Ken's Family

November 10 - Sandie, Andrea and Tyler!!! This weekend Ken's mom, sister and nephew came to Oklahoma (from Minnesota). They drove into Stillwater (from Tulsa) on Sunday night and were here all day Monday. I am so thankful that I not only got to meet them, but that I was able to spend so much time with them. I was able to see how loving and gracious they are....and actually see for myself so many of the things Ken tells me about them. I love seeing them interact with Ken too! I see or talk to him everyday and I know him, but to see him with his family lets me in to a whole new side of him. I love how much they love each other. It was hard watching them say goodbye last night...not really knowing when they will see each other again. I so take forgranted of my family being so close!!! I am hopeful that we will see them again soon....in Minnesota!!! :) Maybe when the weather is a little warmer though....not so sure I am ready for the shock of a Northern winter yet! Oh....and let me just say that Tyler is AMAZING! He turns one in January. He is the sweetest, most content little boy and I had so much fun with him!!! I would have kept him if Andrea had let me!!! ;)

3 Days of Thankfulness :)

November 7th - Cooking!!!! I am thankful that I love to cook...and that I am able to cook. I actually think that anyone can cook, it just takes patience and maybe following recipes. I learned most everything from my mom! And have picked up a few things along the way from friends. I think my favorite thing to do is make up meals in my crock-pot. Michelle tells me that its a talent that I have. I just just throw a bunch of things in that sound good and 4-8 hours later....dinner is ready. :) I made dinner for Ken on Friday night and was just really thankful that this is something I can do for other people. I really enjoy it!

November 8th - Family and Friends!!! This is really broad, but Saturday was full of seeing family and friends. First stop was going to Tulsa for a wedding reception for Ken's cousin. Before we went there, we stopped at my mom and dad's b/c they graciously are keeping Ruger for a few days. I told Ruger that he gets to go on vacation at Grammie and Papa's and see his cousin Frasier! :) Its always good to see my family and I always miss Tulsa when I'm there. From there we went to the reception where I got to meet all of Ken's mom's side of the family. Everyone was wonderful and sweet and incredibly welcoming. I felt right at home with all of them. I have met his mom and dad, but it was my first time to meet his sister and her baby! I loved it and it was such a blessing to feel so at home with all of them! We drove back to Stillwater on Saturday night and went to some friend's house to watch the OSU game. Its so nice to have friends to fellowship with, especially since the game was so bad! It was good quality time!!!

November 9th - RUGER!!! I missed him SO much on Sunday! I forget how much I love having him at my feet all the time. Its lonely at home without him. I am so thankful that God gives us companionship in all forms. He is such a joy to me! I love how he run's FULL SPEED with his ears back and a huge smile on his face when we're at my parents or Ken's house. Its the BEST! I will get him back soon....but I do really miss him!

Day 6...

November 6 ~ Richa!!! Richa is the most amazing, talented person who does my hair! Now you might be thinking that I am thankful that she does such a fabulous job on my hair...and I am b/c I am ecstatic everytime I leave her....which happened yesterday (on the 6th). However, the reason I am thankful for her is b/c I am thankful for her life. I'm not going to go into detail b/c I would probably explain it incorrectly, so here is just a very small explaination. Richa recently had complications with her pregnancy and lost her baby mid/late-second tri-mester. While in the hospital, Richa had a heart attack during her procedure of delivering the baby. They did CPR on her for an hour and half before they stopped and just started praying over her. Miraculously she survived!!! She suffered from an embolism (hopefully I am saying all of this right) and came through everything amazingly! Not only did she survive, but she can walk, talk, and remember everything!!! God is SO good and gracious! She is back at work and I was so thankful to see her yesterday! And, PRAISE THE LORD, she can still have kids! :) I just love her and can't wait to see how God uses her!

Let the Redeemed of the Lord...

I have been doing this "One Word" study for my quiet time. Its something my friend Melissa sent to me that her church does. I have really enjoyed it. Her church actually send a list out with a different chapter of the Bible to read each day. Then you are supposed to write down the one word/phrase that comes to mind....however, being a verbal, relational female, mine are long journal entries. :) So I have journalled a few and will probably post them on here. The one I did today got my on the 2nd verse. I was reading Psalm 107.

~~~

v.1 Oh, give thanks to the Lord for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.

v.2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy

~~~

Let the redeemed of the Lord say HE IS GOOD!!!!
How are we presenting God to the lost world?
With a set of rules?
He is a GOD OF GRACE!!!
None are righteous! We can't do any good deed that will make us "good enough" to stand before Him...and thankfully its nothing we can do! We would and DO fail everyday!!!
Our good deeds are like flithy rags to our perfect Father
So why do we impose a legalistic set of rules on other people?
Why do we try to make them live by a standard that we can't even live up to?
Why don't we just purely LOVE them?
Who are we to add to grace???
We should be presenting our Savior as good and loving! As gracious and merciful!
Show others that His love is unconditional!
Now more than ever, the world needs a Savior! We KNOW Him! Why do we keep Him quiet?
Why do we avoid the confrontation of telling people?
Why do we sit in our comfortable little Christian lives, surrounded by our Christian friends AND NOT GO OUT INTO THE WORLD and teach the gospel??? The SAVING gospel???

Fear?

• fear of losing a friend? You'll lose them when this temporal world passes.
• fear of looking crazy or being hated? That's what people thought of Christ. He tells us to expect the same thing! John 15:17-19.
• fear of getting outside our comfort zone? When we sit in comfort, we probably aren't growing spiritually.
• fear of meeting new people that may be more worldly, crude, unforgiving, ungodly? Guess what??? Thats all of us! Have some grace...the world needs your Savior too!
• fear of "going in to all the world"? God uses you in your world! He may not (and probably won't) call you to a different country. There are plenty of unbelievers around you! If you think you don't know any, just ask God to show you them!
• fear of teaching? The Bible doesn't call for only people with the spiritual gift of teaching to tell people about Christ...It says ALL of us are to spread the gospel!

Don't we share with our friends the latest "find"?
The great sale, the great book, the great movie, the great shoes, even the great breast-pump!!!
We are ALL walking billboards!
Why then do we not show off, "sell," and promote the ONE CONSTANT the we have? The One who moves and touches our lives on a daily basis?
The One who loves us and takes care of us and knows us better than we know ourselves?

Jesus Christ is worth getting out of our comfort zone for!!!
And He will always be with you!!! You are never alone!!!

And if we can remember that its not about us! When we get rejected for what we believe, its not about us!!! They are rejecting God! And, He can handle it! Let Him!!!

In a world that is removing God and Jesus Christ from EVERYTHING, they CANNOT move us!

Psalm 107:9
For He satisfies the longing soul,
And He fills the hungry soul with goodness!

Thank you for...

November 5 - ELECTRICITY!!!! I know that is crazy and ridiculous, but I do tend to take forgranted of the daily, normal things. Today when I got off work, it was dark! "Late-night" dark! And it was raining!!! It was beautiful and I was thinking that the leaves changing and rain were going to be what I was thankful for (and I still am....its gorgeous right now!)...however, during this crazy storm we are having, my electricity goes out. I was very much living in the 21st century....watching TiVo, talking on the cell phone, and instant messaging friends on Facebook (on the internet)....what a time to lose electricity. It makes me laugh b/c I actually am old enough to know what its like to not have ANY of those....oh, yes, including the cell phone. When I was in junior high, I was introduced to the bag phone. FOR EMERGENCIES ONLY! In high school, I had one installed in the car. In college I finally got an actual cell phone, but I left it in my car at all times b/c I didn't think anyone needed to get a hold of me that badly. I only needed it for emergencies while I was driving. My senior year in college, I finally got a cell phone that I kept with me at all times...and still do. :) Anyway---even though the electricity was only off for about 15-20 minutes, it seemed like forever and I just didn't know what to do. I sat on my couch with a flashlight watching the rain. It made me wonder how people lived like that? I can't imagine going to bed at 6pm in the Fall/Winter???? I am definitely a late-nighter! What did they do after dark? I am so spoiled with things that entertain me. I am thankful for electricity and being able to move around and enjoy life at night!

Day 4 of Thanksgiving!

November 4th - God's sovereignty! I am so thankful that God is in control! That no matter what happens, He has gone before us and His plan set. Every detail of life is orchestrated around His will. We may not see why certain things happen....we may not understand why certain things are His best, but we DO know that He is in complete control. Who are we to question His plan? I am so thankful that we do not battle with flesh and blood....we do not have to fear any human being!!! Our battle is spiritual....and as a believer, I KNOW we win the battle in the end!

My mom sent this to me in an email and I thought it was very appropriate for today! #8 and #10 are my favorites!

Predictions for 2009

1. The Bible will still have all the answers.

2. Prayer will still work.

3. The Holy Spirit will still move.

4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.

5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.

6. There will still be singing of praise to God.

7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.

8. There will still be room at the Cross.

9. Jesus will still love you.

10. Jesus will still save the lost.

ISN'T IT GREAT TO KNOW WHO IS STILL IN CONTROL?

30 Days of Thankfulness!

OK....so I got this idea from another blog and thought it was a wonderful idea! For the entire month of November (hopefully I can remember to write daily) I am going to post what I am thankful for each day. I am not going to make it a list of what I KNOW I am thankful for (family, friends, church...even though I am incredibly grateful). I want to find something in MY DAY that I can be thankful for....if it ends up being my family, friends or church that is great, but just making sure you all know its not in any "ranking" order! :) I am going to also backtrack the last few days so there are actually 30 days!!!

November 1 - COWBOYS WIN!!!! :) We played Iowa State on the 1st. While it was incredibly hot at the game, I am so thankful and fortunate to have season tickets! I love going to the games and its something fun I can do with my parents. This season has been especially fun b/c the Cowboys have only lost one game to the Texas Longhorns....My hope is that we finish out the season with all "W"s!!!!

November 2 - Finley!!! I spent the day with Finley and Michelle (and part of it with Devin). They have become family to me and I love them dearly! Finley is such a perfect little blessing!!! I am so thankful for what she has taught me already and the example this family is to me. I am thankful that she will be brought up in a home that loves the Lord and she will hear about Him ALL day EVERY day!

November 3 - Crystal Maxwell! One of my dear friends is suffering from cancer. We heard yesterday that she has been given 2-4 weeks to live. I am so very thankful for her! She has been such a blessing and ministry to my life! She has a daughter that is in her mid-20's and a son that is around 9 years old. We have been praying for close to 4 years and God has thankfully left her with us for that long! I just love her and continue to pray for her and her family! And, humbly, this makes me appreciate my health! I am so thankful that my body is healthy and performs the way it should....and I take forgranted of it everyday!

This is Crystal :)

These are her kids, Caleb and Jade!