The Pot of Gold

I went to church with Elisabeth Elliot this past Sunday morning.  This is truth.  No, I'm not kidding. 

Who is Elisabeth Elliot you may ask?  Well if you don't know then you need to get yourself on the google and look her up!  Yes, I am not kidding.  Do it. 

Anyways, if you DO know who she is then keep reading.  If you want to. 

If you have been reading this blog for some time then you might remember a post I did about this certain Elisabeth Elliot awhile back.  You can click on her name to the left and it will take you straight to that post. 

Short version about E.E. is that she was:

1. A missionary to the Auca Indians
2. Married to Jim Elliot (you can google him too)
3. Had one daughter named Valerie
4. Was amazing (google it)
5. Wrote many books (I have at least 7, 2 of which I watched her personally autograph just for me)
6. Had a radio program that I listened to many many days
7. Had a huge impact on myself and my own mother

Awhile back, (I like to say awhile back because I can never remember time frames so I just say awhile back and you need to just know that it wasn't recent but it wasn't toooo long ago) I stumbled across a blog of a woman who had the privilege of interviewing E.E.'s daughter Valerie.  In that interview I saw that Valerie and her husband Walt were planting a church in Southport, NC. 

Well I just thought that was quite interesting since we often visit the beach at Oak Island which is just a hop, skip and jump from Southport.  I told my mom.  She thought it was very interesting too.

Fast forward to this past week. 

We made another trip to the beach house at Oak Island.  My mother joined us and casually asked about church on Sunday.  Now, we don't typically look to go to a church while we are on vacation.  Most people don't I suppose.  But she reminded me of the church plant that I told her about.  So Cory got out the Ipad.  And googled.  Got to love google. 

And there it was.  Christ Coastal Church.  I knew in my heart that we should go.  I would like to say the Holy Spirit prompted me/us. 

So we did. 

We pulled up to the little chapel where they meet.  It was so cute.  A little white chapel with the doors wide open.

We walked in and were graciously greeted by the friendly people and Walt and Valerie themselves. 

I noticed a few things about the church.  It was very clean and white and there weren't many people there yet with it still being a young church plant.  I did happen to notice an elderly woman with very white hair sitting in a wheelchair right up at the front.  She had on a hat. 

Do you know where I'm going with this? 

You are so smart! :)

When the pastor mentioned that they had his mother-in-law there with them today I looked at my mom and she looked at me.  I'm pretty sure our chins hit the floor.   

Elisabeth Elliot was there in this small church of twenty at the most.  Six of those twenty were my family members! 

Valerie offered to watch my two boys for us since they did not yet have childcare. 

We enjoyed the message and after the service we stayed awhile and spoke with them all.  E.E. is very frail and her health and mind is quickly fading but just to see her I think was a blessing.

The pastor wrote down Cory's email. 

I hope it's not the last time we see them. 

A few things have come to my mind since that Sunday morning.  One is that I felt very blessed and honored that God would lead us there that morning.  I'm having a hard time understanding the whys quite yet.

That we should happen to be visiting the very first Sunday morning that Elisabeth Elliot was there...

That we should be able to meet Walt and Valerie Shepard in such an intimate informal gathering....

That Valerie would watch over my two little boys....

That my mom should be with us being that she too has been so influenced by E.E.....

It still blows my mind how God orchestrated it all.

Before we found out where the church was we had taken the kids to the park that was just a short walk from the church.  That night we saw a beautiful and bright full rainbow.  Right there at the park.  We were completely unknowing about what would happen the next morning. 
 
Going to that church was like finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow! 

Needless to say it was the highlight of our vacation.  I think we will always remember that experience and I hope it's not the end! 

And remember...

"You are loved with an everlasting love.  And underneath are the everlasting arms." 

One Thousand Gifts

As I near the end of this book by Ann Voskamp (One Thousand Gifts) this little nugget of wisdom stood out to me.

             "Feed the hungry, help those in trouble.  Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.  The LORD will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength.  You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring." (Isaiah 58:10-11)"

"It's the fundamental, lavish, radical nature of the upside-down economy of God."

"Empty to fill."

"While the Deceiver jockeys to dupe us into thinking otherwise, we who are made in the image of God, being formed into Christ's likeness, our happiness comes, too, not in the having but in the handing over.  Give your life away in exchange for many lives, give away your blessings to multiply blessings, give away so that many might increase, and do it all for the love of God.  I can bless, pour out, be broken and given in our home and the larger world and never fear that there won't be enough to give.  Eucharisteo has taught me to trust that there is always enough God.  He has no end.  He calls us to serve, and it is Him whom we serve, but He, very God, kneels down to serve us as we serve.  The servant-hearted never serve alone.  Spend the whole of your one wild and beautiful life investing in many lives, and God simply will not be outdone.  God extravagantly pays back everything we give away and exactly in the currency that is not of this world but the one we yearn for: Joy in Him." 

Spend the whole of your one wild and beautiful life investing in many lives. 

Ready.  Set.   Go! 

Beach Trip Part Two

Friday morning was beautiful.  I packed our towels, snacks, drinks and sunscreen and once again took the kids out to the beach.  They played and played. 

Then Cody began that thing that will drive any mother up the wall.  Whine, complain, whine and complain some more. 

I don't even remember why.  I don't think even HE knew why.  He sometimes just gets going and doesn't stop.  It's a very bad habit.

Finally I was fed up with it and I turned to him in my frustration and said, "Cody, YOU are complaining.  Do you know what the bible says about complaining?  It says to do all thing things without complaining.  That means you are sinning when you complain."

He sat there in the sand and looked out at the ocean and said quietly with a small shrug of the shoulders, "But I just can't help it!"

There in that moment it dawned on me that I now had his attention and it was quite possible that the Holy Spirit was doing His thing so I said, "I know buddy, you have a sinful flesh and God hasn't saved you yet."

In a short amount of time we talked about how we are all sinners and that we can't save ourselves. 

That's why Jesus came.

I told him that repentence means turning from your sins and all the while hoping he would understand what I was trying to say. 

"I'm sorry, God!" he said as the tears started to fall. 

Then I cried.

I knew that God knew his heart.

And I prayed with him.

And nothing else mattered the rest of that day because in my heart I felt that God met us out on the beach that Friday morning and showed Himself to a four-year old boy and I was just priveleged to be the one to share in it. 

So I'm sharing with you. 

:)

The rest of the week was just more beach time, a little more Southport time, a visit to the Maritime Museum and then back home on Wednesday afternoon.  We were all FINALLY ready to be home again.   

Here are a few more pictures from our trip.

We found a nice park to go to during the cooler evenings.  It made for a great pictures.  The hat was Emma's idea. :)

The only time I allowed my camera on the beach was the last night.  These 3 little people are always my favorite subjects. 

April 2012

The day God used Trader Joe's and two women.

This morning we went to Trader Joe's. 

 It was a spontaneous idea that I had when I woke up. 

I knew I needed to get some food in this house anyway SO that's just what we did. 

Now it had been quite awhile since I had been there. 

 I didn't make a list. 

 I just figured that I knew the basics of what I needed and whatever I couldn't find there I would get somewhere else. 

So off we went.  Being a Wednesday morning it wasn't crowded at all. 

Very nice. 

All three kids were handed suckers by a very friendly employee.

As we browsed the produce a woman smiled and commented to me that I had a very beautiful family.  I smiled back and said thankyou.  Seeing Emma there with me she asked if I homeschooled.  I said that I did.  She told me that she too had homeschooled her four children with the youngest now into the highschool years.  Then we talked about how fast they grow and the importance of enjoying these times even when they can be difficult.  She mentioned to me the book by Ann Voskamp and her blog.  I of course knew who she was referring to because a few of my friends have read either or both.  I'm not sure why I haven't read them but I plan to now! 

As we continued to shop we saw an older woman that I would say was at least 80.  She was completely white headed and she was there with who I thought was probably her daughter.  She saw me and smiled and came over to see my three children.  She smiled, spoke to them and made over them.  I can't recall everything she said but as she began walking away she looked at me and said "God is good, isn't He?". 

Yes He is. 

She didn't know how much that blessed me.  That simple but yet profound truth moved me. 

We finished our shopping and started for the check-out line.  The first woman I had met was checking out in the line beside of us.  She made small talk with the cashier and I heard her mention that she drove there all the way from the very town that we are currently building our new house!  That's at least an hours drive! 

I told her about our soon to be new house and she was quick to write down her name and email so that we could keep in contact.  She said she knew of some homeschool groups, etc. 

God things.

I love it when they just smack me in the face.   

He knew she would be there and that she would speak to me.  He knew that the elderly woman would bless me with some simple truth.  He knew I needed to hear it. 

He sent me to Trader Joe's this morning. 

I'm so thankful.  Thankyou God for directing my path and reminding me that you are always good. 

Church Day

Nothing can separateEven if I ran awayYour love never fails
I know I still make mistakesBut You have new mercies for me everydayYour love never fails
You stay the same through the agesYour love never changesThere maybe pain in the night but joy comes in the morning
And when the oceans rage[ From: http://www.metrolyrics.com/your-love-never-fails-lyrics-jesus-culture.html ]I don't have to be afraidBecause I know that You love meYour love never fails
The wind is strong and the water's deepBut I'm not alone in these open seasCause Your love never fails
The chasm is far too wideI never thought I'd reach the other sideBut Your love never fails
You make, all things, work together for my good.

Read more: JESUS CULTURE - YOUR LOVE NEVER FAILS LYRICS http://www.metrolyrics.com/your-love-never-fails-lyrics-jesus-culture.html#ixzz1kDGixp00
Copied from MetroLyrics.com

Some things I've been thinking/learning lately:

• Even though we can often make a so-called mess of our lives, God is sovereign over all of it.  In my quest to read through the Bible I decided to just read straight through instead of following a plan.  Front. To. Back.  It has amazed me how messed up these people of the Bible are.  I mean they made some really stupid mistakes and God still worked His plan.  Every time.  Of course we modern day dummies make some really stupid mistakes too.  And yet God is still working. 
• Veggie Tales will quiet hungry, restless babes when you are sooo close to home but.just.not.there.yet! 
• We all just need a huge dollop of Grace.  From God and then also from each other.  It's hard to offer grace and forgiveness until you realize how much of those two things God has given us. 
• When you find a "kindred spirit", it is a blessing from God.  A true friend is a gift!
• Those same true friends who are there for you in the bad and then rejoice for you in the good is  again, another great gift. 

And it's late so I'm calling it a night.  Goodnight.

No coincidence

This morning I opened my bible to Psalms and this is what I read: "O Lord, make me know my end and what is the end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!" Ps. 39:4 

Then I opened this book I've started called "A Place of Quiet Rest" by Nancy DeMoss and in my reading I read this quote by seventeenth-century preacher Lewis Bayly: "But it may be thou wilt say, that thy business will not permit thee so much time, as to read every morning a chapter.  O man, remember that thy life is but short, and that all this business is but for the use of this short life; but salvation or damnation is everlasting! Rise up, therefore, every morning by so much time the earlier: defraud thy foggy flesh of so much sleep; but rob not thy soul of her food, nor God of His service; and serve the Almighty duly whilst thou hast time and health."

Now I don't believe in coincidences when it comes to stuff like that.  None of knows the length of our time on this earth.  Truth be told I hope it's not some warning that I'm about to go pretty soon!  I DID think about that of course. 

Only God knows. 

But either way, I took it as a reminder to care about and invest in what is of eternal value!  And also to make it a habit to keep getting my "foggy flesh" up out of the bed in the mornings.  Not as some duty that I can check off of my legalistic to-do list.  

But because He will, "Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days." Ps. 90:14

A widow's mite, laundry, diapers and dishes. Not necessarily in that order.

"Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."
Galatians 6:9 ESV

I just decided that this will be my life verse for now.  :)  I know there are alot of good ones out there but this one keeps coming to my mind.  It reminds me of mothering.  Parenting.  Teaching.  Praying. 

You moms out there know that there is NEVER an end to the tasks.  There is ALWAYS something that needs to be done.  Always! 

This week I have:

• Read to my kids
• Washed, dried, folded and put away laundry
• Changed many diapers
• Told my kids I loved them
• Lost my temper once...or twice
• Read to my kids some more
• Washed sink loads of dishes
• Ran my butt off
• Washed, dried, folded and put away more laundry
• Snuggled with Beau and his bottle of milk after naptime
• Made yet another trip to the library
• Did school
• Read some more
• Colored my own hair (really didn't want to do that but the gray hairs made me)
• Made dinners
• Washed dishes (neVERending!)
• Ironed Cory's pants
• Went to the playground

I'm not complaining though.  I'm really thankful that I have a family that dirties up the dishes and continuously adds to the laundry pile.  But that's not really what tires me out the most.   It's not the laundry and the dishes.  It's the teaching and the disciplining!  So I need that verse to encourage me not to give up!  I'm just glad that when I DO fail, and when I DO get tired or overwhelmed that I can remember that it's God who is in control anyways.  It's only God who can change their hearts and it's God who directs our (mine and theirs) paths.  All I can do is teach and pray.  The rest is in His hands.

This is supposed to be a "widow's mite".  It was given to me with Emma's curriculum last year through Sonlight.  It helps to remind me of my purpose as a mom.  You can read about how I got it here http://www.sonlight.com/LP07.html

Keep on keepin' on.

Reality Check: Life is but a breath

I'm kind of in a somber mood tonight.  I've just been thinking about the fraility of life and how fleeting it is. 

My friend Andrea shared something on facebook tonight about a young mom and her almost full term baby who were in a tragic car accident this past week.  A dump truck crossed the line.  They were rushed to the hospital but in the end neither survived.  Her husband and three year-old daughter are left behind. 

It really hit home for me.  Do you know how many times I've passed a big truck like that and thought to myself, "it would only take one slip of the wheel....".  It's sobering really. 

Ok, I don't mean to be depressing but it IS reality isn't it?   Most days I live as if I will see the next.  As if the next day is guaranteed even though I know it isn't really. 

Psalm 39:5 You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand.  My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.

It's good for me to remember how fragile life can be.  I tend to forget.

Summertime is coming to a close.

Tomorrow will mark our last week of Summer Vacation.  Honestly I'm not quite sure I'm ready for it! 

It's been a water-filled 3 months with beach time, lake time, and pool time.  I've loved it because last year Beau was too little to do those things.  So I was determined that this year would be full of water and sunshine! 

Mission accomplished. 

It's been a Summer mixed with good times and sad times too.  There has been laughter and fun.  There have been angry tears and broken hearts.  There have been great times with friends. 

And frustrations.

But it's been a good Summer because I think I've grown alot.  I've learned (still learning...do you ever stop?) so much more about parenting.

I've learned more about God's sovereignty in ALL things.  I've learned how He is faithful in the worst of times and the best. 

I've learned that people don't belong on pedastals. 

I've seen the ugliness of pride in many ways and that EVERYONE struggles with it.  And if you don't think you do....well there you have it! 

I've learned more about Gods's grace.  We all need it.  (see above statement)

I've learned that sometimes it's better to keep silent and not be defensive.  Let things go.  People are going to do what they do and say what they say and think what they think.  I just let it roll off like water on a duck's back.

I've become a better runner.  I've discovered a determination in me that I didn't know I had.  Some people might call it stubborn. :)  I prefer DETERMINED.  :0

This has been a Summer that I know I won't forget!

So even though the actual Summer season isn't over for several more weeks yet, school starts for us NEXT week.  I think it will be good for us to get into a routine again although I sometimes like to fly by the seat of my pants.  However I do understand the importance of a schedule!   

I've liked the extra time for blogging.  Hopefully I will still keep up with it.  It's been fun. 

Thankyou for those who have prayed about our situation with the land.  A couple of weeks ago we received a call from the state EPA (an attorney working for them).  He met Cory out there at the land to see what was going on and is now working on our case.  This happened right after my most recent post about the land.  We also found out that we will not be held responsible for what the previous owner had done.  Very good news!  Just thought I would let you know.  So thankyou for praying and please keep it up!

All to us (turn off the music on the side of the page first)

We sang this song during the worship part of our service at church today.  I love this song.  So I thought I would share it if you haven't already heard it before. 


I have a few trials in my life right now and this is a great reminder about WHO it's all about.  It's not about me.  It's not about you.  It's about Jesus. 


You know, I try to be positive in the things I write about and the things I speak.  If I come across as sounding like nothing bad ever happens to me then that would be completely ridiculous.  If God sends/allows these trials into my life I can be sure that He is going to bring good out of it.  He is going to get the glory.  AND I'm going to grow by leaps and bounds because of it. 


So yes, I have several things going on in my life right now.  I have had some major disappointments.  God is in control of it.  Romans 8:28!  He's going to bring good out of it.


I know many of you sincerely care about me, some of you love me.  God has blessed me with some great friends and family though to stand by my side even if they are hurting with their own trials. 


1 Corinthians 10:31 "So whether you eat or drink, or WHATEVER you do, do all to the glory of God."
I hope that from now on this blog will do just that.  I'll continue to write about a variety of things but I hope that this blog never brings dishonor to God. 

SOLI  DEO  GLORIA

Romans 11:33

Oh, the depth of the riches both of Your wisdom and knowledge, O God!  How unsearchable are Your judgements and Your ways are past finding out.  Your greatness cannot be imagined.  You are greater than all language, and no words can express your majesty.  You are above all, outside of all, and beyond all I can even imagine.  You are without limits.  When I speak of You I cannot refer to amount or size or weight, for You are beyond measure.  You are not less or more, large or small.  You are simply God, the infinite One.  A human mind has no capacity to comprehend You.  What I can do is praise, adore, and worship You. ~Robert Savage~

God is God.  We are created beings.  We will never understand all of God's ways.  We are not meant to.  We are to love Him, trust Him, and worship Him.  When life doesn't make sense, He is in complete control.  Completely and wholly in control. 

Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.