tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233749952024-03-13T05:22:36.040-05:00RebekistanPsalm 40:1-3
I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025872514304872228noreply@blogger.comBlogger108125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23374995.post-50504492403998174812012-02-09T22:27:00.000-06:002012-02-09T22:27:53.513-06:00You know you're 38 when...1. You start to be thankful for birthdays instead of regretting them. I have a feeling this has something to do with facing a life-threatening illness and then standing back in amazement (and desperation!) while God restores health and healing. Birthdays should be celebrated, not lamented. Life is a gift!<br />
2. A night spent alone at the casa reading a book, eating leftovers, walking the dog, playing Scramble, checking blogs, posting on Facebook, reading some more, straightening just a tad, and blogging is actually a night to be relished! Sabbath rest is often elusive, but when it arrives at last is such a blessing!<br />
3. Mornings become slightly more bearable. Okay, still not early mornings, and still not immediately upon waking. But! Once I have risen out of the bed, taken my morning walk, and sat down with a cup of coffee and opened God's Word...ahhh, the unhurried pace of a morning is bliss.<br />
4. After years and years of putting it off, you finally succumb to drinking coffee every single morning...and you make it yourself...at your house...and you love it more than you think you ought.<br />
5. You scoff inside when a 30 year old says they are "old."<br />
6. You are relieved when trendy middle school girls compliment your purse. At long last, you are now adequately convinced that your purse isn't matronly. :)<br />
7. You actually cook something in that crockpot that's been collecting dust. And, it tastes good!<br />
8. You find yourself enjoying looking at dishes and cooking utensils when you're out shopping.<br />
9. You file your taxes early, as in I-filed-them-yesterday-early. Wahoo!<br />
10. Your nieces are nephews are pre-teens, teens, and young adults. Oh my, what happened to my babies? And yet, you still think they are as cute as ever.<br />
11. You may not have actually mailed all your Christmas cards, but you're getting closer and closer every year. Purchase cards-check, collect addresses-check, order Christmas stamps-check, address envelopes-check, put stamps on them-check, sign cards-check. Sadly, this is where my good fortune left off. But still, high hopes for actually sending some next year!<br />
12. You become a bit more of a high maintenance traveler. I hate this one! Granted, I'm still highly addicted to packing lighter than most, but find myself with more and more items I can't seem to live without for a few days.<br />
13. You decorate your condo for holidays...incuding Valentine's Day...even when you're single. Okay, so maybe this one has nothing to do with being 38 and is simply because I'm a crazy fun person. Yes?<br />
14. Your idea of crazy fun is a lot different than it used to be.<br />
15. You may not consider yourself wise just yet, but you are grateful for enough life experience and grace to be able to look back at years past and see all the ways God has been faithful. You have less fear of the future when you remember struggles and triumphs of the past and what He has done through it all.<br />
16. You enjoy historical fiction more than the latest trendy novels. <br />
17. You think of <i>middle aged</i> as young. Very young.<br />
18. You feel hip driving a honda civic.<br />
19. You still dream of adventures, but you are so much more practical about it! Ugh.<br />
20. You realize that you still have a lot to learn, a lot of life to live, and look forward to all that God has in store!<br />
<br />
And with that (I was determined to finish with an even #) this young 38 year old is going to get my jammies on and read in bed to my heart's content! Good night!Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025872514304872228noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23374995.post-8916108943275039622012-01-12T20:54:00.000-06:002012-01-12T20:54:17.533-06:00Life LessonsHere are a few things God has been teaching me lately...<br />
<br />
1. God will not be rushed. Period.<br />
<br />
2. Repentance is good for the soul. It's even better for keeping a right relationship with my Father. As my pastor said last Sunday, "Repentance prepares us for the next thing God will do." I had a long list of things that God exposed in my heart the past couple weeks. I had monsters rising up in me like...worry, idolatry, unbelief, seeking to please people more than God. You know, just small stuff! Ha! Not small stuff at all, in fact it was really big stuff that was displeasing to God and wreaking havoc with my sense of peace and purpose. <br />
<br />
3. I need the gospel. Everyday.<br />
<br />
4. I can only do one thing at a time. Bringing even more freedom to my soul is the realization that God only calls me to do one thing at a time. One thing. This sounds so silly, but it has been revolutionary to me this week. I get so stressed out and anxious when I try to think about what I am expected to accomplish the next month, week, day. It doesn't seem to matter which task I am doing - I always seem to feel distraught, overwhelmed, behind, even guilty because I'm not working on X, Y, and Z that are also clamoring for my attention. This isn't healthy. Trust me. It means that I cannot focus on the task I am doing. It means I'm not enjoying that task. It means I'm not trusting God. It means I'm distracted. It means I'm not aware of God's presence with me. It means I'm even less productive. Often times, it means I'm paralyzed by my anxiety, making the current task a chore instead of a delight. Yes, I need to be a good steward of my time. I need to be diligent. I need to work hard. I need to invest in relationship. I need to worship. I need to be quiet. I need to rest. I need to sometimes do things that I don't particularly enjoy. I need to be sensitive to God leading me throughout the day. But wow, the freedom that has come in acknowledging that God is pleased by my one thing. I can do one thing in an act of obedience and worship to Him. I can rest in doing that one thing. I can do that one thing well. I can choose to silence those pesky voices that say, <br />
<i>"You're never going to get this done on time!" "It's going to be a mess!" "You should be able to keep it all together." "You are going to embarrass yourself." "You are a bad person because your apartment is messy." "You should have responded to this e-mail weeks ago." "You should be better at this." "You're going to fall apart." "You don't have what it takes." "You are a failure." "You aren't good enough." "So and so isn't going to be pleased with you." You're not going to do a good job." "You don't deserve to rest." "You should be better at this or that." </i><br />
Ah yes, those are the voices that mess me up. However, when I accept that I can only do one thing at a time and that God only wants me to do one thing at a time, my peace is restored. It is admission that I am not in control. I repeat, I am not in control. I am not in control. Jesus holds all things together. Many are the plans in a man's heart, but the Lord's purpose prevails. God is sovereign. God is good, and I can trust Him. He gives grace moment by moment, not month by month! His grace is sufficient for one thing. One thing at a time.<br />
<br />
5. God sees me. He likes to remind me that He sees me. He gives me just the right verse at just the right time, knowing I need it's prick of conviction or I need it's balm of healing or I need it's burst of encouragement. He sees me and it makes me feel loved. <br />
<br />
6. He is working out His plan for me. In His time. See #1.<br />
<br />
7. Single middle-aged men are becoming more attractive than they used to be. How did that happen?!Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025872514304872228noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23374995.post-7082993682984822372011-11-21T22:17:00.000-06:002011-11-21T22:17:37.555-06:00Looking BackNovember 20, 2010 was a Saturday. It was the morning after my pulmonary thromboendarterectomy surgery. With a doctor close by the nurses had administered a drug to "wake" me up after 24 hours of anesthetic sleep. It felt more like 5 minutes. My first thought upon awakening was, "Oh, I've just been napping. I wonder if it's time for my surgery yet." My very next thought, likely produced by the doctors and nurses telling me it was Saturday morning and that my surgery was a success and the realization that there was a giant breathing tube down my throat, was something like this, "Wow, the surgery is over and I'm still alive!" I definitely felt a sense of relief. However, I had no idea that some of the most difficult days of my life were ahead of me as recovery from PTE is a great challenge! Those next several days in ICU were incredibly long and painful and difficult both mentally and physically. Even now, a year later, reflection brings mixed emotions. Remembering the experience is bittersweet. There are so many thoughts and emotions that have been swirling around in my heart the past few weeks. I have moments where I can't stop smiling because I am so overwhelmed with gratitude and joy that I am alive and healthy today! My heart rejoices when I remember how God redeemed my life from the pit and has set my feet in a steady place! Not only did God use the surgery to bring healing to my body, He slowly but surely delivered me from a pit of despair to a steady place of emotional and spiritual restoration and very real hope for the future. In so many ways 2010 was a desperately difficult year and in so many ways 2011 has been a wonderful year full of hope and healing and life! <br />
<br />
And yet, the looking back is bittersweet. My physical, emotional, and spiritual heartache of those days before and after surgery spill out as tears even now. The truth is, it doesn't seem like it has already been a year, and I'm a bit sad that it has already been a year. I've been trying to figure out why I feel this way. I think it has something to do with the depth of both the struggle and the deliverance and the lessons I am still learning from both of those things. It was such a deeply significant and powerful period of time in my life that I am afraid of forgetting. Afraid of forgetting how hard it was learning that I had an incurable disease that would dramatically shorten my life. Afraid of forgetting how God met me in so many incredible ways in the midst of the despair and how He provided again and again and again. Afraid of forgetting God's goodness to me before I knew a cure was possible. Afraid of forgetting God showing me that His goodness was not based on whether He brought physical healing to me. Afraid of forgetting how my family and friends and acquaintances loved me, upheld me, cried with me, laughed with me, listened to me, walked with me, carried me, hurt with me, shared God's Word with me, and more than anything prayed and trusted God to do what only He could do. I'm afraid of forgetting how God breathed life into certain passages of Scripture that anchored me. I'm afraid of forgetting how much peace God gave me the week before surgery. Afraid of forgetting how by God's grace I was able to look death in the face and say, "You don't scare me." I never want to forget going to sleep the night before my surgery and the next morning kissing my parents goodbye as they wheeled me to the operating room with the overwhelming peace to know, "To live is Christ and to die is gain." I never ever want to forget that truth planted in me by facing a surgery inherent with great risk and yet knowing I had the assurance that I would spend eternity with Jesus. I'm afraid of forgetting that Jesus really is all I need and want and have. If I lived through the surgery I would get Jesus and if I died from the surgery I would get Jesus. Jesus either way! Surely that one truth is enough to make me not want to forget, don't you think?<br />
<br />
And yet, there's so much more I don't want to forget! I don't want to forget how hard recovery was because it makes me grateful for today and it makes me compassionate for people who have to endure so much more than I did. The list goes on and on in my head and heart of moments and memories that I don't want to lose. Those days are full of so much significance. Those days are full of so many lessons I still want to learn along with so many more applications from those lessons I still need to address in my life. Those days are full of richness. <br />
<br />
Reflecting upon the richness brings me to this place one year later with an unexpected sense of grief. I'm actually not quite sure whether it's a good thing or a bad thing that I'm not ready to let go. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I'm not still in the midst of those darkest of days! But at the same time, I'm sad about the passing of a year and the distance between those days and now. I don't want to say goodbye to those days. I wonder if and how God could ever work in my life in such a profound way again? I find myself thinking, "Oh God, please don't ever send me back into a furnace that hot!" The fire was so hot and so dark that many days I couldn't see or feel or hear God. I didn't know where He was or what He was doing. However, looking back with the ability to see from the outside in, I can see Jesus in the furnace there with me. No doubt, the time that has passed has given me the perspective I need to be able to see Him there, or rather to see Him more clearly there. Now I can see Him there with me in the flames and in the fire and in the deliverance and in the pain and in the healing and in the restoration. This year I have often been reminded of the account when Moses asked to see God's glory...<br />
<br />
<i>Moses said, "Please show me your glory." And He said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name 'The Lord.' And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But," He said, "you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live." And the Lord said, "Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen." (Exodus 33:18-23 ESV)</i><br />
<br />
I believe this explains why there were days when I couldn't see God. I believe that God was actually so very present and active that His glory would have shined too much brightness for my little eyes to see! I believe it was His grace that hid me in the cleft of the rock until He passed by. (There were many times in the hospital before and after surgery when the words of the familiar hymn would play in my head..."and covers me there with his hand, and covers me there with his hand.") The passing of time has been a bit hard to accept this week, but it also brings me great joy and delight as I recognize that God has now removed His hand and has allowed me to look back and see His glory and to see where He has been! What a wonderful thing to not only look back and remember the struggle, but to see Him there with me and to praise Him for all He was doing! This is God's gift of the passing of a year, and what wonderful gift it is!Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025872514304872228noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23374995.post-28049137232343829242011-05-27T20:03:00.001-05:002011-05-27T20:03:45.945-05:0014 GiftsToday has been a most marvelous day - a day off work and with absolutely nowhere I had to be! I love my life and enjoy all the things that fill it up, but I also treasure the times of rest and relating! Here's what I'm thankful for on this day...<p>1. Sleeping in this morning<br>2. Being healthy enough to walk to Starbucks<br>3. Starbucks<br>4. A nice long chat on the phone with my lovely friend Abby all the way from Istanbul<br>5. Having a friend like Abby who doesn't just pray for me, but always makes a point to pray out loud on the phone together. I love that she prays for God to give me "happy patience!"<br>6. "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" Romans 8:32<br>7. Meeting up with Kasey spur-o-the-moment at the mall to do a little leisurely shopping<br>8. Making an impromptu appointment and getting my hair cut <br>9. A great haircut (but still long!) that looks and feels so much better on my little punkin head :)<br>10. Laughing on the phone with Linda and talking to sweet little Katie too<br>11. Finally finishing my outline of the book of Acts<br>12. A quiet night at home<br>13. Getting ready to enjoy my leftover delicious tilapia from dinner last night<br>14. Seeing my name on a flight itinerary to Israel in 55 days!Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025872514304872228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23374995.post-76104747337940530662011-05-19T19:37:00.000-05:002011-05-19T19:37:06.275-05:00Happy Birthday!Today is the 6 month anniversary of my PTE surgery!!! It feels like a new kind of birthday to celebrate when I got my life back afresh! I continue to feel great and grateful for all that God has done for me! I was reading in 2 Corinthians yesterday and was amazed at these words in chapter 1. I had tears in my eyes - not of sadness, but of joy! Joy that I am on the other side and joy that I have been rescued! Thank you all for sharing in my suffering and now sharing in my joy! If I could write with the skill and inspiration of Paul, I would like to say something like this... <br />
<br />
2 Corinthians 1:6-11 (The Message Paraphrase) <br />
<i>When we suffer for Jesus, it works out for your healing and salvation. If we are treated well, given a helping hand and encouraging word, that also works to your benefit, spurring you on, face forward, unflinching. Your hard times are also our hard times. When we see that you're just as willing to endure the hard times as to enjoy the good times, we know you're going to make it, no doubt about it. <br />
<br />
We don't want you in the dark, friends, about how hard it was when all this came down on us in Asia province.<b> It was so bad we didn't think we were going to make it. We felt like we'd been sent to death row, that it was all over for us. As it turned out, it was the best thing that could have happened. Instead of trusting in our own strength or wits to get out of it, we were forced to trust God totally—not a bad idea since he's the God who raises the dead!</b> And he did it, rescued us from certain doom. And he'll do it again, rescuing us as many times as we need rescuing. You and your prayers are part of the rescue operation—I don't want you in the dark about that either. <b>I can see your faces even now, lifted in praise for God's deliverance of us, a rescue in which your prayers played such a crucial part.</b></i>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025872514304872228noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23374995.post-23716105394446331182011-05-06T11:12:00.000-05:002011-05-06T11:12:24.114-05:00For Moms, Former Moms, and Wannabe Moms<a href="http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2011/05/06/for-moms-former-moms-and-wannabe-moms/">For Moms, Former Moms, and Wannabe Moms</a><br />
<br />
This is an incredible article which provides truth for all kinds of women on Mother's Day - single women like me who long to be a mommy some day or married women who keep praying and hoping for a baby despite much frustration and sorrow and women who are faced everyday with the intense challenge of loving and caring for their children in a Christlike way. I hope each of you finds the encouragement you need on this wonderful, but sometimes difficult day! <br />
<br />
And P.S. I really love my MAMA! :)Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025872514304872228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23374995.post-90129966095599380422011-04-30T11:13:00.005-05:002011-04-30T11:55:26.230-05:00Psalm 30 on April 30Psalm 30<br />
"I will exalt you, LORD, for you rescued me. You refused to let my enemies triumph over me. O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you restored my health. You brought me up from the grave, O LORD. You kept me from falling into the pit of death." (verses 1-3)<p>"I cried out to you, O LORD. I begged the Lord for mercy, saying, 'What will you gain if I die, if I sink into the grave? Can my dust praise you? Can it tell of your faithfulness? Hear me, LORD, and have mercy on me. Help me, O LORD.' You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever." (verses 8-12)<p>My death was not immediately imminent last year when I was ill. It was, however, threatened to come within only a couple years. On November 17th, my San Diego doctor, the amazingly kind Dr. Bill Auger, was explaining the results of several days of testing and explaining my possibilities, and particularly explaining the complicated pulmonary thromboendarterectomy surgery.<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgoUVgnvpuHtP-olBDZ3EySvtlVGND-a7MGslsUeXoBh8XpJ4dT0YLvc-Nw5WUZ0lkO3l93EHjkP2UUiOiL4oylY1dli5UCJU73p4dg6TULdFG7-ZkN4PSIiASbOKCCfPZl3azJQ/s1600/photo-701780.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgoUVgnvpuHtP-olBDZ3EySvtlVGND-a7MGslsUeXoBh8XpJ4dT0YLvc-Nw5WUZ0lkO3l93EHjkP2UUiOiL4oylY1dli5UCJU73p4dg6TULdFG7-ZkN4PSIiASbOKCCfPZl3azJQ/s320/photo-701780.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601420338234220066" /></a></p>My family and I knew that I was ill, we knew that pulmonary hypertension was serious, and we knew that God had provided the possibility of this surgery. However, we did not know exactly how severe the pulmonary hypertension was. I had heard just bits and pieces from previous doctors and had read information online, but that is different. Different than hearing that in the main measurement they use to determine the severity of the effect of high pressure between my heart and lungs, my level was in the 900's, instead of around 125 or so (if I'm remembering this correctly). Not good. Dr. Auger explained the surgery and lined out my specific level of risks - risk of various complications, risk of death. From what he could tell, it looked like my mortality rate for this surgery was somewhere between 2-3%. Slightly better than average. Then he gave us my three options. <br />
<br />
Option 1: Continue on with my life without any major medicinal treatment. Also with option 1, a 20% chance that I would still be alive in 2 years. <p>Option 2: Begin intense and expensive medicinal and oxygen therapy for the rest of my life with no guarantee that I would dramatically improve. Actually, I believe about 20% of the people show marked improvement. However, treatment does not cure the pulmonary hypertension, but merely lessens some of the symptoms. Many people's situation continues to get worse leading to heart failure even with the treatments available (which have their own risks) and so longterm studies are not available.<br />
<br />
Option 3: Agree to having the pulmonary thromboendarterectomy with known risks. Of course, no guarantees were made, but the possibility and HOPE of completely being cured of the pulmonary hypertension was within reach. <p>We aren't exactly rocket scientists, but my parents and I immediately agreed that Option 3 was the way to go! :) God had provided! 6-7 weeks prior we first heard about the surgery and that I was a possible candidate. We spent those weeks making travel and lodging arrangements, obtaining my Houston medical records, filling out LOTS of paperwork, completing a living will and power of attorney, dealing with medical insurance, making schedules with the San Diego medical team, learning everything I could about the surgery, and asking for LOTS of prayer! However, it wasn't until this very moment around a table with Dr. Auger after examining my results of a specific type of heart catheterization I had that morning that we knew for sure I could have the surgery! They said "YES" and we said "YES" and "Praise the Lord, let's do this thing!" And this is why I say with the psalmist, "O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever!" for He really did refuse to let my enemies triumph over me. He really did restore my health. He really did bring me up from the grave and keep me from falling into the pit of death. He really did hear me and have mercy on me. He really did turn my mourning into dancing and exchanged my mourning clothes into clothes of joy! Your story and journey isn't the same as mine. God's plan for you is different. But, this I know, every word of God proves true and what He really did for me, He will really do for you.Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025872514304872228noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23374995.post-79718992200822951062011-04-24T20:08:00.002-05:002011-04-26T14:53:46.604-05:00Beautiful thingsI'm learning something new. I'm learning that God can bring hope, comfort, and healing retrospectively. Sounds strange, doesn't it? Before I explain, let's take a step back, shall we? A little over a year ago I began a very difficult process and journey of discovering I had a life-altering and life-threatening illness. While trying to keep some semblance of my regular life, relationships, work and ministry, I spent months and months filled with bad news and doctor visits and scary medical tests and procedures and phone calls and medications and oxygen treatment and fatigue and prayer and tears and fears and more questions than answers. The most difficult journey of my life. It was a year of survival mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and physically. Survival meant that time and energy and capacity for processing all that was happening was quite minimal. I believe I am just now beginning to really process and hopefully glean what God has for me. <br />
However, looking back into such a dark time is difficult, even on this side of the storm. So...I begin to tiptoe my way into this next step. The good thing is that I can still remember how I felt in so many of those moments and days. Here's where the retrospective (perhaps retroactive?) healing comes in. A few times during the past couple months I have found myself singing a worship song or reading a scripture when it hits me. I am filled with hope and faith and trust, but not just for now in the present. It's like myself from last year gets filled up with faith and assurance that everything is going to be okay. It seems almost silly to me to have the faith now. I mean, is faith after the fact really faith at all? I'm not sure I really understand it, but it seems like God is giving me this great gift of infusing my current faith into all the pain of last year. I can sing the songs and I can read the promises of God with the fullest measure of belief and rest without the darkness overwhelming the light. I had a measure of faith last year. The mustard seed variety. I clung to the hope that God's Word offered. I sang songs with tears streaming down my face with a prayer that my heart could really believe the words I was singing, but my hope was fighting with hopelessness and the faith was fighting with fear and the darkness made it hard to see ahead. <br />
It's so much different now. Now I can sing the songs and read the scripture passages and I can say to myself, "See Rebecca, it really is okay. Your God really did come through. You really are going to make it. God really is good. God really keeps His promises. Believe, believe, believe!" I look back and see a hope which was slight and timid and bravely (or not so bravely) trying to accept whatever road or plan God had for me. I wanted to believe that God could do a miracle, but the sorrow and disappointment and fear seemed to drown out the voice of faith. But now, my faith is made stronger. My Jesus has infused my faith with his resurrection power that is not timid. My faith now shouts, "My God is able! You can trust Him!" What a mystery how the darkest foreboding clouds fade into a mere backdrop for sunlight to break through. I'm telling you, this God of Easter - this life from the dead kind of God - He's good. He's really really good. <br />
<br />
All this pain<br />
I wonder if I'll ever find my way<br />
I wonder if my life could really change at all<br />
<br />
All this earth<br />
Could all that is lost ever be found<br />
Could a garden come out of from this ground at all<br />
<br />
You make beautiful things<br />
You make beautiful things out of the dust<br />
You make beautiful things<br />
You make beautiful things out of us<br />
<br />
All around<br />
Hope is springing up from this old ground<br />
Out of chaos life is being found in me<br />
<br />
You make me new<br />
You are making me new<br />
You make me new<br />
You are making me new<br />
<br />
-GungorRebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025872514304872228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23374995.post-80424092364300401132011-04-20T16:16:00.006-05:002011-04-25T17:05:23.493-05:00You have GOT to see this!This is a live stream of an eagle nest in Decorah, Iowa. I can't stop watching! Right now it's dinner time and the three baby eagles are being fed some fish!<br />
<a href="http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles">http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles</a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWUufdOWWkl6lRmhAe6ZOg_NCohjzzqDH__NcgXNzZMatN8QPR1kUHZBQxnZxItDGmxKBrIwT4cDqTVS87bkIDL4gWHyiPrBX8HAQJ-10UIg_VGBZ7mv9_TXsjZyzKtaeBCRKLTQ/s1600/Eagle+nest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWUufdOWWkl6lRmhAe6ZOg_NCohjzzqDH__NcgXNzZMatN8QPR1kUHZBQxnZxItDGmxKBrIwT4cDqTVS87bkIDL4gWHyiPrBX8HAQJ-10UIg_VGBZ7mv9_TXsjZyzKtaeBCRKLTQ/s400/Eagle+nest.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025872514304872228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23374995.post-8386761384832548902011-04-09T09:40:00.000-05:002011-04-09T09:34:59.898-05:00Time after Time<!-- Converted from text/plain format --> <P><FONT SIZE=2>One of my favorite things about friendship is knowing someone over a period of time...as in years and more years. God has been abundantly kind to me in the friendships He has given me to share this journey of life! In the past seven days I've been connecting and reconnecting with some of my "old friends" (not old in age of course!). I sent a funny picture of a crush I had in college to my best friend of 19 years, Rebecca, who lives across the country in San Diego. One of the greatest things about Rebecca is that she has grown up with me! She shares those silly memories of us talking about boys, reading Elisabeth Elliott, and dreaming of what our futures would hold. She knows how nervous I used to be around that boy I had a crush on who now is happily married, writes amazing worship songs for the church, and has the straggly-est bushy-est goatee I've ever seen -bleh...I'm just saying, one Charlie Hall in the world is enough! :) She KNOWS me and I KNOW her and that is such a safe place to be in a friendship. And, do you know that God planned before either one of us were born that the place I would be sent to San Diego for surgery last November, the toughest three weeks of my life, just so happened to be where she and her husband and two little boys are living? I'm telling you, God is good!<BR> <BR> I've also been Facebooking like crazy with my friend Linda the past week or two. We have so many inside jokes it's crazy and we just crack each other up! Even though we haven't lived in the same state since our Southern Seminary days, we've kept in touch. One of the blessings of last year's health stuff was the way that Linda and I grew even closer as she hurt and hoped with me through the journey. Linda now lives outside of Chicago with Mark and their girls and I'm hoping to get to go visit for some in-person laughter later this year! <BR> <BR> Speaking of in-person, for the first time in about 3 years my friends Will and Kristi came to visit all the way from Louisville this week! Will and I spent several years working together when we were both new to Tallowood. I have great memories of him doing the electric slide past my office door, eating doodle soup at the Testosterhome, and my favorite - watching him fall madly in love with Kristi who showed up for a summer, but ended up becoming Will's wife and one of my closest friends! Knowing them then and watching them now with their three ADORABLE foster/soon-to-be forever family kiddos is truly amazing! I can't get over how fun it is so see God's faithfulness in the lives of my friends. God sometimes does dramatic things in a moment's time, but more often He's working things out and accomplishing His purposes over a period of years, and THAT is what I love to see!<BR> <BR> I also had the joy of reconnecting with one of my roommates, and adopted little sister, from my time in Turkey who is now planning to serve along with her husband and sweet baby boy working among Austrians and Turks in Austria. How fun is that?! She has been married several years now and living up in Boston so yesterday was the first opportunity I had to get to know my Kimberlytasim's husband as we spent an hour or two catching up and sharing our hearts and visions for the future. I told her husband as I was leaving that if I could have handpicked a husband for her, it would have been him. He is just so well suited to her. It was fun to hear how God has been leading them, spend time praying with them, and now looking forward to partnering with them in prayer as they look forward to what God has planned!<BR> <BR> And, that's not all! As if the week wasn't already good enough, my friend Annetta blew into town like a breath of fresh air yesterday all the way from Australia! She looked beautiful as ever and it was special to see the beautiful things God has been teaching and birthing in her the past 9 months down under. It did my heart good to hear her stories, share some of my own, and pray with her like the good ol' days!<BR> <BR> All that to say, my heart is full this morning as I reflect on the past week and am so grateful for the dear friends He not only has placed in my life, but also has KEPT in my life. Good stuff! <BR> Rebecca--------------------------<BR> Sent using BlackBerry<BR> </FONT> </P> Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025872514304872228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23374995.post-83148757979636557992011-03-29T20:34:00.002-05:002011-03-30T09:59:15.394-05:00Can you hear me now?<!-- Converted from text/plain format --> <p><span style="font-size:85%;">I've been thinking a lot lately about how we hear God's voice. How do we hear when He is asking us to do something specific or telling us not to do something else? Obviously, Scripture is full of God speaking to us and although we may all-too-often (knowingly or unknowingly) tweak God's perfect Words to fit our own liking or limited understanding, it is also true that most of God's desire for our lives is clear and easy to understand in His Word. We have no shortage of commands to obey or warnings to heed. But, although I've walked with Jesus a long time and heard Him speak to me so many times in different ways, I still find myself confused sometimes. Sometimes I so clearly hear and understand the path He wants me to take. Other times, it is all muddled and it's like we have a bad connection and it's full of static.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size:85%;">I believe there are times when God is silent or when He speaks more softly to sift my heart and make me draw a little closer to Him and strain just a little harder to hear what He's saying. But, I also believe that most likely the problem with the reception has more to do with me the receiver than it does with the Sender! And why are there certain areas in my life where I hear Him clearly and other areas where I have repeatedly misinterpreted His voice or so obviously (in hindsight) made up my own thoughts and yet sincerely believed they were His thoughts? This is frustrating to me. It makes me doubt myself, doubt God, doubt that I can hear His voice at all, and doubt whether I should seek His purpose about a specific issue or question. I'm incredibly grateful that not only is God completely sovereign, but also that I believe it enough to find the rest and beauty in that truth. Therefore, even in my confusion over hearing His voice regarding a matter, I am confident that His plan cannot be thwarted. He will fulfill His purpose for me. I have plans in my heart but His purpose prevails. Yes, this brings me great peace and confidence in my God! But! I also really want to be obedient. I want to treat every decision as a spiritual decision. I don't want to blindly walk into something crossing my fingers or assuming that God will just go along with my plan. If my plan brings pain or temptation or struggle, I want to know if it's just because I was being stupid in walking into something that wasn't wise, discipline for disobedience, or merely just part of the refining process which comes even when we are walking in obedience. So this is why it matters to me that I learn to hear God's voice clearly. That I put myself in the best position for that to happen. I have to remember that God reveals Himself. That is a huge part of who He is. His nature. He is not hiding from me. Wooing me, yes, but not hiding Himself or His will from me. He also desires that I be like Him. He desires that I obey Him. He desires that my life is best used up for His glory every day. He desires to speak to me. He desires purity in me. Perhaps that is why He lets these questions bother me.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size:85%;">He knows that as I ask the questions and struggle with hearing Him that I'll discover sin that clogs my ears. He'll open my eyes to see places where I have been deceived. He'll show me where I have made idols. I guess sometimes I don't really want to hear what He has to say or want to see the sin and lies I've been believing and living. It's because I doubt God's goodness is what it is. I'm only afraid of what He might say about something because I don't always truly believe that His plans for me are good, that obedience - no matter the cost - is always better and for my good. I don't always believe that everything I "give up" is nothing compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Him. Oh, but I want to believe that! Even now as I write, God is sweetly talking to me, reminding me that I can hear Him. What an incredible marvelous thing! Oh God, make me brave enough to look at my heart with your eyes, clear out the static, and tune my heart to hear You when You speak because I can trust You. You are good, You are good, You are good, You are...<br /></span> </p>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025872514304872228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23374995.post-43470838664597880112010-11-08T09:50:00.005-06:002010-11-08T09:59:16.657-06:00CaringBridge<span style="font-size:130%;">I may keep posting here on Rebekistan from time to time, but I've created a <a href="http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/isaiah268">CaringBridge site</a> specifically for health updates and coming surgery in San Diego on November 19th. Thanks for praying! :)</span>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025872514304872228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23374995.post-64889557305001168322010-10-02T16:28:00.000-05:002010-10-02T16:29:43.755-05:00Health Update<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">God is good!<span style=""> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Despite His great faithfulness in the past, there have been times along this journey where I have been incredibly afraid and have doubted God’s goodness and even his love for me.<span style=""> </span>It was during one such fearful moment back in May when God showed me this promise in Exodus 33:14, <i style=""><span style="font-style: italic;">“The L<span style="font-variant: small-caps;">ord</span> replied, ‘I will personally go with you, Moses, and I will give you rest—everything will be fine for you.’”</span></i> <span style=""> </span>And once again, I can see that He has proven Himself faithful to His Word and continues to “personally” go with me! </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">My angiogram in August confirmed that I indeed have blood clots blocking the flow to/in my lungs which disqualified me for the clinical study.<span style=""> </span>However, thanks to God’s grace, the sign of blood clots is actually a good thing because that means that there is an identifiable reason for the pulmonary hypertension.<span style=""> </span>Not only is there a reason, but there is also a way to fix it – a cure!<span style=""> </span>A cure for something that I had been told was incurable!<span style=""> </span>HOPE.<span style=""> </span>I just found out on Wednesday that I am a good candidate for a rare procedure called a <a title="http://health.ucsd.edu/specialties/pte/" href="http://health.ucsd.edu/specialties/pte/">Pulmonary Thromboendarectomy (PTE)</a> in which these old blood clots are removed from the pulmonary arteries.<span style=""> </span>I will be having the surgery in San Diego at UCSD where a team of doctors has performed more of these than anywhere else in the world, currently about three times a week.<span style=""> </span>Also, my best friend and her family just so happen to live in San Diego which is a really cool miracle!<span style=""> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">I am scheduled to fly to San Diego on November 14<sup>th</sup>, spend a couple days in testing at their facility, and assuming all goes well will have my surgery at 6:00 a.m. on Friday, November 19<sup>th</sup>.<span style=""> </span>I am very excited, and my family is working on getting excited. </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="">J</span></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> It is a very serious open chest surgery and I will likely be in ICU for several days and then in the hospital another week to 10 days.<span style=""> </span>My mom and dad and sister will all be with me for the surgery and we will spend a very grateful Thanksgiving in the hospital!<span style=""> </span>I will stay in San Diego for another couple weeks and then return to Houston around the second week of December for complete recovery.<span style=""> </span>Let me know if you have any questions, serious or otherwise!<span style=""> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">I continue to be humbled by your love and sustained by your prayers.<span style=""> <br /></span></span></span></p>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025872514304872228noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23374995.post-6634910481391355342010-08-29T00:07:00.003-05:002011-04-24T21:21:55.405-05:00When life gives you lemons...It seems I've been making bucket-fulls of lemonade lately. Frankly, sometimes what life has been handing me seems a bit worse than lemons. So...my sister and nephew and I started coming up with "When life gives you poop" sayings. My quick-witted nephew came up with, "When life gives you poop, make pottery!" Disgusting? Yes. But, oh it makes me laugh! And well, I came up with something equally as gross, but in a different way, "When life gives you poop, make frozen hot chocolate!" Truth is, I recently found this yummy recipe for this cool tasty treat (no poop needed) and I made myself some this morning in the midst of a very difficult 24 hours. Here's some other ways I've been learning, albeit somewhat slowly, to make lemonade or frozen hot chocolate, if you will. And believe me, you will! (Linda, that was just for you!)<p>When life started giving me too many trips to the med center for clinic visits and fun things like ekgs, bubble tests, stress tests, echocardiograms, pulmonary function tests, CT scans, blood work, etc. I started going to The Chocolate Bar or to get a Crave cupcake (better than Sprinkles) afterwards. And even better, I had coffee and lunches and retail therapy with incredible friends/chauffeurs/moral support/scribes. :)</p><p>When life gave me a day at the hospital for a right heart cath, I brought my mama for a 10 day visit from New Jersey! Yea!</p><p>When life gave me pulmonary arterial hypertension: a life-threatening and non-curable (by man) yet treatable (in often life-alterable and painful and emotionally difficult ways I'm discovering), I became a magazine, book, and Redbox junkie to keep me from freaking out when I'm trying to go to sleep. Okay, so this one is not quite to the lemonade stage.</p><p>When life gave me an angiogram and implanted IVC filter, I tried to enjoy a day out of the office and quality time with my sister and my blue cuddly blanket that says Methodist Hospital.</p><p>When life gave me oxygen tanks and a "nose hose" when I'm walking around the neighborhood, I made several calls to the Dr's office to get smaller tanks and a trip to pick out an overpriced but extremely cute Vera Bradley backpack to carry Roxy around in. Side note: Roxy is my very cute and stylish petite oxygen tank who is very much unlike Oxy Moron who is the very awkward and heavy oxygen tank on that awful metal cart.</p><p>When life gave me 5 days of twice daily injections in my stomach, I went to the Boedekers after Saturday night worship for my first injection and dinner and football and conversation and mama and papa bear hugs.</p><p>And when life gave me Coumadin...hmmm, any ideas? I am leaving for a FABULOUS VACATION tomorrow with a fabulous friend, but what about after that?</p><p>Okay, so truth is that my Jehovah covenant-keeping God is giving me just a sip of lemonade at just the right moments to keep me from totally drowning in all this junk, and I'm not making much of the lemonade at all. And I have to believe in some mysterious way that God is moved to respond on my behalf because of many of you who are fighting in intercession for me. Even though I don't always feel it, I know your prayers are working and that God is indeed with me. And He must, because his Word promises, be working good for me and glory for Himself out of this. One day I'll be able to see. As much as I love to savor the sour sweetness of a Chick-fil-A lemonade, I'd love to see his glory made known all the more!</p><p>Now, don't be thinking me more spiritual than I am just because I said that. Truth is, I was curled up on the floor shut up in my sister's closet earlier today. My faith is minuscule. I am too prone to pity parties and self-absorption. I am not rejoicing in my suffering. BUT, only by His grace I am choosing to believe right now in this moment that my God does keep his promises. Choosing to believe that this present suffering will pale in comparison to his glory to be revealed. Choosing to believe that like Jesus, for the joy set before me I can endure this cross - these moments that feel like deaths to me. Choosing to believe that the same power that raised Christ Jesus from the dead lives in me. Choosing to believe that the Holy Spirit of Promise, my Advocate alongside me and the very seal that I belong to God forever is near, within, surrounding me through every doctor visit, every procedure, every phone call with painful news, every stomach injection, every walk with oxygen, every moment of fear, panic, anger and sorrow. My Father, my Jesus, my Comforter is near. My soul, wait thou only upon God, for my expectation (my HOPE) is from Him. Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.</p>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025872514304872228noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23374995.post-42887165663705131552009-11-10T16:23:00.018-06:002009-11-10T16:50:00.099-06:00NovemberliciousWhile I'm not nearly as ambitious as my friend Kasey who's determined to blog every single day in November, I decided I'd try for at least one post this month! For some reason, it's like I've jarred my brain in such a way by trying to post that alas, I cannot think of even one thing to say...well, at least not at least one thing that has any smidgen of significance. So yep, I'm resorting to the picture post with a few pics from my trip to Israel in July...so I'm a just a little late!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWAya70YSG9iHVo6pXw3fDHiGSEN80HvO0x1Do80DtGyosPOyO4ltrkdihoX98qMlj_xdCZvaaRshEA-Q70aaW74zr6AuDudz20tbvKWPaB8hFYuzijBGPvhmARDgAay5AWzfYaw/s1600-h/100_2996.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWAya70YSG9iHVo6pXw3fDHiGSEN80HvO0x1Do80DtGyosPOyO4ltrkdihoX98qMlj_xdCZvaaRshEA-Q70aaW74zr6AuDudz20tbvKWPaB8hFYuzijBGPvhmARDgAay5AWzfYaw/s320/100_2996.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402610569408191554" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Craziness - The youth staff at Tell Dan, our very first day of touring in Israel...not sure, but I'm guessing Jerome just said something about not wanting to take his picture with me or something!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhugjuGS3yKvrCTr415XIz9Xr193T_-nMCCDFkAZIbaG-oB1kqIQgJ7Oz31ecoCcPVrym279waFXnLpi1gCHG59A5Sc-_4xKjK0yDS1OOKQXMW5wjptf00-AyIZTLoGiM4GeiU9Pw/s1600-h/100_3041.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhugjuGS3yKvrCTr415XIz9Xr193T_-nMCCDFkAZIbaG-oB1kqIQgJ7Oz31ecoCcPVrym279waFXnLpi1gCHG59A5Sc-_4xKjK0yDS1OOKQXMW5wjptf00-AyIZTLoGiM4GeiU9Pw/s320/100_3041.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402610881740708642" border="0" /></a>Here's Shirley (one of my favorite people) and I on a boat out on the Sea of Galilee.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv9thptuKHlXYzkRssvWAfp0Psg5nvFfJuU70xnO6TLekB3OMBcE2QtDRUcOUH4K90CsQhpKtwx0y5ZtgMxw2v4V0eX6xiZRrQwRhN6t_uMFihEL2-Qv8pIMzm6iFw8Z-F_DfGtQ/s1600-h/100_3066.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv9thptuKHlXYzkRssvWAfp0Psg5nvFfJuU70xnO6TLekB3OMBcE2QtDRUcOUH4K90CsQhpKtwx0y5ZtgMxw2v4V0eX6xiZRrQwRhN6t_uMFihEL2-Qv8pIMzm6iFw8Z-F_DfGtQ/s320/100_3066.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402607019529404322" border="0" /></a> Okay, so I feel like this is kind of a nerdy picture of me, but I'm standing in the Sea of Galilee which is really super cool if you think about it!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdIB8qpOMGog5hssThUbPdiO5RosjKqS8Ocp7dxBV8XZkf_sUsEnwJA5BNhB8QVTsRoBgDpsoUZTKmvOAQGY8MM_ST0gDSHLp8K3UO9JN-uaoThVaGvu0TLekvUcgLJePNnrRKHQ/s1600-h/Israel+Trip+2009+Pics+141.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdIB8qpOMGog5hssThUbPdiO5RosjKqS8Ocp7dxBV8XZkf_sUsEnwJA5BNhB8QVTsRoBgDpsoUZTKmvOAQGY8MM_ST0gDSHLp8K3UO9JN-uaoThVaGvu0TLekvUcgLJePNnrRKHQ/s320/Israel+Trip+2009+Pics+141.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402608165930706706" border="0" /></a>This is my Jerusalem team (AKA "My Little Chickens") standing in front of the Eastern Gate of the old city wall around Jerusalem...One day Jesus is coming through there!!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Hd-TSmCt10H1f8DLlmAipT-vga_vqzpu1ZbU7uOa7H0NQvwVJvpNe3bexwkY_wdasE5NKsegUVMgCgZbUIaKaWO4xHSo9e8LBP4rCiIoB8i3W5YVmQFK390sEfE9XD-4QTFT3Q/s1600-h/Mount+of+Olives7.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Hd-TSmCt10H1f8DLlmAipT-vga_vqzpu1ZbU7uOa7H0NQvwVJvpNe3bexwkY_wdasE5NKsegUVMgCgZbUIaKaWO4xHSo9e8LBP4rCiIoB8i3W5YVmQFK390sEfE9XD-4QTFT3Q/s320/Mount+of+Olives7.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402608943959882866" border="0" /></a>My favorite picture from the trip...Jerome explaining the site of the Temple Mount. Wow, what a journey it was to get to this point of bringing our students to be a blessing to Jerusalem.</div>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025872514304872228noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23374995.post-54002992913956864352009-09-24T10:36:00.003-05:002009-09-24T10:44:02.164-05:00Every Tribe & Tongue NightLast night was so much fun! <span id="profile_status"><span id="status_text">First of all, three foreign exchange students came with their friends - from China, Norway, and Germany - and they each read John 3:16 in their language. :) Throughout the night we watched a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_TNAq3fLdE">Botswanan gospel rap video</a>, worshipped in English, heard prayer in Spanish, enjoyed Scripture read in German, Norwegian, Chinese, French, Hebrew, Spanish, Latin <span style="font-style: italic;">and</span> Piglatin, saw Scripture in sign language, and I spoke a bit in Turkish! And on top of all that, I got to share the gospel. How fun is that?! What a beautiful night!</span></span>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025872514304872228noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23374995.post-73611940175322942202009-09-23T15:39:00.003-05:002009-09-23T15:44:54.460-05:00Please pray!Tonight at Impact, our high school Bible study, we are having "Every Tribe & Tongue Night!" I would love, love, love it if all of you would pray for a few things:<br />1) Pray that our students would invite their friends, especially those that speak other languages and are from different cultures.<br />2) Pray that students would come who need to hear the gospel and that their hearts would be open to receive and respond to truth.<br />3) Pray that our students reading Scripture, our student led worship band, and me as I teach would all point people to Jesus!<br />4) Pray that students would respond to God in belief and in capturing his heart for all peoples to know Him!<br /><br />Thanks so much!Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025872514304872228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23374995.post-45768049054621038482009-07-14T12:00:00.002-05:002009-07-14T12:07:30.934-05:00I'm going to Israel!In fact, I'm leaving in about an hour...leaving for the airport that is and then I'll be flying, along with a whole crew of high school students and adults to Tel <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Aviv</span>, Israel! <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Yipppeee</span>! I've been looking forward to this day for months and months and finally it's here. We will be touring the Holy Land for 4 days and then we will split up into 5 teams going to Haifa, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Ashdod</span>, Nazareth, Galilee, and Jerusalem and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">volunteering</span> with different <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">organizations</span> doing tons of different things. My team will be in Jerusalem and we will be working with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Shevet</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Achim</span>, a ministry that loves of Kurdish children coming to Israel for life-saving heart surgeries, and also with the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">International</span> Prayer Center. I absolutely cannot wait! I would love your prayers on our behalf and especially on behalf of the all of the different people we will meet - Jews, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Palestinians</span>, Kurds...and whoever else!<br /><br />You can read our updates at <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.tallohoodtoday.com">www.tallohoodtoday.com</a> and see prayer guides at <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://worshipinaction.net">www.worshipinaction.net</a>. Thanks so much and I'll let you know how things go when I get back!Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025872514304872228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23374995.post-61132743492019229162009-06-09T15:47:00.002-05:002009-06-09T15:55:00.122-05:00You should read this blog...and no, I don't mean mine!My life is crazy getting ready for Camp, Senior Boat Trip, mini-mission to South Texas Children's Home and our high school trip to Israel and lots of stuff in between! I am trying to trust God's provision for daily manna and not completely panic. Honestly, most days I fail to trust and have been a been panicky when I look to tomorrow instead of living in the moment. Each day has enough trouble of it's own and God has been gracious each day. My goal and vision for the summer has been to merely survive. I know that's not God's best for me though! Just today, I purposed in my heart, if nothing else, to know Him better and to see Him bigger by the end of the summer. In all of my weakness, I have little doubt that He can reveal Himself to me in ways that I need. Yet another trail of life's journey that will lead me to deeper places of trust. I become less that He may become greater. Pray that I will keep this heart as I plow through the busyness and stress. Pray that I will rest in Him and continually seek his face in all things. <br /><br />But alas, I really am posting because I just read this incredible story on a blog. It's really cool and I think you should check it out. Only takes a minute...<span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://love146.blogspot.com/">LOVE146</a></span>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025872514304872228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23374995.post-61715591531957906772009-05-09T10:41:00.013-05:002009-05-10T08:47:04.659-05:00Happy Mother's Day and Why I Love My Mama!<div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(255, 102, 102); font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her: “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!”</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102); font-weight: bold;">Proverbs 31:28-29</span> </div><p class="MsoNormal">I know that lots of Hallmark greeting cards say something like, "To the World's Best Mom," but here's the truth - and I don't say that word "truth" lightly - my mama is the world's best. I'm 35 years old and I've met and heard about a lot of other mothers. Mothers who win gold medals in the Olympics, mothers who are successful businesswomen, mothers who homeschool and sew all their children's clothes, mothers who are gourmet chefs, Martha Stewart mothers who keep an immaculate house, mothers who always look "together," mothers who have an amazing teaching <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic4RuT_xWO-kjPDLM63WGWGftj10zqlBVdTaI4rT-0gYWQYwU8SstXCv7cRqXBLMyQUSDYyXTdLJgrilMnP9_1iuQvnPJ2KKVL5CadNhLKOJJOBc57iXiHrPLCv18P7T7gLWVdfw/s1600-h/loved.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 188px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic4RuT_xWO-kjPDLM63WGWGftj10zqlBVdTaI4rT-0gYWQYwU8SstXCv7cRqXBLMyQUSDYyXTdLJgrilMnP9_1iuQvnPJ2KKVL5CadNhLKOJJOBc57iXiHrPLCv18P7T7gLWVdfw/s200/loved.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334191202403462482" border="0" /></a>ministry, mothers who travel the world, and sadly, I've heard of lots of mothers who don't really mother at all. But then, there's my mama. Nobody is better at mothering than she is. Really, nobody. She has three children who still adore her and don't have any "mother issues" as grown adults. :) Seriously, that's a rarity these days!<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">My mom is so good at mothering and nurturing and loving people that she loves on lots of other children, young people, and adults who need a little extra mothering. I couldn't begin to list all the people that call my mama, "Mom." All kinds of people. "Fixed" people and broken people. Big black men (my mom is smiling right now because she knows exactly who I'm talking about!) and petite white ladies. People who are making right choices and people making hurtful choices. Loveable and unlovable people. You see my mama is just good at loving. Not that it's easy for her to love so much, sometimes it's very hard and sometimes hurtful. Sometimes, we live up to her hopes for us and sometimes we don't. Sometimes she doesn't see the "payoff" of so much investing. But! She keeps loving anyway. And that makes her amazing.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZn4avRWZqI8QLP0uD0kYGGzKfk9uSqifavA9OCnzXtSInZ12BUPAViF7HQ2WswXmAbkXiXn3ESfFa5qFtSIn3xFqCUR16xooMedThNN1CZILATNFgdSKsMe85I353SlblL2MLtw/s1600-h/Me+and+Mom.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 152px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZn4avRWZqI8QLP0uD0kYGGzKfk9uSqifavA9OCnzXtSInZ12BUPAViF7HQ2WswXmAbkXiXn3ESfFa5qFtSIn3xFqCUR16xooMedThNN1CZILATNFgdSKsMe85I353SlblL2MLtw/s200/Me+and+Mom.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334190885195525842" border="0" /></a><!--[endif]--></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sometimes I wonder how my mom can love so much. I think it's because she's been loved by God so much. She knows the incredible difference that God's love made in her own life. And she wants other people to know that too. She continues to be the godliest woman I know. I also think she's good at loving because she had a mom and dad that loved her very much. <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br /><!--[endif]--></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I also think she's good at loving because she had a mom and dad that loved her very much. So today, I'm thankful for them too because even though they died when I was really young, so much of who I am is because of who they were. If they hadn't loved my mama so, I'm pretty sure it would be harder for her to love me the way she does.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Here are just a few of the ways my mama loves me so well...</p><ul><li>On any given day, whether I was 5 years old or 35 years old, she will always give me the last bite of her cookie.</li><li>When I go home to visit, she still comes into my room to say goodnight and “tuck me in.”</li><li>She fights in prayer for me and my joy and purpose at times when I can’t fight for myself.</li><li>When she had to face breast cancer, she was concerned about how the news would affect <i style="">me.<o:p></o:p></i></li><li>When I was a teenager she would take me bargain shopping at Foley’s Red Apple sales so that I could look cooler than we could actually afford. ;)</li><li>She does little things to make me feel special like putting a miniature rose in a vase by my bed and pulling back my covers.</li><li>She thinks everything I write is just wonderful.</li><li>She saw what God could do through me when other people didn’t see it yet.</li><li>She graciously supported me whenever I’ve gone on a mission trip or even when I moved to <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Turkey</st1:place></st1:country-region> even though it was really difficult to let me go.<span style=""> </span>She and my dad were even brave enough to travel for their very first time over the ocean to come visit me!</li><li>When I was little and would get sick in the night and would walk to her bedroom, she would immediately wake up and say, “What’s the matter Baby?” as soon as my little foot stepped inside the room.</li><li>No matter my age or stage in life, she still thinks I’m the neatest thing since sliced bread.<span style=""> </span></li><li>She went back to work as a kindergarten teacher when I was in junior high so that she could pay for my sister and brother and I to get braces and go to college!</li><li>Last year she flew to <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Houston</st1:city></st1:place> just to be at my birthday party that my sister planned for me – my sister, Kate, is really good at nurturing and loving too!</li><li>She drove Kate and I to hundreds and hundreds of dance classes growing up – not to mention coming to – and actually loving – all of our recitals.<span style=""> </span>(I guess the greater miracle is that my sweet dad came to all of those recitals too!) </li><li>She taught me about Jesus and of God’s great faithfulness…so many times I think of how she made us read our Bibles 10 minutes every day.</li></ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="">In a million teensy ways (many that I’ve never even seen) and lots of huge life-changing ways, my mama has loved me well and I’m so very grateful.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><o:p></o:p>So, Mama, thank you.<span style=""> </span>Thank you for loving me the way that you do.<span style=""> </span>Thank you for so much willing sacrifice for me.<span style=""> </span>Thank you for making me a <i style="">mostly</i> well-adjusted happy person! <span style="font-family:Wingdings;"><span style="">J</span></span><span style=""> </span>I know God loves me because of you.<span style=""> </span>I love God because of you.<span style=""> </span>The way you mothered me, the way you love on so many people, matters.<span style=""> </span>It makes a difference, an eternal difference.<span style=""> </span>Thank you.<span style=""> </span>I love you so very much.</p>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025872514304872228noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23374995.post-81767661915944383512009-05-05T16:30:00.004-05:002009-05-05T16:48:55.192-05:00What was I thinking?I don't know what I was thinking saying I was going to post soon! Did I actually think my life was going to slow down at all? Admittedly, part of the problem is the fact that I don't have a laptop/internet at mi casa and let's just say that while amazing in its own right, my blackberry is not exactly conducive to blogging. And well, when I'm at work I actually try and do real work most of the time. :) And when I'm done working, I don't really want to stick around the office. Do you see my dilemma? Ergggg, even now I'm trying to focus on this, but feeling guilty because my pup is at home crossing her legs and anxiously awaiting my arrival. I know, I know, I'm being a drama queen, right? How is it that some people do this posting thing multiple times a day - especially people with jobs! <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwKgb595Y8qxffGOSw6-xFKmJlmqNoXmfS9D4eNLNFDgsf3DAdIv2HfgSz9flLmWE5ZMnfd8KBIzwojdS68qWToWzNyypCu9QsCthv63nUn4JQYMXqqEIaMUMGeXU2BRD7Pg132Q/s1600-h/Smelling+the+roses.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwKgb595Y8qxffGOSw6-xFKmJlmqNoXmfS9D4eNLNFDgsf3DAdIv2HfgSz9flLmWE5ZMnfd8KBIzwojdS68qWToWzNyypCu9QsCthv63nUn4JQYMXqqEIaMUMGeXU2BRD7Pg132Q/s200/Smelling+the+roses.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332460066717137026" border="0" /></a> I guess if I had to choose between a rich and full real life and a rich and full blogging life, I'd choose real life any day. And...apparently that's what I'm going to keep doing. Starting now. I'm still planning to post soon, just not when I'd rather be going home and taking a nice, long walk with the pooch. And then I plan to sit on my loveseat w/a tasty basic sandwich and read my Israel travel book (I'm going there with our high school students this summer!). And then I plan on doing a bit of laundry and perhaps adding the final touches to the desk I repainted a week or so ago. And who knows, maybe I'll even do a little straightening. Wow, sounds exciting, doesn't it? Try to curb your jealousy of my "real" life. :) Actually, on this Tuesday evening with absolutely nowhere to be, a boring night at home sounds absolutely amazing! Hope you get to live life to its fullest and have your own incredibly dull evening at home soon. Shalom.Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025872514304872228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23374995.post-62927704830429778652009-04-27T09:54:00.006-05:002009-04-27T10:19:30.441-05:00Coming soon!Okay, so don't have a heart attack, but guess what?!? I'm still alive and I'll post something soon, I promise...my life has been a bit on the crazy side with lots of stuff to tell, but the ironic thing is that when I've actually got stuff going on to talk about I'm so busy I don't have the time to blog about it. So, in lieu of just burying my blog in the abyss of the dead I've decided to try and revive it! But alas, I'm currently at work and so you'll just have to wait a bit longer. I know, I know, I'm killing all 3 of my adoring fans (once upon a time, there were 6 of you, but apparently my absence hasn't made your hearts grow fonder), but I don't want to overdo it my first time back on the saddle. However, just to reward you for still checking this thing, here's a couple pics from my recent road trip with the youth staff and crew to make some final plans for Camp Tallowood!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSCvbpO9QfaqMIEGxHDihpAt-FOXzQ_EI9AZBdNRqGK9o_Z9hKQer5SLplBKzVWl6uoEJcvRAlCwSlQi9yMgI_OEVGoSfShI6cm0-eGXfGwphINbe6eK3cfbTbnpZ3cYWtQCGsrg/s1600-h/Camp+Lead+Team+2009+009.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSCvbpO9QfaqMIEGxHDihpAt-FOXzQ_EI9AZBdNRqGK9o_Z9hKQer5SLplBKzVWl6uoEJcvRAlCwSlQi9yMgI_OEVGoSfShI6cm0-eGXfGwphINbe6eK3cfbTbnpZ3cYWtQCGsrg/s320/Camp+Lead+Team+2009+009.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329387238979331762" border="0" /></a>Yes, we are ridiculous...this was like an old school family vacation except none of us are actually related. We ate lunch here in Lampasas after we picked up a hundred cedar posts. And yes, we ate fried porkchops, mash potatoes, green beans w/bacon, and chocolate cake and drank sweet tea! We passed on the daily special of rocky mountain oysters...and no, I'm not kidding.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtRrV6PxJhyphenhyphentifuoOLj7H0O8kF53hcpJvlLoLI265ImQXce7Fe1282MtQdKy-Rg7q3V8lKYIsNvgw3f16wLyZJl7LzSy9say2eq1mmLuxFxsR2095CdlWk3Lu1ZcefZyo_um5QFg/s1600-h/Camp+Lead+Team+2009+008.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtRrV6PxJhyphenhyphentifuoOLj7H0O8kF53hcpJvlLoLI265ImQXce7Fe1282MtQdKy-Rg7q3V8lKYIsNvgw3f16wLyZJl7LzSy9say2eq1mmLuxFxsR2095CdlWk3Lu1ZcefZyo_um5QFg/s320/Camp+Lead+Team+2009+008.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329388895111255218" border="0" /></a>Okay, so not the most exciting pic at the cedar yard, but it's the only pic that has my good friend, Kay, in it as she was our resident photographer! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP12kzljMmLeiYpH8NFxbZcMnLv47dTXDc-lnHf7ppqdIX3urDA1MNgme9iWfEE8vjCvcGUaeGrK_2A3go56F-DjVMECZQIWFMDKhGLxCtfinFduNm92OVGRMKTmShzKX3enRUsQ/s1600-h/Camp+Lead+Team+2009+061.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP12kzljMmLeiYpH8NFxbZcMnLv47dTXDc-lnHf7ppqdIX3urDA1MNgme9iWfEE8vjCvcGUaeGrK_2A3go56F-DjVMECZQIWFMDKhGLxCtfinFduNm92OVGRMKTmShzKX3enRUsQ/s320/Camp+Lead+Team+2009+061.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329388208054023842" border="0" /></a>The bossman and I enjoying some amazing icecream fountain drinks in Uvalde at the local drugstore soda fountain. This was just moments before Jerome tried to pawn me off on some creepy old married man who walked in and wanted to put his arm around me for the picture and said he wished he was still single. Gee Jerome, thanks for having such high standards for me.<br /></div>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025872514304872228noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23374995.post-81485175035008159462008-12-10T12:19:00.002-06:002008-12-10T16:07:52.965-06:00Winter is here!I cannot believe I haven't posted ANYTHING since October! I truly don't want to be a blogging <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">hasbeen</span>, but I'm slipping that way very very fast. Yikes!<br /><br />Today is one of those rare and wonderful really cold days in H-town (well, that's 35 degrees cold, which for the likes of us is quite chilly!) Unfortunately, it's a bit chilly inside the office as well. Thankfully, I brought my scarf to bundle up at my desk. Apparently, these Baptists have a very high addiction to air-conditioning.<br /><br />And now, a couple hours later, it's actually snowing here - even getting some decent sized snowflakes. I'm trying to muster up more excitement about it to match everyone <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">else's</span>, but it's kind of hard. Guess I've spent too much time in Kentucky, Turkey, and New Jersey to be overly impressed! Still, I am glad it actually feels like winter here instead of the 75 muggy degrees it was yesterday.<br /><br />Here's a few pics from last week when my friend, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Rebecca</span>, was here! I got to meet her little boy, Samuel Porter, for the first time. He is absolutely beautiful, sweet, and precious! Too bad none of the ones of me and Becca turned out too good...but here's some of Porter and his Aunt Becca.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmx9Gf1EMytP_2_CydDh4eJSkh_PcHAiNqUT1axDzt7LS4D0CS2tUvO7z6KxVofuAg6Ll6jBuKMcpstQIy4JQV2rw6MqY8cDzCLXemRII1mc0WIfdEKp10t2QhLvXG-K4-QMPaLg/s1600-h/Me+and+Porter.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmx9Gf1EMytP_2_CydDh4eJSkh_PcHAiNqUT1axDzt7LS4D0CS2tUvO7z6KxVofuAg6Ll6jBuKMcpstQIy4JQV2rw6MqY8cDzCLXemRII1mc0WIfdEKp10t2QhLvXG-K4-QMPaLg/s320/Me+and+Porter.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278285611927825970" border="0" /></a>Apparently we have lots to say to each other in this one. Here are Blake and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Brayden</span>, Rebecca's nephews with me. I've known them both since they were babies too! :)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO_PcBJuhHUmAK7jdd5HjW8hyphenhyphenn0gk6ZuE7h79nQ5PzpIgOqj3MVn8gKqosgrHmN-74IDLjpu8K1kItoT5DVIMyqei9ZvQioq1U4uR6q-wb2VaFkfy8qo8rBpj2yOXNs_brNt-1DQ/s1600-h/Talking+to+each+other.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 229px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO_PcBJuhHUmAK7jdd5HjW8hyphenhyphenn0gk6ZuE7h79nQ5PzpIgOqj3MVn8gKqosgrHmN-74IDLjpu8K1kItoT5DVIMyqei9ZvQioq1U4uR6q-wb2VaFkfy8qo8rBpj2yOXNs_brNt-1DQ/s320/Talking+to+each+other.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278286034393116850" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijKc7UBTLX1sS-JuqbMlzSZ3aJDsuLCENlVFsBqnSPtI2O3yfpP_iNnbsHF51Q8U7Sjpf7SEHlbBSffIQJH8TsXIRaMUBIFqg-c6rjIHdEe3OyzjGmqBh47OChIf56X1SIUiL1Vg/s1600-h/Me+and+Porter+3.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 228px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijKc7UBTLX1sS-JuqbMlzSZ3aJDsuLCENlVFsBqnSPtI2O3yfpP_iNnbsHF51Q8U7Sjpf7SEHlbBSffIQJH8TsXIRaMUBIFqg-c6rjIHdEe3OyzjGmqBh47OChIf56X1SIUiL1Vg/s320/Me+and+Porter+3.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278285908871769202" border="0" /></a>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025872514304872228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23374995.post-67966601550999364552008-10-31T16:00:00.009-05:002008-10-31T16:30:43.945-05:00Happy Friday! Don't forget to vote!<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghufwg2mGuiXBtSzEpgTCOeadiJY2zrn9skgGb6z101GX2glU-jHrAf68qNnI9rc38nLJ9_VHuSsogSQU6l6xVz6OojJ4PXSJbvk7AvjLo-9jEvQiLySm8w1-craVCtwVIwZvFxQ/s1600-h/Fall+2008+009.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghufwg2mGuiXBtSzEpgTCOeadiJY2zrn9skgGb6z101GX2glU-jHrAf68qNnI9rc38nLJ9_VHuSsogSQU6l6xVz6OojJ4PXSJbvk7AvjLo-9jEvQiLySm8w1-craVCtwVIwZvFxQ/s320/Fall+2008+009.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263426478036405058" border="0" /></a>Can you tell we're sisters? :) Kate and I went out for a very fancy dinner at <a href="http://www.meltingpot.com/">The Melting Pot</a> to celebrate her birthday. It was an amazing amazing meal of everything (except salad) fondue style that you cook at your table...breads and raw veggies in cheese, about 4 kinds of meat and ravioli and potatoes and broccoli and mushrooms that you cook in a flavored broth, and the ultimate desert experience of life changing bananas foster fondue with cheesecake, regular and chocolate marshmallows, sponge cake, bananas, strawberries, rice crispie treat, brownies dipped in the banana white chocolately cinnamony gooey goodness. The entire experience was so much fun and there's noone else I would have wanted to share it with!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKN7lvz3JbRuz6RAbA6wCimub9B4d10ry5EMdv07nFCkkg4YfsqShGqre-U5rGslAbNAREYGUMuPxsGTrMYwajieVIniQmmvwnfv8EhcSDga1PxawkXQQX1Z-bxHLnsTvIBjL-3g/s1600-h/Fall+2008+011.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKN7lvz3JbRuz6RAbA6wCimub9B4d10ry5EMdv07nFCkkg4YfsqShGqre-U5rGslAbNAREYGUMuPxsGTrMYwajieVIniQmmvwnfv8EhcSDga1PxawkXQQX1Z-bxHLnsTvIBjL-3g/s320/Fall+2008+011.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263426772307878482" border="0" /></a>Kate getting ready to dip some bread in the fancy cheese...<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNb0CY8hidSCQeEoFBGtuD2Dbj5vpT1B1qSfHFlPWr-kISpTTtM-HTp48dS2Fox_8EoDVq5iMaVHhh2WwT29hQytTxF_bBcptkWbmRVhyphenhyphendEEKkZgl0E8enCyPXlpu1Z8FdOqjEJQ/s1600-h/Fall+2008+012.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNb0CY8hidSCQeEoFBGtuD2Dbj5vpT1B1qSfHFlPWr-kISpTTtM-HTp48dS2Fox_8EoDVq5iMaVHhh2WwT29hQytTxF_bBcptkWbmRVhyphenhyphendEEKkZgl0E8enCyPXlpu1Z8FdOqjEJQ/s320/Fall+2008+012.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263426910490517778" border="0" /></a>and me being cheesey (HAHAHAHAHA)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">And then last weekend our junior staff here at church had our second annual Hallo-Wii party. We had sooooooo much fun even though we did wish Scott and Abby and Will and Kristi and Rob and Lynda could have all come back for the event! The costumes were amazing...couple of rednecks, James Bond, Kris Kross, Ed McMahan and prize winning housewife, Hurricane Ike and tree-trimming, electric repair man, Sarah Palin, a very very young olympic Chinese gymnast, and yours truly as a Starbuck's barista with her very HOTT cup of Venti Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate!<br /></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf_xvMsa7NW6w9pT6ngvjuw2BsuqUdZShtTMS6P7Wsm2diTqapA1sPlAwCJl31fEcAO9nkzA0FJvrZ5elp4sFi9iVzfYNy4aKzq2h-pWZFm0tyL6O2JBS87Lu58eC7Bu5ySmmZ0g/s1600-h/group.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf_xvMsa7NW6w9pT6ngvjuw2BsuqUdZShtTMS6P7Wsm2diTqapA1sPlAwCJl31fEcAO9nkzA0FJvrZ5elp4sFi9iVzfYNy4aKzq2h-pWZFm0tyL6O2JBS87Lu58eC7Bu5ySmmZ0g/s320/group.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263427871172582274" border="0" /></a>Yep, here I am getting my crunk on during the worst ever attempt at Guitar Hero.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3O-VhEvnhNX4deHoO0OznU1Uhj7e8Guj947sw1Y91B3XKADKRod1HAuday909ZHc3r3JwnTOudWnRkPv2HnbDVBELVErKjx0IZds8K0lzrmPPDKEIJycpuB-i7Gjd-q7iPyjY-A/s1600-h/rocking+out.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 237px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3O-VhEvnhNX4deHoO0OznU1Uhj7e8Guj947sw1Y91B3XKADKRod1HAuday909ZHc3r3JwnTOudWnRkPv2HnbDVBELVErKjx0IZds8K0lzrmPPDKEIJycpuB-i7Gjd-q7iPyjY-A/s320/rocking+out.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263427934590173074" border="0" /></a>Me and my cocoa. Is she absolutely fabulous or what?!? She was simply amazing and has already inspired at least 3 people to copy her idea...it did take some work for us to convert that laundry basket into a very authentic looking cup of coffee complete with cardboard sleeve. Yep, that STIR STICK was all my doing.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYlNCzpQxMN1YM0IavLQrMEf-eZzFbi17Kzk04s9chDHDkxY0k-Of6UY0pHdevntC2ACFY2yskCvNOlH7A6zqkbPlEuumw77mFMnv8I9EC4oOPz_FiC2YFh0-n0CBDfrHJZM5Sng/s1600-h/two.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 202px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYlNCzpQxMN1YM0IavLQrMEf-eZzFbi17Kzk04s9chDHDkxY0k-Of6UY0pHdevntC2ACFY2yskCvNOlH7A6zqkbPlEuumw77mFMnv8I9EC4oOPz_FiC2YFh0-n0CBDfrHJZM5Sng/s320/two.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263428012449786386" border="0" /></a>Not sure if you can see my fake nose ring...you know, part of my emo barista look!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEhSm5AUH_9x3JqhpmTuI_sWrDr0tF5aFmNpb_Jd017lKLETGdGaPWixXbm9h4bX3nAKkKFb99QVTdxqggrps2nWS8w0scj4yxt0F43NmyG7HJiPUES-uM_2ntlssCseBo63G8ew/s1600-h/nosering.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 194px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEhSm5AUH_9x3JqhpmTuI_sWrDr0tF5aFmNpb_Jd017lKLETGdGaPWixXbm9h4bX3nAKkKFb99QVTdxqggrps2nWS8w0scj4yxt0F43NmyG7HJiPUES-uM_2ntlssCseBo63G8ew/s200/nosering.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263433222197118882" border="0" /></a><br />My favorite pic from the night. How cute is she?<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3xQ9sYryin8A3oRy5tAhRNGa7A4vAealEMZ4IU5Ddsa64FpP5tYBCzLUIIcMzdvyLRHKK6XQllLRIseRU_9HENYAgjLiA1Xe-vBXS_FD1ZtQ88PtDz92Sf9Jfegh7R2KsxM4UGA/s1600-h/so+cute.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 233px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3xQ9sYryin8A3oRy5tAhRNGa7A4vAealEMZ4IU5Ddsa64FpP5tYBCzLUIIcMzdvyLRHKK6XQllLRIseRU_9HENYAgjLiA1Xe-vBXS_FD1ZtQ88PtDz92Sf9Jfegh7R2KsxM4UGA/s320/so+cute.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263427816430909170" border="0" /></a>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025872514304872228noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23374995.post-91203425583159994392008-10-17T16:12:00.005-05:002008-10-17T16:28:22.950-05:00The Z-Man<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimzd1iG4xq94hi8cwNz2Kc2PZwmDQSjTDDFnQ2jVTbyeaYwNuhaPuC865Wh5N3Y28zRlKhtTnKHi9U-ruNgVn76bIehy1uOz795A6yUl913E3pIcHEfP3HwDcE3SE6mnf90HPJnQ/s1600-h/Zman.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 197px; height: 247px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimzd1iG4xq94hi8cwNz2Kc2PZwmDQSjTDDFnQ2jVTbyeaYwNuhaPuC865Wh5N3Y28zRlKhtTnKHi9U-ruNgVn76bIehy1uOz795A6yUl913E3pIcHEfP3HwDcE3SE6mnf90HPJnQ/s320/Zman.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258237202506371218" border="0" /></a>So, you know I live with my newly 10 year old nephew, Zach...well, I also live with my sis and her hubby, but they aren't nearly so entertaining. At least not this week. So just for kicks, here's a recent convo shortly after Z-Man comes running into the living room after he's taken his bath. Side note: he's always running because there is only one thing faster than a speeding bullet. Z-Man taking a bath. We're not exactly sure what happens in there or even if any soap actually touches his body, but all we know is that he comes out wet and running. He is willing to sacrifice cleanliness at the altar of things that are much more fun in what he must think of as "anythingsbetterthanhavingtogotakeabath" world. But I digress, so here we are in the living room when he comes running in with his usual fervor and wet head shaking and I'm contemplating taking a much longer and more thorough bath of my own...<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">ME: Dude, uh, I'm just wondering if I'm gonna find any of your dirty clothes on the floor in the bathroom?</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><br /></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">Z-MAN: nope</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><br /><br />ME: So, did you hang up your towel?</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><br /><br />Z-MAN: yep</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><br /><br />ME: So, is the floor all soaking wet?</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">Z-MAN: nope</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><br />ME: What about any poop waiting for me in the toilet?</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><br /></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">Z-MAN: hmmmmm, I'm not sure about that one, I better go check!</span><br /><br />And off he goes running to the bathroom and my sister and I soon hear flushing. Guess that was an affirmative. Man, I love that kid.Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03025872514304872228noreply@blogger.com2