Ode to Cindy!

On the first day of Christmas, my best friend gave to me…
A bouquet of flowers to cheer me!

On the second day of Christmas, my best friend gave to me…
Phone updates to mommy friends and a bouquet of flowers to cheer me!

On the third day of Christmas, my best friend gave to me…
Phone call to comfort, Phone updates to mommy friends and a bouquet of flowers to cheer me!

On the fourth day of Christmas, my best friend gave to me…
Prayers to our Father, Phone call to comfort, Phone updates to mommy friends and a bouquet of flowers to cheer me!

On the fifth day of Christmas, my best friend gave to me…
Three Kids’ Vacation in the Keys!
Prayers to our Father, Phone call to comfort, Phone updates to mommy friends and a bouquet of flowers to cheer me!

On the sixth day of Christmas, my best friend gave to me…
“I’ll be there tomorrow!”,
Three Kids’ Vacation in the Keys!
Prayers to our Father, Phone call to comfort, Phone updates to mommy friends and a bouquet of flowers to cheer me!

On the seventh day of Christmas, my best friend gave to me…
Lots of Love and Laughter…
“I’ll be there tomorrow!”,
Three Kids’ Vacation in the Keys!
Prayers to our Father, Phone call to comfort, Phone updates to mommy friends and a bouquet of flowers to cheer me!

On the eighth day of Christmas, my best friend gave to me…
A Whirlwind of Cleaning…
Lots of Love and Laughter,
“I’ll be there tomorrow!”,
Three Kids’ Vacation in the Keys!
Prayers to our Father, Phone call to comfort, Phone updates to mommy friends and a bouquet of flowers to cheer me!

On the ninth day of Christmas, my best friend gave to me…
Lessons in Buoyancy…
A Whirlwind of Cleaning…
Lots of Love and Laughter,
“I’ll be there tomorrow!”,
Three Kids’ Vacation in the Keys!
Prayers to our Father, Phone call to comfort, Phone updates to mommy friends and a bouquet of flowers to cheer me!

On the tenth day of Christmas, my best friend gave to me…
Healing soak in clean tub…
Lessons in Buoyancy…
A Whirlwind of Cleaning…
Lots of Love and Laughter,
“I’ll be there tomorrow!”,
Three Kids’ Vacation in the Keys!
Prayers to our Father, Phone call to comfort, Phone updates to mommy friends and a bouquet of flowers to cheer me!

On the eleventh day day of Christmas my best friend gave to me…
Candlelight meals with Tim…
Healing soak in clean tub…
Lessons in Buoyancy…
A Whirlwind of Cleaning…
Lots of Love and Laughter,
“I’ll be there tomorrow!”,
Three Kids’ Vacation in the Keys!
Prayers to our Father, Phone call to comfort, Phone updates to mommy friends and a bouquet of flowers to cheer me!

On the twelfth day day of Christmas my best friend gave to me…
Painting, reading, playing…
Candlelight meals with Tim…
Healing soak in clean tub…
Lessons in Buoyancy…
A Whirlwind of Cleaning…
Lots of Love and Laughter,
“I’ll be there tomorrow!”,
Three Kids’ Vacation in the Keys!
Prayers to our Father, Phone call to comfort, Phone updates to mommy friends and a bouquet of flowers to cheer me!

Dawn's Gleaming Light

Proverbs 4:18 The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day...

Psalm 37:5-6 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

Up before first light this morning and, as the 25 mile trip commenced, dawn appeared in its first gleaming... a beautiful sunrise... (just for me, God?)   Pinks, lavenders, and greys beautifully prismed in haloed horizon of rose, brightening slowly until, seemingly suddenly, the sun burst forth in glorious Light!

In that sunrise, Y’shua painted an illustration of sanctification unto salvation:  Were the newly saved to receive immediate full Righteousness, that Light of Righteousness would be like the Full Light of day… painfully impossible for anyone to look upon (much less be attracted to or to learn from).  Instead, imperfect moments and days become sanctified...  like glimmers of dawn… beautiful, diverse, fascinating to those who watch---even the angels! (I Pe 1:12)

As is oft the case, meditation in The Spirit quickens The Word, and brings new understanding:  When lives are offered as a "living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, in worship” (Ro 12:2), YHWH Tsidkenu mysteriously transforms the very flaws and limitations shared by all humankind, into an Allure of Hope--- a confident Expectation, so appealing! A caress of The Artist’s Brush blurs imperfection to rosy glow, beautiful to gaze upon… intriguing to watch… fascinating to those with eyes to see and ears to hear.  

Herein lies a paradoxical twist of Faith:  His Grace is Sufficient... in my weakness, His Strength is made perfect… (2 Corinthians 12:9) 

Ultimately, those who observe LifeSongs proclaiming His Glory, see El Shaddai, High and Lifted up. 

          …amen…

His Delight

Spent the weekend with thousands of "women of faith"... such a time of prayer... learning... rejoicing... worshiping... fellowshiping...

Thelma Wells reminds me that

Sheila Walsh addressed those who grew up "knowing" we were in a different class from the princesses in our peer group... and proclaimed that she has reclaimed her birthright as a child of the King of kings which makes her a ... Born Again PRINCESS!!!

Donna Vanliere (author of Christmas Shoes), in a poignant drama, cautioned us against allowing inconveniences to become problems.

Patsy Clairmont exhorts us to M-O-V-E!!!

Lucy Swindoll spoke on L-I-V-E (who can forget the pop-pop-pop-pop of bubbles all around!)

And finally, Anita Renfroe had us all gasping for breath as we rolled in the ailes to "viva la mocha" and "you raise me up"! (I will *never* have a mammogram with a straight face again!)

Am hoping to set up a "debriefing" for Cornerstone folks who attended... it promises to be another sojourn into hilarity punctuated with truth!

A friend sent me this... (thanks Sue for the grin and the inspiration!) and i could not resist temptation to "jump right in"! (is today the day for "tune-ups"?

sung to the tune of Gilligan's Island: (go here if you need a reminder http: //home.mn. rr.com/classictvGilligan'sThemeSong.html )


It started out with Mom's great plans, but the kids won't go along.
We had our pencils and our books, pajama's all still on.
That's when the trouble started friends, and soon my mind was gone, soon my mind was gone.

The children started whining loud, my head began to throb.
If not for chocolate and a can of coke, you would've heard me sob, you would've heard me sob.>>

LOL! Now here's my addition...

The chocolate starting wearing off, the caffeine buzz was gone
The children all began to cry, "our mommy's looking wan...she's really looking wan!"

My rescue came from Jonah's Word, as to Bible I did race;
When I cling to worthless idols, I can only forfeit grace... I only forfeit grace...

I turned away from the siren song of chocolate cake and Coke,
These empty lies i won't believe! They only leave me broke... they only leave me broke!

His Grace sufficient to all my needs, His Love gives victory...
His Joy gives Strength to my heart, I bow on bended knee... I bow on bended knee!

So now my story's near been told, the moral's very clear:
He calls me and on Him Alone I cast all of my fear! I CAST ALL OF MY FEAR!!!

Not bad after a week of nosing around the idol pile, eh? Nothing like a little experience to bring me to my knees!!!

re: the "silly" question posed by blogger.com in order to change my profile: Since it would only allow 150 characters, here is the REST of my Anthem to the One Who is my King!!! (who knew a silly blog question could be so inspiring???) Why not sing along to the tune of the Star Spangled Banner?!

Oh say can you see Jesus Christ's Majesty?
Like a Lion He ROARS Like a Lamb He is SILENT.

By His Wounds we are healed, By His Blood we are sealed.
In a Voice full of pow'r His cause He is pleading!

Tho' the enemy stalks our steps as we walk,
Morning Star shining bright, our path does make light!

O say does that Love Spangled Banner yet wave...
Oer the Land of the FREE and the Home of the SAVED!!!

Tonight went to "the River" with Kimmy... and the speaker spoke from Luke 15 emphasizing that the Heart of God is all over the lost... the truth seekers... the ones who need His Healing. Receiving this on the tail of Katie's mission trip is setting me to thinking about the reflection (or lack there-of) of this passion in my own life... oh for the Heart of God... oh for the Mind of Christ... oh for the Fire of the Holy Spirit! Search me o God and know me... test me and know my anxious thoughts! Reveal any offensive way in me and lead me in the Everlasting Way! (Psalm 139)

I have come to understand spiritual warfare as a certain reality, a battle beginning in the mind and finished in faith. It is never fought in self-sufficiency, but in dependence on the Mercy and Grace of God. As a Christ-follower, my first line of defense is recognition of the SOURCE of the battle paired with the unshakeable knowledge that my weapons are NOT of this world. Worldly fighting merely prolongs the conflict and increases the casualties. Therefore, taking captive EVERY thought, bringing it into obedience to the Word of Messiah, is the first offense. Next, daily donning of the Armor of God, each piece of which reveals the Power of our Resurrected Savior, provides the moment by moment strength, protection, and weaponry needed to wage the battle: the Helmet of salvation (Y’shua IS our Salvation), the Belt of truth (He is the Way, the TRUTH, and the Life), the Shield of faith (Jesus is the Author and Perfecter of our faith), the Breastplate of righteousness (He Who was without sin became sin for us so that we might become the Righteousness of God), Shoes of the Gospel of Peace (He is our Peace), and finally, the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God!

via the sky love your posts... my heart is full as i see you using your God-Graces to communicate His Love and Faithfulness to those who read... rily!

Early today, August 22, as I walked our new Golden puppy, Bo, down the wending driveway of our very new Maple Plantation, I was singing to God of His Grace… His Faithfulness… and His Mercies, NEW every morning. At the end of the driveway I turned… and my breath caught… for the rising sun illuminated our mist-surrounded home… the sunlight slanted through the trees, narrow beams of light gathered in pools on the dew-soaked grass… and I was completely undone by the majesty of God and His Creation. Figuratively speaking, I fell to my (almost 50 year old!) knees and cried “GLORY”!

Earlier I’d been reading in Romans 8: “For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him Who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the Glory of the children of God.”

This morning, as the mists shrouded the present moment in silent light, I caught just a glimpse of the “freedom of the Glory of the children of God”.

"Come thou north wind,Breathe thou south wind; Breathe upon my garden That the spices may flow out. The north wind tears down the dead wood and holds back the buds that are opening prematurely. They are getting ready by repression for strong life when the south wind blows. We need the north wind to bring about the readiness for spring and, when the clearing blast has done its business, the south wind will blow. The first answer to the Lord's prayer for Peter that his faith should not fail was the utter breakdown of his faith at the first test. But it was just a step on the full road to Pentecost... For us, in our small way, there is only one place where we can find the deepest heart-brokenness; it is down before the broken heart of Jesus, broken for our sins, for our selfishness, for the world about which we have cared so little. Emptiness, yieldedness, brokenness, these are the conditions of the Spirit's outflow. Such was the path taken by the Prince of Life to set free the floodtide of Pentecost." --- Lilias Trotter

The above was borrowed from the journals of a woman who KNEW brokenness and God's ministry to her need. Walking through these broken times in my own life, I am thankful... her words author hope that indeed, "Emptiness, yieldedness, brokenness, these are the conditions of the Spirit's outflow."

KNOWING that God’s Grace is sufficient for my every need (2 Corinthians 12:9)… and ALSO knowing “those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the Grace that can be theirs (Jonah 2)… I lay awake, these Words resonating... authoring this certainty: “I DO NOT WANT TO CLING TO WORTHLESS IDOLS in these unsettled times…”

The sticky wicket? Honoring my soul's plaintive cry...

Knowing that I cannot do this alone…

That if left to my own devices, my “good intentions” are nothing but fantasy…

That my best “figuring out” got me nowhere…

...I come to the still, silent, and broken place where the north wind blows and I meet my Father to hear and listen to His Voice...

Though often caught “complaining and murmuring” about the "short leash" God has me on at this juncture of my life, I see how this has kept me oh-so-close to Him in the presence of the winds that accompany the "nor-easters" ... I am profoundly grateful for His Close Attention … He has shown me (once again!) that it is not so much the “point” I am on in my journey, as it is the direction in which I am traveling. Close tethering disallows getting too far down the road of "wrong-way" ... ruts are illuminated and I am reminded that I have but to turn around (ahhhhhhhh, repentance!) for my progress to change direction… as i hear and obey, those same "north winds", rather than buffeting me, are at my back, propelling me foward on the Lighted Path of sanctification... promising God-ordained change and much-needed rest.