Rain, rain beautiful rain! So glad to see it. Last night we opened the window and fell asleep to the falling rain. Woke up this morning about 3:30 to the sound of pouring rain outside my window, realized it was only 3:30 and snuggled up next to Wayne and fell back asleep.
It rained all day, and finally this evening, I saw this from off my deck:
Prasie4U concert tonight. I think praise band is one of my most favorite things I do at SBC. The last few months, we have kinda come together as a band. Daniel is probably the most talented musician I've ever met. He has a keen sense of music. He can hear notes and combine sounds that just amazes me. Add to that Nathan. Wow! I'm just saying Wow! He plays by ear, I've always been jealous of people who can do that. Will plays the drums like nobody else I know, oh yeah, and he writes songs and music..and plays guitar. Pretty good for a kid his age I might add. I don't complement him too much, I don't want him to get a big head, but I do love to tease him. Kenny is my pal. He plays the bass, and I happen to know that he also sings along in his beautiful voice. He and I threaten that we are gonna let loose one day and have a shouting/running fit. Especially on days like today, when we sing "Days of Elijah." There really is no God like JEHOVAH. Worth plays piano, and we are like peas and carrots. I know her so well, I can usually read her mind. We love to laugh and sing together. I love her.
The praise singers are a mix of beautiful voices. The sound team, well they just work magic.
But God really is the star of the show. He smiles as He hears our praise to Him. He's so worthy of it. I think tonight He was pleased. As Daniel said, He is most pleased when we are most satisfied in Him. Tonight, I am satisfied in Him. He is enough, more than I need.
I have run for as long as I can remember. Sometimes I stop for months at a time, usually in the dead of winter, but always come back to it. This summer was crazy and after I got back from Kenya, I was way too wiped out, and way to overwhelmed. So I just stopped for about a month or so. Then my sweet friend Courtney came back to town, and got me up and back on the horse so to speak.
The key to success in running, or whatever, is to find someone better than you, and try to keep up. Courtney is half my age, so keeping up with her gives me a good workout. I can just barely stay at her pace. In fact, after I get up the last hill, she usually breaks away from me the last half mile.
I've always wanted to run a marathon. I've said I was a dozen times and have never made it through training to get there. The older I get, the less likely it seems I can do it. I turn 42 this year. I kinda feel like it's now or never. Maybe I should just go online today, plunk down my money for this race and just do it, as Nike says. It could be my birthday present to myself......
As I sit here, wondering what I could post, my sleepy red headed beauty stumbles to the laundry room with her arms full of what appears to be her chapel skirt. She slams it in the dryer, turns it on and stumbles out.
"What are you doing?" I ask.
"Ironing my skirt.", is her groggy answer.
She learned her homemaking skills from the best. Now excuse me while I run my roast through the dishwasher to thaw it.
1.Airplane rides to faraway places.
2.Bible study with my peeps
3.Catching Wayne smiling at me
4.Dessert....my absolute favorite is Cheescake Factory.Godiva chocolate.
5.Eggs...organic ones...from my new chicken
6.Friday nights with no plans
7.Grilling steaks when we are camping
8.Heather...so many in my life I love...Schulze...Caddell..to name a few.
9.Invitations to birthday parties
10.Jesus Way...my new nighttime book I stole from the church library
11.Kool and the Gang..I found an old CD and I've been loving it..and reliving some great memories
12.Leslie. We are as opposite as day and night. I love her so! She always makes me think......
13.Moccasin Creek Campground. Favorite place to be with my favorite man!
14.New running shoes
15.Opals...glittery but not too flashy. My first ring was an opal.
16.Piper, John that is..the author. I love every book he's ever written.
17.Quacamole. My dad makes the very best, I love it on everything.
18. Running. I figured out that I have been running for the last 27 years, off and on.
19.Sipping cofee, sitting on my rocking chair.
20.Telling secrets
21.Ugly dogs...Willow for one. She's ugle and naughty, but I love her.
22.Virginia... my baby..full of compassion, witty, funny and beautiful.
23.Wayne Welch. After 19 years together, so much makes me happy.....no regrets.
24.eXplaining Scripture to my Sunday school girls, and listening to them explain it to me. I love them.
25. Yarn: alpaca, cashmere, worsted wool, fingerling, sock weight..and needles and pattern too.
26.Zebras, on the side of the road in Kenya, as if it were the most normal thing you would see.
This morning, after I finish my coffee, I'll get a shower, dress up in my best cothes and make my way to church. I go to one of several baptist churches in my town, where our building displays a huge cross on the front. The music will play loudly, people will raise their hands, sing their hearts out, and then our pastor will open his Bible and preach. His words will be broadcast all over the building from a microphone. We will make a recording of his message, and pass it out so others can hear. Part of his message will be a plea to believers, it always is, to be faithful, hang in there, keep on going for Jesus. Because, after all, we need the encouragement, we have it so hard following Jesus.
Pastor Luspida in Indonesia was hit in the back of the head with several rocks during his message last Sunday. Naesha Saedi an Iranian pastor who is in prison this Sunday morning. His house church will pray for him this morning. He won't be there, He's being faithful when it gets hard. Last month over 132 Christians in China "disappeared" when the communist governement disbanded thier churches.
Do you ever wonder why you were born where you were? It's not so we can enjoy our luxuries...like ipods..and cars...and vacations. God put us here, to help our brothers and sisters around the world.
I'll be thinking about them this morning while I worship. I'll pray for Pastor Saeedi's wife...who really knows what it's like to suffer for Jesus.
Today was not the best of days.
........I think I am getting plantar fascitis...again...too much running too fast.
........I had a "loud discussion" with my child.
........Tried to evaluate my schedule and cross off things I can let go....nothing came off the list..but something has to.
........miss my ipod.....I HATE running with this stupid MP3. Terrible playlist.
........realized that all my fat girl clothes from last winter I gave away...cause I wasn't a fat girl then...and I am now.
but, on the other hand, there were highlights.....
....had lunch with Tina. I love that girl...she always makes me smile. I'm thinking of her right now and sure enough there is a big smile on my face.
......Taco Soup...need I say more?
......I just read a text that SCA won their first softball game.
......Wayne reminded me that all in all I'm not a bad mother and that my job is to be a mother not a friend.
......I just realized that tomorrow is Friday... that means coffee with Shantal... and the weekend is coming.
......Started on a new knitting project that I should finish this weekend. I'll post a pic soon.
I was gonna post a really neat picture of our Taco Bell supper, but there were to many dirty dishes on the counter, and too much junk mail on the table to post any pictures for fear of shaming myself.
I was gonna post a picture of my latest knitting project, but it's a gift and there is a small chance that the receipient reads this blog and I don't want to ruin a surprise.
I was gonna post a picture of the latest antics of Willow, the criminal dog, but do you really want to see what she left us in the floor? Yeah, didn't think so.
I was gonna post a picture of my sweet girls, but you can't really see them under the pile of clothes, pillows, Taco Bell wrappers, and other things I'm a little scared to make a guess about. They are watching movies...on their bed...I think there is a bed under all that.
So no pictures on this Friday night, but it's a good one... Nothing better than a night of Taco Bell with Wayne, and "What not to Wear" with Ginny.
Have a great weekend.......Pictures of the annual Pig Jig next week.
I read this today in my Scripture reading and it made me stop and think....Wow! What if I lived this out instead of just reading words on a page? How different would my life look? I'll pray it for you today....and you pray it for me...just like Paul did for his friends thousands of years ago.
