Ladies Christmas Party..postponed due to ice :(

Every year we have a large ladies Christmas event, with music, food, fellowship, sometimes games, sometimes speakers, but always a great event.
This years party was scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 8, the weekend of the ice storm. EVERYTHING was cancelled that day.
We rescheduled the party for Tuesday, Dec. 17. Of course, rescheduling is hard, so we did not have the crowd we normally do, but we did have a great time playing games and truly enjoyed singing the traditional Christmas carols.
So sad, we decorated the tables and forgot to light the candles in the centerpieces. Nothing was up to par!
We took a few pictures with props in a picture corner, and, those are the only pictures I took.

And we said, "Now make a funny face, and Pat thought, "Not on your life!"

Speaking of Gifts...

Getting out of a rut

I was thinking about Moses the other day, and his experience with God in the burning bush. I thought there are some principles to be found in that story that will probably help someone who is stuck in a rut. The Bible does not say that Moses was in a rut, but, look at the situation. Moses was the adopted son of the daughter of Pharaoh, raised as royalty, educated and groomed to possibly be the next Pharaoh, ruler of the most powerful nation of the world. He had all the worldly possessions, power, esteem that anyone could want.

And, he knew where his roots were. He was a child of Abraham, a son of the chosen people, specially chosen and loved by the creator God. He was positioned to have all of the divine influence and blessings.

He lost it all when he was 40 years old, and he killed an Egyptian slave master and had to run. He ended up in Midian, married the daughter of a Midianite shepherd, and spent the next 40 years working for his father in law as a shepherd, a bottom of the barrel kind of occupation. No power, no prestige, no esteem, no divine influence, no blessing. 

He must have had some hard times, considering all that he had, all that he lost. After 40 years of this mundane life, he might have felt disappointment and disillusionment. All of that changed with one divine, amazing, miraculous encounter. I think we can learn some principles from his story.

Exodus 3:1-3

 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, "I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned."

First principle: Stop long enough to investigate.

Moses was busy, at work, going about his business. As far as he knew, this was just another day of shepherding, another day of work. It's significant that God calls people who are busy: Gideon was threshing grain (Judg 6), Samuel was serving in the tabernacle (1 Sam 3), David was caring for sheep (17:20), Elisha was plowing (1 Kings 19:19-21), four of the apostles were managing their fishing business (Mark 1:16-20), and Matthew was collecting taxes (Matt 9:9). This was not Sunday, not a special day of any kind, not a day set aside to hear from God, but, in the midst of his day, he stopped to check out the unusual occurrence.  Although we desperately need to set aside time to be alone with God, to be still and know Him, to quite our minds and ears to hear from Him, often, he comes to us when we don’t expect.

I wonder how many things we miss just because we don’t stop to find out.

Ex 3:4-5

4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am."

When God saw that he took notice of the burning bush, and turned aside to see it, and left his business to attend it, then God called to him.

Second principle:  If we want to hear from God, we have to pay attention when He speaks, even if it is not convenient or not what, where, or when we expect.

Moses reply, “Here I am.”

Such a simple response to such a magnificent experience. God called to him out of the bush. Moses seemed to fully accept this, even though it had never happened before.

Third principle: Be open even when your concepts are challenged.

I often hear Christians comment about another person’s experience, saying, that can’t be God, because God doesn’t do things like that. In the past year or so, I often wonder about that statement, because it seems to me that if people in the Bible had that attitude, we wouldn’t have much of a Bible.

I think that if this had not happened to Moses, what would happen if I came in here and said, “Hey, today I was out in my back yard doing some work and I saw a bush with fire coming out of it. I stopped to check it out, and God called out to me from the fire, Jeannette, Jeannette.”  I pretty much think you all would think I was crazy. Think of the crazy things God did, things that had never been done before.

Told Noah to build a huge boat, when it had never even rained before.

Jacobs dream of angels ascending and descending, revealing that God was with him.

Spoke to the prophet Balaam through his donkey.

Told Abraham to kill his son.

Hundreds of examples…….

Moses did not hesitate, did not question whether this was truly God or not, he just said, Here I am.

I want that to be my response.

Ex 3:5-6

5 Then he said, "Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." 6 And he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Moses had to respond to God’s holiness. God called to him, but then instructed him to stop, to not come quickly or rashly, but to remove his shoes.

Fourth principle: A visitation from God requires a proper response.

When God comes to us, speaks to us, calls us by name, reveals Himself in any way, that visitation requires a response.

If God speaks to me from the word as I spend time with Him, He expects a response from me. Moses was required to acknowledge God’s holiness.

I love to read. Often, as I read the Bible or a book about God, I feel God speaking; He ignites something in my spirit based on what I am reading. Often, I struggle to stop to listen and respond. I am excited, and just want to continue reading, to hear more.

Maybe God doesn’t want to speak to me until I respond to what he has already said. I need to understand the holiness of the ground I am standing on.

When God speaks, that is a holy moment and requires a response.

Then, God reveals himself…I am the God…

We need to hear from God. We need his words. Jesus said, man lives by the word of God…the fresh speaking.

Ex 3:7-12

7 Then the Lord said, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10  Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt." 11 But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?" 12 He said, "But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain."

Fifth principle: Don’t give up. God doesn’t forget our prayers.

“I have seen.” God has come to answer prayer…not Moses prayer, but the cry of the Israelites in Egypt.

Prayer is not limited in time space.  God is ready to move, ready to come to the aid of His people. He is offering Moses the assignment of a lifetime. Moses had dreamed of being the deliverer of his people, but he had blown that 40 years ago. He had resigned himself to life in the shadows, a fugitive, living as a Midianite, with no connection to his people.

God has appeared in a dramatic, unexpected way and called Moses.

But it all started when Moses took the time to investigate a strange sight. 

Ladies Retreat 2014

Cottonwood Ladies  Retreat

Feb 28-March 1, 2014

Uniquely  Designed

But by the  grace of God  I am what I am. 1 Cor 15:10

              

                     at the  McM Elegante Hotel, Abilene

 The retreat begins at 7:00pm Friday, Feb. 28, and will end by 4:00pm Sat, March 1.

 God created each of us with unique and  individual gifts, abilities, and desires. He calls us to follow Him in personal and individual ways.  In celebration of that fact,  we will have a number of speakers who are living out their own unique calling with boldness and impact.  Be encouraged and inspired by their diverse stories.

                    Retreat Cost

           Registration by                 Feb. 1               after Feb 1

    4 people in a room                  $50                     $75

    3 people in a room                  $60                     $85

    2 people in a room                  $70                     $95 

    1 person  alone                       $115                  $140

 To register, send a your name, address, phone number, with a check to 890 W Long, Stephenville, TX 76401

Praying for Anderson Cooper

January 12, 2010, a giant earthquake devastated Haiti. Because our daughter, Libby, had just returned from spending 2 weeks in Haiti on a medical mession trip, we were sensitive to news from Haiti. When I heard a quick news alert concerning the earthquake, I began to search for TV news coverage. The only channel that seemed to be aware of the event was CNN, which began coverage immediately. CNN quickly sent a news crew to Haiti. We watched the coverage for days, and were very touched by the care, the sympathy, even the actions of the CNN crew.

Anderson Cooper was the anchor for the crew. He showed tremendous concern for the people there, a genuine compassion, even helped with the rescue efforts.

Soledad Obrien went to several orphanages, held the children, spoke to the care givers who were stranded with no food or supplies to care for the children, and she worked to make connections to get provisions to them.

Gary Tuchman covered much of the search and rescue efforts. Since he speaks French, he was able to serve as a translator for foreign rescue teams who could not communicate with the Haitian people they were trying to aid, taking time from his news coverage to stay with groups during the rescue efforts.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta was in Haiti as the medical correspondent, but, due to the severe shortage of doctors, he began to do surgery in the primitive, temporary medical tents that were set up.

Eventually, other networks sent crews in and began continual coverage, but no other crew seemed to show the same compassion that the CNN crew had shown.  I knew nothing about their personal beliefs, but there was no indication that any of them were Christians.  I was touched by the genuine humanity of that group of people and began to pray for them, for their salvation, that God would have mercy upon them and draw them to Himself. I especially felt drawn to pray for Soledad Obrien and Anderson Cooper.

In August of 2011, I attended the Willowcreek International Leadership Conference (actually we attended the satellite viewing in Waco). The final speaker of the conference was Erwin McManus. He recounted a story of attending a conference for Hispanic leaders in Washington DC, where he met Solidad Obrien. When she found out that he was there as a leader in the area of Christian ministry, she began to ask him questions. That evening, she told McManus that she wanted to know how to come become a Christian, and she was ready to give her life to Jesus right then.  (I don't remember the exact words, but that is the essence of what he shared.)  I was excited, thrilled, exultant! I had prayed for her, believing that God would work, not really expecting to ever hear the outcome. How sweet that God allowed me to hear the story.

I continued to pray for Gary, Sonjay, and Anderson, but, as time had gone by, I have lost the zeal.
Then, a few weeks ago, in the context of a Sunday School lesson about Jonah, and God's unexpected mercy, I spoke a little about people who come to Christ who seem to be the last one you ever expect, and one example I used was Brian Welch from the very anti-everything-about-God hard rock band, who came to Christ in 2005.

Doesn't look like a good prospect for the gospel, does he?

My friend Karen said that in the 1990's, when she worked with youth, she saw a picture of Brian Welch, and she and the youth began to pray for his salvation.  

That story renewed by desire to pray. When I am disturbed by the actions or words of a celebrity, I will pray. When I am touched by the caring and compassion of someone I see on TV, someone whose belief system is humanism, I will pray for them. 

And, I am praying for Anderson Cooper with new faith and new zeal. 

God is REALLY emotional

During a recent study of the book of Hosea, I was impressed with just how deeply emotional God is.
The book begins with the shocking command from God to his prophet Hosea, telling him to go and marry a prostitute. Hosea obeyed, marrying a prostitute named Gomer. The next chapters tell the saga of Hosea's love for his continually unfaithful wife. Gomer leaves their family and lives with other men, until, eventually she ends up being sold as a slave. Hosea buys her and brings her home. His demand? That she stay with him and be faithful. And he promises to continue to be faithful to her. Pretty amazing story.

God is clear that this story is to illustrate His love for Israel, and His continual faithfulness to them even as they pursue idols. The story of Hosea reveals God’s heart that breaks over His people who turn away from Him. Chapter 11 is a snapshot that summarizes the whole book.

See how tender God is toward His people.

Hos 11:1-4

  When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.

The more they were called, the more they went away;  they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols. 

Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up by their arms, but they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them.

But, because of their sin, God is planning judgment against them

Hos 11:6-7

The sword shall rage against their cities, consume the bars of their gates, and devour them because of their own counsels. My people are bent on turning away from me, and though they call out to the Most High,

he shall not raise them up at all.

But, still, He hesitates to bring judgment because of His love. 

Hos 11:8-9

How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel?

... My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my burning anger;

I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath. 

God’s love is so strong.  Like a man in love, loving an unfaithful woman blindly, or like a parent who cannot stop loving his child. God does not want to turn away from Israel.

 God does not want to bring judgment against His people. He wants them to return to Him. He delays judgment so that that will. He gives them chance after chance. God's love is deep and tender. 

Some time ago theologians formulated the doctrine of God’s impassibility. They argued that God was “without passions.” Their motive was to distinguish God from the mood swings and more erratic and unstable aspects of human emotions. Unfortunately, many Christians came to believe that God doesn’t have emotions.
It’s critical that we know the heart of God. He genuinely loves and cares about us. If we believe he has no emotions, then we will never feel his love for us, nor will we experience deep love for him.

An abundance of biblical passages show that God experiences a broad range of emotions. These are just a few. 

 Eph 4:30

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,

Deut 1:37

Even with me the Lord was angry on your account and said, 'You also shall not go in there. 

Judg 2:18

For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 

1 Kings 3:10

It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this

Zeph 3:17

The Lord your God is in your midst,  a mighty one who will save;  he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

Gen 6:6

And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 

The one thing that is the overriding factor in all His emotions is His love. He love us. That love is the foundation of the way He relates to us. 

Jer 31:3

I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.

1 John 4:10

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 

God does have emotions. He created us in his image, with the same emotions that he has. His are stable, dependable, not fickle, not out of balance. God's love is not a theological, vague, objective kind of love. His love is deep, tender, sweet, heart-felt. Yes, His love is stable unchanging, not fickle, but that does not make it cold and detached. We are safe and secure in His love. We don't have to wonder if He still loves us, because His love is eternal, and unconditional. AND, we are warmed and happy in His love, because His love is tender and personal. 

Snow Day

We have 2 or 3 inches of ice on the ground, so everything is cancelled.
My plans for the day included a visit in Brownwood, which I wouldn't dare try to make. This evening, we had planned to take the younger grandchildren, and anyone else who wanted to go, to Grapevine. We had planned to do this ever since I heard about it last Christmas, and a few weeks ago, made definite plans for Dec. 6, to experience the "North Pole Express" train ride, complete with hot chocolate, Christmas Carols, and a visit with Santa Claus. It looks like a lot of fun. Cancelled.
As a school child, there was nothing better than a "snow day", an unexpected day at home, which always involved some kind of outing! As a mom of school children, it was exciting to have an extra day at home, with snow on the ground, which usually melted by 10:00am, making hot chocolate and maybe baking cookies.
For the eight years that I worked for the state, a snow day was the best. An extra day off that did not have to be made up, and didn't use up a vacation day. State offices closed when the schools in the area were closed, so my girls and I would anxiously watch the closures to see if we would stay home together.

There is still something special about a cold, snowy or icy day, when usual activities have to stop, an enforced day at home. Even though with my job now I do things that I really, genuinely want to do, cancelling everything to stay at home is good.
This morning, I had extra time to pray at a leisurely pace. Soooo enjoyable and refreshing. (I can do that anytime, I just don't always take the extra time.)

I put turnip greens in the crop pot to cook for supper. When I was a child, turnip greens was one of my favorite dishes. A few times a year, I would go with my mom to a friends house to pick greens. I called the man who grew the greens "Rabbit". There was an old well hole in his yard, and I thought that was why his name was Rabbit, but it may not have even been his name. Maybe I just called him that because he had a hole in his yard and he grew vegetables! Anyway, when we got home, Mom would wash the greens and start cooking them. As soon as they were tender, she would dish a plate out for me, cause I couldn't wait to eat them. Sweet memories. Even as an adult, when my mom made a special dinner for me, it would include turnip greens and corn bread.

After getting supper started, I sat down to do some research. This week, my Doctor called me in to discuss my recent blood work. Surprise! My cholesterol is high, my triglycerides are high, my vitamin D is VERY low, and something about insulin being low. My doctor said she knew I didn't want to take meds, and I can try to get it down through diet. Problem is, I am not overweight, and I really eat a healthy diet. I bought the supplements suggested; vitamin D3, Omega oil, red yeast rice; and I started eating oatmeal.

Today, I sat down to research essential oil use for cholesterol treatment. We have been using oils the last few months, and have had good results. Les starting using a product from Doterra oils, a blend called Onguard that helps fight disease. He put it on his sinuses, along with Oregano oil to stop a sinus infection he felt coming on. It stopped the infection from develping. A bonus, is that is has stopped his heavy drainage and allergies! No more coughing, harking, and sputtering every morning. Pretty amazing. I have seen benefits from Tea Tree oil on little sores and scrapes. I have had a sore in front of my ear for years. It bleeds a bit for a while, then it scabs over, heals, becomes a little bump...then it will start bleeding and oozing again. It has cycled like that for years. I began putting tea tree oil on it and it completely healed within a week. We are super excited about the oils.
So, today, I  discovered what oils are good for cholesterol, and ordered some. I have to have blood work again in June, so we will see if the oils work.

I baked some cookies, always a good activity for a snow day. We went out and ran a little errand. Nothing is melting. The high temp today at our house was 27, and it is down to 25 now. Looks like tomorrow may be another "snow day."