Floating in the Dead Sea

a quiet repost from December 2010 (Our Israel Trip) taking some time today to work on our new blog! 

     The Sea is beyond words to describe;  beautiful doesn't do it justice....................lying as smooth as glass in the mornings it seemed like a rainbow of colors with amazing blues and greens with white that accented the shore lines. There are rugged mountains that rise up on each side of the Dead Sea.....It is hard to tell where one mountain begins and one ends.  The mountains seem to mirror each other in her calm waters. The water is so dense that it keeps you the human afloat. We heard so much about the healing of the salt water for people with arthritis to skin issues like psoriasis and the youthfulness of the mud itself......

The Dead Sea makes a dramatic path between the mountains of Judah to the west and Moab to the east. Moab was the last of the Israelites' journey to the Promised Land and homeland to Ruth.....The clarity of the scenes in the afternoon literally took our breath away.....With 30 percent salt and minerals makes it the MOST saline water in the world.........

Floods and springs from oases like Ein Gedi and the Jordan River continue to deposit fresh water into the Dead Sea.......With an evaporation rate of as much as 60 inches a year, it leaves behind minerals and salt in large dense concentrations.

I was so amazed to learn that when we were floating in the dead sea that we were at that very moment in the very lowest place on Earth you could possibly be. Wow! (It is 1,300 feet below sea level), it extends all the way to East Africa. It is surrounded by the most beautiful scenery in the world.  

     As Amy and I floated in the dead sea I felt like God was saying to me; "take it all in;" take all of His amazing craftsmanship in.  I can only imagine what the place He has prepared for you and for me must look like. He is so detailed with His creation leaving nothing out........This was a treasured moment in time for me floating in the Dead Sea.  It felt like therapy for my soul.... It was one of the happiest times for my soul.....I never stopped smiling and I didn't want that moment in time to end.

 Amy and I desperately wanted to try for youthfulness!   Since we were both in the waters at the same time we don't have the pics of what happened next. Why am I always the fearful one? I was unsure about walking into the Dead Sea so I followed the guides instructions to a tee. We were told we must wear shoes in the Sea. So I bought a very expensive pair of the cheesiest flip-flops available that looked like something we could get in America at the dollar store.(everything there was so expensive) I put them on like they told us to and wore them into the water. ( Of course "Amy, " the strong one kicks her shoes off before she stepped into the Sea. )    As I stepped into the water Amy was in front of me. They didn't warn us that the mud would be so thick that you would sink like quick sand. When I started to sink up my legs and couldn't walk any further,  I panicked and began to climb; "YES CLIMB," up Amy's back. She was falling face first down into the dead sea.... I think I drew blood with my nails trying so hard to stand on her! All I cared about at that point was to stand on something... She was such a good sport about the whole thing. She was laughing so hard that I think she drank half of the dead sea!!!!It took me a little time to feel secure enough to climb off of her so she could catch her breath. She then proceeded to tell me that the Dead Sea is so salty nothing can live in it.......Wow what on earth was I thinking?   Not even a boat can be used in the dead sea. So I relaxed and started to float.

       Interesting note that a Greek geographer, Pausanius, named this water the Dead Sea........... But in the bible, it was never called by that name. It was called the Salt Sea (Genesis 14:3 NIV) or the Eastern Sea (Ezekiel 47:10) Although Ezekiel's vision that the fish along its shores will be as many as the Great (Mediterranean ) Sea; it has not yet come true...but Israel scientists discovered the Dead Sea indeed has life.  An algae-known as donaliella-thrives there and is a rich source of beta carotene now raised in pools of Red Sea water near Eilat, 100 miles south.

The Sea gives life in other ways: among its minerals is potash, a basic component of fertilizer which is sold all over the world.  It also has bromide a natural tranquilizer (maybe the reason why I didn't want to get out of the water..lol) and combinations of calcium, magnesium, and potassium.  Amy and I thought we had just landed in the largest spa in the world so we floated so far out that they had to blow some type of horn to get us in.... it was starting to get dark... Our skin had never felt so youthful... After the mud was washed off we had this red glow about us. It was truly an incredible experience...

Due to the quicksand like mud one of my very expensive cheesy shoes were swallowed up in the mud. So here I go again , with one shoe on and one shoe off. Yes I had to leave the Dead Sea with one shoe on and one shoe off.  For those of you who read about our arrival to Israel that is exactly how I arrived and landed in Tel A Viv with one shoe on and one shoe off. What is it about me and my shoes...Maybe God is trying to tell me something!!!!!

all is grace,

Robbie

Planting seeds

Sitting in the office- getting the much needed paperwork done- My manager was also sitting at her desk working- both looking at our computers as if to memorize what was on the screen. It was quiet in the room, except for the pounding of the keyboard- when she asked me about religion. Things are different in the south- she said. People have faith and God here. As I sat in my chair- I begged God for the right words to say. I listened to her voice as she told me that she wanted what they have. I was hoping that I was apart of the " they".

Do you realize how many people sit in their cars in the morning reading their bibles before work? I sat still - thinking- I knew I sometimes did that- grab a quick devotion, before starting by day. But enough people doing that- that she recognized it. I usually drive into the parking deck on two wheels- trying to beat the clock. But to think that someone would see this... and this to make a difference.

I started to speak- what would I say- What could I say.....Ive never thought of doing "life" without God. I'm closer to him now, always knew him- and knew where to turn when I needed him.But never the relationship I have now with him.  I explained to her that what she saw in others- that she wanted so desperately was a relationship with God.  A relationship you can depend on..... I always have him- when I am lonely and afraid. She told me in a desperate voice, that she wanted her kids to have that too- to have God- to have something else in life- something that they were missing.

I need to be prepared to- witness- I don't want to miss an opportunity to plant a seed of faith.

God meant for us to be witnesses of Jesus Christ through the natural outcome of "living for him". We make it complicated..... People can spot a "phony" Christan! One of the best ways to share your faith is to demonstrate a positive attitude- especially in a crisis. When others around you see a peace in you that cannot be explained-  they want what you have. One thing that everyone longs for is..... Peace.

Another way to share your faith is to treat people with respect and dignity- no matter what the circumstances. Find ways to bless others- this not only plants amazing seeds for a harvest in you, but in others. By doing this, you show others that you live what you believe.

Finally- The most important way to " plant seeds" is to be quick to forgive. Forgiving quickly is a powerful way to show how Christianity really works.

God doesn't need us to build his kingdom, but he wants to use us. He wants that relationship with us. We must walk the walk and talk the talk. Others are watching us, even when we do not realize it.

In his service

Amy

intimate with grief

      Wasn' t able to post last Wednesday, we lost power for 12 hours due to a really bad storm. I worked  Tuesday and Wednesday in the Neuro ICU. Living the tired and then the complaining came how it's the me who can't sleep with the no air and the 100 degree weather! Had to put my make-up on Wednesday morning by candle light sweating. Felt like I was living "little house on the prairie" for a moment.(lol)
      When the power went out the most violent storm was taking place, it was around 10pm on Tuesday night. I had not been home long. I was on the phone with my brother mumbling how horrible my day was in the ICU when the lightening snapped, crackled and popped and then the phone went dead.   It was then that a weird feeling came over me as I heard the sirens screaming like they were at my front door.   I felt pure fear taking over me. I sat there in the dark thinking, " I don't want to be the me."  The one who begs for the more of Jesus but the one who is the fearful.........of what He might bring my way the next.
      I couldn't see as I reached for my cell phone to use it as a light to find candles etc. I started thinking about all the storms lately that had destroyed people's everything some even taking loved ones lives.
       I was quickly distracted by the increasing loudness of the sirens that did not stop. The storm continued to almost gain momentum and the thought crossed my mind if we needed to get the kids and run.
     I had a very subtle urge to stop and pray for the one who the sirens screamed loudly for. I quickly mumbled out a simple little prayer and missed the nudging of the "Holy Spirit," to bend the knees low.
      It is always such a faint little nudge, how easily it's the me that switch's the thoughts right back to my world.
     I sit late into the night with the flicker of candle light. The kids cry and say they are the scared. Maybe it's the all of us that is afraid of the what the Saviour might bring the next! Maybe it's us the adults and children alike afraid to trust..........trust the WILL of God?  I sit and I think about all of my short comings and how  ugly my sins are. How it was the me that changed my assignment before I left the work tuesday.  Knowing that I could not handle the mother of the dying child one more day! I murmur a quiet little prayer asking for the forgiveness one more time. Yes His words are written on my heart.....so why is it that I am the afraid?
     Maybe it's simply my unbelief........."I believe"....................oh God please help me with my UN-belief!

             It wasn't until the next day that I learned how the sirens were only a few feet away at a church......the kind where the youth were staying for a week to do community service....It was the storm that knocked the power out for hours and the darkness that came that the no-one could possibly see in the storm...... the teens who laid on the concrete in front of the church to watch and feel the rain fall on their face. The dad with the three boys the one who volunteers....the people who refer to him as "salt," (the most amazing man of Christ that loved working with these teens), who took his time off to be a counselor for a week....who was trying to round them up to come inside from the storm where it was the safe...who didn't see the teens that laid...........the others who jumped up the fast when they saw the lights from the ATV but the one who stayed.....where is God ? Where is HE?
       The families that will never be the same.
      A 15 year boy who had spent his last hours volunteering at one of Charlotte's low in-come neighborhoods.......a (volunteer-counselor) only 43 who is a parent himself and a lover of Jesus! Why?  I scream out!  But who am I?  The one who craves the easy who lives in my me-ism little life. Knowing that we all have dreams........."dreams for our children."
        What are our prayers for our children? What are our dreams for our children living in a dying world that is the uncertain? Never questioning their safety as we send them off to do good church activities.

     Like a crown of thorns that is etched in our minds.
God is here.........dwelling among us even in all our pain...understanding that it is the us who are not the acquainted with grief.  As Oswald Chambers said:  (We are not the "acquainted with grief," in the same way our LORD is. We may live through it, we may have to endure it.....but we have yet to become intimate with it.

We try and look at grief through the lens of reason......forgetting so quickly that we are living in a fallen world! And SIN being what nailed our PRINCE to the cross that day............our sins! It is sin that can destroy the Jesus in us.......unless we are dying daily for Him.

I see the cross and it reminds me it was Him who sweated blood............. And it is US who approaches the cross day after day the unworthy! We try so desperately to grab on to even a piece of His cloak and hang on long enough while we beg for HIS blood to cover our very me-ism sins. He allows the dying of us and the rising with HIM.......He holds on tight to us as we fight to get out of His grip. Knowing that we have to surrender every single day of our lives to die with Him daily...to walk even in our fear. Although the world keeps turning and His people keep aching we must have the courage to stand up and say "not my will father but your will."  And hold on to Him even tighter letting His blood cover us removing our "ugly sins," until that day where we will be with Him in the forever!

He is a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.......(Isaiah 5:3-3)

all of grace,
Robbie

Weekends are for planting seeds

Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. (Genesis 1:29)

"By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return."( Genesis 3:19)

* A seed is alive: it contains life.

Your physical senses are incapable of judging whether a seed is alive or not. You cannot see, feel, hear, smell, or taste the life in a seed. There is only one way to prove a seed is alive -- plant it.
* A seed does nothing until planted.
Seeds do not grow sitting in a sack on your shelf. They must be planted in the proper place.
If you desire the Word of God to produce in your life, you must decide to plant the Word in your heart and mind.
The best way to plant the seed of God's Word in your life is by speaking the Word. Hearing others speak the Word is good -- but will not produce as bountiful a harvest as speaking the Word yourself.
Speaking God's Word with your mouth is essential. As we speak God's Word we are planting the seed in our heart for the harvest of results we desire.

I stand in dirt this weekend and it is then that I remember;  "I am dirt."  There is hope in remembering who we are so we may plant the seeds of life for our future generation.

     May all your wanderings this weekend be one of planting...........planting the seeds of life..........and remembering that God's Word is the seed!


all of grace,
The Yahweh Sisters

It's all about the mud......................

As I woke this morning this is what I found in my front yard........

When life gets a little muddy I want to run back to my bed and pull the covers over my head.....

Lately I feel like I am a muddy mess.....just going through the motions; life seems so repetitive lately(ever felt like you were living Ground Hog day????)........Every week the same old thing, day after day.....I wake up to the discontentment of my life....to the anxiety that there are not enough hours in the day to get done what I need too......I wake to the living tired all the time......asking myself questions as if I  can answer them myself.......I awake to already feeling tired..........awake to the yelling at my children, the making of beds....the laundry that is piled so high......awake to the knowing that the laundry is never done.............I  awake to the fear( the fear that is not of God)..........I awake to the realization that I will never be the kind of wife that my husband deserves.....I awake to the thoughts of the damage that I might have afflicted upon my children........I awake to thinking WOW, I am alive for another day............................................

Am I simply going through the motions? Why am I constantly running on empty? All for what? For a clean house? For some sense of control? And yes God still speaks in this turmoil we call life......and he whispers so gently:          "Matthew 11:29

29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

I have to stop focusing on my failures! And so do you......God has paid the price for our sins.....we do not have to stay in the pit......the pit of  conviction.......Feeling a conviction should not be an end to all things.....YES we should be humbled.....and have guilt.........and sorrow....(a godly sorrow).......But we are not to stay in those things......or allow those feelings constant access into our lives......They are only meant to make us lay down the self......the.laying down of having it my way..........laying down the greed......the selfishness............It is only meant to drive us to our knees with a repentance heart.............all the while,  keeping our eyes on Jesus and the victory at the cross.............

Putting on my daughter's rain boots today and digging my way out of the pit that has so easily ensnared me......I am no longer trapped;  for God himself payed for me with a price......and for you.......

 "O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted,

                                                     behold, I will set your stones in antimony,
                                                       and lay your foundations with sapphire

What is my lesson here today? God sends us on a Journey....or as my instructor in seminary calls us SOJOURNERS........the lesson is oh so clear to me now as clear as the blue skies of Carolina.........."Our Lord has preserved us in the past and he will preserve us in the days ahead........but more importantly, he has an eternal purpose in mind............He preserves me and you because He has a purpose for us..........He has laid it all out on the map of eternity........the way we must walk.......and only the tested, tried, and weary believer can and will accomplish it.........

So on our Journey; fellow sojourners......this is not a time for timid faith........it is time for the Christians who have endured the fiery trials to step forward......Our Father who art in heaven....is calling us...to stand up....... and preserve through it..... and when we do reach the end (which we will one-day, like it or not) we would have stood the test of time.........

all of grace,

Robbie

a quiet reposting from March.........as I am busy with the preparations for the mission trip my second teen is packing for........(the excitement of the oldest woman-child who returns from her mission trip tomorrow) humbly asking for your grace as we pack and pray for the life changing kind of experience for these teen girls!

The Armor of God

The first day- you are in a rush to start the " fun"- so the sun screen was applied quickly and not reapplied as often as one should. I used what was in the cabinet above the stove. SPF 30ish I think- The boys squirmed as I held them down making sure they were protected. Let me go- each said eagerly running towards the beach. OK- Just go..... Well the next day- Ouch my back hurts each said- as they grimaced taking on and off their shirts. The second day- SPF 70 was applied and still they stood, knowing that I meant them no harm by demanding them still til every ounce of flesh was covered. With coverage they played all day- their skin protected from the sun. They played long and hard outside- they had no worries - no burning- no pain.
As I thought about the sun screen providing that protective barrier around my boys, I thought about the armor of God. And how we learn to put on the armor of God  by reading the bible and praying- The shield of faith, The breastplate of righteous, The belt of truth, The Sandals of peace, And the Sword- the word of God.
"Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against the rules of wickedness and darkness."
So by applying the word of God to our lives daily we provide ourselves with that protection of God to withstand the power of darkness. We are shielded against evil. We can live daily - with no worries- knowing that God is standing between us and evil.
Neglecting to feed our spirit and ignoring the hunger of our soul causes spiritual weakness; this results in desperate and careless decisions.
A starved soul and a famished heart will find you in pain- a sunburn of your life- mirserable- uncomfortable....
Take time each day to put the armor of God- To pull out the sword early everyday, before evil has a chance to burn you. We may squirm and complain, but taking time each day, will pay off. It will provide that shield of protection around us- preventing that burn that causes so much pain.
Amy

salt and light

Not long ago I was impressed upon to start studying the Sermon on the Mount and compare it to the life that I am living...not an easy thing to do.

As I studied, I found it to be overwhelming, and honestly I did not think that I could live like this in today's world.
How wrong was I? 
We have all been called to higher ground.  We have all been called to serve the Lord in some way.
As I meditated on Matthew 5:1-16 again this morning, I focused on what it was that I wanted in my walk with the Lord and what am I doing to get that? 
     I have been going through a season in my walk with Christ that is a transition from a dark, dry, and cold one into a light, exciting, blooming one.  As I read a new book that Robbie recommended to me, I can see that I am moving from a one season in my walk with God into a new one.  I have been at a place of dryness, coldness, quietness for quite a while now, BUT I see myself transitioning into a season of light, new growth, excitement and smiles, and wind blowing on my cheeks. (Do I sound crazy yet????)
     I say all of that to say that my eyes are able to see now that living a life like the one spelled out on the Sermon on the Mount is in my reach and I am capable of achieving this through Him. 
The verses that opened my eyes to new growth in Him today was particularly verses 13-16.

"You are the salt of the earth.  But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?  It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.  You are the light of the world.  A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."  Matthew 5:13-16 TNIV

     You see we become light when we are saved.  Think about sitting in a dark room by yourself for years with no way of light to enter.  Then, one day a candle is lit or a lamp is turned on.  You can see the things around you.  You can see a glimpse of what it was that you were missing for all of those years.  Before, you didn't know what was in the room with you or who was sitting beside of you, but with the light, you can see.  We are that LIGHT.  In a room, we should light up the things around us with His presence.  People should see things differently when we are there BECAUSE of HIS presence. 
But, in order to become that light we must make the choice to shine.  What good is a candle if it isn't lit?  What good is it to have a lamp in the room if you don't turn it on and use its brightness? 
There are choices that we have to make to become a light that shines for Him. 
We are also to be salt.  What does salt do?  It adds flavor to your food.  It pulls in water and holds onto it.  The word says that salt that loses its saltiness is no longer good for ANYTHING...throw it out and let it be trampled underfoot.
     I don't know about you, but I definitely DO NOT want to be thrown out and trampled upon.  I want to add life to those around me.  I want to bring hope to the hopeless and give life to the lifeless.  I want to be a light to the darkness.
      We have to make choices to change.  We have to move in the season that we are in right now and still be effective for the Kingdom.  Even in the winter, there is a job to be done.  In the winter is when the farmers are preparing their land for planting.  There is fertilization that takes place in the winter.  Preparation for the planting that comes in the spring and then growth and new life. 
Look at yourself, what is going on with you in your walk?  Do you feel distant from God?  Do you feel alive with hunger?  Are you seeking a new direction in your walk?  Are you feeling lonely and unknowing of what is happening to your future?  Where are you at right now?  In all seasons God is still there and He has so much to teach us in these seasons. 
Meditate on His word. 
Sing songs of Praise.
Fall on your face before the Lord.
Seek Him for guidance.
Be obedient to His voice.

Give Him praise for:
your health
your salvation
your family
your finances
your protection
your growth
your skills
your life

      God bless you all today as I continue to grow in His word and in Him.  As we walk out this day, I pray for an abundance of God's presence in all of the decisions and actions that we take today.  Let us be a light to someone today.  Show us opportunities to be salt and light in this world.  Give us chances to share your word with a stranger today and let them see YOU LORD in us.  Find in us a right heart and if we are not where we need to be with you, then change us Lord.  Give us the desire to change so that you find us fitable to be used by You.  Lord, my desire is to be light for a dying world.  My desire is to bring nations to you and see thousands changed because of your goodness and mercy.  My desire is for Revival Fire to hit our nation and for lives to be transformed.  I love you Father and want more than ever to sit at your feet and soak in your presence. 

jennifer

Happy Fathers Day

yes I had to put our only "boy," in the photos...........oh how husband loves this boy! Except for the collar that I make him wear..............but understanding that he lives with four women and how we think its the pretty!

a husband who loves.

Sometimes its me who's heart swells so full of love that it aches as it pumps me pure full of joy!

wishing................wishing that I had laughed more when we were the young.

remembering that first meeting...........I was only the 18 and you.........had a funny accent. (being from Maine, and me from Alabama)

What is love?..............it is the self-less sacrifice that you yourself have taught me so much about.

You have always been the one who could see...................the beauty of grace...........that out weighs the craziness of our life.

I saw love yesterday in the ICU when a  young man had to let go....................the giving up...........as his wife went on to bluer skies...............with the three little ones that are the left behind.....I had to ask myself the why?

     I think of my husband and the life that slips on by...... I stand with the Doc. as he tries to find the words that will be the good bye.............. My stomach knots the hard........and I think how fast the decades fly. I think about how I want to hold on to you and make it the forever in my arms.

 Her husband bends the hard now the kind of bend where......he's gasping........gasping for air knowing that when he breaths in the only air that enters his lungs will be the pureness of pain.........of the forever changed. I want to speak...............I open my mouth but the nothing comes.

I start to say that "His ways are not our ways." but the words never came.

My own grief swells within me...............as I fight back the tears. I bite my lower lip and pray that the ugly cry doesn't come. I say kindly "excuse me,"  as I make a mad exit to the right................ I proceed to collapse in the arms of another nurse who cries the long and the hard with me.  Knowing we were the seeing today..........the seeing of us and them as the same.

Luke 12: 4-7;
4;“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.


So I wanted to tell you on this day;
      It's the you these days that so easily believes and sees the goodness of God. You have grown so open and so willing to do the receiving.
We aren't the entitled to the guarantee of the longevity of the happily ever after........but GRACE............His grace...............is what we are the given in the now.
     It made me the wondering as I watched the spouse of the dying young............isn't it all of us that our days are the numbered that we take for granted.
Life is full of twists and turns................even the kind that can be the hurting. It can come at us fast and hard. 
Sometimes the letting go..........is the only way to surrender.
You have always been the remembering kind.................remembering to put the me and the girls first!
The way you have lived your life.................says so much about who you are.
You are the strong.........the kind that puts family first................knowing that living with four women can be the hard kind of living! You are the real.............the real kind of man......... always laying your needs aside...........to see that our needs are the first.

      I ask my-self another WHY? Why haven't I spent the last 17 years of our marriage...........pulling you the closer...........laughing until it hurts more and.............telling you more that the love I feel is the indescribable!
     Wanting you to know more than ever that it is you that has split me the wide open and caused my heart to swell with a love that has pumped through my veins the deep............. the deepest kind of love.
You are the one who has made me a better woman!
      Wanting to live life like everyday is the last kind of days...........so that you will know that through these years of being together..........I have never learned so much as I have learned from the you.

     Even the little things have melted my heart while the house is sleeping and you are too but yet your hand can find mine in the darkness and give me calmness...........the calmness of being joined together as one.
You are the faithful............and the years are slipping by........wanting to make it the counting kind......and not the wasteful.

     Her husband starts the leave..........he opens up the wide and says he doesn't know the how...........it is at that moment that I take his face into my hands and whisper it's all about grace...........his grace.........it is then that I tell him how he self-lessly loved her..............that he surrendered the strong............that it is going to be the OK. He says he is going to miss her and I hold him as he cries...........and I tell him again to go ahead and fall the hard right into the arms of the saviour.

     It's by God's grace alone that the years have made us the one. Not the knowing when our time will come.
We are the older now and praying for us to never waste a second of love.....wanting to never have those regrets............of the missing of what it could have been. Here I am again with the no words.............the words that cannot come............but the knowing................knowing when I look at you I still come completely undone.
Wishing you the most Happiest Fathers Day ever!
Loving you has been the easy,
wanting you to know I would walk down that altar with you again and again and again.
Robbie

Stillness

May your weekend be one filled with stillness.

May your soul be stirred in ways that only solitude in Him will do.

May you be swept up in His grace....by being still....and knowing that He is God.

Blessing my sweet sisters!

praying that His peace seeps in through your very veins

all of grace,

Robbie

God has a plan

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God never ceases to amaze me! His plan is not ours- and when we "stop" trying to "fix" things and just surrender and trust in him- it is then that we see his plan more clearly!
I woke one Sunday morning tired and sleepy- I had already sent a text to Robbie, telling her that I was  going to late service. I was just too tired to get up early. My husband, who is rarely off on a Sunday, was up ironing his "church clothes". The whole "going to church" issue has been a battle with us for sometime now. When we first started dating- we went to church- when we were first married - we went to church, even when our kids were small. But with his job, he works 90% of Sundays. And this made it easy to " skip" church. So when he is off, he sleeps in. And oh how the devil has a hay day with that!!
So I asked him- What are you doing? Going to Mt. Harmony- church that he plays softball with. Are we all going? I wondered out loud. No, just me. OK- if you were there you would have seen steam coming out of my ears. Whatever!!! I just laid there- still- until he was gone. Oh how easy it would be to lay in the bed, sulking!, but I needed to go to church. I needed to have my cup filled.
A few screams and rushing later, the three boys and I were ready to go to church. I think the devil works overtime on Sunday- Right before I walk through the church doors, and as soon as I walk out of them- I am attacked the strongest.
I rush downstairs- military like- " Get your shoes, and lets GO". And there he stood- my husband- the boys stand around him like little ducks. I soon find out- from my 8 year old- the one we call " little preacher"- that we are ALL going to church. Didn't you just go to MT. Harmony, I asked?. Yes and now I am going with you guys. OK---- No fight- No pouting- No Arguing. We all get into the car- everyone silent-But you could hear the grin on my kids face- as they watched their dad lead them to church. WOW I was shocked. Oh how little we trust God- His plans for us are to take care of us, not to harm us.
It wasn't til days later, that we actually talked about  him going to church, not once- but twice in one day. A miracle- And days later he told me what the sermon was at Mt. Harmony-
Ephesians 5:22-" Wives summit yourselves to your husbands, as unto the Lord."
Great- I thought- more about what I need to do for you!!!!
Then- he continued-
Ephesians 5:33 " Nevertheless let everyone of you in particular so love his wife even as himself, as the wife sees that she is reverence to her husband."
My husband- who I am still learning about- said - Per the Bible, you are to summit to me, but I am to love you more than I do myself.
For once I was speechless! God is full of miracles- everyday we can see them- be apart of them- especially if we pay attention!. Keep our eyes on him. I am seeing miracles everyday with my husband, the pilot, the father, the one that God is working on- I will share those miracles with each one of you- Slowly- I don't want to miss anything- God has a plan- And his plan includes me! That is the miracle!!!!!
In his Service:
Amy