Can I Be Sure?

How can we ever really be sure of anything? If you can't hold it in your hand, see it, taste it, smell it... somehow physically prove it... how do you ever really know?

Take for instance your spouse. Do you know what your spouse does when you're not with them? No, you don't.

What about the gas gauge in your car? Do you know for sure that it's accurate? Nope. Much like your spouse, you just trust that it's telling you the truth.

Now the biggie... what about God? How do we know He's really there? Can we prove it?

That question is actually going to be left for another day. This blog is about our kids. How do we know that we have done not just an adequate job, but a GOOD job of raising them before sending them off into the world? How do we know we've prepared them?

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.
~Proverbs 22:6

Both my boys were baptized shortly after they were born. We promised before God and the church to raise them in Christian homes, teaching them about God and His Word. The same minister at my home church in Florida baptized them both. Since they are 7 years apart, much had changed since the eldest was born. Our minister, Fred, had just retired when we asked him to baptize our youngest son, and as a favor to our family he said "of course" he would!

When we lived in North Carolina we attended a wonderful church that baptized by submersion. We were at a point in our lives when our entire family was renewing our faith and becoming much closer to God. We spoke with our pastor and decided to be baptized again as a family. It was a wonderful experience! Our youngest, who was then a very intelligent 5 year old, fully understood that he was committing his life to the Lord and proclaimed his love for Jesus as he was dunked in the river. It brought tears to my eyes! Our oldest was 12, and all of him was baptized except his broken right arm which stayed above water in a cast and plastic bag.

Children make mistakes. It's very hard for me to reconcile the fact that my teenager has choices, and the choices he makes, good or bad, are his alone, and at this point do not reflect upon my parenting directly. He has been raised with values and morals, in a Christian home with a solid upbringing. I don't always agree with his choices, but I guess that's a given. At one point both of his ears were pierced and he was wearing his hair longer than I would have liked. In the past he has dated a few young ladies that I found rather questionable. Could I have kept him from piercing his ears? Sure! I was actually the one who took him to do it. Could I have cut his hair shorter? Absolutely! In the big picture, there are much more important things! He doesn't drink, he doesn't smoke, and he doesn't do drugs... and that is WAY more important than a couple of earrings and long hair.

Still, sometimes his decisions leave me scratching my head. Where did I go wrong? That's just it though, I didn't. This isn't about ME. This is about HIM, and HIS life... and the decisions that HE makes for HIS life. I have done what I was supposed to do. I taught him right from wrong, took him to church, he knows what God expects of him, he knows what we expect of him and he knows that he has a choice to make- it's up to him to choose right or wrong. What he does with that is completely up to him.

In eight (very short) months he could be off to college and making all of his own decisions. Most of the time he makes sound judgment calls... but how do I know that will be the case when he is not at home? Can I be sure he has what he needs to go out into the world and make it on his own?

It all falls back to FAITH. I have to have faith in the job we have done as his parents, faith in the Lord to keep a strong hand on him while he navigates his life, and faith that he will remember he can always turn to us if he needs help finding his way. FAITH.

Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates. ~Deuteronomy 11:18-20

Even when you can hold something in your hand you can be deceived. You can kiss the lips of a snake believing it's a prince. Poison may taste and smell sweet, but it's still a poison. A "friend" may not be a friend after all. The devil will try to beguile us, do not give him the pleasure! His methods are meant to make you doubt. Do not allow him into your head! We have to have faith in ourselves and in our God. He will see us through.  

I feel that we have done our best as parents to instill morals and values in our children, to set good examples for them and try to set them on a good path. Have we made mistakes? Of course! Hopefully we've learned from them and used them as examples, so our children can use them as examples with their children. We only want each generation to be better and have more than the last. 

We pray for their future, we hope we've done enough to prepare them, and live with the faith that the Lord will guide them and the certainty that He will ALWAYS be with them. God gave them as precious gifts to us, and we raise them to glory and honor Him. As children we taught them the song "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so...". Jesus DOES love us, and would do anything for us, even die for us. We can always be sure of that.

One Day At A Time

You know when you get hit in the gut, and the wind gets knocked out of you... those few moments, when you are standing (or laying) there in limbo, waiting for breath to come... those moments seem like an eternity!

Have you ever had that happen? Has anything ever just knocked the wind out of you? Maybe physically, or emotionally? I've experienced both.

When I was about 10, my brothers and I were at my great-grandparent's house in Findley Lake, New York. We loved to play outside! We were playing baseball one day and I stood a little too close to my middle brother as he swung the bat around. He caught me right under the ribs, full swing, and POW! I was down on the ground! I will never forget that feeling, waiting for air... waiting... waiting... it felt like forever before I could take a breath! It was awful but I was lucky, no broken bones and I did breathe again!

I have also emotionally had the wind knocked out of me, in hearing unexpected news that took me to my knees. Unfortunately this has happened more than once. In high school I met a boy named Lee. He worked part-time at my aunt and uncle's TV repair shop. We started hanging out after school sometimes, we were both in ROTC, and we soon became good friends. Because he was close to my uncle, we started joking that we were cousins. So, he became my cousin Lee. He joined the Army and moved away after high school but we stayed in touch. He met a girl, fell in love and wanted to marry her. We were all thrilled! One day I got a call from my aunt. Lee was dead. Just like that, he was dead. Dead. I couldn't breathe. My knees buckled and I hit the living room floor. When my breath returned I was sobbing hysterically. Lee had been driving back from seeing his girlfriend. He had just proposed to her that night. He fell asleep on the way back to his base and drove head-on into a tractor-trailer. My cousin Lee was gone forever.

I wish I could say my heart has never been broken, but that would be a lie. Each time, I've felt the wind get knocked out of me to some extent. Each time I get bad news, or sad news, I catch a whiff of that old familiar feeling. This time in my life is no exception.

My middle brother, the "Slugger King" himself, is off to Afghanistan, and I am terrified. If you know me, or have read my previous blogs, you know I am very protective of my brothers. I always have been our whole lives. I am the oldest, we are all two and a half years apart. I love them tremendously, and I worry about them like they are my own children sometimes. He just returned, along with our father, from Iraq. Now the thought of him going to a worse place is almost too much to bear. I will be praying for him daily.

I got some other deeply personal news yesterday that I won't be sharing on here. I'm mentioning it because it needs immediate prayer for tremendous healing, and it pertains to the reason for this blog. If you are so inclined, any and all prayers would be greatly appreciated. This is the time when my family needs to be together, to draw strength from each other. My family will now be divided by continents... once again. My heart is aching and I feel like I can hardly breathe sometimes.

This is where faith comes in. As hard as it is sometimes, I must have faith. There is a reason for all of this, God has a plan, this is under control... I don't understand, but I'm not supposed to. Just because I don't understand doesn't mean I have blind faith. God has never let me down. He has always fulfilled His promises to the world, to all His children. My faith is NOT blind.

Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. -1 Peter 5:7

I know I use that one a lot, and I often go back to it, because it pertains to my life so much! I am a worrier, and as hard as I try NOT to be, I can't help it, I still worry. I'm working on it. 

Let go and let God. 

Simple. Awesome. True. So why can't I do it? I have so many things going on right now! Actually, it always seems that way to be totally honest. But all we can do it take it one day at a time, learn from our mistakes and hope tomorrow will be a better day. Oh, and don't forget to pray... that is a given! ;o)

Holding Down The Fort

We are holding down the fort in all this nasty weather. Tropical Storm Lee has been keeping our lawn extremely hydrated these last few days!! Our poor dog has NOT been happy about the weather at all. He is rather spoiled and does not like to get wet so he's only been going out when it's an absolute emergency! The cats, however, have enjoyed sitting in the windows and watching as the trees sway and the rain pelts our patio. Until today we've been content to stay home, snuggled up in our comfy jammies, and watch movies. We watched Rio yesterday and it was fantastic!

Speaking of movies... the one I am REALLY waiting for is Lion King on Blu-ray! It is scheduled to be released on October 4, and I can't wait! We had it on VHS and I'm sure we wore it out. B has never even seen it, so I'm excited to show it to him. I'm sure he will love it!

My new job is picking up speed. I need to get my First Aid and CPR re-certification. I'll be in four different schools this coming week and four schools over five days the following week (visiting one school twice). Exciting stuff!! :o)

We had a wonderful day today!! Jason, the kids and I spent the day shopping, hanging out at the mall, running a few errands and then we went out to dinner at a new Sushi bar. Very relaxing, and nice to be together for once. Jason works so much and we are seldom in the same place. It's so nice that he has a few days off that I can spend some time loving on him and actually just being together! :o)

I hope you all enjoy what's left of your weekend, and if you have the day off tomorrow, that you spend it wisely. Never take your time with loved ones for granted, as we never know how many days we are gifted.

Until next time...

Change of Scenery

Things are changing around here!

You might know already, but I took on a part-time job. I get to work with children and it's PERFECT! I also get to travel a bit. I'm in different schools each week and meeting lots of sweet little faces. I love it!

The blog has obviously changed a little. I get tired of the same "look", although I really loved the last one. Not sure if I'm digging the swirls of colored wire, I might actually change it... yep, I think I will. You may never even see the swirls and all of this will have made no sense. LOL The point is, I like to change it up!

I'm finishing a few projects, too. I love crafty stuff, as I've said before, and I am finishing a photo display for our granddaughter's pictures! She just turned a year old. It seems impossible, but it's true. Time is whizzing by, and I hate it. I hate being so far away from the girls and our baby girl. She is such a cutie pie and I miss her (and them all) SO much! I needed to have another place to put up her pictures because my brag book, front hall, cell phone display and computer screen just weren't enough! :o) We have pictures everywhere in our house. I bought a really cool photo "vine" from Pier 1 and it's in our front entryway. The pictures slip into it and it's easy to change them out to display new ones. I often go through the kid's baby books and take out a picture here and there and put it on the vine. They are growing up way too fast...

The weather is HORRIBLE today, thunder crashing overhead, I am not a fan. At least it stopped raining long enough for me to walk B to the bus this morning, and I am very thankful for that. We did need the rain though, to help with some wildfires that have been burning in our area. As for me, it's a good day to stay home! It's raining so hard my dog won't even go out to pee! LOL

Eh, looking at the colored wires on the page again, maybe I'll leave them for a little while. I guess they are not so bad. Change is good. Perspective is important. Changing perspective is often necessary and several things in the last two weeks have caused me to change my perspective.

Yes, there will definitely be a change of scenery around here...

Refrigerator Privileges

Last Sunday's sermon was a masterpiece! It really got me thinking about my own life, my currant situation and where I want to be in this world. So, I took a few key points from the sermon, and here we go:

Focus On Family
I have two younger brothers who I love very much. They are lucky enough to live in the same city and state as my parents (who I also love very much). Being military, we are not afforded that same luxury. My husband is the youngest of his siblings. He has three older sisters, a step-brother and step-sister. His parents live in different states. His family is very spread out, so it would be impossible to live close to all of them, and mine. Our combined family is huge!!

Family is very important to me. I work very hard to keep my family strong, and I am proud to say that there have been relationships in my family that I had a hand in strengthening. I firmly believe that NOTHING is more important than family! I have family members who I am not close with, and it really hurts me to know that they are out there and we don't speak more often. I recently got back in touch with one of my cousins on Facebook. I had not seen her in probably 20 years. It's heartbreaking how life goes by and we don't see each other, we only keep in touch through our parents, or not at all. My grandparents have all passed away. I often wonder about my cousins, aunts and uncles who are not a part of my life. There are a few others who I call from time to time to catch up. Others I "talk" to through the Internet.

My family, my blood, my desire to make sure they know Christ...

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. -Ephesians 2:10

Why You Don't Want To Be An Outcast
Are you an outcast among your family, your circle of friends (or lack thereof) or from the family of the body of Christ? During the sermon I started to answer a maybe/yes. I have so much family I don't know. Does that make me an outcast? I have a lot of "friends" (er, acquaintances) but I have reduced my circle of friends for various reasons. Even though it was my own choice, does that make me an outcast? I am a believer in Christ. I have asked Him into my life, into my heart, into my soul. I pray. I ask for forgiveness. I confess my sins. I go to church. How could I be an outcast from the body of Christ? I don't want to be an outcast! I know what I would be missing!

And just like that, I realized that I don't want to be an outcast, and why no one should want to be an outcast. We should desire to stand in community with our brothers and sisters in Christ and to worship with them. Yes, I am a Christian, even if I didn't go to church on Sunday, but to have that community connection, that communion with other Christians who will love and care about you, nurture your relationship with God and help you grow in your Faith... you're not going to get that by praying at home on the couch. As Christians we have a duty to serve our God and our church. We need to minister to others, to further the mission and continue to plant the seeds so faith and the knowledge of God's eternal love for us can grow in the hearts and souls of others!

What It Means To Be In Community With Christ
When we are in community with Christ, when we are a part of His family, we are "in"! We have full access to all the promises in the Bible, and all the promises of Heaven! We get refrigerator privileges! You're family now, go help yourself, make yourself at home!! BUT, we also have the obligation to uphold our promises to God, to be faithful to Him and live our lives for Him. As I said before, we also have a responsibility to care for the others in his flock.

Do we fully realize the amazing PRICE that was paid for us? Jesus suffered and DIED for our sins.

But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to Him through the blood of Christ. -Ephesians 2:13

Once we were far, but now we are near. God wants us to be close to Him, just as He wants us to be close to one another. We need to get reconnected to those who have become "lost", and we need to share what we know with others. 

And He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that HE is the ONE appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. -Acts 10:42

Proclaiming aloud Your praise and telling of all Your wonderful deeds. -Psalm 26:7

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. -Romans 10:17  So go tell someone!!


Open your heart, open your arms, and lift your eyes to the sky for surely God's overabundant love will be raining down upon you. God Bless!




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*The term "Refrigerator Privileges" came from our pastor, Brother Larry, in his sermon last Sunday. ;o) I wish I could take credit for that gem, but it's not mine! LOL