Coastal Symphony

There is a precise, orchestrated moment, as dusk falls, when the Great Conductor lifts one hand out to silence the floating soprano melody of the graceful, gay birds, while with His other hand waves His baton across the field of waiting, baritone crickets, signaling them to pick up the melody with their smooth, soothing chirp, gently lulling the world into its restful slumber. All the while, the crashing waves underscore the movement with its thundering bass line, perfectly complimentary to both octaves.
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Through this Coastal Symphony, God whispers.
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It is perfect.
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He is perfect.
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Listen.
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Hear.
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Follow.
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Selah.

The Golden Courts

How do you tell a team of incredible servants that you appreciate all they do?
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By holding a mock awards ceremony, of course!
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Welcome to The Golden Courts 2009~
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Hosted by yours truly, a.k.a. one incredibly dorky girl~
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As the doors to Court Street's Family Life Center opened, members of our worship team made their way down the red carpet and smiled for the paparazzi. They enjoyed a fabulous meal catered by The Wild Pear, and received awards made out of Play-Doh for such silly things as "Best injury sustained on a Sunday morning" and "Best faux hawk."

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By keeping the awards light and not self-indulgent, we emphasized the fact that as members of Court Street's worship team, our goal is not to taut ourselves but rather to bring people before the throne of God. That is our ultimate goal.

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But in order to accomplish that goal, these servants sacrifice so much of their time and talents in an effort to fine tune the worship experience, eliminating as many distractions as possible so that God is magnified. I can never seem to thank them enough for what they do, birthing the idea for a fun appreciation dinner.

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So, thank you, team. I assure you, Play-Doh will not be your only reward.

BFFs

Philippians 1:3-4

Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart.

Extra! Extra!

At the crack of 9:50 (exactly 15 minutes after I pulled myself out of bed......that's right) there was a knock on the door. Under normal circumstances that early in the morning, I would have shuddered in fear, hiding my bra-less body in a dark corner, holding the mouth of my yearning-to-bark dog, waiting for the intruder to resign himself to the fact that no one was home.

But not today.

Today was the day that my husband had set up an appointment with the Cable Guy.

Did I just type that?

We have not had cable in our home for several years now. I love the fact that with just the standard channels, there are actually times when nothing is on. Yes, times when the best option is to turn the tv off and read a book or play a game with the family. I love those times. I had no desire to return to the plethora of options that keep you glued to the tv, usually tracking several "must-see" events at once.

Unfortunately, "Deal" is my husband's middle name. He simply couldn't ignore the fact that if we signed up for cable, we would lower our current high-speed internet and phone line costs, therefore paying $20 less per month for all three services than we were currently paying for just the other two.

No brainer? I don't know. We'll see.

Here's the interesting discovery I made tonight. We are all still programmed to tuning in to our old standbys. The tried and true channels that we've grown accustomed to over the years. The evening was spent enjoying shows on the channels we've always had, even though there was a treasure trove waiting for us with a touch of the remote. In fact, Ben was disappointed when he glanced at the clock and noticed that he'd missed the sports segment on the local newscast. Then he brightened and said, "Wait! I can watch Sportscenter tonight!" What a concept.

It reminds me of the untapped potential that we so often deprive ourselves of. We tarry through this world on our own power, laboring endlessly trying just to survive, when, in fact, we have the unlimited resources of an Almighty God at our disposal. It's so natural for us to rely on our own strength rather than tap into the magnificent resources of a Father that loves us so much more than we could ever know.

It's time to turn the channel.


"My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness." -God

Conversation Killers

Example #1

Setting: Walmart
Purpose: Purchasing one yard of purple fabric to cover the box of Aunt Lauren's remains for the memorial service
Salesperson: "Oh, what a great color! Are you making a cape for a Halloween costume?"



Example #2

Setting: Alaska Airlines flight
Purpose: Returning home from the funeral in San Jose
Flight Attendant Seth: "Did you and your girls have a great time in San Jose? Did you all go to Great America?"


This is my life lately. : )

For the First Time

For the first time, she can hear a bird's call.

For the first time, she can hear the whistle of a breeze.

For the first time, she can hear the waves crash.

For the first time, she can hear the flute's trill.

For the first time, she can hear the beat of a drum.

For the first time, she can hear a friend's laugh.

For the first time, she can hear her mother call her name.

For the first time, she can hear the purr of a cat.

For the first time, she can hear the whisper of a stream.

For the first time, she can hear the roar of a lion.

For the first time, she can hear the blare of a trumpet.

For the first time, she can hear the symphony of the ages.

For the first time, she can hear the vibrato of angels.

For the first time, she can hear her Heavenly Father say, "Well done."

For the first time of many.


Ben's Aunt Lauren lived a life of silence, but no more. Yesterday, she was ushered to heaven by her savior to experience many firsts. And I have a feeling that the newness will never fade, even for all eternity.

How glorious that must be.

Question

I just have one question for you:

How do you define God?

You may be close to Him, far from Him, or don't even believe in Him, but answer honestly, in your simplest terms. There is no wrong answer, this is an opinion question.

The End is Near

The world must be coming to an end. It has to be.

Deciding to watch tv for the first time in a while, I found a show called, "Hole in the Wall."

This has to be the stupidest excuse for entertainment that I have ever seen in my life. People literally just have to squeeze through a hole in a wall that is coming toward them. If they are successful they receive one point. If they fail, they fall into a pool of oddly green water.

That's it.

This somehow was approved by the suits at the FOX network. Seriously? Are we being Punk'd or something?

I am now reminded why I prefer reading over watching tv for some down time.

It begs a couple questions, however.

There are shows that I enjoy watching like Lost or The Office, or pretty much anything on the Discovery Channel like Deadliest Catch, Dirty Jobs, Myth Busters, etc.

What are the shows you enjoy? And, more importantly, do you prefer Survivorman or Man vs. Wild? It tells a lot about you. Inquiring minds...or at least my mind wants to know.

Contentment

Here's how I can rest easy:

"Your choices are not stronger than my purposes." -God

A Good Morning

Having intentions of going to bed early and finally morphing back into the school schedule, I downed an otc sleep-aid and hit the sack by 9:30 last night. Quite a change from my summertime hours. Things were going exactly as planned. I figured I could see Gabby off to school at 7:30 (praise God she has a ride to school this year!!), then crawl back into bed until 9:00, when I'd make breakfast for Greta and start our school day here at home.

Perfect.

Until 2:45am.

Whenever the phone rings in the middle of the night at our house, it always means some sort of emergency in the church. The sound goes right through me like a lightening bolt. We've had everything from the news of a sudden death to a report that someone lit the church on fire. Unfortunately, our bedroom phone was left out in the dining room that night. I darted out of bed at record speed, charging down the hall to answer the phone, sure that someone in distress was on the other end.

"Uh, is Kim there?" came the raspy, surfer-like voice of someone obviously driving down the highway.

I've made plenty of wrong number calls in my life, so I always respond with kindness in these situations. Even at 2:45am. I apologized and explained that he had the wrong number. Then, concerned that he might make the same mistake twice, I carried the phone back with me to bed, waiting about five minutes for the second mistake phone call. It never came.

Relaxing into my pillow, I drifted back to sleep, still thinking my plan should be intact.

3:05am: the phone rings again. I had been asleep for 10 minutes. Not good. Mercy gift not high. I check the caller ID, confirm that it's Kim's friend, then decide to let the voice mail take it. Problem solved. Back to sleep.

3:15am. What? Seriously? Again?

My lack of mercy gifting is now in full force. I answer not with a pleasant "Hello," but with, "Are you looking for Kim? This is the wrong number. There is no Kim here. Please do not call this number again."

Assuring Ben that everything was ok and that it was just a wrong number, I tried to return to the land of nod.

Not successful.

I head out to get a glass of water, pick up a book and retreat to the couch, reading until 4:15am.

Needless to say, my perfect morning didn't happen. Gabby left the house without me even aware that she'd gotten out of bed. Ben left shortly after that, or so I assume.

The next thing I know, I hear a sweet voice from the kitchen call out, "Order up!"

Glancing at the clock, I am amazed to read 10:25am. Oh well. At least my intentions had been good.

My morning turned out pretty darn good, though, I'd say. This is what greeted me at the kitchen table, made by the loving hands of my sweet Greta Rose: