Thoughts while Traveling

I guess my last post could be taken other than it was intended. I just get really frustrated sometimes with the lingo that circulates around the Christian bubble I find myself in. How it can so easily bring division and confusion to those who do love God and are called according to His purpose! We are all in this journey together, you know? As children of God and followers of Christ. No matter our backgrounds, our years of being saved, our giftings and inclinations, the places God has led us to corporately worship~~ etc. etc. You get my drift. "Division" in the body of Christ is brought on by the Enemy, no matter how you slice it. Example~ If the Holy Spirit has led you to a Bible study to fellowship in His word and grow in Him, PRAISE HIM FOR THAT! Man, I am firm believer that Satan works quadruple time in attempting to destroy Godly relationships (or even the prospect of one) than he does others. Anyways, that is where I am coming from concerning my post from yesterday and I am being called to battle in this area of my prayer life. To be a peacemaker.

I have so many people on my heart this morning. Todd H. ~Todd M. ~Nicole~ my family~ Becki~ Kenyetta~ Hegren's~Carter's~ Mee mee~ Lori~Melinda~ Sarah~ ~~~~~
Jesus, be seen. God be glorified. Holy Spirit move and administer your healing touch and your redeeming power. Cover all of them with your blood, Jesus. May they hide behind your cross today~ may we all do this today.

It's yours, after all ~ this day.

Pie Jesu.

Very quick venting session (promise) to follow:

If I hear a person referred to as a "baby Christian" one more time, whoever says it better be prepared. That's all I have to say. The Christian sub-culture is absolutely revolting sometimes.

Irked yet still blessed.

Adios

I know alot of people are hurting. Grief abounds and we don't understand why. Life ends and yet...doesn't. In praying for all of you (and there are too many to name) these words keep rising in my spirit and as I sing I am lifting you up to our Father.

He gives beauty for ashes
Strength for fear
Gladness for mourning
Peace for despair
When sorrow seems to surround you
When suffering hangs heavy o’er your head
Know that tomorrow bringsWholeness and healing
God knows your need
Just believe what He said
When what you’ve done keeps you from moving on
When fear wants to make itself at home in your heart
Know that forgiveness bringsWholeness and healing
God knows your need
Just believe what He said
I once was lost but God has found me
Though I was bound I’ve been set free
I’ve been made righteous in His sight
A display of His splendor all can see
~Crystal Lewis

It's true, you know. I know what it's like to not see it and therefore find yourself in an unbelieving state. He's still there, though. Tie a knot and hang on for dear life, and the flames will not burn you, but refine you like precious gold.

Hi, friends.

Especially those of you who Rod Stewart just reminded me of, you know who you are...

"it would be so fine to see your face at my door...but your still miles away..."

and the sappiness carries on.

But it really would. Anyways, life is busy these days, and although I really wanted to write yesterday about "beauty for ashes", which has become a very real concept and truth to me lately, I simply didn't have the time. Life is going 100 miles an hour and dragging me behind it like tin cans on the back of a wedding getaway car (snort).

I will write about that later.

If anybody out there "far away" is interested in seeing the Playbill for "Ten Little Indians" ~ which is consuming our lives for the next two weeks, check it out here:

http://www.regent.edu/theatre/ten_little_indians/tenlittleindians.pdf

man, technology blows me away. Everything at our fingertips...

Adios!

The room grew still As she made her way to Jesus
She stumbles through the tears That made her blind
She felt such pain
Some spoke in anger
Heard folks whisper
There's no place here for her kind
Still on she came
Through the shame that flushed her face
Until at last she knelt before HIS feet
And though she spoke no words
Everything she said was heard
As she poured her love for the MASTER From her box of Alabaster

And I've to come to pour My praise on HIM like oil From Mary's Alabaster Box
Don't be angry if I wash HIS feet with my tears And I dry them with my hair
You weren't there the night HE found me
You did not feel what I felt When HE wrapped HIS love all around me
And you don't know the cost Of the oil in my Alabaster Box

I can't forget the way life used to be
I was a prisoner to the sin that had me bound
And I spent my days Poured my life without measure
Into a little treasure box I thought I found
Until the day when JESUS came to me
And healed my soul with the wonder Of HIS touch
So now I'm giving back to HIM all the praise HE's worthy of
I've been forgiven and that's why I love HIM so much

~cece winans

Mutinta is her name. A four year old beauty growing up in a family infected with the AIDS virus. She is in our hearts now and we can easily help her family have a better life by a miniscule sacrifice each month. It's nothing, really. Of all the riches and abundance we have at our fingertips, the absolute smallest thing we can do is help Mutinta and her family have clean water, food to eat, and access to the Word of God. Sponsoring a child has been on my heart for years and years...why have I never followed through, jumped wholeheartedly into the opportunity? Because of fear and lies from the Enemy that perhaps I would fail to be faithful, that my commitment level would falter and would hurt someone else, more than myself and my ego. I am sitting in the computer lab and just had a quick conversation with a friend and he just said to me while explaining how God was coming through for him, "..and I am slightly human..." So, that sums it up. The less of us and the more of God is where it's at. So, the Holy Spirit whispered very quietly in my ear last night at the concert that it was time. Not only to make a commitment to this little girl I will never meet, but more than that. It's time to make the commitment to so much more that. So, with grace and abandon I am where I am. We are where we are. God, when I am weak, you are strong...knock me to my knees again and again and again....

www.worldvision.com

Sara Groves is a blessing. Whenever I have had the chance to see and hear her, I always feel like I am sitting in her living room and she is flowing in a prophetic gift speaking the truth of God over my life. Anointed with oil...

Blessings...

Check out a recent writeup of Justin's current show:

http://www.regent.edu/news/ten_little_indians.html

I am really sad. Please pray for me...I need peace. My secret mountain of denial has built up and now has decided to produce an avalanche on every corner, inevitably leading to the ultimate destruction of the thing. I suppose that is good in the long run, but I am taking quite a beating in the process right now.

Overwhelmed with sorrow...

Ok~ I have to pass on this good laugh. It's gross, but good for a Friday:)


Click on this link and look at the center for a full
20 seconds to test for vision defects

http://home.mn.rr.com/t1camp1/Focus.swf
For most effectiveness turn up your volume and stare long aand hard.

Dearest Dora,

Thank you so much for your phone call and your concern after reading my last post. I literally laughed so hard a little pee came out. Just to clarify, the reference to "maternity leave" was not in the slightest way a sick little hint of another Street coming into the world (Lord have mercy on us all). So, Katie ~ sorry to crush any hopes of being "aunt Dora" any time soon. Hope school is going well for you, give us a call again soon, I know Justin wants to talk to you.

Friday's are glorious. I am excited to see Sara Groves in concert again tonight, I am ready to be blessed. Time for coffee.

I find it truly amazing that the presence or lack thereof of one human being in an environment can have such a dramatic effect on the energy, spirit, and camaraderie of the environment itself. I mean, I have experienced it before, but I am here again. Feeling an incredible lift of...something resulting in a much healthier and invigorating working environment. Makes me sit and ponder...and pray that I will have the opposite effect on my surroundings; that we all as Christians walking in the Spirit would spread good seed. What do you think you and I are leaving in our trail behind us today? A sweet smelling odor, or that of a skunk?

I hope it isn't wrong to count blessings like this , but I am grateful today for procreation and more than that....Maternity leave.

adios.

Working on a script. Pondering these truths and how they really can go hand in hand.

"I am the vine and you are the branches. Apart from me you can do nothing."

"Zeal without knowledge is not good; a man who moves too quickly may go the wrong way."

I came across this picture from Joy and Marty's wedding. Man, it's hard to believe that it's been almost 2 years since then...

Had another great weekend, full of inspiring excursions. I am glad to see my husband jumping back on the blog wagon, for he has a gift of bringing humor and lightheartedness to Tangos and Flowers, and I am sure a much needed breath of fresh air from my constant confusing and somewhat treacherous musings. We got to spend the weekend together again, which is good for the institution of marriage. Time spent together is always a plus!

We saw Josh Groban in concert on Saturday night, which an altogether wonderful experience. Worth every penny. I miss real music. There is not a whole lot of "real" musicianship out there, and I am grateful to have revisited some. Now, I will always be a fan of Josh Groban till the day I die, however I must say I my favorite part of the show was the violinist, Lucia. She has inspired me to the core of my being. Besides the fact that she is an incredible gifted and more than competent musician, performer, and concert master, she is the embodiment of an artist. She played with her whole body, and truly connected with every note, every rest, every crescendo and decrescendo, every tension and every release the totally inspired music provided her with. She emoted with her eyebrows down to her toes (which we could see because she was barefoot) and I couldn't rip my eyes off of her even if there had been an explosion in the building. Very mesmorizing and inspiring. Wow. What an experience. The collaboration between the amazing pipes that Josh has and her beautiful expression, it was a night that will haunt me, in a good way.


We saw "Sideways" today, an independent film at the little theatre down the street, and that was...interesting. I recommend it, but only to those who can stomach a little nudity (not the pretty kind). I am giggling now because I realize that someone could take that as "Man, Justin and Anna have taken a turn for the worst, indulging in Sunday afternoon porn!" No, no, dear friends, it's not like that. It just has the occasional old hairy man running down the street in his birthday suit. Something I could do without, but the movie had it's redeeming points as well. Such as, I came away with the realization that if I were a wine, I would be a light Pino Grigio.Now that's something we all should know, what type of wine we relate to. Heehee. I guess you gotta see the movie to know what the heck I am talking about, but that's that.

Met with some dear friends tonight and prayed ...for a long time. And it was good. God is moving and administering healing all around me, and it is a beautiful thing to be able to see up close. Praise God for the body of Christ and how we all come from different places and yet the Holy Spirit brings unity and out of that comes growth and healing. Awesome. God is so good.

Ok, time to wind down Sunday and prepare for the new week, with new possibilities, new challenges, and new opportunities to know my creator. Bless you all, all of you that I love that may or may not read this blasted thing...you are loved. I have been so blessed by the people that have come into my life through the years. Blessings....

Adios.

I haven't blogged since 2004. I was starting to think that perhaps blogging was an "04 thing." It certainly seemed that way for awhile, but I've been feeling the urge to give it a go lately- only I can't remember the specific things I wanted to mention... so I'll just start and we'll see what happens. Here we go.

Rehearsals have been (pronounced bean) going well. You must pronounce it that way because we are using english accents. Loads of fun at first, but very tedious when you get nit-picky about it- which you must. I have recently been (again, like bean) made aware of just how lazy Americans' mouths are. We could all be sued for Consonant Negligence. You people who live in "Atlanna" know what I'm talking about. It's great to be in a theatre again. Stages have a smell. They all do. The show opens two Thursdays from now- that's exciting.
Down side? I never get to see Anna. That's a freaking rough downside. It was the same way last semester when she was "costume girl" for Much Ado. Only now I'm the one that's out. Either way it's tough. Sometimes I start wondering about how this will work if this is what we want to do. But then, this is stuff we're doing after work- when it is our work- things should be a little easier to balance. They better. These days it takes everything in me to keep from saying "Screw it, let's just stay in bed" every morning. "Forget work- we have flannel sheets!!!" Wouldn't that be great? And we would do it too, because I have the power of suggestion. But I must use my powers for good, not evil.
As Anna mentioned, we saw Finding Neverland last weekend. Loved it. And yes, I cried. I cried and I don't care who knows it! You know what i felt like after I cried? Friggin great! I don't cry enough. There is no shame in emotionally connecting to a beautiful story that speaks to your true self. I'm going to start a club... no, a league. A league of men who are unafraid to cry! Why is it that a man can secrete gallons of sweat and he's manly (gross, but manly) yet a drop or two from his eye and there's something wrong? There's nothing wrong! It's salty and wet just like sweat. In fact, I think tears are sweat. A man sweats because his body is working- a man's eyes tear up from sweat because his soul is working.
And if that's not enough to convince you to not pass judgement on a man crying- fancy this passage from a well known higher authority:
Jesus wept, suckahs NIMTV
(New International Mr. T Version)

Ever feel like this guy? This picture spoke to me today, for whatever reason. I am a visual learner.

Ever feel like writing even though you don't seem to have any thoughts? I do. We'll see what comes. I am sitting at home in the quiet working on homework~ a script that is due very soon(procrastination is of the devil) and my creative flow seems to have an artery clogged at the moment. It will come. Justin is at rehearsal and I am worried because the volatile Virginia Beach weather has thrown us a curve ball involving...wet cold mess. I shouldn't worry. Fatal flaw of mine. Wonder if I will ever learn not to worry.

I went to the doctor today because I thought I had an ear infection and the doctor laughed at me and told me I had TMJ and have been grinding my teeth in my sleep ~ therefore causing the pain in what feels like my inner ear. So he prescribed me valium to take before bed to relax so I wouldn't grind. Interesting. Why do I grind my teeth in my sleep? That's not cool. Valium could be a good thing, though.

I have tried to clean out our kitchen and revolutionize our diet. We have gone organic! I mentioned the benefits of a high fiber diet in my last post and I must say, I am a believer!
Not only that , but I am really trying to not put much more poisoned processed American food in my body. Bad...

Man, this is a great journal session. Very productive. Rubbish. Who wants to know about my diet or much less, my regularity! Wow. All time high we are achieving here. God bless America.

Speaking of that, did everyone watch the State of the Union address?

What about the Ashley Simpson show? Yes, I am sad to say that I watched that blasted show last night and actually enjoyed my 30 minutes of total brain-numbing entertainment. Everybody needs some form of that, I think.

What about "Finding Neverland"? What a fabulous movie. Being a artist type and married to one even more so inclined, we really enjoyed that flick. Sitting in between two grown men who at one point were both weeping was a beautiful moment. :) Lindsey and I will forever have that moment to share. Justin and Todd, your sensitivity we wouldn't trade for the world. Precious boys...

I need to get back to my homework. No need to read past the title of this post, due to the ludicrous content...but I suppose if you are reading this far, you have already been through the storm...pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and have a blessed evening. If you happen to be in the midst of a tornado, stay in the eye and you'll be fine.

Adios.

"Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck..." Proverbs 3:3

Things I am learning:

~ life truly is a circle.
~ It can ALL be redeemed.
~ God's ways are higher.
~ It's very true that "To whom much is given, much is required."
~ There is no greater joy than serving.
And on a lighter note:
~ a diet high in fiber reaps great benefits.

God has answered my prayer. He has done it and I am alive again. I have been priviledged to serve my friend in need these past few weeks, being a caretaker after a rough and invasive surgery. The everyday things that we take for granted until we can't do them ourselves anymore. A lesson has been learned from both ends...to be able to surrender and let someone help you, and the absolute fulfillment that comes through being a servant. Thank you, God, for teaching us these things. And binding hearts together in the process.

To be able to feel someone elses burden is a gift we often take for granted as well. It keeps us real, keeps us seeking. Numbness is deadly and neglect is poison.

"The magic moment is that in which a 'yes' or a 'no' may change the whole of our existence..."
(paulo coelho)