A New Year

We spend January 1st walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives... not looking for flaws, but for potential. ~Ellen Goodman

While chatting with my mom this morning, I could think of nothing but potential for 2012.  That's quite the opposite from last year.  2011 was a year of dread.  Our family rang in the New Year with having to start my dad on hospice.   Knowing it would be the year we would lose him felt like a dark cloud constantly hovering over us.  I held my breathe when the phone would ring.  Every time I would visit and then have to leave, I was saying "goodbye."  There were never enough words or time to completely express how I felt in a "goodbye." 

Then there was the dread of an empty house during the day.  I love being a mom, and I find great joy in having kids around.  With Brody starting kindergarten and the adoption process being at a stand still, I really dreaded a quiet house.  No laughter, words, singing, toys falling, or patter of little feet running around to be heard all day.  Silence is not golden to me...it means being alone.  Being alone was not in my plan of having a big family. 

Don't get me wrong, there were good parts of 2011.  Moments I will always treasure in my memory.  But I was glad to see it end!  Sometimes you can't change days that will hold sadness....all you can do is wait for new days.

So here's to new days!  Days that hold the possibility of having another child.  Days that promise new opportunities to tell and show God's love.  Days I hug my family and tell them how blessed we are to have each other.  Days to dance instead of dread.  Days where anything could happen!  It is a year that has a lot of potential.  Oh how I'm looking forward to sharing some good stories this year...hopefully sharing some good news soon! 

And The Operation Christmas Child Boxes Went To....

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights" James 1:17a

One of my favorite things to do every year is make Operation Christmas Child boxes for the Samaritan's Purse.  It's an activity that goes on all year.  When I see things that are cute or a good deal, I buy them and store them in my closet until November.  Then at the beginning of November, our family packs the boxes full of all kinds of goodies.  Things like cars, balls, dinosaurs, candy, flashlights, coloring books, socks, toothbrush, soap, a Bible, etc.  I show pictures of boys and girls receiving their boxes to Brody so he can understand what is going on a little bit better.  It really is a fun thing to do as a family.

The past three years I've paid online to get a bar code in hopes to find out where the boxes were shipped to.  Year one and two I didn't get an email. That's ok because we prayed over the children who would get them and it really does not matter what country the boxes went to.  I was just curious.  This year I got the email, and the boxes were sent to Ghana.

It's very neat to know where the boxes went to.  I can show Brody a map of the other side of the world, and he can see what country the children who get his boxes are from.  It makes it more real to him, and as I family we will pray for the children in Ghana. 

I'm very thankful for the Samaritan's Purse for giving our family the opportunity to do this every year.  It is just one more way to show God's love to people.

Go Tell it in the Parking Lot

Go, Tell It On The Mountain,

Over the hills and everywhere;

Go, Tell It On The Mountain

That Jesus Christ is born.

Yesterday at the grocery store, I found myself weary.  There were things we needed, but I just wanted to be home.  I was trying my best to hurry through the store.  After a long wait in line, I finally made it out of the store.  I felt like yelling "FREEDOM!"  I put the few groceries in the car and started towards home.  Then I saw a young woman holding a sign asking for help.  My first thought is "I'm too busy for this."  I took a deep breathe, then sighed as I pulled over.  I knew what the right thing to do was, but I was having a selfish moment.  I prayed for God to tell me how to help her and to help me change my attitude.  God always answers...maybe not in a big loud voice but His Holy Spirit moves my heart.  On the radio, "Go tell it on the Mountain" was playing.  That was my answer.  I need to tell people God loves them whether we are on a mountain, in a valley, in our home, or in a parking lot.  She needed money, and she needed to hear someone loves her.  God loves her just like He loves all of us!  And that is too good of news not to tell.

Christmas is a busy season, but it should never get so busy that I don't stop to share God's love.  There would be no Christmas without Him.  I would not have a life without Him. 

I may just have to re-write the old carol to "Go Tell it in the Parking Lot." 

Plans

When ours are interrupted, his are not. His plans are proceeding exactly as scheduled, moving us always (including those minutes or hours or years which seem most useless or wasted or unendurable) "toward the goal of true maturity."  - Elisabeth Elliot

Thinking about plans today, and I thought about Elisabeth Elliot's quote on plans. I can't help but smile when I think about how God's plans are always exactly as scheduled.  Some days like today, I question God's plan for my life.  I'm a very ambitious lady, and I feel like I'm just standing still lately. But at the same time, there is peace at being exactly where God has me.  I suppose it is strange how the times in my life that have been busy or scary have been easier for me than this slow paced time.  Life is so flexible at the moment that it has given me many new opportunities to minister in my community that I normally would not have.  God is maturing in this season of my life for something.  I have no idea what His something is, but I'm going to trust Him.  I'm sure one day I will look back at this time of rest and be very thankful for it.

Elliot's quote comes from Romans 12:2 JBP  "Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity."

Here is a couple more versions of Romans 12:2

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."  Rom. 12:2 NIV

"So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you." Rom. 12:1-2 MSG

God brings the best out of me....with His plan!

My Daddy is Gone

After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. ~J.K. Rowling

I have not wanted to blog lately because writing this makes it so real, so final.  My dad passed away.  He is gone.  I'll never be able to have his hugs again, to hear his wisdom or funny stories, to hear him say "alright," to talk about Alabama football or any sports for that matter, to see him grin like a possum at my son, and to hear his laugh.  I'm just sad.  We are all sad.

I know life will never quite be the same again without him.  He was such a big part of all our lives.

Brody only got five years with his Pop, and I'm hate to think that our other future children will never know the man I loved so much. 

Although I want him back so badly that it hurts, I would not want him to suffer like he did the last few months.  He'll never have to hurt again, and I find peace in that.  I'm glad he can breathe in glory. 



He is gone, but I will never forget him!

KRISPY SKREMES

 

We look for any excuse to have a Krispy Kreme Doughnut.  They are just so good!

 

They have made Fall even more fun with their Krispy Skremes doughnuts.  The pumpkin doughnut is almost too cute to eat.....almost.  Brody liked the spiderweb doughnut.  There is also a chocolate covered one with sprinkles and a pumpkin spice one too.  A doughnut trip is a great adventure plus it's very yummy!

Zippity DO Bags

You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving.  ~Author Unknown

The mom's group I'm a part of this semester has been reading the book The Missional Mom by Helen Lee.  It's about being on a mission in the home and in the world.  I have been both encouraged and challenge by this book.  I found that I have not done the best job I could with our five year old son when it comes to missions.   He sees his mommy and daddy showing God's love to people, but I have not given him many opportunities to do it too.  God has showed me over the past few weeks that kids can and NEED to be able to serve people.  Teaching the Bible is important, but it's also important to put it into action.  I've been praying about something our family could do together to show God's love in our community.   

Here is who God has placed on my heart.

The Homeless

It breaks my heart to see a person without a home. 

A person who is hungry.  

A person who feels alone.

I have seen so many without homes lately.  I usually give them some cash or food from a near by restaurant, but it just doesn't seem like enough.  I want to give them something more personal that says, "I care about you.  I am going to pray for you today."

I had read about how a lady gave a brown bag filled with food and supplies to homeless people she came into contact with.  I thought, "I could do that."  I began planning out how to put this new mission project into action.  When we where in Africa a few years ago, we learned how valuable ziploc bags were.   There are not many ways for them to keep things fresh and protected.  So I started thinking about how this would apply to a homeless person too.  Then I thought about what would be useful to someone living on the street.  Food of course is the #1 thought.  Personal hygiene items are good too.  I also thought thick socks and hats could make them warmer.  Add in some scripture, and it's a very useful bag!

Since I wanted to send plenty of sunshine heading their way, I named our project Zippity DO Bags.  It's a ziploc filled with love, and it's something our family can DO together.  

So as were traveling in our daily lives, we will keep these bags in our cars to give to those in need.  Then we get to have more fun putting together more bags.  This way our son has a part in helping, and he can also be a part of the giving too.  

Our challenge to you is

Make a Zippity DO Bag to keep in your car so when you see the homeless you can DO something too!

Please share your thoughts and/or experiences about the Zippity DO Bag!