Have you found YOUR tomato?

Please note: This is written by Kenn and I - he's the one talking throughout. :D I'm really excited to see where this leads - I feel God annointing it! So. Have you?

Not long ago, I posted a story on Facebook about how God provided a small but tasty miracle for me in the Kroger parking lot. We received many great comments about the story, and Lori and I believe that many of you have similar stories to tell. (For your reference, if you have not heard the story, it has been posted at the end of this message.)

I feel that I need to "invest" this story of God's providence, and the dividend I am looking for is the testimony of His provision and blessing in your lives. I know that God has touched all of you at one time or another, and we want to hear about it!

Lori and I would like you, our friends, to send us your stories. We have opened up a separate email account for this purose; it's myfoundtomato@aol.com Please email your stories to us there. If you send your story, you are agreeing to allow us to use it for a book! We're going to see if we can find a publisher for this project.

I attend a men's group from our church that meets early Tuesday morning. We spend an hour together; we worship, praise God, and then listen to a testimony from one of the men who attends. This week it was our worship pastor, Pastor Wayne, who had just returned from Africa.

This year, Pastor Wayne has been encouraging us as a congregation to be "sensitive" to the daily miracles that God provides for us. To emphasize this, he told a remarkable story of such a miracle that happened on this trip to Africa . Then our missions pastor, Bruce, told us of a small "miracle" that he had witnessed this week as well. Both of these events could be classified as divine appointments.

I do believe that God is at work in our lives constantly and continually. In the rush and hurry of our lives, we often overlook these workings, or sometimes even put them in the "luck" column; when something "bad" happens to us we either blame our bad luck or blame Satan. We rarely see how God is using even our misfortunes for our good.

The photo above is from the Nashville Farmers Market. I think tomatoes are one of God's miracles! Imagine: a seed placed in the ground has all the instructions in it to produce these lovely fruits. The seed lies next to its neighbor, is nourished by the same earth, watered by the same rain or irrigation, and basks in the same sun as its neighbor - but soon it's a tomato, not a cucumber.

Anyway . Tuesday afternoon, after The Gate, Lori and I meet for a rare movie event (rare because movies cost money and we have very little!). After the movie, we decided to save money on the day by eating at home instead of eating out, as was our custom before poverty. I would grill hamburgers, and we had some precut French fries in the freezer. I asked Lori if we had a tomato, but she said no; tomatoes were hard to come by - and, if you came by them, they have been really expensive.

Lori and I went our separate ways, and I decided to run over to Krogers to see what a couple of dollars could buy in produce. I was thinking maybe a grilled zucchini, or something similar.... I parked the car in the Kroger lot and was calling Lori to let her know where I stopped, when I looked down.

There, right in front of me in the Kroger parking lot, was a tomato. A beautiful, ripe, pristine tomato, no dents, no bruises; so perfect I could use it in a photo shoot, and it was right there in front of me.

I picked up the tomato and looked around to see if I could find who may have dropped it. With no one even close, I returned it to the car and thanked God for this little but greatly-appreciated miracle.

Just catching up!

Spring is quickly coming here in middle Tennessee! I know a lot of people don't see it yet, but we've got daffodils that are at least 3-4 inches tall already, crocuses that are poking up, and the anticipation of the COLOR that surrounds me in spring is enticing me to forget the beautiful snow we've had here this winter! :D Kenn and I have seen more snow this winter than ever before in our marriage - that's 14 years this September! Wherever we move, the snow moves FROM. :D I guess we've been here long enough now.... :D

ANYWAY. Life doesn't stand still for us - and I know it doesn't for you, either! So, here's just a peek into what we're doing and facing! Laugh where you want, pray where you feel led - and share with me, too!

Photography business: Lots of seeds have been planted, and it LOOKS like they're going to bear fruit, but it seems to be taking its sweet time. God keeps on giving us our DAILY needs. I'd kinda like to get a new Easter dress. LOL! Kenn's working really hard, taking some FANTASTIC shots, and making lots of connections. We're teaching a photography class at a local Christian school on Friday mornings, and praying hard about if we're supposed to continue after this semester. If you feel led to pray for us in this area, praying for the seeds to ripen and be ready to harvest would be awesome! We've also got our website up for Heavenly Perspective Photography. It's pretty basic, and I need to work on the grammar, etc., of the galleries Kenn's got up, but it will get you to our photos! :D

Stampin' Up!: People have still been purchasing; I think it's because, with the economy, the ability to craft something for someone and reuse the non-consumable supplies time and again is very appealing. Class attendance is down - but that also has a lot to do with the weather lately. :) I LOVE what I do, and love sharing it with other people - I'd just like to be able to afford my habit a bit more. :D If you feel led to pray for us in this area, please pray that God would use my business (both of them, actually!) to bless others in any way He sees fit! I want to be used of Him. I have a blog, Lori's Stamping Spot, which I know several of you follow. Thank you. :D

Health: Sugars are still out of whack. There are lots of little things going on, and I'm sure things I don't even want to know about - but I know Who holds my future. I'm trying to cooperate with Him a little more, and am working hard at keeping those numbers in check. If you feel led to pray for me in this area, please pray that I do what I know I should, that the other little things I'm dealing with will be taken care of in some way. I don't want to be more specific than that - God knows, and He's a lot bigger than what I'm going through!

Everything else: Church is still AWESOME. We are so incredibly blessed with our church family and leadership - it blows me away! Kenn's been sick a lot again this winter; with his asthma, anything that gets into his lungs means it's a struggle just to get enough air to survive. He's doing better right now! He, too, is knocked to his knees with how good God was in leading us to Smyrna Assembly. :D

I'm doing two Bible studies currently - although the weather has cancelled my LOCAL one three weeks in a row! LOL! That one's the one I mentioned with the song, Priscilla Shirer. I can't wait to get back to it! :D The second is the one at church, Beth Moore's A HEART LIKE HIS: A Study of David. It's AWESOME. I'm also attempting to read through the Bible again this year; Amy gave me the WHOLE Message Bible for Christmas, and it's DEFINITELY helped me get through the beginning of the Old Testament. :D

Mom and Dad are doing pretty well. Mom's work is VERY stressful, and she's got a really bad cold right now that's been around for a little too long. Dad's back surgery seems to have been pretty much an incredible success; he's even lugging his heavy suitcase downstairs when no one's watching! :D

The house is 12 years old, and things are starting to need some help. We had the washer leak at the beginning of December, and there's now a hole in the kitchen ceiling where their bathtub leaked through. :D

Overall, we all just keep living the life, walking the path, and trusting God. Kenn and I really don't want to walk where we're not supposed to be; one of the themes at church this year has been that we do NOT want to take one step until the Spirit of God has moved ahead of us. That's DEFINITELY my prayer! If you feel led to pray for us in this area, please pray for unity of thought, discernment, and wisdom!

THANK YOU for walking by me. Thank you for not abandoning my blog, even when it seemed like I had. :D I look forward to hearing what YOU are up to! What can we pray for you? If you want to keep it private, just between you and me, then it's best to email me at pooh0612@aol.com. If it's OK for your fellow readers to know and to pray and praise with you, just leave it in the comments section! :D

YOU ARE LOVED! You are a daughter of the Most High, blessed and favored. You are the apple of His eye. As Priscilla Shirer asks, "Do you think the that God of the Universe cared enough for you to send His Son to die for you, but not enough to want to speak to you?" He LOVES you, dear one. He wants to have an intimate relationship with you! That's what I'm praying for you, right now: may you grow deeper in your knowledge of His Word and His character - and His love for YOU.

BE BLESSED!

Our GOOD NEWS email today....

If you'd like to receive an email containing a photo with Scripture and a short thought for the day, please email me at HeavnlyPhotos@aol.com or leave me a comment here. This is TODAY'S email that went out this morning. :) You can remove yourself at any time from the mailing list, no hassle, no problem! (The photo is bigger in the email; here, you can click on it to see the original size - but it doesn't take long to open at all!)

Look full in His wonderful face!

I spent some time in a local park yesterday, and was pleasantly surprised to see that the flower garden was still very lush. Usually the heat of summer takes its toil, and by late August, Tennessee looks more brown than green.

But not so this year! With plenty of rain, the ground is actually soft instead of brick hard. This is a bloom from a Rose of Sharon bush, related to the Hibiscus. These blooms open up to the sun; at night they tighten up. During the day, when the evidence of the sun and of God's creation is so abundant, there is no need to hide yourself! There is far more to be thankful for than to be feared.

If you find yourself getting depressed, and being filled with anxiety, open yourself to the Son.

Photo:Centennial Park, Nashville, Tennessee, August 20, 2009.