Living an Extraordinary Life...

....GALATIANS 2:20-21 "I no longer live but Christ lives in me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing." (my paraphrase..I do not null or excuse the grace of God b/c IF righteousness comes by the Law, then Christ died needlessly.)
......After reading these verses, I thought about my life and this is what I hope people say.....
*I was saved b/c of Christ and Christ alone
*I loved my Lord, my husband, my girls, my sons, my grands, and those who are unloving
*I gave to others and was a true friend
*I had joy and loved sharing w/others (Jesus 1st, Yourself last and Others in between)
*I was an encourager, a person for the underdog, a witness for Jesus
*I honored my parents
*I found joy in memoring making
*I tried to be a Psalm 1 person
*I loved the simple things of life
*I was always thinking about seeing Jesus

Living an extraordinary life in this age is not easy. Life comes at you full throttle. Take time to write your own list!!! I never want you to think that the I's which are written above have anything to do w/me...but they have been a part of my life b/c of Jesus Christ.

I talked last week of a storm we are going thru, well, let me introduce you to three individuals who are going thru their personal hurricanes:
First of all meet a young family who never thought they would be dealing with a Hurricane Katrina size storm, like they are right now. I cannot mention their names on a blog ,but trust me when I say, Satan is trying to destroy ever inch of their marriage. Pray they stick close together, search The Word together, and see God's ever sufficient love and wisdom that He is working in their lives right now! They are Christians who are being tested hard. Pray for strength.
Secondly meet Jason Weathers and Family who are watching God carry them thru the storm of cancer....and God is winning this battle as I type. Please be burdened in prayer for them.
Thirdly meet Holly and Grace. I do not know this mother and daughter but thru a friend. Holly and 4 yr old Grace was involved in an accident last week, a miracle they are still alive. Their trip to complete healing is a long road....Holly had her 3rd surgery today and Grace still not able to move her legs. Please lift them up to God as He hears all our cries.
If you want to visit their sites:
Jason....http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jasonweathers
Holly & Grace..http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/hollyandgracethrailkill

Thank you for praying! Joy!

Was days before Easter.....

.....went all the way to granddaughters house....not a rabbit was stirring, but Jesus was in sight!~

KK was learning her verse for Sunday School. Luke 24:6 He is not here, He is risen. We made mosaic crosses w/dried beans. We played a zillion hours of playdough. We ate sugar cookies. We dressed LB for her soccor game and then went out for DQ sundays. LB is the smallest one on her team "The Starburts" but she got in the middle quite alot to kick that ball. Many times, those small legs would finally get her to the other end of the field to find out that now they were all running a different direction...but she kept up and played 45 mins of the hour long game. Great job LB!!!!

Since the two older girls are home schooled, we did school work. We played library and had fun reading PolarBear, Polar Bear, what do you see (w/voice inflection) KK and I read Where the Sidewalk Ends, a series of funny poems from Shel Silversten. I was impressed with her rhythm as she read the poems. (this was her first introduction to poems ) Great job KK!!!

Double A (as we call her) kept right up w/her sisters in everything we were doing. Her favorite thing to do was to toss her balloon back and forth to her Sir! Great Job AA!!!! (eye/hand coordination)

When you look at the world through the eyes of a child, somehow everything looks so small. We are so blessed. (not in a braggin way-God knows my heart)

Playing catch-up...

For many of you who were asked to be our prayer warriors, I am going to expound a little on what God has done......
.....First of all, a huge thank you from our hearts to yours for lifting us up! The past 5-6 weeks have been a struggle.
......Second, I am not going into the inclimates of the storm we are passing thru b/c there is no need. This is not to say that the storm has passed, we are still in the midst of it all. As you all know, the truth never has to defend itself...and that is what we are claiming.
......Third, I want you all to know that God is continuing to provide strength daily for us. We claim victory for Jesus Christ b/c He has resurrected! Please continue to pray!
A dear friend gave me scripture to look over in Isaiah 41:1-13 w/focus on 9-13: I have choosen you and not rejected you. Do not fear, for I am with you, Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will stregthen you, surely I will help you. Behold all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored. Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish. You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them. Those who war with you will be as nothing, and non-existent. For I am the Lord your God, who upholds your right hand. Who says to you "Do not fear, I will help you."
Sue, God knew I needed those words from Him...thank you so much for sharing. Erin, thank you for giving me wisdom from scripture also, your encouragement gave my eyes new vision. Our children has stood in the gap for us with encouragement and prayer and scriptures...we are so proud to be their parents.

Friends.....God is sustaining us through this and we give Him the praise! I knew that if I asked you to pray, your would and b/c of your obedience, God is fighting for us. We are not alone. We are at peace. Please know that when you ask me to pray in your behalf, I instantly go before our Lord with pleading and crying and praise for you. I believe that it is a privlege to pray for others.
John 15:11 .....Joy!

three short stories...

#1....I had made a CHOCOLATE SOUP for Valentine's Day for years now. This year I made enough to share with our children and their families. I transport the family soup dessert up to Shana and Billie's house when I was invited to Grandparent Day at Dance Class. (2 days before Valentine's Day) The girls were so excited to try it. I mean, there can't be anything better than soup that is CHOCOLATE~! right? Shana warms it up for for their after diner treat. The soup is a hit! UNTIL...... KK and LB can't sleep. They are literally bouncing off the walls at bedtime. Shana and Billie cannot figure out why they are not going to sleep. I mean, after all "the moon was shining in the window to bright," "my eyes will not shut." The Bed becomes a bouncy trampoline. You name it....till 1:00 AM.....finally shut down!!!!! Then it hits Shana in the morning...it was the soup. "Mom what do you have in this soup?" Heavy Cream, chocolate chips, 1 cup of milk.....and coffee syrup. OMgoodness, I was so sorry! I caffeined my granddaughters into a coffee high! AUGH!

#2....My friend from Hattiesburg, MS sent me a receipe for Cookie Pizza...so off I go to babysit the girls last week... fully equipped to craft, cook and "keep-em busy" with all sorts of fun stuff! We made the best cookie pizza...thanks Erin, it was great! We will have to make this again! Erin, if you come across any more fun receipes, send them my way.

#3......Our grands always know that DeeDee brings something to cook or craft with. Oh yeah, the craft for the weekend was paper mache. Sounds like messy fun, right? It was! EXCEPT for LB....about 5 minutes into dipping and stacking our flour paste on the forms, she says "DeeDee, my arms are burning." "Oh sweetie, the paste is just drying on your arm, it's ok." "DeeDee it's really burning." Then it hit me....this granddaughter has skin allergies (so to speak) so I washed a spot off and noticed a red splotch...I then hurry to wash her arms off and see lots of splotches which take 2 hrs to turn from splotches to a rash and back to normal again! Who would of thought flour, salt and water would make marks like this on her little arm?

Box or not box...that is the ?

God in a box?

Is this the way you picture your box? Or is it the organized kind, you know, the kind you can label and place in the far right hand side of your closet?

IF God stays in your own personal box, how can He be used? Let's see...in a box God is compact-contained and able to be pulled out when needed and able to be stored safe and neatly out of sight when NOT IN USE.
But Paul says in Philippians 2:1-4 that IF we keep God in an organized box, we disallow fellowship, compassion , joy, love, humbleness toward one another. This disallows us to regard each other as important, we then forget the interest of others and therefor put ourselves first.
IF we put God in that neat package, then we are guaranteed we can soon forget what is inside! We will find ourselves not grabbing that box off of the shelf b/c it takes to much time. We then believe that we can handle this one, this time on our own.

BUT IF God never gets put in a box then what happens? God is active, involved in our lives, able to convict us of our sin and convert our thoughts. He reveals His righteousness (Philippians 3:9) and helps us strengthen our faith. With God out of the box we can know Him better. And knowing God helps us to live above the pressures of this world. We live aware of the needs of others and live attached to Christ. Philippians 4:13 states that we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength.
With God out of the box we can live life knowing we are approved by our sacrifices before a well pleasing God....Philippians 4:18. And in doing so, God will supply all our needs according to His riches in glory. (Philippians 4:19)

What do you choose? Box or no box?