Things Unsaid

I ran into a friend the other day and I can't get the meeting out of my head.  I haven't seen this person in probably about a year and I was very surprised to see her.  It was a quick exchange of information and small talk and then I was gone.  Later that night I couldn't sleep because there were so many things that I could have asked her or shared with her.  Do you ever have those type of meetings where you feel like God ordained it, but in the moment, you don't know what to say or how to react?  I think I was so caught off guard that it made me a little insecure.  It didn't help that I was sick, too.  I can't get it out of my mind, though.  I feel like I missed an appointment with God.  I know He understands, but it eats at me inside.  I guess you have to chalk it up to learning and remeber to keep your eyes open for divine appointments, or God putting you in the right place at the right time for a certain purpose.  So, to my friend, I am sorry that I left things unsaid.....

Remember

I LOVE my kids!  They are amazing!  Just when you think that they don't listen to ANYTHING, they suprise you with some profound statement.  This happens a lot while we're in the car.  Caleb said today that we should start a house church with Papa and play Michael's music for worship and Papa could preach because he missed Papa's preaching.  WOW!  It was one of those moments that I just had to smile because if I said anything I would start crying.  Kids are amazing...you worry about whether they understand things are not, but they're smarter than we give them credit for.  I love that my kids are so pro-family...even in those moments when they are at eachothers throats...they love eachother!  I happened to have the windows open when they got off the bus the other day and I overheard Caleb asking Julia how her day at school was....WHA???? 
Thank you, Lord for the quiet moments!  Thank you for the moments that we NEED to see or hear to know that you are still in control!

Be Blessed, My soul sings!

Amazed By God

I'm singing this week on our praise team at New Life Church in Sanger, TX.  We are doing some of my favorite songs, so for me it will be a sweet, sweet time of worship.  We are doing a song called Fire Fall Down from Hillsong.  I love this song not only for the words, but because I am reminded of something every time I hear it.

A few months ago we were driving somewhere on our way to something when I heard a voice in the back seat sing these words:


Fire fall down
Fire fall down
On us we pray
As we seek You

Show me Your heart
Show me Your way
Show me Your glory

Over and over again, Julia sang this song until we had all joined in and were singing rather loudly.  Now, she didn't have all the words exact and the tune may have been a little pitchy dawg, but when she was done she asked me, "Mommy, was I singing to God?"  As my heart melted and tears came to my eyes, I answered, "yes, baby".  She said, "Good."  I am often completely amazed by God just in the simple things...just in the small moments.  Remember, your kids watch everything they do.  If my kids imitate anything in my life, I want it to be worshipping my God.  I want them to know real relationship with my Heavenly Father!  The way they will see it is by watching!

If you are reading this today and you don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ, or your relationship is a little distant on your part right now, I encourage you to get to know Him.  He is passionate about you!  If you've never felt real love before, pick up a Bible and communicate with Him.  Don't have access to a Bible?  http://www.crosswalk.com/ is a great website! 
Romans 10: 9-10 says If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 
That is all it takes, folks, believe in your heart and say with your mouth that Jesus is the Lord of your life and you will be saved!  It doesn't take a fancy prayer, just a few words.  He has saved us from so much! 
Then, start your relationship with Jesus by reading your Bible and praying to Him daily.  Don't know where to start?  There are many, many bible study books out there ...amazon.com sells them, mardel.com sells them, I'm sure you can find them on ebay and craigslist.  Find one that interests you and fall in LOVE with Jesus through His Word!  It helps to fellowship with other people who believe, find a church or a home group or a couple of friends to study with! 

I know many reading have already started their relationship with the Father, but this was on my heart today and I had to share!!!  This is totally not where I was going when I started today's blog, but God has the bigger plan here!  Tomorrow I'll talk about Fire Fall Down!

My Soul Sings!!!

Mer

Lamentations 3:20-25

20 My soul still remembers And sinks within me. 21 This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. 22 Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. 24 "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!" 25 The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him.

Lamentations- A lament or lamentation is a song, poem, or piece of music expressing grief, regret, or mourning.


Thought to be written by Jerimiah, Lamentations is full of grief, regret, and mourning.  I am drawn to these passages sometimes when I am down and discouraged, not because I need to wallow in someone else's misery but I need to see the hope that is shared through the passages.  We've all had times like these where we feel as though God has left us and we are in the deepest, darkest place...the pit, if you will.  Although I don't feel like that now, I can still draw encouragement from this passage....I can relate to my soul remembering and crying out to the Lord.  It is in those times that words aren't enough, the Holy Spirit interprets our 'groanings' and our soul cries out to our Heavenly Father for hope.  Hope is there.  It's always there, even when we can't see it.  Sometimes we just have to wait just a little longer.  Our dependency in the Lord grows and so does our faith.  I have a favorite song right now and I could sing it all day long....My Soul Sings by Martin Smith:
Open my eyes and see


The wonderful mystery of love

Falling into You

I'm drawn to the gravity of love, of love


We're standing still

In a moment of eternity

Where worlds collide

And I feel the breath of heaven over me


My soul sings, my soul sings

My soul sings how I love You

My soul sings, my soul sings

My soul sings how I love You



Open the page and see

The wonderful history of love, love

I start and end with You

I'm pulled to the gravity of love, love, love



We're standing still

In a moment of eternity

Where worlds collide

And I feel the breath of heaven over me



My soul sings, my soul sings

My soul sings, oh I love You

My soul sings, my soul sings

My soul sings how I love You



My soul sings, my soul sings

My soul sings, oh I love You

My soul sings, my soul sings

My soul sings how I love You



My soul sings, my soul sings

My soul sings how I love You

My soul sings, my soul sings

My soul sings how I love You

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INDE9vAFDjg&p=A90A6C4B008147BB&playnext=1&index=29

Let the Lord sing over you today!

Not out of Fear

I was reading a devotion for parents last night and this verse stuck out to me.  It's buried in the "hall of faith" where there is a list of all the faithful things the heroes of the Bible did.  Hebrews 11:23 says "By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw that he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the kings edict." 
Wha????  When you read the story of Moses what is the first thing that comes to mind as to why his parents hid him?  In my mind it was because they were AFRAID to lose him to the wicked Pharaoh's command for all of the male Hebrew babies to be murdered. 
By Faith...  I have a sign hanging over the entryway door in our house.  I painted it at a time in our life when faith was all we had...day by day.  It's sad, though, that we get to a place where we think we can live on our own, raise our kids on our own, without faith and without God's help.  I don't think we do it intentionally, but when we have what we need OR when we are in the midst of crisis that we can't fix, we go into survival mode.  When I look at this verse, I am reminded that we must have faith and not fear.  How many times do we hide our kids in order to shield them from all the scary things in this world.  How about we have faith and hide our children in the arms of the Lord?  Satan is out there to steal, kill and destroy....and our children are prime targets.  How do we keep them from Satan's grasp without being fearful? 
1. Pray for them, daily, hourly.
2. Hide them from the things that can pull them in the wrong direction.  Monitor who they hang out with and what their eyes/ears  see and hear. 
3. Teach them God's Word.  Don't just expect them to soak it up through once a week Sunday school.  Show them through every situation what the Lord would have us do.  When we mess up, fess up and show how forgiveness works. 
 
The book I was reading by Gary L. Thomas gives two of those examples and also gives Psalm 91 as a reference as to why hiding our children is not out of fear, but faith. 

Our kids are special!  They are "no ordinary children".  They are lean, mean, God loving machines.  Raise them in such a way that God receives the glory and watch them be the mouthpiece of God!  He does great things with those that just have faith, just finish reading Hebrews 11 to find that out!

Be blessed!

New Recipes!

So I have been playing around in the kitchen lately. These recipes came out of desperation for something new. I didn't think about taking pictures and such until after, but I have fallen in love with this chicken salad!

Chicken Salad...Mer style:

The only thing I have ever had against Chicken Salad was celery. I don't care for the taste of celery...never have....so I really wanted chicken salad today and I'm too cheap to go buy some from golden chick (which it's very good there). So I scoped out what we had left in the fridge and I believe I've stumbled upon a great lunch staple!


What you need:
approx 2 cups Chicken ( I had some left over from a rotisserie) cut into chunks **it's good if you have SOME dark meat in there
1/2 granny smith apple cut into chunks (serve the rest on the side of your plate for good garnish)
10 grapes cut in half
pecans or walnuts
badia seasoning
mayo with olive oil
Grands* Wheat biscuits

Mix together your chicken chunks and apple. Add a couple of teaspoons of mayo to mix together well. Mix in your grapes and pecans. Add mayo to the consistency of you liking. Sprinkle with seasoning and stir together. Serve on Grands wheat biscuits and voila!

The second recipe I didn't get a picture of, but it was really good as well!

Fajita Pasta Salad

I had bought some fajita meat, but realized too late that I didnt have enough to make for everyone, so I had to think fast.

What you need:
Lettuce (i used iceburg)
fajita meat (about 3/4 of a pound or more)
macaroni noodles- shell shaped
1 granny smith apple
cheese
Kroger's avacado ranch dressing (this totally makes it)
Badia Seasoning
lemon or lime
whole wheat tortillas

Wash and shred your lettuce while the pasta cooks. Brown and season your fajita meat with the badia. Cut up your apple into small chunks. Put your lettuce in a large bowl and add the fajita meat. Drain and cool (a little bit) your pasta and add it to the bowl. You may add bell peppers if you like...we don't. Add in your apples and cheese. Squeeze about half a lemon or lime over the mixture and toss. Season a little more with the Badia and serve with dressing and tortilla chips (see below). The lemon keeps the lettuce from browning.

Whole wheat tortilla chips. Take a few tortillas out of the package and cut into quarters with a pizza cutter. Lay on a baking sheet and either spray with olive oil or spread some butter/margarine on top. Sprinkle with salt or seasoning of your choice and toast in the oven @ 350. Once edges are light brown take out of the oven and serve with your salad.



Hope you like!!!

Jubilation and Grace

As I sit to write this post. The word jubilation just rolls around in my head and heart. Two friends have learned that they will be parents. One of a 15 year old girl who leaped into their hearts after seeing her picture and one of an infant half a world away. I can remember all three times I found out I was going to be a mommy again. I was overjoyed! For these women and men, though, my heart sings because they have waited so long! Adoption is such a special way of becoming a parent. In both instances...a life has been saved! Way to be superhero parents from the get go! My heart is so excited for these families. I know they will both be who God wants them to be for their children! What a legacy!

James and I have been in the desert for what seems like a long time now. We have been discussing that lately it seems like we are entering a season of grace. How exciting to know that our Father watches over us and moves us through the seasons. Thank you Lord for friends and family that love you!