Here are some pictures of our recent vacation to CA. It was awesome!
Phil 1:19
For I know that as you pray for me and as the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will all turn out for my deliverance.
Phil 3:10-11
As a result, I can really know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I can learn what it means to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that, somehow, I can experience the resurrection from the dead!
I am a slacker. When I have ignored my blog for so long, it is hard for me to get back to it. I feel this overwhelming responsibility to update you all on the passed 2 months and I need to post pictures and tell you what happened and who we saw, or what we did... Sheesh! I finally have some free time to type, upload pictures, make my blog current again. BUT, Bryan took the camera to Bible study. BUMMER!!! Who knows when an opportunity will arise again for me to fill you all in and the longer time passes, the more motivated I am to delete the whole thing.
We shall see.
Here are some things that have been on my mind lately.
I am still in Isaiah... the journey has been long and I have to admit that I have been dragging my feet through the book of Isaiah. Why does our flesh resist this amazing Bible?
Isa 51:6-86 Look up to the skies above, and gaze down on the earth beneath. For the skies will disappear like smoke, and the earth will wear out like a piece of clothing. The people of the earth will die like flies, but my salvation lasts forever. My righteous rule will never end!
7 "Listen to me, you who know right from wrong and cherish my law in your hearts. Do not be afraid of people's scorn or their slanderous talk. 8 For the moth will destroy them as it destroys clothing. The worm will eat away at them as it eats wool. But my righteousness will last forever. My salvation will continue from generation to generation." NLT
Salvation lasts forever!!! I had this vision a few days ago of the perfect earthly life. Imagine a beautiful home with amazing greenery all around it. Imagine an adorable family. Maybe the kids are playing in the yard. The house is perfectly decorated and the home is well cared for. Imagine this is your home. There is sun light all around you. You are laying out on the perfect "floaty" in your swimming pool. Sipping the perfect beverage. Relishing in all that you have...a spouse, cute kids, comforts of home, friends, maybe you go to an awesome church, green grass, plenty of money, you name it, you have it. Now that you have this picture in your mind, pan out as if you are watching a movie. All around this perfect sunlit home, is destruction, darkness, disaster, cries, hurts, smoke, garbage, dirt, loneliness, sirens, begging, bleeding, fighting, killing. And in the midst of all of this darkness, you see little lights moving around the city. These lights are hope. These lights are people whose eyes are not on the things of this world, but are fixed on Jesus. They are moving from one broken heart to the next. They keep moving, because they do not have a home here. They view their life as temporary. See, the things of this world can distract us from our real purpose here. We are not here to live comfortably. We are not here to succeed. We are here to find a restored union with Jesus and then to love and show the world His Restoration. Don't be an ostrich with your head stuck in the sand. We all have to ask what the meaning of life is. We all need to get out of the pool, look over the fence and realize that there are dying people all around us. They are desperately searching for answers and we have to show them.
Sometimes I imagine the Holy Spirit like a great mother, flying around kissing her children, holding them when they are crying, nurturing them when they are sick. That is what we do when we are filled with the Spirit. We are His hands and feet.
Some pictures may be on their way...but I am not making any promises. ;)
"Talk to me about the truth of religion and I'll listen gladly. Talk to me about the duty of religion and I'll listen submissively. But don't come talking to me about the consolations of religion or I shall suspect that you don't understand."- C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed
At night I stretched out untiring hands and my soul refused to be comforted.
Psalm 77:2
"O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you."
2 Samuel 18:22
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning.
Ecclesiastes 7:4
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can't, and life can't. The angels can't, and the demons can't. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can't keep God's love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39
I cannot even put words to all that I am thinking on the topic of grief. My only hope is that we will understand that it is okay to grieve and it is even okay to question the LORD. He can handle ALL of our questions and misunderstandings. I am so thankful that I serve a God who loves me the way I am and doesn't want me to pick myself up by my boot straps, or put on a "happy" face, when I am completely weak. He wants to be my comfort and strength. He wants me to put my head in his lap and cry my head off. He patiently waits for the perfect timing to offer His condolences. He even weeps along side me.
All of this to say that we lost a dear member of our family this morning. Bryan's Aunt Joanne lost her battle with cancer but found her victory in Christ and went home to be with Him. Death is becoming a more familiar face to us. Pray that we would have wisdom and compassion as we desire to minister to our family.
Over the past few days, we have experienced a few memorable moments in the lives of our kids. Lily is potty trained! YAY!!!! Warning: the following contains information not suitable for those who do not like to talk about bathrooms and/or what occurs in a bathroom, specifically on a toilet! She needed a little help going #2. So during the time she usually goes in her diaper, I sat her down on the potty and read her a book. This always seems to work for everyone else. Who doesn't have a book or a magazine somewhere in their bathroom? So towards the end of the book, she looked at me and said, "Mommy, poo-poo is working!" The rest is history.
Yesterday as I was getting lunch ready for the kids, Xander was enjoying his usual dance/jump/ spinning routine that he seems to do when pretending just about anything these days. So as he was getting ready for the triple-jump spin, he slipped and smacked his head into a corner of one of our kitchen drawers. Oh my boy. I am sure this will not be the last acquired injury. --Would you believe that he had a second spill today? This time no blood, but can the kid take a rest? Not Xander. He is always going and I love that about him.-- So, Bryan rushed home and took him into urgent care. 2 hours and a Vanilla Ice Cream Cone later, he was home with 3 stitches in his head. They look pretty cute and even he thinks so. He spends a few minutes every now and then to stop and look at them in the mirror. He is so proud of his battle wounds.
I never had a sister, or did I? I was the only girl of three children. My brothers and I were not close in age. But I was not a lonely child. I grew up in a small church and it truly was my family. This week my "sister" Stephanie came to visit. I had so much fun showing her around E-town, watching her get to know my kids, talking about our memories growing up in the "ghetto", driving down to Nashville, and even getting a tattoo. She reminded me of the family I had growing up. Her claims of my mom being her mom (and vice versa) made me see my childhood church in a whole new light.
