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!

For However You Are

For however you are....whether life is quiet or fast pace...God has a word for you:




Being Still - Be still, and know that I am God.... Psalm 46

Sitting - Martha had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said...Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.... Luke 10

Standing - Therefore 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.... Ephesians 6

Walking - Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly.... Matthew 11
.

Running - 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....Hebrews 12

Soaring - But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles.... Isaiah 40

Is God challenging you to sit and listen? Is He giving you the strength to stand? Or has He invited you to soar? Where do you see yourself in this season of your life?

Not Your Ordinary Newlywed Advice

Wanted to share my latest guest contribution at Created Woman:

Maybe I was naïve, or maybe I was just incredibly idealistic but the hardest lesson to learn as a young bride was that life is not like the movies. I’m stepping out on a limb here but I don’t think I am the only girl who cried in her pillow at night when the honeymoon was over. Looking back after almost 20 years of marriage, I’ve learned a lot – a lot that you might not normally read in one of those 2 pound bridal magazines. So here are my top three tips for new brides....click here to read more at createdwoman.net

Hungry for Righteousness

Something happens to me when I get an opportunity to speak or share or after I post a new blog...I get really hungry! No, it's not the munchies, I wish. The truth is, I click back and refresh and check my email and wait like a dog with my tongue hanging out for comments and feedback. I hunger for it.

I've been asking God to curb this appetite for words of affirmation from others, to stop this hunger in my soul - and this verse came to my heart:

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6

I think Jesus said this because he knows we get hungry. He doesn't blast the hunger, he directs it. We take our hunger to those around us. We hunger and thirst for approval, to be right with men. Jesus said blessed are those who hunger and thirst to be right with ME. My appetite for the approval of others will never be satisfied. What happens if I say something stupid that nobody likes? Jesus is the only one who can satisfy my hunger. He said those of you who hunger and thirst to be right with me - will be filled. That's the contentment I'm longing for.

Disclaimer: It wasn't easy to post this blog. Part of me wondered if my readers would ever leave comments again or if they would opt to join God in my character development. Well, you are excused from commenting on this post! God is working in my heart. But your feedback is also helping me grow so don't hold back forever! :)