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

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.

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 4^th 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!!

Happy or Sad?

Lately, my daughter Madison will ask, "Are you happy or sad?".  I am not for sure where she learned that phrase at but sometimes it is easy for me to respond to and then it's not! Like last night, I was on my second round of telling the kids to get ready for bed and I guess Madison could "hear" that my voice level had changed and she just blurts out, "Mama, are you happy or sad?".  My response to that was,  "I am fast approaching MAD if you kids don't get ready for bed!" It's amazing that my 3 year old can tell the difference in my mood.  So what makes you happy or sad?
Here is my list:

Happy
* when my kids talk and play well together
* that electric feeling when Mark spontaneously holds my hand
* a great cup of flavored coffee
* walking 4 miles
* a clean/organized house
* a great meal from The Grill
* surprisingly enough setting up portable SAC as a family
* family get togethers
* smell of a brand new car
* a baby puppy
* a nice hot bath
* clean sheets on the bed
* getting my hair washed and cut at the salon
the list could go on and on....

Sad
* the end of a vacation
* unpacking from a vacation
* when my kids argue and don't like each other
* I don't get a good nights sleep
* people who stop at a yield sign
* being sick
* people who let you down
* impact of world disasters
* the way the world seems to be going down hill
* all the budget problems
* allergies
again, the list could go on and on....

For me, I would rather focus on the happy list but when I don't, I know I will have Madison asking, "Are you happy or sad?"

ASK Principle

I know not by what methods rare,

But this I know:  God answers prayer.

I know not if the blessing sought

Will come in just the guise I thought.

I leave my prayer to Him alone

Whose will is wiser than my own.

--Eliza M. Hickok

Do you ever catch yourself to shy or embarrassed to ask someone for something?  I know I do.  Sometimes Mark and I “argue” over asking someone a question or directions and you know that feeling you get when you start the conversation of “I’m not going to do that! Well, neither I am!” and then you just leap out of the car and just do it?  I guess it is the “fight or flight” syndrome that kicks in and saves the day!

Why is it that sometimes we don’t like to ask for things?  I am programmed to usually just do things without asking for help whether it’s house work, re-arranging furniture, cooking, etc…  I feel like when I ask for help it takes away a little of my control and then I don’t feel like I have done the task all by myself!  Sounds pretty selfish.

As I am trying to make myself a more positive person, I have had some great ideas in the books I have been reading lately! The latest one is the ASK principle:  “Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find.  Knock and the door will be opened to you.”  I have heard this principle all my life but rarely do I ever follow it completely!  In the society we live in today, we expect things to be done quickly and to be done right.  But God doesn’t always work that way.  I know I have prayed for things and some have come to pass and others have not and I am thankful for that. Asking things from the Lord is an act of faith that he encourages us to do.  In the stage of life I am in now I am asking God to move in my life to help me become a better follower of Him and to totally turn every area of my life over to him.  That’s a hard thing to do.  Remember my control story above?  Lord help me in this area!!

Seeking is all together different.  You can ask/pray to God all day long and if you don’t seek him, what’s the point.  Seeking is where I am at also.  The word seek has to do with desiring, endeavoring, or inquiring about something.  In order for me to become a better wife and mother, I have to be actively inquiring or seeking things.  That is why I have been reading the positive books and devotionals and blogging about them so much.  It’s worth the find!

Finally, knocking on God’s door.  Knocking is an action.  If you go to someone’s house and stand in front of the door and never knock (or ring the doorbell) how will they know you are there?  I think God feels that way sometimes.  We ask and seek but never fulfill the final step.  Taking action!  One man put it this way:  “if you want to get to the other side of the lake, you need to get in the boat and start paddling.”  It’s not good enough just to stand on the bank and admire the scenery and wish you could be on the other side.  You’ve got to do something.  If I want to become a better wife and mom, I can read every book known to man, but if I never make a change or put things into action, I will never succeed. 

God just wants us to ASK—and then we have to trust him for the answer! 

Happy Birthday!

On March 27, I will have been alive on this earth for 38 years!  Yikes, that sounds mature! Especially when this summer I will be attending my 20 year High School Reunion! Wow a lot has happened in the last 20 years. 

Since graduating from good ole’ Lake View High School (Go Chiefs), I graduated from college with a nursing degree, got married, had 4 kids, took some really cool vacations across the US and Canada,  bought and sold some cars and houses, took lots of pictures and videos, and made some wonderful relationships that will last a life time! Doesn’t sound like a lot for 20 years but I guess that just shows you how time goes by so fast!

As I am writing this I think back to a line in the movie High School Musical 3 where Gabriella says to Troy, “I wish time would just stop, or at least slow down!”  Now I know many of you may have not watched the HSM movies but with my kids we have seen them at least half a dozen times.  There are times when I wish time would just stop and let us enjoy the good times for more than a day! There have been many times that our family has had some great experiences and I wish that I could capture those feelings, smells, emotions and make them last forever.  One example is when my kids were babies!  I remember holding them, touching their soft skin, smelling their feet, and holding their little hands in mine. Now, they are older and smell like sweat and have dirt in places that I never thought possible. 

Even though it is nice to reminisce, I love the fact that my kids are getting old enough to make new memories and take different trips that we all can enjoy! For me, I feel like I have the potential to be a better person physically, emotionally, and spiritually than I have ever been before.  I don’t feel like I am getting “older” but I’m becoming a woman that is ready to blossom into a whole new lifestyle that is waiting to be revealed.  I just have to pursue it and be intentional about important decisions that will not only affect me but also my husband and kids!  I feel like I am on my way!

 Can’t wait to see how God uses me this next year!!

21st Century Woman

Proverbs 31 states:  “Who can find a virtuous and capable wife?  She is more precious than rubies.  Her husband can trust her, and she will greatly enrich his life.  She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.  When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness.  She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing for laziness.  Her children stand and bless her.  Her husband praises her:  “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!”  Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised. “

How do you see your role as a wife (or future wife)?  I know for me personally, I love being Mark’s wife.  We met at church way back in the Fall of 1993.  After 2 ½ years, we officially became Mr. & Mrs. on June 22, 1996.  On our honeymoon, it was just like we were spending the same amount of time together accept that we didn’t have to say goodbye at night.  We were married and we could do anything we wanted!  Over the first couple of years, I never thought about my role as a wife like Proverbs describes it.  I just wanted to make my husband happy and meet all of his needs.  We struggled, like most newlyweds do, with finances, time, work and school schedules.  It does take a while to come together as one.  I remember the first few months of marriage. It was hard for me to be able to sleep because I wasn’t use to someone sleeping next to me! I slept in a twin size bed all my life so to upgrade to a Queen sized bed with someone else in it was strange.  Of course with marriage comes the duty of being the housewife!  But there is something about wanting to make your husband happy and feeling proud by him walking into a clean house that smells good and looks nice.  I still have that same desire today, even though it is a little more challenging with 4 kids!   As I have gotten older and learned from experience, being a wife takes dedication and lots of prayer.  I feel like God has instilled in me the desire to be a good housewife, mother, teacher, counselor, events coordinator, and an overall jack of all trades.  I want to serve my husband and watch over the household.  I want to speak with wise words and give instructions with kindness.  I may not like it all the time but down deep that is what I feel like I am suppose to do.  So I guess for the most part, I am a Proverbs 31 woman but in the 21^st century!