"Life Interrupted"

This weekend, I attended a Priscilla Shirer simulcast at Bethel Church here in Fairbanks. I’ve never attended a simulcast before and didn’t really know what to expect, but it was very comfortable and the speaker and singers felt up close and personal. It was almost like being there. The ladies at Bethel did a super job of organizing it here and making everyone feel at home. I enjoyed seeing so many friends that I haven’t seen in quite awhile.

I was happy that Jami, Joan and Charmel were also able to attend.

Here’s some facts, figures and thoughts that spoke to me:

• About 80,000 women attended across the U.S., plus Canada and Singapore. 400 churches were represented.
• Worship team: Anthony Evans and 4 other singers, which included Janice Gaines (she sang on the worship team at the Women of Faith conference I attended in Spokane last year), and Melissa Green, who has sung with Avalon.
• Theme: “Life Interrupted, Jonah - Because God Wants to Meet You Where You Are.”
• This was like a week-end date with God.
• We’re seated under an open heaven. He’ll do great things in and through us.
• Interruptions in our life can be positive or negative, but they most always bring with them lifestyle changes and modifications. Amen to that!
• Interruptions are divine interventions even though we don’t see it that way to begin with.
• How will I respond to interruptions in my life?
• Give God more credit for what He’s doing in our life.
• If He brought me here, He can carry me through.
• If He (God the Son) loved us enough to die for us, He loves us enough to speak to us.
• God does not speak to be heard, but to be obeyed.
• God is not keeping us FROM something, but keeping us FOR something.
• If we’re not running away physically from our interruptions (like Jonah), have we run away on the inside? Do we go through the motions grudgingly? Are we discontent?
• With the interruptions in our lives, God is setting us up for a special relationship with Him.
• What is my Nineveh?
• It’s in our Nineveh that we’re exposed to God’s power. God’s power deserves more opportunities to work.
• Nothing happens in our life that escapes the eyes of God. Be encouraged for God care and concern for you.
• Be more committed to God’s Word.
• Don’t allow anything to replace the reading of God’s Word and allowing the Holy Spirit to open the Word to you.
• God will never convict you to condemn you. His conviction is always connected to grace.
• God can take our trash and clutter in our lives and make something beautiful out of it.
• The decisions I make today will mark the people who come after me.
• God will go with us into our circumstances and He’ll get us through.
• What transformation is waiting on our obedience?
• I purchased the book “Life Interrupted - Navigating the Unexpected”
• Other books and resources available at http://www.lifeway.com/priscillashirer

• Twitter.com/PriscillaShirer
• Blog: www.goingbeyond.com (check out “Jewelry box”)

Personal note: Like everyone else, I have experienced and feel like I’m living right in the middle of “life interrupted.” This simulcast has been just one more way that God has used to speak to me. He recently told me “it’s just the weather”, but that’s another story for another blog.

One Bloom Saves Plant

I've had this cactus for five plus years and it's never bloomed. When it didn't bloom yet again during the 2010 Christmas season I threatened to throw it out. After all, the blooms and flowers on a plant are the whole reason for the plant, aren't they? Why keep around a plant that refuses to flower? I was convinced I would throw it out, but before I actually got around to it I saw this tiny bud form and then this beautiful bloom.....only one bloom on the whole plant, but enough to save the plant. I treat this one bloom with such tender love and care. When the grandkids look at it and touch it, I hold my breath - afraid the bloom will get damaged even though I'm happy they appreciate the beautiful bloom too. I'm so proud of that single bloom and now I have a renewed motivation to keep the plant and see if next time it will have more blooms! That one bloom has restored my faith and hope in the whole plant.

Now I'm waiting for my African Violet to bloom.

Choosing Gratitude

I attended the Farewell Avenue Christian Church's spring ladies retreat this weekend at the Princess Hotel. Nicole Welch and Ashley Lund also attended from LifePoint. The retreat theme was "Gratitude," taken from the book, "Choosing Gratitude - Your Journey to Joy," by Nancy Leigh DeMoss.

Here are some thoughts I carried home with me:

• Undeniable guilt + undeserved grace = unbridled gratitude.
• A grateful person is a humble person, while ingratitude reveals a proud heart.
• A grateful heart is God-centered and others-conscious, while an ungrateful person is self-centered and self-conscious.
• A grateful heart is a full heart, while an ungrateful heart is an empty one.
• People with grateful hearts are easily contented, while ungrateful people are subject to bitterness and discontent.
• A grateful heart will be revealed and expressed by thankful words, while an ungrateful heart will manifest itself in murmuring and complaining.
• Thankful people are refreshing, life-giving springs, while unthankful people pull others down with them into stagnant pools of their selfish, demanding unhappy ways.
• Gratitude - the fruit of a thousand choices.
• Choose gratitude. It's a discipline.
• Instigators of Ingratitude: unrealistic expectations, forgetfulness, entitlement, comparison and blindness to God's grace.
• We were encouraged to start a 30-day Gratitude Journal where we reflect on Scriptures of Thanksgiving and we list at least five things each day for which we're thankful.
• When sending a thank you note, consider the "who" (giver) and "why" more than the "what" (the gift). Don't just say "thank you for the gift", but express why the gift mattered to you.
• Take time to remember events in your life. Remember to be thankful.
• It takes intentional effort to be grateful.
• Ingratitude is a sin (and a tap root for other sins).
• Recognize, acknowledge and express thanks to God and others.
• Gratitude is a sure path to peace.
• Gratitude is a gauge of the heart.
• Gratitude is the will of God.
• Gratitude is a work of the Spirit.
• Gratitude reflects Jesus' heart.
• Gratitude gets us ready for heaven.
• Gratitude is an every day thing!
• I want to be more grateful.

Stretched

It's been four days since the kids moved into their new house. Even though I'm excited that we all have our own homes now, I have to admit I've experienced some withdrawal.

• It's very quiet around here....I miss the noise and laughter.
• I have to cook EVERY night (I miss Jami cooking every other night).
• Cooking for 3 is easier than cooking for 8....and the clean up is easier too. I think I came out better on that part.
• No more homework done around our dining room table.
• No more coats and boots left at the front door.
• No more dinner meals to take up to the property
• Less laundry
• The house is easier to keep clean
• Not as many interruptions (i.e Grandma, will you read me this book?)
• No more good night hugs and "I love you's" from the kids

The 9-months that the kids lived here stretched us. Once they left I thought everything would just go back to normal, but our normal has been all stretched out of shape. I feel a little lost. Now I'm wondering what to do with the space and resources we have. How can we be generous with what we've always considered normal. I don't want the stretch marks to go away.....enlarge my heart, O Lord.

Happy 65th Birthday!

I recently celebrated my 65th birthday. My oh my, where did the years go? Well, let's see.....

• 47 years has passed since I graduated from high school.
• 45 years that I've lived in Alaska.
• I've been married 40 years,
• have been a mother for 35 years,
• and a grandmother for 11 years.
• 55 years since I took my first piano lesson.
• 31 years that Dave & I have pastored in Fairbanks. Okay, he's pastored and I've been along for the ride.

This week a friend posted a few pictures of me on facebook. Pictures that were taken back when I was in high school. I recognize myself through my memories, but I don't look like that picture anymore. The smile is about the same, but that girl was very slim, her glasses were scary and what was up with that hair? Sixty-five years of life can't help but change a person's appearance and it also changes a person's heart. Am I.....

• ...more compassionate and merciful?
• ...fulfilling my God given purpose?
• ...loving the Lord above everything else?
• ...seeking excellence?
• ...listening to God and being obedient?
• ...still growing and "living" life?

With each new picture taken, my glasses may get thicker and my hair will turn gray, but I always want the love of Christ to shine through in my smile.

I Want My Own Copy of This Book.

I finished reading "Doing Life Differently - The Art of Living with Imagination" by Luci Swindoll, which I borrowed from my friend Joan Riggs. I enjoyed the book so much that I want my own copy. Sorry, Joan, you may never get this book back. Just kidding....I'll buy my own.

I hate to read a borrowed book because I can't mark and write in the margins, and this book gives you lots of space to write. I did write lots of notes in a journal, but when I get my own copy I'll have to read it again just so I can mark it up. Do you do that too?

This book was one I just couldn't put down. It motivated and inspired the daylights out of me. Wow, I feel so energized! Here are some areas that jumped out at me. If these do not make sense to you you'll just have to read the book. I strongly encourage you to do just that anyway.

This book makes me want to.....

• Memorize more Scripture. (Phyllis, I want to get the book you recommended: "100 Bible Verses" by Robert J. Morgan.)
• Laugh much, much more than I do.
• Dream big. Dream it, think it, plan it.
• Write things down, take notes, journal: report, interpret, reflect, question, predict, unload, praise, compare, cry, laugh, draw (maybe doodle is more correct in my case), and remember.
• Drink in life and savor every drop.
• Quit letting circumstances stop life or put it on hold. Turn them into an adventure.
• Visit the art galleries in town.
• Dust off my piano sonata's and play more classics. Practice more.
• Let beautiful strains of music fill my home more often. Don't be afraid to cry, laugh or dance with the music.
• Be more open to "what if" and "why not", rather than "if only" or "why me."
• Open the door, step, out, and trust God. Never be afraid. Never, ever be afraid.
• Review all the ways God has brought me through life - - adventures, straights and narrows, good times and bad - - and how He has continually cared for me.
• Recognize how God is constantly expanding my heart.....showing me new ways to trust Him.
• Call Alaska Airlines and make a reservation.
• Be more generous.
• Send more post cards (or notes).
• Enjoy the gifts God has given me.
• Deal with the changes that come with aging and enjoy the gift of years.

Happy New Year in Hawaii

Happy 2011.

At noon on January 1st, Dave and I met Wayne and Karen Heimer at the airport and flew to Hawaii. At the Fairbanks airport Wayne talked to a friend who happened to work for Alaska Airlines and we were all upgraded to first class from Fairbanks to Anchorage. Sweet!!! Out of Anchorage the turbulence was terrible (with a capital "T") until we leveled off and it gradually got smoother for the rest of the six hour flight. We landed in Honolulu after dark (saw a beautiful sunset from the plane), spent the night and continued on to the big island the next morning. Final destination: Kona.

As we landed on the big island, it looked pretty desolate....so much lava everywhere, but as drove away from the airport there were palm trees, beautiful flowers, the smell of Hawaii and .....Christmas decorations. I've got to tell you, those Christmas decorations looked so out of place......so wrong! I'm used to a white Christmas. How in the world can you celebrate Christmas when the grass is green and the temperature is 80 degrees? It did seem weird too that people were wishing us "Happy New Year." New Year's and cold weather go together in my world. I had a terrible time adjusting my "clock".

It was a great week of relaxation and a change of pace from home.

• There were great walking paths around the resort area with a good view of the ocean.
• Reading by the pool.
• Hot tubing.
• Toured the island.
• Visited the volcano, watched it vent steam, and smelled the sulfur. Now lets get the heck out of here!!
• Ate breakfast every morning on the deck. We even ate scrambled eggs with ahi tuna one morning with Wayne. It was actually very good.
• Walked on the black sands beach and on lots of lava.
• Lunch on the beach. People watching on the beach. Walking on the beach. I love the beach!
• Observed turtles sleeping on the rocks in the water and on the beach. There were signs posted to stay 20 feet away from turtles on the beach. I brought home several Christmas turtle ornaments for our tree this year.....and they were on sale!
• Shopped at some of Karen's favorite Thrift Stores.
• Bought souvenirs for the grandkids.
• Tried to stay out of the way of all the gecko's.
• Yummm....ate lots of fresh pineapple.
• Enjoyed the beautiful flowers. The plumeria flower and fragrance is one of my favorites. I was surprised to see poinsettia's growing wild in Hawaii and on such big bushes. I've only seen them grow in pots and sold in the grocery stores and nurseries. :)
• Enjoyed the warmth at night. We're not used to dark and warm at the same time..
• Went to the movies and saw "True Grit" and "The Tourist". I recommend "True Grit" just for the music. How many old blue book hymns can you identify throughout the movie? I've got to buy the soundtrack and hope I eventually find the printed arrangements.
• Thanks to the Heimer's for the invite and for a great time.

On the flight home, I did wear a light jacket but I refused to put my socks and shoes back on. I wore my sandals and capri's home. When we boarded the plane in Anchorage, we had to walk outside to board so my toes got snow on them. The same thing happened in Fairbanks, but Jami met us at the airport with a warm car.....no frost bite experienced. ha My sandals and summer clothes are put away and I'm back to boots and a heavy coat, but a week in paradise was wonderful.

It's hard adjusting back to cold weather, but we ARE gaining daylight. Only a couple months until March and when that gets here there's no place I'd rather be than HERE.