Saturday, May 31, 2008

The Saturday Thing

Remember I am over at Sojourner's Journal for posting on Saturday's. Come on over and have a read with us...

Monday, May 26, 2008

A View from the Top

Hiked up San Luis mountain this morning...


making a wish...

happy to be at the top...

wahoo...her first time to the top without being carried!!

Pondering Life Without Him

My neighbor died last Wednesday. Not unexpected as he had been fighting a brain tumor for 15 months. The memorial service was yesterday and it left me hollow. Not surprising knowing my neighbor didn't know the Lord. The grief of that for me is deep, so very deep....

It has been a long time since I have attended a memorial service in which the Lord was not the focus. I sat in an auditorium filled mostly with men. Architects, Engineers, City Planners. Affluent, academically arrogant and morally indifferent. My neighbor was one of the top men in his field worldwide - city and regional planning. You would never have known that in meeting him. He was as humble and real as they come. A true Renaissance man. Smart, bright, warm, loving, caring. In love with life. I wish he had been in love with the Lord.

I listened to speaker after speaker talk about his humanity, honesty, warmth of spirit, joy in living, love of his wife. One person described him this way, "He was exquisitely expressive and wonderfully restrained." Another said, "He reflected purity in others." Oh how much more meaning those words would have if he knew the creator of all those attributes.

I kept asking myself 'I wonder how many of these people (approx 400) know the Lord?' 'How do you reach men (not my calling, I love on the women) who are so lost and blinded by satan's lies that they believe in their self glorification? The lack of hope in the room was oppressive, yet it was in stark contrast to the love and connection with my neighbor and the life he lead.

His wife is an amazing women. And no, she doesn't know the Lord. Pray for her. She has amazed me these past 15 months. She took care of every detail of life, stepped away from her profession, was a 'stay at home' wife, never complained, whined or whimpered. Faced the reality of death with courage and strength that only comes from the Lord. Oh how I wish she knew that. She is now left to walk on without her life partner of 30 years. She and I seem to end up talking out on the sidewalk, looking to the big sky to our west. I remember the day she and her husband unexpectedly arrived home from oversees 15 months ago. She looked at me and the tears started flowing down her face - the prognosis was not good. She and I ended up on that same sidewalk last week. He was taking his last few breaths and she was creating as much 'good-bye' time for family and friends as possible while tending to his minute needs. No tears this time - just the bitter reality of death and trying to justify it with a life lived.

"Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." Rev. 22:12-13

Don't let opportunity to share Him pass today...one day all will give an account and may it be for His glory.


Saturday, May 24, 2008

Where Am I?

Where Am I...? Posting over on the Devotional Blog Sojourner's Journal. Saturday is my day to contribute....check it out and find out where your gaze is this morning.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Deep Sadness


As all of you are already aware, the Steven Curtis Chapman family suffered great loss yesterday with the accidental death of their 5 year old daughter, Maria (sitting in her daddy's lap in the above picture). It seems everyone I have spoken to today has mentioned it (Christian or not). I don't know the family except through their daddy's music, but it hits to the very core of ones personal faith. I was very moved by the Holy Spirit on a couple of different blogs today which spoke to the loss for this family. One in particular was the Beth Moore Living Proof Ministries entry. Very touching and how Mighty the Word of the Lord is!


Wednesday, May 21, 2008

I Will Trust In You

You are my hiding place
You always fill my heart
With songs of deliverance
Whenever I am afraid
I will trust in You
Let the weak say
I am strong
In the strength of the Lord
You are my hiding place
You always fill my heart
With songs of deliverance
Whenever I am afraid
I will trust in You
I will trust in You
Let the weak say I am strong
In the strength of the Lord
I will trust in You


Monday, May 19, 2008

An Invitation

I wanted to share with you a project I am involved with. Myself, along with a few others are contributing to a new devotional blog. The name of the blog is Sojourner's Journal, but the actual web address is www.slowomenofgrace.blogspot.com. Today you will find a welcome with daily devotionals starting tomorrow. The Lord has blessed already. Come join the journey and tell your friends.

I will still be posting regularly here on captivated-by-the-mystery, but thought some of you might enjoy reading the devo blog as well.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Sights and Sounds

Here are some sights and sounds of the past few days...

beautiful 'thank you' tulips from my ladies...

Words heard this week..."I'm 98% meat and 2% bar-b-que sauce." directly quoted from a 7th grade boy whom I was taking with other 7th grade boys to youth group. They were discussing food - very differently from the way us gals discuss food....those who use the most catsup seem to be the winners.

Oh, it was hot...evening run through the sprinklers for the kiddos..

Story of the week...our worship leader at bible study sharing this...."My preschool daughter asked me if we would be home when Jesus came. Why do you ask that, I said to her. Well, she replied, you know....because of the song. Which song would that be I asked? She said, "Be home, Be home, I stand at the door and knock, knock, knock. She was a little confused. It isn't Be home, I explained to her. It was "Behold, behold..." She then looked puzzled and asked how old you had to be to go to heaven. She had thought I said, "Be old....be old..."

Are you beholding Him today?


Monday, May 12, 2008

Are we insignificant....no.


"For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me, with all your heart. I will be found by you." declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you.' declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile."
Jeremiah 29:11-14



Sunday, May 11, 2008

When Life Gives You...

You know the saying, "When life gives you lemons....make lemonade." In our house it is

When life gives you trash cans....


make tanks (with guns and stuff...)

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Happy Mother's Day

"Nothing can compare in beauty and wonder and admirableness, and divinity itself, to the silent work in obscure dwellings of faithful women bringing their children to honor, virtue and holiness."
Henry Ward Beecher

"O Lord, lead me in Thy righteousness...Make thy way straight before me." Psalm 5:8

Thursday, May 08, 2008

F.R.O.G.

I received an email during my work hours today that had a sign off that said, F.R.O.G. and then this after it...Fully Rely On God. Now, I'm going to apologize right now if this is a copyright of anyone. It wasn't marked that way and I am not claiming it, but I did enjoy it. Fully Rely on God. It reminded me of lots of things, but the frog analogy was compelling. Do you know the story of the two frogs...it goes like this:

Two frogs fell into a can of cream
Or so I've heard it told
The sides of the can were shiny and steep
The cream was deep and cold.
"O, what the use?" said No. 1
"Tis fate-no help's around!
Good-bye, my friend!
Good-bye, said world!"
And weep still, he drowned.
But No. 2 of sterner stuff,
Dog paddled in surprise,
The while he wiped his creamy face
And dried his creamy eyes.
"I'll swim awhile, at least," he said
Or so it has been said...
It wouldn't really help the world
If one more frog was dead."
An hour or two he kicked and swam
Not once, he stopped to mutter,
But kicked and swam and swam and kicked, then hopped out,
via butter.

In my bible study group today we looked back on a year of study together. We realized that while our prayers went up our circumstances did not necessarily change - but our hearts did. God is always faithful. The frog analogy above is a good reminder that we can mutter and give up or we can Fully Rely on God, pursue His face within our circumstances and have unexpected blessing when God takes our creamy circumstances and turns them into butter.

"O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!"
Psalm 34:8




Monday, May 05, 2008

To Dump.....

So glad to do this.....


and this...

it seems others are equally happy as well....i'm sure there is life application in this...

Thursday, May 01, 2008

Worth the Repeat

(We are about at the end of our year long study of the book of Daniel. This was the post I put up when I finished reviewing the study this past summer....enjoy the re-read)



"they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads..."
"Yes, I am coming quickly."
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Rev. 22:4, 20

I just finished up 12 weeks of deep study in the book of Daniel. It is without a doubt the best bible study I have experienced. Life Changing.... Beth Moore says it this way, "No, Scripture doesn't let us see God described in this final scene. No words can depict Him. Instead, Revelation 22:4 pictures man finally looking at God. Yes, right at His face. What's is that on their faces? Look up with your minds eye at their foreheads and picture His Name. There isn't any room for any other name."

Praise the Lord.