Coffee Talk with Christie

happy birthday to christie leigh burchfield-stephens, happy birthday to christie leigh burchfield- stephens, happy birthday dear christie, happy birthday to you! IT IS THE BIG 30! =)

christie has been and is still the only one of my friends that (i think) really understands me.

when i am feeling wonky about something, i give christie a call. she almost always answers but without a doubt, she always explains the situation as she sees it, even if it makes me feel like i messed up. i really love having a friend like that. she is completely honest with me, as she speaks words of wisdom and advice in love. really, you could not ask for a better friend.

we have had so many memories together - from playing dress up in my mom's house robes years ago, to messing up each others hair then sitting in awe as if it were the most beautiful hairstyle ever invented (without laughing)...

...from sliding across the doorway at my parents home waving while we pulled each other across by the ankles, to diving under the bed because Augustine (someone in mexico) was trying to give us his stinky sweaty jersey under our hotel room door, but we thought he was coming in the outside window! hilarious memories!

i remember when i first met christie, i did not like her at all, because...i know, how childish, well, i was only like twelve - because she spelled her name just like mine. that's it, i did not like her because she spelled her name just like i spell my name.

after i gave her a chance, and i guess she gave me a chance too, we really became the bestest of friends, long story short, christie married my brother, several years ago, so she also took my maiden name =) ah ha! my legacy lives on! =)

i had no intention this morning of writing my entire blog about christie, no offence, but this is my coffee time with God - so let's move on...

okay, one more thing, christie, i wish you the happiest thirtieth birthday ever and i love you dearly.

moving along...

each morning i enjoy reading a few quotes, short stories, a scripture and my email, (in no particular order) all of these items are found on my new google page, which, by the way, i absolutely adore! (thanks danno) if you have not created a google homepage, you must.

while i was reading this morning, i found the following article, it is from "reuters, oddly enough":

"MADRID (Reuters) - A Spanish bank repossessed a house and put it up for auction complete with the mummified body of the former owner who had missed her mortgage payments, newspaper El Pais reported on Wednesday.

The corpse, preserved by salty air in the seaside town of Roses after an apparent death by natural causes, was discovered by Jorge Giro, who entered the house for the first time on Saturday after buying it at the auction, El Pais said.

The dead woman, described by neighbors as having been in poor health and often absent visiting relatives in Madrid, had stopped paying her mortgage six years ago.

The unnamed bank which eventually repossessed the home never bothered to look inside before selling it."

this story made me think of that phrase"what's in your wallet?" (some credit card company that tells us that if we have their card in our wallet, all of the monsters will go away... (okay, so i hope i did not just make that up... i think i remember seeing a commercial where monsters were coming after this guy and the guy pulled out his capital one card, and all of the monsters went running...) please, correct me if i am wrong...

my thought was, what's in your wallet?, then, what's in your house?

dan preached (not all that long ago) an awesome message, called, "lost in the house" and it highlights the woman who lost a coin. he tells of how she swept her house until she found it. the foundation on which this message was constructed is that many of us "go" to church, but many of us are not really being "plugged in" to the church or any ministry. we are in the house, but are we lost?

are there dead corpses in your house? has a dream or vision that God has given you died recently? (or in the past six years, since you stopped paying your mortgage, or stopped giving your time to God, working toward having a more personal relationship with Him?)

i encourage you today to look deep inside and ask God to help you clean out the dead parts of your heart. ask Him to make something even more beautiful out of your life, than you could ever imagine.

Psalm 139:23 - Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: