our friends in texas have been experiencing serious drought this summer...to the point of cancelling the annual fourth of july fireworks. drought = lack of celebration.
meanwhile, here on the east coast we've had an unbelievable forecast of rain, rain and MORE rain...to the point of cancelling the annual fourth of july fireworks. lack of drought also = lack of celebration. LOL.
seems that we were destined, this year, to not have the opportunity to experience the thrill, the joy, the tradition of gathering with our family and sending up our collective ooooohs & aaaaahs.
what is UP with all the extremes? what is UP with all the change? can we not just have a happy medium?
the same could be said of the seasons of my soul. it seems that there IS no middle ground.
Isaiah 58:11 (NIV):
'the Lord will guide you always. he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. you will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.'
king james version says 'and make fat thy bones.' (um, thanks but i'll stick with the NIV on this one, thank you very much :)
today my prayer for myself...for my friends and family...is that we would each learn to trust that in seasons of drought AND in seasons of abundance of rain that the Lord is guiding us and he WILL satisfy our needs.
thank you Lord that you have proven this time and time and time again in my life. may we continue to trust you on the journey.
may we continue to grow...even in the dry places.
XERARCH (english. adjective.):
1. of or pertaining to xerosere. (that's helpful, is it not? LOL).
2. growing in dry places.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
W is for W.W.J.W.?
what would jesus wear?
so here's the thing...i HONESTLY don't know how i feel about this. i've been pondering on it for awhile and have decided that i'm just going to toss it out there (ready? catch!) and see what the consensus is. not that even THAT will settle the issue in my mind. but it's worth a try.
talk to me.
obviously we are in the process of checking out new churches...it's so interesting to walk in someplace where you know NO ONE, have NO IDEA what to expect, and then just WAIT and see where it goes...
part of me dreads this.
part of me enjoys it.
but that's not what's bothering me. LOL.
and i should emphasize that i am NOT going to allow this (issue? non-issue?) to have any affect on my views of this particular church because what i observed, what i'm wondering about, took place while a guest speaker was filling in.
so i'm holding off judgement. hee hee. really? who am i to judge, right? and yet at the same time, well...i dunno...that's why i'm troubled.
we sang. we prayed. we greeted those around us. and then it was time for them to introduce the guest speaker. and out he came.
keep in mind we are in a beachy community. and it was an evening service. so i wasn't thrown back at all by the fact that he looked more like a surfer than a preacher. that stuff doesn't bother me. not at all.
but i'm not gonna lie. i noticed his jeans RIGHT.AWAY. like within the first two seconds of his stepping out onto the stage.
now, i'll be honest...two weeks ago, i wouldn't have even KNOWN what those were.
sure, i've HEARD of them...but i wouldn't...couldn't...spot them to save my life.
HOWEVER, in the quest to pay the bills and keep food on the table, i have gone back to my thrift store scrounging, looking for things to sell in the wonderful world of ebay.
and i found a pair at the local thrift store. all i knew was that they sounded familiar...and looked great...and i KNEW that i couldn't lose money on them. i purchased them and came home, THRILLED to discover that they sell USED for $100+ and that this was, INDEED, a good find.
of course, as i researched them, i discovered that there are lots of 'fakes' out there. (how do you know that your RELIGION is, in fact, TRUE?). there are LOTS of ways to spot the fake ones. it has to do with the stitching...and some details on the back pockets...and it has to do with the buddah on the inside pockets...etc. etc. etc.
so while mr. guest speaker was beginning his teaching, i was checking out his arse. niiiiiiiice, right?
like i said, i'm just putting it out there...(insert embarassed face here ----> ).
i mean, i could CARE less about mr. guest speaker's behind...except for the fact that i was now looking for clues as to whether his TRUE religion jeans were TRUE or FALSE. and from everything that i could gather (without asking for a peek inside his pockets...because i DO know my boundaries thank you very much), i was able to determine that they seemed to be TRUE true religion.
who cares, right?
um, i think i sort of...kind of...do.
and i'm not sure how i feel about that.
yeah, i know, i know...i'm rambling here.
these babies are like $300 retail.
who cares, right?
i mean, he could be wearing an armani suit...or a ralph lauren tie...that cost waaaay more than that...and i wouldn't be able to tell...i'd just be like, 'wow, nice suit.' or maybe not even that. i probably wouldn't even notice, you know?
but because of my recent TRUE RELIGION experience (LOL) i was in tune to the whole thing.
as i listened to his teaching, my mind kept going back to his jeans. he spoke about God wanting us all to be WINNERS. some of what he said could have gone either way in my mind...has Jesus REALLY called us all to be wealthy and prosperous?
and if we AREN'T, then is that his judgement?
maybe i'm just struggling because of our own personal experiences...where our family has been affected by the bottom line of church budgets...maybe this all hits too close to home...maybe...
so here's the thing...i HONESTLY don't know how i feel about this. i've been pondering on it for awhile and have decided that i'm just going to toss it out there (ready? catch!) and see what the consensus is. not that even THAT will settle the issue in my mind. but it's worth a try.
talk to me.
obviously we are in the process of checking out new churches...it's so interesting to walk in someplace where you know NO ONE, have NO IDEA what to expect, and then just WAIT and see where it goes...
part of me dreads this.
part of me enjoys it.
but that's not what's bothering me. LOL.
and i should emphasize that i am NOT going to allow this (issue? non-issue?) to have any affect on my views of this particular church because what i observed, what i'm wondering about, took place while a guest speaker was filling in.
so i'm holding off judgement. hee hee. really? who am i to judge, right? and yet at the same time, well...i dunno...that's why i'm troubled.
we sang. we prayed. we greeted those around us. and then it was time for them to introduce the guest speaker. and out he came.
keep in mind we are in a beachy community. and it was an evening service. so i wasn't thrown back at all by the fact that he looked more like a surfer than a preacher. that stuff doesn't bother me. not at all.
but i'm not gonna lie. i noticed his jeans RIGHT.AWAY. like within the first two seconds of his stepping out onto the stage.
they weren't just ANY jeans. they were TRUE RELIGION jeans.
now, i'll be honest...two weeks ago, i wouldn't have even KNOWN what those were.
sure, i've HEARD of them...but i wouldn't...couldn't...spot them to save my life.
HOWEVER, in the quest to pay the bills and keep food on the table, i have gone back to my thrift store scrounging, looking for things to sell in the wonderful world of ebay.
and i found a pair at the local thrift store. all i knew was that they sounded familiar...and looked great...and i KNEW that i couldn't lose money on them. i purchased them and came home, THRILLED to discover that they sell USED for $100+ and that this was, INDEED, a good find.
of course, as i researched them, i discovered that there are lots of 'fakes' out there. (how do you know that your RELIGION is, in fact, TRUE?). there are LOTS of ways to spot the fake ones. it has to do with the stitching...and some details on the back pockets...and it has to do with the buddah on the inside pockets...etc. etc. etc.
so while mr. guest speaker was beginning his teaching, i was checking out his arse. niiiiiiiice, right?
like i said, i'm just putting it out there...(insert embarassed face here ----> ).
i mean, i could CARE less about mr. guest speaker's behind...except for the fact that i was now looking for clues as to whether his TRUE religion jeans were TRUE or FALSE. and from everything that i could gather (without asking for a peek inside his pockets...because i DO know my boundaries thank you very much), i was able to determine that they seemed to be TRUE true religion.
who cares, right?
um, i think i sort of...kind of...do.
and i'm not sure how i feel about that.
yeah, i know, i know...i'm rambling here.
these babies are like $300 retail.
who cares, right?
i mean, he could be wearing an armani suit...or a ralph lauren tie...that cost waaaay more than that...and i wouldn't be able to tell...i'd just be like, 'wow, nice suit.' or maybe not even that. i probably wouldn't even notice, you know?
but because of my recent TRUE RELIGION experience (LOL) i was in tune to the whole thing.
as i listened to his teaching, my mind kept going back to his jeans. he spoke about God wanting us all to be WINNERS. some of what he said could have gone either way in my mind...has Jesus REALLY called us all to be wealthy and prosperous?
and if we AREN'T, then is that his judgement?
i certainly hope not. not just for us but what about for the orphans and widows in africa? my time spent on that continent, i met some of the sweetest saints ever...who loved the Lord with all their hearts. they had NOTHING. but they had JOY.
but i'm not even going to judge where he was going with THAT whole line of thinking...because i really DO CHOOSE TO BELIEVE that he MEANT that WHATEVER IT IS that God has called you to do, you should do it well, do it with all your heart...be a WINNER at it. maybe that's what he meant, maybe not. but i'm giving the benefit of the doubt.
at the beginning of the service, we listened to prayer requests and praises...people who had their financial or physical needs met...others who were still waiting...people who were in dire circumstances...waiting on a miracle.
at the END of the service, a bucket was passed around for a special offering...not for any of those people...but for the dude in the TRUE RELIGION jeans.
i have no problem with that. REALLY. i've been to lots of services where they take up a special offering for the guest speaker. but this time...well...this time just felt different.
and maybe it shouldn't have.
maybe i'm just struggling because of our own personal experiences...where our family has been affected by the bottom line of church budgets...maybe this all hits too close to home...maybe...
maybe TRUE RELIGION is not questioning...not judging...
i dunno.
what do YOU think?
W.W.J.W.?
V is for VINTAGE
found this pic the other day and it makes me smile.
it's vintage ME.
in a most vintage-y delicious ensemble.
wearing stripes and flowers long before gymboree ever decided that it was hip to combine them. lol.
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