I will be moving...
New heart, new mind, new life in Him...
Hey everyone I will be starting a new blog soon with obviously much more regular posts and upkeep. It will have a slightly different feel and direction. Please pray for the Lord's direction as He puts it on my heart what to post. Much love.
Chicken Chow Mein, Ray Boltz, and Surfing the Web.
That basically describes my night tonight. Go ahead, you can think it. I'm totally weird. I should be watching the debates- doing my noble deed as a U.S. citizen...
Ray certainly has left quite a musical footprint in the 20-something year ministry writing some pretty dope songs, that really touched the heart of a young country baptist girl in an over-sized floral dress, who's only delight was watching the karaoke each sunday morning while the offering plate passed.
*shrug* Seriously guys, I can't wait for heaven.
It's easy to think and ponder about life, the recession, Sarah Palin's hair, where I'm going to be in 10 years... so much depends on the choices I make now- how things turn out. Yes YES! God is soveriegn, I know that, I even have Grace Church linked to my blog- I believe. But think about it, inside God's soveriegn dominant universal power- BEHOLD! I lose weight when I chose what I eat, I reap the benefits of an education and proper preparation with a nice job, I have people in my life who encourage me and lift me up because I made good choices in friends. There's a reason God said to chill out and take it one day at a time. I know I'm not alone when I say that a huge factor of the Christian life is living in holiness each day that we're given- because that's all we're given. It can get tough though, keeping that good attitude... it stems from a heart of thankfulness. I was trying to do the girl thing tonight and shop- why is it the clothes always look so hot on the hanger but on me I look like a bloated hippo? I leave after 2 hours, walk to my car defeated wishing fashion didn't exist even though it's so cool. But hey! My body functions, God has given me life, health, friends, church, HIMSELF- I can deal feeling fat for an hour or two while I scrounge around looking for clothing. Perspective seriously is key. K I'm going to watch thumbelina. Peace.
Tell Out My Soul: The DMV Sucks.
Hey guys. I went to the DMV yesterday to register my new ride. 2006 Kia spectra- she's a beaut', the Lord has dealt bountifully with me. For those of you who have not received the news: I was in a car accident in July- I'm OK! My car was not. I finally received the totaled check, and finishing up my treatment for severe whiplash. Although grieving the loss of my '03 silver bullet (dodge neon) I am stepping into the open chapter of a new life- a life of Kia, lady Guinevere, a life of cruise control and automatic windows/locks. A life or high-def air conditioning and clear radio reception. (I don't know what those things mean, but basically my car rocks the royal crowned hiney. I
feel important driving it.)
But let's talk DMV for a minute or two. Any of you who've dared to grace such a place with your presence have come to a shocking awakening of true life.
The DMVyou drive up, more trees than necessary blocking full view of the building from the road, only adding to the ghostly, fearful exsistence. A haunted greyish, ghoulish structure hidden away from the side street it's located on, secretly eager to suck the life from our pathetic consumer-driven souls. I think my cholesterol rises a few dig's
looking at the building.
The parking lot: always full, never a spot (budget in an extra 20 minutes for parking in addition to the half day it will take you) will test the very end of your church-potluck patience. Entering battlefield, you pray for extra grace and supernatural ability to keep your cool. You can already sense the evil that surrounds this structure, like a cloud of hazardous mist clogging your senses and burning your eyes.
Finally parking the very vehicle that forces you into such torment, you make your way in. A line that is visable from the third and fourth street over becomes more vivid as you approach. Everyone bearing a scowl like prisoners awaiting their execution- babies crying and those who are barely able to stand are forced to fight their way through or they might lose their spot, subjecting them to another 30 minute wait to see the wizard. I'm glared at, the lowly white girl walking straight to the
appointments only desk, signing in, and immediately being escorted to see a judge, bypassing all the non-appointments who have already been waiting an hour. Appointments are great. Feeling that you've somehow beat the system, a splash of hope glimmers in the distance that this visit just might go smoothly.
The smells alone in that building are enough to turn your skin green: crowded and overly hot. What's worse is the horrid reality that you need the DMV, by law, to give you access to one of the most coveted freedoms: driving. And they know it. Therefore, they can treat you anyway they wish: hoops to jump through, songs to sing, or coming back for a 3rd and 4th visit. Yup. 4 times I visited the DMV last december. I think by then my hair was falling out.
At one moment my sanity was threatened when the lady who was helping me said she was off to lunch and said I had to wait for the next person to help finish my regsitration- 30 minutes. NOOO I had an appointment! panic filling my face and my heart stopping dead pump. Divine intervention. Compassion is given and I am passed to her neighbor who helped me. That was close. $170 later and a shiny new plate for my car, I am freed within 1 1/2 hours. Record breaking time.
God was merciful.
I am thankful for the sky, I am thankful for the earth, for the air and for pink flowers, I am thankful for my little red car.
The DMV is a rutheless place.
Labels: Cali, car, Flesh-vents
Back from a summer hiatus
It's been a hot one. Full of learning and growing, failing and reconciliation, grace and strength. It's amazing God's overwhelming ability to control the outcome, and orchestrate the good from such trials and personal failures. Sin can destroy the flesh and pride left in a child of God, but what is left is the tender fresh heart of a broken vessel, modifiable clay, carefully crafted in the Master's hand to be something beautiful. I think Joni Erickson-Tada said it best: "God often allows what He hates to bring about what He loves". Even better, the Apostle who was called Paul- once a boaster, persecutor and murderer, now purified and cleansed, restored to the One he had so vehementaly reviled: "For we know that God works all things together for good, for those who love God and are called according to His purpose". The yoke sin brings to a soul is heavy, made of iron, and unable to be held by the human heart. The grace God gives and the forgiveness He provides are precious truths that break the iron clasps and give life to the sick and dying child. All things I've learned this summer- and although painful, good lessons that have revealed the wickedness and unbelief, while providing relief from the distressing state. Jesus is so beautiful, and to be His daughter is more than anyone could ask for. I'm growing as a woman, as a believer, as a soldier in this war, more like Jesus, more holy and more set apart for Him.
I think my blog might change a bit. I enjoy the occasional culture-commentary or venting posts I occasionally concoct, but I will be more devotional and share with you what God has been showing me- and I would hope you are encouraged, entertained, and challenged to think, change, and grow. More to come soon~
Labels: Heart, Saints, Women, WORD
"Anyone home?"
An owl's hoot followed by a quiet whisper of wind was all she heard answer back while she slowly entered the dark still cottage. A whiff of stale air greeted her chilled nose filling her nostrils with dusty air casing her to sneeze. Furniture and shelves were covered in a thin blanket of dust. Small picture frames, which contents were no longer visible cluttered the now quiet fireplace and gray cobwebs clung the dark oak beams crowning the open dinning room, as she silently tip-toed her way across the creaking wooden floor... a small noise rustled behind her and a shiver jolted up her spine. Suddenly movement on the floor was accompanied by several tiny squeaks, only to reveal itself as a mouse- stopping the very heartbeat of our young heroine. Whew- only a mouse. Who could have lived in this place, once alive and fresh, warm and inviting, only to now be left dead and lifeless like an old graveyard concealing history and secrets only to be known by those that had once possessed it...
Yes yes... I know. It has been WAY TOO EFFING LOOONNNNG since I last blogged. I would be shocked if any courageous reader bearing any last bit of hope to find some sort of post, would still grace the pages of my blog. I was amazed anyone would want to read this in the first place, in which case I apologize to all 2 of you. What inspired me to resurrect my passion to blog? Tonight's sermon was amazing. If you can, download it "What's missing in marriage?" by Chris Muller. Excellent communicator, and was full or bring points I just ate up every word he said. His ability to accurately teach what the Bible says as well as explain it in a way with a heart of understand and compassion, would make any married person or single person excited to see what God has in store for their love life. I was incredibly encouraged, and look forward to exercising my abilities to cultivate a heart eager to honor God in my future relationship, and someday become a wife who blesses her husband. The take home message: DON'T make the mistake and thinking your will alone can do this- understand NOW two things: 1. only those saved and filled with the Spirit can accomplish the commands for marriage in scripture and 2. you need God to help you fulfill it. Chris focused primarily on the husband's responsibility to take leadership in the marriage and it's success, and, HOLY CRAP I'm glad I'm a woman. HAHAHA just kidding- but seriously, the responsibility a man has in his marriage is mind blowing... a helper he must have.
Anyways if you can check it out. I'm sure you can hunt it down on Grace church's website or ask around. I know I will. Heck.
IMPORTANT PUBLIC ALERT
23yr old Los Angeles resident, Joanna Martens, was recently seen being fitted in her bridesmaid's dress for her friend's upcoming wedding ceremony. Reports of concern have been flooding in that she just may not fit comfortably in her new designer gown, spurring a nation-wide outrage and rumor reports of suspect weight gain in result of large quantities of cheesy burritos and Corona beer. A top priority call -labeled urgent- to immediately administer strict diet and exercise regimen for the next two weeks have been administered and victim has been notified. Doctors are concerned about her abrupt and shocking weight gain from last fitting. Dr. Hoodlum Ris-croopy communicates this concern through a press release sent out this afternoon: "Although Joanna has always sported a curvy figure, her emotional health and awesomeness in attire was never questioned. For the first time in Joanna's life history, she just might be in trouble."
Doctors aren't alone- tongues have been wagging in the local community as well. Neighbor and trusted friends are concerned. Local resident and owner of Joanna's favorite Mexican restaurant were notified and commented: "It's always been a joy to see Joanna every Sunday ordering her favorite chicken burrito and Diet Coke. Never in my mind did I ever expect her to be gaining weight- especially with a wedding coming up. I guess we always assumed she was smarter than that..."
Drastic measures will need to be taken as Mexican restaurants, local ice cream shops, and Starbucks' frappacinos shut down and Joanna is put under strict surveillance. Cutting all carbs, veggies, fruits, and a little protein will be all that is allowed while consuming large amounts of water and doing vigorous cardio every day. Hopes that change will be seen in the next two weeks are rising as doctors and concerned American citizens wait patiently for weekly updates.
Stay tuned...
Earliest Photo of Helen Keller and Teacher Together Uncovered
BOSTON
— Researchers have uncovered a rare photograph of a young Helen Keller with her teacher Anne Sullivan, nearly 120 years after it was taken on Cape Cod.
The photograph, shot in July 1888 in Brewster, shows an 8-year-old Helen sitting outside in a light-colored dress, holding Sullivan's hand and cradling one of her beloved dolls.
Experts on Keller's life believe it could be the earliest photo of the two women together and the only one showing the blind and deaf child with a doll — the first word Sullivan spelled for Keller after they met in 1887 — according to the New England Historic Genealogical Society, which now has the photo.
"It's really one of the best images I've seen in a long, long time," said Helen Selsdon, an archivist at the American Foundation for the Blind, where Keller worked for more than 40 years. "This is just a huge visual addition to the history of Helen and Annie."
For more than a century, the photograph has belonged to the family of Thaxter Spencer, an 87-year-old man in Waltham.
Spencer's mother, Hope Thaxter Parks, often stayed at the Elijah Cobb House on Cape Cod during the summer as a child. In July 1888, she played with Keller, whose family had traveled from Tuscumbia, Ala., to vacation in Massachusetts.
Spencer, who doesn't know which of his relatives took the picture, told the society that his mother, four years younger than Helen, remembered Helen exploring her face with her hands.
In June, Spencer donated a large collection of photo albums, letters, diaries and other heirlooms to the genealogical society, which preserves artifacts from New England families for future research.
"I never thought much about it," Spencer said in a statement released by the society. "It just seemed like something no one would find very interesting." Spencer has recently been hospitalized and could not be reached for comment.
It wasn't until recently that staff at the society realized the photograph's significance. Advocates for the blind say they had never heard of it, though after they announced its discovery Wednesday they learned it had published in 1987 in a magazine on Cape Cod and a half-century earlier in The Boston Globe. It is unclear whether there was more than one copy of the photograph.
D. Brenton Simons, the society's president and CEO, said the photograph offers a glimpse of what was a very important time in Keller's life.
Sullivan was hired in 1887 to teach Keller, who had been left blind and deaf after an illness at the age of 1 1/2. With her new teacher, Keller learned language from words spelled manually into her hand. Not quite 7, the girl went from an angry, frustrated child without a way to communicate to an eager scholar.
While "doll" was the first word spelled into her hand, Helen finally comprehended the meaning of language a few weeks later with the word "water," as famously depicted in the film "The Miracle Worker." Sullivan stayed at her side until her death in 1936, and Keller became a world-famous author and humanitarian. She died in 1968.
Jan Seymour-Ford, a research librarian at the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, which both Sullivan and Keller attended, said she was moved to see how deeply connected the women were, even in 1888.
"The way Anne is gazing so intently at Helen, I think it's a beautiful portrait of the devotion that lasted between these two women all of Anne's life," Seymour-Ford said.
Selsdon said the photograph is valuable because it shows many elements of Keller's childhood: that devotion, Sullivan's push to teach Helen outdoors and Helen's attachment to her baby dolls, one of which was given to her upon Sullivan's arrival as her teacher.
"It's a beautiful composition," she said. "It's not even the individual elements. It's the fact that it has all of the components."
Fox News
