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Ch.. Ch... Ch... Changes!

July 18, 2012

Isn't it funny how, 

just when you seem to be getting settled
into a comfortable rhythm in life, 

things change?

Change.

It's inevitable.

It can be so gradual, so tiny, 

that you hardly notice it happening at all.

Or it can knock your feet out from under you, 

so quickly and violently, 

until you don't even know which way is up anymore.

Sometimes it hurts.

Sometimes it's a welcomed relief.

But, it's the only way we can grow.

Our lives are a reflection of change. 

I see the evidence in my kids almost every day.

I see little Aubree changing in how she uses 
thoughts and experiences to come to different conclusions.

Her mind is growing and she's certainly not a baby anymore.

I can see change in Brant's physical appearance- 

Drake is beginning to be changed by the process of puberty.

Karli's life is affected by change in a different way right now.

Circumstances are changing her.

She's learning about how people have a way of disappointing us.

And, hopefully, learning that God never will!

The winds of change can bring devastation, 

but if you look for it,

the devastation can also clear the land to build something new and more beautiful than before.

The sermon in church this past Sunday compared life to a race.

In the race, in order to get to the finish line (aka Heaven),

we must sometimes
"throw off everything that hinders" 

{Hebrews 12:1}.

In life, change is going to force us
to surround ourselves with people who are going to encourage us.

Sometimes, it's going to cause us
to walk away from people and things
that are not necessarily bad, 

and we may even love these people,  

but somehow, these people or things have just become dead weight.

They have become things that are holding us back from God's calling for our lives.

There comes a time in life when you have to
make the hard decision to move on~

New Career. New Friends. New Goals. New Priorities.

Change...

It can be scary.

You can't always see where you're going, 

and the road can be dark and dangerous.

It can be painful.

Sometimes, you will suffer hurt
at the hands of those you've loved and trusted so dearly.

It can be lonely.

Sometimes, God calls us to walk part of the way alone
so that we can realize the strength within us
when we have a relationship with Him.

Change...

It can bring happiness that you didn't know was possible.

It can prove that you are more than the world thinks you are.

It can take you to a place you didn't even know you wanted to go.

In the end, if you walk in obedience to God,
Change is always for your benefit.

"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down a the the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1-2

How do you SERVE?

July 4, 2012

Late last fall, I began to feel a stirring in my heart. 

I tried to ignore it. 

But, God pursued me.

I knew that I was going to be entering a new season in my life.

SERVICE.

It was to become the theme of a new year.

I obeyed.

I made the commitment.

I watched for opportunity and listened carefully for the call.

I steeled myself to be stretched.

And then, I realized that there was something much more that I was meant to do.

I am His servant.

Yes. God wanted to use me to be His hands and feet.

And it is an honor.

But, I am also being shown that SERVICE to God also includes many other things besides volunteering my time or talents, 

or praying for others, 

or to sit by a hospital bed.

I have been called to SERVE my Father through trust.

Going blindly wherever He leads me, even when that means doing it afraid.

It means believing Him when He tells me that I am precious.

It means accepting that He loves me as if I were His one and only creation.

It means being trustworthy to conduct myself with integrity and love, 

standing firm in my worth as His child.

"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." Mark 10:45

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Romans 12:1-2

Summer Bucket List

June 19, 2012

Dance revue is OVER! My girls were absolutely the BEST dancers in the whole entire show. Really. They were! If you don't believe me, just ask their dad. 

Karli completed 9 years of dancing & received an award for perfect attendance

Aubree completed her1st year of dancing

It feels like summer can officially begin now. Although, we are still doing school work. Drake still has a couple more weeks of the 5th grade because he decided earlier in the year to play "hookie" {that's a post for another day} and he needs to work on his multiplication tables. Karli is taking a typing course again this summer and she has a book report to write. Brant and I are working in "A Workbook for Dyslexics", and Miss Aubree will start Kindergarten on Monday.

I still want to squeeze all the fun and freedom I can out of each one of our days, while still having clean clothes to wear. {ugh. laundry NEVER ends} Our new school year officially begins on July 23rd so that leaves us about one month to "party it up". 

{Dear Freddie, May this blog post serve as the official notice that for the next few weeks suppers will be quick and easy, you might have to occasionally hunt for it in the pantry and make it yourself,  and our house may not be quite as neat and tidy as usual. I will resume normal routine with the start of school. That is all. Over and out. Sincerely, Me and The Kids}

In honor of summer vacation, today I am posting our 

SUMMER BUCKET LIST! 

May you be encouraged to create one of your own and live it out with passion and determination this summer.

• Spend the afternoon at a park
• Make homemade ice cream
• Spend as much time in the pool as possible
• Go fishing
• Make crafts with the kids
• Teach each one of the older kids how to cook a dish
• Take a road trip to visit family
• Family movie night
• Snowballs!
• Show my kids that having FUN is just as important in life as be responsible is

"Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God." Philippians 1:27-28

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:16