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Proverbs 31

Proverbs 31 is the Bible passage that most Christian women both love and dread. It suggests such great heights of feminity to aspire to, which can also be depressing...as we all fall short. Recently my fellow blogger (what am I saying?? She leaves me in the blog-dust!) wrote a tribute to her mother on her birthday. What was special to me was that I know her mother, and watched her for a number of years. So I know she's telling the truth. And the truth bears repeating.

Life on Sylvan Drive...: Barbara#links


But I mostly wanted to post my own photo...because not only was this wonderful lady a blessing in my life, but she also shared some of her many talents on my wedding day 19.5 years ago. Not only was she an accomplished organist who could play Canon in D, and the 20 other songs I chose, but she also had the wisdom and talent to jump to the piano to play Forever and Ever, Amen (yes the Randy Travis song,..a token to my country loving spouse!) .
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As if that wasn't enough, this great Woman of God (with the help of a friend) rolled up her sleeves and voluntarily collected most of the fancy plastic plates and cups from the reception (even retrieving some from the trash) washed and returned them to my mother. In a word- she was GREEN before it was COOL. (we thought she was just thrifty!)
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So I say in my own words, with a lump in my throat. God Bless you, Barbara. I love you, too.

I AM JOE THE PLUMBER - McCain Supporters Fight Back Against the Media and Stand with Joe, John, and Sarah

This is interesting....wondering if it is real???

Kingdom Life

I've been thinkin' lately. (I know, it's dangerous.) I am so blessed.
There is a benefit to meeting new people and going new places, experiencing new things. Like going to a great concert- thousands of people sharing in the same experience.
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I know none of them.
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There have been times, even, that DH and I have gone to hear, or experience "the latest, greatest". Believe me, it was good.
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I didn't know anyone else there, so it seemed, I don't know, empty.
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Now, I realize for some people, the complete anonymity that you can only achieve by attending a large, distant gathering, feels safe- and I wouldn't deny them that.

But for me, and this blog is for me, I get so much more out of experiencing something together.
Not just me, but also my friend, my brother.
I have such a strong desire to pull things IN, closer to US. So, instead of going to that great speaker, conference, concert; I want to bring them here.
I want to experience it with my friend who is suddenly single again, my friend who is dealing with miscarriage, my girlfriend who is trying to reach out past all her fears of exposure, and become real. (skin horse real)
Because when I see those people touched, I am moved. When I see a word of encouragement given to someone I've cared about for years, it means more to me than watching a TV preacher make a woman get up and walk from her wheelchair. In other words, if I knew that lady for the last 10 years, seen her struggle with her handicap, held the door for her, prayed with her...it would mean so much more to me to see her walk! So I seek not to go everywhere, as much as I want to claim those same experiences for my sisters and brothers. Rich! How cool is that?!!

Casserole Day

I was privileged to be allowed to participate in my first ever Casserole Bake. I don't know what else to call it right now, but that is exactly what we did. A group of young ladies (yes, I think I was the oldest there) gathered together to assemble a large quantity of entrees for a couple from our church who is expecting their firstborns. Yes, twin boys!




Start to finish, it was two hours. It took our coordinator a good bit longer than that! (thanks Jo!) But I thought it was great fun! This idea needs to be packaged! What a great reason to get together and cook! At the end, there are two coolers worth of dinners for a blessed couple! Just take them out of the freezer and bake! What a great idea for a new mom and dad! I really think we could get this down to a "science", and periodically do these for a variety of occasions! Cooking together is much more fun than doing it alone! (And these girls did the dishes, too!~WOW!) Thanks for including me gals! I had a blast!
(Now I've got to do my own bit o'bulk cooking!)