Simple Pleasure

I have had such a heavy week. This morning I was praying and thinking about all the different people on my heart right now. I just began to thank God for them and for the way He was working and moving. Even though we don't see it in some situations He is working things out...thank you Lord.

So as I began to get up and start school with the girls, I glanced at my breakfast room table. For whatever reason, God brought back the memory of the weekend when Fran, Patty and Georgia were here. (Back in January) It was the sweetest thing. I then began to reminisce about all the Siestas that we spent time with that weekend. I am so thankful for each one. There is some serious prayer support and love among us and I can't tell you what that means to me.

But the memory that popped in my mind was not of a deep spiritual conversation, or the time we spent in my living room praying. Oh no. God knew that I needed something different today. So He reminded me of this.



Go on and laugh...hard. It's okay...we do too! It totally cracked me up and I laughed all the way upstairs. (It took me a few minutes to make it to the top, I started Jillian Michaels "The Shred" this morning and it kicked my backside!)

This memory was my simple pleasure this week. I have had the best time with God today thanking Him for times like this one. He has made me glad...I needed to be reminded that it is okay to have a belly laugh. :) Especially when it happens with people who are crazy about Him. :)

God knows.

You probably know by now that my man has Crohn's disease. He was diagnosed in our first year of marriage. Those first few years were a fight for his life. He was sick and as if that was not hard enough, he looked sick. There was no hiding it.

It was during this time, when I would get so stinking mad at people who felt the need to point that out to me just how bad he looked. I can still remember some of the most outrageous comments. I would walk away thinking..wow...they sure got the gift of encouragement. (and these were Christians) I slowly got to a point where I dreaded walking through the door of church each week because someone was going to have something really crazy to say.

Right or wrong I eventually became a very guarded person, sharing very little of this struggle with anyone. I really didn't want to hear the typical "church chatter" and I sure didn't want to have to explain the entire disease again.

During this time, my mom said something to me like this..."God knows this isn't easy."

I had not thought about that until earlier this week when Beth Moore shared pretty much the same thing on her blog. Her daughter had said these words to her:

"He knows it's scary to be us."

We have been praying, pleading, pouring our heart out for over a week on behalf of a precious baby boy born to Sunday School classmates. Baby R. is with Jesus today. His heart is healed and whole.

Now his family begins a process they didn't plan. And we keep praying, pleading, pouring out our hearts for them.

I don't want to waste my breath with church chatter. This is hard. So I'm going to just have you listen to the song that God keeps bringing to my mind. It says everything I feel.

How are you doing?

Really, how are you doing? Did you have storms over the weekend where you live?
How was your Easter Sunday? We had a great service and spent Sunday just resting and concentrating on our Jesus. We are still praying for our friends and their Baby R. Please join us in praying for a complete healing for this little boy who is about 10 days old right now.

We were in Chattanooga Friday and Saturday and had some pretty intense thunderstorms on Friday afternoon, but Saturday was pretty okay. A little cool for April but a pretty good day. Saturday morning Chad was able to go and do the bike portion of a triathlon he'll be doing later this month. I know he was glad to ride the course before race day. :) I still can't believe he is physically able to do this stuff. It is a testimony that God does heal and restore life. Seriously, one day when Chad gives me permission, I'm going to post a picture of him about 15 years ago when we were first married. You will see what I'm talking about. Until then, know that when I say I believe God heals, I'm speaking from first hand experience.

Once he got back from his 15 mile ride, our nephew Colin was just waiting for another "bike lesson". Colin wanted to learn how to ride a real two-wheel bike. Mom and Dad keep a few of our old bikes in the basement for the grandkids, so Chad pulled one out and they got started. Bless his heart his legs were already tired, but he ran up and down the street with Colin for another hour or so.

I had to get out the camera to document it for my sister so here are a few photos of our little man learning to ride.


I think Chad was giving him a pep talk...








From the look on Chad's face, I think they were trying to take Aunt Steffie down!


Here are Chloe and Emma on Easter morning...in the outfits THEY picked out WITHOUT MY HELP.



As much as we loved Spring Break, we were very ready to get back into our school routine this morning. Since we played all weekend, this house is a mess! I'm off to try and catch up on laundry!

Just thinking this morning.

2Chron 20:12 - "We do not know what to do but our eyes are on our God."

One of my friends has this verse on her facebook status right now. She was just diagnosed with breast cancer. My heart is so heavy for her, but I want you to know that even now, she is honoring God with each breath. I so want to be like her.

I don't remember reading this verse before. Maybe I have and it just wasn't real to me. Today it is real. So many close to us and in our circle of friends are facing some serious life changing situations. This verse sums up how I feel when I pray for these families.

However, as a Christian I have the incredible gift of hope. The gift of peace, the gift of comfort...all from one person. Jesus. He can do immeasurably more than I can imagine.

Jesus who walked on water.

Jesus who calmed a sea.

Jesus who loved the unlovely.

Jesus who healed over and over again.

Jesus who put on my sin and died for me.

Jesus who didn't stay in a dark grave, but LIVES.

The One who took my nothing and made something.

He deserves so much more than I give Him and yet He still wants a relationship with me.

My Jesus.

I'm entering this Easter weekend asking God for some pretty big miracles. In fact, I am anticipating His strong hand to reach down and meet the physical and emotional needs of so many around us who are hurting right now. So many need their own Resurrection.

Hmmm, I wonder what would happen if I lived each day anticipating God the way I am anticipating Him right now?

I'm going to unplug for a few days and concentrate on my Jesus, the One and the Only.

See you Monday!

Powerful Words

I received the e-mail with the time, the place and the urgent need for prayer. A beautiful baby boy born over the weekend is in serious need for healing and his parents need strength, wisdom and peace. Since I could not get to the location in time, the girls and I grabbed our Bibles and began to read.

Emma started in Psalm 131, we prayed that God would quiet and still their hearts.

Chloe went to Psalm 139 and read and then she prayed that those Doctors would know just what to do and that the parents would have the strength to take the next step. She also thanked God for R.'s life and how it was already bringing glory to God.

Seriously, these girls absolutely poured their hearts out for this family they do not know, I am humbled that they are mine. Thank you God.

After a few minutes they went upstairs and I grabbed my scripture index cards. These index cards are precious to me...all verses that I'm memorizing this year, along with 1300 other siesta's. Let me testify that the Word....once it is in your heart, it just comes out. That is what happened tonight. I found myself praying these verses:

"Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in Him, for He shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between His shoulders." Deut. 33:12

"Behold the Lord's hand is not shortened that it can not save, or His ear dull that it can not hear." Isaiah 59:1

"What is impossible for man is POSSIBLE with God!"

My verse for the first two weeks of April is Jer. 32:27

"Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?"

No God. Nothing is too hard for you.

I ask you to pray for Baby R. tonight. NOTHING is too hard for our God. We have seen Him heal sweet Harper and so many other babies here in blogland...I ask you to pray for this sweet little one tonight.

The longer I have meditated and prayed these verses over this family...the more I sense Him. Seriously cold chills. There is power in the Word. Lifechanging, healing power. Would you pray that this family experiences it like never before?

Thanks.

Simple Pleasures 2

WARNING: Due to the severe throbbing going on in my head at this moment, this post may or may not be very interesting. I'm putting in pictures to try and make up for my lack of creativity this morning. A coherent post may come later in the weekend after my sinus cavities have returned to normal.

My simple pleasure over the last week was celebrating Emma's 8th Birthday. Her actual day was last Thursday. Chad took the afternoon off and we had lunch at Emma's favorite place and then saw "Race to Witch Mountain".

This picture of my girls is my simple pleasure. They think they are 25. :)



Late Thursday night my parents arrived. They haven't been here since November!

Friday evening after dinner we took mom and dad to their very first hockey game. Emma got her precious pretzel, or as she said "The pretzel of my dreams!"



Chloe and Emma with Grams and Daddy Mack.


I do believe Chloe gave Emma the "gift of the year". A snuggie.


She is in love. And LOOK! It came with a book light for FREE!!!

It was a great weekend and we had so much fun celebrating Emma with the family that was able to be here.

This weekend, we have no plans! I'm looking forward to staying in my pj's and drinking coffee at noon.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Are you Serious?

So I shared with you in my previous post that the speaker I was sitting under had us take out a piece of paper and ask God to show us who we needed to forgive.

I had my paper and asked God "the question" and oh boy. The names that came...some I had not thought about in YEARS. After a few minutes we were then told to rank those names from most severe hurt to least severe.

After that he had us move to the bottom of the page, write the name that we had ranked number 1 and then we were instructed to list every offense. After the offenses had been listed we were then to start saying "I forgive you for....." Getting specific and saying those things out loud moves it from the head to the heart.

Over the next few minutes that is what was going on this room. It was somewhat quiet, you could hear a few crying but mostly it was very still and quiet.

Until one lady asked a question. She was stuck and wasn't sure she could forgive herself. Our wise teacher knew that the reason she was giving wasn't the root of the problem.

We sat for what seemed like hours as this gentle teacher followed the leading of the Holy Spirit and walked her through the steps to forgive her mother, and herself.

I want you to know that we heard the walls coming down around her heart. We felt those chains coming off of her as she experienced the freedom that forgiving brings.

It was absolutely the most beautiful thing I've ever experienced.

As we left later that afternoon, I knew that my list was not complete. I knew that God was going to have me do more work. And we have. A lot of work.

For the last 8 years I have been desperate to know God more. I want it more than anything else. He has changed my tastes, my attitude, my desires, BUT...I am still in need of so much more.

I could not believe the amount of unforgiveness I was holding on to. I am ashamed of it. But oh the freedom that has come with letting so much of that junk go.

Was it easy? No way. Especially when some of it went back to high school!

Did it hurt? Yes. But the alternative of leaving that infected wound in my heart would have been worse.

Yesterday I began my post with this quote: "Purified hearts are worth the risk of a few harsh realities."

Over the last two weeks, I have faced some harsh realities about myself. I will not even pretend that I am anywhere near done with this...however.

I want you to know that the more I forgive, the more I hear Him speak. It is a precious thing that I want more of.

Right now, as I'm typing this I feel the nudge of the Holy Spirit to stop and go back to the list. So that is where I am headed. I know that I am going to do some hard work in the next few minutes but you know what?

I agree that a purified heart is worth the risk of a few harsh realities. If this is what it takes to have a purified, clean, uninfected heart...then let's do it.