I am no longer the things of my past...I am the daughter of the Great I AM.

Exodus 3:14
And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'"
2 Corithians 6:18
I will be a Father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Golf Rules


Golf is a game of many rules. Granted, I personally believe that some of those rules are stupid, but never the less, they are the rules. Unlike most sports, golf is a game that does not have referees or umpires. If you break a rule, you must call it on yourself. That is why golf is also a game of integrity.

Ethan is playing the North Texas Junior PGA tour this summer. Jason acts as his caddy on most events. If Jason is not available, then the job falls to me. Jason is well versed in the rules of golf. Because of this, there have been a couple of occasions where Ethan has broke one of the rules not realizing it. Jason has pointed it out to him, and Ethan has taken the penalty strokes. Even though this is the correct thing, I don't always have good feelings toward Jason for pointing this out while in tournament. I have reasoned, that he could just mention it to him later. That way Ethan would know the rule in the future, but not be penalized. However, that would not be the correct thing to do. After all, we want to instill good character in our son. Jason is doing the right thing.

Earlier this week, Ethan observed another player breaking one of the rules. He recognized it, because it is one of the things he had done in an earlier tournament. I immediately jumped on the "justice bandwagon." You know, what is fair for one is fair for everyone. I wanted that kid to receive penalty strokes. I even went so far as to tell Jason that if that kid didn't receive the strokes, Jason would have to apologize to Ethan for making him take them in another tournament. I know... I think I was missing the point in all this... but it is hard to back a mother hen down when she feels her chick has been harmed.

Ethan on the other hand was not out for justice. He instead gave mercy. He pointed out to the other player what he was doing wrong. Then he told him that because he didn't know the rule, he would not call him on it.

Isn't that exactly what God does for us. When the world cries out for justice, God grants mercy. And because of this, we should be willing to grant mercy to others. We always want to receive mercy, but are we ready to grant it? Obviously, I need a little more work in this area.

Ethan has declared since he was 4 years old that he would be a missionary on the golf course. I think he is meeting his call. What do you think?

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Lesson Learned from Dog Poo

Two years ago, Ethan's dog Duke was hit by a truck and killed. He was heart broken. We were in the process of selling our house and moving into rental property while we built or bought the next house. Because of this, we waited on getting another dog. When we found a place to rent, we had to sign a no pet policy. I told Ethan that after we had been there for a little while, I would talk to the landlords about us getting a pet.

Two days after moving in, a stray dog wandered up. She was nearly starved to death, and covered with fleas and ticks. I am quite certain that had we not taken pity on her, she would have died shortly. We fed her and cleaned her up. She appears to be a rat terrier, and looked liked someones pet. We called around to see if someone had lost her. I explained the situation with to the landlord, and she said for us to keep the dog if we wanted. God gave us a dog. We have had Prissy Missy for two years now.

At first, we kept her outside. I wasn't thrilled about having a house dog. However, as the weather got cold, I was the one to bring her inside. I have never made her go back to being an outside dog. She is really a precious dog, and a good watch dog. She is quick to alert us when a stranger approaches. And, here is the best part, we never had to house break her. I decided that when God gives you a dog, He takes care of the training as well. She rarely has accidents in the house... please notice I did not say never...

Last night, Erin woke me up to tell me she was going to the bathroom. As I waited in the hall for her, Ethan said something to me. I stepped toward his room to speak to him, and stepped in dog poo!!! Yuck!!!!!

First, I cleaned my foot. Then I cleaned the hall. Then I scrubbed my hands and foot again. Everything was cleaned up before heading back to bed. However, as I was getting back in bed I was thinking, "I hope I don't still have poo on my foot that I am getting on my sheets." Even after getting in bed, I still kept thinking about having poo on my foot. It was grossing me out. (As I am sure this subject is doing to you now!)

As I lay there, I realized that that is exactly what we do with sin in our life. We confess it to God, receive his cleansing, but still dwell on how unclean we are. The truth is we are clean! If we continue to dwell on it, we are allowing Satan to rob us of the gift that God has already given us. So, the next time you are worried about the "poo" of sin still being on you, remember what God's word says in 1 John 1:9. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

Monday, July 12, 2010

Summer of Frivolous Reading

Several months ago, God put on my heart a desire to learn and to share with other women how to be the women He intends for us to be. I have spent a lot of time researching various Bible studies on this subject. None seemed to be what God was directing me to study. I was quickly becoming burnt out on reading.

As summer began, I realized that I was going to be sitting by the pool with my kids a lot. (I know, a hard life I have!!!!) Now since my skin only has three tones, (white, off white, and red) working on my tan is not a priority. So I decided I would spend my time reading. However, my heart was not into any heavy Bible study reading. So, I decided I would pull out my old Christian fiction novels. I call it my summer of frivolous reading. I have enjoyed it so much! In fact, I have been refreshed because of it.

Besides refreshing my mind, God has used this time to point out something very important to me. (Isn't it funny how God uses even our "down time" to teach us a lesson.) He is the one who has put this desire in my heart, therefore, it is His word where I will find what I am looking for. He has started me at Proverbs 31:10-31.

I am challenging all ladies reading this to read this Proverbs 31:10-31 at least 10 times over the next month. Ask God to open your heart to any insight He may give you. Write down what you learn, and share it with others. I would love for you to share with me. I am sure that I will be sharing more on this in the future. I look forward to seeing all that God is about to do in our lives and the lives of our families.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

"I Trusted God"

As I was folding clothes, Erin ran up to me and said she wanted to show me something. I walked into the living room to see what it was. She sat on the couch, bowed her head in an obvious prayer, stood up, fell back, and did a back roll over. When I asked how she knew how to do that, she looked at me as if I had just asked the dumbest question ever, and responded, "I trusted God."

God's word tells us we are to have the faith of a child. Yet how often do we need direction, and fail to do the one thing needed... Trust God. Right now, as I type this, I have a couple of "back roll overs" that I need to make a decision on. I have prayed, but I have not simply trusted God with them. Instead, I have continued to wrestle with all the what ifs, and tried to come up with reasonable solutions. God doesn't always work with reasonable. As a matter of fact, He specializes in the unpredictable.

So... I have prayed, I am standing on His Word, I am falling back in His protection, and I trust God.