I’ve stopped updating this blog… keeping up 2 blogs was becoming a pain, even with my infrequent posting. If you’re still interested in my so-called life, you can read me back at my original blog.
Seems only fitting to have this song on my mind lately. God is blessing us with a “big, big house” in Huntsville, but it’s nothing compared to what he has waiting for us in eternity.
Big House
Audio Adrenaline
I don’t know where you lay your head
or where you call your home
I don’t know where you eat your meals
or where you talk on the phone
I don’t know if you got a cook
a butler or a maid
I don’t know if you got a yard
with a hammock in the shade
I don’t know if you got some shelter
say a place to hide
I don’t know if you live with friends
in whom you can confide
I don’t know if you got a family
say a mom or dad
I don’t know if you feel love at all
but I bet you wish you had
[PRE-CHORUS]
Come and go with me
to my Father’s house
Come and go with me
to my Father’s house
[CHORUS]
It’s a big big house
with lots and lots of room
A big big table
with lots and lots of food
A big big yard
where we can play football
A big big house
Its my Father’s house
All I know is a big ole house
with rooms for everyone
All I know is lots a land
where we can play and run
All I know is you need love
and I’ve got a family
All I know is you’re all alone
so why not come with me?
So I haven’t really had time to do much more than post a meme every weekend lately (and I missed that last weekend… but as you will see, I had good reason!). Time to bring folks up to speed on the plans to move on to a new place and a new phase in our lives.
Brian is currently on leave and is back in Alabama, working at the job that will be his post-Air Force career position. He’s been there since the beginning of the month, and aside from a quick trip back for a couple of days this coming week (Halle’s birthday is Monday), will be there till the middle of November.
Halle and I flew to Huntsville last Friday so that I could help Brian look for a house. Last weekend was really the only free weekend he would probably have, so we jumped at the chance to get started on the hunt. We flew into Nashville, where my sister met us at the airport for the short (at least when you spend the whole time talking) drive south.
We hit the ground running Saturday morning…. between 9:30 and 4:30 we looked at 6 or 7 houses. The following day, we had 3 or 4 more to look at in the afternoon, including a return visit to the one house from the previous day that would not leave my head. We took my sister and her husband along as well; they were invaluable in pointing out things we hadn’t seen or thought of as we looked at the houses. When we returned to the house that was becoming my favorite, we realized it really was the one we wanted. Even better than the fact that it has all the rooms and space we wanted is that the location is awesome. We can get to my sister’s house in less than 20 minutes, and it is less than 30 to Brian’s work. There are a nearby grocery store and fast food restaurants, plus it isn’t far to the Arsenal for my main grocery shopping and also healthcare there.
We made an offer on the house shortly before Halle and I left town to come home, and got a phone call from our buyer’s agent about 3 1/2 hours later with the counteroffer. We accepted it, and then marveled at how easy it was. The home inspection was yesterday… no huge problems to take care of. We are set to close by the 20th of next month, but probably will not get to move in till the end of December.
I am still in awe that we found something so quickly. I am really looking forward to the move and setting up housekeeping in a place where everyone has his/her own room and plenty of space to keep their things. We have room to put our school things in a separate space, there is a bonus room upstairs for video gaming and hanging out, and we have enough space to have folks over without having to sit in each other’s laps. (And a driveway that will hold all the cars, too!) I don’t have pictures, but will put some up when I have the chance.
The first time I really heard the lyrics to this song, I think my mouth dropped open and hit the floor. In those lyrics were phrases that were almost identical to ones I’d uttered recently to friends in talking about my struggles to overcome my past. So to hear that someone else identified with those thoughts and feelings was, in a way, comforting. But what brought even greater comfort was the reminder in the rest of the song. The reminder that those things were lies fed to me by the father of lies, and that God’s grace reveals another story, the TRUTH.
Enjoy the video. Lyrics are beneath.
Grace Tells Another Story - Mercy Me
They say don’t waste your time
You simply cannot find
An ounce of good within the heart of man
They say we’ve got to lay
In the bed we’ve made
And live this life without a second chance
But I’m inclined to say
There must be something more
We’ve been told that the heart is just too far gone to save
But grace tells us another story
Where glory sends hopelessness away
Oh grace tells us another story
They say we cannot change
There is no other way
Get used to it cause this is all there is
They say don’t raise your voice
Cause we don’t have a choice
We’re dealt this hand so learn to live with it
Well I have to believe
There must something more
We’ve been told that the heart is just too far gone to save
But grace tells us another story
Where glory sends hopelessness away
Oh grace tells us another story
And though we may not understand
Why You’d give us another chance
We praise You who lets us start again
We’ve been told that the heart is just too far gone to save
But grace tells us another story
Where glory sends hopelessness away
Oh grace tells us another story (repeat)
No one likes waiting. It’s not always fun; it’s not always easy; it’s not always pleasant. But there are times it is oh, so necessary. What do you do, especially when that waiting isn’t necessarily something tied down to a finite timeline?
John Waller’s song, While I’m Waiting, began receiving widespread airplay after the release of the movie Fireproof. The words and message were a perfect parallel to the storyline unfolding on the movie screen, where a husband was quietly trying to win back the love of his wife by demonstrating his love through acts of kindness, and by obeying God. He put feet to his faith.
Do we do the same thing, or do we treat God like a candy dispenser in the sky, dropping in our coins (prayers) and waiting for him to answer them? I love the message in this song: “I will serve you while I’m waiting; I will worship while I’m waiting…” and more importantly, “…taking every step in obedience.” That line reminds me that my obedience isn’t something to be bargained about with God; I will not be like a petulant child and withhold my obedience until I get what I want. That’s just not how our God works.
I hope you are blessed by the words and music below.
No one likes waiting. It’s not always fun; it’s not always easy; it’s not always pleasant. But there are times it is oh, so necessary. What do you do, especially when that waiting isn’t necessarily something tied down to a finite timeline?
John Waller’s song, While I’m Waiting, began receiving widespread airplay after the release of the movie Fireproof. The words and message were a perfect parallel to the storyline unfolding on the movie screen, where a husband was quietly trying to win back the love of his wife by demonstrating his love through acts of kindness, and by obeying God. He put feet to his faith.
Do we do the same thing, or do we treat God like a candy dispenser in the sky, dropping in our coins (prayers) and waiting for him to answer them? I love the message in this song: “I will serve you while I’m waiting; I will worship while I’m waiting…” and more importantly, “…taking every step in obedience.” That line reminds me that my obedience isn’t something to be bargained about with God; I will not be like a petulant child and withhold my obedience until I get what I want. That’s just not how our God works.
I hope you are blessed by the words and music below.
This week’s song isn’t one I’ve heard much on air, but is one of my favorites from an old FFH CD. The title is I’ll Join the Rocks. The central message is being made for worship and doing that even if it means I’m the only one doing it. I cannot listen to this song without being drawn in and singing with it. Lyrics are included in the video.
For more songs, visit Amy at Signs, Miracles, and Wonders.
Sitting here tonight reminiscing a bit… I just sent off a note to a friend from our old church in Ohio. The note started out as one thing and turned into another, and now has morphed into this blog post.
As I was writing her and telling her about all the changes that are coming up in our life here, I thanked her for the example she and her husband were to Brian and me when we lived there. Her husband was one of the elders at our church, and both of them were awesome models of a Christian marriage, as well as of what it was to be a follower of Christ. The entire congregation as a whole was one of the most loving congregations we had ever been a part of up to that time. What I told Diane (and what I tell others when I talk about our time at this church) was that it was during our time there that I learned what it was to feel loved and served. In the 3 years or so that we attended there, I gave birth to a baby, had a medical scare with said baby, and lived through Brian being deployed for 3 months. I never had to ask for help; it came running up to me every time I needed it without me saying a word. I still am in awe of it. I don’t know if I ever adequately expressed my appreciation to the jr. high and high school girls who would ask to go home with me after church during the time Brian was deployed…. and then proceed to send me off to the grocery store while they cleaned my house or folded the laundry. Or the folks that invited us to lunch with them (whether it was Dutch treat at a restaurant or at their home) and made us feel like we were really a part of their family… For a young couple whose biological families weren’t nearby, those experiences were invaluable to us. Leaving that church family behind was the first move we ever made that left us in tears.
Thankfully, it wasn’t the last…..
To be continued………….
This is a new meme for me. I wish I’d found this sooner, because it has so much meaning for me…. Music speaks to me in a way plain words often don’t.
This week’s song is To God Alone, by Aaron Shust. The first thing that hooked me was the music, but the more I sing and listen, I come face-to-face with my self. I see the tendency I have to want credit for the things I do, to want recognition, appreciation, or praise. I remember all the way back to my school days, when I was often the “curve-buster” on test days. Never once did it occur to me to give God the credit for my ability to remember things (maybe that’s why that ability seems to be disappearing these days!). Even more so in these days, when I am in the process of trying to lose my pride, fear, and a million other character defects that prevent me from following Christ more fully… there is the tendency to look at what *I* am doing, forgetting that I am only doing it because of Him. This song reminds me that He is the one really doing it all, not me.
Enjoy:
To God Alone, Aaron Shust
Can you take me by the hand
Can you use me as I am
Break me into who you want me to be
When the time is finally right
You will open up my eyes
Show me everything you want me to see
This life is not my own
Chorus:
To God alone be the glory
To God alone be the praise
Everything I say and do
Let it be all for you
The glory is yours alone
Yours alone Take the offering
I bring You want more than what I sing
Can I give you every part of me
Turn these pennies into gold
Take this life I call my own
Until I’m running after your heart
I’m needing to let go
We will rise and we will fall
But you remain after all
You’re glorious and beautiful You’re beautiful
Plans are underway for Brian’s retirement. We’ve selected a date for the ceremony (Dec. 17), chosen a place for the dinner, and are working on choosing a caterer. He is looking for a post-retirement position near Huntsville, AL so that we can move close to my sister and her family. There is MUCH excitement from my kids at the prospect of living near their Aunt Pam, Uncle Kirk, and their 4 boys. (Never mind that these boys are already adults (ages 23-28)… thankfully there is enough kid left in them that they make great company for my gang.) Brian has had a lot of email and phone communication with one hospital and is headed back there in a couple of weeks for an on-site interview. We are trusting God that it will happen if it is meant to be.
I realize I didn’t post anything while we were at Saddleback last week. Honestly, it was just too busy. Our nights all lasted until 9 or so… even the one early night we went out to dinner with our gang so wound up not getting back to the RV until after 9. All we were ready to do was hug on the kids a bit and then head to bed.
Anyhow, it was a great time. Rick Warren spoke at the opening session… I have never sat and listened to someone for an hour and a half when it didn’t feel like at least that long or longer before. He had some really cool stuff to share. You can see it here. It’s the webcast from August 12, 2009, titled “The Jesus Model for Healing – 2.” There is also a link at the top of that page that will allow you to download a .pdf file of the notes from the sermon.
One of the coolest parts of the conference was meeting other folks. This is made really easy by the fact that not only were people wearing name tags with the name of their church and city on them, but an overwhelming portion also had shirts with that info as well. I bumped into one woman from the Harpeth Hills Church of Christ in Nashville and made a point of asking her if she knew a couple there who used to attend the church I grew up in. (I had heard through their son that they were in Nashville and attended there.) She did, and then in the course of the conversation mentioned she had moved there from Dexter, MO…. this couple were the first people she had met in Nashville who knew where that was (because it was maybe 30 miles from us!). Well…. my niece is married to a guy who grew up in that church, and his folks are the caretakers of the church youth camp… and connection after connection was made. She knew his folks, knew my brother and his wife (on the camp board)… Small world, huh? All this in a crowd of 3500 people. I also bumped into a couple of guys from Tulsa, OK… they know a worship leader there in Tulsa that I know because I went to church with his mom and sister back in Omaha. And one of them grew up a half hour away from me as well…. and his sister goes to church with my niece. The world is shrinking a little more…
But the best is yet to come. I should point out that one of the neat things the conference organizers did was to put a colored dot on everyone’s name tag; this dot identified the attendee as being from a particular region. We had a green dot as part of the Western region. I had been on the lookout for red dots (Southeast region, of which AL is a part). For most of the conference, all the red dots I had seen had been FL, NC, GA… but not AL. On the very last evening on our dinner break, I happened to notice a woman talking on her cell phone… I saw the red dot and inconspicuously got close enough to see her location: Huntsville, AL. So I struck up a conversation with her after she hung up. Turns out she and her husband had met Brian the night before at another workshop, so she already kinda knew about me. But here is the wow thing: they want to start a CR ministry at their church some time next year… probably *in the first quarter*. Hmmm. We will probably be moving there by the first of the year. Other cool things… their 2 youngest kids are the same ages and sex as Halle and Joel, and they homeschool. I kinda felt like meeting them and getting their contact info was a little present from God, and another indication that he approves of our desire to be in Huntsville.
So today I am checking my Facebook page and noticed a post from Keith Lancaster that referred to a blog post about a cappella music. I checked out the blog and felt an almost instant kinship with the author. I left her a comment, she responded to me in an email, and after a few more emails between us, here is what we know: She lives in the Huntsville area. She homeschools. She knows my sister and brother-in-law because they used to attend church together. And of course, we already knew we were both into music. We are totally convinced this is a God thing. Just one more thing to help me feel like we are walking in God’s will for our future.
Is it any wonder I can’t keep from grinning ear-to-ear tonight? Do any of you have similar stories to share? I’d love to hear them.
Today is Day 6 of our summer adventure on wheels. Not much of an adventure, really. Mostly me and the kids and dogs sitting around the KOA. But it’s still been fun. We left home last Wednesday and drove to Bakersfield. The excitement started almost as soon as we arrived. While Brian and the boys went in the RV resort office to register us, Halle and I took the dogs out for a potty break and the RV door locked behind us. Here we are in 97-degree temps, no shade except what little the RV provided, the RV was running (and thankfully the generator too)… After about 20 minutes of trying all the windows, Brian was finally able to get the front passenger window unlocked and open from the outside and we hoisted Joel through. Lesson learned. Don’t leave the RV unmanned without a set of keys in hand.
Thursday morning, we took our time getting stuff together before heading on down to San Diego. We made it here a little after 3pm. The KOA here is very big and was very busy when we arrived. It has since cleared out a little…. but not much. The kids have enjoyed swimming a few times. The dogs are happy that there is an off-leash area here for them to go in. My only complaint about it is that it is nothing but mulch, which gets up in my shoes and clings to Campbell’s fur. I’d much prefer grass.
On Saturday, we went downtown with Brian after his meeting was over and spent a little bit of time touring the USS Midway. The boys were really interested. My favorite thing (don’t know if Brian got a picture or not) was the giant statue nearby that recreated the famous LIFE magazine picture of the sailor kissing the nurse in Times Square when V-J Day was announced. Here’s a photo I found online of it. It is HUGE.
The boys and Brian went to the Padres/Mets game later that evening (actually, we had just enough time after our Midway tour for them to drop Halle and me off at the RV and rush back downtown to meet some of Brian’s CRNA friends for the game). Halle and I spent the rest of the evening kicking back with the dogs, watching TV and/or playing games on the laptop.
Tomorrow morning, Brian has one last meeting until 10:30 or so. Then we’ll gather things together and make the drive up to Newport Beach. We’ll be staying here while we attend the annual Celebrate Recovery Summit at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest. Newport Beach was as close to Saddleback as we could find an RV park…. about 30 minutes away. Emily is flying down tomorrow evening and will be here to keep the kids company while we’re away. Just 4 nights there and we head back home on Saturday.
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