Grace-period

Some moments seem too heavy; some days too long.  As youth slips quietly away, so does the silly notion of hoping only in self.  Father, in this new year, RE-new.  Rekindle passions that have died down.  Release us from tethers that we have allowed to bind us.  Restore the vigor to our prayer that we may soar to you.  You are our hope, our strength, our life.  Amen.   Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:30-31 NIV)

The "official" statement is: This Sunday is our CHRISTMAS INTERNET SERVICE. We will start at 7:58AM and the ONE HOUR service will be replayed at the :58 minute mark of every hour. In case you were wondering why we are doing this: - To reach more people - To give all our tremendous volunteers a day off - To encourage families to watch the service together with friends, families and neighbors - To give people a “taste of Victory” before they attend. - To stay connected to the “tribe” even when we are all in different parts of the country - Why not? http://www.victorychurch.ws/ My personal take: Long before I actually set foot in a church building, I felt this pull to the Divine.  I had no clue what it was and investigated many "paths to god."  If you are in that same place, what safer way to investigate church than in the privacy of your own home???  Give it a view. Another reason to check it out is that you might be in the place I was a year or so back: ...

Everyone seems to say this has been a rough year.  I think this has been a blessed year: losing my job, starting smoking, getting a new job, struggling with decisions, loving an imperfect husband poorly, quitting smoking, looking at myself more honestly in the mirror... All of these things have seemed so hard, too hard, at one point or another, but they have given me blessings that I don't know if I would have received any other way. When I lost my job, I was blasted with this awareness of being cared for by God.  He played hide and seek (I swear He loves that game!) and left gifts that knocked me over with His goodness and providence.  There have been times during this year that it has been "one day at a time" or just 12 hours at a time, particularly with the smoking. I have also been blessed with some of the most amazing friends a girl could ask for, if she even knew who to ask for!  Again, an example of God putting people in my life that I may not...

Advent is the season that Christians wait in expectation...for a Baby to be born amidst barn animals and for the victorious King to return in power.  Somewhere between here and there, we rejoice that we have not been forgotten.  God hears us, loves us, rescues us. This is actually my favorite season in the year of the Church.  I know Easter is supposed to be.  If it weren't for Easter, we would just be a hopeless, hot mess of sin, but there is something about the subtlety of Advent that grabs me.  I think it is because, as the nights grow longer and the cold gets in my bones and the pressure of doing things "right" (right decorations, right present, dinner done right) increases, there is this Whisper that none of those things matter.  The 400 years of God's silence were like a long, cold winter, but all the while God had a rescue in the works.  This year I was thinking, if that Baby really was the Savior of the world, how could w...

Many people want to hear from God.  They go to church and pray fervently.  Some spend great chunks of their lives meditating to clear their minds in hope of communing with the divine. Still others visit psychics or religiously monitor their horoscopes. I do believe God speaks, but I think the more important issue is: How do we respond when He does?  I mean, I think God speaks in all sorts of ways, just not always as clear as we would like.  Fear, obligations, insecurities make us second guess whether we REALLY heard God say what we think He did.  Or maybe Satan simply hisses, as he did to Eve "Did God really say...."  As our small group has being working thru the old testament, I came across two examples of how I can respond to God when I do hear from Him.  The first is Samuel, and the second is Saul. Samuel is the son of Hannah.  Her heartfelt prayer for a child was answered when she conceived Samuel after...

There is a saying, "Bloom where you are planted." I don't know who said it, but I am sure I would not like them. I first heard it when I was a child, and at that time, I knew I could not bloom in the family to which I was born. Then as a young adult, I heard it again, and again, it didn't seem to apply. It echoed the hopelessness of my life. Nothing had ever, nor would ever, it seemed, go right for "blooming." Best I hoped for was survival. Now, well, I am perhaps not quite so cynical or hopeless. And perhaps now I get the concept. I am who I am, where I am, and no one else is or could be. That is actually good news. Did you ever go to a big conference where there are powerful speakers that ignite in you the desire to do great things? I hate them, well, not so much the conferences but what they draw attention to. They remind me of my mediocrity, as well as my lack of achievements in my half a lifetime on this earth. I wallow in this for a while-how I ...

I have quit smoking, again. "Again" is the main word in that sentence.  I had not smoked in years, but I picked up again when I lost my job.  Then I quit for a couple days before my new job seemed to push me to an emotional cliff.  Then I quit again a month or so later for a couple of weeks before a bad night at work when I ripped my patch off and bummed a smoke from a client.  Talk about insanity. So, once again, I begin this journey, seeking freedom.  For those of you who know me well, I researched whether God would really have a problem with me smoking, whether it was indeed a sin.  My husband, both annoyed with the nasty habit and my lack of perseverance, is convinced it is a sin.  Here is the heart of the issue: my heart. Watching Lord of the Rings today, I am confronted with this.  Gollum, the dreadful beast that covets the Ring, "my precious," was a very typical silly, fun-loving hobbit until the Ring happened upon his fishing buddy....