I also want one of these for my birthday!

The one o n the left is Violet, she is competely blind and partially deaf.
The one on the right is Henry, he has several kinds of skin infections and skin issues. His right eye is underdeveloped.

I would love to have either one of these cuties or both!

April Fool's Day

I know this day is not quite here yet, but I have always loved this day! All pranks, the funny stuff that goes on, it is just fun! Not to mention it's my birthday. I have waited all of my children's lives for them to pull a good prank on me, but they never do. I have given them permission every single year to do ANYTHING they wanna do to me, but they just don't. I am guessing this year will be no different.

Tim asked me a while back what I wanted for my birthday, I wasn't sure, but thought about it and finally decided that I wanted to see my Ashlyn. So, we are headed down to Jamie and Michael's tomorrow just for the night.

irresponsible or Godly risk

so my pastor spoke this weekend about taking risk, risk that was directed by God. He sited Matthew 25: 14-30, the Message reads like this:

14"It's also like a man going off on an extended trip. He called his servants together and delegated responsibilities. 15To one he gave five thousand dollars, to another two thousand, to a third one thousand, depending on their abilities. Then he left. 16Right off, the first servant went to work and doubled his master's investment. 17The second did the same. 18But the man with the single thousand dug a hole and carefully buried his master's money.
19"After a long absence, the master of those three servants came back and settled up with them. 20The one given five thousand dollars showed him how he had doubled his investment. 21His master commended him: "Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.'
22"The servant with the two thousand showed how he also had doubled his master's investment. 23His master commended him: "Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.'
24"The servant given one thousand said, "Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. 25I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.'
26"The master was furious. "That's a terrible way to live! It's criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? 27The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest.
28-29""Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this "play-it-safe" who won't go out on a limb. 30Throw him out into utter darkness.'

"And get rid of this "play-it-safe" who won't go out on a limb......hummm. My question after a message like that is " Do I play it safe?" Do I risk all for God's kingdom?

My pastor stood before us yesterday and tore up a $5 bill, wasted five bucks then compared the shredding of that bill to how we use our time. Do I waste the talents and time that God has given me...do i even really know what my talents and gifts are? I don't wanna be the one who buries what my Master has given me just to be "safe". Help me Jesus to take Godly risks for your kingdom.

Happiness or Holiness

Have you ever wondered why God created marriage? I used to think it was that He wanted us to be happy, but now I am not so sure. You see we (Tim and I and our Tuesday small group) are reading/exploring a book called Sacred Marriage, in which the author(can't remember his name) asserts that maybe marriage was created to make us holy. The more I read this book and then see how Tim and I handle conflict, attitudes and/or frustration in our marriage, the more I can see that God uses it more for making us holy than for our happiness.

Listening Prayer

I met with some friends of mine last week, who so graciously agreed to hlep me through this "Listening Prayer" model. They let me be the perverbial guinea pig. We had gone through this Saturday seminar/training at C-Hop a few weeks back and all felt like this was a wonderful tool to help people. So, as I mentioned a few posts back God had been stirring up some deep issues that He has wanted to take a look at and weed out and so this is how I ended up as the guinea pig!

I must just say, this is the most peaceful and wonderful way of conversing with Jesus! I have become the biggest fan of listening prayer! (Technically it is the "Theophostic" approach to inner healing. If you want a more detailed description of how that session went I would be most happy to share it. As of today I am experiencing freedom I have never known before! God is amazingly good and thourogh. I am struck by His omniprescence, the ability to be everywhere all the time, even in the past, for His time is not our time. I worship a mighty God who only desires good for me and you!

My son made the front page of CNN!

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/03/16/iraq.main/index.html


Yep, that is him....there, there in the center. What you can't see him...trust me he's there!

continuation of previous post

....so, had a talk with a good friend of mine over lunch which raised a whole nother question regarding this "thing". What if when it is eradicated out of my life and I am left with having to figure out practical ways to "walk this out in my life". You can always want to have things sifted out of your life so you can be a better follower of Christ, but I find myself saying "but how do I make it a reality in my life daily????" Am I just looking for the easy way out fo this so that I don't have to work at it every single freakin day of the rest of my life??? am I making excuses and being a wuss??? I know that I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength...but what if I don't know what those practical things are that I should do?? I am also left with the thought that what if there is not much left of me when it is all said and done? I know that God desires good for me and not pain and the He would never do anything painful to me that wasn't "good for me in the end", but.....

Just for the record God is attempting to get me to confront a huge issue in my life that I have so carefully and masterfully avoided most of my adult life. It would be an understatement to say that I am nervous and scared. The thought of finally having to eradicate this thing out of my life is terrifying to me. I know 2 Timothy 1:7 all the way to the bottom of my heart, yet coming to the end of this things existence in my life is VERY scary. It has rooted itself so deep in my mind and my physical body that I feel as though I am severing an actual appendage. It controls me so much that I wonder in the back of my head if I will be able to survive with out it. It is hard for me to write about it or admit that I struggle with this, but I know in my heart of hearts it is God's time to do surgery and remove this thing. Satan has me convinced that it is going to be more difficult when it is gone than being controlled by it right now. And trust me, I AM controlled by it right now. Well, quoting Forrest Gump: "That's all I have to say about that."

All tuckered out!