Russell and I are "Great"!

Okay - so Marc and Sam are going to have their first baby in August. Which will make me an Aunt for the first time on my side of the family. Well, meet Corrie Bush. She was born Feb 9 and has made me a Great Aunt! Of course I just got this title by marriage - Russell is really the Great Uncle as she is the daughter of his nephew and wife. Anyway - isn't she pretty?????

God is good!!!!

God is so good as to answer our prayers. Thank you so much for them and for your notes of encouragement concerning Anne's face. Anything having to do with the face is so scary. As you can see - she is doing fine. Yesterday when she woke up - it was like night and day. I think it's going to heal up very nicely. Of course, I've driven her crazy keeping the anti-biotic ointment on it. Thanks again!!!!!

My Poor Anne Girl

Anne had an injury with the neighbor's dog today. We thought at first that it was a bite, and I got panicked at first with the blood, but we know now that it is just a scratch. The dog just got a little excited. She's a little swollen tonight. Please pray that this will heal up quickly - with no scars on her pretty little face.......

Thanks!

Christ - Our Ultimate Sacrifice!

As we continue to study Moses in BSF, I am amazed at how I have done this study twice before and yet keep being so affected by the things I am learning. I guess we all need reminders of God's great love for us.

This week we talked about the Day of Atonement and the sacrifices made over and over and over and over again by the High Priest. The Day of Atonement was the one day a year where the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies, where God's presence was, and make atonement for the sins of all the people. If he didn't carry out his duties just as the Lord commanded, it resulted in death! Can you imagine the pressure!?!

I have been struck by the thought of all the blood. Now, I know that sacrifices are bloody and messy - but I guess I thought it was somewhat contained. But how can the blood really be contained when in reality, our sin cannot be contained? Our sin affects everyone and everything around us. Adam and Eve's sin in the garden affected the whole world! Everything in this world is tainted by sin.

This week I realized that the beautiful, ornate garments that the Priests wore - they had jewels and precious stones. They had gold woven into them. They were sprinkled with blood! The tabernacle itself - The Israelites spent months sewing and building and making it just to God's specifications. Once a year it was sprinkled with blood! The beautiful Ark of the Covenant and all it's gold - sprinkled in blood! Blood was everywhere! Blood stains! Blood turns black after it sits for a while. Blood doesn't come out! But blood was necessary in order to be forgiven of their sin. The cost of sin is death - physical and eternal death - whether it be an animal, or us, or Jesus Christ. Something has to die. What a messy ordeal.

I am so thankful that Jesus Christ was the ultimate sacrifice! That he came and died in my place. That we don't have to make these kind of animal sacrifices anymore. Even the animal sacfrifices didn't work completely. They weren't perfect! The priests performing them weren't perfect. We could NEVER live up to God's standard! But, because of His great love and mercy for us, Jesus became the final sacrifice for all of us. He was perfect - without sin - and so He could be the final priest and sacrifice. I still sin and God takes that sin very seriously. But, because I have given my life to Him and trusted Him as my Lord and Savior, when He looks at me, He sees the blood of Christ and I am forgiven! Halleluia! What a Savior!

I was listening to this song on the way to BSF this morning and I thought about how easily we justify our sin. But even the smallest sin that we attempt to justify is rebellion against God. It's so easy to go along and think that we are doing "okay". This song reminded me that I'm not okay, but that God loves me unconditionally! Why? Because He is a God of great grace and I am His child!

Click on the title to hear the song......

Never Been Unloved
Micheal W. Smith

I have been unfaithful
I have been unworthy
I have been unrighteous
And I have been unmerciful
I have been unreachable
I have been unteachable
I have been unwilling
And I have been undesirable

And sometimes I have been unwise
I've been undone by what I'm unsure of
But because of you and all that you went through
I know that I have never been unloved

I have been unbroken
I have been unmended
I have been uneasy
And I have been unapproachable
I've been unemotional
I've been unexceptional
I've been undecided
And I have been unqualified

Unaware - I have been unfair
I've been unfit for blessing from above
But even I can see The sacrifice You made for me
To show that I have never been unloved.
It's because of You and all that you went through
I know that I have never been unloved

Congratulations Shanon!

My girlfriends and I put together a baby shower this weekend for our friend Shanon! We have been praying about this baby for quite a while and it has been such a blessing to be able to watch all that God has done to answer our prayers. We are so excited about this little guy coming!
Anyway - I thought I'd share some of the fun stuff we did!Her husband, Jon is a pilot. So naturally, the nursery is being done in airplanes. I made the cake to match the quilt.Emily and her mom worked on the Diaper cake and these great flowers made from baby booties! How cute are they????We got a bunch of plain onesies and decorated them with fabric markers. How fun is that?Again - Congratulations Shanon and Jon!

Thoughts from Russell.....

Russell wrote this the other day and has given me permission to share it with you. Enjoy......

The journey is long
The road often rough
Your grace always reminding me
I'm held by your love.

I've never been alone
No reason for me to fear
No matter how the day went
You have always been near.

So keep me in Your hand,
Cover me with Your cross,
Guide me in Your way,
And I'll never be lost.

Lead me in Your will,
May Your truth be my guide,
Your glory my desire,
Your presence by my side.

Make my thoughts Your own,
May my desires come from you,
Growing deeper in your ways,
A heart that is true.

Looking back, the way is clear,
Growth easy to see,
Trusting you with each step,
Please keep reminding me.

We Won't Be Becomming Neighbors With the Mouse

We want to thank everyone for your outpouring of love and prayers on our behalf concerning our potential move to Orlando. God is good and has answered our prayers. He has given us clarity, wisdom and direction. He has done many things in our minds and hearts in the last several weeks, as I have been sharing. Amazingly, sometimes God just needs us to be broken and ready to be used no matter what. He brought me to that point and then He closed the door.

Basically, things just were not coming together smoothly. A friend told me today that when it comes to things like this, God's will is like a current. Once the process begins, it continues to sweep everything around you in the same direction. I thought that was such an insightful word picture. So many other times in our lives, when making a decision, God has just easily moved everything in the same direction and then it all falls right into place. This was not happening for us concerning Orlando. We kept hitting major road blocks. We kept asking God for "Red Flags". He would put them up and we would investigate, but nothing was ever smooth. Through a series of circumstances, He showed us that this is not His plan for us right now. God is not a God of confusion, but a God of peace. To go to Orlando would be like putting a square peg in a round hole. It just wasn't fitting.

Russ called them tonight and gave them our decision. Minutes afterward he came into the kitchen and told me that he felt a huge weight off his shoulders. He was lighthearted and had a peace. I rejoice in the answer to prayer and the confirmation that God has already brought us.

We don't know what this means, other than our "cloud" is still settled over Jacksonville and we will wait again until it moves. If at all. Maybe His work is here. For me, I think He needed to bring me to my knees, help me see some areas that He wanted to work on, and get me ready to serve Him in a new way. I needed to not only know with my head, but understand with my heart, that all He has given me (my house) is His anyway. He gives and He takes away. It all belongs to Him. It's all temporary. In the long run, I want Him to say "Well done, my good and faithful servant". I don't want to stand before Him with the excuse of a silly house. It's amazing to me how we can say with our mouths that everything is the Lord's, but once He begins to take it away, we sure start humming a different tune.

For now, in His grace and mercy, He is allowing me stay here. I thought that maybe Disney was going to be my "Icing on the cake", but now I see that the "icing" is my house. He has once again used it to prove that he "provides exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or imagine." (Eph. 3:20) He just wanted my willingness to give it up and my unwavering devotion to serve Him. He has it.

Now, I must tell you how very thankful I am for my Russell. God has blessed me with a wonderful, loving husband who seeks the Lord with all his heart. I have watched him carry the weight of this decision. I am sooooo proud of the way he handled this entire situation. I have seen growth, boldness and maturity. I appreciate his taking care of me and the kids - of having the foresight to ask the right questions, of taking the responsibility of it all. I know he has earnestly sought the Lord and that this has been hard because his desire to go was go great. But I love the fact that his desire to be obedient was and is even greater. I have a wonderful husband and I am honored to stand by his side. No matter where the Lord takes us next, I'm ready and willing. I will support his decision because I trust him. I'm excited to see what is ahead.

We may not be becoming neighbors with our favorite Mouse, but we will continue to visit often........

Thanks again for all your prayers. We'll keep you posted.......