Meet our adopted Kids!!!

ALL The Paths of the Lord Are Lovingkindness and Truth

Eight years ago, God abruptly relocated our family to Hampton VA. We went from living in Swaziland Africa, on a beautiful mountain side to living in a drug infested neighborhood in Hampton,VA. We went from watching brilliant, soothing, starlit nights to watching a mad police chase right in our own front yard. We went from a huge yard to almost no yard. We went from great friends to no friends. We went from fulfilled dreams to confusion and shock.
We were scratching our heads!
What happened?
Strange trial? It was to us. But, isn’t God good? He leads in such unexpected, but wise ways.
Looking back, my life makes no sense. Not one bit. However, I often think of Corey Tin Boom’s thoughts: Our lives are like a tapestry. If you look on the back side, it’s a jumbled mess. If you look on the flip side, it’s a beautiful picture. One day, we will see the beautiful picture, the finished picture. Won’t we marvel at the wondrous work of God? No doubt, we will bow down at the feet of an awesome, wise heavenly Father, and rejoice in His goodness. One day, we will fully grasp that “all things (truly do) work together for good” One day we will join with the Psalmist and say truly “ALL the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth.” What a day of rejoicing that will be!

Romans 8:28; Ps 25:10

The Righteous Sing

We recently refinished our wood floors. They are beautiful to behold! In fact, I’m so excited I can hardly sleep at night. I feel revived! Excited about life! Encouraged in the journey! It’s a gift, a gift from God. I prayed for the money and God answered. Does God always answer “yes”? Not always, but He did this time! Desire realized is sweet to the soul! It’s a time to rejoice in God’s provision, God’s gracious concern for our temporal desires. Amazing.

Last night, my husband, pointed out how there is an amazing differenc e in my countenance. He said that usually I’m grumpy and upset, but now I’m skipping around happy. He says it’s the hardwood floors!
He’s right. This bothers me.
Sadly, I don’t seem to skip around the house singing because I’m excited about my salvation. Nor have I ever lost sleep because I’m forgiven and free.
Why not?
Why does the temporal thrill me and the the gift of salvation does not?
Proverbs 29:6 (Ps 119:14)
…..the righteous sing and rejoice. For some reason I don’t think this means the righteous sing and rejoice only when his floors are renovated. No. I think it has something to do with the constant, continuous condition of his heart. A heart that is right with God. Forgiven, cleansed, guilt-free. Therefore, the righteous sing. They rejoice.
How do I change? It will certainly require discipline on my part. Reflecting daily on the Gospel. Meditating on the grace of God and what it means to me. Listening to cross centered music. Listening and feeding on Gospel centered preaching.
Lord, I’m living on a “high” right now regarding my house, but Lord help me to live on a “high” regarding my redemption. Thoughts of finished work of Christ should be my constant consolation.

Life's a Beach!

My Beloveds!

I recently saw this quote on a plaque. I thought nothing of it.
However, fresh from the beach, I’ve decided they’re right! Life is a beach! (for me anyway) Let me explain. We were blessed and fortunate enough to go at just the perfect time. The weather was ideal. Not too hot, not too cold. The breeze was not too strong, not too weak. It was a divine opportunity to rest and relax. However, as ideal as the circumstances were, I was not relaxed. As usual, I was the worried sick mother. Constantly counting heads, screaming for everyone to remain knee deep, looking out for sharks, trying to convince my husband to be a good example by staying close to shore.
However, one day, by God’s grace, I had a divine moment. Surprisingly, it happened while sitting in my beach chair. Something I don’t normally do! While sitting and gazing over the vast ocean with a cool breeze on my face, a supernatural peace and calm suddently washed over my soul. For a few moments, I sat quietly, closely communing with the Lord and praying for my children. Did I mention a few moments?!!! While enjoying this brief euphoric moment, abruptly my daughter walked up crying. The little girls she was playing with had rejected her. She was “starving”. The sun had wearied her. Her skin was beginning to burn. I knew she needed to go home. So, off we go, trudging through the thick, deep sand with my “out of shape” legs. We finally arrive home. Sand, salt, and grime from head to toe. After hosing off with cold water, we go in, take a bath, only to find even more sand caked up on the sides of the tub. Exhausted from the day, we cleaned the tub.



That’s life. Trials, hard work, disappointments are inevitable. The moments of euphoria are usually brief. The trials long.



However, for every single trial, there is grace. For every trial! Troubles are as varied as the colors of paint chips in a paint store. But, the grace to endure them all remains the same. It comes from an endless fountain, the fountain of God’s grace. It’s sufficient. It never runs out.
II Cor 12:9-10
And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness: Most gladly, therefore, I will boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

Take me out to the Ball-Game!

We're not very enthusiastic when the Nats are losing.


The open gate of Nationals park,
which has a pretty good view of the field.

'Take Me out to the Ball-Game!


Take me out to the crowd!


Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks,


I don't care if I EVER get back!.....'



We sung that memorable song on August 12th, when we saw the Nationals v.s. Mets game. Although the Nats (our home team) lost, we enjoyed ourselves to the max!! We were seated on the third base line, so we got a few good shots of our favorite players:


Mets' shortstop, Jose Reyes, our favorite player
on the Mets team, striking out!


Our favorite on the Nationals, third baseman,
Ryan Zimmerman!

Matthew's birthday

Happy Birthday Matthew!!

A few days ago, on August 7th, Matthew turned 14. He was surprised and excited when he saw his new set of golf clubs. You can tell with his cheesy grin! :) He was also treated to Lasanga. After that he enjoyed his favorite dessert, Angel Cake with ice cream and strawberries. He also recieved another present: to a baseball game of the Nationals v.s. Mets!! Although they lost, I'm sure Matthew enjoyed his Birthday.

OOPS!!

I'm sorry. There's been a slight error. A few posts ago, I said I was going to put it on the website. Unfortunately, for some unknown reason, the blog cannot take it. So now, if you want to see a few, just contact me (through email or something) and send me your address. From there, I will send you a disc of the movies. No charge or cost!!!

You get three short movies at a time, and this first disc, you get the bonus "First Lego Movie", which, as the title says, is our first, two second Lego movie! Again, No Charge and No Cost!! Just contact me and send me your address, and soon you will be enjoying some Lego fun!!



Also, if this doesn't work, then I'm not sure how to get the movies to you. So if this doesn't work, please give me a suggestion.