ginsworld

How Great is Our God

2007-10-26T09:44:00.001-07:00

Mom tried to post this in the comments section, but couldn't get it to work, so I made her email it to me instead:

The e-mail Ginny quoted was sent a little before 10:00 p.m. After I went to bed last night (at 10:40), I had trouble sleeping. Then I thought about the fact that I had just requested that everyone pray when they couldn't sleep, and no one had gotten my e-mail yet, so it was my turn to pray. This morning I got the following e-mail from a friend:

I just have to tell you this. Elmo and I went to bed, watched a DVR and by the time it was over, it was around 10 p.m. We turned the light off, said our goodnights and were hoping to be off to sleep. Wrong. This was just not to be. So, I got up, got some snacks, got online to see if there were any new emails. Sure enough, the one from you about baby Jaden. The Lord had a reason for not letting me sleep tonight. So, I just said, "Thank you, Lord, for allowing me to intercede on Jaden's behalf tonight."

She was the first intercessor! I know the Holy Spirit was busy waking others up because Cindy and Wesley were awakened at 2:30 a.m. by a wrong number phone call and decided it must have been for a reason. They prayed for Jaden then. It amazes me...even though it shouldn't...how amazing our God is!

Pray for Jaden

2007-10-25T07:29:00.000-07:00

My sister's sister-in-law (yes, it's a mouthful), Jennifer delivered her baby four months early. His name is Jaden, and he's having a rough time...as is the whole family. Please pray for baby Jaden and for Jennifer and her husband. He is their first, and I can't even imagine what they must be going through. He weighs about a pound right now, and doctors are struggling to keep him going while his tiny little body continues to develop. It is not unheard-of for such a little one to survive and develop into a healthy, happy baby...even if it were, we serve a BIG GOD who can do anything! Read Mom's update below...and please be in prayer!!!!

Hello all,

The baby had a rough night last night. Doctors called the family in to say their good-byes because the baby's vital signs were not good. When they got to the hospital, there were three nurses trying to rally him without success. When Jaden heard his mommy's voice, he was fine. It's just been so amazing how he responds to Jennifer. I think the hospital should let her have a bed beside him! Anyway, he stabilized and they went home. Then doctors told them today he had an infection...normal since he has no immune system yet...and they're flushing him with antibiotics which usually makes them lethargic. However! Jaden has been very active all day! Yeah, Mom's been there. So we need to pray for Jennifer's strength to hold...and that the hospital will let her come anytime day or night. Oh! Another good sign...he's tinkling...all over the place...and the doctor says that's great!

If God wakes you up in the night, please pray for Jaden. We need to keep the prayer vigil going especially at night. We do have some missionary friends in Asia praying, and I think their day might be our night, but we still need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit for the night vigil here. Don't be aggravated when you can't sleep. Just pray.

Dance Like David

2007-10-18T07:57:00.000-07:00

Last night was so much fun, I can't even begin to describe it! Leigh was visiting each Kidz Praise class to teach motions for "Feliz Navidad." She had promised to come to our class first, so I didn't really want to get into any of our Christmas music until she came by.

So I popped in the "Crazy Praise" CD so we could just dance around and sing some silly fun praises to get everybody warmed up. The first song we did was "I Think I'm Gonna Throw Up" (My Hands to the Lord). Tons of fun. I never know all the motions, but the kids do, so I generally have about six or seven kids up front with me to lead the class (and me) in motions.

After that, Leigh hadn't made it by yet, so we continued on with "Dance Like David." This one, for those of you who have never had the pleasure of singing it with kids, has tons of motions that require full body movement. It also contains two long virtually un-singable verses and a long instrumental interlude...during which a lesser crowd might get bored and feel awkward and lose interest. Not my kids. Nope, we decided to utilize those sections for a little freestyle dance party.

There were kids doing the twist, the swim, the mashed potato, the pony, and even...the robot. Yes. The robot. One little girl, in fact, was roboting across the length of the room back and forth in front of the whole class. Great job, Amanda...you made my night!

This morning I started thinking about it more critically, and I had to smile...I think David's dancing was probably just as unhinged and unscripted. He was dancing for pure joy and thanksgiving to be in the presence of God Almighty...not unlike a happy child lost in the unquestioned bliss of a freestyle praise dance party.

2 Samuel 6:14-15
"David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might, while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets."

Can you remember a time when you totally let loose and just PRAISED with complete abandon? Let's hear about it!

Whew!

2007-10-09T18:53:00.000-07:00

Last night, just before my head hit the pillow, my husband asked me how my day had been. My answer? It was magical.

We had a commercial shoot planned for weeks, during which we were also going to shoot stills for whatever purpose may come up, because former Miss Texas, Magan, was coming into town for the commercial. Any time we can get Magan, we try to get as many photos as possible. She's not only impossibly beautiful, she's extremely good (yes, modeling is actually really hard work that requires talent and intelligence) and she's unbelievably kind and fun to work with.

So about a week ago, Crystal (who normally does the model photography) told me her husband had asked her to take off the day of the commercial for a family thing. She was willing to forego the family event, but I hastily volunteered to take her place. Not that I was anywhere near prepared, or consider myself good enough to fill her shoes. I was, however, aware of what a great opportunity it would be, and "do or die," as they say, I was going to GET prepared.

I nearly drove everyone around me crazy for a week, and I did have to go home early Friday because I gave myself a migraine I stressed so much, but now I'm standing on the other side of that "good opportunity," and all I can say is....MAGICAL. Everything went smoothly, I think I got enough decent photos for Crystal and myself and whomever else in our little marketing office may need to use them throughout the holiday season, and it was just plain fun. I can't believe I get paid for this stuff :)

My People

2007-09-21T06:30:00.000-07:00

I hear Auny talk about her "village" sometimes, and it makes me long for that kind of close-knit group. I feel like since Steven and I got married, our "village" sort of disappeared. Everything changes, you know, when you tie the knot. We're part of a great Sunday Morning Bible Study, but I haven't really bonded with too many of the girls, and the ones I do have a connection with, I don't get to spend time with very often, so I don't really feel like a part of their lives yet.

Yesterday was a really long day for me (after an entire week of really long days). I had to work, of course, and on my lunch break I had to go buy a couple things for a baby shower I was co-hosting, then run to the church for a practice. Then after work I went straight to the shower, and directly after the shower I had to go back to the church for Overflow practice (Overflow is the new contemporary worship service we're starting at GABC). After all that, I knew I wouldn't get home until about 10:00, and I knew I would be completely exhausted. I was dreading it, frankly.

True to my prediction, by the time I drove up to the church I was so tired I wanted to cry. I really just wanted to turn my car around and GO HOME! But I didn't. I'm glad I didn't. When I walked into the "Big Room," our venue at the student center, what I saw filled me with joy. The guys were on stage going over a song that Julie I won't be singing on, and everyone else was hanging out at the back of the room. Julie greeted me at the door, and her kids, Riley(6) and Tate(2), were running (literally running) around the room. Her husband Jason was sitting on the steps below the sound booth with Meg, our Girls Ministry leader and Matt, our new Student Music Minister. Justin eventually greeted me with a joke from on stage, and when Riley and Tate saw me, they ran up and gave me hugs. I took off my shoes and sat cross-legged on the floor by everyone in the back and just joked and played air guitar with Julie and laughed at her strumming it like she was playing a piano (silly Julie). Then we all laughed together watching Tate copy every single thing his big sister was doing...even to the point of attempting a cartwheel.

Then I had a moment. I looked around and thought, "These are my people. These are people around whom I know I can relax and be myself. Most of the people in this room know me well enough not just to know my personality, but my heart. They know my hopes and dreams, and they know that I have a passion not just for singing, but for worship, and they share that passion. They know and love my husband, and one or two even know my mom and dad." That was a good feeling, and worth all the busyness that propelled me into that moment. Praise God for friends, for a circle in which there is true unity and fellowship and just plain fun.

Weary

2007-09-07T08:45:00.001-07:00

I know it's been FOREVER since I posted anything! I've just been so incredibly busy at work. I used to write my posts during the lunch hour, because once I get home, sitting down at the computer for ANY reason just feels too much like work. But lately I've been working through lunch every day...excuses, excuses...

I've been in high gear ever since I found out we are going to Colorado on vacation. I knew that leaving the office for a whole week during this time of year would be a really tough thing to do if I didn't prepare accordingly. So I've been working like a dog to get homepages scheduled to automatically change while I'm gone, taking 200,000 pictures of fall merchandise so my new helper can optimize them while I'm gone (OK, it was literally more like 300), and launching a new fashion collection section that had to go up before we ran out of the clothes. Believe it or not, I accomplished all that in three days. I was so afraid I wouldn't get done with it all, and now I find myself sitting at my desk with a little bit of free time today. Wonder of wonders.

But I'm weary. Bone tired. My brain is exhausted, my body is exhausted (taking pictures is actually very physical work), and I think I had too much espresso this morning. Please pray that I will be able to relax on vacation, and that we'll find lots of fun things to do without actually having to follow a schedule. Steven tends to start "planning" whenever we take a trip, so we always risk becoming more busy during our time off than we are at home!

My in-laws are going with us, though, and they usually stick up for me :) And I'm super excited to see them enjoy this experience. It will be their first real vacation ever in their entire lives! They have done weekend trips before, but they have never just gone on a week-long trip to see the sights somewhere far from home. They have never been beyond Dallas in the westward direction, in fact, so they are in for a real treat.

I'll try to post some pictures when I get home :)

The Lord Is A Warrior

2007-08-10T11:30:00.000-07:00

I started the day with a lousy attitude. We had drama at work yesterday, then I came in to the office to find a pile of work I simply don't have time to do. For the past month I can't seem to make it home before 8:00 or 9:00 or 10:00 at night. I'm tired! I dragged myself down to the studio this morning to start photographing about a million shirts, jeans, coats and necklaces that I keep putting off. I was almost in tears because I just felt like I was drowning...I'm pretty sure you ALL can empathize.

I couldn't seem to pray anything except "HELP!" In fact, I felt so powerless, I just started praying that the Lord would raise up somebody else to pray for me...I didn't even feel like I had time to stop and send an emergency "I'm exhausted, please pray for me" email to my nearest and dearest.

Then, I was kneeling down to straighten out a shirt for a picture, and I just started singing,

The Lord is a Warrior / The Lord is mighty in battle / The Lord is a Warrior / Lord of Hosts is He

My Lord is a Fortress / He is a Sun and a Shield / The Lord is a Deliverer to those who put their trust in Him

He gives strength unto His people / He guards His own with His right hand / The angel of the Lord camps around the ones who fear Him / And delivers them

Slowly, I just became glad. There is no other way to describe it. In the midst of all the mess around me, the Lord fought for me, and I just became glad. I continued to sing songs to the Lord as I was by myself in the studio, and He made me glad. Now the things that were tempting me to cuss this morning are pretty much just making me laugh hysterically. My days are busy, but I'm alive...I mean, really ALIVE, and God is working and moving, and I'm so glad to be a part of it.

The Death of a Dream...er?

2007-07-25T14:39:00.000-07:00

OK, so I already expounded on this elsewhere, but I thought I would post it here for posterity's sake.

My Sunday School teacher taught an interesting lesson not too long ago about the callings God places on our lives. So often, we are given a vision, or "dream" of how He plans to use us in His great plan for the world long before that dream is brought to fruition. Perhaps the purpose is to focus our prayers, give us hope, and just prepare us for what is to come. But all too often, we take that dream and run. We add conditions, we map out scenarios, we cram it into a neat little box of assumptions, timelines and grandiose expectations. Then (when we are completely frustrated and confused by our unmet expectations), we stop, shake our fist in the air, and ask, "What went wrong? Did I misunderstand you, God? Did I stray from the path and mess everything up? Just where are You in all this, and why didn't You do it like I planned?"

We hang our heads, give up the dream, and start mapping out alternate paths for ourselves...you know, the "backup plans" we feel we need to survive. We become comfortable, though slightly disgruntled, because we figure this new plan is what we're stuck with, so we'd better get used to it. We rock along, only vaguely and occasionally wondering why we just don't experience fullness in life (you know, the kind you read about).

Then one day, out of the blue, God breathes life into that once-abandoned dream. He starts whispering hope and giving an inch of direction. That's when we rebel, because that was supposed to be the plan, but it didn't work out, so obviously God forgot that we're doing something different now...and all those people God is trying to speak through to show us the old dream just don't understand that times have changed and people move on. Then we give in a little and think, "OK, just this once, maybe I'll indulge the old dream...but only for a little while...I've got a life to live, after all!"

Then it happens. Despite rebellion, callousness, resentment, and fear, a connection is made that was long-presumed dead. He reaches down with new hopes, new blessings, new directions, and new encouragement. Suddenly the pieces of the puzzle are fitting into place, all things seem possible, and we're not so concerned anymore about HOW things are supposed to get accomplished, because we're too busy SEEING them get accomplished despite ourselves! And somewhere between rock bottom and victory, He shows us that this is the way it was supposed to be all along. Until we reach the end of ourselves and let our degraded human version of the dream die, we cannot fully embrace or experience HIS version of it...the BEST version of it.

So maybe I'm the only one that took this exact path, but I think the principle is fairly far-reaching and common. It isn't the dream that dies, after all, it is the dreamer. Isn't that what He calls us to do daily? How many of us would experience the fullness and abundance of life every single day if we simply took His advice every single day and allowed Him to work on HIS terms, not our own? Pretty cool stuff.

At any rate, I said all that to say...I'm back in the business of leading worship! This time, I'm not giving any guesses as to where or how far He's going with it, but it's definitely somewhere very amazing. I'm all a-flutter with thanksgiving that He would even use me to accomplish the smallest task. I covet your prayers as I pursue each opportunity He puts in my path.

Dangerous Days at the Office

2007-07-03T13:26:00.000-07:00

OK, I'm trying not to freak out. Pasted below is a description of our now-identified insect intruder (according to Wikipedia):

Lethocerus sp. (aka: "The Toe Biter") found in Florida and Montana

Bugs of the family Belostomatidae are fierce predators which stalk, capture and feed on aquatic crustaceans, fish and amphibians. They often lie motionless at the bottom of a body of water, attached to various objects, where they wait for prey to come near. They then strike, injecting a powerful digestive saliva with their mouthparts, and sucking out the liquefied remains.

Their bite is considered one of the most painful that can be inflicted by any insect; the longer the bug is allowed to inject its saliva, the worse the resulting bite, and as the saliva liquefies muscle tissue, it can in rare instances do permanent damage. Adults cannot breathe under water, and must surface periodically for air. Occasionally when encountered by a larger predator, such as a human, they have been known to "play dead" and emit a fluid from their anus. Due to this they are assumed dead by humans and others species only to later "come alive" with painful results.

Belostomatids show parental care and the eggs of many species are laid on the male's wings and carried until they hatch. Adults fly at night, like many aquatic insects, and are attracted to lights during the breeding season.

We have a theory that it hitched a ride in one of our shipments of Montana Silversmiths jewelry. The only other viable theory is that it hitched a ride in my purse on my way home from Florida last month. As you might imagine, I prefer the former.

Big Dadgum Bug

2007-06-28T14:26:00.000-07:00

OK, the pics will speak for themselves. Suffice it to say, I'll be packing up my computer & photography equipment and moving my office to the safety of my own home if the Terminix guy doesn't show up by the end of Friday. This bug was stomped to death by my boss in MY office early this morning. Seems I'm working in a rainforest.

I added the dollar bill in the photo for scale purposes. These images have not been retouched or grossly misrepresented in any way. Well, except I messed with the contrast and saturation just a little so the dollar bill looks greener and sharper in the first image. I also deleted the gray background from the first one so it looks cooler on the screen. And, OK, I fixed the exposure in the second one because it was way too dark. At any rate, I didn't mess with sizing AT ALL.

I just hope it didn't have babies.

Simple Isn't Always Easier

2007-06-27T10:34:00.000-07:00

I've been at my job a little over a year now. Since I started, I've been trying to convince the marketing guru to give me a little more creative license with the html email I design for every sale. Our emails are always so choc-full of sale items, the ridiculous list usually ends up ruling (or even ruining) my design. I subscribe to about a million (give or take one or two) email campaigns from other retail websites, and NONE of their emails have a mile-long list of sale items. They just have simple text and cool graphics.

FINALLY! My boss put his proverbial foot down and said this week we could do a simple email, no items. It was a rare opportunity, since the 'gist of our sale this week is "10% off everything." I was so excited I could hardly think straight. My mind reeled with the countless cool ideas I've seen. I got to work straitaway, eager to deviate from our "norm" and produce something ground-breaking and fresh. I thought, gee, how much time I will save on this one!

Little did I know, those people who are designing and sending all those really cool graphic emails have:

1) a lot more talent than I
2) a lot more time on their hands

It took me three entire work days with no lunches to produce the following:

http://www.cavenders.com/images/email/GrandOlSale2007/GrandOlSale2007.html

Incidentally, I did have to add a bunch of listy stuff at the bottom, but at least I was able to stave off the ever-encroaching items enough to keep them from affecting my main image.

Enjoy.

A Break from Theologizing

2007-06-07T12:32:00.000-07:00

Well, I am on to a new pursuit in my life/vocation. After 30-some-odd years, I may have finally settled on a career. I have completely embraced my inner nerd (OK, so it's never really been all that inner). As you know, I've been in web design merely a year now, but in that short year I have been introduced to a world of opportunity...including (but not limited to) design, photography, marketing, and programming.

I love design, but I find it gets downright draining when you do it full time. The constant demand for creative output can become as difficult as creative opression.

I've also developed a deep and abiding interest in photography, and I'm pretty sure I'm not half bad at it. However, it's difficult to really make money at it without being some globe-trotting, hard-core adventurist or the polar opposite, a wedding/portrait schedule-driven, customer-enslaved businessperson (ahem...NOT my personality).

I'm not a marketer, really. I have great ideas from time to time, but no follow-through (my life-long struggle...dare I label it an illness :).

Enter the discovery of computer code, glorious code! The more code I learn, the more I find there is to learn. My curiosity is not only peaked, but daily fueled by more and more amazing discoveries about what one can force text and images to do on a computer screen. I love that I know how to design a web page, but what I really want to do is slice up that design, reduce it to hundreds of obscure commands, and breathe life into it via HTML and her myriad offspring languages like XHTML, Javascript, AJAX, CSS, ASP.NET, etc., etc., etc. There is so much to learn! So much to do! The work is both creative and analytical...not to mention lucrative.

So I'm stocking up on how-to's and burning the midnight oil practicing my latest craft.

Ah, the fabulous nerdiness of it all...

Addendum to Yesterday's Topic

2007-06-06T06:39:00.000-07:00

Amber raised some very good questions and asked for my opinion, so here goes! Again, this is my personal conviction, I'm not trying to condemn anyone...

Mark 7:19 ("...in saying this, Jesus declared all foods "clean.")
At the beginning of Mark 7, some Pharisees confront Jesus about the fact that His disciples were eating meat without washing their hands. I believe Jesus' statement here is only saying a bit of mud does not make clean meat unclean. The conversation with the Pharisees involved only their concern with the cleanliness of otherwise clean meats.

There actually is a difference between biblically kosher and traditionally kosher. There are a lot of "extra" rules and regulations added by Jewish tradition that weren't stated in the scriptures. I believe Jesus was rejecting the ritualistic adherence to these traditions, as well as driving home His point that nothing you put in your body can endanger your salvation.

Acts 10:15 (“Do not call anything impure that God has made clean”)
The apostle Peter once faced a dilemma on this matter of clean and unclean. Some ten years after the resurrection of Jesus he had a vision of "all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air" being lowered before him in a huge sheet. A voice said "Rise, Peter, kill and eat". This was completely shocking to Peter:

"Surely not, Lord! I have never eaten anything impure or unclean". Peter knew the vision could not relate to food, so he was confused, but, as events unfolded, Peter came to understand the point of the vision: all men are equal in the eyes of God. Regarding salvation, there is neither Jew nor Gentile. Peter was not to consider any man "unclean". In the vision, God was telling him that salvation is open to all men. I believe the vision had nothing to do with food. Peter himself later tells Cornelius, "You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean."

Romans 10:4; Galatians 3:24-26; Ephesians 2:15 (each of these is about Christ abolishing the law)
I firmly believe Christ did abolish the law when He died on the cross for our sins. Indeed, it is clearly stated. But if that means we are no longer to observe it for the purpose of our good (though NOT necessary for salvation), then Christ, Himself, would be contradicted in His teachings. Jesus quoted the law during His temptation in Matthew 4. He taught us to follow the commandments of the law in Matthew 5:17-20:

"'Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven."

I think He's telling us following the law is still what is best for us. Only, He knows we cannot follow it in our own strength, and it is not by our righteousness (the Pharisees were puffed up by the illusion they were righteous), but by His that we will enter the kingdom of heaven. He knows we are flesh, but that shouldn't give us the license to reject any part of the law. Rather, in humility we should seek His strength and invite the Holy Spirit to live out His commands in us until the day He comes back for us!

As I said in the original post, I believe the closer we stick to God's original laws (all of them), the more freedom and abundance we will experience in this life. I just can't escape the conclusion that this is one area Christians have not been taught, and we should be diligent to study it for ourselves and prayerfully consider this question until His good and pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12:2) is revealed.

The LAST thing I want to do is come across as a legalist, enforcing the law to the letter and considering myself better than someone else because we differ on this issue. I just want to reinforce my own health and well-being by taking God's diet to heart and experiencing the health and wellness that can come from it. I've been a nutrition nerd for a while now. That's just part of who I am these days. To me, looking to God's word for what He has to say about it is just a logical next step, simplifying my search for what is best to put in my body.

Perhaps you will study and come to a different conclusion. If so, I love you all, and as long as we agree on the gospel of Christ Jesus, we will still live in unity, yes?

You Are What You Eat

2007-06-05T12:03:00.001-07:00

So, I'm not a wierdo, or a legalist, but I have been casually studying fitness and nutrition for about five years now, and the more I learn, the more stunning becomes the parallel between the findings of modern science and the dietary laws set forth by God in Leviticus.

The more I study it, the more I come to believe we were never meant to completely chunk the diet God commanded for his chosen people. Obviously, our salvation does not depend on whether or not we eat pork. That was Paul's point in I Corinthians:

25 Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience,

26 for, "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it."

27 If some unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience....

...30 If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?

31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

32 Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God—

33 even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.

He didn't want the jewish christians to be so legalistic about diet that they confused new believers into believing it was necessary for salvation. He made the same point in reference to circumcision, which is now generally practiced in our society for practical, widely-accepted, well-documented health reasons.

I am convinced that all God's laws were commanded for our benefit, so that we may experience abundance in all things, thereby glorifying Him. Although we don't have to follow the letter of the law in order to gain salvation (God's free gift), the closer we stick to his commands, the more freedom and abundance we will experience in this life.

The argument has been made that the dietary laws were only ritualistic in nature, and had no relationship with physical benefits. I disagree. God said the law was for the purpose of holiness. What is holiness, if not divine protection? Why separate if not for the purpose of keeping us safe? We certainly don't deserve such protection, but God tells us over and over again in His word that He wants to bless us, wants to give us abundance. I've racked my brain to find one commandment of God which, if followed, will not result in our good. So why do we embrace the ten commandments as such, but ignore the diet?

Is not physical purity stressed heavily in our churches in the form of abstaining from sexul immorality? How much more important is it, then, to maintain physical purity by following God's prescription for an activity in which I participate three-four times daily?

Just food for thought (no pun intended...well, OK, it was intended).

Again, I'm not trying to start a controversy or anything. It's just something I've been studying and praying about, so I thought I'd share. If you're interested, here's a compelling (though extremely long and at times hard to read) article about pork. If it doesn't scare the bacon out of you, nothing will :)

http://www.kyrieology.com/drupal/wwje/adverseinfluenceofpork

There are other interesting articles about it on the menu bar to the left. The one titled Pig and Pork Facts summed it all up quite well.

Revival

2007-05-31T06:18:00.001-07:00

We just had our first planning meeting for starting a contemporary service at GABC. Can I just say I'm surprisingly excited about it? I had no idea so many people were behind the scenes preparing for this ministry. It was great to finally start putting it together and to find out that we're all on the same page. We talked about the purpose of the service, the style, the format, etc., etc., etc. We even threw out some nice, churchy terms like "believer service vs. seeker service."

In the end, we all agreed that our goal is revival. Period. We want to foster an environment that is more intimate and relaxed than the ginormous Sunday morning services, where corporate prayer time will be a core part of the service. When the singing is done, the praise team will also act as ministers to pray over and counsel with the people. We want to be all about prayer and confession.

I was listening to Dr. Dobson the other day on my way home from work, when he talked about the rise of Islam in our nation. His guest made the comment that our only hope in America (and the world) is wide-spread revival. I couldn't agree more. It's been heavy on my heart since then, so the timing of our new venture at GABC couldn't be more perfect!

Will you pray with me for revival?

Training

2007-05-30T12:53:00.000-07:00

Hallelujah.

Today is training day. "What's that?" you ask...

My boss finally hired a product photographer to work part time to take pictures of all the shirts, boots, pants, jewelry, boots, hats, toys, knives, and boots on our website (did I mention there are lots of boots?).

*imagine angel chorus singing here*

My good friend, Leslie Humphrey (God bless her) is coming in today at 5:00 so I can teach her the way of tedious photography. Shouldn't take too much instruction, considering she has a friggin' art degree (more than I can say for myself), and worked as a professional photographer for two years. She's highly over-qualified, but for some strange reason she wanted the job. Hmmm...now that I think about it, she may need to train me.

If there were any part of your job that you could dump on someone else, what would it be?

Beautiful Boy

2007-05-29T06:53:00.000-07:00

OK, as far as I know, I'm not the least bit biased. Isn't this the most beautiful baby you've ever seen?

Just thought I'd share my latest favorite picture of my nephew. The only time I really use my fancy new camera is when we go to Newton. When I first got it, it was difficult to get a sharp picture of Nicholas because as soon as he saw the camera he would start walking (or running) toward it with his hand out. Now he's so used to Aunt Ginny (a.k.a. "Ninny") constantly snapping pictures of him that he hardly looks my way. Makes for some great candid shots :)

F.Y.I., this January Cindy will be delivering a brand new little model. We're so excited! If it's a boy, Nicholas would like to name it "Wally," after his favorite Wiggle. If it's a girl, he suggested the name, "pppppbbbbbbbbbtttttt." I think he really wants a brother...

Curiosity Killed the Cat (well, in this case, the booty)

2007-05-27T19:23:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm a total slacker. I know it. Thanks to the gentle prodding of one Jason Thomas, I'm going to try to start blogging regularly again. :)

Steven and I just finished building a deck in our back yard a couple weeks ago. Then he had to go to Atlanta on business. Then I went to Florida on a girl trip. Then it started raining, and hasn't stopped yet. Needless to say, we've had minimal time to enjoy our long-awaited outdoor living space. So whaddaya do with a deck when it won't quit raining and you're just itching to be out there?

We chose to buy a pellet gun and stage some target practice from the back porch. Yep, a brand new Smith & Wesson BB hand gun. I'm no stranger to firearms, as most of you well know. I won the BB shoot at day camp in fifth grade (yes, there were boys competing and I whooped them all). Pure talent.

We set up the target on our new patio dining set (which, to date, has served no purpose except to soak up a lot of rain), and shot at it from our new wicker loveseat on the porch. After we emptied about six magazines of premium, high-velocity plastic BB pellets onto the target, Steven went to gather our spent ammunition for recycling purposes. This is possible because the target is covered in sticky goo, so the pellets just stick to it. So there he stood, rear-end facing me, oblivious to his surroundings...so tempting. But, I'm a good wife, so I politely asked if I could shoot him in the butt. His response, "Sure, why not?"

So I did it. He just jumped a little and said, "Ooh." Then he laughed. I said, "That didn't hurt?" He just said, "Kinda." That got me thinking, I've never been shot with a BB gun before...apparently, it's no big deal...I wonder what it feels like...? So when Steven offered to shoot me in the rear, I was all for it.

Big Mistake.

For one thing, Steven has buns of steel. He also was wearing cargo shorts with bulky pockets. I do not have buns of steel. Far from it. And I happened to be wearing sweats. They don't exactly offer optimum protection from premium high-velocity plastic BB pellets. It hurt like a mug. In fact, I still have a welt on my booty that may stick around for quite some time. But, hey, at least I can say I have been shot with a BB gun (albeit the plastic kind) and survived to tell about it.

Silence is Golden

2007-01-16T06:35:00.000-08:00

We had an ice storm yesterday...not that it would even be considered a storm anywhere but Texas...but it was extreme for us! It rained for two days solid before the temperatures dropped below freezing, so my world is covered in ice. It's really beautiful.

When I got home last night the power was out. So, of course, I couldn't get into the garage. I went to the front door, only to remember I had given my parents my front door key the last time they visited. No problem, I have a back door key. Except when I tried to open the gate to get to the back door, it was locked. Our fence is 8 feet tall, and it was coverd in a thick sheet of ice, so climbing it was out of the question. So I sat in my car in our driveway until Steven got home.

I was pretty much in a bad mood by the time we got in the house, and then we had to deal with the fact that the fridge/freezer had been off all day and we had no food. So we bundled up, got back in the car, and headed for town. We made five stops before we finally had fire wood, ice, water and dinner. I wasn't a happy camper. Poor Steven.

But once we got settled in, Steven made us a fire and we lit candles in every room. We just sat in the living room and talked for three hours, snuggled up by the fire without the distractions of TV, internet and phones...without the constant buzz of appliances in the backround...without expectation of some electronic means of entertainment. It was nice. Really, really nice. We decided that we're going to do that every night this week. Just turn off the lights and the TV, build a fire, and enjoy each other's company.

What are your best memories without electricity?

Kids Praise

2006-09-11T11:06:00.000-07:00

In the aftermath of the "build a sundae
on your partner's head" relay

Jacee's beautiful smile

A rare look at third & fourth grade
girls who DON'T mind getting ice
cream in their hair

We had our Kids Praise kick-off recently. What a mess...but what fun! The kids had a blast, and I'm pretty sure the directors had as much fun.