The Wise Man Builds His House Upon the Rock

I saw this picture on the HP website linked to my title, and I thought it was really cool! Do you see the house built in the shadow of the rock? I immediately thought of my life being built in the shadow of my Heavenly Father. It's one of those reactions that is so difficult to put into words...but it's a comfort, a peace, an excitement and an awe that transcends common communication. Only He can do that to me...in such a powerful way.

Also, if you click on the picture you can view it full-size....if you look closely at the courtyard of the house, you can see a cross on the right hand side. I look at those steps and I think of the journey we all take to find Jesus.

Some of us think we need to work at it ~ it's up to US to make it up those stairs because by-golly He gave us two feet and He expects us to use them. However, while that's partly true, He doesn't expect us to use our feet in our power to come to the cross and find Him.

Some of us think we should be given the easy way out and just get to the cross by looking at it. Looking at something never made it happen.

Then there are those of us who realize those steps must be climbed...it's a decision we make...but we don't get there in our power. It's the grace of God that brings us home to Him. I picture it in relation to this picture as we start walking saying, "Yes, Lord...I want to be closer to You. I want You in my life and if I have to make that decision to stop staying where I'm at then I'm making it now. But I can't climb on these feet! I need You. Come and take over so I can stand where You are." And as we stand on the steps with our arms uplifted like a child reaching up to it's Daddy to carry it home His hand reaches down and takes ours and we climb together. And, before we know it, we're at the top ~ Hand in hand with Jesus looking at the very object that made the journey possible. And we fall. Flat on our face we fall before Him as the impact of His sacrifice hits us...his feet are bare and bleeding from the climb up those steps, but our feet are wrapped in thick, rich leather and are perfectly safe. Then we look at the hands that reached out to help us up the steps and we are breathless as we look at the scars on his palm ~ and the shadow of the cross falls across his face. Breathlessly we stare as He smiles down on us and says, "You were worth it. Come with me now, for I'm no longer on that piece of wood ~ I'm here, alive, before you and I long to spend the day with you!" We timidly reach out and grasp the nail-scarred hand and stand to our full height as the words He has said reaches our souls and gives us reason to stand firm in the shoes of righteousness He has shod us in. And we smile. We smile with an understanding that the journey is worth it ~ just to spend a day with Jesus.

As Easter approaches I hope you'll find the opportunity to kneel before the cross and see the sacrifice that was made for you and me. I pray that the impact of that touches you like it's never touched you before. Let Him create in you a clean heart ~ let Him search you and know your anxious thoughts. He longs to love you. He longs to comfort you and to bring you joy like you've never known before. Won't you let Him make Himself known to you now? What are you waiting for? Do something today worth looking back on and saying "today I made the best decision of my life....my eternal life."

I hope I don't get in trouble for putting this picture on here. Check out the HP project website ~ they've got some really cool designs...and I'm a huge HP fan when it comes to printers!! :)

Have a wonder-filled day. Think about your house being built on the rock...be the wise man, not the foolish man.

Sponhem Bohem

2006 will be...

I ran across this list somewhere ~ at this point I honestly can't remember where, but thought it was the perfect way to help us keep the year in perspective. Hope you enjoy it...and if you don't...well, just because you may not believe it doesn't mean it's not true! :) Have a great day!

THE TOP TEN PREDICTIONS FOR 2006

1. The Bible will still have the answers.
2. Prayer will still work.
3. The Holy Spirit will still move.
4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.
5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.
6. There will still be singing of praise.
7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.
8. There will still be room at the Cross.
9. Jesus will still love you.
10. Jesus will still save the lost.

And Remember...God is still on the Throne !

Okay - I think this is kinda cool. My favorite state in the entire United States is Colorado. In fact, Scott often says as a joke that when I get to heaven I'm going to say to God, "y'know, God, this is nice....but it's not Colorado." (of course I WON'T, but it's funny and it does sum up how I feel about Colorado.)

So, I stumbled upon this cool little quiz and here are my results:

American Cities That Best Fit You:

80% Denver

75% Seattle

70% Portland

65% Austin

65% Honolulu

Which American Cities Best Fit You?

Cool, huh? Since Vancouver is home now (right across the river from Portland) and I feel like we are living in the place where we'll be living for a longer time than past places (hopefully a MUCH longer time) and Colorado is someplace else I'd like to live, I think this quiz is pretty much right on. Not to mention that I love Texas and Hawaii is my favorite vacation spot. Woo Hoo! Have fun taking the quiz and let me know what you find out!

Have a great week! And check back ~ there's LOTS to catch y'all up on...CRAZY DAYS! :)

Trayc

Merry Christmas!

I belong to a graphics "club" and when I opened the latest newsletter tonight I knew I had found my Christmas entry for my blog. Below is the letter submitted by a gal named Nancy Scheiern from I have no idea where. It doesn't matter where she's from ~ I think one day we'll be "from" the same place. I don't know if she wrote it, but to whoever did write it ~ THANK YOU. On December 23rd after a day of watching people rush and speed to get the gifts under the tree in time for Christmas Day (and enjoying the number of people who were smiling and saying "Merry CHRISTmas" to those they were dealing with) this was exactly what I needed to read to focus once again on the Reason for the Season. May God be evident in each of your lives ~ may this year be one of seeing God's hand in each and every day. He longs to know you ~ to mold you into the person HE created you to be ~ to give you life abundantly. God go with you (He already does, but sometimes we need the reminder).... with a most sincere heart I wish you Merry Christmas!

Trayc

PS: click on the title to be taken to a link with an interesting article about modern day Bethlehem...and remember to pray for all Christians worldwide who are being persecuted (and many of them "in our own backyard") because of simple faith in Jesus. thank you!

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As you well know, we are getting closer to my birthday. Every year there is a celebration in my honor and I think that this year the celebration will be repeated. During this time there are many people shopping for gifts, there are many radio announcements, TV commercials, and in every part of the world everyone is talking that my birthday is getting closer and closer.

It is really very nice to know, that at least once a year, some people think of me. As you know, the celebration of my birthday began many years ago. At first people seemed to understand and be thankful of all that I did for them, but in these times, no one seems to know the reason for the celebration. Family and friends get together and have a lot of fun, but they don't know the meaning of the celebration.

I remember that last year there was a great feast in my honor. The dinner table was full of delicious foods, pastries, fruits, assorted nuts and chocolates. The decorations were exquisite and there were many, many beautifully wrapped gifts. But, do you want to know something? I wasn't invited. I was the guest of honor and they didn't remember to send me an invitation. The party was for me, but when that great day came, I was left outside, they closed the door in my face .... and I wanted to be with them and share their table.

In truth, that didn't surprise me because in the last few years all close their doors to me. Since I wasn't invited, I decided to enter the party without making any noise. I went in and stood in a corner. They were all drinking; there were some who were drunk and telling jokes and laughing at everything. They were having a grand time. To top it all, this big fat man all dressed in red wearing a long white beard entered the room yelling Ho-Ho-Ho! He seemed drunk. He sat on the sofa and all the children ran to him, saying: "Santa Claus, Santa Claus" .. as if the party were in his honor!

At 12 Midnight all the people began to hug each other; I extended my arms waiting for someone to hug me and ... do you know ... no one hugged me. Suddenly they all began to share gifts. They opened them one by one with great expectation. When all had been opened, I looked to see if, maybe, there was one for me.

What would you feel if on your birthday everybody shared gifts and you did not get one? I then understood that I was unwanted at that party and quietly left.

Every year it gets worse. People only remember to eat and drink, the gifts, the parties and nobody remembers me. I would like this Christmas that you allow me to enter into your life. I would like that you recognize the fact that almost two thousand years ago I came to this world to give my life for you, on the cross, to save you. Today, I only want that you believe this with all your heart.

I want to share something with you. As many didn't invite me to their party, I will have my own celebration, a grandiose party that no one has ever imagined, a spectacular party.

I'm still making the final arrangements. Today I am sending out many invitations and there is an invitation for you. I want to know if you wish to attend and I will make a reservation for you and write your name with golden letters in my great guest book. Only those on the guest list will be invited to the party. Those who don't answer the invite, will be left outside.

Be prepared because when all is ready you will be part of my great party.

See you soon.

I Love you!
Jesus

Just One...

I subscribe to e-mails from a lady whose purpose is to help those of us who get sidetracked easily stay on track with our homes (link to it by clicking on the title above), and I just got done reading this e-mail:

Dear FlyLady,

You may not know it, but you have had a direct and highly positive impact on our war effort in Iraq. Most notably, your organizational discipline has translated wonderfully to our Iraqi allies, specifically the Army that I train and fight alongside. I recently had the chance to read some of my wife's FlyLady e-mails and realized that this is exactly the kind of systematic approach and common sense needed to get things going over here. So one thing led to another...Now the Iraqi Soldiers have issues. Talk about Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome! These folks had lived in CHAOS for some 24 years, enforced by one of the most evil, selfish persons imaginable. They had"clutter" on a societal-in fact, a galactic-scale. They have a lot of guilt and problems built up. There gear was nasty. Their barracks were a mess. They had forgotten how to fight. And now they have the whole world over, or at least the good parts of it, here to help them learn, here to do business with them, and here to welcome them into the family of responsible countries.The Iraqi Army did not get this way overnight and they will not get fixed in a day. So I echo you and tell them that they are not behind,and that each day we start right where we are. No flip-flops on guard-get dressed up in boots and lace them up. Clean our rifle daily, first thing. Focus on one "hot spot" mess every day. Document our useful procedures in simple lists. Follow the before operations checklist. Follow the after operations checklist. We are building our routines and our procedures one habit at a time. Ensure our Soldiers eat, sleep, and exercise daily-very important when the heat gets up to 120 degrees!It sounds strange, but these FlyBaby steps, translated into Arabic and a military context, are keeping our people alive and safe. We stick to salutes and pats on the back instead of hugs, but you get the idea,and so do our Iraqi friends.Thank you, FlyLady, for your contribution to our efforts to protect Iraqis and Americans.
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FlyLady here: OH MY! Purple Puddles, I am so proud of you and your Army for protecting us and for helping the Iraqis people get back on their feet. May God watch over you! I would also like to thank all the families of our service men and women for taking care of the homefront. I have to go to bed now! This one really touched my heart and it is hard for me to stop the purple puddles! How in the world can one wish to help one person do this? Finally Loving Yourself is the God Breeze that changes the world one BabyStep at a time!

I was struck by this e-mail because I knew "Flylady" before she had hundreds of thousands of people subscribing to her e-mail reminders. I knew her from a little bulletin board type chat room that I used to go on when we lived in Redding ~ and it was then that some people were encouraging her to set up her system as an e-mail option for the rest of us. She took a chance and did what she believed God was calling her to. Now, 6 years later, she has helped hundreds of thousands of people let go of guilt for not being the perfect housekeeper, and she has helped as many people get a handle on their homes so they don't feel overwhelmed by it and can live the life God has given them to it's fullest...never, though, did she expect to help so many. As she said...she had ONE wish to help ONE person and now she is touching a country that is for the first time in many, many years experiencing the freedom they longed for.

I ran across this quote from Ghandi: Consciously or unconsciously, everyone of us does render some service or another. If we cultivate the habit of doing this service deliberately, our desire for service will steadily grow stronger, and it will make not only for our own happiness, but that of the world at large. It seems to fit here perfectly.

Of course, the e-mail is moving and inspiring, but I think the reason it hit me so deeply is because just this afternoon I read an e-mail from my cousin, David, and he got me to thinking about the dreams God puts in us ~ Flylady's subject heading on her e-mail was "I never dreamed this big!" How true is that for all of us? If our dreams are small ~ to reach just one person; to touch the lives of just those around us; to just live our lives for Jesus in being the very best of who He made us to be ~ He takes what is surrendered to Him and does the most amazing things with it!

And for those of us whose dreams are bigger than maybe we think they should be....well, since I'm one of them, I want to say that we should never lose sight of what He has placed in us. NEVER GIVE UP on who GOD HIMSELF has formed you to be!!

Ugh ~ my mind's getting kind of random now as I think of all the dreams I've had in my life that I gave up on because I simply didn't think Tracy Jo Tooley-Foskett was created to be anything more than some girl on the census pages. It has only been in recent years that I have begun to see that God placed those dreams in me. I certainly haven't acquired on my own the desire to reach out and encourage people to risk being something greater than they ever imagined ~ that's Him. And it's only been in as many years that I have come to understand the dreams GOD has put inside of me will see their fruition...in His time. I love the saying "when it's up to you there may be all sorts of obstacles that can hold you back, but when God says "go" there is nothing that can get in your way." No, for those of us who dream big I think the worst part is the waiting for Him to say, "okay, now you're ready ~ go for it!"

Mother Theresa said, "I do not pray for success, I ask for faithfulness."

Gandhi, Mother Theresa, FlyLady...none of them started out saying "I think I'll go change the world." No, they started out saying, "show me the one You want me to touch, Lord...and I'll do what I can to the best that I can." Dream...whether it's big or small...dream. And then take one step ~ and then another ~ and then another. Surrender your dreams to the One who gave them to you, and let HIM do the running with them. (and, yes, I'm writing this as much to myself as to anyone else who may read this....I must remember that when I take one step it is not the entire journey. How easy it is to get lost in the dream and fail to take the steps required to be worthy of it.)

Lord, I pray for the faithfulness it takes to be who You created me to be! May my life be one that is used for Your glory in the lives of those You have given me to touch.