Reflection of Providence

1. Is a sinner saved by grace. I realize this more and more every day of my life. 2. I love eating popcorn with ketchup. A lovely little thing my friend Mary K introduced me to. 3. Growing up I went to every Christian concert known to man. I had a wonderful outlet for worship. Now, I’m lucky to go to a good concert twice a year. 4. Little House on the Prairie is my all time favorite show. I wept like a baby when Melissa Gilbert wrote about seeing Michael Landon for the last time in her memoir. 5. Had the wonderful privilege of meeting Melissa Gilbert in 2004. It was a moment in my life I will never forget. 6. I do not like roller coasters and am not much of a thrill seeker. I wish I was. 7.Halloween is my all time favorite holiday. Everything about it suits me to a “T”. 8. I LOVE scary movies. I was watching them since I was a toddler. I know I know, not good parenting, but it didn’t mess me up too much. (However, I would never let my kids watch what I watched.) 9. My sisters are the m...

31He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches." – Matthew 13: 31-32 19Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why couldn't we drive it out?" 20He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."[ a ]- Matthew 17:19-21 I had dinner with my dear friend Krystal Saturday night. She is one of the most genuine honest souls I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. She has been a far dear friend to me than ever I have been to her, and that is a rare treasure for me. There is a great kinship between us. A trust tha...

As I was cleaning out my Grandmother’s home (I’m pretty sure I’ll be ready for the yard sale in three weeks!!!) I came across this little card with these words typed upon it: Politics without principle Pleasure without conscience Knowledge without effort Wealth without work Business without morality Science without humanity Worship without sacrifice All of these struck me, especially the last one. Since I am not a political person I’m going to skip the first one… I. Pleasure without Conscience 11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun – Ecclesiastes 2:11 Is this not where we are. The world tells us to go after pleasure, what feels good. When did we as God’s people become so self-absorbed? II. Knowledge Without Effort 9 Now, LORD God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the...

I know I know, I said that I would do my second half of San Diego, but I'm on my Dad's laptop downstairs and the San Diego piece is saved on my computer and not yet finished :) 29 and content. Today I turned 29 years old. How wonderful is that? I feel so much more like a woman. I'm excited about my 30s. I can live more content, more in my skin, less burdened by the frets that I carried from my teen years. It was like each year of my 20s I came more into myself. I began to discover more facets of myself that I really enjoyed. I delight in the thought of discovering more of God, loving harder, living richer, striving, bleeding, fighting...living that wonderful thing we call life abundant. I do not fear the last year of my 20s. I don't feel like I'm giving up anything. Let those years die, let's bury them deep, let the maggots eat them way...fire burning them to ash. I want to learn from them, but I'm ready to embrace the next 10 years. I want to embrace my wom...

My hands are trembling/tingling as I begin to write this. It has been too long since I’ve poured out my thoughts into a blog. I was talking with someone the other day about what I was planning to do with the rest of my life, and I said, “I think God wants me to write fiction for a living.” I started to think about that in great depths and realized that I haven’t written anything in months. The last thing I wrote was forced. I was attempting to be obedient to the Lord and submit a work of fiction to a writing contest, which I did. (I have gotten the results of that contest by the way, and I did not win. There is a link to that story at the bottom of this post.) It was such a strained and unpleasant experience, and that saddens me. I used to LOVE to write. The thoughts could not come fast enough. I would blog every single day about God, life, love, friends, etc… I also delighted in writing fiction. My most joyful experience was re-writing one of my Christmas stories a few years ago “An A...

I thoroughly enjoyed the time away from the computer, more than I thought I would. It was refreshing getting my beautiful leather bound journal and etching thoughts on paper with pen. It was challenging and peaceful to pace my thoughts to keep up with the slower pace of pen in hand. It was refreshing to say exactly what I wanted instead of editing my thoughts on blog. So, here are some highlights… 6/22/09 Well I Didn’t Die God is trying to teach me something great at the very start. I rarely get freaked out in storms while driving, but when I turned the corner and met a wall of angry black staring me down I felt sick. The wind was whipping the leaves in a deadly dance. Then the rain, the hellish, God awful rain that hit…I stared death in the face. I also saw the hand of God in an awesome lightning display. It really shook me. Here we go road trip. Here we go life! 6/23/09 It Only Took us 15 hrs Memphis, TN (Michelle’s old home and much beloved city!!!) was our first stop. We stopped at...

There are individuals in this world that get me, I mean really get me. When I ramble or complain or say nothing, they understand! When I’m around these individuals we tend to skip the surface of pleasantries and instantly go deep to the root. It’s rich, powerful, almost too much. This is a vulnerable place to be, having someone know you that deeply, but what a rich and intoxicating thing to have. To be wanted and valued…that your pains, hurts, joys, laughter, tears are all important. In the conversations you share you are changing the world because changes take place within you and the person you are with. My fear sometimes gets the better of me and I miss out on these precious moments. It doesn’t take very long to etch out what true friendship is. It’s saying you are the most important thing to me right now, I’m making a Heaven memory right this moment with you. There is a choice to laugh, cry, curse, praise, to get to those hard to reach and painful layers, those soul moments where ...