God is Good! November 8, 2007

OK! I am going to try and be consistent and faithful with this blogging thing.  I love hearing about and learning about others lives and want to be as transparent with mine as I can.  Right now I am insanely tired.  I will tell of my day and then I will go over what is the coolest thing that happened.  I have had a normal morning beginning at 5:30 with some quiet time, craziness of getting both children off to school with the usual complaints and frustrations, packed lunches, make breakfasts, collect homework, fight with Brooke over brushing hair (which she refers to as having a hairdo) , protests of not wanting to go to school,  collective breath as they are both gone, a morning off of work which allowed for a wonderful and long conversation with my husband (which we rarely have time for), time with my sweet Parker trying to get him to walk!, organizing of Christmas presents and figuring out what  is left to buy, pick up at preschool and carpool with two other children, poopy in the pants, delivering forgotten tuition check, and then the most amazing converstation with a Mormon friend I have been praying for for two years with kids running around wildly, lunch at Taco bell for me b/c no time to fix myself lunch, feed my baby lunch, put my 4 year old to sleep for his afternoon nap by driving around town which is the only way he will fall asleep but I cling to the hope that he will continue to nap until he is 10, hurry to try and hide the Christmas presents before the kids see them and find out that Santa is not real, another amazing and longer conversation with my Mormon friend, time with a new friend from the Patio at a coffee bar for community and fellowship, then work for three hours at the same coffeebar on the laptop and now blogging!  What an amazing day but not nearly as full and long as some! 

The coolest thing is this amazing conversation with my Mormon friend if you had not guessed.  We met because our children were in Kindergarten and due to health problems in her life she needed help with carpooling.  We have become wonderful and intimate friends.  I love her dearly and have enjoyed getting to know her family.  She has four kids and they mirror the ages of my own three children and love to play together.  Brooke at age 7 is an active evangelist. She wants everyone to know of the Truth found in Jesus.  We explained to her the difference between our faith and what the Mormons believe because two of her good friends are Mormons and she had lots of questions.  Long story short she said something along the lines of the Mormon  Bible is bad to one of these friends.  I explained to her it is not the Mormon Bible but the Book of Mormon.  I explained to my friend how this was borne out of telling Brooke that we don’t believe in the Book of Mormon.  This sparked an amazing discussion between me and my friend of what we believe and what they believe.  As I had been praying for God let it be a wonderful discussion between friends and not as advesarys.  I look forword to seeing what God is going to do in this situation.  Pray with me for His Will, timing and Spirit to fill me as we continue to talk.  Most amazingly I praise Him for using Brooke to open up the lines of communication so effortlessly in a way that only a child can do!

Woo! July 8, 2007

Ok, I just posted my first blog and now I have another thought I was thinking about the other day so I will write two in a matter of minutes.  This is only because the kids are sleeping and I had better do it while I can!

I love the Strengths Finder test that we just completed at Mike Reeves suggestion.  If you have not done so you should get the book and take the test because it is very revealing and helpful.  Before I took the test I was looking over the words that denoted the strengths that were possible  and I saw the word Woo.  To myself, I said, What in the world is Woo??  That is silly!

Wouldn’t you know it one of my strengths is Woo!  Not only that, it is my number one strength!  Well, maybe it is not that silly…  Once, I read the description though, the test had me pegged dead on.  Basically, it is described as someone who loves the challenge of meeting new people and winning them over.  People with woo love breaking the ice and making a connection with another person.

I absolutely love people and I love to connect with others.   I have noticed this skill( now I know it is a strength! ) early on but particularly in college.  Earlier on in life I used this skill to get people to do what I wanted them to do rather than for their best interest.  Now, I love to  turn people on to ideas, resources or things that will help them enjoy life like I do. 

 Yes, on one hand I love Woo because I want people to like me.  There is no bigger thrill than winning someone over.  God has given me a different focus though over the years and has taught me about Woo in relation to Himself even when  I didn’t know I was a wooer! : 0)   I have come to the realization that not everyone will like me ,though I don’t understand why…I fancy myself to be a likeable person.  God has shown me what is even more devastating is people not liking or rather loving Him.  God has also given me the gift of evangelism and powered with the Holy Spirit and Woo as a strength Watch Out! 

However, many of those that God has brought into my circle of influence that I have entereted into relationship with and shared my faith walk with have not come to know the Lord.  It used to devastate me just like if I could not Woo someone over to my corner personally.  God really showed me, though, that it is not up to me to bring the harvest, that is His job.  After all, Noah was a faithful man and one God had the highest regard for but did he ever win one to to the Lord?  NO!  They all got destroyed despite Noah’s faithfulness.  Wow!  I don’t feign myself to be nearly as faithful as Noah but I do try to be obedient with what God has given me — a “wooing” personality and the gift of evangelism.  I find entering into relationship with someone is the best means to earn the right to share the gospel.  I find creative ways to be around lost people and I just pray for simple opportunites to share and you would be amazed at the ways God opens the door.  At the end though, I only need to be faithful to open my mouth, let the Holy Spirit guide the conversation, pray for more opportunities and then let God work on their heart.  That really takes the pressure off!  Now I am not devastated they are rejecting me or my Lord but rather more intense on praying for God to move in their life because after all it is really His deal!

Walking by faith- The sweet life July 8, 2007

Well, I have been itching to write a blog now since I set up my account  a week or so ago but time passes so quickly when you have children!  I actually have written about 5 or 6 blogs in my mind about various topics…hmmm lets see if I can remember any of them…

Since our family joined The Patio it seems like constant spiritual highs after jumping out and racing after  what God is doing.  We have been earnestly searching and waiting on God’s timing for recent decisions.  After you go through a period of “silence” and “wait on me” times with the Lord the time of “Yes, Go, Now” is so much more sweet and  beautiful because you know you are a part of something much bigger than a simple decision.  You are tuned into God’s perfect plan and relying on Him to lay out the details of that plan.  I told a friend that I, in a very limited and small way, feel like Abraham when God said Go, and I will give you the details later.  I realized recently that this is what has happened to our family. God told us to “Go” after a long season of prayer and He made us excited about it, glad for it, ready and willing but we really had no details.  For a detail person this is HUGE!  God is so good though because I didn’t even  realize that I didn’t have any details!  It must of been because I was so excited that God was moving and answering our prayers, albeit, in His own way and timing.  Jeff and I want to be sure that the decisions we make are not our own but rather ones directed by the Lord.  After all, doesn’t Romans 14:23 tell us, “That which is not of faith is sin?”  I want our lives to stand out for God’s glory not our glory.    Walking by faith is a way of life for us.  I want my faith to permeate every aspect of who I am not just my spiritual life or spiritual decisions.

We have gone through many trials and tribulations and for that I am glad.  Truthfully, I rejoice (sometimes after the fact though) because it has molded, matured and strenghtened us in our faith walk and helped us to trust God in the very depths of our souls.  Sometimes, I have longed for the trial to be over or to be short or whatever but I have come to realize the trial will last as long as it needs to until I am refined.  When I stop whining about the pain and get serious about what God needs to do in me the trial doesn’t really matter any more.  The trials will never stop because it truthfully isn’t really about whatever has brought on the trial or conflict but rather what God wants out of me.  That would be, number one relationship with Him and two, my uttermost, complete trust in Him.

This has happened in many different circumstances through the years but early on in Seminary and our marriage God was teaching us trust in Him for our finances.  It seemed like we were constantly having one financial difficulty after another but He was just teaching us He was our provider, our Jehovah Jireh, and that He was faithful.  We have seen it over and over again.  Now when we have a financial difficulty the depths of my soul reply, “God is faithful” before it can reply “what in the world are we going to do?” . Recently, we had a similar struggle with no money for certain needs.  I prayed over the budget and said, “ OK, God I can’t wait to see how you take care of this one. ”  He is so creative and funny sometimes how He answers and it is never how I expect.  The coolest thing is to share this faith journey with the kids because they get such a kick out of seeing how God takes care of us.  We frequently have the cheer, WooHoo God! to give Him the glory when we see his everyday and then sometimes bigger than life provisions.   I know one thing for certain, when I am willing to wait on Him, trust He cares, and then give Him the glory for what He has done there is no sweeter life than that!

Hello world! June 29, 2007

Ok!  I have done it!  I have felt the blogpressure and I am diving in.  I am excited about this new way of community and connecting with others, especially those in my new church at The Patio.  It is very late right now so I will try another blog on another day so I am coherent and make sense with what I write.