What a great life I have!

I must have a very full life not to have the time to spend updating the world on the events of it through this blog, huh?

My friend "K" is worried about the lack of time to post on her mommy blog. That is ok, K, don't give it up...just blog when you can...your updates inspire!

Speaking of K, let me tell you of the fabulous couple of weeks I have had, including a weekend in Houston.

I have found that my life at work is never going to slow down it is just going to get busier by the day. The amazing thing is my enjoyment of that. I love the feeling of purpose that I have with in my job...it is so great! There are days that I wish that everyone would just leave me alone to get it all done, but if they all left then I would miss them....silly me!

The highlight of my month was getting to spend the long weekend (thank you Mr. King, jr) in Houston. I made phone calls or texted everyone to let them know I was going to be around. Several answered wanting a peice of my time, so I sat down and figured out exact times that I could meet with everyone that wanted to see me without my be frazzled in the end. It worked out beautifully.

First I spent a few hours with my favorite Cheerleader! My sweet Em is going to be a senior next year...how can the years have gone so quickly? She is growing into a beauty and learning some very important life lessons at an early age. We had a couple of sisterly heart to hearts in my time spent with her and then she made fun of them....yep she is a teenager! She is more like me every day and I think that scares her mother!

That evening, my girl Marianne and I headed down to Kiran II for all you can eat Sushi! (Ha! I never thought I would say those words with joy!) We had a great time and ate and laughed and shared life till we were stuffed! Then we headed over to PF Changs to see my favorite bartender where I indulged in some birthday cranberry juice with a shot of cranberry...yeah I am wild!

Sunday was spent with the Crawford family. They are my treasure! What a gift to walk into a home where as you walk in the door the burdens of of life fall off your shoulders. Where there is unconditional love no matter what the situation and where laughter, a love for Christ and family reign. I am so thankful for this family and this home!



Sunday evening...a rare treasure. Usually on Sunday evening during a "houston weekend" I am making my way back from Houston, tired and a little sad because I did not get to spend any time with my friends from my former TKD school.
This weekend because I did not have to be back until Monday, I got to spend Sunday evening at the home of my friend Maricris!
The evening started with me attending Mass with them. I love their church. When I was at the TKD school I was often called a "religious thrill seeker", because I would show up to Mass with them whenever the kids would invite me. This was said with laughter, but what was really known and felt was that I was/am passionately in love with the same Savior and Jesus that they are. It was important to me then and still is that the kids I taught knew just that. If I could show them by being involved in my own church, I did. I also showed them by attending their church with them and being respectful of our differences in belief, yet our common love for the Savior.
After Mass we made our way back to Maricris' home where after a yummy meal of spaghetti, (and the Giants beating the Packers) we settled down to Majong and I was re-taught how to play! The kids played "Rockstar" and "Guitar-hero" with Fish singing "la-la-la" cause he couldn't read the words!

Two sweet memories bring a smile to my face and both involve Fish..suprise suprise. The first was when Fish walked through the door and saw me for the first time in probably a year, and he ran and wrapped his arms around my legs and hugged me for a good 5 minutes. During the evening we had a couple of conversations...conversations that could only be had with Fish (i.e. the logic behind each of the names of his webkins..I promise it was riviting!) The most bittersweet however, was when the kids were ready to make their leave and Fish clung to my neck and whispered "I miss you all the time." in my ear.

Funny how one can capture another's heart and keep it even at a young age. Fish you capture my heart little one! I am so proud of who you are growing up to be. I promise to come visit more often, I need your influence in my life!

I drove home the next morning having seen some sweet wonderful faces, but missing out on seeing others. Time is so short when spending it with those we love.

For those I did not see...I love you, wish the moments of the day were longer and our distance between shorter! "I miss you all the time."

A Letter from Isaka

Dear loved ones,

You are aware that the first years of our overseas ministry was spent in Kenya. We have written about our pastor Isaka Wachiye and his faithfulness for 20+ years. The recent news from Kenya has touched our hearts because a lot of the violence was in our own town of Eldoret where we lived for the time we ministered there. We have heard tragic stories from many friends, but also have heard of God’s protection. We wondered how it was for Isaka. This week, we received the following letter from him. We he mentions the food stores – he could possibly mean groceries stores and/or stores of grain kept by their huts. Should God move your heart for this need, we will forward the monies to him as soon as we receive them.

*Note: Isaka is our pastor of over 20 years, of the church in Kabuchi, Kenya (near the border of Kenya and Uganda). This was my parent's first work and sweet Isaka who started as our gardner began to pastor this work about 2 years or so after it started. He and his family have served faithfully since then. As you can see from the letter below he is a man of great faith and wisdom. His letter here refers to the damage of the recent political clashes in Kenya. Please be in prayer for this sweet family and Elgon View Baptist Church in Kabuchi, Kenya.

Dear Br Workmans,
> Receive our greetings in the mighty name of our Lord
> Jesus Christ.We hope that you are fine and doing well
> in his service.
> Thanks be to God for enabling you and the church to
> reach the new year 2008.
> For us we've seen a new year but through struggle, and
> hardship that came following elections that was
> contacted in December. This led to the fighting
> between people of all races, some being killed, others
> injured, housesd being burned, looting people's
> properties, no transportation, no visiting of the
> shops for shopping. Some of our family members were
> butchered while in their house - Father, Mother and
> their children.
> For us the gang came and carried away everything that
> was valuable to them, it is now difficult for us to
> send children to school for life has come back to zero
> and it needs new plans.
> This is just to inform you about it and for you to
> know that we are alive through God's grace. We
> earnestly request for your prayers, for us and our
> country to have peace. Pray that God may provide for
> us our needs.
> Truely life has become hard for us.
> We are writing this in fear without freedom.
> The church is doing well, but some4 members have been
> displaced by the chaos. Others lost a lot of their
> properties, and some are still staying in the police
> station. As the church this is the burden that we are
> carrying for now both spiritually - evangelization and
> material provision to these families, but it is not
> enough. Some of the food stores were burned.
> Pray brother that things may change to normal. For now
> the situation is improving for we can move around and
> some of the offices are opened for service.
> God bless. Amen.
>
> Yours faithfully,
> Pastor Isaac.

Into my 31st year

Happy New Year to all....and blessings for what promises to be a fantastic 2008!

This past weekend I celebrated the 31st anniversary of my day of birth.
One thing about having a January birthday, it allows you to stop and take stock at the beginning of the year at the same time as one is normally already taking stock and making resolutions.

I personally am not a resolution maker. I know myself well enough to know that I am going to break them so instead I set goals for myself that I know that with the right planning I can accomplish and will feel good about accomplishing.

However, I do like to look back at the past year and see what God has done. Last year at this time the Lord was working in my life (to say the least!) In all honesty though my birthday weekend turned out ok, my life was fairly misreable, I had just moved to Dallas to take a job that I thought I really wanted and it turned out to be the job from that really really hot place, I had yet to truly find a church home, I was struggling with faith as a whole, I had not really found a community and did not have that many friends with whom I could live life.

This year on my birthday my life was contrastly different. I found myself sitting on the front row the church I am honored to call home and where I have the pleasure of serving. As my church began to sing the amazing song "Glorious Day" I had a taste of what heaven would be like. I was surrounded by friends, people the love me and people whom I love. People that I have the honor of doing life with! People that stand beside me in the gap to fight the battles of the unseen, friends that laugh and cry and share their lives with me. Best of all we were in adoring worship of the Father and the glorious day that our sweet Lord will return.

I have a job that I love! A boss that is so incredible and co-workers that I respect and with whom I enjoy working! (what a concept huh!)

I have an incredibly family on both sides of the Atlantic that I get to call mine. I am being able to develop relationships with many of my extended family that I have not had the joy of knowing deeply before.

My life is a testimony of God's faithfulness. That He would bless someone so incredibly unworthy with so much is humbling.

31...actually in my 30's. It is going to be a grand adventure...the sky's the limit!!


Blessings!

From North Carolina

Hello all,

I have not fallen off the face of the planet I promise! The last few weeks at work have been hectic, hectic, hectic. My sweet boss has had so many trips back and forth and my job is just to get her ready and go. :-)

The first week of december my dad and I talked and decided that financially it was just not a wise thing for me to head over to Bots for Christmas. The ticket would have been 3x's what it normally is and though it would have been nice, we just felt it was not great stewardship of God's resources.

So last saturday morning, I got up before the sun and drove from Dallas to Nashville. It was a long drive with an hour stuck in traffic with the car turned off and talking on the phone. But I made it safely to my sweet friend Annie's home. We have been friends since our childhood in Kenya, living a good portion of that childhood side by side, so any time spent with her is a special gift.

I got up on Sunday morning (though I did let the sun get up before me this time) and continued my trek to Burlington, North Carolina where my aunt and uncle (on my dad's side) reside. My granny had already been there for a few days, so it was a great reunion.

Christmas Day was great! My cousin showed up from a long trek himself and we all had a great time together.

The AHA gives us an entire week of for Christmas so I have stayed on here and enjoyed spending time with my aunt (discovering just how alike we are is fun and sometimes scary) and granny.

I leave tomorrow morning back to Nashville, where I will see the New Year in with my Annie girl....I can't wait!

Hope that your Christmas season has been just as wonderfully blessed as mine!
Love to all!!

See you in the New Year!

The Giving of Thanks

Going into the holidays is one of the most difficult times of the year for me. As a TCK it is a fact of life that my heart is in several different pieces and has its place on several different continents, however, during the holidays those feelings are magnified a thousand times over.

This year is no different. The past few weeks have been a struggle with my coming to terms with the fact that once again it doesn’t matter where I am, I am far away from those I love.

Then I took a step back and decided to try the “thankful” route. Starting a prayer with “Lord, thank you for….” and going from there always helps me know just how incredibly blessed I am, and more than not pulls me from the doldrums that threaten to take over if I am not careful.

My prayer this week started like this…I pray that it brings hope to you wherever you may be in your walk.

“Lord, thank You that I am breathing. I realize that every breath that I take in is not only a miracle, but it is mercy from Your hand, and that every breath I breathe out is simply Your grace imparted on my life.
Thank you that I can get out of bed in the morning. Even when my brain is tired from lack of sleep that comes from an unfaithful lack of trust, You still bless me with energy and sufficient muscle combinations to get out of bed.
Thank You for blankets that keep me warm through the night, so many are cold this morning.
Thank You for clean running water and electricity that is on as long as I pay the bills (thank You for the money to do so). I know these are conveniences that not everyone is blessed with and I confess that I so often take them for granted.
Thank you for creating animals to have as companions. Thanks for giving me a cat that wakes me up with a warm purr every morning, even when I do not want him too. His antics make me laugh out loud and he is a blessing from You.
Thank You for my cute little car, Cecil. Thank You that not only does he run smoothly and get me from place to place, but that you gave me the type of car that I had wanted for such a long time. Thank You for knowing and granting the details.
Thank You that all the lights were green this morning, and that You granted me safety on my way to work. Thank You for the patience to sit in traffic when every single one is red.
Lord, thank You for an amazing job that I so do not deserve and for a boss that inspires me daily and is so incredibly kind and pleasant to work for. Thank You for granting me favor in her eyes. Help me to serve her today in the same way that I would serve You.
Thank You for my coworker friends who make me laugh, and encourage me. Thank You that they listen to me rant when I am frustrated and encourage me when I am low. Thank You for what they teach me and help me to learn. Thank you for a work environment that is safe, clean and, even on the long days, worth it.
Thank You for food that you have blessed me with throughout the day. I confess that I do not always eat what is good for me, forgive me when I put gross junk into Your temple.
Thank You for the beauty of the sunset I get to watch on my way home at night, or in the winter time the beauty of the moon as it rises. How different this world would be if You had created it in only monochromatic colors.
Thank You for friends to talk to on the phone even if they live far away, and thank You for the friends that live close by. Forgive me for not taking more time to live life with them. They are all so incredibly wonderful and offer friendship and love that I do not always deserve.
Thank You for an incredible apartment to come home to. It is warm and clean, and in a safe neighborhood. So many people cannot claim these luxuries and I confess that I do not always see them as such.
Thank you for the fact that even though I am always way too far away from people in my life, whether they be in Africa, Europe, Asia, or the USA that I still have them in my life. Thank You for the roles they played in the season that we were actually in the same place at the same time, and for the roles they play now even though we are so far apart. God I ask for Your blessings to pour out on them. For those of them that do not know You, may they find You, for those that do may they rejoice in the knowledge of You.
Thank You for my family, both blood related and God related. Each one is a gift from you, thank You for the relationships I have with each one.
Thank You most of all for the gift of Your Son. Without Him my life has absolutely no meaning, hope, joy, peace, or purpose. Please forgive me when I allow my selfishness to get in the way of remembering that.
Thank You for walking through my day with me. Bless those I love who are laying their heads down at the end of a long day, bless their sleep and their dreams, and bless those just starting into what is my tomorrow in far away places, keep them safe and bring us together soon.
I love you, Lord!
Amen

Adventure of Tigpan o’r the past few weeks

Orlando/Daytona

AHA Scientific Sessions is a week of over 25, 000 (that is right THOUSAND) cardiologist, cardio-nurses, and cardiac research scientists all coming together to learn from each other, find out new techniques, discover new tools for surgery and treatments,etc etc etc. People tried to tell me but I could not fathom what I saw when I got there. The exhibit hall alone was astounding. State of art technology helped demonstrate state of the art cardio-technology. Outside of the exhibit hall, Drs and research scientists were giving lectures, presenting their case studies and the development of them, meetings were going on between pharmaceutical companies (the ones with the money) and councils (the ones with the brains), there I was in the middle of it all….running back and forth helping several different departments as well as supporting my fabulous boss! It was an incredible week….I have attached my favorite photo from the week, one that I think would be a wonderful theme for a missions conference!


From there I was supposed to head down to Ft.Lauderdale and Miami, but due to circumstances was not able to make that journey. I was however able to spend a short period of time with my family in Daytona. What a blessing that was to me. Relationships are hard to develop anytime, but throw a dozen years of living on separate continents and that difficulty increases. However, I am blessed to have a family that keeps trying and am enjoying the relationships I am getting to build as an adult.

BTW, check out my cousin’s little one….she will be the next great photographer in the family!


Back to Texas, and a whirlwind of a couple of weeks. Coming out of Sessions, my boss had a myriad of meetings that needed to be set up between now and the end of the year. Throw in an already packed schedule, the packed schedules of other people to be involved in these meetings, two holiday weeks and a partridge in a pear tree and you have a flurry of emails back and forth, time negotiating and flights to book….but thankful, through His Grace alone, it is all done!

Last Saturday I had the wonderful joy of getting to spend a few short hours with my friend’s Lance and Amy Auterson. We have known each other since our prisoner days in Springfield, Misery, and they now serve as Missionaries to France. They had been gone from the US for 4 years, and in those years proceeded to produce two absolutely adorable chirren’ (to use Lance’s phrasing). What a blessing to hear about their ministry, their family and to get to hug and kiss those two adorable little ones.


I think you are caught up. I have a few family news items to share, but will post that next time as this has been long.

Blessings!

The Peace of the Ocean

shell
Originally uploaded by Tigpan

He that will learn to pray, let him go to sea. ~George Herbert

New Blog

My heart can never quite contain the joy I feel when I get an email or phone call letting me know I or my family have been lifted to the Father in prayer. I believe that that is where the battles of this life are won I am so thankful for those who choose to join me even for a moment on the battle front.

My mom sends out an update every Sunday to friends and family, and I have often shared her letters here on this blog. After so many questions and notes of encouragement, I have created a blog especially for just those updates. It will mostly be updated on Sunday's, but will be full of the life and ministry of my family. It is entitled "News from where my heartbeats" Because anyone who knows me knows that it beats so far away from where I currenly sit. You can find it at mtuwakazi.blogspot.com Mtuwakazi literally translated means "man of work" and is the direct translation of our last name "Workman."

I hope you enjoy it!
Love to you all...

Botswana Update

**Weekly update from my mom**

Dear Loved Ones,

Thank you for keeping us in your prayers. The last couple of weeks have been hard for us.
Steve flew to the States about a week and a half ago. We have been monitoring Devin from this side and began to be concerned about his lack of progress healthwise. We talked with Jon Konnerup and our sending pastor and they agreed that one of us needed to come to see what the situation was. When Steve arrived, Devin had been diagnosed with pneumonia again. That is the fourth time since last year. After talking with his doctor and his deans at Liberty, it was decided that Devin would take a medical withdrawal. This was a hard decision for all of us but most of all for Devin who has been doing his best to adjust to America, adjust to college life and relationships all the while struggling with some serious health issues. Would you pray that God will help us to get the right help for him? We have already talked with the doctors on this side and they are working on a plan to build his immune system and then go from there.

Transitioning is a very hard process for all missionaries. We spend a lot of our lives preparing ourselves to be in another place. Once we arrive on the field we try to get adjusted and then we have to begin to prepare to go Stateside. We aren’t stateside very long before we have to prepare to come back. It is a strenuous process spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically. Some people work through it fairly well, others never get through it successfully. Please pray with us that God will help Devin as he comes back and that Devin will receive the help that God has for him.

Sometimes when the pastor is away, strange things can happen in church. This morning, we had our time that we set aside each Sunday for prayer requests and praises. All of a sudden, Rahab gets up and RUNS to the front of the service. I’m thinking WHAT IS SHE DOING?!?!? I have never seen Rahab run in the four years we have known her. Most of the time, I have seen her on her back either at home or in the hospital. She gets to the front and says that God has healed her and she has been swimming every day this week for 2 km. which is basically the equivalent of a mile a day. Our people were shouting to see her RUN up there. For all that He has done, we THANK HIM.

There are still many lost souls in Botswana and many young Christians who need to grow in Him and learn to make wise choices for their lives. We are counting on your prayers.

Reaching the Unreached
The Workmans

The "but nots" of our heart

It has been a while since I blogged. Thank you so much for the many of you that have emailed or called to check on me and mine. I am so grateful for friends like you!
Over the past few months my family has been through quite a battle …one that is not over yet. However, I would like to share with you something that the Lord has given to me as a promise to cling to during this time.

This wonderful truth first came from Eric Mason, a pastor in inner city Philadelphia. He preached at our church a few weeks ago and since that time the Lord has brought his words back to my mind again and again; and, as He always does when he wants us to learn something, He has affirmed them in several other situations.
Eric was preaching on brokenness….something I will share more details of in an upcoming blog…but one point that he made that was so striking to me was the “but nots” of the Bible. For example in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.” And in looking at the life of Job, the Lord allowed the enemy to do whatever he wanted to Job, “but not” take his life. Eric put it so poignantly when he said the “but nots” of the Word are the backstage passes to our soul that only the Lord has issue and access too. Beautiful!

The Lord may use the enemy and his attack as a conduit to His will, but He is still in control and will only allow the enemy to go so far.
This promise of the Word has been so incredibly true and perfect in my heart these past few months.
The recent release of Mercy Me’s “Bring the Rain” also came at an apropos time. I will leave you with the lyrics:
I can count a million times
People asking me how I
Can praise You with all that I've gone through
The question just amazes me
Can circumstances possibly
Change who I forever am in You
Maybe since my life was changed
Long before these rainy days
It's never really ever crossed my mind
To turn my back on you, oh Lord
My only shelter from the storm
But instead I draw closer through these times
So I pray

Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain

I am Yours regardless of
The dark clouds that may loom above
Because You are much greater than my pain
You who made a way for me
By suffering Your destiny
So tell me what's a little rain
So I pray Holy, holy, holy
Is the Lord God Almighty

Faith

Light in the clouds
Originally uploaded by Tigpan

Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted in spite of your changing moods.

C.S. Lewis (1898-1963)

Heart Walk

This past weekend, I participated in Heart Walk! Thank you so much to all of you who helped me raise money for this incredibly important cause. :-)

Below are some photos from the fun of the day!!


Stephen Prudhomme and yours truly
My friend Leslie and I...
Tim Bateman excited about the chance to meet Mr. Peanut!!

There were A LOT of walkers!!
My roommate, Lisa and her mom...and your's truly!

One of the celebrities of the day!!

Glory

I love the truth of this song. In the midst of all the confusion, anger, lies, half-truth, bitterness, tears, hurt, angst, prayers, pleading, brokenness, desire for chains to be broken, minds to be healed....we have the promise that one day it will all be like short breath, and all will fade with the joy of gazing at the face of my Savior. Come quickly Lord Jesus and until then thank you for the grace and mercy that pours out without measure and is renewed every morning.....

One day eyes that are blind will see you clearly
And one day all who deny will finally believe
One day hearts made of stone will break in pieces
And one day chains once unbroken will fall down at your feet
So we wait for that one day come quickly

We want to see your Glory
Every knee falls down before thee
Every tongue offers you praise
With every hand raised
Singing Glory
To you and unto you only
We'll sing Glory to Your name

One day voices that lie will all be silent
One day all that's divided will be whole again
One day death will retreat and wave it's white flag
One day love will defeat the strongest enemy
So we wait for that one day come quickly


We know not the day or the hour
Or the moments in between
But we know the end of the story
When we'll see your Glory....

This weekend

This weekend was....
Interesting....

Friday afternoon I got home to an empty house (my roommate was in Chicago), and a weekend full of no plans. Glorious!

I watched several movies of my own choosing... The Lake House which I had seen before, but was definitely better the second time around. The Prestige which was not at all what I was expecting it to be, and though it was long it was very good!

Saturday, I cleaned, organized and threw away! Amazing how one can live in a small place and still collect enough stuff to give away two boxes full and not notice that anything is missing. That, my friends, is just sad.

And on Saturday that was my mood. I was sad! I was homesick, lonely for a friend, searching for my place in this world (that you MWS) sad, and nothing seemed to be able to break me from my sadness. I spent quite a bit of time in The Word and then headed out to church for the evening. They showed a video recap of several of the missions trips from this summer...and of course, there are sweet african children all over the screen....that did not help the homesick part of my mind at that point.

But what I discovered in the darkness of life several hours later is that sometimes you have to touch a deep part of sadness to pull back out. You have to be rejected by friends to rediscover your identity. You have to be alone to reach out to others. It is in these moments that God finds you, grace abounds in ways that you cannot understand or fathom.

Is my sadness completely gone....Nope...but it is much better. I realize that I am blessed beyond measure and most look at my life and wonder what in the world I have to be sad about. Sometimes it is just something you have to go through to get to happy again. Similar to how you must experience valleys in order to reach and fully understand the magnitude of mountain tops.

Sunday...I finished cleaning and then went to spend time with my sweet godson and his mommy and dada! (yes he is saying dada now!) He is so incredibly yummy! I need to spend more time seeing his face. His dada, Scott, has recently decided to pursue the business side of his hobby and established Birdsong Photography we did a photoshoot for kicks and giggles. These are my two favorites from the shoot.



Monday, Labor Day, a day dedicated to those who work to much! I took the day to lay in bed reading or by the pool reading and talking to my Granny and finishing the rest of the organizing from Saturday.

I also got some GREAT news from my parents concerning their ministry, but I will wait for an official announcement from them before I post details.

Blessings to all!

New Toy

I have come over into the digital era! Yesterday I purchased a Nikon CoolPix® L12 7.1 mp. I have been saving for it for a while...a simple point and click but I look forward to having some fun with it!!!
Here is the very first picture I took with it.

Just Jesus only will never fail!

The past few months have been kind of rough for my family. Some of you know the details, other's don't but are still praying. For both sets of people, I am thankful. Not every day is bad, but everyday is uptight with the thought of what might occur within that day to send everything spiraling down again.

I am learning to trust. Looking back on some posts from last summer I realize that what God was teaching me during that time was simply a stepping stone for the trusting, waiting and obedience that would be required of me just a year later.

Last night was another long night. At times I am not sure what awakens me at 3 am, but I have learned like Samuel of old to say "Speak, for your servant is listening." It has taken me a while to get to this point as I did not have one as wise as Eli to instruct me to do so.

I am learning in these wee hours of the morning to pray. I am learning to pray scripture, to ask for miracles, to boldly come before the throne, to be sensitive to a dream that I might just have awakened from and to lift people and their known struggles very specifically to the Father, to pray for myself and seek His face.

Today I am weary. Not just becuase I have been up since 4 am, but I am weary of the lies that the enemy tells that we so easily believe, and in so believing hurt ourselves and those around us. Our lives can be so futile, a deep rut of running after what we think is the best for us, when all it takes for pure joy is stopping, taking a breath and saying "God, what do You want for me."

This morning after a long night of tossing and turning, reading, kneeling, and seeking, God brought to mind (and to my playlist)one of my very favorite songs sung by the Gaither Vocal Band, the lyrics are listed below. It describes in picture perfect rhyme my life and the lives of several I know right now that are just pursuing the dust and lonely winds of this world, and ends with a promise so simple and true "Just Jesus ONLY will NEVER fail!" Praise His Name!

I'll worship only at the feet of Jesus
GVB
I went to visit the shrine of plenty,
But found its store-rooms all filled with dust,
I bowed at alters of gold and silver,
But as I knelt there they turned to rust.

So I'll worship only at the feet of Jesus,
His cup alone, my holy grail,
There'll be no other gods before Him,
Just Jesus only will never fail.

The call of fortune made me a pilgrim,
To journey to fame's promised heights,
But as I climbed the promise faded,
And wind blew lonely all through the night.

Just desert dust and empty shadows,
All promises that turned to lies,
The gods of earth fail and betray me,
You alone are Truth and Life.

So I'll worship only at the feet of Jesus,
His cup alone, my holy grail,
There'll be no other gods before Him,
Just Jesus only will never fail.
Just Jesus only will never fail!

Waiting on Him

Bigotry and my hatred thereof

The fact that this post follows the peaceful post of "Grace" is just flat irony, but whatever.

I have promised this story to several so here we go....


As many of you can attest to I am pretty much an easy going person to the world in general.
I do my best to see things through other's point of view, am fairly easy going in traffic, allow others to cut in front of me in line without having to justify my position on this earth, I take most idiosyncrasies with a grain of salt and keep going. However, as some of you have experienced any form of bigotry is going to make my blood pressure rise and will usually result in a verbal taking down of said bigot.

Wednesday was a perfect case in point. I will start my story with the words of my friend Tim...

"There I was minding my own business...
in line at Petsmart purchasing food for king of the apartment, Picasso. The cashier is an unattractive woman who I would judge to be in her mid-40's, with definately mental reason to be a cashier at the age of 40 (not that cashiers at 40 are bad people who knows I may be a cashier at 40, but you get the picture.)....I will leave it at that not wishing to be unkind. *smirks

This cashier is checking out the person in line in front of me, so I am patiently waiting and half listening in to the conversation that they are having and half thinking other random thoughts. My ears come on high alert however when she mentions "China" so I turn and begin listening with both ears to the conversation being played out. This cashier is going on and on about the horrible work that the Chinese do, and how we have trusted them to make toys for our children and now look they are trying to kill us off by putting lead paint on them. She continues on at how the Chinese are stealing our jobs and how horrible and cheap their products are, blah blah blah. She gives an example about how she bought a pair of shoes once that were made in in China and they fell apart after wearing them once (I am thinking to myself if you ever bought a pair of shoes at Payless you for sure have worn more than one "made in china" and probably the ones you have on now are from there as well).....She ends her tirade with the phrase "down with China." The person checking out seems a bit uncomfortable with the conversation as a whole, says..."sure"...and leaves.

My blood pressure is pretty close to boiling at this point and I am thinking that one word from this woman to me about China is going to send me over the edge!!! So she asks how i am I say "Fine." -through gritted teeth and stand there as she checks out my wares, silently counting to 10 then 20 then 30 trying to calm my outraged self down.

Finally, as I sign my sales slip I say...
"Ma'am, I have a comment about your conversation just now on China...."
I take a deep breath and off I go...
"If you were to remove everything around you that was not in some way shape or form manufactured in China you would be standing on a cement floor - the cement from which BTW came from Mexico, you would not have a car to drive and you would be naked!! The people to blame for the current crisis in Chinese manufacturing plants are not the chinese workers who are slaving around the clock making less than minimum wage; but the greedy American consumer who wants everything right now and wants it "cheap." Pressure from parents who believe that their children should have so many toys they cannot walk in their rooms causes American managers to put pressure on said manufacturers resulting in unfortunate choices made by factories to try to make any profit at all. So before you decide to go off about the Chinese people next time, remember that there could be someone standing nearby who actually has people there that he/she loves, and.....get an education."


With that I walked out of the store. Pretty sure she is still standing there stuck on the word "naked".
The End.

Grace

Rainbow crossing
Originally uploaded by Tigpan

Standing in a hallowed church,
Kneeling with a friend beside your bed,
In the silence of a hot shower alone in the dark,
Amidst the noisy bustle of life, surrounded by those you love.

Where obedience meets will, and suffering meets peace.
Turmoil finds rest, and actions find forgiveness.
Where Prayer finds answers and Victory is won.

When all of creation that has been given to you for submission battles against your soul, and when you lie awake in angst wondering about the whys.

The late night, the early morn, the place where dreams are made.
The afternoon, the twilight hour, the perfect portrait light.

In the midst of your search, or when you are done for the day, when you have given up hope and want to return to what you know may not be right, but you know is easy....

Sleeping, waking, eating, drinking, crying, laughing, standing, dancing....

Completely in this unexpected....This is where Grace is found.

The passing of life

I just found that that one of my friends from HSU lost his father to cancer the last week of July. Nick is a friend who played baseball and his dad was one of my favorite parents. I spent many hours sitting by his side watching Nick on the field. My heart is sad, I knew it was coming, but still sad.

I learned a lot from our few short hours together on this earth.

Praise God he is Home now....and no longer in pain.

Thank you, Mr. Larsen, for taking the time to invest in my life, for letting me see in you the love of the Father through your love for your son. With every game of baseball I watch I will remember you. My life is changed because you were in it.