Surrender

Have you ever been in a situation where you know beyond the shadow of a doubt that God is trying to get your attention about something because everywhere you turn you see or hear something around the same topic? Have you ever been so worried that if you surrender yourself and your life to Christ that He will make you get rid of all your things and move to Africa?

Well.

So.

Hmmmm.

It all started a couple years ago when my brother sent us a letter about a missions trip to Zambia he would be participating in with his church and asked that we prayerfully consider helping him to raise funds to help him go. At that time we were down to one income and our pennies were being stretched as far as possible so we were only able to help by praying for him. The next year, we received another letter from him with the same request for another trip to Zambia. It 'just so happened' (I love it when things 'just so happen'!) that around that same time Brad's boss had requested each partner to find a charity or organization that the company could donate money to. Each would be receiving a generous donation. Brad chose my brother.

Fast forward 4 months to early December 2010. We were out Christmas shopping and 'just so happened' to stop in Family Christian...where World Vision had set up a kiosk to sponsor a child from another country. The kiosk was magnetic and we could not leave the store. We chose Eric. He is from Rwanda.

About a month ago, my brother emailed me on my birthday and at the end of his greeting asked if we wanted to go with them to Zambia next summer. I replied and gave him some excuses as to why we can't. And then I talked with my husband about it and he was interested in finding out more about it, so I emailed my brother back and asked for the dates. He sent me an attachment with all the info and said, "Don't let the cost scare you. If God wants you to go, he will make a way."

And since that day we have been bombarded with something about Africa At. Every.Turn. !!

I don't know what He has in store. Maybe He's not going to have us get rid of our life as we know it and move to Africa. Maybe He just wants us to go on a missions trip there. Maybe not. What I do know is this...

Psalm 139:1-10
1 O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord. 5 You hem me in –behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. 7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

Where are all the snuggies?

I've known for about a month now that my gift for my angel was due on Wednesday morning, November 30th. That's right...a month. Now, I've taken the time to put an appointment on my calendar every day in the last month to pick up a snuggie for my angel because "I don't want to try to have to find one at the last minute". AND on that appointment I have taken the time to set up an alert 15 minutes beforehand so that I will not forget. Well, I snoozed that appointment till the next day every single day for the last month. And like a champ...waited till this evening to go buy a snuggie for my angel. I couldn't find one! Walgreens - none. CVS - nope! Target - uh no! Kirklands - not this year! Well...until I stopped at Bed, Bath, and Beyond which is now my most favorite store on the planet. So, I will deliver my angel gift tomorrow morning and pray that this 15-year old boy is surrounded by the warmth and comfort of his new snuggie among all the other joys every boy his age should be experiencing at this most blessed time of year.

Guest Blogger

Y'all I'm so excited to introduce my first guest blogger today! Her name is Jenn and she is my married to my nephew, Chad, so technically she's my niece. I am honored to claim her as so.

This girl knows what it means to be clothed in strength. She is in love with Jesus and it shows in her every action...and if ever there was a threat to the adversary...she is it.

Oh yeah...and she is the mother of my great-niece, Anna Grace. If this doesn't make your heart flitter, I don't know what will.

Please go. Read her beautiful Thanksgiving post.

Enjoy...and Happy actual Thanksgiving today!!

Please pass the joy

In less than 12 hours the first of the Thanksgiving guests will arrive. I have visited the grocery store more than enough in the last two days but realized a few minutes ago that I still forgot the cherry pie filling! Hope there's some left.

So I'm mostly prepared for guests with enough food to fill their bellies while they're here, but I have to wonder if I'm prepared to fill their time here with grace. I fear I'm not. I fear I'm getting lost in the Martha mentality...rushing to fill my fridge and decorate my house and clean the floors and wash the sheets. And while those things are done and my house is ready to receive our guests, my soul feels barren and my 'joy' tank is running on fumes. And this...precisely this...is the exact opposite of what this holiday is all about. And in my search tonight of how I need to fill my tank, I'm humbled by the fact that I can't. I cannot serve myself up a dish of peace, love, and joy no matter how hard I try or put my mind to it. My resolve to just be dadgum peaceful is not just gonna happen. But...(there's always a but) what I do have is access to it. I have been graced with everything I need to have an overflow and all I have it do is put it on.

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
(Col 3:12)

Because I am chosen and dearly loved! I dont have to do these things in order to be chosen and dearly loved...I already am. And so are you. All I have to do is take off my old rags and put on my new duds. They are there folded nice and neatly and ready to be worn. I pray I can. I pray that I'm so clothed with those virtues this week that my guests go home filled...not by turkey and gravy and buttery rolls, but by the fact they have been in the presence of Grace.

And my prayer is the same for you. That you are able to don the beauty of patience when Grandpa tells the same jokes he told last year. And the beauty of compassion when cousin invites you to her pity party. And the beauty of gentleness when Aunt's green bean casserole is missing an important ingredient. And certainly the beauty of kindness when sister-in-law serves you some tofurkey! I pray you would be filled with the wonder of Grace and that those who cross your path are profoundly affected because of it.

Happy Thanksgiving.

20 Years

So I remember what I was going to write about the other night when I started a post by saying how truly baffled I am at how quickly time passes by and then fell asleep in the middle of it. Mamaw needs her sleep! Anyway...I am baffled by how quickly time passes and last weekend I spent time with people I haven't seen in 20 years. 20 years! And when I graduated from college 20 years ago I had no idea how quickly it would go. Regardless, my 20-year college reunion was upon me and I was excited to see sweet friends who knew and loved me unconditionally during my most awkward stage of life. Most people's awkward stage is in middle school but I was always a little behind and mine graced me in college.

So my sister who was celebrating her 25-year reunion picked me up on her way up from Austin, and we went together. And we had 3 hours in a car by ourselves uninterrupted for the first time in at least 15 years and we did not allow any lull in the conversation!

After we arrived in OKC we went to the campus for the men's homecoming basketball game. They have built a new center for the basketball and put an area above the basketball court for reunioners which is where we all stood during the game to catch up. Afterward we went to our class parties - first to mine and then to Patti's. My cheeks hurt after smiling and laughing so much. But it was fun and good to see these people.

Then Saturday after our reunion luncheons we went back to my folks' house and my nephew came over and brought his cutie wife and baby and we got to spend some time with them. My nephew loves to be with us because we giggle at everything he says and the more we giggle the more he performs for us. And speaking of how time goes by so quickly, he is a father! I remember going with his mother to drop him off at his first day of Kindergarten. I had a huge lump in my throat that day and now he's a daddy! And the same emotions that caused the lump in my throat that day are still stirred by him and all my nephews and nieces, who are also grown, and I still get the same lump when they reach milestones today.

Time does go fast. I want to spend it soaking up the blessing of waking up every day, and I want to spend it loving others well. I haven't always. But it's not to late to start.

Rambling

Sometimes I'm truly baffled by how quickly time passes. And I know it does and I often dpdddddfs

Ok. That first "paragraph" was something I started while I was laying in bed last night. I guess I fell asleep with my finger on the d on my smartphone keyboard. And...well...I have no idea what I was going to write about but I guess I had been overcome by the realization of how quickly time passes by.

Anyway.

Pinterest. I'm totally addicted. Totally. I have a lot of pins and a lot of projects on the list. Enough to keep me busy for the next 3 or 4 years. I started with this and I love it.

It is hanging in my entry way and I love it, by the way.

I also pinned this on my Organization board because I love organization.


Now...I'm not organized at all, but I love the idea, and I admire people who are. So...when I saw this idea on Pinterest, I was pumped because for $1.39, the area under my kitchen sink was going to become a really cool place. But when I did it, this is what happened. And, y'all...it won't stay, and I am not a natural DIYer, so I have no idea what gadget to go buy to make it work. Please help.

I'm done rambling now. Centennial High School is in the playoffs and they are spanking every team that darkens their doorstep. So I gotta go watch my niece cheer them on. Go Titans!

COST - co

I really should have known before we went that getting out of Costco with just the two items on our list was wishful thinking! I mean I had convinced my man to go with me and that it would be fun and I just wanted to get a couple things and we wouldn't be there very long. And so I'm not sure if I was trying to convince him or myself! Because, well...we didn't make it out of there with only two items, and our $20 turned into...ummm...$100. But. It was fun. So I was right about one thing!

Veggie Straws. Holy deliciousness! Go get some.

Lighted make-up mirror. Now maybe my make-up won't look so scary every day and one eye won't have more eye shadow than the other. It's always good to shed a little light into the darkness!

We use to have this flimsy white piece of paper covering us.

And it would cause our bedspread to be like this.

And I was like - dang!

But now we have this warm, snuggly blanket for our bed.

With this one our bedspread doesn't fall to the floor. And now I'm like - hooray!

It's a good thing I bought a huge package of lunch meat because I'll need it when the army gets here! No photo because we've already eaten a good portion of it and there's not enough left for the army!

And finally relief for my arthritic neck. Embarrassing. I know. But yes - arthritis. With this wonderful new tempur-pedic (sp?) pillow, I no longer wake up with a sore neck! Hallelujah!

And then there were a couple personal items. But I'm not going to tell what they are because it's personal!

I heart Costco. So glad there's a brand new one right across the street. Guess I'll need to continue to work so I can fund the habit.

Laundry room woes

My towels stink! Yes. Stink. For several weeks now - only in the mornings - my laundry room has been greeting us with the lovely stench of - well - sewage. I know. Gross! For the life of me I can't figure out why it's only in the mornings, and I'm not sure I want to figure it out. Really, I just want to walk by my laundry room and be greeted with the fresh spring scent of my detergent and fabric softener. And apparently, that's asking too much. But anyway, we finally got our landlords over here yesterday morning, and you guessed it...there was no smell of sewage. I mean nowhere near...not even one little bit! That is until I used a clean towel that I had just pulled from the dryer, which stank! And that, my friends, tells me that the water I've been washing my clothes in is not clean. So...I'm no plumber...or whatever handyman takes care of that type of problem, but I will get to the bottom of this. And in the mean time, I've got to figure out where to wash my laundry!