Selah

On Sunday, August 17, a group of us from church went to see the group "Selah" at Simpsonville First Baptist Church. We met for an early dinner at Cracker Barrel before the concert.

James and Colby acting goofy.

Eddie and me

Jody and Michelle

Emily and Jennifer

James and Kristy

Sisters--Margaret and Alitia

Emily, me and Michelle in the church

The group Selah

It was such a wonderful evening of worship. I was so moved by Amy's voice--the voice of an angel! I have kept up with Todd's story through his wife's blog www.audreycaroline.blogspot.com, so to hear him tell the story in person really touched me.

Playing

..with my new camera. I have had fun the past week playing around with my new Sony DSLR-A300. I have been experimenting with the different settings.

Eddie reading on Saturday morning

James and Kristy at the Cracker Barrel (bad glare from the flash)

Leigh Anne with Sarah Katherine and Matthew

Jody and Michelle at the Cracker Barrel

Flowers on my patio

August 16

There are certain days in your life when you can remember exactly what you were doing, who you were with and where you were---there are a few in my life—today is one of them. I am not one of those died-in-the-wool Elvis fans like some people but I do remember the day he died. I think that Elvis did a lot for the music world—he was very talented but he was also the first rock-n-roll star and he carried all the baggage that lifestyle entails. I think that one of the reasons that he died so young is that he was made a god by so many people and he couldn’t live up to it—just my opinion.

Anyway, on that day back in 1977—I know some of my friends were not even born then—I was getting ready to start my senior year of high school. We had lived in North Carolina that summer so that we could be with my daddy—he was in construction and always had to work out of town. My sister, Kim, and I befriended a young woman whose husband worked for my daddy—I will call her Sally. Sally was from that part North Carolina and had a sister that lived a couple of hours away. She had the idea that we should go on a girl’s trip to see her sister for the weekend before school started back for us (we would be moving back to SC for school). The three of us piled into Sally’s husband’s pick-up truck and hit the road. We were traveling on Interstate 95 when we ran out of gas! We had to get out and walk to the next exit to get some gas—we could see the exit ramp but I thought we would never get there. I was so humiliated—I couldn’t believe that we were actually walking down the side of the interstate—Sally was maybe 24, Kim was 16 and I was 17. Of course, there was no such thing as cell phones back then! After we got the gas situation taken care of, we finally arrived at the home of Sally’s sister—and she wasn’t home! So what did we do? Well, we climbed in through the laundry room window—well ‘we’ didn’t but Sally did. I just knew that the police were going to come and arrest us for breaking and entering! So—now we are inside and ready to start our fun girls weekend so we turn on the TV—what else is there to do? There were special reports all over the TV telling us that the ‘King of Rock’n’Roll’ was dead!

When I think back on that day 31 years ago, I am struck by this thought—I wonder if the ‘king’ met ‘The King’ that day?

Some pictures from the 50th Anniversary party we hosted for Eddie's parents (we all wore black & white):













Fourth of July pictures:

Not Alone

There have been times in my life that I felt totally alone. Sometimes in a crowd, I feel more alone than ever. But, I think the darkest times of my life were the days of my teenage years. I was not a ‘cool’ kid, but I longed to be—I was not a straight-A student, but I longed to be—I was not the apple of my parents’ eye, but I longed to be—I did not feel loved, but how I longed for that most of all. Looking back, it pains me to think of all the mistakes that I made in that search for love—all those times I was trying to fill a void in my life. What I didn’t know then was that I could search the world over and never find another person or thing to fill that gap—that gap that can only be filled with the love of Christ.

I remember that when my Papa died, I got to have his bedroom at my Granny’s house—for some reason, they had separate bedrooms. His bedroom was now mine—at first, it was kind of creepy sleeping in there. I would lie in bed and think about him and wonder if his ‘ghost’ would come in the night (hey, I was 11 years old!) to scare me. There was a picture on the wall beside my bed in that room. It was a picture that I am sure has been printed millions of times—nothing original about it, but I would lie there and wonder if there was an angel watching over me. I couldn’t imagine being in the kind of danger like the little girl and boy in the picture. I would go to sleep thinking about that picture and how those children were being protected--I would wonder if they knew there was an angel standing guard over them. What I didn’t realize was that I was in danger, just not the same kind of danger. I was in danger of destroying myself—by trying to fill a void—by trying to feel accepted—by being a people-pleaser.
I now know that I was not alone--my LORD was with me. He protected me, He rescued me, and He redeemed me. Since I came to the cross, I know that I am never alone--His word tells me in Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.
Right before my Granny died, she called me to come to her house--she had something she wanted to give me. When I got there, she had the picture down and ready for me to take home with me. It matches nothing in my home (it is hanging in my sewing room) but I would take nothing for it. It has no monetary value, but it is priceless to me!

(not a good picture--a lot of glare on the glass)

To GOD be the GLORY!

When I first heard this rendition of this song, the very first person I thought of was my friend Emily and she will probably kill me for this! I sat and listened to this song and wept. I wept because of Audrey Caroline and the amazing faith of her mother, Angie--I wept because Todd can really sing-- and I wept when I remembered praying for a baby for Emily and Colby--praying that God's will would be the same as our desire--praying that God would see fit to bless them with a miracle. We were reminded that it wasn't just about having a baby--it was about giving up control--surrendering all--and I do mean ALL--it was about God performing a miracle that only HE could perform--and it was about God getting the GLORY--because we now know...GOD shares His glory with NO ONE! It was not about procedures, positions(oh my!), frequency(oh my, again!), or even about cricks or lace! (Inside joke) It was about surrendering all to the ONE who gives life--to maker of us all--to the one who knew us before time began--to the one who knit us together so perfectly in our mother's womb. He knew that He was going to bless them with sweet Matthew--and then just 16 months later with Sarah Katherine--but we didn't know that at the time. We just had to place our trust in HIM and know that He knows our future and His timing is not always the same as ours --but it is perfect, just like HE is!

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!

This is Matthew(aka Shu)--how cool is he?



And Sarah Katherine (aka Sissy)

Me, Afraid?

Back when I was a little girl, one of the things that terrified me most was the sound of an ambulance siren. One of the privileges of staying with my granny was that I got to carry Papa’s lunch or dinner to him at his store. I would carry his meal on a round tray—I can remember being so careful not to spill his coffee or to let his plate slip on that tray. It wasn’t far to his store—just next door, but I had to walk down the steps, then out the gate and across the parking lot to his store. They lived on the highway—back then, it was in the middle of the country—that is now called the ‘famous’ Woodruff Road. I can remember being on my way back to the house with Papa’s empty dishes on the tray and in the distance I could here the faint sounds of a siren coming up the highway. As it got closer and closer, I tried to move faster and faster—I can still hear those dishes rattle as I was trying to get inside before that ambulance got there. As I barely got inside the door, I breathed a sigh of relief as I looked out the window to see the vehicle from a safe vantage point. I don’t know what it was about that sound—it wasn’t like the sounds that ambulances make now—it was more long and drawn out—a real mournful sound. And the ambulances certainly don’t look like they did then—they were black and white station wagons with a red light on top—think Andy Griffin-ish.

I have always wondered why I would be afraid of something that may have the ability to save my life.

In Exodus 19 and 20, God had spoken to Moses and told him to tell the people to cleanse and consecrate themselves because the Lord was going to come to them on the third day. Well, on the third day when the people heard the thunder and saw the lightning on Mt. Sinai , they were afraid and told Moses that they didn’t want hear from God themselves, but wanted Moses to bring them the Word. The Israelites were afraid of the very One who could save them, the only One who could deliver them—and because of their fear, they received the message from Moses instead directly from the Lord.

At Deeper Still, Atlanta; Priscilla spoke on this scripture—along with several other verses—and I was really convicted that I rely on others to bring me the Word instead of digging and searching for it myself and letting God speak directly to me. It has been over 2 weeks since that Friday night, but that message is still fresh in my mind. I honestly believe that was the Word that the Lord had for me that weekend.

To be honest, it makes me afraid—afraid that I won’t be able to study the Word as well as Beth Moore could teach me, as thoroughly as Kay Arthur could teach, or as well as Priscilla Shirer could teach me. How can I dig for the nuggets? It is just overwhelming! There is so much in God’s word that I don’t know—I just pray that He would reveal what He wants me to learn. I really don't want to watch from a safe vantage point like I did with that ambulance--I want to be right in the center of where God wants me to be--even if it means being afraid--because I know that He will protect me. I also know that what He has to say to me will mean a whole lot more if I hear it for myself.