2015 | Real Life on Rocky Top

Real Life on the Solid Rock!

May 29 2015

A few weeks ago I stood at Golgotha… Calvary, a rocky hill outside the city gates of Jerusalem where Christ was crucified.

It was there He laid down all His rights as Prince of Glory, Prince of Peace.

He died next to a rocky hill so He might become my Solid Rock. Now I am able to live real life on Rocky Top… a life where I don’t have to choose fear or anxiety no matter how close to the edge I am! When I am crucified with Christ at Golgotha, then I can choose to live a resurrected life on Rocky Top!

Staring at the rocky hillside of Golgotha, an old hymn played in my mind… On Christ the solid rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand.

He is My solid rock today… His oath, His covenant, His blood, support me in the whelming flood.

And it is flooding today… the news is topped with floods in my home state of Texas, lost lives, lost homes, even entire lost families.

And then there is the young mom who has just come to the realization that their adopted son may never be the son they had dreamed of.

Or a friend who just lost her sister way too early.

Or the friend who cried with me today over just how hard life can be sometimes… raising children to love Jesus and not be lured by the world.

Edward Mote wrote The Solid Rock in 1834. He was not raised in a Christian family. His parents owned an inn in London and on most Sundays he roamed the streets. At age 16 he became apprenticed to a cabinetmaker who brought him to church where he met Christ. Edward, himself, became a famous cabinetmaker and faithful Christ-follower.

This man knew the importance of placing faith in something that would never warp, never break, and always be there and never change.

So tonight as I stare down at the rocky cliff from my brown rocking chair my prayer is that I will know when all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.

Golgotha, the rocky hill near where You died will be the very foundation to hold me no matter the circumstances. “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.” Psalm 18:2

Welcome to Rocky Top

Apr 22 2015

Welcome to Rocky Top….yes, I live on a street named Rocky Top in a house on the side of a rocky mountain in the state of Tennessee but Rocky Top for me is more a state of mind that I find myself in often.

I imagine you may also live there sometimes… you know… close to the edge… either you are close to the edge of losing it with your kids, your husband, or boss or even a friend that is driving you insane. You may even have fallen off and are trying to climb your way back up what seems to be a slippery slope.

The steep cliff I see off my back porch is God’s way of reminding me He is there for me. Trees, wildflowers, and beautiful wild animals live on this Rocky Top with me… along with a husband that I truly love but often pushes me to the edge with his adventures, and six grown adult children who come to visit often… isn’t that kind of weird… adult children. I’m not sure how I am still sane and they are also… but their children… my grands… William, Addy, Aubrey, Isaac, Judah, and Isabella… well I have to admit I adore and would do almost anything for.

So I welcome you to Rocky Top… come sit in one of my brown rocking chairs on the back porch. We will experience Real Life together as we remember Who He is and What He is Able to do when you live close to the edge and are afraid you might just fall off the steep cliff.

The Preacher’s Wife on 50 Shades…

Apr 15 2015

Ok, okay… you think you know what I am going to say! So, I almost didn’t say “it”!

Funny thing is, no one has really asked me “my opinion” of Shades of Gray or Magic Mike, because they assume what I will say.

Is that a good thing?

Well, it is not if you think because I am the preacher’s wife and you see me as a rule keeper… that I just make these decisions as “no brainers” and also if you don’t realize that I am a very real person…a woman who has to make choices just like you!

Bottom line is, most of you have already gone to see “Magic Mike” if you were going to see it at the movie theatre. BUT really many of us will not go to the movie theatre. We will wait for it to come out on video, because we really don’t want anyone seeing us march in to the movie theatre with a bunch of our friends to see Magic Mike. Wait, is that cowardly to do that?

Archive - 2015