A Life of Gratitude

Dylan, my four year old "wild" child, has become quite the theologian!  Tonight, during our prayer time, Dylan prayed for a family member that is lost. His prayer sounded a lot like this "God,  please help ______ to  let Jesus into his heart and help him to let You be the Boss of his life.  Jesus, I don't want you to have to die and be broken again because I don't want you to be sad. Please, oh please, let ________ know that You died for him and that You want him to be in Heaven one day.  I am glad that God never sleeps and that when I am asleep, You are awake.  Thank you that I can pray anytime and that You always hear my prayers. I always, always, always love You. In Jesus Name, Amen." You could just hear the sincerity in his voice. It was precious! When the prayer was done, Dylan said he hopes our family member asks Jesus to be in his heart soon because he knows that is the only way to go to heaven. He said "I know God  lives in my heart

While saying his bedtime prayers, Dylan said, "...and God, whatever you want me to be when I go grow up, that's what I want to be. It could be a train driver or truck driver, or maybe a fire fighter." When the prayers were all done we asked him how he would feel if God wanted him to be a Pastor or a Missionary. Dylan sweetly said, "oh yes, I would love that too. Whatever God wants, that's what I want too!"  What if more of us were so eager to joyfully do whatever God has planned for us?  It was recently decided that my back injury will not allow me to teach in a public setting again. So, I started going through all of my old teaching supplies today and plan to sell it all in a yard sale this weekend. I went through boxes and boxes and boxes of books, lesson plans, games, puzzles, stuffed animals, etc. I worked on it for hours and I am not even half done yet. As I looked at all that stuff, I couldn't help but think of how God has completely

The Virtuous Woman A good woman is hard to find,      and worth far more than diamonds. Her husband trusts her without reserve,      and never has reason to regret it. Never spiteful, she treats him generously      all her life long. She shops around for the best yarns and cottons,      and enjoys knitting and sewing. She's like a trading ship that sails to faraway places      and brings back exotic surprises. She's up before dawn, preparing breakfast      for her family and organizing her day. She looks over a field and buys it,      then, with money she's put aside, plants a garden. First thing in the morning, she dresses for work,      rolls up her sleeves, eager to get started. She senses the worth of her work,      is in no hurry to call it quits for the day. She's skilled in the crafts of home and hearth,      diligent in homemaking. She's quick to assist anyone in need,      reaches out to help the poor.

The past couple of days haven't been easy for me. Losing a loved one is hard. I spent most of yesterday and today just being with my family. They have been such a blessing to me. Evan has been extra snuggle-y and Dylan continues to comfort me and remind me where Grandma Davis is now. Bryan takes time to hold me and let me cry while he speaks words of wisdom to my wounded soul. I am so grateful for these precious people. God is using them to comfort me during this difficult time.  " This little guy has been loving on me. I think children somehow know when our hearts are broken." I shared this photo on facebook yesterday. One of my friends, Jill, posted the following comment:  " Although cognitive abilities develop over time, from a very young age, children have the same emotions as we do, so they are able to feel our feelings and emphasize with those they love. It is such a great gift that God has given us that as we mourn that which we have lost, we ho

Yesterday afternoon I went to visit my grandmother in the hospital because she had taken a turn for the worse. I stayed with her all evening, talking with her, holding her hands, praying over her, rubbing her arms with lotion, and asking God to guide her home. Late in the evening she was transferred to Duke. My mom and I took my grandfather to Duke so that we could be there when she arrived in the ambulance. The trip all the way to Durham was hard on her fragile body. When she arrived, she was barely hanging on. My mom, my Pawpaw, and I went in to see her and my heart shattered. She was in so much pain, gasping for air, and definitely the most pitiful sight I've ever encountered. The wonderful Duke doctors were able to stabilize her and make her comfortable but we all knew this would most likely be the last time we were able to speak with her. As I kissed her forehead, one last time, I told her that everything was ok, that she could go home now. She held on long enough for some ot

Since the recent events in Colorado, I just can't stop thinking about how precious life is.  I keep trying to imagine calling my girlfriends, deciding to go see a late night showing of Batman, buying popcorn and sodas, settling in for the movie and then experiencing true, real-life horror. The movies seem like such a safe place to relax and enjoy the evening. Not anymore. Most of us go about our daily lives believing that nothing like that will ever happen to us. Most of us probably think we have plenty of time and keep putting off the important things like forgiving a loved one, sharing Christ with our friends, or telling our spouses how much they mean to us. The truth is, we may not have plenty of time. We may take our kids to the bowling alley or run to the grocery store and never come home. We just don't know what might happen or when. I'm sure none of the movie go-ers in Aurora ever anticipated what  they experienced on July 20, 2012. "You do not ev

Logos: refers to the Inspired Word of God Rhema:  refers a verse of Scripture  that the Holy Spirit brings to our attention with application to a current situation or need for direction. If you spend time in the Word of God, pray, and seek the face of God, Rhema is probably something you can easily relate to. I believe, however, that it often happens to all people, even those who never read the Bible, pray, or seek God's face. Rhema occurs when Logos (the Word of God) comes to life for us individually! It seems like this happens all the time for me lately which is absolutely amazing! Today, I got to witness Rhema occurring in the lives of others, which is equally amazing. When I visited my grandmother the other day, I left several index cards with Bible verses written on them.  I just randomly picked these verses because I thought they would bring her comfort in the hospital. My mom has been reading them to her at night and some of the nurses have reading the verses

"And my God will meet all your needs  according to the riches of his glory  in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19 After tons of prayer and discussion, Bryan and I recently decided to start homeschooling Dylan in the fall. We are very excited about it! In the past, I would have laughed at the idea that I would one day homeschool my kids but God has changed my heart in so many ways in the past few years. I know now, without doubt, that this is the path God is leading us down. So, after researching and discussing choices with other HS moms, I've picked an excellent curriculum. The only problem is, its over $200! So, Bryan and I started praying that God would provide the money! Guess what...He has! Many of you many already know that I opened an Etsy store in May. I have had a sale here and there but once we started praying about the curriculum, I suddenly got a slew of orders! In the past 3 weeks I have sold 9 products, totaling well over $200! God provided even more m

I went to visit my Grandmother in the hospital today. She hasn't been doing too good the past couple of days. I was blessed with the opportunity to talk with her about her salvation. There is absolutely nothing more important than accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. We have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We all desperately need a Savior. Jesus gave His life in place of ours. He sacrificed it all so that we might enjoy eternal life with Him. He didn't have to do that for us and He didn't do it in order to give us a "get out of hell free card." He wants our hearts. He wants our whole lives. He deserves all we have to offer Him! He loves us so incredibly much. As a believer, it is my duty to tell others. So, I was grateful for the opportunity to talk with my Grandmother today. She shared that she that she had, somewhat recently, accepted Christ as her Savior! HALLELUJAH! She wasn't sure, however, if she would go to Heaven when she pass

"Great is our Lord  and mighty in power;  his understanding has no limit." Psalm 147:5 Tonight was the first night of Vacation Bible School at Green Street. I am a co-teacher in the 4 year old class so I get to enjoy teaching Dylan and lots of his little buddies about how wonderful God is! Our class of twelve kids is made up ten boys and only two girls. This week might be pretty wild!  Our Bible story for this evening was from the book of Joshua. The story tells of when God parted the Jordan River so the people could cross on dry land. Joshua had 12 men gather 12 huge rocks, which would become a memorial to help the people remember what God had done for them.  Karen, the other co-teacher, told the story by using strips of blue paper to show how God parted the waters and blocks to show how the stones were stacked as a memorial. The children were very involved in the story. They enjoyed talking about how strong and powerful our God is!  Today I am thankful for

Today was "Cow Appreciation Day" at Chick-fil-a. So, of course, I got handy with the black felt and safety pins and turned our little family into a herd of cows! Dylan really liked making his cow mask and has been very excited about dressing up. We dressed head to hoof in cow attire and we were rewarded with a free meal for 4! Not only was it good family fun, but it was free! You can't get much better than that! Today I am thankful for enjoyable times, free food, and time to spend together as a family. We don't often get to dress as cows, so this was very unique treat for us. Chick-fil-a does such a great job of reaching out to the community. The more we participate in their fun activities, the more I admire this terrific company!

I have been attending a wonderful Bible Study at Community Bible Church in High Point. We are studying  "Restore My Heart"  and I am thoroughly enjoying it. Today  I heard a really cute story about Queen Elizabeth. It is told that when Queen Elizabeth was 13 years old, she was really difficult to be around. Denise, the author of the study, called age 13 the "armpit of life." Haha! I guess most 13 years old kids are pretty difficult to be around but according to the story, Queen Elizabeth was ridiculously spoiled and constantly disobeyed. One day her Nanny got fed up with her, grabbed her by the shoulders, and shook her.   As the Nanny shook her, she yelled, "Do you know who you are?" Elizabeth proudly answered, "yes, I'm going to be the next Queen."  The Nanny said, "start acting like it!" I am really hard on myself. I always push myself too hard and get mad at myself too easily. I care too much about what other people think of

I went to a Women's Fellowship at church tonight. We enjoyed tea and desserts while some of the missionaries from our church shared about their work around the world. We heard from 4 ladies who have all been serving in different locations around the world. The first of these ladies is in her early 20's and just got married. She and her new husband are serving in Bolivia. The second missionary shared how God has called her and her family back to the United States after serving several years in the Middle East.  The third lady shared that her young family had been in 3 different locations with different languages in 8 years and are now considering serving in Kenya. The fourth  woman and her family are serving in Thailand in the Red Light District which is know for prostitution and human trafficking. As I listened to these ladies share, I was so amazed. I guess I've always thought of missionaries as "larger than life Christians" that don't deal with the same

You don't choose your family.  They are God's gift to you, as you are to them.   ~Desmond Tutu This morning, at the YMCA, I met a grandmother who was showing off pictures of her grandchildren. She had their photos in a make-up case that had several picture slots on the sides. I know from experience that this is a pretty common thing for grandmothers to do but this scenario was a little funny because her grandchildren were grown men. As she shared the photos, she called out their ages, 27-31 years old. I can't help but wonder if these adult men know that their grandmother is so stinkin' proud of them that she is still showing off their photos in the YMCA locker room.  I hope they know how much she loves them!  I have had the privilege of taking dinner to my only living grandparents once a week, for the past 3 weeks. Of course, my grandmother doesn't want me to be inconvenienced but I have really enjoyed making meals for them and visiting with them when I

"I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live."  Psalm 104:33 There is just something about music. I have always loved it! I enjoy hearing all types of instruments and voices singing (even those pitchy voices!) Although there are tons of different types of music, what I really love are songs of worship. I started to listening to only Christian music a few years ago and since then, I can't get enough of it! I love to sing in church, in the car, to my children, by myself, in a choir, in the shower...it doesn't matter where or with whom, I love to sing praises to God! I believe that God enjoys hearing His children sing because in Job 38 we read that even the stars sang when the Earth was being created. He created our voices (each and every voice, good or bad) so we should sing to Him just as the stars did.  Today I am thankful for music and the ability to sing praises to God. Audrey Assad sings a lovely song called "

Today I am thankful for the freedoms that we enjoy as Americans. Our little family had a terrific day celebrating those freedoms. We started out the day by fishing at High Point City Lake Park. Using our MP3 player, we listened to praise music while Bryan and Dylan cast their fishing poles and reeled in their tiny fish. How wonderful to live in a country where we can sing praises to our Heavenly Father in the middle of a public park! After fishing, we rode the train around the park with tons of other families that were out enjoying the day. So many ethnicities living in the same community, what a blessing!  Our evening was spent swimming and grilling hamburgers with family. We also had a lot of fun with fireworks (the legal kind, of course). As I watched my husband teaching my son how to safely light a firework and move away quickly, I was immediately grateful for the ability to teach our children as we see fit and for the endless possibilities that are available to them as Americans.

This morning Dylan and I were about to make some "special 4th of July" candy (as he calls it) when he ran up to me and hugged me around the waist. He said "Mommy, I will follow you everywhere you go! I just love you!"  Drip, drip, drip...that is the sound of my heart melting!!!  How adorable is he!?!  Although he said it in fun, his statement is pretty profound actually.  In many cases, our children do follow us where everywhere we go. So, a s parents, we need to be careful where we are leading our children. Its easy to live as if they are oblivious to what we are doing and saying but they are little sponges!  Lately, Dylan has been using the word "mimicking." (He uses it correctly and will tell you the definition! Smart little booger!) This afternoon, when we were driving, we saw an accident and Dylan started praying for the victims, the police officers, EMT, etc. As he prayed, I noticed that he was mimicking the way I pray. He was s