Alert and Oriented (x4)

I asked a good friend today if he felt like our focus was wavering. He responded that we seem to be so busy doing good that we have lost sight, depth and grasp of our First Love. Take a moment now. Breathe in. Remember the God of the Universe came down in the form of a little baby some two thousand years ago. For you. For me. For all of us lost and wandering sinners. And He’s coming back again. Soon. Merry Christmas!

I have a winter in my soul right now. But it's not the kind of winter that is bleak and desolate.  It's the kind where, although I feel cold and hear only silence, there's a hint of expectation.  A time of looking forward to what may happen next.  A time of waiting.  And watching.  It may not all be good.  It's never ALL good, but inside my head I murmur over and over, "GOD is sovereign.  God IS sovereign.  God is SOVEREIGN."  And I am desperate to hear from Him.

...the end of an era?  Lidna over at 2nd Cup is taard! Coming up with a dozen thought provoking prompts when you are a ministry assistant, wife, mom to three (one of whom just recently announced her engagement… congratulations Katie !...) is a lot to ask of one person. She's tapering off.  So the dozen is now just a couple. Answer these on your own blog and then linky up over at 2nd Cup …. 1. What scares you the most A) Physically Swimming in deep water that doesn’t have concrete surrounding it and chlorine in it. But perversely, I love playing in the ocean and on the beach. I have come to terms with it and can even jump off cliffs into lakes now, but it always makes me feel all squeemy inside. But at least I don’t have to resort to Jack Daniels when I do it... B) Emotionally Outliving one of my children. I watched my aunt go through it twice, and that scares the pants off me. I don’t even like to think about it. Why does it scare you, and how do you cope...

On Friday, the day before I was forced to remember that it was celebrated my 49th birthday, our oldest son left our home to begin to make one of his own. It’s been a bittersweet time. I love that he is happy and well and still only about eight miles away. But I hate that he’s not right across the hall and always ready to share a breakfast burrito or a white pizza or a game of Talisman (latest new addiction—yes, I am a total nerd/geek and yes, I know the game has been out for almost 30 years.  It's new to me, ok?) at the drop of a hat. My little boy will be 20 years old in just a couple of months. He’s traveled and seen more of the country than I have. He’s responsible, can back up a big truck and park it like nobody’s business, and is a spiritual giant in my eyes. I saw him at church Sunday (didn’t see him all day Saturday. On my birthday. I know, RIGHT?) and got all welly and hugged his neck until I think I embarrassed him. I am officially one of those mothers now. Tyler m...

This has been kind of a tough season. There are days when I feel like I'm going down for the count, but somehow, God sends somebody or something along to lift my head and my heart.  Lucy broke her knee. She was in a cast (actually about 4 casts) from the beginning of August until the end of September. Not just in a cast, but the poor little thing was confined to her crate for at least 6 of those 9 weeks.  They wanted to do surgery on her. The projected cost was $2000. I’m sorry, but we now have a little dog that hops around on three legs most of the time. It’s cute in a pitiful sort of way. I can live with a three-legged dog. But $2000. Just. Not. Happening. As it is, we’re into it for about $600. $600 that we can ill afford right now. She’s happy and doesn’t know that she’s differently-abled. It hasn’t slowed her down one little millisecond, and she isn’t in pain. If we hadn’t already re-named her about five times, I’d call her Tripod. Then, right before the ...

Lidna, over at 2nd Cup , just celebrated her birthday and asked lots of people to contribute prompts for the Random Dozen meme.  She chose one of mine!  I'm so flattered!  So...here's my take on the doz....won't you play along, too? 1. From "Men Are Dumb ....": If you had a theme song that played whenever you walked into a room full of people, what would it be? My second son says “BOOM” by P.O.D. should play whenever I walk in to a room. Strangely disturbing. He says it was his “first band” outside of what his parents liked and Veggie Tales. How that makes it MY theme song, I’m not quite sure….In case you can’t decipher them, part of the lyrics say, “BOOM! Here comes the BOOM! How you like me now I say…” Never try to complete a blog post with the help of two 17-year-olds. At least he didn’t say Elton John “The B**ch is Back.” Sigh... 2. From Pam of "Alert And Oriented x 4": Which of your shoes are your absolute favorite, and which are of ...

If you happen to be reading this and you happen to be the type of person who talks with God on a regular, or even a not-so-regular basis, I’d appreciate if you could say a prayer or three for me. There’s pretty much a ton of stuff going on in my life right now and while I am feeling so loved and cared for, I am also overwhelmed.  Kind of like as hard as I pull, nothing is moving the way it's supposed to. Like the mule in the photo up there, I just need to set my feet upon the rock again.... Psalm 40:12 Thanks! Love ya! More than my luggage!