Is Your Hut Burning?

I'm not a fan of email forwards...no offense to those who are.  However, many years ago (in those early days of email), I printed out a forward I received because it really spoke to my need to trust God with everything.  While digging through boxes this morning to try to find yet another document which we need for our move, I found this small little print out.  Every now and then, God puts this little piece of paper in my path to remind me of His sovereignty.  Maybe it will speak to you as well.

Is Your Hut Burning?

The only survivor of a ship wreck was washed up on a small uninhabited island.  He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and everyday he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.  Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements and to store his few possessions.

But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky.  The worst had happened - everything was lost.  He was stunned with grief and anger.  "OH GOD, HELP ME!" he cried.

Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island.  It had come to rescue him.  "How did you know that I was here?" he asked the weary rescuers.  "We saw your smoke signals," they replied.  

It is easy to get discouraged when things are not going your way, but we shouldn't lose heart because God is at work in our lives even in the midst of pain and suffering.  Remember, next time your little hut is burning to the ground...it just may be God answering your prayers!


Proverbs 3:5  "Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."

Have You Been Hugged Today?

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:17-19

Last night I ran in the Dollar Tree to get some lollipops for the kids' Valentine cards.  I felt like I was walking into Walmart on Black Friday!  There were people everywhere grabbing up anything pink or red in the store.  I even saw one guys with about 5 Valentine cards in his hand (I can only hope they were for sisters, friends, and a mother and not all his girlfriends)!!  Needless to say, I walked out with no lollipops.  Have no fear though.  I wondered next door to Party City and found what I needed 15 for $1!  As I looked around at all those people buying gifts for the ones they loved from the Dollar Tree (I'm not knocking the Dollar Tree, trust me), it made me think about the kind of "love" we have come to know in this day and age.  To me, it seems like love has become a "dollar store" kind of love.  It is very different than the perfect Love that comes from our Heavenly Father.  If we do know that kind of love, we should be overwhelmed with the desire to share it and to give people the chance to grasp the depth of His love for us.  If someone offered you the choice between a dollar plastic ring or a diamond one from Tiffany's, which would you choose? 

A couple of nights ago, I was putting Kieran to bed.  He was giving me one of his many bedtime hugs and he said, "Mommy, don't you just love when God hugs you?  I can feel when He hugs me.  Actually, He's hugging me right now."  Wow!  What a blessing to feel the arms of God wrapped around us.  Isn't it time to put aside the cheap, Dollar Tree love and reach for the One who can give us something so much better?

"How Deep the Father's Love For Us"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vmY2ztb5xc 

One Lost Lego - A Modern Day Parable

One Sunday evening, a young boy and his mom decided to do a craft project that she had found on a website.  It was a liquid soap container with Lego blocks suspended in the soap.  Since her son was such a huge fan of Legos, she knew he would love it.  So, she washed the empty soap container, and he went to gather a hand full of blocks.  He was a little concerned about giving up some of his treasured toys to put in soap, but after seeing the picture again of the final product, he decided it would be worth it.  In the bathroom, the two started assembling the masterpiece… first a few blocks, then some soap.   The boy picked up his next piece to add to the container when it slipped out of his hands and went down the sink drain.  A look of fear came over the boy’s face and then the tears started to flow.  His mom tried to comfort him by saying it was just one Lego piece and that he had plenty more.  However, nothing could console him as he stared down the drain.  So, the mom went and got the boys dad.  His dad crawled under the sink with his tools.  He tugged and pulled, twisted and turned, but the drain would not budge.   

He thought of giving up several times, but every time he saw the look on his son’s face, he tried again.  Finally, he tried another part of the drain and it came apart.  Out popped the small, green, Lego block. Cheering and laughing echoed through the bathroom!  The once lost Lego was now found and the craft could be completed!  

Whether it be a lost sheep (Luke 15:3-7), a lost coin (Luke 15:8-10), a lost son (Luke 15:11-32), or a little lost Lego, God reminds us over and over again that we are all special to him.  He doesn’t want any of us to be lost.  Even though there are billions of other people on this earth, he wants to have a special relationship with each one of us.  

“In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”  Luke 15:10 

In His Eyes

I don't know when it happens.  Maybe we can blame Barbie or the models on the front of magazines.  Everywhere around us we are bombarded with images of perfection that make us feel...well...imperfect.  Once we get a little older and more mature, we accept the fact that our hair will never look like we think it should look and most days we're just happy to get a shower.  Once we reach that stage, then we start reading blogs written by those super moms.  You know the ones who get showers, put on make up, do incredible crafts with their kids (who never watch TV or play video games), and make all their meals from scratch.  No offense, super moms!  Suddenly, we are drawn back into that feeling of inadequacy. 

Tonight, when I was putting Kieran to bed, I learned a lesson.  After singing Kieran his lullabies, he looked at me and said, "Mommy, you sing the most beautifully I have ever heard.  You have such a beautiful voice.  I wish you had a show where you could sing so that everyone could hear you.  Everyone needs to hear your beautiful voice.  You're the best mommy in the whole world."  I may not be a super model or even mother of the year, but I know that in his eyes, I'm perfect.  That's all the recognition I need.  

Mommy, I don't know where I live...

Christmas at "our" zoo in Columbia

Well, after about a million miles on the road, we are finally back in Dallas.  I wouldn't say we are totally settled into life here, but it is still good to be back in our "own" space for a little while.  Last week, Elyse came up to me and said, "Mommy, I don't know where I live."  Suddenly, I realized that I was feeling the same way.  Isn't it funny how kids often say the things that we are feeling inside?

As Christians, we should always feel somewhat unsettled here on earth.  Whether we live in the same house or town our whole lives or move around every few months, our true home is in heaven.  We should always keep our focus on pointing others to that heavenly home.  John 14:1-3 says, "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also."

We were so blessed on our travels to be welcomed into many homes.  The love we felt made each home feel like a mansion to us.  So here is a big THANK YOU to everyone who offered us a meal, a bed, or a special "welcome home" smile and hug.  We may not always know where we live physically, but we know we have a special place in your hearts and you will always have a permanent place in ours.

Here are a few pictures from our journey these last couple of months...

Uncle Matthew and Brittany

The McClure Crew

The Driggers Family

The Stubbs Gang

The Gongres

The VanZante Family

The Layman Boys

Christmas with MaMa and Da

Fun with Cousins!

King Triton

The Little Mermaid

Simple Living

Last night Kris took me to the Keith and Kristyn Getty concert in Greenville.  The Gettys are probably my favorite singer/songerwriters and have written some of the best modern hymns of our time.  Many of the songs they sang touched me, but the words of one song really caught my attention.  This time of year it is very easy to get caught up with all the sales and commercials.  Even though we have limited our purchases this year, I still find myself looking at ads saying, "Wow, that is such a good deal." or "Maybe they just need one more present."  I've decided to print out the words to this song and make this my prayer.  The chorus goes like this:

Oh teach me Lord to walk this road,

The road of simple living;

To be content with what I own

And generous in giving.

And when I cling to what I have

Please wrest it quickly from my grasp

I'd rather lose all the things of earth

To gain the things of heaven.

For some reason, this burro we met on the side of the road in Mexico seems like a good image for simple living!

There's No Place Like Home

Have you ever noticed a how many Christmas songs talk about home?  I don't think I'd realized it until this year.  "There's no place like home for the holidays", "I'll be home for Christmas"...it really is everywhere.  One of my favorite parts of Christmas as an adult has always been decorating my home for the holidays.  I would climb up in the attic, pull down the rubber maid containers and watch them explode all over the house!  I don't know why, but the house always seemed more "homey" during the holiday season.  And the smell...this was the time to break out the apple cinnamon and pine scented candles!  You might even catch me making a batch of sugar cookies! 

At "home" making Christmas cookies

As I write this tonight, I'm feeling a little homesick.  However, this is a different kind of homesickness than I've experienced before because "home" has become a new concept for us.  We've been living out of suitcases since the end of October when we left for Mexico and will continue to live out of those suitcases until January.  We're trying to help our kids understand that "home" is more than a building and will probably be changing a lot for us over the next few years.  Thankfully, during our trip to Mexico, both of our kids adapted well to our change of homes.  One day when we came back to our one-room accommodation, Kieran said, "Ahhh....home sweet home!"  Another day after some sightseeing, Elyse said, "I want to go home!"  I wasn't sure what she was talking about so I asked her more about this "home" she wanted and she described the place we were staying in Mexico.

Making yummy memories with great friends!

Even though I am feeling homesick, I am also feeling very blessed that we have so many friends and family members who have opened up their homes to us as we travel around.  Some even let us stay with a sick child (thanks McClures)!  We really did have more offers for homes than we have nights to stay.  I was thinking this week about the Christmas story and realized that even that precious baby we celebrate this time of year was born into a nomadic life.  Mary and Joseph traveled many miles before he was born.  "Away in a manger no crib for His bed, the little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head."  Our Lord and Savior wasn't at home the night of his birth.  I don't know how long they stayed in Bethlehem, but I doubt Mary loaded up on the donkey the day after giving birth...in a barn!  We do know that eight days after his birth they traveled to Jerusalem where he was blessed by Simeon.  Matthew 2:13-15 tells us that sometime probably before he was 2, the family had to flee to Egypt to escape Herod's jealousy.  Sounds like a family who knows what it is like to live out of a suitcase.

So, tonight, I'll say an extra prayer of thanks for the warm bed, soft pillow, loving friends and a baby born in a manger.  After all, home is where the heart is.