Music is...

what feelings sound like.

~Author Unkown

Remembering Mother On Her Birthday

Today I stopped by the cemetery to place flowers on my parents grave in honor of my mother's birthday. It's not a long visit because I know that 2 Corinthians 5:8 tells us to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. And my parents have been present with the Lord for some time because of the personal relationship they have with Jesus Christ but I like to take a moment out of life's routine to stop and honor their memory.

For me, Mother was a wonderful stay at home mom who took care of me when I was sick, cleaned my room when I didn't, taught me how to iron by making me iron sheets, loved me no matter what and prayed with me to accept Christ as my personal Savior.

For my Dad, she was the best bookkeeper he could have ever had, she was the visionary he wasn't, she was not only the best cook but the only cook he wanted serving him food, and she truly completed him.

For my sister, she was everything a mother should be and more and I won't try to speak for her.

For my husband, she was the mother-in-law he called "Mom" before we were ever engaged. Tony loved her and mom had a sense of fun that could take his teasing.

For her grandson, Josh, she made the best oatmeal and kept a chest of toys to play with. (Josh was five when she got sick.)


For her grandson, Jeremy, she did something he never knew about. As a grandmother, your love knows no bounds and you will fight for what you feel is right for your grandchildren. When Jeremy was two he was in the hospital and his Mimi called his pastor at home because he had not come to the hospital to visit her grandson. (Jeremy was three when she became ill.)


To her Lord and Savior she was a good and faithful servant who taught Sunday School for 32 years!

We miss you Momma and look forward to the day when we will all be together again! Happy Birthday!

"Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 For we live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord." 2 Corinthians 5:6-8

A Simple Message

There has been a constant in my life and that has been the Graham family. I have always been able to look to the Graham's to be faithful to the simple message of the Gospel which is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Their faithfulness to the simple message of the cross have brought millions to eternal life in Jesus Christ.

This morning I ran across a letter Franklin Graham wrote and I appreciate so much his faithfulness in writing it and his courage and commitment to stand firm in his calling to preach against sin that I wanted to include a vital portion of his letter here.

Too often in our day, people are not considered responsible for their own actions. Many in America have lost any real understanding of sin. We live in a society where killing, rape, and violence are part of our daily lives through movies, books, TV, and the Internet. Instead of wickedness and sin, we see entertainment. Instead of repentance, we shift responsibility. America accepts a nonstop stream of sin portrayed as entertainment, much of it delivered right into our homes, and when real-life wickedness interrupts, we watch with fascination instead of falling on our knees in prayer.

At the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, we are going to continue to preach against sin, calling it what it is, and we are going to continue to preach Jesus Christ who died on a cross for our sin. I’m not going to be politically correct. I’m not going to retreat. The Bible says, “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son,” and then it says, “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:11–12). ~ Franklin Graham

May God continue to bless the Graham's and the work they do in bringing people to Christ.

“The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).

Words Worth Repeating

Last week in one of Kay Arthur's lecture's she asked the question, "Are you living without knowing Who God is?" And if we know Who God is, are we living according to Who He is? Are we living a life worthy of Who God is?

Revelation 4:11 "Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created."

This song of praise comes from the four living creatures (lion, calf, face of man, eagle) who stand before God's throne and cry "Holy, holy, holy". Saying holy twice gives it emphasis but saying holy three times moves into the SUPERLATIVE. The lion is the king of the beasts. The ox/calf is a symbol of strength. The face of man is he who is above the other creatures, with the ability to communicate. The eagle is the majestic one, who when he is ready to die anchors himself on a rock and looks straight into the face of the sun until he dies.

Revelation 4:8 "And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within: and day and night they do not cease to say, "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY , WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME."

Is God Worthy? Those who have been closest to Him, who have been there from the beginning, cry out that God is "HOLY" or set apart, without taint, a Being of total and absolute perfection. "Holy" sums up all of the attributes of God. Those that hear every decree from the throne, who see how He rules and reigns , cry "Holy, holy, holy." Why? Because He is worthy.

Worthy means inherent value, the value that is within not because of what God has done but because of Who He is. God has INHERENT VALUE. His worth doesn't come from something apart from Himself.

Revelation 4:11 teaches that God is to receive glory, honor, and power. Glory (doxa)means to recognize, to have an opinion. So when we give God glory, it means that WE RECOGNIZE HIM FOR WHO HE IS. Honor (time) which means reverence, proper esteem. We revere God by FEARING HIM. Power (dunamis) means to be able or capable. He is capable of performing everything we see in the Word of God. Why is He capable? Because He has created all things. Nothing in life happens apart from God's intention/will/purpose. God is saying that we exist because He willed us to exist. And yes God willed the devil to exist but not the devil's choice to desire to be like God.

"Will" (thelema) comes from thelo which means "to will". The "-ma" on the end means the result of His will. It is NOT the result of demand but it is an expression of DESIRE, and expression of PLEASURE.

God wants you to know that HE HAS CREATED YOU FOR HIS PLEASURE, to bring Him joy. So when THELEMA is used of God, it indicated what God did of His good pleasure.

Colossians 1:15-16 "And He is the image of the invisible God, the First-born of all creation. (This does not mean Jesus was created but that He was there before creation.) For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created by Him and for Him.

So why were you created? You were created for God, for His good pleasure. Are you living for His pleasure or for your own pleasure? Are you living according to Who He is? Are you living according to the fact that He is worthy to receive glory and honor and power?

~Kay Arthur

Happy Anniversary Meagan & Jeremy!

What a wonderfully blessed 4 years it has been!!

A Prayer for Marriage by Kay Arthur

Father, whenever we communicate, help us to uphold the priority of our marriage, permitting no other relationship to weaken ours. May the word “divorce” never be formed on our tongue, never pronounced with our lips. May it never be considered as a viable option—for it strikes terror in the heart, fear and anger in the mind, and anxiety to our souls. And it grieves Your holy heart.

May we always, in all our conversations, uphold the oneness of our marriage, understanding that what affects one always affects the other.

May we allow open and honest communication, encourage vulnerability and authenticity. May we never be guilty of breaking each other’s spirit. Rather, may we affirm and strengthen one another so that together we can endure any weakness, any failure and not lose hope.

Father, help us to sharpen our communication skills. Teach us to communicate with our eyes—to convey our delight in the other’s presence, to say, “I love you,” to let our loved one know even in a crowded room, “You’re special to me.” Remind us to give each other the gift of our full attention when we talk.

Teach us to respond to what is said so that our mate knows he or she is being heard. Help us to keep a confidence, to build a wall of trust so that we are free to share all that is in our hearts. And as we listen, Lord, help us to avoid giving quick or pat answers. Help us to listen patiently. Remind us that our loved one does not always want advice. Sometimes we just want to be heard; to say it, and to get it off our chest.

Father, may we feel the freedom to open up and share our fears. Sometimes it is so difficult to admit weakness or fear, but we need to be able to talk to someone—and of all people, it should be our spouse. May we also know that we don’t always have to dispel each other’s fear—nor should we think we must have the cure. May we just learn to listen. . .listen and pray.

Father, we all need to have that sense of significance, of worth, of security, so teach us to continually look for ways, for words in private and in public, to build our loved one’s self-esteem. When one of us shares with the other, may we learn not to attack each other verbally. May the goal of all our conversations be for the building up of one another, the healing of one another, and the encouragement of one another so our loved one will want to talk, to communicate. May our words never be demeaning or destructive.

And finally, Father, when our tempers flare, may we make it a practice not to lay our heads on our pillows and close our eyes until we have resolved our anger. You tell us very clearly, “Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.”

As we look at the one lying on the pillow beside us, may we remember that this is the one to whom we made our vows to love in sickness and in heath, for richer or poorer, for better or worse until death do us part.

Help us realize, Father, that a marriage like the one we prayed for is a marriage that speaks to all the world of the power and indestructible joy of living in obedience to the Word of God. A marriage that demonstrates to the world that with You it is possible to have a marriage without regrets; a marriage that gives others a snapshot of the marriage of the Lamb and the heavenly home You have prepared for us.

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. Ephesians 5:31-32

Wonderful Christmas Reflections

Through the years Christmas has grown and traditions have naturally changed. This year Christmas began with the Christmas Eve candlelight service at Second Baptist Church with Dr. Ed Young. This has been our tradition for the last few years and it is a lovely service that never disappoints. As things have changed it was just Tony, Pat, Dan and I - a small but intimate family gathering! The night was filled with the traditional carols of the seasons and was focused on the redemptive power of the life of this child born in a manger.

We were delightfully surprised by a solo of "O Holy Night" done by Mark Ballas (Dancing With The Stars) Thanks, Mark, for making this video of that performance available to us! It was amazing!!!

Christmas morning was spent with Tony, me and Mr. Darcy opening our presents to each other. I decided to include the above video of Mr. Darcy receiving his bag of toys. He loooooves toys and was focused on one in particular!!

Jeremy and Meagan spent Christmas Eve with her Mom, Step dad, Grandmomo, sister and brother and were going to come over sometime after breakfast depending on Sawyer's schedule.

Can you guess where Josh and Jamie were spending Christmas this year? If you said the North Pole, I wouldn't have blamed you but it is Minneapolis!

In that tissue somewhere is the best baby in the whole world!! And I can say that because it is 11:30 am and at 2:00 pm he needs to be at his "Geeps" (Meagan's dad's) to celebrate with his family and at 4:00 pm he is going to try to see his great grandmother and great grandfather at my sisters house!!!

Sawyer loves books!! His favorite is his Bible and my prayer is that it will always be!!!

Look at that baby still in his cute Christmas jammies!!

One of his other favorite things is music! He loves clapping hands to songs and so we got him some musical shakers!

Did I mention he is cutting some new teeth. What he is holding is a large puzzle piece that has a large wooden knob on it that fits perfectly in his mouth!!!

OK, it may not have been the most practical gift but it is a signed picture of Colt McCoy and it is a happy memory for the Hamblen family. We were all present (including Sawyer) to see Colt's last game as a Longhorn! (Yes, he got hurt and yes, we lost but still...)

This gift was from Auntie Jamie and Uncle Josh and was a big hit!! It was a shame they weren't here live to see it but Josh did call and we were able to "face time" with him.

A lot of our pictures were blurred due to the fact Sawyer was a boy in motion!!

It is 4:30 pm Christmas Day and we are at my sister's home for an early dinner and he is still smiling!!! His shirt says "Mommy's Best Gift"! Too cute!

Pat's home was beautifully decorated and she could have fed the neighborhood and it was delicious as always! Sadly, as I am going through my pictures I don't see any of my sister or her delicious feast! That is indicative of the fact she was always working and my cameraman was eating when the food was ready! ;-)

Sawyer brought in one of his Christmas gifts from "Geep" to show the girls. And he was so sweet to share as they all wanted to play with it!

Hannah shared her ball with Sawyer!

More toys to open from Hannah and Kate!!

It was nice to have Erin home for Christmas this year! Now, if we can only get Lucas to come in on the same day!!! (Sorry, Amy, I don't think Tony realized you would be in the line of fire from the flash!)

What a sweet family!!

Meemaw and I were helping Katie acclimate to her new picnic table!!

And as we all prepare to go home so the babies can make their bedtimes, Tony takes one of my favorite photographs of the day!! I know it was a hard day for a lot of people but memories captured like this are priceless.

Change has always been very hard for me but that is what life is - change! And I am sure next year's holidays will change again but the one thing that never changes is God's love for us! It is like the explanation of the Christmas tree that I give my Sunday School class. I tell them we use an evergreen tree for our Christmas tree because God's love is everlasting! How does He love us..

Isaiah 49:16 says He loves us so much He engraved our name on the palm of His hand.

Matthew 10:30 says He loves us so much He knows how many hairs are on the top of our head.

Psalm 56:8 says He loves us so much He saves our tears in a bottle.

Jeremiah 31:3 says He loves us with an everlasting love.

And most importantly...

"This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." 1 John 4:10

God's holiness demanded that sin be paid for, and then God's love found a way!!

A Little Early Christmas...

When you have your Christmas pj's on and you have been a good boy all year (OK, eight months) then it is quite alright to receive a present a little early!!!

Not quite sure what to think about Dino?


OK, I get it now! He lights up and makes music! YEA!!




Lolly, I'm on board with a little early Christmas!! ;-)

"For you are our glory and joy."

1 Thessalonians 2:20