Footsteps of the Flock: 2 Chronicles 34:12

I should be in bed seeing that I have jury duty at 8:00 am tomorrow but when I read tonight's devotional I just had to share.

It was a good reminder for me especially since tomorrow has the potential to be a loonngg day.



The following is from Jon Courson's devotional "Footsteps of the Flock" for:

July 13th

And the men did work faithfully:
and the overseers of them were
Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of the Merari;
and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to set it forward;
and the other of the Levites, all that could skill of instruments of musick.

2 Chronicles 34:12

As the Temple was restored, musicians were playing. Music has a powerful impact and effect upon our spiritual lives...

As he waited on the Lord for a word from Him, Elisha called for a minstrel. And as the minstrel began to play, the Holy Spirit spoke to Elisha (2 Kings 3:15).

How often have you begun to worship the Lord in song - when suddenly He begins to speak to you?

How often have you found yourself encouraged as you've listened to praise music?

Saul was haunted and hounded by a demonic spirit. He called for David to come and play his harp. As songs were played and worship ascended, Saul experienced relief (1 Samuel 16:23).

If you're discouraged, depressed, or defeated, if you want your temple restored, play music.
It will build you up and cause your spirit to soar.

In Job 38, God says that as the foundations of the earth were being laid, the angels were singing songs.

In other words, He does His best work with background music. These guys created an atmosphere that was right spiritually.

The Lord inhabits the praise of His people (Psalm 22:3).

The demons are confused by praise. That is why Jehoshaphat sent a choir before he sent an army to do battle (2 Chronicles 20).

Be a person of praise. Sing in your car. Sing in your shower. Sing when you're depressed.

As Isaiah said, "Sing, O barren one" (see 54:1).

If you'll develop this practice, you'll tap into a spiritual dynamic that will aid and assist you in the days of spiritual warfare.

A Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today, Monday July 13th, 2009...

Outside my window... is our neighborhood. We had a great time but we're glad to be home.

I am thinking... about contentment and how much I love being right where I am and doing what I'm called to do.

From the learning rooms... I have been reading the Teacher's Manual for this fall. We will be studying the period of the time from Rome to the Reformation. Today I spent a good chunk of time writing down goals for this year. I also wrote down things that worked last year and things that didn't so we can make adjustments for this year.

I am thankful for... for a wonderful vacation, safe travel there and back. But I'm mostly thankful that I got to meet my friend Tammi in person. We only know each other from the My Father's World message board and email. It was the highlight of our trip!

I am wearing...a sundress my Inang bought me in Hawai'i (even though it's raining and cold here right now!)

I am reading... the TM for this year and a variety of bible passages.

I am hoping... that I don't really have to report for jury duty on Tuesday and that I'll be able to fly to San Diego and be supportive of some hurting family.

I am creating... more and more patches of clean and order. It feels so good. I'm also trying to create some gifts.

I am praying... prayers of thanksgiving because He has given me a heart of contentment that I had been praying for for quite some time. My "itchy" feeling has been replaced with pure and simple joy in the small things.

Around the house... we are looking good! We did our laundry at the hotel and unpacked clean clothes into the drawers so we are in great shape coming into this week. Ann stayed here while we were gone so the floors are vacuumed and we can actually walk into the loft. Thank you Ann!

One of my favorite things... is playing duets with my husband on the piano. It's such a wonderful picture of marriage and also of the body of Christ. When we are each doing our individual parts and not concerning ourselves with the other person's part, it sounds beautiful.

A few plans for the rest of the week... Busy! Violin ensemble for the girls in addition to regular lessons for all three, ballet, and a jury summons for me on Tuesday. Oh, I almost forgot--picking up Abby's new glasses, exchanging violins, etc... it just goes on :)

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

Tammi and I at the restaurant in the Hale Koa hotel. Not only did her and her family drive all the way from the other side of the island to meet us but they brought us gifts! Snacks, necklaces (that the kids wore home), photo albums, notebooks, and even plaster so we could make a mold of our footprints on the beach!

We are so excited about our new friends and can't wait to see them again.

Hi Tammi! {{{{waving}}}

Your Choice

Here are a few favorites since I couldn't decide...


If you're looking for funny (or at least mildly amusing) try this post about Killing Spiders

Need something a bit more... educational perhaps? How about Froggy Lessons Learned

Sometimes you just need a good cry. I posted this over at Miscel (Lainie) ous and it just might do the trick. It's a post about my baptism titled, A New Season.

While you're over there, you might want to check out "What It Means To Take Up Your Cross."
I "borrowed" most of it from our pastor, Jim Courson. Good stuff.

But by all means, don't pass up a re-visit to some of Nana's best Nana-isms. I have #3 available as Flair for those of you who Facebook :)

The Will of God

Liesl and I were sitting here at breakfast listening to David Jeremiah teach on Judges Chapters 6 & 7.

The title of his teachings are "How not to find out the will of God."

He pointed out that in the story of Gideon, Gideon preludes his fleece laying with these words in Judges 6:36 & 37, "And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said [emphasis mine], Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said [emphasis mine].

Gideon already knew the will of God. Gideon wasn't looking for the will of God so much as he was looking for the courage to obey the will of God.

Aren't we the same way? We know what the Lord has laid on our heart. We know that it is in line with what scripture teaches yet we have not decided we will obey.

John 7:17 says, [Jesus speaking] "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether, I speak of God." Translation: If you make up your mind to do the will of God FIRST, you'll know that you know that you know that you are operating in His will and you will not be discouraged when it's hard.

I call it "dropping anchor."

If I know that I have received direction from the Lord and my husband and I are in perfect agreement and it lines up with the Word of God, I make up my mind that I will do it.

I have found that when I do this, when it gets hard to obey, and the testing of my resolve and desire to do the will of God is challenging, it passes quickly and God grows my faith in the process.

But when my heart and mind haven't decide to follow God no matter what, when it gets difficult, I end up feeling like a small boat in a large, stormy sea. I feel beaten and battered.

Thankfully His grace covers me and He is quick to strengthen me when I call out in repentance.
So where does that leave us for today?

Psalm 118 "O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: because His mercy endureth for ever.(1)

I called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord answered me, and set me in a large place (5)

The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me? (6)

It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.(8)

We never have to be sure of ourselves (putting confidence in man, or woman in this case) because we can confidently be sure of Him.

Bottom line:

We can trust God because He is good, He loves us and He desires only good for us.



This post originally appeared June 24th, 2008.

The 5th of July

All week I have asked and been asked, "What are you doing for the 4th of July?"

Amidst the preparation for a national holiday, I'm trying to remember that we aren't celebrating a "date." There is nothing about the fourth day in the month of July that is special in and of itself.
We, as a nation, celebrate this day as an anniversary of freedom. We celebrate independence from a monarchy, the rule of a nation by an earthly king.

I am very grateful that I live here and am able to raise my children in these United States of America. We are far from being a perfect nation but I would not choose to live anywhere else.

I am grateful for the people who took a giant leap of faith and traveled across the ocean to start the country I now call home. I am grateful for the men and women who have lost limb and life defending our freedom. I don't think lightly of the privilege to vote. I am grateful that I am given a voice in the direction this country turns.

But there was something about remembering that it was "Independence Day" and not just the 4th of July that tugged at my heart. I think it is good to be free and independent from an earthly king but I think that it is only half of the answer. Being submitted to and dependent on a heavenly King is the other half.

God's heart has always been to govern His people. You would think that we would be eager to be governed by God who describes Himself as,

"The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth," (Exodus 34:6). Yet we, both as a nation and individually, have cried out like the children of Israel did in 1 Samuel 8:5-7:

"And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD.
And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them."

Are we listening to God's heart as He says this? "They aren't rejecting you Samuel, they are rejecting Me, God Creator over heaven and earth, God giver of Life. God that faithfully loves them. They don't want me to rule over them."

Very often I am the same way. I seek out an earthly king too. I place my own faulty, fleshly self on the throne of my life and ask God to step back. I declare my independence from Him and attempt to fight battles I've no business in and govern a life I've no rightful claim to.

When I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior I declared that I was giving up the rights to my life and handing my life over to the nail-scarred hands of Jesus.

How quickly I forget. I don't want to forget though. Yes, I want to remember that I live in this free country. But more so, I want to remember that I am truly free.

John 8:36 declares, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed."

Am I free to do what I want, when I want, with whom I want?" No.
I am free from sin (my earthly king) and am able to be ruled by my Righteous King.

"But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in {further} lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:17-23

Yes, our country has had much blood shed for it, to protect it. But not more blood than what was shed by Jesus on the cross of Calvary to free us from the bonds of sin. Tomorrow, July 4th, celebrate wholeheartedly the gift of living in a free, independent country.

But let us not forget to re-commit ourselves on the 5th of July to being governed by a great and gracious God.


This post originally appeared July 3rd, 2008.

Instead of Packing...

I'm mentally preparing to leave while pondering deeply profound things.


For example,

why did I get my haircut before my vacation--




when I will look like this the entire time I'm there...



I also seemed to be more concerned with the bringing of snacks than anything else.

Nana bought several... okay, ten, containers of garlic fried peanuts from the little Filipino market. I ran them through the Seal-A-Meal so I could bring them with us.


I do plan on sharing but yes, I am definitely on a little "kick" right now.

And so you don't think I'm the only one with a lack of, let's say, urgency to get ready, here is some video footage of The Captain having some pre-4th of the July celebration with the kids this evening.

Our little man thought this was a fine opportunity to practice his firefighting skills.
Be warned, the footage is quite exciting and will keep you on the edge of your seats I'm sure.
Eh hem...






All this to say, I shall miss all of you immensely. But, I have been in near-desperate need of a vacation for quite some time. Thankfully the opportunity presented itself and we jumped at it!
We'll be back in a week... and while away, I have a few "classic" posts scheduled so it's not too lonely 'round here.

Until then, Aloha...

Life With Nana

Nana is having a very hard time with us leaving for vacation tomorrow because she knows she is not going with us.

But she is trying to be a trooper and help out with our preparations (in between having me search for a last minute, cheap flight on-line, hee hee).

We went to a barbecue recently and came home loaded with bowls and bowls of cherries.


We borrowed a cherry pitter from Marimba Sticks' mother-

(very handy device)

and she sat and pitted all the cherries so we could freeze them. After she was finished and I expressed my gratitude for her labor she uttered one of her most famous phrases,

"Your welcome... what are ya gonna do when I die?"

(Major emphasis on the word "die")

It has become one of our longest,standing jokes. After she has cooked a particularly delicious meal or washed an unusually large pile of dishes, I walk up to her and place my arm gently around her shoulders and say,

"Boy, I sure am going to miss you when you're dead."

To which she replies, "Good! You better."

Now I realize that all of you "American" folks are sitting there MORTIFIED by this conversation.

And I don't even know how I could explain that, after this dialogue, my mother walks away feeling loved and appreciated and I walk away knowing she is happy. But in some strange, motherly way, she is so pleased and I'm good with that.

I used to tried to speak very kindly and politely to her and erase the "wise-guy"ness that marked my speech growing up. I wanted to give her honor and be a "good" daughter.

She thought I was mad at her and told me to knock it off.

It's a tightrope I walk over here, I tell ya. She would never, ever tolerate disrespect.
Disrespect to an elder in the Filipino culture is a HUGE no-no. But being "stiff" and overly polite is often perceived as haughtiness.

The Filipino community I grew-up with in San Diego I would describe as relaxed (in an informal sense), generous (especially with food), often gregarious (fancy word for loud), quick to laugh yet easily offended. Strange yes, but I think it just comes with being people. Imperfect but passionate, loving people.

And that's our Nana. She is generous, thoughtful, highly opinionated, loud, sweet, stubborn, tender-hearted and caring.

Oh, and she's ours. And we are so glad and very grateful.


Besides all these wonderful attributes, how could I not love a woman who, at age 62, wears these as her house slippers?!