Thanks to my sweet, sweet friend Shannon I had the priveledge of hearing Beth Moore live this weekend for the 3rd time. It was great as always!!! Beth was great, the music was great and more than anything I was reminded in a very real way of God's greatness. Shannon, I can not thank you enough for inviting me to come along. Her church was going and had a few ladies who could not go at the last minute and Shannon invited myself and our friend Rebecca to come with them and we received such a blessing. Rebecca and I drove from here to Hamilton to meet up with the group from Shannon's church and then we all drove together to San Antonio. As I sat there this weekend I kept thinking over and over with every word Beth spoke about how much I needed to hear this right now. God is so good and He opened the doors that allowed me to be there to hear His word. The message was just great and the presence of God was so real.
The core text was from Psalm 16:5-6 "The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup, you hold the lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places, indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance."
I have lots of pages of notes and I have really deliberated on how best to summarize the message. I think I am having a hard time because it was amazing and I do not want to take anything away from it. Just a few of the things that she said that stuck out the most to me were:
"What can this world do to us? Our inheritance is waiting!" No matter what we may face on this earth, as children of God, we are his heirs. What a comforting thought!
She talked about our life experiences and how those are the things God has chosen to entrust us with-really hit home for me. She gave an example of a mother with a down syndrome baby and how she had told the mother that HE knew she could do it. As a parent of a special needs child I have been told that by so many people and I do know that it was no accident that we were chosen to be her parents but Beth saying that at that moment when God's presence was with me in an incredible way, WOW!
She spoke of our intimacy with God and how nothing can replace that. She said she could never allow herself to become too busy to spend quiet time with the Lord. It is so true and yet so easy to get in a terrible habit of making excuses for not spending time with Him.
Another of my favorite points was when she spoke on the security we have in being heirs of God. She talked about not putting too much faith in people and looking to them for affirmation because that is placing them in a position of Christhood. She said, "only Jesus can identify us, not people."
"Never pray for an easier life" This is something that is so hard because when life is hard we just want it all to go away but God allows those trials so that we may grow closer to Him (if we allow that to happen).
I could go on and on but hopefully I have shared a few thoughts that might touch you in some way and be a reminder that as Christians we have a beautiful inheritance. How exciting! Now if I could just bottle up these feelings and God's word that is so fresh right now and never let it slip away.
This is a video from Beth's blog of the recap of the weekend.
I will probably be in trouble for this because our sweet man of the house is very humble but I think I can brag on him for a minute (or two!) Friday at the annual President's meeting at the Seminary he was awarded the President's Thanksgiving Award for employees. He works so hard and we are so proud of him! Everyone always says,"I don't know how he does all he does" and neither do I sometimes but he keeps going and giving it all he has. We love you and are very proud to call you "ours"!
A couple of weeks ago Elleigh and Sallie went to Kentucky with Nanna and Grandy. They went to attend an alumni meeting at their old college, see some old friends, and show the girls where they lived for several years when Aaron was a little boy. I am glad the girls got the opportunity to see these places that they have heard about and to spend this time with their grandparents. Here is a slideshow of some the pics. It looks beautiful!
"Summer fun" is kids making their own slip n slide with a tarp and wearing garbage bags and rubbing themselves down with dish detergent so they can slide really far, backyard pools, the adults sitting on the porch watching the fun, beach towels draped over the deck, charcoal ready for the grill and what makes this image really special for me is that we are at my parent's house and all the cousins are together which is always the highlight of our "summer fun" because it is one of 2 times a year we get to visit our family. Now that is SUMMER FUN!!!
http://www.5minutesformom.com/ is having a photo contest for an image that best shows "Summer Fun" and when my friend Rebecca told me about it this was the first picture that came to mind.
This is a slideshow of Millie's 1st Birthday. There are lots of pics and if you know me well you know I love the details so here you go. As you will be able to see, she loved her cake and we let her eat WAY too much of it. She had a little tummy ache Saturday night. I have always wanted one of the girls to dive into their cake and I got my wish with Millie. MY BABY IS 1!
I love giving you your bottle each morning. It is such a sweet time for me to hold you and snuggle with you. Mommy had already taken your sister’s bottles away by their first birthdays but I am having a harder time taking yours away because you are my baby and mama is having a tough time with you growing up. You drink well out of a sippy cup and you are ready so we will celebrate your birthday with one last bottle. Mommy will be OK.
I love that you look just like your daddy.
I love when you crawl as fast as you can to get to your sisters.
I love when you get excited and you crinkle your nose and make a snorting sound.
I love your dimples.
I love your eyelashes and am jealous that they are already longer than mama’s.
I love when you suck your thumb when you are tired or upset. However, I know that it is cute now but it is also a bad habit that one day we will have to work on but for now we won’t talk about that.
I love that when you want us to hold you, you get several feet from us and get on your knees with your arms in the air and you open and close your hands until we pick you up.
I love that when we ask you a question you shake your head no and say un un.
I love you when you are sleeping.
I love you when you are awake.
I love that one year ago today you came into my life and made me the proud mama of 4 GIRLS! I will probably tell you your birth story many times and remind you of how mama delivered you with NOTHING for the pain, but you were worth every bit of the pain!!! All the pain went away the moment I saw your beautiful face and held you close to me one year ago today.
Lizzie had a wonderful birthday! On Friday we went to Chick-fil-a and then to Coldstone for ice cream and then yesterday we had a family party. Grandy and Nanna got back yesterday so we were waiting on them to have her party. She had lots of fun and got lots of fun gifts! The slideshow is from Fri and yesterday.
Our oldest nephew is 16 today! Happy Birthday Zach! We tell him all the time how we thought their was nothing like him since he was the first. We all spoiled him like crazy! Now that little boy is 16 years old!
We are so proud of the young man you have become (don't let us down now that you can drive!). Get prepared for when we come home because you know the Hall girls will be wanting to go everywhere with you. You are always so wonderful and patient with them! WE LOVE YOU! BE CAREFUL!
I found this picture last week and I couldn't resist posting it today. That little boy in the driver's seat will be driving for real! Oh, and Zach notice who is in the passenger's seat! Make sure you keep it that way!
