The Vine

"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." John 15:5

I recently heard a sermon on John 15. Christ's description of our relationship is one that we all can relate to. Weeding, cutting and thinning out the dead and unproductive parts of our shrubs and vines. Piling them up at the road for the trash man to come and haul away.

Our nourishment comes from Christ. Our roots are in Him. He is the life running through our veins.

He tells us that he abides in us.

Close your eyes and listen to your heartbeat...do you hear Jesus, Jesus, Jesus with every beat?

I forgot my humble pill this morning...but God made sure I took it.

I sat in front of him...singing together a familiar song. I could hear his voice, gruff and strained. Instead of focusing on the words of the song, my mind wandered to that man.

"Wow, the struggles he faces every day. He must be so tired from the temptations that stalk him all the time. He sounds so desperate...but hopeful. It sounds like he is clinging to every word, realizing that God hears him. He's pouring his heart out. God is working on the broken road that is his life. I am so glad he is here today."

After a moment of contemplating his life of addiction, it finally occurred to me that the song we were singing was not just for him. Although our temptations and sin may look different, my brokenness and desperation for my Savior is no different. My thoughts were describing me, not the broken man sitting behind me.

Waves of thankfulness came over me...thankful to have the privilege of worshipping God WITH this man. His repentant and hopeful heart was a more acceptable sacrifice to God than my wandering mind.

I can only imagine
What it will be like
When I walk
By your side

I can only imagine
What my eyes will see
When your face
Is before me
I can only imagine

I can only imagine

Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus or in honor of you be still
Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine

"I Can Only Imagine" Mercy Me

Crossroads

Time...not sure where it goes. The past few months have been a blur of activity. I graduated last Friday. Woohoo! I am glad to move on from this chapter, but am so thankful I was given the opportunity.

Now, I find myself at another crossroads. I solicit your prayers as we try to make the right decisions about our family's future. I am praying our family will be back together soon, praying that we can give our children the love, time and support they need and praying for a JOB!

The lyrics to a song by Nichole Nordeman have been food for the soul lately...

When the sun starts to rise and I open my eyes
You are good, so good
In the heat of the day, with each stone that I lay
You are good, so good
With every breath I take in
I'll tell you I'm grateful again
When the moon rises high before each kiss goodnight
You are good.

When the road starts to turn, around each bend I learn
You are good, so good
And when somebody's hand holds me up, helps me stand
You are SO good
With every breath I take in
I'll tell you I'm grateful again
Cause it's more than enough just to know I am loved
And you ARE good

So, how can I thank you?
What can I bring?
What can a poor man lay at the feet of a King?
So I'll sing you a love song
It's all that I have
To tell you I'm grateful for holding my life in Your hands.

When it's dark and it's cold, and I can't feel my soul
You are...STILL good
When the world has gone gray, and the rain's here to stay
You are still good
With every breath I take in
I'll tell you I'm grateful again
And the storm may swell, even then 'It is Well'
And YOU ARE GOOD!

So, how can I thank you?
What can I bring?
What can a poor man lay at the feet of a King?
So I'll sing you a love song
It's all that I have
To tell you I'm grateful for holding my life in Your hands

So I'll sing you a love song!
It's all the I have!
To tell you I'm grateful for holding my life in Your hands!!
YOU ARE HOLDING MY LIFE IN YOUR HANDS!!!

Christmas Magic

Trek took this picture of my two youngest kidlets while we waited in line to see Santa.

I remember the magic of sitting on Santa's lap as a child, so excited to see the guy in the red suit.

As an adult, the closest I have come to feeling that Christmas magic is standing in front of the snow covered tree in Rockefeller Center. The vision of skaters on the ice, the shoppers with arms full of packages, the Christmas music playing overhead, and the smell of the clean snow falling from the sky was a dream come true to this displaced Northern girl from Alabama.

Oh, how I want my children to have the opportunities to make wonderful memories. It is the images, sounds, and smells burned in their memories that will hopefully bring great joy to them as adults.

Many times, in the hustle and bustle of our adult lives, it is easy to forget that our children are in the midst of experiencing magical new things. We, too, would be happier adults if we could enjoy the simple joys that our children experience everyday.

Where would we be without our memories? Isn't there so much happiness in recalling a favorite memory?

Take a moment to recall a magical childhood memory and let it take you back....

Martha Stewart just called...she could smell our supper from her house.

I know some don't believe me when I say things like...

"I can't be trusted in the kitchen"
"I have to be supervised in the kitchen"
"I can't cook, no I REALLY can't"
"I hate to cook"

This is just a glimpse at the wonderful, delectable dishes I prepare while standing in my well-equipped kitchen in my freshly pressed apron...

I just got off the phone with Martha Stewart...she wanted my recipe for
"Freshly Burnt Cheese Sandwiches."

Just call him Jack Bauer!

Trek just sent this to me.

In case you are confused about what you are looking at, this is the view Trek had of the SWAT team pulling up with weapons drawn to take the criminal down.

Wow, what an exciting life my Jack Bauer...I mean Trek leads. Now that I think about it...he does kind of remind me of him...hmmmm.



Mental note: Christmas present for Trek...Two tone Sig 228 pistol.

But I don't have my shopping done!

Here is the crew...bundled up in 15 layers of clothes for our town's annual Christmas parade. Brrrrr!