Preparing a Place

I had a great conversation with my daughter over dinner this evening and I needed to write it down somewhere.

David had gone to help with the youth at church so it was just the girls for dinner. Mia sat eating, seemingly consentrating only on the mac and cheese in front of her when suddenly she said, "Mommy, God is making me a castle." I was a little surprised by her comment and simply asked, "Who told you that?" She replied, "Jesus".

I went on to tell her that the bible says that if we love Jesus and we follow him and trust him that God really is making a place for us in heaven that could be like a castle. I said that God was making one for Mommy and for Daddy and when she trusted Jesus and understood and believed that he died on the cross for her that God would make one for her too.

I realized later that she may actually be confusing God and Santa...she had asked Santa for a princess castle for Christmas, Santa makes toys--so Santa is making her a castle. But despite that, it provided a means for me to share the gospel with my two year old daughter and we'll work on clearning up the Santa/God confusion.

Contentment

This year my husband bought me a short devotional book that God has really been using to change my heart. Contentment: A Godly Woman's Adornment by Lydia Brownback has challenged me on a daily basis. This book has so much wisdom pack into 107 pages...I found myself many times wanting to highlight every word on the page, every sentence felt like something I never wanted to forget. I am currently half-way through it and wanted to share some of the wisdom God has poured upon me from this insightful book. (I will simply give the info to you in bullet points to avoid getting too wordy...I could go on forever about each point and how God is working and has worked in my life relating to each one, but I won't right now. I'll save it for another post)

• If we trust in God wherever we find ourselves, we will know contentment whether the season is easy or hard...He will lead us in, through and out of any situation
• If your circumstances feel frustrating it may be God's way of getting you to deal with sin...turn to God and examine your heart
• If we focus only on what we hope tomorrow will bring, we miss all the pleasure of today
• We may not be able to change out circumstances but we can change the way we think about them
• God is the only remedy for our unhappiness...anything else we cling to for comfort is only robbing us to blessing
• Real contentment comes when we willingly embrace the loss of our maximum benefits and let go of our entitlement to them
• Good things are not worth it if God is not the giver. If we let go and allow God to work in His time, we will be content with or without our hearts desire
• Lack facilitates closeness to God in a way that prosperity rarely does--the more we have, the more self-sufficient we deceive ourselves into thinking we are
• Our problem isn't that we need something we don't have, our problem is that we don't find God to be enough
• God comes in the place of our desires to give us something better...joy, peace, guidance, love, security and communion with Him
• We should enjoy the material things God gives us but hold them loosely
• Home cannot be our comfort and security because it is constantly shifting (especially when you are a pastor's family). Contentment comes when we discover that home is much more about where we are going (Heaven) that where we have come from. We have the contentment of home right now, wherever we are, because home is where God has us...home is Christ who unites us to God--this is the only home we will never have to leave
• God may choose to bless us with things we plead for or he may not...getting out of misery is guaranteed if only we will give our heart to God
• When we get the "if only" (if only I have more money, if only I were thinner, etc.) we want so badly, it fails to satisfy so we set our sight and energy on getting the next thing. Only God can ultimately satisfy. When we pour our desires into God and His purposes, we find deep satisfaction that nothing else can gives us.

20 Cute Things My Daughter Does

1. She stays in bed for at least 30 minutes before and after sleeping to fill her bed full of books and read

2. She says "sutu duty" instead of sleeping beauty and "blanklet" instead of blanket and "moofie" instead of movie

3. She thinks "I love you" and "I miss you" are the same thing

4. She loves to have her fingernails painted and to wear a tutu, a million necklaces and bows all the way around her head

5. She says that her brother's name means "God gave us a present"

6. When going to bed she looks at me with sad, puppy dog eyes and says, "Lay, Mommy, lay" and wants me to lay with her for a few minutes before she reads...and of course I find it impossible to say no

7. She finds a way to sing everything to the tune of "Twinkle, twinkle little star"

8. She has started saying, "Oh, wait a second" and "Five more minutes"

9. She sings very loudly at church with her eyes closed and her hands raised up to the sky...on many occasions she also dances

10. She makes up names for characters in her books...such as "Buki, Zoofa and Masa"

11. She always tries to find a way to make people feel better when they are sad or sick...like once I was sick in bed and she came in to see me. She didn't know what else to say so she said the happiest thing she could thing of, "Happy Birthday, Mommy!"

12. She LOVES babies...even the doll she found at Target that only had one eye. She would not put it down and rocked it and pretended to give it a bath and sang to it.

13. She talks about what Zane is going to do when he gets here..."Eat and POOP and sleep and POOP and cry and POOP"

14. Everything makes her super excited...suckers at the bank, hot dogs for lunch, wearing her panda shoes, going on a walk. And that she has started saying "Best day ever" or "Best book ever"...or best (anything) ever

15. She would look at pictures for hours...in picture albums, on the computer, on the camera, on someones phone

16. When listening to music in the car...it has to be turned up and can never, ever be turned off and sometimes everyone in the car is required to sing along

17. When going out on a windy day she immediately yells, "Oh no, my hair". What a girly girl! I don't know where she came from!

18. She is learning how to use her cuteness to get what she wants (thankfully, I'm learning not to give in everytime she is cute, or she would always have candy for breakfast). So, she asks for something once in a normal tone and then turns her head to the side, grins really big and changes the tone of her voice to small and cute and asks again.

19. Right now it is cute that she wants to act like a baby...she gets one of her baby doll bottles, a blanket and a pacifier and wants me to hold her while she whimpers and cries like a baby. I'm sure it will get a little old after Zane arrives.

20. I love that she is already a runner...when we go on walks, she jogs out in front of us with her arms pumping. She looks so cute and actually has really good form for a 2-year-old

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

I have found it difficult lately to memorize scripture and have made excuse after excuse for why I am not doing this much need discipline:



1. I have a two-year-old who not only demands my time when she is awake but leaves me a million chores to do while she is asleep...although I've seen young women with more children than I have find the time. Above is a picture of my little distraction.

2. Like many other people I know, it does not come naturally for me to memorize anything. At times I unintentionally sink into the philosophy of "why memorize anything that you can look up on your laptop or cell phone within seconds of needing to know it?"

3. I fill my mind with so many other things...although I haven't been so guilty lately of wasting time with TV and internet, I have rediscovered the library and historical fiction and have spent the hours of Mia's nap held captive by the curious combination of hard facts and an entertaining story.

But as I have found out, the benefits of memorizing scripture far outweigh the difficulties. The Lord has challenged my faith so much through the scripture He has placed on my heart in combination with the trials that I have had to go through. For example, I memorized Romans 8:18 "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us" and Romans 8:28 "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose" and Philippians 4:6-7 "Do not me anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" And soon after, our precious girl had to have spinal surgery. These verses, along with others sent to me by dear friends, became my strength. The Holy Spirit used the Word of God to calm my heart and build my faith in God.

The verse I am currently working on is 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things are are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." I look forward to seeing how the Lord will use this verse in the future as He has used so many others.


I pray that by the Lord's strength I will overcome all obstacles this week in order to memorize this verse...I will be intentional about waking up early, I will guard my heart against wrong, wordly philosophies that convince me that I don't need to have the scripture in my heart, and I will guard my mind against any other thoughts or activities that could keep me from God's word.

100 Things that make me happy

I've found myself complaining a lot lately. I grumble about people, circumstances, our house, the government, my cell phone, my clothes...you name it, I was finding some way to complain about it. For awhile I blamed it on pregnancy hormones...but even if that truly is the cause of my rantings, giving in to those effects can soon become a habit that is hard to break long after the hormones have settled down. So, in an attempt to rescue my discontent heart I decided to compile a list of 100 things that make me happy. It seems like a lot of things to come up with but I feel that I'm in need of some serious intervention. So, here it goes...



1. My relationship with Jesus Christ

2. David

3. Maleigha

4. Baby Dunham

5. Maleigha's health

6. Finding out I was pregnant after being told I was infertile...twice

7. My family (parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, nephews, etc.)

8. Laughing so hard that I cry

9. Catching up with old friends

10. Knowing that heaven awaits me

11. Meeting new friends

12. Guacamole

13. Understanding and applying the word of God

14. Watching Maleigha play

15. Finishing a book

16. Writing a poem

17. Finding free shoes...yes, that really did happen to me once

18. Everything about the fall (candy corn, leaves changing, wearing a sweater, waking up to the windows open, pumpkins, decorations, cool breezes, apple picking, hayrides, football games)

19. Decorating (or re-decorating) a room in our house

20. Date nights with my husband

21. Staying in a hotel with free breakfast

22. Making homemade bread and eating it with apple butter

23. Learning that Jennifer Knapp is coming back

24. My zebra print shoes

25. Shopping with my mom and sister

26. Eating outside

27. Reading to my daughter

28. Listening to my daughter "read"

29. Singing in the car

30. Hobby Lobby

31. Spending the night at my parents house

32. Sharing stories with my siblings from when we were growing up

33. Checking facebook and blogs

34. Making lists

35. Grocery shopping...I know it's a chore for some people but I look forward to it every week

36. Going on a walk

37. Riding my bike on the bike path in Athens...I miss that

38. Peanut Butter

39. Louisville, KY...I love that city

40. Hearing someone pray for me

41. Listening to Maleigha talk about Jesus

42. Winning a bid on ebay

43. Writing a story

44. Trying a new restaurant

45. The enthusiasm of a new Christian

46. Singing with my praise team

47. Watching Maleigha sing and dance on Sundays

48. When my husband comes home from work

49. Maple cream filled donuts

50. My favorite pink blanket

51. Finishing a sewing project

52. Running

53. Recalling the victories God has given me in my life

54. Pancakes and cartoons on a Saturday morning

55. Family gatherings

56. My Granny's noodles...and spaghetti sauce (which my mom has now perfected as well)

57. BBQ sauce...on pork, tacos, hamburgers, chicken, or baked potatoes

58. Sitting in the corner of our sectional sofa
59. Going to the fair...but it makes me sad it only happens once a year
60. Hearing my husband preach
61. Making a really cute outfit out of the clothes I already have
62. Getting a new magazine or catalog in the mail
63. Watching David and Mia play "critters"
64. Coloring with new a coloring book and crayons
65. Trying a new recipe
66. Having a whole afternoon to read and listen to music
67. Hearing news from our old church....3ABC
68. Going out for ice cream
69. Making s'mores over a real fire
70. Stopping at a gas station for snacks on a long trip
71. Looking through albums full of pictures
72. Hearing my favorite song on the radio
73. Listening to a new CD
74. Listening to an old favorite CD that brings back floods of memories
75. Coming home to a clean house
76. Fresh, clean laundry
77. Holiday traditions
78. The beach
79. Seeing other people happy
80. Tickling Maleigha
81. Finding out that Mia's surgery was a success
82. The grace of God
83. Thinking about my friends and family I will see again in heaven
84. Vacation
85. Hot chocolate and coffee cake
86. Ordering pizza and watching movies
87. Homegrown tomatoes
88. Coupons
89. Parades
90. Funny youtube videos
91. Chatting with friends while the husbands have the kids
92. Nap time
93. Visiting places with good memories
94. Finding a bible verse that really fits in my life
95. Reconciling with someone I feel I have wronged
96. Daydreams
97. Seeing pictures of my unborn baby
98. New clothes
99. Cookbooks
100. Sunsets....

and I could keep going. God is so good to me! Why should I ever complain?

Death

This morning I received the news that a young woman I went to school with had died. Though I don't know all the details and haven't had any contact with her over the years since we left school I do know that she left behind family and friends that cared about her very much. She grew up in Lucasville and went to the same school as me. There were people who worried about her, prayed for her and depended on her. She was the same age as me, she had children, parents, grandparents...so, if all these factors were the same, what brought her death before mine? How can I be so arrogant to live my life every day like I have a million more to waste?

Over the years I have seen death more times than I would ever want to in my lifetime. I've lost a cousin and a grandparent. Close friends have lost relatives as well. I've prayed for the dear lives of little children, only to have to stand by as their parents grieve over their deaths. I've heard of numerous people my age dying...one in particular of an undetected heart problem that took him suddenly. Though I act as though I could not possibly be next...there is no way for me to know that.

Though I cannot know when I will die....I can know without a doubt where I will go when I die. Because I have trusted Jesus Christ with my life and I believe in his death and resurrection I don't have to fear death. Though my time could come today or 60 years from now...I will always know where I will be when that moment comes. Since I have this confidence in my own life, what worries me most when I hear of tragic deaths is...what if that were my unsaved family member or what if that were my neighbor that I never took the time to talk to about Jesus? It is not so terrible for me to live my life as if I will never die as it is to ignore the fact that it could be the people around me who have never heard about Jesus.

So, when faced with death, I pray that you will 1. Reflect on your own life...do you know where you will go when you die? Do you live as if your death will never come? and 2. Reflect on the lives of your family, friends and neighbors...is there someone in your life who doesn't know Jesus? Speak to them about it before it is too late.

I Will Rise

There's a peace I've come to know

Though my heart and flesh may fail

There's an anchor for my soul I can say "It is well"

Jesus has overcome And the grave is overwhelmed

The victory is won He is risen from the dead




[Chorus:] And I will rise when He calls my name

No more sorrow, no more pain

I will rise on eagles' wings

Before my God fall on my knees

And rise I will rise




There's a day that's drawing near

When this darkness breaks to light

And the shadows disappear

And my faith shall be my eyes

Jesus has overcome

And the grave is overwhelmed

The victory is won He is risen from the dead



[Chorus]



And I hear the voice of many angels sing, "Worthy is the Lamb"

And I hear the cry of every longing heart, "Worthy is the Lamb"[x2]



[Chorus]



I heard this song the other day on the way home from Cincinnati after a long day of tests for Mia. We spent hours at the hospital watching kids being pushed in wheelchairs, wearing masks, hearing aids and leg braces, and pulling IV polls along with them...and these were just the ones that were there for check-ups or would be leaving the hospital very soon. From our experience with Mia's surgery in May, I knew there were hundreds more who were not leaving the hospital that day because they were under much more urgent care and there were even some who would never leave that hospital in this life. My heart aches every time we have to make another visit to Cincinnati Children's Hospital and not just because I hate to see my little girl in pain but because I see all these precious little children walking around and think of the ones that are upstairs in their hospital rooms struggling with whatever is ailing them and I feel there is absolutely nothing I can do.

But as I drove home on Wednesday, listening to Chris Tomlin sing, "...no more sorrow, no more pain..." I began to realize that there truly is coming a day when there will be no more wheelchairs, or medical masks, or hearing aids, or leg braces, or IVs, or heart defects, or spinal surgeries and absolutely no death because Jesus has truly overcome and the grave is completely overwhelmed. The victory has already been won because he rose from the dead. And though heart and flesh may fail here on earth we know that one day those who know Jesus will leave this failing world and join him in heaven. And there is certainly something I can do about these sick children and all the people who are struggling in this life...spread the good news that heaven awaits them if they turn to Jesus and trust in his death and resurrection. This life is hard, but one day those of us who know Jesus will rise to be with him and leave the hardship of this life forever.