What's the Rush?

Everywhere I turn, the grocery store, the mall, Target, Wal-Mart- Christmas is EVERYWHERE!!!!! Thanksgiving isn't even here yet people!!! Don't get me wrong - I love to deck my halls and will start playing my Christmas CD's non-stop the day after Thanksgiving straight through New Year's. But can't we just enjoy this Thanksgiving season without hurrying past it to hurl ourselves into the frenzy that is December? I love to decorate for fall. I think it is because I am an autumn person. My house is already painted in all the lovely golds, reds and browns. So while everyone is racing to see who can show off their Christmas bedecked houses first, I am putting up some of my fall decoration pictures. I took these a minute ago and baby girl said, "Mama what are you taking pictures of?" Me - "My hutch." Her - "You are so weird."

 I think this hutch is my favorite piece of furniture in my whole house. Sweet man let me buy it from a store that was going out of business that used it to showcase all their prettys. Now I showcase mine on it! It's so folksy!

My mantle is in my dining room which is painted red and it is my favorite room in my house. Especially when my dining room table is filled with my kiddos. :)

This is my sofa table and I just think all these pumpkins are so cute.

My son's darling girlfriend made me these candy corn trees. Precious!

And this - well nothing says autumn like some yummy cabbage! This one is for you Laura!

Slow down people and savor the moments of November and give thanks to our Lord for all things.

And then everyone come to my house on Friday the day after and help me get out all my Christmas decor!

Blessings,

Michelle

Sweet Saturday Morning

Nothing important - nothing earth-shattering to write about. Just thinking how much the simple things in life bring me the sweetest joy. Sitting in my favorite chair on this cozy rainy day listening to baby girl play the piano and sing about Jesus in the other room. My prayer is that those words become Truth in her life and not just songs to sing but songs to live. Hoping she uses that gift to always glorify Him. She has been down with a major stomach bug but is bouncing back so she can run like the wind at the State cross country meet this next week.
Only thing wrong with my morning is my sweet man is out of town. Tending to some business but I miss him. Got to cozy up in my bed with a cup of coffee with my favorite pumpkin spice creamer and chat on the phone with my sweet mama. I am so thankful God let her be my mama. She is my dearest friend on earth next to Jon.
Like I said, nothing major just a sweet Saturday morning, resting in the comfort of all things that are good right now. Thank you Lord for all my blessings.
Blessings,
Michelle

Healed

Today I had to do something I have had to do too many times in my teaching career - attend a funeral service for one of my former students. A precious twenty-two year old young man who has been valiantly battling leukemia for the last 15 months. This past Saturday the Lord delivered Nathan from his physical battle and healed him completely by bringing him Home.  The church was filled with people coming to pay their respects to Nathan's family. The service began with a beautiful video of Nathan's life with his voice narrating. Nathan spoke to young people several times about his faith and about the urgency of a personal relationship with Jesus. One of the pastors even used one of his caring bridge journals in the service that Nathan wrote about spiritual urgency. You can read it here: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/nathangeorge/journal/2

I was so moved by all his classmates and friends that showed up today. However all I could think about were his parents. His momma, daddy and older brother (who read his baby brother's eulogy with so much love and tenderness) are all educators in our parish. They are a sweet, sweet family and fiercely devoted to each other. The pastor spoke about the grief Nathan's  parents are experiencing. He said, "It is not natural for parents to bury their children. When we lose our parents, we lose a piece of our past. But when we lose our children, we lose a piece of our future."  How true. After listening to Nathan's video and how he didn't see his illness as a burden but as a way to glorify God and hearing how many lives he has touched for such a young life I just wanted to tell his parents how remarkable I think they are that our providential God who knew before Nathan was formed how his life would play out, would choose each one of them special to be that precious boy's momma and daddy.  What a road ahead of them, yet they are strong in their faith. They know who to share their grief with to find comfort.

I was challenged today at that service as I hope many others were. Am I sharing my Jesus with others as much as I should? Nathan was bold in his efforts to share the gospel. I am in awe of what a testimony he left. For us left here his life seems too short. God knows what He is doing. We don't always understand it, but that is why He is God and we are not. Oh that our lives would exalt and magnify Christ as Nathan's did. Healed and in the presence of Jesus.

Philippians 1:20
I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.

What have we been up to?

Well, I had hoped this fall would be less hectic than last year, however that has not really proven to be the case. But, I am learning to give thanks in all circumstances and to thank my Lord for what each day brings. He can teach me some stuff on my bad days!!! Father-in-love is still in rehab recuperating and gaining his strength back from open heart surgery and my sweet man has been battling a kidney stone from Hades for the past few weeks. ARGH! But he is on the mend now.

So what have we been up to in the midst of all our issues:

Lots of cross country racing. Baby girl gets faster each and every week. Notice she sped past that girl and beat her! She set a personal best last weekend. Run child run! State Championship coming up in two weeks. Our girls have a great shot at winning.

Lots of Trick-or-Treating with a cute little lion!

He doesn't respond to "Cheese" but "Show me your smile" gets him all lit up! He loves suckers!

Lots of loving on my sweet family.

Lots of "scary" spook trails at Mimi and Old Paw's Halloween party. It is a lot less scary in the daylight!

Lots of hayriding without the hay - weather has been too dry for anyone to sell any! That is one darling Spiderman!

One minute my sweet grandpeep Connor was there and the next he vanished and here was SPIDERMAN!!!!



I am glad October is over. I am anxious for this month of November and all the feelings of thanksgiving that we have to experience. I really love Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for this year. I hope you will start preparing now to thank our Lord for everything He does but more importantly we need to remember to thank Him for Who He Is. A Great and Mighty Savior who is everything to me.

Blessings,
Michelle


Do You Have Peace?

Phillipians 4:7
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

I don't know about you but some of my days seem more peaceful than others! As I get older I am growing to understand that it is not so much what my day holds, but more how I have prepared to receive what the day has in store for me. Isaiah told us that the Prince of Peace would come and of His peace there will be no end. What a thought and a comfort. Here are a few scriptures that blessed me this morning:

Isaiah 26:3
3 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.
(How I have prepared to receive what the day has in store for me).

Isaiah 32:17
 The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.
(This is the kind of confidence I desire, not this self-confidence that the world preaches. Good grief how many times do I disappoint myself? Why would I put confidence in myself?)

Isaiah 53:5 
 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
(He paid a heavy price for my peace. Am I not going to trust in what He did for me and claim that peace every day of my life?)

Isaiah 54:10
 Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you.
(A covenant of peace. Forever and ever. For He never breaks His word. Can't. He is the Word. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us - Glory!!!!!)

Isaiah 57:2

 Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death.
(Seek Him, Seek Him, Be obedient - not perfect but a spirit of submission to His commands for right daily living and I will enter into His peace.)

Isaiah 60:17

 Instead of bronze I will bring you gold, and silver in place of iron. Instead of wood I will bring you bronze, and iron in place of stones. I will make peace your governor and righteousness your ruler.
(Peace can govern my life and my day. If you are in Christ you have the fruit of the Spirit dwelling within and we can claim that peace that He came to give us!)

As I am typing this my sweet man is playing some music for our enjoyment from a new group he discovered and without knowing what I was writing about he said,"Tell me what you think about this one.":

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain:
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

I think I love it.

Blessings,
Michelle

To Glorify God

I never ceased to be amazed at how my God works. At the very points of my need He reveals things to me I never could have come to on my own. He is the only explanation there is. I am deep in week two of a new Bible study with my peeps and today I learned something that just rocked me to my core. Isn't it also great that our God is so personal? The lesson I studied is just what my thirsty soul needed today. It might be something else for another believer, but one thing is certain - He will deliver what you need when you need it- whether you realize you need it or not!

I get so fired up when things connect for me between the Old and New Testament. If you will permit me the time and space I would like to share some of what I learned today. This week we are studying about some of the primary benefits we are free to enjoy as children of God. Today's benefit was that we are to glorify God. As I looked at passages in the OT that mentioned God's glory, it was shown that God's glory was present when He was making Himself known or showing His might. God's glory is how He shows us who He is.

Then it was time to look at some NT scripture references:
John 1:14
¹⁴The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only,^[a] who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The light switch started to come on - Oh, JESUS is God's Glory. How He reveals Himself to us.

John 2:11
This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.


How He makes Himself recognizable to us so we will put our faith in Him. Our faith in Christ - His glory.
What a miracle! But wait...... the miracle doesn't stop there - it was almost more than I could stand as I kept reading.
 
Isaiah 43:7 tells us we were created for God's Glory. But Romans 3:23 also tells us we are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God. We fall short. In our pathetic sin-filled egocentric selves - we fall short.
But then the miracle:
Colossians 1:24-27
²⁴Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. ²⁵I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— ²⁶the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. ²⁷To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (emphasis mine).
 
The hope of glory is Christ in us. Our God loved us so much knowing we fall short that He sent His own glory, the glory of the One and Only, to dwell in us. To make Himself recognizable in us! Can you stand it????
 
We are told to do all things to the Glory of God. What does that mean for you, for me, for us? It means that just as Christ revealed His glory at Cana and the disciples put their faith in Him, we are to understand what it means to be created for God's glory. We were created so that His glory could be recognizable to others, or as the Bible study author states, "We were created for the purpose of giving God's invisible character a glimpse of visibility." WHOA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!What a destiny for us. What a reason to take my focus OFF myself and understand I have Christ in me and am being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory. Doesn't mean that this is something I will suddenly attain. I have been praying for spiritual maturity. I don't want to be a baby in my relationship with my Savior. God revealed to me that part of this desire will only be fulfilled when He is recognizable to others in my life. My study also reminded me that this a process and a progression. I fail miserably on a regular basis, yet I am reminded that in Christ there is no condemnation, only conviction. Oh I love Him so. What a savior.
So now when I make the statement that I want a life that glorifies God - I have a different understanding of what that means.
He must love us. Won't we show we love Him too?

Good news and Bragging Rights

What a great weekend we have had. Father-in-love is doing amazing!!!! Still in ICU but he is off the ventilator, feeding himself, talking, joking with all of us and even sat up in the chair for about six hours today. Oh what a great and good God we serve!!! The team of doctors and nurses that have been taking care of him are sent from heaven. They have been wonderful and as PawPaw said this evening, "They are ministers in their own right." Amen. He is doing so great. We are amazed.

On another note, baby girl was in her first high school debate tournament this weekend and she and her partner are both ninth graders and .......THEY WON!!!!!! They went 7-0. I am so proud I can hardly stand myself!

Hope everyone has a blessed remainder of the weekend.
Blessings,
Michelle