Second Chances

I wish I had kept an accurate count of the number of people I've heard lately that said, "I can't wait to begin a new year. It has to be better than the last one."

What are your expectations and wishes for this new year? Does it mean a second chance, a fresh start? Do you make New Year's resolutions, only to give up on them by the end of January?

Every new year, actually, every new day is an opportunity to start over. We can begin each day anew with a clean slate. We don't have to wait 365 days until the next new year rolls around for a fresh start or new beginnings (Lamentations 3:22). Our Heavenly Father is the God of second chances. He extends daily an unlimited amount of mercy and grace. Just ask Moses, Jonah, Rahab, David and Peter. Second chances. Or me. He reached down into my pit of sin and plucked me out of the mire. Second chances. He sacrificed His only Son for me. And for you. Second chances.

He pardons our sin and forgives our transgressions. He has compassion on us, treads our sins under His feet and hurls them into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:18). A hymn I remember singing from childhood goes like this, "Grace, grace, God's grace, grace that is greater than all our sin." Thankfully, God's grace is immensely greater than my sin. Second chances.

This year the only resolution I will make is to live daily in the extensive grace that God lavishes on me. And I will praise Him and thank Him that He is the God of second, third, even hundredth, chances.

I pray that your new year will blessed and that you will know the God of second chances.

If God Had a Cell Phone

This afternoon I got a text message from my son. He was just letting me know that he was drinking a bottle of water that had been bottled in our hometown. He was sitting in class and apparently it was less than interesting, thus the compelling need to text me immediately.

Texting is the primary way that my children communicate these days. After Manning's text I started thinking about what it would be like if God had a cell phone. What if your cell phone company offered you a plan with daily texts from God?

If God did have a cell phone, I believe his number would be Jeremiah 33:3. "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." I imagine some of His texts might read like this:

"Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you" Jeremiah 1:5

"For I know the plans I have for you" Jeremiah 29:11

"I have loved you with an everlasting love" Jeremiah 31:3. And these are just from the book of Jeremiah!

Fortunately, we can hear from God daily just by picking up our Bible. His Holy Word in its entirety. It addresses every problem that we might encounter. It brings peace and comfort when we are troubled and rest when we are weary. We can go straight to the throne of God with any request or petitions we have.

God is waiting to speak to you daily. Just listen for Him.

Cleaning My Closets

For some reason since our nest is now empty, I have felt compelled to clean. And I do mean compelled. I have thoroughly cleaned and purged almost every closet in my home. It was long overdue and it felt good to get rid of things that are no longer needed. There were years of accumulated "stuff" in the kids closets. Old clothes and old toys that could be used by other children now.

During this time I began a new Bible Study with my small group. Funny thing, this study by Jennifer Rothschild, "Me, Myself and Lies" deals with cleaning out my thought closet. I had no idea that my thought closet was so full of junk. Our thought closets are crammed with thoughts from our past, lies that we have told ourselves. This has been a difficult study, in that it makes you confront any wrong thoughts that you have. Thoughts that come from ourselves and not the Truth of God. But in its difficulty, my thought closets are being cleaned and purged.

So I'm getting rid of the junk and replacing it with God's wisdom. Taking off my self-imposed labels and replacing them with God's.

We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5 NASB

Seasons

Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year. I love everything about it. Crisp, cool mornings. Falling leaves that blanket the ground. The sky seems bluer, the air cleaner. I love it!

Just like the earth goes through distinct seasons, we too have seasons in our lives. My husband and I are now empty nesters. It has taken a little time to adjust to having both of our children gone. It is a new chapter in our lives and we have determined that we will enjoy it, for that is what the Lord has been leading up to for all these years. Raising children that weren't ours in the first place, but a precious gift from God. It is God's plan that your children grow up and lead their own lives. Some days are easier than others though. It's tough to give them up! I think it's tougher on the Mom. It's hard to shift gears from being the caretaker, peacemaker, boo-boo kisser, problem solver, cook, maid and all the other hats that we Moms wear to having so much less of a mothering role. They still need me, but in much different ways. It's hard to step out of the way and let them find their own way.

Our daughter graduated from college.

Then two weeks later, our son graduated from High School.

We moved our daughter from her apartment in her college town to another city and college. Then we left our son at school and headed to the beach to catch our breaths for a little while

Our daughter got engaged and we immediately began making preparations for a May wedding.

Trying on dresses, decisions about flowers, colors, food, etc. It has been fun and oh so special.

During this time my sister and I gave our parents a 50th Anniversary Reception. It was nice to be able to celebrate their long marriage give something back to them for all that they have put into our lives.

Four days later I met my sister in Denver for some much needed sister time. She had to attend a conference for work and she asked me if I would like to come with her. Of course I said yes. We attended the musical "Wicked" and it was fabulous.

The weather was great while we were there. It was sunny and beautiful and we walked all over Denver. We ate lots of yummy food. One of the highlights of my trip was being able to meet a fellow blogger Holly, from Crown Laid Down for lunch on our first day in Denver. She was a delight and I was truly blessed to be able to spend some time with her. Of course I forgot to take a photograph of her.

This was the view of the Rocky Mountains from our hotel room. It was a great trip and I hope to go back very soon.

Thank you for indulging me. I didn't mean to write a novel. I just wanted to share what's going on in this season of my life. I have missed all of my blogger friends. I haven't forgotten about you. You have been in my thoughts and prayers and I am looking very forward to catching up with all of you.

Fear

For the past couple of weeks I have had several things rattling around in my head that I felt like I needed to post. I have tried, but they inevitably ended up as drafts. The words just didn't come out right. Then I finally realized that it was because it wasn't what God wanted me to say. I'm not always the sharpest crayon in the box.

I'll have to admit that it really isn't something I'm comfortable sharing. I just tend to be the sort that keeps things to myself. Then I read Leah's post over at The Point. And the conviction was even stronger. God wants us to be transparent. He wants me to be transparent.

I will have to be honest with you, for the past several weeks I have absolutely been in the strongest grip of fear that I can ever remember being in. I became ill with some sort of virus that lasted about three weeks. Soon after that a young woman in our tiny little community was abducted. On the very same night there was also an unrelated murder. And a high speed police chase. We rarely experience serious crime in our small town, much less three events all in the same day. Then I read on the internet about a horrific car-jacking incident that ended in the deaths of a young couple. There are so many victims. So much evil. And our country is changing before our eyes, on a downward spiral. The list goes on and on. Turn on the news for five minutes and you'll be overwhelmed by all that is taking place. Combine the physical illness with all of the above and I became a basket case. And before I knew it, there I was paralyzed by fear. The fear that our community is no longer the safe place that we thought it was. The fear of not knowing what in the world will happen to our nation. The fear of something happening to my family. Fear begets more fear. And I am ashamed that I feel this way. It has been a struggle. Proverbs 29:25 tells us that, "Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe." I have let my fear of man become a snare. The enemy knows our weaknesses.

I know that God is Sovereign. I know He is always in control. I believe it with all my heart. That's why this has thrown me for such a loop. But I know that God did not give me a Spirit of fear. So I am clinging to Isaiah 41:10: "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

It's Tough Being a Woman

The Lord made it clear to me in the Spring that I was going to begin a fast from blogging. I thought He meant just from my blog, but He made it clear that I was to abstain from reading, commenting, etc. I love the blogs that I follow but I was spending more time in the blog world and less time with Jesus. So He saw to it that I got my priorities back in order.

I was also able to spend lots of time with my sweet children this Summer. We are now officially empty nesters. I miss them terribly, but I am excited about this new chapter in all of our lives.

Last week I began Beth Moore's Bible Study on Esther. I have enjoyed it so much already and I've only just begun. But it got me thinking about all of the hats we as women have to wear. And it is tough being a woman.

But I think the hardest thing about being a woman is other women. We tend to measure ourselves by the yardstick of others. At least I do. We compare ourselves to other women. What they wear. How good their children are. What their husbands do or don't do. And like my friend Leah says, "we Christians tend to shoot our wounded". Many times I have needed so badly to share something going on in my life but fear of ridicule or being fodder for gossip has prevented me from doing so. Christian women are some of the first to fire. I am including myself in this.

So, because it's tough to be a woman, let's try extra hard to show compassion to our Christian sisters. We are the body of Christ. Sometimes life can be hard and we need each other.

I'm sorry. I didn't mean for my first post to be so somber. That's what I get for thinking. Thanks for listening to my disjointed ramblings.

Taking A Break

Hello my bloggy friends.  I miss you.  But I have felt the Lord pulling me back from the blog world for a season.  

I am entering a new chapter in my life!  My daughter graduated from college and two weeks later my son graduated from high school.  It's time to rest for awhile and enjoy the summer with my family.

I pray that all of you have a wonderful summer.

New Life

A few posts ago I showed you this picture:

The eggs have hatched into three little baby birds! Their nest is sort of out in the open close to our garage so I was a little worried that they might not make it, but despite our vehicles coming and going and the monsoon-like rain we've had for ever, they are growing well. I don't know why I was worried. His eye is on the sparrow, and the baby cardinals too.

Here they are, right after they hatched. They were mostly just little balls of fuzz.

Here they are three days later, resting after they've eaten. Look at their little wings. God's detail is amazing.

Clouds

These clouds took my breath away and reminded me of this Scripture:

......" He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind." Psalm 104:3b

Graduation Day

On Friday afternoon my husband, son and parents and me travelled to Rome, Ga to celebrate Mother's Day with my daughter Caitlin. We had a wonderful dinner at Sassafras and then we went to her apartment for a wonderful White Chocolate Raspberry cake from Honeymoon Bakery.

I received a beautiful flower arrangement and the movie Bride Wars from my children, and my sweet husband gave me beautiful Pandora earrings with three interchangeable charms.

But the main reason we went to Rome was to attend our firstborn's graduation from college. I still cannot believe that our little girl is now a young woman.

For the last four years, Caitlin has attended Berry College. It is a beautiful school with approximately 26,000 acres. While driving through the campus you will spot all sorts of wildlife. The Whitetail Deer are too numerous to count. On several occasions while walking to class Caitlin has had baby fawns come right up to her.

On Saturday morning the graduation festivities began at 10:30 with a Baccalaureate Service. The Scripture reading was Psalm 121 which they consider "The Berry Psalm". The Chaplain's address was titled "Choose This Day" and was taken from Joshua 24:14-15.

At the Baccalaureate Service

Graduation at Berry is traditionally held outside on the lawn of the Library so that there is unlimited seating for family members. Because of all the rainy weather in Georgia over the past couple of weeks a decision on the location of the ceremony was not made until after the Baccalaureate Service. Finally the decision was made to hold graduation outside and then immediately after that it started pouring. So the decision was reversed and the ceremony would be held inside at The Cage Center, the new athletic facility. And wouldn't you know it, it didn't rain another drop until graduation was over.

Caitlin and her brother Manning.

Caitlin received a B.S. degree with a major in Bio-Chemistry. She will begin Nursing School in the fall.

So go forth sweet baby. The world is yours. And always remember the plans He has for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans for a hope and a future. We love you very much.

Life Is Good,

Cindy

God Is Never Late

I have waited with much anticipation for Spring to show itself at my house. While everything is blooming all over the county, for some reason Spring has been slow to come to my house.

It seems like I have been waiting on more than just Spring lately. Answers to long standing prayer requests. Unresolved health issues that won't go away. I know that I am not the only one. There are many who seem to be waiting on God. It is easy to get discouraged at times. When you are in pain and the answers don't seem to come.

This quote from Beth Moore's "Wising Up" sums it all up: "God is never late. He misses a few good opportunities to be early, but He is never late." So if anyone out there reading this needs some encouragement, please know that God is always on time. He doesn't work by our clocks or schedules. His way is perfect. Isaiah 55:8 and 9 tells us: "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.

And like Spring, He will show up when His time is right and in His perfect way.

Something to Think About

Ever since I came upon this quote I have been unable to get it out of my mind. While we as Christians may not be the greatest single cause of atheism, I can't help but wonder how greatly we have contributed.

"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips then walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."

Brennan Manning

What do you think about this quote? I am interested to hear your thoughts.

He Is Risen

It had been two days since their beloved Jesus had been mocked, beaten and crucified.  Praised with palm branches waving one day and treated as a criminal the next.  How quickly things had changed.   

The chief priests and Pharisees had gone to Pilate and told him that Jesus said that after three days He would rise from the dead.  So Pilate gave the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day.  Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead.  This last deception will be worse than the first.  He told them to make the tomb as secure as they knew how and they put a seal around the tomb and posted a Roman guard outside.

On the third day, both Marys went down to the tomb.  There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled back the stone and sat on it.  Then the angel told the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. 

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid, yet filled with joy, and ran to tell the disciples.  Suddenly Jesus met them.   "Greetings," he said.  They came to Him, clasped His feet and worshiped Him.  (Matthew 27:62-28:9)

Christianity is the only religion that serves a living God.  Jesus is alive. He loves you and desires to have a relationship with you.  If you have not yet done so, ask Him into your heart and life to be your Savior.

Praying that your Easter is blessed and that you will always be amazed and grateful for the empty tomb. 

A Dark Day

When I woke up this morning I couldn't help but think about what it must have been like on this day 20 centuries ago in Jerusalem.

Just the day before, Jesus had been tried illegally on trumped up charges by those who feared and hated Him.  He was then beaten mercilessly, most of His skin stripped off by the instruments of torture wielded by the Roman soldiers.

And if that wasn't enough, He was crucified like a common criminal.  And then He died.  Strange things began to happen.  A deep darkness covered the earth for several hours in the middle of the day.  Evil thought it had triumphed and it blanketed the land.  The curtain of the Temple was torn in two.  The earth shook and the rocks split.  Tombs broke open  and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.  (Matthew 27:51,52)  Can you imagine being a citizen of Jerusalem and experiencing these strange things?  Would you be terrified?  Would you be like the Roman centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus and immediately know that Jesus was in fact who He said He was, the Son of God?

Can you imagine being a follower of Jesus, a friend who saw Him on a daily basis?   Can you imagine standing under the cross looking up at your beloved Jesus?  What  they must have been feeling!   Can you feel their despair?   Their anxiety?  The raw grief that gripped their hearts?  Life as they had known it had forever changed.  How could they go on without Him?They couldn't fully understand.    It was beyond  human comprehension.

That evening, Joseph of Arimathea, who had become a disciple of Jesus, asked Pilate for Jesus' body.  He took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock.   Can you imagine how  gently he treated Jesus' precious, broken body as he prepared it for burial.  Then he rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. (Matthew 27:57-60).  But this was not the end.  Stay tuned.

 

And the Winner Is.......

My sweet husband was almost asleep but kindly got up and drew the winning number.

Congratulations to Bren at Seeking Grace on the Narrow Path! I will mail your Crazy Love book as soon as I get your contact information.

Scripture for the Week

My Scripture memorization theme continues to be on guarding my mouth. I plan to stay with theme until I have control over my mouth. I could be on this theme for a long time.

Here is my memory verse for the week:

He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity. Proverbs 21:23

Keep learning the Word of God.

My First Giveaway

My friend Channy leads a small group of our youth on Wednesday nights. Recently they have been studying Crazy Love, Overwhelmed by a Relentless God , a book by Francis Chan. She recommended the book to our Bible Study group and oh my goodness!

This is an excerpt from the back cover: "Does something deep inside your heart long to break free from the status quo? Are you hungry for an authentic faith that addresses the problems of our world with tangible, even radical, solutions? God is calling you to a passionate love relationship with Himself. Because the answer to religious complacency isn't working harder at a list of do's and don'ts -- it's falling in love with God. And once you encounter His love, as Francis describes it, you will never be the same.

For quite some time I have felt something in my soul that I just couldn't put a name to. Like I didn't have this God thing down pat. Oh I love God with all my heart , I believe in Him and I believe Him, but maybe there was something more; that I needed to go deeper. I wasn't content with where I was with God. And it didn't have a thing to do with God. It was all me. I am not the only one who has felt this way. My friends Leah and Channy were talking to each other recently about these same feelings. Channy termed it restlessness. That is exactly what I have felt. A restlessness to take my relationship with God to a deeper level. You see He is already there, has always been there. He's been waiting for me! That just astounds me. The Sovereign God of the universe desires a deeper relationship with me.

This book is incredible. It will change the way that you view God and the way you view how He feels about you. Leah, Channy and Spence are facilitating an online discussion group on Crazy Love here if you would like to check it out.

So that brings me to my giveaway. Yesterday while I was in LifeWay, the Lord prompted me to give a copy of Crazy Love away. I pray that it will bless you as much as it has me.

If you would like to be entered into the drawing for Crazy Love please leave a comment by Friday, April 3rd. Make sure you leave contact information. Here's the highly scientific way that I will pick the winner: the first comment will be number 1, the second number 2, and so forth. My sweet hubby will then draw the winning number out of a hat and I will get in touch with you and will send your copy of Crazy Love the following week. I hope you are impressed by the high degree of professionalism that this drawing will entail.

Watching My Mouth

My Scripture memorization continues this week with another verse that pertains to my mouth. I love this one. It lets me know that I have God's help in watching what goes into as well as what comes out of my mouth. And I need a lot of help so who better to ask than GOD?

Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips. Psalm 141:3

I have truly been blessed by learning Scripture and hiding God's Word in my heart and only wish that I had begun this years ago. However, it is never too late to begin. I pray that you are being blessed as well.

A Facelift

I have had several people comment that they liked my new look. I have to give a shout out to Patty and Holly at Crown Laid Down Designs for the facelift.

If you want a complete blog makeover or just a little tweak here and there they can do it! Their button is on my sidebar.

I love my new look and am sorry that it has taken me so long to give them proper credit. Thanks Patty and Holly.

Memory Verses

I have felt the Holy Spirit leading me to memorize Bible verses focusing on my mouth. Specifically, what words come out of them for obvious reasons and because I am trying to lose weight, what goes into it.  Does anyone else have trouble with your mouth?

I love the Word of God and I desperately want to apply it to every area of my life.  So for the next several weeks my Scripture memorization will be all about using my mouth wisely.  My next verse isn't really about what goes in or comes out, but it fits perfectly with the theme.  It is all about consuming myself with God.

"Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him." Psalm 34:8

Lord, help us to learn Your Word, and to hide it in our hearts.  Help us to apply it to every area of our lives.

One True God

I heard this song for the first time this afternoon . Apparently I have been hiding under a rock. But I had my praise on in the drive-thru line at the bank. A beautiful description of our God.



Mark Harris - One True God
From the album Windows And Walls

I don't have a God I can put on a stand
Or a God I hold in the palm of my hand
I have a God that's holding me
And I don't have a God that I can create
In the place I live with the money I make
I have a God, He made everything
So I don't need a temporary man made deity
When I got the real thing I got the real thing


He's the Lord of all the earth
The maker of all things
He alone is the one true God
Kingdoms rise and fall
But even through it all
He remains The one true God


I don't have a thing that I got on my own
I don't have a care that I carry alone
But I have a God who's carrying me
I don't have sin that He doesn't forgive
And I don't have a heart that is worthy of His
But I have a God who still loves me
So I don't need a temporary man made deity
When I got the real thing I got the real thing


Who is this King of Glory
The Lord strong and mighty
Who is this King of Glory
The Lord strong and mighty
Who is this King of Glory
Who is this King of Glory


Label: Provident Music Distribution

Road Trip

While we were in San Antonio we took a little road trip to Gruene which (as their website says) is conveniently located between San Antonio and Austin. I love to go there if I am in the area and thought I would share some of my photos with you.

We had lunch at the Gristmill Restaurant which I love. It is situated on the banks of the Guadalupe River and they have several decks for outside dining.

The entrance to the Gristmill Restaurant.

A black squirrel was dining there that day as well.

But my very favorite place to go in Gruene is Buck Pottery.

Here are the beautiful pottery pieces that I have collected from Buck Pottery over the years.

I fell in love with the Texas Mountain Laurel. It is full of beautiful purple blooms that smell like grapes.