A thought...or two (Special Edition)

My baby boy is 6 today.

Where has time gone? It is hard to believe just how fast the years have passed. Stephen tried to make an appearance three weeks before he was born. However, due to modern medicine he was able to get a few extra weeks of growth. Looking at him now (and even then) you would never know that he was born about four weeks early.

Stephen is such a blessing to our family. He has the greatest smile and when he smiles, his whole face lights up. He also has the best giggle. Stephen loves to ham it up. He is a great sibling. He is always trying to do things at the level of Alex and Jack. He also does a great job of caring for and protecting Emma. I love Stephen's heart. He is so kind and loving. To top it all off, he gives great hugs. I have truly been blessed these last 6 years and I look forward to seeing how God will use this little guy in the future.

Teaching Time

I have been blessed with the opportunity to teach at our church for our monthly mid-week service in March. I am thrilled.

I am planning to talk about prayer during this service, but with a twist. Praying Scripture has become one of my favorite styles of prayer and so I will be talking about some tools to help with this discipline. I will also work through one of my favorite passages that I often pray.

As I have begun working on my message/lesson I have been confronted by the truth that unless we are spending time in the Word, as well as praying, we are just carrying on a monologue. I know that personally there have been times when I have neglected getting into the Word and spent my "personal time" with God strictly in prayer. This creates a problem. I begin doing all the talking and it becomes a bit boring and tiresome and then in my weariness I give up on hearing from God, though the reality is that I never gave Him the chance to speak to me.

I believe that God speaks to us through the Holy Spirit through other means than just scripture, however if we are not able to verify the Holy Spirit's promptings against the Word of God we will be at a huge disadvantage in fully knowing the will of God. Anytime God speaks to us outside of scripture we have to confirm it in scripture. That is hard to do if we are not in the Word and studying it.

The great thing about praying scripture is that it is a fabulous combination of prayer and being in the Word. It is great for when I want to pray through a passage in an attempt to hear what God wants to say, as well as when I am praying in belief that God will fulfill the promises I am speaking back to Him. It helps to keep my prayers centered in Truth.

I am sure that as I continue to prepare you will get more "teaching times" from me. :-) Feel free to ask questions or dialogue with me on the subject. It helps me as I prepare, plus I love a good conversation.

I am thankful for...

...my husband. Even though the past few days have been a bit "tense" he is still my favorite person. While we have moments in our marriage where for some reason or another we do more miscommunicating than actual communicating, he is still the person I most want to talk with about everything. I know that often I am frustrated by his male perspective on things, but I also know that it is this perspective that brings balance to my own. God has truly blessed me with an amazing man and I am so very grateful.


...my kids. This week has been a rough one. For some reason there have been a lot of moments when I have yelled or at the very least wanted to do so. One of the boys is really laying on the guilt of mommy working and not being there for him. Em is testing the limits of our potty training patience. There have been more messes this week than when we first started the process-and some of the messes seem to be deliberate. We have been asking the boys to clean up their play room for two weeks (mainly a LEGO and Star Wars figurine playroom) and it is still not cleaned up. (I am soooo very tired of stepping on Lego's.) But all of this pales in comparison to the moments when we are sitting around the table and one of them asks if we can play the "What I like about you" game or when we are having devotions and they seem to grasp the concept of holiness. I am so very thankful for four wonderful children who give the best hugs in the world. They may try my patience or test the boundaries, but they are the best gifts I have ever been given.


I love how my perspective and attitude can be adjusted so radically when I begin to be thankful for what I have been given. There are definitely times when life is frustrating and trying but I have so much to be grateful for and when I begin to be thankful I don't have the time or desire to complain.

A thought...or two

Over the past two weekends I have been helping teach the lessons in our Kindergarten/First Grade class at church. I am part of a group of cowgirls who are silly, but also act out a Bible story about Jesus. It is not the first time the four of us have done these skits. The curriculum is on a two year rotation, as well as the fact that we have used these stories for a traveling VBS. So needless to say we tend to have a bit of fun and the lessons are never quite the same.

Well my older boys remember when I did these skits a few years ago and now it is Stephen's turn in this class. It is so hard to not crack up when I look at him in the audience. He sits there with the biggest smile on his face. It must have made quite an impact because he was telling Laura about the skits.

Stephen: My mom was a cowgirl.
Laura: Was she the best cowgirl there?
Stephen: She was God.
Laura (with a little uncertainty): Really?!
Stephen: And the other cowgirls were blind.

To clarify, we act out Bible stories and my character plays Jesus in those skits. The lesson Stephen was referring to was about Jesus healing the blind men. The lesson was to teach that Jesus loves people and we need to love people too.

But as I have thought about the awe and excitement of "being God" it has struck me that when people encounter me/interact with me/talk with me they should be seeing God. I wish I could always be Jesus to those around me, unfortunately I often get in the way. It would be great if people I interact with would walk away saying "She was God".

What about you? Do people see God when they are with you? What would our lives look like if we all attempted to be God to the people around us: our families, neighbors, co-workers, acquaintances, etc...?

Are you in?

Maybe you will one day hear that someone said "They were God to me".

Prayer

Do you feel powerless about the disaster in Haiti?

Do you feel at a loss in your own situation?

Do you wish for just a moment of reprieve?

The answer is simple...Prayer

Will you cry out on behalf of people you do not even know?

Will you lay it all before Him and admit you are desperate for His touch?

Will you ask Him for hope and believe He will answer?

"The prayer of a righteous man is POWERFUL and EFFECTIVE." James 5:16

Pray, when you can do something tangible, pray.

Pray, when you can do nothing else, pray.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in EVERYTHING, by PRAYER and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6

A thought...or two

Today is a good day. At least for the moment.

It is amazing how just having answers can change one's perspective and outlook.

I went to two appointments yesterday. One was in regard to a sleep study that I did two weeks ago. There were no abnormalities found in my sleep patterns. I do not have sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome or anything else that needs medical correction. I then went to see my family doctor regarding my medications and blood work. My thyroid is in definite of help. So we start with medication to help regulate it's function. Both doctors hope that by correcting my thyroid levels I will then begin to be able to sleep and function at a higher and healthier level. YEA!!!!!

I know that there will probably still be bad days. I also know that it will take some time to get the medication into my body. However, for today, I will just take the hopefulness that comes from having answers.

I fully and confidently believe that God heard my cries for help. I praise Him for the answers.

Thankful for...

...the way God has worked out details. But I am getting ahead of myself so let me rewind.

If you have followed my blog for the past week or so, you will notice a very depressing tone a few posts back. For the past few months my depression has become a very difficult thing to continue to cover up. I have been experiencing some new and changing symptoms so I then began to reconsider whether I was falsely diagnosing the symptoms as depression alone. Along with the struggle of depression I have also not slept well in years. This combination has been an "easy" out in thinking I knew what was going on with my body and mind. As things began to come to a point where I was no longer able to handle things (I have had a few breakdowns in the past week) I began to realize that my symptoms had gone from mental and psychological toward physical.

I had a sleep study done a week ago and have a follow up appointment scheduled with the pulmonary doctor for this coming week. I figured that I would try to make an appointment to see my family doctor as well. It was like a light bulb moment when I thought about the physical symptoms and realized I may need to have my thyroid rechecked. (I have had problems with it in the past.) So I had blood work done Tuesday.

Yesterday I sat down with two guys that I work with who are amazing Christ followers. They prayed with me and over me and it was AMAZING! One of the guys prayed that like the woman in the New Testament that I would be able to "see and touch the hem of His garment" and find healing.

This prayer for me was yet another God moment. I have been singing phrases of an amazing Nicole C Mullen's song for the past week. It was one of those random things. I couldn't recall the entire song and hadn't heard it for a while. After the prayer yesterday I went home and searched until I found the song, then downloaded it and have been playing it since then. I wanted to share the words with you.

ONE TOUCH
Been ostracized for 12 years
I’m used to being alone
Spent everything I had
And now it’s gone
I’m used to being put down
My issues tell it all
My only hope is anchored
In this fall

If I could just touch the hem of His garment
I know I’d be made whole
If I could just press my way through this madness
His love would heal my soul
If only one touch

So many people calling
How could He ever know
That just a brush of Him
Would stop the flow
If he knew would He rebuke me
Or shame me to the crowd
Well I’m desperate ‘cause it’s never or it’s now

Suddenly He turned around
He said somebody has unleashed my power
Well, Frightened and embarrassed I bowed
You see I told Him of my troubles
And how…

I had to touch the Hem of His garment
And I know I’ve been made whole
And how I had pressed my way through the madness
And His love has healed my soul
Then with one word

He touched the hem of my garment
And you know I’ve been made whole
And somehow He pressed His way through my madness
And His love has healed my soul
I tell you He touched me
He reached way down and touched me
When no one else would touch me
Jesus, He touched me…
And I know I’ve been made whole

Isn't God the coolest?! I love how He coordinates the littlest details of our lives. He led me to solutions, to the words of a song that were then prayed over me. I also love how He leads people to be His Words even when they don't realize it.

The even cooler thing is that this morning the doctor's office called me about my blood work. My thyroid is not functioning properly and so I will be talking to my doctor on Monday about medication to begin to regulate my thyroid function. God heals; sometimes it involves a doctor and medication and other times He chooses to perform a miracle. Either way God touched me...

Pet Peeves

1. If you live in Indiana you can not deny the fact that in the winter there will be snow. Therefore, buy a vehicle that is appropriate for snowy weather. (What is cute and sporty in the summer may not work well in the winter.)

2. If you buy the aforementioned vehicle for winter weather, drive it, don't milk it. They are big and sturdy for a reason. Chances are that if under the worst of circumstances you were to encounter a mishap, you would do more damage with your vehicle than to your vehicle.

3. If there is snow on the ground and it's continuing to fall, use the plow on the front of the snow trucks rather than just dumping sand/dirt on top of the mess. (Yes I realize the dirt/sand helps with traction, but seriously, how much traction does it give on top of a sloppy mess?)

4. If you are waiting to pull off of Ranch Road onto 15, please patiently wait your turn. Do NOT take the "y" to the left and then make a right hand turn onto 15. Chances are that you are only going to be one car in front of where you were originally. REALLY?! Does it make that much difference?

5. If you are calling someone back based on caller ID alone and the place you call is a business or church, please don't assume that the receptionist knows who called you and why. Especially irritating when the person that was trying to reach you was returning YOUR call in the first place.

Can anyone tell that I needed to vent? As you can tell most of my pet peeves have to do with driving. So beware, if you are being followed by a woman in a white ford minivan........

P.S. I am a fan of safe driving. Just not stupid driving. :-)

Pictures

OK-after a fairly depressing post last time (no pun intended) I figured everyone might like some pictures from the holidays. Enjoy!

The Maxson Christmas in Ohio. We enjoyed two "first" Christmas'. What cuties!!!

The Christner Christmas is always fun. Emma and Hailey were the "Belle's" of the day.


Christmas inside and outside at our home.

Jack helped read the Christmas story with Grandpa.

The boys enjoyed lots of Star Wars toys this year.

Emma got lots of accessories for dressing up.

She even got a "real" piece of jewelry which came from an amazing business called "Destiny Rescue". Each piece of jewelry is made by girls rescued from prostitution. The proceeds then go back to help more girls find freedom and healing.

Alex got a Bible. He was thrilled (which thrilled my heart as well).

We also got to spend Christmas with Grandpa here in Indiana. As he opened presents Emma stood nearby asking "What is it Great-Grandpa? What is it?"

It has been a great two weeks or so. We have seen and enjoyed our families. We are definitely blessed far beyond what we deserve and so we remain thankful for each moment we have to be with each other.