Sorry ya'll

Sorry ya'll. I know I haven't posted in a while. Between the flu and life in general I just have not had the time. I just wanted to let you know that I am still here kicking and breathing (at times screaming) =0) Have a great day I promise to have more tonight!

Southerner and Proud of it

The following was sent to me by a friend and I wanted to share it with you. I have friends that call me a redneck and it is said with love and respect. Only those closest to me will notice my twang (unless you have seen me tired or mad) but I proudly claim my southern roots. If you ask me where I am from I will always say Georgia even though I have spent most of my life in Missouri. I hope ya'll enjoy this.

We have enjoyed the redneck jokes for years.
It's time to take a reflective look at the core beliefs of a culture that values home, family, country and God. If I had to stand before a dozen terrorists who threaten my life, I'd choose a half dozen or so rednecks to back me up. Tire irons, squirrel guns and grit -- that's what rednecks are made of. I hope I am one of those. If you feel the same, pass this on to your redneck friends. Ya'll know who ya' are...

You might be a redneck if: It never occurred to you to be offended by the phrase, "One nation, under God."

You might be a redneck if: You've never protested about seeing the 10 Commandments posted in public places.

You might be a redneck if: You still say "Christmas" instead of "Winter Festival."

You might be a redneck if: You bow your head when someone prays.

You might be a redneck if: You stand and place your hand over your heart when they play the National Anthem.

You might be a redneck if: You treat Viet Nam vets with great respect, and always have.

You might be a redneck if: You've never burned an American flag.

You might be a redneck if: You know what you believe and you aren't afraid to say so, no matter who is listening.

You might be a redneck if: You respect your elders and expect your kids to do the same.

You might be a redneck if: You'd give your last dollar to a friend.

Ummm my dog ate the posts .......

Ok so I don't have a dog. I have been a bad, bad blogger .... please forgive me. I promise to do a better job. =0)

Things have been so uneventful that I just have not been online. I am so sorry. I actually had a very quite weekend. I was able to sleep, read a book, and revisit my budget (I know the last one just sounded like tons of fun). Today is Valentine's Day and I hope that everyone gets at least one card and some candy. I was hoping to have some wonderful words of wisdom for you today but it seems that I am plum out. =0)

I have been watching the Olympics. I have always loved figure skating but now I have another love. Snowboarding - who knew it could be that cool. It amazes me how they can do all those twists and things and not land on their rear. The half pike competition was yesterday and I have no idea if there are anymore events for the snowboarders but I certainly hope so. I must go for now, have a great day!

Where is that

Ok I just realized that ya'll know I am leaving but some may by wondering where. All I can say is my bad please forgive me =0)

I am going to Lithuania. Where is that you may ask ... well I will be glad to tell you. It was formally part of the Soviet Union. It is the southern most of the Baltic States. Why am I going ... well that is a really cool but long story (more about that later)- totally a God thing! I am going to help the missionaries with whatever they need me to do some of which will include street dramas, children's church, Sunday school, and music.

Please keep the people in Lithuania in your prayers. This is a brand new field that is being started with little to no previous contact. Pray that everyone working there and in the rest of the Baltic States will find favor with the people they come in contact with.

For more info go to our website www.planbaltics.org

Why?

I know, I am sure that you are asking - Why are you still awake? The answer cause I am =0) No seriously there are just nights where my brain won't stop working and I just can't sleep. Unfortunately it is more often than not. I have tried all the tricks - keep a pad of paper by your bed and write stuff down, listen to the radio, pray, read a genealogy or two - that stuff just does not get the job done. Here is a glimpse of what is going on ....

Our church is doing an Easter drama - I watched the video of one that I was involved in several years ago. While I was watching it I remembered all the behind the scenes "mini drama's". I was trying to remember who had lost their voice at Youth convention. Most importantly ... why did the same guy play Nicodemus and Pilate? There were good memories tied into the play also. It was great to see people that I hadn't seen for years and seeing how well the crucifixion scene was done. Here is the question - why is it that I remember it being better than the video portrayed? Is it because I have all the other memories that were triggered by watching the video that I didn't have before - I am not sure but I am thinking that next year I won't be watching the video, I will play the video in my head instead. I hope you all have a good night and a great day tomorrow!

SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy dance! Happy dance! Happy dance!

The only thought in my mind right now is a song .... Yes Jesus loves me, Yes Jesus loves me ..... you know the one?

This morning I woke up a few minutes late and turned on the news, went to go brush my teeth and pull my hair back and I come back in my room. On the news there are school closings - a lot of them. I'm going man I wonder what happened. Then the traffic report came on and they showed a street cam and I am thinking what is all the white stuff on road? (obviously I am not a morning person - takes me several hours and cups of coffee to function) Then it hit me IT'S SNOWING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So I had to change my outfit so that I could put on tights and boots and then I got to play in the snow -- I mean clean off my car. (oops)The only sad part is my friend that I know would be doing a happy dance with me is in Bangladesh right now and by the time she gets home I am sure the snow will be melted. Snow is so peaceful and makes everything look so clean. If I have enough juice in my camera and I can figure out how to do it I will post a picture tonight. I personally think that anytime it snows it should be a national holiday so that we can all make snow people, have snowball fights and go sledding.

On another note (this has been a GOOD morning) I got to talk with my friend that is in Bangladesh online today for quite a while. I always miss her when she is gone and I am always thankful when she can get a connection and be online. The church in Bangladesh is growing and heading toward great things in God. The thing that has me the most excited is that they are ready to grow and develop their children's ministry programs. (That is a soapbox for another day)That gets me excited - children are so important to the church and I love to see that catching on. Well gotta get back to work - I just wanted to share my happy morning.

Pondering

Just some things that I tend to ponder about .....
1) Why is every light red when you are running late but not when you need to find something at the bottom of your purse?
2)Why don't the shells of M&M's melt?
3) Why is my hair the opposite of everyone else - frizzy in the winter and not the summer?
4) Do animals really understand each or do they just make a lot of noise to confuse the humans?
5)This one is straight to Heaven - why mosquitoes?

I do wonder about these things but on a little more serious note here is another thing to ponder. Why would such a great big God become a human to save a bunch of folk that didn't have any sense? Why didn't He just wipe us all off the face of the Earth and start over? Now that is something to ponder but more than that it is something to be thankful for. And if you don't mind I think I want to conclude with a prayer (every once in a while I just might spontaneously bust out with prayer - I will always let you know since I have to type it out anyway in case you don't want to read it)

Jesus, You are so awesome. I know that my little mind will never completely understand just why You would come to Earth for the sole reason of being a sacrifice for my sins. But I thank you for it. I know that even if I was the only sinner in the world You would have done it only for me. There are not enough words to express the feeling I have inside, but I want to say I love You. I pray that You will bless all the folks that read this prayer and that if they don't yet know Your love for them that they will find it because I can't imagine life without it. Thanks for all the wonderful things You have done. Amen.

Whew that wasn't so bad now was it? =0)

Winter

This is my favorite time of year!!!!!! We have not had much snow this year =0( And actually for most of the winter we have had spring type temps. But then Lord moved in and made everything alright!!!! We have cold weather again and there were snow flakes frozen on my windshield this morning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hopefully we will get snow before long. The groundhog saw his shadow so we have six weeks to try =0)

Lazy Day

Today has been a lazy day - kinda. Slept late (an extra hour), then just stayed in bed trying to convience myself to go back to sleep. Why is that when you are a teenager you could easily sleep all day on a Sat but now that I am (how old am I, honestly I don't remember at this moment, let's just say) late 20's I can't do that unless I am sick - just doesn't seem right. So then I went and ran errands and just worked on stuff around the house. We have family prayer on Sat nights but other than that I had no obligations. I don't get many of those days anymore and when I know that they are coming I panic. What in the world am I going to fill my time with? But then the day comes and at the end of it I am going but I still have things to do. Well I am going to go read a book for the rest of my evening. I hope ya'll were able to have as lazy a day as I =0)

Friends

I have recently realized just how blessed I am in my friendships. Well I guess realized is not necessarily the right word. Knowing that I am leaving is putting things in a different perspective. Perhaps I have taken them for granted I am not sure. All I know is that I am gonna miss my friends when I leave and that I am VERY thankful for technology! I know that we will keep in touch seeing as I do better with an email than a face to face conversation =0) So to all my friends thank you for all that you have given me - wisdom, a shoulder to cry on, encouragement, laughter, and at times a swift kick in the rear. I can't wait to see where our journeys take us!

This book rocks!

Here is a book that I believe is awesome and I would suggest it to anyone to read. It not only brought about a new close friendship (she probably knows more than she wishes) but it also started me on another leg of my journey - this one was to become closer to the Savior who loves me. The following is a review I wrote about the book for a church newsletter.

Love Beyond Reason

It is February and love is in the air. Thinking about love I am reminded of the best love story ever told. It is of a Savior who came to be with His people and die for them so that they could live with Him forever. It is the story of this love that is told by John Ortberg in Love Beyond Reason. The book opens with the story of a little girl and her rag doll. The doll was always with her and she loved it so much. If you loved this little girl then you loved her doll. This is the principle that the book is based on; We are all rag dolls but we are God’s rag dolls. Through out the pages of Love Beyond Reason we can see the courtship of God and man. Mr. Ortberg not only explains the different ways God shows His love to us but also gives reasons why we may not accept His love and ways to overcome those reasons. When I picked up this book it was at the recommendation of a friend. I was not happy with where my relationship with God was going and that was also affecting my relationships with others. I could not comprehend why God would love me so much. In the pages of this book I found out truths about myself and my behavior. I also began to find out just why God loves me so much. This book was only the beginning of the journey to a new level in my relationship with God. It doesn’t matter if right now you feel that you are the rag doll or the rag dolls owner, this is a book that will bring new hope and understanding to the love story of the ages.

Change

Time does not change us, it just unfolds us. - Max Frisch

What do you want to be when you grow up?

An astronaut

Why is that when you are young that is an acceptable answer? No one asks you why. Once you hit a certain age that no longer becomes acceptable. I am going to be doing missions work fairly soon and I had two friends (friends who already know why I am going where I am going) ask me today why I want to be a missionary. Part of me was going "your kidding right - it has been one of those days at work and you are asking me this" but then the other part said - ok Lyn let's revisit this. Why do I want to be a missionary? The simple answer is this - there is a world out there where people are living without hope and without love. Not only that but these same people want something different for their children and are not sure where to turn. I have a Savior that people need to meet and that their children, friends and family members need to meet. I want to introduce them to my best friend and Father - Jesus. And then there is an even simpler answer - He said go and so I am - who am I to argue with the guy that knew me before I was born?

Here is one of my favorite scriptures - one that I will hold onto thru out this journey.

For I know the plans I have for you" declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

Hello everyone!

Welcome to my mind - not sure what will happen with this blog perhaps I will finally figure out why I can never find the ruler that is right in front of me and will instead tear apart my desk because I absolutely can not do my job with out that ruler. Or why I will tear apart my room or purse looking for the keys that are in my hand. Please don't get scared when you get these random glimpses into my head ... instead say a prayer for me because that is what I see, hear, think all the time. =0)~

A journey begins with one step - I am ready to start are you?