International House of Prayer.........

"The IHOP" that serves a great big heaping of healthy food to your soul.
You know I love that place. The one in Kansas City.....The International House of Prayer, and they mean it buddy. They don't play church.

I DO like the other IHOP, the Pancake place as well.....but since going "Gluten Free" in my diet for health reasons..it's not as delightful for me now as it was before. I can't get the cheese blintz's or any kind of bread stuff....blah.
Eggs and grits only for me now thank you.

Okay back to the REAL "IHOP"..... I turned my computer on and believe me I rarely get up this early but I felt a prompting to do so.
I get into "The Prayer Room" at the International House of Prayer for their 6:00am "Live" prayer service.......they do this 24/7 folks and have for like some 8 years now. They do the DEEP THINGS OF GOD at this place. I've been there and I wish I could be in that type of environment all the time.
Or at least near something like this place......sigh. Help me God I'm fainting here in this "wet desert."

I know it's an oxymoron but you know what I saying, if not let me spell it our for you....
"Baton Rouge"....it's a "dry desert spiritually" for many of us. We have to seek our refreshing by "unusual" means during this "season" and we do. Thank GOD for all the resources we have in the year 2007 to help us keep our relationship with the Father fresh when you hungry and thirsty and can't find a local "oasis" to properly water and feed you. The pickings are "rare and slim" right now for some odd reason and I hate this because it's not always been this way here in this city.
Something has changed spiritually over this city and it's very wrong and sad. The "ball" has been dropped somehow.

So anyway.....I'm watching and listening and doing a bit of writing at the same time and praying along with them as the leaders call out things to pray for.....like for President Bush and his leadership and some other general things for our nation....very awesome. Then someone gets up and starts praying for "those caught in Human Trafficking and those caught in the Sex Trade".....huhhhh...."WHAT WAS THAT?????"

I'm totally caught off guard by this prayer....I'm thinking to myself......"WHAT other church in the world prays for 'those who are caught in Human Trafficking and those captured by Sex Trade' at 7:00 in the morning.....MAN I LOVE THESE PEOPLE!!! We need this. Those people who are captured and lost need it. I'm so thankful that GOD sees right where they are, because WE who live in "comfort" forget about them fast I'm afraid. We give up. We stop praying after a few weeks or maybe days even. I'm guilty.


I mean I have never even EVER heard Christians in CHURCH (like during church) ask for prayer for that kind of thing....if I have then forgive me it's been a RARE thing then, so rare I can't remember it and I know I would remember that kind of thing because it's sooooo important.

I do/have prayed for people that are brought to my attention when they go "missing" or as the Brits call them "the disappeared".....it grieved me so much as I know it did many around the world when little "Madeline McCann" from the U.K. went missing from Portugal, where her parents were vacationing. I've prayed and prayed that little girl will turn up and be given back to her parents ALIVE and unharmed.

I can't imagine someone taking her from her parents and using her in the sex trade in Europe like they suspect. It makes me sick and I wonder "what kind of monsters are these people that take children away from their parents or those that take any human soul from their loved ones???" I can't stand it......it's totally demonic.

God have MERCY on those people, and I pray they release Madeline and all others that are missing from loved ones NOW!

IF you are wanting prayer or want to be involved in very passionate, heartfelt, Holy Spirit inspired intercession.......check out "The Prayer Room"http://theprayerroom.tv/.....sorry I SO do not how to interject instant hyperlinks into this blog yet......duh.....I have got to get someone to help me do that....if you can help me.....contact me PLEASE! HA! HA!

Also, you will need passwords to get into "The Prayer Room" to watch it live...... contact me and I will get them to you if you are serious.

It is "Worship and the Word."
Check it out you will not come away hungry.

Experts find Abbey where "Robert The Bruce" was crowned!

For all you history buffs and for all of you that that like myself loved the movie "Braveheart".....
here's some interesting news.
I've been meaning to write something about this whole thought for about a year now but haven't gotten to it......one day when I get a moment I am going to talk to you about the whole "Braveheart" thing which is very dear to my heart and always will be.
I love that kind of "spirit" in people and I think the "church" should be just as passionate as William Wallace was for the good of his people and for Scotland and the principles that were being violated and we aren't and it's SICK. It really ticks me off how complacent we are. I include myself in this so don't think I am judging anyone.

I went to Ireland, about a year after that movie was released and during one of days we had some "free time" we were in upper Ireland and at one point we were on the coast and only about 20 miles from Scotland across the water of course.....we wanted to just at the very LEAST go over and set our "feet upon the ground" in Scotland.....but we weren't able to.

Hopefully....I will get to do that sometime, I'm planning on it in my heart it's all in God's hands right now.
Anyhow.....for now.....here's some cool news from the BBC News/Scotland.

"Lost" coronation abbey unearthed.
Experts have found the abbey where Robert the Bruce was crowned
Archaeologists have unearthed the site where Robert the Bruce was crowned king of Scotland.
The location of the abbey at Moot Hill, the original home of the Stone of Destiny, was forgotten centuries ago.

But it has now been identified by experts from Glasgow University who have been surveying the grounds of Scone Palace for the first time.

They used scanners to detect buried structures and found part of the abbey church and a bell tower.

The coronation of Pictish and Scottish kings took place at Moot Hill for hundreds of years, and a royal abbey was built there by 1120AD.

Tremendous importance

The archaeologists have been examining the site using a sophisticated technique based on geophysical remote sensing.

Project leader Oliver O'Grady said: "We have been really surprised by the high quality of the survey results so far, revealing a very clear outline of the great west end of the abbey church, complete with at least one bell tower.

Some major gaps are being filled in our understanding of Scone's amazing history.

Suzanne Urqhuart, Mansfield Estates

"The tremendous importance of Scone - where kings were made and where Parliaments met - is only matched by how little we know about the reality of the place.

"Now we can locate the essential outline of the church and hints of where the cloister and other buildings stood, and all without putting a spade in the ground."

Suzanne Urquhart from Mansfield Estates, which runs Scone Palace, added: "To see the plan of what was a beautiful Gothic church emerge from the ground after being lost for 400 years is very exciting.

"Some major gaps are being filled in our understanding of Scone's amazing history, and we are now talking to the archaeologists about how the project might develop."

The survey has also uncovered evidence of a massive ditch around Moot Hill as well as information about its construction.

Vegas BABY! *and a little bit of drama*

Hammer time.

I am totally giggling to myself that when I thought of my trip to Vegas, “hammer time” just came to mind. I am SUCH a geek. *runs off to buy hammer pants for Celyne*

This week has been a bit of a drama-fest in the love shack I call home. Not only has it been crazy busy, but I have been pre-menstrual and emotional. Pre-menstrual = psycho. You know little nagging thoughts will creep into your brain and then not 5 min later they are a MAJOR problem and causing so much stress that it’s all you can do to stop from bursting into tears? Meet me this week. I accept SOME of the responsibility for being over emotional, but not all…because really, my thoughts and feelings should always be valid and listened to. I can admit, I am a ‘bottler’ and I let things fester and bubble until something makes me crack and I let it alllllll go at once. This, my faithful friends, is a fault that I will probably always possess because I HATE confrontation more than I hate turnips. And I guess I *think* it’s better to let it all out in one dramatic display then little confrontations over time. Yeah, possibly a dumb blonde move on my part…BUT, it is who I am.

Last night was that ‘dramatic display’. It’s funny…when someone you love is not affected by your tears unless you are actually injured physically; it makes you cry harder knowing that it doesn’t matter if you’re injured INSIDE. In my house, tears don’t work and yet I cry harder. I have never used tears to get my own way, and that’s not what happened last night, I was just completely not in control of my emotions no matter how hard I tried to be. And this is all because I bottled and festered and bubbled until I had not one, not two, and not even three, but maybe a million things I needed to get off my chest. I have only myself to blame right?

We both said some mean things, things that if I think about them today, I want to cry again. It’s after 4pm the following day and my eyes are still puffy…BUT, I feel better about the whole thing. And that’s enough right? Love CAN keep us together…as long as you’re willing to accept the imperfections in each other. Not love those imperfections, but accept them. Make sense?

I am still learning every day about this whole ‘relationship thing’… because no matter how many you have been in, they will all be different. Every day is a new adventure really, because it takes more than a lifetime to really get to know the person you are spending your life with. Short of a brain scan, we will never know their thoughts unless they tell us, and we all know men don’t like to speak about anything except sports, food, and sex (and on occasion, how awesome their smelly farts are). Emotions are something they think women made up to garner some kind of control. Little do they know we actually KNOW they are quite simple beings and like to keep them on their toes.
They can’t live with us, nor without us…so don’t you think it’s time they succumbed to our demands and just CHANGE when we ask them to? Geesh.

Anyway...I realize that I am quite sporadic at keeping this blog up to date despite my repeated promises to do so, my announcing that I will be MIA until after the long weekend means absolutely jack shit to you…. But I am announcing it anyways. Please miss me. Really and truly miss me.

Pain......ouch.

Sorry to have been away so long.......it's hard to be creative and to even want to write when you don't feel good. July has been the "month of pain" for me.......ugh!
Humidity, heat and tons of RAIN do not mix well with my body and the infirmity that plaques me.
This year has been like living in Seattle........but WAY hotter!!! Rain every day or every other day........like today.....we have a "tropical front" hitting us now and it should last for several days....lovely.

I now find myself watching the "weather reports" all the time like a farmer or an old person.....now I understand why they do it.......my family used to do it when I was a child......you always listend to the "noon report" on the radio mainly.....I had both old people and some farmers in my family. Now I totally "get" why they were checking out the weather.......to not only "consider the wind and sky" but to see if their tired old bones were going to "ache."

It's been a drag I can tell you that. I've been locked away in my house mainly.....
I DO go swiming 3 times a week at a private pool with a group of women whom I call......"The Pool Ladies." I will tell you more on them later. No swiming today of course because of the yucky weather.

I DO hurt severely, and I never understood pain and suffering before.......now I do. I'm not proud of that but I must say my "Compassion level" for hurting people or people in pain is way different now. Personal perspective does wonders for us doesn't it?

Some of us learn by the school of "Hard Knocks"...I have always been one of those kinds of people. Could that be because I am from Missouri......you know
"The SHOW ME state?"

I haven't any worries though compared to the several families that my daughter and her friends are now on their way to go see.........it's 10:30am here in Baton Rouge, and Ariel was awoken early by phone calls today stating that 2 friends of her and some of her other best friend's were killed last night in a terrible accident on the Interstate between Baton Rouge, and Hammond. There were several young boys in the vehicle and of course.......a semi truck was involved. There have been SO many accidents on that stretch of Interstate in the past MONTH!

God help these families.......they must be shattered. The young men that lived will have so much to endure in the days ahead physically and mentally.
I will update you more when I find out the information, it's all foggy right now, and hasn't hit any of the newscasts or newpapers even yet.
Pray for these families and that all these kids will be TOUCHED by this accident and will realize how "fleeting" that life is.
It really is just a "vapour."

Facebook

Here's a funny story.

I thought I was the only person at work who browsed facebook. I just assumed that since I was asked not to go on it, that *I* was the reason the IT department was asked to monitor how much time was being spent on the internet with facebook being the main focus. Well...I was wrong. It seems facebook is also an office addiction because everyday I am hearing someone's disappointed cries that facebook is now BLOCKED at work.

I am a little frustrated though, to hear that many people spend a lot of their time on it during the day, and my FEW visits lasting no longer than 5 minutes was a cause for concern. There is that small part of me that wants to complain and get everyone else in trouble too so I am not labelled the internet over-abuser or something like that...is it really fair that I should be the one management thinks is abusing the interent on work hours?!? Absolutely not.

I talk big though. I wont tell.

Even though I wanna

*pout*

cheech

so yeah... a post. Why do I always think about writing in here when I dont have anything to say?

I leave for Vegas in 6 days...and Celyne ariives in 10. I am only slightly excited about the first 4 days because I get to experience my first tradeshow as an exhibitor...but really, I am MORE excited about the two days alone with Celyne!! *rubs hands together* Muahahahahaha...

She's in trouble.

So my first question...how the heck are we going to survive without our daily dose of you know what? Honestly...a whole week for me, only a few days for Celyne...BUT, it's almost like rehab isnt it?!?!? "they tried to make me go to rehab, i said no...no....no"...

Im a geek.

Ciao

We’re back.

Well, we’ve been back since verrrrry early Sunday morning, but we’re finally back into the swing of every day life (well me anyways, can’t speak for Vero!)

We left Thursday morning before noon and got into Merritt at about 1:30pm. Saranna’s campsite was extremely easy to find, so we set up, changed into our swimming gear and headed into the river for some cooling off. I am not kidding when I say that I had sweat dripping sunscreen into my eyes. I wasn’t FULLY prepared for the heat, but it did get easier through the 4 days. We spent a few hours cooling off before we headed back into the campsite for dinner. Unfortunately, our grill was less than stellar and we had to make do with a very slow cooked chicken burger. Very delish! We got all prettied up and headed to the bus stop to take us into the concert grounds. When we were picking up our arm bands, my Dad came over and handed us VIP PASSES! They already had them, but won a set in their program. It came with one free dinner, and the whole weekend access to the VIP Tent (Free pop, water, your own bathrooms…hanging out with the ‘stars’, or lesser known acts…)We browsed the little tents set up with merchandise, Vero picked up a cowboy hat, and we found our seats.

The Road hammers were the first act, and they were awesome!!!! Jason McCoy can be my boy toy anytime. Gretchen Wilson was on next, and I must say her voice is unbelievable. There was nothing to distinguish it from her CD, it was that good. She performed mostly from her newest CD (which I don’t have) so I didn’t know ALL the songs to sing a long to…but it was still a great show! We headed back right before the encore so we missed Redneck Woman :-( .

Friday we headed into town for a BIG breaky at ABC Restaurant. The wait was long, but the food was worth it. We picked up ice, headed back to the campsite, and spent the afternoon in the river again (well...AFTER the wind/rain storm that happened between noon and two when we napped). With the heat, there really isn’t much more you can do! We broke into the booze early, cooked up some burgers, and headed back in to the grounds. THIS was the night I was looking forward to! We missed Johnny Reid, but got there in time for Carrie Underwood…and while her show was a little tame, I knew all the words so I was up on my feet singing like an idiot for most of it! Reba was next, and she really was the highlight for me! She is an unbelievable performer!

Saturday morning we went for breaky at my parent’s campsite for bacon and Eggs, and then spent the rest of the morning and afternoon in the river. Met some interesting people and just vegged. We then headed to the grounds for our VIP dinner. My steak was actually gross, but the baked potato and all the fixings was awesome. Jamie O’Neill took the stage and we managed to grab seats I the 10th row with my parents. Those seats were empty, so we weren’t THAT worried about someone coming to ask us to move. We spent the rest of the evening there. After Jamie (whose a sweetheart!) Emerson Drive came out. Now, the lead singer is unbelievably sexy, but unbelievably WEIRD. He was humping all of his band mates on stage, and I am not lying when I say they looked like they weren’t enjoying it all that much. But they put on an amazing show…and I think I might have a little crush on the guitar player. We left right after in favor of the campsite over CCR… but on the way back decided to pack up and go home. Slightly retarded we realized when we started pulling pegs out of our tent in the dark. Vero is MUCH stronger than I originally though, because half those pegs are STILL in Merritt because we couldn’t get them out. The drive home was uneventful…I kept nodding off and forcing myself to wake up in order to keep Vero awake driving. It was a struggle!! We got home at 2:00am and just CRASHED. I slept till 11:30am the next morning…and missed all the unpacking… DAMN *wink*.

I am already planning for next year. My goal is to fit into a bikini so I don’t feel so out of place in my shorts in the river… HAHAHAHAHA.

Hanging in there.......

Right now I've been watching a "web streaming live broadcast" online from the "International House of Prayer" it's a church in Kansas City......it's been phenomenal. It's brought me to tears. I always wonder after visiting the campus there which we have several times, and after watching their services online......

"Why can't I find that type of move here in Baton Rouge where I live?" Haven't quite found the answers for that right now.....but I know we are here in Baton Rouge for a reason, even though these past nearly FIVE years have been such a dry, desert place for us.

Regardless of my hearts cry and mind ponderings, I know God is faithful and has a purpose to all things.

Right now the worship team at the IHOP are singing a song and it's a heart cry of mine so I am going to write you a few of the words.......

"I want to be found FAITHFUL, I want to be found STEADY, I want to be found FAITHFUL until the end. I want to live before your eyes, I want to stay before your gaze, keep me steady.
I want to be found FAITHFUL, I want to be found STEADY, I want to be found FAITHFUL until the end. IF I try to save my life I will loose it, but if I loose my life for your sake I will find it in the end."

Yeah, that is my heart cry today and every day. God fulfil your word in our lives!

Okay......while the music continues to play I have to update you all on a few things....here are some needs and concerns I need you all to be aware of.

Right now our good friend Susan's Mother Delores Munson who has been a brilliant woman of God and friend to our family and many on this earth is passing on to her eternal home. The hospital staff pulled her off of all life support at 9:30am this morning and I have been waiting for "the call" that she has has been found "Faithful until the End!" I rejoice that she will be at the gates today and passing through them........maybe even now as I write this.

My husband Don and I will be traveling to Beaumont this Saturday and be there for the family and Don will be doing the visitation and conducting Delore's funeral on Sunday. So please remember us and the family during these days.

This past Monday my Step Grandmother died in Hannibal Mo......her funeral was this morning I am praying for my Grandfather who is 91 and left weak and frail after loosing his second wife to cancer now. Please pray for his soul. I am very concerned about him.

This morning another might woman of God's memory was recognized in Springfield Mo. Joyce Dement, wife of Spud Dement passed away Monday as well. Spud's parent's used to go to our old church Hosanna where we worked on staff at years ago......Don and Spud did the funeral service for Bro. Dement, Spuds Father when he passed away several years ago. Joyce and Spud were Veteran Missionaries to Europe after he worked for many years in Springfield Mo. in the Missions department. This was a sudden illness that came upon her once returning to the States this spring. Her passing will leave a void I know in her family's hearts and in the work they were doing in this world.

Also, Larry and MaryAnn Gutweiler's Mother died this week and her funeral is today as well. Larry and MaryAnn are some of the kindest people in all of Baton Rouge and Larry has a HUGE "internet" prayer and helps ministry along with heading up the Cooking for Christ ministry at HPC. Thank GOD for those people. I like them. No pretense there with them at all.

Busy week at the gates of heaven wouldn't you say??? We don't even know the half of it.
Two teenage girls from outside of Baton Rouge passed those gates this week too......their funerals were held jointly at their church in Walker. They said that these girls "loved Jesus and couldn't wait to get to heaven and their lives were a total witness of God".......this week they got their wishes to get to heaven and they both went at the same time during a fatal car accident. A third teenage passenger survives but wonders why? It's okay.....her "expiration date" just wasn't up yet. Pray for this little girl. She will be needing it in the days/years ahead.

This morning I talked with Shawn Wilkerson who is in Vancouver at this moment with the Missions team from Healing Place church. They need prayer to finish the tasks they have been working on there this past week. They have been able to do some awesome ministry with inner city kids by doing a "Soccer Clinic" and also have been doing some unexpected work at an inner city food type kitchen place called "The Night Shift"......they have had some real eye opening experiences there and I would have to say this has been one of those "divine appointments" for them. VERY COOL!
Remember to pray for them in the next few days as they begin their trip back home to Baton Rouge. They will arrive back here on Sunday sometime around noon or so.


These are the updates for now.........I'm including two photos at the top of this writing.....one is of the Chaissons.....our very good friends. They are heading to their new Missions "outpost" today....it's a long journey and will take them a few days by plane to their destination of "Nauru"......so pray for them please. These are AWESOME servants of the Lord. None better..... that I promise you. I LOVE MISSIONARIES, they are my "heros" in life. Of course my favorite one is Jesus who was the FIRST EVER Missionary to hit planet earth. Thank GOD He came!

The second photo is of a rich bloom on my hibiscus plant on the patio.....things on earth, some are plants some are peopleh..... burning up right now due to the weather and due to lifestyles and they've come to the end of theirselvs or the end of their lives.

Yet, don't loose sight of the beauty that is still out there. The small things that God has made special for us to view......there is still time to focus on people, and things......even the small things God has created for our good pleasure to just look at.
Hang in there folks.....this is something Delores Munson used to always tell me and write to me in cards.......I will now say it in her memory because it's burned in my heart forever because she always reminded me of this truth.......

"WE WIN!!!"

I love me some cowboys!

So we are leaving for Merritt in less than 24 hours. I am unbelievably STOKED. All packed (well clothes anyways!) with the food, booze, and treats all purchased and ready to go!

So now that I am broke… lets hope some nice fellows on he ride back can front us gas money so we can get home HAHAHA!!

Wish us luck, good times, and a safe journey. I’ll write a nice post on Monday to describe the debauchery (if I am not swamped at work for missing two days! Which is likely…so you might have to wait till next Wednesday!)

Oh, and can someone text message me the unbelievable news that Perez can’t reveal till Friday? I am so lost without my internet. (this means you Nadine!)

Wise words on a Sunday

Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

Someone sent me an e-mail today at the end of it they had signed it this way.
I thought it was good and would share it with all of you.
I needed to hear this myself today.

just a big ol' plain VENT

I guess it’s about time for another vent post huh? It’s been awhile. To preface though, I am really looking forward to next week and my ‘time off’ from life to just relax and be stress-free…It’s just TODAY I am frustrated, and need to get some of it out.

I hate being talked down to, one of my biggest pet peeves to be honest. Maybe it’s the subconscious knowledge that I am not as smart as I *think* I am, or even want to be, but regardless I find it extremely hurtful to be ‘patted on the head’ like a small child. I have opinions, I have thoughts, I have ideas…and they are valid damn it! Yes, I do have ‘blonde moments’ from time to time, and they can even been funny even for me…but I have feelings, and it seems as though lately I have either been more sensitive than usual about it, or it’s just become more frequent.

Take the house renovation for just one example. I don’t have a lot of knowledge about home renovations in the least bit, nor do I pretend to know much. BUT, I do put in the effort to learn. I get in there and do the dirty work because I WANT to do it, because it’s my house too, and because I want it to look a certain way too. I have done quite a lot of things to the basement suite that I have never done before, and besides being proud of what I have done, I am also thrilled that I am learning how to do these things. But with all that, I still feel like I am being belittled, like the cutesy little blond girl who can’t break a nail. (I called myself cute, you heard me…or read me…!) But I have noticed one thing, if I don’t say anything or ask questions, things eventually get done. BUT, if I say anything it will get left to the last minute. That’s not fair. But the renovations are just ONE example where I feel like I am considered a dumb blonde that just needs to be humored when she talks.

I don’t deserve to be told to shut up. I don’t deserve to be talked to like a child. I don’t deserve to be belittled in front of my child, or brought down to her level. I don’t deserve to be ‘patted on the head’ with a patronizing smile. I definitely do not deserve to be considered stupid either.

I guess I am just fed up with it. One time, a long time ago, there was this joke about me. “At least your pretty”… every time I said something that I obviously didn’t think about before I spoke. Yes, I tend to do that sometimes…not because I am stupid, but because I don’t think before I speak. Simple as that. Anyways, it was funny for a bit (sort of like ‘easy like Sunday morning right?!? *private joke*) and even now, I find it funny on occasion because I DO KNOW I don’t think before I speak (I don’t kid myself). But does that make me stupid? Does it mean I deserve to be thought of as stupid???? Am I being too sensitive? Am I driving myself mad with all of this?!?!

YES! YES! YES!

Oh, and who thinks its ‘ok’, to plan a trip away to a lake without your significant other to go hang out with a buddy and their significant other? I don’t. *pout*

Independance Day. Fuckers

Is it Wednesday already?!?! Happy July 4th all you fuckers ‘down there’.

This weekend was a teeny eeny bitty exhausting. So here is the short version of it: Friday night was E’s Birthday dinner at his ‘rents. (Crab and Steak merci beaucoup!) Saturday was a gong show I can’t even remember… moving E’s grandma into a retirement community, getting some work done on the suite (purchasing lino) and cleaning/preparing for the housewarming. Sunday was the party. SO MANY people (i.e.: Kids) that I could barely control my twitch, so much food that wasn’t eaten 9which was shocking considering the amount of people!) And so damn hot! So much for all that rain the weathermen kept predicting, huh?! It was probably 30 degrees mid-day, and the mosquito’s were in full force! For those of you that came, thank you so much for the lovely and thoughtful housewarming gifts!

Monday became the day from hell. It started off good with some lovin’…but that’s about where it ended. We laid down the underpad and carpet for the basement suite bedroom, cleaned up the bathroom a bit, and packed up the trailer with E’s parent’s BBQ and the table for his Grandma. We headed out to Maple Ridge to deliver the BBQ, then to Burnaby to drop off the table. We were running a bit late to meet the lady in Vancouver for all the appliances for the suite (Fridge, stove and stacker washer and dryer) so we bypassed E’s Grandma’s only to get a phone call from the lady that SHE was running late. So we sat around waiting for her in Vancouver for about 20 minutes. Unfortunately, her town house is a three level with about 400 square feet a floor with a winding staircase and none of the appliances were removed, or even unplugged. I am not lying when I tell you it took us (ok, Eric did most of it) two hours to get everything out and into the trailer and truck. Eric not only bashed his finger, but completely stained his shirt and shorts with gross shit that was under the lip of the stove. I think his shins have more bruises that not, and his poor back is STILL aching. And to top off the whole day, we were both still pretty congested from this shitty cold we can’t shake. E is too the point where is breathing is becoming haggard and its waking him up frequently throughout the night. It sucks, because it wakes me up too!

So we are erasing Monday from our memories.

Today I got an email on Facebook from a friend from so long ago. I miss her SO MUCH! She moved to the States on a soccer scholarship while I was in Washing ton getting married (I’m such a tool)… her school was prepared to offer me a scholarship the following year to go play, and I turned it down, only to have it offered to another girl we played with whom I have always competed with. Shame. I can’t wait to catch up!

One more week till Merritt, or should I say, one more week till a complete four day mental shut down?

Giddy up!

GOD bless America!!!

Happy 4th of July!
Don't forget to pray for our troops overseas and here in the States that keep this country FREE!!!

"Concert for Diana".....

This concert event was very surreal for me in many ways. The concert was orchestrated by Prince William and Prince Harry Windsor in honor of the late Princess Diana, whose 46th birthday would have been today.

For a few brief days.....we would have been the same age. I guess that fact alone took me back to the time of her sudden death. It will always be one of those moments for me where when someone mentions an important event and suddenly you remember EXACTLY where you were and what you were doing at the time. I can't really tell you why that happens either......except that this unexpected death was such a sad thing for me and like many of you....I didn't even know the woman.

I think we all felt a "connection" in some way to her. She was a Mother, she was vibrant, she loved people, she was beautiful and then abruptly, without any expectation of it she was gone at age 36. It just was a terrible shock to my system. This was something that I didn't see coming on a Saturday night while ironing clothes, and it was happening to such a seemingly successful and "good" person.

I guess I always felt that she was such a very sad and troubled lady you could see it on her countenance.
She truly was a person very much in the spotlight, not because she wanted to be.....but because of "who" she was connected to.

However, you could not then and still can't today deny that this woman had a big heart and she was genuine and she sure was "seeking" something not knowing what she was looking for. I think she thought it was "love" that she needed, to feel validated. We all knew then things in her life weren't going so grand despite the fact that she was "Her Royal Highness." She became "Royalty made by marriage."
It's the thing fairy tales are made up of, but her life was no fairy tale as we were all learning, we had been witnessing first hand over the past few months and years just what terrible "rejection" the poor woman had gone through.

The night she was killed, I was doing my "Saturday night ritual" of getting my family's clothes ironed and laid out for church. The house was very quiet and for a change....everyone was in bed asleep.

About 10:30pm one of the Board member's wives from the church my husband and I were Pastoring at the time called me and said...."Are you watching the news? Princess Diana has been in a terrible car accident."
I always thought that it was so odd that this particular lady called me that night because she never did like me. Ever. In fact she rarely called me. Though had this lady never of called me, I wouldn't have known the life and death struggle that Diana was going through at that moment. I wouldn't have been a part of seeing and participating in history.

I immediately turned on the TV set and began to watch the news reports on all the channels, switching back and forth looking for new, news and I remember that the incoming reports were scattered. Information was conflicting but it seemed that at the time of these first reports she was alive but in very dire condition. I prayed. I made some phone calls and prayed some more.
I know many people did the same thing this thing at this same time.....this accident didn't didn't happen undercover.

This was Diana's last shinning moment, and many of us, all over the world would unwittingly be a part of her going down in history and into eternity.

Not long after I had turned my TV on began watching the news coverage of terrible accident that she had been in .....the news reporters finally confirmed that Diana had died at a Paris hospital.
I was so GRIEVED. I remember I became totally OBSESSED by the news. I went to my bedroom and lay beside my then sleeping husband, and watched the TV reports and literally wept all night long.

The next day I HAD to go to church. I couldn't just stay home even though I hadn't had any sleep all night long. My heart was so heavy for Diana's sons William and Harry and for the British people because I knew they had suffered a loss and that her children and her people would never be the same again. We had to pray for them. We had to pray they could see God and His loving kindness through this event despite the tragic circumstances that had happened at the end of Diana's life.

During our Sunday morning church service, at prayer time, my husband asked the people to "please pray for the People of Great Britain and the children of Princess Diana".....I could not believe the weeping I was hearing in our church. This of course made me cry even more because I can't stand it when someone is hurting. It hurts me for them too.....even though I myself was hurting terribly on the inside as well.

All of the next few days, me and my family and friends joined all the rest of the world. We watched and mourned with the people of England on the loss of Diana.

Time has now told her story, along with countless book authors, and we all know the good, the bad, and the ugly about her now don't we? Still to me, regardless of how she lived her life, it's all about how she took those last few breaths in her final moments.

You see, she wasn't killed instantly..... she had time. That my friends was the GRACE of God! She was allowed precious time to get it everything "right" in her heart which was at that very moment damaged, and giving up life...yet it was still beating, even after the terrible accident she had just been in.

She had time to make peace with herself and her God and only He knows what happened in the end.

Earlier in this writing I stated:
"This was Diana's final shining moment, and we would all be a part of her going down in history."

In my heart of hearts, I think Diana was a "good person"....still that wouldn't be enough on that fateful, last night of hers in Paris. Not enough to get her into heaven, because being a "good" person or a "charitable" person, or a "loving" person, just wasn't enough for her and it will never be enough for any of us to be guaranteed Heaven.
No matter how many AIDS patients she had encountered and no matter how many Angolan land mine survivors she had held and loved on. It didn't even matter that she met with Mother Theresa, those good things were not going to "add up" for her when it came to eternity.
Diana did alot of "Good deeds" in her lifetime.....probably more than you and I. Yet even though she was a Royal Princess, it couldn't gain her entry into the gates of heaven and it will work the same way for each one of us. We must ask Jesus to come to us, to forgive us and to live in our hearts, even if our heart is like Diana's was...damaged and beating it's final beats.

This final ride of her life lasted only 5 minutes.
Her "life clock" was already ticking once she left the Ritz and sat down in the back seat of the ill fated Mercedes that whisked her and it's three other occupants away. When the Black Mercedes crashed, Diana's "expiration date" was fading fast......the Princess was now slipping into eternity
Yet she still had time.

Time to make the biggest decision of her life. That is why it was so important for those who were praying to have done so during those crucial last few seconds that she had left. Many were interceding on her behalf, praying for her to call out to God with one of her last breaths, to ask Him that she be ushered into heaven and into the presence of "The KING of Kings."

You know what?
I think she got it right and made it right those last few moments of her life.
I really feel that she cried out to God in her pain and despair, passing into eternity and into the arms of the person whom she had been "seeking" for all her life and didn't even know it.
In that Paris hospital, after her heart stopped beating, I think that for the first time ever Diana felt genuine PEACE and love. She then was on her way to her new home one that wasn't built by human hands.