That’s what we say. It’s easier, less jolting than “miscarriage.”

Married two months. Just starting a new job. Pregnant was not where I expected to be. And…there I was. For the first few days I tried to push the thought out of my mind. As if that would change things.

Then the worry set in.

We’re not ready. It’s only been two months. What will people think? We can’t afford this. I just started this job. How can this be real? What are we going to do?

I’m not ready.

Then reality set in. I would have to go to the doctor and get what I already knew to be true confirmed. Plans would have to be changed. I wouldn’t be able to work at my new job for the entire year. We would have to come up with an entirely new idea of what our life was going to be, because it wasn’t just him and me anymore. (And while I was able to work all that out in my mind, I should point out that I was still really deep in denial about what was happening.)

And then my fearful reservation split wide open. (more…)

It’s that time again. Every 2 years we have to pay our hosting bill and it actually costs quite a bit for the storage space that the podcast, blog, and the GodlyGals community requires. However, if just a few handfuls of you all were able to spare $1 or $2 we would be able to cover all of the hosting for two years in no time. Our total cost for 2 years is $190.

Money only changes hands once. Your donation goes directly to our web host and ONLY covers our hosting bill.

If the GodlyGals ministry has touched you in any way over the years and if you would like to see it continue, please pray and consider donating whatever you feel comfortable with.

Thank you so much for your support!

When I was going through wedding preparations and getting so many things together in the last few months, there was one task left before me that only I could be responsible for — Kevin’s ring. I knew he didn’t want anything flashy. No diamonds, very little adornment. He’s just not into that kind of stuff. So I found a simple white gold ring with a milgrain edge and called it a day. But I knew it wasn’t done. I had wanted to have something inscribed on the inside of his ring, but I had struggled with finding something that fit — both the occasion AND inside the ring.

Then the verse hit me. The verse that Kevin and I first memorized together whenever we were still doing that.

But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.” – Ruth 1:16 & 17

I’ve kept it a secret from almost everyone until now and I’m only telling because it feels particularly timely.

Where you go, I will go…

This little Oklahoma girl’s heart is right here. It does not want to leave. And I think that inscription felt safe because I never expected it to be challenged. I meant it, but I didn’t imagine “going” might mean “leaving.”

How a year can change a situation. Within two months of our wedding we were both working in the same local school, both happy, excited, and getting acquainted with our new jobs. It wasn’t until about 6 months later that we heard rumblings. And then rumors. And then concrete bad news that some people would not be coming back. The first people to feel the cuts would be the first year, temporary contract teachers (Kevin).

Our jobs are up in the air. At this point, neither of us know if we will be coming back and won’t know for possibly 2 weeks. I won’t lie, it’s scary. Not scary because I think we’ll starve or lose our house or our cars or anything like that. We are already blessed beyond measure to have a support system that simply would not allow that to happen. But it’s scary because I’ve never been there before. Never been without. Never truly in need.

The thing is though, both my husband and I have faith. Sometimes I’ve wondered if I have it easier than other people because I can’t remember a time when I doubted that God would come through. I know not all people see that as a positive, but I don’t care. Kevin and I have made it to this place where we don’t know what is going to happen, but we know that we’ll make it through, no matter what we have to do to make that happen. Things may not go as planned, but we will be okay. We may not know where we are going right now, but we are going together.

This week, my cousin (who I have never met and only recently found online…turns out blogging is in our blood) and his wife lost their dear, sweet baby girl, Ashleigh. As I mentioned a few months ago, she was born at 26 weeks and was a real miracle. I was shocked to learn this week that she had passed after spending almost 4 months in the hospital.

Please keep this family in your prayers. I cannot imagine the heartache they are experiencing, as it looked like Ashleigh was doing so well and would be going home soon. Please remember Curtis, Stephanie, and big sister Zoe in your prayers.

Then shall thy light break forth as the morning,
and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee;
the glory of the LORD shall be thy reward.
Isaiah 58:8

Where I come from. That’s been a pretty common theme around this place. As I’ve grown over the years, those of you who have been reading have seen me go from wide-eyed small town girl planted in the middle of the state’s largest university with all kinds of dreams floating through my head, to a domesticated married lady in my mid-twenties, looking forward to the future. And so, while you’ve heard most of that, today’s McLinky at Real Housewives of Oklahoma (you read that right) is “Where I Come From.” I figure there’s more left to say.

It took me leaving my hometown to realize just exactly where I belong. I can remember sitting in the middle of a cultural studies course at the University of Oklahoma and hearing someone trashing the “small” town they were from. First of all, they hailed from a town with 20k+ residents. Sugarpie, you can get back to me when you live within a 15-mile radius of where your family has been settled for the past 100 years, with a population of no more than 15, between the signs, counting the barn cats.

No, really.

Hearing that and so many other things, having new experiences, and knowing that Taco Bell was open at 2AM if I really needed them — all those things opened my eyes. I love my home.

My home is Pernell, Oklahoma. It’s not Elmore City, where I was sent to school when we consolidated in 1992. No, my home is that strip of highway in the middle of the country. Twenty miles west of Pauls Valley, thirty-five east of Duncan, eight north of Ratliff City, and an hour (give or take) south of Norman.

If it was just the town that I was tied to, it wouldn’t be home to me. What makes it my home are the people and the memories tied to the place. I am tethered there. Somewhere atop that hill Nannie and Pappy’s house sits on, my heart is buried deep in the hard clay.

It took growing a little bit older to find out all these things about myself. If anything, I was the child with the wildest dreams about getting away, making something of myself, and never coming back to that smalltown. Now, I’d do anything to get back there and stay.

Because what I come from is a deep sense of family.
A respect for the land.
A love of springtime and gardens.
A need for the quiet and peace you can only find in the country.
A desire for the Word.
A godly heritage.

Men who believed in raising and standing by their family.
Who supported their families in plenty and in want.
Who toiled and dug and reached down into the earth until it produced.
Who were funny as all get out.
Who had strong exteriors, but the most tender of hearts.
Who believed in serving the Lord.

Women that would walk miles to get what their family needed.
Who made food stretch and feed as many mouths as would crowd around the table.
Who spoke truth.
Who raised a passel of children and shared with them all the love of Jesus.
Who worked a garden of red clay and made it produce the sweetest fruits.
Who loved with every breath they had in them.

Where I come from is a clay hill surrounded by good bottom land. What I come from is a line of men and women who lived fully, gave everything, and loved without measure.

I could not ask for more.

A few weeks ago I received a 10-pack of Lenten devotions from Tyndale. Coming from a religious tradition that doesn’t acknowledge Lent in any way, I was intrigued.

The 40 days leading up to Easter, known as Lent, are set aside as a time for reflection and self-denial in preparation for the celebration of Easter. This year at Lent, orient your life toward Jesus Christ with this unique devotional taken from Holy Bible: Mosaic. Encounter Christ by reflecting on the words of Scripture and the art and writings of Christians across time and cultures. Includes full-color artwork; contemporary and historical writings; prayers, poems, and hymns from throughout church history. Full text of each week’s devotional Scripture readings is also included.

These are tiny booklets, great for handing out to friends and family (what I did) and provide devotions for each week of Lent. I didn’t use them to go through Lent and unlike last year, I didn’t give anything up. However, the devotions and scripture readings were wonderful. My mom, because she thought I was turning Catholic, was asking about the devotions sitting on the coffee table and I offered her some to take home. She even gave one to a pastor at their church.

I appreciate Tyndale’s generosity in handing these out for free (almost) in time for Lent and I think that if you are looking for something for a small group to use next year during the Lenten season, this would be a great booklet to check out.

A complimentary copy of this title was provided to me by the Tyndale Blog Network for the purpose of reviewing.

(more…)

Their names are two of the most well known in Christian writing today. Both have authored books aimed at their own gender, diving into what the Bible has to say about why we are created so differently and how it is that God brings us together. Two unique sexes each with their own purpose.

It is in their new collaborative work–Love & War–that John and Stasi Eldredge discuss how men and women operate in marriage offer their advice on how to find “the marriage you’ve dreamed of.” I usually go into books like this with a critical eye because I’m not sure that anyone has it figured out, but I am always up for listening to wisdom from those who have been married for many years. The Eldredges have a good track record and more than likely I would have bought this book on my own had I not be offered the opportunity to review it before I had the chance to get to the bookstore.

There is so much to learn from this book. There’s no way I could cover it all in this review and I won’t begin to try. What I will tell you is that I love the way these two write together. It flows, isn’t choppy, and doesn’t feel like a constant narration of other people’s stories (which “Christian living” titles are wont to do).

One of my favorite parts of the book was at the beginning, when they brought up something that came up again and again throughout the rest of the text. In the first chapter they discuss how our marriages are a part of a much larger story–one that God has written. To quote them, “The Bible begins with a marriage, and ends with a marriage.” Like them, I’m not sure that I had ever noticed that before. The Bible is a story of love, devotion, and redemption. There are so many parallels to be drawn there and the Eldredges do a fabulous job of captivating the reader, drawing us into the story they weave, and telling us how, in their experience, the marriage of our dreams is possible. Not to say that it will be without the bumps in the road and various struggles that plague all human relationships. But with the love of Christ in our hearts we can learn to give ourselves fully and in turn experience a connection far beyond the fairy tales of childhood dreams.

At 222 pages it is a quick read and one that I will be going back through very soon.

This was book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah.

I told you yesterday there’d be a part 2 today and look at that. Meeting a deadline. How very 2005 College Version of Elizabeth of me. I graduated and left that type of behavior behind.

If you thought yesterday was funny weird then today we’re going to take a little trip to the Twilight Zone (did anyone catch the marathon around the beginning of the year on SyFy? I loooove that show. It gives me a chance to sit back and realize how inconsistent my parents were in sheltering me from depictions of demons and darkness. I mean, I wasn’t allowed to watch the Carebears as a kid because there was a wizard or something on it, but The Twilight Zone down at Granny’s house was totally fine).

When people find out you’re in charge of something they often begin proffering their services. This happens to me from time to time now, but the particular service this lady was trying to sell was unlike any other I had heard of.

She found me through Livejournal (where GodlyGals) started out. Immediately after joining the group she posted something really elaborate explaining who she was and what she had to offer our ministry. It was free of charge and she just wanted to share with us.

She claimed that she was the bride of the angel Gabriel. They were in an…intimate relationship and she believed herself to be carrying his child. Surely, she believed, this child would be a blessing and prophet to all the world. Not only was she the wife of the angel Gabriel, she also channeled his spirit and he was currently abiding in her mind and commanding her to seek us out and tell us that she would act as our prophet.

There were more details, but I’ve got to say that by the time this one rolled around I’d gotten pretty used to the ones that were “out there” and I was quick to hit DELETE.

That’s probably more sad than weird. I mean, there are some really confused, disturbed people out there. This woman was either trying to play some hideous joke on the first naive person that would listen, or she was being used by something. I didn’t really want to stick around long enough to find out.

Jud, I don’t know who you are, but when I read your comment on this blog I could not keep myself from saying, “Amen.” Thank you for your willingness to speak truth.

I’d love to give you more credit than just your name, so if you’re reading this, please let me know!

1) I’ve read and heard enough from Mclaren.

2) Most American Pastors now refer to themselves as “followers of Christ”. Mclaren considers himself a “follower of Christ”. Ghandi considered himself a “follower of Christ”. The Dali Lama considers himself a follower of Christ.None of the latter three speak as to the ATONEMENT and the BLOOD of Christ. Myself? I follow the Chicago Cubs.

2) It’s ridiculous for McLaren or anyone else to use “the American Church” as a political pawn the way he does. As much as 80% of American Christians are “people who said a prayer” not in fact Born Again Christians. So it’s pathetic to say that American Christianity represents Jesus in the first place. A LONG time ago evangelism became a NUMBERS game. We are a people who create “experiences ” and manipulate peoples emotions… they say a prayer before they even think about the COSTS… we chalk one more up and they walk away ever battling doubts confident in the prayer they said.

3) The Holy Spirit represents Jesus. MANY in the Church (Pastors included) are Lost as can be… their lives are not led by the Spirit. Look around… our worship services are about the FLESH. The senses MUST be addressed because an emotional experience has replaced solid Bible teaching and discipleship, Godly sorrow and Repentance. WORKS and Social Justice are the fillers for opiating the carnal conscience.

4) Our creativity, our innovations, our “vision casting” our egos and our cleverness have replaced the cornerstone. We’ve become a people of self promotion. We aren’t broken and humble, we are smooth, we are slick, we are successful, we are appealing to the flesh. We are approved by the World. The pale echoes of the martyrs haunt us.

-Jud