trusting

i just want to bring myself to this place..  the blog!  ha!

i'm about to venture off to bed, dream, sleep, rest, lie down, take a snooze...  you get the picture.  

but i needed to get some words out and feel satisfied, if you know what i mean.  thanks... 

many people are going through some difficult seasons. i wanted to declare, as the heavens are speaking and we are responding, because we can hear heaven, right?!  :-)

...... can you hear our cries?  our requests made known? i know YOU hear and have heard.  my heart is longing for hope in the healings and my mind is settling on the unknown, but faith lifts up and carries me and shows me that i'm not alone. the body of believers are standing firm.  they are listening to the battle cry!  we are one with the Holy of Holies and we are needing His armor, His voice, His hands, His truth, His visions, His spirit, His reigning, His desires, His EVERYTHING to encompass His bride, at this hour, for this time.. Your will be done, Your heart chooses.. you, alone are God, sovereign...  trusting, your daughter... lisi

what already is

writing a few songs to add to the 'getting over myself' theme... :-)

reading and listening lately to some cool insight from different places...

friends, authors, wisdom from Job, doubting thomases, joy in the unexpected places, like severe thunderstorms, and my children, my husband, the weight of wilderness stories from close friends.... just a few, but soooo rich and i'm gaining! gain of hope, faith, joy, love.. the fruit of god's spirit i'm learning more about through all of these and more~



here's a start to the first verse..

looking left and right
but it's right here
in front of you.
tired of putting up a fight
so alone-and you wonder
where to go, what to do
yet all along,
as you strive for more,
what you need the most is this...

not something new
just knowing what already is

dream on!

i still can hear my friend, emma's voice, and see that beautiful smile on her face as she spoke these encouraging words for girls of all ages to hear~

"no dream is too big, no dream is too small..." she shared/spoke that for a simple dvd i was grateful to produce for women to encourage them to pursue their dreams, no matter how young and no matter how mature in age they are; no matter the circumstances, no matter what the stronghold may be.. God hears the voices and He knows how to speak to the desires and builds us strong and stronger in our spirits, in our minds, and in our hearts, so that we can pursue those callings, those dreams that He has created for us, before the foundations of the earth were put into place! wooooohoooo!

here is my dream:

to visit and to be with young girls and young women and older ones in india that have been through and are going through difficult trials such as being forced into a life that is degrading and horrific, to say the least.. i want to be jesus there, with the skin he gave me and reach out with love, that he gives me, to bridge them over to the throne of grace, the arms of mercy, the spirit of perfect love from heaven! (this bookmark i found recently found at barnes.. it reminds me of these beauty people!)

what's your dream? i'll be praying for you~

love, lisi

trade your troubles for truffles!

hehehehehe...... just thought that sounded pretty great!! ";-)
no, really! for love day saturday, my chriser gave me some truffles.. man! we shared them; i bit into one, and he ate the other half... almost ritually, we were one in the truffle kingdom! as we are becoming one in papa's kingdom!! woohoo!!!
i think we should trade all of life's troubles for the truffles!!
that's my thought, and i'm sticking to it! literally!!! haha!!
lover boy was for budster from me, and my girl for laur, and te amo for chriser~

i'm giddy.. :-) (note to self: eat them gradually, as in, not all at once next time!!)

love machine

thanks mami! the boys LOVE this 'machine'!! hehehehehahaha! the song is very memorable!! muah!!

lauren is 14!

this is laur's 'golden' b-day/or 'star birthday'!

i love this! she celebrated her age with her birth day!

2/14/95, so this year is her golden! 14 on the 14th!!!!

"the very happy-our-daughter was born" couple!!!

dada-daughter moment.. him giving her a purity ring/
she wanted the one that focus-on-the-family sells.. http://family.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=5012827&netp_id=601274&event=ESRCN&item_code=WW&view=covers

she is our star and god's light shines in her smile! we love you bg! our valentine bg!

revolve for valentines!

we sure enjoyed our time together in houston this past weekend. revolve tour was really neat and the girls loved it!! gan said, "my chest is still palpitating!!" (from the very loud and fun music!! hehehe) but, she's kidding! she had a really great time! the four of us were blessed! :-)

oh! and lauren had her 14th birthday on valentines.. she's our love bg! (babygirl)

1 peter 4:8

"love covers over a multitude of sins"

just read these few sentences in the prologue of the book, 'practicing the presence of people; how we learn to love' by mike mason....

wanted to share~

'.....pondering the verse, i think of a gentleman taking off his coat and laying it over a mud puddle so that a beautiful lady in dainty shoes may walk across. in this parable, the gentleman is Jesus, the coat is His blood, the beautiful lady is you and i, and the love is the bridge across which we walk into one another's arms.' (pg. 6)

i love you Jesus... thinking sooo much of you this tuesday~ love, lis

wilderness love

i was spurred on by my dear sally friendship this week... something about knowing, being in, talking about the wilderness.. (actually, the holy spirit moved on my spirit through my amiga....) frederick buechner writes on love in the book, 'a room called remember'.. amazing writer!
i am reading a book about wilderness now, so it was truly cool to read once again the words of buechner... i first read this sermon in the book, 'secrets in the dark/a life in sermons', last fall..
i thought i had not read it, for some reason, when i spoke to my friend.. i went home and saw that i had, and man! i had underlined a lot!!
i was inspired to re-read it and remember.. so grateful i did.. thanks sally! :-)
here are some passages that speak so well, i think:

Deuteronomy 6:4-7 (he quotes the scripture)
................hear, o Israel! only more often than not we hear nothing because we live in a wilderness where more often than not there is nothing of god to hear. and of course it was in just such a wilderness that the great words of moses were trumpeted forth in the first place, and the people who first heard them were in the wilderness with him, as wandering and lost as we are, with nothing to keep them going but the hope of a promised land, which much of the time seemed a promise so remote and improbable that even the bondage they had left behind them in Egypt looked hopeful by comparison. ....................even in the wilderness-especially in the wilderness-you shall love him.
.....................the final secret, i think, is this: that the words "you shall love the lord your god" become in the end less a command than a promise. and the promise is that, yes, on the weary feet of faith and fragile wings of hope, we will come to love him at last as from the first he has loved us-loved us even in the wilderness, especially in the wilderness, because he has been in the wilderness with us. he has been in the wilderness for us. he has been acquainted with our grief. and, loving him, we will come at last to love each other too so that, in the end, the name taped on every door will be the name of the one we love.
............."and these words which i command you this day shall be upon your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and you shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise."........
and rise we shall, out of the wilderness, every last one of us, even as out of the wilderness Christ rose before us. that is the promise and the greatest of all promises.

are you in a wilderness love? i'm in the wilderness of love and it's a manna journey and a blessed sweet joy, with surprises and unexpected moments of care, trust, faith, comfort, laughter!(my favorite!), and so many other emotions, and fruits of the holy spirit of the LIVING GOD!
i will choose this day.. and the next, and the next, with his hand leading... to love the lord god with all my my heart, and with all my soul, and with all my might. woohoo!! :-)


after i finished typing some of the sermon, i was looking for a picture for this post... i ran across this dvd/movie that is based on a true story.. thought it was appropriate to share since it's the same 'subject' of leaving the 'one we love and promised to', and returning to the promised love in the end... the real god is our covenant god! i haven't watched the movie, so sorry if it's not good production wise, etc.. but the summary is good, i thought~

Summary

Inspired by a true story, the made-for-TV Personally Yours stars Valerie Bertinelli as the recently divorced Susannah Stanton. Shed of her husband Jesse (Jeffrey Nordling), an Alaskan rancher, Susannah strikes a blow for independence by opening up her own restaurant in Anchorage. Still, there is something lacking in Susannah's life, and her three children think they know what it is. Placing a classified personal in the local newspaper, the enterprising kids advertise for a perfect father, knowing full well that their specifications match one man and one man only -- their own dad Jesse. An engaging illustration of the old saw that "love is lovelier the second time around,"



happy day to you this friday!! love, lis

kung-fu fighting party and spiritual warfare destiny!

we decided to wait until our friend, georgie, a karate instructor, was in town last saturday to celebrate bud's 9th b-day with his close friends and family.. man! i wish i had pinata pictures! we had a great kung-fu fighting time!! woohoo!!

wanted to share some of the pics here!

have a really nice and totally spiritual fighting day today! i feel the heavens are in warfare and i know that we are positioned with our heavenly father, our savior/brother and power-filled spirit of the LIVING god! (the trinity! the true warriors and the only way to 'fight' in battle is with TRUTH!!!) i LOVE that so much.. and need that so!!

the battle is the LORD's! along with these fun pictures, i am posting just a few of god's promising words on this subject of battle!

blessings are yours, with ten-thousand behind!! wooooooooooooohhoooooooooo!!! and AMEN!

Judges 3

1 These are the nations the LORD left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan 2 (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience): 3 the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo [a] Hamath. 4 They were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the

LORD's commands, which he had given their forefathers through Moses.
5 The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 6 They took their daughters in marriage and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.
Othniel 7 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD; they forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs. 8 The anger of the LORD burned against Israel so that he sold them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim, [b] to whom the Israelites

were subject for eight years. 9 But when they cried out to the LORD, he raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, who saved them. 10 The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, so that he became Israel's judge [c] and went to war. The LORD gave Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram into the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him. 11 So the land had peace for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died.
Ehud 12 Once again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and because they did this evil the LORD gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel. 13 Getting the Ammonites and Amalekites to join him, Eglon came and attacked Israel, and they took possession of the City of Palms. [d] 14 The Israelites were subject to Eglon king of Moab for eighteen years.
15 Again the Israelites cried out to the LORD, and he gave them a deliverer—Ehud, a left-handed man, the son of Gera the Benjamite. The Israelites sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab. 16 Now Ehud had made a double-edged sword about a foot and a half [e] long, which he strapped to his right thigh under his clothing. 17 He presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab, who was a very fat man. 18 After Ehud had presented the tribute, he sent on their way the men who had carried it. 19 At the idols [f] near Gilgal he himself turned back and said, "I have a secret message for you, O king." The king said, "Quiet!" And all his attendants left him.
20 Ehud then approached him while he was sitting alone in the upper room of his summer palace [g] and said, "I have a message from God for you." As the king rose from his seat, 21 Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword from his right thigh and plunged it into the king's belly. 22 Even the handle sank in after the blade, which came out his back. Ehud did not pull the sword out, and the fat closed in over it. 23 Then Ehud went out to the porch [h] ; he shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.
24 After he had gone, the servants came and found the doors of the upper room locked. They said, "He must be relieving himself in the inner room of the house." 25 They waited to the point of embarrassment, but when he did not open the doors of the room, they took a key and unlocked them. There they saw their Lord fallen to the floor, dead.
26 While they waited, Ehud got away. He passed by the idols and escaped to Seirah. 27 When he arrived there, he blew a trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went down with him from the hills, with him leading them.
28 "Follow me," he ordered, "for the LORD has given Moab, your enemy, into your hands." So they followed him down and, taking possession of the fords of the Jordan that led to Moab, they allowed no one to cross over. 29 At that time they struck down about ten thousand Moabites, all vigorous and strong; not a man escaped. 30 That day Moab was made subject to Israel, and the land had peace for eighty years.
Shamgar 31 After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad. He too saved Israel.

Isaiah 27
Deliverance of Israel 1 In that day, the LORD will punish with his sword, his fierce, great and powerful sword, Leviathan the gliding serpent, Leviathan the coiling serpent; he will slay the monster of the sea.
2 In that day— "Sing about a fruitful vineyard:
3 I, the LORD, watch over it; I water it continually. I guard it day and night so that no one may harm it.
4 I am not angry. If only there were briers and thorns confronting me! I would march against them in battle; I would set them all on fire.
5 Or else let them come to me for refuge; let them make peace with me, yes, let them make peace with me."
6 In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit.
7 Has the LORD struck her as he struck down those who struck her? Has she been killed as those were killed who killed her?
8 By warfare [a] and exile you contend with her—with his fierce blast he drives her out, as on a day the east wind blows.
9 By this, then, will Jacob's guilt be atoned for, and this will be the full fruitage of the removal of his sin: When he makes all the altar stones to be like chalk stones crushed to pieces, no Asherah poles [b] or incense altars will be left standing.
10 The fortified city stands desolate, an abandoned settlement, forsaken like the desert; there the calves graze, there they lie down; they strip its branches bare.
11 When its twigs are dry, they are broken off and women come and make fires with them. For this is a people without understanding; so their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor.
12 In that day the LORD will thresh from the flowing Euphrates [c] to the Wadi of Egypt, and you, O Israelites, will be gathered up one by one. 13 And in that day a great trumpet will sound. Those who were perishing in Assyria and those who were exiled in Egypt will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.

Ephesians 4:10-20

The Armor of God

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
19Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

25 minus 15

here are 10 things to know about myself.. (i couldn't think of more for now!) thanks, debs! made me think and giggle and cry.. love you.. :-)

1. i am a first-born american; my parents were born in cuba.
2. i was a gymnast when i was young, and wanted to be in the olympics! i developed osgood schlatters disease (left knee) .. that put the kibosh on that!
3. i love reading fortunes in the fortune cookie, not eating them.. i give them to my son! :-)
(last one, sunday eve: your love of music will be an important part of your life... i ignore the lucky numbers, and love the chinese word(s) they print on the other side with the translation!; Quench One's Thirst.. (jie, ke.. short vowel sounds on the e's) :-)
4. love to read! especially frederick buechner, paula rinehart, mike mason... authors are amazing people on this planet!!
5. i am sometimes called/labeled the bag lady.. not because i live on the street, or carry a bag around.. just because i love to drop off goodies and finds on friend(s) and family's porches, benches, etc... hehehe.. more for me, i really get a happy face doing this, and love to share the yummies! ;-)
6. i have 2 boys, one girl. 2007, 1999, 1995.. good years!
7. i dream of visiting india to see and be with the children.. in the red light district(s) and be apart of a team that will 'set them free'.....
8. i LOVE hot teas.. i am sipping st. john's wort's tea now.. really need! hehehe ;-)
9. i secretly like to watch kid's shows with my children.. hehehe.. no, really! especially peep, and electric company...
10. i really do LOVE grocery shopping.. makes me smile big.. (my mom thinks that is truly bizarre!)

jaxy

this little red-headed boy is jaxon isaac cole. so happy that you were given to us 4, on february 5, 2007!!
i love you jaxy... muah! momma

better not to know

this post is from an amy grant blog post, jan. 28th of this year.. i was curious to see when her next musica would be out, so i went on over to her site.. http://www.amygrant.com/

i have always like her music/lyric, her soul... she inspires me~

i told laur that man! i am jealous of cindy and amy!! i would LOVE to write with those 2 amazing gals!!! "well, for sure, in heaven i will write and spend time with them!! hehehehe", i said to laur.. "momma! you and 59 million others!!!", she exclaimed.. hehehe

so true, muy verdad!

we were being silly, but in all sincerity, one of my dreams/desires, is to co-write with a seasoned writer and that their hearts would be like-minded...

i just yelled at my bud, "please stop playing with your cheek, son!" he likes to 'pop' his face with his fingers and then the red rash appears and well.. who cares! hehehe that interrupts my thoughts, and that's all for now..

oh! this song reminds me of sooooo much; one thought i can muster: some things are truly to be left at the 'altar' of our sacrifice place, our life-giving place, our hearts, our souls, our minds, before god's sacred and safe throne...

back when i was worshipping with a community of friends/believers in 1998, i was in a season like this one that these 2 women are writing about... with much learning and much growing, i too, remember that much could have been done, if not for choices that others made, my choices, or just life: the things that happen... maybe.. better not to know~

bless you today!!

on a cool note!!!!!

my 3rd little babe, jaxon, is 2 years old today... i remember that day and thank papagod for his birth.. so blessed, so blessed... thanks, jill, for your song, "all the good things".. i relate so so so so much!!!

hugs~ lis

amy's blog: http://www.amygrant.com/agblog.htm

Today is day 8 in the studio. We're working on a song called "Better Not to Know" that Cindy Morgan and I wrote. My Grandmother Grant died in the spring of 1988 when my first child was 5 months old. We planted a field of fruit trees in her memory....little leafless sticks with promising root balls. I lived on that farm another ten years... Had two more children there, and then life took a few unexpected turns. When I left the farm I left behind the shade of those 75 trees that had grown into a thick canopy over our heads They never had any fruit.Eventually, the farm was sold. Then this past summer I got a phone call. The current owner of the property had had the surviving fruit trees pruned, the farm next door had started keeping bees. My grandmother's trees were loaded down with peaches and pears and apples.

When Cindy came to my house last fall, I had just made my first batch of pear preserves. We talked and ate and wrote this song:

We sowed our seeds

Watered with tears

Waiting for signs of growth

Took months of days And then took years.

We took our steps

We took our falls

Somewhere along the way

We just got lost

And we lost it all.

Nothing ventured nothing gained

The risk of living is the pain

And what will be will be anyway
Oh, it's better not to know

The way it's gonna go

What will die and what will grow

It's better not to know
Those tiny stems became these trees

With dirt and storms

And sun and air to breathe

Like you and me

And some fell down And some grew tall

And those surviving twenty winter thaws

Have the sweetest fruit of all

But innocence and planting day

Are both long gone

So much has changed

And if we got to do it all again ...
Oh it's better not to know...

henry poole is here!

truly moving picture awarded, 'henry poole is here' is a fun and real picture of how miracles happen, and how attitudes can change... takes time!

Plot

Henry Poole (Luke Wilson) had a comfortable life and a beautiful fiancée. But just when it seemed that the future couldn't look any brighter , a visit to the doctor's office casts a dark cloud over his sunny outlook. Shattered, Henry wants nothing more in life than to simply vanish into his surroundings, and what better way to accomplish that feat than to purchase a cookie-cutter house in a working-class suburb and spend his final days awaiting the inevitable in peaceful solitude? Unfortunately for Henry, his new neighbours aren't about to let the handsome neighbourhood newcomer spend his days sulking.
The first to stop by and welcome Henry to his new home is local yenta Esperanza (Adriana Barraza), who comes knocking on his door with a fresh plate of homemade tamales and laundry list of questions.
Later, after taking notice of sad-eyed divorcée Dawn (Radha Mitchell) and her taciturn eight-year-old daughter, Millie (Morgan Lily), who hasn't spoken a word since her father left, Henry finds his self-imposed exile shattered when Esperanza notices a stain on his stucco wall that seems to possess miraculous powers. Before Henry can say "Hail Mary," Esperanza is leading pilgrimages to the "holy site" in his backyard and inviting Father Salizar (George Lopez) to give his blessings to the sacrosanct blemish. As sceptical as Henry may be about the healing powers of the curious apparition, however, his growing friendship with young Millie not only brings him closer to Dawn, but also proves to him that there's no escaping the power of hope.

enjoy.. :-)

knol it!!

just found this... many know sooooo much! interesting to read and look around.. :-)

have a beauty saturday, sunday time!!!!!!!!!!

http://knol.google.com/k/

A knol is an authoritative article about a specific topic.

a unit of knowledge....

women vs. wild!

i bought 2 books on january 1 this year.. i wrote in the inside page, "for me; happy 1st day of 2009!!!"
i shared one of the books last week in a blog post, and now this book, 'wilderness skills for women; how to survive heartbreak and other full-blown meltdowns', by marion jordan (a houstonian who has insight for us girls, and shares her personal story beautifully...)

one of the parts i'd like to share here from her book: ch. 3, the wilderness of temptation, pg. 66....
'in the bible, worship is not primarily about singing songs or acts of devotion. it is about one thing: offering a sacrifice. something is placed on the altar and dies. when job, in the midst of his suffering, falls to the ground and worships, he offers god a sacrifice. what is this sacrifice? after carefully and prayerfully reading his story, i believe the sacrifice made by job that fateful day was this: the expectation to have life on his terms.'

marion writes with beauty about life and the real struggles, the ones that she's walked and heard and seen during her last 10 years of knowing christ..
i know of many women, all ages, that are going through a 'wilderness', and that need to choose, to decide, what survival skills to take, to receive.... i want to garner wisdom and be a part of the story of redemption that so many are in, including this young woman... glory is god's! woohoo!!

marion's website: http://www.redeemedgirl.org/
marion's blog: http://redeemedgirl.blogspot.com/
marion's vision: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_O56buH42c
youtube for the book: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFvh2Gvcq2Q

joy journey

mike mason, one of my favorite authors, wrote a simple book, or more like a personal devotional, about rediscovering god's gift of joy. 'champagne for the soul' is a 90 day joy journey. i started reading it while on a trip last week to tennessee. 2 page reading a day, and man! it fills you up, so to speak!! ;-)

my dear mom-in-law, ma, as i call her, would re-read the ones i had read, aloud, while i drove. as we started down the road to kentucky, to see her aunt evelyn, who i now call my aunt evelyn, ma would read, and we'd cry, say, "thank you father.." etc..

i so desire to express joy, but i first have to acquire, obtain, find, get, pursue, grab hold of....this precious, priceless gift. joy. so cheers!! to champagne for our souls, true joy!

(here's a 'day' that i loved reading; hehehe, i skipped around a bit! it's day 25! soooo good~and i may add my 'thoughts' in parenthesis's) oh! and the day i read this, was the day that we all went to the tennessee aquarium; the butterfly display, was a beautiful inside temp. controlled room, with butterflies EVERYWHERE! and they were gorgeous! and i kept looking for them, and looking for them, and it never got old, or boring! joy came...... indeedy it did!

STANDING OVATION

let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy. PSALM 107:22

when it it a sacrifice to offer thanks? when i don't feel like it. this marks the difference between thanksgiving and gratitude. gratitude is an attitude of heart, whereas thanksgiving is an act. if the act of giving thanks is not performed, gratitude will not develop.

years ago, realizing i needed to develop gratitude, i began the practice of saying thanks to god for five things every night before bed. i still do this whenever i feel the least bit low. looking for reasons to be thankful, instead of focusing on worries or fears, is like putting on a new pair of glasses. life looks different through the lens of thanks. (i love that!!!!)

if you are so low that you have only one prayer to offer, let it be a prayer of thanks. it's the easiest way to pray and often the most powerful. moreover there's an intimate connection between thanksgiving and joy. in some circumstances thanksgiving, like forgiveness, is both the quickest and the only route to joy. prayers of thanks, offered from the heart, always draw one closer to the light and therefore to the fire of joy. (woop!!)

giving thanks is a way of gathering joy. imagine yourself in a meadow chasing butterflies with a net. though the meadow is full of spiders, you don't notice these; neither are you concerned with weeds or scraps of letter. you aren't collecting spiders or weeds or litter. you're collecting butterflies, and your sole focus is on capturing those brightly colored flecks of beauty.

joy requires single-mindedness. the world is full of reasons to be sad or distressed, but beauty and goodness also abound. which to look at? what you see is what you get. (man! that speaks!!)

now imagine yourself in a meadow gathering wildflowers-violets, let's say. there are other flowers in the meadow, but you have eyes only for the purple violets. when you're finished, do you have a fistful of stones or twigs or grasses? no, you have a bouquet of violets.

every day joy waits to be gathered. will you take the trouble to fine it, cherish it, be grateful? joy is like a stranger standing on you doorstep, and gratitude is the host who opens the door and says, "do come in and make yourself at home." without gratitude, joy stands forever just outside the heart, making gestures that go unnoticed. (i had to re-read that line, over and over..... )

a joyful experience isn't really ours until we call it to mind and give thanks for it. how many such experiences are lost on us every day because, living without reflection, we never take time to pray them through our door? (wowza!!)

is god less good to us on our bad days? no, he doesn't change. he's always awesome and loving. doesn't he deserve for for us to be happy? isn't he worth celebrating? he tips the sky like a goblet of light over our heads; he dresses the continents in the satiny robes of the seas. (beauty, and i'm tearing up!) if he'd done nothing else, wouldn't these feats alone be worth a continuous clap of joy?

joy glorifies god. when we fell good, god looks good. don't be half-hearted for god; give him a standing ovation every day. it's what he's waiting for. it's what you're waiting for too. your whole being waits to erupt into thunderous and unending praise. you won't be happy until you do. you won't be happy until your first waking thought is of the glory of being alive. you won't be happy until like a little child you can hardly wait to get out of bed and tiptoe downstairs to see what magic awaits you. you won't be happy until you forget your problems long enough to look up to heaven and be stunned into heartfelt thanks for a life overflowing with goodness. (amen!)

(pg. 49-50, champagne for the the soul; rediscovering god's gift of joy by mike mason)

to blog or not to blog!

hey! i was thinking in the shower this weekend about my blog.. why i have one, what i share, etc... :-)
friends/family may read this blog, but that's not why i'm writing on 17 diamonds, so just others can read or comment, or share.
it's a bit more needy on my part/i don't like to admit, maybe a lil' selfish, for me! :-D

blogging sort of reminds me... of a church, a place of truth, a place of finding, seeking, knowing, hoping. a 'safe' place, and a quiet place. doesn't matter the time or the day/i'm a night owl! 24/7; if i'm sick or not, with make-up, or not! come as you are~

so, as i was talking out loud and scrubbing my scalp, hehehehe, i said, "lord, this is a 'place' for me to share my thoughts, my ideas, my heart, my soul, sometimes intimate vulnerable places for me, songs, family pictures, friends/relationships, times with you, papa... i love sharing, and connecting; reading and seeing other friends/people share and connect and live, laugh and love!! ;-) that's my favorite part, lord.. just good ol' fashioned encouragement, and joy, and at times, crying with someone else, trying a new fabulous recipe/yum!!!, 'hearing' a heart, relating with a women in a 'going through', learning something new and different, remembering the past, living in the present and hoping for the future, reading about your hand, papa.... it humbles me, it lifts me, makes me smile, makes me want to reach out, reach in, fill up more with you, and be apart of your creation...

thank you, lord, for the blogworld! ha! bless the sharers and the ones that are in need today, and please allow your people, the fruit of YOUR spirit to go forth in them, to be multiplied in the readers, the listeners, the ones wanting to blog/to share and perhaps be healed, or begin the journey of your truth, today! for this is the day YOU have made! you designed it just for us, god.. your 'blog' is beautiful!! i love you.. "

yep.. it was a longer shower than usual, and i was cleansed in a really cool way, and that is all for now~ here's 2 links to 2 of jill phillips' songs, 'a lot like me'. really great tune, and i love the lyric. http://jillphillips.com/albums/good-things-2008/10/lot-me and 'nobody's got it all together' http://jillphillips.com/albums/nobody039s-got-it-all-together-2006/1/nobodys-got-it-all-together (thanks, jill!)

here is a christmas picture that makes me smile and feel really good!! i love my family~

may you receive the shunshine from the SON this beauty monday day~

love, lisi