Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much

I live in a household of men and for years have watched them use duct tape to repair cars, plumbing, motorcycles, and electrical wires. They have touted the benefits of duct tape all these years. I believed it was beneficial for guy things, but had yet to really grasp the full potential of it for me. Well, I have been reading my Message Bible this year and have planned to read through it during 2008, I have enjoyed reading my Message Bible so much that it came apart from the binding. I looked into buying another bible, but I have highlighted and underlined important things in THIS bible. I didn’t want to replace it. So—- I had this really great idea, I would duct tape the binding back on my Message Bible. It works great, holds tight, and really doesn’t look that bad–it could just be that I am used to seeing duct tape around my house for many different uses, and  it is comforting and familiar. I can also decorate the new duct tape binding with “Sharpies” now I will tout the benefits of “Sharpies” they are one of my favorite things.

 May your binding stay on your Bible, but just in case, call I have duct tape and Sharpies.

Tanya

50 Tulips for 50 years–

Birthdays have often been a disappointment. I think I have expected parties, balloons, friends and gifts, I guess that was to make up for the lack of attention parents gave to celebrate me as a little girl.

Several -oh maybe 8 years ago now, I grew tired of dreading the day and began to pray about creative solutions to this birthday dread. My Heavenly Father has been very creative every birthday since.

He has given me sweet times of communion, starting the day taking communion in my quiet time with My Lord then really carrying around the communion elements and taking communion with everyone I share my birthday with. Prayer groups, friends, Bible study groups, family, lunch and coffee dates.

I have given away the most beautiful tulips on my birthday to lunch dates and coffee dates, to my mom, dear friends and neighbors. Wishing I had saved the last three for me and then to come home to find a dozen of the same tulips in a vase on my table, brought there during the day by my husband that wasn’t aware what I had been giving away all day.

I have been prayed blessings over and have prayed blessings for my friends.

I have taken my mom flowers and bought her lunch to thank her for birthing me– I have had two children and their birth days were a lot of work for me.

This year I turned the big 50 and that mile marker was beginning to weigh heavy on my mind. What would I get to do this year to mark this important birthday? NO black balloons or dead flowers, I wanted a celebration. As I began to think and pray about the day, I was led to a desire of my heart to see the Broadway play “Phantom of the Opera” but since we have a wedding in April, New York was not possible. The best delight was to find the Broadway Across America ”Phantom” was in San Antonio Texas on the weekend of my birthday. Reservations were made and Bobby and I made the drive to San Antonio to celebrate. It was a blessed time and a perfect celebration for my 50th birthday.

My birthday week was full of blessing prayers from friends, a beautiful diamond bracelet from my children, lunches and coffees, 50 tulips from my “Sweet” thoughtful Friend and a constant reminder that I am loved.

As I have looked at the responses I make to life and learn what motivates me, so I can grow out of some of the immature reactions, I have looked at birthdays with an honest eye. This is what I have learned to see.

It is my greatest gift to give myself away, to bless, to share, to delight myself in sharing my life with others and in that I am always blessed in ways that only the hand of my Heavenly Father could bring about. I have seen Him give me more than I could every ask or imagine as I have let Him plan the way He wants to celebrate my birthday.

You are my greatest blessings,

Tanya

One of my encouraging friends has asked if I plan to post something more than once a month. I really do plan to post something a least once a week — maybe more. Remember this is new for me. I want to be stretched and learn how to write things that might ENCOURAGE you( This is for you my friend that we watched the video today) and help us along this pilgrim way.

Sometimes I wake up with what seem to be random thoughts or questions. This morning I woke thinking about the Holy Spirit, what does that mean in my everyday life?

It means so much more than I need to get into here. What I do think was asked me this morning was from;

John 14:16-18
“6 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever- 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

If He is here, near, my counselor and helper, have I acknowledged Him today? Have I accepted His help, His counsel, His presence, have I asked Him to lead me and am I willing to follow?

I have to think on Him moment by moment and believe that He is near and WILLING to guide me. That believing business is still a struggle some days.

So today have you acknowledged the Holy Spirit?  Do you believe He is willing to guide you, counsel you, love you as a child of God?

 Keep listening, HE IS WILLING

Tanya

Marvelous Light    by Charlie Hall 

Verse 1
I once was fatherless,
a stranger with no hope;
Your kindness wakened me,
Awakened me, from my sleep

Verse 2
Your love it beckons deeply,
a call to come and die.
By grace now I will come
And take this life, take your life.

Pre-chorus
Sin has lost it’s power,
death has lost it’s sting.
From the grave you’ve risen
VICTORIOUSLY!

Chorus
Into marvelous light I’m running,
Out of darkness, out of shame.
By the cross you are the truth,
You are the life, you are the way

Verse 3
My dead heart now is beating,
My deepest stains now clean.
Your breath fills up my lungs.
Now I’m free. now I’m free!

Bridge
Lift my hands and spin around,
See the light that I have found.
Oh the marvelous light
Marvelous light

I love the words to this song –can’t seem to get them out of my head. They are my heart’s celebration for what The Lord has done for me.

There was a time in 1992 when I had come to a dark season in my life. Not a physical darkness but a deep inner darkness that almost engulfed my life. There didn’t seem to be a current reason for the inner pain, I was a young mom with two precious boys and a husband that loved me, provided for his family, and by all visible standards –life was good. But inside there was this despair that was closing in and I couldn’t find the light.

I had been raised going to church and had always known about God, I had even walked the isle at the church and received Christ as my Savior. I was Baptized and ready for heaven. During my teen years my family quit attending church so I thought what I had was all there was– fire insurance. I knew I would spend eternity with God. Today I just had to do the best I could.

So here I am in my 30’s and I have done the best I could in pulling myself up by my boot straps ( a good Texas principle) but now the boot straps were broken and I was feeling as lost as ever.

A precious friend and young mom that led a christian aerobics class at her church  kept inviting me to attend church with her. I had not been in church since I was 11 yrs old– I had all they had to offer didn’t I? I kept resisting church, but kept attending the aerobics class. Each class I would find myself lying on the floor during the cool down music weeping with an aching heart. The beautiful words in these songs spoke of so much more than I had ever experienced of God. As the music drew me in, the darkness increased and I was feeling desperate.

After sharing my pain and desperation with another dear friend, she invited me to attend a spiritual renewal weekend. I was willing, but terrified. On the retreat women shared their stories about their life before receiving Christ and after receiving Christ as their Savior, and there was a marked difference in their lives. They talked about God, Jesus and this HOLY SPIRIT like friends that sat with them and talked with them. They could hear GOD?

I was really in a state then, because my salvation experience did not lead me to this relationship, so what had I missed? I went to my room and cried and asked God,”Where had He been in my life?” In the darkness of the room and for the first time in my life GOD SPOKE and I heard. Peace like no other settled over me and I knew in the depths of my heart that He was real and He was ALIVE. I had received a Savior, but He had not been a living Savior, it had been a choice made in fear of hell and not an invitation to life.

I went home from the retreat and on Monday morning I was up early trying to find words to tell my husband what had happened. I knew I had changed and he would notice. The word picture I got that best described my encounter was that I had been walking by a stream much like the picture at the head of my blog sight. (See Above) And I had always been walking on one side and ignoring the bridge placed along the way. That weekend I crossed over a bridge and was walking on the other side of the stream. It was different over there, Jesus met me as I crossed the bridge and I wanted to stay with Him. That was His invitation to ‘Come follow Him’ and have a relationship with The one true God that has drawn near. The last 15 years have been full of moments where He has shown me where He was between birth till my mid 30’s and where He has been everyday since!

The journey is leading me far away from that inner darkness towards His marvelous light and is still inviting me to ‘Come Follow Him’

Take the bridge, walk across Jesus is waiting for you.

 Love

Tanya