Rainey Days

Many people enjoy making New Year's resolutions, but I think far fewer actually keep them. Here's some help for those of you who are really determined this year: http://www.wikihow.com/Form-a-Good-Habit This site gives some practical advice on forming good habits. http://www.realsimple.com/realsimple/gallery/0,21863,1541498,00.html This is a great article on breaking bad habits, specifically 11 bad habits like nail-biting, procrastination, whining, gossiping, always running late, disorganization, and more. It's great, and I'm already using the tip for breaking my habit of slouching. http://healthymonday.org/ This site is a national non-profit health organization that offers weekly tips to make yourself more healthy. When the website opens, click on the "thumbs up" image to get into the main site. For some of us, these little tips can really make a difference. I'm thinking of a new project as my New Year's Resolution. It's called Project 365, and...

Today I recieved an email from a contact at one of the churches that hosted me sometime in the last year. I'm using it as a dicussion starter for today's blog post. I realize that some of the people who read this blog are all over the world and in almost 20 States in this country. Although some of you may not have heard my latest news, the word is spreading, as is evidenced by this email: I had heard that you have left the mission field. I am writing to ask if you had returned to Israel and your reason for leaving the mission field? If you do not wish to share this information with me, I understand. Just know that you are still in my prayers. God Bless. It's not the only feedback I've had lately. I've been messaged on facebook, called by friends, and had my immediate family approached by other people who are concerned about me. I resigned from AGWM in November. It was my choice to resign, but it was the Spirit who lead me to make that decision. While people often qu...

I know that this blog hasn't been updated in well over a week, but the holidays are keeping me busy, as I'm sure you understand. Today I'm headed to Upper Marlboro to see extended family up from Down South. The merriment of the holiday season continues . . . . Keep checking in, and I'll have something worth reading tomorrow!

Every year at Christmas, the Toys R Us marketing crew re-releases their iconic "I don't wanna grow up; I'm a Toys R Us kid" commercial, just in time for all the holiday shopping. I can remember when the original commercial came out with its catchy lyrics, and I suppose that's part of the marketing campaign. Most people my age have small children of their own now to shop for. The concept of eternal youth is one that has been around for centuries, probably even longer than that. At some point, even Adam and Eve realized they had wrinkles, gray hair, and age spots. The futile search for youth spurred explorers like Ponce De Leon to the New World, to Florida specifically (where apparently the elderly are still searching). The British author JM Barrie captured the hearts of young and old alike with his classic tale of Peter Pan who gave up the reality of love and family to remain young forever in a fantasy world. I've been thinking about this a little more i...

I'm deep into this Ministry Manual project that I'm working on for my church. I spend hours every day reading and re-reading the current policies of the church, fixing typos and eliminating redundant or poorly written sections. I delete sections that don't apply to our current situation, and I write in new sections that need to be added. After a while, my brain gets sort of fried and my eyes get tired of the computer screen, so I try to give myself breaks to get a drink or chat with Debra in the main office for a minute or two. Today I'm starting to worry about myself. I'm working on a section that I am positive I rewrote two weeks ago. I keep finding more paragraphs that I'm certain I rephrased and retitled, but there is no record in my computer of me having done it. I guess it could be a deja-vu moment, but it's startling clear in my mind--even having used the "find and replace" tool on one section. But today that whole section is the same...

You know where the Christmas season is the most obvious? The post office! In the past few weeks, I've had the occasion to visit three different post offices, in the course of my personal errands, only to find long lines at each one. I've become accustomed to using the automated "self-service" machines for packages and other quick needs. In fact, I'm so used to them that when I walked into a smaller, older post office today and found that they didn't have one, I debated whether I should just walk back out and find a better post office. There were only five people waiting, so I decided to stick it out in line, even though I only wanted holiday stamps. All of the people in front of me bore packages of varying sizes and decor. Some were Christmas wrapped; others were old boxes from amazon.com with marker scribbled over all the old bar codes and shipping labels. One man was with his pre-teen son, who was clearly bored and unable to stand in line for more than a fe...

I love this time of year. One of the best parts is the music. In every store and in many homes, there is Christmas music playing in the background. There are silly songs about getting "Nuttin for Christmas" and grandparents being run over by reindeer; there are songs of breath-taking beauty like "O Holy Night" and "The Carol of the Bells." There are local favorites about eating crabs at Christmas, and there are the classic party favorites like "Jingle Bell Rock." There are pretty religious songs and rowdy secular songs. What's your favorite Christmas song?

In the Bible, people gave praise to the Lord by dancing, clapping, raising their hands, shouting, and making sacrifices. In today's modern, techological era, I'm praising God by blogging and Facebook twitter. I'm thanking God that my father is recovering from his kidney failure. We'll probably get further news tomorrow at the dialysis report, but today my father saw his doctor and found his kidney numbers had decreased drastically! He's been feeling more and more healthy, a sign we felt sure indicated that he was healing. He's had more strength lately and even looks healthy again. I know that God is at work in his body, and I give God the praise now for the final report I believe is coming soon!

December 4 – When I was a child, my mother always bought us advent calendars, which covered the traditional 25 days of “advent.” In most children’s advent calendars, little windows open with cute pictures hidden behind, and something there is a little piece of chocolate or treats of that nature. Obviously, a calendar like that would build any child’s excitement and anticipation of the Christmas season. A friend of mine from France recently sent me an email including a link to an online advent calendar –something that could be bookmarked as “favorite” site. The advent calendar online is not for children; it is based on a theme of ecology and wise stewardship of our earth that God has given us. It is scripture based and extremely practical.I realize that not everyone has jumped on the bandwagon of ecological conscience, but it is growing in popularity in our culture. For those of you who are interested in 25 practical ways to protect our environment, I’m adding the link here.

I'm reading a great book called Anonymous: Jesus' hidden years and yours by Alicia Britt Chole (soon to be reviewed on my book review page), but I'm swept away by her writing. She makes utterly profound statements in a simple way. Today, I contemplating this: "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:17) ". . . the first time Jesus heard these words thundered from the heavens, God spoke them before Jesus had ever done anything for which we call him Savior. God sounded his affirmation from above over Jesus' life before Jesus ever preached one sermon or enlightened one mind, before Jesus ever healed one body or saved one soul. These loving words were spoken over Jesus before the timeless teachings, the dramatic deliverances, and the many miracles. They were spoken over his hidden years. God declared his full acceptance and pride over what Jesus had become through his anonymous season. In unseen places, over underestima...

For the past few days, I've been singing, "All Who Are Thirsty," from my Wow Worship cd. I looked it up online and found it here Now you can have it in your head, too. Great song!

I have oftened marveled at people who do not know or trust Christ. I wonder how they live, how they handle stress and difficulty; mostly I wonder where they place their trust. I made a list the other day of all the possible areas in which someone might stake their confidence: in their job or career in their marriage in their family members in their bank account in their home in their political party It came to me very dramatically that part of the "crisis" that our nation is facing is not just the collapse of the stock market or the downtrend of our economy, but it is the crumbling away of what people thought was rock solid. Part of the misery of people all around us is that they placed their trust in things that failed. Just look at the divorce rates that continue to rise each year; in our society, love is not even trustworthy. We often use the word "lost" to describe those who haven't found the peace of Jesus Christ. and it's true: they are "lost...

My niece Olivia loves to sing "Old McDonald had a Farm" with unending verses of animals and all the energetic sounds they make. Today I was looking at my schedule for the week and it's full of meetings. I've had one already this morning and more to come throughout the week. I like the productive feeling I have at the end of the meetings. I like the progress I see in each step of the project I'm doing for the church, and it seems that the ministries of the church will benefit from the profound analysis we're doing in these meetings.

"The person who has stopped being thankful has fallen asleep in life." Robert Louis Stevenson I'll be away for the next two days celebrating my favorite holiday with some of my favorite people, my extended family in Pennsylvania. Here's a little poem to think about as you dine tomorrow: May your stuffing be tasty May your turkey plump, May your potatoes and gravy Have never a lump. May your yams be delicious And your pies take the prize, And may your Thanksgiving dinner Stay off your thighs! (I found this on another blog site. It is NOT my original work.)

Nowadays there are so many podcasts available, and I've got several subscriptions that update automatically on my Itunes. Techonology is wonderful, and I'm glad that other people make it easy on me to get their podcasts, but I find that I'm always behind on listening to them. As many as 9 or 10 build up on my ipod before I get around to focusing on the message they present. Today in the church office, I had some typing and computer work to do, so I started going through my podcast folder and listening to one after another. One of the main podcasts I like is "Staying in Touch" which is put out for ministers of the Potomac District. I realized today though, that I must be "out of touch" since I hadn't listened to that podcast since April!

Yesterday I turned 35 and was wished "Happy Birthday" from people I haven't heard from in years, from countries all around the world. All of that came about from the phenomenon called Facebook. I joined Facebook about a year ago, and I have been very pleased with the connection I've made with long-lost college friends, former students from Israel, and people I've never met but have something in common with me. It's a great tool for social networking, and I've recommended it repeatedly to people that want to network or connect with other people through the internet. We were discussing it recently at a family gathering. All of us were remarking on what we like best about Facebook (finding old friends), what we don't like (getting notifications about stupid stuff), and why everyone should use it. Some churches are already using their own social networking site for their individual church, a Facebook facsimile for Pasadena Assembly of God, for example. ...

This morning just as I was headed out of the house to take my grandmother to her weekly hair appointment the heavens opened up their storehouses of snow. It was really beautiful to drive down route 100 in all that snow, even though I knew it wouldn't last 15 minutes. It makes me happy to think of the coming winter, however mild it may be. This photograph was taken in 1902, of Vermont snowflakes under a microscope. Amazing.

Yesterday I attended a pastor's meeting, and then drove to Gainesville, VA for a meeting in the District Office. It's been awhile since I've driven the Capitol Beltway to northern Virginia, and I can't say I've missed that drive! Yesterday I was amazed again by the recklessness of the drivers. I consider it a minor miracle to survive the commute to Gainesville and back. I witnessed an accident yesterday that occured right in front of me. Two cars merged simultaneously into one lane--and into each other--at 60 miles per hour. I was sure that I was about to be sandwiched into a ten-car pile-up because of the heavy traffic and high speeds. I braced for impact, but God really protected me and the others near me. The two cars bounced right back into their respective lanes, with the velocity of the impact. The bumper was dragging on one, and the rear was all smashed up on the other, but they managed to get control of their cars. After a minute, they moved off to...

For the next six weeks, I'm acting as a ministry consult to my home church in Pasadena, MD. My pastor needs some help with a few specific projects, and I am hoping to help clear a few things off his to-do list. It's been fun to have "work" hours again, after so many months of working out of my home office, namely my bedroom. I like having an environment that is conducive to work, and I enjoy seeing other people pass by the church office. So far, I'm in up to my elbows in the first project, and it's going well, I think. I'm finding my schedule suddenly filled with appointments, and my week is booked through the weekend. But I like it that way.

It seems like you can't turn on the television or open a newspaper these days without facing dire predictions of the economic collapse of our country. All day long I hear people talking, using expressions like "in this economy" while they discuss their employment or financial situation. Sadly, I don't know that we're going to face any improvement soon. Probably the most natural reaction to this type of recession is to cut spending. I got to thinking the other day about things I could eliminate from my list of bills: cancel magazine subscriptions, change habits of eating out, stop drinking Coke Zero, etc. Its the quickest "fix" to regain control of our finances. But then I thought about "contentment." I think it's easier to cut spending than to learn to be content with what I have. One is an action, and the other is an attitude. Someone can stop getting their Starbucks everyday, because they determine it's necessary. But their a...

Late Thursday night I saw the movie, "The Secret Life of Bees," with my sister's book club who had recently selected the book for their monthly discussion. Without giving away the plot or giving a recommendation, the film tells the story of a 14 year old girl, who grows up feeling that she is unloved, unwanted, and causes tragedy wherever she goes. I was thinking of how much the young girl's pain seemed to resonate with the audience, and I was reminded of a quote that I recently read. "It is easy to think of the poverty far away and forget very quickly. Today a great disease is that feeling of terrible loneliness, the feeling of being unwanted, having forgotten what human joy is, what the human feeling is of being wanted or loved. I think this is found in very well-to-do families also. We may not have people hungry for a plate of rice or for a piece of bread in New York City, but there is a tremendous hunger and a tremendous feeling of unwantedness everywh...

While I was at the conference, one of the seminar presenters mentioned a book that I picked up from an exhibitor's booth on sale. I read it on the plane back to Maryland, and I've added the review here.

I've mentioned my trip to Phoenix, but I'd like to write about some of the seminars that most influenced me while I was there. I'm never able to write this all out when I first come back; I need time to process out what most influenced me and why. I even need time to realize the applications for my own life that I find in someone else's story. The conference was called "Conversations '08" --a title that helped to facilitate the objective of the conference: to network with other people who share your goals for ministry, perhaps your specifc type of ministry, or even your "style" of ministry. Women network best by talking, and the conference allowed for a lot of interaction. We had a couple of interactive sessions each day, in which a speaker would present their experience in ministry focusing on one topic (conflict, disappointment, mistakes, etc) and then we would discuss that topic and our own experiences at our tables. It made for a lot...

Fridays are typically my least productive day. On Fridays, my grandmother, who suffers from dementia, gets her hair set into the classic “football helmet” style favored by octogenarians. I usually take her to the hairdresser’s in the morning, and an hour later, one of women in my family picks her up. Our habit is to take her to lunch afterward; other than church, this is the only social life she has, now that her mind is deteriorating. Every Friday we debate the lunch options. The restaurant has to service my mother, my grandmother, my sister, her two-year old daughter, the 3 month old that my mother babysits, and me if I’m around. It’s challenging to find a kid-friendly, reasonably-priced place with a menu that suits everyone’s palate. After lunch, we run errands—often for groceries my grandmother needs—before we end up back at home in the afternoon. Today was particularly long. Granny had to be at her hairdresser’s an hour and half earlier than usual. She got the “works” t...

Yesterday I received a letter from one of my supporters requesting prayer for this little girl, Marlow Lucht, his great niece. She was born on September 7, 2007 with such hearing loss that she requires a small hearing aid. Just recently, the doctors discovered she is also blind. In doing more tests, they diagnosed her with "Peroxisomal Disorder" in which brain cells do not work with other brain cells. Their prognosis: she will not live to see her second birthday. Stephen wrote to ask me to pray for her, because he is asking for a big miracle. "I want one day for Marlow to stand in a church and say, 'Because of our Lord, I lived to be an adult. I can now hear. I can now see, and I am truly a miracle of the hand of God'." Please add Marlow to your prayer list and storm heaven for this child!

My latest book review (The Gospel According to Starbucks: Living Life with a Grande Passion by Leonard Sweet) is up here .

Last night, by the time I arrived in my room, it was nearly midnight East Coast time. I was tired from the flight and stress of hauling luggage through airports, but there was a long line of women checking in at the hotel front desk. I waited about 20 minutes, and received my room key for a room on the 15th floor. I schlepped my heavy bags through the massive lobby, into the elevators, and down the long hallway to my room, only to discover that there was a mistake: it was a king bed, and I’m supposed to be sharing the room with two other women. I schlepped all the stuff back downstairs to resolve the mix-up. The solution: keep the room for just one night, since my roommates weren’t arriving until the next morning anyway. I was annoyed, but seduced by the “reduced rate” they offered for my inconvenience. So I schlepped by bags back up to the 15th floor. I noticed that I had an “adjoining room” and on the other side of the interior door, I could hear three women laughing and talking as c...

After a 4.5 hour flight, I'm in Phoenix, Arizona. I'm totally excited about the Women in Ministry Conference which starts tomorrow afternoon. I was looking forward to the heat of the southwest after the windy chills in Baltimore, but it was 90 degrees when I landed tonight, and I started sweating right away. How quickly we can forget how "hot" feels. I was also hoping to breathe freely here, having heard for years how arid climates are so much better for asthmatics, but my seatmate on the plane informed me that Phoenix is very polluted and asthma is terrible here. Oh well. At least the hotel is really fancy; there is a Starbucks in the lobby which I plan to visit tomorrow. Did you know that US Airways now charges for your luggage? I learned that today at check-in for my flight. They also charged for food, drink, and headsets. What's next? Charging people to use the plane bathroom? Here's some irony for you: my taxi driver to the hotel was a Palest...

This past weekend, I went back to Valley Forge for Homecoming weekend. I've never been before, so I was really looking forward to it. I thought that I would have the occasion to see old college friends, and in fact, I did run into some buddies. I saw my favorite professor, now retired, who still supports my ministry each year. I talked to my cousins who are sophomores, and teased them about over-cutting chapel. I devoured my turkey grinder (previously mentioned in this blog many times). I heard about some possible missionary support from a few churches in Pennsylvania, and I watched a basketball game in the gym where I used to keep statistics for the Patriots team. All in all, it was a very productive and enjoyable trip. While I was there, I ruminated a bit on the difference between the Valley Forge Christian College that I went to and the college that it has become today. It's not the same school; the campus boasts state-of-the-art buildings and is now beautifully l...

Here in the Philadelphia area, the submarine sandwich is an art form. This is the city known for the Philly Cheeseteak sandwich, after all. All pizza places have just an extensive menu for their "hoagies" and "grinders" as they do for their pizza selections. Today I indulged in one of my all time favorite meals, and I decided if I were to go before a firing squad, and I were given my choice of "last meals," I would choose this: a large turkey "grinder" from Bob's Haven Deli, located conveniently across the street from my alma mater, Valley Forge Christian College. And I would enjoy every last bite and die happy!

Believe it or not, I try to post regularly on this site. Unfortunately, I don't always have the ability to connect to the internet on my travels. I was in West Virginia this past weekend, and I just wasn't able to update the blog. I got back home yesterday, and I'm headed out of town again in a few hours. I got the chance to do a ladies fellowship on Tuesday night, and while I was in the area, I arranged a service on Sunday night at a church where I'd never been. I like to tease my West Viriginia friends about being out in the backwoods, but truly, I love that area. I've found that the people respond very freely to the Lord in those churches. This weekend was just further proof of that. The ladies fellowship had a topic: Being Overwhelmed--something a lot of wives and mothers probably feel at times. When I was preparing for the service, I really felt that God was leading me to share about my depression in France. It's not a subject I enjoy talking about,...

I've been sick with a head cold for days now. Earlier this week, I could barely string thoughts together because I had such a sinus headache. Thankfully, I feel much better now, but I still have a sore throat and some sinus congestion. I've got to preach tomorrow and Tuesday night, so I'm really hoping I'll be back to full-strength by then. In the meantime, I just keep drinking tea and popping vitamin C. Pray for me.

"Women have no earthly business to go out as missionaries into these wild countries!" --President Theodore Roosevelt

Let's use money/possessions as an example to illustrate the difference between the two cultures. In an I-Self culture, the individual makes his decisions alone and carries the weight of those decisions, as well. In early childhood, we start giving kids money (my three year old niece commented on Saturday at her cousin’s birthday party, “I like the presents with dollars in them.”). We tell kids that they can buy what they want with “their” money, giving the decision-making control to the child. As kids age, they branch out with “their” money to get bigger things, perhaps their first car. It is solely theirs, if they paid with “their” money. Neither the child nor the parents sees it as a “family car.” Now, let’s say that the car needs new tires; who is responsible to pay for them? Most parents, when approached, are going to say, “That’s your car.” We expect our children to take the responsibility to work for their needs, not ask for handouts. Our society makes it very difficult to d...

During the minister’s retreat that I attended last week I had the occasion to hear Dr. Beth Grant , who is the chairperson for the Network for Women in Ministry. Her subject matter was “Developing community in an I-self culture.” I-self culture is a somewhat clinical definition for a culture which emphasizes an individual over the group. Scripture clearly indicates in passages such as Ephesians 4: 15 -16, and Hebrews 10:25 that in Christian community, we experience growth and maturity. Yet in our culture, we’re trained from birth for independence, both acting and thinking as individuals. For Americans, healthy development equals autonomy; the classic example of this is a two year old child who can say “I will do this by myself !” We reward this type of behavior, and in school, our education system assumes independence and all the associated competition as a goal. With the possible exception of sports, our education prepares us for solo achievement, however isolated we become as a re...

Today was my middle niece Olivia's birthday party. She and lots of little kids went to the pumpkin patch to pet farm animals, pick their own pumpkin, and ride a haywagon. We got to eat lunch and open gifts afterward. I got GREAT pictures, because it was such a lovely day and the kids were so into the farm. I enjoyed spending my Saturday with the kids.

I don't know who all reads this blog, but I'm going to the Women in Ministry Conference in Phoenix, AZ in a few weeks. I've already reserved a hotel room, but it's $150 a night, so I'm interested in sharing the room (and the expense) with another woman. If anyone is interested, or knows someone who would be interested, please contact me at 410-608-7246.

Williamsburg, VA -- Last night was the first session of Minister's Retreat here in our district. This year's theme is "Together;" to reinforce the idea that no man is an island, we had a luau as the kickoff event. The Crosswalk Community Church pastored by Mark Morrow hosted the event in a large tent on their lawn. With fresh fruit, shrimp cocktail, chicken kabobs, and sliced pork and roast beef, it was a feast! Everyone enjoyed the festive spirit, enhanced by the live goldfish in the centerpiece vases, the complimentary leis we received, and the calypso music broadcast from the speakers. Our speaker for the evening was Dr. Bob Rhoden, our forme district superintendent, and as always, he was excellent! As one woman said this morning, "That man can say more in 20 minutes than most preachers can say in two hours." He preached from I Cor. 3:5-15, "The Test of Fire." He asked three powerful questions about the ministry we will eventually present...

This was such a beautiful weekend, made even better by the camping trip I had with the Girls Clubs of the Eastern Section. I was the speaker for the campfire devotional time on Friday night and two Saturday sessions; the theme was "Race for a Lifetime" so I created a rather ditzy "jogger" character to get the girls attention and started each session with a little dramatic performance. With girls there as young at seven years old, I had to keep their attention! I really enjoyed the girls; they were so sweet when I talked to them during the free time. In spite of the girls being their awkward ages--missing teeth and stringy hair--I saw so much that was truly beautiful in them. I stayed in a cabin at Elk Neck State Park, while the girls were in the youth group camping section. Nancy Rabbitt, the genius behind the weekend, arranged the cabin for me, and I was glad not to have to pitch my own tent. I didn't sleep so well, in the cabin, however; my close friends a...

For 25 years now, the Rainey family has been coming to Ocean City for the last weekend of September. Over the years the family has grown and gone through seasons of life that change our vacation dynamic. There have been years where everyone was in college, overseas, or working. There have been years where there were more invited friends than family members, but the tradition has lasted through all the many changes. Now, the family is too many people to fit in this 2 bedroom condo. Good thing we can all escape the crowded conditions by going to the beach!

Fall is my favorite season. What's not to love? The best parts are: sleeping with windows open and burrowing into the blankets on chilly nights. picking out the perfect pumpkin in a field full of orange the changing leaves, especially the beautiful maple tree in my front yard. the brilliant blue skies that only come with low humidity--we never get them in summer the kids shouting and laughing at recess at the school next door to my house burning scented candles eating soup on a chilly day How about you? Any favorite things about fall?

Okay, you wanted to know. . . well, my friend Jenn wanted to know, anyway. My thoughts on The Shack are found here.

Since I've mentioned lately that I'm reading certain books, based on other people's questions or comments, I figured this would be a good time to launch a book review wing of this blog. If you are interested in my opinions, you can click on the link "Black and White and Read All Over" under the link for my brother Ben's blog. I'm not such a narcissist to believe that everyone wants my opinions on books, so when I do a review, I'll mention it here, and leave it up to you to follow the links. I've already reviewed a book, Strengthsfinder 2.0, and you can find my thoughts here .

When I was in Senegal four years ago, I bought these little dolls as a souvenir of my time in Africa. These figures represent the villagers deep "in-country" that I met as I traveled: women carrying their babies on their backs, grinding millet into meal, carrying their burdens perfectly balanced on their heads; and men who buy and sell in markets, traveling distances with their bags slung across their torsos. These little figures are about four inches high and were only a few dollars. I display them in my room on my dresser. My nieces Sydney and Olivia are old enough to come upstairs to the attic where my room is, and they love to explore the place they regard as so mysterious, so fascinating. They are always drawn to these little dolls, and they play with them and chatter about them. When I was a child, my pastor's home was filled with objects from other countries. Many were gifts from missionaries, who knew that my pastor loved missions. I used to spend a lot ...

Yesterday evening, I got the chance to go to my niece's soccer game. I hadn't been yet, but seeing her face light up when she saw me on the sidelines will definitely keep me coming back. She scored five goals (by her reckoning). The kids are all 3 or 4 years old, so the rules are pretty lax, but they did a pretty good job for their petite sizes. Sydney loves her soccer team; her purple soccer shirt (#3) is her favorite thing to wear, and we've heard all about her soccer shoes and the other kids on her team. It's fun to see her enthusiasm!

Thanks to Lois Henning, I've just gotten a copy of The Shack (which I mentioned last week). I'll be reading it shortly, and I'll be sure to add my thoughts to this blog. I really appreciate those of you who read the blog, whether you comment or not. It's a real encouragement to me!

Recently I bought a new laptop from Dell. It is normal procedure for Dell to call its customers a few weeks after a purchase to do a follow-up: is it working normally? Are you satisfied? At that point, they make a pitch to upgrade your warranty package, to cover more accidental damage or perhaps to cover you an extra year. I'm used to their sales program, since this was my third Dell computer. Honestly, I've never had one problem with my Dell machines; I've been happy. On Saturday morning, when the guy called from Dell, I was actually suckered in to upgrading my coverage warranty to include accidental damage. The man quoted a price to me, and then asked me confirm my personal information, including my mother's maiden name and my SSN. He gave me an order number and assured me I would receive an email confirmation. However, I never received the email. As time passed, I started to worry that it could have been some sort of phishing scam. One the one hand, he knew...

I love to read. In a different life scenario, I could have been a proofreader or an editor for some book company, because that would be the perfect job for me: reading all day, every day. I always take advantage of the excellent library system in my county when I'm at home. Several people at churches had remarked how much they enjoyed the Middle East-based novels of Joel Rosenberg, so I did some research and got a few from the library this week. I've also added my name to the lengthy list for The Shack , by William P. Young, since I keep hearing buzz about that one, too. Anybody out there read these authors? What did you think about these books?

John Bueno, the executive director of the Assemblies of God World Missions organization, sent out this newsletter today: During an open forum session at this year's Missionary Renewal week, questions arose about why growth of the U.S. church has flat-lined while the overseas church is growing phenomenally. Four months ago, the Executive Presbytery asked me the same question and requested that I write a paper on the reasons for this difference. Below you will see five factors I brought to their attention. I've included them in this month's Missive because we need to be careful not to miss these salient issues as overseas churches grow and require larger, more complicated projects that occupy our time and energies. I'm sure this is not an exhaustive list and that many other reasons could be presented. I pray sincerely that God will keep us true to the great principles of New Testament growth in these challenging days in which we live. Churches are growing overseas at an u...

You know those Mac - PC commercials with the two guys just standing there comparing their operating systems. I've been thinking a lot about those lately, particularly the one where the Mac offers a "genius" to transfer all of your files for you. I'm still transferring files from my old computer to my new one. Yesterday's project was transferring my old Outlook files (all my archived emails and calendar and my address book entries) into the "new and improved" Outlook. It wasn't that hard actually, but whoever wrote the "guide" on the Windows Vista help site didn't do a very good job. The steps were often ambiguous; with several windows open, the step would tell me, "Click on File," without indicating which program it was talking about. I'd have to click "File" on all of them until I found what I was looking for. Annoying, but it worked. I got it all done, and I can cross one more major line off the to-do ...

The vacation was lovely last week, and I thoroughly enjoyed the break. However, now that Labor Day is over, I must get back to laboring. I generally use September as a time to get everything back on track after the laziness of summer; I spent so many years teaching that September seems like the beginning of a "new year" for me each fall.

I have been to Grandfather Mountain many times in my life, but I have never seen as beautiful a day as this one. After days of rain, this morning's skies were a perfect blue. We decided to skip our plans to go to a children's theme park in favor of going to nature. We simply had to be outside in the gorgeous weather. Up on Grandfather's rocky crags, we enjoyed 70 degree sunshine, taking pictures of each other on the mile high bridge and the massive rock formations. Then we went a little further down the mountain to the game preserve. We knew that Olivia would find the animals in their habitats the best part of this vacation, and we were not disappointed. In the bear enclosure, we caught all four bears out by the fake pond, clowning around for the visitors. Livvy loved all the bears instantly and chattered the whole time. She wanted them to get into the pond; once the tourists started throwing peanuts into the pond, they did "take a bath" as Livvy kept saying. We ...

I wasn't born in the mountains . . . but I got here as soon as I could. If you're lucky enough to live in the mountains, then you're lucky enough. You never know how many friends you have, until you have a mountain house. These are just some of the slogans you can find here on tee-shirts, afghans, and tote bags. I thought you would appreciate the humor of this area, full of smug pride that they live in a location as beautiful as this. I wanted to buy one of these tees, but I couldn't get my size, so I was left with a plain "Boone, NC" tee shirt instead. Wednesday we visited the Mast General Store in Boone, full of candy in old-fashioned barrels and stuffed animals that Livvy loved. I'm posting a picture of her on life-sized dog (I think she misses her half-sisters, Taffy and Khaki).

Yesterday I felt like Noah in the ark with all the rain and gusting winds. We stayed in the house once we got our supplies in Boone. Today it is raining again, but it's a more manageable, normal rain. We came to Boone to do the Mast General Store, with its candy barrels to amuse Olivia, but she had eyes only for the stuffed bears and life-size stuffed dogs for her to "ride" on. She sang Happy Birthday to Sydney, Eric, Grammy, and even the dogs back home while we drove around town. The plan was to let her play at the Chick-fil-a, like yesterday, but due to the rain, they shut down their playarea. So, I guess its back to the house for us again. Fortunately, for Livvy, the mountain house where we're staying is so new to her, she has fun playing there. It's the adults that are stir-crazy! The house has a giant bowl of fake fruit, that is truly the most realistic fake fruit you will evr see. Livvy loves it! The rain is supposed to start moving out of the area tomorrow,...

If Carl Sandberg’s fog came into San Francisco on little cat’s feet, here in the mountains of North Carolina, it lumbers in a like a bear, slowly but powerfully filling every small cove and valley. With the same color and thickness as the local grits, the fog obscures the magnificent vistas of the Blue Ridge mountains. As I write, the mists have turned suddenly into a drenching downpour. Tropical Storm Fay has reached the high country. The forecast is rain and more rain over the next several days, and the locals couldn’t be happier. They’re five inches below normal rainfall this year, so the hurricane season is welcomed with typcial Southern hospitality. For the vacationers, however, the rain is not so pleasant. Most of the activities here are outdoors, showcasing the unique attributes of the mountains: white-water rafting, ziplines, and mile-high scenic overlooks. I can’t see past the driveway of our vacation house, and the two-year old I’m vacationing with is whipping into a tiny hur...

For the next week, I'll be in North Carolina, vacationing with my sister and her family. I'll try to post, but at this point, I'm expecting to have dial-up access to the internet, so my time may be limited. I hope that everyone enjoys their last week of summer before school starts and life changes into a more rigid schedule for many of you.

Watching the Olympics has been both exciting and informative. I watched just about all of the American swimming events in primetime. Obviously, Michael Phelps being my hometown hero had something to do with that! I enjoy all the background information almost as much as the actual events. It helps explain the details of the sport, while also giving some perspective about the athletes. I heard several times that some of the swimmers have an entire team of support staff that perform various tasks, like massages and cool down training, for the athletes. As many as ten people helped prepare (and even repair) Dara Torres for her events. It got me to thinking recently . . . if I could travel around with a support staff of people, who would I pick to be my "team?" In truth, there are many people who do help support me in ways little and large but they just don't follow me around. But, in a literal sense, what kind of people would make a good support staff? I would want so...

Two days ago, I received my new Dell laptop in the mail. After much research and weighing pros and cons, I finally decided to continue in the world of PC's, rather than get a Mac. Once I made that decision, I just needed to find my perfect laptop, and Dell has served me well for about 8 years now. My new laptop has Windows Vista on it, and I am going through a bit of a learning curve to make the small adjustments to a new operating system. I'm happy with my new computer so far, in spite of confusion at times. I've been spending hours every day loading all my favorite applications on the new one, transferring all my data from the old one--all that fun stuff. I don't consider myself a computer nerd. I know how to fix/adjust some stuff, maybe more than some of you, maybe less than others. I try to find the information I need on the 'net so that I can keep everything running smoothly on my computer. With Windows Vista, I've found over the last few days, that ...

Today I opened some mail that had been piled up for a few days and found a newsletter from the Assemblies of God national office. In briefly glancing through it, I found an interesting article by Dary Northrop, pastor of Timberline Church. Churches that welcome prodigals was his subject, and he made the introductory point that if the elder brother in the "Prodigal Son" parable had been the one to answer the door on the day that the prodigal came home, the entire story would be different. No doubt the older brother would have rejected his younger brother, even remarking how much he stank of pigs. He would have been annoyed at the unkempt appearance, the worldly influence still evident in his habits; there is no way he would have killed a fatted calf and ran weeping to embrace him the way the Father did! Too often, the church finds itself in the place of the older brother (the more "religious") who expect people to be cleaned up before the enter church doors. D...