Cell Group Cookout

We had our first cookout last night, and I think it was much fun. I'll post a few pics so you can see who I'm talking about.

This first one is Andrea and Dan - hmmm, yes, posing.

And then my very silly girlfriends, doing some type of glamour thing - or something.

And this great couple is Lorrie and Dan. Lorrie is the one with the awesome testimony of how God delivered her from leukemia! Praise God!

And then the group! Yes, they rock.

I think we had enough fun that we'll do this again soon. Hanging with friends and loving Jesus...yeah, life's pretty good.

Loving His Presence

Has it been a week already?? Really?
I'm not sure where the time went - we've had weird weather, long days at work, LSU winning the CWS, lawn care, Bible study, and house-sitting to fill in the days since the last post. Oh, and one really awesome night at church!! The presence of God was so thick last night, you could cut it with a knife. Holy. It was holy. No other description seems appropriate.

Can you wrap your little brains around the idea of spending an eternity in God's pure, uninhibited presence?? Complete light. Complete peace and love. And never having to think "I wish it could be like this forever."

I understand that some folks are content to go to church, sing a few songs and listen to a quick sermon, and then head to Cracker Barrel for lunch. But there is oh, so much more. God literally dwells on the praises of His people, and when we can lay aside an agenda simply to worship Him, His presence is sweeter than any cobbler I can buy. He loves it when we praise Him, and He delights in meeting with us. I pray that our hearts are increasingly drawn to Him, and the things of this world cannot satisfy that longing. Only spending time in His presence can feed the deepest part of man's heart.

Well, just a quick admonition to make the time to praise and worship the Lord. It is SO worth it!!

Happy Father's Day

Wishing a Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!!
It's hard to believe that it's been four years since my dad went to Heaven, but time has a way of just passing on by, even when you aren't looking.


As you know by the name of this blog, I was very much a Daddy's Girl. I was the "apple of his eye" as mom used to say. My dad was very much a sweetheart of a man, gentle and loving.
This was his Army days - with time in Korea, and in Okinawa, Japan. Handsome, isn't he?? But then again, we're all suckers for a guy in uniform.

And this is one of my favorites - I don't even know where it was taken, but I love the shot.

And then this last photo of dad in the yard - this was in 2001, four years before he died. In case you didn't notice, he has a great smile in all of them. That was typical. He was a happy man, and he loved life. He found his joy through Jesus, and spread love and kindness pretty much everywhere he went.

Happy Father's Day daddy. I love you.

Asking for the Big Things

Shortly after moving into this house, I knew the Lord wanted there to be much love and laughter within these walls. In April, I started a cell group on Monday nights. In case you're wondering what a cell group is - our church has many home groups, called cells. The basic idea is that the body is made up of many cells, but it functions as one body. (A quickie lesson in biology would cover it enough.) But the church is the body of Christ, with each person being a vital part. OK - I could ramble, but this is not where I'm headed. But you get the idea of a cell group.

But we started a study on Bill Johnson's book, When Heaven Invades Earth. If you haven't read it, and you know Jesus as your Savior, you should read it. If you don't know Jesus as your Savior, email me, and I'll be thrilled to introduce you. And then you should read it. It's a powerful book about the Kingdom of God, and the reality of it's superiority. The Bible clearly teaches that this world as we know it, is temporal...it will pass away. But the Kingdom of God is eternal - it's the unseen realm that is eternal, and thus superior to this visible world.

This single concept should be enough to rattle the strongest cage of any believer. We simply cannot afford to live life without expression of faith. And I mean, real faith. Faith that acts. Real faith that reaches out for what is realized. Example - if I realize that there is no sickness in Heaven, (and there isn't) then I will be quick to act when I see a sick person here. Jesus said we would do the things he had been doing (John 14:12), and from I read, that involves healing the sick. Just a rabbit trail here...Jesus didn't just say 'pray for the sick'...He said "heal the sick" in Matthew 10 - among other things.

OK - so when I realize the Kingdom principles, I begin to act accordingly. And it's been pretty cool to experience this. I see it, not only in myself, but also in the people in my cell group. As we understand that we are co-laborers with Christ, His Spirit urges us to take the risk to pray for someone we don't know. And this past cell group meeting, my friend brought her parents - who were both in need of miracles. Can I just say my groupies converged on them like dogs on raw meat! Praying down the power of Heaven, telling sickness to leave, and giving all glory to God. We didn't see immediate results - that's OK - because they would have to be medically examined anyway. But we also asked for the big things that were visible - after all, our God is able to do more than we could ever ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). And since the dad has 2 prosthetic legs, we asked God to create new legs. No, it didn't happen right then, but I believe it will. A year ago, I don't think we would have even wanted to pray for something that looks too huge in the natural. But our perspective is changing. We are aware of a Kingdom where no sickness, no disease, no prosthetic limbs exist. And we are in for the long haul - pressing in deeper until we see those new legs. Wouldn't that just blow the doors off every religious church in America?

Press in, friends. The Spirit of God is moving on this earth. Don't be content to stand on the sidelines and watch the game. Put on your jersey, tie your shoes, and start running. The victory is already won, and our Champion is Lord over all.

Prayer and Plumbing

When I moved into this house 7 months ago, I knew that I would gradually have to work on some "handywoman" type projects. Don't get me wrong - the house was move in ready. But some things were out-dated, and I just wanted to add my own taste. I took care of the most important things first...like my bathroom. It had the original 1980 mocha-colored toilet, not to mention nice dark brown shag carpet. Yes, the bathroom. That was changed before I ever moved in - and a nice white toilet, and ceramic tile now adorn the bathroom.

However, I had not done much in the guest bathroom. The tub had only the faucet, but no shower. I talked to a few contractor-type guys at church, and they told me the best way for me to remedy the "no-shower" issue. So today, there is now a shower head installed. It was easier than I anticipated. Basically just had to remove the old spout, put on an adaptor to the existing pipe so it could house a new universal spout with a divertor - and then attach the new shower hose/nozzle to it with a wall mount. I was happy. Nothing leaked.

So I moved on to the faucet at the sink. Not so easy. I have never done any type of plumbing before - but didn't really want to shell out the $$ for a plumber - so that was incentive enough to at least try it. But the existing faucet was the type with one pull knob. I'm sure lots of people like those - not me.

And since I had already replaced the light fixture, I wanted something to match. I found a great Delta faucet, and set out to become a plumber apprentice. I managed to get the old faucet off, with the help of my brother via telephone. And soon had the new one on. But I quickly realized that was only half the battle - as the drain plug also had to be replaced. That involved a new drain assembly. Hmmm...was I ready to tackle this? The logical path was - "what's the worst that can happen?" I knew that if I screwed up, I could indeed call a plumber to fix it. But if I could accomplish this - and save my $$ for something else - I would be much happier. I called my uncle (as my brother was no longer available) to get some advice, and he was confident I could do it. So I tore into it, and started removing things and soon held the drain assembly and p-trap in my hands. I tried to follow the instructions and do everything it said...and attached the new drain. The true test......would it leak?? Heavy sigh...yes...it dropped a couple drops of water underneath from the bottom of the sink. I must have stared at those few droplets for about 10 minutes. After regaining my senses, I took the drain assembly back off, added a GENEROUS amount of plumber's putty, and re-attached the seal. I tried to use more muscle this time, and got it tighter.

Test # 2. Turn the water back on, and let it run....and run....and run.... No Leaks!! Hooray!! I waited for a while, and ran the water again - I pulled the plug up and let water hold in the sink, and then let it drain, all that stuff. And hallelujah, no leaks! So this is my new faucet.

So I am quite thrilled. It's amazing what you can do, if only you try. Did I mention I prayed a lot during this??

A Colorful Spring

Thought I could share a few more flower photos. It hasn't rained today...yet...and I had the chance to mow the yard. I was amazed at how much the peonies in the backyard have grown. So after a quick bite of supper, I darted out the door with my camera to capture a few beauties.

The white bush, though outnumbered by it's pink comrades, is finally blooming, and they are wonderfully large blooms. And you can see that almost the entire back fence is guarded by these beautiful things.

But even though the peonies are pretty, my love for the iris knows no match! They remind me of days long ago, and spark the memories of Louisiana spring. We had wild iris "in the circle" - which was out under all those glorious oak trees. It seemed like nobody ever tended to the iris, yet every year we enjoyed the blooms. These 2 incredibly different groups are also in the back yard. The deep purple is at the south end of the peonies, and this creative, orange masterpiece is at the north end of the yard. Totally beautiful. (The three dark orange centers almost look like pipecleaners - you know, those things we always had to use during VBS craft time when we were kids. ) The purple ones bloomed first, but the orange wasted no time is showing off. It's turning out to be a colorful spring. Daily I am thankful for this place God has given me.

Slow Motion

I'm a little tired, and blurry eyed this morning. Had a meeting with the leaders of our women's ministry at church last night - which was good. But getting home late, after being gone all day, left me with little time to play with Romeo. He was crying for attention, so we played his favorite game of "pull the mouse on the string, and let me pounce on it til I'm tired" until I was tired. Apparently he wasn't finished, so he followed me into the bedroom. I usually let him sleep in the living room, but I felt like I'd neglected him (being gone so much) so I let him pounce on the bed. He seemed quiet enough, so I turned on the fan - and went right to sleep.

Until about 1:30 - when he was up and climbing over me to see if I was awake. All efforts to hush him were in vain, so I got up, scooted his behind into the hallway, and closed the door with hopes of getting more sleep before the alarm sounded at 5:00. Yes, I did go back to sleep, but those nights usually leave me in a state of "slow-motion" for the next day. Today would be one of those days.

So on these days, I need to look at something wonderful and peaceful. This photo is in the Indian Peaks Wilderness area - and I can almost hear the sound of the water as it tumbles it's way over the rocks. The smell of the wildflowers and the crisp mountain air tend to mingle with the music of nature. All creation sings a song to the Creator, if only we will observe, and listen. And even in my 'slow-motion' day, a song of praise forms on my lips, and I know that my God is worthy to be praised.