Beyond The Red Door

Welcome to our family's blogging home - where I share life beyond our red door! I hope that you will enjoy your visit with us.

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Things That Make Me Smile

Seeing the kids reading their Bibles on their own
Hearing the ocean
Smelling a cake baking
Remembering our wedding day
Singing in the church choir
Shopping for my family
Feeling good
Reading in the tub
A quiet house
Watching a funny movie with the kids
Seeing my kids playing a game together
Ron's little finger dance
Hearing my kids being excited about church
Watching Ron play with Faith (our dog)
Hearing Ron snoring beside me after he has been gone on a long trip
Chatting with special friends
Feeling hot sand under my feet on a beach somewhere
Game night with Brian & Kim and kids
Spending one on one time with Kim
Double Dating With Brian and Kim
A clean house
Sitting on my front porch in my new rockers
Walking on a cool evening with my family
Losing weight
Seeing my kids make a great play on the soccer field

About The Hunters

My dear sweet hubby, Ron, and I have been married for 20+ years. We began dating during my freshman year at Free Will Baptist Bible College in Nashville. He is my college sweetheart. We have ministered together in various ministries during our lives together. We pastored for 10 years in Florida. We moved to TN in 2000 to Co-Pastor with some friends of ours. The Lord has given me a fabulous provider whom I love more than any words I write could ever express. He is now the CEO at our denomination's publishing company, Randall House Publications. I am honored to support him.

Our oldest child is named Michael. He is now officially a teenager, although I don't think I'm old enough to have a teenager. He is a very sweet and considerate young man. He is my thinker and my reader. He absorbs every piece of new information that he comes across. He loves playing soccer, riding his bike, skateboarding, reading, watching the History Channel, the Military Channel, ESPN and any documentary on TV. I am privileged to be his Mother.

Lauren is our youngest child. She is just 15 months behind her brother in age. She is wise beyond her years. She has a sharp-witted tongue (which sometimes has to be tamed), a quick sense of humor and a heart for people and animals. She loves organizing anything and everything. She loves being with her friends, singing, talking on her cell phone and playing soccer. I am blessed to be her Mother.

Just the knowledge that a good book is awaiting one at the end of a long day makes that day happier. - Kathleen Norris

On My Nightstand

When I Lay My Isaac Down by Carol Kent
Esther: It's Tough Being A Woman by Beth Moore
NIV Life Application Study Bible

Back On The Bookshelf 2009

~Beyond The Red Door~

Oct. 22, 2009
The Lady In The Third Row

Posted in Studying The Word

There is what appears to be a very sweet lady who sits in about the third row at our church who ministers to me every single time I go to church. The interesting thing is that I have never spoken to her. I don't know that she has ever noticed me. But I notice her every time.

First you should know that I enjoy worshiping the Lord. I enjoy turning my eyes to the Heavens and imagine myself singing directly to the Lord as He sits on his throne receiving the praises of his children. I enjoy lifting my hands to Him as I sing. Often I will hold my hands with my palms turned up as if giving the Lord the praise directly from my being into His hands. I love to feel the washing of the Spirit over my body. I rarely leave a service where these things has not happened. I am moved by seeing the worship of those around me as well. I picture God accepting the praise of His people as we each worship him in our own way. There is one man who sings every word of every song simply with his eyes closed. There are those who lift their hands and pump out the beat of the music toward the Heavens. There are those who clap the beat (or attempt to clap the beat in my husband's case - heehee). I have been in many services where there have been those who have shouted and I have shouted many times myself. I have seen my own father on a number of occasions shout and laugh as the spirit of the Lord has washed over him. I have watched many tears fall with no other outward sign of worship.

Even as I type this and remember the things I have seen and heard my spirit is blessed. We all worship the Lord in our own ways. But I am one who is moved by the physical. I am not an inactive worshiper. For that reason I am drawn to those who are like me.

A number of months ago I noticed a lady in the section next to mine as she worshiped and sang. She is a small woman probably in her 80s who walks with a walker and stands stooped over. But every single time I look at her during our worship time she is smiling and singing every single word to every single song. It's important here to realize that we have a blended service. We sing a lot of very current popular worship songs of many contemporary artists as well as singing some of the older hymns. Now I'm not a hymn lover and often times find myself singing them out of rote memory without much passion. But this sweet woman holds to the same pattern for every song. Smiling, not missing a word and pounding out each beat with her fist in the air.

This sweet woman encourages me to be consistent in my worship and to sing my praise to God with each note. She blesses my spirit every service. I notice when she isn't there. I find myself thinking about her through the week. I'm sure my life would be blessed by interacting with her. However at this point my spirit is in touch with her spirit. And they are getting along famously. And I am learning a lot from the lady in the third row.

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Oct. 1, 2009
Lessons Learned

Posted in Studying The Word

I have been doing Beth Moore's newest study on Esther. We just finished Week 3. Every day of homework this past week has reached up off the page and shook me to the core. I wanted to share some of the thoughts I've had. We met last night and discussed a lot of it. It's so hard for me not to spend the whole study doing all the talking. Beth just brings it out in me. She is incredible!!! Anyway, I'm not gonna rehash the study. I'm just gonna mention some of the lines from each day that spoke to me. And I will say a few things about how it challenged me. Let me know if any of them shake you up like they did me.

"No matter how we sparkle at church or Bible study, on earth we still have pain. Instead of going ahead and feeling the pain, processing it before God, and letting HIm heal us, sometimes we opt for a trade-in. We swap pain for anger because it's easier for a while, and boy, can it be energizing!" - OUCH!!! Ain't that the truth?! Anger is so much easier than dealing with the real problem. It's easy to REACT instead of ACT on the actual issue at the root. I will admit that I have had issues with anger in my life. Doing Beth's study, Breaking Free, years ago helped me to deal with it. It is not a healthy way to respond to anything. It never brings good results. It ALWAYS brings more hurt. And it's the easy way out.

"Because Satan has a limited leash where believers are concerned, his most powerful tactics are psychological. Thought he can't possess our minds, he profoundly and destructively influences our thoughts." - now I KNOW if you are human then your thought life has given you problems just as mine has mine. I just really figured this principle out a few years ago. Satan can't control our actions but he can control our thoughts which lead us to control our actions in such a way that is unhealthy for us spiritually, emotionally and physically. He can make us THINK we are a bad parent because of some specific sin in our life. He can make us THINK we are a failure because we aren't losing weight. He can make us THINK we aren't a Christian because he has made us THINK we are unloveable. See the pattern! THAT is the reason we need to focus on the Word. When those thoughts overtake us we should replace those thoughts with promises from scripture. Make Satan huff his way out of your head. Let him know he is wasting his time on you. MAJOR lesson for me!!

"The beautifully frustrating part of Satan's insatiable bloodlust is that ultimately he cannot have what he wants...God always trumps Satan." That goes hand in hand with my remarks above. Praise the Lord!! I have the WINNER on my side!

The next thought is more of a soap-box thought - which I won't dwell on. But I just can't pass up mentioning it. "The enemies of the Jews in Esther were a small group in leadership". WHY IS IT THAT WE ALLOW THAT SMALL GROUP RULE WHAT THE MAJORITY FEEL/BELIEVE IS RIGHT??? Why do they get to "win"? Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr - Ok, moving on!

"The heart can grow so hard that it no longer feels. It becomes callous. Seared...God designed conviction to be uncomfortable so that we'd hurry to repentance and find relief in restoration." I have found that when I put the Spirit off day after day about a certain matter he is dealing with me about I do feel further and further from Him. Conviction is VERY uncomfortable. But it lets me know just how close/far I am from God. When I start feeling less and less convicted about some sin in my life that should be a scary feeling. I want to rush to repentance and begin restoration at the first sign of conviction before I no longer FEEL the conviction.

The week has opened my eyes and led me to renew my relationship with the Lord. I want to live a victorious life - not one imprisoned by sin. On to week 4!

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Sep. 14, 2009
How Many Do You Own?

Posted in Studying The Word

A mom. A Bible study leader. A happy person. A mad person. A happily married wife. A Christian. A perfect parent. A best friend. A well-adjusted adult. An authoritarian. A member of a happy and healthy family. A humble wife/mom/child. A good loser. A person in control. A person who cares. A healthy person - physically, mentally and/or emotionally.

What do all of these have in common? They are all masks that we all wear at some point in our lives - sometimes daily. There are times that we feel like we must appear to be something we are not. And, honestly, how many of us really want to know the truth about what someone else is feeling deep in their hearts? It is much easier to lie to those around us as well as to ourselves about who/what we really are. Noone wants to truly believe that our Bible study leader is battling something within themselves or in their home that is not perfect. We all want to appear perfect not only to those around us but also to ourselves. The truth is so much more difficult to deal with than the lies that we attempt to convince everyone else is the truth. I'm convinced that we don't really want to know the truth because then we would have to take a little more time away from ourselves in order to address that other person's need.

Noone is perfect! No matter how much we want to believe it about others. No matter how much we want to believe it about ourselves. The Word tells us to bear one another's burdens (Galatians 6). By pretending that one another is perfect and has no burdens does not get us off the hook. One line that I quote a lot - especially lately in my weight loss journey - is that ignorance is bliss. In all acutality deliberate ignorance is NOT bliss, it is a sin. By pretending those around us do not have any burdens we are refusing to be obedient to the instruction we are given in Galatians 6. James comes down hard in 4:17 when he says "anyone who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins". OUCH! When we know that the mask our friend has on is just that, a mask, we ignore the pain we know they are feeling. When we ignore their pain we not only hurt them but also ourselves.

So, while it may be easier to put on the mask of perfection in the morning we really aren't doing ourselves any favors. And while it may be easier to choose to see the mask of perfection someone else has put on we really aren't doing THEM any favors either. Noone is perfect. Who are we trying to fool into thinking that we are?

So, I wonder, how many masks do you own?

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