In Christ Alone.

So I really did mean to let ya'll know I was gonna be out of town for a few days with these munchkins (and a dozen more!)...




...and also enjoying some quiet time ...

... and the beauty of God's creation!

But, as you can see, I didn't. So sorry:o).

When I wasn't babysitting said munchkins, I was either sleeping or waking up in hopes of catching sunrise on the beach.

Wouldn't you know it, it was cloudy all morning long. That's Murphy for you!

But I really did enjoy going out and listening to the roar of the ocean and watching the waves slap against the sand and rocks. As I watched the water smash into the rocks, I thought about the trials of life that attack me.

Yes, they will come, but thankfully my security rests in Christ alone! The storms may come, but Praise the Lord for The Solid Rock!

As I sat on a bench doing my devotions, I could hear the storm of waves behind me. How fitting it was to be reading my Bible without a fear of all those waves.

The little "get-away" was good and it was especially nice to go the beach when no one else was there! But it's back to the real world for me... and some more two and three years for me in the morning:o).

Wait.

by Russell Kelfer

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate...
and the Master so gently said,"Wait."

"Wait? you say wait?" my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!"
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming your Word.

My future and all to which I relate
hangs in the balance and you tell me to Wait?
"I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign.
Or even a 'no,' to which I'll resign."

You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
Lord, I've been asking, and this is my cry:
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply.

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate
as my Master replied again, "Wait."
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
and grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting...for what?"

He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine...
and He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.

I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.
You'd have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of My love for each saint.
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint.

You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair;
you'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there.
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me
when darkness and silence are all you can see.

You'd never experience the fullness of love
when the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

The glow of My comfort late into the night,
the faith that I give when you walk without sight.
The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask
From an infinite God who makes what you have last.

You'd never know should your pain quickly flee,
what it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.
Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,
but oh, the loss if I lost what I'm doing in you.

So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see
that the greatest of gifts is to truly know me.
And though oft My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still "WAIT".

The Name? Who Cares!

In the space of four days this past week, three little babies decided to arrive and expand the church nursery list. I was teaching junior church this morning and asked the one little boy if he had a new sister. After vigorously shaking his head in an agreement (and over the din of "my mommy's having a baby!" from other classmates ~ this is our baby year!), I asked Ethan if he got to see his new little sister. "Yup." Then I asked Ethan what his sister's name is.

His reply?

"Oh ... I don't know!"

Apparently the information only goes so far... it's pretty impressive to say "my mommy had a baby!", but kids obviously don't care about specifics! Let's hope Ethan learns his baby sister's name quickly:o).

Growing Up Quickly.

My nephew was over tonight and well... just look at how he's doing:



This little munchkin will be one at the end of this month. ONE?!?!?! Is it just me, or is time flying by really fast?!?!

I can just imagine how much is going to change while I'm in Thailand for a year...

It's Comin'!

The birds were chirping the other day (and we even had a bird fly around our school room this morning... that was fun to watch!), the weather was in the mid-50s, we started playing volleyball again (the best sport in the world ~ in my humble opinion!) and the snow is all but melted!

Spring's a comin'!!!!

And I am so ready:o).

Just Some Random Information!

During the Ladies Retreat, my pastor's wife had several "getting to know you" times where ladies would randomly draw a name out of a basket, go find the person, and start chatting away! Mrs. Hammett provided a list of questions that would spark conversation, and since I printed the booklet, I had a sneak peak at some of the questions. So in light of the Ladies Retreat still tumbling around in my mind, I thought I would post some of the questions here and answer them for myself. Feel free to lift the questions from here onto your own blog:o).

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Are you good at cooking/swimming/etc?

This was the very first question in the list and I laughed so hard when I read it! I don't cook and swim at the same time, although I must admit I've never tried it! Are you good at cooking and swimming?;o)

Do you like baseball?

I'm not a big fan of baseball as much as I am football., but I will sit down and watch a game and enjoy chit-chatting during it:o).

Have you ever met a famous person?

Tiffany and I got VIP tickets to attend a rally for President Bush back in October 2004. After he was done speaking, he came down to shake hands. The Secret Service men were very protective (obviously!) and Tiffany got to shake his hand, but I didn't. And that's the only person "famous" I've met.

What countries have you visited?

Loving to travel like I do, this is a perfect question for me! I've visited: Czech Republic, South Africa, Austria, Thailand, Laos, and Canada and have had layovers in Switzerland and Holland.

When you have leisure time, what do you like to do?

I love to read, so I'll light a candle, play soft music, and read a book. I especially like to do that during a snowstorm. Since snowstorms are few and far between in the summer:o), I normally like to get in my car and take a drive to wherever!

What is your all time favorite (clean) joke?

Knock, knock.

Who's there?

Interrupting cow.

Interrupting co-

Moo!

I love that joke:o). I heard it from one of my students (Laura who heard it from Andrew B... enough said!) and I laughed for a full two minutes.:o)

What place in the US would you most like to visit? Why?

I would like to go see the USS Arizona Memorial in Hawaii. I've always had an interest in World War 2, especially Pearl Harbor. I've been very fortunate to have already seen and done a lot of things that I've wanted to do since the majority of places I've wanted to see were on the East Coast. I still want to get to Texas though:o).

What is your motto?

It's more of a quote than a motto: "God's work, done God's way, will never lack God's supply." - Hudson Taylor.

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That's enough for now... there were lots more questions too! I really enjoyed this activity of the Ladies Retreat because I talked to quite a few ladies from different churches, which is out of my comfort zone. Normally I'm good with making small talk, but having an in-depth conversation pushes me a little! So this was a good activity to do:o).

Ladies Retreat.

Friends - Who needs them?

We do!

I attended a less-than-24-hour Ladies Retreat, but there was so much packed into that time period! The theme of the retreat was friends and each message blended together with the previous one. It was an added blessing to have two missionary wives speak at the retreat. The most practical message was the one that touched on T-TAGS:

• T-ime
• T-ouch
• A-ffirmation
• G-ifts
• S-ervice

Each person has their own T-TAG; something to which they respond to the best. For instance, mine is affirmation followed by gifts. The one I least like is touch. I'm not a touchy-feely type person (Katina - the one who talked about the T-TAGS - isn't a touchy-feely person either!), so you wouldn't get very far with me on that one!

But I thought about what normally happens after a retreat/conference/camp is over. Usually we go home, and promptly forget about what was talked about. But since this retreat was on friends, I want to make sure I continue to build and maintain my friendships. Now that can get a little hectic at time, since it seems I don't have any time! But there are little ways I can maintain friendships. One was mentioned by one of the missionary's wives. She mentioned how discouraging it could be when an e-mail update is sent out from a missionary and how sometimes they wonder if it's being read. She then mentioned that by just hitting reply and saying "I'm praying for you", that could really make their day!

When I got home from the retreat, I checked my e-mail and read one from a missionary to Chile. I was about to go to the next one when I remembered the missionary wife's words, and I hit reply and said "I'm praying for you". It didn't cost me any effort at all, and perhaps it did encourage the Chilean missionaries!

Of course since a bunch of ladies got together, that meant staying up late, doing foot spas, playing games, and eating junk food:o). It was a lot of fun, but I think I'm ready for bed now!

Free Postage!

The other day I received an envelope in the mail from the Colonial Williamsburg Society asking me to blah, blah, blah. Now the only reason that I receive anything from CWS is because 7 years ago my class and I decided to go there for our senior trip, and I was the type of person that likes to plan trips out (hmm, not much has changed in 7 years!). Over the last 7 years, I've received plenty of envelopes from CWS, and they usually include note cards and personal labels. Since my name is spelled wrong on the labels, I don't use those (plus I have gads of free ones from other companies:o)), but I do use the note cards.

So the other evening I sat down to write to some of the missionary wives from my church by using the (free!) note cards. I then stuck them in the missionaries' mail boxes in the church office, where they will be slipped into an airmail priority envelope (that the church is going to send anyway with all their mail!), so I didn't have to pay $2.70 in mail three little envelopes.

So not only did I have an opportunity to write to the ladies who are faithfully serving the Lord on the field, but I was able to do it very frugally too!

Glory I'm Saved!

We sang this song tonight in church and I don't know about you, but thinking about my salvation brings tears to my eyes and a prayer of thanksgiving to my lips. To hear the congregation lift up praises to the Lord in song was sweet indeed!

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Saved by the blood of the Crucified One!

Now ransomed from sin and a new work begun,

Sing praise to the Father and praise to the Son,

Saved by the blood of the Crucified One!

Refrain: Glory, I’m saved! Glory, I’m saved!

My sins are all pardoned, my guilt is all gone!

Glory, I’m saved! Glory, I’m saved!

I am saved by the blood of the Crucified One!

Saved by the blood of the Crucified One!

The angels rejoicing because it is done;

A child of the Father, joint heir with the Son,

Saved by the blood of the Crucified One!

Saved by the blood of the Crucified One!

The Father He spake, and His will it was done;

Great price of my pardon, His own precious Son;

Saved by the blood of the Crucified One!

Saved by the blood of the Crucified One!

All hail to the Father, all hail to the Son,

All hail to the Spirit, the great Three in One!

Saved by the blood of the Crucified One!

Imagine...

Imagine for a moment that someone has established for you a very unusual bank account. Each morning he has agreed to deposit $86,400. At the end of each day whatever you have not spent will be forfeited. Would you not be diligent to see to it that every penny of that account was withdrawn and properly spent? Would you allow any of it to expire unredeemed?

To read the rest of this challenging statement, go here...