Courageous Is Coming!

Courageous - In Theaters Today!

My family, including The Grandparents, and along with Lindy, are all planning to load up and head about 45 minutes away to the nearest theater to see the newest Sherwood Pictures film on opening day!! I am so excited, both to get to see a great movie, and to see what the Lord will do with the efforts of these dear Godly people who are seeking to honor Him with the talents He has given them. What a joy to know there are still good clean movies being made - and all for the purpose of glorifying the Lord!

Hollywood judges the success of a movie by how much support it gets on opening weekend. If you are planning to go see it, please consider going today, tomorrow, or Sunday, to get the biggest audience for your supportive voice.



Hope to see you at the theater!

SOLI DEO GLORIA! -Kyrie<>< - a 'Dear ____, Love, me' post

Dear book collection,

I'm so happy to have you with me! You never get old. In fact, the older you are, better you get!


Dear dessert,

Why do you have to taste so good? Especially when you take the form of Cookies 'N' Cream ice cream, strawberry wafer cookies, biscuits and jam, or Butterfinger cake?! Temptations, temptations.


Dear grapes, apples, peaches, bananas, strawberries, and raisins,

Thank you for being so delicious ;) . I love you.


Dear night-time bicycle rides,

You're wonderful. I love your cold air stinging my cheeks, the smell of the fresh wind, the crunch of a gravel-and-dirt road under my tires, and the exhilaration of being the only living thing out under the stars.


Dear Nikon D3000 10.2 MP Digital SLR Camera that I don't have yet,

I want you so much. But, I'm trying to have patience until I have enough money saved up to get you. Until then, I hope our little family point-and-shoot will stay alive so I am not totally without a camera...


Dear creativity,

You're the best! I'm so happy that you come to visit me every now and then, especially when I have the time, opportunity, and resources to make good use of your appearances!


Dear late nights,

You seem to help me get so much done. But then, the next morning it is SO hard to leave the soft bed, and I think our relationship is not a healthy one, and so must soon end ...


Dear early mornings,

I really enjoy you! We should get better acquainted.


Dear rain,

You are so amazing. Sometimes I wonder if the Lord thought of me when He made you - not really, but you know what I mean. I love you so much! Come again soon.


Dear Mixed Berry candle,

One dollar, plus tax, at Dollar General. One dollar for a little jar of pure joy. Who can beat that?


Dear yard-sales-where-I-get-stuff-free-because-I-know-the-people-who-are-having-the-sale-and-they-just-want-to-get-rid-of-the-left-overs-so-they-give-it-to-me-and-I-get-to-keep-what-I-want-before-donating-or-consigning-the-rest,

I could seriously get used to having you around.


Dear Fall,

Why can't you be here all year long? I know, I know. If you were, I wouldn't appreciate you as much. But oh, how I love you!


Dear blog,

I'm glad I have you. It is nice to have an outlet for my writing bug, while at the same time keeping a record of what's happening in my life. Even if I do take a little while to get my posts published...


Dear friends,

I love you. I'm so thankful that I have been privileged to know you. You make my day - you encourage me, tease me, love me, teach me, and bear with me. You make me smile. I take you for granted sometimes, and I'm sorry. Don't give up on me, okay?


Dear God,

Thank You for everything You've blessed me with. And I don't mean to be cliched. Thank You for a house to live in; thank You that I live in the country. Thank You that I live in the South. Thank You for soft clean sheets, for a hot shower, my sister sleeping in the next room, plenty of clothing, for chocolate milk and wafer cookies, for good-natured grins and happy, mischievous eyes. Thank You for my wonderful friends and Godly church family at Victory Rd.. Thank You for a job, and for how much I enjoy it. Thank You for finished projects, thunderstorms, good books, and Christian movies. Thank You for old telephones, antique buttons, and recycled treasures. For color, and for eyes to see it with. Thank You for Autumn.
Thank You for surprises.
Help me to be more thankful. Help me not to take for granted what You have given me. Help me to use it frugally, efficiently, wisely, and for Your glory.
Thank You. I love You. Help me love You more.


Dear everyone,

Thank you for reading. That is all.


SOLI DEO GLORIA!

-Kyrie<><


Note: I got this idea from Carlotta, who got it from another blogger. I really liked the idea, and hope it is okay for me to use it. I had fun.
Also, I hope to add photos to this post soon.

Storms I Never See

There's a song that's sung by one of our favorite Southern Gospel groups called, "Storms I Never See". The person is thanking the Lord for all these different things, then prays, "Lord, I'm also grateful for the storms I never see."

This morning in our college Sunday School class, before class actually started, we got to talking briefly about dangerous experiences. One of my college friends told how, when they were younger, they had been riding a four-wheeler and didn't see the zip-line wire in front of them. It caught them right across the throat. The wire was tight and they were not going slow, either.

That situation could have turned tragic very easily.
Yet the Lord chose to give protection.

How merciful the Lord was!! He spared this friend a terrible death. He spared their family a horrendous loss.
He spared me, and others who have come to know, love, and grow from the friendship of this dear young person now.
Who knows what many other lives He spared, that will be touched by this Godly individual in the future?

How many nightmares has the Lord protected us from, that we don't ever know about? How many ways has He kept something from happening, years ago even, that - if it had happened - would have made our lives radically different? How many things do we take for granted because we've just gotten used to them being there, and don't realize, the Lord could have taken those things from us before we ever HAD them! And we forget to thank Him for the storms we never see.

VRBC

It's time the church had a name.

In my musings and chronicling of my life that I record on this blog, I have carefully tried to protect the privacy and identity of the people and places I talk about. I have chosen, with care, the names the characters in this little 'story of my life' are known by. One of the most frequently mentioned entities however, has, up until now, not had a name of it's own in my records. That is the church. The church that first caused me to start this blog - to record the lessons I learn there, the relationships I form there, the challenges I face there, and the encouragements I gain there.

It's time I had something to call it other than "the church", "my church", or "our church" (depending on the context I'm writing from at the moment). "The church" could be too broad, since those words (as a term) are often used to speak of the Church as a whole - Christ's Bride, the body of believers.
"My church" is technically incorrect, as is "our church", because even though I'm only using the terms to denote the local church I am a member in, "my" or "our" expresses ownership, and I do not feel comfortable doing that. The church is not 'mine' or 'ours'. It is His - it is Christ's!

So the church needs a specific name that I will call it by here on this blog, and I believe I have a fitting one for it.

From now on when I speak of the church I attend and love so much, I will be referring to it as Victory Road.

There are several reasons I have chosen this name. Some people who read this may even be able to recognize a few of them.
The Lord has used this place as a change in my life's road. I have encountered certain types of bumps and curves that had never been in the pathway of my former travels. Hard, rough, and painful places. I have also encountered some of the most sheltered, tree-lined avenues of dappled sunshine I have ever been through. Beautiful places where the Lord's presence is so real beside me that at times I almost felt I could reach out and He would physically put His arm around my shoulders.

I am thankful beyond expression that He chose to take me down this Victory Road. I pray I may learn the lesson behind every hard rock in the way, and that I may soak up, treasure, and share the smooth soft places full of Glory.

Note: It follows that the Christian Academy will now be "Victory Road Christian Academy" or "VRCA" in the post labels.
Also, as time permits, I will probably go through all the other posts I have done about the church, and change the name.

A Few Of My Favorite Things

Eyes. Mischievous brown eyes. Gorgeous green eyes. Frank, shining sapphire-blue eyes. Twinkling caramel-brown eyes. Snapping black eyes. Smiling green eyes. Serious, wise, sparkling soft brown eyes. Unpredictable sky-blue eyes. Laughing, earnest deep-sea blue eyes. Golden eyes, yet to be deciphered. Gentle, happy brown eyes. Pale turquoise eyes.

Soft, curving, shocks of hair. Sunny gold. Mahogany. Night black. Golden brown. Chocolate. Red gold. Auburn. Soft light brown. Dark brown. Burnished gold.

Dimples. Braces. Band practices. Bible studies. Big smiles.

Strong young blood. Good choices. Right decisions. Victorious lives.

Existence Vs. Living.

Last night before family prayer and bedtime, Trissy made a comment on the difference between 'living', and 'existence'. She told me that I "know how to 'live'".

Do I?

What is 'Existence', and what is 'Life'?

Existence is breathing, one's body working properly, going through the motions of life. A dead - or dying - soul that cannot escape, simply because it's earthly prison of flesh and bone is too healthy to release it.
Or, it's the act of moving through life, but not living it. Trissy described it as in a scene from one of our family-favorite movies: Rafting down the river. Landing at a sandbar where we will camp. Hurrying to get the rafts unloaded, hurrying to get camp set up so we can hurry and get to bed so we can get up early in the morning to hurry and get the rafts loaded, and hurry down the river - to the next camp site.

Life is physical, just like existence. But life is something more.
Life is Joy. Life is Peace in the midst of deepest pain. Life finds it's greatest pleasures in little things like working with it's hands, the glittery sparkles naturally embedded in a flower petal, or even the brilliant color of some man-made item; the feel of a cool, hard-wood floor beneath it's bare feet; a well-written article. An exceptional voice. A lovely form. A fine face.
Life has (or takes) the time to smell the roses, right an over-turned bug, or dance in the rain.

Existence endures. Life enjoys.
Existence mourns. Life marvels.
Existence is miserable in hard circumstances. Life is hopeful, in spite of hard circumstances.
Existence is uncaring. Life is unselfish.
Existence struggles. Life shares.

Do I Live? I pray so.

What Else Can I do But Worship?

"Thank You" is not enough. He is too great. It is all too amazing.
"Thank You" is not enough. What else can I do but worship?



Note: Details later.