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!

A Big Thank You & Prayers

A big thank you to my sister Holly for coming to help us yesterday - she woke up early & headed 2 hrs with her baby girl to help Kevin with his new computer/register equipment. We really appreciate it! Her daughter Olivia is being stubborn about eating right now - doesn't really like baby food anymore, but won't eat table food either. So, for lunch I made her a "mini" plate that looked just like John Michael's & Isabelle. We all sat down to eat - her plate contained Mac 'n Cheese, tiny turkey dogs, paper thin apple slices & a dab of ketchup. As we prayed & began to eat, she looked around in wonder - "am I eating this? Is this all I get? Are you sure it's good?" were what her eyes seemd to say. I told the kids to not make a big deal of anything & to just keep eating. So we ate. She bit a little apple, spit it out. Licked a hot dog, then watched the kids have 2nds on the mac 'n cheese. At that point she decided, the macaroni might be good - she took a bite & smiled - she ate it all! We were so proud of her. She did it all on her own! She did try to then dip the macaroni in ketchup - the kids told her that was gross. So they showed her how to dip her hot dog - she licked the ketchup which sent chills down her back! It was cute. So, I hope she will eat some for her mama! Thanks again Holly, we do appreciate your help - as you know the computer has been a big source of stress & exhaustion for us.

Prayers needed:

VOICE: I am in need of prayers today. For the last 2 weeks, I have noticed my voice hurting, but tried to ignore it. (I started voice therapy about 18 months ago & finished May '08 for vocal chord nodules) Today, I can hardly talk - well I can speak, no laryngitis or anything, but it is so sore & very heavy. I think with all the stress, talking too much, & tears - I have lost all my good vocal hygiene that I learned last year during my speech therapy. So, I would love prayers for healing & for help in resting my voice & doing my exercises again. I don't want to develop the nodules again. I need to take care of my voice!

HOUSE: We are waiting on a call from someone interested in viewing our house this weekend. The timing is great for us b/c we'll be there celebrating J.M.'s 5th b-day. We are praying that they are very interested. We need to sell our home quickly!!!!! Please pray for them & for interest to pick up.

I'll update more as things develop . . . & I have news to share! :)

Thankfulness

Every day for the last 7 days, the word "thankful" has been ever present in my heart & mind. There are SO many things causing exhaustion & stress in our lives right now - but they are nothing in comparison to God's amazing goodness & all we have to be thankful for. So, I want to share in this post, the things I have been thanking God for in the past 7 days:

A. OUR FAMILIES have been extraordinary blessings in our lives, but in this past week in very specific ways:

1. As I was in K.C. last week, my sister & my parents both blessed us in practical ways - meals at their homes! (When you aren't really living in your house - there really is NO food in the house!) What a super huge blessing that has been for me & the kids (they don't have to eat cereal for every meal!) My family has also blessed me emotionally. I know my family misses me, as do I miss them, but it has been a blessing this week to know their encouragement & support of us in this new adventure. This is a hard change for us all to adjust too, but their positive spirits in our conversations have blessed me! I am thankful!

2. Kevin's parents are allowing us to "live" in their basement until our house sells - that is a HUGE commitment to say the least. They have been so gracious to help us with food, lodging, etc. I was blessed this week as they made some garden beds - they know what the garden meant to me & the kids at home, so they were excited & willing to start their own garden that we could share in. That meant a lot to me. The garden is such a special place for the kids & I to connect & work together. It's also great for homeschooling projects! I am thankful! Here are the beds:

B. OUR FRIENDS - I feel blessed that our friends are so supportive, encouraging & staying connected with us though our physical location is changing. I have been blessed by phone calls & emails from friends - just to say hello & to let us know they are praying for us. This past week the kids & I both were able to visit & connect with good friends while in K.C. I am thankful!
The kids with their friends (l -r) Natalie, Tyler & Emory Leachner; Myah & Carter Olson. I am lucky that my kids have good friends with really cool mama's - that I love dearly too! It was fun to let the kids play & for us to talk - well talk as well as you can with 8 kids running around!

I have known these gals for 2 1/2yrs. The Lord brought us together through BSF - 5 girls who never knew each other, yet our hearts connected in deep ways. I appreciate their friendships more than they know. I love getting together with them - to share our stories, our tears, & our joys! Our times together are so refreshing! I am thankful!

C. OUR JOB - I am so very thankful to have a job in this current economy & one that so matches the vision Kevin & I have for our family. We spent Saturday working together as a family at the nursery - it was wonderfully amazing. There was such peace! And I believe God has big things in store for us as we grow together as a family & with the nursery. The kids created boxes for plants, bagged onions in 1 lb bags, watered the plants in the greenhouses, & made friends with the customers - they absolutely LOVE being there! It brought a great big smile to my face! I am thankful that Kevin loves what he is doing & that God has given him the desires of his heart (read the previous post for more on this!) I am thankful!
D. GOD'S CREATION - the last 4 days have been amazingly beautiful. I say I wish it could be this way everyday, but then I'm told I probably wouldn't appreciate it as much - I don't know. It was absolutely perfect yesterday - no humidity, sunny, little wind, 70 degrees! Kevin hasn't had a day off in 14 days (the exhaustion I alluded to earlier), but his escape is the woods. So he & his dad took the kids for a hike - the kids take after their dad. They could spend the whole day in the woods - hiking, searching, & discovering new things. It was just what Kevin needed - to be refreshed in God's creation & to spend time with his kids. I am thankful!

The discoveries abound in the creek - here they are trying to trap a crawdad (above) & spiders (below). I am thankful that they aren't afraid of mud as I was as a child! :)

E. REST - physical & spiritual. I never sleep well when Kevin isn't with me - but while in K.C. I had the best 3 nights of sleep I have had in a long time. I can't explain why except that God blessed me with incredible rest. I am thankful for the rest Kevin has gotten this week - even with the time change. He has gone to bed early & slept so well - usually when he has lots on his mind (stress part I alluded to above) he doesn't go to sleep well or wakes up very early like 4am, usually. But not this week - I am so thankful!! I am also thankful for spiritual rest. We have felt so closely connected to God through all of this transition. Everyday, He meets us as we study & pray each morning to equip us for what the day holds. He is our source of strength, our confidant, our comforter, our provision, our Lord! He is all we need! I am thankful.