Journey into Forever

     I may have said this before, but I am really affected by music ( is that the right word to use...you know like their, there, and they're?). Music can speak to me more than just about anything.  For a while I confused music with worship, which is fairly easy to do, I think.  I have that straight now, but I am still strongly pulled by a Christian song.  If you listen carefully, it's not the music. It's the words that hold such meaning.  There are some amazing poets writing Christian lyrics these days. Inspired by God as I am sure many are, each word becomes a message in itself.      I believe songs are one way God speaks to us.  I remember one specific incident when I was having a hard time with various incidents in my life.  I really wanted to talk to my friend and advisor. Couldn't get her on the phone, and was driving in Springfield feeling really sorry for myself.  At that particular moment, "Words I Would Say" by Sidewalk Prophets comes on the radio.

      I guess you know by now that I tend to read a lot.  I love to get new ideas, look in different directions, and compare others' thoughts with my own.  The book I am reading now is "rocking my world" and in my opinion could be one of the most meaningful books I've ever read.      I didn't plan to read it.  Probably wouldn't have bought it until much later when I heard about it from others.  The copy I am reading now was either given to me as I checked out from the Lifeway store, or it was offered to me so cheaply that I couldn't turn it down.  I really don't remember, but I know that God had a hand in it.  I just love it when He does stuff like that, don't you?          The title of the book is " not a fan." by Kyle  Idleman.  Idleman is  the teaching pastor at Southeast Christian Church in Louisvsille, Kentucky, the fifth largest church in Amcrica.  When he was about to address an Easter crowd of around 30,000 people, he was strug

     Have you seen that commercial?  The one where the girl believes everything she hears on the Internet?  Then, when the man she is corresponding with tells her he's a French model, she completely believes it. Even when she sees him, and he's OBVIOUSLY not a model,she accepts it as truth simply because she heard it on a source she completely trusts.  Funny, huh?       I had a similar experience this weekend.  I know better, and yet I fell into this one head first.  It's a pretty easy thing to do, and something that is becoming more and more frequent as time passes.  I had asked for a new reference to use in my Bible study for Christmas.  Someone whose opinion I value had used it, and I took that as all I needed for a recommendation.   I have used it intermittently and liked it.  I even recommended it to a friend .  Well, to make a long story short, this friend and I went into a Christian bookstore to purchase the item and were told they didn't carry it.  I could tell

      Ok.  Dont have an attack because I am posting twice in the same week, but this is a good activity I wanted to share.  I am planning for an event in September, which led me to look for words that begin with the letter "u".  Knowing full well that you can google words you want to find, since at one point I did that for a scrabble game ( sorry Linda, you just beat me too much!) I tried that method.  I was very selective, choosing only words from the list that could  relate to my experience with God in some way.       As I began, I found myself thinking about how each one related to God and/ or my experience with Him.  What started out as a simple search became a time of praise and worship.  I found 48 words beginning with "u", that were wonderful descriptors of my Lord.  It became 48 statements to Him of what He means in my life.      I challenge you to spend some time, maybe over the course of a few days, and do this activity.  You can pick a random letter, th

      Well, I have to start this time with a cheer.  A statement of amazement actually.  We have all experienced some form of what I'm about to celebrate.  Those tiny moments where we KNOW, we just know that what has just happened was Divine.  An event, something someone else says,  even a song or a tv or radio program can be directly speaking to us, sent by heavenly messenger .      I say this next part certainy not as a "fishing" expedition.  As you know, I kind of put myself all out there, for anyone to see.  So, I have to tell you that writing this blog is not some sort of social experiment, or a platform to promote myself.  I don't want to be a big blogger or anything like that.  Honestly, I wouldn't be even doing this if I had a choice. But it isn't a choice.....not now, not really.  I suppose I could stop, but I have learned the hard way that not following what you are pretty confident is the will of God is like asking for a flood right after you get t

      Just got back from a few days at the lake.  It was a good time.....hot, but a good time.  Had some family birthday parties, and missed some family members who were not able to come.    REALLY hot, as you can imagine.  Thank heaven for campers with air conditioning!  My mom says we're not really camping because we aren't "roughing  it".  I say if we were roughing it I wouldn't even be there.  At 58, sorry 59, I no longer have any desire to rough it.  And if my camping is for the pampered set, so be it.  I roughed it when I was young!       We really like camping.   Sometimes we go to rugged places, and sometimes we camp in the middle of a city.  Some people don't understand our love for camping.  A friend of ours once asked why we were getting a camper.  He made the point that the money spent on the camper would buy a lot of hotel rooms.  He was right.  It sure would.  But as my husband answered, that's just not who we are.  We are campers.  Differen