Category: Uncategorized

Daring to LIVE FULLY, right where I am!

For me, LIVING FULLY isn’t so much about doing, (deeds and accomplishments) as it is about being (living, being alive)!    As I continue my journey along the road to 1000 gifts, the fullness of life cascades.

#32.  A midweek train ride to New England.
#33.  A view of Manhattan from the cafe’ car on Amtrak.
#34.  Quality time with my 18 year old daughter. 

A spontaneously planned trip on Semester Break that began with “doing”,  very quickly becomes all about “being”.   
     
#40.  My husband’s 50th Birthday Celebration

As friends gathered from near and far,  no one could deny the fruit of his life is more about “being” and less about “doing”.  Pondering how one finds and keeps that necessary balance leads me to…                  


#41.  Wisdom for the way.
#42.  Practical application. 


You see, many important things in life do require doing, but many more of the important things also require being.   As we practically apply wisdom for the way in doing, the natural outflow is being.     
                        
Living Fully, on my way to 1000 Gifts,
Crystal

A Celebration of Expectation

It’s a New Day….It’s a New Year!

I look with careful eyes through  the cluttered markings and ink splotches all over my 2011 calendar.   365 days gone by and a great sense of nostalgia ensues.   The battles fought, the failures tasted, the victories won, the tears of pain and the tears of great joy ready me with wisdom.  Wisdom that will carry me into the 365 days that lie ahead.  
Although I relish the clean, unmarked pages of 2012, they beckon to be filled.   Filled with a life lived full of thanksgiving and purpose, a life lived full of hope and expectation,   A life lived full of wonder and adoration.    
There is something so inspiring about a new day, a new year, a fresh start.  
Just as each new year brings a fresh start—-those clean calendar pages, may each new day (all 366 of them this year) bring with it a celebration of expectation for a life lived to the fullest.    

  I have come so that they may have life, and have it to the full.             JOHN 10:10

Crystal
     



A Central Market Christmas and a Flash Mob Hallelujah

A Central Market Christmas and a Flash Mob Hallelujah

Donning my scarf and gloves, I anticipate my very first outing to Lancaster’s down-town Historical Central Market.  Enjoying some freshly brewed java and conversation with a man I barely know, Christmas is surely in the air, and so are the beginnings of a lifetime together.    That was 21 years ago.    Today, just one week from Christmas, the spontaneity of our youth beckons and in an effort to get some exercise and still take in all the wonderful sights and sounds and smells of Christmas, we decide to revisit our “first date” and an early morning stroll through the beautiful downtown Historical Central Market.   This time, enjoying some freshly brewed java and conversation with a man I know well, we reminisce, round the corner and right there in the middle of all the commerce, witness a real live flash mob singing The Hallelujah Chorus.  It was as if in that moment, it WAS CHRISTMAS…for Heaven touched the earth…..heartwarming, beautiful and glorious.   No, we couldn’t have possibly imagined the lifetime of togetherness that was in store for us so long ago,  but neither could we have imagined today when we set out,  the gift that would refill our souls through a simple, yet festive stroll down memory lane…..FOR THE LORD GOD OMNIPOTENT REIGNETH, HALLELUJAH!
~Crystal~

Going Deep—-Always Starts With A Hunger

Gordon McDonald’s Book, Going Deep was written in a rather slow moving, unique and fictional style.  Although his concepts and ideas of cultivating spiritual maturity and exhibiting a life-altering faith leave the reader extremely inspired, he doesn’t leave the reader with tangible how-to’s, that work in the real live “nitty-gritty” world.   One thing that was evident in the fictional CDP (cultivating deep people) initiative in the book, was, to go deep you have got to be hungry!   To go deep you have got to be committed!  It is one thing to take a fictional group of characters and portray hunger and commitment in order to achieve an end result/desire of Going Deep.   It is something that proves much more difficult when dealing with true humanity in the 21st century.   Until a second edition comes out that is “real life” tried and true, (I think we call it revival) , I will remain inspired  to get more hungry….to get more committed….then and only then….are we GOING DEEP!
To comply with new Federal Trade Commission regulations, please note that this book was provided compliments of Booksneeze in exchange for an unbiased review.  

Intentional Adoration–A Meaningful Tradition

Oh how I love the special traditions of Christmas.  I especially love the ones that we have come to know and love since having children of our own.  One of our all time favorites through the years has been ADORE-NAMENTS!   12 special ornaments would be placed on the tree–each representing a different name of God.   For each of the 12 days leading up to Christmas we would take turns finding them and reflecting on the names of God.   Oh it started out simple, like a hide and seek game—-very brief, as would be expected with toddlers, but through the years as the kids have grown, so have the reflections and readings….into something very deep and meaningful.   12 days of Intentional Adoration gives way to 365 days of Heartfelt Adoration.   Adoration to Him whose birth we celebrate…. Adoration to Him who sits on the throne both now and forevermore. 

OH COME LET US ADORE HIM.   

Crystal 




More Lost Than Found—Book Review

For anyone who has ever struggled with fitting into “church” or had questions about God, this book will reengage you in the truth you long to hear.   As the writer helps us to understand how and why we have arrived to where, what and who we are today, he also shows us  how we can give our faith another chance….with simplicity and validity.
The conversations and chapters in this book will steer us back to real truths, and what it means to be ALIVE.  The truth that Salvation did not come merely so we could sign a petition of beliefs, but that we could have a genuine, intimate relationship with God.  Not only is More Lost Than Found a great read, it is a tool that will engage you and help you find your rightful place in the greatest story ever told.

It Is Well With My Soul

Ok, so after a day like yesterday I am thinking to myself, “they are gonna be hard pressed to beat that”.  Sheila Walsh and Henry Cloud are certainly a tough act to follow in my book.  But, in pure Women Of Faith Style, they did it again. 

On the eve of the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 how appropriate it was to begin our time with an incredibly moving standing ovation for the men and women in uniform serving our country, and all those who bravely gave their lives for our freedom.   Just as we started our morning so we would end it.   A standing ovation, except this time for Heaven, as  Sheila sang How Great Thou Art. (I get goosebumps just typing it)

Mary and Mary Singing GOD BLESS AMERICA with Natalie Grant

Natalie Grant singing It Is Well


Through countless words of exhortation, psalms of praise, stories of brokenness and healing through more of God’s promises and finally, Natalie Grant singing an acappella, spirit-lifting, heart-stopping rendition of IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL,  I was refilled with a keen sense of awareness & wonder (and yes, a few more goosebumps). 

The Sheperd knows where to find us (no matter what our trouble)-Sheila Walsh
God sees us even when we don’t see him. – Lisa Harper
God takes our trash and turns it into treasure. – Nicole Johnson
He takes our pain and gives it purpose. – Nicole Johnson
Live a full life, make it count, because nobody said you couldn’t. – Lucy Swindoll

Right down to the final song sung, the final word spoken, ten thousand women today had every reason to leave a hockey arena right in the heart of Phildadelphia with lifelong blessings pressed down shaken together and running over.   What started out for me as a blogging assignment during a season of tremendous change and some clouded vision, ended up being a Divine Appointment!   And that, Women of Faith, is well with my soul.

Crystal

IMAGINE…..A Divine Appointment!

One cup of coffee and the morning rush of Philadelphia  behind me, when I find myself in the arena at my very first ever Women of Faith Conference.  The opening speaker takes the stage and shares that beautiful promise found in Ephesians 3:20 about “God doing exceedingly, abundantly more than we could ever think or imagine”.  It was then I knew, this was far more than a fun day out with the girls or another opportunity to be filled up to full and overflowing with the Word, and a great lineup of amazing speakers.   You see, Ephesians 3:20 is one of my life verses, and for me, today turned out to be…     
A DIVINE APPOINTMENT.
Sheila Walsh
Henry Cloud
Sheila Walsh and Henry Cloud would share the stage for the better part of the day and WOW!   From laughter to tears and back again, here is a small glimpse of the full gamut  that fed our hearts, our minds and our souls.                                     
Changing seasons (look at every one through the window of the Word)
Brokeness revealed and hope restored (you can’t have one without the other)
The promise of peace (John 14:27)
There is indeed a time for everything (Ecclesiastes 3)
The map and 4 corners of life patterns (you have GOT TO GO to corner 4)
And last, but certainly not least….
Healthy boundaries, realistic goals and a few monkies in our lives……IS ESSENTIAL).
Today was so much MORE than I could’ve ever imagined, but then again….what are divine appointments anyway?   I can’t wait for tomorrow. 
Crystal

WOMEN OF FAITH—-48 hour countdown

Well the time has come.  In just 2 short days I will be making the trek into that most beloved city…PHILADELPHIA, to enjoy my very first ever Women of Faith Conference.   I am going with great expectation!  Not just for myself but for you too.   Check into my blog Friday night and Saturday night for tid-bits of truth, inspiration, and as always, writings from my keyboard that say it…..Crystal Clear.
Off to the city of Brotherly Love 🙂

WOMEN OF FAITH

This summer surely goes down in the record books as one of a kind. With a relocation to Lancaster, a new church, a new job, new neighbors and my oldest daughter graduating high school and preparing for college, I can’t think of a better way to wind down a season of mass transition than to clear the calendar, carve out some quiet time and refresh my soul.

Having the wonderful opportunity to attend the Women Of Faith Conference in Philadelphia, September 9 & 10 as a “BLOGGER” for that event, I’d like to personally invite you to share this inspiring journey with me, through my writing and also in previewing this video, (a precursor of what is to come.

See you in a few short weeks,
Crystal