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Seth is due to land within the hour. His first flight to Kansas City was cancelled because of the ice that is currently being dumped over Missouri. Somehow they are keeping the runways clear. Yah!
We get to see each other for less than 24 hours before we all part ways. The boys and I will be in South Carolina for the next week visiting my parents. Seth will be in Philadelphia working on a show.
Posting will be non-existent for the next week with the promise of pictures and stories from our visit with Nana and Grandad...

Peace Out.

Mistah Jones!

I had my doubts. All of these "old man" comebacks were beginning to disturb me. Okay, mostly Mr. Stallone's comebacks. Indiana Jones? Could Harrison Ford really pull it off? Well, we shall see come May 22nd. In the meantime, this trailer does give a bit of hope!

I Love Technology....

I finally did it. I set up a blog reader feed. It was so much easier that I expected it to be....just typed in all the sites I frequent and Voila!! It lets me know who has written anything new, so I don't have to check their site every time I am on the computer, wondering if they have any new posts. It even shows me new posts on Craigslist, something I am shamelessly addicted to.
So, go ahead, try it. If I can do it, so can you!!

What is This World Coming To??

I know there is a huge attack on marriages, family, children, etc. But this article just made me ill! They make it sound like they are doing an act of service....ugh.

By the way,

Happy Valentines Day!!

Go give that "someone" a special hug....you know you want to =)

Grateful

I just want to write a quick note to say how much I appreciate my husband. He works SO hard (since last Sunday, he has worked about 100 hours...no joke!). He doesn't do it because he has an inner drive competing to be the best. He works hard because he loves the Lord and desires to walk in His will. He works because he loves his family with all of his heart. I watch his heart break a little more each time he is called to be out of town, away from his boys....who happen to adore him.
We know this is just for a season and we all feel God's grace as we are walking through it. We know that he is called to a ripe mission field. So we wait, longing to see fruition of seeds planted. We understand that is why he is where he is. Not to necessarily become a better audio engineer but to keep sowing in hope of that one day when one of his co-workers comes to him and says, "What must I do??". It's worth it, isn't it?

What I Did Last Night

I ate this.

Traditional Ethiopian fare. Two words- SO GOOD!
Maybe Seth can take me on my birthday to the lake for an Ethiopian picnic??

Snow IS Fun

As much as I complain about the cold, relentless winters of Missouri, I do have to admit that I really enjoy the snow. At least the first snow. This Christmas when all the Macchi clan came to visit, we were blessed with a beautiful blanket of white. Here are some pictures from our snowball fight!!


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Conversation

"Mom, what is a baby horse called?"
"Well, a girl horse is called a filly and a boy horse is a colt."
"How about a grownup girl and boy horse?"
"That would be a mare or a stallion...oh and there is something called a gelding."
"What's that?"
"Well, it's a boy horse that can't help make babies." (Now realizing the hot water that the mother has just put herself in, she is trying to pedal forward very quickly through this conversation.)
"Boy horses can have babies??"
"No, they just can't help make babies anymore....."

(The car is silent. The mother begins to cringe waiting for the inevitable question.)

6 year old boy says, "Mom, I like horses."
(WHEW!!) "Me too."

Dream On

I love the cartoon version of this photo because that is how this part of my life feels right now- unreal. I think the Lord plants seeds in everyone's hearts from conception. Some seeds begin to fruit very early and others take their time and show their sprouts much later in life. My dream of horses is one of the latter. I always knew I loved horses but it never occurred to me that it might be possible to come in close contact with them. And here I am, learning how to partner with these majestic, 4-legged creatures.
Just to be down at the barn- listening, smelling, touching- fulfills something very deep in me. It has not been super easy thus far. Learning from ground zero is definitely a challenge as an adult! Be prepared to hear lots of "horse-y" stories from me. Because it quickly has become a big part of my life =)

Winter White

And no, I'm not talking about snow on the ground. The boys and I just got back from the park because the temperature shot up to 72 degrees!! I wore short sleeves (something I haven't been able to do for a couple of months now) and noticed my glowing white arms. Pale, pasty, winter white. I'm seriously questioning my heritage here. Filipino? That's not what my skin is sayin'.

Tomorrow's forecast : High 32 with a Wintry Mix.
Translation: Cold and Wet.

Ugghh.

What's the SuperBowl?

Without the great commercials? I actually did not have the privelege of watching the big upset. Who needs to when the very next day, Yahoo posts all of the ads for my viewing pleasure?

This one is Hilarious! Screaming forest creatures...C'mon!!

I LOVE the Budweiser horses...

The Justin Timberlake/Pepsi ad was pretty funny, too. I won't post it, though. Somehow it feels like I would be betraying some inner moral about pop stars...(please note the sarcasm).

Profound

I found this quote on a blog I read frequently. She's a mother of 5 boys (!!!) so I can always read her postings and be thankful for my 2. She puts life in a great, humorous perspective. Anyway, this quote is very appropriate for the community in which we live here in Kansas City. Jesus truly is coming soon but before that happens, we will face situations we never thought possible. How is He preparing us for the time to come?

"Do not desire crosses, unless you have borne those already laid upon you well—it is an abuse to long after martyrdom while unable to bear an insult patiently."

--Introduction to the Devout Life, St. Francis de Sales

By calling us to live our life without offense.

Florida, The Call has Come to You!

Tomorrow, February 2nd, the Call will be happening in Orlando at the Silver Spurs Arena at 10am. Read the following letter from Lou Engle and see if it doesn't spark something in your spirits. The Lord has a plan and purpose for Florida and I don't think we have any idea what it looks like!!

Urgent - TheCall Florida

Dear Florida,

Four years ago we launched a prayer movement for the ending of abortion, elections, and spiritual awakening in our nation. For 50 days and nights, up to a hundred young people gathered together for continuous fasting and prayer. During this time, we received a very significant dream from a prophetic leader in the nation. In the dream, the letters F-O-C-U-S-S were seen. They stood for Florida, Ohio, Catholics, Universities, and Swing States. For those 50 days and nights, we cried out to God for Florida for the turning of the elections. The prayers of thousands in Florida and the voice of the church turned the tide in 2000.

Once again, we are in a critical moment, and Florida is a swing state. Not only is Florida a swing state for the elections, but also it is a swing state for revival in the nation. Great moves of God have come out of Florida in the last 30 years. The sounds of prayer that birthed those movements are rumbling again.

I just got off the phone with two key pastors in Florida, and the first pastor I talked to has 24/7 prayer in his church and twenty full-time intercessors. The second pastor’s church is in 21 days of fasting and they hold three prayer meetings a day. When I hear this, my heart is stirred. I believe history books may well record that 2008 was a year of the great prayer reformation in America.

We look back a hundred and fifty years, and 1857 is recorded as the year of the great prayer meeting revival. A million souls were converted, and four years later, the civil war began. The great harvest was swept in, preparing for 600,000 men to die on the battlefields of the civil war because of the shedding of innocent blood of the slaves. It was America’s day of reckoning. I believe that we could be headed into times like these again because of the shedding of innocent blood of 50 million babies. We are in a crisis. America is desperate for revival and righteous leaders to be raised up who will overthrow the covenant of death of Roe v. Wade.

In the land of Terri Schiavo and Baby Rowan, and in the land of colliding ideologies in your great universities, Florida is once again ground zero. In times of crisis, God’s remedy is united massive fasting and prayer. It is in the faith that God will hear the cries of His people when TheCall comes to Orlando on February 2nd at Silver Spurs Arena. It is not a festival, it is a fast. For 12 hours, we gather not for entertainment but to turn to the Lord with fasting, brokenness, and worship.

Twenty-five years ago, I read Derek Prince’s book called Shaping History Through Prayer and Fasting, which he wrote in 1973 because of the passing of Roe v. Wade. A Brit was burdened for America. That book became a textbook for my life, and TheCall was born out of Derek Prince’s vision. The basic premises of the book are that kings and rulers are raised up and removed when God’s people fast and pray and the latter rain outpourings are precipitated by collective gatherings of fasting which become the hinge of history. It was out of Florida that Derek’s ministry exploded.

I met him in Ft. Lauderdale when he was 86 years old, and I thanked a father for giving a son this revelation of the power of fasting from which TheCall was born. We wept together in one of the most precious moments of my life. This is a part of Florida’s heritage. What will you do with this legacy?

I am determined to carry forth Derek Prince’s legacy, and I believe it is for such a time as this. I have personally launched into 21 days of fasting for Florida leading up to TheCall because I am deeply burdened by the significance of the moment.

We are in a Haman-Mordecai moment. Esther was promoted and Haman was promoted and a 3-day fast determined whose voice would be heard. Haman’s court was overruled by the Supreme Court of Heaven and a Mordecai was raised up.

I would like to call those whose hearts are stirred in Florida to 7 days of fasting leading up to TheCall with the first 3 days in an Esther-type fast for your primaries on the 29th. Let us, for those 7 days, prepare for TheCall by cleansing ourselves and crying out to God for a great awakening in the state. When you hear the sound of the trumpet, gather to me there and there the Lord will fight for us. (Nehemiah 4)

For TheCall,

Lou Engle

Oh, and if you have some time, I totally urge you to watch this video. Seth and I watched it the other night, expecting to only watch a little of it...we ended up watching the whole video. The intensity doesn't even begin to match what is on God's heart for this issue of Innocent Blood!!