looking more like Jesus

It's crazy how fast life moves.  It has been over 2 years now that we have been +4 more :)

It has been the hardest and best years of our lives.  its been 8 months since i even had time to sit down and blog a thought :(  but it has been awesome.

another summer has come and gone:

additions have come along:

new road warriors have taken their place:

and another one leaves the nest this week (college bound):

Our life is chaotic and full... but always open to God's prompting of change.  

on saturdays i don't have to sneak up early to have my date with my daddy because everyone is dispersed.  this morning some were at work, some were at haircuts, and some were still in the bed... so it was quite. 

i was sitting in my chair savoring my moments alone with Him when i read these familiar words: Jesus said "For even the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many."  Mark 10:45

my heart hurt as i let these words sink in. Jesus was walking with His disciples, who knew and loved Him, yet still misunderstood His calling and ultimately their own at the moment. when two of them began to ask for special recognition and positioning.  So the other ten were naturally upset. Jesus had to call them all together and remind them of their roles and His... to give His life as a ransom to pay for everyone's debt of sin. 

this sounds alot like the same world we exist in today: alot of self appointment and jockeying for position.  often spending less time on others because quite frankly it would get in the way of all eyes and attention on me!

what if we really took this story and Jesus' words to heart today as a personal challenge...

serving others as opposed to looking to others to serve us;

actually caring more about others situations than our own comforts;

and behaving as if we believe what we are saying from our mouths.

the world we exist in today really could look different...

 if we chose to invest our lives as Jesus did...   Giving of our lives as servants for others!

 Just maybe... if we were willing to try a change in behaviors

more people would be interested in knowing about the One we are trying 

to look more like.  i think it is worth a try?!

A New Year...

last night i laid in bed tossing and turning until sometime after 3 a.m.

i was assaulted again and again with my failures as a parent.

at one point i left the bed and hit the floor face down before the Lord...

begging for His guidance and relief. 

we have faced so many "NEWS" this past year in parenting.

i cannot count on fingers and toes how many times we have said...

"did that really happen?"

nothing prepared us for the trials we dealt with behind the doors this past year...

but God faithfully walked us through it. 

this year we got a front row seat to the fact that as faithful as our God is... 

the enemy is as equally relentless.

he just keeps shooting arrows in the shadows, hoping for a chance to bring us down,

to tire us out, to bring us low on our belief of a better day.

and for some reason... last night he seemed to have gotten my number. 

how is it you can go from a Christmas morning overwhelmed with gratitude

for all that we have been blessed with: (sorry for the blur)

to laying in bed unable to sleep overwhelmed by failures???

A very real enemy that loves to prey on us.  

God specializes in making beautiful masterpieces out of our messes,

failures and weaknesses.  

and the truth is: the enemy has no real power over me, except what i allow him to have.

i have the chance every second of every day to choose God's voice,

over the world, other people and certainly the enemy. 

Jesus said, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. 

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

Maybe you don't need a reminder but i sure did as i rolled out of bed this am...

GOD IS ON OUR SIDE.

as we enter into this new year, we can enter it with complete belief that 

He is on our side.  we can cast our burdens onto Him and He will carry them for us!

That is enough to excite me about this brand new year...

 and help me ride the waves of trial as we journey through it :)

Happy 2015!

so very thankful!

i am thankful for a God who loves us...

and for the gift of time He continues to lavish on us!

this holiday season i am focusing on not taking a moment of it for granted :)

i am so thankful for the ability to travel to Guatemala to make new friends...

i am so thankful for those new friends that have a piece of our hearts...

i am thankful for longtime friends we have been blessed with...

i am thankful for laughter around the table...

i am so thankful for food on the table...

and someone to cook it...

and i am incredibly thankful for lots of people to hug through the day...

thankful, thankful, thankful!

 

some days are better than others...

whether a good day or bad one, i am thankful for them all!

 

the joy of seeing that they get it...

we are the family that has more issues and counselors than you can count on one hand.

i spend more than a few hours in varying principals offices in a week.

we are constantly in the spotlight (and not a positive one).

we come in a pack and we are chaotic and noisy.

yep, you know who we are :)

there have been times that not only have i doubted we would arrive at graduation from HS,

or movement to the next grade, but i have doubted arriving to a new dawning of the day. 

we are, have been and will continue to be a mess.

How thankful i am that i serve a God that "messes" are His specialty.  

i have clung to the verse over the years from Proverbs 22:6:

"Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old

he will not depart from it."

all the tears, frustration, crazy creative discipline, prayer,

prayer meetings and counseling sessions are all cherished 

all the mornings, afternoons and evenings of dragging them along 

to serve others as they rolled eyes, fussed and complained

are also funny memories now...

as i look into the lives of our growing children. 

perfect?  are you kidding?  

good behavior? depends on the day.

attitude?  constant struggle!

developing into their own person?  absolutely!

 and i continue to cling to the verse :)

i don't know what happens tomorrow, and i don't need to,

because honestly all i can hold on to is the present, which is today.

and for today it is fun to watch them choose to follow in some passions of our heart.  

i find joy following jordyn as God grows her up an ocean away as 

she serves the children of Guatemala with an open heart and attentive ear.

i find joy watching skyler as she chooses to use her gifts to give to others...
and seek to know Him more as she serves. 

i find joy sitting in morning prayer time and watching each of our kids as they are
working through their own belief system.
some have had longer to watch and be actively involved in serving others, prayer and
 talks about the Lord and are now choosing their own way.
others don't have as much time under their belt, so we continue to train!

we all live life each day as an example to watching eyes and impressionable hearts! 
some of what i've taught, i wish i could take back.
other things, i'm grateful they grabbed hold of!

letting go.. is never easy!

dropping my 18 year old at the airport this am was hard.

not because she is not ready... because she is... not because it was early... although it was...

but because it was time to let go!

 

letting go is hard, especially to something i hold dear...

even if its time :)

jordan is a gift.  a gift given by God the Father.  

a gift never intended for me to keep, but to raise up in His ways...

and then to let go, so He could take her further than i ever could. 

she has landed in guatemala and her new life journey has begun.  

watch for updates at www.journeywithjordyn.blogspot.com.

 

please keep her in your prayers as she seeks to know Him more!