tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57718008137407209202024-03-13T22:13:31.199-07:00This Aint No DiscoIt Aint No Country Club EitherRandi Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09837810911422814520noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771800813740720920.post-49536489434248664122010-05-27T09:02:00.000-07:002010-05-27T09:38:54.150-07:00What stirs up your affections?<blockquote><i>If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Colossians 3:1-2</i></blockquote><div><b>We live in a time when we grow bored of things pretty quickly.</b> We have weeks where we have a favorite song, then we move on. We have a favorite television series, then we move on. A favorite past-time, then we move on. A favorite restaurant, then we move on. Yet, praise be to God, we can never learn all there is to learn about Jesus. God calls us to dwell on Jesus Christ, and there is no limit to what He will teach us. It will take an eternity to get into the depths of Jesus Christ. I read in my Bible today even, the last verse of the the book of John: <i>"Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written." </i></div><div><br /></div><div><b>So in Colossians above, we are asked to set our minds on things of God and not on earthly things.</b> So what are some practical ways to do this? There are a few basic principles that are true of everyone. I could go into each of these in greater detail and how they benefit all Christians, but my dad told me if I'm going to blog more often I should consider writing shorter blogs :) So I'll just list them here: Scripture, Prayer, Rest, Meditation, and Community. These benefits of each of these are spelled out many times in the Bible. However, there are other specific things we can do that are not necessarily right for everyone, but are right for you. So ask yourself these two questions:</div><div><br /></div><div>1. What stirs your affections for Jesus Christ?</div><div>2. What rob you of your affections for Jesus Christ?</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Matt Chandler asked these two questions of us on Sunday and I've been trying this week to consciously think about these things.</b> Consciously note times during the day when your affections are stirred up for Christ. These are different for everyone. I'll give you some examples. </div><div><br /></div><div><b> I see true worship from my dad in music. </b> I've seen him broken and humbled before God while listening to <i>My Redeemer</i> by Nicole C Mullen. He has numerous praise CDs in his truck and is always showing me different powerful songs that have touched his heart. He even buys DVDs of praise bands and congregations in worship. These are things that notably stir his affections for Jesus.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>My mom's affections are stirred in her friends.</b> She has other women in her life who are God-fearing women, Beth Moore types who talk about the wonderful things of God with each other. I see true happiness in my mom and a love for Jesus pours out of her when she talks about the community she has with these women. Being in their company stirs her affections for Christ.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>For me, I'm continuing to ask myself this question, and one thing I notice that stirs my affections are when I see and read of other's experiences with God.</b> I probably quote Donald Miller too much, but in the preface to Blue Like Jazz he says, </div><div><br /></div><div></div><blockquote><div><i>I never liked Jazz music because Jazz music doesn't resolve. But I was outside the Bagdad theatre in Portland one night when I saw a man playing the saxophone. I stood there for fifteen minutes (watching him), and he never opened his eyes. </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>After that I liked Jazz music.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. It is as if they are showing you the way. </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>I used to not like God because God didn't resolve. But that was before any of this happened...</i></div></blockquote><div></div><div>My path to finding God was different than his, but I think about his illustration of Jazz music, appreciating it after seeing the passion this man had for playing it, and then relating that to having a love for God when seeing other peoples affections for Him, and I can relate. I think this is just one of many things in my life that stir up my affections for God, and I want to continue to seek these things throughout my day and be conscious of them and dwell on them, as God asks us to do. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>On the flip side, regarding what robs you of your affections for Christ, these things are almost always not inherently immoral. </b> It's important to be aware of these morally neutral things. Almost always, they are not intrinsically evil, yet because we as man are, we tend to elevate them above where they should be. So what are these things that we make idols in our lives - we're all guilty of it. Be consciously aware, and set your minds on things of Christ, realizing what is earthly and what is Godly. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Randi Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09837810911422814520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771800813740720920.post-71722563982297826062010-05-19T09:06:00.000-07:002010-05-19T11:17:46.805-07:00Your Story is Bigger Than You Are<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;color:#444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana, serif;color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></p></span></span></span></span></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;color:#444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana, serif;color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></p><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote></blockquote></span><p></p><blockquote><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></p><blockquote></blockquote><p></p></blockquote></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana, serif;color:#000000;"></span></span></blockquote></blockquote><div><div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></p><blockquote><i>Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." But they cried out wiht a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. An the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Acts 7:54-60</i></blockquote><p></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Kind of makes you feel all warm and tingly inside, doesn't it? If there was a sarcasm font, I would use it there. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; min-height: 15.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>Yesterday I went to The Porch at Watermark, a church here in Dallas.</b> The message was very moving for me and I want to unpack it here. The basic outline is not mine, I'm going off of my notes from last night, but I'm adding my own illustrations and thoughts about what it meant to me personally.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; min-height: 15.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>Let me start by putting the passage above in some context.</b> When you read Acts, you're reading stories of the early stages of Christianity. It's full of passion and sacrifice and suffering and miracles and salvation and it's EPIC. If it were a movie I feel like it'd be right up their with 300 or Braveheart with Mel Gibson as the lead screaming "freedom!" Verses 54-60 (above) come in right after Stephen gives a powerful speech to the council and the high priest after being seized on claims of blasphemy. These claims are similar to what Jesus faced before dying on the cross - persecution for preaching the gospel. The entirety of Acts 7 is Stephen's speech to the council. I just went back and read it myself and encourage you to do so as well. He accused the council and the teachers of the law of resisting the Holy Spirit and murdering the "Righteous One." They were mad - mad enough to stone and kill him. And that's where the passage above comes in. Then following that passage, we see Saul (who later becomes Paul) ravaging the church and killing men and women who follow Christ. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; min-height: 15.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>Alright so now you have some background</b>. What I'm mainly going to talk about is living life to the fullest, and living your story, the story God wrote for you, the adventurous, epic, bigger than you, story. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; min-height: 15.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>I became a Christian at a very young age.</b> I'm thankful that I was taught the good news of the gospel so young, and was thus saved out of alot of sin and heartache that comes with living a life without God as a rock and the Holy Spirit in your heart. But I also never had this huge awakening moment where I pulled a complete 180 from a life of darkness to a life of light. As a result, I am guilty of being complacent in my relationship with God all too often. Because He is full of grace and mercy, I am always growing in my faith, but it's not always at my own initiative. I can be comfortable, and happy; I'm optimistic and things generally go my way. When they don't, I lean on the Father; when they do, I give Him thanks. But how boring is that? That isn't a life that God calls us to. Is that adventurous? Is it epic? </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; min-height: 15.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>A story of epic adventure always involves risk.</b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; min-height: 15.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>What does that mean for us now in the culture in which we exist?</b> What risk is there to take? We live in America where we aren't persecuted for believing in God. We face our own set of challenges and cultural influences, but we don't fear being stoned for standing up for the Faith. We drive nice cars, live in nice houses, have pets, and nice clothes, and gadgets and computers and ipads and iphones and everything we could possibly need and we are comfortable. So what risk is there to take? You won't find the answer here. Part of your story, part of your adventure - part of my story, and my adventure, is figuring out what risks we can take. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; min-height: 15.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>Here's a quote by Francis Chan: </b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; min-height: 15.0px"></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; line-height: 21.0px; font: 12.0px 'American Typewriter'; color: #444444"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i></i></span></p><i><blockquote>“The truth is that the Spirit of the living God is guaranteed to ask you to go somewhere or do something you wouldn’t normally want or choose to do. The Spirit will lead you into the way of the cross, as He led Jesus to the cross, and that is definitely not a safe or pretty or comfortable place to be. The Holy Spirit of God will mold you into the person you were made to be…”</blockquote></i><p></p><p></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; min-height: 15.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 21.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; color: #444444"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>Last night, the preacher said this: "Take a risk. Let's go write a story."</b> And I was excited. He gave an illustration about taking his little girls to Disneyworld. He talked about how he has one of the nicest strollers around. It's like the deluxe of the strollers. It's comfortable and they love it. They almost always fall asleep in it it's so comfortable. But then once they got on the rides at Disneyworld and were taking risks (for a 3 year old) and were being adventurous, he couldn't get them back into the comfort of their stroller. He had to park it somewhere while they ran all over the theme park. My thought is that that is exactly what taking risks does to you. Once you start living an adventure, you don't want to go back to the life of comfort you were living before. The risk no longer scares you. It excites you. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 21.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; color: #444444; min-height: 15.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 21.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; color: #444444"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>Many years ago I read a verse in Isaiah: "Here am I! Send me!" - Isaiah 6:8.</b> That verse has stuck with me for 15+ years. I didn't set out to memorize it. And though arguably it wasn't hard to memorize because it's only 5 words, I have never forgotten it. I think the reason for that is that it terrified me. I wouldn't have admitted that to myself then. As a Christian we are called to die to ourselves daily, to take up our cross and follow Him. It stands to reason that we should be willing to go where God calls us. But for me, that verse was more than obeying God, and more than living out my faith. It meant going some place that was uncomfortable. It meant shaking my world up a bit, and taking a risk. Somewhere along the way, and I only recently came to this realization, so maybe it's been a recent occurrence, it doesn't scare me anymore. It only excites me. I also believe now that as I set out to take risks, and I set out to live the adventure God has waiting for me, the risks only lead you into more of an intimacy with God. With an intimacy with God comes an ear for His words, His truth, and His guidance. And with that comes living a life to the fullest. "I have come that they may have life and have it to the full" (John 10:10). </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 21.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; color: #444444; min-height: 15.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 21.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; color: #444444"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>Risks will always present obstacles. The response is up to us.</b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 21.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; color: #444444; min-height: 15.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 21.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; color: #444444"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>Note Stephen's response to the "grinding teeth" of the councilmen. </b> He "gazed into Heaven" at Jesus. He didn't look at the circumstances and the trials around him or at his problems. A mob of men with stones in their hands I think would constitute as a problem. God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Our circumstances are what change. Jesus should be the focus. In everything, it all comes back to Jesus. My prayer for myself is that I would be so captivated by my Father that I am willing to wait and wait and wait just to be in His presence. When we have obstacles in our lives, we are called to gaze at Jesus.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 21.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; color: #444444; min-height: 15.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 21.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; color: #444444"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>Your story is bigger than you.</b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 21.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; color: #444444; min-height: 15.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 21.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; color: #444444"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>Look at the passage in Acts again.</b> Stephen's speech in all of Chapter 7 is about the great story. It's a summary of God's promise to Abraham, of Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, all the way up to Jesus. It's the great story. And now Stephen is playing his part. He's living his adventure. And when his story seems to end, when he is stoned to death, his garments are laid at the feet of Saul. Saul ravages the church. Christians are scattered, yet the gospel moves forward. Saul becomes Paul. All because Stephen's story is bigger than himself. Paul, as you know, goes on to write half of the new testament. Everything we do in our lives affects other people's stories. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 21.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; color: #444444; min-height: 15.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 21.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; color: #444444"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>Your story is bigger than you and what you do with your story is up to you.</b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 21.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; color: #444444; min-height: 15.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 21.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; color: #444444"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>One of my most favorite authors is Donald Miller. </b> He recently wrote a book called "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years." Coincidentally, the book runs right alongside this idea of living out a great story. As a quick summary, Donald Miller wrote Blue Like Jazz, a New York Times best-seller; you've probably heard of it. Some guys wanted to make a movie out of the book, so they spent some time with Donald Miller writing the script. But as they were writing, they changed his entire life to make it appealing to a large audience. This sent Donald into a sort of depression, because he realized that he hadn't really done much with his life after writing that book. There was this high from having a best-seller, and then he didn't really do anything else that exciting. And so though the process of writing this screenplay, he began to think about what makes a story great. Alot of what he said matches what I wrote above. A story involves risk, an inciting incident, a character who wants something and won't stop until he gets it. There's more involved, but the point I'm making is that he set out to live a great story and has done some amazing things since. He rode his bike from the Pacific Ocean all the way to the Atlantic. He started a mentorship project for children in need of a father-figure. Among other things. He's living a greater story now. And he inspired me to live a greater story. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 21.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; color: #444444; min-height: 15.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 21.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; color: #444444"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>This is one of the reasons I decided to do Timothy Team. </b> My world as I know it flipping upside down for me to go do this for a year. It's all in God's timing and He made it clear to me that this is what He wants me to do. But in essence, it's a risk. I am taking it, and I see it as being an adventure and an experience. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 21.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; color: #444444; min-height: 15.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 21.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; color: #444444"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>Back to A Million Miles in a Thousand Years and your story being bigger than yours, there's a quote that sticks with me from that book.</b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 21.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; color: #444444; min-height: 15.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 18.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; color: #101010"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></p><blockquote><i>He said to me I was a tree in a story about a forest, and that it was arrogant of me to believe any differently. And he told me the story of the forest is better than the story of the tree... At one point I turned when I heard a tree drop a heavy limb to the ground. I sat by the fire until the sun came up; and asked God to help me understand the story of the forest and what it meant to be a tree in that story.</i></blockquote><p></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 18.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; color: #101010; min-height: 15.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 18.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; color: #101010"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>In my own story, I want to be the central character. </b> But the story is not central to anyone else but me. We may all want life to congratulate us and to be comfortable, but that's not what it's about. We are a small part of a much larger story, and the best we can do is find the places where our story can weave together with the stories around us. That's being the body of Christ. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 18.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; color: #101010; min-height: 15.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 18.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; color: #101010"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>And to close, I want to share a quote my mom emailed to me recently</b>. I don't know what I want to do for a career in my life, it's one of the great questions I'm asking now. But I do know that I want to live a great story, a great adventure and take risks. And I want to do as this quote says:</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 18.0px; font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; color: #101010; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 18.0px; font: 12.0px 'American Typewriter'; color: #101010"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></p><blockquote><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 18.0px; font: 12.0px 'American Typewriter'; color: #101010"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i>Don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.</i></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 18.0px; font: 12.0px 'American Typewriter'; color: #101010"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i> -Gil Bailie</i></span></p></blockquote><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 18.0px; font: 12.0px 'American Typewriter'; color: #101010"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></p><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'American Typewriter', serif;font-size:100%;color:#101010;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; line-height: 21.0px; font: 12.0px 'American Typewriter'; color: #444444"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>Live life and live it to the full.</b></span></p></span></span></div></div></div>Randi Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09837810911422814520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771800813740720920.post-13744826978221807362010-05-18T10:21:00.000-07:002010-05-18T11:03:03.822-07:00"Return home and tell how much God has done for you." - Luke 8:39<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>I decided to do a little light reading this morning.</b> I'm house-sitting at my Aunt and Uncle's house and Aunt Diane always has an abundance of books around to read. Here's an excerpt from "Walking with God" by John Eldredge.<br /><br /></span></span><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">When Ernest Hemingway wrote </span></span><span style="font-style:italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Green Hills of Africa</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> in 1953, he felt he was taking a worthy risk: "[I have] attempted to write an absolutely true book to see whether the shape of a country and the pattern of a months action can, if truly presented, compete with the work of the imagination." How much more valuable might this be if we could share with one another the stories of our true encounters with God - not the mountaintop ones - but the everyday encounters, as they are lived out over a year.</span></span></blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /><b>I started thinking about this and how powerful it could be - in my own life and in the lives of those around me</b>. I believe I am most overcome with humility and awe when I look back over recent events in my life to see God's hand in everything - even the minute details. I believe God calls us to do this and I don't do it enough. How powerful and moving would it be if I did this daily? On a grand scale, I think in pausing to see my daily encounters with God and to write them out, I will be able to better discern the voice of God and have an intimacy with Him unlike anything I've ever experienced. Additionally, how much more of an impact would it have on my life, on my outlook, on my attitude?<br /><br /><b>Now having a daily relationship with the Lord is not a new concept to me.</b> I've heard and experienced the benefits of that my entire life. But I'm coming at it from a different angle - to actually take note of his presence and where I think He is moving and what He is showing me - </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">and to tell others about it</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. Seeing and hearing about God from others is uplifting. I don't think our culture - even in Christian circles - encourages this enough. Sure, there are Christian leaders who write books or blogs and tweet and tell others about Christ and the many wonderful works of God, but they are essentially being paid to do this. They have made a living out of crusading for Christ. Don't get me wrong, I am not lessening their impact. I am thankful for them and the effect on my life, and I am not saying that they wouldn't be doing this if they hadn't developed a career around doing so. I am merely pointing out that as a culture, we don't talk about the everyday little things that God does in our lives. And it is DAILY. I certainly don't. I talk about the life-altering things. I talk about the major mile-stones and give credit to God. I talk about the sermon I heard at church and the effect it had on me. But I don't talk about the "everyday" enough. If I'm being honest, I don't even acknowledge the glory and power of God, or the daily outpourings of His love to </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">myself</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> on a daily basis. </span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>Each of our lives is a story to be told.</b> God is the author and He is in the details. And as Ernest Hemingway hinted, it's more powerful and worthy of being told than anything the imagination could produce. And we should be talking about these things. To each other. Not holding them in and tucking them away, checking them off in your mind as personal growth. We are a community and the body of Christ, and hearing of each others encounters with God encourages us all to grow and moves us into a deeper intimacy with our Creator, which is ultimately why we were created and what we are commanded to do. </span></span></div><div><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-23907" style="line-height: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: text-top; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">36</span></span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" </span></span><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-23908" style="line-height: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: text-top; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">37</span></span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'</span></span><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-23909" style="line-height: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: text-top; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">38</span></span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This is the first and greatest commandment. </span></span><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-23910" style="line-height: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: text-top; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">39</span></span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' </span></span><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-23911" style="line-height: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: text-top; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">40</span></span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." - Matthew 22:26-40</span></span></blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>So this is my quest</b>: to share my daily stories of my true encounters with God. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I believe this quote from Frederick Buechner is poignant:</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><blockquote></blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"></span></span></div><blockquote><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">There is something more than a little disconcerting about writing your autobiography. When people have occasionally asked me what I am working on, I have found it impossible to tell them without an inward blush. As if anybody cares or should care...</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Bud I do it anyway. I do it because it seems to me that no matter who you are, and no matter how eloquent or otherwise, if you tell your own story with sufficient candor and concreteness, it will be an interesting story and in some sense a universal story...</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and the church, then I think that he speaks to us largely through what happens to us, so what I have done in this book... is to listen back over what has happened to me - as I hope my readers may be moved to listen back over what has happened to them - for the sound, above all else of his voice ... [For] his word to us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling. (</span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Now and Then</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">)</span></span></div></blockquote>Randi Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09837810911422814520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771800813740720920.post-22223901759929935382009-11-09T09:42:00.001-08:002009-11-09T09:44:24.246-08:00I am what I am<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/SvhUwyeiVkI/AAAAAAAAAPI/BqIQs0W9lNA/s1600-h/i+am+what+i+am.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/SvhUwyeiVkI/AAAAAAAAAPI/BqIQs0W9lNA/s400/i+am+what+i+am.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402160950191216194" /></a>Randi Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09837810911422814520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771800813740720920.post-82327615562548166872009-11-02T23:41:00.000-08:002010-04-24T08:38:59.503-07:00The Pioneer Woman CooksPioneer Woman has a cookbook!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/Sp65iCwsVLI/AAAAAAAAAOo/ky197-uk310/s1600-h/thepioneerwomancooks500.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/Sp65iCwsVLI/AAAAAAAAAOo/ky197-uk310/s400/thepioneerwomancooks500.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376938999634744498" border="0" /></a>She's also going on a Griswold style book tour and will be in Dallas Dec. 2nd! I am CAPS LOCK EXCITED. Alicia and I are going to put together some sort of gift for her, selfishly hoping she'll blog about it. And maybe a note, lightly suggesting that she invite us back to the ranch for a evening of wine and cooking. You know, we wouldn't say NO!Randi Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09837810911422814520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771800813740720920.post-80044677265059681202009-11-02T23:38:00.000-08:002009-11-02T21:42:56.715-08:00Glee - All the Single LadiesI have a love hate relationship with television. I hate it so much that I refuse to own one. I love it so much that I watch television online anyway because I just can't stay away. And it's that time of year again. Fall season. Where my after work life is filled with premiers of my favorite series and new premiers. This season, I am already loving GLEE. It's hilarious. I love Wednesdays because of Glee. So I wanted to share three clips with you. The first is Beyonce's video to All the Single Ladies. The second is Glee's reenactment of that video. The third is the football team's reenactment. And you can bet that I have reenacted it a few times on the dance floor myself. Hilarious. Enjoy!<br /><br />You actually have to link to Beyonce's video. I can't embed it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mVEGfH4s5g<br /><br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/C2FMdOLyRcA&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/C2FMdOLyRcA&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />If loving Glee is wrong, I don't want to be right.Randi Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09837810911422814520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771800813740720920.post-87879878117576801042009-11-02T21:03:00.000-08:002009-11-02T21:18:20.132-08:00Playing Around In Photoshop<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/Su-78ZhOVfI/AAAAAAAAAOw/LoDAsqI9_IM/s1600-h/guitar.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/Su-78ZhOVfI/AAAAAAAAAOw/LoDAsqI9_IM/s400/guitar.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399741124557297138" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Is this photo awesome or what? Please tell me it is! I've always liked the picture- mainly because it makes me look like I can play a guitar. A picture tells a thousand words, right? No one ever said those words had to be true! But now my newly enhanced vintage-esque photo editing makes me look like I can <span style="font-style: italic;">really</span> play.<br /><br />Here's the original.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/Su-8fS65YNI/AAAAAAAAAO4/cz3-wQ37Ask/s1600-h/random+photos+100.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/Su-8fS65YNI/AAAAAAAAAO4/cz3-wQ37Ask/s400/random+photos+100.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399741724081348818" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Sweet.<br /><br />If loving photoshop is wrong, I don't want to be right.<br /></div>Randi Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09837810911422814520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771800813740720920.post-28146239715897196022009-08-18T18:29:00.000-07:002009-08-18T16:29:56.322-07:00Quigley<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyC1mojQuT1Dqxb_kf2ODip7jT96xIfCbLyI3QHhxXxe0hn4dX4S1mtDePOpnapEr_-_b7h1UMuvz617zDung' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br />Watch my Aussie pup Quigley attempt to retrieve a water bottle for me. He has a bit of a hard time grasping it in all of his enthusiasm.Randi Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09837810911422814520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771800813740720920.post-35978644802793341272009-08-17T18:00:00.000-07:002009-08-18T15:33:34.187-07:00Check out this CD!!<style>.nabbrdiv {width : 300px;background-color : white;display : block;border: 0px;*width: 310px}.nabbrdiv a, img {border-style : none;}</style>All star GOSPEL CD with mainstream artists - paired with gospel choirs - with their own style. Glory hallelujah!<br /><div style="width: 100%;"><div class="nabbrdiv"><br /><a href="http://bandtools.nabbr.com/bandtools/director.php?bandid=537&linkid=1&affiliateid=0&instanceid=0f3e0e5556d3029bc8f05f48e743b1b8" target="_blank"><img src="http://bandtools.nabbr.com/bandtools/media/bands/band_537/images/banners/band_537_top1.gif" /></a><a href="http://bandtools.nabbr.com/bandtools/director.php?bandid=537&linkid=2&affiliateid=0&instanceid=0f3e0e5556d3029bc8f05f48e743b1b8" target="_blank"><img src="http://bandtools.nabbr.com/bandtools/media/bands/band_537/images/banners/band_537_top2.gif" /></a><a href="http://bandtools.nabbr.com/bandtools/director.php?bandid=537&linkid=3&affiliateid=0&instanceid=0f3e0e5556d3029bc8f05f48e743b1b8" target="_blank"><img src="http://bandtools.nabbr.com/bandtools/media/bands/band_537/images/banners/band_537_top3.gif" /></a><a href="http://bandtools.nabbr.com/bandtools/director.php?bandid=537&linkid=4&affiliateid=0&instanceid=0f3e0e5556d3029bc8f05f48e743b1b8" target="_blank"><img src="http://bandtools.nabbr.com/bandtools/media/bands/band_537/images/banners/band_537_top4.gif" /></a><br /></div><div class="nabbrdiv"><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="300" height="300"><br /><param name="movie" value="http://bandtools.nabbr.com/bandtools/media/players/player2.swf?bandId=537&playerId=537&autoPlay=0&affiliateId=982&showCodes=&instanceId=e5cb9184cd831a1e992774cf52df10f7"><br /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><param name="allowDomain" value="any"><param name="width" value="300"> <param name="height" value="300"><param name="FlashVars" value="pageurl=_"><br /><embed src="http://bandtools.nabbr.com/bandtools/media/players/player2.swf?bandId=537&playerId=537&autoPlay=0&affiliateId=982&showCodes=&instanceId=e5cb9184cd831a1e992774cf52df10f7" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowdomain="any" allowscriptaccess="always" flashvars="pageurl=_" width="300" height="300"></embed></object><br /></div><div class="nabbrdiv"><a href="http://bandtools.nabbr.com/bandtools/director.php?bandid=537&linkid=5&affiliateid=0&instanceid=0f3e0e5556d3029bc8f05f48e743b1b8" target="_blank"><img src="http://bandtools.nabbr.com/bandtools/media/bands/band_537/images/banners/band_537_bot1.gif" /></a><a href="http://bandtools.nabbr.com/bandtools/director.php?bandid=537&linkid=6&affiliateid=0&instanceid=0f3e0e5556d3029bc8f05f48e743b1b8" target="_blank"><img src="http://bandtools.nabbr.com/bandtools/media/bands/band_537/images/banners/band_537_bot2.gif" /></a><a href="http://bandtools.nabbr.com/bandtools/director.php?bandid=537&linkid=7&affiliateid=0&instanceid=0f3e0e5556d3029bc8f05f48e743b1b8" target="_blank"><img src="http://bandtools.nabbr.com/bandtools/media/bands/band_537/images/banners/band_537_bot3.gif" /></a><a href="http://bandtools.nabbr.com/bandtools/director.php?bandid=537&linkid=8&affiliateid=0&instanceid=0f3e0e5556d3029bc8f05f48e743b1b8" target="_blank"><img src="http://bandtools.nabbr.com/bandtools/media/bands/band_537/images/banners/band_537_bot4.gif" /></a><br /></div><br /></div><br /><img src="http://bandtools.nabbr.com/implog.php&bandId=537&playerId=537&autoPlay=0&affiliateId=0&instanceId=0f3e0e5556d3029bc8f05f48e743b1b8&nby=1" width="0" height="0" />Randi Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09837810911422814520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771800813740720920.post-57989967715965423912009-06-10T19:52:00.000-07:002009-06-10T20:33:23.528-07:00Video montage of Abby's Visit to LA!Abby visited me in LA this weekend and we did about as much sight-seeing as we could fit in. I don't know how we did it! Here's a collection of the shots. Enjoy!<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw8affGRaZWBSXw0ga0BdzvOaZ08DowtaKK1XVenWIhx0Z71ZwNU0xCbdQCxIbVlpOcI-NtunAvDIT0i36iKQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Randi Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09837810911422814520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771800813740720920.post-57349108043356060272009-06-01T09:39:00.001-07:002009-06-02T22:47:24.650-07:00Unagi<object width="500" height="405"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-z6yrcvPq10&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-z6yrcvPq10&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="405"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />Unagi is my favorite sushi. MMMM... and I'm going to be having some Unagi courtesy of Elise Carter when I win this blogging competition.<br /><br />I tried to find some pictures of Unagi to post, but all the ones on google look a bit gross, so I'll spare you.<br /><br />The terms: 14 posts in 28 days. If Elise or I fail, we owe the other dinner. Sushi actually.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/SiQzCJAKxvI/AAAAAAAAAMI/Xij4oxjUUzU/s1600-h/P1000349.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/SiQzCJAKxvI/AAAAAAAAAMI/Xij4oxjUUzU/s400/P1000349.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342451169837631218" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Game on.<br /></div>Randi Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09837810911422814520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771800813740720920.post-19369300099728506682009-05-28T11:12:00.000-07:002009-05-28T18:58:53.377-07:00Consider the Lilies...So this is a pretty major blog post. I am wanting to tell about the amazing author that God is of my life. I look back over my time here in California, the steps that I took to get here and then to go back home, and am amazed, speechless, and overwhelmed. I also look back at the journey of faith that I have taken, and am again amazed by God's hand in my life, by His grace, by His love, and the fact that I am not worthy nor responsible for any of the blessings. It's humbling, it points all glory to God, and I feel that I should give account. - "Return home and tell how much God has done for you." - Luke 8:39<br /><br />"O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago." - Isaiah 25:1<br /><br />So... where to begin? I will go back 2 years to College. Actually - let me go back 6 years to graduating High School. I remember in Senior English having to write a career paper about what I wanted as a career and where I wanted to go to college. I wanted to be a Pediatrician and go to Baylor University. That was beginning of senior year. By the end of senior year, I was planning to attend Texas A&M University declaring General Studies because I had <span style="font-style: italic;">no</span> idea what I wanted to do. I remember there being a lot of pressure in high school and in the beginning of college to have the next four years of your life planned out. Even talking to recent high school grads - I see them going through the same turmoil.<br /><br />For example, say you're considering architecture but have no idea if that's what you want to do. Architecture classes start freshman year. If you go through general studies and get all of your core classes out of the way and then decide sophomore or even junior year that maybe you want to be in architecture, you're already behind in the game. And what if you decide you want to do architecture freshman year but then by sophomore or junior year you decide it's not for you - you've lost many hours that don't transfer over - again, behind in the game.<br /><br />At least that's the way of thinking you go through when deciding what you want to do. It's a lot of pressure. These decisions could affect the rest of your life.<br /><br />BUT, looking back, I would tell myself not to worry; not to fret. That's what I want to tell all of the high school grads I know. I would imagine (and this statistic is completely pulled out of thin air) that at least 50 to 75% of all people don't end up doing what they originally decided they wanted to do when they started college. And maybe 20% of the ones that do, only do so because they got into something they could not escape because of the invested time - leaving only 5% who knew what they wanted to do from the time they were born and pursued that goal until they succeeded. Again, statistics are completely made up but they serve to make my point. I actually did tell a mom and her daughter my thoughts on this while I was on a plane ride back to Texas a few months ago. They were flying around visiting potential colleges and trying to choose a major. They were frazzled and stressed and asked my experiences. The best advice I could give was to not fret. "Who of you add a day to your life by worrying?" These things have a way of working themselves out - and I have learned, that it's God who works them out.<br /><br />I went off on a bit of a tangent. But God makes these things clear when you look back. He was in control the whole time. I started out General Studies and quickly figured out in my Biology class that I didn't want to be a doctor. I have always been good at Science, but I realized I just couldn't be passionate about it. And 4 years of college, plus med school, plus residency, before you ever "make it" - that requires PASSION. Of which I was lacking for the DNA sequence, homeostasis, ribosomes, bacteria, archaea, eucaryota, etc.<br /><br />But I knew I liked kids. So I decided to declare early childhood education as my major. I even convinced myself this was what God wanted. Any maybe He did for that season of my life. I remember winning a scholarship because of a paper I wrote on the difference I would make in the world as a teacher - I found passion - or something resembling passion.<br /><br />I went through 2 years of taking childhood education classes and "observing" at schools. I made friends and a sort of home within the education department at A&M. I realize this happens mainly because the education classes are all in one building at A&M and it starts to become your own mini-high school where you see the same people everyday. But something still didn't sit right with me. I realize this Junior year - 3 years into my college education - and now more reason to worry.<br /><br />Going away to College does an amazing thing for your faith and your relationship with God if you pursue that. I became a Christian at an early age, grew up in the church, and had a pretty steady walk with God throughout my whole life, thanks to the way my parents raised me and the great youth program my church has. But when you go away, there's no one there making sure you go to church or stay on the straight and narrow. You really take your faith as your own. God becomes so much more to you. At least that's what happened to me. I discovered and rediscovered a new kind of relationship with my Father.<br /><br />So all the while that I'm trying to figure out what the heck I want to do with my life, I'm learning what it means to completely trust in God; I'm learning about total surrender (this is something I'm still learning and probably always will). I take the plunge and decide I don't want to be a teacher. I even remember the exact moment I came to this realization. I was sitting in the living room of my friend LeeAnne's house. We had spent the day laying out in her backyard swimming pool. And when I say swimming pool I mean horse trough that LeeAnne put pool lining in. We live up to the good Aggie name. :) Anyways, I knew I didn't want to be a teacher but I didn't know what I wanted to be. I figured I could apply for the business school because that would widen the possibilities of what I could do upon graduation. My creative brain naturally pushed me toward Marketing, so 2nd semester of Junior year I change my major yet again to Marketing. I had to remind myself over and over again that God had a plan and I just needed to trust and surrender. I was learning about how, in the words of James McDonald, "there's not a dot." God doesn't always have your exact career path lined out; He gives us free-will to make those decisions, all the while seeking His guidance and staying in His will. I learned that His will could be that I be a teacher or a nurse (random - I've never wanted to be a nurse). But I knew I could be either one or any number of other professions and still be "in His will" as long as I'm staying in a relationship with Him, praying, seeking His guidance, etc. That should be comforting, but to me, it was a bit scary to learn that. That meant that there wasn't an EXACT path that I had to follow, and that decisions - even while completely seeking His will - could send me one way or the other. But either way, God is with me and He does have an ultimate plan, even if I fill in some of the details. It's hard to explain - but I think that's why so much of God is a mystery - incomprehensible. I feel that I have the lesson grasped now - but learning it was a definite process. But each decision I've made and each step of the journey that has gotten me to where I am now has confirmed what I've learned and confirmed that God has been the author every step of the way, even when my faith wasn't what it should have been, even when I knew not to worry yet I still couldn't shake the fears and concerns.<br /><br />"If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself." - 2 Timothy 2:13<br /><br />Okay, so fast forward a bit to Senior year. Suprisingly, even after the 3 different major declarations, I graduated in 4 years and a summer. At this point, I'm finished with pretty much all of my business courses and marketing courses, and still have no clue what I want to do. I remember looking through monster.com at job descriptions for various jobs and being overwhelmed with feelings of not being prepared or being indecisive. I remember looking back and wondering if I had made bad choices (wishing I had gotten into architecture or environmental design freshman year) or being mad at myself for not figuring out at an early age where I wanted to be in the future and making decisions based on that. But that wouldn't have required as much blind faith, would it? I wouldn't trade my path for anything. Trials make you stronger and increase your faith. I've also always had a bit of "wanderlust" and thought about traveling and seeing the world (nevermind that I can't afford this). So when my cousin has a fairytale of her own and falls head over heels for a boy out in California, I jump at the chance to move with her to the West Coast upon graduation, much to the dismay of my friends and family. I just keep playing the line in Pretty Woman: "Welcome to Hollywood! What's your dream? Everybody comes here; this is Hollywood, land of dreams. Some dreams come true, some don't; but keep on dreamin' - this is Hollywood. Always time to dream, so keep on dreamin'. " Though I didn't come out here to be an actress, I was coming to Hollywood, the land of dreams. So I was thinking that and the classic Tom Petty song<span style="font-style: italic;"> Into the Great Wide Open.<br /><br />"</span>Eddie waited till he finished high school<br />He went to hollywood, got a tattoo<br />He met a girl out there with a tattoo too<br />The future was wide open"<br />...<br />"Into the great wide open,<br />Under them skies of blue<br />Out in the great wide open,<br />A rebel without a clue"<br /><br />Though I've never been a self-professed rebel, listening to a Tom Petty song has a way of taking you there. It seemed like an adventure I wanted to take, an experience. I was restless and needed an adventure. But I prayed about it a lot. I struggled with knowing whether I was placing my own desires over what I thought God wanted. I prayed often to God that going to California was something I wanted, but asking that He would show me if it wasn't His will - that He would close doors and give me new desires if what I was doing was impulsive and not something He desired for me. But all He seemed to do was open doors. Every single thing fell into place.<br /><br />Natalie and I knew we were moving to Valencia, so I needed to find a job there. I looked on monster.com and found a sales rep was needed for United Shipping Solutions in Valencia. I didn't know if wanted to do sales. Thoughts of annoying telemarketers kept coming to mind, and I didn't want to hate doing my job. But the job description seemed appealing and I knew I could support myself in California with a higher cost of living if I was successful at this job. It was all about baby steps. I would apply, find out as much as I could, ask the right questions, and pray that God would lead me in the right direction. I probably applied to 10 different jobs that day on Monster, a mix of marketing and sales jobs. The only company that expressed interest was United Shipping Solutions and they called me back <span style="font-style: italic;">that day.</span> I think this is a testament to the professionalism and to the type of company that I am in now more than anything. I am blessed beyond words to be apart of this company. But more on that later. This was the first interview I had done. I started the interview not knowing if this was something I wanted, and ended it knowing that I had to have this job. Needless to say the interview went well and I was scheduled for an in-person interview and a ride-day for the week that my cousin and I were going out there to look for a place to live. That interview went well as well and by the end of the week I was offered a job. And if that's not evidence enough that God had His hand in this, I haven't even gotten to the good part yet. The job required a week long training. I already had an exact move date of Sept 16th picked out, because I was not the only one moving - my cousin was involved too and so we had to plan together. Training started on Sept 10th - and in DALLAS. They never had training in Dallas before but training ended exactly a day before I was set to move all of my stuff with my cousin from Dallas to LA. I couldn't have written it better myself.<br /><br />On the flip side, from my boss's perspective, he was wondering how he was going to staff an office in Valencia. Valencia is more of a family town, a suburb outside of LA, and not exactly a destination for young urban professionals - not as glamorous as downtown LA or somewhere on the beach. But that was exactly where I needed to be, living less than 10 minutes from the office. So even from his perspective, it was perfect fit.<br /><br />So I set out for California with all details perfectly in place, excited about the opportunities and experiences ahead of me. The job turned out to be amazing. I loved every bit of it, and turned out to actually be pretty good at it. On top of that, I have a great boss who is an even better teacher and have learned so much about business from him and from my customers.<br /><br />But, despite the beautiful weather and the endless things to do in LA, about 3 months into it I was second-guessing my decision to come. I went from having an abundance of friends, having to actually find "me-time," and running myself into the ground with social activities in college, to knowing absolutely no one beyond my cousin and her fiance's family and having more than enough me-time. I couldn't find a church I liked, making friends didn't come as easily as it did in Texas - I won't get into the dynamics of California people versus Texas people, but even social networking is a different game. It took me a while to get used to it. Whereas in Texas, I could meet someone one night and be best friends with them for years to come, in California cultivating friendships takes a bit more effort. I struggled with seeing all of the reasons I came out to begin with because I was lonely. So during this time my prayer was that God would show me He truly wanted me here, that He would at least give me a contentedness. Thankfully, I had an amazing job. Because of how well I was doing with work and the enjoyment I got from that, I could focus on that, and soon God answered my prayer and I was happy and loving Calfornia. I even was thinking that I would stay out here indefinitely and take advantage of all of the opportunities for advancement that my job had to offer - a complete 180 from the feelings I was having three months into the move.<br /><br />Fast forward again to October, 2008 and the demise of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG, and the credit market, and things are looking pretty shaky. Because DHL couldn't hack it in this economy, they left the US and there went most of my commission. Needless to say, the future of my company was uncertain at this point. Many of the franchises were getting out and taking their business elsewhere or dissolving their companies completely. We, thankfully, stuck with it and waited out the storm. At least I was waiting it out, I know my boss was doing a lot of work and analyzing the market on his own. I completely trusted him and felt quite a bit of loyalty to him and the company because of all the benefits I had received from it thus far. But during this time, I spent a lot of time again on my knees and learning to trust God. Living in Texas in a bad economy was looking a lot better to me than living in California in a bad economy. But I was in a great position right where I was, and if we could weather that economic storm, I knew I would be okay. I kept my options open, though, and looked around for jobs in Texas. I spent a lot of time battling within myself to be patient and wait on the Lord. I didn't want to make any major moves out of fear and uncertainty, and I wanted it all to be in God's timing. The thing I kept feeling Him tell me was to wait. To wait on the Lord. You would think by now I'd have the surrender-my-own-will thing down pat but I'm still a work-in-progress. But I waited. I kept looking for open windows, kept looking for opportunities, but all the while I prayed for His guidance. During that time, you can say you're waiting and have faith, but it's a constant mind battle; I was constantly questioning whether or not I was having enough faith. I was constantly questioning if I was hearing from God, if I was aware of His leadings or was I missing something completely. But looking back, I was waiting. I was praying. And even though God wasn't giving me an answer loud and clear, He was teaching me to have faith in Him. <br /><br />Now the future of my company is very bright. I am so thankful that I didn't pursue any job leads that I had in Texas. I am so thankful that I waited it out. A few months ago, my boss told me he was planning on making me a sales manager, I would manage reps in the territory I'm in now, while he moved to a new territory to expand, and then he would eventually give me ownership. I took that as an opportunity to ask him if he would ever consider opening a franchise in Texas and letting me run it there, and he was totally open to it. I couldn't believe it! I hadn't even considered asking him; it just sort of came out. We did research of the economic environment and the freight environment in Texas, and about a month later, I'm scheduled to end up in Dallas in July! I received a promotion to a sales manager. I'll eventually have reps under me, and as the territory expands, I'll have managers managing those reps. The possibilities are endless. I'll be able to continue to grow as a salesperson and experience all the great benefits of this job, all while being in Texas. And you all know the role Texas plays in my heart. I just don't think I could have written a plan for my life any better than that. God has been the author every step of the way, even when I probably wasn't releasing control of the pen. That's how all-powerful He is. I asked Him to be Lord of my life and He is. And I am thriving as a result. Praise Him.<br /><br />I always said that God worked it out perfectly for me to get to California, and I knew He would work it out perfectly for me to get back to Texas (unless I was destined to be a Cali girl forever, in which case I assumed He would show me that too).<br /><br />Oh but wait, that's not all. I needed to find a place to live in Dallas. This I didn't stress too much about, but God, in all His faithfulness, worked that out faster than I was planning to. I had pretty much narrowed my search down to Uptown/White Rock Lake area. I messaged a friend of mine on facebook who I knew was in Dallas to tell her I was moving there, and long story short, a unit in her 4-plex was going to be available in July, the exact month I planned to move. And it was in Lakewood - exactly where I had been searching. And it had wood floors - a feature I was hoping to have. And I can have a dog- the one requirement I had. And it's bigger than my place now. And I'm saving $500 a month. And Jennifer will be my neighbor. And it's about a mile from White Rock Lake - I was hoping to live near the lake. Crazy??? Divine actually. I'm in awe!<br /><br />So I say all of this, not to point to any successes I've had, not to point to my amazing amounts of faith, because trust me, it's lacking often. But I say it to point to God. He has maintained control of my life, has provided evidence of Himself and of His glory every step of the way. He is worthy of praise. I hope if you're struggling with making a decision in your life, if you're stressed about something - anything at all, if you find yourself prone to worry, perhaps you'll remember my story and remember that God has everything worked out and will unfold His plan at the exact right time, all the while revealing His glory to you and allowing you to fall more in love with the Savior. Why do we worry? He doesn't ask us to do a THING but wait. It's that easy. You just wait on Him and trust His timing.<br /><br />Kudos to anyone who read through that whole story. I certainly didn't know it was going to be that long when I started out!<br /><br />To God be the Glory.Randi Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09837810911422814520noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771800813740720920.post-21836226368735603562009-05-04T19:31:00.001-07:002009-05-04T19:34:15.107-07:00Back to Texas<div style="text-align: center;"><span xmlns=""><p>I'm coming back to Texas yall!</p></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span xmlns=""><p>It's official. I'm heading back to Texas. I'm going to the big D and I do mean Dallas. So this posting is all about Texas. Those who read this and aren't from Texas will undoubtedly bypass this, and some may have even stopped reading already. But those from Texas will love and appreciate it. Anyone who has lived outside of Texas, as I am currently doing, will tell you that Texans are proud of their state. You don't have to be a native Texan to know that. And while Texans see their pride in Texas as common ground amongst all other Texans and top on their list of things to talk about, the rest of America sees it as obnoxious. I think Texans are aware of this and don't care. I know that I don't. But I also know that most non-Texans, though they may speak ill of the state pride, are somewhat envious of it. And I rarely speak to someone who has been to Texas and didn't like it. And I also think that most people who find themselves transplanted to Texas tend to develop that same state pride, even though they're not natives. Steinbeck says it like this:</p></span><br /><span><span xmlns=""><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/Sf-ldRgqcRI/AAAAAAAAALg/YpNYSGGfAI8/s1600-h/TEXAS.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 305px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/Sf-ldRgqcRI/AAAAAAAAALg/YpNYSGGfAI8/s400/TEXAS.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332162406165147922" border="0" /></a></span></span><span xmlns=""><p>Texas is the only state that came into the Union by treaty. It retains the right to secede at will. Texans love to bring this up. We also retain the right to fly our flag at the same height as the American flag. Everything is bigger in Texas. Texas is like a religion. People seem to either passionately love it or passionately hate it. A Texas joke told by a Texan is funny. A Texas joke told by an outsider is blasphemy. Texas is high school football. Football games have the glory and the despair of war; when a Texas team takes the field against a foreign state, it is an army with banners. Texas is cowboy boots. Whenever I land at DFW airport, I know I'm in Texas, because men in business suits are wearing ostrich skin cowboy boots as dress shoes. They aren't a fashion statement. They just are. In Texas there are as many kinds of country, contour, climate, and conformation as there are in the world saving only the Arctic. The plains in the panhandle are foreign to the wooded hills and sweet streams in the Davis Mountains. The rich citrus orchards of the Rio Grande valley do not relate to the sagebrush grazing of South Texas. The hot and humid air of the Gulf Coast has no likeness in the cool crystal in the northwest of the Panhandle. And Austin on its hills among the bordered lakes might be across the world from Dallas. There is no physical or geographical unity in Texas. Its unity lies in the mind. The identity of a "Texan" supersedes regional labels. While America has Midwesterners, New Englanders, and Southerners, a Texan is a Texan. Texas is bluebonnets, mockingbirds, and pecan trees. Texas is the Alamo. Texas is oil, cattle, and cotton. Texas is tejas. Texas is friendship. Texas is the Dallas Cowboys, the Texas Rangers, and the Houston Texans. Texas is the Aggies and the Longhorns. Texas is tex-mex and steakhouses. Texas is front porch swings and sweet tea. Texas is Aaron Watson, George Strait, Janis Joplin, and Stevie Ray Vaughn. Texas is George W. Bush, Sam Houston, and Davy Crockett. Texas is home. God Bless Texas.</p></span></div>Randi Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09837810911422814520noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771800813740720920.post-23622313940489087902009-03-19T18:15:00.001-07:002009-03-19T18:37:39.256-07:00My dedication to bloggingI really want to be a blogger. I sometimes hesitate to start a post because I think, nothing interesting happened to me today and I'm not feeling particularly witty, therefore I will not blog. But I know if I just start typing I will inevitably think of something to say (interesting or not is debatable.) so that's my new mission. I will attempt to blog each day, even if I have nothing in particular that I want to blog about. I predict I will keep this up for 2 days. This new mission of mine was inspired by <a href="http://aaandscene.blogspot.com/">Robyn</a>. She committed to blogging everyday for the next 30 days and only blogged on that first day. So because I have to make everything a competition, I will beat her record. So at least 2 days. Maybe more.<br /><br />I just downloaded Mozilla Firefox. Our new freight rater (I won't bother explaining this as it's probably not that interesting) at work doesn't run on Internet Explorer as well as it does on Firefox so I was forced to change from Internet Explorer to Firefox. Apparently, all the cool kids are doing it so I was okay with that. I must say, I love it. I was able to organize all of my links at the top of the screen into folders which makes it much more manageable. It's all very exciting.<br /><br />Hopefully tomorrow I'll have something more interesting than Mozilla Firefox to talk about. But I am actually really excited about how organized my links are.<br /><br />Alicia sent me this YouTube link today: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhvaDJTUmrU&feature=related" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?<wbr>v=nhvaDJTUmrU&feature=related</a><br />Her obsession with Carrie Underwood is noteworthy. This is a YouTube video of her singing How Great Thou Art at the Grand Ole Opry (which I've been to by the way.) That girl can sing that's for sure.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/ScLxyt82wyI/AAAAAAAAALY/VVcMt7rMq7s/s1600-h/Nashville+082.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/ScLxyt82wyI/AAAAAAAAALY/VVcMt7rMq7s/s400/Nashville+082.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315076363881202466" border="0" /></a>Lisa and me at the Grand Ole Opry<br /></div><br />So the whole conversation with Alicia about her obsession with Carrie Underwood inevitably led to me quoting movie lines - most conversations eventually lead to that. And I quoted the following quote. "Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion." 10 points to whomever can guess what movie that came from (yes I properly said whomever and then ended my sentence with a preposition.) Click<a href="http://www.bensonlittletheatre.org/images/steel_magnolias.jpg"> this link</a> for the answer.<br /><br />That's all I've got for today.Randi Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09837810911422814520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771800813740720920.post-49429966729576266502009-02-08T20:50:00.000-08:002009-02-08T20:53:20.791-08:00My current playlist<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/SY-2Lp2X5kI/AAAAAAAAALQ/wdqmI0tioBw/s1600-h/playlist.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300655597767091778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 389px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/SY-2Lp2X5kI/AAAAAAAAALQ/wdqmI0tioBw/s400/playlist.jpg" border="0" /></a> The above playlist is what I am listening to right now. I would consider all artists above in my list of favorites and all songs in my list of favorites by said artists. If you're like me, (and I would totally do this) you should go download all songs and enjoy. If you are having a hard time seeing the image, click on it and it'll fill your screen!Randi Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09837810911422814520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771800813740720920.post-14667155953115421302009-01-22T17:49:00.000-08:002009-01-22T18:07:30.051-08:00Happy Birthday Dad!!!<div align="center"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/SXkkQEZ17MI/AAAAAAAAALA/Q_NfTVxYfGc/s1600-h/Goofyfaceathome+039.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294302695429369026" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/SXkkQEZ17MI/AAAAAAAAALA/Q_NfTVxYfGc/s400/Goofyfaceathome+039.jpg" border="0" /></a> THE APPLE DOESN'T FALL FAR FROM THE TREE</div><br /><br />To my dear old Papa<br />On your fifty-third<br />I'd like to write a poem<br />One you haven't heard<br /><br />I take after you<br />In honoring those I love<br />I write poems that are so good<br />You'd think they came from above<br /><br />I know how it sounds<br />Like arrogance from me<br />To say my poems<br />Are almost heavenly<br /><br />But I give credit<br />Where credit is due<br />Because the way that I write<br />I learned from you<br /><br />Each and every year<br />When January rolls around<br />A new candle on your cake<br />Can always be found<br /><br />I take wise words<br />From a man named McCrae<br />I know advice from him<br />Would aptly make your day<br /><br />These words to you<br />May seem somewhat basic<br />But "The older the violin<br />The sweeter the music"<br />(it's hard to rhyme with music)<br /><br />So here's a post on my blog<br />Solely for you<br />Wishing you Happy Happy Birthday<br />On January Twenty-Two<br /><br />And if you get down<br />When you start to feel the toll<br />Of years gone by<br />And you realize you're getting old<br /><br />Just reflect back to the days<br />When you were young and pretty<br />When the ***** wouldn't leave you alone<br />And your daughter wasn't so wittyRandi Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09837810911422814520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771800813740720920.post-14326567245440347642009-01-19T12:13:00.001-08:002009-01-19T17:45:10.612-08:00The Raconteurs<div>I am loving the Raconteurs! </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>The band consists of Jack White (The White Stripes), Brendan Benson, and Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler (both of the Greenhornes). I've always been a fan of Jack White when he's doing country/bluegrass music. He produced one of my favorite albums - Loretta Lynn's Van Lear Rose. Here he is again, now on CMT, performing my favorite Raconteurs song, Old Enough, with Ricky Skaggs (Bluegrass LEGEND) and Ashley Monroe (who I got to see perform at the Grand Ole Opry!). This is a sweet song; and therefore, I feel, worthy of your attention and worthy of my first blog post of 2009.<br /></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><embed src="http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:uma:video:cmt.com:323306" width="416" height="343" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" FlashVars="dist=http://www.cmt.com&orig=&vmoid=" allowFullScreen="true" AllowScriptAccess="always" base="."></embed><br /><br /><div style="margin:0;text-align:center;width:416px;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><br /><a href="http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/raconteurs/artist.jhtml" style="color:#EC660C;" target="_blank">Raconteurs</a><br /> <br /><a href="http://www.cmt.com/music/" style="color:#EC660C;" target="_blank">More CMT Music</a><br /> <br /><a href="http://www.cmt.com/video/music-videos/" style="color:#EC660C;" target="_blank">More CMT Music Videos</a><br /></div><br /><div>And if you liked this, check out The Raconteur's lastest CD - Consolers of the Lonely.</div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293181211216622322" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/SXUoRGJWsvI/AAAAAAAAAK4/ACgP1lYjAiA/s400/raconteurs.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div></div>Randi Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09837810911422814520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771800813740720920.post-10203645863215359342008-12-17T23:21:00.001-08:002008-12-17T23:26:22.924-08:00Just having a little fun<div align="center"><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:180%;">I know what you're thinking. I look familiar. Perhaps you know me from.....</span><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/SUn6MVdvRoI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/nfuxFNcilmY/s1600-h/Wall+Art+5.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281027127895869058" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 356px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/SUn6MVdvRoI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/nfuxFNcilmY/s400/Wall+Art+5.jpg" border="0" /></a> ... my recent movie.<br /><div align="center"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/SUn6I83ZcKI/AAAAAAAAAKI/Fx0GwMA77Ms/s1600-h/Wall+Art+4.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281027069752996002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 334px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/SUn6I83ZcKI/AAAAAAAAAKI/Fx0GwMA77Ms/s400/Wall+Art+4.jpg" border="0" /></a>...David <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Beckham's</span> new tattoo.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/SUn6FGT3uTI/AAAAAAAAAKA/6rVAV-dG3bw/s1600-h/Wall+Art+3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281027003568863538" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 305px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/SUn6FGT3uTI/AAAAAAAAAKA/6rVAV-dG3bw/s400/Wall+Art+3.jpg" border="0" /></a>... my Oscar win.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/SUn6Bd7P1KI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/40IvNd2EDx8/s1600-h/Wall+Art+2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281026941188560034" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 345px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/SUn6Bd7P1KI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/40IvNd2EDx8/s400/Wall+Art+2.jpg" border="0" /></a>... my sidewalk art.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/SUn582Bz6cI/AAAAAAAAAJw/xL-r-aN0hl4/s1600-h/Wall+Art+1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281026861759195586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 321px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/SUn582Bz6cI/AAAAAAAAAJw/xL-r-aN0hl4/s400/Wall+Art+1.jpg" border="0" /></a> ...or my pop art.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div><br /></div></div>Randi Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09837810911422814520noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771800813740720920.post-21355383358724000362008-12-17T21:57:00.000-08:002008-12-17T21:59:09.045-08:00Snow at the Beach!<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/SUnmY-Jlq7I/AAAAAAAAAJo/l63xVKz-ZoQ/s1600-h/121808_malibu.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281005354743081906" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/SUnmY-Jlq7I/AAAAAAAAAJo/l63xVKz-ZoQ/s400/121808_malibu.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div align="center">I've been complaining about how hot it is out here. I haven't even needed a jacket.... until now :)</div>Randi Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09837810911422814520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771800813740720920.post-16747256122636253202008-12-05T21:05:00.001-08:002008-12-05T23:13:43.474-08:00I am Second<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/STolHEYakhI/AAAAAAAAAJY/A2EIF-SqhCI/s1600-h/hamilton.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276570716783415826" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 268px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/STolHEYakhI/AAAAAAAAAJY/A2EIF-SqhCI/s400/hamilton.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Alright, you <em>have </em>to check out this website. If you watch any of the videos, I would suggest Jason Castro. He is an Aggie afterall. And gorgeous. But not to take away from the site - it's a great idea. I wish I had thought of it. Dangit.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.iamsecond.com/">http://www.iamsecond.com/</a><br /><br />I'm Miranda Elizabeth Burton. And I am second.<br /><br />Okay so I blogged about this site earlier in the evening, and I have to come back and talk about it some more. I don't think I did it enough justice.<br /><br />From their website:<br />I am Second is a movement where significance in life is a shared value among people of all kinds. Actors. Athletes. Musicians. Business leaders. Your next door neighbor. People just like you… I am Second is designed to help people discover their purpose in life.<br /><br />From a creative/business perspective, I think it's absolutely amazing. I would love to be apart of something like this.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276571735699578114" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 232px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/STomCYI9XQI/AAAAAAAAAJg/VjKWt0sWZi4/s400/iamsecond.jpg" border="0" /><br />So if you didn't check it out the first time I mentioned it, go look at it now!<br /><br /><object height="284" width="445"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GrT90EgrnTc&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GrT90EgrnTc&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="284"></embed></object></div>Randi Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09837810911422814520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771800813740720920.post-45071305196239372852008-12-02T16:53:00.000-08:002008-12-04T17:33:28.583-08:00Martina and Elvis<div align="center">ME and the King.</div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276112955822137970" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/STiEx36dYnI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/dnHccvf4cQg/s400/P1010256.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p align="center"><br /></p><div align="center">My favorite video of this Christmas season! Enjoy!<br /><br /><embed src="http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:uma:video:cmt.com:319868" width="416" height="343" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="dist=http://www.cmt.com&orig=&vmoid=" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" base="."></embed></div>Randi Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09837810911422814520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771800813740720920.post-12905305150599957002008-11-25T17:46:00.000-08:002008-11-25T17:46:58.609-08:00Cradle Robbers<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/SSyqKx0QlhI/AAAAAAAAAJI/VQtMnDlQmP4/s1600-h/old+man.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272776365891950098" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 305px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/SSyqKx0QlhI/AAAAAAAAAJI/VQtMnDlQmP4/s400/old+man.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Is there some kind of sign on my forehead that makes old men think it's okay to ask me out? I'm talking older than my dad. It's happened twice in the last week and many times before that. I don't think I look older than I am. Is it some kind of vibe I'm putting out there? </div>Randi Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09837810911422814520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771800813740720920.post-86530806516051193862008-11-23T23:17:00.000-08:002008-11-23T23:33:37.404-08:00A Thousand Miles Left to Go<div align="center"><blockquote><div align="center">I have stolen, Lord, let me give<br />I have left Your house a<br />fugitive<br />I have wandered in my own way<br />Squandered everything You gave<br />But my dying heart You saved and let me live<br /><br />I have cursed the<br />air and clenched my fists<br />I have hungered for Your righteousness<br />I have<br />tried to walk the line<br />I drew between Your heart and mine<br />But You<br />forgive me every time the mark is missed<br /><br />So take my broken<br />offering and make it whole<br />And set my feet upon the road that leads me home<br />Let me walk as one fixed upon the goal<br />Even though I've got a thousand<br />miles to go<br /><br />I have sought Your grace in my defense<br />I have<br />plundered Your magnificence<br />Until my journey is complete<br />I pray the Lord<br />my soul to keep<br />That I might sow what I have reaped<br />From Your great love<br /><br />As I struggle for Your hand<br />You use me in ways I can't<br />understand<br />You take this sinful man and renew me<br />Working through<br />me </div></blockquote></div><br /><div>This is a great song by Caedmon's Call. I heard it this morning as I was getting ready for church and was reminded of it again this evening during my QT. It was very appropriate. I was praying about all the things going on in <em>my</em> life, and all that <em>I </em>need, and all <em>I </em>would like the Lord to do for <em>me</em> and make happen. I began to realize that my prayer was full of <em>me, myself, and I</em>. This happens often where I end my prayer asking for forgiveness for not giving of myself enough... my offering is never all it should be. But PRAISE GOD that He doesn't <em>need</em> what I give Him. He uses my <em>broken offering</em>; He molds me and directs my steps, and keeps me on the path toward Him despite my inadequacies. This is the God I love and serve, the God who desires fellowship with me, loves me, and uses me, despite me never giving of myself enough - I never will be able to. Because what God has done for us is too great for anything I do to ever be enough. That's Grace. That's God's unfailing love. And as the last verse says, as I struggle for His hand, He uses me in ways I can't understand, He takes this sinful girl and renews me, working through me. </div><br /><div>Amen to that!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>And for a little visual stimulation, check out the sunset from my front porch:</div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272123837078789234" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/SSpYsmjzXHI/AAAAAAAAAJA/h-9PcQIc3SE/s400/The+Getty+003.jpg" border="0" /></div>Randi Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09837810911422814520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771800813740720920.post-29223887284238449242008-11-22T23:00:00.000-08:002008-11-22T23:01:32.097-08:00Dr. Pepper and Guns N Roses<div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;">GO GET YOUR FREE DR. PEPPER!!!!</span></div><br />From FOXnews.com:<br /><br />LOS ANGELES — Dr Pepper is making good on its promise of free soda now that the release of Guns N' Roses' "Chinese Democracy" is a reality.<br />The soft-drink maker said in March that it would give a free soda to everyone in America if the album dropped in 2008. "Chinese Democracy," infamously delayed since recording began in 1994, goes on sale Sunday.<br /><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,455485,00.html" _extended="true">Guns N' Beatles: Axl Rose and Paul McCartney Storm MySpace.</a><br />"We never thought this day would come," Tony Jacobs, Dr Pepper's vice president of marketing, said in a statement. "But now that it's here, all we can say is: The Dr Pepper's on us."<br />Beginning Sunday at 12:01 a.m., coupons for a free 20-ounce soda will be available for 24 hours on Dr Pepper's Web site. They'll be honored until Feb. 28.<br />Dr Pepper is owned by Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc.Randi Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09837810911422814520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771800813740720920.post-6360397254714752102008-11-22T11:15:00.000-08:002008-11-22T12:34:23.448-08:00Generous Old Men<span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">I have a theory.</span></strong> Whenever you're out with friends, scan the area and find a middle aged guy, about mid-life crisis age, preferably sitting with his wife (you don't need a creepy old man type), preferably with a few drinks in front of him, and make friends with <em>that guy.</em> Sit your group close enough to him where he can hear your conversations and throw in a few interactions. Almost guaranteed, he'll either pay for your entire evening or at least buy you an appetizer or a round of drinks. </span><br /><div><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">My dad is this kind of guy - one of the many reasons I love him. He's the "cool uncle" or the "cool dad." He sits with all my friends, tells stories, gives life advice, everyone laughs - it's a good time for all. Anytime he would come visit us in college, guaranteed we'd have 20+ people come to dinner. </span><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271578711856752946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/SSho6I27qTI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/czpeb4VReKk/s320/random+photos+045.jpg" border="0" /></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:78%;">My dad and a huge group of friends in College Station.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">Those are some of the best memories of my college experience - the weekend would cost him as much as a 2 week vacation, but everyone loved it! So anyways, back to the theory. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">CASE IN POINT: Last night I went down to Seal Beach to meet up with Erica and Jason and some of the guys who fly with Jason... and their girlfriends. </span><br /></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:courier new;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271578422202437970" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 287px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/SShopRz9kVI/AAAAAAAAAII/JJ8s0Oui_E4/s320/The+Getty+100.jpg" border="0" /></span><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:78%;">Erica and Jason at The Getty. (Taken with my new camera, FYI. Amazing right?)</span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">So we meet at O'Malley's.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271578883636615346" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/SShpEIycWLI/AAAAAAAAAIY/DZnosvla_zI/s320/OMalleys.jpg" border="0" /></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:78%;">O'Malley's on Main in Seal Beach, CA</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">We're all sitting at our table enjoying our evening. This man comes up to our table (enter "generous old man") and starts chumming around. He wants us to have a wonderful time that evening, and he wants to be the cause of it. Who am I to stand in his way? So I threw out there, "are you buying?" He says absolutely without hesitation and throws down a hundred dollar bill. </span><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271582530447471858" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 138px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vkj_zI6tfXo/SShsYaN59PI/AAAAAAAAAI4/jrk2GsQx8So/s320/franklin.bmp" border="0" /></div></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;">Ben Franklin.</span><br /></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:courier new;"></span> </div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:courier new;">So next time you go out, remember my theory. It's all about location placement. We were near the door in the same section as he. I'm sure he and his wife spent their evening talking about old times or remembering when they were our age, or thinking of their kids, or something along those lines that produced this longing within him to be apart of our gathering. They finished their meal, were on their way out, and <em>had</em> to pass our table. The temptation for him (and maybe the wine) was too strong for him to resist saying something to us on the way out. His wife is standing at the door. She's light heartedly laughing and shaking her head. She loves her husband for his generosity. </span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">And so do we.</span> </div>Randi Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09837810911422814520noreply@blogger.com1