Happy 1st Birthday Jake!

Hurricane Repairs

Friday, March 24 will be 5 months ago that Hurricane Wilma came roaring into town. As I have posted previously, we were blessed with only minor damage to our home. Other than losing some of our vinyl siding and skirting and our shed we were spared any major damage. Clewiston residents have been very busy repairing property that was damaged during the storm. We still see blue tarps and debris throughout the community, however you also see contractors steady at work. It has taken 5 months to finally get our siding and skirting repaired. There have been times when I wanted to just throw up my hands and say "forget it by the time I get it fixed another storm will come through to tear it down again." It's frustrating trying to get contractors to give estimates and then do the work. Especially when it is not a major job. It's nice to pull into our driveway and not see a blue tarp hanging from the side of our house and not see everything under our home.


Hurricane Wilma - October 24, 2005



Post Hurricane Wilma - March 21, 2006

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY FRIEND AND SISTER IN CHRIST

WE LOVE YOU LORI!

"Tis So Sweet. . .

to trust in Jesus! As I was typing in this coming Sunday's order of worship for the bulletin, I noticed that we will be singing one of my favorite hymns. I cannot fathom how anyone has any peace in this world we live in without trusting Jesus as their Savior and Lord. How does one raise a child without trusting Christ for his guidance and instruction, how does one lose a loved one without trusting Christ, how does one make a significant change in their life without trusting Christ? I could go on and on naming ways that I have trusted Christ in the trials in my life, but it's not only about trusting Christ with the trials in my life, it's trusting Him with the mundane things as well. I praise Him that He is trustworthy, that I can put all my trust in Him and that He is unchangable.

'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus"

by Louisa Stead

"Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,

Just to take Him at His word;

Just to rest upon His promise,

Just to know, "Thus saith the Lord."

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!

How I've proved Him o'er and o'er!

Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!

O for grace to trust Him more!

O how sweet to trust in Jesus,

Just to trust His cleansing blood;

Just in simple faith to plunge me

'Neath the healing, cleansing flood!

Yes, 'tis sweet to trust in Jesus,

Just from sin and self to cease;

Just from Jesus simply taking

Life and rest, and joy and peace.

I'm so glad I learned to trust Him,

Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;

And I know that He is with me,

Will be with me to the end.

Girl Talk Review

"The older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things-- that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed." ~ Titus 2: 3-5

From the moment I started reading "Girl Talk" I did not want to put it down. Carol Mahaney & Nicole Mahaney Whitacre wrote in straight from experience regarding the biblical Mother/Daughter relationship. Though the book was candid and humorous, the central message was straight from scripture. The first half of the book takes a look at what the Bible says about mother/daughter relationships. The second half of the book explains how a mother can teach her daughter to speak the language of biblical womanhood. I wish I had known about this book ten years ago. Every mother should have this book on her book shelf.

Examples Must Precede our Instruction

"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." ~Proverbs 22:6

Thing about this scripture from J.C. Ryle's perspective: "Your children will seldom learn habits which they see you despise, or walk in paths which you do not walk yourself. [She] that preaches to [her] children what she does not practice, is working a work that never goes forward."

In other words, practice what we preach to our children (and others). Whether we care to admit it or not we are the ones [mothers] that have the greatest influence on our children. How can we expect our children to walk in the light if we ourselves are walking in darkness. It's not someone else job to train them, God has commanded us to be the trainer. Not only does he command us in Proverbs to do so, but in Philippians 3:17, "Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. "

To borrow a quote from Carolyn Mahaney - “Let us grab our children by the hand and say to them; come, follow me into the riches of the gospel of Jesus Christ."Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.

No Mistake

I recall the first time the nurse brought David to my room after he was born and her looking down and saying, "Oops, wrong baby!" She had two male babies in their respective bassinets taking them to their mothers and as she rolled whom she thought was the "Fountain" baby into my room she realized that the name on the bassinet didn't match with my name. It's funny now that I look back on it, but at the time I was astonished that she could get the two confused. It was a honest mistake as both male babies had a head full of red hair, only ounces apart in weight and born within 15 minutes of each other. After we brought David home he developed colic. During those hours of him screaming non-stop we would jokingly exclaim,"This is not our child, they switched them at birth." Of course, we had brought our child home with us. But how many times while raising our children and struggling with issues in raising them have we proclaimed, "This isn't my child."

Make no mistake about it, God doesn't make mistakes. In fact, as I was reading "Girl Talk" yesterday Carolyn Mahaney referred to scripture that I have read many times and never thought about it in this context. Psalm 139:16 says, " Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them." This passage tells me that even before my children (or myself for that matter) were formed God knew whom their parents would be. He ordained it! It was his desire that I'm David and Angela's mom. This is also confirmed in Acts 17:26 "And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings . . ." The family we were placed in was prearranged by God before creation was! God knew exactly what he was doing when he placed them in my care. He set it up and he will guide me to raise them. They are his perfect choice for me. God has ordained our relationship.

My Thoughts: Stop Dating the Church

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. - Ephesians 5:22-32

For sometime now I have struggled with my commitment to the church, hence the reason I purchased this book. Through this book Harris challenges Christian community to stop dating the church and to become committed. Throughout the book Harris speaks about having a passion for the church and explains that when we, as believers, don't have a passion and commitment to the church we being cheated out of God's best for ourselves, the church and the world. Harris speaks of why we need the local Church and shows what passion in action looks like. This was something that was like a slap in the face, making me say, "that's me. I've lost the passion." His illustration of what passion in action looks like was when someone is passionate about an organization or club, they do a number of things: they join, make it a priority, find ways to serve, give, connect with people and they share their passion with others. This is what passion for the church should be. Harris also gives a wonderful explanation of the church of heaven's perspective from Ephesians 5:22- 33. He then gives a helpful and practical list of ten things that matter in a church. All ten things point to a church that is Christ centered. In the same chapter he talks about when it's time to find a new church home. Harris also gives advice on how to make the most out of Sunday by preparing our hearts and minds all week for worship on Sunday. No matter what you may think your commitment level is currently, this is an eye-opening and challenging book

Anxiously Waiting

I ordered two books last week and have been anxiously waiting for them to arrive. Our youth pastor's wife has been posting some books on her blog that she has currently been reading and then doing book reviews once she has read them. So while visiting her blog last week, I checked out a link to Sovereign Grace Ministries that she had on her blog. It was there that I found two books that interested me. The first one being, "Stop Dating the Church" by Joshua Harris and the second one is "Girl Talk" by Carolyn Mahaney, Nicole Whitacre. Now if the UPS man would just waltz into my office with them!