I inherited a kickin’ scanner from my parents, (thanks, parents) so I thought I’d share two little comparison pics. Do you remember way back to 2001? Here’s Katelynn in 2001, and Tanner in 2007.
Papa loves to teach the girls how to worship. 
And now, for a trip down memory lane, compare these two groups of lovely ladies…2001 and 2007.
Do we still look the same?
Do you ever have that feeling that something BIG is about to happen? I often feel that way about things going on at The Vine. There’s a constant twinge of excitement that makes my heart skip a beat, and I have no reason to believe it’s anything else than the Lord. I love how he takes people who have chosen Him and changes the desires of their hearts to align with His plans. I can tell He’s changing me right now; pulling on my heart strings, repeatedly bringing the same possibilities to the forefront, and challenging my thoughts. I pray I have the courage, energy, and passion to do what He tells me to do. Soon.
Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4
It’s EXCITING to be a part of something BIGGER than yourself.
I think her expressions tell this story more effectively than words.
Oh, the excitement!
Here she is, on the phone, telling my mom about the surprise
The outfit cracks me up…Debbie Gibson, anyone?
I hope you all had a relaxing and joy-filled Thanksgiving. We enjoyed consuming moderate quantities of high-quality food, as well as serving the less fortunate at a Thanksgiving Dinner at GACS in Norcross. Katelynn got to dish out dressing and pour glasses of sweet tea “all by herself,” and she was so excited! She also made some pretty pictures and gave them to little old ladies (from a retirement home) who didn’t have families to eat with. We are so very thankful for our family and friends, for the Lord’s provision, and for the opportunity to serve Him at The Vine. We’re also thankful for our little Turkey, who is, apparently, thankful for Mommy and Daddy! (The tall guy is my baby brother. He’s not so much a baby any more, I guess.)
2 Chronicles 5:12-14
All the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives—stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets. The trumpeters and singers joined in unison, as with one voice, to give praise and thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang: “He is good; his love endures forever.” Then the temple of the LORD was filled with a cloud, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the temple of God.
I can’t know something this entertaining exists and not share.
Prepare to laugh…
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9570294588
Remember when I mentioned the famous No Name Pie? Well, this is my first Thanksgiving minus my Gran, and I really wanted to just order pizza rather than eat Thanksgiving food without her, but guess what showed up?
It was quite the nice surprise.
Mmmm it’s amazing. Totally worth the calories.
Colds and Creativity, with Carbohydrates
And alliteration, apparently. Have you ever noticed that carbohydrates are cheap? You get what you pay for, I suppose. Empty calories don’t cost that much. Regardless, whole-wheat noodles with parmesan cheese are an excellent Monday lunch.
Tanner has a little cold right now, and it makes me quite distraught. I’ve noticed I’m much more attentive to her needs (if you can believe that!) because I feel bad for her…her little tiny nose is running and she’s congested and she snores…I’ve been chasing her with that blue suction thing, which I thought she’d loathe, but she actually laughs when it makes the (disgusting) sucky noise. I hold her more. I allow her to eat more leisurely. I jump up at night if she makes even the tiniest sound…and then I started to wonder: What if God is this anguished over us being sick with sin? The doctor metaphor for sin and righteousness was accounted three times in the gospels, so it must have been important. Seriously, if I could get a cold so that Tanner wouldn’t have one, I would. On an infinitely grander scale, that’s what Jesus did…died so that we could be healed! The prospect of watching people experience spiritual healing is great motivation for sharing Jesus!
Speaking of sharing Jesus, this week we’re trying to solidify plans for our Christmas series, ADVENTure, and we covet your prayers for Creativity. I’ve been thinking about creativity a lot lately because Katelynn, my almost 8-year-old, is on the Odyssey of the Mind team at her school this year. These kids are crazy-creative, and what amazes me is their child-like confidence in their ideas and their willingness to take risks. For example, their task this year is to develop a story where a character wakes up in an unknown place and meets a friend. (Or something like that.) One idea they had was to make their character a hamburger who wakes up under a piece of cheese, and develops a friendship with a pickle. Um…what the heck? But they were so excited about it! I’m not suggesting we should be that crazy, but what I am hoping is that we don’t limit the Lord. Clearly his creativity is boundless and continual, as evidenced by every baby that is born and the ever-changing artwork in the gorgeous fall leaves. It’s hard not to notice the glory of the Lord in nature…especially when seasons are changing. (I mean honestly, how creative was He to think of seasons?)
In conclusion, I hope we’re courageous enough to take calculated creative risks. I found this “poem” Katelynn wrote on the back of one of her spelling tests…she’s a risk taker.
(and, sometimes, it’s humorous.)
K – Kind
A – Adorable
T – Talkful
E – Entelagence
L – Laughful
Y – Yellful
N – Nomadic
N – Nerdy
That’s my girl! Embracing “nerdy” at almost 8. That’s awesome.
I don’t know if she knows what “nomadic” means, but I do feel rather nomadic on Sundays when trekking to and from The Vine…
How can you offer life to someone today?
If you had told me 2 years ago that I’d end up 26 with 2 girls and a family sedan with a cheerleader magnet on the back, I would have probably laughed in your face. These days, instead of going to concerts and eating at cool places downtown, I take Katelynn to Girl Scouts and get stoked when my parents bring Chick-Fil-A over before our Cluster Group on Wednesday nights. But you know what? I love it. Last night I had dinner with a friend, and we talked about how awesome it is to watch the Lord change us during different seasons of life. I’m not the same as I was 2 years ago, or 5 years ago, or 10 years ago (thank goodness,) and the Lord has taught me different things during each of those seasons. I love how I’m cognizant of those changes taking place right now. It’s so exciting to be refreshed by the Word and continue on my lifetime journey towards restoration. Restoration = freedom!
One time my friend was lamenting about how her life is “vanilla.” I told her I didn’t think “vanilla” equaled boring; in fact, there are many things I prefer in vanilla. Vanilla Iced Coffee. Vanilla Tootsie Rolls. Vanilla Wafers. And Vanilla Bean Noel is my all-time favorite scent from Bath and Body Works. I encouraged her to embrace Vanilla. Well, one of my other friends jokes about me hanging out with too many people who are “granola.” He says that before you know it (gasp!) we’ll be eating organic. (Which isn’t true; we can’t afford it.) But that being said, I think I’m embracing granola. Perhaps this is the granola phase of life. In fact, I made homemade granola yesterday. And, in case you were wondering, it’s way better than anything I’ve ever bought in a store.
The LORD Appears to Elijah [1 Kings 19:9-13]
There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the LORD came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
