Who are we...

We, as Christians, are called! We are the Church. We are the hands. We are the feet. So when do we serve? It seems we tend to be serving someone...namely ourselves. I will probably step on some toes with this one. Maybe even my own...but it needs to be said. This time of year I tend to notice a trend but it doesn't all happen just this time of year. It seems that we have the fluff, we have the powder, we have the pretty decorations and bring out the fine china...but what about getting our hands dirty. Its funny how we say we are all about outreach. We are all about reaching the unreachable and ministering to the un-saved. We say we are about bringing others to Christ and putting others first. I'm not sure I see that. Outreach is serving...outreach is getting your hands dirty. Outreach is reaching... - OUT! I am all for being filled and being poured into but its funny the time, the expense, the meetings, the lavish decoration, and the groves of people who will come out to pour into themselves but never show up for the ones who need a little decoration, who need a little help, who need a little bit of uplifting, who need a little attention. What if...what if we took a little attention off of ourselves and turned it toward someone in need. What if...instead of being the ones served...you are the servant. It amazes me, I'm not sure why, of the people who will show up for the "fluff" but never show up for the ones who need a little fluff! Yeah I may ruffle a few feathers...maybe they need ruffling. I am so ready to find a place where people truly WANT to serve. Where you don't have to go beg for help..instead you have more help than you could possibly need. Funny how people who I have seen once and people who don't even go there will show up to help but our own are missing. What good are we doing sitting on our church pews every week and never getting up! We go to be filled and rejuvenated but is it all about us? Is that as far as it goes? I so very much want to be a part of something more. A part of something that wants to make a difference and not just say they want to make a difference. So many faces missing from some crucial events. I take it personally in every event. No, it isn't possible to be at everything. No, it isn't one persons job. Collectively as a body we should be there. We should show up. We should WANT to help. We should WANT to make a difference. We say this is what we want to do...but our actions speak differently! Are we Christians or are we just seat warmers for our pews every Sunday?

Me...the Israelite

I grumble. I groan. God provides. God provides what we need. Takes care of us when its tough... but I still grumble. I still seek more. I still want more. I still wish for more. I still say that isn't enough, I wanted twice that amount. Three times that amount. Oh how I fall into this trap so easily. God delivered the Israelites. He provided what they needed, he took care of them, he told them not to worry, he told them all was well and to trust in him. What did they do? They grumbled. They groaned. They wanted more. Because of their lack of trust they were made to wonder for 40 years. They were put to the test. The same test that God puts me through. "Are you going to trust me this time? Are you going to see that I will provide. I will take care of you. Do you see it yet?" No, I just grumble. It's so easy to get to this place...where the Israelites were. It's so easy for me to say but why can't I have this and why can't I have that. If I could only get this amount. If I could only have that much. I have found myself doing this all too easily. I pray for needs to be met. God meets them. I pray for an opportunity. God provides it. I pray...I pray...I pray...GOD PROVIDES...but do I TRUST? So why can we not just be thankful. Why can we not just offer up a joyful hallelujah thank you to our Lord Jesus when He does what He says He will do. Thanksgiving for the small things that go un-noticed throughout the day. Thankful for the big things we didn't expect. Thankful for the prayers being answered that we prayed but ...maybe they weren't entirely met in the way we had hoped....maybe they were met in the way that God saw fit. We may think it has to be big to be answered when in reality the smallest of smalls is as equally great. God provides...bottom line. But do I TRUST? "Grumbling causes stumbling" ...the Israelites stumbled because they would not fully keep there faith in God. They would not fully place their trust in Him that he would do what he said he would do. He had delivered them from slavery. Brought them out of bondage. Brought them to the wilderness. Provided food and taken care of them but yet they grumbled. I DON'T WANT TO BE AN ISRAELITE. "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" Matthew 6:25-26 Tonight I just want to be thankful. Thankful that He is always there when I need him. Thankful He answers those prayers when He sees the timing is right. Thankful He still loves me even when I don't deserve it.I know I will falter and fail but I'm learning. I see David and He is so great at this...yes we all have our moments...but I can text him or call him about something and he just turns it into a moment of Thanksgiving at what God has done. I'm learning! TRUST. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

In pursuit of AWESOME...

One foot in front of the other. One day after the other. How can I be more awesome today than I was yesterday. How can I be greater tomorrow than I was today. Putting life into perspective...we aren't here for us. We aren't here to gain more. We aren't here to live life day after day with no direction. We aren't put on this earth for ourselves. We are here for Him. We are here to share His word. To share His life. To share His direction. His direction for our lives. His direction for others lives. We were all created for different purposes. Some are meant to preach. Some are meant to teach. Some are meant to lead. Some are meant to follow. What is it that we are called to do? We are called to love unconditionally. We are called to share uncontrollably. We are called to be more today than we were yesterday. Our pursuit as a family is to become more...more loving and more in love, more faithful, more obedient, more courageous, more passionate, more understanding, more consistent. God calls us to be his hands and feet but often days I look in the mirror and say "what have I done to be greater for Him today? What have I done to show His love to another. What have I done to be awesome for Christ today?" This life is not about acquiring more things and having more. Its about seeing how many great things we can do with what he has already given us and what he continues to give. Sometimes this is hard. We are always in pursuit of more. It's human nature to want more to buy more to have more. But, when we get more...how much more is enough? Or, do we just want more? What kind of awesome things can we do with more. Our pursuit of the ultimate more might come in funding adoptions (maybe our own), building orphanages, paying camp tuition's, buying someones groceries, funding an entire angel tree, building our own camp, giving like we have never been able to give before. It's all about furthering God's kingdom...NOT MINE! Now, don't get me wrong...we aren't perfect and I'm not playing a we are better than you card. Its taken a long time for the mentality of having "more" to come into perspective and some days we fail at it miserably. But, as a collective group in pursuit of the same "greatness", the same "more", the same "awesome"...We could change the face of this nation. We could change a world. There would be no more orphans, no more hungry...become the father to the fatherless...WE...COULD...BE...AWESOME!

It's been awhile...

Yes...I am behind! It has been a fabulously crazy busy last few months and I have missed blogging/writing like crazy! Glad to be back at it! What a busy few months we have had with our first year of homeschooling and trying to find some normalcy to our days. I have loved having my boys at home and being the one to teach and pour into them daily. It has been great to see them grown, learn and accomplish new things daily. It isn't easy. It's lots of work. But it is so worth it. Our days are crazy and the weeks and days tend to get away from me. Probably the biggest struggle is finding that balance...as I laugh out loud. There is no balance and there is no normal! Every day is different and brings on its next struggle and hurdle to overcome but we are making it. With four kids...three in school...on three different levels... and a 3 year old to still make happy and spend time with isn't always easy. Some days I am kicking myself feeling I have neglected him or not spent enough time with the other boys. But at the end of the day I just have to chalk it up to I have done my best and that is all I can do! I am getting to spend so much more time with them than I have in several years and I love that. Mom is learning also! I have found that all that "stuff" I did back in high school...must have sunk in a little. We have been working on Algebra which was not my favorite in school but has come back to me as well as all the diagramming. Can't say I remember all of it because I remember the lines going a few ways but some of this has been ridiculous! But we are all learning together and what we don't know we will figure out. Feeling very blessed that God has given me this opportunity to pour into my kids. Blessed that I have been given the opportunity for my kids to pour into me on a daily basis. They teach me something new every day. Blessed!

June 26th...

June 26th...it was Poppy's birthday! Thinking back to the exact moment when he left this world.

It was a night like any other.  Dad called to check on him and no doubt he would be watching the braves. Any night there was a game on you would find him in his recliner, remote in hand and baseball on TV.  I can't help but wonder the thoughts that went through his mind that night. At 93 you know he knew his time was near. But you are never quite ready for that word at any age...death.  As bedtime came he made his way to his room. Dressed in his pajamas (he always wore pajamas) he crawled into bed.  I can hear his prayer in the dark of the night. "Lord I'm here...thank you for another day." As I think about the next few hours I pray he was at peace.  No suffering and no pain. At some point during the night he made his way to the guest room closet and grabbed his suitcase.  He laid it at the foot of the bed.  He was ready.  This event has played over in my mind since then wondering what was happening and what he was thinking.  In my mind...the angels had appeared! "Jesus is waiting...come with us...your time has come!" What a joy! With all the excitement Poppy did what any of us would do preparing for a journey. We would grab our suitcase and prepare to go.  I can hear the angels say with a little laugh and grin "No need for that...HE is all you need."

What a life he lived. What a legacy he left. We miss you Poppy and our love for you will never fade. You and Gran-Gran dancing on the streets of gold.

Easter with the great-grandkids!

Be Still...

"In place of our exhaustion and spiritual fatigue, God will give us rest.  All he asks is that we come to Him...that we spend a while thinking about Him, meditating on Him, talking to Him, listening in silence, occupying ourselves with Him - totally and thoroughly lost in the hiding place of His presence." - Chuck Swindoll

Time to be quiet...time to be still...time to LISTEN! In this crazy world of hustle and bustle...running here and there...house full of noisy kids...going to work...coming home to laundry, dishes and supper...the lists goes ON and ON and ON. So many things take our attention and our time. Have you ever just stopped? Have you ever found your quiet place? Do you have a quiet place? For me right now it is my back porch. My boys might be inside watching TV right now but that is ok. I have spent the last 1.5 hrs in the pool playing with them. This is my time to be quiet, to listen to the wind in the trees, to meditate...to be renewed and refreshed.

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD. Psalm 46:10

Do the days and weeks ever just pass you by? Where does the time go and how does it go so quickly? Sometimes it will be a couple of days and I will think...have I just stopped to be still and listen to God? I know that my quiet time is often filled with "Lord do this or that" "Lord be with so and so" "Lord help in this situation"...but do I stop and just LISTEN? Listen to the small still voice inside.

"My Prayer...
Forgive me, God, for drowning
out your still, small voice with
my noisy life."

"God has special confidence for each soul. Indeed, it would seem as though the deeper truths came only in moments of profound devotional silence and contemplation." - Charles Brent

Spiritual renewal came for me this past week. What a fabulous week of VBS we had! What is funny and ironic is the same thing that I have been struggling with for months in my own life was the theme of VBS. Facing Fear...Trusting God

For God did not give us a spirit of fearfulness, but a spirit of power, of love and of sound judgement. 2 Timothy 1:7

So many questions I have had for God lately. So many times asking for guidance in steps to take. So afraid that we might make the wrong choice and make a mistake.  What I have failed to to is to BE STILL....LISTEN.  The days get away from me. Our house is a full house..a very busy and active house and sometimes the days and weeks all run together and I look back and wonder what I did or where it went. I am going to be more committed to stopping and listening. More committed to drowning out the noise.  Something we often fail to do is to take a day of rest. Taking a day to rest with our family to be rejuvenated and renewed.

We live, in fact, in a world starved for solitude, silence and private: and therefore starved for meditation and true friendship. - C.S. Lewis

What is so great about this blog is this thought of taking time to be still and listen has been on my heart for some time. David was asked to teach our youth Sunday School class this past week and he brings me the book plops it down in front of me and says "read this". What is the lesson entitled "SHHHH..." So, of course, I read it! That is where these quotes are coming from and I am so thankful that I was able to read it. Funny how God puts things in front of us...on purpose!

"MY PRAYER...
God, help me be intentional
about finding time to be alone
with You every day."

I want to be intentional with finding that quiet place every day. I want to be intentional with not asking so much and just listening. God knows my fears, God knows my desires, God knows my strengths and my weaknesses, God knows my innermost thoughts, God knows my concerns, God knows my prayers before they are spoken so I just need to STOP...BE STILL...AND LISTEN. God knows we are asking for direction in our lives...he is answering I just have to listen! God knows my fears and he is helping me deal with them...I need to trust and listen!

"My Prayer...
God, no matter how busy things get,
thank you for always
being there when my spirit needs refreshing."

A song that has really spoken to me for months now and is my "go to" song when things are a little hazy...


You Revive Me

You revive me
You revive me Lord
And all my deserts are rivers of joy
You are the treasure I could not afford
So I'll spend myself till I'm empty and poor
All for You
You revive me Lord

Lord I have seen Your goodness
And I know the way you are
Give me eyes to see You in the dark.
And Your face shines a glory
That I only know in part
And there is still longing
A longing in my heart

You revive me
You revive me Lord
And all my deserts are rivers of joy
You are the treasure I could not afford
So I'll spend myself till I'm empty and poor
All for You
You revive me Lord

My soul is thirsty
Only You can satisfy
You are the well that never will run dry
And I'll praise you for the blessing
For calling me Your friend
And in Your name I'm lifting
I'm lifting up my hands

YOU REVIVE ME!

Our God WINS!

So it seems everywhere you turn right now there is an attack on Christianity. It has been an ongoing battle since the beginning of time. However, we are seeing some things unfold in front of our eyes that were prophesied in the book of Revelation. Does it scare you? Does it scare you for your children? I think it is only human that there is a little fear in us as to what may happen right now in our lifetime and the lifetime of our kids. We would probably be lying if we said there wasn't just a little bit of us that want to pretend it isn't happening.  So what if it is? What are we as Christians going to do about it? Are we willing to do anything at all? Or, do we have the mentality of what can I do...I am one person! We are more than "One" person we are a community of believers and if we stood together and actually took a stand...oh what a difference it would make. If the body of believers in Christ would stand together and say "no more" what would that do? But, is this all God's plan coming into play? Even if we stood would anything happen? Well, if we don't stand I know that for sure nothing will change. We must fight for our belief and our faith. We must take a stand and say "no more".

This morning at the breakfast table we were having this same conversation with our boys. Talking about what is happening in our world...our schools, the military...we referenced it back to Daniel. Daniel prayed to God, Daniel was thrown into the lions den for praying, Daniel was saved by GOD! I asked the boys what if someone told you that you couldn't pray or that you could not go to church and worship. What if they told you that you could not share or show your faith with anyone? What would you do? A unanimous reply of "we would do it anyway" rang out around our table! We are being told as Christians that it is not ok to be a Christian  or to believe in GOD - our GOD - the one true ONLY GOD! What are we going to do about that? When our textbooks right here in our schools have 30 pages devoted to Islam and 3-5 pages devoted to Christianity...what does that tell you? Do you see where this is going? It is not ok! It is not ok for me to send my child to school and be "ok" with this. Because again I am one person...what can I do? We will be homeschooling in the fall. Oh yes, I have gotten the "are you crazy" looks..."how are you going to afford that"questions ..."I could never do that" statements...I ask the questions "at what cost can you not do it?" Is it going to be easy? No, I am sure there are days we will absolutely struggle to make it through the day! But I do know that the great wonderful days will far outweigh the bad and I am willing to deal with a few bad days for all the good! "Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them.. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkeness, and light dwells with him. I thank and praise you, O God of my fathers: You have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you..." Daniel 2:20-23

Hmmmm, I think that works with our Christian walk also. Are we willing to endure a few "bad" days to have an eternity of "good"? No matter what happens...no matter what takes place...no matter what this "world" as we know it comes to..."as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" Joshua 24:15.  So in the end no matter what happens if you are a true Christian Our God WINS! We win in the end to spend an eternity with our Saviour in Heaven! We win! No matter what if you are a Christian...you win in the end! The process may not be easy...and the trials maybe great...but his love endures forever!

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance" James1:2