I need You like a hurricane

"In a time when natural disasters are at an all time high and there are increasing wars and rumors of wars, we need to be convinced that God is who He says He is.  He is our ever present help in our time of trouble and He promises to be our refuge and the very strength of our life.  May the revelation of this promise bring a peace to all of us that passes our understanding."

365 Promises

Earthquakes.

Tsunamis.

Tornadoes.

Hurricanes.

Floods.

Fires.

Hatred.

Wars.

People facing troubled times and lots of lives lost.  Lots.

Could it be that we don't realize how much we need God until God is all we've got?

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1

Title: Jimmy Needham's "Hurricane"

No matter how long it takes...

What my ensemble would be today:

Thank you to our troops & their families.

Thank you to the firemen & police officers who risked their lives on 9/11.

I hope that those who were personally affected by 9/11 feel a sense of closure today.

Justice will be done.

And justice has been served.

I think Toby Keith needs to sing this for America live ASAP. National broadcast. Makes me feel proud :)

Watch the Lamb

Easter this year felt like Thanksgiving - Round 2, with a lot of new soon-to-be family members.  I can't remember the last time I ate so much food on Easter!  I have definitely been blessed when it comes to family members who can cook a good meal!!!

Easter means so much more than I could even try to put into words.  My Savior died for me. Me. Little ole me.  When I didn't [and still don't] deserve it at all.  God loved me so much, that he sent his Son to die -- his SON -- so that I may have life.  And here's the cool thing: He's risen, He's alive, & I praise a living Savior!  Talk about a great love story!!

I used to love listening to the choir sing the Easter Cantata.  Perhaps the part I loved the most was my dad singing Ray Boltz's "Watch the Lamb."  It always made me get a knot in my throat, still does:

and a little Easter funny for you:

The funny thing...

I so often close my eyes at night & start to pray, only to find that I'm not saying a word. Sometimes I would be uneasy with this -- why am I not saying anything? I even acknowledge that I don't know exactly what to say. A friend reminded me that prayer is a conversation. How can I hear what God has to say if I'm the one doing all the talking?? This song says it perfectly:

I'm finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it's okay
The last thing I need is to be heard
But to hear what You would say

Word of God speak
Would You pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to see
Your majesty
To be still and know
That You're in this place
Please let me stay and rest
In Your holiness
Word of God speak

I'm finding myself in the midst of You
Beyond the music, beyond the noise
All that I need is to be with You
And in the quiet hear Your voice

I'm finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it's okay
-Word of God Speak by MercyMe

To pack? Or to unpack?

I've always had the desire to move somewhere new... where all I have is myself, a job and the Lord, & then see where He takes me from there. The thought of moving is scary, but it's one of those fears that excites me! I feel like after being stuck in Arkansas for 23 years, I need a little change of scenery. However, it scares the beegies out of me thinking about being in a new city with people I don't know, perhaps no one at all! Since high school, I've made such stable friends in Fayetteville and in Little Rock. I've established friendships that are so strong I can hardly bare the thought of being away from them for a few years, much less permanently! What if I can't build new ones that give me the same sense of security? What if I lose touch with those that I'm close to now, & then those friendships dwindle? Now THAT'S a scary thought! What if I hate the city? What if I can't afford it? What if I get blown away by a tornado or a hurricane? What if, what if, what if...

These worries only remind me that I'm not trusting God with all that I am. I need that friendly reminder: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." -Jeremiah 29:11-13.

There's a specific city that has been popping up in my mind, & I'm not sure when or why I started thinking about it, but it's there. "Hurricane" by Jimmy Needham (I've included a link at the bottom) has been on repeat since I first heard it. There's a line in it that says, "I am Yours and You are mine. You know far better than I. And if destruction's what I need, then I'll receive it, Lord, from thee." I have no doubt in my mind that I would probably cry myself to sleep for a few weeks if I followed through with this whole moving thing. But, if that "destruction" is going to be the challenge I'm craving that tears my walls down so that God can reveal Himself to me more than ever, then so be it.

Of course, I'll be static in LR until next May, so I've got a lot of time to think about this. I prayed about this for the first time tonight, and I would appreciate nothing more than for you to pray for me, too! It's never too early to ask God for something :). You never know what could happen in a year!! I've been pretty emotional about this thought today, & if it's any indication as to how I'll feel about moving when it's really time to job hunt, I'm going to need all the praying I can get!

"Hurricane" by Jimmy Needham

Just a little something..

It bugs me how since my last post, I've thought "Oh I need to blog about that!" plenty of times. Now that I'm here, I just don't know what to say. It's like writing a paper... the introduction paragraph is always the hardest for me!! Some people have said to write the paper, then go back and write the intro. Never done it, though!

UALR was closed Monday & Tuesday... you know what that means: no school AND no clinic!! Which turned out to be a pretty good thing because today was my day to lead Aphasia Group, and wouldn't you be surprised to find out that I hadn't typed up a lesson plan yet. Still haven't. I'll get around to that later on this week... after I study for Fluency Disorders & write Semester Treatment Plans & eat sushi with MG. Procrastination has made itself a priority in my life this semester, which is a really bad thing. It needs to go somewhere. Classes just aren't as interesting as they were last semester (with the exception of Dysphagia), and I'm sure my lack of motivation has something to do with it, too. It certainly doesn't help now that we can iChat & get on facebook during class. I need to kick this habit just as bad as Tejada needs to kick a fieldgoal... heh.

Hands & Voices was this past Saturday morning. Marcdawg & I met Ang at Starbucks at 8 then headed over to the Arkansas Children's Hospital East Campus. While parents were in the H&V seminar, we got to watch their chitlens. I try not to pick favorites, but it usually happens anyway. Most, but not all, of the kids had some kind of hearing loss. Some wore hearing aids, & some had cochlear implants. Some even had a BAHA.

This first picture is of a little boy with bilateral cochlear implants. He was the sweetest thing in the world, & he taught me lots of sign language words, like "eat" and "play." He & his brother (behind him) kind of took to me, & I kind of took to them also. Needless to say, I sort of followed them around all day... is that creepy? We played in a tub full of shaving cream.... & you can see how that worked out. It was all in their hair and on their clothes and all over us. They loved it!!

"Stolen Away on 55th & 3rd" by DMB just came on my iPod... I forget how much I love that song, & I think it's because of the saxophone in it- I find it sort of... seductive, in a way.

Okay people. I gotta study. 10-4.

(In about 5 minutes, I guarantee you that I will think of a billion more things to write about. But what good is a guarantee... you could sh!t in a box & put a guarantee on it, but at the end of the day it's still sh!t in a box.) --- name that movie!