DAY 16 WITH THE SON

I'm taking the 40 days leading up the Christmas to focus on the life of Jesus and do a mini-reflection and devotion. I'm following along with Liza on her special blog called 40 Days with the Son, based on the Max Lucado book 3:16.

Here is how to join us in reflection of the spirit of this upcoming holiday season.

CHUMMING WITH THE MAFIA: "I'm here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders." Matthew 9:13 (MSG)

I really like the reminder from today's devotional that many people missed Jesus and few looked for Him. But ALL who looked for Him, found Him. Somewhat building on my previous thoughts, I think we need to encourage people to seek out Jesus and a relationship with Him. It's not about showing them the Bible or dragging them to church, rather it's about touching the desires of their heart so they will seek out Jesus. It's also a very powerful mantra that all churches should operate by- the Church exists for those outside its walls, not those on the inside.

Another small comment is that his passage is from The Message translation of the Bible, which is more of a paraphrase in contemporary language. I've really enjoyed reading this version of many of my favorite old, familiar stories. The words and phrases the Message uses somehow speak to me on a new level and allow me to gain a deeper understanding of that passage. I'm not suggesting it be your only translation of the Bible, but I think it's a great supplement to a study Bible and will bring new life to the words and parables.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: My wonderful step-dad helped me out of a bind today when my brand new (1 day old) tire was flat in my driveway this morning. (Just needed a new valve stem).

GROWING COTTON

We were 1 day late on seeing the fields of cotton harvested. All summer and fall, the land had been teeming with cotton, despite the worst drought on record in Georgia and Alabama. In some ways, it's very interesting to watch the cycle of nature swing back and forth.

Where this delicate bulb of cotton grows, once stood millions upon millions of acres of farmland filled mostly with cotton but some other crops too. But before cotton was the cash-crop of the South, this area was dense forests that had to be cleared by hand and the land cultivated by plow.

Generally, the cotton bulb spills forth from the outer shell and waits to be gathered. All this land was terraced to help with the irrigation, and all that back-breaking work was done by the slaves on the land in the 1800's. Walking through the forests even today, you can still see the shelves cut into the land to redirect water to the crops.

My husband was quite fascinated by his first experience with a cotton. The machines that pick the cotton leave much on the ground and we were able to play with the seeds. Getting the seed separated from the fibers of the cotton is quite a difficult task and can take a few minutes by (inexperienced city) hand.

My friends don't actually do any of the farming themselves, and all the land is leased out to a farmer who is responsible for tending to the crops. They will do cotton for a few years on the land and then switch to corn for a few planting seasons to let the land rebuild itself.

I really wish we had been able to see the snow white fields teeming with cotton, I was told it's a beautiful sight to see. To my husband and I, being that close to something that we could see grow and imagine being our clothes one day was a neat experience.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: I got 4 new tires for my Jeep, which I desperately needed.

DAY 15 WITH THE SON

I'm taking the 40 days leading up the Christmas to focus on the life of Jesus and do a mini-reflection and devotion. I'm following along with Liza on her special blog called 40 Days with the Son, based on the Max Lucado book 3:16.

Here is how to join us in reflection of the spirit of this upcoming holiday season.

Today's chapter is entitled When Jesus Gets into Your Boat: "They caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break." Luke 5:6

The first thing I am inspired to do after reading this passage to to be faithful and obedient. Jesus told the disciples exactly what to do, they were faithful and obedient, and then Jesus blessed them. He desires for us to be obedient because He wants to pour out blessings in our lives and fill up our fishing nets. I'm a very firm believer in the principles that the Bible teaches about money and worldly possessions. Jesus repeatedly instructs us to be obedient with our finances, and goes so far as to challenge us to "Test me" and he promises to open the windows of heaven and pour out blessings (Malachi 3:10). I don't know about you, but I'm doing my best to test God through obedience, waiting with my net wide open and looking toward heaven. I've already been so incredibly blessed, it's hard to imagine how much God will bless my obedience even more.

The devotional goes on to quote the 10th verse, in which Jesus assured Peter that he will become a fisher of men very soon. I think this is a great visual metaphor on how Christians are to evangelize to the world. I often wonder "Who I am to go to people around the world and tell them to believe in the Bible?". Above all, it was Jesus command to do this so that others may know about him. I think that we reach non-believers by showing them something attractive and getting them to move towards us (using humanitarian food aid or other types of social support). This will bring them to Jesus, not by chasing them around beating them over the head with leaflets or tracts. It's a touchy and complicated subject, but I think we as Christians need to revisit this topic and open up a new chapter on evangelism.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: It's sooooooo good to be home with Zoe and my husband!

RED BARN

This fabulous old red horse barn had been painstakingly restored by my god-parents. They found it in a state disrepair when they first came to the family plantation about 20 years ago.

Adelle painted hundred of gallons of red paint onto the weathered old boards in an attempt to protect and preserve them.

When the property was a working plantation, many years ago, the barn held a wide assortment of animals, but in more recent years had been home to a few horses. Jerry gave us a few lessons on all the intricacies of the barn- the many hidden features used by workers to make their life easier.

Although this may appear as an ordinary wood pile, all this boards are high-quality hard woods which have been removed from the "Old Place" (wait till you see it!) and will all be restored and reused.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: After an unexpected surgery, my grandmother is doing well and will hopefully be moved from ICU today.

DAY 14 WITH THE SON

I'm taking the 40 days leading up the Christmas to focus on the life of Jesus and do a mini-reflection and devotion. I'm following along with Liza on her special blog called 40 Days with the Son, based on the Max Lucado book 3:16.

Here is how to join us in reflection of the spirit of this upcoming holiday season.

Titled Too Early to Retire: "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2

On my mission trip to Ecuador a few years back, I was very much struck by this particular passage. It was the first time I'd really departed the "Western World" and entered into another culture so deeply that I witnessed their everyday life, their history, their struggles, and their bravery- in a world that was both literally and figuratively a million miles away from my own.

It was the first time I truly realized how numb and insulated my upper-middle class life in America had made me to others around the world, with a great job, a home in the suburbs, a fully stocked kitchen, savings in the bank that distracts me from the needs of others- both near and far from me. How easy it is to be lulled into a sense of apathy by the standards of my western lifestyle and to think little of those around the world who live a life drastically different than mine. I have the volcano photo framed in my office, with the scripture verse printed below to remind me of the lessons I was taught on that trip.

I also think this specific verse is a great one to study each and every single word, for they are all so powerful and all connected to the power of the verse. I've heard several sermons on this verse, and I'm most inspired by the fact that the Christian's work is to resist the ways of the world and then God will be doing the transforming. Don't try to transform yourself, because it will be God who will change you from the mind by a renewing. This renewing indicates that it was something that you once had or obtained that just needs to be refreshed. Each and every word of this verse is great for study and is a perfect example of how much meaning can be derived and inferred from the powerful words of scripture.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: I'm headed home to Houston tonight, after almost a week on the road!

TALL TALL TREES

WARNING- Several days of beautiful Alabama posts coming soon. I'll start off with the awesome trees, since I enjoyed long, bone-chilling walks through the woods. We have pine trees in Texas, but none this big! I've never seen pine so tall or so large.

Here I am with Jerry; I had to take my hoodie off to reduce the dork-factor of the photo. Jerry would tell us all about the different tress, how cotton fields spread as far as the eye could see where there are now pine forests. We learned about the art of tree farming- harvesting, planting, cutting and making big bucks.

Just to show you how big around this pine tree was, H and I could barely reach around it and hold hands. He's my little tree hugger ;)

On the mesquite and maples and oaks and pear trees, the leaves were brilliant reds and oranges, which made for super-fun photos.

This was one LARGE tree on the property. I would guess the base of the trunk is at least 20 feet around. The branch on the right had recently fallen during a big storm, but just the single fallen branch was as big as most trees.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: There was a wee bit of rain here on Monday in draught-ravaged Georgia & Alabama.

DAY 13 WITH THE SON

I'm taking the 40 days leading up the Christmas to focus on the life of Jesus and do a mini-reflection and devotion. I'm following along with Liza on her special blog called 40 Days with the Son, based on the Max Lucado book 3:16.

Here is how to join us in reflection of the spirit of this upcoming holiday season.

Titled Christ's Crazy Kin: "And he was amazed at their lack of faith." Mark 6:6

Two thoughts on this verse & devotional story. The first is about family, specifically my family. My dad was the one that took me to church faithfully as a child and the one who instilled a great deal of my beliefs about my faith. Given the several recent deaths in the family and the ever-aging grandparents and aunts/uncles, I am very torn about their salvation. I feel confident that I will see my husband and my father in heaven again one day, but I'm not so sure about many other very important members of my family. I really struggle with how and when to share more of my faith and when to invite them to church. I just pray and ask God to give me the right words to be able to speak with them to ensure that they are going to Heaven one day.

The other aspect of this passage is the verse itself that remarks about how foolish and naive the disciples, Jesus' family and other of the day were about Jesus and his teachings. We can study the Bible, seeing how obvious the parables and lessons that Jesus was trying to teach. What really disturbs me today is that we do not recognize this same problem in Christianity today. Yes, we can clearly decipher the parables and do all sorts of bible studies on every verse and chapter, BUT where along the way did we, as Christians, lose the bigger picture?

Why is there more hate than ever directed at Christians? Why are we so disdained by the secular world? Why are most Christians defined by their hypocrisy and once a week appearance in a church? Where did we lose the message of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and goodness that Jesus outlined in the New testament? Why aren't Christians fighting for the poor and homeless? Why aren't Christians among the leading advocates of taking care of the environment and fragile earth entrusted to us? Why aren't Christians giving more and more of their wealth to the poverty stricken areas and being active in the political process to create genuine change? WHY- because we "lack faith" in the lessons that Jesus taught us.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: I'm excited to see a genuine, real, authentic revival in the Church that's returning believers to the faith of Jesus and the principles by which he lived his life.

INTO ALABAMA

Despite the somewhat hazy morning, I caught a nice glimpse of downtown Houston as we took off for Atlanta on Thanksgiving morning. I think it was the 30 mph winds from the North that changed the usual flight take-off patterns.

How swampy, nasty is this? I think it's around Channelview or Baytown, which is the upper end of Galveston Bay. If I could zoom more, you'd see the area peppered with factories and industrial areas.

My husband picked up a great book he foundvin the airport called Mongrels, Bastards, Orphans, and Vagabonds: Mexican Immigration and the Future of Race in America. He was able to do quite a bit more reading in Alabama and is enjoying the book so far.

Along with the new flight-path south of the city, we flew over this huge rail-switching yard that's a major artery for all the goods and products that come through the Port of Houston, the railroads, and the tractor-trailers.

Something neat I've never seen before was the shadow of the plane cast just below us on the clouds as we approached the Atlanta airport. I'm not sure what type of optical trick was going on, but the polarized ring about the shadow was a cool effect too.

Breaking through the low lying clouds near the Atlanta airport, I spotted all the beautiful fall colors of the trees lining the gently rolling hills. I knew it was going to be beautiful on the ground, as long as the rain stayed away!

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: It's going to be another great month at work for H.

DAY 12 WITH THE SON

I'm taking the 40 days leading up the Christmas to focus on the life of Jesus and do a mini-reflection. I'm following along with Liza on her special blog called 40 Days with the Son, based on the Max Lucado book 3:16.

Here is how to join us in reflection of the spirit of this upcoming holiday season.

Titled Just Call Her Grace: "He knows me inside and out." John 3:49

I've read and thought about today's passage and I just really couldn't get into it. All of my previous readings & reflections have sparked some type of reaction and deeper thoughts. As I went through my day, I tried to think about the literal title of the chapter, being called Grace, and the verse of Jesus knowing us inside and out, not necessarily the larger context of the woman at the well.

I had a long, stressful day and I think I especially needed the title of Grace. Normally, I'm pretty much a klutz and totally non-graceful in the physical sense, I don't often ponder grace in the spiritual sense. I woke up at 4:45 (eastern time!) and instead of H just hopping on the hotel shuttle to the airport, he called up to me to drop him off. I frantically threw on my clothes, dashed out into the cold rain and battled the airport monsters to drop him off for his flight back to Houston. I headed back to the hotel to finish packing & drive across Atlanta for my seminar.

My morning went downhill from there. In the dark, rainy morning I drove about half way across the city when I realized I didn't have my camera with me. I just about had a panic attack, then slowly tried to re-trace our steps and tried to convince myself that I just left it in the hotel room. I pulled over and spent a few minutes making phone calls to get the hotel phone number and then leaving a message pleading with them to please find my precious camera. Continuing my cross-city trek, I arrived in the area near my seminar and missed the turn-off the road into the building and accidentally turned back onto the freeway. What a mistake! About 6 miles to the next exit, then bumper to bumper traffic back in the direction I needed to go for my class. Normally, I'm pretty calm, cool and collected about all sorts of situations. However, I know nothing that will getting me more agitated, panicked and generally flipped out than being lost or confused about where I am going.

Luckily, I made it back to my class on time and the rest of the day went smoothly, including driving back across Atlanta to retrieve my camera and back up North again. No great revelations about today's material, other than I needed some extra grace to get through my day and put all my worries into God's hands. I remember that no matter how well I manage to reign in my emotions or reactions, God can still see the inner agitation or anxiety. And He still loves me.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Though I may not have all the physical-grace I desire, I assuredly have all the spiritual-grace I will ever need.

DETROIT AIRPORT

I really don't have many comments about my Detroit trip, other than the Westin at the airport is awesome and I never even had to set foot outside on my trip. The hotel is attached directly to the Detroit Airport, a short walk from the ticketing counters & baggage claim. In the lobby, many of the airlines have check-in kiosks & there is even a security line just for the hotel. You'd hardly think we were in Detroit with all those trees- like they actually cared about environment or something.

Being my nervous, Type-A self who had to over-prepare and over-pack for my big meeting, I was all dressed up and ready to go at least 30 minutes before I needed to go downstairs and grab breakfast. I thought I'd take a self-portrait in front of the shower curtain since I rarely wear suits or heels.

The meeting went well, and I was quickly back at my terminal ready to head home to Houston. I've been trying to snag a Boeing 747 shot because I've always wanted to fly on one and

Continental doesn't have any in their fleet. Maybe on my trip to Fiji in a few years....

The square building in the center/right is the Westin Detroit Airport, which you can see is right next to the new control tower. It was super-swank and very modern place to drop a few hundred bucks on a comfy bed and marble bathroom.

You could even hear the gentle hum (roar) of planes taking off all night. It wasn't that bad though ;)

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Today, tomorrow and Wednesday I get to attend a training class in Atlanta.

DAY 11 WITH THE SON

I'm taking the 40 days leading up the Christmas to focus on the life of Jesus and do a mini-reflection. I'm following along with Liza on her special blog called 40 Days with the Son, based on the Max Lucado book 3:16.

Here is how to join us in reflection of the spirit of this upcoming holiday season.

We're still in the part of the Gospels that tells about Jesus life before he started he stated his public ministry of preaching and teaching.
Titled Almighty- Not High & Mighty: "Both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding - John 2:2 (NKJV)

Urgh..I had typed out like 3 paragraphs and Blogger didn't save it. Guess that means I should write something else!

This passage caused me to reflect on how my husband and I invited Jesus to our wedding- more specifically to be the foundation and cornerstone of our marriage. It was important for both of us to feel comfortable going into the marriage that we were both in the same book of beliefs and that we were both headed in the same direction spiritually. We struggled with the fact that we weren't both on the same page and at exactly the same point in our faith, but we realized it was more important that we were both on the same track and going to the same conclusion.

We've also made Jesus a very important part of our marriage- we attend church together every week and we pray together before meals. We are also looking for a place to be in part of a small group of believers at church and spend more time studying the Bible. I know it is faith that will keep our commitment to our marriage strong and prayer is the best defense against the forces that try to destroy marriage.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: God has blessed us richly in our marriage the first 10 months and I pray that having Jesus as a fundamental part of our marriage will continue to protect and strengthen our bond.

DETROIT BOUND

Last Monday afternoon, I headed up to Detroit for a meeting on a case I am working on with my boss. It had been unseasonably warm and overcast in Houston, but the late afternoon sunlight shining through the clouds created some dramtic shadows.

I even caught this plane flying below us as we sped North at 30,000 feet.

Then there was yet another beautiful sunset, with a bonus feature of a cool plane shot with a neat trail.

The sun probably set within 30 minutes of taking off from Houston, but the skyline provided a spectacular show for at least another hour with radiant colors and dramatic cloud formations.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Although our last day in the country, we are headed up to Atlanta today.

DAY 10 WITH THE SON

I'm taking the 40 days leading up the Christmas to focus on the life of Jesus and do a mini-reflection. I'm following along with Liza on her special blog called 40 Days with the Son, based on the Max Lucado book 3:16.

Here is how to join us in reflection of the spirit of this upcoming holiday season.

We're still in the part of the Gospels that tells about Jesus life before he started he stated his public ministry of preaching and teaching.

Titled Bifocals and Binoculars: "We have found the Messiah."- John 1:41

What a simple, yet profound statement that the Savior, our Messiah is found. The Jewish people had been waiting and watching and wanting for their Messiah for hundreds of years. Only certain people of that time recognized and accepted that Jesus was the Messiah. I find it ironic that on Jesus cross, the charge for which he was being crucified was written, King of the Jews. It was an attempt to mock his claims, but they were indeed words of truth. He was the King, the Messiah.

It gives me great peace in my life to claim those words, that I have “found the Messiah”. Although I was brought up in a church and taught the basics of Christianity, I have spent the last few years of my life in a much deeper study. I needed to verify for myself these claims that were given to me, to have all my questions about life answered and to internalize these truths to which I now believe strongly. I have gained a much greater understanding of the other religions of the world, and I have been confronted with all the arguments that doubters have about the authenticity of Christianity. However, instead of being pulled away from my faith by the questions of this world, I have grown stronger in my convictions about the Truth revealed in the Bible and it’s promise of eternal life for whoever believes in the Son.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: More beautiful weather and good times in Alabama- going for an excursion today.

GOD'S MASTERPIECE

My whole busy day in LA last Friday was covered in low-lying fog and gloom more typical of June for those parts. Within 15 seconds of departing LAX, we were in the clouds again- so no beautiful ocean shots this trip.

I was however blessed with a spectacular sunset as the plane turned from its westward take-off path south and then finally west back towards Houston.

As a somewhat knowledgable photographer, I'm all the more amazed at the dark blue sky and the bright, brilliant oranges as the sun slips below the horizon.

I've been blessed with some very beautiful sunsets the past few flights, so I've got more to share!

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: I'm spending time with two of the most amazing people I know, who are teaching me about love, land, history and family.