In which we retreated from the world we knew...

I got back from our women's retreat this afternoon. It was a very good weekend. This morning we woke up to a blanket of snow on everything. The tall pines were all weighed down by the wet snow and it kept falling onto our heads.  


Lots of snowball tossing. Ann Marie was pitching snowballs like they were softballs (and she was in a championship game) at anyone who came out of the cabin door. It was hilarious to watch (from our window). People were trying to pack up their cars and they would have to dodge snowballs while doing it. She had really good aim too!
Our guest speaker is a really good Bible teacher. Really.good.Bible.teacher. (and I don't do the periods after each word thing lightly) So it was a full weekend as well. No fluff....lotsa meat. She talked about being still and finding refuge in Christ....all from the Psalms. I shared a few sentences about soaking in God's love. Then Sheri, who came with me told me on the way home that she had written a chapter of her new book about soaking in God's love in her hot tub....a place of refuge and comfort to her, reminding her of the warmth of His love. It was very telling of how God works, placing the same thought in several different places and then they all converge to confirm and encourage that you are on to something....on to His leading.


I love it when that happens.


No soaking this weekend, as there was little time to ourselves. Kind of ironic that we went to something called a retreat, but were rarely away from the crowds. But we did hear from God and have come away with minds that are full of treasures from His Word.

June 1, 1984

A good friend of mine had this scanned and put it up on Facebook for me. I'm so happy! Thank you Kim!

The Great Conversation

Cruising along....

That's not good now, is it? To just cruise through life.....work, home, laundry, picking up kids from schools, dinner, plop in front of the television, go to bed, etc etc.

I was just reading my daughter Hannah's blog in which she reveals a fraction of what she has been doing this year. It is amazing what a year of concentrating on Who God is and learning to listen to Him and acting on that each minute will do for a human. It's been a good year for her. I have had times like that in my life, but not so long a time. The longest I can recall was a summer spent in the mountains of New Mexico working at a conference center. I had a lot of free time there and I spent a lot of it in God's Word, in the forest being quiet and listening for Him to speak.

And He did. It was one of the most lonely, thoughtful, enjoyable times that I can remember in my life. In our Bible study group that summer we studied the Sermon on the Mount....Jesus' basic instruction on life really.

And now I am wondering how I've let myself get so far from that simple faith. Busyness of life, yes. But life will be busy. I have to make time to be quiet, to quiet my mind. If we quiet down, He will speak to us. I think He wants to speak to us more than anything. God is an active being. He's not on cruise...not ever. And the time is short, so I think more than ever we need a reminder to listen and obey.

The school Hannah goes to calls it 'soaking'. Taking time to sit before God, enjoy His presence and listen. Prayer is good, but we have to listen too because prayer is a conversation.

The season of Lent is beginning this week. Six weeks until Easter. It always has me wondering what I need to add or subtract from my life each year. This year I definitely need to add some quietness....time to listen because I know He is speaking and who would want to miss that?

Do you? ;)

crickl is from...

E-mom at Chrysalis is having a poetry drive. *lol* And she wants us to write I Am From poems. So here, e-mudder, my I Am From which I wrote 3 years ago when my daughter had to write one for an English assignment.

I am from orange popsicles,
dripping down my chin and elbow,
from hula hoops, roller skates with keys
and a purple Huffy ten speed
From the influence of hippies
and the 60’s and 70’s,
The Beattles, Monkees, James Taylor,
The Eagles, the BeeGees.
From air raid drills and the Viet Nam War.
Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan.

I am from the suburbs
of a growing desert city,
loving homes and big families,
neighbors talking and borrowing,
playing hide and seek, football
and kickball under the streetlight.
From a friend dying in the night in her bed.

I am from the dust storms and cactus
and grit in hair and teeth,
from toasting in the sun,
floating on the Salt River,
neighborhood swimming pools,
Dr. Pepper and fresh blue skies.
From Bonanza, the Beaver,
the Brady Bunch and Charlie’s Angels.

I am from camping in the mountains
and brown hair, from Bob and Jackie,
From far off grandparents and relations,
And the reputations of 4 older siblings.
A wayward sister, a far off brother in the navy.

I am from spoons balanced on noses
at holiday dinners and loud laughter.
Inside jokes and practical jokes.
Nose pants?

From don’t talk to strangers,
do unto others and stand up straight.

I am from a small Baptist church
full of love and mercy.
From a large Baptist church
that drew people in with love and mercy.
From FSBC, big G, youth group,
choir tours and busses full of kids.
The tunnels, the pink sidewalk and Slide Rock.

In my imagination I'm from Scots
and Kilts and bagpipes,
from the South and the Northwest
and the Southwest of the US.
Beef stew and chimichangas,
biscuits and tortillas.

From the death of a brother
an airplane crash,
the silence of grieving….
Sshhhh.
Looking at old photos and slides
in the living room, remembering.
From the disillusions
of older siblings’ divorces.
And the 60 year marriage of my parents.

I am from looking through
the cedar chest at memories,
sitting in a dark, cool closet
imagining.
I could never have imagined
all that God has brought me through
And all that life has put me through
…..but I am thankful for it all.

Recuperating tonight

You can learn many things from children.
How much patience you have, for instance.
~Franklin P. Jones

I subbed today for our regular preschool teacher, that's all I have to say.

Scoopish

(Photo is from the Livesay Blog)

And here is the scoop. E-mom commented on my Winter Stress post with some interesting links. I wanted to share them. First is an interesting article on how common it is to feel blue in January.

She also shared a link to The Livesay Weblog, which is a blog by a missionary family in Haiti. They have been sharing what is happening down there and it is not sensationalized as are the reports in the news these days. I have put it on my blog lines subscription. I hope you will keep up with it too and pray for what is really going on in Haiti.

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:1-4

I am praying that the people of Haiti can one day live peaceful and quiet lives again and come to the knowledge of the truth.

Stupid people, be warned...

Heed the law, stupid people.

Just doing my part ADOT Tim. =) (Are you on a tv commercial?)

I recently saw a commercial about our stupid motorist law and the man speaking said, "This is Tim ---." It freaked me out. I was wondering if it was the Tim who was my ADOT commenter recently on this post about rain. So I just have to ask. Do you ever feel like people are just following you around waiting to punk you?

It's raaaaaaaining! ...don't be stupid.

Winter stress

Wow, half of the month went quickly by and I barely thought about writing. This is not a good start to 2010 for my little blog here. I will try to get it into gear here at the nest.


January has been a little roller coaster. I went back to work after the holidays thinking, as I was told, that I'd be working longer days, more hours and I was glad of it. The first day back I found out that 2 of our children had dropped out of the preschool, so we were too low on enrollment to have 2 workers in the class. Thinking positively, the boss kept me on just working once a week until we possible got more kids in February.

I came back the next week, which had been full of seriously pondering whether I should keep this job or go back to unemployment and look for another job, but she told me they had 4 more children sign up in that one week. Yay team! (you see the roller coaster idea, big wide climbs and dives) I can barely take this, you wouldn't believe the anxiety it brought on, although I think my hair seems to have a lot more gray since Christmas. Is that possible??

I also helped out at our college group's retreat. Very fun, very relaxing. My job was to keep the food coming and it was all pretty easy to prepare. So it turned out to be a lot of down time, relaxing, keeping the fires stoked in the cabins and watching movies with my sister, who went with us because it was her cabin they were using. ;)

Friends of mine this month have been going through cancer treatments, children's serious conditions and surgeries, deaths of loved ones and job loss, divorces, addictions and marital strife so serious that there is police involvement.

Then the other day I was using Facebook when I saw a post about the earthquake in Haiti. A friend's daughter had a roomate who was on a mission trip there and they wanted prayer for her safety. So I looked it up on the web and then each day the news about Haiti's disaster grows more and more horrific. My husband turns on the news each evening as I am preparing dinner and it's almost too much to hear about, especially while cooking our dinners from a large store of food in our home.....and water to spare.

How do we even help our minds and hearts to comprehend such ups and downs and all arounds from the month? There is only one Source of comfort and peace in such times.

4-5Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you're on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!

6-7Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

8-9Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies. Philippians 4:4-9 (The Message)

What will the year hold?

You crown the year with your bounty,
and your carts overflow with abundance.
Psalm 65:11

I hope yours is abundantly overflowing with
the knowledge of God,
the joy of knowing He's in control
and His deep and lasting peace.
God bless you in 2010.

Reminder to the wannabe faithful

It's been on my mind more than usual....

7The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. 8Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. 11If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 4:7-11

...so I am just passing on the reminder, since I've been reminded. ;) Think about it.