Happy New Year!

I can’t believe 2010 is already here. I feel like I just finished putting up all the beautiful Christmas decor. I love transforming our home into a winter wonderland (despite living in Florida) that glorifies Jesus – the reason for the season!

Christmas Tree 2009

There is something magical that happens when the family gathers around the tree to place all the beautiful ribbons, ornaments and little trinkets that remind us of years gone by.

Christmas Arrangements

Christmas Arrangments

Christmas arrangements, garland, and mistletoe fill our home for the holiday season!

Christmas Candles

I love to use scented candles to help complete the Christmas feel.

Nativity Scene

I absolutely adore this beautiful and unique nativity set. This year I displayed it within our china hutch. I love how it looked at night with just the overhead light.

Have a Merry Time!

Caden on Christmas 2009

Caden is doing quite well. He’ll be turning three in February which means he’ll be ready to move up in school. He went through some extensive testing and we learned that we have a little genius on our hands. Considering that Caden was premature and expected to have some learning disabilities, he’s proven once again that God is the ruler over all!

Caden kissing his little brother!

Baby number 2 (who has a name that we are keeping a surprise) is still baking. He’s quite healthy and is very active (especially at night). He loves to cuddle up to his daddy and he gets quite excited when mommy sings on Monday’s and Sunday’s. We feel incredibly blessed by our children already – God is SO good!

I hope you enjoyed the pictures of our Christmas Open house! We wish each and every one of you a safe, happy and healthy 2010!

WWJD?

I absolutely love the holidays. I love spending time with my family, putting up decorations and decorating the Christmas tree. I even enjoy picking out thoughtful gifts for each member of my family and friends alike. There’s a joy that shines within during this precious month, not only because of the things I mentioned above, but because of the true reason for the season. Jesus.

For Christians, Christmas should be a celebration of life and purpose — far more precious than the latest fashion fad or toy wrapped perfectly under the Christmas tree. For me, I see a vision of a baby Jesus; a life so meaningful, born into the world with the purpose to save all who accept His call (Romans 6:23).

(Click here to continue reading this entry, featured on the Jesus Drives Me blog.)

Lack of Awareness

Anyone else notice the lack of awareness around here? You don't have to be a youth group leader to see the lack of awareness our youth in America have on world oppression, child abandonment, hunger, homelessness and so on. And let's not kid ourselves, this isn't just a youth thing either. There are plenty of adults who are lacking in the awareness arena too.

I literally get a knot in my stomach when I think about that things we take for granted. Have you ever been in a store and overheard a child or teenager whine to their parents because they wouldn't buy them the toy they wanted or the shoes that were "cool"? I certainly have (and I've certainly been there!) Have you ever agonized over which brand of stereo system, DVD player, or TV you should buy?

It's sad to know that... (Click here to read the rest of this article featured on the Jesus Drives Me blog).

"Spirit of Battle"

“O mothers of young children, I bow before you in reverence. Your work is most holy. You are fashioning the destinies of immortal souls. The powers folded up in the little ones that you hushed to sleep in your bosoms last night are powers that shall exist forever. You are preparing them for their immortal destiny and influence...” Home-Making, J.R. Miller, pg. 106

The other day I was thinking about some of the meanings behind our names and I was reminded of what Caden’s name means and the main reason we had chosen it for him. Caden essentially means “Spirit of Battle”. Quite fitting for a boy and it equally sums up what I believe is going on every day. Spiritual warfare is all around us and when we were searching for his name I wanted it to reflect something Godly but untraditionally. I truly felt that our son’s name needed to be a constant reminder of what we are on this earth fighting for. We can get so caught up in the little things, so discouraged by life’s circumstances that we forget to keep strong in the Lord and to proclaim what He has done and IS doing for us.

This actually reminds me of a post my cousin did about boys and their natural born instinct to be warriors and its connection to God. You can read the post here: http://growntoglory.wordpress.com/2009/01/23/warrior-son/

I agree whole-heartedly with everything she said. Even at the young age of 2, Caden already shows a willingness to be a warrior – not in a bad sense of course – but you can see it in his eyes when he’s determined to fight through all of life’s obstacles. There is something so cool and refreshing about the fact that God has molded little boys (who will one day be men) to have such a protective and courageous nature. Now our challenge as parents is to help encourage that nature and show them how and when to use it appropriately.

I pray that when Caden is older he too will think about the meaning behind his name and be reminded of the unseen battle God is fighting on our behalf and hopefully on that day Caden will make a choice to join it!

Fingernails

Eric and I had planned to take advantage of our Saturday and sleep in until 10:00 AM. Needless to say, it didn't happen. On this particular day Caden decided he wanted to get up at 8. I decided to sneak out and take care of him while Eric caught a few more ZZzzZZz's.

After I finished getting Caden ready, I noticed how dirty his nails were. I said to myself "why are little boys nails always so dirty?". I have to clean his nails at least once a day, if not more. While cleaning and cutting away, I started thinking about how adventurous he is and how he explores every nook and cranny. His little hands are hard at work and play each and every single day. I began to realize that even though it's "dirt" in a way it is a small testimony of who he is.

Immediately, I started wondering about what kind of things would be found under my fingernails. Would the labors of my hands, or even better yet the depths of my heart, show through? If you looked, would you see the mountains I've climbed, the holes I've dug, or even the waters I've treaded? In reality, maybe not, but figuratively I would hope you'd see a reflection of my true self. My true self would look something like this:

- A woman who is self cautious about her outside looks.
- A mother who is STILL trying to figure it all out. All the books in the world aren't helping me!
- A wife who has let her husband down, time and time again but is still working through it.
- A sinner who is undeniably unworthy of God's renewing compassion and eternal gift of life.
- A person who loves to sing, even if the voice doesn't match the hearts desire!
- A person who would rather look on people hearts, rather than their actions or words.
- Someone who has been pushed.
- Someone who has done the pushing.
- A person who has trouble trusting people, and a harder time replenishing that trust when its been broken.
- Someone who has had their heart broken...and then repaired.
- A person who needs forgiveness every single day...
- Someone who has given forgiveness...

If I allowed it, if I were humble, honest, and open...you'd see all those things. Maybe not under my fingernails but certainly through my faith, actions, reactions, and works. We are not perfect, but we are blemish free to God and though I may have done things to be shameful of, God has restored my soul each day. Had I not been through the storms, I wouldn't be able to be a "shelter" for those going through those same storms now.

So with that said, what would you find under your fingernails?

New Age Worship

I came across an interesting article today. It talks about "5 Kinds of Christians" you can view it here if you're interested: http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2007/fall/1.19.html?start=1
To sum it all up, it speaks of the new age appetite for deeper more significant worship that many people are getting from places other than Church.

Now days people can get praise and worship music from the radio or iPod or hear a powerful sermon from a preacher on TV. The bar has been set high by the new age means people use to get connected. So many church leaders feel that people come to their local Church expecting that same "high". In the article, Wilkerson acknowledges:

"we [the leaders of the Church] probably end up perpetuating that kind of appetite by trying to be as high-quality as what we find out there. The temptation of larger churches is to compete and to be as good as the others are."

Now I realize that is the reality of it all. However, the thought of Church's COMPETING to be better or just as good as another lights a fire in the depths of my soul - it's vinegar to my ears, ya'll. I understand that we need to be good shepards but that goes beyond the type of music we play, the way our church looks, or how we dress. What good is a building if you can't keep the people there because we are so caught up in the MATERIAL things (i.e worldly view, temporary treasures, looks, etc) and we forget to feed the hungry with something that will fill them for a lifetime (i.e. God's word, God's love, kind followship, etc.).

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." (2 Cor 4:17-18)

Are we so consumed with pleasing the world that we forget about pleasing the Lord? How can we worship God with pure hearts when our eyes are focused on the here and now, ya'll? Oh honeys, if you want to get down to the TRUE meaning of sheparding it all comes down to the hearts of the people. You can have my iPod, honey, because I'd much rather spend my time listening to an out of tune lady worshiping God with a pure heart, any day!

We need to keep our eyes upon Jesus and put our complete trust in Him, period.

"All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."(Rom 8:28)

Now on a similar note, here are some things the article pointed out that I'm still chewing on:

1. The local church is no longer considered the only outlet for spiritual growth.
2. Churches must develop relational- and community-oriented outreach.
3. Lay people have to be better equipped to be God's ambassadors.

Life Lessons: Cards

Yesterday we taught the FCCS youth a lesson that focused on the cards we’ve been dealt in life. It was neat listening to them talk about their woes with friends, math tests, etc. Of course, most of them seemed like small trivial things but “big” to a teenager going through it.

The deeper perspective really focuses on the things in life we can not change no matter how good or bad they are. It got me thinking of the cards I’m holding and how each of them has molded me into the person I am today.

My Cards:

1. I dealt with abandonment from my father at an early age. ---> As a result, I found refuge with my Heavenly Father & and he gave me a wonderful step-father who I adore!

2. Had a difficult relationship with my mother growing up. ---> As a result, I have a deeper understanding of unconditional love & forgiveness, a connection with people going through similar situations, and a better relationship with my mother today!

3. Lost multiple friends to death. ---> As a result, I understand how important friendship is (I cherish every single friend) and how significant our time on earth is and therefore I don’t waste it on trivial things.

4. Faced multiple miscarriages. ---> As a result, I surrendered my need for control & trusted in God’s timing…now I have a beautiful baby boy who I couldn’t imagine life without.

5. Had a rocky first year of marriage. ---> As a result, my husband sought Christ and now we have a renewed marriage in Him and we just celebrated 5 years of marriage!


My cards don’t end there of course; I have many more I could show you. It’s pretty neat to see that when I’ve trusted God, situations that were traumatic for me actually enriched who I was as a person in the end.

It’s easy to trust in God when He’s dealing you good cards but it’s hard to trust Him when you get to the bad hand in life. Because I’ve weathered storms and have sought comfort in Him – I have learned to trust in His Will. It’s not always easy but how I react to my cards is what matters. In the end, I am thankful for the cards I hold because with God it’s a winning hand.