One popped up in my reading today that I wanted to share here:

You Seek me, Lord

Through Jesus you sought us
when we were not seeking you,
but you have sought us that we might begin to seek you.
He is the Word through whom you made all things,
and me among them,
your only Son
through whom you called your believing people
to be your sons by adoption,
and me among them;
through him, then, do I make my plea to you,
through him who sits at your right hand to intercede for us,
for in him are hidden all treasures
of wisdom and knowledge.
        -Augustine of Hippo, Prayers from the Confessions

May the knowledge that God seeks us continue to fill us with wonder and awe!

The tagline was “The story you could be watching is a lot better than the story you’re in.”

I don’t know about you. But, I love the story I am living. I love it when random people speak to me when it was totally unexpected. I love that human face-to-face contact is still something that people seem to crave.

For some reason, I am not looking forward to the day when we stop speaking to one another in awkward social situations because we are immersed in a mobile television shows or movies.

Just saddens me some. What do you think?

This is a song that has really spoken to me strongly lately.

Sometimes, I feel as this song’s lyrics say, that I really don’t know God very well at all.
    “How can I say I know You, when all I know is still so small?”

I hope this song resonates with you. Thanks for listening.

Here is another lovely story that she wrote when given an assignment at school to write anything she wanted. I have typed it, again, just as she wrote it. She is in the third grade.

Once upon a time there was a talking skunk who’s name was Stinkity. Stinkity loved living with her Mom and Dad and her pet frog, Jumpers. Stinkity’s friend was a squirrel and his name was Nutso. Nutso and Stinkity were great friends. “Hey, Stinkity! Throw me the ball!” Nutso yelled. They loved to play baseball. “Stinkity!” Mom yelled, “it’s time for supper!”

Stinkity said goodbye to Nutsoand went inside for supper. Stinkity and her family had maccaroni and cheese, corn and milk. After supper, Stinkity went to bed and her mom sang her a bedtime song, and her dad kissed her on the head and said, “Good-night, Sweetpea,” and went to sleep.

The next morning, Stinkity grabbed her backpack and waited for the bus. When the bus arrived, Stinkty ran into Nutso. She talked with Nutso a little unti they got to school. When they arrived at school, they had a test. Stinkity was nervous. “It was,” “It was a,” It was a mmmmmmmmath tttttttest!”

When Stinkity finished the test she found that she got a 100! Stinkity jumped up and down.

When she got home, she showed her parents and they said it was…WONDERFUL! Stinkity showed it to Jumpers and he just did a ribbit. She guessed it was a complement. When Stinkity showed it to Nutso he said it was AWSOME!

And that’s the story of Stinkity the fantasy Skunk.

THE END

I know this is my daughter, and I am partial. But, I love her writing.  I am excited to see how God is going to use her in His kingdom as she grows in Him.

My kids are running free about an empty baseball field within my view.

I love to come to this park on wednesday afternoons. It is quiet but for the sound of a soft cooling breeze, my children’s laughter, and the birds’ songs.

God often works on my spirit here while my soul is still and quiet.

It is in these moments that he has shown me his love, my sin, and his forgiveness.

What are some simple ways that you find communion with God?

Oh! I just can’t find my sunglasses. I have looked all over and I just can’t find it. As soon as my daddy came home, he helped me look. No luck! So, I started my routine of playing the Wii. I just said to myself, “It has to be in my room and surely it will show up.”

My cat (Abby) must have slept on them and they dug into the couch. I looked under the cushions of my couch- Not there! (Of course, my cat can play hide and seek on me!)

My dog Brandi (my biggest dog) might have crushed them by mistake. Or, my cute little loveable dog Bella might have thought it was chow time!

I’m sure my sunglasses will turn up.

My family and I have been watching movies on the couch and my dad weighs HUNDREDS of pounds! Or, my brother, Christopher might have worn them and lost them by mistake. My family has been busy, so maybe the house just needs a little cleaning.

Of course, I do sometimes put my sunglasses on Brandi and maybe while she was wearing them, they fell off. Abby (my cat) must have played with them and they went under the couch.

I was laying down on the couch with Abby (my cat) watching TV when Brandi (my biggest dog) started barking at the rug. “Brandi, stop that right now!” I ordered. But then, I saw two lumps in the rug. I looked under the rug. “MY SUNGLASSES!” I shouted! “What’s going on in here?” my mom questioned as she walked out of her bedroom door. “I found my sunglasses,” I screached in delight. “Great, honey. Where did you find them?” “I found them under the rug,” I said. “That’s great sweetheart!”

Then, after I found my sunglasses, we partied and partied and partied all night! And, that’s how I got my sunglasses mystery solved.

I was so entertained and amused with this story. I especially like my long hair in the picture at the end.

Then, something interesting happened. I heard a lovely tune that I had never heard before. It just kept going. It wove around all over the piano, ringing beautifully in a melody that made my ears perk up and stand at full attention.

Then, I heard the most lovely sound. “Mommy, how do you like the song I wrote? I played notes until it sounded godly,” my little girl said.

I love that my child recognizes who gave her this gift for music. I love that she wants to give back to God.

It got me to thinking, though. How often do I “sound godly?”

I pray that I will live my life in a way that is godly, that the words I speak will be godly, that the actions I take will be godly and that I will reflect a Christ-like character in all that I do.

I have messed up in the past. I will probably mess up in the future. But, I pray that as I grow in Christ, this will happen less and less, and I will be more and more like Him.

For access to our Lent reader, along with the rest of the playlist, click this link:

http://www.mylhumc.net/632312.ihtml

May God overwhelm us with His love and presence during this season and always and may we experience the Bright Sadness that is the Journey to the Cross.

I wanted to share this one, though, as I have been struggling through the last couple of weeks with a lot of stuff including my monumental inability to say, “no,” to the things I need to say”no,” to and the inability to say, “yes,” to the things I need to say, “yes,” to.

As I have studied and learned what Lent is all about during our church’s preparation of a Lent Reader and a playlist to go along with the reader, I am continually pressed about the abundance of “things,” that distract me from the main things.

The things that distract are different for everyone.  Could be the T.V. Could be the computer, twitter or facebook. Could be a romance novel. But, they do the same thing. They distract us from loving fully, surrendering totally, serving happily, and burning brightly instead of burning out.

I am excited to say that I am putting this computer away right now. That there are a number of distractions that I am going to give up during Lent to focus on loving fully, surrendering totally, serving happily and burning brightly.

(The confession is not that I read romance novels, btw. not that that’s bad. I am just more of a zombie book freak!)

Christopher, to his older sister: “Taylor, Taylor, hey, Taylor….the Grinch’s smile is reauhllly, reauhllly frrrreaky!”

Taylor, in response:                        “Yup.”

Sammie, directly after:                  “Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ on a fever!” (Sung to the tune of “Proud Mary!”

I loooooooooove my life!