Things that "weird me out"

The other day I went in for an echo stress test. I found it interesting and was glad that I passed the test. If you've never experienced this they hook you up to an EKG machine so they can monitor the heart at all times, and they take your blood pressure (a LOT), and before you start the stress test part they do a sonogram of your heart, which they do again later when you get your heartbeat up.

I laid on my side as I had been instructed and was able to look at the monitor. Now, being in pregnancy center work, I get the opportunity to see sono's pretty often and am always amazed when I can see that little flicker indicating the heart is beating and the baby is a 7 week old embryo. Amazing.

But this was much different. It wasn't a little flicker beating fast needing time to grow. No, this was my heart and it appeared to be working hard. The part that freaked me out was watching my own heart beating on the screen. I thought about how weird it would be if it suddenly stopped beating as I was watching it. YIKES! That was a scary thought.

Then I thought about how it has been working and beating for over 50 years now. Never getting a vacation, never getting time off for a job well done. What an amazing creation we are! God willing; my heart will continue to do its job for decades to come. But in the meantime, I just wonder if there shouldn't be a national heart appreciation day.

You know, a day to just stop and thank our hearts for doing their job, relentlessly, tirelessly, continually. Maybe buy it something, like an apple in stead of a bag of potato chips or a turtle sundae. :)

Easter 2008

The Throne

He approached the throne trembling inside.

Where could he go? Where could he hide?

Time stood still. What brought him here?

He couldn’t remember and was filled with fear.

Closer now, each step seemed like his last.

He couldn’t look forward, just thought of the past.

Past sins and regrets, his life brought him shame.

“Is this heaven” he thought, then why all the pain?

Now he stood at the foot of this beautiful throne,

Looked around and saw he was all alone.

The seat it was empty. No one was there.

He wondered…should he go sit in the chair?

His hand touched the wood and what flashed through his eyes

Was the scene of a mob and loud angry cries.

He cried from a pain in his hands and his feet.

His head hurt, his side ached, he felt deep deep defeat.

Just when he thought he couldn’t take any more,

And his heart swelled with sorrow he couldn’t endure.

He let go of the chair and fell to his knees,

When Christ came, took his hand, and met all his needs.

Now standing with Jesus; face to face.

He understood fully the cost of free grace.

He bowed to his King who sat on the throne.

That place is for Jesus and Jesus alone.

Hebrews 4:16 NLT

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

Fireproof

I have a friend who is going to be in a movie! This is very exciting. I met her last year at a conference in South Carolina and we became instant friends. She lives in another state but we talk and email all the time. The church she attends made the movie "Facing the Giants" and they are releasing another motion picture in the fall. The link below is to a trailer for that movie. You will see my friend near the beginning. There is about to be a train wreck and she is the woman you see scream. She said she is shown more than that in the actual movie but it is a bit part and she is only in the scenes during the train wreck.

Fireproof Trailer <http://www.fireproofthemovie.com/>

I can't wait to go to the movie theater and see it!!!!!

Nothing really

So I wanted to post but really couldn't think of anything to blog about. Perhaps a random entry is due.

It has been a good week. God has much to teach me yet. Sometimes I wish the lessons didn't have to be so hard to learn. Yet they are. At least the ones worth learning are.

While in Singapore our son-in-law took us to his favorite mall. It is floors and floors of electronics. Stereos, speakers, you know, guy toys. Well, needless to say Gary had a blast there. Not only that, it gave him the "bug" to buy a new stereo. So we have been looking at stereos since we got back and I can't even tell you how many times I heard, "I wish we had mall here like the one in Singapore". Well we don't, so it meant traveling a lot and using up a lot of gas but it was successful. Gary was able to find the stereo he wanted at the price we were willing to pay. So we have a new system but it hasn't been a good weekend for us technically here and he hasn't quite figured out how to make all the things work on it. He will, just not this weekend.

I got a digital photo frame. YEAH! I've been wanting one for a long time and I finally broke down and used a gift card I had to purchase it. I spent last night reading the manual. Who would have thought that some day you would need a "manual" for a picture frame. Anyway, I then spent hours downloading just the right pictures on to the flash card and put it in to find out it didn't work. I'm not sure what is wrong yet. Some pictures will come up but most do not. After about six hours I decided to give up or something would end up getting broke. Hopefully I will figure it out soon.

It was a beautiful day today. Sunny, maybe in the 50's. I don't know for sure. But really nice and Gary and I went for a walk. Now we are back and I'm posting about nothing while he takes a nap. Hmmmmmm....

Worship in America

So I know I've posted about how awesome it was to go to Church in Singapore and how moving the worship there is. I just had to do this post about church here, in America, in a mid-sized church in Shawnee Kansas.

Yesterday was our first time back to church since our trip (we were all time zoned out last Sunday and slept right through Sunday morning, probably because we were up most of the night). I participate in a prayer ministry for my church that specifically prays for Sunday Services. This Friday, as you can imagine, my prayers focused a great deal on worship and the desire of my heart to feel that deep worship I felt in Singapore, and that others in my church would have a deep passion for worship.

Let me just say that God does not disappoint. While the worship is not the same as what I experienced in Singapore it was still a pretty awesome experience. I'm sure it is not because of me, or my prayers, or even having my husband next to me (usually he is on stage, part of the worship team). No, it is simply because I allowed God to be the focus of my worship time and did not allow anything to distract from my attention being solely focused on Him.

Everything else enhanced that experience. The song choices, others around me, the leading of the worship team. But really, God reminded me that true worship comes from the heart, from my heart. As I sang, prayed, and read aloud the scripture presented, the thought came into my mind that "what if this is the last time I could worship God here on earth", "what if this is the last time I could worship with these brothers and sisters in Christ". What if something happened and I woke up and found myself in His presence? Would I want to remember my last time on earth worshipping to be filled with thoughts about how others are or are not praising the Lord or do I want to know that I didn't waste even a single second of that opportunity? For me it is the latter.

So in the space of my chair, in the small area I stood, I just forced all others thoughts to leave my mind so my sole focus could be on honoring and glorifying God. My soul was moved and my heart prepared for the message that God placed in the heart of the Pastor to present. And the song titled "Open the eyes of my heart" became true as I listened to that message.

My heart was prepared to really "hear" Ephesians 2:10 -
"For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."

And I realized this is THE purpose to life. To fulfill the God given mission we have all been assigned. Not to live for self, or to merely exist, but to live for Christ and to do the "good things" that He planned in advance for us to do. In that process Christ is glorified and God is honored. In that process life makes sense. In that process there is a peace in my soul that surpasses all human understanding.

Praise God from whom all blessing flow!

Lunar New Year and hats!

One of the perks in visiting Singapore during February is that we were there during the Chinese New year (aka Lunar New Year)! It is very festive and the kids had a lot of time off (plus they took some personal holiday time too). It is like Christmas here when it comes to the family gatherings and the decorations every where you go. 2008 is the Year of the Rat as you can see from the picture here. Also, most of my pictures I have my hat on. I never did figure out how to get my hair to behave there!



Often you will get to see Lion Dances too. We saw them when they were in trucks going down the highway to whatever destination they were going to. All the while they are in the back of that truck they play the drums and make noise. Then, they go to businesses, stores, schools, homes, whatever and do a traditional dance for good fortune and happiness in the new year. It was pretty fun to watch but very LOUD! (Notice the young boy covering his ears?)

The first night we were there it was New Year's Eve and we went to Malcolm's parents home for a traditional New Year's Eve meal. It is called "steam boat" and there is a large deep pan placed on a portable burner in the middle of the table. The broth is placed in and brought to a boil. All kinds of things to boil and cook is placed around the table and we all get to participate in cooking it. Things like: vegetables, shrimp, pork, chicken, beef, sea bass, and my favorite - fish balls. There were other items but I can't remember them all. It was very good and Malcolm's parents are gracious hosts. This year while there I found out I can eat with chopsticks. The problem last year was that I kept trying to make them work using my left hand (I'm mostly left handed) but learned, like when using scissors or golfing, I can only do it with my right hand. Who knew?

Many of you have asked how Gary did on the trip. I am pleased to share that he did awesome. He had moments of being overwhelmed by everything but for the most part he really did enjoy it. Except during the time I wasn't feeling well because he tends to worry a great deal about me. Anyway, he tolerated the plane trip. The way home our flights got goofed up and we were put on a different airline (Singapore Air - best in the world!) and had a direct flight from Singapore to LA. 17+ HOURS! Now, that was a long flight and I think there was even a brief moment during the last 2-3 hours that I started to feel a little claustrophobic. Gary hardly slept at all, a little here and a little there. But overall I would give him a "B+"! And I think he said that, "if he had to", he could do it again. :)This was his most common pose while on the plane, except he usually had ear buds in and his straw hat on. We are very sad to announce that his beloved hat was lost on the journey. That hat had been to many states and countries with him. He thinks he left it at the hotel in LA. :( Bummer.