Just a thought...

Today I was sitting in a drive thru...daydreaming...with christian radio on in the background. I was really off in my own little world, almost like time was standing still for a moment. I don't really remember what was being said on the radio, I was just really off in la-la land. But all of a sudden the sky got very dark...something had changed in the sky. And at that exact moment something was said on the radio about Jesus coming back. And it made me think....

It could happen at any moment. Today, tomorrow, next month, right now....there will be no announcement at church the Sunday before..."Be sure to sign up...bring a friend...don't be late". It will just happen. I like to put things I don't understand in a little box...this is one of those things. I like to pretend I will be forewarned....but that's not how it will work.
I love the way this translation says it....
2 Peter 3:10(The Message)
10But when the Day of God's Judgment does come, it will be unannounced, like a thief. The sky will collapse with a thunderous bang, everything disintegrating in a huge conflagration, earth and all its works exposed to the scrutiny of Judgment.

I just sat there for a while thinking....it could be ANYTIME! That really amazed me at first...and then it really began to freak me out!!

Here were the thoughts I had in those few moments....ones that I will ponder this week...
What have I done today alone that I would regret if Jesus came?
What would I wish I would have already said if Jesus came back today?
Or who would I wish I had testified to or ministered to already if Jesus came today?

We need to live every moment like it could be our last on this earth...remember there's no email, or voicemail, or text message to let us know He's coming....it could be any second!

2 Peter 3:11-13 (The Message)
11-13Since everything here today might well be gone tomorrow, do you see how essential it is to live a holy life? Daily expect the Day of God, eager for its arrival. The galaxies will burn up and the elements melt down that day—but we'll hardly notice. We'll be looking the other way, ready for the promised new heavens and the promised new earth, all landscaped with righteousness.

Praise Him!!

This week has been awesome. Tyler and I are working on our dance for church....and it is going so well, really!!

It is to the song I have posted the words to before, Make it Matter!! And it is the perfect song...that is my prayer everyday. Don't let me live in vain....make my life matter!!

We have worked so hard together....and the together is the best part. Tyler and I have really bonded through this experience. The other night she asked me to pause the music so she could tell me something...I had no idea what to expect...with Tyler, you never can tell. Well here's what she said: "You know mommy, I am more committed to this than anything else that I have ever done, even the play." (**As an aside, she did a school play that they practiced for 6 straight months**) She continued and said "and you know what the best part is? I am not even worried about messing up because we will be around people who know us, and love us. And besides we are doing it for Jesus, and they will know that too."

I thought she was going to cry...I thought I was going to cry. She got that big I'm so happy I could bust smile on her face...she is so pumped about this. And I love to see that she really understands what it is about. Not us, not the audience, but HIM, and HIM only!!

Please continue to pray for our creativity, strength, and everlasting joy!!

A Spirit Movement

I am so excited about this....it is all I could think about all day long!!!!

Tyler and I have gotten involved in the Praise Dance ministry at our church. It is an amazing way to express praise and worship to our Heavenly Father!!

Many of us grew up thinking you weren't allowed to even talk in church...let alone clap, or move, or especially not dance!! It is all over the bible...why would it be wrong then???

Jeremiah 13:13 says
13 The young women will dance for joy, and the men—old and young—will join in the celebration. I will turn their mourning into joy. I will comfort them and exchange their sorrow for rejoicing.

Tyler and I had a song on our hearts to use for the dance ministry....it was a song that spoke to me, and I could feel the movements for it. Well, I took it to practice the other day...and Keena loved it...in fact, she wants us to work on it for church next week. So my request is simple....pray for us... for creativity, for strength, for joy, and for the right purpose...to praise HIM!!!

I'll take it...

Many of you know the struggles we have with our baby Abigail. She has a small hole in her heart that they are monitoring, and she was diagnosed last spring with asthma. Let me say, neither of these slow her down at all. She is a vibrant, active, beautiful, smart, little girl. But she is sometimes a little less immune to the cold season....

Well, Sunday during church they had to come and get me because she started crying and was burning up. That is very not like her, so I knew something was going on. I took her into the sanctuary with me, because I knew I needed someone to agree with me in prayer over her.
Wonderful Ms. Sharon prayed over us both, agreeing that we would not accept another bout of pneumonia, we would not claim it, that we were going to claim her healing right there. I left church pumped!! I knew that wherever 2 agreed, He was in the midst of it. We went home, and she continued to get worse. Her fever was staying at 103, and she was very sickly looking. I called our doctor's on call service, explained to the online doctor her history...and he said he would call her in an antibiotic to try, and we would see what happened.

Well, her fever went down a little, but never under 101. By Monday afternoon, the fever was back up to 103 and she was throwing up. So we decided it was time to do something. I took her to er at the hospital in Asheville. Not sure what to expect...but needing to find out something.

Long story short....she was diagnosed with not only pneumonia but also RSV. I freaked out! I couldn't understand why the exact opposite of what I had prayed for, believed for...was happening! And especially to an undeserving baby! Why??

I tried to be the "good" christian and not ask questions. But I was confused..I wanted some type of answer anyway. I wasn't doubting God...but I wanted to understand. For so many years I have heard Christians say "oh, you just didn't have enough faith for her healing"....that's crap. I did, and it still didn't happen. Why??

I talked to our pastor....I wanted him to understand that I wasn't upset with God, or doubting Him, or turning the other way...I just wanted to understand. Why would God allow something like this to happen to a child. I knew that I wouldn't get the "typical" pastor's answer from him. And what he said really helped me...I don't even think he knows how much. He said that even though God didn't take away this illness from her....you may not see the bigger illness that the devil was trying to put on her that God saved her from.

That really made sense...there were 2 small (but significant) things I decided to cling to from all of this. First of all...the antibiotic the on call doctor called in for her...was the EXACT one they would give a child for the type of pneumonia she had. SO....by the time we got to the er, she already had 2 doses of that. AMEN! Secondly, the doctor at the er said her murmur was soooo faint! AMEN #2!

In the middle of this trial, another good friend of mine said to try praying for very specific things...not just a general healing but take her fever down, calm her down, help her eat, help her breath....be specific instead of so general. And I will say....everything I asked of Him after that advice, HE DID!!! Amen #3!!

I am happy to say that we are home now...and recovering well. Thank you Jesus!!