I am sitting here this morning watching Cameron eat Frosted Flakes (they'rrrrreeee GREAAAT!) like it's his JOB. Meredith is sound asleep. John left for work a little while ago. I have to say, this is my favorite time of the day. The buzz around the house isn't in full swing, it's relatively quiet, and I'm still in my pj's drinking coffee.
First things first - a shout out to my dad and mom - They just finished their first year of Coach Miller's Driving School! Congrats on surviving the first year - and I pray continued success. What a wonderful group of people that have come along side you guys in this venture. Thank you to all of you who have blessed them in such personal ways.
Question of the day.....Has anyone out there ever wanted to move, but knew it wasn't time yet? And even though you knew it wasn't time, you still REALLY wanted to?! We met with our real estate agent this week to talk about selling our house and moving...either to Abilene or somewhere else in Lubbock. And although we could buy something newer or in a 'better' neighborhood, something keeps us from taking the BIG step. When we pulled up to our house last night, I just looked at our cute little trees (you guys know HOW much i love the trees in my front yard, right? They seriously, are my babies. there's def a tree-hugger within me!), and all of the things that make our house, OUR house, and i knew we couldn't do it yet. As much as our heart yearns for us to live in Abilene, closer to dear friends and blessed family, it isn't time yet. And as much as I want it to be time to move, I don't want to move if it isn't right for our family. John and I agreed last night that what the Lord is doing with us here in Lubbock isn't finished yet. That being said, all of you blog-readers who are wishing and hoping to get the call that we're on our way to A-town.....i'm sorry to say it's not happening just yet. The desire is there, but the avenue isn't. **And on a side note, as I was proof-reading this....I kept seeing the same theme - TIME - and hope that each of you know that even though the TIME isn't right yet - we trust that the Lord will open the doors and make the path right when and if He allows. Thanks to all of you sweet folks...you guys are the reason we wish we lived there!
On a much brighter note, summer at the Lowe house has officially begun! The pool out at The Falls opened this weekend, and we have decided it is going to be the Year of the Floaties. My kids may have tan lines from wearing floaties so much, that's how often we're going to be at the pool!!!!!! Meredith is such a natural swimmer - and i'm totally a lover of the sun....so Cameron better put on those happy floaties and join us in the kiddy pool! Woo hoo!!
quick update....since beginning this post, Cameron finished his 3rd bowl of Frosted Flakes, and has decided he's had enough. For now. Boys!.......
Also on the summer agenda....TRAVELING! We are a traveling crew this summer....John and I are taking "holiday" in Cancun the first week of July, and then going to San Antonio at the end of July (can you say HOT?!). We have decided the kids will be completely spoiled rotten by August from staying with my parents! Meredith knows about our trip to Cancun, but is not as concerned about our trip as she is about the fact that she gets to MOVE (her words!) to Abilene for a week! She keeps telling me that she can't wait to move there so she can swim in TaTa and Papa Bear's pool THREE times a day. Here's a peek at what she believes should (and most likely will!) transpire each day:
Mere: "Mom, when Cam and I move to TaTa's house can i swim every day. So, after breakfast, we'll swim, and then we'll eat lunch and take a nap. Then we'll swim again. Then we'll eat dinner and swim again after that."
Oh she's a mess. But I wouldn't have her any other way! On the Cameron homefront, welcome to the world of boys. Since he finished his three bowls of cereal this morning, I have been playing baseball between typing. Here's the scenario: I hold the ball in my hand, he hits it like it's on a tee with his little plastic bat, then runs the "bases" around the living room. I am typing while he runs. It makes for interesting typing to make sure my thoughts seem somewhat complete!
Well, I should post. Seems i have a mountain of laundry to do, and a little boy that needs a clean diaper. More soon. Love each of you!!!! Kris
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Stillness
Well, I sit down today to share something with you. Yes, it's been a while since i've written. I've actually tried several times to write, but things came up before the words got finished. Plus, it's been a bit of a 'season.' Between the small house fire, the gas line, the water heater, the air conditioner, the FENCE!, and now, my car........it's been a wild stretch! But today, I read some words that I really must share. and in light of my recent craziness, I do believe this is quite appropriate. The words come from Graham Cooke, and he is talking about learning to be still before God. I hope they bless you like they blessed me today! Love, Kristi
Graham's Monthly Teaching: Stillness
"Being still opens a channel of communication between us and Heaven. All of us have a background conversation going on in our minds. Head noise, as my friend, the British psychologist, Jim McNeish calls it, is an internal voice, a soundtrack for our lives. It's similar to a special feature on a DVD: an ongoing, one-way, stream of consciousness conversation, commenting on our life as it unfolds. Stillness is not about getting somewhere quiet, although that often helps, but about stilling that voice in your head. It takes discipline to quiet that voice, but you must do it. And you can do it, because God is with you.
It is this initial head noise that we convert into "prayers" when we rush too quickly into intercession. Because we have not stilled ourselves, we pray in our own strength, and we come to God's door under the weight and panic of the circumstances facing us. We speak often and are rarely still-in fact, we are the complete opposite of God.
God is always still and He rarely speaks. So there is a difference between the Lord speaking in us, and the Lord speaking to us. When we say, "Oh, God spoke to me," what has normally happened is that out of the storehouse of words, thoughts, meditations, conversations, and Scripture we carry in our spirit, God has selected something previously said to you and brought it back into your consciousness. Like a computer user loading a file, God pulls up the treasure He has already saved in us. "Oh yeah," we think. "That makes sense. That's the Lord speaking." God punctuates His silence with words, and when God speaks, it's an event. When He speaks to you, something is imparted. His presence is profound. He spoke once, and the whole earth was created. When God speaks, something happens, something is shaken, something is created and produced. When the Lord speaks to us, there is always a dynamic residue of His presence which remains with us-it is a signature moment!
In Psalm 46:10, God told David, "Be still, and know that I am God." It was a word that brought a profound sense of the presence of God to David in what were difficult circumstances. It's interesting that Psalm 46 began with an earthquake and finished with "Be still." Only God can talk about stillness in the midst of an earthquake. When the whole landscape of your life is shifting beneath your feet, only God can say, "Be still, and know that I am God."
Knowledge of God comes through peace and stillness. God wants to send us into battle, but if we don't find stillness beforehand, how will we ever find peace in the fight? Rest is our best weapon against the enemy, because rest allows us to hide in our secret place in God. The devil hates you with a malevolence and malignancy that is unimaginable, but he's not stupid: he won't chase you into the holy of holies-the very presence of God-because he knows who he's going to meet there. We need to learn how to use God as our refuge, as our fortress, as our high place, as our secret place where the enemy cannot touch us. If the enemy cannot find you, he cannot hurt you. God has provided a secret place in Him for you.
You have to lose your ability to panic if you're going to walk with God. You have to lose your ability to worry and be anxious if you're going to walk with God. There is a secret place set aside for each one of us. God is love and in His love He has set aside a place where you can live in Him no matter what. He loves to teach people where that place is, because when His children get into their secret place, they can fully enjoy life. It doesn't matter what comes against them--they rise to the challenge. Without stillness, our experience of God is limited. Stillness is the precursor to rest in the Lord; a spiritual discipline drawing us into a continual experience of His presence. It is this rest, this stillness, this secret place of God, which releases unbroken communion with Him; it releases what the Bible calls unceasing prayer."
Graham's Monthly Teaching: Stillness
"Being still opens a channel of communication between us and Heaven. All of us have a background conversation going on in our minds. Head noise, as my friend, the British psychologist, Jim McNeish calls it, is an internal voice, a soundtrack for our lives. It's similar to a special feature on a DVD: an ongoing, one-way, stream of consciousness conversation, commenting on our life as it unfolds. Stillness is not about getting somewhere quiet, although that often helps, but about stilling that voice in your head. It takes discipline to quiet that voice, but you must do it. And you can do it, because God is with you.
It is this initial head noise that we convert into "prayers" when we rush too quickly into intercession. Because we have not stilled ourselves, we pray in our own strength, and we come to God's door under the weight and panic of the circumstances facing us. We speak often and are rarely still-in fact, we are the complete opposite of God.
God is always still and He rarely speaks. So there is a difference between the Lord speaking in us, and the Lord speaking to us. When we say, "Oh, God spoke to me," what has normally happened is that out of the storehouse of words, thoughts, meditations, conversations, and Scripture we carry in our spirit, God has selected something previously said to you and brought it back into your consciousness. Like a computer user loading a file, God pulls up the treasure He has already saved in us. "Oh yeah," we think. "That makes sense. That's the Lord speaking." God punctuates His silence with words, and when God speaks, it's an event. When He speaks to you, something is imparted. His presence is profound. He spoke once, and the whole earth was created. When God speaks, something happens, something is shaken, something is created and produced. When the Lord speaks to us, there is always a dynamic residue of His presence which remains with us-it is a signature moment!
In Psalm 46:10, God told David, "Be still, and know that I am God." It was a word that brought a profound sense of the presence of God to David in what were difficult circumstances. It's interesting that Psalm 46 began with an earthquake and finished with "Be still." Only God can talk about stillness in the midst of an earthquake. When the whole landscape of your life is shifting beneath your feet, only God can say, "Be still, and know that I am God."
Knowledge of God comes through peace and stillness. God wants to send us into battle, but if we don't find stillness beforehand, how will we ever find peace in the fight? Rest is our best weapon against the enemy, because rest allows us to hide in our secret place in God. The devil hates you with a malevolence and malignancy that is unimaginable, but he's not stupid: he won't chase you into the holy of holies-the very presence of God-because he knows who he's going to meet there. We need to learn how to use God as our refuge, as our fortress, as our high place, as our secret place where the enemy cannot touch us. If the enemy cannot find you, he cannot hurt you. God has provided a secret place in Him for you.
You have to lose your ability to panic if you're going to walk with God. You have to lose your ability to worry and be anxious if you're going to walk with God. There is a secret place set aside for each one of us. God is love and in His love He has set aside a place where you can live in Him no matter what. He loves to teach people where that place is, because when His children get into their secret place, they can fully enjoy life. It doesn't matter what comes against them--they rise to the challenge. Without stillness, our experience of God is limited. Stillness is the precursor to rest in the Lord; a spiritual discipline drawing us into a continual experience of His presence. It is this rest, this stillness, this secret place of God, which releases unbroken communion with Him; it releases what the Bible calls unceasing prayer."
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