Friday night I ventured to Vevay, Indiana again...where everyone knows everyone, and where I have no cell phone reception (nice). :)
It was kind of nice to just get away, hang with one of my best buds (Casie), and not worry about what parties or social functions I was missing back home. We made our own schedule, and had some good old fashioned small-town fun. We went to Vevay's Annual Swiss Wine Festival, and it was exactly what you envision a small-town festival to be. It was funnel cakes and face painting, country music and corn on the cobb; crafts and carnival rides, and fireworks over the river. We watched a parade down main street, and I even got to judge the cheerleading competition! What fun!
Today, back to reality...but only for 3 days. Thursday it's off to Destin, and I can't wait! If anyone needs me, i'll be somewhere asleep in the sand...
Monday, August 28, 2006
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
There's God
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding..."
Proverbs 3:5
Sometimes in life we have what my pastor, Andy Stanley, likes to call "Where's God" moments. Moments when you look at a situation, and wonder how in the world God could let something like that happen. I'm sure many of my friends, as well as tons of people in the Atlanta area have felt caught in the midst of a "Where's God" moment this past week, as we watched a tragedy unfold right before our eyes. I was shocked when I got a text early Wednesday morning that a friend's mom, Jenny Ewing was missing. I immediately began to pray that she would be found, but as the hours wore on, I feared the worst.
When I heard word that her body had been found, I was horrified...and my mind instantly flashed back to a similar scene, when I mourned the death of two coworkers and friends, Lori Brown and Cindy Williams, who were brutally murdered in a random act of violence just three years ago. It's so easy to look at both of these situations and think..."God, where were you when this was happening? Where were you when these families' foundations were rocked to the core?"
As I sat in Jenny's memorial service on Monday, I was surrounded by "There's God" moments. I sat among hundreds and hundreds of people who were impacted by the life of this woman, and the events that led up to her glorious journey home...there's God.
I watched as one by one, her children, family and friends painted the picture of a woman who was a light to all who crossed her path. An incredible wife, mother, friend and servant of the Lord who left a legacy that many can only hope to acheive in a lifetime...there's God.
Jimmy said his mother always told him that the enemy attacks those who are a threat. This is so true. But over the past week, we have watched this family stand firm - firm in their committment to each other, and firm in their refusal to let the enemy get a stronghold on them...there's God.
It was just two weeks ago that Voddie Baucham spoke of his own family. With tears in his eyes, he said that every couple should live their lives and raise their children up so that when they are gone, their children are the missles that they fire out into the world to continue the fight against Satan, and to spread God's word far and wide. It is evident in the lives and actions of her children that Jenny exemplified this principle.
Also at the memorial, their family pastor read from Proverbs 31, of what a Godly woman should look like. Instead of being sad, I walked away from the service moved and humbled to hear the story of a woman who's life embodied this very description...
"An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain....Strenght and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future. She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue...Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband also, and he praises her saying: many daughters have done nobly, but you excel them all."
I am inspired and ever so humbled...There's God.
Bigger Than Me
By: Amanda Bailey
I'll admit I like to win
and hear a 'that a girl' every now and then
a pat on the back, a compliment, feels ok
I'd like to see my name in lights
and I'd like to sail my ship into paradise
I want things that sparkle and shine
but glitter fades
And at the end of the day
I want to hear them say
she gives more than she takes
Cause there is something bigger than me
How will they remember me?
Did I laugh enough?
Did I give, did I love?
Did I make an offering...to something that is bigger than me
I could quickly make a list
of this or that I need to bring me happiness
I'd like to be the best of the best at anything
But is it wisdom or age
experience or grace
that helps me find my way
To something that is bigger than me
and what I want the world to see
is it beauty from within
that only comes when I give unselfishly
to something that is bigger than me
Let the sun shine down on me
Let the wind blow soft upon my skin
Let the rain wash my fears away
Let me live if only just to live for something that is bigger than me
A love, a light, a legacy
I look in my daughter's eyes, I know I leave behind
A reason to believe
in something that is bigger than me
Proverbs 3:5
Sometimes in life we have what my pastor, Andy Stanley, likes to call "Where's God" moments. Moments when you look at a situation, and wonder how in the world God could let something like that happen. I'm sure many of my friends, as well as tons of people in the Atlanta area have felt caught in the midst of a "Where's God" moment this past week, as we watched a tragedy unfold right before our eyes. I was shocked when I got a text early Wednesday morning that a friend's mom, Jenny Ewing was missing. I immediately began to pray that she would be found, but as the hours wore on, I feared the worst.
When I heard word that her body had been found, I was horrified...and my mind instantly flashed back to a similar scene, when I mourned the death of two coworkers and friends, Lori Brown and Cindy Williams, who were brutally murdered in a random act of violence just three years ago. It's so easy to look at both of these situations and think..."God, where were you when this was happening? Where were you when these families' foundations were rocked to the core?"
As I sat in Jenny's memorial service on Monday, I was surrounded by "There's God" moments. I sat among hundreds and hundreds of people who were impacted by the life of this woman, and the events that led up to her glorious journey home...there's God.
I watched as one by one, her children, family and friends painted the picture of a woman who was a light to all who crossed her path. An incredible wife, mother, friend and servant of the Lord who left a legacy that many can only hope to acheive in a lifetime...there's God.
Jimmy said his mother always told him that the enemy attacks those who are a threat. This is so true. But over the past week, we have watched this family stand firm - firm in their committment to each other, and firm in their refusal to let the enemy get a stronghold on them...there's God.
It was just two weeks ago that Voddie Baucham spoke of his own family. With tears in his eyes, he said that every couple should live their lives and raise their children up so that when they are gone, their children are the missles that they fire out into the world to continue the fight against Satan, and to spread God's word far and wide. It is evident in the lives and actions of her children that Jenny exemplified this principle.
Also at the memorial, their family pastor read from Proverbs 31, of what a Godly woman should look like. Instead of being sad, I walked away from the service moved and humbled to hear the story of a woman who's life embodied this very description...
"An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain....Strenght and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future. She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue...Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband also, and he praises her saying: many daughters have done nobly, but you excel them all."
I am inspired and ever so humbled...There's God.
Bigger Than Me
By: Amanda Bailey
I'll admit I like to win
and hear a 'that a girl' every now and then
a pat on the back, a compliment, feels ok
I'd like to see my name in lights
and I'd like to sail my ship into paradise
I want things that sparkle and shine
but glitter fades
And at the end of the day
I want to hear them say
she gives more than she takes
Cause there is something bigger than me
How will they remember me?
Did I laugh enough?
Did I give, did I love?
Did I make an offering...to something that is bigger than me
I could quickly make a list
of this or that I need to bring me happiness
I'd like to be the best of the best at anything
But is it wisdom or age
experience or grace
that helps me find my way
To something that is bigger than me
and what I want the world to see
is it beauty from within
that only comes when I give unselfishly
to something that is bigger than me
Let the sun shine down on me
Let the wind blow soft upon my skin
Let the rain wash my fears away
Let me live if only just to live for something that is bigger than me
A love, a light, a legacy
I look in my daughter's eyes, I know I leave behind
A reason to believe
in something that is bigger than me
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