Monday, December 9, 2013

Another reminder of how He loves


Yesterday, as we (Katie, Mary Margaret & Sophia Vaughn) were heading to church, I had Katie snap this picture of our street. 

We slowly made our way out of the neighborhood and onto Battlefield Rd. As we started down the big hill on Battlefield, just before Lone Pine, the car in front of us lost control & slid into the middle of the road, going sideways. In trying to brake, my car started sliding as well & we missed the other car literally by inches. As we got right up to it, and I thought we were going to hit it, I saw the faces of the two ladies in the car, and it was two of our senior ladies from Second. The terror on their faces was indescribable. I was able to steer my car into the turning lane & go around them. As I regained control & kept going, the girls & I watched in the rear view mirror as cars were coming over the hill. Somehow, the lady was able to back up, turn her car around & keep going in the right direction & the cars coming down the hill toward her were all able to stop. 
We get to church, I see Jay, and I just lost it. Then, as soon as we started to sing, I had a "flashback." As we were backing out of the driveway, I prayed out loud, asking the Lord to put His angels of protection around us & get us safely to church. At that moment, I was so overwhelmed at the clear realization (once again), how personal my Savior is. He is the King of all kings, yet still cares about me, my daughters, Sophia, our safety. This is not new information for me, just a fresh reminder of how He loves. I was so overwhelmed I could not stop my tears. 

I am reading Pursuing the Christ - Prayers for Christmastime written by Jennifer Kennedy Dean. My friend Mary Kate gave it to me. I'm a big fan of JKD but had not seen this book before. There's a reading for each morning & evening, for each day of December. This is part of last night's --
"Knowing that you have given to me Your finest treasure, I can rest assured that You will not withhold anything good from me. You shower me moment by moment with tokens of Your love. I pray that my eyes stay open to see the good and perfect gifts that are always flowing from You to me."

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Here we go again...

 
In 2009, I started this blog to write about the transformation of the house we bought on Brookside Blvd. in Jefferson City. This is my favorite post of befores and afters in that house.
 
Well, here we go again! One week from today, we take possession of our next house. 
Little by little, we will make it our own, and it will gradually go from "the house" to "our home." I will post updates as we make progress.  Here are a few of the before pics.
 I cannot wait to paint this front door! I'm going with a red.


Nice big kitchen!
Dining room.

First, flooring will come up, all trim & doors & cabinets will be painted. Walls will be next. New flooring goes down.  Cleaning cleaning cleaning all the while.

Let the fun begin!


Saturday, June 15, 2013

Happy Father's Day, Dadddy!


 

My dad loves to tell the story about how when I was a baby and my family was traveling, they would put me in a cardboard box in the floorboard of the car. For real. There’s even a picture (somewhere at Mom’s) to prove it.

When Mary Margaret was born, he got a lot of mileage out of telling people she was named after the mother of Jesus and the mother of Tom.

My dad loves to tell lots of stories, and ask lots of questions. And I am exactly the same way!



 

In light of Father’s Day being tomorrow, I was thinking about what I’ve learned from my dad. Here are the ones that came to mind immediately.

1.       Find the bargain. You’ll be glad you did.

2.       People are important. Things are not.

3.       The principles we live by are based on what God’s Word says, regardless if we serve in ministry or not. As a teen, I said to my mom, “I sure wish Daddy wasn’t a preacher, then he would let me blah blah blah (I don’t even remember what it was).” She went on to tell me that it was not because he was a preacher that he felt the way he did; it was because he was a believer, and his stand was because of what the Word said.

4.       Pick your battles.  When I asked him one time (I was a new parent) how he & Mom knew which issues to make a big deal about, rather than making a big deal about everything. He said that they picked their battles. I can look back and see the wisdom in how they did that with me.

5.       In marriage, it’s the everyday things that make or break a couple. The trips away are a good thing, but it’s the day in and day out, the way we serve (or don’t), engage with (or don’t), honor (or don’t) each other every single day that will keep us connected (or not).

6.       Serve. Don’t just talk about serving, do it. I may have blogged about this before, but about 10 years ago, I ran into a man who Daddy pastored and also officiated his wedding in the late 70’s. This man wanted to go into ministry, and went on to seminary after college. He told me that his wife’s dad had died and the family didn’t have a pastor, so Daddy went & did the funeral. He said that the family was poor and could not afford to pay the company that would come and dig the grave, so after the graveside service was over, the uncles and other family members there took the shovels and started digging. He said it was raining and just a dismal situation. He said Daddy took off his sport coat and laid it on a chair with his Bible, grabbed a shovel and started digging.  The man said, “Your dad taught me more about ministry that day than any class I’ve ever taken.”

 
I am thankful that my two daughters have a dad that has the same values that my dad has. What a heritage.  I know that everyone does not have the same provision.


I am so thankful.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Word for the year...

Years ago, Dr. Uth (at First Baptist West Monroe) would challenge us to find a word for the year.  I still think of that every January. 

In years past, my words have been surrender, contentment, opportinities.  You get the idea.

This year it is discipline. I'm hesitant to even choose this word because it sounds so new-years-resolution-ish.  But truthfully, it's something I've been lacking/struggling with lacking for months - both spiritually and physically.  Some things have got to change in my life.  I'm so frustrated with myself - my laziness.  Starting the year with the Daniel Fast is one way to practice. 

What about you? What's your word for 2013?