Some pictures

Kate's big day....happiness! She is in the middle, in case you couldn't tell.

beautiful

When I think of this past weekend "beautiful" is the word that comes to my mind. I have been so blessed by friends and family that God has woven into my life. They make my life beautiful and rich. So many of them were so kind to come our festivities over the weekend and celebrate Kate's graduation from high school. She was beautiful in her gown and her dress (that we found in 15 minutes). When the graduates stood up and turned around to face the audience, she was beaming as she turned her tassle....beautiful! She was beautiful as they came marching in. They were so eager to graduate, it seemed like they came running in! I was savoring each moment and was so proud and happy for her and her friends. God has given her some beautiful friendships. They have walked through some really hard things this year but have come out with a better understanding of the gospel of grace. I have seen and heard them encourage one another to do the right thing, cheering each other on...that is a beautiful thing to see.
My dear friend, Joanne, hosted the party at her home and did an amazing job. It was BEAUTIFUL!! She seemed so calm the whole evening while over 200 people came through her home. God blessed us with a beautiful summer evening. Joanne, is a constant reminder to me of the love and grace of God. She is constantly pointing back to Jesus and is amazing grace. She is a beautiful person and I am so thankful for her friendship.
Our family traveled up from SC and we had such a good time with them. We feel so blessed to be in a family that loves one another and loves Jesus most of all! The body of Christ is beautiful! We have so much fun together laughing, eating, running around...thanks so much for coming! You made this weekend so special!
Now I am going to sit and savor the memories...thank you Jesus for making all things beautiful!

it's here

The time has come....my oldest daughter is graduating. I remember when I was a young mom and this same child would not let me out of her sight, even to walk to the mail box. It was driving me crazy! I was talking to some older ladies in our church at the time and they said, "This time goes by so fast." I responded, "Everybody says that and I don't believe it." :) Of course, those wise women were right. I look back at that time and it seems like it was such a short time. What a wonderful, beautiful young woman she has grown to be! I love listening to her sing and speak...she does both so well! Last week she presented her Senior Thesis on prostitution and how the gospel is the only true way out. It was absolutely amazing! She is a very good public speaker and draws you in as she speaks. It was a 23 minute speech and then judges asked her questions afterwards. I wish I would have recorded it. As her mom, I know that their are some things that only the Holy Spirit can teach her. I can teach her how to do laundry, cook, ride a bike, keep a budget, etc. But only the gospel of his amazing grace can set her heart free to worship and enjoy Him forever.
Kate, I pray that the Father binds your heart to His and that you always have a song in your heart because of what He has done for you. DANCE FOR JESUS!! :)

sweet!

After I finished praying with Jacob tonight, he said, "I want to help pay for Kate's trip to Scotland. Maybe I can sell ice cream sundaes OR hot chocolate! Yeah, I'll sell hot chocolate! I'll give the money to Katelyn." I had to savor that moment while I laid there next to him and we discussed how he could do that. What a sweet moment of unselfishness...only by God's grace!
So with snow in the forecast (AGAIN!!), I think hot chocolate will sell better than ice cream sundaes!
I also would like to do a coffee house to help raise money. We have one month to raise $1,000! If any of you want to contribute, just let me know! :)

my heart is full of praise!

I just have to write this down so I don't forget! Zechariah 3 is a vision of Joshua the High Priest in the presence of God. ( Tim Keller shared this thought in his sermon that I listened to yesterday.) The high priest went into the presence of God one day with a basin of blood one day of the year Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement. He spent all week preparing, cleansing himself over and over, bathing, and putting on beautiful robes. In this passage Zechariah realizes that all that cleansing, bathing and beautiful robes are all for naught. They don't do the high priest any good. v. 3 says that his garments were filthy. v. 4 "The angel said to those who were standing before him, 'Remove the filthy garments from him". And to him he said "Behold I have taken your iniquity far away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments"....So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments.
This makes my heart sing! He has torn the curtain and clothed me in his robes of righteousness so that I can gaze upon his beauty and know him as my Father!
Happy Day!

thoughts runnin' through my head

What is the work that we are supposed to be doing as Christians when the Bible says "work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you..." ? It is to believe...faith. Faith is the power switch, the Holy Spirit is the cord, and we shine the light into a dark and broken world. None of this is from me, it's all "God working in me". I was talking to Jacob a few weeks ago about how he is doing in school. We usually have these talks while lying in the bed at night. The dark and quiet seem to bring out honesty and vulnerability from a child's heart because that is where I have had some of the best talks with my kids. Jacob was telling me he is a "bad kid" at school. I asked him why he thought he was a "bad kid". He said because he gets lots of tallies. I named another student in his class who never gets tallies and asked him if he thought this student was a "bad kid". He said, "NO!" I responded, "God tells us that we are all 'bad kids' even this other student and that we all need Jesus. No one is better than anyone else. We all need Jesus. Some people learn how to act in certain places so they don't get into trouble but this doesn't mean that their heart has been changed by God. God wants us to come to Him every day in repentance and trust Him." I was thinking to myself, "What does it mean to be a good boy?" God has shown me that there is nothing good in me. I have no light of my own...I'm just like the moon reflecting the light of the sun. I told Jacob, "to be a good boy is simply to trust, to believe". I pray for Jacob to see that he can't just TRY HARDER. I don't want him to think that if he doesn't get any tallies that he is okay. In fact, if getting a lot of tallies shows him how much he needs a Savior then bring it on! I don't want behavior modification. I pray for God to change his heart, to bind it His own, to change him so that He knows how wide, long and deep the Father's love is for him.
I listened to a Tim Keller sermon yesterday b/c I couldn't go to church. It was on
Ps. 27. David had learned how to face life (viewing all of life as a battle and not just a series of battlefields)...by gazing on the face of God, simply look to Jesus...being in His presence. He could face anything and not be afraid because he was looking to Jesus. God does the work, ALL the work. Jacob and I just need to remember to keep our gaze in the right place.

changes everywhere

Our school is probably going to be moving into a new building. A Christian school in our area is closing. It is connected to a church and has been in existence for 45 years. The church is voting tonight on whether or not to lease the building to our school. I remember when my school closed when I was finishing my eighth grade year. It was a hard time for many families. I remembered feeling very anxious and how my mom seemed so calm about it! We all scattered and went to different schools in the area. Our church opened a school in its basement, which is where we went. So I have thought about these families from New Castle a lot this week who are seeing the end of an era to their school and my heart goes out to them. I hope that we can welcome many of them into our school family and that it will be a safe place for them where they are embraced and loved by the body of Christ. I pray that this will help advance the kingdom for the glory of God.

I don't want to forget....

I am going to write this down so I don't forget. David, Kate and I have been reading John Piper's book A Sweet and Bitter Providence on the book of Ruth. Kate flew through it and LOVED it...she said it was one of the best books she has ever read. She read this to me and we were both in tears. What God does in our lives is so sweet and merciful...even in the difficulties. Read on and absorb...get the book.
"Sweetie Pie" p. 122
This pledge God has made to his people is ungreakable. No famine or death can break it. I saw it in a parable. I was visiting some of our elderly people in a nursing home. I got on the elevator with a woman in a wheelchair who was old, misshapen, and confused. Her head wobbled meaninglessly and she uttered senseless sounds. Her mouth hung open. Then I noticed that a well dressed man, perhaps in his mid-sixties, was pushing her chair. I wondered who he was. Then as we all got off the elevator, I heard him say, "Watch your feet, Sweetie-pie."
Sweetie Pie. As I walked to the car, I thought...if a marriage covenant between a man and a woman produces that kind of fidelity and commitment and affection under those circumstances, then surely under the great and merciful terms of the New Covenant, sealed with the blood of his Son (Luke 22:20), God has no difficulty calling you and me (sinful and sick as we are) sweet names. And if he does, there is no truth more unshakable in all the world than this: For them and for us the best is yet to come. God is at work in the darkest times--for our good and Christ's glory. He will see to it that the glory of his Son fills the earth and that in him we find everlasting joy.