Today is my anniversary. I can't believe the speed at which 14 years have flown by. I remember being 22 and thinking that I was destined to be an "old maid"! Sure funny to think about now especially since Tanner is almost 20! The Lord was so precious to me and really began the courtship for me in my heart before I even met Brian. The Lord was sweet to give me little gifts along the way to remind me that if I would obey Him, He would give me the desires of my heart. I even somehow knew through His mercy that my husband would have a son. Tanner was 5 when Brian and I met and I fell in love with both of them. Since that time, the Lord gave us Jake (12) and Madi (10) and tons of laughter and memories.
I thought it might be fun to share a few things that I love about my man.
10) He is hilarious and loves to make me laugh.
9) He throws his socks on the ground...right next to the hamper. :)
8) He has loved and accepted me, even with all my ugly and heavy baggage.
7) He is an outdoors man. He loves to hunt and fish. He feels most alive in brisk, early mountain mornings.
6) I can trust him completely.
5) He is always on my side.
4) He works hard and is the best provider for our family.
3) He prays for me and blesses me in the ministry the Lord has called me to.
2) He is the best dad in the world. I love to watch him love my kids.
1) He is my best friend and he "gets" me.
I pray that the Lord will give you the desires of your heart today. His plans are always better than ours!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
Moments...
Moments are so precious to me.
That statement may not have been quite so true for me even May 1st of this year. When you take inventory of your past, do you notice times in which your perspective shifts completely? Do you notice seasons when it seems that every area of your life changes?
The year of 2011 will forever mark a season of change in my life. Beginning in January of this year, we began the biggest project to date for us at CareNet. We completed the creation of a Bible study curriculum for girls ages 8-12 years called Chosen. The curriculum consists of 26 weeks of study. We created DVDs, the curriculum and journals. It was an incredible undertaking and God showed Himself so faithful. I marveled at the way He brought in many different people with many different talents to contribute to the project. The whole experience was a lesson to me in the full body of Christ, the strength of the Lord and the favor of His anointing. We had the time of our lives.
Due to the project, the Lord had called me to a fast. I fasted much of the first 6 months of the year. Also, the Lord gave me two passages for the year...Psalm 61 and Psalm 116. I had spent much time in prayer seeking and praising the Father. I assumed that my focus and precious times with the Father were related to the Chosen project. Little did I know what the rest of this year would hold.
One January evening, our 19 year old son came home from college with life changing news. As we sat in our dimly lit den on a cold winter evening, he told us that his sweet girlfriend was pregnant. We would become GiGi and Pop to a precious baby in August. I have served in the pregnancy center ministry for 15 years and purity and honoring the Lord with all that we are, including with our bodies, has been a huge part of our family's core beliefs. This was difficult news to take in, but serving in the pro-life movement, we knew that the baby would be such a blessing. We began to deal with the situation and our emotions surrounding it. Psalm 61:2 became life to me, "...lead me to the rock that is higher than I" And boy were we seeking that Rock!
Summer soon arrived and we were in the big middle of filming Chosen DVDs. Kids were out of school and enjoying friends and down time. The summer of 2011 would be my sister and brother-in-law's 10th anniversary. Brian and I were set to go on a cruise with them to celebrate. We spent much time in preparation and there was much excitement in the air! I looked so forward to a relaxing trip after the big project and just before our sweet grand baby would arrive. We were ready with school clothes and supplies for Jake and Madi. The house was clean and all systems were a go. All that remained was the fun stuff! The day before we would leave on the cruise my sister, her girls, Madi and I had pedicures! We spent the afternoon packing for the trip and getting the kids all packed to spend the week with my parents, Granddad and Grandmom. That night, I had a ball with Madi speaking at a slumber party for moms and daughters. WOW...a full summer preparing for the upcoming week right up until we finally laid down in bed anxious for all that the next days would hold.
Just as we snuggled in to bed, I received a phone call from my dad. "Something is wrong with your mom and we are on the way to the hospital in an ambulance," I heard my sweet dad say holding back fear. My sister and I went to the hospital. My mom had just experienced a heart attack and a massive stroke. As the days unfolded, it became clear that mom would not survive. We would spend the week in hospice surrounded by our family and literally a multitude of friends.
My mom's stroke happened on a Friday night. On Monday, we went to hospice for the remainder of her sweet days on planet Earth. It was an amazing, grace-filled, sad, beautiful, upsetting few days. We were with my mom the entire time including all 6 grandchildren; playing, laughing and loving her. She was never coherent but I am certain she could hear all of the words spoken to her and sense the love and peace in her room.
On Thursday of that week, Tanner called and Whitney was ready to have the baby. I sat by my mama's bed with my phone on speaker, all our family there, and we listened together as my sweet grandson, Bracen was born. Lots of tears shed that day. Tears of joy. Tears of sadness. Tears of beginnings. Tears of loss. Tears of new life. Tears over the last moments of one of the most precious people that will ever grace our lives.
On Sunday afternoon, at 4:00 pm, the very time that our plane would have landed returning from our cruise...instead of our returning home from a trip...my mom found her way Home for eternity.
Now on October 21...I can say that I have new perspective. I understand in a new way Matthew 6:34, "Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." I am learning that I can handle today and all that today holds. Like manna, I can come to the Father and receive enough of His new mercies for today and for today only. I will have enough to finish off the last of it as I drift off to sleep each evening. But every morning I must again gather my share of all that He is to be my provision for that day. I have also learned that things don't always happen the way I hope and bad things happen to all of us. But He is enough and He will never leave us. He understands our brokenness and is patient through our season of mourning.
Now I calculate my moments... I understand in a new way that they are fleeting. I notice the sparkle in Madi's eye when she gets tickled at her cousins. I take time to linger as Jake tells me about his day before bed. I look forward to sitting in bed each night and talking over the silly details of the day with my wonderful man. I treasure all night rocks with the new man in my life, little Bracen. I laugh as my sweet Tanner and Whitney share texts of daily funnies that they experience. I enjoy a glass of tea with my sister and cups of coffee and conversation with my friends.
The moments that are most precious to me these days are early morning moments spent with my Father. Moments when I have opportunity to thank Him for His kindness. His kindness that insured that we had not left on this trip when everything changed. His kindness that prepared us for a particular week on the calendar...one that in January was precious to us in preparation and that is now precious in our memory for an unexpected reason. Moments were I can tell Him that I am broken and sad and He is able to speak tenderly to me. Moments that I tell Him that I know I can trust Him with all my moments to come.
Moments are so precious to me. I pray that they are precious to you.
That statement may not have been quite so true for me even May 1st of this year. When you take inventory of your past, do you notice times in which your perspective shifts completely? Do you notice seasons when it seems that every area of your life changes?
The year of 2011 will forever mark a season of change in my life. Beginning in January of this year, we began the biggest project to date for us at CareNet. We completed the creation of a Bible study curriculum for girls ages 8-12 years called Chosen. The curriculum consists of 26 weeks of study. We created DVDs, the curriculum and journals. It was an incredible undertaking and God showed Himself so faithful. I marveled at the way He brought in many different people with many different talents to contribute to the project. The whole experience was a lesson to me in the full body of Christ, the strength of the Lord and the favor of His anointing. We had the time of our lives.
Due to the project, the Lord had called me to a fast. I fasted much of the first 6 months of the year. Also, the Lord gave me two passages for the year...Psalm 61 and Psalm 116. I had spent much time in prayer seeking and praising the Father. I assumed that my focus and precious times with the Father were related to the Chosen project. Little did I know what the rest of this year would hold.
One January evening, our 19 year old son came home from college with life changing news. As we sat in our dimly lit den on a cold winter evening, he told us that his sweet girlfriend was pregnant. We would become GiGi and Pop to a precious baby in August. I have served in the pregnancy center ministry for 15 years and purity and honoring the Lord with all that we are, including with our bodies, has been a huge part of our family's core beliefs. This was difficult news to take in, but serving in the pro-life movement, we knew that the baby would be such a blessing. We began to deal with the situation and our emotions surrounding it. Psalm 61:2 became life to me, "...lead me to the rock that is higher than I" And boy were we seeking that Rock!
Summer soon arrived and we were in the big middle of filming Chosen DVDs. Kids were out of school and enjoying friends and down time. The summer of 2011 would be my sister and brother-in-law's 10th anniversary. Brian and I were set to go on a cruise with them to celebrate. We spent much time in preparation and there was much excitement in the air! I looked so forward to a relaxing trip after the big project and just before our sweet grand baby would arrive. We were ready with school clothes and supplies for Jake and Madi. The house was clean and all systems were a go. All that remained was the fun stuff! The day before we would leave on the cruise my sister, her girls, Madi and I had pedicures! We spent the afternoon packing for the trip and getting the kids all packed to spend the week with my parents, Granddad and Grandmom. That night, I had a ball with Madi speaking at a slumber party for moms and daughters. WOW...a full summer preparing for the upcoming week right up until we finally laid down in bed anxious for all that the next days would hold.
Just as we snuggled in to bed, I received a phone call from my dad. "Something is wrong with your mom and we are on the way to the hospital in an ambulance," I heard my sweet dad say holding back fear. My sister and I went to the hospital. My mom had just experienced a heart attack and a massive stroke. As the days unfolded, it became clear that mom would not survive. We would spend the week in hospice surrounded by our family and literally a multitude of friends.
My mom's stroke happened on a Friday night. On Monday, we went to hospice for the remainder of her sweet days on planet Earth. It was an amazing, grace-filled, sad, beautiful, upsetting few days. We were with my mom the entire time including all 6 grandchildren; playing, laughing and loving her. She was never coherent but I am certain she could hear all of the words spoken to her and sense the love and peace in her room.
On Thursday of that week, Tanner called and Whitney was ready to have the baby. I sat by my mama's bed with my phone on speaker, all our family there, and we listened together as my sweet grandson, Bracen was born. Lots of tears shed that day. Tears of joy. Tears of sadness. Tears of beginnings. Tears of loss. Tears of new life. Tears over the last moments of one of the most precious people that will ever grace our lives.
On Sunday afternoon, at 4:00 pm, the very time that our plane would have landed returning from our cruise...instead of our returning home from a trip...my mom found her way Home for eternity.
Now on October 21...I can say that I have new perspective. I understand in a new way Matthew 6:34, "Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." I am learning that I can handle today and all that today holds. Like manna, I can come to the Father and receive enough of His new mercies for today and for today only. I will have enough to finish off the last of it as I drift off to sleep each evening. But every morning I must again gather my share of all that He is to be my provision for that day. I have also learned that things don't always happen the way I hope and bad things happen to all of us. But He is enough and He will never leave us. He understands our brokenness and is patient through our season of mourning.
Now I calculate my moments... I understand in a new way that they are fleeting. I notice the sparkle in Madi's eye when she gets tickled at her cousins. I take time to linger as Jake tells me about his day before bed. I look forward to sitting in bed each night and talking over the silly details of the day with my wonderful man. I treasure all night rocks with the new man in my life, little Bracen. I laugh as my sweet Tanner and Whitney share texts of daily funnies that they experience. I enjoy a glass of tea with my sister and cups of coffee and conversation with my friends.
The moments that are most precious to me these days are early morning moments spent with my Father. Moments when I have opportunity to thank Him for His kindness. His kindness that insured that we had not left on this trip when everything changed. His kindness that prepared us for a particular week on the calendar...one that in January was precious to us in preparation and that is now precious in our memory for an unexpected reason. Moments were I can tell Him that I am broken and sad and He is able to speak tenderly to me. Moments that I tell Him that I know I can trust Him with all my moments to come.
Moments are so precious to me. I pray that they are precious to you.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Live!
Recently my family and I visited the Wiminouch Wilderness. We could see Pole Mountain behind us and the head waters of the Rio Grande before us. I met a precious woman. She was in her 70s and she was staying in the same place we stayed. She had visited the wilderness since 1983 on an annual basis with her husband. As we looked around she began to point out mountain peaks that we should climb, all of them over 13,000 feet. She shared with us that she had climbed the tallest one 10 times and her husband had been proud to say he had done it 13 times and the last time he climbed it, he was in his early 70s! The more she talked, I knew that her husband was now gone. She spoke of him with at sparkle in her eye and a hint of sadness in her voice. She did finally tell us that he had passed away 3 years ago, but she continues to come here each year. She had summitted that peak one more time in his honor, to place a memorial stone on the summit engraved with the words, “he communioned here with God.” And as we parted ways, she was on her way to hike down to the head waters at dusk. As we walked on our way, I was so impressed with her zeal for life, that they had lived and they had no regrets.
May we all pray that we would live…I mean really live and that we would have no regrets. Our God is a God of adventure and our time with Him is a thrill. I am praying that as we enter our 70s, we will have squeezed every ounce out of this life as an offering to our God…and have done it with a smile on our faces!
May we all pray that we would live…I mean really live and that we would have no regrets. Our God is a God of adventure and our time with Him is a thrill. I am praying that as we enter our 70s, we will have squeezed every ounce out of this life as an offering to our God…and have done it with a smile on our faces!
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