I AM ALIVE!!

I realize it's been ages since my last post and you are all probably wondering if I am alive or not...well I am here to tell you that I AM ALIVE!!

Let me catch you up on all the exciting news in my life - ummmm...well if I did have exciting news I would tell ya, but seems life is pretty much routine since my last post. I go to work, come home, make dinner, clean up kitchen, watch American Idol (yes! I am still hooked) watch the news some times, check my ebay store and finally get to bed. Pretty exciting huh?! When American Idol is not on I do watch, Dancing with the Stars, Grey's Anatomy, Lost and ER. That's pretty much it...I am not much of a TV watcher, but those are my favorites.

Mike and I have both been struggling with our health this year. Seems we got every cold and flu that went around this year and are still struggling trying to get on our feet again. Just when we started feeling better we would either get something new or pass it back to each other...ugh!

Spring seemed to be in the air for awhile, the early flowering trees (Apricot, Cherry, Pear) blossomed out and the the trees started to bud out with green leaves...then winter hit again. Since Easter we have had cold windy days and it has even snowed. Guess winter is not through with us yet.

I miss my family. It's been since Christmas that I last saw my sweet little nephews and I am told that little Adan is trying to walk. We had wanted to go for Easter, but both Mike and I were under the weather so that didn't happen. Hopefully soon we will get to see them.

Well to all my friends and family who have been bugging me to write again, this is for you. Nothing fancy just a note to let you all know that I am still alive and kicking and when you consider the alternative - that is a good thing! Of course, being with the Lord is even better, but He doesn't seem to be through with me yet, so here I be.

God's Promises

Another year come and gone and here we are in 2007. I can hardly believe it, where did the time go? 2006 was a tough year a really tough year. We learned valuable lessons about our faith and we were put to the test. Looking back now it seems like a dream, a bad dream, but it also feels good to see we made it through.

As you read this you are probably wondering what I am writing about and though I could spend countless hours going over all the very painful details, I won't because that is not what is important anymore. What is important is that I am not in that place emotionally, spiritually or physically anymore. Thank you God!

I know I am not alone when I write that we have all been in that place of pain. Some of us have experienced the sting of death in our family or the tradegy of illness. Perhaps it's the relationships in our life that are falling apart or a situation with our children. Whatever it is...we all know the disappointment and heartache that comes with trials.

But, we are a people of hope. We all hope for the best or hope that things will work out. We hope for something better and hope upon hope that we will be spared future hurt...but even in all that hoping, we know that our real hope lies in the one who suffered and died in our place - Jesus Christ. He is the only one who can give us true hope. A hope of eternal life, a life with Him in heaven some day.

I am glad 2006 is over. I hope I am a better person because of all that I have been through. I know I have learned what really matters and it is not what others think of me, but what God thinks of me.

God tells me I am His, that I have an eternal home, that this world is not my home, that He loves me with an unending love and has given me everything pertaining to life and godliness!

Will I be hurt again? yes, I am sure I will be. I will be disappointed, I will suffer things I can't even imagine right now, but I know that it matters not what I will go through...because He will be with me through it. God does NOT promise us exemption of pain and suffering...but He DOES promise us His presence in the midst of it, and that is worth more than anything we can ever want or hope for.

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior...." Isaiah 43:2-3a

Disappear

Life has it's ups and downs and though life isn't always filled with downs...the down times can be a time of reflection and growth. Personally I find that introspection during these times draws me closer to the Lord. As a singer/song writer I am often my most creative during these down times. Songs that come from a broken heart are often quite profound as they seek answers that can only come from a living, loving, God.

Of course songs that come from a heart of praise and joy are just as profound as I marvel at God's goodness, forgiveness and mercy. Whether I am praising Him for His amazing grace in my life, or I am reflecting on my weaknesses that cause me to be dependent on Him, music changes and draws me to Him. I guess that is why I love the Psalms so much.

Ater having my fill of wonderful Christmas music, yesterday as I was looking for a new CD to play (I go through this kick where I will play a particular CD for weeks on end until I am saturated with the songs and know them inside out.) I have had this one CD for awhile and hadn't really listened much to it...so I put it in the CD player. It is by a wonderful christian artist named, Bebo Norman. The CD is called "Try." One particular song stuck out and hit me. I had heard this one once before on a WOW CD that I had borrowed from my friend Kathy, but after giving it back I hadn't heard it for some time.

These are the words that came out and hit me square in the face. Man, how I love it when God speaks to me this way.

Disappear

On a day like this, I want to crawl beneath a rock.
A million miles from the world, the noise, the commotion

that never seems to stop.
And on a day like this, I want to run from the routine.
Run away from the daily grind that can suck the life right out of me.
I only know of one place I can run to...I want to hide in You,
the Way, the Life, the Truth, so I can disappear and love is all there is to see, coming out of me. As you become clearer - as I disappear.

I don't want to care about earthly things,
be caught up in all the lies that trick my eyes,
they say it's all about me, I am so tired of it being about me...
I would rather be cast away separated from the human race
if I don't bring You glory. If I don't bring You glory. If I don't bring You glory!

I only know of one place I can run to...I want to hide in You,

the Way, the Life, the Truth, so I can disappear and all you see is love coming out of me. As You become clearer....and I disappear!

I love that line, "as You become clearer...and I disappear!" Isn't that what the Christian life is all about? For us to become more like Christ as we disappear. I stated that this was the prayer of my heart on my last blog...and the Lord has chosen to remind me once again.

We all need to be reminded. The world is a place filled with incredible temptation. It's so easy to get caught up doing things we know are wrong and that go against a Holy God. None of us are immune to the pull of the world, none of us have eradicated the sin nature we have all been born with. But praise God we are not alone in our spiritual battle. We have the Holy Spirit - our helper to help us in our daily struggle. We have His Word, we have the Church and our brothers and sisters in Christ...all these have been given to us so that we can grow and be more like Him. There are no excuses.

Lord I want to disappear in You, the Way, the Life, the Truth. I want to reflect You in all that I think, say and do and as I do...You will be clearer in me.

"For I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. For the life I know live, I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and delivered Himself up for me." Galations 2:20

So Many Blessings - 2007 Here I come!

I haven't blog in ages, so for all my faithful friends who do read this...sorry! I just wanted to share a few pics of the two most special blessings in my life. Their names are Benjamin (2) and Adan (7 mos.). These pics were taken at Thanksgiving and Christmas at my folks home.

God has so richly blessed our family with these precious gifts from heaven. We are so in love with them and the joy they bring us is unmeasurable.

As we embark on a New Year, it's exciting to see how God will bless us, because we know He will. He is so awesome that way, being so loving and faithful even inspite of our unfaithfulness. Oh that we would be more like Jesus this coming New Year. I don't usually make New Year's resolutions...but that is the prayer of my heart!

Happy New Years to all who read this...may God richly bless you in 2007!!!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!

Well the weather outside is NOT frightful...it's actually sooo delightful...and I wish it wouldn't stop...so....let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!! (my own version...giggle)

What a wonderful Winter we are having this year....we have had record snow fall. Already we have over a foot of snow in some places...it's just wonderful.

The mountains usually get this kind of snow, while down in the valley we may get a few inches off and on throughout winter, but we haven't seen anything like this for years!!

Some of you may not like snow...but this snowbunny wannabe happens to think it's not only beautiful, but needful...living in the southwest we need the moisture anyway we can get it....so...let it snow, let it snow let it snow!!! (catchy tune huh?)

FALL

Mmmmmm...I love the Fall, the colors, the weather, that special feel that comes with the change of season. It has the most distinctive ambiance of all the seasons. This year Fall seemed to come early...It's been a month since the weather changed and the cooler temperatures forced us to get our heater in working order, brrrrrrrr. The mornings are very brisk and the night air is colder too. But the beauty of this season are the glorious Indian Summer days. You know the kind, the ones that start out really cold, but by afternoon the temperatures are a nice "warm" 70-80 degrees or warmer.

We even got our first snow fall on the peaks of the glorious "Sangre de Cristo" (Blood of Christ) Mountain range. These peaks rise to 12,000 feet...simply awesome. For about a week it was amazing to see these mountains with their majestic snow covered peaks.

I started writing this blog a couple of weeks ago and saved it to draft. I am just getting around to it now and since then it snowed again. See how beautiful. The foothills are much lower but that wonderful red terracotta color is a beautiful contrast to the deep blues and our turquoise skies for which we are famous for.

Here are a few more photos of the surrounding area where I live. Winter seems to have set in; the towns surrounding the Mountains which are about 35 to 45 minutes away got 3-4 inches of snow already...we are buckling down for a harsher winter it seems.

Air Travel

For those of you who are contemplating traveling by plane in the near future you might want to be up to date on what you can or can not take with you on the plane. The Transportation Security Administration has issued the following list:

Knitting needles.............. ALLOWED
Of course this makes perfect sense, because no self-respecting bad guy would be caught dead trying to cause terror with knitting needles. Come on, he'd be the laughing stock of the terrorist community!

Jell-O / Pudding........... NOT ALLOWED
For the life of me I can’t understand this one unless they aren’t telling us what they really put in the stuff. One thing for sure, at least we know Bill Cosby won't be trying to hijack your plane.

Scissors (blades shorter than 4")........ ALLOWED
Now this makes perfect sense, I mean, surely not even the greatest of criminal masterminds could figure out a way to harm someone with a pair of razor-sharp 4 inch blades. They would have to be a genius!!

Mouthwash.................. NOT ALLOWED
Sure...cause we all know how lethal this stuff is! One only has to gargle with a little Listerine to know you can kill someone with it. As for your personal war on Halitosis (bad breath) you are just going to have to wait until you can purchase some at the Airport Gift Shop cause it's only lethal on the plane.

Screwdrivers (7" or less) ..... ALLOWED
Well, that's good to know after all who in their right mind would ever used a tool as a weapon?!

Transformer Toys.............. ALLOWED
For awhile these were not allowed on board, because they actually thought "Transformers" especially the “Decepticon” were real weapons. It took someone in the Assoc. with an actual brain to figure out these were just toys....sheesh.

I don't know about you, but it's good to know the Transportation Security Association is on its toes with its on going fight against terrorism. Keep up the great job!!

Source: the official TSA website