Huge Party Going On Tonight!!!

You are probably wondering what the party is/was all about... of course I'm going to tell you because that's what blogging is all about!! Well, I don't know if I've mentioned it on here before or not but back in January I started teaching 3rd and 4th grade girls on Wednesday nights at our church. They're a good group of girls - albeit a little energetic!! Well, about a month or more ago one of them started bringing a friend and tonight right as we were about to get started the two of them came and asked if they could talk to me in private. I said, "Sure!" So, we went away from where the other girls were and the "regular" said, "Something I've been praying about is happening - "visitor" wants to become a Christian!!" Of course I was excited but also wanted to make sure she knew exactly what it meant so I went to our Children's director and told her and thought it would be good to sit with her and counsel her some. So, the three of us went into a separate room and we went through the plan of salvation and read some verses in Romans - "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (3:23), "For the wages of sin is death, but the GIFT of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (6:23), "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (5:8), and another verse in Ephesians "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the GIFT of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." (2:8&9) Each time we read a verse we would talk with her about it and make sure she truly understood what this free GIFT was and she was really excited to have God with her in her life. I led her through a sinner's prayer and afterward she was happy and said, "Does this mean I'm a Christian now?" I think too many people think it's more complicated than that but it really does come down to a simple prayer of confession that you're a sinner and that you need Christ. I ask you to be praying for her, though, she comes from a broken home and lives with her mom who doesn't attend church. Now we need to be praying she'll be able to share her new found faith with her family! So, the huge party going on tonight is in Heaven! The angels are celebrating this new believer! It has really been a renewal for me as well - to really remember it is a gift and I can't earn it. Which means as a human I'm going to fail at things but His love is still there. Praise the Lord!!

Church and other deep thoughts!

Unlike some of the blogging I was doing in Alabama, I haven't done a whole lot of "deep thoughts" in a while. I was pondering this the other day as to what might have caused this change and a couple of thoughts came to mind: 1. I'm a little busier now with homeschooling and actually trying to get my business going with Stampin' Up! (R) again. 2. Brian and I have a little more time together now (don't know how but it's true) so I can chat more with him about things. 3. I've gotten a little bit addicted to Facebook and spend entirely too much time on that (wow, can't believe I actually admitted that on here!!!). Anyway, whatever the reason, it hasn't happened as much so I find I'm "searching" for things to blog about. It's not that we're any less exciting now than we were mere months ago, is it?! No, it can't be! We're definitely just as busy doing things but it's funny because I still feel like the pace has slowed down and I think it has a lot to do with WHERE we live!! Maybe I'm not such a city rat after all?!?! Nah, I still love the thrills of the city but perhaps I enjoy visiting it more than living in it. Moving on....

We are now living in the land of a plethora of churches to choose from - as long as you're Lutheran. Since we aren't it's been a little bit more of a challenge to find where the Lord wanted us to be during our time here. We have visited four churches and it turns out that it's not a good idea to visit churches during the summer here because none of their usual activities are actually going on and you have to revisit them all again once school starts back to really get a feel of the place. We think we have finally settled on a church and we're starting to try and get involved. The name of the church is Faith Evangelical Free Church and it is in the process of getting a new pastor. Their pastor before had been with them, if I remember correctly, something like 30 years and just retired. The pastor they've hired is a younger guy with a young family and he's coming in from California. He's here and getting settled and should be starting soon. We're hoping (we heard him preach while he was out here for his "interview") that his youth and vibrance will really be just what the church needs. Ian, Ellie and I went last week for the Wednesday night dinner so that Ian could then go to the children's choir and activities. (One of the things he asked me about before we moved here was if he could do choir this year so it was one of the considerations when looking at a church). Ian really enjoyed the activities and I ended up helping the MOPS (Mothers Of Preschoolers) steering committee get set up for their meeting the next morning. They convinced me I should go so I did the next day and really enjoyed it. It's now going to be a normal part of our routine and I'm looking forward to it (especially because most of the good friends I had in VA were friends I'd made through MOPS). Anyway, Brian brought Josh for the youth group and he really enjoyed that, too, so that was all we needed to know! We have really been praying about it and didn't really feel the Lord pulling us strongly in any direction but I think he's been quietly leading us there just through the people we've met.

Mother's Day

It has been a wonderful, relaxing weekend and today is another beautiful day! I am blessed by my husband and blessed to be called mom by three good-looking kids. Our message at church today affirmed me for the things I'm doing right and definitely convicted me on the things I need to work on. This past week has, for me, been a challenge in a pretty big way as a mom and I thank the Lord He gave me wisdom and grace to handle the situation as well as friends to mentor and pray for me. Thank you to all of you who have been praying for me. God is definitely at work in our family and I'm excited to see where it all leads! I can tell you this - God is good and God is faithful. He has been my strength this week and without Him I would not have made it. I know I'm saying all of this without details but there are some things that don't need to be shared with the world - just know that we are all okay and are growing in God's grace. My eyes have been opened to seeing things from a different perspective and showing unconditional love with no strings attached. As a mom I realize the awesome responsibility I have to show my children God's love and forgiveness. If I'm not in the Word growing closer to my Savior it is impossible for me to impart His truths to my children. The same is true of them - if they aren't in the Word, they will be unprepared for whatever the world throws at them. Being a mom also means letting our children "grow" through their own mistakes - even if it grieves us to watch them go through it wanting to say "I told you so!" I've realized I want to "fix it better" and have had to realize that I can't, only God can and believe me that is very hard for me to do. He is at work and I must let Him continue it for His purposes, not mine! I have such a huge appreciation for my parents after this week and want to take a moment to say, "Thank you, Mom and Dad, for loving me, showing me God's grace and His unfailing love."

We watched the movie "Flywheel" last night and there was a term from that movie that we are adopting for ourselves - Serene Chaos. It is feeling like things are out of our control but trusting God is in control in the midst of it all. That sums up our life this week and this Mother's Day has meant a lot to me for it. I hope that all of you Mom's out there have a wonderful day too and realize all of the amazing things that being a mom entails - the good and the bad.