The President's visit to England

Did you all hear that Obama took 6 doctors and 494 staff members with him to England?

In addition, 12 teleprompters, his own chef, and his own food.

Somehow, this seems a bit overkill, especially in these challenging economic times.

Mercy

In a world that appears to be spinning ever-more out of control, where tempers flare more easily and the idea of showing mercy grows more passe, the message we heard last night at the awakening service at the International House of Prayer was enough to cause me to pause. I won't try to summarize here; instead, I encourage you to click on the link below, go to AWAKENING service, July 29, 2010 at 6:00 p.m., and fast forward to about 7:00 p.m. and listen to Allen Hood.



http://www.ihop.org/

Or just click on the title of this blog...it will take you to the Awakening page and on the right side, you will see the archives. 6:00 p.m. July 29, 2010.

Very disturbing....

Please clicko on the link below to read a very disturbing article about how Jews are being treated in Holland.

http://novea.org/Jewels/?p=318

PUMPKINS ALREADY!!!! And basil!

I planted basil in my garden...I can't eat it fast enough, so tonight, I just plucked it all and am going to dry it in my kitchen and crush it! :-) Lots of spiritual truths could be gleaned from this whole process! Cutting, dying, being hung upside down, remaining still...for a long time...drying out....changing, then being crushed for multiple uses. Gotta love the way God paints pictures of His processes in our lives all around us!


I just put the pumpkins on the shelf with my water bottle to try to give some idea to my readers how large these are! Planning to cut, gut, cook and then freeze the meat for numerous pumpkin recipes, including the world famous Grandma Campbell's pumpkin pie!



The pumpkin wouldn't fit on the seat next to Toby.

However, the smaller one did! :-)

My very wise neighbor said I needed to pick my pumpkins now before they start to rot. Plus, as I carried them to the house, I realized that it's sort of like pruning plants...now that these two giants are off the vine, the little baby pumpkin sprouts will have more nourishment and will be able to grow!

John Butler Trio - Ocean (Live at Federation Square)

Visiting Hungary in November!

The past 24 hours have been wonderful! I've been praying for a while about a return visit to Hungary to visit friends, ministries, etc., and finally, having found an EXCELLENT ticket price for November, booked a ticket! Whoo hooo! Not only will I be in Hungary, but my dear friend and missionary there is organizing a ministry trip into Romania...so, this will be a VERY productive trip! Thank you Lord for Your provision!

More importantly, I've heard from a number of Hungarian friends...and ALL of them are THRILLED about my coming! I don't think I've felt THIS MUCH LOVE in a while. Oh, I know I'm loved, but this is almost overwhelming the responses I'm receiving from friends there. One friend, who reads my blog...hee hee hee...said I'm arriving on her birthday and I am the best birthday present she could ask for! This is humbling to me beyond words!

Another friend on facebook reminded me today that it is 107 days til I get there! HA HA HA! I had to laugh out loud about that one!

So, while my identity and "success" is based 100% in simply being a daughter of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, having people love you is a sweet icing on the cake of life!

Oh, by the way, I spent 45 minutes on a skype call today to my former neighbor in Hungary who speaks no English and practiced Hungarian...so far, I still got it, although slipping a bit!

A bit of a surreal experience

I had a very interesting experience this past weekend.

I saw someone I've not seen in over two years.

We saw each other, hugged, and talked superficially.

As we said our goodbyes, I sat down again and was reminded of an encounter my Lord had many centuries ago, where He showed tremendous love, love beyond anything any of us could do outside of His grace and mercy.

I tasted a bit of that surreal experience, and felt the heart of the Father in a new and fresh way.

From George Muller

"Because I did not yet understand the work of the Spirit, I did not realize the powerlessness of human eloquence."

Toby and Thursday morning activity

Thursday morning, I decided I needed to put up another 4 quarts of cucumbers, which will be dill pickles in just 3 months! In addition, my tomatoes are turning red and so here comes the start of tomato sauces! I sure wish I would have learned to do these quite easy tasks years ago!


It's HOT here in Kansas City...so hot that Toby and Simon prefer being inside most of the day!



Toby truly has no shame! I need to learn relaxation lessons from him!

I am no longer 30

I learned a challenging lesson this past weekend in Wisconsin:

I am no longer 30!

How did I learn this? By trying to get up on one ski (water-skiing, that is). Here I am thinking I'd just gone helicopter skiing in January...I'd be just fine water-skiing. Mind you, I've probably worked out on weights 3 times since January, so it's no surprise that as soon as I started pulling out of the water, my right hamstring popped and I went crashing into the water in fairly excruciating pain.

"Wanna try again, Arden?" came the question from the boat as they pulled around. "Nope, I'm done!"

I'm done....I'm done....I'm done....

As I made my way back to the dock, using both arms and my left leg, catching visions of my dad having done the same thing to his leg years ago in GA, I thought, "what have I done to myself?" and "What was I thinking?"

So, of course that messed up muscle has affected my back muscles as well, and I am now nursing my entire lower body! Ah the joys of realizing I'm no longer 30! Or even 40 for that matter! But shouldn't I be able to do these sorts of things? I mean there are plenty of people out there skiing, even racing, running, sky-diving, helicopter skiing, etc. (my dad at 80 for example) so being in my mid-40s should not keep me from having fun water-skiing.

Indeed, it shouldn't; however, proper preparation, stretching and wisdom need to be in place before going forward. Youthful zeal is a wonderful characteristic, but wisdom that comes with experience and even age, sometimes, can prove even more beneficial.

How true this all plays out spiritually as well. The older I grow in the Lord, the more wisdom I gain by grace, the more I realize that jumping in with both feet (or even one foot) is not the wisest way to approach a situation where there could be tremendous spiritual warfare. How often in my life have I sacrificed the 'best' to settle for what is 'good' in the Kingdom of God? How often have I jumped in to do this or that 'project' or joined this or that 'cause', all of which have been really good things, but have missed out on God's BEST?

This, for me, is where this past year of being here in Kansas City and connected to the International House of Prayer has rocked, refined, and retooled my entire way of thinking, acting, and moving forward in the ways and work of the Lord. I've talked my whole life about the necessity of prayer, yet were I to 'count' the number of hours spent in prayer before embarking on what I thought the Lord was calling me to do, the ratio would probably be about 1 to 50. How often I have thought I had the 'heart of God' about a certain idea or project, when in reality, it was more about me and my gifting, talents and abilities to carry something than about Him and His glory.

Nothing worth doing is birthed any other place than out of the place of prayer.

Nothing worth doing is birthed any other place than out of the place of prayer.

Nothing worth doing is birthed any other place than out of the place of prayer.

I want my life to be lived out based on the ratio of 50/50. I want to hear the voice of God, know the heart of the Father, sit with Him when He says sit, go when He says go, and that can only happen with a 50/50 ratio of prayer/going/doing.

Wisdom about what my body can and cannot do, and the preparation it needs to be able to do the things I'd like to do is vital; so too is wisdom in the Spirit, which comes from preparation in the Spirit through time spent in the Word and prayer with Him to hear the voice of the great Shepherd clearly and only do what the Father wants me to do.

Oswald Chambers

This is the will of God, your sanctification. . . —1 Thessalonians 4:3
The Death Side. In sanctification God has to deal with us on the death side as well as on the life side. Sanctification requires our coming to the place of death, but many of us spend so much time there that we become morbid. There is always a tremendous battle before sanctification is realized— something within us pushing with resentment against the demands of Christ. When the Holy Spirit begins to show us what sanctification means, the struggle starts immediately. Jesus said, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate . . . his own life . . . he cannot be My disciple” ( Luke 14:26 ).
In the process of sanctification, the Spirit of God will strip me down until there is nothing left but myself, and that is the place of death. Am I willing to be myself and nothing more? Am I willing to have no friends, no father, no brother, and no self-interest— simply to be ready for death? That is the condition required for sanctification. No wonder Jesus said, “I did not come to bring peace but a sword” ( Matthew 10:34 ). This is where the battle comes, and where so many of us falter. We refuse to be identified with the death of Jesus Christ on this point. We say, “But this is so strict. Surely He does not require that of me.” Our Lord is strict, and He does require that of us.
Am I willing to reduce myself down to simply “me”? Am I determined enough to strip myself of all that my friends think of me, and all that I think of myself? Am I willing and determined to hand over my simple naked self to God? Once I am, He will immediately sanctify me completely, and my life will be free from being determined and persistent toward anything except God (see 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 ).
When I pray, “Lord, show me what sanctification means for me,” He will show me. It means being made one with Jesus. Sanctification is not something Jesus puts in me— it is Himself in me (see 1 Corinthians 1:30 ).

Ministry trip to Wisconsin

The team plus a couple of friends!


The team in Chicago: Josiah, Rob, Katie, Arden, Heidi and Josselyn.

Our team of 6 was richly blessed in Shawano, Wisconsin and in Chicago, Illinois. We stayed with our leader, Heidi's family in Wisconsin and ministered in a Presbyterian Church through worship. Plus we had a wonderful time spending time playing, talking and hanging out with Heidi's family and friends.

In Chicago, we were blessed to participate in the evening service of the HUB ministries. We led worship and then prayed for people.

Sadly, no pictures of ministry times...only the casual fun times.

Garden growth

This is what happens when you go away for 4 days! Love it!

Getting ready to go!

So typical of me. I am going on a ministry trip to Wisconsin tomorrow with a team of 5 other people and tonight, I decide to put up pickles! :-) Yes, my wonderful father sent me his famous (at least in our family) dill pickle recipe and I put up 4 quarts of pickles tonight from the overflow of cucumbers from my garden! Whoo hooo! No pictures cuz I don't have time right now...still gotta pack! ha ha ha! Pray for us as we travel by car and minister in a church in Wisconsin and in a prayer furnace Sunday evening in Chicago! Lifting Jesus up and taking what the Holy Spirit has been pouring out here in Kansas City and around the world to those in Wisconsin!

Pictures from the microburst!

This tree is hanging over the power line, which stretches over the street. No cars could get by for 2 days along this road.

Yes, that's a car beneath the branches!

Just one of many huge trees completely ripped to shreds!

Trees on power lines had some of us without power for 37 hours!

This was a day I was really happy not to have any trees in my yard! My table and umbrella were flung over the railing of my deck...to the right, and landed like this...the glass did not break, thank the Lord!

Micro-burst

Sunday morning, as I prepared to go to church, a storm arose which turned into what is known as a micro-burst. I was heading out the door when I looked out my sliding glass door to see my umbrella and glass table being lifted up and over the deck and thrown to the grass below; it was all happening in what appeared to be slow-motion, so I prayed, "Lord, please don't let the glass break on the table!" It didn't, thankfully. So, I waited and stood and watched as the wind and rain thrashed my garden and threw my deck chairs across and against the railing. Little did I know the damage that was taking place all over the neighborhood.

When the power went out, I decided that I should probably stay home, which turned out to be a good call because trees were being broken and falling across roadways, etc. throughout the neighborhood! Welcome to the mid-west!

Pictures to come when I have a faster connection. :-)

From Andrew Murray

"It is the God of love and the Lord of grace who has revealed His Son Jesus Christ in His eternal glory. And I have been such a child of hell that I have dared to sin against this God."

From St. Augustine

"The Holy Scriptures are our letter from home."

One year anniversary in Kansas City

It was a year ago when I pulled the U-Haul truck up to my house here in Kansas City. When I shared that with a friend last night, he suggested I buy a ring! I laughed at first, but then thought, "That's a GREAT idea!"

So, here's the ring I bought today. Not only is purple my favorite color, but it's the color of royalty, and I am the King's princess; plus the tear-drop shapes on the sides remind me of the tears the Lord collects as well as the shape of leaves, symbolizing new life! And of course, the heart-shape...I am my Beloved's and He is mine!

To bee or not to bee....

Here's the bee leaving the flower after a veritable feast on nectar!

This beautiful sunflower is directly outside my front door!

It's just too cool to be able to get this close!

Sorry for the pun. Loving my little digital camera!

Britains Got Talent - SpellBound Second Week Of Audition

Exodus Cry in South Africa

Have a look at the short video below. This is a cry dear to my heart.

http://vimeo.com/12735128

First tomato and carrots!

Yes, these red things are carrots! Peel them and they are a DEEP orange! This is also my first tomato! Can't wait to taste it!

Garden and Toby

I planted 4 pumpkin seeds and only one came up, thank the lord! Look at this thing go wild!

Can you see the green pepper in the middle right of the pic?

I think I will have about 800 tomatoes off this one plant!

Toby's favorite place to sleep outside...right next to the air conditioning unit...go figure....????

Yes, the pumpkin and cucumber plants are growing OUT of the confines of the garden!

My garden is going bananas!

I understand, in part, why God brought me to my home country for a season....

Fireworks!

I know, I know, I'm a day early for Independence Day, but this celebration took place last weekend in Texas!

As my friend Jennifer, who just returned a year ago from serving as a missionary in Germany for 3 years, and I sang "God Bless America" together, it was a moment of sweet revelation of how the Lord brought us both "home" to the U.S. to declare His goodness once again in the land that we love!

For me, this evening and the music was especially poignant as I have come "home" to a nation whose freedoms are slowly being whittled away, so the reality that our freedom is in Christ alone is an even more profound Truth than it ever was before.