Whirlwind Week

We got back on Sunday night from a whirlwind week in Illinois. It was a great time. We spent a lot of time in the car driving around the state visiting some friends and family. It was pretty much an eating tour as well. We ate at all of our favorite spots…might need to change that……Anyway, got to spend some time with my sister and her family. Can’t believe how big my niece and nephews are getting.

We then drove over to spend some time with our great friends the Janes. I love this family. Our kids haven’t seen eachother in a long time but they became best buds in a matter of hours.  There is nothing like a friendship with people that you know could last a lifetime. Here is Dave being Dave making us laugh.

The kids having a great time! Kasey and I.

Thanksgiving with all the fam in Naperville. We have so much to be thankful for! My families Thanksgiving is one tradition that I have cherished and want my children to experience. We have done basically the same thing for as long as I can remember. We always go to the Calvary Church Thanksgiving service at 10 am. We used to come back from that and then eat but now that some of the kids are married, they go to their inlaws and then we have dinner. The day is spent with football, family and faith. I’m a fan of games so I’m always trying to get the family to play a game or two. Its a bit harder when we do dinner because the tryptophan has taken over and everyone is in a food coma…..

And here we are again with another tradition of eating Lou Malnati’s a few days after…..oh my its good. This year we had some nerf guns that were consistantly being shot at eachother and various targets. Good times.

 

Restore Launch Team Meeting

We held our 3rd launch team meeting on last Sunday night. We are getting excited about Impacting Liberty. I’m so impressed by the people of Restore’s willingness to contribute their time and talents to changing the spiritual landscape of Kansas City. As a side note, we have this great camara and have no idea how to use it but here are a few pics.

Time Away

On Monday we are heading to one of the greatest cities on earth…ok, the greatest. The Chicago land. I’m super excited. We will cram visits to many friends and family. We will eat. We will laugh. We will see a few late night movies with free babysiting. We will sleep in cause my kids wake my mom up before us. heehee.

My mother doesn’t have a computer at home….let alone internet so blogging might be scarce but I will try and post some pics of our time away.

Weakness

Read today in 2 Corinthians 11 where Paul asks God to remove  his “thorn” from him. In other words, something is bothering him and he wants it fixed, taken care of, taken away. And God responds to him…probably not what he wanted to hear. “My Grace is sufficient for you. For My power is made perfect in your weakness.”

Ever been told that if you had enough faith, believed more, prayed more, were a better person, that things should work out for you just like you want them to. That the money should show up, that you’ll get the job, that you’ll find the perfect guy to marry, that your health will get better.  I think that this passage says the contrary. I think what it is saying is that you will have much trouble in this world. It will be hard. You might plead for this cup to pass from you. You may think that you shouldn’t have to endure this pain. But we see that where human strength abounds, the effects of divine power may be overlooked  But where human strength fails, the power is clearly seen to be God’s. And isn’t that the point of this all. To make Him famous? It is. To allow God into our weak human lives to show Himself to be the strength that we need. When we need it.

I think after 33 years of this life, I am just now starting to get it. Starting to see God’s strength in my weakness. For when I am weak….then I am strong. And I depend on that strenght to get me through.

Mansion

Well its safe to say that God has blessed us with an amazing home. In fact, the other day I was praying and thanking God for my home and I told God that I know he is preparing for me a mansion in heaven but I love my house so much that I wouldn’t mind this one for eternity. Sure I’d wouldn’t mind new cabinets or granite countertops…the usual upgrades….or maybe even an 11 year old couch to fit in the basement….

But really I am so in love with my home. I can see my children being raised here and I’m excited. I love my neighborhood. And I love Liberty. God is good.

here are some pictures of my home decorated for christmas…I know its early but I view the holidays like the trinity…3 in 1.

Do Your Thang Pt. 2

Sunday night we had the priviledge of being apart of The Global Oprhan Project’s Big Event. It is was a night to celebrate and also raise awareness of the opportunity to provide for and serve and love orphan’s all over the world. It was at the Midland downtown KC. It was a gorgeous theater! Nate was responsible for pretty much everything that went on the screens. Tommy, Jacob and I were part of the musical entertainment. We opened the night with a bunch of cover’s for about 45 mins while people mingled and ate and then provided the exit music. I love singing with Tommy and Jacob. They are some pretty talented guys. I think I could do evenings like this every day and be one happy chick.

Check out The Global Orphan Project and see how you can help support orphans all over the world.

Do Your Thang

My husband is the most creative talented person I know. Not only does he spend hours on his laptop branding all of our series and bumpers and video’s for Restore, he is creative with his talks. This is Nate doing his thing. I love to hear him speak. He has grown so much as a comunicator since the days of “Exempla” in college. He is so creative and so passionate about comunicating God’s Word to people. He spends countless hours praying and tweeking his talks so that people are challenged and changed and inspired to find their way back to God.

I can’t wait to see how God makes His mark on Liberty, Missouri through Nate!

Magnificent

I enjoy the band U2. I think my friend Trisha Mulshine introduced them to me when we were in high school. They have some great songs. A lot of times when one of their albums would come out the first time I heard it, I wouldnt be that impressed but the more I would listen the more I would fall in love with the songs. But when I heard magnificent, I instantly loved it. The second verse, I would say, is a new mantra of mine. “I was born to sing for You.” Its no secret that I love to sing. I sing everywhere, all the time. I ALWAYS have a song in my head. My life is pretty much a musical. Someone will say a phrase which then makes me think of a song and then I have to sing it….for the rest of the day. But my desire is to sing for Him and Him alone. He is my audience. That is why I can’t wait for Heaven, singing with a choir of people for Him….forever.

I was born, I was born to sing for you
I didn’t have a choice but to lift you up
And sing whatever song you wanted me to
I give you back my voice from the womb
My first cry, it was a joyful noise, oh, oh

Only love, only love can leave such a mark
But only love, only love can heal such a scar
Justified, till we die you and I will magnify, oh, oh
Magnificent, magnificent, oh, oh

Only love, only love can leave such a mark
But only love, only love unites our hearts
Justified, till we die you and I will magnify, oh, oh
Magnificent, magnificent, magnificent

Move that bus

I was priviledged to go to Catalyst this year. A leadership conference in Atlanta. It was 2 days packed full of great information. I have taken away many of the things I heard and have continued to process through it and apply it to my life.

One of the speakers spoke on how we are to reflect the beauty of Christ. I’ve heard that many times in my life but he gave the illustration of that show Extreme Home Makeover. He illustrated the moment when the deserving family gets a look at their new home. The bus moves and the show doesn’t cut straight to the home showing all its bells and whistles…the camaras go straight to the faces of the family. The joy, the tears, the happiness, the awe, the thankfullness, the excitement, the hope….How they feel about the house is relfected on their faces.

When we have spent time with the true Hope, it should reflect on our face. His beauty should be reflected through us. I want that. I want to reflect the  beauty of the Magnificant.

 

My Boy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ethan is in 1st grade. We had his parent/teacher conference the other night. We weren’t sure what was going to be said. See, Ethan’s name means…strong and constant….and he is that. He has always been a “strong willed” child. He’s grown out of it a bit but now its just more mature. For instance needing to give him the reason why you are doing what you are doing and he has to understand it. But he is a joy. So creative, so smart, so imaginative. His teacher said the same thing. She said he is a leader, he is so smart, she said he is wonderful to have in class. One of the things we are working on with him is staying on task. When she gives table work, everyone races to get there’s done but Ethan is dreaming up the next lego invention. She says he knows what to do and quickly does the work being the last to hand it in.

Nate and I were talking about how much our children are such a mix of the two of us. Ethan is strong like I am but imaginative like Nate. Nate was the same way as Ethan in school but I was always on task wanting to be the first one done.

As a parent, you just want your children to succeed. You want them to learn, and be a productvie member of society. Ethan is such a fun child and I can’t wait to see how his personality develops and what he becomes.