Blessed Be Your Name

The Lord gives and the Lord takes away~may the name of the Lord be praised. Even when it's hard to say it Lord, blessed be your name. Grieving the loss of a precious child at JJ's preschool.  Very tough day today~HUG your kids and tell them that you love them because you just never know. 

Life is a vapor.



Because Someone Else Needed My Seat...

Tonight we were supposed to enjoy a concert with friends. I was going to get to see some of my favorite Christian music singers like Newsboys, Kutless, Newsong and many others.

I was SUPER excited to worship tonight and sing along with Newsong:




However, God had other plans.

I do not believe in coincidence.

I do not believe that tonight we waited in line for an hour and a half to pay our $10 to get in, only to get up to the front of the arena with a hundred or so people in front of us and have the doors close~sold out. 

I do believe that if we would have been just a little earlier we would have gotten into the concert, but then someone else who needed my seat would not have.

Someone else, who needed to hear the message of the saving grace of Jesus. The life, death and resurrection of God's most precious gift. Someone else would not have possibly been able to make the most important decision of their life.

So, because I KNOW God had plans for that someone else to be in the seat that I thought I was going to be in I will gladly rejoice in missing out on the concert.

Week In Pictures

Caleb snuggling his baby
(which is my old strawberry shortcake doll)
Think he'll get mad if this is on his picture board
for high school graduation?  =)

Caleb's latest thing to do for fun....spice tower

There is a brother under that huge pile of blankets, pillows,
stuffed animals and whatever else they could find.

JJ being goofy in my hat while
 doing his breathing treatment
for pneumonia

Mercy Came Running

Some days, when there is absolutely nowhere left to go

Mercy Came Running~PRAISE GOD!!!

Some Days...

Life is not always a big bunch of roses. Sometimes it is just so hard. Sometimes life really, really hurts. Sometimes the people you thought really cared, really don't.  Sometimes I just want to go hide in my closet and cry so hard that there are just no tears left.  You know, that cleansing type of cry. Get. It. All. Out.

I am stuck in a place right now that I've been struggling with for weeks. I know God is here~working~but yet I find myself hearing the devil's lies over and over.

On my own...
I am weak, yet God is strong.
I am without hope, God is FULL of hope.
I am restless, God is peace.
I am friendless, God is my friend.
I am foolish, God is wise.
I am unimportant, God wants to use me for His glory.
I have no purpose, God has a plan.


To Be Continued...

Always Come Back

This song is OLD! It's so old that when I sang this in Churches I used an accompaniment track on cassette!! However, I still love it and find such meaning in the lyrics. I can look back and remember specific times in my life when this song was so fitting for what I was going through.

I love this verse:
Funny here I am again
Looking for the answers down on my knees
Shouldn't be so hard to understand,
You're all I want, you're all I need

Especially during the last several weeks this verse has been so true. God is at work in BIG ways. I love it how He is constantly showing me things, growing me, changing me. When I am unsteady, He is strong. When I doubt, He holds the future. When I cry, He wipes my tears. When I run in search of something I do not need, HE COMES RUNNING AFTER ME. I will always come back.

I have nothing and am nothing without God. Nothing.

Every single day God I am amazed by you!!!  Oh, how I love you Lord.

Thoughts

Steve Camp, a Contemporary Christian Musician for the last 30 + years,  now also a Pastor had a few thoughts to share on his facebook page this week concerning Rob Bell. I say he hits the nail on the head.

Another blog post worth reading:
God Is Still Holy and What You Learned in Sunday School Is Still True: A Review of “Love Wins”

Where do I stand?
Well, this was my facebook status today:
Love won ~ crown of thorns, nail pierced hands, death on a cross. I am FREE from a life spent in an eternal hell~thank you JESUS for the gift of eternal life that I will get to spend with you in heaven. In YOU I place my hope and my faith. No man, no book written will ever make me question what you did for me.

I have so many other thoughts and feelings but I just cannot get them out of my head into this blog post. So, I'll share Steve's thoughts with you and the video that prompted the discussion over the last few days.

Steve Camp's thoughts:

Rob Bell is a confused young man who is blasphemous and heretical on the most elemental issues of biblical Christianity. He needs regeneration and/or discipleship. This new book of his isn't a serious work about God's love, the gospel, heaven, hell, or the Lord Jesus Christ. It is shallow, trite, childish, and vacant of biblical truth. He asks many helpful questions, but provides no answers rooted in God's Word. In short, Bell is a wolf amongst thousands undiscerning sheep. He is not a pastor; he is a theological preditor. If you attend his "church" you need to run.

This is not an "eat the meat and throw away the bones" issue. This is a truth issue concerning the nature and character of Jesus Christ the Lord, the veracity of Scripture, His holiness and all things concerning w...hat He has instructed about heaven and hell especially about those who reject Christ and His gospel. Bell has sought to redefine all those essentials by one thing, his ability to ask question upon question which have no bearing on these things. You should be concerned for him. His words are leading millions away from the biblical Jesus and His gospel.
Have you read his book? I have. It's unfortunate and tragic. I will continue to pray for him that his eyes will be opened to the biblical gospel and that he would repent and truly come to know the Jesus of the bible and not the one he has invented. That is the mostnloving thing we could hope for him.

...it's what Rob has said in his book: "we shape our God and then our God shapes us." IOW, create God in your own image and it will create who you are. This is exactly what Rob has done. He has shaped an image of God that is not the God ...of the Bible and now IT is shaping him.

You don't invite a wolf to sit down for a nice, calm discussion with shepherds. You call him to repentance! Truth matters; doctrine matters; theology matters; the Lordship of Jesus Christ matters; the gospel matters; the holiness of God matters; heaven and hell matters; the veracity of Scripture matters; and God's love matters!
Here is the heavenily charge, not for the apostate false teacher or wolf in sheep's clothing, but the true man of God!
2 Tim:4 1-5 "I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his ...appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry."
 

Busy Days

Several weeks ago I posted this blog...guess my life is just always crazy and busy.  =)  BLESSED!!  Here are a few pictures taken over the past few weeks and a youtube video that is one of my favorite songs from long ago.

The boys and their Awana derby cars



My new favorite running shirt

Professional dress-up day
Ethan~scientist
Lucas~firefighter
Wesley~builder

Caleb wanted to 'dress-up' too!!

My new license plate~says everything about
my life~thank you Lord!!!

A new (old) CD that I picked up at one of my favorite places

Love's Treasures is from 1993 by Wes King

called The Robe.

Because Without You Lord, I Am Nothing

In The Middle

Today I had an interesting day. I got to talk on the phone with a friend for almost two hours, uninterrupted. That is a priceless thing to a busy mom of 5 kiddos.  I simply do not get to ever have a phone conversation without some sort of interruption or detail that I need to handle~ever.

It was a conversation completely driven by God, led by God, focused on God. We both are struggling with some pretty big things. While they are different, we found in common that God is using this to show himself in ways we would have missed seeing otherwise.

The other spectacular thing to arise out of this is I have a friend who is going to be diligently praying for me and me for her...and we will hold each other accountable to check in with one another every week to see how things are going. We both discussed how hard it is to tell someone something, have that person tell you they're praying and then never have any follow through. I need to hold myself accountable to her and to God to connect every week with her. It is so easy to tell someone you'll be praying, but to actually keep connected with people you tell that to is a difficult task at times.

I am so thankful that God blocked out that time today and  for a Godly friend who wants to be in the middle of it all with me. My spirits were refreshed.

Thank you Lord that you are in constant pursuit of me, even when I fail to see it. Thank you for allowing me the grace I don't deserve each and every day to grow in you. I am blessed.

No Matter What

Why Wesley Hates Thunderstorms

7 years ago, at 8:10 pm Wesley entered the world during a severe thunderstorm.  That must be the reason why he FREAKS out every time he hears a rumble of thunder.  =)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WES!!!  WE LOVE YOU!!!