smitten

we are smitten with God's love. 

God is smitten with our love. 

God is love. love never fails. 

love, love. love. love. love... i love love. you can love love, right? 

i do. love love, that is. 

smitten: a heavy blow, affect sharply with great feeling. 

i was struck by His love so powerfully that it knocked me right off my feet. i have been swept off my feet.

He's a God like that... a sweep you off your feet kind of loving God. 

sacrificial love 

the Roman empire ruled the world that Jesus was born into. a world without love... 

-infanticides (newborn killings) were a norm (because of poverty, human sacrifice, burdensome) 

-children abandonment (wild packs of children would roam the streets... not uncommon. These were the children most likely that Jesus said... let the little children come to me. they were outcasts, unwanted and unloved. that was normal) 

-sick & elderly were left in the elements to die (normal and very common) 

- none of the Roman gods or goddess were portrayed as having compassion or sympathy. 

-entertainment was watching people kill each other in the coliseums

this was the world that Jesus lived in. this was the world the early church had to live in. 

the love that the early church displayed completely revolutionized the world (literally) 

love isn't always convenient and some times it's not even comfortable. 

Jesus said to His disciples.... "by this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (john 13:35)  

it's our heritage. it's who we are. the birth of christianity.

if we want to change the world... it starts with us. one sacrificial act of love at a time!!! 

Acquire the Fire was amazing. I took Madison & we had a great time. It's a youth conference. Madison loved it & I got a lot from it too. It got snowed out half way through. bad news. the good news is that we get free admission into 2 other upcoming conferences. we're excited. 

my parents had to come in Big Red (my dad's big ol' truck) to get us. It was quite the adventure. i forgot to get gas on the way down so we couldn't keep the car on for very long. we ended up sitting in the cold for about an hour. when my parents got there I had them follow me to my schools parking deck (right around the corner) because the deck I was in was pay per hour.... just to get around the corner & realize my school deck was closed. no way I was making it onto the interstate or off that particular road for that matter. Hercules (my dad) some how parallel parked my car in a cozy little spot downtown. He was slipping and sliding all over the placed. He finally had enough, got out & physically pushed the rear end into place... hence the nickname Hercules. 

SO my car is currently in the city, with no gas. poor little thing... & no doubt completely piled with snow from all of the street plowers. 

Thankfully school is closed tomorrow (for me & the girls). I will head down there some time this week with my shovel & gas can.... good times.

Acquire the Fire... fantastic times. 

This was a shot I took on the way home in big red. this was the interstate. i lost count of how many vehicles were in the ditch. we don't get much snow so when we do... this is what happens. 

majesty

Majesty: supreme authority or power. a royal personage. magnificent. splendor.

Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and joy in His dwelling place.

(1 Chronicles 16:26-28)

Who among the gods is like you, O Lord? Who is like you- majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?

(Exodus 15:11)

Our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the Heavens.

(Psalm 8:1)

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in Heaven and Earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.

(1 Chronicles 29:10-12)

You are so majestic Lord & oh so beautiful!

all about the small things

Stephen finished the NYC trip documentary! He is still working on breaking it down into 10 minute segments for YouTube... but he pulled my interviews for me & you can watch it here.

When I got back from New York I was ready to conquer the world with the love of Jesus. I got a better understanding of His love while I was there. The awesome thing is that it seemed to be a central theme for the entire team. Although I have this intense feeling to want to change my world, I'm a bit overwhelmed... not knowing where to begin.


Then I was reminded that all I need to do is listen & comply. He will lead & guide me. The first thing we knew we had to do as soon as we got home was start a small group about the love of God & practical hands on ministry training for the young adults. Check... we began our "Reach for the Scars" launch last night with a movie called The Cross (a MUST see for EVERYONE). I asked the member analyst on our church staff to pull all young adults who have attended our church in the past 6 months & we did a mass mailer to about 280 young adults. I created the postcard & included the movie night date as well as a blurb explaining what YAM is & how they can get connected. We had some new faces last night... not as many as I had anticipated, but that's OK because I know God will bring who needs to be there. It started last night with the movie & we will begin a book study on October 2nd.

We also knew that we wanted to have some sort of city outreach in September. This worked out lovely... before we even got home from New York our ministry coordinator sent Stephen a text letting him know our Pastors wanted the young adults to be involved in a big outreach effort that will be taking place on Sept. 18th downtown! Woo hoo! It's going to be held at a large park in the city. This is a great location because there are a lot of homeless people (it's the same place we did "30 Hours of Hunger" earlier this year)... it's also a place where a lot of college kids hang out... there are fraternity & sorority houses near the park. We are promoting it with a flyer blitz that will take place next Friday. The YAM band will play music and then our pastor will share the gospel message. The congregation will help by serving free food & just loving on people. That worked out great, huh?


Last night was perfect! We were struggling to find the right movie to show. It came down to the last minute & our coordinator suggested "The Cross"... we hadn't even seen it yet. We watched it for the first time with everyone last night & it could not have been more perfect... it expressed everything that has been on our hearts! Awesome how God worked out those details!

Some of the ideas we have for the upcoming months are... a homeless winter coat drive, nursing home visits, streets dramas, children's hospital visits, half way house visits... another thing we got from the trip is the importance of relationships. A lot of our "most memorably moments" had a name attached to them. We met so many wonderful, precious people there... and I can't wait to meet some more. It's just so awesome to see how God is moving in this ministry.

After the movie I shared a little from my heart with the young adult. Some of what I talked about...

I was reading in Mark the other day where Jesus said... "if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." (Mark 8:34) I've heard that preached before & I get the gist of what He's saying, but I prayed... "Lord, show me what that really means. I want to know exactly what you mean by this because I don't want to miss it!"

Then I thought about what the cross must have meant to our Heavenly Father. The cross held His dying, beaten, wounded son. A son that He sent for that very purpose... to die for us! I realized that to God the cross must represent sacrificial, unconditional love. God so LOVED the world that He GAVE His only begotten son. That gave me a better understanding of what the cross needs to represent in our lives. We need to love people with the love of God... self-sacrificing, unconditional, non-judgemental love. After all we are God's hand's & feet here on earth... right?

I ended with this quote from Mother Teresa... "We can do no great things, only small things with great love"

We may not be able to conquer the entire world... but we certainly can make a huge impact in OUR own individual worlds!

What small things do you have for us today Lord?

A little Noah wisdom for ya...

Day 1: Adam & Eve 

"Choose you this day whom you will serve;... but as for me & my house, we WILL serve the Lord!" (Joshua 24:15) 

As long as you remain connected to God you receive the life of God. When Adam & Eve chose to disobey God they disconnected from God's life source... Stay Connected!

Day 2: David & Goliath 

"You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is HE that is in you, than he that is in the world" (1 John 4:4) 

You will face many Goliaths in your life, but God will ALWAYS be there to help you overcome whatever you are faced with. 

Day 3: Joseph

"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time." (1 Peter 5:6) 

No matter how big your dreams seem or look today, never give up, never lose hope, God will bring it to pass at the right time. 

Day 4: Peter & John 

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me and has anointed me to preach." (Luke 4:18)

God wants to use ordinary people like you & I to minister God's grace and love to hurting people in the world. Many people look to the world for remedies or solutions to their problems, but Jesus is the answer to every problem we face. 

Day 5: Jesus 

"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) 

Jesus loves you & wants you to live and be with Him in Heaven throughout eternity. Some people will say that there are many ways to get to Heaven, but the Bible teaches us there is only 1 way & that's through Jesus! 

THE END (of 2009 VBS, that is) 

Whew! 

2 worlds... you must think I'm crazy!

I remember the day I realized that I actually lived in 2 worlds. Crazy huh? By 2 worlds I mean 2 realms. I remember how shocking it was for me to realize that angels are real, the devil & demons are real & most importantly GOD was real! Just as real as you & me... just in an unseen realm... but not forever. Talk about "I once was blind, but now I see!"...

It breaks my heart when people blame God for bad things. Jesus said.... 

"SATAN comes to steal, kill & destroy, but I came to give you LIFE... an abundant life!  I am the GOOD shepherd. The good shepherd gives life to the sheep." (John 10:10-11) 

God never promised us that we wouldn't go through bad things. He did promise that He would help us (if we let Him) get through those bad things though... and come out victorious in the end! He gave us promises to stand on & He wants us to have faith in those promises & believe in Him to bring us through! 

The Bible calls God our Abba Father. Abba means Daddy. When I think of a daddy I think of a smiling, kind & gentle pappa. Someone who would go to any length to protect and help their child. 

The Bible also said He is the Lover of our Soul... He LOVES US!  

As a parent, it would crush me if something horrible happened to my kids & they said I wasn't there to help them or even worse... if they blamed me for it. We guide & lead our children lovingly through this world as they face challenges & obstacles. We are there to help them up when they fall & teach them as they go through things. That is who God is to us. I know everyone doesn't understand this. It can easily be twisted. A lot of people think God intentionally puts them through horrible situations & circumstances to teach them a lesson. He will certainly make good of a bad situation, if you let Him... but He's definitely not to blame! 

Some people say God is mysterious... no He's not! Sure we don't know everything, but He left us with an entire book full of promises & instructions for His children... He even tells us the ending! 

As far as I'm concerned... it doesn't take too much convincing for me to realize that God is on OUR side! 

I used to be sick... now I'm healed

I used to be empty... now I'm full

I used to be miserably depressed... now I'm full of God's joy

I used to be full of fear... now I have a peace

He LOVES US. Please don't blame God for the bad.... lean on Him to get you through it... onto the other side. He's the lifter of our heads. He'll take your chin gently in His hand & lift your head toward Heaven... if you let Him. Some times I'll close my eyes & picture myself jumping into the lap of My Heavenly Father & snuggling up as close as I can... while He wraps His loving arms around me.... I don't have a mean God! 

When I was little... I used to love this poem. It seems appropriate for this post.... 

Just thought I'd throw all of that out there & for your reading pleasure here are just a few ways the Bible describes God (does this sound like a God who intentionally puts you through heartache?) ...

• A hiding place from the wind
• a merciful God
• a nail in a sure place
• a shadow from the heat
• a shelter for me
• a strength to the needy in distress
• a sun and shield
• a very present help in time of trouble
• He that comforts you
• He that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we could ask or think 
• He that gives life to the world!
• Lord of Peace
• Father of the Fatherless
• The good spirit 
• The Lord our Provider
• The Lord our Healer
• Rivers of water in a dry place

The Bible says He is our... 

• Abba Father (Abba means daddy)  
  
• Counselor 
• Faithful Creator 
• Beloved
  
• Defense
• Deliverer
• Exceeding joy
• Fortress
• Friend
• Goodness
• Helper
• Hiding place
• Redeemer
• Refuge
• Rock
• Strength & power
• Dwelling place
• The lifter of my head
• The lover of my soul

Thank you for being you God... sweet, wonderful, loving YOU! 

My Love Story

Inspired by my new Canadian blog bud JD, I decided to record My Love Story. She shared hers and it made me think about my own Love Story. Actually, I've had a few really good Love Stories in my life (I will explain more... probably NOT what you're thinking). My first Love Story begins the summer of 1995...

I was 14 years old & packing my bags for Myrtle Beach. 

My best friend's family invited me on their summer vacation. We were headed down there to meet up with more of her family.... which included her cousin & his best friend. (they were around the same age as us... you know where this is going) The idea was that I would "hook up" with her cousin Chad & my friend would "hook up" with her cousin's friend. I cringe at the thought of this, considering Maddy is only 4 years away from 14! (That's OK... she knows better. She is very well aware of the fact that she is not allowed to even start thinking about dating until she's about 37 or so :)....) Anyway, I remember how excited I was to be going to the beach... especially Myrtle Beach. Rumor had it that they had "real" palm trees down there. Honestly, the last thing on my mind were the boys. However, as we pulled into the hotel & saw my friend's family unloading their van I saw Chad & his friend... Stephen. I stared at Stephen & thought to myself... "Please be Chad, Please be Chad, Please be Chad"... O'well. 

I really don't remember too much about that week other than Stephen. 

 We were quite the hot topic of the week. We got into trouble for disappearing down the beach one night. We decided to go on a romantic walk as we held hands & got our feet wet in the waves. (again I cringe, as I think of my girls) Oh man, did we get fussed at! We both ended up on the balconies of our hotel room sulking. Fortunately for us the rooms were right next to each other... so, there we were again... alone together. Then there was the night that all of the adults left to go out to dinner. They left the 4 of us alone at the hotel... what in the heck were they thinking?!?! There were a few love pecks that evening (cringing). 

 I'm almost positive that by the time we were ready to go home our friend's parents were truly regretting bringing us along. Little did they know it was all a part of God's plan! 

Call it puppy love, adolescent infatuation... I don't know. I do know that I met my future husband that week... when I think back on that time I don't think of myself being 14. It was so real to me & meant to be. Crazy I know. (Maddy is SO not reading this post for a long time!) 

I remember the day we left the beach... I was staring out of the back window of the truck, crying my eyes out as we drove away. I was so sad to be leaving Stephen. I'm sure the entire time my friend's parents were siting up front rolling their eyes, looking forward to the moment they dropped me off at home & wondering how they were going to explain my heartbroken condition to my parents. 

Once we got home it was back to the regular routine. I had a full time job that summer, working for a doctors office, filing medical records all day. I was rich for a 14 year old, so I had plenty of money for my new collection.... pre-paid phone cards. Oh my, did we talk! We drove our parents crazy. I know I snuck a lot of the phone calls on my end. When I did get caught I'd get the "you're way too young for this type of foolishness to be going on" talk. I remember several times Stephen's mom picking up another phone in the house.. "Stephen has to get off of the phone now, bye Kasie". We would talk for hours.. about nothing. Oh, we were so in love. :) We kept this up for several months... then for whatever reason our conversations faded. Our parent's nagging probably wore us down. We ended up losing touch for about 4 years. 

In that four years (short version): 

I met Madison's dad when I was 16, had Maddy when I was 17, graduated high school when she was 3 weeks old, realized that it wasn't going to work out with him & we separated. All the while I thought about Stephen often. It was just something about him that I loved & missed so much. 

So, one day... out of the blue... I decided to call him... 

To be continued.... 

Part 2 

Ok, THE call. I must confess that I can not recollect anything about this phone call. I had to ask Stephen for details & he didn't have much. He did remember where he was when I called... standing in his kitchen. I thought it was sweet that he remembered that much. What's important is I made the call & the sparks came flying back! 

I do remember the butterflies & giggles... it was just like time had not lapsed at all. This was now summer of 1999. I was 18 & Stephen was 20... We were both living at home (I had moved back home). I, of course, had Maddy. About a month after our initial chat I decided I wanted to go to Kentucky to see him. So my girlfirend & I hit the road for a 375 mile road trip. For the sake of time I will steer clear of the eastern KY cracks (which include banjos, yard sales on the side of the interstate & one stop light towns). Let's just say it was culture shock. (I joke, but I must say.. I've grown to love the peacefulness & beauty of his home town.) I remember how nervous I was as we drew closer & closer. 

My girlfriend & I checked into a hotel right outside of his town. Shortly after we got there I was greeted with roses & that handsome boy who hadn't changed too much from our first adventure in Myrtle Beach. It was just like old times. We had a great time together. I got to meet his parents & a few of his good friends. I only stayed for the weekend & this time it was my girlfriend rolling her eyes as we left & headed back home. I remember crying so hard. I was so confused. I just knew he was the one.... but so far away from home. 

I couldn't take the distance much longer, so not too long after that trip I headed back. This time with my girlfriend & Madison. Madison was about 1 1/2 years old. Stephen was so good with her from the get go. He was a natural. Maddy fell in love with him. 

He came to visit me once too in that time period. Then in November (about 4 months after that initial conversation) I visited on my own. He planned a romantic getaway at a nearby state park. We were in the middle of dinner & he said he left his wallet in the room & had to go get it. After dinner was over we headed back to the room. When we got there I noticed a little trinket box on the table... it had a little boy on his knees proposing to a little girl. I thought to myself... there is no way this is happening. When I opened the box he got down on his knee & said something very sweet ( I asked Stephen if he could remember what he said to me & his response was "something awesome, I'm sure"... He doesn't have a clue.) I couldn't remember either but I do know I said yes. So there you have it.... after lots of phone conversations & a few actual visits in person we were engaged. 

He moved to Richmond that December the day after Christmas (6 months after that initial conversation). Shortly after that we got our own place & started planning a wedding. We also started partying quite a bit. Drinking was our favorite past time. Drugs slowly crept into our lives as well. One drug led to another, which led to another & that's what our life became... Having a "good time" with whatever felt good at the time. 

August 11, 2001 (I was 20 & he was 22) we were married. I absolutely loved my wedding. Madison was our flower girl. Our pianist played "you are my sunshine" as she came down the isle. It was very sweet. 

After our luau reception Stephen & I headed to Cancun Mexico for a 1 1/2 week honeymoon. We had a great time. 

When we got home it was more partying. The events of September 11th marked our 1 month anniversary. September 11th 2001, you remember what happened. We were all glued to the TV, afraid to open our mail because we didn't want to die of anthrax poisoning. We'd tense up every time a loud plane would fly overhead. What a spiritual experience that was for all of us. Everyone rushed into the churches & held their candle light services. Not me, I was so confused, however I did start questioning my purpose & my life more than I ever had before. It was a very sobering experience. I remember always thinking, even before 9/11, that there was something pretty major out there for me. Something that I was missing… almost like a hole that needed to be filled inside of me. I didn't understand it. I called it depression & filled it with drugs & alcohol. If I could just always feel as good as I did when I was high then life would be just fine!

Well the partying, drinking & drugs just got more & more out of control. It became who we were. That's just what we did… I'm pretty sure no-one really knew how bad it had gotten for us. Of course, we thought everything was perfectly under control! HA, well that following December I ended up leaving Stephen. I thought there were bigger & better things out there & I ruined our marriage after only 4 months, it was over. 

Stephen moved in with his friends and Maddy & I got a teeny tiny apartment right outside of Richmond. 

My job was about the only stable thing going for me. It's a good thing, because now I was a single mom living on my own. There was this guy that I worked with named Howard. What a great guy. We both worked as bill collectors on the same team & even though he was about 15 years older than me & we had nothing in common he was my best bud at work. He'd sit & listen to some of my weekend stories & he'd just be really sweet & talk about his 2 boys & their adventures. Then one day, out of the blue he started telling me about this church over on the other side of town. I guess my foul mouth & party stories made him think I needed something more in my life… a higher influence, a touch of righteousness, a little bit of goodness. Whatever, I'd just nod politely. Then Easter rolled around that following spring & I thought… you know, maybe I should take Maddy to church for Easter. So I did.

This was the beginning of my second love story...

To Be Continued.... 

Part 3

I got lost on the way to church that morning. I took the wrong exit off of the highway. Man was I mad! After driving around for about 20 minutes I decided to U turn it & go the other way… Oh my Goodness, is that seriously a church? Where is the steeple? I drove up & parked. This place is huge! I pulled Madison out of the car, fluffed her dress & straightened her hair, took her by the hand & walked slowly inside. Oh man, everyone was so nice. Everyone was smiling, shaking my hand, being helpful. What a crock! This place is so commercial; I am going to hate this. Why did I listen to Howard? They don't even have pews here. What church doesn't have pews? And where is the hymnal at, how am I supposed to sing without the hymnal. Oh well, there was no turning back at this point.

As the service started, I began to feel something I'd never felt before. People were singing to God, they were holding their hands in the air worshipping. What a sweet presence there in that big sanctuary, a presence that I had never before felt in my life. Whatever this is… whatever these people have going here, I need more of it. Boy did I have a lot questions for Howard! I returned to the church the following week. I don't remember much of what Pastor talked about, but I do remember him giving the invitation… Are there any here today who need a special touch from God? Is there anyone here today who has never asked Jesus Christ to be there personal Lord and Savior? If so, please come forward. My body took control... my mind didn't have any say in the matter. There was no time to think, just react. Yes Pastor, that's me. I need it, I want it… everything you've mentioned, I need it in my life. So I took the walk… to the altar, in front of all of those people. Pastor led me & the others that joined me that morning, in a simple prayer; A prayer that has changed my life dramatically.

I remember shortly after I made the decision to be a Christian a really good friend of mine asked me something like… so what's the difference? What's the point, I know God. She couldn't understand what the whole new thing was. Why was I all of a sudden so different? I really couldn't give her an answer, I didn't understand myself. How was I supposed to put in words what God had done for me? How was I supposed to tell her about the darkness that had been replaced with joy. a true joy, a joy that I had never felt before? How was I supposed to tell her about the suicidal thoughts, the self-destroying horrible thoughts that were no longer there? How was I supposed to tell her that I now had this hope for the future, a reason to live & be happy with just living? A new purpose, a freedom like I had never sensed before. No longer was I held captive to the fear & worry that had me entangled. I couldn't explain to her these things; all of these new emotions & good feelings inside. It was a whirlwind; I couldn't really explain it myself. Could all this goodness be for real?

I now understand it. The Bible says… old things have passed away & all things become new. My Spirit had been awakened.

We were created by God. We were designed to be worshippers of God. We were designed by God for a special purpose. Only when we accept Christ as our Savior & receive what He did for us on the cross can we truly be happy.

He must increase as I decrease. What I've found is that He knows more about my true hearts desires than I do. Why wouldn't He... He created me & He is the lover of my soul, my sweet Lord, my best friend. Jesus is my everything… He saw past the wreck of a life I had created for myself & saw the little girl crying for help. Crying for help to get out of a living nightmare. He saw the real me, the me He created me to be… you couldn't pay me enough money in the world to go back to life before Christ. All of  sudden I had a REAL reason for living. I am madly in love my Savior! He delivered me from depression and addiction. All those things that were ruining my life. Unfortunately, my marriage was ruined... so I thought. 

Honestly, I didn't think too much about Stephen. I heard through the grapevine that he was even deeper into drugs. I prayed for him every now & then... but I knew after I had hurt him that there was no way he'd want anything to do with me. I became a Christian April 2002 and that October the Lord led me to get back on touch with Stephen. I called him out of the blue one Saturday night that October. I do remember this conversation. It was pretty awkward. Simple conversation... "how have you been"... "good, how about you"... type of thing. I told him I had some things I wanted to share with him & asked if I could come over for a visit. He reluctantly agreed. I went to the place that he was staying & I shared with him everything that God had done in my life. At this point Stephen's life was consumed with depression & drugs. He listened to what I had to say but w/o much reaction. It was an extremely weird visit. He had become a person that I didn't know anymore. God wouldn't let me give up though. He had me call and invite him to church... several times. Eventually he said something like "If you will leave me alone, I will go to church with you". So he did. He ended giving his life to Jesus that morning. He was set free from the depression & drugs that had him bound & miserable. He was working with a guy that had been sharing Jesus with him. Imagine his delight when Stephen told him that he had accepted Jesus as his Savior! Stephen was living in a bad place, so his friend invited him to stay with him for awhile. Stephen & I decided we were going to do it the right way this time. We acted as if we were never married. We lived apart for 3 months & a pastor friend of ours married us on January 31st, 2003 in the narthex of our church. 

To Be Continued....

I took a portion of "Part 3" from a blog that I wrote on Myspace a long time ago. Here is a video that I posted before & felt was appropriate to post here as well... 

PART 4
Wow, it's been awhile. Let's see. Where were we.... Stephen & I were remarried and ready to start our brand new life together... again. 


When I met Jesus that previous spring Madison did too. She was learning in church about God's goodness & how we can pray to Him, ask Him for things, rely on Him to lead us and be there for us no matter what, etc. We would pray together before bedtime and just about every night she would ask God for a baby sister. Her faith was solid & she just knew that God was going to provide her with a baby sister. Stephen & I were not together... and there were no plans in sight for me to be with anyone. I was getting myself straight & enjoying getting to know my Lord. How was I supposed to break the news to her that there was no baby sister in sight any time soon? 


She prayed relentlessly & faithfully every night for her baby sister. 


After Stephen & I got back together we decided that we did in fact want another baby. We got pregnant 3 days after we were remarried. Could you imagine the excitement & glee when we broke the news to Madison?!?! 


We decided to name our new baby girl Olivia... before we even knew what it meant. 


After she was born we found out that her name means "olive branch" which represents "new beginnings". How appropriate? A new beginning is exactly what we had been blessed with. 


God is so faithful & we've decided that as a couple & as a family we are 100% committed to serving God. Our prayer is "lead us Lord, we'll go where you want us to go & do what you want us to do." We make mistakes & stumble along the way... we all do. But our promise to God is that we will serve Him all the days of our lives & then through eternity forever. 


Our life here is temporal. We are living for our eternity... we are living for our Heavenly Father. 


He's done way too much for us not too... & even if He hadn't we still would, just because He's God, our creator & because we've been created for a purpose. He has a divine purpose for our lives... a path that leads us closer & closer to Him... there is no where else we'd rather be. 


So really, this love story is an ongoing daily walk together with our Lord & Savior, creator of our universe & author of our lives. 


It's His story, really! My prayer is that others would see His love & light in us & fall madly in love with our God too. The one & only true God. 

Gran

We have been out of town for a bit. It hurts my heart to say that my hubby's Granny passed away last Friday.

I'm really sorry that I didn't get to know Granny more. We always visited her when we went home to KY, but short visits on occasional trips don't really give you the opportunity to get to know someone as well as you would like. I may not have known her that well but I do know that she was a very special person. As my hubby said... "She is one of the most unique people you will ever meet". Granny was born in England, which is where she met her husband, who was serving in the US military. She uprooted & left everything behind for her love. They moved to America & settled in Eastern KY. They had 7 children (who were all with her when she went to be with the Lord!) . Unfortunately, her husband passed away leaving granny as a single mom for many years. Imagine the strength & courage it took for Granny to stay in America & raise her family... & what a great family it is. My husband & I separated for about a year back in 2002. There were plenty of reasons for his family to be upset with me... but we reconciled our marriage & his family welcomed me back w/ forgiving hearts. During the year that we were separated was when I gave my heart to Jesus & turned my life around. I wouldn't doubt for a minute that part of that had to do with Granny's prayers. She loved Jesus so much & I know her prayers were heard in Heaven often for our family.


Before we left for KY I felt the need to explain to the middle babe what happens to our bodies when we die. I explained that we are spirits that live in a body & when we die our spirits go to Heaven & we will eventually get a new body. I also explained that our old bodies go into a coffin & get buried. I wanted to make sure she wasn't caught off guard when she saw Gran @ the viewing. As I was explaining all of this I could see the wheels turning. After she pondered what I had just explained for a bit she said "so, you mean like the princess in that movie who died. She was in a coffin & then Prince Charming kissed her & she woke up". I thought about this for a minute & realized that she wasn't off too far... Except her Prince Charming is Jesus & she woke up in another place with no more pain or suffering!


We sure will miss Gran. Thankfully she got to meet the babe before she died. I posted this picture already , but definitely worth posting again....



This was another pic taken at the hospital. That is my mother in law up front...



This picture was taken 5 years ago @ Gran's 80th birthday party. These are all of her children. My mother in law is the one on the top right. I'm pretty sure that the 2 black & white photos on the mantel are of Granny & James, her husband, when they were younger.