Family Verses

After many family discussions and everyone's impute,
here is a little something we are focusing on as a family this year:

Melodious Words from Friends

"A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words."

"Praying for you!!!"

"I will pray"

"God is your strength and your deliverer. Jim is with Him....I know its hard but HE knows you and loves you, and is right there with you NOW."

"Praying for you! Hope you have a good night's rest!"

"A broken heart never heals but Jesus picks it up and holds it close and dries the tears with His faithful love. It is just "awesome". Only if you have been there (on both sides) can you possibly understand."

"Love you. "

"I will be praying for you. Have a great week and time with family....."

"Thinking of you all day-prayed lots-
For the mountains shall depart, and the hills shall be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee. Isaiah 53: 10"

Blessed Beyond Tears

We have a movie Jim made for Snipp when he was about 2. He jokes around on it, reads a story, prays, and says he loves him and will see him in the morning. We have watched this often, though I mute it sometimes because the younger boys at one point thought that Jim was really talking to them through the tv and I didn't want them disappointed when Daddy didn't come home in the morning.

Well, we watched that movie today and I noticed two things I haven't noticed before. And I have watched this dozens of times because I like watching Jim's mannerisms. Anyway, two things I realized for the first time. 1) He tells Buddy (aka Snipp) to give me a cuddle, lots of cuddles, because mom needs lots of cuddles. Funny thing is that when the boys all learned to read the word "hug" I told them it was one of my favorite words. Snurr was prompted to give me a hug as the movie went on.

2) At the end he says, "I love you, Buddy!" And I always felt bad that this movie seemed to leave the other boys out (they weren't born yet) BUT today I noticed that Jim didn't just say I love you, Buddy! He then points 3 times at the camera and says, "I love you, I love you, I love you!" Snapp and Snurr realized it the same time I did. Daddy loves Buddy, and the three of us too!!!!! Even though he doesn't use their names I am just so blessed to tears that my God prompted my husband to say I love you a total of 4 times so that each of us could feel that he is saying it once to us on that movie. And my Great God did this 3.5 years before Jim was called Home to Heaven. And my God knew that as we recorded it that we would crave to hear that from his sweet lips. Blessed beyond tears is how I felt. At bed time Snurr was even talking about it again:) That was sweet to me especially because the last time we watched that movie he asked me who that man was and oh, how I cried.

Sand or Stone

Recently I read a devotional to the boys about forgiveness. It spoke of two friends traveling together. When the first friend hurt the other, the second friend wrote it in the sand. The wind of time ended up erasing it. When the first friend helped and did good to the other, the second friend wrote it on stone. Wow!! There are many applications to this story. Yet what stood out to me was what do I daily write in sand or stone? Do I write a wrong my child has done on stone and only write their sweet compliment in the sand? If so, shame on me!!! How about the insensitive remark from a relative or the ungrateful action of a friend? I need to just write it in the sand. And when those same individuals do something positive and praiseworthy, I need to write it in stone. How grateful I am for individuals in my life that have not written in stone the offensive things I have done against them. Sand or Stone? A question for you, dear reader to ponder. Interestingly enough our pastor also preached recently on bitterness which is the opposite of forgiveness. I love seeing how the Lord ties truth together in our lives! It causes me to look at my heart and view what I have written on stone. Like me, some of you might need to take out the chisel and remove some things from our stones and write them in the sand instead. Then remember the next time you feel offended, think sand or stone? Where does it need to be written?

Playing Catch Up

Wow! It is August! July flew by and as I look at my calender I see why. Dentist appointments, eye appointments, chiropractor appointments, helping out extended family, family and friends helping us out, family trip, visit to a distant friend's home, Kids' camp, school prep. work and shopping along with all the daily chores and adventures of raising three boys for the Lord. No wonder time flies and I feel old:)

But oh, the blessings I see.......sermons that spoke life to me, victory in my children's lives, prayers answered, God's perfect timing revealed and just standing amazed at the glimpses I see of God at work.

There is no way I could play catch up with all the fingerprints of God on our lives these past many weeks. Just know that I feel blessed beyond measure!

Judges 10

The boys and I have been reading through Judges. We have read about the adventures of Ehud, Deborah and Barak, Gideon, and more. We have read and reread how the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, how He delivered them into the hands of an enemy, they cry out to God, He raises up a deliverer, they serve Him till the deliverer/judge dies, then they again do evil in the sight of the LORD. This morning's chapter was similar yet we are told what the Israelites said.

Judges 10:6-17
And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not him. And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon. And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel: eighteen years, all the children of Israel that were on the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. Moreover the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore distressed.

And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, saying, We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim. (They were specific in their confession and admitted to breaking the first and second commandments.)

And the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines? The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand. Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more. Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation. ( A rebuke from a Just God)

And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day. (I see humility in this statement.)

And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.(Forsaking sin then choosing to do what is right. The result was God had mercy and compassion.)

Then the children of Ammon were gathered together, and encamped in Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled themselves together, and encamped in Mizpeh.

This chapter displayed the amazing truth of Proverbs 28:13 "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy."