simply grateful

18...that is a good amount of anything...18 kids, 18 cupcakes, 18 percent increase, $18 would get us to the movies :)... Today marks 18 years since I really surrendered to God...this is why I am so grateful.  All that I have is because of Him.  Anything good in me is because of Him.  My life has never been the same since this day 18 years ago... My story, like so many others, is a story of one who was transferred from a life of darkness and confusion to a life of light and hope. I grew up knowing about the Lord. I remember going to Sunday School and Vacation Bible Schools. As an adolescent, I participated regularly in a great youth group at church. All throughout my growing up years, I can look back and see ways that God wove His truth into my life through people and experiences. I knew about God and Jesus.  I knew stories. I sang songs.  I even prayed "the prayer", but I didn't know them personally. It was all action and no heart... In high school an...

This is one of my favorite sights... It started as a happenstance really. Makayla is our early  bird...she would come out about 6:30 in the morning and "catch"  David and I reading our Bibles and praying...independently but together.  At first, it started out as great accountability.  I didn't want her to get up and me not be there spending time with God...David felt the same way.  (For the record, Karissa is not usually up at this time.) It wasn't long before she started saying, "I need to have a Bible study too."  We had been reading a preschool devotion and Bible story later during the day, but she really wanted to add this in. So David, being the wonderful father that he is, seized the moment. :)  Our pastor had given an illustrated Bible for the kids for Christmas...and we also have Operation World for children (this tells about people groups around the world that have not heard about Jesus).  Our church is reading through the New T...

I wrote this in mid-December and realized I never put it up.  Sorry for the delay.   You may have read recently about the 11 million dollar Christmas tree in an Abu Dhabi hotel.  The 40 foot tree is adorned with diamonds, pearls, emeralds and sapphires (181 pieces in total) provided by one of the hotel’s gemstone boutiques.  Only days after announcing the tree, the hotel expressed embarrassment over its “attempts to overload the tradition” in a way that does not “fall in line with the professional standards” of the hotel.  A posh hotel apologized for its extravagance! Perhaps my recent trip to Zambia has made me a little more sensitive to our extravagance as Americans both physically and spiritually during this Christmas season.  We fill our closets full of clothes that we will deem unfashionable in a few years.  We joke about wearing our pants with the “elastic waste band” so we can overstuff ourselves at Christmas dinner.  We buy our kids toys...

A dear friend introduced me to this song...it reminds me of how great the Father's love is for us...sometimes I get so busy...even with things that are about Him that I forget to remember that HE loves me .   I have already printed the guitar chords and I cannot wait to work on learning this love song.  Take just a minute to listen to it...it will calm your spirit and sooth your soul if you will take a moment to think about how the God of the universe loves you personally...through everything.  If there is anything I can be specifically praying for you/with you about, I count it a privilege. just send me a message Ok, here it is!

Last weekend I had a choice to make. I could go outside and change the oil and serpentine belt on our Sequoia myself or I could have, what we call in our house, guy time. I knew that if I did it myself I could have it done in about half an hour. I knew “guy time” would make it twice that long. Not only was it a no-brainer, it turned out to be one of the best “moments” of my life. I got my mini-me (Elijah) and headed outside. I showed him how to drain the oil, put on a new filter, and add oil to the truck. We then changed the serpentine belt together as well. Elijah, being mechanically minded and daddy’s little dude, was on cloud nine when we finished. Each week I take one of the kids down to the Senior adult luncheon. I promised Makayla this week was her turn. She picked out my shirt for our “daddy-daughter date.” (she offered to pick out my shoes and belt as well). The only problem, Senior-adult luncheons start back next week! Another choice to make… be the frugal (I prefer that to...

Every morning I get up at 6:15 (ok, most mornings), go out to the living room, turn on the light and sit down in my recliner. In a spirit of prayer, I open my Bible and ask the Lord to speak to me through His word. Some days I make it through a chapter, most days I only make it through a few verses. Today, I was in Acts 4. Two things stood out to me as I read. 1. Do people notice that I have “been with Jesus?” Verse 12 states; “And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” What difference was there? For a moment I let my imagination get the best of me. I imagined them radiating a heavenly glow showing they had been with Jesus. I imagined them wearing stickers, like the ones they give you when you vote, that said, “I have been with Jesus.” Then I came back to reality and continued reading. It says that when the rulers and elders and scribes saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished.  Remember, this was t...

I'm not sure what is going on with our background...since blogger changed the options...I sampled one of the backgrounds and now I can't get our old one to work well.  I'm going to mess with that later... I have been so easily distracted from posting, but now that we are settling into more of a routine, I should be more consistent.  Thanks for stopping by! We are tired this week, but all is well...and I am truly thankful: 1.  that God has made it possible for me to be a stay at home mama...what a joy and a privilege! 2. for sweet friends who pray and sometimes coach me through life 3. for other sweet friends who volunteer to stay with sick babies so that I can go to Bible study 4.  for an amazing husband who helps in so many ways even when his schedule is full and he is tired 5.  most of all, for God's word that fills my cup and His presence in my life that gives me such JOY...a joy that lasts! I pray that you have an easy time thinking of things ...

Interested in some new perspective on life...and our true purpose"  Just need an encouraging word about One who loves you so?  Listen to David's most recent sermon "Becoming Ladder Day Saints" by clicking here and looking for 7-18-2010.  I am so blessed to be married to a man who lives what he preaches in the daily grind.

sitting in the parking lot...listening to music...fighting back tears... Have you been there? That's where I found myself yesterday.  It's not exactly a bad place to be.  To me, it is a "figuring out" spot.  Many times I have been in a similar setting where I made decisions or maybe just dealt with life.  What sweetness I rediscovered yesterday. Let me back up a bit to a summer I spent in Romania helping lead camps for precious orphans.  The purpose of the camp was to introduce the children and the care givers to the incredible love of God...to show them that they too could be adopted into God's family if they accepted the gift of eternal life through Jesus.  Some weeks went great. But, as you can imagine, some weeks were much more difficult:  complications arose, hearts were hard, inconveniences and exhaustion took their toll.  During one of those weeks, God really reached down and touched my heart to remind me of His great love...not jus...

Do you know anyone with one of these? Someone who's face radiates hope? The unfortunate thing is that you don't really get to witness how grounded someone is in their trust in God until they are walking through difficult circumstances. Amazingly, hope radiates out of eyes that should be downcast or dead. But, because a person knows the Lord intimately...they have already walked with Him, they know He is trustworthy. They walk on. They take the next step...and then the next step...walking on. Trusting though not understanding. Seeking Him, although they may feel hurt or forgotten. Serving others and encouraging, they are able to look beyond themselves. And the One and only, magnificent God shows up and carries them, strengthens them and turns miserable circumstances into good because they trust Him. And here she is, another brave face of hope who continues to trust in God because He is faithful. Isn't she stunning?! I introduced you to my friend, Anna, in this post . Th...

It’s all just memories and souvenirs now folks. Texas Stadium was imploded on Sunday. The 65.600 seat stadium held it’s first NFL game on October 24, 1971. The five flags commemorating their National Championships that had once hung from the rafters had been removed. The stadium “with the hole in the roof” saw the greats like Emmit Smith, Troy Aikmen, Tony Dorsett and Drew Pearson. Many of the years the team was coached by the legendary Tom Landry who led them to 20 consecutive winning seasons. Texas Stadium also housed the 10-day Billy Graham crusade in the fall of 1971 and saw concerts by the likes of The Jackson 5, Garth Brooks, James Brown and U2. It had quite a history. Despite its history this past Sunday morning Texas Stadium was demolished. The last event held there was by a crew that drilled more than 2,800 holes in the columns at the stadium and placed nearly 2,715 pounds of explosives into the structure. The implosion was set off by an 11 year old kid named Casey Ja...

Rusks and 5 Roses... Rusks. Do you know what they are? No, not the things that elephants have, those are tusks. Although, while living in Africa, I often ate rusks while watching elephants. Rusks and 5 Roses (African Tea) was our staple breakfast while on Safari. A rusk is a rectangular, hard, dry biscuit or a twice- baked bread. Historically, rusks evolved during South Africa’s early pioneering days as a way to preserve bread in the dry climate. It was also extensively used during times of war or when traveling long distances. For me, 5 Roses tea was an everyday occurrence. You can imagine my delight when I returned to America to find “The South African Food Shop” just miles from my parent’s house. An internet based company, with a storefront in Matthews NC, has become my supplier of Ouma Rusks and 5 Roses. This morning as I had a rusk with my tea, Makayla came and wanted to try one. I tried to persuade her that she would not like them to no avail. She knew how much I cherished them a...

Recently, I have been reminded how much I value gratitude. There have been several instances in the past couple of weeks that have brought this to the forefront of my mind. A sweet teen that we know and love was sharing her heart with me. I told her that in certain hard seasons of my own life I have really benefited from keeping a gratitude journal where I write down five things that I am grateful for each day. Believe me, there were times when those entries were pitiful: "Thank you for a working toilet." But they directed my mind back towards the positive side of life. Most of the time I could come up with something better than that. And, it seems gratitude breeds gratitude. Don't believe me? Go out of your way to show the significant people in your life that you appreciate them and watch what transpires. Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday! For Christmas, I got a book called "Calm My Anxious Heart" by Linda Dillow. I have actually enjoy...