Fruit Basket Turnover

All the kids came in the Sunday night after Christmas. They all stayed up playing on the Wii Fit. Kayla and I went on to bed so we could get up Monday morning and go get Ireta to spend a couple of days with us. She told me on the trip over that she was laying in her bed the night before listening to everyone laughing. She said there was a couple of times they all just busted out. Not "ha ha that was funny" but the "kind of laughter that you knew Dad's face was red and the boys were bent over and the girls on the floor, all holding stomachs". Made her smile. Made me smile when she told me. Someone very dear to me bought me a little framed print that says, "I always knew I would look back at the tears and laugh, but I never knew I would hear the laughter and cry". I wiped tears. I am so blessed to have kids that love being together and miss each other when they are apart.
Before they all had to go back home I made them all go outside for new pictures. Stood them in a line to get a traditional pose. Then I divided them into apples, bananas and oranges for a game of Fruit Basket Turnover. I called out two fruits and they had to run to trade places. The pictures of them running to get a place are funny but as I was taking pictures, I noticed Eli watching and smiling at what the big kids were doing. So precious.

Coming in May

There was quite a commotion in the living room the second day the kids were home and I heard "Go show Lollie". Eli walked in with a t-shirt that had "BIG BRO" on the front and "COMING IN MAY" on the back. Who needs Christmas presents?

No Burdens There

Tony and Genevieve started coming to the Cowboy Church about three years ago. Tony began attending the men’s bible study on Monday nights, loving the study and interaction between the men. He shared with us early on that he was battling cancer and knew he was getting closer to the end. Tony was in a lot of pain. He shared those things with Michael but didn’t let on to anyone the way he was feeling. Never complained. Ever. Most people didn’t even know he was sick.

He told Michael once that every Sunday morning when he would come into church, he would see the hat rack and leave his burdens there. As he passed the hat rack on the way out, he realized he didn't have to carry them back out the door. He left them with the Lord. Our first Sunday in the new building Michael made sure the hat rack was there so Tony would be able to continue to unload as he had the many months before.

The last several months Tony couldn’t come to church. He asked us to pray that he could have one more Monday night with the men. He got it. Thirty-something men showed up that night to hear what advice a dying man would give. Changed many of their lives.

A man in our church made a hat rack to go in the room where the men meet on Mondays. Tony left his hat there. He doesn’t need it anymore. There are no burdens in heaven.

No Days Off

Monday I dropped the girls and food off at the church to go to the funeral home for Tony’s funeral. The girls were going to do school there and we would be feeding the family after the funeral. I drove up to the funeral home and saw that it was packed and thought it would be better to go back and help organize the food for the family.

Hadn’t been back at the church long when a woman brought her food then asked if she could speak with me for a minute. With tears in her eyes, she asked for prayer because she would be meeting her husband in the next few hours at the courthouse to finalize their divorce. We prayed and she left. Here was a wife with a broken heart.

Within minutes another precious sister shared with me that her son told her the day before that he was no longer taking chemotherapy to stop his cancer. He has been fighting for five years and is tired. Here was a mom with a broken heart.

A little later I asked another sweet lady about her mother. The tears started flowing down her cheeks so we went down the hall and she shared with me that her mom was very sick. She said that she would not be so fearful if she knew for sure that her mom knew the Lord. Here was a daughter with a broken heart.

Sitting in yet another funeral after Tony’s, Michael and I listened to the testimony of a 94-year-old grandmother who was the only spiritual example her granddaughter had growing up. Because of the faithfulness of this precious lady, her granddaughter is striving to be all God wants her to be. Here was a granddaughter with a broken heart.

Last night I sat with a two young ladies who have made some bad decisions in their lives and are having to learn the hard way how to do it right. They both are thinking family has turned their backs, I am knowing this has to be so they can learn to trust the Lord. Praying they will get things right. Praying their families will continue to pray. Here was a family with a broken heart.

When Genevieve sat by Tony’s casket Monday, she looked at her son and told him to get her a blanket. She was not going to leave. She just couldn’t bear to. Here was a soul-mate with a broken heart.

There are no days off for the enemy.

Words will Never Hurt Me

“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.” I remember saying that as a child and even then thinking that it really didn’t make sense. I knew words hurt. I remember sticking my tongue out at someone in fourth grade and the awful feeling I had in my stomach because I knew what I did was wrong and was hurtful. I’m sorry Dena.

Sometimes a person might say something to me about someone else that isn’t very nice. Many times I know the person they are talking about because we’ve visited about life stuff. So when a comment is made I just want to say, “If you only know what their heart is like. What they’ve been through”.

We make so many unfair assumptions about people we really don’t know. Makes my heart hurt. Ephesians 4:29 tells us we are to build each other up to minister grace to the hearers. The word grace there means “joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness, goodwill, lovingkindness”.

When is the last time you spoke joy to someone? How about sweetness?

I get so tired of hearing bad things come out of people’s mouths. Or when you walk up they stop talking because they don’t want you to hear what they are saying. Chances are they aren’t speaking grace over someone.

I was cleaning up my inbox in my email the other day and came across an email from Brandi about the power of the tongue. Proverbs 18 says that death and life are in the power of the tongue. We don’t realize how powerful our words are. If we are not speaking life (grace) over a person, we are speaking death. Scares me a little bit. How many times, intentional or unintentional, have I spoken death over someone. It may seem like what I say is not hurtful but sometimes it cuts right to the heart. Whoa.

We always, always, always have to think about being a reflection of Jesus. Philippians 2 tells us that He became a servant. He humbled himself. Having a true sense of humility means you recognize the sense of your littleness.

If we are truly a reflection of our humble Jesus, we will speak life. Speak grace. To our husband, our children, our co-workers, our fellow believers.

The Closer

Can't remember if there is really anything in my life I have started and seen to it's completion in a timely fashion (except a meal). For some reason, my brain goes on to the next "to do" before I've finished the project I'm on. I wish I wasn't like that and try to do better. Every year one of my resolutions is to be a "finisher, a completer, a closer", but I never stay with it the whole year. Of course not.

I was complaining about it to Cathy once while we were at Walmart in Brownwood. We found some shirts we tried on and then finished shopping for groceries to take back to the lake. As I looked down to pick up a carton of eggs I saw that there were only two buttons buttoned on my shirt. Didn't finish getting dressed.

Michael came in one day and asked if I was going somewhere. I told him that I had just got back from town about thirty minutes before. His eyebrows went up and asked, "Is there a reason you left the car running?" I couldn't think of a good excuse to go back into town so I had to honestly admit that I didn't turn it off.

I walked into the kitchen a few weeks back and most all of the cabinet doors were open. They were randomly left open as I was in a cooking frenzy. I walked around shutting all the doors. Felt like Vanna White. So much so, that I opened them all again and closed them a second time with a little more grace. Pretending just for a moment.

In 2 Timothy 4, Paul knew his time of death was approaching. He, with confidence, said "I have fought the good fight, I have FINISHED the race, I have kept the faith." After Paul believed, he lived his life with diligence. He gave all. Until the very end. I wonder if, actually I know that there are spiritual things where I've dropped the ball. Michael preached on 1Peter 3:15 where it says that we are to always be ready to give account of the hope that is within us. That means we are ready to share or listen even if it isn't convenient. Look for the God appointments. I feel bad because I know that there are times that I miss those appointments because of my selfishness. I see that as slacking in my race. I don't want to be a slacker. I want to give all.

I want, like Paul, to have confidence that I'm a finisher. A closer. That my spiritual life isn't a reflection of my physical life in this instance. That I will cross the finish line with shirt buttoned, car turned off and cabinet doors closed. That everyone who needed Jesus and came to me for Him got Him. Oh please, that they got Him.