Thanksgiving movie

My friend Kimberly is a missionary in Ireland. They are having a traditional Thanksgiving feast next week and she asked me if the kids would act out the story for them and then say what they were thankful for.

Here is our (not quite) high quality video:

hard words

So, can I tell you how much God has been showing me His love lately? (Aside from the rockin' awesome full over twin bunkbeds with mattresses He gave us for FREE!)

Philip and I have been in a rough patch in our marriage. Busyness, illness, finances and everything seem to have ganged up on us all at once. I had seriously gotten to the point where I wondered why I was married at all.

Then, a week and half ago, God spoke to me.

After our homeschool co-op on Fridays, many of the families head to a local park for a picnic lunch. My friend Bonnie (who lives over an hour away) called me as I was leaving co-op to ask if I was going to the park that day. I said yes, and she said she had been heading home, but the Lord told her to come back. We met at the park and began eating.

As the kids played, I started to share a little bit about what was going on in my life, really just expecting to vent (isn't that what we ladies usually do under the guise of sharing - complain about our spouses?) Bonnie wasn't about to have that. She gave me some gentle, loving and difficult to swallow words about my heart and my marriage. She reminded me that I cannot change Philip, only myself. She talked with me about submission, freedom, wounds and a lot of other things. I found myself fighting tears (and I HATE to cry in front of people). She and my friend Alysia prayed for me and I drove home sobbing.

For the rest of the day I cried and prayed while I made dinner and cleaned house. I felt like God was breaking something in me. Like a wall that had been erected in my heart was being knocked down with a sledgehammer. But at the same time, I felt a lightness in my soul that I hadn't felt in a long time.

I've been trying some new things this last week and a half. Like shutting my mouth when I want to be sarcastic. And really focusing on keeping the kids on a schedule. And things are improving.

The thing is, Bonnie and Alysia didn't give me what I wanted that Friday afternoon. I just wanted to gripe and have someone commisurate. They gave me what I needed, and I am so grateful. Proverbs 27:6 says, "Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses." I wish more of us in the Christian community had the courage to give wounds when they are necessary, instead of applying superficial kisses that heal nothing.

Quacking me up

We were reading Proverbs this morning when we came across a verse about prosperity. Nate asked, "So, if we follow God we will always be rich?" I explained that this was not true. That God blesses us, not so that we can be rich, but so that we will have more to give others after our needs are met. I told him that if he needs 30 dollars to live on, but God blesses him with 50 dollars, it is so he can use the extra 20 to give to the sick or poor.

Nate smiled and said, "I'd give mine to the poor. 'Cause the sick should have asked about Aflac at work. You know, the duck that pays for your groceries and gas."

What's that again?

Philip and I were talking last night when Susannah popped in with a question.

"Mama, how do make an earl?"

"Pardon? What do you mean 'an earl'?"

"Well, I made the 'g', but I don't know how to write the rest of 'girl'."

Philip and I just about died laughing.

Good stuff..

I love Mark Driscoll. I think he put my thoughts into perfect form here.

I'm reminded of the words of Isaiah (55:2), "Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare."

Many people have been spending their time and money on what does not satisfy. I was at Walmart the night of the election and heard someone say, "Now that Obama's in office, all our troubles are over." In the coming months, these people are going to be sorely dissappointed. Obama may give them some of what they want, but he cannot fill that soul deep hunger for the presence of a living God. As St. Augustine said, "You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You." May we who know Christ be ready to offer living water to those who are parched, and the Comforter to those who are disillusioned and dissapointed.

Good news about the election!

Even though Obama will be President in 3 months:

1. The Bible will still have all the answers.
2. Prayer will still work.
3. The Holy Spirit will still move.
4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.
5. There will still be God-annointed preaching.
6. There will still be singing of praise to God.
7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.
8. There will still be room at the Cross.
9. Jesus will still love you.
10. Jesus will still save the lost when they come to Him.

(Thanks, Em, for the email above)

I would love to see Obama's catchphrases come to life. I'd love to see people finding HOPE in Christ. I'd be thrilled to see folks' lives CHANGE as a result of rebirth. We should all have the AUDACITY to take a stand for truth and witness boldly for our Lord. It would be amazing to see us all UNITED, worshipping in spirit and truth.

Halloween.

Some pictures of the world's most adorable kids having a blast at our church's Trunk or Treat fest.

Still the same...

A lot of my Christian friends have been freaking out about the election tomorrow. While I absolutely agree that we need to be in prayer about it and am trepidacious about an Obama presidency, I don't think it will be the death knell for our country. (I remember folks saying similar things about Clinton in '92). Regardless of who is our leader, God is still in charge. Proverbs 21:1 says, "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; He directs it like a watercourse wherever He pleases." Our God is not so small that He cannot get ahold of Obama's heart. And no matter what, come Wednesday morning, the Throne in Heaven will still be occupied. Our God will still reign.