Go. Be. Do.

Texas is neither southern nor western. Texas is Texas. - Senator William Blakley For my birthday trip this year, Tim and I flew out to Houston to visit friends.  Last summer I met an amazing group of people from Bear Creek church when they came to Alaska to volunteer with GraceWorks.  Our friendship has carried on beyond that week and has been a blessing to me throughout this past year. Flying standby is always a guessing game, but when it works it's awesome.  It finally "worked" and we arrived on Friday evening...a little later than we had hoped, but we still made it. Driving to our friends' home, Tim looked out at our newest state visited and simply stated, "Mom, Texas doesn't look like Texas."  I totally understood what he was saying.  Houston just doesn't fit the image that is portrayed about Texas.  It looked like a flat, big skied Atlanta.  Not even a cowboy or a tumbleweed on a billboard; the only indication we were in Texas were the state...

Last week spontaneity took over and the boys and I found ourselves elbow deep in blueberry bushes and strawberry plants.  Adam's Farm is not very far from where we live, but I have never taken the boys to pick berries...until this year.  Strike off another item off of our bucket list, people! We had a lot of fun.  I wasn't out to pick a year's worth of berries, so that probably helped.  Just wanted the experience...and a few berries to eat. The boys were troopers!  I love how they make the most out of new situations and play along with my spontaneous ideas. Now to get them to like the berries they picked...maybe next year.  

For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven’t stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience, with joy giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light.  Colossians 1:9-12 Last night was piano recital night; Alex's second, Tim's first.  They have grown tremendously in the bravery department.  They have outgrown the shyness and fearfulness that plagued them just a few years ago.  I could not be more proud of them! It is nothing that I have done, but it is to the glory of God, who hears and answers prayers I pray for my boys.  He has begun and continues to grow them and stren...

Six Flags had their annual Homeschool Day at SFOG on Friday.  This was the year to introduce Alex and Tim to the wonderful (this is up for debate) world of roller coasters outside of Space Mountain in The Magic Kingdom.  They liked that one last year when we went to Disney World.  Well, Alex liked it; Tim tolerated it.   We all rode the Cyclone together as soon as we entered the park.   Let me just insert here that I am not a roller coaster fan...not the fast, furious, and thrill-seeker's-dream kind of coaster fan.  Been there, done that, got whiplash a sore, stiff neck from it.  The last time I rode on a roller coaster of the fast and loopy kind was back in 2001...at SFOG.  I just do not get any sort of warm fuzzies or thrills from a 20 something second ride at warp speed.   But, I was willing to take one for the team.   It was important that we all try at least one big coaster...meaning:  it was important to me to ride...

This week I was privy to seeing God work behind the scenes and placing me at the right place at the right time in order to help two people out of a jam. In a conversation among friends, a young man's job situation was discussed and I heard him say that he was looking for something else during the summer. A few days later, I heard my husband say that we needed to bring on an extra man for the warehouse/yard work during the summer months. Phone calls made.  Our extra man started the following day. God is good at providing what we need when we need it.  It was exciting to be used by God to throw around a name when it could benefit two parties at the same time. That's how my God rolls!

I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. O Lord, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this desire in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you.  1 Chronicles 29:17-18 Wikipedia states loyalty is "faithfulness or a devotion to a person, country, group, or cause." The Free Dictionary 's definition of loyalty (and loyal) includes: 1. The state or quality of being loyal (unswerving in allegiance) . 2. A feeling or attitude of devoted attachment and affection. Often "they" say love is blind.  I say loyalty, like love, can blind you if you let it.  Loyalty has the ability to cloud our vision of reality.  When our hearts have turned with devotion toward an individual/group/cause so much that we are placing in second place, Jesus, our Red...

So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the Lord had told Joshua; and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.  Joshua 4:8-9 {This is a prequel post to my first "Marking the Remarkable" post ...this one has taken me a long time to think through and find time to write.} Whenever I am somewhere and see where people have stacked up stones, I am always reminded of this passage in Joshua 4.  This photo was out in Yosemite National Park along a hike up to Vernal Falls.  The little stone stacks made me smile...someone's been there and they've marked their place in history. We were challenged one recent Sunday morning by our pastor to m...

"I will proclaim the name of the L ORD . Oh, praise the greatness of our God!" Deuteronomy 32:3 Our Alaska mission team had saved, sorted, baked and priced items for a yard/bake sale this past Saturday.  A few of us gathered Friday evening to unload a few things at the church and price the last few items. The forecast was favorable for a morning sale...not too hot, not too cold, and rain holding off until late afternoon.   The next morning, around 6:00 AM , we began set up and it was, indeed, a nice morning. Right around 7 AM , treasures all set out, I was putting the last few baked goods out under the canopy tent.  A strange sound came from above as I was standing there.   Plop...plop...splat! I looked up at the roof of the tent (as if that was going to tell me anything).  In disbelief, I stepped out from the shelter. Raindrops cascaded down from the ominous clouds that now hung directly above our heads and yard sale items.  Several things...

Reading through some of my journal entries over the past few years, I found one titled "lessons learned".  As the words that I had written sank in again, I was reminded of the place I was at the time I wrote them.  I was revived by the faithfulness of my God who was with me then and is here now and will still be with me all of my tomorrows.  And, I am thankful for the pep talk I gave myself.  The lessons learned back in August of 2009 are still relevant today.   *no matter what people may say, listening to God and following the leading of the Holy Spirit always is the best thing! *waiting is HARD, but so totally worth it! *God gives you gifts AND places you where you can use them! *You cannot let fears, no matter how founded they are, get in the way of following your heart. *somewhere, somehow...God is the author of these! *being in God's will for your life is so much better than any other place even if it's hard to get through at the moment. *passion is impor...

I love the free yard sale ads you can easily post via the internet these days!  I have in 5 minutes created and posted an ad for our up and coming mission team yard sale on yardsaleserch.com.  It's awesome!  And, for linking it to my blog and sending them an email with my post link they say they will move my ad up the the top of the list for easy hunting for free.  I like free. :) Find newnan yard sales on Yard Sale Search . Happy treasure hunting this weekend!

I was made to love You I was made to find You I was made just for You Made to adore You I was made to love And be loved by You You were here before me You were waiting on me And you said You'd keep me Never would You leave me I was made to love and be loved by You ~Toby Mac, "Made to Love"  Standing in a crowd of about 5,000 people with Toby Mac performing on stage in front of us, I had a God moment.  Seriously.  An "Aha!" moment when, for a few seconds, all else faded into the background except the message that God was placing on my heart right then and there. I was made to love...for some reason it just became real in a new way.  It's hard to describe why and how...but somehow I saw the definition of love differently in those few seconds. God made me to love like He does.   It has nothing to do with butterflies...being twitterpated...or even finding one's true love. He made me to love deeply, sacrificially, and unconditionally...

RUSH 2012 was the next on the birthday season's agenda...and it didn't disappoint!   RUSH Ministries , Reaching Unchurched Students for Him, is a grassroots ministry that took root back in 2004 with its first youth conference held in 2005 at a church in Lagrange, GA.  It has been blessed by God through the years, beginning with hundreds of students and leaders and now reaching nearly 5000 students and leaders from Georgia and the neighboring states.  A church can no longer house the event...it has gone to pasture, literally.  Being held at The Rock Ranch does something special aside from drawing you out into beautiful countryside in the middle of nowhere, it requires determination to get there...to be intentional about getting there.  It's not convenient.  You have to want to be there.  And, apparently about 5,000 people wanted to be there this year. I'm not a big concert goer...not really even a little...but I have found out for myself that the rumor...

Time to catch up on the happenings during my birthday season so far...I was away at the beach and did not want to steal time away from the family to post while on vacation. On Wednesday evening we drove down to Panama City Beach, Florida.  We had not been to the beach as a family yet this year and it was long overdue!  Usually by May, we've been to the beach at least twice.  It's been a busy year... The highlight of Wednesday was feeling the coolness of the white powdery sand inbetween my toes as we took a stroll down the beach around 11 o'clock pm when we arrived at our hotel.  It was so worth the evening drive and the late hour of arrival! Thursday was spent poolside and oceanside all. day. long.  No leaving and doing anything but swimming, playing in the water park, and relaxing.  Well, I did climb the 10 flights of stairs to our room twice, so that's something different.  I have a personal policy on vacation to always take the stairs (unless...

I know who I am. "Daughter of the King" is the title by which I want to be known over any other. I hear "I love you!" every. single. day. Two boys make me laugh out loud. My best friends now are the best of the best back then. I have been out of the USA...three times, even. "You're beautiful!" is no longer just something I dream about hearing one day. Age does not define me. No more awkward first dates. I own matching living room furniture. Alaska!!!  (Need I say more?) I admit now that I was wrong to think that 40 is old. No more college loans. I believe that dreams do come true. God shows Himself mightily...I anticipate Him doing so now rather than be surprised when He does. I am a "regular" at the Y. South African penguins are real! I realize that pulling an "all-nighter" is highly overrated. Writing blog posts and status updates are more enjoyable than term papers and finals. True love exists. I have the best...

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free..." Galatians 5:1 Yes, indeed, it is the month of May and my birthday season has officially begun! Today was full of time with my boys...school, shopping for their summer clothes, and making cupcakes.  Along with those things were prep work for tomorrow's meal at church, laundry, and signing on the dotted line to put our house on the market. In the back of my mind I am beginning a list of reasons why 40 is better than 20...check back time to time to see when it has been completed.  It may surprise you; it has me so far. Wanting to get this post in on 5/1, I sat down to complete it and realized I had but 5 minutes before the strike of midnight...I've been too busy getting other things completed for tomorrow (which is now today).  I guess I'll go ahead and find my 5:2 verse for later today because I know this day is just as full as yesterday.   Oh, how I love the month of May!