Sam Hunt Concert

First HS Volleyball Game

Ellen, so proud of you and your hard work.  We love watching you out yourself out there and try!  It takes guts and courage to work hard when there is an easy way...to try and miss when you could play safe and not even try...to fall on that floor going for the ball when you know that it going to hurt when you hit...

Wear your jersey proudly not because you are full of pride, but because you are part of something bigger than yourself!  Because "together" you WILL accomplish more.  I love you!   I hope you keep in mind it's only a game...play it well!  

Romance!

Helped out at Beth Moore's simulcast from Wichita, KS this Saturday--so awesome!  My soul was refreshed...was reminded I am a Mighty woman of God...Jesus needs to be my First Love...she started with Esau and the selling of his birthright because he did not value it...and ended with Jesus telling the church in the book of Revelation "I have this against you...you have forsaken your first love."  

Oh Jesus, romance me like only you can.  I love You so!!!  I need You so!!!  Swoon me and help me to keep You as my first love.  Thank You for the opportunity to serve You this weekend--I was honored and I loved it!!!

MYM . . . Lord, do it!

God,


"Bow down Your ear, O Lord, hear me;
For I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve my life, for I am holy;
You are my God;
Save Your servant who trusts in You!
3 Be merciful to me, O Lord,
For I cry to You all day long.
4 Rejoice the soul of Your servant,
For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
5 For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,
And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.
6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
And attend to the voice of my supplications.
7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon You,
For You will answer me.
8 Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord;
Nor are there any works like Your works.
9 All nations whom You have made
Shall come and worship before You, O Lord,
And shall glorify Your name.
10 For You are great, and do wondrous things;
You alone are God."

Psalm 86, a prayer of David, a prayer of mine.

Lord, direct our paths, make straight our ways. Lead us into the way everlasting.
Lord Jesus, I want to offer up thanksgiving for the goal and purpose of MYM. I feel Satan is trying to
discourage, to thwart, to hinder, to "steal, kill and destroy" this ministry and I am asking You, Lord Jesus,
to show off big! As Your word says, "You alone are God." You alone can prosper it. You alone can grow it.
You alone can use it.
You alone.
You.

It's all about You, Lord Jesus. I know You are more than my feeble mind can ask or imagine, so my
prayer is Holy Spirit, intercede on behalf for MYM.

You alone, Jesus - DO IT!

Amen~

"Just Be Real!" says the Grinch.

Goodness, I feel like the Grinch today and I wish I could act like him a little; when he goes to Whoville and "wows" everyone with a dose of realism.
In todays Social Media craze, i have come to realize without a doubt, life is perfect for some people! It's "days of joy" and "thankfulness countdowns" and "look at what my family is doing; rather look at what I am doing" and "so blessed" and blah, blah, blah . . .

See, I am the Grinch.

OR

Do I want real people in my world who are grateful, are full of joy, are thankful, are blessed and are REAL because this world is HARD for even the most joyous Christ Followers!

I LOVE Jesus. I WANT to honor Jesus. I TRY to be more like Jesus. And Jesus was not always joyful.

He grieved; he was angry; he pleaded; he hurt for Jerusalem; BUT He always loved. Always and no matter what.

So, in a world gone bonkers over instagram posts, twitter feeds, facebook status updates, blog following . . . let us not forget what it is really all about: LOVE. Loving. As Beth Moore would say, it is a "present active participle" (did I get that right Miss Beth?). It is an act of doing, even once done, even done a thousand times, it is continuing to do now and always.

We might be grateful, thankful, blessed, full of joy and blogging to our hearts content, but let us not be so caught up in Posting what we are and/or want to be that we forget to put our Talk to the Walk. Like the brother of Jesus said, "Faith without works is nothing" (thank you James for the reminder and the reality check). If we are not loving in a way honoring to Jesus, it really doesn't matter how many followers we gather. It's not about us; it has never been about us; it was always and will continue to be about Him.

HE is the begining, He is the ending. He is everything.

This Christmas Season, above all else guard your heart by keeping Christ the center!

KLOVE had this as the encouraging word of the day last week, I feel God gave this directly to me in a time of bombardment of this World. It is from Hebrews 10:36 and reads,

"Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised."

It almost makes me laugh, as "patient endurance" seems upside down and backwards in our world today. But, I know the promise that God's word stands forever, is useful for building up, is steadfast and true, that it Saves.

Patient endurance to fight the good fight; run the race set before us; to stand firm against satan. We are "told" and (me guilty too) and we mostly do, buy what we need, if it's not dvr'd, we don't watch (who wants to waste time at commercials), we don't leave messages, we just text, we are a now society and I'm not sure we are building a generation who will find value in working for something if there is not immediate gratification. I do not know of any tower being constructed to reach the heavens like in the days of old. I do know of towers that enable this to be connected to virtually anyone, towers that send signals back and forth allowing us access to virtually anything. Our towers weren't constructed to reach God . . . maybe they should be.

Jesus, help me to be more like You . . . fill me, every place in me . . . let Your love overflow in abundance through me. I am so thankful, so grateful, so blessed . . . let me live like it!

~amen

Hi & Lo

Everybody get "high"...everybody get "low"...  Why does the game of volleyball fluctuate so?!

Ellen, so proud of you today!  Good job!

A Songs Holds a Memory

Oh my, does it ever.  Today, riding my bike to work, I was listening to my daughter's ipod nano.  All of a sudden, my gut was just in knots and there was this feeling of "Whoa Cowboy, What was that?!"

Then, I remembered.  Then, I felt.  Then, I remembered the feelings . . . it was a song we played at my sisters funeral.  My sister, who was 2 months over 18; killed by a drunk driver.  It was her funeral and it was our song.  Here is the link.  I played it over and over because the it was a bad memory; it was a sweet memory of the love I carry deep within my heart for this sweet baby girl.  It is the hope I have of being with her again one day.

The Song holds a memory I pray I never lose . . . a memory of the dance we shared . . . thank you Garth for this song.  It holds a life!

Romance!

Helped out at Beth Moore's simulcast from Wichita, KS this Saturday--so awesome!  My soul was refreshed...was reminded I am a Mighty woman of God...Jesus needs to be my First Love...she started with Esau and the selling of his birthright because he did not value it...and ended with Jesus telling the church in the book of Revelation "I have this against you...you have forsaken your first love."  

Oh Jesus, romance me like only you can.  I love You so!!!  I need You so!!!  Swoon me and help me to put my hope in You alone. Thank You for the Lifeway Team I served with today; I LOVED it! Met this precious woman who I served along side. Lord, I ask Your blessings on this precious lady and her family. God, I pray You put people and circumstances in her son's life to show him how much he is loved by You! God, we know You love him. Help him to know You love him.

Thank You for Beth Moore who seeks to serve you by serving women. I pray for her ministry and Your hand to be upon it. We love You Jesus!
Amen~

What a gift!

I post this tonight to just put out there how thankful I am for the gift!

The gift...

...of a mom who loves me and my children,

...of a family who loves one another...

...of the freedom to pray together...

...of a community of believers...

...for friends among family...

...for You Jesus; mostly, for You!

Amen~

First day!

5th grader

7th grader

9th grader

Love them too pieces!

God guide their feet; make straight their paths!  Equip them according to your word!

Things we do for love!

Or stupidity!!! Or birthdays!!!

Love you Erin!

So thankful for this...

Moments of peace and joy and love and happiness within the walls of messy families.  Glimpses of Hope in a very broken world...thank You God!  Bless them today!

Happy Birthday Precious One

Dear Erin, all my love.  I pray God would continue to increase your faith, to grow you in His word, to nurture a servant heart within...that you would so desire a relationship with Jesus, all else would be second.  You are so precious to your dad and I.  We want Gods best for you Erin because His best will always be more!

On this, the start of your 13th year, we pray wisdom, protection, growth and above all, Love.  Through all and in all..."pursue love".  1 Cor 14:1

Cha.ching! School Supplies.

Love this time of year...I really could be a full.time student!  Although, gee; it's expensive.

Consumed by Fire

What a great evening with this group; showcasing softball friend--Claire Wingert!  So proud of her.  A God breathed, Jesus filled evening of praise, worship and love!  My prayer tonight... God, speak to these girls...what is Your purpose for them?  Guide them, pursue them, may their hearts be open to Your Son, Jesus!  Reminded me again if the power of the tongue...let me give life with mine!

Bless Claire; Lord, we pray Your will in her life...for her to use the gifts You have given her to point her life towards Jesus!  

Goodnight!

So ready!

God's country tomorrow...need I say more?!

He is an angel!

This sweetie works his behind off so he take his girls 4-wheeling in the mountains in Colorado.  We tried 2 new trails this year; the top of this last one, Mt Ontero...breathtakingly beautiful!  God was so gracious to us this year with the weather and the rides!  Such a reminder of how great He is.  To think that at the sound of His voice, it was brought to existence...at the sound of His voice the rescue began...at the sound of His voice He silenced sin at the cross...at the sound of His voice, He will welcome us home.  Oh blessed Lord, amen~

Back to Back

This was my view yesterday morning at a spine doctor appointment for Miss Erin.  The day prior, August 4, her primary care physician noticed an abnormality in her back and referred us to a specialist.  Erin has a form of idiopathic scoliosis--meaning there is no known cause.  Being poked and prodded is very humbling. Knowing what you don't know is a scary thing and there were some tears of uncertainty yesterday.  

Our blessings, however, are so great!  This problem was found relatively early!  It could be much more severe.  Erin is in no pain.  She is not restricted from athletic activity.  We have insurance.  There are doctors and a medical field able to help us.  We have family and friends who love us and are praying.  For all these things, Jesus; thank You!

Guide us, give us wisdom, place the people You want in our path.  To You be the glory forever and ever.  Amen.

Cruising for a bruising

Oh help...this is a test of patience for Ellen and myself!  Oh Ryan, dear, we need you here!  Really, she's doing great; I just am not a good teacher so it kind of goes like this..."stop, stop, STop, STOp, STOPPPPP!"

And then irritation. And then frustration.  And then loving again!

Good job El!

She's Back!

Yea!  Things just aren't quite right when a baby chick is missing!  She had a blast in the Kansas Summer Sun!   Loved being with her cousin and they loved being with 2 new friends they met--yes, the boy kind--yikes!

Thanks Camp Mennoscah counselers for all you do!

My baby; I'll like you forever...

I'll love you for always!

I love this little girls heart...thank You God; she is a gift!

Summer Softball

It's been busy, long, learning and mostly fun!  Thanks God for the opportunity to play;thanks Ryan for sharing your gifts.  Girls, you have no idea how precious your dad is for spending this time with you--he has loved it!

Summer cousin lovin'

Yes, these little sweeties were cleaning up for me!  I don't even care if the dishes got clean.  I LOVE Summer for free days and hanging out and Reba reruns and frozen pizza with watermelon!  God, thank You for the gift of friends in our family--truly, a gift so precious!

Lake Peeps

Ahhh, the lake...jet skiing with pops while mom hangs on the beach...the sun, the fun, the energy!

We are pooped!  On the way home from Kanopolis, the temperature dropped 20 degrees--seriously!  We hid under trees from the quarter size hail.  Stopped by Mcpherson for burger supplies in the pouring rain and headed home to find 10 drops...thx God for a great day!  #thankfulfortheblessings

Erin.Camp Mennoscah.2015

Erin, you are leaving for camp today sweetie pie!  I've already written you 3 letters to mail tomorrow.  I miss you like crazy and hope you choose to find home early!  Ha ha!!  Seriously, my prayer is (and I do pray this), you will grow in your relationship with Jesus.  You were sealed until the day of redemption on August 25, 2011.  You have so many gifts, talents, special things about you.  Have fun; can't wait to hear how the week without makeup went😉

Love you, mom!