New Car

I now have a car payment again after many many many years without one. Boo hiss for car payments, but yay yay yay for the new car smell!

Honda Civic - nothing too fancy, but I hope a good investment. Honda's are built to be around awhile and IT BETTER BE!

Now, I'm one of these people that names her vehicles, so I'm now in the naming process. I'll let you know what I come up with, and feel free to leave any suggestions.

Isn't she beautiful?

Deeper Still: The Event

Katie and I are attending Deeper Still: The Event in Atlanta, GA. Last night we heard from Priscilla Shirer, and looking forward to today when we will hear from Kay Arthur and Beth Moore.

I will be sharing more later, but we've got to get moving.

Read Deeper Still: The Blog.

Ticket to Park

Ticket to Park
Originally uploaded by susanlprince

We had difficulty figuring out exactly what to do with this machine when we found a parking place in Atlanta. Finally we got ourselves the ticket to place in the dash so we were parked legally.

Then it was off to the long lines in the hot sun outside of Phillips Arena to await the start of the conference.

AND, IT WAS A GREAT OPENING NIGHT! It's late and we have to get up early, so we will have to post about it later.

For now, enjoy some more pictures of our adventure. Just click on the picture!

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Sue and Katie in the Row Boat
Originally uploaded by susanlprince

Katie and I spent the morning on a row boat on the lake behind the home of our gracious hosts, the Gushee's.

We are amateurs, actually absolute beginners at boating. We got the boat in the water and managed to get in without getting wet!

We drifted into trees and observed ducks, geese and frogs.

We did some Bible study and then it was too hot and we needed to get out!

Unfortunately I did pop my knee out of joint when we were trying to drag the boat back onto the shore, but I'm sure I'll heal.

Well, off to the Deeper Still Conference! Woohooo!

Oh, and you can go to flickr by clicking on the picture and see more pictures of our adventure!

Wedded Bliss

Today my parents are celebrating 47 years of marriage. By today's standards this is a huge milestone. Mom said "we're still counting, and still counting is good!" LOL

I feel very blessed to have been raised by the parents God gave me. So few people these days grow up in the stability I knew as a child. I never wanted for love and I was always supported in all that I did.

When I visited home a couple of years ago I was talking to my dad while we were out running a morning errand and asked him how he and Mom met. This was the story he told me:

"I was cruisin' in my powder blue convertible with dark blue interior and usually when I came to this one intersection, I would take the main road because it had a traffic light. Then, one time, I decided to go straight and go an extra block. At the end of that little street, there was a house and you would pull right up to it if you kept going straight and didn't turn."

He continued,

"I looked up to the house and on the porch was this girl, twirling a baton (Mom was a majorette!). I thought to myself 'she's cute', so being the brave man I was I went to my friend's house, picked him up and said 'c'mon with me'. As we were driving back to the cute girl's house, we saw her walking with a friend on the sidewalk. I pulled up to them and your mom said 'Hi Don!' and I was shocked because I didn't know her, but she obviously knew me. (Later Dad learned that Mom knew him because he had once dated her cousin.) The girls explained they were headed to the drugstore and I said 'hop in, I'll drive you down', and so they did! That was the day I picked your mom up!"

So, my dad was stylin' and cruising and literally picked up my mom! I think that's pretty cool!

Twitter

I now Twitter.

Follow me!

Oh, and you can see my status over there -------> under my name.

Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?

This is my dog Whyzer ("Weezer").

Yesterday, I bought this bed for Cheri, Katie's dog.

The Whyz doesn't fit in it.

But he likes it anyway. :-)

We Are Living in the Meantime

I have been reading "The Jesus I Never Knew" by Philip Yancey. This was a required reading from my New Testament class. We were only required to read a portion of the book but it's so good that I have continued to read it. I highly recommend it!

Recently, in reading about the Ascension, my eyes were opened to yet another paradox of the Bible. According to Yancey, we are living in the meantime. This is the centuries long time that we currently live in…the time when God appears to be absent. (How's that for a play on words?) To the contrary, God is not absent at all. He is ever present in the unlikely disguise of the sick, the poor, the hungry, the homeless, and the prisoners. He is the single mom, the elderly in the nursing homes, the grieving daughter, the man dying with cancer, and so many more.

The one thing I found powerfully intriguing is when Yancey writes, "Since we cannot express our love by doing anything to profit God directly, God wants us to do something profitable for the poor, who have been delegated the task of receiving Christian love." ….Amazing Grace.

I found it curious that he used the word "task" when referring to the receiving of Christian love. A task is defined as a definite piece of work assigned to, falling to, or expected of a person; duty. It is also defined as a matter of considerable labor or difficulty. So, according to Yancey, receiving Christian love is a duty of which involves considerable labor or difficulty.

Here's the paradox. In the world we live it makes sense that giving would be the task and receiving would be the blessing, right? But, in the Christian realm, the blessing is the giving and the receiving is the difficult part.

Blessed are the meek, and the poor. I see this in a different light.

It is more blessed to give than to receive. I understand!

To give sacrificially to the poor and needy is to encounter God's presence during the "meantime" while we wait for Christ's triumphant return. To receive is a blessing because the one who is receiving has been delegated that difficult task in order that God's presence might be known. It is an opportunity to allow others to receive the blessing of service to Christ. This sure sheds a new light to the question, "How can a loving God allow suffering?" It is our suffering that draws us to depend on Him. It is through reaching out through the hurting of others that Christians can have a personal encounter with God. Is this the good spoken of in Romans 8:28?

"God has designated the poor to be His receivers." – Philip Yancey

A Word From God:

"I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me" - Jesus

Peace Be Still

I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that I am seeking answers for many decisions that I need to make in this life. I am unsure of so many things right now. The only thing I'm really sure of is that God has placed me on this planet to worship Him and to be a witness to His glory so that the lost might come to know Him. It's my responsibility to go into the entire world and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. In the "meantime" I am supposed to trust Him with the plans for my life. All of these things that I am unsure of, He knows the answers for. He has a plan and a purpose that will unfold in His time. So, while I wait…it's imperative that I be still and let go of my concerns…lifting them up to the only One who really knows what to do with them. His burden is light and mine is so heavy. He wants to carry that load for me. So, why is it so hard to let go and trust? Why do I focus on the waves in the storm instead of the peace resting in the bottom of the boat? He alone can speak peace into the chaos of life. In order to have peace, I must rely on the Peace Speaker. I have to stop watching the storm. I have to trust that He already knows the outcome of my circumstances and He is in control of it all.

Known to God from eternity are all His works. –Acts 15:18

In my next post I will explain more about the "meantime"

Ms.

I'm sorry, I just have to say it...I HATE the whole "Ms." thing! Ms. Prince just doesn't work for me! Never has! Never will!

Where did "Ms." come from anyway?

I'm not married...it's MISS Prince!

Thank you, now proceed with life. I feel better.

Got Quarters?

The time for the clothes washer to go clanka-clanka-clanka-boom-boom-pow-grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrumble-grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrind-clunk is NOT the day after learning my position is being eliminated.

Unforgiveness

This blog is one in which I risk being transparent. Recent events in my life have caused me to see a place in my heart that can become very dark very quickly. This is the place where I find jealousy, envy and selfishness that quickly turns bitter. It's the place that makes me see the reality of my humanness and my need for a merciful, loving Savior. I feel justified in my sin...even entitled to hold a grudge. I spend my days thinking of reasons why I have a right to feel this way...how I have been treated so thoughtlessly, carelessly, judgementally, or without any consideration at all. ( I am not speaking of one particular incident here). I have been shafted, mistreated, treated unfairly, or rudely and I AM ENTITLED TO WALLOW AND HOLD A BITTER GRUDGE!!!! So there you have it....transparency. I am human. I am a sinner....and I am forgiven. So, why do I struggle to forgive?

During my devotion time, I read a book called Power Prayers to Start Your Day by Donna K. Maltese. In it she writes, "It has been said that unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting the offender to die". I never looked at it like that before and it helped me see my attitude in a much different light.

Unforgiveness does nothing to the offender and accomplishes nothing positive at all...ever. It only eats away at the human soul like a cancer. Normally I am quick to forgive those who offend me, but this one particulart time I was really caught off guard and knocked for a loop! I was swallowed up by envy and jealousy so quickly that I didn't even see it coming and I'm still working hard to overcome. God is so patient and so good. I am so blessed that He still loves me and gently chastises me back into His grace.

Maltese goes on futher to say, "When you release the wrongdoer from your wrath, you cut a malignant tumor out of your own life. You set a prisoner free...and discover that the prisoner you freed was yourself."

There have been many times I have granted forgiveness to those who have offended me ...without batting an eye. I can let things go and give them to God. Why is this time so much harder? Is it because of the value of the treasure I stood to lose? Maybe that's what makes a difference. One thing I know I've learned is that any treasure I have been given is a gift from God. I need not worship the treasure over the Giver and that is what I have been doing. I am the one in need of forgiveness and grace. I have chosen to turn from God in my wasted efforts to hold tight to the gift He gave me and call it MINE MINE MINE! May He have mercy on me.

And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins"- Mark 11:25 NIV

People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy. - Proverbs 28:13 NLT

This is my confession.

When Your Job Unexpectedly Goes Away

Hearing the words "your position is being eliminated" is not on the list of things I wanted to hear. It conjures up many different thoughts and feelings, not many of them good.

I heard those words today.

I shall push my worldly thoughts and feelings aside, hold my thoughts captive to Christ, and trust God.