Beyond The Red Door - Homeschool Blogger

The Lady In The Third Row

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:47:00 -0500

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.

Tuscan Style Soup

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:34:00 -0500

Valerie Bertinelli, who has lost weight using Jenny Craig, was on GMA this morning and shared this recipe for a vegie soup that she loves. It sounds so good!! I thought I would share it with you all here as well. I am planning to add it to my repetoire of recipes. I can almost smell it cooking now. Low cal and low sodium. You just can't beat that! Let me know if you have tried it before.

SOUP'S ON!!!!!

From the kitchen of Valerie Bertinelli

Servings: 4
Difficulty: Moderate
Cook Time: 1-30 min

Tuscan Style Soup satisfies with 63 calories, 2 grams of fat and 300 milligrams of sodium. The recipe is courtesy of Jenny Craig, of which Valerie Bertinelli is a spokeswoman. For more of her favorite dishes visit www.jennycraig.com.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup eggplant, peeled and cubed
1 cup water
1 can whole tomatoes, no salt added, undrained and chopped (14 1/2-ounce)
1 can sliced mushrooms, drained (OR 1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small summer (yellow) squash, coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning, dried
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
12 oz can chicken broth, reduced sodium
8 tbsp Pecorino Romano cheese, freshly grated

Cooking Directions

Combine the first 10 ingredients in a large saucepan, stirring well.
Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
To serve, ladle soup into individual bowls; sprinkle 2 tbsp of Pecorino Romano cheese.

Soccer, Studies, College and Expectations

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:08:00 -0500

This is the last week of the soccer season for Lauren. Is it possible? Really? It seems like school was just starting and they had just started practicing. It just reminds me that time goes by so fast. Michael has a couple of more weeks of NYSA (city league) season. But tomorrow night will be the last game of the season for Lauren at school. I can't believe it. District tournaments begin over the weekend. Where is the SLOW DOWN button? I know we are all trying to figure out where it is located. If anyone finds it please share with the rest of us. I know the next time I blink they will both be heading to college. I will just try not to blink. I will have a staring contest with the calendar!! That's it!

Speaking of college - I need a checklist of things that we need to do and a timeline of when they need to be done. Both MIchael & Lauren are sophomores this year. I know there are things that we can be doing now to prepare so that we aren't bombarded their senior year. We have had a talk with them about bringing up their GPAs. Each of them have a list of colleges they are interested in. Does anyone have a checklist or suggestions on what we need to be doing when? I'm sure I could get some answers by checking with the school guidance counselor too. Will put that on my list of things to do.

Ron is traveling more than he is home this month. That's no fun for any of us. But we are managing. I was hoping to go on a trip with him the first week of November to East Tennessee. But it looks like I will be needed elsewhere at that time. I enjoying traveling with him. But it's hard for me to give myself "permission" to be away from the kids. I guess that goes along with being a full-time mom, doesn't it? SIGH

Bible study is plugging right along. Esther is taking a little more effort for me to get into at some points than some of her other studies. That one week that I blogged about was extremely challenging. But the last couple of weeks have moved a lot slower. I find myself having to really work at concentrating. I'm not sure if that is because I am too easily distracted or if it is the study itself. Hmmmmmmmm something to think about.

Well, there's really not much else to say. Besides, I hear the heating pad calling my name. It's been raining for 2 days. We all know how great of a pair rain and fibromyalgia makes. Another great part of my life. Sighhhhhhhhhhhh So, toodles for now!

From The Inside Out

Tue, 6 Oct 2009 08:24:00 -0500

Is this your prayer? It should be for all of us as Christians.

Lessons Learned

Thu, 1 Oct 2009 11:23:00 -0500

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!

Challenged in Dallas

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:54:00 -0500

This has been an amazing week full of challenging speakers who enjoyed dancing all over my toes - many many times. But we need sore toes every now and then to keep us straight I suppose.

I did have to work a lot this week. If you know me then you know that I avoid all manual labor as much as I possibly can. But I really did enjoy working alongside the Randall House team members in registration and at the book tables. The Lord blessed enormously!

I am ready to get home and put some of the lessons I have learned into practice. I hope that this will make an incredible difference all across the United States. I will have to ask Ron where the person is from who came the farthest. But when I was working the pre-registration tables we checked a guy in from New York state. I know that next year we will blow this year's attendance out of the water. Once these 1600 people go home and share the excitement and spread the word I expect the numbers to double for the next one. It will be in the same location - Frisco/Dallas and around the same time (September) but I don't have exact dates yet.

I tweeted and updated my FB status a lot with various comments that the speakers would say when something would strike me. I was truly challenged by Rob Rienow, the author of Visionary Parenting. He said "the enemy tells our children not to share their heart with their parents". Do you see that in your home? Your children clamming up when you try to talk to them? I DO!!!! That's why this was so startling to me. He also talked about returning our hearts to our children instead of everywhere else or in places it shouldn't be at all. WOW! Later on he said "the shortest distance between your child's heart and Christ is YOU". Of course it's great and important to take them to church and youth group. But our primary goal should be to disciple our children ourselves. That's what D6 is all about.

Whew - I could almost shout thinking about the amazing ways I was challenged. As I let more of it sink in I will certainly be sharing more here. It's just the beginning!!

It's About That Time

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 08:31:00 -0500

Today is going to be crazy. And I am trying to pretend that it isn't. Yes, I am wasting time to keep from having to do everything that I have to do. Am I the only one who does that? Please tell me I'm not!!

Tomorrow Ron and I leave for Dallas for the first annual D6 Conference. This has been a dream for Ron for a few years now. Tomorrow is the day we head out to make it a reality. What is D6 you ask. Here is a description of the idea:

Unfortunately, many people rely on the pastor, Sunday school teacher, or youth pastor to be the primary spiritual influence for our kids. The problem is we only spend, at most, four hours a week at church. What about the other 164 hours?

D6 stands for Deuteronomy 6:5-7 which commands dads and moms to take everyday opportunities to impress God’s Word upon the hearts of their children. D6 is foundational to raising spiritual champions for Christ.

We must be active in passing our faith along to our kids. It’s clear from D6 that, while church is a vital part of this development, it cannot stop there. It must continue in the home.

The first conference begins, officially, on Wednesday with Pre-Con sessions. Ron's organization is spearheading the conference. But it has reached way beyond the roots of Randall House and our FWB Denomination. We are expecting 1600+ people at this first conference. The Lord has blessed this dream.

So, that brings me to the point of having to finish laundry, pack, clean, get the house ready for my dad to come and stay with the kids and be ME for the week and do everything else that I usually do like school & soccer. Thankfully Ron will be home early and can help me. OF COURSE I have a headache. INSANE!!!

I have a few other things up my sleeve to help me avoid my crazy day. I'm off to see how those work out for me next.

Before & Midway

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:10:00 -0500

BEFORE the weight loss began

MIDWAY through the weight loss journey

I'm Asking For It

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 09:38:00 -0500

Just want to let you know that I am making a lot of changes to the blog this week. I am tired of this template with the 3 columns. However, I'm not ready to learn how to code a whole new one. HAHA But you never know. One day you might pop in for a visit and find everything is standing on it's head or laying down sideways or something. I have found a lot of nice new backgrounds that I'm enjoying. Right now I'm just trying to get all the wording, colors and spacing right. I have left a lot of it the same for so long because I didn't know how to change some of it. But this week I am determined to figure it all out. So, you just don't know what you'll find when you come visit in the next few days. I'm gonna be playing with fonts and colors in the next day or so. If you come and happen to see something that you think works really well please let me know. The only eyes with an opinion right now are mine. So, I welcome yours as well. I realize most of you probably don't know a lot more than me about this. However, we know what we like and what we think looks good. That's what I'm looking for. I have learned in the last few years that everyone certainly has an opinion and some of us don't mind sharing it with anyone whether they are asked for it or not. heehee So, now I'm asking for it! Share away!

How Many Do You Own?

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:06:00 -0500

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?