Liz's Letters

A couple of days ago, I was feeling overwhelmed with emotions that I wasn't working through very well. These emotions are ones that historically trigger negative thinking patterns and so I was fighting to keep a positive attitude. I went to a yoga class and found myself weeping on and off through portions of the class so when I left, I quickly made a phone call to one of my very best friends in Virginia. She and I have been through a lot together and I knew that she would quickly understand exactly what I was dealing with. I was quite distraught and it was nice to hear her voice. I poured out my concerns. Most of what I was dealing with had to do with conflicting feelings regarding my upcoming trip to Virginia. My emotional immunities are a little low these days with having a teenage daughter, my mom's upcoming surgery and some personal things that I am working through. My friend listened. She asked a few questions, some of which I had to really think about before answering. I ...

It is true that the people that we love the most can also deliver the deepest hurt. Sadly, I, like many others have experienced this first hand. Sadly, I, like others have been on the receiving end of the hurt and as well as the giving end. I can't make up my mind which one hurts more. I have a friend who I have loved like a sister. The enjoyment of our friendship was very "David and Jonathon", if you will. We understood each other easily and without effort. But, due to the influence of various events, our friendship has taken very drastic turns in our ability to remain close. Some of these changes are out of our control, but some are changes that one or the other of us have purposefully made. A few of them were meant to have positive results and a couple of them have been made in response to hurt. It may be one of the most painful experiences of my entire life...ranking right along with death of loved ones and my mother's horrible accident. I am shocked at the depth ...

In the course of this journey called my life, there have been many different terrains that I have traveled. My personal experience of what it means to worship God has changed many times over the years and it seems that I am on a new path that is very wonderful. As a child, I attended a church service every week. I sat in the front pew on the right hand side of the sanctuary at the 8:30 a.m. service of a very traditional Lutheran church. Week after week it was pretty much the same...the liturgy which included several settings of the Divine Service, Responsive Prayer, the Litany, and brief time for individual and family prayer. I loved going. This type of service holds a very special place for me and I would welcome the opportunity to occasionally worship in that setting, but it is not the only atmosphere conducive for worship for me. As an adult woman, first as an unbeliever and now as a follower of Christ, I have participated in many different worship atmospheres. Some of these have be...

Pray for the family of Steven Curtis Chapman as they say their earthly farewell to Maria Sue Chapman. "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.'" Revelation 21:1-4

Life is more joyful Because you're my friend The joys are doubled The sorrows are shared Our souls are connected Our hearts we did bare Sometimes it's so wonderful To have you around And sometimes so painful When in pain we are found Forgiveness and mercy In God's love we're bound The friendships of women Go deep and can hurt But the sharing can cover huge triumphs and real dirt I give you my secrets, my trust and my shirt Mistakes have been made on both of our parts But forever you'll have a piece of my heart My goal is to love and not mess up, if I'm smart I have broken your trust I have hurt you with words And I'm am so very sorry God's best - not just good is my hope for the future His will and I should Best friendships are rare and a gift, I am sure to be treasured forever with a love that is pure Life has more beauty When friendship endures ~ Liz

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One of my favorite blog friends posted this video on her blog this week along with a story of how God has changed her life. It is a beautiful and encouraging, and honest story of her journey with God. (You can read it here) I watched the video this morning. After the week that I had, after the way that I found my way back into the arms of God, for the hundredth time in my walk with Him, I was rejoicing at how He always wins! My journey has not been easy. I did not know Jesus until I was in my twenties. My childhood was happy, but not perfect. I experienced things that made me question the reality of a loving God. I knew children who had been abused as my family cared for them in foster care. I knew the effects of alcohol and the chaos that the disease of alcoholism will bring into one's life. I knew of drugs and the consequences of trying to find love in all the wrong places. I was abused by a boyfriend. My brother committed suicide. My parents divorced. My concept of ...

Sick. Hurt. Brokenhearted. Afraid. Disappointed. Terrified. Exhausted. Alone. Remorseful. Those were the emotions and feelings that occupied most of last week for me. It started out with the Mother's Day fiasco and continued. I had to rush my daughter to the emergency department for a laceration repair, my mom found out that the hardware that holds her broken leg together fell apart, and I ended up more ill than I have been in years and years. I am still sad and disheartened over the circumstances in one of my close friendships and even my husband and I were not clicking along as we usually do. Yuck. I did all the normal things that I know to do during seasons like this. I spent extra time with God, I read His word and other material that would help me see things in a more positive light. I contacted a couple of close friends (I was so down that even THAT took a couple of days) and told them what was going on. I went to my yoga class, ate healthy, got extra sleep and t...

Recently, Angela, a friend of mine from Canada came into town and invited all her Texas girlfriends out on what is typically called "Girl's Night Out." I was eager to see my friend and looking forward to some time out on the town, if you will. I always enjoy spending time with her and have come to enjoy the friends that I have met through the Girl's Events that she hosted when she lived in Texas. One thing that was different about this night out with the girls is that my friend, Kim, (behind me in the photo) and I decided we wanted to take our "men" with us. So, we both asked them if they wanted to join us on a Girls Night Out, and they hesitantly accepted our invitation. We did not have the opportunity to alert Angela and the other ladies that we were crashing the ladies night with men, but we hoped it would be well received. Now, here is where the interesting part of the story comes in for me. There were many, many years that it would have been a very...

It is the end of Mother's Day weekend...the weekend where this mom was expecting to be pampered and spoiled. For the most part, I was, but I forgot that I have a daughter who is 14. That means she is at the age where she believes the world revolves around her, a lot of the time. When my daughter first hit this phase of her life, I posted a blog about her. ( Having a Teenage Daughter.) It is still very much true about having a teenage daughter and I have heard that it can last until she is 18 years old or so. Oh, I need prayer. Saturday night my husband and I went out and our daughter went to the mall with some friends. She had shopped for my Mother's Day gift and was so excited that she waited only until midnight to present me with a pair of beautiful tri-colored hoop earrings. They are beautiful and I really love them. But something happened on Mother's Day afternoon and my excited daughter became angry with me. She decided that I was undeserving of those earr...

Life is so fragile. I have found myself thinking about this quite often in the past few weeks. Mostly because my husband's father was diagnosed last fall with cancer. He was reportedly in remission but last week had a very scary week. We were on stand-by, if you will, to make that one last trip...the one that you dread but hope that if you have to make it, that you will make it in time. I am happy to say that God seems to have performed another miracle in this man's life. And now I am looking at what will happen next. You see, God has used close calls in the health of my father-in-law to teach me very important things about Himself. The first time was in 1987. My father-in-law had a sudden attack of pancreatitis . I did not know at the time what that was, but I did know it made him very sick. Instead of getting better, he got worse and developed peritonitis, a condition that fills the abdomen with infected fluid. After two months in the hospital with little improveme...

May these words speak to your heart like they speak to mine. We condemn a man for stumbling this morning, but we didn't see the blows he took yesterday. We judge a woman for the limp in her walk, but cannot see the tack in her shoe. We mock the fear in their eyes, but have no idea how many stones they have ducked or darts they have dodged. Are they too loud? Perhaps they fear being neglected again. Are they too timid? Perhaps they fear failing again. Too slow? Perhaps they fell last time they hurried. You don't know. Only one who has followed yesterday's steps can be their judge. Not only are we ignorant about yesterday, we are ignorant about tomorrow. Dare we judge a book while chapters are yet unwritten? Should we pass a verdict on a painting while the artist still holds the brush? How can you dismiss a soul until God's work is complete? "God began doing a good work in you and I am sure He will continue until it is finished when Jesus Christ comes aga...

Six days ago, a cyclone hit the Union of Myanmar (historically known as Burma). The death toll is high and several thousand people are missing. Myanmar has a disturbing politial history and has not accepted aid from foreign countries in nearly two decades. The church that I attend is a church that reaches out to spread God's love and help in disasters here in the United States and overseas. I am proud to be part of a congregation who seeks to be like Jesus in times such as this. God is glorified and needs are met. Thank God for a godly pastor who prays, encourages, and honors God as he leads the church family that God has called him to oversee. Please be encouraged by the letter Pastor Matt sent out to the church. Pray for the team going from The Village Church. Pray for the other's from the US and other countries as they go into this difficult situation. Pray that the people and the government of Myanmar will see God in this disaster. It is an honor to be part of a church that...

So, I am a little late on my post this week. I had quite a few things to ponder from this chapter, the first one in how many times I have sounded like Lysa as she fought for her new kitchen curtains. But what really spoke to my heart was the countenance on Lysa's face as she looked in the mirror post victory after winning permission for the curtains. My husband recently told me that my own facial expression seemed much more relaxed in recent months as I have let go of some self focused vision of my own. I looked back at some photographs taken during the time that I was really struggling and realized that my own expression was harsh and the smile was forced. I knew that the only way that I would regain the genuine joy in my face was to focus on God and quit looking at myself. It was a timely reminder. I loved reading the story of Peter's radical obedience. Read the story here . And the three truths that Lysa pointed out were radically simple but radically important to our visio...

I love summer. I love the lazy days of spending time with my family, friends, and enjoying the beauty of the plants and creatures that come out to play in the warm months. Sunday afternoon was the start of these days coming. My husband and I went to church (yes, the service where I laughed a lot) and enjoyed a nice meal together. (I have to admit, it was a better date than the night before.) Afterward, we decided that we would do a little work in the yard. I had a few plants that I wanted to plant and some weeding that needed to be done. I also wanted to take a picture of my son's plants that we have inherited since he went to college. Adam has always had an interest in carnivorous plants and we have babysat his plants since he went off to the mountains to go to school. These plants only thrive in zone 8 or 9, so when we moved to Texas and he stayed in Blacksburg, we kept them with us. They have been very fun to have around and I was kind of dreading the day that we would have to ...

Last night, my husband and I went on a date. We don't get to do this very often because he is getting his Master's degree, but last night we set aside some time for just us. We went to our favorite bar-b- que restaurant and chowed down. (after 8 weeks of vegetarianism, this felt very sinful!) Then we decided to go and see a movie. I had heard from several people about a comedy that was suppose to be quite funny - Baby Mama. I had seen the previews and watched the trailer on the Internet and it looked pretty good. My husband did what he likes to do, read the review and check the "grade" that it got in the newspaper. Our paper rated this particular movie a B. Pretty good for a chick flick type comedy, so we decided to give it a try. I was in the mood for a good laugh after having thought about some serious and somewhat sobering things through out the day. My husband's father is in the hospital (again) not doing well, another friend on chemo is not doing ...

This morning I called my friend, Tina, for one of our early morning chats on my way to work. I had not talked with her in a couple of days because I had been feeling just a little bummed. There was no real reason for this, but as an old friend of mine used to say, "Things just aren't lining up for me." So, I called her to touch base before the weekend and I told her that I was feeling a little out of sorts. Oddly, she had been feeling a little the same way the last couple of days (most likely why she hadn't called me either), so we encouraged one another and I prayed for her when we got off the phone. And, as usual, I felt better after we talked and was grateful to have a friend that I can talk to and be honest when I don't feel quite right and I don't know why. Plus, we went over some planning for my trip out to Virginia that really was good to discuss and hammer out, so to speak. When the conversation came to a close, I told her how glad I was to have...

On April 17, 1952, President Harry S. Truman signed a bill proclaiming the National Day of Prayer into law. 1972 the National Prayer committee was formed which went on to create the National Day of Prayer Task Force for the purpose of coordinating events for the National Day of Prayer. In 1988, Ronald Reagan signed a bill into law decreeing that the National Day of Prayer should be the first Thursday of May. The intention of the National Day of Prayer is that it should be a day when members of all faiths could pray together in their own way, involving all faiths, any faith and no organized religion who wished to participate. To read more about the National Day of Prayer visit the website. http://www.ndptf.org/home/home.html Here is a devotional from Max Lucado taken from Grace For the Moment. Perfect for today... Prayers Are Precious Jewels The Lord sees the good people and listens to their prayers. 1 Peter 3:12 You and I live in a loud world. To get someone's attention is no easy ...