Happy Mother's Day

To the mother of our two wonderful boys, I could not have asked for anything more.

Happy Birthday To Me!

It is now almost bedtime on my 35th birthday. Today was rather uneventful, but we have been celebrating for three days. On Friday, Mimi came to keep the boys so my sweet husband and I could have a night away. We had a very nice dinner and then spent the night in a cabin at a nearby park. Todd built a huge campfire and we actually had almost four hours of uninterrupted adult conversation. I can't remember the last time that happened. What a wonderful birthday gift! We slept in a little on Saturday morning and had a nice country breakfast before returning home to relieve my mom.

Saturday was pretty laid back. My in laws were supposed to visit but my poor mother in law has been diagnosed with pneumonia. We are praying for a speedy recovery.

Then Sunday evening I was able to spend the evening in praise and worship at this awesome event with this amazing woman speaking between songs. I got to fellowship with two of my best friends in the world, JMom and Suzy. These friendships go back over 20 years now. What a blessing to spend time with good friends worshiping the Lord!!

Tonight we wrapped up with a yummy sushi dinner...me, Todd and two high chairs at the sushi bar. Back to the real world tomorrow. No more being lazy in the name of "It's my birthday."

John Piper

The excerpt below is from a sermon by John Piper entitled, "Marriage is meant for making children...disciples of Jesus." The audio and text can be found here. I have yet to listen to it, but was reading it today. It really speaks to my heart. I have felt

The most fundamental task of a mother and father is to show God to the children. Children know their parents before they know God. This is a huge responsibility and should cause every parent to be desperate for God-like transformation. The children will have years of exposure to what the universe is like before they know there is a universe. They will experience the kind of authority there is in the universe and the kind of justice there is in the universe and the kind of love there is in the universe before they meet the God of authority and justice and love who created and rules the universe. Children are absorbing from dad his strength and leadership and protection and justice and love; and they are absorbing from mother her care and nurture and warmth and intimacy and justice and love—and, of course, all these overlap.

And all this is happening before the child knows anything about God, but it is profoundly all about God. Will the child be able to recognize God for who he really is in his authority and love and justice because mom and dad have together shown the child what God is like. The chief task of parenting is to know God for who he is in many attributes and then to live in such a way with our children that we help them see and know God. And, of course, that will involve directing them always to the infallible portrait of God in the Bible.

Finally, God has ordained that both mother and father be involved in raising the children because they are husband and wife before they are mother and father. And what they are as husband and wife is where God wants children to be: As husband and wife, they are a drama of the covenant-keeping love between Christ and the church. That is where God wants children to be. His design is that children grow up watching Christ love the church and watching the church delight in following Christ. His design is that the beauty and strength and wisdom of this covenant relationship be absorbed by the children from the time they are born.

In Christ Alone - Travis Cottrell

I was blessed to attend the Deeper Still conference in Atlanta this past weekend. The speakers were Beth Moore, Kay Arthur and Priscilla Shirer. It was absolutely unbelievable to worship with 20,000 other women! The teaching was life-changing. I cannot possibly list all that I learned this weekend and all the ways I was challenged.

I was able to spend time with my good friend of almost 20 years, JMom, and several friends of hers that I had never met. What a blessing that was in and of itself, especially to hear those women ask about my babies and tell me how they prayed for them during and after my pregnancy. The Body of Christ is truly amazing!

I want to include this song, "He Is," that Priscilla recited Friday night. It was one of the most powerful things I have ever heard!

In Genesis, He's the breath of life
In Exodus, He is the Passover Lamb
In Leviticus, He's our high priest
In Numbers, the fire by night
Deuteronomy, He's Israel’s Guide
Joshua, He’s salvation's choice
Judges, He’s Israel’s Guard
In Ruth, the kinsmen's redeemer
1st and 2nd Samuel, our trusted prophet
In Kings and Chronicles He is Sovereign
In Ezra, He’s the true and faithful scribe
In Nehemiah, the re-builder of broken walls and lives
In Esther, He’s Mordecai's courage
In Job, the timeless redeemer
In Psalms He is our morning song
In Proverbs, He is our wisdom
Ecclesiastes, He's the time and season
In Song of Solomon, He is the lover's dream
In Isaiah He is Prince of Peace
In Jeremiah, the weeping prophet
Lamentations, the cry for Israel
Ezekiel, the call from sin
Daniel, the stranger in the fire
Hosea, the forever faithful
Joel, the spirit’s power
Amos, the strong-arms that carry
Obadiah, the Lord our Savior
Jonah, the great missionary
Micah, the promise of peace Nahum, our strength and shield
In Habakkuk and Zephaniah, He's brings revival
In Haggai He restores that which was lost
IN Zachariah, He’s our fountain
And in Malachi, He's the son of righteousness rising with healing in His wings
AND THAT’S JUST THE OLD TESTAMENT

In Matthew Mark Luke and John, He is God and Messiah
In the spirit filled book of Acts, He is the reigning fire from Heaven
In Romans, He is the grace of God
Corinthians, the power of love
Galatians, freedom from the curse of sin
Ephesians, our glorious treasure
Philippians, the servant's heart
Colossians, He’s God and the trinity
Thessalonians, our calling King
In Timothy, Titus and Philemon, He's our mediator and our faithful pastor
In Hebrews, the everlasting courage
In James, the one who heals the sick
In 1st and 2nd Peter, our faithful shepherd
In John and Jude, He's the lover coming for His bride
AND in the Revelation, in the very end, when it’s all over, said and done, when time is NO MORE.
He is and will always be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Prince of Peace, son of Man,
Lamb of God, The Great I am, Alpha and Omega, God and SaviorHe is Jesus Christ the Lord
HE IS EVERYTHING THAT YOU NEED!

And the other thing that absolutely blew me away (other than the teaching of course) was this song that Travis Cottrell and the worship band sang. Here's a video of "In Christ Alone" with the lyrics. Listen and enjoy!

Our New Home

We haven't blogged much about our big move, but some of the regular readers may have picked up on it. In March, Todd, the boys and I made a move to a different state. We had planned to move to Atlanta, where I was certain to get a good paying job, and Todd would be more likely to the type of job he was looking for. I ended up accepting a position working from home full-time. So when that happened, we decided maybe the big city wasn't for us after all, and we decided to settle in a much smaller town that might be a better environment to raise our children. No offense against the ATL of course, we love the city we used to live in, but we were worried about education for our children and the cost of living, not to mention the traffic and long commutes.

So, we took a bit of a leap of faith, praying that Todd would be able to find a job in the field he loves, construction. In light of the housing crisis, we didn't know if that would happen. He began to open himself up to the possibility of working in commercial construction rather than residential as it seems a little more recession-proof. After being here 2 months, he had no real job prospects, let alone an interview. We tried not to dwell on it much, but both of us were beginning to get very discouraged. On the other hand, he was able to get some quality time taking care of the boys.

I'm happy to report that on Monday Todd will begin work with a commercial construction company about 45 minutes from where we live. While it's still a bit of a commute, there's no real traffic to speak of, and the company is providing him with a vehicle. That will certainly help with the commute! But more importantly, we feel certain this is where God would have us be. The gentlemen he's going to be working for are Christian men, who have boldly told him their priorities are God, family and work, in that order. These men have decided to invest their time, money and energy in my husband and teach him what he needs to know. We couldn't be happier.

We have had a rocky road as far as jobs and moves in the less than 5 years we've been married. There were too many moves to count. We both finally feel we are where we are supposed to be, and we can now finally begin to grow roots. We are finally somewhere that feels like home!

Worth Fighting For...

I feel led to share this evening about a sermon I heard today. The series is entitled Fight Club and the premise, from Northpoint Ministries' website, is "one of the most tragic stories in the Bible is that of David and Absalom. Absalom longed for his father's approval. David longed for the respect of his son. In the end, war came between the two, and one lost his life, while the other lost any chance for reconciliation. This message explores the dynamics of family relationships and why some battles are worth fighting."

My parents were divorced when I was only three. I have no real memories of when my mom and dad were married. What I remember is living with my mom and seeing my dad every other weekend and a month in the Summer. Unfortunately, as I hit adolescence my relationship with my dad began to fall apart and I was hurt by him repeatedly until I finally just gave up and cut all ties with him. It was never a decision I discussed with him, just a decision I made in order to protect myself. After much counsel I was able to work through what God had commanded me to do, and that was forgive my father. My struggle for the next 10 years then became a struggle of whether or not I had to reconcile with him just because I forgave him. I never had the chance for reconciliation. Our story, like King David and Absalom's, has a very tragic ending. My father took his life in October of 2006, just two weeks before I found out I was pregnant with Wyatt and Parks. With hopes of having children of my own soon, I was just beginning to open my heart and mind to the possibility of reconciliation.

Andy Stanley's point was when we are not in relationship with our family members, there is something in all of our hearts, that will tug at us until we are reconciled. These are the relationships worth fighting for. We must fight for them the way God fights for His relationship with us. After all the Lord has done in order to be in relationship with me, how silly of me to really believe that I could just get away with forgiveness, that I wasn't also commanded to pursue reconciliation, regardless of whether I would win or lose. As I listened this morning, to this incredible story it was so odd to not feel the conviction to reconcile with my father, yet so heartbreaking that I will never have that opportunity. Not only for myself, but for my children. So, if you are struggling with familial relationships and feel led or have a few minutes this week, you can listen to it for free here.

Anniversary

Today...four years ago...Randi and I exchanged vows surrounded by granite, stained-glass, and smiling faces. It was an Auburn football off week. All the old friends we got to see again, all the family members we were meeting for the first time, its was a blur.

I do have a few inescapable, frozen memories of that day. There was the Colonel's scrambled dog, pictures on the front steps of the church with Dante, the stretched Navigator surprise, the nod and the wink, missing out on not only our own dinner but also the leftovers, the band, the dance, the limo ride to Atlanta, and the flight the next morning with my new bride to explore not only a new part of the world but also each other.

After over a year of dating and several years as friends, the past four years have drug on and flown by all at the same time. If I had to describe each of them in one sentence, they would be:

Year 1: I get to live with you now...no, seriously I really get to live with you.
Year 2: Wow, are we really moving again?!
Year 3: So, what do you want to do now?
Year 4: Oh crap, we are having twins!!
Year 5 Prediction: Big changes are afoot and growing boys under foot.

Thank you to all for helping us make it through this last year. It was a tough one for both of us.