What I Needed to Hear

I was reading my daily devotional from Elisabeth Elliot this morning and this little paragraph reached out and grabbed me.

"We read that our Heavenly Father actually looks for people who will worship him in spirit and in reality. Imagine! God is looking for worshippers. Will he always have to go to a church to find them, or might there be one here and there in an ordinary house, kneeling alone by a chair, simply adoring him?"

Elisabeth Elliot

What an amazing woman she is. Some days I feel like she is speaking straight to my heart.

The stress around here has risen with R's school. The test are multiple times per week covering multiple chapters each time. We knew it would be difficult, but it is difficult to see him struggle and not be able to help much.

Make new friends, but keep the old

I need a better camera, but you get the point. The extra kids here playing with my kids are some old friends of ours. They lived across the street from us when we were all stationed in FL together. Until we moved to CA, the kids had not seen each other since summer of 2007. A couple years is not a big deal for adults, but kids take it differently. My little man was so young that he did not have memories of playing with H & J.

So we had a sleepover last night and everyone had a blast. This morning we had breakfast, some TV, sprinkler fun, Wii action, and a trip to the park. How awesome is it that we have built in friends that we already love and cherish?

Want to know something awesome, me and my next door neighbor were the first people to ever invite these kids and their mama to church. They eventually came and their mom, K, invited Jesus into her heart. Thank you GOD! Now these kids have had the opportunity to go to church, hear the word, and become apart of Awanas. All because God planted us across the street from each other.

Jesse Tree with Links

OK, we have never done a Jesse Tree and I am not sure that this will become a family tradition, but it is something that I have wanted to try. With a 7 year old and a 4 year old, there is no time like the present.
I originally read about the Jesse Tree last year over at Rocks in My Dryer, but did not have the time nor the peace of mind to create it. We have more time this year and I have already gotten started.
Here are some of the links that we have used, as well as, the Bible. My kids are half listening but are enjoying creating the tree.

The Story - http://www.cresourcei.org/jesse.html


Scripture - http://www.shalfleet.net/advent/makeajessetree.htm (look towards the bottom).


Ornaments - http://www.eriercd.org/jessetree.htm , http://cnsblog.wordpress.com/2007/12/19/jesse-tree-ornaments-available-for-download/ This site has a link to two different size ornaments. I liked these because they looked the same and not to ornate. Hopefully one of these links will work for you. I could not open it with the first link, but used the second link just fine.

Hope this helps you feel that the Jesse Tree is doable for your family as well. You might learn something new from the Bible in the process.

Have a great day!
Amanda

The Doorbell

The worst part of surviving deployment is the not knowing. The inability to pick up the phone and say "Are you alright?" The nagging feelings that will not go away. My mom always says that no news is good news. T

he worst feeling is when the door bell rings (chimes). For one brief moment I think, what will I do if there is a chaplain standing on the other side of this door. How in the world will I get the courage to tell my kids or call my husband's parents? My heart sinks, my body feels cold, and my thoughts spin as I walk to the door to see who is on the other side. So grateful when I hear a little girl giggle and ask for C to come out to play.


A millions times I have run through the scenario of it actually being a chaplain or the command CO. I cannot imagine what that moment will be like, but I cannot stop thinking about it either. I have even considered disconnecting the door bell. I have done that before when my children were babies. That would not keep the bad news out, I would still have to hear what I would not want to hear. I would still have to bear that burden, but thankfully not alone.

"Do not worry about anything. But pray and ask God for everything you need. And when you pray, always give thanks." Philippians 4:6

What?

How hard is that?

I can pray and give thanks with the best of them, but the not worrying part gets me every time. But just as Paul told the people of Philippi, Jesus tells us to not to worry about tomorrow (Matthew 6:34) today has enough to keep our minds occupied.

WOW!

Don't worry about tomorrow, tomorrow is going to happen no matter how you feel about it. God gives you just enough today for you to handle.

For now the doorbell will stay in place and I will continue to pray protection over my husband. I am not sure how any human can cut off the worrying, but I can turn all my worrying over to the Lord. He is more than willing to carry my load for me if I am willing to walk with him. It is no wonder that I am constantly amazed that He loves us so much.

That's My King

I have been trying to put a video on here that we heard at church on Sunday. Can't figure out my problem, so I am going to give you the link. It is called That's My King by S.M. Lockridge. Take a moment (actually about 6 minutes) to listen to it.

Fear Not

I picked up a mom's devotional book this morning and read about the fear that mom's have. You name it and we fear it. Something struck a nerve. Maybe that is how C and I are acting towards each other. We are living with so much unknown and fear in our lives that we are lashing out at each other. I have always thought that it was her misbehaving, but maybe her acts are out of fear and my reactions are out of fear. Does that make any sense.

My heart stopped for a moment when I walked in my room and heard the news announcer claim that 9 American troops were killed in Afghanistan. The last time that there was a mass casualty on foreign soil one of the sailor's parents were notified by phone because there were not enough personnel to make all the rounds before the names got to the media. You can read about that disaster in the book Lone Survivor. Talk about bringing on some fear.

I don't watch the news, speak of the danger, or voice my worries in front of the kids but I am sure that C knows it more that I realize. I am halfway through this deployment and things are not going to get any easier. Today is a new day and with my faith in God I am sure that we can overcome our fears and start treating each other better.

AMANDA