My Thanksgiving mistake.

I made a mistake this week.  In preparation for hosting our first Thanksgiving here, I asked Rusty to clean up the backyard.  We have a mesquite tree in the back that has a SERIOUS case of mistletoe parasite, so that was his first goal: to free our tree from the clutches of the villanous mistletoe.  Three days, many MANY wounds, and about 13 hours of work later...mistletoe still remains, and our tree looks worse than the Charlie Brown Christmas twig.:)  This picture to the left is only after a few hours of work.  The pile below the tree has since grown to about twice that height...and likewise the tree has shrunk into only the branches you see Rusty standing on.









My monkey husband








Oh yeah, I got a haircut this week.  Here it is for people who never see me.  Actually, I'll probably look different than this next time you see me.  I have haircut ADHD.  And yes, for those of you who DO see me...I took this in front of my shower curtain:).

Gospel Shoes

At church today, our pastor spoke about Phillip, a man written about in the book of Acts.  Each mention of Phillip throughout Acts reveals a story of his life as it progressed in following Jesus.  Phillip played many roles in the early church, initially being only a servant and carrier of money, later a missionary to surrounding lands, and finally, settled down in Samaria for 21 years, where he married and had 4 daughters.  No matter what his role in life (whatever "hat" he wore is usually the analogy, but today it was whatever "shoes" he wore), he proclaimed the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ when the oppurtunity arose.  So the question today was: What shoes are you wearing most often right now, and how can you be a proclaimer of good news in those shoes?  Well, here they are:
                 My Gospel Shoes

These are the shoes I wear to work every day.  They don't even fit, they are half an inch too long, and my heels slip out of them with each step - but they were the closest to my size I could find.  I wear these 11 hours a day as I treat patients and interact with my coworkers.  That's my role right now.  I'm a therapist, a wife, and a Tucsonan.  And somehow, I want to be used in those shoes for the glory of God.  I don't have much more of a plan than that, but neither did Phillip.  He was just ready.

Study it-do it-teach it

Read this today:


"for the good hand of his God was on him. For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel."  Ezra 7:10


This is pretty much a sweet example of how I want to approach God's word.  Just thought I'd share it.   

Thanks!

Give thanks with a grateful heart

Give thanks to the Holy One

Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, his son.

This song was in my head this morning for two reasons:


1. Halloween is over and it's only a few weeks until Thanksgiving!  Somehow, Rusty and I were counted worthy to hold the festivities at our house this year, which I am stoked about!  His parents and my family are joining us in Tucson for the big feast!  I have really been struck this year with a heart to celebrate Thanksgiving ,and especially Christmas, with a pure focus of actually celebrating the LORD and not coming at the holidays from any other direction. 

2. This song reminds me of Thailand and the kids I love so much at the orphanage in Chiang Rai!  We sang it all the time with them!  The exciting thing is, I got an email a few days ago from Pastor Cheah of the Agape Home orphanage in Thailand!  He says the children are still doing well on their new land (they had to leave the old place by order of the court).  Most of the older children who were there when I went have graduated high school and are going on to the universities!!  God continues to provide for them, there is much to be thankful for.

Our House is Haunted

Last night, Rusty had to sleep in the guest room ( no no, we didn't have some crazy fight.  I am ashamedly so congested the past week from allergies or something that he can't sleep through my snoring!!!  Ah!).  He came out this morning to the breakfast table with red handprints around one side of his neck.  I pointed it out to him, so he went to our bathroom to look in the mirror and check it out.  He came out a minute later and showed me that, when he had taken his shirt off to inspect further, he had a high heel type imprint on his abdomen.  He decided that our guest room is haunted and some lady ghost was beating him up in his sleep.  I thought he had staged the whole thing at first as a joke, but he swears he had no idea until I pointed it out.  Pretty weird I guess.  Here's some pictures.  The fingerprints had already faded away by the time we thought to get out the camera.  Anyway, happy halloween everyone!