Keeping it Fresh
I was rereading a book this morning called Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art by Madeleine L'Engle, to which I've referred before. It is chock-full of truths and a wonderful book for anyone...not just artists! I love rereading books like this because I always learn something new, which brings me to my point.She said something that I could really relate to:Too often we take God for granted. I'm accustomed to being a Christian. I was born of Christian parents, who were born of Christian parents...That's alright when one is a child, that comfortable familiarity of being Christian, because to a child...everything is wonderful and new, even familiarity. The edge is not taken...
The Privilege of Prayer
I had the good fortune to hear about a different type of prayer journal called "Prayers of My Heart" by Debbie Williams. She has a ministry out of Kerrville, Texas called Hillcountry Ministries, and, because a) she lives in Texas, and b) Beth Moore recommended the journal, I promptly ordered one!It came a couple of days ago, and just this morning I cracked it open and began to fill in the people I would pray for each day and the petitions that I had for this month. When you have something in an organized form like this, it's amazing how quickly you can fill it up and how many, many people/petitions you realize that you need to be praying for! It makes the phrase "pray without ceasing" seem...
The Struggle
This adorable little guy is my darling dachshund Riley. The two of us spend quite a bit of time together each day, and I'm very aware of his likes, dislikes and daily habits. Yesterday, I noticed that something was amiss.He seemed to be chewing at his foot a lot and favoring that foot when he walked, so I sat down with him to take a look. Now, Riley typically doesn't mind my giving him a onceover; in fact, he usually likes the attention. But this apparently wasn't a typical situation, because he faught me tooth and nail! It turns out that "tooth and nail" could be considered a pun in this story, because he had one nail that was much longer than the others. I don't know if I had missed it...
What I Believe
There are a lot of different beliefs floating around out there. A lot of different "gods" that we can follow and with which to try to fill the empty spaces in our souls. It's been my experience that anything with which I've tried to fill those places has always come up short. I've come to believe that the void we all feel at one time or another was made by God to be filled by God. That's why nothing else works.I was fortunate to have been raised in a very loving Christian home and made my profession of faith, followed by baptism, at the tender age of 10, at our local First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). I grew up loving Jesus, but really started a more intentional and deeper...
True Confessions
Well, I feel led to confess something to you, my blog public. Now, before you brace yourself for the spillage of some long-suppressed, deep, dark secret, let me put your mind at ease. It's not that bad. It's just that...well...I LOVE Disney! There, I said it. It's out. Yes, Disneyworld is one of my all-time favorite places. For me, it really IS one of the happiest places on earth. It all started, actually, in 1985, with a visit to DisneyLAND in California. Right after college graduation, Kevin went to L.A. to train for a new job and I met him out there one weekend to see the sights. Neither of us had ever been to a Disney park, so we set out for Disneyland. We were both hooked, but decided...