tribeof9's Xanga

Monday, October 19, 2009

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:56:39 GMT

OK, my sweet and patient husband has been encouraging, prodding, urging me to jump back into ministry to women. It's not because he needs a slot filled. It's because he really thinks I have something to share. I swear that man sees me through rose colored glasses. I am so very glad about and blessed by that though: ) In the past, other than taking care of my home and family, that's been my absolute favorite way to minister. Richard and I together have done all sorts of marriage counseling. Some exciting and fun stuff like pre-marital and some not so fun like helping people pick up the pieces. We have been glad to do it all, but my absolute favorite is pre-marital with me one on one with a young woman with an open ear and heart. It's fun to see the excitement and anticipation and all the beautiful plans through the eyes of a young bride. After enjoying talking about and reveling in the pure bliss with her, I try my best and somewhat succeed at escorting that bride to momentarily look at life realistically. We talk about weaknesses and sin areas and all the different ways collisions of these two people will probably happen and that there are also collisions that cannot even be predicted. It all boils down to this....young lady, you're very imperfect and you're about to permanently join yourself together with another imperfect person. I would never try and talk someone out of marriage unless they were unequally yoked. I am all for it!! Go Go Go!!! Marry Marry Marry!!!! People wait toooo long! I just want a girl to know that when she says "I do", she is signing up for everything!!! The good, the bad and the ugly. There will be good times and there will be bad times. To know that she is following and serving someone who is going to succeed and who is going to fail. To know that she cannot respect love and honor only during the successes. To know that respect and love is needed and required even more so during the failures. When that man makes a mistake... a mistake that you maybe/probably even warned him against, you must be willing to walk the road of discipline lovingly and respectfully with him, by his side and affectionately. Oh, and the little people you produce together will also be walking that road of discipline as well. I try to make this sweet bride look soberly at life not to make her not want to get married but to make her even more determined to see it as a calling. I discovered just the other day one of my now favorite quotes. It's by Pastor Scott Brown. He's the founder of the National Church and Family Institute(NCFIC) and he pastors a baptist church near Raleigh.

"we have to urge men, do not raise picky, prima donna daughters. Train them to serve imperfect men and go to the ends of the earth to suffer what they suffer and help them through life."

I really love that. It summarizes how I feel. How I want to raise my daughters and how I want to live my life.

Basicly, its not about the bride (or the groom for that matter.) It's about God and his plan for a man's life and that woman who is given to that man to be his helper in accomplishing God's tasks for His glory.

That's my message I have to share. Scott Brown really put it in a nutshell.

Monday, September 07, 2009

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 12:12:42 GMT

Hi friends,
I switched blogs awhile back. Miss all my xanga friends. Here's my link.

http://joyinthejourney10.blogspot.com/

Summer Fun at the beach, River Dogs Game and LOTS and LOTS of swim team action!!!!

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:51:30 GMT

Great Memorial Day

Tue, 26 May 2009 15:27:35 GMT

We had a great time seeing some old friends and some of our family in Sumter yesterday. We each were blessed with a ride in this 1942 WWII trainer plane.(not exactly sure what it's called: ) It's been restored to it's original beauty,though. Thanks Jeff and Sally. It was such a blessing spending some time with your sweet family! Great Day!

Slices of Life

Fri, 01 May 2009 13:14:12 GMT

Just started reading this book Slices of Life about the life and work of bible translators Ed and Aretta Loving outloud to the children today. I've been looking at it for weeks and wanting to find time for reading aloud but have not been able to carve out the time to snuggle down on the couch and indulge. If I had to pick my all time favorite single activity(other than alone time with R), it would be reading aloud stories to my children that touch their hearts. I love to glance up and see them all--even my older children- staring off into space engrossed in the tale. I am known, however, to not be able to finish a sentence sometimes because of my own tears. I read, stop, try to compose myself,squeak a line out while trying to hold back tears. They stare at me somewhat amused but ready to hear the best part. I begin again, voice quivers again and then I announce that I'm ridiculous, someone offers to take over reading, I hand the book over and this child (it never fails and it tricks me everytime) reads about two lines and then breaks into fake blubbering tears!!!! Everyone breaks into laughter! It was Kimmi today. I was having a hard time getting thru a story of how Arettta, pregnant with baby #1, needed protein and was craving eggs and God continually provided for her dietary needs in amazing ways!!! Great story of trusting God and seeing Him provide. So so so glad to be done with editing BJU dvds now and forever!! Yesterday was my last day and I feel like a free woman with plenty of time for couch snuggling and reading to my extremely funny children!!

Swimmer Boy

Fri, 01 May 2009 11:05:32 GMT

Cason out with Mom, dad and Jessie at his end of year swimming banquet. Cason broke a Mt. P record this year. There were actually loads of records broken by the swimmers. Their coach is terrific. We are very blessed to have her. Even though it's a little blurry, I like this photo. It is hard to get that boy to pose: )

Date Night and some ramblings......

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:05:12 GMT

Richard and I usually go out to dinner once a week. We don't really have a set night. It's usually just first chance we get. We decided yesterday to try and increase our dates to twice a week and make most of our dates include exercise and nature. We live in such a beautiful area. We're also taking up fishing. We just bought 2 rods and reels or is it rod and reels? Our date last night was scoping our own neighborhood for a good fishing spot.We went to the new crab dock. Pretty spot but R thinks it will be hard to pull in all the fish we'll certainly catch. We headed on down the street to our old neighbors. They have moved on up in life and left us behind. They now have a great house and a beautiful spot on the Wando River. We can only see glimpses from our house. (heehee) I'm really saying that jokingly. Our home is amazing and way above and beyond any provisions we expect from God. We have lived in neighborhoods during our marriage from EVERY socio-economic category you can imagine!!! When we were very young and not yet married and getting acquainted he asked me over a pizza hut pizza(thin and crispy supreme/no black olives--some things never change) date if it scared me to go down the path of life with a preacher/missionary?? He was referring to the poverty and possible dangers and sacrifices his calling could bring. I lied and told him it didn't scare me at all. At this point nothing scared me as much as the thought of going down any path in life anywhere other than under his arm of protection..(sniff sniff) I'm making me cry. So, yes, I lied and , yes, I'd do it again: )
Anyway, during our courtship, we embraced and actually looked forward to a life of adventure. It has certainly been that so far. In Richard's sermon Sunday he talked about idols a person might have in their life and one he mentioned was not being willing to give up a certain lifestyle. Or, being committed to maintain a certain level of lifestyle. That, I can honestly say, we are not. I say all that to say, it was nice walking through our overly nice neighborhood and enjoying the beauty of the wealth and not being envious at all of the people on the river and not being worried we won't always live here. I'm almost positive we won't! Just thinking it interesting that God has chosen to place us here now. We're just visitors here for a short time kind of like we're just visitors here on earth for a short time. Just happy that our old neighbors have a dock they really want us to use anytime we feel like fishing.

Oh, and last night we had planned to go get Richard a salad or something at the Dog and Duck Restaurant in our neighborhood after our walk, but our neighbors with the dock had just returned from their month long stay at Islamorada, FL. and they sent us home with really good crab legs(already cooked:) Hmmmm....another provision from God.......SOOO......we just went home and crept in the house as quietly as we could and I made R a salad while he ate the crab legs. It took everyone about 11 minutes to realize we were home and join us in the kitchen. I'll take those eleven minutes: )Fun night.

Beautiful Saturday

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 15:40:07 GMT

We went to a beautiful park on Daniel Island Saturday with the 6 youngest children for a few hours. The two oldest were at their last saturday of practice for volunteering at the Daniel Island Family Circle Cup which will begin in two weeks. They wil be part of the ball crew!!!The park where we played is on the Wando River side of the island. It is a water park(for pulling boats in the water and a little splashing/not swimming) It is gorgeous with Live Oak Trees, pier and the river and the park is a model of Charleston and surrounding areas. Really pretty. Here are some photos of Jessie. I cannot believe I left her pretty white dress on the table as I was leaving ,so PLEASE picture her in her best little feminine cotton dress. These pics of her are too funny not to share though.

I have photos of everyone but I have not sent them to myself from Richard's phone yet.

Here I am with my honey of 21 years!!!! If you include the 2 dates we had while I was in the ninth grade its a bit more than 21 years(we won't talk about that though:)

And here is a link to waterfront park on DI. If you live in the area you should visit. Be prepared for your children to get a "little" wet though.

http://www.scgreatoutdoors.com/park-danielislandwaterfrontpark-morephotos.html

If you do make a day of it. Go to Orlando's for pizza too. Its wonderful. Homemade sauce, crust, fresh everything! The owner is so nice too.

Father Daughter Dance

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 01:31:23 GMT

Just one of his 5 girlies missing here. Jessie's too young for all that dancing. Each lovely lady received a pretty silver necklace from her handsome daddy.

O that the months would roll away

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 15:53:03 GMT

......And bring the coronation day;
The King of Grace shall fill the throne
With all His Father’s glories on......

I am so thankful for those old poets....Isaac Watts, Martin Luther, John Wesley, etc.... the ones who penned these beloved hymns. The theology and praise for God is so deep and so true. They truly left us a gift that can only be outdone by scripture.

I'm also thankful for young followers of Christ who are putting some of these beautiful works to new music so that it is easier to pass down to our generation. I love the old music too, but the songs I didn't grow up singing in church are easier for me to learn to the newer music. Oh, I wish I'd known them all my whole life, but finding them now is like a present forgotten behind the Christmas tree and just found: ) ....so I'm glad for them now as well.

This particular hymn makes me excited about the day Jesus returns and we can see Him truly in His deserved glory. I love my saviour and am thankful for the discipline he has brought me over the years and continues to bring to me now. May I please learn from that discipline God and bring glory to you in all I do and say. Yes, he is a good father and shapes the ones He loves.

Something else I've noticed about the older hymns is the somber tone....they speak more of our true fallen condition before a Holy and perfect God....they are centered on God instead of man in their lyrics.

If you have time, please go to RUF(Reformed University Fellowships website) or igrace or google indelible grace and download or purchase one or all of their cd's. I actually bought all their albums from itunes and we play them most of the day. It is amazing how many old hymns my almost 3 year old "command man" boy can loudly sing out. It's a true blessing!

Jesus Everlasting King(Issac Watts)

Jesus, everlasting King,
Accept the tribute which we bring;
Accept the well deserved renown,
And wear our praises as Your crown.

O send Your Spirit to impart
Rest and repentance to our hearts,
Like the dear hour when from above
We first received Your pledge of love.

The gladness of redemption’s day,
Our hearts would wish it long to stay,
Nor let our faith forsake its hold,
Nor comforts sink, or love grow cold.

May every time of worship see
Your grace revealed more rich and free,
Till we are raised to sing Your name
At the great supper of the Lamb.

O that the months would roll away
And bring the coronation day;
The King of Grace shall fill the throne
With all His Father’s glories on.