Free Music!!!!!!

Posted on 05.24.06 in Music and there are 0 comments.

Check out this free mp3 by a great artist named Andrew Osenga.

He said, She Said

Posted on 05.22.06 in Family and there are 9 comments.

Her story:

We hadn’t been married very long when it happened, I guess it was about 2 weeks. We’d come home from our honeymoon and we were working hard to get settled in our new apartment. We were chatting and laughing while hanging pictures and sifting through wedding presents, when my husband made an offhand comment about how he thought it would be sweet if I woke him up with a kiss. Being the great wife that I was (am) I filed that tidbit away in my brain for future reference and went on with the unpacking.

The future came about 10 hours later as the sun filtered through our cheap metal venetian blinds casting a horizontal grid on my sweet husband’s sleeping face. I gently and quietly leaned over to give him a sweet kiss on his cheek and as I closed my eyes, suddenly, out of nowhere…

His story:

I’ve always thought it would be nice to be awakened with a kiss from my wife. I mentioned it to her when we got home from our honeymoon, but we were in the midst of unpacking so I didn’t really know if she heard me or not. We continued moving in to our new apartment, moving boxes, moving furniture and getting everything squared away. I was pretty tired by the time I went to sleep and I slept like a rock.

Just before it happened, I remember barely stirring from my deep sleep. I was in that half asleep/half awake stage when I saw this dark shadow looming over me. What in the world?! What is that thing? Ghost?! Burglar?! Being the great husband that I was (am) I did what any great husband would do.  I pulled my hand from under the pillow, reached over and gave it a good whap!

Her story:

Not what I was expecting.

His story:

Oops. Not what I was expecting.

Their story:

This is our favorite early marriage “What was I thinking” story to tell. We usually tell it jointly and he always slaps his hand in the air as an effective and hilarious visual aid.

I now have a nice football helmet on hand for waking him up with a kiss.

What Does It Mean To Be Free?

Posted on 05.20.06 in Faith and there are 4 comments.

Something that's been on my heart lately is freedom. I feel like in the past 6 months or so, I've really experienced freedom. There's nothing weighing me down. There's just a sense of awe that God has a plan and I'm part of it. I'm not so concerned with what people think, what I should be doing, what I shouldn't be doing or what others expectations are of me. My primary concern is to listen to God and to feel His hand on the small of my back as He gently leads me throughout my day. John 8:32 says,"Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free." The truth is that all that matters in this life is God. Period. The truth is that there is not one single thing that you can do today that is more important than sitting down and spending time with Him. Not because it's something you're supposed to do. Not because it's a rule or a requirement, but because the God of all creation wants to wrap His arms around you and tell you who you are. He wants to lift the burdens from your shoulders. He wants to give you purpose and vision. He wants you to live life today the way He meant for you to live...with passion and hope. The truth is that you are precious. I have two little girls and I love them more than life itself. The idea that God sent His son to die for me is almost unfathomable, but what's even more unfathomable is that we so often don't walk in the freedom that His death provided. The truth is that you ARE free. If you've chosen to follow Jesus, His death freed you from any chains that once held you. Maybe you're afraid to walk away, maybe you don't really believe that you can. I challenge you to write down a list of the things that you don't feel free from. Every morning when you pray, tell God that you need help believing you are free and walking in freedom from those things. Then as you face them throughout the day, recognize that you have a choice and ask God to help you make the right one. There is an amazing freedom to be found in God and in that freedom there is such purpose and passion for even the most seemingly mundane moments in our lives. So rise up. Walk with Jesus today and leave your chains behind. "Shake off your dust; Rise up, sit enthroned, O Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, O captive Daughter of Zion." Isaiah 52:2

Weekend Funnies

Posted on 05.19.06 in Family and there are 6 comments.

My kids crack me up. Here are a few excerpts... Example 1 The other day we were sitting at dinner and my 3 year old was drinking her milk. I turned to her and challenged, "Sweetie, do you know how to say milk in Spanish?” With a look that seemed to indicate that I had insulted her intelligence with such a simple question she replied slowly and clearly, “Milk...in...Spanish.” Example 2 My youngest (23 months) LOVES birds. Whenever she sees one, she yells something that sounds a lot like,"Booootie!" Today, we were in the car and she said,"Booootie! Woof! Woof!” Hmmm....we need to work on that. Example 3 Every morning my 3 year old and I have little routine when she wakes up in the morning. We eat frozen go-gurts, sit on the bean bag in my closet and “spend time with God” - we read her devotion book, sing a couple of songs and pray. It’s a really sweet time and it’s my favorite part of the day. The other morning we were reading about God’s riches. His blessings that He gives to us. As I was reading about God’s riches, she jumped up and said, “ I know God’s riches. I go get them!” I really had no idea what she might be talking about and I was speechless with laughter just anticipating what her three year old mind had determined were “God’s riches.” A few minutes later, she walked back into the closet and proudly said, “See, God’s riches!” In her hands she held two plastic toy - wrenches.

Some In-Laws Stink

Posted on 05.18.06 in Family and there are 4 comments.

Not mine. I've not been posting much the past couple of days because my sister-in-law is in town. I seriously have the coolest sister-in-law ever. As I type we're sitting here on my couch playing on our iBooks. She introduced me to the wonderful world that is Apple. That's reason enough to love her, but it gets better. We have fun deep conversations, we go for runs together, we tell each other about our favorite music, and I get to hear all about her way exciting life. She's a professional dancer, she rock climbs, she travels the world and she has the CRAZIEST things happen to her.
Did I mention that she does my dishes and watches my kids while she visits? Yeah, she's the best sister-in-law ever.

Now Let’s Have Some Church

Posted on 05.16.06 in Faith and there are 3 comments.

I love my church. It's not perfect, no church is, but it's the perfect church for me. I'm so challenged by our leadership and the life that flows out of our little fellowship. We're not a huge church. I imagine that when school is in session and all the college kids are here, we probably have a total of 2,000 people if you add both services. I hope this post doesn't come across as bragging. That's not my intention. My hope is that you'll be encouraged. I've been hearing a lot of people talk about how the American church is stagnant so I wanted to share a bit about the great things God is doing through regular people. What prompted this post is a project called Restoration Village. After the tsunami hit Asia in 2004, our church organized a group of 75 volunteers - doctors, nurses, and regular folks - to go to Sri Lanka and help the survivors. What began as a short term trip evolved into the rebuilding of an entire village. Several families from our church have moved to Tangalle, Sri Lanka and have over seen a million dollar project to rebuild a town that was devastated. They've traveled the world sharing the need of these people and raising the funds to rebuild their town. This past week 65 of the families received the keys to their new homes and that is just the beginning of several milestones. The new village will be complete with a playground, community center and town offices. The project has been handled so efficiently and wisely, that it has been covered by the major news outlets in Sri Lanka and is considered by the Sri Lankan government to be the best underway in the nation. It has breathed hope into a hopeless situation. These villagers are having their livelihoods restored and as they get to know our team members and they begin to ask why we're helping them, they have had the opportunity to have their hearts healed and restored by the love of God. A small and passionate church has emerged from these people who have faced death and have found life. The whole project has been such a testimony to the faithfulness and provision of God. He's provided the funding for the project in some miraculous ways. It's been so incredible to watch the process and it's so sweet to hear the stories about what "Move In Day" meant to the people of the town. In addition to Restoration Village, we literally have hundreds of missionaries around the world - just from our little church. They're just members of our church who have a heart to share Jesus with people who have never heard. They go through a couple years of training and then they move with their families to the far corners of the earth. Some of them are young and fresh out of college. Some of them are my old college friends who now have families, and some of them are grandparents, not content to "retire." I'm so inspired by them. We're just a little church in Texas, but we serve a big God. I don't know what's happening in the American church as a whole, but God's doing big things here and I know He can do big things where you are too.

Come And Listen…

Posted on 05.16.06 in Faith and there are 5 comments.

I was listening to the David Crowder Band today and there's a song in which he sings: "Come and listen. Come and listen to what He's done." So I thought we could do that. Let's talk about what He's done. My story is profoundly simple, but I think it speaks of the tender heart of God. My little girl sleeps with a stuffed monkey. She adores her stuffed monkey, whom she has creatively named, "monkey". About a month ago, monkey disappeared. We could not find him anywhere. We turned the house upside down. Every nap and every bedtime, we'd ask her if she wanted another animal, but she didn't want to sleep with anyone but monkey. I even tried to give her my old teddy bear, but she just said, "Thank you Mommy, but he's not my monkey." She was pretty sad, but she was being brave. A few days after monkey's disappearance, we were reading a little devotional book and suddenly in the middle of the story, she said, "Mommy! God's the only one who knows where monkey is. Maybe we should pray that God will help us find monkey." I told her that was a great idea and she proceeded to pray the sweetest little prayer. Now, we had been looking for days and had turned the house upside down and we couldn't find monkey, but just a little while after her simple prayer, my husband was cleaning up our room and randomly decided to look in a drawer that we NEVER put anything in. Low and behold, there was monkey. When my daughter saw him, she said, "God helped us find monkey!" He has the power to calm the raging seas with a word. He holds the keys to life and death. And He cares about my little girl's stuffed monkey. What an amazing God we serve. This is my simple story of the goodness of God. What's yours?

Mother’s Day Redeemed

Posted on 05.14.06 in Family and there are 5 comments.

Mother's Day was always my least favorite holiday. I dreaded seeing all the sappy commercials and newspaper ads with the idyllic pictures of moms and daughters. I didn't like watching all the other families celebrate their moms. I never knew my mother. She died when I was only a few months old. I never knew what it was like to have a my mom fix my hair. I never dressed up in her clothes as a little girl. I never had an argument with her and I never gave her a hug. In my mind I had the perfect mother, though. I put together the bits and pieces that my dad and grandparents shared about her and wove that together with my own dreams. She was beautiful and gracious. She loved Jesus and her family. She was kind and gentle and giving. She could sing like an angel. She does sing like an angel... Isn't it funny how someone I never knew has shaped so much of who I am? A mother's impact in her child's life is profound. All my life I thought I'd never know the mother-daughter relationship. It always seemed like such a mystery to me. I was always the outsider looking in and dreaming. I'd see mothers and daughters talking or shopping or playing together and I was so jealous. Not anymore. I'm the mother now and Mother's Day is my favorite holiday. I love the extra hugs and kisses. I love having a whole day to be thankful for my girls. I love having a reason to celebrate. Nothing has seemed like such a sweet gift from God as this gift of my precious little girls. It's as if He saw me growing up and finding Mother's day to be so bittersweet, and He was whispering to me, "Just wait, my girl. Have I got something special for you. Just wait."

Favorite Indies and Other Fun Music

Posted on 05.11.06 in Music and there are 11 comments.

I love music. I love listening to it. I love being moved by it. I love great lyrics that reveal new meaning upon each hearing. I heard someone say once that a great song can remind you of a place you've never been. I thought I'd share a couple of my favorite indie artists with you and I hope you'll share some of your favorites with me. Please do....I just love finding new music. My absolute favorite right now is an artist named Kendall Payne. I've always loved the line from Chronicles of Narnia when Mr. Beaver replies to one of the children's questions as to whether Aslan is safe. Mr. Beaver says,"Oh, no. He's not safe.....but He's good." I think that's such a great and mysterious description of God. Apparently, Kendall thought so too, and wrote a phenomenal song called Aslan. Love it. I also love another song entitled Pray. Superstar and Backward are also great songs. Those are all on her latest CD - Grown. It's on iTunes. Her first CD was called Jordan's Sister and I've listened to it constantly since it came out 5 or 6 years ago. Perfect by Thursday and Modern Day Moses are my favorites. I saw her perform live about 5 years ago when she opened for Third Day. It was just her and her guitar and she was simply amazing. Another favorite indie is Dave Barnes. "Brother, Bring the Sun" is the only one of his cd's I have right now, but I plan to remedy that really soon. I love the songs Nothing Fancy and On A Night Like This. Dave Barnes came to town a few months back and Andy Davis opened for him. I was mesmerized during his whole set. His first studio album won't come out until '07, but he has a "homemade" cd out now that I really like. It's very acoustic - which I like. I like to hear raw talent. If you're up for something a little different, I think Katy Bowser's songs are quite fun. Of course, there's also, our very own Five Cent Stand... That's it for now. I'll leave you with the lyrics from Kendall Payne's song Pray: Pray I will pray for you now for you have been my faithful friends While the road we walk is difficult indeed I couldn’t not ask for more than what you’ve already been Only that you would say these prayers for me May your heart break enough that compassion enters in May your strength all be spent upon the weak All the castles and crowns you build and place upon your head May they all fall come crashing down around your feet May you find every step to be harder than the last So your character grows greater each stride May your company be of humble insignificance May your weakness be your only source of pride What you do unto others may it all be done to you May you meet the one who made us And see him smile when life is through May your blessings be many but not what you hoped they’d be And when you look upon the broken May mercy show you what you could not see May you never be sure of any plans you desire But you’d learn to trust the plan he has for you May your passions be tried and tested in the holy fire May you fight with all your life for what is true I have prayed for you now all of my dear and faithful friends But what I wish is more than I could ever speak As the way wanders on I’ll long to see you once again Until then, would you pray these prayers for me? Oh that you would pray for me. So who are some of your favorite indie (doesn't have to be an indie, I guess) artists?

On A Lighter Note: I FEEL The Power…

Posted on 05.10.06 in General and there are 17 comments.

My blogs have been pretty heavy lately. I guess that coincides with the fact that my thoughts have been pretty heavy. Makes sense. So, on a lighter note I thought I'd write about the fun stats page that is built into the blogs over here at Wordpress.com. Yup, the grass really is greener. On my stats page I can see how many hits I get each day in a nice little chart format. There's another chart that shows how many people are accessing my RSS feed through a feed reader. I love watching those adorable little numbers go up, up, up. Everytime my stats hit a new high, I do a cute little dance. I'm such a nerd. So, the big point of this entry is that even though I've been blogging regularly for a mere month or so, I have a Google page rank of 5 AND if you type in any of the following terms, I come up on the first page of results:

• Dixie Chicks Blog
• articles on rise up and shake off the dust
• bathroom kat

Because you, my readers, are so special to me, I saved the best for last. Before I tell you the great news, let me say thank you. Thank you for being a part of my grand blog. Thank you, my little people, for elevating my on your linked shoulders. We can all rejoice together that this humble little blog comes up FIRST, Numero Uno, Primero on that grand daddy search engine that is Google for the following phrase:

• will graham crackers help you go to the bathroom

Thank you for making this possible. Yes, we are just above the "Constipation in Children" website. Wow. Don't you just feel proud?

Bye, Bye Fear

Posted on 05.09.06 in Faith and there are 6 comments.

Yesterday, my children and I were sitting in our driveway enjoying some suckers. Being that my kids are so little, they tend to get as much of the sweet stuff on their clothes, hands and hair as they do in their mouth...ergo eating in the driveway. My 3 year old was sitting on her bike relishing this rare treat when suddenly she turned around and was face to face with a big, rather ugly dog that had apparently snuck up behind her. She screamed. My youngest does NOT like dogs and responded accordingly. When she saw the dog, she screamed and pretty much stood petrified in the corner. I jumped up, grabbed both of my little girls in my arms and ran and took them to their daddy's office. Once they were safely in Daddy's arms, I marched back out to the garage, broom in hand, ready to take on this mongrel who would dare mess with my babies. Fear was the last thing on my mind. Fear. We encounter fear a lot in our daily lives, don't we? It's not always fear of physical harm. More often, it's fear of what other people are thinking. Do they like my clothes? Do they think I'm smart? Do they think I'm cool? Do they understand me? Do they like me? It can be paralyzing. I wasn't afraid of the dog because I wasn't thinking about me. My children were the focus of my attention. What if God was the focus of our attention? How different do you think we'd live? What would we do if we weren't concerned with our glory and reputation, but His? What if we prayed everytime we left our house that we'd honor God in everything we say and do? What if we cared more about bringing fame to Him than being really funny or really cool? What if we cared more about what God thinks than what people think? I think we'd live a lot differently. I think we'd know real peace and freedom. When God is the center of our lives, fear has no place. He is the eye of the storm. There is struggle and fear outside Him. But in Him there is perfect peace. I'm not a poet or a songwriter, so I don't know what you'd call this. I guess it's just a collection of words that rhyme occassionally.

I Am The Center of The World

The winds they whip me around and the more I try, the more I lose ground I scratch at the dirt and reach for the trees anything, anything that seems stable to me my hopes, my dreams they all fly around in a dizzy array as if, as if I have no say but that’s just absurd because haven’t you heard I am the center the center of my world and everything I do everything I see is simply for the betterment of me but I find it’s so hard to stand and it’s all out of hand everything seems to be moving outside of my plan I reach for good things as I see them fly by but slowly, so slowly I’m wondering if I I am the center the center of my world if everything I do everything I see should really be for the betterment of me yes everything seems to be moving in a different direction it’s drawing me in drawing me in what will happen if I let go what will happen if I let go what will happen if I let go what will happen if I just.. You draw me in to this glorious peace so still, so quiet I hear my heart beat I’m afraid to speak, but there’s so much to say this amazing peace just takes my breath away Oh You You are the center the center of this life let the winds rage around but I’ll never know because you are the center the center of my storm so let everything I do and everything I say only ever be for the glory of your name

Coming Out Of The Closet

Posted on 05.07.06 in General and there are 5 comments.

Literally.

Early yesterday morning my family had some "bonding" time as we spent the better part of an hour in or within jumping distance of our linen closet while we listened to the tornado sirens blare and the winds rage outside.

I'd only had to respond to a tornado warning once before when I was in college. It's pretty fun then - I just hung out with a couple hundred of my dorm friends in the first floor hall until the director gave the all clear. We brought snacks, played games and had a grand old time.

It's a little different with kids. We made sure they had toys to play with and that we had some fun music playing. Most people just prepare flashlights and radios during a tornado warning - we were busy preparing sippy cups, graham crackers, and finding each of our kid's special stuffed animals and/or blankets.

They all did really well hanging out in the closet, though. We sang songs and made up stories. We actually had a pretty nice time...

One of our kid's friends came over the next day and all the kids talked about the big "tomato" that was outside.

-------------------------------------------------

Another funny story is that the news reported a girl who had been driving through town when the storm hit. Her car was being pushed around and visibility was near zero. The radio was telling her to take cover, but nothing she could see was open. She was near the mall, so what did she do? She went into J.C. Penney.

Literally.

She drove her car throught the glass doors of the mall and into J.C. Penney.

The Revolution of a Good Little Southern Baptist Girl

Posted on 05.05.06 in General and there are 15 comments.

I love sports. I play soccer and I run...infrequently. One of my favorite feelings in the world is that sore, achey, stiff feeling in your body after you've pushed yourself too hard - for too long. I know. I'm weird. But I just love knowing that I went one step farther than I thought I could. I love to push myself and find out that what I thought was my all - wasn't.

The superstars of our world are those who pushed themselves beyond what anyone thought they could do. Record breaking athletes. Ground breaking artists. They didn't seek comfort. They knew that "comfort" is where the average reside. They didn't seek comfort. They sought revolution.

This verse has been hopping around in my head lately:

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

-Ephesians 20-21

Wow. God is more than I could ask or imagine. Let's say that again, together:

God is more than I could ask or imagine.

Honestly, my version of God hasn't been that big. My version of God has had more to do with what others have said He does and who others have said He is. My God has been - comfortable.

I'm ready to change that. I'm ready to believe that God is bigger than I'd ever imagined.

I have no idea where that will take me or what I'm supposed to do. I'll still cook dinner tonight and mop the floor, but inside, I feel the rumblings of a revolution. An overthrow of all the spoonfed, preconceived notions and limitations I've had of God.

I'm ready to imagine and I'm ready to ask.

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The Million Dollar Question

Posted on 05.04.06 in General and there are 4 comments.

The Cachinnator posed a question over at Shlog (did I really just write that? Is that English?) that has been bouncing around in my head. "Why aren't we the boldest leaders and the most attractive engaging artists in the world?" Jesus was. Why aren't we? I'm just thinking out loud here, but I wonder if part of it is that we've created such a secure subculture for ourselves and such a specific desciption of what a Christian does or does not look, act, sound, dress, speak or live like that we've often surpressed or alienated many of those whom God have truly gifted with creativity or leadership. I'm not a music historian, but stories of Bob Dillon spring to my mind here and maybe Bono. Those are just some of my thoughts. What are yours?

Acceptable Sin?

Posted on 05.03.06 in General and there are 4 comments.

Let me start by giving my definition of sin. I don't see sin in a Bible beating "YOU'RE WRONG!" kind of way. I see sin as something that gradually hardens our hearts to the voice of a loving God. So, what is acceptable sin? This is something I've always wondered about. I recently watched a PG-13 movie that, at the end, I said,"Oh! That was great!" It was a romantic comedy and I was excited that "there wasn't too much junk in it." However, in that hour and a half, I listened to, watched and emotionally participated in a movie that had all kinds of stuff that I would never participate in - in real life. Is the story worth it? Why is that ok? Why is it ok to watch actors do things or say things that we would never want to do? Or is it? Thoughts?

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