Month: October 2011

More of Jesus

You know, I was thinking today about what it will be like to be nearest to Jesus. I can’t possibly fathom what it will be like to see Him for the first time. And quiet honestly, just thinking about it makes me miss Him so much.

Do you get like that? Where you think about how awesome Jesus is and just want to find yourself wrapped up in His arms? It’s not that your family isn’t wonderful. You’re not in some pity-me moment. And it’s not a self-loathing moment either. Your day is good, maybe even great, and you just miss Jesus. He hasn’t gone anywhere, but something deep inside… something that can’t be satisfied just wants to run into His arms.

Something inside you wants to stay in His arms and catch up on the ‘remember when’s of this journey. You just want to snuggle in deep and hear Him breathing. You just want to feel His embrace – you know that has to feel amazing.

God is no less real on this side of the New Jerusalem. God is no less present and no less enough than He is. The I AM is still the I AM. And there are days that I wish I could just hug Him. No one has been closer to me than Jesus. And no one ever will be.

The closest thing I can think of how my face will be is comparable to this little girl’s face when she looks up from her classroom work to see her Daddy standing there, newly returned home from the war.

http://www.godvine.com/Daddy-Gives-his-Daughter-a-Heartwarming-Surprise-at-School-764.html

With tears in my eyes I can say that yes… Jesus is well worth it.

-Keeping my eyes on the Prize.

0

"…Going to Training"

My two year old told my one year old in the middle of her afternoon play, “You watch my babies and I’ll go to training and be back soon.”

Can you tell we’ve been doing our foster/adoptive training for a good while now.

And alas, I finished my last class tonight. Funny how 36 hours can feel like a lifetime.

The final class brings a relief and yet a bit of fear too. You see, God told us to get our license. So we have. We’ve tried to be good kids. But as we finish this process up, it’s kind of like standing on a cliff after climbing the hill in obedience. It’s not a fear of someone pushing you off, God has more love than that. But it sure gives you a thrill at God’s prospect of saying, “Jump… trust me…”

It’s like that moment at the top of a roller-coaster hill when you have that split second somewhere between, “This was a good idea, right?!” and “BRING IT!!!” It’s that healthy wondering of what the horizon will reveal.

So much change has happened to our family over the past 6 months, from no longer watching Lexi to temporarily watching Kevin, to God adjusting our plans multiple times and reminding us that He is more than capable of using any situation to grow and change our family, to babysitting Mom’s cats and then ending up adding one of the cats to our crew, to getting into the swing of homeschool and delighting in Rachael soaring in her learning. We just never know what’s on the horizon. And it’s so exciting not to have the “this will be out of God’s control” fear that comes from a lack of faith, but instead to have a butterflied feeling of excitement and anticipation for what we have yet to see.

It’s like holding your breath and trusting that God will instruct you when to breathe before it’s too late – even if it gets a bit uncomfortable at times. He knows what He is doing. And He sure is moving.

Matt still has a class to go in 3 weeks and then our collective training classes will be complete. We have our list of things still left to get done before getting the final stamp of approval from the county before sending the application to the State for a completed license. But with all that being said, our application/license should be complete around Christmas. Christmas, people!!!! That may feel a bit far away when you look at Halloween and Thanksgiving coming up first, but when you think about the fact that i have started Christmas shopping/looking….. eeeeeek, people!!!! That’s in a blink of an eye.

God is so good to us. God has blessed us so. And I’m feeling like a little kid in a toy store as this adoption process is becoming more of a reality. Whooooo! Stand back and check out what God will do…!!!!!

We’ll be standing beside you, checking it all out and applauding His Greatness,

0

Fall Festival

We went today to a fall festival at a local park that is only 15 minutes from my house and yet I didn’t know existed. Yes, Yes, I know… submit commentary here about how adventurous I am. =) Each year we try to go to a fall festival or pumpkin patch with “the cousins” (Aunt Ellen, Uncle Ron, Bekah, John-John and Josiah). It’s a fun time to make memories together.

The little Fall Festival was free to the public – right in our price range – and had all kinds of family-fun activities from pony rides to a goat petting zoo (don’t pet the one that was head-butting the kids — for serious. lol.), and a pumpkin decorating area with free pumpkins, oh and also a playground and a barrel-seat train ride pulled behind a tractor (Rachael bowed out) and a large wagon hayride (we all bowed out). Wonderful few hours of fun and smiles. Poor Rachael was still recovering from her 102 degree fever the day before, so her regular energy level was not completely back during the adventure. But a good stroller ride, blanket snuggle and a snack helped her rejoin the fun without over-extending the poor kid. And Abi had her first pony ride.

And thus I share pictures…. you know, because I’m a shameless Mom of two cute kids. =D

 Our Cowgirl -always wanting to ride the ponies.
 Her first pony ride. Look at that pacifier smile! (yep, we’re still teething hard.)
 YAY!
 Picking out a good one. (The wind in her hair).
 So little.
 She wanted to carry her own pumpkin.
So Daddy was helping her be as big as she felt in that moment. =)
 All the kiddos.
 Pumpkin decorating.
 Rachael’s finished product. – bear with her she was starting to feel poorly.
[see her poor flushed face.. =( It was nearing time for a break. ]
 She came back to life, after a break, with full character in the leaf fight.
 hehehe. So much fun had by all.
 Aunt Ellen boosting her up for a view of the cows and donkey.
 Happily Daddy’s sidekick.
 Sister Snuggles.
 A family shot. – Rachael’s done for the day.
(Oh look! I was there too!)
 One last wind-in-her-face smile before we loaded up and called it a day.
Wonderful trip. Wonderful company. Wonderful day.
Thanks again, Ellen, Ron and Co. for another great year of fall tradition.
0

Blessed

I am so blessed by these little faces.

 hehe. Look at Abi-baby cheesin’ it!
 Oh no… here it comes….
 TICKLE-MONSTER!!!!!
AHHH!!! Second TICKLE-MONSTER!!!!

My cast of characters make my world.
They’re such little best friends. =)

Thanks, God!

Goodmorning everyone. 

0

To be Onesimus for God.

I’ve been to a few youth conventions in my life. You know, those mass-packed stadiums of exhortation and challenge. I’ve been to my fair share as a youth and then a good handful as a youth chaperon in college and then as a “youth pastor’s wife” here on this side of life.

I’ve found over my years that the music has changed from being familiar singalongs to I-have-no-idea-who-that-guy-is songs. I’m sure, friends, that as the music has changed so have I.

Those wonderful youth conventions turned from just-right music to did-you-bring-the-cotton-balls music. Again, friends, I did the changing. And while some youth conventions end with outlandishly entertainment-only speakers, I have heard my share of good challenges and, what we “old people” of the faith call “charges” at revival-type settings.

In my quiet-time reading yesterday I felt the desire to check out Philemon again. Good old Philemon; wronged by his disobedient slave who stole from him and ran off (Sentencing the slave with a punishment of death according to Rome should he be found). Poor Christian Philemon…. now what? And then this letter arrives from a dear friend, mentor, and brother-in-Christ, Paul. And the letter says what? The slave is now a Christian and is the bearer of the letter? Now what should you do, Philemon? When put at the crossroads of trial, what should be the response?

The Bible never tells us. Thanks! Good suspense novel missing the last chapter! But again, you know how I like those unsettled-in-the-middle stories.

Only my heart shifts instead to the slave: Onesimus. Onesimus is translated to mean “useful”. Paul and his witty self using the play on words that Onesimus is no longer useless, but instead in Christ is useful. Nerd joke alert! Gotta love that Paul.

And yet the term sticks. Am I Onesimus for the Kingdom? That is, am I useful for the Kingdom?

Each day we have an opportunity. I hope to seize that opportunity today. Not that my record could be cleaned or my name looked better upon, but that I would be proof that only Christ can do the changes that are inside of me. Just like Onesimus.

And one more thing, what if God calls you not to the exciting missions field where you get to witness first-hand the Kingdom work, but instead right on back to where you were running away from? Is He any less God? Is that cause to return to uselessness?

– just some thoughts today.
0

Look at that girl… She’s happy.

I got a World Vision magazine in the mail today. Funny how excited my heart gets to see those two words, “World Vision”. World Vision means more than a humanitarian effort. World Vision is how we have met Lydia and Tofic. World Vision is like a family connection.

This magazine wasn’t like a normal one. Instead of selling gifts and household clutter, this magazine opened up a new window of Christmas – spirited opportunities.

A few days ago, maybe it was yesterday, I took my quiet nap-time allotment to count coins. Yes, I know machines can do that. Yes, I know those little paper wrappers don’t carry any alluring factors. But this counting had purpose.

I emptied the contents of our missions jar on the table. We’ve been just adding our spare change to the collection for a number of months now. And as I started counting and wrapping I wondered how awesome of an experience it would be to sit around with our Sunday School class, or a group of friends, and do just that… count and wrap coins for missions work. I began to sing praise songs – interjecting numerals in there as I got closer to the brinks of my personal math skills. =)

I was pleasantly surprised by the amounts that laid before me some 45 minute or an hour later after shelling and counting and handling what felt like a small amount of coins. Funny how God shows up. I wondered what these would be used for. I wondered why God had put it on our hearts to collect this money. When we set the goal to save the coins and then find a place to donate the money once the jar was filled the day felt so far away. And while the jar is not filled yet, I felt the need to count and wrap up the coins.

Then today the magazine came. World Vision. I love those words. I flipped open the pages and looked at all the pictures with my toddlers today at lunch. Daddy’s at seminary all day today, so in many ways the house has felt unusually quiet – even though he’s always at work during most of the daytime anyway. But at lunch he usually joins us and he was missed today – as he is every Tuesday.

“Look at that boy!” my little talker interjected. “What’s that?”

“A goat.”

“Why?” the famous and expected response.

“Because some Mommies and Daddies live in places where it is hard to grow food or where there isn’t enough food. You know how you tell me you’re hungry and I can just open the fridge and make you lunch? Some families can’t do that. Some families don’t have enough food. So Daddy and you and me and Abi have been putting away our money in the missions jar. Remember putting coins in the jar? And we are saving the extra blessings God has given us to help feed other families. One way we can help feed other families is by sending them a goat. You know how we drink milk? And cows make milk? Goats make milk too. And so a goat would help a family drink milk.”

She smiled. “Look at that girl…. She’s happy!”

That’s exactly right, little girl. Exactly right.

Funny how tears well up in your eyes sometimes when you know in your heart that something is right. When you know in your heart that you are right where God has planted you… and you are doing your best to grow.

I wiped away a few tears as Rachael looked over the magazine with fascination and continued to comment on all the little boys and girls’ faces. Abi kept referring to each animal we saw as “meow”s and after Rachael corrected Abi’s labeling we talked about how each of the different animals could help families.

The goal is not just to send an animal. The goal is to serve the least of these with a worshipful heart. They may come to the Lord, who knows, maybe not having to worry about their food source will allow their minds to think more of Jesus. But all I know is that Jesus said very plainly that when you do unto the least of these you do unto Me.

We just want to do unto Jesus more and more each day.

– to the least of these for now and forever more.

— if you are interested in helping yourself: www.worldvisiongifts.com
Check it out.

0

Proudly powered by WordPress | Theme: Baskerville 2 by Anders Noren.

Up ↑