Lord, send a revival....

Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee? - Psalm 85:6

Growing up in an old country Baptist church, I always looked forward to revival time. It lasted from Sunday to Sunday. A guest preacher would come and bring the message every night. We would have special singing and testimonies. It was a place to go to renew our spirit, restore our faith and be blessed by the overall atmosphere of an old fashioned revival.

A revival is a cleansing of the soul. A chance to let God strengthen us and shore us up for the things ahead. A revival is a thank you for what God has done for us. It's an opportunity to worship and grow stronger. To rejoice and praise. To drink from the well. To allow our cups to run over.

But must a revival come in a form of a scheduled meeting? Can we not start a revival in our own hearts? We must daily pray for this cleansing, this restoration, this renewal. If we want God to send us a revival, we must first revive ourselves.

How many times as Christians do we set around and say "We need a revival." It is up to each and every one of us to start the revival. Rekindle your soul and light a fire inside yourself. Strengthen your bond with God. Fall to your knees daily praying for God to renew that feeling you felt when you were a new Christian and you felt so close to God.

He has never left us. He is still God. We are the ones who are letting the world keep us from a revival. It is not God. He is always there, ready and willing to send a revival.

My prayer today is that God will open the doors to our hearts and let the revival begin within.

Choices....

I didn't write anything this morning as I had much to do before heading out for the day. I've enjoyed a wonderful lunch at Steak & Shake and spent some time browsing the aisles at Hobby Lobby. Found some gorgeous variegated yarn, but not sure what I will make with it. I just couldn't resist.

How many of you who like to craft, buy things you see and have no immediate plans for them? That is my weakness. I'll see something I like and go ahead and buy it so I'll have it. Then it may be sometime before a brainstorm hits and I'm able to use it. But it is good to have stock on hand so when you brainstorm you have choices.

Isn't that what life is about? Choices. You can choose to go your own way and make your own mistakes, shrugging when things go wrong and saying "Oh well, that's life."

Or you can choose to follow God, allowing Him to help you through the mistakes and guide you in making the right choices. I choose to follow my Lord. He is my road map to success. He is my GPS when I come to the fork in the road and don't know which way to go.

As the bible tells us in Joshua 24:15 - ....Choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

I hope you choose to attend a worship service in the morning to give God the glory for helping you with the choices you each face. May you all have a blessed weekend.

The fountain of youth...

The Fountain of Youth is a legendary spring that reputedly restores the youth of anyone who drinks of its waters.

I beg to differ. For me the fountain of youth is the twinkle in a grandchild's eyes. It's the little giggles you hear late at night coming from "their" room at your house when they are supposed to be asleep. It's the laughter you hear as the waves splash them around in a pool. It's awe in their voice when they walk down to the river with you and there are a gaggle of geese on the banks. It's a Sunday School teacher telling you that your oldest grandson informed them he is allergic to goose poop. It is your precious little granddaughter sitting still so you can french braid her long silky hair. It's your youngest granddaughter jabbering to you only to start running down the hall yelling "I got fire call!" It's your youngest grandson sitting on the big red ball outside Target and telling you he can't go to the car yet because he is riding up to heaven to talk to Jesus for a minute.
 
It's taking all four of them to the zoo and watching the wonder in their little eyes as they watch the huge elephants or stare at the tall giraffes. It's taking them to the petting zoo and having a baby goat nibble on one of their pony tails. It's having them all over to the house and putting on some music and watching them dance and sing. It's the sheer joy and extreme happiness in just being with them, in loving every minute of it, being entertained by everything they do. But most of all, the fountain of youth is in those moments when little arms wrap around your neck, little lips pucker up to give you a kiss and in that moment of sheer bliss when they utter the most precious words in the English language...I love you, Mamaw.
 
That is the fountain of youth.

Is it just me or is fall in the air....

I love September. The final holiday of the summer season. The start of football season. A trip to Carver's Apple Orchard. A two to three day marathon of making homemade apple butter with my hubby. Schools back in and it's ABC's and 123's. Pulling the fall decor out of the closet to redecorate the house. Big pots overflowing with colorful mums. Warm days and cool evenings. Sitting on the back patio swing watching the Canadian geese come back. The Vols. The smell of smoke drifting down from the campground up river. Dragging out fuzzy socks for the early morning chill. Choir practice for the Christmas program. Working on crafts for the upcoming holidays. Fall festivals and county fairs. I love September.

Over the hump day....

Definition of Wednesday: The day of the week when you realize all the things you didn't accomplish on Monday and Tuesday.

Wednesday morning finds you in a panic because you realize it is the middle of the week and there is still much to be accomplished before the weekend. You devise a game plan and get the ball rolling to handle those hot projects you wanted to complete. During the morning hours, you drag and time seems to stand still. Around noon, you perk up. You are past the turning point and the week is all on the downswing from there. You get a burst of energy and wade through the tasks that have been delayed all week. By the time the day is over, you are in better shape and now have a game plan to complete everything by the weekend.

We all have mixed feelings about Wednesday. We are not happy that we aren't where we want to be, but we really don't care because Friday is almost here.

So enjoy your hump day. And may you accomplish what you need to get done so you can look forward to a relaxing weekend.

It's a guy thing....

I was speaking with a dear friend this week and we were comparing notes on the funny things men do. It made me think about how different we are. Here are just a few of the differences I've thought of......

The "I don't feel good" man: When a woman gets sick, she has to continue to make sure there are clean towels in the cupboard and hot food on the table. You will work like a slave all day and after dinner is over and all the dishes are done and all the kids are settled, hubby will comment "Why didn't you say something, I could have helped." You want to come back with "I figured when you saw me laying my head on my arm while I was mashing the potatoes, you would have helped if you wanted to." But let him get a little sniffles and he needs to have a pity party. And if you get a little snappy with him, you are sure to hear a whiny "I'm sorry, it's just that I dont' feel good."

Never let a man give directions: A women will be precise and concise when giving directions. A man will muddy the waters with way too many details. For example, you can say "turn right on Rogers Road and go 4 miles and turn left. We are the first house on the left." A man will say turn right onto Rodgers Road. that's Rodger not Roger. If you go about 4 miles, you'll see a big red barn. There are several barns on Rodgers Road, but this is the one that has the See Rock City painted on. After you pass the barn, there will be a........ I think you get my point. A little too many details.

Never let them see you sweat: If you are both involved in a stressful situation i.e. the microwave catches on fire, a water line bursts, etc. You will both be frantically trying to stop the situation before it gets worse. You'll both be stressed. But when it's done and you are telling somebody about the drama, hubby will say "I wasn't worried about it. It wasn't that bad." He didn't seem to think that way at the time.

Are you okay?: Sometimes we may have an accident...burning our hand on a hot pan, walking into the door frame (yes, I do this all the time.), tripping over a throw rug (again, guilty). At the moment of the accident hubby will jump up to check on you, look for blood or broken bones. He is so considerate. When he sees you are fine and he realizes how worried he was, instead of laughing off the incident like a woman will, it'll be all about "You should be more careful." "We don't need a rug there." They are too embarrassed to show they were worried over something that ended up being trivial. But a woman will crack up over the accident once she sees everything is okay.

But on the flip side, a husband will always be there for us. He is the one we can lean on at the end of the day that will listen to our troubles and woes. He doesn't judge us. He thinks we look beautiful even when we've added 70 pounds since our wedding day. He doesn't see the gray hair or the wrinkles. He still lights up when you walk into a room. His smile and the twinkle in his eyes still make you tingle when you look at him. He does not judge us and just shakes his head when we make mountains out of molehills.

And there is nothing in the world as wonderful as a husband who has been with you through menopause and lived to tell about it. Can I get an amen?

My scales hate me.....

I've been trying to lose a few extra pounds that I don't need or want. Rather than set a goal that I know I don't have the will power to work for, I've been setting little goals. I work at it at my own pace and with my own program. I do things like watch my portion sizes, cut back on my snacking, burn extra calories by parking farther out in the parking lot. When I come home from anywhere, I park the car and walk back up to the get the mail instead of stopping on my way in. Just little things, but they do help.

My first goal is to lose 10 pounds. I started out at 169 and want to drop down to 159 for the first step. I decided that it would thrill me to be able to get on the scales and be down into another set of "tensies". With the little changes I made I dropped from 169 to 161 a lot faster than I though I would. But I'm stuck. When I weigh, I'll be at 161. So close to my goal. I can't wait to see a number that starts with 15something. Well, I give it a few days and I'm down to 160.5. Oh give me a break Mr. Scale. He is jumping up and down between 161 and 160.5 for the past 3 weeks. I think he doesn't like me. Or he has a warped sense of humor and is taunting me.

But I will persevere. I added a few more things to my "fitness" routine. I watched Footloose the other day and danced to all those fast songs. I tried to mimic the way they move, but just don't have that flexibility in these old joints. But I was burning some calories anyway. And yes, for those of you who know me, you have my permission to cut loose...laughing at me that is. I'm sure it was a humorous site to see.

I'm going to work really hard this week and drop that other 1.5 pounds. But I'm sure as soon as I do, Mr. Scale will pop back up to 160 just to torment me.