Wings Not Necessary

Wings Not Necessary

you dangle over a ravine
you dug
Faith not of God
but by your own power
you have danced, sang and praised

In the light of His love
He feeds you
and sustains you
just enough

“Not enough!”
you scream
“Where are You?”
you shout
you flail around
in the river of your own blood

your tantrum will end soon
In your quiet
He will be heard

Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty
He is great and worthy of praise
He enjoys the glance of your eye
He inhabits His praise
His glory is worth noticing

His blood saved you
In your exuberance
In your new freedom
you didn’t know how

your mind is confused
as you try to use two
The old mind still sings
yet Christ in You reigns
so in your good intensions
you suffer
your ministry flounders
because you are listening to the wrong heart

But God is faithful
His is happy you are dangling
because when you grow weary
and let go
He wont let you crash
anywhere
but in His arms

By Summer D Clemenson
November 25, 2013
Based on James chapter 1

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things

Exclaim my favorite thingsToday is a beautiful day!

The sun is out. There are enough clouds in the sky that there is a wonderful baby blue glow around the buildings and I am enjoying the sound of people chatting and the glorious sound of coffee being made as I sit at a table in the middle of The Electric Bean; a fellow sponsor of Christmas Joy Telethon.

Karen says her favorite thing about The EB is that it is a perfect place to plug in. Whether you are taking a break from the office, you’re out and about enjoying Kelso-Longview or you came to a great concert, this place delivers the unique essence of our local people. And it is a great place for a meeting!
(more…)

My Blood Covered Face

My Blood Covered Face

You have taken something from me

I can never have again

You stole it

with insatiable teeth and greedy hands

You planned it

and here we stand

while you have never see my face

I don’t glorify God

He told me I can’t

before I was born He breathed me into being

He knew the hurts He would have to heal

before He chased me down with more passion

than I have ever possessed

He saw me in a light I didn’t create

All I said was yes

He is glory and

He glorifies Himself in me

You can’t hear me

on top of your high mountain

Your reflection is all you see

In the tone you have perfected

you have fooled many

But I have listened to my heart

I can’t see you because

I am looking at Him

I don’t glorify God

He has told me to stop

He didn’t create me as a his pilot light

But the stand that He sets ablaze

The fire you try to start

smolders while my tears run down His cross

and I choose to forgive you

He sees me as He created me

And I said yes

He is glory and

He glorifies Himself in me

In His blood I am me

by Summer D Clemenson
November 2, 2013

The Bag Party 2013

The Bag Party 2013

The Bag Party 2013How much fun can you pack in a minute! Well guess how much more you can pack in 3 hours! Living Ministries and sponsors put together The Bag Party benefit concert for Hearts For Homeless and Love Overwhelming in January 2013.

>>>Learn more about The Bag Party

“The Bag Party was the perfect chance to tell people about Hearts For Homeless and Love Overwhelming. These organizations do so much for people and most of it is behind the scenes. The reason they spend hours volunteering is to make sure that people experiencing homelessness have the basics.” Karen Gidderon

(more…)

and I Groaned

and I Groaned

and my heart was happy

while the angels sang

in words that only You can hear

Their cries rose out and over

encompassing this man

encompassing and overflowing

as Your messengers sang

You took him away and brought him back again

brand new

His eyes glowed and shone of Your mercy

clothed in Your banner of love

his spirit ever singing Your praise and Your grace

Oh holy Lord

Oh holy Lord

Oh holy Lord

You won

You are life

You are

As Your countenance shone through mine

You overflowed

Your love on all that were infiltrated by Your miracles

who foresaw and believed

with empty hands and full hearts

they sang with me as I was embellished

who You are

as You chose to prove who You are

I heard my soul singing

in our secret prayer songs

and I groaned

Amen

By Summer D Clemenson
10-8-2013

Dedicated to Lynn’s Brother

Trauma Informed Care

Trauma Informed Care

In July we got a call from Living Ministries. They had learned about an opportunity for education and thought that me might be willing to video tape the seminar so all of their committee members would have a chance to view it. Of course we were glad to show up and we even handled the bad lighting and sound with more attention than we usually do. This is one of those projects that we finished a long time ago and just didn’t get around to the marketing…what is it they say about the plumber’s house? LOL!

Cowlitz Wahkiakum Council of Governments arranged for Janis Cleaveland, RN, Director of Nursing; Cascadia, BHCC to join us at Lower Columbia CAP along with service providers who came from Washington and Oregon to learn about Trauma Informed Care.

Janis touched on ACEs or Adverse Childhood Experiences to explain that the more traumatic experiences we had during childhood the better the chance that trauma can leave an indelible print on you.

This seminar played on KLTV in July on both the educational channel and channel 11. If you missed it, feel free to ask them to play it again. If you would like to read the seminar notes or view the seminar in 10-15 min increments please go to LivingMinistries.org.

The Mission

The Mission

Louder than the wind

I hear the screams

The accusations

The fighting

All the times you didn’t know how

to choose joy

The whirlwind never stops

The one that keeps my voice

out of your head

Judgement

Defiance

Defenselessness

fed by a spirit you know well

but not by name

I want nothing more than to love you

I have gone to the ends

of the world & back

I chose you

I will never give up

So I will wait

Even if it is your last breath

I will hear you

when you choose joy

by Summer D Clemenson

9-28-2013

 


Photo Credit: Joy, Photo Credit: Mashakotcur, Dreamstime.com

 

Connect The Dots Featuring DOGAPAWLOOZA 2013

Connect The Dots Featuring DOGAPAWLOOZA 2013

dogapalooza 2015Woof!

Welcome to this weeks episode of Connect The Dots with your host, Karen Gidderon. This week our episode will feature DOGAPAWLOOZA 2013! This annual event is hosted by The Dog Zone to benefit Humane Society of Cowlitz County!

As cat-lovers you might wonder what would draw us to an event with SO MANY dogs…well…we love animals…we even like dogs…we just prefer to LIVE with animals of the feline persuasion…and we knew that since the ALPHA of all alpha dogs is Doug Kalberg, owner of The Dog Zone, that as long as we stayed on his good side he would make sure we were alright…we cut that part out, but we did hand him a few doggy treats before he bounded away to play with his four-legged friends!
(more…)

Connect The Dots Featuring Highlander Fest 2013

Connect The Dots Featuring Highlander Fest 2013

Imagine it. You are carrying around 30 lbs of equipment. It is really hot. You forgot to bring any water. You shutter as sweat rolls down your back. But you are having a great time! There is music, laughter, yummy food smells and pirates yelling, “ARG!” The number one thing that made it all worth it was…that’s right…men in kilts! Old and young men alike sporting their tartans. Pull your chairs up and get comfy because we made it to Highlander Fest 2013!

Whether you were there to join in the Highlander Games or learn more about your Scottish roots there was fun to be had by all.The clans were there enjoying each other and telling stories. We found someone giving sword fighting lessons and the bag pipes were exhilarating, whether they were on fire or not!
(more…)

Connect the Dots Featuring New Hope Cancer Recovery

Connect the Dots Featuring New Hope Cancer Recovery

Back in August we were blessed to have the opportunity to work with Kim Walters of New Hope Cancer Recovery on her annual event, Cruise for the Cure. This annual event takes an entire year to pull off and according to Kim, when we met with her last week over lattes at our mutually favorite coffee shop, ZoJo, she has several details well underway.

Before Cruise for the Cure 2012, we had the opportunity to interview Kim for a Connect The Dots Episode with a lot of fuel injection! Of course our attention was detoured from blog entries while we jumped from Cruise for the Cure to Christmas Angel Telethon…so here is our thoughts on this show.

New Hope Cancer Recovery is a resource for those that are living with cancer and those that love them, as well as those who have lost someone to cancer. When you watch this episode you will get an idea of how New Hope Cancer Recovery can help you and some of the fun that happens at Cruise or the Cure which always takes place in beautiful Downtown Longview!
(more…)

Downtown Longview Christmas Parade 2012

Downtown Longview Christmas Parade 2012

First off, we understand that the Christmas Parade happened Saturday December 1, 2012. We also know that we made this production available to be shown on KLTV Channel 11 within a few days of that time…but we got backlogged…so here is the blog!

The perfect showcase of fun in Longview-Kelso! The Longview Christmas Parade is proof that cold, rain and darkness does not stop Longview-ites from having a good time!

Bands, kids and adults all come to enjoy the magic of Christmas as it is paraded through Downtown Longview, Washington. We are reminded of years gone by in the mecca of Americana, as bright lights, merry people and flying candy pelt Commerce Avenue, lined by historical buildings that sing of tradition and goodwill toward men.
(more…)

Connect the Dots Featuring Feet On The Street

Connect the Dots Featuring Feet On The Street

Back when we were producing Boomer Plus Tuesday Radio Show we heard of a guy that had a local show that he streamed live online every week. We were intrigued and invited him onto the show, which turned out to be one of the best radio shows we can remember. Later that evening all our guests met at Minus World and were part of this fun, local, positive, if not silly show!

Fast friends, due to our mutual love for positivity and our community, we have kept in touch. The fact that each week they have an unscripted, live show is just as fascinating as they are.

Ray and Candy had contacted us to see if we wanted to be guests on the show again and we were glad to schedule it into our crazy life. We also wanted to film it and produce it as a Connect the Dots Episode to cross promote each other. With a camera in hand we walked into the new venue for Feet On the Street, Lynn’s Ice Cream Yogurt & More.
(more…)