What a weekend...

  Kelly Clarkston getting her groove on at her last concert of her tour.

Well it's Friday and I am just about ready to begin a new weekend. The only problem is that I'm still recovering from last weekend. On Thursday night I recieved word that my Dad was being airlifted to Sacred Heart hospital in Spokane, Washington because he'd had another heart attack. This heart attack is to the day (August 3rd) when he was airlifted out of Spokane last summer -- weird. Tre and I left immediately on the seven hour trip. I spoke with my Dad when he arrived at the hospital and he made it sound like everything was fine, later we learned that it wasn't. He's had significant heart damage and the doctors had to shock him four times to get his heart back on track. I saw him the next morning with all sorts of tubes and monitors surrounding him. He's 6'3" and the bed hardly seemed long enough for his huge frame. He seemed to have more pain from his ankelosing spondolitis (a form of arthritus that I've inherited -- thanks Dad) than anything. He left the hospital on Saturday and I haven't heard any word as to his health since. I know he had plans of going back to work yesterday even though his doctor advised him to take at least two weeks off.

After that crazy ordeal I drove over to Seattle to spend time with my Mom and sister. Katie and I have been planning on going to the Kelly Clarkston concert for months (thanks Mom) and were able to sit back and enjoy a fabulous summer concert. Katie got to take some amazing photos with her new camera and even got to shake Kelly Clarkston's hand. I was pretty stoked for her. I've uploaded a few shots she took during the concert -- the pictures make it look as if we were practically on stage with her. I had a great time with my little sister and then drove the rest of the way home the following morning.

 

My beautiful sister Katie and me at the Kelly Clarkston Concert.


In a half an hour I'm driving with Lacey to Lincoln City to visit Tre and relax by the beach. Thank you so much to all of you who prayed for me during last weekend. I don't think the outlook is good for my Dad's health and I imagine more emergency trips to Spokane might be in my future. Please keep my family in your prayers as I know each person in my family is affected differently by my Dad's failing health. Also, on another note -- my Grandma Souza (who will be 87 on Sept. 25th) had a minor heart attack last week as well. She's strong, but no one can beat time. A general prayer for my entire family's health would probably go a long way. 

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Your Seduction Style: Ideal Lover

You seduce people by tapping into their dreams and desires. And because of this sensitivity, you can be the ideal lover for anyone you seek. You are a shapeshifter - bringing romance, adventure, spirituality to relationships. It all depends on who your with, and what their vision of a perfect relationship is.

What Is Your Seduction Style?

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The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to those who are unbridled, untrammeled, and free. In love, you feel the most alive when things are straight-forward, and you're told that you're loved. You'd like to your lover to think you are optimistic and happy. You would be forced to break up with someone who was emotional, moody, and difficult to please. Your ideal relationship is open. Both of you can talk about everything... no secrets. Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment. You think of marriage as something that will confine you. You are afraid of marriage. In this moment, you think of love as commitment. Love only works when both people are totally devoted.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

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Your Love Style is Agape

You are a caring, kind, and selfless partner. Unsurprisingly, your love style is the most rare. You are willing to sacrfice your world for your sweetie. Except it doesn't really feel like sacrifice to you. For you, nothing feels better than giving to the one you love.

What's Your Love Style?

Friends

 

The following is a writing exercise that I did shortly after my divorce. The women in the picture above were there for me in every way possible. They comforted me, sheltered me, and even fed me sometimes. They reminded me of God's love for me and that he would be and was my perfect husband. They shared their pain with me so that I wouldn't feel like the only one on earth with such heartache. They encouraged love to be the overflow of my heart and not bitterness. They advised me to let God take care of my ex-husband and his choices and not me. They showed me truth in scripture -- places where God's word says he will be a husband, a savior, and a vindicator. They would not let what happened destroy me and made sure that I was drinking deeply of living water. Thank you women of God.

Kelly, a warrior of Jesus Christ by the will of God.

To the maidens of Multnomah Bible College, the faithful in Jesus Christ.

Passion and purity to you from God our Father and the Lord your maker and husband Jesus Christ.

It gives me great joy to write to you, women of the truth, who have obediently responded to the call that God has placed on your life. You are here at Multnomah learning valuable truths and storing up knowledge that will support the foundation of your Christian faith, so that when troubles come you will not be shaken. For beyond the “bubble,” you will face trials of many kinds from those who do not understand your faith and take no part in the covenants developed within your hearts.
Those of you who tend to the seeds of faith developing in your heart will have strong trees of faith that shelter you from the storms that rage and threaten to destroy you. Let the word of the Lord be rooted in your hearts, let its roots be deep and its height a shelter from the heat of the scorching sun.
Many a heart has been broken by love unrequited or rescinded, for those who put their faith in the strength of men will not prosper. Put your faith and hope in Christ –the author of lives and the protector of souls. Do not open your heart to love when it is not yet time, for it is written:

“O daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you—
Do not arouse or awaken love
until it so desires.”

Give your hearts to the Lord, women of faith. Give your heart to the one who formed it and prepared the muscle to beat within your breast. Do not become snared by the pink mist or lusty diamonds, but prepare your hearts and minds for the ministry that the Lord God has called you to in Christ Jesus. Let God be your counselor, your rock, and the one who shields you from the storms. In him, you can take refuge; in him, you will have courage; in him, you will have the victory. Let your last thought at night be of God. Let your first word in the morning be the name of Jesus. Let not even the birds sing before his name is uttered from your lips. God is your husband, for it is written:

“For your maker is your husband—
the Lord almighty is his name.
The Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer
He is called the God of all the earth.”

Be in love with Jesus, women of the faith, be his bride, his friend, and his confidant. Leave false relationships and disillusioned ideas of romance behind you. Love is more amazing than anything you have ever known when the Lord, the gardener of your heart, awakens it. He will bring your love to blossom at the right time, for he is your kinsman redeemer. His is the great and mighty God: a father to the orphaned, a husband to the widowed, and a comfort to those in need.
Look to the women of faith recorded in the word of God. These women are witness and attest to your acts of faith both seen and unseen. Look to Deborah, who led a great army for the Lord, or Ruth, who trusted in the God of Israel even though she was only a Moabitess, or Abigail, who was married to a fool, but out of the goodness of the Lord became a bride of King David.
There are so many more women that I would never finish writing were I to name them all. Look to Sarah, Rebecca, Mary, Elizabeth, Dorcas and many other women of the faith who have proven worthy of our Lord. Look to the women of God around you as models for faith and hope in Christ Jesus.

May grace and peace never leave you. May they be garlands around your neck and a fragrance that draws people close to the God that is at work within your hearts. The truth of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, sisters.

Please send this message onto Moody and Biola University that they may also avoid the snares of the evil one and look to Christ first in their lives.

Dear women, keep your eyes on Jesus, Amen.