Vols- 2008!!!!

As most (who follow SEC or college football) know, our beloved VOLS are not doing too hot this season. Much as it pains me to say it, the fact is: we STINK!

Even so, this past Saturday (the 25th) it was a must for my family (excluding Sarah who was at the game), Justin and myself to watch the Alabama Vs Tennessee football game. You see, every year when it comes to Alabama, not only is it a huge college rivalry over all, but there is always some friendly rivalry between my mother, our dear Elaine Slay and our beloved apostle Pete Beck.

The candy-bar bets are set, the friendly banter via the phone past, the TV is on, the chips come out, the Dr Pepper is ready, Rambo is wearing his Tennessee “necktie” and orange and white paraphernalia litters the room while we settle in to watch this oh-so-tense rivalry game. All bets are on and constantly in the back of our minds, while the glimmer of hope (hanging by a thread) remained that Tennessee would somehow pull off a miracle.

The “T” parted and out ran our mediocre players as fans who’ve turned sights on hope rather than reality cheered and waved their orange and white painted up arms in the air. Smokey barked, Davy Crocket himself there to watch and we all felt this deceptive voice in our mind that said, “maybe this time, just maybe, we’ll win.”

Field goals, touchdowns and bad calls later… heads hung low as Alabama became victorious.

The game was over.

It would have been a melancholy moment had the process of watching the massacre of the Tennessee Vols not been so DARN FUN -:O

The fellowship was sweet, the willingness that all showed to put forth some hope, the yelling, the jumping, the waving of arms, the cheering and the geering at refs… made it a blast and, in the end…It was a good day!

It isn’t whether we win or loose… it’s how we watch the game.

Fact is… that’s the BEST PART.
Fellowship with family, bets with friends along with some friendly trash talk was what made the game. I didn’t care about the Vols or whether we won or lost in the end. All I could think about was… How fun it was to be with family!

Good Days- The CCA Smokey Mountain Getaway

The Mountains

Our Little Friend (whom we met on the hayride)

Our Marrie Couple

Katherine's Friend from Lee:)

Our Men....

Thay-wah Bo- Jean

Michael, enjoying a hotdog

Mauk

Megan

Matt-a-Beany

Katherine- A.K.A. Kate

Katherine and her Lee friend

My Justin and Me: )

Our Beautiful Journalism Girl Liz

My handsome man, Justin

Precious Emily Prince

Always Smiling: Christina Damron

Emily Prince

Jonathan--- SMILING!!!

Mountains

To Come to the End of Yourself

I found the “end of myself” (or rather the end of one facet of myself—there is so much flesh yet to overcome) this weekend. It was a painful, humbling, freeing process.

Finding the end of yourself is not a beautiful thing at first by any means. You look at yourself and all you can see is the grime, the sin, the ugliness of human nature, the lack of faith, the self centered-ness, the stench of being unthankful, etc.

I’d manipulated situations, even tried to manipulate God in order to get my own way… and I couldn’t do it any longer… I broke down, made a fool of myself, gave up… etc, etc. etc. -------------I’d come * da dum * -- to the end of myself.

I looked at myself this weekend in total, unutterable disgust. I couldn’t bare myself, and I wondered, even more so… how it was anyone else could.

Some would say, oh! But Grace, Grace! And, indeed they’d be right… but, God knew I needed to become disgusted. I needed to see all of that for what it was before I’d realize how much I needed that Grace.

You see, in God’s mercy… He forgives me… by His grace, I came to the end of myself. It was His grace that caused me to loose my monopoly-like game and to see it for what it was. Without his grace, my hair would still be falling out, and stress would remain my middle name.
I didn’t see this until Sunday though.

During worship as we were singing Father of Creation… I clearly heard the Lord say, “It is for such a time as this that you are called.” What?! I don’t know about you, but this made no sense to me. Then, I remembered, Saturday at the ladies meeting mom had shared on a woman named Cecilia (am I right? I don’t remember names very well). This woman was vastly different from the culture… even the “Christian” culture. She was a strong woman. Mom ended with saying, we are “called to be strong women.”

I just pondered that for a while, and then… Randy Reid was called upon to preach… and it was marked for me. I felt like I’d sat on that front row with a target taped to my forehead and subtitles running through my eyes reading everything that I’d been through just the day before.
God read my mail… and, I thought I’d feel horrible… I thought I’d be distraught, broken, disheartened. I knew I should feel like a failure, like I should be ashamed… but instead, I felt released! The joy of GRACE covered my during this sermon and the revelation of the grace that comes from repentance tore through my being and ravaged my human understanding.
This was freedom! The laying aside of my desires, of my manipulative lifestyle, etc… was a gift of freedom!

What’s the song say, “So, won’t you give your all to Jesus? Because there is freedom!” I really and truly do need to be free of myself to be strong… I found myself to be absolutely, without a doubt, weak. Just to be lifted up and told, “I chose the weak things of this world to lead the strong.”

Oh the grace God has for me. Let me never forfeit it for my “own strength” because inevitably, there will be a day when I do not find the end of myself… when the grace for that is taken from me, and I will live according to my own desires in misery. God truly does know best for me… and now, I must believe it.

Lord, I believe, now help my unbelief.

Blessings Upon You and Your Family

I would like to just take a moment to recognize someone who’s silently served (in a GREAT way) the body of Harvest Church for years. This person can be accurately defined as the body’s Prayer Warrior.

There have been many times there’s been a need, and this person steps up consistently to the plate. Anytime I’ve found myself in need of encouragement, I’ve received a letter in the mail reading exactly with what I needed to hear. Consistently this person will hear the voice of the Lord on behalf of someone else (probably- most likely- due to already having been in prayer for them) and they’ll act on it.

In a season of need, there’s been the perfect gift at my door, in a dry season, there’s been a note in my mailbox, in a desperate season, there’s been exactly what that season calls for placed in my hands… But, more than anything… in EVERY SEASON I can bank on having this person pray for me almost- if not- daily. That means more than anything to me…

I know for a fact, that this person is the hands and the feet of the church. This person sends up the prayers that I know God hears… and this person is the helper to our Pastor Tim and his wife Sheila in this way.
“This person” is none other than our very own, Jamie Hemphill!

Good morning Jamie!

I hope you have a great, big, beautiful day today and that on this day the Lord finds you blessed!
Thank you Jamie, for all you’ve done and for all you do. It’s more than you’ll ever know. I truly believe that your reward in heaven is going to be GREAT due to your service here in Harvest Church.

I love you!

PS. The photo is of Justin and I on vacation... you know why I use it :)

"God is In the Small Things"

There is an old saying that has floated around here and there for as long as I remember.
The person it orginated from is unknown by me, as is the person who first told it to me. But, it's in the back of my mind at present. It goes something like this,

"God is in the small things."

That's it. That's all there is to it; short, sweet, simple and to the point. God is in the small things.

This happens to be true (I believe) much of the time. We take for granted the small things while we search desperately for the next miracle, or supernatural act of God, just to satisfy our many curiosities. Meanwhile all around us are testiments to His greatness and more-over... His love for us.

This is applicable in any and every area of this life; I garauntee it.
However, I want to focus on something that has slowly been sprinkling my heart lately.
(I say sprinkling because I don't feel that I've quite received the full flow of revelation yet.)

What about the gifts? -Not specifically the Spiritual gifts, although they will apply... I'm speaking even of your (my) personal gifts.

We could sit back and examine everyone's gifts, compare them to our own, or try to make a recipe of our desired gifts. But, there is something so much better.
We need to take our eyes off of the spiritual-personal gifts catalog and recognize what the Good Lord has already given us. "Be faithful in the small things that the Lord has given you and you will be made ruler over much."

You may not be the next greatest teacher, but you're one crazy good cook.
"If you love me,.... (then) feed my sheep." Mark 21:17

You may not be the next pastor, but you can make anyone feel at home where ever you are.
"Share with God's people who are in need, practice hospitality." Romans 12:13

You may not be the next Sarah Palin (women) but, you can care for your children and your household like no one else.
Proverbs 31

I am telling you, that as sure as I write this now, no one can do what you do better. I don't care what it is, I don't care how large or small.
We are most guilty of considering what we do small, insignificant or meaningless; when all scripture is clearly saying the opposite.

What has God given you to steward- God is in the "small" things!

Tonight, as I sat down to stir up some thoughts to decorate my blog page and maybe elicite some response I did what comes natural to me... I created atmosphere.
I cleaned up my room a bit, turned on some relaxing music, opened my window to listen to the water fall and the outside crickets and lit some candles. Instantly my room became filled with the night air breeze, the room smelled of vanilla (from the candles) and the spirit of the Lord filled my room along with the music that I put on.

I'm not bragging when I say, that's a gift.
Im proud of my gift! God gave it to me! Why shouldn't I take pride in MY gift?

I have the gift of creating an atomosphere that fills my heart with peace and joy wherever I am. I love beautiful things, so I like to create beauty around me if I feel enough doesn't exsist.

This isn't the gift of healing, of prophecy, of teaching... no, but it's my gift and God is in it!
God is proud of it and I do, I steward it, I caress it, I love it and I care for it.

I will not flaunt this gift, that wouldn't be right. But I recognize that God gave it to me as surely as he gave that man the gift of prophecy or that woman the gift of teaching...

It may be seeminly small, but it's not... God's in it:)
God takes delight in the fact that I delight in His gift to me.

I encourage you today, take delight in your gift, even if it's a "small thing" to our human eyes and understanding. Why? Because "God is in the small things."

Taking a Walk

Yesterday evening, I made every effort to get to Seqouah Hills (sp?) right before/at sunset. Sunset and sunrise are my very favorite and probably the best times to take outdoor photos.

I packed my camera, brought extra batteries, put on my tennis shoes, a baggy sweatshirt, threw my hair up in a messy bun and ran out the door. I thought my photography adventure would not begin until I arrived… However, the Lord had something so different in mind.

I rolled down my windows (because it felt so good outside) and began to soak in the weather, tuned my music station to worship and drove. Immediately my soul began to feel refreshed. My heart began to skip and dance and the Lord began to whisper comfort to my spirit.

You see, once again… the Lord knows you better than you know yourself. The Lord knew my spirit has been in need of some refreshing; that my disposition has been struggling a little as of late. And He knew just how to meet me where I was and help me. I though I was just going to go take some pictures, what was really happening was God had taken me away to become refreshed.

By the time I arrived at my destination, my spirit was soaring. I thought:

“Oh, these pictures will be wonderful.”
Thus, I began to walk looking for photogenic moments… but, I began to people watch (I’m really very guilty of this quite often).

The Lord spoke to me in that moment. I watched as all these people jogged, ran and rode their bikes. I watched them as the pushed themselves to the limit (there are even mile markers to let you know how far you've gone) and I found myself thinking " if only they’d slow down, they’d get to see the beauty of this sunset"… the way the light is reflecting off the leaves and filtering through the branches creating blotches of shadows on the gravel. They’d see the few leaves that have turned a fiery-red already, and they'd take in the magnificence of the surrounding houses.
But, you see…. This place is a place that revolves around show. Every house is over-the-top ornate and wealthy. The landscaping is pristine, the people there are well to do and the expectations of these well to do are very high.

I observed all of these people running and realized, that I was very out of place, in a messy bun, jeans, old tennis shoes and a oversized sweatshirt, while every other person there was wearing their Nike running shorts and tops, their biking suites and any other imaginable athletic wear. Geared up from head to toe in the finest of athletic wear these people were out running, not just for health’s sake, but for the image that it will gain them.

Please tell me, why is it necessary to gear up to run in a neighbor hood? Would you do it in your own? No, I think not. No, these people knew where they were running and who would be watching, thus, the “dressed for the occasion”… No one was walking (besides myself), all were pushing themselves to the limit in their garb. Why? Possibly because it was expected, everyone else there was doing it.

I kept walking, my ears tuned to the gravel that was crunching underneath my feet. For some reason it calmed me to hear it. The relaxed timing of it was a stark contrast to the sound of others running by… I found my pace much more pleasant to the ears and found it lent to more opportunities to hear the birds, the crickets and other pleasant outdoorsy songs. As soon as you pick up the pace, the sound of the gravel was no longer pleasant, but it rather drowned everything out, even my thoughts out.

My eyes met with inquisitive passers by as they noticed my smiles and my thoughtful expressions as I wondered at trees and scenery with my camera in hand. You could tell a select few would’ve loved to sacrifice their pressure to keep an image for just a moment to inquire as to my purpose; but alas, they did not.

They missed out.

God was calling me to take a breath… to take things in, to take Him in. He knew my heart loves beautiful things, and He allowed me to see them, and even contrast them to those who would sacrifice the beauty of that moment for running with their eyes closed.

My camera tried to capture those moments… but it only captured pictures that don’t do justice. It couldn’t capture the voice of God whispering in my ear, the sorrow of some of the hearts on bikes and in running shoes, or the joy of my heart for the gift of relishing this beauty. It could not capture the sound of gravel under my feet, or the rhythm of a pace reflective of Jesus’ words in my heart. It could not capture the stark contrast of the grandeur of homes around me against the oversized sweatshirt on my back. It could not reflect the joy of being so different that evening from everyone else who didn’t know how to slow down and listen.

It would be merely a picture… thus, in an attitude of relaxation, I’m afraid I only took a few pictures… but! There will be another time for that also.

Missing Photography

Today is lovely, the sky is perfect, the weather breath taking…. And I am longing to capture it with my camera.

It feels like it’s been eons since I’ve been able to take a camera out for the soul purpose of capturing what my eyes find to be beautiful, and it’s killing me.

So, my friends, after work today (which cannot come too soon with weather like this) I am off!!! Off to Sequoiah (sp?) Hills where I will click that shutter until my heart’s content… and you will see the fruit of this demeanor of mine, posted soon enough.

I hope you all will enjoy the photos that come as a result, but I guarantee you won’t enjoy it as much as I will.

Photos are captured moments for me.

My eyes are always searching for beauty… it’s in my nature.

My heart yearns for beautiful things… thus, taking a photo of what causes my heart to skip a beat, or to smile… satisfies me to no end.

My friends, fasten your seat belts and prepare (hopefully) for a barrage of photos yet to come, reflective of what makes my heart feel warm:)