A Boy and His Guitar

Stephen has always had an interest in music. For his 10th birthday, we bought him a student guitar and his cousin started giving him lessons. We have been pleasantly surprised at how quickly he has learned. Within a week he was playing Happy Birthday. Recently he started taking his guitar to church and playing with the guys there. It is such a blessing to watch him slowly come out of his shyness and begin to have the confidence to play in front of people. It is even more of a blessing to see him use his talent for the Lord.

Home Sweet Home

Well, it is official. Brian moved the last of our belongings from Earl Street today. He was off to tackle the mini-storage last time I talked to him. When that is all moved, we will be done with that monterous job. Next comes the unpacking, but the way I see it, the necessities are already unpacked, and the rest can be tackled in the same manner we packed it - one box at a time. We aren't on any deadlines, and while it will be nice to have everything put away and settled, it doesn't have to all be done at once.

Tuesday night was the first night we got to spend in the new house. The kids love it. The neighborhood kids have descended upon us like locusts. One of Stephen's classmates lives right next door. They have played together every evening so far. I know they will have a lot of fun together. There is also a little girl Skylar's age just down the street, though we haven't got to meet her yet. I am sure that once we do, they will become fast friends as well.

We have been so blessed throughout all of this. Our families have stepped in and helped so much. They have cleaned and moved and for that we are extremely grateful. Our church family has been so helpful too. Tuesday night four of the guys showed up and with three trucks and trailers, they managed to move all of our big furniture, as well as a lot of other stuff in a matter of a couple of hours. I can honestly say that we could have never pulled this off without all of the help we have had. Even with the help, poor Brian is absolutely exhausted. He has worked so hard this week. I know he will be glad when it is all done, so he can relax a little.

Maybe in a few days I can take a couple of pictures and get them posted. The ones that were on the real estate website really didn't do the house justice at all.

How Poor are You?

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, 'How was the trip?'

'It was great, Dad.'

'Did you see how poor people live?' the father asked.

'Oh yeah,' said the son.
'So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?' asked the father.

The son answered:
'I saw that we have one dog and they had four.
We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.
We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.
Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.
We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.
We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.
We buy our food, but they grow theirs.
We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.'

The boy's father was speechless.

Then his son added, 'Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are.'

Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have.

Appreciate every single thing you have, especially your friends!

Never Give Up on the Seed You Plant

“One day I decided to quit.... I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality..... I wanted to quit my life. I went to the woods to have one last talk with God. "God", I said. "Can you give me one good reason not to quit?" His answer surprised me...

"Look around", He said. "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?"

"Yes", I replied.

"When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.

In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo," He said.

"In the third year, there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit. In the fourth year, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit," He said.

"Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant. But just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle."

He said to me. "Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots. I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you. Don't compare yourself to others . The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern, yet, they both make the forest beautiful."

"Your time will come," God said to me. " You will rise high!"

"How high should I rise?" I asked.

"How high will the bamboo rise?" He asked in return.

"As high as it can?" I questioned.

"Yes." He said, "Give me glory by rising as high as you can."

Never regret a day in your life. Good days give you Happiness. Bad days give you Experiences. Both are essential to life. Happiness keeps you Sweet, Trials keep you Strong, Sorrows keep you Human, Failures keep you Humble, Success keeps You Glowing, But Only God keeps You Going! Have a great day! The Son is shining!!

Update on the House

Well an update on the house. We made another offer last week and he accepted. So our house is now for sale. If we can sell it we will be moving. It's really kind of exciting and scary all at the same time. We are in the process of moving some of our stuff to storage just to make our house show better. I am also trying to finish up the bathroom painting project I started 3 weeks ago.

I am trying not to be anxious about it. We have prayed that God would direct us in each step of this process. We have also prayed that if this wasn't His will, that He would close the door completely. The door hasn't been closed, in fact it is open wider than before - our offer has been accepted even though our first offer was "too low to even counter" and we didn't raise our offer much. Interest rates are dropping right now, which will make this move even more affordable. The most convenient mini-storage facility had an immediate opening. These are all blessings to me. It also goes to show that God's timing is so much better than ours. Had he countered our first offer we would probably settled on a higher price than we got this time. We would also have had a much higher interest rate than is now available. I am now just praying that God has a family picked out for which our house will be perfect. I know if it's His will, that buyer will be directed right to our listing.

On a totally different note, Skylar got her hair cut last night. It's now about 5-6 inches shorter. I think it looks really cute. It hits right at her shoulders. I will try to post a picture next week sometime. This is the first real haircut she has had. We have always just kept the ends trimmed, but we were all tired of her hair dragging through her food, getting tangled, and always looking stringy just minutes after it had been brushed. It should be much easier to care for now.

Something a Little Different

We recently started a new prayer group at our church. It is a Moms in Touch group and we meet once a week to pray for our children and our schools for one hour. We had our first meeting on May 5th and I decided to go just to see what it was all about. After listening, I knew it was something that I needed to do. All was good until it was actually time to go to the first real meeting. We were supposed to start at 6. I got back to town after work at 5:30. This gave me 30 minutes to talk myself in and out of going - I actually felt like those cartoons where there is a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other. While I knew I was supposed to go and that God wanted me to go, the devil kept tempting me not to go. You see I am one of those people that rarely prays out loud, and that is one of the key elements of this group. So the devil kept popping excuses in my head, reasons not to go. But in the end I went, and I really got a blessing from it. It wasn't nearly as bad as I had imagined, and I know I will grow spiritually from it, not to mention my kids and our schools need all the prayer they can get.

Here We Go Again

You may remember back on February 5 that tornados blew through our part of the state. Well last Friday, May 2, we had yet another stormy day. This time it was in the morning. At about 9 am, I got a call from Brian that Conway County was under a warning and that a tornado had been confirmed to touch down. Of course my first thoughts were of my kids. They were at school, and here I was 25 miles away. All I could do was pray that they were ok. I spent the rest of my morning checking up on people and watching the local news on the internet. The kids were safe, but I soon found that several people I knew had lost their homes, including one of the little girls in Skylar's preschool class. The last I heard, there were eight deaths caused by the storms, so while losing a home is devastating, it could have been worse.

When I picked Skylar up from school, I quizzed her about her morning. She said when the sirens started going off they went to their safe room and Mrs. Cindy started praying over them. I once again feel so blessed that she is in a preschool where there is such a strong Christian foundation. She didn't know what had happened to her friend's home, and I struggled to explain it to her in a way that wouldn't scare her or upset her too badly. She was very concerned for her friend and all of her toys. I told her the toys could all be replaced and that we should be thankful her family was alright. She accepted that and then suggested we buy her something to replace her lost toys. We will be making a trip to the store very soon, and I won't be surprised if she and her friend end up with new matching outfits and something fun too.

A Long Night

Last night storms passed through our area. We were blessed that they weren't close to our house, but they did go through a small town where we have loved ones. The town of Atkins was hard hit by a tornado. At least four people in that community lost their lives. We spent most of the evening trying to get word about people we know that live there. While all of them made it through alright, I know they still need our prayers today as the community begins to see the real extent of the damage.

From Atkins the storms moved northeast through the northern part of our county. A tornado touched down in the Cleveland area. That is where my mother grew up. While I don't know anybody in that area anymore, my prayers are still with them as they struggle with their losses.

Next the tornado moved to the town of Clinton. And while I don't personally know anybody there, one of our clients owns a store there. As they talked about the damage, I couldn't help but think that of the forty or so employees of that store, surely one was effected in one way or another. I haven't heard yet this morning if there was any damage to the store, but I am praying that all is well.

The storms continued to move through the state, killing eleven before it was over. It made for a long night, as we watched tv in awe of everything that was happening. I am still praying for all of the families who are dealing with the devastation this morning.

Tornados amaze me with their seeming randomness. While one house is demolished, the one next door is left with no damage at all. It reminds me of the scripture in Matthew 24 where it talks about the coming of Christ.

And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the
coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall
be taken, and the other left. Two [women shall be] grinding at the mill;
the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know
not what hour your Lord doth come. Matthew 24:39-42

And while we can prepare for tornados, watching their paths unfold through the amazing technology of radar and dopler, we can't know exactly where they will land. The same goes for the coming of Christ. While we can watch for the signs as given by the Bible, we can't know the exact hour he will come for us. It may be today for me, tomorrow for you, or next week for the entire world. However we can be prepared by knowing Him and having Him in our hearts, so that when that day comes, we will know exactly where we will spend eternity.