The Cleft of the Rock

Exodus 33

14 The LORD replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."

15 Then Moses said to him, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.

16How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?"

17 And the LORD said to Moses, "I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name."

18 Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory."

19 And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will
have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

20 But,"he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live."

21 Then the LORD said, "There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock.

22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.

23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen."

It is not everyday that the very presence of the Lord greets us. But sometimes, just sometimes, we are witness to the very power of the Living God.

I have always loved the above passage. I love that Moses says, "Now show me your glory."

I love that in his relationship with the Lord, he felt like he could ask this of him. I love that it reminds me that I too, am valued by the Lord on High, and that asking things of the Lord is NOT boastful, haughty, or for self gain. But, rather, it is the very essence of the relationship we are given through his Son.

I love that Moses realizes that unless the Lord go with Him, he ought not even to go. Oh, that I would have that be my prayer each and every morning.

This week, life for our church family changed with one phone call. It came on the heals of one visit to the doctor, and in that one moment, everything was different.

I write today, not because our greatest and most fervent prayers were answered. But instead because regardless of the medical tests and observations, we SERVE a MIGHTY KING.

I write today because Emily is awaiting a diagnosis.

I write today because Jud was healed not in life, but in death.

I write today because Audrey Caroline is in heaven with the Lord, and Stellan is not.

I write today because Pam is now living a life she never foresaw, but is walking it none the less.

I write today because prayers are answered, and because they are not.

I write today because none of this surprises our Mighty King.

I write today because there is no "Plan B" in the journey of life.

I write today because someone fought the good fight, and won.

I write today because someone else fought just as good a fight, but lost.

I write because when you are in the cleft of the rock, it is because His hand is upon you, not because He has forsaken you.

I write because even though I have not seen His face, I have indeed seen His GLORY.

She's going to be a doctor...

The Beez just had the following conversation with her brothers:

Beez: I need some medicine because I am sick

Crack: How did you get sick?

Beez: Remember when Kannon was sick? She had hand, foot and mouth disease? Remember that? Do you remember?

Snake: Yeah, I remember that.

Beez: Well, I have the foot part.

Crack: What do you mean you have the foot part?

Beez: Well, mom always says that I am going to get sick if I don't put socks on in the winter. And it is winter right now, which means it's cold.

Snake: Okay????

Beez: Well, I took my socks off on Saturday and my feet got cold....that means that I got foot disease, cause now I am coughing and have a runny nose.

Sometimes NOT correcting your child is the best medicine.

100-0

Can a game that ends with the score of 100-0 really be considered a game?

I saw an article online today and it got me thinking. In a nutshell, two small school girls varsity teams in Texas met last week on the basketball court.

The winning team, Covenant, a small Christian school beat Dallas Academy 100-0. The halftime score was 59-0 and while Covenant did back off the scoring run once they reached 100 points, they were still taking and making 3 point shots and doing a full court press in the 4th quarter.

In an email to the local paper the winning coach said this,

"In response to the statement posted on The Covenant School Web site, I do
not agree with the apology or the notion that the Covenant School girls
basketball team should feel embarrassed or ashamed," Grimes wrote in the e-mail,
according to the newspaper. "We played the game as it was meant to be played. My
values and my beliefs would not allow me to run up the score on any opponent,
and it will not allow me to apologize for a wide-margin victory when my girls
played with honor and integrity."

I guess "running up the score" is a matter of opinion, not numbers. You can read the whole article here.

Having played high school ball for a small school, I can attest that 100 points is a run up, no matter the opponent. During my playing years, the now famous Lisa Leslie played for another Southern California team. I remember very clearly the hoopla that surrounded the now infamous game. According to school tradition, the senior star player broke the schools single game scoring record each year. The time came, and Lisa Leslie was one fire...she scored 101 points......in the first half. The half time score was 102-24. Their was never a second half because the opposing team refused to take the court again, and therefore the game was officially forfeited.

I wonder if records are worth it when they come at someone's demise and loss of dignity?

I also wonder what the players of Covenant Academy are thinking right now. I wonder what they would have thought if it never made the news?

Integrity matters.

It matters most when no one is looking.

In the aftermath, the coach of Covenant has been fired and the school is seeking to forfeit. As of this writing, the coach is showing no regrets. He stands by his decision to keep the pressure on the team and to push his players to 100 points.

Here is what I think...I think that school sports, and community sports should be about the sport itself. About how to play the game, and how to apply the game to life. While I do agree that much is learned by winning and losing, I believe that more is learned by how you play the game.

So what is your take?

I would rather be a player, than a winner any day.

****UPDATE*****
I thought an uplifting story about high school sports would be better to end with. If you really want to know the difference playing a game to win the game, and playing the game to win in life read this...but grab the tissue box.

Origin of Nicknames 101

Carol asked about our nicknames and I thought I would clarify. When I started blogging I used everyones real names, but I tried to keep specifics about our life vague. I didn't post our last name, our city, our church, or anything else that would be a give-a-way as to our actual location and everyday lives. While I realized that someone, who had gads and gads of time could probably reasearch every corner of my posts and decifer something that I might have overlooked, I never really stressed about it.

Until the "anonymous" comment.

Back in

That comment kind of jadded me and made me realize that some people do have gads and gads of time and choose to spend it making random, full of lies statements.

Playing House in the White House

This is a slide show presentation of a letter written by the Bush girls on the occasion of the Obama girls taking up residence in the White House. This is only part of the letter, to read it in its entirety click here.

I am so impressed by the grace that is given and the wisdom that is imparted.

Before you watch it, make sure you scroll down and pause the music that is playing on the blog.

Enjoy, it gave me hope that politics doesn't jade everything.

You can read my own letter to President Obama here.

The Passing of the Torch

About Last Night 1/23/09

Last night we celebrated Crack's birthday with family dinner here at home. The Outlaws were here, and the birthday boy choose the menu. I made Grilled Chicken with Fettuccine Alfredo, garlic bread, and blue cheese wedge salad with bacon bits and balsamic vinegar.

As we sat down to eat, The Beez asked if she could say the blessing. This is how it went.

Me: "Go ahead Beez, we are ready to eat."

Beez: "Is everybody ready? I am going to pray now."

Me: "We're ready."

Beez: "Reeeeaaadyyyyyyyy? OooooooKaaaayyyyyyy!!!!!! Dear Jesus............"

The poor child is so excited about being a cheerleader, that it has overtaken everything, even her prayer life!!!