Family

I remember growing up how I couldn’t wait to get married and have my own family….but I did not realize the IMPORTANCE of family.  It is more than a word or a description of someone….it is part of who you are. It is the DNA that is shared with these people, that helps to make you who you are…You spend at least 20 years with these people, sometimes wanting to ‘get way’ from these people, only to find out how truly important they are to you.

My sister is 6 years younger than me.  While growing up, we were never really close, and when I got married, she was only in the 7th grade.  I moved away, missed so much of her life, and since she has been married, she has lived abroad – off and on for the last 22 years.  Through this time, we have found our closeness, a wonderful friendship and a REAL sisterly bond.  There are times when I reflect on things that she shares with me and I realize that I missed SO much family time with her.

As we marry or move away, whatever the case may be, I have come to an understanding that even though you may begin your own family, the extended family should not be forgotten or removed.  Get together and memories suddenly flood the conversation; realization of how much you have missed that person and sometimes, how much you don’t really know this person anymore.

My sister has four children and I have two.  The good thing is that we found our way to friendship and family again so we could be a part of each other’s lives.  Even though they were in Okinawa, Germany, and now in England, I know her children and she knows mine.  They’re our extension to the future and our legacy.   We have made a point to talk weekly and sometimes daily…to share our joys and sorrows…to lean on each other and know that we can really count on one another.  We have watched our children grow up- although not together, we have been there via phone, skype, email, and a few trips in between.

Last week, Macke  (a.k.a. Kim) and her family came home for a month’s visit.  We met on Sunday to give our mom a surprise birthday party; she is now 69.  I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this…We have missed  the bond of actually being physically present for so many holidays and celebrations.  It was wonderful to be together.

As our children are now …ummm…pretty much grown….I realize that I will have to work very hard to keep in touch with all the kids.  They will go out on their own, begin a new life, and one call to Macke won’t cover everyone.  I recently read somewhere that to be wise and old, one must first be young and stupid.  I am so glad that I finally made it at least to the ‘old’ part and wisdom is something I seek everyday!

It is hard to believe that our parents are 69 years of age…that my sister and I are in our 40’s, my children are married- hers are just getting to young adulthood.  I have missed them.  I am so thankful for the family that I have, not a perfect one, but they’re MY family…extended family and all….

We don’t cherish these relationships enough and we usually take them for granted.  Thank you God for my family, the good and the bad times, the joys and the sorrows, the past, present, and future.

Personal Happiness

I love it when all is well.  You know…when everyone is healthy, loved and loving back, the road is smooth with only minor bumps, when you are living on the mountain top and knowing you are experiencing God’s blessings….

I wish I could stay in this place…but this life is not utopia.  We only glimpse it from time to time and it is through fleshly eyes at that.  However, I will accept it every time it comes around…never know when things are going to change so I will embrace the moments that I have and thank God for each and every one of them….

Segues

Riding home from St. Louis on Saturday, I had a beautiful time of worship.  My mind was full and overflowing, a video had just finished playing, and Michael Buble began singing.  I just love listening to all the love songs and his smooth voice!  I was also reading the book The Christian Atheist by Craig Groeschel (yes, the one I started a few weeks ago).  While reading and listening to Buble, the CD changed and my praise and worship music began to play.  Without missing a beat, I kept singing along until I found myself praising God and just worshiping my Savior.  It became a totally beautiful moment of worship and I felt so incredibly alive in God’s presence.  Even though there were three other people in the car and plenty of vehicles on the interstate, it became of moment of just me and God.

Later, I began to think how funny it was that one minute I am basking in love songs with Buble, and the next minute I am crying and worshiping my Savior.  While I pondered this thought, it became evident why love-songs would segue into worshiping God.  I mean, God is love, and He desires our worship…. He loves us.. and when we worship Him, we are ever so close to Him, for He lives in the praises of His people.

What’s Your Name?

I just love Rob Bell’s Nooma videos…They make me think and think and think some more.  Tonight we watched the one entitled NAME.  It talks about being you- your name- who you are- being comfortable in your own skin.  He references Jacob (from the Bible) and talks about him having to come to terms with himself- and who he really was BEFORE he could become what God wanted him to be.

It’s true, you know, it’s hard to be happy when we don’t know WHO we really are.  Sometimes the road to discovery is longer than we anticipate,  and harder than we ever would imagine, but we have to keep trying.  The good, bad and everything in between, God still wants us.  He just says to follow Him.  As Bell continues in the video, he tells us that we have to except and embrace our history, our past or present….we don’t have to like it or be proud of it, but we have to claim it because it is ours.  We are shaped by our family, our circumstances, our experiences, our successes, our mistakes.   When someone asks our name, they really mean – who are you?

“How could I ever love and embrace someone else when I’ve never come to terms with who I am and then who I’m not?” asks Bell…the video ends with this statement:  “May you do the hard work of the soul to discover your true self.  May you find your unique path, the one God has for you.  And in the process, may you find yourself comfortable in your own skin.” (Rob Bell 025  Name)

What’s your name?  Who are you?

O Happy Day

Today our son has celebrated his 24th birthday and I am so happy that we had the opportunity to share this day with him.  As I remember the day he was born, he was so beautiful- and sooo long!  His eyelashes and eyebrows were so blonde that I thought for a minute that he didn’t have any.   From that day to this, he is still beautiful to me – even with the clown hair tonight.    I am so proud of you son, and I love you very much!!!

What a Day!

After getting used to 70 and 80 degree weather, I finally pulled out the shorts and tees -my favorite clothing!  But gee whiz!  Old man wind is blowing today and it is too cool for shorts!  To top it off, I was going to the gardens to take pictures and lo and behold – no sun!  So…I am left with the grueling duty of putting my office back together.  After all the room changes, I am the only one with the office still in boxes.  No surprise….!  I just hate having to sort through things, especially since I am a pack rat and nearly everything is important!  UGH! Why do I see potential in almost everything around me????

I just had to come home and breathe and now it’s back to the mess- literally!

Long time … no post

It is Sunday morning and I am about to get ready to go to church.  However, I just wanted to drop in on my blog – check a few things out- and realized that it has been a long time since I posted anything.  Well…I always have much to say, I just don’t write it all down.  I think I’ll change that.

I just started reading a book entitled – The Christian Atheist by Craig Groeschel.    Already cried in the introduction; gonna be a good book….

Thankful for my freedom today….it’s not a patriotic holiday but everyday should be patriotic.  Thankful for America even though I don’t like too many things that are happening in our country right now, I am still thankful.

Patterns

Life is full of patterns.  Music has patterns, math has patterns, cloth has patterns….

But the pattern that I am thinking of is defined this way:  a reliable sample of traits, acts, tendencies, or other observable characteristics of a person, group, or institution.

Are you observant of your life’s pattern?  Especially your walk with God?  Do you pay attention to how many times a certain life pattern shows up and the outcome each time?  Are you able to recognize a destructive pattern from start to finish?

I am a music educator by degree and I love it when students ‘get it!’  Oh Mrs. Wooten, that is a pattern!  And as soon as they realize it, the whole dynamics of the music change….they begin to look for the pattern; understanding gives way to learning and creativity.

What about you?  Are you repeating a pattern over and over again and just haven’t ‘gotten it?’

The Awakening

Life is hard; no doubt about it!  But God is good!

I am witnessing the answers to prayers that I have prayed and experiencing great revival in my personal relationship with God.  Recently, we offered a Bible study for the women of our church entitled: Anointed, Transformed, Redeemed:  A Study of David….by Priscilla Shirer, Beth Moore, and Kay Arthur.   During the study, God began to awaken me spiritually.  What I mean by this, is that God began to awaken  parts of me that had been comatose by devastation. To define devastation: ‘to reduce to chaos, disorder, or helplessness; to be overwhelmed’—and it actually says – ‘devastated by grief.’  Beth Moore stated that ‘devastation always involves heartbreak,’  and she is SO right…

Now, you will have to participate in the study to fully understand, but it made me see things differently and accept situations for what they are and to actually move on! Many times we pick up and move on but sometimes we need to move on without ‘picking up.’   Some things need to be left behind and not  continually weigh us down.

When I think about devastation, I think about a ravaged place of war; a disaster area where nothing is the same; a place where life is suspended in time….a place where life can end.  That is a horrible place to be physically, but what about emotionally, spiritually?  People walk around everyday looking and acting as if everything is wonderful, but deep inside of them may lie a devastation of some sort.  When David faced devastation, he finally had to make a choice to move on – to walk past it- leave it- and trust God again.  We must choose to move past our devastation or to live in it,  and as long as we live in it, our trust in God is gone !  We give right of access to the enemy.  Did you know that we can become disobedient through devastation?  Do you realize that it is possible to move forward but keep our hearts away from God?  Kind of like lip syncing?

In January of this year, 2010, I spoke at a conference to a group of ladies…My thoughts were about the woman of the 21st century.  As I prayed and prepared my notes, I asked God if there was something specific that I should say.  I was impressed to tell women this: God said -” Know my character so you will trust Me.”  Can we realize how much that simple statement impacts our lives?  We have to KNOW God and His character in order to trust Him.  I don’t know about you but I just don’t trust someone to trust them.   Until I know them, I am in the mode of caution.

Devastation in our lives will cause us to lose our trust in God.  We withdraw from His presence, become fearful of Him, and we lose trust.  The character of God does not change.  No matter what we go through, no matter how much devastation or offence that occurs in our lives, God does not change.  But while we are living in this wasteland, we are open to the enemy of our eternal souls.  This is perfect access for him to destroy our relationship with God, the Father.

Psalms is such a wonderful testament of David and the perils of his life…Psalms 30 talks about his praise for deliverance and how God turned his mourning into dancing.  David gives us true insight of the faithfulness of God and how much He loves us.  As we are aroused by the Spirit of God and begin to awaken to His call – for the healing, joy, dancing, restoration to begin and complete, only then are we going to have to make a choice to move completely out of devastation- not just physically but spiritually, too.  We must be willing to know and recognize God’s character, rise up and bless His Name- and move forward in obedience.

Devastation is exactly what it is….we choose to live there or move forward with a right spirit renewed within us….only to find the blessings and faithfulness of God.

Question…?

Jesus is my portion….what do you think this means?