Things I Missed

I'm just getting back in town from vacation with the family this past week up in Gatlinburg. We were there with Jack's family and had a lot of fun... and I'm headed out after while with the girls to go to Rainbow Omega for a couple of days with the teens. The good news here is that all I had to do last night was pull my dirty clothes out of my suitcase and throw the clean ones in a smaller suitcase and my packing was done! ;-) The bad news? I really wanted to be home for more than 12 hours before leaving again! ha...

I don't have time at all to start posting pictures or recapping the trip just yet, but I will get to that over the next week. On the way home, I had the whole gang in the car helping me put together some of their 'best moments' from the week, so you'll see them soon.

But I thought I'd share this because it was on my mind this morning - "Things I missed most while I was gone..."

1) My bed. I can't tell you how nice it was to come home and sleep in my own bed last night. I will never take it for granted again. :)

2) ESPN. Yes, I know it's sad, but we're big soccer fans over here and we so wanted to watch the World Cup semi-final matches this last week - AND, the Tour de France started this week and you know that if the cable didn't have ESPN, they didn't have VERSUS either, so no cycling either. :(

3) Internet. OK, yes, I now admit I am addicted. I really didn't do well without computer access to the internet this week. I have access on my phone, but you can't blog from a phone (well, maybe you iphone people can, but not on my phone!) and I couldn't get my email - facebook was my lifeline to the world. Sad, isn't it? But seriously, it made me realize how much I rely on this means of communication to keep up with the world....

4) Sleep. I don't think it was entirely the bed's fault, but I didn't sleep very well this week. And I like to sleep. Especially on vacation. :)

5) My dog. I wish we could have taken Mandy with us - she would have loved the mountains - and maybe even have gotten to chase a bear or two!

I think that's about it... so in one of those nights I was lying awake an idea for a peom materialized in my brain and this is what came of it:

Playing with Proverbs

A look in the mirror

Friend, what do you see?

Loves face staring back at me

At once, beyond reason

All to Jesus I surrender

Times given to remember

I have to post one picture because when I saw it, it was just so beautiful and is a great representation of all the beauty we saw up in the mountains this week. God did some great work when he created the Great Smokey Mountains! This is from our hike up to 'Chimney Tops.'

I'm Convinced

Just wanted to share a really neat "God-moment" that happened at our Life Talk last night. We had finished a great time of singing and sharing that was very personal and encouraging. Then we took some time to go around the room and pray about needs in our lives. When it came to me, I had this recent trip to Impact on my heart and thoughts about God being our greatest treasure in life were on my mind. So I was praying about that and just thanking God that He has been so willing to intervene in my life and convince me, certainly more times than should ever be necessary, that He truly is the greatest treasure of all.

The prayers went on from me and continued around the room. At some point while Adam was praying, he said something that made me think of the song "Light the Fire." We sung that song a lot with the teens during devotional times at Impact and I love the words... anyways, this thought came to mind that I REALLY wanted to sing that song when we all finished praying - to the point that I was contemplating just starting the song myself when the last AMEN was said. (But I was feeling pretty insecure about doing that! ha) Well, the prayer circle continued and Lisa was the last to pray. She finished up and just as she said amen, Ed immediately started singing Light the Fire!!! He was across the room from me and I just sat there dumbfounded for a moment before I could find my voice. I couldn't believe that he just started singing the song that was on MY heart! We finished singing and I just looked at everyone and told them what I had been thinking about that song - there were goosebumps all around. :)

As I thought about all of that later, I was reminded of what I had prayed earlier about God being so willing to convince me time and again of the treasure that He is in my life. And once again, there was God 'showing up' in such a real way to me - convincing me yet again of how He loves to answer prayers and surprise me in special ways. :)

Light the Fire

I stand to praise You,
But I fall on my knees.
My spirit is willing,
But my flesh is so weak.

I feel Your arms around me,
As the power of Your healing begins.
Your Spirit moves through me,
Like a mighty rushing wind.

Light the fire
In my soul,
(in my weary soul)
Fan the flame,
Make me whole.
(make my spirit whole)
Lord, You know
Where I've been,
(where I've been)
So light the fire in my heart again.

Well, almost another month has flown by... I think it really is true that the older you get, the faster life passes you by. You know, summer really isn't like it was when I was a kid - for one thing, its about 4 weeks shorter than it used to be!! But I remember having time to be BORED. I don't really think my kids have had any time like that this summer - or will have. I know *I* haven't had that yet! But I guess I'm enjoying the "different kind of busy" that the summer brings. The schedule is more loose, there's no homework or school projects (woohoo!!), and the daylight lasts longer... :)

So, to recap June... we started out with a trip with the teens to Six Flags and an Atlanta Braves game - fun times. I think I had the most fun talking Belle into riding roller coasters and seeing the look of dread on her face just before she got on - and then the joy that was there when it was all over! ha (It looked just like Mackenzie's face below before her first ride on Goliath!!)

The day after we got back from that trip, Anna went with her friend Natalie and their family up to North Carolina for a little vacation. She had her first experience with white water rafting and zip lines and loved it all.


As Anna was returning from her vacation, Mackenzie left for New Orleans with the teens to continue their efforts to help with Katrina Relief. She had a great week and was excited to get to do some 'demolition' again on this trip. Something about taking a baseball bat to sheetrock that just gets kids excited! But this poor woman's house that they were working on had been waiting since 2005 for help to get her house gutted and rebuilt!! Crazy...
This last weekend, Anna and I headed up to Lipscomb University for IMPACT! That's always a highlight of the year and this year was no different. The theme was "Buried. Alive" and was all about what 'treasure' we are seeking in life. Great lessons, entertainment, activities and most of all (at least for me) great times of singing and worship. I hope that's just a little glimpse of what heaven will be like - it was awesome. :) Now Mackenzie is there this week and having a great time... when Anna and I got back, my sister was here visiting with her kids. So I've had fun with her this week.


Speaking of Impact and singing and worship, I have to share this thought that I came across today as I was reading the blog journal on Tenth Avenue North's website...

"And on a night like tonight this chorus seems easy. “I give you all of me, for all you are, here I am, take me apart. Take me apart.” But it’s only easy, because the most glorious thing happened tonight. I forgot about myself. I know, totally crazy. But I did. I think it might have just been for a few minutes or seconds or so, but it really did happen. For one brief shining moment, God took up my thoughts and affections and freed me from the prison of myself.

And that’s kind of what makes this prayer work. So many of us try so hard to get better, do more, change the world, and all we ever seem to do is fall flat on our back. And its sad because I feel like no one ever told us that we’ll never make it that way. It’s just not possible. The only true path to freedom is adoration. The forgetting of oneself in the awe of another is the only place we can be changed, for to change into something that we are not, we must see what it is to what we must aspire."

That's what the singing and worship times were like for me - a moment to forget myself and focus on God - on all that He is and all there is to adore in Him. I just love those times...

So that's been the month of June and summer's well on its way to halfway over! Well, not quite yet, thankfully. :) Next week Mackenzie's wisdom teeth come out (any of you reading, say a prayer for her on Monday morning!) and then it's July. Whew.....

The Light Meets The Dark

I've been wanting to write something about Tenth Avenue North's latest CD ever since it came out, but there are so many good things that it's just been hard to get my thoughts narrowed down and onto paper, so to speak.... so beware, this may be a long post. ;-)

In their own words, the purpose of their first CD was to simply get out the message of the gospel - that "No matter how pure we are, we need [God] still, and no matter how far we've fallen, we're not too far gone." (thank you, God!) This second CD, The Light Meets the Dark, has this purpose: "It's a call not only to believe the gospel but to let it so saturate our minds and hearts that we actually begin to live like we believe it... It's a cry for honesty, for truth, and for an encounter with the One who is truth, and having that encounter change the way we see the world."

I definitely get that message as I listen over and over to the words of these songs - they are all so good and have touched my heart in so many different ways. I don't really know that I have a 'favorite' -- that seems to change for me from day to day. But there are lines in each of the songs that speak to me and I wrote various ones down the other day that I really liked and thought I'd just put those in here. So here you go:

---So you thought you had to keep this up
All the work that you do so we think that you’re good

---So you hide but you find that the shame won’t disappear

---You fought but you were just too weak
So you lost all the things you tried to keep

---The One the wind and waves obey
Is strong enough to save you

---You are more than the choices that you’ve made
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes
You are more than the problems you create
You’ve been remade

---Cause this is not about what you’ve done
But what’s been done for you
This is not about where you’ve been
But where your brokenness brings you to

---You came to touch the hardness of our hearts
You gave us truth that truth is who you are

---And we’re looking for love but finding we’re still in need

---It’s not enough just to say that we’re ok
I need your hurt, I need your pain
It’s not love any other way

---So reach in and touch my scars
And know the price I paid for your heart

---Broken I was for you
Broken I’m still for you
My broken heart breaks for you
Broken I’m over you

---So what happened to your eyes?
I saw them wander just like mine

---It’s yourself you can’t see past
And Lord isn’t that just like me?
If only we could see
That He’s already set us free

---Will I find that letting go lets me come alive?
So empty my hands
Fill up my heart
Capture my mind with You

---You slowly lifted your head from your hands
You said, “I just don’t think that you’ll understand
You’ll never look at me that way again if you knew what I did…
But I never loved you more even though now I knew what you did

Now, if you want to know which songs go with which lyrics, you're just going to have to go out and get the CD and find out! :) I really love the grace that is spoken through the words "You are more than the sum of your past mistakes..." That's definitely a truth that I struggle to believe. And the plea to "capture my mind with You" was one of the lines that really 'caught' my attention as I listened to the CD for the first time. I also have to admit that I'm a sucker for a really good ballad, and I don't know if that's what they'd call the last song on the CD, "Oh My Dear," but that's how I see it. It tells the story of a woman with a secret she's been living with and the fear that goes with sharing that and putting it out in the open. After listening to that song, (and you're all going to think this is pretty silly, I imagine) I just sat there and thought how much I wish I could just sit down with this really nice guy Mike who is singing this song and pour out my heart to him -- he just had me convinced that nothing I would say would condemn me in his eyes.... such a nice thought. Now I doubt seriously that I would ever get the chance to do that (haha) but thankfully, God reassures me that "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death" (Rom 8:1) I can always picture Jesus singing that song to me and know that I am completely safe with Him. :)

Moonrise

This picture doesn't do justice to the beautiful sight that I saw on my way home from church tonight. I left a little early, so it was still light outside, but it had also just started raining. As I was driving over the mountain, I was greeted by the most beautiful sky. It was a little like this picture with black stormclouds drifting by and white, puffy clouds lit up by the sun as it was going down. The sky was pink on the horizon and faded into blue as it went up - and peeking thru the stormclouds was a shadow of the moon as it was beginning to rise. It was just so pretty... then as I turned the corner, I looked up over the mountains near my house, and there were more storm clouds. But right in the middle of the clouds there was an opening that looked like the mouth of a cave and sunlight was shining out from the mouth of the 'cave' in these stunning rays of light. It was just breathtaking! Well, I hurried home because I thought I might be able to grab a camera and catch one of these sights before they were gone. I suppose you can guess that I just missed out on that opportunity! :( But I wanted to write about it anyway because I was just so impressed with God's handiwork tonight. :) I'm thinking that maybe He did all that tonight in celebration of Mackenzie's 17th Birthday. ;-) Or maybe He just wanted to make me smile. :)

Speaking of Mackenzie, please refer to my last post for all the bragging about how wonderful she is, but I just wanted to post this on her actual birthday...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my beautiful, way-too-grown-up daughter! :)

Mackenzie

The last week of school has finally arrived and I am close to becoming the parent of a senior in high school - wow, how did we get here so fast? It's hitting me today because, aside from exams, which Mackenzie is mostly done with already, today is her last 'full' day of school. She's very excited about that, and so am I... really, I'm so done with school for this year! ;-) ...but I'm also in that nostalgic, melancholy mood that doesn't want my baby to grow up yet. sigh.

So I just thought I'd spend a little time on her today and share one of the songs from Huntsville High's spring concert. (yes, I managed to get to the concert with a fully charged video camera this time! ha) She'll probably hate me for all the 'close-ups' of her, but what can I say? I'm her mother, it's what mothers do... ha. She also had her band awards banquet last Friday night and was one of only 3 students who made the Alabama All-State band from HHS this year, as well as making the UAH Honor Wind Ensemble this last fall. She's looking forward to being the Senior Section leader for the Flutes this next year in band. I enjoy seeing her use her talents and putting in the extra work to be a leader in the band. It brings back some good memories of my band days in high school, though she has far surpassed my abilities, that's for sure! ;-)

Hope you enjoy the song!

The Week in Review

It's been a busy week around here and I feel very behind in my blogging - so I'm going to do a quick catch-up (ketchup?) on things:

We started off last Tuesday with both the girls being inducted into the National Honor Society. I'm very proud of both of them. They work hard to stay on top of their schoolwork while at the same time keeping very busy schedules outside of school. And while this is an academic honor, the "CSLS" on the logo stands for Character, Scholarship, Leadership, and Service... and those elements are all a part of being inducted into the NHS as well.

You know, you would think that I would have remembered to bring a camera with me - especially to Mackenzie's ceremony Tuesday night, since I had just forgotten to bring it that morning to Anna's.... but noooooooo.... I forgot both times - so I'm sharing this lovely logo instead. :)

Wednesday night was the Hampton Cove Middle School Band Spring Concert. This was Anna's night to perform with the Symphonic Band and was a busy night for me since I was the Band Parents Association President this last year. It was the first time to perform our concert at Huntsville High School and it was great! So much better to be there than in the cafeteria at the middle school! But the bands all played great and everything went really well. This time, I actually remembered my video camera, but I got there only to realize that the camera was dead! :( Hopefully someone else out there did better than me and can share some pictures and videos with me!

Saturday we traveled up to Nashville for Courtney's graduation. It was wonderful to see her reach this milestone and to share that time with her family and friends. I can't wait to have her back here this summer as an intern! :)

Congratulations Courtney!!

I don't think it would be that much of a stretch to think Courtney really IS Anna and Mackenzie's older sister! :)

Last but not least, we had a really yummy Mother's Day dinner over at my mom and dad's yesterday after church. I got the new TobyMac CD from my girls (yay!) and a sweet card from Mackenzie and Anna made me a cake. :) I was much more aware yesterday of how fortunate I am to still have my mom here and to be able to share Mother's Day together with her - I'm grateful for that. And my mom and I had a nice moment yesterday where that realization kicked in that none of us is perfect, but the important thing is that we believe the best about each other and that's a blessing. :)

Although I'm still wondering how it is that none of us girls seemed to have gotten any of my mom's genes when it comes to how tall we are! (no fair) Well.... maybe Anna still has a chance.... we'll give her a couple more years before we lock in her height. ha

So this week we have another Band Concert still ahead - Mackenzie's is on Thursday night. Then a gymnastics banquet this Saturday. Lynn's coming to visit next week - and then all the high school graduations start. Good times - but I am about ready for the change-up that the summer schedule will bring. :)