Thoughts on Washington D.C. - Part 2

Here are some more thoughts...

It sounds a little creepy at the end. Not sure what happened! :)




Here is the Sara Groves song I talked about:

Thoughts on Washington D.C.

The weekend of April 9th, a team of 12 flew to Washington D.C. for the annual International Justice Mission Global Prayer Gathering. I am still processing all I encountered there. Thank you for stopping by and watching me "process".

Here are some websites that I mention in the video:

International Justice Mission: www.ijm.org

Agape International Missions: www.aim4asia.org

Take some time and dig into these organizations. Grab God's heart for people.

Proverbs 2

What I read today: Proverbs 2

What stood out to me today:

Proverbs 2:1-11

¹ My son, IF you accept my words and store up my commands within you,

² turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding,

³ and IF you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding,

⁴ and IF you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure,

⁵ THEN you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.

⁶ For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

⁷ He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,

⁸ for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.

⁹ THEN you will understand what is right and just and fair—every good path.

¹⁰ For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.

¹¹ Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you. (emphasis mine)

What did I learn from these verses:

When I unpack these verses, I see one huge IF/THEN statement. "If" I do these things, "then" this will be the result. Sounds easy enough! Here is my problem: the majority of the time I want all the "thens" without doing any of the "ifs." I want all the benefits with little to no effort on my part. When things are hard, I usually don't begin the task at all, procrastinate like no body's business, or find a really good excuse to quit. I hate writing any of that, but it is true. The one and only area that does not apply to is my relationships. My family and my friends mean the world to me. I don't give up...ever...even to my detriment. I'm glad God put that trait in me. The journey I am on now is to use that trait in the other areas of my life. I need to be willing to do the hard work. I need help letting go of this false idea that everything has to be done perfectly or it is not worth doing. I just need Him.

God - Thank you for your Word today. Please give me the desire to search you out like hidden treasure. Please give me strength, wisdom and grace to do all that you want me to do. I love you!

Proverbs 1

What I read today: Proverbs 1

What verses stood out to me today:

Proverbs 1:7-9 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching. They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck."

Proverbs 1:15 "my son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths;"

Proverbs 1:33 "but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm."

What did I learn from these verses:

I have been thinking about parenting a lot lately. My greatest desire, above all else, is that my kids would authentically know God and passionately follow Him all the days of their lives. I want them to know that He is everything. I want them to know that He is all that matters. I want them to know that He is the beginning and the end. I want them to know that they are nothing without Him and there is no good in them apart from Him. God has been showing me that "my" kids are His and not mine. Because I know who He is, I can honestly rest in what He has in store for them. My desire is that Trey and Shaefer be used in a mighty way for as long as they walk this earth, for His glory, not their own and not for mine. My prayer is that they would have an accurate view of themselves in light of who He is and in who He created them to be. He is teaching me to have a loose grip on "my" kids.

He has also been showing me that it begins in the home, with Alf and I as parents and as individual followers of Christ. I can TELL them these things about God, but if there is no ACTION in our lives the connection will not be made. I want them to respect and fear the Lord like in verse 7...that starts with us. Do I respect and fear the Lord? I want them to listen to our instruction and teaching like in verse 8. Am I spending the time I need with God so that I can pass along wise teaching and instruction? I want them to stand strong and resist when the peer pressure comes like in verse 15. Are they connected to God in a way that it is a heart issue instead of a behavior issue? Am I teaching them who God is and why He says what He says? I do not think I am being "too hard on myself" or allowing perfectionism to rule in this area. And yes, I know "God is in control." My point is that parenting is a HUGE deal! Parenting is an awesome responsibility and a honor. Ultimately, parenting changes me and refines me. I'm pretty sure God designed it that way!

Curiosity Greased the Girl

One night last week I went grocery shopping so Alf put the kiddos to bed. The next morning I went to wake Shaefer up to take Trey to school. When I turned on the light, I noticed her hair was REALLY greasy. I thought, "My baby girl is WAY too young to have greasy hair!" Alf was in the next room, so I called to him, "Um, babe? What does Shaefer have in her hair?" I hear a chuckle from his computer. He said, "Oh yeah. I forgot to tell you..." (I LOVE when stories start that way!) "I caught Shaefer in the bathroom last night putting medicine in her hair." Awesome! I began to wonder, "Why on earth would she do that?" Then it hit me...she wanted to do her hair like mommy does! :)

Here is what she sees me use on my hair every morning:



And here is what she used:

I must admit...she DID smell nice and minty! Oh how I love my curious girl!

Trey's 1st Day of 1st Grade

Trey started 1st grade today! He was SO ready and SO excited! When I think back to this time last year, he walked into the school for the first time as a Kindergartner. He has changed and grown in ways I cannot comprehend. He wasn't nervous at all this morning. He oozed confidence with a smile that could melt you instantly. He was on the lookout for nervous friends so that he could "cheer them up". God has answered so many of the prayers that we've prayed over Trey. I can't wait to see what this year hold for him and for us as a family.

Trey Update

Trey's EEG went well yesterday. We had a great technician and the time flew by. Ronnie, our tech, has been administering EEGs for 48 years and he quickly gained a report with Trey...he was definitely a "grandpa" type. :) Although Ronnie could not officially give us any results, he "unofficially" let us know that he didn't see any abnormalities during the EEG. We hope to hear from the doctor by Wednesday of next week. Thank you for your prayers!

Keep them coming though! Out little man is still pretty exhausted and had a fever today. We really need wisdom to know what step to take next. Trey is still complaining of headaches. We need to get to the bottom of this!

It's hard to "be anxious for nothing" when your child is involved...