Blackberry Seeds

I have had a great bear hug from God. He gives us hugs and encouragement when we don't even see it coming. He sends people to love on us and lead us when we need it the most. I have needed it. But I am not the only one.

I stood in the Amway Arena this past weekend with I don't even know how many other women worshiping the Lord at a Deeper Still Event. We sat on the edge of our seats as we heard that God goes beyond our expectations and then he will go beyond, beyond. We heard that we can rest in our faith even in a bad season. We rallied as we learned how to discern what was from God so that we would not get PUNKED! We laughed until we cried as we heard the banter between the ladies that led us deeper still into the word with God. We left with a challenge to go deeper still in our relationship with Jesus and expect him to go beyond, beyond and way past, way past as we rested in our faith of the one true God!

I was exhausted when I got home. I had the chance before driving home to have one of the best conversations and discussions with my new friends. I thank God for my sisters in Christ.

I had to go to work yesterday, on the Sabbath. I have to work every third weekend and this was my weekend to work. God blessed me when someone switched a day with me so that I could attend the conference on Saturday. I still had to work Sunday, so the blast of the conference was over and off to work I go, tired!

I momentarily forgot that I was expecting God to go beyond, beyond. I mean, I was going to be stuck at work(which has been really hard for me this year.)

I ended up meeting someone that was experiencing grief of a loved one. Hmmmm. I sure can relate to that.

He brought up his grief and we talked about grief and how hard it is. I shared that I was struggling with my own grief currently and I found myself offering to call a minister.

"No."

"Would you like a Bible?" (the limit of my expectation at the time)

"Yes. I have been seeing John 3:16 all over the place today, and I can't remember what it says."

" I can get you a Bible, but I can tell you what John 3:16 says. `For God so loved the world, that he sent his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.' " (okay, God just got me way past the limit of my expectation, I realized later that this is the first person that has ever asked me what John 3:16 says that didn't already know it or was in the process of memorizing it!)

I brought this person a Bible and told him it was a New Testament, but it did have the Psalms in it. Somehow, during this encounter, I got to share the plan of salvation with him. He was asking~ I was telling. Since he was anxious I asked him what story he like in the Bible. He wasn't really sure, so I told him when I am anxious, I like to read about Jesus calming the storm. He didn't know this story, but he wanted to read it. So I went to look it up, and I couldn't remember the book. I can always go right to it in my Bible, but I was having a moment of panic and it dawned on me...use your Blackberry.

Into my pocket as fast as could be, I used my new nifty Blackberry and googled `Jesus calms the storm.' I had flipped to the reference quick as could be and left him reading about the Prince of Peace.
(Now, by this time God took me beyond, beyond! Way past, way past! Did I see it coming? No, but I liked it. Thank you Jesus!)

He liked the story. He was smiling, yet he was still anxious. He struggles you see. He was taught as a child, that only 144,000 get into heaven.

Strange... he could remember that number of 144,000 and that learning heaven wasn't for him, but he couldn't recall John 3:16 at all.

A few seeds dropped, and one was even a Blackberry seed. Isn't God Awesome??????

This is what standing on good soil is all about:)

Now glory be to God who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of- infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts or hopes. May He be given glory forever and ever through endless ages because of his master plan of salvation for the church through Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 3: 20-21.

Cupid

Valentine's day is coming up quick. We've much to do, because living with BubbaLou is always a challenge in one way or another. See, she has such a kind heart, so Valentine's Day is an especially busy time for her. I think sometimes that she is in the same league as Santa. She has elected me head elf...or for Valentine's day, I guess I will be "Head Arrow Maker."

See, the story goes something like this....

Mummy Iris has had a stroke. She is doing well, and she is in rehab-getting about okay with help, but her memory isn't the greatest. Anyhoo, BubbaLou goes to visit her and plays cards (go fish with bible characters) and draws her pictures and writes her notes to read. She sometimes plays speech therapist with Mummy Iris, which is Mummy Iris's least favorite part of therapy. Mummy Iris does enjoy BubbaLou's visits.


The little wheels in BubbaLou's heart start turning when she is at the rehab center. So she stops ands asks a person at the desk how many people(residents) are in the rehab center. 170 was the answer.

What do you think BubbaLou wants to do?


I was informed by Popsaroo that BubbaLou had to get 170 Valentine's day cards ready .
"What? 170 cards, for who?" I asked.

Don't ya know that my heart just melted into complete mush when I found out what my wee little one had in mind.

"Purity is best demonstrated by generosity"~Jesus

Luke 11:41

Now, for a little entertainment from BubbaLou....

Life is like soy sauce

Our family has been going through some stressful times the last month. It has been overwhelming with the abnormal-literally. I haven't known quite what to make of it,nor, how to put my normal positive spin on it, so I have been abnormally quiet.

It all came together this morning as I was making yummy blueberry pancakes since the second day of school was cancelled for a "Storm Day." I had my last two blueberry pancakes cooking and had put the finishing touches on my own plate of hot blueberry pancakes when I grabbed something out of the cabinet and realized it was covered with black liquid. Then in that same hundredth of a second that won Michael Phlelps a gold medal, I realized the entire cabinet was covered in black liquid that came from an overturned bottle of soy sauce.

It had covered my box of Stevia. That stuff cost too much to be infused with the taste of soy sauce. I immediately set to work cleaning. It dripped on the coffee pot, it dripped on the counter, it dripped on the floor, and then down the front of my gown. I am not sure how many paper towels I used to clean this mess, but I sure was glad I wasn't out. I cleaned and cleaned as my pancakes sat there getting cold.

It was during this massive clean up, I realized, this is how my life has been lately. I have been up to my knees in soy sauce! But not just me, everyone in the family is standing on soy sauce. Our friends have even been standing in soy sauce. So what to do, what to do?

While I was cleaning out my cabinets, I was able to save what was inside most of the time, but the boxes had to go. Very few things had to be completely tossed out. My cabinet is now clean and is less cluttered-at least that one shelf. Maybe, just maybe, that is what God needs us to let him do.

So I will let God clean this mess up! I will let him go through, and box by box, either wipe off the bottom or throw the box away. He will have the shelves in our souls cleansed and straightened, clear of even the lingering smell of soy sauce. He can find all the drips and stains of our hurts and fears and wash them away completely. He will take the abnormal and make it normal again, giving us ways to cope and overcome. He will put the top on tight so now new spills of soy sauce don't occur and he will always have plenty of paper towels.

You better check the bottoms of your shoes, you might just be standing in soy sauce!

Dan 3:24-27

Suddenly Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement.

He asked his officials,

"Didn't we tie up three men and throw them into the blazing furnace?"

They answered, "Yes, we did, Your Majesty."
"Then why do I see four men walking around in the fire?" he asked.

"They are not tied up, and they show no sign of being hurt

-and the fourth one looks like an angel."
So Nebuchadnezzar went up to the door

of the blazing furnace and called out,

"Shadrach! Meshach! Abednego!

Servants of the Supreme God! Come out!"

And they came out at once.

All the princes, governors, lieutenant governors,

and other officials of the king gathered to look at the three men,

who had not been harmed by the fire.

Their hair was not singed, their clothes were not burned,

and there was no smell of smoke on them.

How about a little church?

One of the first things I saw as we drove into the city of Savannah, were church steeples towering over the city. There is just something about seeing church steeples that makes me very happy. The fact that they point toward heaven and the one true God who is love and happiness probably has something to do with it. A connection of peace and Christian love and community is apparent in this town and it has been here for so many years. Most of these churches have endured much hardship over the years, and yet they are still here, with congregations that still send up prayers from the same churches that our forefathers did.

This is the steeple of the Independent Presbyterian Church. Woodrow Wilson married here in 1885 and the Forrest Gump feather scene was filmed in front of this church.



This is the First Baptist Church in Savannah. Pretty, huh? It was the only church that didn't burn down during the fires. According to our tour guide, people wondered what it was the Baptists were doing since theirs was the only church that didn't burn down. It seemed they had been the only church to build their church out of stone and not wood.

This is one of the rare churches that held services throughout the Civil War. That is pretty cool in itself. I can only imagine the gut wrenching prayers that were said for soldiers and families torn apart, and for the country itself.


One of the most ornate and beautiful set of steeples belong to the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. This church actually burned in the late 1800's and was rebuilt about 1900. The congregation was organized in 1799 and is the oldest Roman Catholic group in Georgia, and that says a lot since Oglethorpe banned Catholics when he first started the colony-felt their loyalty was questionable to the crown. This was the only church that we were allowed to walk into and I got some great pics of their stain glass windows. Absolutely beautiful!

This is the St. John's Episcopal church. We passed it on the way to the Wilke's House to eat lunch. I took this pic from the view of Madison square. It was really pretty the way it was framed by the trees.

This church was interesting. It is the First African Baptist Church formed in 1788 and is the oldest congregation of African-Americans in the whole United States. I love the double red doors.

There were several churches that I didn't get to visit. I was sorely disappointed, I really wanted to see them. I really wanted to see the Wesley Monumental Church built in 1868, it was built as a memorial to the Wesleys. I also didn't get a chance to see the statue of John Wesley.

I must have seen the Lutheran Church but I didn't get a picture, nor do I remember it. I think I must have been on overload because I know I walked over in that area. It had burned in the late 1700's and was rebuilt in the mid 1800's. It was close to the Trinity United Methodist Church which is the oldest Methodist Church.

I also missed the Christ Church. The original building was built before 1940, and the present building was built within its own walls just before 1900.

I know there is probably more, but I will have to make do with what I saw until I have a chance to go back again and explore Savannah. So much to see, so little time. But God sure made sure he brought some church to Savannah!

Matthew 16:18

And so I tell you, Peter: you are a rock, and on this rock foundation I will build my church, and not even death will ever be able to overcome it.

Encouragement

The prayer service at Bell Shoals last night drew thousands together to make sense of the tragedy of loosing Pastor Pollock and Preston. Bell Shoals is the Fellowship of Encouragement and it was no different last night. I walked away encouraged. I truly saw the Body of Christ in action as members from other churches came and took care of the little children while their parents went to the service. Pastors from other churches came to lend counseling to those who needed it. Members from both Bell Shoals and other nearby churches worshiped with hope. Pastor Pollock would have loved it.

The Tampa Tribune had a really nice article this morning. I think the community has been encouraged.

1Peter 5:12

I want to encourage you and give my testimony that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it.

This came to me via email today. Just wanted to share!

Goodbye Fat Charley

Fat Charley has left the building! Yes, it is true, Fat Charley was sadly undressed of all of our precious Christmas ornaments, the snowflakes, the angel(Beth) on top, the garland, and the lights. We are sad to see him go, we grew fond of him through all his hard times falling over in the floor. My daughter, who had reservations from the start and wanted another tree, asked, " Why do we have to get rid of Fat Charley?" Why, oh why? Maybe, because Fat Charley had no roots and no good soil to sustain him past this Christmas season. Thank goodness our roots can not be cut! If we are rooted in the Lord, our Lord will feed us living water! I am so grateful for that!

Rom 11:18 ... You are just a branch; you don't support the roots---the roots support you.

Once Fat Charley was out of the house, I swept up two full dustpans of Fat Charley's needles. Poor Fat Charley, he was going bald. How embarrassing!

Fat Charley isn't fat, he is fluffy!

Fachrist

Fat Charley fell over again! I stumbled out of bed this morning, stepped over the dog sleeping in the middle of the hallway, and made my way to the little girls room about 4am. I heard a huge crash and the sound of ornaments breaking as I rushed in the living room with the dog right behind me. Fat Charley was in the floor and water was reaching to the far corners quickly. I made a mad dash to stand Fat Charley up, almost slipping in the water as I dodged the ornaments on the floor. My husband heard me holler for him and came calmly considering it was the middle of the night (at least for a Sunday morning) and brought in towels and offered to hold the tree while I wiped water and investigated the problem underneath Fat Charley. Once I finally got some water sopped up, I flipped over like a mechanic under a car in order to see the stand and Fat Charleys trunk. You know, I found that Fat Charley has some body image issues, Fat Charley is really skinny. He isn't fat, he is fluffy with long arms. His trunk is so small that all four screws were completely screwed in and two of them were almost touching. He just slipped out! Now he is one of the fattest trees with the skinniest trunks I have ever seen. I don't know what kept a good wind from blowing him right over at his Christmas tree farm, except that he had a purpose to be a Christmas tree for our family as we celebrate Jesus' birth. So we got our Fat Charley up and tied him with strips of fabric to the tree stand so that he would have extra support and hopefully won't fall over again. My husband picked up the ornaments and put them in a basket until morning. I found one that was broken, but I glued it back together. My daughter found Rudolph still hanging on the tree without ears or a tail(we can't find them) but she loves him still.

Fat Charley, like many of us, is not perfect. Fat Charley like us, may look put together with our ornaments and lights shiny and bright, but we may feel like our feet are standing in water and we are going to slip out of our tree stand at any moment. Then we slip, our ornaments and garland fall off or break, and we are covered with the water we slipped in and needles are covering the floor. I can only imagine how humiliating this is for a Christmas tree, it is even worse for us prideful humans. Even though my husband and I were able to pick Fat Charley up off the ground, man can't always fix what is wrong with man,only God can. God can pick up the pieces, He can dust you off, dry you off, straighten your garland, and put your ornaments back together. He will make you a new creation, a person stronger and closer to Him.

Only He can give you a firm foundation that is not dependent upon screws and strips of cloth, He will have you standing on good solid soil!

Who wants a marshmallow?

What is it about bon fires and marshmallows? I wish I knew who thought that one up. Does it not just have the most relaxing quality to it?
My daughter was roasting marshmallows with two of her good friends last night. I went to pick her up from my mom's house and they were all out back listening to the crackling fire, talking, playing, eating marshmallows and smores. The weather was perfect and the company was great. I wanted to take the girls pictures, with the fire in the background. Leave it to them to try to back close as they could to the fire. I had to say, " Not that close, your names are not Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendnego. I want the fire in the background, I don't want you standing in it! "
Since I am doing the Daniel Bible study by Beth Moore currently, this had deeper meaning for me! Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendnego were forced into the fire since they would not bend knee to King Nebuchadnezzar to worship him as God. They would only worship the one true God and they would go through the fire into God's arms if they had to. The fire was so hot that some of the strongest soldiers that had escorted the three into the fire, DIED! But what was so awesome is when ole King Neb cried, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods." Daniel 3:25 Hmmm, no mention of marshmallows! But it does say when they came out of the fire, everyone looked on to see that ......the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them. Daniel 3:27 Wow! I know I had a smell of smoke on me when I got in the car last night, but God is so powerful and mighty that he can bring you through a fire in your life without the smell of smoke left on you.

Good soil for the heart

I am excited to write my very first blog on this site! I have created this in order to have a place to gather my friends who share my faith and their desire to love God and for their family to love God! So many of us are so busy, it is hard to meet for even a cup of coffee (or beverage of your liking)! I plan to make this site a place of encouragement and I welcome your comments. So grab your cup and sit down, read and comment back(I have it set so anyone can comment).

I named this site Standing on Good Soil because I so much want my entire family to stand on good soil. I pray for their hearts to be plentiful in good soil, but we have to weed daily to get rocks and weeds out. My daughter has given me many opportunity to help her weed her heart and I have had to weed my heart along the way as well. Where do those pesky things come from when we are not looking? We know where, so we get out our sword of truth and wack them down and stab at the ground until the thing is gone. We must remember to pick them up and throw them in the garbage or else they will take root again.

Dear Heavenly Father,
I thank you so much for my family and friends. I ask you to bless each one of them reading this with your love and plenty of good soil. You are the master gardener and you know our hearts. Lord let our hearts be noble and good, let our families know your word and treasure it in their hearts. May we all keep pulling pesky weeds and thorns out so we will persevere and serve you well. You have many things for us to do, let us step up and get them done.
In Jesus name,
Amen

Standing on the good soil the Good Lord has placed in my heart!
Carmen

"But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop." Luke 8:15