Sweet Memories.....

I love hearing from all of you who respond to my posts. I know adding comments to this blog can be a challenge; I appreciate the e-mails.

MICHELLE.....I really miss CCI dance too! I hope to get all those dances from 1995-2001 on digital media and online this year. Until then, here are a few photos that should bring sweet memories of the awesome ministry that God entrusted to us!

He has my eyes...

Oh my goodness.....

Cheese!

I have a dream.....

Martin Luther King wasn't the only one with a dream. I've been studying Joseph (Genesis 37-39). God gave him a dream. It didn't fly so well with his brothers. Rather than saying "we hate your dream", they attacked him.... willing to betray him, sell him into slavery, lie to their father about it, even kill him. But in spite of man's evil intentions, Joseph ended up in the right place for his dream to be fulfilled. If he hadn't been sold to the traders, he wouldn't have been taken to Egypt and sold to Potiphar, his path to Pharoah (Potiphar was one of Pharoah's officers). This tells me that man cannot thwart the plan of God for our lives. We can be attacked, betrayed, imprisoned, rejected, BUT no human can threaten our destinies. Joseph was faithful and strong. He didn't get so discouraged that he gave up. The dream stayed alive in his spirit. He resisted temptation. He blessed others along the way. He continued to interpret dreams and waited on God. And the day finally came; his dream was fulfilled. Ironically, he was responsible for preserving the lives of the very ones who wanted to kill him (Genesis 45).

Has God given you a dream that is dwindling away inside your heart? Have you laid things down that God never asked you to lay down? Remember Joseph; the challenges he faced were distractions. The destiny for his life was still there. He just had to push through. How many times to we face a distraction and say "okay, that's it, it's all over."? No! There could be hundreds or thousands of people who need you to keep the dream alive. Something in them won't survive without your obedience to God. Through Joseph, an entire nation was saved.

I can relate to Joseph on many levels. I'm sure many of you can too. Ask God for what you need to push through and realize that you life is in His hands! Man cannot kill what God has put in you.

“… You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result …” Genesis 50:20 (NIV)

God did it.....

Today I went into Noah's room and it was a mess. I told him to clean it up. He said "But God did it, He should clean it up. Looks like He had a party in there." :)

More Baby Love

"Let us go to Dothan"

Genesis 37:17

Baby Love

"The one who trusts the Lord will have

faithful love surrounding him."

Psalms 32:10

Pastor

This is my pastor. He has shepherded me for twenty-eight years. He baptized me in a swimming pool when I was ten years old, and again in the Jordan River when I was thirty. He trained me in ministry and has taught me the word of God. He's counseled me, encouraged me, and corrected me. I am very blessed to be a part of a small group of pastors and leaders that he meets with regularly for mentoring and impartation. I am truly blessed to have this godly, seasoned minister imparting God's wisdom into my life. He has always treated me with love and respect and has proven worthy of the place he holds in my life and my heart.

Last weekend I was in his house with the other pastors as he taught us about "celebrating personal repentance". He explained that repentance doesn't necessarily mean sin, it can just be "the old way". It means to "change one's mind after perceiving" and to leave what you formally embraced. I have been pondering this, and how we can apply this truth to our lives in 2008. What new and different things does God desire to do in us this year? I want something new to perceive, even if it doesn't look or feel familiar. I want my life to be full and interesting and I think God is always leading us to opportunities for this kind of repentance.

I know many of you are expecting, facing, and embracing new things this year in the natural. Some of you are welcoming children and grandchildren into your lives (one is adopting a baby girl from China!). Some are dealing with illness and treatments. I'm sure there will be financial challenges, difficult decisions, and surprise blessings. But, what does God desire to show us in the spirit this year? What new thing does He want to do in our hearts? What fresh knowledge will we perceive in 2008 that we never noticed in 2007? I hope you will join me in seeking the Lord in all things, to be willing to leave any old ways that need to be left behind, and embrace whatever God has for us now.

Love you, Pastor.

Six weeks

Ohmygosh, the second month is so much fun. Isaac's little personality is starting to emerge and we are all having a blast. He gives us morning smiles, the reward for caring for him through the night. He coos and "talks", it is so cute. He is gaining weight; my bathroom scales say he's about thirteen pounds! Amazing that my milk is sustaining a life. He still nurses a lot and is having a growth spurt. I've been giving him two ounces of formula if he wants to eat again after an hour. (Interesting that I don't feel guilty about giving my breastfed baby a bottle.....must be a fourth baby thing).

I went to the OB yesterday for my six week postpartum check up . It seemed strange to be in that office with a flat belly (well, not exactly flat, more like empty!). No baby inside to measure or listen to or see on ultrasound, he is now in my arms. I was filled with gratitude as I contemplated the past ten months. I feel so blessed. I am so thankful that I've been able to birth four children and that God's hand was on me during this pregnancy. I don't take Isaac for granted. I know pregnancy and childbirth are not also easy and uncomplicated. I spoke with a friend Sunday whose sister was a VBAC like me and had a fourteen hour labor like me, but after she delivered her baby her uterus ruptured.

Thank you God for blessing our family with a new son. I give you the glory; Isaac is yours.

Isaac, four weeks

Beginning to smile......

Lifting his head.....

Brother love.......

Sweet Isaac baby......

Snuggle, Part Two

There was reclining on Jesus' bosom one of His disciples,

whom Jesus loved. John 13:22-24

Last week when I posted about Isaac's snuggling, I didn't finish my thoughts. It has to do with the spiritual side of snuggling. God reminded me of this yesterday, through a completely separate experience, so in obedience here is what He showed me:

We are to snuggle up to God just like our babies do with us. We were created and designed by the God of Love to be creatures of love. One of the greatest things we could ever do with our lives is do receive God's love and give it away. We have a place in God...cradled in His arms, on his chest, next to His heart, close to his voice, feeling His breath. We should go there, no just as baby Christians, but every day of our lives, for the tender nurture that He longs to give us. The Word tells us that we learn to trust upon our mother's breast. Isaac doesn't fight me when I hold him close, he relaxes and surrenders to my embrace. That is how I am to be with God my Father. Subjecting myself to His care, being nourished and strengthened by His love. A daily morning dose of this kind of love will carry me through the day!

I hope this was for one of you. Perhaps, like many of us, you weren't held and cradled and cherished in the natural so it seems strange and foreign to receive it in the spiritual. Keep in mind that babies who aren't touched, loved, and held either die or fail to thrive. Well, our spirits need that life-giving nurturing, too. Feed your spirit the love of God. Go to Him with the tender heart of an infant child. It's simple. God loves you. He's not mad at you. He desires to hold you close and pour out sweet Father love all over you.

We know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.

Romans 5:5

Snuggle

Isaac loves to snuggle on my chest. He spends time in his bassinet, swing, and bouncy seat, but his favorite place is cuddled up against me. He will sleep for hours if I hold him, but wake up if I lay him down. It occurred to me that he needs this connection. He was very close to me, actually inside of me, for nine months and he is used to the close contact, sound of my heartbeat, and my touch and smell. My friend Heather loaned me her baby sling and he loves being carried around in that. I love it too, because I can look down and see him all scrunched up and it shows me what he must have looked like inside my belly. I've heard that a baby's first three months are the "fourth trimester"; a time that ideally would be best spend still in the womb, but since baby's heads are big and mother's pelvises are small the baby comes sooner. Recreating a womb-like environment is recommended and helps the newborn adjust to life outside of mom. So, I hold my baby, I swaddle him, I rock him, I cradle him against my chest. I speak to him and sing to him and pray over him. I wear him around the house. He needs me. We are bonding. I love it.

2007 is over!

My biggest little blessing from the year.

This year has been one that I'm happy to bid farewell to. I've faced many challenges; spiritually, emotionally, physically, relationally, and financially. It would be stressful enough to deal with one of these areas, but all of them at once has required a lot of me. I feel blessed to have "escaped" the year in one piece! In spite of all the struggles I've experienced in 2007, God has been faithful to me. He has blessed, provided, directed, and healed. His hand has been on my family. His word is alive in my heart. He has divinely restored what was lost or stolen from me. He has taught me new things and purified my faith. And of course, He has added a beautiful new son to my life. I have peace and rest and joy as this year draws to a close. I gather my husband, four children, faithful friends, and lessons learned, and face a new year with hope and expectation.

Your will be done in my 2008, Lord. I submit to You.

"Trust me in your times of trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory." Psalms 50:15