narnia

Anybody else anticipating December 9 as much as I am?

by invitation only

You're having a dinner to which you're allowed to invite as many people you'd like...as long as this will be the first time you've met. Who's on the guest list and why? (Jesus is a given, people.)

My picks:
Abe Lincoln - read any history book and you'll see why
C. S. Lewis - because of his life transition from atheist to Christian, as well as the way he has ministered to so many through his writings
Erma Bombeck - her grand sense of humor and helping bring equality to women in society
Bill Cosby - because of his promotion of the family and education, along with his gift of humor
Will and Jada (Pinkett) Smith - their chemistry and their commitment to family
Tom and Rita (Wilson) Hanks - same as the Smiths
David Robinson - for holding to his Christian values in the midst of the NBA
Corrie Ten Boom - because of her forgiveness for the Nazis who tore apart her world
Peter - his brassiness and passion for Jesus
Thomas - his openness about having doubts

a vacation observation

Coming back from a two-week vacation, I'm realizing how much stuff I really honestly don't need. I didn't check my email for two weeks and guess what? I really didn't miss it that much. But now that I'm home, I find myself clicking on the send/receive button every half hour. Don't really need all my little household projects; the world keeps spinning whether they're finished or not.

We were out-of-pocket for two weeks but I really didn't miss our "stuff" that much. Okay, so yes, I missed our bed. But not much else of the materialistic variety. Stuff weighs us down. It clutters our homes, and more significantly, it clutters our minds. I think Jesus knew what was up when he started wandering the countryside with only the clothes on his back. It's a lot easier to focus on important matters when stuff isn't dragging us down.

back from our texas trek

We've been on vacation for two weeks visiting friends and family in Texas, hence my sabbatical from blogging. I thought about sharing this fact before we left, but decided it was a little too risky...those of you who know where we live might've tried to break in and steal our stuff. ;) I'll be back to blogging in the next few days. Missed you, bloggin' buddies!

P. S. Baby Ira is home with his family. Praise the Lord!!! We've been praying for the little guy since before his birth. To hear that he's home just makes my day. Go to Joe's blog at Brooklyn & Beyond to read about Ira.

"I awoke this morning...

...with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and new." (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

One of my dearest pals sent me this article on friendship. Occasionally I meet people who seem utterly friendless, and I realize how fortunate I am to have healthy relationships with people who voluntarily put up with my many quirks. I am incredibly wealthy in friends...so wealthy I can't even begin to name them all here. So many folks have been important to me during different chapters of my life. My friend Nan made me giggle during church and tried to convince me that the youth group guy I had a crush on thought I was cute (thanks anyways Nan). My friends Sharla, Allison, Lisa W, Dannett and their husbands have shared their lives with us from the beginning of our marriages and into parenthood. Jodi is a "new" friend who's chilled-out, laid-back, and unafraid to share about her faith struggles. For the following women I am especially thankful: Lisa J, Paige, Kathryn, Mindy, Shannon, Ronda and Kristen. More on them later. Laundry calls.

wise words

"We are as much strangers in nature, as we are aliens from God. We do not understand the notes of birds. The fox and the deer run away from us; the bear and tiger rend us. We do not know the uses of more than a few plants, as corn and the apple, the potato and the vine. Is not the landscape, every glimpse of which hath a grandeur, a face of Him?"

Ralph Waldo Emerson

best of the eighties

I seriously think one of the best songs of the '80s is the ballad "Is This Love?" by Whitesnake. Seriously. I just downloaded it off iTunes. I was never much into the big-hair bands but that song ROCKS!!!