Posted By admin on January 24, 2012

I’m processing a new book this week, Crazy Love by Francis Chan.  It’s been around for awhile but I haven’t had the opportunity to really sit and process it until now.  So this morning as I read, the focus was on the grandeur of God. I think we miss it today. We aren’t in awe of God as much as we used to be because society is so much more in awe of itself. From TV, books and even in some of our educational institutions we are amazed at our amazingness (yep…new word!).

“The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Psalm 19:1

But the grandeur of God goes beyond even amazing. His awesomeness cannot even be fully declared by the heavens themselves. He is beyond compare.

As I was reflecting, I realized how grateful I am for my upbringing in a more traditional, liturgy-based church. Our Christmas and Easter seasons were full of rich meaning as we reflected on God through so many means.  God’s amazingness was evident in the music, the liturgy and even the purposeful formality.  Church held a sense of awe and God was great.

Easter season was especially meaningful. We would focus on the realness of death. It was a very somber time on Good Friday. But then, on Easter morning, we would come into church at sunrise, listening to the trumpets proclaim “He is alive!” Every year, it acted as a renewal of faith that God conquered even death. It was amazing! God is amazing.

I’m grateful, too, that our home was balanced with the awe of God alongside the personal relationship with Him. He could be amazingly grand and closely compassionate at the same time. The God who created the heavens took the time and personalization to create me, too.  That’s pretty amazing.

So as I process the amazingness of God alongside His compassionate and personal care, I’m grateful and overwhelmed all at once. Ii think it’s a little more challenging for my kids to get this concept these days. Our world is so much more in awe of itself it seems.  So, I guess the question for all of us is, “How do you gain greater connectedness to God’s amazingness? How do you help your family members see the greatness of God?”

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Posted By admin on May 31, 2011

My oldest is graduating from high school.  He passed all his coursework and is now preparing to move into the next phase of life – and independence. He’s ready. He’s seemed more of an adult to me than a child even before this moment.  I feel more excitement for him than trepidation. I also have tissues in my purse, prepared for the graduation ceremony this afternoon. As I was processing life and those wonderful words of wisdom we all love to pass along, the following seven came to mind. (more…)

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Posted By admin on February 12, 2011

It was close to two years ago that my then 7^th-grade son got into the car after school and expressed his disdain for “Justin Bieber.”   “Justin who?” was my well-informed quest.  It seems that my son, Justin Ebert, was being called “Justin Bieber” by well-meaning kids who didn’t understand his penchant for uniqueness.  Even today, his Facebook account says “Justin Elbert” – let there be no mistake! (more…)

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Posted By admin on January 30, 2011

“But Mom, you just said….”  I hear that comment more and more. I’d like to think it’s due to the fast  pace of our life and not my increasing years, but I don’t know if my kids are as committed to that line of reasoning.  A few times a week, one of them will say “but Mom, last week you said…” or “Mom, remember when I told you I had to go…?”  Due to the consistency of their challenges, I probably do play an active part in forgetting.  There is so much information and without writing things down, it’s easy to forget something as simple as a grocery item or as important as a birthday party.

(more…)

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Posted By admin on January 26, 2011

When looking for a job, a solid starting point is determining the job requirements and determining if your skill sets match the needs of the position.  As I read through the book of Exodus, God places a job posting of sorts:  I need someone to speak to Pharoah and tell him “Let my people go.”

If I were writing the job description, it would probably look something like this:

Wanted: Strong man in both body and spirit. Well-groomed. In good standing with government leaders. Excels in matters of speech. Deep booming voice. Fearless. (more…)

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Posted By admin on January 20, 2011

When my oldest son was a little guy he had some of the funniest sayings.  One that we enjoyed was “Don’t see me!” In other words, ‘look the other way’ so I won’t get in trouble!

A recent video on the web also cracks me up: a woman leaves a mall department store while texting. She’s so oblivious to where she is and is going that she misses this huge fountain straight in front of her.  Still texting, she trips over the fountain edge, falling into the water. The store video cameras get it all on tape and it went viral on the internet with over 1.5 million views in the first week. Thankfully, she was only bruised in the incident and I’m sure many of us are thinking “that easily could have been me!”  I’m also sure she didn’t want people to “see her” at that moment. (more…)

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Posted By admin on January 6, 2011

170,000 is quite a big number.  Did you know that 170,000 pennies equals $1,700 or that 170,000 days equals roughly 466 years or that 170,000 coffee beans fills approximately 52 1-pound bags of coffee? (more…)

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Posted By admin on October 8, 2010

I love my kids and as any mother, I see so many of their strengths and understand many of their challenge areas. One of the things that I hope for is to have my assessment affirmed….am I really seeing them as they are or only through a momma’s eyes? (more…)

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Posted By admin on September 24, 2010

“Sisters are fun like the sun…Sisters get sore because they’re bored…”

That prose was written over 30 years ago by my brother and included a birthday wish at the end. He is always there for a good laugh. I think that when God made families He did it in a way that a certain group of people are “stuck” with each other for good. Physically, legally, socially and event mentally – there is a group of people that are bound to you for life. (more…)

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Posted By admin on September 15, 2010

As a business owner, I understand the importance of ongoing communication with my customers. There are many great printing deals I find that I can pass along to them – or a new trend in websites or social media that would be a benefit for them – or maybe a cost-saving measure. It’s not only important for me to communicate that information to them, but it’s important that they process the information passed along as well. (more…)

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