Good day

It was a good day. We were blessed to have 2 other families from church in our home today. I loved every second of it.

So, while I sit her reflecting on today, and I listen to my children talking about the day, I realize God has blessed us with such wonderful sisters and brothers in Christ. It was just a good day of fun, fellowship and a little smack talk on guitar hero (girls rule!).

Yes, it was a good day. I am so thankful God has blessed us with our church family.

Reflecting

Okay, so I can't let today go by without acknowledging that it is Holy Thursday. Each year as I sit in service and watch the story played out of Jesus' last supper with his disciples I am simply moved beyond words. Spirit filled are the words that come to my mind. Emotions fill me that, try as I might, I can't control. I simply can't keep myself from crying my eyes out.

I look around at this crazy world we live in. I look at the "norms" that occur in our world today and I think "why on earth would Jesus put himself through the torture and degradation he did for people like US?"

Why indeed? I know that I am not worthy of the sacrifice Jesus made for me. I am not worthy of the pain and suffering he endured before his death. But I am so very thankful for it.

Thank you Lord for the sacrifice you gave so that I could have everlasting life. Thank you Lord for coming to earth as a man to bear the sin of my life so that I would have the chance to live a life without condemnation. May I never forget the sacrifice you made for me and may I never take it for granted.

Overcoming disappointment

Recently we had a piece of property taken from us. I won't go into what or how, because that isn't what is important. But, it was tough to take. You see when the item was taken, we all were just so disappointed. Not because it cost us money, but because it felt like a big violation in our trust.

I like to think our family is loving and trusting of just about anyone. We welcome anyone into our home and we love doing it. So when a piece of our property goes missing, it just really hurts.

Now, add to that that the item that went missing was an item belonging to a 13 year old boy and it gets even more complicated. You see, Jay and I have been trying to process our reactions in a "MATURE" way and that takes a few days in and of itself. But add a 13 year old's hormones into the mix and it is rough for him to accept.

But, it's been a few days and things are settling down a bit and I think, through many conversations and discussions, we are all getting to a point that we are ready to let God deal with this whole thing. Why anyone would take something from someone else is still beyond me, but God will deal with that person. And, as of yesterday morning, Jayson and I had come to an agreement that we would be praying for the person who took the item. I was proud of him that he was able to agree that any person with Jesus living in his heart would never take something belonging to someone else. And THINGS can be replaced, but souls can't. And we could never wish anyone, even someone who took something from us, to have a life without Jesus in it.

So, although there is still sadness and regret in Jayson, I am proud of him for seeing it from God's side and trying his best to be "MATURE" about the incident. I know, from personal experience that it ain't so easy.

Hunter's day

Well, today my sweet Hunter turned 10. I know every mom says this, but I just can't believe she is 10 years old.

I don't use my blog often as a "bragging post" but I do hold the right on my baby's special day to brag a little about her.

Jay and I are just so proud of Hunter. She is an amazing young woman who loves Jesus and tries hard to think about what HE would have her do in every decision. She prays faithfully for the lost every night and the children in Africa. She is so tender hearted and always so thoughtful of others. I just adore those qualities in her and am grateful for her sweet heart.

But, let's not mistake her for a pushover. Oh no, on the contrary she has quite a bit of fiest to her. And therefore she is our true red head. It is not a pretty picture if she thinks you are trying to put one over on her or if you do something to hurt someone she loves. Nope, not pretty at all.

This year has seen quite a bit of change for Hunter. For starters, she saw her first birthday go by in a very long time that she was not having some sort of severe allergy occurrence. She usually is on a high dose of medication and sometimes a steroid running through her body on her birthday. Last year, the day after her birthday she had surgery to remover her adenoids and enlarge her turbinates because her nasal passages were swollen shut. It has been 1 year now since she has started taking the shots and she is doing WONDERFUL! Yay God!

She started a new school and is doing well in 4th grade. Hunter is easy to get along with so she didn't have trouble making new friends. She joined the choir and is having so much fun! She was also blessed with a great teacher who has really helped her out through the year of "adjustment".

And this is her year of "DANCE". Last May, she did her first dance recital and caught the "dance fever". Since June she has taken no less than 3 classes a week to get herself ready for company tryouts. She is currently dancing 3 days a week and she is one determined young lady, currently taking 5 (yes, 5) dance classes a week. I don't know if she will make it, but one thing I know is that she has given it her best effort. And she should be proud of herself. I, personally, think that she is a beautiful ballerina and can't wait to see her perform on the stage in June.

God blessed us with this gorgeous, beautiful, kind and loving girl. I can't imagine what our lives would be like without her in it. I can't wait to see what the year of being 10 will bring. But then again, I wish I could slow it all down and make her 1 all over again. It's such a mixed bag of emotions seeing your child grow. Waiting to see what God has planned for her, yet yearning for her not to grow up.

Okay, now that I started my tears, it's time to say: Happy Birthday baby girl! We love you so much and we are so glad God let us have you in our family!

Sometimes you just do the right thing

What is the right thing to do? The right thing may not be what WE would have thought of if we were making a list. It may even cost us something that we, in our own flesh, may not want to give up.

Sometimes the right thing hurts and it hurts a lot. But sometimes the right thing feels really really good. At times it seems pretty clear and other times it seems a little murky.

Often the right thing stands out boldly in the crowd, but there are times when the right thing just stays quietly among friends.

Sometimes we get to decide the right thing on our own and at other times we need the support of a loved one. And, what is really cool is when you and your loved one have the EXACT same "right thing to do" laid on your heart at the EXACT same time.

The still small voice

Today I had a disagreement with a dear friend. A friend I hold in the highest of regards. And honestly, I don't think that friend even knew we had a disagreement and I am pretty sure he didn't know that he had kinda hurt my feelings.

So, I did what any "girl" would do......I pouted a bit and decided that I was just going to be mad, hurt and sulk a bit more. I replayed the conversation over and over in my head trying to figure out why my friend would say something like he said. I think I even went on to draw conclusions about other areas that had nothing to do with our conversation and then I got even madder. =(

Luckily I sat down long enough this evening to take a minute and reflect on the conversation that I had had with my friend. And I heard the whisper of a voice telling me to call that friend and set it right.

You see I value this friendship. A lot. And for many different reasons. And, luckily I was able to hear the voice tell me that correcting the disagreement was a lot more important than my stinkin pride.

So, even though I don't like confrontation, I called my friend and told him my feelings on the conversation. And, I was right, he didn't even know there was a disagreement. We actually talked it through and I figured out that one little piece of communication had gotten left out of our conversation and that this little link of information made the conversation take a whole new direction.

Boy, am I ever glad I listened to that voice. You see, Satan would have loved to have taken my "half truth" and used it against this friendship. He would have loved to have wreaked havoc all over the place with this. I shudder to think of the damage a crack like that could have caused over the course of time. I can see how out of control it could have all gotten, just because I (yes I) had missed ONE sentence in a conversation.

I am so thankful that God told me to lay down my pride, call my friend, become vulnerable to him by telling him he had hurt my feelings and then lovingly confront him with what I thought (emphasis on THOUGHT) he had done wrong. We worked through it and fixed it. Instead of a crack in our friendship, we have a stronger respect for each other. I think that is just amazing!

I am grateful for my friend. I am grateful for his heart. I am grateful that we can even agree to disagree on some things. But, I am most thankful that he was able to forgive my stupidity and allow me the gift of continued friendship.

And when I think about how easy it was to fix this misunderstanding, I start to wonder why we don't do this more often? But, yet that is another blog...it's late and I don't think I better try to tackle another issue tonight! =)

The Truth Project

Jay and I have been doing the Truth Project with a great group of men and women. I am enjoying this (what do we call it?????) "study" more than anything I have ever done before.

Part of the reason I think I am enjoying it is because it is all about TRUTH! My heart had been yearning for truth to prevail for a while. I have prayed for it and coveted it for close to 6 months now. And God has given me the desires of my heart by placing me in this group.

Here is what I have learned so far. God is God. The Bible is His Word. You believe it or you don't. There is NO IN BETWEEN.

So, even though I am guilty of sin (aren't we all), I am truly praying that in situations all around me God would just keep revealing truth to me. And that He would use me to show truth to other people.

Because, here is another truth, Jesus is coming back to take his reign one day. And I can't help but to think that Christians all over this world are praying for him to come sooner rather than later because this world is so screwed up that it isn't a place many of us are going to want to be in if things get much worse. And people are going to be so blinded by the lies and half truths that they are going to miss out on the chance to go to Heaven.

Preachy today? I guess so, but when I hear people complaining how bad their world is and I see the choices they make, I wonder what they think their consequences should be? If we continue, as a nation, to deny Christ, we ARE going to suffer consequences (bad economy, loss of jobs, stinky stock market, etc etc etc). It is yet, another TRUTH.