Joyful Transformation

Well here it is, the last day of August and once again I feel like the summer has passed me by. Busy-ness is a disease you don’t realize you have until you look back and a big chunk of your life has been eaten up by it.

While I have not spent endless hours or even minutes playing on the lake or sitting on a beach I have enjoyed the summer. It has just been different. After all this is the first year I have been a “Mimi” to FOUR little people. I cherish the time I get to spend with each of them. Also this year my son has developed an interest in tennis. He enjoys playing with his mother and she would never turn down an opportunity to spend time with him. It won’t be long now until I can’t beat him anymore….but unless he gets tired of playing with me, I will be there.

Each week I enjoy reading Jetty Betty’s Thursday Thanksgiving and I thought today I would join her with a short list of my own. Blessings and trials are remarkable gifts. We spend enough time discussing our trials, maybe we should all take more time to discuss our blessings.
Today I am thankful:

• For the continued good health of the triplets
• For my energetic grandson Matthew
• For my Mom’s continued recovery
• For my wonderful supportive husband who loves me in spite of me
• For wonderful friends
• For my good health
• For a good job
• For the love my family has for each other and their God.
• For the blessing of living in this country
• For the love of a Father, who allowed his son to die for me!

I will see you in September!

Monday night when I was playing tennis I discovered that I had slipped into a bad habit. Whenever my partner was pulled wide or had to jump for a ball….I grunted. Now, this is even stranger because I don’t grunt when I hit the ball, but for her I grunted. I guess I thought if I strained a little too it would help her get to the ball. Unfortunately it didn’t do much for our play because when I realized what I was doing I started laughing hysterically. But somehow the realization I was doing it didn’t stop me from doing it again. The ensuing laughter was really interfering with my game. But we still pulled off the win. (last night we fell in another tie-break…maybe I should have been grunting).

I wonder if this is a form of “lifting each other up” or “spurring each other on”. I know that when we are engaged in a team effort it is easy to want your partner to do their very best. I think sometimes it is easy for us to forget that we are on a team, or at least we are all members of the same body. The Bible tells us we are in a spiritual warfare. Maybe it would be more accurate to say we are in the same army. Anyway, we need to learn to “grunt” for each other. I need to be just as concerned about the really hard things my “teammates” have to do in real life as I am on the tennis courts.

Hebrews 10:24 (NLT) Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds.

I am loving watching the US Open. I don’t know how far Agassi can make it, but I would love to see him play a few more times. I played myself last night and I am finding a new aggressiveness to my game that really seems to help my play. The two factors that make me a more effective player are being aggressive and having confidence. The confidence is a result of practice and lots of play time; only then can I have the feeling that I CAN do it.

I guess the same could be said for our service to God. I will have to get out there and actually risk doing some things wrong, perhaps even causing more experienced people to shake their heads and wonder why I even bother. But what a great coach we have in our corner. We can not fail when we are doing his will and giving him the glory. When we can get our focus off of how will “we look” and onto how he can “be honored” we will get out and “just do it!”

So….tennis anyone?

This morning I realized that I sometimes have to put the babies down and just trust them to entertain themselves while I get ready for work. I was thinking how they can rest assured I will come running if they cry out for me; although there are times when I just have to let them cry if there is really nothing wrong. There are also times when their stomach may hurt or their gums may hurt that all I will be able to do is hold them close and tell them that I love them.

Again, I was reminded of our Father’s love for us. If we cry out to him he will do everything he can to ease our pain. Sometimes we are crying for no reason, or after something he knows is not good for us. Other times it is just the pains of growth that we must go through. But he will hold us and tell us that he loves us if we will but let him.

The free books arrived a day early! What a great start to a Monday. Well actually my Monday started much earlier feeding three little hungry babies and getting them back home, but more good stuff is always welcome.

If you were wondering, I went with the fun option. (except in silver)


I wish there was one more day to the weekend….hey this week there will be!

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Why does it feel like more people from church will stop at your table and speak to you in a restaurant than will at a church fellowship meal? Just wondering….

I ordered three books today with a retail value of around $50.00. I am getting them for free and the shipping is free!! Those Amazon points are paying off!

What is the best thing you ever got for free? Let's limit it to tangible things.....

Have you ever had to decide between something that is practical and something that is fun? We have all heard those stories that go around about people dying wishing they had eaten more dessert or went sky diving. I am not a real “serious” person so it is usually easy for me just to choose the “fun” thing. But, this practical person keeps taking over my body and my brain and whispering things in my ear that I do not want to hear. Why is it that we continually plan our lives and arrange what we do around that 2% of the time that we might “need” the practical thing?


I don’t know…..we have got to work through this (me and that “practical” body snatcher!)

This afternoon we drove over to the park. The air was filled with the soft aroma of freshly cut grass. In the distance you could still hear the steady roar of the bush-hog, trying to manicure the grass to perfection. If the motors quieted you could hear the beautiful sing-song of the tree frogs and crickets as they celebrated the coming of the cooler night. The sun was making its final descent while reflecting a beautiful magenta hue in the western sky. I sat barefoot in my blue jean shorts on the tailgate of the truck. I watched the graceful flight of the small radio controlled helicopter as my husband worked his magic on the joysticks. I had brought along a book, making the evening almost perfect. The other sounds were sometimes eclipsed by the sound of a bass boat searching for that perfect fishing spot. I am not sure why you have to drive a boat at full throttle to find the best spot, but if I had to guess I would say it is because you can. I was reading about the kingdom that arrived. I was excited about the kingdom to come, and yet words I had read earlier echoed in my mind. “the key to happiness is to like what you’ve got and want what you have”. Today contentment flooded my soul.

I haven’t felt real good this week. I don’t know if it sinus/allergy or just stress/muscle/fatigue related. But I did rest and take a Tylenol Sinus capsule last night and I feel much better this morning. My head would hurt so badly when I bent over that I thought it was either going to explode or pop right off. I asked David to not give it to the dogs if it did the latter. Anyway I am going to get back in the swing today!

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This morning I got an email from Sermon Tool Box. It has hundreds of sermon starters and sermon outlines….hmmmm…..
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Last night we were doing a mental inventory of the cars that we had owned and realized we had never had a red car. I thought I should get one and let it be my mid-life crisis car. Then I realized if I was just now having a mid-life crisis I would need to live to be 94!! That was a little depressing, but I soon got over it!
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I have enjoyed the afternoon thundershowers. Walking in the early morning steam bath is another matter, but I guess the bottom line is we are getting the moisture we need.
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Have a good day. I will try to come up with something a little more profound soon.

I made a purchase yesterday.

It is amazing how the simple pleasures in life can make you feel so good.

Today I will look for the small ways that I can be a blessing to others.

Well, I am playing on Sunday in a tennis tournament today! That should be GREAT news! But the truth is we are playing in the consolation round....that sounds so much like the "loser round" . This is my third tournament (not including the State) this summer and I am playing with my 3rd different partner. We have not really played together but three or four times prior to this tournament and those times were over a year ago. But we played well and jumped out to win the first set 6-2. We quickly got behind in the second set 5-0. But with great grit and determination we fought back to 5-3. We couldn't break serve to keep it going but had momentum going into the tie-break. Unfortunately we lost 10-8 in the tie break. Today we have the opportunity to be the best of the losers! And I am looking forward to it!

I am sitting with my lap-top watching Roddick play tennis in the finals while anticipating the start of the race and flipping every once in a while to see the Braves score. Well we were checking Tiger's shots out too until David left to go to Books-A-Million. I think I missed a good opportunity to be a "guy".

Anyway if I can get my serve and my ground strokes to work like Roddick's today, we should come home victorious. If not I will at least come home saying I have had fun.
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I was sitting in the front of the chapel during Sunday School this morning watching people get out of their cars to come into the building for worship services. I was amazed at the number of people I did not know at all. I stuck around after church to try and see my cousin's new granddaughter. I saw a lot of people I haven't seen in a while, but I know I missed seeing many more. There is a down side to growth....

We live complex lives. We strive to sort out priorities that sometimes conflict or seem incompatible. A moral framework is needed to help us understand the reality around us. Our Judeo-Christian heritage provides a framework to help us comprehend the choices we make and the conflicts that arise over them. It is not only the main source of our spiritual values, but also many of the secular values we depend on.

This is a description in the “about” section of a publication I receive via email. I don’t recall signing up for this particular service but just started getting it about a year ago. I don’t think I have ever made it to the bottom of the email before to read this paragraph.

On first glance I really liked this and agreed. I know I live a complex life and my priorities do often conflict and seem incompatible… but then I read more closely and it says that our “heritage” provides a framework to help us comprehend the choices we make and the conflicts that arise over them. Really? Should it be our heritage that gives us this framework?

Sometimes true clarity can only come from the outside looking in. When we only see things in a way that has been pre-defined for us we can become nearsighted. We might totally miss the beauty of a landscape if we focus only on the termites in one tree.

I have been tagged a couple of times on this one. It is about my beloved books! My taste in books is almost as eclectic as my taste for food. Most of these questions could be answered with multiple books, but I will try to make it simple and fun.

1. One book that changed your life: “What Happens When Women Pray” by Evelyn Christianson: It was not the book so much that changed my life, but the group that I studied it with. I learned a new power in personal and group prayer. I learned the power of a small group community. I learned that in a small group setting you could find intimacy and you could feel the Spirit among you. Also the formation of this group helped me to explore more and more books to try and study with the group.
2. One book that you’ve read more than once: You could pick almost any book in my library for this one. I am going to go with Joe Beam’s “Forgiven Forever”. I need the reminder that God is forgiving and has already forgiven me of some of the things that I just don’t seem to let go of. Having a background of guilt made it hard for me to accept the fact that forgiveness was for real….even when we don’t deserve it.
3. One book you’d want on a desert island: JD stole my answer but I will use it anyway. I would want Dallas Willard’s “The Divine Conspiracy”. It took me a year and a half to read it the first time and I know I missed much of its depth and richness. I would love to have time to linger over each and every thought. Of course I wouldn’t mind having a survivor’s guide book as well….
4. One book that made you laugh: All of the Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum (“One for the Money” “Two for the Show” et al…) books. I mean the very ideal of a girl who used to sale underwear turning into a bounty hunter with a large spandex wearing former lady of the streets sidekick just cracks me up….
5. One book that made you cry: Again, pick a book, any book…. But I will go with “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe” from the Chronicles of Narnia ( C.S. Lewis).
6. One book you wish had been written: How to Bear and Raise Children While Staying Sane and Thin and Eating All of the Chocolate You Want….
7. One book you wish had never been written: “Who Moved My Cheese”….who cares.
8. One book you’re currently reading: N.T. Wright’s “Simply Christian” and I am loving it but I can’t find the time to read like I want to.
9. One book you’ve been meaning to read: Anne Lamont’s “Traveling Mercies- Some Thoughts on Faith” and “Mere Discipleship” by Lee Camp (oops I broke the rules that was two)

Number 10 was supposed to be for me to tag five more people, but I am just going to say this is a fun and informative tag….do it when you have blogger’s block!

This morning I am without anything to post. It is not that I don't have anything to say, I simply have too much! So on a whim I went back and looked at August 2004. I wrote the following on the 17th of that month.....I could have written it today. God's hand often tickles me.

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8/17/2004

Have you ever doubted the presence of God in your life? Sometimes, I throw up prayers without actually expecting an answer... I suppose that it is a big lack of faith on my part. The mortgage business has really slowed down. I work on full commission so I kind of like the break, I can take more time off without feeling guilty, play more tennis things like that....yeah right! I feel like I HAVE to be here. All those years of working on salary have warped my phyche. **2006 update: I do appreciate that I have more time to help out with the babies and the flexibility this takes. **

Recently I have been telling God that I just need a few loans, enough to pay the bills, enough to keep me from having to think about any other job (I truly love this one). Well as usual, God's blessings are much greater than all I could ask or imagine. I have been so busy the last two days I have not got to read hardly any blogs let alone blog myself. I did have this small break this afternoon so I thought it a great time to say...

Thank you God! Thank you for taking better care of me than I could ever do myself. Forgive me when I have doubts, and forgive me when I forget to give You credit for all that is good in my life.

Someone told me the other day that I helped them to think “outside the box”. (you know who you are). For the most part this is not something I make a conscience effort to do, it is just the way my brain works. Sometimes my head will go into overdrive and deprive me of the opportunity to sleep. Last night was one of those nights. Oh, I sleep, but I keep waking up, thinking and thinking. Sometimes I wish I could just turn it off.

One of the things that has gotten into my head lately is the phrase “my church”. Webster has 4 definitions for the word church.
1. a building for public worship
2. religious service
3. all Christians (usually Church)
4. ecclesiastical as opposed to secular government.

I guess in the sense that we use the words “my church” we would be using the first definition. My problem is that the church I read about in the New Testament belonged to Christ. I was added to this Church, but in no sense is it mine. It is his; his body and his blood bought it. It is my honor and privilege to be a part of his church. However, his church is much bigger than the local body of believers that I meet and worship with. I do think we have a responsibility to function as part of the Body, the church. However, I have to think outside the “box” a little here and realize that my congregation is only a part of the church to which I belong. I think it is an important and very vital part of my ability to live in “the Body”, but I must not loose sight of the bigger picture.

Today if I was one of the seven dwarfs I am afraid I would be “Grumpy”. It is not by choice, I would prefer to be “Happy”, and really that is who I am on the inside, I just seem to have been taken over by “Grumpy’s” personality today. But I will work on making that better. There is no point in wasting time being a grump. I wonder why there was not a dwarf named Sarcastic….I guess it didn’t fit the “y” ending mold.

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I like to buy shoes. But I end up wearing the same couple of pairs until they are absolutely worn out. I had to quit wearing my black sandals because the tap was completely gone off of the heel. Now I could go to the shoe shop and get taps put on (and I just might) but the soles and the back of the heel is looking a little worn out too. I just noticed that the sole was beginning to wear a little thin on the beige pair that I am wearing today too. As much as I like new things there is just something about the familiar, the worn, the comfortable that is appealing.

I think that is why in the Old Testament the Israelites were encouraged to teach their children the scriptures. They were admonished to talk about all the time. That way it becomes the familiar, the comfortable. There is always something new to learn. I think that the Spirit will reveal new things to us as long as we keep our minds and our hearts open to Him. But we all have those familiar verses, maybe some familiar songs that are comfortable. Sure some times it may feel that we are “wearing them out” and maybe we need to look at something fresh and new. But it is nice to have the comfortable to fall back on.

I think I will go see if I can work this attitude of mine out….on the tennis courts!

There has been quite a bit of rain in North Alabama this weekend. However it seems that whenever I have to play tennis.....it don't rain there. I was playing my second ever independent tennis tournament this weekend. We played a level higer than we are ranked and we played very well. However, we fell short in both of our matches. We will get them next time!






One of the girls who went to state with our team in June brought her husband along. He made these pictures. I like this one just because of the ugly but intense look on my face! Man it was hot down there!






This is our complete team that went to State.....We truly appear to be the "not ready for prime time" players! But we had fun! I am on the far right next to my partner Stacy.

This morning I grabbed a book to read a quick devotional before I came to work. The first words that I read were “in solitude we find that our purpose is very different from our usefulness”. Of course in my typical upside down fashion I was reading the last words of the chapter first. I went back and read the chapter. It was saying that we like to define ourselves by our contribution to society or to the world at large. Basically that we like to feel that what we do has meaning.

Ouch! I know I am guilty of this. I need to find that solitude that reminds me that I don’t matter. It is the big picture of glorifying God. My contribution to society does not define my worth. My worth should only be defined by the precious blood that redeemed me.

Karen has tagged me with the three's....

3 Things That Scare Me

1. High and long bridges
2. Babies choking
3. Matthew 25

3 People That Make Me Laugh

1. Matthew
2. David
3. Terri

3 Things I Love

1. Tennis
2. Books
3. the beach

3 Things I Hate

1. Prejudice
2. Arrogance
3. Raisins

3 Things I Don't Understand

1. Grace
2. Lack of mercy in the face of grace
3. How TV & radio waves work..??

3 Things on My Floor

1. My work out bag
2. a fan
3. my purse

3 Things I am doing right now

1. Watching the weather to see if my tennis match is rained out
2. Blogging....(duh)
3. Listening to Crystal Lewis on XM

3 Things I Want to do Someday

1. Build a house
2. Write a book
3. Spend two weeks on a tropical island

3 Things I Can Do

1. Take care of Ava
2. Take care of Eli
3. Take care of Ali
4. at the same time.....

3 Ways to describe my Personality

1. controlling
2. laid back
3. aggressive
4. schizophrenic

3 Things I Cannot Do

1. Schmooze
2. accept things explained as "that is the way we have always done it"
3. anything mechanical....especially if blue-prints are involved

3 Things I think You should Listen to

1. The words of Jesus
2. Honking Horns
3. Fire Alarms

3 Things You Should Never Listen To

1. Joel Olsteen type of preaching
2. Satan
3. Telemarketers

3 Favorite Foods

1. Italian food
2. Mexican food
3. chocolate food

3 Things I would Like to Learn

1. To Play the Piano
2. A perfect tennis serve
3. to read blue prints

3 Beverages I drink regulary

1. Coffee
2. Diet Coke
3. Diet Mt Dew

3 Shows I watch

1. American Idol
2. CSI- original
3. Vegas

Sometimes I let things get to me and get weighed down with things that are temporary and don’t really matter. Then sometimes I get a message from God. Many of you have told me that you wished me peace or that you were praying for peace for me. Last night I was still for a minute and I felt that wonderful peace wash over me.

I got home around 8:00 p.m. I took a chew bone down to give it to the dogs. I looked out at the lake but realized a tree was blocking my view of the moon. I stepped out on onto the stairs that lead to the level before the steep descent to the water. There was a cool breeze coming off of the lake and blowing through the trees. The moon was absolutely beautiful playing off of the water. I just stood there for awhile and soaked in the peace of the moment. God brought to my mind the many ways that my life is blessed.

While I sometimes feel the pressure of being pulled in a several different directions, I have job that allows me the flexibility to handle what I need to. I am very blessed to still be able to care for my Mom & Dad and have them as part of my life. I am fortunate to have my children live in the same town that I do. My children have both chose wonderful mates and have enriched my life with four beautiful grandchildren. I have been blessed with good health, great friends, adequate intelligence, marvelous family and the most amazing husband on earth. Though I may occasionally feel totally wiped out, I know that I have been very blessed indeed.

I am leaving you with a gift- peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn’t like the peace the world gives. Don’t be troubled or afraid. - John 14:27 NLT

I am a little behind in paper work....

I will catch you all later.

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I will leave you with some thoughts from Proverbs 10

5 Make hay while the sun shines—that's smart; go fishing during harvest—that's stupid.

6 Blessings accrue on a good and honest life, but the mouth of the wicked is a dark cave of abuse.

7 A good and honest life is a blessed memorial; a wicked life leaves a rotten stench.

8 A wise heart takes orders; an empty head will come unglued.

9 Honesty lives confident and carefree, but Shifty is sure to be exposed.

10 An evasive eye is a sign of trouble ahead, but an open, face-to-face meeting results in peace.

Mother came home from rehab on Friday. She got one of those nifty walkers that has a seat on it where she can sit down if she gets too tired. It is helping to make the transition a little more pleasant.

Friday afternoon I was going to run out to her house but she needed me to get her medicine for her. There was a mix up with the Doctor getting the prescription called in and it was late afternoon before the Pharmacy had it ready. I left Diana’s, picked up the drugs and went to Huntsville to play tennis. Afterwards I took the medicine out to my Mom’s house and got home around 10:00. I had a tennis match in Cullman Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. When I finished there I went back out to Mom’s and stayed with her where Dad could go to the Wallace family reunion. I left there around 2:30. I still had not had a shower but I had to run into town and get groceries. Terri and I were in charge of cooking for the preacher and his wife. They were coming around 6:00. So I breezed through Food World (I was NOT fighting Wal-Mart on “Tax-Free Saturday”) rushed home, got a quick shower and went to work getting things ready. Of course my sweet husband was the one to sweat over the grill and Terri was making cookies and side dishes and I do appreciate that! We had a great evening and I learned a great deal about Ken and Anita, but I was a bit tired. I got up Sunday morning, got ready for church and even found some time to throw some desperately needed color on my hair. After church I called to see if Mom needed food or anything. All she wanted was for me to bring the babies by to see her. So I went and picked up the babies and took them to visit with my Mom, Dad and my Aunt Ellen. Diana was not thrilled about me taking them over there without her, but she didn’t volunteer to go with me so I went on. Don’t let anyone kid you, taking three babies anywhere by yourself is not EASY!! I think they were glad to see us come and even gladder to see us go. David and I spent our typical Sunday afternoon and evening keeping the sweet babies. Monday morning we got up fed the babies, David went to work after helping me load as much as I could in the car. I got dressed, loaded up the babies took them home and came to work. Of course I went to help feed them during my lunch break. Mom didn’t need anything yesterday, my aunt is still there, so I told her I would see her on Tuesday. I played tennis in Decatur last night in 95 degree temperature, no breeze and 105% humidity, and the guy I was playing with kept giving away points! I arrived home exhausted and ready to just QUIT! (does that make sense?)

My brother is coming tomorrow to spend the rest of the week with my Mom & Dad. This will be a great help since she has to go back to the Doctor on Thursday.

It is not that I bite off more than I can chew, it is just sometimes more than I can swallow….
And these are the days of my life….

Where did the weekend go?

My mother is coming home today. It will be good to cut out a few trips to Huntsville; Jones Chapel is not as far. These are the times when I wish she lived right next door to my daughter. Extended family houses like they had on “Dallas” wouldn’t be such a bad deal. (Of course the money that they had would be a burden.)

This morning when I was putting my stuff in the back of my Tahoe I saw a little footprint on the back bumper. Matthew was climbing in the car when I went by to see him last night. It was amazing to me how that little footprint sent a rush of warm feelings through me.

God has left his prints on so many areas of my life. I had two phone calls yesterday afternoon that made my day. I sometimes fail to be aware of all the things he does for me. Yet if I will just look around he touches every area of my life.

I wonder what prints I am leaving in someone’s life today. I have the potential to make someone’s day or to just leave a print of love. Am I doing this?

That silly movie “Blast from the Past” was on last night. The movie tells a story of a man and his wife who had built an elaborate fall-out shelter in the early 1960’s. A plane crashed in their back yard and they were convinced it was a nuclear blast. They stayed locked underground for 35 years and had a son the first year they were there. Their 35 year old son returns to the surface to gather supplies after his Dad has a mild heart attack.

My question for you is…what change would you find most surprising if you had been locked in the 1960’s for 35 years? Part II- What "lack of change" would you find surprising?

I was reminded last night of a recurring dream/nightmare that I have. I have been having this dream for years, long before 9/11/2001. I dream about plane crashes. Not that I am on the plane, I am always on the ground seeing the plane fall from the sky and I see the burst of flames where the plane would have crashed. In the last dream I was trying to find which way someone had gone and I ended up at an air show. It was military planes doing acrobatics that was show-cased. The final plane went up, did a barrel row and crashed into the ground. The strange thing was they just ended the show and acted like nothing had happened.

Anyway as I was driving to Huntsville last night there was a couple of low flying military jets making an approach to the airport. It gave me a creepy since of déjà vu. Not that they fell out of the sky or anything, but just that I had experienced seeing jets in my dreams.

Do you have a recurring dream or nightmare? Do you think they mean anything?

Last night I was thinking about the tower of Babel. It was kind of strange because I was reading in my N.T. Wright book “Simply Christian” and he was using this passage in Genesis to make a point. He may have given me a hint that was the direction he was going in, but I was shocked when his thoughts seemed to mirror my own.

I was thinking about the overall futility of man in trying to reach Heaven from earth. Going up real high would only get you to the edge of space and perhaps cause your nose to bleed. It might be easier to find Heaven by going low….on our knees or even prostrate on our face would get us closer to the presence of God. I also realize that we may have been using the word “heaven” wrong when teaching this passage. The word heaven was also used to describe the sky, clouds and everything above the earth in the Bible. Chances are this passage just meant they wanted a big impressive city with a big impressive tower.

This is one area where my belief system has changed and been challenged in the last few years. I no longer think of Heaven as a place separate and apart from earth, but think of it as being all around us. The promise of a new Heaven and a new earth tells me there will still be a reason to have the earth. But in this new earth all will be right with God (2 Peter 3:13).

It is easy to get a little lazy and declare “This world is not my home, I am just a-passing through”, but the reality is the kingdom is among us. The kingdom is us! We should be busy showing that to our neighbors and friends. God was not impressed when men put all of their time and energy into building a great city to make a name for themselves and a tower that would reach up into the heavens. By confusing their language he forced them to move on, to get out and cover the earth. What will it take for us to do the same?