Well 2012 is here, and 2011 is gone.
Last year, at the beginning of 2011, our pastor challenged us to paint our canvasses. He handed out little paint brushes to everyone and said "2011 is a brand new year, God made the canvass, you paint the year!"
Well looking back on what my painting of what 2011 looks like, I am quite happy with it. There were lots of tough times, probably more than I have had in a long while.....but every one of them was worth it in the end.
With March's 21 day fast that led to some incredible awareness's, a free trip to Tennessee for a leadership conference, Sheldon's political campaign, leaving our old church and planting the new one, my boys a year older and the one started kindergarten, an amazing wedding season, leading my womens ministry and kick starting fun get togethers, leading my first bible studies, God providing new(used) vehicles, and sooo much more!
God really opened the door to some incredible opportunities that just cant be explained away.
2011, you have memories that will be tough to compete with, but with Gods help I go into 2012 with even higher expectations.
I expect tough times, they are learning experiences. I expect blessings, to be the giver and receiver. I expect expect to grow in ways I never knew I could even stretch. I expect to fall into an even deeper level of love for the almighty Father! I expect miracles, Gods hand is moving on this earth...watch out for it!
Coming up we have a Men's Advance, a Women's Retreat, a Marriage Weekend, a monthly couples Date Night, tons of different studies and social groups to get connected in and lots of worship!
And on top of all that I get to witness my sister marry the love of her life, who we already call our brother.
2012, I have expectations of you. Instead of making resolutions that will be broken shortly after making them, maybe you should have expectations. What are your expectations?
I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”Genesis 12:3
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Gods Timing
People call a lot of things coincidences, Christians tend to call them GODinstances. Well tonight I had a Godinstance.
About 20 minutes before we put the boys to bed, we found a really nice DVD shelf on craigslist for super cheap right here in Lakeville. So I ask Sheldon to go buy it, and He does. So instead of putting the boys to bed, I decide to wait for Him to come back home. While I'm waiting, I get the urge to let the boys run off any last bits of energy outside.
So we put the shoes and socks on, jackets too because its so chilly outside and out we go!
The boys take off running up and down our shared driveway in our town-home community. Laughing, giggling, screaming and just plain running like maniacs. By the time we went inside they were covered in an icy sweat.
But just a few minutes after we went outside, I look over and my neighbors little girls came running into the street. And a few things are quite odd.
For one, they are the 2yrs old & 3yrs old(cutest little things EVER!) and they are alone. I keep watching as they come closer to me to see if a parent is coming out after them.
Second thing odd is that neither is dressed.... the youngest had on a diaper and a shirt, and the older sister was wearing nothing but pants. And when I mean nothing, I mean nothing. No shoes, no socks, no sweaters, nothing.
So I say to these precious little girls "hi, wheres your mommy?" And I get a blank stare from both.
So I ask, "Wheres your daddy"
All the while looking around to see if there is anyone around. Nothing, and nobody. And these girls are NEVER without a parent. As I am trying to talk to them a car passes us and I usher them out of the street to safety.
I ask again "Hunny, where is your mommy?" And the older sister just shrugs. I say "Are you cold" (Now mind you I am in a sweater and I'm cold. And the reply is another shrug of the shoulders.
By this point I realize that their parents probably don't realize they are outside...so I tell them to follow me as I lead them back to their house. And they obediently follow. Another neighbor comes out of her garage looking quite concerned, and before either of us got a word out the mother of these girls come flying out of the house calling the girls frantically. I call out to her "Don't worry, I have them! They are right here!"
I saw an entire range of emotions play across her face in matter of seconds and she explains that they were suppose to be in bed and when they started calling her she hid so they couldn't find her. And somehow they managed to sneak out of the house into the garage, and because their garage door was cracked they crawled under the door and got out. She never heard them get out of bed though, and when she went to check on them they were gone. As she was telling me this I could see she was torn between relief, fear, embarrassment, anger, frustration and gratefulness to at least find them safe....but she gently hugged the girls and took them home, and I was grateful I had been there.
The thing that struck me though is that I had absolutely no intention whatsoever to take the boys outside. If it hadnt been for finding that DVD shelf, and Sheldon running out to buy it then the boys would have been put to bed. And we wouldn't have been there to help the girls.
Gods timing is immaculate. Only He can set up divine interventions like that. Only He makes you late for work so you miss that car accident, or allows you to get sick you so miss that flight that crashed, or gives you the nudge to call someone right when they need it, or while on a prayer walk puts you in the path of someones home who you just by chance know and they desperately need prayer, or urges me to take my boys outside to burn off energy and find these baby girls.
Lord I am so grateful that your timing is never off, its always right on time. I am grateful for Godinstances.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. ~ Isaiah 55:8-9
About 20 minutes before we put the boys to bed, we found a really nice DVD shelf on craigslist for super cheap right here in Lakeville. So I ask Sheldon to go buy it, and He does. So instead of putting the boys to bed, I decide to wait for Him to come back home. While I'm waiting, I get the urge to let the boys run off any last bits of energy outside.
So we put the shoes and socks on, jackets too because its so chilly outside and out we go!
The boys take off running up and down our shared driveway in our town-home community. Laughing, giggling, screaming and just plain running like maniacs. By the time we went inside they were covered in an icy sweat.
But just a few minutes after we went outside, I look over and my neighbors little girls came running into the street. And a few things are quite odd.
For one, they are the 2yrs old & 3yrs old(cutest little things EVER!) and they are alone. I keep watching as they come closer to me to see if a parent is coming out after them.
Second thing odd is that neither is dressed.... the youngest had on a diaper and a shirt, and the older sister was wearing nothing but pants. And when I mean nothing, I mean nothing. No shoes, no socks, no sweaters, nothing.
So I say to these precious little girls "hi, wheres your mommy?" And I get a blank stare from both.
So I ask, "Wheres your daddy"
All the while looking around to see if there is anyone around. Nothing, and nobody. And these girls are NEVER without a parent. As I am trying to talk to them a car passes us and I usher them out of the street to safety.
I ask again "Hunny, where is your mommy?" And the older sister just shrugs. I say "Are you cold" (Now mind you I am in a sweater and I'm cold. And the reply is another shrug of the shoulders.
By this point I realize that their parents probably don't realize they are outside...so I tell them to follow me as I lead them back to their house. And they obediently follow. Another neighbor comes out of her garage looking quite concerned, and before either of us got a word out the mother of these girls come flying out of the house calling the girls frantically. I call out to her "Don't worry, I have them! They are right here!"
I saw an entire range of emotions play across her face in matter of seconds and she explains that they were suppose to be in bed and when they started calling her she hid so they couldn't find her. And somehow they managed to sneak out of the house into the garage, and because their garage door was cracked they crawled under the door and got out. She never heard them get out of bed though, and when she went to check on them they were gone. As she was telling me this I could see she was torn between relief, fear, embarrassment, anger, frustration and gratefulness to at least find them safe....but she gently hugged the girls and took them home, and I was grateful I had been there.
The thing that struck me though is that I had absolutely no intention whatsoever to take the boys outside. If it hadnt been for finding that DVD shelf, and Sheldon running out to buy it then the boys would have been put to bed. And we wouldn't have been there to help the girls.
Gods timing is immaculate. Only He can set up divine interventions like that. Only He makes you late for work so you miss that car accident, or allows you to get sick you so miss that flight that crashed, or gives you the nudge to call someone right when they need it, or while on a prayer walk puts you in the path of someones home who you just by chance know and they desperately need prayer, or urges me to take my boys outside to burn off energy and find these baby girls.
Lord I am so grateful that your timing is never off, its always right on time. I am grateful for Godinstances.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. ~ Isaiah 55:8-9
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
First day of school, for both of us
This morning was Elijahs first day at school. And mine too. He is my oldest son and therefore this is the first experience I have had with the whole school thing(As a parent). We all see how those moments go in movies;
Kid gets on the bus
Mom cries
Well Elijah isnt taking the bus, Im dropping Him off, and I didnt cry this morning. At least not a real cry.
But last night, thats a whole different story. We went about our day as normal, had a wonderful day. A nice long 2 hour walk, came home and had pork chops, rice and green beans for dinner, then we put the boys to bed. The whole time prepping Elijah for today;
"Elijah if the teacher says sit down what do you do?" "Sit down Mom"(while rolling his eyes)
"Ok if the teacher says its clean up time, what do you do" "Clean up Mom" (are his eyes even in his head?!)
"If you have to go potty, are you gonna tell your teacher?" "Yes Mom"(add a head roll and a hand on the hip to the eye rolling as if to say "really mom?!" ) But I gotta cover my bases.
So off to bed my boys go, and then it starts hitting me. My first born baby boy is NOT a baby anymore, not even close. Then when we go to bed, Sheldon and I are talking... and I said "Its tomorrow" and he sleepily replies "yep" and I choke.
See now Sheldon had taken some medicine for allergies and was already half asleep by the time He even got in bed....so really when I say "we" were talking it was more "I" was talking and he would grunt.
As I lay there thinking back to the time of his birth and all the uncertainty that surrounded his first couple of days I get kinda teary eyed. Then I remember him learning to walk, and eat, and talk and how stinkin CUTE he always was.
Im laying there in the dark literally holding my breath so that I dont start all out sobbing...tears are still streaming down my cheeks...now you know when you try not to cry when you are obviously crying you tend to squeak....you know what Im talking about. I try and clear my throat so that I can get rid of the sob stuck in my throat and I take a BIG deep breath... and then there goes my nose. Why on earth does your nose start running when you cry??!! Can someone answer this please?!
So now Im sniffling...after a few minutes of lots of deep breaths and lots of sniffling Sheldon finally goes "are you sniffling?" I say "yes" and He goes "why"... I say "because"... He says "because why?" and I say "because" after a few rounds of that I finally admit Im crying. He goes "why are you crying?"
Now you know that if you try and explain why you are crying, you will only start crying harder, and then no one could understand you anyway so I figured whats the point of trying.
I really didnt want to sound like this "ayyeemm chrrrieenngg(sniffle/deep breath) beeecchaausseee maaeeyyyy bbaa(sniffle)bbyyy iiisshh aaaahhhlll biiiiggg noooouwww!(insert wailing sound) (Did you even understand my attempt to translate the language of tears into words?
Pretty much I just tried to explain that I couldnt talk about it, and He accepted it. But I wasnt done..and now I was at a breaking point.... between the sniffles, deep breaths and crinkling up my nose to stop the tears I am trying to think of something else, ANYTHING else.... so I pick up my phone and get on facebook. And it worked, after a few minutes of reading peoples statuses I was past my worked up phase. Whew....that was exhausting and shortly afterwards I fell asleep.
Fastforward to this morning, well I didnt set the alarm and instead of waking up at 630am like I wanted, I woke up at 7am. Not too bad, but it didnt leave time for Ethan and I to eat breakfast, just Elijah. Which was fine because it was more important that He ate(we came home afterwards and ate so dont worry, Ethan eventually got breakfast). But fortunately that loss of a half hour of time left me with NO time to cry.... praise God! :)
Elijah took a shower, got dressed, ate waffles, I did his hair, took photos and out the door we went. Took more photos in the car, and on the way into class. He smiled from ear to ear all morning, He woke up on his own and happy!(thats rare)
And it was great!
EXCEPT, I forgot to send a lunch with Him...and in order to get a lunch at the school you have to order the week before. I had started doing it the night before but realized we didnt have any sandwhich bags....and then didnt think about it again till I saw all the other kids lunches lined up on the teachers desk. So after I dropped him off, I went to the store, bought baggies and took him a lunch. I knew I would forget something....but at least it was an easy fix.
Ive heard of kid who are scared to start school....yeah I just cant relate to that. Mine was practically screaming "LET ME GO!!" as He grabbed his name tag and ran into his classroom....He didnt even kiss me! And then I was kinda caught off guard, the teacher comes up to me and says "Thank you for that letter you wrote" and I kinda looked at her and drew a blank. She continues "Pastor Kindle read it to all the staff this morning at our meeting" then I remembered I wrote a thank you email to the school for such a wonderful experience at orientation last week... I had NO idea that everyone was gonna read it. So I got a little embarrassed, but in a good way.
Elijahs teacher prayed with Him as he walking in and then He was in class....and other than chit chatting with a few other moms standing outside the classroom.... there was nothing else for me to do. So Ethan and I left... and I didnt cry. I almost did....but I held it back. Now dont get me wrong... I am beyond excited for Elijah to be in school... in fact a part of me feels kinda guilty for being so happy that He will be gone for so many hours. A part of me feels relieved to have time alone with my youngest now, but theres still that tiny tiny part that is sad that He has come to this stage already.
And now its time to go pick Him up and hear all about his adventurous day! I wonder what stories I will hear....
I am grateful for the way life has a way of going so fast...even when sometimes its too fast. :)
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6
Kid gets on the bus
Mom cries
Well Elijah isnt taking the bus, Im dropping Him off, and I didnt cry this morning. At least not a real cry.
But last night, thats a whole different story. We went about our day as normal, had a wonderful day. A nice long 2 hour walk, came home and had pork chops, rice and green beans for dinner, then we put the boys to bed. The whole time prepping Elijah for today;
"Elijah if the teacher says sit down what do you do?" "Sit down Mom"(while rolling his eyes)
"Ok if the teacher says its clean up time, what do you do" "Clean up Mom" (are his eyes even in his head?!)
"If you have to go potty, are you gonna tell your teacher?" "Yes Mom"(add a head roll and a hand on the hip to the eye rolling as if to say "really mom?!" ) But I gotta cover my bases.
So off to bed my boys go, and then it starts hitting me. My first born baby boy is NOT a baby anymore, not even close. Then when we go to bed, Sheldon and I are talking... and I said "Its tomorrow" and he sleepily replies "yep" and I choke.
See now Sheldon had taken some medicine for allergies and was already half asleep by the time He even got in bed....so really when I say "we" were talking it was more "I" was talking and he would grunt.
As I lay there thinking back to the time of his birth and all the uncertainty that surrounded his first couple of days I get kinda teary eyed. Then I remember him learning to walk, and eat, and talk and how stinkin CUTE he always was.
Im laying there in the dark literally holding my breath so that I dont start all out sobbing...tears are still streaming down my cheeks...now you know when you try not to cry when you are obviously crying you tend to squeak....you know what Im talking about. I try and clear my throat so that I can get rid of the sob stuck in my throat and I take a BIG deep breath... and then there goes my nose. Why on earth does your nose start running when you cry??!! Can someone answer this please?!
So now Im sniffling...after a few minutes of lots of deep breaths and lots of sniffling Sheldon finally goes "are you sniffling?" I say "yes" and He goes "why"... I say "because"... He says "because why?" and I say "because" after a few rounds of that I finally admit Im crying. He goes "why are you crying?"
Now you know that if you try and explain why you are crying, you will only start crying harder, and then no one could understand you anyway so I figured whats the point of trying.
I really didnt want to sound like this "ayyeemm chrrrieenngg(sniffle/deep breath) beeecchaausseee maaeeyyyy bbaa(sniffle)bbyyy iiisshh aaaahhhlll biiiiggg noooouwww!(insert wailing sound) (Did you even understand my attempt to translate the language of tears into words?
Pretty much I just tried to explain that I couldnt talk about it, and He accepted it. But I wasnt done..and now I was at a breaking point.... between the sniffles, deep breaths and crinkling up my nose to stop the tears I am trying to think of something else, ANYTHING else.... so I pick up my phone and get on facebook. And it worked, after a few minutes of reading peoples statuses I was past my worked up phase. Whew....that was exhausting and shortly afterwards I fell asleep.
Fastforward to this morning, well I didnt set the alarm and instead of waking up at 630am like I wanted, I woke up at 7am. Not too bad, but it didnt leave time for Ethan and I to eat breakfast, just Elijah. Which was fine because it was more important that He ate(we came home afterwards and ate so dont worry, Ethan eventually got breakfast). But fortunately that loss of a half hour of time left me with NO time to cry.... praise God! :)
Elijah took a shower, got dressed, ate waffles, I did his hair, took photos and out the door we went. Took more photos in the car, and on the way into class. He smiled from ear to ear all morning, He woke up on his own and happy!(thats rare)
And it was great!
EXCEPT, I forgot to send a lunch with Him...and in order to get a lunch at the school you have to order the week before. I had started doing it the night before but realized we didnt have any sandwhich bags....and then didnt think about it again till I saw all the other kids lunches lined up on the teachers desk. So after I dropped him off, I went to the store, bought baggies and took him a lunch. I knew I would forget something....but at least it was an easy fix.
Ive heard of kid who are scared to start school....yeah I just cant relate to that. Mine was practically screaming "LET ME GO!!" as He grabbed his name tag and ran into his classroom....He didnt even kiss me! And then I was kinda caught off guard, the teacher comes up to me and says "Thank you for that letter you wrote" and I kinda looked at her and drew a blank. She continues "Pastor Kindle read it to all the staff this morning at our meeting" then I remembered I wrote a thank you email to the school for such a wonderful experience at orientation last week... I had NO idea that everyone was gonna read it. So I got a little embarrassed, but in a good way.
Elijahs teacher prayed with Him as he walking in and then He was in class....and other than chit chatting with a few other moms standing outside the classroom.... there was nothing else for me to do. So Ethan and I left... and I didnt cry. I almost did....but I held it back. Now dont get me wrong... I am beyond excited for Elijah to be in school... in fact a part of me feels kinda guilty for being so happy that He will be gone for so many hours. A part of me feels relieved to have time alone with my youngest now, but theres still that tiny tiny part that is sad that He has come to this stage already.
And now its time to go pick Him up and hear all about his adventurous day! I wonder what stories I will hear....
I am grateful for the way life has a way of going so fast...even when sometimes its too fast. :)
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Never Say Never...
Sometimes Gods humor is a little one sided...lol
I was at Women of Faith last year listening to Mary Beth Chapman share about her experience of losing his little girl in a terrible accident.
If you dont know who she is, she is the wife of Steven Curtis Chapman, a very famous christian musician. Well a few years ago their young adult son accidentally ran over their youngest daughter in their driveway and she did not survive. To get more details on the story go get the book "Choosing to SEE" by Mary Beth Chapman. Aside from the grief and guilt caused by an accident like this, one of the things She said that night was to never tell God you wont do something. She said that He has a funny way of making us do things we NEVER want to do. She said told God that she would NEVER be a public speaker, and that she would NEVER write a book and that she would NEVER travel all over the way her husband did. Well the outcome of the death of her daughter was sharing her story with the whole world and helping people see the good in their own tragedies. How can something good come out of such devastation?(read the book!) Through Mary Beth and her family being so open with their grief, many many families have learned how to handle their own losses. One of her last funny comments was "I will NEVER go on a 6 month long vacation to Hawaii with only my husband alone") haha, she made a funny! LOL
So what relevance does that have to me? Well one of the main things I always said to myself was that I never wanted to be a pastors wife. In fact the first time someone spoke a prophecy of Sheldon becoming a pastor I think I literally cringed. We had only been married a few months and that was the last thing I expected hearing from someone. Then it happened again a few months later. And then again about a year after that....and then again and again and again. It was a recurring theme that always popped up that Sheldon would become a pastor. And its something He has always had a desired for in His heart. But me? No way! I didnt want that responsibility, thats huge....that meant always being available to people, always being on call, always opening your home, always sacrificing for others.... and as the wife having to sacrifice some of my time with my husband.
Then something changed. I dont know when, and I dont know exactly how. But looking back... I remember those feelings, but I dont have them anymore.
Sometime in the past 2 years a change so deep encompassed me that I didnt even realize it happened. As I watch Sheldon do his schooling for a ministry license that fear is no longer there of becoming a pastors wife. I think even when He started talking about classes last year there was still a tiny bit of reluctancy within me, but nothing like it had been years ago. Then the more He did it, the more bible studies I led, the more involved with community stuff I got into, I realized that feeling was completely gone. And then a few month later the offer came up to become the Womens Ministry Leader for South Oaks Community Church. And I jumped on it! It had been growing in my heart for the past year to get involved in womens ministry.
And now looking at the possibility, Sheldon may in fact become a pastor one day... and Im not scared of that thought anymore. I no longer dislike the idea of all the responsibility but rather I look forward to it. I embrace the idea of opening my home to others, sacrificing for others, being available to those who need someone, and allowing my husband to grow into the man of God He has been called to be. So the main idea here is never say never to God. He will find a way to use us outside of our comfort zone, and once that gets comfortable He will stretch you again.
Had you told me 5yrs ago that I would be the Womens Ministry Leader for a brand new church, I may have laughed at you just as Sarah laughed at God when He told her she was with child in her old age. But Gods plan for our lives is greater than we could ever imagine.... He sees a picture that we hardly see a pixel of.... just never tell Him never.....LOL I am grateful that God doesnt always give into what I want, He knows better.
"And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"" Acts 20:35
0 Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”
Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?”
13 Then the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”Genesis 18:10-14
I was at Women of Faith last year listening to Mary Beth Chapman share about her experience of losing his little girl in a terrible accident.
If you dont know who she is, she is the wife of Steven Curtis Chapman, a very famous christian musician. Well a few years ago their young adult son accidentally ran over their youngest daughter in their driveway and she did not survive. To get more details on the story go get the book "Choosing to SEE" by Mary Beth Chapman. Aside from the grief and guilt caused by an accident like this, one of the things She said that night was to never tell God you wont do something. She said that He has a funny way of making us do things we NEVER want to do. She said told God that she would NEVER be a public speaker, and that she would NEVER write a book and that she would NEVER travel all over the way her husband did. Well the outcome of the death of her daughter was sharing her story with the whole world and helping people see the good in their own tragedies. How can something good come out of such devastation?(read the book!) Through Mary Beth and her family being so open with their grief, many many families have learned how to handle their own losses. One of her last funny comments was "I will NEVER go on a 6 month long vacation to Hawaii with only my husband alone") haha, she made a funny! LOL
So what relevance does that have to me? Well one of the main things I always said to myself was that I never wanted to be a pastors wife. In fact the first time someone spoke a prophecy of Sheldon becoming a pastor I think I literally cringed. We had only been married a few months and that was the last thing I expected hearing from someone. Then it happened again a few months later. And then again about a year after that....and then again and again and again. It was a recurring theme that always popped up that Sheldon would become a pastor. And its something He has always had a desired for in His heart. But me? No way! I didnt want that responsibility, thats huge....that meant always being available to people, always being on call, always opening your home, always sacrificing for others.... and as the wife having to sacrifice some of my time with my husband.
Then something changed. I dont know when, and I dont know exactly how. But looking back... I remember those feelings, but I dont have them anymore.
Sometime in the past 2 years a change so deep encompassed me that I didnt even realize it happened. As I watch Sheldon do his schooling for a ministry license that fear is no longer there of becoming a pastors wife. I think even when He started talking about classes last year there was still a tiny bit of reluctancy within me, but nothing like it had been years ago. Then the more He did it, the more bible studies I led, the more involved with community stuff I got into, I realized that feeling was completely gone. And then a few month later the offer came up to become the Womens Ministry Leader for South Oaks Community Church. And I jumped on it! It had been growing in my heart for the past year to get involved in womens ministry.
And now looking at the possibility, Sheldon may in fact become a pastor one day... and Im not scared of that thought anymore. I no longer dislike the idea of all the responsibility but rather I look forward to it. I embrace the idea of opening my home to others, sacrificing for others, being available to those who need someone, and allowing my husband to grow into the man of God He has been called to be. So the main idea here is never say never to God. He will find a way to use us outside of our comfort zone, and once that gets comfortable He will stretch you again.
Had you told me 5yrs ago that I would be the Womens Ministry Leader for a brand new church, I may have laughed at you just as Sarah laughed at God when He told her she was with child in her old age. But Gods plan for our lives is greater than we could ever imagine.... He sees a picture that we hardly see a pixel of.... just never tell Him never.....LOL I am grateful that God doesnt always give into what I want, He knows better.
"And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"" Acts 20:35
0 Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”
Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?”
13 Then the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”Genesis 18:10-14
A new Chapter
So today is the first day in September. And this month marks the turning point and some major changes that will be happening in our lives. Last week Sheldon started a brand new job, next week Elijah starts school for the first time ever, then we launch our first ever official service LIVE for South Oaks Community Church and the fun just keeps going!
New beginnings offer fresh starts, new relationships, and a chance to push past your comfort zones and reach further than you had before. But they also mean growing pains, mistakes, stumbles and a learning curve. So far its been fabulous, I LOVE our team at SOCC and I love my pastor. We all work so well together and most of all we all know that everything we do must be centered on Christ. Its not about us and our comforts, but about spreading the love of Jesus.
With Elijah starting school this year it will give me more one on one time with Ethan that He has never had being the little brother. I look forward to being alone with Him and teaching Him all the things I taught Elijah....but with Elijah right there all the time He tends to overtalk Ethan. I also look forward to all the new things Elijah will learn at school, hearing all his stories when He comes home, helping Him with homework and volunteering at His school. I am possibly more excited than He is, although He is very excited. And that excitement is mixed with a terrible sad feeling that His baby years are officially over and the memories I have are all that are left of that time period. (sigh)
Now with Sheldons new job, it means no more overnight shifts(which let me tell you how much of a struggle that was!), no more consistent weekend shifts and He will be home for dinner every night. I cant even begin to explain how happy I am for that!
With all the new things that will be happening, I look back on the last 5yrs of our marriage and all the things we went through, and it shows me hindsight is 20/20. So many things make sense that we had to go through, losing our apartment, getting our vehicles repossessed, having to move in with my mother in law for a year, Sheldon working 2 jobs, and so much more. I feel like 10yrs worth of experience was jammed into 5yrs, almost like God said...OK...Here's a crash course on life.
So into the new journey We go, not looking back.....but anticipating what the future holds....
All in all I am grateful for some of lifes crash courses!
"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." 1 Thessalonians 5:18
New beginnings offer fresh starts, new relationships, and a chance to push past your comfort zones and reach further than you had before. But they also mean growing pains, mistakes, stumbles and a learning curve. So far its been fabulous, I LOVE our team at SOCC and I love my pastor. We all work so well together and most of all we all know that everything we do must be centered on Christ. Its not about us and our comforts, but about spreading the love of Jesus.
With Elijah starting school this year it will give me more one on one time with Ethan that He has never had being the little brother. I look forward to being alone with Him and teaching Him all the things I taught Elijah....but with Elijah right there all the time He tends to overtalk Ethan. I also look forward to all the new things Elijah will learn at school, hearing all his stories when He comes home, helping Him with homework and volunteering at His school. I am possibly more excited than He is, although He is very excited. And that excitement is mixed with a terrible sad feeling that His baby years are officially over and the memories I have are all that are left of that time period. (sigh)
Now with Sheldons new job, it means no more overnight shifts(which let me tell you how much of a struggle that was!), no more consistent weekend shifts and He will be home for dinner every night. I cant even begin to explain how happy I am for that!
With all the new things that will be happening, I look back on the last 5yrs of our marriage and all the things we went through, and it shows me hindsight is 20/20. So many things make sense that we had to go through, losing our apartment, getting our vehicles repossessed, having to move in with my mother in law for a year, Sheldon working 2 jobs, and so much more. I feel like 10yrs worth of experience was jammed into 5yrs, almost like God said...OK...Here's a crash course on life.
So into the new journey We go, not looking back.....but anticipating what the future holds....
All in all I am grateful for some of lifes crash courses!
"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Monday, August 1, 2011
Crossroads
As usual there seem to be themes that pop up in my life. I have accepted it as Gods way of talking to me in certain areas. One of those themes is crossroads.
When I was 16yrs old I was able to get my driving permit, and eventually my license. That gave me the ability to get a better job at any distance I wanted to drive. I no longer had to rely on my mom to get me places, and I definitely didnt have to rely on the city bus. Getting my license lead me to Sears Portrait Studio as a photographer. I went to "Crossroads Driving School".
A few years later I was in a relationship with a guy. After about a year we decided to move in together. Even though it was against my better judgment. It was a 3yr relationship that ended horribly. And I promised myself and God that I would never again live with another man unless it was my husband. The apartment we lived in was called Crossroads Apartments.
A few years later, married to wonderful man we find a home church that helped us grow in our faith in ways we couldnt imagine. During our year and a half there we were baptized together, took several bible studies that freed us of lots of baggage, and then even lead a few studies ourselves through the church. We gained spiritual strength and growth and some amazingly supportive friends/family.
This church is called Crossroads Church.(lovingly called CRC).
Then Sheldon and I began having that inner feeling that we wanted and needed to do something. What that was, we werent sure. We talked about hosting several bible studies outside of the church, community outreaches, neighborhood watches, and a few other things. As we prayed, we were given the opportunity to pray for a new church plant. So we prayed for the new church, and in that we began to feel led to be a part of helping plant this new church. But there was that feeling of not wanting to leave our home at CRC. So we prayed some more.
Then we got convicted. The Holy Spirit gently reminded us that as christians we were not called to sit in a comfy spot and worship God. We are not suppose to "sit on our blessed assurance", but to go out into the world. To share the gospel with every nation. And that means every community here in our own state as well.
So it was no longer a question of "well we really feel led to go be a part of this new church, but we dont want to leave our home because we love it!", it became "we feel led to do it, so lets DO IT!"
The roads I have chosen in my life I have outlined what my life has become.
**Getting a car lead me to my 1st photography job and preened my skills which lead me to owning my own business.
**Living in that apartment with that guy taught me to put my foot down and learn my value as a woman. I had to set and stick to what I wanted out of any future relationships which lead me to a man who was looking for the same thing and we married within 5 months of dating. Since we are going on almost 5 years of a happy marriage I would venture to say that was a great outcome! :)
**And searching out a new church and finding a home that was so welcoming and nurturing we learned how to grow. Which lead me to the opportunity of being the Womens Ministry Leader at a brand new church called South Oaks Community Church. We shall see where this road leads me :)
So as I cross these roads in my life, I pray that God is my guide the whole way. Whether it was learning to drive and be independent, making mistakes and learning what it means to be in a wholesome healthy relationship, or it was finding a home church and growing closer to God.....
I am GRATEFUL for all my cross roads!
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. Mark 16:15
Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established. Provers 16:3
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. John 15:5
Special thank you to Pastor CJ & his beautiful wife Cheryl for loving us so warmly and embracing us as we were a part of your church. We love you guys and appreciate everything you have done for us and with us! We will be praying for CRC to reach above and beyond your expectations!
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Are you cold?
We moved into our townhouse just this past September. So we havent even been here a year yet. Almost, but not quite. Its a brand new house, they built it the month we moved in and were still completing little tasks while we moved in. This place was a blessing to a very large need for us. And we love it!
One of the things though was that our downstairs bathroom never had hot water. It was always ice-cold. We never called the maintenance people, and I guess thats because it was never much of a problem, we could get by on other areas of the house. And eventually we just got used to it, we all knew...even the boys, that the sink in the bathroom had very cold water.
Well after about 10 months we mentioned it to our caretaker and they put in a report for us. The very next day a guy came in and turned a knob, and VOILA! Hot water!
What a simple fix!
It came to me today that Jesus is our simple fix in life. But how many of us have learned to deal with the cold of life? We are use to it, so instead of doing anything to change it, we just deal with it. We accept that life will be hard and unfair. And while that might be true, if you gave your cares over to your caretaker, and opened the door of your heart, it really could be as simple as a twist of a knob(or prayer) to release the peace and love of God.
How many times do we try and get by on things other than God? "Oh I can do it myself" "So and so's got my back, no problem" "oh it will fix itself over time". Dont count on the world to fix and fill what only God can....if you try to get by on other things.....nothing will ever change.
Lets not live our lives pretending like the colds not there....acknowledge it, decide to you dont want it, and grab a hold of your caretaker! Once you open the door of your heart and really let Him work on you, you will realize how simple it is to get your life on the right path.
Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.-Jeremiah 33:6
For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.- 1John 5:4
One of the things though was that our downstairs bathroom never had hot water. It was always ice-cold. We never called the maintenance people, and I guess thats because it was never much of a problem, we could get by on other areas of the house. And eventually we just got used to it, we all knew...even the boys, that the sink in the bathroom had very cold water.
Well after about 10 months we mentioned it to our caretaker and they put in a report for us. The very next day a guy came in and turned a knob, and VOILA! Hot water!
What a simple fix!
It came to me today that Jesus is our simple fix in life. But how many of us have learned to deal with the cold of life? We are use to it, so instead of doing anything to change it, we just deal with it. We accept that life will be hard and unfair. And while that might be true, if you gave your cares over to your caretaker, and opened the door of your heart, it really could be as simple as a twist of a knob(or prayer) to release the peace and love of God.
How many times do we try and get by on things other than God? "Oh I can do it myself" "So and so's got my back, no problem" "oh it will fix itself over time". Dont count on the world to fix and fill what only God can....if you try to get by on other things.....nothing will ever change.
Lets not live our lives pretending like the colds not there....acknowledge it, decide to you dont want it, and grab a hold of your caretaker! Once you open the door of your heart and really let Him work on you, you will realize how simple it is to get your life on the right path.
Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.-Jeremiah 33:6
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