Tonight our church celebrates Pastor Appreciation. And we celebrate my amazing dad.

Yesterday I found an email I sent to my dad over 11 years ago while I was in college, late September of ’99. I was telling him all about boys, can you believe that? LOL.

“Daddy, this is the one, I’m just sure of it.”

How many times did I say that to him? Far too often. I told him all about crushes AND my classes. I described in two pages of details which classes I loved and which ones I struggled through:

“Dad, Christian Thought is the most boring subject in the world. This teacher even wrote the book that we are reading – how Boorrring! But, I will struggle through, and maybe I will learn something. Oh and I HATE Algebra too. I do not understand this stuff. English is my favorite subject. The teachers rave over my reports, and I am doing great in that class!”

Reading my email from back then, was a laughable moment yesterday morning. The difference between 31 and 20, is way more than 11, I’m sure. If I only knew then….

“The one” was not the one. He was actually the “worst” one. The dream faker. The lifetime I had prepared to follow that one year in Lakeland, only lasted for a few more weeks following that email to my dad. And I didn’t returned to school the following year either. And the few weeks between that fall heart break and our Christmas break seemed like forever.

I flipped the pages over in the file, remembering that distant life and that October heart break. And I found two more pages.  This one hand written, etched in my blue college-girl writing, with the letters circled at the top, “DAD” – dated, “11/6/99″ – Ironically, November 6th, exactly 11 years ago when I wrote these precious pages.

It was a phone conversation. ‘Pastor Daddy’ gave me a very special 12 point sermon, right off the top of his heart, which brought healing and life back into his little girls hurting heart. And I’m sure he was the one who directed me to take notes!

“Get out your pen and paper Jenn, I want you to write this down”

- Thankfully today, I followed his instructions. Those 12 points were a lifeline for me during that time, and unknowingly have remained to this day…

1. Nothing is more important than the call of God in my life.

2. I will pursue no relationship before the relationship with my God.

3. I have a right & responsibility to limit my affections of another.

4. I will respect my myself enough to say No! My body belongs to the Lord.

5. No one can have a part of me (mind, body, emotions) until I give them permission to have a part of me.

6. Behave! (i really needed that one!)

7. The Blood of Jesus covers all.
~Read Job 11:13 – 19 (Message Bible)~

8. I am a new creature. Every day begins a new and fresh day that begins in Jesus.

9. I am living a Higher Standard (Romans 8:28)

10. True Love is proven in the Truth of Love. Words, Actions, and thoughts are determinants in the truth of Love!  (that’s my favorite one)

11. Relax and Be Happy.

12. God is able to deliver you. Do everything as unto the Lord. (Col 3:23) & Fight the Good fight of faith.

There was an interesting trending topic on twitter a few days ago #tweetyour16yearoldself. Many people are blogging about this. It’s an interesting thought. In retrospect, what would want to tell your 16 year old self, if you could?

This one is easy. Besides, “No, Jenn, he’s NOT the one,” (haha) I would say,

“Listen to your daddy, after all he Is you pastor too! Appreciate him. Take notes, and really listen. Quit debating! He is ALWAYS right! I promise you he will never let you down.”

Today I’m so thankful for my Pastor Daddy, and blessed to be his daughter.

Wednesday night the rains came in. Lots of rain. Black clouds over head. I was driving through the middle of it. Zero visibility around 6 o’clock, the roads super slushy, cars driving home from work, out to church, all moving at a snails pace. I cant even see the lines on the road, weaving into both lanes. Right-brain chides left-brain, “This is Idiot Weather. Idiot.” Why am I continuing on this journey, driven to my destination. What was I thinking with all that ambition, that I could actually do this? I realized I was fighting through the biggest storm of the season, darkly daunting just above my head. I keep going.

Because the car in front of me keeps going. Their tail lights my guide. Even when I felt that urge to merge off to the side, I kept going. My rear view mirror reflecting the cars behind me. They were depending on my lights to guide them through this storm too. That kept me going.

Maybe we think we can’t make it through the storm. After all, this could very well be the scariest storm of our life. Its dangerous and seemingly has the power to destroy us. The black that looms on through the night. We have every reason to stop, cower down and take a moment to cover our heads. Everything in us screams self preservation. But what if our tail lights are the only thing keeping someone else safely on the road behind us?

Later, I notice how that most powerful storm on the out side created the sweetest atmosphere on the inside, and cozied in the most peaceful night’s rest.  {Keith and I have one of those soothing-sounds alarm clocks, and our go to sleep sound is always the Thundering Rain Forest, ahh its so delightful.}

How is it that the sound of a billowing storm can sooth ones soul?

We were created with a propensity for resting in the storms. After all, our Maker’s Son did that while at the bottom of a boat in the middle of a stormy sea.  To his disciples amazement, he slept right through the storm!  And when questioned about His unfathomable peace, he simply went out and proved that a few dark clouds are nothing that His power can’t conquer.

A C. H. Spurgeon thought on storms…

“This depression comes over me whenever the Lord is preparing a larger blessing for my ministry; the cloud is black before it breaks, and overshadows before it yields its deluge of mercy. Depression has now become to me as a prophet in rough clothing, a John the Baptist, heralding the nearer coming of my Lord’s richer benison.”

Today:

~ Hold on to His Power.

~~ Rest in it… Rest in the Storm.

~~~Take note of fellow pilgramers looking to you to guide them through the storm.

~~~~Take note of what this storm may be “heralding” in your life of what the Lord has in store.

I don’t always post music, country music at that! But this one was my song for this moment. “Stand”

“Cause when push comes to shove, You taste what you’re made of, You might bend till you break, Cause? it’s all you can take, On your knees, you look up, Decide you’ve had enough, You get mad, you get strong, Wipe your hands, shake it off, Then you stand…. Everytime you get up, And get back in the race, One more small piece of you, Starts to fall into place.”

Five incredible years ago today on a perfect fall day, i married my best friend, my LOVE!

We were married on a beautiful fall day in Winter Garden, Florida. I believe weddings are often a precursor, a setting of the stage of thing to come in marriage. Possibly.  The big day is delightful, beautiful, happy, sometimes stressful. It holds a few scary moments, many blessings, a few mistakes, an enrichment of friends and family, and lots of chocolate and cake!  Aren’t most marriages like that?

My favorite wedding story to tell is about how I had longed for a nice limo, but by the time all the other details were arranged, the ‘limo when out the window’. So we scraped together our last bit of funds and found the smallest transportation possible, a black Lincoln Town Car. Room enough for just the two of us. I was OK with that.

So on the day of the wedding, we say I do, he kisses the bride, and we exit with Al Green serenading us,

“I – I – I – I’m so in love with you, whatever you want to do, is alright with meee ee ee eee. Cause you make me feel so brand new, I want to spend my life with you.”

The doors open and we walk through the foyer together, for the first moment, its just the two of us, husband and wife. And I’m swept way.  And then I look through the exit doors of the foryer, the glass from floor to ceiling with a panoramic view of of an amazing site to behold in the driveway:

It’s a black ~S – T – R – E – T – C – H ~ Hummer!

It was a site to see! “How? What did you do Keith? Oh my goodness, what a surprise? Thank you so much” I squeezed him with unbelief, and he said, “Don’t thank me, thank your dad – I guess?” Later we find out when the rental company went out to get in the Town Car that morning, the A/C on the car was broken, so the only other option was to take “the hummer.”  YEAH Baby!!

So at the last minute we tell our entire wedding party, including the kids to pile in with us! And we all rode over to our reception together, about 15 magical minutes of luxury with our best friends. My favorite part was watching the kids, with their eyes wide with amazement. I can still hear their tiny voices, “this is so cool.” It was cool.

Later that night our stretch hummer drove us back to my parents house to change, and then drove us 45 minutes to our gorgeous hotel in Kissimmee. We felt like movie stars in the back of that thing all to our selves.

Somehow God took our $120 vehicle and miraculously made my dream come true with a $1200 vehicle.

And that’s been the story of our marriage for 5 years. God providing. Miraculously.  I love this unbelievable faith journey that we walk together. And I would not trade it for anything.

Last night he surprised me with flowers and a sweet card.  And now, I’m off to prepare for my handsome chariot driver that should be arriving any minute.  Tonight he has a surprise up his sleeve for our five year celebration!   I can’t wait to see!

our albums:  wedding day,  Cruise to Bahamas, Don Cesar Resort

You know when you are floating through an island of inspiration at your local book store, and you read the most perfect, tender card for your best friend?  Then on the back you find it was authored by “DaySpring,” and you just smile…because Dayspring always finds a way to make your heart happy.

Tonight I had that same feeling when I stumbled into a blog community, where the contributing writers were like the sea of beautiful trinkets at my local family bookstore. Simply too much to take in all at once. My clicks led me to a few new blog favorites that I picked up, pondered and bookmarked for later. And when I looked on the back of the card for this beautiful community, low and behold I find a familiar little name…DaySpring.

The site is called (in)courage – a DaySpring collection of red-caped, super-women writers. a blogosphere of hero’s. I melted of course, grabbed a blanket and settled in for a few good reads.

And then I read their “story“ – words perfectly expressing everything I was feeling…

…as if you’ve stumbled upon a glimpse of heaven and it’s nothing like you ever imagined but everything you’d always hoped.

I started following on twitter several weeks ago to see what all the (in)courage buzz was about. Today it seemed like every tweet was calling my name to go on in and take a look around. The tweet that struck the chord in my heart read, 

“A preacher’s daughter shares a glimpse with us today…”

Emily‘s beautiful guest article is entitled, “We Walk This Road But Once.” Ahhhh.  (in)spiring!   We share a similar love for our Pastor Dads.  And we share much the same journey, as PK’s.   A boy teased her for “never doing anything wrong because she was a PK.”  I felt every bruise with her in those words from her past.

Oh!  While you are there - you must read “Speck” – ewww, owww, ouch, wow.  You just have to read it!

And, to top the icing off with cake = ) – there is a giveaway!!  OH, my Oprah, you know how I love giveawaaaayssss!!  *With my hands in the air, crying like an audience member at Harpo studios.*

This is not just any giveaway.  It’s an article that immediately tugged the strings of my heart, a reminiscence of South Africa, a chat about friendships and community and also a women’s event getaway.

The winner receives a ticket to The Deeper Still conference in Birmingham, Alabama.  It simply requires a comment of your thoughts on community in-person.

Here’s what I had to say about it….

There is an unseen transaction that takes place with community in person. It’s deeply spiritual. Its an encounter of the soul. A moving of the heart. When two people exchange voice and vision, bonds are formed and memories are crafted. Embedded in our lives with feelings that run deep, distinct with a myriad of details forever marking that encounter with subtleties that our brains intelligently store away for a rainy day. A smell, a certain breeze, a particular color, a star-blanketed midnight sky, a specialty drink order called out by the barista at Starbucks – each one beckoning us back to a time or a place where we encountered it: our beloved, Community. Pixels and characters satisfy our momentary hunger for it, but they cannot replace a shoulder to cry on, a soul-gazing stare, a compassionate hug or the delightful fragrance of a best friends new perfume. Cooking together, laughing together, crying together, life – together, is by far enriched by our communication and our community, in person.

(in)courage: home for the hearts of women.

(in) two words, my thoughts for this site:  (in)spired – and –  (in)love.

So grab a cup and fill it up with your favorite hottie lottie (hot latte)

….and take a moment to bathe your heart in words. ~

~(in)joy

The first game we went to was an evening game – Auburn vs. South Carolina on Sept. 25th.

Mom called me that morning and said, “How would you like to go to the Auburn game tonight!” (FREE! from Grandma’s physical therapist who dropped them off at her house that morning – Thank you PT, and Thank you Jesus!) It’s been several years since I’ve been over to Auburn, and it was Keith’s first trip – so we had no clue on where to park. We arrived about an hour early , and drove around for 45 minutes! Fifteen minutes to kickoff we finally snagged a spot in front one of the dorms, the sun had just set and the streets were all quiet because everyone was in the stadium!

We started walking, and kept on walking! Our seats – were way up in the new section at the top of the stadium. We finally arrived in those sweet free seats during the start of the second quarter! Oh yea, I was huffing and puffing up the stairs and ramps. LOL. But it was worth it.

The two-sheets-to-the-wind friend behind us actually snagged the best pic! lol. Here we are…

The intoxicated guys behind us made it fun for as well taking the photos for us and the only ones cheering randomly for the new sophmore player “Lutzenkirtchen” the whole time, like they just picked his name out of a hat. “Lutzenkirtcehn” actually made the winning touchdown for his first TD with the Tigers that night, to which we all busted out cheering with amazement. Now every time Keith and I hear “Lutzenkirtchen” – we have to repeat it like those hilarious guys behind us that night — I love creating moments and sharing inside joke moments with my hubby.

The next weekend we got another call with tickets to the mid morning game Auburn vs. Lousiana Monroe, and we had fun going with a life long friend who is also the youth pastor our church and his wife, Daniel and Megan.

More fun times @ Jordan Hare Stadium.

Once again, Keith was a major awesome husband to go and support me. I made sure he had lots of coke and boiled peanuts to keep him happy! Glad Keith could enjoy a game with a few of our friends who love SEC football as much as he does…

Enjoying our great front row seats at Auburn! War Eagle! (and Keith says, “Roll Tide”)

{Thank you my sweet husband for making my heart happy this fall

and going with me to your teams rival stadium!!}

“Lutzenkirtchen, Lutzenkirtchen – Whoo!”

see the full picasaweb album here: {jennhudson79}

We have a choice.  Approaching an oncoming green traffic light while running late, we can either choose to say, “We’re not gonna make it” or we can choose to instead say:  ”We are going to make it, the light IS going to stay green.”

Where does this belief place form inside of us that would tell us to expect nothing less than seemingly impossible results?  To believe that “all things are really possible?”    In my Sunday School class we have been discussing faith and the modern look at the life of Abraham.  We’ve been using the Bluefish small group DVD material with Pastor Mark Batterson called, “Facing the Unknown.”    This study has met me in the middle of my moment.  You know, one of those wildly ironic bible studies?  It’s like Mark Batterson stepped out of his world in Washington D.C., studied my life for the past two years, and wrote these lessons just for me.  Wow!

Believing for a traffic light to change or not change, or to luck up on a front row spot at the supermarket, or being able to walk in to a hair salon and not having to wait are seemingly pretty trivial uses faith casting.  But I believe it couldn’t be more important even in those moments to form our words and thoughts around this great legacy we inherited from our great Father Abraham….who had many sons, and many sons had Father Abraham.

Believing in the small moments will define your belief in the big moments.

So many times we roll off course, we let our armor rest in the closet and forget to use the powerful tools God handed us as sojourners of his word. Activating FAITH is not like a Paxil or Xanax, just something to make us feel better.  It’s not even like milk, that does a body good.  Faith is gonna make you feel better, and YES, its going to do your body good.   But it’s purpose is not to glorify the one who owns it, but to glorify the work of the ONE who gave it.

Ephesians 6 describes the awesome weapons we have as Christians to fight this good fight.  These weapons in NIV are described as actual armor that we can put on every day as a defense against the enemy.  Faith is our shield, and I love how the Message reads…

Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon.

…they are more than words…learn how to apply them.

Recently I realized how easy it is to believe that a traffic light is going to turn red on you or that the line will inevitably be long once you walk in the door.  But I also saw in a moment how by simply activating my faith became a pinball effect to a night of blessings.  I began to see that I must “Demand my Destiny!”  No longer will I accept any thought life that contradicts my destiny to live unabashedly, unashamedly blessed!

On a War Eagle side note, when asked by reporters this week how he felt, Cam Newton responded, “I’m too blessed to be stressed!“

Destiny is not something to be danced with or diluted down.

Destiny is not something to be questioned either.  “Can God really keep that light green?” — let me stop and think, and wait, and hope, and ask for a sign.  – let me go read 10,000 concordances, and meditate and pray for 40 days to find out.  Let’s go ahead and answer it right now!  YES!!  God is bigger than traffic lights. Veggie Tales says He’s bigger than the boogie-man. He is bigger than parking lots.  He is bigger than hair salons and grocery stores!  HE is so much bigger!  I believe He CAN keep that traffic light green!  Even something so trivial, something so technical and fallible, something like a man-made traffic light, He can do for those who believe…

Someone said to me recently, “I know God is not just going to drop money in my bank account, or just fix my marriage overnight, or make my kids behave.” Really?  Are we sure He just can’t do that?

I know those issues are much bigger steps than believing for a great parking spot on your next trip to Wal-Mart, or timidly raising up that faith shield and cowering behind it with one eye open hoping the light won’t slow you down arriving at your appointment, but maybe that’s were we need to begin…so we can start believing for our marriages to work out over night, and for our kids to just out of the blue behave….and even so, for money to randomly appear in our bank accounts.

Believing is just the first step in the faith process.  The activation tool I’ve mentioned here “of speaking and thinking over the impossible.”is merely one of the many ways we can apply faith. That’s what God did in the great father of Faith himself, Abraham.  God first showed him the stars and asked him to believe.  There will be times of waiting out our faith, and walking it out as well, but for now, for today, we must believe, and we must speak!

Faith:  Ask Jesus.  Activate it.   Speak it.  See what happens.

Demand your destiny.

“This WILL be the greatest DAY I’ve ever had!”

“My coworkers WILL not bring gossip to me!  I WILL be strong in turing a deaf ear!”

“My car WILL NOT run out gas, I will have PLENTY of gas”

“We will have more than enough food for the next few days.”

~~

…and by the way, in case you are wondering…the light did stay green, we did get the front row parking spot, and not one single person was in line at the restaurant!   And, on Monday received two checks in the mail, which amazed and perplexed us, that we had to call the companies and make sure they were right for sending us money.  Yup! Sure enough!  God is even bigger than our bank accounts.

yes, I believe!

The Message Remix, my new favorite version of the bible, spices up the title of the 45th Psalms as “A wedding song…” Most of the other bible versions call this one a “love song,” which settled well in my spirit over the years. But the clearer description of “a wedding song” just made my heart leap when I read deeper into the beautiful poetry of this song:

Psalm 45 begins….
“My heart bursts its banks, spilling beauty and goodness. I pour it out in a poem to the king, shaping the river into words…”

Have you ever had so much on your heart that you felt you could spill out a river of emotions? How about then shaping that river into words? The Psalmist amazes me in his literary description in the power of ones heart. Many of us have more than we can ever describe sometimes to the depths of our sorrows, or the heights of our frustrations, or the vast array of our chaos. But what dropped the bottomless pit of my heart to the floor was the concept of actualizing the love thoughts in our heart, “in a poem to the king.”

I had never read this “remix” version until recently. Its a laugh out loud modern twist on the Oh Thou Most Holiest Holy Bible. Most of my generation grew up memorizing the King James version and believing it twas truly spoken in thouest language of Christ himselfeth. So we would carry it under our little arms to church, and learn in Sunday School all about the ‘the’s and the thou’s.” The Remix, along with many of the other modern translations like the NIV, the ESV Study Bible and the Amplified are beautiful linguistic bridges for our understanding and interpretations. And I love my new bible-bridge.

Four verses later in that Wedding Song chapter, the remix proclaims, “your instructions are glow-in-the-dark.” Oh yes they are!!! See what I’m saying? I do love those “glow-in-the-dark” instructions, don’t you?

Several years ago, the Lord granted me very clear, “glow-in-the-dark” instructions for writing and preparing the Bride. I have always been fascinated with all things bridal, wedding, event planning and orchestrating. I even have a dear friend who picked up the ranks with me a few years ago to go all out and open a wedding planning business in central Florida. My deep love for the Modern Bride, transformed into a deep burden for the Bride of Christ, and the passion to prepare her for the soon returning King.

The NIV version, accounts verse two: “my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.” Instead of spilling out our frustrations and our gossips, our disappointments and despair, which often find their way in a jumbled mess on the floor, why not begin to shape deep, picturesque and poetic rivers with our words before the Lord? It is time for the beautiful Brides rise up in readiness, to return to our first love, to return to the honeymoon in our hearts and allow our tongues to bursts the banks once again, to spill out beauty and goodness as we describe our love for the one who rescued us, healed us, forgave us and loves us with all of His Heart.

Can you imagine the river he has spilled out in His love song over you? wow. Take a moment and think about that with me this week ~ I love all of you who have read ‘A Thousand Tongues’ today, and I wrap you up in prayer, as we take up this new journey together.

My ultra swift brother helped launch me out into the blogosphere during the summer of 2005, as an ever so creative birthday present.  It was simple, with green hues, and a cool photo of a night scene looking down an interstate tunnel. We appropriately coined it “The Journey,” a place that would reflect my own personal life road. What a great gift this blog has been!  Not only has it been something I’ve continued to use, but it’s been something that has helped develop me personally (and technically) and has helped me have a little outlet in the world and my own personal platform of sorts.  Fast forward five years later  through all the ups and downs, the crazy thoughts, the serious thoughts, the God thoughs, and the silly Jenn thoughts.  I’ve walked through the learning curves and the “fire” that burned down my blog (i.e. the hacker that destroyed 2 years of entries in one fatal move), and that’s when I discovered a new pair of big girl pants in moving on and starting over after a few miles of lost memories.

So, “The journey” continues at JennBlog.com.  But my to-do list will open up some time for me to merge over to my grown up URL:  jennhudson.com.

I’ve also had a few new looks over the years.  A Green theme, a Pink theme, last years Orange and Red theme, and this summer I sported a dose of Turquoise.

Many of my blogger buddies have these nifty names like, “the Fave Five” or “Kandi’s Corner” & my friend Shaina Jo has her “Random Rantings”  But for some reason, a blog title or permanent theme has evaded me over the years.  ”Jenn’s Journey” – at best has been all I could come up with to encompass the MANY categories of my postings.  Some days you will find talks of biblical prophecy, my latest sermon to my church sisters or my musical discoveries but the next day you might find me chatting up a great pair of shoes.  That’s me, jumbled up Jenn.

And for the past year, I’ve been surfing and searching for something to describe my many fascets, my many ways of saying things, my multiple platforms.  What is my theme?  What is my life theme?

In January, God gave me one word as my anthem to describe my life call.  Just simply one word:  Voice.  Yes, I am a singer, a speaker, a writer, an encourager, a motivator, a passion builder, a relationship renderer. I am all things voice!  And I could never just claim one of them.  I’m never comfortable stating publically that “I’m a singer.” Because I’m not a singer.  I mean, I don’t perform, I have only recorded once, and I’m not involved in any musical venues at all at the moment, but I do sing, and after all my name is Jennifer Hudson!  So am I a speaker?  No, but I do speak – most who know me would say “quite often!”  Am I a writer…well, we’re getting there.

Jenn’s blog is about her voice, her heart, her promotions (even about her favorite lip balm or make up or her new shoes).

After all these years, it was time to search deep and begin to ask the Lord what this blog should be titled. For the NEW Journey I have decided…..“A Thousand Tongues” will reign as my blog header. Perhaps it will spill over as an anthem in life as well.

“A Thousand Tongues” is also a hymn of the church written by Charles Wesley in 1739.  It’s not a song I have particularly swooned over in church, and I barely remember hearing it sung in my modern church upbringing.  But after three hundred years the powerful meaning behind these words still speak to my world today.

O for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer’s praise,
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of His grace!

My gracious Master and my God,
Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad
The honors of Thy name.

Jesus! the name that charms our fears,
That bids our sorrows cease;
’Tis music in the sinner’s ears,
’Tis life, and health, and peace.

He breaks the power of canceled sin,
He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean,
His blood availed for me.

He speaks, and, listening to His voice,
New life the dead receive,
The mournful, broken hearts rejoice,
The humble poor believe.

Hear Him, ye deaf; His praise, ye dumb,
Your loosened tongues employ;
Ye blind, behold your Savior come,
And leap, ye lame, for joy.

“Oh, for a thousand tongues” resonates a longing in my heart to multiply and propel the passion in my heart to promote the Gospel.  To propel the passion in my heart to promote my favorite charity and raise money for the orphaned, hungry and thirsty children in Africa.  To launch a change movement for the bride of Christ to become the beautiful existence she is destined for.   Yeah, these are just a few things I would wish for with the help a thousand tongues, voices, speakers, authors, singers and passion promoters.

Join me on this NEW journey.  Join me in raising up a NEW voice in our world together!

Yesterday I decided to go all Niecy Nash, and do my very own “clean house” episode.  Even though there were very few fans (i.e. Millie-baby and Hunny Bunny), and there are definitely no profits from my commercial breaks, it was still the beginning of a little mini victory in the Hudson home.  Getting clean!

After I was Oh, 75% to my finish line, I cleared the rest of the projects into the “D.I.L.” closet (do it later), and I decided with all this clean space, it was time to get  a little messy.  I had this strike of passion for a little bit of Mr. Miyagi’s “up, down, up, down” therapy. {you remember, from our epic Karate Kid?}

So I pulled out the sweetest Christmas present my husband ever gave me, a box of oils and brushes.  No, not like Mary’s alabaster, or even of the aromatherapy kind.   They are a lovely selection of colors from the Winton and Newton family of paints.  This box of afternoon delight has been stashed away in storage or a closet somewhere since our move back to Alabama for over two years now – and it was high time they saw some daylight.

A few of the brushes were goners. From the heat of course, certainly not from my lack of precious care in cleaning them properly.   But there were a few bristles from the bunch soft enough to use after soaking in a mason jar of mineral spirits.

I have about 10 canvasses that I’ve painted in years past.  Mostly an abstract of nothingness, a mix and melding of a current state of mind or emotion.  Each one unique and beautiful to me.

‘Shame on me,’ I thought, as I opened up my little wooden box of joy.

I dug around deep in the back of the closet, sorting through all the previously completed art.  Finally I discovered one that was not quite finished.

This “unfinished work” was a project that began over two years ago. I don’t know why it had to sit in that closet, with all the potential piling up on its little back day and night, waiting to be complete and useful, never fully understanding the masterpiece that I had in mind for it.  But it waited there, patiently, in the dark all these years.  And today it was time to finish the work.

It was so thrilling to find that I had one more that still needed me, that could still use my touch.  I was so glad that it had not decided to wander away, but stayed faithful.  Each stroke of the brush, I felt a renewed passing rising in my heart.  Could it be that after all these years, of waiting unknowingly in the distance, that now on this ordinary day, cleaning my house, that God was searching through his creations looking to finish a work in me?

Is there an unfinished work you are waiting on God to complete in you? Do you ever feel like you are hiding out, waiting somedays in the dark, blindly trusting what in the world is to become of you?

“He that hath begun a good work, is faithful to complete it.”  – There is a work inside of each of us that our Master Creator started many years ago.  For some reason our canvas needed to stay untouched and not yet complete in certain areas, so that he could take time, the perfect moment  to complete that work in us.

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Oh yeah – My Niecy Nash impersonation spilled over into my blog this week. What do u think?

Pricilia Shrier challenged followers on her blog today to pipe in their thoughts on the new Julia Roberts movie, “Eat, Pray, Love.” Christianity Today Blog, Her.meneutics, also recently posted on the controversial topic of this recent phenomenon.  I’ve been curious to know what the Chrisian circles thought about it, and when or if a discussion might arise…seems like things have been mildly quiet.

~~ So I purchased the book about a month ago after all the buzz and the enticing trailers of my favorite actress riding a bike in blissful abandonment through a foreign city.  I thought “Oh, yes, this is definitely going to be my next book to movie experience!”  I sent out a few social messages asking for people to join my little reading adventure, with no avail.  I asked a few ladies at church if they had read it and received a few raised eyebrows.  But no one really warned me regarding what I was about to experience.

Because of my deep love for all things travel, I shrugged off the slight mention, and paid my $15 at Barnes and Noble, in hopes of rekindling the flames of my own world ventures. It only took reading this daunting paragraph on page 14 to have more than my eyebrows raised by by Elizabeth Gilbert’s tale:

“Culturally, though not theologically, I’m a Christian. I was born a Protestant of the white Angle-Saxon persuasion.  And while I do love that great teacher of peace who was called Jesus, and while I do reserve the right to ask myself in certain trying situations what indeed He would do, I can’t swallow the one fixed rule of Christianity insisting that Christ is the ‘only’ path to God.  Strictly speaking, then, I cannot call myself a Christian.  Most of the Christians I know accept my feelings on this with grace and open mindedness.  Then again, most of the Christians i know don’ speak very strictly.  To those who do speak (and think) strictly,  all I can do here is offer my regrets for any hurt feelings and now excuse myself from their business.”

Yes, you read that right.  Those words are enough for an entire library of discussion for me.   I continued reading, all the way to page 21 with paragraphs that are steeped in her humanistic search for peace.  I don’t know how this tale will end or even if I will find out.  But I know what I feel in my heart.  Its not as she assumes here “hurt feelings” but rather a chilling sadness – over a world that is drowning without the Truth.  They are lost with out the knowledge of Jesus, the real Way, Truth, and Life.  Searching in all the wrong places, misguided and failed by an empty religion.

The fact that she says she has Christian friends who are not “strict” enough to share the truth with her, just motivates me to the core to promote the real Jesus, “not just the form of Him” into my lost world.

I’ve also read in several news articles recently that Julia Roberts converted to Hinduism while filming this movie.  An article that is not really shaking us up at all, because its message is not new to us any longer with so many stars turning to cults and universalistic teaching.  Again, my heart is sad.

Words are Powerful indeed!! The written word, even more entangling.  If we as real Christian women are filling our minds with false teaching, how will we ever be able to keep our minds, and ultimately our hearts clear with the Truth.

I believe this book, “Eat Pray Love” is more than a book, it’s more than a movie, or a simple feel good experience.  It’s sneaky trickery masked in romantic notions, to diverge our eyes from the REAL GOSPEL of Salvation in John 14:6 that  “No one comes to the Father but by me (Jesus Christ!)” John 14:6.

Thanks Pricilla for opening this much needed discussion~

~~Do you think its ok to immerse ourselves into books like this that promote “other world” cultures?  (i.e. Harry Potter and Twilight…)

~~Do you think Julia Roberts new chosen “path” will promote a rise in Hindu thinking? Or is it simply pop culture news, here one day gone the next?