Wordless Wednesday explained

My Wordless Wednesday pictures: the early morning light shining through the trees in my back yard, and my laptop keyboard. I had the day off. It was a beautiful day, but I had much writing to do for many projects.

The keyboard won.

Unravelled

Oh, little red scarf, why can't I finish you? Do you unravel yourself when I'm not looking? I've been working on you for so long, lovingly adding stitches to your length. Don't you know that you are being created for a purpose? You are to bring joy, warmth and comfort to a needy soul. Don't you want to fulfill your purpose? If you let me complete my work, then you can be bound off of my needles and find your freedom. Freedom to go, to fulfill your destiny in the life of another. Oh little red scarf, please let me finish you...



Oh, chosen child, why do you resist me? You undo the work I've done. I've spent your entire life working on you, placing you in places and situations that will grow you, mature you, enable you to fulfill your purpose. A purpose that is meant for you, and you alone. I can use you to bring joy, comfort, and peace to a needy soul. Don't you want to be free? When you stop working against me, and let Me be your strength and your guide, you will be free from the lies, the tricks, the strongholds that hold you back. Precious child, give your heart to me, and you can truly be free!

Wordless Wednesday

OR

I'm a sucker for contests...

even though I never win. And there are several at this cool site I recently found called 5 Minutes for Mom. So you may be seeing many contests posted here. Just trying to share a little love!!

The latest is great for us bloggers and techno-geek types: it's a WD Passport Portable Hard Drive Giveaway. Click here to check it out.

It's slowly starting to come together...

I got my first article to put in our brand new church publication, Compass Magazine! I'm the general editor, and today was the first deadline of many. The welcome message from our pastor is the first piece of content that I have received, and I am so excited! I got a call from one of our student pastors, and he passed the phone around the office to others ministry leaders. I heard promises of more articles on their way this evening. I was afraid that I would have to start a "late" fund, and start charging the contributors for each day they missed the deadline!

But for now, I can still be a nice editor. :-)

I can't wait to see how God brings this all together...

Bloggy Good Contest Fun

I have stumbled across several contests and giveaways this week, and I thought I'd share them with you all in one spot!

Click 5 Minutes for Mom for a shot at a free pink Dyson vaccuum.

Click Everyday Mommy to be entered into a drawing for some free Wedge Clogs by Easy Spirit.

I thought there were more, but that's all I can find for now.

Good luck!

Where were you?

With the recent anniversary of 9/11, a co-worker started a discussion we've all had before. "Do you remember where you were on 9/11? When the Challenger exploded? When JFK was shot?" The point was, these were all significant events in America's history, and, as Americans, a significant event in our lives as well.

I will probably always remember, even years from now, how I felt on 9/11. I was at work in a doctor's office, with no TV. My husband was on business in Chicago, and I was pregnant with our first child together. I remember the terror as we listened to the radio through the overhead speakers, the crying faces all around when the realization came. I remember the panic when I couldn't reach my husband on his phone as I desperately tried to call him, to beg him to stay away from the Sears Tower.

I remember sitting in the floor of my living room as a little girl, writing in my new red velvet covered diary when the Challenger exploded. I watched images over and over on our TV, too unimaginable to believe.

Our minds seem to record the details of important events. We don't specifically direct our brain to save information. It just happens. We can't really choose what we remember and what we forget.

So, if as Americans we remember events that are important in our American lives, then as Christians, do we remember the important events that occur in our Christian lives?



In 2004, I went to Biltmore Baptist Church. Each fall they have an outdoor baptism at Biltmore Lake (lots of our area landmarks and businesses are prefaced by "Biltmore", because of the Biltmore House). During that previous year, I had struggled through the premature birth and subsequent 11 day long hospital stay of my third son. I came to personally realize that God was pursuing me, and I knew that I needed to be baptised again. God told my heart this every Sunday. I would cry with conviction at the end of every service.

This is a photo of Biltmore Lake. I was rebaptised in a Believer's Baptism on August 8, 2004 in these very waters. There were tents all around, with tables set up for all the food. The prayer ministry coordinator tried very hard to find a seat under one of the tents for us, to shield my tiny baby and toddler from the August heat. I lost my footing and nearly fell back in as I rose from the water, finally, truly, washed clean of my sins.

The significance of this is two-fold. First, this was certainly a milestone on my Christian walk. A turning point. I turned toward God, and resolved to stay turned that way. Secondly, I don't remember my first baptism. I know where it was, but I don't remember the day, or how old I was. So, I guess, to my little girl mind, it wasn't so significant. It didn't seem important enough to my child brain to hold on to.

Don't you think that committing your life to Christ is worth remembering? Do you have any spiritual markers in your life? Can you vividly remember times when you have undoubtedly faced God? I'd love to hear your stories...

I need peace like a river...

Prayer Request!!

My poor husband is a home builder. He builds gorgeous homes, but since the real estate market tanked, business hasn't been so good. We were to close tomorrow on a renovation that has already had it's share of delays, and today we learned that it won't happen - again. The loan package, paperwork - everything - is at the attorney's office waiting for us. But we don't have a buyer. I won't go into specifics. Just please pray for my husband and my family right now, OK?

I love this quote from Lysa TerKeurst's book "What Happens When Women Say Yes to God." Pray, that we may claim it!

"God chose a unique word to describe His peace - a river! A river is not calm and void of activity. It is active and cleansing and confident of the direction it is headed in. It doesn't get caught up with the rocks in it's path. It flows over them, all the while smoothing their jagged edges and allowing them to add beauty rather than to take away from it. A river is a wonderful thing to behold."

Father God, submerge us in Your River of Peace. Let it's waters smooth out the rough edges of anger and bitterness, disappointment and worry. Replace the anxiety with the beauty of knowing that You have it all under control. You know where the current will take us...

OK, now it's fixed.

I went back and removed the photos from this blog that I may have hotlinked without knowing it. Sorry if I offended anyone (betta fish person), I'm new to this!! So, if my old posts don't make sense without pictures, I apologize. I didn't rewrite or do any editing: I just removed pictures!

I promise to be a good girl from now on and only post my own pics or those that come from a free site. :-)

It's here! It's finally here!!

I wish I could send you what I feel right now. I've been waiting for it. And finally, it's here! That "nip" in the air that tells me fall is here!!

After several months of record-breaking heat in the 90's almost every day, I am SO ready for fall. Even if it wasn't my favorite season, I'd be ready for it!

I'd love to post a beautiful fall photo here, but after looking up the word "hotlink," I think I'd better not. I can't even remember where I saw it, but thought I should look into it. So I did. I should probably remove some of the shots from my bloggy past, because it sounds like maybe they were illegal. Can't have that! I wanted to add some nice graphics and, since I'm not a photographer, Google found some for me. Sounds like that's a no-no.

So, until my son makes a portfolio (yeah, right!), this blog may look pretty "ugh."

So, where do you guys get some of your "generic" shots?

What a beautiful sound to wake up to...

Rain. So much you can hear it falling. Not a misting that is dry five muntes after it falls. But an actual soaking, full-blown rain shower. Ahh, how sweet.

Epecially when you're in a drought deficit of over 10 inches in your area, and your family's water comes from a well. :-)

Thank you, Jesus, for Living Water. For quenching our thirst when we're parched. For settling the dust of our souls when it's been dry too long. For reviving us, like the wilting crops after a drink. And mostly, Father, thank you for washing away the crimson stains of sin and leaving us clean, pure and revived.

Praise you, Lord!

If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. John 7:37-38

One Word meme

Saw this one-word meme and had to play along!!!

1. Where is your cell phone? purse

2. Your husband? in is office stressing

3. Your hair? in my face

4. Your mother? Canton

5. Your father? Canton

7. Your dream last night? nope

8. Your favorite drink? coffee with creamer

9. Your dream car? I don't care about cars

10. The room you're in? family

11. Your ex? Canton I suppose

12. Your fears? failure

13. What do you want to be in 10 years? good question

14. Who did you hang out with last night? newsletter team at church

15. What you're not? dishonest

16. Muffins? fake blueberry or chocolate chip

17. One of your wish list items? an office!

18. Where you grew up? Canton, North Carolina

19. The last thing you did? drive home from work

20. What are you wearing? Scrubs

21. Your TV? Off

22. Your pet? lying down in the garage

23. Your computer? s...l...o...w....

24. Your life? good

25. Your mood? fair

26. Missing? happy husband

27. What are you thinking about right now? writing

28. Your car? minivan

29. Your work? medical technologist

30. Your summer? hot

31. Your relationship status? forever

32. Tomorrow? less busy

33. When is the last time you laughed? REAL GOOD laugh: Aug. 10 at Women of Faith Atlanta

34. Last time you cried? not sure

35. School? OVER!

36. Who's tagged for this? anyone!

Back from Kentucky

The Dixie Belle
The view from our window at sunset
The "doorknob" and lock to our room
Our simple room (notice the rabbit ears on the TV)
The dry stacked limestone fences that I love
Part of the village
The landing for the riverboat ride (original Shaker barn, and note the bridge on the left side)
My husband and me on the Dixie Belle, our riverboat
The riverbank, made of limestone
The Palisades
My husband in our simple room
The gravel path that I loved
The building where we stayed on the second floor
The barn and garden across from our building
Beautiful red shed with an old wagon on a gorgeous little lane.

We made it back today. All went well with our trip to Kentucky, or as I call it, "a little bit of heaven on earth." I was hoping for a spiritual renewal. I need those often. I just knew that with the beautiful scenery surrounding me, that I would be refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready to face anything. Being alone in nature is frequently where I really "find" God.

I know God is everywhere, but somehow the kind of presence I was expecting just wasn't there. After a very short time, usually by the time we arrive, my mind is already relaxed. Not this time. I don't think my mind ever truly got quiet the entire trip.

Don't get me wrong. We had a great time. We got to spend time together, just us. No kids. We walked around Bardstown, our favorite destination. We went to open houses. We saw a movie. A new one. In a theater. That wasn't rated "G." I knitted just a bit. We had no schedule, except for breakfast reservations in Shaker Village, where we stayed. It was wonderful.

I marveled at the beauty around me, as Kentucky countryside stretched around us as far as I could see. I longed for a simpler life as I looked at the stark simplicity of our room. I envisioned myself enjoying the quiet ease of daily walks down a tree-lined gravel path. I watched in awe as the Palisades rose around me on a river boat ride, sometimes as exposed limestone faces lining the riverbanks, others hidden in summer foliage. I closed my eyes and felt the breeze on my face, and the warmth of the sun on my skin. I listened to the sheep bleat, and laughed as they seemed to watch us walking along the fence. I smelled the chicken coop, and walked fearlessly beside the turkeys. I saw the hole the bull knocked in the stacked stone wall. I felt sadness every time we crossed a dry creek bed, for the drought has hit them harder than it has even us.

I witnessed the hand of God all around me, but my mind never found rest. Maybe it was the unease I felt at the setting. Though breathtakingly beautiful, I could never forget the almost cult-ness of those who walked the gravel paths before me. I couldn't forget that although they called themselves Christians, they didn't believe in the Trinity. That they were a celibate community who separated even husbands from wives, parents from children. Who seemingly picked passages from the Bible that fit what they believed, and apparently disregarded the rest.

Maybe that was it. I know that God isn't found simply in a place. He doesn't reside solely in the tabernacle anymore. I was just hoping to encounter Him more than I did.

Explanations...

OK. Those photos from yestarday were not really related, but I wanted to show them all anyway.

The cucumber? My first one EVER. I have never had a garden, and still don't. I live in a shady little spot and just can't grow anything. So this year, I decided to try a container garden. I bought a packet of seeds, and planted all 24 of them in peat pellets. After an Easter freeze and a monster hailstorm, one little vine is all that remained. And that picture is the one cucumber that actually grew. All the many, many others that tried to grow just wouldn't hang on. We ate it last night, and it actually dripped it was so luscious!

The pepper? Same story as above, but I have several red peppers growing on my deck. They just have to ripen...

The blurry landscape photos? I am on my way there tonight! We are going to the Shaker Village in Kentucky for a much needed long weekend with my gorgeous and wonderful husband! I am so excited!! We love it there. We can go up there to that rolling bluegrass and just....breathe. There's no other way to describe it really. We don't even have to speak. It's awesome! So....

I hope when I return I'll have some lovely photos that are NOT blurry!

Have a blessed weekend everyone!

Wordless Wednesday

Several things for you to ponder, that will all be explained later...