Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is here! I can remember as a little girl this seemed to be the longest day of the whole year and I am certain the night was ten times longer than other nights! What anticipation this day brings to so many. The anticipation of preparation (grocery shopping for some of us!!!) for meals, anticipation of company arriving, anticipation of travel, anticipation of "will they like what I got them?", anticipation of one certain visitor for all the children. A day filled with anticipation. Many times we know that with great anticipation can be great disappointment.
I collect nativities. My husband bought me my first one our first married Christmas together and he has gotten me one every year since. Many others have bought some for me and my house is filled with them. From very elaborate ones to simple ones from the dollar store. I treasure them all. This morning while the others were still sleeping I got up and had my quiet time in my living room where I always do. As I looked around at the lights and the host of nativity arrangements in the room I noticed something I have never paid attention to - Mary. I mean I know she is there but this morning I thought - (I know this is not very spiritual) "She doesn't even look like she just had a baby, much less that she had a baby in a barn without the comfort of a hospital bed and nurses to attend her and most of all - an epidural!" So I got out my Bible and turned to read the account of Mary receiving the news that she would be the one to carry the Savior of the world. I don't read that account often. Normally we go right to Luke 2, but this morning I backed up some.
I read the account of Elizabeth and Zechariah and how when the angel told Zechariah that he would have a child he responded with "How can I be sure of this?" Well he had plenty of time to think about that question seeing as how Gabriel shut him right up for several months. Then I noticed that when Gabriel visited Mary and told her that she would have a child she responded with " How will this be since I am a virgin?" I realized the difference between "can" and "will". Mary didn't doubt she just wanted to hear how the impossible would come to be. Then after hearing the impossible she responded with "I am the Lord's servant may it be as you have said." But here is my favorite part of this particular story - she goes to visit her cousin who immediately upon hearing her voice feels her baby leap and Elizabeth says
"Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished."
Talk about some anticipation!!!!!! Our family sat around last night sharing stories of how the Lord has been working in each of our lives in the last few weeks and then that turned into how faithful He has been with each of us over the course of our lives. We marveled at how mightily God reveals Himself to us when we believe Him and what he tells us. How different our lives would be if we did that daily! So my anticipation today is not so much about food, gifts, travel or shopping, but that my life will magnify Him. That each day I will get out of bed and remind myself "I am the Lords servant" That I will believe what the Lord has said will be accomplished and be blessed.
May the Lord bless you and your families this season with an anticipation of Him and what is to come! Believe, Believe, Believe! He is so worth it and the anticipation of Him will never bring disappointment.
Merry Christmas Eve.

Lifting my Banner

Psalm 20:5
"We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the Lord grant all your requests."

This Christmas season is a little different for us this year. We decided as a family to forgo much of the gift buying and things we do and really focus on the joy of the season. It has been very nice to not get caught up in much of the rush this time of year brings. However, this stillness if you will, has brought another realization to me. There is so much heartache and sadness this time of year! People hurting for so many different reasons. The flurry of activity I am usually involved in during December only allowed me to just cast a glance at those who were having a difficult time, I mean after all its Christmas shouldn't everyone be joyous? How self-centered. Then it hit me - Christ was born into a hurting suffering world that was hopeless. Born into times that are just like these to be our Hope! Glory! Salvation!
I pray a lot for the Lord to reveal Himself to me in a mighty way. He did just that recently. My husband and I got to see Providence at its greatest and it blew us away. Not earth shattering to others but to us a revelation that "Yes my child I hear you and I am constantly at work in your life and the lives of others and yes you can believe Me" The details are not something we desire to share but rather to ponder in our own hearts, but the Glory of the Lord is something we MUST lift up. He is worthy of our praise, worthy of our shouts of victory, and worthy of our banners lifted high.
Many, many people are hurting this time of year. Even those who may look like they have it all together. Pray for others. Ask the Lord to bring to your spirit the name of someone who needs your prayers. Share your joy. Share the news that a baby changes everything. Born into a sin filled heart-broken world He is our joy, our hope and our peace to know that even though this world is cruel, to the saved He is our eternal hope. He will come back for us and take us to be with Him in eternity forevermore! Hallelujah!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

The same sweet present keeps popping up under our tree!!!!!

Is he going to be so much fun or what? He is spending the night with GiGi and PawPaw while his precious momma and daddy celebrate their 4th anniversary. I love being a grandmother. The only thing that would be better is if the other grandpeep were here too! What a blast we are going to have this year. God is so good and so faithful. I am so humbled and grateful for all the blessings bestowed upon me.

All Circumstances

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV)

I love Thanksgiving. It competes with Christmas for me as a favorite holiday. I love the anticipation of Thanksgiving, the getting ready for it, all the things that precede it get me that much more excited for it. I think it is a holiday that gets overlooked or is just seen as the Christmas kick-off. I have never felt that way about Thanksgiving. However, this year has been different for me. We had a flooding issue the last weekend in September and since then our home has been in total chaos. I mean we were having to go to the garage to search for our underwear every morning. Then if you have ever been in a remodeling situation you know how stressful that can be. I have been in a funk for six weeks. That is not like me. I love fall so very much and feel like I missed out on it. We have been so busy with our business and school is... well full of teenagers and you know that brings no stress! Anyway I have just been out of sorts and thinking life would never get back to normal for us. Well it has and as I sat down this morning in my cozy chair, (which has been covered in plastic for three weeks) to have some alone time with the Lord, I realized why I had been in a funk. I had not been having my quiet time. How ashamed I felt that I let an upside down house get me upside down. I had let the ole devil get away with turning my focus on everything that I felt was wrong in my life and stealing my joy. Then I felt ashamed as I thought about all the things that were stressing me out you know like:
My home is upside down and chaotic......at least you have a home
My job is so busy.....................................at least you have a job
We keep getting work thrown at us.......Six months ago you were praying for more work
I was sick with myself. I love Thanksgiving, I love to give Thanks and I wasn't doing it.
So, what am I thankful for this year?
A loving gracious Father who sent His son to die for my sins
A loving gracious Father who has been waiting on me every morning to acknowledge Him and when I finally do, He wraps His arms around me and forgives me.
A husband who loves the Lord, loves me, loves our children, grandchildren, our employees, prays for those who are hurting, who works hard and makes me smile every day.
Children who come and help their sad parents out whenever we need them to, and never complain - at least not to us.
Two grand boys who make us laugh and bring us so much joy.
Our parents who have helped us so much, taught us so much, and loved us so much.
Siblings that we can talk to and count on to pray for us.
Friends that help out in all circumstances.
Our home.
Our health.
Our business that keeps growing.
The fact that we have decisions to make about where to spend Thanksgiving when so many others are alone, may we never take family for granted.
Bible study peeps that pray for me regularly.
My country.
Our soldiers.
My freedom.
My salvation, thank you Lord. Thank you, thank you.

Josh

This is our son Josh. He is ridiculously handsome but will never be serious in a picture. He has a beautiful smile but I haven't gotten a good pic of that since his high school senior pictures eight years ago and that was only because he knew we were paying good money for those.

Josh and his darling girlfriend, who by the way also has a beautiful smile and he better get to being cute in pictures with her!

But normally this is what I get when I take his picture:

Or this: (notice that his baby sister is always on cue and ready to smile for the camera). Josh is a great big brother.

He is also a terrific uncle. Refuses to talk baby talk but a great uncle nevertheless.

Josh is a good grandson. They are used to his silliness in pictures. I think his PawPaw even encourages him in his mischief.

Josh is many things to his family. His dad and I know we can call him with anything and he will be here in an instant. I just know he is going to move hundreds of miles away but he hasn't yet. He is always there when we need him. He is a manly man. He loves to deer hunt, play in the mud, and just all things boy. He has been that way forever. He was our only child that could entertain himself and play alone for hours. Either that or he thought we were all so weird he wanted no part of us. But in spite of being so masculine, Josh is a very sensitive human being. He is thoughtful, considerate and always seems to know just when this mom needs a hug. He is loving to his sisters, nephews, grandparents and never leaves the house without hugging his dad. He is going to be mad at me for this! I don't care though because Josh is one of those who never wants attention brought to himself. However it is only fitting on this day that I tell you something else he is.

Josh is a veteran. It seems only right to honor him today, along with so many others. Josh was deployed to Iraq for about a year. His leave was difficult on our whole family but a blessing all at the same time. His dad and I learned a lot during that year about trusting the Lord. God honored that and increased our faith tremendously. We were still so happy when his year ended and he was home. He doesn't talk much about his leave and we don't ask much. I have observed him with some of his friends he was deployed with and he cares for those guys like they are his family. In a way they definitely were and continue to be. All those men fought for our freedoms and rights and we certainly do not take that for granted. Unselfishly. That is how Josh lives. Unselfishly.

We are blessed that he came home safely. Many did not, many are still fighting the battle to uphold our freedom. My brother-in-law is in Afghanistan. My grandfather fought in WWII. So many who did so much. Honor our veterans this day. Pray for those who continue to serve and defend this nation of ours.

Josh, know how much we love you and are so proud of you and the man that you are. We honor you and thank you for your sacrifice.

One Faithful Couple

This past weekend I had the privilege of going to Tampa, Florida to see my in-laws honored for beginning a church fifty years ago. I have been in the Cheney family for a long time and have always known about them starting a church, but until this weekend I never really understand just what they did and the sacrifices they made.

My father-in-law graduated from Baptist Bible College in the late 50’s and moved to Jacksonville, Fl with his bride and two small boys (my husband and his baby sister had not yet arrived on the scene). He was a youth pastor at a church in Jacksonville but felt very certainly that the Lord had called him to start a church to share the Gospel and offer the Hope of Christ. He was told that he couldn’t start a church in Tampa as the city would just not receive it well. Apparently whoever told my father-in-law that did not understand the will of my father-in-law but most importantly the will of the Heavenly Father. So to Tampa he went. Alone, jobless, and penniless. His family stayed in Jacksonville until he could secure employment and a place to have church services. We live in an age where communication is so taken for granted. His only source of communicating was through letters back home to his bride. These letters were shared with us this past weekend and may I tell you I still have not fully recovered from the impact they made on me. I hope I never do. Letters from a 24 year old young man with a family to support and a burning passion for serving God in his heart that could not be stifled. We listened in these letters as he told his wife back home that he had walked miles seeking to find employment to no avail yet. He walked miles knocking on doors to invite people to come to church when he still had not secured a meeting place. He wrote how proud he was to have had 10 people in a church service one night, 11 counting the Lord. Tears just rolled down my face as I heard letter after letter and saw picture after picture of this church coming to fruition. Then as we sat at lunch that day I watched lines of people approach my father-in-law and mother-in-law and thank them for their sacrifice and told them had it not been for them and beginning West Gate their families would not have heard the message of Christ. This church was the first one in that part of the city. There are charter members still in attendance! It blew my mind.

As I heard these letters I wondered about the sacrifice both of them made. No money, wondering how they would feed their children, would they be able to find jobs. Totally dependent on God’s provision for fulfilling His calling He had placed on Gerald’s life. Not too often in life do some get to see the fruit of the seed they planted. This church now houses a Christian school and a state seminary of which my father-in-law received an honorary doctorate in divinity. He was so handsome in his robes. With all the humility that they began their dream fifty years ago, my in-laws still displayed this past weekend as they were able to celebrate with their family and friends. We are a family of 22 and 15 were able to be there. What a time we had! As we all talked of their sacrifices, neither one of them sees it that way. They said compared to the sacrifice at the Cross theirs is small. But they are great in our eyes. I have never been more humbled, honored or proud to be their daughter-in-love as they so sweetly refer to me. What a blessing for my children to get to see what their grandparents did in the cause for Christ.

How faithful our God is to us. I am beyond thankful for this family that I love so very much. Though like all families, they are not perfect – no family is. They still love each other madly and all the more their Savior. This weekend I rejoiced with them, celebrated with them, cried with them, sang with them, and marveled at the thought that we will continue this time of celebration in Eternity. We will all be there together because of people like Gerald and Judy who shared the love of a gracious Savior. I love them dearly.

Psalms 118:23

“This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.”

As a young man eager to share the Gospel.

This is the pulpit a man built for Gerald that is still used in the church today.

Our immediate family with MawMaw and PawPaw. We are missing Jodi and Connor.

All of us that were there at the wonderful banquet prepared in Gerald and Judy's honor.

More pictures of our great time still to come.

Let us Run with Perseverance

For quite some time my baby girl has been desperately seeking some athletic endeavor that she could excel at. She tried out for basketball, realized that wasn't her thing and just hadn't found her niche quite yet. Until now. A couple of weeks she came home and said she wanted to join the Cross Country team. She certainly has the build for a runner, long and lean, so her Dad and I thought she should give it a shot. She has never run before, except for just playing. She went to the first practice and came home excited but a little down that everyone seemed to run faster. We told her it is not about being the fastest but just finishing. So one morning she wanted me to take her to the park to run. I put on my walking shoes and off we went. We get there and she is stretching and says to me, "Can you run a mile Momma?" Well yes. I mean I think I can, I don't really want to but I felt on the spot by my smiling youngest child. What else could I do? Hadn't I been saying, It is not about how fast you go but that you finish. So I ran. And I was miserable. I wanted to stop and quit, but as I looked up ahead, at times way far ahead, and saw her running I started to pray. Lord, please let her always approach life and trials with the attitude that she can do all things through You, please let her know that she can push past her fears and her doubts and know that she can persevere to the finish. And Lord more than anything can she see that in her Momma. That I will push past my fears and doubts and dare to step beyond what I think I can't do. You know what, before I knew it I ran that whole mile and when I came around the corner, my baby was cheering for me like I was finishing a marathon and I felt like I had. She was so proud of me and what a feeling that was.
Yesterday was my turn to cheer for her. She ran her first Cross Country event and it was only a mile. It was different than what she was used to because it was an up and downhill course. She had never been in a race and when those 90 something kids took off from the top of that hill I found myself praying out loud, "Lord please please don't let my baby fall down and get trampled." They sounded like the Running of the Bulls coming down that hill! I couldn't find her at first but then I saw that pretty little head fly by and I was so proud of her! Every time she came by us she looked like she was going to throw up. Up and down the hills was hard for her. But she kept going, and pushed past her fears. She finished 49th out of 90 something kids. She finished faster than she had ever run before! She was so proud of herself and her Mimi and I could hardly contain ourselves.
She has found her sport. I am so inspired I think I am going to do the Couch to 5K challenge. What a feeling when we see our kids succeed. It must be the same for our Heavenly Father. When He sees us do what all along He has known we can do. When we trust Him to work through us and in us to accomplish what we never could on our own. Dare to push through and do what you think you can't. Then be sure He gets the glory.

Here come the Bulls!!!

Our little runner.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12: 1-3