Gag a maggot!

Okay, I don't even know how that little phrase resurfaced in our house, but I revived it one evening! Steve and I were sitting around talking about the conversation I had with the babysitter that day. You know how you think you are still young until you talk to a real young person! Well the age gap was really in my face! To begin with she was not even born when we got married! Then she tells me that she just recently learned that Toby Mac (one of my favorite artist) was in - are you ready for this- DC Talk! I laughed and said yeah that's where he started. I told her about the open air concert they did in our small town my 1st or 2nd year of college. So of course that was before they made it big! She thought that was cool and then insulted me to the bone! She said yeah and the Newsboys are another old group!!!! Can you believe that! The Newsboys are not an old group - at least not in my book. Now Keith Green, Larry Norman, Dallas Holmes,Striper or even Amy Grant I could understand that comment. But not the Newsboys and especially when compared with DC Talk!

Well, I digress, we were talking about gagging a maggot. As we talk we look up several of these "old" groups on iTunes. There was one in particular that my boyfriend (stay calm Shannon, it is only a reference here)at the time loved. Well, I could not stand the guy's voice. I called him Elmer Fud! Steve had never heard him so we pull him up on iTunes and play several seconds of some songs and after about the 3rd or 4th song this old saying just jumped out of my mouth! We both got a good laugh that old music could conger up old sayings so easily. I guess it is like groovy and 70's music - which by the way is old!!!! Heehee!!

I love Sunday!

Sunday has become my favorite day. I love our church and our pastors. I love praise and worship and then just listening to these men preach! Every sermon seems to be just tailor made for me. Today was no exception. Kyle preached on how powerful God is and that He still heals. He talked about how God is our everything. God is my everything. He is the giver of all that is good in my life. How grateful I am. He had an alter call and prayed for people while annoiting with oil. There were some really powerful prayers prayed that are not heard in many churches anymore. I wanted to jump up and down shouting my love for my God! I thought about the highland people jumping up and down shouting thier praises to God in the "Underground Reality: Vietnam" video I posted about a few days ago! I can not tell you how badly I want to be involved in that type of worship. I have experienced similar praise before, but it has been so long. It almost feels like not having a drink of water in years! God is so good to us, why do we act so stiff? It reminds me of an apathetic, spoiled child that has too much. I so do not want to be that way. I want to express my joy and thanksgiving. I want to worship, praise and dance like David! God is doing a mighty work - watch out!

17 years and counting with the love of my life!

Today was our 17th anniversary! I can't believe it has been seventeen years since we walked the aisle. We were so young and clueless as to what it took to make it as a couple - a happy couple. Well, life has a way of teaching you the lessons doesn't it? We have been through many ups and downs in the last 17 years, but I must say we are a happier, stronger couple at this point. We have gained wisdom and patience. I think it is so cool to know we love each other more now than on that exciting day in 1991! God has truly blessed me with a wonderful Godly man. He is my earthly rock and right hand. And he gave up the debate tonight to take me to dinner and the movies!

Pray for China

That was our theme during our Voice of the Martyr's (VOM) trip. You can find out more about the theme here. I don't even know how to begin to tell you about all that God did during those few short days. God started on me several weeks before the trip. He began dealing with me about complacency and how I as a "good Christian girl" I seem to be too afraid or lazy to fulfill the Great Commission. The list of excuses is a mile high and oh how it must reek in His presence. He also began to remind me that we fight a spiritual fight with a very real and powerful Satan. Fortunately, He is much more powerful than Satan, but we have to tap into His power through the Holy Spirit. I was also struggling with the fact that I have my kids in public school when most of my friends have theirs in either private school or home school them.

Well, fast forward to our trip. We leave the church around 1:30 after a quick prayer. We travel and visit getting to know each other better. When we go through the toll booths, we have exact change, but we decide to actually go through the booth with an attendant and tell them to "Pray for China"! We stop to eat and tell our waiter a little about our trip, I give him my prayer bracelet and we find out he is in college to be a missionary! His friend comes and asks for a bracelet too!

I get up early the next morning to read my bible (really trying to read everyday!). I get ready and also take a walk. I am so excited I can't see straight. I have wanted to make this trip for about 10 years! I walk and pray and sing and just enjoy God's presence, His sunrise and the exercise.

First we go to the main office for a tour. It is so fascinating to see. An Eagle Scout made a room into a replica of an underground church meeting room. There are pictures of persecuted Christians and their stories everywhere. We receive a lot of material and ask question and buy material in the book store. Then we arrive go to the warehouse and find out that we will be working on prayer bands for China. We begin taping the little grey bracelets to cards to be stuffed in envelopes and labeled and mailed. We tape and tape and tape then we stuff and stuff and stuff....! We lose a lot of steam after lunch. There are 9 of us and about 4 other volunteers that we are getting to know. We break for dinner and decide to come back to the warehouse and work late. When we return the room is full of local volunteers! This is so exciting it re energized us and we worked quickly again. We talk to so many new people and start meeting staff that work in the main office. We soon realize that we have come at a very unique time. There is such a demand for the 750,00 bracelets that it is taking all hands on deck to get them out before the Olympics. Staff is pouring in to help. We are able to sit and talk to these incredible people for hours. And talk we do. They are probably so glad we are gone!

I can't post everything we talked about because so much of it is sensitive! But I will say that God put each of us at strategic places. He seemed to meet our needs so specifically and individually. I was blessed to sit by some incredible people. God really opened my eyes to how complacent we really are. Here I sit so comfortable and happy. I have no threat to my Christianity except my own mind. There is no danger in me telling other people about my God or what He has done for me and I shy away so many many times! We begin hearing story after story of people that risk everything to go to a church meeting or endure more torture to tell the persecutor that God loves them too! That evening I walk and cry as I pray.

The next morning I miss the sunrise but walk and pray and praise God. We then go to devotion with the VOM staff. It is incredible. I read the poem I posted last week. Then we pray for several highlighted persecuted Christians. I want to get on the floor and lay prone and wail and pray! The presence of the Lord is so strong it is palpable! Then we listen to Tom White, the President of VOM, talk about evil, and modern day safe houses and numerous other things. I feel so humbled, guilty and motivated! Then we go tape, stuff, and label. And we get another glorious day with the staff. We again work late.

The last morning I walk and pray. We work and dread leaving that afternoon. We had a great ride home though. We handed out more prayer bands and told everyone we saw to "PRAY FOR CHINA". (We fully expect there to be revival among OK toll booth workers!) We laughed and talked about all God had done and sang praise songs. Our favorite song came off a DVD we watched featuring 8 kids that smuggled bibles into Vietnam. When they went to deliver the bibles to a very remote village, the people were gathered together praising God at the top of their voices singing, "Alleluia Amen! Alleluia Amen! Alleluia Amen! Alleluia Amen!" It was the most incredible worship service I have ever seen and I long to be a part of that kind of worship! You can check out the video here.

Keep praying because God is not done yet!!!!

God knows EVERYTHING!!!!

This adorable face is the one God blessed us with one year ago on the 8th. If I had had my way, I would have been sucessful in talking God out of this great blessing. I am ashamed now that I ever thought I couldn't handle such a priveledge as raising a third child. Oh, I had my reasons and I lined them all up before God. But you know, God looked beyond my immediate crisis and smiled knowingly and sent this little guy into our lives. Now, we all smile when this little one looks at us. It is so great that God knows more than us! If only we could get our little ideas out of the way and trust God! (I am working on this with great determination!) So,Thank you God, for sending such a wonderful blessing our way. I praise you for the joy you have added to our lives in such abundance. I pray we will be faithful to raise him for your service. Grant us wisdom for his sake. Watch over him and keep him close to you and your protection. Give him a deep desire and longing for you all his life. Guide his steps and guard his heart. Forgive me for my doubt. Amen.

Wow and Wow!!!

I am currently in OK serving at the Voice of the Martyrs! I am exhausted and my spirit is so full I can't even begin to tell you! I won't post much tonight, but have a poem that I read in devotion today. God has so been dealing with my heart on this subject and I was really struck today as I read. Maybe it will speak to you as well.

I Stand by the Door
by: Samuel Shoemaker

I stand by the door.
I neither go too far in, nor stay too far out,
The door is the most important door in the world-
It is the door through which men walk when they find God.
There's no use my going way inside, and staying there,
When so many are still outside and they, as much as I,
Crave to know where the door is.
And all that so many ever find
Is only the wall where a door ought to be.
They creep along the wall like blind men,
With outstretched, groping hands,
Feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door,
Yet they never find it...
So I stand by the door.

Lazy Day

Today we are staying home. It is a rare occassion that we stay home all day long! But today is that day. We have watched way too much TV (all animal rescues by the way for our little animal lover). Some of us are still in PJs (not me:-) ) I am actually hanging laundry out to dry today and we have scavanged our lunch. The kids are in heaven and I am relaxed. I am considering slipping over to the pool with the kids when the baby wakes up for a quick swim. (Our neighbors have a pool we get to use!!!) But other than that there are no plans! It feels great! I think Sarah needs this day more than anybody. We have limited her activity, but she has still been out everyday for a few hours with me. We have made a point to come home an rest everyday, but she needs a little more down time still. She is wanting to return to the farm, so I figure resting more is the way to regain her strength quicker.

I am planning a quick trip to OK in a couple of weeks. I have been a huge fan of Voice of the Martyrs for many years now. I read their magazine from cover to cover as soon as I get it. I wear their T-shirts, have organized few action packs with a previous church group and talk about them all the time! Well, a group of ladies from my church are going to their headquarters in OK in August to volunteer for 3 days and I get to go! I am so excited. I will be working in the warehouse and could not be happier! I can't wait to meet the staff and see their place. I feel like I am going to work at the White House or something! But I believe their work is far more important than most things that happen just about anywhere else. I am grateful for our government and our freedom in religion. We take for granted the protection we have. I tell you all about it when I get back.

Thankful!

I knew when I called Sarah and told her I thought I should come and get her early from the farm and horse riding and she said okay that she was pretty sick, I just did not know how sick! She had left on Wednesday and had complained of a tummy ache for a couple of days. I just thought it was excitement. She loves the farm and the horses. She lives, breathes and dreams of horses and has since she could talk. She likes riding them and caring for them including mucking the stalls! So when her aunt called and said she was not so thrilled to be cleaning the stalls I assumed it was the heat. They were getting up at 5:30 AM (that time does not happen at our house!) and working cows until late at night. They would rest in the heat of the day. But still it is pretty hot even at 10:00AM here. Then she was not responding to instruction, sitting in the truck instead of helping and then she told me she threw up. So on Sunday when her aunt called concerned that she was not eating well, I thought it was best to bring her home. They had work to do and Sarah would most likely slow them down like this. Within 30 minutes of telling Sarah we were coming to get her, another call came that she had a temp of 103. So we stopped to get more Motrin on the way.
She was burning up when we got there. We visited briefly and came home. She did not complain on time about leaving early. Once home she told me she had vomited several times. I was not sure I believed this since her aunt had not mentioned but once and it was more like she drank too much water too fast in the heat. So I asked her to tell me where she threw up and she proceeded to tell me exactly where and how many times. She said she did not tell anyone she threw up!!! She also complained of a sore throat. So, Monday morning I took her to the office and did a strep screen. It was negative, her exam was normal except the fever throat and tummy/headache. I did not even have the doc I work with look at her. I figured we would do some penicillin to cover for undetected strep, but assume it was viral. As we were leaving the doc came out. We briefly discussed her and she said check for mono. Well, the best way to do this way by lab draw. I was not going to test her myself. I don't like my kid stuck any more than any other mom. But the doc spoke, so I dutifully held her as she cried while having blood drawn. Thinking all the time, there is no treatment for mono. I'll know if she gets a rash on penicillin or if it does not get better and she sleeps a lot. We left and as we were driving to Sonic for a much needed treat, I began going over everything in my head again.
Suddenly, I remember the ticks! Seven as a matter of fact. All in the same day. Sarah had gone to the Adventure Camp at the local state park and came home with seven ticks one day. I call the office and ask if they have enough blood to run the titers. Not enough to run them all. So what is most important and will we have to do it all over again because I did not think of this before? (Why you should not treat your own kids!) So I tell the nurse to ask the doc and she starts her on antibiotics and picks two tests. Bingo! Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever was the word on Thursday! Praise God for good antibiotics and great docs! This is such a scary disease and my little girl was working cattle and not complaining on bit! This has made her daddy more determined than ever to try the horse thing here. This fall we will probably build a barn. In the meantime, Sarah is getting better by the day. She still is not eating really well, but asks for food several times a day now. She has not had fever since Wednesday and takes her medicine very reluctantly but obediently. She still tires very easy and we are keeping her in for the most part. She did go swimming tonight and will go to a birthday party tomorrow. Her little friend is spending the night and they have played with makeup and the Wii all afternoon. It is so good to see her laughing and talking and batting her eyelashes at her daddy with makeup smeared everywhere! Several years ago we might not have been so fortunate!