Beautiful

I am so thankful that God has put a burden on my heart for Ug*nda.  I am blessed beyond measure that He has entrusted me with so much here.

But... it is hard.

I am a fixer.  I am an organizer.  I am a list maker.

So... it's amusing to me that God has called me to this place.  Where I can not fix it.  I can not organize it.  And my list gets thrown out the window before the day is half over.

It is such a privilege that He would direct me here... that He would use me.  The truth is that He can accomplish all things apart from my help... but He has allowed me to be a part of what He is accomplishing.

I am so thankful.

It is a heart breaking, tragic, unfair reality here.

But... it is also beautiful.

I'll be seeing you...

Baptism

Nathaniel is READY!

to publicly confess his faith

in Jesus Christ as his Savior

With friends and family present...

he was baptized in the name of the

Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit!

Hallelujah!

What a blessing it is to witness

your children walk in the Truth!

Congratulations Nathaniel!

What Are You?

Are you a player?  Or a spectator?

As I was reading Katie's blog this morning, I was once again amazed at how God is using this young woman.  She is completely sold out for Christ.  She LIVES what Jesus taught.  The love of Christ flows through her and touches people in a tangible, real, life changing way.  It is beautiful to witness.

After reading and tearfully rejoicing in God's goodness in the lives of those He has Katie ministering to, the question "Are you a player?  Or a spectator?" came into my head.

Questions worth considering.

I think it is easy to get so wrapped up in what others are doing... that we forget to do our part... we merely watch.  We have to be careful that we are not rendered ineffective because we compare what we are doing or not doing with others.

As believers we each have a unique part to play as the body of Christ.  We must DO our part.  Some big... some small... but each part important and necessary.

The body of Christ is supposed to DO what Jesus commanded.  Jesus said, "Love each other as I have loved you." "You are my friends if you DO what I command." John 14: 12, 14

So... What are you?

Taught by a Toddler

If you keep your eye on the prize...

and work hard to reach your goal...

you'll have sweet success!

Life is B e a u t i f u l!

Ugly and the Truth

I wasn't going to share this because it's ugly.  I don't like to share the Ugly.  I decided to go ahead because I thought maybe the lesson I learned would bless someone else.  Or...  maybe I'm by myself in Ugly; in which case you can pray for me in my lonely state.

My confession is... I wasn't a good wife last night. That's putting it mildly.  I spoke ugly words to my husband.  I criticized him.  I was impatient and rude. To make matters worse... I let my children see my ugliness.  I warned you... Ugly.

This morning I started off with a self inflicted hatin' party.  "I'm a bad wife.  I'm a bad mom.  How can I call myself a Christian when I act like that?! How can I truly say I love Jesus when such ugliness is in me?  I'm horrible."  You get the pathetic picture.

Instead of running to the Cross, as I should have, I sat down in front of the computer.  (Do you ever feel like you should be wearing a computer necklace, as a testimony, instead of a cross necklace?... I digress)

As I half heartedly checked the latest updates in the blog world (I say half heartedly because of the mental lashing I continued to give myself), this question of "How did I get to this Ugly place?" kept nagging at me.

After a few absent minded "wonder what she's got to say" clicks, I read THESE words.  Wow.  God spoke right to my heart.  I am so thankful that He met me right where I was... because I should have been at the foot of His throne.

You see, I have not been faithfully reading His Words in the last few weeks.  I have not been spending time at His feet because I have so many things that I need to get done.  I have not been listening for His voice because I have been distracted by the noise around me.

Truth is that if you don't spend time in the Truth, listening for the Truth... Ugly grows.

After reading, I left the computer screen and made my way to the feet of my Savior. As I spent time pouring out my ugly at His throne, my sweet Savior simply asked... "What is the Truth? You see, the Truth will set you free."

With tears, I asked for His forgiveness.  As I poured out my heart to Him, I felt His loving embrace reminding me of His goodness and grace, reminding me that I am forgiven and loved. Reminding me of the Truth.

(A crazy side note.... I had five different people call me, one right after the other, within minutes of my approaching His throne.  The enemy wanted to use those calls to distract me and keep me on the Ugly road.)

I messed up last night.  Again.  My poor husband will have to suffer this occurrence many times over this side of heaven I'm afraid.  Bless his heart.  The problem is that I had allowed the enemy to fill my head with lies about who I am.  Those lies affected what I thought about myself.  Those lies affected what I thought about my husband.  Those lies fueled the Ugly.

So... how did I get to this place of Ugly?

I failed to EAT the Bread of Life daily. I failed to spend time with my Savior. I failed to lay down at the foot of the Cross and give my self to the One I belong to. I failed to walk in the Truth.

The Truth is what sets us free from the Ugly.

Like our wise sister taught... We must spend time with our Savior.  We must get rid of the Ugly, confess our sins, THEN we can hear His words.  THEN we can walk in Truth.

Praise His wonderful, powerful, beautiful, holy, mighty Name!

It's a Girl

Do you remember the story of how the Lord brought us our oldest son, Daniel?  It is a wonderful story of how God can connect people from different continents and use each to change and bless the others life.  He is SO good like that!

Recently, our son Daniel and his wife delivered a healthy baby girl!  He actually sent me a text message from Uganda to announce her arrival!  We are so excited and can't wait to take all kinds of precious little girlie clothes to her the next time we visit.

As every "Mummy" would do, I texted him and asked him what they were going to name her?  He replied with these words, "because you've been so good to us, I am of the view that we name her CHERYL.  In addition to Kwagala, which means God's love."

Oh. My. Goodness. 

Seriously?!!

They named their precious little girl after me!

I have a little Ugandan granddaughter.

She has my name. 

How perfectly beautiful!

He is Risen!

Hallelujah!  Jesus is alive!

Wishing you a glorious day as we celebrate our risen Savior!!!

Amazing LOVE

It is hard to believe in such a great love... because our love is comparatively conditional.

It is difficult to comprehend...
because our comprehension is limited.

It is a truth that is challenging to grasp... because the enemy doesn't want us to believe.

The truth... that because of His great love for us...  Jesus suffered and died for all men... that by Grace, through faith we are saved.

A gift from God.  Free.  Unconditional.  Perfect.  Amazing.

There is NO greater love.



Thank you, Jesus.  Thank you for loving me...