The Gift Of The "Present"

That was the title of the sermon last Sunday at our church. Pastor Troy had the message and really made a lot of great points. In fact, both Kevin and I were fighting over a pen so we could quickly scribble down some notes.

It was about making the most of and being thankful for today and we've all heard that before, but he really drove it home last Sunday. Some of us are stuck in the past, but I think most of us are thinking about and focused on the future. We can't wait to finish high school...can't wait to get through college...can't wait to start a career, get married, have children, make more money, buy a larger home, better car, and so on.

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." A quote by John Lennon and so true. My goal is to try to make the most of today, but it is a challenge sometimes for me. Luke 10:38-42 is the familiar story of Mary & Martha. Mary listens while Martha labors...I'm the Martha in this story...I want to be more like Mary.

Pastor Troy challenged us to live in 24 hr. compartments. If I only had 24 hours left of my life, what would I do?

Matthew 6:33-34 in the Message Bible states:

33" What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
34"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

Here is what we've been up to this week.

A lake day with friends, Amy & Jaime. I enjoyed chatting and sunning with you two!

And you never know who's going to get hurt next around here...this time it was me. A little accident occurred and I'm not even sure how, but by the time all was said and done three out of four people that live here were crying. :) I was bending over and Kaiya bumped my chin with her head causing me to bite my lip pretty hard. As I was quickly walking down the hall holding my mouth with blood on my hand, Caedmon comes out of the bathroom...I run him over...he falls down on his behind and now three people are in tears.

I love the long summer evenings where daylight hangs around a little longer.

And today is my niece Rylie's eighth birthday. We met my mom at Burger King for lunch.

"Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift; that is why they call it the "Present."

Our Week

Has it really been over a week since I've posted? I guess it has...where did it go? Here's a recap of our week. Last Saturday, Kevin and I had a date night and the kids stayed with my parents. Mom and Dad took them to this:Kevin and I did some shopping, had lunch at my favorite fast food restaurant (Chick-fil-a) and enjoyed some one on one conversation.

On Sunday, we had a pretty awesome service at our church. It was about what loving others at all costs really means. One of the men from our church shared a testimony at the end of the service about how God helped him and his family show God's love to a woman that caused an accident that killed his wife last summer. The lady was talking on her cell phone, got distracted and ran a red light smashing into the car and killing this man's wife instantly. He met with the lady a few days later and was able to talk with her about the life of his wife and tell her that he knew that God took his wife when it was her time to go. The love and forgiveness that he showed to this woman really touched many attending our church that morning and several accepted Christ right then. Awesome! This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 1 John 3:16

On Tuesday, we got another five inches of snow. It's still cold and Spring seems way out of reach. Ok, we need to get creative again because the marble game has lost some of its previous excitement. When I was a little girl, I remember bringing out tons of blankets into the living room and moving the kitchen chairs to make a tent. So in our bedroom there was a tent constructed and in place for most of the week. They had a ball pretending and inviting anyone who came over to check out their new residence. My mom was at our house on Wednesday and was quickly led back to our bedroom to visit the hideout.

I was talking on the phone with my cousin this week and everything was quiet...a little too quiet. After investigating, I found my daughter had gotten into my nail polish and was polishing her toe nails. At that moment I told my cousin what I had found and that I needed to go. She told me to take a picture before getting too mad, so this is for you Heather. =) Notice the nail polish on the wall, the rug and the floor. I wanted new rugs in the bathroom anyway. =)

And last night, we were finally able to celebrate the Jan./Feb./March birthdays on my husbands side. It seemed like it was a challenge to get everyone together this time with busy schedules & sicknesses, but it felt great to see everyone again. We had a delicious supper at Grandma & Grandpa's including our favorite DQ ice cream cake for dessert.

We quickly finished up and headed over to Clinton Christian School to watch Uncle Lyndon play basketball with his church league. The kids had lots of fun running around with their cousins and climbing up & down the bleachers. Kaiya fell and scraped her head, but Grandma saved the day with a band aide that made everything feel better.

On our way home from Middlebury that evening, Kevin stopped at a gas station to fill up and went inside to pay. He came out with a big fountain drink and Caedmon said "When I grow up, I want to pay for gas and get a nice cool drink". I'm sure he'll change his mind about the paying for gas thing. It will probably be ten dollars a gallon by then. =)

And finally, here's another verse the kid's recently learned....Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Proverbs 34:13. This verse has come in handy a few times over the past month and it's been neat to watch Caedmon catch himself and remember the verse when he's tempted to lie.