Father's Day

My Dad. There are many wonderful things about my dad. He is generous, dedicated to his work, has a sharp wit, loves my mom, loves spending time with his grandchildren, and above all loves God. It's that love that changed my father's legacy. See, my dad wasn't raised in a christian home. He didn't have examples of Godly fathers or husbands. Oh, there were good men~but not ones that took him to Sunday school or read him the Bible~or were living pictures of God. When he and my mom were newlyweds living in Turkey, a sweet man taught my dad the Gospel. He could see the power in the truth and couldn't get enough of Gods Word and teaching. He went to school and became a preacher. That forever changed the path my dad has traveled down. My sister and I reaped the benefits of that daily. We played Bible quiz on long car rides, had family devos, went to church camp, and had limited access to tv and radio {I didn't even know Billie Jean was a song on the Thriller album until I was in college}. We witnessed the love he had for my mom everyday, saw what God wants husbands to be. He was a dedicated father. Doing his best to be at each activity, coach my softball team, listen to my unending singing, and build quilt forts over the ping pong table. He disciplined us when needed and delighted in seeing our faces when we got the special gift our little girl hearts were longing for. All of those little moments taught us about God. About how God, our Father, loves us and cares for us. About how He disciplines us, and delights in our joy when we get our hearts desire. On Father's Day, 23 years ago, my dad baptized me. I was living out the legacy. Years later, I married a Godly man. So too, my sister. Again, living out the legacy. We both now have children and are doing our best to raise them as God wants us too. I have no way of knowing how life would have turned out had my dad never obeyed the Gospel, but I do know the legacy he has created by doing so. We know the promise of heaven, the hope of things to come, the peace of a loving Father. Every Father's Day I think of my dad and how the legacy he has created is touching generations to come. He is my earthly example of my heavenly Father. He is my dad. And I am blessed beyond words to have him.

The simple truth

One of my favorite things is reading and talking about relationships. Single relationships, marriage relationships, parent-child relationships, friendships, just about anything you can add ship to. I chose a degree and career that played into that. I hit these isles at the christian bookstore as often as I can. It's a huge part of my life. HUGE. Lately, I've noticed a lot of books about being overwhelmed. An overwhelmed parent, an overwhelmed child, an overwhelmed christian. As I sat talking with a friend one day, she complained about her kids being overwhelmed with homework, her husband being overwhelmed with his work schedule, and her being overwhelmed with trying to keep up with everything else. Her desperation was evident. Her exhaustion, her list of "to-do's", her piles and piles of laundry are ever mounting and she is sinking further and further into a never-ending ocean of stress. Listening to her was, well, overwhelming . I found myself suggesting several books and a great website. I left thinking how much I wished there was an all encompassing resource. How there was one book, if read and put into daily practice, would be a blueprint for keeping it all together. Then, like writing on the wall, I passed a church marquise that read "A Bible falling apart belongs to a person who isn't". There it was. In huge letters, high about the street. The simple truth I needed to remember. God gave us the ultimate "self-help" guide. He provided that blueprint. We may read every book ever written about our "issues", but they will never give the peace that comes from being in God's Word. My love of all things relational has provided me some really great tips, suggestions, options, even spreadsheets. They are great tools. But, if I want to "keep it all together" I have to wear out my Bible.

"The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple". Psalm 119:130.

Hhhhmmmm.....

Is it bad that I watched The Biggest Loser while chowing down on cookies?

Tis the Season

I read a fantastic idea on another blog that The White House will be stealing for this new year. We are going to take all the holiday cards we receive this season, draw one each week (or month depending on how many we get), and spend that week or month in prayer for that family. So, if we are on your christmas card list~know that The White House will be covering you in prayer in the new year.

Education money can't buy

I survived my first week of being a lunchroom monitor at B.'s school. Here are the things I learned this week...

1. School cafeterias love fried anything. And sticking lettuce on the tray counts as a well balanced meal.

2. Kids get as excited for the weekend as we adults do.

3. Kindergarten through 3rd grade loves everything you do, what you wear, and thinks you are ever so pretty.

4. They also think you are older than dirt, are mean if you won't let them eat only their ice cream and point out every flaw you have every single day.

5. Fourth graders think they are too cool for everything. And love to make fun of each other mercilessly.

6. Fifth grade boys have discovered Axe bodyspray, but not the shower. They also believe they are Rico Suavee.

7. Kids LOOOOVVVEEE it when their parents come to have lunch with them. That 20-30 minutes changes their whole day.

8. Very few children have parents who pack them a good lunch or write them a sweet note or stick in a favorite treat once in a while.

9. Southern women really do call EVERYONE baby.

10. That when told they can dress up like what they want to be when they grow up, most chose a rapper or popstar. {SCARY}

I won! I won! I won!

A while back my friend Suzi had a giveaway. For her 10,000 hit on her blog she was making something "quilty". I left my comment and crossed my fingers. And I WON! A few short weeks after that arrived a package containing an ADORABLE scarecrow quilt. It has been the talk of all who have entered my house and I just love it. Since I am a bit of a computer dummy, I cannot figure how to get the picture of it off my camera and onto the computer, so you can see it here. She also has an Etsy shop with all her quilty goodies. So, check her out. Thank you Suzi! And congratulations on 10,000 hits in one year! You've inspired me to give something away when I reach that milestone. Guess I better learn how to do something;)

Count your blessings

I have had this song in my head a lot lately. Mostly because I have been flooded with blessings and I am seeing God working on a daily basis. As you may, or may not, know The President and I ventured into the world of home~based business. NOT in our comfort area at all! We are not natural born motivators, or polished "salesmen", or even able to jump into a conversation with complete strangers. But, we want to be able to put B. through college {without her being saddled with mind~blowing debt}, I'd love for his back to not be further crippled by his job, and we want to be able to make mission trips where we support ourselves and do things for the Kingdom we haven't been able to fathom to this point. Our hope for the future overrode our doubts. For awhile. Family wouldn't help us, friends hardly listened to us, and co~workers were skeptical. We let it get to us. We were saddened by the lack of support, disappointed in our abilities, and our hearts were hardening to the whole thing. Then our friends {the ones who shared the opportunity with us} called one afternoon. They wanted to come by to show us something. They had just been to the yearly big conference and I knew it had something to do with Ambit. I really wasn't in the mood. I was done. I'd written it off as a dumb move and was just "waiting" it out until The President decided to pull the plug. I didn't want to hear a motivational speech or any cheerleading. I was stone~cold on it. They rang the doorbell and asked us to come out. I sure wasn't in the mood to stand outside in the blaring sun and listen. As I rounded the corner toward my driveway I noticed a brand~new shiny car. "Oh! You got a new car. I didn't know you were planning on getting a new car" I said with relief. With giant grins on their faces they said "We weren't! We WON it at AMBITION!!" They didn't just win any ol' car either. They won a $40k, brand new Lexus. We were thrilled for them. What an awesome gift. The President and I spent the afternon talking about our efforts for our business. Had we been doing all we could? I realized that day, that we were leaving out the most important part of our business...God! We had allowed our faith in Him to be waivered by other people's negativity. We had dropped Him at the first sign of struggle. The President and I decided to make God the center of our business from then on and give it a whole~hearted try. A few days later we got a call from our Lexus driving friends who said they wanted to give us their van. GIVE US THEIR VAN! I sat with tears streaming down my face as we talked on the phone. We have lived with one car for years and years. {We have a wonderful set of friends who often let us use their cars or trucks many many times, but we only had one permanent car.} They gave me a laundry list of everything "wrong" with it but wanted us to have it if we thought we could use it. So, now we are driving a "new" van. The unselfishness they have shown is such a blessing. Their generousity, a wonderful example. We started going to meetings, making calls, ordering cards and car door magnets. We prayed for opportunities, and for resiliency, and for courage. We have had people going to meetings with us, people wanting to hear the opportunity, and people interested in becoming customers. I was still praying hard. And thanking God for each opportunity. But, as I sat watching Facing The Giants, I was struck by something. Something I had never thought of before. The main characters in the movie had been praying for a baby for years but were having tremendous difficulty conceiving. The husband asks his wife "what if God's answer is no". She responds that she will have to accept His answer. He replies "but will you still love Him". Ding Ding Ding, a light bulb went off in my heart. I began to really search myself. And, ashamedly, found I am guilty of "conditionally loving God". I pray to Him, beg Him, and praise Him, but I have let my love be chipped away when I don't get my way. I swell with love when He answers with a yes. But, when He challenges me, works on me, or worse~says no...I pout, get upset, even stop talking to Him. I do not know what God has planned for our business, if we will find financial freedom, if The President can quit that back~breaking job, if we can go on self~funded mission trips, if B. will get to go to college free and clear. But, it really doesn't matter. We will do our best, we will keep praying, we will keep praising, and we will love LOVE HIM. No matter what. Who would have ever thought God would use someonelse's Lexus to wake me up?