Plum

We have a plum little house,
In our plum little town,
With a plum perfect view 
of the mountains all around.

People thought us plum crazy
But we thought it was best,
To face all our fears
for a plum life out west.

While I'm feeling plum tuckered,
Unpacking's made me plum numb;
There's no rest for the weary who follow
dreams so plum.

Written in response to Sunday Scribblings 2's writing prompt:  Plum

Do I Traffic an Un-lived Truth?

Do you ever get the feeling that God has sent you a specific and direct message; as if he entered into the room and is staring you in the eyes as he speaks?  

That was me today...

We; my husband, daughter and I, have been called West.  (I'm guessing you know this, since that post from the 6th of February sky-rocketed to my most popular post in just one day's time.)  You also know that its a scary and exciting opportunity for us.  With all that in mind, here is the scripture on which our sermon was based today at church.

So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?”  Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.  We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God."  John 6:67-69 NASB

We will follow God.  We are not going to take our own path on this one.  We are not going to let fear direct our decisions.  We are not going to fall into the rut of comfort-over-adventure when God is clearly asking us to step out of our comfort zone.

This is a pretty darn exciting time for Jeff and I, in all honesty.  It's a chance for us to experience the thrill of clinging to God by our "choice" rather than out of despair.  In the past we've been clinging to God through Evie's eye surgeries, Evie's battle with cancer, or the death of my father.  So...THIS?  This is GOOD STUFF!

Lord, to whom shall we go?

Why would we EVER go anywhere else than to Jesus?  He has been here with us through so much already; he IS our redemption, he IS the only good and pure thing in us, he IS the tried and true Rock that never changes even when the whole world changes in the blink of an eye.

Pastor Henry Ironsides said, "God forbid we traffic an un-lived truth."

www.graphics20.com

Exactly.  I can't sell God and his sovereignty to ANYONE if I don't try it out myself.  As a sales person, my greatest sales successes were through my personal testimonies of how a product worked for me.  Therefore, I can't sit here and write on my blog about how faithful God is to me when I don't give him my faith.

I can't wait to see how God reveals his glory over the next few months.  Selling a house, buying a house, final doctors appointments, IEPs, sad farewells, coordinating moving vans and cars,  moving our 11 year old kitty-cats...all the things that freak me out inside my mind don't begin to touch the peace that is in my heart. 

So I'll say it in Simon Peter's words, he said it so well... 

Lord, to whom shall I go? You have spoken the words of eternal life to me, Tammie.  I have believed and have come to know that YOU are the Holy One of God.

I will follow you.

Go West

"Go west."  God says...

Now it is real.  After telling Evie about our future move to Reno, after seeing her face crumple at the first thought of leaving her friends and teachers, after considering how strange I felt in this town when we moved here 12 years ago, and how woven into its tapestry we have become...after all of that, it is now real.

Badger Hockey

God is moving us from familiar faces, and familiar places.  Evie's friends and teachers know her and love her in a way that I dreamed of, and prayed that they would.  And, as routine as Evie's specialist appointments have become, we will soon be wandering the maze of a new hospital, a new school, a new city.  I will be educating new faces about WAGR/11p Deletion Syndrome.  I will be praying that we are patient, and that we are wise.

God's hand is all over this, I know it is.  As comforting as that thought is, and as much as there is a peace that's flowing through me; there is also fear and wonder which fills my heart in this splendid moment of isolation. 

So I practice the faith which I have preached...

The Real Housewives of Section 203

God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, asked Noah to build an ark, asked Moses to lead the Israelites from the safety of slavery into the uncertainty of the Promised Land.  

God asks us to now move from the friends and family who have loved us through our times of strength and our times of weakness; from my embarrassing breakdown at the pharmacy, to our triumphant fundraising for Relay for Life; who will know us and love us as this town does? And with Minnesota only a few short hours away, I never felt the loneliness that might come with a day and more between us. 

Badger Football

Reno holds the beautiful promise of a new adventure, and a new growth for our little family...a father, a mother, a daughter and two kitties.  "Go west." God says..

Okay, God, I'm trusting you to hold us and carry us through...