sunday lane did it! i mean YOU did it!!

how can i express my gratitude to my precious friends and family,
who have endured sore fingers and computer headaches on my
daughter sunday lane's behalf?

"there is no such thing as gratitude unexpressed.  if it is unexpressed,
it is plain, old-fashioned ingratitude."  -robert brault

this is what i would love to give to show my gratitude.

but, alas, this wee bottle of perfume from saks is all a can afford.                              

hans drew londen's name from all those who helped

give sunday lane this marvelous opportunity.

if anyone wants to progress with us through the finals, it is easier 

than ever now.  only 10 bands left,  only 45 chances to vote.  it

took me 10 minutes to listen to each band for 15 seconds and to

vote between them.  be sure to always put sunday in the very best

spot, and choose the ones you like the best after her.  :)

LAST CHANCE TO VOTE FOR SUNDAY LANE

please let me know if you vote, because i am planning something

special to show my gratitude to those who leave encouraging

comments and those who actually vote.

THANK YOU.

"i thank my God every time i remember you." philippians 1:3

love,

lea

the semifinals!!!

dear sweet blog friends,

thank you for persevering with us through this songwriting
contest.

the next voting period ends at 11:00 pm, sunday, june 27th.
they are also limiting the voting time to cycle through each
band a few times, so no more sore fingers.

unfortunately, the other bands are well established with lots
of fans.  since, SUNDAY LANE is new to the scene, she
basically just has family and friends.

as you can deduce, we are really outnumbered now.  sort of
like david and goliath.

BUT, i love a challenge and have the best friends in the
world!!!

if you want to continue to help SUNDAY LANE, click
here, listen to each of the remaining 20 bands for 15 seconds
and vote.  it will only take about 15 minutes.

please let me know if you vote, because i am praying about a
way to show my gratitude.

"for You make me glad by Your deeds, o Lord; i sing for joy
at the works of Your hands.  how great are Your works, o
Lord, how profound Your thoughts."  psalm 92:5

love,
lea

sunday lane is #1

i'm so proud of my sweet girl for rising up from the lower
ranks to the #1 spot.  if she stays at the top, she will have
the opportunity to 'open' for the hanson's august concert.

just click here and then click on 'standings' to see her
exciting progress!

this would be such a wonderful break for her to achieve
her dream.  i'm all about helping my children pursue and
enjoy their dreams.

"for You have been my hope, oh sovereign Lord, my
confidence since my youth."  psalm 71:5

thank you to everyone, especially my cousin steve, who
has helped vote her in!  let's pray that she "won't go back
down!!!!"

love,
lea

mother teresa

one of my favorite mother teresa quotes leads right into my life
verse, which is my sweet friend annie's most beloved scripture,
too.  she has a humble servant's heart like mother teresa.

"we can do no great things only small things with great love."
-mother teresa

"my heart is not proud, o Lord, my eyes are not haughty;

i do not concern myself with great matters or things too
wonderful for me.

but i have stilled and quieted my soul;
like a weaned child with its mother,
like a weaned child is my soul within me.

o israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore."
-psalm 131

what's your favorite scripture?

love,
lea

the oil and perfume of a friendship

yesterday's service was redolent with memories of sweet yesterdays with
my childhood best friend.

we became 'bosom buddies' the summer before fifth grade and proceeded
to laugh, cry, and sing our way through high school.   her friendship kept
me on a safe path that lead to many hilarious and sweet adventures.

even though we took divergent roads after that, today, i still sometimes
call her my best friend.  she is the friend who understands my past,
believes in me,  has forgiven me many times, and accepts me just the
way i am.

so . . . yesterday, she preached, at my church, one of the finest sermons
on the Holy Spirit.  she shared that when Jesus described Him to
nicodemus, He said the Spirit was like the wind, which "blows
wherever it pleases.  you can hear its sound, but you cannot tell
where it comes from or where it is going."  (john 3:9)

we are reluctant to believe in what we can't see.  it is offensive to
admit that "since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-
His eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being
understood from what has been made." (romans 1:20)

a velvety red rose, a nightingale's song, a baby's smile, "the oil and
perfume of a sweet friendship." (proverbs 27:9)

love,
lea

take #28,973 on the oil spill

when i wrote 'to spank or not to spank' i went to bed with a sleep
chasing foreboding.  i think this piece is the one that will exile me
from blogland, though.

after the catastrophic '95 oklahoma city bombing, the desolation of
innocent life was boundless.  we could not wrap our minds around
the idea of retribution against babies and young children.

we heard heroic stories of the rescue dogs looking for victims, who
became so easily disheartened that their trainers would have to hide
their buddies in the rubble to be found.  this bolstered the dogs' hope.

emergency workers came from all over our great nation to help 'dig'
our state out of its misery.  these wonderful men and women were
greeted with the best 'chicken fry', apple pie, and hot coffee, saying,
in turn, that they had never met kinder, more grateful people.

we were very grateful.  i don't remember hearing bitter judgments
being shouted, but we certainly wanted justice, and after too many
years, the perpetrators received it.

this bp oil spill is different.

no one intentionally sought to hurt anyone.  unfortunately, too many
bad decisions were made, and now our gulf has been polluted.  the
loss of life, the inability of fisherman or even oilmen to work, and
the consequences to our lovely gulf are all devastating.

how did this happen?

one poor decision after another.  just like the ones i make everyday.
some of mine can have terrible consequences, too, by inadvertently
hurting those i love or don't even know.  have they ever caused the
desolation of an entire ecosystem?  probably not, but i would not
be one bit surprised if they did.

i can understand the outcry against the oil industry by our country
and the world but not by those who have been saved by His grace.
"there but for the grace of God, go i."  (john bradford)

love,
lea

ps.  on a much more serious note,  sunday lane is #5!!!!

a time for everything

in the past six months i have felt an increasing force nudging itself
upon me.  that sounds uncomfortable, like childbirth, but it only
feels like the gentle squeezes of braxton hicks.

in becoming the mother of five children, i think i tucked away part
of myself.  it was not that i was diminished by it, because i was really
enlarged by every moment, but more that i adapted to it . . . a lot.
sort of like a chameleon.

some of my friends resisted that and persevered in their unique ways.
they didn't let james dobson or mary pride mold them into a certain
kind of mother.  they paid a price for that in having more unruly kids,
but held onto themselves better.

the funny thing is that their wild and crazy kids grew into fine adults,
and i think they might respect their moms more for adhering to their
true natures.  but that's not really the point.  the crux is now that my
kids don't need me as much, i have felt these subtle urgings to spread
my wings a bit and notice the subtleties of life more.

this morning as i sowed some cosmo seeds in my garden, i felt the
soft breeze on my cheek and the warm soil in my fingers.   i broke
an egg into the mixer and marveled at its rich, yellow yolk.  i can't
seem to read a book without underlining rich similes  or metaphors.

for those of you sending a child off to college, be encouraged that
your life is not over.  you are feeling the deep pain of uprooting,
but there will still be many times to build, gather, and laugh.

"there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity
under heaven."  ecclesiastes 3:1

love,
lea

ps.  sunday lane is holding steady at #8!