Yeah, ‘tis the season to be jolly. With cookies, cakes, candy, cheese spreads, chocolate covered… everything. So, what’s a girl to do? My hubby always goes into December saying, “Let’s just get through this month and in January, we can eat just lettuce. ‘K?” Um, no. And why wait until January? Why not plan and start to manage our eating …
“Don’t Get Ahead of Me!”
Have any of you done the P90X program? Or watched portions of it? Tony Horton, the developer and instructor of the P90X work out regime, has an off the cuff, unusual but very fun style of instructing. On some routines, he lets us work out at our own pace. On other routines, like the ab ripper X routine, he insists …
What’s in a dream?
I believe in the power and purpose of dreams. They communicate issues of our own hearts, or perhaps the weird multi colored Cubism image of the pepperoni pizza we ate the night before. Or the meds we’re taking. Meds can really mess with your dreams. Be careful. Largely, I think dreams come from God. Sometimes they are “Slough off” dreams. …
Building a Culture of Prayer Part 4
Here’s where building a culture of prayer gets sticky. Controversial. Theological break down. We can all agree on the power, purpose and need of prayer. It is a cornerstone of our faith. Maintaining consistent prayer is difficult. Why? Because it’s a labor. Jesus said in Matthew 11:12, “The kingdom of God suffers violence and the violent take it by force.” …
Building A Culture of Prayer Part 2
I’ve been to my share of dry, boring prayer meetings. You? Not that God is boring or dry, but we are with our weary souls, amused minds, harried hearts. After a long day of working, or dealing with kids, a prayer meeting is the last place we want to be. We’d rather turn on a sitcom, a sports event, catch …
Learning about prayer at my Mama’s knees
When I was a little girl, my father smoked. In fact, one of my first memories of him was listening to Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass, playing on the front porch while he smoked a cigar.He had a three packs a day habit. In the early ’60s, a lot of people smoked. My paternal grandmother smoked. My uncles and …
The last of Fire Dweller
Tonight is our last Fire Dweller prayer and worship meeting. Six and a half years ago, four youth pastors gathered after an amazing summer conference and said, “We have to do what He’s calling us to do.” Pray. The meetings began in our living room, stuffed with teens and young adults, the tangible and sensory presence of God filling our …
God in the market place
I was leaving an office building down town this morning and passed a woman reading a library book in a little alcove. She kind of smiled. I kind of smiled. You know, the weak, “Hey. . .” and move on. As I jogged down the stairs, I had a sense to go back up and talk to her. About what? …
Passion, Intensity, Wisdom
Last night, my beloved Buckeyes almost won the 2009 Fiesta Bowl. Texas scored a touch down in the last sixteen seconds. The Buckeye’s played hard. It was a well matched game. I was proud of them. But sometimes it’s the extra effort, the passion of players that makes the difference between win or lose. Football is four quarters. Players have …
Thoughts on this election – from my heart
I normally don’t like to be political in the cyber world because I have many good friends who see things differently than I do. And I respect differing opinions. Debate and reasoning is good. Proverbs tells us “iron sharpens iron.” While political dialog can be painful, it sharpens all of us. Cotton doesn’t sharpen cotton. Cloth doesn’t sharpen iron. Sharpness …