Praises and Pink Tutu’s

by | Faith | 4 comments

As you know, our oldest son, Brandon, and his wife, Megan, are adopting a little boy from Uganda. Thank you for the many prayers you’ve offered up on their behalf. Many of you have asked about an update, so here’s Megan latest. Click here to join in the praise!
It’s no secret that our youngest son, Zach, and his wife, Sarah, are BIG USCS fans (my dad, a Clemson grad, can’t help but wonder where he went wrong. LOL!) — and now, it seems that Piper is also pretty in pink…and garnet (check out the shoes!)

And one last adorable picture of daddy and daughter:

The Sweet Melody of Prayer

by | Faith | 8 comments

Music stirs my soul into a divine frenzy.
Rarely do I drive without it—especially on the Sunday mornings. But this wasn’t the case yesterday.
Music was playing when I cranked ‘ol faithful (’99 CRV) but I quickly punched the knob to turn it off when I felt impressed to pray for Brian (who played at our Cherrydale campus), for Brandon (leading worship in Ohio), and for specific members of our family. 
Within a couple blocks, I began praying for a friend’s daughter, uncertain of her needs, but certain of the One who did. 
A mile down the road, a man in our life group who just had heart surgery came to mind as I passed his daughter’s sub-division.
A few minutes later, I passed our former church — praying God’s blessings, discernment, and glory to fall upon that place. 
Drawing closer to Summit Church, I prayed for the ladies study on Tuesday night, asking God to keep us focused on Him…and not our space, or lack thereof. More ladies have decided to join us in the past week. Praising God, and trusting Him too. 
As I pulled into a parking space, the silence caught me off guard. I’d not turned the radio on! No music had played—or had it?

“What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my
mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my
mind also.” 1 Corinthians 14:15 ESV
 Oh, the sweet melody of prayer!

Don’t Judge The Content By Its Envelope

by | Faith | 8 comments

It wasn’t the “to” that caught my attention. After all, it was in my mailbox. The “from”, however, took me by surprise: Bimbo Bakeries USA
I’ll spare you the images that ran through my head but let’s just say I debated whether or not to even open it. The debate lasted oh, about three seconds, when it was suddenly hijacked by my curiosity. 
After carefully ripping peeling off the top of the envelope, I felt like Charlie in Willy Wonka. I’d found the golden tickets (okay, so they’re blue) — four $4.00 coupons for my favorite bread (Sunbeam 40 calorie, wheat – 1 Weight Watchers point!)

When I called the 1-800 number last week, Sunbeam told me to expect coupons, but they did not, however, prepare me to receive an envelope from Bimbo’s.

Can we judge the contents by its envelope? Apparently, yes — but in doing so, Brian almost lost out on enough free bread to make many, many sandwiches for dinner. 🙂

This Past Weekend and Right Now

by | Faith | 8 comments

 
Taking a cue from today’s post over at The Budget Maven, I thought I’d give this a try. 
This past weekend: 
  • Skipped over to Barnes & Noble on Friday date night to pick up the latest issue of this favorite magazine and a new picture book for Piper.
  • Caught two American Masters episodes, featuring Louisa May Alcott and Harper Lee. Informative and inspiring! It’s been years since I’ve read To Kill A Mockingbird but thanks to the documentary, I plan to read it again very soon.
  • “Worked” on plans for our study introduction next Tuesday night. The Lord sparked an idea that I cannot wait to experience with the other ladies.
  • Began filling my bowl after a stirring presentation on Sunday from the ministry Rice Bowls, which helps to feed orphaned children around the globe. You simply fill up the plastic “bank” and return it to the church in exchange for another empty one. Our monetary change brings transforming changes to these little boys and girls. Read more about this amazing ministry here.

Right now:

  • Like Allison, we’re also gathering goods for a possible yard sale this weekend. 
  • Working on new writing goals. I have a head start on September!
  • Fixing a smoothie, ignoring the frappe. 
  • Starting to journal my prayers again. I’d taken a break…but it’s good to be back on track. 
  • Praying for the Christian Communicators Conference taking place this week at The Cove—especially for Vonda, Carolyn, Latan, and all those attending.
  • Thanking the Lord for YOU. I appreciate your taking time from a busy start-of-the- week to read this post. God bless you!

Fresh Blessings and Guest Blogging

by | Faith | 2 comments

 (Owners of B Encouraged Ministry Home)

It’s a blessing to have sufficient room for a Bible study. And it’s one, quite frankly, I took for granted until a few weeks ago.

With a record number of women signed up for our Abide in Christ study, we had doubts that we’d fit in our current location, the beautiful B Encouraged Ministry House in downtown Simpsonville. After all, there were 28 women in the last study and the space was tight.

We considered meeting elsewhere, resigning ourselves to the fact we had no other choice. That is, until I stopped by for a trial run yesterday. Becka, one of their amazing staffers, suggested a different place for Becky and I to stand while leading the study. Yes, it will still be a little “cozy”, as realtors say, but we think will work just fine. 

New ideas and fresh blessings emerge when we include others in our decisions. Thank you, Becka!

——

Also, I’m delighted to be guest blogging at Allison Martin’s The Budget Maven today. I’d love for you to hop over for a quick visit. There, you’ll also find my poem Soft Clover, which won third place at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writer’s Conference in 2011.

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