Come and Gone

Yesterday I hosted Thanksgiving for one side of my family.

It was nice. I cleaned all week in preparation for it and am now enjoying what may be the cleanest my house has ever been.



I'm exhausted. But I'm a little reflective too. Thought I'd share.

People come and go in our lives. I think that may be one of the hardest realities of life this side of heaven. People come and then they're gone. Some move, some move on, some die, some just grow up and get too busy.

Old high school friends. Preschool playmates. Family members once close, now pulled in different directions.

Letting go can be hard. The different seasons of life force us to choose what's important and let go of what's passed. Some things are worth holding onto, some aren't. Relationships once treasured now reduced to a one hour visit, a 20 minute phone call, a Christmas letter...then gone.

Empty glasses and one big trash bag...

What do you think? Do you have relationships that have come and gone? How do you let go?

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Friday Funnies - not every day is good

Not every day is funny. Not every day is good. But sometimes...at the end of the day...my little ones say something that is.

My little guy is taking fiddle lessons. Yes...I said fiddle...not violin. We're from the south.

The great thing about it is that my dad is taking him to these fiddle lessons each week. Little guy gets to spend the night with my mom and dad each week and then have about four hours alone in the car with my dad. I love it! I hope they're talking about all kinds of grandaddy-grandson things...how to spit and cuss and stuff like that ;-)

Most of the time my little guy has a fabulous time on these little outtings. But this week didn't go so well.

He started out the morning trying to lift weights. Yes, he's four. My mom has little hand weights that she never puts away for some reason. So little guy was pumping some iron...getting beefy like his daddy...

Until he smashed he little finger in between the weights...

Dad said he rolled around on the floor kicking and screaming for a long time...completely inconsolible. They talked tonight and my dad said to him, I wish it had happened to me instead of you..." :-)

A little while after that they loaded up in the van and started the hour and half long drive to the fiddle lesson. About half-way through the trip something went wrong with the car and dad had to find a station to get it fixed.

By the time they got to the fiddle lesson it was over. Missed it completely.

A recap? One smushed little finger, one unexpected car repair and one totally missed fiddle lesson.

On the way home, my little one said to his grandaddy, "It just hasn't been a good day, has it Gaggy?"

No little one...it has not.

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And head on over to Homesteaders Heart to read more Friday hilarity!

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Elijah Prayer Project - The Father Heart of God with Phil Holsinger

Need a refresher about what the Elijah Prayer Project is? Or maybe a reminder of the (rules?)

I'm so excited to introduce you to someone I have great esteem for...my boss! (And no, I'm not just saying that because I have to...)

Rev. Phil Holsinger is CEO and President of Blue Ridge Women's Center, a non-profit ministry reaching out to women in unplanned pregnancies. He came to us just about two years ago and brings an amazing perspective of redemption, healing and most importantly, an opinion that the only way to reach the hearts of women is to change the hearts of men. Phil is new to Twitter...he's learniing so go easy on him. But he'd be happy for you to follow him.

I think you'll see how well his thoughts align with the heart of the Elijah Prayer Project.

Without further ado...Phil.


I recently had the opportunity to speak to a small group of dad’s and their son’s. One of the father’s had expressed a desire to inform and educate their young men about abortion and some of the circumstances that surround the lives of the clients we serve. I was faced with a bit of a dilemma; should I talk about the nuts and bolts of Pregnancy Center ministry and abortion or should I spend the time challenging these men to lead lives that reflect the Father’s heart.

I chose the latter and it kicked off a major work in the hearts of those men and their sons.

The heart of the Father is for earthly fathers to turn their hearts toward their children and for their children to turn their hearts to their fathers. It seems like a noble cause doesn’t it? But few Christians really understand who our Heavenly Father is and how he “fathers” us.

The challenge I presented was that until we understand who God is and how he father’s his children, we won’t really be able to turn our hearts to our own children.

How does that impact CPC ministry? Profoundly. Every child conceived has a father. Every woman that walks through our front door has at least one man involved in her life. Fathers reject, discard, abandon and destroy the lives of their children every day. But is that the Father’s heart for his children? I don’t think so. In fact, I emphatically know that it is not. When we get a handle on how He really father’s us then we will have an accurate example to model our fathering after. Turning the hearts of fathers to their children means getting the real Father’s heart for ourselves.
_______________________________________________________________


Obviously, I'm praying the heart of the Elijah Prayer Project today...Malachi 4:5-6:

"Lord, give my husband the heart of Elijah. Create in him a heart like this, give him a vision for raising up our sons like this, and surround us with men whose hearts are to lead him as he leads our family."

"Turn the heart of my husband to his children, and the hearts of my children toward their father."

Friends...let's bless Phil with some conversation on this topic. Tell me how you feel about his words. Do they bring up certain emotions in you? Do you want him to come talk to the men in your church? :-)

How can we women help create the vision for this in the lives of our own men? Is it even our place?

Join us next week as Phil follows-up this conversation with part two of "The Father Heart of God."

Subscribe to A Life in Need of Change and join me as I seek the heart of God in the mundane and the beautiful.

And don't forget to enter to win Noel Piper's "Treasuring God in Our Traditions between now and Thanksgiving Day!

Treasuring God in Our Traditions {WFMW}

I was going to save this for my BIG GIVEAWAY the first week of December but that just didn't work for me!!!

Partly because it's an amazing book...

Partly because it has been ministering to me SO MUCH...

But mostly because it's a book not just on treasuring God in our Christmas traditions, but all of them. So I wanted you to have it for the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I received "Treasuring God in our Traditions," by Noel Piper, as a gift from a dear friend of mine last Christmas, but forgot to read it (shhhh..don't tell her...). While cleaning my bedroom I happened upon it and can I just say I'm SO glad I did!

Each word brings me a new blessing...a new understanding of the importance of traditions in the family. Mrs. Piper says,

"Our...celebrations anchor us and our children in the harbor of our family, reflecting our true refuge - God. The way we observe these occasions - the focus of our observation - has great potential to show our children what we think is most important and to help them value what we hold most dear."

From everyday traditions like daily prayer, reading Scripture and family worship, to the "special" traditions like Thanksgiving and Christmas, Mrs. Piper makes keeping God Lord an art form. One that even a commoner like me (a.k.a. someone NOT married to John Piper) can aspire to and achieve.

So friends, because you bless me so much by actually caring to read what I write (and sometimes even commenting about it!!) I want to bless you in return. I contacted the Pipers through their website "Desiring God and asked for special permission to give away a copy of this book. They agreed to help me bless you!!

So one of you, my readers, will be blessed with a brand new book straight from the Pipers!

You may begin entering....NOW! I'll announce the winner on Thanksgiving Day!!

To enter is simple...and there are several ways to do it, but (important) you need to leave a comment for each entry!!! (And BE SURE to leave me your email address so I can find you if you win!!)

1. Subscribe to my blog.
2. Follow me on Twitter.
3. Become a Facebook Fan!
4. Tweet about this beautiful giveaway all week.
5. Join me in my Christmas "OutGiving" project and tell me which ministry you plan to support.

Thank you, dear friends, for reading my blog. I appreciate you more than you know. And thank you for allowing me to bless you by giving something back to you that has blessed me so much.

It works for me.



For more Works for Me Wednesday posts, head on over to see Kristen at We Are That Family!

Morning Prayers

Written this morning as I heard my little ones' feet pad down the stairs after a peaceful night's sleep.

Lord bless my family as they rise,
Let Your peace shine through their eyes.
Let joy and love grow in their heart.
To You this day we set apart
our lives in hopes to bring You fame,
This we pray in Jesus' Name.

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Coffee with a purpose

I know I have some serious coffee drinkers who follow my blog!! I would love to invite you to begin drinking coffee with a purpose. Allow me to introduce you to Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee!



Go ahead...drink coffee and do good!



Hint: I'll be giving away a bag of this high end coffee the first week of December! So subscribe now and don't miss it!

Picture from www.landof1000hills.com

Sharing Beauty

Just wanted to share this beautiful poem I came across today by John Piper. It's a lullaby written for someone I'm assuming is his daugher, Talitha.

Come rest your head and nestle gently,
And do not fear the dark of night;
Almighty God keeps watch intently
And guards your life with all his might.
Doubt not his love nor power to keep;
He never fails nor does he sleep.

Told you it was beautiful. Thinking I might frame it for both my boys and place it on their nightstands.

If you're on Twitter you can follow him at @JohnPiper. Pretty amazing.

What beauty do you have to share?

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