Anniversary

Tomorrow is our Anniversary. We have been married eight years. I can hardly believe it! It has been eight wonderful years full of adventures--both good and bad, but all of which have only brought us closer. I love him more now than ever, and am so thankful for the wonderful marriage God has blessed us with.

Happy Anniversary, sweetie, I love you!!!

One Proud Mommy!

I love my kids. They are good kids. Sure, they drive me insane some times, and some times they can be really naughty, but I think that goes for all kids. And like all kids, they have a tendency to be selfish. They even throw tantrums once in awhile when they don't get what they want.

For the past few weeks they have been after me to go through their clothes and toys, so that they could give some to the African kids that do not have any. The clothes part is easy--if it's too small it goes. The toys, well that's a whole other subject. But, today, Malachi and I went through all of his toys, and he gave away quite a bit! He looked at every car, one by one, and gave away over half of his collection. He kept three of his rescue heroes and gave away the rest. He gave away one of his little buzz toys, saying he had another one like it that was blue.

The biggest suprise to mommy---he gave away a stuffed mater. (Malachi LOVES his stuffed animals, and he especially loves mater. He has one that he sleeps with everynight--along with about 10 other things!). That one was a little tough. He thought about it for awhile, and said "good bye". I told him (like a hundred times during this process) ,"you don't have to give away anything. It's up to you, but you don't have to if you don't want to." He said, "No, I want to." I asked him "why?" He said "because, some kids don't have any stuffed animals at all, and I have my other mater."

Thankful

Psalm 147
6The Lord lifts up the humble and downtrodden; He casts the wicked down to the ground.
7Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praises with the harp or the lyre to our God!--
8Who covers the heavens with clouds, Who prepares rain for the earth, Who makes grass to grow on the mountains.

Psalm 100
A Psalm of thanksgiving and for the thank offering.
1MAKE A joyful noise to the Lord, all you lands!
2Serve the Lord with gladness! Come before His presence with singing!
3Know (perceive, recognize, and understand with approval) that the Lord is God! It is He Who has made us, not we ourselves [and we are His]! We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering and into His courts with praise! Be thankful and say so to Him, bless and affectionately praise His name!
5For the Lord is good; His mercy and loving-kindness are everlasting, His faithfulness and truth endure to all generations.

Psalm 95
1O COME, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation!
2Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise!
3For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

Philippians 4
6Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.



Tomorrow is thanksgiving, and I have so much to be thankful for this year.

We serve a good, awesome, and amazing GOD. His faithfulness, mercies, grace, and love are never ending. I love the Lord so much, and am thankful that He never gives up on me!

I am thankful for Jody. He is my best friend and the love of my life. He is a wonderful husband, and a great father. I am thankful for the 8 wonderful years we have had together, and for all the years to come.

I am thankful for my children, my special gifts from God. They continue to amaze me each and every day, and I count it a blessing and honor to be given the privledge to be their mommy.

I am thankful for my family. You never outgrow the need for your family. I am 28, and still feel like a lost kid sometimes, but I have great parents that continue to teach me and guide me. And my sisters, well, they are my best friends, and I love them.

I am thankful for the up-coming opportunity to serve the people of Africa, and I am thankful for all of you who have supported us and helped make this opportunity possible.

I am thankful for our good friends. Friends that have sharpened us, and stuck close to us through some really hard times.

I am thankful for our church family who love us and support us and believe in us.

I am thankful for the little things that we so often take for granted: a home, clothes, food, toys, freedom..... God is GOOD.

In everything give thanks! THANK YOU LORD FOR ALL YOUR WONDERFUL BLESSINGS! THANK YOU FOR YOUR LOVE AND MERCY AND GRACE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR FORGIVENESS AND FOR THE CROSS. THANK YOU LORD FOR LOVING ME!!!!

Good Bye Grandpa

Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His saints. Ps 116:15

1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Heb 12:1-3



My Grandpa went to heaven today. He has been in poor health for many years, and the past few months, we knew the time was near. My sisters and I went up yesterday to say good bye. We were the last of the relatives planning to visit. When we got there he looked good and was sleeping peacefully. He could hear us, but couldn't really respond, and only opened his eyes for a moment. After we visited for awhile in his room, I kissed him good bye, and told him I loved him. Then we left.

After we left he took a turn for the worse and at 12:45 am, he went to heaven. Although I was not there when he passed, my dad says it was a peaceful event, as it should be for believers. The word of God says blessed in the sight of the Lord is the death of the saints. He has been in hospice since Thursday, and Dad has been with him most of the time, listening to worship music, reading the Word, praying, and talking about Jesus. I am sure Grandpa is having a great time right now marveling at the Beauty of Jesus.

My Grandma has Alzheimers, and goes in and out of reality, but in God’s grace she had a time of clarity last night and was able to say good bye. While saying good bye she sang him a song that I am pretty sure I will always remember "Jesus loves me this I know. More and more like Him you've grown. Now he comes to take you home."

This weekend we will celebrate His life. Like all of us, my Grandpa was not perfect, but one thing is for certain, He loved Jesus. He taught his kids to love Him. His kids taught his grandkids, and how I am teaching His great grandkids. That is worth celebrating.

I will miss my Grandpa, but I know I will see Him again, and I know that he is a part of the great cloud of witnesses that is cheering me on.


grandpa memories....
Some of my favorite memories of Grandpa is his singing. He loved Southern Gospel music. I liked it when he sang. And his humming. He used to hum alot. He loved black licorice and lemon drops, and I used to buy them for him for Christmas as a kid--thinking I was getting him something really great. Whenever I would visit as a kid, and would sit on his lap he used to ask "what are you good for?" and of course the standard answer was "nothing" so then he would say, "so your good for nothin'" then he would laugh (i remember his laugh well) and give me a hug.

I remember Grandpa as a student of the Word. He loved the Word of God, and he loved to read. My favorite grandpa place was his office. He had SO MANY books. I loved his library, and used to tease him that when he passed I was going to take all of his books, but he always said you'll have to fight the boys for them (my cousins). To which I said, "no problem, I can take 'em!" But all through Bible College he would give me some of his books for Christmas each year.

In the Darkness comes revelation....

Last weekend was our annual church ladies retreat. We had a great time. God is good, and touched many lives, including mine. We focused on the book of Daniel and the Song of Songs. May thing that is an odd combination, but the theme for the weekend was "Come Away With Me" and we talked alot about how God speaks to us in the darkness (as he did with Daniel). How our breakthroughs, our suddenlies, our revelations, most often come during the dark times of our lives. Those are the times we most need to go away with Him. The dark times of our lives our the times we grow the most. I really dont like dark times---does anyone? And it seems my family and I have gone through quite a few the past few years. But I am thankful for them (once they are over) because they prove God's faithfulness, and draw us closer to Him. Through each one I have grown; growth that is not possible in good times only. Thank You, Jesus, for your faithfulness. Thank you for being with me in the dark times, and for bringing your Light. I love you, Lord.

CityFest

Well, we braved the heat and the crowds, and took the kids downtown to meet Bob and Larry. The real bob and larry.

We had a fun day, even if our timing was off and we missed all of the bmx show, and only got to see bob and larry for about 5 minutes. There was still so many other things to do that the kids didn't even notice.

However, my very observant son did notice one thing...that it was not the real bob and larry that we saw. He said that it was just someone in a costume because he could see the legs. So I said, "I thought bob and larry were just pretend." He said, "No, they are real, but that wasn't them, because they dont have legs." .....and we thought believing in Santa was the least of our worries.....


(For those of you who are. thinking what are you talking about....Bob and Larry are from the cartoon Veggie Tales. They are a cucumber and a tomato, and yes, in the cartoon the do not have legs or arms. City Fest was this big festival/concert downtown put on by Luis Palau.)

God's Will, Agreement and Alignment

Today's message---the whole series of the past few weeks has been awesome. Pastor (aka Dad) has been preaching on the Will of God, Agreement and Alignment. It has really challenged me ask the Holy Spirit to examine me, and show me the areas of my life that are out of line, and those areas that I need to come into agreement with God about.

Durning Cleansing Streams (a class on deliverance) in college we learned about proper alignment, authority, and submission. There was a simple prayer that was taught that I used to say daily. I have gotten out of the habit, but was remined today how powerful and important those words and the action behind them are.

Lord, I choose to walk in agreement and alingment with You and Your Will today. I choose to be yoked with you. Show me those things that would keep me from being in agreement and alignment with you. I recognize that I am dependant on your grace and strength in order to do this. In the Name of Jesus, I command my body to submit to my soul, my soul to submit to my spirit, and my spirit submit to the Spirit of God. AMEN!

If you want to hear these messages click here. If the series is not here yet, it will be soon.