Weeds or Cabbage

This is not another blog about food. I really do more than cook and eat...honest. I even have a book coming out in a few weeks.

Fields were on both sides of the road which I had traveled for years. I love watching the crops mature. Every year at least two crops of Chinese cabbages were planted and harvested on the fertile fields, but not this year. Instead of the straight rows of beautiful green cabbages that I was so accustomed to seeing, scraggly weeds were growing in their place; sucking and stripping nutrients from the soil. I observed two things from that field.

1. Something is going to grow in the field.
2. If you want cabbages to grow, you must plant cabbages.

I am absolutely certain the farmer did not plant the weeds in those fields. The weeds grew because the fields had been neglected. Something is being planted in the heart of your children and grandchildren, which will either shape or twist their character. Something is going to grow. If you don’t cultivate, the weeds will grow? Good intentions don’t grow cabbages. Hoping for a good crop just doesn’t produce them; they must be cultivated. If you want your children to know the Bible and the God of the Bible, then you must deliberately plant seeds of truth in their lives. First, cultivation requires plowing. Plowing softens the soil and prepares it to receive the seed. Mom and Dad, are you praying for your children? We pray when they get sick, or when they are experiencing behavior or learning problems, which we should do. Sure we pray for adult children when they have marriage problems or financial struggles. But, plowing is pro-active. Plowing looks to the future for something greater than what you hold now. Plowing prepares for the future by preparing the ground. It requires, time, faith and patience.

You can’t have a harvest without plowing first. Prayer is plowing. Prayer opens the resources and wisdom of heaven for your children. While I can’t and don’t want to do all the praying for my kids, I want to do my part to help them be productive in life. I can plow…I can pray…but the question is not “can we”, it is “will we”? Hoping doesn’t achieve the needed results. Criticizing, nagging, or arguing doesn’t give them a leg-up. Prayer does! Regardless of how well your children are doing, pray into their destiny. Invest in their future through prayer. These are some dreams that I have and pray into for my children:

1. That Jesus Christ will be number one, reigning on the throne of their hearts. Deuteronomy 6:5
2. That they will hear the voice of their Good Shepherd and follow Him closely. John 10:27 3.
3. That they will know and experience the fullness of God’s love. Ephesians 3:16-20 4.
4. That they will daily lay aside every weight and run their race purposefully; serving, loving and giving. Hebrews 12:1 5.
5. That all grace would abound in their lives, so that they will have all they need to fulfill their destiny. 2 Corinthians 9:8

For those of you who, like me, love to pray the scripture, here are some of my favorites. They are also where I derived my prayer goals for my children.

1. Deuteronomy 6:5 NLT And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.
2. John 10:27 NLT My sheep recognize my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
3. Ephesians 3:16-20 NLT I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. 17 And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God. 20 Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope.
4. Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
5. 2 Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
   
   
   Tomorrow, I want to chat with you about planting the seed. I love spending this time with you. I pray God’s richest blessings on you and your family!
   
   

Noise or Music?

Paulette’s home is tucked off the road, among a thick growth of trees, between two spring fed lakes. It is a haven for her family and guests, both human and animal. The beaver have their own lodge, which on occasions had been remodeled from the trees along the lake. A mama Canadian goose led five huge goslings, with papa falling in line last of all, as they swam across the lake in a perfect line. When they reached the other shore, they climbed out for a picnic lunch under the trees. If she gave a parenting conference, I would attend. In stark contrast, the male Mallard ducks feed brazenly at the edge of the pond, while the mama hides her babies from predators in the tall grass along the waters edge. They seem to understand the potential danger and swim around and around her without venturing very far.

Colorful birds of all sizes and varieties arrive at the feeders for breakfast and dinner, singing and dancing for their next meal. Crickets play their fiddles and frogs sing along, at least that’s what it sounds like to me.

But occasionally a guest will comment to Paulette, “This is a noisy place.”

But I would describe the sounds as music…peaceful, soothing melody…played by a gifted symphony, performed for their audience of one, their creator. Maybe they sing because they’re happy. Perhaps they’re communicating, or maybe they sing because that’s what they were made to do. I prefer to believe they are fulfilling their God-given purpose with their songs.

Scripture says, “Let everything that hath breathe praise the Lord.” When we help children move into sincere praise, we are helping them move into God’s purpose for their life—to glorify God.

To some people the melody of children’s praise sounds like noise. They don’t understand that perfect praise comes from the mouth of children. The praises that comes from the hearts of children isn’t formed to satisfy the ears of critics; it is formed to penetrate the heavens, all the way to the heart of God. Matthew 21:16 (KJV) ”And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say ? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?”

Help children realize three things about praise:
1. God desires their praise. Nobody can praise for them. God made them because He wanted relationship with them.
2. Real praise is an expression of love to God. It must be sincere and heartfelt.
3. Praise is not praise until it is expressed. You can express it by clapping, giving, saying words, playing a musical instrument, singing, raising your hands or serving.

Hungry Girl…Hungry Boy

Here I go again, talking about the Cooking Channel; maybe that’s why I struggle to stay on my diet. My new favorite show is the Hungry Girl. She helps people, like me, make better choices without starving! She has a recipe for a Growing Bowl of Oatmeal, that turns ½ cup of oatmeal into a Pat sized serving that lets you leave the table feeling satisfied. Another one is her chocolate satisfying Mississippi Mud Pie recipe.

I love to eat…and I love to cook for hungry people or people that enjoy food as much as I do. We have a friend in the mountains that we have over frequently to eat with us. He built his cabin during the same time we did, so about twice a week, we just added a plate and fed him whatever we were eating. He arrived with an appetite, ready to eat and share stories. It was great, but people that aren't hungry drive me bananas. No matter what you cook, they just nibble or move their food around on their plate. Agghh!

I have felt that way after giving an invitation to children. It is frustrating. You know God has awesome things for them, and yet they fail to respond; sometimes even to simple request like worship or giving God thanks. When I see them stare at the ground or ceiling, or playing instead of praying, I feel SO frustrated. It’s as if they’re not hungry for more of God…and that is the problem, they aren’t hungry. That hunger is graphically described in Psalm 42:1 NLT “... As the deer pants for streams of water, so I long for you, O God.” If indeed that is the real problem, what can we do to create a hunger in their hearts?

How can we help children develop a hunger for more of God?

1.Pray ‘em hungry. Ask God to give them a desire for more of Him. It’s a prayer He wants to answer. Encourage the children to pray it as well. God I want to want more of you.
2. Whet their appetite with descriptive pictures. Describe how good God is. Describe regularly how much you enjoy worship. Let them see you enjoy it. Share special things that have happened to you as you spent time in God’s presence.
3. Let them taste for themselves with little bites, little segments of time. Give them opportunities to pray. One minute praise break. Tell God things you love about Him.
4. Limit the amount of junk food. If they fill up on junk, they won’t be hungry for what nourishes them. Don’t do away with the fun; just limit it so they don’t get satisfied with only junk food.

I must re emphasis point 1,pray, pray, pray. Ask God to create hunger in their hearts. Invite Him into your service. He wants to come more than you can imagine and they need it more than you can imagine.

You Just Can't BEET'em!

I love beets and it’s my daddy’s fault. While I was raised in the city, my parents were country folks. Daddy always had a large garden, and one vegetable he raised from time to time was beets. Mother always pickled them in jars with sugar and vinegar.
At supper time (that’s what we call the evening meal in the South), daddy would search through the refrigerator until he found the chilled jar of pickled ruby-red beet slices. He’d jab a fork in the jar and bring it to the table. We’d pass the bowls of food around the table to dip our plates, but the jar of beets sat beside daddy’s plate. He would lean over to me and say, “Patsy (nobody called me Patsy but daddy), want some beets.”

I’d shake my head side-ways. He’d pierce several of the sweet ruby slices and pile them on his place. He always bragged about how good they tasted. “If you would try them you would like them,” he would always say. I tried them and I didn’t like them. But daddy ate them with such enjoyment, and he always encouraged me to try them; so because I loved my daddy, I would try the beets again.

If you’ve ever tried beets, you know they have a very earthy taste. I liked the sweet and sour taste that pickling produced, but I couldn’t get past that earthy taste. But, daddy kept encouraging, and I continued to taste until I finally developed a taste for them. Now, I keep some in my pantry all the time; partly because they remind me of daddy, and partly because I love them.

That’s what parents do; expose their children to different things, new things, new places, new ideas, and new books. That’s what children’s ministry leaders do too…only we expose children to God experiences, God ideas and deeper places in God. Actually, it’s the role of parents and teachers to help children experience the presence of God, but often neither seems to fulfill this role; because they don’t understand the power of influence that is needed to take children into God’s presence.

How did my dad influence my personal desire to eat beets?
1. He made room on his plate for the beets.
2. He modeled enjoying them personally.
3. He encouraged me to taste.
4. From sincere love that comes out of relationship, he continued to encourage me.

Those same principles must be employed for children’s leaders to take children into the presence of God. Children love the presence of God. I have seen children of all ages have the time of their lives, praying and seeking God. But, they don’t have the life experience to know how good His presence really is until we help them experience it themselves.

The four points as adapted for children’s leaders are:
1. Love God’s presence personally.
2. Model our love for worship and His presence.
3. Encourage them to take little steps toward God.
4. Continue to encourage children to experience His presence, in a variety of ways,.

The Guide at Craggy Gardens

I was excited to visit Craggy Gardens. Gardens I have visited in the past, like Biltmore Gardens and Bellingrath Gardens, shaped my expectations. But, I assure you it was not what I expected. Craggy Gardens is located on the Blue Ridge Mountains, just past the turn to Mt. Mitchell, the highest point east of the Mississippi River. I expected manicured gardens designed by a Master Gardner, but I got much more than I expected.

Craggy Gardens is a beautiful mountain trail on the Blue Ridge Mountains that takes you through the snarled trunks of magnificent, fragrant Rhododendron and elevation dwarfed birch, ash and beech trees up to a peak that affords a 360 degree view. Besides the spectacular blue vistas that are available at many twists and turns along the parkway, May to June offers the glorious display of both Mountain Laurels and Rhododendron. The tall bush-like trees are covered with blooms. The color palettes range from light pink to fuchsia.

We had already walked about four miles through a lush canopied trail at Mount Mitchell, so Karyn wasn’t really interested in one more trail. But this area was covered with Rhododendrons, so I encouraged her to join Brayden and me. I have never seen so many of them. The sweet fragrance of the Mountain Laurels and the thick green canopy made the walk a sensual delight. Twisted and gnarled tree trunks were works of art in themselves. I wanted to continue, but I wasn’t sure they wanted to make the trek.

I asked Karyn, “Do you want to go back to the car?” Ashlyn was taking a nap, and Wayne waited with her in the car. We weren’t sure how long the trail was or where it would take us or what we would see when we got there. We just knew this was a place people said to visit, so here we were.

“No, Nana. This is something you want to do. Let’s go on.” (Isn't she precious! She gets that from her Nana!) I didn’t need any more encouragement. Brayden wanted to lead the way; he loves to lead. After a battle of the wills, it was agreed that Brayden would lead this leg of the trail and Karyn would lead coming back.

We met a park ranger on the trail who said that the trail was not too difficult and encouraged us to take the Upper Summit to get the best view. We made our way through the canopy of Rhododendron. Both sides of the trail was lined with lush green ferns, tall blueberry bushes, moss covered rocks, sprays of yellow and blue flower and white raspberry blooms. As we twisted and turned along the easy to moderate trail, climbing over tree roots and stair step boulders, we were taking a steady, but gradual climb to the top. There was so much beauty to experience as we moved along the trail that we didn’t realize we were climbing until the last short distance, which was pretty steep. Then we stepped out of the overgrowth into the clearing of the pinnacle. It was spectacular. We could see for miles and miles. Brayden and Karyn moved from side to side of the viewing platform to see everything. We found Wayne’s parking spot below. We looked out on the Asheville Watershed that supplies 30 million gallons of water daily to Asheville. Then Karyn led us back to the parking lot where we hurried to a museum at the Vistors Center. We climbed out of the car and Karyn looked straight up the mountain where she spotted a lady wearing a red top. “Look, Nana, that’s where we climbed.” Then she realized that she was looking at the lower vista, not the Upper Vista that we had climbed.

“No, look, we climbed to the top. Look. Look what we did. Man that was so cool. We climbed all the way to the top.” I don’t know where my camera was, but that would have made one incredible picture. She had the most amazing smile on her face. She just glowed from the realization of what she had just accomplished.

That’s what we do when we encourage children to enter into the presence of God. They have no idea where we are trying to take them. They have no idea what they are going to experience, or what God will share with them until they experience His presence for themselves. That’s why we need to be like the Park ranger that met us on the trail…guiding and encouraging. That’s our job as children’s ministry leaders; just to guide and encourage. Jesus has already made the way. Because of His death on the cross and because Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost, we can experience the presence of God in amazing ways. But the choice has to be made to go after God. We must choose to pursue His presence by worship and prayer, and by listening for His voice. Children can experience Him, but we need to help them find the trail that will take them there, and then encourage them to go there themselves.

Don't Move

The air was cool and a gentle breeze was blowing across the porch looking out on the mountains, so I moved to the porch for my prayer time. As I sipped coffee and prayed, I heard movement below and slightly beyond where I was sitting. Often, I hear gobblers and hens, which gather at the stream below, so I sat up to see if a hen had wandered to the top of the mountain looking for breakfast. The woods are thick in the direction I heard the noise coming from, so I waited patiently as the movement through the dry leaves continued. It was too loud to be a hen, so I anticipated something larger. I sat frozen, almost afraid to breathe, because I didn’t want to miss what was moving in my direction.

With my neck stretched as far as it would go, without moving out of my seat, finally I spotted it. It was a deer. As it moved closer, I could see its tail drooping and its ears raised, like a radar antenna. When it was confident that no danger was imminent, it moved through the tall grass, nibbling the seeds that dangled and then the leaves. By now its tail was wagging, happily like a bunny.

I remained frozen, because I didn’t want to scare it away. It continued meandering through the vegetation, nibbling and munching as it strolled. It moved out of my site, so I stood up to see. It continued eating and I moved again, this time into its line of sight. It saw me and froze. I moved out of its view, but when I crept back to take another peak, it was gone.

It was exhilarating. I wanted to awaken my grandkids to share the experience with them, but I didn’t dare move, because I knew movement would scare the deer away. As I pondered my early morning visitor, I thought of the similarities between my actions and the tendencies of some children’s pastors.

While they seem to be unrelated, too often we act as if we think the noise and activity of children will frighten Holy Spirit like a dove or deer flees when frightened. Maybe our caution is shaped by the fact that one of the symbols for the Holy Spirit found in the Bible is a dove. Perhaps, we think that the presence of God can be scared away by the noise that accompanies a group of children. We seem to think that God’s presence is fragile and requires quiet children, which we know most children are incapable of experiencing for any period of time. While Holy Spirit is like a dove, gentle and un-invasive, He isn’t timid and noise doesn’t bother God; He welcomes it. Just read the account of Jesus’ opinion of kid’s worship at his triumphant entry into Jerusalem.

It is arguably true, that one of our primary jobs in children’s ministry is to help children develop a personal relationship with God. Helping children engage in worship that takes them into God’s presence is a vital relationship key. As a children’s ministry leader with a passion to take children into the presence of God there are four very important things to remember.

1. Kids can genuinely experience the presence of God in life changing dimensions. His presence can leave its imprint on their lives for eternity.

2. Kids can move in and out of the presence of God easily. This is because they are kids and not adults. They are easily distracted, so establishing boundaries and aids to facilitate and direct their focus helps them to experience the most from their God encounter.

3. Because kids can move in and out of the presence of God so easy, you can help them move back into His presence with encouragement and redirection.

4. It doesn’t have to be lengthy to be powerful. Don’t measure the impact by time or emotional reaction. God can say some powerful things to children as they encounter God without children reacting with weird or strong emotions.

Great Visuals for your Children's Ministry

Have you checked out thebackpew.com? He has some really amazing cartoons designed with the Christian community in mind. His Bible stories for Easter and Christmas are really insightful and attractive. I love his sense of humor. He has some really cutting edge stuff.

A visual really is worth a thousand words, that's why it is so important to use them every chance we get. If you want to use some of his cartoons be sure to request permission and while you're at it, support his ministry.

This cartoon is almost too true to be funny, that' the problem with a cartoon, it hits us square between the eyes. It is so important that we communicate clearly to our students, so they grasp the understanding of what we are saying. One way to evaluate if we have communicated clearly is to ask questions. Questions, clarify and solidify concepts in the learning process. And use visuals...check out thebackpew.com its really awesome!

The Cause Within You

My passion was ignited yesterday when I joined the live “Meet the Author: Matt Barnett ~ The Cause Within You at http://www.ministrydirect.com/LIVE/. The show has not been added to their archives yet, but honestly it was the best hour I have spent in a long time. Check it out later to view the entire presentation.

For my friends that know me, you know his dad Tommy Barnett has been one of my heroes for many years. I love people with passion and purpose. I love people that are doing things and not just talking about them. Tommy Barnett and his son are two of those people. Tommy Barnett at the age of 20 went to pastor a small church in Los Angeles. From that small beginning, which he says he was a failure, the Dream Center was birthed.

There were numerous quotes that I jotted down, but the passion that he delivers them with is as inspiring as the words, so I hope you’ll listen to this interview.

Crime dropped in his area by 73% in 3 years! Wow talk about effecting change in a community.

“Die to the dream of being a success and live to the dream of being a blessing.”

“Be sure that everyone recognizes Sunday is not the destination point, but the launching point.”

“There are no perfect plans…just compassionate ones.”

“The greatest risk is taking no risk at all.”

“If you want to be a bridge of hope you have to be willing to get walked on ever now and then.”
“We are one inconvenient act away from finding our cause for our life.”

“Allow yourself to be broken. God uses broken things.”

His comments on loving the things you fear was revolutionary! I can’t retell it. You just have to hear him.

I am buying this book TODAY and I hope you will too. Just read the first chapter at http://thecausewithinyou.com/index.php/book/. Oh, but before you read it, get a box of tissue!

Thank you for reading my blog and allowing me to rant and rave! I love you!

Plug In

My computer just told me to plug in or find another source of power. Why do I wait until the battery is almost dead, before I plug in??

I am so thankful that I have found the source of power and the source of life. I choose to plug in through prayer, regularly, before I run low or run out. The prayer discipline is a source of strength, relationship and hope that nourishes everything I do. I am so thankful that I learned to pray as a child and formed a holy discipline that continued as an adult. That's why I love to teach children to pray.

Beth Moore: The Hair Brush

The Passion

“I love ice cream. I love to travel. I love ______(and we name our favorite football team). ” We lump love into one emotional category, which leaves it limp, fragile and anemic. None of these adjectives describe the kind of love that energized Christ. I chose the word energized, because God is love and His love sent Jesus to Earth. But the word love is too weak, in our culture, to describe the power that propelled Jesus to die for mankind’s sin. Passion would only begin to describe the depth of God’s love. Paul caught a glimpse of the importance of understanding the scope of that love in Ephesians 3:17; “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;”

Passion is a powerful and compelling emotion. It is also used as a noun to describe “the sufferings of Christ on the cross or His suffering subsequent to the Last Supper.” Without minimizing His suffering, I believe Christ’s passion far exceeds His suffering. His love for us was and continues to be passionate. His love is active, full of compassion and forgiveness. His love is not generic, but focused to kiss the heart of the individual. His love is visionary and insightful, seeing past your actions and inconsistencies to your need. His passion purchased and presented what no one else could ever propose--redemption; full and free. His passion painted redemption on the canvas of time with bold strokes of forgiveness, grace and acceptance. His passion transcends time without losing its potency. Its latent power is released in the heart of anyone that will receive Him.

His love is the potting soil that we must plant our lives in to flourish. It transforms the recipient, releasing our talents and kindness. It causes us to bloom. It causes His fragrance and beauty of love to be released to bless others. As we receive His passionate love, we can love others. We can forgive. We can sacrifice, because we understand that every time a rose is plucked off, more roses grow in its place. We understand that His overflow of love to us and through us is abundant and lavish, like His grace. We can love because we are loved, not with a generic, conditional love, but with a passionate, self-sacrificing love. Planted in His love, nourished by His love we can give His love.

Panana Camp Day 3

This morning as I reflect on yesterday, as I wait for today to begin I am so thankful for 4 golden opportunities that God has deposited into my relationship account. Each one is unique. Brayden’s energy is only exceeded by his desire to please. Brayden is my Jedidah which means loved of the Lord. I have nicknames for each of them. Keira, Jason’s daughter is Smiley because she smiles with her whole body. It starts with her mouth and ripples into light on her face and wiggles its way to her toes. It is so precious to watch her smile. Which by the way she started when she was two weeks old, every time her daddy would talk to her she would break out into a big grin. And Ashlyn with her quiet, gentle spirit. She makes me feel peaceful when I am around her. She is my Joybell. Her middle name is joy. She got her name from Romans 15:13 KJV Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. Then our oldest grandchild Karyn, our Little Princess, has transformed into Beautiful Princess both inside and out.

It is my goal in this Panana camp to under gird the work that their parents do on a daily basis to invest in their children. We want to make camp so much fun that they will always remember Panana Camp, but so rich with God’s presence that they will forever be transformed by His love.

Some of you have asked where is Panana Camp? It’s in our home. Panana Camp came from an idea I got from a radio broadcast that I heard in Asheville, NC from familylifetoday.com. Anne Dierks was sharing about her Granny Camp. (You can purchase her book at www.grannycamp.com.) I only heard a few minutes of the program, but it really got me to thinking. I knew I could put my personal twist on the idea. So I tried it.

My first camp was just one day. It was so successful I wanted to try a week of it. We asked if we could have the three oldest grand kids for the week of Spring break. We needed a name for the camp. Wayne was partnering with me to pull off the camp so I wanted a different name that included him. My grand kids think their Papa is the best thing since peanut butter. They clamor to sit by him and hold his hand. I have to include his name in the camp name—we are Papa and Nana so the name Panana Camp was born. It’s easy to remember because it rhymes with banana. I would have served bananas, but only Ashlyn will eat a banana.

What’s that game with a yellow, bouncy ball and a racket? Oh yeah, tennis.

The name is the only thing I get right about the game. I am pitiful at every sport except eating. Eating is a sport isn't it? As soon as devotions were finished we hurried to the tennis court. We got on the courts in sprinkling rain. It was warm, so why not? The sprinkling soon stopped and we had a great time, chasing the tall, isn't that what you’re supposed to do. I get confused on all this sports stuff.

After we got to the house for lunch a deluge came complete with tornado warnings. Wayne grilled hotbox and I made mac and cheese. An absolute hit with the kids, with me, not so much! Because we are using a nautical theme I tried to cut the wieners into octopus to set on the mac and cheese. The kids didn't want to wait for my nonsense.

This is my goal for my grand kids. Hebrews 13:20 NLT "And now, may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, equip you"(Karyn, Brayden, Ashlyn and Keira my emphasis added) "with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, all that is pleasing to him. Jesus is the great Shepherd of the sheep by an everlasting covenant, signed with his blood. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen."

I didn’t get this posted last week, but I wanted to share my thoughts instead of just tossing this blog. Our days were just too full to finish my thoughts. Thanks for reading. Be blessed.

Panana Camp Day 2

Today our theme was Commission. We explained that just like a ship is made and commissioned for a specific purpose that God has a plan or blueprint for each of our lives. Brayden helped me explain my point by explaining that his dad had directions to help him put together the tent for their recent camping trip. We talked about the Coast Guard ships, cruise ships and cargo ships. As we drove to our first stop on our field trip we passed Jaxport. We saw two cargo ships. One which was being unloaded as we passed. I was more impressed than any of the kids. "Thank you God for supplying the visual aids."

It was much colder than we thin-skinned Floridians like to admit. We went to Kingsly Plantation. The house was being scraped and painted so we couldn't go inside the plantation house. Ashlynn was asleep by this time. Wayne waited in the car while the other three of us tramped the path down to the waterfront. We had talked about the clams that open their shells for the water to flow through so they can filter feed. The tide was out. We walked out and touched clumps of oyster shells similar to the clams we had just talked about. Again, I had to say, "Thank you God for the visual aids." The illustration was how when clams get frightened they shut their shells real quick or they clam up. Too many believers are like the clams. Instead of sharing Jesus with their friends, which is God's great commission for every believer, they clam up.

The kids liked the separate kitchen and even let me read brief snippets of historical information about indigo, cotton and sugar cane. But when we crossed to the other side of the plantation, Brayden and Karyn came alive. They got to see a gopher hole. Brayden especially liked the well and the trough that flowed out of the well. But they both were fascinated by the twisted and gnarled trees on the plantation. Brayden kept saying, "Papa's got to see this. Papa's just got to see this." And he did. I sat in the car and they showed Papa everything. What an amazing Papa he is!

It was hard to imagine that a tree with so many knots and holes could still be alive. I think they were some kind of cedar trees. They were beautiful except for the worms. I've never seen them this bad before. Tiny little green worms on thin string like threads seemed to spin their way to the ground or your clothes or your hair if you weren't careful. Things like that don't bother me, but I wasn't too happy when Karyn found one in my hair. It makes my head itch to think about it.

A little armadillo made its appearance looking for grubs. It dashed away into the thicket near some of the ruins of twenty-five tabby brick buildings on the plantation. Brayden, Ashlynn and I followed it to the edge of the thicket and then down the road. He reappeared on the other side of the thicket about two feet away from us, then he meandered across the road where he scratched for grubs. It was so much fun to watch the kids enjoy the armadillo. I have a story I'll share with them tomorrow about the armadillo.

It was way too cold to collect shells on the beach. Sorry, Kimberly, but I wrapped them up really good and well...we only stayed on the beach for a few minutes. At least it only seemed like a few minutes. Then we were off to Amelia Island and Fort Clinch.

Amelia Island is so beautiful this time of year. Azaleas. Burst of spring green. So beautiful! Quaint little shops, but not this trip. It's Panana Camp.

We had just been to the big fort, Castillo de San Marco at St. Augustine, so I wasn't sure if I wanted to go to another one. But I'm so glad we did. Its a great fort. Karyn said it was her favorite part of the day. Ashlynn said it was a "fun fort". It was inexpensive and the guide had a nice fire going in the kitchen. He showed us the finger prints of the slaves that made the bricks in the lower part of the walls. You could actually see their prints as they handled the soft clay before it was fired. I was amazed. We went around the fort after that looking for smooth thumb and finger indentions in the bricks. We climbed a twisted, spiral staircase that went up without rails. Yes, Kimberly we were careful. I held Brayden's hand and Papa carried Ashlynn. And Karyn was her normal, careful young lady.

And our lunch was fun. I froze a gallon of naturally decaffeinated tea in the freezer, leaving enough room for it to expand. By lunch time we had ice cold sweet tea to drink. We had sandwiches and deviled eggs. Actually, Wayne and I ate sandwiches and they sorta ate...and yes we ate too many potato chips and animal crackers and moon pies. I'll do better tomorrow on the menu. And yes we were tired.

It was amazing, nobody was unkind, except me for just a minute in my hurry to get everything organized so we could leave on time. I repented to Wayne very quickly. Karyn prayed we would be all be kind and Brayden felt he should pray about it too. God answered their prayer. Maybe Wayne's too. God is so good to let me enjoy my wonderful grandkids and husband. I even got to talk to Jason's baby on the phone today. She was jabbering in her daddy's arms. What a day!

Panana Camp Day 1

I think I am more excited than the kids are. I chatted with Brayden on the phone to remind him to bring items that I wanted him to bring to Panana Camp. He said we should pray and I agreed. So he was named our official prayer captain. The kids arrived with beach toys, pajamas and old clothes to wear to splash in the mud. We are using my Sailing the Seven 7C’s curriculum so beach activities will be our primary field trips. Even Ashlyn enjoyed the devotions. Our first lesson is converted. It is an abstract word which we explained thoroughly. It is used because it is explains that we are a new person when Christ comes into our lives and it begins with the letter C. We went to the park to find tadpoles. I don’t think they have hatched yet. If they have hatched the fish have gobbled them. I didn’t see a single tadpole. Two pre-teen boys were fishing at the pond and shared their knowledge with us. We marched through the trails taking turns leading the way. We stumbled over Cypress knees and imagined floating logs were hungry alligators. The trees are bursting with spring green, my most favorite color of all. You can only see it this time of year, so I savor it! Karyn discovered white silky cocoons on a bush. Wayne cut it open to show them the caterpillar inside, just what we needed for our lesson. Thank you God! And Karyn discovered it. I love nature. God is so awesome to put inside a tiny worm-like creature the ability to spin and change inside a cocoon. It’s mind boggling. I am so thankful to know that God did that. Almighty God strategically designed even the little caterpillar in such a way that it would be transformed into a beautiful butterfly. His design doesn’t stop with a caterpillar; it includes His greatest creation-people. We are transformed by the love of God that made a way for us to become new creatures in Christ Jesus. Wow! It’s too amazing to imagine. The rules say we have to be ready to leave by 9:00 and I need to get moving even though Karyn is making pancakes for us! Yum!

Nana Time

My granddaughter Ashlyn, who is almost 3 years old, asked me yesterday, “Can we praise the Lord,” I was thrilled. I grabbed a plastic bowl, but the lid on it and handed it and a spoon to her. My grandson, Brayden, grabbed an empty plastic bottle, added a few dry beans, it was a perfect praise instrument. I didn’t need an instrument because I’m so loud. We marched around the living room and through the kitchen echoing and singing “Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.” It was great fun! Praising is something that I have strategically and deliberately done with my grandchildren. I want them to understand, anytime is a great time to express your gratitude and worship to God.

When I pull Ashlyn’s shirt off over her head and her hands are up in the air, I say let’s praise the Lord, baby! She and I begin to say “Praise you Jesus. Hallelujah!” From the time they were babies I would scoop them up in my arms and say, “Come, on baby, let’s dance before the Lord.” Then we would begin to swing and hop around praising the Lord. It is so amazing that really young children will actually raise their hands and praise the Lord with you.

Yes, it is a game to them, but that’s where teaching and modeling come into the picture. Brayden said to me, “You love to praise the Lord, Nana.” I agreed with him, and continued with the explanation, “Yes, Jesus has been so good to me. I want to thank Him.”

There are a couple of things to remember when teaching children, or any age group for that matter, to praise. First, reach them on their level. Second, explain it. Thirdly, create an atmosphere where it is the norm. Then model it. For young children it must be fun and active. My explanations must be brief and concise and the praise time is limited to their attention span. We all do it together, plus it is done in the culture of acceptance of love which is critical in creating an atmosphere of worship.

Sometimes I ask them, “What is something you are thankful for?” After they answer I say, “Let’s say thank you to Jesus.” Then I join them in saying “Thank you” to God for what they just mentioned. Again, I don’t spend an extended time doing it. It’s just done in conversation while we are coloring or baking a cake together.

Because I understand no one can worship for me and because I understand the power of worship I want my grandchildren to become worshipers. Worship is more than a song, it is more than words, but when it is connected to the heart of a person that loves God, a song or words are transformed into a fragrance of praise that pleases God.

Little children and adults can worship…and God loves our worship. We all should do more of it!

Lose Weight and Lose Weight

Lose Weight … is almost always my number one New Year’s goal. The fact that it shows up on my list every year gives you an idea of how successful my follow through really is! But this year I want to lose weight and lose weight.

Let me explain. In my last blog I shared that forgiveness severs the hold that dead things have on a person’s life. But in my time of fasting and prayer that kicked off my new year, the Holy Spirit has been dealing with my heart about weights that need to be removed.

Let me explain. After the kids and grandkids left from celebrating Christmas with us, Wayne and I began to clean out years of clutter from the garage and storage shed; the kid’s stuff, the grandkid’s stuff, hobby stuff, remodeling stuff- junk piled and stuffed into every corner. If you are seeing visions from the repulsive hoarder episodes on television, well, let’s not go there. We had put off cleaning it out for years because it looked and felt like a monumental task. So we allowed the clutter to accumulate and we just shut the door on the mess. But it was time to deal with it! No more clutter. No more searching for where we put stuff. It was time to take dominion. So we did it! It has taken some time and hard work, but it hasn’t been a bad job. Actually, we have enjoyed working together on the project. Why didn’t we do it sooner? Because the weight of the task seemed enormous, too hard. Too much work. Too overwhelming! It wasn’t the work I wanted to avoid, it was just the weight, the mental weight I felt every time I tried to plan the job on my schedule. So I procrastinated wasting both time and money when I couldn’t find things I needed and suffered from guilt because I knew it needed to be done. Now it almost is!

Precious Holy Spirit has been dealing with my heart that it is time to de-clutter, clean out, organize and strategize spiritually. That’s where the second weight and my second New Year’s resolution comes in. This year I want to lose physical weight, but secondly and most importantly, I want to lose the mental and spiritual weights that keep me from God’s best. I didn’t even realize I was carrying these weights until Holy Spirit began to open the garage door of my heart and open some boxes that I had stuffed in the corners.

Isaiah 58:6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?

Stinking Chicken Skins

The garbage only runs once a week. If I cook chicken early in the week, I can’t throw the chicken skins in the trash because they will be stinking within 24 hours. So I wrap the chicken skins in a bag and put them in the freezer until garbage day. I don’t tie them to my arm and carry them around with me. Everyone understands that chicken skins quickly begin to stink and salmonella breeds quickly in room temperature chicken. They belong in the trash.


Yet while we cringe at the thought of carrying around rotten chicken skins, we carry a different stench and poison without giving it a second thought. The poison’s name…un-forgiveness.

We are approaching a new year-don’t carry the poison of the past into your new year. No one can make that choice for you. Forgive! Turn loose of the wrong that was done to you. God will help you! God’s grace is sufficient. Take your pain to the cross. Ask God to forgive you for insisting on your right to hold onto the wrong that was done to you. Ask God to help you forgive. Allow God to pour in His healing.

The Best Gift

This morning hundreds and thousands of presents will be opened. Beautiful paper will be torn, wadded and discarded as each gift is un-wrapped by its recipient. The most wanted gift lists will vary from individual to individual according to age, gender and personal taste. There will be fun gifts, practical gifts and wonderful gifts under the tree this morning. There will be cheap gifts and extravagant gifts. But the one gift that is absolutely essential for life and eternal life didn’t make it to the top ten list this year or any other year. That gift is a priceless gift. But a limited pocket book isn’t the reason you won’t find it under the tree at your house. Jesus was and is the Perfect Gift sent to be Emanuel- God is with us. Yet He must be recognized as God and received just as a little child will receive presents around the tree this morning. Unwrap the gift of His love and begin to discover in your everyday life the joy and peace that come from believing. I am so thankful that He continues to be Emanuel and that age 4 I opened God’s Best Gift!

Romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

Living the Light

Sunday morning on our way to Jacksonville we stopped for church in Pensacola. It was delightful to see dear, old friends and see their Christmas musical. The musical’s message was clear and relevant. I really enjoyed it. I jotted down a quote from the musical. I am sorry but I don’t even know the name of the musical but this is the quote concerning the light of Christmas. “The shepherds experienced it, the wise men followed it and we must live it.”

I emotionally staggered at the thought of what that really means? Walk out the light in my everyday life? What would that look like? How would that change my responses to frustrations and irritations? How would that change my attitude toward injustices?

I came to one conclusion I cannot live the light unless I have on a regular basis what both the shepherds and the wise men had. The wise men followed because they had direction and they made a choice to follow the directions. If I am going to live out the light I must have the direction and insight that comes from the Scriptures. They didn’t just hear about the Messiah. They experienced Him. Only as I experience His grace and His presence energizing me and enabling me can I live out the light in my life.

Our culture is bumbling around in the dark. But the Light has come. We just need to live it!

Luke 1:78 KJV Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,

Dumpster Diving

When we are in North Carolina, we are about 20 minutes away from town and about 45 minutes away from a large city so we don’t make the trek into town very often. We had errands to run and a desire to see our new granddaughter so Asheville was the perfect place to do both. We made a quick run to the garbage dump…that right we don’t have garbage pick up in the mountains. So Wayne tossed the bags of garbage into the dumpsters while I worked on my laptop and then we hurried toward Asheville.

Once we were on the interstate I asked Wayne for his phone. I never have mine, just one more thing to keep up with. It was then we discovered his phone was missing. As quickly as possible, which wasn’t very quick, we found an exit and returned to the garbage dump. I began to search and Wayne went to the little shed on the property to talk with the attendant.

The small, wrinkled faced man walked back with Wayne toward the dumpster where we had tossed our garbage. “Was it a heavy black thing?” the man questioned. Wayne nodded feeling his first wave of relief. “It’s my fault,” the man began, “I thought it was trash…I didn’t know what it was…I threw it into the dumpster.”

“Which dumpster?.” Wayne questioned as his eyes scanned 7 big dumpsters lining the fence..

“I think I threw it in one of these two,” the old man answered while peering inside.

One dumpster only had a few bags in the bottom, so Wayne found a stick and began to look for his precious I-Phone. It was obvious. The phone wasn’t in this dumpster.

I stuck my head in the other dumpster. There was a lot of garbage in the second container. Wayne took his stick and tried to move the garbage around. It wasn’t working very well so he rolled up his pants and crawled inside where he began to search through the bags of garbage. It was at that moment I really wished I had his phone to take his picture. I’m telling you, it’s a sight you don’t see often. It wasn’t funny then, but it is now. Once Wayne sorted through the garbage to see the bottom of the dumpster he found his valuable black I-phone sitting in six inches of rain water from the storm the day before. He plunged his hand in the water, yuck, and retrieved the phone.

We were thankful that someone hadn’t found the phone and taken it with them and we were thankful to God for helping us find it. But with all that water, was it ruined?

When we got in the car Wayne removed the Otter case and handed the phone to me to dry it off while he pulled out the hand sanitizer and began slathering himself with it. As I dried the phone the phone came on. Because the case was so water tight there was no water inside the case. The phone was dry and worked perfectly. Double praise God! What a relief.

A couple days later I was dealing with stuff, just the junk that comes with life, aggravating, discouraging stuff when the Lord reminded me of Wayne in the dumpster retrieving his phone. He reminded me that the phone was protected because of the case that held the phone. He remind me that He holds me in His tender care and that I have a case that protects me even better than the one on Wayne’s I-phone—the whole armor of God. What is that armor? It’s the Word of God and prayer. That’s what I needed--more of the Word and more prayer; Not after the storm comes, but daily so my emotions and attitudes are wrapped in the faith that God’s promises are sure and He will not fail me regardless of what I am going through!

Maybe you feel like you’ve been tossed in the dumpster. Your value is not recognized and people seem to mindlessly toss you away. That is the message of Christmas. God is the God that pursues. While we were sinners, God sent His Son into the world to seek and to save the lost. He loves you and wants to encase you in His love.

The dumpster wasn’t really that icky because everything was enclosed in plastic bags. But Jesus came into this world, to seek and to save the lost. He not only stuck his hand into the garbage of this world, but He became sin for us so He could pay the penalty of sin. That is amazing to me. Absolutely amazing. The message of Christmas to me is the message of redemption. Love...peace… joy…become the result of receiving that Redemption through the person of Jesus Christ.