Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Wet Logs



Something I have never had to deal with in my lifetime is Wet Logs. When I would set up a fire anywhere in Nevada I was always dealing with very dry, crispy, ready to be burned wood. But since we have moved to the PNW and we are living in a home where our primary source of heat is wood, we have had to deal with wet logs. When your heat source is a fire, and you are surrounded with an abundance of free wet wood, you take what you can get and make it work.

Now, you are not supposed if you can help it, burn wet logs, I realize this. Mostly because they just don't burn very well if at all. But also because they let off a lot of smoke(bad for the environment...PNW doesn't like bad for the enviroment) If you were in the wilderness and trying to make a fire with a wet log it would never, ever light. We are not in the wilderness(well it kind of looks like we are) and not only that, we have a blowtorch to help get things started around here. SO don't worry we have plenty of warmth.

Today while making a fire out of some wet logs, I was getting frustrated and impatient. I kept the blow torch on the logs for a good amount of time. I set up the logs just right with some wet and some dry logs. Still after several attempts no fire. Apparently these logs were more than wet, they were saturated.

It got me thinking that this is kind of how my heart can become sometimes. Saturated with worry, fear, bad attitudes, comparisons to others, and countless other things that keep my heart from flame. I keep a fair distance between my heart and God's flames because of fear.

God tries to come in with His blow torch and flames but I am just too dang wet with the world and I miss out on the warmth of His flame. I need others who have been on fire for a while now to help me out.

*** The above blog was written over a year ago on 3/4/10 - It ended there. My need for help. Little did I know a year later so much more of this blog would make sense.


Recently, some friends have really inspired me by their fire like faith, and have set a flame to these wet logs. I had here in my heart saturated logs. They had been heavy with fear, worry, and doubt. They have been watered this past year not with living water, but with compromise, creature comforts, any thing BUT living water.

But then I came across this scripture: 1 Kings 18:33-38

This is a passage in the bible where the prophet Elijah is told to set the stage for God to show up.
He tells people to set up two places where a burnt offering can be made.
One will be to the God Baal and his prophets
and the other to the One True living God.
The one that is set on fire is to be forever known as the Living God, The One True God.
He then proceeds to tell the people on his altar "wet logs" are what he wants.
Not once, twice, but three times he says pour water over these logs.
He does this to prove without a shadow of a doubt that His God, The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob WILL set the logs on fire.
After God set the logs on fire, Elijah said get ready because there will be rain in this dry dessert place.
Again another thing God told Elijah that even though there had a been a drought there was going to be a great rain.

I read this and thought this is what you were up to God.
These metaphorical "wet logs" in my heart have now been set a flame once again.
I have caught the vision of what you are doing and want to continue to do in my life.
No one else gets the glory for that but you.
There is no better blow torch than you.

"So let the rain fall on me, on me, on me.
Let it wash away all my insecurities.
Let the rain fall on me, on me, on me.
Let it wash away all my impurities.

I'm taking it all in
The sounds of beginning again.
It's starting to touch my soul.
It's starting to feel like home.

So let the rain fall on me, on me, on me.
Let it wash away all my insecurities.
Let the rain fall on me, on me, on me.
Let it wash away all my impurities."

Thursday, March 17, 2011

What is wrong with the world? What can we do to change it?

With recent events in Japan,
The Brewing events in Libya,
In house events with Rob Bell's new book coming out,
My somewhat not really an event, finishing Shane Claiborne's book Follow Me to Freedom,
And with my current event going to watch with some friends the new documentary tonight, " I AM"http://iamthedoc.com/

I have got a lot on my brain.
There are so many points in this movie that I have been thinking about for a long time.
Even more points in this movie that I have heard my husband saying for years, (being the prophetic fella that he is)
I am still chewing on quite a bit of it, and I don't want to give away the ending for those of you who want to go see it, or the answer to the above question, but I will say this... the grand finale... well it ends with a four letter word.

I will give you some clues (in song of course);

What the world needs now is....(blank) sweet.... (blank)?


Where is the ..... (blank)? Where is the.....(blank) ?


His banner over me is..... (blank)??

Monday, March 14, 2011

Dances With Wolves... and some deep thoughts with Me(LOL, that title just makes me laugh)


This past Sunday night we had the distinct pleasure of sharing with our Fab 4 the old movie Dances With Wolves starring and directed by Kevin Costner.
There were quite a few scene's that were of course not appropriate for all of our children, and therefore skipped through, but as a whole I thought that the movie was a good one to share with our kids.

While watching it, one of the things that Mo mentioned to the kids that I found so interesting, was the fact that the women were the ones who in many, if not most tribes, built the Tee Pee. She also had complete control over what went on in her Tee Pee, what came in or out of her Tee Pee, and she could even kick the man out of her Tee Pee if he didn't "bring home the bacon" so to speak!
I found this so intriguing.

I think for one, because general carpentry is not something that I do in this house. Outside of putting in an occasional light bulb or putting batteries in my children's toys, I leave the fixing and or building of things to my hubby.
So the notion that the women not only built the Tee Pee, but put it up as well was a foreign concept to me.

I also think I found it interesting because today you often hear phrases like;
"The woman is the heart of the home" or
"If momma ain't happy ain't nobody happy!"
So in a way I suppose you could say this is a cross cultural theme and an aged-old truth.

Either way, it made me then think about my home.
What have I allowed to go on in my home?
What have I promoted to be a good or bad thing in my home?
Who have I allowed to influence my home?

And also do I really need all this stuff ?
That question leads me to my other thought about Tee Pee Life.
Those families were on the move quite a bit.
The women I am sure were very careful about what kind of things they let become permanent fixtures in their homes because having the life of a nomad does not work well, with having the life of a pack rat!
They "traveled light" I am sure.

Finally, it made me remember one of the choices that my book club picked last year that I never got to thank them for choosing;
Daughters Of A Copper Woman

And then I read this, just this morning;

"Every wise woman builds her house, but the foolish one tears it down with her own hands." Proverbs 14:1

Hmmm....

I want to be a woman that carefully builds my house.
And if I do tear it down may it only be for the purpose of moving with my family on to the next great adventure!

Wednesday, March 02, 2011

The Gum Wall



Here is a game of where's Waldo only its where's the VW in gum?


Seattle Washington 2011



Uncle Greg and his girlfriend Tanya came for a visit and this was just a minor pit stop in all the sights we saw while they were here.




As Gregs face says it all, this wall is really gross and yet somehow, somewhat, very, cool.




It sure does provide for some pretty great pics.




Here are some of my favorites.




I hoped you enjoyed :)
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