Friday, November 28, 2008

How far we have drifted....

Each Thanksgiving Day for the past 3-4 years, I have re-read the Thanksgiving Proclamation, issued by George Washington, and each time I am just dumbfounded when I see how far we have strayed from the beliefs presented in this proclamation. I believe if President Bush was to issue such a proclamation today, he would be lambasted and lampooned as a religious nutcase by today's media. Read the proclamation below and see what you think:


Thanksgiving Proclamation
By the PRESIDENT of the United States Of America A PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favour; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a DAY of PUBLICK THANSGIVING and PRAYER, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal savors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"
NOW THEREFORE, I do recommend and assign THURSDAY, the TWENTY-SIXTH DAY of NOVEMBER next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed;-- for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish Constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted;-- for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge;-- and, in general, for all the great and various favours which He has been pleased to confer upon us.
And also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions;-- to enable us all, whether in publick or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us); and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.
GIVEN under my hand, at the city of New-York, the third day of October, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine.
(signed) G. Washington

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Pass this on!

This is beautiful stuff, and while I don't know Jeanne Winters, I'm wishing her huge success with this line. Cheeck it out here! You'll be glad you did!

Joy...!!!




I was listening to the Intro session to Living Beyond Yourself (Beth Moore Bible Study) and at the end, she read a quote from George Bernard Shaw, and said it was found in
Rick Warren's book, 'Purpose Driven Life. ' I wanted to find the quote, so I did some searching, and found the full quote:


This is the true joy in life, the being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devotes itself to making you happy - George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950).

I liked the quote, and although it gave me a noble definition of where we should find joy, I was looking for more.... an answer to the lingering questions in my mind. And then I found this quote:


Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls - Mother Teresa (1910-1997)


And for me, this closed the loop. Our joy draws others to us, to find the source of our joy. And that source needs to be in Him, in loving Christ, laying down our lives in service to him, focusing not on our grievances and happiness, but on Him, and His larger purpose.


Have a blessed, and joyful, day!


Adrienne













Friday, November 21, 2008

What type of Thanksgiving Food am I???



I got this fun link from Sara, my Siesta Fiesta Ornament Exchange partner:















You Are Mashed Potatoes





Ordinary, comforting, and more than a little predictable

You're the glue that holds everyone together.



Thursday, November 20, 2008

Hallelujah for A New Hallelujah!

My two favorite praise and worship CD's of all time are Michael W. Smith's 'Worship' and 'Worship Again' CD's. I've listened to each of them literally thousands of times, I know every note and every word, and those are the two CD's I would want with me if I was ever to be stranded on the proverbial desert island. In fact I wore out my first copy of the Worship CD and had to purchase a replacement copy.

So I was thrilled and amazed to see a new praise and worship CS from MWS, titled 'A New Hallelujah', and I've been playing it in my car during the morning and afternoon commutes for the past few days now. What musical awesomeness (is that a word???)!!!! It is simply fabulous. If it wasn't so cold in the morning, I would open the sun roof and wave a hand in the air, praising my Lord as I drive the interstate in the morning.... In fact this morning, I just sat in the car after I parked and just listened to the end of the CD. What a great way to start the day.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Prayer Request

Please join me in praying today for my dear friend Melana and her husband Tim, and their daughter Emily, who is having surgery today to remove a "funny" mole.... Lord, please guide and give wisdome to the doctor and all the team involved, give Melana and Tim your peace and comfort, be there to comfort Emily and quiet her fears, and give us a diagnosis that this mole is nothing serious. Above all, may you be glorified Lord, and let your peace, love, mercy and grace be seen by all in this situation. In Jesus's most precious and holy name, I pray. Amen

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Of plans gone awry....

It's been a strange day.... I didn't sleep well so I woke up tired, but after I had my french vanilla coffee and my quiet time I felt ok, so I got the kids up and going, then off we went to work and school. Just like any other day. The fun began about two hours later when I got a call from the school nurse saying James was in her office complaining he was sick, stomach cramps, etc... So I stuffed some work in my bag and headed off to pick him up and bring him home. When I arrived at the school, James was squirming and dong some very strange gyrations on the bed in the nurse's office - apparently he had the worst case of stomach cramps EVER, he was bent over double, but he wasn't vomiting and had no fever. This should have been a clue that set off flashing lights in my sleep-deprived, befuddled brain.




So we drove home, I put James to bed, and of course by then he is feeling oh so perky and fabulous; it probably was the power nap he took on the 30 min drive home. Grrrrrrrrrr!


So Tom (I love my man!) offered to pick up Rachel, so that I could stay home with 'The Sick One' and get my work done. Sounds wonderful, right??? Except I had completely forgotten I was supposed to meet Judy, Girl Scout Troop Leader Extraordinaire, right after school to get our troop checkbook and then I had plans to head over and meet someone from our Girl Scout council at a nearby church at 6pm to drop off our payment for Fall Product sales. Well, I laid down to take a short nap, fell asleep for 3 hours, and woke up to hear the phone ringing. Of course it was Judy, wondering why on earth I was at home when I was supposed to be meeting her in the school parking lot 30 miles away. So, I bundled up el-sicko, bribed him with the promise of an ice-cream at Mr. T's (I know, it's pathetic) and we hopped (ok I hopped, James was all wrapped up in a blanket so he sort of slithered) into the car, and off we went.


Met Judy, got the checkbook, and now it's 4:30 pm and Judy and I are trying desperately to find a way to meet this woman before 6pm and drop off the payment so I don't have to sit in the church parking lot for 90 minutes, but she can't meet me earlier.... Luckily, Judy found someone at the Girl Scout council office who was willing to let me bring the payment there.



Thankfully, we are home. And despite it being a crazy day, there were things I am thankful for... First, James is not seriously ill - my diagnosis is gas pains. Second, I got a wonderful unexpected treat of a NAP! IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY!!!! and I got to see Judy, who is one of the kindest people I know. All is well that ends well (and that my friends is Shakespeare)!


Monday, November 17, 2008

I'm feeling overwhelmed....


I'm feeling overwhelmed this morning.... I have a "To Do List" that simply leaves me wanting to crawl back into bed, pull the covers over my head, and escape. I didn't get as much stuff done this weekend as I had hoped, and now I'm staring down a busy week at work with all these other tasks piled on top of it. Yikes!

And next weekend will be taken up with an all day horseback riding trip for the Girl Scouts on Saturday, and then church on Sunday, so I'm going to have to get these things done during the week.

"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matt 11:29-30

I need to remember to rest in him today.

Have a blessed day!
Adrienne

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Fireproof...

Tom and I went to see Fireproof last night with our pastor and his wife. We had planned to meet at a Thai restaurant downtown for dinner first. Since they live north of us in the valley, they took a different route into town, and got there just fine. We drove in on the interstate, and ran into a horrific back-up, 12+ miles backup, crawling along at 2-3 mph. For the longest time we were in next to a semi-truck which had a handwritten sign in the drivers window stating "Display Hooters Proudly". Truly truly sad... But Tom knew some alternate routes, and once we FINALLY made it to an exit, we were able to get off the interstate and detour into Chattanooga. At one point in the drive, we found ourselves driving behind the (these are Tom's words, not mine) "...only remaining functioning Plymouth Volare in North America, not counting Mexico..." The Volare sputtered and lurched along, and when we finally passed it, we saw the driver was wearing ear muffs! Hmmm, can anyone say "brokern car heater!" Needless to say, Tom and I missed the dinner, which according to pastor and wife was DELICIOUS, ,but hey, we made up for it by gnoshing our way through a mega tub-o-popcorn!


Sadly, we could have avoided the whole traffic jam... About one mile into our drive we saw a sign that said "traffic work ahead, expect delays".


Tom: "Should we get off here (Exit 161) and take Hwy 41?"

Me: "Naahhh... It's Saturday night! Who does road construction on Saturday night?"

Tom (as we whizzed by our last sane exit): "OK"


And then one mile later, traffic came to a screeching halt. I don't think Tom will ask my vaunted opinion next time. *grin*


But back to the movie....


Fireproof was wonderful - the dialogue, especially between father and son, seemed a little bit unrealistic at times, but the message of the movie, that marriage requires selfless love which only comes from God, is something we need to hear. I was convicted of my selfishness and I want to do better.


And now, I'm out of time....


Have a blessed day!

Adrienne



Saturday, November 15, 2008

Fall colors

Fall colors


Since moving to TN three years ago, after living for so many years in Phoenix, AZ, one of my biggest joys has been being continually surrounded by trees, hills, pastures, and farms. We live in the Sequatchie Valley, which stretches for miles from SW to NE across eastern Tennessee. It's simply beautiful here!


The fall foliage is just glorious! I think it's God's version of a laser light show, or perhaps his way of doing neon lights. Every color and shade of yellow, orange, red and brown is present, and the colors start first at the base of the hills, and then sweep up as the weeks progress. Some of the trees seem to glow, and against the dark tree trunks and branches, the contrast in colors is staggering.


I missed this for so many years...



Friday, November 14, 2008

First Post

First Post


Well, I always like to set goals, so here are my goals for this blog:


  • Give God the glory and share Jesus. He is LIFE to me

  • Provide a journal of events, happening, and thoughts

  • Communicate...

I think that's enough for now!


Adrienne