The Winner of the Vineyard CD is CHEF Penny.
Congrats!!!
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Winners!!!
The Winner of the Woodcarver DVD is number 7 Penny!!
The Winner of the Vineyard CD is CHEF Penny.
Congrats!!!
The Winner of the Vineyard CD is CHEF Penny.
Congrats!!!
Sunday, March 25, 2012
That's My King
Posted this last year. Love it. I find myself sometimes when I am praying, having conversations with myself, or replaying previous interactions, or thinking about the future. And this last week I stopped myself and said..I'm with the King of Kings right now.. why do I want to think about other things? (It's a process eh?) Maybe I should have posted this on a Monday vs. a Sunday when you need a pump up. Well here you go anyway. Enjoy.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
What is Easter?
I PLANNED on doing more blogging over Lent. This happened last Lent. Thank the LORD that God is a God of mercy. Not even sure I need mercy for not writing in my blog except for the fact that my DESIRE is to be more in tune with God daily...more at peace. And when I am those things, I sometimes hear from God more about what to write.
Yesterday we had our homeschool co-op. We are really working with Andrew to not yell out things. I mean, is it OK for a child to say to a man walking on the street with a walker, "Be healed in the name of Jesus." Maybe. But what about when it is a four year old at our developmental pediatrician and she is in a wheelchair and her mom is Muslim? (Yes I have experienced both of these with my son.) Jesus and the disciples maybe asked before they healed. I don't know but it is a fine line between quashing his faith and allowing it. And WHY as adults do we believe that He won't do that?! My kiddo 100% believed that that man would be healed right then and there. So why wasn't he? Kiddo had faith! And how do you explain that to him? I have seen this sort of thing happen... so why not then?
So yesterday we were at the homeschool co-op. (Did I say that already?) The minute we went in he saw Easter baskets ready to go to those in the inner city. And he couldn't put his brain around it. He started yelling.."Easter is not about the bunny and the jelly beans. You need to put something about the real meaning of Easter in those baskets." (They very well might do that and I told him that. In addition I told him how doing that service was BEING like Jesus.) And then that was the theme which he told EVERYONE.
And I held my breath.
At what point do I care about him telling people there is no Easter Bunny. (Sorry did I ruin it for you?) I hold no judgement. But we don't do it. The kid is too literal. Thankfully he never said that. He only kept talking about the REAL meaning of Easter which I think is just fine. But still he reminded me of the guy yelling on the Quad in college telling people about Jesus.
And then in our class he got specific. He asked everyone ELSE if they knew the meaning. And they did. But the teacher played along..."jelly beans?"... noooooo.... "bunny?".... nooooooo... "flowers?" ..partially. (I guess the flowers are OK.)
And then he proceeded to say that NOW when we do something wrong we no longer have to go get our best cow and kill it to get forgiven for our sins. I wish I would have had on the video camera for this vivid explanation.
So that is Easter... and faith.. and I guess I am praying for a fresh revival for our family to SEE His miracles more and more daily. And to recognize the small ones as well.
As a PS..Although we are working on the appropriateness of yelling out things like this in public, I just went to google 'Easter' for some pictures for this post and maybe we do need to shout more because in ten pages of images I think I saw one cross.
Yesterday we had our homeschool co-op. We are really working with Andrew to not yell out things. I mean, is it OK for a child to say to a man walking on the street with a walker, "Be healed in the name of Jesus." Maybe. But what about when it is a four year old at our developmental pediatrician and she is in a wheelchair and her mom is Muslim? (Yes I have experienced both of these with my son.) Jesus and the disciples maybe asked before they healed. I don't know but it is a fine line between quashing his faith and allowing it. And WHY as adults do we believe that He won't do that?! My kiddo 100% believed that that man would be healed right then and there. So why wasn't he? Kiddo had faith! And how do you explain that to him? I have seen this sort of thing happen... so why not then?
So yesterday we were at the homeschool co-op. (Did I say that already?) The minute we went in he saw Easter baskets ready to go to those in the inner city. And he couldn't put his brain around it. He started yelling.."Easter is not about the bunny and the jelly beans. You need to put something about the real meaning of Easter in those baskets." (They very well might do that and I told him that. In addition I told him how doing that service was BEING like Jesus.) And then that was the theme which he told EVERYONE.
And I held my breath.
At what point do I care about him telling people there is no Easter Bunny. (Sorry did I ruin it for you?) I hold no judgement. But we don't do it. The kid is too literal. Thankfully he never said that. He only kept talking about the REAL meaning of Easter which I think is just fine. But still he reminded me of the guy yelling on the Quad in college telling people about Jesus.
And then in our class he got specific. He asked everyone ELSE if they knew the meaning. And they did. But the teacher played along..."jelly beans?"... noooooo.... "bunny?".... nooooooo... "flowers?" ..partially. (I guess the flowers are OK.)
And then he proceeded to say that NOW when we do something wrong we no longer have to go get our best cow and kill it to get forgiven for our sins. I wish I would have had on the video camera for this vivid explanation.
So that is Easter... and faith.. and I guess I am praying for a fresh revival for our family to SEE His miracles more and more daily. And to recognize the small ones as well.
As a PS..Although we are working on the appropriateness of yelling out things like this in public, I just went to google 'Easter' for some pictures for this post and maybe we do need to shout more because in ten pages of images I think I saw one cross.
Monday, March 12, 2012
The Woodcarver DVD and Give- away
I had the opportunity to watch and review The Woodcarver. Here is an overview of the movie.
Yes.. John Ratzenberger! And he's in person. He has done some great animation (in addition to Cheers) but this is him live in the flesh. The movie is a sweet story of forgiveness, and what God's grace can do. You can write the story line and it is a good family film. The acting is very good and on point. In a nutshell, Ernest takes the young man in and helps him to think about things in terms of What Would Jesus Do- the subtitle of the film. I love when a faith film has some great well known actors in them.
One downside is that the movie is not captioned. Those of you who read my reviews know that is a pet peeve because it leaves out a large portion of our society. Cochlear implant kiddo watched with me but it was very hard for him to follow along. Also the story, although sweet and good, was a bit slow moving at times and pretty predictable.
I would still recommend it as a family film however. And I wish there were more of these types of flicks.
You can buy and rent the movie here. The official trailer is below.
There is an opportunity to win this as well.
1) Leave a comment
2) Repost on your facebook and leave an additional comment.
Matthew Stevenson is a troubled kid from a broken home. When he vandalizes the local church to get back at his parents, Matthew has to repair the damage to the church to avoid criminal charges. While working at the church, he meets Ernest (John Ratzenberger), an accomplished wood carver who created the intricate woodwork decoration that Matthew destroyed. Ernest has become something of a hermit, but reluctantly comes out of reclusion to help repair the church. Now Ernest and Matthew must work together to preserve the church's beautiful antiquity, and along the way, they also manage to restore their faith in God and in life.
Yes.. John Ratzenberger! And he's in person. He has done some great animation (in addition to Cheers) but this is him live in the flesh. The movie is a sweet story of forgiveness, and what God's grace can do. You can write the story line and it is a good family film. The acting is very good and on point. In a nutshell, Ernest takes the young man in and helps him to think about things in terms of What Would Jesus Do- the subtitle of the film. I love when a faith film has some great well known actors in them.
One downside is that the movie is not captioned. Those of you who read my reviews know that is a pet peeve because it leaves out a large portion of our society. Cochlear implant kiddo watched with me but it was very hard for him to follow along. Also the story, although sweet and good, was a bit slow moving at times and pretty predictable.
I would still recommend it as a family film however. And I wish there were more of these types of flicks.
You can buy and rent the movie here. The official trailer is below.
There is an opportunity to win this as well.
1) Leave a comment
2) Repost on your facebook and leave an additional comment.
“Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or
services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it
on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally
and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance
with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the
Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Friday, March 9, 2012
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Lent- Big Grapes
I listen to a lot quite a few different Christian speakers throughout the week. When I was sick last week I was able to catch up on Dr. Charles Stanley. I typically don't catch him but when you are lying in bed you get a chance to really clean out the DVR. He had the last two messages in a series of Faith. The one really caught my attention because it was regarding the grapes that the spies brought back from Canann.
The story can be found in Numbers 13. In a nutshell, the Israelites had spent a couple of years crossing the desert. They sent in twelves spies to see what the land looked like. Two of them came back with the report that the land was flowing with milk and honey and they brought back a bunch of grapes that was so large that they had to carry the grapes between two men. The other twelve said that there were giants and they should not try and enter the land.
But God had told them they would be victorious.... and they chose not to listen so they spent the next 40 years or so going around the desert, and the adults, except for Caleb and Joshua, did not enter the land.
Part of the reason this story caught my attention is that three days before I listented to it, the pastor at our church spoke on it. And that, coupled with the fact that I probably would have never listened to this Charles Stanley, made me sit up and take notice.
So I kept noodling all of this over in my feverish brain. I started thinking about all the things that God has done in my life. Maybe those were the grapes. No... The grapes were a sign of the future. So I just started drawing circles in my journal to represent the grapes and asking God to fill them in. What are the grapes in my future? I don't know if I have a prophetic gifting but I do know God has given me glimpses. He says he gives us the desires of our hearts.. when we are in tune with Him, we have His desires.
So I started noodling on that. It is SUPER hard when you have a child with special needs to really see into the future. But even that is an act of worship... going to Him to fill in the blanks of what the grapes are..to TRUST in Him.
When I was a young girl I read a book called Somebody go Bang a Drum. It was about a family who had a TON of kids..like 10 or 20. I have had that dream since then and I still do. I do not think it will be filled the 'natural' way. I have a friend who lives my dream. Mine may look different but I still think somehow it will happen.
I still, as many of you may already know, have that dream to get in an RV and go on the open road. I have one little man in the house on the same page but alas a miracle will have to happen for the big man to want to do this... but stranger things have happened.. it is still a dream.
I have a dream this summer to go to Chicago with the kid and the hubby and meet my sister there. A smaller dream that is 'do-able.' Kid has larger dreams... Disney, Atlantis, the moon....
So anyway... I am really trying to fill in the blanks on what the grapes of the future might be. As a reforming pescimist, it isn't easy... but with God, all things are possible. God wants us to focus on the grapes and not the giants.
The story can be found in Numbers 13. In a nutshell, the Israelites had spent a couple of years crossing the desert. They sent in twelves spies to see what the land looked like. Two of them came back with the report that the land was flowing with milk and honey and they brought back a bunch of grapes that was so large that they had to carry the grapes between two men. The other twelve said that there were giants and they should not try and enter the land.
But God had told them they would be victorious.... and they chose not to listen so they spent the next 40 years or so going around the desert, and the adults, except for Caleb and Joshua, did not enter the land.
Part of the reason this story caught my attention is that three days before I listented to it, the pastor at our church spoke on it. And that, coupled with the fact that I probably would have never listened to this Charles Stanley, made me sit up and take notice.
So I kept noodling all of this over in my feverish brain. I started thinking about all the things that God has done in my life. Maybe those were the grapes. No... The grapes were a sign of the future. So I just started drawing circles in my journal to represent the grapes and asking God to fill them in. What are the grapes in my future? I don't know if I have a prophetic gifting but I do know God has given me glimpses. He says he gives us the desires of our hearts.. when we are in tune with Him, we have His desires.
So I started noodling on that. It is SUPER hard when you have a child with special needs to really see into the future. But even that is an act of worship... going to Him to fill in the blanks of what the grapes are..to TRUST in Him.
When I was a young girl I read a book called Somebody go Bang a Drum. It was about a family who had a TON of kids..like 10 or 20. I have had that dream since then and I still do. I do not think it will be filled the 'natural' way. I have a friend who lives my dream. Mine may look different but I still think somehow it will happen.
I still, as many of you may already know, have that dream to get in an RV and go on the open road. I have one little man in the house on the same page but alas a miracle will have to happen for the big man to want to do this... but stranger things have happened.. it is still a dream.
I have a dream this summer to go to Chicago with the kid and the hubby and meet my sister there. A smaller dream that is 'do-able.' Kid has larger dreams... Disney, Atlantis, the moon....
So anyway... I am really trying to fill in the blanks on what the grapes of the future might be. As a reforming pescimist, it isn't easy... but with God, all things are possible. God wants us to focus on the grapes and not the giants.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Vineyard Music's Miami LIVE Worship album review and give-away.
I had the opportunity to review this album and let me tell you... it is FRESH! And unlike any worship music I currently have on the iPod.
You can picture yourself on the beach with this music and I got to wondering, wouldn't it be cool to go to a worship service on Miami beach?!
A description is best left to the folks who wrote the promo:
There are plenty of places to get a little sampling of this CD including their Vineyard Music page, their Facebook Band Page, their purchase page on Vineyard, and Vimeo. It is hard to provide a better description that that above but I just loved the unique sounds of this music compared to anything else that I own. In this dreary Michigan March winter, it begs imagining sitting on a beach somewhere enjoying the smells, sounds and flavors found there. If you close your eyes and pretend, it is like a mini-vacation.
You can picture yourself on the beach with this music and I got to wondering, wouldn't it be cool to go to a worship service on Miami beach?!
A description is best left to the folks who wrote the promo:
What happens when a group of 20+ musicians and 10+ songwriters steeped deep in their own musical traditions of Black Gospel, Latin, Caribbean, and Anglo come together to create a new tradition and sound? What happens when the fusion of Black, Anglo, Latino, Caribbean, and Cuban voices unite together to worship in one voice? Among the 2000 people that attend the Miami Vineyard Community Church, there are over a hundred singers, instrumentalists and songwriters that make up its eclectic worship ministry. For one night, these musicians joined together in worship and invited the church to document the sound that is uniquely MIAMI VINEYARD LIVE.
This distinctive bi-lingual liturgy is filled with many flavors, from Latino claves to gospel two-step to funk and soul to delay-laden rock guitars of modern worship, yet they all work together seamlessly to create a new sound and voice that is authentic and refreshing. From anthems of praise and proclamation to songs of intimacy and adoration, there is a common thread running deep throughout this recording and that is true worship of the Living God as an expression of His Kingdom breaking in on the streets and beaches of Miami, FL.
There are plenty of places to get a little sampling of this CD including their Vineyard Music page, their Facebook Band Page, their purchase page on Vineyard, and Vimeo. It is hard to provide a better description that that above but I just loved the unique sounds of this music compared to anything else that I own. In this dreary Michigan March winter, it begs imagining sitting on a beach somewhere enjoying the smells, sounds and flavors found there. If you close your eyes and pretend, it is like a mini-vacation.
Here is the tracklist for the CD:
HOLY SPIRIT COME
GLORIA A DIOS SOLO (WITH MY WHOLE HEART)
LORD REIGN IN ME
I LOVE YOUR MERCY
AT ALL TIMES
IF YOU SAY GO
EVERYTHING TO ME
WITH ALL OF MY HEART
YOUR NAME IS GREAT
YOU RESTORED ME
BREATHE
HALLELUJAH ANYHOW
HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD
I highly recommend this CD. The folks at propeller are sponsoring a give away as well so if you wish to win please
HOLY SPIRIT COME
GLORIA A DIOS SOLO (WITH MY WHOLE HEART)
LORD REIGN IN ME
I LOVE YOUR MERCY
AT ALL TIMES
IF YOU SAY GO
EVERYTHING TO ME
WITH ALL OF MY HEART
YOUR NAME IS GREAT
YOU RESTORED ME
BREATHE
HALLELUJAH ANYHOW
HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD
I highly recommend this CD. The folks at propeller are sponsoring a give away as well so if you wish to win please
1)Leave a comment
2) re post on Facebook and leave an additional comment.
“Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or
services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it
on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally
and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance
with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the
Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Friday, March 2, 2012
Lent- Giving up stuff
Well I came down with the NASTY flu this week. Temperature and bed for three days solid. Still not 100% but compared to earlier in the week, this is a picnic. So I had to give up a lot of things.
My incredible husband picked up the slack.
I know what you are thinking. This isn't really giving UP something. Not exactly but I did LEARN that I love to control. (OK I knew that already but it was demonstrated to me.) Monday and Tuesday there was zero way I could have helped with anything. And I truly didn't care. Come Wednesday I started to make little 'suggestions' about things that could be done. And I realized...did it REALLY matter? Even if it didn't get done, what would change?
I get stressed when things don't get 'done' or done MY way. But I gave up my agenda this week partly because I had no choice and later because it really didn't matter!
It also demonstrated to me how I tend to do it all..when it doesn't all need to be done. Even the kiddo learned how to make a waffle egg sandwich this week...among other things. I wonder how many other things he'd do on his own if I just let him. hmmm.....
- school for kiddo (Lets call it a combo of sick days and winter break.)
- dishes
- food- both eating and had to toss a ton because I had taken out a bunch from the freezer for the week and then it went to waste.
- cleaning.
- hugging and snuggling the kiddo because I really didn't want him to get this.
- laundry
- etc...
My incredible husband picked up the slack.
I know what you are thinking. This isn't really giving UP something. Not exactly but I did LEARN that I love to control. (OK I knew that already but it was demonstrated to me.) Monday and Tuesday there was zero way I could have helped with anything. And I truly didn't care. Come Wednesday I started to make little 'suggestions' about things that could be done. And I realized...did it REALLY matter? Even if it didn't get done, what would change?
I get stressed when things don't get 'done' or done MY way. But I gave up my agenda this week partly because I had no choice and later because it really didn't matter!
It also demonstrated to me how I tend to do it all..when it doesn't all need to be done. Even the kiddo learned how to make a waffle egg sandwich this week...among other things. I wonder how many other things he'd do on his own if I just let him. hmmm.....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
