Ode to Holly

Saturday night, Holly, a girl I went to school with, died of cancer. She was 27 years old and had a little girl. Holly was always the quiet, shy one. She never stood out in a crowd, but when you were with her in a small group, she would get a look of mischief and always liked to have a good time. Holly went with a group of us (16 in 2 hotel rooms) to Panama City for Spring Break. She never complained but held on for the ride. :)

About 2 years ago, Holly found a lump in her breast. When they went into remove it, they found that her body was covered with cancer. The doctors did what they could, but it had spread so far (even into her brain).

It is very sad to think that Holly died at such a young age. We can take comfort in knowing that she is with our Lord and that she is no longer in pain. My heart goes out to her parents- no one should have to bury their own child. It goes out to her little girl who will not be able to grow up under her mother's watchful eye. It goes out to her brother and sister and other family, who will miss Holly dearly.

Life is short. You never know when God may choose to bring you into his presence (away from earth). If you died today, do you know where you will spend eternity? We will never know why Holly developed cancer and what God's purpose was in this. As humans, we cannot imagine how it could bring Him glory and yet it does. My thoughts and prayers are with Holly's family. If you are reading this, please stop and say a prayer for Holly's family. Thank God for your life and all He has blessed you with and the fact that you are healthy. "Let everything that has breath Praise the Lord." I praise God for Holly!!!!

Being Thankful

I am the kind of person that doesn't like to reread a book because I already know what is going to happen. Amazingly, it is not the same with the Bible. I can reread a verse, chapter, book, etc. time and time again, and God shows me something new. That's one of the reasons it is called the "Living Word". Currently, I am rereading Psalms. There are parts of Psalms that are so serene (Psalms 23) and others where David is calling out to God in anguish, feeling forsaken. As the reader, I am caught up in the emotion and can associate with David as we have all experienced highs and lows in our life. What God has shown me as I have been rereading Psalms is that even though David cried out to the Lord in anger and pain and hopelessness, he was always reminded in the end that God is in control and that God will prevail. God is faithful to bring us out of our depths of pain and despair and gather us in his arms and hold us while the storm rages. "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord." Not just when times are good or really great, but at all times!!
So often, we spend our time thinking of all the material and earthly things we are thankful for- our job, our home, our car, our family and friends. We should also be thankful for the cross and the fact that God sent his only son to die on the cross for our sins. We should be thankful that God chose us, as Christians, to recieve a heavenly inheritance of eternal life. We should be thankful for that hope that God's promises bring. We should be thankful for the many ways God has blessed us and proven again and again to be faithful. Just as David praised God in I Chronicles 16 (see below) so should we praise God!!!!

Being Thankful

David's Psalm of Thanks (I Chronicles 16:7-36)
7 That day David first committed to Asaph and his associates this psalm of thanks to the LORD :
8 Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.
9 Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.
10 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
11 Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.
12 Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
13 O descendants of Israel his servant, O sons of Jacob, his chosen ones.
14 He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth.
15 He remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded, for a thousand generations,
16 the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac.
17 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant:
18 "To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion you will inherit."
19 When they were but few in number, few indeed, and strangers in it,
20 they wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another.
21 He allowed no man to oppress them; for their sake he rebuked kings:
22 "Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm."
23 Sing to the LORD, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day.
24 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
25 For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.
26 For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.
27 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy in his dwelling place.
28 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength,
29 ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name. Bring an offering and come before him; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.
30 Tremble before him, all the earth! The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.
31 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, "The LORD reigns!"
32 Let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them!
33 Then the trees of the forest will sing, they will sing for joy before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth.
34 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
35 Cry out, "Save us, O God our Savior; gather us and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, that we may glory in your praise."
36 Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Then all the people said "Amen" and "Praise the LORD."

T-Minus 3 Days

In 3 days, I will turn 30 years old. As I glanced in the mirror, I think I am even beginning to look like I'm 30 years old. If 30 is the new 20, then what is 20? I know, I know, I've written about turning 30 before. It is a major milestone for me and with it coming up in about 30 hours, I am not sure I am ready. My friend Greg turned 30 on Saturday. He was going to lay in bed all day but he said "Self, get out of bed." I suppose that on my birthday, I will have to say "Self, get out of bed." I may have to tell my-self that several times, but I will get out of bed (I have a manicure appointment scheduled for 11:30 am and lots of shopping to do). I suppose I take comfort in the fact that others have gone before me and turned 30 and survived. If they can do it, I can too.

God's Palette

Em and Les have both been talking about cold weather and it got me thinking about the day we have had here in Memphis. As I drove in this morning, I noticed that the sky was a light blue. There wasn't a cloud in sight and the fall leaves were absolutely beautiful. Thank you, God, for creating a colorful world in order to display your majesty and greatness!!! Thank you, God, for giving us, as humans, the ability to appreciate color and to recognize its beauty. The Bible says "Shout to the Lord, all the earth" (Psalms 98). That means everything!!

So here is my question. . . what are you doing to display God's greatness and majesty? How are you praising your creator?? If God put as much care into grass- making it green and soft- just think about all the work He put into making each of us who we are!!! O Lord, MY Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!!!

Things to Do- This Week

For the Week of November 14, 2005. . .
Monday- Junior League Mtg at Camp Good Grief (Bereavement Camp) and hang out with Kim and Brenley (her daughter) tonight.
Tuesday- Workout after work, that's it
Wednesday- BUNKO!!! I hope I win again this month!
Thursday- Dinner with girl from church and "The Gathering" at Bellevue
Weekend- Still unsure- I will either stay in town or go shopping in Nashville.

The wedding went well, despite some minor glitches. It was a beautifully warm, fall day to have an outdoor wedding. The only thing that tried to put a hamper on the wedding were the bees. A good time was had by all (I'll attach pics soon).

On Sunday night, we studied Psalms 37. Isn't it awesome to know that God is faithful. My favorite part is verses 4-5:
4 Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:

I love how the "Message" puts it:

4Keep company with GOD,
get in on the best.
5Open up before GOD, keep nothing back;
he'll do whatever needs to be done:

So often, we hang onto things that we think we can control or feelings that we like to relish in. But the Bible says to give it all to God because He will "do what needs to be done". In 11 days I am turning 30 years old. I have been dreading it for the past year. I have accomplished so many things in my life and yet, there are other desires of my heart that I have not been blessed with. The devil wanted me to look upon my 30th birthday with dread and to feel like a failure. I relished in self-pity for a day or two, but God brought me to Psalms 104 and 105 and reminded me that He is in control of EVERYTHING and that I should praise Him for all. Here is what He says:
Psalm 105 (The Message)
1Hallelujah!
Thank GOD! Pray to him by name!
Tell everyone you meet what he has done!
2Sing him songs, belt out hymns,
translate his wonders into music!
3Honor his holy name with Hallelujahs,
you who seek GOD. Live a happy life!
4Keep your eyes open for GOD, watch for his works;
be alert for signs of his presence.
5Remember the world of wonders he has made,
his miracles, and the verdicts he's rendered--

I'm not going to listen to Satan's lies anymore. Instead, I am going to praise God for all that he has done in my life and all that he has planned to do. So, although, I am no longer dreading to turn 30 years old, I may still call it 20-10. :)

Things to Do- This Week

Here is what I have "been up to" this week...
Monday- Please refer to the below mouse escapade AND watching "Laguna Beach" :)
Tuesday- Grizzlies game- I am SO excited!!!
Wednesday- Going away party at Bosco's for co-worker- yes, I am already the department party planner!!
Thursday- hmm, nothing yet- I'll figure something out
Friday- Bridesmaid luncheon and rehearsal dinner for Marla Pinkley (I am singing "I Will Be Here"- she really wanted "In this Very Room" but it didn't seem appropriate since it was an outdoor wedding. Marla and I were sorority sisters at UTM. We lived together our senior year and then for a year out of college.)
Saturday- Marla's wedding!!! Yea- its about time- she's only been dating the guy for 7 years.

That's my weekly update. Stay tuned for next week!!!

Mouse in the House

Oh my gosh!!! There has been a mouse in our house for several days now and it has given me the heebie-jeebies!!! I thought I heard something scratching about on Sunday afternoon, but the noise stopped when I walked into the kitchen (go figure). Yesterday, Cindy (my sister) found some mouse poop in the pantry floor. She started cleaning out the bottom shelves of the pantry last night (I was standin guard with broom in hand) and the mouse ran out and then ran behind the refrigerator. Well, of course, we both screamed!!! I jumped up into the kitchen chair (I didn't have any shoes on) and we proceeded to scream for a good 30 seconds. :) We immediately left and went to the grocery to purchase mouse traps. This morning, we had a nice, little present on one of the sticky strips- a mouse!!! As much as I love animals, I am all about killing anything in the insect, spider, and rodent family!!! Let's just hope that Mickey's brother or sister isn't still lurking!!!

Trick Or Treat

Last night, I got to experience my first Halloween as a candy-giver. It was so much fun to see the kids all dresssed up going around to different homes trick-or-treating. I especially loved seeing the little ones that were experiencin their first Halloween as candy takers. There was a little boy dressed as a teddy bear. I wanted to keep him, he was so cute!!!

What amazed me was the way these kids grabbed for the candy. The weren't just taking 1-2 pieces, they were taking 4-5 pieces. Greedy little kids, I tell you. Were we ever this greedy when we would go trick-or-treating? I thought you only took 1-2 pieces. I guess with competition for "the most candy", these kids have to fight tooth-and-nail for their spot in that game.

Maybe since this was my first foray into the candy-giver status, I didn't know what to expect. Who knows. It was still fun!!!