Noise

I opened the blog of a friend the other day. I'm not sure what the rest of her post was about because I didn't get past one statement she made in the beginning. She said this:

"I also deactivated my Facebook account. I thought I would miss it but my mind is 100% more peaceful now. Isn't that weird? My life feels much quieter."

I have had the Spirit touch my heart with things that people have said before, but never this quick. Something in my heart jumped when I read that.

"...my mind is 100% more peace now...My life feels much quieter."

I love social networking. I've had a blast getting to know so many people through those avenues, but it provides a lot of extra voices and background noise. I'm not saying that it is all bad. I'm just saying that it can get very busy and noisy.

And oftentimes, it is the quiet God longs for us to seek so He can speak.

Wednesday Wanderings

I have nothing but randomness for you today!

We had a great weekend out of town. We meet up with my husband's family from West Virginia every year in Lexington. This year there were 27 of us! We took over the hotel and had a blast! We laughed until we cried. There were kids everywhere -- lots of little kids this year.

We came home Monday night to a snowy Williamson County. We couldn't believe that our entire drive home was fine until we hit our county line. The snow began to fall like crazy and the roads suddenly became quite slick. It was apparent that there would be no school and soon we got that call. We have used 7 of the 10 days built into our school year for snow. I can't remember a year since I was in highschool that we have had that happen! Keep in mind that Tennesseans let out school for even a hint of wintry weather and a couple of the days have been more like "rain days." At first we were excited to have them. But now that we are halfway through February and we have only had one full week of school since Christmas, this Mom is ready for her routine back!

So today is the first day back for school and Lindsey is home sick!! She started feeling bad yesterday afternoon and by bedtime was running almost a 101 fever. We are headed to the doc in a few, but I think it is strep. I'll be surprised if it isn't because of all the symptoms.

And a quick bullet list of randoms before I head off to finally get in the shower!

• Our heat went out downstairs and it will be Friday before they fix it. We woke up with the thermostat showing 57 downstairs! But since it was 23 outside and we slept in sweats and snuggled...it wasn't so bad!


• My friend, Jennifer, is blogging over at Home by Faith. I love her dearly and especially love her writing. She is a homeschooling mom of two boys and has quick reads full of wisdom! Check her out. She'll hate that I did this -- she is just that humble!


• Happy Birthday to my sweet nephew, Lucas!


• I'm having ongoing conversations with advisors about my son's high school schedule next year! HIGH SCHOOL!!! Wasn't he just a toddler yesterday? Any prayers you pray for him will not be wasted as it looks like he will be in all honors classes. His world is about to be rocked! So is mine, I'm afraid!! You know that baby brand of products called "Just One Year?" I feel like I have a brand on his forehead that reads "Just 4 More Years." Lord, can you stop time like you did for Joshua??

I've had this passage on my heart for the past 24 hours nonstop. I have thought about it while I have gone to sleep and think it about the minute I wake up. Maybe you need to hear it, too:

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:35, 37-39 NIV

Thank you, God, that even when our wandering hearts make us feel separated from You at times, You never stop loving us. Thank You for so great a salvation and so great a love!

Blessings,
Dori

ABC Scripture Memory

I was thinking about the Living Proof Live Simulcast that I helped to coordinate at our church this past August. Beth Moore taught on Psalm 37. She explained the literary composition of this passage and that it was written in a way that it would be easy to memorize based on the Hebrew Alphabet.

She challenged us with this: She used to warn people that were really battling the enemy coming at them that they needed to memorize scripture. But she said she had changed her mind. EVERYONE needs to be memorizing scripture. She suggested that we follow David's lead and memorize scripture by the alphabet.

Today, I spent some time putting together a MSWord file to be printed on 4x6 notecards for me to use personally and with my children.

You can do a couple of things with this.

For example, you can spend $1.29 at Walgreen's for an acrylic 4x6 photo frame that has a magnet to put on your fridge. You can tackle one scripture each week and put it on the fridge in your frame. You can do the same with a frame that sits on the bathroom counter.

Another example might be something I just did for a friend who was going to have a biopsy. I can tell you that it had to be an idea from God because I'm not that sensitive to think to do it AND it was the perfect gift for her. She thanked me for it again this week.

Go to the dollar store and buy an inexpensive photo album. Buy the kind that you just throw in your purse. I mean CHEAP! If you want to spend money on the fancy ones that is fine. But the one I used literally was less than $2. For Robin, I filled it with scriptures on God's peace, His healing and His joy.

For your family, you can use it a couple of different ways. Print out the cards and put them in the photo album and keep it with you or keep it where your family members can read it. Maybe leave it on the table and every night at dinner work on a scripture together.

You can pull together your own scriptures, but if you want my file I will be happy to send it to you. Just e-mail me at doricook (at) bellsouth (dot) net.

Beth also challenged us to get a partner. Go for it! Whatever it takes for us to get some scriptures in our mind...let's do this!!

"Guide my steps by your word, so I will not be overcome by any evil." Psalm 119:133 NLT

 

Blessings,

Dori

Tiaras and Princesses

  Originally written in October 2008

Friends, I totally wore a tiara out to Chili's tonight! And I didn't think twice about what people thought. You know why? Because my sweet girl was wearing one, too, and we were being twin Princesses -- Daughters of the King!

We had a wonderfully blessed day! Lindsey and I had the privilege of attending a Confidence in Christ conference at our church -- for girls, grades 1 through 8, and their moms. We participated in awesome worship led by my friend, Julie Goss, who is usually praising Him from the Living Proof Live stage. The keynote speaker this morning was Holly Thompson, morning anchor at our local NBC affiliate. She was great and the girls loved her. I participated in some great mini-sessions for the moms. Lindsey attended sessions on worship, prayer, health and manners. We both received a t-shirt and a tiara -- that's how we became the twin Princesses totally stepping out in royalty at Chili's!

What a unique gathering this was at our church today. CNC Ministries was birthed by one of our home girls, a former Mrs. America. And another of our friends at our church is Tara Dawn Christiansen, Miss America 1997! One of the most interesting moments of the day for me was when Tara stepped to the microphone with a simple wooden box that contained her Miss America crown.

She began to tell how her life changed from the moment she put on "the crown." She explained that she had written presidents prior to wearing the crown, but she never heard back. After she was given the crown, she was invited to their office. Prior to becoming Miss America, she lived in a regular old house. After becoming Miss America she stayed in the Presidential Suites and penthouses of the finest hotels. Before the crown, she drove an old beat up Ford Taurus. After the crown, she arrived everywhere in a stretch limo!

But an interesting thing happened in 1998. It was someone else's turn to be Miss America. She arrived at the competition sporting her beautiful adornment -- in a stretch limo, of course. She participated in the program and the time came for her to crown the new Miss America. Immediately after the ceremony, she was asked to sign a release saying she would never wear the crown in public again. She then drove away in her old beat-up Ford Taurus.

The point is that this beautiful crown was given to her and offered her tremendous privileges and invitations. With it she was invited into the presence of dignitaries and famous people. But the day someone else took over the title, it just became a crown in a box and the invitations and privileges were no longer there. But she began to explain that she realized that this crown in this simple wooden box was just that. However, she has a crown that she wears on the "inside" that has eternal value. It was given to her by the King of Kings and it offers her unlimited privileges and the most important invitation -- to sit at his feet and learn from him and to join him one day!

And while the amazing crown we saw today nearly took our breath away with its sparkling beauty, it has no lasting value. The only crown that matters in this life is the one placed on our head the day we asked Jesus to come in and make our heart His home. Once we realize the cost of that crown and the price that was paid by the One who gave it to us, we will realize that nothing else matters than walking in the privilege and rights of being a Daughter of the King...a beautiful Princess, an oak of righteousness, planted for the display of His glory.

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion - to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. (Isaiah 61:1-3)

So, walk with your shoulders back and your head held high. He is your Father. He is the King and that makes you, my dear, His fearfully and wonderfully made princess!

Blessings,
Dori