THE JAM YEARS - WALKING

I grew up listening to my mom's Patsy Cline album.  One of my favorite songs was "Walking After Midnight". 

Last year I listened to my hubby whistle over and over and over again "Walking in a Winter Wonderland".  Now I'm listening to him sing the Mylo Hatzenbuhler version "Walk Until My Pants Will Fit Again" over and over again.

A few mornings ago I woke up with the chorus of the song "Step by Step" going through my head.  It's an old praise song by Rich Mullins. The lyrics are a prayer that say "I will learn to walk in Your ways".  The full version is right here.  The first 3 minutes are a testimony. It's a beautiful video.  

Or you can listen and sing along with lyrics. 

In January of 2015 my hubby and I attended the Be In Health "For My Life" Conference in Georgia.   It changed our lives. We stayed a second week for the "Walk Out Week".   We are walking out this life differently because of this teaching.

In April we walked in one of the most beautiful places in the world - the Grand Canyon and we stopped to enjoy it.  

Walking around our farm is our main activity with lots of family and friends visiting every year.  June brought a wonderful celebration of walking out 70 years of marriage for our parents, John and Dolores Haugen. 

In November we walked (hiked) up the Inspiration Point - enjoying a family weekend.  

I love words.  And many times when I'm praying for people, the Lord impresses a word or words for that person on my heart.  So for our Christmas with our family I gave everyone a pair of socks with a word or words on, encouraging them to WALK for the Lord.

For "Grandpa's Christmas" - we WALKED around Jericho, tearing down the walls of our enemy by listening, following instructions, and praising and shouting out loud. We gave everyone a pair of shoes as a visual reminder of this. 

Today my morning devotions again confirms this walking theme.  "The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in Him, though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with His hand."  Psalm 37:23-24

So whether I'm walking after midnight or Jerry is walking till his pants fit again, we WILL be walking step by step with our Great God in 2016. 

Happy New Year! 

A Fast Read

I wanted a book that would be fun to read.  I wanted a book with a good ending.  I wanted a book that I could curl up in my favorite chair and read and relax and enjoy getting to know some people kinda like me.  You know, people that make mistakes, and sometimes run ahead of God, but keep trusting Him to rearrange their lives for His good.  "A Moment of Weakness" by Karen Kingsburg was that book.  Karen is one of my favorite writers as she weaves faith throughout her books.  This book is no exception.  I think I read this book when it was first released but it was fun and relaxing to read it again.   I received this book from Waterbrook Press for my honest review.  

WAKE UP!

"Lazarus Awakening" the DVD's and book and study guide by Joanna Weaver are wonderful.

There are 12 of us from different churches doing this together.  The book is easy to read and full of insight and easy to relate too.  Joanna is just like "one of the girlfriends" as she teaches from the DVD filmed in Israel.  It's beautiful!   The study guide questions help us stretch and grow in our relationship with Jesus as our Savior and Lord.  This is a great study for a women's Bible study but I do think it would work well for a couple's study also.

Thanks Waterbrook Press for sending me the DVD and study guide for my review.

The Crocodile and the Princess

They are twins.  Numbers 6 and 7 in a family of 8 kids.  In my attempt to spend time with each one of the eight kids during my visit, I sit on the floor a lot.  It was Monday morning and the youngest was napping and the others were in their home-school. 

Job is strong and rough, with a gleam in his eye,  and I have to remind him all the time “not to jump on gramma”; but he’s a boy and loves to play a little crazy.  So I became “the crocodile”.  Over and over the crocodile moved along the floor catching him and throwing him down, both of us laughing and enjoying our play.  He became a crocodile and had to be rereminded “not to jump on gramma”.  He giggled loudly and snapped at me in delight.

Liesl is a fellow instigator in getting in daily trouble with her twin but she is innocent looking and tender and loves wearing dresses.  She watched as we played crocodile and when the crocodile tried to snap at her, she backed up and said in a gentle little voice, “no, I’m a princess.”   So after at least 4 times of being told “no, I”m a princess” the gramma crocodile turned into a princess ballerina and twirled around the floor.  The  soon to be 3 year old  princess ballerina lifted her little leg and pointed her toes in princess style.  

I"m so glad I found "the crocodile" and "the princess".  Hey, you're never too old or too young to become something new.

ALL IN

Growing up in a small and very safe neighborhood with parents who loved me and took me to church on Sunday's, I learned the Lord's prayer and prayed before meals.  The closest thing I ever saw to extreme faith was my aunt and uncle, who everyone said were a little crazy, who moved their large family to Brazil to follow Jesus.   We listened to Billy Graham on television and I watched as people went forward to "give their lives to Jesus", but I never understood what that really meant.

Rifqa Bary has extreme faith, the kind that I want.  In her book "Hiding in the Light" she shares her story of giving up everything to follow Christ.  This is a love story of a young girl who finds the kind of love people are searching for.  It is not an easy journey after she finds Christ.  The road to freedom is difficult, dangerous,  and painful, but she perseveres through prayer and God's living word.  

One of my favorite quotes from the book is below.  This quote shows you that Rifqua gave up everything for Christ - and everything does not just mean material things.  It means her life, it means she was ALL IN for Christ.

"Devotion to Christ meant giving Him everything: my time, my energy, my thoughts, my resources, my dreams.  It meant denying myself and willfully allowing His new life to transform my heart from the inside out."   "This new faith of mine required that I restrain from boiling with anger toward my family or in desiring to take revenge against them for hurting me.  Rather, I was supposed to pray for them, forgive them, and love them as Christ loved His enemies.  It didn't mean b being a doormat, not defending myself,but it did mean my response toward them, because of Christ's new life in me, ould actually be characterized by the genuine strength of God's love instead of selfish, artificial strength of anger."   "I was determined to go ALL IN."

This is indeed a powerful testimony of God's love and protection which should cause you to praise the one who created you and give Him everything.  

I received this book from Waterbrook Press for my honest review.