Tag Archive | A Love Lee Place

We Were Strangers

In October Richard and I sold our home and moved into our Motor Home so we could build a house on our daughter and son-in-law’s ranch. While the prospect of building is exciting it is one that is very intimidating too. Knowing this will be our forever home on this earth added another layer of complexity as we knew if we didn’t get it right…we would be “stuck” with it.

Every spare minute has been consumed with looking for a floor plan…I would ask my daughter to help me and she would say, “I don’t enjoy looking at floor plans.” So, I was on my own! Looking at books, surfing the internet, and driving around looking at homes became a daunting task!!!

Each day on my drive home from work I would pass a house that would call out to me. I loved the lines, color, size, and windows. In-fact so much so that I finally got the nerve to stop and ask the owner about it.

The gentleman was busy working in his barn but kind enough to take a few minutes and share some of the details about the house. Then he said, “my wife is not home but if you would like to see the inside you can just give her a call”. The next day I called the owner’s wife and she was so kind to invite me over for a tour.

My granddaughter and I were greeted at the front door by a precious woman wearing the warmest smile. As we stepped through the door, I was blown away…

The interior was breath-taking…

The owner provided a very thorough tour and included all the details for the decisions she made when designing her home. She had given so much thought to the floor plan and had impeccable taste when it came to interior design. Before I knew it, 2 hours had passed and we were laughing and sharing stories about our lives and our families. Then she said the words I had longed to hear since beginning this journey…”I would be happy to help you if you like”

A total stranger had offered to share my journey, help me with my floor plan, and allow me to bounce my ideas off of her…

I went straight home and got my graph paper and pencil and began to draw up what I wanted. Now mind you, I have gone through several erasers doing it but finally, I had something on paper to work with.

I took my drawing back to my new-found friend. She sat and studied it for a few minutes and made some invaluable suggestions and before I knew it…It was done and we sat and visited like we had been friends for years!!!

I find it amazing the things God uses to bring new people into our lives!!!

We Were Strangers…Now we are Friends!!!

Don’t pass up an opportunity to meet a stranger…they may end up one of your closest friends!!!

Brenda, Thank you for the gift of friendship!!!

Love Lee ♥

A Burning Heart

Jan24

I frequently come in from work after dark and last night was no different. As I pull through the gate and made my way down the drive toward home I saw a yellow-orange glow. Then, the closer I got the bigger the glow got.

YES…That man of mine had built a fire!!!

We love to sit out in the evenings around the fire pit and discuss the events of our day. However, last night the discussion was delay a bit as our daughter had walked over to enjoy the fire with us. At some point in the conversation she realized she got a little chilled and decided to stand and move closer to the fire. As she stood over the fire watching it burn, she exclaimed…”Cheyenne come look…There is a burning heart inside the log”. Cheyenne reluctantly got up off the ground where she was playing with her dog and walked over to take a look. Then I heard “Wow…that is cool mom”. While their excitement peaked my interest, it wasn’t peaked enough to cause me to hoist myself up out of the chair I had waited for all day .

After the girls headed home and Richard and I shared the highlights of our day while Richard “tinkers” with the fire. As he looked into the fire he said, “You really should come see this burning heart. The girls weren’t kidding it is really beautiful”. Now for Richard to tell me it was beautiful, I knew I needed to take a look. Looking down into the hollow log the opposite end of the log was shaped like a heart and the embers were glowing with brilliant color…vibrant oranges, deep blue reds, and brilliant yellows.

As I stood and stared into the log, I couldn’t help but think…

Wow…I could see the glow of burning heart from the road but it wasn’t until I got close that I could see the buried embers and feel the intense warmth of the burning heart.

You know…it is very much the same with Jesus. From a distance we know He is there…but it is not until we get close enough to Him that we are able to see His “Burning Heart”

David Crowder says it best!!!

“How He Loves”

He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realise just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

Yeah, He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves.

We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
So Heaven meets earth like an unforseen kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way…

He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us.

He Loves Us With His Burning Heart!!!

Love Lee ♥

Get Plugged In

Jan23

In order to enjoy the full benefit of an electrical appliance you must first plug it in. The power source is there but until the plug makes contact with the electrical outlet you are rendered powerless…

In much the same way, we have a source of power greater than that which can be provided by an electrical outlet. A source of power guaranteed to never flip a breaker, blow a fuse, or blackout…

A NEVER ENDING SOURCE OF POWER

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3

To experience His divine power and receive everything we need, we have to…

GET PLUGGED IN…TO HIM!!!

Love Lee ♥

It’s Mind Control

Jan22

Being a woman of results it has been quite difficult to be patient when it comes to making the right decision on the type of house to build, the perfect floor plan, and the best builder for us to use. Decisions…Decisions…Decisions!!!

Life is full of decisions…

Where to work
What to wear
Who to spend your life with
What to make for dinner
How to invest your money

And on…And on…And on…

So, how do you choose?

For me, it all boils down to one thing “PEACE”!!!

No Peace…then it is a No Go!

A sense of ease must flow over me before my foot hits the ground to propel me forward. And, when there is a sense of dis-ease…I must

STOP & EXAMINE MY MIND…

What am I thinking???

The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; Romans 6:8

I seek PEACE!!!

It’s Mind Control…

Love Lee ♥

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE RANCH…2011

Dec24

Greetings Our Precious Family and Friends!!!

Wow, this year has flown by and while so much has changed in our lives since 2010, we remain very much the same. This year Richard and I spent time celebrating life events with our family which included birthdays, weddings, graduations, Tae Kwon Do, and basketball. In May family and friends joined us for the 5^th Annual Smith Family Reunion which was filled with lots of food, fun, laughter, and lots of MEMORIES!!! Our lives are so enriched by the moments we have with those we love.

Then in October, heaven gained an Angel and we lost our Nana (Richard’s mother). This Christmas will be especially hard for us as Christmas was Nana’s favorite holiday and Christmas Eve will not be the same without her.

It was also in October we moved to the “Ranch”. We sold our home and moved into our 38 foot motorhome…Talk about a huge task!!! All our belongings which were in our 3,100 SF home are now housed in 3 different storage buildings and have no clue where to find anything!!!

I am sure about now you are probably thinking we have lost our minds…I assure you we have not!!! We will be building a home on our daughter and son-in-law’s ranch right across from our precious granddaughter!!! Wooohooo…talk about making some incredible memories…In-fact we have already started!!! A huge thanks to our son-in-law, Robi for getting a place for the RV set-up while we were busy moving…We would not have made it without his help!!!

Since moving into the RV, we’ve added a deck, put up a fence, made time for play breaks, and even taken a trip to New Mexico for Thanksgiving where we spent quality time with Brandi and Robi in Taos before driving to Albuquerque for time with Uncle Russell, Aunt Karen, and Richard’s cousins…Making Those Memories!!!

Richard continues to work for BASF as a process technician and for Alston Group LLC as a technical writer. Lee Ann celebrated her 10th Anniversary at Angleton Danbury Medical Center and continues to focus on the Revenue Cycle and Case Management. We both are keenly aware of how blessed we are to have such wonderful employers and incredible co-workers.

While life is very simple now…It is a great life!!!

We pray during this Holiday Season God will surround you with His peace and you will take time to bask in His presence throughout the entire year…

Merry Christmas and Lots of Love

Beneath His Sheltering Wing…

Love,

Richard and Lee Ann ♥

A Trip To The Pig Pen

Sep23

I love the story of the prodigal son. Here is a young man who has it all…a home, wealth, food, and his father’s love. He becomes discontent and restless so he goes to his father and asks for his inheritance early. The father grants his son’s wishes and the son takes the money and runs.

The little party animal goes out and squanders away all the money his father gave him. With no money he is forced to go to work for a pig farmer. While working for the pig farmer he doesn’t even make enough money to buy food. He is forced to eat the same food the pigs eat.

After living in this state for a while he decides to go back home. He felt certain being a servant for his father would be better than working for the pig farmer. So he heads home…

As he approaches his father’s place, his dad sees him and runs out to greet him. His dad embraces him and welcomes him home. Not as a servant but as a son.

This young man like many of us, we don’t recognize what we have and are never satisfied so we go out and experiment to find those things and people who bring us “happiness”. Sometimes it just takes a…

A Trip To The Pig Pen

For us to change our mindset and recognize how truly blessed we are!!!

PS: For you parents who have kids in the “Pig Pen” you hold on to the promises of God…They will return home!!!

Love Lee ♥

Embrace Change

Sep22

So, you turn on your computer to find your Facebook Newsfeed has changed…How are you dealing with that?

While change is welcomed by some it amazes me how others respond. I have noticed some with anger, others with frustration, and many with bewilderment. If change is not welcome in our electronic social networking, how are we coping with major changes that occur in life?

Change is hard. Change is especially hard when it is dictated and we have no say. Changes which we might have no control could be related to:

Death
Relationships
Job
Aging
Finances

For the little things, such as Facebook, rearrangement of furniture, or a new color change on a wall…We should probably rethink our reactions and save the intense emotions for the “Big” things.

If you are having trouble dealing with change, I would like to recommend the book that “Changed” my perspective on change…

“Who Moved My Cheese”

After reading this book, you will be in pursuit of new cheese and…

Embrace Change

Love Lee ♥

Living a Cookie Cutter Life

Sep21

Lately our lives have been consumed with looking at house plans. This is it… our shot to get what we want. As I look through the plans I have discovered often the exterior of the home is different but the floor plan is the same or the floor plan is different but the exterior has been changed. Then I think to myself “didn’t I just look at that one?”

Looking at house plans reminds me of people. We often times look for what is popular, in-style, or what other’s think and incorporate those looks, characteristics, or whatever into our lives. So much so we lose track of who we are. I call this…

Living a Cookie Cutter Life

Cookie cutter lives is a life where we do, say, and live just like the next person. There is nothing to set us apart from the rest of the world. We do not live life to its fullest because we are so busy trying to be like the next person or fitting in.

What a tragedy…

Over the past six years I have learned to embrace my uniqueness. I don’t want to be like everyone else. I want to live a life set apart; one that is my own, led by my Father, unique, and distinctive.

My Father created me to be me…Not you, my mother, my sister, or my best friend…ME!!!

I celebrate the “me”, He created me to be and NO more…

Living a Cookie Cutter Life

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart…” Jeremiah 1:5

God is not a respecter of persons…He set you apart too!

Love Lee ♥

What A Mess

Sep20

Recently we put our home on the market so we could pursue our lifelong dream of building a house. Whoop Whoop….

Who knew selling a house could be so much work? How on earth did all this stuff get into my closets? Where did all this dust come from? These are the questions that kept going through my mind as I was getting the house ready to put on the market.

All the time I was cleaning I kept saying…

What A Mess!

Then it dawned on me, our lives become much the same. Before we even realize it our lives become cluttered with negative thoughts and emotions, stress, illness, unhealthy habits, white lies…Hmmm wait, let’s just call it what it is…SIN

As with keeping up a house so to avoid clutter, dust, and depreciation, we must perform routine maintenance on our lives. And, just as there are times we are forced to ask for help around the house,we must call on the name of Jesus; an ever-present help in time of need for a Spiritual cleaning.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

Confessing our sins is our Spiritual house cleaning…What is it that is cluttering up your Spiritual Life? It’s time to clean it up so we no longer have to say…

What A Mess

Love Lee ♥

There Is A Winner Within

Sep19

Wow, who would have thought…

Landau Eugene Murphy Jr takes the stage and appears to be the least likely person to audition much less win America’s Got Talent.

As you will see in the video, none of the judges were expecting to hear such a spectacular audition. In-fact their body language and reaction to Landau’s appearance indicates they have absolutely no confidence in his ability. In-fact, the judges had judged him before he had even opened his mouth.

As I watched this episode of America’s Got Talent and then watched again in the video, I couldn’t help but wonder…How would we respond if Landau had walked through the doors of our church and sat down next to us? Oh I know, we all would like to believe we would welcome him with open arms. But, would we really?

As much as Christians hate to admit it we are such a judgmental group of people. I’m sure you are thinking… “Not Me!” Are you sure about that? Below are some scenarios, as you read them being totally honest with yourself…What would be your gut reaction to this person who decides to sit next to you in church?

A 15-year-old female wearing Daisy Dukes
A derelict who reeks of alcohol
An elderly man who’s clothing smells of old urine
A teenage boy wearing a baseball cap
A group of young men wearing black trench coats
A woman in her 40’s wearing a t-shirt and no bra
A young mother with a screaming baby
A teenager eating a hot dog and drinking a coke

Hmmm…did you get up and move from your pew, ignore them, or embrace them?

I would venture to say if we are totally honest with ourselves if we did embrace them, we did not embrace them with our heart but in gesture only.

My friend, we cannot continue to judge a book by its cover. We must open up the hard external cover of broken lives and begin to read the pages chalked full of experiences. We must begin to see the internal person; the one screaming to come out.

We are so bound by tradition and religion we lose track of who we are and our calling. We are called to love the “Unlovely” and the “Rule Breakers”.

“Church is not a household for saints. It is a hospital for sinners.” ~Robin Butler

“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. Luke 6:37

Don’t Judge the Book by Its Cover…