'Wild Geese'

I saw this poem on another blog and had to share it...

WILD GEESE

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting 
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

Mary Oliver

A New Name

Last week I downloaded a free app called 'Child's Prayer' in order to make bedtime traditions with Miles more special. What I like about this app is that it not only gives a Bible verse for that day, but you flip the card over and there is a question so that you and your child can engage in simple discussion as well.

Tuesday night's verse was Isaiah 9:6..."He will be called, 'Wonderful Counselor,' 'Mighty God,' 'Eternal Father,' 'Prince of Peace.'" Miles touched the screen to flip over the card and the question was, 'Which names would you call Jesus by?' My thinking was that Miles would choose one of the names he had just heard. But oh...that little boy surprises me so many times.

"King of the Life!" was his confident answer, and it almost took my breath away. I mean, how many names are there written for Jesus in the Bible? And yet this was one I had not heard. He wanted to know our answers too, and we gave them, although I personally could have been happy closing the evening with the answer Miles had given.

Thank you, King of the Life, for the unblemished heart of my sweet little boy.

Who crushed a Red Nail and is now on the Roster? This guy!

When you're proud of a family member...you just gotta show it. Remember in my last post when you saw my brother Trevor crushing that Red Nail? He's on the official Red Nail Roster now -- first one in 2011!

IronMind, who made the certification, also posted a short article featuring Trevor. I love the picture of him -- he is standing in front of a Rhodesian flag. Too cool.

Watch my brother get his Red Nail Certification!

For those of you you might remember, I posted back in July '09 about my (haha) nail-bending abilities. The coolest part of the post was getting to talk about my brother Trevor and his red nail bending abilities.

There exists a 'Red Nail Roster' on which Trevor's name will appear in the next few days. He certified this past Saturday at 10 a.m. in Fort Worth, TX on his first attempt in less than 30 seconds. The person attempting is given one minute and up to three attempts. Nope, first time and in half the time for Trev.

Here is a picture of a Red Nail (piece of Cold Rolled Steel which measures 5/16" in diameter and is 7" long. It takes 500 lbs. of force to bend this piece of steel (this is not the nail Trev used):

Trevor is the 65th person in the world to certify in this feat of strength.

Here is the official video that his friend Malachi made:

I also wanted to share something that Trev emailed to me just three days before his certification. It will give you an insight into what he does...more than just a 'feat of strength' but something related to his faith in God:

There are many things that have inspired me to bend the Red Nail.  One of those reasons are all those people in the world who would never even have the opportunity.  So many people suffer from physical pain, injury, disease, sickness – even if they wanted to make that roster with all their might, they would have no chance.  And here I am, healthy and able to push myself with no restraint…I’ve often reminded myself that I am partly doing this for them.  Why should I sit on my couch and waste the opportunity? Many of those people would at least be happy to see someone rise up to the challenge out of the masses and conquer the impossible.  I want to give them something to celebrate.  I have endured many aches and pains and am actually in tremendous pain...I remember teaching the college class about claiming things in faith and how you cannot speak against what you claim by faith, no matter how long or difficult the path may seem.  Many if not all of them have now long forgotten what I claimed about the Red Nail.  But I haven’t and God hasn’t.  And when I certify, I will remind them that mountains can indeed be moved.  I never gave up.  And I had many odds stacked against me.  But my God is bigger than any mountain.  We have to learn to stop telling God how big our mountains are and start telling our mountains how big or God is!  I actually speak to each Red Nail now, I say, “Red Nail, you will bend to under 2 inches in under 30 seconds in Jesus’ name.”  And they do.  That’s bending by faith.  Jesus said, “If you say to this mountain, ‘move’, and believe with all your heart and do not doubt, then what you say will happen and nothing will be impossible for you.”

Rebels for Christ: GCG '11

In case you missed me posting it everywhere else, here is the slide show I put together from our trip to Panama City Beach, FL for Gulfcoast Getaway 2011! It was a great time -- a tiring time, but a great time nonetheless. The worship time was so incredible, I can't say enough good about that, and so many wonderful things happened over that weekend that brought glory to God!

Thankful Thursday

It has been a long day. And when I say that, I mean my day began at 4 a.m. and I didn't have a 'real meal' until approximately 8 p.m. I was just going all day long.

But I am thankful for this day. God has been in control, and he has been showing me every step of the way. I am so small, so tiny, so not-in-control...and so thankful for that. Which is weird, because if you  know me I tend to want to control every little aspect of my life.

Thank you so much, God, for being in control and for opening my eyes to your power.

Connect 2010 | breathe (But More Importantly, Dan Kimball Sent Me a Tweet!)

In case you missed it, I had a link on Facebook to our 2010 Connect Conference's YouTube video, which you can see here. I didn't get to be as involved as I would have liked, seeing as I was running back and forth getting the photos and putting the video together. But I do have to say how proud I am of Casey, first of all, and then of all the countless others who made this possible. What a great conference!

And it is pretty cool, but Dan Kimball, who was our awesome keynote speaker, messaged me back on Twitter today to let me know he saw the video: "It was a joy to serve with you! And thanks for showing me the video! Very fun!"

I would still really like to see what he looks like before that morning hair regimen begins.

That's him on the right, with Milton Jones, president of Christian Relief Fund.

The Life That I Have by Leo Marks

I am a sentimental fool. There, I said it. I have been writing poetry since I was eight years old, although I haven't written too many poems. I probably enjoy writing prose-type things more, or just on the blog, but lyrics and poetry can touch me deeply.

I found this poem yesterday and wanted to share it. Maybe it's very well-known, I'm not sure, but in my opinion it is breathtaking. It shares what I feel about Casey, but at the same time I feel it is very much a praise or renewing of that sacred covenant with God. Everyone will take something a little different from it, that's just mine.

_______________________________________

 

The Life That I Have by Leo Marks

The life that I have

Is all that I have

And the life that I have

Is yours

The love that I have

Of the life that I have

Is yours and yours and yours.

A sleep I shall have

A rest I shall have

Yet death will be but a pause

For the peace of my years

In the long green grass

Will be yours and yours and yours.

 _______________________________________

Finding Our Way Home

Not long ago, Miles and I had been out running errands and were on the drive back to the house. We don't live in a very big place, and so he's taken notice of our surroundings and is already learning where we are and if we should turn left or right at certain intersections. But being a child, he still wants to be reassured that his guesses are correct. On this particular trip, however, the wording of his question went right to my heart and it felt like God was -- once again -- helping me to see the world through the eyes of my child.

Miles simply asked, "Mama, is this the way home?" but when he said the word 'home,' it sounded different somehow. It sounded beautiful, and it made me think of heaven.

I thought to myself, This is what God means when he says we should be like a child! I should be asking, "Father, is this the way Home? Should I go right or left? What should I do in this situation?" And it needs to be like this every day, every hour. I am supposed to look to Him for my needs, my direction.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."  ~ Proverbs 3:5

Fireflies Dance

Whether or not you like the song or the dancing, it's going to be hard not to be inspired by Brian Gaynor, a 23-year-old with scoliosis who doesn't seem to let anything stop him from doing what he loves most. I agree with Adam Shankman: I want to be like this guy when I grow up. Click here for the video.