I was trying so hard today to keep it brief and not "double" blog today as I've been feeling the need to sit and "listen" for awhile...but something I read today at one of my favorite places to visit, Mom on a Wire, has haunted me this morning and I am going to go ahead and share it because I know it's the thing to do! My apologies, in advance, for my wordiness...
First off, what is WRONG with us?
I came to this “world” without much expectation. Honestly, I was looking for a “journal” that was interactive and would help me grow in the gift of writing in which I hope to one day really blossom. As with every venue in life, we all come with different ‘baggage’ and expectation.
What I have found is real ~ live ~ people with the ability to write freely, but also to judge freely. I have found this “safe” place where ignorant people can “attack” others because they never have to look themselves, or their victim in the eye as the tears fall, and they do fall! I have learned to grow in discernment because it is required. I love to read other “blogs” but only in as much as they offer growth in spirit or in heart or in wisdom. I quickly move on if they are argumentative or judgmental. I almost feel like I did as a child when I would overhear my parents arguing about something…I shouldn’t be watching this or listening to this or in this case…reading this.
We have choices in our lives: to write or not write, to read or not read, to engage or not engage, to love or NOT to love. I realize life is not completely black and white, but as a Christian, my call is to live my life as Christ patterned; to be an example, to encourage and not tear down. Obviously I’m “not there yet”, but I can’t give up! I just can’t. There is the still small voice inside me even in the loneliest of wildernesses…where Jesus is walking with me and the Holy Spirit is whispering His love for me. That is what I want to do for others…guide them to the quiet place where they can hear that still small voice.
I have seen some ‘voices’ silenced out of fear or out of judgment and it feels as though we’re offering our “sisters and brothers” up on a platter to the enemy to devour.
My prayer today is that we would encourage those we know, forgive and love those we know and don’t know yet…and seek those who have never found that love to help them find the still small voice…the voice of Jesus!
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Water Baby
“I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean…
”From: I Hope You Dance (Lee Ann Womack) I love this lyric.
I heard this song today at work and it always touches me. I sit in my little (and I’m not exaggerating) office and turn the “phone radio” up high enough to hear it without squinting my eyes. What’s that about by the way? Why do some of us squint our eyes where we strain to HEAR something…the eyes don’t have some special relationship to the ears do they?
(random and rambling…)
I love the ocean.
I have always loved it.
I love to stand on the edge of the “world” and close my eyes and
listen to the sound of the water as it rushes, sprays, and crests.
I love all the free movement it displays in its concert of sounds.
I love the feel of the sand beneath my bare feet.
I love the feel of the heat beating down on my upturned face when
I stop to feel the sun kisses from above.
I love the sound of laughter coming from children
as they build their sand castles.
I love the smell of the salt as the water mists the air.
I love the ocean at sunset.
I love to watch the sun slip behind the water
with the hope of a new day to come.
I love to sit on the pier and hang my feet off the
edge and dangle above the water.
I LOVE feeling so small and yet so significant to God.
I love that He knows every grain of sand that
lies uncountable below my perch.
It’s probably good I don’t live on a coast somewhere, because I can assure you I wouldn’t get a thing done as I planted myself daily on that shoreline. It could be that I’m a mermaid that was ‘rescued’ from her ocean bound captor. That might explain my longing to be there. That would explain my absolute disdain for those dresses that constrict the legs and their independent movement. That might also explain my unusually large feet, if they were once flippers.
Whatever the case, I’m there now, if only in the memories trapped safely in the confines of my mind.
And…I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean…
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Bait: Not Just For Fish Anymore
I’ve shared how my husband and I recently joined a smaller ‘start-up’ church. It’s been about 7 months since we started attending regularly. I KNOW it was God’s calling. Still I had HUGE trepidations about doing this because of a previous experience at a start-up church whose story I will share but shall remain nameless in this blog. I rest in assurance that God will deal with it in His time. Suffice to say, according to some very close friends who recently left this church; the antics continue.
I wonder sometimes if there should be a “kit” for start-up churches that includes: recommended reading, potential studies for members, “how to” write your churches vision and implementation of this vision, emergency contact information for dissension and backsliders. To the reading list I would definitely add; “Bait of Satan”, “The Spirit of Jezebel”, “Turning Vision into Action”, “The Purpose Driven Church” and “God Calling”…just a thought!
Some really great things happened at our first start-up church, I’ll call it “Alpha”. Alpha had this 5 fold-ministry with 5 direct purposes and had outreach and in reach and just SEEMED to have it all. Things are not always as they seem. The pastor, who I still proclaim to be one of the greatest Biblical teachers I’ve ever heard, is young and sometimes that youthfulness is a blessing and others times it’s not!
He had a vision. He has set his life with purposeful intent of pursuing this vision. The problem started, for me, when the nature to pursue the vision began to move out of control and out of unity with the church as a whole. You see, it was a “leader-led” church. This translates roughly, in my experience to, ‘we’re doing what the pastor says!’ He wouldn’t dispute that definition. You can see where this might be going…Division and disharmony started to appear within the first eight months. The “honeymoon” was over.
The pastor decided we would do the study “Bait of Satan”. All ‘start-up’ churches should complete this study, probably quarterly, in my opinion. Only after the study, could we clearly see how this division can and WAS destroying the “VISION” of the church. For a while things improved. As a body, we would ‘own’ the offenses we held and we would WORK to repair the hurt. We would come together in unity and we would purposefully pursue the vision the pastor had so clearly explained. We started to grow! God honors obedience and we saw the sowing and reaping in the flesh!
Here’s where it all gets tricky…as a church grows and the pastor gets SO excited about the growth and SO excited about new lives brought to Christ…he may get SO excited and caught up in all this excitement that he forgets about the principle of discipling. He forgets that once these new lives come to Christ, they need counsel and they need direction and they need to study and understand what they study, through others. What began happening is what is termed the “revolving door” syndrome…people came, and people left…the services always seemed to be full but I wasn’t recognizing the people anymore.
My husband became a “Christian” at this church and he soaked up everything he read and heard. My husband is an exception in that he read through the entire Bible without prompting almost immediately and he studies the Word of God with intent even now. He began to want more in the teaching. By this time, many of the people responsible for this “in reach” had either left or were reassigned to other outreach areas. The few remaining who believed this was such a core part of church, were left feeling selfish and self-seeking in their desires.
After three years, it came time for us to leave this church as we needed to “grow” and we both knew we had reached the top of the ‘beanstalk’ and their was no one upstairs to learn from anymore. We met with the pastor to explain our decision, as this was part of our covenant to the church. I still can’t talk about his reaction and his words because it still hurts. When we left that meeting I was ready to de-church for life and didn’t give a flying ‘hoot’ about anyone but myself and my husband. I was just FINE with that…
My husband insisted we find a church. To put it mildly, I was reluctant. I was thinking: “Are you out of your freaking mind?” We eventually found a LARGE church where we could get ‘lost in the crowd’ and go sing the songs and hear the sermon and go home and not be bothered by it all. Sounds a little ‘lacking’ doesn’t it? We did decide to visit one of the “small groups” eventually and lo’ and behold we became a part of a “family”, a sort of hodgepodge of people all seeking God’s will for their lives. I’ve NEVER had a problem finding my voice. The problem for me has been in ‘tempering’ my voice. This group of mature adults helped me hone that skill a bit. They were loving, they were honest…I healed and we grew!
Thankfully, this is when God opened my eyes. The ‘scales’ fell off and I began to see people through His eyes. I saw the hurt. I saw with such clarity that God had created me not only to have relationship with people, but to encourage them and to help disciple them and to grow together towards His purpose for us. From the first time I visited Journey Fellowship, I KNEW that is exactly where God wanted us (I just had to wait for husband to see the 'burning bush').
The bush did BURN and we’re now at this “start-up” church, which we LOVE by the way. The pastor is truly a pastor in the Biblical sense and while outreach is so vitally important to him, he has already begun to place people in positions of discipleship. As I’ve shared before he is always willing to sit with people and answer questions and help people grow in wisdom. This pastor sees that the church must be a collection, a UNITY of believers seeking to do God’s will AND to provide a place for the lost…to find love…and truth…and light. This is a place where we can meet with Jesus, grow with Jesus, work with Jesus and bring others to Jesus!
As I stated earlier, we’ve been here 7 months…soon the ‘honeymoon’ will be over. We are all human and there are offenses people will hold, but the good thing about my previous experience is I can share openly with these people as I get to know them and encourage them to do the “Bait of Satan” study and seek to maintain God’s peace and unity in our church. I pray daily I don’t become “bait” for the enemy and I’m going to fight him kicking and screaming when he tries to steal my brothers and sisters!
I wonder sometimes if there should be a “kit” for start-up churches that includes: recommended reading, potential studies for members, “how to” write your churches vision and implementation of this vision, emergency contact information for dissension and backsliders. To the reading list I would definitely add; “Bait of Satan”, “The Spirit of Jezebel”, “Turning Vision into Action”, “The Purpose Driven Church” and “God Calling”…just a thought!
Some really great things happened at our first start-up church, I’ll call it “Alpha”. Alpha had this 5 fold-ministry with 5 direct purposes and had outreach and in reach and just SEEMED to have it all. Things are not always as they seem. The pastor, who I still proclaim to be one of the greatest Biblical teachers I’ve ever heard, is young and sometimes that youthfulness is a blessing and others times it’s not!
He had a vision. He has set his life with purposeful intent of pursuing this vision. The problem started, for me, when the nature to pursue the vision began to move out of control and out of unity with the church as a whole. You see, it was a “leader-led” church. This translates roughly, in my experience to, ‘we’re doing what the pastor says!’ He wouldn’t dispute that definition. You can see where this might be going…Division and disharmony started to appear within the first eight months. The “honeymoon” was over.
The pastor decided we would do the study “Bait of Satan”. All ‘start-up’ churches should complete this study, probably quarterly, in my opinion. Only after the study, could we clearly see how this division can and WAS destroying the “VISION” of the church. For a while things improved. As a body, we would ‘own’ the offenses we held and we would WORK to repair the hurt. We would come together in unity and we would purposefully pursue the vision the pastor had so clearly explained. We started to grow! God honors obedience and we saw the sowing and reaping in the flesh!
Here’s where it all gets tricky…as a church grows and the pastor gets SO excited about the growth and SO excited about new lives brought to Christ…he may get SO excited and caught up in all this excitement that he forgets about the principle of discipling. He forgets that once these new lives come to Christ, they need counsel and they need direction and they need to study and understand what they study, through others. What began happening is what is termed the “revolving door” syndrome…people came, and people left…the services always seemed to be full but I wasn’t recognizing the people anymore.
My husband became a “Christian” at this church and he soaked up everything he read and heard. My husband is an exception in that he read through the entire Bible without prompting almost immediately and he studies the Word of God with intent even now. He began to want more in the teaching. By this time, many of the people responsible for this “in reach” had either left or were reassigned to other outreach areas. The few remaining who believed this was such a core part of church, were left feeling selfish and self-seeking in their desires.
After three years, it came time for us to leave this church as we needed to “grow” and we both knew we had reached the top of the ‘beanstalk’ and their was no one upstairs to learn from anymore. We met with the pastor to explain our decision, as this was part of our covenant to the church. I still can’t talk about his reaction and his words because it still hurts. When we left that meeting I was ready to de-church for life and didn’t give a flying ‘hoot’ about anyone but myself and my husband. I was just FINE with that…
My husband insisted we find a church. To put it mildly, I was reluctant. I was thinking: “Are you out of your freaking mind?” We eventually found a LARGE church where we could get ‘lost in the crowd’ and go sing the songs and hear the sermon and go home and not be bothered by it all. Sounds a little ‘lacking’ doesn’t it? We did decide to visit one of the “small groups” eventually and lo’ and behold we became a part of a “family”, a sort of hodgepodge of people all seeking God’s will for their lives. I’ve NEVER had a problem finding my voice. The problem for me has been in ‘tempering’ my voice. This group of mature adults helped me hone that skill a bit. They were loving, they were honest…I healed and we grew!
Thankfully, this is when God opened my eyes. The ‘scales’ fell off and I began to see people through His eyes. I saw the hurt. I saw with such clarity that God had created me not only to have relationship with people, but to encourage them and to help disciple them and to grow together towards His purpose for us. From the first time I visited Journey Fellowship, I KNEW that is exactly where God wanted us (I just had to wait for husband to see the 'burning bush').
The bush did BURN and we’re now at this “start-up” church, which we LOVE by the way. The pastor is truly a pastor in the Biblical sense and while outreach is so vitally important to him, he has already begun to place people in positions of discipleship. As I’ve shared before he is always willing to sit with people and answer questions and help people grow in wisdom. This pastor sees that the church must be a collection, a UNITY of believers seeking to do God’s will AND to provide a place for the lost…to find love…and truth…and light. This is a place where we can meet with Jesus, grow with Jesus, work with Jesus and bring others to Jesus!
As I stated earlier, we’ve been here 7 months…soon the ‘honeymoon’ will be over. We are all human and there are offenses people will hold, but the good thing about my previous experience is I can share openly with these people as I get to know them and encourage them to do the “Bait of Satan” study and seek to maintain God’s peace and unity in our church. I pray daily I don’t become “bait” for the enemy and I’m going to fight him kicking and screaming when he tries to steal my brothers and sisters!
Monday, March 06, 2006
Heaven Can Wait
I need to vent. I’m hoping to ‘purge’ this from my soul and head and then I can move on with everything else that beckons.
I meet with a group of incredible women each Sunday night for a Bible Study. We are studying a John Eldredge book: “Sacred Romance”. In all honesty it hasn’t been my favorite book of Eldredge or any author. It struggles, in my opinion, to reach into the heart of a WOMAN and describe how our hearts yearn or ache or desire. I just don’t think Eldredge “got it”. It reminds me of a ‘watered down’ version of “Wild at Heart” (which was awesome in my opinion, by the way). Honestly, I struggle bunches with men trying to TEACH women about our hearts and how we “think and act”. Give me a break!
The other women seem to love the book, so on some level I’m hesitant to share things that I feel or think. I have, however, shared when I felt the urging of the Holy Spirit and then it is up to each person to receive or reject that information based on their own journey. Last night was one of those nights when I felt I should sit quietly to a point…and I did…to a point.
My back ground is also different from these women. All, except one of these women, were raised and reared and taught in the SBC Church. I was not. I ATTENDED an American Baptist Church as a child, but attendance was the only thing I gained. Until I searched, on my own, other denominations and non-denominational churches, I had NO IDEA what I believed. I was fortunate to be exposed to some awesome BIBLICAL teachers who even taught things that were so highly opposed by mainstream churches. This forced me to read the Bible and find out for myself truth and mis-truth.
Last night the reading was on “HEAVEN”, the twelfth chapter is called: “Coming Home”. This book went on and on and on about how wonderful heaven will be. I totally agree! Heaven will be awesome. This book asked us to think about and ponder who would be there and what it would look like and who we would “sup” with and who we would “dance” with (there will SO be dancing in heaven, by the way). This book said: “the best human life is unspeakably sad.” That bugs me!
I wish it would have said: “the best human life will pale in comparison to Heaven.” It didn’t…and so it spawned this conversation about heaven and earth and the time between the two. The real truth of the matter became evident…there are women in this place and apparently on earth who are waiting….just biding their time…til they can get to heaven. Tell me it’s not true! Do NOT tell me our whole journey is ONLY about the destination….no way! If our lives on earth are so meaningless, and without significance, then why don’t we die immediately upon accepting Christ?
Some would say we have to be “punished” or “molded” or “matured” or any number of words. I began to wonder if the reason we ‘damn’ suicide victims to hell, is because if we didn’t, we would all opt out at some point. I’m one of those “weird people” who don’t believe Judas is in hell, by the way.
It breaks my heart that these women last night shared how they long for heaven. These women who have children, husbands, careers, CHRIST…they still feel it lacks… it’s not enough. I do believe heaven WILL bring everything to completion in that eternal worship and rest are a wonderful place to be…my query is this: why are we waiting to experience this? Why aren’t we seeking to be in a state of ‘heaven on earth’?
Now that I’m almost completely alone in my random thoughts I’ll say this…God created us specifically and with purpose for the here and now. It is not solely about a destination…it is about a journey. A journey of great love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. It is a journey of love above all else. The ultimate destination is going to “rock” like nothing else…but here and now, today, where I am, is a place of hope and wonder and birth and death and celebration and growth and blessing beyond what we can speak or think.
I meet with a group of incredible women each Sunday night for a Bible Study. We are studying a John Eldredge book: “Sacred Romance”. In all honesty it hasn’t been my favorite book of Eldredge or any author. It struggles, in my opinion, to reach into the heart of a WOMAN and describe how our hearts yearn or ache or desire. I just don’t think Eldredge “got it”. It reminds me of a ‘watered down’ version of “Wild at Heart” (which was awesome in my opinion, by the way). Honestly, I struggle bunches with men trying to TEACH women about our hearts and how we “think and act”. Give me a break!
The other women seem to love the book, so on some level I’m hesitant to share things that I feel or think. I have, however, shared when I felt the urging of the Holy Spirit and then it is up to each person to receive or reject that information based on their own journey. Last night was one of those nights when I felt I should sit quietly to a point…and I did…to a point.
My back ground is also different from these women. All, except one of these women, were raised and reared and taught in the SBC Church. I was not. I ATTENDED an American Baptist Church as a child, but attendance was the only thing I gained. Until I searched, on my own, other denominations and non-denominational churches, I had NO IDEA what I believed. I was fortunate to be exposed to some awesome BIBLICAL teachers who even taught things that were so highly opposed by mainstream churches. This forced me to read the Bible and find out for myself truth and mis-truth.
Last night the reading was on “HEAVEN”, the twelfth chapter is called: “Coming Home”. This book went on and on and on about how wonderful heaven will be. I totally agree! Heaven will be awesome. This book asked us to think about and ponder who would be there and what it would look like and who we would “sup” with and who we would “dance” with (there will SO be dancing in heaven, by the way). This book said: “the best human life is unspeakably sad.” That bugs me!
I wish it would have said: “the best human life will pale in comparison to Heaven.” It didn’t…and so it spawned this conversation about heaven and earth and the time between the two. The real truth of the matter became evident…there are women in this place and apparently on earth who are waiting….just biding their time…til they can get to heaven. Tell me it’s not true! Do NOT tell me our whole journey is ONLY about the destination….no way! If our lives on earth are so meaningless, and without significance, then why don’t we die immediately upon accepting Christ?
Some would say we have to be “punished” or “molded” or “matured” or any number of words. I began to wonder if the reason we ‘damn’ suicide victims to hell, is because if we didn’t, we would all opt out at some point. I’m one of those “weird people” who don’t believe Judas is in hell, by the way.
It breaks my heart that these women last night shared how they long for heaven. These women who have children, husbands, careers, CHRIST…they still feel it lacks… it’s not enough. I do believe heaven WILL bring everything to completion in that eternal worship and rest are a wonderful place to be…my query is this: why are we waiting to experience this? Why aren’t we seeking to be in a state of ‘heaven on earth’?
Now that I’m almost completely alone in my random thoughts I’ll say this…God created us specifically and with purpose for the here and now. It is not solely about a destination…it is about a journey. A journey of great love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. It is a journey of love above all else. The ultimate destination is going to “rock” like nothing else…but here and now, today, where I am, is a place of hope and wonder and birth and death and celebration and growth and blessing beyond what we can speak or think.
Sunday, March 05, 2006
"Baaaaaa and Moooooo"
I don’t claim to be an Old Testament Scholar, though I do know, on at least a BASIC level, most of the O.T. stories. Yesterday at the end of the women’s conference I attended, we heard from Liz Curtis Higgs. By the way if you’ve never HEARD her speak…you just have NO idea what you’re missing…she is truly one of the best speakers AND teachers I’ve ever heard. Yes, her books are good too!
She was teaching about Jacob and Laban and Leah and Rachel. I had heard the “story” before but I hadn’t really studied it to this degree. The first thing she spoke about was how we are a people that judge largely by outside appearance and even in this story, while the descriptions are brief; there are descriptions of both Leah and Rachel.
We all know that Jacob LOVED Rachel, so much so that he was willing to work, initially, 7 years (which flew by in an instant, according to Scripture) to receive her as his bride. But wait, I’m getting ahead of myself.
Liz Curtis Higgs first showed us how Leah is described with “weak” eyes. This can be interpreted a couple of ways…either “not bright” or “weak visually”. This is the ONLY descriptive we get of Leah. Rachel is described as “beautiful of form and face”. We can ‘read’ a lot into that statement. Suffice to say, she was younger and prettier and desirable. Then Liz told us what these names actually meant. Why is this important? Because it shows the placement women held in families. Leah means COW. Rachel means SHEEP. Yes, these women were possessions and named as such. I leaned over to my friend and said; “well, I won’t be naming any future daughters Rachel OR Leah.”
Side note: This all got me thinking about what our names mean. My birth name is Kimberly, which means “beautiful meadow”. I’ve NEVER thought of myself as Kimberly (except when I’m in trouble. I have always gone by Kim, which means “leader” and that most assuredly defines me at least on a surface level. Do you know what your name means? Do you know WHY you have that name? Do you know WHO named you? How did you name your children? Did you look up the meaning of the name before you selected it?
Back on track…I know we have all head about Rachel and Leah and Jacob and the resulting marriages and births. Here is what was NEW and important for me to learn. Leah was obviously saddened beyond belief about Jacobs “repulsion” of her. She cried out to God. God saw that Leah was “unloved”. How incredibly sad and yet wonderful: It’s incredibly sad that Leah was unloved. I know we’ve all FELT unloved and we too, wondered if anyone cared. It’s incredibly wonderful to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, God sees ALL of our pain and KNOWS our heart this intimately.
Okay, so we know God blessed Leah with children; boys even, which were “the ultimate blessing” in the O.T. Leah names each of these children from where she was in her life. She names the first three with the continued hope that her husband would grow to love her because of these great blessings. By the time she had the fourth, she had shifted her focus from Jacob…to God. She named her fourth child, a son, Judah, which means “Praise”. We know, from history that Judah is the son in the line of Christ’s heritage. It’s not by chance that when Leah shifted her focus from Jacob to God, as she offered her son as a sacrifice of praise to the one true God, he not only continued to bless her, but he blessed Judah as well!
I have to remember to keep my own focus on God. Sometimes it’s so hard not to think my significance is found in Kim; wife, employee, daughter, sister, leader, or every gift I have, or think I have. In man, I MAY find immediate gratification. In man, I WILL find judgment. In God lie the true blessings I seek. In God I find my purpose and my significance. The solution seems like a “no brainer” to me…get my eyes off self and others and get them faced upward on the ONE TRUE GOD!
She was teaching about Jacob and Laban and Leah and Rachel. I had heard the “story” before but I hadn’t really studied it to this degree. The first thing she spoke about was how we are a people that judge largely by outside appearance and even in this story, while the descriptions are brief; there are descriptions of both Leah and Rachel.
We all know that Jacob LOVED Rachel, so much so that he was willing to work, initially, 7 years (which flew by in an instant, according to Scripture) to receive her as his bride. But wait, I’m getting ahead of myself.
Liz Curtis Higgs first showed us how Leah is described with “weak” eyes. This can be interpreted a couple of ways…either “not bright” or “weak visually”. This is the ONLY descriptive we get of Leah. Rachel is described as “beautiful of form and face”. We can ‘read’ a lot into that statement. Suffice to say, she was younger and prettier and desirable. Then Liz told us what these names actually meant. Why is this important? Because it shows the placement women held in families. Leah means COW. Rachel means SHEEP. Yes, these women were possessions and named as such. I leaned over to my friend and said; “well, I won’t be naming any future daughters Rachel OR Leah.”
Side note: This all got me thinking about what our names mean. My birth name is Kimberly, which means “beautiful meadow”. I’ve NEVER thought of myself as Kimberly (except when I’m in trouble. I have always gone by Kim, which means “leader” and that most assuredly defines me at least on a surface level. Do you know what your name means? Do you know WHY you have that name? Do you know WHO named you? How did you name your children? Did you look up the meaning of the name before you selected it?
Back on track…I know we have all head about Rachel and Leah and Jacob and the resulting marriages and births. Here is what was NEW and important for me to learn. Leah was obviously saddened beyond belief about Jacobs “repulsion” of her. She cried out to God. God saw that Leah was “unloved”. How incredibly sad and yet wonderful: It’s incredibly sad that Leah was unloved. I know we’ve all FELT unloved and we too, wondered if anyone cared. It’s incredibly wonderful to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, God sees ALL of our pain and KNOWS our heart this intimately.
Okay, so we know God blessed Leah with children; boys even, which were “the ultimate blessing” in the O.T. Leah names each of these children from where she was in her life. She names the first three with the continued hope that her husband would grow to love her because of these great blessings. By the time she had the fourth, she had shifted her focus from Jacob…to God. She named her fourth child, a son, Judah, which means “Praise”. We know, from history that Judah is the son in the line of Christ’s heritage. It’s not by chance that when Leah shifted her focus from Jacob to God, as she offered her son as a sacrifice of praise to the one true God, he not only continued to bless her, but he blessed Judah as well!
I have to remember to keep my own focus on God. Sometimes it’s so hard not to think my significance is found in Kim; wife, employee, daughter, sister, leader, or every gift I have, or think I have. In man, I MAY find immediate gratification. In man, I WILL find judgment. In God lie the true blessings I seek. In God I find my purpose and my significance. The solution seems like a “no brainer” to me…get my eyes off self and others and get them faced upward on the ONE TRUE GOD!
Saturday, March 04, 2006
I am NOT a Freak, I'm a PRINCESS!
I always knew I didn’t fit in with “normal” women. I’ve shared briefly how this has been a continuing “struggle” for me in my personal journey. I can usually embrace my ‘differences’ as I try to do with others, but sometimes it’s just about impossible.
I’m attending a women’s “retreat” this weekend at a local MEGA-CHURCH, and last night was the first night. I don’t typically attend BIG events like this because I’m really not comfortable in crowds and while my friends still don’t believe it, I’m basically introverted and quite shy around women particularly. You know the “WHY” to this…women hurt women! What’s more, we are really GOOD at it!
Anyway, a friend and I decided to attend because Carol Kent is speaking and we have done a few of her studies and could really relate to her words of wisdom through personal experience.
I’m sitting at this table of women I don’t know (except my friend) and I ask a few questions, because that’s what I do…I question people….it either makes them turn away and clam up, or they can talk about themselves freely and at length and I don’t have to say a word. It works for both of us, laying the foundation of our limited interactions at a safe arms length distance. Thankfully this is not one of those “HUG EVERYONE” kind of churches…I can’t even remember WHAT denomination it is, but they don’t hug. I’m just being honest here…
My husband and I came to visit this church when we first moved to Oklahoma. While I wasn’t completely convinced I had the post-modern “mentality” we showed up in jeans and t-shirts (not dirty or ripped) just for our own comfort sake…it’s OKLAHOMA for goodness sake…not only did NO ONE SPEAK to us, but we looked around and could see we were SO not “fit” for this church.
SIDENOTE: I appreciate clear indicators like this when “church-hunting” by the way, so THANK you to this church.
In perfect “GOD” timing last night two things happened. The first was I was over at the “coffee table” getting some java and this women started speaking to me about some random thing…my friend came over and before long we were discussing infertility and how this women eventually adopted her daughter at a late age…my age… Thank you God, that you continue to show me and BOMBARD me with stories and remind me that it’s never too late to become a parent, if not conventionally, then in some other way, even when I THINK I’ve given up!
Then the first speaker “Bunny” Graham spoke about the way women search for their identity in everything EXCEPT Christ. It’s not a new subject, we’ve all heard it…we are so driven by how others see us and compare us and so busy checking off our completed work that we lose site of our true purpose and God’s desire for us. She reminded us that we also tend to busy ourselves to the point of distraction from our ordained and purposeful life: “We are Human-BEINGS, not Human-DOINGS” she said. I love that! I usually feel more like a Human-DOING, but I am a Human-BEING! The question is; WHAT am I BEING?
The conference continues today and while I’m looking forward to hearing Carol Kent and Liz Curtis Higgs, I’m also hoping God would help me understand and overcome this discomfort around these women. I am now THEIR age…and can’t use immaturity as an excuse any longer. I am no longer the awkward teen. I can either continue to search harder and harder for what separates us, or I can walk in the unity Christ has called me to. I can hear their stories and learn from them. I can see their hearts as God sees their hearts…full of Jesus and if not…full of pain!
I’ll let you know how it all pans out…oh and we made “CROWNS” last night…so I guess that means I’m officially the princess I always knew Jesus made me!
I’m attending a women’s “retreat” this weekend at a local MEGA-CHURCH, and last night was the first night. I don’t typically attend BIG events like this because I’m really not comfortable in crowds and while my friends still don’t believe it, I’m basically introverted and quite shy around women particularly. You know the “WHY” to this…women hurt women! What’s more, we are really GOOD at it!
Anyway, a friend and I decided to attend because Carol Kent is speaking and we have done a few of her studies and could really relate to her words of wisdom through personal experience.
I’m sitting at this table of women I don’t know (except my friend) and I ask a few questions, because that’s what I do…I question people….it either makes them turn away and clam up, or they can talk about themselves freely and at length and I don’t have to say a word. It works for both of us, laying the foundation of our limited interactions at a safe arms length distance. Thankfully this is not one of those “HUG EVERYONE” kind of churches…I can’t even remember WHAT denomination it is, but they don’t hug. I’m just being honest here…
My husband and I came to visit this church when we first moved to Oklahoma. While I wasn’t completely convinced I had the post-modern “mentality” we showed up in jeans and t-shirts (not dirty or ripped) just for our own comfort sake…it’s OKLAHOMA for goodness sake…not only did NO ONE SPEAK to us, but we looked around and could see we were SO not “fit” for this church.
SIDENOTE: I appreciate clear indicators like this when “church-hunting” by the way, so THANK you to this church.
In perfect “GOD” timing last night two things happened. The first was I was over at the “coffee table” getting some java and this women started speaking to me about some random thing…my friend came over and before long we were discussing infertility and how this women eventually adopted her daughter at a late age…my age… Thank you God, that you continue to show me and BOMBARD me with stories and remind me that it’s never too late to become a parent, if not conventionally, then in some other way, even when I THINK I’ve given up!
Then the first speaker “Bunny” Graham spoke about the way women search for their identity in everything EXCEPT Christ. It’s not a new subject, we’ve all heard it…we are so driven by how others see us and compare us and so busy checking off our completed work that we lose site of our true purpose and God’s desire for us. She reminded us that we also tend to busy ourselves to the point of distraction from our ordained and purposeful life: “We are Human-BEINGS, not Human-DOINGS” she said. I love that! I usually feel more like a Human-DOING, but I am a Human-BEING! The question is; WHAT am I BEING?
The conference continues today and while I’m looking forward to hearing Carol Kent and Liz Curtis Higgs, I’m also hoping God would help me understand and overcome this discomfort around these women. I am now THEIR age…and can’t use immaturity as an excuse any longer. I am no longer the awkward teen. I can either continue to search harder and harder for what separates us, or I can walk in the unity Christ has called me to. I can hear their stories and learn from them. I can see their hearts as God sees their hearts…full of Jesus and if not…full of pain!
I’ll let you know how it all pans out…oh and we made “CROWNS” last night…so I guess that means I’m officially the princess I always knew Jesus made me!
Friday, March 03, 2006
One Day Last Year...
Journal Review brought me back to this entry and it still speaks to me even though this actual flower is long since gone and 'buried'.
I was backing out of my driveway, as I do every morning…I always wait in the driveway until the garage door fully shuts. Then I slowly back up and today, as I do every day, I looked up at the porch at the plants and suddenly I had almost an entire parable, from the first chapter of Kim, coming to life in my head.
It "dawned" on me (or as I like to believe, God sprinkled wisdom on me), that my plants aren't flowering as they should (see where this is going already?). I replayed the plants recent history in my mind. You see, I'm not a great gardener because, like most things in my life, I lack balance. I either over water or completely ignore my plants, therefore I typically either let my darling husband take care of them (which is not an option while he's in school) or they have to be pretty darn hardy to survive. Much like our personal journey...we can't totally rely on another to keep us in "tune with God".
Well, these particular plants...my geraniums....are VERY hardy. As a matter of fact, even though I did not water them more than one time this winter, in my bathroom window, they still flowered in the sun coming through the window and didn't die of lack of water...weird huh????
I recalled when my husband first relocated them back to the front porch. They seemed a bit shaken at the hostile move back outdoors to the still unsettled and inclement weather but still they flowered a bit. Yet on this day, I look to the porch and no flowers are left. The leaves look great (I have remembered to water at least once per week when I mow)....but no flowers, no beautiful bright pink blooms that were so prevalent for so long. I miss the blooms!
What God taught me is; in His light things will grow (the light is His love and my salvation through Christ). The water; which in my life is the Word of God, my pastor, and the teachings I hear and the accountability of my friends and fellow Christians, when lacking, prevents the flowering. Also, when I'm shaken' by storms in life, I'm less likely to flower because I'm in "protective" mode.
The flowering is important because, as we both know, while the greenery is nice and provides LIFE to the plant through chlorophyll; the flowers provide beauty and draw others near to hear and reflect the beauty of God. The flowers are the fragrance of God and the flowers seek His sunshine as they look heavenward. The flowers are evangelism and the ability to shower onto others what the light has showered on me! In addition, the blooms are the WORSHIP we offer up to God for His love and grace and mercy by keeping us alive!
This all relates directly back to the prophetic words spoken over me so long ago...that "I am blooming and while I am not fully bloomed...I will fully bloom under God!"
Pretty wild huh? God never ceases to amaze me how he can make these things clear in my mind...I have a feeling this will go in my book one day, as a matter of fact, I'm sure it will.
Oklahoma BLOWS!
Living in Oklahoma I hear all the Texas/Oklahoma jokes as we are HUGE rivals. Suffice to say, one of the jokes ends with this punchline: Oklahoma Blows. It's not far from true...in one sense.
Having spent most of my youth in “Colorful Colorado” and enduring freezing hair (yes, I’m serious) while waiting for a school bus, I thought I had seen the extremes of weather. I moved to Oklahoma, the first time, at age 19. At that time I was oblivious to my physical surroundings as my focus was ALL ABOUT ME, as it is with any self-respecting 19 year old (yes, I’m serious again).
I returned to Oklahoma, after a 10 year hiatus to “find myself”. Apparently I wasn’t really lost in the first place because I returned to the great state of Oklahoma; now with a husband and two dogs. I sat here wondering if we have some “cool” motto like New Mexico “The Land of Enchantment” or perhaps humble Arkansas: “The Land of Opportunity”. I looked up our state “motto” and it seems fitting that it says: “Labor conquers all things”. Therein IS the problem.
Remember the scripture; Psalm 127:1 “Unless the Lord builds a house, its builder’s labor over it in vain; unless the Lord watches over a city, the watchman stays alert in vain." We may be the 'Bible Belt' but you can be certain the Lord hasn't 'built this house (called Oklahoma) to completion'.
It seems Oklahoma would have done well to remember this when the “Sooners” settled here. This isn’t even the point of this posting…just food for thought.
The other morning I got out of my car to enjoy the once again reduced price of gas (must be getting old or something), a mere $2.019 per gallon, and I was dang near blown across a parking lot. This may not seem like such a big deal, but I am 5’11” and while no self-respecting woman shares her weight, suffice to say I’m well grounded! I laughed out loud as I remembered my sister sharing with me before I moved here that it’s sometimes breezy here. Everyone becomes so immune to this wind that even the weathermen call it a light breeze. Trust me, its 35-45 mph gusts of straight line or swirling wind. There is no avoiding it. The hairspray companies are making a mint! Most women in Oklahoma still don’t realize what the BACK of their head looks like.
I thought it was awesome….at first. Yes I said AWESOME! I'm not a "girly-girl" and I realized I wouldn’t have to do much to my hair it would “style” on its own each morning based on the weather. Trust me when you’re facing these “light breezes” and 90-100% humidity, there isn’t much you can do anyway.
So…I get out of my car at work, and as I do most every morning (because I’m a creature of habit), I place my coffee cup on top of my car while I lock up and get loaded down with my ‘supplies’ for the day. Some days; like this day, the wind almost won. The car door began swinging shut and the coffee began sliding across the top of the car…they both almost ‘got me’. I was fairly quick and on this day, I won this battle, but it made me think about our lives and the “winds of change”.
I know many of these lessons are due to the upcoming MAJOR changes I am going to face with my husband. He will graduate in December, after a very, very long period of work-school, work-school, work-school! We will search and find THE job and possibly relocate. I will work part-time and finally pursue my dream of writing. My roots may be ‘uprooted’. We might move. We may have to sell our first home. We may have to leave the new church we have just become a part of and truly love. We might end up staying in Oklahoma, though with the field my husband has chosen, it’s unlikely. In any event, change is the word in 2006-2007, for this family.
I don’t mind moving. I actually enjoy relocating every few years just for new scenery and a fresh perspective. We moved quite a bit when I was younger, and it’s become a part of my adult life as I’ve relocated every five years or so. We’ve lived in Oklahoma since 2001…it could be time to move.
I remember one the quotes I used to repeat to my sister, because she does NOT like change or moving…it was: “The only constant in life is change.” We’ve all heard it or lived it at some time or another and in some form or another. Change can be stressful, if we battle…instead of prepare for it. I think of change as the honing of our lives and the possibility of shedding of bad habits, and the opportunity to begin-again.
The problem for me really isn’t about the “change” it’s about the motivation behind the desire for change. Do I desire change because I NEED to reinvent myself? Do I desire change for some selfish motivation? One of the necessary, yet redundant themes of my life’s journey has been: “what is the motivation of your heart?” This is almost the first thing I ask myself when I think of pursuing some new activity or venue. I have to do this because I am so “driven” that sometimes, many times in fact, my motivation is strictly the hatch mark of completion. The PROUD bumper sticker proclaiming: “I did it!” Whatever “IT” is.
I have a tendency to jump out of line, run on up ahead and then get lost because the group veered right, when I went on up ahead. I go on vacation, not to relax, but to DO and SEE and ACCOMPLISH. The pictures would reflect all the THINGS I did, not the beauty of the surroundings. Kind of sad, huh? I want to go to a beach somewhere and not stress about just “lying around” and not worry about what I should be doing on my limited visit. It really does take the joy from so much of life.
There is this PROUD joy of accomplishing or being first, or whatever my flesh desires…but there is this resounding, memorable PEACE and JOY that far surpass the PROUD joy when I follow my heart’s lead, the heart of my heavenly Father.
I’m praying about these upcoming changes. I’m praying GOD’S will. I’m praying God would help me see clearly His desire. Today as the wind blows, yet again…I am praying that…
God will grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and most important the WISDOM TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE!
Having spent most of my youth in “Colorful Colorado” and enduring freezing hair (yes, I’m serious) while waiting for a school bus, I thought I had seen the extremes of weather. I moved to Oklahoma, the first time, at age 19. At that time I was oblivious to my physical surroundings as my focus was ALL ABOUT ME, as it is with any self-respecting 19 year old (yes, I’m serious again).
I returned to Oklahoma, after a 10 year hiatus to “find myself”. Apparently I wasn’t really lost in the first place because I returned to the great state of Oklahoma; now with a husband and two dogs. I sat here wondering if we have some “cool” motto like New Mexico “The Land of Enchantment” or perhaps humble Arkansas: “The Land of Opportunity”. I looked up our state “motto” and it seems fitting that it says: “Labor conquers all things”. Therein IS the problem.
Remember the scripture; Psalm 127:1 “Unless the Lord builds a house, its builder’s labor over it in vain; unless the Lord watches over a city, the watchman stays alert in vain." We may be the 'Bible Belt' but you can be certain the Lord hasn't 'built this house (called Oklahoma) to completion'.
It seems Oklahoma would have done well to remember this when the “Sooners” settled here. This isn’t even the point of this posting…just food for thought.
The other morning I got out of my car to enjoy the once again reduced price of gas (must be getting old or something), a mere $2.019 per gallon, and I was dang near blown across a parking lot. This may not seem like such a big deal, but I am 5’11” and while no self-respecting woman shares her weight, suffice to say I’m well grounded! I laughed out loud as I remembered my sister sharing with me before I moved here that it’s sometimes breezy here. Everyone becomes so immune to this wind that even the weathermen call it a light breeze. Trust me, its 35-45 mph gusts of straight line or swirling wind. There is no avoiding it. The hairspray companies are making a mint! Most women in Oklahoma still don’t realize what the BACK of their head looks like.
I thought it was awesome….at first. Yes I said AWESOME! I'm not a "girly-girl" and I realized I wouldn’t have to do much to my hair it would “style” on its own each morning based on the weather. Trust me when you’re facing these “light breezes” and 90-100% humidity, there isn’t much you can do anyway.
So…I get out of my car at work, and as I do most every morning (because I’m a creature of habit), I place my coffee cup on top of my car while I lock up and get loaded down with my ‘supplies’ for the day. Some days; like this day, the wind almost won. The car door began swinging shut and the coffee began sliding across the top of the car…they both almost ‘got me’. I was fairly quick and on this day, I won this battle, but it made me think about our lives and the “winds of change”.
I know many of these lessons are due to the upcoming MAJOR changes I am going to face with my husband. He will graduate in December, after a very, very long period of work-school, work-school, work-school! We will search and find THE job and possibly relocate. I will work part-time and finally pursue my dream of writing. My roots may be ‘uprooted’. We might move. We may have to sell our first home. We may have to leave the new church we have just become a part of and truly love. We might end up staying in Oklahoma, though with the field my husband has chosen, it’s unlikely. In any event, change is the word in 2006-2007, for this family.
I don’t mind moving. I actually enjoy relocating every few years just for new scenery and a fresh perspective. We moved quite a bit when I was younger, and it’s become a part of my adult life as I’ve relocated every five years or so. We’ve lived in Oklahoma since 2001…it could be time to move.
I remember one the quotes I used to repeat to my sister, because she does NOT like change or moving…it was: “The only constant in life is change.” We’ve all heard it or lived it at some time or another and in some form or another. Change can be stressful, if we battle…instead of prepare for it. I think of change as the honing of our lives and the possibility of shedding of bad habits, and the opportunity to begin-again.
The problem for me really isn’t about the “change” it’s about the motivation behind the desire for change. Do I desire change because I NEED to reinvent myself? Do I desire change for some selfish motivation? One of the necessary, yet redundant themes of my life’s journey has been: “what is the motivation of your heart?” This is almost the first thing I ask myself when I think of pursuing some new activity or venue. I have to do this because I am so “driven” that sometimes, many times in fact, my motivation is strictly the hatch mark of completion. The PROUD bumper sticker proclaiming: “I did it!” Whatever “IT” is.
I have a tendency to jump out of line, run on up ahead and then get lost because the group veered right, when I went on up ahead. I go on vacation, not to relax, but to DO and SEE and ACCOMPLISH. The pictures would reflect all the THINGS I did, not the beauty of the surroundings. Kind of sad, huh? I want to go to a beach somewhere and not stress about just “lying around” and not worry about what I should be doing on my limited visit. It really does take the joy from so much of life.
There is this PROUD joy of accomplishing or being first, or whatever my flesh desires…but there is this resounding, memorable PEACE and JOY that far surpass the PROUD joy when I follow my heart’s lead, the heart of my heavenly Father.
I’m praying about these upcoming changes. I’m praying GOD’S will. I’m praying God would help me see clearly His desire. Today as the wind blows, yet again…I am praying that…
God will grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and most important the WISDOM TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE!
Thursday, March 02, 2006
The Truth of ALL Matter...
I’ve been struggling with the DEFINITION of Absolute Truth lately. It’s sitting up in my head, bounding back and forth through the various brain lobes, (picture the old game of PONG) trying to fit in somewhere and apply itself. Fortunately, my flesh is resistant and will NOT accept it in ANY lobe until it ‘explains itself’ a little more clearly.
I have been questioning my Pastor (thank God He is open to questions and WILLING to explain on a basic core level these queries), with “What IS Absolute Truth?” He has been patient with me and has submitted to me a very BASIC review of a VERY large, long-discussed and debated topic. He is also working to compile a list of possible literature and tangible SOURCES for my journey down this spiraling path.
In the meantime I typed it in my “Yahoo” search line and here is a starting point to ponder:
1) In philosophy, absolute truth generally states what is essential rather than superficial - a description of the Ideal (to use Plato's concept) rather than the merely "real" (which Plato sees as a shadow of the Ideal). Among some religious groups this term is used to describe the source of or authority for a given faith or set of beliefs, such as the Bible.
2) In science, doubt has been cast on the notion of absolutes by theories such as relativity and quantum mechanics. Attempts to tie together all the known facts about the universe into a single unified theory (one example is string theory) could be seen as efforts to discover absolute truth about this set of facts.
3) In pure mathematics, however, there is said to be a proof for the existence of absolute truth. A common tactic in mathematical proofs is the use of reductio ad absurdum, in which the statement to be proved is denied as a premise, and then that premise is shown to lead to a contradiction. When it can be demonstrated that the negation of a statement leads to a contradiction, then the original statement is proved true.
The logical proof of the statement, "There exists an absolute truth," is almost trivial in its simplicity. Suppose we assert the negation of the statement, that is, that there is no such thing as absolute truth. By making that assertion, we claim that the sentence "There exists no absolute truth" is absolutely true. The statement is self-contradictory, so its negation, "There exists an absolute truth," is true.
Who’d have thunk it? Something so simple to roll off the tongue, only 4 syllables, could bring such division and misunderstanding. I do tend to agree with the “logical proof statement above”. The minute I affirm: “There exists NO absolute truth”, as a truth, it is NO longer true as a statement, right? This reminds me of the ‘hell’ just prior to the “AHA” moment of “getting math”.
Remember how it felt to sit there; stunned into silence because you didn’t even know enough to pull together a question? I remember the moment, the exact moment when I finally “got it” and it became so clear and obvious that it seemed unbelievable that anyone could still NOT get it…yet I couldn’t explain it, or teach it…it just came, one day. Thank GOD!
I have been questioning my Pastor (thank God He is open to questions and WILLING to explain on a basic core level these queries), with “What IS Absolute Truth?” He has been patient with me and has submitted to me a very BASIC review of a VERY large, long-discussed and debated topic. He is also working to compile a list of possible literature and tangible SOURCES for my journey down this spiraling path.
In the meantime I typed it in my “Yahoo” search line and here is a starting point to ponder:
1) In philosophy, absolute truth generally states what is essential rather than superficial - a description of the Ideal (to use Plato's concept) rather than the merely "real" (which Plato sees as a shadow of the Ideal). Among some religious groups this term is used to describe the source of or authority for a given faith or set of beliefs, such as the Bible.
2) In science, doubt has been cast on the notion of absolutes by theories such as relativity and quantum mechanics. Attempts to tie together all the known facts about the universe into a single unified theory (one example is string theory) could be seen as efforts to discover absolute truth about this set of facts.
3) In pure mathematics, however, there is said to be a proof for the existence of absolute truth. A common tactic in mathematical proofs is the use of reductio ad absurdum, in which the statement to be proved is denied as a premise, and then that premise is shown to lead to a contradiction. When it can be demonstrated that the negation of a statement leads to a contradiction, then the original statement is proved true.
The logical proof of the statement, "There exists an absolute truth," is almost trivial in its simplicity. Suppose we assert the negation of the statement, that is, that there is no such thing as absolute truth. By making that assertion, we claim that the sentence "There exists no absolute truth" is absolutely true. The statement is self-contradictory, so its negation, "There exists an absolute truth," is true.
Who’d have thunk it? Something so simple to roll off the tongue, only 4 syllables, could bring such division and misunderstanding. I do tend to agree with the “logical proof statement above”. The minute I affirm: “There exists NO absolute truth”, as a truth, it is NO longer true as a statement, right? This reminds me of the ‘hell’ just prior to the “AHA” moment of “getting math”.
Remember how it felt to sit there; stunned into silence because you didn’t even know enough to pull together a question? I remember the moment, the exact moment when I finally “got it” and it became so clear and obvious that it seemed unbelievable that anyone could still NOT get it…yet I couldn’t explain it, or teach it…it just came, one day. Thank GOD!
I’m HOPING this is Absolute Truth and its ability to pierce my head and heart with such understanding that while I may never TEACH it, I’ll be able to ACCEPT it and it will house itself somewhere in my cerebral cortex. I hope it doesn’t get “hung up” in my right brain, as it could SO destroy my creative nature!
When I get to the CORE of my own limited understanding, I THINK it must all get down to Faith in God. If I accept, and I do, the definition of Faith in Hebrews 11:1, I ACCEPT “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen…” The word “evidence” troubles me to the extent that this could become “personal” in nature. My evidence may not be your evidence. What I hope for, you may NOT hope for? However, I do believe at the very core of my ABSOLUTE TRUTH exists God and His creation, which includes me.
In continuing on the math picture: Remember subsets and sets:
A = GOD
B = CREATION/UNIVERSE
C = MAN/WOMAN
If God is A, and everything (in this case Creation/Universe and Man/Woman) are IN that larger set. The “B” and “C” exist as subsets of “A”. The “B” and “C” cannot “stand alone and do not EXIST outside of “A”, rather they co-exist INSIDE of “A”. “B” and “C” are a part of “A”. In my understanding, “C” also resides IN “B”…which translates to mean: Humans are a subset of God AND Creation/Universe. Creation/Universe is a SUBSET of God. God is not a SUBSET of anything, but is a SET of its own, with various subsets within it.
*sidenote: I so had a wonderful diagram here but I’m not “blog-worthy” to include it…frustrating!!!! I must learn more about HTML!
Confused yet? This is what meditating (obsessing about) “ABSOLUTE TRUTH” does to my mind. Suffice to say; I accept that GOD is ultimately God of everything and creation/universe and humans and every other THING would not be here, if not for God.
When I get to the CORE of my own limited understanding, I THINK it must all get down to Faith in God. If I accept, and I do, the definition of Faith in Hebrews 11:1, I ACCEPT “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen…” The word “evidence” troubles me to the extent that this could become “personal” in nature. My evidence may not be your evidence. What I hope for, you may NOT hope for? However, I do believe at the very core of my ABSOLUTE TRUTH exists God and His creation, which includes me.
In continuing on the math picture: Remember subsets and sets:
A = GOD
B = CREATION/UNIVERSE
C = MAN/WOMAN
If God is A, and everything (in this case Creation/Universe and Man/Woman) are IN that larger set. The “B” and “C” exist as subsets of “A”. The “B” and “C” cannot “stand alone and do not EXIST outside of “A”, rather they co-exist INSIDE of “A”. “B” and “C” are a part of “A”. In my understanding, “C” also resides IN “B”…which translates to mean: Humans are a subset of God AND Creation/Universe. Creation/Universe is a SUBSET of God. God is not a SUBSET of anything, but is a SET of its own, with various subsets within it.
*sidenote: I so had a wonderful diagram here but I’m not “blog-worthy” to include it…frustrating!!!! I must learn more about HTML!
Confused yet? This is what meditating (obsessing about) “ABSOLUTE TRUTH” does to my mind. Suffice to say; I accept that GOD is ultimately God of everything and creation/universe and humans and every other THING would not be here, if not for God.
Any thoughts?
The Great "Kazoo"
Tuesday I shared how BAD I was. I prayed this morning about my attitude and why it happened so suddenly…God revealed to me our conversation yesterday on my way TO WORK…this is how it went….
This morning on my commute to work, I started praying and pondering and God started speaking to me, asking me: “How do you see your enemy, Satan?”
This is one of those areas that I have heard MUCH discussion on, but little teaching. It seems that outside of my own readings of Neil T. Anderson and a handful of authors who openly discuss and teach on Spiritual Warfare, at least within some churches, a taboo subject.
I’ve actually heard this statement: “If we discuss Satan, we are empowering him.” What’s skewed about that logic (totally aside from the Biblical truths) is I couldn’t go ANYWHERE for a time, without hearing all kinds of talk about those dudes in Iraq. There were even a deck of cards that became popular in circles. Yet, if I talk about Satan, I’m empowering him? WHATEVER…Maybe we need 'collector cards' with all the different personnae's of Satan. That way we'd recognize him in every form he takes. There would be the snake, the beautiful fallen angel, the 'prowling lion', the horrific evil beast of Revelation...there has got to be so many forms of him, we could easily build a 'deck of cards' to distribute to the unsuspecting and unaware masses to prepare them. The other benefit to this is it would SO 'rock the world' of my childhood church. I'm just saying; sometimes we need our world "rocked" to step out of darkness, into the light, right?
Let’s start in truth: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith.” (1 Peter 5:7)
Jesus tells us in John 10 that “…the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy…”
I honestly believed for such a long time that Satan must either look like that little red devil with a mustache and horns that stands on my left shoulder trying to get me to disobey (which was offensive to me anyway because I AM left handed. Let it go, Kim…), or he was just like the “Great Kazoo” on the Flintstones. Do you remember him? He is sort of small, and cute, and mischievous, but couldn’t really HURT me.
The more I read about Satan the more I understand that he is the culmination of every evil I can or can’t picture. He is the ABSOLUTE absence of love. When I try to tell SOME people how I believe Satan looks, they ‘shut-down’ and can’t accept that Satan is some big, powerful, evil entity. The response that troubled me most was from a young lady who came to a women’s study; she said: “It’s not Satan’s fault I act the way I do, it’s my own weak flesh.” ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH my soul screams at this sentence, even today. The night I heard this, I went home and cried…honestly!
What’s troubling, is Satan was a beautiful and beloved and gifted angel…at one time. He fell to pride, and his own desire over God’s. He wanted to BE God. I wonder if he wishes he could take it all back. If he sees the error of his ways and so wants to go and apologize to God for his behavior and destruction.
This morning after this brief dialogue with God, one of the radio stations was doing their “word” of the morning and lo and behold it was: Armor, whose root “panoplia”, translates roughly to mean “offensive weapon”. The full armor of God as described in Ephesians lacks defense. There is no covering for our back, for example. This is even more conclusive proof that God wants us to watch and protect each other’s “back”.
I thought it was perfect timing of God to remind me that while the enemy is BIG and strong, God, and God alone, has enabled us ~ empowered us ~ to defeat him. As a matter of fact, Jesus already did! So now, the enemy is not only defeated, but ticked about it! He knows his reign is short. He knows he will never have ultimate dominion over this creation because it is God’s, and as heirs to the very throne of God through Jesus, we can walk in this victory and dominion too. Satan is prince of the earth. God is King of all Creation!
I know it’s not ironic that the emotionality I possessed Tuesday concluded in both a test and a temptation. The test came when God asked me to ponder my enemy. The temptation came, and unfortunately I gave in to it…when the enemy came full force to lie to me about this victory.
So I thank GOD for the ‘re-test’ dates and I will put on my FULL ARMOR today and stand arms linked to my brothers and sisters as I face these attacks!
Here’s a couple of ACTION verbs for us to remember:
“SUBMIT yourselves to God, RESIST the devil and he will flee from you!”
James 4:7
This morning on my commute to work, I started praying and pondering and God started speaking to me, asking me: “How do you see your enemy, Satan?”
This is one of those areas that I have heard MUCH discussion on, but little teaching. It seems that outside of my own readings of Neil T. Anderson and a handful of authors who openly discuss and teach on Spiritual Warfare, at least within some churches, a taboo subject.
I’ve actually heard this statement: “If we discuss Satan, we are empowering him.” What’s skewed about that logic (totally aside from the Biblical truths) is I couldn’t go ANYWHERE for a time, without hearing all kinds of talk about those dudes in Iraq. There were even a deck of cards that became popular in circles. Yet, if I talk about Satan, I’m empowering him? WHATEVER…Maybe we need 'collector cards' with all the different personnae's of Satan. That way we'd recognize him in every form he takes. There would be the snake, the beautiful fallen angel, the 'prowling lion', the horrific evil beast of Revelation...there has got to be so many forms of him, we could easily build a 'deck of cards' to distribute to the unsuspecting and unaware masses to prepare them. The other benefit to this is it would SO 'rock the world' of my childhood church. I'm just saying; sometimes we need our world "rocked" to step out of darkness, into the light, right?
Let’s start in truth: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith.” (1 Peter 5:7)
Jesus tells us in John 10 that “…the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy…”
I honestly believed for such a long time that Satan must either look like that little red devil with a mustache and horns that stands on my left shoulder trying to get me to disobey (which was offensive to me anyway because I AM left handed. Let it go, Kim…), or he was just like the “Great Kazoo” on the Flintstones. Do you remember him? He is sort of small, and cute, and mischievous, but couldn’t really HURT me.
The more I read about Satan the more I understand that he is the culmination of every evil I can or can’t picture. He is the ABSOLUTE absence of love. When I try to tell SOME people how I believe Satan looks, they ‘shut-down’ and can’t accept that Satan is some big, powerful, evil entity. The response that troubled me most was from a young lady who came to a women’s study; she said: “It’s not Satan’s fault I act the way I do, it’s my own weak flesh.” ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH my soul screams at this sentence, even today. The night I heard this, I went home and cried…honestly!
What’s troubling, is Satan was a beautiful and beloved and gifted angel…at one time. He fell to pride, and his own desire over God’s. He wanted to BE God. I wonder if he wishes he could take it all back. If he sees the error of his ways and so wants to go and apologize to God for his behavior and destruction.
This morning after this brief dialogue with God, one of the radio stations was doing their “word” of the morning and lo and behold it was: Armor, whose root “panoplia”, translates roughly to mean “offensive weapon”. The full armor of God as described in Ephesians lacks defense. There is no covering for our back, for example. This is even more conclusive proof that God wants us to watch and protect each other’s “back”.
I thought it was perfect timing of God to remind me that while the enemy is BIG and strong, God, and God alone, has enabled us ~ empowered us ~ to defeat him. As a matter of fact, Jesus already did! So now, the enemy is not only defeated, but ticked about it! He knows his reign is short. He knows he will never have ultimate dominion over this creation because it is God’s, and as heirs to the very throne of God through Jesus, we can walk in this victory and dominion too. Satan is prince of the earth. God is King of all Creation!
I know it’s not ironic that the emotionality I possessed Tuesday concluded in both a test and a temptation. The test came when God asked me to ponder my enemy. The temptation came, and unfortunately I gave in to it…when the enemy came full force to lie to me about this victory.
So I thank GOD for the ‘re-test’ dates and I will put on my FULL ARMOR today and stand arms linked to my brothers and sisters as I face these attacks!
Here’s a couple of ACTION verbs for us to remember:
“SUBMIT yourselves to God, RESIST the devil and he will flee from you!”
James 4:7
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
What's That on Your Forehead?
Today is “Ash Wednesday”. In Oklahoma, Ash Wednesday can come and go without anyone even realizing it. Oklahoma lies in a “Bible Belt” but we are NOT predominantly Catholic. Do large populations of Catholics call themselves a “Bible Belt”? I refer to Catholics because prior to returning to Oklahoma, I lived in New Mexico, where the majority of churches and church attendees are Catholic and adhere strictly to the Catholic faith, traditions, and rituals.
I managed a staff of support personnel in a medical clinic and Ash Wednesday was one of the most popular days to request leave, second only to “Good Friday” which is observed locally by a pilgrimage to a “holy” land north of Albuquerque, called “Chimayo”. People would walk 10, 20, even 100 or more miles to reach Chimayo by Easter Sunday in repentance and seeking healing.
Here is an excerpt from a news article covering this tradition:
The destination of the pilgrims, El Santuario de Chimayo, is believed to hold the power to heal mind and body. A pilgrim from Las Cruces, New Mexico years ago left a note in the shrine advising: "If you are a stranger, if you are weary from the struggles in life, whether you have a handicap, whether you have a broken heart, Follow the long mountain road, Find a home in Chimayo..." The shrine is a time capsule for nearly two centuries of reverent pilgrims' notes and prayers, homemade crosses, votive candles and crutches left behind. http://www.houstonculture.org/hispanic/chimayo.html
I drove to Chimayo once, because frankly, they have incredible red Chile. I went into the little chapel (it is tiny and has a low, low ceiling). I could feel a sense of history and the need to quiet myself out of respect for those who traveled before me to this place. A part of me was saddened by the thought that these people were searching for healing that Jesus Christ can only provide. The people take the dirt from Chimayo and use it in prayer vigils and to offer to the sick and dying that couldn’t make the trip. I still keep some of this dirt as a reminder. The site never seems to deplete as you would expect. The cynic in me thinks they just add any old “dirt” to the clay floors, but there is definitely something “holy” about this place.
That was just a short ‘plug’ for a very interesting and worthwhile trip for those of you vacationing through New Mexico this year.
Throughout the Old Testament there are examples of the use of ashes (and sackcloth) as an act of repentance to God and Jesus refers to this in the New Testament as well…I decided to “research” information about Ash Wednesday and its potential significance to me as a Christian.
From this source: http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/ac0204.asp
Despite all these references in Scripture, the use of ashes in the Church left only a few records in the first millennium of Church history. Thomas Talley, an expert on the history of the liturgical year, says that the first clearly datable liturgy for Ash Wednesday that provides for sprinkling ashes is in the Romano-Germanic pontifical of 960. Before that time, ashes had been used as a sign of admission to the Order of Penitents. As early as the sixth century, the Spanish Omarabad rite calls for signing the forehead with ashes when admitting a gravely ill person to the Order of Penitents. At the beginning of the 11th century, Abbot Aelfric notes that it was customary for all the faithful to take part in a ceremony on the Wednesday before Lent that included the imposition of ashes. Near the end of that century, Pope Urban II called for the general use of ashes on that day. Only later did this day come to be called Ash Wednesday.
At first, clerics and men had ashes sprinkled on their heads, while women had the sign of the cross made with ashes on their foreheads. Eventually, of course, the ritual used with women came to be used for men as well.
In the 12th century the rule developed that the ashes were to be created by burning palm branches from the previous Palm Sunday. Many parishes today invite parishioners to bring such palms to church before Lent begins and have a ritual burning of the palms after Mass.
I remember my first year in New Mexico I saw many people with what appeared to be “dirt” on their foreheads and I’m telling you right now, I darn near did the ‘lick thumb, clear forehead’ on several people I knew. Thankfully, one of my closest friends stopped me in the ‘nick of time’ before I defiled the work of a Holy Roman Priest! Good grief, talk about BAD KARMA!
One year, the same friend, brought to me this dried straw looking stuff that was in the shape of a cross (I had never been exposed to Catholics on this level before) It was one of the “Palms” that a local artist made into a cross. I still have it and I look at it sometimes and pray that God would always remind me of the power of the cross.
There is so much history in church and religion and while for me and my own relationship with Christ, some of it seems superfluous, it is still sacred and beautiful and almost vital to a huge population of people.
Ash Wednesday is the most attended day of the year in the Catholic Church. Did you know that? So that tells me, this day must hold significance, on some level, to all of us. This writing could simply be a warning to avoid the natural reaction of clearing someone’s forehead today. Though I hope it also causes us to stop and thank God for all He is and all He has done and all He is doing.
Have a wonderful Ash Wednesday!
I managed a staff of support personnel in a medical clinic and Ash Wednesday was one of the most popular days to request leave, second only to “Good Friday” which is observed locally by a pilgrimage to a “holy” land north of Albuquerque, called “Chimayo”. People would walk 10, 20, even 100 or more miles to reach Chimayo by Easter Sunday in repentance and seeking healing.
Here is an excerpt from a news article covering this tradition:
The destination of the pilgrims, El Santuario de Chimayo, is believed to hold the power to heal mind and body. A pilgrim from Las Cruces, New Mexico years ago left a note in the shrine advising: "If you are a stranger, if you are weary from the struggles in life, whether you have a handicap, whether you have a broken heart, Follow the long mountain road, Find a home in Chimayo..." The shrine is a time capsule for nearly two centuries of reverent pilgrims' notes and prayers, homemade crosses, votive candles and crutches left behind. http://www.houstonculture.org/hispanic/chimayo.html
I drove to Chimayo once, because frankly, they have incredible red Chile. I went into the little chapel (it is tiny and has a low, low ceiling). I could feel a sense of history and the need to quiet myself out of respect for those who traveled before me to this place. A part of me was saddened by the thought that these people were searching for healing that Jesus Christ can only provide. The people take the dirt from Chimayo and use it in prayer vigils and to offer to the sick and dying that couldn’t make the trip. I still keep some of this dirt as a reminder. The site never seems to deplete as you would expect. The cynic in me thinks they just add any old “dirt” to the clay floors, but there is definitely something “holy” about this place.
That was just a short ‘plug’ for a very interesting and worthwhile trip for those of you vacationing through New Mexico this year.
Throughout the Old Testament there are examples of the use of ashes (and sackcloth) as an act of repentance to God and Jesus refers to this in the New Testament as well…I decided to “research” information about Ash Wednesday and its potential significance to me as a Christian.
From this source: http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/ac0204.asp
Despite all these references in Scripture, the use of ashes in the Church left only a few records in the first millennium of Church history. Thomas Talley, an expert on the history of the liturgical year, says that the first clearly datable liturgy for Ash Wednesday that provides for sprinkling ashes is in the Romano-Germanic pontifical of 960. Before that time, ashes had been used as a sign of admission to the Order of Penitents. As early as the sixth century, the Spanish Omarabad rite calls for signing the forehead with ashes when admitting a gravely ill person to the Order of Penitents. At the beginning of the 11th century, Abbot Aelfric notes that it was customary for all the faithful to take part in a ceremony on the Wednesday before Lent that included the imposition of ashes. Near the end of that century, Pope Urban II called for the general use of ashes on that day. Only later did this day come to be called Ash Wednesday.
At first, clerics and men had ashes sprinkled on their heads, while women had the sign of the cross made with ashes on their foreheads. Eventually, of course, the ritual used with women came to be used for men as well.
In the 12th century the rule developed that the ashes were to be created by burning palm branches from the previous Palm Sunday. Many parishes today invite parishioners to bring such palms to church before Lent begins and have a ritual burning of the palms after Mass.
I remember my first year in New Mexico I saw many people with what appeared to be “dirt” on their foreheads and I’m telling you right now, I darn near did the ‘lick thumb, clear forehead’ on several people I knew. Thankfully, one of my closest friends stopped me in the ‘nick of time’ before I defiled the work of a Holy Roman Priest! Good grief, talk about BAD KARMA!
One year, the same friend, brought to me this dried straw looking stuff that was in the shape of a cross (I had never been exposed to Catholics on this level before) It was one of the “Palms” that a local artist made into a cross. I still have it and I look at it sometimes and pray that God would always remind me of the power of the cross.
There is so much history in church and religion and while for me and my own relationship with Christ, some of it seems superfluous, it is still sacred and beautiful and almost vital to a huge population of people.
Ash Wednesday is the most attended day of the year in the Catholic Church. Did you know that? So that tells me, this day must hold significance, on some level, to all of us. This writing could simply be a warning to avoid the natural reaction of clearing someone’s forehead today. Though I hope it also causes us to stop and thank God for all He is and all He has done and all He is doing.
Have a wonderful Ash Wednesday!
Concerto in "Malibu Maxx" Minor
While I rarely indulge in the unsafe practices of phone calls in my car…I DO enter another, sometimes equally unsafe world of my very own…the auto concert hall! I know your familiar with it…see if this doesn’t ring true.
I make the selections prior to my trips, specifically any trip over 15 minutes. My current selections, in fitting with the upward surging of our temperatures, has been the new Toby Mac, Diverse City CD, which if you haven’t picked it up…I would so strongly recommend you do so. It not only gets the blood pumping, but it really expresses the vocal chords in new and exciting ways and the lyrics are good too.
There is NOTHING like rolling down the windows and cranking that bad boy up. This also helps drown out any unedited harmonizing attempts AND allows me to share with the whole world…this riveting music. It could be worse; it could be AC/DC Back in Black, right?
As soon as I hear the seatbelt click safely in place, the engine purring and the windows hug their rubber bumper, I know it’s time. There is little on earth that gives me as much pleasure as these concertos. Even in the winter, with the windows up and unnaturally dry heat blowing into my mouth, agape in chorus, it’s this freeing world of expression I continue to seek daily. Frankly, this is most every girls’ dream and I’ve witnessed many people, women and men alike thinking they are safely confined in their auto concert hall alone, break into song and sometimes “seat-dancing” (yes, I’ve done that too. Some songs require movement, hellooooo!).
These are more of the childlike qualities that help keep me balanced from the requirements of adulthood from 7:30-4:30 each weekday. This is when my true inner-child can come out and sing her heart out, at the top of her lungs, while feeling the wind blow her hair around and picturing her audience of 40,000-50,000 adoring fans cheering her on! Sometimes I sing so loud, my throat hurts…I know, that’s bad, but it’s only occasionally when I’m really “feeling” the music.
My darling niece and nephew, in their maturing state, sometimes act like little curmudgeons when they get in “Maxx” (my car), and I tell them, buckle up and warm up their voices cause I can’t even hear them, til we all sing as loud as we can, whether we know the words or not! I sometimes let them pick the song, and sometimes we just sing whatever comes up, with or without music. It sometimes even makes us all laugh, when we get “busted” by other cars not ‘in concert’ or when our lyrics are better, and louder than the ones we should be singing.
This musical gift and yearning is developed early and sometimes by default. Here is how I started out: I remember when I was younger, much younger…and my dad would take us all (Dad, Mom, Me, 1 older Brother and 1 younger sister) on ‘vacations’. This meant an 11 hour trip from Aurora, Colorado to Augusta, Kansas…the dreaded trip to grandmas. We’d go several times a year actually.
Please note this was YEARS prior to walkmans, or any electronic device, or TV, or DVD player or any other distraction and diversion from the road and the radio selections of our DAD. This is when my sister and I grew a passion for C & W music. The original C & W music. This was WAY before country was “cool!” This was the 1970’s, before even Rhinestone Cowboy came out.
Much to our father’s chagrin, my sister and I adapted quickly to learn these songs, and we sang our little pre-teen hearts out, because that’s what our father selected as our travel music. Our brother would read his comic books and try to annoy us with the male leg spreading law (no description necessary if you have a brother). Our mother would work the crossword and hum some random musical pattern (the auto-concerto in maturity), and our dad would wince and moan and groan and crank the music louder while my sister and I thought he was doing it to allow us more vocal range and tone…we joined right in the challenge before us. Those were the days my friends, the birth of the auto-concerto princess!
It’s almost springtime in Oklahoma and I love the springtime, and it’s offering of sunshine and heat and more quality open-air concert time. I hope your warming up your voice, because I’m going to be looking for you out there…singing and ‘seat-dancing’ your way to and fro.
Remember: "Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth, make a loud noise, and rejoice and sing praise." Psalm 98:4
Let's drive...
I make the selections prior to my trips, specifically any trip over 15 minutes. My current selections, in fitting with the upward surging of our temperatures, has been the new Toby Mac, Diverse City CD, which if you haven’t picked it up…I would so strongly recommend you do so. It not only gets the blood pumping, but it really expresses the vocal chords in new and exciting ways and the lyrics are good too.
There is NOTHING like rolling down the windows and cranking that bad boy up. This also helps drown out any unedited harmonizing attempts AND allows me to share with the whole world…this riveting music. It could be worse; it could be AC/DC Back in Black, right?
As soon as I hear the seatbelt click safely in place, the engine purring and the windows hug their rubber bumper, I know it’s time. There is little on earth that gives me as much pleasure as these concertos. Even in the winter, with the windows up and unnaturally dry heat blowing into my mouth, agape in chorus, it’s this freeing world of expression I continue to seek daily. Frankly, this is most every girls’ dream and I’ve witnessed many people, women and men alike thinking they are safely confined in their auto concert hall alone, break into song and sometimes “seat-dancing” (yes, I’ve done that too. Some songs require movement, hellooooo!).
These are more of the childlike qualities that help keep me balanced from the requirements of adulthood from 7:30-4:30 each weekday. This is when my true inner-child can come out and sing her heart out, at the top of her lungs, while feeling the wind blow her hair around and picturing her audience of 40,000-50,000 adoring fans cheering her on! Sometimes I sing so loud, my throat hurts…I know, that’s bad, but it’s only occasionally when I’m really “feeling” the music.
My darling niece and nephew, in their maturing state, sometimes act like little curmudgeons when they get in “Maxx” (my car), and I tell them, buckle up and warm up their voices cause I can’t even hear them, til we all sing as loud as we can, whether we know the words or not! I sometimes let them pick the song, and sometimes we just sing whatever comes up, with or without music. It sometimes even makes us all laugh, when we get “busted” by other cars not ‘in concert’ or when our lyrics are better, and louder than the ones we should be singing.
This musical gift and yearning is developed early and sometimes by default. Here is how I started out: I remember when I was younger, much younger…and my dad would take us all (Dad, Mom, Me, 1 older Brother and 1 younger sister) on ‘vacations’. This meant an 11 hour trip from Aurora, Colorado to Augusta, Kansas…the dreaded trip to grandmas. We’d go several times a year actually.
Please note this was YEARS prior to walkmans, or any electronic device, or TV, or DVD player or any other distraction and diversion from the road and the radio selections of our DAD. This is when my sister and I grew a passion for C & W music. The original C & W music. This was WAY before country was “cool!” This was the 1970’s, before even Rhinestone Cowboy came out.
Much to our father’s chagrin, my sister and I adapted quickly to learn these songs, and we sang our little pre-teen hearts out, because that’s what our father selected as our travel music. Our brother would read his comic books and try to annoy us with the male leg spreading law (no description necessary if you have a brother). Our mother would work the crossword and hum some random musical pattern (the auto-concerto in maturity), and our dad would wince and moan and groan and crank the music louder while my sister and I thought he was doing it to allow us more vocal range and tone…we joined right in the challenge before us. Those were the days my friends, the birth of the auto-concerto princess!
It’s almost springtime in Oklahoma and I love the springtime, and it’s offering of sunshine and heat and more quality open-air concert time. I hope your warming up your voice, because I’m going to be looking for you out there…singing and ‘seat-dancing’ your way to and fro.
Remember: "Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth, make a loud noise, and rejoice and sing praise." Psalm 98:4
Let's drive...
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