Permissible? Yes. But is it BENEFICIAL?

Hello, dear friends! How is your new year going? Can you believe this is the last full week of January?

There's something weighing heavily on my heart that I need to share. I'm going to share briefly how I feel about a specific subject, then give you two things I really hope you'll read.

There's yet another subject that has caused people to have knee-jerk reactions in our country: gun control. Now, I'm not taking sides. I'm sharing what I feel, in my heart. But I want to share something that I recently experienced....

Some of you know that Kenn and I did a show a couple of weeks ago; it was written by a friend, Frank Fox, as a follow-up to another show he'd written. The first show was call PHISH CAMP, and the second GIL'S GIFT. Fun, lighthearted stuff. But I wasn't associated with the first play.

GIL'S GIFT had two different characters who had to use firearms. And because we couldn't find realistic-looking props in such a short amount of time, the director got the two grown men real firearms to use.

As stage manager, it was my job to make sure all the props got to where they needed to be. This SHOULD have included these firearms. But when I tried the first time we had them, I couldn't carry one of them twenty yards. When I picked it up, not only could I feel the physical weight of it, but also the responsibility weight associated with it. I mean, think about it: for what end purpose would you use a gun? You might go to the range to practice, but practice to do what? Use that deadly force against someone. Even though I had no intention of doing anything but carrying that firearm, in its holster, to another place to be given to someone else, I couldn't do it. I had to allow the firearms guy to be in charge of them completely - and he was fine with that. It's the first time I've not been able to do a part of my job. But it wasn't that I wouldn't. It was, indeed, that I could not.

My dad had a rifle in the house while I was growing up. He might still have it upstairs in his closet; I really don't know. Nor do I want to. If he feels he wants it, just in case, it's his RIGHT.

Yes. It is a RIGHT. But I'll stick with this Scripture:
“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.
~I Corinthians 10:23-24

The Message puts it this way:
Looking at it one way, you could say, “Anything goes. Because of God’s immense generosity and grace, we don’t have to dissect and scrutinize every action to see if it will pass muster.” But the point is not to just get by. We want to live well, but our foremost efforts should be to help others live well.

Please truly think about and pray about your stance. Don't just say what I've heard too many say - "It's my right, and no one's gonna stop me." We're supposed to do EVERYTHING for God's glory, dear friend. EVERYTHING. Please don't make an exception here. And if you feel led differently than I, then you follow what the Holy Spirit is telling YOU!

OK. I got that off my chest. :)

Now, then. To the two resources I'd LOVE you to check out:
My friend, Keith Giles.
 I think you'll love what he has to say. It will at LEAST make you think.
Prodigal Magazine
I absolutely LOVE this article. And it's what made me post this blog post; too many times, I throw up my hands because I don't believe people listen when it's a huge issue. But I have to still TRY. :)

OK, my friend. I hope you can hear my heart in this post. Even if you disagree with my position, the thing that I believe in more than anything in this post is that there's NO reason we can't agree to disagree, that unity in His Bride is more important than we realize and that we need to be able to love each other through anything! And if you want to dialogue, I'm here. And I love you. :)

Life and Death

 There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

 a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
    a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
    a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
    a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
  a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
    a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
    a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
    a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

~Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Hello, dear friends. My heart is full of "stuff" to share with you. Some of you know what my week has been like, and some of you will have no clue at all.

First, I have to tell you - and proclaim it from the rooftops! - GOD IS GOOD. He has plans for all of us. And He works ALL things for His glory, for the good of those who love Him and are called, according to His purposes.

A week ago today, my youngest nephew, Elijah David (right), died. It was a stunning blow for our family; his family had been here a week before! It was my time to meet him. So it was incredibly difficult to think he was gone

But God had gone before us, and given us that time with him. We have wonderful, precious memories of him. And every one of us in my family has thanked God for the time we had with Elijah. No one has asked, "WHY?" I am so blessed to be a part of this family, who all have faith in the One Who holds it *all* in His hands.

Let me tell you about God's timing. On Tuesday, the day that Elijah's temporary, earthly vessel was put into the ground, my other sister had her first baby, Naomi Faith (left, obviously!). My middle sister was so excited for our baby sister; she said she'd be able to remember the 22nd as a day of joy.

It's been a difficult week, full of emotion - but also full of healing, of faith, of blessing, and of love.

And I'm sharing this with you for several reasons. First, because I must. My heart is still hurting, and it helps to talk about it. :) Second, because I know some of you have experienced a loss of some kind, also. And I want you to know that God knows your hurt. He sees the pain you still feel. And He loves you. He wants to help you grieve. Not "get over it", but turn it over to Him and let the grief be what He wants it to be, not become bitterness in your heart.

And third, because pain and loss are part of walking on this Earth. If you've not experienced a close loss yet, you will. And I want to encourage you: love Him now. Let Him grow you now. Experience how BIG God is now - and when something happens, you'll be able to trust His goodness, mercy, grace, and love without trying. You'll know He has plans for you, and that He will work it ALL for good.

Thank you for reading this. :) Thank you for your love, and for your encouragement and support. I am SO blessed to have each one of you in my life. Please continue to pray for our family, as we continue to walk through this loss together. And REJOICE with us, in the birth of Naomi!!!!

And if you need prayer, or to talk, or *anything*, please let me know! Be BLESSED, dear one. You are SO loved by the Father!!!

Please read, pray, and help out if you can!

Good morning, dear friends! I'm sorry I've been so GONE lately. I'm feeling overwhelmed off and on these days, but God's SO good! :) I just nestle in closer to Him, and we keep going on together. :)

Today, I want to share another person's blog with you. Her name is Sarah, and she's on the mission field. It's a HARD field, and I want you to go check it out:

http://sarahscovenanthomes.blogspot.com/

The reason I learned about Sarah's mission is because a friend of mine, Lori, told me the following story:

Here is the story I was telling you about the CP wheelchairs. One
thing I forgot to add is that I really didn't want to deliver food
that day. I almost called out. Here is the story I sent to my friends:


I am not sure if you know but I am helping my friend Sarah, who owns
Sarah's covenant homes in India
http://sarahscovenanthomes.blogspot.com/(, to raise money for Cerebral
palsy wheelchairs. Almost all of the 85 kids she has, have CP. They
have one CP wheelchair. Our women's ministry at church was gonna try
to raise money.

Today while delivering Meals on Wheels--a man was at a house I
delivered too and was talking about the new ramp that was built onto
this woman's house. He said he was from the Cerebral Palsy
organization of Middle Tn and that he was behind getting the ramp
material and labor donated to this woman. I started telling him about
Sarah's Covenant Home in India and that I was raising money for CP
wheelchairs and he looked at me and said --we have a whole warehouse
full and we have a program and we would ship to India. Tears started
falling from my eyes. I couldn't compose myself. It was God!!!


My friends, please at least add Sarah and her incredible work to your prayer list. Let her know you're praying! Encourage her!

OK, I'm going to run - I'm woefully behind in what I need to get done!!! - but know this: YOU ARE LOVED with an EVERLASTING LOVE! BE BLESSED!

My Life's Song

(This is the view from my desk last week!)
Good afternoon, dear ones. I know it's been a long time since I wrote, and I do apologize. There's just SO much churning in my head, and in my LIFE!!! I will try to post more often; I want you to KNOW I'm here, and want to walk alongside you. My heart's cry is to let you know you are LOVED by the Most High God, that you are NOT alone, that you have Someone who hears your heart's tears in the middle of the night.

SO. :D With that said, let's talk a bit about praise today!

I'm pretty sure I've talked to you about praising no matter where I am, no matter what I THINK my circumstances are. But have I told you I have PROOF that that's my life's song, my life lesson in this journey with God?

A few weeks ago, I was moving books from one bookcase to another in our den. (OK, it was a few MONTHS ago. :D) One of the books that I needed to move was a Master's Life workbook I did in college at the Baptist Student Union, and I used to keep a journal in there with it.

The journal pages came out of the binder and fluttered all over the floor. Muttering to myself, I picked them up - and happened to glance at one. Can you imagine my surprise when I saw there words I've been saying again and again in the last two years???

"God, teach me to PRAISE you, no matter what I'm going through."

Dear friend, that was TWENTY years ago!!!!!!!!!!!!! These days, I KNOW I have to praise Him, no matter what. And I've also found that, when I praise Him, and worship Him, and put Him in my full focus, all the other worries, conflicts, confusions, and troubles fall into their true perspective - SO small compared to my God!

When we first started Beth Moore's Bible study at church, I quoted a passage to you from it. We're just over half-way through it now, and last night's video was all about praising Him. And the first point she covered? Praise requires that we FOCUS on Him. That we put all other things aside, and allow Him to be the focus of our minds and hearts.

I've felt pretty scattered lately. There's lots going on, as usual. Lots of possibilities to think about, lots of responsibilities and planning. That word, "focus", hit me pretty hard. I need to focus in so many aspects of my life! And I seriously need to consider: am I too scattered in everything I do? I feel like I've already cut out a lot of things, but do I need to become even less busy?

What about you? Does that word strike a chord in you? How are YOU doing? Are you learning to praise the God of the Universe who loves and cares about YOU?

I'm so glad you're here with me. :) Let's walk this walk together. Tomorrow, I'll post some things that are going on in my life, just so you can come alongside me and lift me up, too. That's what we're here for - to be His hands, His arms and legs!

YOU ARE LOVED!

PLEASE PRAY!

I received this from a friend this afternoon; please pray for the whole family!!!

Many of you know my cousin Craig's son, Justin, has been very ill since he was 11. He's now 19. First leukemia and a bone marrow transplant, graft/host disease from this transplant. Lip cancer, cancer of the lymph nodes. He had a stroke about 3 months ago and right before Christmas a tracheotomy because of a constricted airway. As his mother indicates in the email update below, Justin needs our prayers more than ever....as does the entire family (Jordan is his younger brother - a senior in high school.)

Please pray for them.

Donna W.

I don't know if you talked to Craig but we got home on the 2nd and on the 3rd Justin started to go downhill with a fever and low oxygen. It got so bad that we had to call 911 and they took him to Mary Washington and then flew him by helicopter to Richmond. He has an infection and we are back in intensive care and hopefully go to the regular floor tomorrow.

I have been here since Sunday. Craig needs to work, we can't afford for him to lose his job and insurance. So he is coming down tomorrow morning to relieve me for a couple days.

I really don't know how this is all going to go, it has been a rollercoaster ride for 2 months now. Just when you get some hope, something happens. Justin has been close to leaving us this last month 3 or 4 times. The doctor told me yesterday that he has never seen such strength and faith in anyone like Justin before. You would not believe what he has come thru. We do not want Justin to keep going for us and we have told him this but if he thinks that he can beat all this we will do whatever is humanly possible to get him well, of course with God's help. Bottom line is this is in God's hands and it is between God and Justin.

This is very difficult to understand but we have to accept what may happen and we have tried to prepare Jordan for the worst. Please don't think that we are giving up hope or losing faith but there is a bigger picture that we don't understand but right now I think a miracle is needed.

Keep the prayers coming and love you guys.

More prayer requests!

But God's angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and lying accumulate, as people try to put a shroud over truth. But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can't see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse. What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn't treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives. They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life. They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand. -- Romans 1:18-23

Wow, ladies. We've got some hurts going on in our families! Here come two more people we need to uplift! Again, please pray the following for them: strength, peace, and joy that can only come from God; wisdom and discernment to deal with anything that they face; someone to PHYSICALLY walk through this with them, whether it be a spouse whose eyes need to be opened to their needs or a friend who cares; and clear direction from God about what to do and how to do it. Pray for them to be blessed in unexpected ways, that God would show each one that He's intimately concerned about her/him. PRAY FOR VICTORY!!!!

From Terri, who just had surgery on her back:

Sorry I have been so long in sending out an update.. Things have been very stressful.. My health is not very good today.. I woke up with my right arm swollen and terrible pain in my right shoulder.. I am hoping the weather has something to do with it. I am waiting to hear back from the doctor as he in surgery the whole day.. I can bearly move my right arm... I had to make a trip to my family doctor this week as my blood pressure drop really low.

Also this week I had a gas leak and found out I need a new AC unit for the house... So I am trying to deal with that along with my health issues... Of course Joe and I are not agreeing on the AC he thinks it should be fixed and I believe we should get a new one. There is along about 1200 difference between the new and repair bill..

Thank you for all your cards and prayers. I am starting to feel depressed and trying to the best to keep myself from going stir crazy...

And from Deana: Please pray that my husband, Scott, will find a job. Also, a girl in my mops group has a 5 yr old, 2 yr old and is about 7 months pregnant and found out today that her 2 year old has a brain tumor. Deana also has an unspoken personal prayer request.

Please, please lift them up!

Another request, and more encouragement for each of us!!!!

God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits,
to the woman who diligently seeks.
It's a good thing to quietly hope,
quietly hope for help from God.
It's a good thing when you're young
to stick it out through the hard times.
When life is heavy and hard to take,
go off by yourself. Enter the silence.
Bow in prayer. Don't ask questions:
Wait for hope to appear.
Don't run from trouble. Take it full-face.
The "worst" is never the worst.
Lamentations 3:25-30, The Message

Oh, dear friends! Thank you for praying for each other, and for continuing to be vulnerable in asking for petitions!!! I want to encourage you: if you need prayer, PLEASE let me know. There are people you don't even know about praying for you!!!! And when you get an answer, or feel like submitting a praise report, GO FOR IT!!!!! It's by your testimony that we will ALL be encouraged, uplifted, and spurred to keep praying!

Here's a new request, sent by dear Ginny:
Lori, may I add to that list of prayer requests? First for my daughter, Grace's, boyfriend. His job, his true calling, problems with his parents. I can't be more specific, but God knows! Also, my arthritic right knee is causing me tremendous pain. It's difficult to get comfortable. I made an appointment with the orthopedist for next Thursday; I will probably get another cortisone injection, which is painful. But I'm concerned that the deterioration is worse than a year ago; I've been offered a partial knee replacement, but I feel I'm too young, and I can't care for Phil if I'm laid up. I need wisdom, and freedom from the pain.

DEFINITELY, dear one. I know Becky has already prayed for you! We won't stop lifting you up until you get answers.

Now, then. Some things don't need captions at all. BE ENCOURAGED, and take a moment to COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (If it's too small to really see well, click on the image.)

WOW! MORE prayer requests, and a report from Kathy!

I think we need to stay focused on praying for each other for a while, dear ones. There's SO MUCH hurt going on - and it's not been easy for me today in real life - so I KNOW we're doing what God wants here. :D

Please pray for my dear, sweet friend, Claudia. Claudia is the dance ministry director at our church; for about six months now, she's had a problem with her sinuses and ears being blocked. She's had some hearing return, but she can't sleep for long periods, so she's very tired. When I asked how her week has been, for the first time I can think of she told me, "HARD." Please pray the things I asked you to for everyone for both her and the next request, but also that God would release that pressure, and allow her to rest, and that this whole problem would be healed.

This one is from Becky - who prayed beautiful prayers for everyone in the comments sections!!!

I need to ask for prayer for my friend. Please pray for Michelle, whom in the past 6 months has been transformed from a hardworking leader and active mom/wife/teacher/church worker and friend to a weak and scared individual. Michelle went to the doctor because she simply didnt feel well and thought she might have a sinus infection. The next few weeks were a rocking whirlwind. She was diagnosed with Graves Disease and was rushed to surgery to remove her thyroid completely. She has lost more than 70% of her vision and her eyes are protruding so far now that the lids cant even cover the entire eye. She was also diagnosed with seveirely compacted sinus cavities and once again went in for emergency surgery. So now she is on the emotional hormoneal roller coaster that comes with Thyroid issues. She is nearly blind and is having extreme issues with phobias and and anxiety. She rarely leaves her home any more. Is having a hard time with her faith. Her marriage has become just a matter of business as her husband is purplexed with the stress of money issues that seem to keep piling on. Her children are struggling as though they have already lost their mom because she is no where near the person she once was. Pray for the entire family.

Oh, sweet friends, please pray. Such difficult things we're ALL facing!!! You know, I find it SO true that our burden seems heavy until we see the next person's. God is SO good! His mercies are new EVERY morning. I don't care WHAT you're facing; God is bigger than it is! I love the "bumper sticker saying" that says DON'T TELL GOD HOW BIG YOUR PROBLEM IS. TELL YOUR PROBLEM HOW BIG YOUR GOD IS! Claim that for these requested people, dear friend; maybe they're not able to claim it for themselves right now. Pray for FAITH.

And now for a wonderful report from Kathy! :D

Mom had her surgery today. She did well. The doctor said it was not as difficult as he thought it might be. He removed a small portion of the stomach where the tumor was attached. We did not know he would be doing this but he said she wouldn't miss it. :) He also said that he would be suprised if there was any cancer as it did not look like it would be there. Praise God!!!!! She was in quite a lot of pain at first because the pump was not working correctly. They finally got the doctor up and he got it working. Mom was getting a little testy and was just about to tell them off. We knew she must be feeling pretty bad as she usally is so quiet. She's much better now!!!!! Continue your prayers. She will be in the hospital 3-5 days. The doctor says she will feel pretty lousy for a few weeks.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS!!!!!!

GOD IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME!! Keep praying! Keep sending me your requests! AND how God is answering!!!! He is FAITHFUL - let's not hesitate to remind one another!!!

I love you all. Thank you so much for lifting each other up!!!

Requests that came in last night!

This is from Hootie:
"Lori, I have read these requests and will add them to my prayer journal. Will u please add my parents to the list. God knows the need in their life and I pray God shows them what they need to do and they will listen. I need prayer for strengh. Thank u!!"

Now, for Shirl:
After all the weeks of my hobbling around --it has been determined that a hip replacement would help me-----only thing now is after visit to my Dr. yesterday--he was not happy with the ekg--so I have to waite till Thurs. (11th) to have stress test to see if my heart is up to the surgery-------Hope I can pass that test--and get-her-done---so I will be able to get back to work at Encore-----Don't really know How you have managed without me--LOL--------Thanks for all the good thoughts you have sent my way---Love Ya all----Shirl

Calling all prayer warriors!

Please read the new additions to the post if you read it before 10:56 p.m. Central Time 06/09! :)

Hello, dear friend. I'm so glad you stopped by again; there's another big post brewing in my spirit, but today's is MOST important.

There are SO MANY of you, my friends, who need prayer right now. Since I consider us all sisters in Christ, I'm calling on each person who reads this to pray for the following people. PLEASE. We need to make some spiritual warfare on behalf of each other.

Pray for Kathy's mom: "This is an email that my sister has sent out concerning my mom. I would also like to include you in this circle of prayer. For most of you this is the first time you have been made aware of the situation. I guess I take after my Dad’s mother in that if you don’t talk about something it goes away. But getting this email has been my “slap in the face”. It is real and it is serious. I do know and believe in the power of prayer. Mom’s mother was a true prayer warrior and anytime there was a concern she called on God to take over. Her faith was always strong and her belief never wavered. I do believe that as God watched over the family of Abraham he has also watched over the family of E.B. Swinford. Not that we haven’t had our trials but we know that God is with us each step of the way." >Keep mom in your prayers (and me too)!!! Kathy

Cousins: Please keep Mom, Freida in your prayers, she is going to have surgery next Wednesday, 6-10-09 to remove the tumor in her stomach, the doctor told her today the biopsy came back no cancer, but he is not promising there is no cancer, he said sometimes it won't show in the biopsy. He said the surgery is going to be difficult due to the location of the tumor. Mom is already very weak physically due to her weight loss, so we are of course concerned about the difficulty of this"

A sister in Christ's dad: Health problems that can be serious, but I can't go into detail. Please pray for this sister, too; it's so difficult dealing with something like this! (Names and specific details withheld on request.)

Kenn: OK, so he's not a sister, but it sure affects ME. :D His asthma is REALLY bad right now; he's not able to sleep, because of having to be vertical or he can't breathe.

Ginny: Fibromyalgia pain is in a high-level flare right now. Her husband has also bee fighting an incurable cancer for what seems like a very long time, and the drain on their finances and hope takes its toll.

Becky: They've placed their house on the market; money is quickly draining away, and they're really feeling the spectre of something awful.

Kimmie: She's had a LOT of major life changes in the past year, and is still trying to adjust to everything.

Rhonda: She and the kids are buying a house and moving to another small Texas town. She has a promising new job, but it's a lot of responsibility, and please pray for her children, that they'll be able to heal from the way their dad treats them, and grow up to be loving adults who don't carry his cycle of neglect forward.

Jan: I just found out that her mother was diagnosed with lung cancer. Looking at the specific requests, it seems that our parents are really under attack right now!

(I know I'm forgetting someone; if you want us to pray for you, please leave a comment!!!!)

Please pray the following for our dear friends: strength, peace, and joy that can only come from God; wisdom and discernment to deal with anything that they face; someone to PHYSICALLY walk through this with them, whether it be a spouse whose eyes need to be opened to their needs or a friend who cares; and clear direction from God about what to do and how to do it. Pray for them to be blessed in unexpected ways, that God would show each one that He's intimately concerned about her/him. PRAY FOR VICTORY!!!!!

I would ask that you uplift me, too, as I share with you. Also, that God would see fit to loosen our finances as only He can! Most days, I have no trouble counting my blessings. There are some moments, however...!! I KNOW you know, too! :)

Now, everyone, as God answers these prayers, PLEASE share with me or leave a comment so we can all read. We need to be able to look back and see His hand moving in our lives!

THANK YOU. I can't WAIT to see how God's going to move!

A friend - thank you, Ms. Mary! :) - sent this to me today. It may help someone else, too, to hang on when the bottom seems to be falling out.

WHEN YOUR HUT'S ON FIRE!!!!

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him. Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions. One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky.... He felt the worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger. He cried out, 'God! How could you do this to me?'

Early the next day, he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island! It had come to rescue him! 'How did you know I was here?' asked the weary man of his rescuers. 'We saw your smoke signal,' they replied.

The Moral of This Story:
It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of our pain and suffering. Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground. It just may be a smoke signal that
summons the Grace of God.

P.S. You may want to consider passing this on, because you never know who feels as if their hut is on fire today.

The MOST excellent way!

Hi, sweet reader! Thank you for coming to visit today; whether it was by your design, or by "chance", I'm glad you're here. I want you to take a walk with me, down a Roman road.

We're just going to stroll down this road together; there are some "sights" I want to point out to you. Don't stop reading! Just get to the end of the path with me. :)

It's a beautiful spring day! Can you hear the birds, and feel the breeze - and see the buds on the trees? Look at that beautiful fruit tree that's full of blossoms ahead!

Here's the first thing I want to show you! It's Romans 3:23: "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." That's ALL, my friend. NO ONE can save themselves. We were born into sin.

But that's not the end of the road!

This stop is a two-part stop! Look on this side:

Romans 6:23a "The wages of sin is death..." We all will die a physical death. But we don't have to die in our sin - that is not only a physical ending, but a spiritual ending you need to understand we all DESERVE. There is nothing we can do ourselves that can make us righteous.

But look at THIS side of the stop!

Romans 6:23b "...but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." It's a GIFT!! It's free!! God offers it to you and me, to save us from that sin and from the spiritual death that goes with it. But you do need to receive it.

Let me tell you a story that will illustrate this really well. I used to be the only non-family member of a company. One of the three families involved was REALLY, REALLY disfunctional. I mean, WOW!! So the dad is NOT a nice person at all, but his sons tried SO HARD to get his approval. One year they were feuding badly, but the younger son still wanted to please his dad; he gave him Christmas gifts, came and put them on the dad's desk. THEY SAT IN A CORNER, UNOPENED, all year. The son gave the gifts, but they weren't RECEIVED - the dad ignored them, left them unopened, unused, and neglected.

Let's keep walking! This is a beautiful road!!

Here we are!

Romans 5:8: "God demonstrates His love for us in this: while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us!"

Oh, dear one, do you HEAR that??? God is outside of time; He sees all time at a glance. And while He was looking at our sin - YOUR sin, MY sin - He knew He wanted to give us that precious Gift. Jesus paid the ultimate price for our gift! He died for us, so we could be saved! Eternal life in God's presence. His presence is so sweet here on Earth - I can't WAIT to be able to see Him face-to-face!!!!!! And it's available to YOU - all you have to do is ASK!

Oh, look! It's Romans 10:13!

"Whoever will call on the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Anyone can receive this gift! There's no "I'm not good enough" or "I need to straighten up my act first". God will meet you WHERE YOU ARE!!!! Just ask Him!

Oh, here's the last stop on this road. Isn't it beautiful?

Romans 10:9-10: "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."

Oh, how LOVELY this stop is. Do you see how EASY it is? God hasn't made a lot of hoops to jump through. There's not a physical torture test, or a decathalon to compete in for this prize.

If you've been down this road before, isn't it a sweet place to visit? To be able to thank God for His incredible, awesome GIFT? I hope our walk today reminded you to praise Him for it!!!

If you've never been down this road, and you've heard Him offering you His precious gift today, you might be wondering what the next step is.

Just talk to Him! We call it "praying", but it's really just having a communication session with The Most High. :) He wants us to talk to Him!!! You can simply tell Him something along this line:

Dear God, I know I am a sinner. I know that has kept me separated from You. I ask You to forgive me of my sins; I want to repent (that just means "to turn 180 degrees" from the way you were going), and ask You to help me walk the way You want me to. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins, and that He rose from the dead and is alive today. I ask that You become my Savior, and Lord of my life. Thank You! Amen.

Did you know that when you said that prayer, Heaven threw a party for you?!?!??!?! The angels REJOICE over EACH soul that receives the Gift!!!!

I'd like to rejoice with you, too! Please email me, or leave me a comment, and let me know so I can - and so I can pray for you, too! The next step is to find a good church where you can learn more about the decision you made, and start to grow and learn about this new life!

Praise God, the Maker of Heaven and Earth. Dear one, He rejoices over YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's FINALLY fall!

Good evening, dear ones! It's FINALLY beginning to cool down here - today was such a beautiful day here. Kenn and I went to the orchard, and took a wonderful drive in the country. It was cool, and clear, and just beautiful. :) I love days like today!

God is SO good. He gives us days like this to enjoy. Have you taken the time to look around and see what He's blessed you with out your window?

You MUST go see FIREPROOF. Seriously. Even if you're not in a relationship, it's SO worth your support and worth SEEING. I can't tell you enough - GO. Check out the link! And take a tissue with you..... :D

Many of you are facing trials again right now; I've heard from several of you. Please remember to lift each other up in prayer, dear ones. You NEVER know when God will bring someone to mind, and how important it is you say a prayer right then!

I'm going to run; Kenn's on his way home from an assignment right now, and he has to leave quite early in the morning.

Be blessed, dear one. Open your eyes to the blessings God has poured out on you already - it will AMAZE you when you start looking. He LOVES you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A sister needs our prayers on FRIDAY!!!

If you're reading this, I'd SO appreciate your prayers for my dear friend, Rhonda. She's been having some sort of conflict with a co-worker, and IMed me today to tell me that the principal had asked for a meeting tomorrow with her and the co-worker - and Rhonda hadn't mentioned it to the principal.

Of course, Rhonda is a bit anxious about the outcome. Here's what she just emailed me:

I told you earlier that I have that conference with my principal and the teacher I am having a difficult time with tomorrow. I found out it has to do with the main issue between this other teacher and myself. I am verey worried about it. I know, I know the Bible says not to worry, but to pray instead. However, being human I find it VERY difficult NOT to worry over certain things. This is one of them. We will be meeting around 2:45 tomorrow. It would be great to know that there are people praying at that exact time.
Rhonda

Philippians is one of my favorite books in the entire Bible. Here is what I would ask you to claim for Rhonda now - she's having trouble claiming it for herself. PLEASE, let's lift her up to her Father! He knows what she needs!!! :)

5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Update on me: the procedure went well this morning, and I'm almost back to normal in that eye. Both eyes feel tired - a response to the numbing drops they put in to be able to check the pressure in my eyes. Thank you for praying, dear ones!

The moral of the story.... :)

THE PASTOR'S CAT
I received this email from a friend, and wanted to pass it on. This particular story just made me laugh. Every time I think about it, the vision of that poor cat just amuses me to no end. Hope the story leaves a bright spot in your day. DON'T FORGET TO ENTER THE DRAWING - SEE AUGUST 1 POST!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dwight Nelson recently told a true story about the pastor of his church.

He had a kitten that climbed up a tree in his backyard and then was afraid to come down. The pastor coaxed, offered warm milk, etc. The kitty would not come down.

The tree was not sturdy enough to climb, so the pastor decided that if he tied a rope to his car and pulled it until the tree bent down, he could then reach up and get the kitten.

That's what he did, all the while checking his progress in the car. He then figured if he went just a little bit further, the tree would be bent sufficiently for him to reach the kitten. But as he moved the car a little further forward, the rope broke.

The tree went 'boing!' and the kitten instantly sailed through the air - out of sight.

The pastor felt terrible. He walked all over the neighborhood asking people if they'd seen a little kitten. No. Nobody had seen a stray kitten.

So he prayed, 'Lord, I just commit this kitten to your keeping,' and went on about his business.

A few days later he was at the grocery store, and met one of his church members. He happened to look into her shopping cart and was amazed to see cat food. This woman was a cat hater and everyone knew it, so he asked her, 'Why are you buying cat food when you hate cats so much?'

She replied, 'You won't believe this,' and then told him how her little girl had been begging her for a cat, but she kept refusing. Then a few days before, the child had begged again, so the Mom finally told her little girl, 'Well, if God gives you a cat, I'll let you keep it.'

She told the pastor, 'I watched my child go out in th e yard, get on her knees, and ask God for a cat. And really, Pastor, you won't believe this, but I saw it with my own eyes. A kitten suddenly came flying out of the blue sky, with its paws outspread, and landed right in front of her.'

Lesson learned: Never underestimate the Power of God and His unique sense of humor.

Find the delights!

I don't know about you, but this has been a TOUGH week - and the struggle isn't done yet. I'm still dealing with banking issues, and it's NOT a pretty fight. :( I have to get ready to go fight AGAIN. But I KNOW Who has the ultimate victory - it's the only thing I can cling to when I feel like giving up. God is GOOD. His love endures FOREVER!!! This battle has grown from a speed bump to a small mountain, steep at the summit, but He's there. :)

I'm looking for the abundance He has given us - and one thing around HERE, is produce. :) We've got CUCUMBERS like you wouldn't believe, and tomatoes! It's been an incredible growing year - we've pickled like crazy, eaten fresh foods, and blessed others. Isn't that what we're called to do with the abundance God gives us?? :)

Count your blessings, dear friends!!!! It does help - He has NEVER left you alone. He's ALWAYS there!

Please pray!!!

My paypal account got hacked two days ago, and we have NO money available. I just need patience, and Kenn too! I'm dealing with a lot of STUFF, so please just pray. I know that 1) I'm not the only one this has happened to in the past week, and 2)it's an attack by the Enemy. PLEASE JUST KEEP PRAYIN'!!!

It's MONDAY! :)

How are you? Have you had a good five days since I talked to you last? :) It's been SUPER-BUSY around here lately!!!!!! Wow, and I still need to talk about the Saturday after my birthday, and Father's Day, and what else I've been up to! Phew.

Well, it's going to have to wait - we shot a wedding out of town this weekend, and I actually RESTED last night, so I need to work on a class for tonight. :D When I get it done, I'll start catching up, I promise.

I LOVE OUR NEW CHURCH!!!! It is SO refreshing!! Kenn and I were talking on the way home yesterday about how things have worked out. You know, God moves sovereignly. Even in situations where things aren't done His way, He works. Like our old church situation. He gives us ways to get along with each other, to work out conflicts, etc - and I will be talking about some of that in the future :) - but in our case, it wasn't done His way.

How awesomely He's worked for us!!! We went to the Smyrna Assembly the first time, kind of as a way for Kenn to placate me. :D On a whim, let's say. But God has blessed us there immensely! And it's only been three weeks. Kenn's talked to the pastor; where they're not "on the same page", as one person asked me, they're FINE with not being there! As Kenn says, we're going to thrive there. It's going to be a little difficult to get to know people, since it's 45 minutes one way, but we're getting to "know" the people sitting around us, and the pastor came up yesterday and introduced himself to me.

The music is good, but it's the PEOPLE who truly touch me. Every person who's shared has had a humility, a transparency, and an obvious desire for God's presence. Every single person has shared from the Holy Word, and it's been like it's SUPPOSED to be - living, and active, and sharper than ANY 2-edged sword. Truth and purity can pierce, my friend, and I haven't felt that spoken into my own heart in a long time - longer than I realized.

GOD IS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please pray for my friend, Lisa; she's due any MOMENT, and her mother-in-law died this weekend. They're in North Carolina for the funeral. Please pray for travelling mercies, birth mercies, and that she'll feel God's presence as she helps her husband deal with everything.

I'll be back when I get a chance - I have SO much to share with you! LOL!!!!!

God is good, ALL THE TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have you forgotten??? ENTER NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't forget! I'm doing a giveaway for my 100th post, drawing tomorrow! You have to go HERE to read what's going on, and to enter!!!!



It's canning season again!!! Guess what we were making today - that's right, strawberry jam! We made SIX batches of regular, and a batch of no sugar added. It smells like strawberries in here, and sugar, and hot water - the last batch is in the hot water bath right now. Phew!



An update on Mom: She went to her regular doctor today, and is officially off work until Tuesday. Of course, she's hard at work HERE - but I'm being a harpy, so HOPEFULLY she's not working as hard as she would...! THANK YOU SO MUCH for praying for her!



I'm sorry I haven't been around a lot this week; trying to get caught up, teaching a class, and still dealing with church fallout has been REALLY stressful. But I really want you to enter the giveaway!!!! I need the strokes. ROFL!!!!! GO ENTER NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There is a balm in - SMYRNA, TN?!?!??!

Yes, it's true!!!!

Sunday morning (You already know Kenn's side of the story, if you've read his blog today. :D) we had decided to go to the Smyrna Assembly of God. Yes, it's the real Assembly. :D Kenn & I had attended one in Florence, Oregon, and really enjoyed our time there. Also, the Smyrna Assembly's mission is to reclaim the arts to God's glory - something that is near and dear to our hearts. We've been there to a couple of great shows, and I have to admit to being quite envious that their church actually did the shows, not tolerated having some acting going on.... :D (Go check out their theater's site - they're REALLY active!!!!!)

So, we'd decided not to go to their early service - it's about 40 minutes or so from our house. We left here just before 10 a.m., and stopped for Kenn to get a couple of shots of horses. We got there early, and said hello to Kenn's contact from work - and I got to meet someone else from the office. Then, we went and found some seats and settled in.

Some very nice people greeted us - but didn't pressure us at all. :) That's important - especially because I'm REALLY shy in person, and have a hard time for the first few times I meet someone. The senior adult coordinator introduced himself to Kenn; he was a VERY nice man!! His wife introduced herself after the service as "his better half". ;)

The worship service was really good; as Kenn wrote in his blog, it wasn't nearly as much a spectator event as it was a "participate as you wish". It was very free, and really wonderful. I don't think we knew any of those songs, but we caught on pretty quickly. It was really great.

Can I just say it's been a LONG time since anything SPOKEN has touched my heart MORE than the music?!?!?!??! Well, not only did it happen ONCE, but TWICE - and neither were in the sermon - which was good, anyway. :D

The first time was during the offering. The young man who spoke was in the praise band; he played sax and trumpet, and maybe the trumbone.... ANYWAY. You've got to understand that the church we WERE attending was very much about tithing to receive God's blessing - and the way it was done HONESTLY made it hard to be a cheerful giver. But not this. From the bottom of his heart, he explained why we tithe. It's not because it's expected of us, or you gotta give to get. It's because we're saying to God, "You have ALREADY blessed me SO MUCH, I don't NEED everything you've given me!!! You're SO GOOD!!!"

Woah. Not out of expectation, but out of THANKSGIVING???? I've NEVER heard it put that way!!!!! But BOY, did it touch my heart!!!!!

He went on to say there are four things to do with your money: tithe, sow (to further the kingdom, feed the poor, etc.), save - if you spend everything you make, you'll NEVER make enough money; you'll just spend everything - and spend. It's OK to spend, and make wise choices with your money.

I was crying by now. I told Kenn, "We can leave now; I've heard the sermon already." :) But WAIT! There's MORE!!!

It was Communion Sunday. Another gentleman came to present it, and what he said - WOW.

I'm going to paraphrase:

I've been suffering through some physical stuff lately, and you know how hard it is to concentrate when you're in pain? You tend to do things that don't demand a lot of concentration - or ANY concentration! - while you're feeling pain. The worse the pain, the harder it is to focus on anything else.

The pain that Jeus went through? We'll probably never be able to understand how excruciating it was - the movie THE PASSION OF CHRIST did a pretty good job, but even so..... Yet through it ALL, Jesus was able to keep in mind what He was doing, what His final goal was. He could have stopped it ALL at any moment. That tearing of His flesh, the beatings, the blood loss - He suffered HORRIBLY. Yet THROUGH IT ALL, He kept us in mind. He kept His purpose - paying for the redemption of man, putting death behind Him and triumphing!!!! - He kept it all in mind in the middle of that torture.

Can you see why it touched me??? It's so easy to get blase' about things we do on a regular basis. He made it FRESH to me again.

Well, this is already a book, so I'm going to stop elaborating. The sermon was great - the preacher can really belt a song!! :D - and it was WONDERFUL to be renewed and exhorted and bathed in His presence. God is SO GOOD, my dear friend. He loves us SO MUCH!!!!

Kenn and I continue to hash through what happened, and it will take us a while. But God is showing His mercy and grace to us, and I think THROUGH us. :) It's been a rough week, but it's been a DEEP week.

Oh, and MOM CAME HOME YESTERDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you all SO VERY MUCH for praying for her!!!!!! She got a steroid shot Saturday evening, and it worked wonders for her. She's been going quite hard today - and I've been a bit of a harpy, trying to get through to her to SLOW DOWN. But that's Mom. :) She's not happy unless the house is SPOTLESS and she's rearranged some furniture. :D

SO. Please leave me a comment!!!!!! :D I'd love to hear from you!! :D

KNOW THAT YOU ARE BLESSED AND HIGHLY FAVORED, ANNOINTED OF GOD!!!!!

Wow, what a weekend!!! This post is SATURDAY....

Ever been so busy, you wonder what you've been doing?? :D That's the way Saturday felt to me. I SO missed having Mom home to do things with - Saturdays, we USUALLY go either thrift shopping or garage saling. I still went to a couple of sales within a mile of the house - believe it or not, anyone who REALLY knows me, I was made up, dressed, class all ready, and at a garage sale by 8:15!!! :D

I found a couple of good deals - a hardcover book for a buck, and a brand-new lavender bath "stuff" kit for a buck. I LOVE lavender, and LOVE bubble baths, and LOVE to read while I'm taking them, so it was a GOOD day. :D LOL!!

Then, I taught a class from 9:30 - 11. Cleaned up a bit, puttered around, and left a little while later to grab some lunch and go to Goodwill - after getting the news Mom was NOT coming home Saturday. She'd had a rough night.

Goodwill had their half-price Saturday, and since I had class to teach, I couldn't get out and going and hit as many as I'd have liked to. :) I did find a few things, including a really pretty blouse for Mom. I hope it fits, and that she'll wear it - she seemed to like it....

So, I called on my way to the hospital, and Mom wanted chocolate. WELL, she definitely knew who to ask! ROFL!! I took her quite a variety, and you should have seen her eyes light up! Dad stayed for a little bit, but left to "let us visit". So we chit-chatted, etc. (After the first time I answered her phone at the hospital, I had to answer, 'Becky's room, Lori speaking' because EVERYONE gets us confused!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) She received two phone calls while I was there, and I left while she was talking to my sister, Debbi.

I headed home to fix Dad dinner, so he could get back to the hospital. Kenn helped out by making a salad while I got the other components of dinner ready, so Dad ate and left. Kenn & I did our own things for a while, then decided to head to Dairy Queen for some ice cream. :)

While there, we ran into a young lady from our former church, who is one of my favorite people and is doing some babysitting for a bunch of my friends this Saturday to raise money to go on a missions trip to South Africa - be watching for me to link you to her blog while they're there! She hadn't heard about what had happened, but was very supportive and loving. It was great to catch up with her - she's a very BUSY young woman, attending Belmont for her nursing degree.

ANYWAY. We then came home and just spent the last couple of hours of the day together, watching TV and chatting. And THEN I fell into a deep, deep sleep.... :D