Trekking with Me

Praise Him for His  mighty deeds;   Praise Him according to His excellent  greatness.  Psalm 150:2 What a Year!  2012 has been one of the fullest years I have ever experienced.  It's been a year of going deep with God, Him peeling back layer upon layer, and with each layer, bringing insight, healing, growth, renewal, joy and hope.   From the very beginning to this day, PEACE has been felt on the soles of my feet.  "  ...S hod   YOUR FEET   WITH   THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF   PEACE..." This has been HIS work, His preparation: He help me grasp and practice what it means to put on peace, to follow peace... to Let Peace rule .  It's a wonderful, wonderful place to live!  Early in the year, Matthew 6:33 was spoken to me through my sister in love, Melanie.  "Seek first the Kingdom..." It's a piece of Scripture I have known since my youth, a familiar song sung around many a campfires.  Th...

I have seen the span of celebration, congratulations, waves, cheers, and tears this week.  It started with a wedding... a friend had a baby... I said good bye to my dear from Tracy this morning, and just minutes ago I walked in from attending a funeral.  All within 8 days.  I am a little emotionally tired.  Emotions are such a gift, an imprint of our Creator...  emotions show us so much of who we are and who God is in us.   At this moment I am "oatmealing" - just sitting here doing nothin' - letting my brain go where it may, feeling these sober thoughts deeply...  listening to the stillness around me, breathing slowly and consciously.  It's a nice thing to do.   Kitty even seems to notice when I do this... she has joined me... she is good at this. "What do we have that we have not received."   I like that quote; Robertson McQuilken used that as his main point in the memorial message tonight.  It is still ruminating in my h...

Ever play that hide-and-seek game as a child, or with your children?  Something is hidden, as they search for it, you gently give them hints: "you are close, getting warmer, warmer... you are getting HOT..."  which means, "you are RIGHT THERE! OPEN YOUR EYES!" I think that God does that in the Word. God has given me a few wonderful life-giving Words, some "rhema" over the past few year.  He is always speaking if we listen.  Last weekend, as I said, He tied a few strings together that connected several concepts I was getting close to: He Lit it Up for me! One concept He opened was how He has revealed Himself in Scripture. This actually started several weeks ago.  This little house I live in is the home of two very early risers.  My roommate gets up in the wee hours of the morning, sprawls our her Bible, her notes, her pens and pours over His Word.  By the time I fall out of bed, she has been up at least half an hour or so... and this is all before...

7  When You, God, went out before your people,  when You marched through the wilderness,  8  the earth shook, the heavens poured down rain,  before God, the One of Sinai,  before God, the God of Israel.  9  You gave abundant showers, O God;  You refreshed Your weary inheritance.  10  Your people settled in it,  and from Your bounty, God, You provided for the poor. 11  The Lord announces the word,  and the women who proclaim it are a mighty throng.

I asked God from something special on the way home today... as I have noticed my shoulders hanging a little lower than normal and my steps a little draggy... I received this note in my Email: A Better Plan from a Better Planner By John Ortberg It’s almost Thanksgiving, with Christmas right behind. Often on the holidays we become aware that life does not go the way we plan. We think to ourselves: I was supposed to be married by now. I was supposed to be promoted by now. I was supposed to have retired, or to have children, or to have achieved this dream- Or, I wasn’t supposed to go bankrupt.  I wasn’t supposed to lose my job, or get divorced, or get cancer. What do you do when life doesn’t turn out the way you planned? One of the great statements of the Bible reads:  “For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD. Plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope, and a future.’ Jeremiah 29:11 We all have plans. But God does not say:...

I have so many thoughts I have been wanting to piece together and write. The Lord has been moving in a few different areas; as usual they are all intersecting with each other, building truth and understanding. Here are a few of those pieces: I have been praying for some dear friends of mine who are walking through dark and testing trials. My classes are deep and challenging as we look at some not so great realities about this world we live in, the mess people are in because of sin and our sin nature. AND, the reading of Nee's book, as well as my real life interactions at work and with the Body of believers have all been contributing factors. So bare with me a little, this may be longer than normal. My heart and mind have been grieved over the hurt, trials, and sin, that touches all of our lives; more so being magnified through the pieces I shared in the latter paragraph. A few days ago God spoke to me as I read this passage in Corinthians in my quiet time: (NASV)For though ...

Happy New Year!! Can you believe 2009 is finished? It was barely a breeze... but it was a very good year. As the days, weeks and months passed this past year, I experienced "green pastures and still waters" - as spoken of in Psalm 23. Not that all was a bed of roses, but it was definitely a peaceful year in which I felt tenderly cared for, fed and washed by His Truth and Love. Last January we were blessed with the birth of Kayden, my niece. Her middle name is Joy; she has lived up to her name in bringing us sweet joy with her happy personality. I was thrilled this Christmas holiday when she toddled her way across my brothers kitchen and lifted her little hands up to me, bright eyes and a smile told me she KNEW me and wanted to give me some cuddles! I have enjoyed being close to Jimbo and Timbrel and my nieces; this was one of the reasons I moved up here to SC - so I could be close to them and my nieces would know their auntie! I don't anticipate their departure....

Yesterday I was driving into my neighborhood kind of feeling sorry for myself. Nothing bad had happened, I had had a great afternoon and enjoyed time helping some friends. It was a hot day but there really was no reason for me to sit in a puddle of pout, but I was... my thoughts were falling in the puddle because I felt so disconnected with people. Thoughts like, "no one even knows what I am doing", "no one even asks what my days are like..." or "I haven't had a good deep conversation with someone in...." "does anyone care?" Yeah, a real "I am going to go eat worms" kind of attitude! YET, I have had one of the BEST summers of my life... it at least tops the charts! But this desire for being connected goes deep... and the more I look outward, the more I realize it is NOT my personal issue. Everyone longs and aches to be seen, heard, accepted, smiled at... liked and loved. It reminds me of a quote from one of Don Miller's...

I dedicate this to my dear friends, The Lipscombs. These friends of mine are walking through some of the darkest days of suffering. - I love you guys and am praying for you! This song reminds me of the beautiful Truth God has been teaching me through Isaiah 41:10. So many times when we go through something hard, or a struggle or something just slams us to the ground and knocks the spiritual breath out of us - our adamic nature begins to look over our shoulder and say, "who is responsible for this? or why did this happen? or is this for REAL?" Blaming, seeking a solution or resolution, the "why did this happen" question can kill us - because there are no answers. It is natural for us to seek resolve for our hurts and painful "holes" - we have to plug them up so they aren't so gaping and vulnerable.... We do this with all sorts of things - doctrine, reasoning, or physical things such as possessions, relationships, substances: but Jesus designed ...

Here we are - My family and I and friends from church - waiting for the arrival of Kayden Joy. My Sister in law is having a C-section at 12:00; we have all been a bit on edge for a few weeks as we waited for this big day! The birth of a baby is such a miracle and we all are heightened to this fact more and more after the events of last January. Losing Oliver has been one of the hardest events our family has walked through - How thankful we are for the Body of Christ, for tears, for love - for Life. Kayden Joy's arrival will certainly bring great Joy! Yesterday I read Psalm 104 - I have been repeating the words found therein, "You God are VERY GREAT!" So...our GREAT God, no, our VERY GREAT GOD - is here with us, in the operating room with Timbrel and Jimbo and we are counting down the minutes to celebrate this new little life coming out of the womb! HERE SHE IS!!! She is 8lbs, 6oz, 20.5 inches, with tiny curls!! OH my goodness, the emotion is unexpressible, s...