Sand and Surf

Tomorrow morning I leave with my love...
For a celebration of 20 years of marriage.

Hello beach.
Hello uninterrupted conversation.
Hello best friend.

Hello to the next 20 years!

Good-bye to my blog friends until next week!

:)

Hot Topics

Our Sunday School class has been heavy in discussions lately. Passionate discussions. Sometimes we disagree, but I am glad to say we can still smile at one another across the halls. :)

Just last night I watched the news and saw a man who was victim to vandals. They wrote harsh, judgemental words across his home. They even spray painted a message that said his mother was in hell (she had recently passed away). In the midst of their profane letters and judgement about his choices, they included John 3:16.

My blood boiled. I wanted to weep and go hug the man. If I baked pies, I would want to take a pie to his house and hug him when he opened his door. What on earth is wrong with people? How can we forget the pit God pulled us out of???? Where is mercy?

I have come to the conclusion that many of us use mercy like we use our fine china; only for special occasions. Only when we deem a person worthy to receive it.

I hate to admit that I was once in the mindset of minimal mercy. I judged harshly. I used my mouth to slash people in pieces. I remember walking up to a girl at my high school who happened to be the daughter of a preacher in town. She was a senior. I was a junior. She got pregnant. I told her "I would never do that!" A year and a half later while I was pregnant and shopping for my wedding dress... I ran into her at the mall. With tears in my eyes I told her how sorry I was. The very thing I passed judgement on was the very thing I found myself doing! I learned to never say never. She was gracious to me... merciful even. How good God was to allow me to see her on that particular day in my particular position. He reminded me of my own flaws as a human. He reminded me of His mercy.

Three years ago, when I learned of one of my girls (that I minister to in prison) charges, I felt judgement rise up in my heart. She had brutally killed her child. I looked at her with a sick feeling in my gut and decided I could not feel anything but disgust for her. The following week I heard her pray with sheer love for God. I heard her cry out in thanksgiving for the forgiveness she had been given. God whispered to my heart... "Do you think she required more of my blood than you? Remember where you have been, Tina. What you once were"

Romans 2:3-5 (NIV)

"So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?
But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed."

We need to have Jesus on our tongue more than politics.
We need to spend less time pointing fingers and actually lift one to help another human being.
We need to stop concerning ourselves with individual sins and care about individuals!

Flawed. We are all flawed. That is what a Saviour is for!!!

Our job is to LIVE HIM... and LOVE THEM. People will be confronted to change when they see an authentic life of God in us. IF they refuse to change when confronted with the truth of God's word... then we CONTINUE TO LOVE. That is our responsibility! Our calling!!!!

Praise HIM.
Pray for them.
Remember the "them" is "us".

God... change our hearts and let us see with YOUR eyes.

Frugal Friday

You don't have to spend a lot of money to create a beautiful party.

Table Clothes and Mood Lighting:
We have two 6ft. tables and I simply covered them in two queen-size white sheets. I bought them for $2 each and bleached them nicely. Queen size sheets are the perfect size for tables and the small investment makes it ok when drinks spill and sauces drip. We are blessed with a shady spot in our backyard. We purchase large white Christmas lights the day after Christmas and use them to provide soft light when we spend an evening under the trees.

A Simple Outdoor Buffet Table:
My husband took two saw horses and placed five 2 x 10's across them. I then stapled the grass skirts around the perimeter. I purchased the table skirts at Big Lots and have used them for three years. I carefully pull out the staples after each summer party and store the skirts in a big plastic bag. My glass jars across the back of the table are filled with various plants from my yard.

Centerpieces: Finally, my favorite part of the table. I bought a dozen small wine glasses. They are each different in design, but similar in height. I placed one single flower in each glass. How fortunate the fragrant white peonies were in bloom! I have many different glass votive holders scattered in between the wine glasses. Simple and elegant. You can never go wrong with glass and candlelight.
I asked my party guests to wear white shirts and it looked SOOOO beautiful. We had a wonderful evening celebrating all God had done during our Bible Study together. It was a night of elegance without breaking the budget. Placing value on people and not things, makes any evening a true success!

A Daughter to LOVE

Here she is. She gave me permission to share this photo with you. She said you would all think she's a boy. (Too bad you can't see her with her mohawk.) She has blessed my life and I love her. I have seen some real changes in her since the "adoption" of heart. I am amazed at how a Heavenly Father intertwines our lives. His timing is flawless.

This past Tuesday night, you could have opened the ceiling and I would have spouted wings and began to soar. It would only bear out in reality what my heart was feeling. We were singing "Revelation Song" and I looked up and saw her singing her heart out. Her face was red from the effort she was giving! The ladies were pouring their heart out in music. It was beyond beautiful. Please pray for Sam's salvation. Pray that she will become sensitive to the LOVE of GOD.

Sometimes I feel like the girls are delicate eggs. They can take some pressure but the heat of sin hardens them. GOD alone can reverse the effects and make them soft inside again. Pray that many will see and KNOW the GOD who softens the hardest of hearts. For most of these women, they have never known a love that is soft and gentle. They have only known a self serving false love that robs them blind. They are beggars in cages with hands extended... begging for love.

What I long for them to understand is that they neither have to beg or steal or borrow... GOD's LOVE is FREE for the taking. Grace and forgiveness are part of the package.

Isn't she lovely... made from Love. I pray she will come to know the ONE who made Her.

Happy Anniversary to US!

20 Years Together!!!!

We "dated" in junior high 27 years ago. Broke up after a brief romance. Renewed love my senior year and married after my first year in college, his second. This has been the HARDEST journey of my life and it is the singular greatest accomplishment of my life. I know Randy would completely agree. We have walked through the valley of the shadow of death of our marriage and witnessed God's Resurrection and Restoration of love. His name be praised. Randy is my closest friend on the planet earth. I can tell him everything and I willingly do! Marriage has taught me so much about the endurance of Love... God's love. We have a gracious and vision imparting God. We have three beautiful boys. We have lovely friends. We have a sweet church family. we are blessed with the opportunity to serve together in ministry. At the end of the day there are only three in the tightest circle... Randy, me and God Himself. We live out of that trinity of love.

God, we praise you for the gift of marriage. For the power of submission, obedience and trust renewed. Thank you for gracing us with 20 powerful years to watch YOU work in and through us. We remain grateful for every day you allow us to share together!

How Sweet It Is!

My boys LOVE cars.

They talk about them constantly!

One morning while driving to school I hear my son gasp. I thought he was choking. Startled as I was, I still had the clarity to keep my eyes on the road. "What's wrong?" I asked in panic. "Sweet! Oh man! Look at that!" Was the reply from my 14 year old. I looked around expecting an alien or at the very least a famous individual on the streets of our little town... I saw only cars. This is the thing that separates me from males I live with. I see a car and think... a car. They see a car and think... how fast can it go from 0 to 60? I see transportation. They see transformation and transformers and potential and passion. It's a car. Whoo hoo, right?

Well, we are blessed to have a friend who work for Nissan. (Thanks Nancy and Scott!) Here is where it gets super super sweet. The car my son almost passed out over is one of only TWO currently in the USA. They are made in Japan. Nissan is about to produce only 2,500 of these $70,000 dollar GTR's. Scott happened to be road testing this car for a week! And as God would have it... my sweet boy got to ride to school in one of them! Yes... I acted like a goober. Snapping pictures like I was aware of what was framed up in the lens. I was only mildly impressed when they popped the hood... after all... it is a bunch of pipes and tubes. I could as well be impressed with my intestines and ovaries. Hello. BUT I was impressed with the JOY on my boy's face. JOY unspeakable! I think my oldest had tears mist up in his eyes. Doesn't take much to impress them. If I knew they could get this emotional ... Maybe I should take them see to "P.S. I Love You" , but I don't think I'd get the same reaction. HA! Bless 'em anyway!

God is soooooo COOL to allow us access to our dreams. The Japan version of this car, the Skyline, have been my sons favorite for YEARS. And to think... he was taken to school in the "test pilot" of his dream.

Who knew that noisy metal could impress a young man so much.

He turns 15 on Thursday. Nope, he's not getting THAT for His Birthday. He can dream about it, though... a story for the grandkids when they are flying in their cars. They may not be too impressed by then.

Thrifty

I love the adventure of the search. I'm a big thrift store human! I love getting a deal. OK, so I will admit that there was a time when I would buy something simply because it was a good buy. Today is a different story. I think about and ponder my purchase. Maybe I am maturing?

Not everyone likes to thrift. Some hate it. My husband included. I remember taking a good friend of mine with me when I went to GW (Goodwill). She kept her arms close to her sides for fear of "contracting" something. I just laughed and thought about all she is missing out on! In reality, I am purchasing someones discarded items. There is no escaping that fact. But reusing items is such a privilege for me. It is a joy! I am saving money for my family to spend on vacation. I am saving money so I can be a more generous giver. In actuality, it is a wonderful opportunity to multiply my giving while fulfilling a need.

I think God enjoys thrifting. He always finds wonderful things for me to use and enjoy. God has been willing to walk into a junk store and pull out discarded items... His treasures... US.

Before you run to the mall to find all the items on your list... give a second hand store a try. Take what you would have spent on the same item and donate it to charity. Be blessed to be a blessing. Pay it forward.

On Monday I will host a gratitude party. I will be blessing those who served with me to bring the Bible Study to pass. I had a theme in mind and all items - vases, table linens, flower arrangements and candle holders, were purchased at GW. I'll take pictures and reveal the Savvy shopping near the end of next week. It is a passion of mine!

Save a lot.

Give a LOT.

Recycle some love!

Following through...

There is nothing as lovely as the body of Christ working together in harmony. I have experienced the beauty of service and hard work with the completion of the Bible Study. We had a wonderful team serving together.

I have learned so much about myself through this. I have heard the voice of failure in my head and God has given me the strength and determination to battle against it and win. Oh yes, when we come to any new thing we will face a battle. The old self will resist the growth and stretching. Personally, many things waged war against me - within me. Doubt. Fear. Insecurity. When I continued to remind myself of the TRUTH of God's Word, my weak knees found the strength to walk on.

Walk on - knowing that GOD will fine tune your calling.
God will shape. God will mold. God will REVEAL.

Our job is to simply walk... follow... press on... move forward IN HIM. There is an appointment for EACH OF US. God has a destiny in mind. Just as we purchase tools to complete a task, each of us are tools God longs to use. how we are used is not up to us. God alone holds the blueprint to the design HE has in mind. Let's just be willing to rest in His hand. Let's be willing to be a part of something bigger than ourselves for HIS Glory.

We may get weary.
We may fight the urge to quit.
We may have designs of our own in mind.
We may fail to understand His plans in the moment.

But STAY in HIS HAND...

He will steadily work.
He will create in us.
HE will create THROUGH us.

He will make us beautiful in HIS TIME.

I can not describe to you the elation of completing a task! Follow through is sheer JOY!
God is a master builder!

Making Stationery

The lowly piece of paper is transformed into a lovely gift! Taking plain copy paper and colorful rubber stamps, this precious small group of 7th grade girls created stationery for the inmates of Tennessee Prison for Women. They even created matching envelopes. WOW! I can tell you their creativity was a big hit with my girls! My pastor, Kyle Goen, and I even delivered their work to the women of Unit 3 (strict lockdown unit). You should have seen the grateful faces behind the thick metal doors.

Decorated paper is an luxury in prison.

Simple things make the best gifts. Hand made says L-O-V-E. Some of the girls even wrote letters telling the ladies they are praying for them and that God will forgive them. How beautiful is the body of Christ!

One woman wept at such a precious gift. She wanted to send her sister a birthday card but had no money for a card and no money for a stamp. Her stationery was complete with a postage stamp and "Happy Birthday" decorated the pages. God is in the details too!

Thank you to the two small groups that gave the sweetest gifts; time and paper!

May each of us continue to give to others.

Cleaning Out an Office

Today Beth (our ministry assistant) and I worked in the office. I have been working so hard to finish writing the Bible Study that so much of my life, including blogging, has been on hold. I finish teaching on Monday night, all Glory to God! The women have been amazing. God has been faithful to us as we have followed HIS leading. I still do not know where it will lead, but I am blessed to follow this far.

This brings me to today. Finally, we are overhauling the ministry office. Talk about a MESS!!! I took two allergy pills just to be able to breathe tomorrow. How much dust can hide under a desk? (too much!)

Beth has organized Bibles, donations of pens and paper, as well as mounds of cards and stationery. I am looking around at everything and feeling a sense of great accomplishment in only a day. This process will take weeks, but day one is feelin' good!

This brings me to my spiritual question. Why do I keep so much STUFF??? Why do we hold on to things so tightly? Our house gets cluttered and it is a direct picture of how our life can get so cluttered.
Our feelings are hurt and we store the incident away in a scrap book to look at it occasionally.
We hoard suitcases full of excuses.
We box up loads of "tomorrow" commitments that we never followed through on.
Our rooms are bulging with excess and pride decorated with wallpaper covered in our image.

What we hold on to holds on to us...

Spring Cleaning anyone?

I stood over the endless boxes of random items. My mind was continually overwhelmed as to where to put much of the stuff I have accumulated. Will I ever really make a quilt? Or learn how to draw a human figure? How many binders can I use in a lifetime?

STUFF.

It crowds our freedom to think.

It invades our space.

It hinders us from walking freely.

Would we be willing to let God walk with us through the stacks we have collected on the inside? Would we be willing to allow HIM to edit all we hold on to? To let HIM discard what He sees fit?

Living clutter free... one more level of freedom God wants us to experience.

Gal. 5:1 "It is for FREEDOM Christ has set you free, so no longer be enslaved by a yoke of bondage."