Pray for Nick!

Please pray for my friend's brother, Nick. I have known them both since high school...

My brother was in a very bad motorcycle accident last night and just got out of surgery. He is in ICU and suffred bleeding between the skull and the brain. He was hit by a drunk driver.

He just became a Chrisitan a few weeks ago and the was coming home from bible study when it happend.

Please pray that he recovers okay......

My Man...

Broken and Beautiful...

Wrestling

Heavenly Dad and I did some serious wrestling last night. Something in me broke as I listened to Bentley hack and cough and as I thought about Denny and the surrounding circumstances. All the prayer energy I have put toward both...And then I thought of all the many stories of people who have stood on His promises for healing and deliverance who have never seen either in this lifetime. I just became overwhlemed with anger and frustration. In my spirit I yelled at Him and shook my fist and didn't care that it was the eve of the day we celebrate the birth of Christ. Because I felt more like Jesus during the time we now celebrate as Easter when he said "My God, Why have you forsaken me?!"

Then I fell asleep. And when I woke up a bunch of stuff fell into place in my head. It was like a tangled knot was undone. I was energized and thankful for a God I can be real with. Who will listen to me cry and scream until I am exhausted and then sit beside me and whisper His love and healing words to me. Not everything makes complete sense and everything is not resolved. But my footing is still on the Rock. Because My Father never lets me down.


Amen and Amen

Team Cincinnati!

I have to say that I am having a rare TV geek moment. I don't watch much TV since pulling the plug on Satellite. But tonight not only my home town but the legacy of my high school was featured by way of Nick Lachey on "Clash of the Choirs". Nick attended my alma mater - The School for Creative and Performing Arts and graduated a couple of years after me. He of course went on to be a pop star and marry Jessica Simpson. Prior to tonight the most I really had to say was that the real pronunciation of his last name is "Lay-chee" not the sorta silly showbiz version "La-Shay". Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit, I have been put in my place. :)

I tuned in to "Clash of the Choirs" out of curiosity because Nick's team was made up of folks from Cincy. He was up against a choir put together by Patti LaBelle, one my Michael Bolton and 3 other choirs who have competed all week to win $$ for a charity of their choosing from their hometown. I intended to cheer for whoever I thought was the best..And that turned out to be Nick Lachey's team! He drew from his training at SCPA and really had the most refined and the most tightly performing choir on the show. SCPA has not been the same since the founding administrators and teachers of the school left. In Nick's choir we saw elements of the glory days of the school and it brought back great memories.

Here is a clip of "Flight of the Bumblebee"



I was duly impressed and to top it off they took 1st place. YAY!

Go Nick and Choir! You did us proud!!

Pardon my eye rolling...

While browsing headlines on igoogle I came across this story...

It appears that 16-year old Jamie Lynn Spears, who is Britney Spears' sister has confirmed that she is pregnant. Here is a quote:

"It was a shock for both of us, so unexpected," Jamie Lynn told OK!, according to the Associated Press. "I was in complete and total shock and so was he."

Isn't that like ingesting a pound of cheese and then being shocked when you're a bit constipated?

Maybe it's just me...

Merry Fingerprintin' Christmas

This is Officer Brown of District 3...He came to take prints off the door at Denny's music store which was robbed last night.


They broke out the window of the back door, took about $3,000 worth of merchandise and $1500 cash.

Yeah - there used to be guitars on those stands.

The up side is they didn't take all of the higher-end stuff. It looked like a smash and grab kind of job.

Officer Brown was really cool. He told us while we watched him fingerprint that fingerprinting is about the only thing they do on CSI that is realistic. He said they get phone calls from people saying stuff like "I watch CSI I know you guys can take someone's eye out and see what they stole last! I know you can!"

Always good to have laughter in the midst of suckiness...

Colorado Church shootings

I point you to Pastor Dave Workman's blog for a really good analysis of what the heck is going on in this world:

DAVE'S BLOGSPOT

The Red Balloon

There was this movie we used to watch in elementary school every year called "The Red Balloon". It's about a boy who has a connection with a red balloon that is his dear friend. He takes the balloon everywhere. He even tries to take it to school but the teachers put it outside. The balloon waits beside the school's doors for the boy to come out at the end of the day. It's a sweet relationship.

Then comes the day when the bully kids try to take the red balloon. It escapes and returns to the boy. So the bullies chase the boy and corner him and the balloon outside of the town. They throw stones at the balloon. The balloon deflates and essentially "dies". The boy is left sitting there with the remains of the balloon, probably wondering who now he would connect with.

Suddenly, balloons from everywhere desert their places at festivals and parties and such. They all find the boy and descend upon him. He looks up and finds himself surrounded by all of these new balloons: red ones, yellow ones, green ones...All different colors. Maybe he never really thought to look past his red balloon and realize there were so many other ones out there. None of them can replace what he lost. For it was precious. But they come to bring him a fresh start. They lift him up from the empty place and take him away to new things.

Thank you, my loving Father for your endless blessings and provision.

I love you,

Another kid with a red balloon

We're Elfed!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1237133077

Lori, Dan, Hutch and Helen perform a Christmas jig just for you!

New addiction!

I have tried a lot of cleaners but this stuff (pardon my lingo) is the s***! I got it just to use on the hardwood here at home but saw that you could use it on most other surfaces. I went a little crazy with my mop, bucket and rag but WOW...After a week it still smells fresh and clean - and that's hard to come by in this house of animals and my own tendency to be sorta Oscar Madison. I am wondering if they make Murphy's Oil pet shampoo and carpet cleaner! My OCD may just turn into something worth having! Woohoo! :)

Going boneless

The path that is set before me is uncertain. It seems that proverbial rug has been yanked. In some ways I feel liberated from stuff that needed to be shaken off ages ago. On the other, something I thought was working out turns out to have been a false sense of security. So with no words to pray and no idea which way to turn I have one choice but to "go boneless" as we call it in preschool and lay at my Father's feet. And wait for him to lift me up and point me in the direction He would have me go. None of my options look appealing so I will wait. And listen and let the Holy Spirit pray for me.

Don't Look in my eyes

All my memories are safely packed
And my dreams are neatly folded away.
I've got nothing to show that I came very close
To a love that might have worked out okay.
All the tables and chairs, they stand empty and bare
And there isn't any sign you were here,
So just walk to the door and try not to get too near.

You might look in my eyes
And see all the pain, the sadness deep inside.
Don't look in my eyes, cause that's where I keep
The tears that I can't hide.
If you just go, it'll be alright
I know I'll get through the night
And I'll even smile as we say our good-byes,
Just don't look in my eyes.

All our photographs stored away
And our letters have been burned in the fire.
There is nothing left here that would make you believe
We had nights of tender love and desire.
If it seems to be grey, well I like it that way
There is nothing to remind me of you.
When you walk to the door just be sure whatever you do...

Don't look in my eyes
And see all the pain, the sadness deep inside.
Don't look in my eyes
Cause that's where I keep the tears that I can't hide.
If you just go, it'll be alright
I know I'll get through the night
And I'll even smile as we say our good-byes,
Just don't look in my eyes.

Please don't look in my eyes.

(From the CD Sam Harris)

Old Socks

What to do with them!

Some nifty ideas for creative gift giving this year! :)