Terribly Interesting

Spiritual attack seems to be rampant in and around our lives right now. Denbigh and I have both recently entered into a new spiritually fruitful area of our lives and we are feeling the fierce attack of the enemy. It seems to be rampant even with our friends and our church. I ask that you would pray protection and victory for all of us involved. Pray protection and peace over Denbigh and his band. Pray full recovery for all sick or hurting. Thank you. Thank you, God, for allowing me to see fruit from ministry at a time that I am deeply burdened.

Oprah's Gospel" I was reading a Christian artist's comment on liking Oprah. She said that Oprah didn't claim to be a tv evangelist and didn't think it was a big deal to watch her. Oprah has claimed to be a Christian though. God's Word says not to associate with an unrepentant brother or sister. Telling people that Jesus cannot be the only way to God is definitely sin. Do we refuse to associate even through the tv medium? You decide.

I was rereading some of my journaling from the past few months and came across some interesting quotes from great authors. I thought I would put them here to pique your interest. Enjoy. ✞ *"Mediocre comes from 2 words meaning halfway to the peak." - AW Tozer ✞ *"Jesus often withdrew." Luke 5:16 Jesus often went to a solitary place. ✞ *"We testify to His Scripture but we refuse to come to Him to have life." -Nancy Demoss ✞ *"It is a disservice to the female body of Christ to allow people/friends to be self-absorbed or to be self-absorbed ourselves. It hinders repentance. As God softens the heart, they still cannot see past themselves." - I think I wrote that. ✞ *"The greatest human tragedy is to give up the search." - John Eldredge ✞ ... more to come

My husband has declared himself to be Terribly Interesting. He says he fits all the criteria. Here is what he thinks makes his claim credible: *He loves Jesus and lives his faith out in tangible ways. *His name is Denbigh. *He has a cat named Kevin Bacon. *He is married to me. *He is a musician with long hair. *He is funny. *He believes dark chocolate is a food group. *He can swing dance. I told him that he probably needs one more quirky thing to put him over the top. Also, I named the cat. He steals my jokes and my chocolate! I will let you decide his fate. Is he terribly interesting?

I love this woman. It isn't for her daring sense of style. She isn't in a hurry to get anywhere or do anything. She is enjoying her moment. It is something God is teaching me and sustaining me by...simplicity and rest. One hand full of rest is better than two fists full of labor and striving after wind. Ecclesiastes 4:6

A few weeks ago I read a book by Mark Buchanan called the Rest of God. It is about restoring your soul by restoring Sabbath. I truly enjoyed this book. It inspired me to take the tv out of the living area and put on some classical music. I thought I would share the highlights with you. I cannot remember everything I wanted to share since I am pregnant. Bear with me and try to get the main points. *" For those who number their days aright gain wise hearts. Only they become God's sages: those calm, unhurried people who live in each moment fully savoring simple things, celebrating small epiphanies, unafraid of life's inevitable surprises and reverses, adaptive to change yet not chasing after it. Able to pray with those who pray." *"The driven get caught up in their striving and forget their purpose." *Time hoarders: The truly purposeful have an ironic secret. They manage time less and pay attention more." *"The logic of Sabbath in Deuteronomy: Don...

Last night I attended Zilker Park's Summer Theatre's production of Seven Brides For Seven Brothers. It is an excellent adaptation. The energy and talent are outstanding. It comes to you highly recommended. It runs Thursday-Sunday into mid-August. I enjoyed it because there was nothing in the musical that I would want to avoid. The language is appropriate for any child. There is not any glorified pre-marital sex (just the opposite). The biggest shock- there was still a preacher and the Bible in the Austin production. The interesting Austin crowd is there to view pre-show and there is no smoking! Go check it out! Zilker Hillside Theatre

When is the last time you did something fun and relaxing with a friend? We tend to look to others to meet all of our needs and usually meet with an agenda. What if we met purely to enjoy the moment? What if we met to rest in quiet and create? We tend to fill the air with superfluous words and miss what God might be saying to us in the stillness and the creativity. Anyone want to come paint?

This "Terribly Interesting" thing is really catching on. Who knew you could inspire people by becoming inspired! I think I should market a t-shirt. It will say, "You wish you were this terribly interesting." I also think a line of terribly interesting dark chocolate is probably in order. All I know is that everyone I have told or has been told has been inspired to do something new in their life. People are painting, writing, applying for master's degrees, gardening, singing, buying a mandolin or taking up harmonica. It is terribly interesting to see. I encourage you to do the one thing you would love to do and long to do but don't. Pursue life.

. . More Deserted Photos . . . PHANTOM LIMBS Anne Michaels So much of the city is our bodies. Places in us old light still slants through to. Places that no longer exist but are full of feeling, like phantom limbs. Even the city carries ruins in its heart. Longs to be touched in places only it remembers. Through the yellow hooves of the ginkgo, parchment light; in that apartment where I first touched your shoulders under your sweater, that October afternoon you left keys in the fridge, milk on the table. The yard - our moonlight motel - where we slept summer's hottest nights, on grass so cold it felt wet. Behind us, freight trains crossed the city, a steel banner, a noisy wall. Now the hollow diad ! floats behind glass in office towers also haunted by our voices. Few buildings, few lives are built so well even their ruins are beautiful. But we loved the abandoned distillery: stone floors cracking under empty vats, wooden floors half rotted into dirt; stairs leading nowhere; high ro...

There seems to be attack and tragedy all around us lately. God gave me these verses today to cry out for all of it. Galatians 4:6, "Because you are God's children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into us to call out, "Abba! Father!" Psalm 3:4 To the LORD I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill. Psalm 142:1 [ A maskil of David. When he was in the cave. A prayer. ] I cry aloud to the LORD; I lift up my voice to the LORD for mercy.

great read! (by Nicole Johnson) Overview: Rock-throwing is one way to settle hostilities or to exchange accusations. You can knock Goliath flat if your rock hits him in the right spot. Not bad, if your goal is to kill your enemy. You can express your moral outrage by joining the angry mob howling for a sinner to be stoned. But what if that sinner is your friend, and you would rather change their heart than shed their blood? We don't have to hurl the rocks we clutch in our judgmental hands. With tender words and touching photos, Nicole Johnson guides us toward the 'flat thud of grace' that can change our lives when we drop our rocks and choose to love instead. (Luke 6:27-31, "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks y...

My friend Jill sent me this - thought I'd share.

Deep in the shadowlands People neither thrive nor die They exist Empty No one remembers going there It’s just a place you end up It is a place of empty whispers Forgotten dreams There you build monuments That resemble tombs But they have no eyes to see They cultivate their own bareness Never known is what is just over the horizon Like an unturned page of Scripture They choose to linger in the stench of death Never Dying Their only hope is avoided Though they say they belong to it They are hardly recognizable The flesh they love eaten by greed They avoid eyes that convict, reveal, and heal Just make eye contact with Him You will see no more shadows You will not know emptiness S Cherry 2006 ©

Today I was reading some TS Eliot and I just find his visual analogies to be breath-taking. I was reading his poem The Hollow Men. It is said to be written before he became a Christian when he met the state of utter despair. The rhythmic patterns mirror the Lord's Prayer. He is said to be describing the state of society and church. Are you stuffed with dead straw whispering the meaningless? I will include it at the end. Christianity Today says he is of 131 Christians we should all be familiar with. I am not sure who decides that, but I find him intriguing and slightly frightening. Here is my favorite verse from one of his poems: The dove descending breaks the air With flame of incandescent terror Of which the tongues declare The one discharge from sin and error. The only hope, or else despair Lies in the choice of pyre or pyre— To be redeemed from fire by fire. The Hollow Men T. S. Eliot (1925) We are the hollow men We are the stuffed men Leaning together Headpiece filled with stra...

Theocracy Main Entry: the·oc·ra·cy Pronunciation: thE-'Ã-kr-sE Function: noun Inflected Form(s): plural -cies Etymology: Greek theokratia, from the- + -kratia -cracy 1 : government of a state by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided The word theocracy originates from the Greek theokratia "the rule of God" (Josephus), itself form Greek words (theos, of unknown origin, perhaps not Indo-European), God‚ and (kratein), to rule. Biblical Theocracy means affirming the crown rights of the Lord Jesus Christ over every area of life. We should distinguish between theocracy (the rule of God) and ecclesiocracy (the rule of the church). *I bring this word before you because I am more grieved and desperate to see it manifested in my life and church than anything else. Today I clearly see we can have no crown without a cross. Psalm 60:1 O GOD, You have rejected us and cast us off, broken down [our defenses], and scattered us; You have been angry...

"We slander God by our very eagerness to work for Him without knowing Him." -Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

How seriously do we take the command to not associate with the unrepentant sinner who claims to be a brother/sister in Christ? Do you even do it? Do you indulge it? Do you treat it as acceptable behavior? Do you forgive it? Only God has the power to forgive sin and yet we say to our brothers and sisters in Christ,"It's okay." Sometimes I wonder if I did this to the full extent if I would actually have anyone left to eat with. Could I even eat with myself? So, I too repent. I have had 2 friends in the past year or so who were confronted by the same issues - both people in love. One fell on her knees and cried out to God and admitted to our church the sin she infected the body with. The other stored up bitterness and hurled it on a bystander. Why do we look at others when we have sinned against God? We blame, and name call, and refuse the gift of repentance to be right. We refuse the inward look. Is introspection a dead art? Could you? Would you refuse to eat with a sister ...

"Spiritual maturity requires that we learn to drink from the half-empty cup." -Donald McCullough

kathy is one of my favorite painter/sculptors. She has an innate ability to capture the beauty, grace and fun of the "Terribly Interesting" woman. She has successfully done it again with the floppy hat woman ( I love floppy hats ) at the sculpture garden. Here is a picture ( and a few of my other favorites.

There is a French saying that women do not become interesting until they are 38. Turning 29 this year the thought came upon me that I should start this process immediately and become "terribly interesting." This has set me on a journey of what I think makes a woman interesting. What makes a woman interesting to you? Emily says it is something in her spirit - something about her that can't be expressed with words. I would have to agree. There are 4 things that attract me to women as friends. 1. Grace and elegance - it is something about her confidence and comfortability in being a woman. Someone who relishes her femininity. This woman is described as a woman at rest in the fabulous book Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge. Read this book and feel the beauty God created you to be. 2. Passion - she is passionate about something. I love painting, writing, cooking, gardening, friends, and devouring the Word of God. I love the symphony. I love church. Passionate people I ...