Someone is always watching us
Grace and I just returned from a Communicators for Christ (CFC) in Indiana. CFC has 2 websites www.commforchrist.com and www.communicatorsforchrist.com check them out. This trip was to prepare and inspire Grace for being a part of a speech and debate club in FL. Mission accomplished and much more.
CFC says you must communicate well and that you can. All of us communicate something. As Christians we have a beautiful message to communicate and we want to be able to do it effectively. No matter where we go, no matter what we are doing or saying someone is watching us. When we identify ourselves as Christians someone is watching to see what message we are sending. Let's be willing to grow in our communication skills as witnesses of the Living God.
.....much more. This past week with Grace was a building block in our future friendship. ( Dan and I do see ourselves becoming friends with our children as they grow and mature. ) Our time together was precious. Having an extended time with just one of my children is a rare thing and we made the most of it.
We walked into a crowd of friends we had yet to meet. More than friends, these people are our brothers and sisters in Christ. Grace and I were welcomed and accepted. It was fun being from MA via VA Beach and meeting people from California, Louisiana and Michigan on the border of KY and IN on the IN side. There is a quality about these people that I want for my children. The Lord is continuing to prepare and equip us as we continue to journey on the pilgrim highway.
This is the Gaelic name for Catherine. A pilgrim with Scottish, Irish and English heritage.
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Monday, October 18, 2004
Always holding on to Hope
Last night I showed my age and I couldn't stand to stay up and watch the Yankees Red Sox game. I think I retired sometime in the 8th inning. In the 4th inning Michael said "Mom this game is going to go into extra innings." At some point I awoke to the sound of 2 of my 3 children cheering. I thought RedSox did something right....I resisted the temptation to get up and find out what was happening.
Why did I go to bed? I am tired of heartache....I can't take it anymore. 2003 ouch, 1986 wince, 1975 so close.......the heartaches before that are probably before my time or at a time that I was too little to care. The temptation to want to read Stephen King's Novel Faithful is great. Is it even out yet?
I don't think I have lost my grit (Hearty New Englandah that I am). Fiercely, we hold on to hope in most situations. The Spirit of RedSox Nation is one of perseverance and determination. These are good qualities. We press on.....sometimes we forget to be gracious. The thing is to be firm and unrelenting while minding your manners, while caring for others, and remembering that Yankees' fans are people too. One of my favorite people in the whole world is a Yankees' fan(my beautiful redheaded daughter). We can be fans of different teams without being rude. In our home we are The Mullaneys first and family is first. This is a great lesson that hopefully will carry into other areas in my children's lives. When we find ourselves in circumstances with our backs up against the wall we still hold on to hope because we know the One who holds the future.
Life is a lot like being a RedSox fan. There are ups and downs but you keep your chin up. You don't give up. We never stop reaching to be the best. This is how life is to be lived. If you get knocked down, you don't just lie there, you get back up. You look ahead, forgetting what is behind, we press on to the goal. For the Sox that is the World championship, for us as warriors of the Most High, King of Kings it is life lived to the fullest knowing one day we will be with Him. That being said, I will now rise to the challenge of watching game 5 to the very end.
Last night I showed my age and I couldn't stand to stay up and watch the Yankees Red Sox game. I think I retired sometime in the 8th inning. In the 4th inning Michael said "Mom this game is going to go into extra innings." At some point I awoke to the sound of 2 of my 3 children cheering. I thought RedSox did something right....I resisted the temptation to get up and find out what was happening.
Why did I go to bed? I am tired of heartache....I can't take it anymore. 2003 ouch, 1986 wince, 1975 so close.......the heartaches before that are probably before my time or at a time that I was too little to care. The temptation to want to read Stephen King's Novel Faithful is great. Is it even out yet?
I don't think I have lost my grit (Hearty New Englandah that I am). Fiercely, we hold on to hope in most situations. The Spirit of RedSox Nation is one of perseverance and determination. These are good qualities. We press on.....sometimes we forget to be gracious. The thing is to be firm and unrelenting while minding your manners, while caring for others, and remembering that Yankees' fans are people too. One of my favorite people in the whole world is a Yankees' fan(my beautiful redheaded daughter). We can be fans of different teams without being rude. In our home we are The Mullaneys first and family is first. This is a great lesson that hopefully will carry into other areas in my children's lives. When we find ourselves in circumstances with our backs up against the wall we still hold on to hope because we know the One who holds the future.
Life is a lot like being a RedSox fan. There are ups and downs but you keep your chin up. You don't give up. We never stop reaching to be the best. This is how life is to be lived. If you get knocked down, you don't just lie there, you get back up. You look ahead, forgetting what is behind, we press on to the goal. For the Sox that is the World championship, for us as warriors of the Most High, King of Kings it is life lived to the fullest knowing one day we will be with Him. That being said, I will now rise to the challenge of watching game 5 to the very end.
Monday, October 11, 2004
Recollection
Sometimes we need to be reminded about where it is we are going. Life is a journey and none of us really know where it will lead. There are bends and twists down the road that we don’t see but the One who leads sees the beginning from the end. We can trust the One we follow. I don’t recall if I shared this on my blog.
The Lord gave us two messages from the scripture. The first is from Psalm 84.
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
7 They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.
The other is from Jeremiah 35
"We do not drink wine, because our forefather Jonadab son of Recab gave us this command: 'Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine. 7 Also you must never build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards; you must never have any of these things, but must always live in tents. Then you will live a long time in the land where you are nomads.'
17 "Therefore, this is what the LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'Listen! I am going to bring on Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem every disaster I pronounced against them. I spoke to them, but they did not listen; I called to them, but they did not answer.' “18 Then Jeremiah said to the family of the Recabites, "This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'You have obeyed the command of your forefather Jonadab and have followed all his instructions and have done everything he ordered.' 19 Therefore, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'Jonadab son of Recab will never fail to have a man to serve me.' "
At times we do not understand why we are doing what we are doing but we do believe we were called for a time to be traveling. This is an act of obedience. It is both exciting and knee-knocking. Living in different places, not owning any property but in a sense always having a place to rest our heads. Some have even ventured to say that the world is our oyster.
I needed to remember where my strength comes from and whose word it is to obey. Thanks for reading. CM from VA Beach
Sometimes we need to be reminded about where it is we are going. Life is a journey and none of us really know where it will lead. There are bends and twists down the road that we don’t see but the One who leads sees the beginning from the end. We can trust the One we follow. I don’t recall if I shared this on my blog.
The Lord gave us two messages from the scripture. The first is from Psalm 84.
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
7 They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.
The other is from Jeremiah 35
"We do not drink wine, because our forefather Jonadab son of Recab gave us this command: 'Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine. 7 Also you must never build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards; you must never have any of these things, but must always live in tents. Then you will live a long time in the land where you are nomads.'
17 "Therefore, this is what the LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'Listen! I am going to bring on Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem every disaster I pronounced against them. I spoke to them, but they did not listen; I called to them, but they did not answer.' “18 Then Jeremiah said to the family of the Recabites, "This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'You have obeyed the command of your forefather Jonadab and have followed all his instructions and have done everything he ordered.' 19 Therefore, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'Jonadab son of Recab will never fail to have a man to serve me.' "
At times we do not understand why we are doing what we are doing but we do believe we were called for a time to be traveling. This is an act of obedience. It is both exciting and knee-knocking. Living in different places, not owning any property but in a sense always having a place to rest our heads. Some have even ventured to say that the world is our oyster.
I needed to remember where my strength comes from and whose word it is to obey. Thanks for reading. CM from VA Beach
Saturday, October 09, 2004
Knock a little louder with presidential authority
Today we were true participants in the political process. We went door to door with some literature to inform voters of where President Bush and Sen. Kerry on National Defense, Taxes and Health Care. The front of the hand out said "Virginia is Bush Country." Dan and I believe that our President is the man to support to continue to lead our country. Dan admires Mr. Bush's character and his values. I agree with the President on the fact that if we want to remain the freest nation in the world then we need to maintain our sovereignty as a nation. His opponent on the other hand wants to be buddy buddy with everyone around the world. It is one thing to have allies but quite another to trade our security for a world-wide likeable reputation.
It is a good feeling learning and doing with our children as more Americans ought to do. Yes, we are voting with our absentee ballots. There is definitely work involved. Anyone who may be making their decision based on a movie or sound bites may want to check out their facts at www.factcheck.org Those of you who are voting I hope you will make an informed decision as we elect the next President of the United States, the highest office of this land.
Today we were true participants in the political process. We went door to door with some literature to inform voters of where President Bush and Sen. Kerry on National Defense, Taxes and Health Care. The front of the hand out said "Virginia is Bush Country." Dan and I believe that our President is the man to support to continue to lead our country. Dan admires Mr. Bush's character and his values. I agree with the President on the fact that if we want to remain the freest nation in the world then we need to maintain our sovereignty as a nation. His opponent on the other hand wants to be buddy buddy with everyone around the world. It is one thing to have allies but quite another to trade our security for a world-wide likeable reputation.
It is a good feeling learning and doing with our children as more Americans ought to do. Yes, we are voting with our absentee ballots. There is definitely work involved. Anyone who may be making their decision based on a movie or sound bites may want to check out their facts at www.factcheck.org Those of you who are voting I hope you will make an informed decision as we elect the next President of the United States, the highest office of this land.
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
Leisure
In the child rearing years there is not a lot of time for leisure but I believe it is healthy for us to make the time for it at least on a semi-regular basis. Noah Webster 1828 dictionary gives this for its second definition of "leisure" "convenience of time."
Golf is considered to be a leisure activity. Yesterday, Dan and I took the time to participate in a golf tournament to benefit Patrick Henry College (www.phc.edu) located in Northern Virginia. It is a school started by Michael Farris one of the modern-day defenders of home education. We had an opportunity to support an institution that could be a part of our future or at least the future of one of our children.
The day however was not all leisurely because we decided to make it a one day thing (we missed it by about 5 hrs. Our day started at 5 am and ended right before midnight.) We drove to the northern part of the state west of DC where both the school and the golf club are located. It was worth it. We had a gorgeous day!! Not a cloud in the sky and about 73 degrees out. We were paired with a couple of hackers so we didn't place as far as a score went but we did enjoy playing, being together, being outdoors. (I also beat out 11 other ladies for the longest drive contest - I guess I still maintain that competitive spirit in some arenas)
It was how we decided to celebrate our 16th wedding anniversary(which was last Friday). I am just way to young to be married that long, which is what I will probably be saying for my 20th, 25th and even my 30th God-willing. From VB. Signing off.
In the child rearing years there is not a lot of time for leisure but I believe it is healthy for us to make the time for it at least on a semi-regular basis. Noah Webster 1828 dictionary gives this for its second definition of "leisure" "convenience of time."
Golf is considered to be a leisure activity. Yesterday, Dan and I took the time to participate in a golf tournament to benefit Patrick Henry College (www.phc.edu) located in Northern Virginia. It is a school started by Michael Farris one of the modern-day defenders of home education. We had an opportunity to support an institution that could be a part of our future or at least the future of one of our children.
The day however was not all leisurely because we decided to make it a one day thing (we missed it by about 5 hrs. Our day started at 5 am and ended right before midnight.) We drove to the northern part of the state west of DC where both the school and the golf club are located. It was worth it. We had a gorgeous day!! Not a cloud in the sky and about 73 degrees out. We were paired with a couple of hackers so we didn't place as far as a score went but we did enjoy playing, being together, being outdoors. (I also beat out 11 other ladies for the longest drive contest - I guess I still maintain that competitive spirit in some arenas)
It was how we decided to celebrate our 16th wedding anniversary(which was last Friday). I am just way to young to be married that long, which is what I will probably be saying for my 20th, 25th and even my 30th God-willing. From VB. Signing off.
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