Need Your Input

What is your favorite worship song? - old or new. Does it change periodically? Or is there a song that's always been your favorite? Post a comment below - or msg me on myspace or facebook. I'll post them all next week along with mine.

Sad Song

http://www.shaungroves.com/shlog/comments/sad_song/

You should watch it - really great song -powerful. Takes me back 7 years.

A little dose of perspective

Well, I was supposed to go to Beaumont this weekend to lead worship for a Marriage conference. Due to the mandatory evacuation, it was cancelled. Bummer. I found myself more disappointed than I would have expected this morning. I was really looking forward to it. Again, bummer.

But - I suppose it's time for a little perspective. Over 300,000 people have been ordered to leave their homes, some with no place at all to go. They will spend more time in traffic in the next 24 hours than I have in the last 24 days (maybe months). They will have no idea what they will come back home to - or even when they will come back home. I suppose that my cancelled weekend plans are not really that big of a deal.

I'm feeling very sad and scared for those who are on the coast today. I couldn't imagine having to pack up so quickly and leave. How would I explain it to my kids? I have a hard enough time when there is a small threat of a tornado - and I have to get my kids in to the bathtub. I try so hard to remain calm and assure them that everything will be ok - when I'm actually pretty scared myself. I cannot imagine the parents who are having to explain to their kids that they have to leave everything behind and basically run away from the hurricane. I am praying for them today - the parents. The mommies and daddies with little kids that are scared and confused. I pray that God gives them strength and comfort - that they will know what to say to their children. That God will keep them all safe in their travel and bring them back home again soon.

Feels Like Fall

It's September - it feels like October. I LOVE it!! Ricky says that he loves fall because of how happy it makes me. I love that he is now a fall-lover too, regardless of the reason. I'm ready to put out fall decorations. I only put out fall decorations to keep me from putting out Christmas decorations in September - because it would make my husband completely crazy. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love Christmas and the 4th of July - more than the average person, I'd wager a guess - but Thanksgiving is my very favorite. It might be because of all the tradition wrapped up in the holiday. It could be because the weather is so amazing, and the trees are so beautiful. Or because of the wonderful, wonderful food. But I think it's mostly because of the emphasis on family. We always make this huge deal out of Thanksgiving. My grandma would bake for a week in preparation for our huge thanksgiving feast - that included every family member I have ever known. When my grandma died about 14 years ago, I was terrified that the traditions would die with her. But my mother (who is amazing) carries on the traditions with even more excitement. I hope that my kids learn to love Thanksgiving as much as I do. I always feel like I'm 10 years old again when Fall comes around. It's like I never grew up. I think that's what my husband thinks is so cute about me and Fall - how I feel and act like a child. I can't imagine ever losing that child-like enthusiasm.

It's beginning to feel like Fall - and I could not be more excited! I think I'll wait til Oct 1st to start the Christmas music, though - so as not to drive my husband entirely crazy.

Pain is a good thing

I've decided that pain is a good thing. In our bodies, pain is an indicator of a problem that needs to be addressed. Without the pain, we don't know anything is wrong. Without knowing the problem, we are likely to keep on ignoring it -and it's likely to get worse. Sometimes much worse.
8 years ago, Ricky had a stomach pain that he couldn't ignore. We thought he might have an ulcer or something of that sort - so after several days he finally went to the emergency clinic to have it checked out. They also thought it was an ulcer - but since he hadn't been to the doctor in so long they went ahead and did a blood test. They called him later that day to tell him to run to the emergency room b/c he most likely had leukemia. Crazy, right?! If it weren't for the stomach pain (which turned out to have nothing at all to do with the leukemia, and also went away immediately after seeing the doctor) he wouldn't have found out about the leukemia - until probably much later. If he hadn't found out as early as he did, his prognosis probably would have been much worse. See, pain is a good thing.

I think the same is true in our relationships. I think conflict and difficulty are important to the maturing of the relationship. Like muscles, they have to be put under strain in order to grow stronger. In a weird way, I'm grateful for all the fights, hard times and sad times we've gone through as a couple. Each year we grow stronger. Each year we become more solid. Every couple goes through hard stuff. It's how you react to the hard stuff that determines the outcome.