yeah for bottled water!!!
here
Monday, September 15, 2008
Friday, September 12, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
7 Years Later
Who will EVER forget that day? It is as vivid as if it were an hour ago. I have intentionally avoided all the media and TV shows, pictures etc each year on this day. I was not ready to see it again. Why re-live such a moment? Today I decided it was time to see again. It was time to remember.
What a terrible day it was. May we never forget. Thank you to the heroes and martyrs of that day.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Be a Blessing
Being a Christian is not as hard as we often make it. We are simply called to love God and love other people. We are blessed and therefore we should bless! As children of God, we are called to grow close to Him daily. One way to do this obviously is prayer and Bible study. Another way is by living generous lives, and loving and blessing others around us. Love is the power of the Gospel because God is love and when we love others we fill ourselves up with Him. What a cool cycle!
As God has loved and blessed us, so should we to others! Jesus said first love the Lord God with all your heart then love your neighbor. What a joy to live this way! It's not a chore or a duty, but it's realizing God loved and forgave us, so that we might love and forgive others, and that we may bless others too. You just can't separate people and God. You cannot practice your faith from the sidelines. Your actions to people are also actions to God. Jesus said "whatever you've done for the least of these, you've done for me"(Matthew 25:40)
Recently someone at our church loved and blessed my family very much. It was a total mystery and surprise. You know who you are. You have NO clue what you did to help us, and how God used you to once again show His provision for His children. We thank you SO much. You showed God to us!
I pray we can all live lives that bless those around us. This includes EVERYONE we come into contact with. The only way that we can effectively walk in love is realizing that our life is no longer ours or led by our desires, but it's for God! My life is not my own. Bless a soul today. Love God by loving someone in this world.
As God has loved and blessed us, so should we to others! Jesus said first love the Lord God with all your heart then love your neighbor. What a joy to live this way! It's not a chore or a duty, but it's realizing God loved and forgave us, so that we might love and forgive others, and that we may bless others too. You just can't separate people and God. You cannot practice your faith from the sidelines. Your actions to people are also actions to God. Jesus said "whatever you've done for the least of these, you've done for me"(Matthew 25:40)
Recently someone at our church loved and blessed my family very much. It was a total mystery and surprise. You know who you are. You have NO clue what you did to help us, and how God used you to once again show His provision for His children. We thank you SO much. You showed God to us!
I pray we can all live lives that bless those around us. This includes EVERYONE we come into contact with. The only way that we can effectively walk in love is realizing that our life is no longer ours or led by our desires, but it's for God! My life is not my own. Bless a soul today. Love God by loving someone in this world.
My Boy
Beautiful Boy
Man what a morning of mixed emotions. Our first born, and only son started school. Kindergarten kicked in for the Oak Grove Rams today. I never thought this day would actually come. How quickly 5 years has flown by! Just yesterday it seems I was holding him in my arms over his crib singing our “Night Night” song. Today he walked into a big scary school building with total confidence. I am so proud of my children. Jude is a precious boy. He is quite smart. He is very kind to younger kids and gentle with them. He LOVES God is quite the little theologian. He is a football fanatic, verging on nerd ! He is so funny. He is a deep thinker. He is a snuggler. He cares about people’s feelings. He is a thinker. He is my boy.
I struggle with the fact that they grow up. In one hand it is exciting, knowing the new adventures that lie before him. On the other hand, those adventures will bring challenges. He will meet his first bully. He will have his heart broken. Someone will make fun of him. It pains me to accept this. Other people will now have HUGE influences on his life and mind. Arghhh……..yet, I know that he will be fine. He belongs to the almighty God, and Jude is in His hands.
I love you son…..you are a HUGE blessing to me. May you be to Oak Grove Elementary as well.
Out on the ocean sailing away,
I can hardly wait,
To see you to come of age,
But I guess we'll both,
Just have to be patient,
Yes it's a long way to go,
But in the meantime,
Before you cross the street,
Take my hand,
Life is just what happens to you,
While your busy making other plans,
Beautiful,
Beautiful, beautiful,
Beautiful Boy,
Darling,
Darling,
Darling “JUDE.”
- John Lennon (Jude added by me!)
Man what a morning of mixed emotions. Our first born, and only son started school. Kindergarten kicked in for the Oak Grove Rams today. I never thought this day would actually come. How quickly 5 years has flown by! Just yesterday it seems I was holding him in my arms over his crib singing our “Night Night” song. Today he walked into a big scary school building with total confidence. I am so proud of my children. Jude is a precious boy. He is quite smart. He is very kind to younger kids and gentle with them. He LOVES God is quite the little theologian. He is a football fanatic, verging on nerd ! He is so funny. He is a deep thinker. He is a snuggler. He cares about people’s feelings. He is a thinker. He is my boy.
I struggle with the fact that they grow up. In one hand it is exciting, knowing the new adventures that lie before him. On the other hand, those adventures will bring challenges. He will meet his first bully. He will have his heart broken. Someone will make fun of him. It pains me to accept this. Other people will now have HUGE influences on his life and mind. Arghhh……..yet, I know that he will be fine. He belongs to the almighty God, and Jude is in His hands.
I love you son…..you are a HUGE blessing to me. May you be to Oak Grove Elementary as well.
Out on the ocean sailing away,
I can hardly wait,
To see you to come of age,
But I guess we'll both,
Just have to be patient,
Yes it's a long way to go,
But in the meantime,
Before you cross the street,
Take my hand,
Life is just what happens to you,
While your busy making other plans,
Beautiful,
Beautiful, beautiful,
Beautiful Boy,
Darling,
Darling,
Darling “JUDE.”
- John Lennon (Jude added by me!)
Saturday, September 6, 2008
“Boy’s Night Out”
Last night, several fellas from church and our sons had a father/son campout up at my buddy Mark's property. It was SO awesome. Jude had been talking about for over a week. He was pumped. The thought of games, cooking over a fire, throwing apples at cows, and NO GORLS had him elated! J It was NO disappointment. What a special night. We played capture the flag with Nerf dart guns. We threw apples at cows (you really should try it). We played football and badminton. We cooked turkey dogs and smores. We told stories by the fire. And we just loved our sons! I am so grateful to have a boy, and so grateful to have friends along with me on this journey. These are the moments that I pray God never takes from my memory! Here are some pics from the evening:
going out for a deep ball
a motley crew
Danger is my middle name
guarding their teams' flag
Sir Gandalf
making smores
bedtime with best friends
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Faith Quest 2008
What a great year it was at Yamhill. Tired and weary from the summer, I left for the trip not really wanting to go. What a mistake that would have been! It was a wonderful weekend. The speakers were incredible. Jeff, my friend was his usual amazing story telling, convicting, God's truth, bold speaking self. Chris Goldman may just have more huevos J than any preacher I have ever heard! He was BOLD, funny and convicting! Together they made a great duo. The praise team this year……..WOW!!!!!!!!! Man they were back! I think we got a glimpse of singing with the angels in the throne room of God! It is a joy to hear 400 teens singing their hearts out, hands lifted to the sky, eyes close, madly in love with their God. I get to see sides of my kids that are hidden at home. The breakout classes were fantastic too. Every one there took a Spiritual Gifts test. I do not think many of them had ever done that and it was a joy to watch them light up and realize God had gifted them and just what they could do with that! My favorite time of the weekend was when we broke into our own group. This 40 minutes together meant the world to me. We cried, laughed, cried more, prayed etc……I think some true healing began and some great plans were laid. So…….if you ever get the chance to go to Faith Quest, I strongly recommend that you do. There is a freedom to worship and serve there you most likely will not find in your church. It is a special place.
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