A True Follower

Tonight after dinner, our youngest daughter, Abigail came to me and said quietly that she "needed to tell me something".

The last time she said those words was when she had to confess that she and her friend had taken one of her classmates shoes at school and he had become so upset that he pinched her.  Hard.

She had been at the dance studio all day for the Dance Intensive, so I wasn't certain what she possibly had to confess.

A few minutes later I was sitting in my bedroom, watching the expression of pure joy light up her face, as she proclaimed, "Today, I became a true follower of Christ!"

Now, several years ago Abigial told us that she wanted to ask Jesus into her heart.  She has been reading her bible and praying every night.  But, tonight it was "true".  Today, she truly got it.

She told me that during the morning worship session as she was watching a precious friend of ours worship that something in her heart "snapped" and that she just started "dancing and dancing to worship Jesus".

At the end of their worship time the teacher told them to go to a quiet place and spend time with Jesus.

Abigial said that as she was sitting quietly "thinking about Jesus" she had a vision.  She said, "There were two paths in front of me and as I stepped onto the right path a piece of paper was laid in front of me with all the bad stuff that I have ever done on it".  She said, "Then a man came and took the paper from me and wadded it up and threw it away".  "He gave me a new piece of paper that was bright and clean and glorious"!

She was so excited!  And so full of joy!

She continued, "Then I saw a huge pond. I was on one side and Jesus was on the other side.  He was very far away."  She said, "I knew that I had been trying my whole life to get to His side, but I couldn't do it by myself." "But today, Jesus made a bridge across it and told me to come and follow Him. So, I took a step.  And today I became a true follower of Christ!" She exclaimed, "It was glorious!"

Then she showed me her journal where she had written down what she had experienced.

She wrote, "Today, the Lord has changed my heart.  Something snapped. I have been changed...  I have become a follower of Jesus."

Oh. My. Goodness.

Today, my baby girl made the decision to become a true follower of Christ!!! 

There is no greater joy than to know that my children are walking with Jesus!!!

Hallelujah!!!  PRAISE THE LORD!!!

Tradition

Every year... for as long as I can remember...

my dearest friend, Tina,

has made my birthday something extra special.

We go to her house to play in her pool...

and eat yummy goodness.

My children ADORE her.

Elizabeth shares her name...

because Tina is just that special to me.

She truly loves me... at all times.

I am so blessed that she is in my life...

and I just love our birthday tradition.

Thank you, precious friend...

 I love you.

Pray... Pray... Pray

We have no court date.

The judge our application went to has a broken arm and is not at his station.

Our attorney is out of the country.

Court closes in the middle of July.

Seriously?!

I mean really?!

We need some serious intervention here.

We NEED God to move on our behalf!

PLEASE pray with us...

The ONLY way we are going to be able to bring these precious children home is by the hand of God.

His hand moves... WHEN His people PRAY!

I'm thinking... it's time for some "storming the gates of Heaven" prayer!

Please PRAY with us to get these children home!

"The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."  James 5:16

RADICAL

I listened to the "Radical" series (posted to the right) several months ago and was convicted and challenged in so many ways.  I wanted EVERYone I knew to listen to it!  It is that good. It is a message that needs to be heard.

It is a message that should cause us, as believers, to really examine our lives and consider if we are living according to Scripture. 

Well now... there's a book!  You know how I love books. 

But what I love more... is this message.  David Platt, is not afraid to preach a message that believers may find difficult to hear.  Many will be uncomfortable with what he is preaching.  He "challenges you to consider with an open heart how we have manipulated the gospel to fit our cultural preferences."

It's good stuff.  It's necessary.  It's time for Christ followers to actually live according to how Jesus called us to live.   

Check it out...


Now... get Radical!

Daddy's Day

My wonderful husband...

the father of our children...

is truly the most amazing person.

He is the biggest goof...

with the biggest heart.

He fills our home with laughter!

He works incredibly hard and can fix anything... really.

He is tender hearted and patient.

He is definitely worth celebrating...

cause he's that awesome!

You are my hero, babe.

I love you.

More than words can say.

"You must follow Me."

Comparison: an examination of two or more items to establish similarities and dissimilarities.

I don't know of anyone that does not compare.  Whether it be houses or cars or people or whatever.

The trouble with comparison begins when we compare our walk with the Lord to others.  When we compare our ministry to others.  We can easily become discouraged with ourselves when we make comparisons because we may believe that others are "doing better" or "doing more". 

This happens because we become focused on those around us. We take our eyes off Jesus.

When my children were little, I would tell them while we were out shopping that they needed to watch me closely so that they would know where I was going. I told them they must follow me.  I wanted to teach them to stay focused on who they were following and not to become distracted or they might get lost.

I need to remember that lesson!

We must remember that God has made each one of us for a unique and special purpose. We must learn to listen and focus on what His will is for our lives. We must follow Him.

We must be careful that we don't compare our ministry to somebody else's ministry... that we don't compare our walk with Jesus with somebody else's walk. We can be encouraged by others.  We can be motivated.  And we definitely want to support and pray for others.

There are so many amazing people in this world (and we read about a LOT of them here in blog-land) that are doing some pretty awesome ministry!  We must beware of being so focused on what someone else is doing that we lose sight of Jesus and His purpose for our lives.

When we are focused on Jesus and faithfully serving where God has called us to serve and minister... when we keep our eyes on Him... then He can do great things through each one of us.

Great things does not mean big things.

In John 21, Jesus kept asking Peter "Do you truly love me?"  Peter got his feelings hurt (understandably, I think).  Then it reads as if Jesus took him on a walk to talk about it.  As they were walking, Peter noticed John following them and he asked Jesus, "What about him?"

Jesus replies, "...what is that to you? You must follow Me."

Here is a guy out on a walk with Jesus, he becomes distracted by someone else and what they're up to, comparing himself with someone else.  Jesus says to him "what is that to you?"   In other words, "Dude, focus!  Keep your eyes on Me."

If Peter, walking with Jesus, can become distracted by what is going on with someone else... then I am pretty sure that is going to happen to me! But my sweet Savior will walk with me and encourage me to focus on Him.

He commands each one of us... "You must follow Me."

Are you focused on Him?  Are you faithfully following Him?  Or are you watching someone else and comparing what your doing with them?

Jesus has a special and unique plan for your life! 

Follow Him!

My Girl

The joy of being Gigi...

to this precious girl...

is a beautiful thing.

Work in Progress

Husband has been working on a big project on our property.  He has created quite a mess.

He works patiently and diligently creating something that will be beautiful when it is completed.

In the midst of the mess... there is beauty.

He makes certain each step in the process is completed perfectly in order to make sure the project, as a whole, turns out just like he envisions it.

When he is finished with the work it will be perfect.  It will be beautiful because it is his good work. 

As I watched him working today, it was a reminder that "He who began a good work in me will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

I struggle to "get it right"... I get frustrated at the number of times I fail in any given area.  But truth says... God is not done with me.  He will patiently and lovingly carry on His good work in me.

Thankfully... we don't have to "get it right" for Him to use us.  There is beauty in the midst of the mess of us because of Jesus.  He is beautiful and perfect.

Today he reminded me that I am a work in progress and He is not finished with me yet.

I can live with that!

Dance for Jesus

When my girls were little and about to perform in a dance recital, I would always tell them to "dance for Jesus".  I wanted them to remember the most important audience was an audience of One.

Our precious girl, Katherine, has grown up to be a beautiful dancer and God has blessed her with the opportunity to "dance for Jesus" with an amazing group called Arrows International.

Arrows uses dance, in every form, to take the Gospel message to the nations.  They train dancers to be "arrows" prepared to hit the target for Christ.  Super awesome!

We were blessed with a special performance by this amazing group of dancers before they departed to minister in Costa Rica.  It was powerful.  It was worshipful.

But most importantly... every dance... every story depicted by these dancers... was created to share the message of Christ...to witness to the lost, to bless the believer, to encourage the lonely, to bring hope to the weary... to honor and glorify the Lord.

Please pray for this team to be effective for the kingdom of God.  Pray for the people of Costa Rica to have hearts prepared to receive the truth of Jesus Christ!

To God be the Glory!

Discouraged

Today I received an e-mail from our attorney regarding our adoption.

I was excited for a milli-second.

Our "application" has gone to the judge that "would not give a guardianship order with the wording that is acceptable to the US Embassy".  This is the judge we were praying would not get our case. The correct wording is needed in order to get visas for the children to come to the US.

This battle has been going on for quite a while.

Our attorney didn't give any indication that he had a grandios plan of making sure we get these children home.

It sounded pretty bleak.  Almost hopeless.

But... my hope comes from the Lord.  And He is good.

I know God is in control.  I know that He can work in and around this judge.  I know that He has a good and perfect plan.  I know that there is a greater purpose in all of this.

But right now... I'm having a hard time breathing.

And tears fall easily.

We covet your prayers.

Books

All year long I buy books.

I can't help myself.

Seriously.

I find myself in the book section of any store I visit without thinking about it.

And then before I realize it, I'm in the checkout line purchasing books. (notice the plural)

I need therapy.

You think I'm kidding?  Ask my husband.

Is there such a think as an 'impulse book buyer' therapist?

I love books.

This summer I am determined to actually read some of the books I have purchased BEFORE I buy any more.  (Right after I receive a box from B&N:)

I'm working on my "summer reading list".

I promise to report back very soon with my selections.

I know you will be waiting with great anticipation for the list.

Or not.

What are you reading this summer?

He Loves Me

Husband and I went on our weekly date last night.

As we sat enjoying salmon and sushi, talking about everything under the sun, I caught him staring at me.

I asked, "what?", as if I had missed an important question.  He was looking at me that intently.

His reply... "I'm just happy to be here with you."

How sweet is that?!?!

After 20 years of marriage.

He still loves me good.

SnowCones

First snowcones of the summer!

Yummy...

Deliciousness...

Gone too soon!

ENJOY it

(whatever 'it' may be)

while it lasts!

We Are...

Celebrating the news that the embassy in Ug*nda has started issuing visas again!

Rejoicing with families that have received visas to take their little ones home!

Praying for families still waiting for visas.

STILL praying for our court date.

I am resting in the knowledge that my Father knows every circumstance, every hindrance, every hurdle, every detail that keeps us from getting a date.  I know that when we do get a date it will be because it is His perfect plan.

Well... I'm trying to rest in that knowledge...

Cooking with "The Pioneer Woman"

My girl has shown an interest in cooking lately. She has been helpful measuring ingredients and chopping veggies for awhile.

Last night she declared that she really wanted to cook.

I had The Pioneer Woman's 

chicken fried steak planned for dinner...

So... instead of starting with something simple...

she made chicken fried steak!

My little chef took her job very seriously.

She did a fabulous job!

(We put the burnt ones on the bottom... that was my fault.)

Daddy's "umm umm, this is good!" comment

made this little chefs day!

(on the other side of the table her brother was scraping off the burnt parts!  oh well!)

If you have not explored "The Pioneer Woman" website... you are missing out... BIG time!

Head on over there and stay a while!

Tell her I sent ya!