  It's working for me right now.

4. Discipleship small group.

I joined a 4 woman small group back in November.  It is a one year commitment to work through the 25 lesson Discipleship Essentials curriculum.  The lady who organized the group is a friend of mine, I had participated in a previous study with one of the other ladies but didn't really know her, and the youngest lady in our group I could only refer to as an acquaintance when we began.  This has been a pure delight as I get to know these women on a deeper and more intimate level than just attending church would allow us to do.  It's a twice a month commitment that gets me up and out of the house earlier than my normal.  It challenges me to share beyond what I normally would in a larger group.  And, even though much of what we are covering I have been exposed to for years, it is challenging me to rethink the importance of the basics of Scripture.  I've really never understood the 'small group' appeal, as I was already in a smaller Bible study and attending Sunday School.  But this is different.  Always the same four people, always focusing on what we are doing with the truths revealed, and an opportunity to truly do life (the good-the bad-the ugly) with one another.

5. Book Club!!!

I've always wanted to be in a book club.  I would be so jealous listening to others talk about their gatherings.  I talked about how it all started with a holiday gathering here.  After our first meeting, we decided to do it again in January and now we have a book picked out for February too!  I'm loving it and last week when we met Meagan decided to join us.  That is just the whipped cream on top!

6. Goodnight kisses from the grands.

Meagan, Derrick and the kiddoes are staying with us for a couple of weeks as they renovate their house.  It's a change for Jim and I but we decided to just enjoy the snuggles and goodnight kisses while we could because we already know that 'the days are long but the years are short!'

7.  'This Is Us' on NBC.

I'm not a big television watcher.  Don't get me wrong.  If I sit down in front of it, it can be hours later before I get up again.  BUT I don't intentionally sit down to watch much television other than for the purpose of spending time with Jim. (Who told me last week, "I prefer my books on television." He cracks me up, y'all!) We accidentally stumbled upon this series during the 4th episode after hearing a little bit of buzz about it the week before.  Y'all, we were HOOKED! Thankfully, we were given the opportunity to catch up on what we had missed between the episodes still on the Prime Time DVR recordings and repeats over Christmas hiatus. This show is done so well.  I love the characters, I love the ensemble cast, I love the storylines, I love the mystery of what happened to Jack and when, but most of all I love the hope of a family that doesn't have it all together, but who still loves one another, warts and all.  I don't remember being so in love with a new series since the beginning of Game of Thrones...which I can no longer watch even though I loved so many of the characters and storylines. I'm looking forward to so much about this show.

An August Update

Things have been pretty quiet here on the blog lately...but only because we have been so busy that we have not had time to post about all the goings on.

On August 6th the girls and I enjoyed a Girls Night that we have put off for far too long. We had tickets to see Wicked again...and even though this was my third time, it was still great.  I had tears at times because I was so swept up in the story.  The first time we saw it here in Houston I felt that the actress playing Elphaba stole the show.  This performance it was the actress playing Glinda who had me cracking up with her great timing.  This is a show that I saw on Broadway with Rosa years ago and I have to say that the touring version is just as enchanting as the original show.  Again, I have no photo from the night...though I know that one exists on someone's phone -- probably Kelli's.  LOL!

August 9th was Ellie's FOURTH birthday!  Can you believe it?  She and Delayne are growing up so fast.  The party will be in September as the two girls and Weston are going to share a big party instead of having three small ones.  Look for pictures of a Disney Extravaganza!  Elsa, Ariel and Cars all gathered in one place.  It will be a sight, I'm sure.

August 12th was Jim's birthday.  He only wanted a quiet (or as quiet as our family comes) dinner out.  Bri, Josh, Bailey, Meagan, Derrick, Davin, Delayne, Dayton and Will all met us at 'Waller Mexican' (actual name Ceilito Lindo) for dinner and margaritas where we celebrated with lots of laughter and conversation.

On August 13th we surprised Josh with a 30th birthday party at The Barn.  I don't have a single picture of the event but it was something else.  Meagan went out of her way to make it special with lots of black and white and a candy bar filled with all of his favorite things.  I did the cooking for the taco bar with some out of this world pork carnitas that Jim and I had for breakfast before the big party because it was so good!  It was a miserably hot day...but everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and we had a great time celebrating Josh with some of his closest family and friends.

And because two birthdays, two days in a row is not enough for me...on Sunday, August 14th I met up with Robin and Kelley for a Girls Night out at the Gwen Stefani concert at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion.  It was raining cats and dogs, but we had covered seating and the clouds parted for our walk into and out of the venue.  We had a good time.  Gwen was a good entertainer and the show was good -- except Robin kept hoping that Blake would come out and sing a duet with her.  Unfortunately, Gwen had performed in Dallas the night before and he made his appearance there instead of Houston.

Last Saturday, August 20th, we had our annual Ladies Progressive Dinner at church.  It's been raining for weeks and it was the last weekend before school started...but we had a good turn out.  There were ten of us that visited three different homes for our Pink Flamingo themed party.  The invitations and posters read, "Let's Flamingle," which I thought was adorable.  But one of our hostesses took it even further and made us all 'to go cups' that read, "Keep Calm and Flamingle On!"  Now that is precious!  

We invited all of the kids over for Sunday dinner and a Spades tournament.  Meagan and family, Bri and Bailey, Jim and I enjoyed a traditional pot roast with one of the best corn casseroles I've ever had.  It came from the refrigerated section at Sam's and was worth every penny!  We never made it to Spades, but decided to play Farkle instead so that Davin and Delayne could join in the fun.  After Jim slaughtered us at Farkle, Delayne and I went to watch a movie so that the rest of the family could play Clue with Davin.  It was a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon after church.  

This weekend we will be heading down to Sargent for a few days and next weekend Jim and I will be heading to Arkansas to visit Mother and do some work at the deer lease.  Next thing you know the holidays will be upon us and the year will be over!  

Brian has been staying with us for the past week and a half.  He is in the process of moving back to the Houston area and is now working for Custom Fire Protection.  He is learning the design process of the company.  He returns to San Marcos this weekend to pick up his furniture and will be moving in with roommates just minutes from the office.  I know he will glad about that.  He is not a big fan of the hour drive he has from the house right now!  It will be good to have him around more often.  We have missed him while he has been away.  

Anyway, that's what has been going on with us this month.  September brings more birthdays, more parties and a return to Bible study for me.  What are you looking forward to in September?

Wish You Were Here

I woke up this morning feeling:

Sad
Heavy
Regretful
Disappointed
Overwhelmed

Today would have been my Daddy's 71st birthday.  

I miss him.

I grieve the loss of him in my life.

I wish that I had done things differently - like call him more often or make a big deal of his birthdays.

I regret that it has been months since I spoke with Donna and Cecily.

I am disappointed in myself.

I feel overwhelmed by all the happenings around me.

But as I sat down with my Bible and prayer journal, I was reminded that:

God is still on His throne.
Jesus' yoke is easy and His burden is light.
I am forgiven.
God is good...all the time.
The Holy Spirit never leaves me alone.
Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Amen!

Throwback Thursday #7

Mother's Day 2015

Here a few memories from Mother's Day 2015.

Baby Dedication at Wilcrest Baptist Church.

Kelli and Matt had been living out in the Rosenberg area and were going to a church that didn't hold baby dedication services.  When they moved into Sugar Land, they started attending the church where they were married and decided to participate in the semi annual baby dedication.  It turned out that they had THREE since the last time they had attended services at Wilcrest.  Jim and I loved going back to see old friends and to celebrate the Lord's goodness to our family as Maddux, Ellie and Weston were all dedicated to the Lord.  Mr. Al Bailey was their deacon to pray over the children and to encourage Matt and Kelli for the journey ahead.

Back at our home church, Fellowship at Field Store, we hosted a Mother's Day Tea and invited all of the women, young ladies and girls to attend.  Here were my two tables.

The speakers table where my dear friend Cynthia sat with her guests for the day which included her daughter-in-law and granddaughter.  I just loved the garden party feel of this quilt (a gift from Donna) and decided that the table needed to look like a garden.

Cynthia used a beautiful tea cup and a sturdy coffee mug to help illustrate for us the need to be filled with the Holy Spirit and not just worry about what the outside looks like.

This was my table - set for four with Grandma Fulton's magnolia china.  Bri joined me for the celebration and we had a wonderful time with Marla as memories of my grandmother flooded this table of magnolia blossoms.

These were our serving tables -- beautifully decorated by Maudell.  She is a master of setting a beautiful tablescape!

It was our highest attendance since Kyra and I began organizing the monthly get-togethers.  We look forward to many more to come!

Throwback Thursday #2

Because there have been so few posts on the blog in the past year, I thought it might be fun to look back on Thursdays to see what has transpired in that time.  Today's Throwback Thursday will be:

Ladies Retreat

Surfside

Back Row: Lynn, Suzi, Maudell, Barbara, Ellen, Kyra, & Brandi
Front Row: Nancy, Anita, Jeannie, Linda, Shirley & Fonda

Last September I helped to plan our Women's Retreat at church.  I was very surprised to learn that several of the ladies had never spent a weekend at the beach.  So, we booked a house on Surfside, asked my dear friend Ellen to be our speaker and gathered for a glorious weekend of fellowship.  Our theme was 'Jesus is My Anchor' and the t-shirts turned out so cute!  I love it!  We ate like queens, laughed ALOT, took walks on the beach and listened to some good teaching from the Word of God.

I am looking forward to our time away this coming October as we travel to the Frisco/Dallas area for Abundance by Lifeway.

We Have Arrived In Our Promised Land

Yesterday at the office I found myself too busy to take a lunch.  I had brought my lunch to eat at my desk so that I could get outside on such a beautiful day to walk.  But the walk never came.  So, I took my lunch hour at the end of the day to walk.

But as I got nearer to the park, I thought to myself, "I'd rather drive on home and walk there so that I don't have to deal with the five o'clock traffic on the way home'.  So, I kept driving and arrived at home just a few minutes past five.  Jim was already home as we had a crew out clearing the place for our barn.  He was on the tractor when I arrived, but got down to show me where they had cleared the trees and how different it was looking out there. 

After we walked around 'oohing' and 'aahing' the great work they had done, Jim asked me to show him where NOT to bush-hog because of the dewberry plants.  As we walked around the property, I noticed that there were areas where the dewberries were already ripening.  I tried picking, but soon ran out of space in my hand.  So, I walked back to the house and grabbed one of my vegetable baskets, changed my shoes for muck boots, (doused myself in Skin So Soft Bug Spray) and headed back out.

About an hour and fifty sore muscles later, I had gathered about a quart of fresh dewberries.  (And I saw only one snake -- and that just a tail.  I left him that patch!)

When I showed our abundance to Jim, he commented "Dewberry pie and ice cream for dinner."  Well, I don't know how to make a dewberry pie...but I can sure whip up a dewberry cobbler.  And so, I did!

It was delicious!  (I had a small piece despite cobbler not being on my Daniel Plan approved diet.  90-10 y'all!) 

As I picked and ate the dewberries last night, I kept thinking of how the Lord was blessing us with food that we didn't cultivate.  We didn't plant them...didn't care for the vines.  They were just a gift!  A sweet reminder of home and family.  I thought of the Israelites as they took the Promised Land and were fed from fields and fruit that they had not planted (Joshua 24:13)...and thanked God for our Promised Land...our Home.

This simple dessert holds so much meaning for me.  My dad just taught me last year that these were not blackberries...but in fact dewberries.  And I used my Grandma Jenkins' peach cobbler recipe.  It was just so sweet...so unexpected...such a gift.  Thank you, Jesus!

Wanna make a cobbler?  Here's how I do mine.

Grandma Jenkins' Peach Cobbler

 

1 cup sugar

1 cup self-rising flour

1 cup milk

1 can peaches

1 stick butter

 

 

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Place butter in baking dish and place in oven to melt.  Mix together sugar, flour and milk until all lumps are gone.  Pour over melted butter.  Pour peaches over batter.  Place in oven for 30 - 45 minutes or until browned on top.   Serve with delicious Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream.

 

For this dewberry cobbler, I placed two cups of dewberries in a boiler with a cup of sugar and two tablespoons of butter.  I brought it to boil for about three minutes and then turned it off to cool a bit while I made the batter.  I tasted the dewberries to ensure that I had enough sugar in them as they tend to be a bit tart.

 

Disclaimer: This isn't actually my Grandma Jenkins' recipe.  She didn't use a recipe.  So as she made it one day, I took her handfuls of this and that and measured them out so that I could at least have a starting point.  But it tastes like hers!!!  So, I must have gotten pretty close.

Days of Refreshing Preceded the Grief

If you read the blog in February, you know that I enjoyed a fun filled trip to New Orleans with friends and family just before the loss of my dad.  I am thankful for the days of refreshing -- though if I am honest with myself, I sometimes wonder if I should have made a different decision for the use of that time.  I'm sure I will keep wrestling with that in the days to come.  But here is what I know for sure:

• Daddy did not want us to watch him fade away.  He worried more about the effect his cancer was having on his family as they took care of him than he did about his illness.
• If I had been there, nothing would have changed.  There would have been no words exchanged that would have made it better or easier for him, for Donna or for me.
• He and I said our goodbyes back in January, and I truly believe that we both knew it at the time.  That is why it was so difficult for me to walk out the door that Sunday afternoon...and why I drowned my emotions in an audiobook for the drive home, waiting to fall apart the next day when I was home alone.
• If I am especially honest, I have to admit that I worry more about what other people think I should have done.  And that is just silly!  I discussed my travel plans with my husband first, and everyone knew that I would be out on the next flight if I received the word to do so. 
• It was good to laugh...and to enjoy an experience I had always dreamed of with people that I love.  Those small joys bring a smile to my face even as the tears flow.
• The Lord was very tender with me during the moments preceding me finding out that Daddy was with Him.  It was a rare moment of silence as Rita and I drove through NE Texas and my cries to Him were both brutally honest and filled with deep conviction that He had everything in His hands.  I let go of my expectations mere minutes before the news reached me.  Jesus can be so tender with me like that sometimes.  He has done it numerous times during this journey.

And so it is that the Lord has used My One Word to minister to my deeper needs this new year.  He does provide those moments of refreshing that we need...even before we knew we needed them.

"I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint." Jeremiah 31:25

He is doing a marvelous work indeed.

My One Word for 2015

Refresh

1: to restore strength and animation to: REVIVE

2: to freshen up: RENOVATE

3 a: to restore or maintain by renewing supply: REPLENISH

b: AROUSE, STIMULATE

4: to run water over or restore water to

5: to update or renew (as an image, a display screen, or the contents of a computer memory) especially by sending a new signal.

taken from Merriam-webster.com

This year's One Word didn't come as easily as in years past. I have heard that the longer a person participates in My One Word, the longer the list of potential words can become.

That may be part of the reason for my need to wrestle this year's word out...but then again, I think I was having a harder time with my expectations verses my feelings.  Let me explain.

Jim has been telling me since early last fall that in 2015 he was SLOWING DOWN!  At first, he joked that he wasn't leaving home for anything.  He has since recanted that statement and changed it to: he is not leaving home for anything other than grandchildren's birthdays and our niece's wedding.  We'll see how that turns out for him.

All of that to say that my first inclination was to choose the word: Rest.  But it didn't seem to fit.  I knew that 2015 would includes several trips to Arkansas to see my dad and help Donna when I could.  Add to that the fact that I already have two trips planned for early 2015 (Mardi Gras with Robin, Rita and Lonnie; Jenkins Girls' Weekend in Branson) and REST just didn't fit.

As I considered my calendar, this stage in life and the mission I have for our new home, a new word began to pop up: Respite.  That is truly what I want our home to be: a place of respite.  And I want to both provide respite for Donna and receive it myself when I come back home after a trip to see Daddy.  I felt like I was almost there.  'Respite' was closer to my heart than 'Rest'...but still not quite the right word.

During my early January devotional reading the temptation was to choose the most often repeated word: Freedom.  It kind of fit since our Spring Women's Bible Study is Breaking Free.  And I am a July 5th baby!  But, no, still not it.

Finally, I was writing in my prayer journal about the word 'respite' being so close but just not quite it, when I looked down to discover I had used the word 'Refreshed'.  When I looked up the meaning and searched it's use in Scripture, I just knew that I finally had My One Word.  I'm not sure which tense it will take over the course of this year...Refresh, Refreshed or Refreshing...I've tried them all on for size and decided that I just don't have to know everything from the beginning.  I will begin with the singular and see where God moves in the 332 remaining days of 2015.

How about you?  Have you chosen a word for 2015? Set a goal?  Made a resolution?  I would love to hear how you reached your decision and how things are going for you.

Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim's Tale

I should have known from the teaser on the front of the book that this was not going to be my normal read.

"Reading this book may cause a total overhaul of the way you think about what it means to be a follower or Christ."  Mark Batterson, New York Times bestselling author

Honestly, this book has been on my nightstand for a bit.  I first heard of it through Angie Smith.  I can't remember if it was her book Chasing God or the audiobook, Mended, that I first heard of this book...but I knew that I wanted to read it.

So when we were packing up our bedroom for the move into the new house, I threw this book into my bag instead of in the 'book' box.  I knew that I would have a little more time to read over the holidays and I didn't want to lose this one.  I began reading it a few days after Christmas and I finished it last night.

From the book jacket:

What happens when the pastor of a megachurch loses his faith?

Pastor Chase Falson has lost his faith in God, the Bible, evangelical Christianity, and his super-sized megachurch.  When he falls apart, the church elders tell him to go away: as far away as possible.

Join Chase on his life-changing journey to Italy where, with a curious group of Franciscan friars, he struggles to resolve his crisis of faith by retracing the footsteps of Francis of Assisi, a saint whose simple way of loving Jesus changed the history of the world.

Though Chase had begun questioning his faith months before the 'fatal Sunday sermon' that sent him into Sabbatical, it was the death of a 9 year old girl from his congregation that pushed him over the edge. I know that feeling.  I've lived those dark questions...and, like Chase, I came out on the other side a changed person.

For Chase it was a two month Sabbatical in Italy with his uncle, a former Baptist who converted to Catholicism after the death of his wife years earlier.  As Chase learns more about Saint Francis of Assisi, he finds that he hasn't so much lost his faith as that the Lord has ripped off the facade of misplaced faith.

I loved the story, and I learned a lot about Saint Francis in the process.

My favorite quote:

"'...the radically unprotected life, a life that's cruciform in shape', he said, opening his arms to mimic the posture of Jesus on the cross. 'It's to live dangerously open, revealing all that we genuinely are, and receiving all the pain and sorrow the world will give back in return.  It's to be real because we know the Real.  maybe living the unprotected life is what it means to be a Christian?'"          Page 71

I actually have four pages of quotes in my reading journal, if that tells you anything about how much I enjoyed this book.

2014: A Year of Wholehearted Living

Happy New Year!



Jim and I are enjoying a few days visiting with his parents here in Pocahontus, Arkansas. The weather is a bit cooler than back home, but it is not too bad. We have spent most of today watching college football. Though a quick trip to Walmart was needed earlier this morning. Tomorrow we will finish our Christmas shopping and then open gifts with Paul, Sharon and family in the evening. We have two new nieces who are in desperate need of some spoiling. Saturday will be a kickback day and then we will leave Sunday morning to visit Daddy and Donna.



I have been thinking a lot about my One Word these past few weeks.



If you recall, back in January I chose the word 'wholehearted' to be my touchstone for 2014. As I have considered its effect on my life, I have come to realize that 'wholehearted' living is a process that will probably continue for the rest of my life. Yeah, yeah...I know I said that in my post on January 6, 2014, but now I am really beginning to understand.



It's been a year since I began considering what a wholehearted life looked like. First God showed me what it does not look like. It is not hollow but hallowed. Then He sent me to attend Beth Moore's last Tuesday night Bible study series at Houston's First Baptist, Breath. I was reminded anew that He wanted me to walk by and be filled with His Spirit. (The study should be out soon -- I highly recommend it!). The second thing He showed me was how selfish I had become of my time. Then He gave me the opportunity to begin regularly serving the women of our church through leading a midweek Women's Bible Study. We had eight ladies show up for dinner and to study Kelly Minter's Nehemiah. Finally, He began showing how little I ask Him for. When the reality of Daddy's health issues hit me, The Lord gently whispered 'what do you want?' It was then (in a deer stand of all the holy places in the world) that I realized how I had been guarding my heart...not living wholehearted. I poured out the desires of my heart to Him. I asked for big numbers and great details. Then, a still small voice asked, 'do you trust me?' The next day, when we received news from the oncologist that there was to be no new treatments because they wouldn't bring more time or remission...there was peace. Sadness too, but I knew that I could trust the God who had written all of my Daddy's days in a book when as yet there was not one of them. I had shared my whole heart with Him and accepted that His ways are not my ways....but they are good. He is good.



And so, I share with you a quote from my devotional reading yesterday that summarizes my year of Wholehearted Living from Come Let Us Adore Him by Jean Wise:



God heals the shattered pieces of our hopes and dreams. He fashions peace from the ruins of our battles. He repairs our individual fractures, thus healing the entire world...After all, He is the expert in moving pieces to peace and holes to wholeness.



Yes, I will always have pieces and holes on this side of eternity. May they grow fewer though as He replaces them with peace and wholeness....my One Words for 2013 & 2014. Coincidence? I think not.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

It's All In The Journey

This post was written on November 12th and for whatever reason, was never posted. Though the date above says November 12, I am hitting publish on December 31. There is now more to the story which I will post soon.

Yesterday morning as I drove in to work, I was listening to a short audio book by Anne Lamott when I heard a quote that stuck in my head and heart.

"We're all just walking each other home."  

Ram Dass - As quoted in Stitches: A Handbook on Meaning, Hope and Repair by Anne Lamott

I'd never heard of the original author of that quote before yesterday and am totally unfamiliar with his theology. (Though a quick internet search leads me to believe that it is not the same as mine.) However, when I think on that quote, line it up beside one of my life verses (Romans 12:15) and consider the ministry that the Lord has called me to...it speaks to a deep longing in my soul.



I find myself in a very tender place with the Lord these days. He is teaching me to open myself up to Him more fully, to ask Him for the desires of my heart, and more importantly, to trust Him with the answers.  I know that sounds elementary to a lot of people.  It would have sounded that way to me just a few short months ago.



Then, in early September, Jim and I made a trip back to Arkansas to work on the family deer lease.  It was supposed to be a long weekend filled with tree trimming, relocating deer stands and the like.  Unbeknownst to us, the Lord had ordained our trip to coincide with my dad being diagnosed with a metastatic melanoma on his brain.  Our long weekend turned into a week filled with waiting, tests, doctor's appointments, more waiting, and a little tree trimming thrown in for good measure (AKA stress relief).



We didn't just decide to stay the week, it sort of unfolded day by day.  We packed our bags at least three different times to head home. But the Lord was gracious and He either impressed on us that we were not to leave yet or He sent the newest bits of information just before we were to pull out.



The rest of September is a blur for me.  I spent a lot of hours driving back and forth between Waller and Little Rock.  First there were the appointments with his oncologist, followed by ones with the radiologist, and finally a surgeon.  The next trip was for surgery itself, which went so wonderfully that God Himself had to have been in that room.  We were prepared for a long recovery IF daddy woke up. (The tumor was located on the area of the brain which causes you to wake.)  Instead, we were talking to him within an hour.



He had massive radiation in October and his health is still not as stabilized as we would like. The oncologist thinks he is too weak for the chemo right now...so we wait. And we hope.  But mostly, we pray.  Openly. Honestly. We plead for healing and mercy and strength...because really, there is nothing that we can do to change any of it.



One week he sounds strong and nearly back to his old self.  The next, he is weak and tired as he struggles to just feel 'better'.



Please don't take this the wrong way. I am not ready to walk my daddy home. He's not ready to be walked there either. Heavens, he is only 69 years young!



But, in other ways, we are all doing this every single day.  As we build memories, share burdens and joys, listen to one another's hearts and simply 'do life' together...we are walking each other home. We are being the hands and feet of Christ to those He has brought into our lives. As we laugh, cry, and sit in silence together, we are moving a little closer to home.



I, for one, am grateful for the journey...and I am glad for the companionship offered by each of you, my fellow sojourners!

Table of Grace

Once a month I gather with three sisters in Christ for lunch.  We met twenty plus years ago at the church we were all attending.  We prayed together, studied the Word of God together and served together in various ministries on a regular basis.  But that all came to an end fifteen years ago when the congregation went through a split and the church was eventually disbanded.

During that difficult time, we hurt one another with our words, with our actions...and perhaps the worst of all, with our silence.  A silence that remained for the better part of thirteen years.

Until one of them reached out two years ago and suggested we meet for lunch.

I had not seen one of these sisters at all since the split, another only a handful of times and the third, though we were in contact, it was random and limited.  So, it was with lots of trepidation that I walked into that first restaurant in the summer of 2012.  I was unsure of how I would be received.  I was wary that we might not have anything in common anymore.  And I wasn't sure if the forgiveness was real...mine or theirs.

As we gathered around that first table, it didn't take long for the conversation to move from stilted to lively.  We shared about our families, our church homes and what the Lord was doing in our lives.  Each month, as we shared our hearts and our stories, I could feel a healing happening within.  

When we gathered at a popular Mexican restaurant last fall and bowed our heads to pray over the food, I had a overwhelming feeling that the Lord was whispering to my soul, "Fonda, this moment is My grace."  I thought of how others looking on might see one picture (that of friends gathered for a meal) but really it was a miracle of forgiveness, grace and a love that goes much deeper than our emotions.  

From that moment on when it was time to enter our next date on the calendar I wrote "Table of Grace".

Today we met at that very first restaurant once again.  And I had the opportunity to share my heart with these beautiful sisters about our gatherings.  There was confession and tears and offers of forgiveness.  In other words, there was Grace.  

I'm sure it wasn't our last difficult conversation.  I know that each of us carries wounds that need healing.  But I am also sure that our God who began a good work in us will continue it until completion.

The Table of Grace.  It's not one, single table.  Actually, it's not a table at all.

What a Difference a Day Makes

Yesterday was a Monday.

You know, THAT kind of Monday.

A Monday that followed a holiday...that followed a busy week...that followed a company function...that followed a busier week of preparation.

Papers literally disappearing from my desk. Vendors emailing to ask why I had sent money, even though I held their invoice in my hand. Others questioning where checks were that we mailed in February...even though the other one mailed at the exact same time to the exact same address had arrived long ago. My day just seemed to be spiraling out of control with one problem after another.

And so it was that on Easter Monday, I found myself nearly pulling at my hair and begging The Lord for a piece of Sabbath (and a peace of Sabbath).

Just an hour or two alone.

Just a bit of silence that I might hear Him and find myself.

But it wasn't to be. I had errands to run on my way home. A trip to the grocery store to make. A package to deliver to William. Guests at the house when I arrived. Dinner to make (although it ended up being tacquitos). Time spent with my Hero in front of the television and discussing everything that crossed our minds.

AND THEN...

I opened my email and found that we were having a package delivered to the house today. I had ordered a bit of rand for our upcoming trip to South Africa. Not much, just enough to buy a soda at the Jo'burg airport or to pay for lunch on our journey to Polokwane. Pocket change really. We learned during our last trip that you want to have a bit of local currency on you when you arrive. The exchange rate at the airport is horrible. And even though most everyone accepts credit cards, there are always those little things that come up.

For this reason, I had gone online Sunday night and placed our order of rand not sure of when it would arrive. The bank will only deliver to the address on the account...so, it was coming here instead of to the office.

And just like that, The Lord gave me a piece of Sabbath.

I don't why I was so surprised that He heard me or that He answered me. But I was.

And I will also admit, that when I actually received that silence to hear Him and find myself...it freaked me out a bit. I was tempted to fill it with laundry and decluttering and Facebook and television and "_________" (fill in the blank).

But in His tenderness, He met me right where I was.

He sent a message that I needed to hear through my devotional reading.

He revealed my fear of being alone with Him...and my own thoughts.

He wooed me to sit out on the deck listening to the birds and to finish reading "The Rest of God" by Mark Buchanan -- where He spoke to me again of Jacob's wrestling with God.

He reminded me of a broken commitment to read through the New Testament and met me so sweetly in the words of the apostle John.

And then He moved me here, to share with you and to record for my forgetful self that He not only meets our needs but He does exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.

Hallelujah and Amen!

What are you asking Him for today? He's listening!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Wholehearted: Quote #2

"Only Christ can fill our empty pitchers." 

Both quotes taken from Day 20 of the seventy day devotional.

This is just what I needed to hear after asking the Lord to transform my hollowness to hallowedness.  God is so good to speak to me in multiple ways and through multiple means.  That is how I know when the work is from Him and not of my own devices.  He knew that left to my own doing I would fill those hollow places with lesser things than Himself.

A chorus we sang at last night's Bible study rings this truth in my ears today:

Holy Spirit You are welcome here
Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere
Your glory God is what our hearts long for
To be overcome by Your presence Lord.

Holy Spirit Lyrics | MetroLyrics 

May my heart be found longing for His glory today.

My One Word For 2014

Wholehearted

1. completely and sincerely devoted, determined, or enthusiastic

2. marked by complete earnest commitment: free from from all reserve or hesitation

adjective: having or showing no doubt or uncertainty about doing something, supporting someone, etc.

Merriam Webster online dictionary

It's a scary word, isn't it?  

It's a vulnerable word.  

It's an impossible word.

It's my One Word.

I didn't choose it. 

It chose me.

I heard it in Jeremiah 29:13 "...search for Me with all your heart."

I heard it in the words of my devotional..."In early adulthood my heart needed healing.  I knew God.  I served Him, but I ached for release...in my growing desire to please the Father, I realized I did not harbor a love for His Word.  I began asking Him to develop such a love within me.  As He did, something I never expected happened to me.  My heart began to heal.  I knew I was healthier.  I felt it.  I didn't begin studying God's Word so I could become whole, but I soon discovered that the more I sought His counsel, the more I healed."   (Taken from 'Whispers of Hope' by Beth Moore, published 2013, page 14)

I heard it as I prepared to teach Romans 7 in Sunday School this morning.  As the writer of the material asked the questions, "Who can put me out of this misery?  Who can rescue me from this body of death?"  His answer: "Only Jesus.  Only Jesus.  Only Jesus."  Talk about wholehearted living! 

Oh yeah, and when I got home and looked on my nightstand there lay a little book I've been meaning to read by Brene Brown.  "The Gifts of Imperfection: Letting Go of Who You think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are"...and just after that title is one little line, 'Your Guide to a Wholehearted Life'.

She is the one who gave me the courage to share my One Word with y'all.  Two simple but profound sentences.

"Wholehearted living is not a onetime choice.  

It is a process."

Page 1

The Free Dictionary defines wholehearted as 'marked by unconditional commitment, unstinting devotion, or unreserved enthusiasm'.

In 359 days, when 2014 comes to a close, I want to be marked by Jesus.  I want my marriage to be marked by Jesus.  I want my relationships to be marked by Jesus.  I want my body to be marked by Jesus.

Just as I didn't live every day of 2013 experiencing 'shalom', I know that I will fall short (probably more times than not) in my goal to live 'wholehearted'.  But maybe having it in front of me will act as a reminder that it is possible.

The online Thesaurus says the antonyms of wholehearted are 'disinterested, insincere, unenthusiastic, halfhearted'.

I hope that these words become less and less a description of me...and that instead I learn to live with true courage, compassion and connection.

To Him be the glory if I am able to live even one wholehearted day before God and man! 

Ponderings

January 1 dawned cold in northeast Arkansas, but I snuggled up under a blanket sitting in mother-in-love's bedroom glider with the Word in my lap and a brand new devotional opened to 'Day One".

I read from Genesis 1 & 2 about God working creatively and orderly in our lives.  But The words that flowed through my mind were from Jeremiah the prophet.  So, I turned the pages to refresh my mind of what God had really said.

"For thus says the Lord, 'When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.  

'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

'Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.

'You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

'I will be found by you,' declares the Lord, 'and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,' declares the Lord, 'and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.'

Jeremiah 29:10-14

I think we all are tempted to skip over that first part from time to time.  We don't want the captivity for 70 years...or to think that it might actually be for our welfare and to provide us with a future.  We only want to look at verse 11.  

What caught my attention this time and has continued to stay with me are the words from verses 13 and 14.  "You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.  I will be found by you, declares the Lord..."  

Oh, how I want to find Him in 2014.

And that's what I'm pondering today.  How about you?

ponder: to think or consider, especially quietly, soberly and deeply

Just a note: I searched and searched for the creator of the artwork at the top of this post but couldn't find it.  It was something I pinned on Pinterest and was unable to find the original source.