Celebrating 30 yrs. of God's Grace and Mercy in My Life!

This week 30 years ago, the Lord changed my heart, adopted me as His very own, gave me the desire to follow Him, and the ability to obey Him! Believe me, if He hadn't initiated and completed this, I would never have given Him a second thought. Here's my full (long) testimony for those who care to read how the Lord graciously took hold of me, My Testimony May ALL the glory be His.

A Few of My Favorite Things...

One of the special treats my dear hubby gave me for Valentine's Day was my very own bag of Lindt Truffles--Extra Dark Chocolate.

Seriously, there is very little that can make me 'go weak in the knees'--these little jewels do it in a heartbeat (thankfully, there ARE health benefits)! Gotta run, they're calling out to me...

Saturday in the park? No, Saturday in the coffee shop...

...with my Best Friend (of 25+ years). Some Saturdays one or both of us have discipleship appointments for part of the morning, other Saturdays we simply have one another all to ourselves!!

We each bring a few things we're studying and/or working on--for DH it's often preaching/teaching prep, lately for me it's been my NANC exams. There's plenty of discussion, and lots of 'thinking out loud' together.

I'm so grateful for a husband who welcomes my thoughts and conversation--he's been the catalyst for my love of reading and study.

Holiday Hiatus

I've decided to take a little "holiday hiatus" until after New Year's! I still may post as the mood or occasion hits me, but don't expect too much from me! But, I still hope to follow/read YOUR blog(s)!

We home school year-round, so the holiday season is especially busy for us with all the extra activities and commitments, plus I need to devote more time to my NANC exams (yes, I'm still plugging away because, believe it or not, putting my thoughts on paper is such a labor for me--always has been).

See ya next year!

NANC '08 ~ A Brief Overview in Pictures

I attended the annual NANC conference again this year with my husband, along with two other couples from our church. This time in St. Louis, Missouri.

The weather was beautiful pretty much the whole time we were in town. Right after the conference we took a quick tour of the Arch park and museum.

That's our hotel on the left, The Millennium, where the conference was held.

In case you don't recognize the gentleman in this picture, it's Jay Adams--that's one of the ladies from our church who happens to be one of only three NANC certified women in Oklahoma (I'm hoping to join their ranks soon!), and of course me on the right.

This is none other than Martha Peace--what a gracious woman! She was busy coordinating and assisting other booth vendors but made time for this picture. I've had the pleasure of being around her many times over the years (retreats, conferences, visits to our church) and she's always been a delight to be around--and I love her Georgia accent!

These are the other two couples from our church--we've attended the last three annual NANC conferences together and always enjoyed our time together. The man closest in the picture is also NANC certified--one of only two or three in Oklahoma--hoping that will increase soon, too!

And finally, this is just me being silly for the camera! The NANC hat was a gift from the Mary (she's in the Jay Adams picture with me above), she's been encouraging me regularly as I pursue my NANC certification! Don't give up on me Mary, I'm working on it!! :-)

Our home school theme song...

I'm kidding! But, my girls and I do enjoy singing along when we hear it on the radio in the van!! :-)

I wonder as I wander...

...how many people I have 'stumbled' in my life-time because of my ungodly thinking and/or behavior. It's a very sobering thought.

"Delicious autumn..."

I heard the following quote today on the radio and wanted to share it with y'all--I feel this quite strongly not simply because it is my very favorite season, but also because my family and I have just returned from vacationing in the Great Smoky Mountains and surrounding areas.

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."

My ancestors ~ John Calvin and John Wesley (seriously)

True confession, I'm a genealogy 'nut'!!

I have been since about 4th grade when a dear neighbor lady, who was a much loved history teacher, introduced me to an 'ancestral chart' and showed me how to trace my ancestors. Oh my, was I ever hooked--all those nice neat lines expanding across pages and pages lending credibility to hunches and solving 'family mysteries'.

So, imagine my delight, bliss, and laughter when I discovered ancestors by the names of 'John Calvin' and 'John Wesley'.

John Calvin is on my paternal side which is Pennsylvania Dutch, and John Wesley is on my maternal side which includes British and Irish ancestry.

So, now you know! :-)

Oh, You're My BEST Friend...

...for 25 years!

MORE 'Mowing Meditations'

As I've mentioned before, I have LOTS of time to think and meditate while I mow. I can't honestly say that all of my thoughts are profitable, but the 'mindless' work of mowing is a welcomed break for me so I can sort of 'kick around' things I've read, heard, or been trying to sort out! Here's what was rattling around in my head today:

1) more thinking on THE POST I made earlier this morning regarding 'continuing revelation'

2) yet more thinking on the concept of classical conditioning in the life of a Xian, more specifically as it related/relates to me during my years in the charismatic movement. Some of you may be wondering, 'Did the sun fry her brain while she was mowing?', but I find this topic very interesting and very pertinent to the various 'experiences' claimed and promoted within the church even today. (Can you tell that I was a psychology major at one time?)

3) hoping it doesn't rain Thursday evening cause that's the next FREE "Mid Life Crisis Band" concert and they've promised to perform "Back in the USSR" for our girls--Olga and Nina!

4) so thankful and excited that I get to sit and visit with two college friends tomorrow afternoon!

5) wondering what the MPG is on this 'self-propelled' lawn mower, and if it truly is 'self-propelled' is it really necessary for me to be here? :-)

A Meme for Me!!!

Whoa, it's been a long time since I've been tagged for a meme--thanks Jen at joythruChrist!

Jen's tag comes at a really good time cause I could use a fun diversion after spending a solid 3 1/2 hrs. this morning working on one of my NANC exam theology questions--"Compare and contrast the Bible and its authority to general revelation and its authority." in at least one to one and a half pages, double-spaced. :-)

Here goes!

What was I doing 10 years ago?

Oh, that's easy to remember cause it is one of those chronological 'pegs' I often hang my hat on when reflecting on my life. We were in the process of moving here after enjoying 3 1/2 years serving a small Bible church in rural Oklahoma. It was a bittersweet time since we desperately wanted to remain there but our small congregation (only about 5 yrs. old) was no longer able to support even a part-time pastor, and secular jobs in the area had no need of my husband's computer and programming skills/experience.


Five Snacks I enjoy:

1) salted peanuts
2) dark chocolate
3) baby carrots
4) fresh fruit
5) cheese sticks


Five Things On My To-Do List Today:

1) breakfast out with my best-friend (my hubby!!)
2) make significant progress on the Bibliology portion of my NANC Theology exam
3) mow the lawn
4) tidy up our bedroom
5) make fresh yogurt


Things I Would Do If I Were A Billionaire:

1) Do what is necessary to establish a wise and moderately 'secure' financial future, then go with my family and do mission work in Russia (or some other Russian-speaking area).


Five Jobs I Have Had:

1) ice cream store
2) clothing store
3) bank
4) bank
5) bank


Five of My Bad Habits (only five????) :

1) staying up too late to read (I get my 'second-wind' around 10 or 10:30)
2) procrastinating on sewing projects (I and my girls have many clothing items finished just hours--minutes--before dawn and/or a special event)
3) waiting till Sunday night to draw up the coming week's school schedule for our daughters
4) waiting to do the laundry until everyone in the family is down to their last pair of underwear
5) not getting enough exercise

Five Places I've Lived:

1) Oklahoma
2) Oklahoma
3) Oklahoma
4) Texas
5) Oklahoma


5 People I Want to Get To Know Better--'tag, you're it!'

1) Lauren
2) Rebecca
3) Kim
4) Ukrainiac
5) Staci


Five Random Things (most people wouldn't know about me):

1) I've witnessed three bank robberies while working at the same bank in Dallas
2) I was a rabid Mike Warnke fan--even had my pic. taken with him at the 1988 Christian Bookseller's Convention in Atlanta, Georgia.
3) I've known countless FBI agents on a first-name basis (all related to my former fraud detection and prevention work at the bank)
4) My not-so-secret 'dream' is to own a classic Mustang before I die--candy apple red convertible, please! (BTW, I don't see it happening anytime soon!)
5) I'm not a 'risk-taker', but after going to Russia TWICE in order to adopt our daughters, living there for four weeks, bringing home and raising two 'older' foreign-born children (who know NO English), pretty much everything else is 'peanuts' in my books! :-)

I wasn't really 'looking for love'...

...but 26 years ago God's providence smiled on me when I noticed a very nice-looking guy across the room during a Sunday School teachers' training class. We ended up sitting together during the evening service, and then stood outside in the parking lot and talked for at least two hours--we had SO much in common!

However, just weeks after that I was engaged--to someone else! It's a long story, of course. God certainly writes some interesting and unexpected chapters in our lives! :-)

Even so, a little over a year later I said "I do" to that very nice-looking guy I met in the teachers training class. Next to my salvation, my husband has been God's greatest gift to me.

Mowing Meditations

I enjoy mowing our quite large lawn--really, I do! I don't mind the sweating, I don't mind getting all dirty, and I don't mind the 'peace and quiet' alone with my thoughts. As a matter of fact, when I mow I actually 'write' my BEST blog posts--too bad they don't actually materialize in cyberspace as I imagine. :-) Still, I get a lot of thinking done while I mow and have actually solved a multitude of the world's problems while mowing. :-)

Here are some thoughts--fragmented as they may be--from today's "Mowing Meditations":

1) Inter-racial and inter-cultural adoption should be a 'no-brainer', but as long as we live in this fallen world there will be many fears and endless questions.

2) I really should follow through with my plan & desire to blog on the topic of "...people think 'we can learn much from charismatics' "

3) Am I seizing every opportunity to point our youngest daughter to the gospel?

4) Is our lawnmower going to last through this season? (it's well over 10 years old)

5) Would I welcome or loathe a riding lawn mower? (mixed emotions on that one!)

6) Will I ever complete my NANC exams? (still picking away on those!)

7) What is it like to be a grandmother/Nana? :-) (I'm really in no hurry, but so many of our friends make it look & sound like lots of fun!)

8) Ahhh, there's my daughter bringing me a nice cold cup of water!!! (They take turns doing this--it's part of their training!)

9) What must I do to 'light a fire' under my reluctant reader & reluctant student?

10) I sure can't wait till this evening when we'll gather together for "Family Movie Night" and watch National Treasure 2--I've heard it's good!

Just thinking out loud...

I've been a believer for more than 25 years, and as I continue to see things (mostly fads) come and go within today's American evangelical church, I find myself wondering how many out there are thinking,

"Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt--which is now only useful as a rag to clean up nasty messes."

A Few of My Favorite Things...

My china pattern is Royal Doulton's "Old Country Rose". I can't remember when I became 'smitten' with this beautiful china, but 17 years ago when my dear husband offered to buy me a set to show his appreciation for helping him through seminary I jumped at the chance--and shed more than a few tears!

A Few of My Favorite Things...

I absolutely love this painting by British artist Edmund Blair Leighton--so much so that I have a large print hanging over our bed (a treasured "find" while shopping alone on my birthday several years ago--my mother had sent me away while she entertained my daughters for the afternoon), and a postcard waiting to be framed (discovered at the Tattered Cover in Denver during one of our MANY visits).

Edmund Blair Leighton (1853 - 1922) was a pre-Raphaelite artist who created fastidiously crafted medieval and regency scenes that elegantly recreate a romantic, chivalrous past. Leighton, who studied at the prestigious Royal Academy and exhibited there for more than 40 years, spurned a job in the office of a tea merchant to follow his artistic ambitions. His work contained themes of courtship or weddings, often characterized by long, richly colored dresses, perceptively painted with flow and ripple that expressed both motion and rest. Leighton’s exquisitely romanticized historical scenes are frequently reproduced as posters today.

(check out more of Leighton's work at art.com)

Yes, it was a very nice day (& birthday)...

...to pose in front of these beautiful azaleas at the home of dear friends.

It's heeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrre...

...the 18th anniversary of my 29th birthday!

And, I will spend most of this day doing some of the things I longed to do but was unable to until five years ago--home schooling my children, enjoying lunch together, toting my kids to doctor's appointments and music lessons, etc.

God's timing is perfect!

NOT surprising to me...

...that I tested as 'left brained'. I can (and do) take just about ANY creative endeavor and turn it into a major undertaking for the purpose of symmetry, accuracy, balance, and perfection--it's a wonder that I really do enjoy sewing for myself, but explains why I have so many unfinished scrapbook pages. Sigh... :-)


Which Side Do You Use?

You responded as a right brained person to 4 questions, and you responded as a left brained person to 14 questions. According to the Hemispheric Dominance test, you use your left brain the most.

The summary briefly describes your dominance type. Remember, this only represents half of the picture. After you read the description, click on the link at the bottom of the page to find out how to use this information to improve your study strategies. Some of the traits associated with the left side of the brain are listed in the table. Not all of the traits will apply to you. Remember, we use both side of our brain, but your left sides gets the most exercise.

Linear: Processing information from part to whole; in a straight forward logical progression.

Sequential: Processing information in order from first to last.

Symbolic: Processes symbols an pictures; likes to use letters, words and mathematical symbols.

Logical: Processes information piece by piece using logic to solve a problem.

Verbal: Processes thoughts and ideas with words.

Reality-Based: Processes information based on reality; focuses on rules and regulations

(You can do the test here, http://brain.web-us.com/brain/braindominance.htm)