The blacker the night, the brighter the stars

Late last night on our way home from Tyler to see Papa Rick, Granny & Deenie (ok…and Dusty), we stopped to let the kids pee in the grass & I looked up to see an amazing sky. We got back on the road and through our moon roof I saw those stars again, and we decided to make it a sun roof so I could sit backwards with my knees in the crease of the passenger seat, and my head stickin’ out the top.

It was THE WEIRDEST thing! To look up and see just a million and a half stars, the moon & milky way, &  watch the half-lit trees on either side of 79 pass us by at 79 MPH. Within 20 seconds, I saw a shooting star. If the fall chill didn’t get to my arms, I would have done that the whole ride home. I just stayed for a lil while longer with my hands over my ears which also kept my hair from whipping my face, and just let out a “HALLELUJAH!” – Angel quickly echo’d my cry, “Haw-yoo-ah!” and we smiled at each other.

It was an unexpected wink from God.

Bold Prayer has its Perks

Just a little update about us…

I think I mentioned this on a prev. post, but on the 1st, we were given notice to vacate b/c the owners of this house want to sell it vacant. So I immediately became Ms. House-hunter (a job descrip. I’m used to). I asked some friends & family to pray Continue reading

Doesn’t Get Much Better

Let me just take a minute to breathe in the goodess here. I believe God’s up there winkin’ at me. It doesn’t get much better than this ~

…a morning spent playing with a giggly little 2 yr old & cute wiener dog

…a good work out @ the Y, and then

…a quiet lunchtime with a delish salad, a cold glass of lite lemonaid & the Bible

Man, life is grand!

salad

My Salad:
Lettuce (romaine), shredded mozz. cheese, feta cheese, manderine oranges, sliced deli ham, grape tomotoes, crispy turkey-bacon, salt & pepper.

I love salads!!!! For a more protien-packed twist, substitute tuna-mix for the ham & small apple chunks for the oranges, then top w/some craisins. Mmmmmm.

What makes a good week

to-do

This week was a good week.

  • Enjoyed some worship from the Word – I’m talkin’ great songs w/scriptural truth
  • Sipped a Starbucks Red Eye w/extra cream
  • Practiced a sweet new chord progression on my guitar (Amaj7, Cmaj7, G,D)
  • Got some fancy new strings
  • Watched the best American Idol in a while, w/my husbee
  • Had a great 23 minute conversation w/my Dad about Purpose & Drive & the Autoharp
  • Decided to officially volunteer as a family @ a Taylor rest home & researched more on how to get involved singing at the Texas Children’s Hospital
  • Was healthy ~ in my body, mind & spirit – and my family was too!
  • Administered a 7-way Parvo injection to protect my lil 9-mo.old weenie dog, Daphne. My husbee was very helpful w/his distraction technique ~ ham bits
  • Worked on this week’s lesson plans for my 3 yr olds @ Parent’s Day Out, complete with crafts like straw collages, food-coloring spaghetti plates, contact-paper sparkly jelly-fish & paper donuts w/glitter sprinkles

…And it’s only Wednesday. Bring on some more of your goodness, Lord. Or not. I hope I’m ready for whatever you got.

Get this one?

Sometimes, when you’re just doing the mundane responsibilities life demands, God wants to meet with you, one on one.

Last night at 10:04, I was tryin’ to finish a chapter in my current book when I realized just how sleepy I was. Finally, I let my eyes close…until of course, a minute later when I heard a baby cry & a husband ask, “get this one?”.

Angel (actually 28mo.s old) was struggling to find her way to the door I’d just opened… in tears, and shaking. She kept saying, “Oweee”. She seemed very afraid. Earlier, we’d noticed she was running a temp. I looked over at the new bouncy Ikea Poang chair I’d put in her room forher-rug1 nights just like this, but it seemed appropriate to just gather her in my arms and my criss-cross applesauce lap, right there on the floor.

She kept looking at me. I thought. I mean, it was kinda creepin’ me out. But then over the next 2 minutes or so, as I studied her eyes, I noticed they were looking right above my left shoulder. Her crying stopped. Her shivering stopped. But her eyes were wide and slowly blinking. There was a few feet of nothing behind me & then a wall, so I reluctantly broke the silence, “what do you see?” and with that, her eyes, as if tracing an object, quickly moved from behind my shoulder, to the door behind her, even causing her to arch her back a bit to see it as long as she could.

I prayed over her and hummed “My Favorite Little Girl“, until she found sleep again, in my arms. This is the third time something like this has happened. I’ve even written about an amazing experience when Braylon was her age. What a wink from God! That He would care so much to send us His angels to comfort & heal.  It pleases Him to minister to those who are too young or too disabled to articulate it. I share a belief with Christian author and strong woman of God, Pam Vredevelt, who wrote of a similar story in “Angel behind the Rocking Chair” …that once in a while, these little ones are blessed to experience His supernatural presence in a more tangible, visual way.

Next time your spouse asks you to take care of a crying child, count it a privilege. It may be more worth your effort, than you think. I’m so glad I “got this one”.

At that time Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike.  Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way!” – Matthew 11:25

claritin clear

today i stepped outside and took in the breeze, the warmth of the sun at 81; i let the clean air fill my lungs and looked around my backyard.

the blades of grass were greener. the sky, bluer, behind the sparse stratus clouds; the contrast at its peak.

there’s nothing special about today. but today, the world as i see it has been photo-shopped and purified for my pleasure.

i’ll take that as a wink from God.

me, a teacher?

so through a strange turn of events, and no real effort of my own, i’ve been graciously handed a wonderful little part time job as a teacher … of wee little ones (my favorite age-group ~ 2 yr olds!), starting @ the end of this month! angel baby will be a classroom away, and i’ll work during braylon’s school hrs, following the same ISD schedule. just call me, “Miss Chelan“!

hutto baptist church / parents day out program has taken me in as one of their own, and made me feel so comfortable. PDO staff had the best 30-hour adventure on lake buchanan this weekend! i don’t know the last time i’ve felt tired yet completely refreshed, inadequate yet freely blessed, oh, & a little guilty yet deserving! my fave parts:

  1. driving the wave-runner by a lush shoreline where two deer were grazing, then racing a huge crane over the blue water, & finally screaming as i drove under a waterfall
  2. grubbin’ on a breakfast like none other (let’s see…biscuits & country gravy, french toast, crispy bacon, OJ, starbucks coffee, sausage patties, scrabbled eggs, & candy bars… i swear, it’ll be what we eat @ the feast in heaven)!

i just absorbed love like a sponge, through the beauty of His creation. i’m filled. He can wring me out now. the whole adventure and just having this job opportunity has definitely been a wink from God.

from oregon to texas

i’m just sitting here, as blessed as can be…my dad bought a ticket for my mom to fly down here with him for a business trip he had planned…they extended their stay so they could spend more time w/us & the kids. they’re stayin’ in angel’s room (she’s sleepin’ in a pack n play in our walk-in closet)! and we’re all lovin’ it.

the kids & i prob. will not be able to fly up to oregon in july with my husband when he’ll be the best man @ his brother’s wedding. times are tight. if i think about it too much, i get teary…so i’ll just get to the point.

with that in mind, ‘papa & gigi’ took it upon themselves to visit us (praise God they had the funds to do so). they showed up at our door last night at 9:15. angel & braylon were so elated ~ laughing & story-telling, being held, hugged, tickled & read to til after 10pm. …and we have ’em in our custody for one week!

this visit is definitely a wink from God.