Friday Reflection

New on the Site This Week
From A Quilter's Life:
A Star is Born and a Tutorial too.

From Sitting At His Feet:
Philippians 1:25-27... Making Progress
Philippians 1:28-30...How to Face Opponents
Prayer Labyrinth-came across something new and share my thoughts
This link was shared with me yesterday, John MacArthur's thoughts on contemplative prayer- He has written a lot about prayer on his site Grace to You.org that I have enjoyed in the past.


From Recipes:
Beef Stroganoff
Spaetzle

Things That Made Me Smile This Week
-celebrating 29 years of marriage to the man of my dreams.

-baby footprints on a pot.

-finding a stash of chocolate I had hidden from myself...in plain sight.

-remembering where I put that thing I forgot I lost.

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My favorite thought provoking posts this week from around the web...

Rob Bell, Homosexuality, and the New Cultural Acceptance -"This is not a new problem. It’s a new face to an old problem. The church is being called to capitulate. Professing believers have done just that, with prominent examples coming to mind from the nineteenth- and twentieth-centuries. We know full well how this plays out. If we acquiesce to the culture, we will soon become a more religious version of the culture. On the other hand, if we stand fast in the power of God’s Spirit, we may lose some influence, some cache, some power. But we will honor the Lord."   Owen Strachen makes some very good points that are worth a read.

Praying for Politicians - "The church must be involved, but not in the way we so often have been. When the church seeks political power, the church inevitably ends up being corrupted. Creating or supporting particular political parties, policies, or philosophies is not the way of Christ. For the church to be identified with one political party is a sure-fire recipe for disaster.Does that mean we are doomed to be pious pietists, huddling in our small groups as the world rots, just waiting for the Lord to return? God forbid. The Bible gives us very clear instructions on how we are to participate in the political process—"  David Robertson hits the nail on the head in this piece.

Ken and I made a trip to Austin over spring break in part to visit the special exhibit at the LBJ Library on the UT campus. It was a beautiful day for a drive to that area as the trees were blossoming and the spring flowers in full bloom.  

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We started our day in Austin with lunch a Maggiano's Little Italy.  It was delicious as always.  

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The Zilker Botanical Garden is another favorite Austin destination for us. There were faerie gardens hidden along our path, winding trails leading over stones to jump, bridges to cross and stairs to climb. There is even a bit of history in an old Swedish pioneer's cabin on the grounds. We always find things to delight us there.

Scrapbooking Time!  We had a full house with the kids all showing up to help us celebrate 29 years of marriage.  Samantha brought along her scrapbooking supplies.  I wish I had taken a picture of all of us around the dining room table cutting and pasting our memories together.  

I am a little behind in this process...these two cute little fellas are now in their twenties.

I did have fun reminiscing about my baby boys...

And enjoyed the chance to show Jeff's special girl some of his childhood photos.

Not everything was gleaned from our family's ancient history files...this was the first stop on our summer vacation last year-A favorite spot in the Flaming Gorge area

Of course all this scrapbooking meant we had to make a run to the craft store for supplies-it is so nice to have a girl along for these things so I am not the only one drooling over everything in sight.  Our guys are very patient with us!


Happy Friday,
Deb