Abba's Girl

Every year in December I host a coffee. My husband describes it as 50 women descending on our house with much laughter following their arrival. Methinks he exaggerates because I've never invited more than 25 and it is an open house, therefore ladies are coming and going for 3 hours. (I might add - he makes his escape from our house pretty darn quick.) This year as I looked at the calendar to set the date and send invitations, the Lord clearly impressed my heart with no coffee this year. I did not schedule the coffee this year. Had I not listened, the coffee would be tomorrow, 2 days after our family suffered a big loss. As a result of listening and obeying, I did not buy the food, send out invitations, and then have to cancel it. I saved myself a lot of trouble. The loss we experienced was not something we ever saw coming. We went from total joy and making plans to emotional heaps. But we know that we know, we will meet this precious child who briefly touched our lives in hea...

This morning as I sipped coffee and read Psalm 33; I thought how easily people can become so engrossed in what the government is or is not doing, their eyes become glued to the world. We need to focus on Jesus and His Word. Psalm 33 reminds us of what the Lord is doing. Not what He might do, not what He did, but what He is doing. Brothers and Sisters in Christ, take your eyes off the media and turn them to Jesus and His Word. Feast on PS 33 and be blessed. 1 Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. 2 Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! 3 Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts. 4 For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. 5 He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. 6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their h...

Today is beyond breezy (As in there is not enough hairspray in the world windy.); the wind is blowing steadily from the north at 30-40 mph with gusts of 50 mph. What a difference from the hot, humid day we experienced in southeast Texas yesterday! A high of 80 yesterday, today's high is supposed to be around 50 or so. A real life demonstration of how circumstances can change quickly. Normally we like quick changes of hard circumstances, but in most cases God does not work in us quickly, because He wants real change; deep change, not change on the surface but in the heart and darkest corners of our souls. If you are striving to make big changes in your life, do not give up - the Lord is always with you. His Words tells us: Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything ...

Today our nation watched in horror the images and news reports regarding the school shooting in CT. 20 students were most likely dreaming about what Santa Claus might bring them or what they might receive tonight for Hanukkah and the upcoming school holiday. Parents of 20 students put their children on a school bus or dropped them off at school and expected to see them later in the day. 7 or 8 adults left for work and most likely had plans for the weekend. None of their plans or dreams will be realized. Tomorrow will not come for them. If you are putting off a decision for Christ, please do not put it off any longer. If you are putting off a phone call to loved one in an attempt to heal a relationship, please do not put it off any longer. We do not know the number of our days. Walk in love, forgiveness, and dying to self. And please continue to pray for all those grieving in CT.

Yesterday as I read a portion of Scriptures from James 5 assigned for a Bible Study, I thought about what it means as we live between the spring and fall rains. James tell us: Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. Some seasons between the the rains are good and little patience is needed, some are long and much patience is required, ot...

As I spend more time in prayer and in the Word during Advent, part of the Lord's plans for me in 2013 have been revealed. Memorize at least 30 Bible verses. Anyone else in for 2013? Step one complete: I purchased index cards at Target last week. Step 2: I am committed to doing this thing because with Christ all things are possible. Step 3: Waiting to see what verses I am led to sow into my heart. I will also be writing Scriptures in 2013, beginning with the Gospel of Mark. I found writing out the book of James for a Bible Study to be a wonderful thing for me to do each night. Let me know if you have are on board for memorizing Scripture in 2013 individually or as part of Beth Moore's Siestas. I hope this Advent Season has been and will be a blessing to you. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,“Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,...

My cousin Bill shared a wonderful praise report concerning healing with me today. It brought me to joyous tears. God still heals! He wants us emotionally, spiritually, and physically whole in Christ Jesus. Check out His Word, see what He has to say on the subject. After thanking God for the healing miracle, I started laughing about the funniest healing experience in my life. I was with Jack & Anna Marie at a Methodist Church in Houston and the service began with a hymn I dislike intensely. My back and leg were throbbing from sitting in a chair for 15-20 hours a day for months on end, because at that time dad had been hospitalized for 11.5 months and was days away from leaving earth for his heavenly home. The pianist began playing What a Friend We Have in Jesus, I rolled my eyes, looked at Anna Marie and said, "I hate this song." Jack asked me to repeat myself, so I did. Before I finished my sentence, I felt warmth flow through my back and shoot down my leg. No more ...

I hope blogger has corrected the issue which causes all the paragraphs to run together in a big blob. We'll see when I click publish. I know I've written about politics in my previous blog posts, and like me you are probably tired of politics too. I am writing once more because of the nasty things I listen to Christians say about politicians and nasty posts on Facebook by Christians. Please stop! Each time you find yourself wanting to call the President or Mitt a name...pray instead. Prayer works wonders and as Christians we are called by God to pray, not to murmur and complain. Anyone remember a certain group of people who murmured and complained? Anyone remember what happened to them as a result? I am not always successful, but I try to live by these words from Psalm 19: May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Some days seem so long, by 10:00am you ask yourself if it is ever going to end when in reality it is not about the day ending but prayer needs of friends, family, and many times complete strangers. My husband is guardian to his 93 yr old aunt, she fell and broke her neck, the paper work is being drawn up for hospice care. A dear friend is fighting for his life; his body is rejecting stem cells from a transplant, many things are going wrong with his body. My niece's newborn son is now in NICU due to arriving early. I am not any different than anyone else. You have very real prayer needs in your own life, too. None of us are immune, but thankfully many of us have found the answer in Scripture and through redemption in Jesus Christ. Sometimes we need to take a deep breath and remember we are not to carry these burdens alone. We need to pray, sometimes we need to ask others to pray with us and for us, and many times we need to be quiet. PS 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am Go...

It seems strife and division are rampant in our country as we head toward November. In such times it can be especially hard to keep a Christ like attitude. As the elections draw near, it seems more Christians are calling politicians names and calling people who support them names as well. Where is Christ in that mind set? Christ loves everyone, so should we. Christians must stop the name calling and personal attacks, we must hit our knees in prayer for the blinding scales of deception to be removed from the deceived candidates and voters; we must pray for God's wisdom to be poured out on the candidates as well as the voters; we must pray for all candidates to be men and women of honour and integrity. So please, every time you feel compelled to call President Obama a name, or any other politician a name, please pray instead. Thank You Lord that we are your people which are called by Your Name, shall humble ourselves, and pray, and seek Your face, and turn from our wicked ways...

As Christians we often pray, we ask other believers to join us, many times the prayers concern our nation and the world and we stand on verses found in the Bible. One we see frequently is: if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. A couple of verses from I Peter really speak to me regarding our nation: Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor. It seems as we head toward November, many Christians are bashing Democrats, others are bashing Republicans, some are murmuring and complaining about POTUS. It does not matter what we think of President Obama, what matters (in my opinion) is showing respect for the office and honoring him by praying for him. The Word of God does no...

Sometimes I feel as if I live my life by the motto - Planliness is next to Godliness, I try not to but some days I wake up with a list of plans and a schedule to maintain. Today's plans were: Prayer (done) Time in the Word (done), Walk/Run for 45 minutes (done), Do Laundry, Mow the Lawn, Weed the Flower Beds, Finish reading John Adams, Nap, Begin reading Washington a Life, Contemplate Dinner at Home vs. Dinner at a Restaurant. Then at 6:15 a.m. today, I learned one of our dearest friends died last night. My heart aches for his wife, children, and grandchildren. My heart aches for myself as well, he was a good friend to our family and always reminded me of my father. Ennis served our country in the U S Navy, served the Lord in various ministries, and lived his life in such a way he was an example of a Christian man. I can only imagine how many children were in his Sunday School classes over the years. He was a man of deep faith and was filled with wisdom and love. So instead of ...

As I drank coffee this morning, contemplating washing my car and yard work a fleeting memory pass through my mind. Suddenly I was 3 years old in our front yard on Ashcroft Street in Houston. I was running through the grass and my next door neighbor Tony was washing his mother's car in their drive way. He stopped and said hi to me and asked if I wanted to "help". He let help for a few minutes, swung me up in the air and pretended he was dropping me and then set down me on the drive way. I told him goodbye and went off to play with dolls. I can't see his face in my memory these days, but I remember his kind spirit. It is the only memory of that sweet, young man who always had a moment for the little girl next door I still have. Not long after that he left for Viet Nam never to return. As we remember the fallen, I hope we remember their families as well. I remember Tony's parents in the years following Tony's death. They were never the same, their only child go...

My friend Chris who is 17 years younger than me said he wanted to knock off some weight and needed a great eating plan. I told him about the Caveman Diet, he talked me into joining him so we could be accountable and encourage one another. I told another friend about the diet, he told 1 of his closest friends about it, now there are 5 of us doing the Paleo thing. I will admit it annoyed me when I discovered 1 man lost 15 lbs in 10 days, Chris lost 10 lbs in 7 days, and another 5 lbs in 2 days. I've lost several inches and only a few pounds, but I remain encouraged. If you are interested in trying the diet, the website is www.cavemanpower.com Hopefully by the end of the summer I will be at a healthy weight and ready for the Wounded Warriors Project 8K in San Antonio in September (I do not want to finish last!) I think this is the best I've felt since my dad died 3 years ago. With the Lord's help I will succeed!

A while back a childhood friend sent me an e-mail out of the clear and the blue, it was a 3 line e-mail which really packed a punch. It said: Dear Annette, How are you? Have you talked to Susie Q? (Obviously I changed the name to protect the innocent.) Short and sweet right? Or is it sweet? Susie Q was a good friend of mine for many years, sadly our friendship ended due to her mental illness and inability to tell the truth. I miss the old Susie Q, but do not trust the one who was around when our friendship ended. That being said, if she called tomorrow and needed help, I would do anything in the world to help her because I love her. The author of the e-mail knew the situation and knew I had not spoken with her in 11 years. I never knew what I did to provoke such an e-mail. My husband declared it was some kind of passive/aggressive woman thing and she was trying to get my goat for some reason. On the one side I could feel my emotions switching into high gear. Tears welled up in...

I can't believe it is the last Thursday of February! I am thankful for: Time spent with Kathleen and Tess at Bible Study A card from Sandy which brought much cheer Worship with Annette G A letter from Kosovo Time with my husband even though it involved the making of deer sausage The freedom to attend church, worship, and pray

The other day I thought back to the pre-teen and early teen years and the numerous ways I tried to push the envelope; such as playing rock albums just loud enough to get on my father's nerves. I was known to play certain songs over and over if he disliked them. He was a sergeant in the Houston Police Department's criminal intelligence division and then narcotics division during those years. Yes, I did crank up Eric Clapton's Cocaine frequently, then one day the album disappeared, it did not take highly developed detective skills to determine my mother was behind the said album's disappearance. On a few occasions when being disciplined by my parents, I somehow thought it was wise to say at least I am not as bad as ________ or at least I don't do drugs or something equally as dumb. Comparing my bad behavior to others' worse behavior did nothing to appease my parents or soften the punishment. Bad behavior is bad behavior, it stands on it's own "merit...

I am astounded we are 1/2 way through February and it is time to memorize another verse. I am memorizing John 10:30 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.” It is good it is a short one because I still stumble a little over John 10:29. It is nice to sow a few verses from John in my heart as I read through the Bible with a couple precious sisters this year. We finished Leviticus and are now in Numbers. Hello Deuteronomy - Here we come! I cannot lie, I grew a little bored reading Leviticus. Please share the verses you are sowing into your heart this year.

I don't want to start a political debate, I am not bashing anyone for voting for the candidate he or she feels is the best qualified to lead our nation, but I am saying all of this to say: I am tired of the campaign, I am tired of most candidates' rhetoric already and if I were made queen for a day, I would pass an irrevocable law which limited campaigning for the primaries to 2 months, all primaries would be held in the same month, and campaigning for the November election would begin October 1st. (Have you ever read such a run on sentence in your life?!?!?!) As a Christian I am to live a Christ like life, I am to pray for people and issues not yell and scream about them and have a negative, judgmental attitude. Should I condone sin? No. Should I vote for people who seem to support ungodly principles? No. Should I pray for all candidates to be men and women of integrity? Yes. Should I pray all candidates know Jesus as Lord and Savior? Yes. Should I pray all candidates are fi...

What happened to January 2012? I had projects and goals to meet by January 31, some of which I made some I did not. It is time for a new memory verse which is John 10:29 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. At the rate 2012 is progressing; Easter, the elections (and thankfully no more campaign ads, speeches, and maligning other candidate's character), Thanksgiving, and Christmas will be here before we know it...so don't procrastinate, go out and live for the Lord and serve Him.

I am thankful for: Bible Study with some of my favorite people My cousin Bill My husband showing me how much he loves me by doing the little things More rain Increased business

I am thankful for: Reading the Bible through in a year with Ang and anyone else who wants to join us, though we did get a late start. Rain received this week, we moved from extreme drought to severe drought. Time spent quietly at home with my husband. My godson leaving for Power School as he serves our country in the USN, though I shed a few tears. Answered prayers.

2012 is here and it is time to sow more of God's word in my heart. I shall endeavor to commit at least 24 verses to memory. The 1st two verses are John 10:27-28: My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. I want to follow Him with all my heart and I know I have eternal life because Jesus is my Lord and Savior, but I don't think I've ever thought about the promises no one will snatch me out of His hand. If you are memorizing Scripture this year, please feel free to share your verses with me. Stay in the Word, it brings Life...

Funny how certain words send me into orbit, my cousin treated me to a nice dinner last week, I thanked him for it and said next time the meal is my treat. He said, "I usually don't allow women to buy me dinner even when they are related." Anyone care to guess which word got to me? I threw it in his face via Facebook posts a couple of times, he then suggested I get over it. (I'm not bitter and I am over it, but I will grab the check when the waiter/waitress brings it to the table.) On the flip side of this, why do I not spend as much energy receiving the Word of God as I spent thinking about the word A-L-L-O-W? I am working on my 1st memory verse of the year, I should work on committing it to heart and be thankful Bill treated me to dinner. I pray I remain in the Word this year and don't gloss over it...even the genealogies which I have been known to gloss over a time or 2 or 30 in my life. I pray you remain in the Word this year too. For the word of God ...

I have not blogged much the last 6 months due to a couple of reasons, I spent several weeks knee deep in Ephesians and the other main reason was a feeling of total exhaustion all the time which I now know is mainly due to a broken heart I did not acknowledge because I have become accustomed to it. I cannot share the reason because I would betray a loved one’s confidence. Today a prophet who knows nothing about me other than my name and I am friends with Jack and Anna Marie Sheffield told me God would heal my broken heart which is when it dawned on me my heart was broken in an area. Having my eyes open to it brings so much freedom, though I was stuffing it down, the Lord is aware of it too. He knows me better than I know myself. 2012 arrived with little fanfare other than people stating they were glad 2011 was over or worried the Mayans might be right. I say 2012 is a big deal as is every year; we are closer to the return of our Lord and Savior. His mercy never ends and His grace ...