Though None Go With Me

Jerry B. Jenkins, co-author of the "Left Behind" series, wrote a book entitled, "Though None Go With Me" a few years ago. Having never read nor even heard of his most recent publication, today I was delighted to go out to the mailbox and discover that this book turned Hallmark movie was now sitting in the mailbox courtesy of Netflix. Having nothing else on the calendar for today, I popped it into the DVD player and became entranced in the story line, unwilling to move from the couch even when nature called... TMI? :-) I found the message to be powerful and a strong reminder of the old song, "No Turning Back." Our commitments to follow Christ unconditionally are not bargains. We do not strike deals with the Creator in hopes that He will honor our plans and goals for our future. To make the decision that "I have decided to follow Jesus...Though none go with me, still I will follow. No turning back. No turning back," is a promise that whatever life befalls me, I will stay the course. In anger and loss, no matter the cost - no turning back. If you've never read the book, nor seen the movie, YOU MUST! This is a truly enjoyable film as it is a remarkable story, yet powerfully convicting. Check it out at:

http://www.christiancinema.com/catalog/newsdesk_info.php?newsdesk_id=203

"The Fright During Lunchtime"

I decided to blog about the events of my day in a less "traditional" manner. Embarrassing, but true, this is my story:

'Twas the dawning of lunchtime, when all through the restaurant,
Not a soul was complaining, the buffet fully stocked.
My potatoes were placed by my chicken with care,
In hopes that no one would ask me to share!
The hot rolls were snuggled all warm with the bread,
While visions of butter dripped in my head;
With Mom in the restroom, I returned to our booth,
Hoping to satisfy my sweet tooth,
When at the table there arose such a clatter,
I looked up to see what was the matter.
And then it hit me, just like a flash,
I'd sat down at the wrong table and wanted to dash!
My embarrassment and humiliation started to show,
The luster of my cheeks beginning to glow...
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But the occupier of the booth to which I'd wrongfully steered!
She glared and she hissed and began to insist,
And I knew in a moment I had to act quick!
More rapid than eagles my heart rate became,
And I huffed, and I scooted, until out of the booth I came!
"So Sorry! How Stupid! Excuse my mistake!"
Apologies I offered. Not a breath did I take!
Onto my scooter and away I rolled,
Realizing this blunder was awkward and bold!
As dry leaves the night before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,
So over to my rightful table I flew,
With a plate full of veggies and pineapple, too???
And then, in a twinkling, my brain did awaken,
I realized the wrong in the plate I had taken!
As I drew in my breath, and was turning around,
toward my direction came Amazon Woman with a bound.
She was dressed all in spandex, from her head to her foot,
And her clothes were black, my taste they did not suit;
"Oh no! She will knock me flat on my back!
She's a heavy broad, a mean punch she will pack!"
My eyes -- how they widened! My goodness, how scary!
Her cheeks were so chubby, her nose was so hairy!
A large, frothing mouth bore this formidable foe,
And the beard of her chin was an unappealing show.
She had a mean face and a fat, round belly,
That shook, with each step like a bowlful of jelly.
She was chubby and grumpy, not jolly like an elf,
And I cringed when I saw her, wanting to kill myself;
A glare of her eye and a shake of her head,
Gave indication that soon I'd be dead!
She spoke not a word, but went straight to work,
Pulled her plate from my hand; then turned with a jerk,
Then striking her finger in an ungodly pose,
She shot me a glare! This is how my luck goes...
Mom sprang into action, and gave me a whistle,
And away I flew like the down of a thistle.
And I heard Mom exclaim, laughing with glee:

"You sat at the wrong table, Honey!"

"I know! Leave me be!"

The Dangers of Boredom...

Okay, today I found out that I am left brained, I have a pink heart, I am most like the French philosopher Descartes, if I were a Bible character, I would be Paul, my "actual age" is 26, I have a Northern American accent encompassing New York State/Great Lakes area/Western New England, if I were a disaster, I would be a flood, my life is best characterized by the '80's movie, "The Princess Bride", and I was Ghandi in my previous life...... Who knew? All of this brought on by the fact that I am elevating my foot, home alone, hungry and, drum roll please.........BORED! Somehow, I thought that I would enjoy passing the time by taking as many interesting online quizzes as possible. Were I to choose the outcome of these quizzes, I would have a red heart, be an American philosopher, be most like the Bible character, Ruth, my "actual age" would be my actual age, I would have an elegant, Southern accent, probably still be a flood, prefer to be characterized by "Back to the Future", and would most certainly NOT have been Ghandi in my previous life.....I would've been Reagan, LOL! :-)

There's nothing wrong with boredom, although there IS something wrong in wasting time on sheer nonsense! Oh, to be a productive individual positively contributing to society once again! I have been thinking about the verse in the Bible that says, "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might!" Ecclesiastes 9:10. I wonder if that applies to cyber quizzes....?

Most of my days have been filled with baseball games, physical therapy, pizza (that is getting old REAL fast) and re-runs of "Different Strokes"! I LOVE that show! Arnold used to be my hero (and probably still is). That quick witted shrimp provided hope for the vertically challenged; that even though we were small in stature, we would be respected for our signature comebacks, fearless tongue and the sharp mind from whence it all came! :-) God bless Gary Coleman.

I would like to go see "The Bucket List" this evening. Wednesday evenings are "Girls' Night" as the guys are much more spiritual than we are. They go to church. We heathens usually go out to dinner and/or a movie. It serves as a much needed break from Mom's busy work week and a chance for me to get out of the house. We'll see if my plan comes together!

I enjoyed watching "We Are Marshall" yesterday. If you've not seen it, I can recommend it. I love the fact that it is based on a true story and the movie is squeaky clean. Matthew McConaghey does a good job in this film. WARNING: if you are a female, you will cry. It is inevitable, so you might as well embrace your fate right off the bat with a disclaimer to your husband.

Well, I think I just saw Whoopie Goldberg...time to change the channel! And, remember: "The world don't move to the beat of just one drum. It takes different strokes to move the world!"

Go ahead and click the "Play" button....you know you want to.

Word of God, Speak

I attended church with my parents this past Sunday as usual. A young, teenage girl sang one of my favorite songs for special music, "Word of God, Speak". I felt like I'd been hit with a two-by-four. Unfortunately, that happens with me quite a lot. I had been frustrated that I could not think of anything to blog about and realized that I have been quieter than usual the last couple of weeks, not for any reason in particular. As I listened to the lyrics of the song, it struck me that I am not always meant to be heard. It is not always necessary for me to have something to say, something to blog about, or even anything on my mind other than what the Lord chooses to put there.

I am learning more and more about what it means to truly rest; that to rest means to trust that God is who He says He is. His promises are true. I think often about what we are teaching our second graders at church on Wednesday nights: "He is the Truth", "There Is only One God", "He is the Alpha and Omega and everything in between". How simply and eagerly, without question and with complete willingness do these seven and eight-year-olds accept this because, to them, He simply Is. It's almost like there is greater wisdom in the heart of child, for accepting Christ so eagerly, than there is in my calloused, sometimes cynical heart. Perhaps it is times like these that the words to this song ring truest: "Word of God, speak! Would you pour down like rain washing my eyes to see your majesty, to be still and know that you're in this place? Please let me stay and rest in your holiness." I guess that does put one at "a loss for words"...



Because of the above, we can now say, "God of wonders beyond all majesty, You are Holy!" I was lying awake in bed the other night, when I felt the room begin to shake gently. I realized I was experiencing an earthquake, probably for the first time! To think that God has the power to move Heaven and earth - beyond what any earthquake, flood, hurricane can accomplish - He is truly great in power beyond what the mind can fathom. That the One who is rich in such power would choose to love is beyond me.

The "Lemonator"...

I realized I haven't blogged in a VERY LONG TIME! I haven't had much to say. Lately, some new material has surfaced. Any faithful reader will remember the grape analogy that I've used frequently while blogging, and that I am trying to achieve the characteristics and attributes of a true grape. I think I've recently learned that grapes are sometimes grapes of wrath. This will make more sense as you continue to read.

Recently, "Chef Val" (and, no, I do not normally refer to myself in the third person....that's a little weird) completed another kitchen creation. -- I decided to make Lemon Squares, one of my favorite desserts. I gathered all of my ingredients together, mixed everything accordingly and I even squeezed FRESH lemon juice into the batter. Hearing the stove timer go off was like music to my ears. This meant that I was 25 minutes closer to biting into one of the warm, citrus delights I'd just slaved over. I pulled the pan out of the oven, set it on the counter to cool and made a trip to the bathroom (the last fact would not normally be pertinent to a story, but it is in this situation). Upon returning from the bathroom (not even 3 minutes later), I found a big black and white fluffy monster standing on her hind legs with her head buried in the cooling pan of lemon squares. I was instantly transformed into a "grape of wrath". I rolled as fast as my leg would push me over to the ferocious beast consuming my baked goods (keep in mind that I am still using a scooter!) and proceeded to swat her furry rump with a kitchen towel. Fat lot of good that did! She continued eating out of the burning hot pan as though no one else was in the room. The least she could've done was acknowledge my wrath! That was it! Time to put the gloves on. I reached into a drawer and pulled out the oven mitts and proceeded to pry the pan away from the "Lemonator". The "Lemonator" goes by another alias: "Maggie", as well as "English Setter". Many would think, upon first glance, that she is cute and docile, not understanding that she belongs to a gang I like to call "The Counter Surfers". -- The struggle to regain possession of my precious Lemon Squares went on for hours.... Okay, so it was only a couple of seconds, but it felt like Pearl Harbor all over again. I thought I was going to have to call in reinforcements: the fly swatter and the squirt bottle - two of Maggie's most dreaded enemies. Finally, the great beast relinquished her jaws-of-life vice on the pan and the victory was mine.....or so I thought. Upon actually looking down into the pan, I realized that only half the contents remained...

IMPORTANT LESSON: Let experience be your guide. For example, when you find that your dog can consume an entire Thanksgiving pumpkin pie without becoming ill, eat a whole bag of Hershey Kisses without negative ramifications, inhale razor blades without any pain at all, survive electricution while gnawing on an extension cord, destroys your electric toothbrush while licking acid off of the batteries, and inhale half a pan of Lemon Squares in no time flat, DON'T LEAVE ANYTHING ON THE COUNTER! By the way, Maggie would like for everyone to know that textiles are her favorite snacks: toilet paper (fresh off the role, of course), underwear (pre-laundered), socks (the smellier, the better), t-shirts (clean or dirty), and blankets (only the best, most expensive ones), and, although this is not a textile, CHAP STICK is one of her personal faves....

FYI: The brownies that I just pulled out of the oven are cooling safely on top of the refrigerator. May the force be with her if she finds a way to get into those...

Ankle Update...

Today I had a follow up appointment with my orthopaedic physician. I was very anxious about it as I was afraid of getting a bad report. I thought I would have a much longer length of recovery yet to complete than what was indicated. I also thought that I would wind up sitting in the waiting room for two hours past my scheduled appointment like I did last time. I really wasn't looking forward to this much at all!

My appointment was at 11:30 this morning. At 11:32, my name was called! Yeah! Victory in Jesus! Okay, maybe that's overdoing it...

I had x-rays taken and the doc says they look good! He then went on to say that I only need to wear my removable cast/boot when out and about, more as protection than anything else. I no longer have to sleep in this or wear it 24/7. That was nice to hear. I feel 20 lbs. lighter when I'm not wearing that thing. I can start walking on my foot in four weeks. I must begin physical therapy next week, three times a week for six weeks. I'm not sure how I am going to work that one out as all of the physical therapy places that accept Beaumont insurance are closer to Detroit. That is too far for my parents to take me...three times a week! I will be making calls tomorrow to see if there is something closer to the Ann Arbor area that will accept my insurance. I am going to call a physical therapist whom I know well whose office is only one mile up the road from my parents' house. I want to see what he suggests. This is where it pays to have connections!

That is the scoop from a health perspective. The rest of the day was enjoyable. The weather was warm and sunny and my mom and I went out to lunch after retreiving mail and clothes from my condo. We then headed to church to pick up a pile of paperwork that has been accumulating in my mailbox. I also returned the revised VBS children's packets to Brien that I have been working on for the past month.

Tomorrow I will be making calls, scanning paperwork into a database and then going out with a friend for her 30th birthday. That's all the news for today!

Now it's time for a little humor:

A Minneapolis couple decided to go to Florida to thaw out during a particularly icy winter. They planned to stay at the same hotel where they spent their honeymoon 20 years earlier.

Because of hectic schedules, it was difficult to coordinate their travel schedules. So, the
husband left Minnesota and flew to Florida on Thursday, with his wife flying down the following day.

The husband checked into the hotel. There was a computer in his room, so he decided
to send an email to his wife. However, he accidentally left out one letter in her email address,
and without realizing his error, sent the email.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Houston , a widow had just returned home from her husband's
funeral. He was a minister who had passed away following a heart attack...

The widow decided to check her email expecting messages from relatives and friends.
After reading the first message, she screamed and fainted. The widow's son rushed into
the room, found his mother on the floor, and saw the computer screen which read:

To: My Loving Wife

Subject: I've Arrived

Date: October 16, 2005

I know you're surprised to hear from me.
They have computers here now and you are allowed to send emails to your loved ones. I've just arrived and have been checked in.
I've seen that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow.

Looking forward to seeing you then!!!!

Hope your journey is as uneventful as mine was.

P.S. Sure is freaking hot down here!!!!

Testify to Love - Avalon

"Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love." - Revelation 2:4

"At age nine, I accepted the Lord into my heart. Subsequent years have continually displayed the wonder of His love. They have also presented a challenge in learning how to respond to this amazing reality.

During the 1960's, my life was filled with the joys and opportunities of being a young wife and mother. As the daughter of a pastor, I knew the importance of seeking God's will for our lives and of being involved in Christian activity. My focus was filled with church, family and work but it was in the midst of 'the good life' that I lost sight of God's higher vision -- the vision of a deep and rich love relationship with Him!

It was not that church activity was the problem, nor other responsibilities. There are many wonderful things that come out of one's consistent commitment to church and family life. The issue was that I had allowed the good to become an enemy to what was best. Even good things can keep us from knowing the Lord as our first love.

When John the apostle wrote Revelation 2:4, it was to address this issue. This passage reveals that the church at Ephesus had become sidetracked in its priorities. The complaint brought by the Lord against the church was not for what they were doing, but for what they were failing to do! They had elevated the activity of kingdom work to a place of honor that belonged only to the King! He was calling them to return to their first love.

Failure to allow Jesus the highest place of honor in our lives will always displease the Father. It will always leave us with a compelling sense of loss, of incompleteness, a void, even an agony of heart that yearns for 'something more' while struggling to identify the real issues of inner conflict.

I have discovered we will not reach for more until we are dissatisfied with our current level of relationship. For me, the 1970's challenged the placed where I was in spiritual experience. I began to immerse my life in prayer opportunities and the Word. Truth called for repentance. I was filled with a deep hunger and a firm resolve to break free from the grip of mediocrity that always chokes out the best things from God. I prayed earnestly that God would launch me out into the deep with Him -- that He would swing me across that huge gulf called the 'cares of life', a gulf that so easily separates us from essential steps to furthering our God-ordained destiny. The decade became a season of new beginnings; my heart was being prepared for greater adventures with God.

This is the marvel of it all: Such adventures will always stretch you past yourself, past your fears and inability, past your struggles and bondages, while developing a clearer focus and a stronger faith. you will not only experience more of God's love, but you will be amazed at the exciting ways He arranges for you to share His love and minister in His name. Our vision of life is always limited; His vision is always greater.

Accept the challenge. Be passionate for Jesus. Embrace your first love! Only here will you discover grace perfectly fitted for your future. He is a phenomenal God!"

by Barbara James