Weekend Wrap Up

We had my parents here with us for the long weekend. It was wonderful. They were supposed to be here Thursday afternoon, but both of them had the dreaded stomach bug AGAIN. That changed their arrival time to Friday afternoon. They needed to get away as much as we needed to see them. It amazes me to watch them with Chad. They adore him and he returns the affection. Their as proud of him as they are one of their own children. We spent Friday afternoon watching the girls swim and then Friday night we printed bingo cards out to play along with the T.V. show on ABC. It was so much fun.

Saturday, we knew we wanted to get them to RELAX so we indulged Dad in one of his favorite pastimes. He loves to walk through new houses and houses under construction. I love to see him relax.

Sunday was the best day. Jerry Vines was preaching at our church and Dad really enjoys hearing him preach. (Dad always went to his church in Jacksonville when he was down for exams and classes during seminary.) Since it's hard for them to get away on Sunday's it was so neat for them to be here on this weekend. That's God working it out. They needed the encouragement. We spent Sunday afternoon with our dear friends Ron and Pam. We cooked out at their new house and just visited. We all needed the comfort of familiar friends. So often I feel like I'm getting to know people, which I love doing. But there is just something about spending time with those people who "get" you. Who love you and know what makes you tick. It was just a fun afternoon/evening. :)

Which leads me to this weekend. I can not wait!! I've got some dear sista's coming in for a grown up slumber party. I'm praying right now that God will give us a wonderful time together. I'll post pictures after it's over. These are all girls who love the Lord with every cell of their being. They are such an encouragement to me and I love them dearly. Okay, the tears are starting and Chad is sitting across the living room giving me the "What did I do?" look.

I stumbled across this quote today. I love it. It sums up so much of my testimony. I just wanted to share it with you.

"God is God. Because He is God, He is worthy of my trust and obedience. I will find rest nowhere but in His holy will, a will that is unspeakably beyond my largest notions of what He is up to."
– Elisabeth Elliot

Why Do I Sing in the Choir?

Before I launch into this subject, I want to thank you for your comments and e-mails about Chloe's reaction to her new bike. (For those of you who e-mail me, I promise it's safe to post a comment here!!)

I think it's important for you to know how Emma responded to her sister's gift. Emma was just as shocked and a little confused about what was going on. After all, it wasn't a birthday or anything. As we went out to ride, Emma looked at me with tears in her eyes. I knew this was coming. She said, "Mom, I know that I'm getting Chloe's old bike, but I don't have anyone to give MY old bike to. Who can I give it to?" We were so worried about her feeling left out, but she hadn't felt that way at all. Soooo, as awesome as Chloe's response was, to me Emma's was just as great.

Okay, on to the subject at hand. I've been playing the piano at a couple of different churches quite frequently and have really missed my "home" choir. Tonight was my first night back at rehearsal. I looked forward to this time all day. Rehearsal has always done wonders for my weary soul and body. While I love being at home with my girls, I especially needed the time away today.

What I didn't expect was to hear so much grumbling. There is an attitude among some in the alto section like you wouldn't believe. Just grumbling and complaining. I was really holding my tongue and praying. I didn't get the "okay" from God to respond to the grumbling. I by no means agreed with what I was hearing, but I'm learning that sometimes no words are just as powerful. So, I listened and prayed.

This was hard for me. Our worship pastor and his staff cover each Sunday's service in prayer. I know that they do because God moves each week in a powerful way. (Over and over again we see how God orchestrates a theme in our services.) They do a great job of picking music that not only glorifies God, but lines up with scripture. They have, what I see is one of the hardest ministries in the church. It's impossible to "please" 8,000 different people each week. They realize this and their concern is pleasing God and leading people in true worship.

How dare we come into rehearsal or a worship service with an attitude that there is only one style of music acceptable to God. How dare we sit and grumble about a style of the song instead of meditating on the lyrics. There is a message behind the melody and style. How can you say that singing scripture is not the type of music that pleases God? I just don't get it. If you're that unhappy, find a place where you can worship without grumbling! My parents taught me that you respect the authority God places in your life. I believe that our church staff is part of the spiritual authority in our lives, and they deserve our prayers, love and respect. (Now, if there is something that contradicts scripture in a song or action, then by all means go to them in the way scripture teaches us to. If you're unhappy because of a musical style then keep your mouth shut.)

Satan wants nothing more than to destroy unity among believers. The enemy is using this issue in more than one church. In fact, it seems that every music ministry seeking to draw people into worship is battling this. When will we wake up? It's a ploy of the enemy to hinder the worship of Almighty God!!! We have a choice. We can come to worship, be it rehearsal or corporate worship, with the attitude that I'm going to glorify God. Regardless of the style of music, regardless of what others are saying, I'm going to worship my God. Or, we can come with a chip on our shoulder, an attitude of rebellion and discontentment and be a discouragement to those around us. I don't know about you, but I need Jesus! I don't have the time or energy to fuss and argue over a style of music. It's not about my personal preference, it's all about HIM. It's about His glory reflecting off of our faces to people who are hurting and searching.

May our personal styles never get in the way of the message of Christ. Let's find ourselves face down in worship, so that we may face up to the glory of our Father.

New Bike

 

Chloe received quite the surprise Saturday afternoon. She has been saving her money for this bike, since January. This is a "real" bike with handbrakes and gears. It is blue with polka dotes on it and according to her, matches her eyes.

This bike arrived shortly after a particular grandparent left. (The bike shop delivered it) The mere site of this beauty of a bike evoked tears of joy. Chloe's mouth was on the ground in surprise. Even the sweet lady from the bike shop cried when she saw how happy Chloe was. It was one of the few times Chloe has been completely surprised, she was blown away.

Chad and I were blown away by the generosity of the gift, but even more blown away by her immediate response . She came inside to call and say thank you. When she went upstairs to get her tennis shoes on, we heard this "conversation" coming from upstairs. So we, like all good snoopy parents, crawled half-way up the stairs to listen. She was thanking God for being so good to her and for using this grandparent to give her this bike. She then broke out into praise songs. She was very aware that every good thing comes straight from the Father. She had thanked the earthly giver but she didn't forget to thank the ultimate giver and that just brought tears to my eyes.

We've talked about how extravagant this gift was. It was unexpected and brought great joy. It was a generous, lavish gift just for her. Much like the gift of Jesus. Our God, gave us the most lavish extravagant gift, His only Son. This was a sacrificial gift like none other. His only Son's life. The very thought of it brings chills to my body. I know the joy of giving a gift and what satisfaction it brings when the recipient accepts it with heartfelt gratitude. What it must do for God when someone accepts His gift! Just like this grandparent planned this surprise just for Chloe and took great joy in her response. God gave the ultimate gift when He sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sin. He takes great joy when we come to that place where we acknowledge Jesus as the one and only way to the Father and accept Jesus, the greatest gift, as our personal Savior. Even the angels rejoice when one comes to this point in life. How great the Father's love for us.

Friday Nights

It's the first Friday night of pool season in our neighborhood. The water has been frigid and so far only the under 10 crowd are brave enough to actually get in!! I have enjoyed getting out with a good book and a cup of coffee or tea and soaking up some sun while my girls shiver in and out of the water.

This afternoon, after I took the eldest of my offspring to a friends house, I grabbed "The Who" (E's nickname) and took her over for a late afternoon swim. She loved it. There were some little girls from up the street we hadn't met yet, so she met some new friends and I got to talk to two other mom's. During our conversation I was very casually able to talk about the Lord and church. Come to find out, one family goes to our church and haven't plugged into Sunday school yet. This led to talking about women's Bible study, a subject near and dear to my heart. It was a refreshing conversation. I'm praying for more like them.

I'm looking forward to spending a little time tomorrow with my Father-in-Law and one of his friends. (They are up from Florida.) We haven't seen in-law set "A" since Christmas and we miss them terribly. (We meaning the girls and I. Chad spent a long weekend with his Dad in January snowmobiling in Utah.) I hate that Zuzu won't be with them, that will just give us more incentive to make a beach get-a-way.

In-law set "B" has had a rough week. Their beloved boxer bull-dog "Gabby" passed away last Saturday night. They got the call from the vet on Sunday afternoon. It was 13 years ago this fall that Chad and his little sister Lindsay went and picked Gabby up from the breeder and brought him home to their mom. He was a big baby, very gentle. When the oldest set of twins were toddler age boy did he take a beating!! They napped on that dog, crawled on that dog even shared goldfish with him. Once they were walking, they chased that poor dog all over the place. He kept that "somebody help me" look until they moved out!! But,secretly I think that dog loved the attention. My mother-in-law can't say much about this right now. I feel bad for her, she loved that dog like a child.

This week, I'll be planning for the next two weekends. Memorial Day weekend, my parents are coming down. Hopefully, my siblings and their families will be here as well. My dad is turning 60 and we want to surprise him by having all the kids and grandkids in one place. Then, the following weekend, Chad and the girls are leaving and my "Sista's" are coming in for a grown up slumber party. I am so excited!!! I just hope they will all be able to come. I'll post pictures from both weekends so you can check out all the excitement. :) It should be a fun 2 weeks.

I'm still praying about the lady up the street. So far I haven't had an opportunity to speak with her. I'm sure God is orchestrating something. He is so cool like that isn't He!

Oh, by the way here's a major praise. Chad landed himself a HUGE insurance client this week. We've been praying for two weeks as he prepared and delivered a quote to a potential client. We found out yesterday he got the account. Girls, this is so big and all the details coming together the way they did are nothing but a big ole' flashing yellow neon arrow point straight to God. God is in the details of our every day life. I say this often, and I'll say it to the day He take me home. He wants to be included, ASK HIM TO BE!! Invite Him to get involved!! He's just longing to show you some great things.

This morning was beautiful. Chloe and I got up early to finish up her assignments for the day, she had a play date this afternoon. As we took out the trash and tended to some plants I'm attempting to keep alive...we were overcome with the smell of smoke. It hit us the moment we stepped outside. Our eyes started to water, and we both got a little choked up. I later heard on the news it was from the fires in South GA and Florida. I can't believe we can smell it all the way up here!! It makes me so thankful for the rain we're receiving now, I just pray that those areas south of us get it too.

Anytime I think about wildfires, I think about how powerful they are and how hard it must be to fight them. But I also think about how fast they can destroy God's creation. I have a neighbor who is kind of like a powerful wildfire. At the point I'm typing here, I don't know her name and it's not from being unfriendly. She walks everyday with her pepper spray in one hand and her cell-phone in the other. She has 911 and the Gwinnett County Animal Control on speed dial. Fortunately, she lives around the corner from us. She doesn't like animals or children. In the past 6 weeks, she has called the police, and/or animal control at least 10 times on our neighborhood pets. She has complained specifically about two families each time. Those families were told if they were called again they would take the dogs and the owners would have to pay $200 a dog to get them back. Now, I'm not an animal lover, but that's a little extreme.

Since our driveway has become the "hang-out" for the bike gang, (on any given night there are 5-10 kids riding bikes and our driveway is like home-base for parents and children alike) we have heard all sorts of stories. We listen and smile, say oh my and do not add to the stories. (We're trying to stop a little of the gossip that goes on)

I've decided to try and befriend this lady known as the Dog Nazi. I was helping Emma with her handwriting yesterday and she was copying Proverbs 15:1 "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." It hit me, the only time people around here are talking to her is when there is a confrontation. So, I've asked God to give me a "situation" to speak kindness to her. So far, the girls and I have been able to get a half-hearted wave and a very forced "hello" when she's walking. That's a start!! We are putting Proverbs 15:30 into practice. "A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones." I'm praying that we can bring a little joy to her heart and that God will open the doors to share the GOOD NEWS with her. I believe she is just like us, she has a hurt that needs God's touch.

If you have any creative ideas, leave a comment. I'm thinking of a small flower basket to hang on her front door knob.

Happy Mother's Day?

This has been such a different Mother's Day for us. We intended to make a surprise visit to my Mom and Chad's mom up in Chattanooga, but the stomach bug is still visiting our family. We spent most of the night with Emma in the bathroom. Thank goodness she seems to be recovering much faster than Chloe and I did. I guess there is a difference in being sick while traveling and being sick in the comfort of your own home. I'm glad for her that she got the comfort of our home!!

This day has brought a wave of emotions like none other. When we got home yesterday, Chad a huge bouquet of white and red roses on our breakfast room table. I read the Mother's Day/Anniversary card from him it was, as usual, very touching.
At lunch time, the girls started looking at those roses. They asked Chad how many there were and I said 13 for the 13 years we've been married. Chad said, "count again". Well, I hadn't counted, just assumed. So I began counting and there were 13 red roses, one for each year we've been married. Then Emma asked why there were 4 white roses.

I knew immediately, and Chad knew that I knew. It was to be between us, but Chloe quickly piped up. She had figured out there was a rose for each of our children. He had included the two we haven't met but love and think of daily. The two we will hold in heaven. The two who would turn 11 and 10 this year. The two that made us realize how much we wanted to be parents. The two that made me realize how deep I could love someone I had never seen or touched. God used the loss of these babies to begin a fresh love affair with Him.

You see I felt the loss of children I never held or touched, but I loved those babies with my whole being. This was that deep mothering love. It was different than anything I had ever experienced, it was deep and it was fierce. How hard it was for us to walk through those times. It made me think of my God and how hard it must have been for Him, my Abba Daddy, to watch his Precious, Sinless, Beautiful Baby Boy die a cruel horrible death..... for me... for you. How deep His love is for us. How fierce His love for us! I pray God is so much more than a crisis God to you, I hope that you are in head over heals in love with Him and His son Jesus.

Sisters

 

This is my Great-Aunt Vene on the Left and my Grandmother on the Right. This picture was taken after we had laughed so hard our sides hurt and they were in tears. Grandmother told us on the way home they sat up every night until 11:00 or later just talking and laughing and crying. I'm so glad my girls were able to meet their Great-Great-Aunt. How often does that happen?!??!!!!