Sunday, 09 April 2006

Wow, another full weekend! I cropped most of the day Saturday. It started at 10AM. I cropped until 4:30PM then went home to let dogs out before I went to DriveSafe. After DriveSafe I went back to the scrapbook store. I wasn’t going to originally as the crop was supposed to be over at 10PM but Cathy told me the ladies there wanted to stay later so come on back. They only stayed an hour longer. They all went home by 11:30PM. I stayed and helped Cat clean up. I didn’t do all that much I was so busy trying to pack up my stuff. After I got home Vanessa was still up (surprise). She was on the computer on her webpage through “MySpace” http://www.myspace.com/na_nessa . I had been trying to setup a webpage on MySpace but was getting very frustrated. Several of the kids from church are on this blog site. I’m one of those who do better by you showing me how to do something instead of reading instructions. Vanessa told me she would help me the next time we could make connections. So I took advantage of her being available and I made myself available! Come to find out I wasn’t even on “MySpace”. What I thought was “MySpace” was a blog site by MSN called MY MSN Space. No wonder I couldn’t find anyone including my daughter!! Anyway she has me started. I don’t know if I want to continue it or not. I have enough trouble keeping up with Xanga much less learning another websites ways of doing things! Don’t misunderstand, I’m NOT LEAVING XANGA. Just wanted a way to keep up with some of our other kids. I will probably keep both sites similar so don’t feel obligate to visit both. As far as I’m concerned, Xanga will be my main site for now. If you’re interested MYSpace web address is http://www.myspace.com/miss_spunky91 . Look familiar!

Excerpt from the Pilgrimage of the Heart by Catherine Martin. Week 5 Day 4

The substance of your devotion – But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. Psalm 5:11

What qualities are essential to the pilgrim if he or she would enjoy intimacy with God? He or she needs a heart fixed on God and knowing Him. Have you resolved in your heart to know God? (YES!!!!)

The intimacy of your relationship with God is what determines this quality of devotion. Your intimacy with God is a gift of His grace and rests wholly on Him as the Giver of Himself. Yet He does promise that those who seek Him will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13) The substance of David’s devotion is joy and love for God. These two qualities are the foundation of a rich inner life with God. They grow from within as you spend time with Him. They are not of this world and cannot be manufactured on demand. They are supernatural and come from the presence of God in your life. The earliest followers of Jesus looked into His eyes and sensed His compassion, forgiveness, and love, their lives were forever changed. Out of their dynamic relationships with Jesus, they developed a passionate and ardent love for Him.

Think about the last six months of your life. Describe your devotional life with God. What do you desire in your relationship with the Lord?

Excerpt from my personal journal - My devotional life the past six months (until recently) have been non-existent. Or at least what I perceived as “my time with the Lord”. I would be embarrassed if people knew that – I talked to God and very sporadically read my Bible but I did not devote time to Him. I have been crying out for quite sometime now for God to increase my love for Him, my passion, my longing, my yearning for Him and He has seemed eerily silent. I’ve asked Him to change my heart. Make me hungry and thirsty for Him. To burden my heart for the lost, to give me a passion to intercede – a hunger for His word – renew my desire to worship and take me deeper in worship – all has seemingly fallen on deaf ears – I say seemingly because that’s just how I’ve “felt”. STUCK!! BUT, I know God does hear and answer – I know His word is true – He can not lie, that His promises are yes and amen in Christ Jesus – so the problem isn’t with Him – it’s with me! BUT God is doing something as I ran across a book at Wal-Mart that almost leaped off the shelf to me called “Six Secrets to a Powerful Quiet Time – Discovering Radical Intimacy with God” that was in January and it has encourage me to “try again” where my spending time with God is concerned. I’ve had my ups and downs with this too but I have been more consistent in my “time with Him” since I began using these devotional books.

To answer the question “What do I desire in my relationship with God?” I desire to know Him as Abraham, David, Elijah, Isaiah, John and Paul knew Him. I want to be award of His presence all the time. I want to talk to Him as a friend and Him talk back to me – I want my time with Him to be something I look forward too and can’t live without. I want to know His heart that I might do His will – accomplish His purposes in me. That people when they look at me or remember me will associate me as a “lover of God.” God I want to know You – I must know You!

Have a good one

Friday, 07 April 2006

It’s finally Friday!!! Again the winds were atrocious today gusting up to 50MPH! and dust was flying in the air. It was almost hard to breathe! It’s 10PM and the wind is still blustery! Definitely a “bad hair day”! LOL

I recently went online and finally changed my address on my Driver’s License. I received it today and discovered the zip code was incorrect. Since I did it online I don’t know if I made the mistake or they did. Anyway the instructions that came with my new license said to contact the local office which I did. They said they could correct it there. I was getting ready to go down there when mother called to see if I was home so she could bring my tools back (the pruning shears, hack saw and gloves). So I waited for her before I left. She had just come from the doctor’s office having her first visit with her new family physician. She said she likes him. She grabbed some lunch and ate it while she was here. She went to a drama tonight put on by Community Christian School. The drama was “The Diary of Anne Frank”. The junior high kids were the performers in this production and was held at our church. I’m curious to hear how it went. It sold out pretty fast.

Tomorrow I will be cropping at the scrapbook store. I should have already been getting my stuff together and here I am making my post instead! I really need to have a plan if I want to get anything done tomorrow!!

In my quiet time (my time I spend with God) as I was reading my devotional book “Pilgrimage of the Heart” by Catherine Martin I got an idea that I want to try. It is very hard to have “quiet” in my house. Even when everyone is asleep there are still computers running, air conditioner/heater running, refrigerator running. Then there’s the pets who once they know I’m up want attention. They either want in or want out. If their out, they want in and if their in they want out!! I got the idea to get up a little earlier to get ready for work and go to the church to have my quiet time until it is time to be at work. It is very quiet there and if I want to talk out loud to God or sing to Him I don’t have to worry about disturbing anyone! It seems like a splendid idea but it will be a little bit of a challenge for me but I think it is doable. The following excerpt from that book is what sparked this idea:

Find a quiet place and talk with your Lord. Tell Him everything on your heart. Lay your requests before Him. Ask Him the questions that no one can seem to answer. Don’t be afraid to dream big dreams and ask the Lord for the impossible. Perhaps that dream deep in your heart was placed there by the Lord. If it’s His dream, He will make it live. Maybe He will change your heart. Lay before Him the sin that keeps nagging at your heart. Remember God’s word says “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9)

As you talk with the Lord, keep your Bible open. Sometimes He will bring a verse to mind. Turn to that verse, and think long and hard about what it says. Ask the Lord to speak to you from His Word. Turn to God’s promises as you talk with Him, and read them out loud. Keep your journal open to write any insights, ideas, or prayers as you sit with the Lord. Thank God that He hears when you speak and actually delights in your company. He loves to be with you.

I did just that. I began to ask God for the impossible. I want 100 acres!! Not 20 but 100! And I didn’t stop there! I want a 3 bd, 2ba house with a porch and a barn. I want a creek through the property. I want several trees for shade and a clearing for baling hay. I want a stock tank. I want some flat ground and some hills and most importantly I don’t want any grass burrs or briars!!!! And I don’t want any trashy trailer house neighbors! (I don’t mind neighbors just don’t want junkie ones!) Now that is asking the impossible! What have I got to lose?! “You have not because you ask not or you ask amiss” (James 4:2)

After I asked God for the above, a couple of scriptures came to mind. The first Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. When I looked it up here’s the next verse after it. “Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him and He shall bring it to pass. Is that cool or what?!! The next scripture that came to my mind was Matt 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

Land or no land, horses or no horses, I’m going to keep following after God with all that is within me. If He chooses to give me my dream of a place in the country, that’s GREAT!!! I will be so thankful!! And if He says “no” I trust He knows best and has something better for me!

“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” Matt 6:6

Goodnight!

Thursday, 06 April 2006

I haven’t felt good the last couple of days. Yesterday when I was helping Cathy at the store I had a nagging headache, my eyes hurt and it felt like I had a lump in the back of my throat. She gave me a couple of Advil and I started feeling much better. I did pretty good until it wore off and the pain came back. It was the same today. I talked to my friend Kelly and she said that cedar pollen was extremely high. I know cedar pollen kicks my butt!! I came home from work and took 2 advil and lay down until it kicked in. Even though the pain went away I just didn’t “feel” right! My ears are clogging up too! I don’t usually have trouble with that. The weird thing is I usually have a runny nose, sneezing and itchy eyes but I don’t seem to have those symptoms! To top things off today we had a front come through (dry of course – meaning “no rain”) bringing extremely gusty winds and kicking up the dirt so much you could see it in the air!! UGH! We NEED MORE RAIN!!

Mom called today. I can get used to this! I imagine I’ll be hearing from her everyday now! We used to talk everyday before her and my dad moved to Hawaii in 1989. She wanted to borrow my pruning shears, leather gloves and hack saw! There was a little tree growing between her A/C unit and the duplex she wanted to take down before it caused problems! I had that stuff in my truck so she came by the office.

After I laid down and started feeling better I got up and had a salad for lunch. I had intended to ride today but I really didn’t feel good. But I hadn’t been up to check on the horses in several days so decided to at least go up and make sure everyone is still standing. I stopped by the feed store I frequent and when I walked in it was empty. I was shocked. I saw people working on the building but I just figured they were remodeling. I see someone in the part that used to be the office and said “where are they?” She said “they are around there” pointing outside. She thought I meant someone else, I was talking about the former owner. I go around the side of the building and I see a man and ask “where’s the feed store?” He said “We’ll be open on Monday under blah, blah blah. (He didn’t really say that but the name it would be I just don’t remember because I was still in shock and felt pretty stupid!! Well, there is a feed store just two blocks to the east of the one I “used to use” and got feed there. I ran into my farrier (for those who don’t know this term, it is the person who shoes horses). I told him what I’d done. He said “well, I came down here the other day and there wasn’t anyone here. The doors were locked and I said ‘what the heck’, it’s the middle of the afternoon!” I felt a little better but not much. I bought my feed but I didn’t get any alfalfa cubes as I didn’t want to spend all my cash and I didn’t bring the check book (they didn’t take debit cards!).

I make my way north to the horses. I get there and the wind is really blowing like crazy. I get everyone’s feed ready. They are all down in the pasture a ways. I walk down about half way and begin to holler. Three out of four raise their heads and look at me holding a bucket of feed. I turn around and walk back to the pens. When I look back they haven’t moved but went back to grazing! I guess they are starting to get enough grass they weren’t interested in what I had! So I left them alone. Put the feed up till I’m there next time and came toward town. I was still feeling decent so stopped by the scrapbook store (this is getting to be a daily habit!). I emailed Cathy last night about the Crop on Saturday. It’s the 12 hour crop (10AM-10PM). I didn’t originally sign up because I have to work at DriveSafe Saturday night. I didn’t want to pay $20 if I couldn’t be there the whole time and not eat either! I got to thinking about it and Doyle will be a work that day so thought…I could scrapbook for 6 hours so I ask Cathy if she had room could I come for part of the day and only pay $10. She said that was fine. So that’s why I went by the store today to pay her but she wouldn’t let me because I wouldn’t let her pay me yesterday when I worked! I didn’t mind that change out!! So, unless I’m on my death bed I’m going to crop Saturday at least until about 4PM.

I got to the store around 4:30 and stayed until Cathy closed. Came home and fixed supper. Then I spent almost 2 hours ironing (my most favorite thing to do NOT!!)

That’s my day. I’m starting to feel yucky again so am going to close and try to get to bed.

Have a good one!

Wednesday, 05 April 2006

UPDATE: Mom was able to keep her email address so keep those emails coming!!! I don't have the details but she's happy!

I had a pretty good day. It was quiet in the office as Pastor is gone to a Pastors retreat. He’ll be back on Friday. I found it very interesting how the phone rarely rings when he’s gone. And it’s not that he gets a lot of calls. It’s just much quieter when he’s not there.

I was walking out of the office when Vanessa called me on my cell to see if I might want to go with her and Mom to lunch. (We can do that now that she lives here!). Vanessa didn’t have to work today. She called her new home phone and got no answer so she called me back and asked for her cell number. Found out she was getting her hair cut, a manicure and brow wax! Guess she’s getting all “gussied up” for a potential job interview! We met at Pulido’s (my favorite local Mexican food Restaurant).

Came home and let the dogs out. I was once again opened the door to disaster. Vanessa had left Kaidence out and guess what. Yep, she made a mess deluxe! This time she got in my scrapbook stuff! I had my paper carrier in the floor and she got into it! Thankfully she didn’t tear up very much paper but I had just bought a $10 paper pack of card stock that was white and black. She chewed up the corner of the pack!!! I think I can salvage most of it! She also ripped up my Ziploc bag that held my Creative Memories ovals and circles (these are cutting tools for pictures or paper). It doesn’t appear that she tore up anything of real significant value (thank you Lord). I also had a bag I brought home yesterday from grocery shopping that had pasta in it, spaghetti, egg noodles, and something else. Well she scattered that EVERYWHERE! I called Vanessa she said she would come home to clean it up and would replace what was destroyed. Let me tell you, God must have really worked something in me for me to not be upset or raging with anger. Surprisingly I wasn’t mad at all! I guess I might have felt differently if she had tore up something like before that might not be able to be replaced.

I gathered up my scrapbooking stuff. I told Cathy yesterday that I would come by today to let her train me some more. I decided it if wasn’t busy I would scrapbook. It wasn’t a very good day training as it was a slow customer day. But it was a good day to just help her move some product to the sale wall and put out some new product. I got there about 2PM and stayed until 6:30PM. I enjoyed it. Gosh I have a lot to learn about the product! But I’m sure it will come the more I work around it. Cathy really wants to use me during her “Crop-a-thon” she is hosting the weekend of National Scrapbook Day in May. She is going to have the store open and the crop room available from 6PM Friday until 6PM Sunday! She is going to charge $80 which will secure your space and pay for food during that time. If people want to sleep at the store they can or stay up all night. She knows she will have several locals so she is also offering the option to come and go. Leaving your stuff there. She is counting on this to be a very big event. Business has been doing extremely well for her. I am very glad. My friend Kelly and I have been praying that she would prosper and she is!! As I was getting ready to leave today she tried to pay me but I wouldn’t let her. Mainly because she didn’t call me in and I wanted to bless her. She had a very slow day today. She was a bit miffed at me at first but I told her there would be plenty of time for that. Knowing her she’ll find a way to “pay” me even if it isn’t with “cash”. I’m not worried about it. I really just wanted to learn how to do some things and help her. I just hope I was really helpful!

Got to go to bed so I can get up in the morning for prayer at church!

Have a great one!

April 5, 2006

Helped Mom with getting things organized. Doyle went with me and probably was more help than me. He got her washer hooked up and hung her phone on the wall. There were several things we needed from Wal-mart so Mom made a list. She was still waiting on the phone company and electric company to show up. Doyle asked her “Have you checked to see if your phone is working?” She said “no”. So Doyle dialed her new number with his cell phone and it worked! She said “Oh, my gosh, I’ve been waiting on the phone guy all day. Now how am I going to get a phone book?” We told her to put the phone book on the list and we'd pick her up one. City Hall keeps a county phone directory. It isn’t SBC but it will work. Doyle and I then left for town. We stopped by the house so Doyle could get some things he had to work on stuff at her duplex. We get our shopping done and head back to the duplex. Doyle gets the dryer hooked up (the vent hose didn’t make the move). We tried to get Mom a small TV stand but were unsuccessful. She wants one that fits in the corner. She was using a dresser to sit her TV on before in her living room in Houston. Vanessa told her she needed to get a real TV stand or entertainment center. Since we didn’t find what she wanted she is going to wait until she has time to look herself. So while Doyle is getting the TV put on the dresser and hooking up her dishnetwork box, I’m unpacking her computer to get it set up. There is a dish on the duplex but the service wasn’t working. She will need to contact them to reactivate her account. We also discovered that she doesn’t have DSL service here. That’s what she used for internet in Houston. She got her service and phone together which she liked. Well, not here! DSL is available IN Mineral Wells but her duplex is five miles outside the city limits and it’s not available! She isn’t happy! When we left she was in the process of trying to at least get dial up service through SBC. They kept telling her she would have to be a new email address. She didn’t understand why. So those of my family who read this don’t send anymore emails to her email address because it is changing. I’m sure she will notify you as soon as she has all that squared away. We couldn’t stay any longer as we had leadership meeting tonight at Pastor’s house.

The pics from my ride last week.

Me and Blue taking a "grass break" (Like he doesn't have any in the pasture!)

Vanessa talking on her cell phone as we ride down the road.

My faces itches please scratch me!

Some friends we met along the way.

Me and Blue at the only Church in Oran.

Vanessa in front of the old post office.

 

Goodnight everyone!

Tuesday, 04 April 2006

I don’t know what my deal is but yesterday I kept thinking it was Tuesday and today I kept thinking it was Monday!!! I’m so confused!  I’ll try to get my head out of the fog. I’m kind of bummed. We had absolutely “perfect” weather for riding yesterday and today. Yesterday I spent helping Mom and today I felt like crap! (It’s that monthly thing!) I plan to ride probably Thursday but of course it’s supposed to be warmer and more humid. I don’t care….I’m riding anyway!!! When I was a teenager I would ride in all kinds of weather except in rain (didn’t want to be a lightning rod!). Now that I’m older I’m more particular about the weather. Geez, this getting older stuff is making a weenie out of me AGHHH!!! Of course there’s also this little issue called “responsibility” that I didn’t have as a teen. Didn’t have to worry about having a job, buying groceries, doing laundry, cooking meals (well did some of that). Anyway you know what I mean. It’s just not the same now. I have to think about others besides me! It also doesn’t help that they (the horses) are 14 miles away. That has had a much bigger impact than I thought it would. For the last 10 years the horses have been within 5-7 miles from where I lived. That definitely spoiled me. I can hardly wait until I can see them looking out my kitchen window and if I get an urge to ride I can just go out and “get ‘er done”!! That day can not come soon enough for me!!

Mom called me about 3pm today. She is so funny. I think she’s going to be very good for me…making me laugh all the time! (A merry heart does good like medicine Proverbs 17:22). She said “Where you at?” (she called me on my cell) I said home. She said “I thought you’d be riding today” (twinge of guilt). I said “I was going to but didn’t feel up to it.” She said “Well, if you’re going to be home then I want to come by and check my email.” She doesn’t have internet service yet.

After checking email she wanted to go to Wal-mart. She had made another list of things she wanted to pick up. She asked me if I felt up to going. I said “Sure”. I needed to buy groceries anyway. Vanessa picked up a few things for me but I’m not quite ready to turn her loose to buy all my groceries just yet. Boy wouldn’t that be nice to let her do that while she’s at work and then I don’t have too! That is very appealing!

Would ya’ll continue to be praying for the family of the girl who WAS missing. Even though she has been found and she is okay, she hasn’t come home so there are some things that need to be work out in relationship with her parents. I know God has a plan in the midst of all this but that doesn’t make it any less painful for the parents or for their daughter, Charis.

I always let Blue have a good rub after we are done riding. He loves for me to rub his head and scratch the places that are itchy from sweat. When he really gets into it he just starts rubbing on me! I generally just brace myself and let him go at it. He wasn't all that "itchy" today so Vanessa couldn't get a pic of him in action.

 

Here's a profile of Valentine. He's our oldest horse (21)

This is Valentine's rump. Do you notice the shape of one of the spots? In the middle of the picture it sort of resembles a "heart shape". We named him Valentine because we purchased him just a few days before Valentines. It was later we noticed the heart shaped spot!

That's all for tonight! Have a good one!

Sunday April 2, 2006

 Sunday, 02 April 2006

The GIRL who was missing has been FOUND today safe and sound!!! Thanks to all of you who prayed. I have learned more since I initially posted. Evidently the mother and daughter argued. My guess is this was her way of “making a point” but not sure. I’m just glad she is okay and she was not any real danger!

So did everyone remember to “spring forward”!! The older I get the hard this springing forward business gets! I just wish they would live it one way or the other! Needless to say I didn’t get to bed early in fact I probably went to bed later because I wasn’t paying attention to the time. So I already was in the deficit because of that then take away another hour! UGH!! I was tired this morning!

Mom got here around 2pm Saturday with her friends who drove the U-Haul. We visited for a few minutes. I asked mother if she had the key to the duplex. She said “no she would have to call the guy who by the way she didn’t remember his name or have his phone number!!! I’m thinking “how can you not know his name…I know his first name is Andrae (sp?)” And how can you not have his phone number you’ve called and talked to him. Well, she didn’t know how to retrieve a called number from her cell phone. We looked but her phone only holds the last 10 numbers called! She had the number “somewhere” but she didn’t know where in the stuff that was packed where it was. Well, I did know (somewhat) the lady who showed us the duplex. I knew she lived in the same area so we go up there to see if we can find her. I go to where I remember her living when she was Vanessa’s cheerleading sponsor. I knock on the door and a lady comes but it isn’t her. I ask and she says yeah she used to live right next door but she moved to the next street. Well, the next street was the same street my mother was going to live. So we go over there and I knock on the door of the first duplex that I can find someone home. A young woman comes to the door and says “yeah she lives next door to me but her car isn’t here so I’m guessing she’s gone.” Well, then I get smart and tell the lady my mother is moving into the duplex next to here and we are needing to get a hold of the land lord did she have the number and would she give it to me. The answer was yes to both questions (thank you Lord!!). I get the number and give it to mother to call.

Come to find out the duplex isn’t quite ready for mother to move into. (oh great!) The landlord was going to have new carpet laid this morning. So no unpacking the U-Haul yesterday. He told mother he was coming to Mineral Wells from Arlington (about 60 miles away). Said he’d be there in about an hour. That was at 4PM. At 7PM he calls mother to say he’s finally in town for her to meet him at the duplex to go over the lease agreement, pay the rent and get the keys. So Mom stayed here with us last night.

Keannon (Vanessa’s boyfriend) offered to help get the u-haul unloaded today. He called a few of his buddies. Doyle was on duty today so he couldn’t help. I was so tired that I bowed out and came home to lay down. I didn’t feel well (you know…the monthly thing). I sort of felt guilty for not helping but not to worry there’s still plenty to do. Even though the guys unloading the truck was very helpful they just basically unloaded it without much thought or question to were it was to go! They did get her bed set up so at least she could go to sleep in her new residence. After our home group met tonight I went out to her place to see what needed to be done. I moved several boxes for her. A young Hispanic man (who spoke very little English) came to put the base boards back after having laid the carpet. He still has to come back tomorrow to put the doors back on the cabinets. Mother did discover the water was off to the toilet. Come to find out it is lose at the base! I tried to get her to come stay one more night with us but she was determined to stay in her new home. Can’t say that I blame her. She met her new duplex neighbor and come to find out I work with him at Drivesafe! Well, I’ve only see him a few times. He usually works with the day crew. Obviously the news is out at Drivesafe that I’m leaving because he said “so you’re quitting”. I said yep, tired of working two part time jobs.

I told you that our home group fed the Fire/EMS and Police departments tonight as our outreach. We cooked hamburgers. We’ve done this before and they really seem to enjoy it. There were four officers and two from dispatch who ate and 4 from the fire/EMS side. Doyle got to be a recipient since he was on duty tonight.

To tell you just how excited my mother is about being here and being a part of our church. I introduced myself to a visitor and he said I met your mother. She had already greeted the guy and she’s not even a member yet! Well I guess technically she is because all you have to do to be a member is express your desire to commit to our congregation and she said some time ago before she moved that one of the reasons she wanted to live in Mineral Wells was to attend our church! Then as we took time in our service to go over prayer requests and praise reports that people had turned in my mother literally springs to her feet and says “I have a praise report!” (I’ll have to instruct her that she is supposed to write down her praise reports…oh, well, she’s new and it’s okay!!) She said “I’m here even though I’m not moved in yet.” Pastor said “that’s good. Do you have a job yet?” She said “no”. He said “then you need to fill out a prayer request for a job”! (I loved the way he did that!! So she promptly grabbed a prayer request card from the pocket of the chair in front of her and filled one out!!

Well, need to get to bed. Guess I’ll be spending the afternoon at Mom’s to help her get things put away. She wants to re-arrange the sofa too as it was just put in the living room. She was trying to put things based on where the cable and electrical outlets were. I told her to arrange it the way she wanted it then we’d figure out how to get everything working.

I haven’t shared any scripture or thoughts lately. I am still working through the devotional….maybe not as consistent as I should but I am still going through it. All week the devotional has had me in Psalm 46 talking about the “Refuge of the Pilgrim” There has been some real meat in this. Here’s some highlights:

Excerpts from Pilgrimage of the Heart by Catherine Martin Week 4, Day 1

Have you found your refuge? Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

God has provided a hiding place for you, no matter what you are facing. Your goal is to learn about your place of refuge and how to run for cover there in the storms of life.

Day 2

Where is God in the storm? Psalm 46:4-5 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.

What puts our hand once again to the plow so that we can move on in the path God has set before us? It is the discovery of God in the midst of the storm.

One of the greatest lies the Enemy of our souls ever tries to tell the world and us is that God is distant, that He is not interested, and in fact, at times abandons us. When those words shout loudly outside your city walls, you need to know what is true. You need to hear it from God Himself. God does not lie. You can count on what He says. If He says it, that settles it. Then it is up to you to decide what you are going to believe is true: His word, or thoughts and feelings that are in conflict with what God says.

When everything is falling apart, God is still there, in your midst. He has not moved. And His presence makes a difference.

I’ll share more tomorrow. Don’t want to over do it!

God is MY refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble!

Have a good one!

Saturday April 1, 2006

 

Saturday April 1, 2006 

I am posting early as I have a serious prayer request and hoping that any of who see this will begin to pray fervently.

One of the members of our congregation has a 19yr old daughter that has been missing since 11:30 Thursday night. She hasn’t shown up for work. No one has seen or talked to her since Thursday. The parents needless to say are very upset. She has never done anything like this before. The police won’t write a report because the father told them his daughter and her mother had an argument so they (the police) see that as a domestic dispute. It doesn’t help that she is 19. She still lives at home. So please pray as you read this.

I spent Friday afternoon trying to get my scrapbooking stuff reorganized. Too many times when I go to a crop I end up working until the last minute and then I’m throwing stuff everywhere to get cleaned up to go home, thinking “I’ll put that where it belongs when I get home”, which I don’t! So then it’s a mess when I go crop again. I’ve got to come up with a better system!

Anyway I get to the crop about 30 minutes late. I realized after I got home from Drivesafe Thursday that I left my check there. UGH!! I wanted to go get it on my way to the crop. I say UGH because it’s 7 miles out there then back to town and 2.5 more miles to the scrapbook store but I don’t work again until next Friday and I didn’t want to wait that long.

I finally get to the crop. I only got 2 pages completely done. I got two more started. I spent some of the time shopping as Cat was having a GREAT SALE and I wasn’t sure I would be able to go by the store today with my Mom coming.

Mom called this morning. She was frustrated. It was 8AM and they were leaving Houston. She had hoped to be on the road by 7AM. She said she wished now she hadn’t let these “well meaning people” talk her out of hiring a moving company. She said it was horrible and she was so tired and hurt so bad that she couldn’t sleep. She finally got a little sleep between 3AM and 6:30AM. Last word I had was she didn’t want to unload the truck when she got here. Doyle and I are hoping to talk her out of that because that leaves Sunday which is a busy day for us and Monday I have to work the morning. Doyle is off. Keannon has to work which we were counting on his help. She has to have the U-Haul back Monday. I guess we’ll see when she gets here. If we can convince her that all she has to do is point and tell us where to put stuff she might let us go ahead.

Well I need to run a few errands. I may come back and update at a later time. Just have to see how the day goes.