• Don't waver in Your dependence on me, Cynthia...Steady as she goes!
• Get over offenses with others...grow up!
• Celebrate me...delight in the fact that you are my child.
• Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers (exact quote from THE MESSAGE)
• My peace will take the center of your life..not your stress.
• I will bring harmony to your life - all the pieces flowing together to make beautiful music.

I ended my time with Psalm 23 and this brought it all into focus. Verse 1 says, "God, my Shepherd...I don't need a thing." I began to write down all the things that I have...food, clothing, shelter, health, children, love, family, job...I was so overwhelmed with God's goodness to me. I finished my bike ride, returned home, and then drove to my favorite beach, Islanders Beach, and walked about 4 miles and just enjoyed the sun. I spent that time thanking God for the morning, for some specific things he had taught me, and watching all the vacationers enjoy their time at the beach.

In conclusion, if you have never taken a few hours like I did to get away with God...DO IT! I caught my breath (Ps 23:3) & I cannot tell you how much I needed the refreshment. If you do it, let me know how it goes!

"I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse."

This is a familiar verse to me. I've always used this verse as a standard for information intake...I would call it "The Philippians 4:8 test." Honestly, I haven't "taken the test" in awhile with regard to my life as a whole. God began to reveal to me how much of the negatives of life I had been focussing on...the economy, my recent friends' marriages unraveling, our personal finances, raising the kids...pretty much all the big stuff. Then came the BIG hammer..."Cynthia, the noise I am REALLY talking about...is your TV. You are filling what empty space you have with TV and there is no room for me to speak to you." Now, here's the deal. I don't watch a lot of TV. News in the morning...DVR old movies and Seinfeld...but I have an awful time falling asleep. I have Panic Anxiety Disorder so bedtime is the hardest part of the day for me. Mine is genetic and a generally mild case, but still something I deal with everyday. So I have the TV on at night when I am trying to fall asleep...not really watching, just on...noise. This is a bad habit I started when I was nursing Sydney 5 years ago. I would be awake with her, and then try to go back to sleep and the panic anxiety would hit me. So how do I stop? I'm canceling everything but basic cable (local channels.) No more DVR.   Now before you start thinking I'm freaking out, Todd and I had been discussing this for about a week. We are such internet people that we weren't using our cable very much. We have been trying to continue to cut our monthly expenses (Thanks, Dave!) and this is a HUGE expense. So, this was confirmation for me. Our cable gets cut off today, so it starts today. I'll let you you know how it goes.

But that was just the beginning of God revealing truth to me from Philippians 4...

1. God, I just want to be with You.
2. God, I need Your guidance.
3. Lord, I want to feel Your love.

I grew up out in the sticks of South Louisiana...hot, humid, no breeze...summers were awful. The one thing that brought relief was riding a bike. I grew up in the day when it was safe for little girls to ride for miles, and that it was I did. We lived out in the country and I would ride for hours. It was during this time that I started just talking to God. I would share my thoughts, my worries, and my dreams. This is how I learned to pray...on long bike rides. Skip forward 22 years or so (!) to where I live now on Hilton Head Island. So much of this place reminds me of home (except this is a lot prettier, and then there's the beach!) We have miles of back paths all over the Island and the Plantation (or subdivision) that we live in has beautiful bike paths. Our new house is just outside of the bike path so I can easily jump on it and ride for miles. I started my day on my bike and I rode and talked to God.  Here is what God said to me. "Cynthia, I've missed our bike rides. Did you ever think that maybe the reason I have brought you to this Island is because I wanted you to get back on your bike and talk to me like you did when you were a kid? I look forward to those times together again. They are my favorite. " I felt the 1st statement immediately. And that was just the beginning...

"Marvelous Light" - Hall
Welcome/Announcements
Grad Recognition - Rob Rechy - our cellist :)
"Awesome is the Lord Most High"
"Happy Day"
Message Bumper - Communion (We created this with scriptures and scenes of communion in ProPresenter - we played live music for the audio)
Communion - Time of Confession
The Bread
"Amazing Grace/My Chains are Gone"
The Wine
"Beautiful the Blood"
Message: Our Response to the Eucharist
"Hear Our Praises" - Hillsongs

The service was about 65 minutes. It was great and our people really responded in worship. What a great way to celebrate my birthday! (seriously!)

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