i didnt do a pimp your post last friday. why? i have no idea. i seriously cant remember. but please do leave a link to your favorite post youve written this last week…or last two weeks 
tonight…friday night, we will be celebrating with a few friends brents 39th birthday. his actual bday was the 2nd but we’re celebrating now. part of me wants to give you his number so you can call him all day and leave him weird voicemails. but i’ll be nice. dangit.
what do you think the perfect age is? why?
wednesday night my family sat on our bed and shared together. we shared music. oh my heart, how love to do this! i have loved music ever since i can remember. i used to take songs and rewrite the lyrics to them. i loved to create something new. today, i still write lyrics. sometimes, they just pour out and usually are a result of prayer times. which i love even more.
my daughter, kass, well… if i had the talent in her little pinky toe i would be set! ever since she was a baby girl we knew she had it. as she grew into her musical giftings it left us more and more in awe. (oh my, i hope im not over talkin her up) anyhoo…i remember listening to her sing her songs and play them on her guitar and think…how can someone deny there is a God? wow.
kass and i love to write together. in fact, its one of my favorite things to do. sometimes she takes my lyrics and melodies and adds some special spark to them. but what i enjoy most is giving her lyrics without melodies and watching her create something oh-so-beautiful. she always brings them to life.
well…wednesday night, brent caught a couple songs on video. and yes…we have decided to start recording her. we have to!
the first one is one of kassidi’s originals
this one is kassidi’s music and my lyrics (we didnt get the whole thing on vid)
a long while back, jenni catron hosted a women of influence week and asked me to write for it on her blog. to say i was honored would be a tremendous under statement. i have the utmost respect and admiration for jenni. if you dont know who she is, go to her blog and browse around. and prepare to be enlightened, informed and encouraged. she is a fantastic leader at cross point in TN and they are blessed to have her.
and….heres my original post. my thoughts on Ruth…
*********************************
Ruth 1:19…is just about the only verse in this chapter my bible doesn’t have commentary on. I could never figure that out. That one verse says SO much to me.
Naomi and her daughters in law are going back to her homeland. Naomi had been gone for at least 10 years. In that time she had lost her husband and both her sons. She had heard that in her homeland they were experiencing good crops again. Eventually she would return with one of her daughters in law, Ruth. We all know how that story goes. It’s a beautiful picture of commitment, love and respect. But that isn’t what captures me in this chapter.
Ruth 1:19 (NLT) “So the two of them continued on their journey. When they came to Bethlehem, the entire town was excited by their arrival. “Is it really Naomi?” the women asked.”
The entire town was excited! And the women asked if it was really Naomi! Why? Why did her return get this kind of response? My guess? Naomi left quite an impact on her town! Big enough, that they were waiting at the gates for her return. The women were on the edge of their seats!
Naomi left a mark on the people. And not just the women, the “town”, which I found incredibly admirable!
The other thing this verse makes me ask is did she know the impact she had on them? Did she equip the women? Clearly she influenced them. And it seems it was for the good. But did she even realize it?
Do you have any idea the mark you are leaving on those around you? Would you say that if you left for a time there would be a void? Should there be a void? It’s one thing to be missed – but it’s another thing to remove an integral part of the picture. Are we equipping those around us? Are we leaving an impression with purpose? Would your community or sphere of influence be affected by your absence, but equipped for the better by the impact and influence you left?
Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure…than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.
– Theodore Roosevelt
doesnt this quote make you want to laugh at all the things youve let hold you back from your dreams? doesnt it make you want to put all the excuses to rest and start doing? doesnt it make you want to tap into the strength and ability that has been stifled within you for far too long?
doesnt it?
now, will it?
that is the question i ask myself now…
this weekend my pastor brought up the fatherless in his message… the kiddos whose dads are absent. dads can be absent for a number of reasons. they could be away at war. they can work long hours. they could have walked out on the family. they could have died. they could be right there in the home for all hours of the day and still be absent.
i started thinking about all these different scenarios and my heart broke. i know ive written about this subject before…but its because its very near to my heart. im a product of an absent father. he bailed on me. not once, but multiple times. as if once isnt enough of a crushing blow. he bailed when i was 3, again when i was 16 and once again when i was 26. he pretty much covered all the crucial ages there.
this weekend my husband, brent, demonstrated what a loving father looks like. and its funny…he didnt do anything to or for the kids – he did it for me. you see…ive been sick and laid up for a week. i twittered late saturday night that i was craving pizza and cotton candy. brent saw that tweet and immediately got on the phone with my favorite pizza place and ordered me the best pizza in town. on his way to pick up the pizza he made it his goal to find me some cotton candy. he eventually did. at the 7-11. he got the last bag!
i looked at our son and told him to take notes. i looked at my daughter and told her she better find someone like her daddy and not to settle for less. she said, “Oh i wont settle, mama!”
brent, thank you for caring enough for your children to show me love like you do.
when you hug me – you embrace your childrens hearts.
when you say kind words to me – you speak life into your children.
when you walk in the door each evening – you prove to your family you’re committed.
when you engage in conversation with your kids – you show them they are valuable.
when you discipline your children – you prove you care.
when you pray over us – you show the love of God.
to say thank you seems so…small. but, thank you. from this little girls heart who so desperately wanted her daddy’s love – thank you for giving it to your children. thank you that kass and kota will never have to wonder if their dad loves them.
thank you.
“Jesus did not come to explain away suffering or remove it. He came to fill it with His presence.” – Paul Claudel
im just letting this one soak in for a bit…
yes. i have my knee-jerk response to this quote (from my cynical side) but i really just need to soak in its truth.
i love the holidays. i truly do. i love the smells, the music, the food, gifts, giving, fellowship, the laughter, family gatherings…all the things that make this season complete.
and with holidays come traditions. and you cant have tradition without remembering. remembering past traditions.
remembering the past.
for some, taking a walk down holiday memory lane is a much awaited joy. for others, it is not. sometimes, holidays are difficult. they can take one back to a place filled with uncertainty, fear and bad memories. i know for me it can. i know some who have lost loved ones on, or around, the holidays.
so this season…remember to pray for the ones whose hearts are heavy. whose eyes fill with tears at the thought of having to put a smile on as to not show the sadness.
if you all know me at all, you know i am not a kill joy. thats not what this post is about. i am all about joy and laughter. but its important to me that we remember the ones who struggle this time of year. remember to come alongside and love on them. invite them into your homes. give them encouragement, your prayers, some time. give them love. give them hope.
i love you all. and this year – i am so very grateful for you! im thankful for the friendships that have grown here. i love this community – this family. you all make inProgress home. thank you.
today i had planned to post my first video response to one of your questions from last weeks post, but…i got sick. like, stuffy head, runny nose, sore throat, itchy eyes, sneezing my uvula out my nose holes kinda sick. not very good for video im guessing. so im postponing til next week.
i will spend wednesday resting. ok. i wont. but im telling brent i am so he’ll feel better. anyhoo…theres much to do to get ready for thanksgiving. im preparing a pretty traditional meal…turkey, potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce – yes, the jellied can kind! YUM!
but i was wondering….what is your favorite thanksgiving dish? do you have any traditions?
im thinking id like my family to write one thing theyre thankful for about each family member and we can read them during thanksgiving dinner. just gotta make sure brent keeps his rated-pg 
sometimes…i get angry. sometimes…i get frustrated with people. sometimes…i wanna shake people. (i fully realize that many likely feel the same toward me and i am working to recognize the moments that might prompt these feelings in others.) and, sometimes…i wanna scream. sometimes…i know im gonna say the wrong thing. and i say it anyway.
and most of the time – i refrain. or at least try.
but ALL of the time – God is right there. He is fully aware of my flesh when i am not. He is equipping me, He has equipped me, to respond correctly, in a loving manner.
does that mean that we are to sometimes be a doormat? does responding lovingly mean that the hurtful truth cant be spoken? i dont think so.
so…wheres the line? how does one speak the hurtful truth, knowing it will offend the other, yet – still speak it anyway? and by hurtful truth i do not mean saying the truth hurtfully. but what is our responsibility in this?
all i know is “love God – love people”. this surely includes tough love or it wouldnt be true love at all.
please chime in with your thoughts…
ok. how many award shows are necessary? if any? but the AMAs is one i tend to enjoy cuz the awards are given based on our/your votes. or…their votes. seriously, have you ever known anyone, personally, who has voted?
anyhoo…this years show…major let down. not entirely, but mostly. there were a few real great acts. and for me…thats where it ended.
as usual, because of twitter, we here on the west coast got a sneak peek at the show through some non-opinionated tweets. (read sarcasm) and i thought i’d share a few with you – just in case you missed the show. not that you missed much.
@RandDuren had to say…
Why is Janet dressed as a wookie? #AMAs
Love some Kelly Clarkson! #AMAs (i agree. beautiful, classy and stellar performance!)
Are you freaking serious? Michael Jackson nominated for Artist of the Year? What year? #AMAs (yah. that was odd.)
J-Lo fell… at least she is well-padded. #AMAs (yes. she bounced her booty. and they edited it out by the time it got to us here on the west coast. i guess she’s too good to fall.)
Am I the only one happy that Taylor Swift is not performing? #AMAs (nope)
@inworship (my hottie-sweet-man)
We own the same chair used in Carrie Underwoods performance. @markstegall doesn’t look as good next to it. http://gdzl.la/7hHWzh (oy)
Kids are gone. I can push play on the DVR again #AMA’s (so true. definitely not a kid friendly show. sheesh.)
I really gotta try that piano on fire thing in church next week #ladygagaisabitof (what is the fascination with this woman?)
Well they cut one part in Adam Lambert’s performance I thought they would. But they kept in his fall! (the whole thing shouldve been cut. it was seriously soft/hard p0rn. unbelievable.)
Wow. Look away… Shakira’s performance might give you herpes. (thanks for the heads up.)
Why is it that every video that Taylor Swift does looks like a Hanes commercial? 
Have you noticed that?
***********************************************************************
so this pretty much wraps up the show. if only i could get my two hours back. did you watch the AMAs? any thoughts youd like to share?
if you could produce one award show…what would it be?
