It's the Weekly Recap!

* Last Sunday I finished decorating the house for Christmas. I already told you all about that, though! I also made my first ever pineapple upside down cake! And someone had to catch up on Facebook:
* Monday evening I got to do my very first Christmas shopping with Rachel Ashley. We've not had a chance to hang out now that Grey's is in reruns, so it was fun to see her again. It even snowed a little for our shopping extravaganza, so that was festive! (And wet.)

* Tuesday evening, I went house hunting in Fort Wayne - looked at six houses in an hour and a half. I dearly love my realtor. She makes house hunting so fun! But I have to say the highlight to my day - and such a blessing to my heart - was the chance to talk to my friend Jody Hedlund. I haven't actually talked to her out loud since I was in junior high...and yet as we talked, it was like not a day had passed. We could hardly hang up the phone. What a gift!

* Wednesday was a hard day in my heart. I'm doing some spiritual battle right now and the most frustrating part is...I'm not entirely sure what the battle's about. Makes it hard to fight. When this sort of thing happens, it creates a lot of anxiety which, in turn, usually makes me physically sick. This is not a good combo when cohosting a show! But with the prayers of Lynne, the grace of God, and the generosity of my friend Ron to take over engineering for the day so I could just sit and focus on the hosting part...I did it! Lynne and I hosted our Christmas show, which is one of my favorite shows we've done together yet!

* Thursday I got to co-host the Biggest Loser show! I had been looking forward to this one for several weeks and was so excited to be Lynne's sidekick for the day. We interviewed Abby Rike and Michelle Aguilar...how fun was THAT!?!?!? Also on Thursday, Mom sent a box of her fabulous chocolates to work. This was the box at 8 a.m.
And at 1 p.m. LOL!!!

*Friday night I came home and finished my Christmas card project! This is the first year I've not made my cards, so it's kind of strange to shove them in an envelope and be done! Even so - they're usually out by now, so I'm still behind.

* Saturday I trekked back to Ft. Wayne (yes, on my day off!) to do my Christmas shopping - with Lynne! I made a huge dent in my list. Pretty happy about that - and not a moment too soon since Christmas is in two weeks. On the way home, I considered taking the regular highway instead of the interstate...but opted for the interstate and promptly got stuck for an hour in an accident pileup. (I was not IN the accident, but I was far enough back in line to be stuck for an hour.) And I'd just had a large iced tea. OW. The car was flipped upside down, appeared to have been on fire at one point, and was across both lanes of traffic, so we had to be funneled through on the shoulder at about 5 MPH. (One large iced tea + one hour of standstill + driving on a rumble strip = not a good feeling.)

Books I'm Reading: Jesus Calling, One Thousand Gifts, and...oh wait. I think that was all I read from this week!

Favorite God Moment of the Whole Week: In One Thousand Gifts, Ann Voskamp has a chapter in which she shares about seeing the glory of God in a spectacular display of the moon one night. It was just extra awe-inspiring and she found herself on her face in worship as she beheld the glory of God in the beauty of the moon. The morning after I read that, I awakened to a room so flooded with light, I thought there must be some vehicle outside with a floodlight on. I went to the window and found - it was the moon. Brilliant...and then I realized it was an extra touch of God reminding me of His glory!

Update on Last Week's Goals: The cards are addressed! Just need to put the letters inside and put them in the mail. The shopping is largely done - just a few more things to purchase!

Goals for the Coming Week: Finish the shopping, do some/all of the wrapping, and figure out this year's baking project! It's going to have to be scaled down (like everything else) - but I need to get it done.

30 Days of You and Me: Day Twenty-Nine

EEK! I just remembered I have the last two days of this project to do before 2011 ends! And appropriately - they're both end-of-year themed topics. So here we go for today!

Hopes, Dreams and Plans for the next 365 Days.

Well we can go ahead and nix the plans part. If I've learned anything in the last two years, it's that plans were meant to be totally reshaped. So save time and don't plan! (Okay only sort of...)

Hopes

* Hope to be able to sell this house and end my short-standing-career as a commuter.
* Hope to continue improving my skills at work to be even better at what I do.
* Hope Braeya learns to adjust to this new life that's been thrown at her - without a brother and an owner who is constantly running amuck.
* Hope to find a new exercise routine that works for me.

Dreams

* Dream of finding a new place to call home and that it would actually FEEL like home - something I've not experienced in close to two years.
* Dream of finding a new relationship. No idea if that's also God's dream, but I'd like it!
* Dream of more than 4 hours of sleep a night. (Hey, a girl can dream!)
* Dream of finding a new routine - something that is unlikely to happen until I move.

Plans

* Plan to go on a couple of vacations (or at least mini-vacations) with friends and not only spend quality time with them, but get to see new places.
* Plan to get organized again and not live from moment to moment. That doesn't work for me.
* Plan to continue tweaking my eating habits to try to be healthier. Sigh.
* Plan to carve out more time for non-work-related writing projects.

Okay so it's impossible for me to nix the planning. :)

What about you - hopes, dreams and plans for the next year?

Lessons Learned in the Air

I don't travel too often, but when I do, God usually slips in little lessons here and there. And my Thanksgiving trip was no exception.

I flew in a little rent-a-plane, so I had a seat all to myself. (Because there was only one seat on that side!)

For most of the flight, I alternated praying and reading...reading and praying. I had much on my heart, and most of it wasn't little stuff. Deep hurts and questions came spilling out and I poured them before the Lord, knowing He heard and cared and was somehow working even though I couldn't see...

As the plane lowered to the ground and the lights became distinguishable, I looked at the city below me.

All. Those. Lights.

They represented the homes of people. People just like me. For every light...there was a person...maybe several people. People who could be sitting with deep hurts and questions spilling out before the Lord.

And He heard them just like He heard me.

I was hovering over just one city. One city out of millions. Millions of other people represented by millions of other lights seen from millions of other planes...

And He sees them all.

I couldn't even wrap my mind around it. What a great God!

Traditionally Speaking...

Yesterday on Mid-Morning we talked about Christmas traditions. My friend Jody Hedlund has some of the most unique, wonderful traditions I've ever known. She and her family throw themselves wholeheartedly into a tradition each day of December. I love that!

So far, this year, I think the only tradition completed in Bekahland has been spraying water on Braeya to keep her out of the tree! (HA!)

Since I don't have a husband or kids, it's hard to know what sorts of traditions to begin...but here are the ones I usually observe!

* Putting up a tree/other decor in every room of the house. Sure, it's overkill, but Christmas is my favorite holiday and I don't like to leave it. If I put it in every room...I'm festive wherever I go!

*Sending out Christmas cards/pictures/letters. I've been doing this since high school, actually. This is the first year I've not made the cards...but I already packed my stamps, so that was out. Even with the invention of Facebook and blogging, which makes the letter a little less necessary, I love writing it each year. It helps me focus on the beauty God put in the year for me.

* Baking palooza. Haven't done this one yet this year - need to hurry! Throughout the year, I try to save $1-$2 of my grocery budget each week and take those savings at the end of the year to buy my cooking supplies! I make cookies, candies and fudge and use them as gifts for co-workers and other friends.

* Christmas card contest with my Dad. It's a competition I started years ago - to see which one of us could get the most cards each year. So far I've always won, though sometimes the margin has been narrow. (How does this happen when he doesn't even send cards and I send over 100?)

* Parking the TV on FaLaLaLa Lifetime. Or Hallmark. Or some sappy movie channel. I get more into those movies than the traditional classics sometimes!

* Shopping with my Mom. Not sure this one is going to work out this year with both our schedules, but I usually take a vacation day in December, we spend the day at a mall, and I do most of my shopping. (And get a meal out somewhere fun.) (And coffee.) (For me. Mom doesn't drink coffee.)

* The airing of the embarrassing 3 year old Bekah recitation of Luke 2. It got extra exposure this year as Lynne played it for part of the Christmas show.

* Sleeping under the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. It's an idea I learned from my friend Faith, and I love it. Sure, the floor isn't as comfortable as the bed, but there's something about waking up right by the tree on Christmas morning that I love.

So that's what happens here...what are your favorite traditions?? (I might need new ideas!)

Angela Kent: Warrior Extraordinaire

In January I wrote this post about my friend and former roommate, Angela. She was battling stage four cancer and had a prayer request for God to grant her more years even though doctors gave her a much shorter life expectancy. Then at the end of September, I wrote this post about the day Angela came to visit - and say goodbye. I just knew that day...it was goodbye.

I hated knowing that.

And December 1, I read the Facebook post I'd been dreading.

She was gone.

The part of me that loved her was relieved. She hated being dependent. I knew hospice wasn't her thing. She had told me she'd fight as long as she had quality of life and knew what I read wasn't what she'd consider any kind of quality and she was finally free of pain.

The part of me that loved her felt a pointed, searing loss that no amount of preparation could calm.

Angela and I were opposites in nearly everything, and writing was no different. I proofread her grad school papers and we got some good laughs out of those things. My favorite one was so bad I can't even put it on the blog - but we sure did giggle for YEARS about that one.

When she knew she was sick...but she didn't know how sick...she told me she wanted to write about her life and she wanted me to help her. We never got it done and now I stare at this screen and wonder how in the world I can condense a life lived so boldly...into a blog post.

It cannot be done.

Angela's laugh was infectious. Whenever we had an argument and we'd worked through things, she'd start that never ending giggle and I found it impossible to stay mad - though I wanted nothing more. Even that last day I saw her, when we sat on the couch saying our goodbyes, she started giggling and through my tears, I had to join...

Though I despised the thing, she gained joy unspeakable and I would even dare to say...worship...out of the miles she rode on her motorcycle. I'll never like them, but every time I see one, I'll think of her and miss her so.

Angela taught me to love traveling. We never went on a trip together, but she taught me sometimes it's more important to cultivate a relationship and make a memory than to pad a bank account.

Never have I met a better listener than Angela. She certainly put in hours (weeks?) of listening to me...processing...counseling...advising...I told her I was just a free case study for her career.

She humored me by taking pictures, listening to David Phelps and even taking me to a Clay Aiken concert. (Some things only a roommate could love.) She shared her friends and embraced mine.

She taught me grace like I'd never seen before.

But what I learned most from her was the way she attacked life as she lived with dying. She wasn't afraid. She made sure those around her knew she loved them and she would be okay. She fought to make every memory she could until she no longer had breath...literally.

She was a warrior extraordinaire.

Angela, thank you for being part of my life. We were unlikely friends....but you were one of the greatest gifts and blessings God ever gave me.

I miss you. I cried when I got out the Christmas decorations and remembered the day you locked yourself in the attic in the middle of the winter...and I just happened to discover you when I unexpectedly came home for lunch. There you were, all layered up with all the clothes you found in a storage tub, huddled by the light bulb, pounding on the door hoping someone would hear you.

No more huddling in layers for you. I'm quite certain there are no Harleys in Heaven, but I have a feeling if one sneaked in, you found it and you're riding it. You have your gorgeous long hair again and you're singing at the top of your lungs.

Worshiper extraordinaire.

The Great Decorating of 2011

If you've read my blog for a while, you know Christmas is my favorite holiday and I go all out. In fact, probably 80% of the tubs in my attic...are Christmas tubs.

But this year, with the house being on the market and me being so busy, I decided to dial down the decor. Yes. THIS is dialed down. Don't ask.

I actually went to buy a new tree for my bedroom. I usually put up a full size one, but this year I wanted a smaller one that would take up less room. So for fifteen bucks, I found this darling white tree. My first white tree! (It was prelit and now I remember why I hate those trees. Didn't work when I pulled it out of the box. Never fear. I fixed it!)
The lovely Rachel Ashley gave me this cute little tree for my office last year (because it sorely lacked Christmas spirit) - and this year I decided to put it in my bathroom. I need to go find some little silvery ornaments to put on it, although I think it's pretty festive on its own.

More on this tomorrow...but when Angela came to see me for what ended up being the last time, she brought with her a box of Christmas decorations, because she knew I'd love them. I cried when I opened the attic door and saw that box sitting there; I decided to make a special tribute area to her. I started to take down the picture frame, because it's "year round decor" but then I took a second look. It's a poem my friend Sarah wrote several years ago, called A Woman of God. I thought it so fit Angela, that I just left it up.

The dining room tree. This is the one that used to be in my bedroom. I put the s'more ornaments on it - and it works out really well because this tree is actually big enough to hold their weight. Added some red and green balls - just need a topper!

This usually looks better. :( I put out the family Bible and the new little nativity scene I bought out in Greensburg when I was there for Thanksgiving.

I've been looking for a nativity scene for a while, and when I saw this one, I loved it. It reminds me of the book The Best Christmas Pageant Ever - which was one of my favorite books when I was growing up.

The living room tree - love it.

The fireplace. Feel like it needs a little something more but I"m not sure what. Maybe candles. Braeya and I are all ready!

I was sad when I opened one of the tubs and found Kaegan's little stocking on top. Hadn't planned to do this but just couldn't bring myself to pack it away, so I put it in his favorite spot - under the tree - and added his picture and magnet.

In the guest room - a little smattering of gift boxes.

The guest room tree - which used to be in the downstairs bathroom. It's already been knocked over once and an ornament broken. One guess as to why....

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! :)

New Bibles

** Before getting down to business....I need to mention that in this post a couple of weeks ago, I MISTAKENLY reported that my friend Diane came up with the clever line about the new cook at the restaurant, when in fact, the person who said that was JIM. My apologies for mis-remembering that very important bit of info. Retraction printed!** ;)

Many years ago, I read that Billy Graham advocates getting a new Bible each year - and letting that Bible be the chronicle of your spiritual journey that year. Thought it was a very cool idea, but 1) I couldn't afford it at that time and 2) I like to live in my Bibles for a little longer than a year. Takes me about that long to get to know it.

Even so, I decided to periodically get a new Bible - more with the changing of life seasons than the calendar.

When Isaac and I started dating, and I knew he was the one I would marry, I decided it was time for a new Bible. So one day during my lunch hour, I drove to the bookstore and purchased my beloved Key Word Study Bible. He and I would study it together when we were together - and he loved the idea of a new Bible for a new journey so much that he bought a new one too. I loved it that he was on board with an idea I had and the whole thing was just one snuggly warm memory.

Until our relationship ended, of course. That Bible is littered with highlights and scribbles and dates that verses came to minister me - and sometimes the names of the people who GAVE me the verses, so I would remember who had carried me through the excruciating journey.

In recent weeks, I haven't enjoyed reading the Bible. (That is a terrible thing to say. In Little House terms - it's probably even wicked. But it's also true.) And until a few days ago, it never occurred to me that the reason I don't enjoy reading is that my darling Bible holds memories that tie me to a past that clearly has no future.

Every time I open it, I'm reminded of what was and won't be...and I see the scars of what strengthened me, but they become more like fresh wounds each time my eyes fall on them.

So this past weekend, when I stopped in the bookstore to look for Christmas gifts, I wandered over to the Bibles just to enjoy the smell of a new Bible. (Yeah, I'm weird like that.)

Tucked on the shelf amid all the choices was one brown leather Bible with a little strip of fru-fru fabric on the cover...marked down to under $40. And if the sign on the shelf didn't lie - all Bibles were also on sale.

I picked it up and flipped through it - debating a bit, because it was the New Living Translation. I was raised on King James and finally broke into the NIV in junior high and have clung tightly to the NIV ever since. It felt somewhat risky to try a different translation for regular study, but God tapped me on the shoulder and suggested perhaps not only fresh, unmarred ink on a new page would help, but maybe reading familiar verses in slightly different wording would also pull me back into deep study.

Though I hadn't planned to spend on myself, I tucked the Bible under my arm and made my way to the cash register, where after all discounts and taxes, I spent a mere $25 on a thick, study-note-laden, gilded-edged, good-smelling fresh start to my spiritual journey.

Found it rather appropriate, Sunday morning, when I pulled it out to read before church, that the first verse I turned to was Isaiah 55:8 - and the slightly unfamiliar wording to a verse I've known forever said, "My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the Lord. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine."

Teach me, Abba...to trust Your thoughts.

It's the Weekly Recap!

* If you missed the full recap yesterday...last Sunday night I worked the David Phelps concert in Van Wert, Ohio...and I got to meet him backstage before the concert (please see below) AND - best of all - in my emcee debut, I got to introduce him! AHHHHH!! Oh my goodness. * I spent the night in Fort Wayne Sunday night, since I knew it would be such a late night...and then Monday I went back to work for the first time since vacation (remembered how to engineer and everything!) and then...Lynne and I had a cooking day! We made the three winning cookie recipes from our November cookie contest. YUMMY.

* After one night at home...I left for work Tuesday morning with a suitcase packed in my trunk. We were rumored to get bad weather...and did we EVER. (Whatever happened to the initial warnings being empty threats in this state???) Anyway. I elected to stay in town once I saw the bad weather was for real...and when I left work, it was gorgeous out:
I drove to Lynne's, an activity that should have taken 20 minutes. Yeah. Try AN HOUR. An hour of crying, shaking, and praying for some serious mercy. Pulled in her garage (that's some real hostessing!!) and she sat me right down on the couch with dinner and the remote.

* Wednesday morning the hostessing continued with breakfast. Lynne remembered that I'm determined to learn to like yogurt:
And with yogurt like that...I think I just might! It actually filled me up so much I wasn't hungry at lunch. I cohosted the "Kitchen Caboodle" show that day and then drove home that night...ONLY to remember upon entering my street...that I'd left my laptop at work. I learned I have a much bigger addiction to outside-world-connection than I even knew. Shudder.

* Thursday I actually got up early to go to work early so I could blog and Facebook. Crazy. Then I spent the day being VERY productive. Drove home to this gorgeous view:

Then that evening I got the news I knew was coming but hadn't managed to prepare myself for: my former roommate, Angela, lost her battle with cancer. More to come on this - but let me just say I'm proud of her for battling so bravely and am so thankful she was ready to die and wasn't fearful - just ready to meet Jesus. Still doesn't ease the sting.

*Friday was really the second day of the month...but I thought I'd show you the last calendar pic of 2011!

Lynne and I had our big "Win One, Give One" book giveaway on Friday, and I attempted to keep track of callers' names and numbers as well as how many books were gone and how many remained WHILE talking to Lynne and the callers and engineering. It went...but I don't know how well. That tested even my (reportedly stellar) multi-tasking skills.

* Saturday I finally tackled decorating the house for Christmas. Not going to lie to you - it was a HARD day. I remembered the year Angela invited me over to have a "deck the halls" party at her house...and that coupled with a surprise "I hate it that Isaac didn't choose me" attack had me crying through every tree. Talk about lack of Christmas spirit! I only got three trees up by the end of the day, but here's a sneak peek of the 2011 look of Bekahland!

Books I'm Reading: My week was not filled with much reading. (Mostly working!) Jesus Calling, Breaking Free, and a tiny morsel of One Thousand Gifts made up my week!

Favorite God Moment of the Whole Week: That would be the one hour commute to Lynne's house during the storm this week. I was PETRIFIED I was going to slide into someone...enter a pileup...get hit by someone else...so I gripped the wheel at 10 and 2 and had a serious come-to-Jesus drive. And He was so good to calm me. One block at a time, we did that drive.

Update on Last Week's Goals: I made a good dent in the decorating. Had I gone with my original one-tree plan, it would be officially done. But uh...I increased the plan so it's NOT done. Three trees down and I have no choice but to scatter around the rest of the decor today...because I want to sleep in my own bed again!

Goals for the Coming Week: Cards and shopping! My cards have shipped...so as soon as they arrive, I need to get busy addressing them and getting them mailed. And I must *start* shopping. Yes. Start. I told you - my life is upside down!

DAVID PHELPS!!!!

I remember the day in early fall when Jill walked into my office and asked if I would be willing to sacrifice the end of my Thanksgiving weekend to work a concert...a David Phelps concert.

Let me think. OKAY!! Shoot, I'd have CANCELLED the holiday to work that concert! I hadn't booked my flight to Kansas yet (thankfully), so although I'd originally planned to be there over a weekend so I could hear my brother-in-law preach, I rescheduled my days gone so I could be HOME last Sunday.

I traveled to Van Wert, Ohio to the Niswonger Performing Arts Center (a beautiful venue, by the way) and on the way, Jill and I went over the plan for the night because...y'all...this was my trial run as an emcee. Are. You. Stinking. Kidding. Me.

When we arrived, they told us we'd be introducing him, and Jill (BLESS HER HEART) said I could do it because she knew that would pretty much top any experience of my life thus far.

So about 20 minutes before the concert began, we were ushered into a back room and uh....
...had my little picture taken. You know. With David. David Phelps. David Phelps!!!!!!!! I was terrified of saying something stupid (imagine THAT) so I think...in the end...all I said was "Bekah" - as I shook his hand. Super. My chance to talk and all I say is my name. Mercy.

Then we waited backstage (where someone said "Oh don't worry - there's only 1200 people out there"....SUPER) and then I found myself ON the stage, in a pitch black room, with a spotlight on my face, and somehow I didn't pass out while I said something like "Today is the first Sunday of Advent, and I can think of no better way to begin this season than with a Christmas concert. We want you to relax and enjoy an evening of music by my favorite singer in the entire world, Mr. David Phelps."

Gulp!!!!!!

We had seats in the media booth, which was a little perch at the tippy top of the room. I spent the rest of the night taking 119 pictures. Hope you have some time!

I'm KIDDING. I mean I did take 119 pictures, but I am only posting a very select few....

He read a portion of Scripture while his band gathered around...

David's Christmas music is some of my favorite ever. (Not just because it's his.) He writes quite a bit of his own stuff and I love it. The set from my perch...

One of my FAVORITE songs ever in life is this duet he does with his sister. It's called One King. You should look it up.

I took this one just because I liked the lighting. LOL!

The Partridge - JUST KIDDING! - Phelps family singers. (I said Partridge because he has this one song that sounds like a Partridge song to me - but he didn't sing it on Sunday.) Anyway. David and his two sisters and then his wife's cousin, who is also in his band. His name is Jack Daniels. Really.

Not too shabby on the old zoom, eh?

After half-time. Wardrobe change! Singing Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire.

Me in my perch watching. I had no light - sorry it's grainy. I thought if I used the flash, people might start to wonder. (More than they already did, I mean.)

Not a Christmas song, but he threw in a little Nessun Dorma.

Still Nessun Dorma. I cracked up at the end because I was alone in the media box at that time and I was leaning over the railing just listening away...and of course it's not in English...and at the end of the song I was all breathless (because that song just does that) - and all of the sudden I felt like I was in Pretty Woman. You remember that scene where she's in the box at the opera and she gets overcome with emotion?

My actual, unzoomed view.

He ended the concert with "He's Alive" - which I always think of as an Easter song, but it's appropriate for Christmas too!

It was (obviously) an amazing concert, because that's what David does. But it was also just a huge "I can't believe this is my life" night for me.

I mean seriously! Never EVER in my best imagination would I have dreamed up introducing David Phelps from the stage.

Very very cool.

And just for you - one of my favorite songs of his (for Christmas)

Thanksgiving...a Few Days Late

So...after traveling however many hundred miles from home for Thanksgiving...I guess I should tell you how the day went.

The. Best. Thanksgiving. Ever.

Seriously.

Slept in until who knows when. Drank coffee. Watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.
Got ready. (You know. About lunch time.) Made my way into the kitchen with Lori, who was whipping up some cheesy potatoes.

I made broccoli salad. Had a bit of bacon grease splatter going on so I just grease-skated that right up. Call me Grace!

We had lunch (which was SO yummy) - and while eating, we got an email from our other sister, Julie, who was living it up in Panama City Beach. She was emailing from the golf course. Lori and I decided NOT to be outdone...so after we cleaned up lunch, we got in the car and drove to the Greensburg Golf Course.

We parked beside the (??) hole and walked right up to it. We brought our own clubs and everything.

BATTER UP!!!!

We played our one hole and headed home.

Then we came home and watched football. Just like a normal holiday!!!

THEN it was time to pull out the Christmas decorations and get busy on the house. Lori had a little photo album of pictures from Christmases gone by. Of ALL the pictures to survive the tornado, THIS one made it.

Oh how happy I am that era has passed.

Jeff and I worked on the tree.

When you don't know where to put the ornaments....wear them!

Best story of the day: I was busy decorating the tree, when Jeff brought in this sign and said to Lori, "Where did this come from?" She made this face and said, "I don't know!" I popped up from behind the tree and said, "Um I GAVE you that for a Christmas present last year!" We laughed and laughed. In the end, they said they didn't mean it like it sounded (and I know they didn't) - but it was hilarious.

TA DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

So that was my Thanksgiving. One very perfect day. I loved every minute of it.

SSMT: Verse 23

Two more verses in this year's journey of Scripture. I'm looking forward to (after I know the last verse) going back to see how they all fit together. God's been good!

Last Sunday I visited a church and the pastor started a sermon series for Advent - focusing on the places of Advent, rather than the people. The first stop was a place called Qumran. Yeah, I'd not heard of it either. Apparently it was an ancient city that ended up in ruins before Jesus came, yet many scrolls of Isaiah were found there. Isaiah, as you might know, is often quoted in the Advent season, because he prophesied many things about the birth of Jesus.

The pastor's point was sometimes...you're in a time of waiting and it feels like life goes into ruins before an answer ever comes. Boy I've been there! (Sometimes...say when I'm waiting for my house to sell??...I still feel like I'm there!)

One of the verses he read to us Sunday was this:

And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken. - Isaiah 40:5

I have no idea when or how God plans to sell my house. But there's a part of me that believes when that happens...God's going to reveal some glory. (And He should. It will take divine intervention to sell a house in this market!) And while I really just want the thing to sell - I also really want Him to get glory in the revealing.

I remember in the desert...there was a period of time when I clung to something I read (in Angie Smith's book I Will Carry You) about the time when God shouts "NOW!!" She referred to the resurrection of Lazarus, but I made it my own for Isaac in his journey through the wilderness. I needed to believe God had already shouted "NOW!" to bring him out of his wilderness.

And when I read this verse, I came back to that thought. Who knows but what God has already shouted "NOW!!" to sell my house...and wheels are in motion...but I just can't see it yet?

And yet one day that answer will be revealed, and I'll see it...and so will those around me...and God is going to get some PRAISE!

So that's what I need right now...to know that He has spoken.

November: Done

* I worked the Rock & Worship Roadshow - and had my first experience with a LOUD concert. :) Had fun though!

* Conducted my first interview on the air - with Tresha from the Cherished Moments Craft Hideaway. I was so nervous but didn't do to terrible job, so I was excited about that!

* Worked the Phillips, Craig and Dean concert - which was not only much fun, but very faith-boosting. The crowd raised $10,000 that night for a military outreach. Had no idea they would come through in SUCH a big way!

* Started doing Beth Moore's Breaking Free book with Olivia. Love being back in a regular study with her!

* Got to be a guest on Mid-Morning for the Author! Author! show again - bringing me full circle with my trip to the show last year!

* Had the chance to go out to eat a few times with my co-workers. They're a great bunch of friends outside of work too - and I count that a gift. They even introduced me to new (to me) restaurants - like Qdoba and Smokey Bones.

*Went to my first ever football game with Phats and Cara - the Purdue/Iowa game. Purdue lost, but I had fun anyway and now feel one step closer to "arriving" now that I've been to a real game.

* Flew to Kansas for Thanksgiving and had all sorts of adventures, including going to a real live soda fountain, walking Cassie's dog, riding a bike for the first time since I was a kid, cooking Thanksgiving dinner, "playing golf," and getting to see Greensburg in a much more rebuilt state than it was last time I was there!

* Had Pancakes with the Princess on the Road with the family while I was in Kansas.

* Worked the David Phelps concert and got to introduce him in my stage debut for the station. (GULP!!!)

* Began the task (sigh) of packing a bag to keep in my car in case I get stuck in Fort Wayne due to bad weather - which did indeed happen just last night! Simultaneously kicked up the prayers for my house to sell.

Stone Altar: End of November