Tell me, once again, who I am to You, who I am to You.

Dear Ellen,



Like the song says, "tell me, once again, who I am to You, who I am to You".Your self.evaluation/questionnaire is precious.You are a wonderful person. Not perfect, but perfectly made.Your glass is half full and we love that about you.To your dad & I, Ellen, you are loved and wonderful and our 1st born and we are so grateful!To your heavenly Dad, You are His child, precious & holy. He created the moon & the stars for you--you are His.Thank God, you are His!

Why are girls so mean?

Dear Daughter, I warned you junior high will be your LEAST favorite period of schooling. I wish i were joking; i am not. I am just telling you now: I love you. I am sorry. I am here for you. Always. Keep your chin up. Know whose you are. You are His. We love you. I am sorry. It hurts. It gets better. It makes you stronger. You will survive. You will have grown. You will be better because of it. You will learn who You are and what You are made of. You will rise to heights you thought impossible because you will overcome. You are precious and loved. Always. Now, go forth and spread "Beauty & Light". Love, mom!

I just miss her.

Goodness, today is like a solomn Monday all over. I am not sure why, but today i am just missing my sweet sister so much! Oh girls and girlfriends, cherish the gift God has given you if you have someone you call your sister. I am jealous for you in a way that wishes I had what you have, but still wanting you to have it too! Consider yourselves richly blessed and remember life is precious; cherish it. Believe me, in the grit & grime of life that thought is overwhelming and not real exciting, but God walks it with us, thank goodness. I am going to try and post a picture of my sis & me here in the next day or two. She was a blessing in my life, more than I realized . . . thank You Lord for letting me have her for awhile. Please tell her i look forward to being with her again. Faith, hope and love abide, these three. But the greatest of these is love. Dear Sis, I Miss & love you dearly! M.

1st Day Jitters

Yes, you might be thinking, "ahhh, first day of school sports practice", "nervous kids, 1st practice anxiety, what to expect, etc..." AND, You would be right (but not all right). Today was the 1st day of Kansas School Sports practices. Our oldest daughter, Ellen, is going to be a 7th grader and for ALL OF US, this is a first! Not only a first jr. high practice, but a first of our lives entering a whole new realm of life - after school activities and ball games we will be traveling too because we are her parents and we love her and want to support her and her team. Life, as we have known it, changed today . . . quietly, without much notice, but at 3:45 p.m. when Coach blew her whistle and began practice, our world moved--not 'earthquakey' like or 'tornado' like, but like a gentle passing breeze; routines were altered and we began something new. So, 1st day jitters belonged to Ellen, yes; but to mom mostly. I love that these girls are growing and I pray, growing in love and faith and a desire for God. Yet, i am selfish, and there are times i want, like Joshua, for the sun to stand still - let time stop and let me just hold on to these moments, this day, these girls. However, "there has been no day like that, before or after it, that the LORD heeded the voice of a man . . . where the sun stood still, and the moon stopped." Joshua 10:14,12. So, I choose, Lord, to thank You for this day; for time marching on, for new opportunities, for learning and stretching and growing. In Your great name, Amen.

A good reminder: Be like a river. Not a flood!

Wow! Have we gotten rain. and rain. and more rain. and then after a brief respite, some more rain! Really, it has been crazy!!! Now, we have needed it and we are not complaining; however, as the rains came down so fast and furious at times we and our neighboring towns had flash flood warnings; some had evacuations; some without electricity, water in basements and so on... In fact, Ryan's mother's house had sewer back.up - which was caught in time but gross nonetheless (and we have been there a time or two ourselves!). Anyway, i am reminded to be NOT like a Flood, but MORE like a river - be life.giving; moving, growing, carrying life within it. Both rivers and floods are bodies of water - can be large bodies of water but unlike a river - a flood comes with warnings and danger and destruction and sometimes death. Lord, help me to be more like a river. To see life as a journey (not a destination), to be ever changing and growing and seeking new and different paths; to be life giving to myself, my husband, my girls, my family and my circles of influence. Lord, help me to be transformed from the deformed desires of this world and not get caught up in the on.slaught of what this world says we need to saturate ourselves with . . . the things, ideas, desires that don't lead us home to Him. Sweet Jesus, thank You for your 33 years on this earth where You taught us by being the true Living Water among us - may we drink plentifully from Your life giving well. Thank You Sweet Jesus for Your pouring out of water on the cross - when the spear pierced Your side and You poured out Your spirit so that we may all have part of You with us on this earth. In Your precious name, Jesus. Thank You and Amen!

Dude...totally tubular time!

Oh my, the girls had ants in their swimming pants to finally get to the lake and join their cousins!!!

Uncle Reid and Aunt Joan have an awesome boat and tubes and are so kind to share with all of us! As you can see the girls were having such a great time! Erin and cousin Garon were having a dual with their legs while Ellen was standing balancing and little Emmy was just hanging on for dear life:)

We have good weather, great place and a wonderful family time this week with all our Durst cousins/aunts/uncles and a new little baby! Thank you Jesus for Your gifts--they are Good!

Oh to know!

Driving in a light downpour of rain in Missouri to lake of the Ozarks for a week of family and fun!  I love this time with Ryan and the girls AFTER we all chose to get happy in the same pants we were all frustrated in:). We woke up later than we wanted, chose the wrong coffee for Ryan, Ellen's hair did not turn out like she wanted (from sleeping in a braid),  it was rainy, muggy and hot as we loaded to go.  

Then, after about an hour, we popped in a Beth Moore DVD from her James series that just put us in our place.  She talked about the sin of cynicism--thinking we are better than we are and the critical way we view people, things, situations.  She reminded us that our God is a God who STILL changes lives; who is active and present; who moves.  

So, precious Lord, forgive our doubting and our weakness when we revert back to what feels good regardless of others . . . Help us to be ever mindful of who You are and who we are in You:  chosen and redeemed!

Lord, bless us on this trip, grant us safety and protection and help us to be a blessing for You!  For it is to this we are called (1st Peter 1:9). 

Oh, and we all had happy pants (of course, buying new school shoes didn't hurt! And a fresh cup of coffee!) by the time we arrived.  Thank goodness:)