Here we go again....

Do you remember my post the other day about the Lord NOT leading us to Florida...well, we are back to the discussion table. After we had "decided" not to make the move, both Jeff and I, at different times felt unsettled. That did not make for a happy household this week. We kept trying to find the humor in it, but at times we were just so frustrated with not being on the same page that we ended up not laughing at all.

My DH said it best when he said that the whole time we were looking for a "no" from God, when maybe we should have been looking for a "yes". So, after some more soul searching, and an unexpected provision, we are back to trying to decipher the Lord's will for our life.

At this point, I had grown so weary. Feeling like I was searching in vain, unable to to even figure out what I was really searching for. I began praying for God to direct me to a passage that would give me wisdom to decipher his will for us.

I began as I often do, in Psalm 119. I have always been drawn to this passage, since my early teenage years, and my Bible is littered with notes and dates of times when God spoke through those verses to lead me in His path.

But last night, I felt like I was staring at blank pages. Which is pretty much how I have felt the past few weeks. So I started praying, begging God to lead me to His Word for direction. As I laid in bed, I covered my face with my Bible trying to actually breathe in His direction. I began to sense that He was leading me to the Old Testament. I continued to pray, and I eventually opened up to the book of Joshua.

I began as I usually do, by reading the book notes in my Bible, setting up the background information and the themes. One sentence immediately caught my attention in the notes."Though a history book, its primary theme is the faithfulness of God as exhibited repeatedly through His presence, power, protection, provision, and fulfilled promises."

With that, I knew that this was where God wanted me to start. I began reading and immediately these words hit me,

"Joshua 1:5b As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and of good courage....7 Only be strong and very courageous...do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. 8 This book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

With those words falling fresh on me, I began to sob. I knew that my main obstacle was fear. I could name different reasons why the move was not right for our family, but at the root of each one was simply, fear. I had no courage, and worse still, I had no faith. Since I could not see the outcome, as painless, I choose fear. I did not believe God was big enough, or probably more truthful, I did not trust God to be BIG enough in this.

I kept reading, and was met with one obstacle after another that God overcame. Crossing the Jordan, Rahab hiding the spies, and the walls of Jericho falling down.

I still do not know if we will move to Florida, that will ultimately be for my DH to decide. But as for me, I will no longer let my human eyes settle on the obstacles in front of me. Instead, I will choose to see each "impossible" thing as something that is ONLY POSSIBLE with the Lord. I will not be fearful, I will be faithful. I will not run from battle, I will prepare for it and expect the Lord to show up.

I will not be bound by fear.

I will be strong and courageous.

No matter my location.

Bounty Hunter

So, we are making our way through our school day and shortly after lunch, both Jared and Micah are ready for a break outside. I tell Micah that she has to go get tennis shoes on first...she was still in her pj's but I was good with that. So off she went and came back to check in with me before she headed out. I almost fell out. I wanted to grab the camera and let you all see how she dressed herself, but at the last minute I changed my mind. I realized that ALL girls, when dressing themselves would probably pick the outfit she did. So, it really was not that funny, at least not "blog" funny.

I continued on with the laundry and cleaning my bathroom and on my way through the house I hear her calling me. I headed to the living room and there she is in all her glory. Begging Jake, who is not quite done with school, "Hurry up Jake, I need you on my team. We are playing Bounty Hunter and we have to get Jared. Hurry Up!!"

That's when I grabbed the camera.

I realized that while the outfit alone was not "blog worthy", her wearing it AND playing Bounty Hunter was definately laugh out loud funny.

So here she is in all her glory....Micah, the mini skirt wearin',light saber weildin', pink huntress.

Friendship

I get such a kick out the Lord sometimes. He never ceases to amaze me and baffle me all at the same time. Sometimes, just when I think, "ok Lord, I hear you and I will obey" I get turned around and wonder if I heard Him right. Or other times, like this week, I tell myself that I am waiting on the Lord, and really I am pacing the house, so busy talking to myself that I would not know if the Lord WAS speaking to me.

Thats when I am grateful for friends.

Like Jodi, who is busting at the seams in her walk with the Lord right now, eagerly anticipating the next free moment when she can dive back into the scriptures to find a fresh word from the Lord.

Or my Pastors wife, who shared a perspective the other night about our attitude toward God in relation to Him answering prayers that really touch me and made me question my own motives.

Or Bridget, who is screaming her freedom and praising the Lord for all that He has done and His faitfulness to her.

All of these, interactions remind me that I not only need the Lord, close by, to walk with Him, but I need godly women counseling and encouraging me in my walk with Him.

So, for all the women who matter to me, and there are a lot more I could mention, I am grateful.

Thank you for journeying with me. Thank you for your words, your kindness, your prayers, and your witness.

This week I really felt alone in my quiet time. Not abandoned, just lost. And the Lord has ever so nicely sent each of these women into my life , this week, for a specific purpose, and I am blessed.

Thank you for scaling the roof for a lame friend, so that she could be lowered into the very presence of the Almighty and meet with Jesus.

I am walking again, and I thank you.

Kid Free Zone

My husband and I do not get out as much as we should. I wish I could say that we are adament about a regular "date night" but that is just not our reality. So, when the time affords, and the stars line up(which means that all the kids are shuffled out to various friends) we like to take in dinner and a movie.
This weekend, we ended up being able to take off straight from church and steal a few hours just for ourselves. No huge plans, just a yummy lunch at our new favoirte mexican resturant, a quick jaunt around the mall, and then a movie.
We arrived at the mall, and I was pleased as punch when my DH took my hand in the parking lot. Ofcourse, you must know that I can not take his hand without LAUGHING MY HEAD OFF!!! because it is so not in his nature to do the "girly romantic" thing, but luckily it is in his nature to love me.
So off we go, hand in hand(hee-hee) to get our tickets and have some lunch. Since our free time was going to fall before the movie, we took a "stroll" down memory lane...I mean merchandise lane from one end of the mall to the other and back again.
I really must say, I was very proud. He kept my hand in his 90% of the time and even kept his eye rolling to a minimun when I stopped in to buy a new pair of jeans with my Valentine $$$.
Then we headed back to get lunch before the movie started. We were seated in perfect people watching position, which is always fun with my DH. I always crack up that even when "people watching" we "see" totally different things.
Anyway, back to lunch. You need to know that my DH is not a "share-er" when it comes to eating out. He is very territorial when it comes to his meal. And worse yet, even if mine is the super yummy dish, he still does not want a bite. He simply tells me,"If I wanted that I would have ordered it" So you can imagine my surpirse when he OFFERS to share something between the two of us. NEVER IN OUR 13 YEARS has he ever done that. Me, yes, all the time, but NEVER him. I thought I had died and gone to my own personal heaven...hand holding, new jeans, and a shared meal. We even splurged and had the fried ice cream for dessert....so yummy!!! (who knew that we could be such a cheap date...16 bucks)
Then we were off to the movie, where we settled in awaiting our flick.
I was tickled about our time together, and excited about being with the man I love, who loves me back and still thinks I'm catch when it overcame me.
I leaned over to give him a sweet kiss to thank him for spending the day with me and he....

....he gave me his ear.

That's right, his ear. We laughed out loud when I told him I wanted a smooch, and he thought I wanted to tell him something.

I guess I should be thankful...how many times have I scolded him..."You're not listening to me"

Good times, good food, great laughs, a good flick and I eventually even got my kiss. Not a bad afternoon after all.

And the Oscar goes to.....

So, tonight I was just chillin watching the Oscars....which is funny in and of itself since the only movie I could have a knowledgable opinion of, was Ratatouille. But, since I was watching for the fashion of it all, I guess it does not matter.

Anyway, Micah was sort of roaming the house popping in and out of my room during the show. At one point she was on my bed painting her toes and getting all excited about Miley Cyrus being on the show(on a side note, you should now that I own a Billy Ray Cyrus cd, just fyi). She is painting away, a lovely shade of red, getting more on her toes, than on her toe nails, but still enjoying herself. When all the sudden she says, "Oh, Mom, I love that movie. It's my favorite. Did you and daddy like "The Boring Old Tomato" too? Remember, you went and saw it? It was my favorite." At this point she breaks into song...the Veggie Tales theme song at the top of her lungs.

If you were watching the show, you know that there was no movie with that name. Even I, with my limited film knowledge, knew that this did not sound right.

And then it hit me.

"The Bourne Ultimatum"

Funny Ha-Ha

Found this and cracked up...Enjoy

Things I've learned from my boys (honest and not kidding):

A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq. ft. house 4 inches deep.

If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite.

A 3-year old Boy's voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.

If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 pound

Boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20 x 20 ft. room.

You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.

The glass in windows (even double-pane) doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.

When you hear the toilet flush and the words "uh oh", it's already too late.

Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.

A six-year old Boy can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36-year old man says they can only do it in the movies.

Certain Lego's will pass through the digestive tract of a 4-year old Boy.

Play dough and microwave should not be used in the same sentence.

Super glue is forever.

No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can't walk on water.

Pool filters do not like Jell-O.

VCR's do not eject "PB &J" sandwiches even though TV commercials show they do.

Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.

Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.

You probably DO NOT want to know what that odor is.

Always look in the oven before you turn it on; plastic toys do not like ovens.

The fire department in Austin, TX has a 5-minute response time.

The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy.

It will, however, make cats dizzy.

Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.

80% of Men who read this will try mixing the Clorox and brake fluid.

Those who pass this on to almost all of their friends, with or without boys do it because:

a) For those with no children - this is totally hysterical!

b) For those who already have children past this age, this is hilarious.

c) For those who have children this age, this is not funny.

d) For those who have children nearing this age, this is a warning.

e) For those who have not yet had children, this is birth control.

God's Timing

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

After yesterdays posting, I have been trying to figure out how to get back to the "always laughing" aspect of this blog. Then, this morning I went and read this passage. How AWESOME is our God that the mourning only lasts for a season and laughter will return.

While, we mourn Asher's short life here on earth, we can NOT forget that he is dancing even now, not only in the presence of the King, but also with his brother Isaac. And while the Bolte family stuggles to keep their head above water, they are trusting in our Lord to renew them every morning and to give them grace for the journey.

So, maybe today is not about "always laughing" but about laughing with those who laugh and grieving with those who grieve. I believe, we can weep with the Boltes and dance with Asher all at the same time. Our God is infinite and so is His grace.

Finally, I am reminded of a passage that I believe came from "Purpose Driven Life". ( Paraphrasing) We should hold tight to the truths we know when the road is easy and the burden is light. For a time will come when the darkness surrounds us and we struggle to even breathe. It is at these times that we should NOT doubt in the dark what we knew in the light. For truth is truth, no matter the circumstances.