A Sweet Moment...

There's nothing much sweeter than the voice of a deeply cherished friend on the other end of the phone line on a morning when I needed a "touch"!
Thank you Lord for Renee' and for the most special place that she holds in my life!
Thank you for leading her to call this new day and encourage my heart even if it was for only a moment!
Thank you that no matter how many miles separate us, the love we share is forever strong!
Thank you for a "tried & true" kindred heart!
Thank you!

We've Tasted The Lord...

As I sit here in the quietness of the morning, I reflect on a weekend gone-by.
A weekend filled with difficulty due to some sickness circulating in our home...
A weekend filled with growing pains as God is stretching and transforming several of us in our home...
A weekend filled with the sweetness of fellowship, worship and word through a time of intimate enrichment with special brothers-and-sisters in Christ in a quiet and unique setting...
A weekend of freedom as the power of the Holy Spirit broke chains of bondage...
A weekend of nourishment in using divine gifts...
A weekend of healing as MaKayla and Mallary received a touch from the Lord...
A weekend of heartache seeing Kyle go back to work today...
A weekend of expectancy as the girls anticipate the return to school after an extended Christmas break...
A weekend of hopeful anticipation as to what God is going to do next in our family.
Serving the Lord is such an adventure...

Kyle was asked quite some time ago if he would pray about leading worship for an afternoon/evening of renewal held by 'The Secret Place' in Maryville.
He felt the Lord calling him to "step in" to "this place",
so Saturday afternoon found he and I gathered with a small group of "seeking souls" nestled in a cozy cabin, warmed by a crackling fire, surrounded by God's majestic creation...
What an precious time of worship and renewal it was...
We walked away filled with awestruck wonder...
Intimate meditation...
A fresh, profound and timely word...
Simple Worship...
Sweet fellowship...
Closeness of kindred hearts...
Comfort of God's presence ...
Likeness of peculiar souls...
Confirmation of where we've been...
A challenge to where our God desires to take us...
We walked away renewed, fulfilled, courageous....
Through our time, we were saturated with the Holy Spirit...
We were consumed with His presence...
Nothing forced, only invited and so longingly received...
Thank you Father, for divine opportunities, to know you more, to find you more intimately,
to experience you in new and fresh ways, to taste and see that you are good.


Praise the Lord, O my soul.
O Lord my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with splendor and majesty.
He wraps himself in light as with a garment;
he stretches out the heavens like a tent
and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.
He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind.
He winds his messengers,
flames of fire his servants.
He set the earth on its foundations;
it can never be moved.
You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
But at your rebuke the waters fled,
at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;
they flowed over the mountains,
they went down into the valleys,
to the place you assigned for them.
You set a boundary they cannot cross;
never again will they cover the earth.

He makes springs pour water into the ravines;
it flows between the mountains.
They give water to all the beasts of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
The birds of the air nest by the waters;
they sing among the branches.
He waters the mountains from his upper chambers;
the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work.
He makes grass grow for the cattle,
and plants for man to cultivate --
bringing forth food from the earth:
wine that gladdens the heart of man,
oil to make his face shine,
and bread that sustains the heart.
The trees of the Lord are well watered,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
There the birds make their nests;
the stork has its home in the pine trees.
The high mountains belong to the wild goats;
the crags are a refuge for the coneys.

The moon marks off the seasons,
and the sun knows when to go down.
You bring darkness, it becomes night,
and all the beasts of the forest prowl.
The lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God.
The sun rises, and they steal away;
they return and lie down in their dens.
Then man goes out to his work,
to his labor until evening.

How many are your works, O Lord!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
There is the sea, vast and spacious,
teeming with creatures beyond number --
living things both large and small.
There the ships go to and fro,
and the leviathan,
which you formed to frolic there.
These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time.
When you give it to them,
they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
they are satisfied with good things.
When you hid your face,
they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
they die and return to the dust.
When you send your Spirit,
they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.

May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works --
he who looks at the earth,
and it trembles,
who touches the mountains,
and they smoke.

I will sing to the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
May my meditation be pleasing to him,
as I rejoice in the Lord.
But may sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked be no more.

Praise the Lord, O my soul.

Praise the Lord.

Psalm 104

Snowed In...AGAIN!

Kyle called into work upon waking letting them know he would try to make it in later this morning. He bundled up and headed outside to see if he could " manage" getting his

four-wheel-drive Toyota down the driveway...this is what happened...

He obviously called back into work to let them know that we are literally SNOWED IN! There's no getting out of here today even if we tried...

Amidst the pain/frustration of feeling so helpless in situations such as these, the beauty of God's creation is simply amazing!

It seems like all of us around our home are working on letting-go of control and this morning has really tested Kyle! There "should be" something he could do to change the situation... NOT!?!

So we let-go knowing that God is so faithfully in control and therefore we can find REST in HIM!

Blessings to you this wintry day!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Here & Now..literally...

Recollections of Christmas Day...

The four of us had fun, unique plans for Christmas morning prior to venturing over to Kyle's parents house for our celebration with them however lots and lots of snow prevented us from getting out at all... It ended up being one of the best Christmas's we can remember in our nearly nineteen years of marriage! Don't you just love how God orchestrates situations beyond our control and " sets the stage" for rich and memorable moments. Due to all of the snow, our unique plans and our celebration turned into a quiet, fun, awesome day here at home!!!

We started our morning out with steaming mugs of hot chocolate and cappuccino while MaKayla quoted the Christmas story from the book of Luke. (This was one of her previous Bible Quizzing chapters. You never know when that memorization will come in handy!?! :o))

New knitting needles....

Stockings are always opened first around here and oh, what treasures there were...



Then the unwrapping began...

Hmmm... I wonder what it could be...

I think she's got it figured out...
(The box was a dead give away.)

It's...A Nintendo DS...something Mal had been wanting for a L-O-N-G time!!!

I so love this man!!!
Kyle got gloves and three new beanies to keep his sweet bare head warm!
Notice he has a NWMSU beanie on the top layer and a Spyder one underneath!

MaKayla awaiting her " big" gift...a new Fossil watch!

A new sweater and jewelry to match...

New slippers for MaKayla from Mal...

A new worship CD...notice the third beanie on his head...
Go MU!!
Kyle loved his new beanies so much he changed them every 15 minutes!?!
(We had a beanie fashion show...)

Mal with her new hat, scarf and mittens...

A new wall-hanging that MaKayla had been wanting...

A new Bible for Mallary...

New blankies, jammies and wool-lined Crocs...

Kyle loves to make grilled sandwiches so the girls and I thought a Panini Press would do him well! Although we've had waffles on his new waffle iron, we are still awaiting our yummy gourment panini's!

Daddy and his girls...

I so love this man!!!

And it snowed...

And snowed...


And snowed...



Following our time of opening gifts, we spent the evening watching new movies while finishing up final touches on Christmas gifts for extended family!

What an amazing day as a family sharing our love for JESUS and one another!
We are truly, truly blessed!

By the way...it was -24 this morning...
yes I said -24 and that was without the windchill factor!?!?
And...if that's not enough, another winter storm is headed our way beginning tonight!
I told MaKayla and Mal that this is what I remember winters being like growing up as a little girl.

My Day or God's Day...

Every day is a journal page
Every man holds a quill and ink
And there's plenty of room for writing in
All we do is believe and think
So will you compose a curse
Or will today bring the blessing
Fill the page with rhyming verse
Or some random sketching

Teach us to count the days
Teach us to make the days count
Lead us in better ways
That somehow our souls forgot
Life means so much
Life means so much
Life means so much

Every day is a bank account
And time is our currency
So nobody's rich, nobody's poor
We get 24 hours each
So how are you gonna spend
Will you invest, or squander
Try to get ahead
Or help someone who's under

Teach us to count the days
Teach us to make the days count
Lead us in better ways
That somehow our souls forgot
Life means so much
Life means so much
Life means so much

Has anybody ever lived who knew the value of a life
And don't you think giving is all
What proves the worth of yours and mine

Teach us to count the days
Teach us to make the days count
Lead us in better ways
That somehow our souls forgot
Life means so much

Every day is a gift you've been given
Make the most of the time every minute you're living

I've been preparing to do a post on the song above for over a week now however I have been waiting for the Holy Spirit to give me the "go ahead" as it contains so much! The song is on a Chris Rice CD that we have here at home and although I've listened to it time-after-time-after time, the other day the words hit me like a ton of bricks.

I've determined to live this song out to the best of my ability each day of this upcoming year...

As I sat this morning praying, listening, journaling, seeking, this is what the Lord laid on my heart and I felt it went right along with the lyrics of this song...

If God were to visit me right now, at this very moment, how would He line out my day?

What would He put priority?

What would He cut out?

What would He add in?

Shouldn't I purpose to live out my day according to how God would instruct me if He were to give me a blueprint? It takes entering into His presence...seeking His face...hearing His voice...listening to His words...responding to His direction. It takes being obedient to this Friend in whom I call my Savior! Letting go of my agenda to live out His!

I love you Jesus~

Baby It's Cold Outside...

This morning reminds me of the James Taylor song, Baby It's Cold Outside! When I arose around 5:30 a.m. the computer said it was -16 but it feels like -27...Can you say antarctic!?!?! Of all days that Kyle would have to get out and start back to work...more on that later! :o)

Making Room...

When Kyle took me on our blessed weekend get-away a few weeks ago, one Bible Book Store we visited had the new Casting Crowns Christmas CD on sale so we picked it up. (One of our traditions is to get a new CD each Christmas so it was perfect.) I've listened to it numerous times since opening it yet yesterday as I was in the kitchen working, I had it playing and a specific phrase stuck out to me. Last night before bed I took Kyle, the music man he is, into the kitchen to listen to it with me and as we listened another phrase caught my attention...

For the King has left His throne
And is sleeping in a manger tonight, tonight
Oh Bethlehem, what have you missed while you were sleeping
For God became a man
And stepped into your world today
Oh Bethlehem, you will go down in history
AS A CITY WITH NO ROOM FOR ITS KING

I asked Kyle, "How many kings do you know of in the Bible where there was no room for them in their province?" As we discussed it we came to the conclusion that for most kings it was the contrary...ALL kings had kingdoms, thrones, palaces, servants...they wanted for nothing yet Jesus left Heaven and as King entered into a town where there was NO room for Him to be born much less dwell.

Mary shivers in the cold
Trying to keep the Savior warm
Born among the animals wrapped in dirty rags
BECAUSE THERE WAS NO ROOM FOR HIM IN THE WORLD HE CAME TO SAVE
United States of America
Looks like another silent night
As we're sung to sleep by philosophies
That save the trees and kill the children
And while we're lying in the dark
There's a shout heard 'cross the eastern sky
For the Bridegroom has returned
And has carried His bride away in the night
America, what will we miss while we are sleeping
Will Jesus come again
And leave us slumbering where we lay
America, will we go down in history
AS A NATION WITH NO ROOM FOR ITS KING

Hearing these words found us asking ourselves, "How many days go by where we make no room for our King?" Jesus came from the perfection of Heaven, here, to this cruel earth to save US...how can we not make room for Him in our second-to-second, minute-to-minute, hour-to-hour, day-to day lives!?!

I purpose to MAKE ROOM for my KING...He deserves the most valuable part of my life! He gave EVERYTHING for me!

Thank you Jesus for finding reason to invest in me! Thank you for loving me and giving Your life for me! Thank you for giving purpose to my life and for choosing to dwell with me and in me! Thank you for being in my presence! I am forever in love with you!

Traditions...

Christmas Traditions

MaKayla D. O’Riley Christmas 2009

With the Christmas season rapidly approaching, I decided to do some research on our holiday traditions, especially the Christmas tree. This custom is very special in my family, as it is a fun project to work on together. We do not go out and cut down a live tree, but we do decorate an artificial one with lights, ribbons, and ornaments. This is a special time that I especially enjoy and it is also a way for our family to develop traditions of our own, such as my sister and I getting a new ornament each year!

As I did my research, it was very interesting to see how the practice was started and the different ways people celebrate. I hope that by the time you have finished reading this paper you will have a better understanding of how the Christmas tree custom came to be!

Although decorating an Evergreen tree is a symbol of the holidays and is a modern ritual of today, it originated long ago in early B.C. There has been and continues to be much controversy as to the use of these trees among different peoples and religions, due to the fact that pagans were the first to use them in their superstitious worship.

This fact led me to research what “pagan” commonly means and its main definition is “ All non-Christians or those who participate in Satanic practices”. Many people disagree about this topic as well, but this is the most widely accepted view.

The pagans would go out and cut down an Evergreen tree and place it in their homes as an idol. They then adorned it with metal ornaments and replicas of their gods. To them the trees represented life and freshness. They thought the tree had magical powers because although all other living plants died and lost their color, it remained green. They also viewed it as a sign of fertility and reproduction as they thought it increased sexual potency due to its “power” to sustain life. To them it was a promise that spring would come and a symbol of hope. The Bible has proof of this pagan worship in Jeremiah 10: 2-4.

Thus saith the Lord, “Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. They deck it with silver and with gold: they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it will not move.”

Eventually, word of this pagan practice reached all religions and each began this custom as well, yet each had their own reasons for doing so. For some it was used as an idol, for some Christians it was a sign of the birth of Jesus Christ and a symbol for the promise of eternal life in Him. For still others, it became just a sign of the Christmas holiday and the traditional festivities.

Because of its origin there is still much disagreement today over whether or not it is right for a Christian or any non-pagan to participate in this pagan practice. Most consider it just a part of Christmas and because even the pagans view it as a sign of hope, there is nothing wrong with this tradition.

I believe that this is an area in which God wants us to look at the motives of our hearts and each person decide for themselves how they will/should celebrate. Although I do not necessarily see this custom as “wrong” if you do it with the right heart and do not allow the tree to become the focus during Christmas, I do think that it is important for us a Christians to see what we allow to define our holiday traditions. I know that I am very guilty of seeing “Christmas” as shopping, decorations, family, gifts, and traditions. I allow those things to define a time of year that Christ desired to be set apart for Him.

So, I encourage you this season to examine your heart. Look where your focus is at, as I have done, and see what you will allow to define your Christmas this year!

Snowed In...

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

It snowed in the morning...

It snowed in the afternoon...

It snowed in the evening...

Well, they said a winter storm was going to hit...and it did!!! The snow started falling Monday evening and continued through Tuesday morning and continued throughout the day. By mid-afternoon I was beginning to wonder if Kyle would be able to make it home from work since we live kind of out in the middle of no-where...a place where the reality of snow plows is nearly non-existent. Gratefully he did make it home safe, although later than normal, and the snow continued to fall. Tuesday evening brought the news that most everything was closing down...including the factory where Kyle works at. Kyle has worked at the same place of employment for over twenty-years and this is the first time he or I can ever remember work being cancelled. Needless-to-say, there was alot of excitement going on in our home knowing that we were going to have a "Family Snow Day" on Wednesday!!! We stayed up late Tuesday night watching a Christmas movie, just enjoying the thought that ALL of us would get to sleep in the next morning...we were SNOWED IN!!!


We did get a great deal of snow however the high winds made the winter storm even worse due to the drifting and below-zero temperatures! As of right now, it appears to be -5 with a wind-chill of -20 and we have huge drifts everywhere! Kyle did go to work this morning but had to drive through the yard in order to get to the road in front of our house as our driveway is impassable!

Out our front window...you can see the snow blowing off the top of the drift...

The drifts are were waist high on Kyle...

The four-of-us had so much fun yesterday drinking coffee, cappuccino and hot chocolate, catching up on our advent readings, sharing what God is doing in our lives and in our family, watching movies, singing Christmas carols playing Skip-Bo, creating paper snowflakes, listening to Christmas music and working on other craft projects. I put on a big pot of ham and beans for supper and made a large pan of cornbread...YUMMY! :o)




Us girls hated to see Kyle go back to work today however we so cherished the time we had with him yesterday! It will be one of those distinct memories that we will tightly cling to throughout the years to come!

The sparkling beauty God left us this morning...