“Why I Love Her” (America)
JOHN MITCHUM (John Wayne)

You ask me Why I Love Her? Well, give me time and I’ll explain.
Have you seen a Kansas sunset or an Arizona rain?
Have you drifted on a bayou down Louisiana way?
Have you watched a cold fog drifting over San Francisco Bay?
Have you heard a bobwhite calling in the Carolina pines,
Or heard the bellow of a diesel at the Appalachia mines?
Does the call of Niagara thrill you when you hear her waters roar?
Do you look with awe and wonder at her Massachusetts shore,
Where men who braved a hard new world first stepped on Plymouth’s rock?
And do you think of them when you stroll along a new York City dock?
Have you seen a snowflake drifting in the Rockies, way up high?
Have you seen the sun come blazing down from a bright Nevada sky?
Do you hail to the Columbia as she rushes to the sea,
Or bow your head at Gettysburg at our struggle to be free?
Have you seen the mighty Tetons? Have you watched an eagle soar?
Have you seen the Mississippi roll along Missouri’s shore?
Have you felt a chill at Michigan when on a winter’s day
Her waters rage along the shore in thunderous display?
Does the word “Aloha” make you warm? Do you stare in disbelief
When you see the surf come roaring in at Waimea Reef?
From Alaska’s cold to the Everglades, from the Rio Grande to Maine,
My heart cries out, my pulse runs fast at the might of her domain.
You ask me Why I Love Her? I’ve a million reasons why:
My Beautiful America, beneath God’s wide, wide sky.

(Found here: http://mrmom.amaonline.com/special/WhyIloveher.htm)

Meet Francesca Battistelli, a contemporary Christian music artist.

“Ultimately, I want to be an encouragement as an artist and a fellow believer,” Francesca says.

Visit her site at the link below to learn more about Francesca and to hear some of her music.

http://francescamusic.com/about/about-francesca

A stonecutter once delivered a slab of stone to a merchant. Seeing all of the man’s wonderful goods, the stonecutter said, “I wish I was a merchant and had such things.” In the twinkling of an eye, his wish was granted. Then one day he saw a parade outside his store window. He saw a prince pass by in splendor, and he said, “I wish I was a prince.” And immediately he became a prince . . . until the day the hot sun beat down upon him, and he said, “I wish I was the sun, greater than any man.” And he became the sun and was happy . . . until a cloud came between him and the earth. He said, “That cloud overshadows me. I wish I was a cloud.” Again his wish was granted. He rained down on the earth to his heart’s content until he came to a mountain, which wouldn’t let him pass. He said, “That mountain is greater than I. I wish I was a mountain.” Instantly he became a mountain and he thought, Now I am the greatest of all.

But one day a little man climbed up the mountain and with a hammer and chisel began to tap away at it. The mountain, unable to stop him, said, “That little man is greater than I — I wish I was a man who cut stone.” Once again his wish was granted and he became a stonecutter. He lived a long and useful life, and everyone marveled at how happy he was.

(Source: God’s Little Devotional Book.)

The Unseen Player

The story is told of a colony of mice who made their home at the bottom of a large upright piano. To them, music was frequent, even routine. It filled all the dark spaces with lovely melodies and harmonies.

At first, the mice were impressed by the music. They drew comfort and wonder from the thought that Someone made the music — though invisible to them, yet close to them. They loved to tell stories about the Great Unseen Player whom they could not see.

Then one day an adventuresome mouse climbed up part of the way in the piano and returned with an elaborate explanation about how the music was made. Wires were the secret — tightly stretched wires of various lengths that vibrated and trembled from time to time. A second mouse ventured forth and came back telling of hammers — many hammers dancing and leaping on the wires. The mice decided they must revise their old opinions. The theory they developed was complicated, but complete with evidence. In the end, the mice concluded that they lived in a purely mechanical and mathematical world. The story of the Unseen Player was relegated to mere myth.

But the Unseen Player continued to play nonetheless.

(Source: God’s Little Devotional Book)

Since I’m including book reviews on this site, it’s only right that I include God’s Little Devotional Book, as I’ve posted several of the more common stories from the book here.

I’ve been using the book this year as part of my daily Bible reading, although I’ve discovered it only has entries enough to go through half the year. (Ah, well. Maybe I’ll read it through again then for the next half of the year!) I really like the way it presents its stories, with a brief, often memorable main point and then a for-instance to support it. I’m finding that I remember more of the “lessons” with this format.

I’m actually not sure this particular edition is still available, but there are plenty of other “God’s Little Devotional Books” for moms, dads, teens, etc. I suspect that they’re just as good as this one. If you’re looking for an encouraging word, look no further than this series.

When I say good morning I mean to say:

G-od
O-ffers us His
O-utstanding
D-evotion to

M-ake us
O-bedient &
R-eady for a
N-ew day with Him.
I-nspire others please, and
N-ever forget
G-od loves you!

HAVE A BLESSED DAY!

WAITING FOR THE WIND

My nephew’s 10 year old son came for a visit one hot July weekend. I was enticing him to stay inside by joining him in a Nintendo game. After being mercilessly defeated by a more experienced player, I suggested that we relax awhile. I collapsed into my favorite recliner to let my neck muscles relax and my ego recover from such a beating. He had slipped out of the room and I was catching a few relished moments of peace and quiet.

“Look, Alice,” he said enthusiastically as he ran over to the chair where I was recovering. “I found a kite. Could we go outside and fly it?”

Glancing out a nearby window, I noticed there was not a breeze stirring. “I’m sorry, Tripper,” I said, sad to see his disappointed eyes, but thankful for the respite from more activity. “The wind is not blowing today. The kite won’t fly.”

The determined 10-year-old replied. “I think it’s windy enough. I can get it to fly,” he answered, as he hurried out the back door.

I peeked through the slats in the venetian blinds to watch determination in action. Up and down the yard he ran, pulling the kite attached to a small length of string. The plastic kite, proudly displaying a picture of Batman, remained about shoulder level. He ran back and forth, as hard as his ten year old legs would carry him, looking back hopefully at the kite trailing behind. After about ten minutes of unsuccessful determination, he came back in.

I asked, “How did it go?”

“Fine,” he said, not wanting to admit defeat. “I got it to fly some.” As he walked past me to return the kite to the closet shelf, I heard him say under his breath, “I guess I’ll have to wait for the wind.”

At that moment I heard another Voice speak to my heart. “Alice. Sometimes you are just like that. You want to do it your way instead of waiting for the Wind.”

And the voice was right. How easy it is to use our own efforts to accomplish what we want to do. We wait for the Wind only after we have done all we can and have exhausted our own strength. We must learn how to rely on Him in the first place!

-Alice

(Found here.)

Angry Conversations With God
by Susan E. Isaacs

About The Book

Angry Conversations began when Susan hit hit forty and found herself loveless, jobless, and living over a garage. When a well-meaning churchy friend told Susan she needed to look at her relationship with God like it was a marriage, Susan decided to take God to marriage counseling.

Angry Conversations chronicles Susan’s spiritual history, from childhood faith to midlife crisis, and all the bizarre church experiences in between…

Reviews

“If King David were a woman, and were funny, he’d be Susan Isaacs. And the thing about this book is it surprises you. There are lines in it you won’t see coming. You’ll be handing this book to somebody else about a month from now thinking, Maybe this will help them understand me. You’ll do that because it helped you understand yourself first.” (Donald Miller, New York Times bestselling author of Blue Like Jazz )

“Susan’s brilliant comic idea of taking God to couples therapy is a terrific framework for the story of her personal journey of faith.” (Jim Gaffigan, actor and comedian )

“Face it, folks, the church is made up of messed-up people all trying to deal with life. I appreciate writers like Susan who creatively face their issues with honesty and humor. ANGRY CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD is a really fun read.” (Tony Hale, actor )

Read more reviews at amazon.com.

” This book wasn’t what I expected. The author, Susan Isaacs, is a moderately successful actress/writer/comedienne who has worked on movies and TV shows you would be familiar with. Why don’t you know her on a first name basis? That is part of the fuel for the fire of this book. In telling her lack-of-success story Susan is “snarky,” her cover is cute, and even her book title is clever. I imagined that it would be a humorous read, something fluffy like Oreo filling that I could enjoy between the hard shell theology books on my plate. But this ended up being a book that has significant substance. Sometimes I get the impression that the Christian authors I read just want to sell books, to see their name on a book spine, or to appear to the rest of us that they are ahead of the pack. They produce books full of outlines that if followed will solve all the answers to church growth problems, deal with leadership issues, nail down how to live as a modern Christian in the post-modern world, and provide seven steps to get to whatever. And though I’m sure there is much value in these attempts, sometimes I just want to relate to someone who is asking the same questions that I am… “

Read the full review at barnesandnoble.com.

Read even more reviews: http://www.angryconversationswithgod.com/

Meet the author: http://www.susanisaacs.net/

CHANGES
(By Dale Johnson)

Our lives are full of changes
Some we feel we cannot bear.
Those changes for the better
Are the ones we quickly share.

But there are those that slip in
Unannounced and uninvited
That seem to bring the worst for us,
Hearts full of grief…ignited…

We question why, why did this happen?
Who caused all this disaster?
The real question goes much deeper now…
Who truly is our Master?

Are we the ones who hold all the keys
To the destiny of our lives?
Do we possibly know what’s best for us
In the midst of Satan’s lies?

How are we to handle life
When changes come our way?
Whether good or bad, we must know
That “change” is here to stay.

We can kick and scream against it
And “sport” a big bad attitude
Or know our awesome God knows best
And go to Him with gratitude.

For we don’t tend to look at life
With eternity in mind,
We look at the very small picture
Which often makes us blind

To all the good that eventually comes
For those who trust in Him,
The One who came to heal our hearts
And build the ruins back again.

So we must fully put our trust
In the omniscient God above
And know that he allows changes
For our good and from His love.

A Friend…

(A)ccepts you as you are
(B)elieves in “you”
(C)alls you just to say “HI”
(D)oesn’t give up on you

(E)nvisions the whole of you (even the unfinished parts)
(F)orgives your mistakes
(G)ives unconditionally
(H)elps you
(I)nvites you over

(J)umps at the chance to be with you
(K)eeps you close at heart
(L)oves you for who you are
(M)akes a difference in your life

(N)ever Judges
(O)ffer support
(P)icks you up
(Q)uiets your fears
(R)aises your spirits

(S)ays nice things about you
(T)ells you the truth when you need to hear it
(U)nderstands you
(V)alues you

(W)alks beside you
(X)-plains thing you don’t understand
(Y)ells when you won’t listen and
(Z)aps you back to reality