High Heels In High Places - Walking Worthy in Way Cute Shoes!!

Contest on New BLOG!!

2009-12-31T08:41:00.001-07:00

Come see my new blog for a contest - FREE BOOK!

http://kaseye.wordpress.com/

I'm MOVING

2009-12-06T23:25:00.000-07:00

Here is my new blog

http://kaseye.wordpress.com/

First Page

2009-12-04T10:39:00.003-07:00

I have been wrestling back and forth with God over putting "His story" that He has written through our lives down on paper. If you have read this blog for any length of time, you will see that writing is not my speciality.(obviously, neither is spelling? I read this quickly through after posting and realized I can't spell either. Where, oh Where is my spellcheck? Where, oh where, oh where, oh where is my spellcheck. - that is written to the tune of Larry Boy's "Where is my hairbrush.")

There are many who are good with words and frankly, that makes me jealous! I recommend them and their blogs often on here. If nothing else, this blog can point you to the "good ones." I wish I could say things the way some can. I read blog after blog and think, she said that so much better than I ever could. Why try? But my head is full and this blog is a good outlet for those whirling thoughts. But a blog is safe. I mean, who really cares about a blog? They are everywhere. Some blogs are great, some not so great. ( I am sure this argument could be made about a book too but that wouldn't really help my argument now would it??) Plus, most who read this I don't really ever see so it doesn't really matter.

Or does it? This should be a totally new post on why we do things - applause of God or man?

I digress. See, I can't even match my paragraph to my main sentence.

The point: I started. I wrote my first page. I just opened up a new page and started writing.

Here it is. Page one.

It was a cold, Colorado night and I was off to freeze through yet another football game. This was a scrimmage and I was dreading it. We were playing for a new team and my son was the quarterback and most of the boys had never played before. When you have first time football players defending your boy against other more experienced players. It is usually not a good thing. Basically, for those of you who don’t spend half your life at football practice, I was in for a night of cringing and praying that he would just keep getting up. You look for the boy on the bottom and pray that he is moving. Who said football was for the faint at heart? One play, I watched in slow motion as a huge boy came around from the back and horse-collared (for those of you who don’t know what that is, ask a football fan and yes, it is illegal) my son without him even seeing a thing. His body dropped and they boy who did it jumped up in celebration that he had sacked the quarterback. I only had eyes on one thing, praying my son would just get up. He did but very slow. He motioned to me that he was fine and continued to play and basically got hit over and over again. Play after play, he went to the ground. I kept thinking to myself that someone needed stop this madness but I didn’t say a word. I just watched and waited. Dread filled my heart, Drew wasn’t looking right. He bent down to take the snap, stood straight up and walked off the field and fell to the ground. By the time I got across the field to him, he was in and out of consciousness and couldn’t feel his right side. A friend who was there with me told me that I kept saying “you can’t do this to me again. You can’t do this to me again.” Over and over. You see, that wasn’t the first time I had sat over my baby and watched my baby go in and out of consciousness.

Back in 2001 on a bright Sunday afternoon after a day full of attending church and hanging out with friends, our lives changed forever. Our family had just gotten back from Sunday lunch and my husband, Brad had to return to the church to get something he had forgotten. He let me and the boys out and I preceded to get the boys in the house. Only, our youngest didn’t follow, he ran back to be with his daddy and the car hit. Chaos erupted, our neighbors came running out, ambulances were called, family was alarmed to the accident. Brad was allowed to ride in the ambulance ride with Jake, while he was screaming for his daddy, in and out of consciousness. After we all arrived at the hospital, the family was taken to a room to wait for the doctors. The doctors walked in and sat us down, the news was not good - I could read it on their faces. I kept thinking, just let him be okay, let him be okay. He was okay, just not in the way I expected. You see, that day, August 26, 2001, Jacob “Jake” Gunner Ewing met his heavenly Father face to face. My uncle who performed his funeral, said it best; Jake was running to meet his earthly Father and was welcomed by the arms of his Heavenly Father.

These two events presented quite a problem for me? What is it that makes one accident end in the death of my child and the other accident, my boys walks out of the hospital with one sore body but otherwise healthy? Why? The million dollar question. We have all asked it. Book after book has been written trying to give an account of the suffering that takes place here. I just couldn’t wrap my mind around it, why one day I walked out of the hospital, heartbroken over my baby boy and one day I walked out of the hospital with my arms wrapped around my big, baby boy (yes, he is taller than me) glad he was alive and walking? I felt like Job in Job 6:24 “Teach me, and I will be silent; make me understand how I have gone astray.” Job just wanted to understand, he wanted God to show him what he had done to deserve this.

It is a start.

(Yes, this is a blog that has not been edited by my sweet friend. She will die - I am sure a few sentences up there are not complete and maybe a run on or two. Maybe I should go to grammar class with my seventh grader. ** Idea, I will let him practice his grammar and edit my posts. How's that for killing two birds with one stone.)

What is God pulling you to do that you are avoiding? Why don't today you start on the first page of whatever God is asking you to do.

No Excuses . . .

2009-11-30T09:58:00.000-07:00

I have no excuse as to why I haven't written on my blog lately. I wish I could tell you that like katie from my new favorite blog I am so busy taking care of the 12 african children that I have adopted at the tender age of 21.

Or like Hoodmamamel, I am in desperate need of funds in order to keep MercyStreet running efficiently.

Oh, there are countless others that aren't wasting their lives . . . .

So, until I figure out exactly how not to waste my life, I will leave you with words from John Piper's book, yep, you guessed it, "Don't Waste Your Life."

"You don’t have to know a lot of things for your life to make a lasting difference in the world. But you do have to know the few great things that matter, perhaps just one, and then be willing to live for them and die for them. The people that make a durable difference in the world are not the people who have mastered many things, but who have been mastered by one great thing. If you want your life to count, if you want the ripple effect of the pebbles you drop to become waves that reach the ends of the earth and roll on into eternity, you don’t need to have a high IQ. You don’t have to have good looks or riches or come from a fine family or a fine school. Instead you have to know a few great, majestic, unchanging, obvious, simple, glorious things—or one great all-embracing thing—and be set on fire by them."

"AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY: HOW NOT TO FINISH YOUR ONE LIFE

I will tell you what a tragedy is. I will show you how to waste your life. Consider a story from the February 1998 edition of Reader’s Digest, which tells about a couple who “took early

retirement from their jobs in the Northeast five years ago when he was 59 and she was 51. Now they live in Punta Gorda, Florida, where they cruise on their 30 foot trawler, play softball

and collect shells.” At first, when I read it I thought it might be a joke. A spoof on the American Dream. But it wasn’t. Tragically, this was the dream: Come to the end of your life—your one and only precious, God-given life—and let the last great work of your life, before you give an account to your Creator, be this: playing softball and collecting shells. Picture them before Christ at the great day of judgment: “Look, Lord. See my shells.” That is a tragedy. And people today are spending billions of dollars to persuade you to embrace that tragic dream. Over against that, I put my protest: Don’t buy it. Don’t waste your life."

"Desire that your life count for something great! Long for your life to have eternal significance. Want this! Don’t coast through life without a passion."

Just Watch!

2009-11-22T02:30:00.002-07:00

2009-11-16T20:43:00.000-07:00

We are gearing up for another trip to Peru in January. I can't wait!!!! CAN'T WAIT!! We are very excited. Can you tell? I normally use lots of exclamation points when I write but today I am full of them. I don't really think it is a good sentence unless it needs an exclamation point. You really should read my facebook posts. I am not sure that I have ever written one that doesn't have at least one sentence with an exclamation point.

Anyway, two ladies going on our trip to Peru are going to be able to meet their compassion kids for the FIRST time. I am so excited for them!! (Yes, I did it again! smile) Here is a touching blog of one lady's first encounter with her compassion child. Read it here, please. I just have to say life if full at the moment. Come to think of it, it usually is. But, we have had heartbreak here. Heartbreak we knew was coming, but it hurts just the same. Hurt is hurt and our heart breaks. A precious

man that I have known since I was very young went to be with Jesus on Sunday. Praise Jesus He conquered death for us; that is all I can say right now. He did it and we are eternally grateful!!!! (That deserves many exclamation marks.)

One thing I am learning and just beginning to understand is that I can't fix everything. It is a hard lesson for me. I want to sweep in and just fix it,take the pain away, heal the wound. One thing I know, the only person who can help you carry your grief is Jesus. He is the ONLY way to heal from the grief of this world. Sure, we can bring food, run errands, sit and cry together but in the still of the night or at first morning light when you just realize that it wasn't really a bad dream, Jesus is IT!!! And because of His grief, we are healed. (Isaiah 53) I can't fix it but I KNOW a God who

can! Let Him heal your heart. The coolest part of that is that He takes that grief we thought we couldn't bear and comforts us and walks us through it daily. Then one day, we realize that it was through that grief that we found Jesus and we know Him like we have never known Him before. Just like Job, at the end, we realize that though we had heard about God, we finally SEE Him

for who He is - the "I AM." Glory!

P.S. Sorry for all the exclamations and bold type. I was preaching to my computer and just couldn't quite figure out a way to express the depth of what I was feeling! Also, I just can't help but turn a post that I had meant to lead you to another post and stinkin' end up giving a mini-sermon. Man, you would think I would be out of words by now. Hey, at least you don't have to live with me. You should have heard the sermon I have our oldest the other day. We are helping this lady fix her house that was damaged in the flood and he didn't want to go help because he was "tired." Yes, I did it. I lamented to him about how he sleeps on a king size bed each night while this poor family is sleeping in muck. So, be thankful, you are only subject to me some of the time!

Help is Needed!

2009-11-13T05:30:00.000-07:00

I have told you about this site many times and I love this family. Please, if you can, help them and their ministry.

Here is her post:

An old friend, seasoned in the ministry of the inner city, once used this illustration and it forever changed the way I see and work out the call of the gospel in my life.

When his son was little, his greatest joy was to help his daddy do almost anything and everything. Whenever they would pull into a gas station, he would beg for the opportunity to help fill up the car. Almost always, our friend would succomb to the pleas of his son and begin the process that allowed the child to be 'helpful'. He would unbuckle him from his carseats sift him from the car. Then he would steady the boy while he wrestled with the nozzle. Being much too weak to pull the trigger, this daddy would wrap his giant hand around his son's and squeeze the handle for him. Inevitably, there'd be splashed gas and the nozzle would drag across the paint on the car leaving a scratch to be buffed out later. Once the tank was full, the nozzle would be replaced into it's cradle, and the child replaced into his seat, buckled in, ready to go, clearly satisfied with a job well done.

Truth be told, our friend didn't need his son's help. If anything, he often hindered his progress - made it messy, slow, and fraught with mistakes. Alone, he was capable of completing the work perfectly every time.

But as a father, who desperately, unwaiveringly, wholly loves his children, he allowed his son to help because he knew that his son delighted in doing the work of his father.

And he delighted in his son.

For six years, Mercy Street has existed to serve the community of West Dallas. In our own brokenness, we have tried to humbly come alongside the beautiful, residents of this community to serve them, to love them, to be the hands and feet of Christ and to live worthy of the call of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Could He do it by himself? Of course.

And, I'm guessing without a personal i.v. drip of Diet Coke and a stash of Milk Duds.

But He, in His perfect mercy, invites us to participate with him in His work - because He knows His children delight in doing the work of their Father.

For the first time, Mercy Street is in need of formal fundraising. Giving across the nation is down 35% and we have not been immune to this statistic. What's not down, though, is the number of children, and their families, who want to be a part of this ministry. Kids wait outside for the doors to open at every event and, on a daily basis, children are asking one of the mentor coordinators when they can get a mentor.

One of my best friends, Jennifer, who I love dearly because she is so painfully honest, has told me more than once why she gives to the ministry. "Girl, I give what I give so I don't have to do what you do." We laugh and but the truth is, we couldn't do what we do without people like her.

So, here's the deal. Trey very sweetly, and with chocolate, asked that I put the need out to my friends in the blogosphere. One of our fundraising goals is that 250 new donors would pledge $25 a month. I know a lot of ya'll readers live here in Dallas but many of you live in other countries, like Florida, and we need you all.

If you so feel led (no pressure), would you consider giving to Mercy Street - partnering with us to continue to do the the work of our Father? If so, the Mercy Street logo below, or on the left sidebar, is a link that will take you to a secure site where you can give. Also, feel free to forward this to all of your friends. I won't get mad at all.

Please Partner with us!

On a side note, if this is your first visit to my blog, take heart, I don't ask for help all the time. I swear. Unless it comes to laundry advice. Or hair advice. Or good ideas for meals that look and taste like I spent a lot of time but I actually just defrosted and microwaved them. To those - I'm guilty as charged.

Also, please forward and pass this info along to other bloggers, your friends etc.

Books, Books, and More Books! Plus, the "meaty" vs. "mindless"

2009-11-06T06:37:00.000-07:00

I was just updating me reading list of what I am reading, have read or have on my amazon wish list. Let me just tell you. My amazon wish list is HUGE!! I am loving the kindle for my phone and having to resist just purchasing books that are automatically downloaded right then and there to my phone. Oh, the temptation! However, there is nothing better at 1 am when you can't sleep and you have read every "mindless" book you own and you need something to help you sleep. I know, I am crazy. I read all the "meaty" books during the day when my brain is actually working and the "mindless" books at night. It is not that the "mindless" books are not actually "meaty" but they teach you a lesson without actually having to think about it. (I mean Karen Kingsbury and Francine Rivers, enough said!) I am one that after about 7pm my brain starts a steady decline.

Ok, while looking up the author for "Quest for More: Living the For Something Bigger Than You, I just found a gold mine of books. It looks like the guy that wrote this "Quest for More" is also the man who wrote "Age of Opportunity" which is hands down the best book about raising teenagers (other than the one TRUE book, the Bible.) Oh, I digress. Not the the bible is a digression, it is just that I am having trouble getting to the point of this paragraph. The point is, Mr. Paul David Tripp has written oh so much, I have never even heard of? Oh my, he has written one for the midlife crises called, "Lost in the Middle: Midlife and the Grace of God," "War of Words, Getting to the Heart of your Communication Struggle," "Broken-Down House," and much more!

So, on the right side of my blog is my book list. I am now waiting for yours. What are you reading now? "Meaty" or "Mindless?" I am headed out for a road trip today and I will have countless hours to download items to my kindle. Ideas, please.

Oh, and just a small side note. I AM GOING TO SECRET CHURCH TONIGHT!!! Oh, yes, my birthday wish is happening! (Thanks to Brad and my church for sending us!)

Mary Kassian

2009-11-06T06:08:00.000-07:00

I read Mary Kassian's blog often and lately she has been contrasting Girl-Gone-Wild vs. Girl-Gone-Wise! What a fun way to show us how to be wise women. I loved today and wanted to share. I think you will enjoy too!

Possessions

How she handles her money and resources

Girl-Gone-Wild: Circumspect
Girl-Gone-Wise: Indulgent

Girl-Gone-Wild: “SI have spread my couch with coverings, colored linens from Egyptian linen; I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.” Proverbs 7:16-17
Girl-Gone-Wise: “She opens her hand to the poor and raches out her hands to the needy… she makes bed coverings for herself…”. Proverbs 31:20-22

“‘Smart Girls Get More” is a wildly successful ad campaign that promotes the United Kingdom’s best-selling young women’s magazine, “More.” The message shouts from billboards, buses, TV commercials, radio spots, sponsorships, and competitions. It inundates British women with the idea that if they are smart, they will get more-more men, more sex, more celebrity gossip, more beauty, more fashion, more products, and, of course, more of the magazine that supplies all the latest and greatest information on these pleasures. “Cuz Smart Girls Get More!”
Although that particular ad campaign hasn’t run in North America, it’s the clandestine message of virtually all mass marketing efforts. Merchandisers want to convince us that we need more of whatever it is they are selling. The Bible’s perspective differs from the world’s. Constantly buying more stuff isn’t a trait of a woman who’s smart, it’s a hallmark of a Girl-Gone-Wild. The Wild Thing is an indulgent, voracious consumer who pursues pleasure through the purchase of material goods. A Girl-Gone-Wise thinks differently about the way she spends her money. She’s circumspect. She understands that everything she has comes from God. She tries to honor Him by being a good steward of all her resources. She treasures the riches of the Kingdom more than the riches of the world.
The fact that the woman in Proverbs 7 takes such care to detail the extravagant luxury of her possessions gives us a clue as to her attitude towards them. It’s clear she has an underlying attitude of self-importance and self-indulgence. She wants the young man to be impressed and to hold her in high regard. She wants him to admire her, and to charm him with all her finery. She wants him to affirm that she is really something. She’s like the harlot, Lady Babylon, who indulged in the “power of luxurious living” and in the “passion of sexual immorality”, and seduced nations to “drink her wine.” (Revelation 18:3)
The passage in Revelation informs us that Lady Babylon was a greedy consumer. She was a shopaholic who bought all sorts of exotic imported merchandise: “gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls.” She was extremely fond of these “delicacies and splendors.” In her mind, they were status symbols-”must-have” items. The latest and greatest in Babylon’s More magazine was “the fruit for which [her] soul longed.” (18:12-14)
Nowadays, we’ve substituted designer jeans for purple cloth, satin sheets for fine linen, French perfume for frankincense, 5-star restaurants for cattle and sheep, BMWs for horses and chariots, nannies and housekeepers for slaves, but we’re just as greedy and self-indulgent. Like Lady Babylon and the Proverbs 7 woman, we’re caught up in the endless quest for more. We spend and spend, even if we don’t have the money.
A Girl-Gone-Wild is a voracious consumer. She treasures the things of this world more than she treasures Jesus Christ. She settles for fleeting pleasures that do not satisfy her deepest needs, and in the end, ultimately destroy her soul. The world tells us that smart girls get more. But Scripture says that if we’re truly smart, we won’t settle for the “more” the world can offer. We’ll want immeasurably more than its cheap, temporary thrills. The problem is not that we desire beautiful and precious things, but that we have a faulty perception about what is most beautiful and most precious. We settle for treasures that wear out, break down, and can be stolen, when we ought to set our hearts on riches that last forever.
The Bible teaches that what you do with money-or desire to do with it-can make or break your happiness forever. The Girl-Gone-Wild who makes material riches her goal in life has the wrong values. However wealthy she may appear, she is poverty-stricken in God’s sight. In His economy, the truly rich woman is the one whose main aim in life is to serve him as King. Her wealth lies in the currency of faith and good works, opening her hand to the poor, and reaching out her hands to the needy. She has a heavenly bank balance that no one can steal and nothing can erode. She lays up for herself treasures in heaven, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21) The Girl-Gone-Wise knows that heavenly treasure is the kind that smart girls get more.

This is a pre-publication excerpt from “Girls Gone Wise in a World gone Wild,” © Mary A. Kassian to be published by Moody Publishers in 2010. All rights reserved. You are welcome to link to this post, but please do not copy and/or reproduce this copyrighted material without express written permission of Moody Publishing.

Article printed from Girls Gone Wise: http://www.marykassian.com
URL to article: http://www.marykassian.com/archives/1205

What Would I Give?

2009-11-04T10:06:00.002-07:00

Interrupted

2009-10-27T08:54:00.000-06:00

This week was the week I was going to email out invitations for a new bible study, "Interrupted by Jen Hatmaker." I was so excited to get this started since our church bible study ended last week. However, I was interrupted with life here. I already have the emails in my draft box and something (someONE) told me to wait. I am so glad I did. You see, I am one who gets excited about something and jumps in fully clothed and ready to go. I want everyone to come with me and learn what I am learning. I always long for a big, bible study party. There is nothing better than women getting together to study God's word together. Except maybe, just maybe, there is something better; I am learning that this week and next week (and every week after that) is more about me showing God's love.

The bible study I wanted to start was about letting God interrupt your life. I haven't even started it and I can see that He has already done that. This week has been about showing His love. We had the Great Giveaway at our church this week and it was AWESOME. At the Great Giveaway, we all took our extra, nice stuff from our houses and invited those less fortunate than us - to shop for free from all our stuff. It was time well spent. I am not sure who benefited more, the people or me getting to help them. It really is only something that God can do - bless me when I choose to help others. Now you know me, I am not saying that Bible study is not important. HIS WORD IS WHAT CHANGES US! HIS WORD IS WHAT SUSTAINS US. But I think many of us are right here:

"I developed a form of spiritual bulimia where I did my devotions, read all the new Christian books and saw the Christian movies, and then vomited information up to friends, small groups. and pastors. But it never had the chance to digest. I had gorged myself on all the products of the Christian industrial complex but was spiritually starving to death. I was marked by an over-consumption but malnourished spiritually, suffocated by Christianity but thirsty for God." Taken from "Interrupted" by Jen Hatmaker

My dad calls it the "holy huddle" and I blogged about it here.

Brad's grandparents are not doing well and I am now home during the day and I can help them. It has been a blessing for us for me to be home so I can help. My father in law has a habit of joking with me about why I stay home with the kids - well, here is your answer. I am free to do things that others can't. I am here to let God "interrupt" my day. (Please, please, hear my heart on this - I have been there for those of you who can't stay home! I know what it is like, it is hard, very hard. God can "interrupt" you there too.)

I am not saying that I always do this well. I am one who gets up in the morning and has a list on a notecard (I am queen of the 3x5's) of all the things I want to accomplish that day. I am learning, slowly, that my list might not get done, my house might not be clean but I have showed God's love to someone who needed it. By the way, if you haven't read Crazy Love, by Francis Chan, now is the time.

It has been rainy here for weeks and last night my heart was so heavy with all the needs around me. I have friends taking their young boy to Tennessee to see if his cancer is back, dear friends who are battling cancer, Brad's grandparents and family dealing with aging and needing constant help, marriages that are HURTING, people who just getting through the day - THEY HURT! Secret pain is killing many, many are hiding in their own despair.

Psalm 119: 81-82 "I faint with longing for your salvation; but I have put MY HOPE in YOUR word. My eyes are straining to see your promises come true. When will you comfort me?" (NLT)

It is overwhelming for me, but not for HIM! Let yourself get interrupted today. Ask God right now to show you how He wants to love others through you and when He shows you - DO IT. I think so often we know what we should do, we just don't want to. Ask Him to change your "want to."

I can promise you this, I have been asking God to change my heart to desire the things HE desires - HE is doing it. Things I loved before, they don't mean so much. Things I HAD to have, I look and think - "why did I think I needed that?" 1 Timothy 6:6 "Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment." It is not something I have done, He has changed my heart and I am longing for things other than what I want. He is doing the work. Ask Him, He will do it for you too.

Ok, so I know I am everywhere in this post today. One thought keeps getting "interrupted" by another. It is ADD in it's truest form. On a last note, we can't do everything well. We must walk closely with the Sprit to make sure we are doing what He asks. For us to be so busy and get nothing done won't help either. Just like I tell my kids, "listen and obey."

Compassion is a GOOD IDEA!

2009-10-15T16:13:00.001-06:00

Catalyst 2009 Compassion Moment from Catalyst on Vimeo.

Idea

2009-10-13T09:23:00.001-06:00

Our family has been trying to think of ways to save money to help those who are less fortunate than us -here are some facts to wrap your brain around. Just in case you were having a day when you thought maybe you weren't so fortunate.

*Of the six billion people on planet Earth, about 1.2 billion live on 23 cents a day.

* Half the world lives on less than $2 a day.

* The wealthiest one billion people average $70 a day. (This places you and me in the upper, upper, upper percentages of the global population.)

• If you make $35,000 annually, you are in the top four percent.

• If you make $50,000 annually, top one percent.

* Someone dies of hunger every 16 seconds.

* Twenty-two million people died of preventable diseases last year; 10 million were children.

* Twenty-seven million children and adults are trapped in slavery because of economic crisis (sex slaves, labor slaves, child soldiers, and child slaves). More slaves exist today than ever before in human history.

* More than 143 million children in the world have been orphaned or abandoned (equivalent to more than half the population of the U.S.).

In the last hour:

• More than 1,600 children were forced to the streets by the death or abuse of an adult.

• At least 115 children became prostitutes.

• More than 66 children younger than 15 years of age were infected with HIV.7

* Roughly one billion people in the world do not have suitable housing, and 100 million are entirely homeless.

So, just a start for our family. We are on a cash system here and we pay cash for most of all our daily expenses. I have begun to keep our change every time I pay cash for something and I don't use that change for anything else. (Unless, of course, I am in desperate need of a diet dr. pepper and I have to use it for a vending machine) I come home and put it in a can and save it. We also put any change we find around the house, in pockets, in drawers and add it to the can. Basically, if I find anything laying around - it goes in the can.

It is almost full and we just started. I will let you know how much we "saved" and now we are praying about who we will give it too. Also, find a bank that will sort your change - that Coinstar thing takes too much of your money for itself to count your change. Or, better yet, teach your kids how to count and roll the change. ( I haven't done that in forever, I used to love to do that when I was younger.)

Any ideas y'all have out there??

2009-10-07T21:10:00.003-06:00

I had the incredible privilege this week of flying to Springdale, Arkansas and giving my testimony to their ladies group. After a special time of sharing what God has done in our lives, I was invited to lunch by an old friend and one of her friends. This sweet, precious girl shared her story of how her 3 day old baby went to be with Jesus not too long ago. My heart broke for her, yet, I was jealous for her, for all the things I knew the Lord was going to show her, for all the ways He was going to reveal Himself to her and her family. I was jealous for that quiet desperation that I remember all too well. I am by no means wishing to enter into that kind of pain ever again, but from my side, I know what that type of heartache can bring, if you let it. It brings so many things but most importantly, it brings such a clear knowledge of God that no one can refute. Pain brings out in us a certainty that HE rules and reigns and there in nothing, absolutely nothing, that can thwart what God has for us on this earth. His plans and purposes for us will be accomplished. There is nothing more peaceful than knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that God choose you to walk this journey

with Him and for Him. He entrusted it to you, to me, to use it as our own personal offering to Him; to use whatever may come our way to be the instrument this dying world sees of His Glorious Light.

I want it to be said of me, "There is no way she did that, lived that, taught that, without the power of something, that something being Jesus."They might not recognize it at first as being Jesus but there will be a difference when He reigns in our lives. It will be recognizable. We won't do things like the rest of the world. We will stand out. Hopefully, we are standing out. I pray that we look different.

My dad spoke at our church this weekend and talked about how we are supposed to go out and be HIS light, how we are supposed to be recognized, not for what we do in our church walls, but what we do outside. He used the illustration of a football game (you see where I get it from??) and how strange it would be if we saw the players just huddle together and not ever go out and play. They just stayed in the huddle, they liked the huddle, they weren't going to get hit in the huddle, the huddle is safe. Yes, we need the huddle. That is where we get our instructions - we get the game plan, the play book. But, after we have gotten our instructions, it is time to go out and fight the battle. Don't just stay in your huddle. Go out and make some plays. I can't guarantee you won't get hurt, that you won't have some scars, or that it won't be exhausting. I can guarantee that one day, when our God decides that this time here on Earth is over, it will be worth it all. He is worth it all.

Don't miss the message for all my silly football talk - there is a battle going on out there and it is not one we watch at a football game. It is a spiritual battle and the stakes are high! The battle must be fought. The world needs to know (SEE) Him.

2009-09-29T08:23:00.000-06:00

Do you ever feel like you have something to say and not sure how to say it? Then you read something or someone and think, that's the way I would like to have said that. Only she did it so much better! Here are some blogs I am loving right now. Why? They are honest with their feeling and struggles and hurts and honest about what God is doing in their lives.
Sarah Markey - The Best Days of my Life

Snoodlings

How's Your Training Going?

2009-09-26T20:50:00.000-06:00

All this football talk is making me wonder how we are doing in our own spiritual training? How are we working out our own spiritual muscles? My bible reading yesterday showed me what we need to be trained in.

1 Timothy 4:6-16 is a passage where Paul is talking to Timothy and telling him what he can do to be a good servant of Christ Jesus. I think there are a few things in here that show us what we need to focus our training on.

6 If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. 7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; 8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 9 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. 10 For to this end we toil and strive,because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. 11 Command and teach these things. 12 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. 14 Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. 15 Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. 16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and a your hearers.

Here is the list I put in the side of my bible about this passage:

What to focus my training on:

*tell the brothers what they word says

*train in the words of faith and good doctrine

*have nothing to do with irreverent myths - myths period - my chapter in proverbs today (ch. 26) told us to avoid the whisperer and why =TROUBLEMAKER

*train yourself for godliness - godliness is of value in every way - it holds the promise for the present life and the life to come

Command and teach these things:

*set an example in speech, conduct, love, faith, purity

*devote yourself to public reading of scripture, exhortation, teaching

*don't neglect our gifts

*practice these things, immerse yourself in them so that all will see your progress

*keep a close watch on yourself and your teaching

*persist in this

Don't you love those words: train, devote, practice, immerse, close watch, persist? We sure have a job to here! Sounds like a hard core football practice to me. Let's train not just the physical body but our spiritual one as well. Many of you know that I am using the Professor Horner's Bible reading plan to read my bible each day. I have also been doing a couple other things that has been helping enrich and challenge me in studying God's word. If you are brave enough - listen to David Platt's secret church teaching on how to study your bible. (It is long but WELL worth it) Every paragraph or so I am
trying to write a purpose for what I think about the paragraph I just read. It doesn't have to be long or very theological. Just my thoughts of what I just read. Or I put a name with a date by it if it is something I prayed for my kids or family or friends. Or I might just write, "we want this to be true of our family." You get my point. (I use a journaling bible that has blanks on the margin where I can write. If you need extra help with how to study the bible, I would recommend "the New Inductive Study Bible because it
tells you how to study each book. There are other journaling bibles out there but these don't have quite as many "helps" in them.) The other thing that I have added is one of my favorite easy to read and follow commentaries by Warren Wiersbe. It is called the Chapter-by-chapter Bible commentary. It is a small book and can go anywhere with you. It is the best for just a quick understanding of what you just read. It is also very helpful in understanding what is going on in a chapter. Just make sure you read the
chapter first before going to the commentary. Also, when I start a new book,
I read this summary about each book before I start, "Making the Bible Clear," by Fred Lowery. I realize that is a bit different that Pro. Horner's intention of reading the bible, I have also turned it into a study time and is working better for me. Others are reading these chapters and doing a separate study time. You decide what works best for you. I might change later but liking this right now. It might be that you have to split it up and only do 5 chapters a day. You figure out what works best for you to train yourself in godliness. Just keep doing it!

Louisiana Football

2009-09-25T10:07:00.000-06:00

Drew had his first football game in Louisiana this week. It was a rough one. I won't tell you had bad they lost. We got a spankin'! The morning of the game, while I was out running, I had been praying for Drew and his game. I was really nervous since this was his first real game since his accident. I kept pouring my heart out to God about Drew and asking God to grow him into a godly young man. I so strongly believe that football is good for boys for many reasons that I actually wrote a blog about it here.

I don't want football or school or anything he does to just be about that event but about God's glory in making and molding him into the man God has planned. One huge thing the boys must learn is self control and football, as well as many others sports and activities, teaches this. My bible reading this morning had this verse, Proverbs 25:28 "A man without self control is like a city broken into and left without walls." What a great picture of what the lack of self control does - it leaves us unprotected.

Now I really like to win, I mean really like to win. But I prayed a hard prayer for me to pray. "Lord, use this game to cause Drew to rely on You, to long for more of You. If losing will fill him up with things other than You, let them lose. If winning will add pride to his heart and not a thankful

dependence on You, let him lose. Your will be done. Oh and please don't let him get hurt!" I was listening to David Platt the other day and he said that we are more worried about fake battles on Saturday (college football day) then the real battle (spiritual) all around us. I am so guilty of that and asking God to change my heart. I want to train my boys for the real battle. Football can be a tool for that but they must know why they are playing, why God gave them athletic ability and shown examples of those who have used that ability for HIS glory.

My mom reminded me that day that God is Drew's protector and defender. With Drew being the quarterback, we need some big defenders! Thankfully, God is a big defender. He is our protector too, even when they do get hurt. God wasn't any less our protector the day Drew was carried off the field in a stretcher than the days he walked off the field. That is a truth I must

ingrain on my heart so that football doesn't become a stressful thing but a fun family event.

This picture shows my favorite part of Louisiana football.

Gift From My Parents!

2009-09-21T17:01:00.001-06:00

My parents have given my lots of gifts over the years, some big and some little. Some gifts have been tangible, others not so easy to see. I have been thinking lately about how one of the greatest gifts I think they gave me was the courage to not just do things because that is what has always been done. I am not sure if they consciously did this or just allowed certain behaviors or feelings to stand in our house that they could have easily discouraged. I am sure looking back, as a parent, it would have been easier to curb certain behaviors in us. We are three strong willed sisters and somehow they created a sense of "courage" in all us girls. I won't lie, we were a handful! My dad once wrote this just in case you were thinking how fun it would be to have a daughter like me!

"First, I know some of you pastors wonder about your kids and the effects from the stress of being a PK. Kasey is my middle daughter and she went through her time of rebellion. There were times when I took her car away, cancelled her insurance, and put our house on lockdown. Some days, I didn't think we would make it. My friend Michael Catt's favorite church story is about Kasey. When Kasey was three, she told the church day care workers that if they didn't get under the table and play with her she would have her daddy fire them. I think by reading this you will realize that her strong will has given over to His will. The pain of rebellion has turned into the pleasure of obedience." Charles Lowery, taken from SBC LIFE

As you can see we weren't allowed inappropriate behavior (at least when they were around) but we were allowed to speak our minds. Our rebellion of God is never good, our rebellion of this world - YES! We were allowed to question certain things that we didn't understand or didn't make sense to us. It wasn't that anything necessarily changed based off our feelings but we were given the freedom to say what we thought on most occasions.

I specifically remember when I was in elementary and my older sister was in high school. We both went to the same private school and an unfortunate event had happened. One of the teachers had had an affair with another teacher and the other spouse worked at the school too. Needless to say it was a mess and many heated discussions came from that. No details needed but that we both saw two different sides to the story and felt passionate about each side. I still remember us all sitting around our beds talking about it. Our parents allowed us to hash it out!

My dad was one who went to a church and rocked the boat a little :)) HA HA! I have to laugh now but each of us saw the hurt and pain that came from not just doing church a certain way BECAUSE THAT IS THE WAY WE HAVE ALWAYS DONE IT! That is a story I won't go into here but we saw our dad take a stand for things that didn't make him win the pastor of the year award! We knew it and we felt it and we learned that like the country song says, "you've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything."

I think they taught us how to stand for something. I am not saying I always get this right or that I don't mouth off things that I am thinking way before I should. But I was given a gift from them and I will treasure it always. I will take that gift given and in the place where God has put us - and use it. I love the bumper sticker that says "well behaved women never make history." Now, I am not saying that we go out and unnecessarily cause a ruckus. I am saying, God has placed us here for a reason and that reason is to glorify Him in all we do. Let's not be satisfied with status quo, let's go out and make "history" (HIS STORY) known!

New Bible Study I Want to Start!

2009-09-17T14:29:00.001-06:00

Interrupted from threadsmedia on Vimeo.

To Do List!!

2009-09-14T06:39:00.000-06:00

Every morning I think through what I need to do for the day. Even last night before Jackson was going to bed he asked me to do something today and I said, "sure!" Then he said, "put that on your list so you won't forget." HAHA! He knows me well.
This morning as I started my list I did something different. I wrote down all the things that I thought I needed to do today. THEN, I started praying over the list asking the Lord to show me what HE wanted me to do today. I was thinking that maybe He might send someone to sit in the car line for me?? Nope, He thinks that is something I should do, go figure!
I am sure I make walking with the Lord way more difficult than it has to be! Listen and obey!

This Poem Was on Beth Moore's Blog - Fits Perfect!

2009-09-10T11:58:00.001-06:00

Disturb us, Lord, when

We are too well pleased with ourselves,

When our dreams have come true

Because we have dreamed too little,

When we arrived safely

Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when

With the abundance of things we possess

We have lost our thirst

For the waters of life;

Having fallen in love with life,

We have ceased to dream of eternity

And in our efforts to build a new earth,

We have allowed our vision

Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,

To venture on wider seas

Where storms will show your mastery;

Where losing sight of land,

We shall find the stars.

We ask You to push back

The horizons of our hopes;

And to push into the future

In strength, courage, hope, and love.

[Sir Francis Drake]

The Snake

2009-09-10T10:21:00.002-06:00

Well, this morning was a first for me. While I was running across the street from our apartments I ran right past a dead snake. A DEAD SNAKE! The snake had obviously been run over by a car but was still outlined on the road in a large S shape. (I almost ran back here to get my camera but I was too hot and tired. ) Since there is not much to do while running and seeing a snake on the road is a first for me, I can't seem to get that dead S shape out of my mind. God is teaching me so much on my morning runs. Maybe it is because I am stuck out there with not much else to do but listen to Him. It is a good thing for me.

When Brad and I were trying to pick places to live when God quickly called us to move to Bossier CIty, LA. (I mean, 3 weeks is not much time to move across the country) We felt that God was telling us to just move to an apartment for a little while to see what God has for us after that. I am so glad we didn't rush into buying a house. God is teaching us so many things about what His desires are for us and I am praying daily that God will give me a heart for what He cares about. I don't want to get wrapped up in the things of this world and lose my vision for His plan for our family.

I remember in my Beth Moore study of Daniel that Beth taught us that if we are not purposefully taking stands against the materialistic pull of this culture, we will fall prey to it. How true it is. While running through these beautiful neighborhoods out here, I can get sucked into the 'I wants." I see this house or that house and my flesh is crying out, "you need this." I was battling it out with my flesh today - I need HIM and only HIM. Then I see the snake, dead in the road. It is like God was saying to me, "doesn't matter where your neighborhood is, it's got snakes." We can live in the hood (like my new found blog friend) or live in a mansion (don't really know anyone that lives in one of these, a mini-mansion, they are everywhere) IT HAS SNAKES.

I think God was showing me this morning that no matter what we all look like on the outside and we can pretty that up real well and cover the snakes, we all have them! He is the answer, not things. Of anything I have learned over the years is that our time here is short and can end unexpectantly and is not worth wasting on the things of this world. What are we doing with our time? Our money? Our dreams? Are we daily seeking His face for HE has for us each day and then going out and doing what He says. I pray today that we start the habit of asking Jesus each moment what He has, learn to listen to His Spirit.
Ask questions like, "should I buy this?"
"Should I go and talk to her?"
"Should I go out today or stay home?"
"What. Lord, do you want me to do today?"
"Should I . . . . ?" (You fill in your blank)
Begin to let God show you daily, hourly, minute by minute what He has for you today. He longs to guide you and show you where He wants you to go.(or not go)

You are loved, snakes and all!

WOW

2009-09-03T08:00:00.000-06:00

Wow, is really all I can say about the last week. After we lived through the anniversary of Jake's death, we were confronted once again with tragic loss. Brad's uncle Chris was killed by a drunk driver over the weekend. I have pondered all week what life is all about and how we are living it. It can change so fast. SO FAST. One phone call and our worlds as we know it can change. My heart broke for Nana and Grandpa and what I knew was ahead for them. It was just way to familiar for me, the tragic death and the loss of a son, the burial at the same place Jake is buried. It was surreal to say the least. I felt myself detaching at moments and feeling it ALL at other moments. I am rambling. I think there was a point to this. Maybe not.

I was running yesterday and I learned something about myself. I have this nike thing that goes in my ipod and tells me how far I have run and how much longer I have to go. I set it for 5k yesterday and went out and ran it and it felt good. However, the day before I set it for 3 miles and I could barely make it through it. There is something about little chunks, like 5 kilometers that is easier for me to get through than three long miles. I have learned that I can run little by little, one kilometer at a time.

Isn't that the christian life though? God gave the Israelites manna each morning, He gives us mercies new each morning. What we need for the moment we need it. It is just like grief, if we look out at how the loss is going to effect us for the rest of our lives we can get way overwhelmed. We must focus on small (1 kilometer) chunks at a time. God gives us the grace we need when we need it. That is why, I think, he tells us not to worry about tomorrow. He will handle tomorrow with us, tomorrow. Let's just worry about today with Him and ask for that extra grace to make it through whatever is troubling us today. One day at a time.

2009-08-27T08:10:00.001-06:00

One thing I did learn yesterday, I don't want to waste my life. Heaven is coming and will last for eternity. Are we wasting our lives here? Seriously, what are we doing here. Is it what God has called us to do?

Watch this today: But be ready!

a href="http://www.brookhills.org/media/series/radical/v49" target="_blank">RADICAL video: RADICAL1_VID

Jake Ewing Sept. 9, 1999-Aug. 26, 2001

2009-08-26T07:13:00.002-06:00

Not quite sure what I feel this morning. Eight years, wow, I didn't think we would make it through eight days. And here we are eight years later. Time moves quickly, don't waste it.

This morning I dropped Jackson off for Kindergarden and my sweet baby just waved and screamed out love you mom while blowing me kisses. One thing about Jackson, he loves his momma. I didn't want to drive away, I bawled the whole way home. The first few days of him gone was fun, I got to get some stuff done. Now I just want him to sit in my lap and cuddle me all day. That boy was God's gift to heal this heart of mine!

I don't have much today, I am pretty raw. Not sure why this one is hitting me harder than the last few anniversaries have. Maybe all the changes lately are getting the best of me?

I can tell you this. Our home is not here, are we living like it is? Don't waste your life! Read my last post by John Piper, it says it all, the words I want to say but can't today.

Beginning of Sermon by John Piper

2009-08-25T09:48:00.000-06:00

Galatians 6:14

But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

You don't have to know a lot of things for your life to make a lasting difference in the world. But you do have to know the few great things that matter, and then be willing to live for them and die for them. The people that make a durable difference in the world are not the people who have mastered many things, but who have been mastered by a few great things. If you want your life to count, if you want the ripple effect of the pebbles you drop to become waves that reach the ends of the earth and roll on for centuries and into eternity, you don't have to have a high IQ or EQ; you don't have to have to have good looks or riches; you don't have to come from a fine family or a fine school. You have to know a few great, majestic, unchanging, obvious, simple, glorious things, and be set on fire by them.
But I know that not everybody in this crowd wants your life to make a difference. There are hundreds of you - you don't care whether you make a lasting difference for something great, you just want people to like you. If people would just like you, you'd be satisfied. Of if you could just have good job with a good wife and a couple good kids and a nice car and long weekends and a few good friends, a fun retirement, and quick and easy death and no hell - if you could have that (minus God) - you'd be satisfied. THAT is a tragedy in the making.
Three weeks ago we got word at our church that Ruby Eliason and Laura Edwards had both been killed in Cameroon. Ruby was over 80. Single all her life, she poured it out for one great thing: To make Jesus Christ known among the unreached, the poor, and the sick. Laura was a widow, a medical doctor, pushing 80 years old, and serving at Ruby's side in Cameroon. The brakes failed, the car went over the cliff, and they were both killed instantly. And I asked my people: was that a tragedy? Two lives, driven by one great vision, spent in unheralded service to the perishing poor for the glory of Jesus Christ—two decades after almost all their American counterparts have retired to throw their lives away on trifles in Florida or New Mexico. No. That is not a tragedy. That is a glory.
I tell you what a tragedy is. I'll read to you from Reader's Digest (Feb. 2000, p. 98) what a tragedy is: "Bob and Penny... took early retirement from their jobs in the Northeast five years ago when he was 59 and she was 51. Now they live in Punta Gorda, Florida, where they cruise on their 30 foot trawler, play softball and collect shells." The American Dream: come to the end of your life - your one and only life - and let the last great work before you give an account to your Creator, be "I collected shells. See my shells." THAT is a tragedy. And people today are spending billions of dollars to persuade you to embrace that tragic dream. And I get forty minutes to plead with you: don't buy it.

Worth Watching!

2009-08-24T07:29:00.001-06:00

The Gospel Demands Radical Giving - David Platt from Together for Adoption on Vimeo.

Mercy Street

2009-08-20T10:53:00.004-06:00

Because I would never ask you to do anything, I am not doing and since I have a quiet house for part of my day. I am starting at the beginning and reading all of the posts from A Long Way from the Theta house. I have cried, laughed, been challenged and mostly encouraged about all the things that I know God is calling Brad and I to do with our lives. To love Jesus and let our lives reflect his love. We can make a difference here, that is what we are here for, to change this world.

A Long Way from the Theta house is the personal blog of a lady whose husband runs Mercy Street ministries. This mercy street is much like my favorite ministry for global outreach Compassion International which takes kids from a poor community and works with the churches and schools to teach them about Jesus. I am amazed to see all that God has done in both ministries but most of all excited that I can do that here in Bossier City, LA and not move across the world (I am not quite ready for that move). Not sure I am ready to move down the street either but feel that God is calling me to something more than nice neighborhoods with big houses. I am not saying that nice neighborhoods with big houses are wrong, I really like them! I am one who gets very attached to my houses and as Brad can tell you, I like a nice house!

What I have been praying each day is that God would change my heart and that I would desire the things that were important to Him. That he would remove the desires that are not of Him. I want to love what He loves and desire what He does! He is being true to His promises and giving me a heart for what He has a heart for. We can't make ourselves change what we desire but He can change our heart and He is slowly changing mine.

I have no idea what God has for us. I do know that wherever He calls, I pray I am obedient. That whatever neighborhood we move to, that we will have a house on mercy street. A house that shows God's love and mercy to the world. A house that is known for it's open door to the community. One that shines like a light in this dark world. Every neighborhood needs that kind of house. Will you change your street to mercy street with me? Decide to use your home for God's glory. What I do know is that Proverbs 28:27 says "whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse." Let's stop hiding our eyes and seeing the need out there!

2009-08-13T15:14:00.000-06:00

Check out this blogspot: http://hoodmamamel.blogspot.com/

We Are Moving!

2009-08-04T20:10:00.002-06:00

I know that I have been very inconsistent with the blog lately but I have some news that I have been waiting to share.

We are moving to Bossier City, LA. Brad was asked to be the missions and contemporary worship pastor at First Baptist Bossier (www.firstbossier.com). We are very excited and can't believe how God is answering our prayers. We have wanted to live closer to home for a very long time and have really missed our family. Now we will be very close. Most of Brad's family lives in Bossier City and my parents and sisters are close in the Dallas area.

Brad and I have had an increasing heart for missions and this will give us an opportunity to experience more of missions and what God has for us. Also, I will be staying home with the boys and back to my life as a stay at home mom, which I have greatly missed. I will also have more time and flexibility to do some more speaking and give my testimony at churches. God is really opening doors and we are positioning ourselves to be ready for His call and service.

I have missed my long quiet times, lots of time to blog and just being with my boys! I am looking forward to the opportunity for our family to serve at First Bossier. I pray God's blessing on us and the church. Keep as in your prayers as we travel, move in our apartment, and the boys start new schools.

You are loved!

Reading

2009-07-30T09:24:00.002-06:00

Hi Friends!

I have a website to tell you all about - those of you who are mom's (or dad's) that are teaching your kids to read or have a struggling reader - THIS is for you.

We went through this program when Drew was in kindergarden and he went from not reading at all to a fourth grade reading level (by first grade). His first grade teacher couldn't believe that he was reading so well. This gave him such a great start in school. School becomes so much easier for kids when they can read well. All subjects of school depend on the way kids can read and Drew was able to excel in school due to his high reading level. Kids love what they can do well, the best gift you can give to your kids - teach them to read well.

The most exciting part of this is that the founders of this program have now put this online and you can print off the games and watch the instructions. This is not a computer program - you print off the games and watch the instructions and daily work with the kids. It is lots of fun to do with your kids and they kids like to play the game.

I can't tell you how highly I would recommend this program. I am about to start it with Jackson who is going into kindergarden. You will thank me one day for sending you to this website! So, go and check out the link today! Sign up and let me know how it is going!

Click HERE to give your child the reading future they deserve.

Neighbors!

2009-07-27T08:41:00.003-06:00

I am so sorry it has been so long. We just sold our house and living out of suitcases right now. It has been a crazy couple of weeks. We aren't settled in our new place yet so we are living with our neighbors for the moment.

We are having a blast. It is so fun to hang out and have someone around all the time to talk with or just sit on the couch and do nothing together. We are so blessed to have friends that will let us invade their house for the week.

While going through my bible reading, I am always reading through the book of Acts and learning how the body of Christ functions. I am getting a glimpse of it now while we are living with our neighbors. It is great to be able to help each other out when needed. We are sharing everything, taking turns with the kids, and enjoying lots of fellowship! It is so fun! God is showing me daily how blessed we are to have friends that would open up their home to us. That is true friendship, a real neighbor (this friend is the one I wrote the neighbor post about, click to here to read).

Find some friends that you can truly do life with. Invite them over, play games, cook dinner together and share your lives with each other. We are called to fellowship with one another and I know that God will bless those friendships! If you don't have anyone out there to "do life with" go out and find someone. Go to church and meet people, get on your knees and ask God to bring those friends into your life.

Once you meet someone, invite them over for dessert and play some games. Games are a great way to get to know people. Mad Gab, Apples to Apples (I like jr. the best), or Phase 10 are some great recommendations. An easy dessert that everyone loves and is very inexpensive to make is called Sopapilla Cheesecake.

Sopapilla Cheesecake

These sweeties puff like sopapillas and are great for breakfast or as a change from coffeecake! Cinnamon sugar can be made by combining 1 cup sugar to 2 TBS cinnamon.

by Peace

1 hour | 30 min prep

SERVES 12 -20

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or almond extract
1/2 cup margarine or butter, melted
1/2 cup cinnamon sugar

Using a 9 x 13 baking pan, unroll one package of refrigerated crescent rolls and line the bottom of the pan.
Flatten.
Mix together the cream cheese, sugar and extract.
Spread over the crescent rolls.
Unroll the other can of crescent rolls and place on top of cream cheese mixture.
Pour one stick of melted butter or margarine over the top and sprinkle with about 1/2 cup of the cinnamon sugar mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Need to Watch!

2009-07-18T15:59:00.004-06:00

http://viewers.316networks.com/viewer/viewerframes_parent.asp?b=&p=&networkID=3002236&WMP=1&WMPv=7&RPIE=1&RPNAV=0

Please take time to watch David Platt and Francis Chan. You will thank me!

We Are Home!

2009-07-10T23:16:00.008-06:00

Hey Friends! How are you?? I am busy, busy! Brad and I took a wonderful vacation with some of our best friends to Arizona and we didn't want to leave. We sat by the pool and ate so much! We tried every restaurant we could! It was the best trip. We keep calling each other wishing we could go back. We were truly blessed to have some time away to hang out and laugh. Boy, did we laugh. They always say that laughter is the best medicine. It sure does a heart good. We laughed till we cried often. Then we sat by the pool with Courtney's Ipod and blared our country music for all the world to hear. It was so fun!

Now we are back home and since our house has sold (praise the Lord!) we are packing it up! I am learning that a house is just a house. Once I start taking down my pictures and all my stuff that makes my house feel like "The Ewing's" it just looks like a plain house! I love my house but it doesn't really feel like my house anymore. Any house will do for me - it is who is in it and all my "house stuff" that makes it home.

Ever think you need the next big house (or fill in the blank)? The things of this world will do nothing for us. I will admit there will be some temporary enjoyment but it won't last. The church that Brad and I were at last weekend has a motto that is "Faith, Family, and Friends."(www.firstbossier.com) The older and hopefully, wiser I get. I am learning that their motto is truly what matters. Our vacation would not have been the same without our friends, my house is not my house without the family and things our family fills it up with. Most importantly, our lives would not be what they are without our faith. I lived many years of my life with a pretend faith. Now that I have the real thing, I won't go back. He is the real thing and in the end - the only thing that will truly satisfy you!

Psalm 90:14 "Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days."

2009-07-01T18:52:00.001-06:00

Brad and I had a busy but great weekend. We were invited to give our testimonies at a one of our favorite churches! Click here to listen!

Website Up!

2009-06-27T08:04:00.002-06:00

Let me know what you think!

http://kaseyewing.com/kasey.html

Rest

2009-06-23T15:32:00.002-06:00

I have just started back running and it is kicking my butt. I know that I need to do it but each day is a struggle. I love it when I am done and feel much better but the process is lots of work. I know why running gets results - it is painful and takes much discipline, just like our walks with the Lord.
Most of you know that I have been reading one chapter a day through various books of the bible following Professor Horners's Bible Reading Plan. I would like to tell you that everyday I look forward to my readings but some days I just don't. Some days I have to make myself read but I can tell you that everytime I am done, like running, I feel better. God has spoken to me every time I do. I am learning that so much of our life is a discipline that we have to make ourselves do things that we just don't want to do.
Another very important lesson I learned while running, you have to rest. I am very much a jump in with both feet kind of girl. If I am going to do something, I am going to do it well. I felt like I should just run everyday and not take a break and it would get easier. However, the opposite happened, it got harder. My legs felt like I couldn't even pick them up. I finally decided that I needed a "day of rest" (sound familiar) and the day after my rest I felt so much better and actually enjoyed part of the run.
I have a feeling that God has much more to teach me while running my neighborhood. The discipline of running is teaching me much in my relationship with the Lord.

Hebrews 12:1-2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Missionary Support!

2009-06-20T15:08:00.003-06:00

I want to start a new thing and focus on a missionary every month or so! Our first missionary is Annie French and she and her husband are serving the Lord faithfully in Peru. I had the privilege of getting to personally meet her and Darwin when I went to Peru. I fell in love with her immediately!

They are about to take a step of faith and move to a new city in Peru with some other dear friends of ours and help with a church plant there! God is doing such exciting things there!

Click on her link to see all that God is doing!

http://www.annitafrench.com/

Touch My Soul; Direct My Steps

2009-06-15T18:33:00.003-06:00

While going through my daily bible reading this verse just stood out to me. I Samuel 10:6 "And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord His God."

I just wonder if I would have reacted the way David did. I am sure I wouldn't have. David is following God, doing what He thinks God wants him to do and the result is not what he desires. The wives, sons, and daughters had all been captured while David and his men were gone.
Haven't we all been there, following God and disaster strikes. I know I have, I am sure you have too! What I learned from David was that David turned to God and strengthened himself in the Lord. No wonder God says David is a man after his own heart. Instead of realying on others to fill his needs, he went straight to the Lord.

There will be many times in our lives when others are out for our blood, when we have led them where they didn't want to go or it didn't turn out the way we thought. What are we going to do? Let's be like David and get our strenth in HIM!

After allowing God to strengthen him, David took the time to seek the Lord in how to handle the situation. He not only allowed the Lord to touch his soul but to direct his steps. The Lord spoke and told him exactly how to handle the situation and David did what God asked. God rewarded him and he was able to bring back all that was taken. (1 Samuel 30:19).

Aren't these two of the greatest leadership atributes out there. David didn't allow the people he commanded to get under his skin but let the Lord strengthen him. Then he earnestly pursued God's plan in how to handle the situation. Oh, that we would follow David and his ways!

Books of the Bible

2009-06-15T11:22:00.001-06:00

In Genesis, He's the breath of life
In Exodus, He is the Passover Lamb
In Leviticus, He's our High Priest
In Numbers, the Fire by Night
Deuteronomy, He's Israel’s guide
Joshua, He’s salvation's choice
Judges, He’s Israel’s guard
In Ruth, the kinsmen's Redeemer
1st and 2nd Samuel, our trusted Prophet
In Kings and Chronicles, He is Sovereign
In Ezra, He’s the true and faithful scribe
In Nehemiah, the Re-builder of broken walls and lives
In Esther, He’s Mordecai's courage
In Job, the Timeless Redeemer
In Psalms, He is our morning song
In Proverbs, He is our wisdom
Ecclesiastes, He's the time and season
In Song of Solomon, He is the lover's dream
In Isaiah, He is the Prince of Peace
In Jeremiah, the Weeping Prophet
Lamentations, the Cry for Israel
Ezekiel, the Call from Sin
Daniel, the Stranger in the Fire
Hosea, the Forever Faithful
Joel, the Spirit’s Power
Amos, the Strong-arms that carry
Obadiah, the Lord our Savior
Jonah, the great Missionary
Micah, the Promise of Peace
Nahum, our Strength and Shield
In Habakkuk and Zephaniah, He's brings revival
In Haggai, He restores that which was lost
In Zachariah, He’s our fountain
And in Malachi, He's the Son of righteousness rising with healing in His wings
AND THAT’S JUST THE OLD TESTAMENT

In Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, He is God and Messiah
In the spirit filled book of Acts, He is the reigning fire from Heaven
In Romans, He is the grace of God
Corinthians, the Power of Love
Galatians, Freedom from the curse of sin
Ephesians, our Glorious Treasure
Philippians, the Servant's Heart
Colossians, He’s God and the Trinity
Thessalonians, our calling King
In Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, He's our mediator and our faithful pastor
In Hebrews, the Everlasting Courage
In James, the One who heals the sick
In 1st and 2nd Peter, our Faithful Shepherd
In John and Jude, He's the lover coming for His bride
AND in the Revelation, in the very end, when it’s all over, said and done, when time is NO MORE. He is and will always be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Prince of Peace, Son of Man, Lamb of God, The Great I Am, Alpha and Omega, God and Savior
He is Jesus Christ the Lord
HE IS EVERYTHING THAT YOU NEED!
- Taken from Priscilla Shrier www.goingbeyond.com

Warning!

2009-06-13T09:30:00.002-06:00

"Please beware! A head full of biblical knowledge without a heart passionately in love with Christ is terribly dangerous- a stronghold waiting to happen. The head is full, but the heart and soul are still unsatisfied. Satan knows that we all long for passion. If we are not given to godly passion, we will be tempted by counterfits.". Taken from When Godly People Do Ungodly Things.

Jackson's First Baseball Game

2009-06-08T22:40:00.004-06:00

Me: Jackson, did you have fun playing your baseball game?

Jackson: No, I didn't play for fun!

Me: You didn't play for fun? Why did you play?

Jackson: I played for Jesus, I don't need to play for fun!

Oh yes! We had a conversation after that. I wanted him to realize that playing for Jesus was fun. When we play for an audience of One, we don't have to worry about much - just what He thinks. How simple our lives would be if we played for Jesus? Forget what man thinks, what society says, just what Jesus says.

Let's live today like we are playing for Jesus, it will change our whole day!

Been Too Long!

2009-06-06T22:35:00.004-06:00

I know! I know! I have been a horrible blogger these last few months! I have all these things I want to tell you and then I get home and don't want to do anything!

It is finally getting warm in Colorado. I was able to sit outside and enjoy the sun today! I needed it so much. Kids are out of school and enjoying the summer. Both boys are playing baseball. We are praying that Drew loves baseball and football will not be so important. Pray with me will ya?

I am still doing the Bible Reading Plan and loving it each day. It is just what I need each day to stay in the Word! I am not doing a bible study right now which is very unusual, just reading the Word. I am amazed how each book always fits with the other books I am reading. God's message is the same over and over again. I was just in Romans 10 (we are in this chapter at church too) and I am amazed how God used the Gentiles to spur on the Israelites. Romans 10:19 says "I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry." God is provoking Israel so they will come back to relationship with Him. Do you feel like you are at the end of your rope? Maybe God is provoking you to come back to Him? Israel kept disobeying and God used whatever necessary to turn them back to Him. I am so thankful for a God who wants me to turn back to Him and will order events in my life to get me in His direction! He is so faithful. I am reminded tonight that faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God. Are you lacking in faith? Get in God's word, hearing and doing will increase your faith.

2009-05-29T09:06:00.001-06:00

Jackson's Prayer Last Night:

Dear Jesus,

Thank you for everything in the world. Thank you for dying on the cross. Thank you for everything that you made EXCEPT for bugs that bite!

Amen

A New Ring and Reminder

2009-05-14T22:03:00.001-06:00

My wonderful husband took me out a few weeks ago for a big surprise date. On that date, while sitting at The Melting Pot, I took a rose off our cheesecake and found a beautiful ring in it that I have had my eye on for awhile. I was speechless (very unusual for me). I had no idea! I was so excited.

The only problem is that it is a little too big for me and I have yet to get it sized. Really, I just don't want to take it off. So I got me some scotch tape and wrapped the back of the ring so it would fit! Clever, I know. I was speaking at a Mother's Day dinner last weekend and I had that tape around my ring. I kept playing with it at the dinner table. It is like God spoke to me right there. Kasey, you are like that ring. You might be all dressed up and shiny tonight but don't you forget who taped you up. It is "He" who healed my wounds, it is "He" who restored my life! It is HE who is able to take the "foolish things of this world" (ME) and "confound the wise."

I got an email from a dear friend and she ended her email with this . . .
"Little is much in HIS hands!"

2009-05-08T09:37:00.010-06:00

1 Samuel 10:6 "Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another
man."
This passage is when Saul is being anointed king over Israel and it just jumped off the page for me this morning. I have been talking with a sweet girl who heard my testimony and is struggling. Actually, at the end of her e-mail she signed it "struggling well." I loved that. Oh yes, we are going to struggle in this life but let's struggle well. Let's do what Job did and cry out to our God with our questions and doubts and fears. But like Job, don't stop there. Don't stop with the questions for God. Stop, and let God ask you some questions of His own. What do those questions reveal? The questions that God asked Job revealed his mighty power. They showed Job that He was in control! He had it all handled. We also know through Jeremiah 29:11 that God's plans for us are for our good and not evil, plans for a hope and a future. We must know this - that God is mighty and in control (sovereign) but that He is good and His plans for us are good! We must know both! If you don't believe that today, choose to believe that and pray daily for God to show you that He is both Mighty and Good!

How do we be that person that God wants us to be? I think I found the key here in 1 Samuel 10, "the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him and turned him into another man." (my shortened version) We can't be anything other than our fleshly nature until we let the Spirit have full control of our lives. Since Jesus came, we were given the gift of the Holy Spirit for those who know and believe in Him. We have that Spirit. Let's use it today to turn us into another woman, one who walks worthy of the calling we are here for!

A Turn Around

2009-05-05T09:44:00.000-06:00

Picture a 19 year old girl, pregnant, unwed and scared to death. She walks into a church which is hard for her to do. She grew up in church, her dad was a pastor for crying out loud. It really was the last place she wanted to be but knew it was where she needed to be. She had dreaded church most of her life, someone was always mad at her dad, mad at her, never ever seemed like a safe place to go and experience love. When you are a pastors kid, church just isn't the same - as much as my parents tried to protect me from that side of it - I knew what was going on and when I didn't know, I tried to figure it out. So, needless to say, church was the last place I wanted to be. But this time, I was no longer the pastors daughter at this church, just a pregnant college girl! What a scene I must have made. But what I found there was a group of ladies and a pastor that loved me anyway! I grew and was taught to study my Bible (precepts) and was discipled by a dear older woman!

13 years later: I walked through those same doors Thursday night only this time to teach a Ladies Night Out the church was having. Talk about a turn around. What an amazing God we serve. He took a bitter, pregnant 19 year old college student and through the change that only Jesus can do in a life, I can now tell of the goodness of the Lord. Jesus tells the man he had healed from a demon in Luke 8:39 to "Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you."

I am beginning to see over and over again, in my life and many others, God's story of Redemption. He proves it again and again. He came here to save the lost and the sinners, of which I was the greatest. But He doesn't stop there, He restores our lives and changes us and then we go out and "declare how much God has done for us."

2009-04-24T17:51:00.002-06:00

A conversation with Jackson and me in the car this morning:

Jackson: "Mom, when Grandpa goes to heaven, will he still be sick?"

Me: "No Jackson, we have perfect bodies in heaven."

Jackson: "Will Grandpa know Nannie(his other great grandparent)?"

Me: "I think so!"

Jackson: "Will anyone cry in heaven?"

Me: "No Jackson, God made heaven perfect and promises he will wipe away all our tears."

Jackson: Excitment fills his voice,"Cool!"

Me:"It will be great when we get there!'

Jackson: "I am ready when you are!"

Let The Voting Begin!

2009-04-13T19:53:00.004-06:00

I need your help!

Vote for Brad and Unseen here for "My Church Band Rocks" here!

Click to vote

Resurrection Rolls

2009-04-08T15:40:00.002-06:00

I make these with my kids every Easter morning. You get breakfast and great lesson!

Resurrection Rolls
Ingredients:
1 can refrigerated crescent roll dough
8 large marshmallows
Melted butter
Cinnamon
Sugar

Directions:
Give each child one triangle shaped section of crescent roll. This represents the tomb.
Each child takes one marshmallow which represents the body of Christ.
Dip the marshmallow in the butter and roll in cinnamon and sugar mixture. This represents the oils and spices the body was anointed with upon burial.
Lay the marshmallow on the dough and carefully wrap it around the marshmallow.
Make sure all seams are pinched together well. (Otherwise the marshmallow will "ooze" out of the seams)
Bake according to package directions.
Cool.

Break open the tomb and the body of Christ is no longer there!!
Celebrate God's love!

How You Know You Married a Redneck

2009-04-01T17:50:00.002-06:00

You know you married a redneck when you come home, flowers are waiting for you, and you tell your son how wonderful your husband is and he says, "Yeah, dad says the men have to buy the crap the ladies like!"

Drew

2009-03-30T22:50:00.003-06:00

First of all, I want to thank each one of you for your prayers and support. We are so thankful for friends and family who have stood by and supported us through this scary time. I am overwhelmed with gratefulness that Drew is ok. (For those of you who don't know - Drew was horse collared at a scrimmage on Saturday. He got hit a bunch of times and pulled himself out of the game. He lost feeling in the right side and blacked out a few times. He was taken to the hospital) I can't tell you how scared I was. The MRI and the CT scan is all clear. It looks like he walked away with a concussion and no lasting damage to ligaments. The doctor explained it to me like this: think how you feel when you hit your funny bone and the sensation that it gives you. It is a bit like that around your spine and so when it gets hit, it renders that sensation on the spine and him numb on the right side of his body. He needs to take it easy for awhile and is it out of any sports for three months, much to his dismay and my relief! Most of you know that this is not that first time I have looked over my son and watched his eyes roll back and wonder if this was it for him. It is that feeling we all dread, when your heart goes into your stomach. You are praying and telling God "NO" at the same time. On the ambulance ride, they were pricking Drew with a needle and he was not responding at all. I just kept telling the Lord, I can't do this again. I can't Lord. Please don't make me.
For those of you who don't know about the death of our younger son, I will attach story to the bottom of this e-mail or you can go to www.theewingfam.com. But walking through this the last couple of days, I have learned a few things! First being that God gives us the grace we need, when we need it. He doesn't supply the grace we need for what we fear might happen - He gives it to us when it does happen. I have been able to experience the greatest fear come true and get the grace I needed for that day and I can now say I have watched my fears not come true and I am very thankful. This has taught me to be careful in my fears, (while valid) and not let them take over me. Why? God's grace comes in when we need it.

I have learned that He can be trusted. His ways are not our ways but His ways are the RIGHT ways. Even in the midst of death and just plain scary situations. I was scared but I was also calm knowing that in all things His plan would not be changed. God's will would be done. There is a great comfort in that.

Also, I am learning what God walks us through will always be used for His glory. I just got an e-mail from Drew's coach and how he read and learned about Jake and share His story. God is always using everything to reveal Himself to His people. One scripture I am memorizing right now comes from Job 42:5-6 "My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore, I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes." I have to tell you before Jake died, I had heard lots of things about Jesus. LOTS. I knew Him and loved Him. But walking through the death of Jake let me SEE Jesus for who He really is. I learned to really love him and to trust him each step of the way. Sometimes, that was a minute by minute thing. The pain was so bad you have to trust Him, there is no other way (for me, there are other ways but that wasn't an option for me and would only bring more hurt on myself instead of letting Him heal the hurt). However, the more we begin to see Jesus the more we see ourselves and see that there is none not righteous, not one. The closer we see Jesus the more I see how I need to repent of my ways. There are many days I take my family and my kids for granted, many days I don't love them with the love Jesus gives to me to love others. Many days I think of my needs before theirs. The list goes on . . . those are just the public sins!

Most importantly, as the old quote goes "God cares more about our character than our comfort." His goal is to make us more Christ-like and often that takes suffering. Suffering is what puts us at the end of ourselves and makes us willing to trust and lean on Him. Eternity is at stake for most of the world and often our lives is the one thing they get to see that demonstrates Him to them. What is your life looking like? I am taking a long hard look at myself and what I need to change. Those scary times let us see what is important, really important. Beth Moore in her Esther study says this, "the world doesn't care about our relationship with Christ . . . it cares about our resemblance to Christ."

Knowing Jesus is the most important decision you will ever make, if you don't know Him. Please talk to someone who does. Let them share with you who HE is! He is worth knowing!

Jake's Story:

OUR LOSS. HEAVEN’S GAIN.

As I look back on my life, God has been so faithful and good to me. I had never really experienced any deep loss or anything up until we lost our son. I had lost grandparents, but that’s really part of growing up so it felt somewhat like a natural progression of life.

But when we lost our son in a car accident, it was a real blow to our faith.

It happened on Sunday, August 26, 2001. Kasey and I had two boys at the time (Drew who was five years old and Jake who was 23 months old). We had gone to eat after church with some friends and had just pulled up in the driveway. I had to run back up to work to get something so I told Kasey to leave the car running. She and the boys were out of the car and walking to the front door, so I walked around the car to get to the driver’s side to go to work really quick. Well, as I backed out of the driveway, I felt the
car run over something...or someone. It was Jake.

I was so shocked because I thought Kasey and the boys were inside the house already. I guess he had ran behind me when he saw me turn around to get back in the car. It happened so fast and is still a hard thing to think about. Our neighbors came out and helped us call 911 and all that but it was too late. After a while at the emergency room, the doctors came out with the news that Jake had not made it.

When the reality of Jake’s death sunk in over the next few months, our faith was tested like never before. That was, by far, the worst day of our lives. This was the kind of stuff that happened to other people, right? Our world was rocked! Once the shock began to fade away, the reality that Jake would not be around anymore came upon us like a flash flood.

BUT GOD... Those two words are so simple, yet profound.

God came through. He gave us comfort from His Word like we’d never experienced before. God’s promises seem to hold more weight when we are hurting. Grief is a bittersweet time. It’s so painful and tiring, BUT GOD shows up in those moments of hurt like a perfect father does. There are too many stories to share of how He healed us (and still is) but I will simply share just a few.

God story # 1 - When Kasey had given birth to Jake she went ahead and had her tubes tied. Two boys seemed just right for us. Oops! Well, about a year after Jake had died, Kasey’s parents said that they had felt led to help us do the tubal reversal surgery. This had been on our hearts for a while but we just didn’t have the means to make it happen so we were excited. We had no idea what to expect, BUT GOD blew us away. The surgery had taken place in mid-November and by January Kasey was pregnant with our third little boy, Jackson. This was after a 6 week recovery time, too, so the Lord worked quick on that one.

God story # 2 - My dad and a few others had accepted the Lord for the first time at Jake’s funeral service. Kasey’s Uncle Fred shared the gospel and they responded by giving their lives to Christ.

God story # 3 - The same day of the accident, the Lord gave me a song called “But Until Then.” You may say big deal, but if you knew what condition my heart and mind were in that day, you would realize what a gift from God that song was. It’s like God just said, “grab a pen and write this down.” We were able to record the song and played it during Jake’s service.

There are so many things that God did, but I’ll leave you with this thought. Growing up, one of my favorite verses was Romans 8:18 that says, “For I consider the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in us.” That verse means more to me now than ever before. The trials in life last for a little while, but this verse reminds me to hold on to the hope of eternity. That promise alone, got me through some tough nights. There were times of depression and stress during the grieving process, but this verse came many times as a reminder that it will be worth it all. I could just imagine the Apostle Paul saying, “Don’t quit! The hard times are worth the wait. This life is not then end and death for Jake is the beginning of a life in paradise.” That thought alone gave me comfort then and still does today.

The grieving process was very painful, but the sweetness of the Lord’s presence during this time has not been matched in our lives before or since. HE IS the God of all comfort and He is the healer of my soul. I can’t imagine not having the Lord in my life or having a living hope to trust in when the waves come. I can rest in faith that I will see my son again and he will be able show me around heaven one day with my grandparents and loved ones that beat me there. O happy day!

As you have been reading this, our prayer is that God would use our lives as a bulletin board for His faithfulness. Even in our darkest storm, we saw the hand of God moving and felt the nearness of God in a way like never before. If you are hurting today, I pray that our story will encourage you to keep holding on to Jesus. He knows your pain and wants to heal you and put a joy deeper than any circumstance in your heart. God bless you and thank for visiting the site. It’s an honor you would come.

Love - Brad, Kasey, and the boys

We need to listen to this!

2009-03-28T10:00:00.000-06:00

Marriage and Women

2009-03-25T16:07:00.001-06:00

Curb Appeal

2009-03-22T16:37:00.002-06:00

UPDATE: These verses were in my Bible Reading this morning and I thought they fit perfect for what I was talking about yesterday. Matthew 23: 25-26 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean."

We have our house on the market and once someone looks at the house, they give their feedback to us. We got this yesterday, "Did not like the outside, no curb appeal. Loved the inside! Great floor plan and excellent decorating. May want to see it again this weekend."

Ok, so, what do you do with that? How do you create curb appeal? After a few searches on HGTV and quick e-mail to my Mom and sisters, I got a plan--Walmart clearance. I found some cafe chairs and a small table for the porch, some cheap flowers (it is possible we will still have a freeze and some snow here in CO), and some finials' that I spray painted black. Under a $100 and we have some curb appeal. I still need a few evergreens but Walmart didn't have any. Next weekend!

I have been going through Beth Moore's study of Esther and she is discussing how hard it is to be a woman these days. I have really been thinking about how we get the same message I got about my house. Not enough - we can have a great floorplan (shape), great decorating (clothes and make-up), someone can love us from the inside (our hearts) and still feel like we are lacking in something! No curb appeal maybe? Or maybe our decorating isn't so hot? Or worst, our hearts are a mess?

What is that you are struggling with? I feel like I get one area under control and then I am lacking in another. I am doing great with my quiet time each morning and reading my Bible plan. Then my exercise falls by the wayside or my house is a disaster. How do we do it all? The whole package!

We can't. The best thing we will ever learn is that we can't do everything well to the glory of God. Sometimes, we can only do a few things well. Sometimes, it is just one thing. We try to do too much and end up doing many things poorly.

What do we do then? We focus on our heart. We focus on the inside - let God change our hearts and our curb appeal will enhance, that I guarantee. Show me a woman who is in love with the Lord and finds her security in Him and Him alone and I will show you some curb appeal.

Ezekiel 16:14 "Then your fame went forth among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect because of My splendor which I bestowed on you." declares the Lord.
Kasey Ewing

Miss Hollywood

2009-03-18T11:46:00.001-06:00

I have wanted to write this post for a few weeks but my heart just wasn't ready to deal with the death of my grandmother. I was honored to get to go to the funeral (thanks to my dad for tickets--first class, but I won't brag) and help my mom and dad clean out her stuff and drive around where she lived and soak up the history of my family.

My grandparents lived in a small town called Montmorency, South Carolina. My Pop was a farmer and had lots of land. I spent many summers there driving tractors, jumping in bins of fresh pulled cotton, and working in the country store they had on their property. I watched as family after family came in to get their groceries, usually on their tab. I learned all about helping people in need. I watched as Pop would take groceries to single moms and to the elderly who couldn't get out. I questioned him one day why he kept letting people add to their tab when they hadn't paid in years. He would shake his head and tell me that they needed it more than he did. At that tender age, I was enamored by the big white plantation house they lived in and all the farms but I saw what was really important in the day to day activity of his life. People!

At the funeral one of the workers at Nana's home got up to tell a story. She said she had just begun working there and was sent to get a lady named "Miss Hollywood." She said she looked all over the place for someone named "Miss Hollywood" and couldn't find anyone by that name. She was confused. She finally asked who is "Miss Hollywood?" "Oh girl, that is Mrs. Flanders (my Nana) and we call her "Miss Hollywood" because she is always dressed up, has her make-up on and all her jewelry." My Nana still went to the beauty shop each week to get her hair done. I got to help my parents clean out her rooms and I can't tell you all the stuff we found. She had turned her bathtub into a closet with hangers full of clothes because the other two closets were full. She had drawers of earrings she had filled up ice cube containers with thousands of earrings. She had her lipsticks divided into colors and probably had over a hundred. She had bags and bags of cosmetics and beauty supplies. You have got to love her.

My Nana took me for the first time to buy makeup. She walked right into Dillard's and told the cosmetic lady that it was time for me to learn what to do with makeup. I got a full facial and a makeup artist to teach me how to apply the makeup. I was spending the summer with her and I am pretty sure she never asked my mom. I came home that summer all like "Miss Hollywood." My Mom recovered well but she was pretty shocked to say the least. I thought I was pretty special! The best part of it all, she charged it all to my mom's credit card. :)

The funeral was a perfect representation of her life. My Nana spent most of her life helping the fire department. She raised money for them for everything. The chief of the fire department told us that they wouldn't have a department if it wasn't for her. The fire department came to her funeral with lights flashing. They carried her casket behind the truck and walked her to her grave. She went out in style, perfect Hollywood style!

2009-03-16T08:21:00.001-06:00

"You, Sir, are weak. You can't look evil in the eye and deal with it." -Jack Bauer

Are we dealing with our own sin? Are we truly "examining our hearts?" Jesus told us to examine our hearts before we partake of the Lord's supper. Lam. 3:40 says "Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord." The dictionary defines examine as "to inspect closely, to test the condition of, to inquire carefully, to interrogate closely, or to test by questioning in order to determine progress, fitness or knowledge." I wonder how much better off we would be if we really did this - if we truly examined our hearts and motives this way. 2 Corinthians 13:5 "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? - unless indeed you fail to meet the test!
The bible repeatedly tells us to test,examine, or evaluate our hearts and actions. What a difference we would experience in our walk with the Lord and with our relationships if we truly did this. I am thinking that our prayer life should include a request for the Lord to reveal to us our motives - ask Him to examine us even if it hurts. Confession of sin will free us to be person God has made us to be.
What is it that you need to examine? Is there an area that needs to be looked at through the power of the Holy Spirit, who reveals those things to us?

Tuesday's Token

2009-03-10T21:26:00.000-06:00

"You Sir are weak, you can't look evil in the eye and deal with it." -Jack Bauer

Bible Reading Plan

2009-03-02T08:43:00.001-07:00

What follows is Professor Horner's explanation of the Bible Reading System, as it appears on the Facebook page.  ~~~  "I have more wisdom than all my teachers, for thy testimonies are my meditation." Psalm 119:99, right-hand page, left-hand column, dead center of page. Many people ask me how it is that I know precisely where virtually *everything* is in my Bible. The answer: this system. I began in 1983 (adapting and tweaking the basic design of another system) as a brand-new convert; within 3 years I knew the text of my Bible very well. Twenty-five years later it is essentially imprinted on my mind and heart. I have been all over the country and have taught this system in many churches. I have done open-microphone Q&As on Bible and theology -- with 1200 people in the audience -- as well as cultural-analysis live radio shows where you have to think fast -- and it has been the "imprinting" value of this system that has helped me provide quick, clear, heavily contextualized scriptural answers (I Peter 3:15; right-hand page, right hand column, 1/3rd way down). I have no Seminary degrees, no Bible-college or Christian school education -- hey, I never even went to Sunday School (the first church I went to, just months after my conversion, threw me into Sunday School-- to teach!!! *BIG* mistake, by the way...) All I DID have was a chair, a lamp ... and my Bible.  This is *not* merely a speed-reading program, nor is it a 'study' system. Read the 1-page description provided here to see how it works. (I'd also recommend you look at my first few posts in the Discussion Board 'Starting Up' below as well, for more thoughts.) DO NOT be intimidated! I was a college drop-out, ex-heavy-druggie when I started it. If I can do it -- so can you!  TRY IT FOR A MONTH. Then tell me what is happening!  Join if you wish to try it; stay if you keep it up for one month! And make posts about your struggles, the effects it is having on your biblical understanding and discernment, and to encourage others.
  HERE IT IS:  * PROFESSOR GRANT HORNER'S 'TEN LISTS BIBLE READING SYSTEM'*  Each day you will read one chapter from each list, in order. THAT'S RIGHT -- *TEN CHAPTERS PER DAY*!!! Use ten bookmarks or sticky notes with the individual lists on them to keep track of your locations. On day one, you read Matthew 1, Genesis 1, Romans 1, and so forth. On day 2, read Matthew 2, Genesis 2, etc. On day 29, you will have just finished Matthew, so go to Mark 1 on the Gospel list; you’ll also be almost to the end of 2nd Corinthians and Proverbs, you’ll be reading Psalm 29 and Genesis 29, and so forth. When you reach the last chapter of the last book in a list – start over again. Rotate all the way through all the Scriptures constantly. Since the lists vary in length, the readings begin interweaving in constantly changing ways. You will NEVER read the same set of ten chapters together again! Every year you’ll read through all the Gospels four times, the Pentateuch twice, Paul’s letters 4-5 times each, the OT wisdom literature six times, all the Psalms at least twice, all the Proverbs as well as Acts a dozen times, and all the way through the OT History and prophetic books about 1 ½ times. Since the interweaving is constantly changing, you will experience the Bible commenting *on itself* in constantly changing ways -- the Reformer's principle of 'scriptura interpretans scripturam' -- 'scripture interpreting scripture' IN ACTION!  After you’ve read any particular book once or twice, your speed in that book usually *doubles or triples* because you’re familiar with it and can move quickly and confidently -- because you are no longer merely decoding the text but thinking it through in the context of all of the scripture! Acts 20:27. Even an ‘average’ reader, if focusing on moving through the text, rather than trying to figure everything out, can usually do this in about an hour a day – 5-6 minutes per chapter. If it is taking you longer, then you are ‘reading wrong’ – stay relaxed, focus, and just keep it moving. Moderate but consistent speed is the key. This is "gross anatomy" -- looking at the whole body; you're *not* closely studying organs or systems or tissues or cells -- it is *not* microbiology. BUT -- microbiology and the study or organs makes more sense when you know what the *whole* structure of the human body is like, and how all the parts, large and small, relate in perfect interdependence. After just a few days the reading gets *much* easier; in a month it will be a habit, and in six months you’ll wonder how you ever survived before on such a slim diet of the WORD. And then -- you'll tell others to start the system!  I began in 1983 as a new Christian and have now read (most of) the Bible hundreds and hundreds of times. You also need to get ONE Bible, keep it, and do all your reading in it, so you learn where everything is. I’ve had the same Bible since 1983 and I know it intimately. If you keep switching Bibles, you ‘lose’ this intimacy with the text. Find a translation and format you like and stick with it. THIS IS CRUCIAL.  When I was flown out by Masters for a 3-day interview/theological-grilling process, the culmination was of course being ushered in to Dr. John MacArthur's private study, which is where he asked me this one question: "Can I see your Bible?" I thought he would be horrified, because it looked like it had been through a typhoon -- it looked unloved and neglected. Something from a dumpster. It was unbound, with stringy mess and paper debris hanging out. I was so embarrassed. I thought he would chastise me and recommend I get a new study Bible if I was serious about the Word. (No doubt which study Bible he would recommend!!!) He flipped through it and handed it to his wife and said "If your Bible is falling apart, you probably aren't." I was basically hired on the spot.  Your Bible is the only thing on Earth that, as you wear it out, will actually work better and better.  

THE TEN LISTS:
 List 1 (89 days) Matthew, Mark, Luke, John  
List 2 (187 days) Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
  List 3 (78 days) Romans, I&II Cor, Gal, Eph, Phil, Col, Hebrews
  List 4 (65 days) I&II Thess, I&II Tim, Titus, Philemon, James, I&II Peter, I,II&III John, Jude, Revelation  
List 5 (62 days) Job, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon  
List 6 (150 days) Psalms
  List 7 (31 days) Proverbs  
List 8 (249 days) Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I&II Samuel, I&II Kings, I&II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther  
List 9 (250 days) Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi  
List 10 (28 days) Acts

  If you are wondering why you should read Acts (or Proverbs) all the way through *every single month* then -- you've just shown that you NEED to read them that much!  *Put these instructions in your Bible and review them from time to time*  SECRETS TO SUCCESS WITH THIS SYSTEM:  • Read one chapter from each list each day, in one sitting or two. At the end of a book, go to the next book. At the end of the list – start it again. Do it in the order given above. • Read quickly (without “speed reading”) in order to get the overall sense. Read as fast as you comfortably can with moderate retention. You’re not studying deeply or memorizing; shoot for 5-6 minutes per chapter. At the end of a chapter, move immediately to the next list. 

GET THROUGH THE TEXT – no dawdling, back-reading, looking up cross-references! • There are different ‘kinds’ of reading: super-quick skimming, careful moderate-paced, studying the text, deep meditation. You should be between the first and second kind. • Most people decrease their time spent and increase their retention after just two-three weeks! I now read and retain the entire text of Matthew in 35 minutes, Romans in 20, Genesis in *one hour*! • Don’t look up anything you ‘don’t get’ – real understanding will come through contextualizing by reading a LOT of scripture over time. Get through the text! • If you miss a day or two – OK, get over it, then keep going. Don’t cover yourself in sackcloth and ashes and quit! Move the bookmarks along, to find your place(s) quickly next day. Heb 4:12&5:11-14; Eph 5:26&6:17; Col 3:16; 2 Tim 3:16; Ps 119; Ezra 8; Prov 3: 1-2, 10:14; Dan 1

My Nana!

2009-02-23T18:58:00.001-07:00

My Nana went to be with Jesus on Saturday. I am off to the funeral. I won't be posting but wanted to leave you with this scripture that Brad sent me today.

"For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, 3 if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. 4 For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord."

2 Cor. 5:1-7

Amen, sister! She is present with the LORD!

What IS a neighbor?

2009-02-21T08:59:00.002-07:00

I have a friend who gives me a hard time because when I introduce her to someone I tell them this "my neighbor, Melanie." For some strange reason she thinks thinks this is a true indication of the level of our friendship. Now we all have levels of friendships-- best friends, friends, co-workers, acquaintances. What is the highest level of friendship? We can have a neighbor or we can have "my neighbor!" My neighbor has a key to my house, my neighbor brings me books at 11 pm when I finished one book in the series and can't wait for the next. My neighbor is welcome to come and get anything she might need out of my house (like my brown stools) and I have no clue they are gone. My neighbor, when I have a migraine, picks me up and takes me to the doctor then puts me in bed when I get home and adds blankets to the windows so it is really dark. My neighbor picks up my kids when I can't make it to school on time or it is snowing and I don't want them to walk home in it. My neighbor is on speed dial and gets about 12 calls a day on the average. My neighbor and I can vehemently disagree on something and still love each other. My neighbor and I can solve the world's problems in one single phone call.

In the Old Testament, neighbor is used figuratively of a fellow Israelite. (Ex. 2:13;I Sam. 28:17). In Harper's Bible Dictionary, a neighbor is defined "as members of a community united by divine covenant, law, and teaching, the Israelites' obligations to God were reflected in their moral obligations to each other."

Now, I must say that is what a neighbor is to me! It is WAY more than living next to each other! It is a covenant, more than a friendship. It is a promise to each other that we will be there when we are needed.

The dictionary goes on to state our duties to our neighbors: "They were to be 'a kingdom of priests and a holy nation' (Exod. 19:6). Thus, they were commanded concerning each other not to covet their neighbor's wife or possessions (Exod. 20:16-17; Deut. 5:20-21); not to hold a neighbor's garment for pledge past sunset (Exod. 22:25-26); not to steal, deal deceitfully, swear falsely (Lev. 19:11), or defraud (v. 13); not to gossip, or to be passive while injustice is being done to another (v. 16); not to hate one another (v. 17), to avenge or bear a grudge (v. 18), to take usury (Lev. 25:36-37), or to enslave (v. 39); not to oppress (vv. 43, 46), to withhold loans or charity (Deut. 15:7-11), or to ignore a neighbor's stray animal or lost property (Deut. 22:1-4). The Israelites were obligated to each other for the property placed in one's care (Exod. 22:6-14), 'to love your neighbor as yourself' (Lev. 19:18), to help the poor through free loans (Lev. 25:35), or hiring the poor for pay (vv. 39-40), and the like. One who has harmed his neighbor will be punished in kind (Lev. 24:19-20, 22). God will destroy those who slander their neighbors (Ps. 101:5; cf. Prov. 11:9). To despise one's neighbor is to be devoid of wisdom (Prov. 11:12) and to sin (14:21). According to Zechariah 3:10, in the messianic age neighbors shall dwell together in peace."

I think I have well defended my case of what a "neighbor" is! Now, I have to send this to her because she edits all my posts before I can put them online. (I have a BIG problem with run on sentences. What can I say? I write like I talk!)

Enjoy your neighbors today!

Watch This~

2009-02-21T08:33:00.001-07:00

A Good Credit Score

2009-02-15T14:44:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I got an e-mail from a dear friend to come and teach at their ladies' night out. I was so excited. A few days after that I got another e-mail from her. Now, on my phone when I get an e-mail, I can see part of the message on the screen without having to open the whole message. I was at a stop light and decided to check my e-mail. (My mom gave me her old Iphone and I am really addicted.) I got a message from my friend and it read, " Kasey, we are so excited to have you. Please send me your contact information, what airport you need to fly out of. a good credit score." What???? Did she just ask me for a good credit score? My heart dropped. Not that we have a bad credit score, (Brad has a service that checks it regularly and keeps us right where we need to be.) but I already struggle with "Why, Me?" Why would anyone want to ask me to speak to their ladies. Me, who thoroughly spent 4 years trying to single-handily destroy my life through sin and rebellion. "WHY," Iasked the Lord? I am SO not the one to do this! God spoke to me through the words of Jeremiah 1:5-9 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.""Ah, Sovereign Lord," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child."But the Lord said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the Lord. Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth."

I am not worthy to go and do anything in the name of the Lord but Jesus is and He for some strange reason has a calling on my life! I know better than to disobey that! Not too long after that e-mail came, I received another e-mail from her. Jeremiah 15:19 was in the next e-mail. It says. "Therefore, this is what the Lord says, If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy not worthless words, you will be my spokesman."

What am I to do - repent for my sins, He will restore me. If I utter worthy and not worthless words- I will be His spokesman. He does the work in me. My job is to repent and utter worthy words. My prayer is like Jeremiah, that the Lord would reach out His hand and touch my mouth and "put His words into mine!"

PS. When I opened the full e-mail, the request for a good credit score was an advertisement on the bottom of the e-mail. She wasn't asking for my credit score after all. YIPEE!

A Different Perspective

2009-02-07T21:56:00.002-07:00

When we were in Cajamarca, we had to hike up a huge hill to get to a remote village. The hike up was beautiful and hard. I didn't realize how out of shape I was. It was lots of work. Once we got up there the kids and parents were happy to see us! I was glad we braved the hike to get up to see them. However, when we were up in the village, it started raining. I mean really raining! Really, really raining. So much that we tried to call taxi's to come and get us to take us back down the hill. It was raining so much that they wouldn't come to rescue us. Off we went to hike down the hill in the pouring rain.

Everything was going pretty well until we reached a large drop off with a quick flowing river that we had to cross. From the top it looked very dangerous and quite scary! Needless to say, after much discussion we sent two guys down to check it out. Once the guys got down there and tried a couple of ways to get across the river, they said to come on down and it would be fine. However, many didn't want to do that. From where we were standing and looking down, it looked too dangerous. The guys down at the bottom kept telling us to come down, that it will be okay. We hesitated and took way too much time contemplating and arguing over if it was safe or not.

I think that is the way that God feels about us. He is down at the bottom of hill (He is seeing it from His perspective) and telling us to, "Come, follow Me." What do we do? We argue and debate and question His way down the hill.
Once we got down the hill and across the river, we realized that it wasn't as bad as it seemed. All the debating was for nothing. The river didn't seem so big when you were right on it. One jump on a rock and we had crossed the river.

I think we so often think what God has planned for us is going to be awful, so we stand at the top of the crossroad and debate if we are going to do it or not. When God has gone before us and knows where He wants to lead us, He is saying, "Come on, let's go! It is time to cross."
Can we trust Him when He calls us to go? Do we know that "His ways are not our ways." Often all it takes is for us to take that first step, climb down the mountain and the river doesn't seem so bad!

PS. I was just watching Beth Moore from my Esther study and she just said the most profound quote that talks exactly about what I was blogging about.
"Trust reverses the detours of adversity into the highway of destiny." When we trust Him in our circumstances and follow Him, He will lead us into the path of our destiny. He will lead us in the way that He has planned for us! Trust Him today!

We Are Back!

2009-02-06T11:16:00.002-07:00

That is me - the red head!
We had a wonderful trip! Peru was awesome! As soon as I get my laundry, Drew's homework, and all the other stuff done, I will be back blogging! Thanks for your patience.

Concert Sunday

2009-01-22T21:17:00.001-07:00

Hey gang

The Unseen guys and me are doing a concert this Sunday (25th) at RMC at 6:00 pm.

This is in celebration of the new EP, Songs for the Storm I did a while back. Matthew Fallentine, the producer friend of ours, will be joining us as well. We'll have some worship tunes as well as the songs off the EP. Then, at the end, we'll have some fun and share some familiar and new Unseen tunes.

Hope you can join us. Admission is free, so bring a friend who may need some encouragement.

A Crazy Week

2009-01-22T09:37:00.002-07:00

We are getting ready to leave for Peru next week and it has been crazy. We have had quite the week. I got sick with a migraine on Friday night - the night of prayer for our Peru trip - at my house! Then we spent the weekend getting gifts for our compassion children and their families. We got ready to go to bed on Sunday night when Jackson started throwing up and couldn't stop. At 3 am we ended up in er. Thankfully, the dr's got him hydrated and to stop throwing up. The stomach bug is slowly hitting each family member. I can't wait to see what God is going to do on this trip, the events leading up to it are making me think - HE is ready to move in a mighty way!
I am a bit anxious to get it all packed and ready to go. Here is what my verses were in my devotion this morning. Something tells me you could use them as much as I did! They are from Daily Light, January 22 ( I think that is today :) but I am not certain!)

"In the multitude of my anxieties within me, your comforts delight my soul. When my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. O Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me! Cast your burden on the Lord and He shall sustain you. I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. If any of you lacks wisdom. let him ask of God . . . . and it will be given to him. Who is sufficient for these things? I know that in me (that is, my flesh) nothing good dwells. My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Son (daughter) be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven you . . . . Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness . . . When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches."

Ps.94:19,Ps.61:2. Isa.38:14,Ps. 55:22,I Kings 3:7, James 1:5, 2 Cor, 2:16, Rom. 7:18, 2 Cor. 13
2:9:Matt. 9:2,22:Ps. 63:5-6

The Narrow Way

2009-01-16T07:32:00.000-07:00

I was driving home tonight and my windshield was dirty so I sprayed it with the window cleaner so I could see. However, I didn't take into account that it was so cold outside that it was going to freeze immediately and make it impossible to see. I know, not one of my smarter moves! I was driving and really couldn't see. I know that I should have pulled over and waited for the defrost to clear the window but I was thinking about how hard it is to drive when you can't see and how I panicked briefly because I couldn't see. I could see a bit, the yellow lines showing me how to stay in the lines.
I am pretty sure that this was a perfect picture of the Christian life. I am not by any means suggesting it is a good way to drive, but it is the way to live. Christ tells not to walk by sight but by faith. Honestly, I would rather walk by sight. I like to know where I am going, why I am going there, and what I will do while I am there. Not being able to see what is ahead of me is not fun but it is what God calls us to do.
He asks us to walk by faith. Too often it means walking blindly through life along the road He has chosen for us - not stupid but blind. I think about how while driving home, I could see this one spot of the yellow line and if I just followed that line, I was going to be driving in the right "lane."
Matthew 7:13-14 says to "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." God has given us the "narrow" lane to follow and it is often difficult to follow because it is hard to see sometimes. But God has promised us that it is the way that leads to life and not destruction. I have walked too wide a path - the one that seems good and fun and it does lead to destruction. Anything against God ways will lead to destruction. The "narrow" lane is just that - narrow. It is difficult to walk and only by faith and His spirit can we do it. Wiersbe says that "the two ways refer to two types of life-style: the easy, comfortable, popular life, or the difficult way of self-denial. These ways are entered by two gates: a narrow gate of surrender or a broad gate of self-sufficiency. True righteousness leads to self-denial." True righteousness comes when we "deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him."

Hope

2009-01-10T20:30:00.001-07:00

Hope . . . is where stories begin!

A sweet friend gave me a plaque for my birthday last year that said this, "hope . . . is where stories begin." The more I look at it and think about it, the more true it becomes to me. Not too long ago I had a friend tell me that she just had no hope that her situation would change. My heart just broke for her. When we have lost hope that God can change us and our situation, we have lost faith. The Bible says that without faith it is impossible to please God. If we can't please God, I am pretty sure we won't be pleased with ourselves. Why? It is in pleasing God we are most satisfied with ourselves.

Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary defines hope as "confident expectancy. In the Bible, the word "hope" stands for both the act of hoping (Rom. 4:18; 1 Cor. 9:10) and the thing hoped for (Col. 1:5; 1 Pet. 1:3). Hope does not arise from the individual's desires or wishes but from God, who is Himself the believer's hope: "My hope is in You" (Ps. 39:7). Genuine hope is not wishful thinking, but a firm assurance about things that are unseen and still in the future (Rom. 8:24–25; Heb. 11:1, 7).
Hope distinguishes the Christian from the unbeliever, who has no hope (Eph. 2:12; 1 Thess. 4:13). Indeed, a Christian is one in whom hope resides (1 Pet. 3:15; 1 John 3:3). In contrast to Old Testament hope, the Christian hope is superior (Heb. 7:19).
Christian hope comes from God (Rom. 15:13) and especially His calling (Eph. 1:18; 4:4), His grace (2 Thess. 2:16), His Word (Rom. 15:4) and His gospel (Col. 1:23). Hope is directed toward God (Acts 24:15; 1 Pet. 1:21) and Christ (1 Thess. 1:3; 1 Tim. 1:1). Its appropriate objects are eternal life (Titus 1:2; 3:7), salvation (1 Thess. 5:8), righteousness (Gal. 5:5), the glory of God (Rom. 5:2; Col. 1:27), the appearing of Christ (Titus 2:13) and the resurrection from the dead (Acts 23:6; 26:6–7)."

One of the greatest gifts God gave me when we lost Jake was hope. Walking through the death of a child gave me so much hope in JESUS that we could walk through anything. I can honestly look back at my life and say that there is not one thing that Jesus hasn't walked me through. I am so saddened by my friend that she had no hope in God that He could change her or change her situation. I went to sleep last night praising God that I could honestly say there has not been a time in my life when I couldn't hope in Him.

When I was in 6th grade my youth leader made me learn Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord, plans for a hope and a future." I can't tell you how many times I have had to repeat that to myself over and over again. To remind myself what His plans were for me when they didn't feel so great. Most of our battles our fought in our heads so we must learn the scripture we need to combat our thoughts and feelings. Yes, there are times I have felt no hope but I knew that He was my HOPE.

I Peter 1:13 " Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed." When Jesus is revealed and we can see all the He is doing, working in and through us, we will rejoice. Until then we must trust that He is working for us and not against us.

Brad and I were watching Evan Almighty the other night and my favorite part of the movie is when his wife is about to leave him and he sees water hitting the window and he thinks the rain is starting to come. He runs outside only to see that it is just the sprinklers. His wife and kids get in the car and leave him standing in the driveway. He looks up towards heaven and says, "I know, it's because you love me" and then the sprinkler hits him right in face. He says, "can you love me a little less?" How often do I feel like that. I am hoping and waiting on God to show up - to reveal himself and I get excited and think this is it and it turns out not to be. It is like a sprinkler in your face. Finally the flood does come and God does reveal Himself, just not in our timing.

What do we do in the meantime? We wait (stinks, I know). Isaiah 40:28-31 "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is an everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the Earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might He increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; BUT THEY THAT WAIT FOR THE LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."

Finally, Habakkuk 2:3 says this "For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger ( or seems slow to us), WAIT FOR IT, it will certainly come and will not delay." The word for wait here is a commanding verb, meaning it is an action - we are to wait, to "lie in wait" like a soldier who waits for his enemy to come to pounce on him - an ambush. We "lie in wait" with confident expectancy that God is going to show up and do His thing!

Thought I'd Share

2009-01-04T10:36:00.002-07:00

Yes, I am the sharing type. Wish it would rub off on my kids!

This was devotion this morning from the book, "Jesus Calling" by Sharon Young
Think of this as Jesus talking to you:
"I want you to learn a new habit. Try saying,"I trust you, Jesus" in response to whatever happens to you. If there is time, think about who I AM in all My power and Glory; ponder also the depth and breadth of My love for you.

This simple practice will help you to see Me in every situation, acknowledging My sovereign control over the universe. When you view events from this perspective - through the LIght of My universal Presence - fear loses its grip on you. Adverse circumstances become growth opportunities when you affirm your trust in Me no matter what. You receive blessings gratefully, realizing they flow directly from My hand of grace. Your continual assertion of trusting ME will strengthen our relationship and keep you close to ME."

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T15:09:00.003-07:00

Happy New Year to you! I pray that each of you are having a great start to 2009. I can hardly believe how time flies. I remember Y2K and thinking that everything was going to shut down when 2000 hit and now we are in 2009. I am not big on resolutions but I do love a new start. I have messed up so many things in my life that the thought of a new start is precious to me.
I love that about our God. That He is the God of new beginnings. That God doesn't see us for what we were but what we are becoming. I love that when He sees us, He sees us as "blameless in the day of the Lord."( I Cor. 1:8)

I looked up blameless in my new logos bible software (my Merry Christmas present) and it is defined as "freedom from fault; innocency" Only Jesus Christ can give us this blamelessness. What he did on the cross is the sole reason we are free from fault. I loved the word "innocency" I lost my innocence a long time ago. We all did but only by His blood can we be seen by the God of the universe as innocent. How cool is that?. If any of you struggle with guilt and shame, here is what we need to latch onto. Through Jesus we have been made new - innocent. Pure!

When I was studying Hosea over the summer, I learned the coolest thing about God and His restoration. God is talking about how He will restore Israel after her unfaithfulness. There are so many things that God does for us but in chapter 2 of verse 19 and 20 He says, “I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, In lovingkindness and in compassion, And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know the Lord."
(These are my favorite verses right now and ones I am currently working on memorizing for those of you are joining the Beth Moore memory verse challenge on her blog - http://livingproofministries.blogspot.com)

One of my favorite parts is when He says and "then you will know the Lord."

John Piper says this about the word, "In the context of a broken marriage being renewed with the fresh vows of betrothal, must not the words, "and you shall know the Lord" (v. 20), mean, you shall enjoy an intimacy like that of the purest sexual intercourse. When the wife of harlotry returns to her husband, he will withhold nothing. He will not keep her at a distance. The fellowship and communion and profoundest union he will give to his prodigal wife when she comes home broken and empty."

Can I get an amen to that? "God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God."

We Wish You A Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T15:00:00.003-07:00

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T14:36:00.000-07:00

A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes ... and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent.

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Tuesday's Token

2008-12-16T20:51:00.001-07:00

A Puritan once said that the death of a loved one "will make life a little less sweet and death will be a little less bitter."

Psalm 25

2008-12-14T09:44:00.004-07:00

My mom reminded me of this Psalm this morning. How it spoke to my heart! It was the balm to my hurting heart. God is so good to us. He is so faithful when we are not. He is good to us BECAUSE HE is GOOD.

To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in You I trust, Do not let me be ashamed; Do not let my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed; Those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed.
Make me know Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; For You I wait all the day. Remember, O Lord, Your compassion and Your loving kindnesses, For they have been from of old. Do not remember the asins of my youth or my transgressions; According to Your lovingkindness remember me,
For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord. Good and upright is the Lord; Therefore He instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in justice, And He teaches the humble His way. All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies. For Your name’s sake, O Lord, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great. Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose. His soul will abide in prosperity, And his descendants will inherit the land. The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him, And He will make them know His covenant. My eyes are continually toward the Lord, For He will pluck my feet out of the net. Turn to me and be gracious to me, For I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are enlarged; Bring me bout of my distresses. Look upon my affliction and my trouble,
and forgive all my sins. Look upon my enemies, for they are many, And they hate me with violent hatred. Guard my soul and deliver me; Do not let me bbe ashamed, for I take refuge in You. Let integrity and uprightness preserve me,
For i wait for You. Redeem Israel, O God, Out of all his troubles.

2008-12-13T20:30:00.001-07:00

2am Ewing House
Jackson runs in our room screaming:

Brad: "Jackson, what is wrong?"
Jackson: "I had a bad dream!"
Brad: "Ok, get in bed with us for a bit."
Jackson (who has settled a bit): "Dad, will you pray that I won't have any bad dreams?"
Brad: "Yes" (as he falls back asleep)
Jackson: "Dad, pray out loud right now!"
Brad: "Ok, Jackson." He prays aloud.

God asks us to come to Him like little children. I learned a little bit last night what that is like. Childlike faith is when we believe that if we ask right now Jesus is going to answer us. It is also knowing when we need others to help pray for us! Maturity comes when we know we need help and we ask.

Sometimes we need to pray out loud! There are some situations that we just need to get down on our knees and literally voice OUT LOUD that we need Him! We need Him NOW!

Give and You Shall Receive

2008-12-10T09:38:00.001-07:00

Last night as Brad and I were headed out, we stopped by the mailbox. I love getting mail around Christmas. I love to get all the Christmas cards, to see the pictures and how big everyone has gotten and to just get an update on everyones lives. I started opening them in the car and one had a large bill wrapped around it. I was very shocked and looked at first to see if it was real. It was. I told Brad, "Look, our friends have sent us some money." The best part of the whole thing is that Brad had just dropped off an envelope for a couple in our church who had lost their job and he had sent them the same amount. I was just floored at God. He promises that He will provide our needs and that he will be our provider. I was having one of those days when life was throwing me some curves and I was wrestling with God over it all. God used that small thing to show me that He was still in control and He was handling everything. He knows all and controls all.

I will be honest, every time we put a check in the mail to someone, we don't always receive the same back and at the exact same time but God knew that last night I needed Him to show me some of Him. He did! He showed up big time.
We are really working on our hearts and our family this Christmas about what we do with our money and how much we spend on things that are useless. Our prayer is that our money would be used for those who need it and not for more toys to fulfill the flesh. It is always a struggle but Christmas is especially hard when we are so bombarded with all the "stuff" I am trying to keep control of the spending and gifts.

God is showing me that the best way to teach me and my boys about money is to give it to those in need. When we give to others, we are instantly filled with true joy and a desire to do more. I pray this season we find those in need and give to them, that we don't use this time to spoil and indulge an already indulgent heart.
As for the extra money from our friends, we are putting it towards our fund for the family to go to Peru in January. It is an expensive trip but we know that God has called us to go. It is neat to watch God provide the means for us to go and minister to a world that needs him so much.

Tuesday's Token

2008-12-09T16:45:00.002-07:00

I am going to start sharing quotes that I find that I like on Tuesday's. Here is one that spoke to me today. I am reading Practical Theology for Women by Wendy Horger Alsup and love this one.

It is from C.S. Lewis in The Weight of Glory
"We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinate joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

I think that this speaks for itself.

50 Things

2008-12-08T16:49:00.003-07:00

Life is just so busy and I haven't had much down time to just post thoughts. I decided to do what my sister did and tell 50 things about me.
50 Things About Me... (My friend Jennifer did this awhile ago and I am just getting around to it)
1. Do you like blue cheese?YES
2. Have you ever smoked a cigarette? Yes, unfortunately
3. Do you own a gun? YES
4. What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic? None, just a diet limeade
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? No
6. What do you think of hot dogs? I like Hebrew National Hot dogs
7. Favorite Christmas Song? Oh Holy Night
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? coffee
9. Can you do push ups? Yes, barely
10. What is your favorite movie? French Kiss,Steel Magnolis, When A Man Loves a Woman,
11. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? Wedding Ring
12. Favorite hobby? Reading
13. Do you work with people who idolize you? No
14. Do you have ADD? Yes
15. What's one trait that you dislike about yourself? Irritable
16. Middle name(s)- Lowery
17. Name a thought at this moment- I really wish it would quit snowing
18. Name 3 things you bought yesterday: Christmas presents
19. Name 3 drinks you regularly have: Water , Milk and OJ right now
20. Current worry right now? Drew, he's 12 enough said
21. Current dislike right now? SNOW
22. Favorite place to be? With my family - Mexico
23. How did you bring in the New Year? Hanging out with the family
24. Favorite vacation spot? Mexico
25. Name three people who will complete this? No idea
26. Whose answers do you want to read the most? No idea
27. What color shirt are you wearing? cream and brown
28. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? No
29. Can you whistle? No
30. Favorite color? Red
31. Would you be a pirate? No
32. What songs do you sing in the shower? I normally don't
33. Favorite girl's name? No idea
34. Favorite boy's name? Drew, Jackson and Jake
35. What's in your pocket right now? Nothing
36. Last person that made you laugh? Brad
37. Best bed sheets as a child? My mom buys the best sheets and pillows
38. Worst injury you've ever had? Busted face from a bike acccident
39. Do you love where you live? not so much
40. How many TVs do you have in your house? 2
41. Who would you like to meet? Kay Arthur
42. How many dogs do you have? O
43. Does someone have a crush on you? Hopefully my husband
45. What is your favorite fictional book? oh man - anything by Francine Rivers,Karen Kingsbury, the list could go on and on
46. What is your favorite candy? Dark Chocolate
47. What is your favorite sports team? Cowboys
48. What song do you want played at your funeral? Praise songs!
49. What were you doing 12 AM last night? sleeping soundly in my warm bed
50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up this morning? Where is my coffe??

Check Out Her Shirt

2008-12-04T07:45:00.004-07:00

The Cross

2008-12-03T09:44:00.001-07:00

I got this from my sister's blog. We all need to hear this!

The Cross
I hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving. I really did. Yesterday I went to the doctor and the baby looks good. I heard the heartbeat so as of now we are good!

There is a huge outdoor shopping area near the lake. People come from all over the country for First Monday. We went this past weekend. It was packed and a little crazy. We were in one of the stores. Well actually it is a giant flea market where the shops are either outdoors or in large buildings. My mom and I were looking in one of the really cute shops when I saw a perfect pink and black cross hanging on the wall for BG's room. I turn to mom and told her that I wanted that cross. There were two ladies standing right there by us. They obviously heard what I said and one of the ladies walked over to the wall and grabbed the cross. She then walked right to the cash register to buy it. I just stood there with my mouth open as my daughter ran around the store. My sister saw what was happening and she asked the vendor if they had another cross and, of course, they didn’t. I was having a hard time getting BG to leave the store full of fun little girl things but my mom and my sister were standing outside of the store. The lady who bought the cross walked out of the store, started singing and swinging her arms: “I got your cross, I got your cross” over and over. Now I am even more shocked at this lady’s behavior. I honesty I am mad. I wanted to walk up and tell her a few things. As I was contemplating this my mom said “Well, they must need that cross more than us.” That stopped me. They need the cross as everyone does. I already have my cross! As the Christmas season arrives let’s remember the reason. It was the birth of our Savior. It is a joyous time. A time to share what Jesus did for us - even if it is to share with someone who steals your cross.

Questions

2008-11-29T09:39:00.003-07:00

1. What is one of your 'must see' tv shows?

24, no doubt

2. Do you have a facebook page?

Yes, got tired of all the junk on myspace - you couldn't open it without some half naked girl showing up. YUCK

3. How old were you when you got married?

20

4. What is one bad habit that you need to break?

Playing jewel quest on my phone, I couldn't sleep last night so I played it from 4:15a - 5:30a. Nice!

5. What is your favorite cold-weather activity?

"hunkering" down inside with fire and hot chocolate

6. At church, do you always sit in the same area?

Most of the time

7. What do you like best about blogging?

Reading what others have to say

8. What's the last funny thing you remember hearing from a child?

A few months ago, Drew didn't argue with his dad about something and Brad and I just looked at each other and said, "hell most have frozen over!" So last week, the same thing happened, and Drew didn't argue with me about something and I was shocked. He said that "hell hasn't frozen over, it was just a storm." I thought it was so funny.

Redemption

2008-11-24T08:57:00.001-07:00

I sure don't want to spoil it for any of you who didn't get a chance to watch 24 last night, (it is coming to DVD on Tuesday) but I am amazed how the world misses the point so much. Just the title let's us know that Jack is looking for redemption. Does he find it? Have you? Are we all looking for the same thing - redemption? Some of us just know where to find it.

Jack helps save the precious lives of kids, hoping to find redemption. Many of us spend our lives trying to find redemption when Christ is the only way. How do we redeem the past, the mistakes, the failures? How do we make up for lost time living for ourselves?

6 "Therefore, say to the Israelites: 'I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD.' "

Just like God offered the Israelites a way out of their slavery, God offers us the same thing. He is the only one who can redeem us. Who can free us from the slaves of this world.

Read Psalm 34 slowly and look for all the things the Lord wants to do for you. Look at the way the psalmist praised the Lord, sought the Lord, and how the "Lord redeems His servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in Him." Do you feel condemned today? I can easily go there and I can easily start condemning myself of a life of sin. I must repeat the scriptures over and over in my head "therefore is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Rom. 8:1) And "Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame."

Psalm 34

I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together. I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry; the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all; he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken. Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned. The LORD redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.

This world offers lots of things, but redemption is not one of them. There are lots of things that need to be done here on this earth, taking care of the orphans being high on the list. But true redemption will only be found at the cross of Christ. Christ is the only one who can redeem the sins of the past and future. He is our True Redeemer.

Know Your Ending!

2008-11-17T10:02:00.001-07:00

Most of you know that I am a huge Dallas Cowboy fan. I love football and love my Cowboys. We went to some friends' house yesterday and I TIVO'd my game so I could watch it quickly and with no commercials when we got home. We have lost the the last few weeks and our quarterback has been out and it has just been pretty pitiful to watch. Last night I figured that we would lose since we were playing the Redskins and this was Romo's first week back and still has a broken pinky. Brad knew who won and I asked him to tell me so I wouldn't be disappointed watching the game, plus it was after 10 and I was just tired. He told me that we won. I was so excited that we preceded to watch the game.
The first two quarters of the game were awful. I kept saying, "how did we win this? I don't believe it. Are you sure?" Brad kept reassuring me that we won. Finally. we did.
Do you ever feel that way about life? Lord, are we really going to win this? Is this really turning out the way you said it would?" Question after question. Lord, I just fumbled the ball, how will I be victorious? Hebrews 12:1-3 " Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
How did Jesus handle the difficulties in life? He knew how it was going to end. He knew that death on the cross would have to happen but in order for us to be victorious in this life, it had to be done. He knew that enduring the cross would bring eternal salvation for it all. He knew how it was all going to end. He knew that eventually one day, He would come back and reign on this earth as king so He could submit to death now for life later.
We also know how it is going to end. We know what is in store for us who know Jesus personally as our Savior, a life in eternity with Him. We know the end. Let's live like it. John 16:33 states "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." Know your ending, know that Jesus is one day coming back to rule for eternity.
My husband has a quote on his computer and I think it is a good reminder to us all: "Eternity is a long time to live with regrets." Let's get out there and live this thing out. We know that in Christ Jesus we are more than conquerers. Go run your race!

Prayer Requests

2008-11-14T12:34:00.005-07:00

I am adding a section for prayer requests on my blog. God has been showing me how much prayer affects us and our lives and how much more time I need to spend in prayer. If there is something you need us to pray for, just let me know and I will add it.
Love you all!

The Unit

2008-11-12T09:00:00.001-07:00

Brad and I were watching The Unit a few nights ago and it got me thinking. I am not by any means endorsing this show. It can be pretty racy at times and needs to be watched with discretion and the fast forward button on the DVR!
However, the unit is a group of men and their families that do special ops for the government. This particular time, one of the unit member's daughter had been kidnapped and the unit went off to rescue her. They stand by a certain code and do whatever is needed to help each other out, even when it is very dangerous and in the middle of war. Each of their lives is put in danger helping each other and the country.
I have decided that the body of Christ needs to be a bit more like The Unit. We are in a war and the battle is fierce and Satan is playing for keeps. It is time for us to come together, be honest about the war going on, fight together on our knees in prayer, and standing by one another daily.
I have noticed lately how the enemy is increasing in his warfare against us - marriages are struggling, jobs are gone, and kids are walking away from the Lord. This is the time to press in, to fight the good fight. Let's do it together. Let's join together and for our own Unit that takes seriously the trials and temptations of others. Let's stand in the gap for our fellow believers who are hurting and need us to hold up their hands when they are too tired.
Take time today to pray for your friends, their marriages and families. Take time today to check in on someone that God has laid on your heart.
Take time to get down on your face and cry out to our God who is MIGHTY TO SAVE!

Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Article on Voting from John Piper

2008-11-01T15:37:00.000-06:00

Let Christians Vote As Though They Were Not Voting

By John PiperOctober 22, 2008

Voting is like marrying and crying and laughing and buying. We should do it, but only as if we were not doing it. That’s because “the present form of this world is passing away” and, in God’s eyes, “the time has grown very short.” Here’s the way Paul puts it:

The appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away. (1 Corinthians 7:29-31)

Let’s take these one at a time and compare them to voting.

1. “Let those who have wives live as though they had none.”

This doesn’t mean move out of the house, don’t have sex, and don’t call her Honey. Earlier in this chapter Paul says, “The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights” (1 Corinthians 7:3). He also says to love her the way Christ loved the church, leading and providing and protecting (Ephesians 5:25-30). It means this: Marriage is momentary. It’s over at death, and there is no marriage in the resurrection. Wives and husbands are second priorities, not first. Christ is first. Marriage is for making much of him.

It means: If she is exquisitely desirable, beware of desiring her more than Christ. And if she is deeply disappointing, beware of being hurt too much. This is temporary—only a brief lifetime. Then comes the never-disappointing life which is life indeed.

So it is with voting. We should do it. But only as if we were not doing it. Its outcomes do not give us the greatest joy when they go our way, and they do not demoralize us when they don’t. Political life is for making much of Christ whether the world falls apart or holds together.

2. “Let those who mourn [do so] as though they were not mourning.”

Christians mourn with real, deep, painful mourning, especially over losses—loss of those we love, loss of health, loss of a dream. These losses hurt. We cry when we are hurt. But we cry as though not crying. We mourn knowing we have not lost something so valuable we cannot rejoice in our mourning. Our losses do not incapacitate us. They do not blind us to the possibility of a fruitful future serving Christ. The Lord gives and takes away. But he remains blessed. And we remain hopeful in our mourning.

So it is with voting. There are losses. We mourn. But not as those who have no hope. We vote and we lose, or we vote and we win. In either case, we win or lose as if we were not winning or losing. Our expectations and frustrations are modest. The best this world can offer is short and small. The worst it can offer has been predicted in the book of Revelation. And no vote will hold it back. In the short run, Christians lose (Revelation 13:7). In the long run, we win (Revelation 21:4).

3. “Let those who rejoice [do so] as though they were not rejoicing.”

Christians rejoice in health (James 5:13) and in sickness (James 1:2). There are a thousand good and perfect things that come down from God that call forth the feeling of happiness. Beautiful weather. Good friends who want to spend time with us. Delicious food and someone to share it with. A successful plan. A person helped by our efforts.

But none of these good and beautiful things can satisfy our soul. Even the best cannot replace what we were made for, namely, the full experience of the risen Christ (John 17:24). Even fellowship with him here is not the final and best gift. There is more of him to have after we die (Philippians 1:21-23)—and even more after the resurrection. The best experiences here are foretastes. The best sights of glory are through a mirror dimly. The joy that rises from these previews does not and should not rise to the level of the hope of glory. These pleasures will one day be as though they were not. So we rejoice remembering this joy is a foretaste, and will be replaced by a vastly better joy.

So it is with voting. There are joys. The very act of voting is a joyful statement that we are not under a tyrant. And there may be happy victories. But the best government we get is a foreshadowing. Peace and justice are approximated now. They will be perfect when Christ comes. So our joy is modest. Our triumphs are short-lived—and shot through with imperfection. So we vote as though not voting.

4. “Let those who buy [do so] as though they had no goods.”

Let Christians keep on buying while this age lasts. Christianity is not withdrawal from business. We are involved, but as though not involved. Business simply does not have the weight in our hearts that it has for many. All our getting and all our having in this world is getting and having things that are not ultimately important. Our car, our house, our books, our computers, our heirlooms—we possess them with a loose grip. If they are taken away, we say that in a sense we did not have them. We are not here to possess. We are here to lay up treasures in heaven.

This world matters. But it is not ultimate. It is the stage for living in such a way to show that this world is not our God, but that Christ is our God. It is the stage for using the world to show that Christ is more precious than the world.

So it is with voting. We do not withdraw. We are involved—but as if not involved. Politics does not have ultimate weight for us. It is one more stage for acting out the truth that Christ, and not politics, is supreme.

5. “Let those who deal with the world [do so] as though they had no dealings with it.”

Christians should deal with the world. This world is here to be used. Dealt with. There is no avoiding it. Not to deal with it is to deal with it that way. Not to weed your garden is to cultivate a weedy garden. Not to wear a coat in Minnesota is to freeze—to deal with the cold that way. Not to stop when the light is red is to spend your money on fines or hospital bills and deal with the world that way. We must deal with the world.

But as we deal with it, we don’t give it our fullest attention. We don’t ascribe to the world the greatest status. There are unseen things that are vastly more precious than the world. We use the world without offering it our whole soul. We may work with all our might when dealing with the world, but the full passions of our heart will be attached to something higher—Godward purposes. We use the world, but not as an end in itself. It is a means. We deal with the world in order to make much of Christ.

So it is with voting. We deal with the system. We deal with the news. We deal with the candidates. We deal with the issues. But we deal with it all as if not dealing with it. It does not have our fullest attention. It is not the great thing in our lives. Christ is. And Christ will be ruling over his people with perfect supremacy no matter who is elected and no matter what government stands or falls. So we vote as though not voting.

By all means vote. But remember: “The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17).

Voting with you, as though not voting,

Pastor John

© Desiring God

Indemnity

2008-10-29T09:43:00.001-06:00

In insurance we use a word, indemnity. Up until 4 months ago, I had never even heard that word. Here is the definition:
indemnity
1. protection or security against damage or loss.
2. compensation for damage or loss sustained.
3. something paid by way of such compensation.
4. protection, as by insurance, from liabilities or penalties incurred by one's actions.
5. legal exemption from penalties attaching to unconstitutional or illegal actions, granted to public officers and other persons.

In insurance, we are there to "get you back to where you started." For example, a tree hits your house, we will fix the house to get it back like the way it was before.

Now, it is nice to be back the way we were before, but it is even better to be put back better than we were before. That is what God does. He takes our casualties and, if we allow Him to, He offers full redemption. I am studying Psalms right now and we are in Psalms 130. Verse 7 and 8 state, "Oh Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is FULL REDEMPTION! He himself will redeem Israel (us) from ALL of our sins."

God more than indemnified us. He offer us protection and security. He was the compensation for our losses. He personally paid the price by offering up Himself. He offers protection from the liabilities of this world incurred by one's actions. And most importantly, He offers us legal exemption from penalties attaching to unconstitutional or illegal actions (HIS LAW) and it is granted to all who are willing to accept.

Not only does He do all that but He also uses those things to bring Him glory. He offers us FULL redemption and then He takes that mess we made and uses it for our benefit and His glory.

Beth Moore says in her Psalm study, "We are often convinced that the more we can be blamed for our plight, the less God can do about it."
Here is Jeremiah 29: 12-14 "You will call to me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. I will be found by you - the Lord's declaration- and I will RESTORE YOUR FORTUNES and GATHER YOU FROM ALL THE NATIONS AND PLACES WHERE I BANISHED YOU- the Lord's declaration. I will restore you to the place I deported you from."

He is waiting to restore you back better than you started, will you let Him?

Treat!

2008-10-26T17:56:00.002-06:00

I just got this recipe off a friend's site and thought I would share. Can't wait to make this!

CORNFLAKE TURTLES

This is an awesome treat!! I thought I'd share it with anyone who loves peanutbutter and chocolate. They are so easy to make and so yummy!!

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
1 t. vanilla
6 cups cornflakes
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Heat sugar and corn syrup until sugar disolves.
Add melted peanut butter and vanilla.
Add 6 cups cornflakes and mix.
Form into small mounds
Melt choclate chips and drizzle over peanut butter mounds.

Slow Fade

2008-10-25T09:31:00.002-06:00

After our home improvement bathroom project, I have been thinking so much about how one thing leads to another. I heard this song and it fit perfect for what I have been thinking. It is called Slow Fade by Casting Crowns. I remember singing part of the song growing up, "oh, be careful little ears what your hear. Oh, be careful little eyes what you see. Oh, be careful little mouth what you see." It is so true.

I think my favorite part is "people never crumble in a day, it's a slow fade." It is the small, seemingly little choices that lead to the big fall. The second glance, the flattery that leads to compromise, the desire for man's approval. It leads somwhere and often it is right into the darkness.

I have a middle schooler and it seems like everyday I am sending him out into the darkness of this world. How do I help him? I just don't know. I am using this song to explain how one thing leads to another, how he won't intentionally walk away from his walk with the Lord. It is a slow fade. I pray that we all see where we are slowing fading away from Him and turn back quickly.

Be careful little eyes what you see
It's the second glance that ties your hands as darkness pulls the strings
Be careful little feet where you go
For it's the little feet behind you that are sure to follow

It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
It's a slow fade, it's a slow fade

Be careful little ears what you hear
When flattery leads to compromise, the end is always near
Be careful little lips what you say
For empty words and promises lead broken hearts astray

It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day

The journey from your mind to your hands
Is shorter than you're thinking
Be careful if you think you stand
You just might be sinking

It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
Daddies never crumble in a day
Families never crumble in a day

Oh be careful little eyes what see
Oh be careful little eyes what you see
For the Father up above is looking down in love
Oh be careful little eyes what you see

The Story

2008-10-21T16:42:00.002-06:00

For those of you who don't know our story of God's faithfulness, you can check it out here. http://theewingfam.com/our_story.html

The cd will make total sense after reading that!

LOVE Y'ALL!!

New Music

2008-10-19T20:55:00.002-06:00

My husband, Brad, has come out with a new cd. It's a 4 song ep that deals with pain and how we have faith through it. It is available at the link to the right. We pray that the songs will bring peace and comfort to you.

Hi Ho, It's Off to Work I Go

2008-10-16T08:58:00.000-06:00

Work, I know why they call it work. It is work. It is hard and very exhausting. I feel like I am just putting one foot in front of the other to keep going. I am tired at night and tired in the morning and living on coffee and God's word each day. I mean I am having to just say, "Lord, i can't keep going without you." He keeps me going.

I have never been in a place like this before. It is such a neat place for me. It has been a long time since I have had to rely on the Lord to get by minute by minute, rely on Him for me to be shown what His love is like to a lost, lost world, to love my kids and be patient with them after a long day, to be kind and attentive to my husband after a long day. Oh, it can be done. It just takes total and complete reliance on Him.

Unfortunately, I had forgotten what that was like. Thankfully, He is slowing showing me what it is truly like to abide in Him, to let Him "do His thing" in my life.

May you live through Him today.

Good Questions

2008-10-11T09:00:00.002-06:00

I got these from my sister!

1. What can cheer you up when you're feeling grumpy?
Coffee or sonic drink, hot bath, good book, and a long quiet time with Jesus.

2. Give one feature that could make or break the deal if you were shopping for a new home.
Bathtub

3. What's the craziest thing you've ever let your children eat for breakfast?
Pizza

4. If you are a 'watch what you eat' kind of person, share a meal or dish that makes it easier to diet.
Wendy's Chili - the small has 220 cal and 6 grams of fat. (prob has too much sodium though)
Its fast, cheap and will keep you full for long time. For dessert, low fat graham crackers, marshmallow, and some chocolate chips - broil it in the oven and you have a great smore for one WW point.

5. Is there something you used to do as a child that you would never let your children do now?
I don't think there is. Well, I guess seat belts. It was not a law to wear them when I was little. ( i used my sister's answer, couldn't think of anything else.

6. If you have a daughter, are her ears pierced? When did you allow it?
Boys only here!

7. Are you the only person in your house who changes the TP roll??
I used to be but they are getting better about it

8. How old were you when you no longer lived with a parent(s) for the first time?
18

So PROUD!

2008-10-09T08:26:00.002-06:00

His Ways, Not Mine

2008-10-06T12:24:00.000-06:00

I have been praying and trying to minister to a friend on our football team for months. They are having a hard time and I am trying to show God's love to them. I have asked numerous times for them to come to church but she always has a reason not to come. I was a bit frustrated and wanting God to move and move now!

He was, just not the way I had planned. Imagine that.

We have another lady on our team that her husband is gone for a year in Iraq and my oldest son said, "Mom, why don't you invite her to church?" I guess I hadn't really thought about it. I was so intent on "working" on my other friend that I hadn't seen the obvious--that others needed our God too. So, thanks to Drew's prompting, we asked. She came and so did her three kids.

Needless to say, our pastor shared the salvation message and really hit on those who knew the Lord but had walked far away from Him. He asked for those who needed to come back to Him to come down front and pray with him. Within seconds my friend asked to go down front. I walked down with her. I was amazed at how God was working. It was not what I was thinking He was doing but He was definitely moving.

It was such a neat thing for me to realize that God is working in ways I didn't think or expect. Yet, He is moving mightily! He is so good to me to let me see a glimpse of what He is doing, even when it isn't what I had planned. I am still praying for my other friend and knowing God in some way is working in her heart too!

Home Improvement

2008-10-01T07:39:00.002-06:00

Last night Brad decided he was going to paint the bathroom. We have wanted to paint for awhile but I just haven't had the energy. Thankfully, Brad has endless energy and started painting. When he was almost done, he came downstairs and told me he was going to pull up the baseboards too. I was a bit frustrated because one project always leads to another. Not that he cared that I didn't want him to pull up the baseboards to paint a room. He got busy and pulled up the baseboards. After about 5 minutes he came back downstairs to tell me that he was going to re-tile the bathroom floor. I was a bit shocked, we had talked about doing that one day but not right now. I kept asking questions . . . he finally admitted that when he pulled the baseboards off, he pulled up the linoleum and now he was just going to pull it all up. One thing always leads to another.

Isn't that the way it is in our lives. We start out with just foregoing our quiet time, then we skip church a few times, then we forget to even talk to Jesus. One thing leads to another. We slowly walk away and then we wake up are realize that we are stagnate and stale in our relationship with the Lord. Let's stop now, repent, and turn to Him before we wake up one morning with no floor or baseboards to speak of. The things that we lose when we forego our relationship with the Lord are costly. Turn to Him today.

Smelly Shirt

2008-09-24T20:34:00.000-06:00

One common mistake I have made since going back to work is starting a load of laundry and forgetting about it. Then you have that awful smell that no matter how many times you wash it, it just stinks! I have washed things over and over, in extra hot water, extra good smelling detergent, everything I can think of but I just can't lose the smell.

I am often like that with Jesus. I sin terribly and I try everything in my power to atone for itm but I am still dirty and smelly. It is like David and his mourning over Absalom. David was trying everything in his power to atone for his sin. 2 Samuel 19 tells us that the soldiers were actually ashamed of their victory because it brought such sorrow to their king. David refused to be comforted. Why? Because he was atoning for his sins. It took the blunt speech of Joab to show the king how selfish he was. "I see, said Joab, that you would be pleased if Absalom were alive today and all of us were dead." (2 Samuel 19:6). David's abnormal grief had so isolated him from reality that he was unable to live like a king and rule over himself and his people. David was smelly all around.

The sorrows of life do not create problems; they reveal them. Absolom's death and David's unnatural mourning revealed to the world that David had not been in control of his family and that his own sin had found him out. Instead of trying to atone for his sin, David should have trusted God for the forgiveness he needed. Only Jesus' blood can atone for our sins. He is the only one who can take this smelly person and make me thoroughly clean. That is what David did when he confessed his sin of adultery and God graciously forgave him. Psalm 51:16-17 "For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart--These, O God, You will not despise." Even though our sorrows may be caused by our sin, as were David's, we can still confess those sins to the Lord, claim His forgiveness, and experience His comfort. And not be smelly anymore. I am off to change my shirt!

Long Time

2008-09-21T08:58:00.003-06:00

I know it has been a long time since I have blogged. A week, I think. I had the after retreat crash! I think I fell into bed every night this week. I am finally feeling normal again. At least, normal for me.

We had a great football game yesterday. Drew was awesome. I am so proud of him. I just have to tell you how hard it is to sit on the sidelines and watch Drew play quarterback. I feel so helpless. It makes me a nervous wreck. I am so happy for him when he does well, I hurt when he messes up. It is just a wonderful/miserable experience.

It is like life. God is the quarterback and that is hard for me. I want to be making the plays and not watching from the sidelines. I am so much of a "doer" it is hard to let God do his thing and I just follow His lead. He wants to control this game of life and so often I "bench" Him and come in as my own quarterback. I know better but I do it day in and day out.

One theme God is hammering me with this year, "Let me be your quarterback!" God is continually showing me that I don't have to be the quarterback. He can run my life so much better. My weakness and unablity allows Him to move. It allows Him to score the touchdown for HIs glory. I pray this week I will just lay it down. I will let Him run the plays in my life and bench myself.

Who are you being? Quarterback or God's support player?

Update!

2008-09-15T07:35:00.002-06:00

Hello friends!

I got home last night from the women's retreat. I was so tired. It was a good tired. We worked hard all weekend and God showed up in spite of us. That is all we ask. That God moved in the hearts of the ladies. It is so different to be teaching a retreat and going to a retreat. God was faithful to me in so many more ways. I wasn't so nervous that it was miserable, glory to God. I could sound out most of the words I had to say! Glory be! God took all my long notes and prayerfully, I said only what He wanted me too. Most of all, I pray that ladies were blessed and God spoke to them through me, in spite of me.

God is so faithful. I am amazed at his love and grace for us. How undeserving we are yet, He continues to show up and move among us. I am so thankful that it doesn't depend on me. I am learning so much about Him in my new job. Most important, how to relinquish much control. I just don't have the time to control somethings. It is amazing how much I didn't rely on the Lord before.

I am so blessed that He is showing me all these things! He is so good. Please, tell me what He is showing you. What are you learning new about Him this week? What is He speaking into your heart about?