Tell me ladies ( and I heard today from a great resource, thanks Jolie!) that some men are reading this too, what are you reading these day? Thanks to Ryan, Ben and Brad for reading or having this blog read to you. And please note Ryan and Brad this is not a forum for you to slam one another ! :)
So what are you reading? I am about to order More Love to Thee by Sharon James. It is a new book about the life of Elizabeth Prentiss, Sally's namesake. She, Prentiss, was an amazing woman of faith and I can't wait to read this. Also, I will be participating in the Girl Talk blog, http://girltalk.blog.com, about this book.
I am also reading A Chance to Die by Elisabeth Elliot about the life of Amy Carmichael. I tried to read Suzanne's copy in college but I was so immature I put it aside as boring! Now that I have seen just a minute part of what her life was like I am now hanging on every word.
Tell me girls... what books and blogs and journals are you reading?
Please respond on this site so that everyone can see. I have this set so that you can all respond and read what the others think.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Monday, November 27, 2006
On the move again
Yes, you heard it right!!! The West family is on the move again and on the road too! We are packing up to move to Brunswick, Georgia in two weeks.
We have fielded so many questions like, " Are you ready to move?" "Have you started to pack?" The answer to those respectively is yes and no. We are ready to move and being this exciting time in our lives and the other answer is NO!!! Actually I am hosting a baby shower in my home tomorrow so no packing will begin until this is over.
We have moved 8 times in the lat 6 years so I feel like we are gifted in the boxing, packing, and moving areas. For those of you that are skeptical of the actual number I listed above I am going to now list them in chronological order.
1. To Louisville for Seminary
2. To our second apartment in Louisville due to a crazy neighbor that we were too immature to confront.
3. To our third apartment in Louisville for $100 less rent and to live next door to Taylor and Anna.
4. To Bolivar, Selmer, Murfreesboro and Warwick all in a single trip to prepare for the mission field.
5. To Calcutta, India for the Work
6. To Bolivar after our work was cut short by my illness and brain malfunctions which still occur so regularly but that is another blog.
7. To Somerset to a tiny cabin until our house was built.
8. To our new house in Somerset.
and exciting number 9 is to Brunswick to a little beach cottage for Ryan to begin work at Redeemer Presbyterian as Minister of Mercy and Evangelism.
Hope that you all had a great Thanksgiving. We had a great time in Nashville with family.
My team won the annual family game and Ryan dominated Ping Pong. And we started a new tradition of making fun cookies to take to the family dinner. They were loved!
We have fielded so many questions like, " Are you ready to move?" "Have you started to pack?" The answer to those respectively is yes and no. We are ready to move and being this exciting time in our lives and the other answer is NO!!! Actually I am hosting a baby shower in my home tomorrow so no packing will begin until this is over.
We have moved 8 times in the lat 6 years so I feel like we are gifted in the boxing, packing, and moving areas. For those of you that are skeptical of the actual number I listed above I am going to now list them in chronological order.
1. To Louisville for Seminary
2. To our second apartment in Louisville due to a crazy neighbor that we were too immature to confront.
3. To our third apartment in Louisville for $100 less rent and to live next door to Taylor and Anna.
4. To Bolivar, Selmer, Murfreesboro and Warwick all in a single trip to prepare for the mission field.
5. To Calcutta, India for the Work
6. To Bolivar after our work was cut short by my illness and brain malfunctions which still occur so regularly but that is another blog.
7. To Somerset to a tiny cabin until our house was built.
8. To our new house in Somerset.
and exciting number 9 is to Brunswick to a little beach cottage for Ryan to begin work at Redeemer Presbyterian as Minister of Mercy and Evangelism.
Hope that you all had a great Thanksgiving. We had a great time in Nashville with family.
My team won the annual family game and Ryan dominated Ping Pong. And we started a new tradition of making fun cookies to take to the family dinner. They were loved!
Friday, November 10, 2006
And then there were 2
One of our friends was at our home tonight and I braved the question that I had been longing to ask since we had known him and his family. He and his wife have two sweet children and they live across the street from us. Their kids are great! They love to play on the community play set in the lot across from us. And I must admitt that our son David has probably taught them more than they would like for them to know about swords and knights and launching secret attacks.
Back to the story... Tonight I asked Ron to tell me about the story of how they adopted Katie and Ben. I know that I can never retell this story like he told it tonight but I do know that we have to tell stories like this and remember them as a testimony to the Lord.
He began to tell us of the first child they were to adopt. They planned to adopt a child conceived out of wedlock and the mother decided to keep the child the day of the birth. You can imagine that they were heart broken. Next they applied with a local agency and were chosen 3 more times based on a letter they wrote to the birth mother and yet every mother chose to keep their child... months of heartache followed.
During this time people would approach them from the community and ask them for their number because so and so had a friend that knew so and so that had a friend, you know the story. Well, none of the cases ever led to a child UNTIL a lady approached Ron with the same old story but she called back 3 months later and asked if was still serious. Then she called back six months later and informed him that the baby was due any day!!!! Can you imagine his excitement??? and his terror???
He went to his lawyer and social services and completed the paper work and asked them NOT to share this with his wife. They were very confused but knew of their past and agreed not to share with her. He said he would ask her to sign papers and she would and she never asked questions.
Tracy was employed at a local department store and Ron knew that Katie,their new baby girl, was soon to come to their home if the birth mother did not change here mind. And it looked like she was not going to change her mind. So he went to her boss and told her to schedule her to be off on Friday, the day they were to officially have Katie as their daughter. He made her boss promise not to tell Tracy and she promised!
All this time Ron knew where Katie was staying with a foster family until she was to be united with them he told us through tears at our table. He said he would drive by there daily.
Well, on Thursday before the Friday that Katie would join the family Ron received a call from Tracy and she was frantic. He rushed to her work to find her, in his words, white and in shock.
She had just received a call from the adoption agency that they had been chosen to take a newborn baby boy. And she had accepted!!!
So now it was Ron's turn to be in SHOCK!!!
He then told her the story of Katie and how he had kept it a secret from her to protect her heart from disappointment. What joy and excitement for this family. What had once been one joy had just become two by the grace of God. Isn't that wonderful??? Isn't God Amazing??
Thank you Lord for rescuing Katie and Ben. Thank Lord for placing them with parents who love and trust and serve you. Thank you Lord allowing them to be adopted. We thank you Lord for Ron, Tracy, Katie, and Ben.
Back to the story... Tonight I asked Ron to tell me about the story of how they adopted Katie and Ben. I know that I can never retell this story like he told it tonight but I do know that we have to tell stories like this and remember them as a testimony to the Lord.
He began to tell us of the first child they were to adopt. They planned to adopt a child conceived out of wedlock and the mother decided to keep the child the day of the birth. You can imagine that they were heart broken. Next they applied with a local agency and were chosen 3 more times based on a letter they wrote to the birth mother and yet every mother chose to keep their child... months of heartache followed.
During this time people would approach them from the community and ask them for their number because so and so had a friend that knew so and so that had a friend, you know the story. Well, none of the cases ever led to a child UNTIL a lady approached Ron with the same old story but she called back 3 months later and asked if was still serious. Then she called back six months later and informed him that the baby was due any day!!!! Can you imagine his excitement??? and his terror???
He went to his lawyer and social services and completed the paper work and asked them NOT to share this with his wife. They were very confused but knew of their past and agreed not to share with her. He said he would ask her to sign papers and she would and she never asked questions.
Tracy was employed at a local department store and Ron knew that Katie,their new baby girl, was soon to come to their home if the birth mother did not change here mind. And it looked like she was not going to change her mind. So he went to her boss and told her to schedule her to be off on Friday, the day they were to officially have Katie as their daughter. He made her boss promise not to tell Tracy and she promised!
All this time Ron knew where Katie was staying with a foster family until she was to be united with them he told us through tears at our table. He said he would drive by there daily.
Well, on Thursday before the Friday that Katie would join the family Ron received a call from Tracy and she was frantic. He rushed to her work to find her, in his words, white and in shock.
She had just received a call from the adoption agency that they had been chosen to take a newborn baby boy. And she had accepted!!!
So now it was Ron's turn to be in SHOCK!!!
He then told her the story of Katie and how he had kept it a secret from her to protect her heart from disappointment. What joy and excitement for this family. What had once been one joy had just become two by the grace of God. Isn't that wonderful??? Isn't God Amazing??
Thank you Lord for rescuing Katie and Ben. Thank Lord for placing them with parents who love and trust and serve you. Thank you Lord allowing them to be adopted. We thank you Lord for Ron, Tracy, Katie, and Ben.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
As the waters cover the sea
Cassie has water!!!
Ladies, please read her comment below (the name is anonymous at the top but she signs the bottom of the comment section with her name) from the oh, so short blog on her life. I enjoy reading what all of you are thinking and I am glad to know that we are all staying in touch a little better with this fun blog. I am so glad that God is teching us all and that we are learning more of Him through others. Cassie, we rejoice with you that your water has been restored to your home but more than that we rejoice that you have living water and you are sharing the well...
Friday, October 27, 2006
She said, "Jesus is all I need."
When I update this blog I send out an email to let my friends know so that they can read what I have written and tell me what they think. Well, today I got an interesting reply from my friend, Cassie, who is serving the Lord alongside her husband on the mission field in Peru. She made an interesting comment. She said something to the effect that it was good for her to hear the real, daily stories about being a mom and a wife here in the states. She said that is good to read these things and not to just hear I went to the store and fed the kids but to know the hard times and the funny little stories.
Well, the funny thing is that my husband just returned from a mission trip to serve with Brad and Cassie and he has been telling me the stories of their daily life. I often wonder what it is like there for them and what they are experiencing every day. My husband got just a taste of their lives when he was there for a brief weeklong experience.
I know that she would never gripe about these things but Girls listen up here are some things that she does in her daily life... Think about it and let me know if you are man enough, or should I say woman enough to handle it?? :)
1. They lived there for several months without a kitchen sink.
2. They have no running water in their house due to repairs that began in MARCH! and note this is OCTOBER!!
3. She walks to get water from a hose a few blocks from their home and fills several 5 gallon jugs for their daily water.
I am sure that there are other hardships and I am not writing this to complain about her life but to allow us a glimpse of what she is doing to lay down her life daily. Is this life easy for them? NO. Are they always glad that they are there working? I am sure that the answer varies. I am sure it would be much easier to be there with more ammenities. Does she wish for an easier life? Maybe, I don't know but I do know this she is serving the Lord in a way that most of us will never experience. She is serving the Lord in many ways just through her daily living. Her sacrifice of praise is walking and filling up water jugs so that her family has water.
We have the Cademon's Call CD with the song on it Jesus is All I Need. One day we were driving down the road singing away and my son, David, said, " Mama is that true? Is Jesus really all that we need?"
And when I think of Cassie, I think yes, David, Jesus is all that we need.
Well, the funny thing is that my husband just returned from a mission trip to serve with Brad and Cassie and he has been telling me the stories of their daily life. I often wonder what it is like there for them and what they are experiencing every day. My husband got just a taste of their lives when he was there for a brief weeklong experience.
I know that she would never gripe about these things but Girls listen up here are some things that she does in her daily life... Think about it and let me know if you are man enough, or should I say woman enough to handle it?? :)
1. They lived there for several months without a kitchen sink.
2. They have no running water in their house due to repairs that began in MARCH! and note this is OCTOBER!!
3. She walks to get water from a hose a few blocks from their home and fills several 5 gallon jugs for their daily water.
I am sure that there are other hardships and I am not writing this to complain about her life but to allow us a glimpse of what she is doing to lay down her life daily. Is this life easy for them? NO. Are they always glad that they are there working? I am sure that the answer varies. I am sure it would be much easier to be there with more ammenities. Does she wish for an easier life? Maybe, I don't know but I do know this she is serving the Lord in a way that most of us will never experience. She is serving the Lord in many ways just through her daily living. Her sacrifice of praise is walking and filling up water jugs so that her family has water.
We have the Cademon's Call CD with the song on it Jesus is All I Need. One day we were driving down the road singing away and my son, David, said, " Mama is that true? Is Jesus really all that we need?"
And when I think of Cassie, I think yes, David, Jesus is all that we need.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
No Mom Jeans!
Okay ladies, I did something I never thought that I would do again... I went to the Buckle to buy jeans. It was very interesting experience. First, I feel that I must share with you my last experience there and then I will share with you the one that I had yesterday.
In 2004 I went to the Buckle to purchase a pair of jeans. I went in with much confidence knowing exactly the size and brand for which I was searching. I asked the store clerk, who I am sure was no more than 18 for my size and brand and she had such a look of confusion on her face. She had never heard of my brand. She was very polite and insisted that she could help me find a replacement.
I then remembered that I purchased my last pair of jeans from there in 1998!!! No wonder she had no idea what I was talking about she was in elementary school then! I purchased the last pair in Memphis with Ashley and Jon on an adventure when we skipped class before our trip to Costa Rica. I loved those jeans and wore them until they had holes everywhere and were very inappropriate for a seminary student's wife! :)
So I tried the sizes and styles that she recommended while I was laughing hysterically. I could not believe that some of the zippers were literally 2 inches long... that was a problem for me. Way too ultra low! I came out of the dressing room and told her I wold not be purchasing these jeans and that she was forcing me to shop for mom jeans at places like Eddie Bauer! She kind of turned her head to the side and just looked at me.
Yesterday I ventured into the Buckle again becasue my brother assured me that I could find jeans there and that I would like them. I took his advice and boldly went where most moms don't go... at least to purchase jeans for themselves.
The clerk this time was older, probably the manager, and he helped me with several pairs.
And HALLELUJAH!!!! I actually found a pair on the third try that covered all that needed to be covered, met the approval of my husband, and cost less than $100!!! It was a grand day!!!
I know that this entry to my blog means nothing in the light of eternity but we had a crazy weekend at our house. And my friends Ben and Jolie said to me a few weeks ago why aren't you blogging?? And they answered the question for me. You blog about what is on your mind and what you are learning but I don't have that freedom right now. One day I will and that day is coming soon but right now it is all too fresh.
So until then I have some cool jeans!
In 2004 I went to the Buckle to purchase a pair of jeans. I went in with much confidence knowing exactly the size and brand for which I was searching. I asked the store clerk, who I am sure was no more than 18 for my size and brand and she had such a look of confusion on her face. She had never heard of my brand. She was very polite and insisted that she could help me find a replacement.
I then remembered that I purchased my last pair of jeans from there in 1998!!! No wonder she had no idea what I was talking about she was in elementary school then! I purchased the last pair in Memphis with Ashley and Jon on an adventure when we skipped class before our trip to Costa Rica. I loved those jeans and wore them until they had holes everywhere and were very inappropriate for a seminary student's wife! :)
So I tried the sizes and styles that she recommended while I was laughing hysterically. I could not believe that some of the zippers were literally 2 inches long... that was a problem for me. Way too ultra low! I came out of the dressing room and told her I wold not be purchasing these jeans and that she was forcing me to shop for mom jeans at places like Eddie Bauer! She kind of turned her head to the side and just looked at me.
Yesterday I ventured into the Buckle again becasue my brother assured me that I could find jeans there and that I would like them. I took his advice and boldly went where most moms don't go... at least to purchase jeans for themselves.
The clerk this time was older, probably the manager, and he helped me with several pairs.
And HALLELUJAH!!!! I actually found a pair on the third try that covered all that needed to be covered, met the approval of my husband, and cost less than $100!!! It was a grand day!!!
I know that this entry to my blog means nothing in the light of eternity but we had a crazy weekend at our house. And my friends Ben and Jolie said to me a few weeks ago why aren't you blogging?? And they answered the question for me. You blog about what is on your mind and what you are learning but I don't have that freedom right now. One day I will and that day is coming soon but right now it is all too fresh.
So until then I have some cool jeans!
Saturday, September 30, 2006
One Life to LIVE
My blogs have been few this past month as we have endured much in our family and church life. While enduring much we have seen the Lord work in ways that we were not aware that we would ever see. We have seen Him point out our own sin and the sin of others, thus living in the world and working in the church! It has been such a painful process to go through but we will persevere by God's grace.
I am not sure that I will ever be able to put into words what God is teaching me through this time but one thing that I have learned is this...
I am not sure that I will ever be able to put into words what God is teaching me through this time but one thing that I have learned is this...
I have ONE LIFE
I have one life and I am almost 30 years old. I have one life to teach my children about the goodness and greatness of the one true and living God. I have one life to serve the church with my whole heart and learn to worship on this earth because this is just a glimpse of the the new earth. I have one life to give all that I have to loving my husband and serve him. I have ONE LIFE. I have one life to give for the service of the kingdom of Christ in His army.
I am yours Lord. Here is my One Life. Teach me to make it count for your glory.
Friday, September 08, 2006
Where O, where have your little posts been?
Sorry ladies!!! I am not so blog smart! You have been commmenting your little hearts out and I have not been posting them to the blog because my settings were not what I thought they were! Oops! I apologize! Please continue to read and post away and I will try to continue to write thoughtful blogs! :) I appreciate all that you have said! Keep posting!
Friday, September 01, 2006
Home Alone!
My husband is out tonight enjoying one of his many manly adventures and I am at home with the children after a long and I repeat long day!
It has been an adventure to remain calm at all times and not allow my temper to shoot through the roof. Here are some of the examples of why I had to remind myself and renew my mind that God is in control of all things and He knew that I would be with my children today and I would feel like I was losing my mind...Yet I can call on Him to renew my strength!!! :)
1. We went to the church office to pick up a list from my husband and while waiting for an extended period of time in line in the bank drive-thru with a screaming and whining baby he left for the hospital to make his weekly visits! So he was not there when we got to the church! yikes!
2. My son ran around as if I have never disciplined him ever in his whole entire life! I just looked at him in shock as he screeched around the office area... As did the secretaries and other staff wives that were there for visits. Sometimes I think to myself, "Is that my child??" :0 Who is his mother? And why doesn't she do something about him? Then I realize I am her!!!
3. When we came home I wanted a fun snack and so did my son so I made Butterfinger milkshakes! He was so excited and I must admit that I was too until he dropped his whole shake on the kitchen floor and just stood there screaming as he looked at his huge accident! I think that much of it was caused by the blue scooped gloves he was wearing! The shake just slipped right out of his hand!
4. My 7 month old daughter is teething so she whines and fusses all day long. I had forgotten how hard teething was, for me not for her!
5. And as I am writing this my son just said, "Mom, you have blonde hair but it's black in the middle!"
And then my lovely husband comes home for a few minutes before he is off to his fun times and I have to make a choice. Do I whine and manipulate him to stay at home with me? Or do I allow him to leave with a happy heart knowing that he needs time to refresh and relax? Should I wallow in self pity or should I glory in my job as a wife and a mom and grow up and take care of them without always expecting a long and relaxing break?
I must admit that I battle with the options above and I pray that by God's grace alone that I can make it while Home ALONE! :)
It has been an adventure to remain calm at all times and not allow my temper to shoot through the roof. Here are some of the examples of why I had to remind myself and renew my mind that God is in control of all things and He knew that I would be with my children today and I would feel like I was losing my mind...Yet I can call on Him to renew my strength!!! :)
1. We went to the church office to pick up a list from my husband and while waiting for an extended period of time in line in the bank drive-thru with a screaming and whining baby he left for the hospital to make his weekly visits! So he was not there when we got to the church! yikes!
2. My son ran around as if I have never disciplined him ever in his whole entire life! I just looked at him in shock as he screeched around the office area... As did the secretaries and other staff wives that were there for visits. Sometimes I think to myself, "Is that my child??" :0 Who is his mother? And why doesn't she do something about him? Then I realize I am her!!!
3. When we came home I wanted a fun snack and so did my son so I made Butterfinger milkshakes! He was so excited and I must admit that I was too until he dropped his whole shake on the kitchen floor and just stood there screaming as he looked at his huge accident! I think that much of it was caused by the blue scooped gloves he was wearing! The shake just slipped right out of his hand!
4. My 7 month old daughter is teething so she whines and fusses all day long. I had forgotten how hard teething was, for me not for her!
5. And as I am writing this my son just said, "Mom, you have blonde hair but it's black in the middle!"
And then my lovely husband comes home for a few minutes before he is off to his fun times and I have to make a choice. Do I whine and manipulate him to stay at home with me? Or do I allow him to leave with a happy heart knowing that he needs time to refresh and relax? Should I wallow in self pity or should I glory in my job as a wife and a mom and grow up and take care of them without always expecting a long and relaxing break?
I must admit that I battle with the options above and I pray that by God's grace alone that I can make it while Home ALONE! :)
Friday, August 18, 2006
Make it on my own, my own way...
Here is a quote from Christina Aguilera that a friend of mine passed to me and asked me what I think of her comments and how I would respond to them.
"I think there was something that was instilled in me in a really,really young age, probably far before I was even ten years old, just witnessing a lot of the abuse that had happened in my household when Iwas a child. I think that whole experience, instead of making me wantto repeat that cycle or cower down to a man and whatnot, it made mereally feel this sense of power to never ever want to feel helpless toa man, to never ever want to need to ask anyone for anything. I wasgoing to make do on my own in my own way, and I think really thatwhole experience really pushed me and drove me to be where I'm attoday, I really really do. I think a lot of the experiences and a lotof the hard times that I've gone through in growing up have helped to instill in me a drive to thrive off of the bad instead of stopping me and cowering down to anybody or anything."(source: http://www.christina-a.net/)
I think that these comments are all to characteristic of not only superstars but also of the girls and ladies that we are sitting beside in our churches today. There are so many women who have been hurt and abused and neglected by others so their response is to withdraw and decide that they will make it all on their own and that they don't need anyone else to help them. Oh, how this is not true.
The Lord has created us to be women and that is a good thing. We are created in such a way to be a help mate to our husbands ( Genesis 2). We are to compliment all that God has created our husbands to do and therefore we fulfill our roles as women. Just as we have very specific roles as women and we can fulfill them in a way that glorifies the Lord!
And this also includes single ladies!! I have several single friends right now who are embracing their God given role as a woman and they are serving their chuch wholeheartedly and working with other families to serve them while earnestly waiting for their own family or faithfully praying that the Lord would direct them to the next area of service in His church enabling them to fulfill their role as a single.
So to think that as a woman we are created to go at this life alone is a farce. We are created to be a helpmate by God the Creator. We are able to complete this role as a married woman through faithfully loving our husband and children and serving the church or as a single woman by faithfully loving the church and serving a family in the church as your own.
I pray that we are able to embrace the call to be true women. It is a blessing for sure!
"I think there was something that was instilled in me in a really,really young age, probably far before I was even ten years old, just witnessing a lot of the abuse that had happened in my household when Iwas a child. I think that whole experience, instead of making me wantto repeat that cycle or cower down to a man and whatnot, it made mereally feel this sense of power to never ever want to feel helpless toa man, to never ever want to need to ask anyone for anything. I wasgoing to make do on my own in my own way, and I think really thatwhole experience really pushed me and drove me to be where I'm attoday, I really really do. I think a lot of the experiences and a lotof the hard times that I've gone through in growing up have helped to instill in me a drive to thrive off of the bad instead of stopping me and cowering down to anybody or anything."(source: http://www.christina-a.net/)
I think that these comments are all to characteristic of not only superstars but also of the girls and ladies that we are sitting beside in our churches today. There are so many women who have been hurt and abused and neglected by others so their response is to withdraw and decide that they will make it all on their own and that they don't need anyone else to help them. Oh, how this is not true.
The Lord has created us to be women and that is a good thing. We are created in such a way to be a help mate to our husbands ( Genesis 2). We are to compliment all that God has created our husbands to do and therefore we fulfill our roles as women. Just as we have very specific roles as women and we can fulfill them in a way that glorifies the Lord!
And this also includes single ladies!! I have several single friends right now who are embracing their God given role as a woman and they are serving their chuch wholeheartedly and working with other families to serve them while earnestly waiting for their own family or faithfully praying that the Lord would direct them to the next area of service in His church enabling them to fulfill their role as a single.
So to think that as a woman we are created to go at this life alone is a farce. We are created to be a helpmate by God the Creator. We are able to complete this role as a married woman through faithfully loving our husband and children and serving the church or as a single woman by faithfully loving the church and serving a family in the church as your own.
I pray that we are able to embrace the call to be true women. It is a blessing for sure!
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Passionate About Peanut Butter
What are you passionate about? What are the things that you long for? What are the things that fill up your sould to overflowing, that make you think with so much excitement and anticipation and excitement that they might couse you to throw up???
In Junior High School I had a Youth Minister that later became my Campus Minister, then the man who performed my wedding ceremony and now a man that we call friend and he would often ask us, "What are you passionate about? Please be passionate about something?? Most people are at least passionate about the kind of peanut butter they chose! Be passionate about something!!" I am sure at the time I was really and truthfully passionate about a 9th grade boy across the room!
But during the last two years as our family has endured many changes that have happened to us and ones that we have not chosen I have begun to pray the prayer, "God make me passionate! Give me a passion! Please Lord show me a passion like one I have never known before."
My husband and I and our at the time 2 yr old left for the mission field feeling that this was our passion for life. That God had set us on this path and that we would serve Him there for our short term with full intentions of extending for career, yet we were forced to return to the states by our sending agency due to unexpected illness. My unexpected illness. And that is a blog for another day. But we had always been so passionate for missions. And not that this has changed in our hearts, but we know that for now we are not going to be on the field but we will be serving the church in America.
So my prayer began in earnest, God give me a passion. And thankfully over this year, He has faithfully answered this prayer and He has begun to make me more passionate about His Word. I realize that I am nothing without it and that I can not sustain my life on my own without His sustaining grace. I am in need of the Word of Life.
I was recently talking to my friend, Lisa, and she said that a lady friend of hers rises before her children in the morning not out of the triteness of discipline but out of the shear desperation for the Word. Oh, that it may be with me. Oh, that I may be desperate and not just saying that I am disciplined.
While reading the Word, also, God has kindled in my heart the growing love for the fact that I am a woman! Imagine that! He created me to be a woman, to fulfill certain roles, and to glory in Him as I am going about doing just that and now my life seems more blessed.... Can that be? The more that I fulfill my role, the more my husband is able to fulfill his and therefore the more I am able to fulfill mine??? Yes, Lord! It can be because you created it that way.
I think I am blogging on about 10 different subjects in one. Forgive me please. Remember my first questions? I am passionate for the Lord and His Word, my husband and my children, serving the women in my church, and understanding more about what it is to be a Redeemed Daughter. All this spills ou of me as I continue to gush! I can't contain it because it is not from me, it is from the Lord. Thank you Lord for your Word, your will and your created order.
In Junior High School I had a Youth Minister that later became my Campus Minister, then the man who performed my wedding ceremony and now a man that we call friend and he would often ask us, "What are you passionate about? Please be passionate about something?? Most people are at least passionate about the kind of peanut butter they chose! Be passionate about something!!" I am sure at the time I was really and truthfully passionate about a 9th grade boy across the room!
But during the last two years as our family has endured many changes that have happened to us and ones that we have not chosen I have begun to pray the prayer, "God make me passionate! Give me a passion! Please Lord show me a passion like one I have never known before."
My husband and I and our at the time 2 yr old left for the mission field feeling that this was our passion for life. That God had set us on this path and that we would serve Him there for our short term with full intentions of extending for career, yet we were forced to return to the states by our sending agency due to unexpected illness. My unexpected illness. And that is a blog for another day. But we had always been so passionate for missions. And not that this has changed in our hearts, but we know that for now we are not going to be on the field but we will be serving the church in America.
So my prayer began in earnest, God give me a passion. And thankfully over this year, He has faithfully answered this prayer and He has begun to make me more passionate about His Word. I realize that I am nothing without it and that I can not sustain my life on my own without His sustaining grace. I am in need of the Word of Life.
I was recently talking to my friend, Lisa, and she said that a lady friend of hers rises before her children in the morning not out of the triteness of discipline but out of the shear desperation for the Word. Oh, that it may be with me. Oh, that I may be desperate and not just saying that I am disciplined.
While reading the Word, also, God has kindled in my heart the growing love for the fact that I am a woman! Imagine that! He created me to be a woman, to fulfill certain roles, and to glory in Him as I am going about doing just that and now my life seems more blessed.... Can that be? The more that I fulfill my role, the more my husband is able to fulfill his and therefore the more I am able to fulfill mine??? Yes, Lord! It can be because you created it that way.
I think I am blogging on about 10 different subjects in one. Forgive me please. Remember my first questions? I am passionate for the Lord and His Word, my husband and my children, serving the women in my church, and understanding more about what it is to be a Redeemed Daughter. All this spills ou of me as I continue to gush! I can't contain it because it is not from me, it is from the Lord. Thank you Lord for your Word, your will and your created order.
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Sally, you are ruining my life!
The other day my 4 year old was gleefully playing with his 6 month old sister as he normally does. He had 2 different little homemade masks in his hands and he was holding one in front of his face and then the other and Sister was laughing hysterically. While my son was not paying close attention she caught hold of the mask closest to her. He went to raise it back in front of his face and it ripped! Horrors! So the next words that I hear from his mouth, "Sally, you are ruining my life!"
I must admit before entering the room to offer godly counsel I had to laugh and compose myself and wonder how many times between today and the rest of my life would I hear that statement. We often times see the small interruptions in our lives as ruining them. All that it took to repair the homemade mask was a small amount of glue and it was as good as new. But for the moment David could not see that his sister had not ruined his life, she just joined in the fun and accidentially torn the mask.
It is such an easy lesson to teach to my 4 year old but what about when it happens to me?
This lovely Saturday morning everyone was resting, the baby had already eaten and gone back down for a quick nap, and my son was sitting on the bed beside me watching cartoons. I was enjoying the morning dozing off into those extra moments of sleep that all moms can only dream about! When I noticed my son beginning to lean over and whisper things like, "Are you going to sleep forever? Mom, look at the commercial! Hey! Mom! Can we get the extra fruity crazy cereal next time we are at the grocery?"
So, I in the most terrible way slammed back the covers ( if covers can be slammed!) and I marched down to the basement where my husband was relaxing and I began to rant to him about how angry I was that David was interrupting my life! That our son talks too much! That he always wants me to listen to him! That he is so consummed with commercialism!
My husband just starred at me as he is famous for doing because he is the one that never jumps to conclusions, I am. He is the one who always thinks before he speaks, I am not. He allowed me to finish my statements and then watched me march back upstairs without a word. I wonder if he had to regain his composure before he came to offer me godly counsel? I wonder if he thought how many more times will I hear her say things like this before I go to eternity?
All in all, my selfishness and love for control is something that I must approach the throne of grace about so that I do not continually live in this sin. I can not help my 4 year old to understand the concepts of the grace he must offer his sister because of the grace that is offered to us by Christ alone if I am slamming covers and ranting about how David is ruining my life!
I confess that I must be about the confession and repentance of my sin in order to teach and nurture my children in the same way. Because often the sin we see in them is the sin that is prevelant in us.
I must admit before entering the room to offer godly counsel I had to laugh and compose myself and wonder how many times between today and the rest of my life would I hear that statement. We often times see the small interruptions in our lives as ruining them. All that it took to repair the homemade mask was a small amount of glue and it was as good as new. But for the moment David could not see that his sister had not ruined his life, she just joined in the fun and accidentially torn the mask.
It is such an easy lesson to teach to my 4 year old but what about when it happens to me?
This lovely Saturday morning everyone was resting, the baby had already eaten and gone back down for a quick nap, and my son was sitting on the bed beside me watching cartoons. I was enjoying the morning dozing off into those extra moments of sleep that all moms can only dream about! When I noticed my son beginning to lean over and whisper things like, "Are you going to sleep forever? Mom, look at the commercial! Hey! Mom! Can we get the extra fruity crazy cereal next time we are at the grocery?"
So, I in the most terrible way slammed back the covers ( if covers can be slammed!) and I marched down to the basement where my husband was relaxing and I began to rant to him about how angry I was that David was interrupting my life! That our son talks too much! That he always wants me to listen to him! That he is so consummed with commercialism!
My husband just starred at me as he is famous for doing because he is the one that never jumps to conclusions, I am. He is the one who always thinks before he speaks, I am not. He allowed me to finish my statements and then watched me march back upstairs without a word. I wonder if he had to regain his composure before he came to offer me godly counsel? I wonder if he thought how many more times will I hear her say things like this before I go to eternity?
All in all, my selfishness and love for control is something that I must approach the throne of grace about so that I do not continually live in this sin. I can not help my 4 year old to understand the concepts of the grace he must offer his sister because of the grace that is offered to us by Christ alone if I am slamming covers and ranting about how David is ruining my life!
I confess that I must be about the confession and repentance of my sin in order to teach and nurture my children in the same way. Because often the sin we see in them is the sin that is prevelant in us.
Friday, August 11, 2006
My first blog!
Today is a new day in my life! I am posting my first blog ever! I thought that I would allow this era to pass me by but after some threats over email from my most technologically savvy friend (ALCW) I decided to join the blogging world. Yet, I knew that I did not want my time to be in vain so I have thought for many days how I would spend my blog time... So here it goes... thoughts on what it means to be a Redeemed Daughter of the King. I wish that I could say that I was the the brilliant lady who came up with this concept but alas I am not. I must give all credit to Susan Hunt, the brilliant author who has begun, whether she is aware of it or not,(and I am quite sure that she is not!) to spiritually mother me through her books like The True Woman and Leadership for Women in the Church.
What an exciting day! But for now I must go and tend to my children. Have a blessed day.
What an exciting day! But for now I must go and tend to my children. Have a blessed day.
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