what if we treated our country like a television show?

Yup, I had to chime in. 

Why not? 

Everybody else seems to be having their say. 

I'm not a fan of Duck Dynasty. I'm just not a fan of duck calls, how they are made, or men called Uncle Si. I find the cast of Duck Dynasty a little bit immature and crass when I've watched the show. As with all reality shows, you can sense where things have been staged. It becomes non-reality for me at that point. I KNOW they pray, they are good folks, that seems to be the reason why folks like them so much, oh and Uncle Si. 

To my utter dismay my husband even has a Duck Dynasty tee shirt. My heart sank when I saw him come home with one of those shirts. 

double ugh! 

My husband is a fan and watches the show. I get it second-hand, like smoke. So, I believe I can have an opinion on the show, as I just shared. 

But, having said all that, I stand by Mr. Duck Dynasty on the grounds of free speech, just like millions of other red-blooded Americans did this week. I found myself "liking" pages on Facebook and "liking and sharing" comments and posts of others. I did so because I support free speech. 

I didn't particularly like how Mr. Duck Dynasty chose to say it, he was crass and that was probably a little bit offensive, but that is who they are. If I don't like them, then I don't have to watch them. But to come out and punish him for exercising his free speech rights, and to purposefully misinterpret what he did say. Hmmm? Sounds more like an agenda to me than anything else. 

Where I take heart is reading all the articles today, of how things are changing for the show, it seems like Mr. Duck Dynasty is un-fired. Seems like Cracker Barrel all-of-a-sudden had a big change of heart and the voice of America seems to have been heard. Now, this is where I think we should ALL take hope. It seems like our voices were heard! We, the people rose up and "roared" our opinion and disdain for what had happened and we learned something from it. We learned if we stand for something together, we can move mountains. We stood for what was right and just and what maintains freedom, and it looks like the good prevailed over the bad. 

This time. 

But seriously. What about when it is time to go vote. Why are we not voting? Why are we not doing more to campaign for the good guys? Why are we not running for office? We, the people, the good guys...not the career politicians, but we, the people...Let's take this fire in our bellies from the Duck Dynasty fiasco and let's let it motivate us out of our inertia and let's do something. I think with this much common sense in America...my goodness! What we could do with that? 

Maybe we should all pretend our great country was a TV show being run into the ground by a television network and then we would start Facebook pages and write dialog fitting to change things and impact folk's thinking and we could take it all the way to the highest office and get this country back on it's feet. 

For me it is interesting to see how much folks rallied around the demise of a TV show, but when it comes to our country so many of those voices are too busy watching television and don't care about their country, their family, their relationship with God or much else. At least their actions wouldn't show they cared from the outside looking in.  

I come from the Amish, and the Amish don't vote, unless it has direct implications on their way of life. Most will tell you they don't vote for the presidency, etc. Mostly just for laws regarding farming, and local tax levies, and etc. I was not a voter, but then one day it was announced in the church there was some law to be passed regarding farming. (I have no clue what it was) and so we were encouraged to go vote. I registered and stood in line with my husband and hundreds of other Amish and voted for one thing, against the new law they were pushing. But years later when I left the Amish and started to learn more I began to understand how if I am a citizen of this country and I want to be "free" I have to let my voice be heard by voting. I have to put the work in and do research. I have to form an opinion and I have to vote. 

In a sense that is what America did this week, we let our voices be heard and things seem to be changing. May I be so bold and I suggest we all put the remote control down and become a voice for America, let's understand what is going on in the country, let's keep that fire in our belly for what is 'good and just' and let's take back America. Let our country be free again and let the folks who live here be free before it is too late. Let's do the hard work, let's find a way to get our country out of debt, and let neighbor be for neighbor and let the folks with a good head on their shoulders stand up and say, "elect me", and let the folks who are good with campaigning on social media, start the campaigning, and let's treat the country we live in with as much passion as we do some television show we love to watch.

May God be with us! 

Go America! 

Lue

new year's resolution

(sometimes i have to just "say it" to myself, this is one of those posts.) 

I realize it isn't "even" Christmas yet and here I am already pushing the New Year with a subject of resolutions. I must be just a little bit off, huh? Let me explain why I think not. 

Probably a dozen years ago I started to set goals for my life, and it seemed that it always began sometime around the middle of December. I am the kind of person who likes Monday morning because it somehow symbolizes a new start for me. I get to start the week over and try to get it better in the new week, learn more, see more, do more, live more, than I did in the week prior.

December seems like the fitting time to sit down and write out goals, as I examine my life, evaluate the past year and kind of look into my life and see where I would like to make changes and live the next year differently. Some years I am more specific with those life resolutions than other years. Some years I've been more vague, and less stringent about setting real goals for my life. I think those are the years when I've been more settled, happier and feeling more full filled in whatever roll my life was playing out on this planet we call Earth. I had less of a reason to feel like I needed to change much because of what was going on in my life those years. 

As I have been gaining birthdays and having deeper conversations with my friends and having a deeper relationship with my Savior, I feel the need to really examine my life this year. Really, really examine. Honestly, I don't have to do much, my heart is already telling me so much, it is like pushing me to "move on and grow". It is a matter of the heart and soul for me. I long for growth, I long to be utilized using my strengths and abilities, and for awhile now I've been living unchallenged and very stagnant it feels like. 

I wonder, does anyone out there wrestle with this subject?

Or, is it just me? 

I really wonder? 

A couple years ago one of my friends told me she picks out one Bible verse each year to live by. She actually took a mix of verses and made her own little life verse and it was simply, "To be in the world, but not of the world." Since then she has lived it fiercely. I can tell how resolved she is with each conversation we have. She will describe a situation she was in and then she will tell me how she responded because of her life verse and will quote, "You know Lue," she says, "I am in the world, but NOT of it." It is her conviction and it is what keeps her grounded, balanced and accountable. 

Isn't that awesome? 

I think it is.

vision statements

I know, I'm not in business, but as successful businesses go, they have a vision statement.  You know where there are going and how they are going to get there. I remember years ago when my husband's company was still small, the spouses were invited to more seminars and parties and such than we are today. At one such function we got to attend the CEO of the company was speaking and wanted to know if any of the spouses knew what the company's vision statement was and by golly, we knew. Why? Because they involved their employees and even the spouses in various activities of the company. We were all on board. So, thinking about that, the excitement I felt being a small part of my husband's company, feeling included and all, I learned so much from them about, not only, business, but also, personally. (This post is NOT about business or running a business, I wouldn't know the first thing about it, it is only how I am trying to make a point here.) 

Seems to me if a company needs a clear vision of where they are going and how they are going to get there, then it makes sense to come up with a personal vision statement and a clear plan for my life and then share it with those around you. Like my friend would share her, "To be in the world, but not of the world" verse with me many times in each conversation we had over that year's time. In fact, I think it still carries into some of our conversations today. Why? Because she planned it well, she made it her vision for her life and it really impacted her life on many levels. I could tell each time we spoke she was more resolved to not live like the world, but to be set apart. And what did her vision statement do for me because she shared it with me so often? I started to get it, I started to think about that and it has truly impacted my life, just because she shared it with me so often. I also have been very careful around her, not to cause her to stumble in areas where I know she doesn't want to go. I was not always so sensitive to my friend, but once I knew her vision for her life, I became more sensitive of her convictions.  

The Bible says in Proverbs 29:18, Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. KJV

I am convinced that we need a vision for our lives, individually, and also in the church and the family, and, at the end of the day, wherever there are human beings, there needs to be a vision or we become stagnant and just live in the "daily grind of life" with never a thought of anything beyond our normal routine and survival. 

normal routine and survival?

How incredibly boring is that? When you really think about it. Why not live with a heart of adventure and not be so afraid of what comes next? Of course, we have to be responsible, but do we have to be so responsible that there is no room at all for growth and God's will in our lives? In my life????? 

To tell you the truth, I have not "ironed all of this out" in my soul. I don't have it all nice and neat in a box, but I do know that I want to work on a vision statement for my life in the next few days and I hope to find a way to map out some of my life goals and what I believe is God's will for my life and work toward those goals. I want to be specific, not vague with my intentions, and I want to ask God for His will in my life. I want that front and center because it just feels so much better that way. 

God's will in my life front and center.

It feels good that way. 

Will I be able to come up with such a vision statement that will inspire others as I have been inspired both by my friend and my husband's company's technique of including all in the vision? I don't know, but I think it is worth a try. And, it is living life with a heart of adventure and responsibility all in the same breath. 

So, like I mentioned when I began this post, I don't think it is too early to be thinking about my resolutions or life vision statements, or whatever you want to call it. I believe I need to seek God's will in this matter through prayer and I believe I need to not be flippant about it, but think it through, be precise and then live it. 

love and blessings,

lue

i want to be like her

"I am the Lord's servant, may your word to me be fulfilled." Words spoken by Jesus' mother, Mary. 

Luke 1:38  

Tis' the season to celebrate the birth of our Savior. As I read over that Bible verse this morning I began to reflect more on Mary, the conviction she must have felt to be able to utter those words must have been deeply rooted. When I think back over what I know of Mary's life, she was one of the most selfless mothers known to man. If you think about her being a witness at her son's crucifixion, the strength and resolve it would have had to take to remain there and witness the event. But, knowing that as a young girl she was already resolved to do God's will, (per Luke 1:38) allows one to grasp how she might have been able to witness the crucifixion, because she knew and trusted that the God she served had a plan. 

Do I trust God like Mary did with all the things I hold dear? My family, my reputation, my dreams, my goals? 

Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, any servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. John 12:26


Mary Did You Know?

Lue

my heart....my conviction...my reminder

"Too often we watch in self-righteous judgment as others writhe in pain before the trials of life, forgetting that God will hold us partially responsible because we did not offer encouragement when we could have." 

That quote comes from a Bible study I'm a part of at our church. It was written and is led by a gentlemen, namely, Ken Stoltzfus. What an amazingly inspiring and convicting study, More Like Jesus. 

My eyes have been opened to other folks pain and suffering in a whole other way, plus, I have gained insight of myself, in such a manner as is life-changing, through this Bible study. It has caused me to go back and kind of "feel" for a moment where I was emotionally a few short years ago when I battled depression and felt like I had nobody who understood me or cared enough to try and understand. I am sure, if you are reading this, you have either experienced this or know someone who has. I remembered a night in my deepest depression when I was lying in bed in the dead of the night, looking out the window at the moon and the stars and silently pleading with God, "please dear God if ever I get out of this depression, I promise to always be ears to others. I promise to always be there for others if I know they have a need. Please God, just help me out of this pain." 

How quickly I moved away from that thought and got on with "my life". Reflecting on the quote at the top of the post and what I had prayed that one dark night, I am deeply ashamed to say so often I have not encouraged others as I should have. I've not stopped to ask someone if they might need an ear. You look around and you know someone near you is a statistic, somehow.

I can't change the past, but I can change my future and it is my new conviction that I want to be more sensitive to those around me who might have needs or hurts buried deep inside of themselves. This Bible study has brought back the resolve I had some years back to never let folks wallow in their pain by themselves. God has certainly used it as a reminder and all I can do is move forward now and put actions to my conviction.

This song means a lot to me. I hope it means something to you too. 

Resurrection

Because I needed to remind myself is why I wrote out these thoughts.

Lue

little amish kids stopping their summer fun to pose for me

One weekend this summer my husband's family got together to camp out and fellowship together near a creek and at a campsite. I was taking a time out to be by myself with camera in hand when I came upon the little great nieces and nephews having some real summer fun. When they saw me and my camera the little girl in the fuchsia collared dress asked me if I wanted to take their pictures. I looked around, wondering what their parents might say...but since they were willing and I was able, I snapped a bunch of photos and I was giggling on the inside the whole time. They would pose, then I would snap, then they would come to me to see the photo on the camera. It was some of the best fun I had all summer. I have a better camera now, and if I get the chance, it is going along to next years gathering, because these pictures could be a lot better had I had a better camera. Nonetheless, please enjoy these pictures of some of our youngest blessings in the family. 

If you click on a photo, I think they should come up as a gallery so you can see the details better. 

I hope you enjoyed a little bit of summer in the dead of winter. 

Lue

a meaningful christmas season

Well, December is here. As I grow older I wonder, how can I go into the Christmas season and have it be more meaningful for me and my family and those around me. 

About five years ago or so I was in such a tizzy with "doing" everything. We were last minute Christmas shoppers that year and nothing suited me and I was just like, "this is not who I am or what I want to be." The rushed and hurried feeling is not one I do well. We also had no routine for the season, nothing that you could call a tradition, except go to the usual functions that we usually went to. It wasn't how I wanted to celebrate the season, it was too cold, too hurried and not always very meaningful. 

So, I purposed in my heart to make Christmas more meaningful and each year I try new things. I take extra care to find little ways to make the season more meaningful for my family and friends and myself. I'm not even sure they realize that I work at it, but nonetheless, I. do. try. 

One thing I like to do is invite family and sometimes friends to our little cottage on Christmas Eve and I use to cook the whole meal for all of us. The only problem that needed tweaking, because our family has been growing, is there is no room in my small kitchen to cook and entertain all at the same time for that large amount of folks, so we don't have a sit down dinner anymore, but we all bring snacks and appetizers. We share in bringing the food, and gift each other with wonderful eats and treats. 

On Christmas Eve we also all come with a wrapped gift and have a white elephant gift exchange. I believe we "hoot and holler" louder during this time than any other moment in the season. It is great fun. It doesn't matter what the gift is, just as long as we are together and having fun. 

As the evening progresses we play games around tables placed all through our little cottage. This year we have more room as we can utilize more of the basement since we are empty-nesters now. That is good news, we can spread out a little bit and have more fun. 

It is interesting how in four short years this has become a tradition that family members start asking me about as early as October. :) I think we would all miss our Christmas Eve together if we ended that tradition now. 

Another way I try to make the season more meaningful for the years to come is I purchased a regular tablet, there may even be a kitten on the front page, and each year I poke and prod everyone to write SOMETHING in that little tablet. For some it is a painful exercise, but I'm guessing that years down the line, that little tablet is going to be precious to all of us. We will be able spend time reviewing what we were thinking ten years back, maybe twenty years back. We can experience the children growing up and seeing what was important to them. It is a tradition I hope to hang on to, even if it isn't the most popular one. 

To make Christmas less hurried and scurried I also try to do most or all of my Christmas shopping before December 1. What a relief if I get this feat accomplished! 

Other, more personal ways I am cherishing the season is by listening to great Christmas music. I'm not talking the "holiday music" they play on the radio. You can go to Youtube.com and find some really, really good music on there. Type in a carol you especially like and listen to a few different versions of it. You can spend an hour or two relaxing and listening and watching some great productions, it can become a little worship service and meaningful. 

I am one of those who uses the Bible app on my Kindle Fire tablet and my smart phone. On the app you can find Christmas devotionals. I like laying in bed in the morning and reading through the devotionals for the day. I actually chose 2 different ones to follow and it just starts my day out right with remembering what the hustle and bustle is really about. 

I don't bake cookies and candies, so that is one less stress for me. There are enough other folks who do and I ALWAYS get my fill at various functions along the way. I chose to make other foods, I have several recipes that are my "go to recipes" for the season and I never tire of making a cheese ball or cooking up a batch of ham balls and pineapples. I find things to make that don't take a ton of my time and opt to make fresh things as we go to functions, rather than have the cookies and candies stashed away ready to go. It is a personal thing, I'm blessed that others do the cookies and candies. :) 

I also quit doing Christmas cards. I haven't fully come to grips with that idea, and feel shady when we receive cards from others. Each year that stack dwindles down though, and it is one of those things that are being left undone by many folks. I may pick this one back up, if my conscience keeps bugging me about this time each year. On a side note, I keep wanting to send birthday cards throughout the year to many folks who I would love for them to know I remember them and think of them. I will have to make this a priority in the upcoming new year, I think! 

We have one grandson. We feel, so responsible. Not for his total well-being, but to support his parents as they are raising him. We want Christmas to mean something to him which is not just about gifts and food, so last year I purchased a big pop up book with the Christmas story displayed, both in words and picture. Last year he was a little small and got bored, but I am looking forward to this year sitting together with our little family and first taking some time out to read the Christmas story to our little guy and for all of us to pause, and reflect on what the meaning of Christmas is really about. 

Personally, I love giving gifts, it is fun to think about the person and take time to think about what they might like and need, and then making the purchase, then going home and wrapping it up. I tie each gift with ribbon and bows. It is almost an obsession for me. It is part of the way I show folks who get gifts from us that I love them and want to package the gift up with a personal touch. I don't care if you don't, it is just part of the giving of myself. 

A few things I would still like to do is attend a Christmas Eve church service. Each year I find out where the services are being held, but we've never actually gone. I think it would be awesome to attend services as a family and then come home and finish the night with gifts and food. Maybe one year we will accomplish that. 

I also want to experience a sleigh ride. I think that would be so fun and our inner-children would definitely come out on a journey like that. Don't you think? 

Even more than all the things I want to do, I want to remember my Savior was born so I could have eternal life. How amazing is that? I don't want this season to go down with me just doing and doing and doing, but to also find me sitting quietly and experiencing and reflecting on and worshiping him. 

I wish you a Christmas season that is meaningful and full of worship to the King, with an added dose of  fun and fellowship in the mix. 

Lue

my church experience today

I feel compelled, somehow, to share with you of my day at church. 

My husband had been scheduled to make lattes at the cafe so he left for church before I did. All during my preparations of going to church I was listening to some of my favorite worship music and couldn't wait to get there. I was actually a few minutes late getting there, but still one of the first to enter our ABF room. 

ABF is Adult Bible Fellowship instead of Sunday School, but I sometimes still refer to it is Sunday School.

Soon everyone who was going to be there showed up and in the middle of the room, on the table, was a wine glass, a small pitcher of grape juice and a plate of matzo bread. We were going to have communion service, just our little class. 

In our ABF class we have a person leading out and a teacher. Our leader opened up and said that he had asked for permission of the teacher and our pastor, who is also in our class, if he could lead out in a communion service for our class. Both men consented and so our leader took the challenge and he did a very nice job of sobering our thoughts, and helping each of us come to the foot of the cross in remembrance of what the meaning of the cross really is about. Together we read the Bible, together we shared, together we prayed, and together our small class participated in communion. It was one of the sweetest, most unifying acts I've ever been a part of. 

After ABF class we entered the sanctuary and it was time to worship. One of the songs the worship team played always gets me. It was as if it had been ordained by God himself to have our worship leader pick that song to sing today. The words are powerful and such a reminder to me of who God really is. Please click on the link below and take a few moments to hear the words. Powerful! (This is not our worship team on the clip, but a good version of the song I found on YouTube for you to listen to.)

 Great I Am

Our pastor also delivered a powerful message of being a part of the church. He painted a wonderful picture, using art to remind us of how we all have to be a part of the church so that the whole thing comes together as God's plan was intended. He reminded us that the painter uses all kinds and shapes of brushes and colors to paint  his paintings. All of them are needed. Not just the fat brushes who do a lot of the work on a painting, but the little skinny brushes, that might only be used in certain areas to highlight the painting are needed as well. I was compelled to get up after the service and go fill out a little card asking to be on a certain team. As I went down through the list of teams we have in the church, this one just jumped out at me. If there are openings on that team for me to be a part of, we will see how that shapes up and what God has in store for me. 

Life is an adventure if you are following Christ. 

Now, to share my heart, really, share. I struggle with trust. We have been attending this church for several years and we have not become members because I keep holding back. I've been in various church settings where there were either folks slandering each other all day long, or Bishops throwing their authority around and making us conform even if we didn't agree, and in another church we used to attend they had three church splits while we attended their services. In a nutshell, I have not had the best experience in my church going history. I don't easily trust church people. Know what I mean? But in the past year or so I've been learning about church and what it looks like to be real with each other. I've had some of my best experiences in church, at this church, and each day I trust church people just a little bit more. It is like God is using this church to finally help me heal of all the bad experiences in the past. 

What I am feeling today, is uncommon. I'm not sure I can explain. I feel like I'm a part of "home". You know how that feels? I like that in our ABF class this morning there was a certain theme that folks kept coming back to, we all seem to want unity and an outpouring of love and sacrifice coming from our class. It is interesting how folks touched on so much of what has been going on inside of myself. It must surely be a "Holy Spirit" thing, no? 

Another part of what makes church feel like "home" to me is our Wednesday evening group. The gentleman leading this class is doing such a wonderful job of teaching and brings out so many truths and has shed light on some lies that I've believed for a long time. I wish I could explain the impact it has had on my life, because it has been such a relief and life changing for sure. 

So, what have I been learning? If you keep seeking and you open yourself up, God WILL help you figure things out. He will lead and guide you down the proper avenues so that you can become full and grow and learn. I've never been comfortable with staying the same. I feel so challenged every Sunday when I leave our church parking lot. Challenged to work on myself, and to become a better Christ follower. I don't care so much what folks think of me anymore, I just want what God wants for my life. I have no need to excel in everything in my life as I once did. I just want to live life as a better Christian and to be in unity with my fellow Christ followers and to love and sacrifice where it is needed. 

Lamentations 3: 22-26

22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassion's never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
    therefore I will wait for him.”

25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
    to the one who seeks him;
26 it is good to wait quietly
    for the salvation of the Lord

Blessings all! 

Lue