God's glory...

It’s been a long time since I’ve had a big God moment like this one, so I thought I would share it with you…

This week in our bible study, Living Free, we talked about pride. Along with that, we talked about humbling ourselves before God and allowing Him to break down our pride and, through that, break down other strongholds in our life, and through that, turn it around to give God the glory. Wow! It was hard, but God REALLY worked in my heart this week.

Some of you know what my family has been going through for the past month, and some of you don’t, but that’s ok. God is allowing me (us) to get past that and has worked me, personally, through some things through this week’s study. For that, I praise God!

Let’s address pride first, and I apologize if my thoughts seem very unorganized, but I was overwhelmed with the number of things God revealed to me this week. The very first thing that stuck out to me this week was that pride is ANYTHING revolving around myself. I remembered a time when I was talking with a group of girls about our self esteem, or lack thereof, and I mentioned that I hated being around a large group of girls because it felt like anytime I entered the room or left the room, the group of girls would whisper or laugh at me, or so it seemed. It was then that one of the girls subtly said, “It’s not all about you!” That really stuck with me and the point was driven even more with this study. In Proverbs 8:13, God says, “I hate pride and arrogance.” I hate the thought of God “hating” my attitude and I want to change that even if it means that I allow God to change the lack of self esteem that I have. I am loved by God. I want to practice humility because God “respects” the humble. (Proverbs 3:34; James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5; Isaiah 57:15; Isaiah 66:2) I have to remember that humility is God-focused and not self-focused. God, help me to overcome pride.
This was a hard one for me as I was working through some things. What God is doing in our lives, the church, etc. is not about me… it’s all about Him! Who am I to make it about me, or my family? Who am I to worry about an apology from someone because they hurt me or someone that I love? That’s not what it’s about! It’s ALL ABOUT GOD’S GLORY and the work we do for Him, through Him, to expand His Kingdom.

That all led me to my next point and to me the most important:
I know that God has my family right where we are supposed to be. There are so many things that God has orchestrated in our lives. He has provided a way for our family to be taken care of financially. You see, Zack and I had prayed and decided that God wanted us to move to Texas for school by the beginning of 2007 in July of 2006. This was when we had no idea how we were going to pay for school, where we were going to live, etc. Then we found out we were going to have Andrew and even then, we were still convinced that God wanted us in Texas by January of 2007. It was a huge step of faith, but we were still committed to it. Then, Zack was called as the Children’s Minister here at First Baptist Watauga, and from there, God took care of a whole bunch of other things that I won’t get into here, but it was all for His glory. Even after some personal struggles that we have been facing, we still know that God has us here and it’s where we are supposed to be. He even provided a way for Zack to afford to go to school by giving us a place to live with little or no financial worries.
There is a lot more that God revealed to me this week and that I am very excited about. I know that God loves me and my family and I know he will always provide. I will leave you now with one last thing:
I thank God for our church family here at First Baptist Watauga. I thank them for loving on us, taking care of us, and supporting us through the hardest 2 years of our lives.

Well... look at the three of us!

I have bronchitis, Zack has a sinus infection, and Andrew... well, we'll just say his tummy hurts.





I have had this yucky cough for 4 weeks now. I thought nothing of it, except being frustrated with it, because I never felt yucky or had a fever. I guess you can have bronchitis without all of that. Zack's doctor said his probably started with allergies and just turned into an infection. Again, he never felt bad or had a fever. What is it with these bugs? They're sneaky little guys. Finally, last night, Andrew developed a little stomach bug. Its all good, tho. The two of us are on antibiotics and Andrew's will get better with time. Just thought I would let you all know how we were doing.

Andrew loves momma's hat!
Momma and Andrew on Crazy Hair Night at AWANA
The coolest guys I know!
What is that look for?
Our family and our crazy hair

"To a Child, Love is Spelled T-I-M-E"

As I was putting Andrew in bed tonight, or should I say, trying to put Andrew in bed tonight, he kept crawling up and giving me big hugs. Not just any goodnight hug, but embracing, pat on the back, hugs. I loved it, and even though I was a little frustrated, I thought to myself, "I am going to savor this." One day, I will be able to look back on this night and never regret not enjoying his big little boy hugs while they lasted. When Andrew was first born, Zack came home one day telling me about a devotional that he had read. It said that the average American dad spends 3 minutes of face-time with their child/children per day. How sad! Its even more heartbreaking now, because everyday I see Andrew's little eyes light up when daddy starts to unlock the front door and come in. He looks forward to his evening with him all day! So here's to spending time with your kids... hug them, occasionally hold them while they sleep, enjoy their hugs even when its their bedtime and you have homework to work on, or all you want is to go to bed yourself. It won't last long.