Our Walk Should Match Our Talk

An engraving on a cathedral wall in Germany bears these soul-searching words:
Thus speaketh Christ our Lord to us,
"You call me Master and obey me not;
You call me light and see me not;
You call me the Way and walk me not;
You call me life and live me not;
You call me wise and follow me not;
You call me fair and love me not;
You call me rich and ask me not;
You call me eternal and seek me not;
If I condemn you, blame me not."

Hmm...His promises to us are conditional,
aren't they?!?!?!?

Drawing Near

I am reading the book Drawing Near by John Bevere

One of the questions after the chapter I read a couple of days ago says, "In the beginning of this chapter, the author writes, 'Over this time I've discovered two major groups within the church...The first are those who seek God for what He can do; while the second seek Him for who He is.' Be honest-in which group do you see yourself?"

Hmm...not a question I think I have thought much about before!

Jonathan makes the statement..."You have as much God as you want"
I am "grappling" with these thoughts and am committing to thirsting more for Him.
Here is another statement in the book that , I guess you would say, is convicting me. I want to make sure I am pursuing Him all the way!
"Our souls desire what we feed them. If we have a steady diet of sports, we will crave ESPN. If we have a steady diet of movies and Hollywood gossip we will crave movie channels, magazines, and conversation that appeals to this appetite. If we constantly feed on the business world and current events, that is what we'll long for. If our satisfaction is in our homes, cars, clothes, and so forth, then we will light up with passion when we discuss shopping, or a new car, or decorating ideas, and we'll find spiritual conversations mundane. We'll have a hard time reading the Scriptures or tarrying in the prayer closet. However, if we feed on a steady diet of the Word of God, it is easy to set aside time for prayer, and conversations on spiritual things will come easily and flow naturally. We will crave the presence of God and desire intimacy with Him."

Zion Meets Great Great Grandpa

Zion Michael Ray & Great, Great Grandpa Ray

Tuesday we rented a mini-van so that all of us could travel together to Warsaw, Mo. We wanted Great, Great Grandpa to meet Zion. He has been on Jeremy and Tricia's "case" to get busy and make him a Great, Great Grandpa. We all sure wished Great Grandpa Bill were still here. He sure would enjoy being a Great Grandpa!
My dad is Great Grandpa to Zion, but he is five years older than Great, Great Grandpa Ray!

Jonathan Preaching

Sunday night we got to hear Jonathan preach! He did a wonderful job. He taught a lot of "meaty" stuff but I can simply put that he challenged us to

• READ
• PRAY
• OBEY

I told him he is definitely not a "warm fuzzies" kind of preacher! To be honest...I am not looking for warm fuzzies...I am looking to be challenged to be drawn deeper in the ways of My Creator!

Thanks, Jonathan! To God Be The Glory!

Just When

These are the word to a song that touched me this morning. The album is Lover of My Soul by Monty Poe
Why do I come here, why am I always in this place, I've become lost in, catching a glimpse of Your sweet face. I hear You knocking at the door. I'm fascinated by You more and more. The fragrance of Your love is sweet, The melody You sing is stirring me.
Just when I think it's time to rest my weary soul, You stir the fire again. Just when I feel my lovesick heart will settle down, I see Your face again. And oh the way You say my name, Like a Song of Songs, a true lover's refrain
Come away, come away my Love, Come away, fly with me, my Dove. Come away, lift Your voice and sing. Come away, come away with Me.

Crocheting

I believe this is the fifth time have made this particular afghan. I love the details on it and I enjoy the fact that it turns out so big compared to what other patterns call for. My mom has asked me how many afghans I have made. I always say I don't know! "Is it in the hundreds?", she asks.
I would have to say yes! I actually developed "tennis elbow" from too much crocheting!

I Got to Hold Zion for Several Hours Yesterday

He has already changed so much! I went over to help at their house. Well...yeh, I helped! I just held Zion the whole time unless Mom was feeding him!
He is absolutely Adorable!

What Is The Cutest Scene You Ever Saw?

A few years back I was out for a walk at around 5:30 in the morning at Rock Springs Ranch in Kansas. Suddenly off to my left I saw a lot of black and white "commotion" going on in the field. I stopped to see what in the world it was (it was dawn...so I had to focus at first!) Lo and behold eight baby skunks were playing in the field! They were chasing and jumping over each other! I stood there for quite some time not caring that I was messing up my workout time. I doubt I get to see that again!

(This is not my picture, I took it off some site on the web. It is bigger that the ones I saw.)

So, what is your cute scene story?

Morning Glory

If I am going to have my own personal blog it will have to have something about Morning Glories. If my husband is going to encase my house with garden capabilities (excpet in front of the garage!) and build three decks and a front porch....then I have places for Morning Glories. As you can see, I have a wall forming up the back. Before the season is over my whole upper deck will be engulfed! For years I have planted them and then harvested the seeds so as to plant the next year. I eagerly wait for the end of August when the flowers finally come and are out for just a few hours in the morning. Then school starts and I hate to go because I know all those Morning Glories will be gone when I get home! Up till now I have only had the typical blue ones. I have discovered there are many kinds of Morning Glories. So, late in August I will be looking for Pic0tee Blue(double layer with white edge), Chocolate (pink ones?) and Mountain Glory blue( the leaf is very different!). But it looks like I will not have to wait anymore to see the Good Morning Red!
Actually this year I am trying other climbers besides Morning Glories. I have Clymatis, Hyacinth Bean, Cypress Vine,Moonflower and Climbing Spinach! Fun, fun, fun!
Aren't you glad I don't know how to load my slidshows on here?!?!?!

Talk About Blessings!

Here is my family! This picture was taken by Kelly Jackson on December 22, 2005(our 33rd anniversary) The sitting was Jeremy and Tricia's Christmas gift to us. Two days later we found out that Tricia was pregnant in this picture and this would not be an up-to-date picture of our family for long!