Is the Coffee too Hot?

The routine in our house is pretty boring and certainly nothing worth writing about. However, today I have chosen to do just that.

Each morning I get up and start the coffee pot. Shortly thereafter I get a Styrofoam cup and fill it up, add sugar and a special plastic lid and off Byron goes ready to start his day. A couple days ago Byron called me and said, "Honey, my cup is leaking. Its totally falling apart. Either the coffee is too hot or the cup is too weak."

Wow! Life has been a bit overwhelming for me lately. All of my children are in school now and in so many ways that saddens me. Its been allot to wrap my mind around. We are in the middle of a large building project here at our church. We just started a building our garage. I am still homeschooling. Our home computer died. The devil has been fighting me over allot of things. I am currently looking for a job to help make ends meet. My house just never seems to stay cleaned up. It seems like I am constantly fixing meals. The laundry is NEVER done. There just seems to be so MUCH to do.... so many people to minister to..... so much stress.... My coffee just seems TOO hot! My "cup" of my life just seems to be leaking and falling apart.

So, is the coffee too hot or is my cup just too weak? 2 Corinthians 12:9 says: And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

So, clearly, He wants us to recognize and acknowledge that our strength must come from Him. Obviously He knows that we ARE weak vessels.

Isaiah 41:10 says Fear thou not; for I [am] with thee: be not dismayed; for I [am] thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

His right hand signifies power! The very OPPOSITE of weakness!

Isaiah 43:2 says When thou passest through the waters, I [will be] with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

Sounds to me like my sweet Heavenly Father KNEW before I even came into existence that my coffee was gonna get really HOT! Yet, He knew me and put down in the record that He would be with my poor weak cup and would help my sorry ole cup of life to not disingrate or fall apart.

So, friend.... if your cup is leaking, let me just say.... Yep, your coffee is probably too hot but if you are a child of God's He has promised to help you and promised to keep you from falling apart like the silly ole Styrofoam cup that Byron had.

If you are not a child of God's, you absolutely can be!! He's simply a prayer away and is longing to be your Abba Father. All you have to do is ask. Its truly that simple.

He Really Wants Us To Make It (part 2)

Some of you will remember this post from last year.

Well, today we experienced the 2010 pedal pull and God once again used it to teach me a faith lesson.

Last week, Byron and I began to compare our schedules for today and it looked like he would not be able to make it to the pedal pull today. I noticed that Kendra seemed especially perturbed and sure enough later in the day she called me into her room where she was crying. I asked her what was wrong and what she said really hit home with me - today. She said, "Mommy, if daddy isn't there I won't be able to win." I asked her why not and she said, "Because I can't win if daddy isn't standing in front of me calling for me to come to him."

Just pause a moment and let that sink into your head.

We HAVE to win this race to Heaven. But the beautiful truth is that our Heavenly Father is standing out in front of us constantly "pulling" for us. Constantly cheering us on. He IS with us.

On the other hand, how many people are you standing in front of cheering them on... pulling for them? How many young Christians are you pulling for? Some of them are pedalling for all their worth and feeling like the weights are just too heavy. You may be the only tangible thing they can latch onto and through you gain the strength to keep pressing forward toward the mark.

So....the two things God re-taught me today:

1. Our "Daddy", our Heavenly Father is ever before us. We don't have to ever worry that His schedule may be too full to intercede for us.

2. I may be the only cheerleader/encourager someone I run into today has. I cannot let anyone down.

And in closing...just a couple pics from today..... Be sure to notice how closely the girls had their eyes on their daddy. Another lesson perhaps, eh?

Hanging on for dear Life!

This is me on most days.... going about my business. Albeit somewhat "living on the edge.." Doing my best.....

This is me on some days.... Just "hangin on for dear life!".

(Byron took these awesome pics while hiking through the woods today. I LOVE them!!)

Great Great Grandma Blair

The kids and I got spend a few minutes visiting with my Great Grandma Blair. I wish my kids could have had the privilege to visit her in her younger days and get to sit and eat gingersnaps dipped in buttermilk (with just a sprinkle of pepper) before bed each night. I have lots of very fond memories of sitting beside Grandma while she read to me "The Pineapple Story" and many others. But now we will live with the special memories we have and pass them on to her great great grandkids!

Persistance in Parenting

Maggie is a mom. She is a feline mom. She had 5 kittens 5 weeks ago. Maggie is probably the best feline mom I have ever seen. Super protective and took excellent care of her kittens.

Saturday was the first "cold" day we've had since the kittens were born. Not only was it cold but it was very rainy. Shortly after breakfast I heard Maggie meowing loudly and persistently at the front door. I ignored her for awhile - and she persisted. So I took her a bit of food and mindlessly stuck it outside the door as quickly as I could. And the meowing continued. This is very unlike Maggie. She has never done this before ever. When I continued to ignore her, she started leaping up into the air as high as she could and banging against the door.

So finally, I couldn't take the noise any longer so I went out to relocate the howling mama. When I went out onto the porch though, I saw that when I opened the door, I had pushed aside a tiny kitten. She had carried the kitten up to the front door and laid him down then started to howl to get my attention.

So, I picked up the kitten and carried him through the house and out to the back porch where I placed him in a box with a towel. Previously the kittens home had been beneath the hosta's in front of the house - in the now rainy, cold elements.

I went back to my housework and soon heard the now familiar meowing/howling. So about 10 min later I went back to the door and found a 2nd kitten had been laid at the thresh hold. I took this kitten to join his brother on the back porch. Meanwhile, Maggie doesn't know where I am putting the kittens. She thinks I am taking the into the warm dry house. For you see, Maggie once lived in this house. Shortly, the meowing and howling started again and I soon found the 3rd kitten laying at my front door. I then took the last kitten and Maggie and completed the feline family circle in the warm dry box on the back porch.

The whole episode made my mind start thinking about the level of my dedication and persistence to see my children safe from the harmful elements they are living in. And ultimately, am I willing to be that persistent to my Heavenly Father in prayer for my children's soul? Is it enough to simply bring them to the Father each day and then sit back and wait to see what happens? Or should I be as persistent and dedicated as my feline friend, Maggie?

Youth Camp 2010

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Kendra Graduates from Kindergarten

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Washington DC

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Friends!

On our trip to DC and back we spent some time with some amazing friends. Here is a slideshow of them. I somehow forgot to add the pic of us and our friend Mike. So, I will add that pic below. My kids look exhausted in the pics with Mike simply because they are. We had parked at the Lincoln Memorial and walked to all the others from there. Several miles!

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Keepville Church Mother's Day Banquet 2010

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Vincent Plays Violin

Recital Time!

Today was the long anticipated and much dreaded recital day! Kenton has been taking guitar lessons since late last fall and Vincent has been taking Violin lessons for about 10 weeks. He's only had a violin for the last 7 weeks. The boys are taking lessons at Edinboro University and we are very pleased with their instructors.

Kenton played "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho" and "Amazing Grace". Vincent played "Twinkle Variations" which is a fancy name for "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" but played with a "mississippi hot dog" bow stroke. Considering that Vincent has only had 7 lessons with his violin we were all (including his instructor) VERY impressed that he was able to play the song! One thing I learned today was that my children are not lacking in love or support. Their support system today numbered 20! Yes, that's right.... my boys had 20 loved ones at their recital cheering them on. After the recital everyone came to our house for lunch and fellowship. We had a lovely time together.

Vincent's teacher is 70 yrs old and is still teaching full time....leads a symphony in Erie, PA.....etc etc. An amazing man. One would have to be amazing to teach 7 yr olds how to play a violin!!

Vincent performing

Kenton performing. Kenton and his teacher.

US Border Patrol

A friend just sent this to me and I just had to pass it on.

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The United States Border Patrol is asking citizens to keep on the lookout for a red 1951 Chevy that they suspect is being used to smuggle illegal immigrants across the border of Mexico and into points along the U.S. border. If you see the vehicle pictured below and have reasons to believe that it is the suspect vehicle, you are urged to contact your local police department or federal government authorities.

Daniel's Recital

Two years ago God allowed us to make our first trip to Alaska where Byron was the youth speaker for their youth camp. While we were there we met (among other awesome young people) Daniel Ridenour. Daniel is from Alaska but attended IUP (Indiana University of Pennsylvania). So, we were able to get together with him and get to know him better over the last 2 years. Daniel graduates this month and will be moving on to bigger and better things but we were privileged to be invited to his senior recital and graduation party this weekend. He did an awesome job at his recital Friday night and we had allot of fun at his bonfire/party last night!! Congratulations Daniel!!! We're proud of you!!

Vidalia Chop Wizard endorsement

I promised my loyal readership (all 4 of you) that I would post any products which fall into my "better than sliced bread" category. Today's item truly is far better than sliced bread because it makes the nasty job of chopping onions - or really truly ANYTHING - SO much easier and FAR quicker.

The Vidalia Chop Wizard is between $15.00-$20.00 at your local Walmart. I am sure they can be found cheaper online but since mine was a gift, I haven't had to price check.

So, put this handy dandy little gadget on your wish list. It's DEFINITELY worth it. I've chopped onions, radishes, grapes, peppers, strawberries, eggs, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, etc in mine and it works like a dream.

You Know You Live in 2010

I typically pretty much ignore "forwards" but this one was too good. So, here it is for your entertainment....

YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2010 when...

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave..

2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.

3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.

4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you...

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses .

6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.

7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.

8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.

10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.

11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )

12.. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.

13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.

14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.

15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list.

Keep me in your will

I'm sure I am no different than any other Christian when it comes to desiring to be ever in the center of God's will however, I often struggle with exactly what that looks like. While I was single I prayed that I would marry whoever God's will was for me.

Now that I am married and have children I often pray that Byron and I would ever minister where God's will is for us. My children are starting to ask me how they will know what they should be when they grow up. I typically tell them that God will show them (in time) what His will for them is. Kenton asked me recently, "What if God's will is for me to be or do something I can't do?" I assured Him that God will never require of us anything that is outside of our realm of capabilities.

As a pastor's wife - and now that its April, the time of the year when tradition among our churches is to vote on their pastor for the next contract period, I find myself thinking about the whole concept of "being in the center of God's will". I haven't figured it all out yet but I do know that my heart is sincere. I do not want to be anywhere but exactly where God wants me to be. I never want to put my desires ahead of God's will and in doing so be in the way and hinder God's work.

This song so vividly describes what my heart feels about this matter.

Thank You To My Husband!

We don't usually exchange birthday gifts,

but this year Byron surprised me.....

Byron hand made the mantel clock out of solid cherry. It's beautiful! The DVD set is a series I've been wanting forever!! Five Mile Creek - It's a wonderful series! We hadn't been able to find it but he tracked it down and surprised me!

I'm Feeling Loved!

Birthday's are typically all about the kids in this house. But this year has been super special. Tonight our church people had a party for me after our Bible study. We had about 24 people there and it was allot of fun. Thanks to George and Ilene for hosting the event!! Here are some pictures of our evening.

Putting a gift to good use!

Alyssa with Wayne Drury (she's wearing Kenton's new hat)

Mrs. English is in her mid 80's and has more energy than my kids. She is a phenomenal woman and such a blessing to our church. She is amazing.

My oldest turns 10!!

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Easter Friends

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Forever in our hearts, Always on our mind.

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Byron Gurnee MD.

Kenton's stitches needed taken out so Byron decided he was capable of doing it.....