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A Conspiracy

Posted in christmas, life, WONDER, tagged advent, Advent Conspiracy, Christ Mass, christmas, conspiracy, conspiracy theories, consumerism, International Justice Mission, Living Water International on October 24, 2012| Leave a Comment »

I have to say I love a good conspiracy theory! I truly believe it shows great creativity of mind to think that the way things are may not be how they could be.

There are many conspiracy theories, but my favorite is probably that JFK, Marilyn Monroe and Elvis are all together, alive, in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Maybe Princess Diana is there too!

A conspiracy does not have to be about famous people, or about deaths (or, presumed deaths). A conspiracy is simply a plan to do something out of the norm, strange, unique. For instance, our kids are constantly conspiring to get their dad to say yes to a cat (I, of course, would NEVER be in on that sort of conspiracy 😉 ).

There is a conspiracy that comes up each year about this time. It is a conspiracy to do something different, very different!

Just two short months from now is Christmas Eve, and you don’t have to celebrate it to know that it exists. From now on, every time you go to the mall, the grocery store, listen to the news, or open a newspaper Christmas will be the topic of the day. The only thing is it is not the Christ Mass (communion to celebrate the birth of Christ) that the day (or season) was originally about.

Christmas, as society celebrates it, has little to do with the babe born to the virgin girl, as sacrificial offering for the redemption of our sins. It has more to do with buying, busyness, baking and booze (I love alliteration). This is so far from the celebration mass for the babe in a manger! This is so far from anything that God himself would want for His children.

Advent is the season of anticipation, the season of waiting and preparing for the Messiah. It is a season which culminates in worship.

The following video is one I seek to watch, and inspire myself each Christmas season (for the past five or six). I encourage you, and me, to do Christmas differently … for the sake of ourselves, our families and others (who are so much more needy) around the world.

The Advent Conspiracy works with two organizations:

International Justice Mission in its efforts to bring rescue to victims of slavery (including sexual exploitation), prosecute the perpetrators (under the laws of that local country) and to change the justice system worldwide to protect individuals.

Living Water International seeks to get clean water to some of the 884 million people worldwide who do not have safe drinking water. This absence of clean, safe water means disease and death for so many. Something we take for granted, is so easily available to us, is gold to much of the world.

Consumerism does not equal:
Happiness
Memories
Meaning

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But I Am Too Young to Have a Twenty Year Old!

Posted in FAMILY, life, Love, The Kids, WONDER, tagged a dream is a wish your heart makes, Anne of Green Gables, as it seems, Brittay, Criminal Minds, Dancing with the stars, Follow Your Heart, gilmore girls, god so loved, human, Jesus Loves Me, Just the Way You Are, Love you Forever, Music, oldest daughter, on the floor, Robert Munsch, Sixteen Going on Seventeen, soundtrack of our life, Spinnin' Around, the best day, the hockey song, titanic theme, too young, what a wonderful world, You're Beautiful on October 23, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Today our first born turns twenty! Seriously, I am too young to have a twenty year old!

As her birthday was approaching, my mind has been occupied with thoughts of what to ‘get’ her for her special day. She is on the East Coast, and I on the West, and so whatever I was to get had to be light (and therefore cheap) to send in the mail.

I also was thinking about how we often give the gifts to others, that we wish to be given to us. So, I pondered what my daughter has given me over the years, and that was the key to one of her gifts. Every year she makes a CD of music I love (or music she thinks I should love) for me, and it is simply a perfect gift for me. I love the mystery of hearing what songs she chooses for me, and it is the gift that keeps on giving all year long.

And so, this is my CD to her.

The first song I can remember sharing with you would be Jesus Loves Me. It is the song that each of you kids learned, and hearing that innocent, joyful singing of such profound truth is what I pray is permanently imprinted into your mind, and onto your heart.

Thanks also to Robert Munch, and his book by the same name as the song; love you forever . It was a book that we shared snuggling in bed in the mornings, over mac and cheese, at lunchtime, or at the end of the day, with the scent of Johnson and Johnson baby shampoo drifting through the air.

We cannot forget those YEARS of watching many various musical movies, the most memorable would have to be Follow Your Heart from Thumbelina. Oh how the songs of that movie played over and over in my head, day after day, and week after week. Having just listened to it again, I am reminded that it’s message was and is still a good one!

The preteen years continued with the musicals, but none could compare with Anne of Green Gables to give us “lots of scope for the imagination.” But not every song was from a musical … Oh how I remember the song that gave us all “a funny feeling” by that group called Jump 5, Spinnin’ Around. Your dad even drove you two hours from home to attend a concert … now that’s love (and beautiful memories I am sure)!

Into your teen years, the musicals continued, with The Sound of Music being a favorite, and within it’s soundtrack, what teen girl would not want to sing along to Sixteen Going on Seventeen? I think it was sung as much by me as you!

But your teen years were not only about classic movies! A favorite for years was that James Blunt classic, You’re Beautiful. I, who never win anything, was even so lucky to win two tickets to his concert, and off we went, together (one of my favorite memories of us two). This song, I would say was the theme song for you and I during those later teen years. One of my best memories (of parental embarrassment for the laughter of my child) was standing on our front lawn singing it to you, from the top of my lungs. And, my dear, you know only too well that my public singing should be relegated to large crowds only.

And this would not be complete with the Criminal Minds Theme our TV show still (well, when I can stay awake to watch it). That show has provided the foundation of so many great conversations. And of course, the one we do not share, but when I hear it I think of you (and your best friend), Dancing With The Stars.

The most recent addition to our musical history together relates to this season you are now in, and the adventure you are now on. The message of As It Seems is the same as it was a few weeks ago, maybe with even more significance …

There are so many more, and I’ve included a few at the bottom, you know the stories behind them all. These, my adult daughter, are from the Soundtrack of our life together … I think we make beautiful music.

You’re beautiful, it’s true!

Mom

What a Wonderful World

God So Loved

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes

Redeemed Sins

Posted in GOD, life, WONDER, tagged 2 corinthians 12:7, Big Daddy Weave, Carole Smith, Carole Wheaton, cry of our hearts, evil, forgiven, go away, haunted, humble, law of sin, messenger of Satan, prisioner, redeemed, Romans 7:21-25, Sin, Struggle, thron in the flesh, to restore honor, Truth, worth reputation on October 22, 2012| 2 Comments »

My advice:
If you just clicked on this and have no time to read, just scroll down to the bottom, and watch the video … it is just that good!

It had been so long, so very long, since it had happened, since I had even thought those thoughts, and yet, out of the blue there it was again, as if no time had passed.

I had thought that I had turned my back on the past and that it would stay there … but here it was, and I was feeling all that I had felt before.

As I sat in the driver seat of my vehicle, I felt like anything but the driver. I put my head back closed my eyes and moaned, “why does this keep haunting me? when will it go away?”

The ‘it’ was sin. A sin of the past, one that I had acknowledged, repented of, and was forgiven. Yet, here it was again stalking me like some deranged killer, eager to snuff the life from me.

I wondered if this struggle was like the “thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7) that Paul had experienced. He referred to it as “a messenger of Satan to torment me” that helped to keep him humble. Well, I am not sure if my sin of the past is keeping me humble, but it certainly drives me to my knees!

For a week or more the guilt of this sin was haunting me. It was there when I went to bed, and when I work up. It was everywhere, and all the time. I was easily able to relate to Romans 7:21-24 “although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law;but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man/woman I am!” I just wanted it to go away!

And then, while driving in my van a couple of weeks later, as so often is the case, the voice of Truth spoke to me, loud and clear. It was through a song I had not heard (or had not needed to hear) before, but the message I received from it, I believe, answered my cry, “who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:25).

It answers the cry of all of our hearts!

Redeemed
“to restore the honor, worth, or reputation of”
American Heritage Dictionary

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Sunday is a-Coming!

Posted in GOD, Guest Post, life, WONDER, tagged cleaning, double hockey sticks, guest post, head space, it's Saturday, mess, piles, Saturday, Sunday is a-comin' on October 21, 2012| Leave a Comment »

It is Saturday, and I am determined that I get some organizing done. The past couple of weeks have been so full of so many other things that piles of ‘stuff’ were in every room of our home. The head space that these piles were stealing from me was immense. I just had to get my house, and therefore my head, in order.

So, after writing a bit, doing laundry, then a few errands I started to eradicate my piles of ‘stuff.’ The further I progressed through the ordered piles, the more mess I was making. I would take an item off the pile, and place it in another, indicating where it would go … another room, another person, garbage, storage, etc. In no time at all one pile could result in as much as eight new piles. Finally I paused, and wanted to give up.

My cleaning was resulting in more mess!

It’s Saturday is a post by a guest blogger whose blog is called double hockey sticks. I love the story-telling of this lady blogger (whose name I have yet to determine), and how she teaches me, and makes me ponder her words with each post. This particular post will coincide well with my Saturday cleaning experience.

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In the Image of the Creator

Posted in life, The Kids, WONDER, tagged Creator, Daughter, Delight, Genesis 1:27, image, image of the creator, in his own image, in the image of God, Michelangelo, mine, mirror image, photos, reflection, school pictures, Son, you are good on October 19, 2012| Leave a Comment »

It’s that time of year again … School picture time!

These are the photos that, no matter how nice the clothes, no matter how clean the hair, no matter how rested you feel the photos will always look worse than the year before. But maybe I am just speaking of my own experience!

When my two school-aged kids brought theirs home, I looked at them not as the one who had them taken, but as their mom.

When I looked at the photo of my son, I saw the baby we had prayed would make it through pregnancy, the one who used to want a snuggle after school, the one who says ‘I love you’ every day. I saw a young man who loves football, his dad, his friends, his music and God. I saw it all in the blink of an eye and thought, this is good, oh, how he has grown to be like his dad!

Then I looked at the photo of my youngest daughter, and I saw the baby who did not stop crying until she was two years old, I saw the toddler who wanted a play date plan before her eyes were opened every morning, I saw the girl who knew how to make people smile, and who never sees differences when she meets someone new. I saw a beautiful young woman who loves people of all ages, animals, thinking about the future and her Heavenly Father. I saw it all and thought, this is good, I can see me in those eyes.

It took me back to when her grade two pictures came home, and then and there I saw within this child who everyone said looked just like her dad (including me), a reflection of me. For all those first seven years of her life I figured I had merely been the vessel that got her here, but that day I saw something of myself in her image. Actually it was almost a mirror image of my own school photo at the same age.

I remember so well looking at her photo that day and searching for my own to compare my memory with the reality of looking at her photo and mine. Once I found it, the similarities were astounding to me. This child, this child who I thought my only contribution to her being was in housing her growing unborn body, looked so strikingly like me. I stared in amazement and although I had always looked upon her image as beautiful, now I looked upon her image with awe, and with a new joy. She reflected me! She was undeniably mine!

My daughter has always been, since conception, an image of me, but there was something about seeing it with my own eyes that gave me delight.

I wonder if that is what God feels (delight) when He looks at us, His children. We have always been, since the beginning of time, an image of our Creator, but He sees Himself in us when we reflect who He is, His love, His mercy, His grace, His compassion. And when He sees, not only the physical reflection of His image, but the reflection of His being, His heart, He, like me with my daughter, delights in His Creation. And maybe He whispers, “you are good” as He did after each act of Creation.

“So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.”
Genesis 1:27

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Can You Handle the Truth?

Posted in life, WONDER, tagged a few good men, can you handle the truth, conforming, Disciples, jack nicholson, Jesus, John 8:31-32, John Wycliffe, movie, the truth will set you free, Tom Cruise, Truth, truth will conquer, you can't handle the truth on October 18, 2012| Leave a Comment »

When I hear the word truth, that classic movie scene above is what comes to mind.

There is much to be said about truth.

Nations have risen and fallen over truth, and lies. Businesses have thrived and died with it’s presence and it’s lack. Homes have been fortified and divided over the same.

Truth is invisible, yet it’s absence stares a person in the face and sticks out it’s tongue.

For some telling the truth comes easy, and for others it is a most unnatural thing.

According to Dictionary.com, truth is “conformity with fact or reality.”
Maybe it is the conformity part that is such a struggle for some? If we have to conform to have truth, that sounds like we are giving in, rolling over, acquiescing. It sounds like truth is not something that comes naturally, but, instead comes from making a choice.

In John 8:31-32, Jesus said to a group who had claimed to believe in him, “if you stick with this, living out what I tell you, you are my disciples for sure. Then you will experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you.”

Stick with this …
Living out what I tell you …

That sounds like he is telling them that they need to make a decision, that they need to make a choice to either conform … or not, and if they do choose to conform, they they would experience the truth that sets them free. Another way to put it might be the way theologian John Wycliffe did, in the 1300’s, when he said, “I believe that in the end the truth will conquer.”

Conforming is not an easy thing, because it means abdicating our will, and lets face it, we like to be in control of our will (and almost everything else). But, to conform to truth … and yes, I am talking absolute truth, that is not conforming, that is having a gold paper wrapped gift, with a beautiful silver bow on top, handed to you by one who only ever wants the best for you.

And the best, is truth.

Can you handle the truth?

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After God’s Own Heart

Posted in GOD, life, WONDER, tagged 1 Kings 2:4, 1 Samuel 13:14, 1 Samuel 16:6, 1 Samuel 16:7, Bathsheba, Chris Tomlin, David, Eliab, failures, Goliath, heart of God, Jesse's sons, King David, Samuel, Solomon, Your Heart on October 16, 2012| Leave a Comment »

When we hear of the name of King David our minds think of Goliath, death threats from King Saul, naked dancing in the streets, bad children, and, of course, Bathsheba. His is not a life to emulate! And yet, Samuel says of David, “the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people” (1 Samuel 13:14).

A man after God’s own heart …

That is the verse that has had me wondering for years. When I see my Creator face to face, I will ask for further explanation. It makes me wonder, if David’s had God’s heart, maybe I have hope too.

When I was young, and idealistic, I have to say I thought the whole thing of David having a heart like God’s was a typo. Really how could a man who messed up so often, with so many people (his family, and an entire nation) and with such dire consequences, have a heart after God’s own heart? That just makes no sense. That just does not seem to be logical.

Maybe the clue to how David had the heart of God comes from when the prophet Samuel came to anoint one of the sons of Jesse as the next king of Israel. The first son he meets is the eldest, Eliab and he would seem to have looked like the right man to sit on the throne, because “Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord” (1 Samuel 16:6).

But God interrupted the thoughts of Samuel on his first impressions of Eliab, and He said to Samuel, “do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

Maybe David was only about ten when God had Samuel anoint David as king, but God saw his heart. He saw:
the gentle shepherd boy,
he saw the brave giant killer,
he saw the man who would lose all kingly demeanor and dance, un-robed, as the Ark entered the city,
he saw the great leader,
he saw the very human man who blew it royally (pun intended) by staying home while his soldiers fought on, who allowed his hands to take what his eyes desired (in another man’s wife), and who killed her husband,
who focused on his kingly duties to the point of forgetting his fatherly responsibilities,
who chose Solomon, not his eldest, as successor,
he saw a man from whose genealogy the Messiah would come, and through whom there would “never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel” (1 Kings 2:4).

In short, God knew how very human was David’s heart, but He loved it anyway! Just as God does with the hearts of all humankind. It is by His grace, that we too can hearts after God’s own heart.

And, like David, I want to reach the end of my days and have people say that my heart looks like the heart of God.

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Sick

Posted in GOD, life, WONDER, tagged Ill, incapacitated, Life, plans, Proverbs 16:9, Sick, strength, virus, weak on October 15, 2012| Leave a Comment »

I had a “to do” list to accomplish, as we all do, so as stay on top of all that is demanded of us.

As the evening wore on fatigue was setting in quickly and with a dramatic vengeance. I knew that I would not be accomplishing much that I had planned for the evening.

By 8:30 I was crawling into bed with the hope that the early bedtime would help me ward off whatever it was that was causing the intense fatigue that I was feeling. It always amazes me how sleep can restore energy and health like nothing else. But my plan was not going to go as I hoped.

Despite the intense fatigue that took me to my bed early, sleep did not seem to want to find me. but shivering did, followed by a headache, followed by body aches. It was a night of little sleep, and much contemplation of how to get feeling better by morning, so as to not have to miss out on a day of work (especially since I had not finished my “sub.” plans yet), and all that was on my “to do” list.

By the morning I was aware that going to work was just not going to happen, due to how fatiguing it was just to walk to the kitchen. Even so, I thought that maybe I could get a head start on the mounds of laundry, if I was to be home all day.

The plans of my day, including work, my “to do” list and laundry, were not going to happen, as I could barely do more than walk from one room to the next, followed by a nap. The day was a wash. My plans were thrown out the window. Although I was home alone for much of the day, I was without the energy to do anything more than change channels on the television.

This day of being sick and having low energy reminded me of a verse in the Proverbs of the Old Testament (Proverbs 16:9):

“We plan the way we want to live,
but only God makes us able to live it.”

I had made my plans for my day at work, for my evening, and for the weekend to come. In an instant the plans I had made were changed. And I was reminded that “only God makes me able to live it.”

He is the wind beneath the sails of our life, and it is by Him, and due to Him that we are able to live our lives. He directs the pursuits that we make, it is He who gives fuel to our every move.

Even though I know that it is God who makes us able to live, I forget it. I rely on my own steam, forgetting that it is He who is the fire that produces that steam.

Being sick and unable to do anything on my own strength for a couple of days was a good reminder of where my strength really comes from. It was a reminder that I needed to have.

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The Afghan Girl

Posted in Guest Post, WONDER, tagged blasphemy, Diane Owens, Down's Syndrome, extremist group, Hezbollah, In my opinion, National Geographic, Pakistan, Rimsha Masih, terrorist group, the Afghan Girl on October 14, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Today I want to introduce you to Diane Owens, a thirty-something year old lady from the United States. Diane is a writer whose blog I follow, mainly due to the name of her blog, “In My Opinion …”

In this post Diane shares three stories.

One of the stories is of the image to the right. A familiar image, as the intensity and beauty of this girl have been seared into the memories of those of us who saw it on the cover of a National Geographic magazine, many years ago, and has been duplicated in many forms. There is a story behind the image of Sharbat Gula, and Diane shares it here.

She also shares a story which is still in the news. It is the story of fourteen year old, Rimsha Masih, a Christian in Pakistan. She was accused, this summer, with burning pages of the Qur’an. This accusation of blasphemy could result in a death sentence. She is also reported to be “mentally slow” (perhaps having Down’s Syndrome/Trisomy 21). This story is worth following, people. So google her name to get the latest news on this story.

The third, and middle article that Diane shares has to do with the extremist, terrorist group Hezbollah. It too is an article that makes one wonder.

Take a moment and read these thought-provoking posts by Diane Owens,who writes in her opinion.

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When I Grow Up

Posted in life, WONDER, tagged character, Choices, Doris Day, Future, grow up, Job, occupation, Que Sara, Sara, Whatever will be, when I grow up, will be on October 12, 2012| 7 Comments »

When I grow up I want to be a ….

That question always flashes me to my mother singing that famous song by Doris Day;
“Que Sera, Sera
Whatever will be, will be
The future’s not ours to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be”

From an early age we ask little ones what they want to be when they grow up. Usually they respond, a fireman, a teacher, a nurse, a policeman, a mommy. As these children grow up and enter school they are exposed to so many more future possibilities; a paleontologist, a librarian, a janitor (all those keys), a doctor, a bee keeper. Then they hit high school, and the possibilities seem endless.

What do I want to be?

Through the years I have wanted to be a mommy, a teacher, a nurse, a special needs assistant, an architect, a doctor, a counselor, and a writer (with a really good editor, who could deal with my poor grammar).

At thirty-nine (with four years experience) I am still asking myself that question. I have had tasks, jobs and titles that have paid the bills and fed my soul. I have worked as a Draftsman, an office assistant, a residential care aide, and an educational assistant.

As our kids are becoming older, I find myself asking that question now again, with the same unknowing vision of the future.

My most favorite jobs so far have been stay-at-home mom, (approaching it as a serious job, with no soaps and bon bons for me) and working with students as an Educational Assistant. But, I can see the nest emptying in the next few years, as our kids ‘get a life’ of their own. I also recognize that I have gone as far as I can in my ‘paid’ profession, and wonder if it can sustain me and my undiagnosed ADD for another twenty years or more.

I really do not know what to do, but I know that whatever I will BE is already there.

Who we will be, who we are, has far more to do with our character than our education and skills set. Who we are is a combination of our strengths and weaknesses, past accomplishments and failures, our beliefs and how we put them into practice. Who we are is foundational in discovering how to best use the passions and abilities we have within us.

So, now what?

“Whatever will be will be, will be … que Sera, Sera”

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