heart

Have you ever noticed that sometimes kids just get it!! My husband is singing tonite at Granger - that is another whole blog :) - and my kids and I listened to a recording of the song - my daughter went around singing it all day yesterday here are some of the lyrics:


If everyone cared and nobody cried

If everyone loved and nobody lied

If everyone shared and swallowed their pride

Then we'd see the day when nobody died

After she got done singing she said "mommy its right if everyone did all this then we would live forever" She knows that Eve started a huge sin pattern and thanks to Jesus we can all "live" forever. At 5 - I think I was 35 before I knew that!

mountains and makeup

Yesterday I was getting ready for bible study and my 5 year old daughter was playing in my room. I was saying out loud - yes I talk to myself sometimes:( - I can't find my makeup oh where is it I can't find it - oh here it is!

My daughters response -- Oh mom maybe God put it there - my response - your right He could do that and her response:

Well Mom, if God could move a mountain of course he could move your make up!

Oh to have faith like a child!!

hopeless

I was listening to a song at church called "Hope for the Hopeless" and I started thinking - what does it mean to be hopeless? would I know if I was hopeless?

This sparked me to think back to before I became a Christian - some of you know a lot about me and some don't - I began a personal relationship with Jesus in 1996 and was baptized in 1998 and after hearing that song I think it would be fair to say that pre '96 I was hopeless.

If I put my hope in Jesus - then if I don't know Jesus aren't I hopeless?? I am talking about myself here - not pointing fingers or anything but I got the message loud and clear when hearing that song. Oh my - I was hopeless - I did not know the meaning and purpose of my life - I did not know that Jesus loved ME and that I mattered to God. And the bigger point -- I was deceived - I did not even know I was hopeless!!

My prayer - Lord please help me to know you intimately - to put my hope in your son Jesus and to know He is the answer to hopelessness.

old furnishings

Do you have any furniture that reminds you of your childhood? Are there pieces with stories attached? Well my family now has a piece of my childhood in the house -- actually a couple of pieces. Since we are the only ones with room to spare we inherited a dining room table, 8 chairs and a hutch that were made for my family of 7 about 30 years ago. There are so many things that happened around that table. We also now have my bedroom set from high school. I remember when my parents bought it -- they were quick to let me know it would become their guest room bedroom set after I moved out.

What about dishes? We inherited the family china and silverware -- boy if they could talk. I saw a picture from the fifties and that china was on the table. It has lasted over 50 years and was used often.

The other night I asked God to help me be a good steward of my belongings - the stuff he has enabled my family to acquire. Now I want to make sure I document the history in our belongings -- I want my kids to know the stories involved with the things my husband brought home from Texas. These were their grandparents and great grandparents possessions that were taken care of so well that they still have stories to tell.

Now I need to ask God to help me be the storyteller for the next generation.

blessings

Count your blessings! You are so blessed! Do we ever really hear those words? After what my family has gone through in the past few weeks I know I am blessed! I refuse to take lightly how much God has done for me, how much he has brought me through and how much he will continue to do for me. He loves me - really he does.

I am blessed with an awesome husband - really -- he goes above and beyond - more than I could ever dare, think, ask or imagine. Today he is flying to Texas with a neighbor and then renting a uhaul to drive back to Indiana in order to help out with my Dad's house. He is doing it because he loves me! Wow sometimes it is hard to grasp and I can't believe how he cares about me.

Today I am going to thank God for how he has blessed me with this wonderful man who is Jesus in the flesh for me so often. I love him deeply.

hope

My father's viewing was last night and the funeral service is this morning. I have had the wonderful opportunity to see how Jesus has made a difference in my life, my husband's life and my 2 children's lives just by watching how each one handled and responded to the viewing.

My 5 year old daughter with a huge heart was amazing - she comforted her 10 year old cousin who was crying and crying, she used her words to tell her how it was ok to cry and be sad, she looked right into the casket and said "it does not look like grampy anymore because all the stuff we know about him is in heaven" she handled it with so much grace and compassion - and I believe the reason it was not scary is two fold -- she knows Jesus and is learning what the bible says about death and heaven and she has never ever seen anything creepy or horror-filled like some of the things in the movies I used to watch or related to halloween. She viewed it as a natural thing.

My 7 year old son wrote a note to his cousin letting her know that he hoped she felt better. He also said "it is not really like grampy is dead he is alive in heaven forever." He is the black and white practical one! However in the car on the way to the hotel he had his arm around me rubbing the back of my neck. :)

My husband sat with my grieving brother who had been my dad's roommate and caretaker over the last seven years. He listened and supported. He was Jesus in the flesh for my brother - he showed love and compassion and understanding in a way only he could. My husband lost his dad a long time ago and also spent time being his caretaker. My husband's experience was necessary for "such a time as this". He loved by listening! My brother is learning that my family's love for him is unconditional -- I am learning how to love unconditionally.

I truly truly believe that I can love someone to Jesus - I used to think I needed to confront them to Jesus - help them see their sin. You know what? Once people know that I love them unconditionally and Jesus loves them regardless of their sin then they can begin a relationship with him and the Holy Spirit can do the transformation work -- not me!

I can only say that I am thankful to my church for helping me grow to this point over the last year. I am amazed at my heart change and how it has had a huge impact on my relationships! I have grown so much closer to Jesus and know that this is only the beginning!