Half Way Could Never Be Enough

 

 

I’ve been thinking.  About a lot of things, but this in particular.  Since I was a kid, one line from the book (movie for me) Where the Red Fern Grows has stuck with me.  This boy wanted a pair of hunting dogs BADLY.  He went to a lot of trouble to get them and at one point in the movie these words (or something like them) were said, “I figure if I meet God half way, He’ll take care of the rest.” 

I’ve spent a lot of my life trying to meet God half way, but what I realized is that God doesn’t want to meet me anywhere.  He wants to be with me no matter what - wherever I go.  Icame to the realization that I was saying to God, “Hey, I have it up to a certain point and then I’ll let you know when I need you to do your part.”    My childlike faith (like that in the movie) had followed into my adult life and was wreaking havoc on my spiritual understanding of what God can really DO.  I’m a little embarrassed but figure that surely I’m not alone……

Our understanding of God can sometimes NOT grow.  Our understanding of ourselves surely becomes more complicated the longer we live.  We put our feelings and true selves away so that the world cannot see them and tell us that they are not worthy.  What I think is that many people want to dream, but have had their hopes squashed one too many times and are afraid to be different in this world.  What do we do when we are afraid?  React without regard.  Telling others that their dreams are impossible and that their prayers are worthless.  The worst thing that ever happened, I think, is that someone convinced somebody that one person couldn’t make a change and the rumor spread.  It is a nasty, mean, and horrible cycle.  One that we need to break.  There is another way. 

What I think is that God is with us all.  Not waiting on us to meet Him half way, but waiting for us to realize that He is there!  WAITING on us to get over ouselves and get on with the program.  The DIVINE program.  Hungry, broken, and hurting people are waiting on us to recognize our bountiful gifts and help them.   How can you help the hurting when you are hurting yourself, you ask?  Well, only you know your demons.  Only you and God, actually.  Only you know where the ”unfixable” spot is.  You can nurture it’s emptiness or let God fill it up.  And don’t tell me I’m idealistic!  I’m not.  I know because God is filling up my spot.  I don’t know if it’ll ever be completely full and “better”,  but God’s love is constantly overflowing into me, so I’m good with it.  He doesn’t want me perfect.  He wants me AS.  I.  AM.  Hmmm  I. AM.  Sound familiar??

Funny thing is, ever since I started letting God fill my broken places I’ve discovered something else inside of me.  The REAL me.  I like her.  She doesn’t have to meet God anywhere. He is with me.  Period.  I can be one OF a million – not one IN a million. 

Now, I’m not saying that everyone is like me, but I know that all it takes sometimes is one person to say, “Let’s do this!”  and others are forming a line to help you out.  Don’t wait people.  Do.  And SMILE while you do.  It encourages people to be their true selves.  We could use a little more of that in this old world, don’t you think?  Choose to actively change this place we live in.  Don’t wait on others to do it – they may be waiting on you. 

All my love,

Malinda

 

Some Thankfulness

I’m thankful for these awesome people…….

and I’m thankful that God thinks we deserve such beauty as this

I’m thankful for dry chicken coops…

I’m especially thankful for this guy (my best friend forever and Lovin’ Husband all rolled into one)- I love him and am so greatful for the work that God is doing in our lives….. 

and thankful doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel about this…….

there is a quote in Moby Dick about the mountain eagle that says something like…  “no matter how low the mountian eagle swoops, he is still flying higher than all the other eagles…”  that isn’t an eagle and we weren’t on a very high mountain, but the beauty of watching that bird soaring right next to where I was standing took my breath away.

I’m most thankful for that.  The fact that beauty is all around us in different sizes, shapes, and adventures.  All we have to do is notice it.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!!!  I truly love you all…….

over a cliff

That is my husband on the right.  He said he wasn’t going to go, but Josh wanted to go again and needed a partner.   So he went. 

 

I thought I kept my cool, but the picture of me watching is pretty funny.  I’ll have to get it from our super duper photographer dude.  I look pretty concerned…

 

Hope everyone is having a good week so far!!!

 

love,

M

Do Something New!!!!!

This is gonna be short and sweet, people.  Ready?

I’m learning to knit.  I tried about a year ago and it didn’t work out.  This time everything is working out ok.

Our Christmas presents to each other this year are drawing lessons for mwah and karate lessons for Adam.

Do something new, people.  There is no kind of excitement like that of accomplishing something you thought you never would.

 

Also, I blogged over at Jesus Feet today.  If you wanna check that out, click on the link below.

 

love you lots and lots,

Malinda (smiling….  smile, people!  it will not break your face.  promise!)

 

http://members.webs.com/MembersB/editAppPage.jsp?app=blog&pageID=137570750&token=643111248bcab2751250236e98d#blog/

All God’s Children

I like to thing that God sees us all like this.  Beautiful creations that are just waiting to flower under the Son.  Wouldn’t it be neat if we all saw ouselves as the beautiful creations that we are?  I think that one of the problems is that we get distracted by what is inside of us.  Things that make us feel unworthy or broken or, worse yet, undeserving of God’s love.  I guess the thing to remember is that Jesus is inside of us, too, and bigger than the brokeness.  We are all worthy of the love and salvation that Jesus offers, but some of us have the hardest time accepting that we are ok to accept that love.  What He wants in return is our love and us to let him glue our broken parts back together on the inside so that the outside can truly reflect the beauty on the inside. 

 

Where is your broken spot or spots?  Do you nurture those cracked places or have you let Jesus (God’s love) fill them in?  Do you know that you are beautiful as beautiful as those flowers up there?  Are you flowering in the light of the Son? 

 

 

 

 

How do you label yourself?

 

My first response when I saw this bumper sticker was to laugh and then, me being me,  I grew thoughtful.

 

The person who owns this truck wanted to be identified in this way. 

 

How would you want to identify yourself to people and what do you do on a daily basis that makes people say “Oh, that person …………..”  ??

 

Love,

M

 

 

 

Beautiful Days and Thanks

It rained so much this summer!  We finally just let the garden grow up because if you tried to walk in it, your foot would sink in, well, a foot.  Hee hee…  We’ve been doing as much as we could so that when it dried we could plant the multiplier onions and garlic.  My sweet, wonderful, lovin’ husband is preparing the beds for them below.  This is from two weeks ago.  We went out the other day and the onions are up!!!  Yay!!!  Thanks, Daddy… 

(Please ignore mess in garden.  It is much cleaner now!!)  I also have no clue when our cat learned to fly, but there you have it…  Super Cat…

Adam is fertilizing the onions and the garlic is there on the right.  We put the fencing on there so that a) the chickens that are out don’t mess it all up and b) so that the cats don’t use the freshly turned dirt as a litter box.  Gross. 

Today we have the whole day to work outside.  It is already a beautiful day, so I’m sure we’ll get a lot done.  More garden clean up and prep and we are FINALLY getting the run put on our chicen coop.   It is days like these that remind me that I have so much to be thankful for. God has richly blessed Adam and I with a wonderful place to live, a husband that truly loves me, a family that loves each other, dirt to play in, the chicken channel,  instruments to make music with, and the list goes on.  Our preacher told us to make a list for everything we were thankful for on Sunday and mine is pretty long.  You should do it, too!!  Make a list – I dare you to use two sheets of paper. 

 

 

Mary J says have a good day!  See her lil doggy smile?? 

 

Love,  M

Church and McDonalds

We’re learning….and having fun….

 

and I <3 them….  I’ll be blogging on www.jesusfeet.me today.  Just click on the blog button and you’ll find it.  (Once I’ve written it…)

pretty random, but a post nonetheless…

I love autumn.  Fall.  Whatever you wanna call it.  I could go out into the forrest and stare up at all of the different colored leaves against the baby blue sky and never tire of it.  I don’t know why it makes me happy, but it does.  The sense of things resting for a while is appealing to me. 

 Adam has been working outside clearing the garden and cleaning out the carport.  We’ve been collecting tomato cages and lost tools out of the garden.  Finishing the roof on the chicken coop has been top priority.  Our neighbor is giving us some tin so that we can.  Thanks, neighbor!!

We’re getting ready to do the big fall clean the house party.  (i.e.  throw everything away we haven’t used since LAST fall).  It is a wonderful time for me.  I have a hard time getting “rid” of stuff, so we have a time for it and that makes it better for me for some reason…  who knows.  I’m weird. 

Tonight we’re going to the senior center in College Grove to listen and jam with our friends, Williamson County Bluegrass.   We’ve been looking forward to it for a couple of weeks now.  

Confession:  I listened to Christmas music yesterday.  Furthermore, I am going to listen to Christmas music again today.   One month of it is not enough for me, so I’m makin’ it a new rule that it is OK to listen to it from the end of October on. 

Happy day.  

Malinda

Yaaaawwwn

I thought these pretty trees might make you happy.  I wish that I would have taken some video while we were in Beersheba just so that you could HEAR the trees, too.  It is so neat to stand up there above all of the trees and hear the wind blowing, but not really see the leaves moving much. 

 

That’s all I’ve got, folks.  I’m waiting on coffee and starting the day.  I have a lesson at 9:00 today and then have to work on music stuff all day until our after school students start showing up.  Life is busy these days, but good.   I have to admit that I thrive when I have way LOTS going on…  Otherwise I feel like I’m not doing all that I could be.  The older I get, the more I can’t sit still…

 

Happy day, people.  I hope you are remembering to try to make somebody’s day everyday.  It really is important, ya know…

M