Praise Be To HIM!!

The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. ~ John 1:14

My heart is overwhelmed with praise this morning! So full, that I find it hard to know where to begin...

For those of you who follow me over at my other "blog home", you read this week that a friend of Luke's suffered a major heart attack last Sunday. He was put into a medically induced coma. By mid-week, the parents reported to us that the Dr.'s had informed them that it would "take a miracle" for L to survive.

Wednesday it was national "See you at the pole" day. Students all over our nation gathered on their school campuses to pray. Some prayed for their nation. Some prayed for their schools. Del Oro High School (where my son and his friend attend) prayed for L and his family. I can't say what everyone else's specific prayers were, but I can say that my son, along with us and MANY others ( I called the world I think, including contacting K~Love radio) have been praying for a miracle! I know what my Father is capable of. After Wednesday, I started seeing this all in a new light. I started to see that there was a bigger picture. Obviously this young man was in much medical need. Obviously his parents were hurting beyond what I can even comprehend. My gut and my heart were telling me that L would be healed and that this was about bringing others into relationship with Christ... Maybe some who didn't share any relationship with Him... Maybe others who have relationship, but it is only surface deep.

It is no coincidence that on the day AFTER the school gathered to pray for him, this boy's parents called the school to report that they thought they had seen L try to open his eyes. It is no coincidence that two days after the school gathered to pray for L, he woke up from his coma. He completely came out of it! The doctors had said it would take a miracle, and that it what they witnessed. I'm sure today they are stumped by it all, but I am not. Those that have been praying are not. My son is not. His faith has been forever changed because he has witnessed first hand the biggest kind of miracle there is.

Last night before we went to bed, I prayed with my family. My prayers included this friend of Luke's and his family. I prayed for physical and emotional strength and healing. I prayed specifically that L would come out of his coma and that everything about that would point to Christ.... That He would receive ALL the glory for the miraculous thing He had done! My eyes are wet this morning and there is a lump in my throat as big as a golf ball because my Jesus did this. He wrote the pages of this week. He continues to write the pages of the days and weeks to come as the effects of this boy's life and tragic near death story trickle down. This is far from over.

Please continue to pray for L as he now has double pneumonia. I will be praying for healing there too. I will also be praying that people's hearts will be open to accepting what really happened here. That we will see it for what it really is and nothing else.... That the Lord will receive all the praise and honor. I will pray for this high school student body too. I believe that the Lord wants to turn their eyes towards Him in this. I believe he wants to capture hearts. I pray that their hearts will be tender and willing.

Thank you, Jesus. You are so good... So perfect. I can say that knowing that even if you would have chosen to take L's life, You still would have had a perfect plan. I ask that You continue to be with L as he experiences complete healing. I pray that Your face is seen in all of this.... That everything about this story points to YOU! Thank you for making your presence known in my heart this week and in the hearts of my family. I praise You because of who You are. You never change. You are the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

I am in awe...

Mission Possible

During the past few days, my ability to find praise in every situation has been tested. I dove head first into a funk on Friday night and it is now Tuesday. I can officially say that last night I found my way back up to the surface and the Lord has me right where He wants me now.

A few weeks ago I put up a wall decal in my hallway. I walk by it several times a day. It says this...

'The best things in life aren't things'

As I've read this quote, I have thought of "things" like cars, furniture, expensive clothing, generally... stuff. The quote has come to take on a whole new meaning for me recently though. The best things in life aren't things... Including houses.

I am a homemaker. I love to take care of my home. I love to decorate and organize. I love to make my house our home and make others feel comfortable and cozy here. I view hospitality as a God given gift that He gave me!

In April, we packed up our home where we had lived for more than ten years. We packed up and moved down from the big hill, a little closer to J's work and a lot closer to school for the boys. The circumstances weren't the best, but the guidance that we felt from the Lord was INCREDIBLE. We were lead to this house that we now live in and it has felt right from the very beginning. There were days of frustration and sadness too, but all the while, we felt like our lives were in God's hands and He placed us exactly where we are supposed to be.

Fast forward six months.

On Friday we received a phone call from our land lord. She told us that she wants to list the house for sale in April. She wants to give us first opportunity to buy it, but it will go on the market in April if we decide not to purchase. WOW... Totally shocked with this one! When we originally signed the lease with her in April there were no signs that this would happen. In fact, she stressed that she would love to have us long term if we would stay. We were happy to oblige.

So... Here we are again. Clay in the Potter's hands. J and I have talked and talked about this one, and I know that the talking is far from over. There are many thoughts traveling through our heads. Thoughts of past mistakes, thoughts of the future. Thoughts that are from Him, and others that are so NOT from Him. Right before we went to sleep last night though, I said to my hubby in the dark stillness of night...

"What if we are supposed to adopt the attitudes and even partial lifestyle of missionaries in all of this? What if THAT is what this is all about?"

Our purpose here in this house has been extremely evident. The journey here was not a mistake. From the very beginning of all of this I have found huge amounts of comfort in that. So why should I find anything else except comfort in what God has planned for us next?

When I look at the negatives, such as moving our three boys again (thus creating a feeling of instability but then again, maybe they see it as adventure), having to "find" another home for us and our three furry children (we didn't find this one, God led us straight to it!), and having to make another house a home (wait... didn't I say that I LOVE to do that?) it's easy to see that there is positive inside every negative. What seems at first to be an impossible thought becomes possible in every way.

I may not be on an international mission field, but I do believe God has me and my family on a mission of our own. I'm thankful that He pulled me from the depths of where I plummeted the other day in self-pity. He showed me that this is all the same road He put us on awhile ago. Still things to be learned. Still love to be shared. Still that pliable piece of nothing that He is shaping into something grand.

I can praise Him because He holds me still.

Beautiful Things

I've been listening to this song on K~ Love for weeks now. Every time I hear it, I hear whispers of truth being spoken into me. It's easy to let ourselves feel everything BUT beautiful in this world we live in. We are confronted daily with what the world believes to be "beautiful". This weekend I went to the ocean with my hubby and boys. On our way, I received a text from a good friend of mine. I had just shared with her the night before about my struggles with feeling beautiful. She sent this...

"He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me." 2 Samuel 22:20

My friend knew that there would be many "beach bodies" looming in front of me for the weekend. She knew my insecurities, and she provided this scripture as a reminder that the Lord DELIGHTS in me! He sees beauty in me, and that is what matters most!

The Lord is SO able to make beautiful things out of the nastiest, filthiest dust that lies in front of us daily. There is only one requirement...

Are our hearts open to listening to only His truths and NOT the truths of the world?

*** Don't forget to pause the music at the bottom of this page before starting the video. ***

A Cheerful heart

This morning proved to be a little overwhelming. The other two boys started school today, and although I have been very excited for them... It was harder than I thought it would be. I was once again flooded with memories and emotions involving all of the hours spent schooling them at home. They weren't all lovely. A lot of those moments were painful and even ugly. In my heart though, they are all beautiful because they were all moments of learning together and part of what defines "us".

After everyone had been dropped off for school this morning, my throat began to feel quite lumpy. To be honest, I suddenly had this overwhelming desire to go directly home and hide under my covers while having a good cry. Maybe that would make it all better, right? Then... I turned on my radio.... Tuned to K~Love of course. The morning gal shared some scripture and right away I heard the Lord speaking to ME!

~ Proverbs 17:22 ~

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.


God knew I needed the proper kind of "medicine" this morning, and it didn't include tears or bed pillows. It involved HIM! He picked me up and filled this Mama heart with joy for my children. I immediately thought of everything that they will get to experience in this new season. I remembered that a bigger portion of the world will now to get to know them and see for themselves what incredible young men they are! My spirit is not crushed, it is lifted high with the one who loves us and sees to our needs. He is so full of mercy for His children... So incredibly faithful!

Praying that you are able to go about your day with a good dose of God's medicine... A cheerful heart. It can change everything in a matter of seconds.

Singing and Dancing!

A little over fourteen years ago I held my first born for the first time. I smelled him, I gazed long at his tiny perfect face. I dreamt of all the things we would do.... Parks, birthday parties, long naps together, playing ball in the back yard, etc. etc.. One event that never crossed my mind was dropping him off for his first day of High School.

This morning I did just that. I warned my other two sitting in the back seat not to even THINK about rushing into doing the same. People always told me this day would come fast. I really had no idea though. It came faster than fast! It was quicker than a blink of an eye!

As I started my car back up after grabbing a quick cup of coffee at Starbucks, a song came on that could NOT have been more perfect. The song talked about the Lord delighting in us... About Him singing and dancing over His children! It talked about how fear can sometimes grip our faith, but it never should because of the fact that He delights in us. He wants to cover us. He desires for us to know that our faith is stronger than any fear of anything... Including the unknown. I knew that this song was especially for me on this particular morning.

I prayed for my son as we drove into the HS parking lot. I prayed that the Lord would continue to speak His Word, love and peace into Luke's life as he starts this new chapter. As I prayed those things, I looked over at my incredibly calm son. He has no fear about this day... No anxiety at all. What a gift! Then, as I listened to this song, I heard the Lord whispering the same words that I prayed over my son into me. He delights in me! He delights in Luke! Everyday that he steps onto that campus, the Lord will be singing and dancing over Luke. He will be singing and dancing over me as even I start another chapter in my own life.

Today is a big day. Today there is much to be thankful for, but most of all, I am in awe of the fact that once again, God took care of the details. He saw where my heart needed speaking to, and He spoke.

There is much singing and dancing over His children today!

He's About Beauty

Psalm 27:4

One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek;
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the
Lord
and to seek Him in his
temple. ~

Outside of my dining room window, stands a peach tree. From this window, the only part of the tree visible is the tree top. Right now it is covered with dark green leaves. There is one limb that stands alone though. It has no leaves. It sticks up straight into the sky.

Every night (almost at the same exact time) a bright red dragonfly appears on that bare branch. It flies in and hovers over the tree for a bit and then makes it's landing on that branch where it stays for a good long time. Colby and Luke have both been out to take pictures of it. They have even put a ladder out there in the middle of the yard so that they can get a closer look at it's detail. The amazing thing is that it doesn't fly away! It just stays there for us to behold it's beauty.

I have come to realize that this dragonfly is an offering. Every night as I prepare dinner for my family, it is there to remind me of the details that God is capable of. More often than not, I enter the kitchen exhausted at the end of the day. It's really the last place I want to be. That dragonfly puts an instant smile on my heart and face. It changes my perspective every night! Those are the kinds of details God delights in taking care of. As that smile appears on my face, so does a smile appear on His.

My God is all about beauty. He mastered it in things that surround us every day. He created it in even me. I have found that to stop and notice it is giving God the credit He so deserves! There is so much blessing in seeing the beautiful ways in which He takes care of every detail of my life and the lives around me.

I pray that you see the the beauty and the purpose in your dragonfly today...

The Heart's Capacity

Our little silver sedan fell silent this morning as we drove home with one less boy. The only audible sounds were those of the tears hitting our cheeks and noses sniffling. It's true, when the alarm clock sounded this morning, I rolled over and said to myself, "I don't want to do this day". This morning Clement began his journey back home to France.

When the boys and I returned home, I broke the silence with a request to gather together in the living room. I hugged them tightly and told them how proud I am of them. They didn't hold back their tears... Not even with the crowds that surrounded them in that parking lot. I shared with them that I have learned during these past three weeks about the capacity of my own heart, as well as theirs. We all gave of ourselves more than one hundred percent. We fell in love with this young man from a small village in the middle of France. He was gifted to us, I believe, to show us exactly what the human heart is capable of. He was only here for three weeks, but in that short amount of time we came to love him as one of our own. He shared himself with us in this same way. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why he became one of us so quickly.

It became almost an expected thing to spend every evening sitting together in the living room and sharing life and lots of laughter. He told us that his family in France is on the quiet side. Those of you who know us well know that we are anything BUT quiet! I think when Clement gets home his family will see another side of him. I pray that they enjoy this side of him as much as we did, and that Clement always feels the same comfort of being himself and bringing about laughter like he did here.

Through the tears that continue to find their way down my face I am thanking God for this experience. All five of us have learned so much about God's design for our hearts and how he desires us to love others. We have learned how to effectively share life... Without holding back.

France is oceans away. The love that we now share with our "french son" makes the distance seem so much shorter though. The loose change is already being thrown into the big vacation jar so that we can make our first journey out to France. Our goal is to make it out there for his high school graduation. That is only two years away, but I know that God will provide.

He gave us Clement, and He will continue to see us through each other's lives.