Over 20 - WOW!

We had an awful lot to celebrate this last weekend. The Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet where Scouting celebrated its 100 year birthday. This shot was taken at Camp Snyder last Saturday night. Our kids won a tent and a lantern during the raffle. It's currently set up in the basement where they've been playing in it all week.

Then Sunday was Emily's 11th birthday. We celebrated on Saturday with a big shopping trip and then out to Olive Garden Sunday after church.

Then Monday came and its time to celebrate 20 years of military living. I am so proud of my amazing man. It seems like yesterday he was earning his Light Fighter WOLF HOUNDS! training certificate and I was surviving my very first field problem of 19 days. 20 years from Private to LTC....what an amazing ride. I have to admit to feeling much differently than I expected to upon reaching this milestone. I'm actually so excited deep down about the things to come. Thanks honey, for all of the overwhelming hard work through the years. I'm so proud of you and grateful to God for His provision for us through the military!

I'll have a February picture round up later over the upcoming weekend.

Stop Eating The Seed

Sweet Sisters,

I want to take a minute and share a powerful concept I'm learning through Stepping Up, a journey through the Psalms of the Ascent, with Beth Moore.

PSALM 126 (HCSB)
Zion's Restoration
A song of ascents.

When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.
Our mouths were filled with laughter then, and our tongues with shouts of joy.
Then they said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them."
The LORD had done great things for us; we were joyful.
Restore our fortunes, LORD, like watercourses in the Negev.
Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy.
Though one goes along weeping, carrying the bag of seed, he will surely come back with shouts of joy, carrying his sheaves.

How many times have you found yourself in one of those extra special, filled with the Holy Spirit church services? You know the ones I'm talking about. As soon as you walk into the sanctuary, you just know deep in your soul that the buffet about to be set before you is meant for YOU. It's going to be a service of learning, conviction and growth! You can't wait. The music is amazing, the sermon is powerfully and clearly delivered, you find yourself convicted of a sin at the end of the sermon and your eyes and heart begin to weep with understanding. The Word has been revealed to you and you have grasped a Truth, repented of a Sin, Rededicated your life to Him, chosen Baptism; whatever the situation may be. You leave service after crying and worshiping at the Altar and feel a large burden lifted from your soul. You have sowed the Word in tears and are shouting for joy on the way home while your children are covering their ears to the TOO LOUD Worship Music playing on your car stero. This time you are going to see results from these Seeds sown, you just know it!

Can you relate? I know I can. But let's see if you can relate to this next piece of the Christian Walk.

Let me ask you this: Do you leave the Seed, God's Word, that you've sown in the ground to produce fruit or do you later in the week, after some circumstance arises go back, dig out the Seed and eat it? On Sunday we've been clearly 'touched' by a sermon at church and by Tuesday night, we're mad, upset, angry, back in the same sin and frustration/irritation that we left at the altar on Sunday! We were hungry, we couldn't wait for the sheaves to grow to Harvest from; we needed that seed to get through this old, ugly circumstance/sin that just came up again!

My Bible Study has had me chewing and chewing on this very topic for 2 weeks now. On page 82 of Stepping Up Beth writes ...."God's Word is meant to be applied to our reality.....surely God did not mean us to apply His truth to our reality because He knows how difficult this or that person (or circumstance) is to love. What just happened? We ate the seed instead of sowing it."

God is not unfaithful. He is True, Steadfast, our Rock. He desires to give us a Harvest! He keeps His promises. Take a few minutes and read Luke 8:11-15. Look at the parable of the Sower. Oh, how I long for my heart to be the richest of soil to receive His Seed! Then to sow it, wait for a harvest that only He can create and eat from the richest of fare!

As our family continues to rebuild; we are sowing the Word with our tears and choosing to patiently wait for the restoration to come.

Blessings to each of you!

The Day After

Well, we lost power yesterday for about 6 hrs. We stayed warm in the living room with the gas fireplace, made hot chocolate and worked our way through a read aloud which I hope to finish later today. We are happily home for the foreseeable future. The kids will be schooling before playing and sledding with friends or we'll never be finished with this school year.

John made chili this morning while a neighbor and I chopped out and dug out the end of the driveway. Full of compacted snow and ice! I guess we'll be forced to watch the Super Bowl tonight and enjoy the REMAKE of my BEARS and the SUPERBOWL SHUFFLE FROM 1985! Enjoy the pictures!

Blizzard Picture in our front yard

More to come on the snowman build. Wind is whipping, snow is slowing....drifts are going to be a mess tonight!

Bizzard of 2010 Pictures

Notice my beautiful new mailbox this morning. I took this picture from the garage. Jesse tried to help keep up last night to give the dogs a path to the back yard. As I took this picture of him he said, "A man's, gotta do what a man's gotta do, Mom. I risked my life!" Then he gave me a high five!

More pics later. Another foot expected today!

January Picture Wrap Up

Our head and hearts are swimming with so many insights we are gaining from great Bible Study Time, our new small group, visits with Adam etc. I'm so sorry I haven't posted in awhile. I have 3 or 4 journaling entries I'm working on in my mind and heart but have yet to straighten them out enough to post. They will be forth coming, however. Here are a few pictures from January. Pinewood Derby, 4H robots finished, goofing off at home and a trip to the Kennedy Center for a performance of acrobats followed by a tour of the facility.