Letting God use your life Topic: God things
There is a little, tiny village at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. After an 8 mile hike down and through the Canyon, you come upon some wooden rail fencing, you begin to see animals like dogs, a cow, a horse, then a very humble home or two. As you pass, you notice somber Native American faces watching you. These are the Supai people and they have always lived in the bottom of the Grand Canyon, west of where most of the tourists go. I have been on this hike once and it is etched in my memory. It is beautiful there. They live where springs come gushing out of the walls of the canyon, pouring into streams and rivers, then off a sheer cliff, forming a waterfall.
The waterfalls (there are 3 of them I think....maybe 4) carve a pool at their base, which is the destination most hikers are seeking who come to Havasupai Canyon. The pools are a beautiful greenish blue color as they are carved from limestone. From the pool, the limestone forms terraced mini pools and then into a stream again, until it jets off of another cliff, into another pool. This finally concludes at the Colorado River and makes a spectacular place to visit. The Supai Indians run the campgrounds, a store and sell things to hikers. (Hiking is the only way there) They depend on the tourism, but they distance themselves from the toursists as well. They are used to and love their simple way of life there. This was the destination of a group of college kids on a spring break mission trip. My daughter Hannah knew a lot of the people who went on it from a Christian organization on campus.
She called from college last week, a week after spring break was over and seemed out of sorts. She told me that a friend of hers from school had died over the break while on the mission trip. She couldn't wrap her head around that and frankly, neither could I. Looking at this young man's myspace page, it was obvious that he loved the Lord and wanted with all his being to make a difference in the world. Why would God allow this seemingly senseless thing to happen? A young man jumps into a pool by a waterfall and never resurfaces alive. It's tragic and confusing. It's been on my mind and in my prayers all week.
Then she called again and I asked about how her friends were doing. The sudden death of a young person can cause such confusion and pain. She told me that some of the people who were with him on the trip were feeling so overwelmed with guilt about the incident. Please pray for these young adults.
When I read Hannah's blog today, my heart swelled and in a moment, all the details made sense. The Supai people have seen many drownings in their years of letting tourists come onto their land. It is a wild and rugged place. There are no emergency resources to call upon there. If you have an emergency, you have to wait for a helicopter to come. They have seen many groups handle the death of a loved one who drown in the rivers. But they had never seen a group handle a death with such hope and peace and unity as this college group did. As a result, the people listened more closely to what the mission group was teaching them.....and 15 of them gave their lives to Jesus. One of the women even made the journey out of the canyon to attend the young man's funeral.
Don't you know that young man who wanted to make a difference probably prayed with a sincere heart. "God use me in that village to bring people to know You."
And God did....
....and I have to ask myself, am I willing to let God make a difference with my life?
I don't know what to think! Topic: Blogging I have been seeing a little award going around the blogosphere lately in which bloggers honor other bloggers who make them think. Who woulda thunk I would get one! Thank you to e-mom. She is the owner of Chrysalis, one of my favorite blogs.....which is really more of an e-zine, with interesting articles and ideas on a huge variety of topics, all centered around the Christian world view. I appreciate e-mom and her work there so much. In fact she will surely be one of the five bloggers that I nominate.
As a cyber prize, e-mom sent me a white phaelenopsis orchid. Here it is:
Chrysalis has a wonderful article on Jerusalem in Jesus' time. I've been remembering and thinking about Israel a lot lately, this being Passover week and all. We're doing a seder meal at church on Thursday. (I'm making matzo ball soup.)
Here are the 5 blogs I would like to honor for making me think on a regular basis:
1. Chrysalis, a fine e-zine spot on the net. e-mom regularly posts articles by herself and others on really interesting and relevent topics in regards to Christianity. She asked me to choose someone else since she has already been honored with this by several others. But she deserves it and I want to honor her.
2. Here are 3 blogs from women who are currently serving on the foreign mission field. I learn so much about the culture they are living in, life as a missionary family and ways I can support them in prayer!
.....Following an Unkown Path is written by Amanda, who is a single American woman teaching at a college in Taiwan, China. She talks about her students, living in China, and working in a church there. She seems to have great joy in serving the Lord there.
.....Joy in the Journey is a beautiful blog about a young mother and her husband who are missionaries in Indonesia. She just had twins and they are in the U.S. until later this year for the babies' sake (they were premature). But I hope she reappears to blog more regularly some day. I love to read about their life and work there.
.....Blackpurl's Knitpickings is my friend, Alida's, blog. She and her husband work with the substance abuse epidemic in Russia. They are currently home on leave, getting their son settled in to live in the U. S. and go to college here. I got to meet her and one of her sons as they came through Phoenix. It was wonderful to meet her and I know they will appreciate your prayers as they continue their travels here, then go back 'home' to Russia to continue the work.
(heehee, I cheated by putting 3 in one catagory so I could show you more than 5 blogs....don't tell!)
3. Veritas is a blog my husband writes. Veritas means 'truth' and he loves to teach/preach and live for truth as he serves God as a pastor here.
4. Seek Joy and Live Love is currently the name of my daughter, Hannah's, blog. She likes to shake things up and ponder deep thoughts and social trends and change that needs to take place. It is fascinating to read what goes on inside the mind of a fervent Christian college student as she makes her way and is deciding how to respond to today's culture and church.
5. Adventures in Mercy is a blog written by Molly, a truly thinking woman I met on a stay at home mom's forum. She is making her way out of some very legalistic and extreme fundamentalism. It is amazing to see her thoughts and transformation as she worked through this change in her life. She is currently beginning college courses to further her education, so she is (sadly for us) closing down her blog soon. But I encourage you to take a look at her sight and glean what you can while it is still there.
Wow, I did it! I hope you enjoy these blogs as much as I do.
You do not have to be nominated to nominate others for the Thinking Blogger awards. Go here to see the rules.
A very good thing Topic: Humor/memes
For Palm Sunday we were to dress in black, so I needed some black panty hose. At Walmart the night before, I was reading all the boxes of the different brands and not very speedily either. Buying new panty hose is confusing because they all have different 'purposes'. All I really thought I needed was black ones, but then I got sucked into reading all the packages. I finally settle on a new kind by L'eggs brand that claims it is 'anti-cellulite'. At first I wondered if they were for me. (was my wearing anti-cellulite panty hose like making an anti-war person shoot a machine gun?) but then I realized it meant that it makes your legs anti-cellulite-looking! As an anti gravity machine makes gravity 'disappear'....yes, that was the hook. The light bulb went on! I snatched it up and gave them a good home.
And they work! I felt very smooth and secure all morning. And they didn't gradually roll down at the waist as time wore on, like control top hose. They are sturdy too! No runs, whereas, I usually can wear hose only once before they are ruined. (I usually buy the cheap ones) It got me thinking on what else they could make out of this wonder material! (I still don't know what it's called and the box is gone) I wish they could just go ahead and make all clothing out of it .....shorts, swimsuits, capris, sweat pants. Why waste a good thing? =)
Then at practice early on Sunday morning this was the conversation between me and a very thin teenage girl sitting next to me : (I so need to learn to just keep my mouth shut)
Me: I got new panty hose Jeana: Ah....cool. Me: ....they’re anti-cellulite! Jeana: What does that mean? Me: (suddenly realizing that she may not even know what cellulite IS and not wanting to explain it) It means they're TIGHT. Jeana: (chuckling) Ooooh.
Good Sunday Topic: People/Family stories Today’s service was very different for me. The service was very moody and somber. We did more of a Good Friday service instead of Palm Sunday because we're having a busy week there. We have regular Wed night service, the on Thursday we're having a Passover Seder. There is someone coming from Jews for Jesus to present it. Then Saturday we're doing a huge community outreach egg hunt and spring carnival. We get hundreds of people from the community for this....as well as one on halloween night, a fall carnival, not an egg hunt, silly. People want a fun, wholesome event to take their kids to, so we offer it and are getting to know our community...and they're getting to know us. Hopefully they see that we care about them and that they feel welcome there.
So anyway, in the service today I helped in the dramatic readings. I was a theater major in college and have done quite a bit of ministry type dramatic stuff in the past. But I had not done it in YEARS and especially not in this church. It was the first time anyone there had even seen me up on the platform. So that was fun and growth-ish for me. We had a big cross at the front that 3 men held up and stared at for the entire service!! (i think they had the hardest job) We were all dressed in black and most of the songs we sang were accompanied by iWorship dvd's up on the screen. Those are so inspiring! We also had communion, spread out in parts during the service.
Just before I had to go up on stage to read the dramatic prayer parts, Dianna was beautifully singing Via Delorosa, while scenes from the Jesus movie presented Jesus walking the Via Delorosa, then being put on a cross. And just before I had to head up on stage, the little girl behind me got hit with the impact of those scenes from the movie, that she started sobbing, grievously. I found out later that she had just given her life to Christ the previous Wednesday! So I was fumbling up the steps, trying to choke back the lump in my throat.
At the end, pastor hubby asked people to come and pray at the cross if they wanted to (the 3 men had laid it down in front of the Lord's supper table) or to come talk to him about decisions they wanted to make if they needed to. The drama team lead the way to kneel and pray there.
So I was there praying, when I felt my 9 year old Maggie sidle up to me and laid her head on my lap. When I was finished, I went to take a seat and she stayed there. My sight was blocked from seeing her because of the piano's positioning. My sister leaned over when Charles started to end the prayer time and told me Maggie was still there and she was crying hard. Another lady (the pianist actually) had gone to sit by her. My sister told me that Maggie had really taken hard the scenes of The Passion that were played during a few of the readings or songs. So it really got her grieving. I had forgotten about those scenes…I had to put my eyes down during them so I wouldn’t be too choked up to say my lines. I told her afterward that we hadn't let her go see The Passion a couple years ago because it was so realistic and hard to see. But she told me she really wanted to see it this week, before Easter. I guess that will be our Friday thing. This will be a memorable/meaning-full Easter for her.
It is interesting how adults can prepare a moving service, carefully rehearsed and appointed, but what moves you the most is seeing someone else, especially a child, experience the gut-churning grief of realizing for the first time what Jesus actually went through....for us.
The Triumphal Entry and the Ultimate Triumph Topic: Holidays/Vacations
John 12:12-16 The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the King of Israel!"
Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, "Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt." At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.
Revelation 7:9-12 After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying:
"Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!"
Surfing through music tonight Topic: People/Family stories
My husband is out camping under the stars on Table Mesa tonight. Some men from church have ATV's (quads) and they plan these outings once in a while. They always invite Charles along and he comes home all dusty, windblown, sunburned and sore, saying he's had a great time.
So I am surfing around the net, not able to sleep.
I put in an order with Columbia House...so look for CD reviews soon. I've been listening to some songs from the CD's tonight, here is what I've found:
Michael W. Smith Stand He's always got great songs and Charles loves his music. Okay, here's a new one by Smitty: It's all in the Serve And here is a reeeeaaalllly old one: I am Up I'm just gonna say...he's come a long way. =)
Jars Of Clay Good Monsters I'm finally getting their new CD. I've been listening to their new songs on youtube. If you want to hear a very moving song of repentence (personal, or as the Church or country...or world), this is it....(Hannah, you will really get charged up about it) Oh, My God Oh and they have a blog, I discovered tonight while I was out surfing. Listen to the podcast on there of the Swedish chef singing GL's Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald.....very silly.
Chris Rice Short Term Memories It's not his newest CD, but it's got a song on it that makes me think of my dad. If I could sing, I would have sung it at his funeral. Chris Rice singing it: Come to Jesus Here's a ballet to the song, performed at Saddleback church: Come to Jesus worship dance And he has a blog too.
Starfield Beauty In The Broken I don't know anything about this group. I wanted something new though. It was between this and Leeland. Here is a sample though: Filled with your Glory
Newsboys Go I love the Newsboys.....they rock. (dude) Here are clips from this new CD, Go.
Adie Don't Wait I don't know why, but this girl grabbed my attention from the first time I saw the Benjamin's Gate video with her in a quilted pink satan bathrobe and moonboots. She's mellowed out now in her music and it's beautiful! What have I done?
Friday's Feast #137 Topic: Humor/memes Appetizer What are you proud of? My husband! He is my best friend, he's my pastor and he reads my blog. (which makes me proud too) And my daughters. They are each growing into really cool young women with a heart for laying down their lives and following God.
Soup What is the best thing you’ve ever won as a prize? I never win things, but a friend once entered me into a contest and I won (in her name) this really cool wooden bench for a front porch. It was very country looking, which fit our house in Williams great, but our house in Phoenix is southwesternish, so it now resides at my friend Lisa's house.
Salad Name something you do that is a waste of time. Probably this meme.....but mostly sudokus...what is the plural of that? Sudoki?
Main Course In what year of your life did you change the most? That is a hard question. I feel like there have been several of those kinds of years. Good grief...I started listing them and it's way too long! It goes something like this though: years when there was great personal loss (my brother, friends, 2 preborn babies, my dad) or gain (marriage, babies, friends) or some kind of spiritual decision and there have been several.
Dessert Where is a place you consider to be very tranquil? Floating in my pool, lying in the hammock when we're out camping, my screened in porch on a cool morning.
Birds and Bees...it's nice outside Topic: People/Family stories It has been perfect weather in Phoenix lately folks.
Sitting in my screened in porch in the mornings with a cup of strong coffee in a long sleeved, cotton shirt over my jammies is perfection. I read my Bible and I try to listen. I have to try hard, because I find the mockingbirds howling at the mourning doves (who are making a spectacle of themselves with the male doing the hoochy coochie dance of love while the female totally ignores him and walks along under the mockingbird's nest pecking at invisible specks) and woodpeckers tapping on the palm trees and pigeons eating my dog's dry food very distracting. I am reading in Psalms and have gotten to the Psalms of Ascent. It makes me long for the New Jerusalem and makes me wonder about future things. (I heard that Beth Moore is preparing a new Bible study on these Psalms and I can't wait!)
By mid-morning it is warm enough outside that you want to be in the shade. That is, unless you are a senseless teen who wants a tan. Last week being Spring Break, 2 of my girls went out to broil themselves several times. Hannah went home with at least 3 different tan lines on her back...actually burn lines. This is somehow supposed to make her look better in a halter style bridesmaid dress in May. (remember Hannah, lighten up lol) I had a dream last night that she was walking down the aisle at the wedding with a perfect tan, except for one streak of white, the size of a bathing suit tie. I woke up half alarmed for her and half cracking up.
The evenings are perfectly cool, just right for eating outside and lighting the fire in the chiminea. It's also perfect for inspiring this blog post as I sit by the pool with my laptop. (It's kind of dangerous too. A HUGE, orange blossom glutting, black bumble bee just flew by, wondering if I was an orange tree and swooped in front of me. My first reaction was to swing my open laptop around at him, because he scared the bejeebers out of me! But I came to my senses and just tossed my hair around wildly....pretty stupid-looking, but it worked!)The scent of orange blossoms is so strong this time of year that you literally smell it ALL the time, except when you are in a building with no windows open. There are so many orange trees in Phoenix that it wafts in and out of every neighborhood, in your windows on the highway and even in parking lots when you get out of your car. I love that smell...no artificial 'orange blossom' scent has ever come close to the actual smell I think. I am so glad I never developed an allergy to it, because believe me, if you have allergies to orange blossoms, you are in deep, deep misery for several weeks every March!
Then all night long, weve been sleeping with a fan in the window, bringing in the scent of orange blossoms and fresh rain. Three days of wonderful rain this week! My chamomile plants are very happy and ready to be plucked.
Well, the sun is gone from the sky, the dusk is settling in and I need to go throw some frozen pizzas in the oven for my kids who keep peeking out here and asking if I'm going to make dinner tonight. =)
Friday's Feast #136 Topic: Humor/memes Please read:First a general announcement. I learned this morning that my blog is causing some frustration with pop up ads. I do not see the pop up ads usually, because I am on a MacIntosh computer. (most of those ads are not formatted to pop up on Macs) So if you could...even if you never, ever comment.....please drop me a note if you are getting pop ups or if they are keeping you from leaving comments, just email me a short note?? My email is: crickandchas at yahoo dot com. This will help me to write an email to my blog provider (angelfire) and let them know of any trouble people are having. They are usually good about fixing things.
I did notice that all the ads are gone from my actual page. (at least from my computer) So maybe these pop ups are replacing the ads on the page. I'm really sorry if it's causing frustration. I used to despise pop up ads when I had a pc.
Thank you to M for letting me know!
Now here's the feast:
Appetizer Who is your favorite news anchor/reporter? Why? I like the evening news anchors on our local Fox channel here in Phoenix. They are not too serious, they seem to be informed and not just reading a script, and they seem to be neutral in their opinions on social and political things.
Soup Name 3 foods that are currently in your freezer. 1. Christmas biscotti, pfeffernuese cookies and undecorated gingerbread boys....I don't know what I"m keeping it for. I should put it out to be eaten! 2. Meat....a box of preshaped burger patties from Sam's club, a bag of boneless, skinless chicken breasts from the club also, corned beef, and steaks and pork chops I found on sale! 3. Lots of caked up frost in my outside freezer. My husband has informed me that we WILL empty out that freezer before summer (it pulls a lot of energy and runs too much in summer to keep cold) and just use our side by side freezer. So I will be cooking a lot in April!
Salad If you were to have the opportunity to name a new town or city, what would you call it? cricklwood or cricklhollow....lol Actually crickhollow is a town in the Fellowship of the Rings book.
Main Course What will most likely be the next book you read? A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains, the diary of Isabella L. Bird. She was a middle-aged English lady, who in 1873 in the autumn/early winter, set out on horse back through the Rocky Mountains, mainly the Estes Park area.....by herself! I've read it before several years ago and my husband found it for me again on Amazon. If you have a chance to read it and love Colorado, you'll love it.
Dessert What's the first thing you notice about the opposite gender? Well this question is a little uncomfortable for me since I'm married! But the first thing I notice about anyone I meet is their eyes and eye contact. I have no idea why.
A break from my break to bring you Passover ideas! Topic: People/Family stories
So, Spring Break is half way over and we haven't even had a chance to sit down to a meal all together yet! It's just been a busy week with teenagers and their social lives, pastor husband with weddings and funerals to do, and me trying to jump through all the hoops to get approved by the school district for a part time job. (more on that another time) I feel stressed out and not rested at all.
Thankfully the next 2 days and part of the third day, are all our own as a family. I seem to feel most rested when we've all been together....falling back from the busyness of life into our simple nest, we find the comfort that is there in each other's company.
Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh, nice.
Now here is an assignment for you....should you choose to do it. Go over to Chrysalis and read e-mom's wonderfully simple ideas to bring the full, rich meaning of Passover into our modern, weirdly bunnyish Easter. (yes, we do bunnies too, but it's still a weird way to celebrate a wonderful holiday) It's a simple start to making Easter so much more....sooooo much....
Spring Break Topic: Blogging
Sorry I haven't posted much lately. This is spring break week for all my kids, even one home from college, so I will probably be scarce for a few more days!
Friday's Feast #135 Topic: Humor/memes
**Get your own Friday Feast menu here.**
Appetizer Name two things that made you smile this week.
1. We saw a guy dressed up like Uncle Sam, waving a little flag, advertising an income tax service on the sidewalk of a busy intersection. He was leaning out, almost into oncoming traffic, staring with a silly smile on his face, making eye contact with oncoming drivers and just frozen with that silly smile. (I couldn't help it) I'm glad he likes his job so much.
2. A commercial came on a few nights ago advertising the television show Malcolm in the Middle. The boys' frog had died and they were all gathered for a backyard funeral, when all of a sudden one of them lights a fire cracker rocket and off it went, ''shooooosh'', into the sky.
Then one of the boys quips, "May he rest in pieces." (they shot the dead frog into the sky on a fire cracker!) I half choked, it caught me so much by surprise. I *instantly* found myself in pieces, snarfing and choking and laughing so hard I think I had an asthma attack.
My daughter, who was sitting there watching it too, just looked at me like I was nutso. I guess some people just don't have a very well developed sense of humor.
Soup Fill in the blank: Don't you hate it when ________?
Don't you hate it when people don't find something the slightest bit humorous when you are having an asthma attack from laughing so hard? *sheesh*
Salad When you can't go to sleep, what is your personal remedy to help yourself drift into Lullabyland?
Main Course What is something about which you've always wondered but have not yet found a good answer?
March Madness =(
Dessert What is your favorite pasta dish?
1. Seafood Alfredo 2. Jumbo ravioli (stuffed with Ricotta cheese, covered in red sauce and lots of cheese) 3. Chicken Linguini (cooked pasta...sometimes linguini....tossed with leftover chicken, crumbled bacon, shredded cheddar cheese and any kinds of cooked veggies....the sprinkle with parmessan cheese...yum!)
I have been seeing a little award going around the blogosphere lately in which bloggers honor other bloggers who make them think. Who woulda thunk I would get one! Thank you to e-mom. She is the owner of 
Today’s service was very different for me. The service was very moody and somber. We did more of a Good Friday service instead of Palm Sunday because we're having a busy week there. We have regular Wed night service, the on Thursday we're having a Passover Seder. There is someone coming from Jews for Jesus to present it. Then Saturday we're doing a huge community outreach egg hunt and spring carnival. We get hundreds of people from the community for this....as well as one on halloween night, a fall carnival, not an egg hunt, silly. People want a fun, wholesome event to take their kids to, so we offer it and are getting to know our community...and they're getting to know us. Hopefully they see that we care about them and that they feel welcome there. 
It has been perfect weather in Phoenix lately folks. 
ads usually, because I am on a MacIntosh computer. (most of those ads are not formatted to pop up on Macs) So if you could...even if you never, ever comment.....please drop me a note if you are getting pop ups or if they are keeping you from leaving comments, just email me a short note?? My email is: crickandchas at yahoo dot com. This will help me to write an email to my blog provider (angelfire) and let them know of any trouble people are having. They are usually good about fixing things. 
Appetizer
