Do you see swords?

I so wish we could sit down and talk about what has been floating around in my heart.
For years now I have been aware of the unseen battle going on around us. It is a battle that our actions affect everyday. When we live for God.....we move the battle into winning territory. But when we deliberately make decisions that do not glorify God...the enemy and his crew become the ranks of the winners. Can you even imagine how many battles rage each day?

This summer I read books one and two of Kingdom Wars by Jack Cavanaugh.
Now I will have to say that the main character in the story could never be....but it was a cool and provided an interesting story line. Made for great books and sparked some interesting thoughts.

The thing that caught me was the battle going on in the book.
The battle between God and evil. A true battle.
In the book the main character was being taught to fight the battle......how to use the weapon he had and how to see the weapons of the ones he was fighting and those fighting with him. Because his eyes had not been opened to the spirit world, he could not see or even use his weapon. How do you use something you can not see to pick up? And of course because he could not see........side stepping the enemies weapons was virtually impossible. He got hit a lot.
Are you seeing some similarities here between our lives as believers and the main character?
Here is a quote from the book that I thought was pretty interesting...or should I say,
Eye opening.
Just a little set up. Grant, the main character is being taught a few things by an angel of God.
The angel is trying to teach Grant to see the swords- of the spirit of the people around him.
Grant could just not do it and so this is what the angel told him.
"If you had the ability," Abdiel said, "I would instruct you to keep an eye on her sword. It will reveal her intent. But since you cannot do that, test her spirit. When you are with her, does your spirit thrive-or does it diminish? Test her spirit, Grant."

Now this is when I wish we were face to face.
We have to be so careful who we allow to be our bosom buddies. Careful of whom we allow to come into our inner sanctum---that inner place where we fellowship and grow with God.
I don't even think I have to ask if there are those you are around that claim to be Christians-and maybe they are-and the longer they are around- the more you are drained.
How many times have you really been pumped about what God is revealing to you and you run into someone that you feel needs some encouraging- so you open your mouth and start sharing what you are learning.....been there before? Unlike how it is supposed to be---you share and leave have been built up in your faith...instead, you leave feeling drained and a little depressed.
What happened? What went wrong?
We did not test the spirit.
Unknown at the time- our testimony along with the strength it gave was being withdrawn and nothing was being returned. Imagine light disappearing into a black hole.

So how do we avoid this? Can we avoid this?

[ Test the Spirits ] Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
1 John 4:1-3.

So how do we see if their spirit man is lining up with the Spirit of God?
See if their works, words and actions are acknowledging the authority of God and His son.
I can not tell you how many conversations I have had where I put the truth out there only to hear, Yes, BUT......
There is no but...it is either the word of God and truth or it is a lie.
We can expect that the world will see the truth and not recognize it....but if the spirit man of a believer is tuned it with God...there will be no BUTS.
If there are buts flying here and there......you can guarantee that there is a dull, rusty sword laying in their lap.
The big question at this point of recognition is...what now? Do we run?
I don't believe so......not right away. I think this is where we start--

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
Proverbs 27:16-18
We pull out the sword of the spirit and we use the word of God. And then we test the spirit again.
And at this point if there is no shinning forth of the glory of God.....pick up your sword and dust off those feet and go.

I do believe that I have been a wounded soldier dragging around my sword for a long time now.
I have been asleep....exhausted from the wounds that were inflicted during battle.
In the last few weeks (and probably a little longer) I have heard a call.....I wasn't sure what it was at first. It was vaguely familiar. And then it hit me.....it was a call to battle. The Captain of the Guard was calling me back to the front line. And I looked down at my rusty amour and my dull sword and I cried.
How had I gotten here? What had I done?

So I am cleaning up. Polishing the spirit man and picking back up what I know to be truth. Pulling out the word of God.....that cornerstone that will sharpen even the dullest weapon.
It is time to fight the enemy again......he has been winning this portion of the battle for too long.

Do you see swords?
Are you looking at this world with your spirit eyes?

It was just a passing thought....but He caught it

About a week ago I was thinking over our current condition.
I was thinking/figuring/questioning.... that since we were having to moving our things
out of the home they had been stored in for over two years...... that maybe
God was saying He was getting us ready to give us a house of our own. \o/
That did bring about a little excitement.....hope is alive!
I looked around the campground at the beautiful creek and I actually thought how sad it
would be not to see the creek covered with the first snow.
I thought how cool it would be to see the rocks covered in white and what a great time
I would have taking pictures.
Little did I know- a week later God would give me one of the desires of my heart.
He listens.....and then He steps into time
and reminds us of those dreams He has been holding in his hands.
Do you know He is listening even if you are not praying? Do you know He hears the silly things we consider too unimportant to mention to Him?

What are you dreaming/thinking about?
What are the desires tucked away deep in your heart?
Sometimes I think we can go a little overboard (I have gone overboard in this area) and think God is only interested in answering or fulfilling those dreams that have some great eternal mark. Like the salvation of a loved one.
Lately I think God has been asking me to reconsider some of the thoughts
that I have been holding in a vice grip.
Reconsider the ways that I believe God works--what He considers important.
During this hovering/holding period of my life......what do I know to be truth.

I know that all good things come down from God above........will I recognize these things from His hands? Will I recognize the things that are happening
as more than a coincidence-part of the plan?
I know without a shadow of a doubt that I don't....I can't because my humanness "allows" me to miss so many signs of His love for me. How blown over would we be if we saw them all?
His love for us knows no end. I don't understand that.....I want to.
I want Him to use this time to expand the my brain to the fullness of Him. Isn't that what Paul wanted for us.....that we might know Him and the power of His might along with knowing the height, depth, and length of His love. Paul prayed for us....how cool is that?

God is always moving forward toward us in love---that is a good thing for me..you too. :)
I thank Him that He is ever drawing me to Himself. Why does He love us so?
I will never understand this.
But I can say this....

"Be at rest once more,
O my soul,
for the Lord has been good to you."
Psalm 116:7 (NIV)

My Favorite

Excuse this southern girl

Ya'll just excuse this post if you grew up with snow.
I give you permission to pass this post on by.

BUT!
If you did not grow up with snow......this is for you!
It is October...my brother has lived here for 10 years now and they have never
seen snow in October.....but that all changed last night.
Yesterday.
TODAY!
IT'S SNOWING---and yes, I was screaming that last statement! ;)
How FUN!
Now you Northern girls don't burst my bubble. Let me be excited at least for a little while.
They say we don't get this that often here.....so for now we will enjoy a little winter snow.
My truck.
Julia was so excited about the snow...so was Mom....but bummed that by the time she got out of school it would probably be gone. They had a two hour delay so it was nice to sleep in...of course you have to get up to see if there is a delay.
After this picture she made a point of mentioning that now she would have to fix her hair.
Thank you God for the snow!
This snow commercial is now over....we now will return you to regular programing. :)

Sneaky, sneaky

Hey guys!

Not much going on here...except it is getting cold and there is a chance of snow tonight! You'll just have to excuse this southern girls excitement. Snow.....Is that crazy or what?!
It is October! But.... I am not complaining...how fun.
I am going to have to learn how to dress though. We went today to unload the moving truck and although it was in the low 40's... I was freezing. Well, maybe not freezing but my legs were cold and I even thought maybe I might out to think about finding my gloves.
Anybody know how long does it take a persons blood to acclimate to a colder climate?
Good thing our electricity is included in our rent because this girl is going to be using the heater.

So after taking care of the return of the rental truck I headed off to complete my chores for the day. One including picking up the mail.....Leslie, some of the books you suggested came in today and will become part of Christmas since they did not arrive in time for Julia's birthday. I am excited to see if Julia will enjoy them. She has really become interested in reading and is devouring some books at the moment. She seems to be taking more of an interest in science fiction....any suggestions would be great.
Next it was time for groceries.
My sister in law has passed along a cup of her sourdough starter......Keith loves her bread.
So my goal today was to get the necessary ingredients to make some bread. I wasn't sure that my little oven in the camper would do the job...but my SIL gave me a ready loaf to bake off and it did it. The starter will be ready tomorrow to start a loaf......I smell fresh bread!After getting a few other things I headed for the check out. Now people warned me that things are a little different here. Life runs a little slower. If you want to stop and have a conversation with someone you are checking out....then by all means you stop and see how life has been...is....and will be in the future. And then it was my turn. ;)
As the groceries moved ever so slowly to the bagging area I couldn't help but hear the conversation of the two retired gentlemen bagging up the items. Now I am not sure if one was training the other or they were just having good conversation and so one decided to linger.
But, I could hear words like--God, eternity, He gives everyone a choice. I got a little smile on my face when I realized one was witnessing to the other. I wanted to give him a high five or a big thumbs up. Now come on you know you have to encourage a brother doing the right thing and so I made eye contact to let him know I had his back. Um, actually I think I need to work on my signals because he mistook my, "Way to go bro!"--for the interest of a lost sheep. The conversation soon became a little louder and I heard...."Now you know He came to die for our sins so that we could all go to heaven when we die". I had become the object of their objective.
Sneaky witnessing! Or you could call it great......
Now don't tell me you have not done this before! A set up witnessing scene.
You and a friend realize you have someones ear and you just go for it. You lay out the whole plan of salvation....we call it planting seeds....and if you happen to see that you have an interested specimen....you pounce! In a totally Godly way of course.
So this was what these two retired gentlemen were doing
under the guise of bagging my groceries. Very sneaky.
I finally decided I had better let them know that I was one of the flock.....I didn't want them using up all the good stuff on me. :)
I jumped in on the conversation and let them know that every knee would bow and mine would do so willingly. We also talked about how close we thought the return of our King was. If the cashier was not a Christian....she got an ear full. In the end I do not know if they wanted to say,
Aw shucks she is one of us or give me a high five.
But, I left feeling a little closer to the family of God....and very proud of my sneaky brothers.

When is the last time you were sneaky for God?
And not that you need to be sneaky.......but it is a great way to do it on the job. ;)

A Little of this and that

This is just a little catch up on where I have been
and what I have been up to these last few days.
I will tell those of ya'll who read the lasagna post.....it came out great. Everyone loved it and we had plenty so that people could take some home for dinner on Sunday evening.
Next time it is my turn to cook for group it will be time for a pot of soup!
After group Keith and I took a drive into Cataloochee to check out the Elk and the leaves.It was beautiful. The leaves were turning and all the leaf watchers were there to see the color and the Elk. This was a big one. There are strict laws against getting within 50 feet of them.....for your protection and theirs. The government started repopulating this area in early 2000 so all elk are tagged and they keep a very close watch on them. Catalooch is actually a great place to visit if you are ever in our area.
It is a sweet little piece of history not easily found unless you know what you are looking for.
It was first settled in 1809 and saw the beginning of the end in 1928 when the government decided it would make a great national park.
Until this time this little bit of heaven was cloistered from a culture that was moving at race neck speed away from the laid back mountain life. What started with one family of farmers soon became a community of 1,200. The home below was built in 1903 by the Colwell's, the second settelers to the valley.Because the area was so secluded even after the Civil War the area retained its old ways. Children were educated in one room school houses and the post office was generally found in the home of whomever was the postmaster at the time.
At the time the area was well populated with deer, elk, bear- making it easy for the people to feed their families during the months when farming could not be done.
In 1920 the influenza epidemic that had started in 1918 world wide finally reached deep into the mountains and took a tole on the families of Catalooch. Life further changed in the 20's as lumber companies realized what profit lay hidden in the Smokey mountains.
Finally, the end came when the in the late 20's the government forced the settlers to sell their land in order to turn it into a National Park.
Few sued and got more money.... but their life in those mountains were over.
The cool thing is that there were a few homes and church buildings that were not torn down or burned after the eviction. You can walk through some of the homes and although they are not furnished it is a nice look into the past.
Yearly families still return to celebrate the heritage of the past.
While we were there Sunday there was a group having dinner on the grounds.That is it..but if you would like to read a little more there are two links at the bottom where I found a good bit of my information.
Hope you enjoyed the tour. :)

On Monday Julia and I went to Dollywood ,which is located in Sieverville, TN- with my brother and his family. This is an amusement park run and owned by Dolly Parton. This was my first time going to this park and actually is was pretty nice. There were little booths here and there with people sharing their trades. We stopped for awhile and watched a guy sharing the old Turkish method of painting. It was used often to decorate book covers. It was very fascinating..maybe sometime I will share more about it here.
It was a great day. We enjoyed the rides and some delisious food. And although the yellow jacket- that I tried to eat- was not so nice when it stung my lip-the rest of the food was still good! Do I even need to tell you that being stung on the lip.....HURTS?!
Too bad they don't die like honey bees after they sting you.
The booger deserved to die.
But, it did not ruin the day.......and I would enjoy going back sometime.

It is time to end this book now. ;) Thanks for hanging in there till the end. ;)
I am going to do a little fasting from my computer for a little while--just need to get centered.So I will be back in awhile. Take care and I will be praying for you.
Love you guys!

*A Bit Of History
*Cataloochee National Park

I love my hubby

The guidelines:
Grab the graphic and insert with these rules, in your post.
Give at least 5 reasons why you love your hubby.
List more if you want.
Tag 5 people (or more) to play along and link to their blogs in your post.
Then visit those women’s blogs and leave them a comment on any of their posts.

Both Edge Of Design and D have done this so I thought I would give it a try. It is always good for us to remind ourselves why we love our men-because our enemy is sure to remind us why we don't or shouldn't love our men.

1. I think the first thing that drew me to Keith was the fact that he was a people person. The first time I saw him at our singles Bible study he came in late from work and the whole room seemed to stop to greet him. That late thing should have sent off warning bells. ;) Since then it seems he has never meet a stranger. He is right at home where ever his feet lead him. That is very attractive to me since I tend to be much more reserved with new people.
I love this in him and I think it makes people feel comfortable around him.

2. Keith has a huge giving heart. He would do anything for you and give you whatever was in his wallet. This can of course be good and bad.....but God is teaching us...and that is a good thing. He has worn off on me in a big way over the years in this area. As long as God leads us to give we will give.....it is really a fun thing to do.

3. Keith has a very tender heart. He can be watching a movie and I know without even looking over that he has tears in his eyes. Sometimes this does not show up so fast in the everyday with us....but I know that he loves deeply. And that makes me feel secure. We both have tender hearts so that makes us a good match. Mine may not be so obvious at first on the surface...but once you touch it-its yours. Keith is the same way.....he doesn't not give up on people easily...and I love that.

4. I have known since we got married that Keith loves God. But over the years I have seen that grow in a huge way. Not that he has grown in knowledge only but also in depth. He has the type of child like faith that I wish I had. It is harder for me to get beyond the natural. He has an incredible faith in the God he serves.

5. I love the fact that Keith is very laid back. It takes a lot to get him stirred. He maintains for a lot longer than I do. Along with this laid back spirit comes the freedom of one who is not a people pleaser. He really does not care about what people think of him......this does drive me crazy sometimes. But I think people like this about him because he is real. He does not hold his tongue so you always know where you stand with him.

We have both learned a lot in our years of marriage. Walking with our God and learning to love Him has made a huge difference in both of us. We have found that as we become more like Him- we grow closer together. The good things in each other rub off on the other. And just the same when we are not walking close to our Lord- we are walking away from each other. We spent way to many years that way.
Keith has taught me to be more comfortable around people..although I will always be one of those who thinks and observes before saying what they think. That is my Mom in me. :)

I guess that is enough for now. Ya'll know I don't tag....but if you do this let me know and I would love to come and read.

It WAS so good!

Yesterday was interesting and I learned quite a bit. It was my second trip to the new Walmart---:0 Yes, the hunt was on. It was kind of fun and exhausting at the same time.
The fun thing about that? (add a slight ting of sarcasm here) I love learning new things. :)
And since this was the first time I really had things I had to find.....it was time to learn the new location of all the things I had to have.
I was on a mission to get all the ingredients for making my lasagna.
Nothing was where I thought it should be, BUT 2 hours later I walked out
with all the necessary stuff. Or so hope the people I am cooking for. ;)

We began our small group (associated with our church) a few weeks ago
and not it is my turn to make the entree. We eat lunch together after church every other week.
I am just a tad limited with cooking equipment and food storage.... so my brother has offered to let me use his kitchen. \o/
I am always a little nervous preparing food for people for the first time. I was not that way in the restaurant business...maybe because I could not see their faces when they took that first bite? :)

I don't use a set recipe (this is my favorite way to cook)....thus it is easy to get to the end and remember you left something essential out.
Not something you want to do when you feed someone for the first time.
Noodles? It was supposed to have noodles?

The last time I made the dish I remember thinking...hmmm, not what I remember-- I wonder what I left out. If it is not over cooked or under cooked you know you left something out. Or I guess you could have used sugar instead of salt.....gross!....sweet lasagna.
Before I purchased things yesterday I stopped to think back to when it was just right- walking through the stages in my mind so that I could make sure I had everything. I do realize that I started making shortcuts. Money would be a little tight and maybe I would not put in as much cheese and meat. Or I would be in a hurry and forget to add the herbs or garlic to the layers .....not a good idea because no one wants to eat bland lasagna.
And you can be sure that when I get ready to put it together this time--- I will walk through all the stages again to make sure everything goes in and at the right proportions.
I want our new friends to thoroughly enjoy their first taste of my cooking.

Now you know me-- I thought this was a great example of what can happen
with our spiritual walk.
Haven't we all had times when we felt like we we just floating along in our relationship with God?
Sublime would be a word used to describe our walk.
Everything is falling together the way it should. You can't wait to get to your time with Him....the Spirit is speaking. Time spent with God hit us all in the right places. It is just good. You feel like you could stand on the mountain top and scream....TRY IT YOU'LL LIKE IT!

And then all of a sudden...it seems,
(but you know really it does not happen over night)
you feel that things are just not right. Maybe it is that empty, lost feeling.
Maybe it is just that you are not lingering in your time with God. It seems you have "lost that lovin feelin". Life is busy and so you figure at some point you will just sit down and figure it all out. It will be good again you tell yourself. And then times goes by and you drift further.
You hear a Sister all pumped about what is going on in her relationship with God and you have a hard time breaking a grin of understanding. In your mind you think.......I remember when.
And if you are not too far gone you think that one day you will return to spiritual zone.

Now is the most important time to sit down and reevaluate things--before you get to the point where you just don't care anymore.
Recently I had to do that.
Where had things gone wrong? What was I missing?
Was it not enough time in the word? Not enough time in prayer?
I guess these questions would be for anyone.....but each will have questions of their own.
And before I close I do want to mention the obvious.......our walk
is something that we "serve up" daily to the public.
We are supposed to taste and see that the Lord is good........when others touch our lives
do they leave with a good taste in their mouth?

Well that is it for now......just some thoughts floating around in this brain of mine. ;)

Question of the day........What ya cookin?

He will never

I left the comment below on a friends blog and it sparked a few more thoughts.
It got me a little excited!

"Thanks for this.....Resting in Him...being still and remembering HE IS GOD!
And I am His responsibility..and He does not shirk His responsibilities. :)"

Like in the story of Elijah....He never sleeps or turns His eye away for even a second.
He never gets caught off guard....nothing takes Him by surprise.
He will never reflect an others glory.He never over extends Himself.
He never needs to borrow a few bucks.
He never works Himself into a corner.
He never neglects creation.
He will never tell His child...till death do us part.
He never plays the villain.
He is never rude. He never pouts. He never holds a grudge.
He is never late.
He never sweeps anything under the rug....He is always straight forward.
He will never need to make a great escape.
He will never be the biggest looser.
Fear will never be a factor for Him.
He will never trade spaces....with the enemy.
He will never need a makeover.
His creativity will NEVER run out!

He is our Savior....we are His children...we are His responsibility.....
And He NEVER shirks His responsibility!
Psalm 37
For the Lord delights in justice and forsakes not His saints; they are preserved forever.
His will will NEVER come to an end!
And you can take that to the bank! ;)

A Southern Wedding & and a prayer request.

Well I am finally back home. It was a short trip back to La.-but I got to spend time with friends and family so it was nice. We got home tonight and since I can't watch Heroes because the channel is not working I thought I would pop on and say Hi!..... and catch up.
So we got home Friday and Julia and I sat around because Mom and Dad had business plans and Keith went to the woods. But it was good to be back home and I did get to see a friend because she dropped by.
Then Saturday we got up and headed for the wedding. I think the name of the place was Twelve Oak Plantation...but I am not sure. It is not a real plantation which is good since the historic value would have been destroyed during Katrina. It was actually located not far from where I grew up. Michael went with us and so I took the chance to get a shot of all of us. My camera was acting up so this is the only one that Linda got.

Here is a view of the front of the "plantation". It really was a beautiful setting to have a wedding and the temp was not too hot....that was a real blessing. As I mentioned earlier my niece is in her mid thirties and has been very involved in her career. She works for The Louisiana Game and Fish......I guess you would say it is a government agency. And she has also started a non profit organization that allows children who have never had a chance to fish...that chance.
So as you can see she is very involved in the world of fishing. Now the man that she married is also real involved in the same world. He is a boat captain and has a few boats where they take people out for fishing trips. He also has his own fishing show.
They are a great match don't you think?

And so it was only fitting that the flower girls carried creels decorated with fall flowers and the ring bearers carried fishing poles with the rings tied to the end of the line.
It was really sweet. My niece is a beautiful girl but she has never been a girly girl...so although the wedding was elegant...it had touches of her personality mixed in.

This next touch was a surprise to all of us.......including the groom.
My niece had a boat brought in to bring her around the plantation to the aisle. It was sweet to look over and see the groom wiping tears from his eyes.
They are very much in love.

She is ridding with her Dad who gave her away.

They had to bring in a staircase to get her out of the boat..but it was beautifully decorated.
Michael kept joking saying, You know you are at a redneck wedding if the bride arrives in a boat. It was really a beautiful sentimental thing for her to do for her soon to be husband.

Here is another sweet touch. This is their cake topper. The bride has a fishing pole that has caught the pants of the groom and she is reeling him in.

There was all kind of traditional food--- Seafood gumbo, shrimp creole, crab served in filo dough, fried shrimp, oysters, and catfish. There were also all kinds of other things and sweets. I was amazed at the variety of food being served. The food was great and the staff did a great job.

There were probably 5 rooms all elegantly decorated....plenty of room for everyone.

Linda was there along with her hubby Tim...who performed the ceremony. It was short and sweet.....pretty good for a pastor. You will remember that Linda is my former pastors wife.

And I snagged a picture with Keith...it is hard to get serious pictures with him...not that I like having my picture taken either.

This was one of the last events in the reception.....it is a traditional thing to see in New Orleans.
I want to say the song was the Mardi Gras mombo.....no sure...but it is traditional to bring out the umbrellas and give one to the ones at the head of the line. And they make there way around the room with others following waving handkerchiefs. Was I involved in this.......uh...NO. A little out there for me. But everyone had fun.....and it was great to have all the family together again.
We will resume normal broadcasting once the suitcases are put away and laundry is done.

Oh, one MAJOR prayer request.
On the way home tonight we got a call from the man who has been storing our house for us for almost two years. A real blessing....can you even imagine how much that would have cost us? But he has finally found someone to buy the house where our things are and would like us to have our things out in a few weeks. Just a little problem.....we don't have a house yet to move it into.
So if it is according to God's plan we need a job for Keith and a house to move into.....SOON.
I am not sure what incredible thing God is up to....but He has provided in a major way so far.
So this is a call out to step the prayers up just a bit.
I can't wait to see what great things God has in store for us.
Thanks for your prayers.

Dum.Dum, De, Dum...Dum, Dum, De, Dum :)

Just to let you know that I am going home for a little visit and a wedding.
My niece is getting married for the first time at 37!
So we are packing our fancy duds and heading back to Louisiana.
(Please God don't let the leaves finish changing before I get back.)
Her wedding is going to be on a plantation I believe....so I will be bringing my camera.
Hey, at least it won't look as odd- me pulling out my camera as it has at some times so I could get pictures for you guys. :) Maybe we will get some cool pictures. Hopefully we will have a little cool weather so that all the people in the pictures will not be glowing-me included.
I will be on line here and there and will catch ya'll as I can.

Behave till I get back!
Well....behave even when I get back. ;)
Love you guys!

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...a beautiful

Since the last few post have been contributors to brain strain....here is just a little something fun.
MelanieJoy thought it would be fun to post some pictures of our everyday life...so when we think of each other we can picture that person in their normal surroundings. I don't think she has done her post yet so maybe this will motivate her. :) So here is a look at my life through the lens of my camera.....hold on to your seat.........I wouldn't want you to fall off when you fall asleep. ;)

Just so you don't think I am kidding about living
in a camp ground....the above is a picture of my surroundings. Julia has enjoyed making a fort in the playground with two other kids her age.
Now the picture on the left is the view of the mountain side from our camper...you can barely see the house on the mountain side. And of course I had to include a picture of the trees changing color.

You will have to excuse the pictures...they have a mind of their own this morning.
They were sorted but somehow they have gotten all flipped around

Yesterday was my brothers music night...which I have been going to because one day I hope to show up with my instrument. So we had a night out. Now hold on to your seat here comes the exciting news. We have a new Walmart....Yes, and it is now open 24/7! It just opened this past week so we had to go and check it out. So the picture on the right is a picture of my brother playing his fiddle...there are about 16 people who show up to play each Monday night. The pictures underneath are the pictures that led up to the music time. I thought I would take pictures of us going down main street. It is really a sweet street with lots of little shops.

Now of course I had to take a picture of our visit to wally world.
It was beautiful...if you could call Walmart beautiful.

I will say the view from Walmart is beautiful.

It kept trying to remember to bring my camera when I picked up Julia from school...I finally remembered. So this is the view right outside our camp ground....Julias school is about a half mile down the road. What a incredible peaceful view from her school.
That is it for now....sorry for the mess with the pictures.

the most recyclable material

This morning I was reading in Ezekiel for my morning devotional time. You will notice a reoccurring theme of "clean up" because that is where God has me now. And you know if you have spent any amount of time in the Old Testament

isn't that where Israel was found most often? They were often in the Clean up process....it is a dirty job that I am glad He is willing to do.
In the eleventh chapter God is talking about returning His people to their land. And this is what He says, "They will return to it and remove all its vile images and detestable idols. I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God".

Now there is a verse that comes right after this about those who refuse to remove those images and detestable idols, but I am not going to going there because I am in the process of allowing Him to recreate in me a clean soft heart.
Reading these verses this morning made me think of this verse.
Yet, O LORD, you are our Father.
We are the clay, you are the potter;
we are all the work of your hand. (Isa 64:8)

Not really knowing much about clay I wondered if there was ever a point when clay was beyond use and just needed to be thrown away. So I did a little yahoo search and this is what I found.
Continental Clay Company says,
"Clay until it is fired never goes bad. it is one of the most recyclable materials in nature. With the proper addition of both water and time any clay can be ready to use and reuse".

Now that is a little tidbit of information that I can thank the Lord for.
I will tell you that the process of getting a piece of dry clay back into malleable condition is not one that we should ever want to go through. Are you up for this?
*When the clay is absolutely dry, carefully place the coils into a heavy clay bag (3 mil. or thicker), and break the clay coils into small pieces with a mallet..
Umm....Ouch!
But there is hope. The process is not finished here thank heavens.
Next comes the soaking process.
*Now, fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of water. Pour the crushed clay into the water approximately 5 pounds per 15 minutes. Layering in this way will allow the clay chunks to saturate with water before they are submerged under another layer of dry clay pieces. Continue this layering until the bucket is half full of clay..

I guess the idea is that the clay did not become hard over night and it will not return to the malleable state over night. The above process is actually going to take around 4 days of soaking.
So what gets us to this state of stony substance?
What makes your heart hard?
In my case it happened one choice at a time. A choice to do what I thought was best instead of what He thought was best. A decision to watch what I wanted to watch. And read what I wanted to read. A choice to be greedy and self centered instead of allowing Him to give me what I needed when I needed it. Each of these choices allowed my heart to become a little harder.
Then as things became harder I stepped away from time in the word and time in prayer.
Isn't it funny that what you need most you shy away from because of the guilt you feel?
Hmmm, maybe that is why He doesn't want us to give into self in the first place.
I became like a glass of cold water set out in the desert- my spirit all dry and evaporated and eventually marred and etched by the blowing sand.

So now I am in the soaking process-it does not happen over night.
And the temptation will come once you start feeling a little better.... to jump out of the soaking process. That should notify you right away that you are not done yet! The clay never tells the potter when it is ready. That is what got it into trouble in the first place.

So the journey continues.
This is basic stuff. But my heart tells me that if they were willing the whole body of
Christ would be sitting in that soaking bucket.
It is time to get back to the basics.
Never confuse conviction with beating yourself up.......if God has spoken to your heart...respond right away. Otherwise your heart will continue to harden and the process to re moisturise will be that much longer and harder.

And remember the good thing is that.............until the final baking takes place......clay is the most recyclable material found in nature. Aren't you glad He formed us from dust?
There is always room in the bucket for more!
*Minnesota Clay USA

Ear to the wall

I have debated about writing this post.
You know how sometimes when you get too serious people tend to disappear.
But as much as I love you guys.....this blog has got to be the real me.
So this is a little of what God showed me about myself this past week. If it helps someone else along the way...great. After all we are supposed to be iron sharpening iron. Right?

If you have been reading my blog you know that I am turning my heart back toward what I know to be true. And that truth? That God is the creator of my body and He created it to follow His direction just as He created my heart to follow His direction.
He wants to be the one to fill my soul...and He demands that
I see and worship Him as my only God. In doing and following the above I get the benefit of Him leading me into all truth.
I have known these things for a LONG time...but have not always followed them.
In regards to my body.....I have not followed His lead or athority. I have self medicated with food...and in greed taken in more than my daily bread. I guess it is a good thing that God did not design it so that each of us only would be given a certain amount of food for a life time and then the food source would stop. Yikes! I think I would have seriously depleted my source in the last 20 years.

The thing that really started buzzing around in my head this week was.....Why if I knew the truth did it not work? Truth...God made my body. He made my stomach to growl or feel empty when it needed filling........then when it was satisfied He made it so that it would notify me.
He did not make this a hard thing to understand. Nor did He make it a hard thing to follow. I mean --when I am filling my truck with gas and the nozzle cuts off because it is full I don't say, Oh no you are going to take 3 more gallons even if it does not fit. I am not going to waste that money by dumping it all over the ground. Full is full........stop.
And likewise if the tank is on full I am not going to stop to fill it up.
This is the basic concept of truth that I understand.
Nine years ago I took the same course I am taking now. Did I get it? No. Or maybe I should say that my rebellious heart did not want to get it. That is a hard pill to swallow. The reality that I looked into the face of God and said NO....yes, that is really scary. Not only was I unwilling to bend my knee to the truth God had revealed to me, but I basically told Him that I would be willing to follow His rules for awhile IF in exchange He helped me loose the weight.
No wonder it did not work. It would be like Julia telling me...I will clean my room if you pay me.
And that was the truth that was laid in my lap this week.
I was willing to do what He said in order to get what I wanted.
Do you know what that did to my heart? It crushed it. I was trying to manipulate God.
My actions had the look of obedience but my heart was far away. No wonder God did not allow it to work. He is not going to bend His knee to anyone.
And then of course I started wondering how many other areas in my life I had been willing to "submit" to God to get what I wanted. I was almost afraid to look.
Now, I do understand that we are required to be obedient even when we don't feel like it. But the thing is that if I am unwilling to submit my heart to God to love Him more than myself......there is rebellion in my heart and God will not turn away from disciplining His child.
I cringe when I think of all the ways I have bartered with God--and in many areas I did not even realize it. He has been patient with me for so long.......preparing my heart to hear and see the truth. I now hold a very important truth in my hands.
It can have a far reaching effect on my life with Him.
The choice is mine......He does give me that. Do I want to move on in my relationship with Him....or do I want to stay where I am?
I have been reading a lot in Deuteronomy and 1st John this week. It is a real eye opener. And it had better be a heart opener....or I will just continue to walk in rebellion.
I don't want to run my own life. The only way to turn this around is to repent and turn.
The cool thing is that I know I can not do this on my own......but, He is there wanting to help.
I have recognized the state of my heart because He opened my eyes.
I have repented and now the work belongs to Him.
1 John 5:18-21
18We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him. 19We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. 20We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

21Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.

Just to let you know-I am not beating myself up here.
He already took those stripes on the cross. Thank you Jesus! But it is freeing to look at our lives through the eyes of the Spirit. After all He was sent to teach us and lead us in to all truth. His ways are not burdensome. The only time we carry a burden is when we walk in the ways of the world and that darkness blinds our eyes. It has been a good week. I choose this day to put my ear to the wall and let Him pierce it.

Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but my ears you have pierced. . .
I desire to do your will, O my God. (Psalm 40:6, 8, NIV, italics added) This site has a great article on the ear piercing if you have time to read it.
Just click on the verse.