HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIC!!!

Well, it's here. It's official. The Big E is finally the Big 4-0 today! Eric, here are 40 things I LOVE about the you, the love of my life:

1. Your love for the Lord. So there. So real. So noticeable. So contagious.
2. Your steadiness, your calmness, your coolness amidst my yo-yo ness and flightiness.
3. Your dedication to running and triathloning--it is a physical representation to those around you of persevering with the Lord through trials and tribulations. Don't ever give this up. Our children are learning so much from you!
4. The fact that you could care less about what others think.
5. You are a great listener.
6. You take prayer seriously and I know you are praying for me and our kids.
7. That you like the beach and the ocean as much as I do.
8. Your theology is sound but you are not all 'theological'.
9. You are the most loyal person I know.
10. You make me coffee. You bring me coffee. You love coffee.
11. You do the things behind the scenes at our house so that homeschooling will work for us.
12. Watching you coach our kids makes me happy.
13. You make a mean breakfast.
14. You've always dressed up as whoever I want you to at our kid's birthday parties.
15. You leave me notes
16. Your dry wit and how unassuming it is.
17. You look mighty fine in a cowboy hat
18. The fact that you text me. It makes me feel special.
19. You pray with me.
20. You still date me.
21. Your 'just wing it' mentality.
22. You are very thoughtful and 'wordy' when you give cards to me or anyone else. You don't just sign your name. I love that.
23. The special bond that you and Owen share makes me smile.
24. You do laundry better than I do (ok, that is not saying much, but still)
25. Your singing voice that i get to hear every Sunday beside me at church. Your voice is my favorite (well, maybe after Mac Powell....okay, your voice is my second favorite)
26. Cheering you on at a race has been some of the best times of my life.
27. You are one of the most giving people I know.
28. Your burden for helping the poor, the downtrodden, the hungry, the orphaned.
29. You never complain. EVER.
30. How you bust out with something funny at the most unexpected times...like doing cheerleading moves with the girls at Wayside :)
31. You have that 'cool' component that I have never had. And you still love me, even though I am uncool.
32. You are not perfect and you don't try to act like it.
33. That you lead our family by serving us. You are a true example of a Servant Leader.
34. Our weekly date, watching 'The Office'. So glad you share this same kind of humor!
35. You let me have time to myself whenever i need it.
36. The fact that you are not materialistic in the least bit.
37. You continue to organize our cabinets even though I keep messing them up.
38. You are involved in our kid's lifes.
39. You're hot.
40. The fact that you still love me after all of these years, despite all of my hang ups

I LOVE YOU!!!

I hope you have felt extra special this week!!!!

Final Instructions -- 1 Thess. 5: 12-24

The thoughts in parenthesis are the thoughts the Lord gave me/asked me as I read through this scripture this morning...the thoughts that came to mind as I struggle through this life! I thought I would share them with you!

Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. (Have you prayed for your pastor and your church leaders today? They need our prayers! They need our respect!)

Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.
(Have you encouraged your pastor lately? If we remain silent, they will never know the encouragement that we were thinking. So often, the correspondence they receive is discouraging or critical. Take time today to thank your church leaders and to tell them they are doing a good job! They need encouragement!)

And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. (God does not give us discernment to be critical or judgmental of others but he gives it to us so we will intercede for them. Intercede this morning for a weaker brother in Christ with thanksgiving and joyfulness. Ask the Lord to help you be watchful today so that you can encourage the discouraged and speak the truth in love to someone who is needing it)

Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. (When someone hurts you, what is your first response? Is it to get back at them? Christ calls us to be kind. No. matter. what. It's easy to be kind and love those who are easy to love. What about the ones who are mean? What about the ones who disappoint you? Christ calls us to love. No. matter. what. If you are only surrounding yourselves with those who are easy to have relationships with than you are missing out on so, so much!)

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. (Ask the Lord to help you do this throughout the day! Make a conscious effort to offer up little prayers throughout the day, especially those of thanksgiving!)

Do not put out the Spirit's fire;

do not treat prophecies with contempt. (maybe there are some who believe what the Bible says about Bible prophecies a little differently than you do. What makes you so sure you are right and they are wrong? Ask God for humility as you study the scripture and whatever you do, don't treat His Word with contempt! I cringe when I hear people making fun of others who take unfulfilled Bible prophecy literally...don't make fun, instead, do what the next verse says and 'test everything...'

Test everything. Hold on to the good.

Avoid every kind of evil. (Ask the Lord to help you to avoid it yet at the same time be 'in this world' as we are called to live here and exclaim the Gospel to others who don't know Him! Don't become a recluse, a Separatist....what good is that?)

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Pray for sanctification through and through! He answers Yes to this prayer every single time!)

The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. (Amen, Amen and Amen! HE IS SO FAITHFUL!!!!!!!)

1 Thess. 5:12-24

HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY SOPHIE!!!

10 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT MY SOPHIE GIRL:

1. Your encouraging spirit. You have always expressed yourself through notes and letters. I love this about you! I love reading the emails that you send your friends and that you want to keep up with how they're doing.


2. All of the maps that you draw--especially the ones of your 'room designs'.


3. The way you look up to your older brother.


4. The fact that you don't hold grudges and get over conflicts quickly.


5. Your ability to get things done quickly.


6. The fact that you are not a perfectionist.


7. Your 'eagle eyes' -- you can spot something speedy quick


8. That you love Snoopy and the Peanuts -- reminds me of my childhood


9. Your new found love of running


10. The fact that you've always got something new going--whether it's 'Sophie's Science Lab' or creating cartoon characters or redecorating your room. You are a mover and shaker--always moving on to the next 'great thing' that interests you.

There are so many other things that I love about you, but these are just a few things!

I love you, Soph!

Are you experiencing sorrow? Prayer can make your time of affliction one of strength and sweetness. Are you experiencing happiness? Prayer can add a heavenly fragrance to your time of joy. Are you in grave danger from some outward or inward enemy? Prayer can place an angel by your side whose very touch could shatter a millstone into smaller grains of dust than the flour it grinds, and whose glance could destoy an entire army. What will prayer do for you? My answer is this: Everything that God can do for you. "Ask for whatever you want me to give you" (2 Chron. 1:7) ~Frederick William Farrar

Stillness

I ran across a great quote to think upon by Hannah Whitall Smith and wanted to share it:

"A quiet spirit is of priceless value when performing outward activities. Nothing so greatly hinders the work of God's unseen spiritual forces, upon which our success in everything truly depends, as the spirit of unrest and anxiety.

There is tremendous power in stillness. A great believer once said, "All things come to him who knows how to trust and to be silent." This fact is rich with meaning, and a true understanding of it would greatly change our ways of working. Instead of continuing our restless striving, we would "sit down" inwardly before the Lord, allowing the divine forces of His Spirit to silently work out the means to accomplish our goals and aspirations.

You may not see or feel the inner workings of His silent power, but rest assured it is always mightily at work. And it will work for you, if you will only quiet your spirit enought to be carried along by the current of its power."

Okay, so that was more like a dissertation than a quote...but nevertheless, good stuff!

Solitude

'He went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone.'
Matthew 14:23

I was reminded in my bible study time this morning of the importance of withdrawing and spending time with the Lord alone. I was reminded of how tiring and draining it can be if we are constantly interacting and spending time with others. We cannot hear the Lord if we do not spend time quietly seeking out what he is saying. This does not happen naturally. We have to be ever intentional about spending uninterrupted time before Him. While community with others is extremely important, it should not be of utmost importance. We must be careful to put our time with our Father first and then all other things will flow out of this relationship. I constantly have to be on guard against 'good' things in my life that can rob me of the time I need to spend with my Father. 'Good' things such as sleeping longer, serving others, spending time with friends, or homeschooling can replace my time in God's Word, if I am not careful. Even things I feel I need to do to be a good mom have to be monitored. I have to be ever mindful that I am to 'seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things shall be given to me as well' (Matthew 6:33).

Not only do I need to guard my alone time with God, I also need to prioritize that that the Lord has entrusted me with--my husband and my children. This, too, is difficult in a world that is constantly pulling and pushing me in so many different directions. Too often, I put my own needs or the needs of others before these priorities. I am learning that I must pray and ask God about outside commitments and look to His will in how to spend my days. I'll admit, I have a hard time with this because I am a people pleaser. I don't like to say no to others. But I need to remember to fear God and not men and look to Him to schedule my days. He only gives me tasks to do that my days have room to fulfill. If I am trying to do more than He has called me to than I am full of pride and unbelief--prideful that I think it has to be 'me' to accomplish such and such, 'unbelief' because I am failing to trust that God's way is better.

Today I will focus on today, praying that He will give me His wisdom to do that which He has called me to. I will walk in the promise that His grace is sufficient when I fall down or get off the path I am to be on. I will stand on the the promise to 'not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself . Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matt 6:34).

I Love....

• I love the smell of Fall, the cool breeze on my face when i am outside, the smell of leaves burning
• I love pumpkin muffins, especially chocolate chip ones
• I love that my five year old plays football outside with his brothers, sporting bright yellow rain boots with gym shorts that are too big for him. i also love that he can get tackled 125 times and not care.
• I love the fact that i have 55 brand new coats collected from our sweet Fellowship sitting in my Dining Room to be delivered to Wayside Christian Mission.
• I love that my kids love running! I love the encouragement of yelling and cheering each other on from the sidelines during the races.
• I love my Romans bible study -- absolutely has been life changing. Maybe I love it so much because I love Romans; maybe I love Romans so much because I love God's Word; maybe I love His Word so much because I love my Jesus and my life is radically different with Him in my life...
• I love when my two year old comes downstairs in the morning half asleep and all squinty-eyed
• I love that my two year old follows my five year old around all day long and does everything that he does
• I love that my 11 year old sat in the front seat of the van last night on the way home from our Community Group, trying to get pictures for his Photography class. I love that he was jerking the camera at the last minute, trying to blur the lights in the picture, saying it was a special technique.
• I love my running time with my friend, Amy Jo. I cherish this time on Wednesdays.
• I love our Fun Fridays of classes -- especially love that my 11, 9 and 7 year old are doing Public Speaking together. Practicing their speeches for one another has been hilariuosly fun and memorable
• I love the Sunday night prayer time with our church
• I love Mac Powell's voice --loved experiencing it up close and personal Saturday night with friends. I hope that in heaven we can experience a continous Third Day concert from front row seats.
• I love that my daughter looks exactly like Laura Ingalls when she wears her prairie dress. I love the fact that she wants to dress up and play like she is from this period in history...
• I love studying American History. I can't wait to travel with Eric to NY City and Boston in three weeks and study our heritage upclose and personal.
• I love listening to Janet Parschall
• I love the books I have just read The Hole in the Gospel, and Same Kind of Different as Me
• I am loving the book 'Crazy Love' -- got a feeling it, too, is going to be one of those life changing books...
• I love our church that God is growing and building up and adding to...love the sweet fellowship...love the expository preaching...love the worship...Love that it's big on Truth and Grace
• I love that my 7 yo lives and breathes baseball.
• I love how much my 2 yo loves his daddy
• I love mornings, the dawn of a new day