Catching Up

Well, so much for popping in last week at some point to say "Hi". We were really busy with VBS every morning and, we had very hectic afternoons due to some construction work that was going on in our house. More about all that in a moment.

First, let me start with last Saturday, June 5th. We all headed down to Georgiana, AL for a family reunion in honor of my Granny's 90th birthday. Here is a picture of her. Isn't she pretty? I think she has aged very well.

Here are a few shots from our day. Unfortunately, more than half of the family couldn't be there for different reasons, but we all still had a really good time. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting and watching my girls interact with everyone. The food was really good too.

Here are some of the great grandchildren putting on a play for Granny, telling her that she is the best grandmother in the world. The play was really cute.

Here are some of the adults watching the play.

Gracen wanted to join the cast of characters and cousin Carson Anne scooped her right up.
Riley Grace, my mom, and Gracen.

Riley Grace and Gracen....love those freckles!

Uncle Royce and Aunt Vivian....I know you love this picture Vivian.

Uncle Royce with his granddaughters... Riley Grace and Carson Anne
Aunt Sherry...my Dad and Granny (his mom) in the background

My cousin Daphne...always so pretty. (mom to Carson Anne, Ethan, and James)

Sitting around the table...my dad and his brother Craig...and the back of Aunt Sherry's head

Aunt Vicky, Daphne, Uncle Craig

Granny blowing out her birthday candlesReagan, James, and Ethan (Daphne's boys) playing with a turtle.

I didn't get too many great pictures, but we really had a great time.

Vacation Bible School started Monday morning. We had to leave the house every day about 8:20. Really this should not be difficult, but for some reason it is extremely difficult. Of course, both girls woke up every night that week starting Sunday night. Ridiculous! On 2 different nights Reagan woke me up 3 times about 2 hours apart. On the 2 nights that Reagan slept, Gracen woke up....and Gracen NEVER wakes up. It's like they planned it out. On Friday night, when VBS was over, they both slept all night long. What is up with that? I could have really used the rest during VBS, but a great night of sleep after VBS was very nice.

Gene and I taught about 16 fifth graders and loved it. The kids were fantastic and the material was really good. Reagan loved her class and learned a lot. We are all still singing the songs that we had to learn for the week. VBS is really tiring, but I can honestly say that I love the community feeling. I love seeing the church family every single day and coming together to pull off something really fun. I love the church, the body of Christ, and hope Reagan and Gracen fall in love with the church as well.

On Monday construction work started at my house. We had all the carpet ripped out and hardwood floors put down. There was nothing like being greeted by 3 burly men early Monday morning after very little sleep, thanks to two little girls who would not sleep, while you are running around like crazy trying to get out the door for VBS. Loved that and equally loved that they were there almost every morning that week! The construction work was suppose to be done the week before VBS. Of course it wasn't. The job was suppose to be complete in 2 days. Of course it wasn't. So every single afternoon, tired as I was, I had to find somewhere to take my children. They were in the men's way and my entire house was in my kitchen or outside on my back patio or front porch. When the job was done, I felt like we were moving into a new house because there was so much to put back in order. It was exhausting, but oh so worth it.

We love the floors. Our carpet was 11 years old and nasty and the dust....oh, there was so much dust in our house, and I know most of it was coming out of that carpet. We feel like it was an investment in our health. We have been talking about doing this for a year, maybe longer, but I am so thankful that we waited until we had to the cash to do it. It felt good to write that check, rather than worrying about making the payments for the next 12 months or so.

Our house is now a work in progress because when you touch one thing it makes everything else look old. I have a list that we are going to work on, doing a little each month as we can pay for it, but I know that we will love it when it is all complete.

Tomorrow, I will post some pictures of the floors and share some of my wish list.

Then we are headed to the beach for 5 nights! Gene and I are so ready to get away and I can taste the seafood right now! Vacation means that I won't blog again, after tomorrow, for another week. If I have any faithful readers, I am sorry about that, but my computer is not coming to the beach.

Until next time...

Deep Thoughts- 2 Peter

Well, this will probably be my last post for a little over a week. We are having Vacation Bible School every day next week starting Monday, June 7th. Gene and I are teaching 5th graders, Reagan will be going to her age appropriate class, and Gracen will be staying with Gene's mother. Our VBS is from 9:00 to 12:00 every day and Reagan also has swimming lessons a few afternoons. By the time we get home, it will be time for me to get a little housework done and start supper, not to mention prepare the following day's VBS lesson, so I am not going to try to work in computer time too. I may try to pop on the computer at some point and at least post a weekend wrap- up because on Saturday we are having a family reunion in Georgiana, AL in honor of my Granny's birthday. We are leaving around 10:00 tomorrow morning and I am really looking forward to seeing all the family. Unfortunately, Gene is now unable to attend because the church scheduled a visitation blitz for VBS at the same time. Oh well! I will be riding with my parents now, and that means more fellowship time with them.


I wanted to share one more thought from the sermons I have been listening to on 2 Peter by Francis Chan. I have mentioned all the character traits that should be evident in a believer's life according to 2 Peter 1:5-8. To save time, I won't type the entire verse, but the character traits listed were faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love. Remember, according to verse 9, the degree that these qualities is increasing in my life will show by my fruitfulness and effectiveness in my Christian walk. Makes sense.


Verse 9-11, however, were really eye-opening to me. They say, "For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if your practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom our our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

So if you lack these good qualities you are in sin and basically you are so nearsighted you are blind. Isn't all sin due to nearsightedness? You make a bad choice because you can only see what is right in front of you, the immediate pleasure the sin will bring for the next few minutes. You can't (or refuse to) see the consequences of your choices...consequences that will come months or even years down the road. So you go ahead and you choose the sin, forgetting that you were washed clean....not just from the penalty of sin, but from the sin itself.

2 Peter 2:20-22 talks about "returning to sin or living in sin"..."For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last stage has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herslef, returns to wallow in the mire."

I guess this has really gotten to me because for years we have worked with teenagers and college students and they are at the age where they fall into sinful patterns and then question their salvation. They come to me or Gene for some kind of reassurance that they are truly saved and we can't give them that. Only God knows the heart. Don't we all know someone who we thought was saved and then they just walk away from God and the church I would like to look at people and think they are saved, but according to 2 Peter 1:5-8, and many other places in scripture, if you are truly a believer then you will have "fruit" in your life. You will be displaying the character traits listed, not that it was an exhaustive list. You will also be unable to live in known sin. God through the Holy Spirit will convict His children. It will be a conviction that will lead to repentance, meaning you turn away from the sin and return to Him.

These verses in 2 Peter 1:9 and 2 Peter 2:20-22 are referring to people who hear the gospel and "get it" for a little while. They start coming to church, they attend faithfully, they serve, maybe they even serve on a church staff....but then for whatever reason, they fall back into a pattern of sin. They stop going to church and stop acknowledging God. The Bible says that they are in worse shape than before they heard about Jesus. They are not saved, even if they lived like it for years. If you can live in sin, then you never truly "got it". You can play church for years, but that doesn't mean that you are saved. Christ coming to live within, CHANGES you from the inside out. There will not be a question.

I love 1 Peter 1:11 that says..."In this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the heavenly kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ..." My pursuit of these character qualities matters. I have never really thought about the reception that I might receive when I enter heaven. I want it to be a "rich entrance". What about you?

If you are out there reading this and you are wondering if you are saved, then a great book of the Bible to read is 1 John. There are many verses in that book that tell believers exactly what our lives should look like. Read it over and over again. Read it every day for a week or for a month and start to compare your life to what you are reading.

Let the Word change you. I know I want it to change me.

Until next time...

Modeling

Deuteronomy 6:5-7 says, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way and when you lie down, and when you rise."

As I have studied 2 Peter over the last couple of weeks and have really considered all the character traits that should be evident in my life according to 2 Peter 1:5-8, I have had to think about what I am modeling for my girls each and every day. They learn so much from me. I am with them all day long and I teach them so much more than how to pick up toys, how to make a bed, how to brush their teeth, how to use their manners, etc. I am modeling Christ every single moment of every single day. My kids are watching my life...how I respond to people and situations, how I handle stress and difficulties, how I talk to their Daddy, how I love or don't love people, how I spend our money, how I love my God by my faithfulness to be in His house, read His Word, and pray to Him. It is so easy to think, "Well, Reagan is learning about God at church," or "I did a devotion with her this morning, so we did the God thing."

Deuteronomy 6:5-7 says that the most important instruction that I can give them is all throughout the day. How convicting is that thought! I teach them as I talk to them. I teach them when I sit in my house, possibly by what I am watching on TV or the words they hear during a phone conversation. I teach them as I walk by the way, when I lie down, and when I rise back up. All of those phrases are straight from the verses out of Deuteronomy 6 and, I think that just about covers my entire day. I am never "at rest", but always modeling what a Christian look like.

I think as Christian moms, we have to constantly ask ourselves, "What am I modeling to my children?" I hope it's not gossip, anger, worry, drinking, over eating, over spending, unfaithfulness in church attendance, telling little white lies, or fighting with our spouse. Instead strive to model Christ. As you grow in your relationship with Him, your character will develop and your kids we see and learn what moral excellence or virtue looks like.

I know that I have such a long way to go. I am convicted every day as I lose my temper with Reagan or I use a sarcastic tone with Gene or I verbalize every worry in my head for Reagan to hear. I am thankful for the conviction that comes, and I am thankful that I can learn from my mistakes and hopefully do better the next day. I am thankful that I serve a God full of grace and mercy who meets me when I bow my head in humble submission to Him and once again tell Him "I'm sorry". He raises my chin and tells me He still loves me and that He will never leave me or forsake me.

I desperately want to raise two arrows to shoot out into this dark world who will point others to Christ by their words, actions, and hearts. I want their lives to bring glory to God and that begins with what they are learning at home.

Humbling thought!

A Trip to the Park and the Library

I like to take Reagan to the library every other Tuesday. I want her to love books and love to read. Books are really expensive though. Hardback books run around $16.00 per book and the paperback books don't always hold up for very long. Reagan owns a lot of books, but to truly have a good variety I like going to the library. She can check out 7 books and keep them for 2 weeks, which is why we go every other Tuesday. That is a pretty good deal.

To sweeten the deal for Reagan, there is a park right next to the library, so we play for about an hour and then head inside to cool off and look for books. I thought I would share a few pictures with you from our last visit.

Reagan loves to climb the rock wall.

She comes through this little window and jumps out, and then starts all over again.

Gracen just hangs out at the base of the wall.

Here she is walking across the balance beam.

Here is Reagan helping Gracen walk around. She is really good with Gracen, and I am thankful for that. When I was pregnant, I was worried that Reagan would be really jealous and have a hard time welcoming Gracen to the family because, let's face it, she was used to all our attention. But, that has not been the case at all.

There were a few ducks that came out of the river that is close to the park, and Gracen was very curious about them. She followed them all over the place, which surprised me. I thought she would be afraid of them, not really knowing what they are. Of course, this is the same child who grabs every bug that crawls by her when we are outside on the back patio.

She let this duck get really close to her. The delay on my camera didn't allow me to take the next picture of the duck walking right up to her. At that point, I picked Gracen up because I thought the duck might peck her...or whatever ducks do when they are checking something out.

Gracen loves to go up and down stairs. Exhausting!

I only took two pictures inside the library because they were other families in there with us and they looked at me like I was crazy every time I snapped a picture. I guess my flash was disturbing them.

We always have a good time when we go the park and the library. It was a great day!

Until next time...

2 Peter 1:5-8 cont.

I really loved the discussion from Francis Chan's sermon on the character issues listed in verses 5-8. There was just so much to think about with each one, and I thought I would share some of the thoughts with you. Warning though before you get started, this is a long post.

2 Peter 1:5-8

"For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

So, all the character qualities that should be increasing in our lives begin with faith. It is the first one listed because first and foremost I have to have faith in God by accepting the Son, Jesus, as my Lord and Savior, and then I have to believe that all of these character traits can be mine and can be increasing in my life because I have a new nature, a new master, the Holy Spirit.

To my faith, I should strive to add virtue. This is moral excellence or purity in my actions, in my thoughts, in my words, and in my decisions. It is that idea that people should be able to look at my life and know that I am a Christian. My belief in God effects the words that come out of my mouth, the movies I watch, the music I listen to, the places I go, what I do with my free time, how I spend my money, etc. It touches everything. My relationship with God isn't just limited to Sundays and Wednesdays. Unfortunately, many people go to church on Sunday only and they don't really think about God again until the next Sunday. That is not what God intended for our lives. We should be completely in love with Him and it should change everything about us.

To my virtue, I should strive to add knowledge. Am I really making every effort and working hard to understand the Word of God? Do I study it? Do I dig and study truths about God so I can know Him better? I can spend a lot of time on a lot of things, things that aren't necessarily bad, but if they leave no time for my relationship with God, then they become bad things. If I have time to get on Facebook, watch TV, write this blog, or read a magazine, then I have time to study God's Word. Many people say they have no time to read the Bible, but usually that is not the case. It is a heart issue and one that we have to ask God to change. Francis Chan said if you have been a Christian for years you should be able to quote scripture...maybe a verse for each week, a verse for each month, or at the very least a verse for each year that you have been saved, but yet most Christians can only quote John 3:16. I want to do a better job of knowing the Bible, the book that I say I base my life on. I want it to be more than just head knowledge though. I have to truly internalize what I learn and let it change me from the inside out.

To my knowledge, I should strive to add self-control. This is the idea of mastering natural desires rather than letting any desire master me. Francis Chan gave all these examples of natural desires that God has given us like our desire for sleep, our desire for food, our desire for relationships, our desire for sex (within marriage), our desire for material items, etc. These desires are good and natural if we stay in control of them. For example, food is a great thing. I need it to live and to have energy throughout my day, but if I start going to food for comfort or out of boredom, then I start to lose my control of that particular desire. Before I realize my weight is escalating and food because something in my life that it was never meant to be. You get the idea. I should make every effort to monitor all the natural desires in my life and make sure that I am in submission to my Heavenly Father. I don't know about you, but I don't always connect how much I eat or how much I sleep to my relationship with God. Do you?

To my self-control, I should strive to add steadfastness. I loved the discussion on steadfastness. It is the idea of developing patience and endurance in my life, and I can tell you I definitely need to work on that area. When trials come my way, I don't always respond how I should. With Gracen's last medical emergency, I was thinking, "Why me? Why can't Gracen just be healthy? Why did this happen on Easter Sunday of all days?" I certainly wasn't praising God for the trial, which is what God tells me to do in His Word.

James 1:2-4 says, "Count it all joy my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces STEADFASTNESS. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing."

I am not told to count it all joy for the trial itself, but rather for what it produces in my life. Each trial produces an additional measure of steadfastness in my life. I love Francis Chan's explanation. He said that developing steadfastness is like holding up a heavy weight and you have to struggle to hold it up, hold it up, hold it up.... You want to cry out to God to remove the weight because it is difficult and you just want to relax, but you don't learn anything when you are relaxing or when life is easy. You learn when you are under some kind of pressure. He asked, "Have you ever prayed for God to bring some trials in your life so you can become stronger in your walk with Him?" "Have you ever told God, you know, I fall apart with every trial that comes my way, so keep them coming until I learn to hold fast to You?" My answers to those two questions were No and No. I have never prayed anything even remotely similar to that. So according to Francis Chan, I care more about my comfort than my character. Ouch!

Hardship frustrates me as if something is going wrong, but I am told in the Bible to expect hardship because it really develops my character. God allows the hardships because He cares more about my holiness than my happiness.

To my steadfastness, I should strive to add godliness. This is the idea of becoming more and more like God. My deep reverence and respect for God should affect everything that I do. This is very similar to virtue so I won't go through all that again.

To my godliness, I should strive to add brotherly affection and love. These two kind of go hand in hand. Brotherly affection is the love I feel toward the family of God. All Christians are my brothers and sisters in Christ. Do I truly love and have tender feelings for all the members of my church family or any other Christian that I come into contact with? Do I care about what is going on in their lives? Do I learn from them? Do I have fellowship with as many different people at church that I can or do I have cliques? Is my church characterized by true friendliness? Am I friendly or am I moody? Do I truly love all people...all kinds of people, all races, all ethnic backgrounds, etc. Scripture says that if I am truly saved, I cannot hate mankind. It also says that I will love despite how people treat me. Jesus is our model and he loved despite being spit on, whipped, and hung on a cross. Can I forgive and continue to love no matter what the offense? That is a hard truth to live out, but that is what I signed up when I accepted Jesus as my Savior.

2 Peter 1:8 was even more convicting because it says that these qualities should be increasing in my life. If they are NOT increasing then I will be unfruitful and ineffective in my Christian walk. Even worse than that verse 9 says that if I lack these qualities I am not saved! That will have to be another blog entry because this one is already too long, but I pray that you read through 2 Peter chapter 1 and really think about the words. They have really spoken to me and the kind of life that I am living and what I am modeling for my daughters.


With each passing year that I am a Christian...
Am I more virtuous?
Am I more knowledgeable of God and His Word?
Am I more self-controlled?
Am I more steadfast?
Am I more godly?
Do I truly love people and have a brotherly affection for the family of God?

I hope so. I am praying that God puts His finger on the areas that He needs to and that He will start to do a work in me. I want to make every effort toward these things.

Sorry this one was so long.

Until next time...

Weekend Wrap-up

I am happy to report that I survived the weekend. I was concerned about taking care of the girls with a sprained ankle and Gene being out of town. My mom came on Friday morning and stayed at my house most of the day. I sat in a nice cozy chair with my foot propped up and my computer in my lap. My older sister, Lori, and her family were coming to my parent's house Friday evening, so we headed there around 3:00 in the afternoon. Once I was settled in there, my mom went to buy groceries and my Dad took over watching my girls. We all had a nice night together...talking, riding the golf cart, eating a meal that I did not have to cook, and visiting with my niece and nephew, Ariel and Dean.

On Saturday morning, Gracen and I were back at my house. Reagan stayed at my parent's house to play with Ariel and Dean. Gene's mother came out and got Gracen about 45 minutes after Gracen woke up and kept her until 12:00. I then fed her and put her down for her nap. She slept until 3:00, so I basically sat on my hiney, with my leg propped up, all day long. I must confess it was really nice. I didn't feel the pressure to get the house clean or the pressure to move through a daily to-do list. I didn't chase kids all day. I just sat. I enjoyed a lot of Bible reading time on Saturday and spent some guilt free time on the computer and watching TV. I jokingly told Gene Saturday night that I should have sprained my ankle much sooner because sometimes I get tired of the constant going and doing that comes with having small children, coupled with our schedule. I haven't been sick since early in my pregnancy with Gracen so it has been almost 2 years since I was able to just lay down and S-L-O-W down. My spirit needed the break so I can honestly say I am thankful for the sprain.

On Saturday afternoon, we had a family birthday party to attend for my niece, Hayden. It was her one year old party and we were all looking forward to getting together to celebrate this little cutie's first year of life. I thought I would just share some pictures of the gathering.... without much commentary. Enjoy!

Here is the birthday girl. She looked adorable in her little birthday outfit. She had a cute bow in her hair, but like Gracen, she won't leave it in her hair.

It was a great party. Hayden was in a wonderful mood, and it was so fun to watch her dig into her cake and "open" all her gifts. There were a lot of children there, so it was also fun to watch all of them interact with each other. The food was good and the fellowship was even better. Great family time!

Gene came home Saturday night, and I was so happy to see him. He went on a white water rafting trip with the college students, which is a little dangerous. I prayed for him most of the day Saturday until I knew he was off the river. So glad to have him back home.

On Sunday, we went to church. We had a morning worship service at 10:00 and then had a potluck lunch following the service, with no evening services that night. Bro. Glenn preached a powerful message on making the choice between being cultural or being Christian. It definitely is a choice because you cannot have both. It was a much needed reminder that Christians should look different than the lost world around us. The foundation for the sermon was Jeremiah 10 and it starts out with this verse, "Learn not the way of the nations...." This is a thought that I have been chewing on in my own personal quiet time...how I want my life to be built on strong convictions, how I want to model Jesus Christ to my family and others that I come into contact with, and I want to look different from a "lost" person in my thoughts, words, and actions. The sermon gave me a lot to think about and I encourage you to read the chapter. It is a good one.

Lunch was delicious and we headed home around 1:00. It was a rainy, nasty day, so we all laid down and took naps. What could be better than that? When the kids got up, we watched TV and let Reagan play games on the laptop. We had pizza for supper and then the sun came out and we spent some time on our back patio.

It was a nice weekend...sprained ankle and all.

Until next time...

A New Predicament

Well, last night I sprained my ankle. You won't believe how I did it. I was actually typing Thursday's blog entry. Reagan was at Gail's house playing with Abby and Jacob, her cousins, and Gracen was asleep. I sat down at 4:00 to write my blog and I sat on my left foot for a solid hour....ya know, one leg up and one leg down. I sit like that all the time.

The phone rang about 5:00 and I jumped up to get it. Apparently, my foot, the one I was sitting on, was totally asleep, which you would think I would have realized. When I stepped down and place all my weight on that foot, it completely rolled over. I fell flat down and my flip-flop flew up in the air, which would have been a great "Funniest Videos" moment. My ankle immediately started to throb and I couldn't move it at all. I just knew it was broken. Gene was in the shower so I literally laid on the floor for close to 10 minutes. When I knew he was out and dressed I hollered for him and he was pretty surprised to find me laying on the floor. Ray, my father-in-law walked in about that time too so I was quite the spectacle. By this point my ankle was swelling so they helped me to get a chair and we put ice on it.

By about 6:30, Gene and I decided, coupled with my mom's advice, that I needed to go to Pri-Med because my ankle was really swollen and still throbbing. For all I knew, it could have been broken. When we arrived at Pri-Med and I told the nurse what happened, he just looked at me like I was crazy. He said, "You did this while typing on your computer. Girl, you need to make up a more exciting story than that. You need to tell people you were jumped by 4 men in a dark alley." So when the x-ray tech. came in and asked what happened, I told her I was jumped by 4 men in a dark alley. You should have seen her face. We all laughed and then I told her the truth. She too agreed that the first story was more exciting. Who knew that the computer could be dangerous.

Thankfully, the x-rays showed a bad sprain, no broken bones, no fracture. I was told to stay off of it as much as possible for several days and to elevate it and ice it throughout the day. I was given a boot to wear and it really made a difference. I couldn't walk at all without it, but I can hobble around with it.

Talk about an inconvenient situation while trying to keep up with two little ones! And of course Gene left this morning to go out of town. He will be back Saturday night and until then, I am getting lots of help from my mom and Gene's mom. This makes me so thankful that I have such a great family and that they live so close by. (Lori, I really don't know how you survived without family close by you, especially when Ariel and Dean were little.)

Another day in my life...

Until next time...