It’s The Thought That Counts

DOGS ARE MIRACLES WITH PAWS

When it comes to dogs, they win my heart hands down.

Dogs can be a lot of fun. They can be sound asleep in a semi-coma upstairs in a bedroom until someone opens a bag of potato chips in the kitchen. Bingo! They jump up, zoom into action, race down the stairs and sit with utter-steel-focus, begging until the last flake of a chip is eaten.

Dogs are also awesome protectors. Ring the door bell and a dog barks as though a terrorist is standing on the other side of the door with a hand grenade. I told our dog that terrorists don’t usually knock first, but he is not interested in new Truth.

I’ve loved dogs since my childhood. My daddy walked into our house one hot summer day carrying the cutest, most cunning puppy I’d ever seen in my life. Course I was only 8 but I’m just sayin’. The pup was a Boxer.  As soon as we hugged her and welcomed her into our family she proceeded to do her ‘bidness’ on our floor furnace. Remember those? It fell through the grate into the abyss. We gave up trying to get it. But come winter we were reminded of her little deposit when dad turned the floor furnace on. We named our new pup Rusty. Who names a female dog Rusty? Wasn’t very original either…she was rust colored.

Rusty was the runt of her litter and the perfect size for kids. She had the sweetest disposition, even while ungardening the flower beds. We’d play dress up with her, dressing her in shirts and skirts and even polished her nails and put lipstick on her fuzzy black lips. She sat patiently and never moved. If she got tired, she’d just lie down. She was in a lot of pet parades in her youth and I think she loved the limelight. But like all of us, Rusty had a dark side. She was an escape artist. That dog could jump the 6’ block wall that surrounded our back yard  like it was a footstool. Off she’d go lickety-split and my bro and I would chase her for blocks and blocks. She’d see us coming closer, stop dead in her tracks, stare us down, and dare us to even think about coming an inch closer. We’d casually, slowly tip-toe our way up to her so we could grab her and just about the time we reached for her collar, kaboom!...off she’d go like a bolt of lightning. She made fools of us. She could outrun a fire truck in full pursuit if she felt like it.

Like many dogs, Rusty connected with our emotions. If my brother and I were punchin’ each other out, or just tickling each other, she’d bark and jump on us. But she knew when we were upset and sad.  Fast forward several years to the day I came home to an empty house…except for Rusty. It was the day I found out I was pregnant. I was 17 years old and unmarried. I turned the key in the lock of our old front door, ran to my bedroom and threw myself on my bed, wailing over what I believed was a ruined life! Rusty jumped on my bed, terribly troubled by my tears, snuggled as close as she could get and cried with me, licking my tear-stained face. I think one of the reasons dogs can be such an awesome comfort, especially when we are feeling like our world has just crashed down around us, is that dogs don’t try to find out why we are hurting. They just comfort us with their love.

But no one could comfort me when Rusty died 7 months later. I was married to my high school sweetheart and our lives were defined by college, poverty and pressure. My feelings were already raw and fragile, but losing Rusty threw me into the depths of grief. I cried off and on for months. There was a lot to cry about in those days. I still have a beautiful picture of her in a scrapbook. I loved that faithful dog.

Author Randy Alcorn’s has a precious take on pets and life beyond this earth. He wrote about them in his book Heaven. Randy believes we will see our beloved pets someday in heaven. He reasons that God gave us instructions to care for the animals, especially our beloved pets. He gave us pets to protect us and love us, so why wouldn’t He let us enjoy them forever? Would heaven be heaven without our precious pets? Personally, I can picture Rusty running towards me when I reach the other side. I have a feeling she’ll knock me down in her excitement.

Since that sad day many years ago, we’ve had 3 dogs. One was a stray who showed up at my husband’s work and he brought her home. We named her Baby. We should have named her Baby Bulldozer.  She loved to destroy things. Things like the legs off a chair, the skirt off a sofa, the shoes in our closet, or the favorite baseball glove in our son’s room. Eating my husband’s golf shoe was the final blow. We eventually gifted her to some folks who’d never owned a dog. They never spoke to us again.

Then we got Nina, a Miniature Schnauzer. She was adorable and crawled into our hearts immediately. She was playful, sweet, a great watchdog and the perfect family pet. Her life was not without pain. She was molested one night by a rapist, better known as a stray dog. She ended up getting a horrible infection and had to have surgery. We moved to California when she was 5 years old. However, it was in the days before flea meds were on the scene and the fleas tormented her day and night. Nothing helped. Our Vet insisted we get her out of California or put her out of her misery.  The flea bites in her ears left her deaf. My Mom and Dad offered to take her to live with them in New Mexico where fleas evidentially refuse to live. She lived a long and contented life with her litter mate, deaf as a post.

After we became empty nesters  (and Frontline was invented) we got a Welsh Terrier. You must understand that terriers make the world look like it’s in slow motion. We aptly named him Pistol Pete. Turns out we love him almost more than we did our children. When Petey was a puppy he destroyed our backyard, our shoes, watered down the back of a new chair in our family room and was was impossible to catch. If the gate was left open and he got out, my husband would call 911. But his rebellious side didn’t seem to rattle us. I have decided that if properly trained, people can be a dog’s best friend. As you can see by his picture, he is a dog that rules with a face that melts your heart. I swear this dog has a twinkle in his eye.

Someone once said that the only fault a dog has is that  their lives are too short. When Petey dies I will buy three burial plots. One for Petey, one for me and one for my husband.

DON’T WASTE THE CHANGE

April 21st, 2011

First of all, I am not talking about the subject of Menopause. I’m talking about the kind of change that transforms a life.

Someone once said, “The only folks who like change are babies with wet diapers.” Change is not easy for me. After I left the diaper stage, even with the tiniest bit of change, I’d have a melt down. Ask my brother! I’d rant and rave and scream like a banshee, especially if someone hurt me. I’d run to Mommy and Daddy for moral support and a band-aid as they wiped my tear stained face. There comes a time though, when Mommy and Daddy aren’t around anymore.

What is still around are all the wonderful, fun changes in life. Let’s face it, what woman doesn’t like to change purses every season? Who wants the same ol’ hair do? I love changing shoes, changing my wardrobe and traveling for a change of scenery. I like changing the décor in our home and a change in the weather. Thank you Lord for the good changes!

But there was a time in my life when I worried over changes that might happen. The “What ifs” of life. What if my husband loses his job? What if we lose everything? What if we have to move? What if something happens to one of our children? What if someone dies? What if we get sick? My worries robbed me of my joy. The sad part is when times were good, I worried they would end. And they always did. But the truth is, if I never had any difficult times in my life, I’d probably never give God a thought.

I never thought painful changes were actually a gift from God. Did you? Yet when I look back I can see it! For example, when my husband and I were at our lowest point, on the brink of divorce after seven years of marriage, Jesus showed up at just the right time and saved us. I wonder if we would have been as open to the Gospel had we not been in a time of such great need.

After I became a Christian, I figured we’d live happily ever after. Why? I was a baby-believer. That’s what all babies want! But it doesn’t line up with Scripture. When I study folks in Scripture, I see that none of them had a pain-free-happily-ever-after life. Why? They would have never given God a thought either. God had something far better in mind for them than just a comfy, cozy life. So in order to get their attention He had to humble them so they’d be willing to listen. Check out Joseph, Moses, Ruth, David, and Paul and Peter, to name just a few. When they were at their lowest point, God showed up, changed their life and eventually used them for His purpose and His glory. He wants to do the same thing with you and me.

God humbled me through excruciating heartache with one of our adult children. In the beginning I thought I would die. I was in a pit of grief so deep I couldn’t dig out. I was humiliated people would find out about our broken family. But let me assure you, it was during those darkest hours God got my attention. I was ready to hear for from Him. He met me right where I was and He drew me into His Word and spoke to my hurting heart. Up until then I had been feeding off of other people’s teaching, platitudes, clichés and appearances. I never knew God had so much more He wanted to give me.

When I look back over the last twenty years, God has given me so much more than I ever dreamed. God wanted to show me a whole new way of living. So He used pain to get my attention so I would be willing to change. Could He be doing that is your life today?

Today I am in a place where I am experiencing Him as my life, not just part of my life. I used to put so much confidence in my flesh, but now I am confident in my Savior. God has so much more to offer than the self-driven, comfy life I tried to orchestrate. Why? He is the abundant life we are all longing for.  Genesis 50:20 has helped me so much. “What man meant for evil, God meant for good.” Thanks Joseph!

I see God’s plan in my own life. He has done great things! Today I connect with broken hearted Moms who have lost hope over a prodigal child. I am able to encourage them not to waste the changes. Get to know Him. He will not only work it all together for good, but He’ll change your life.

WHEN YOUR PLANS FALL THROUGH

December 20, 2010

 

Let’s get right down to it. Who doesn’t need to change? Yet when uninvited change invades our life, our first response is usually, “Why?” Especially when the changes are painful! It has taken a good deal of time for me to realize that when my plans fall through, God is about to come through!

God wants the same thing from us that He wants from the whole universe. He wants to bring glory to Himself. The Almighty God wants to display His presence through the way we handle life. After He’s changed us, He uses us to minister to someone else going through the same thing. It is how ministry begins.

The glory of God has been present since the beginning of time. In the Old Testament the manifestation of God’s glory was displayed through the pillar of cloud and fire that led the Israelites out of captivity. Then the glory cloud stood behind them at night to protect them. His Shekinah glory filled the tabernacle with His presence, and appeared continuously for forty years.

Today, God does not need a glory cloud. The Triune God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit came packaged in the Body of Jesus Christ. God said of Jesus, “Here is My Glory, here is My outshining, and here is My manifested presence.” After Jesus ascended to heaven, the Holy Spirit came upon the Believer. Today God is saying: “If you want to see what I look like…look at Mary, or Barbara, or…fill in your name.  See how they triumph through trials?  They shout My glory.”

When we stand before the world, our life should reflect what Jesus said to Philip in John 14, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” Paul put it like this “We are simply a mirror that brightly reflects the glory of God and as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him and we reflect His glory even more.”(2 Cor. 3:18)

God’s glory is displayed most effectively by the way we handle adversity. Peter explained it this way: “Don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead be very glad, because these trials will make you partners with Christ in His suffering, and afterward you will have the wonderful joy of sharing His glory when it has been displayed to the whole world.” (I Peter 4:12-13)

Jesus has something very special in mind for your life. Whatever you are going through has something to do with God’s glory and a changed life.

You Better Watch Out

December 15, 2010

 

I just love Christmastime. I loved it as a child. I crossed days off the family calendar waiting for the great day to arrive. But it was hard to wait…really hard, impossible in fact.

Often we had snow at Christmas. It was awesome. The shivering cold outside made the inside of our home seem even more festive. Each year we would put up a gigantic, fresh tree. Once that was set in the stand and anchored with wires, it was time for the hanging of the lights. Dad was by no means a pro at this. He only wanted to get the job done. One of us kids stood on one side of the tree and took the string from him, helping as we draped the colorful lights. His language got a bit colorful if the multi-outlet plug shot out some sparks when he plugged in one more string.  After surviving another year without being electrocuted, he turned the rest of the tree decorating over to us. Boy oh boy… we couldn’t wait!

We didn’t have a fancy theme tree, we just randomly hung the ornaments. Just get ‘em on the tree, that was our motto. The best part was the finishing touch. Tinsel! The thousands of silver strands of paper thin tinsel had been carefully put away in a box the previously year by my Mom. Now it resembled a big wad of foil. So my brother and I grabbed some and started throwing it on the tree like rice at a wedding. We flung some that landed in clumps. The more the merrier. Our folks laughed as we did our flinging. Soon the last task had to be conquered. Putting the star on the top of the tree. It was my brother’s job. He climbed the dreaded step ladder to put it on, even through one year he fell right into the tree. This particular year he got it on the first try. Perfect. Then I’d shout “Turn off all the lamps and let’s see how it looks.” It was beautiful and…simply breathtaking! I could hardly wait for Christmas Day to arrive. So I didn’t.

What you say? You didn’t wait? Well…no. I couldn’t. I just couldn’t. I searched throughout the house on a daily basis and found hidden treasures in closets or in old suitcases in a storage room in the garage. When packages arrived in the mail, I meticulously took the wrapping off, shrugged my shoulders when I saw the present and rewrapped it with the skill of a surgeon. I was brilliant at rewrapping. No one in our family ever knew. I took pride in my secret sin. My girlfriend was horrified. But not me…you see, I just couldn’t wait.

One year, after successfully opening all the presents and rewrapping them, my girlfriend came to my house with her gift for me. As soon as she left I quickly opened it. I gasped. It was a box filled with pieces of a broken mirror neatly wrapped in tissue. Her note said it all… “Gotcha!”

BULLYING

November 30, 2010

Have you ever been bullied? Taunted? Persecuted? Rejected? Falsely Accused?

I have. I remember it all as if it were yesterday. I was in Junior High School (which is now called Middle School).

I grew up in a town where my race was the minority. My parents were prejudice against people who were not like us. Today they would be called racist. Me? I liked everyone. Kids are like that! I had many girlfriends who were not the same color as me and I never gave it a thought. I loved school and loved my wide circle of friends. I served in student leadership, sang in musical productions, played a musical instrument and was a cheerleader. I was the only white girl on the cheerleading squad, but again we were all friends. Little did I know they would soon turn against me?

One day a cute boy on the basketball team invited me to go to the school dance. I was so excited. I went home and asked permission from my parents. “No! You cannot go out with a boy who has brown skin!” I was devastated. The next day I told him I could not go to the dance and then he asked why. Instead of leaving it at that, I explained to him that I could not go because my parents said…

As soon as those words left my mouth they spread like a firestorm throughout our school! Suddenly people stopped speaking to me. I was jeered at as I walked past groups of kids gathered in the halls. When I showed up for cheerleading practice, no one was there. They’d changed the time to exclude me. Back in the day there was something called a Slam Book. It was a little hardback notebook with a different name written across the top of each page. Kids wrote their opinion of that person, mostly negative. Some girls started circulating one with my name across every page. It was secretly passed from one classroom to the next. I heard they wrote the most scathing, hateful comments that ripped me apart at every level.

A gang of girls in the schoolyard threatened to beat me up. On a good note there was a sweet guy who sat next to me in one of my classes. He was also in a gang, but we were always friendly to each other. He pulled me aside in the hall one day and said he would protect me if anyone tried to harm me. I was touched by his chivalry but by then I figured getting beat up couldn’t possibly hurt as much as being bullied.

The final blow came when a bunch of girls started a Judy Haters Club. A so-called-friend jokingly said she was chosen to be the mascot…she thought it wickedly funny. The day I found out about it I walked the two mile trip to my house alone. I couldn’t imagine sitting on the bus with kids whispering behind my back. In fact, I never rode the bus again.

My life-long friend was in high school miles away and was horrified at what was going on, but she couldn’t be by my side at school. I isolated myself from everyone and sunk into a deep depression. Finally my parents transferred me to a school across town. Some of my teachers tried to get us to reconsider, but I couldn’t bear the rejection any longer.

The painful memories lingered for quite some time. My self-talk didn’t help erase them! “What an idiot you are Judy! Why didn’t you keep your big fat mouth shut, for heaven’s sake? Even a fish wouldn’t get caught if it didn’t open its mouth!” I cried a lot in those days, but I am so grateful suicide never crossed my mind like it does kids today. As the years past I got on with my life, but the agonizing memories hung around for years.

Fast forward ten years when I came to know Christ as my Savior. I was overwhelmed by His love for me and the high value He placed on my life.

As I matured in my faith I began learning the truth about where we get our self-esteem, our value and our identity. Let me explain: Jesus Christ left the glory of heaven and became a man to pay the price for our condemnation. God made Him who knew no sin, to become sin on our behalf that we might know the righteousness of God through Him. Jesus made Himself of no reputation, yet He suffered nothing but condemnation, persecution, rejection and bullying. He was jeered by the religious elite and despised by the leaders of the day. He was betrayed by all his disciples. After Jesus was arrested, the same guys who sat at His feet while He taught them Truth, witnessed Him walk on water and heal the blind, denied they’d ever known Him. Yet out of His great love He willingly gave Himself as a living sacrifice for their sin and ours.

The day I received Him as my Lord and Savior, He lifted me out of the muck and mire of my painful past. Now I am a Child of the King! He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He gave me a new identity, a new beginning, a new song and a voice to sing it! Jesus healed my broken heart. Unfortunately He’s still having quite a time with my big mouth!

I am so grateful I know a Savior who is not affected by the color of someone’s skin, but the condition of their heart. Indeed, what a friend we have in Jesus! He never leaves us or forsakes us, He’s faithful and true and He sticks closer than a brother.

Persecution (bullying) need not define our lives. Our self image and identity are defined by who He is in our life, not from what others think of us. If you do not know Him, the enemy will encourage you to try and find your self worth and identity in people, places and all the external things of this world.

I don’t know what hurts haunt you from your past, but I do know that only Jesus can heal all those wounds.

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 8:35-39

 

THE WOMAN WHO SAVED THANKSGIVING

November 22, 2010

Don’t you just love Thanksgiving? Very little commercialism except the TV shows featuring, “How to cook a turkey.”

Every year there is a plethora of ideas on the best method to cook a turkey. One can go with the old fashioned, traditional method of simply oven roasting it. Some argue whether to stuff it or not. Some think its better to deep fry it, and some suggest grilling it. Smoking a turkey on a rotisserie is another idea. At the end of the day…just cook it! Sounds over simplistic?  Let me explain:

Several years ago we were invited to some relatives for Thanksgiving dinner. The hostess confessed to me she did not cook, but insisted this year she was pulling out all the stops and was cooking her very first turkey. I asked if there was anything I could bring or anything I could do, but she declined. “No! This is my year to do it all! I’ve invited all the relatives and it’s going to be a red letter day.”

A few days before Thanksgiving I got a free turkey from my grocery store for spending so much money there! I decided to cook it  Thanksgiving morning and take it with us in case our hotess ran out. I wasn’t going to mention it unless she needed it, so we left it  in the car.

We drove to their home about 2:00PM. When we arrived everyone was gathered around a table of inviting appetizers, chatting and laughing. The dining room table was beautifully set with fine china, dazzling silverware, their exquisite crystal glasses and a fall centerpiece that was breathtaking.

“Dinner should be ready soon.” She announced with glee.

By 3:30 the turkey was not even close to being done. By 4:30 guests started licking the plate of left-over appetizers. The nut dish was empty.

“Turn up the oven!” Someone yelled.

“I did, it’s on 450.”

By 5:30 people suggested ordering pizza.

“When did you put the turkey in the oven?” someone asked, feeling weak from hunger.

“Ten this morning.”

“How long did you leave it out to thaw?”

Silence.

“Thaw? You’re supposed to thaw the turkey first?”

I ran to the car and retrieved my turkey.

I am not one to brag or tell folks I saved the day. But I did.

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EXPERIENCING RADICAL CONTENTMENT

 November 10, 2010

Contentment is an issue of the heart.

The battle for our mind rages daily to feed our discontent. The media bombards us with ads for things most of us think will satisfy! “Buy this cell phone, this computer, this TV, drive this car, buy this home, buy a vacation home, buy a motor home, and move to this neighborhood. Fly away to an exotic vacation destination. Don’t procrastinate, simply update! Accumulate and don’t eliminate. Collect fine art, vintage cars, jewelry, rare coins, stamps, books, antiques, china, crystal, ornaments, dolls and the list goes on. At the end of the day, these externals possessions promise much but they don’t satisfy long term.

There was once a King named Solomon who found the things of this world appealing too. His quest for satisfaction began at an early age. He started by asking God to give him great wisdom.  He studied the sun, the moon and the stars. He must have been the original weather man! He also pursued pleasure; wine, women and song.  How about 700 wives and 300 concubines? Talk about PMS in the palace. He loved building things. He built God’s Temple in Jerusalem and he built himself elaborate palaces. He owned many vineyards, had over 10,000 horses and even had an elaborate swimming pool built that he called The Sea. Solomon’s wealth was very hard to measure because it was so vast. He accumulated massive amounts of gold, silver and priceless treasures. People came from all over the world to learn from him. But all these distractions turned him away from God.

At the end of his life he confessed that it was all empty, foolish and vanity! Why? Because everything Solomon acquired did not have the power to bring contentment.

I am learning that God created us to find everything we are looking for in Him. But there is a problem. It’s a problem of our heart.  The heart we are born with is incapable of providing lasting contentment. It’s broken. It’s filled with sin. We need a new heart. A new spirit, God’s Spirit! God will take out our stony, stubborn heart and give us a tender, responsive heart, a heart that is capable of bringing contentment. But it also has to be learned.

The Apostle Paul said he learned to be content in all circumstances.  He didn’t say, “I have heard how to be content.”  He wrote, “Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to get along happily whether I have much or little. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.” Then he tells us the secret. “I can do everything through Christ who gives me the strength I need.” Philippians 4:11-13  Paul learned to draw life from Christ who lives within. This is the secret. Contentment is a person, not a state of mind. It’s a person. Jesus Christ. He is our peace and our joy.

Do you want in on the deal? It begins with a new heart.

(From retreat: Experiencing Radical Contentment in a Discontented Heart)

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FALL…THE MOST BEAUTIFUL TIME OF THE YEAR

October 19, 2010

I love fall. I love everything about it! I love the pumpkins, the beauty of leaves changing to vibrant reds, golds and yellows, the crisp blue skies and cool nights. It’s truly the most beautiful time of year. However, there is just one problem. I live in Southern California, and we do not have fall weather (except in the mountains). We have two seasons: summer and rain!  So out here in no-fall-land, we decorate our homes inside and out with fall decor. Only problem: all my decorations are fake. I have a big basket of fake pumpkins on my front porch (real pumpkins rot). I line the basket with lights that look like candy corn. So pretty at night! I have fake fall leaves in the basket and some fake ivy. I decorate the top of my front doors with a garland of fake fall-colored leaves and I hang wreaths on the doors that are covered with fake berries, pumpkins and acorns. Same thing happens inside our home. I have pumpkins in all shapes and sizes. Some glass, some ceramic, some metallic, and many that are so beautifully done…but again, all fake! I even have fake wooden apples piled high in a basket in the kitchen. Then I get out the beautiful fall dishes I bought from Target, build a fire in the fireplace and pretend it is fall.

Another reason I love fall is because it was during this season God changed me. There is nothing fake about that day though. Back then, I was part of a generation bent on rebellion and destruction.  We lived in Albuquerque at the time and our lives were in crisis. Our marriage was coming unraveled and I was convinced divorce might be my only option. However, God had other plans. One day a friend stopped by for a visit. I made a pot of coffee, poured us a cup and poured out my tale of woe to Harriet. She listened so patiently and when I came up for air she asked if she could share something with me. “Sure!” I said. She pulled out a gospel tract called The Four Spiritual Laws and began reading it to me. The tract decribed another kind of fall. The fall of mankind in a garden when Adam and Eve sinned and sin entered into the world. Their sin separated them from a Holy God and since then everyone is born with a sin nature. Ever since that day, life on this ball of dirt has been nothing but a crisis.  I began to weep as I listened to the Gospel.  I found peace and a reason for living in the teachings of a carpenter named Jesus. He was knocking at the door of my heart and that day I prayed and received Him as my Lord and Savior. While the fall leaves were changing colors outside, Jesus was changing me on the inside. It’s a day I will never forget.

As the days past, my husband noticed something about me had changed. I began treating him and our children differently. I can assure you, it had nothing to do with me, it was Christ in me, the hope of Glory.  Soon my husband asked me what had happened and I told him I’d received Christ as my Savior and Lord.  Three months later he gave his life to Christ and the Lord began to resurrect our dead marriage from the graveyard and set it on high ground. We have been married over forty years now and he is still the love of my life. Jesus Christ changed our lives and gave us His power to live and love differently.

God changes the color of leaves from the inside-out because the temperature cools way down. But often God gets our attention when our circumstances heat up! Don’t let another day go by before you make things right with God. Is He knocking at the door of your heart? Let Him change you.

(From Judy’s book: Under the Circumstances)

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OH GIVE ME A HOME…

October 12, 2010

I just returned from North Dakota where the buffalo roam. Two roamed right up to my host’s front yard last week and tried to peek in their windows. North Dakota is indeed a beautiful place, and its rare for me to be in the wide open spaces. We had a wonderful time at the Crystal Springs Women’s Retreat. There was plenty of laughter, great food, awesome worship, and sweet fellowship around God’s Word. I loved every minute.

Speaking of minutes…I appreciate all the minutes and hours I spent with my hostess Margo. From the moment we met, it was non-stop laughter and sharing so many common interests. We visited into the night and just had a great time. She and her husband Larry are the quintessential host and hostess. Personally, I feel called to being hosted! Margo and I learned that we have the number eight in common. They live on 80 acres of land in N. Dakota, and we live on 1/8^th of an acre in California. However, we do not have any buffalo in our front yard.

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AH HA MOMENTS

September 1, 2010

I recently celebrated another birthday. It was a wonderful celebration indeed, as we were in Hawaii with our daughter and her husband and our two grandchildren. We had so much fun together. Who wouldn’t?

We laughed, we swam, we went to Starbucks every morning on our walk along the beach. We loved the ocean, the waves, and I especially loved those squeals from our granddaughter as she rode the waves on an inner tube. We took a boat out to Molikini to snorkel. Only negative; I got stung by a jellyfish.

The guys golfed a lot, and we laid by the pool a lot. In the evenings we’d get all cleaned up and head out to one of our favorite spots for dinner.

The best night of all was the night we celebrated my birthday. It was a lovely evening…beautiful sunset and a wonderful gift of a trendy, fun watch. However the very best gift of all is best described by this picture: