Cotillion...

You turned in the football pads for "itchy" jackets and ties that were "choking" you.

you waited patiently and politely to see if you could "catch one"

You did.

Then you had the news broken to you....
like it or not, you were gonna dance. 1,2,3....1,2,3...
You were gonna hold their little-bitty-white-gloved hands....
and try to look them in the eye...without laughing or counting out loud....

you learned quickly....they smelled good...much better than your friends.

You had to listen to their giggling and act like you know what they are talking about.
(get used to it)

All that you learned and will learn here can not compare to the Wisdom you will learn from God's Word. May you ALWAYS seek it FIRST.

"My son, do not forget my teaching,
but keep my commands in your heart,

for they will prolong your life many years
and bring you prosperity.

Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.

Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:1-6

God, Thank You for my precious Godsons. May we all be reminded that we are being watched by little eyes.

In His Dust,

DCC

The Picture...

We celebrated our 100th birthday yesterday-

Among many activities that took place, there was a panoramic photo taken.
In between rainstorms, we all gathered, all 1700 of us. It was like watching cats get herded.

I watched and listened to the photographer- scream at us, through a bullhorn!
Move to the left! I can't see you! Get behind the pole! Don't move!

We didn't know him and he didn't know us...so it was hard to know who he was talking to and therefore pay attention to him. It was chaos.

I wanted to get up there with him and talk to people by name Crocker, scoot to the left. Take off the bishop's hat. Darrell, Stacy is behind you, turn around. Jessica, Doug is in the back, with Josh, take Katlin and go. Ryan, Why are you in the front row? Gina, Cooper is waiting for you on the right back corner.

I couldn't help but think about God's kindness.

The way He manages all of us.

So patiently, kindly and AMONG us.
Rather than yelling at us from on high-which quite frankly, He has every right to do.

"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. God lives in him and he in God." 1 John 4:9-15

God sent Jesus, Himself, to stand before us, above us and among us....
to walk with us to the left- or lead us behind the poles- or stand with us in front of them.

Now, have you got the picture? Hope so, You are in it.

God, Thank You for coming down here to BE in the picture with us.

In His Dust,

DCC

Never Wrong....

“The Lord our God is right in everything he does.” Daniel 9:14

"God is never wrong.

He has never rendered a wrong decision, experienced the wrong attitude,

taken the wrong path, said the wrong thing, or acted the wrong way.

He is never too late or too early, too loud or too soft, too fast or too slow.

He has always been always will be right. He is righteous." ~Max Lucado

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I feel like I have been swamped with prayer requests lately, as well as swamping others with mine.
Something really cool going on in our community, with the way we are praying for each other. Not just saying- I'll pray for you....but really doing it- and then following up with it.

No matter what we "see" when we pray- He IS there and exactly on time.

Nothing is slipping by Him.
Nothing.

God, Thank you for being closer than we can even imagine.

In His Dust,
DCC

Meat Boots...

I love music.

Really...I do.

I played piano as a child..have played guitar since I was in the 5th grade.

Ever since I was a little girl, I have always loved music.

It speaks TO me and at times FOR me.

I'd challenge anyone to Name That Tune....any genre...It's one of my gifts.

I consider myself someone who understands music.

However....

What.

Was.

That.

I know my age is showing...and apparently so is my inner PETA membership...but.....

GROSS.

I suppose it is skirt steak on bottom?

I am not sure how to incorporate something spiritual in to this post....but I will try.

As I said, I love music.

Many times in my life God Himself, has spoken to me through music.

However, I am still trying to decipher what, if anything, He was trying to say to me last night through MEAT BOOTS.

Because quite frankly, those boots were made for grillin'...not walkin'.

God, Thank You for making us all so creatively...and so individually.

In His Dust,

DCC

Burning....

Pastor Jones,

Correct me if I am mistaken, but you come from the DOVE World Outreach Center, correct?

Have you read Genesis? Have you properly understood the symbol of the Dove?

Do you understand that WORLD OUTREACH means reaching out to the world...reaching out- not punching out and burning down the world.

This means loving and praying for those that do not believe as you do.

You and your church claim to follow Jesus.
Now, while I am not questioning your intent and desire to follow Him

I am definitely questioning your perception of His Message.

My understanding of Christ, through my studies and much more importantly , my personal relationship with Him, indicate very clearly and without any question...

He is about Love....He is about Peace....He is about praying for others....loving them...not judging them....He loves God first and others second.

As a Christian, I am ashamed of your stance in His Name. I am also, going to be looking closer at where I am misunderstanding Your Word and missing the mark so terribly.

God, Please teach us all to put love before passion, at all times.

In His Dust,

DCC

P.S. On a lighter note- you gotta handle that mustache of yours. It is eerily reminiscent of Yosemite Sam.

Made...

"I don’t want to go to school"

This is the reaction I saw after he found out he was going back to school in 2 days.

He's been crying every day- for different reasons-
Which is pretty smart actually, a new excuse for each day of the week.

Monday-He missed his mom
Tuesday-He missed his brother
Wednesday- He missed his blankie
Thursday- He missed Mrs Disabato
Friday- He missed his summer

Me: "What's the problem Mikey- why don't you like school?"
Mikey: "I am not really a school type of guy."
Me: "How do you know?"
Mikey: "Cuz, I know how he made me, I am me.
He made me to watch TV and eat Cheese doodles…
you know, just kinda doodle-dee-doo around all day."Me: Ok. (What? You wanna argue with that face?)

We are all made different, so I suppose it's possible.

Regardless, of how we are made.....we are ALL made in the image of God....
so something about this kid is just like Jesus….I am betting it’s his sense of humor.

God, Thank You for making each one of us so very different and so very alike...for we are ALL made in Your Image.

In His Dust,
DCC

Can Telephones...

“May the Lord lead your hearts into God’s Love and Christ’s Patience.”
-2 Thessalonians 3:5

"The majority is not always right. If the majority had ruled, the children of Israel never would have left Egypt. They would have voted to stay in bondage.

If the majority had ruled, David never would have fought Goliath. His brothers would have voted for him to stay with the sheep.

What’s the point? You must listen to your own heart." -Max Lucado

It's as if we should have those old "can telephones" with ONE person on the other end- Him.

God, please give us the ears and heart to hear You and You only.

In His Dust,

DCC