Just Some Thoughts...

I'm learning a lot right now. I realize my last few posts have been migrating away from the lighter side, and, forgive me again, this is not going to be light.

I feel like the Lord is revealing to me (through His word) more about Himself. And it's anything but light.
He is real.
And He's in me!
(Greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world.)

I read something recently that John Piper said.
And it has me really thinking. It has my head spinning.
He says that we are given spiritual gifts in order to strengthen others. (which is based from Romans 1:11 (I long to see you that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you).

You mean, the Lord has given each of us spiritual gifts in order to give them away? To strengthen those around us? To not hoard? To encourage the faith of those around us?

Wow. How might my life look different if I took this seriously? If I choose to believe that these gifts exist from the Holy Spirit in order
to use.
Daily.
For those around me.
For the little ones around me.

I mean. What a thought!
I long to see you that I may impart to you some spiritual gift.
To strengthen you.

Oh Wes. Wyatt and Walker. I long to strengthen you.
my family. my friends.
Those I've yet to meet - I long to strengthen you.
Those that are not in my regular path - I long to strengthen you.
Those that I've lost touch with - I long to strengthen you.
Those that I've hurt or have hurt me - I long to strengthen you.
Those that the Lord would allow and will for me - I long to strengthen.

John Piper also says - spiritual gifts are given to us so that the world will marvel at the Lord. That those around us will think
"God is Fantastic."

May the Lord use we as believers in such a way that the world and those around us will think
"God is Fantastic."

May each and every blog be used in such a way that those reading will think "God is Fantastic"

May my children see that "God is Fantastic."

I love walking with the Lord.
Reading His word.
And learning more about this calling as His daughter.
As a called wife and mother.
As a sister in His kingdom.
As a messenger of His gospel.
May this message remain at the forefront of my heart.
That I may long to impart to you some spiritual gift.
That I may strengthen you.

Amen. God is Fantastic!

"For all things are from Him. To Him. And Through Him. To Him be the glory forever. Amen." Romans 11:36

Things I Wish I Could Still Have From My Childhood

(inspired by a blog Wes reads)

1. to have the whole day ahead of me without a hint of a plan.
2. to spend every dime I had on a single purchase, like a Barbie.
3. to spend the en-tire day at the pool.
4. to count down the days until Summer begins.
5. to be given $1 by my grandma and go the local gas station and spend it on whatever sweet thing I could find.
6. Grandma's chocolate cake.
7. to eat whatever I want, whenever I want without any second thought or consequence.
8. to play Barbies all day with Kayne.
9. the tree in my old backyard that we used to play in.
10. my grandfather.
11. riding in the golf cart all day long on my granfather's farm.
12. waking up to a rooster's crow.
13. having my bike as my transportation.

just for fun. But these things really do take me back. I had a wonderful childhood. Thank you mom and dad for providing that for me. I love you, family.

Peter

Peter. He gives me hope.
He was different before Jesus was crucified and resurrected.
Don't get me wrong. He had glimpses of being lead by the Holy Spirit (such as is recorded in the passage below).
And he had his moments of being left to his sin nature. Where he was a disgrace. A true sinner. Like me.
I am Peter.
I struggle with the same things he did. He loved Jesus. He doubted. He wanted more. He denied Him. Sounds so familiar.
And yet, what hope Peter gives me.
Because when we study Peter, we get to see his life prior Christs death and resurrection and we get to see his life post the death and resurrection.
And Peter was CHANGED. He was different after Jesus was resurrected.

And its in this passage that Jesus begins to tell of what will become of the CHANGED Peter. I just love this passage from Matthew 16:

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,

"Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

They replied,

"Some say John the Baptist;

others say Elijah;

and still others, Jeremiah

or one of the prophets."

"But what about you?" he asked.

"Who do you say I am?"

Simon Peter answered,

"You are the Christ,

the Son of the living God."

Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.

And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

Wow.

I also love Peter's speech to the Jews in Acts 3:17-24 where the beginnings of what Jesus refers to above is displayed in Peter.

To study Peter is to gain hope!

Cute Things He Said

The Wolf
Wyatt: Mommy, pretend that you said "Ahh! There's a wolf! Come help me!"

Me: "Ahh! There's a wolf! Come help me!"

Wyatt: Okay, but this is the last time.

Kris Meade
(After passing Kris in the car and speaking with him for a bit)
Wyatt: Was that Kris Meade?

Wes and I: Yes

Wyatt: And he is our friend.

Wes and I: Yes

Wyatt: I bet he has a machete.

Wyatt's Name
Wes: Wyatt, what does your name mean?

Wyatt: "Brave Warrior"

Wes: That's right. And what does a brave warrior do?

Wyatt: Fight for what is right.

Wes: That's right.

Me: Wyatt, what is "right"?

Wyatt: (thinking) Well. Killing a bear is right.


Cyp's Wedding
Me: Wyatt, today we are going to a wedding.

Wyatt: Do I get to go to the wedding?

Me: Not this time.

Wyatt: Daddy, are you going to the wedding?

Wes: Yes.

Wyatt: Daddy, will you be a prince today?

Wes: (little caught off guard) Um.Hmm.

Wyatt: And Mommy, will you be a princess?

Me: Um.Hmm.

Wyatt: (beaming) And I'll get to be your dog!

Not real sure what he thought was happening at that wedding, but it is sometimes neat to let the imagination in a child's mind be reality.

Blog break

Yeah, I needed one.
I've been busy with so many things! All truly relevant. All important.
We've been preparing our house to be shown, packing boxes, moving the clutter out, actually putting it up on the market, showing the house, and then you know, all the normal every-day responsibilities.

And some how, I've felt like I'm neglecting this blog. In the back of my mind, I've felt that little nag to get something posted.

Buy why?

I mean. Honestly. Where is the pressure coming from? And why?
It comes from me.
And somehow, all those sweet little moments in my life (pre-blog) now come with the pressure to have a camera and a blog post with it.

And I'm just trying to figure out when the good moments in life had to become great? And when the normal things that nobody sees had to become seen. and. posted?
When did I do this to myself?

What happened to a good old photo album? I mean, does anybody buy those anymore? When did that become not good enough? Believe me. I am saying this to myself. I did this to myself. I miss the simplicity of life pre-blog. Pre-digital film. And pre-scrapbooking. I miss the good that was truly good. A photo is good. A digital photo printed is good. A digital photo printed and placed in an album is good. But somehow compared with a good blog post or a sweet scrapbook page or better yet, one of those amazing photo books, it truly dims in comparison.

That's sad to me. That I've created these expectations and rules for the sweet moments when Walker makes a mess at his highchair or Wyatt swings his baseball bat in the yard.

Don't get me wrong - NONE of these things are not worthy of recording in some manner - its just the added pressure we (I) put on myself to capture those moments and stay culturally relevant. As oposed to simply being a loving eye-witness and a huge fan of the subject.

I know, probably over analyzing.
But, it's late.
And I needed to post.
I mean, it had been a few weeks and all.

:)

Access to the Fruit

Has it every occurred to you that we (as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ) have access to the Fruits of the Spirits? All of them? All the time?

This has become strangely obvious to me in the last day or two.

I've been reading a great book (Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney) that has enlightened me in my marriage and my motherhood, and pushed me to model my own life after the wife and mother described Titus 2.

Diving into this book has also compelled me to dive into praying for my marriage. I can honestly say that I've not really prayed for my marriage in a while. So as I've been praying more about being a wife, I've therefore been reflecting a lot on me in my marriage.

And unfortunately, I've noticed some behaviors that do not bring glory to the Father, nor my husband. This sort of self reflection has made me aware of my "contrary spirit" that I sometimes have towards my husband. Sometimes I disagree, just to disagree. Or I'm difficult - not because I'm right, not because he's right, but because my sinful nature just wants to be contrary.

So in realizing this, (which was revolutionary in and of itself) that at times, when my husband comes home from a long day at work, I have such a contrary spirit. I, too, became fully aware that I can pray about that!

And even better, what if I prayed for a spirit of gentleness?
Before he came home from work?
Or what if I prayed for a spirit of
Joy?
patience?
kindness?
What might our dinner look like if I'm covered in goodness?

Oh, how inspired I am (once again by that comforting Word) at the thought of me choosing kindness over a contrary heart?

"Now the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Against these there is no law." - Galatians 5:22-23

Our Lamp-Lit Path

"Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." - Psalm 119:105

We are going to be leaving our beloved Florence. Wes is beginning a seminary journey at RTS in Charlotte and after much prayer we have felt a calling to go to Charlotte where hopefully seminary will be a family call and focus.

Many details have not been lined up. Some have. But either way, we feel we need to respond in obedience and go. "And My God shall supply all your need according to His riches and glory." Philipians 4:19

After a wonderful conversation with our head pastor - who has loved us and supported us through this entire process, He motivated us and pushed to trust God alone during this time. To look to Him for all answers.
Wowsers.
That leaves me desperately flipping through my bible daily, finding the written Word to soothe my soul and grip me right where my wandering heart is.

It was difficult to share our news with our sweet kids at church, our dear, dear friends and family, and yet, still this call is our common denomination. This call remains. No matter what the conversation looks like, no matter what the circumstances look like, no matter what details remain undetermined. This call abounds.

And honestly, I feel like we are walking on a path - only lit by a Lamp that lights barely over our feet. And yet, I'm comforted. It doesn't make any sense, but it fulfills my need to Trust the Lord with ALL of me. In ways, I've not had to do in a while.

Would love for you to pray with us. Our house is now on the market. Would love for it to sell.
Before I go into my long list of prayer requests, I'm just going to end with two verses. I've felt compelled to memorize during this lamp-lit season.

"He is before all things. In Him all things hold together." Col 1:17
"All things are of Him, through Him and to Him. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen." Romans 11:36