Thankful List

After writing my bucket list, it occurred to me that God has tremendously blessed me with many opportunites. Some of the below are very happy moments, others not so much. Regardless, I am thankful!

Here's my thankful list:
Gone to the original House of Blues (in Cambridge – no longer exists)
Rode a horse in Colorado
Been to a rodeo
Been in a rodeo
Drank beer at the Hoffbrau house in Munich
Seen the Aggie bonfire (pre-1999 tragedy)
Sent a message in a bottle (off the coast of Florida)
Been to the top of the Crysler Building and the Empire State Building
Been to the top of the World Trade Center in NYC (no longer exists)
Been interviewed on live TV (on the street) in NYC
Been to the top of the Sears tower in Chicago
Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower (with my cousin and my sister)
Rode a gondola in Venice (with my sister)
Seen the Mona Lisa at the Louvre
Toured the Notre Dame Cathedral
Been to Oxford and Cambridge - the same day
Seen Haley's Comet
Flown an airplane (I took control for about 5 minutes)
Been outdoor rappelling
Been indoor climbing
Successfully completed an outdoor high-ropes course
Jumped off a tower to ride a zipline (twice)
Climbed the Mo Pole at Mo Ranch (and jumped off the tippy top!)
Gone caving (at Enchanted Rock State Park)
Celebrated my 40th birthday with breakfast in Florence, lunch in Pisa, and dinner in Rome... ooh la la!
Driven the Pacific Coast Highway in a convertible
Climbed St. Paul’s Cathedral dome
Climbed St. Peter’s Basilica dome
Gambled in Las Vegas (but not much)
Bet on a horse
Held somebody I loved while they cried
Drank a pint of beer at the Guiness Brewery in Dublin
Stood at the Equator
Stood at the Greenwich Meridian (Greenwich, UK)
Stood on stage at the Grand Ole Opry (when it was at the Ryman) but not during a show ;-)
Visited the Mayan ruins in Mexico
Gotten a thai massage in Bangkok, Thailand
Taken an African safari
Seen a black bear in the wild in Yellowstone National Park (incredible!)
Gone hot-air ballooning (over the Serengti in Kenya, Africa)
Gone sky-diving (just once so far)
Hang-glided (technically, para-glided) in Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Rode in a helicopter (over the jungles of Indonesia)
Para-sailed (in Minnesota)
Completed the MS-150 (4 times so far)
Completed a ½ marathon (twice)
Completed a triathlon (5 times)
Completed an adventure race (just once so far)
Completed a 5k/10k race (more times than I can count)
Learned to roller blade
Graduated with high honors from high school, college, and graduate school
Have been absoluted awed by a sunset - to the point of tears
Gone white-water rafting (3 times)
Gone fishing and ate my own catch
Been to the Austin City Limits Festival (twice)
Been to the New Orleans Jazz Fest (twice)
Been an "extra" at the GMA Dove Awards
Have met CCM artists: Amy Grant, Steven Curtis Chapman, Wes King, Ashley Cleveland, Chris Tomlin, Christy Nockels, Chris Rice, Bebo Norman, and had the chance to meet Rich Mullins but didn't take it (lesson learned there)
Been to an opera
Been to a show on Broadway in NYC
Walked around Times Square at night - alone
Ate a pretzel from a street vendor in NYC
Ice skated at Wolman Rink in Central Park, NYC
Been to a show in London
Failed my first driver's test
Seen a Shakespeare play performed outside (in Ashland, Oregon)
Gone snow skiing (twice so far)
Gone water skiing (twice so far)
Was pulled behind a boat on a big giant innertube, really really fast
Ridden a Hovercraft (airboat) in Bend, Oregon (fast!)
Slept under the stars (near Big Bend)
Wished upon a shooting star
Wrote a song (11 in fact)
Held a sleeping baby until my arms went numb
Held a child until they fell asleep in my lap
Totaled a car (brand new Honda Accord, ouch)
Successfully submitted an art project for a nationally touring art show
Went on international mission trips to Yucatan (Mexico), Ecuador, Guatemala, Cuba, and Kenya
Traveled to 6 of the 7 continents
Traveled to 28+ countries
Traveled to 46 US States
Learned to play the guitar, piano (though not well), and trumpet
Marched in the Rose Bowl Parade (played trumpet in my high school band)
Been to Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium (the old one)
Caught a fly ball in the stands at an Astros game (thanks Lisa Weir)
Rode out a hurricane (4 times - Celia, Alicia, Rita, Ike, as well as Tropical Storm Allison)
Flown first class to Greece
Given blood (multiple times)
Volunteered (multiple times)
Listened to my uncle tell his WW II stories (very moving)
Visited the grave of all 4 of my grandparents
Visited the grave of my only sibling
Spoke at a funeral (my sister's)
Led worship (multiple times)
Taught youth how to lead worship
Was in China for Chinese National Day (and saw fireworks in Victoria Harbor, Hong Kong)
Smoked a cigar on the front porch of an old house - at sunset
Hiked a ‘13er+ in Colorado
Gotten locked out of my house
Gotten locked out of my car
Created a website
Stayed out all night dancing and went to work the next day (I did shower)
Researched my family genealogy (going back to 1621 in the USA – my mom’s side)
Toured the Whitehouse
Visited the US Senate and the House of Representatives
Walked right into the US Secretary of State's offices in the Pentagon (my Aunt worked there)
Visited the Texas State Capitol in Austin (even been on the floor)
Have eaten a vareity of wild meats including: snake, crocodile, frog's legs, kangaroo, ostritch, antelope, deer, rabbit, buffalo, and dove
Wrote a fan letter
Milked a cow (didn't drink it)
Planted a tree
Danced with a stranger
Driven a four-wheeler (fast!)
Played all the instruments in RockBand2
Ridden on a wooden roller coaster
Tickled a child until they couldn’t stop giggling!
Given money anonymously
Bought a house and then made it into exactly what I wanted
Walked through the red-light district in Amsterdam (with my sister)
Stood at center court at Wimbledon (but not during a match!)
Gone to a topless beach in the south of France (with my sister, but when in Rome…)
Gone mountain biking down an abandoned horse trail (DOWN HILL!!)
Salsa danced in Cuba - twice!
Partied with the African Maasai tribe – in Kenya
Snorkeled in the underwater national park in Cozumel
Bought a new car and drove it for over 200,000 miles (and still counting!)
Drove a car on the German Autobahn (not a fast one unfortunately)
Been on a sailing team that was in an actual sailing race (raced J/24's on Lake Travis)
Been to 3 big Old Testament areas (Israel, Greece, Italy)
Visited the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem
Stood in the Jordan River
Floated in the Dead Sea
Taken the subway in Los Angeles, Chicago, NYC, Washington DC, London, Paris, and Rome
Internet dated
Climbed to the top of a Buddhist temple (in Hong Kong)
Built a computer from scratch (in the late 80's)
Most importantly: Led someone to Christ (well, next to receiving Him for myself)

All for now,
Lisa

My Bucket List

Lists seem to be the current craze on Facebook (random facts about yourself). One friend's post inspired me to think about my bucket list. I've compiled a few bucket list items of things still to do. And then thought about a list of things I've done - and has made me very thankful for this life on earth. Oh for the life to come after this... cannot come close to comparison!

Here's my bucket list:
Mountain bike in Arches National Park
Cruise to Antarctica (will be my seventh continent to set foot on!)
Mountain bike in the Ft. Davis Mountains
Hike the Guadelupe Mountains (Guadelupe Peak)
Hike Half Dome in Yosemite
Go deep sea fishing
See the Olympics (preferably summer)
Visit Cadillac ranch (in Texas)
See the Marfa lights (went there, but didn’t see them)
See the lift-off of the space shuttle live
Drive what is left of Route 66 (in my dad’s 1956 Ford Thunderbird convertible)
Hike part of the Appalachian Trail
Ride the Trans-Canadian train
Learn to fly fish
Go to the top of the Statue of Liberty (not sure if this can be done anymore)
Go back to Ireland, and be sure to kiss the Blarney stone this time
Vacation in Costa Rica (and maybe even surf!)
Vacation in Cabo San Lucas
Vacation in the Florida Keys
Visit Japan (and climb Mt. Fuji, and see the sunrise)
Visit Spain
Visit Brazil (maybe even during Carnival)
Visit Peru (and climb Machu Picchu)
Vacation in Phuket
Visit Cambodia
Swim with dolphins/whales/manta rays
Fly in a glider (soaring)
See an American eagle in its natural habitat
See the Pyramids (and climb one for sure!)
Ride a camel
Ride an elephant
Climb an actual ‘14er in Colorado
Be a 46'er (climb all 46 high peaks in the Adirondacks)
Raft in the Grand Canyon
Climb up the Grand Canyon
Fly over the Grand Canyon in a helicopter
Fly over Hoover Dam in a helicopter
SCUBA dive
Become a missionary (as my next career)
Go ice-climbing (climb a glacier)
Go dog-sledding
Go snowmobiling
Own a dog
Learn to sail (by myself)
Learn to start a fire (without matches)
Learn how to tie different knots
Get married
Grow my own vegetables
Fly around the world on one ticket (I had the opportunity to do this right after graduate school and I wish I had taken it)
Go deep sea fishing
Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro
Visit the Great Wall of China
Shoot a machine gun (at a paper target)
Go deer hunting
See Victoria Falls near Zambia
Raft the Zambezi River
See World's Highest Falls - Angel Falls in Venezuela (and hike through the jungle to get to it)
Bike vacation in New England (New Hampshire, Maine, etc)
Catch a firefly and put it in a jar
Go rappelling - Aussie style! (maybe in Zion National Park)
Live outside of Texas (maybe even the USA!)
Learn how to make beer, wine, or even moonshine!
Peg a speedometer of something fast!!
See a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans
Ride on the Ferris Wheel at the Texas State Fair
Play a wii

All for now,
Lisa

It's Beyond Me

I may never get the opportunity to be President of the USA, to dine with Presidents, or to even take another tour of the White House. But I do know this: Whatever I do, it will be beyond me. It will be beyond me because God will do it.

You know, in so many areas of my life, I am no spectator!! I like to get out there and DO! I'm an adventurer who doesn't mind rolling up her shirt sleeves and getting in there and doing it.

However, I've been mindful of this lately: When God calls us, He's really asking us to be a spectator. Really, all He asks of us is to be faithful.

Yes, I suppose you can call this thing called Christianity a spectator sport.

And pride, independence, and self-effort often masquerade themselves in hard work and perceived altruism. I shudder to think the times I've felt God has told me something only to run off, without Him, in hopes of accomplishing it for Him. What am I thinking??

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:20

He's all around us every day doing things that are just way beyond us. Don't take my word for it. Try it for a day. And the end of the day, just take a moment to think about what may have happened that day that was "beyond you". It was beyond you because it was God!

So, I say this publicly:

Lord, I'm Yours. Here's my life, please take it. Make my life your own. I say yes to You. And, with Your help, may I stay obedient to You, and keep my fingers off! I will receive the power of the Holy Spirit. May You receive ALL the glory. Whatever You're doing, it's beyond me. I surrender all.

Whatever He does, and whever He does it, it will be greater than I could have ever imagined.

However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"
1 Corinthians 2:9

All for now,
Lisa

A Heart and a Song

Yesterday's devotional from "Walk with God, The One Year Devotional" keyed in on steadfastness. I smiled because God has been calling me to this for a few weeks now.

It was this past Sunday that the idea of commitment was reinforced in our teaching (we're studying Ruth). I wrote the following on the bottom my handout:

walking through a season of singleness
making a statement of faith to God:
"where you go, I will go
where you stay, I will stay
your people will be my people
as for me, I will serve You"
walking from Moab (idolatry) and leaving it behind
walking to Bethlehem (house of Bread) with determination
with hope of being restored
to gain my inheritance, deliverance, FREEDOM, abundance of life
RESOLVE in my mind today

And all Monday morning I'd been thinking about that commitment. It was then that I went to lunch and got my fortune cookie. smile!!

Yesteday's devotional had some wonderful truths: "No matter what uproar is going on around us, no matter how much pressure is applied, God will wait to answer us until it is clear to Him, to us, and to those who observe us, that our heart is resolutely fixed on Him. And more than just steadfastness of hope is required; it is a steadfastness of worship, too. The heart that learns to make music in its darkest moments is the heart that is delivered." "The wait may be long, but the victory is sure. God does not remain silent in His love when we do not remain silent in our worship."

I think Albert Einstein was quoted as saying, "The Lord God is subtle, but malicious He is not."

One thing though: He demands it all. He is worth it.

All for now,
Lisa

I Don't Believe in Fortune Cookies...

I met a friend for lunch yesterday and we went to a Chinese restaurant. I teared up when I read my fortune cookie:

Alas!
You are the apple of my eye.

WOW! I've never had a fortune cookie quote scripture! It's the song of Moses... and the Word of God!

I don't believe in fortune cookies, but I do believe in God. And believe God. And trust God. He is real. More real than I've ever known. And I just loved my fortune cookie... I can't help thinking it was from God. And I receive it from Him!

All for now,
Lisa

Hope to Carry On

This song gives me hope. Hope it does you also...

There Will Be A Day
by Jeremy Camp

I try to hold on to this world with everything I have
But I feel the weight of what it brings, and the hurt that tries to grab
The many trials that seem to never end, His word declares this truth,
That we will enter in this rest with wonders anew

But I hold on to this hope and the promise that He brings
That there will be a place with no more suffering

There will be a day with no more tears, no more pain, and no more fears
There will be a day when the burdens of this place,
Will be no more, we'll see Jesus face to face
But until that day, we'll hold on to you always

I know the journey seems so long
You feel you're walking on your own
But there has never been a step
Where you've walked out all alone

Troubled soul don't lose your heart
Cause joy and peace he brings
And the beauty that's in store
Outweighs the hurt of life's sting

I can't wait until that day where the very one
I've lived for always will wipe away the sorrow that I've faced
To touch the scars that rescued me from a life of shame
And misery this is why this is why I sing

All for now,
Lisa

feb 15. the tabernacle. 7pm

http://www.passioncitychurch.com/

And here's a little more from Louie about starting the new church.

all for now,
Lisa

What If?

Some friends of mine played that game just a few weeks ago. It really sounds like a fun game ... coming up with an answer to a what if... what if I had never started blogging? Well, I might have more time on my hands, but I would definitely have not been blessed by thinking through kernels of thoughts. ;-)

Well, I began to think in what if terms with yesterday's "Beyond Words" devotional. I didn't expect to at all. The word for day 14 was "Alcoholics Anonymous". It definitely caught my attention... as I wasn't sure what to expect. I will write out the devotional for you because it was just that good.

Alcoholics Anonymous, or AA, is the name of a group of men and women who acknowledge that addiction to alcohol is ruining their lives. Their purpose in coming together is to give it up and help others do the same. They realize they can’t pull this off by themselves. They believe they need each other, and they believe they need God. The ones who aren’t so sure about God speak instead of their Higher Power.

When they first start talking at a meeting, they introduce themselves by saying, “I am John. I am an alcoholic.” “I am Mary. I am an alcoholic,” to which the rest of the group answers each time in unison, “Hi, John”, “Hi, Mary.” They are apt to end with the Lord’s Prayer or the Serenity Prayer. Apart from that they have no ritual. They have no hierarchy. They have no dues or budget. They do not advertise or proselytize. Having no building of their own, they meet wherever they can.

Nobody lectures them, and they do no lecture each other. They simply tell their own stories with the candor that anonymity makes possible. They tell where they went wrong and how day by day they are trying to go right. They tell where they find the strength and understanding and hope to keep trying. Sometimes one of them will take special responsibility for another – to be available at any hour of day or night
if the need arises. There’s not much more to it than that, and it seems to be enough. Healing happens. Miracles are made.

You can’t help thinking that something like this is what the church is meant to be
and maybe once was before it got to be big business. Sinners Anonymous. “I can will what is right but I cannot do it,” is the way Saint Paul put it, speaking for all of us. “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do” (Romans 7:19).

“I am me. I am a sinner.”
“Hi, you.”

Hi, every Sadie and Sal. Hi, every Tom, Dick, and Harry. It is the forgiveness of sins, of course. It is what the church is all about.

No matter what far place alcoholics end up in, either in this country or virtually anywhere else, they know that there will be an AA meeting nearby to go to and that at that meeting they will find strangers who are not strangers to help and to heal,
to listen to the truth and to tell it. That is what the Body of Christ is all about.

Would it ever occur to Christians in a far place to turn to a church nearby in hope of finding the same? Would they find it? If not, you wonder what is so big about the church’s business.

So, what if the church was that way?

What if you were that way?

All for now,
Lisa

Study to Be Quiet

Given that I've had the last 3 weeks off (and didn't travel anywhere), I took the opportunity to clean out closets, sell old books, throw away junk, etc. I came across a book mark a friend gave me over 20 years ago... it simply says, "study to be quiet". I'm not sure where she went (possibly New England), but she gave it to me upon her return.

I never really understood the idea expressed... until lately. God has had me incredible still lately. Those three words ("trust, rest, wait") demand it.

Ungodly things are determined to occupy our minds and mix our perspective to take our focus off the important. Quietness returns our focus to what is right, what is correct.

I think Psalm 46:10 sums it up nicely.

I wrote this quote down years ago and it makes more sense each day:

"We can make our minds so like still water that beings gather about us that they may see, it may be, their own images, and so live for a moment with a clearer, perhaps even with a fiercer life because of our quiet."
William Butler Yeats (love that he was Irish!)

All for now,
Lisa

Revelation

Good song... perhaps you need to hear it today.

Revelation
by Third Day

My life, Has led me down the road that's so uncertain
And now I am left alone and I am broken,
Trying to find my way,
Trying to find the faith that's gone

This time, I know that you are holding all the answers
I'm tired of losing hope and taking chances,
On roads that never seem,
To be the ones that bring me home
Give me a revelation,
Show me what to do
Cause I've been trying to find my way,
I haven't got a clue
Tell me should I stay here,
Or do I need to move
Give me a revelation
I've got nothing without You
I've got nothing without You

My life, Has led me down this path that's ever winding
Through every twist and turn I'm always finding,
That I am lost again (I am lost again)
Tell me when this road will ever end

Give me a revelation,
Show me what to do
Cause I've been trying to find my way,
I haven't got a clue
Tell me should I stay here,
Or do I need to move
Give me a revelation
I've got nothing without You
I've got nothing without...

I don't know where I can turn
Tell me when will I learn
Won't You show me where I need to go
Oh oh
Let me follow Your lead,
I know that it's the only way that I can get back home

Give me a revelation,
Show me what to do
Cause I've been trying to find my way,
I haven't got a clue
Tell me should I stay here,
Or do I need to move

Give me a revelation
I've got nothing without You
I've got nothing without You

Oh, give me a revelation...
I've got nothing without You
I've got nothing without You

All for now,
Lisa

Don't Squander This Leg of the Race

The three main words for me in 2008 were: trust, rest, and wait. I'm sure the both of you who regularly read my blog know this by now. ;-)

I've dug into trust and learned that it's different than belief. You can believe in God, you can believe God, and then you can trust God. It's three different levels requiring three different types of faith. A trust-based faith is one where you know there is a God, you know He is who is says He is, and that He has your best interest at heart. That's why you can trust Him. Even though you may not understand what He is doing.

Then I've dug into rest. I've learned that it is a ceasing of ceasings. That to enter His rest means to stop trying to do it on your own. I've always known that God made the heavens and earth and all that is in it in 6 days. And He rested on the 7th. What has dawned on me is that has He created anything new since then? No. Your children. Your children's children have all been created. They just haven't happened yet. God created time and we live in it. So, to enter His rest means to align yourself to His providential plan.

Then just today it finally dawned on me about waiting. About expectancy. And being different from expectation. I can hope in expectancy of what God will provide. But when I hope in expectation, I've begun to put my own ideas of what God will provide. And that's not resting. And further, I've realized that waiting is active. Not passive. And it's not something I hope to be stubbornly defiant of. Or think that it's a boot camp to suffer through. In reading a weekly devotional this morning, it said it all for me... I don't want to squander this leg as I wait for the next leg to begin. There is a reason for the right now. Be blessed by it.

Happy New Year.

All for now,
Lisa