The Essential Nature of Humility in Parenting

As we all seek to raise our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, the posture of our hearts is of critical importance.


As our babies begin to grow up and exert their "free will," the need for discipline becomes obvious. If we are wise, we will approach discipline with a humility of spirit. If we recognize our position as a sinner saved by Grace before a Holy God, we will be well equipped to provide proper, positive discipline for our kiddos. 


Instead of growing angry because of their wrong choices, we will be able to speak Truth to them in Love for the purpose of conviction that moves them to repentance and restoration to a right relationship with us, and through honoring us, with Him. 


Without proper humility, this is impossible. Discipline doled out from an attitude of pride will not have the same impact. When I harbor pride in my heart, I am thinking of myself. I am irritated that my children are not abiding by my wishes. I am embarrassed because I believe their poor behavior reflects badly on me. I am frustrated that my expectations have not been met.


When discipline is administered in pride, it can provoke a poor response in them. They sense in their spirits that I am the one offended and, since they know first hand that I am a sinner, they can feel justified in their hearts for a sinful response to my wrong motives. This doesn't excuse them. But it is my responsibility, as a parent, to model for them the proper relationship to authority. When I do, they receive discipline from me differently.


When parenting from a humble heart, the grief felt over our children not living up to the Lord's Expectations is recognized by their spirit. They come to understand that they are responsible to the Lord for their obedience and that we, as parents, are simply the Lord's "agents" to help teach them to walk humbly before their God. 


Walking in humility of spirit before God requires parents to follow the Biblical admonition to keep a clear conscience before Him. So when I sin before my children, I need to confess my wrong choice and ask their forgiveness for setting a poor example for them. Our integrity is essential. Our children know if we are "walking our talk." If we hold them to a different standard than we hold ourselves to, they know that. Yes, they are still responsible for choosing well, but my influence with them is damaged.


Humility in parenting does not in any way mean you are lax in your requirement that their obedience is instant, cheerful, and complete. In fact, there is actually more "power" in the gentle and quiet condition of your spirit when you are truly humble before the Lord as you lead your children to Him through your daily example, than there is in screaming, ranting, or raving at them.


I haven't always done this well. I am so thankful He continues to teach me how to be a better parent. I am so thankful He redeems all the times I haven't disciplined in Love.

A Tragic Tale

He had only been coming to our little church for a couple of months, but loved it. His parents said he had never felt as at home as he did with our young people. 


When I got the text Saturday morning, I wasn't even sure at first which young man he was. 


It didn't matter. 


When you hear that someone has chosen to take their own life, even if you didn't know them, your heart breaks. How could a sixteen year old, a talented musician, athlete, popular, happy son/brother/student/Christian reach the point that he welcomed death? There were apparently no clues. No hint of what he was contemplating. Everyone said he was the last person they would ever guess would take his own life. 


I think about his poor mother. They had worked together to clean the pool, then shared a pizza for dinner. She had gone to fix him some hot chocolate. As she was taking it to him, she heard a pop and thought something had fallen. She had no idea what she would find when she went to her son.


And then there are his dad and sisters, who had left town to watch the high school championship football game. Even though they kept his body going for a few hours, his dad and sisters didn't make it back before he was gone.


There have been seven suicides here in the last month.


Those left behind always ask themselves what they missed? What could they have done? Why hadn't they known what was coming? Could they have said anything that would have prevented it?


A few hours after he died, there was a gathering at church of the youth and several adults. We cried and prayed and loved on each other. But we also spoke Truth out loud. 


We have an enemy who seeks to destroy us.


We must recognize that his goal is to isolate us so we believe we are alone.


He tries to burden us with shame that causes us to withdraw from others.


Our Father is always seeking to draw us nearer to Himself.


Any guilt we feel because of sin in our lives is intended to bring us to the point of repentance and confession so that there is nothing "between" us and our Father.


NOTHING can separate us from the Love of Christ. NOTHING!


Nothing we can do will cause His Body to stop loving us.


The Lord will always provide a way for us, no matter what.


We were created for Life.


We were created to reflect His Glory here so that others may come to know Him.


He IS SUFFICIENT for whatever concerns us today.


He is bigger than any problem we could ever encounter.


There are people who love you and will help you.


Suicide is NEVER the best choice.


He has plans for us, plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future.


As His People, we need to be looking for those in pain, reaching out with Love. We need to go deeper than just a "How are you?" We need to be vulnerable and open about our struggles and problems. We should never be guilty of painting a false image of ourselves as problem-free and perfect, for then we close the door to ministry. 


As parents, we must do battle for our children. We must ask the Lord for Wisdom and Discernment to see our children, or those whose lives we can speak into, as they really are. We need His Eyes to recognize the ways the enemy is attacking them. We need to speak Truth and Blessings over their lives, out loud and often. We need to talk about big issues. Our children need to understand that they can talk to us about ANYTHING, ANYTIME, ANYWHERE. We need to tell them that we love them, daily. We need to hug them and laugh with them and poke our noses into their business. Anytime we believe something like this CAN'T happen to our family or friends, we are deceived. We don't need to live in fear, but we do need to be alert, aware of the threats the evil one brings against us. We truly must pray without ceasing.


For the record, our family is NOT perfect. No where close! The story of our lives contains one messy, problem-filled chapter after another. I sin, our children sin. But He continues to Love us and make us more into the image of His Son. We love to live in His Light, but that doesn't mean we don't have to cry out to Him to beat back the darkness.  

Known By Their Love

Photo Credit

We've all heard that Christians would be known by their Love. Are we? Do strangers see in us a Love so "not-of-this-world" that it defines us as His? 


That's not the case with me. I don't know how to Love like that. Not really. Not daily. Not everyone. Oh sure, I'm good at loving those I like. Or even being really nice to people I don't know. But what about a Love so radical that people know it is beyond my ability to create?


Same Kind of Different As Me is the story of Love so radical that it changed people. A Love so radical that it could only have as its source the Lord. It tells the true story of lives so far removed from one another that only He could have orchestrated their intersection in a way that impacted a city. And it just so happens, it's the city I grew up in: Fort Worth, Texas.


Denver Moore was a modern day slave. Really. 


He was a share cropper on a cotton plantation in Louisiana. He had no electricity, no indoor plumbing and lived "by the leave" of The Man. The system was set up so that, no matter how long or hard these people worked, they always ended up more deeply in debt to The Man. They would pick cotton from sun up until sundown, but since they didn't know how to read or write, The Man who owned the land was the same one who weighed the sack of cotton, telling the workers how much they had picked that day. Even on days when they knew their sack was heavier than normal, the Man still told them it weighed the same as on every other day. Having to purchase clothing and food from the Man's store on credit, they had no way to earn a profit or improve their situation. So year after year after year, they survived, working all day everyday and still ended the year more in debt than when they began.


One day, Denver simply walked to the train track, hopped a freight car and left. It didn't matter where.


During the years Denver was picking cotton, Ron and Debbie Hall were growing rich. Ron had grown up poor, but learned that he had an eye for art. He bluffed his way into the world of the Rich and Famous, brokering the sale of paintings he didn't own by understanding his clientele. Debbie was not impressed with the trappings of wealth. She was growing closer and closer to the Lord and believed that possessions were empty, not worth collecting. Their marriage hit bottom when Ron, believing Debbie didn't love him, had an affair. When she learned the truth, she did something that changed their marriage forever: she called his lover and told her that she forgave her and that she was committed to being such a wonderful wife to her husband that he would never again stray. And that is exactly what happened.


As the Lord resurrected their marriage, He also called them to service. Debbie believed she was to serve at the Union Gospel Mission in the "ghetto" of Fort Worth. Ron went with her to keep her happy. Debbie wasn't content, though, to simply serve a meal once a week. She truly loved the homeless people she found there. She found a myriad of ways to show that Love: from learning all their names and praying for each one daily, to hosting "beauty nights" where she and a friend would wash and style the lice-filled hair of ladies who hadn't felt beautiful in years. 


Ron was still not sold. He was perfectly content to stand behind the counter, serving meals, where none of those people could get close enough to touch him. But then Debbie had a dream. She dreamed that the Mission was completely transformed into a place of beauty and she dreamed about a man who was the key to not only the transformation of the mission, but of the city of Ft. Worth. Guess who that man was? Denver.


After Denver left the plantation, he quickly learned how to be the meanest homeless man around. Everyone else was afraid of him. And that is exactly the way he wanted it. He wanted to be left alone.


But he hadn't planned on "Miss Debbie."


When she first saw Denver, he was threatening to kill people. Didn't phase her. She told Ron, "That's him!! That's the man from my dream!" Ron thought she was nuts!


She wasn't.


The Lord used Denver and Debbie's Love for him to change everyone around them. 


You really would be blessed by reading this book. But, I have to warn you: have a box of kleenex handy. The story doesn't have a fairy tale ending. It will challenge you to see things from God's Perspective, even if it means saying goodbye to someone you dearly love.


A few years ago, Ron Hall and Denver Moore came to Midland and I got to go and hear them speak. It was so precious. The Lord took these two, with absolutely nothing in common, and made them brothers.


#50 out of 52 in the "Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge."


I had read this book before, but decided to read it again. This time to the kids.  There were a few sections here and there that I "edited-on-the-fly" so that they didn't even know they had missed anything. But there were sections I intentionally left in that were not "pretty." They loved it. And have been talking about it since we finished it yesterday afternoon. It was hard to read out loud because I kept bawling. They understand though, and simply waited patiently until I could compose myself enough to continue.

Blessings For Each of You

May these days of yours be filled with Love, Joy, and Peace.


May your home be filled with His Glory.


May all of your loved ones have safe travel.


May you receive His anointing of fun on your time together with family and friends.


May gratitude be the "native tongue."


May there be Rest for your spirit, even in the midst of "Busy."


May each day bring a quickening in you that we are one day Closer to Him, to His Returning, to our true Home.


May you be used by Him to Love.

Under Pressure: A Link-Up in "Pages in Our Heritage of Faith"

This is a Christmas party we had a few years ago for our "small group" Bible study

Walking in His Peace and Sufficiency is a choice. It's one that has to be made regularly. Depending on how stressful a season in which we find ourselves, we may realize that the choice has to be made moment by moment, instead of day by day.


The holidays seem to bring out the best and worst in us, don't they? Our focus is on our families and friends, but while trying to make our celebrations wonderful for them, we can actually end up focusing on the celebration and not the people. When that happens, the pressure in our spirits can build up.


"What we are under pressure is what we really are." 


I heard that quote years ago and it stuck because it rang so true. When I find myself in a pressure packed situation, the true nature of my heart reveals itself clearly. If I trust in His Sufficiency for every thing that concerns me, I respond to the most stressful situations with His Grace and Love. But if my eyes EVER leave His Face, all bets are off. I can become irritated with the very people I am seeking to serve during these holidays, or any other time of year.


When that happens, the question must be asked: "Am I really seeking to serve? Or am I now trying to perform, seeking to impress my 'audience'?  A heart of service is outward focused. A heart desiring praise is inward focused. And when the heart is focused inward, anything that interferes with "what I want" causes a negative response in me, creating what is outwardly paradoxical: being impatient with the people I'm going to all this work to please. In reality, when performance is the focus instead of service, there isn't a paradox. My response reveals my motives. 


Thankfully, His Grace truly is Sufficient to accomplish His Purposes. But, it's NOT sufficient to accomplish mine, when those purposes are selfish ones. And if I am truly seeking to be daily put to death in the flesh, then these potentially stressful times present wonderful opportunities for me to desire Truth in the innermost places so that anything unholy in my heart is revealed and I can be presented with the choice to die a little more. All so that He can make me more into His Image.


"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."  II Corinthians 3:18


When the pressure we feel comes from an outside source, say a person who is difficult to be around, the same things apply. Even if that person chooses to focus on "performance" instead of service, I must choose to not allow the pressure they feel (and maybe their unkind words or actions) to elicit any response from me that is not focused on service. "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, so that it may benefit those who listen." The key word here? "Their" needs. Not mine. I am not justified in reacting. Only in acting, in Love.


Knowing that during the holidays, I may be faced with situations in which I could be tempted to react wrongly to pressure allows me to intentionally "prepare for battle." 


"May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, Oh Lord, my Rock and My Redeemer."


His Faithfulness has brought me so far. Because He has continued to teach me these things, I can anticipate serving Joyfully, without the stress caused by a "performance" mind-set. I can be free to fully enjoy and embrace the additions to our "To Do" list, looking forward to giving freely the way He has given to me.


May all your holiday celebrations be filled with Love, Joy, and Peace as we focus on His Face. 

How has the Lord shown Himself Faithful to you? Would you share your story here? We LOVE to hear your testimonies to His Faithfulness in your lives. Grab the button and add it to your post, if you like, so that others may join us here. We seek to bring Him Glory through the words of our mouths, preserving the stories of His Faithfulness in our lives so that the next generation will put their trust in Him. (Psalm 78)

My First Son-In-Law: A Link-Up in "Pages in Our Heritage of Faith"

Hannah, our oldest daughter, turned 24 in September. Before she was born, we began praying about her husband. We asked the Lord to prepare a godly man who would honor Him all the days of his life. A man who would love her as Christ loves the Church and who would pour out his life for her and wash her with the Word.


The Lord answered that prayer in such a mighty way in giving us Jeremiah. He loves the Lord and seeks to glorify Him with everything he does. He loves Hannah with all his heart and blesses her by providing spiritual leadership and covering over her, their home, and their son. 


It is such an exciting thing to watch him learn to be a father. He asks big questions. He wants to learn wisdom. He wants to be intentional. He longs to bless his son with a godly home and heritage. 


Hannah has blossomed in his great love. Watching them together is like seeing a fairy tale come to life. But it's not a fairy tale. This is real. They are allowing the Lord to direct every aspect of their lives. They spend time in the Word and in study. They spend time in worship and in dreaming. They pray. 


And we give thanks. For what He has done to bless our family in such a precious way. 


He will be very embarrassed when he finds out I posted this. :)

It's time for another link up in the continuing "Pages in Our Heritage of Faith." This is when you get to jump in and testify to His Faithfulness in your life!!!! Tell us your story. Old or new, earth shattering or heart changing, it's all a testimony to His direct and faithful involvement in our lives. It strengthens our faith when we focus on what He has done. We need to be taking notes. We need to be paying close attention. Our families need strong heritages of faith to withstand the war waged against them by the enemy of our souls. Our children will be blessed by our faithfulness in recording these stories. 


If you've never linked up before, it's easy. In the right sidebar, there is the "button" you see above. Underneath is a white box that contains the "code" to add the button to your post, so that others can join us here. Click inside the box, then hit "control" and "a" together--that will "select" the entire contents of the box. Going back to the post you are going to link, click on the "Edit HTML" tab. There will be a bunch of gibberish that tells your post to look like it does. Scroll down to the very bottom of all of that code and click in a spot after the last character or even on the next completely blank line. When you are there, right click and select "paste." Go back up to the "compose" tab and click on it--it will return you to the normal view of your post and if you scroll down to the bottom, the button should appear there. Buttons sometimes don't automatically go to the center, like they should. If that happens, click on the button and a little menu will pop up. Click on "right" and then "center" and it should move right where it's supposed to be. Once you have your post all ready and published, click on the "Linky" link below and it will take you through the steps to link your post here. It will ask you for the address of your post. You get that by right clicking on the browser window for your post. Just make sure it's for your specific post, not your blog, so people can find the post for this linky. Hope that helps. It's really not hard. And you CANNOT mess anything up by trying. I promise. :)


So, here goes! I'm so excited to hear your testimonies of His Faithfulness in your life! Thank you so very much for sharing here. It is such a blessing!!

On Love

"We all know perfectly well that naturally we do not love even our nearest and dearest as ourselves; and that there are heaps and heaps of people that we do not desire to love or to be one with, indeed, the further we can emphasize the distance between us, the better! There are people that we dislike intensely, whom we always avoid if possible, with whom we are temperamentally incompatible, people we label as odd, exasperating, incredibly stupid, obstinate, self-opinionated, dogmatic, appallingly selfish, or altogether impossible."

"Does it not seem likely, therefore, that the reason why there is so little conviction of sin in the world today is because multitudes of non-Christian people see so little in professing Christians to convict them? How often do they see a company of men and women obviously aflame with love and with a passion for oneness? If every Christian was like a burning bush on fire with love, loving one another as themselves, in spite of diversity of temperament, gifts, character, creed and doctrine, would not people be convicted at once?"

"'See how these Christians love each other!'" cried the pagans of old, and flocked to listen to these transformed men and women who had been fused together in one by the welding flame of love."

Hannah Hurnard,  Winged Life

The hawk soars almost effortlessly. This one was surveying his domain across the street, over a pasture. That freedom has long been envied by man, rooted to the ground. 

Even if our arms won't lift our bodies to the heights in flight, our hearts can lift our spirits so that we soar over all circumstances in this life that normally would seem to tether us to this fallen world, weighing us down, discouraging us and bringing us even to despair. The way for us to fly is through Love. As we learn better what that word truly means to those of us called by The Name, we view life differently. Love gives wings to our spirits and allows us such freedom. May we learn ever more clearly what He means when He says to, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind. And Love your neighbor as yourself."

Then we will fly!

Blessed Days: Link Up a Page in Your Heritage of Faith

The blessings come in waves. The sheer volume threatens at times to overwhelm. It feels like standing in the ocean as the breakers crash, causing a loss of balance. 


Not all blessings are gentle, warm.


They aren't all things that would be freely chosen.


But they are blessings, still.


Because He uses all to fashion us according to His Purposes, for His Use. 


Yet, a choice must be made:


How to respond?


Joyfully receive from His Hand in humility, with thankfulness and gratitude, trusting that everything He sends this way is the most loving way possible He can achieve in us/through us what He desires; that it all does work together for Good?


Or . . .


Like a spoiled child, chafe under the friction the gift may produce as it sands away the rough places in our souls, even rejecting the gift completely because "it's too hard," failing to recognize that by so doing, the very deepest longing of my heart is self-destructively thwarted? 


In looking more closely, does the response chosen define it as blessing or burden? Doesn't the response, in part, determine the scope of the effect on the eternal? When asked to carry heavy responsibility, isn't the degree and quality of potential influence wielded through that opportunity measured by the attitude under which that responsibility is borne? How much of that precious resource is squandered simply because of a poor choice in attitude? 


As one who influences with and without choice, the principles involved are critical. I have no "right" to choose wrongly. No matter what request is made of me by Him. 


And yet, He must constantly remind me of that. He must constantly remind me, refine me, reprogram me so that every thought is truly a slave to Love. Love is not my first language. It's probably not even in the top three. But slowly, diligently, relentlessly my Comforter and Teacher remakes me into His Image. 


This year, He asked me to focus on Blessing and Being. As the year winds down, it is amazing to reflect on the depth of His Faithful instruction in these things. Reminded, painfully reminded, of what used to be the "norm," the standard to which I strove to measure maturity of self, I am broken. How could that ever have been enough for one bearing His Name? How could it ever have been acceptable to be as unloving as what used to feel comfortable? 


May next year find me in this same position as I look back on today. May it be that He has refined more and more dross, skimming it by whatever means and measures He desires. And may I count it all gain. All blessing.


All these blessings are mine because I am clothed in Him and He is working in me to bring glory to Himself. It is all about Him. May I receive them each with an open heart, completely trusting His Craftsmanship, never dictating the terms on which they will be received. 


His Faithfulness is unwavering. He WILL accomplish His Purposes. 

Will you testify of His Faithfulness, sharing with us what He has done for you? It can be something old, something new, something "earth shattering," or the tiniest whisper to your spirit. Testify. Write it down and add it to the Heritage of Faith He is writing for you, in you, for your family and the future generations. He IS showing Himself Faithful. Are we paying attention? Are we taking notes? We should. It's important. As we walk through this life, the evil one will try to cause us to forget what He has done for us. Write it down. Compile the stories. The sheer volume of the pages will testify for Him. And our faith will grow as we remember. 

Book Review: Winged Life

I read this little book years ago and, as I always do with a book like this, I mark passages that are precious to me. It had been so long, I decided I would like to reread it. In the intervening years, the Lord has done so much in my heart that this spoke to me in completely different ways. I underlined so much this time through that the book has more pages written on than not, if I were guessing. It was definitely not a random choice off the shelf. The truths expounded within have done nothing short of expanding the definition Love in my spirit.


Hannah Hurnard wrote several book, but the one for which she is best known is Hind's Feet On High Places, considered a classic among Christian books. In reading some biographical information before writing this book review, it seems that Hurnard went from a well grounded Biblical message to a universalist understanding of Christianity wherein she believed that all those condemned to Hell at the Day of Judgement would eventually end up in Heaven. This, along with a belief in reincarnation and a definite shift toward Pantheism are cause for great concern in her later writings. 


But in this specific book, I found many blessings. 


Within the first several chapters, Hurnard challenges believers to take very seriously the charge for us to take every thought captive to Christ. She explains that the life of freedom and victory that we know is our inheritance and birthright as those clothed in Christ is possible only when we allow Him to completely transform our thought life. We, as those bought by His Price, are not allowed a half hearted commitment to this standard and the results of obedience are nothing short of transformational. When we view the world through His eyes, there is no room for thoughts centered on self love.


Another profound principle discussed was the worth of each individual in the eyes of a Christian. That sounds routine. But as she explains how we can consider someone to be irritating or boring or not really worth our time, she holds that careless standard up to compare it with the way Love sees those same individuals. If I truly Love as He loves, I could never again grow impatient or irritated with any, except the ones He Himself rebuked for their lack of need for a Savior. To truly see the world through His Love would require me to die to self love at an entirely new level, a level I hadn't really recognized until compared to the standard set forth here. 


She tells the story of St. Francis of Assisi to illustrate this point:

"I was reading Ernest Raymond's book on St. Francis of Assisi, and came to the description of Francis, just after his conversion, riding on horseback near the crossroads where stood a leper hospital. He had such a horror of lepers and of the stench coming forth from the Lazar house that generally he avoided the place altogether. But on this occasion, lost in thought, he did not notice where he was until suddenly his horse shied, and then he saw a leper standing in the path before him, asking for alms.

His first impulse was to fling his purse to the poor wretch and then spur his horse away from the spot as quickly as possible. 'But was not the leper with his eaten face and his outcast's uniform a symbol of suffering and poverty? Before he could think again, leaping from his horse and forcing himself all the time, he went to the leper, put all his money in his hand and then lifted that hand and kissed it. And in Italy the kiss of the hand is the kiss of reverence to the representative of Christ.'"  

Definitely a book that was worth the few short hours it took to read, with only 173 pages. I will be "chewing" on this one for a while. 


#40 out of 52 for the Week 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge.

The 52 Book Challenge

Unity Building Exercise

Just a quick post on this beautiful Monday. 


As much as the Tabernacle Experience was about the individual guest's encounters with Christ, it was also about the Unity of the Body. 


Far too often, the Body is carved into little, tiny pieces by our labels, traditions and prejudices. The "arm" that I grew up in happens to be very bad about dissecting things and labeling things as "us" and "them." 


The evil one is thrilled when the Body suffers from constant injuries caused by "friendly fire." 


As The Tabernacle Experience unfolded in our community, one of the biggest blessings we received was the unification of The Body that took place in simply seeking the Face of Jesus, not caring about any of the things that normally cause separation. And in that process, we were reminded that, with Jesus Christ as the Center, the Common Denominator, there is really nothing that separates the parts of His Body. It was a joyful surprise for many how much we all had in common as we celebrated the Truths of the Tabernacle. 


May His Body be unified through our Love for one another as we simply seek to bring Him Glory. Nothing else. 

Less Than 24 Hours

A beautiful little wildflower bravely standing amidst a field of rocks

Kregg wanted me to go with him when he and the four youngest kids went to the deer lease on Thursday. Normally, that's not someplace I want to be. It's not an area I think of as "pretty," and I really don't want anything to do with the "hunting" part of the deer lease, so I usually stay home when they go hunting. But, when your husband expresses a desire for your presence, it is always best to honor that, even if you would rather not go. 



We left here on Thursday at about 1:00 after lots of preparation during the week. The new deer lease is just outside the town of Sonora, about 150 miles south of here. It always requires a great deal of work to set up a new deer lease. The plan was to take the three new blinds Kregg and the kids finished building and get them set up near the feeders they had already put out. We loaded them on the flat bed trailer and piled all the tools and luggage in the bed of the truck. 

Part of me thought about saying I just wanted to just stay home and meet them in Abilene for ACU's Homecoming that we had already made plans to attend. But the Lord reminded me that I should honor his desire and go even if it was "inconvenient."

It was quite a job to wrangle all the blinds onto the trailer, and then wrangle them off again.

This one had to be wrestled into the bed of the truck because there was no way to back the trailer up this hill with these rocks and cacti. 

Kregg adding windows

It's so nice to have so many helpers.

Filling the feeder

Raccoons have torn things up

It's a good thing Kregg has a strong back because it sure comes in handy sliding this blind up the ladder.

Josh and Ben worked to clear the shooting lanes.

Elizabeth atop the tripod blind

Hard to believe that's a deer blind in that box

As always, He was right! I was blessed by my time there, even if it was less than 24 hours. We arrived around 4 on Thursday and left by 1 on Friday on our way to Abilene. There was much laughter, much teamwork, much fun, and He showed me Wonder in His Creation that I would have missed had I not gone.

Only God can paint masterpieces using lichens.

Tiny little cacti

This cactus is no bigger than Rebekah's finger. 

How does He do it? It is as if He painted each of these limestone rocks using the lichens, in all kinds of shapes and patterns. Incredible! 


Wonder elicits Worship. 


Lord, may I always have eyes to see the wonder in everything You have made. Thank you for showing me Your Masterpieces! Thank you for always being so patient with me. I'm so glad I listened to Your prompting to go. 


This time that I "spent," which I had thought shouldn't be "spent" was such a blessing to my heart. My presence, which I thought didn't really matter, mattered a great deal to my husband and children. I am so thankful He reminded me how simply being together builds so much into each other's hearts. Yes, there are things that needed to be done at home, especially after being gone so much during the past two weeks. But none of that was as important as just "being." Once again, He shows me Truth and I am blessed. Blessed by being with my husband, my children, and by being in His Creation to cultivate Wonder.

And then there was this. 


Rebekah used the string from the deer corn bags along with an emptied bag to fashion a kite. May we always seek to keep our child-like wonder and imagination alive and well.

All Those Precious Souls

Photo Credit

Psalm 11

In the LORD I take refuge.    

How then can you say to me:    

“Flee like a bird to your mountain. 

For look, the wicked bend their bows;

they set their arrows against the strings 

to shoot from the shadows

at the upright in heart. 

When the foundations are being destroyed,

what can the righteous do?”

The LORD is in his holy temple;

the LORD is on his heavenly throne. 

He observes everyone on earth;

his eyes examine them. 

The LORD examines the righteous,

but the wicked, those who love violence,

he hates with a passion. 

On the wicked he will rain

fiery coals and burning sulfur;

a scorching wind will be their lot.

For the LORD is righteous,

he loves justice;

the upright will see his face.

As we remember what happened that day, we all think about the ones whose lives were lost, and our hearts ache.

All those precious souls who thought that day was like the one before
All those precious souls who unknowingly said their last goodbye that 
     morning
All those precious souls confronted with the face of evil
All those precious souls had no idea their time had reached its fullness
All those precious souls whose eternal destiny was determined that day
All those precious souls, each one lovingly created by their Father

All those precious souls for whom Christ died

All those precious souls, each known and loved by Him

All those precious souls, did they know and love Him?
All those precious souls we grieve again today

The tragic end of all those lives reminds us that only in Him are we safe.

Only in Him. May He comfort all those whose hearts were broken that day. May they turn to Him for healing and peace. 


May He teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain  hearts of wisdom. May we hold this precious resource of Time, given to us by Him to be spent in His service, with humility and reverence. 

"The Worst Day of My Life"

Wet willies! YUCK! But Ben adores his big brother, Caleb, and so he loves it when Caleb teases him or even gives him wet willies. They have such a precious relationship that all began when God laid it on Caleb's heart to pray for brothers. As the only son in our family of five children, he wanted reinforcements. And so he began to pray when he was very young that he would be given brothers. He used to tell me that he had been praying for them, and I would say, "That's nice, honey, go play." You see, the Lord laid it on his heart long before He laid it on my heart, or Kregg's heart. 


We made one more trip on Friday: we took Caleb to college.


We worked all weekend to get him loaded up, moved in and set up. Yesterday, we went to church together, with Kregg's parents, and Caleb's roommate, then to lunch. We got him a few groceries and took them back to his room.


Then it was time to say, "Goodbye."


It was just Kregg, Caleb, and I and the four younger siblings. We put Caleb in the center of our circle and laid our hands on him to pray blessings over him. Rebekah started, asking the Lord to protect him and keep him safe. Next, it was Ben's turn. He began by thanking God for his big brother and the influence he has had in Ben's life. And then he broke down.


He started sobbing and the words wouldn't come. 


Of course, that opened the carefully closed floodgates for all of us. And so the rest of our prayer was frequently interrupted by sniffles and pauses to regain composure enough to speak what was on our hearts. Because this was important. And we needed to say these things. We needed him to hear these blessings in this place. We asked the Lord to give him Wisdom and Discernment. To dedicate that dorm room as "Holy unto the Lord." To give Caleb strength for his task. To pray that every thought, word, and action bring Him Glory. 


It was Holy Ground.


And it was so very precious. So very, very important for our family to commission Caleb to begin this next phase of his training for usefulness in Kingdom Work. And they all understood that this was the right way, the best way to close one season and to open a new one. This new one that we have known was coming and eagerly anticipated for what it will mean in Caleb's life, but dreaded for what it would mean in ours.


And so we drove away, leaving our precious son and part of our hearts, but knowing we wouldn't want it any other way. Because it is time for him to take that next step. And so it's good and it is exciting and we are so very happy for him and we know the Lord will bless it all.


There was a back to school party for the young people at church last night and so we drove home, unloaded and let the kids change clothes, then drove over to join in the fun. One of the mom's told me that when Ben had walked in before me, he told her, "This is the Worst Day of My Life." 


We let the kids swim and eat hamburgers and play silly games. And then we came home. Everyone was tired, so we all got ready for bed. The boys have always shared their room with Caleb and it made them sad to see his empty bed, so for last night, all four of the youngest bedded down in the den. Thinking they were all asleep, Kregg, Mackenzy and I were in our bedroom talking (she had to stay home and work, so we needed to catch up with her).


Then Ben appeared in the doorway. His little round face was all red and splotchy, with tears streaming down it. He said, "Mom, will you pray with me?" I gathered him up in my arms and snuggled him close in our big bed while Kregg prayed over that poor little broken heart. We talked to him about how he and Josh were God's Answer to all of those prayers Caleb prayed so many years ago, asking for brothers. We talked about how his job was to keep praying for Caleb and to focus on becoming everything God Designed him to be  because that would make Caleb so proud of him. We talked about what God will do through Caleb during this season. And we told him how proud we were of him to know that he needed to take all of his burdens to Him Who Carries our burdens for us. 


And then he went to sleep, because the Lord had granted sleep to this precious little heart.