It's Ft. Lewis!

We all have been praying and waiting and praying and waiting.....Thursday was the day Eric was to hear about his new assignment. And.....

The exciting news is in: Eric has been assigned to Ft. Lewis, WA and will be a Logistics officer with the Special Forces group stationed there. Eric will report to Ft. Lewis in the fall after completing additional training. He is thrilled and so are we! This is such a wonderful answer to prayer. It will be great having Eric and Chelsea on the West Coast!

A Blessing For Everything

As I am reading through Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus, I have been delighted to discover so much about the Jewish culture and tradition. I see again and again how intricately it is connected with my Christianity. I know you are thinking, well yes….of course it is. But it is really so amazing. It’s like turning the focus of your camera and slowly seeing things get clearer and clearer; you knew basically what you were looking at, but now, with the focus fine-tuned, the view and the details are so much deeper and richer...

There is a chapter on the Jewish tradition of the blessing. Before going into the Promised Land, Moses warned the people not to forget what God had done for them. He was also concerned that in future prosperity they would not acknowledge God’s hand in that and they would be tempted to think they’d done it on their own. In order to keep God in the forefront of their thoughts, the Jewish people began a tradition of saying short prayers of blessing throughout the day.

It is as if you are momentarily ‘kneeling down’ mentally and humbly praising God for his goodness. (p.92)

What a perfect way to walk in thanksgiving to the Lord! What a perfect way to walk moment by moment with the Lord! What a perfect way to acknowledge God’s continual nearness! We see this lifestyle of prayer, blessing, and thanksgiving reflected in the life of Christ and in Paul’s exhortations in Eph. 5:20, Col. 3:17, 1 Thes. 5:17-18.

And isn’t it just like the Lord that when He reveals insights, He then asks you to focus the lens in the direction of your life…. My heart’s desire is to walk moment by moment through each day, knowing God is near, asking Him for His guidance and grace, and praising and thanking Him in all things. Even though I can’t see Him, I want to sense His continual nearness—because that’s where He is, right beside me.

Godzilla and Turkeys

NEWSFLASH: For your reading enjoyment, today's post is submitted by a Guest Blogger. (Actually it is an email update that Chris sent to Eric highlighting our latest adventures as we experience our first May in Rocklin. Maybe I can get him to write about the coyotes next time!)

Tuesday, May 12, 2009: Couple of stories from the home front--

First, I go out to get in my car to go to work. Next to the driveway just walking around eating was a large wild turkey. Sure wish I had Sydney with me. . .would have made for a fun time.

The second one Mom told me when I got home last night. Apparently yesterday afternoon she went out in the garage to get something. She was talking on the cordless phone while she went in the garage. She goes out by the refrigerator and looks down and curled up is about a 6-7” alligator lizard. Mom’s first thought was that it might be a snake but then saw it was a big ‘ol lizard. Hearing Mom tell how she tried to keep her composure on the phone after she saw the lizard was classic! The lizard then took off and went behind some boxes.

So, last night after dinner Mom and I take Sydney in the backyard to run her. We get done and Mom goes back thru the side garage door while I stay out with Sydney. Next thing I know Mom comes running out to tell me that the lizard is in the garage again. I give the leash (with Sydney attached) to Mom and we all head to the garage.

Sure enough, the lizard is laying on the garage floor along the wall right next to the door to the laundry room. Now I’ve become the “Croc Hunter”. I grab a bucket and decide I’m going to try and catch this critter. I didn’t want to grab him like a small lizard because I didn’t know if they bite (which I found out this morning from Mr. Boyes, who has had personal interaction with alligator lizards, that they do bite). So I’m trying to get “Godzilla” (which is now the name we’ve given the lizard) to run into the bucket and he (or she, hard to tell with lizards) is not in a cooperative mood. In the meantime, Mom is trying to hold Sydney back on the leash who is now practically choking herself to the point of passing out wanting to get over where I’m at. . .not because she sees the lizard but simply due to her wanting to be involved in whatever I was doing.

While Sydney is flopping around on the leash like a 30 pound trout, Godzilla and I continued our epic battle and Mom is calling out instructions to me like Vince Lombardi on the sidelines of a Green Bay Packers game. Godzilla now decides he is going to run under the carpet cleaner I have sitting next to the refrigerator. So I continue my quest and move the carpet cleaner. Godzilla runs out and I’m doing my best to herd him into the bucket as if I’m John Wayne moving cattle in one of his cowboy movies.

At this point I think Godzilla was getting tired of this game so he does his best Houdini impersonation and escapes thru some unseen opening and now, as best I can tell, has taken up residence somewhere under the foundation of the garage. Later in the evening we relay the story to Kristin who is now afraid to go out in the garage because she doesn’t want to come face to face with Godzilla.

(Stay tuned for further adventures with Godzilla!)

Mother's Day

The girls gave me these beautiful roses today...they know my favorite flower. I feel very blessed.

The Importance of Jesus' Jewishness

I am reading a book right now by Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg--it's called, Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus. It has been really interesting to read about Jewish culture and the rabbinic traditions during the time Jesus walked the earth. Even only two chapters into it, it has helped me see Jesus' ministry and teachings within the context of Jewish life, and has opened my eyes to see the significance in words, or gestures, or actions that I had only analyzed from a Western/Christian perspective. This excerpt doesn't really speak to the book's theme concerning the Jewishness of Jesus, but I thought it was such a beautiful analogy I had to post it!

Imagine for a moment that you possess the sheet music of the most beautiful piano concerto ever written, but you have never heard the whole piece perfectly performed. Then one day, you meet the composer's son, who is himself a great pianist. This man knows his father's music by heart. As he sits down to play with the orchestra, the music is so achingly beautiful that you begin to weep. At last. you are hearing the most magnificent concerto in the world being played exactly as the composer intended. This is a rough analogy of what Jesus has done for us, not merely telling us but showing us what human beings, created in God's image, were meant to become.

Change Has Come to America

I am hesitant to post anything too political on my blog, because I really did not create it for that purpose. However, being unable to avoid report after report on "The First 100 Days", practically every minute this past week, I wanted to respond! The changes that have occurred in our country since Jan 20 are significant, and many relate to family and the unborn--two areas that are on my heart.

I noticed on the blog Your Sacred Calling, Stacey posted a very interesting video. It was originally posted on the Family Research Council blog. I tried to post it here, but had no luck, so here's the link to Stacey's blog. She has titled this entry "Change Has Come to America."

The video is very revealing. It shows what Mr. Obama says and what he actually does. I don't understand how people do not see his hypocrisy and true agenda. I don't know who they are polling to come up with the results that 70% of Americans are pleased with the job Mr. Obama is doing......