July 19th is Melissas 35th Birthday. Lets storm the gates of Perryville ALL MONTH LONG with birthday cards. Please just take a moment. It means so much. A reminder: no glitter, foam, standouts, simple cards are best, no colored paper. The address is on FAQ panel to your left. It takes five days for mail from Tucson, so please start getting them in the mail ASAP. Thanks, Donna
PS: Please follow previously published guidelines for sending books, magazines or money orders for Missy's expense account.
(See Letters From Home Post 4/19/13)
Friday, June 28, 2013
Thursday, June 13, 2013
A Big 'Ol Rock
My sweet family and friends, Well, I am looking at my list of months, the one I have written on the back of a tablet of lined paper. It stretches the length of it, and some days it just looks long. I try not to look at it until the end of the month when I get to check it off. (Why does it seem so satisfying to check things off a list?) But today I looked, today I counted-26. Well, about 26.2 to be precise. When that realization of 26.2 sunk in, relief washed over me. It's a marathon-I only have a marathon left! O.K., some of you may think something different when you hear the word marathon, but it brought me great relief, and even a little joy. Don't get me wrong, marathons hurt. They give me blisters, claim my toenails, burn my lungs and make my heart feel like it is going to melt inside my chest. Somewhere between mile 18 and mile 24 I feel like my legs are simultaneously made of lead and sharp knives. It hurts to walk, so I just keep running. But in the end, when I am finished, I feel strong, maybe not so much my body as my heart. SO Praise God! I only have a marathon left. I pray He helps me run it well. I press on, knowing when it is over, my heart will be strong. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.
Its been an interesting week around here. We have been locked down a few times, not entirely sure why. Ive heard alot of stories on "orange.com."ha. But you can only believe about half of what you hear. Anyway, yesterday about 4:15am they decided to spice things up by popping our doors open and while yelling"Get up and Get outside!", (yelling profanities) That was a little dramatic for me. So we ended up siting outside while for awhile while they shook our rooms and brought the dogs over to sniff us. Everyone was irritated and looking down. I was sitting outside my door looking at my shoes contemplating squashing a baby cricket, ( girls around here say having a cricket in your room is good luck, I just say eww... gross, there is a bug in my room, step on it!) So while considering crickets, I hear God whisper, "Look Up". Sometimes, I don't listen very well, but this time I did. I saw the sun begin to rise. The clouds went from purple to having a lining of soft pink, and as the sun continued in ascent they became like fluffy balls of fire. It was beautiful. It is amazing what you discover when you change your perspective. In one moment I felt big and what I saw was ugly, and in the next, I felt small and what I saw was beauty. Funny how God does that.
I dont know if you noticed that in May the moon had a couple of nights when it was so big and so bright, it lit up the sky like it was day. There were two nights it was so bright through my window that around 2:30 am it woke me up. I'm so glad it did. I would have hated to miss it. I layed in bed an stared at it, remembering David Crowder's "Illuminated" album. Inside the cover it talks about the difference in an illuminating object-something capable of producing it's own light, and an illuminated object-something that simply reflects light; it has no capability of creating it's own. The sun is illuminating, the moon illuminated. The closer the illuminated object is to the illuminating object; the brighter it will seem. The clouds yesterday, the moon in May-their proximity to the sun showed. It reminded me of the face of Moses in Exodus, when he came down from Mount Sinai. He had been so close to God that even after he came back down, his face was still glowing bright. When Paul reminds of the story of Moses in 2nd Corinthians he tells us because of Christ we get to stand and be illuminated and reflect the glory of the son. What more can I ask? If God can light up that giant rock in the sky like a lamp, maybe there is hope for me, if only I walk closely.
I went to church tonight. Worship remains my favorite time of the week. I sing alot on my own, but there is something powerful, something beautiful about singing to the One who is worthy in the company of a bunch of convicts. Their facades have been stripped away, they come with their hearts bowed low and broken. These girls dont just sing, they cry out from the depths of their hearts until I can feel my soul vibrate along with the waves of their praise. All I can think of are the words of an old Lifehouse song-"How can I stand here and not be moved by you?"I cannot-It is impossible, and I am moved to tears. I can only mouth the words as tears continue to stream down; their worship so honest, pounds through my chest. "Lord, I love You." More than life..." It is desperation at its most beautiful. For that, I wish you were here.
Thank God, that there is no place where he won't meet us. That all he asks is to walk closely; even if wer'e just a big 'Ol Rock or a bunch of water vapor, we can be transformed to reflect his glory in the most beautiful way. Praying for you to be illuminated this week-Here's to unveiled Glory! :)
Love from Fat Camp, Missy
Its been an interesting week around here. We have been locked down a few times, not entirely sure why. Ive heard alot of stories on "orange.com."ha. But you can only believe about half of what you hear. Anyway, yesterday about 4:15am they decided to spice things up by popping our doors open and while yelling"Get up and Get outside!", (yelling profanities) That was a little dramatic for me. So we ended up siting outside while for awhile while they shook our rooms and brought the dogs over to sniff us. Everyone was irritated and looking down. I was sitting outside my door looking at my shoes contemplating squashing a baby cricket, ( girls around here say having a cricket in your room is good luck, I just say eww... gross, there is a bug in my room, step on it!) So while considering crickets, I hear God whisper, "Look Up". Sometimes, I don't listen very well, but this time I did. I saw the sun begin to rise. The clouds went from purple to having a lining of soft pink, and as the sun continued in ascent they became like fluffy balls of fire. It was beautiful. It is amazing what you discover when you change your perspective. In one moment I felt big and what I saw was ugly, and in the next, I felt small and what I saw was beauty. Funny how God does that.
I dont know if you noticed that in May the moon had a couple of nights when it was so big and so bright, it lit up the sky like it was day. There were two nights it was so bright through my window that around 2:30 am it woke me up. I'm so glad it did. I would have hated to miss it. I layed in bed an stared at it, remembering David Crowder's "Illuminated" album. Inside the cover it talks about the difference in an illuminating object-something capable of producing it's own light, and an illuminated object-something that simply reflects light; it has no capability of creating it's own. The sun is illuminating, the moon illuminated. The closer the illuminated object is to the illuminating object; the brighter it will seem. The clouds yesterday, the moon in May-their proximity to the sun showed. It reminded me of the face of Moses in Exodus, when he came down from Mount Sinai. He had been so close to God that even after he came back down, his face was still glowing bright. When Paul reminds of the story of Moses in 2nd Corinthians he tells us because of Christ we get to stand and be illuminated and reflect the glory of the son. What more can I ask? If God can light up that giant rock in the sky like a lamp, maybe there is hope for me, if only I walk closely.
I went to church tonight. Worship remains my favorite time of the week. I sing alot on my own, but there is something powerful, something beautiful about singing to the One who is worthy in the company of a bunch of convicts. Their facades have been stripped away, they come with their hearts bowed low and broken. These girls dont just sing, they cry out from the depths of their hearts until I can feel my soul vibrate along with the waves of their praise. All I can think of are the words of an old Lifehouse song-"How can I stand here and not be moved by you?"I cannot-It is impossible, and I am moved to tears. I can only mouth the words as tears continue to stream down; their worship so honest, pounds through my chest. "Lord, I love You." More than life..." It is desperation at its most beautiful. For that, I wish you were here.
Thank God, that there is no place where he won't meet us. That all he asks is to walk closely; even if wer'e just a big 'Ol Rock or a bunch of water vapor, we can be transformed to reflect his glory in the most beautiful way. Praying for you to be illuminated this week-Here's to unveiled Glory! :)
Love from Fat Camp, Missy
Monday, June 3, 2013
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