I Want to be Like Momma

I want to be like Momma and Sister Rosemary.
Momma and Sister Rosemary have been friends so long they call each other 'sister' and will tell it like it i-s is. Oh, to have a long term friend that you pray with daily, have a regular time to check in with each other, and share one another's burden. They would refer to each other's husband as brother. 'Brother' and 'Sister' are more than polite acknowledgments, they are terms of sweet endearment. 
I want to be like Momma and Sister Rosemary.
One is very loquacious, the other more reserved and soft-spoken. They encourage each other's giftings and help keep balance in prayer meeting and Bible study among the ladies. They are each sought out for wise counsel and treated as Mothers in the church. They are given honor in the body for their lives of devotion to Christ Jesus and are models of holy women as in Titus chapter2.
I want to be like Momma and Sister Rosemary.
The impact of aging is not lost, denied, nor overtaken their spirits. They may share canes, remind each other to 'watch your step', and sit for hours while one  is in the hospital or having a procedure done. There is laughter about the deterioration of the natural body, and joyous praise for their spiritual sustenance. Oh, to know that kind of blessed assurance!
I want to be like Momma and Sister Rosemary.
Women of God and devout faith. Women of honesty and integrity in life. Women of purity and discretion. Women who can do more than hold water. They can hold your prayers and concerns carefully in their hands and carry them safefully to the alter to leave with our Heavenly Father.
I want to be like Momma and sister Rosemary.

Simply Saved

Tonight Benjamin and I went out to Camp Good News to join with some praise worship and fellowship. I truly  believe that it is the happiest place on the planet for Benjamin. It is clear to me that he is truly loved and accepted in that special setting where children, as well as early teens can grow in the love of God. Tonight was so sweet. The music was both fun and uplifting. I know that every kid out there was touched somehow by the hand of God. I was doing well until a bit of personal hypocrisy was exposed and I began to pay more attention to my cell phone. I say that I love God. I say that I live to worship Him. Oh wretched woman that I am. Who can save me from my own deceitful heart? Only the loving God that loved me while I was an unbelieving sinner. He loved me so much that during my moments of distraction, the strains of the single guitar in a simple, large, multipurpose room wooed me back to His feet. This was no fancy or plush setting. It is simply a brick building from several decades ago and some chairs holding a group of kids and a few adults with hearts open to hear and experience God in a sweetly simple way. 
God answered. He spoke through a couple of guitars and a young man sharing his heart from  1st Timothy. God knows how to write a script. 
A blessing well-worth driving to Putnam County for. 

Blessings

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise
- Laura Story "Blessings"
A friend recently posted the video of the above song on my Facebook page. It is a very touching song. So often we pray and try to anticipate how God is going to answer. I know that I have been guilty of treating God like Santa Clause, following my wishes. Or maybe as some SugarDaddy/CandyMan, here to make my life all sweet and easy. The thing is, that life in Jesus is sweet. He has His way of blessing us in ways that draw closer to Himself. The Apostle Paul points out that today's troubles don't come close to the amazing glory that we find in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:18
  For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
http://youtu.be/1CSVqHcdhXQ
Please take a listen. This artist says it all better than I could. I just wanted to share a current blessing with you.