doll baby.

[pic taken on the day we stood in front of our church, committing to raise him up in the ways of the Lord :)]

The Fellowship of the Unashamed

The Fellowship of the Unashamed

I am a part of the fellowship of the Unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit Power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals. I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power. My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won't give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I've preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes. And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear for "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.." (Romans 1:16) By Dr. Bob Moorehead

amen.

singing debut.

My friend Anna has been going through a tough season with her kiddos.  Please pray Grace will quit sticking things up her nose.  Seriously.  Is there a net or something we can put around those cute little nostrils?  All teasing aside - do pray - she is in surgery right now.  You can read about it here.

I was texting with her while she sat at the ENT this a.m. and reminded her of a funny little memory we had together in Africa.

~

The Island Day in Africa was crazy.

We were not prepared.

We thought we were spending the day at Redeemer House and were mentally and "donation wise" prepared for that.

Pastor Timothy called and said "I have been waiting, where are you?"

Eeeek - I ran around gathering the girls up and letting them know - change of plans - grab your sunscreen and anything you can think of - we are headed to love on the people living on the Islands of Lake Victoria - now!

Within minutes we were on boat.

We were welcomed with open arms.

 Beautiful people.

We set up a little medical clinic and things got a little chaotic.  Well, really chaotic.

Pastor Timothy came to me and told me there was a school that had been waiting for us all day.  It is a big deal to have visitors and they had been preparing for months for us to come.  

How humbling.  

Gives me a knot in my stomach just typing that.

This was towards the end of the day and we had given out almost everything we had.

I grabbed Anna and said, "Come on, we need to go visit a school."  Anna and I jumped on a boda  - we had NO IDEA where we were going.

                  [Anna]

We arrived and were seated in a place of honor and the kids lined up for their gifts!  

Yikes!  Anna and I franticly started digging in our bags.  We started praying.  

God knew, and we were trusting that He saw this coming, even tho we did not.  Fishes and Loaves Fishes and Loaves.

We started passing things out.

Anna and I kept looking at each other with a panicked look.  We did not want one of these precious children to feel left out.  

And guess what?

There was just.enough.

Each child received a gift.

Whew!

Thank you Jesus!

The kids sang to us and then it was our turn.

What?  Anna and I looked at each other.

I asked her under my breath, "do you sing well?"  She answered, "not really, you?"  "Um... not really."  But both of us were ready to do whatever those precious kids wanted.

So we sang.

"Jesus Love You." [hand motions and all]

It was through tired, hoarse, thirsty voices that we sang.

I am not going to lie - it was a little [a lot] pathetic.  

They kind of looked at us like this.  

[we did not blame them]

Gave us a round of applause. [because they are sweet like that]

We told them Jesus loved each.one.of.them.  Hugged as many kiddos as we could.

Jumped back on a boda and giggled all the way back.  What was that?  {I know I sing better at the kitchen sink ;)}

We pray God was glorified. and that the kids were not scared by the squeaky voiced mzungus

You never know what adventure God has waiting for you.  I will alway cherish [and laugh at] this one!

Date Night.

Date night.

Loaded up our bikes.

Drove to a sweet little city with awesome trails.

Rode our bikes around for a couple hours.

                                                                               [he's hot]

Tried a strange looking Asian Restaurant and loved it.  

Seaweed and all!

Sat and "people watched" for a bit.

Why don't we do this more often?

Looking forward to the next date.

The End.

Thanks for coming along on our date. :)

Would love to hear your favorite date ideas.

Time with Hubby

Why is that the first to go when our lives are busy?

The very thing (meaning relationship with spouse) that started this crazy house.

But, oh it is so easy to do.  He will "be fine" and I will "be fine."

But I do not want "fine" and neither does he.

So this weekend we are going to PURPOSE to go out.  No kids.  Just us.  No errands.

He is tired, I am tired.  The lawn needs mowed [desperately].  The closets need organized.  The floors could use a good scrubbing.  The garden is not planted.  And the list could go on for .... ever.

4 or 5 hours with my husband.  Uninterrupted conversation.  Eye contact.  Getting out of my sweats and doing my hair.  [and maybe even putting on perfume - something I never do when I have itty bittys]

Is more important.

To let him know he matters.

To let our kids know that we matter to each other.

to be continued.......

she is..

beautiful