Thursday, April 28, 2011

My life part 1

Since starting this blog, I haven’t really shared a lot about my life and how I got to where I am today.
It all started back in March 1973.  I was born into the Hamilton family which consisted of my mom and dad and a 3 y/o sister named Cinnamon.  Don’t remember a whole lot about the very beginning other than some of the stories that have been told and pictures hidden away in photo albums.  My mom and dad still joke about the day I was born and how I had such a full head of black hair that they couldn’t tell me apart from all the other babies in the nursery.  I still get comments about “that hair”! 
I continued growing up in a wonderful family home and then one day someone else joined our family.  I will never forget the day when I was finishing up in my second grade class and going to my Aunt Debbie’s house after school and getting the call from my dad that said “it’s a boy!”  I was 8 years old and had a new baby brother named Aaron.  From the beginning, people have questioned why Aaron wasn’t named after a spice.  I don’t think he will ever evade that question.  He was actually named after some of the Hamilton side relatives and he has lived up to their prominent statures (big and tall).
Life continued on through junior high, high school, and on to college.  Great friends and memories were created and developed through that 8+ year span.  Then things started to take a different turn.  While attending Angelo State University, I started “dating”.  Isn’t that one of the main reasons to go to college is to date? LOL!  I actually never went out past a first date but looking back I can see why.  God had a specific guy for me and he moved him to San Angelo without me knowing about it.  During this time I had started nursing school and had a lot of projects to do and tests to study for and really didn’t have time to be in a relationship, I thought!  So on a Wednesday night at church, the night I didn’t go, my mom came back saying there was a “NEW” guy that had visited and he looked nice.  Of course anytime “new meat” visited the church it was game on!  I actually had to wait until the next Wednesday night to see this guy but it was worth the wait!
To be continued…

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Works in Progress

Last night at our small group, we discussed how raising kids is a great work in progress!  Just when you think you got that one parenting skill down with one child, the other child requires you to go in a totally different direction.  Talk about being a multi-parenting parent!  I think one of the hardest things to grasp is God’s not only using me as a mom to show my kids how to live and believe but He is also working in my kids lives as well.  Not one of us is a finished product.  He continually works in each of us!
I am glad God doesn’t stop working in my life.  I want to see God use me in a way I have never imagined before.  I can already see Him working in my kids and that is the coolest thing ever.  Here is an example about my 3rd grade daughter at school yesterday:
 On the way to recess today I overheard Reagen having a sweet, spiritual conversation.  Another girl was asking her if God and Jesus were the same.  It was really neat to her say yes they are the same.  They are one.  I’m not sure what started the conversation, but what a blessing she was in sharing about Jesus today!  Knew it would make your day to know that your sweet girl was sharing about Jesus!  
Philippians 1:6 “And I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again.”
Please God, continue to work in our lives to help others see you in us! Amen!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Take Courage!

Don’t fret about tomorrow, but seek God’s strength for today!
What a statement to think about.  I don’t know how many times I catch myself worrying about tomorrow, next week, next month, or even next year!  Most of my worrying stems from housework to laundry to school projects to what we’re going to do on the next school holiday.  As I get “older”, I am starting to realize that I don’t have to have it all together all the time.  There are times when my house will just be in disarray, laundry will be stacked up, and school projects will just have to wait but the important things like spending time with my husband and kids take priority. 
When I find myself worrying about things I can’t control, that’s when I have to stop and think about these verses in the bible: 
Philippians 4:6-7 “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.  His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
This is hard to do sometimes.  I want to charge at my fears and make them go away but there are times when I just have to stop and take them to the Lord.  Because if I don’t, the following statement will happen:  “Fear can pop into your thoughts without a moment’s notice and overtake your mind, if you let it.  Make a conscious effort to give your fear to God and ask for his courage, strength, and power instead.  He will hold you, protect you, and give you everything you need to live in victory.”  Karol Ladd
Lincoln Brewster’s song, ‘Today is the Day’ so aptly describes what to do with those fearful moments.  I have a feeling I will be singing this all day long!
I’m casting my cares aside
I’m leaving my past behind
I’m setting my heart and mind on You, Jesus…
Today is the day You have made
I will rejoice and be glad in it
Today is the day You have made
I will rejoice and be glad in it
And I won’t worry about tomorrow
I’m trusting in what You say
Today is the day

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Lessons from Jonah!

“But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals.  Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?” 
Wow! This verse of scripture is found at the end of the book of Jonah!  Many are familiar with the story of Jonah and the whale.  God told Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh to deliver a message to the people to turn from their evil ways and Jonah decided not to go and ran away.  Because he did, he ended up in the belly of a whale! He finally realized he needed to listen to what God wanted him to do and after 3 days/3 nights; he re-surfaced on dry land and went to Nineveh!
It’s crazy how Nineveh was larger than the population of San Angelo!  Did you know that over 70,000 people in San Angelo DON’T go to church on any given Sunday?  I wonder if Jonah would have come here.
When Mark and I felt the call of God on our lives, we became greatly burdened about that number!  Growing up in church like we did, we just assumed everybody went to church on Sundays.  Besides what else would you do? J After careful consideration of our options, we chose to start a church right here in this city to try and reach some of those 70,000 people who have left church for some reason, have never gone to church or just don’t like church.  Through countless hours of prayer and gracious people, God has allowed us to see many friends and families experience church in a whole new way!  They aren’t outsiders looking in.  They are developing relationships with people who are in the same stage of life and seeing God in a whole new light!  People are connecting with the music and being challenged by the biblical concepts learned from the bible.  Mark has heard a number of stories from people that will tell you that their family member wouldn’t darken the door of their home church but they would enjoy San Angelo Church!  I can tell you, it hasn’t been easy but to be able to witness lives being changed makes all the hard work worth it!
So as we learned from Jonah, we will continually try to reach our Nineveh and offer people a simple kind of church that they can hear the life changing message of God.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

This coming Monday, April 18, my husband will turn 40 years old!  Doesn’t seem possible that we are aging as fast as we are! He always gets complimented that he looks more like 30! I just wanted to share some thoughts about Mark and the 40 years he has spent here on earth. Hope you enjoy!
40.  Pretty Athletic (likes to play a variety of sports)          
39.  Positive attitude
38.  intelligent
37.  has exhibited leadership even at a young age
36.  not afraid to pursue dreams
35.  great dad to our 4 kids
34.  could argue with a fence post and win
33.  can make up a game out of anything (knee football, shooting games, etc…)
32.  hates to be surprised about anything (killed him not knowing the gender of our 4th child)
31.  can throw a nice spiral
30.  doesn’t like to be grossed out  (surprised he made it through childbirth)
29.  can’t spin around in circles without getting dizzy
28.  has turned the color green while riding in a small boat in Cancun
27.  was called “twinkle toes” in school (sorry babe)
26.  has an indented scar on his right leg (I think) from running into a boat trailer
25.  was a Para-legal in the United States Air force
24.  is color blind
23.  has a great singing voice
22.  came from a family of preachers
21.  is a great preacher/pastor
20.  went to 13 different schools by the time he was a senior in high school
19.  graduated with a masters degree from Liberty University
18.  was at Liberty when Jerry Falwell died, got to see his body in the rotunda of the school
17.  loves diet coke
16.  always had a desire to go to law school (back to #34)
15.  has met Randy White (former Cowboys player)
14.  was in the crowd at the ballpark for the filming of The Rookie
13.  knew he was going to marry me the first time he laid eyes on me
12.  consistently seeking God’s will for his life
11.  has made some incredible friends and acquaintances over the last few years
10.  the love of my life
9.    surrendered to preach at age 12
8.    has a deep desire to know God more
7.    wants to do God’s will
6.    has started San Angelo Church
5.    committed to me and our family
4.    has grown into a wonderful husband over the last 15 years
3.    inspires me to be a better wife
2.    desires to be totally committed to God and raise our kids to be bold in their faith
1.    wants to be holding each other’s hand when God calls us home! (hopefully not for a long time)

Happy Birthday, Mark!!
LUM!!