LIfe is Too Short Sometimes

In the midst of moving I received a phone call from my boss. One of the ladies I work with - her daughter was murdered this morning. She was 22 - the same age as one of our daughters.

It was violent. She leaves behind a three year old.

How do you make sense of something so tragic? How do you reach out to someone who is hurting so deeply? Why?

Almost Done with Moving

The past two days have been draining physically. I am not used to being on my feet ten hours a day (or going up and down stair so much!!). I have a new appreciation for the word weary.

We ended up hiring a couple of laborers to help on Thursday - they were great, it was money well spent. A couple of the guys from Student Ministries also helped - Jason and Marc.

We still have a couple of loads of miscellaneous stuff.

Chelsea also has been a dream. She is staying with us helping with Zeke who we have while Tasha is at the Women's Retreat. She has pitched in and helped a lot. She is a beautiful young lady of God.

We are truly blessed to have so many people in our lives who love us.

Ready, Set, Move

The big day is almost here. Part of me is excited to move to this new season of our lives. Part of me is sad to leave where we were. Part of me is really dreading the actual move and unpacking. Most of all I am trying to rest in God - knowing that He is leading us.

Already He is opening doors and showing Himself (again) to be faithful to where He called us to be. It will be fun to see how our lives change and how we can influence the lives around us.

Weary

It has been a BUSY weekend. I am weary to the bone. The painting is done except for the spare bedroom which is going to wait. We still have to put all the paint stuff away - but there is no where to put it!!

The books are in all in the shelves, in order. Now they are off the floor the loft looks bigger.

I will be so happy a week from now - when everything is moved and we are settling in.

I am so thankful for a God who loves me so much that He will carry me when I am so tired.

Creation

We are almost finished painting - just the boys bedsrooms and the bathroom upstairs. Thank you Jesus!!

While this has been a lot of fun and hard work it has also been a learning experience. Though I seldom watch television - HGTV is my favorite. So well I have been stepping out and trying new stuff (for me) it doesn't look as good as it does on tv.

It has also been cool to be creative - then I started thinking about how much fun God must have had when creating the world. Think about it - a clean slate, no preconceptions. Then He made us.

My scripture for today was out of the 139th Psalm, verse 14 - "Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous - how well I know it."

So, perhaps some of my creativity comes from the Master Creator - He does everything marvelously!!

A milestone

Well, today marks a milestone. David earned his driver's license. He is very proud of himself. And in reality, he is a very good driver.

This will make our lives a tad bit easier as he can now drive himself to work.

Our next milestones will be as the children drop off our auto insurance policy - kind of looking forward to that.

My God shall supply all my needs. The finances to pay for another driver. The peace that David will be safe. The knowledge God is in control!!

Frustration

It was a frustrating day. People asking questions, then not listening to the answers. Others asking questions they already know the answers to. Then others who don't ask the questions, but should.

Normally I don't think of other people as stupid, in fact I don't even like the word. But, sometimes I have difficulties figuring out what to love in someone. Knowing they were created by God, where is the good? And take it a step further, I am supposed to love these people who are raising my blood pressure!

Deep breath. My SOAP today was Psalm 136:1 - Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forver.

His love endures for me, even when I am frustrated and not quite getting it - I must give thanks to the Lord. For He is so very good.

Planning

It all comes down to planning. Tonight I put together a schedule to get us moved in a timely and orderly fashion. My only question is - who will be the first one to mess it up??

The garage sale was successful - got rid of most of what we wanted to and made some money which will pay to have the jacuzzi moved.

Pretty much all of the downstairs is painted. By Sunday the rest should be done. Looks nice.

Just need to pack boxes, move boxes, then unpack boxes.

Most importantly - need to keep my focus. We are planning the Elevator and Wild Side groups for fall - and they will rock. We are hoping to go to eight groups for both High School and Junior High. So the painting and packing are good times to be praying for all these leaders.

Our leaders are taking it up to the next level - I am so proud of them. It is such an honor and privilege to work with Darius and Nicole and Jeremiah and Amber. They are amazing pastors!!

Race Day

Here they are - the two racers and their cheer leader.

David and Jay both had new bikes for this race - they both finished which is good. All the other races finished before them - but, hey, it was their third race.

They have mentioned spending more time riding and less time racing. Sounds good to me - whatever keeps them off the streets.






Of course Brian has to be in on the fun - though sitting outside when it is 110 may not be everyone's idea of fun. The things we do to support our children!

There are times I think he wants to be out there - riding in circles along with Jay and David.....













Even Grandma joins in. Now, how many Grandmas do you know who would go watch races in the heat? She has to be the absolute coolest Grandma around!!

We are truly blessed to have her!!

Garage Sale

I am currently questioning my sanity. Why on earth did we decide to have a garage sale? We are in the middle of moving, painting the new house, dealing with getting Kara a new car after she totalled the Kia, besides the fact there are two teenage boys in my life who think life revolves around racing dirt bikes!

Please Lord, help this be a successful garage sale and bring the people who want our stuff.

Home Teams

I love our Home Team. It was so much fun to get together last night for pizza and swimming. These people love me even on my ugly days, they encouarge me when things are tough (as they are now!), they stand by us, they are always there.

I can't imagine what people do who don't have Home Teams (or churches for that matter). Where does your hope come from? The Psalmist says "Our hope comes from the Lord, maker of Heaven and Earth!"

So if He created Heaven and Earth, I think He can handle our challenges and He gives us Home Teams to help us through until we get to Heaven. Perhaps Home Teams are a glimpse of Heaven.

SOAPs

I am really liking this SOAP stuff. The scripture I chose today was Psalm 127:1a - "Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builder is wasted."

How true (duh!). How much time do I waste chasing after what I think God might want rather than seeking His will and working where He wants me....

It is cool to think God wants to build in me. He loves me so much, the Creator of the Universe, that He wants to be part of my life. So instead of wasting time, I am going to invest more time in getting to know my Creator.

Incredible David

I love all of my children. Sometimes one of them just touches your heart.

Over the past few days as we have started moving I have been a tad grumpy, my knees are REALLY hurting and the stuff in my house in multiplying.

After dinner I went out to the garage to sort through stuff. Without being asked, David came out and just pitched in. He lifted boxes, he packed boxes and moved stuff around.

Then he took me to Starbucks for a iced green tea - he paid.

God is going to do great and mighty things with this young man. I am proud of him and love him more than he will ever know.

Busy Weekend

Friday when I left my office I thought it would be a relatively quiet weekend. Boy was I wrong!

Yesterday we did four loads to the new house, realized all of our furniture won't fit so guess we'll have a garage sale next weekend. Today while unpacking boxes of books - have to reuse those boxes, decided we need to paint and well, let's do it before we move in!!

Now we're looking at paint colors. I actually enjoy painting so this will be fun. Brian, Jay and David will handle the garage sale Friday, I will help on Saturday unless everything sells on Friday!!

Also on Saturday, Jay traded his 85 dirt bike for a 250 - all I know is it is louder. Apparently it goes faster too. Just what we need, Jay going faster....

Well David was going to do a deal with another guy, but the whole thing gave me an uneasy feeling - and I have learned to listen to those gut reactions. David is pretty disappointed, but God has a better bike for him.

So now I sit here looking at all this stuff I really need to pack up and all I want to do is take a nap!! But, if I take a nap, then I probably won't sleep as well tonight.

I just pray God pulls us through the next few weeks. Way a lot to do. I just need to remember to keep my time with Him sacred and everything else will fall into place.

My Head is Spinning

The last two days have been a whirlwind.

We notified Countrywide we were putting our home up for short sale. They were actually somewhat decent. Hopefully they will be kind when the offers come. We had to sign a ton of papers.

Tonight we had dinner with our new landlords - Larry and Patti. They are incredible Christian people. Again, we signed a bunch of papers.

Even though there is so much to do, I feel at peace. God is leading us. We will be closer to our church family. I am concerned about gas prices, don't understand how they can go up so quickly.

I will be thankful when Brian has completed his recertification. Not only will there be a substantial increase in pay, but he will be right in the center of where God wants him.

It is so cool to know that even during this chaos - God is in control. He reigns on His throne. He has the victory.

Anticipation

God is SO amazing! I am working on the Elevator and Wild Side groups for Student Ministries for the 2008-2009 school year. Last year we had five of each. This year, looks like we are moving to eight of each. Go God.

I love how God has me serving - loving on our volunteers. And He is bringing us so many new ones. I really try to scare them off, tell them they have to be there EVERY week, we want them to lead one of the Elevator or Wired groups, some I have even told about my boys....

But, these people love Jesus. God is going to rock the socks off our students this year through our leaders. I believe we are at the edge of an explosion. Our young people have the potential to truly change the world. The anticipation is almost too much to stand.

God keeps reminding me - pray, pray, pray. Where God is working, the attacks will be coming.

The battle belongs to the Lord - and He already won!!

This is NOT my Home

So today, I finally figured it out. This is not my home. No wonder I feel out of place in the world. All the stuff going on around me - most of it is of the world. There is so much pain and suffering, people looking out for only themselves.

While I understand why I am here (sometimes!) - the fact I will have eternity in Heaven with Jesus should give me the courage to keep going, to keep reaching out to those around me, to love a very unlovely world.

My prayer will be changing - Lord, help me show a little bit of Heaven to those around me who don't know you yet. Let them see Jesus in my actions, hear Him in my words, feel Him in the love I show.

So, it is good to be uncomfortable here on earth.

Hurting Teens

Came home from work a tad bit early, headache. Ate my dinner and sat down to check my email. The doorbell rang. Odd, no cars in the driveway. I went to the door and opened it. It was Crystal from down the street.

She is a great kid. A senior, straight A's, works hard. Her Dad and brother drowned in an accident about five years ago. She has had to deal with some pretty tough stuff.

She was sobbing - My Mom kicked me out. I pulled her in the house, hugged her, held her and let her cry. Her story came out. She is scared. Doesn't know what she did to make her mom so angry.

I told her she was welcome to stay with us. She wanted to get further away. So she called another friend, the parents came over to get her. We chatted for a while. Everyone wants to help - but we are all concerned about what Crystal's mom might do to us.

It makes me sad that in our wanting to reach out and love on someone who is alone and hurting, we have to be scared about what may happen to us. What kind of world is this that we can't help without having a fear of being prosecuted?

We'll be there for Crystal and any other young people God brings our way. For now, all I can do is pray.

I love Palm Valley Church

God has blessed me with a wonderful church. Not only do I have an incredible Home Team, an amazing place to serve - Student Ministries, uplifting worship, sound Biblical teaching - I get to share life with people who love Jesus!!

Sometimes just watching the faces brings such joy. Singing together, praising Jesus - Heaven is going to be out of this world.

I am so thankful for the freedom we have here in America to worship freely, without fear of persecution. Father - touch my brothers and sisters in the persecuted world, grant them peace and courage to do what I am pretty sure I couldn't.

God is so amazing!!