On again, off again

On again, off again, that seems to be my theme in blogging. I have friends who do it quite regularly and while I wish I could be that regular, I just can't seem to make the time in my life for a "regular" blog up to date.

So what prompted me to pick up the blog today, a jog...or something that resembled a jog.

My boys are runners they always have been, they love to run, they run to church, they run to school, they run at school, they run at soccer, these kids LOVE to run. Where in their genetics they got that love to run is beyond me. I am one of those people that has always said, "if you see me running, you should run too because someone is after me." All of that aside, it is a wonderful healthy habit that they both have developed because of a wonderful running program at their school. I love it, I encourage it, and hey, I give it a try from time to time.

Today and the past few days, I have been helping my runners prepare to run in the Jovenes en Camino Fiesta 5K.  I run/walk/jog/gasp for air with them, because what kind of mom would I be if I just let my 6 year old and 8 year old take off on a 3 mile jog?

As I was running, gasping for air, and praying my body didn't go into shock, I was thinking about what we were training for a 5K to benefit children we have never met and know very little about...but all of that is about to change.

In Mark, Jesus commands us to "go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation." Well a dear friend of ours, works with Jovenes en Camino in Honduras. He is taking a group of men from our church on a mission trip to Jovenes for Spring Break and my husband has made the commitment to go on this trip. I am so excited for him and the opportunities that lie ahead of him. The boys are excited, they decided that they wanted to run the 5K for the boys that dad will be visiting while in Honduras. Yay! They support their daddy!

So on my adventure this morning, I started think about the trip and all that there is to do. Aggghhh so much to do. Raise funds for the project the men will be working on (we have already done 2 car washes, a garage sale, and bake sale), raise funds for Greg's personal trip (1300.00--we are a quarter of the way there),   pray for Greg to get the right week off  plus a personal day(vacation time with Coke is quite particular),  get a passport (getting the appointment for this was an adventure in and of itself), and hey have I mentioned that Greg has NEVER flown before. Yep, first time on a plane and he flies into one of the most difficult places to land/ take-off on earth. Volunteers for people to hold his hand during landing now accepted (if no one is willing to step forward then I am sure my dad, who is also going on the trip will gladly volunteer).

No worries though..God will guide us through this process, He has such an amazing plan.

Matthew 6:25-34 clearly states this:

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^[a]?

²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

What an amazing father we have in heaven, telling us not to worry. Trust in him, his righteousness, and he will provide. Thank you father, my faith is in YOU and in YOU alone. 

A While

Well, I have not been blogging for a few weeks, mostly because this whirlwind I call a life has had me quite swept up the last few weeks.

I LOVE VBS so this year...you guessed it, I was in charge. It has gone great. We don't do your traditional week long VBS at our church. We do Vacation Bible Sundays and for every Sunday in the month of July we have a different night of VBS. It works great, everyone comes back, week after week refreshed and ready to worship God.

So although, I was in charge of VBS, I could not have done it with out the help and support of some very awesome  people. First of all my parents, they support me in my endeavors continuously. I don't think I have ever thought "I can't " because my parents always told me "I could"

Then there are the Elders and Preachers at our church, ever supportive, always willing to jump in and lend a hand. I have been at churches before where Elders and Preachers have a hands off approach and just say yes or no to whatever decisions may need to be made, not at my church. The Elders are so encouraging and so engaged in seeing true spiritual growth from the congregation. Our ministers are inspiring, to hear them speak they make the Bible come to life, they make you want to be a better Christian.

And lastly are Greg and I's beloved friends, man they are worker bees. These are mom's and dad's just like us willing to give it their all. Ready to jump in and do WHATEVER is needed. It is awesome to work alongside these amazing families and to raise our children with them. I have to say that I firmly believe that through VBS in the month of July we have truly bonded.

So, why post about this, most of the people I go to church with don't even read my blog...no body really reads it, I don't think I have any followers, but our theme for VBS was the Fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5: 22-23

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.


So to me these fruits speak volumes to my duty as a wife and mother. I need to show love, have joy (in all that I do), exude peace, demonstrate patience, be kind, be good, be faithful, show gentleness, and exhibit self-control. If I can show these to my boys, then they will pick these up and our world, our home, will be a better place. 

Cleaning

Oh my goodness, cleaning is one of those things that no matter how much I do it, it is never done. I wish I was a minimalist instead sometimes I think I come very close to being a hoarder. Stuff, where does it come from? How does it accumulate so very quickly? Why am I attached to these things?

So today, I decided on a great purging. I cleaned out, cleaned up, and cleared out. And yet there is still STUFF.

That got me thinking, what is this stuff? Do I need it? Who does need it? Could someone else use it better than me? No, I don't need it, and yes I am sure someone else could find something to do with it. The purging of the physical junk in my life made me think...how much emotional junk do I have?

Ronald Reagan once said, “Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, leave the rest to God.” 


I believe this will be my knew theme. 

Love

On a day in which I know my children will be up against the odds or in a uniques setting, I wear a bracelet to remind me of the following:

1 Corinthians 13: 4 &7
Love is patient, Love is kind, it always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

Being a parent is just that...parents must be patient, kind, protect, trust, hope, persevere, and if we can do all of these...we as parents will not fail.

Having that bracelet on my wrist as a constant reminder of scripture and God's expectations for me as a parent,  is crucial on days when my patience may grow thin and my kindness may not show. No one ever said being a parent would be easy, but they never said it would be this hard either. Ultimately it is the ONLY job that matters in my life.

Happy 4th

Psalms 33:12--Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance. 

I have always been the patriotic type, I still get chills when I hear "God Bless the USA" and I love to celebrate our freedoms as Americans. On this day, I like to stop and think of all those who have served and worked so very hard for the freedom we have today.

One thing that has always given me those, "I'm proud to be an American" chills is at the beginning of every school year in my school district. We have a beginning of the year teacher meeting, all of the district employees gather for a day of professional development, new teachers are announced and the Director of Schools makes an opening statement about the year to come, but to start it all off, boy and girl scouts bring in the flag and the Pledge of Allegiance is said. It gives me chills for a gym full of teachers, administrators, support staff, custodians, cafeteria servers, etc., people that make a difference in the lives of tomorrow's leaders, all stand and say the pledge, it just moves me.

We are so blessed to live in the country in which we live, yet so often we forget to be thankful for every  freedom we have because in a moment it could all be gone.

God Bless The USA

by Lee Greenwood

If tomorrow all the things were gone,
I'd worked for all my life.
And I had to start again,
with just my children and my wife.

I'd thank my lucky stars,
to be livin here today.
‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom,
and they can't take that away.

And I'm proud to be an American,
where at least I know I'm free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

From the lakes of Minnesota,
to the hills of Tennessee.
Across the plains of Texas,
From sea to shining sea.

From Detroit down to Houston,
and New York to L.A.
Well there's pride in every American heart,
and its time we stand and say.

That I'm proud to be an American,
where at least I know I'm free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

And I'm proud to be and American,
where at least I know I'm free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

I will never forget as a child going to Stone Mountain in Georgia for a fireworks show, as the show came to a close this song was played and you could hear the members of the audience yell out as their part of the country was called, but more importantly we were all united in knowing that we ARE Americans and we are proud of that. So as you go about your day today, please remember to thank God for all of our freedom's as Americans, pray for those freedoms continue, and pray that His hand will continue to guide our country. God Bless the USA.

H O T

Well in Tennessee these days it is HOT. Sunday night was the kick off for our Vacation Bible Sundays and we were worried the heat would deter folks from coming out. It did not!

We had 130 people, children had a fabulous time, the food was great,  and relationships were built. It was amazing.

So in the midst of all this some amazing friendships were forged as we went through the decoration and building on Sat. and then the set up all Sunday afternoon. For the first time in my adult life I feel that we are truly coming to a point where true Christian relationships within our families are developing.  The relationships and friendships I have longed for. My parents had these types of relationships and I have been desperate to have these for my children and it IS happening.  These are the people I want to help raise my children, these are the people I know I can depend on, these are the families that I call my friends. Spending time together allows us to be bound to each other.

Matthew 18:20 says, "for where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I with them."

Silence

Whoever said silence is golden, was correct. My mouth is my greatest enemy. Sometimes the devil just gets in there and words spew out without even thinking. Ugggh. My constant prayer and scripture is Psalms 141: 3

Set a guard over my mouth, Oh Lord, keep watch over the door of my lips.

Oh how I pray to think before I speak. Words are so permanent and so scarring that we as humans (even more so as women) use them as a weapon. A way to make ourselves feel better about some insecurity. For years I have told middle school girls "oh she just says that to make herself feel better" and then I catch myself, knocking someone else down so that I look better. To who. Certainly not to God. He never intended words to be hurtful.

Alas, words are hurtful. And they burn an impression into your soul and start to define you. Hurtful words from another person start to make me question myself, my own integrity, my own good intentions. So why would I dare to think of doing the same to someone else?

So to any of you that are my friends, family, strangers who read this blog for comedic relief, I ask that you join me in my prayer.

Lord, please hold my tongue except when sharing your glory or in comforting. May all of the words I speak and actions I portray be done to the glory of you. Please set a guard over my mouth, do not let the Devil near these precious lips of yours. Allow my mouth to sing only of your glories and to proclaim your greatness. I know I am still a work in progress and that you are not finished with me yet. Let my lips seep forth only kind words of comfort, friendship, peace and love. 

Amen. 

As you go about your day. Remember words hurt, start wars, and can even kill. Chose your words closely. I know I will.