Monday Morning Perspective

Well the morning has turned into afternoon, sorry.
We kicked off a Christmas series yesterday and it was great. I've heard so many good comments about it already. I always said my hubby could read names in a phone book and make it interesting and he did a great job with a passage of "begats".
I loved how he started out making us realize that behind every one of those names is a real person, a life, a story. And I love the importance the Jewish people placed on names. I remember even my parents always talking about how important your name is, that your name represents your family and heritage. I love that.
I think my favorite part of the sermon was when Eddie pointed out that the people in the list had nothing to offer. That's the way it is with us as well. We have nothing God needs but He adopted us into His family and allows us the priviledge of knowing Him. I don't know about you but the older I get the more I care less about what He gives me and what He can do for me. I just want to know Him, to be in an intimate relationship with Him every day so that I can hear His voice and see Him work. Seth Oprea spoke to the youth last night and one of the things he said that stuck with me is that maybe we are not witnessing amazing things that God is doing because we are not being obedient to Him and submitting to His Lordship. I want to witness every amazing thing that God will allow me to. I want to be a pure vessel through which He can move and work.
I pray that this series we are doing will have a huge impact on our Christmas season, that we may keep focused on the true meaning and all we have in Christ because He was willing to leave all in glory and come to earth for us.

Reflections

I pray everyone had an incredibly blessed Thanksgiving. We sure did. I know it's probably age but I never take for granted time spent with my family. My parents are in good health but they are in their 70s now and I don't get to see my brother and his family as often as I would like so I just treasure every moment we have together. I have good friends who have lost loved ones this past year and we get home to some tragic news of another friend losing his child. We hear about the man in Jupiter, Florida who killed so many of his family members during Thanksgiving together. It makes me so thankful to know that this is not all there is. God has a great plan for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose and we get to spend all of eternity together.
We spent Thanksgiving Day with my parents and my brother's family along with a friend of my nephew and Chrissie's boyfriend who flew in that day. I spent a lot of time that day just thinking of how blessed I am that I am rich in relationships. I would trade all the "stuff" I have for the people God has put in my life. I thought as we stood together to pray before we ate that I love these people in this room so much but I also like all of them. We are all far from perfect and I'm sure before the night was over I said something wrong or rubbed someone the wrong way. We don't always agree but thank God we don't fight either. But we really do like each other. They are my family but they are also my friends. Vickie said in sunday school this morning that we don't get to choose our family like we get to choose our friends. It is very nice when your family can be your friends as well.
We also spent some time Christmas shopping a bit. I try to help my mom get hers done while I'm home so she doesn't have to do it by herself so we got that accomplished. And of course the weekend ended great with my Gamecocks getting a big win over Clemson, of which I'm also thankful for.
Well my stomach hurts still not only because of all the food I ate but also from all the laughing I did. It was a fabulous thanksgiving and I hope yours was as well.

The ABC's of Thanksgiving

I'm going to wish you all a happy thanksgiving a day ahead of time because my plan is to be computer free for the next few days. I hope you are able to spend the holiday with those you love the most being grateful for all of your blessings. We are spending ours in Spartanburg as is the tradition for us with my parents and my brother's family and this year we have a new addition for the holiday. Chrissie's boyfriend is flying in from Florida to spend some time with us. This trip he will get to meet the rest of the fam. We will be spending a lot of time cooking, eating, shopping, and probably a lot of laughing. There will be much talking as we try to catch up with everyone and even more laughing as old stories seem to be just as funny as the new ones to tell.
One thing I do like to do around this time is to list things I am thankful for according to abc order. It's just a way of putting it on paper. Some things never change and there's always new things to add. But it never ceases to amaze me when I write it down, just how many blessings God has granted and how good He is whether we deserve it or not. May we never take even the least things for granted. A very happy thanksgiving to you all.

Monday Morning Perspective

I am so thankful for the message yesterday on thanksgiving. What a great time for Eddie and the others to be able to go to Mexico to minister and serve. There's nothing like seeing firsthand how others live to make you reflect on your blessings and that was portrayed so vividly in the message. Actually it was a somewhat rare peek into our pastor's heart and I am grateful for that. So often we just reflect on the material blessings which will never get us through the tough times of life but those spiritual blessings Eddie pointed out will. I am so thankful for those we looked at yesterday in Psalms. May we focus on those not only now at thanksgiving but every day as well. Great job honey.

It's Saturday!!

It's been a great week. Things have gone great for Eddie and our group in Mexico. Can't wait to hear more about that trip when he flies in tonight. Spending some time this morning praying for his safe return and being thankful for the salvations there and the fact that Eddie said they were so receptive. Ready for him to get home. We are picking him up at the airport in Columbia then headed to California Dreaming (yahoo) for Stephen's birthday dinner. We've been waiting for Eddie to get home to do this. Excuse me a sec...
Well, there's an unwanted visitor in my daughter's room, a lizard. The only 2 people in the house who will deal with this are not here. Eddie's enroute from Mexico and Stephen is where else, Gold's Gym. So...we are just going to sit and watch it til Stephen gets home. Yes, John is here but he's as much help as me and the girls.
Anyway, got to spend yesterday with my girls doing some Christmas shopping. When you don't have them with you all the time to do that you learn to treasure those times as I'm sure many of you know. I've definitely learned not to take even the smallest quickest trip to Target for granted if I can do it with my kids. We grabbed some lunch, bought some gifts, made a run through the Starbucks drive through and had lots of conversation. A friend said to me the other night that one of the things about your kids driving on their own is it cuts out a lot of good conversation time. So true! It's convenient for them to be able to drive but as busy as we are and you have to drive them everywhere they are kinda trapped in your car. I have had some of the best conversations with my kids in the car as we go. Lots of them are deep thought provoking or challenging or counseling type conversations and many are just fun what's going on what kinda day has it been talks. I love all of them and I miss them not happening as often for sure.
Almost forgot the awesome concert Thursday night we went to with David Crowder. He puts on a great show but it is also a tremendous worship experience. Chrissie got to come home that day with no class this Friday so we all got to go minus Eddie of course. I get to have her home til Monday (no class that day) then she's taking Jessica back with her. We are meeting them in Spartanburg for a long family Thanksgiving weekend starting Tuesday night. Chrissie's boyfriend is flying in on Thursday to join us so should be a great time but more on Thanksgiving later. Have a super blessed Saturday and pray everyone's Sunday is a day of worship!

18? Are you kidding me?

A very happy birthday to Stephen who is 18 today. I am picking myself up off of the floor over this one. Just absolutely cannot believe it's been 18 years. Nothing like your childrens birthdays to make you really believe that this life moves by at a rapid pace.
Stephen, you are the biggest thrill ride God has ever given me. There were days I wondered if I would survive you, if you would survive me, or if either of us would survive! You have given me more belly laughs and more gray hair all at the same time. We named you well when we named you Stephen. Stephen of the Bible was full of grace and at the same time full of boldness and you are so like that. You have more compassion than I could ever muster and at the same time competitive and aggressive down to the very marrow. What God has and can do with you if you remain sold out for Him. Noone could ever accuse you of giving less than 100% in all you do (except occassionally with schoolwork). You are the hardest worker and most energetic kid I have ever known. You do everything at 100mph. I stand amazed most of the time. I love you more than you can imagine and am equally proud of you. Enjoy your special day, you deserve it all.
By the way, I hope your roomies understand when I come into your dorm next year on your birthday and wake you up singing happy birthday. I'm sure they will understand. Love you Bubba!

Monday Morning Perspective

This post will be a bit different than most mmp posts. Eddie is out of town with the Mexico mission crew so he didn't preach yesterday. I did make it to sunday school and the 11:11 service. I am so blessed to be able to teach with Vickie Oprea this year. I know that our lessons are geared toward students but they are so applicable to me as well. Vickie is a great teacher and I get as much out of the lesson each week as our girls do. Thanks Vickie for always feeding us so well on God's Word. Jake did a great job as he filled in for Eddie. He preaches with passion and conviction. The music over the past weeks has certainly set the stage for the message to be presented with power. We are a blessed people.
Please pray for our group in Mexico. I am praying that God would show off continually this week as they not only meet some physical needs of the people there but also spiritual needs. Pray that the messages Eddie preaches will be clear and Jesus would shine forth as the only hope we have, the Savior of the world. Pray that the people there would feel the love that can only come from Christ in the hearts of our people there. As our people leave, may they leave Christ with many who will come to know Him this week for He will never leave us or forsake us. May God get MUCH glory and honor this week. May He alone receive praise and honor as we know He is the only one worthy. Thank you to those willing to go and share.

Random Stuff Again

I'm in the process of getting my carpet cleaned so it seems like a perfect time to blog since I'm limited to the things I can do. I'll just blog some random stuff.
Eddie's been at the convention all week in Columbia. He leaves for Mexico on Saturday for a mission trip so really feeling like we need to play catch-up and then get-ahead. Hopefully tomorrow I can get penciled in on a very busy man's schedule. That's a hint honey if you are reading this.
Chrissie's sick with a cold. No matter how old they get you still want to be the one getting them some meds, ginger ale and making chicken soup. Hope you feel better sweet girl. She has so much school work to get done before Thanksgiving so it's a terrible time to feel bad. Would love prayers going up for her!
Jessica has been my workout buddy lately. It's so nice to have her to hang with during the morning, ok well late morning hours, before she heads off to work.
Stephen started his final time of conditioning with the South Aiken baseball team this week. He's a senior. So hard to believe this will be his final season. He's played since 7th grade with them and it feels like only a few years. Gonna miss that boy next year.
John had his 1st showcase this past weekend for baseball. He got the award for best change-up (that's a pitch just in case you are not a baseball fan). He threw 82 which is awesome for a sophomore. So proud of him. He's playing school basketball as well so he is tremendously busy right now, but hard work always pays off.
Me? Well, trying to finish my Christmas decorating and have GOT to start my shopping. I have a feeling that this is going to be a holiday season like no other. It's always busy but it seems like so much is getting put on the family calendar. Praying hard that we keep Christ at the center of all of it. Do not want to "miss Christmas" for anything. So excited about Thanksgiving. I have really missed seeing my brother and his family lately, can't wait to catch up with them. The older I get the more those things matter more than presents and "stuff". Just longing for a lot of family time and connection right now. Hope you all have a blessed rest of the week.

Monday Morning Perspective

What an awesome day of worship we had yesterday. So wish I would not have missed the 9:00. I heard great things about that service.
I loved our message on Gideon. I could relate so well to all of it. I have been the coward, the careless and the committed at many times throughout my life. How I long to stay in the committed group but still so often fall into one of the other two. I thought about how many times I feel so strong and yet when the pressure is on I crumble. I know I have to stay in His Word and on my knees to remain prepared for the battles that are always waiting to be raged against me and boy do they seem to come from every direction and hurts the most when they are raged from people and places we would least expect.
My favorite part was when Eddie talked about the Ephraimites and I thought about how I would never want to be one. He mentioned how selfish Ephraimites are, always concerned with how they are treated. They don't care how they treat others. I've heard so many people lately talk about how so-and-so didn't speak to them or so-and-so didn't invite them. I just want to scream "GET OVER IT, WHO CARES!". I also want to ask them how many people they snub or how many times they leave people out of things. We need to grow up and yes that includes me as well. God forgive us all for our complaining and our mean-spiritedness. Being reminded that God took note of it and He did deal with it should be a warning for all of us. Thank God for His mercy, may we echo that mercy towards others.

It's beginning to look a lot like...Christmas?!

Really? Already? November 1st is my day to get started. I've always let my kids get through Halloween before I get started with my Christmas decorating but November 1st is it. So the boxes are out and the decorations have started going up. This is my favorite time of the year, other than summertime of course, and I just can't wait to get it started. I was so excited yesterday when I read a fellow pastor's wife's blog and she had started her Christmas decorating. It made me feel a little less wierd for the moment. I wait until close to Thanksgiving to put the outside decor up because my kids get a little embarrassed when others can see that we are decorating for Christmas so early. Last year I freaked a little because someone in the neighborhood got their outside stuff up before me. Needless to say the next day it was going up. I like to get the house decorated and all the shopping done so that December isn't so stressful and I can just focus on enjoying it all and my focus can shift from tinsel and presents to the greatest present of all, the birth of Christ. My prayer for all as the season begins is that Christ would be so real to us and we would look for opportunities to share Him with all that we come in contact with. That He would show off in amazing ways and we wouldn't miss it because we are stressed and busy. Let me be the first to say Merry Christmas!

The Perfect Game-The Perfect Trip Part 2

I know I am behind but I'm trying to maintain priorities and I had to get away from this last week for hectic demands. Anyway, I'm back to finish the post...
Stephen's game to pitch was Sunday at 12:40. We had to win to win our pool and go into the next round of games which could lead to the championship. Word of warning, I'm going to put my mom hat on and brag so if you can't stomach that turn this off now.We allow no bragging on self around here but a mom always has license to brag on her own.
Stephen rocked. I have no idea how you perform under the pressure of so many people and scouts watching you and pitch a need-to-win game but somehow he seems to rise to that occassion.Trust me, I take NO credit for that. I would have told the coach I was sick (which probably would have been true) but I could never have stood up to that pressure now or at his age. He gave up 1 hit, there was 1 error and we won. It was awesome. I told him he should hug the neck of his infield because they made every play, only 2 fly balls to the outfield which they made, and an incredible pitching performance. Of course Stephen says it's easy to pitch with that kind of defense behind you. He knew if he got them to hit ground balls the play would be made, he was right. I'm so proud of him for being able to perform under pressure. I think it's true in our Christian walk as well. Sometimes it's easy to do the right things at church or when we are with Christian friends or we are living in our parents house and they are always watching us, but what about when the pressure's on? What about when noone's watching? What about when we are around others making wrong choices? Do we still perform? Do we still do what's right? Eddie and I tried to raise our children where of course there was a fear of the consequences we would inflict upon them for wrong choices but it has to go further than that. We knew that the fear of us would only last so long. They would spend time away from us and eventually live away from us. We wanted them to be able to perform under pressure when the only thing was do what's right because it's right. God is always watching and we always want Him to be happy with our performance.
Anyway, we went into the single elimination round, played 2 more games that day winning both of them. We played Monday in the semi-finals and lost that one. We were within 1 game of getting to the championship but it was a great run. Out of 85 teams we came in 3rd so that's pretty good.
I am also proud of those guys on the team whom Stephen said were very welcoming to him as the new kid. They all introduced themselves to him before the 1st night was over and treated him like one of the guys. No wonder they play so well together, they are a team in every sense of the word. That's also a word for our churches, but that's another post.

Monday Morning Perspective

Well,I do know that I have a tendency to be wordy but I do know when to shut up or say nothing most of the time. The only thing to say about yesterday is "Absolutely Amazing". The presence of God's Spirit was overwhelming. Loved it honey.