Me and My Girls!

Jesus sets us free!

I just saw a video on Susan's blog and it is soooo powerful!
Watch the whole thing, you will be cheering by the end!
It is her Sunday, June 24th post titled "Everything...".

Symptoms of Inner Peace

(Hello! I've been out of town for a while and am trying to dig my way out of laundry today! Here is a little something I read that I thought was pretty cool. Hope you enjoy it too!)

Symptoms of Inner Peace
by Saskia Davis

Be on the lookout for symptoms of inner peace!
The hearts of a great many have already been expose to inner peace and it is possible that people everywhere could come down with it in epidemic proportions.
This could pose a serious threat to what has, up to now, been a fairly stable condition of conflict in the world.

Some signs and symptoms of inner peace:

· A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experiences.
· An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.
· A loss of interest in judging other people.
· A loss of interest in judging self.
· A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.
· A loss of interest in conflict.
· A loss of the ability to worry. (This is a very serious symptom.)
· Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation.
· Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature.
· Frequent attacks of smiling.
· An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than (try to) make them happen.
· An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.

WARNING:
If you have some or all of the above symptoms, please be advised that your condition of inner peace may be so far advanced as to not be curable. If you are exposed to anyone exhibiting any of these symptoms, remain exposed only at your own risk.

O Praise Him!!

You are going to love this!!
By the end of it I promise you that your heart will be overflowing with praise to Him.

I laughed out loud when I first saw this, you'll see what I mean.
It makes you smile! (And then it makes me cry... in a good way.)

Take a few minutes out of your crazy day, enjoy this video and join in worshipping our Wonderful Holy God!

Joy

Hello!

Personal updates:
Thanks so much for your love and prayers for us and for the family at church. The funeral was Saturday. It was a heartfelt remembrance of a beautiful young lady.
Lauren is healing up wonderfully since her surgery!
We’ve had one phone call from Matt. He’s homesick, but doing well. Today starts his 3rd full week of basic training.

We’ve talked about love and peace and I thought that it was just fitting that we discuss JOY today.

Psalms 30:5
Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.
NKJV

First I want to clarify that joy is not the same word as happy.

Happiness is an emotion that is based on external circumstances.
Happiness is temporary.
Happiness can come and go with the ups and downs of life and our feelings.

JOY on the other hand is based on the internal state of our heart. It’s who and what you KNOW at the very core of your being.
It is the steady, constant assurance of the love and truth of our God.
Joy doesn’t come and go with changing times.
Joy is not based on our feelings!

Here’s one definition:
Joy is a delight of the mind arising from the consideration of a present or assured possession of a future good.
(from The New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright (c) 1988.)

Acts 2:28
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
You will fill me with joy in Your presence.
NIV

I would say it like this;

I know my God, I know He’s faithful, He’s always with me and He fills me with HIM, which brings joy.

How else could we swallow a verse like James 1:2?

James 1:2

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds
NIV

Joy comes when we know our God and walk with Him.

Even in the darkest times, we can have joy because we trust that our God is working things out. That His Word is true and does not lie.

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
NIV

Joy can affect my feelings, but it is not determined by them.

Joy goes much deeper than happiness.

Nehemiah 8:10
This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."
NIV

The word strength can be defined in the Greek as:
A fortified place and a defense

How awesome is that?!

Not only does He give us joy in the midst of trial and tragedy, but it also becomes our place of safety and strength!

Our God is so good to us! I love Him so much don’t you?!

This verse sums it all up:
John 15:9-11
9 "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.
10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.
11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
NIV

There it is! We can have joy because He loves us!

Lord, I ask You to make Your love so real to us that it changes us! Let us remain in Your love and experience the joy that only YOU can give!

Taylor, we will never forget you

Yesterday was a tough one. We were awakened with a phone call that the teenage daughter of friends and members of our church family had been killed the night before in a car accident.

We spent time with the family yesterday and my heart is still just breaking for them. Words can’t express the pain and grief they are feeling. I can not imagine walking through that personally and I will tell you, I have praised God non-stop that I have not had to walk through such pain. As it is, Mark and I have not been able to stop breaking into tears about it.

This young girl was a gem. She was the real deal. She was pure and innocent and loving. She loved her Savior and the hope we hold on to is that we know she is dancing with Him now. Thankfully, the whole family is serving the Lord and they will get through this with the awesome, mighty hand of our Lord guiding them each step of the way. Taylor, we will never forget you.

Another (not so) momentous occasion yesterday was that I turned 40. Talk about putting life into perspective! It does not bother me at all to reach this decade, and after yesterday it seems even more insignificant.

I am so thankful for all the Lord has done for me these 40 years. I feel like I am finally figuring out what I want to be when I grow up!

I want my life to be lost in Him.
I want my family to know how much I love them.
I want to live out the rest of my days without regret, unashamedly worshipping my God.
I want to make true of myself, the statement that John Piper states in his book Desiring God:

“God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in Him.”

I am going to edit this to add this video.

I've seen it before and loved it, but considering yesterday, it is even more relevant to me today.

This is John Piper:

Peace In Our Homes

Isaiah 9:6-7
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
NIV

Prince of Peace- the rule of Christ is the rule of Christ.

If I’m going to have peace, it is going to be because I am submitted to the authority of Christ in my life.

Peace is always associated with authority.

Peace is not about peaceful circumstances, it is about the applied authority of Christ.


Colossians 3:15
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.
NIV


He IS the KING, but do we bow to Him as OUR King?


Is He King over my life in my marriage?
Is He King over my life as I parent?
Is He King over my life at my workplace?

Our sinful nature resists peace.

Here are some verses on peace that give us insight as how to have it in our homes:

Proverbs 17:1
Better a dry crust with peace and quiet
than a house full of feasting, with strife.
NIV
When there is strife ( some definitions: controversy, complain, debate) there will not be peace.

When the proper authority in a home is not in place, it is a home in chaos and discord…no peace.

Ephesians 5:22-24
22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.
23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.
24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
NIV

Submission is a place of peace for a woman if she does it as unto the Lord.
You can still make decisions together, it is not a dictatorship.

But we as women can get into a pattern of mothering our husbands. We treat them like one of the kids.

Most of the time, we don’t even realize we are doing it.
Sometimes our husbands just fall right into place and act like one of the kids.
It is a dangerous path for a marriage to take.


Proverbs 29:17
17 Discipline your son, and he will give you peace;
he will bring delight to your soul.
NIV

A lack of peace in your home could be a lack of discipline or disciple-ing your children.

A lack of proper authority. When the kids are in authority, there is no peace.

Isaiah 26:3
3 You will keep in perfect peace
him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.
NIV

Is my mind and thought life under the authority of Christ?

Isaiah 48:22
22 "There is no peace," says the LORD, "for the wicked."
NIV

Peace is reserved for the Godly- let’s enjoy it!

The Fruit of "Love"

Hello!
I got a good nights sleep and I feel a little more on my game - finally!

Family update:
Lauren is doing good, a little testy about the fact that she is on a liquid diet, but doing well.
We still don't have an address from Matt and haven't heard from him since last Saturday.
Mark is traveling this weekend, he went through the storms in Wisconsin yesterday and we now have golf ball to baseball size hail damage to the motorhome! He saw several semis and cars with busted windshields so he was thankful that didn't happen to them.

I've been thinking a lot lately about how I can honor the Lord with my life.
I want so badly to give Him all of me and be a reflection of Him to others.
I keep coming back to the fact that LOVE is what He is all about. Loving Him first and then loving others.

I want people to see HIM in me and be drawn to Him.

Galations 5:22-25
22 But the fruit (the evidence that He’s there) of the Spirit is
love,
joy,
peace,
patience,
kindness,
goodness,
faithfulness,
23
gentleness and
self-control.
Against such things there is no law.
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.
25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
NIV


How do we know what an apple tree is? We see apples on it.
You know what kind of tree it is by the fruit that is hanging on the branches or vines.

The same is true of our lives.
The fruit or “what is being produced” in our life, is the evidence of what kind of a tree we are.

Matt 7:16
16 By their fruit you will recognize them.


A look at the fruit of LOVE.

First, love God.
Deut 6:5-8
5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.
7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
NIV

Impress them on your children.
Do your children know what you believe?

It is our job as parents to teach them the Word of God. Sunday school and youth group should enhance that, but WE are the ones God has appointed to teach these children the Word of God.

We love God first, then we are to love others.

Matt 22:37-39
37 Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'
38 This is the first and greatest commandment.
39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

Paul told us very clearly what it looked like to love people:

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

4
Love is patient,
love is kind.
It does not envy,
it does not boast,
it is not proud.
5
It is not rude,
it is not self-seeking,
it is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs.
6
Love does not delight in evil
but rejoices with the truth.
7
It always protects,
always trusts,
always hopes,
always perseveres.
8
Love never fails.

There it is, I can't say it any better. This verse makes me take inventory of my life.
I fall really short- but our God is faithful and doesn't call us to do it alone- thank You Lord!
His mercies are new every morning.

Lord, help us to live a life of love that beautifully reflects who YOU are!

Seeking You first Lord

My life feels so crazy busy right now. This verse is just what I need to get through this time. I pray that the simple truth of it ministers to you today also.

Love in Christ,

Sue

Update on Lauren

Thanks so much for the prayers!
We are in her hospital room now. She is doing wonderfully- keep the pain meds coming!
Her surgery went well, he did a re-repair on her lip, some work on her palate and a little tuck on her nose.

The surgery was longer than we expected, 3 hours instead of 2, but she came out of it great!

We should be coming home tomorrow.

I have some things on my heart to share, so hopefully I'll have some computer time later this week.
Love,
Sue

Our Weekend at Sunday Creek

We spent the weekend in southern Ohio at a motocross race.

Here's Josh coming out of our weekend home!

Lauren hanging out with the racers in the motorhome while they cooled off.


Finally! She gets to ride!

Playing frisbee outside our trackside trailer.

You have to go through her to get your motocycle fixed!

Josh and Steph hanging with some friends.

We had some really great family time!

Please keep Lauren in your prayers as she has another surgery tomorrow on her cleft lip & palate. She should be overnight just one night.

I'll catch up with you all when we get home. Hopefully this weekend I can check your blogs out- I've been gone so much lately!

Sue