To Be Full

Early on in our trip, with excited eyes our friend and guide, Brett, spoke of how we would see an amazing kind of faith in the homeless people we would encounter. They physically have so little, but that has drawn them nearer to God in many ways, and they see the miraculous things around them that you & I often miss. We saw this many times during our trip. Sweet, sun-worn faces reciting scripture, praising Jesus for their many blessings, and thanking us so genuinely for the meals we prepared and worship we shared. We saw Jesus like never before.

In my study as I've been home, I have been at a loss for where to begin... one book I'm reading led me to study the Israelites in the book of Numbers, chapter 11. This is the story in which the Israelites are sort of romanticizing their time in Egypt, crying out to God because they were tired of manna and wanted meat to eat. They went so far as to say that the many things they had in Egypt were 'at no cost'! Since when is captivity and slavery not a price?! In the verses that followed, God gave them what they asked for, so much so that they came to regret it.

Deuteronomy 8:3 says this of the manna "He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord." The author of my study had this to say "In the Israelites' case, they were offered the minimalist diet of manna so that their souls could feast on the Lord (remember, He didn't want them to live by bread alone). Instead, they craved the richness of quail while their souls starved."  Reading these two statements were where the *AHA!* moment came for me! I couldn't help but relate this to our homeless brothers versus us fat, homed Americans. (And no, I'm not talking about just our physical stature...) Brett spoke of the word of God being very 'Bright' to the homeless, seeing miracles... could it be that while we seem to have it all, our vision fails us and we don't see Him clearly? Our souls starve while we grow fatter, in fact wasting away?!  Psalm 106:5 in the King James Version says "He gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul."

Has God ever given you something you asked for, only to find that it wasn't what you needed at all? Are you currently demanding something from Him, perhaps from your past, that you are romanticizing and not remembering clearly? I don't know if this hits you at all, but my sincere hope is that God helps me to step away from anything I am filling myself with that might not be beneficial. I want to see Him more clearly in all that I do (and He does!), and if that means restricting my 'diet', then so be it!

Wordless Wednesday... Tent City After the Flood

Okay, so a few words... This is the former site of 'Tent City', a place many of our homeless brothers called home before the floods came to Nashville in May. Stationed under the interstate, you can see the water line far above the heads of our team. The site has been condemned and so many displaced, though the Church acted quickly and doesn't think any lives were lost. I am having a terrible time putting into words thoughts from our trip last week. God is amazing, and we truly saw the face of Jesus in the sweet skin of so many homeless whom we now consider friends. See you soon!

Miscellany Monday

Well, Happy Monday, sweet friends! I'm thankful to be back on the blog after a bit of a hiatus last week (did you miss me?), and I'm once again linking up with Carissa. Click the link above to hop on over! 

~ONE~ We arrived safely home from Nashville at 2 am this morning. My kids do not understand our current state of exhaustion, and they both woke up before 7. Needless to say, there will be a nap for everyone in this house today. EVERYONE.

~TWO~ Speaking of our trip, thank you so much for the prayers and thoughts last week. We had an amazing trip, and after I have some time to download pictures and process a bit, I will have tons to tell you. God is so good, and we were truly blessed.

~THREE~ So this isn't so miscellaneous because everything is about our trip, but oh well...I have begun the task of sorting our laundry this morning, and I am quite certain you or I have never encountered a smell quite like this. Sunny and 100 degrees every day does not make for a nice smelling group. Yuck!

That's all I have the energy to write this morning. I am literally already blinking my tired eyes, and it's only 9 am.  It's going to be a long couple of days catching up. Youth work and this momma who goes to bed at 10 most nights aren't the easiest to mix. Be blessed, y'all, and I'll be back soon!

Friday Love and Farewell

Happy Friday, y'all! It's been another busy week around here, though I can't really think of many specifics that happened. Does that happen to anyone but me? I feel terribly busy but then can't account for much? I can, however, think of a zillion sweet moments, and those must add up! Today I'm loving:

~My little swimmer. We wrapped up Remy's swim lessons, and on Thursday to celebrate, his class got to play in the water park splash pad area. (The lessons at our gym are actually in the water park pool area.) He had a great time, and we can't wait to take Halle back to share in the splashing fun!

~How God takes care of us. I have mentioned our summer missions trip to Nashville a few times, and I know that Monday I mentioned that we are camping. Well, our awesome friends in Nashville kept calling church after church to try and find somewhere for us to stay, and an awesome church said they would be thrilled to have us. So we will indeed have showers and a roof over our heads. Not that I couldn't survive camping, but after seeing that the 10 Day Forecast for Nashville included thunderstorms every single day, I was more than nervous. God is so good!

This is my farewell post until we get back. (Sounds dramatic, right?!) We leave on Monday and will get back the following Sunday. I would appreciate your prayers for our team of 5 adults and 10 teenagers. We will be working with several ministries to help flood victims and feeding the homeless once or twice a day. Please pray that this would be an eye-opening time for our students (and leaders!) to see how blessed we are and that God can work through them in a mighty way to help these amazing friends of ours. Also, you can pray that I don't drive everyone crazy missing my sweet babies! This will be the longest I've ever been away from them, and I can hardly stand thinking about it!

Have a wonderful weekend~ Can't wait to tell you all about our trip!

Miscellany Monday

Happy Monday! We had a pretty uneventful weekend around here, but I'm sure I can come up with some 'miscellany'... 

{One} I stole some of my Mother-in-law's pictures from facebook. This weekend Trace took Remy to meet my in-laws at Indiana Beach. (If you aren't from around here, it's a small theme park in northern IN... not a big deal if you're older, but to a 4 year old, it's pretty sweet!) I love these pictures! Rem had fun stories to tell and had a great day. 

{Two} While the boys were away, my girl and I enjoyed a quiet day at home. I had worship practice in the morning, so she was thrilled to have our babysitter, Natalie, all to herself. Then we snuggled and played, and of course watched Toy Story until the boys came home at bedtime. Love it!

{Three} I am gearing up for our mission trip to Nashville next week. Due to the tragic flooding and other circumstances, our first thought for housing on the trip fell through, so we are going to be camping. If you know me at all, you can figure that this isn't my first choice. In positive news, I have found a dry shampoo that works well and should help out on those days when a fresh blow-dry just isn't possible. I am praying that my attitude about camping can be changed and that I am a better leader than I am feeling right now. I am so excited to see what God is planning for our trip!

{Four} This is the last week for Summer Clearance in my shop. I will be closing the shop on Friday to prepare for our trip.

{Five} My poor Halle looks like she has been attacked by flesh-eating virus, when in actuality it is just mosquito bites. The amount of swelling this poor child has from even one bite is insane, and my hypochondriac-self is constantly googling 'tumors' and taking her to the doctor. Note to self (and husband!): Bug Spray is not optional...

{Six} I am down 2 more pounds, taking the grand total to 13. WooHoo! ;)

That's enough for today, I suppose! Have a great Monday!

Full

We fill these summer days from beginning to end. From sleepy morning moments, perfect for snuggling...

To moments in the sun armed with soapy water and a squirt bottle. (It seems these are warm weather essentials for a 4 year old boy and his first mate!)

To a splash at the end... don't want to miss a second!

Happy Wednesday!

Miscellany Monday

Good morning! Feel free to click on the icon above to join in on Carissa's Miscellany Monday! I'm not sure how much 'miscellany' I have for today, but we'll get on with it! =)

~I hate fireworks.  (I know, "Every party has a pooper"...) I hate the noise, the bugs, and especially the annoying music. I think I played in the band for one too many parade or something, but whatever it is, I can't stand it. Fortunately at this point the kids don't like them either, so this self-proclaimed schedule tyrant didn't have to keep them up past bed time.

~Halle will be having a commercial birthday party extravaganza. I am not excited about this... I had visions of a Martha-esque ladybug party, complete with perfect party food and tutu. But the other day at the local Big-Box chain store, my girl happened to see the entire aisle of Toy Story Party supplies and has been talking about 'Jessie Toy Story Party' ever since. Remy has been encouraging it, of course, and who am I to deny my little princess?! So we've become those people. 

~Remy begins swim lessons today. He is really excited, but the catch is that it's one of the classes that requires parent participation. (We weren't sure how he'd do in a class by himself because he's so timid...) So I'm hoping this momma is bathing suit ready- I may have to squeeze in an extra workout before class! =)

~Man, I'm a whiner today, no?! I really am in a pretty terrific mood, despite the three things above! Halle was sick yesterday, but she seems to be feeling better this morning, and Trace is off today, so who knows what the day holds! I love a clean calendar! Ooh, speaking of, maybe I'll put 'cleaning' on the calendar~ I love that! ;)  Hope y'all have a wonderful day!

See Through Me

So a bit of transparency for this Saturday... I hate feeling stupid. Or worse yet, looking stupid in front of other people. but occasionally it just comes up, and I must admit that while I don't like feeling uncomfortable, I do indeed like the feeling know that I have listened intently to what God has told me to do. Obedience has a cost.

So y'all know that just a few days ago I posted about feeling passionate about being someone in the Christian community who is learning self-control and gaining said control over the fitness & nutrition area of my life. I dove head first into Beachbody coaching and felt that this was a path that could help me help others in a number of ways. Well, last night, I was up late after drinking some coffee in the evening. Trace had already gone to bed, and I was up watching some Beachbody training videos and doing some planning. When I finally went up to bed, Halle started stirring. This is unusual for her, so I went into her room. Immediately when I would get in there, she was sound asleep. I prayed over her and went back to bed. Only seconds later she would call out again, "Mommy, hold you'. I would rush to her side to find her peaceful again. This repeated about 4 times. Finally I found my right mind to ask God what He wanted. I kind of felt like the boy Samuel in 1 Samuel Chapter 3 when God was calling him and he kept running in to Eli. And then I heard Him simply say 'No'. The voice seemed almost audible, and I looked back at Trace to see if he had heard it. He was still sound asleep.

I began to pray and suddenly felt this enormous wave of terror and panic wash over me. I felt like I was about to pass out or something. God's 'No' was one of those no's that I knew exactly where it was directed, like when I catch the littles doing something naughty and nothing more needs to be said. God was saying 'No' to Beachbody. Now, I don't feel like this path was a 'naughty' one =) just that God doesn't want me doing it right now. And as I acknowledged to Him that I would listen and hand it over, I felt a strange peace. And Halle did not wake up again- God knew that one of the few things to get me out of bed is my sweet girl.

I was up for a while longer praying and thinking about this whole thing. I still believe my motives were pure. I think that God wants me to help others find some peace in this area, and honestly I feel foolish for now having to go back and scratch the last week's work. I feel like an idiot for planning and even telling anyone about my new 'venture' because it makes me look a bit like a flake. But it's worth it. Peace is always worth it. And I love feeling that God talks to me and that He knows I will act on what He says. My whole desire is to be obedient.

With several girls from church this summer, I am leading a study called 'No Other Gods' by Kelly Minter. The study confronts modern day idols in our lives, or things that can function as idols and take the place of God. Kelly keeps having us write the two words 'Make Room.' in the margins. The thing with Beachbody hadn't become that (yet), but I think that it could have, had I given it that kind of leverage. And I don't want that! I distinctly get the feeling that the part that displeased God was the fact that He doesn't want me to make money from helping others in this way. So, the bottom line is this: I am still on the same mission. We deserve a God-given freedom from our poor self-images and food addiction! I will continue my other blog as a place of accountability, tips, and tools, just perhaps in a different capacity. I hope you'll forgive me for this craziness~ I feel so crazy and more than a little embarrassed about it all myself! Know, too, that I still wholeheartedly think that the products offered by Beachbody are fantastic, and I will recommend Turbo Jam til I die! =) You all are the best~ thanks for listening!