Happy Easter - The Hunt

Sunday at church we were surprised to find out during the sermon that the pastor was featuring C3 Missions. He showed the video that Isabelle was a part of. If you want to see it, check out her blog http://artsfororphans.blogspot.com We were so blessed to see the video & we were so encouraged as we are preparing to take Isabelle on June 4th to see the home she raised money to build. Check out her website for more details & updates.

After church we had an Easter Egg hunt - even though the weather turned cold & wet! The kids still had fun!

Happy Easter - Part 2

"Aunt Kelly sure takes a long time to get me on her blog!"
(don't you just love Olivia's eyes - she makes me laugh with her eye expressions)

Well, much has happened in my life since Easter . . so yes it has taken me 3 weeks to update with pictures & stories. (I'll have a few posts here) The weekend after Easter we went to K.C. to visit my family. The weather was gorgeous & we enjoyed a fun filled time together.

Isabelle loves to help Olivia learn new things . . . here she is trying to get her to blow the bubbles. Olivia loves to watch Isabelle do cartwheels . . . it is really cute to watch them!

I had some house stuff to take care of so my mom & sister took the kids to Deanna Rose - boy did they have a blast there. It is such a great place for kids.

My girl loves her chickens - these are baby chicks . . . she was thrilled!

HAPPY EASTER!!

We celebrated Easter with Kevin's family on Saturday evening - the weather was gorgeous & we knew Sunday held rain, rain, & more rain. Kevin's mom made a yummy turkey dinner & then Isabelle informed us that she was going to read a book called "Jesus Lives" before we could do the Easter Egg hunt. Kevin & I were so proud of her - she wanted in her heart to put Jesus first! Kevin hid bunches of eggs in their backyard & the kids went crazy trying to find them. Isabelle ran so fast she ran out of her shoe. I think they enjoyed the "hunt" more than they did the goodies inside - they were very FAST & competitive!! These are pictures I took this morning before we went to church . . . .

April Showers . . . Happy Easter!

Well it seems to be always cloudy - as John Michael says from filling out his weather graph for school. The cloudy days are definitely winning on his graph. It isn't always raining, but we sure have seen our fair share of the clouds! But as they say "April Showers, Bring May Flowers" - we are definitely looking forward to the brighter days ahead.

In the midst of what seems like some ominous clouds in our personal lives, we have continually felt the Grace of God showered down upon us. There are moments where we look back over the last 4 weeks & think, "how have we gotten through it?" It is only by God's grace. Funny how God knows just what you need, right? Well for the last week or so through my Bible study, church sermons, things I've heard on the radio & quotes from a book I'm reading, GRACE is everywhere. I know God is just reminding me that His grace is sufficient for ALL I need. I know He is the one with the Grace to get us through anything.

Today as I ponder Good Friday - the day grace was made available to us - I find myself asking - "Do I cheapen His grace?" What God did for me through the sacrifice of His son was give me life? I have LIFE - abundantly now & for eternity . . . do I live each day that way??? As a lifelong Christian, it is so easy to get in a groove, to go with the flow, to be in a rut. I don't want to live that way, because living that way cheapens what God has done for me. I find that when I am not intentionally living my Christian life - I somehow find myself doing things the way of the world. (I have to be honest, watching the news & keeping up with the latest "drama" isn't anywhere near my priority list, but I know enough to know that the way of the world is FAR from God.) I need God's grace to do ANYTHING that pleases Him. God's grace is the dynamic quality of His life within me that gives me both the desire and the poser to obey Him. (p. 91 Seeking Him Study Guide) I want to swim upstream - I want to be different - I have to be different because doing things as we see in the culture around us does not reflect God! I need His grace to help me do the right things & to forgive me when I mess up (which is a daily thing!)

Grace is for my sin, but it's also for my suffering. Throughout the last 2 weeks, my Bible Study has reminded me that God's grace is available & sufficient for my need - He will provide a way for me to endure. (p. 93 Seeking Him) It doesn't say that He'll take it all away, but He will help me endure . . . I LOVE that promise!! In the endurance He's stretching my faith - it's like exercise . . . It hurts when your muscles are sore, but you know you are building new muscle & getting rid of the fat & bad stuff in your body. The same is true of suffering. Elisabeth Elliot has said, "Suffering is having what you don't want or wanting what you don't have." - it can range in scope & severity from "traffic jams to taxes to tumors." (p. 93 Seeking Him) As I suffer, God is stretching my faith muscle & growing my faith - YES it hurts, but it is for my good. Eventually the muscle will adapt & become stronger so I can endure whatever comes my way. God is so good in that He doesn't want to leave us where we are, but to take us further in our relationship with Him.

This Easter - will you, with me, examine your attitude toward Jesus & His grace? If you haven't received His grace in salvation - will you? If you have, will you start today or simply renew your efforts of being intentional about your relationship with the Lord - it takes work, it takes study, it takes prayer - the great thing is that He's always available & so excited when we engage with Him. Dig deep & allow God to transform you. If you are suffering, know that His Grace is greater than all you need! He loves you!

Happy Easter! The Lord is Risen Indeed! His Death Bring us Life!!

God's Presence

I have been pondering what to write & what to share about the recent weeks of our family. I've shared in previous posts about the good things - birthdays & vacations, but I haven't shared much about the hard days we had to walk through as we were notified about the break-in & destruction of our home. I haven't wanted to really talk about it much - it was sad, depressing, violating, etc. etc. . . . But as I read this morning, I felt God clearly speaking something in stark contrast to those dark words. I was reading a devotional book called ON THE HIGHROAD OF SURRENDER by Frances J. Roberts (He has another book called COME AWAY MY BELOVED) I highly recommend both of these books - they are written as if God is speaking directly to you with words taken directly from scripture. Both books are so deep, rich, encouraging & challenging - go get one!!
Here's what I read: P. 41 entitled "Delight in Me" Psalm 37:4-5

Bear patiently the trials of each day. They would seem insignificant if you were more deeply conscious of my presence. When you are near Me, you have peace & joy & rest of soul: Prayer is natural and praise a delight. When your eyes are upon Me, you are never in consternation about circumstances. Loving Me with fervor gives grace to forgive & love others.

Delight yourself in Me. I will turn your sighs to shouts and your defeats to victories.

As I sat reflecting on these words, I was overwhelmed with God's presence. I thought about how from the moment we found out what had occured - God was with me. He was with me as I told Kevin as he walked in the door from work. He was with Kevin as he called his employees to tell them he needed to go & they said - don't think about work, we have it all covered - Kevin was overwhelmed with emotion & God's provision in that. God's presence was with us as we drove 2 hours to get home & He helped us think clearly to make decisions. He was with our children as they stayed with Kevin's parents - He protected them from what they could have seen & experienced. He was with us as we met with police & toured the devastation of our home - the peace & presence of God that we felt, despite the pain, cannot we explained in words. God's presence was everywhere in our home from top to bottom for 48 hours as more than 20 friends & family came in & out of our home to help pack & clean. We saw His presence manifested in a very real way through the hands & feet of these faithful servants. God's presence has been with us each & everyday since as we work to apply what the words above so eloquently state - to keep our eyes & attention focused on Him so that we have peace, joy & rest for our souls. God's presence has allowed us to very quickly learn not to "sweat the small stuff."; to fully trust & rely on Him; & to give us grace to forgive & love those who turned our lives upside down. As we prepared to sleep one night, Kevin said to me, "we have to forgive those who did this." I knew he was right, but I didn't want to - I was angry & mad, hurt & fearful. But as I have worked through my emotions - I know he is right. For me to hold on to any hurt or anger only puts me in a trap. I'm the one who is stuck - I have to forgive. Only God's presence can give us the grace to forgive. If you've been in our home, you know that our faith is not hidden inside of us. Our God was given prominent places in & around our home through scripture - we prayed that He would be very present in our home. We have to believe that He was present even as our home was being destroyed - amazingly, nothing in our home that reflected our faith or scripture was destroyed - not even touched! It was a miracle. We have to believe that those who invaded our home in some way saw, felt, tasted the presence of God & maybe one day will know Him as their personal Lord & Savior. Below you will find a picture, that now we can find amusing. It is a reflection of the destruction - it was intense. However, as I said there were scripture quotes, crosses, pictures, etc. reflecting our deep faith that weren't even knocked crooked - ONLY by God's grace. For His presence we are grateful!

This is one of my heavy duty skillets through our 4'x5'mirror & lodged in the wall. There was glass shattered everywhere.

So as we dwell more deeply in the presence of the Lord, the circumstances of a few weeks ago do seem to take their rightful place & we are filled with joy, peace, & rest. As we are learning, will you learn with us? Where do you need to dwell more deeply in the presence of the Lord to view your circumstances with an eternal perspective - so that you will experience His joy, peace & rest? When we are fixed on Him - we have great victories even in the midst of trials! Praise be to God!

A Much Needed Vacation . . .

This past weekend, we took the kids to Silver Dollar City for a much needed break for everyone. 2 weeks ago our home was robbed & vandalized. It has been a physically, mentally, & emotionally exhausting 2 weeks. We had planned this trip as part of John Michael's 5 birthday celebration - but thought we were going to cancel due to all the events leading up to it. We decided that the best thing for all of us would be to get away, laugh, sleep, play, & just be together. Our life in many ways has been turned upside down & the best thing for us was to just be together & reconnect as a family! We had a great time. Daddy & John Michael on the "High-Low Silo"


These 2 kids were bad!

A little sunshine, green leaves, & blooming flowers are always good for the soul! (Especially after our first day at the park - drizzle, cloudy & COLD - not many rides open, but some good shows!)
Isabelle & Daddy on the "Electro-Spin" - she was thrilled to be tall enough to ride this ride - she loved it so much, she rode it 3 or 4 times, I can't remember. She was even willing to wait in line to ride again & again.

Kevin & Isabelle on the right!
Kevin & Isabelle at the very top - she her pigtails flying in the wind! I rode this last year between Kevin & my sis-in-law Shannon, I was screaming my head off, with my eyes closed the whole time - they were on each side laughing!
A roller coaster more my speed in the kiddie section. Isabelle & Kevin with their arms up!
John Michael rode with Isabelle once, but it made him dizzy - same with the tea cups. He might have my dizzy issues.

Dinner at Famous Dave's at Branson Landing

The 2 munchkins cuddled up for bed!

Happy 5th Birthday John Michael

Our big boy turned 5 . . . he had a great day! He got to pick his lunch menu . . . hotdogs, macaroni & cheese, edamame, pears, carrots & ranch, & cupcakes! It was a yummy lunch! John Michael received a new big boy bike, legos, remote control car, & 2 racing games for the Wii. He had such a fun day & got really good at riding his new big boy bike.
Present from "sissy"

Thanks to our friend Laura for the yummy cupcakes - white cake & white frosting - JM's favorite! Laura . . . you make great cupcakes - we LOVED them!