Abba's Girl

2017 you were a long hard year, filled with death and destruction. Texas was the recipient of a hurricane which devasted a wide swath of the State and when the winds died down, the rain seemed never-ending. Then a few weeks later - a horrifying church shooting in Sutherland Springs. Recovery from the hurricane continues, many are still in tents and RVs, many are living in gutted homes, I am sure there are a huge # of FEMA trailers along Harvey's path as well. The people of Sutherland Springs continue to recover. Please continue to pray for them as well as Harvey victims.  I noticed out of town news reporters were astounded by the love demonstrated during Harvey as ordinary citizens rescued people who needed rescue. We had little looting compared to other locations ravaged by hurricanes. People were kind and loving, taking strangers into their homes for the night, for a week, for 3 months.  Generous Facebook friends sent money, Walmart gift cards, and coats to be distribu...

Beautiful crisp morning, fire in the fireplace, Bible in one hand, coffee in the other. As I settled in to read the last few chapters of Deut. I totally lost focus and began to think about what needs cleaning and the flowers I want to plant this afternoon. And now I am blogging... Come Holy Spirit, settle my mind, help me focus, show me what I need to ponder and keep as I read Scripture today. To all of you: Merry Christmas, Joyeux Noel, Frohe Weihnachten So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”  And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.    Now when they had seen  Him,  they made widely [ d ]  known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.    And all those who heard  it  marveled at those things which were...

Every once in a while I feel perfectionism trying to rear its ugly head in my life. I think it developed a firm place in my life when I was a ballet dancer, after all, I was striving for perfection. There was always someone better than me and always someone coming up behind me who had the potential to surpass me. In my late 20's it finally dawned on me, perfectionism should not be a part of my life especially after I re-established my relationship and walk with God. Something about decorating and planning a meal for a few family members seems to give the thing license to attempt to make an appearance. Christmas Cards sitting unaddressed on the kitchen table. Maybe next year. (I've let go of something!) Finally got the outdoor lights up and working yesterday. When I focus on getting everything just right, perfect wrapping, perfectly baked cookies and treats, my house so clean you could eat off the floor, every ornament placed perfectly on the tree...where is Jesus in all t...

Today the Salvation Army is coming to pick up part of our surplus to requirement as my English godson likes to say. I did not finish going through my books, I will schedule another pickup in January. How have we accumulated so much stuff!?!?!? I am donating fake plants, Christmas ornaments, and decorations, slipcovers, throws, comforter sets, throw pillows, curtains, Christmas lights, fall decor, paintings, and 15-20 books. I donated clothes earlier in the year...getting rid of the excess seems to be a process with me instead of a singular event. Oh well, as long as it completed soon. I said all that not to attract attention to my "good" deed but to say many of us have so much excess in our physical lives - too many possessions we no longer use/see, we walk right by them as well as the excess in our spiritual lives because we have not taken it to the Lord for 1 reason or another and left it at the foot of the Cross. When we ignore sin, stuff it down, or decide in our case...

When I was young, we bought our Christmas tree the day school was dismissed for the Christmas holidays. No matter the weather, that was the day my mother and I tromped around the tree lot. It smelled so good! We never bought flocked trees to my chagrin. Every year I asked for a second tree, flocked in either black or hot pink, I wanted to decorate with silver ornaments and silver garland. Again my parents said no. When dad returned home from work he put the tree in the stand and put the lights on the tree. Mom and I would hang the ornaments and carefully place the icicles on the tree. I did fight the urge to throw a big glob of icicles on the tree at times.  Did anyone else decorate with them? I kind of miss them. Finally, when I was 12 or so, my mother bought a little artificial tree for my bedroom and a strand of lights. She then handed me ribbons, sequins, beads, and construction paper and said make your decorations. I spent a lot of time making the decorations and enjo...

The weather forecast last night was a low of 40, a little sleet, and a few snow flurries. Imagine everyone's surprise to awake this morning to a couple inches of snow on the ground and a temperature of 28F! What a nice surprise! I can report many people were outside in PJs taking pictures at 5:30 a.m. and back out at 6:30 a.m. and so on to capture as many pictures as possible before the snow began to melt.  Everything looks new, fresh, and clean. When we make Christ our Lord and Savior, we may still like our old self on the outside, not so new, not so fresh, and relatively clean, but on the inside where it counts, we are new, fresh, and clean.  II Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV) says it all:  Therefore, if anyone  is  in Christ,  he is  a  new  creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become  new . We must always remember it is about our heart not our looks, I Samuel 16:7 is one of my favorites: But the...

The word crepe used to bring these things to mind: Paper as in let's buy crepe paper to decorate for the birthday party. Food as in Chicken Florentine Crepes for dinner and Crepe Suzette for dessert. (If either of these foods made an appearance at my dinner table, my husband would discern there was an imposter in my place.) Fabric for a dress, suit, pants.  Now the word crepe applies to my eyelids because they are wrinkled and look like crepe paper. Growing up, no one told me the word crepe would take on a negative connotation. (Just kidding.) I've used a shallow thing to illustrate how quickly the negative can pop into our thought life. Crepe - ugh my eyelids instead of let's celebrate someone's big day, have a gourmet meal, or buy a suit. What else brings negative thoughts to our minds? If we are not careful, our mind will be filled with negative thoughts and lies about ourselves and others. We must guard against it. Being spiritually minded brings life an...

I am expectantly waiting for Autumn to arrive, Summer has lessened her grip, the highs are now in the 80's which is much appreciated as Harvey cleanup continues. As the cleanup from Harvey ( as well as Irma and Maria) continues; the media reports have shifted focus to the fires in CA. and other situations in our nation and around the world, as they should. It is a news broadcast, not a history lesson. My focus on prayer and Scripture has been spotty at best lately. I don't know what I've read some mornings and my mind wanders as I pray. Maybe it is all the mold spores in the air...I don't think it is mold spores, but they are off the charts along with pollen. Perhaps it is fatigue. As I wait for Summer to leave and Autumn to arrive, I am reminded so should I wait expectantly for our Lord to return. No matter what else is happening in my life, your life, and around the USA and the world, we need to be mindful - Jesus is coming for His bride. Let us remain focused...

It begins today. Millions praying for our nation on the Washington Mall and in homes around the world. The Feast of Tabernacle, 50 states 50 tents. The devastation of homicide, corporate greed, abusing people, addiction, neglect, selfishness,  the devastation caused by Harvey, Irma, Maria, the Vegas Shooting, may we turn to You and never look back but look to the future with You and living out the Gospel.  Lord heal our land. Lord heal our hearts, turn us back to you. Let revival begin. Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer my life, but His that lives within me.

I don't particularly like it, but I drink 2 cups of black coffee every morning. (I do like it with cream and sugar in it, but that is more like dessert than a beverage to jolt my body into an awakened state.) I drink coffee, read the Bible, drink coffee and pray. This week has been tough, post-Hurricane Harvey fatigue has set in, work is slow for those of us back at work, bodies are tired from the ongoing cleanup, emotions are tired from the suffering around a large portion of Texas and LA and now there is Irma threatening islands and the USA. We must pray. We must be the watchman on the wall. We can't quit now. My motto and life should be: But 1st, Pray. How should we pray? Jesus tells us how: Our Father in heaven,  hallowed be  your name. Your kingdom come,  your will be done,  on earth as it is in heaven. 11  Give us  this day our daily bread,  and forgive us our debts,  as we also have forgiven our debtors.  And  lead us n...

Texans have a reputation for loving our State and perhaps bragging a bit. When I first entered the world of Facebook, I mentioned I cut out gingerbread cookies with my Texas cookie cutter and the smell of gingerbread permeated the house. A friend from another state said you have a cookie cutter shaped like Texas? I thought well of course I do, then it dawned on me, maybe cookie cutters, jewelry, swimming pools in the shape of a state is more prevalent in Texas than other states. As we enter week 2 of post-Harvey recovery, many people are still not allowed to enter their neighborhoods due to high water. Trash and debris are piled high, neighbors are helping each other, people have truly been color blind. Very little looting across the swath Harvey damaged. People are wearing shirts saying Houston Strong or Texas Strong. I understand the sentiment. I understand the hashtags. I wish the shirts mentioned love instead of strength. The love demonstrated is eye opening. Some members o...

Luke 21:25-26 And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves,   people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Is the Son of Man coming again? Yes! Tomorrow? I don’t know. But in my spirit, I feel a total eclipse visible across America and a devastating storm in the same week means something. As in tick tock, do you know what time it is? Birth pangs seem to be more intense and closer together. If Harvey does not get our attention and point us back to God, what will? Is there anything out of whack in your life? There is in mine. Is there anything you want to straighten out with God if you have 5 minutes to live? I have a few. Is this the time to pull the covers over our head or binge watch a popular TV series? No! Let’s keep our focus on Jesus and dive deeper into ...

I was never fond of the name Harvey, now I hate it. Human suffering across a swath of Texas and Louisiana. Homes and businesses destroyed by hurricane force winds, homes and businesses destroyed by 30-50 inches of rain, homes, and businesses destroyed by rivers, streams, and bayous. Today I wait for the Brazos River to crest in my town at 57 feet. My house is safe so far and I believe will make it through the river crest.  Praying for people, praying for myself, everything is in constant motion. Devastation is all around, my heart aches for people and then a little hummingbird buzzes me. He is not majestic like a beautiful stallion or elk, but he is dynamic and he brought a smile to my face. I am thankful he buzzed me.  So as mentioned recently in a previous blog, though everything around us changes, God never does.  These 2 verses speak deeply to me today: PS 118: 24  This is the  day  that the  Lord  has made; let us rejoice an...

I've been avoiding the news, avoiding TV, (made a typo and wrote TB which I am avoiding too), coasting through the August heat, looking forward to Bible Study resuming in September, and possibly a break in the heat in September. Coasting would define my life this month. I am thankful for A/C and sunscreen, but I take no delight in summer! Today, I had a "nagging" feeling I needed to watch the local weather. Glad I paid attention to the Holy Spirit and watched it. A minimal hurricane is set to hit well south of us. We will be on the wet side of the storm which means possible flooding. Tomorrow I will grocery shop, cash a check, fill up the gas tank just in case the storm moves in closer to us. Better to be prepared for the storm which applies to a literal storm or a stormy situation in our marriage, church, with family members and or friends. Are we prepared for a hard situation or coasting through our spiritual lives? We need to ask ourselves this very question for ti...

People have moved from blogging to Facebook Live, Podcasts, and Vlogs. I like to read, so of course, I still love blogs - it is 1 of those things that prove I am almost old enough to be a fossil. I have contemplated recording a message with my camera and posting it here and on my FB page, but with that comes...is there enough light, will the mic pick up my voice, when will the neighbor's dog bark, when will my dogs bark, who will knock on the door trying to sell me new windows? Technology changes, styles change, tastes change, but God does not!  God is a constant in our life, He is unshakeable, His love reaches to the heavens, His mercy is new each day.  Let His Word strengthen you, comfort you, and bless you. From the NET: Psalm 104:5  He established the earth on its foundations;  it will never be upended. Psalm 45:6  Your throne, O God, is permanent.  The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of justice. Hebrews 1:7-9  And he says of ...

One night this week, a loved one had a severe emotional meltdown due to Alzheimer's. For a moment, I thought I was going to be punched. There are no words to soothe a person who is in an emotional frenzy caused by this terrible disease.  After the dust settled, my emotions were high,  I cried, thought sinful thoughts, prayed, more sinful thoughts, more prayer, watched a re-run of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and went to bed. I slept well but was tired the next morning. During prayer, I talked to God about my nasty thoughts. I want the mind of Christ, not nasty thoughts about anyone much less the people I love. One of the verses He gave me was Philippians 4:8  Finally, brothers, whatever is  true , whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is  pure , whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. I asked for Him to give me some Scripture to cling to durin...

I bought a new point and shoot, Sony camera which films video as well. It arrived last night. I skimmed the instructions, inserted the battery and memory card. Took a few pictures using the zoom lens. I need to practice using the various settings to enhance photographs. I need more than practice filming video! The camera has a microphone, I saw it listed in the description, I have not located it on the camera. It would help if I read the instructions thoroughly instead of skimming them. I think we can treat the Bible the same way. Maybe we are reading it and come to a familiar passage and skim over it with familiarity or perhaps we come to a passage which is a lengthy genealogy, dare I say it, at times I've skipped ahead and ignored the genealogy completely. Maybe we become so familiar with a version of the Bible we miss the nuances and details. The Bible deserves to be read not perused. We are to take it as a letter from home, the holy, living word of God. We are to live it out,...