Treasure in a Pot - Shoreline Women's Blog

Paul wrote in Corinthians "We have this treasure in jars of clay..."

People in the early church would have understood that metaphor in a way we don't. So, I came up with a new metaphor for 2010. We have a beautiful treasure, good news of great joy - God's glory on display in our common everyday lives.... Click here to read more at the Shoreline Women's Blog.

Orion The Hunter

Guess who I saw in the sky tonight? My hero, Orion, the Hunter! I love this time of year because Orion's belt is straight ahead as I drive down the road into our neighborhood in the evening. I don't know much about astronomy but I'm pretty sure if you live anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere you will find Orion in your eastern/southeastern winter sky.

Three stars in a neat little row form Orion's belt, one of the most recognizable asterisms in the winter sky. If you can find them, it is easy to imagine the hunter's shoulders and knees extending outward from the belt. To see how the hunter takes shape, click here.


I call Orion my hero because frankly, he is one of the only constellations that I can find, and it just makes me feel smart to be able to name him. I also love the familiar feeling of the season. I know that winter is coming when "the hunter" greets me on my way home from church on a Wednesday night. Stars and seasons, a fascinating thing God set in motion in the beginning. "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." Gen 1:14-15


Did you know that my friend, the hunter, is even mentioned by name in the Bible? "Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades? Can you loose the cords of Orion? Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear with its cubs? Do you know the laws of the heavens?" Job 38:31-32 That was the voice of God questioning Job.

We don't look to the sky anymore to judge the seasons, we just flip our calendars. Sometimes we don't even notice those lights up there. Go outside tonight and just look up. People have been looking at those same stars and calling them by name for thousands of years. That makes me feel so small, but I don't mind because it also reminds me that my God is very, very BIG. (Click to Tweet)

Does Your Christmas Fit?

I recently wrote an article for our Shoreline Enewsletter called Does Your Christmas Fit?

Have you ever received a gift that didn't fit? Maybe a sweater that was too small. You could get it on, but you couldn't breath. Maybe a jacket that was too big and it swallowed you whole, like Jonah in the whale. I realized a couple years ago that Christmas as usual didn't fit. It was uncomfortable and something needed to change........ Click here and scroll down to read the whole article.


A wrote a similar piece for the November issue of Austin Faith and Family, a local community magazine. You can pick one up at the Shoreline Coffee Shop, Randalls, HEB and other locations around town. Click here to read the online version. There are three dots under the magazine, click the middle dot and look for pages 32-33. The article is titled Presents with a Purpose, it is a black page with white text. You can click on the page to zoom in, and it is easier to read.

If you have time to read both...please vote in the comments which piece you prefer. I'm curious!

Clean

I love a squeaky clean little boy fresh out of the tub! It's been a while since my boys took baths...OK, it's been a while since they were little. Even still...they smell so good when they get out of the shower. I just have to hug 'em and I remember.

I remember washing them off with a hose in the backyard after they played in the mud and telling them that not all mommies would let their boys play in the mud! I hope they remember that I let them get dirty. I remember all the nights I sat by the tub while they played in the water. I remember when bubble bath was a regular item on the grocery list. Now the only bubble bath in the house is mine.

Sometimes selfishness and pride stick to me like mud. I grasp impatiently at the things I want for myself and junk gets under my nails. I need a good long soak to loose up all that crud. I think about Jesus washing dirty, smelly disciple feet and I know that our crud is not too much for him. Listen to this exchange between Jesus and Peter: He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet? ......No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!" Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean....." John 13:6-10

And we are clean. Washed in the cleansing blood of Jesus. Oh precious is the flow, that makes us white as snow! At dinner Jesus washed the disciples feet, that night he washed us all....completely.....CLEAN.

Receive his forgiveness! Soak in his grace ...you are clean!

A Life Changing Conference - Shine

Shine 2010 is just around the corner! I am expecting great things! Shine conference is always a significant moment in my year. I can't help but wonder what God is going speak into my life and in the lives of his girls this coming weekend.


I will never forget Shine 2004, because I so did not want to go! There was a princess theme, and I felt nothing like a princess. My happily ever after seemed so far out of reach and I didn't feel the least bit shine-y! God reached down and called me to the conference with this verse: Psalm 18:28 For You cause my lamp to be lighted and to shine; the Lord my God illumines my darkness. (AMP) I knew I didn't have to make myself shine...God would shine His light in my darkness. I went to the conference and it was life-changing.

Each session featured an amazing drama sketch with our Little Princess, her princess entourage, and the man in the mirror. In nearly every sketch the princesses faced some sort of challenge, and dear Sleeping Beauty would just keel over. She laid there motionless for the rest of the scene. We all laughed. The skits were hysterical, with cleverly written dialogue. Something happened over the course of the weekend as I saw Sleeping Beauty faint over and over and over again. I saw myself. Circumstances in my life got to be too much for me and I wilted. I fainted. I chose to respond by NOT responding. I watched Sleeping Beauty lay there and I knew it was time for me to wake up. It was time to Rise Up. Courage was planted in my heart that weekend to face the giants in my life. It was a turning point on my journey.

Maybe, I am the only girl who noticed Sleeping Beauty and heard that wake up call. Isn't that one of the most amazing things about the Holy Spirit? He can take one message, one song, one skit and speak a thousand different things to each set of ears. God give me THOSE ears to hear what you want to say to me in 2010.

I believe God has a message for his daughters! Join us at Shine Nov 4-6 and keep your eyes and ears open!