Fall 2011

Just in case you were wondering what we have been up to lately...

Starting in August, our lives seem to revolve around FOOTBALL!

Do you remember last year when I wrote about Will being Benched?  Well, this year he is on a smaller team so he has been playing offense and defense.  That has presented a new set of problems--mainly stress and bruises!

Here's a picture of the scoreboard from our only win so far.  After the last game (score 6-7), Will said, "That was our best loss of the season!" It's all in how you look at it...

Long after football started....school started.  I couldn't find my camera on the first day so this picture is from the second week of 5th grade...

The second week of 7th grade...

And sometime during the first half of Jacob's sophomore year.  (He wouldn't let me take a picture outside.)

The holiday season starts in September at our house with Will's birthday.

He wanted to celebrate by bobbing for apples--never mind that it was a cool rainy evening.  No one seemed to mind getting wet.

Some friends of our happened to be driving through town on the day of Will's party and joined the fun. Audra was happy to hold their new baby...

While Kevin led the boys in playing Ninja in the kitchen at 11pm.  Way to go Kevin!

Besides football, we have been enjoying cross country meets and cheering Jacob on.  Go Jacob go!!!

(Yes, I do think he was wearing some sort of headband in this picture.  Don't ask me why.)

The schools here are T-O-U-G-H.  One afternoon, Will set up his perfect homework station, complete with popcorn and a drink.

I surprised Audra by taking her out of school one day to go see "Wicked".  She said it was amazing.  I just said, "Wow!"

This is what Jacob wore on school picture day--the sweatshirt I bought his dad at Disneyworld on our honeymoon.  Jacob LOVES retro anything!

Some nights there is no time to make dinner, but no one complains about eating Chic-fil-A at a football game.

With a grateful heart...

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change (James 1:17)

WWJD?

WWJD?  It's written on pens, jewelry, signs, and even candy wrappers.  It's an acronym for, "What would Jesus do?"  Presumably it is a question asked by those who desire to be more like Jesus.  But what does being "like Jesus" really mean?   Usually when I think about being more like Jesus I think about being nicer.  Is that what Jesus was?  Nice?  Is that what Jesus would do?  Be nice?

Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah described him as a servant.  In chapter 53 Isaiah wrote that there was nothing about Jesus' appearance that stood out as beautiful or majestic.  Nothing about his looks would attract people to him.  He was despised and rejected by those around him.  He was a man of sorrows and he was acquainted with deepest grief.  People turned their backs on him and looked the other way.  He was oppressed and treated harshly.  He did not open his mouth to defend himself when he was unjustly condemned.  His life was cut short.  He died without descendants.  He did no wrong and deceived no one and yet he was buried like a criminal.

Was Jesus nice?  I'm sure he was, but he was also rejected, despised, and oppressed.  Obviously there is more to being "like Jesus" than just being nice.  According to this passage, it is my grief that makes me more like Jesus who was fully acquainted with deepest grief.  It is caring more about the people around me than about how I look that makes me more like Jesus who did not attract followers based on his appearance.  It is my tears that make me more like Jesus man of sorrows.  It is being left out of the popular crowd because I don't "fit in" that makes me more like Jesus the rejected.  It is when I am treated harshly that I am more like Jesus the oppressed.  It is when I am able to serve without recognition that makes me more like Jesus the servant.  It is not clinging to this life and playing it "safe" that makes me more like Jesus whose life was cut short.  All of the things I try to avoid--grief, difficult circumstances, loneliness--are things that can be used to mold me into the image of Christ.

The rest of Isaiah 53 tells us why Jesus was despised, rejected, and sorrowful...

Yet is was our weaknesses he carried.

It was our sorrows that weighed him down.

And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,

a punishment for his own sins!

But he was pierced for our rebellion,

crushed  for our sins.

He was beaten so we could be whole.

He was whipped so we could be healed.

All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.

We have left God's paths to follow our own.

Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all...

When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish,

he will be satisfied.

And because of his experience,

my righteous servant will make it possible

for many to be counted righteous,

for he will bear all their sins.

I can't save anyone.  I can't even keep my house clean.  But the more I am like Jesus, the more I can point people to the one who can save.  The one who can heal.  The one who can make us whole.

What's your bible?

bible (def.): any book, reference work, periodical, etc., accepted as authoritative, informative, or reliable

What bible do you read?  The barbecue bible?  The homeowners bible?  The football coaches bible?  The birdwatchers bible?  What book, reference work, or periodical do you accept as authoritative, informative, and reliable?  The New York Times?  People magazine?  Ladies Home Journal?

I love magazines.  I like that they have short articles that I can read quickly.  I like seeing pictures of places and people I will never see in person.  I like learning something new.  I usually read them when I'm waiting--waiting to get my haircut, waiting to see the doctor, waiting for my car to be finished.

(This summer I received a copy of a new magazine in the mail.  It said I was chosen to receive it because they knew I was "a woman of style and substance."  Later, I saw a friend of mine at the pool with the same magazine and I said, "Oh, you must be a woman of style and substance too!"  How did they know?)

This week I was reading the "Ladies Home Journal" and I realized how careful you have to be in what you accept as authoritative, informative, and reliable.  There is an article in the October issue that says, "'boyfriends with boundaries' can actually provide relief for harangued husbands: With other doting males filling in the gaps, their wives make fewer demands on them.  A woman who loves the company of men should be able to have more than one man love her back.  Another man's unswerving affection expands our ability to love and think and be happy... even if there is sexual chemistry, it doesn't mean that the sexual act will follow.  When selected wisely, trusty male pals are so precious that only a fool would ruin things by taking one to bed."  The author believes that every married woman needs a "cute, sensitive, slightly flirtatious guy best friend."

I have never heard worse marriage advice.  And although I can read that article and reject it as playing with fire and the worst thing I could do for my marriage, other people may not.   Another woman may read that as confirmation that it's okay to flirt with that guy at the office or to spend time alone with that neighbor down the street.  If her husband objects to her cute, sensitive and slightly flirtatious new friend, she can point to her Ladies Home Journal bible as proof that her boyfriend is good for her marriage.

Be on guard!  

Do not believe everything you read.  Romans 1:25(and the following verses) warn us what can happen when we exchange the truth of God for a lie.  God's Bible (with a capital B) is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105).  Judge what you read in magazines and newspapers according to the truth.  Truth is not what I say it is or what you say it is.  Truth is what God says it is.  My opinions change.  My knowledge changes.  My behavior changes.  My circumstances change.  But God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  (Hebrews 13:8) Do you need advice?  Don't rely on the wisdom of fools.  "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God?" (1 Cor 3:19)  Rely on the word of God.  Make the Bible your bible.

Don't Wait!

Don't wait.  There is only limited space available.  

Reserve your space before it's too late.

We saw this sign when we went to the cemetery to visit Anna's grave.  I thought it was funny so I stopped the car and took a picture.  We wondered if you were supposed to hurry up and die before all the good spots were gone.  As we were driving away Jacob said, "You have a good sense of humor Mom."  I told him that in life you can choose to laugh or cry.  If at all possible, I choose to laugh.

Hurricane

We survived our first hurricane since moving to the East coast.  Being from the Midwest, we were used to tornadoes, but we never worried about hurricanes.  Both storms can be devastating, but they are different.  A tornado strikes quickly, with or without warning, and then is over in a matter of minutes.  The weatherman could often tell us the exact time that the tornado would  pass through our neighborhood.  This gave us enough time to grab the kids and hide under the stairs until the storm had passed.  A hurricane on the other hand, gives you lots of advance warning.  People talk about it for days before it hits.  This gives you plenty of time to prepare.  Time to buy batteries (if there are any left).  Time to buy SPAM and other canned goods.  (If that's what you like to eat.)  Time to fill up the bathtub with water so that you can flush your toilets.  (The kids kept asking, "Why are we doing this?" and I really didn't know other than someone told me that's what I was supposed to do to "be prepared".)  We had time to put away the lawn furniture and move the rabbit to the porch.  We had friends evacuate to our house from their house near the beach.  We waited.  Then the storm came in...slowly.  It started with a light rain.  I went for my run.  Then gradually the winds picked up and the rain came down heavier and heavier.  Then the trees started falling.  No one told me that we could be killed by trees falling on the house.  We don't have trees that big in Oklahoma.  No one told me that we should stay downstairs.  Now I know.  (Luckily our tree snapped in the middle instead of at the roots and it just brushed Will's window instead of landing inside his room where he was playing with three other boys.)
The wind and rain came in waves.  Just when we thought it was over, another band would hit and the storm would rage anew.  It lasted a long time.
Before the hurricane, there was no way to tell which trees would survive the storm and which trees would fall.   Some trees that appeared to be indestructible gave way at the roots and toppled over--crushing cars, power lines, houses, and unfortunately people.  Other trees swayed  and bent with the wind and stood straight again once the storm had passed.  Some, like ours,  were unwilling to bend and snapped in two.   There was no way to see how flexible a tree was or strong the roots were until they were tested by the storm.

Unfortunately, life is full of storms.  (In this world you will have tribulation [ie. storms] John 16:33)  Sometimes the storms will last a long time--chronic illness, a rebellious child, infertility, poverty, depression.  Often the storms come in waves--just when you think things have calmed down, another wave hits.  Jesus says that even though we are guaranteed to face storms in this world, we don't have to live in fear.  Be courageous for I have overcome the world!  He also says that we can have peace in Him.  I am realizing more and more how valuable peace is--not just peace in our nation, but peace in my home.  Jesus said, I leave you with a gift--peace of mind and heart.   The peace I give is a gift the world cannot give (John 14:27).  My peace does not come from a lack of storms in my life.  My peace comes from trusting the one who has already overcome this world.

Do you have peace of mind in the storms of life?  When the storms come, are you willing to bend?  Are your roots strong enough to sustain you?  Can you hang on even if the storm lasts a long time?  When your strength is tested, will you fall or will you stand?

Summer 2011

My posts have been few and far between this summer because we have been busy!  (And on the days we weren't busy, the computer was "busy" with three other people wanting to use it :-)

We started off the summer with Will attending his first major league baseball game.  I think it was a hit!

We tried to make the most of our season passes to King's Dominion.  This particular roller coaster (The Intimidator) has a 305 foot vertical drop--not my favorite--which is why I'm taking the picture instead of riding.  I think Jacob and Audra are in the front row of this one.

Will worked on his back dive at the pool.  (Check out the unknown person going off the high dive!)

We kissed Jacob goodbye and sent him off for an unforgettable week in Rome.

We enjoyed a romantic evening with four kids at the drive-in theater.

We celebrated the 4th of July at the ballpark.  Yes, that is a tarp and a deluge you see.

We enjoyed several outdoor movies on the driveway.

We went fishing.

We relaxed on the beach (when we weren't getting stung by jellyfish).

We pet lemurs...

and rhinos...

but we did not pet the penguins...

even though they asked for it.

We visited friends in Oklahoma.

We visited Anna's grave.

We hung out at Pop's...

and we hung out with Pop.

We attended a family reunion with my mom and three of her brothers and their families.

We survived a hurricane (and an earthquake).

And we cleaned up after the storm.

We opened our own business.

And we rock hopped on the James River.

Well, some of us rock hopped and some of us played our ukelele.

It's been a good summer.  

Compared to

If we are to share (Christ's) glory, we must also share his suffering.  Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. (Romans 8:17-18)


These words were written by the Apostle Paul to the Christians in Rome who were living under the rule of Emperor Nero.  The Roman emperors took pleasure in burning Christians at the stake, tying them to bulls who dragged them to death, and covering them with animal skins to watch wild dogs rip them to pieces.  The people to whom these words were written lived under the constant threat of death.  They grieved the murders of their friends and family members.  They suffered.
If their suffering was nothing compared to their future glory, how much more is my suffering nothing compared to what is to be revealed later?
Notice that Paul did not say that what those Christians suffered was nothing.
Getting cancer is not nothing.
Losing your mother is not nothing.
Having the children you thought you were going to keep forever taken back by their birth mother is not nothing.  
What he said was that their suffering was nothing compared to what would be revealed later.  
The rainstorm we had yesterday in Virginia was big, but it was nothing compared to  the rain we will get tomorrow from the hurricane.
The hole our rabbit dug under the house is big, but it is nothing compared to the Grand Canyon.
Losing someone you love is HUGE, but it is nothing compared to what lies ahead.
Difficult concept to grasp? Yes.  Difficult to see my suffering as nothing?  Yes.  It is only nothing when I am able to compare it to what lies ahead and this comparison is only possible if I am able to trust in what I cannot see.
That's great for the future, but how am I supposed to make it through this day?
Today it hurts.
Today I want to give up.
Today my suffering is all I can see.

God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort... For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.  (2 Corinthians 1:3,5)

If you are suffering today, be encouraged as you compare your suffering with what lies ahead and as you continue to seek the God of all comfort.

For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!  So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)

Press on!