The Return of Devotionals - December 4, 2011

So, by popular demand, I am resuming the daily devotional posts with the intent of doing them daily. I initially stopped the posts because I was bed-ridden with a horrible flu/strep/stomach flu and I couldn't even find energy to haul my rear out of bed. Of course this led to Josh running the house which is NO good at all! I spent the next few months trying to regain control...and I'm still losing at that challenge!

I thought I would give a quick background on myself so anyone following the blog will know where my influences, knowledge-base, and opinions side from.

The early years of my life were spent with my Granpa and Granny McPherson 1/4 mile south of our farm house...Granny and Granpa would always make it a point to tell me about Jesus and God even though we never attended church. "Farm work always has to get done, but the Lord's work has to as well." is what they would often say. They prayed for rain, they prayed for a good crop season, they prayed for the rain to stop, they prayed for safety...they prayed. I learned all the hard work that anyone would growing up on a farm. But, I learned to trust God despite it all.

My parents divorced when I was 7. This was hard for me to handle, but I trusted God. I knew that He would bring me through. There were perks to it. My parents weren't fighting all the time and we only lived 30 minutes away. However, I think living through a divorce at a young age can make you have one of two opinions: 1) Marriages will never work. If my parents who were madly in love can't fix their problems, how will I be able to fix any my husband and I have? or 2) I will make my marriage work because I don't believe in divorce and I believe a marriage can work...especially a Christ-centered marriage.

When I was 9, I was sexually molested by a family friend throughout one summer. This happened to my cousin, a friend, and myself. I, again trusted God. (For those wondering why I didn't go to my parents, it wasn't fully that I didn't think they wouldn't believe, but it was more out of embarassment...which is what you will see of any child who goes through this.) I asked that He remove this summer from my mind as much as possible and that He just let me move on with life. God is a faithful God and I all but forgot the summer. Over time I came to forgive the man "'...for vengence is mine,' says the Lord." My cousin didn't do this and unfortunately has a very large black mark on her heart that has not left yet. I use this experience to help others who have had a similar experience or who an adult might think has had this to help them. God gave me this situation to help others and oddly, I'm thankful for it as I'm the only one in my church who works with children who can spot this type of abuse.

In 5th grade, I met my best friend, Becky, and her family. After spending time with them, I decided being baptized is where my path was leading. Through the fellowship and love of my "other" family, I grew more faithful and trusting in my relationship with God. Becky often called me a "roast beef eating Christian" as compared to those of my age who were eating "Gerber". I guess God called me to a more intellectual understanding of the scripture at an earlier time. I was also very interested in the missionary field and doing good for others...afterall, that is what Christ did while on earth.

When I went away to college (earlier than any of my friends), I was worried that I would lose God. However, I found a great church in KC (Holmeswood Baptist) where I have been attending since my first Sunday in town. With the help of great leaders like Rick and Keith, and many adult friends who showed interest in me, I have been able to keep up with God.

It was on my first Sundat at Holmeswood that I met my future husband, Josh. The story about Josh is long and somewhat arduous at times, so let's just say, we married on August 13, 2005 after knowing each other for 4 years. Josh and I decided we would not have any biological children of our own but would become foster/adoptive parents. We have had two placements since becoming foster parents last year. Our first placements (Daeon 13, Adriele 9, & Mondrea 1) lived with us for 6 weeks before being successfully reunified with their mom. We see them weekly for chuch! Our second placement is still in process and has been for over a year (Jamion 5, CJ 3, CeKariya 2, and London 1). We are currently praying about child #5. Pray for us.

So, the to sum it up: 1) I was born and bred on a farm, 2) My parents divorced when I was 7, 3) I was sexually molested when I was 9, 4) I grew up in small town America, 5) I moved to a big city, 6) Was 3rd in my high school class and 7th in my college class, 7) Have my Bachelor's of Business Administration - graduating when I was just 21, 8) Have worked in sales, marketing, and business administration all in the corporate world, 9) Love to help others, spend time with family, and travel, 10) Believe God can overcome all my minuscule things to bring me to greater glory in him.

Now, the devotional: Wounds from a Friend - December 4, 2011

Scripture: Proverbs 27:6 - Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.
So, this is a little deep. Who wants friends who are going to cause wounds? Who wants enemies that kiss? Well, the answers are we do and we don't. We all should want friends who are going to cause wounds because these are the tried and true friends who will tell it to us like it is...not the kind who will cover it over.

Take a quick survey of all your friends...young, old, new, or existing. Do you have the kin dof friends who will tell you the truth? Will they hold you accountable for your actions? Will they tell you when you're going to make a mistake and still love you when you ignore their advice? Will they tell you if you have salad in your teeth, or lipstick on them, or that you forgot to zip your pants, or that the static electricity is causing your skirt to rise? Will they go deeper when you answer, "Fine"?

If you answered "Yes" to any of these questions, then you've got friends who are going to cause wounds. But their wounds are not intended to tear you down, but to help build you up and heal your pain. "They will never exploit your weakness, but they won't allow it to be your excuse either. They challenge, they encourage, they love, they laugh, and they don't walk out when things get tough." These are the friends who are in it for good or bad.

In doing my evaluation, I find I only have a handful of friends that I can say this about...It's a very small handful as well. (I can't even think of 10 who have stood by me in all the things I've been through!) And yes, I've had screaming matches with each of these friends, walked out during fights, said mean things to them, and cried over them. But with each rough patch came a much greener and brighter patch...the kind you find in paradise alone! These friends (yes, some are men) have seen me on my best days where nothing will bring me down and on my worst days where I cannot redeem myself or even get out of bed. They have hurt me to my core, but when that wound heals, I'm a better person for it.

On the flip side, I've had many friends who fall into the latter part of the verse "...but an enemy multiplies kisses." These friends are only there while the good is there to get. They want to be there when you're on the up and up and things are sunny and bright. They would be the friends you go party with, but bail when you get pulled over on the drive home. Or the friends who stay with you through some of the bad...like when it's raining only because there's always a rainbow, but they won't stay if a blizzard hits. I guess I've had more of these friends because sometimes we all need superficial love to feel justified at some point. But the older I get, the more I realize that I'd rather have fewer friends willing to inflict wounds when needed than have more friends who shower me with kisses as a falsehood for their selfish desires.

So, remember when your friend who has been there for over 20 years looks you in the eyes and makes you cry, it's because they love you. And remember, you should be a friend willing to wound them when it's needed.

Something Beautiful - Devotional Day 7 - September 27

Scripture: Proverbs 30:23 - ...an unloved woman who is married...

This is an open sentence...it can many many different things. Today's devotional is actually about feeling up the "love" cup of our husbands. Afterall, they may be big and strong and sturdy, but they need love just as much as we do.

"Husbands need attention, too. It's easy to get so caught up in the needs of our children that the needs of our husbands slide down the priority scale into oblivion. Our personal needs can fall somewhere even lower if we aren't careful." How many times have you gotten caught up in the needs of your kiddos or even your own needs that you forget your spouse exists? For those who are in a dating relationship...have you ever forgotten your man/woman? Have the tables ever been turned on you...you've been forgotten? If you have, you know it hurts. It makes you feel miserable, unloved, maybe even depressed.

"No relationship can survive on autopilot." What a statement! Is your relationship currently running on autopilot? Maybe you didn't even know it is on autopilot. It amazes me when I look back on my previous years of marriage...I can pinpoint several areas where the relationship was on autopilot. Oddly enough, we made it through those areas and continue to grow and thrive. It's especially clear to see the autopilot if I look back to when Josh and I first began dating. When you begin a new relationship, there's lots of work to be done....like a garden or growing a tree.

The right spot has to be chosen for the tree...or in this case, it has to be the right person. This is a hard thing because you don't know when you begin if he/she is the right one for you. Likewise, the "right" spot for a tree may not actually be the "right" spot.

After finding the right spot, you have to cultivate the soil. This would be much like the blind date stage...where you think you have enough information to at least see if it could be something. Then, once you know it might work, you're ready to plant the seed and water it. This would relate to the bonding period of a relationship. The time taken to really get to know each other. This is the time where everyone is minding their P's and Q's and doing what they can to make good impressions.

Eventually the tree's roots get deeper and the branches spread out. Now the tree appears to be on autopilot. It can reach it's own water via the water table and the branches gather the ran as it falls. It's a beautiful thing! Strong enough to "fend" for itself, yet vulenerable to the elements. You can see it's full potential in sight, but just one strong storm can take it down.

And you thought taking care of a new tree would be easy! It's the same for a relationship. While our trees are growing big and strong, we still need to trim off dead branches, pull down dangerous vines that begin to grow on it, make sure the kids don't peel the bark off of it, etc. There is always some form of work that the tree needs help with. This is the same with a relationship. While it might seem self-sustaining, there is always work that needs to be done to keep it growing, thriving, and beautiful.

What fruit will you choose to sow? Will you choose to nurture your relationships and make sure they thrive?

Show everyone something beautiful!

Our Lives

Attached is a slideshow of our recent lives since the last post. There are pictures of CeKariya's birthday...cause I couldn't remember if I had posted any yet. There are pictures of all the kiddos. There are also pictures from when Dad, Dony, & Ginger came out to visit last weekend. We had a good time with them.
Enjoy!

Everything A Whirl

Life has been quite a whirl lately. Holmeswood Baptist has had our Fall Festival. Halloween has come and gone. We've buried Josh's favorite Grandma (who happens to now be in Heaven partying). Our stoop is decorated for open houses and fall is rounding out. Below are pictures with descriptions for what life has brought to use last month.



A cross at First Presbyterian Church in Warrensburg, Missouri



A fall reflective picture


Chris as a nerd

Kate has ghostly eyes...hard to tell, but they are purple

MC Hammer wanna-be, Jim

Heartland Halloween Annual Picture

Sergio (IT) and Axel (Pumpkin)

Chris with Evan as a monkey

Boohiester Family - Pirates & Gypsies always hang out!

Sherry as a dead lawman

The Mahurin Family

The Hulk was roaring while dad looks on...

Alex flies over to my desk for some candy...she's really good at flying on the broom!

A proud Ceasar (Chris) holds his Fairy Princess (Abby)

What's better than a flashback to the easy days? Mario, Princess Toadstool (or Princess Peach in today's Mario Bros), and Luigi.

I'm a roasting marshmellow...this picture makes it hard though because you can't tell that my pants (stick) are brown. Aspen also thinks she's going to work with me!

Roscoe looked into the open hamper, thought for a few moments, then decided he liked the looks of it. Here he looks at me like "If you'd stop with the flash, I could think of my next move."

This is the right side of our stoop...decorated to show. It'll be good through November, but I'm hoping the house will be under contract by that.

This is the left side of our stoop...

HBC Fall Festival - Make-shift bowling

Josh running the sound while the Praise Team belts out hours worth of songs.

Food spread for the HBC Fall Festival included hot dogs & hamburgers.

KCFD brought one of the big trucks for everyone to look at. This truck requires a drive in the front and a driver behind the ladder to control the rear axel. This allows for much more mobility in the tighter areas of town.

A grisly jack o'lantern...face painting was a big success this year and many of the kids were sporting several styles.

A 12 foot slide is always fun...the landing can be tricky!

Friends enjoyed the slide at the same time...laughing up the climb and down the slide.

Sno-Kones on a day when the temperature peaked at 42 degrees!

Even the adults got into the face painting activity!

Janice uses her artistic skills to paint faces...

Alive & Well

It has been some time since I've posted much of anything. Josh & I are both doing great! We have been up to nothing much but lots of work and work and work. Here's an update:

1) For New Year's this year, we had a James Bond Marathon and did some scrapbooking.

2) We spent Josh's birthday (Fat Tuesday of all the days!) at Buffalo Wild Wings with his family playing trivia and eating wings. I got a wireless mouse for my laptop which is awesome...makes photo editing much faster!

3) We went to Colorado for my birthday like we do each year. We like to spend the time with my family like a mini-vacation. On 3/7/09, we took Dony, Layla, Mom, and Dad to the Springs for lunch and shoe shopping. Then Josh, Layla, Dad, and myself went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. It was a crazy weather day...It'd be bright and sunny when we'd go into a building and when we emerged it would be into a winter wonderland with fresh snow falling.

4) For my birthday, Josh got me a wireless router which I'm using right now with my laptop. It's a wonderful thing to be able to have an office throughout your entire house.

Now some pictures from the happy trip to Colorado!

L2R: Dony, Mom, Dad @ Joe's Crab Shack

Don't let Layla's "innocence" fool you!

Josh - Showing off his tool

Does this bib make the tool look small? (It's actually a dangerouse tool...poked a hole in my hand with it...I like the crackers better!

Pike's Peak with a ray of sun coming over it with an inverted halo of clouds at the bottom.