In It Together

It has been quite awhile.

It's time had come.

And the blessing in the doing of it has been beyond what I could have expected.

After a bit of a ban on socializing, fellowshipping and otherwise interacting with most people outside of my family and close personals, I have resurfaced.   Sometimes things like that happen. Sometimes you have to be knocked on your keister to straighten up your inner life, your personal viewpoint, your direction and redefine and retool  your life.

Fortunately for me, I have several Close Personals that have kept me sane and cool.  Faithful Friend has been an excellent mentor, though she is nearly two decades younger.  She has been the one that I could grumble and moan and ...complain.  She would let me do all that then she would do that smile that told me, 'Are you done?'  And then with a gentle admonition, she would help me ferret truths from distortions and help to cope to see another day.

And then there is Sweet Sharon, my confidant and prayer warrior.  This lady can hear about anything I have to give her and make sense out of it.  I know that she is praying, praying for my different needs in my life and different times.  She is there for me even though we are geographically distant and not terribly communicative with each other on a regular basis.  We just 'get' each other and know that we have each other's back.

This is a rare and amazing blessing.  In my dark years, it has been my light.  In my confused and overwhelming distractions, they have been a lifeline.  

So when a time came several months ago when I was able to spend a generous amount of time with SS, I announced to her that indeed, the time had come.  I was ready again to be a part of a group designed for the personal spiritual development of my life.  She was glad to hear it and promised to pray for just the right group for me.   

It took quite a few dog walking prayer times to realize that if I had the resources, that if I had the need, that if I had the desire to grow spiritually, perhaps there were others out there that would benefit as well.   Most of you know from this blabbery space,that I love to have guests in my home.  I love sharing all what I have been blessed with and I love knowing that the gift of hospitality has been given me.  So it was with that revelation (duh!) that I decided that my new group shall be one of my own creation.  Faithful Friend was notified quickly so that she could give me her input and suggestions and advice.  Wouldn't do too much without it.

It was with  great satisfaction after some fine tuning and ideas that came from response to this blog that helped formulate my latest adventure.  

I have fought Facebook off for many years.  Friends would encourage me to join but I would vehemently protest saying, 'I do not want to communicate with anyone let alone people in my past'!  My Closed Door Policy did not fly with the openness of Facebook.  But then my little business started developing and Eldest/Admin convinced me that I could have just my business page without having a personal page.  She reassured me time and time again that I could closely monitor and limit any or all interaction.  So I gave in.

I still struggle with the day to day of Facebook, but it certainly has enabled me to reach many  people that I would not have had the privilege to meet.  Facebook's event invite seemed the perfect venue to announce my decision to share my quest.

Wow.

Was I surprised by the response!  Grateful, humbled, exuberant, excited and well pleased, I eagerly studied, prayed, read, prayed and sought wise counsel.  I eagerly checked the event status for those signing on and needing info.  The invitation has brought together the most unlikely group of women with one goal in mind: To know in an intimate way, the God of the Bible.  Participants have come from vast and varied backgrounds.  Participants are in various stages of their spiritual journeys.  Some are just beginning; some have been ham strung by difficult questions or complicated church past issues.  Whatever.  All that is very irrelevant.  The focus, the point of the whole gathering is starting at Square One, from this day forward, perspective of God and Who He is and what He wants us to do with that.

This eclectic group of searching women gathered last night.

Sixteen women gathered for a common purpose.

Sixteen women willing to share fractions of their lives and interests.

Sixteen women willing to leave their comfort zone, go out on a limb and see where God takes us.....

Thank you Lord for this adventure.....

.www.crazylovebook.com

Jesus/Church/Sunday

 Most Sundays, Hubby and I travel forty five minutes northward to church.
We do not feel like this is a burden or something to be ticked off our To Do list,  but a genuine desire to intentionally set aside one day of our crazily busy week to honor and worship The Author of our lives.  If we were to be honest in our self evaluation, we would deem it necessary to certainly commit more than the few hours in community worship and daily seeking time to cover our sinful selves.


We are not publicly linked to any one church in membership; our frenetic wandering lives keep us from that kind of commitment.  We see the merit in many kinds of churches meeting many kinds of needs.  In the thirty three years that I have publicly committed to Jesus Christ, I have attended quite a few different types of churches and found that I was where I needed to be for such a time as that in my life.  For  varied reasons, I was lead/directed/inspired to attend varied churches to get all that the Lord was to teach me in that particular location.






I see God's plan in creating the church.  I see the blessed fellowship of the joining together of kindred hearts, lifting up praises to The One that got us through the week.. The One that created me.  That loves me when I am quite unlovable.  The One that saved me into eternity by sacrificing His Son for my sin, disgusting and proliferating as it is. 
 I know, I know, I know that I shall be in Heaven someday despite myself and my propensity for sinning and disappointing.  I know that it has nothing to do with my 'goodness' or what I 'do',  but everything to do with His holiness and His willingness to take my punishment.  This is awesomely overwhelming to me.   If Creation and Salvation from Hell was not enough, He sent His Spirit to strengthen, encourage, support, convict, comfort me while I put in time on this globe.  How could I ever survive the onslaught of this earth without this mighty Triune, Holy, All Knowing, Perfect God?


Everything in my life points back to a Holy God.  All that I have is from Him.  Any talent, wisdom or knowledge comes directly from The One that wants me to know these things for His Greater Purpose that is completely unknown to me.  If I indeed, did know it, I would be so full of myself and abilities that I would be pretty much ridiculous to know.  He alone knows when to take me down a peg and how to do it.  He alone knows how to show me the err of my ways and how to correct it.  He alone cares enough to correct me.


In this world of vast belief systems, I choose God.  
Amidst multitudinous religions, I choose to have faith in the fact that this universe has an orderly fashion ordained by The Only One that could have possibly planned it all.  Anything else just simply takes more faith than I have.




I do so love Jesus.
I am thankful His awesome gift to my life.
For all our lives.  Free and loving and non conditional and obtainable by all.  He has given us instructions.  We just have to decide if we are going to follow it.


Thank you Lord for helping me follow it and forgiving me when I don't.


Blessed Sunday to you....


'And if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things are gone, behold, the new has come.'  2 Corinthians 5:17

Journaling, Type 2

Another type of journal that I do has only a 20 year history with me.
These are my Spiritual Journals.
After going through a Bad Patch in 1989, I knew that I needed a discipline of meeting with my Saviour/Redeemer/Helper/Comforter but I had no idea how this was accomplished. I heard others more advanced in their faith refer to their 'Quiet Time' but I had no idea what that was and was too embarrassed/prideful to ask them to explain.
So, in 1989, while my precious neighbor watched my kids, I got alone in my living room, feeling like a nut, talking out loud to God, asking for direction, help and a plan.

This is what He gave me. (You really doubt that He spoke to me? Apparently, you are unaware at how unglued I was at the time and how positively sensible this simple plan was and that I was incapable of putting two rational thoughts together at the time yet here was an extraordinary plan for meeting with the one who had The Plan For My Life.)

He gave me a systematic plan for reading through the Bible, expressing my thoughts, concerns, noting verses that spoke to me, verses that I didn't understand and convenience of convenience, a To Do list as well. As a busy mama of four children, this just Made Sense.

I was used to getting up with Hubby with his early morning schedule, so I just began that next morning after he went to work. I was already up and thinking, the kids were still sleeping and all was silent; chores were not even yelling yet....
I opened my notebook and placed the date and day of the week at the top.
I read a chapter of Proverbs (a must for young mamas!) correlating to the day of the month, and listed that under the date. If a particular verse stood out that I might want to memorize (!) or tattoo on my being, I noted it there.
I read one Psalm, mostly picked randomly, for there is many, and noted it next. Again, highlighting good verses for the day.
Then I began in Genesis in the Old Testament, one chapter, and Matthew in the New. One chapter, reading like a novel, not like a heavy duty study. I would note words that perplexed me or statements that I didn't get in context. I would ask Hubby about it later or ask friends that I met that day, about it. It sometime spurred interesting conversations....If by chance, a child would awaken, he/she knew it was Quiet Time,called that for a reason. Youngest Son was one that joined me the most often. Being quite the busy boy, he knew that he had to sit still next to me with a book and wait till I completed my time with God. Oddly, he understood and acquiesced. He would sit with his books in his lap and watch me, asking me frequently, Mama, you still talking to God? I have cherished scribbles in my bible from his little hand. He would watch me underline and note in mine so I could hardly scold when he was copying what I was doing. I think he enjoyed this alone time with mama, sitting quietly, waiting for God to appear.....(If he would have been more knowledgeable of God's changing power, he would have known that, indeed, He did show up; visiting my Redeemer before I started my day, made for a much, much better mama, calmer, more patient and more loving. Without? Yikes.)

After reading, I would write out a prayer culled from the Ancient Words in the text. Sometimes very thankful and praise filled. Other times,I would rant and curse, a la David in the cave. Sometimes I asked questions but always I would acknowledge Him as my Lord. Following that, came my prayer requests that were prompted into my mind; details of needed intercession written down in phrases preceded with short lines or asterisks. It is these prayer requests, written so long ago, that are so special today. Seeing answers in all their different forms many years later, that stands strong for the sovereignty of God in my life.

When the inevitable interruption of day to day thought collided into my conscious, I would quickly write it down in the upper margin, reminding me to check the smoke alarm battery, pick up dry cleaning or thaw meat for supper. It was wonderful to unload my brain for later attention. And is God's plan, when I put Him first, He would prompt me to the minutiae of the daily. Oft times, He would prompt me to write: Invite Smiths for supper; Pray for Mary; rough day for her; Write thinking of you note to Jean. Always endearing, encouraging, helpful and not from me. From Him. I was 'too busy' to come up with this sweet things. I was too enveloped in my own things to look outside as often as He directed me. So these things got written down in the upper margin for later attention.

And that is it. Taking perhaps a half hour. Sometimes more; sometimes less. Never actually timed it. Never got legalistic or automatic about it. It was just something I did, Had to do, to get through this life. His comfort and direction and instruction. Ever put together a complex machine together without the manual? That's how I felt before I started this practice.

I encourage you to ask how your Quiet Time should look like. Ask Him. He has a plan for you and He wanted me to share mine with you.

Blessings on your journey....

Soule Mama

For many years, I worked in a ministry that dealt with young women in crisis. The crisis would mostly revolve around an unplanned pregnancy and all that goes with that. The goal was to help the young woman to see the value that she is. To empower her to go forward in her situation, to walk beside her and encourage her during the difficult times and rejoice with her in the triumphs. All this is done supernaturally; the author is God.

For many years, I have seen young girls emotionally beat up with no hope for their futures or their children. It truly was an act of God whenever these young women broke through and came to a peace about their situation and understand the incredible strength that was available through God. The transforming power of God is never to be underestimated and His timing is perfect.....

That said, I guess it would be honest to say that I have seen few mommies that really cherish their calling. The goal is to help them to see their children as gifts of God, but it did not come naturally to many of them. I have several young friends that are wonderful, excellent mamas but for the most part, the mamas that I used to see every week, usually saw their children as a means to an end, someone to love them and for the majority, a huge burden.

Imagine my surprise when I entered the blogging world, to find the likes of Amanda Blake Soule and her amazing blog, Soule Mama. I have so enjoyed getting to 'know' her through her daily blogs and books. Amanda and her blogging friends are true renassaince women, with an eye to home; creating and sustaining it.

Visit her blog and step into her world.
See how she creates beauty out of the ordinary and nurtures it in her children as well.
A breath of fresh air and a hope for the future of our children with mamas like her......

Thank you, Amanda!