Broken and Beautiful

There's a businessman
There's a widowed wife
There's a smiling face with a shattered life
There's a teenage girl with a choice tomake
It's crowded here in church today

And the preacher says as the sermon ends
Please close your eyes and bow your heads
Is there anyone in need of prayer
Jesus wants to meet you here
'cause we all fall short
We all have sinned
But when you let
God's Grace break in

(Chorus)
It's beautiful
Beautiful
Come as you are
Surrender your heart
Broken and beautiful

Well he'd never been to church before
But he came today as a last resort
His world was crashing in
And he was suffocating in his sin

But tears ran down
As hope rushed in
He closed his eyes
Raised his hands
Worshiping the God who can
Bring him back to life again

(Chorus)

Cause there's nothing more beautiful to God
Than when his sons and daughters come
Broken
Alleluia
Alleluia
Come as you are
Alleluia
Alleluia
Come as you are

(Chorus)

Alleluia
Alleluia
Come as you are
(Come as you are)
Surrender your heart
Broken and beautiful

Alleluia
Alleluia
Come as you are
(Come as you are)
Surrender your heart
Broken and beautiful

Beauty Despite the Rain

Today was a gray, cold, dreary day.  The rain came down from the sky all day long.  The clouds hung low.  Puddles turned into small lakes by the end of the day.  At first, I was feeling kind of down because it was so dark and wet outside.  I had to go out to help out my mother-in-law with a few things.  I grabbed my camera on the way out of the door, habit I guess. God started to show me that despite the gray and pouring rain, there was beauty beyond that, if I looked.  

Sometimes it is difficult to see beyond the rain, the storms.  We can get stuck in the storms, the dark times in life.  We can get to a spot where we only see the gloom and darkness instead of making ourselves move beyond that to see the beauty all around us.  Today would have been easy to stay in, with the curtains drawn, and whine about the rain.  Instead, I found great beauty despite the rain.  Life is the same way.  We can get stuck, or we can move beyond our circumstances and live life to the fullest each day.  Don't waste your precious time, grab it, and live, even in the times of rain.  

(turkeys)

Linger often in worship. In the midst of your daily storms, make it a point to be still and set your sights on him. Let God be God. Let him bathe you in his glory so that both your breath and your troubles are sucked from your soul. Be still. Be quiet. Be open and willing. Then you will know that God is God.   ~~Max Lucado

Finally, A New Computer

It finally happened, we replaced our computer!  The question...PC or Mac?  We went back and forth on that question for weeks.  After much searching, comparing, shopping, and praying about it, we decided to head out on Saturday, determined to make a decision.  We were leaning one way, but ended up another.  We had five customers add to our decision, who guaranteed us that we would not be disappointed if made the choice to purchase a Mac.  One lady even gave us her business card and offered to buy it from us if we were dissatisfied.  With all the customers helping us and others looking at Macs, the sales staff didn't have to do much.  I have had many friends tell me to get a Mac, as well.  


I feel like it's a new adventure since I have to relearn a lot of things, at least I think I do.  I don't know yet. I am still looking around, trying to familiarize myself with the workings of a Mac.  I can tell I am going to have to watch some tutorials to move on much further than basic web surfing, and playing with iPhoto a little bit.  I have only had a couple hours to check things out, so will have to work on it more in this coming rainy week.  


I am looking forward to learning how to run this new machine.  I am sure I will have times when I sit and get very confused, but that's all part of learning!  I definitely look forward to getting to work with my photos again.  

Changing the World

Why did God make me? To love, serve, and obey Him. Very simple, yet extremely profound. If we all woke up every morning asking, "How can I love, serve, and obey God today?" it might change everything-it might even change the world.  -Richard Stearns, World Vision


What are you doing to change the world, whether it's across the seas, or right outside your door?  Maybe it's even in the four walls of your home.  We are all called to make a difference, to love and serve.  If you aren't doing that somewhere, look around.  There are plenty of people who need someone to listen, to help them out in some way, to care about them.  It's time to start changing the world.

mikeschair - Keep Changing the WorldFrom the album Mikeschair


Something here is wrong
There are children without homes
But we just move along
To take care of our own

There's so much suffering
Just outside our door
A cry so deafening
We just can't ignore

To all the people who are fighting for the broken
All the people who keep holding on to love
All the people who are reaching for the lonely
Keep changing the world

Take a look around
Before the sun goes out
What's lost can still be found
It's not too late now
It only takes one spark to make the fire burn
So reach inside your heart and let this be the start

I know see the suffering,
Heartache or recovery
People just look over
like they don't even notice
Everyone is focusing
on ending all this hopelessness
You can change the world by
changing who the world is hoping in

I see the sun coming up
It's a brighter day
Let's show the world that love is a better way
So lend a hand, join the fight
'Cause time is ticking away
Keep changing the world

I see the sun coming up
It's a brighter day
Let's show the world that love is a better way
So lend a hand, join the fight
'Cause time is ticking away
Keep changing the world

I see you changing the world
Step up

Prairie Sunset

Beautiful prairie sunset from Saturday night.  This time of year, we are blessed with amazing sunsets in this area.

Happy Birthday to My Mom

Happy birthday, mom!  We wish for you a day filled with love and laughter, from us, your family.  We are thankful and blessed to have you for our mom. We are grateful that you have been by our side to guide us, lead us, and support us through our lives.  Thank you for always being available to have talks with, whether long or short, and for listening even when it might have been something you didn't want to hear.  Thanks for being a great mom when we were kids, and now a great friend and mom as we are adults.  Thank you for your unconditional love.  We thank God for giving us you for a mom.  Happy Birthday, mom!  We love you!

Love

John Eldredge wrote about churches in his devotion the other day. 
"You can pull into any church or ministry and be offered something called "the Gospel." And there's just enough Jesus words to make it sound like the Gospel...kind of. It looks like Christianity...kind of. It smells like Christianity...kind of. But it isn't even close to the real thing.  And yet, it is packaged and marketed as Christianity.


So here's a simple test: Does it do what the Scriptures say the Gospel will do? Does it heal the brokenhearted? Set captives free? Does it draw people into a genuine intimacy with God, where experiencing his presence is normal? Really?"


Which got me to thinking:


Does the church you attend offer grace and mercy, not judgement and condemnation?  Is God's word a part of the service, or just the preachers words?  Are people drawn to that body for the love they show?   I think too many churches get caught up in judging everyone rather than showing love.  The whole Gospel is about love.  God is love.  Love is patient, kind, not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.  If the church you attend has more people going out and staying out, than it does people coming in and staying, there is a problem.  We are told in Matthew to go into all the world and make disciples...make, not offend and condemn.  Love does not demand it's own way, it is not irritable, and it keeps no record of wrong.  Love rejoices in the truth, not in evil.  Love protects.  Love trusts.  Love is full of hope.  Love keeps going on through the tough times.  If the church you attend isn't oozing love out of it's pores as defined by 1 Corinthians 13, something is wrong. God IS love, and wants us to be like Him.  We are to be imitators of Him. God didn't send Jesus to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him, all we have to do is believe and ask Him to be our Savior.  We need to love God with all that we are, and love others.  Does your church look like that?  Do you?  If you are part of HIS body, a follower of Christ, does your life look like that?  If not, spend some time with God in prayer, and just talk to Him about it.  He listens, and He answers.  There are a lot of churches out there.  There are a lot who claim Christ, but when you walk in and listen, you find out Christ wasn't actually invited.  Find a place where He is invited, where He is the center, where love and grace and solid biblical teaching are present.  Find a place where people love each other and help each other, and reach out to help and love the world, because of Christ.


God is love, and anyone who doesn't love others has never known him. God showed his love for us when he sent his only Son into the world to give us life. Real love isn't our love for God, but his love for us. God sent his Son to be the sacrifice by which our sins are forgiven. 1 John 4:8-10

God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn its people. He sent him to save them! No one who has faith in God's Son will be condemned. But everyone who doesn't have faith in him has already been condemned for not having faith in God's only Son. John 3:16-18

A Day at Greenbluff

Although I have lived in the area all but eight years of my life, I have never been to the locally famous Greenbluff to visit all the farms and orchards, until yesterday.  After being up there with my nieces, I wondered why I have never journeyed up the hill before, as it is a nice place to spend a day.  We wandered through a very large pumpkin patch for over an hour, finding all shapes and sizes of pumpkins.  The girls decided to call it the pumpkin maze because they started to weave in and out of the vines, making it a game as they went.  We had fun in a corn maze,  and found a castle and a mirror that made us look really funny.  We rode a train with wheels around a farm, checked out bins full of gourds and various varieties of pumpkins, apples, and veggies, and we even brought home a few pumpkins.

I had a great day spending time with these two.  We laughed a lot, and built a lot of memories.  I am thankful for the time I had to hang out with them and hope they had as much fun as I did.  I think they did, since they are already planning the next time we can go back up to Greenbluff.

 

Computer Issues Continue

My posts lately have been few and far between, as I am still in need of a new computer.  My desktop is nearly dead, and trying to work on it reminds me of Windows 95 with the slowest dial up you can remember, and that's a good day!!!  Working on that computer takes me to a place of deep frustration, so I avoid it, trying to keep a good attitude.  I have a laptop, but it is old, and cranky.  It only likes to be on for about half an hour before it decides to overheat and shut down.  I have some photos I would love to post on my blog, and some blogs written in my journal, if I ever get to use a good computer again!  Just wondering, is it wrong to post Summer and early Fall photos in winter?  Hang with me, and check back often because I post when I can.  Sometimes it takes me all day to write one small post, and trying to view and edit photos on a laptop is interesting.  I tried to put in Photoshop, but it almost blew up my computer as it worked so hard to try to get that program up and workable, but no luck.  I have a basic program on the laptop, but it just doesn't stay on long enough to even get to my pictures.  I don't do major editing on my photos, usually just resizing, but half an hour doesn't allow for me to get to too many pictures. 


Needless to say, computerland is a bit frustrating for me lately.  My hubby promises we will make a strong effort to find a new computer, soon.  I hope so.  I hope it's real soon because I miss writing and reading blogs.  I really miss editing and viewing my pictures. 

This story is to be continued....hopefully within the next week!


By the way, suggestions are welcome.  Facebook friends (which I check from my phone) highly favor Mac, one for HP, and one for Dell.  Any suggestions from my blogger friends are welcome, as well.  Thanks!!

Hallelujah

As far as I am concerned, no words are needed to go with this video. 

Story behind the song:

‘Hallelujah’ is a really special song to me. About a year after my infant son Caedmon died, I was sitting on the floor, I had my husband’s guitar, and I was just kind of strumming. He had shown me 3 or 4 chords, and I was just sitting there, and I was in such a place of brokeness. I wasn’t mad a God and I wasn’t questioning God, but I had really just made a decision to keep an open dialogue with God; not just inside, but coming out of my mouth; because I know I’m not fooling him. I think that’s something like when you read about David in the Bible where he’s really giving his heart to God through his mouth. I think God likes that… He likes that relationship. I think the cry of it, saying ‘Hallelujah’ and saying ‘even in this place on a floor with a guitar crying out in a blubbering mess I’m still going to say Halleluiah, and I’m still going to say that I love you, and I’m still going to want to glorify you in anything and everything’ and me just being able to say ‘through all that I can stand because of God’ is powerful. Maybe somebody can look at that and say ‘So can I!’ you know? Maybe they haven’t been through the loss of a child, but everybody has something. I’m convinced that every person on this planet has something that’s either happened to them, or they’re going through now, or they’re going to go through in the future that God needs to reach them, and they need to be able to say ‘God, I give it up to you.’  ~~Heather Williams

More on her powerful life story here.

Support, Admire, Honor

October is breast cancer awareness month.  Support and pray for those going through the war of breast cancer, cheer those who have fought it and won, and remember those who lost their battle.  If  you are a woman, get checked and do self exams, no matter what your age is, because this disease doesn't care, it doesn't know boundaries.

Today, I honor and remember Jenny.  I cheer my cousins and aunt who won their battle.  I pray for those I know going through the war right now. I hang on to hope that the young girls now will never have to face breast cancer.