Up to the Highest Height....

L is for Lift

Lift: 11 a: an elevating influence b: an elevation of the spirit

So I am not even going to apologize for taking three weeks to get this one out. I actually have a "L" half finished and saved but wasn't quite feeling it. So as I sit here, anxiously awaiting 9:00 and the gorgeousness that is Simon Baker as The Mentalist, I am finally ready to get this one out there.

This week in school, our theme is spring. We made ladybugs in art and read books about bunnies and butterflies. We planted flowers in front of the church. We also went outside and tried to fly a kite. Well, yesterday was a bit more windier than today so the kite actually got off of the ground yesterday. Today was a little disappointing. The kite just sort of dragged on the ground and quite frankly, looked a little sad.

I began to think about the difference between the two days. Both days were beautiful. Not a cloud in the sky. We used the same kite both days. But, one day had more wind than the other. And that got me thinking about that techinical term that we learned in sixth grade science class when we learned about birds. "Lift". A bird needs "lift" to take off. An airplane needs "lift" to ascend into the sky. A kite needs "lift" to fly high. And when that ift is constant that kite can fly as high and as long as it has "lift".

I like the definition of lift that I found in Websters Dictionary. Especially the second one. 'An elevation of the spirit'. Oh, how I need that most days. God is "lift". Without Him, where would we be on those days when there is no wind? Days when nothing seems to go right and plans fail? Days when we feel like nothing more than an useless kite, dragging on the ground? I love the scripture (Isaiah 40:31) "but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles..." Or, like a kite...

One Blue Sky

K is for Knowing

So I have to apologize. I have not been the best with keeping up with my ABCs lately. It's not that I haven't wanted to or have been extremely busy. It's just that I....haven't. So, I apologize. Onward and upward, right?

Today is a beautiful day. The sun is shining and the breeze feels so nice. I love a blue sky and white fluffy clouds. I was driving home from Fredericksburg, jamming to a little Sugarland, sipping on my diet coke in the insulated cup, when I started to think on how God must have known exactly how the sun would reflect off of the Rappahannock river just so. And that diet coke and ice in an insulated cup would be such a good combination. So I decided to start a list of all the things God must know.....and I am realizing how thankful I am that he does.....

-it's possible to have a foot of snow one week and 70 degree weather the next

-a river would need a winding river road

-alka seltzer and water in a film container makes for a great rocket ship

-little girls need a daddy to call them princess

-May flowers need April showers

-baseball diamonds need baseball players

-pumpkin seeds and a little salt make for a great snack

-lightening needs thunder

-little sisters need big brothers

-ice cream and summer nights just go together

-there is nothing better than a warm blanket, a good book, and a comfortable position

-Sunday afternoon makes for great napping

-baby boys give the most wonderful kisses

-brownies in the oven can make your mouth water

-movie theater popcorn makes the movie even better

-you never outgrow a hug from your mom

-a cool spring evening needs a fire on the deck

The list could go on and on.....feel free to add to it. Isn't wonderful that we have a God who not only knows the number of hair on our heads as well as number of stars in the night sky also knows the simple things?

More Pictures

Sorry, the pictures are a little out of order. The beginning of the day pictures are at the bottom and end of the day pictures are at the top. It was such a fun trip, definitely one we will do again!!

New York, New York

So Saturday, Jenn, Jaime, Ashleigh, Eric and I ventured up to NYC for the day. We caught the train at Union Station in D.C at 6:20 AM and after a few stops along the way, we arrived in Penn Station a little before 10. Taking the train was such a good idea. Not only in the morning but going home as well. Jenn and I had been to New York before so we both had an idea of what we wanted to see. Jenn wanted to have lunch at Serendipity 3 (where part of the movie Serendipity was filmed). And she had a gift card to Tiffany so that was on our list. I wanted to walk through Central Park and see all the tourist sights there. And the only other thing on our list was that Ashleigh and Eric wanted to see Ground Zero. We had a short list of "had to see" places but we had a heard that Serendipity was a two-three hour wait, the park is huge and kinda hard to navigate, and Ground Zero is a downtown subway ride and we were only gooing to there until about 5 so we were very ambitious. As you can see from some of my pictures, we were actually quite successful.

Don't worry, more pictures to follow!

Obvious

J is for Jesus.

So, I had this really great plan to write my own thoughts for this one. I even started to write last week but couldn't seem to put into words exactly what I was feeling. Instead of being on the tip of my tongue, I guess my words were on the tips of my fingers. This past Tuesday, Jenn let me borrow a cd of Jeff Johnson. After listening to the first two songs, I was kinda hooked. Then came song number three. "Glorious Day". I had heard songs about Jesus and what He did for me before this one. Countless songs that touch my heart. But this one brought tears to my eyes. And Poplar Rd. without tears is dangerous enough! So I thought, instead of trying, inadequately, to figure out what I want to say, I'll just let the words of this song be enough.

"Glorious Day"

One day when Heaven was filled with His praises,

One day when sin was as black as could be,

Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin,

Dwelt among men, my Example is He!

Living, He loved me; dying, He saved me;

Buried, He carried my sins far away;

Rising, He justified freely forever;

One day He’s coming—O glorious day!

One day they led Him up Calvary’s mountain,

One day they nailed Him to die on the tree;

Suffering anguish, despised and rejected:

Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He!

One day the grave could conceal Him no longer,

One day the stone rolled away from the door;

Then He arose, over death He had conquered;

Now is ascended, my Lord for evermore!

Living, He loved me; dying, He saved me;

Buried, He carried my sins far away;

He justified freely forever;

One day He’s coming—O glorious day!

One day the trumpet will sound for His coming,

One day the skies with His glories will shine;

Wonderful day, my beloved ones bringing;

Glorious Savior, this Jesus is mine!

Living, He loved me; dying, He saved me;

Buried, He carried my sins far away;

Rising, He justified freely forever;

One day He’s coming—O glorious day!

O glorious day! O glorious day!

Living, He loved me; dying, He saved me;

Buried, He carried my sins far away;

Rising, He justified freely forever;

One day He’s coming—O glorious day!

For Allison....

This is a picture of me with the green eyeshadow...you can sort of see the glitter too. I'm sorry you can't see all of the pigtails. They really completed the whole look. had purple and yello ribbons on them. GO WCU! I also had on a lot of lipstick...it was a big night...That;s my friend Ashleigh....in case you are not aware!

Stripped Away

Well, I hope you all enjoyed my answers to those questions. I think it would be fun to hear some of yours so if I randomly ask you what four people you would like to be on a deserted island with, just answer and then we could move on with our lives.

Anyway, this weekend wasn't just all fun and games. The theme of the week was "Stripped Away" and the main premise was "what happens when every thing's been stipped away?" We were in the book of Job which at first seemed really daunting. I mean, it's like 42 chapters long and it's basically monologue after monolgue. So needless to say, I was really curious as to how the large group services would go as well as the small group discussions.

The large group services were led by Keith Smith (music before hand by Addison Road which was awesome. I love "Hope Now"). Friday night was great. Keith spoke about how Job was a blameless and upright man. He was blessed, loved by God and loved his family. He had like thousands of sheep and oxen and a few hundred camels. He had seven sons and three daughters who seemed to get along well and had to have a bunch of friends. Job was doing pretty well. During all this time, God and Satan started to have a conversation and they began to discuss Job. Satan pretty much said "of course he loves you, he's got everything. What happens when it's all gone?" God then gives Satan permission to touch everything Job has, except his person. Well Satan just goes to town. In a matter of minutes he takes away all of Job's livestock and then he destroys all of Job's children.

After all of this destruction, the Bible says Job did a truly amazing thing. The Bible says that through all of this, Job did not sin. He went down on his knees and ripped his robe in two out of grief but did not sin. So Satan returns to God and says "well, of course he didn't sin. Imagine what he would do if I was allowed to touch him". So God gives Satan permission to touch Job. And Satan did. Satan puts sores all over Job's body. Sores so infected and so painful that Job went out to the city dump, basically, and took broken pieces of pottery and tried to scratch the sores off.

Keith ended there. He began to ask "when we are stripped of something, how do we react?" and "what's our response to God?". He then invited us to come forward and write on a strip of cloth something that we felt had been stripped from us. The night ended with Keith asking us to write down questions we would ask God if we had the chance. Questions that we struggle with and answers we would like to know.

It was a great first night. The discussion that followed at the house was pretty cool too. Each girl shared what they had written and that was awesome. It was neat to see that most of the time, we all react the same way. Wanting to know why, getting angry then sad then angry again.

By then it was midnight and time for lights out. The next day was sure to be busy. And it was...