ON MY WAY!!!

WWAHHHOOOOO!

I'm leaving in mere hours to go get me a fresh Word from the Lord thru His INCREDIBLE servant - Beth Moore!! I just love listening to her teach and my walk with the Father has grown because of her insight and ability to make the Word JUMP from the pages at me! She taught me how to read my Bible. Sad that I spent so many years getting a nugget here and there but since I did my first study almost 8 years ago I now discover a new treasure each time I open the Word. That's NOT Beth Moore's doing but it's the way God intended it to be for all of us all the time!!!

Anyway, I'll be sure to let you know how it goes and if you're in South Carolina this weekend look for the tall blond acting goofy! That's the way I get when I'm fixin to have me some "church"!!! Love to all...

Preparing the soil...

I am by no stretch of the imagination a gardener. In fact, once I bought tomato plants to try and plant but after a week or so forgot to water them and, needless to say, no tomatoes! As I've been watching the season change and LOVING it - Spring is my absolute favorite despite the pollen - the Lord has been speaking to me lately like never before. To be honest, I think it's more like I've actually been paying attention like never before!

Today it's rainy and cool and I was teaching my Kayley the jingle of "April showers bring May flowers" and she said "Oh momma, I just LOVE flowers! Especially roses!" (makes a mom proud! teehee) We talked about how the rainy season makes the ground ready for the long hot summer. What a perfect example of the Lord's work not only on the earth but in our lives! We HAVE to go thru rainy times - even stormy times - to be prepared for the scorching heat of our "summer seasons".

I'm not really sure which season I'm in right now. I would have to say it's been a bit rainy in my life the last few months/years but I feel like there's flowers beginning to bloom! I never lost hope for Spring during my Winter but it's just nice to actually see it happening. God is so good that way! I pray that each of you - regardless of your season of life will know that the Creator of the Universe is busy at work in you. He's preparing the soil of your life either for fresh planting or for harvest or it may even need a little weeding and tilling. (been there!) Just trust Him. Focus on Him. Obey Him and He will give you the desires of your heart. A new house, a new car, a million dollars - DOUBTFUL but when you are seeing your life thru His eyes the desires of your heart won't be those things anyway! Though He may very well bless you with those earthly blessings that won't be the desire of your heart! Trust me on that one! Be prepared my friends. I know the Gardener is at work in me and He wants to work in you too!

El Berakhah

The one who gives blessings for my benefit! WOW!

God is so good to me! I mean, really! To ME! All of my life has been surrounded by Him, His Word, His people, His love and so often I didn't even know it, much less see it and appreciate it! God in Heaven how sorry I am for the times when you had a blessing for me but I was too wrapped up in my self to know the difference. Thank you for loving me in spite of that!

Ya'll God just totally cracks me up sometimes. I think He cracks Himself up too! We know what a sense of humor He has - after all He is JOY! When I started blogging I didn't think anyone but Leigh would be reading this and I did it so she could help keep me accountable! Now God has given me so many blessings thru this silly thing! He's brought such precious people to this blog - like Lucy and Kim - that it just blows my mind. I know it's not because I have anything exceptionally profound to share but what I have is a passion for the Lord and a passion to encourage other women (and who knows - maybe even a man or two as well haha) to long for a deeper walk, a drink from the well of Living Water where we'll NEVER thirst, a relationship so real that you'll just KNOW He's right beside you! That's all this is and yet He has chosen to bless me for it!

He is good and if you don't know that you know that you know Him I beg you to contact me so I can introduce you! He wants YOU! He loves YOU! He longs to bless YOU! He has a mansion FULL of gifts waiting for you!! Don't resist Him - it might seem like the hardest thing you've ever done but I promise after that first step you'll find it's not only the easiest but the BEST gift you've ever received! The ONLY gift that will ever make a difference! Thank you God for the honor of serving You and for sharing my life - as hectic and simple as it is! I love you Lord!

HE IS RISEN INDEED!

What an awesome morning! The air when I left for church this morning was crisp and cool and the sky was as clear as could be. I started thinking about what that tomb was like. Crisp and cool with the stench of death and darkness, yet on that morning it was crisp, cool and CLEAR!! Clear of all odors, clear of all darkness and clear of all death! Makes a Baptist girl wanna shout I tell ya!!

Father in heaven how I love you and thank you for loving kindness to me. I thank you for giving me the privilege of serving You and for the freedom I have found in that service! I know the world doesn't get that - freedom in serving (not leading) but it's Your way Lord! Obedience is our ticket to freedom! Thank you for such an awesome day at church and an awesome afternoon with my family! I love you Father, my Abba Daddy!

He is RISEN!

Tomorrow is such a special day for those of us who believe. It's not about the family dinners (YUM) or the new clothes (though they're FUN) or about the gifts (which I'm not sure how we got sucked into that anyway) or about the program at church (though it's going to be great) or even about the death of our Lord! No, it's not about the agony He suffered on our behalf - though we can't disregard that in any shape, form or fashion! Tomorrow, though, is about an EMPTY GRAVE! It's about a stone that was rolled away and women seeking "the Living among the dead" and finding Him RISEN!!!

I heard that the Iranian president released the British hostages as a gift and gesture of good will in honor of "Allah" - however you spell it - and in celebration of the passing of Christ. Boy, did he miss the point COMPLETELY!!! This holiday isn't about the passing of Christ - though we couldn't celebrate the rest without it - but about his RESURRECTION!! As you prepare for your Easter Sunday morning I pray that you will stop and do a little resurrection dance for Jesus! Dance uninhibited sisters! Celebrate Him! He rejoices over you with singing (Zeph 3:17) so let's do some rejoicing for Him as well! After all, it's the least we can do, don't ya think?!

"Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!"

My legacy...

I have an incredible story I wanted to share about the legacy left for me. I've always known my maternal grandparents loved the Lord and were His servants but this story is just too cool not to share! My mother lives in an apartment building for senior citizens and a couple of weeks ago a lady from her building came over to visit. She asked my mom if she had gone to Mt. Calvary as a young girl and my mom said yes. She told her that she had also visited there as a girl in high school and that there was a family that had opened their doors to her and made her feel so welcome every time she visited. She said that the family had given her such a gift during some very difficult years and that though she couldn't remember their names she would NEVER forget their faces. She said, in fact, she had a picture of the couple and hoped that maybe my mom would recognize them since that's where mom grew up. To her amazement, when the woman handed mom the picture it was MY GRANDPARENTS!!! My mom burst into tears and said "Recognize them, that's my parents!" WOW! What a gift from the Lord! He is so good!

Thank you God for giving me such an awesome legacy of faith! You are so good! Thank you for giving that gift to my mom as well! She needed that bit of sunshine in her life! I love you Lord! Help me continue that legacy of loving You, loving others and serving both! Thank you Father!

WHIRLWIND

I can't believe how this week has FLOWN by! The Ft. Jackson retreat was INCREDIBLE! Let me just say that God Almighty was so thick in that place that you could smell Him, taste Him and even see Him! The first night opened with the ladies - who were all (but one) military wives - giving a bit of their testimonies. I suppose having your husband in possible PHYSICAL danger every day would cause you to make sure your "house is in order" because I can't imagine how the people that don't know the Lord deal with the stress of that situation. One lady's husband is in Afghanistan and his office had been bombed last week! Did that make the news? Of course not - he's a chaplain! (we won't go there!) The most amazing thing to me was that they all said they DID NOT want the military to pull out of this war until the mission was COMPLETE! Unreal!

Anyway, for me the Lord spoke in a fresh way that nearly knocked my socks off! I went knowing that I was going to be doing the cooking for the ladies - that's the whole reason I went - but MY agenda was to pop in and out of the sessions at MY choosing and participate at MY discretion. Typical MARY attitude! Well, the Lord had a slightly different agenda! I was in the kitchen just about the ENTIRE time! I mean, after all, I was preparing meals for 20 women. Fortunately the Lord arranged this facility that the kitchen was right by the meeting room so though I couldn't be in there I could hear what was happening. Even more difficult for me, as those of you who know me can testify! I could hear them and I would be in the kitchen doing dishes and saying "But Lord I could really share some words of wisdom right there" and He of course would say "You missed a spot girl!" haha (just kiddin) The point is that I was in a completely different territory. I was behind the scenes - not opening my big mouth - and yet the Lord was using me in a BIG way. But here's the BEST part - my cup was filled to overflowing with the Lord's blessing! These ladies were so grateful to be served and not have to clean up or think about their next meal. The Lord had given Jennifer and I the menu several weeks ago - stay with me yes, He gave us the menu - because ALL the ladies were so happy to have asparagus. No one fixes "fancy" asparagus for their kids and husband and it was just another special gift from the Father!

There was a session when the ladies broke into spontaneous prayers all over the room. The Lord was moving, He was listening, and I'm tearing up just remembering His presence. This warrior Cathy, prayed this prayer like I have never heard! I was walking into the pantry passing by the room where they were meeting and it was like the Lord said STOP right in my ear - more like I ran right into Him! I stood there listening to her heartfelt cry to the Lord and then began watching the ladies all take turns crying out to Him and here I was in my apron and slippers! haha I ended up in the room because I just HAD to get in there. It was one of the sweetest times with a bunch of women I had NEVER met in my entire life!!! God is so good!

Well, since the retreat, my oldest son was baptized Palm Sunday morning! AWESOME!!! That day was just one of those out of body type days! Just incredible. Then this week is spring break for us and I went to WV to visit with my family. Had an incredible day with my sister Regina - who needs your prayers as well! She treated me to a pedicure and manicure! How cool is that?! She's the best! I love her so much! (and not just because she does nice things for me! haha) Anyway, the Lord has been blessing me like crazy despite me! That's just how He is! I pray that each of you know that He "rejoices over you with singing"! He wants to bless you too! That's just how He is!! Seek Him...first! Love to all.