Ahhhh...Refreshing

I thought it was time to give an update on what we have been up to with our adopted family, or rather what God has been up to in us as a result of the time and resources we are investing. After we returned from our trip to South Carolina we jumped back in with a trip to the library the very next day. The month of June has been challenging to say the least. We are learning how to trust God more and more as we continue to pray and seek his direction for our involvement with this family. We continue to provide a meal every Friday and do other things during the week as we are able. We get down and weary. We get frustrated. If I am being completely honest, we want to rewind time and just forget it sometimes . It seems that when I get in one of these very low moments, that is when God really shows up to confirm that we are doing just what he wants us to do. Obeying isn't always fun. It certainly isn't easy, but it is worth it because He is making a difference even when we don't see it.

I hosted my month "Lunch at Lynette's" on June 12. A friend, Randi and her boys, from our church came for the first time. Our adopted mom, Kema and her kids, Abby and Sam, were here too. They were the last two families here. Randi and Kema were visiting together while I was picking up toys and checking on the kids. Before I know it, Randi is sitting with Kema praying with her. Out of those moments a community outreach project was born and Randi and her family brought Kema and her kids to church for the first time the next Sunday. God is AWESOME!

Last week I took Jeremiah and Maiesha to Vacation Bible School at a local church downtown. We invited Abby to join us and we ended up "doing life" witih them all week. I think we over extended ourselves a little, but God came through for us. The theme Bible verse for VBS was from Mark 10:27 "Everything is possible with God." How appropriate and certainly not by accident. Lydia and I would stay to listen to the opening songs most days and it almost brought me to tears. God had a message for me at VBS too.

Fly! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATsYrLG3Z9s&feature=relmfu

He provided wonderful encouragement from the prayers of dear friends that week. Heidi and Randi both had time to talk and pray over the phone with me which was like a huge breath of fresh air. Tyrone's Aunt Princetta emailed a few week ago after reading about what we are doing. She emailed again last week to say she was sending a "small donation" to help us out. Yesterday her "not small to us" donation arrived and we were able to get a lot of groceries and household items for the family. Our wonderful friend's Anne and Ryan did the same thing back in May. All together people from NW Arkansas, Ohio and Alabama have partnered with us in giving $530 in donations to provide clothing, a date, groceries, and household items that we can give all throughout the summer. God is making a difference even if I can't see it in the immediate way I want each day.

He is blessing us all over the place. With great friends who took care of the kids last week so we could have a date night. With sweet ladies at church who are going to thoroughly clean for me as I begin my new job as Children's Ministry Director next month.  Tyrone was awarded his first grant at work and has an awesome lead on another one. It just goes on and on. Great new friends who come over to have lunch. And others who want to start a "Taco Night" tradition with us. I am overwhelmed!

Palm 32:10 says "Many sorrows come to the wicked, but unfailing love surrounds those who trust the Lord."

This is another VBS song about trusting in God. No coincidence.
You, You, You http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sw9KSFFifkE

I feel completely surrounded by His unfailing love. It is so encouraging to be lifted up by the thoughts and prayers of others. I hope we can continue to inspire people to get involved with us or in their own communities. This family can't understand, yet, why we would want to help them. They say we don't have to. They say they will survive. I say this is about obeying and trusting God. I say God doesn't want people to just survive. He wants they to enjoy Life in Him to the fullest. How can I ignore that? How can I ignore Him?

The following is Psam 68:1-10. I found it this morning. I think it serves as a wonderful prayer over our adopted family, my family, and all those who have or will come along for the journey. Verse 9 is especially sweet to me. God has sent abundant rain to refresh my wear land and I trust that he will continue to do so as long as I am allowing Him to lead.

Rise up, O God, and scatter your enemies.
Let those who hate God run for their lives.
² Blow them away like smoke.
Melt them like wax in a fire.
Let the wicked perish in the presence of God.
³ But let the godly rejoice.
Let them be glad in God’s presence.
Let them be filled with joy.
⁴ Sing praises to God and to his name!
Sing loud praises to him who rides the clouds.
His name is the Lord—
rejoice in his presence!

⁵ Father to the fatherless, defender of widows—
this is God, whose dwelling is holy.
⁶ God places the lonely in families;
he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.
But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

⁷ O God, when you led your people out from Egypt,
when you marched through the dry wasteland,

Interlude
⁸ the earth trembled, and the heavens poured down rain
before you, the God of Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
⁹ You sent abundant rain, O God,
to refresh the weary land.¹⁰ There your people finally settled,
and with a bountiful harvest, O God,
you provided for your needy people.

No Less Days

I just celebrated my 34th birthday on June 16. As I have mentioned before, I am uncomfortable with the aging process. God is working on me though and he has given me some new insight this week as I reflect on my journey with Him.

I volunteered to officiate a track & field meet on my birthday. I had time to walk a mile on the track before we started. I was praying as I always do when I walk. I thanked God for blessing me with these 34 - pretty amazing when I think about it - years on his earth. That prayer has lingered in my heart all week, and I realized how I have been holding on to an identity from years gone by. This year has been about changing my identity to get it lined up with God's identity. In the fear of getting older, I was missing the new identity I have as a 30-something. I could never have experienced the life I have now without that past 34 years. So there are great memories and incredible experiences. There were victories and defeats. I have do things that some people only dream of and I still dream of how God will continue to use all the seasons of my life for his glory. Now I see that life keeps getting sweeter as I learn to let God lead and holding on to youth just keeps me from fullfilling His plans for me.

While driving to pick up Jeremiah and Maiesha from VBS, "Inside Out" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPrK3FP9Yrs by Hillsong came on the radio. I have heard this song a lot, but I really tried to LISTEN this time. I know that my exterior - my physical body - is what it is. I do a good job of eating right, exercising and taking care of my body, but not for superficial purposes or to "live longer". I want my body to be healthy and strong so I can do all that God calls me to do, but aging is inevitable - a part of life is death.  I see taking care of my body as one way I can be obedient to him. I see the new work God is creating from my inside out with each year that passes.

"Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too. Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart. If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

   So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

   And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ." 
(2 Corinthians 5:11-21 NLT)

So I am the one hung up on time. God is not bound by it. He created it. "A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day." (2 Peter 3:8 NLT) It doesn't matter my age in "earth years" because I am going to live forever. Each day here is a gift that I should use to invest in God's kingdom. Loving my husband and children. Reaching the lost. Feeding the hungry. Encouraging the broken. Pulling up those who are down. Serving my church family. Who really cares about this annoying wrinkle on my forehead or the year at the end of birthdate.

What matters is that I have no less time to worship my Savior than when I first invited him into my life. I am not running out of time. It's more like a countdown 'til the last move I'll ever make. Jesus went to prepare a place for me in heaven. Each season of this earthly life offers new adventures - new challenges - new opportunities to develop my gifts and talents all for the glory of my Creator.

One of the last verses of Amazing Grace http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4qbmPpfG6s reads, "when we've been there 10,000 years, bright shining as the sun, we've no less days to sing God's praise than when we first begun." What a great perspective!

Obey - a four letter word or the way to life

OBEY - to comply with or follow the commands, instructions of

Of what? The dictionary.com definition stopped there. For my purposes and my life I will put God at the end. Obey means to comply with or follow the commands, instructions, authority of God. Sounds a bit challenging. When you stop and think about it, it might be more like impossible, but that is what God wants from us. That is how we express our love toward him. Jesus said in John 14:15 "If you love me, obey my commands." Then in verse 21 he says "Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them." Later in verse 23 he says again "Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them."

Last week was our first week at home for summer break. The first couple days were rough. I was constantly breaking up arguments, bickering, and fighting between Jeremiah and Maiesha. I have been praying for a while over the summer break, but it took me a few days to figure out how to handle our new schedule/non-schedule. We talked almost constantly about obeying, listening, being kind to each other, and did I mention listening. I began to realize as the week wore on that much of their behavior was a product of the change in our environment. They miss their friends and school. We thrive in structure and that has been taken away. I had to be patient and lead the kids through this change rather than get upset with them for not obeying like I wanted. I had to become an example of good behavior so they had someone to follow rather than a mom to run away from as I run after then with my iron fist.

Apparently my children were not the only people who needed a refresher on obedience because Pastor Charlie's sermon was all about obedience last Sunday after our wild week. The nuts and bolts were what does God want me to stop doing and what should I start doing. This is not to get legalistic and create a list of all the "bad" things "good Christians" should not do. Or take license and ask for forgiveness after I mess up because it's too hard to do the right thing. It's is about listening to God through his Word and prayer to be able to discern what his plan is for my life. Once he reveals that plan to me, I have to trust him and follow it. God really got me good on the subjects of parenting and gossip. Learning to parent is a daily, lifelong challenge. Gossip is something that I have to be very careful to stay away from because I am easily tempted by it.
I am so excited about the amazing opportunities that are on the horizon for our family. It is safe to say it is all God revealing his plan as a result of obedience. By no means have I had a perfect first year in Arkansas, but it is obvious that if Tyrone and I had not obeyed in some very specific ways, we would not be experiencing these amazing blessings now. Some great things are starting to open up for his research at work. God has spoken directly about somethings and answered very specific prayers. The same is true for me with my new job starting July 23 and some wonderful relationships with folks at church and in the community. God has taught me a TON about my job as wife and mom through my obedience to "just" stay home this year.

So this week has gone much easier than last week. Yes, the kids are getting along better and we have come up with an accountability system with rewards that is helping. We are getting a schedule together to include reading, math, quiet time, fun and more fun.The biggest difference, however, is a change in attitude and God's faithfulness to keep reminding me to trust him as he reveals his plan in the daily grind and in the big picture. The best part is I don't have to do this alone under my own power and strength -  God sent "the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be^[c] in you. (John 14:17)"

"Voice of Truth" by Casting Crowns
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuH1faTC22E

I am full!

Today was the first official day of summer break at our house. School was finished May 17 and May 24 for Maiesha and Jeremiah, but last week we were on vacation in South Carolina so I don't really count that. If today is any indication of how our summer is going to go, God is really going to be working on me in the area of patience and self-control. I must look at each argument I have to referee or mess that must get cleaned up as teachable moments for us all.

I am still running a little high on the wonderful week we had in South Carolina with friends and family. I felt the theme of our trip was encouragement. God sent us this specific week to meet a need of encouragement for many of the people we visited with and to be encouraged ourselves by the warm welcome we received.

2 Corinthians 7:13 "...In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was, because his spirit has been refreshed by all of you."

I hope we were a source of refreshment. There is nothing better on a hot day when you have been outside working hard in the yard than to sit down with an ice cold glass of water or lemonade or sweet tea perhaps. Sometimes a warm hug or an old familiar face can provide that same refreshment after a person has been toiling long and hard over life's challenges. 

I know our hearts were refreshed as well each time we visited with another old friend. We would just pick up right where we left off the last time we saw each person. I never get tired of seeing the look on someone's face who didn't expect to see us standing in front of them. It was crazy to think we had not visited for two years. We always look forward to visiting some old familiar places too like Riverbanks Zoo, the beach, downtown Charleston, and the Lizard's Thicket. We also try to do so new things and this year "new things" took the form of new restaurant experiences. We ate very well all week long! We took in some "low country" cuisine at Magnolia's and The Dixie Supply Bakery & Cafe. We visited our favorite ice cream shop so I could get "Charleston Mud"and Tyrone his giant caramel and candy coated apple. I am happy to say we did get plenty of exercise every day which helped to offset our wreckless abandonment at mealtime.

The week was filled with some first time experiences for the kids. Jeremiah and Maiesha were overjoyed to experience flying on an airplane for the first time. They were thrilled when the flight attendant handed them each their Delta wings badge. I loved watching Lydia splash and play in the ocean for the first time. I didn't even mind that her diaper and swimsuit were full of sand when we were done or that she liked to eat the wet sand. We got caught in a rainstorm from the outer bands of Tropical Storm Beryl. Tyrone lived through Hurricane Hugo in 1988, but this was as close as I ever hope to come. We drove the kids by our old house for the first time since we left Columbia in 2007. Maiesha was only 8 months old then and Jeremiah not quite 2 1/2 so we didn't expect they would remember. It was really neat to share with them nonetheless. At the zoo, Lydia had her first merry-go-round ride which she was not super thrilled about but made it the whole ride on her bobbing animal. Jeremiah and Maiesha climbed 2-stories up on the Sky High Safari ropes course all by themselves. It was awesome to see them work together and conquer their fears on the obstacles.

I could go on and on. It seems like we fit a whole year's worth of things into 7 shorts days as I recount all that we did. The best part is I feel so full. Not like after gorging myself at the all-you-can-eat buffet, but full as in Psalm 23:5-6 "...My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever." I am incredibly thankful for all the friends and family who welcomed us "home" last week and the amazing experiences we had as a family.