An intriguing image....

Apparently, this image below was on the cover of a Christian magazine in Hungary. I find it very intriguing....

Thanksgiving!

Dad, Mom, Paul and Arden, after church on Sunday morning. (I apparently missed the memo about dressing in blue!)

This license plate was on a car in the parking lot! :-)

This fun chair was outside a wonderful pottery place outside of Phoenix! We felt a bit like Edith-Ann....remember her? ;-)

It's a SMALL world! Luda, in the middle, and I met in Kiev, Ukraine back in 2003. She is now married and lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, so Paul and I were blessed to meet her and her new husband, Scott.

Mom wasn't feeling well on Thanksgiving Day, so it was Paul, dad and I who shared the meal together.

Paul and I were incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to travel to Arizona and spend Thanksgiving 2011 with my parents. Relaxing, restful, WARM, and full of fun, laughter, good talks, and fantastic food. I am truly thankful for my parents but even more so, for the opportunity to spend this time with them and with Paul.

This was our first Thanksgiving together as a married couple. There was a different kind of sweetness this year; it's hard to explain, but I was very thankful in a different way this year, knowing I have a precious man of God standing with me, who is for me, who loves my family, and sacrifices for me. I am blessed!

Trusting God

I shouldn't be surprised, I suppose, but I am.

After walking with the Lord for 31 years now, I realize I don't really trust Him.

Sad.

He's been so utterly faithful and trustworthy, and I see, every day, how little I trust Him.

Now, I could fall into despair or shame or beat myself up at this realization, but that probably wouldn't do a whole lot of good if I want to continue growing. And so I will do what is necessary:

Push DELETE, and move on.

Delete the times when I have not trusted in His unfailing love for me, His perfect provision, His comfort, His healing, His direction, His desire to see people come into a relationship with Him, and His goodness.

Today is a new day, a new opportunity to TRUST JESUS, with everything and everyone. I need your grace, Lord!

Just as this picture of our now dormant garden looks rather "dead", or at least dormant, so too should we be in seasons when the Lord is going deep with healing and transformation. In the spring season, there will be growth and fruit!

The Hopeful God - A new operating system

This past weekend, I was blessed to be able to take part in a Hope to the Heart retreat through Deeper Waters Ministries.

Not only did the Lord encourage hearts, but also linked hearts in friendship, hope and love!

Yes, challenges are here and are coming, but we know and love a God for whom none of this is a surprise! He is the hopeful God, the God of history as well as present and future! He is the God who knows the answers to all the troubling questions before us and says, "Why do you doubt? I am that I am!"

The new operating system is living out of a place of REST in God, not out of a mandate or out of an assignment...it's not necessarily "new", but since most of us function according to assignments or mandates, it IS a new way of operating. Resting in God, in His faithfulness, His ways and directions that are always, always, always perfect, good and right. God, help us to stay in that place of resting in You, Lord, and moving out in rest.

Check out the hopeful messages HERE

Fine-tuning

One of the things I remember about a number of my friends who were professional musicians in Hungary is the emphasis they place on "fine-tuning" their instruments. It wasn't "good enough" just to be in tune, but each of them would not be satisfied to move forward in a concert or worship event or even in a living room setting unless their instruments were finely tuned.

I didn't fully appreciate that reality that they live until recently. There have been times sitting in the prayer room which is live 24/7, when I've had to get up and leave because an instrument (I include voices here as they are instruments) has been out of fine-tune. It may be just slightly off, but for me, it's enough to distract me so that I cannot enter in to worship and/or prayer with the grating on my ears. I don't say this in a judgmental way, just observing, and realizing that in the natural, God is fine-tuning my ears and it's transferring to the spiritual realm, by His grace and the fine-tuning that He Himself is doing in my life.

I've been saying for a couple of years now that it's not business as usual in the Kingdom or in life in general. God is fine-tuning His precious instruments, His people, so that the final concert will be beautiful. He's doing this in every area of life, in every mountain of influence, and while exciting, it also takes giant leaps of faith to embark on paths before unknown. It's worth it, though, so as not to be a sounding gong or a clanging symbol in a world where His love, through Jesus, is so desperately needed.

Our morning visitor

 

We knew the day would arrive when we would have to close the cat door.  That day has come…this HUGE raccoon was IN OUR KITCHEN when we woke up this morning, trying hard to tip over our garbage can!  He boldly returned and allowed me to take some pictures as he tried, once again, to get into our home.  My poor cat, Simon, who will bravely chase every cat in the neighborhood out of the yard, is understandably intimidated by this guy who looks to weigh about 20 pounds.  Is there a season for coon hunting?  :-)

An interesting 53 min. video on why young people are fleeing the church

Fall is officially here

Fall, or autumn as it is properly called amongst my British friends, has jumped upon us here in the mid-west. Ritual leaf-raking, garden hoeing, turning on the furnace, putting away the summer clothes and bringing out the fall sweaters, and planning for all the upcoming holidays fill our days. Stores are already full of Christmas decorations (I'm wondering what happened to Thanksgiving?), and the push is on to get our economy jump-started with lots of sales everywhere.

This fall is full of peaks and valleys for me. One peak that is also a valley: our church is in major transition which is a good thing, but in the process, there has been some pain and misunderstanding. Thankfully, we all love Jesus enough to obey Him and love each other and forgive and bless. Growth is on the horizon!

Another peak and valley all at the same time is Paul doing his student-teaching. Four weeks from now, he will be FINISHED...let me repeat...FINISHED with his Masters in Elementary Education! HALLELUJAH! Student-teaching is simply not the best time in a teachers' life. Yes, he is learning a lot; yes, he is enjoying the kids for the most part; but the time he must spend on that plus his seminars and finishing his portfolio to orally defend on December 7th is just overwhelming at times, for him and for me. Praise God for Holy Spirit who keeps us both focused on Himself so that we don't lose sight of what all this is unto. In the midst of it, I am experiencing all kinds of flash-backs to my student teaching days 24 years ago! Watching Paul is a great reminder of just how far God brought me in this wonderful field of education. Hearing the stories of our young ones in the public school system here in the U.S., however, is rather disheartening. And the systems are so "odd" (trying to find the kindest word possible) in some areas that its a wonder any educating is happening at all. However, the most frightening aspect in my opinion is the number of kids coming from broken homes, bringing their brokenness into a room full of other kids carrying their own brokenness. Somehow, things seem more "broken" today than when I was in school, or even when I was doing my student-teaching. So much for the theory of evolution...ha ha ha, just had to throw in that plug for my friend Gal Bence in Hungary! :-)

Sorry, I digress...another peak and valley is the departure of our precious friends, Scott and Marcie Adams and their three children. I know that I know that I know that God had them stay in Kansas City these two extra years so that Marcie and I could be reunited after nearly 20 years! We first met in Hungary and then never kept in contact. Lo and behold, I move to Kansas City and they live just around the corner from me. What a precious gift they have been to me and to us, now, in countless ways! I'm so excited for what the Lord has in store for them in this next season as they embark in an Abrahamic quest, while carrying a profound sadness at the departure of one of my closest friends ever. You will be SORELY missed in these here parts, Adams family! ;-)

Of course a huge peak is celebrating six months with my wonderful, godly husband Paul, and as we approach our engagement anniversary, we are experiencing all the joys, challenges, delights and realities of married life, especially as 40+ folks never having walked on these waters before! (Purposefully used there as it takes a lot of faith to embark on such a journey after a life-time of singleness for both of us!)

More peaks involve wonderful ministry opportunities through Theophostic Prayer Ministry, watching God set people free from the past lies they have believed and which have influenced their lives for decades! In addition, being involved with Deeper Waters Ministries and recognizing that adoration of the Lord is the place to live has been transformative in my life and in the lives of many! (You can visit www.bobhartley.org )

Another peak is starting a new business...while I'm just on the ground level, and have a lot of work to do, I believe this has the potential to take off! If any of you out there are interested in YUMMY, NUTRITIONAL FOOD, or even becoming your own consultant, then contact me about you too getting involved. Check out my website here and then contact me with any questions!

So, autumn, with all of its changes, is good...full, rich and a time of great transition. No wonder there are mornings like this one when the overcast sky invites me to sit by the fire with my journal and ponder the goodness of everything!

Six months ago today....

I married the most wonderful man on the planet! Happy Anniversary, Paul! I love you!