31 years ago today

Today we celebrate as a family one of our greatest memories - our son's birth.

How can he already be 31?

I remember the night - about a 9 hour labor - doctor leaving because it was "shift change time", and getting called back from the parking lot...hubby in the waiting room telling everyone it was going to be a while and nurse going to retrieve him to return to delivery.

Soon after corralling everyone - Eric made his appearance.  7' 8oz - and our lives changed forever.

All of a sudden life moves from days filled with work and friends and traveling and learning Biblical truths -to responsibility and a reason for all the things you've previously done.

Suddenly we became committed and determined and intentional with our time, treasure and talents in ways we never had before.

And this young man was a gift straight from the Lord!

His adulthood has just been a larger version of his childhood habits and learning both spiritually and in including and caring for those around him.

Eric is one of the most God honoring, dependable, intelligent, artistically gifted - both musically as well as physically and technically gifted men I've ever known, has endless abilities to problem solve, repair things, and never stops dreaming of new things to come and how to make anything better!

His heart for the less fortunate is evident in he and his wives' desire to restore old homes - and to acquire beautiful buildings he can invite friends to live in.

Although reluctant to attend college he went, finished early with a Ministry Degree and is constantly looking for ways to really use that degree to improve the community around him!

He's a dedicated family man, we all spend countless hours together - and having Jocelyn move away recently has made us even more aware of how rare this opportunity is to spend so much time together.

This 31st birthday allows us a little time in our lives just to celebrate our son and the amazing, loving, generous man he has become!

Happy Birthday son - it's impossible to express what you mean to us!  We love you to the moon and back!!

disrupted sleep

When my sleep is disrupted it can be any number of things:

-Vern needs to go outside
-Eating too late at night
-Snoring from dog or hubby
-Loud storm
-Bad dream

This morning at 4:00 I absolutely could no longer sleep!  Very disappointing after being in the car over 10 hours yesterday!

So I got up and made coffee and worked a little bit, knowing I would be exhausted by the end of the day with 3 meetings today and various tasks ahead of me.

As I'm winding up some work right now, I wondered if there was far more to accomplish then a couple of early morning tasks.

So I began to pray and ask the Lord to be pleased with my day.  It's amazing when we're obedient and quiet our hearts what He brings to our attention.  I'm not claiming any mystical revelation - more like an 'abiding in Him' quiet focus.

Psalm 46:10  "Be still and know that I am God..."  

I think the context of this was when God needed people to 'stop trying vainly' to accomplish and let it be obvious that this was going to be something only God could do.  It's interesting that God asks for our quietness - to step aside so He can work.

I SO want to be still enough to hear God's leading - and then to trust Him completely today!

Will you be loud, or quietly abiding today?

my day off

Today was a huge blessing as I got to be with my family all day.

Visiting places together, walking outside together, cooking, eating home made salsa that we made from a CRATE of tomatoes a friend left on our deck, cleaning, planning...

I will never take my family for granted or tire of spending time with them, and now I am ready to return to work because my heart is full.

If the Lord allows, later this week I'll be sitting by my dad's side yet again at a tractor pull I care nothing about, but I care about he and my mom, and I can never thank them enough for the sacrifices they've made over the years for our sakes.

I still remember not being able to fall asleep as a kid at night until I heard his car pull into the driveway following his night-time factory job.  A second job he was forced to take when everyone stopped getting their hair cut.  Just knowing he was home let me rest.

It's funny to understand we have the same affect on our grandkids.  Total trust.  That's weighty.  But it's also the best thing in the world.

I'm just full of thankfulness and I know the thankful is directed straight to the Lord.  Without the bond we have in Him - there would be no common love, care and commitments that bind us so tightly!

Have a great sleep - and let's wake up tomorrow all committed to loving our families well, with His love!  Good-night!

what I learned today

"perhaps the most distinguishing mark of a true partaker of the riches of God and Christ is that they cannot hoard the treasures. They want everyone else to enjoy them too."

This quote is such a great description of how our faith should affect us. The joy of our salvation should make it impossible to be silent about our relationship with Christ.

Does it?

As I studied today I believe the Lord opened my eyes to see that I have kind of fallen into a 'take it for granted' mind set when it comes to my faith.

I had to ask myself honestly, am I so in love with the Lord that I cannot keep silent?

I am not afraid to share my faith, but, I had to wonder if the joy I have, the joy that the world is seeking so hard to find, is evident to those around me. Would any seeker ever ask me why I seem different? This is something I will be thinking and praying about.

I learned today as I studied that I need to watch for opportunities to share how much I love the Lord, and to be very careful that I don't ever become complacent in my faith.

touring near the big apple

Our son Eric is still touring with his band. I miss him.

They are pictured here in the Big Apple, how fun! Awww to be young again!

Tonight they are in West Virginia making their way toward Florida in the coming days. I noticed an email today from another band from Portland that they had played with recently.

This guy talked about how much the band has ministered to him and affected his walk with the Lord - how exciting to see a genre of music that we don't always understand still able to help kids with their spiritual walk! You go boys!