Run The Race

As the Tardis twisted and turned, the children squealed with delight.  This device, based off of Dr. Who's time travel machine, deposited 8 children into the 1700's where they were challenged to move a variety of house hold items across the "Wild Wild West" on horseback.  In reality, the "Tardis" was two boxes connected together, latched to a dolly so we could move them around, and the Wild Wild West was a bunch of blankets laid out in our back yard.  The horses?  Well, each child had to be a horse on all 4's while another child rode on their back. Ryan exiting the Tardis with his robot buddy Reese (the cowboy) and Carter (the horse) moving west We just celebrated Reese's 9th birthday... it was phenomenal...  I'm sure that Ron and I had as much fun as the kids.  For the past 4 years, we have created Super Hero Training Camps, Jedi Training Academies, Detective/Mystery Challenges, and now a...

Reading:  Psalm 46 Prayer: Lord, please teach us what it means to be still and truly know that You are God - a God that is doing things that we can surely never accomplish on our own. Daily Challenge: What, if anything, is a constant frustration and eats up your time? Consider whether you need to make changes to alleviate the issue, or, if not, then consider how God might be working in the situation. "Grrr.... I have things to do," I grumble in my head. Our 3 year old, recently adopted son, Hyun, fell asleep at a strange time, and he is on the couch rather than the bed.  When I go to move him off the couch, he begins screaming and crying as if he is having a nightmare, so rather than move him, I just lean back on the couch and lay him on my chest. Sounds nice, doesn't it?  I typically frantically work during nap time to get things checked off my "to-do" list. I can see our clock from where I sit... Tick-tock Tick-tock The clock mov...

Reading: 1 Peter 5:6-11 Prayer: Lord, change is so inevitable in this life. Help us to do it with joy, peace and grace while knowing that You are faithful. Mold and shape our attitudes and insights. Daily Challenge: Which of your attitudes hinder joy-filled change? Which promote it? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Transitioning from "career woman" to something that has its own acronym - SAHM (stay at home mom) has its definite challenges.  Rarely do changes come one at a time for any family - in the last 6 months we have experienced many big changes - a newly adopted 3 year old, father moving here from out of state, change in ministry, etc. I would like to share some practical ideas regarding joy-filled transitions for families - some of these things we did intentionally, some we stumbled into, and others we didn't do, but wished we had! Wake Up Early (Yes...Even Earlier!) “In the morning, O Lord, You will hear ...

In early October, I did something I never thought possible - I resigned from my job/career. For 15 years, I have been in an industry that I find exhilarating... I have never been stuck in an office, but when the weather was bad, I could hit the office and rummage through data and build spreadsheets (Hey!  Don't make fun of me - making GOOD spreadsheets requires a lot of creativity!).  Daily I would have the opportunity to interact with the managers of the refinery, and 5 minutes later I would have my hands dirty with maintenance and operators.  I love this! As much as I have enjoyed this work, I've known in my heart for quite some time (probably 7 years... since 2008) that the Lord was possibly leading me away from it; I have learned that it is much more exhilarating and peaceful to do as the Lord desires than what makes sense to "mankind". This is a change that seems ludicrous for us - most would consider it financial su...

Reading: Genesis 50:12-21  Prayer: Lord, stir our hearts for what stirs Yours. Restore the relationships we have damaged, and teach us to be leaders of reconciliation. Daily Challenge: What prejudices are in your heart? ----------------------------------------------------------- Our house is almost constantly filled with a neighborhood of boys.  It is the type of chaos that wonderful childhood memories are made of... They have created the "Club of Fun" in which there are scheduled daily activities that include playing board games, light saber fights, Nerf gun wars, etc.  It's pretty obvious that they don't stick to their scheduled events as one crazy activity leads to another. It creates a hustle and bustle that I am thankful for, but there are some realities of it that can be a bit daunting.  There are a few boys in particular that are the "bulls in the china closet" - their feet stink (seriously... it is pretty bad), the mess they leave behind in...

Reading: Romans 8:14-25 Prayer: Lord, help us to understand the terms of our adoption into Your family... may we receive freedom from any fears that are hindering us, and learn to boldly rely on You instead. Daily Challenge: If you are an heir to Christ, what do you inherit? Are there any words you need to express to Him? -----------------------------------------------------------       M ost of you know our story – Almost 3 months ago, we brought home our son whom we adopted from South Korea.   What an amazing, crazy adventure it was to go through the adoption process, and, WOW! what an experience it has been since bringing him home.   The first pictures we received of Hyun he was only 5 months old.   Once we signed the papers, he was 9 months old, and at that point we thought it would be 4-6months longer before we were able to bring him home.   Due to several changes in Korean law, that changed significantly – and it ended up being more tha...

Dear Mom: May 25th... Your birthday.  I'm never quite sure what to do with this day since you have passed from this life. I've missed you since the day you passed away, but I have had such a longing to share with you in our adoption journey.  Your heart was always for the child in need... I admired that about you.  While we traveled to Asia for our court hearing and to meet HC a few weeks ago - everything I saw reminded me of you.  You would have loved it there... the people, the history, the adventure of it all.  You would have insisted on hearing every detail of the trip.  We have so many people loving us through this adventure, but I know you would have been one of our greatest cheerleaders through it all.  I so miss not getting to share in this with you. A memory of you that has been standing out in my mind recently is when I was in 8th grade.  Both Briana and I were grounded (rightfully so, I'm sure), so I was grumpy and expected a bori...

Reading: Joshua 10:1-15 Prayer: Lord, we have no strength or wisdom apart from You. Help us to accomplish more than we ever dreamed while bringing all glory to You.    Daily Challenge: What, if anything, stirs inside you, but you are hesitant to ask God about it because it seems ridiculous? Will you pray about it today? ----------------------------------------------------------- The five kings of the Amorites, rulers over major cities in the southern mountains, band together to fight against Gibeon (a large group that had made peace with Israel) in hopes of also defeating Israel.  When the Israelite came to the defense of the Gibeons, the Lord declared to Joshua (the leader of the Israelites), "Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands, not one of them shall stand before you." Joshua 10:8 These words allowed Joshua to fiercely pursue the Amorites and to pray an extremely audacious prayer while they were fighting; he said, "...O sun, stan...

Do you know what a "blue chip" is? At Celebrate Recovery, blue chips are offered to mark dates in which we surrendered something to God.  People take blue chips for a variety of reasons (such as drinking, anger, control, a specific relationship, etc.), and I, too, have taken my fair share of them through the years.  Some of the things I have followed through on and left in the Lord's hands (ie. losing Elliot, forgiving seemingly "unforgivable" sins, the way I treat my body, etc.), but others... not so much (strangely I can't remember what these chips were for; I guess I wasn't that serious about laying it down). Written on the blue chip are words from the first part of 2 Corinthian 12:9, "My grace is enough for you" After losing Elliot and my Mom, fear absolutely gripped me as I began to believe that everyone I loved would be ripped from me.  Since that point, I start each day by taking a commitment to God that I will trust Him with...

You are standing in front of a mine field.   The man standing next to you begins giving you instruction on how to cross the field, “what you have to do is take 3 steps forward, turn left.   Then take 9 steps…”   This is bothersome to you… “Why is this guy telling me what to do?   I can figure it out on my own,” you say.   He can clearly see that you are uncomfortable with his directions, so he interrupts your thoughts.  “I only give you direction because I want you to have life.”   You have no idea what he’s talking about.   He sees the confusion on your face, so he introduces himself.   “I am the keeper of this field.   Though I didn’t place the land mines out there, I watched as each one was placed.   I know every detail of this land, and I want to share with you the directions to make it to the other side.   Following my instructions may take you in a direction you did not anticipate, and it may be a longer jour...