Dear Daddy….

It was 8 years ago Feb. 26 that you celebrated your homegoing! In some ways it seems way longer than that; other times it seems like only yesterday. The Lord has, with the
passing of time, made it easier to bare; but I want you to know that rarely a day goes by that I don’t think of you. I relish the sweet memories of years with you as the best Daddy a girl could ever have. Now, we both know you were not without your vices and faults, but, then again, who is? Yet I never for one moment doubted your love for me, your pride in me as your daughter, your joy with me as we celebrated the birth of all 3 of my children…you provided for me in many ways, and made sure that I had a fun, memorable, educated upbringing! You were so handsome; an immaculate dresser (GQ style!); you were a charmer; you were extremely witty and creative (I loved your off the cuff poetry written on greeting cards, and will always treasure my 14K gold Aztec Calendar disk that you had an original poem just for me engraved on (no way can I even read it now without a magnifying glass---so many lines it was itty bitty to begin with!) I remember as a child riding on your shoulders in the pool and diving off; I remember your getting us a pony and how proud we were of “Peanut”; I remember wonderful, happy, family vacations every single year to places I otherwise would likely have never been able to see in my lifetime; and I remember lots of times you had me sit on your lap, even after I was grown, oftentimes in front of the Christmas tree in the sunroom at your house, and you would tell me again, ‘I love you!” Oh, Daddy, I miss you so much…and I cannot even begin to fathom the joy you are living all the time in the presence of our Lord. One day I’ll join you there, and what a joyous occasion that will be, too. And as I enter the pearly gates, please greet me with a pat on the bottom and say “Personal kings X!”
I love you, Daddy,
Deda Marie Now, reader, what are some memories you have of a loved
one no longer with us?

Waterfront Church

Check out the Waterfront Church of Chicago, pastored by a former associate pastor of our previous church in Tennessee! This is Christ's mission for us in action--going, telling, giving! I'd love to hear your thoughts!

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Text Message....

read a sign in front of a church today: "God sent you a text! Read it!" so...what type of Bible reading program do you use? or do you? would love to collect ideas on ways to read the Word. blessings on your day!

it's tough being a woman...

"...in another woman's shadow...in a world where beauty is a treatment...in a mean world...being thrown a giant-sized weight...in the tight fist of fear..." ~Beth Moore in "Esther". so our women's Bible study small group is studying the book of Esther! WHEW! what a book! what a woman was Esther/Hadassah! Like Beth Moore, we are making a red book of things relating to women and would love to have your help! so, please look at the questions/information below, copy and paste to an email, and return to me ASAP if you wouldn't mind. also, please share it with your email list of women, Facebook female friends, family, coworkers....anyone that will help us build our book. this would help us so much, and we will be forever grateful. you can send the responses to me at thank-you for blessing us in this way, and we pray you will be blessed in return!

Lisa
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1. It's hard being a woman because...
2. My favorite beauty tip is...
3. My favorite cosmetic line/colors and skin care line is...
4. Party tips would include...
5. Thing(s) my Mom or significant female in my life taught me was/were...
6. My favorite recipe(s) is/are:...
7. My favorite Scripture is...

Ask what you can do for God....

john f. kennedy said in his inaugural address in 1961, "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.” perhaps that suggestion has never been as needed as it is now~we are not the America of 10-years ago.

Neil Armstrong, in 1969, stepped onto the surface of the moon, a feat previously never performed. he said, “one small step for man; one giant step for mankind”. and it was! “man’ (which includes “woman”) is exceptionally intelligent and capable. where did man obtain such immeasurable intelligence? from the Creator of the universe~the One who made each of the bodies’ cells and intricately wove them together before we were even in the womb (“for You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb"…Ps. 139:13). this is the One who knows the very number of hairs on each of our heads right now (Matt. 10:30)~and furthermore, He cares! this is the same Creator who sees when even one sparrow falls to the ground (Matt. 10:29). man is smart, yet man has limits; our God is limitless. so for me the question is, “ask not what your God can do for you; ask what you can do for your God!” He doesn’t want our ability; He wants our availability! what will you do with God today? tomorrow? next week? over the long haul! what we do for Him never goes unnoticed~ and the promise for us is ("Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with me, to render to every man according to what he has done". ~Rev. 22:12). agree or disagree? i’d love to hear your thoughts…..

Friday Shop Talk

ok....first of all, i don't like the name "friday shop talk", so i need some suggestions of something catchy. please submit ideas asap!
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it's bright and sunny here today, with a slight wind blowing. i'm working from home, and thinking about the coming of spring, and how my yard needs some color to it, things blooming, colorful and cheery! unfortunately i planted no seeds in the fall, and having absolutely NO green thumb at all (HELP!) i wouldn't have known what to plant anyway! (mama always said, "beggars can't be choosers", so i'm not choosy who helps me out! any volunteers? not everyone at once now! calm down and take a number! NOT!) ok, so back to the subject, Lolli! planting got me thinking about seeds, and seeds got me thinking about how things grow, and that led to my thinking about my responsibility as a Christian. i believe we are called to plant seeds everywhere we go...with a kind gentle word, a sweet smile, an "atta boy/girl" about a job well done, a thank-you to someone who services us, allowing someone to cut us off without our feeling like we have to give them the international peace sign (now we may WANT to, and God knows that, too! but He is very pleased and honored when we refrain!) my problem is that i want to see the fruit of my labor~i.e. i want to see the seed full grown and right now! but it just doesn't work that way. seeds have to be planted in good soil, then watered, given sunlight, and lots of time to prepare before they shoot up from the ground into a delightful beautiful sight to behold. so the same way it is with the christian life. we plant seeds; others water; others provide the sunlight; and in God's perfect timing He calls that seed unto Himself, and welcomes him/her into His kingdom! yet...hold on...wait...you (or I) may be the one to PROVIDE the water or sunlight for seeds someone else has sown...and every now and then we may actually be the one to help that seed open up and accept Christ! That's an incredible experience---one like no other can provide us! Meanwhile, we are to continue going about planting seeds, here and there, everywhere, when we are having good days and when we are having bad days, whether we feel like it or not...it's a wilfull act of obedience to our Lord. he is honored and pleased every time. as women and men after God's own heart, isn't that our main purpose: to please, honor and glorify the One who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords? your turn...whatcha thinkin'?

Proud to be an American....

many factors make me proud to be an American: freedoms of where to live, where to worship, where to work (or IF to work), where to live, where, when and what to eat…and on and on the endless list goes. and I’m proud to have a family to love, and who loves me…I’m proud to have had a father who loved me unconditionally and provided so well for his family…I’m proud to still have my mom around, who has always been a living testimony of who Jesus really is, who took me to church every week and taught me the principles of my Christian faith, who puts others ahead of herself, who serves others sacrificially because she enjoys blessing others, who has guided me to become the woman I am today (in the good ways only….she’s not responsible for any of my bad ways!); and I am blessed far beyond what money or ‘stuff’ will ever be able to give me, for I am a woman who is loved, who loves others, who has all my needs and most of my wants met, and who, above all else and most importantly of all, relishes the joy of knowing that I am a daughter of the King, who made me in His image, who loves me in spite of myself, and who is PROUD of me!

after going to the Dominican Republic on mission trips; and after hearing Katie Davis share her journey in Uganda that never ceases to amaze me; and after seeing “Slum-Dog Millionaire” tonight…the uncanny realization slapped me in the face yet again that MOST of the world lives like the DR and Uganda and India….we are a minority who live the privileges of luxury…yet I seem to always want for more...and more…and more. and often I have observed that those who have way less than most of us APPRECIATE what they DO have way more than we do! isn’t there something wrong with that concept? “the land of the free and the home of the brave”...the minority (us)=have more, appreciate less vs. the majority (Everyone else in the world)=have less, appreciate more! Hhhhhmmmm….a dichotomy, I suppose! Just curious….what your thoughts are….