Too Funny

If I had only known how this story would have turned out, I would have taken pictures along the way. I bet no one saw this coming.

So.... one of our neighbors has a hedge that is some sort of spruce (maybe). Over the years since Ray and I have lived in the neighborhood, there has at times been some sort of Dr. Seuss tree growing out of the middle of the hedge nearest the road. When we first noticed it, it was just a tender shoot of a branch with a couple of leaves right above the top of the shrub.

The keeper of the hedge would periodically prune it, which I can only guess meant he just trimmed it off even with the shrub. I guess for at least the last year it has been allowed to grow.

Ray and I have had more than one discussion on the subject as we would pass by wondering how this would end.

It must have been about two weeks ago when I first saw the answer to all of our pondering. It was a good thing I was driving the neighborhood speed limit, because I might have wrecked. I did speed up a little after I saw it. I couldn't get home fast enough to see if Ray had noticed it too.

Of course he had. How could he not?

I would think that it started out a lot like this little oak, that is one of about a hundred that we have already pulled up this spring.






And I guess they just decided it was easier to give in than to keep pruning away.
This is what they have ended up with...





You can see the tree at the mailboxes. The trunk isn't that big yet, but look at all the branches and leaves. But that's not the only thing...






They have completely taken out the hedge that the tree was growing in. Which led to pruning all the hedges with a brand new summer doo. Added a truck load or two of mulch, pavers, a flower bed, and a flower pot.


So that's what sparked this thought. It reminded me of a sermon that I heard Alistaire Walker preach a long time ago. Pruning doesn't always get it, sometimes you have to get to the very root of a situation. Aren't we too many times like my neighbors? We go to extraordinary lengths to accommodate our sin, when if we would go to the root of our problems and address them there, they would be over and done.


If you read my blog a while back about that big old ugly sin in my life, you'll remember I thought it was all about me needing the money more than God. Truth was, the root of the problem didn't have anything to do with the money. It was an issue of pride.


Moral of this story.... if you have something growing in your yard and you don't think you want it there - better pull it out by the roots today so you won't be paying out the wazoo to make it look all pretty and nice, like it was what you had in mind all along.
And, if you have a little habit that has not taken deep roots, better yank that too. That kind of paying out the wazoo is twice as hard as the other.

Happy weeding, pruning and the like!

And, if B & J read this, please don't be offended. The finished product looks great. It's just been a curious thing to watch as we drive by each day.

Mountains, Dancing, Donkeys and Such

Notice that was dancing - comma - donkeys... not dancing donkeys!

You may be familiar with the New Testament Scripture in which we are told… “I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

Today as I sat in the Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System Outpatient Cafeteria area, I realized that the mountain that needed to be moved was not necessarily the mountain in front of me, rather it was the mountain in me. When God first called me to this ministry I felt so unskilled and equipped for the call. The easy thing would have been to laugh and say un-uh God, I can’t do that. Being one who loves a challenge and an opportunity to walk hand-in-hand with the Lord, I said “yes”. The truth is, I wasn’t skilled or equipped, but God didn’t let me stay that way.

What He began doing in me has been built one step at a time.

Sharing the story one person then one church at a time.

I will be brutally honest here and let you know that when God called me, one of the biggest hang ups I had was the fact that I don’t have a college degree. I did get a ticket at USCU once for parking in the wrong spot, and I did raise a college graduate. A simple high school diploma is the only thing I have to offer. I felt like it wasn’t enough. But there we (Madonna and I) sat today; blown away by the skill and equipping given through the grace of an able God. We were there to receive a check awarded to Wellspring Living SC from the kind and generous folks from the Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System Foundation. As I looked around the room it was very humbling to see our “peers” from other places around Spartanburg and the Foundation Board as well. I realized God had used this plain ol’ girl from Greer and given her an up-close and personal look from the top of the mountain. I once heard Beth Moore say…”if God doesn’t move the mountain, then after you’ve climbed to the top of it… dance”.

Thank You Father for the day You asked me to join you in this mountain climb of dance that we call life, and we call ministry. My motto (stolen from Allen Cantrell) is “any old donkey will do”. And thank you for asking this donkey for the dance of a life-time.

It was a grand view indeed. It is a grand dance indeed. Proof once again that God doesn’t always call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

Soooooo…. If you have heard a voice call out to you and say… “would you care to dance?” So what if you have two left feet and no rhythm. He has all the rhythm that you need and will lead and guide every step of the way.

Wellspring Living SC received funding from the Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System Foundation that will be used for fitness equipment, art therapy supplies and contractual counseling services as we serve women through the Wellspring Living SC Home.
We are so excited that the Foundation Board felt that we were at a place worthy of their trust and expertise. We are honored and thankful for their funding and pray that this is the first of many opportunities to come.

Oh listen, I think the music is about to start. Gotta’ go dust off the dancing/mountain climbing shoes!

Coming Out & Going Public

One of the terms Hub (pastor at Milestones) uses when people cross the line of faith is to encourage them to go public with their decision. One way they can do that is through baptism.
Well I have already been baptized twice, and desperately wanted to be a third time while I was in Ecuador a few years back. The waters proved to be too deep, too fast and way too cold for that to come to pass. I probably would have been swept down stream and could at this point still be MIA.

I have known for a few weeks now that I was about to experience a milestone in my personal life, as Milestones Church experiences one of its own. On Sunday, May 23rd, I will be one of twenty-something people being ordained as the first group of deacons in our church.

A little history... Milestones (formerly known as Spartanburg Community Church) has existed for thirteen years and from the beginning has been lead by a group of Elders. That is one of the most refreshing things I have encountered in our time there. No committees, no voting.... no issues! The Elders are the leaders and decision making group. This soon to be ordained group are simply servants to the families that are assigned to us. We won't have to worry about policies, procedures, hiring, firing or anything of the sort. I think there are nine women, we are so excited to be serving the single moms and single women in our congregation.

I loved it when Hub preached about the qualifications and talked about how the elders had reached this decision, and shared about this brave step of having women deacons. We will not be known as deaconesses, because that is not a term you see in scripture. He also gave the example of Phoebe from Romans 16:1. She was cited as being a servant of the church.

I have been sort of quiet about telling people about this next step. Mostly because I did not want to seem like I was bragging. Partly because I know that some churches have such strong opinions about deacons in general. Some don't allow divorced men, others do. Some churches already have women deacons, some have women pastors.

One night at one of Sarah's ballgames, Gretchen just out of the blue said "have I told you the subject of my next paper?" She had not, and when she said it was on Women Deacons... I almost passed out. I then asked her if I had shared anything about women deacons lately. I had not. As I shared with her all that I shared above, she concurred that what our Elders had concluded was right in line with her research on the subject.
Isn't that just like Jesus to give sweet confirmation in a time and place to be least expected?

So, on the eve of my ordination, I have decided that I too would go public. I am humbled and honored to have the opportunity to know and serve the six women and their families that have been assigned to me.

Please be in prayer for me and my counterparts as we gather tomorrow evening for a milestone at Milestones!

P.S. . . . I could not resist the song! Hope it doesn't offend~

A Curious Sight

Many days while traveling to and from various destinations, I pass by this tree going and coming. My favorite view is approaching it from the bottom of the hill and not this view.
As you drive toward it, it stands a lone against the sky. In the winter you only notice that the one trunk is divided because both are bare and look just alike.

In the spring it's a very different story. As you can see, one side is green and full of life while the other side remains barren and lifeless.

Many days as I drive by, I wonder how similar my heart and my life are to this tree.

Half dead, half alive.

A couple of scriptures swirl around in my head regarding the the state of the tree... and my life.

Revelation 3:15-17... I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were one or the other! So, Because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say I am rich and have acquired wealth and do not need a thing. But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.

James 3:11... Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?

How thankful I am (we are) for grace and mercy that although we may be struggling within, God sees His children through the Blood of Christ and therefore... we are whole.

Thrills, Chills and Spills

This weekend I finally took time to refill my pots with new soil and some fresh flowers. For the first time I made sure I followed the “Thriller, chiller and spiller” formula for the perfect pot. It really sounds more like the description to a horror movie than suggestions for a beautiful summer showing.

It’s a method to select your flower and foliage plants for those dramatic flower-filled planters, pots, and containers that we’ve been seeing in catalogues and magazines all winter

“Thrillers are the tall plants that serve as the focal point or accent plant for the container.”

“Chillers are the flowers or foliage plants that fill our the top of the pot or planter.“

“Spillers are the trailing plants that carry the color theme down over the edge of the pot or container. Spillers are generally not visually strong plants—rather, they are like the extras in the movies. They are necessary to make the movie (or the flower planter) complete, but they are not the stars. “

This week God has really been showing out. In one of my prayer times this week feeling so awed by His sweetness this thought crossed my mind...

God the Father, Jesus the Son, along with the Holy Spirit are the thrillers and the chillers. Nothing else on earth delights a soul as does His presence. I know He has thrilled you, taken your breath or moved you to tears when you know He has called your name. He dresses you with chills as you speak of His work

We are the spillers when He have a fresh encounter with Him. We like Paul, are spilled out like a drink offering. Just like the plant “spillers” we are necessary in God’s plans and schemes, but we are not the stars.

To God be the Glory… great things He is doing. May we always feel the thrills and chills as we draw near. And may we always spill out from the overflow of His grace and work in our lives.

Happy planting!

Short and SWEET!

Not to presume that I would know what God will say or do in any given situation... but it sure does feel good when you are looking at a building that could possibly be given to Wellspring Living SC and here this come out of the donors mouth...

"It just feels like God is waving a big flag over these buildings that says - Jesus is Lord".

My prayer before the meeting... "regardless of the outcome Lord, may You be glorified."

Can I just say He answered my prayer because He was indeed getting some glory when those words were uttered. I should have gone prepared and had the flag with me!

How can you not believe in the providence of such a God that would delight your soul that way?

You know that you know that you know...

A P.S. has been added as a follow up


Several weeks ago Christine called and invited me to participate in the Prayer Walk / Rally at the Bi-Lo Center on Thursday before Just Give Me Jesus starts on Friday. She said bring your big white flag. My response was this... "let me pray about it... count me in!" Because if there is one thing I love it is praising Jesus and I love it even more when the flag is part of the praise.
My neighbors are probably glad I'm taking it out of the back yard on a field trip. Come to think of it, I bet Ray is too!

I guess it was one day last week I received an email blast from the JGMJ mailers and it too contained an invitation to attend the Thursday event. OMG! That meant that instead of a small intimate group of friends invited by Christine, there could possibly be thousands of women there.
My response was this... "well I'll go and pray and take a fresh bottle of oil." When I closed the email something caught my eye. It said in the subject line "BANNER Prayer Walk". Upon opening the email - there was nothing in the title about any banner. I knew it was referring to the title caption box that held content that I wasn't seeing. But there was that word BANNER.

So my response was this... "Lord. I will gladly wave my banner for you in front of who ever shows up. And if they think I'm crazy, then they will know I am crazy for you!"

And tonight is the night! I am so excited I can hardly wait. I have a fully loaded and charged IPod. I know it will be one of the sweetest dates I have been on in a long time. My beloved is waiting there for me and I am moved to tears.

There is however another side to this story. Many of you have heard of or participated in Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby. One thing that you for sure walk away with from that study is "go to where you see God working and join Him there". Well it is more and more evident that God is working in the city of Greenville. So much so that the Greenville County Sheriff's Department is sending a group to Wellspring Living Atlanta on a fact finding mission. There are groups of women in Greenville ministering to the women who are working on the streets.

My oh my!

I learned years ago before a large white flag ever found its way into my hands that the flag is carried in front of the army as they go into battle. So Lord it is my honor to wave that flag and let the enemy know that YOU have claimed Greenville as your own. That what You are doing there is bigger than JGMJ. YOU and YOU alone know what all this represents.

YOU do Your thing Lord as only YOU can. And we your girlfriends who will be there tonight in answer to your call Love YOU and anticipate what YOU have prepared for us!

P.S. (Positively Sweet!)

When we arrived at the BLC for our prayer walk we were given instructions as to where we could and could not go. Of course where God had specifically instructed me to go was off limits. Center stage because of the work that was still underway.

That was fine for a while. I was quiet content to wave my banner at the main entrance and walk it through each section of seats and the main concourse. I guess I should say that I was the only one privy to the music that accompanied the movements of the flag/banner. I did get a few questioning looks here and there. But then as I finished the processional through the building Travis Cottrell started singing Jesus Saves. It seemed like I had no other course of action but to break the law! Thankfully my friend Ruth McWhite was very near the stage with some of the other main organizers of the event. "Ruth, Jesus needs me to step down there for just a bit." I knew what her reply would be... "Darling, you go right ahead".

I have never had the privilege of pouring out my worship as I did Thursday night. Ann's podium is a simple heavy wooden cross. That was where I was drawn to wave the flag, and thank God for the salvation the cross afforded us all. When the song ended, I threw down the flag and myself as well. Those men working construction probably thought I had died after such a display. My heart was pounding, I was all but gasping for breath. Well, I was gasping for breath! It was a sweet time of prayer to join God in what He has in store.

The true sweetness came during the night for me Thursday night as God awoke me around two to let me know how He saw my act of obedient worship.

More sweetness was added Friday night as JGMJ got underway. There were hundreds of women that came to the cross for salvation.

Thank You Lord, Thank You Lord, Thank You Lord... not only did you call me to the Cross, You met me there; as you did for all those who came last night. You have always and forever will meet any and all who come. Blessed be Your Holy Name... Jesus Christ.