But Lord...she stinketh!

During our recent trip I became aware of what happens
when regular time with God...is not regular.
And as that awareness became abundantly clear to me..... I began to think of the story of Lazarus in the Bible.
Remember how Lazarus had been dead for a few days....and yet Jesus wanted them to open the tomb to reveal the body.
There concern was for the smell and not the coming action of Jesus.
No oxygen flowing through the blood had produce rot.

That is exactly what happens when there is no heavenly oxygen flowing continuously through this spiritual body of mine.
You know it is funny but when I am spending daily time with Him......I don't necessarily notice the changes that heavenly time brings.
I get used to walking out in this life.....the living nature of God.
It becomes the norm.
But stop that input.....and these spiritual cells start to deplete.....and a rotten nature starts to materialize.
There have been some amazing things taking place in our lives the past several months.
Keith and I have been praying together and our conversation about God was moving to a much deeper level. Keith was noticing changes in his personality and I in mine......for the good.
But what I saw once we finished up the conference was not so nice.
The old dead man was being to gain strength.
And as we got home I began to see a change in my thoughts. Things that I figured were gone......back they came......what a smell.
I stinketh!
And I had no one to blame but me.
Thank heavens I serve a God who is more than capable of raising the sick to health.... and the dying or dead to life.
Nothing but a hard heart is beyond His control.
So you know what I am going to be concentrating on......and I will be a willing participant as God will be busy at work cleaning up the debris left by neglect.
It is amazing how two weeks can allow for so much backward action.
Now it is your turn..if you are willing.
How are things going in your walk?
I know I am not the only one who can tend to wander aimlessly during the summer.
Where are you right now?
And what are you doing to keep that spiritual oxygen flowing?

Yes, I'm interested.
Remember....it only takes a spark to getting a fire going.
And soon all those around can warm up to its glowing. ;)
Does that bring back any memories?

Any sparks out there?
Or is it time for debris clean up?

A little of our trip

Well it is good to be home!
It was a hot trip and it is good to be back to our cooler mountain weather.
We were gone for two weeks.....so I thought I'd fill you in on what we did....cuz I know you are dying to know. ;)
We left here and made our way through Arkansas. It had been years since Keith or I had been in that direction. Let's just say that youthful memories were a lot nicer than what we say. Next year we have decided to head through the mountainous region instead of the way we went.
But we had fun.
We took a duck ride in Hot Springs. (Not something that I would recommend unless you are really desperate for an experience that is different.) :)
Then we heard that Diamond Crater State Park was not far away.....I couldn't resist.
Who couldn't use a few more diamonds?
Of course it might have helped to know what we were looking for---- and to have gone dressed appropriately. We arrived and took our tools out into the huge area......it was soooo hot!
But we stayed for a few hours.....and I had the pleasure of receiveing a mud bath by a little one who was more concerned with playing in the mud puddles than looking for diamonds.
One day she will enjoy those little rocks more than the mud. :)
I would have loved to have stayed one more day.......and had a serious go at it....but I am happy with the "rocks" I have. :) But if you are ever in Murfreeboro...check it out. Here is the link-
Crater of Diamonds State Park.

Then we headed toward our conference in Texas.
As we were traveling I looked up and saw a town that was vaguely familiar.....Glenrose, Texas.
Then we remembered that this was the town where the Creation Evidence Museum was located. We have been talking about trying to visits this place for a few years now....but it was never on the way to any place we visited. If you watch TBN you will probably have heard of Dr Carl Baugh.....he has a program on all things that prove the story of our earth as told in the Bible.
Julia didn't want to go in at first.....but once she started looking around she was glad she had not stayed in the truck.
I took some pictures and I would like to share them with you.....I think you will like them.
Dad was really excited we were going to finally get a picture of the human footprint overlaid by a dinosaur footprint.
You see each year at camp Dad starts off his session with the kids talking about creation.
It is so important in a world that is trying to devalue the truths taught in the Bible.
So here is the picture.
For all those who try and tell us that man and dinosaurs did not walk together.......here is proof they are wrong.

They would also like us to believe that some creatures we know today....were smaller.
This was found not far away from the museum...I believe.
Julia was nice enough to pose for me.

There were videos to watch and all types of fossils and replicas of fossils.
They had two really unique displays that had been lent to them.
First they had in cases the oldest full collect of Bible scrolls. It was pretty cool. Each scroll was pretty big......we are blessed to have our Bibles.
You would need a truck just to be able to carry all the scrolls that have been placed together in our Bible. This scroll is the book of Daniel.

Next there was a beautiful tapestry.

Oh that they would know that the one they wait for....He has already come!

This next display really caught my attention.
I don't know why but maybe because I have always been fascinated by the temple.

When Iraq fell this door was taken off of a synagogue that had been closed down but not destroyed. The older man who had been left to care for the synagogue brought in his son and they dismantled the doors and carefully turned them into a donkey cart. The cart was then carried across the borders until they came through India and then to the United States.
The doors were beautiful.

Once they got the doors to a museum....they found a surprise in one of the side panels.
There was a panel that slid up revealing quite a few treasures.

There were scrolls of scripture and tiny alabaster jars.

I just love history.......the depth of the riches that God has left for us as a trail to His throne--it is limitless!

This last piece is an old hyperbaric chamber.
During the times before the flood our earth was just like the environment in a hyperbaric chamber. The air was so pure with oxygen that a man could run for over a hundred miles without getting tired. The ice canopy that surrounded the earth kept things pure and filtered out harmful rays from the sun. And because the sun filtered down through that ice.....the world took on a pink hue...nope you would not have been looking up into blue skies.
This place is filled with many more incredible things. I could go on and on!
If you are ever in the area......it would be a good place to check out with your kids.

That's it for me! These old eyes are getting blurry and it is time for bed. I promise to be around tomorrow to catch up with you all.

Hope you are doing well.....the deaths in the media are weighing heavey on my heart.
Don't forget to pray that as these people think about the ones we have lost
that their hearts and minds will be turned to our God.
Love ya!.......He loves you more. :)

A Commercial Break

We take this brief moment
in order to give you a commercial break during my blogging break.
Thought I would just pop in to let you know that I am still alive
and I will be returning by the end of the week. :)

For those of you who have been with me for over a year-- you know that when we make our trip to our Texas conference......we make a point of stopping in at our favorite store.

The Garven StoreNo it is not swanky....but OH my goodness....what incredible jerky!
You'll walk in the front door and make a little turn to your left where you will find a cute little cabinet. In there you will find the best jerky you have ever had. Grab a bag and fill it up!
This year they had an addition to the menu......Buffalo!
And because I was sweet enough last year to tell ya'll about their great store...... I got a bag on the house. :) It made my day.

Here is a little bit about the product straight from their site.
.

For those of you who haven't heard about Garven Store, the birth place of BeefJerkyWorld.com, we are not some bulk beef jerky store or outlet. We don't have huge selections of different types of jerky. What we do have and promise is high quality jerky.

We are a small family owned business where beef jerky is still made in small batches by hand.

All of our jerky is marinated and dried in a specially designed smoker, giving it an old fashioned hickory smoked flavor and the best beef jerky flavor you have ever tasted.

We guarantee it to be fresh, tender, and addictive.

We take great pride in this 40 year old recipe and love being able to share it with the world.

I am going to include the link again....go on over and check out the store.
What a great gift for the men in our lives....or yes, great for someone looking for a snack that is a little lower in calories. Click on the picture below and you will be on your way to bringing home some great flavor.
And I did notice this year that they are even taking paypal.
Enjoy!......we sure did.

We are still at Mom and Dad's in Covington.
We have enjoyed some great seafood and we are currently watching LSU playing in the college world series finals.
If they loose tonight we will stay another night to see how the do tomorrow....but....should they pull off another victory then we will head on back to our mountains in the morning.
So....love ya.....and talk to ya soon!
Oh....and thanks for the prayers.....our conference went great and we had such a great time.
I do believe that God was looking down on us we a great big smile on His face.
And ya know.....that's a good feeling!
;)

Breathing.....in and out........in and out

It is about time to leave for our trip to Texas.......and I will not be posting while I am gone....around two weeks. And I think that says that I have come a long way baby!
I think God has finally broken my addiction to this world of blogging. \o/
Ask my hubby.....it was bad.
But I still love you girls. :)

I want to share something before I go.
We had small group on Saturday and got into a discussion about how important it is to have an accountability partner (not your husband!) and or a mentor.
Really......it is important! Just read that little section in Titus..and you will know our God agrees!
So our prayers for each other were for God to provide a mentor and or accountability partner.
Now......if God tells us to do it in the word.....it is His will.
And when we pray in accordance to His will.....Walaaaa!
Now it may not come in the way you imagine it. For years I prayed for a mentor......I could just picture a wise older woman who passionately loved God.....someone who would pour her life into mine. And no physical woman appeared. I was really bummed! And then along came Mrs Beth Moore......and boy did that fill a big ole hole in my life.
I look back on that prayer and I know God answered it.....through her. And I honestly think that I was in such an insecure spot that I might have become more attached to a physical mentor than to God.....and of course He wanted me for Himself.

Sunday at church I approached our Sunday school teacher about helping me look for an accountability partner or mentor. She kind of laughed and said that she was in the process of doing some research so that we could set up a program in our church.
The topic came up again in Sunday school and I think the men's group is going to jump in too.

I have been so blessed by Keith.....he is so bold in ways I am not. Sunday morning he went to church early to pray with the men and he just up and approached one of the older men and asked the guy straight out if he would be willing to be his mentor. :) That's my man!
Maybe that is a boldness I need to pick up. Maybe if more of us younger women were doing that....we would have mentors. ???

Then we moved on to the church service and what do you think the service was about?
Yes, you got it! Mentoring!
Our God was speaking and the body was listening.
I believe the title of the service was....... Breathe.
And here was the idea.
If all you do is breathe air in and never breathe out.....eventually you are going to pass out.
And yet a lot of the body of Christ does just that. They jump from one service to the other....from one Bible study to another...always looking for something for themselves. Sounds pretty childish doesn't it? Been there.
Ever think about what would happen to a lake that is always taking in......but never putting out?
Eventually it is going to get yucky.
We were not meant to just take in and not put out.
We were meant to share what we take in.
Besides have you ever noticed that when you get into a good discussion with someone about God and what He is doing in your life--- how it builds the fire in You?

So let's be bold!
If you are looking for a mentor....which you should be.....start praying.
Ask God to open your eyes to the woman He would have speak into your life. And then you might start looking at the older women in your life.....or church. Who knows where God will bring her from. And then when you think you have found someone......start listening to her heart.
And then ask God to give you a boldness.......and an introduction.
And if you are at a spot spiritually where you can mentor......ask God to take you to a younger woman who NEEDS you.
Let's step back into God's will for our lives.

And if you are wanting that accountability partner......again, prayer is a good thing.
We want someone who is walking the same path as us. Someone who will be willing to love us, and let us love them. A mentor is someone who pours into your life.......an accountability partner become a good friend that you pour into and then they pour back. Of course there is a lot more involved.

I pray that God brings the right person in to your life and that God's desire for you---- becomes the desire of your heart.

That is it for now.
Remember you are loved!!!!!!
I am sure I'll be around here and there as I have internet access.....but I won't be back here to post for awhile.
See ya when I get back from Texas.
Oh...and if you think about it.... you can pray for us as we minister.....and for the children as we pour the good news of Jesus into their lives.
Thanks!

Life Under the Bobbin Tree

Many years ago when my son was still a little guy his favorite thing to do was to try and find some worms and then grab me and our poles to head for the river in our backyard.
I would take my chair and we would hang out back there till the mosquitoes drove us inside.
Louisiana at it finest! :)
We often caught fish and would carry them up to the house to put them in the cement pond till it was time to get them ready for cooking.
There were some great times sitting by that river.
It was a time just for us..... and I was happy that Michael felt free to let his young mind just explore out loud all that he normally keep quiet.
It often gave us time to talk about God.
At that young age it was amazing to hear what was forming in his heart.
Right there under that tree we would share life lessons.
One of those lessons involved that tree right there on the bank.
In our hurry to catch a swirl in the water we would often reach back to cast and let it go...expecting to see our hook, sinker and line land right on top of "the big one".
But often instead of seeing it land before us we would get that odd yank and we would know that yet another of our bobbers had been lost to the "bobbin tree".
Of course that is how the tree got it's name......from all our lovely bobbers hanging its branches.
We enjoyed our time there.
It was a time for youth and innocence that will always linger in my memory.
One day we were talking about something deep--for a nine year old--sad, but I don't even remember what it was......and I told Michael that one day I would write a book and give it the title--
Life Under The Bobbin Tree.
It would be all about lessons learned while out in nature.....even the frustrating ones.
He thought it was a great idea.
Years went by and life has had its MAJOR ups and downs and the day came when writing a book was not even a thought...survival was.
And then the other day while riding with my man out and about in the mountians--
that book came to mind. And I did give it a second thought.....hmmm, is it time now?
But as I have learned to do lately I gave that wayward thought to God and then moved on.
If He wanted to talk about it further I knew He would bring it up.
I rolled down the window and enjoyed the cool breeze and the slightly musty smell in the air coming from the moss covered rocks and the creek running alongside our road.
Keith and I were on our way to Cherokee to do a little fishing.
We stopped in a little shop and picked up our day passes and then went on to our first stop.
We got out at a little bridge and got our poles ready. And just as  I looked up before casting I caught a glimpse of this........














I wish I could have gotten a picture of the whole tree....there were bobbers of every sort, lures galore and enough line for the tree to outfit a pole of its own.
I just sat there and shook my head....what a sense of humor our God has!

I am sure there were many frustrated moments under that tree as people fought the loosing battle to get their fishing equipment back.
But what that tree also told me was that those individuals either weren't practiced in casting their poles or they knew that there were great things to be found and captured under that tree.
And they felt the risk was well worth what was to be gained. (Yes, there is a life lesson there) :)

Sitting there watching my bobber I couldn't help but wonder why God kept bringing me back to this topic.
I am still not sure. I know many people have a dream of writing a book that would hit the best seller list. I will admit that I used to feel that way....a LOOOOONG time ago.
And then the that dream placed at the feet of my Father....well it really lost its interest.
I do have a few things floating around in this noggin of mine.
One of those ideas I do believe would be a great source of inspiration to our children.
But as I sit with the thought......the plot has not moved. When and if He moves my imagination and the characters......I am all too ready to put His thoughts to paper.

I am not sure why I am sharing this.
But I do know that there are others out there sitting on dreams......maybe not even for themselves--maybe dreams for others.
Don't let a few frustrating "fishing" moments make you lay aside those visions for the
future. It may be that God is asking us to bathe those things in prayer and preparation time.

Who knows but that you have been a Joseph/Esther tucked away under the cover of the almighty hand of God.......... till such a time as this. Maybe your face will never grace the page of any "important" page. Maybe you will always be in the background.
We are all called to be servants.....and many times a servant is never noticed until they stop doing their job correctly.
So just keep working. He sees us!
And when the day comes to fulfill His vision and purpose for our lives.......let Him find us on our knees often in pray and working toward the glory of the kingdom.

Hope this made sense to someone....it has just been on my mind.
Love ya'll!
Keep working for His Glory!

(Oh, and that life lesson learned under that first bobbin tree?
That even though there will be tough times in life when you feel caught and unable to move forward......if you will just patiently regroup and pray.....good things will come!)
Never, never give up!

Just a word

I have been reading through a book that a girlfriend gave me awhile back.
It is a simple short devotional that I have found touches me.
The book is....
31 Days Meditation on the MAJESTY of Jesus by Jack Hayford and Dick Eastman.
Each day covers the names of our God and what they entail.
I would like to share one that really spoke to me of the majesty of our God.
Sometimes I am tempted to be limited in my thinking by our world and the "vastness" of it.
And yet this limitation if not checked.....limits God in my mind.
Here is an excerpt from the book.
It really made me think about not only the creativity of our God but the vastness of His all encompassing power.

The Word Of God
When God willed creation with a word, that Word was actually a person; Jesus Christ. And what a "Word" it was--and is! (See John 1:1 and Colossians 1:15-17)
To get a glimpse of the incredible creative power of that Word, let's take an imaginary trip across our universe. Our space shuttle will travel fast--at the speed of light, 186 thousand mile per second. We will pass the moon in 1:3 seconds and leave our solar system in only five hours. Now the journey gets long. In four years we'll reach earth's nearest star. While zooming through the Milky Way, we arrive at a new star approximately every five years with at least 100 billion stars to go! Traveling in a straight line across the galaxy will take 80 thousand years of continuous travel. (If we were to visit every individual star in the Milky Way, it would take 500 billion years.) Ready to check out the "neighborhood?" Andromeda, the closet galaxy to the Milky Way, is 2 million years away. Galaxies come in groups, and our group contains approximately seventeen separate galaxies, each with at least 200 billion stars. The largest of the groups is known space is "Hercules," which contains ten thousand separate galaxies. We will reach the first of Hercule's galaxies after traveling 300 million years. When our trip is completed, scientists say, we will have passed some hundred octillion--100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000-stars.
Oh, what a "Word" it was that spoke all of this into being!

What would take us years to cover is stepped over by our God in every moment in time.
He covers every particle of our existence with His presence.
And when I start to feel limited by my existence..... my mind often stretches to see out of those boundaries and see Him without the confines.
My mind will never understand how our God would "limit" himself in order to be so intimatly involed in my life.
How He keeps it all going by a word spoken...by His mere presence.
And yet here He is.....the Alpha and Omega walking and talking with me daily.
He not only set my life into motion by His Word.....but that Word intercedes daily for me to make sure the plans He has for me to accomplish.......with my bended knee they come to past.
And one day soon.......He wil turn and look at the Father and He will know that the moment has arrived. And He will look to the angel holding ready the trumphet and give him the nod.
And that most beautiful sound will soar and in a blink of an eye we-His children- will rise to step into eternity! It will not take an octillion years to reach Him....even less than a second.
And all the limitations of our human body and mind will drop away......and we will know once an forever the power and majesty of The Word.

Till then......God open our spiritual eyes.
Let us KNOW that your are God and your presence and power are never limited.
Your plans and goals will succeed.
Those plans are marvelous beyond anything that we can imagine......God help us to use the mind of Christ you gave us as we walk out this existence here on earth .
To You be glory and power forever and ever!

Do ya ever just have one of those days?!

This week has been all about doctors visits.
Since we moved here we had not gotten our primary care doctor or that lovely female doctor you are supposed to visit at least once a year. :(
So this week I have been taking care of that.
First the primary care....who seemed dumb founded that I am not on any prescriptions and I am not fatigued.
And all was well...other than I was given a brace to wear on my right arm to see if it would help with the pain in my wrist. Either flipping all those sautee pans sunk me....or I am spending too much time typing. Either way....we will try the brace.
Then today it was time for the "other" visit.
I got a chance to talk some about God which was cool.
Nothing like trying to take everyones mind off the loveliness of the visit.
I was blessed to be able to explain about my red bird tattoo.
The doctor wanted to know if I was a Cardinal team fan. He wanted to know if that is why I got the tattoo.
Of course it was a great opening to tell him how God had given me that as a sign of His presence and love. Nothing like taking God with you to the stirrups! :)

Then I had a little time for work out and then went to see if I could catch some things on sale at a local store. We will be leaving next week to do our conference in Texas...we will probably leave
next Wednesday or Thursday. So I needed a few do dads.
I did find two things...after a discouraging session in the dressing room.
Anybody else love trying on clothes?
It seems to me that it is just a great set up for the onslaught of depression...or you of course could skip the depression and just head straight for the chocolate!
Of course that does nothing to remedy why you got depressed in the first place.
By the time I got to the checkout I did think I would manage to side step both choices.
And then it happened.
I stood in line for quite a while waiting for the many seasonal visitors to pay for their purchases...and then it was my turn. And the day turning event took place.
Now to give her a break....maybe the YOUNG girl behind the counter had been blinded by all the gray hair that had gone before.You know....... kind of like snow blindness.
But those thoughts had not yet occurred to me when I presented my two items and she looked up and from that perky little 19 to 20 personality------ said....
"Good afternoon! Are you 55 or older?"
Really I should have thought before I opened my mouth.....really I should have!

The guy standing behind me..who had not even seen my face... laughed because he already knew the answer and knew what was coming.

I just looked at her and said...
"You're kidding right!!?
I must be having a really bad day if I look that old!"
(And honestly, I am enjoying getting older...and most times I love my gray hair....... but there is just something about aging 12 years in one shopping trip)

But I was glad there was not a 55++++ standing behind me.
So much for southern graces.
And she could have stopped there....really she could have.
But then in her defense as a young...not yet mature woman......as evidenced by gray hair that proves one has great wisdom...........she said,

"Well!,I should have just put it in the computer without asking".

And as the wise older woman...as evidenced by gray hair......I just let it go.

But since I seem to be on the other side of the hill......
the rest of the day just went downhill from there. ;)

Hoping to wake up tomorrow feeling a little younger and thinner!