Urgent Prayer Request

Please pray for little Hudson Taylor. He's been battling cancer over the past few months and has taken a bad turn. He's been transferred to ICU with a blood infection and his liver has shut down. Please pray for him as well as his family!!

A Bit Sentimental Lately

I imagine it’s probably because of the holidays just around the corner and all the memories associated with them, but I’ve been feeling sentimental the last few days. Memories of times with friends and thoughts of people I haven’t seen in a long time have come to mind frequently of late…..my freshman RA……my girls who stood up with us at our wedding just over a year ago……my long-time friend traveling the globe this Christmas…….my spunky, red-haired music buddy…….former co-workers who became true friends…….and so many more! I’m richly blessed!

To all of my dear friends; know that I’m thinking of you and lifting you up in prayer! I hope you have a wonderful holiday with those you love! You are missed and greatly appreciated! I’m glad to have you in my life, even from a distance.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!!

May the presence of Christ enrich your hearts this holiday!!!

With much love!

R & M

Rocking the Boat

We were in Louisiana over the weekend visiting R’s family. On Sunday all of us went out for breakfast. R, his little brother, and I rode in our car. When we were getting out of the vehicle at the restaurant, we got a stare down from an older, white woman who was preparing to leave. Any of you who have ever seen the movie ‘Save the Last Dance’ will the recall the classic scene on the train when an older, white passenger is staring at actors Sean Patrick Thomas (African-American) and Julia Stiles (Caucasian) who are traveling together on a date to the ballet. Once Stiles realizes they’re being observed she turns it on and starts necking with Thomas. I didn’t quite go for that, but when the woman continued to stare at us, I smiled and waved at her. Needless to say she looked away and drove off. It made me laugh, but at the same time it really saddened me. When we went into the restaurant, the host found it necessary to ask if I was with the group, even though I was the first to follow him when he said our table was ready. Thankfully R and I haven’t experienced any outright hostility because of our interracial marriage, but prejudice isn’t dead by any means.

In his book “Searching for God Knows What” Donald Miller says our culture is built upon a life-boat mentality. We’re always comparing ourselves with each other and looking for those differences that set us apart from others. We try to make sure that if anyone is going to get thrown off the lifeboat it won’t be us. We can’t seem to understand that God isn’t looking for a reason to love us; that He loves us no matter what. Prejudice and racism have been around a long time and I’m sure will always be around in some form or another. We all struggle with it at some level. I think maybe the only way we’ll ever be free of it is if we come to know and understand God’s love in all of its perfection and beauty.

“Jesus loves the little children. All the children of the world; red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world”………

Baking Memories

R. and I indulged in a little Christmas baking on Saturday. It was the first time we’ve baked together and the first time I’ve made Christmas cookies without my Mom or my Grandma present. In spite of this, our little adventure went surprisingly smooth and the cookies were mmmmmmmmmmmmm good. Here are some fun pics. We even made portrait cookies!!!! Isn’t Christmas wonderful?!?!

Arteest at Work

Kiss the Cook

A glimmer of hope...educationally speaking.

Today I received my acceptance letter to Baylor University!!!! Much is still unresolved as far as what music degree I will major in, or if I’ll even be accepted into the music program, however it’s a big step in the right direction! I don’t know yet what credits will transfer, but after reviewing my Prairie transcripts again, they have decided to accept transferred credits! Yay!

My audition for the music department is set for March. Yikes! This voice of mine is pretty rusty after two years out of the practice room. But I have a couple months to hone my skills. All this to say, nothing is certain at this point, but progress is being made!! Phew!

"Pour out your hearts to Him."

I wrestle with consistency in my walk with the Lord. I have moments when His presence is almost tangible and all I want is more of Him. But more often my quiet time is filled with distractions and mind-wanderings. Then there are the days when I neglect to spend time with Him altogether. My inconsistency brings with it a measure of guilt and I find myself feeling unworthy to spend time with Him at all.

I recall the graceless line of a song written by a passionate, well-meaning Christian. "If you can't come to Me(God) every day, then don't bother coming at all." Once upon a time I thought this sentiment was really how the Lord felt about us...and I guess considering the guilt I feel when I neglect to spend time with Him, I must still think this is how He feels.

Should I be frustrated that I can't seem to get a handle on how I order my time and my priorities, pushing God to the margins and even neglecting Him? Certainly; there's no question about that. However I am questioning how God reacts. (As I write this I find I can't quite put into words all that's swarming around in my head.) I wonder if I recoil from His presence with guilt because I expect Him to respond in the ungracious way I respond? I struggle sometimes to believe that it's not something personal when friends don't have time for me and my knee-jerk reaction is "fine, well I don't need them anyway" and I harden myself toward them and the potential to be hurt by them because they "won't" take time for me.

Perhaps as with most things for me, it's a matter of trust. This morning I read this verse from Psalm 62, "Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge". By no means have I arrived at any conclusion for all of this, but foundationally I need to trust Him and trust that He is open and receptive when I pour out my heart to Him. He is a safe place, a refuge, and because of Jesus the throne we approach is one of grace and so we're told to approach with confidence (Hebrews 4:16). If I carry around this burden of guilt for not coming to Him, it will only hinder me from coming.

Christmas in 18 days!!!

Christmas is my favorite time of year with all the music and the lights and the time with family and friends. Our house is looking all festive, inside and out. Even though we rent, we have such great neighbors that we were able to decorate outside as well. R. and our neighbor-friend took care of the “exterior illumination” as they called it. And thankfully, neither of them fell off the roof…I admit to being a little nervous about that!!!

Though Christmas is exciting, it doesn’t hold the same level of anticipation as it did when I was a child. Perhaps as adults we know too much and expect too little. I don’t know. My Christmas prayer is that we would become that child again and remember the delight of the season, and most importantly that we will keep before us the REASON we celebrate. Jesus became a child and was born into a harsh reality for sooooooo much more than music and lights and festivities and gifts. He came to bring us hope and a future. He came to save us from our sins. Let us hold this truth dear to our hearts and know once again the innocent delight of a child.