You absolutely MUST read this post!

Keith is a dear friend from college; he and his wife, Wendy, are two of the few people on this Earth to whom I would trust everything I hold dear.

Please, please read this post.

http://subversive1.blogspot.com/2010/01/change.html

Sharing with you!

Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints. ~ Philemon 1:7

Good afternoon, dear friends! The above photos are several years old, but they all show a little bit of who I am. Daughter, friend, wife, aunt, stepmom - we all wear SO many different hats during the same day!

This email was sent to me several weeks ago by a dear friend. It touches me in a different way every time I read it. I hope it awakens something in you!

Quilt of Holes
Author: Unknown

As I faced my Maker at the last judgment, I knelt

before the Lord along with all the other souls.

Before each of us laid our lives like the squares

of a quilt in many piles; an angel sat before each of us sewing our

quilt squares together into a tapestry that is our life.

But as my angel took each piece of cloth off the

pile, I noticed how ragged and empty each of my squares was.

They were filled with giant holes.

Each square was labeled with a part of my life that had

been difficult, the challenges and temptations I was faced with in

everyday life.

I saw hardships that I endured, which were the largest holes of all.

I glanced around me.

Nobody else had such squares.

Other than a tiny hole here and there, the other tapestries were filled

with rich color and the bright hues of worldly fortune.

I gazed upon my own life and was disheartened.

My angel was sewing the ragged pieces of cloth together,

threadbare and empty, like binding air.

Finally the time came when each life was to be displayed, held up to the the scrutiny of truth.

The others rose; each in turn, holding up their tapestries.

So filled their lives had been.

My angel looked upon me, and nodded for me to rise.

My gaze dropped to the ground in shame.

I hadn't had all the earthly fortunes.

I had love in my life, and laughter.

But there had also been trials of illness, and wealth,

and false accusations that took from me my world, as I knew it.

I had to start over many times.

I often struggled with the temptation to quit,

only to somehow muster the strength to pick up and begin again.

I spent many nights on my knees in prayer, asking for help and guidance in my life.

I had often been held up to ridicule,

which I endured painfully,

each time offering it up to the Father in hopes that I would not melt within my skin

beneath the judgmental gaze ofthose who unfairly judged me.

And now, I had to face the truth.

My life was what it was, and I had to accept it for what it was.

I rose and slowly lifted the combined squares of my life to the light.

An awe-filled gasp filled the air. I gazed around me,

at the others who stared at me with wide eyes.

Then, I looked upon the tapestry before me.

Light flooded the many holes, creating an image, the face of Christ.

Then our Lord stood before me, with warmth and love in His eyes.

He said, "Every timeyou gave over your life to Me, it became My life,

My hardships, and My struggles.

Each point of light in your life is when you stepped aside and let Me shine through, until there was more of Me than there was of you."

May all our quilts be threadbare and worn, allowingChrist to shine through!

Capture That Thought!

Hello, dear friend. How are you doing today? Are you feeling blessed? Because you ARE. AND highly favored!

This isn't the message that I thought was going to be first to you, but it's the one God's been dealing with ME about, and I feel that He is asking me to share my struggle and my understanding on it.

Last night, I was REALLY tired. We'd been up a long time, today was going to be a busy, long day, and I was ready to rest. But God wasn't ready to let me end my day. :)

I lay in bed for a long time, trying to be still so Kenn could get some sleep. I finally crept into the bathroom and took a bath, hoping that would be relaxing enough to push me into sweet slumber.

Nope.

I went back into the bedroom and lay back down. (My glasses were in there, so I couldn't really go anywhere else!) I decided to try some other tricks that usually work.

Nope.

Finally - why is it ALWAYS the last resort???? - I asked God what He wanted to tell me.

"Capture every thought."

Huh? What did THAT mean??

And then I began to follow the "thread" in my life lately. Holiness. I'm sure you've either heard or sung the song "Holiness is what I long for". And that's been the sermon topic for four weeks at our new church. It's becoming more and more important to me; I want to seek holiness, to "be holy as I (God) am holy" - and I know I CANNOT be, except to let Him take me and fill me.

"Capture every thought."

OK, Father. I will. I know there's a Scripture that relates those very words, so I'll look it up.

Still no sleep. :::sigh:::

OK, God. I hear you. You want me to capture every thought. Practicing self-control in deed is not enough; each THOUGHT needs to be held up to Your light. No dwelling on past hurts, no thinking about temptations that I know I'll not succomb to (but thinking is fun!).

Yes, Lord. With You, I'll do it. You'll have to do it through me, though. I'm not strong enough.

The next thing I knew, it was morning. :D

Here is the Scripture, dear one:

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (New International Version)

4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

That is my pledge this week. To capture EVERY thought. Every "pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God".

It's so easy to get caught up in Satan's lies and ambushes for us! To get caught in the daily grind, and - even though we know we don't "believe" it, our actions tell a different story! - to live as though the problems of our lives are all-consuming.

If you can grasp this ONE point that I have to share with you, dear friend, it's this: this life is so fleeting. We don't know from one moment to the next if we'll be ALIVE for that next moment. But worrying about the future consumes us! BE FREED FROM THAT. Yes, it's important - and we have to live with the repercussions of our responsibilities. But God is bigger than EVERYTHING. He's BEFORE everything, He's AFTER everything. He SO loves you. He's trying to get our attention. He wants us to know Him. Face-to-face. Intimately. And so many times in our lives, we have to chase down the kids, or talk to the doctor about a life-threatening illness, or deal with a butthead of a boss. And that clamor drowns out His voice, His pleading for a little time with you.

My prayer for you is that you can put all the noise, the clamor, the busyness, the hectic schedule, to one side. There's no checklist! There's no "Do this to get closer to God" instruction manual. Do you know, He's waiting to just BE with you? Tell Him you want to know Him, and then just be still in His presence. You might not hear His voice, but you will be so awed by His presence, His peace, His MERCY - His HOLINESS.

Just be STILL, and know.

SOOOOOOOOO blessed!

Have you ever felt so generally blessed that you couldn't put it into words?? That's how I've been feeling, ALL week. God is so awesome. He's blessed me businesswise in the past week, churchwise, and I'm just BLESSED. I have a wonderful husband who works hard to try and take care of me, I have wonderful friends who also protect me :) and who love me and laugh with me and praise God with me.

So, I have some challenges in my life. Don't we ALL?? Would we trade ANYONE'S burdens for our own? Nope, didn't think so. And you know what? Those challenges don't change who GOD is. They don't change His holiness, righteousness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, or mercy! They may change ME - will I choose to use self-control? To allow Him to grow those awesome Fruit of the Spirit in me? To pursue holiness? Sure, it may STINK to be where I am at any given moment. But am I going to allow God to use it to GROW me?????

Wow. Not sure where that came from, but I think one of you must have needed to hear it, too! :)

OK. I didn't post yesterday - it's time to SHARE!!!!! What did YOU learn, either in church, Sunday school, from your private study, or from watching someone on TV? What is God saying to YOU???

We're continuing the series on HOLINESS at our new church. You know, if you'd like to hear any of our sermons, they're available online to download! Here's the link to the site! :) The series is the first three sermons at this point. A lot of GOOD HOLY WORD STUDY going on! It's making me thirsty again, my friends. I am sooooooooooo grateful!!!

Now, then. :) It's your turn! Share!!! And here's a picture for you to meditate on. :)

I can't wait to hear from you, dear one. God LOVES you. He's seeking YOU, He wants to know YOU face-to-face. Can you hear Him?

God's sense of timing is interesting....

While Kenn and three other guys from our church are in the front room "discussing" theology, I finally watched this video.

http://neverfails.wordpress.com/2008/05/15/church-gives-pastor-new-truck/

All the talking in the world will never touch my heart as much as a church showing its love to its pastor - or one other person giving me a hug when I'm feeling lonely or worthless.

Dare I suggest that we live our faith a lot more, and talk a little less?

Happy Thursday! :D

I'm not sure why, but I really feel led to encourage you today: RUN THE RACE TO WIN THE PRIZE. Can you IMAGINE what Heaven will be like?? Here, try this - straight from the Throneroom!

Revelation 4
The Throne in Heaven

1After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this." 2At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. 4Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. 6Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back.

7The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."

9Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:

11"You are worthy, our Lord and God,

to receive glory and honor and power,

for you created all things,

and by your will they were created

and have their being."

How GLORIOUS will it be, my dear friend. I can't WAIT to give honor to my God and King, EVERY second of EVERY day forever and ever. I wish it were in me to do so with my frail, human body and perverted human-ness. I'm so, SO grateful to be FORGIVEN, and SET FREE. Because I'm forgiven, I can come into HIS HOLY PRESENCE. Have you thought about what that IS? If the reality of that scene to come really, REALLY hits you, you'll never be the same.

I'm praying for you, my dear friend. Praying that the holiness of God, and his imparted righteousness and holiness to YOU, will be revealed to you. May it bless you, humble you, encourage you, and lead you to show those around you how much that love, peace, and grace that have touched your life are flowing outward to them.

Talk to me! What are YOU thinking right now????

Tuesday is GOAL DAY!!!!

The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,

and he delivers them.
Taste and see that the LORD is good;

blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
Fear the LORD, you his saints,

for those who fear him lack nothing.

Psalm 34:7-9

Good afternoon, dear friends!!!! How are you doing today? I'm able to be up and around, thank God. He is GOOD all the time, but sometimes, I'll admit, I have a really hard time remembering that when I can't breathe from coughing. Kenn's going through it yet again, too - this is his THIRD time, and he's got asthma, so it's really difficult for him. Prayers for him would be SO appreciated!

OK, down to our GOALS. I'll confess. My golas fell by the wayside pretty much while I was sick, so I need to get back on the bandwagon and catch back up with my reading, especially. I did go to water aerobics a week ago today, and thoroughly enjoyed it, but I can't go tonight - the slightest exertion starts me coughing again. I AM planning on going on Thursday! I love my instructor, I love feeling like I've accomplished something - so I'm looking forward to CONTINUING that again. :)

So, I confessed. They say it's good for the soul. :D Who's next??? I've been printing them out as you send them to me! Sheri? Rhonda? Becky? Nancy? Let's see. Let me find my folder.... (I keep getting sidetracked! LOL!! TOO much to catch up on!!) Aha. Deby? Judy? Karen? Anyone I missed? :)

More health stuff: Well, got a phone call from my doctor's office last night. My A1c, which is the average of my glucose levels over the last three months, was a 7.0. This is MUCH better than I thought it was going to be (that averages to a 150 glucose reading average!), but of course it still needs to be lower. The thing that concerned them a bit is that my liver enzymes, which have been elevated since they started testing me, jumped some this last time. SO, I've stopped taking my cholesterol med for the next two weeks, and I'll have a liver ultrasound done when I go in for my next appointment on Feb. 6, to make sure nothing serious is going on with IT. I MEAN, when it rains, it pours. LOL! My glucose readings are awesome these days - of course, I really haven't felt like EATING much the past week.... :D But thank you SO VERY MUCH for all your prayers!!!!! Keep 'em coming, dear friends! :D

OK. That's it for me. This is a lot of typing for someone who should be resting. LOL!!!!

GOD BLESS YOU, dear one. He loves you, so very much. Be embraced by Him!!!!

Did you miss me???

Lori P. contacted me to make sure I was OK. :) Thanks, Lori! I appreciate your concern.

But I'm fine. I have been SUPER-busy the past two days. After the men finished the flooring in my bedroom, Mom and I painted - and then Kenn & I rushed off to meet up with some friends who are in town from Oregon.

Yesterday was spent putting everything back in the bedroom, trying out new furniture positions, etc. And finishing sorting my clothing - I got rid of about half of what I had! - and organizing my closet again. Phew. Was I ever tired!!!!!!

Then last night, we had a general membership meeting for the theater company we do a lot of work with. Kenn and I are co-directing the next show, OUR TOWN, and tryouts are this Sunday & Monday - so it was important that we were there. We got to see our budget, and you can pray that this show is as successful as it has potential to be; the theater company needs to have a good turnout, or we'll be in trouble financially. Kenn & I have already done something to make it a little easier for the show to turn a profit, and we've sent out audition notices to about 200 people ourselves, so we're really trying. It's going to keep us busy for a while, that's for sure!!!

Anyway. I'm here! :) Yes, the diabetes thing is still up and down, but I'm still plugging away. I have a specialist appointment this coming week, and I'm going to discuss some changes, for SURE. :) (The photo is sugar-free pudding. Don't you just love creamy chocolate anything? LOL!)

Today is SHOW & TELL FRIDAY, so I'll be thinking about what I want to share and do so later.

Right now, I want to start a discussion about GRACE.

What is your personal definition of grace? Not some platitude you heard from someone else, but how YOU define it. Go ahead, think about it.

Ready? Have you defined it for yourself? I'm still thinking....

Grace is OFFICIALLY defined as "unmerited favor". But what does that MEAN?

God's grace is incredible, ladies. I'm sure you've seen this:

God's

Redemption

At

Christ's

Expense

But WHAT DOES THAT MEAN???

The infinite, perfect, all-knowing, all-seeing God of the universe loves ME. He loves me enough that He sacrificed His perfect Son as a blood sacrifice for me. Because He loves me, He FORGIVES me. He has allowed me to be covered in that blood, so He sees me as able to come into His presence. I'm FORGIVEN, SANCTIFIED, and BEING MADE HOLY because of His grace. I could NEVER earn His favor. He GIVES it to me.

SUCH a hard concept to understand for a lot of us!!!! I'll be talking more about GRACE in the next few days; I think it's an important concept to at least try to understand - not only God's grace to us, but our responsibility to extend grace to others. And to be brutally frank about why we have a hard time both accepting and extending grace.

So, let's discuss! :) What's YOUR definition of grace? Do you have a hard time accepting grace - or is it something that you never really think about?