Wednesday, November 19, 2008
What is to come?
Just an update. We are still here. There may be a lease opportunity coming up that would allow us to be on the field by the beginning of the year, Lord willing. We would covet your prayers on this situation. Thank you for all that have supported us through prayer, financial support, and the blessings you have given us while we are here. God is so good and takes care of the smallest of details. Thank you for being a blessing!
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Sacred Marriage
I have a new favorite verse (I write while grinning like a mule eating briars). It is Deut. 24:5 "If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married." How did I miss that verse before?
I am reading the book: Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas. I have to admit it is a slow start in the first chapter but I am really enjoying chapter 2-4. It is a book that cuts to the chase and past all the fluff. It is not a book that gives you 10 steps to a better marriage or some other self help book. Thank goodness! Like we need any more of those!
One thing Sacred Marriage talks about in the beginning is that love is not a feeling, it is a choice. Loving someone is something that goes beyond the feeling of infatuation. "Love is not a natural response that gushes out of us unbiddend. Infatuation sometimes does that-at the beginning of a relationship at least-but hate is always ready to naturally spring forth." How true is that? I have no problem reacting quickly and spewing out hurtful words, but it takes an effort to bite my tongue and respond in love and respect.
The book reflects on the Scripture in Matthew 22:34-40 where we are not to just love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength but we must also love others. To become more like Christ (sanctification) is the journey of loving others and the unlovable-which may at times be your spouse (or for your spouse-you).
One point Gary Thomas makes that I have not contemplated before but makes sense is that along with our call to love others-even our enemies, to utter the words "The truth is, I have never loved you," are self condemning words for a Christian. By saying that you have not loved someone is an utter failure to love as Christ has called us to. Therefore by saying this, you are essentially saying: "I've never acted like a Christian." (41).
Another thought to ponder is this: Jesus told us to love others. The cool thing about marriage is that we actually got to choose whom we are going to love for the rest of our lives. God offers marriage as an opportunity not as a command. Because we get the choice and then find it difficult to carry out the love in practice, what grounds do we have to ever stop loving?
Let me end by saying, I am madly in love with the man I married, and had I the opportunity to do it all over again I would in a heartbeat.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Free photobook from snapfish
To get an offer on a free photobook from snapfish click HERE offere expires Nov 22nd. Thanks Penny for the heads up on this!
Saturday, November 8, 2008
So why am I anxious and grumpy?
Today was a great day. The day started with blueberry pancakes-always a good start to the day. Then I watched some Andy Griffith with Griffin and we made a model clay ship. Then it was time to go to the church to plant flowers for the bench at Kidzstock. I came home, we had someone come and look at the house (no news yet), but an answer to prayer, and then I got to rock my baby to sleep, take a nap, have supper brought home by my wonderful husband and son, hang out and then put the kids to bed. By the time the kids got in bed I felt like running, getting out of the house, taking a bubble bath, or just escaping somehow...just an AAAHHH I need time to myself kind of moment. How on earth could I be feeling this way with such a great day?
Then it hit me. Today was harder than I let on-to myself. Today we planted bushes at a bench in Kidzstock. It is a bench that faces the cross on top of the church. There are two plaques there. One signifying that this bench is there in honor of Jesus Christ through Whom our faith rests that we as moms will see our little ones in heaven someday. The Scripture on the second plaque is Isaiah 61:1-3-Jesus's mission statement.
I really don't know what to say. There we were. Our mentor mom from MomCare, (She lost her first child right after birth. She is now a mother of 7 and a grandmother), my friend Andrea (who just lost one of her twins in September, and has the other twin at home doing great and gaining weight), Allison (pregnant and due in January), Sherry (it was her 40th birthday today, is blessed by 2 great boys), two boys (Suzanne's son and Sherry's son) and me (I have lost 5 babies through miscarriage and have been abundantly blessed by 2 precious children).
Going through the grieving process with Andrea is hard. I would not want to do anything else in the world but walk through it with her. One thing that I really could relate to is the statement she made that Matthew was not a mistake. I echo that sentiment LOUDLY. We don't always understand why, but we know that no baby is a mistake. God does not make mistakes.
Just to see what she is going through and having to wait on God to work on her heart (and mine) is hard. My heart hurts for her.
I heard Lori Apon, a widowed mother of eight say a couple of years ago, "God is good, even when we don't understand what good is." When Lori, Suzanne, or Mary Madeline Whittinghill talk, I listen. And that is a good statement that is true and I will cling to. There are many things I don't understand. But I know He is good. He has proven that to me over and over and over. Not just through His word (as if that is not enough) but through my personal relationship with Him. Like John said at Matthew's funeral, this walk of Faith is not a faith that is convenient, or easy, but it is one that works. That is the only faith that offers a solution and a hope. That is what makes it different from all other religions. John was much more eloquent.
Jesus is not a way, but the way. If you do not know Him or the hope that comes only through Him but would like to talk more about it I would love to hear from you. If you are unsure or whether you would go to heaven or not when you die, or are struggling with anything regarding this I would love to talk to you.
Ludie and I always say there are no coincidences. Just to show how good God really is, He allowed us to see the first person that He was ministered to through the project (for lack of a better term). There was a lady that had a baby die of SIDS that found out what we were doing and came to talk to us. There is more to that story but I noticed that she took a picture of us on the bench with our shovels, with her own camera and not just the one we brought to commemorate the occasion. Maybe a small part of the healing process for her, and one for me. God is so good to allow us to see that.
The fund to minister to moms going through this is the Matthew Miller Fund (named after John and Andrea's son that went to be with the LORD September, 25, 2008. If you would like to find out more info, you can contact me. If you would like to contribute, you can make a check payable to FBCW and put Matthew Miller Fund on the memo line. Address info to send the check can be found at FBCW.org.
Then it hit me. Today was harder than I let on-to myself. Today we planted bushes at a bench in Kidzstock. It is a bench that faces the cross on top of the church. There are two plaques there. One signifying that this bench is there in honor of Jesus Christ through Whom our faith rests that we as moms will see our little ones in heaven someday. The Scripture on the second plaque is Isaiah 61:1-3-Jesus's mission statement.
I really don't know what to say. There we were. Our mentor mom from MomCare, (She lost her first child right after birth. She is now a mother of 7 and a grandmother), my friend Andrea (who just lost one of her twins in September, and has the other twin at home doing great and gaining weight), Allison (pregnant and due in January), Sherry (it was her 40th birthday today, is blessed by 2 great boys), two boys (Suzanne's son and Sherry's son) and me (I have lost 5 babies through miscarriage and have been abundantly blessed by 2 precious children).
Going through the grieving process with Andrea is hard. I would not want to do anything else in the world but walk through it with her. One thing that I really could relate to is the statement she made that Matthew was not a mistake. I echo that sentiment LOUDLY. We don't always understand why, but we know that no baby is a mistake. God does not make mistakes.
Just to see what she is going through and having to wait on God to work on her heart (and mine) is hard. My heart hurts for her.
I heard Lori Apon, a widowed mother of eight say a couple of years ago, "God is good, even when we don't understand what good is." When Lori, Suzanne, or Mary Madeline Whittinghill talk, I listen. And that is a good statement that is true and I will cling to. There are many things I don't understand. But I know He is good. He has proven that to me over and over and over. Not just through His word (as if that is not enough) but through my personal relationship with Him. Like John said at Matthew's funeral, this walk of Faith is not a faith that is convenient, or easy, but it is one that works. That is the only faith that offers a solution and a hope. That is what makes it different from all other religions. John was much more eloquent.
Jesus is not a way, but the way. If you do not know Him or the hope that comes only through Him but would like to talk more about it I would love to hear from you. If you are unsure or whether you would go to heaven or not when you die, or are struggling with anything regarding this I would love to talk to you.
Ludie and I always say there are no coincidences. Just to show how good God really is, He allowed us to see the first person that He was ministered to through the project (for lack of a better term). There was a lady that had a baby die of SIDS that found out what we were doing and came to talk to us. There is more to that story but I noticed that she took a picture of us on the bench with our shovels, with her own camera and not just the one we brought to commemorate the occasion. Maybe a small part of the healing process for her, and one for me. God is so good to allow us to see that.
The fund to minister to moms going through this is the Matthew Miller Fund (named after John and Andrea's son that went to be with the LORD September, 25, 2008. If you would like to find out more info, you can contact me. If you would like to contribute, you can make a check payable to FBCW and put Matthew Miller Fund on the memo line. Address info to send the check can be found at FBCW.org.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Aren't you glad?
"If you treat a man as he is, he will stay as he is. But if you treat him as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become the bigger and better man." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
Aren't you glad God treats us like the children He designed us to be and not the ones we have been?
Aren't you glad God treats us like the children He designed us to be and not the ones we have been?
Monday, November 3, 2008
What kind of person do I want to be?...and impulse shopping.
Shelley Hendrix and I were talking one day last summer about what kind of mom and wife we want to be and don't want to be. I really love Shelley because she is down to earth. I can not see her for six months and feel that we can pick up right where we left off. I never leave her presence without being encouraged. God has made Shelley wise beyond her years. I truly believe she is this generations next Beth Moore. And I also love that she can find cool clothes from the thrift store that looks like she is the one setting the trend. (I love your $2 striped pants-you go girl!). Back to the point....
Shelley told me that a wise woman once told her. What you focus on is what you will become. For instance, if you continually focus on what you don't want to be, then you will take on the traits of what you really do not want. However if you focus on what you do want to be, then you will take on those traits.
So before this starts to sound like a self help writing, I will let you know that I turned to the Bible to see what God's views on a good model for a woman are. The first thing that I turned to is Proverbs 31:10-31. So now I am working on memorizing those verses. I want to understand those verses better and have them written on my heart. Right now I am at vs. 19 and feel like my brain is at it's capacity. :)
One of the verses I am completely in awe of is the one that says: "She considers a field and buys it, with her profits she plants a vineyard". Wow this verse says a lot. This woman first of all, is not an impulse shopper. She does not do what is right just because it seems like a good thing to do but really thinks about it before she acts. I have really been convicted and failed some tests over the years of jumping at opportunities because they seemed like the right thing to do, however I did not stop to seek if they were God's will for my life. We won't go down the rabbit trails that that kind of thinking has taken me on. I still jump at great things sometimes, but am a lot slower to do so and prayerfully consider my steps before doing so. One other cool point I found in just pondering this verse is that she did not go into debt to make money eventually, she managed her money well and expanded based on her profits. She did not put her family in jeopardy by unwisely investing. I say this could be applied not only to money but time and energy.
Shelley told me that a wise woman once told her. What you focus on is what you will become. For instance, if you continually focus on what you don't want to be, then you will take on the traits of what you really do not want. However if you focus on what you do want to be, then you will take on those traits.
So before this starts to sound like a self help writing, I will let you know that I turned to the Bible to see what God's views on a good model for a woman are. The first thing that I turned to is Proverbs 31:10-31. So now I am working on memorizing those verses. I want to understand those verses better and have them written on my heart. Right now I am at vs. 19 and feel like my brain is at it's capacity. :)
One of the verses I am completely in awe of is the one that says: "She considers a field and buys it, with her profits she plants a vineyard". Wow this verse says a lot. This woman first of all, is not an impulse shopper. She does not do what is right just because it seems like a good thing to do but really thinks about it before she acts. I have really been convicted and failed some tests over the years of jumping at opportunities because they seemed like the right thing to do, however I did not stop to seek if they were God's will for my life. We won't go down the rabbit trails that that kind of thinking has taken me on. I still jump at great things sometimes, but am a lot slower to do so and prayerfully consider my steps before doing so. One other cool point I found in just pondering this verse is that she did not go into debt to make money eventually, she managed her money well and expanded based on her profits. She did not put her family in jeopardy by unwisely investing. I say this could be applied not only to money but time and energy.
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