Vine + Branch = Fruit

I had a wonderful Sunday morning worship service today! We sang one of my new favorite songs, "The Revelation Song". Yes, we will be singing it in eternity--it is so majestic and so full of praise to our awesome God. Next, Mike gave an exceptionally good message based on John 15:5. "I am the vine, you are the branches. If you abide in Me, and I in you, you will bear much fruit. For apart from Me, you can do nothing." Mike reminded us that it is not the branches job to do the fruit producing. The branch's job is to stay connected to the vine, then the vine will be able to produce the fruit. So my job is to stay connected to the vine and let God produce the fruit.

On the Treadmill of Life....

This past week at work, I had the opportunity to eat lunch with my granddaughter, Caelee. We went to the Gazebo and had a sandwich, fruit, and a drink. After that, she wanted to do a "power walk" (it was actual 2 full out sprints) upstairs on the jogging track. Finally, the last item on the itinerary before I had to go back to work, was the treadmill. Caelee had never used a treadmill before, so at first, she took tiny steps very quickly to try to match the speed of the treadmill. We speeded it up a little and it wasn't long and she was walking the right speed, even using her little arms like she was suppose to. Then, for no apparent reason at all, she stopped and bent over. She had a mosquito bite that itched and she had to stop for that. As you can imagine, when she stopped, the treadmill kept going and I had to snatch her from the jaws of the dreaded "drop off" onto the floor. It made me wonder how many times on the treadmill of life, I've stopped to "scratch a mosquito bite" and God has snatched me from the "jaws of death" with a quick and loving pair of "Heavenly Father Hands". I'm sure more times than I could ever imagine. Thank you, Heavenly Father, for being there for me, always!

Vows Are More Than Words....

This weekend, I attended one of the most beautiful weddings that I have ever been to. It was a young couple from our church, that have been friends for a very long time. They had Dr. Ramesh Richard perform the ceremony. Ramesh is one of the most gifted communicators I have ever had the privilege of hearing. Ramesh is a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary. I worked at DTS while my husband, Charlie, attended seminary. I have heard him share several times at chapel. He is an artful story teller and relays information in such a way that you remember the application and can tell others about it as well. Ramesh relayed the following last Saturday evening:

1. "Vows are more than words". The wedding vows that are made are more than just meaningless words that are said to one another. When one says for "richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part"--that means one partner will bury the other, or it should be.

2. "Rings are more than things". A ring is not just a trinket, it signifies a commitment and dedication to the beloved.

3. "Candles are more than sticks". The couple lit a unity couple, together, signifying the unification of their heart and soul.

What a picture--no wonder God uses the analogy of the church being the Bride of Christ! Thank you friends from Crossroad (Brent & Tracy, Dan & Martha, Bogie & Debbie, Dave & Becky) for making that evening such a wonderful social event as well. We all set at the same table at Prestonwood Country Club. Delicious food! Wonderful music! Just a wonderful evening!

A Jam Packed Weekend

All is well. Our daughter, Faith, will be returning from her mission trip to Guatemala, Tuesday evening. I sure miss her, and am anxiously awaiting her return and her stories.... She is a great story teller! I'll share some of the best of her Guatemalan adventures with you on this blog.

This weekend, I went "plant shopping", planted a banana tree, took my granddaughter to see Ratatouille (thank goodness for spell check), made blueberry muffins and some brownies, planted some new plants in the landscaping, creating a public relations piece for work, taught 5 group exercise classes, fed our wild birds, made new sugar water for the "hummers"--boy the are elusive (the water is going down, but I just never see the little rascals), made homemade fresh lemonade, got groceries, babysit my youngest granddaughter Cayenne, and did laundry. What did you do this weekend?

The Final Countdown

If I knew that I only had 2 hours left before some kind of catastrophe occurred, I would:

• Call my family members that were near and far away and tell them that I love them and ask them if they know for certain where they will be spending eternity. If there were any doubt or questions, I would share the Gospel with them.
• Call my friends that were near and far away and tell them that I love them and ask them if they know for certain where they will be spending eternity. If there were any doubt or questions, I would share the Gospel with them.
• If possible, I would try to be with friends and family for a final hug/kiss/group hug.
• I would thank God for His Love and commit my soul into His Hands.
• I would write a quick "goodbye" note and a testimony of God's greatness and Love in my life in case there were any survivors. I would also ask, in that note, if our sheltie dog, Duke, survives that he would be well taken care of.

The only trouble with this whole scenario is knowing that we don't know how much time we have left--we might be killed in a car accident tomorrow, so the moral of the story is......

You tell me!

What Would You Do?

If you knew that you only had 2 hours left before some catastrophic event took place, what are the top 5 things that you would do? Where did this question come from, you might ask--maybe it was from watching the new Die Hard movie (seeing the whole country thrown in a state of turmoil and chaos) or just the sheer curiosity of what my friends and blog readers might write. I will post my top 5 tomorrow.

A Day Off With My Guy

Today, I had an opportunity to do some fun things with my husband, Charlie (I took the day off. I am working on being less of a workaholic.) We:

• went to a "Passport Appointment" this morning (we are going on our first cruise to celebrate our 30th anniversary in a couple of months!)
• went to Lowe's and Home Depot looking for landscaping stuff
• ate at Chili's for lunch
• went to see the new "Die Hard" movie (action packed is an understatement--I liked it alot!)

It was a great day--just being together. As I grow older, and maybe a little wiser, too, I am beginning to enjoy and appreciate these "just hanging out together" times just as much as I do the big excitement adventures (like the upcoming Cruise). I enjoy working on landscaping and home improvement projects with Charlie, too. He is just the best--God has blessed me big time with this guy. I hope you have a God-sent help mate, too!

Freedeom--It Means Everything!

I absolutely love having some time to myself--the freedom to chose to do what ever I want to do. No appointments to keep, no classes to teach, no children to pick up from school or get to something, no other human beings that I have to interact with (unless I chose to do so). This kind of freedom only comes a couple of times a month for me. Part of it is just because I am a workaholic (I am trying to become less of one), and part of it is because I sometimes put way too much on my plate of life--I'm just a "go for the gusto" kind of girl. Freedom is something that God values highly, too--probably more than we will ever be able to understand. He has given us the freedom to chose whether we want to be a part of His Kingdom or not. He could "force" us to do anything--after all He is God. But, He has chosen to give us Freedom to chose our Kingdom. Some folks don't understand how a loving God could send anyone to hell. The problem is they don't understand that God sends no one--they get to chose, and they get to live with the consequences or the joys of that choice for a very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very long time. July 4th! What a great time to reflect on the true meaning of freedom. I hope you all have a wonderful 4th!

Highs and Lows

Blogging--it's amazing! You get to share what's going on in your mind (that's got to be good for something--even if it's just accountability) and you actually have friends that want to know what's going on in your life. An amazing friend taught me the highs/lows game. Everyone shares the "high" of their day and the "low" of their day. OK--here goes. I've got 2 highs and 1 low:

My high--eating lunch with my daughter, Faith (knowing that I wouldn't be seeing her for a week--she's going to Guatemala with a missionary team!) Also, being there when a friend needed a sympathetic ear.

My low--knowing that one of my best friends had one of the worst days of her life.

I love hearing from you guys--what was your high and low today?

I Feel Good..

Things that make me feel really good:

• Being told that anything that I do, teach, bake, say was "well done/good".
• Being told that I am "missed".
• Praying to my Heavenly Father, knowing that He heard every word and that He will always answer with my best interest at heart.
• Knowing my daughter will be going to a foreign country to help missionaries in Guatemala.
• A nice afternoon nap (especially when I'm tired).
• My husband's hand in mine.
• A big hug.
• The feeling that I get after teaching a Group Exercise class--especially if it's a hard class.
• A sunny, 73 degree day with my favorite songs blasting while the sunroof is open.
• Planting some beautiful flowers/shrubs just before it rains.
• Watching a humming bird fly, my dog run, and our plethora of sparrows eating from the bird feeder.

What makes you feel good?