We Remember....

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

So...I have been kinda incommunicado of late; we had an Event in northern Indiana ...gosh, it's been two weeks ago already...and I came home to a dumpster fire at work that was mostly my fault.  To be honest, I have just kinda of not pushed my brain any harder than recovery.

But I do need to address The Event before I resume Normal Blogging, because it is such a pivotal thing.

My precious mother in law came to the end of her life...having just turned 97...on December 12.  The decision was made to hold off on the memorial until after the holidays, so it was on January 31st that we all gathered...except for one young wife who could not get off of work...to, as my sister-in-law so aptly put it when we made the same trek home for my father-in-law's service two years earlier, 'to honor [her] and comfort one another.'

There is a lot that I could say about the trip itself...but I would like to talk about Her.   She was the polar opposite of the trope of the meddling mother-in-law.  She was engaging, encouraging, and always ready to help.  She was an amazing hostess; I remember one Christmas when unexpected guests arrived; she put on the coffee, pulled out tins of goodies she'd baked over the previous couple of weeks, set out the Royal Albert Poinsettia china and - boom - instant party. 

She sang in the church choir, was one of the organizers for the Christmas bazaar her church hosted for many years, taught high school biology and, along with her hubby, who taught math and chemistry, was a senior class sponsor year after year.   

She loved to travel; my inlaws were chaperones on high school trips to Europe...and then traveled on tours themselves.  They  retired young, made good use of time share points and even rode the mules to the Grand Canyon floor.  

A couple of days after my hip surgery a year and half ago, she called to see how I was doing and let me know that she was praying for me.

At the end, she was more than ready to go; the struggles with her health wore her down but she never lost her mental acuity.  

Beyond what her passing means to the family...and I may or may not get into that at some point...I am going to miss her for herself.  I was blessed to have such a caring mother-in-law.

Of Comfort and Sweet Memories

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

We've known it was coming for a long time.  And yet...somehow, we had grace for still more years.   

 I remember their 50th anniversary; we didn't think we would gather like that again.  But we did for the 60th.  And the 70th. And even beyond that...most of the family was able to be on hand for the 75th wedding celebration last June.   How amazing.

But time marches on, and my Father-in-law fell back in October and couldn't get back up.  He went in to rehab to try and rebuild his strength but he had problems with hemoglobin counts and other things and just couldn't get back on his feet.  Christmas was a good day, but he began a serious decline right after.  He spent about a week on hospice care and passed away on Jan. 21st at age 98; he would have been 99 in April.

With family coming in from Pennsylvania, California, Florida and Alabama, it took a minute to get everyone organized and travel plans made.  My Sweet Babboo and I drove up to my folk's farm west of Indianapolis on Wednesday, picked up the Florida kids at the Indianapolis airport Thursday evening and drove up to Elkhart; The Artist and his wife arrived at the farm a couple of hours after we left and came to Elkhart on Friday, swinging by West Lafayette and picking up a cousin from Purdue on their way up.  The Princess was on a work trip to Florida (She's a Disney travel agent,  but was learning about Universal Studios), which she cut short, flying back home on Thursday and she and her hubby and the two wee boys made the entire drive up on Friday.  By Friday evening, everyone was in town. Only one granddaughter, who was ill with the flu, was unable to attend; the memorial service was live-streamed so she could see it.

The memorial service was Saturday afternoon, in the 100 + year old Methodist church all the siblings grew up in.

He was a member of the Greatest Generation...a Purple Heart/ Bronze Star WW 2 veteran.  He taught chemistry for years at the local high school, and sang Barbershop, in both quartets and a chorus, and in the church choir, for decades; the memorial service was full of music.  We sang his favorite hymns, and listened to recordings of his barbershop quartet and also of the family, including the special music we sang at church for their 70th Anniversary (I confess to wiping a couple of tears at that point).  But my Mother-in-law was insistent that this was not to be a 'sad affair'; she wanted us to sing and remember good things.  

I was surprised to see some folks I knew; it was good to see distant cousins and old friends we had not been able to contact for a while.

Memorial services are good for that.

My sister-in-law said it well, in a meal blessing on Friday: "We gather to comfort and encourage one another, and to honor the memory of our beloved Dad."

Yes.

One down, one to go...

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

The day started off with a bang...a howling wind-and-rainstorm.  But things settled down by the time the appointed hour arrived.

Photo creds to his sister, The Princess.

It was a very sweet wedding.  They were married in the church she grew up in, with her dad officiating.

The ladies of the church put together a fantastic reception in the basement.  One commented to me that the bride was 'the church baby'...born shortly after her parents came to pastor; everyone watched her grow into the lovely young lady she is now.  Love was very evident all around.

I commented to My Sweet Babboo that The Actor's Little Red Haired Girl is an actual princess.

I confess, I had kinda leaky eyes through the ceremony.  I didn't when the girls were married, much to my surprise.  But I think it was her dad who moved me to tears.  He held it together really well, a barely discernable effort only threatening once.  But I know of some...difficulties...they are walking through, and to hear him speak of the wonderful adventure in front of the kids, knowing full well that life is hard but the work is worthwhile, really touched me.

Fortunately there was a box of kleenex on the front pew, lol.

They went away for the weekend, but will head home tomorrow. Their actual 'wedding trip' will be to Colorado in October to see the eclipse.  So totally in character for them.

I still have laundry to catch up and decor to store.  But there's another event on the horizon, so...well, I'll get it caught up eventually.

Celebration

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi 

When the inlaws celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary,  we all go home to celebrate.

No big party or even a choir special at church this time.  Just all the kids and as many of the extended family as could make it.

Reading the congratulatory cards

But we did a few other things whilst we were in the area.

Walked around the botanical gardens...

Hung out at St. Joseph, Michigan, and the beach on the shore of Lake Michigan

Hiked around Shades State Park 

And even caught some pretty sunsets.

The trip went by REALLY FAST.  

Don't they always?

A Momentous Day

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

So, I missed getting my Friday Faithul post up today (looks at the Saturday timestamp...I was actually just posting after midnight, lol)

We had some stuff going on.

First, this happened locally:

Baby Number Two to the Princess and Prince Charming.  A second Little Prince.  He looks happy to be here, don't you think?

But that was not the only Big Event of the day; a bit later,  this happened in Florida:

The Actor proposed to his Little Red-Haired Girl. and she said yes.

And for some reason that picture WILL NOT center.  Oh well.

So, yeah, I didn't get the weekly Bible study post written up today...

It Was a Beautiful Day For a Wedding

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

I purposely left my phone in the dressing room so that I would not be tempted to be a recorder instead of a participant.  Besides, the phone was too heavy for the pocket in my dress anyway.  So I have no pictures of the wedding myself...only what other folks have taken. 

My Sweet Babboo did get a selfie.  I will say, cell phones have uncanny resolution these days.  I think you can see the individual beads of sweat, lol.

I will finish the Colossians series this Friday.  Despite my best intentions, the to-do list got overwhelming and I got behind.  But I figured you'd all understand.

Heart of David report...

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

 

 

 

 I will post a new Desert musing tomorrow; meant to explain why I missed last week well before tonight, lol.

Back in OCTOBER, we got a notification that Morning Star Ministries was going to have a 25th anniversary conference...commemorating the 1995 Heart of David Worship and Warfare conference that literally changed the way worship was done in so many ways.  We immediately felt we were to go and signed up.

It was supposed to be in April... the weekend after Easter.  It got rescheduled for last weekend (17th - 19th).

We had a long debate about whether we were actually going to go.  We have tried to be super careful; Hubby is still 100% working from home and we haven't even been back to church yet; still watching from home.  And there were going to be a BUNCH of folks there, although they did split the attendees between two different areas of the conference center that is the Morning Star headquarters. 

But, ultimately we decided we needed to stand on the first call we felt...after all, God knew then that COVID would be an issue and we went.

Drove up in the outskirts of  Sally; we did give ourselves two days so we didn't have to leave early and  that also meant we had time to take a longer southern route to avoid the rain soaked interstate AND the worst of the storm.

If you go to their You-Tube channel, you can see the sessions...at least, the ones that were in the Atrium, so I'm not going to go into detail about those.  I will say the Thursday night session with Jason Upton was really good...he actually talked about The Desert  a little bit, which was cool.  The other session that really spoke to me was the Saturday morning session w/ Stephen Roach, who has an online creative collective with podcasts and such... The Breath and the Clay   It may be that his was the session that I needed to hear...part of me, as always, has been questioning lately if I should really be trying to focus on creative stuff, since what I do create just doesn't seem to go much of anywhere.   What is the point of writing a book if I can only get 12 people to read a blog?  So...I was getting discouraged.

But, no, he reminded me that the creativity is an expression of who God created me to be...and if no one else is inspired by stuff I create, so be it.  Create anyway, he said.

His ministry is sponsoring an online workshop next month and...without any idea of what it might entail, I signed up.  So whatever seeds were sown are going to get some more...watering, lol.

But now we're self-quarantining, more or less,  because  you, know, those were faith-not-fear people and we were two of about twelve, maybe, that we saw actually wearing masks.  The rows were spread out but the seats in the rows were side by side.  We sat in the back row...in the Atrium, which was 4 stories high and presumably well ventilated.  But there were people there from all over, so I'm working from home for two weeks.  

So...back to the desert tomorrow!

Jet Lag is a Thing.

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

The Eastern Gate from the Mount of Olives.  

I've been good during the day...but about 8:30 at night, boom, I hit a wall and can do nothing but crawl into bed, where I dream I'm still in Israel and wake up disoriented.

I assume this will go away soon and I'll be back to normal; likely wondering if it really happened, lol.

We had an amazing trip. Several folks have asked me what my favorite site was; I really can't answer that, although I can say that I learned the most at Masada.  (I looked it up on Wikipedia; the details there don't *quite* match up to what our very learned guide told us.)  I only had a vague notion of a battle there, and I thought it had to do with the Maccabees, so I was in the wrong historical period all together. 

I had a lot of incorrect assumptions about many things; seeing how it really is was...amazing.  The Sea of Galilee is much, much smaller than I had expected; the Dead Sea is much bigger, for all that is is evaporating at a rate of about 3 feet per year (plans are being made to bring in water from the Red Sea to stabilize the water levels).  The desert is rocky...and looks almost Martian.  Jerusalem's hills are very steep and the valleys are narrow.

I've been posting pictures in batches to my Facebook feed; putting notes on them as I go.  But I can only do short batches in the evening before the jet lag hits and I lose my ability to spell at all, along with my ability to compose a coherent sentence with all the words in it.

The travel itself...the flights in and out of New York, and the 11+ hour flights between New York and Tel Aviv...was a test of endurance.  I had long layovers in New York both coming and going, and the last one was especially rough because every time I sat down, I started to nod off to sleep.  I was afraid I'd fall sound asleep and miss my boarding call for the flight back to Nashville, so I spent a lot of time just walking around the terminal and telling myself I could sleep on the plane once we boarded.  But, once I finally got on board that last plane, I got afflicted with what my grandma called 'the heebie-jeebies' in my legs...the muscles were twitching and spasming in a very itchy and irritating way.  I had a window seat, which would have been good had I been able to lean against the cabin wall and snooze, but with my restless legs I was bordering on claustrophobia.  It was an exercise in self talk  "It's only 2 hours... it's only an hour and 45 minutes....it's only 90 minutes...' etc.

I was really glad to stand up when we got to Nashville.  I told My Sweet Baboo that if I go again with him...we are going to upgrade the seats! 

I have to admit, I am a terrible skeptic.  I know that there were unscrupulous folks in the  middle ages who took advantage of folks on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, selling them bogus relics.  I wondered if those same shysters had created semblances of holy sites, insisting that, for instance, that particular slope was where Jesus taught the Beatitudes.  But there's  no doubt that Jesus taught on the southern steps of the Temple, which have been excavated. And the Garden of Gethsemane is still there, with its 2,000 year-old olive trees that could tell us of Jesus's prayers, if they could talk.  Capernaum is excavated...and maybe the house identified as belonging to Peter didn't really belong to Peter, but it was there at the right time; someone lived in it who would have been known to Jesus.

And the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found are there to be seen, having sheltered the incredible texts that prove that the Old Testament scripture we have today is fundamentally unchanged from the texts of Jesus' day.

 I have a lot of personal processing to do still; I came home Saturday night, pretty well zonked, and have just managed to do what I need to do in the daylight before getting zonked again, so the only processing I've done so far is to write the little blurbs for the Facebook posts.  

It was an amazing trip and I'm ever so glad I went.

I'm still here....

posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

I did get to go to the retreat a couple of weekends ago; it was a beautiful day after a foggy drive over to Lake Guntersville and a marvelous time with ladies that, by and large, I'd never met before.

One other BSF buddy was there, and, of course, Suzanne.

What a treat to see them both and hear Suzanne teach again.

And, you know, she pointed out something that I had not considered when I was studying Joshua.

From a military standpoint, the reconnaissance that the spies did in chapter 2 was unnecessary.   God had the entire plan laid out for them; they didn't need to go in and look around.

But Rahab needed them to come in so she could escape the doom of the city.

I just hadn't realized that.  The whole episode was about Rahab...saving the one in the city who recognized and honored the God of the Israelites.  Oh, I'd seen that it was an incredible sequence of events that connected her to the spies, but I hadn't considered the true value of their adventure from a military standpoint.  They learned nothing that they needed to know.  But they met Rahab and cut a deal with her and as a result she and her whole family survived the fall of the city.

What lengths will God go to in order to deliver one who honors Him, even in the midst of a culture that wants nothing to do with Him?

There were stones with words etched in at each table for us to take as a remembrance.  I ended up with the stone that said 'Faith'.

The phrase that jumped out at me from the weekend...based on Rahab and her bold bid for survival... was 'Take the risk.'  I'm not sure how all of that is going to play into the expression of all that is in my heart, but I am encouraged that God is capable of sending someone on a boondoggle journey to give me the opportunity to step out into the unknown if that's what it takes.

Catching up

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

We've had a busy couple of weeks.

The Grand Opening of the new sanctuary was August 5.  Packed house and a boatload of data entry.

Worked extra hours but still left work for my co-workers to cover, because we had to hit the road to Indiana to celebrate my parent's 60th wedding anniversary.  It was a pretty low-key celebration, actually, just a dinner with all the family who could make it, but it was a blessing to get to be there on their special day.

60 years looks good on them, don't you think?

And, it just so happened that My Sweet Babboo had a class reunion the following weekend, so we headed up to Elkhart for Saturday night.   The reunion somehow didn't get well publicized...or organized, which is odd because the previous ones have been well done.  If that had been the only reason for the trip north, I think we would have felt kinda miffed, but not only did we hit my folks' anniversary, there was also the 104th annual Pippenger family reunion on Sunday, so the trip was worth it nonetheless. 

We did miss the official dedication of the new sanctuary, but, thanks to the wonders of modern technology we were able to watch the video on You Tube from Elkhart

 We split the trip back home up, stopping at Mom & Dad's and picking up a cooler of sweet corn on the way.  Got in too late on Tuesday to freeze corn, so I threw some more ice in the cooler and planned to do it after work on Wednesday, feeling only a little remorseful for missing the Wednesday night service.

However, The Flute Player (whose job is toy sanitation in the staff day care) was playing catch up for missing the first two days of the week and we were very late getting out of the office.  So it was nearly midnight when all the corn was bagged and in the fridge to chill. 

Thursday was the 38th anniversary of the date that My Sweet Babboo and I tied the knot ourselves, but all we did was exchange cards; we both worked straight through to choir practice in the evening. I ended up going to the office to work for about 3 hours yesterday to get some documentation ready for training that starts Monday morning...which is why I didn't get the next Joshua post up.  I plumb forgot it was Friday.

We dodged some thunderstorms to get an anniversary dinner last night and I'm doing laundry like a crazy lady today.  Tomorrow, we're doing a community thank-you service and hosting a 'pep rally'/ tour for the alumni of the high school that has become our church.  Next Sunday will be a day of thanksgiving and praise, with guests David and Nicole Binion.  Labor Day weekend follows, with our annual women's conference (albeit a bit abbreviated version) the weekend after.  So...maybe we'll see life start falling into a normal routine again somewhere around the middle of September, lol.

So, catching my breath just a bit before wrapping up Joshua.  Should be back in that groove by Friday.  I think. 

Celebrating 70

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

So, yeah, I missed the Joshua study again last week.

We were out of town; My Sweet Babboo's parents were celebrating 70 years of marriage.

The entire family came in...with the exception of the spouses of the only two married grandchildren, who couldn't get off work.  So all four kids, their spouses, and all 10 grandchildren.  Between us, we represented Indiana (the ol' stompin' grounds), Alabama, California, Florida and Pennsylvania.

It was pretty low-key, as far as celebrations go.  We took the folks out for dinner on Saturday (their anniversary was actually the 27th, but we couldn't make Wednesday work for a gathering) and basically hung out for the weekend.

Oh, and we sang at church.

I think I've mentioned the musicality of my inlaw family;  My FIL was a barbershop singer back in the day; both My Sweet Babboo's brothers are barbershoppers and I even think his sister sang with a Sweet Adeline chorus a bit.  The folks, their kids and their kids-in-law all sing in a church choir or barbershop chorus.

Two of the grandkids sing regularly and a third is a musical theater participant.  The others are, um, not particularly pursuing vocal music at the time.

But we have a tradition that began with the folks' 40th anniversary celebration...the entire family sang the special music at church on the celebration weekend.  We did it again for the 50th...the 60th...and now the 70th anniversary, adding the grandkids as they got old enough to participate.

Thanks to the advances in technology, here is the performance from the 9 AM service at St Paul United Methodist Church in Elkhart, Indiana on Sunday, July 1st.  All 20 of us are singing, although some of the grandkids might be doing so rather quietly. 

And, as it seems the video file is too big to upload to  Blogger, here's the facebook link.

It is an amazing blessing to get to celebrate them.

Sitting Down

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

We had a big leadership conference a couple of weeks ago; I haven't blogged much because I'm still processing.

The conference followed a time of fasting and prayer.  I'm not only processing from the conference, but from the week previous.

Been trying to figure out a way to describe what I'm working through and I really don't have any brilliant summaries.  And it may not be applicable to anyone else.

But I kinda have a feeling that, until I work through what I've found in front of me here, my writing/blogging is going to be kinda, well, distracted?

Anyway.

Part of the mix was a shift in roles; as the data base admin, I've been the Person Responsible for Registration for the last couple of years.  Just as we began gearing up for this, I got word that registration was moving over to the Events team.

Which makes tons of sense and was something of a relief.  It was a little more abrupt than I had expected; I figured I'd use this conference to train the newbies and then let them handle the next event, but, no, it was 100% handed off with me just playing the role of consultant.

They didn't even need me to be part of the registration desk team at the conference.

Hold that thought for a minute while I backtrack.

We had several topics to ponder and pray through during the fast; one of the first topics was 'Awakening Passion'.

And, in the process of praying through 'Awakening Passion', I came to realize what my core passion is.

Truth.

Of all the things for a believer to be passionate about, Truth seems to me to be the most objectively cold and lacking in compassion.  But it explained a lot.  Why does it matter if the data entry is sloppy?  Because it compromises the integrity - the truth- of the data base.  Why do I feel an unction to teach?  Because it's sharing truth.  Why do I get all frustrated when movie-makers change the story the book author wrote?  Because it doesn't tell the true story.  Et cetera.

That's a far cry from the little girl who used to tell fantastic stories about things just to get some attention.  Or maybe it's not...maybe the call-out I got on it in middle school was the thing that pushed me from 'tell it like I wish it was' to 'truth matters'.  I don't know.  But I do know that truth matters to me... a lot.

The next great revelation came on the day I was praying through 'Awakening Identity', in which I found myself asking the question 'What AM I afraid of?  What's keeping me from living in my identity?'  Of course, I thought it was failure...but, to my surprise I realized I'm not really afraid of failure.  I'm afraid of disappointment.  Afraid to get my hopes up.  Afraid to dare to believe something...because I might get disappointed.  And, if I'm honest, there was an 'again' at the end of that.  I'll just be disappointed again.  Failure in and of itself isn't what I cringe from...it's that 'disappointed again' that comes with it.  Failure is me. I can try again. Disappointment...well, that comes from so much around me.  It's connected to  The Jinx Lie...that wanting and hoping for something is a sure way for it NOT to happen.  That 'hope deferred' thing that makes the heart sick.  And it may explain something of why I hate it so much if I disappoint someone or let someone down if they were counting on me.

So.  I was going into the conference with those two revelations fresh in my spirit.  And I had no assigned task.  That's hard, for someone who tends to be performance-oriented.  I wasn't needed in my usual spot and I didn't have another.  There were folks on staff who were working their little tails off...just as I had done in previous conferences.  One of my fellow staff members suggested I hang with her at her position and possibly learn how to do some of what she does...at first, I thought, 'ok, I can do that.'  It would, of course, give me the feeling of being Useful and Needed, of Pulling My Weight.  But about two days before the conference, in the fast and seek time, I clearly  heard in my spirit, 'I have cleared your calendar for you.  Now SIT DOWN.'

I hadn't heard anything that strongly or that clearly in quite some time.  So I told my friend I would just be a regular peep for this conference.  My Sweet Babboo being out of town for a professional conference, I sat by my older son for the first session on Thursday night though an awesome worship set led by David and Nicole Binion.  At one point during that set, I had words that I just had to record, so I flipped to the back of my conference notepad and wrote, in the midst of the cry of my heart, 'God... you have set me up.'  I was going to dare to be expectant...to risk disappointment.

The speaker of the evening, Jim Raley, began his message with a series of declarations that the congregation repeated after him.  The first one was 'God, you have set me up.'

Alrighty, then.

What followed...well, you can click on the link and see.

So I'm trying to get out of myself and risk disappointment.  And the first thing I have to do is finish what I've started.  So I'm digging back into the online Master's degree; it's the home stretch and it is getting a little tougher.  Taking some time.

 And, in all honesty, I'm still pretty much in 'SIT DOWN' mode regarding anything else. Just waiting to see what 'double door' will open.  I have a feeling it will be something I have not expected and couldn't have planned.

Rephrasing an Old Lie

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

The Enemy targets women.

He has from the beginning.

And the only weapon he has is....a lie.

He twists it and rephrases it and camouflages it, but it's still just the same lie.

What God has said to you isn't right.  You know you want, no, you NEED, to make yourself like Him.  You can decide what's right and wrong.  You're not going to let Him fool you, are you?  I know better.  Listen to me.

He said it directly to Eve and she chose to listen to him.  Today, he uses other people.  Folks with status.  Folks with a platform.  But he's still targeting women.

What God has said isn't fair.  You know you want, no, you NEED, to declare yourself the supreme authority.  You decide what's right and wrong.  You're not going to let a bunch of backwards-thinking fundamentalists fool you, are you? We know better. Listen to us.

And because women have such an need for approval they listen to the voices on the platform, the influential personalities who have nothing to offer but an illusion.  The still small voice of reason and deliverance is not even acknowledged.

Jesus, talking to folks who 'diligently study the scriptures,' not unbelieving, ignorant pagans, pointed out the crux of the matter:

I have come in my Father's name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own [her own?] name, you will accept him. (John 5:43)

If someone else comes in their own name...with no backing but the generalized approval of a crowd, with no authority other than what possession of a microphone provides....oh, yes, it's happening.

It's all over my facebook feed today.  One agenda proclaimed to draw crowds, another agenda entirely declared from the platforms.  I am angry on behalf of sisters who believed they were standing, who had a passion to stand, against abuse, against double standards, against  marginalization of women all over the country, against  the loss of  a generation of women who were never born because they were sacrificed on the altar of abortion, only to find that they were not welcome because their cause did not fit with the ideology of those who  had the microphones, who were determined to make the day a political statement.

Did anyone march for the women who are abandoned, along with their children, by their husbands and left in poverty while the husband remarries and then 'can't afford' to support the family he left behind?  No-fault divorce at work there.  Was anyone protesting no-fault divorce?   Who was calling for the end of sex trafficking of untold numbers of young ladies...and young men?  Anyone? Anyone addressing the crowd call for the nation to value our daughters before they are born?  Did anyone sympathize with women who are suffering post-traumatic stress disorder after they discovered that aborting their babies was not the moral equivalent of having their appendix removed, as they had been told, when they found themselves mourning and grieving a loss they could not admit?

Or was it just about pitching a fit that we have a president that the folks in the big cities don't care for?

How many women went along with it just because they were led to believe it was about 'women's rights'?  How many are re-posting and re-tweeting on social media because it is the cool thing to do at the moment?

How many are swallowing the lie?

It's the same lie.

And it targets women.

The lie, at it's heart, is that there is a higher approval than that of God Almighty.

It sets women to chasing something that is not there.

How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?  - Jn 5:44

The Post I Meant to Write Yesterday but Ran Out of Time: I Wore Purple.

posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Four years ago, feeling snarky, I tried to make an underhanded statement of support of my chosen candidate at the polls, which backfired hysterically.   Next time, I stated in a reply to a comment, I will wear purple.

I remembered that statement as I stood in the closet on this Election Day, and pulled out a purple kind-of-sort-of twin set to wear.  My own humble pie for trying to be too clever last go-round.

 You can see a bit of it in the obligatory 'I voted' selfie I posted to Instagram...

But in the back of my head I had a thought all day that, just maybe, wearing purple was a sort of statement after all.

Purple is, after all, a blend of red and blue.  Once blended, they can't be pulled out again.  There's something new.

Had I written this post yesterday, as intended, I would not yet have known the results of the election.  My plan was to write something along the lines of ...whoever wins, we've got to unite as people.  We've got to quit the 'us vs. them' business and figure out how to get along even though we may not agree.  We've got to quit being red states and blue states and be purple together.

I remember doing a mock election during the presidential election of 1972 when I was in Junior High school; one of my classmates pulled me into a toilet stall with an unflushed, completely foul commode and announced, 'That's [the candidate you're supporting]!'  Even as a 13 year old, such a statement made absolutely no sense to me. The truth was, she didn't know enough about the issues and the platforms to make a reasoned argument against the candidate my team was supporting...and so crude insults were her argument.

I have seen way too much of such junior high behavior from way too many people in this election process... from supporters of both major parties and a good number of independent voters.    Maybe the person you voted for won, maybe that person did not.  But guess what...the folks that voted for the 'other candidate' probably didn't do it for the reasons the [liberal or conservative] press may be touting.  Most folks who cast valid votes do so for the person they think will do the best job for the USA from the available choices (I am not so sure about the 11,000  or so folks who voted for a dead gorilla.  Surely they could have written in one of the independent candidates who better represented their values). I may not understand why someone would vote for a particular candidate, but I have to respect their choice.  I know I don't appreciate reading some blanket statement applied to the folks who colored in the same circle I did; I'm quite sure folks who filled in other circles will not be encouraged or uplifted by some similar blanket statement applied to them.  And we will not heal up until we learn that individuals vote for individual reasons and we cannot lump everyone who voted for [this candidate] under one offensive epithet.

There are people who revel in such notoriety, who are rewarded by the shock and pain on the face of the person whom they judge worthy of a an unflushed toilet, but the truth is when you try to shoot down those folks, you inevitably hit the folks who were standing on the same side, who thought their choice through and, because they might have slightly different perceptions or priorities or foundations for their thinking made what they believed to be a reasoned choice...but different from yours.  And they would be just as horrified to be shoved into a bathroom stall for their choice.

So be judicious, not judgemental. Because God says there's a better way to change a nation.

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.  -- 2 Chron. 7:14 NIV 84

Honor where Honor is Due

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

I had a rare privilege over the weekend.

I got to attend a 90th birthday celebration for someone who's been an example and inspiration for untold numbers of folks.

A purple-heart WW2 vet, he was a high school chemistry and math teacher for decades.  He and his wife (who, after their 4 kids were all in school, became a biology teacher) were senior class sponsors year after year, until their retirement from teaching in 1982.

He was part of an award-winning barbershop quartet back in the day, and still sings in the church choir every Sunday.

From California, Alabama and Pennsylvania his kids and their families trekked in and congregated in the party room of his favorite restaurant.

He didn't know anything about it until he walked in and saw everyone.

My Sweet Babboo posted a little item on the town's 'You grew up in..' facebook page.  Comment after comment appeared on the post as former students left memories and good wishes.

It was totally worth the 26 hours we spent on the road over the course of 4 days.  What a blessing to be part of the legacy.

Happy 90th Birthday to my Father-In-Law.  He is loved by many.

A little celebrating, a little looking ahead...

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

I know I've been a bit scarce in these parts...we had kind of a major event over the weekend: My Sweet Babboo hit the big Six-Zero.

I am SO not believing that...just doesn't seem possible... (I freely acknowledge that I make the Worlds Ugliest Cakes, but they taste good...)

But, his parents came to see us, our youngsters joined us for dinner...except for the Flute Player, who is in Mobile with Rock Masters Commission doing a fall outreach...anyway, it's been busy and, while I have been thinking a bit about where I'm going next on the blog, I didn't get much chance to sit down and write anything.

And, truth be told, we've got some things gonna happen on the next two weekends as well...hey, sixty is a pretty major birthday...so I'm looking at busy still to come.

But I'm thinking.  I'd really like to do a Friday study again...haven't for quite some time.  And, while I'd really like to do something related to the season; I also have got a hankering to do a study on David...the good, the bad, the ugly, the noble.

I'm planning to do the Elijah House School of Prayer Ministry course offered at church in Jan- April; there's a TON of work to do...reading, listening to teaching tapes, answering questions...and I've about decided that if I'm going to do it, this may be my best chance, since I'm not actively teaching at the moment.

So I'm sorta thinking of saving David until after Elijah house, since I don't think I can say everything I'd want to say between now and the first EH class.  Which means I could do some kind of Thanksgiving/Advent something.

Maybe a look at the 7 Hebrew words for 'praise'?  We've covered that quite a bit at church over the years, but I would kind of like to dig into it to refresh my own memory...and 7 weeks would just about finish out the year...

Hm....

What a difference a week makes....

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

I'm going to be processing for a while, I'm sure, and there's no way I can begin to sum up the week in a single blog post.

So I thought I'd just share some images from the week...there will be more later, I'm sure, but for now, here's a glimpse of  a week that has changed my life.

The first hint of what was to come was waiting in the hotel room.  I honestly nearly cried when I walked in and saw the gift bag with my name on it.   I know that our church does gift bags when we have special guests come in for the women's conference or other events...but for such a bag to be prepared for me nearly undid me.

It was a few hours later when I began to wonder how I would get the books and other goodies that were in that bag packed into my already crammed suitcase for the trip home...so thankful for that extra 2" I got from unzipping that little fold. ;-)
 



Rita has a really cute reception space on her front porch; you wouldn't think I'd be surprised to see my name there,  but I did have a moment when I saw that I was listed along with all the others.  The icing on the cake is that royal blue is my favorite color in the whole world.





Being as how there were 14 of us at this event, we were a perfect van load.  Driving it around the Dallas area is NOT something I'd ever want to do; so grateful for Janelle, who not only drove us everywhere but made sure we had food delivered, picked up ice cream, prayed over us all week...you name it.  She was a huge part of the success of the week.





One of the most powerful moments  happened on Wednesday night; Rita had special guests Kristene DiMarco and Kalley Heiligenthal come in and share on Wednesday.  In the course of the day, a story came out about Kristene smashing a pumpkin as she was making declarations of things that needed to be broken in her life.  Someone mentioned that perhaps we should go get pumpkins and all smash them as we declared that we would not carry those lies back home with us.


Before the night was over, there were pumpkins procured and each one of us declared what we would see broken...what we were done with...as we smashed a pumpkin (yeah, that's a whole blog post by itself...). 
 







It was amazing to watch how everyone developed, changed, broke free, opened up as the week progressed.  I knew what to expect from Rita...she's been to our church several times to minister and I knew that she would not let anyone retreat into what was safe or stay where she was comfortable.  But what surprised me was that all the other ladies were so awesome.  Such talent, such depth, such promise on all of them.  I kinda think in 5 years, there will be 13 ladies that I will be able to point out and say, 'Hey, you know, she was in my Dive class.'

Thanks to Rita Springer for investing so much in so many.  Love, love her!

If you're curious about the DIVE  school...here's more info.

Not Quite Believing It

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

So.  This is the week.  Friday morning I get on a plane (I haven't been on a plane since 1999...) and head to Dallas for a week of creative worship workshopping.

And I'm taking a huge deep breath...it doesn't seem quite real to me.  Yes, I've wanted to do it for several years.  But...it really is a huge step out of the comfort zone.

We will present an original song to a board.  We will have guitar classes (I have a guitar that I pull out and play with it...as opposed to actually playing it...every once in a very great while.  I think I remember the C, G, D, F and A minor chords...). I'm not going to be at the top of either of those efforts.

But it's good.  It's good to be challenged, to be put in a position of taking risks.  Especially when, really, I'm not looking for validation as a worship leader or song writer or musician.

I'm just looking for the kick in the backside that will knock the melancholies out.  A fresh vision to take the place of the one that has gone away.  Courage to not take that personally.

Yeah, I'm still fighting that.  It's crazy, but, well, it's the truth.

So I'm pushing past the comfort zone and headed out into something way different for a week.

I'm hoping I can articulate it when I get back. :-)

Basic Milestones

Posted by Lisa Laree at Beer Lahai Roi

This weekend was the 15th anniversary of our church.  It's an amazing thing...that in 15 years a living room meeting of a little over a dozen people has grown into a ministry that has literally touched the world...from Iceland to Ireland to Moldova to Zimbabwe to India to Sri Lanka to Guatemala...and we had a celebration of sorts.  Some looking back, some humorous looking at where we are now, and some news about where we are going in the future.

There were party hats and balloons and cotton candy.  A celebration.

But you know, that was not a typical worship service.  Not at all.  And at least one person, who was semi-vocal about it, was not happy.

She left a comment card w/only her first name and her home city, as she was a visitor to our area.  "I came hungry and I left hungry," she said, "I saw no sign of the Bible that you talk about but apparently don't read."

I guess she didn't eat the cotton candy. ;-)

If she had left any form of contact info, we could've followed up and explained (again...it was mentioned several times throughout the morning) that this was a rare event; we were celebrating what God had done.  She could easily visit the website and see the sermon archive to know that this is not usual for us.

Instead, she has seemingly decided that we do not preach/teach from the Bible.  Because we had a celebration service for one Sunday.

Oh, there were other folks who left very nice comments; this was the odd one, for sure.

But one thing about it stood out to me.

I came hungry and I left hungry

This is not a unique expectation...that one should come to church hungry and leave sated, as if the house of God were Britling's Buffet.  I have spoken to many folks over the years who have bounced around from church to church, looking for the place where they were 'fed'.

And I would offer one thought on that.

What are the biggest milestones of the first 18 months of a child's life?

Stitting alone...crawling...walking...talking...feeding him/herself.

One of the FIRST things a child learns to do is feed him/herself.  Before potty training, before jumping a rope or throwing a baseball, before riding a bicycle or learning to read. A child who can't feed himself after about 18 months is considered to have developmental issues.  Oh, they can't take a steak knife to a rib eye and make a meal of it yet, but they're on their way with cheerios and yogurt and  broken up grilled cheese sandwiches and sippy cups.

But we have folks who have been followers of Christ for years and years and still they go to church 'to be fed'.

Now, I'm not saying that the church should not exhort and equip.  But basic feeding...dear ones, we have to learn to feed ourselves.  Get into the Word and let Him reveal Himself, personally.  If the only 'food' we are receiving is that which is filtered through another's spirit, how will we find the delicacies that He has chosen for each of us alone?  And if the church is continually and exclusively feeding infants, where will those who are called to equip warriors find their place?  How will those warriors stand in battle if they do not know how to keep themselves nourished?  Where is the opportunity for celebration, for fellowship, for laying the stone of remembrance to declare to the future generations what happened on this place?

We have much more to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn.  In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again.  You need milk, not solid food!  Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.  But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.  -- Heb 5:11 - 14, NIV 84

It's time we learned to boil our own eggs, chop up our own veggies, butter our own bread and get past being fed and start taking some responsibility to get up from the table and do what we are each called to do.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled  - Matt 5:6, NIV 84

Then Jesus declared, 'I am the bread of life.  He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.' - John 6:35, NIV 84

SSMT Verse 21: Hebrews 10:35-36

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Tonight was the sectional Royal Ranger commander pitch-in dinner; we do this every year about this time and, to be honest, while I like eating all the home cooked food and visiting with folks, it always seems to be something that requires more fuss and bother than I have time for.

I did cook for it and came home and cooked more (how did our school get signed up to provide breakfast for the theater festival judges in the morning?)...my kitchen is WRECKED. 

I think I'm going to do an unheard of thing and bail from the festival as soon as my kid is done tomorrow; come home and clean up the mess I made today.

But I digress.  Tonight was worth the fuss and bother and then some.

Our feature this year was a young lady who is on the worship staff at our church and is just launching out into her own ministry, Kat Holder.  She did an awesome job singing three of her original songs, and she challenged us along the theme of tonight's banquet, 'Top Shot'.  She kinda made a play on words...one of the things the Ranger Boys have to earn is something called a 'Cut and Chop' card, which they must have on them in order to use any sharp tools on any Ranger event; so she said that we would earn our 'Top Shot' card tonight. 

Basically, she anagrammed 'top shot' down the side of the card, then challenged us to consider what makes someone a 'top shot' in the kingdom.  She described her choices, but told us that we would probably all pick different words, depending upon where we each were  in our spiritual journey or how we saw our position.

We were also challenged to post photos of the cards to the Sectional Ranger Facebook page, but, well, since I'm not on that page I just decided I'd do it here:

One of the verses she mentioned tonight caught my ear and I scribbled it down. When I got home and read it, I decided that verse and the one preceding it would be the SSMT verse for Nov. 1:

So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.  You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. - Heb 10:35-36 NIV84