Farewell 2010

Leaving Kansas once again...

Ludwig

G-time with Sam

San Diego Zoo Trip

April Sip and See

Playtime with Uncle Bobby

Alex and Stephanie's Peru Mission Trip

One word to capture the direction of a new year...

My heart leads me on many journeys, but launching requires abandon.

The putting off of old things: stale, deadly thought patterns.

Paul urged the church to put to death the decay so they could fully be alive in Christ.

Lust, evil, greed may not be my present enemies, but defeat seems to reign all too frequently.

"Not good enough...can't possibly do that...

Dear Santa,
All I want for Christmas this year is my family!
I want to cradle my granddaughter, read to her from my holiday stack, look into the eyes of my adult children and see Christmases past.
Distance is my enemy. Miles empty my soul.

Christmas is around the corner. Are you making a Christmas list? Before you finish, please watch this power testimony of a young woman, Maureen, who was rescued from a Kenyan slum by Compassion International, my favorite charity. Perhaps you will be moved to ask Santa to

deliver one of your gifts to someone who needs the Hope of Christ. Maureen, an amazing Christ follower, is now leading an effort with an American family to build a maternity home to rescue pregnant teens from the streets in Kenya. I hope you will take the time to listen to how she was rescued with a simple gift from someone who cared. Maybe God has led you to deeply care about another part of the world or a different cause. Could you be someone's Christmas gift this year?

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17
It's that time of year for Mom's turkey and trimmings, and going home to Grandma's. One of my fondest memories is the table filled with pie and cake; not knowing which one to pick!
As I grew older the day turned toward the true meaning of thanksgiving and counting my many blessings. This year I find myself smiling when I think how thankful I am to have such a precious granddaughter. What are you thankful for? Is it a long list? Do you record your blessings so you will remember God's goodness? When we meet this weekend, I hope you will share some of them with the group. Don't you think it's time for a happier subject than all the injustice in the world?
As you take time to thank God for His gifts, I hope you will thank the Giver himself. Sometimes we get caught up in what He gives us, but forget to get "caught up" in Him.
He alone is our perfect gift from above!
Happy Thanksgiving!

Sometimes we just groan. Sometimes words cannot be found. The heaviness of this broken world renders us speechless. Is evil, illness, injustice swallowing us?
Sometimes we just groan.
Our Advocate groans as well. He divinely sighs, rescuing the broken one who has no hope of escaping his condition.
He yearns for our likeness to the Son. He intercedes for our eternal security.
He groans on our behalf, offering our silent weight to the Heavens.
Sometimes we just groan.

The probate petition arrives in the mail. It might as well be stamped: Final.
God, I don't think I have the energy to travel this road of rememberance again.
Grief sucks the life out of me. Yet, You remind me that You go before me and that You hold all things together. So the journey begins with one trusting step after another while You lead.
Each painful memory of being a second thought will be soothed with a sweet reminder that You loved me first!

Pray for Rebecca

I love our Rebecca! As you know she is having serious surgery Friday to remove blood clots from her lungs. Let's devote ourselves to praying for her throughout the next few weeks.

Think of something creative to put on your mirror and computer to remind you to pray.

I'm placing a rose on each as I know she loves roses.

Here is her CaringBridge site so you can check on her. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/isaiah268
She loves each one of you more than you will ever know so lets show her the love by asking God to heal her. Have a wonderful week!

Samantha's One!

Happy Birthday Samantha!!!

You are the love of our life... xoxo Granddaddy and Gigi xoxo

Katie Roberson, a former student from Tallowood, shared with me one her essays for a recent Christian college application. I asked her if I could share a portion that really touched my heart.

There are those who thirst, those who are consumed by hunger, those who are imprisoned with eyes without sight and ears that cannot find sound. Every last soul crafted by the hands of God shall hear of His name. It is our mission as a family and foundation of Christ to prove to this dying world that kindness continues to dwell among the thresholds of those who have been rescued by love.

Love is not only ours to keep but to give away. It is a well submerged in a sea of compassion, grace and sacrifice that society today seems to sail by without recognition. Human nature so often forgets that love is not infatuation with lust, love is no amount of money, love has no relationship to judgement nor a companion to selfishness. Love is no amount of time nor an item which can be bought. Love is sacrifice. Love is now. When pieces break, when hearts are shredded, when all that is seen is a veil of black, what is better than that of God to unmask the translucent culprit of darkness? Love will defeat the absence of light. Behind such walls of temptation do we hide. Come and listen, unlock the heart, and let the light of God illuminate every fiber of your being. Through obedience will those walls submit to the hand of God.

Thanks, Katie, for a profound guest post!

God's Love Letter to You

My Child,

I know everything about you, I know when you sit down and when you rise up. I am familiar with all of your ways, even the very hairs on your head are numbered. For you were made in my image, in me you live and move and have your being. For you are my offspring, I knew you even before you were conceived. I chose you when I planned creation. You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book. I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live. You are fearfully and wonderfully made, I knit you together in your mother’s womb And brought you forth on the day you were born. I have been misrepresented by those who don’t know me. I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love And it is my desire to lavish my love on you simply because you are my child and I am your father. For I am the perfect father, every good gift that you receive comes from my hand. For I am your provider and I meet all your needs. My plan for your future has always been filled with hope because I love you with an everlasting love. My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore and I rejoice over you with singing. I will never stop doing good to you for you are my treasured possession. I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul and I want to show you great and marvelous things. If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me. Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart for it is I who gave you those desires. I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine, for I am your greatest encourager. I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles. When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you. As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart. One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes and I’ll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth. I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus, for in Jesus, my love for you is revealed. He is the exact representation of my being. He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you and to tell you that I am not counting your sins. Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled. His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you. I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love. If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me and nothing will ever separate you from my love again. I have always been Father, and will always be Father. Come home and I’ll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen.

Love, Your Abba, Almighty God

Barry Adams


My Child, I know everything about you…Psalm 139:1
I know when you sit down and when you rise up…Psalm 139:2
I am familiar with all of your ways…Psalm 139:3
Even the very hairs on your head are numbered…Matthew 10:29-31
For you were made in my image…Genesis 1:27
In me you live and move and have your being…Acts 17:28
For you are my offspring…Acts 17:28
I knew you even before you were conceived…Jeremiah 1:4-5
I chose you when I planned creation…Ephesians 1:11-12

Stressed?

Projects piling...homework mounting...college decisions multiplying?
Not enough hours in the day?
STRESS, STRESS and more STRESS!
Did you know that deep breathing will help you cope with all that stress? Next time you feel it mounting, notice your shallow breathing or that you actually hold your breath!
Deep, even breathing relaxes you and is a great stress-buster, but I've found an even better way to reduce all that tension. Have you thought of inhaling
scripture? CPR for the soul!
I'm not suggesting squeezing in a verse or two, but turning off your cell phone (no fair using a Bible App!), your TV and reading God's life-giving Word.
Start with a psalm and slowly read it several times. That's your part! Now close your eyes and let God speak over you.
Scripture reading is a two-way activity!
I know, I know, you're thinking, "I just don't have time for this." God is always a better manager of your time than you are and He makes your "To Do" list a lot easier to handle when you commit time to visit with Him.
God's word is alive and active. Inhale!

Launch the dvd and I melt.
The heart, so guarded, yields to memories.
I struggle to seize the sweet ones, but I know they simmer deep in my being.
Little girl hugging daddy's neck...once upon a time, there must have been affection.
Lasting images collapse the reserve and the dam breaks.
I gasp and choke with pain and regret for recent photos scream his numbered days.
Did this weathered man's heart yearn for the sweet ones as well?

"I still love you."
Words on a birthday card; words that sear my soul.
A phone call, girded with prayer and hope for reconciliation, fails to connect.
Again, disappointment bruises my heart.
Dial once again? Or simply let hope find its way on parchment wings?
Time runs out...wavering misses the deadline.
Guilt punches me again and again. Did his heart cry regret and yearn for one last conversation?
Betrayal fades slowly...forgiveness often comes too late.
Can affection reach the heavens?

Words refuse to flow tonight; only toss and tumble from my pain.
I stand before my God small and fragile. My friend says it's the little girl in me; Joyce Landorf describes it as the little bird who has lost her song.
Broken, hurt, empty is all I can muster.
A frail charge who desperately yearns to be loved, but finds the prize beyond her reach.
Love can't even slip through outstretched fingers when love has never cradled them.
Stark reality leaves me orphaned and lost.
Fatherly love should swallow us, but sometimes the fathers can't find such gifting within them.
My hope crushed now that the flame no longer flickers.
Tonight I struggle to feel Heaven's parental embrace.
I know it abounds, but grief blurs the senses.

Our eyes told it all...cancer was mounting its final assault.

Hours spent storming the gates of Heaven...His plan was Heaven bound.

I knew you, Tina, because you knew the Holy One.

I heard your stories until my sides ached from laughter.

I suspect you laughed with joy right into His arms.

No more prayers for you...only your own.

Til we meet again, may Hope resound.

The anger swells again...surprise attack shatters the peace... forgive again, Lord?
The heart wrestles with obedience. Forgiveness is too hard, Lord, too exhausting.
But your Word pierces. You must forgive! Jesus' very words...no other options.
The heart cries for help once more. Increase my faith!

Flying Solo

Flying solo these days?

Think twice about going it alone. We were meant to do life in groups.

Do you know why birds often fly in a "V" pattern? To save energy! One of the stronger birds takes the lead, performing most of the hard wing work, while the others glide on the air draft he creates. But if you watch long enough, you'll see the leader drop back, allowing another in the flock to assume the lead. The birds form a community, providing support for the journey.
The author of the Book of Hebrews instructed Christ followers to "fly" in groups.

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:24-25.

Life was hard for these persecuted believers and this wise author knew they needed each other to make the difficult journey. Perhaps you are finding life really hard today. Are you trying to do it alone? I've found that leaning on a stronger believer energizes me until I can take my place as the encourager. Just as I noticed that birds know their exact position; we, too, need to be sensitive to how long we depend on others as well as when we need to take the lead.
So are you flying solo? Is it leaving you spiritually exhausted?

Maybe it's time to "get your group on."

Woman at the Well

I am the woman at the well and I've seen Jesus! Day after day I come to this ancient well to draw water, but today was different. He sat there, a Jew, tired and thirsty, and asked me for a drink. Me? An unclean Samaritan woman? Unheard of! I tried to argue, but He offered me everything.    Who am I to question this prophet who knows every detail of my life, even my current shame?   This Jew, he offers me permanent, living water,  not the temporary kind that flows from our father Jacob's well. But eternal, cleansing, saving drink that could only come from Him. I no longer need my dusty jug and the others? I must rush and tell them. Will they come and see for themselves the Savior who satisfies my soul?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Monologue written for Camp Tallowood 2010

She left behind her water jug that day. What must I leave behind to truly follow Jesus?

...but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. John 4:14                                      

Only you, Oh LORD, deserve to be exalted!

Perversion...for me to sit in the high place that is reserved for You.

We worm our way to the top, sometimes oblivious of the climb. Self-centered, unaffected by the path of destruction, we simply cannot live out our appointed position. Discontent with humility...unwilling to accept servanthood...exchanging Your plan for a season of glory. Father, guard me from such malady for I fear the long and crippling fall! Quickly open my eyes to the aftermath of elevating myself before You and others.

You, alone, be exalted!

He's always watching you!

Invisible, yep, that's right...invisible!  That's how I've felt most of my life. Maybe you're like me and feel like nobody really knows the person inside. And even if they did, would they even care? Maybe if I had a great voice or I was cute and petite...then might they notice? Or is it just luck that drops us into the right crowd? Well, today I feel untalented, ugly and unlucky!
Elijah, the mighty prophet felt discouraged and depressed, even after a great mountain showdown. Why? He temporarily took his eyes off God and  then, he dove into fear, pity, and depression. But the amazing news is God never took His eyes off of Elijah. He offered him protection, rest, nourishment and a new purpose.
Sweet thing, you are not invisible to your God. He watches over you every moment of your life. He delights in you, sings over you and gives you worth. We don't earn His attention because of our success or looks. God sees only the heart.
It's not luck, sweet thing; it's love!

Mother's Day 2010

We will not hide these truths from our children;

we will tell the next generation

about the glorious deeds of the LORD,

about His power and his mighty wonders.

Psalm 78:4 NLT

Less of me, more of You...I've been watching life through new lenses. Sadly, I observe a malignancy attacking Kingdom life. The life-sucking "M" word...Me! I asked for fresh perspective; not to be disappointed. New cases of selfishness crop up daily, growing in epidemic proportion, but the ugliness is overshadowed by promising cure. One wise woman calls from the wilderness, challenging the sin-sick to shed their self-medicating approach to scripture study, replacing it with intentional search for the One who gives life to the Holy pages. I take the bait and plunge. Genesis: chapter one...His rich character calls from each life altering verse . Exodus: chapter three and four...an evolving list shatters my complacent spirit.
May births healing from my chronic condition.

                          LORD, eradicate my Me disease!
              Infuse me with growing knowledge of only You.

Physician of my sin-sick soul,

To thee I bring my case;

My raging malady control,

And heal me by thy grace.

John Newton 1779

Crossing

Piercing cry of death...young wife crumples in grief...tears tumble from men folk...
Forty four years cut short by an invasion of germs...a weakened heart ceasing to beat...
I stand at the edge of this unfolding crisis, beginning the dance of indecision. Do I penetrate this circle of love or do I simply retreat, assuming the preferred role of onlooker? My heart is crumbling for a family all too familiar with hardship, but my mind floods with "what if's." What if they reject a love offering? What if the spectators deem it invasive? What if I fumble?
The line is crossed by a force bigger than me, a holy Wind that sweeps me toward the carnage. He sends me to color the dark with His hope, a promise to rescue and restore.
A stranger's arm that wraps...a simple prayer that cries...one insecure soul who is chosen to cross over.

Father, You are faithful in Your love! Today, You will hold a family close. Today, You will spread Your balm over them. Today, You will call me to the edge again and once more, I will ask You to help me cross

Need some hope?

Feeling invisible? Life gotcha down?

He's all about Hope!

The story behind Josh's song is amazing.

I hope you take the time to listen to it.

http://www.facebook.com/joshwilson?v=app_6009294086

It's spring!

For, lo, the winter is past,

                    the rain is over and gone;

The flowers appear on the earth;

the time of the singing of birds is come.

Song of Solomon 2:11-12

“Your only hope for joy, your only hope for peace, your only hope for comfort, your only hope for strength and your only hope for love in this life … is found in the cross of Jesus Christ. Your only hope in this life is found in the brutal, bloody, humiliation of a naked man on a wooden post." David Platt

Crossbeam tearing wounded flesh...hammer striking iron...

shrieks of unfathomable pain...drops of redemption blood...

grimace with each agonizing breath...

trembling limbs stretched...

startled eyes searching the heavens...

haunting thoughts of abandonment and betrayal...

uncontrollable sobs from a grieving mother...

jeers from a lost crowd...repentant cries from a thief...

merciful eyes forgiving humanity...

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree,

so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness;

by his wounds you have been healed. I Peter 2:24

Why a new blog and why call it Larksong?

The birth of my first granddaughter, Samantha, urges me to leave the beautiful girls in my life encouraging words of how God has sung over my life. My best childhood friend was named Lark and she loved life. So of course, the lark  became my favorite bird. Larks begin their early day with song and are often heard singing in flight. I want my girls to believe that God is their Larksong and wings for this journey. 

William Wordsworth wrote in his poem, To a Sky-Lark

Lift me, guide me till I find
 With a soul as strong as a mountain river
That spot which seems so to thy mind! 

...pouring out praise to the Almighty Giver,
joy and jollity be with us both!

May my words sing praise...

                        

Missing my Sam

My sweet Sam,
You are the joy of my life! My goodness, if you get any cuter, I think I'll burst! Your granddaddy and I had so much fun taking you to the beach and the zoo this week. We miss you so much already and can't wait until you are back in our arms!
                                                                 Hugs and Kisses, Gigi

Silence

Cacophony of life noise disturbs the rhythm...shatters the peace...quenches the Spirit.
Abba, restore the quiet for there is rest to be found in our meeting place. You invite me into silence: to listen... to remember... to wait for Your Voice. Spirit begins His swell and I am settled; ready to be lavished by Your riches, covered by Your holiness, enveloped in Your mercy. Oh, the power of silence! Truth heals festering wounds and rains on my parched soul. Your joy sweeps away anxious thoughts and delivers me from uncertainty. Sounds of life await my day; sacred silence quiets my soul for what is ahead.

Gracebits

                         Gifts that have sprinkled my life...

Undeserved favor...

Unspeakable joy...



Undone

Undone!

I am undone in the presence of a Holy God…David Ray

Today I lay undone because once again I have encountered a glimpse of my Holy God;

a diseased heart exposed…naked.

I’m pushed off His pedestal once again;

only to feel foolish and ashamed.

Carnage

“Lord, You know the hopes of humble people. Surely, You will hear their cries and comfort their hearts by helping them.” (Psalm 10:17)

I planned a light-hearted post this week, but in light of such tragedy, I offer a raw, unedited rambling of thoughts and emotions.
Why post at all?
I've opened my checkbook...I've offered my prayers...but I need to put pen to paper, hoping to wrap my mind and heart around such devastation, such sorrow in our world. Heroes racing against the clock to save lives in shattered Haiti, survivors mourning massive loss, family members waiting in fear while on the homefront my young friends face agonizing medical decisions regarding the fight for their little Kate, their lives frozen as they battle an aggressive brain tumor.
Human carnage all around us...the nurse in me dying to do something, anything that brings healing...intercession my only offering.
Horrifying images, deep sadness, honest questions rob me of words. Only cries and tears spill at the altar.
This I know. God hears our moaning, our wailing and He responds.
We must abide in His decisions for He knows what we can never comprehend.
We wait, we utter, we hope.
"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." Revelation 21:4
This truth I know.

In fond memory

Howard Lee Pierce
the man with the big heart

Reflections from a Pew

We gathered together to bid our farewells
To a man who had finished his well fought race.
Family and friends did assemble that day
To offer our love for a life lived with grace.

Light pierced the windows of that ol' country church
And danced on the crown of his beautiful bride.
God offered warmth with His comfort and care
As his family remembered its beloved with pride.

Songs of the Master enveloped the air,
A reminder to all that His love was quite near.
Words, oh so tender, completed our refrain;
Sweet adoration brought the wipe of a tear.

Sadness escaped us as stories were shared.
Laughter was afloat, along with Tammy's note!
Memories of a family man flooded our hearts
As we honored the legacy of love Howard wrote.

You are missed, my friend...
September 24, 1938-January 11,2008