231 - Covenant Relationship

Heavenly Father, thank you for this past weekend. On the way to my event I was able to stop and spend the night at my brother's and see his family. We have never been this close. Just 4 hours. Pretty nice. The event was actually in Hanover, In. just outside of Madison. I really wanted to stop by Madison.... they have the most awesome downtown. But snow was coming and I wanted to get home. This weekend went pretty well. Those ladies are always so nice and encouraging.

Clay is already gone for a few days. Very short trip, but yet gone. My in laws are in Hilton Head and so I am on my own. If i can keep some burning embers in my fire then i should be fine. It did not get above 20 degrees yesterday so I need that fire. Tucker was still running a fever as of last night so he will be home today. Elleigh goes to Teddy Bear and of course SJ is home with me too. Did i mention she got kicked out of preschool? She was too old. She is so thankful!

This morning i found myself at another favorite passage. I Samuel 18:1-4. This where Jonathan takes off his tunic, belt,........... important things signifying he was to be the next king, and gives it to David to wear. It is really a special moment. Jonathan lays down possibly a dream and gives it all over to David - the one to be the next God willed king. (There are a few "believers" that use this passage in defense of homosexuality. Nope, don't go there! The words translated mean strong covenant, such as the one Christ made with the nation of Israel, but not a sexual kind of thing. A bond only Christ can be the glue of strength. Nothing to do with desires to be one with another in that way. Oh goodness, no no no!)

I do remember a time when a lady, Laura Townsend, acted as Jonathan to me. We were doing a conference at my home church and she had asked me to be a speaker. She was going to do a topic on marital intimacy, but then changed her mind. Anytime there is a topic done on marriage it will be one of the most highly attended classes. So if she had given into pride she would have kept herself at that position. But she thought i would do better delivering that message. It was like she laid down her tunic and gave it over to me. It was quite a moment for me - I am not even sure she realized it. She has always been such an incredible person to me. She is a huge cheerleader and uplifting gal in my life. God really used her to paved the way for much of my future. That topic, Beauty and the Bedroom, is one of my most requested topics and one that I get the most positive feedback and changed lives from... All because of Laura laying it down!

Then there is another woman that is just incredible in my life and yet i don't really know her that well, Mrs. Ellis (her first name, but because I am really a Southern girl I have to put Mrs. in front of it.). I met her on the plane back from Ohio. She immediately took a great interest in me. I remembered seeing her in the terminal kind of thingy and just knowing she was a believer. She had that look and kindness about her. It is like she sees something in me and we still keep in touch. She is investing in me to this day - I know through prayer - but just keeping tabs on me. She is even willing to give me her "tunic". She said that she would sponsor me to do the Emaus Walk - i think that is what you call it. But you can only go with a sponsor and it is life changing. She offered that to me before i ever got off our short flight. I pray i can do that some day. I think there is one coming up in March, but I don't know if i can get away for 4 days. God has bonded our hearts and she is so wonderful. She is a Jonathan to me - I am not saying I ma a David in either of these examples, but that these people were a Jonathan to me.

Thank you Father for those great examples in my life. Give me opportunities to be that to someone. Lysa TerKeurst always told me that she did not want to go on the adventure with the Lord (ministry) all alone. She wanted to take as many with her to be a blessing as she could. If she could bring many along side of her, then more glory to Him. I will never forget those wise words and hope to do the same.

Ministry - such a never ending thing in my life that I am constantly reevaluating. Should i do this, should I do that - how will I ever do that. I feel the Lord leading me to something along the lines of radio right now, but i have no idea or clue how to do it. I think He is telling me to make some of my blogs into short 1 minute kind of devotions that I could have recorded and played over the air. Kind of like Proverbs 31 does, or Beth Moore, or Chuck Colson............ I can write it, I think, but i have no idea about getting a jingle opening tune or recording it at a studio or the big kicker - getting it on the air......... How Lord? But as I was driving along this weekend I asked Lord, what is next..................... That is what I feel He placed on my heart and mind. So, we shall see. Thank you Lord. "I can do all things through Christ who strenthens me." Phil. 4:13

Sunday 18, 2006

Lord Jesus - thank you for all your protection and yet humbling this weekend! It was awesome. I keep thinking the next retreat can never be as good as the last and then i go to another one and it just gets better. I love church ladies and I love small churches and I love ministry! Wow, thank you for my blessings!

On Friday morning i woke up to my 2 oldest girls throwing up pretty violently! It was awful. Emmajoy never gets stomach stuff and it really, really got her! Sarahjane had the same old kind of throw-up that she has been doing a lot lately and i am not sure if i need to have it looked at! But anyway, nevertheless, we were hurling!! I was in a pickle as well. My girls were suppose to go over to my neighbors to play while i left for the retreat and Clay got home from the plane. There was a time lapse in which we needed some help. But it was my neighbors daughter's birthday the next day. So even if the girls stopped being sick before lunch i just could not send them over the Lydia's house because what if her daughter got "it" and her party was cancelled - she would kill me and i think rightly so! So the Lord provided me with another sitter at just the last minute.

As Clay was arriving home - i mean walking in the door - and our sitter Brittany was leaving - I mean stepping out of the house - Emmajoy hurled her guts all over the new carpet and herself, i might add. Welcome home daddy and good-bye sitter! Boy Satan was lovin' this!! To top it all off, i got all the way to my retreat center and realized as i was unpacking the car i had forgotten my clothes. Oh no - this was bad. What was really bad was as i began to speak through my first session i felt what every women recognizes as - Oh no, not now!!! It was my time for my "time of the month", but this was not a good time. I was unprepared in every sense of the word!!! Yuck!!! So i had to confess that i was clothesless and on my period and fighting a huge amount of guilt because my husband was at home and i had not seen him in 5 days and he had my sick girls!

Now this is great - a lady raised her hand and said that she had just gone to a friend's house before she came to the retreat to pick up all her friend's clothes that needed to go to a consignment store. She said her friend was about my size, just about 5 inches shorter. So i wore someone else's clothes that was not even at the retreat and they were all about 5 inches too short! I was a sight to see!! I hope they send me pictures. It was great! See HE always provides!!

This church - Flint-Groves Baptist in Gastonia, NC - was incredible and i just had a blast. The ladies were so kind and receptive to the Lord. Many Radical decisions made and hearts set free by His word! It was unbelievable! They too felt led to lay hands on me and pray over me. There is nothing like that!!

I forgot to tell you on Friday morning about Thursday! One of the nicest and most treasured compliments that one can give me is that I am very real. Well on Thursday morning a girl and her friend came forward to talk. They were just about to walk away when one friend grabbed my arm and said, "I just love how real you are. I feel like we could just go to lunch and talk for hours." OK - that was real sweet and hope that people can always say that. Then she was just about to walk away and she felt the need to explain her comment or something........... She went on further to say, "I mean, look, your shirt is all wrinkled and your nails look terrible." The comment was something like that. But it was definitely a backhanded compliment. Her friend had a terrible look of shock on her face and began to walk away without her friend. It was hilarious!!! I appreciated what she was trying to say, but i did go get my nails done!!

Lord Jesus - i love ministry. It is hard and lonely at times being all by myself, but You never leave me and will never forsake me! I am excited to see what is next. I am excited to get our book proposal to publishers and just see what could be next!!! You are so exciting. Life is a fun filled adventure with lots of surprises! You are my Joy Lord!!! I love you!