31 Days of Life: Day 6

We are so blessed on this day to welcome our new friends and co-laborers in the Gospel to Roswell! On the wings of 2 U-haul trucks and many prayers, the new worship pastor and his family landed this afternoon. It was a great evening as several people gathered to help unload boxes and furniture into their new place.

There is just something so rich about coming together to help one another in these times of need. At one point there were so many kiddos running around; I was certain they were multiplying  ;-) Turns out, several boys from a few houses down were so excited to have new neighbors that they were carrying boxes in from the truck, too! Wow! Talk about a great welcome to town! I loved it. Then, I saw one our great buddies mowing their lawn for them. It was such a blessing to see everyone serving each other out of kindness.

Surely, God created us for community: to love and serve others for His glory and not our own... never-mind the aching backs. Count it all joy!

31 Days: Day 5

It seems hard to believe that we are already 5 days into October! We lead such busy lives, and sometimes I wish it would slow down just a bit. I think the key to this is: learning to say no. Pastor Matt says that one of the biggest challenges to Christians these days is saying 'no' to good things. While I can't really think of any major things to say "no" to right now, I do want to start praying over the little things that eat away at our time and bring added busyness into our days. We've had a full day today, and we are all looking forward to Saturday! The weather is supposed to be unseasonably cool tomorrow. Yay! Fall!

Since I'm ready to bring this day to a close, I'll leave you with a sweet memory of something our precious girls did today. After having our trampoline out of commission for nearly 6 months, Brandon and the girls hung a replacement net on it yesterday. Since they fixed it at sunset, they weren't able to get much jumping done. So, first thing this morning after getting out of bed, they quickly dressed in jackets and "sock" gloves over their night gowns. Then, they came to Daddy asking if they could PLEASE go jump?! He proceeded to tell them, "We have a very busy day ahead of us and need to get ready asap!! So, no, you may not go jump. Sure!"

I wish we had a picture to share of it, but they were freezing and didn't stay out for long. Those 2 girls are the main reason I want to slow down - to make sure that we are saying "Sure!" to God things and not being weighted down by the busyness of 'good' things.

31 Days of Life: Day 4

Last fall, our family began leading a program in Roswell called Classical Conversations and made some great friends in the process. During our community days, each family takes a turn to share something about themselves: their names, their interests/hobbies, etc. Everyone enjoys this time of getting to know one another, and we always learn so much in the process! While this is only a small part of what we do on CC days, every family leaves a lasting impact in our lives. I can't help but feel a richness in this type of fellowship, and I often think about how God uses families in a special way to impact others for His glory.

One day in particular last fall, a family shared about how they loved to work in their garden together and that God had created Adam and Eve to work even before the Fall of man. While that had never donned on me, I began to think about work in a different way. They went on to tell about the different fruits and vegetables that they were growing, and as they talked, they showed us a beautiful basket overflowing with the bounty of their labor. After they were finished, they offered all of what they had brought to share with each of us. The mom had even made homemade pickles for each family to have, and they were delicious! Within the next few weeks, they invited our small CC group to their home for lunch and a garden "field trip." Woohoo! It was such a sweet thing for them to do, and of course, we all left that day with even more of their wonderful fruits and veggies.

Well, Brandon already enjoyed gardening and wanted to learn to plant things here in this different earth we now love as home. Their presentation nudged us to want to do something similar. So, after doing some research: talking with other gardeners, visiting the seed store, and reading things online... Brandon and the girls got busy this past spring and planted a garden in our backyard! It was hard work getting the garden ready to be planted, but it has been so rewarding to watch it grow and GROW! Throughout the summer, we've been blessed with yellow squash, okra, eggplant, cantaloupe, spaghetti squash, butternut squash, onion, and LOTS of zucchini! Some things grew better than others, and it's been a chore to keep it watered in this "desert" country. However the hard work that Brandon and the girls put into it has been worth it, and it's been so much fun seeing the girls get excited about it time and time again.

That garden has been a good reminder to me of what that dear family told us last year: God did create us for work! There is much reward in a life labored for Him.

31 Days of Life: Day 3

25 Things:

1. We didn't get to watch the presidential debate tonight.
2. The brakes had to get fixed on the car today.
3. The girls and I had to find a ride to church.
4. I forgot to go over one of the major segments of Libby's school work.
5. Brandon had a last minute meeting come up.
6. Wednesday church activities went on.
7. A precious brother in Christ went home to heaven tonight.
8. Our hearts hurt.
9. Our hearts rejoice.
10. I clipped nails...mine, Clara's, and the dog's.
11. I still need to clip Libby's.
12. The seat belt in the car needs to be replaced.
13. I'm reading "Excused Absence" by Doug Wilson.
14. Listening to Pastor Matt's sermon on podcast in 1.5x speed is so cool!
15. Brandon is super busy with lots of special events going on at church.
16. Please pray for him.
17. Our girls want to invite approximately 53.4 people to Friend Day at our church.
18. They want to be able to give them a ride to church, too. :-)
19. iOS6 has messed up our iPhones.
20. I'm so thankful for our iPad!
21. Our friends are going through a very difficult time right now.
22. We are thrilled for our new worship pastor and family coming to FBC Roswell!
23. Listening to Brandon tie his shoelaces at 5:30 am is probably the loudest a shoelace can be!
24. I'm humbled that God puts us in places of leadership.
25. I hope we all read our Bibles more.

Life happened today. I'm thankful for Jesus who holds all things together.