In the Meantime...

I have some cute pics to share and I know that is what many of you want but you will have to wait! The memory card with said cute pics is missing. I just saw it this afternoon and now it is nowhere to be found. It has to be in this house! That is my most famous saying when searching for something!!! So, in the meantime no pics, just my rambling!

We have been back in "sick mode" (as I not so affectionately call it). Maybe there is something about moving. When we moved to FW we were the sickest we have ever been for months and now we are on child #3 being sick since we moved here. Elleigh has been congested now for several weeks and this past weekend it got worse. By Sat she was really tired and just generally not feeling well. She woke up Sun morning with a high fever, backache, really bad sore throat, muscle aches, and neck pain. The neck pain really concerned me. Ell hates going to the Dr so when she begged me to take her, I knew she was sick! I knew where the Urgent Care was in the nearest city of size (1 hr away) so I got everyone else off to church and we headed to Urgent Care. Upon arrival, we discover it is closed! Yes, URGENT Care is apparently NOT SO URGENT (I DO hope all the staff was in church)! So, we turn around and come back home. She continued to get worse and worse and woke up during the night with ear pain so we took her first thing Monday morning to our new pediatrician (who we really like so far). Turns out she has a kidney infection (had no idea because she did not have some of the common symptoms) and an ear infection. I have never seen her this sick with the exception of the her having the flu several years ago. She seems maybe a little better tonight after 2 doses of meds. We are to go back for a kidney ultrasound toward the end of the week if she is not much better by then. Please pray she will be better. One of these alone is not good but the combination is really not good. Plus, her cold and congestion is really bad so that alone is dragging her down. I am thinking we may have to see an allergist for her soon. Well actually if things don't change they may all have to take some type of maintanence drug. Maybe soon they will adjust to everything here but it has been rough.

Millie was sitting in my lap tonight and I said, "Mill will you stay little?" She said (with much vigor!), "NO, I will be 3 on my next birthday and I will be BIG!!!" Not sure she will be BIG by then but I am afraid she will not stay LITTLE!

Speaking of b-days, Lizzie and Millie talk every day about their birthdays! These girls LOVE a birthday party!!!

A married another couple this past weekend. This was his 4th wedding. Wonderful story-he discovered in pre-marital counseling with this couple that the groom was not a Christian and during their session he accepted Christ!!! Praise the Lord!

Speaking of the Lord, A has been doing a series on Wed nts on worship and it really has been thought prevoking (for me at least). It has made me think a lot about how we worship and how we do not worship. Sometimes we get so caught up in what worship should look like that we forget what we are really doing. Do I really worship? Do I prepare myself for worship? I am there but is my mind focused on worship? Isn't HE worthy of all of this? We talked about corporate worship and the importance of corporate worship. Why do so many people claim to be Christians and never come to church or only come on special occasions? No, coming to church DOES NOT make anyone a Christian nor does not coming to church make anyone not a Christian if they are truly saved. But, in thinking about worship, I got to thinking about how difficult it is for me to understand how someone can call themselves a Christian yet not desire to worship. If we are truly walking with Him, we can't help but desire worship of Him. I feel that if a person calls themself a Christian yet has no desire for corporate worship then there has to be something wrong in their relationship with the Lord. A does visitation each Tues nt and boy does he come home with some stories! People really have some crazy excuses for not coming to church! What about parents who call themselves Christians yet do not take their kids to church? It would be one thing if I felt like they were sharing Christ with them at home, but I doubt it. How can we belong to Him, yet not do everything we can to ensure our children know Him? How can we not be concerned about the way in which our children will deal with life as adults? Let me say here that I do know that coming to church nor being a Christian means we make all the right decisions BUT I want to be able to say I have done everything I could. I surely don't want to be in a position of wishing I had taught my kids everything I could about Him. I am also not saying we are terrible people if we miss church occasionally but what is our priority? Are we teaching our kids about Christ at home or are we too busy with activities (nothing wrong with activities but once again, what is our priority)? Do we miss church more than we go? Do we go 1/2 the time? Do we go when we have nothing more fun to do? I facebook and I have noticed lately the majority of the statuses are something to do with baseball or softball, vacations, or Eclipse. There is nothing wrong with any of these things (in moderation) but how often do you see status (me included) that read, "on the way to worship God who saved me from burning in Hell!" or "on the way to church where my kids will learn the most important truths ever." (There are some uplifting status updates) What if we as Christians got excited about God? What is we put the time, energy, and money doing the things He has called us to do? We might make a difference in this world! We expect our kids to be bold on the ball field, to dance to their highest potential, or whatever but when it comes to spiritual matters we tend to think those things are too deep for them. Do we teach them to be bold for Him? Do we teach them that they can do anything they put their minds to and work hard enough for when it comes to their spiritual growth. Do we encourage them to take part in church activities (not just the "fun" ones) as much as we do other activities? I guess the bottom line is, if we believe that Jesus died for us so that we can live eternally (which will not compare to this life) then why does He not seem worthy of our time? If we believe this, then do we not see HE has given us the greatest gift we could ever receive? Why do we not show our kids He is far more worthy of our time than ANYTHING else? Why does it not appear HE is important to us? Do we just think well we are saved and that is all that matters? Yes, that is top priority BUT I still have to think if we are truly living for Him, others will know. After all, we are called to be His witnesses! Note: I am in no way saying those of us who go to church have it all together. This whole thought on worship has been very convicting for me. Sure, I am at church! I mean, I am the preacher's wife BUT do I truly worship? I am most often completely aggitated with the girls I am trying to teach to sit in church. Is it more important that they do everything just like I want them to or that they see their mother worship our Lord and Saviour? Very convicting! Do I sing the songs and truly think about the meaning of the words I am singing? Do I ask Him to speak to me? Am I sensitive to His spirit? Do I take the words I hear and apply them to my life for His glory? Do I truly worship HIM???

Our church has voted to begin AWANA on Wed nts. So, we are busy preparing for that as we will begin at the beginning of the school year. It is a lot of work and takes a lot of workers but we know this is what God wants us to do right now and we are very excited to see what HE does with this! We appreciate your prayers for our church as we step out on faith to take this on. I am currently praying about my role in the program but not completely sure where He wants me.

We are having a 4th of July celebration Sun nt after church. We will grill and have homeade ice cream and fireworks. The forecast says 70% chance of rain... Around here "rain is a good thing!" but I really hope it holds off until after our fellowship or a nice rain before to cool things off would be great! I am planning on doing some decorating and it will not be cute wet!

Ell leaves next Fri for a mission trip to OK with our old church in FW. She will be gone until the next Saturday, come home for a few days, then we leave for AL for a few days before A and I leave for Africa! After we return we will only have a short time before school begins! Where did June go???

So, until I find my memory card or take more pics on another memory card, I leave you with the latest happenings in the life of the Hall's and the latest deep thoughts from Cam!