NEW BLOG

Hal and I are starting a new blog.

Come by and visit. Not much there yet... but you can add it to your lists.

http://www.halanddeedee.blogspot.com/

Quick Update

Thank you for your prayers.

He was able to call Brantley tonight. He is at the next base. He is safe.

He was very tired and going to bed. Maybe we all will sleep better tonight.

Thanks again.

Calling All Prayer Warriors

Just need to ask you to be praying.

The last we heard (Brantley talked to him on Wednesday) ... Jonathan was headed into a very dangerous area.

And now, we have not heard from him. He usually lets us know when he gets to the next base... We know that since there is alot of activity going on right now, that he may not be able to get online or to a phone.

So... please continue to pray for his safety. And pray that he will be able to contact us soon. Our faith is strong... but emotions are running on the weak side.

I don't want to be anxious... but I must confess - today I am battling it.

Thanks!

The Land of "What If"

Don't go visiting in the Land of "What if ?"

There is no victory there.

Your land may be different from mine...there are many versions out there. But none of them are worth visiting. Trust me.

Some advice I am trying to apply.

WW # 10 Grandbabies are GRAND

A Quote to Ponder

Just want to share a quote from one of the books that I am currently reading. I shared a few posts back - about wanting to stretch - in the area of my reading. This is from The Pursuit of God, by A.W. Tozer.

Oh God, I have tasted Thy goodness and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the triune God, I want to want Thee, I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, that so I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work within me. Say to my soul, "Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away." Then give me the grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long. In Jesus' name. Amen

So many thoughts flood my mind as I read and re-read and re-read that prayer. I think for tonight... I will just share it with you... pray it for myself (again).... and let it really sink in. My plan for now, is to take one thought at a time and discuss it.

On that thought... I have added a new counter to my blog - just for my info- and I set it so that it will NOT count when I visit my page. I wanted to know actual visits. And since yesterday afternoon there have been 60 visits. So - WELCOME - and even though you do not have to comment - I just want to tell you that I would love for you to join me in the coming discussions. Let me know what you think. Or just let me know you came. Either way, I would love to hear from you (even anonymous).

Blessings to you....
and Ponder that prayer....

OH WHAT A SAVIOR

Happy Easter Morning.

Sunday morning has arrived.

Low in the grave he lay, Jesus my Savior.

Waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord.

UP from the grave, He arose.

With a mighty triumph o're his foes.

He arose a victor o're the dark domain.

And He lives forever with his saints to reign.

He arose, He arose!

Hallelujah! Christ arose!

• Hide some eggs or better yet....eat some eggs. - Chocolate eggs, boiled (and dyed) eggs, deviled eggs, jelly eggs, Cadbury eggs (yummm).

• Get dressed up in some new clothes (or some old clothes)...

• Go to the "tent of meeting" and worship your Savior with your brothers and sisters in Christ. And with the many others who only come to church on Christmas and Easter. Now, don't criticize them- they may be searching for the Savior. Regardless, they need to be there. Maybe they will meet Him face to face.

• While you are there....."Let your light so shine"- someone may need to see the Jesus in you.

• Sing the songs and celebrate the risen Savior!

He arose! He arose!

Hallelujah! Christ AROSE!

Christmas was the promise.... Easter is the proof!

Galilean Meal

Well, Julia has already blogged about this to some degree, but I woke up this morning with our tradition on my mind.
"I should have made fish and eggs..."

So.... here is another memory of this tradition...

When we lived in Decatur, we always had Easter Dinner with Mark, Linda and Jennifer Fischer. Their family lived in Michigan, and our families were in Sylacauga. So.... we had Easter Dinner at their house. Jennifer would hide eggs with my children... Linda cooked a wonderful meal. OHHHH what precious memories. We were family. And we were together at Easter.

Then we moved to Griffin Georgia. So, they just came to Griffin for Easter. That is what families do. That was when I started this family tradition. Good Friday - we had a Galilean Meal for breakfast. And the first few years - it was not fish sticks (as Julia mentioned in her blog)- it was broiled fish with scrambled eggs, wheat or rye rolls and orange juice.

So... picture this.... I did not tell them the menu for the morning. I just got up early and began cooking and making preparations. This particular year, it was raining...so we were not able to have the camp fire outside. So, I put a large tablecloth in the middle of the living room floor and put every candle that I could find in the middle. That would be our camp fire.

Can you just see it? They begin waking up to the smell of broiled fish.... yummmmm. And as they came down the hall, there was a table cloth in the middle of the floor with about 20 candles burning in the middle. I will never forget the look on Linda's face, as she came around the corner, and asked me,"DEEDEE.... WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" I just politely told her that we were having a Galilean meal for breakfast. It was Good Friday.

And the tradition began.... I never wanted to get so caught up in the clothes, and the baskets, and the eggs, and the meals.... that we missed the real meaning of Easter. Now, I loved the preparations... and I loved getting the clothes and baskets and eggs and meals all ready. But that was not the point. The most important facts to remember - that our Savior suffered, and bled, and died for our sins - that his blood covers us and makes us white as snow - that the grave could not hold him - that He arose. He arose. He arose! That is the point.

And Good Friday is a good day to remember the price that He paid. Salvation is free but it is not cheap.

I want to close with a quote from Max Lucado's book, He Chose the Nails.(p 34) So, why don't you just find a large concrete spike (nail) and press it into the palm of your hand as your read this. May we never forget the price that he paid for our sins.

"What kept him from resisting? ...This tabulation of your failures. He knew the price of those sins was death. He knew the source of those sins was you, and since He couldn't bear the thought of eternity without you, he chose the nails.

The hand squeezing the handle was not a infantryman.
The force behind the hammer was not an angry mob.
The verdict behind the death was not decided by jealous Jews.
Jesus himself chose the nails.

So the hands of Jesus opened up. Had the soldier hesitated, Jesus himself would have swung the mallet. As a carpenter he knew what it took. And as a Savior he knew what it meant. He knew that the purpose of the nail was to place your sins where they could be hidden by his scarifice and covered by his blood.

So, Jesus himself swung the hammer.
The same hand that stilled the seas stills your guilt.
The same hand that cleansed the Temple cleanses your heart.
The hand is the hand of God.
The nail is the nail of God.
As the hands of Jesus opened for the nail, the doors of heaven opened for you."

Good Friday.... It is about death - death on a cross. It is about life - life everlasting.

And by the way, Jonathan got on to me this morning, because Hal and I did not have a Galilean meal for breakfast. So we had fish tonight for supper. It was not the same...

What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus!

Celebration comes on Sunday! I have always loved the quote from Tony Campolo,

"It's Friday - but Sunday is coming!"

The Company I Keep; The Books I Read

"You will be the same person in five years as you are today, except for the people you meet and the books you read." by Charles Jones

Another one: "Be as careful of the books you read as of the company you keep."(author unknown)

DeeDee's version: "You will be known by the company you keep and defined by the books you read."

Now, for me personally, the company I KEEP consists of my immediate family, and my precious church family. The really close ones hold me accountable... love me regardless... push me to do more and be more... inspire me just by being with them... and challenge me with intriguing conversations.

I have more who are not as close...but still leave their mark on me. I listen, I observe, I think, I analyze. Then, hopefully, I make application. Even imitation... remember it is the highest form of flattery.

Then, there are many on the fringes... not because I do not like them, or avoid them... just the sheer fact that I have not had the privilege of getting to know them. Those who may in the future, become some of the very ones who will come close enough to make their impact on my life.

I will be known by the company that I keep. I will be changed by them. I will be influenced by them. I will be like them.


Then, the books I read. I do not want to be the same in five years. I want to be careful of the books that I read because in a real sense - that will define me. Or change me.

With all of that in mind, I asked Hal to recommend a book for me to read. One that would stretch my thinking. One that would challenge my reading. One that would take me deeper.

So...he recommended, Communion with God, by John Owen. I confess, I am beginning with the abridged version. But, that does not bother me. Beginning with the abridged version is better than never reading it at all. And who knows, it may challenge me to go for the unabridged at a later date. Regardless, I needed to have a good book that was not an easy reading book. Not a book that I could fly through (with my fast reading). And that is certainly what I have. I have only read two chapters this first week, and really feel as if I need to read them again before moving on to the next chapter. Then there is the side of me that likes to read the last chapter of the book...to see where I am going. I am not sure that practice would be good for this book.

Since I am the type person that usually has about three books going at one time.... I also began reading The pursuit of God, by A.W. Tozer. I have had this book on my desk for quite some time, with the desire to read, but just have not ever picked it up. So, in my zeal - to be challenged, inspired, changed, defined... I have taken the dive. I will probably share quotes/thoughts/questions with you along the way.

Join me.

What books are you reading? They will change you. They will define you. They will inspire you. They will affect you.

And think about the company that you keep. They too affect you. They either push you to be all that God wants you to be- or they hinder your walk with Christ. There is not a neutral. Certainly, I am not talking about evangelism...we must get out of our box to evangelize. I am not talking about building bridges of relationships to bring others into the fellowship (or back into the fellowship)...we must reach out to the hurting/weaker/younger. But I AM talking about the "company you keep". The people you spend the most time with. The ones that affect your very life. These must be headed in the direction that you want your life to go. They will help you reach towards the mark of the high calling.

In five years...where will I be? A good indication of where I am going...is seen by the company that I keep and the books that I read.