Flew the Coop and Back Again

There's a Matthew West song that speaks well to where I've been lately and that led to my flying the coop this weekend. Wonder if I or actually Matt could embedd(if that's what you call it) the song or video here? I'll check......




Got away to B'ham Friday and returned this afternoon. Ahhhhhhhhh....time with sister and family and away was good for the soul and muchly needed. I'll also try to post some pics, Ash can you e-mail them to me to include here. Thanks for the home away from home!! Also after talking to my sister Anne today I'd like to embedd her fellowships podcast on here soon or Anne, you could put it on your site and we could access it from there.

Happy Birthday Bekah!

To see the longer version of the the video

Click here: www.youtube.com/mjxtwo

LIFE!

One of my favorite sayings around this time of year:
Speaker 1: He has Risen!
Speaker 2: He has Risen indeed!

In our family we're slowly modifying our celebrations of the Holidays. For instance, we want to separate "Easter" from "Ressurection Sunday". We see Easter as an ushering in of Spring and want to celebrate it that way with the beginning of Spring which was March 21st. And then have a separate celebration when we remember the Ressurection of Christ, which we call "Ressurection Sunday". It's just kinda confusing to us to mix the two on the same day. What does the Easter bunny, Easter eggs, baskets fulls of candy, etc. have to do with Christ rising from the dead? I can relate to Easter Time as a time to celebrate new life and that is what Christ's rising from the dead brought to us but it's just hard to cover all that in one day ya know?


On a lighter note, here's a funny video my sister Anne put on her blog this morning.
CLICK Here to see the video of Our boys in action

My Musings

I'm still working through Acts in my devo. times and some things caught my attention this week that I thought I would share and get some feedback on.

Acts 20 In this chapter Paul is continuing to travel around spreading the word. In vs. 22 it says he is compelled by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem so he calls together the leaders to say goodbye. In vs. 26 he says, "I am innocent of the blood of all men." To figure out what this really meant the study refered me to Ez. 3:16-21. Basically, to me it's saying as Christians we have a responsiblity to speak up!

What do you think about this? Are we really our brother or sisters keepers? And are you really supposed to "butt" into other people's business?

After saying his goodbyes his friends speak up in Acts 21. In vs. 4 it says "through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem".....wait.....what? I thought in 20:22 he was compelled by the Spirit to go and now they are compelled by the Spirit to try and persuade him not to go. How do you reconcile that? Both compelled? What does that teach us?

501(c) 3....from pending to OFFICIAL

From our last newsletter we were officially pending and could begin ministry.....now we are officially all official :) This week we received the official letter from the IRS that grants us the 501(c) 3 status. We knew this was coming but were struggling to patiently wait for it because it's taken so long to jump through all the hoops. Our next newsletter will be coming out relatively soon with more info., updates and news. Thank you all for your love, support and prayers. Again, this would not be possible without you!

Enforcement Needed

I'm struggling to find peaceful quiet lately. Or when I do it's too late or too early to really enjoy it. Life has a way of crowding out quiet but it's one thing we desperately need to fight for. My life and my mind are so loud or so busy. Today seems a bit slower and I'm looking forward to it.

Documentary

Today's time was based on Service through and in Suffering. We're all going to suffer, How will you respond?

2 Corinthians 1:8-11
8We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

This Video is a short Testimony of how God has brought me through.



This next video was made for fun to show after the serious documentary




Feel free to comment or not on how this spoke to you and what you have suffered or been a survivor of, as b/ says.....that's how we learn.

My Life As a Melodrama

Wow! What drama with me lately and in life around me! Since surrendering my life to Christ I've always heard or thought about that word "drama" in a negative light and have tried to steer clear from it(isn't that sad) for it seemed to always involve one problem after another that just intensified and brought difficulty and pain but after this past week or so I'm changing my perspective. Is not life, drama? Is not Christ's life and the story of God the most magnificent drama ever written? Aren't we supposed to exemplify Christ in all things in all ways....then would our lives not portray a powerful drama? Yes, sometimes played out as one problem after another intensifying and bringing difficulty and pain but at other times the complete opposite? Drama can be handled negatively or beautifully.....as with most things in life. It's all in how you look at it!

God's word for me today comes from 2 Corinthians 1:8-11. First read it word for word as it was written.

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

Here's what it says to me and my readers today:

We do not want you to be uninformed about the hardships we have suffered, are suffering or will suffer there, here or wherever we are or will go. We have been and are under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that sometimes we have despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we have felt the sentence of death. But this happens so that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On HIM we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

Can't wait to post some pics of goings on in our lives lately.....maybe I'll have time later or Matt can download them off our phones.

To Va and Confessions

Since regaining some focus, it's seems like we've been going non-stop. Matt's been to Va. and back, we've been showing the house reguarly(3x last week and once today!), we made a documentary(hopefully post it here soon), the Highschool Boys tied their first official game of the season tonight(2 to 2, Franklin Co.) and we're headed to M'boro tomorrow.

I did a lousy job of trusting God this past weekend and have learned a hard lesson of relying solely on Him but Oh how nice it is when we share one anothers burdens.

I just got two new books I can't wait to dive into. One entitled Know when to Speak up and Know when to Shut Up. And the other one that sounds much more refreshing.....A Mother's Rule of Life, How to bring order to your home and peace to your soul.

confession: i got a speeding ticket not this Sun. but last for speeding on my way to church :) Looks like driving school for me.....fun!

My favorite gifts my husband brought back from his parents.....the Sealy Posterpedic and the groceries. It feels like we're sleeping in a 5 star hotel on vacation!!! We are loving it and I'm finding it hard to stay out of bed :) We were blessed with some wonderful things! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!! Couches that viberate and heat......who's ever heard of those? The wardrobe is gorgeous and we have just been blessed, blessed, blessed.

What happens when that doesn't work?

Going back acouple of posts I was trying to regain my focus. I've still been working on it and then finally tonight, some clarity! The moral to the story.....Rome wasn't built in a day. Sometimes these things take time, don't give up, there is a reason and season for things, keep seeking God and asking the tough questions. Don't get distracted-HA! In this day and time and the world we live in that is ALMOST impossible. And the enemy is so very clever in his wiles to get us off track. No matter how determined I was to regain my focus and no matter the "things" I went through to try to get it back, while those might be good, it's not all about "me" and "my" timing.

Some words come to mind, "HE that began a good work in you is faithful to bring it to completion."

And did I mention call or talk to a TRUSTED friend and be honest.

Josiah's Offering

Every February, we Jackson put big hearts on our kitchen window for each family member. Then we take little hearts and write things we like on that heart and post it under another persons heart. We also have a space for God, Friends and Vicki. So, this year, in the process, Josiah made a heart for God, but said that he didn't want to put it on the window, but instead in the offering plate. (I think hes getting the idea). So Mark, decided in dealing with the rest of the offering that just gets deposited in the bank, to take the time to scan it in for the rest of the world to benefit from his offering. I felt we should share it here.