A Passage to reflect on - Isaiah 43

But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are Mine! 2"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you. 3"For I am the LORD your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your place. 4"Since you are precious in My sight,
Since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life. 5"Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, And gather you from the west. 6"I will say to the north, 'Give them up!'
And to the south, 'Do not hold them back ' Bring My sons from afar And My daughters from the ends of the earth, 7Everyone who is called by My name,
And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made."
8Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes,
And the deaf, even though they have ears. 9All the nations have gathered together
So that the peoples may be assembled Who among them can declare this
And proclaim to us the former things? Let them present their witnesses that they may be justified, Or let them hear and say, "It is true." 10"You are My witnesses," declares the LORD, "And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and believe Me
And understand that I am He Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me. 11"I, even I, am the LORD, And there is no savior besides Me. 12"It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed, And there was no strange god among you; So you are My witnesses," declares the LORD, "And I am God. 13"Even from eternity I am He, And there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?"

16Thus says the LORD, Who makes a way through the sea And a path through the mighty waters, 17Who brings forth the chariot and the horse, The army and the mighty man (They will lie down together and not rise again; They have been quenched and extinguished like a wick): 18"Do not call to mind the former things, Or ponder things of the past. 19"Behold, I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert. 20"The beasts of the field will glorify Me, The jackals and the ostriches, Because I have given waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My chosen people. 21"The people whom I formed for Myself Will declare My praise.

25"I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins. 26"Put Me in remembrance, let us argue our case together; State your cause, that you may be proved right.


I really love this passage. God has said this to you. Read it, meditate on it, absorb it. How deep the Father's love for us.

Sign Saga

I finally put my McCain sign out in the front yard on Tuesday. This is the first time I have ever placed a sign in my yard, so I think it is a big deal. Wednesday morning while taking the girls to school, I notice that the sign is now in the side yard. I think, ah someone was messing around with my sign. After I return from taking the girls to school, I go over a pick it up. Lo and behold, the sign had been set on fire. SET ON FIRE!!!!!!!!!! Now this freaks me out. Someone took it upon themselves to light a fire in my front yard. I called the police and they wrote up a report. This whole situation then makes me a little irritated. I'll show the people who burned my sign, I'll just go get another one or two. When I show up at the McCain office, there is a sign that says you should remove your lawn signs at night. I'm thinking, "Are you kidding me? What is this world coming to?" I am happy to report, that the new sign has lasted through one night.

My little saga just proves to me the need that people have in their lives. They need Jesus. No matter who wins the election in November, God is still in control and people need Him. No matter who burns my sign, God is in control and people need Him. We need to get this right. No matter what is going on financially in our country, God is still on the throne and He still is in control. When life gets crazy, God is in control and people need Him. He is still on His throne whether we acknowledge it or not. Let's keep God in His rightful place. He is in control.

Vacation

We were down in the Smokey Mountains for 8 days a few weeks ago. Great vacation. We did a lot of hiking, went to a water park, saw a lot of beautiful sites and spent some good family time together. Even though we were very active during the vacation, there was something to be said about the slower pace of life that we enjoyed during that time. We even went and picked almost 7 pounds of blackberries, most of which I have frozen in my freezer. It was a great reminder to me that sometimes I am just in too big of a hurry to just soak in the moment. I really want to try to soak up every moment. Again the verse that comes to mind is, "Be still and know that I am God."

I was lamenting the fact the girls were going back to school for a couple different reasons. This summer was really a very slow summer schedule for us. Probably not as fun for the girls, but I really enjoyed the non-planned and restful summer. I will admit though, that I do look forward to the fall because of the discipline I tend to throw out the window during the summer months.

Every day I have a reminder that life is short. I know we all know this, but somehow we seem to forget it as we get caught up in our business. The scar on my body reminds me life is not certain and it can change in an instant. I am renewing my commitment to acknowledge and seek after God every day. I know there have been days that God has been an after-thought. Oh yeah, I need to talk to God today! But I want Him to continue to be ever in the foremost part of my heart and brain. Maybe you need to reorder your priorities. One of the things that I love about God is that He is the God of second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and infinite chances. His mercies are new every morning.

Queasy feelings in the hospital

During my surgery, they had to place a drainage tube in my stomach to take out the additional fluids that my body was producing after surgery. Now anyone who knows me, knows I do not have a strong stomach for that type of thing. (I passed out watching a movie about giving blood when I was a senior in High School.) So everyday I would ask the surgeon when she would come in and check up on me, "When can we take this thing that is hanging out of stomach out?" To which she would reply, "After you have tolerated solid food and had a bowel movement." Okay, something to work toward. I am a goal oriented person. I can do this. So we started down that long road. I'm thinking, "how long should this take? I should be able to breeze through this process one to two days tops. Besides, I have been the model patient, doing what they tell me to do." Yeah. Well, it takes a llllllllllloooooooooooooooottttttttttt longer that I think it should and my patience with this thing hanging out by stomach is really starting to bother me. Then it occurs to me. Heah, I wonder how they get this thing out. I promptly ask the surgeon the next morning to which she replies, "Oh, we distract you." This gets me to thinking, I wonder how they distact me. I'm thinking I would notice my mid-drift laying bare and someone towering over my body to pull a tube out. Maybe they say, look at the little birdie with their hand up in the air mimicking a bird. Maybe they tackle you in the middle of the hallway and yank it out as you stroll by. Maybe they hit you somewhere else so as to not notice the pain coming from the abdomen. Well when all was said and done. The pain was short lived and I didn't faint. This is a plus for me. Of course Andy had promptly left the room when this little procedure was going on. I am just thankful and happy to not have to deal with the tube anymore.

Home from the hospital

I am home. Yeah!!! I had wonderful care at Henry Ford Macomb, but I am so happy to be back at my own house. I was able to get a shower, wash my hair and shave my legs. Life doesn't get much better than that at the moment. I had a few humorous experiences during my week long stay at the hospital that I will blog about a little later. Just thankful to be home and all is well.

Going quiet for a while

For the thousands of people who sit at the edge of their seats waiting with baited breath until I post again, you will need to wait at least a week or maybe even longer. I am going in for surgery and will be in the hospital for a while.

This is all new for me. I am not usually sick. It will be a good time to take it easy and be blessed by those around me. The elders of the church had a prayer time with Andy and me last night. What a great experience. I love the church here at Macomb. These are my friends and my heart is knit together with theirs. It is a humbling experience to be lifted before the Father. Our God is good!

Love ya.

I am a Ballet Dancer

Yes, believe it or not. I take ballet lessons. Here's the funny part. Until last year, I had never taken a ballet class in my entire life, all 43 years. Last fall, my daughter's dance studio had a poster up for an Adult Intermediate Ballet Class that meets during the day. I have always dreamed of taking dance lessons, but certainly I am way past my prime. Did I tell you it also said you should have experience. So I ask at the desk if watching my children dance for the past 9 years counts as experience. The girl was sweet and said,"sure go for it." Well I contacted the teacher and she said I could come and try out one class and see what I thought. So I borrowed my daughters dance slippers and off I went to my first ballet class.

Can I tell you what I did that first lesson would not be what I would call ballet. The hippos from Fantasia definitely were much more graceful than I was, but I was hooked. I love ballet. So I jumped in head first, I bought my own tights, ballet slippers and even picked up a leotard at a mom to mom sale, so I could look authentic.

When I have told friends I decided to take a ballet class, their reactions are humorous. Quite a few are like, "way to go! I have always wanted to take a class." Others ask if I am going to participate in the recital, because they would pay money to see me in a tutu. My oldest daughters best friend's reaction is probably my favorite. She has told her mom that she (the mom) better not do what Aunt Denise is doing to Danielle. The horror of it all, that her mom would even think about doning a leotard and be seen out in public.

I have so enjoyed this past year taking the class. The teacher has been fantastic and encouraging. She always finds at least one thing that I have done during the 1 1/2 hour class. That was quite a feat, because for quite a while, I was only doing one thing correctly. The other students are all experienced, most have been dancing for years. Yet, they encourage me and explain things when I don't quite get it. I love it.

The other reason I love it, is that they have accepted me with all my inadaquacies. My clumsy moves and my lack of knowledge and grace. But they encourage me to press on and continue the quest of becoming a ballerina. Isn't it that way with God. He accepts you right where you are. With all your shortcomings, but He doesn't let you stay there. He builds strength and endurance through your lifetime of challenges.

So next time you see a ballerina, think of me, but more important. Dwell on how God has accepted you and moved you beyond what you thought you were capable of handling.

Waiting

This is not one of our finer quailities as Americans. We barely wait for the stop lights to change to green. We inch forward, until finally the light turns green. We all hate to wait in lines. We have express lanes, fast food and even fast track passes at Disney. We do not like to wait. We want to the information now and even yesterday.

Sometimes it comes down to a pride thing. We think so highly of ourselves that we think we are more important than everyone else so we zip though traffic light or pass on the left at the last minute to get into the line of cars. Other times we are waiting for important information, but the waiting is painful. We get anxious about the future possibilites.

God tells us we need to wait on Him. That thought at times seems difficult. It's a surrender that reminds us of who is control. When we wait on Him, we are ultimately reaffirming God's sovreign control.

So how do you wait? Are you trying to hurry up the process or hurry God? I will admit, I don't always get this one right. God's still working on me.

Confessions of a Garage Sale Junkie

O.K. I am one of those fanatical garage sale people. I schedule my Thursday's around what Subdivision in the area is having their sale. But alas, today I sit manning my own garage sale while others are basking in Subdivision Garage sale heaven.

I have on many occasions called friends when I have found something I think that they can't live without and had to leave messages such as, "Where are you, don't you know it's Thursday and I am out Garage saleing. I need to know if you want this item that I know you can't live without because it's so cheap. CALL Soon before I move on to the next. " I have also been known to speed back to one I have already checked off my list to get that something that I or someone else just can't live without.

I find it intriguing and somewhat amusing to see all the different types of things sold at sales. Some are brand new, still in the box; others are gently worn and still others really should get acquainted with the garbage pail. For me the fun is in the searching for that one thing that trumps all previous finds. I now have a list of items that friends are searching for at garage sales. I also have friends cell numbers in my contact list, just in case I find that item they can't live without.

So think of me today, as your out looking at all the wonderful finds out there in Garage Sale land!

Refurbished Mother's Day

One of the things I have always loved is old things, generally antiques. I found this awful looking vanity that needed some tender loving care. For Mother's day, Andy and the girls are refinishing the vanity. It is not quite done, but close. I love when something can be reused and refurbished to live along. It is so like how God works. The world used and abuses us, casts us aside for newer better things and sells us cheaply. God bought us with a price, and then not only refurbishes us; but renews us and rebuilds us. God gives us a new purpose.

I can't wait to see how it turns out. I also can't wait to see how God will renew and refurbish those around me for His purpose.

Celebrating 20 year in Ministry

A week ago, the church Andy and I minister at surprised us with a celebration of our 20th anniversary at Macomb Christian Church. The surprise part didn't quite work, due to some funny circumstances, but what a wonderful evening. It's hard to believe we have been here at the same church for 20 years now. We have met alot of wonderful, God-fearing people along the way. Some who are with Jesus now and others who have moved on to minister at other places. This is our family. Our hearts are forever knit with the body of believers that call Macomb Christian Church their home. The evening was such a testiment to our two girls about the power of changed lives through faithfully being obedient to God's calling and purpose.

There have been some great times and some not so wonderful times. God has been faithful and continues to be faithful. I am so every greatful and thankful for the blessed members of our family at Macomb Christian Church.

Blogging plunge

Well, here goes. I have now entered the world of blogging. Seems a bit strange to me, but I am willing to give it a try. Not sure how frequently I will post, but thinking it will be about once a week. I hope and pray in the process, someone finds my thoughts helpful. God Bless.