Get Ready....

....To order the hot-off-the-press pre-release, Send Me, Lord Jesus for a discounted price! 

It will be released on March 14, 2011 so hurry!  Click here to make your purchase right away.

Don't forget, the discounted price is only available until March 14th -- after that, regular price will be charged.


>>>There's still time to enter for a chance to win a FREE copy.  Just click here to comment.<<<

Tell you friends and get the word out!  This is going to be fun!!

Giveaway of Brand-New Book!

Want to hear all about my experiences in South India?  Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in another culture, another country -- all for the service of the Lord?  

From the author of historical fiction comes a real-life experience complete with pictures and stories of living amongst the heathen.  You will experience the joy of finally accomplishing a dream, the pain of living so far away from a close-knit family, and the many trials that a single young woman had to face regardless of her feelings.

Comment below to enter for your chance to receive Send Me, Lord Jesus and the companion journal, Here I Am, Lord absolutely FREE.

Details about its release will be published here soon!

Staying Focused

So many things in this world are screaming us this way or that.  Facebook, Twitter, blogs, hotspots, laptops, emails, iPods, ear "buds", texting, cellphones, and the list of new technology goes on and on.

I am convinced that these new things were put in our way for a reason.  After refusing to get onto the Facebook boat, I finally consented to get myself an account when several of my friends began marrying and moving away.  I also use it for promoting this blog and notifying my 'friends' of special political updates.

I will gladly use new technology to further God's Kingdom, but nothing more.  If I get to the point where I am constantly going to www.facebook.com and signing in for the purpose of finding out who 'likes' my status or commented on something funny I said, then I pray to God that He will make me so busy I can't even find a moment to type in www....

I love everything old-fashioned.  I love the art of writing letters that make words, and words that make articles and articles that make novels, etc.  I just do!  But forms of new technology are wiping out letter-writing and even electronic mail (e-mail)!  How scary is that?  I hope that I may continue to write letters to my pen-friends... there is something more special, more meaningful in a letter.  I know that when I receive one, I feel important.  I feel thought of.  Someone actually took time out of their busy lives to jot me a note and ask how I was doing.

I like the photo above because it depicts a young woman in a serene, beautiful garden.  She is taking the time to enjoy such beauty while at the same time, perhaps, she is engulfing herself in the Word of God.

I pray that we may reach thousands upon thousands through Facebook and Twitter.... but in the meantime, I pray that we remain focused on the one true goal in life: to bring glory and honor to His Name -- not our own.

When Disappointment Slaps You in the Face

The Lord has been leading me of late to get a job and, at the same time, learn a vocation.

After praying and thinking about going into the medical field since I was a child, the Lord opened the door for me to attend a class to become a nurse's aide.  The free class would last for three weeks and then I would be obligated to work at the nursing home for up to six months, depending on State Exam dates.

Two months passed before I made the decision, with the Lord's guidance, to submit an application.  At last, just after the New Year, I was called in for an interview.  The lady educated me on the ins and outs of the profession, ending the interview with a tentative class start date.  I was so excited to actually be given such a great opportunity!  I even started looking at scrubs to wear to work.

Then it happened.  From out of nowhere, the open door slammed shut in my face.  She called and said that I had not "made" the class... there was an overflow of applicants.

What??  How could this be?  I felt like crumbling to the ground and crying my fill.  But the Lord gently reminded me, "All things work together for good to them that love God..."*

I questioned the decisions I had made; was I right, after all, to submit that application?  Was I right in refusing a good nanny job?

But then, as I prayed and prayed about it, and spoke with my mom about the difficulty of it, I recalled to mind how God had certainly led me.  It was not *I* who really wanted to be a CNA -- God Himself had laid the desire on my heart and took me through the necessary steps to accomplish it.

He could certainly turn things around, if need be.  I am confident that He will open another door for me... and yes, I am sure I will one day become a CNA, but for now?  I'm just waiting on Him to beckon me here or there.

He is my Guide forever.

*Romans 8:28

Celebrating Christ's Birth!

 

Merry Christmas to all from:

(L to R) Abigail (12), John W. (17), Faith (18), Dad, Mom, 

Joshi (9), James (15), Melody (21) and Christy (24)

It is so easy to get caught up in the to-do lists of this season.  I know I am certainly not exempt.  Why can't we get things done in a timely manner?  Why must it always end in overwhelming cries for help?

The Lord tenderly reminded me what it is all about.  As I questioned why we cared to make goodies for our six neighbors, and even our small Fire and Police departments, He so gently reminded me that 

"Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these 

my brethren, ye have done it unto Me."*

I pondered what this meant.  Was all this going here and there, last minute shopping, caring for a sick daddy, and baking all day long really being done for the Lord?  I was filled with renewed energy as I thought on all that I had done and all that still needed to be done... it was all for Him.  Every little thing I did, including making cookies for our neighbors, was for Him.  And why did we put ourselves through such uncomfortable to-do lists once a year?  Why did we bother?

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His Name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."*

That is why!  Because a child - God's only Son - came to save a dying, dark world.  The least I could do for Him was to do what needed to be done... not for my gain or even my family's gain; but to bring honor and glory to Him and His Name... His Wonderful Name. 

*Matthew 25:40; Isaiah 9:6

 

Sarah

Yesterday, as we were visiting after singing at a small country church, one of our friends there informed us of another family band's daughter's death.  We had just met the family this past March and got to talking with the daughter about writing.

To learn that she had been in a head-on collision which had ended in death for her, stunned me.  I spent the next few hours in a confused daze, wondering why the Lord had allowed it to happen.  She was the family's business manager, just like me.  She probably had so many plans for her life, and yet, now they were all for nothing.

Then my thoughts turned to my own life.  What if I got in a deadly car accident tomorrow and died?  Would all those plans and dreams that I have for my life mean anything anymore?

I sat there in silent communion with the Lord.  Why was I so shaken by this woman's death, when I hardly knew her?  It was then that the Lord reminded me of the passage in James chapter 4:

"Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil."

Just two days before I heard of this, I had prayed and asked the Lord to give me trials to go through in order to strengthen me and make me a better woman for Him.  Little did I know what I was asking for.

I know that Sarah is in a much better place than here on earth.  It is selfish of me to miss her, but I do.  I am learning, day by day, how fragile and how short life is.  Yet, it is not my life... it is His.

I resolved to not be so sure of myself in the future.  If it is His will that I go to nursing school, then I will go.  But if I die tomorrow, then I will live forever in eternity just praising and glorifying Him.  What else could be so fulfilling?

Making Memories In the Cold

 
Some of you may know it already, but we are still working on our huge home addition after three whole years.  It is almost ready for the cold, freezing days of Texas - but not all the way.  Our little 1930's cabin living room is the center of family activity and togetherness, even though we have a large approximately 2500 square-foot home now. :-D

Sometimes, it can get pretty aggravating not being able to keep warm all the time throughout the day. I've timed myself and found that I am finally able to work after an hour of getting myself warm enough!  Sound crazy?  I sometimes think that we were crazy for thinking we could do it all by ourselves.

But in so many ways, we have learned so many things.  We have learned how to live with sawdust on our dining room floor, or feel the freezing cold air seeping through a crack in the wall.  We have built a wall and then taken it down again because it wasn't done right.  We have rearranged our kitchen at least a dozen times, just because we're trying to figure out which design works best for us.  We have moved into our girls' room upstairs, only to move back down into the room we have reserved for any guests because it is too cold up there!


No, it sure isn't easy, but it has been quite memorable.  I am sure that the Lord has not allowed me to be married because I don't know Lowe's and Home Depot like the back of my hand yet!  I will certainly miss having tools laying around all over the place and the sound of my brother's hammer.

Cherish these uncomfortable times!  They may not be around for long, and even though we detest having to live with it, we will miss it.

"Where our Captain bids us go,

'Tis not ours to murmur, 'No.'

He that gives the sword and shield,

Chooses too the battle field

On which we are to fight the foe."*

*Anonymous, taken from Daily Strength for Daily Needs compiled by Mary W. Tileston