Going to the Chapel

Late last week we made the quickest of trips to GA to see my sister get married and to help with the festivities. Here's a sneak peak into our adventures.

We left Texas at 12:30pm on Wednesday and drove straight through to Georgia. We arrived at 2am. We had called ahead to see if we could get our room early at the Inn we were staying at for the wedding. We weren't sure if we would drive all night but if we could we wanted to be able to get in our room. We had read on the Inn website that they don't man their office 24/7 so if you're coming in after hours they needed to know in advance so they could...leave a light on for us ...or in this case, leave the key in an envelope, with our name on it,  taped to the office door!!! I guess they are pretty trusting!

The next day we had a few hours to spare so we went to one of Georgia's best attractions, Callaway Gardens. We went to a bird show, the butterfly atrium, the vegetable gardens and drove around the gardens to see all the things we hope to come back to do at a later date. It was beautiful.

We met back at the pool at the inn, where my sister and soon to be groom, Genay, were. As we were pulling in we saw my brother, mom and step dad checking in. Soon the entire family was dipping their feet in the cool pool water....and my own two fishes were all the way in, sword fighting with the pool noodles. We grabbed a quick bite to eat and came back to the officiant's cabin to get instructions for the next morning. Headed back to the inn for showers and hit the hay.

The weather could not have been more gorgeous for the wedding...the bride was stunning..and my own two kids were pretty darn cute. Savannah was the junior bridesmaid and Tucker was the ring bearer. I played the piano, Bruce did the video, my niece was the flower girl ...truly a family affair.

After the short ceremony my mom had prepared a scrumptious lunch for everyone. We shared a meal with the rest of the guests and the married couple and packed up so the couple could have some privacy..which I don't really think they got until they made it home the next day...but still.

We enjoyed the next 48 hours with the rest of the family and headed back home via Duck Commander in Monroe, Louisiana. No sighting of the beards, but had fun snooping around.

Waiting on official bridal pics before I post pictures of the bride. She was beautiful...and the groom was handsome too! Wishing them the best as they begin their new life as one.

Survival of the Fittest

This is the time of year that things get a little crazy at our house.

I'm sparing you the details because your schedule is just like mine. 

I'm no super woman, so casually, last week I announced to Bruce that for the next three weeks we are on survival mode. Then I explained that we would be greeting any unexpected visitors at the door and we would step outside so they would not see the horrible condition of the house...or the left over to go containers from our favorite eating establishment or the laundry that has overtaken my den. We would also not be hosting any sleep overs for the kids, any tupperware parties, book clubs, boy scout meetings or small groups. I then suggested nonchalantly that there may come a time where it's every man for himself. 

And in a moment of pure genius, Bruce said, "OK, what can I do to help you?" ...I'm telling you I'm a blessed girl. 

There was a comfort in those words. Someone who really knows me, knows my tendency to overcommit, to underestimate the amount of work really required for a certain task, someone who is aware of my faults....He could have said a million other caddy things...but instead offered a helping hand. And I took it. Pride in my back pocket and humility on my lips, we mapped out our strategy for the next few weeks...the laundry, the allergy stricken kids, the taekwondo, the piano lessons, the Bible studies, the jobs, the meals. We've got a better handle on it...because someone offered to lend some support. 

Isn't that what God does for us? We get in over our heads and so many times He rescues us from ourselves? No guilt, no shame, no condescending tone of reprimand. When I come to Him overwhelmed, with my list of things I don't know how I'm going to accomplish, He gives perspective, peace, His presence, guidance, strength and comfort. And in humility we can either grab His nail scarred hand or we can continue in our own proud strength. 

I know, for myself, He's given me more clean starts and helping hands than I deserve. If you need one today...all you need to do is reach. He's waiting. 

PS - (I still don't recommend an impromptu visit to the house..it's kind of an "enter at your own risk!"). School's out in 2 weeks!!!

Gideon's PAB

"The international ministry of The Gideons has handed out 1.7 billion Bibles since December of 2012." These were the words that opened the 2013 Hopkins County Gideon Pastor Appreciation Banquet last Tuesday night.

I tried to picture what 1.7 billion Bibles would look like all piled up in stacks and stacks on the floor and my mind was unable to even fathom what that looks like. But thankfully the Gideons know exactly what that looks like. As I sat listening to the testimonies of men and one very vivacious Auxiliary lady, tears filled my eyes to hear how hungry the rest of the world is for the Word of God... Men and Women in Costa Rica with hands cupped around their small New Testament and placed at their hearts, thankful for the opportunity to have a personal copy of HIS Word. Stories of crowded closets in China with people nearly sitting on each other to be able to hear God's Word preached by telecast to their hungry souls....these were the stories I heard. These were the stories that gripped my heart. These were the stories that convicted me.

How careless we are in America, where a Bible sits in a car between Sundays, where the dust can be blown off the front cover or where 3-4 Bibles can be found in a home. The Gideon businessmen have made it their passion to get God's word into the hands of men, women and children so that it can change them, save them, free them, heal them. The same thing God's Word has done and is doing for me....

And...shouldn't everyone have that opportunity to hear, to know, to be changed, freed, saved, healed?

I think so.

You can learn more about how you can personally be involved in the Gideons by clicking HERE .

Uncomfortable

Most of us don't equate pain as good..
Or torture as good...
Or suffering as good...
Or hatred as good...
Or betrayal as good...
Or beating as good...
Or death as good.

These things are unpleasant. They cause us heartache, tears, sorrow and all for good reason. And as I think of these things that Jesus endured...not to mention my own personal sin that alone set Him to die this horrific death I can't help but think as a Christian, I'm quick to skip right past the death of Christ and right to the resurrection....because to think on that death is uncomfortable.

Passion Week is a time to reflect on the beautiful life, terrible death and glorious resurrection. It's a time to rejoice that we have a God who keeps His promises. But, just for today....for this Friday....could we take a moment to think about our own responsibility in sending HIM to the cross? Could we think about the spear in His side for us? the crown of thorns slammed down into skull? the blood streaming down His body? the agony? pain? betrayal? and torture?

Yes, it's uncomfortable. It should bring us tears and sorrow and heartache. And well, to be honest, that's not the kind of thing most of us (me) like to spend time dwelling on for too long. It's my belief that maybe, if we just took a little more time to think on our part and the actual act of Jesus taking our sin upon Himself in this most self-less act of love, that we might learn to live more abundantly, forgive more freely, bless others more readily, share His story more often, give thanks more regularly, sin less and maybe take hold of what Easter is really all about...

Because we do have hope

Hope that He's coming again..Hope in a new heaven and earth...Hope in the promise of kingdom worship, Hope in His glorious appearing.....

All because....Sunday's comin'.

Signs of Spring

Ordinary Disciple

Our ladies Bible study is now doing a Kay Arthur study on discipleship. We're only one week into it and it already has my heart churning...sort of like the nervousness of first love mixed with the anticipation of what's to come.

Our first week was spent dissecting Matthew 4 and 10, where Christ calls his disciples into a very well described walk on the adventurous side of life. He's forthcoming in the description of what a disciple life will look like and in fact, if society used Christ's method of a business plan overview, well there would be fewer skydivers, bungee jumpers and other risk takers. He makes the cost clear....

Pretty much this is how Jesus describes the disciple life:

1. You'll be sent out as a sheep, in a wolves world (10:16)
2. You'll be handed over to the courts (10:17)
3. You'll be scourged, whipped, lashed (10:17)
4. You'll be brought before the government (10:18)
5. You'll be hated (10:22)
6. You'll be forsaken and even killed by family (10:35, 36)

And this is how we're to handle the disciple life:

1. Be wise and innocent (10:16)
2. Beware of men (10:17)
3. Don't worry about how or what you are to say (10:19)
4. Walk humbly (10:24)
5. Do not be afraid (10:26)
6. Speak the words Christ gives to say (10:27)
7. Endure (10:22)
8. Take up your cross (10:38)
9. Find your life in Christ (10:39)

And this is why we are to live a disciple life:

1. To bring men to Jesus (this making other disciples) (4:19)
2. To be a testimony of Christ's work in us (10:18)
3. Because He will confess us before the Father in heaven (10:32)
4. To lose ourselves in His identity (10:39-40) (not I but Christ mentality)

I've had a few weeks to think about what these verses are saying and it has brought me to a place of deeper understanding and perhaps even a little disappointment in how I've handled being a disciple of Christ. This selfless, demanding walk with Christ requires much more than I feel I've been giving....um, it requires everything. EVERYTHING. This bold lifestyle isn't a fad or trend, it's the norm...and let's be honest, it's rare, even in my own little Christian world, to see someone living their faith out in such way.

Let's be honest, usually the first sign of persecution and we're yelling "Foul!, Not Fair!, I Quit! OUCH!" or we're screaming about our rights and freedom. When truthfully, shouldn't we KNOW that if we are a disciple, such things are GOING to happen (His Word tell us)...pain is going to come, persecution will happen, even death is possible, you will be treated poorly.

So before we go off bragging that we are a sold out disciple of Christ, maybe we need to review the highlights of what we signed up for. Maybe we need to check to be sure we are living this kind of life...because if you're anything like me, I've pity partied myself to death over mistreatment, unfair life events and even family circumstances....when really in all actuality, I should have considered it par for the course.

I'm hoping as we go through this study at church that I gain a deeper understanding in what this looks like in my day to day life.

What about you? Do you find yourself struggling to understand and be a disciple of Christ? Be encouraged God knows our hearts and our desire or lack thereof to follow Him.

I paraphrased this paragraph from Matthew Henry's Commentary:

What if He could say of Me?

She will I confess, though a poor and worthless worm of this earth, she is one of mine...one of my friends, who loved me and was beloved by me. I will confess her before my Father. I will speak a good word for her. I will present her. I will REpresent her...to MY Father. When she has most need to me, I will represent her. 

That's my disciple prayer...

What's the Risk?

I hate for it to end.

Missions Conference.

The week starts with our initial awkward dinner where we do our formal introductions and hope our kids behave long enough to make a decent impression and by the end of 8 days we are family. We've laughed, cried, prayed, served, shared and eaten together. We're brothers and sisters who share the same burden. We understand each other's language even if it's Korean or Spanish or Hillbilly.

I remember missions conferences at my church growing up. The Ferus', the Lassiters, the Florida Children's Home, the Arnold's...all mission projects I remember clearly as a child. We hosted our fair share of after church afterglows with missionaries and families from our church joining us for a meal at our home. Maybe that's where it started. I corresponded with missionaries from the time I was 12 or so. And now as time has passed and technology has grown, Facebook and twitter keep me informed and up to date on their activities...and I love feeling like they are right next door even if they are really halfway across the world.

The bittersweet goodbyes of today are just a flash of temporary sadness in light of the eternal life that we will spend with these heroes of faith. They are the current Hudson Taylor, Adonirum Judson, Jim Elliot and Bro. Andrew. They risk something to share the gospel...and it makes me wonder...have I ever risked anything to share Jesus?

I'm thankful for the last 8 days...and while I'm so very tired physically, I'm filled to the brim with an excitement of what's to come...what's on the horizon...what's there to risk for Jesus?