True Love

Next week is spring break for the boys, but it is also Holy Week.  The week leading up to the crucifixion and then resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Jesus spent His last days on earth teaching, loving, healing, and preparing those around Him for what was to come.  He knew who would betray Him and who would deny Him and He loved them anyway.  He knew the pain and agony that He would have to endure, but took it all willingly in order to spend eternity with each of one us who chooses Him.

"Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.  He will be handed over to the Gentiles.  They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, and kill him.  On the third day he will rise again."  

Luke 18:31-33

Even in the midst of that pain and agony, He continued His ministry.

"Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed.  When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals - one on his right, the other on his left.  Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."  And they divided up his clothes by casting lots." 

Luke 23: 32-34

"One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him:  'Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!' But the other criminal rebuked him. 'Don't you fear God,' he said, 'since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve.  But this man has done nothing wrong.  Then he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.' Jesus answered him, 'I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.' " 

Luke 23:39-43

May God continue to minister to each of us, especially during this next week as we remember just how much He truly loves us.

I will be taking a break from blogland over this next week and look forward to celebrating with you on the other side, when we can shout "He is risen!" 

"He is not here, he has risen, just as he said."  

Matthew 28:26

Living thru faith,
Misty

God and Kindles

Santa gave Daniel a Kindle Fire for Christmas 

(just a few months ago, you know).

via

He was climbing down from his bunk bed (holding his Kindle, of course) and fell.  He was ok, but his Kindle wasn't so lucky.  The screen shattered.

When Brian checked online we discovered it was going to cost $100 to replace the screen.  But...he thought about it and then called Amazon.  He told the customer service rep exactly what happened.  It was completely Daniel's fault.  Much to our surprise they sent him a new Kindle anyway!  
They wanted him to be completely satisfied.

About a week or so after Daniel's incident and three days before Brian left for England, his Kindle died.  He has had that one for at least a year, maybe more, and uses it especially for the reading he has to do for his dissertation.  He called Amazon. They would replace it for around $90 and have the new one here in time for Brian's trip.  We decided to go ahead and just take the money out of savings.  A week later, Brian received a payment for some work he had done on a class and had inadvertently never been paid for.  

It was for right at $100!

We never know how God is going to meet our needs and He doesn't always meet our needs like we think He should.  Sometimes we find Him meeting needs we didn't even know we had.  

But what a blessing to know that He is always watching over us.  Ready to take care of us and love us in ways we could never even imagine.  

Even through some broken Kindles.

Living thru faith, 
Misty

A Word: Trust

I have never been one for resolutions.  

Why bother? I'm not going to keep them anyway.

 But Traci at Beneath My Heart 
 started me thinking with her post about her "word of the year", which led me to Layla's word at The Lettered Cottage.  

I thought about several words that could be my "word of the year".

Simplify
(I really want to simplify our lives and get back to the basics.)

Faith
(Oh, how I need faith to live each day!)

But, then the one that truly struck that cord in my heart...

In 2012 we are going to have to TRUST in our Provider.  

We are going to have to...

TRUST in Him to provide for us financially
not only for our day to day living, but with tuition and birthdays and Christmas and the just because things 

TRUST in Him to provide for us emotionally
financial struggles are hard enough, but add in one baby becoming a senior and my last baby going to kindergarten...not to mention the big possibility of homeschooling the middle baby...
2012 is going to be an emotional roller coaster!

TRUST in Him to provide for us spiritually
through all of our trials this year we are going to need support spiritually.  We are blessed to have a wonderful church family and we are going to need them this year.  We are going to need their love, their encouragement, their teaching, and their prayers.
  
We are also going to need our friends and our family.  We are going to need their laughter, their hugs, and their shoulders to lean on...but we are also going to need to be their laughter and their hugs and their shoulders.  Because without each other none of us will be able to completely

TRUST in Him.

Living thru faith,

Misty

Giving Thanks

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever."

Psalm 118:1

First, you need to know that I have a little stubborn streak.  

I would say I get it from my mother. 

She would probably say I get it from my dad, which probably means I get it from both of them and you may want to watch out when it shows up.   

I admit it doesn't always look pretty.

We have been going through a period of testing over the last week. 

Which brings me to the second thing you need to know.

When I know I'm being tested, I get stubborn. 

I dig in my heels and will not be moved.  

(This is when that stubborn streak comes in handy.)

We knew why we were being tested.  It was all about me giving up my income to stay home to care for my family.  I will share more about how we were being tested next week, but I wanted to share the results with you now.  

Sunday morning our pastor preached on Psalm 118.  God used his words and the words in the worship music to reaffirm my decision.  

I dug my heels in deeper, trusting in a God who will love me forever!

The service ended with the beautiful hymn " 'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus."  How those words touched my soul that morning!

'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus

Just to take Him at His Word;

Just to rest upon His promise,

And to know, "Thus saith the Lord!"

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!

How I've proved Him o'er and o'er;

Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!

Oh, for grace to trust Him more!

With all the things I have to be thankful for, the one thing I am most thankful for is that I have a God who loves me, who fights for me, who never leaves me, and who will always carry me when I cannot walk on my own.

Source: topbibleverses.tumblr.com via Norma on Pinterest

Living thru faith,
Misty

You Won't Let Me Go

Even though I can't sing a note to save my life, music has always moved me, spoken to me, expressed my thoughts for me, and comforted me.  

My life is somewhat organized chaos on the good days and absolute insanity on the not-so-good days. So, of course, now I want to add quit work and do everything with less income...

There are times I just want to shout 

"Lord, what were you thinkin' ?!"

And then I hear a song that speaks to me just in that moment.  

I may have heard it a hundred times before, 

but for some reason just that particular time it says 

"Hey, are you listening?"

Which is what happened with this song last week.

Welcome to my latest disaster
Same book just another chapter
Never thought it could be worse than last year
But here I am again today

I laugh cause it hurts when I scream
But I'll make it through cause I believe

That even when my heart breaks
And everything's shaking
I'm left alone in the rain
You won't
You won't
Won't
You won't let me go

(chorus)
Life's insane
And everything's crazy
You carry me through the pain
And You won't
You won't
Won't
You won't let me go
You won't let me go

Here we go it's a three ring circus
Juggling it all trying to find my purpose
With each new day
I'm praying just to make it through

When my next disaster is near
I know that You'll meet me right here
So I won't fear

Cause even when my heart breaks
And everything's shaking
I'm left alone in the rain
You won't
You won't
Won't
You won't let me go

(chorus)

I feel Your love that surrounds me
My world can shake but it won't drown me
Cause I'm trusting You
No matter what I'm going through

Cause even when my heart breaks
And everything's shaking
I'm left alone in the rain
You won't
You won't
Won't
You won't let me go

(chorus)

You won't
You won't let me go
Yeah, You won't
You won't let me go

No matter what we are going through or how alone we may feel, God is there and He won't let go.  How lonely and hopeless life would be without knowing He was there with me, loving me and carrying me.  But there are times that I need reminding and maybe you need a little reminding today as well.

God loves you and He won't let you go!

Living thru faith,

Misty

 

Happy Halloween!

 Yesterday was Sarah's birthday, the day before Halloween.  Because I was having to be induced, the doctor gave me the choice.  I could have her on Monday or Tuesday.  I really didn't want her to have her birthday on Halloween, so I went with Monday. 

The girl LOVES dressing up, she LOVES going trick-or-treating, and she LOVES pumpkins.  I guess she was born at just the right time of year!

Our lives have been so busy, that we didn't even get a pumpkin this year.  No trip to the orchard, no pumpkin patch, no corn maze!  I can't believe it!  All we have are three little pumpkins she wanted from the farmers market when we were in Nashville.

Life can get so crazy that we sometimes forget to stop and make memories...

This morning some of the day care kiddos came to the offices for their annual Parade of Costumes. I, of course, forgot the camera.  Thankfully, Brian was able to take a couple with his phone. 

 
I just love having the day care across the parking lot!

Tonight our church is participating in our town's big Halloween event on main street.  Our church gives out free hotdogs, usually about 500 of them!  We also give out candy bags with a little card in it just to share that Jesus loves them. This year we are doing a Trunk or Treat to give out candy.  It should be a blast and it can be such a great way to share the love of Christ with others!

I found this today and wanted to share it with you.

A lady recently being baptized was asked by a co-worker what it was like to be a Christian. 
She replied, "It's like being a pumpkin:
God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off you may have gotten from the other pumpkins. Then he cuts the top off and scoops out all the yucky stuff.
He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc.
Then He carves you a new smiling face and 
puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see."






 I want to be Your hands and feet
I want to live a life that leads
To see You set the captive free
Until the whole world hears
And I pray the day will see
More of You and less of me
Lord, I want my life to be
The song You sing

May the light of Jesus shine through you today and everyday until the whole world sees and hears!

Living thru faith,

Misty

September 11, 2011

I spent September 11, 2011 sitting at a baseball field, watching Matt play his first game since his surgery, and thinking about where I was 10 years ago.

September 11, 2001 started off as a usual school day.  

I had taken Matthew to school, Daniel to Parents Day Out, and had started my morning home routine.  I had gotten out of the habit of having the TV on in the mornings and 
the house was peaceful.  

It all changed with a phone call from my brother. 

I spent the day in front of the television - in shock, angry, sad, crying - wondering what to do.  Do I go pick up my children? Do I go give blood?  I couldn't move from the couch.  

I just sat there watching the images, crying, and praying.  

I went to the church for a prayer service at noon and then watched more coverage until time to pick up the boys.  Then the television stayed off until the boys were in bed.

I don't ever want to forget that day.  

I want to remember.  

I want to remember those who lost loved ones that day, 
those who ran in, and those who didn't come out.  

I want to remember those ordinary people who took 
extraordinary actions for the sake of others.  

I want to remember the American spirit, the humanity, and the turn to the only 
One that could provide hope and comfort and healing.

No, I do not ever want to forget that day, 
but I also want to look forward.  

Forward to a day when neighbor helps neighbor not because of a catastrophic event, but because they serve the One who gave the ultimate sacrifice for each one of us. 

Forward to a day when everyone has the opportunity 
to hear of the love of their Lord.  

Forward to a day when evil is destroyed once and for all.

Yes, let us never forget and let us always look forward and continue to show others the 
One that brings hope, peace, and love to all who know Him.

Living thru faith,

Misty

Don't Worry, Be Happy

Do you remember that song?  It became an iconic song of the 1980's.  

Hearing it just made you smile, even if just a little bit.

Why do we worry? 

Doesn't God tell us not to worry?

We are not to worry, but to trust.

But, it is so much easier to worry, right?

On Sunday, our pastor shared what his father likes to say.  

"Worrying is just praying to yourself." 

Wow, doesn't that put it into perspective!

We have been trying to discern some things and make some decisions in our family.  But making those decisions have been a true struggle.  Is this what God is wanting us to do or what we want to do?  Do we take a leap of faith, knowing God will catch us or is this just our will and God is not really asking us to take that leap?  If we are supposed to leap, when do we take that first step?  

My brain hurts from all this thinking.   

Can I just take an aspirin and call the doctor in the morning?

In the last week or two, I feel like God has been telling us to trust Him, to take that leap and let Him catch us...but then, I am the spontaneous one.  Brian is the cautious one.  The one that has always taken longer than I would like to make a decision.  The one that stews over big decisions and big purchases to the point that I want to pull my hair out.  And the one that has kept us from making big stupid spontaneous mistakes.

But I am the one that wondered what took him so long to figure out he was called to ministry or that he was supposed to go back to school again (heaven help me!).  I am the one that has driven around in two different towns and proclaimed "we are going to live here one day" (and then got to say "I told you so!" - twice).  

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 

~ Philippians 4:6 NIV

 

Somehow God has used the spontaneous and cautious - the worry and the trust. He has guided us through this journey and amazed us with His provisions.  It has not always been easy and has not always been how we thought it was supposed to be, but it has also never been boring!

I think it is when the worry overwhelms to the point that we cannot act in faith that we really get into trouble.  We may feel that anxiousness as we try to discern, but if we choose not to act because of that anxiety we miss out on the awesome adventure God has in store.

So, don't worry - pray and trust.  Whether you get right or not, He will be there to catch you.

But I am trusting you, O Lord, saying, "You are my God!"

~ Psalm 31:14, NLT

Living thru faith,

Misty

Turn off the jets

For us "normal" is what we call "somewhat organized chaos".  We are constantly on the go.  My feet hit the floor in the morning and if I'm lucky I get to stop for a little bit about 9pm - in between switching out the washer and dryer - and get to work on paperwork or my blog or a menu...

Several years ago we owned a home with a whirlpool tub.  I hardly ever used it.  The previous owner did not take proper care of it and anytime I wanted to use it there was always a question if black gunk was going to come out of the jets.  No matter how many times we ran it, no matter how much we cleaned it out, if it sat for any length of time the black gunk would return.

I remember that it had been a really tough week and Brian worked hard getting a bath ready for me.  He even lit some candles and put my Enya CD in the player.  I spent the next few minutes just vegging and then started thinking about the craziness that had been going on.

As I looked at all the bubbles being formed by the air blowing through the jets, I realized it was all the "bubbles" in my life that was filling my life with chaos. How the bubbles "bubbled" and the intensity of the bubbles were not necessarily in my control, but I had to function in the midst of all chaos.

Right beside the tub I had placed a card with Psalm 22:2 written on it.   "...He leads me beside still waters." 


As I am sitting in the middle of all these bubbles, I suddenly knew what God was trying to tell me.  I reached up and pushed the button - the button that turned off the bubbles.  Immediately,  the waters were calm and the jets were quiet.  I hadn't noticed the noise surrounding me because I was focusing on the bubbles.

Matthew 8:23-27 tells us how Jesus calmed the storm - "then He stood up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly all was calm."

Rather than focusing on the chaos, we have to keep our focus in Jesus.  We have to be still, we have to turn off the jets for a little while, we have to let Jesus calm the waters. 


Living thru faith,
Misty

The Boy's Closet & Great News!

First the Great News!

Gabe's scans were CLEAR!  
  
Thank you, Jesus!

Next scans in 9 weeks.

 ******************

While the boys were gone in July, I had lots of projects I planned to get done.  

None I dreaded more than cleaning out the boys closet.

To be fair, I had not had a chance to set up any real organization 

in the closet since we moved in. 

1 teenage boy + 1 tween boy = 1 really unorganized mess

So, one evening I emptied the closet. 

Unfortunately, the only place for all that stuff to go was into the already messy room 

(that they didn't get to clean up before leaving town - I'm sure that really upset them).

It wasn't on hubby's plan for that evening, but he jumped at the opportunity agreed to replace the light fixture as we had been planning.

Old light fixture

Hubby making me happy

There was nothing wrong with the original light fixture. We had purchased one on our last trip to IKEA for our laundry room and it didn't work for that location, so we thought we would use it in here (it wasn't worth a 2 hour trip to return a $4 light). The cabinets in the laundry room are hung too high, so one of the doors hits the light fixture.  We will be putting in a pot light, but haven't gotten around to that project, yet.

New $4 IKEA light fixture

After the light was up, we started looking at shelving.  We still had some left over pieces from a closet project 2 houses ago (Have I mentioned we've lived in 4 houses in 4 1/2 years?)

I decided to take off the short wire shelf and put up the closet system we had left.  The boys do not have a lot of hang up clothes (as if they are going to hang up what they do have anyway), so I figured they could use the one long side to hang up clothes.

  

When I finished the closet, I worked on their room.

Does anyone know why boys cannot throw away empty gum wrappers, clothes tags, or broken pencils?!  How hard is it really to throw dirty socks in the dirty clothes hamper or put clean clothes in a drawer?!

We will be having a sit down, "come to Jesus" meetin' soon...

Living thru faith,

Misty

Praying and Waiting

There is a great a kid waiting for test results today.  

This is the paver Gabe painted for the new walkway at St. Jude.

Gabe has fought lymphoma twice now.

  

He and his family have traveled this journey of ups and downs on their knees.  

Constantly praying, constantly praising, constantly open.  

They have shared this journey with so many and inspired each person with their 

faith and hope and love.  

So we wait and pray. 

Pray for the news that the scans are clear and lift praises to the Great Physician for how He has remained faithful through this journey. 

Living thru faith,
Misty

Freedom

I will be away from the computer for a few days celebrating July 4th with family. It's so easy to consider this just a long weekend, a paid vacation day, a time to get away.  But let us not forget those who serve our country and the families who serve along with them. We pray for safety, for comfort, and for peace.

And let us also not forget the One who made the ultimate sacrifice for each of us, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  He willing gave Himself up to die a painful and humiliating death on a cross so that each one of us could live forever with the One who created us.  As Americans we live free...free to do and go and be, but without Christ we can never truly be free.  When we give our lives over to Christ, there is a freedom and a joy and a peace that is beyond our understanding.

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."  
2 Corinthians 3:17 

May you find the freedom only found in Christ.

Living thru faith,

Misty

Daniel's First Mission Trip

It's been about a week since Daniel went on his first mission trip.
They traveled to the Appalachia area of eastern Kentucky.  

He had a great time and I think he learned a little bit along the way. 

(Pictures via awesome chaperons.  Thanks!)

They worked along side another Kentucky youth group painting, working in a thrift store, visiting a nursing home, and building a couple of handicapped ramps.  

I have been assured that Daniel did work, but most of the pictures show him goofing off.  
He is an entertainer!

They gave out awards at the end of the trip.  

Daniel was awarded "Youth Clown" and "Best Male Model".

It makes a mom proud!  :-)

Unfortunately, that first night back he went to bed with a headache and woke up with strep throat.  Until now, none of my kids had ever had strep.  
Thankfully, the rest of us were spared!

Living thru faith,

Misty

Confirmation Day

Daniel's Confirmation Class was confirmed during our worship service this morning.  All of the students also assisted in some part of worship.  Daniel & his friend Anna helped with the children's sermon.  During Confirmation they learned more about the Christian faith and our Wesleyan heritage and how much God loves us.   In the children's sermon they showed the little kids which Disney/Pixar character tells us exactly how much God loves us.  

Can you guess?

Yep, God loves us "to infinity and beyond"!  The little kids loved it and I bet they will remember that every time they hear Buzz say "to infinity and beyond"!

All the kids' family members at the altar with each Confirmand.

I asked Matt to take pictures, but since he really couldn't get anything except everyone's backsides, I guess he decided it would be better to take pictures of Sarah.

Sarah was drawing...

f

Then her brother undoubtedly gave her his phone.  She is probably playing "Angry Birds."

After the service church members greeted each of the kids.  They seemed to get a big kick out of all the attention.  :-)   Before we left I wanted to get a picture of Daniel with the couple (and dear friends) that sacrificed so much of their time and energy teaching all of the kids.  Brooke and Aaron did a wonderful job! They are such a blessing!

Aaron is flicking Daniel's ear to make him smile.  It worked!

Living thru faith,
Misty

Healing

This morning we took Matt for his 4 week follow-up with the orthopedic surgeon.  He has two more weeks on crutches, but he can put about 50% of his weight down now.  This was not the news he was wanting; however, the doctor was pleased with how it was healing and thinks we are right on the right track.  He'll start physical therapy next week, but no baseball this summer.

A friend's daughter came home from the hospital today after being hospitalized with a bad kidney infection.  While there is more healing to do, we are so glad she is feeling better and I know they are all glad to be home.

My mom went into the hospital this evening after feeling bad all day.  Right now they are saying it is diverticulitis, but they will be keeping her overnight for some more tests.  Hopefully, she will not have to stay long and healing will begin.

We also received an uplifting report about another friend's son who has been battling his second round of cancer.  He is not yet cancer free, but has been enjoying life again as a teenager.  He smiling and laughing and having fun with his friends.   With continued treatment, his body is slowing healing.

So it has been a mix of good news and not so good news today, but we know Who is in charge of it all. We praise Him for the healing of these earthly bodies He has created for our souls.  And while sometimes healing does not come in the way we think it should or as quickly as it should, we continue to praise Him and trust Him.

"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior."  Habakkuk 3:18


Living thru faith,
Misty

Yet, I will rejoice in the Lord

There is a little book tucked away in the Old Testament that doesn't get much attention. And yet, it holds a little gem that God led me to several years ago.

"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior." Habakkuk 3:17-18

This is Habakkuk's personal statement of faith. Despite what problems or disasters come, he would still rejoice in the Lord.

This has been a tough week for many of us and we can take an example from Habakkuk. No, most of us do not have fig trees and olive crops to worry about. Maybe your "fig tree" is the ice storm that has knocked out your electricity, sick kids, overwhelming work responsibilities, or finances. Rewrite his statement of faith in your own words. Make your own statement of faith and see if it helps you rejoice in the Lord.

Misty

Be Thankful

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts...And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, give thanks to God the Father through him." Colossians 3:15-17

In Sunday School we are studying the book of Colossians. Today as we looked at Chapter 3, one think stood out to me. "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts...And be thankful." It is so easy to worry over things in life. It's really seems easier to worry than to just hand it over to God. If we hand it over to God, we are no longer in control.

But once we do hand our burdens over, we can experience the peace of Christ. Even though our circumstances may not have changed, we can look at them in a different way and be thankful. We don't have to be thankful for our circumstances, but we can be thankful that God is there to walk us through them, thankful that we don't have to go it alone, thankful for the lessons that we may learn.

Turning things over to God and being thankful despite our circumstances if part of living our lives through faith. It takes faith to let go and let God take control. I pray that this week we will step out in faith, experience that peace of Christ, and remember to praise God in the midst of our circumstances with gratitude in our hearts.

Misty