Little Irish Girl Prank Calls

Little Irish Girl Prank Calls

Motherhood as a Mission Field

Motherhood as a Mission Field

What a thought!

A few years ago my family was going through some tough times. In true Gordon style, we dug a bit deeper to hold to hope, love and our family's legacy of faith. My mom and 5 aunts decided to start reading the bible together. They all purchased the same version of a read-the-bible-in-one-year-bible. They found strength in their reading and that they wanted to share the things that stuck out to them with each reading with each other.

Over the years they've added more people to read along with a weekly sharer. It has become an email I look forward to. Below is this week's Thought of the Week. I make no personal claims to righteousness or holy perfection. I do try to conduct myself with honor and keep a song in my heart. I have thought about this concept a bit in the past couple months, hence my posting it. Without further ado...



For the sake of the Righteous...

The Gordon Sisters:
 (Left to right) Mom (Karen), Karla, Krystal, Kelly and Kathy

"God was furious! He was angry at Solomon for breaking His holy laws. He had appeared to him in a very supernatural way. Not once - but two times! God had specifically warned Solomon about worshipping other gods. But he ignored those warnings and chose to do "his own thing". What a sad state of affairs. Solomon was truly one of the most magnificent rulers of possibly the most magnificent kingdom that ever existed on the earth!

Judgment was coming. God told Solomon, "I'm going to tear the kingdom out of your hand and give it to one of your servants!" God was ready to mete out the judgment right then and there! But wait - He remembered something. He remembered the faithfulness of his servant, David. God told Solomon, "Judgment is coming. But I won't do it in your day. It will come during your son's reign."

What was God's reason for the delay? It was for the sake of David, Solomon's father. On his own merit, Solomon did deserve the judgement of the Lord. But his judgment was seen by God through the "rose-colored" glasses of David's righteousness.

...for the sake of the righteous. What a powerful thought. You and I have the ability, through our righteous living, to affect all of those around us. Our children, our families, our co-workers, and our neighbors are affected by our lives. If we live righteously before the Lord, His blessings follow us. And the overflow of that righteous living spills over on those close to us. The Word of the Lord mentions that an unsaved husband is "sanctified" by the believing wife. That doesn't mean he is saved. But it does mean that he's blessed because he's living with a righteous woman. The blessings that the Lord is going to show that faithful, righteous wife will benefit him as well!

What a responsibility that places on each of us. I really, really want to walk in a pleasing manner before the Lord. That way my children, grandchildren, friends, customers, etc. can hear the Lord say, "You deserve judgement, but for the sake of my servant, Karla, I'm not going to do it right now." I've prayed that prayer before. "Lord, please remember me. And for your handmaiden's sake, do this and this..."

It's so tragic that Solomon didn't think of living his life in such a way that would keep his children under God's protection. The divine blessing and protection of the Lord ended when Solomon deliberately broke God's laws. And his children were the recipients of God's judgment.

Just like Abraham pleading for Sodom, we can plead for the ones in our lives. God was willing to halt all judgment because of Abraham's plea for any righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah. God was willing to do what his righteous servant was asking for.

When speaking about Solomon's judgement, God spoke these words in Kings 11:13, "...I will not take away the entire kingdom; I will let him be king of one tribe, for the sake of my servant, David..."

My prayer is that God will see my life, my example, (and hopefully) my righteous living, and say the same thing about me. For the sake of my righteous servant, Karla...

Love you all!!"

Hope strikes again!

This hope doesn't rest. I've got a promise like a fat kid loves candy. It won't let me go.

“The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” Psalm 121:7-8 NIV

"¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you,” declares the LORD..." 

Jeremiah 29:11-14 NIV

Dear Uncle Stan

My Grandpa with the Hat, My Uncle Rodney and Great Uncle Stan

Who knew that when I started this blog a few months ago, I would have a quite a few "in memoriam" blogs. Here I am again to write yet another. My great Uncle Stan Gordon passed away early this morning. He was a sweet old guy. He was an honorable man from what I knew of him. He loved his wife and kids. He treated them with high regard. He was faithful to the Lord's house. He used to come to Thanksgiving and Christmas get togethers to play games after we ate. He had Alzheimer's disease and had a stroke. He went into hospice last week. My mom says he was 82. Now that  Uncle Stan is gone my grandfather is the oldest of his siblings. Sleep Sweet, Uncle.

Uncle Stan

Take a deep breath. Now do it again...

Well folks its been awhile since I last posted. Life has been rushing past at break neck speeds. Dylan turned one on May 4th. You may have caught the blog post. :D My dear mother-in-law played hostess to a birthday party for the family who couldn't make it to the birthday brunch. The following Saturday we celebrated a second time at clubhouse here in town. We had a nice turn out. We are blessed to have so many people care about our family and show it through their gift giving. (By the way, thanks to all who helped make Dylan's birthday parties a success!)

Andy and I are in agreement, we need to move. Dylan is crawling like a champ and will soon be walking. Space is an issue in our apartment. We've been debating on our next step. We've been house/apartment/townhouse hunting for the last couple months. We are looking for a place in a nice area with at least 2 bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms, a dishwasher, AND washer/dryer in the place. Renting a 2 bedroom apartment or townhouse seem to be about the same cost as a house payment in our area. We thought we had found a house. We even made an offer on it. Due to some mistakes on the realtor's part we backed out of the deal. We are rather disappointed with that situation. We aren't sure what to do now, since we both had our eyes/pocket book backing the thought of being house owners. I'm sure we'll find our window soon with the door keys still in the bank's hand.

Work hours for me have picked up. There has been a lot of shuffling of departments. I still would like to move on and feel rather stuck on where to go next. The temp agency is still not panning out the way I'd hoped. You've heard it all from me about this situation in past blogs, so I'll refrain from repeating myself.

It can be rather lonely in the transition times of one's life. Friends come and go. People's interests change. I find my heritage tapping on my shoulder more often than ever these days... The voices of my ancestry chime together: Don't forget the cross. Don't forget the prayers we prayed for you. Take of your Jesus. TAKE CARE OF YOUR JESUS! Remember Rahab. She made serious mistakes in her life, but her promise to take God at his word gave the family under her roof salvation through her example. Don't forget to sing the songs on Zion. Don't forget. Talk of the Lord when you sit down and rise up. Remember the Sabbath and Keep it holy. It is important so important! No one knows the day nor the hour. He is shield and buckler to them that walk uprightly. The messages march like sentinels before me. They are ever vigilant. Dylan is watching.

And yet with all that is happening in my life, I keep finding this not so chaotic place inside myself. The walls are covered in sweet posters that say things like, "Weeping may endure for a night but joy comes with the morning light." or "Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breath out. Don't you fell better? Good." Or "Waiting is good when there is food on the table." Or "Dare to Hope." Or my favorite "Give yourself a break, Human!" I feel like there is purpose in my waiting these days. There is no doubt this stand still on my future as an individual is frustrating and infuriating at times, I know my dreams with find fruition one day. My hope can rest in an uncompromisingly honest God. While I take a deep breath again and again and again...

Ancient Jericho

The Ancient City of Jericho 3D Animation

Happy Birthday, Buddy!

Tiny hands fists closed tight

Tiny dreams held inside

Tiny hands how they’ve grown

Like the babe I used to know

Tiny mouth, button nose

Eyes closed tight breathing slow

Tiny face how it’s grown

Like the babe I used to know

For me it feels like yesterday, just yesterday to me

I looked into your tiny face, your tiny face held me

Of course I know all children grow 

All children grow of course I know…..

I didn’t know how fast you’d grow

Tiny feet awkward now

Pirouette, take a bow

Tiny toes how they’ve grown

Dylan at 3 weeks old

Like the babe I used to know

For me it feels like yesterday, just yesterday to me

I looked into your tiny face, your tiny face held me

Of course I know all children grow 

Dylan at 46 weeks old.

All children grow of course I know…..

But I didn’t know how fast you’d grow 

Tiny child fall asleep

Close your eyes find your dreams

Tiny child how you’ve grown

You’re still the babe I used to know

Signing Time ©2008 All rights reserved. Songs by Rachel de 

Azevedo Coleman and Lex de Azevedo. © 2008 Two Little 

Hands Productions, LLC www.signingtime.com

Oh Boy! I totally agree!