Saturday, August 23, 2008
The Word is good.
Last night and this morning, I went to hear bible study leader and speaker Pricilla Shirer at Long Hollow Baptist Church. I had the pleasure of attending this with my friends Debbie, Donna, Cynthia and my aunt Linda. My sweet cousin Tiffany blessed a couple of these girls by providing the tickets. Pricilla had a good Word from the Lord and I was convicted by the Holy Spirit to spend more time in prayer and bible study. The awesome worship music was provided by Vicki Yohe and Alex Williams. Don't pass up an opportunity to hear her speak if you have the chance.
The past-Oh yes it will come back to haunt you..
A group of folks that I went to high school have planned a all 70's reunion. We have had several meetings and at the last meeting one of the guys that was there brought me this picture. It was taken in 1981. Every year there was a concert called "One for the Sun". This particular year the headliner was the Allman Brothers band. At the time, I was hanging around with Greg Allman's cousin, and she got us backstage. This is me meeting Greg Allman and the other girl is my BFF Barbara. I can promise you that I never imagined that pictures from this existed.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Preach it girl
This is from Shannon at http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/ I don't know how to link yet, so I copied and pasted this. I sure hope I am not breaking any federal blogging rules.
Why I Believe
There are times when I wish my faith in God was perfectly box-shaped, with the corners tucked in neatly, and the whole thing tied up with a big, red bow.
There are times I wish I had bite-sized answers for the hard questions. Answers that make easy sense within the framework of my humanity. Answers that don't stretch me too much.
But it doesn't work that way. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. And that can get messy. Young mothers get sick. Husbands leave. Terrorists fly planes into buildings. I follow a God who has promised me peace and comfort and joy, but on His terms, not mine.
And I know--I really do know--that this is a tough thing for some people to swallow. From the outside looking in, it looks like a blind faith, or a crutch. I've traveled that road of skepticism more times than I can count. I wrestled until my soul was bruised. There were times, when I was younger, that I didn't think I'd ever be able to believe again.
But I do believe now. I do, with all my heart. Even when it's messy. But how? How can I follow a God who doesn't always stop suffering?
I don't have a theologian's answer to that question, because I'm not a theologian. There was I time when I needed that kind of answer--the facts, the explanations, the persuasion. I've heard them all, and those answers are all an important part of my faith journey.
Now, all I really need to see is His track record in my life. I believe because I've seen what He's done, in my own life--my peace in the storms, my journeys out of the wildnerness. I don't doubt His goodness, simply because He's proven it to me so many times, through my own circumstances, through Scripture, and most of all, on the cross.
My daughter hates it when I make her hold my hand to cross a parking lot. She hates it when I have to tug a little to get the tangles out of her hair. She hates it when I say "no" to snacks right before dinner.
I do all this because I see the big picture. She doesn't.
Yet in all of this, she still loves me and prefers me. Why? Because she knows that the same momma who says "no" to snacks is the same momma who makes sure she's always well-fed. The same momma who grabs her hand in the parking lot is the same momma who kisses her scraped-up knee. I have a track record of proving my love for her. When I do something that makes her angry, she ultimately accepts it as coming from the hand of a mother who always acts with her best interests at heart.
Is that too simple an analogy? Maybe. But faith is simple. It's taking a leap and suspending disbelief just long enough to see if God is who He says He is. If He is, He can handle the tough questions. If He is, He'll meet us on our journey, taking a thousand steps toward us when we take just one toward Him.
From the bottom of my heart, I'll tell you--He's worth the risk.
Why I Believe
There are times when I wish my faith in God was perfectly box-shaped, with the corners tucked in neatly, and the whole thing tied up with a big, red bow.
There are times I wish I had bite-sized answers for the hard questions. Answers that make easy sense within the framework of my humanity. Answers that don't stretch me too much.
But it doesn't work that way. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. And that can get messy. Young mothers get sick. Husbands leave. Terrorists fly planes into buildings. I follow a God who has promised me peace and comfort and joy, but on His terms, not mine.
And I know--I really do know--that this is a tough thing for some people to swallow. From the outside looking in, it looks like a blind faith, or a crutch. I've traveled that road of skepticism more times than I can count. I wrestled until my soul was bruised. There were times, when I was younger, that I didn't think I'd ever be able to believe again.
But I do believe now. I do, with all my heart. Even when it's messy. But how? How can I follow a God who doesn't always stop suffering?
I don't have a theologian's answer to that question, because I'm not a theologian. There was I time when I needed that kind of answer--the facts, the explanations, the persuasion. I've heard them all, and those answers are all an important part of my faith journey.
Now, all I really need to see is His track record in my life. I believe because I've seen what He's done, in my own life--my peace in the storms, my journeys out of the wildnerness. I don't doubt His goodness, simply because He's proven it to me so many times, through my own circumstances, through Scripture, and most of all, on the cross.
My daughter hates it when I make her hold my hand to cross a parking lot. She hates it when I have to tug a little to get the tangles out of her hair. She hates it when I say "no" to snacks right before dinner.
I do all this because I see the big picture. She doesn't.
Yet in all of this, she still loves me and prefers me. Why? Because she knows that the same momma who says "no" to snacks is the same momma who makes sure she's always well-fed. The same momma who grabs her hand in the parking lot is the same momma who kisses her scraped-up knee. I have a track record of proving my love for her. When I do something that makes her angry, she ultimately accepts it as coming from the hand of a mother who always acts with her best interests at heart.
Is that too simple an analogy? Maybe. But faith is simple. It's taking a leap and suspending disbelief just long enough to see if God is who He says He is. If He is, He can handle the tough questions. If He is, He'll meet us on our journey, taking a thousand steps toward us when we take just one toward Him.
From the bottom of my heart, I'll tell you--He's worth the risk.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Busy weekend
It was another busy weekend at the house of Hicks in Hendersonville. On Friday night, we celebrated the birthday (I'm not sure which one....maybe 49?) of our good friend Doug Owen. Carter made it halfway down the slide. He's about to run out of summer to go all the way down! Good food and good fellowship. But the evening was about to get more crazy than Doug as we hosted our final IBC Surrender Weekend. We had 10 boys and it was all out chaos. Dale, didn't you start this?? Late nights of swimming, early mornings of eating, losing things, and general overall displeasure to our dog Jack.
Yesterday after church, we went to my brother's house for a cookout and swim with one of my cousins. We got home late last night and it is back to work this morning. Oh, and Kevin's mom had minor surgery on Friday and we made a trip to Nashville to visit her in the hospital on Saturday as well. This weekend will be busy also because I am going to hear Pricilla Shirer speak at Long Hollow Baptist Church on Friday night and Saturday morning.
Yesterday after church, we went to my brother's house for a cookout and swim with one of my cousins. We got home late last night and it is back to work this morning. Oh, and Kevin's mom had minor surgery on Friday and we made a trip to Nashville to visit her in the hospital on Saturday as well. This weekend will be busy also because I am going to hear Pricilla Shirer speak at Long Hollow Baptist Church on Friday night and Saturday morning.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
This is how the rich roll ya'll
The company that I work for Rogers Group, Inc has a luxury suite at LP field where the Titans play. Last night was the first preseason game and I was given two tickets to sit in the suite. It is a little nicer than the nose bleed section that we normally sit in. As my guest, I took Nick, the nephew.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Leaving IBC
This is our last month at IBC. We will be leaving at the end of August to find a church to serve and worship closer to home. We have driven to Inglewood from Hendersonville since 2002 but we feel the timing is right for us now to be closer to home. We have so many good friends and it is going to be hard to say goodbye, but we feel really strong that God is leading us elsewhere.
Swim in it if you got it.
Last weekend we had a plethora of friends at our house to swim. Debbie, Dakota & Duncan Gowins started the Saturday off by swimming in the morning. In the afternoon, Erin Wilson had her birthday party at our house. She had a big crowd and a really good Hannah Montana white cake with white icing.
On Sunday after church, the Owen family came over and we swam for most of the afternoon. It was a big pool day for the Owen children. Claire spent all afternoon jumping in the deep end and Carter advanced from dipping his toe to full fledged underwater jumping in. My buddy Cooper is like me...he prefers to take it nice and slow and just move around the edge of the pool.
I will NOT spare Kristi Wilson the embarassment of posting her picture wearing the blond Hannah Montana wig. We will sure miss all of these folks when we leave IBC but hope that we will continue to see them often.
On Sunday after church, the Owen family came over and we swam for most of the afternoon. It was a big pool day for the Owen children. Claire spent all afternoon jumping in the deep end and Carter advanced from dipping his toe to full fledged underwater jumping in. My buddy Cooper is like me...he prefers to take it nice and slow and just move around the edge of the pool.
I will NOT spare Kristi Wilson the embarassment of posting her picture wearing the blond Hannah Montana wig. We will sure miss all of these folks when we leave IBC but hope that we will continue to see them often.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
