Berry Picking Time!

Dating: the formal, or sometimes not so formal, going out with the opposite sex to get to know and bond with each other. An activity between two people of aquaintance or of love.
Date day, for David and me, happens once a week. It's a day we always look forward too because no matter how busy life gets, we force ourselves to stop and enjoy each other. For how long this will last, I don't know. We hope to be able to do it even with screaming kids in the house. For now, I look to thursdays or sundays, when we get to do the things on our check list that we've always wanted to do. Recently, we went to Huber Farm and picked berries with Tootsie. We packed a lunch, loaded up the car and was on our way. Now, in the past, a trip to Huber meant some how both of us were in a bad mood. We don't understand it, but this time, we were determined to have a good day. Lunch under a big tree by a pond was wonderful!

Picking Blackberries was a joy and we were so surpised to see so many berries that were ready and ripe for the picking! Tootsie had a blast eating all the ones she could find on the ground. The great thing about picking your own is you can snack on the produce and try it out before you buy :)

Off to Blueberries we were! Neither of us had picked blueberries before. Hint: Just craddle a bunch of them in your hand while still in the vine and then roll them around gentley in your figures and the ripe ones will just fall off into your bucket! The minor problem was Tootsie getting away from us in the blueberry bushes and we ended up hearing her barking at a local farmer a couple yards away....oh little dog... However, by the end of the picking, we were so hot from the sun and so full from snacking on berries that I could have slept right there in the berry bush.

Huber also makes their own wine, ice cream and cheese. We decided to tie tootsie to a block and run in to get some ice cream. David came back out to give her some cool water to find she was gone. After 10 minutes of waiting for him to come back, I checked outside. HUSBAND AND DOG were gone! But where? Come to find out, Tootsie got loose from her tie and bolted across the parking lot to the pond to get a good look at the geese it the water. David had run after her and three women were helping to choral her. Much to their disappointment, when they left to help with Tootsie, their huge cart of berries fell over and spilled their freshly bought produce all over the ground. How do you apologize for something like that?! David offered to buy their produce, but they were sweet about it. Man, oh man,...a little dog is just like having three kids! HA!

Through Lenses...

Some of you many know that I have another blog. Yes...I admit it, I am a blog adulteress, I cheat on this blog with my other blog page. Well, my other page is about the art and pursuit of cooking. Some of you might also know that I have recently taken up a new art form: discovering the world through a lens. Photography has been fun for me, but I really look forward to expanding my endeavor in it. It is so much harder than I thought, yet I do not want to force it. Some people are just good at seeing the world this way and capturing it. For now, I will show you a few pictures that I've taken that when ever I look at them, I remember why i love the sound of my shutter on my new Canon camera.

Our Sweet 3 year old Dachshund, TOOTSIE in her new Life Jacket, Canooing with us.

Heather's Horse, Cluseaux.

Cameron and her chickens, the very precocious 4 year old.

One very un-aware little girl at our cousin's wedding. My favorite shot of the day!

Early Worm...

6 am- Wake up call
7 am...
I am sitting in class, trying to retain the reason for producing classes before the sun comes up. Current friends have started realizing that I have a blog page. Old friends have stop reading my entries because I stopped writing about 2 years ago. There is too much that has happened since my last written thoughts...it is pointless to write it all down. I am assuming that people, if any will/do read this, will gain what has changed through my entires and pictures posted over the next...however many days I can keep this blog thing up again.

I have also endeavored upon a cooking challenge and blog, the link is below... hope you enjoy!

To put is straight, life has been... well... gee... I don't think I can sum it up in one word, but maybe if I absolutely had to, I would say... life is ... nope... not coming to me. David and I just got our new bed frame for our bedroom. It's a beaute, a whole lot better than sleeping on a mattress on the floor anyway. Tootsie can still jump up into it, which means we've had to come up with a back up plan (not so succesfully) to keep our cute little weiner out of our bed.

On the topic of writing again, I have been sparked. To keep an update of yourself, thoughts and learnings can be a very important thing, especially when you have long distant friends (yes, that was a shout out). Even more, though, is the fact that I am finally in the stage of life that I have always longed for (being married now) ... it would be a travisty to quite journaling now! It would be like shunning all my other entries (here and in personal journals) so as to not show the fruition of what I so earnestly prayed for for so long!

So, with that... I'M BACK IN ACTION... more to come later (with pictures)!

MY NEW BLOG ON COOKING!!!
http://persuingatasteofcooking.blogspot.com/

Second-Hand Encouragement

So, I have found myself in a rather strange and yet uplifting situation. I have a friend who is going through a very rough time right now. She is a child of God and loves Jesus with all her life and heart, yet she suffers greatly under a depression. Through out the last few months, I have been really drawn to her by the Spirit and have found myself wanting to reminder her of the good in her life. I have been committed to encouraging her with scripture, prayers, notes, flowers, time, and any other thing from God that I could muster up.

At times, it is difficult for me to encourage her when I myself have been dealing with my own "issues". However, God has shown me much grace and the Spirit has dealt me much patience, for this I am ever thankful and praising. I guess I could say that God is answering I prayer that I've been praying for years: that is that I would better learn how to encourage others. Since praying this, God really has given me some friends that really needed biblical encouragement and in it has given me tools to sharpen others.

However, for the first time in a while, God started to encourage me through my own words to this girl. I stopped mid-sentence today while talking to her about not fearing and really just clinging to Christ to get through your day, because I was suddenly struck with the idea of taking my own advice. The only way I can explain it is that it is like a cigarette giving nicotine to a smoker. I felt the need to suck in the left over smoke (encouragement) and take it in deep! I found it to be addicting...! Just as smoke stains our mouths and hands and leaves an overwhelming smell, so too must the word of God and the encouragement of the Spirit must stain the words of MY mouths and the work of MY hands. And the words of the LORD will be a SWEET AROMA to your life for the glory of Him who gives it.The very words that the Holy Spirit was giving me, to give to this girl, were also being used to speak into my life. The work of God is endless, undeniable and unstoppable! It cannot be denied that God gives us joy, though we should have none...

So, it is these words that fed both her and me that I give to you now: "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever" (ps. 73:26)

"Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens" (ps. 68:19)

"When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?" (ps. 56:3-34).

"But I call to God, and the LORD saves me. Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. He ransoms me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me." (Ps. 55:16-18).

"Be still and know that I am God" (Ps. 46:10)

"Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God" (Ps. 42:5)

"I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety" (Ps. 4:8)

These are just a few...I hope you seek God today and know that as you encourage others, the second hand encouragement just might minister to you as well. Peace and Blessings

Failure to Evangelize in a Postmodern World

This is a sickness I hope to purge myself of as I cling to listening to God’s voice rather than my own.

Last night two other girls and myself went to Java to get some studying done. It was a rather pleasant evening, all bundled up on the couch with the fire place in front of us, and all deep in thought from what ever book we were each reading. Through out the evening, I had been curiously watching a women who was sitting at the bar working on something at her computer. She sipped a glass of red wine and every now and then took a look around the room at everyone. Finally, I moved to the chair closest to the fire and began to read my Bible and journal some prayers to God. This is what I read:

“Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked”. –Psalm 82:3-4.

I then began to ask God that he would put more unbelievers into my life and then use me to share the truth and light of the gospel with them. To minister and disciple them and do the work of the kingdom. Then I read some more…

“They know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken”- Psalm 82:5.

My heart began to hurt for the lost, whose eyes are veiled and have no hope, for those who have not tasted and seen the Absolute Good. I asked God to help me “fight laziness, pride, deceit, frustration, worry and ill-confidence so that my own sin would not hinder me from being used to reach the lost” (written in my journal). Just then, the woman at the bar came and sat next to us on the couch. I noticed she was reading a book so I asked her what book she was reading. It was the new, and very famous, book called “Eat. Pray. Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert (not a Christian world view book).

The woman then informed me that her divorce was made final just the day before and she was told that this book was good to read to help and relate to her situation. It is about a women who gets a divorce and her struggles through it, how she turns to prayer in her time of need (though she doesn’t share the gospel in her book, but instead says that any religion will be just fine…ergo Postmodern), and then travels all around Italy, India, and Indonesia to find peace, comfort and joy. As this woman explained the book to me I asked her what viewpoint was the women coming from, from a Christian point of view or what. Her answer led me to realize that neither the author nor this woman, were saved believers in Christ.

Here it was! My opportunity! God answering my prayers almost instantly! I felt a huge burden to share with this woman what could really bring her peace, joy, and comfort. I knew that I needed to reach out to her. I wrote my name, contact information and a small note to her on a piece of paper. It was inappropriate, so it seemed, to speak about it to her opening then and there, but I wished I had…OH HOW I WISHED I HAD. What ended up happening is that she left and as she left, I with held that note. I never handed it to her. I DID IT AGAIN LORD! I DISOBEYED! Here, I just prayed for the Lost and that I would be bold, and I just let her walk away, not knowing if she will ever hear or if I will ever see her again.

I am ashamed to say that in those few moments, my sin revealed to me was greater than I had thought. It was in that moment when I refused to give her the note that I began to say that Satan’s lies were better than God’s truths. I was acting as a God-Hater and a self-lover. I could hear Satan telling me that I had nothing to offer her that would comfort her, that she would think me crazy, that I was trying to be “too spiritual”, and that I would be doing a foolish thing to give her a piece of paper…as if she would actually call me to talk. AND I BELIEVED HIM!!!

Talking and thinking about it today, I’ve learned one of my closer weaknesses and find myself utterly disgusted by it. God is moving in me, and others, to see that His voice is the only one we are to obey. I feel, in a way, like a fake or phony, but from here I can only go forward and up to stand rebuked, corrected, encouraged and trained by God all at one time. So…I urge you and others, DON’T FAIL TO EVANGELIZE IN THIS FALLEN AND POSTMODERN WORLD. There is truth, you know it, and everyone else needs it!

Consuming Idols...

In the quiet hours of the morning, I woke up longing to be close to God. I needed to drink His peace and savor His word. I prayed and talked to our Maker. My heart has been so clenched and drowning lately. As I laid there in bed, trying to talk to God, I allowed myself to be consumed with a fear, a fear that crippled me and effected me so much that it worries me that I am so easily corrupted.
Over the past semester I have allowed myself to be greatly effected by something. It started out as being under control and not an issue at all, but then it grew and became more complicated. For so long I thought it was all okay, but then I went on Christmas break... Over the break I realized that I had been putting this thing in my life as an idol. I regarded this thing and longed for it so much so that I began to resent it.
The Holy Spirit showed me my error and I began to pray and cling to Christ that I might purge myself of the mindset of this sin. I've been fighting since, but while I've been fighting, I've realized that part of me still doesn't want to let this thing go. It would not be such a fight, nor would my heart hurt so deeply, if I just trust God and really want to get rid of it. So, this morning, as I fought against my own flesh, God spoke to me and revealed to me this point:
I've been missing the point. The point is, I need to put God first. The point is, God is answering my prayers. I prayed and asked Him a while back that he would take the desire for this thing away from me and give me the strength to deal with it, AND HE IS!!! I should be thankful for the pain that comes along with it, for God reminded me about Romans 5:3- "We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."
What sweet words we have from the God who know us more than we could ever know ourselves. I had not payed attention to my first love, but I see it now. I SEE HIM NOW! While this doesn't make the struggle any less difficult, it does give affirmation that God is working this for good and that I have hope that HE IS GIVING ME STRENGTH to let go!

Homecoming...Nestalgia

So I'm here, back in California. After being away for over four months, I find myself back at my roots and loving every minute of it. A series of things has happened. I went to some Christmas parties and did some fun things with family, but on the 18th of this month, I turned 23 years old. It's actually quite scary turning another year older, but some how I am also overwhelmingly excited to see what God is going to do with this year of my life.
Imagine waking up at 6 am to the sound of your two best friends singing "Happy Birthday" and then telling you to get up for your birthday fun to begin. I would imagine that anyone would have reacted the same way i did...rolled over and went back to sleep. Finally, when i got up, Laura Moore and Katie Bolling took me to get some chai...my favorite and then we went on a pleasant walk up Mount Rubideoux and watched the sunrise. The theme of this year's birthday was "Nestalgia" which means: " a wishful longing for and adoration of things, events and people of the past...a sentimentality. If you know anything about me...you know this defines ME! I am very sentimental! Anyways...the day just got better when they took me out to my favorite restaurant (Olive Garden) and we reminisqued (can't spell) in all our memories together over the years. I got a great compilation of gifts showed on me, but most of all...I got to experience Christ's love and friendship through my three friends: Laura, Katie and Lawson.
Being back has been overwhelming and fun, but I must say that though I don't want to go back to Kentucky, I still look forward to this next semester ahead of me and can't wait to see what God will do. He is good and knows all that is good for me. So, thank you all for your prayers, support and birthday wishes. Until next time...Love Jesus so much that it drives you to preach him to all you meet!