At Home For HIM

Mission Team Update from Guatemala

2010-08-14T22:42:00.002-05:00

I can tell by my counter that there are some of you out there reading this, but no comments. Come on people, say something!! Let me know that you're out there reading this stuff. It takes a long time to type all of this up, I just need a little encouragement not to stop... please.

So, this particular update was interrupted by a phone call from Todd while I was typing it. So, midway through the update the update changes direction. I did not send out an update the day before and as a result some of the family members here got a little concerned and contacted me. So, the beginning of the update reflects that also. Enjoy these great stories...

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Hi Everyone:

I'm so sorry that I didn't get an update sent yesterday. Everything is fine in Guatemala with the team. They've all been working steadily on the same things over the past few days.

The team had the chance to see, and receive an update from Juan Diego (the family that they built the home for last year)!! What a great experience to be able to see him and his family again.

They also had the opportunity to go to a wedding yesterday!!! Pastor Luis, and another pastor he works with, performed the ceremony and Tony played music and sang. I'm sure that the couple getting married had no idea that a team of Americans, on a week long mission trip, would attend their wedding. I'm not sure what the appropriate attire is for a wedding in Guatemala...

(Side note: after returning home, Todd told me that the couple had been living together and that Pastor Luis had spoken with them several times about their situation being against God's will and plan for their lives. So, they got married!! Hallelujah!!)

They also attended the commissioning of a new church in a city that, until now, has been unable to have Evangelical Christian Church. Up until now, the only church presence was that of the Catholic church, and they had prevented other churches from coming. Todd mentioned that as recent as 20 years ago it was illegal to have a Bible in this city. If found with one, they would be imprisoned.

When I talked with him earlier today he told me that everyone was tired. So, I would guess that the week is beginning to catch up with them. Please pray for strength and continued good health as they bring this week to a close.

Oh, Oh, Oh, Todd's just called.... (The info below was typed as he talked, but seriously, there was SO MUCH MORE!! I just couldn't listen, type and respond all at the same time. I've got a serious headache, so my brain's not really working as well as it should.)

They went back to Santa Clara today to do the Bible studies with the women and children. He said that when they arrived it was immediately obvious that word had spread throughout the town and surrounding towns. The city was packed, Todd said that there were children in the streets, children packed into the church building, children everywhere!! He estimated there were between 300-400 children!!! He said it was absolute mahem! They knew that the team was coming back to do the children's Bible study again today and they were there waiting for them when the team arrived.

He shared a particular story that was so precious... Yesterday they shared the plan of salvation and helped the children to make the bracelets with the colors that represent it. One young boy had a particularly difficult time with it (I think maybe with remembering what each color stood for). They worked with him until he knew it. Today, he was going to the other children and sharing the plan of salvation with them using the bracelet!! Truly our people have already seen the fruits of their labor in Guatemala with this one precious disciple who is reaching out now to make disciples himself. It makes me want to cry, with joy.

The team took with them 74 Spanish Bibles and they have given them out throughout the week to women at the Bible study and to the men of the churches there.

Everyone went back t Juan Antonio and Clara's house today to bring them the gifts they'd purchased in the market. He invited everyone in to pray and the team gave them the things they'd purchased for their home (plates, cups and other household items, along with some legos for the kids). Santa Clara is known for its basket making and Juan Antonio had baskets waiting for them. He had 24 to give to the group members, but there are 25 in the group. I'm not sure who gave theirs up, but Todd said sometime later, when they were in town at the church, they saw Juan walking up the road, he was carrying the 25th basket.

When asked, "How can we pray for you?" The pastor of the local church shared that they were out growing their building, would we please ask God to provide them with a larger meeting place. What a great problem for a young church to have. So, we will be praying for that need, and I ask that you all would do so as well.

They cannot go into Pajahajel to the market there this year because of the storms and mudslides. Instead they will be visiting Antigua tomorrow to do some souvenir shopping before coming home on Sunday. I can't believe the week is coming to a close already, and yet I am so glad that the other half of my family will be coming home soon. I know that you all feel the same way about your family and friends as well.

The team has some specific prayer needs. Melissa J is having neck pain, the same that kept them from making the trip this time last year. Please pray for her that the Lord will ease her pain, and help her as she travels back to the states. Also, Brian P. has come down with some sort of really bad stomach bug, so please be praying for him too.

The one thing that Todd has continued to say is this, "It's the same church!! It's the Lord's church, they just speak a different language and meet in a different country." Throughout the week, that is what the Lord has shown him as he experienced what he has referred to as "sweet fellowship" with believers abroad. I am so thankful for the time of spiritual refreshment he has experienced this week and can't wait to hear all of the stories he couldn't think to tell me in our brief chats throughout the day. I'm sure Anna will have so many of her own to share as well.

As for me, my little Guatemalan on the home front put her pajamas on all by herself tonight!!! :o) Yay!!

Love to you all, in Christ our Lord,

Lori

Guatemalan Mission Trip Update #2

2010-08-11T13:06:00.003-05:00

This is the second of the updates sent out to the family and friends of those on the trip to Guatemala...

Hola -

Hope this evening, or morning if you're reading this tomorrow, finds you all doing well.

Today in Guatemala: the men finished the house and got it roofed!! Unbelievable! Todd said they were held up 2 hours in a horrific traffic jam because of a large rock in the road. I'm assuming from a rock slide??

The women and children continued their respective Bible studies.

Once the men completed the house they went into town to the church in Santa Clara to meet with the men of the church there. Todd said they found them discouraged. I'm unsure why exactly. They spent time with them reading scripture, praying and singing songs together. Todd said that it was such a sweet time of fellowship. He shared that it was an amazing experience to worship with people from another nation, knowing that they were all worshiping the same - one true - God.

He said that as the ladies and children begin to wrap up their studies this week , they plan to meet with the men again tomorrow to continue to build their faith and give them encouragement.

Please pray for these church leaders.
In Christ,
Lori

On Mission to Guatemala - update #1

2010-08-06T18:40:00.008-05:00

Okay, so today's "installment" is the first communication I sent out on Monday evening(the team traveled into Guatemala on Sunday). I'll edit as possible to make more sense or whatever, just know it is penned to friends and family of those who traveled this year.

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Good evening everyone:

I spoke with Todd and things seem to be going along well today. He says the weather there is beautiful, as usual. Many refer to Guatemala as "The Land of Eternal Spring" with average temperatures in the 70's.

I will share some things with you throughout the week about Guatemala as I send you all updates. If you were on last year's update list, some of these will be things you may have learned about last year.

They are working in and around the "lake region" of Lake Atitlan. Lake Atitlan is considered to be one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. Last year Todd learned of a lake lot for sale fore $6,500.00. He shared that here (in Alabama) this would be a million dollar lake site. We joked about buying it and retiring to Guatemala, but we do enjoy lights and indoor plumbing. Here is a picture of Lake Atitlan at sun down. They are in the Central Time Zone as we are, but do not use "daylight savings time."

Our Mission Team is working in the region of Santa Clara, located approximately 8,000 feet above sea level!!! He told me that if they were only 10' higher he was sure they could actually touch the clouds. Want to know what that looks like? Check out this picture attached, taken by Todd on last year's trip.

Today they began building the house for the family is this area. Once construction begins, the children and women of the city begin to come out into the streets to see what's going on. Todd said that our children (those who went on the trip) were playing with the Guatemalan children out in the streets, and telling them that they would be having a Bible school starting tomorrow. The ladies will begin a lady's Bible study with our women. The building of the home brings the locals out into the streets and makes it easy to begin sharing what the plans are for the women and children as the men help to build.

In one week our men will complete a home! That's F*A*S*T!!! But, their homes aren't like our's. Here's a picture of the men who went last year, and the home they built while they were there.

You may recognize some of your friends and family who were on last year's trip. The team also gave a "pounding", or housewarming, for the family, providing them with things they would need for their new home.

Two other things Todd shared with me today: Anna had her hair braided by the locals, and one of the Jones' girls (who attended a ballet camp recently) was showing the girls there how to do ballet!

I'll check back with you when I know anything new.
Your Guatemalan Mission trip liaison,
Lori

On Mission to Guatemala

2010-08-03T21:26:00.002-05:00

For the last week, my husband and oldest daughter spent their time in Guatemala ministering to the needs of the Christians there, encouraging them in their faith, and sharing the Word with it's people. I haven't posted this past few weeks because I just simply haven't had a chance. Our family has a special love for the people of Guatemala because we have a daughter adopted from there. Their time in Guatemala was wonderful and I hope to share with you some of the stories from their journey.

Because of our business, Todd and I have to be in contact with one another throughout the day so that he can keep things running here by phone. I don't like for them to be gone and I most certainly do not like running a plumbing company. It's a week when the days can start out smooth and take a turn for the worse in about 2 minutes flat. Todd always leaves a schedule for the guys to know where he wants them, and when. He figures about how much time each job will take and schedules accordingly.

So, the guys arrive and load their trucks at 7, leave the shop about 7:30, and off they go. Once they arrive there are dozens of things that can go wrong, throwing a wrench in the entire day or even the whole week: the supplies that were supposed to be delivered aren't there, they don't have the right parts on their truck, the home is locked up, the job isn't ready, etc...

I can tell you that as much as I want them to go and share Christ there, I do not enjoy the week they are gone, or the few weeks preceding their departure. There are days and days and hours on end of preparation involved in leaving the country, even more so when you are leaving a business behind that's expected to run while you are gone. The items you have to pack when you are leaving to go on a trip out of the country is long enough, but when you are going to an area that doesn't have clean water, sanitation, or the basic things we consider to be necessities, the packing list gets even longer.

Their time in Guatemala is always wonderful. There are many stories I want to share with you all from this trip. Some of the stories I sent out to the families and friends of those who were also on the trip. I am always the unofficial "liaison" between the members of the mission team and those they leave here in the states, so I'm going to share with you all those emails and then I will sprinkle in a few other stories that Anna and Todd have shared with me since they've been back home.

Abiding in His grace,
Lori

I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth...

2010-07-11T21:20:00.006-05:00

For those of you wondering, the answer to the question "Have you fallen off the face of the Earth?" is, "No." Well, not exactly anyway...

Over the last few weeks we have been on two major trips back to back. One was to the beach for a week and the other to Gatlinburg with Anna for her National dance competition. I didn't want to post about our trips, upcoming or while we were away, because I don't know who reads this. I know that those of you who know me closely knew we were away, but for the rest of the internet world I didn't wish to announce it, if you know what I mean.

So, first we went to the beach for a much needed family vacation. It took Todd about 3-1/2 days to decompress enough to relax and begin enjoying our time there. Anna was able to carry a friend with her this year, which was a first and a real treat. I'm uploading a picture of the two at the beach, WOW - what a difference a year makes! That is all I can say about that! Just scan down the page and look for the picture of Anna at the beach last year sitting in the red leather chair. It's amazing what a year can do, huh? This year, we are minus the glasses (exchanged for contacts) and braces (Nice straight teeth and beautiful smile and I have a great Orthodontist recommendation if you live in our area.). She is growing into a beautiful young lady who has such a good head on her shoulders and we are so proud of her. I stand amazed at what the Lord can do!

As for the Nexstar Nationals competition in Gatlinburg, her trio received a "high gold" award and scored 3rd overall in their age division. The girls really did a fantastic job! We were so proud of them.

Now an update on my broken leg, I have hobbled along through each of our trips. I was unable to do the sand this year at the beach, needed a wheelchair at the Outlet mall and really hurt myself on some stairs, but I am officially off crutches and using an ASO brace!! Yay! (I have the name of a really great orthopedic too should you need a recommendation. He's part of the Andrew's Sports Medicine group at St. Vincent's Hospital and he did a really good job.) My leg has healed really well, and I'm in physical therapy working to get back full use.

Next up is the annual trip that Todd and Anna go on to Guatemala to do missions work. This year Anna will be helping with the children's VBS for an estimated 225 (!!!) children and Todd will be involved with building another home. For those of you who'd like to read about their trip from last year, visit this link for more info http://homeforhim.blogspot.com/2009/07/on-mission-to-guatemala.html . Our Pastor is going with them this year and I know he will be so blessed by the opportunity. I will send updates as they arrive in Guatemala and begin their journey there. In the meantime, please be in prayer for the safe travel of their team and that the Lord will prepare the hearts of the people to receive His love as they show it to these precious people.

Our family has such a love for the people of Guatemala. We are so thankful to have been blessed by the Lord with the gift of a precious child born there. It is so sad that they will be unable to share this amazing part of our lives with so many they will meet in Guatemala because they do not understand our motivation for adopting one of their natives. Many there think that we put our internationally adopted children in the wars overseas to fight for us, some countries (though not specifically Guatemala) believe that their children are adopted by rich Americans to use as organ donors for their biological children who are ill. It is unfathomable to me the things that they have been told, the superstitions that they have been deceived by. I can not understand the evils they believe we would perpetrate against these precious children, and yet I know that evils are perpetrated against children all over the world every day. Sarah is so precious to us, I just can't imagine. Anyway, one of the things our team was asked to bring with them was a picture of their own family, this is something that they can use as they talk to those in Guatemala. It allows these people to see them with their own families, to have a way to relate and to see that they too have people whom they love dearly. Todd and Anna will only be able to share our family photo with a select few - as the Lord leads.

Enjoy the beach photos to your right and thank you to our special beach guest, Giann, for taking them!!

Abiding in His grace and hoping that I'm settling back into the blogosphere,
Lori

Without further ado, here's the photo, Anna (on the left) with Giann (on the right, duh)

The Secret of Inviting His Gaze

2010-06-09T13:02:00.002-05:00

My next installment of quotes from and thoughts on the book Secrets of the Secret Place are from the chapter The Secret of Inviting His Gaze. Words in red bold italics are from the scriptures, and words in italics only are from the book. Words printed this way, in regular font, are my own words and thoughts. The song above was contributed by Anna to go along with this. If you'd like, listen to and enjoy the song while reading this post.

"The LORD is in His holy temple, the LORD's throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. The LORD tests the righteous, but the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates. Upon the wicked He will rain coals; fire and brimstone and a burning wind shall be the portion of their cup. For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright. (Psalm 11:4-7)

"God scrutinizes mankind with focused intensity. He cares intensely for us and about us. He studies our responses and weighs our attitudes. He is vitally concerned over our welfare and is committed to judging us justly for every word and deed."

Personally, I am very concerned about my own words. My hearts desire is that of David when he expressed "Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer." (Psalm 19:14) I have been "accused" of being to sensitive, stuffy, or too concerned about the use of certain words. The truth is I am very concerned, very sensitive, call me stuffy - I really don't care. When I read scriptures like "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. 'But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.'" (Matthew 12:35-37) I find myself especially concerned. So, yea, I'm very defensive when it comes to my own words, and the words of those the Lord has entrusted to my care (my children). And I wonder why others do not take it as seriously. The Word would seem to indicate that it IS serious to God!

Before I was born again, there was no word off limits of crossing my lips. I used them all then, prior to my spiritual rebirth, and I used them frequently. I remember when I was first converted that I immediately could not use those words. I did not even want to refer to them, and when someone else used them the Holy Spirit within me would cringe, I would be embarrassed. I couldn't stand it then, and I can not stand it now almost 20 years later. Does this make me odd? Strange? Too sensitive? Holy? Do those who would speak this way, and condemn me for being "judgemental" of their speech actually stand in judgment of me?

"The Lord has said to us, 'But on this one will I look; on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word!' (Isaiah 66:2) When I read those words my heart moves within me. 'That's me, Lord, I'm poor and contrite, and I tremble at Your word. Oh that You would look upon me in this way!'

"God is on a holy search, 'for the eyes of the LORD run to and from throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.' (2 Chronicles 16:9)"

... He is testing you to see if your heart will remain loyal to Him through the scrutiny. If you persevere, He designs to show Himself strong on your behalf.

....The Lord is patient with us, however, and He gives us time to process and adjust. Over time, the saint slowly begins to realize that the alternative is far worse.

Oh the horror of God turning His eyes away from us! It was an awful declaration of judgment when God said, "I will hide My face from them" (Deuteronomy 32:20)...

... When my mind wanders from a conscious focus upon the Lord, and I am distracted by the affairs of everyday life, upon returning to Christ in my thoughts comes this awesome realization: He was there all along, waiting for my thoughts to return to Him! He is never disconnected or distracted away from me, not even for a split second. ... THANK YOU LORD!!

What can I say to such kindness, Lord? Here is my simple prayer: "Look upon me and be merciful to me, as Your custom is toward those who love Your name." (Psalm 119:132)." I pray that as I use words that are hurtful, unholy, angry or impatient that the Lord will indeed show mercy and grace towards me. And, I pray that I too will be merciful to others when they do the same.

Abiding in that amazing grace,

Lori

"The Secret of Buying Gold"

2010-06-04T20:15:00.008-05:00

These days nearly every television and radio channel is running some sort of commercial about how you can either sell the gold you have to make money, or buy gold to put up and save for a financial crisis. Neither of these is what this post is about. Today is our next "installment" from the book I'm reading Secrets of the Secret Place.

Today's post is from the chapter, The Secret of Buying Gold.

"I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich." Revelation 3:18

"What is this gold that enriches us? It's the gold of authentically-produced godly character, it's Christlikeness. ...

To de-mistify this thing, let me describe very clearly the process whereby we buy 'gold refined by fire.' First comes the fire. By fire, I am talking about tribulation or affliction or distress or calamity or persecution. ... You don't have to wonder or imagine whether you're in the fire. When the fire hits your life, you will know it! You will lose control, your pain levels will skyrocket, and your desperation for God will intensify. Your flesh will want to collapse and give up, but since your spirit is alive to the beauties of Christ, the fire will be used of God to drive you into the face of Christ like never before. Instead of giving up, you'll run even harder! Your primary source of sanity in the midst of the fire will be your secret place, where the Spirit will soothe your tortured soul and the word will sustain your hope and faith.

... you will begin to see areas of your heart and soul that have been out of alignment with God's ways and will. As you see those things, you are so desperate for God you gladly and diligently do business with Him, repenting and considering deeply how to change and adopt new patterns of thought, behavior, and motive. As you embrace the changes that God's Spirit inspires within you, you are actually becoming more like Jesus. Or to put it another way, you're buying gold in the fire.

It says we "buy" this gold because the pricetag is steep. ...

The fire has a way of making you a doer of the word and not just a hearer only. You become desperate for a word from God, and then when it comes, you cling to it like it's your very life source. ... then something amazing happens. When you share with others how the word mirrored your own shortcomings and how you became a doer of the word in the midst of the fire, your witness will have a profound effect upon your hearers. They will be fed by your witness of what has fed you.

The secret place is the only way you'll survive the fire. And the secret of the thing is, God's word flowing into you will not only enable you to survive, it will empower you to overcome and buy eternal treasure. ... God has great understanding into this powerful little secret, which is why He is merciful enough to send the fire in answer to your prayers. If you will cry to Him from the depths of your being, He will send exactly the right kind of fire you need at this moment in your journey. This fire will press you into the mirror of His word that you might begin to buy the gold of "refined character."

There are days when I feel as if surely I must have a stockpile of gold simply because of the troubles I've seen in my own life. Then I think of those who live in persecuted nations of the world, those who were burned alive or otherwise martyred for their allegiance and faith in Christ. I think of those who this very moment are starving to death while I just finished eating plenty for dinner and will later on enjoy some cake I made today. I think of those who've lost multiple children, not just one - though even the one is a horrifying event in one's life.

Most of all I pray that, as I go through the fire, I will throw myself into the arms of my God, cling to His word, press myself into Him, that I may be changed. I desire to be transformed into something that brings glory to my God. I pray that I will not become embittered because of the trials, but that as I share with others how the word mirrored my own shortcomings and how I became a doer of the word in the midst of the fire, that my witness will have a profound effect upon my hearers. That they will be fed by my witness of what has fed me.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ." 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

I hope that you all are enjoying these segments from this book. I'm surely enjoying reading it. Please leave your thoughts and comments. Next up, The Secret of Inviting His Gaze, and Anna has another song to go along with that one.

Abiding in His grace,
Lori

Hola, everybody! Here's a song to go along with THIS post (sorry I couldn't find a video, you'll just have to read the lyrics)...

"Consume Me" by Tenth Avenue North:

Walking down the dusty road
Though weak I thought I was so strong
Trying to make it one my own
I keep tripping on my clumsy feet
Look here at the mess I made of me
When you pulled me from the mud and clay
Yeah so you fill me anyway
But you hold me anyways
And I said...

Consume me with your fire
Cleanse me with your rain
Bring and purify me let me glorify your name
Until only your love remains

Consume me with your fire
Cleanse me with your rain
Yeah wash away my empty past
Until only your love remains
Love remains ... 'til only your love remains

22 years passed me by
22 years I sat and cried
Living by sight and not by faith
Oh Lord you wont despise
Forgiving me so many times
When I turned and I walked away
Yeah but you turned me around when I humbled myself to pray
And I say...

Consume me with your fire
Cleanse me with your rain
Bring and purify me let me glorify your name
Until only your love remains

Consume me with your fire
Cleanse me with your rain
Yeah wash away my empty past
Until only your love remains
Love remains... Only your love remains

Amazing grace just rain on me today
Yeah forgive me as I'm giving my heart
To you to you to you
Yeah

Consume me with your fire
Cleanse me with your rain
Bring and purify me let me glorify your name
Until only your love remains

Consume me with your fire
Cleanse me with your rain
Yeah wash away my empty past
Until only your love remains
Love remains... Only your love remains

I hope y'all like it!
Anna McGuire/marryanna

Chris Tomlin - Holy Is the Lord

2010-06-02T23:44:00.000-05:00

This song goes with my mom's latest post. Enjoy!

~Anna McGuire/marryanna

Secrets of the Secret Place by Bob Sorge

2010-06-02T19:21:00.007-05:00

Hello Dear Readers,

Before I start tonight, I'd like to bring your attention to some things that are going on in Guatemala currently. Over the last week or so, they have experienced the eruption of one of their many volcanoes. Homes, business are closed if not totally lost. This is also the rainy season in Guatemala. So, they are also experiencing mudslides, flooding and other horrific circumstances.

The Lord alone knows their needs and will prick the hearts of His people to care for the people of Guatemala as we are able. Part of my family is planning to return to Guatemala on a mission trip in late July, so we are praying that much clean up effort has been done so that they can get into the towns and villages to minister to these hurting people.

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I shared earlier some thoughts and quotes from the book Secrets of the Secret Place by Bob Sorge. I am continuing to read through the last half of this book, and every day I come across thoughts that make me think, "Oh, that's good. I've got to share this!"

So, here I am, to share some more thoughts. I decided that I would post them as I read through the book and come across things that really give me pause to think, or that I wanted to return to and read again sometime. I highly recommend this to any of you who have enjoyed the quotes I've shared from this series. This is a devotional type reading book, and it is not gender specific so you guys our there should like it just as well too.

Enjoy...

From the chapter, "The Secret of Holiness" -

"'The Lord has said, "He who walks in a perfect way, he shall serve me' (Psalm 101:6) This is not referring to sinless perfection, but rather to a blameless lifestyle that is not subject to reproach or criticism by those who live closest to you.

... Holiness is not an inherent quality we carry; it is a derived quality that we take on. Holiness has but one source, the Holy One. Holiness has to do with proximity to the throne. The seraphim are called "holy ones," not because of who they are but because of where they are. They are "holy ones" because they live in the immediate presence of the Holy One! I am holy only to the extent that I abide in His holy presence."

Anna selected the above video from Chris Tomlin singing Holy is The Lord. I hope that you will enjoy it.

Will share more again soon,
Lori

Things that make you go hmmmm...

2010-05-26T16:14:00.003-05:00

I received this link via email from a friend who spent time living in the middle east with her husband who is now in his 80's. They have experienced the Muslim country as residents.

It includes frightening "snipets" that make you go hmmmm.... why did people elect him as our President? I can hardly bare to utter his name after that title... President _______________.

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=tCAffMSWSzY#t=28

I know that the Lord is in command of our leaders and their election, but I can't help but ask Him, "Why Lord?" In scripture it shows that the leaders are at times appointed in judgement of a country. We are certainly worthy of His judgement, and yet instead He continues to lavish His grace and mercy upon us.

In the time of King Nebuchadnezzer, Daniel 4:32b and 35 says, "'The Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.' All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him 'What have You done?'"

Holding my breath until the next presidential elections, and still waiting on my leg to heal,

Lori

The Secret of Tears

2010-05-21T04:44:00.006-05:00

This will be my final post on items from the book Secrets of the Secret Place by Bob Sorge. As I finish reading this book I may post statements of encouragement or other poignant statements in the margin on the right.

On the Saturday following the surgery on my leg to repair the breaks I told Todd that I hadn't really cried since I'd broken it, but I could feel that there was a really good cry in there somewhere. I didn't know when the cry would come, but I knew it was coming sooner or later. Having just recently found some true relief for my back, I'd begun walking each day. I had the hopes of losing the weight I gained over the course of my first injury and surgery.

The following excerpts are from the chapter titled The Secret of Tears.
"Of the seven psalms that refer to tears, three are attributed to David's pen. The man who had an absolutely sincere secret life with God was a man of tears. David cried, 'Do not be silent at my tears' (Psalm 39:12) as though his tears commended his sincerity to God. Clearly tears are not for women only. Another psalmist expressed the sincerity of his cry by pointing to his tears: 'My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually say to me, 'Where is your God?'"

I have experienced the tears that have been my “food day and night.” When Kathryn died, I spent many hours crying. I felt like those who knew we were Believers, and were not themselves, were thinking to themselves, “Where is your God?” Here we were teaching in our church, known by everyone in our little country church, and friends with many who were unsaved in our community. Wherever we looked, our brothers and sisters in Christ seemed to be saying “Where is OUR God?” They were feeling our loss as well to some degree, unable to understand or comprehend why the Father had not answered the prayers of those who had cried out on behalf of our baby. I understand this type of tears because I have experienced them and remember that sorrow all to well – as if it were only yesterday.

But, what about this cry that was coming, after I realized I’d broken my leg, been admitted and was scheduled for surgery the next morning? It’s interesting that I didn’t cry before, except from the pain when I first broke the leg. The cry that was coming was of a different kind, I knew that, but I didn’t fully understand it, until I began reading this chapter. It came on it's own timing, and was an uncontrollable sobbing.

...

"We cry because we desire or because we're in pain; so tears are the language of desire. We desire Him, even to tears. If we lack the desire, He will cultivate it within us by seemingly withdrawing from us His mercy. It's famine that makes us hungry; it's drought that makes us thirsty. Deprivation produces desire."

Do not despise the pain that gave you the tears. Pour out your heart to Him; God is a refuge for us! Those who "love much" still wash the Lord's feet with their tears. (Luke 7:36-48)

So, what about the tears I shed that Saturday afternoon? Those were a different type. I was frustrated and confused. I know that God works "all things together for the good of those that love Him, those who are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28) I understand fully His Sovereign grace and His abundant provision. So what type of tears were these? Why was I crying, I really didn't understand, I just knew that I was going to experience a time of crying during all of this.

The tears I succumbed to that day were all together different. I knew that, but I didn't know how to express that yet. The Lord began to show me through the book I was reading..

"There are two kinds of sickness in the Bible that produce tears. The first is mentioned in Proverbs 13:12, 'Hope deferred makes the heart sick.' When the hope of God's deliverance is deferred, the heart grows sick. This heartsickness produces a groaning from the depths of the spirit and is expressed in tears. These are the tears of the brokenhearted, and they are not despised by God. Heartsickness cries, 'Oh God, visit me! Come to me in Your power and fulfill Your word in my life!'"

"Heartsickness is the product of unrequited power; lovesickness is the consequence of unrequited love. David articulated both passions when, during his years of hiding in the wilderness, he cried, 'So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory' (Psalm 63:12). Heartsickness weeps, 'Show me Your hand!' Lovesickness weeps, 'Show me Your face!'"

That is when it dawned on me! That's what it was - hope deferred! I had just finally started feeling better after another procedure on my back. I'd been out and walked in the beautiful spring weather the 3 days before I fell, readying myself for the work involved in losing the weight I've put on in the last 2 years. When, lo and behold, I step just the right way on a curb to turn over my ankle and break the bones in my lower leg. "What?!!? Are you kidding me Lord? This can't be happening? I'm finally feeling better? Why now? How is this going to be for my good, and the good of those in my family who have to depend on me for their most basic needs? How is this going to bring you glory?" I was heart sick, and I didn't see how that was going to help me to glorify God. But here I sit at my computer, hoping that this blog post reaches someone who feels a sickness today. I encourage you with these words from the paragraph quoted above: if you are heartsick, weep "Show me Your hand!", and if you are lovesick weep, "Show me Your face!"

So I invite you, if you feel either of these two ways - lovesick or heartsick, seek the Lord in prayer and through your tears. Indeed God is everywhere... even in our tears.

Abiding in Him, along with you all,
Lori

Broken Leg Update

2010-05-14T17:07:00.002-05:00

Okay, I've gotten some emails regarding my doctor's appointment yesterday. So, I'm going to go ahead and give an update here to help others of you keep up that way. :o) Thank you for caring and asking.

I got the hard cast off yesterday. They took x-rays and finally the doctor came in to see me. He said that my leg had healed "Remarkably well, in a remarkably short period of time." I let him know that it was due to the "saint sitting in the corner" referring to mom. I know people are probably tired of my saying that I don't know what we would have done without her, but it is so true!!

It's kind of ironic, because I was basically a real pain in the rear growing up. If anyone had ever said that I'd end up living next door to my parents after I was grown and married with kids, I'd have thought they were out of their mind! And yet, here we are, closer than ever. It is amazing to me all that the Lord can restore when we are His. We are so blessed!

Anyway, I got a black boot that looks like something out of the "Transformers" stuff. Sarah asked if I was going to ride a horse, and I told her I would need a second boot to go with this one and that they'd have to be a little different! This one has a really tall, weird heel on it, lots of velcro straps, and a pump up air thing inside of it. I can take it off to shower, and to sleep, which is really nice. But... I have to continue to stay off of it working up to a little weight every few days not to exceed half of my body weight at any time. Try figuring out how to do that correctly? Mother and I tried all the way home to figure out exactly what that means.

Anyway, it will be this way while we are on our annual beach trip which doesn't really make me happy, but hey at least we have the opportunity to take a beach trip every year, right? We wouldn't go if it weren't free. So, we really do get a good opportunity.

Abiding in His hands,
Lori

Leg update and change it is a comin'

2010-05-12T20:18:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone:

Tomorrow is my next follow-up appointment with my orthopedic surgeon about my broken leg. I am prayerful that I will get my cast off tomorrow, but the doctor hasn't said so. I would really like to hear that the leg is healing well and quickly (I have been very careful with it.), and that I am ready to move on to whatever the next step will be. I suspect it will be a hard boot, and I have no idea when I will start with physical therapy. If I get a boot tomorrow, I expect to have a good bit of pain. I have bumped the cast a couple of times and it's jarred my ankle and been quite painful. So... we'll see.

Huge shout out and thanks to my friend, Kristin, for taking care of my girls while mom and I go!!

Also, Anna went to the Orthodontist today and will finally get her braces off in 4 weeks!!! After 2 and a half years, she will finally have the beautiful smile that is metal free!! I know she will be really glad to get them off. She's also decided she wants to take on contacts too, so we'll see about that soon as well. She has changed SO much in the last couple of years, I can't believe what a beautiful young lady she is turning out to be - both inside and out! The Lord has blessed me with two beautiful girls to raise for His glory. I pray that I do a job that is pleasing to HIM.

At Home For HIM, and abiding in His grace,
Lori

I Know You Are Out There...

2010-05-10T09:45:00.002-05:00

Okay, so the last post turned out a little long, and only got one comment. I know that you readers are out there, because the counter has gone up by over 100 "hits" to the blog since the post about the "Secret of Waiting."

So, I am going to assume that either you all disagreed, couldn't relate, didn't have anything to say, or thought the post was so long that you just didn't take the time to read it. Who knows, anyway, I'm going to move on to another post soon.

Please know that I encourage any and all thoughtful posts - whether you agree or disagree with the topic or post. And, I NEED comments! I just need to know you're out there, that you are thinking about what you read, and that you've stopped by to read what's here. If you have no thoughts about the topic, just say "HI!" I know there are many "lurkers" out there, just by the counter going up and up.

So, the next and final post for now from the book Secrets of the Secret Place will come soon.
It will be The Secret of Tears.

Abiding in His grace,
Lori

The Secret of Waiting

2010-05-04T20:03:00.008-05:00

Before I begin this post, I'd like to say something in response to a comment from the last post, written by "Superman's Lady." I have not personally taken the time, as I've read through this book, to check out each of the scripture verses that were used by the author. It is possible that the author could have used a verse out of context, or just to make his point. So, I thought that it was important that I mention this.

Now, I will also say that if I were to feel particularly drawn to a specific verse or passage used that I would take the time to read the scripture in context. On the other hand, I would also share with you that there have been times in my own life that I believe the Lord has "given me" a single scripture, or grouping of scriptures, in particular circumstances that applied to my situation and brought peace to my soul. So, as you read, read with this in mind.

The next installment from my short little excerpts here is from the chapter entitled The Secret of Waiting from Secrets of the Secret Place by: Bob Sorge.

So, during the time of my recovery from this broken leg, I am doing a lot of w*a*i*t*i*n*g, a whole lot of it. In the meantime, everyone around me is having to "wait on" me. That happens in a lot of ways. The first way that I'm "waited on" is by moving my pillows, my blanket, my drink, my cell phone, the home phone, any book I'm reading or puzzle book I'm working in everytime I move from the bedroom to the family room and back again, fixing and bringing me every meal and drink I need, helping me wash my hair, etc... The other way that I'm waited on is different. Everyone has to wait on me to get up or down the stairs of our front stoop to get into the van, get from point A to point B when we go to church and of course lunch afterwards, get into the doctor's office for appointments and things like that. So, there's an awful lot of waiting going on around here right now. They are all waiting for me to get well and things to get back to "normal" whatever that is. :o)

So, here are our excerpts for today:
"The closer you get to God, the more you realize He's in no hurry. There is no frenetic hurrying in heaven, only calculated purpose. "Whoever believes will not act hastily" (Isaiah 28:16). Those who step into God's time zone will not allow urgent matters to press them into acting too quickly and getting ahead of God." This is a truth that I learned personally many years ago, and I am so thankful. You see, when you know this truth it keeps you from rushing headlong into bad decisions. There's no reason to make quick decisions about purchases for fear that someone else might beat you to it. If the Lord wants you to have that .... outfit, car, house ... it will be there when the time is right for you to buy it. Those of you who are single adults God has the perfect timing in regards to your spouse, or lack there of. Don't run into a marriage that isn't His plan, you don't have to run about seeking the "one" to be with, He's already got that taken care of, just wait on the Lord. There is really a lot of peace in the waiting once we learn that He is at work.

"One of the best descriptions of waiting on God is found in Psalm 123:2, 'Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, until He has mercy on us.' To wait on God is to stare at His hand. ... Waiting on God is not watching television until God chooses to move; waiting on God is attentively gazing upon Him with undistracted focus until He has mercy on us. And until He acts, we just wait on Him and love Him."

"Waiting on God may be the most difficult of all the spiritual disciplines, and perhaps that's the reason so few truly practice it. Just sitting in His presence and gazing... it can be agonizing to us who have become accustomed to being bombarded with data and stimuli. We lack the attention span to wait on God."

"'Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you; and therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the LORD is a God of justice, blessed are all those who wait for Him. (Isaiah 30:18)" ... "the truth of Isaiah 30:18. When it says, 'The Lord will wait,' it doesn't mean that God is waiting for you to do something; it means that God is strategically delaying His miraculous visitation because He has greater things in store for you than you've even asked for. But to give you the fullness of what He has planned for your life, He will use the season of waiting to prepare you as a vessel, and also to prepare circumstances around your life so that you will be able to step forward into the proper sphere when His release comes to you. He's waiting so that He can crown you with an even greater blessing."

I can speak from my own life and say that the things I've wanted the absolute most in my life, have been greater than I could ever imagine when they actually came. The Lord had provided for me something far greater than I could have dreamed of. If I had run headlong towards what I thought I wanted, I would have postponed the greater thing because of not waiting on the Lord, and having peace in my decisions.

"Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the LORD!" (Psalm 27:14).

Waiting for my next Doctor's appointment,
Lori

The Secret of Confinement

2010-05-01T21:32:00.005-05:00

Well, tonight we will continue on with our third installment of my excerpts from, and thoughts on, Secrets of the Secret Place - Keys to Igniting Your Personal Time with God by Bob Sorge.

In the trials I have faced throughout my own personal life: the illness and death of our first child, the death of Todd's mother, Anna's health problems and surgery as a baby, the death of all of our living grandparents, twenty years of marriage - and the usual trials that brings, the death of my father, the adoption of a child, my own frustrating health problems and dibilitating accidents, etc... I have come to understand the following statement, perhaps more than some can. Our first statement from this chapter is this, "David said of the Lord, 'He made darkness His secret place' (Psalm 18:11). When the lights of understanding go out and you're plunged into emotional darkness, you are actually being issued an invitation into God's secret place. It's in the darkness where God meets in secret with His chosen ones."

You see our human nature and Satan's influence, cause us to think that when something bad - maybe even horrific - is going on in our lives that we are all alone. We feel like no one else on earth has ever felt THIS, whatever you're "THIS" is, but the scriptures tell us otherwise.
Joshua 1:9, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."
Ecclesiastes 1:9 "That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun.”
Matthew 28:19-20, 'Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

At the time of our daughter's death in 1995, I could see no good thing that could come of that, I was in complete darkness, confused, and afraid. Now, 15 years later I could name dozens of the good things. I've come to embrace my God as He is, as He presents Himself boldly throughout His Word, in complete control of what comes into my life. As much as I wish I had my precious Kathryn Grace back to enjoy all of the things that would be important to her now, at 16, I wouldn't change anything. I have come to such a deeper place with God that I would not ever give up. Some of you have no idea what I'm talking about, maybe even think - "She's a loon!" Others of you understand perfectly.

Back to our book excerpts, "In His kindness, He dries up every other fountain that has nurtured your soul, that He might become your only fountain in the quietness of this cell. It's here you will learn to own the reality of Psalm 87:7, 'All my springs are in You.' Instead of being energized by projects, you will now become energized by a Person. Being with Him and in Him will become your criteria for success." and "David spoke of intimacy of the prison: 'You have hedged me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.' (Psalm 139:5-6)"

The chapter closes with these words, and I will chose to end my post with them, so that you may be left alone with this thought, and with your God.

"Here's one of the secrets of darkness: He imprisons those He loves in order to awaken them in the secret place to mature bridal affections. Don't despise your chains, for they bind you to the heart of the One you long for. You are the prisoner of the Lord."

Abiding, with complete assurance, in these chains,
Lori

"The Secret of Enduring"

2010-04-27T19:18:00.002-05:00

So, I certainly do not claim to know the secret of enduring myself, but I am being forced to endure right now! So, this is definitely a timely read for me. Again, these quotes are from the book I'm currently reading - Secrets of the Secret Place. In the context of this book, the "Secret Place" being referred time is that time when you spend alone time with the Lord, in His word, etc...

"It's easy to endure in the good times. It's when the hard times hit that our endurance is proven. When times get tough, it's tempting to neglect the secret place." I've said things quite similar to this myself...

"Hardship can be embraced with joy, in my opinion, only when we understand God's purpose in the pain. 'My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience' (James 1:2-3). The only way to be joyful in trials is through "knowing" -- knowing God's purpose in it. How do we learn God's purposes in our sufferings? The secret pursuit of God in His word is what will reveal purpose to us."
"One of the scriptural symbols for this process is pearl. Pearl is formed within an oyster which has experienced the distress of a foreign particle of sand getting stuck within its shell. Pearl represents the eternally valuable change God works within us in the place of hardship. There is nothing else that changes us quite so readily and profoundly as a devotion to the secret place in the midst of grueling hardship."
"The longer the irritant resides within the oyster's shell, the more valuable the pearl becomes. Therefore, the formative value of tribulation is sometimes directly proportional to the duration of the crucible. The longer the distress, the more valuable the pearl. It is the confidence of this reality which empowers us to persevere with joy. When we endure in love through hardship, we qualify to enter the gates of pearl - for the only way to enter the eternal city is through the pearly gates of "treasure perfected in hardship."

Abiding with all the endurance I can muster,

Lori

Comic Relief: Great Dog Signs

2010-04-26T17:51:00.007-05:00

Okay, so the sign above says the following:

LICKER
LICENSE
AS DEEMED BY
THE BOARD FOR
THE PRESERVATION
OF
SHIH TZU
LOVE

Now then, I suppose some of y'all might need an explanation. So here's one:

Dogs lick EVERYTHING. They lick furniture, people, floors, themselves, ect. It's what they do. It's in their nature. Especially when it comes to Shih-tzus. The breed is well know for their never-ending licking, thus the following picture (think of this as visual explanation):

They lick, and they lick, and they lick some more.

It NEVER ends.

FYI, the dog in this picture isn't mine.

Now, back to the licker sign:

I thought it was funny. It's like comic relief. And, trust me, we needed it. =D

Love y'all and hope ya got a good laugh out of it,

~Anna/marryanna

I love blue jeans and trucks, but that's a whole other post...

Update and "Secrets of the Secret Place"

2010-04-26T14:46:00.004-05:00

Well, I'm writing today because Anna says the blog has gotten quiet and there's been a request from one of her friends. So, here I am, I'd better add something.

My leg is about the same. I'm still elevating and icing, and getting really tired of it all. I just mark the days as they go by, striking through them on my calendar. Kind of boring. Don't really have anything exciting to say...

Anna is taking the California Achievement Test this week, so she is currently taking the Language Mechanics portion while Sarah watches Baby First t.v. which she sometimes enjoys. Right now is one of those times. Mom's gone to pick up a few things at the store, but will be back soon. I'm sure she enjoys the break from our crazy place.

We did venture out to church again yesterday which was nice. I enjoy seeing everyone and spending time in corporate worship, receiving Biblical instruction, and enjoying time with my brothers and sisters in Christ. And, of course, being a Baptist, you can't forget the lunch afterwards!! That is some of the sweetest fellowship time, as it should be.

During my devotional time I am reading through several books - I usually have one that is a scripture study and then one or two others that I'm reading related to spiritual growth. So, one of those is a book entitled Secrets of the Secret Place - Keys to Igniting Your Personal Time with God. (written by Bob Sorge) I got the idea to read this book from another book I read that quoted from this one.

Anyway, I just have to share with you the titles of some of the last few chapters I've read. They are so fitting for my current situation, you can't help but smile at God's providence. The current section is titled "Setting A Marathon Pace" and the last chapters I've read are:

The Secret of Desperation (I'm feeling a little desperate these days.)
The Secret of Manna Gathering (This one is based on the idea of living day by day, understanding that God's provision is daily, and not intended to be stored up - like the manna He sent to the Israelites.) Now here's where it just gets plain funny!
The Secret of Enduring
The Secret of Confinement
The Secret of Waiting and
The Secret of Tears

Here are a couple of the things I underlined as I read - they either stood out to me as important lessons to learn or ideas I already know and cherish. As I look through each chapter, WOW, it's hard to pick just a few. Maybe I should share a little each day for a few days.... hey that'll work!

Okay, so here's the first set of quotes, from the chapter "The Secret of Manna Gathering."

"When you're desperate for God, you become dependent on the daily sustaining power of His word. Your source of survival is your daily manna - feeding on the word of God. We know the manna of the wilderness was good for only one day; if kept over into the next day, it would rot (Exodus 16:12-31). It's still true that yesterday's feeding in the word will never sustain us for today. One of the primary functions of the secret place is to be fed afresh each day in His word."
"Proverbs 16:26 says, "The person who labors, labors for himself, for his hungry mouth drives him on.' It's our hunger for the word that drives us into the secret place. When we are hungry spiritually, we are energized to labor in the word. A lack of hunger is a danger sign. When someone is sick, often the first symptom of their sickness is a loss of hunger. Those who lose their spiritual hunger need a medical exam, spiritually speaking."
"Once you learn to feed yourself in the word, you are no longer upset when the Sunday sermon doesn't apply to your life. You weren't looking for the sermon to be your source of feeding and life anyways. If something in the sermon feeds you, you reckon it a bonus. You're no longer dependent on others to give you milk because now you are cutting off your own meat."

Tomorrow, excerpts from The Secret of Enduring.

And, Anna says, "Hello!" *waves*

Abiding in His sovereignty with my big ol' broke leg,
Lori

Daring. Very daring.

2010-04-18T17:36:00.009-05:00

Today we dared to go to church with mom and her broken leg! The result: SUCCESS!!!! Oh, happy day!! We even went to lunch with some of my...er...our peoples! *happiness* Hope y'all had a good Sunday!!

ttyl peoples!
~Anna/marryanna

My Sweet Baby

2010-04-15T14:59:00.002-05:00

Say hello to one of the sweetest dogs ever. My baby. Her name's Jasmine. Most of y'all know her. She's adorable. She thinks she's real tough (which, when she acts like she is, is precious). She's a pretty good guard dog. She barks at everything, and I mean EVERYTHING. Here's 4 things she barks at AT LEAST once a day:

Cars that have been parked in the driveway for the last 24 hours.
People walking.
One of us ringing the doorbell
Someone accidentally bumping up against a wall.

*sigh* She's crazy, but I love her like crazy.

~Anna/marryanna

2010-04-15T14:38:00.002-05:00

What We Think

2010-04-12T14:52:00.005-05:00

Hey everybody! Here's the address to a new blog. It's written by me and some of my friends:

www.wemustbeactive.wordpress.com

It's a blog full of biblical discussions about what we think. Please go check it out!

~Anna (AKA marryanna)

Blah...

2010-04-12T12:48:00.003-05:00

Well, today it has finally hit me. I woke this morning feeling totally - blah!

I still have 4 weeks and 3 days until I see the Dr. again for another follow-up, and to hopefully get my cast off. After that, I don't know how long it will be until I can put weight back on this leg, and I will have a good deal of physical therapy ahead of me.

So, this morning I woke up just really feeling done with it all. I'm tired of going from the bed to the recliner, sending someone to get all of my pillows for propping, my drink, my cellphone, my blanket, etc... Then, back again several hours later. I'm tired of running into the walls with my crutches or walker when I try to get up and go to the bathroom. I'm tired of the pain involved when my foot swells and the incision presses against the inside of my hard cast.

I'm sick to death of being unable to just jump in and get a shower and wash my hair. I feel yucky, dirty, disgusting, and tired. Just plain tired of it all, and I've got a really long way to go still. I'm not even half way through this!

Worst of all, I'm tired of being at the mercy of everyone around me, and having to depend on everyone else to do what is my job.

Ah, but as Scarlett O'Hara would say, "I will worry about that tomorrow. After all, tomorrow is another day."

Abiding, and hanging in there, one hour at a time,
Lori

Medical Update...

2010-04-08T20:56:00.002-05:00

So, I went to the doctor today for my 2 week post-op follow up from surgery to repair my broken leg. The doctor says that things are looking good and progressing well. They took out the staples, there were about 17 of them, and I have two nasty scars, one on each side of my leg.

The doctor put me in a hard cast (I chose black, because it goes with everything.) and I'm still on the restrictions of keeping the foot elevated, and iced, and putting no weight on it for 5 more weeks. I go back then to have it looked at it again. This is going to be a slow and gradual process I'm afraid. He said that while things were looking good, if I were to put any weight on the foot it would "fall apart".

So, I continue to sit, foot propped up on pillows, trying desperately not to feel like a horrific burden to my family and friends. I understand now how people with serious injuries can fall into deep depression or worse. It is very difficult, mentally, to have to depend on others for even your most basic needs.

Anyway, that's where we are now...
Abiding,
Lori

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T16:31:00.007-05:00

I wasn't able to go to church today, though my family was able to attend in our church's new building. We are still working with a church plant and growing a little at a time, which my experience tells me is really the best way for anything to grow. I wish I could have been with them all in the new place. Perhaps after I see the doctor this week and get a cast on, or whatever he's going to do to me, I'll be able to get out.

I am still not supposed to put any weight on this foot for another 4 weeks and 3 days. (Yes, I'm counting down.) That likely means many, many more days at home hanging out, and being tended to. I really do not like having to depend on others to help me with EVERYTHING. I mean seriously, I can't go fix myself something to drink and then take it anywhere. I suppose I could fix it on the kitchen counter and then drink it there, but right now I still can't stand up for long periods of time. I can't pick Sarah up with one leg, I do everything and go everywhere with my hands on crutches on a walker. And, don't even get me started on trying to take a bath! Very frustating...

In the meantime, our family and friends were over to visit and have lunch today. Unfortunately, I went to lie down for a bit before everyone arrived, fell asleep, and when I woke up... everyone was ready to go home. :o Sorry I missed out on visiting with you all!

So, that was a little disappointing, but I'm sure they all had a nice time being together, and I understand. Todd said he tried 3 different times to wake me, I don't recall any of that. I must have really needed the rest. I slept fine lastnight, so I don't know why exactly, but I guess my body knows what it needs.

My friend Debra brought me the Easter outfit you see in the photo above since I couldn't go out and get one for myself. Wearing that was the highlight of my day. Only a great friend would think of such an hysterical thing and actually spend their money on it! Thanks Debra, You made my day!!

Abiding in His resurrection,

Lori

Now THIS is funny...

2010-04-02T12:50:00.005-05:00

I don't know who wrote this but it is hilarious:

God vs. Satan

And God populated the Earth with broccoli and cauliflower and spinach and green and yellow vegetables of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives.

And Satan created McDonald's.
And McDonald's brought forth the 99-cent double cheeseburger.

And Satan said to Man "You want fries with that?"
And Man said, "Super size them".
And Man gained pounds.

And God created the healthful yogurt,
that woman might keep her figure that Man found so fair.

And Satan froze the yogurt, and he brought forth chocolate,
nuts and brightly colored sprinkle candy to put on the yogurt.
And woman gained pounds.

And God said "Try my crispy fresh salad."

And Satan brought forth creamy dressings, bacon bits and shredded cheese.

And there was ice cream for dessert.
And Woman gained pounds.

And God said "I have sent you heart healthy vegetables and olive oil with which to cook them."

And Satan brought forth chicken-fried steak from Cracker Barrel so big it needed its own platter.
And Man gained pounds, and his bad cholesterol went through the roof.

And God brought forth running shoes,
and Man resolved to lose those extra pounds.

And Satan brought forth cable TV with remote control so Man would not have to toil
to change channels between ESPN and ESPN2.
And Man gained pounds.

And God said "You are running up the score, Devil."

And God brought forth the potato,
a vegetable naturally low in fat and brimming with nutrition.

And Satan peeled off the healthful skin and sliced the starchy center into chips and deep-fried them.
And he created sour cream dip also.

And Man clutched his remote control and ate the potato chips swaddled in cholesterol.

And Satan saw and said "It is good."

And Man went into cardiac arrest.

And God sighed and created quadruple by-pass surgery...

And Satan created HMOs...

Hope y'all liked it as much as we did!
~Anna/Blondy da gangsta

An April Fool's Anniversary

2010-04-01T19:52:00.005-05:00

Hi Everyone:

Well, today marks the two year anniversary of the fall down our basement stairs. Two years of physical therapy, massage therapy, doctor's appointments, surgery, prayers, and lots of tears have passed.

This year, I decided I wouldn't be the "April Fool" who tried to carry too much down a flight of stairs while balancing a baby on one side and a large heavy diaper bag on the other. Instead of being this year's biggest "AF" I got started precisely one week early! Exactly one week before this year's April Fool's Day, I broke me leg!

Thought you'd all enjoy a picture of what Sarah affectionately refers to as my "BIG...BIG...BooBoo!!!" The second is a photo of my "old lady walker". Todd rubber banded a Wal-mart bag to the walker for me so I could take small things with me from point "a" to point "b". That's just sad....

Abiding in His grace, with my Big! Big! Foot!
Lori

It Finally Happened...

2010-03-31T14:06:00.002-05:00

My worst fears finally happened...

I went into my (reasonably large) walk-in closet to get something, using my crutches, and..... FELL backwards!!! (I keep calling the crutches "stilts" for some weird reason. The word "stilts" is stuck in my brain and I can't seem to say "crutches" no matter how hard I try!! It's driving me crazy!!)

I lost my balance when I went to turn around and come back out and, about half-way into my turn around I fell. I hit the back of my head on the clothing rail on that side, but the clothes did help to slow my fall. I landed on the shoes in the floor. I don't think that I actually put any weight on the broken leg, but it did get quite a jarring.

So, I'm back to sitting with the pillows under my leg, and feeling a little like the foot is swollen inside the thing that is on my leg, which makes it quite uncomfortable, and painful too.

Guess I won't be going into the closet again for awhile, and I'll be back on the "old lady" walker.

Please continue praying for us all,
Lori

Not Feeling So Well....

2010-03-28T18:09:00.010-05:00

As some of you already know I twisted my ankle, Thursday night on a sidewalk curb, and broke both of the bones in my lower left leg.

If you take a look at the diagram, you will note the Tibia and the Fibula. I broke both of these bones. I broke the tip off of the smaller of the two, the fibula, and have a "spiral" fracture in the larger bone, the tibia.

Wikipedia's definition of a "spiral fracture" is this: "A spiral fracture (also called a torsion fracture) is a bone fracture in which the bone has been twisted apart. ... The spiral fracture will look like a corkscrew type which runs parallel with the axis of the broken bone. "

So, for all of you homeschoolers, this should be a nice little "biology/anatomy" lesson for the kiddos. I told the doctor who discharged me yesterday that I had a 3 year old known affectionately as "the hurricane" to care for and a 13 year old to homeschool when I got back home. He told me to plan for the last of our school year (which is about 30 more days) to be very home economics and biology/anatomy focused. That Dr. seems to understand lifestyle learning which sometimes interrupts our best laid plans. Oh, of course she'll still have to do her math - bless her heart.

As for me, and my healing...

* I can't put any weight on the left leg/foot for 6 weeks, not even a tiny little bit.

* I go back in 2 weeks to see the surgeon to most likely get a hard cast put on.

* I will have to go back to physical therapy - again!!! - and was told to expect it to be hard.

* It will take about 6 months before we can expect it to be fully healed.

* I'm in a great deal of pain, a lot of the time. I have to use crutches or a walker to get around here at home. My arms are so out of shape from becoming deconditioned since I injured my back, so they are getting a great workout now for sure. I suppose that's one really positive that will come out of all of this.

As always I appreciate comments, however - "Anonymous" you're on my "watch list" and further Anonymous comments will most likely be pulled if they are not signed with some initials, or other way of identifying yourself. And know that any and everything that comes by way of my email is read by me... and don't forget who I'm married to...

Abiding "somewhat painfully" in His grace,

Lori

Not Feeling

2010-03-28T18:09:00.001-05:00

THUNDERSTRUCK

2010-03-28T13:23:00.004-05:00

Ah, yes. Thunderstruck. My third dance competition this year. The name says it all. They would/should have been thunderstruck by our performance…IF! we hadn’t messed up. But we DID mess up. *hangs head in shame* All. We. Got. Was. GOLD. *sniff* I was SOOOOOO looking forward to getting the highest thing there is: “LIGHTNING GOLD”. Amazing. What a name. And the way the guy said it! Listen: *clears throat* “LLLLLLightning gold!”. But we didn’t get it. Oh well. Hey, there’s always next time!

*mumbles* Yep. Next time we’re gonna knock their socks off and leave their heads spinning...

*yells* Platinum, here we come!! WOO-HOO!!

~Anna/MarryAnna

Note from The Blogger - Winter Jam 2010

2010-03-17T12:24:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone:
It looks like Anna will be filling in for me on the days when I don't have something to write. I am working on the third part of the Sovereignty series. This one is entitled He's In the Midst. I hope to have it up in the next couple of days. Until then, enjoy the latest post by Anna...
Abiding in His grace,
Lori

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OH MY GOSH. Winter Jam was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!

Okay, so Sunday night I went to Winter Jam with a couple of friends (SweetTart and Indy/Panhead). It was ONE OF THE BEST NIGHTS EVER!!!!!!! The music was AMAZING!! They had Third Day, Newsboys, Newsong, Tenth Avenue North, Fireflight, Tony Nolan, Sidewalk Prophets, Robert Pierre, and Revive!!!! We (me and SweetTart) were jumping up and down, clapping, singing, and screaming like crazy people!! The result: a hoarse voice and stinging hands. But hey, I don’t care! It ROCKED!!

Happy Spring Break (to those of you that get one)!
~Anna

PLEASE, don't cry over spilt milk!

2010-03-13T19:47:00.000-06:00

Hola everyone! Guess what Sarah did! Those of you who have lived with (or still live with) a three year old (or a somewhere-around-three-year-old) know what’s coming next. A true story about what they are capable of/can accomplish in half a second or less.

Here goes:
Sarah decided that she wanted some milk in her cereal, so my mom got the milk out of the fridge and placed it on the table for a moment. Mom stepped back into the kitchen, leaving Sarah with the milk…yeeeeaaaah…bad idea.

Soooo, Sarah decided to “take matters into her own hands” and POUR THE MILK ALL BY HERSELF. What comes next? A “SPLASH drip drip” followed by an “I need help. QUICK!” from my mother and a rush for towels.

Mm hm. Welcome to the McGuire family “three ring circus”! Milk in the floor, on my mom, and being licked up off of the floor by my wonderful dog Jasmine (AKA “the vacuum cleaner”). It’s a wonderful, scratch that, CRAZY life…

Happy weekend!!
~Anna McGuire

My VERY Awesome First Post "Thingy"

2010-03-11T17:03:00.004-06:00

Hi everybody! So this is my first post!

*does happy dance* Hope y’all enjoy!

Okay, by now most of y’all know that

I’m of Irish heritage.
And because I’m Irish I might be just a tiny bit

obsessed with all things Irish.
Soooo, with that said, here’s something cool I found:

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
May the rains fall soft upon your fields

and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of his hand.

(it’s a traditional Gaelic blessing

(and yes, Gaelic is Irish))

I know that I don’t have much blogging “experience”, but I DO know that I would LOOOOOVE for y’all to comment! Thanks!

~Anna McGuire

The Shack - revisited

2010-03-11T11:12:00.002-06:00

Well, it seems that we're revisiting some older posts I wrote on the popular book The Shack.
My original posts can be found by following the links here: The Shack - A Strong Warning and also The Shack Attack!

Excuse me for taking a detour from my current series, but I got an email today from a friend with a link to a sermon, by Michael Youseff, regarding what he refers to as the "13 Heresies" in this book. It has stirred up in me those same feelings I had about the book back in August of last year when I first wrote my articles.

There is a nice outline of the 13 Heresies, if you don't have time to hear the sermon, but there is also a link to the sermon if you'd like to listen to it. The link is http://defendingcontending.com/2010/03/11/sermon-of-the-week-the-shack-uncovered-by-michael-youseff/ .

"Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to What is good." Romans 12:9

Abiding in His grace,
Lori

What Did I do to Cause This?

2010-03-03T00:12:00.008-06:00

The Sovereignty of God Series –

Part 2 - What Did I do to Cause This?

In Part 1 of this series A Crisis of Faith we covered a lot of ground. Starting with the idea that all Believers (which is how I will refer to those of us who are followers of Christ throughout the remaining parts of this series) at some point reach that place where we come up against something that is so much bigger than ourselves, and anything that we can handle on our own, and we have to make the decision whether or not we do indeed believe that which we have professed about Jesus Christ and God.

I ended that article with my own personal experience, and the fact that for me, the answers to all of my questions were in fact, “Yes and Amen.” He is in charge completely of my life! I am in complete and total surrender and submission to my Heavenly Father whom I believe to be faithful, just, gracious, merciful, true, and never changing, wanting only that which is for my ultimate good and His unending glory and I rest completely in that truth.

I’ve found that His love for me casts out any fears I may have about the direction He may take my life in at any time. It was just a few years ago that I read the following verses (one I’d seen at least a dozen times) and the light bulb went on, I got it, and felt a huge sigh of relief! 1 John 4:17-19, "Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us. "

So as we walked together through these steps that we took during the days, months, and years following Kathryn's death, the next issue to come up between Todd and I was – individually “What did I do to cause this?” and collectively, “What did we do to cause this?”

I want to start by saying that bad things do happen often times as a result of poor decisions made. For instance, if I’m sitting in a median waiting to pull out onto a 2 lane road and there are two oncoming 18 wheeler trucks, both within about 35 feet of me and traveling approximately 65 miles an hour, if I pull out in front of these trucks, I can expect that there is a great likelihood I might not survive. That would be a choice I made which brought about really bad consequences. This happens every day, and people “blame” these things, the "bad" things, usually on the devil. Funny how that happens. Human stupidity often gets blamed on the devil, but the things that are just out of our hands completely – like finding out you have cancer – alot of people then presume that God must have been the one that did that. So, let’s investigate what the scripture says about these things, and hopefully bring our thoughts in line with those of scripture.

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We do know that the Word teaches that we are to "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 powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Ephesians 6:11-13. Much spiritual discernment is needed to know when we may be experiencing spiritual warfare. But sometimes, it takes even more discernment to see when we are experiencing the consequences of poor choices, bad ideas, and difficulties brought on by our own sin.

Study Guide:
(If the scriptures are not included in the text here, PLEASE take the time to look up and read the scriptures and to reflect on their message. There is something God wants to show you through every Word in the scriptures. 2 Timothy 3:16)

The following is a checklist I use personally to determine where I am in my prayer life and in my personal relationship with Christ, as it relates to difficult circumstances coming into my life. It is imperative as Believers that we be willing corporately (as the body of Christ) and personally (in our own personal relationship to Christ) to ask the hard questions, do what needs doing, to lose our fear of accountability and find a heart that only wants to be laid bare before the Lord, open, waiting and ready for His use. I'm sure this list is borrowed from somewhere. I have no idea where it originally came from, or how I came about getting it. It's been written in the back of my Bible and I've been using it for years now.

BEFORE I PRAY:

Are all my sins confessed? (Isaiah 59:2; Psalm 66:18; 1 John 1:9)
Are all of my relationships right before the Lord? (Mathew 18:15-35)
Am I seeking God’s will in EVERY area of my life? (I John 5:14-15) That includes even those difficult relationships that not too many other people really know about?
Am I seeking to glorify God in all things? (John 14)
Am I depending on God to guide me everyday through the power of the Holy Spirit? (Romans 8)
Do I trust God in spite of what seems to be (the external appearances)? (Prov. 3:5-6)
Will I praise God no matter how this turns out? (Romans 8:28)

So first of all, in all things, I desire for myself, and I encourage you, to try to be introspective enough to see yourself, as much as possible, the way that God sees you and your sin.

There are definite examples in scripture of sin bringing about consequences. One of the best examples is that ultimately, the child conceived through the adulteress relationship between King David and Bathsheba, resulted in the life of their son being taken. (1 Samuel 12)

As many examples like this that there are, you will find many other examples of God’s mercy and love covering our past sin, and not giving us exactly what we deserve. This is a wonderful thing as parents that we have the opportunity to teach our children – MERCY - an earthly taste of such a wonderful principle. (John 8:2-12)

Next, we must come to understand that every day of our lives is not only numbered, but ordered, before we’re even born! (Psalm 139:16 and 23-24; Psalm 37:23-24; Proverbs 16:9; 19:21.) We have a dear friend that says, “If it’s not my day to die, there’s nothing I can do that will cause it, it will all be thwarted. But, if it’s my day to go, there’s nothing anyone can do to stop that either.” I find it comforting, after having lost loved ones, that I didn’t have to “what if” we’d done this or that myself to death, because I was fully rested in the fact that God has the days of our lives determined, patterned and ordained. That’s a great relief! This is once again, an example of His perfect love casting out all of my fears (1 John 4:18)

I would like to encourage you in this way:
1) Always be ready and willing to take an account of your own actions, beliefs, behaviors, etc… to determine if in fact it is possible that you may be experiencing the chastening of the Lord. Be the first to examine your motives, attitudes, and behaviors to determine if you are “suffering” in some way that has been brought on as a result of sin in your life. “…My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.” Hebrews 12:5-6 If what you are experiencing is the result of sin, REPENT, and be restored to your God, and your fellow man if necessary and if possible.

2) If you’ve made the determination that your sin has not brought this on you, rest in the knowledge that God’s Sovereignty is at work and He is busy causing all things to work together for your good and HIS GLORY!! (Even if you can’t see the good until you get to heaven, you can rest in the assurance that it’s there!!) (Romans 8:28; Ephesians 1:11; Jeremiah 29:11)

3) Lastly, know that if you are in the midst of a current struggle, are reflecting on past struggles, or bracing yourself for the struggles life will one day bring; it is most precious for us as Believers to know that just as He has been in the midst of those throughout scripture, as an example for us, He is in the midst of your situation too, whatever that is! Deuteronomy 31:6, "Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” (Joshua 1:1-9)

You see, in the beginning of our struggle with Kathryn's daignosis, illness and following death, we questioned what we’d done that would cause God to punish us in this way. We came up with a laundry list of things from our past, and decided that if this was the worst God ever did to us; we surely deserved it! But, SERIOUSLY, that is not who God is. His character is not such that He sits around waiting for just the right time to find something that means the absolute most to us and take that one thing to pay us back for all of the wrong we did prior to the beginning of our relationship with Him.

The most important principles we can take from this is that - no matter what happens, or whether or not we ever determine the “WHY?” of the happening, ultimately ALL THINGS happen to bring glory to God, whether it is in the punishment of sin and the offending sinner, grace received by those who do not deserve it, or healing brought about in order that God might be glorified.

I find great beauty in the story in John 9:1-8, "Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing. Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, “Is not this he who sat and begged?”

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God is indeed in the midst of each of every possible scenario in life. Though the circumstances may be different in your life, from mine, or your neighbors, the one constant that remains is our God and Father, and our Lord, Jesus Christ!

Abiding in His Grace and hoping God can use these ramblings to touch someone's heart...

Lori

A Crisis of Faith - Part 1 "The Sovereignty of God" series

2010-02-26T23:24:00.006-06:00

First of all, let me start this post by saying that today is Kathryn's birthday. She would be 16 today, a huge birthday. My mom, the girls and I all went to the cemetery to put out some new flowers. It is the only thing that I can do for this precious one's birthday, apart from remembering the one we were blessed to spend with her when she turned a year old. So, Happy Birthday Kathryn Grace...
Well, I've been working on this for hours. If you find any typos, or grammatical errors, it's because I've given up - I'm ready for bed! :o)

Part 1: A Crisis of Faith

Everyone who calls himself a “Believer”, a “Christian”, a “Follower”, (insert your own choice of title here) will at some time in their life come face to face with a crisis of belief. For the sake of this article, I am going to define the term this way: A Crisis of Belief – a time of great physical and/or emotional crisis during which one’s personal belief system is tried and tested.

So, there you have it, perhaps you’ve already experienced this yourself. Perhaps, you’ve already experienced several of these. If you are young, you may not have come to this place yet in your walk with the Lord, but rest assured, a time will come for you. Just as surely as it came for Peter on a number of occasions, the questions will come for you too, and perhaps you will be ready spiritually to answer them or perhaps you will be young in your faith and unsure how to answer them. Either way, they will come, and you will answer, and much about your life from that point on will revolve around the event/events preceding it and your answer.

Examples from the life of Peter:

“’Who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered and said, ’You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.’” 1 Peter 16:15-16
“‘It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit and they are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.’...And He said, ‘Therefore I have said to you that no one can come unless it has been granted to him by My Father.’ From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. Then Jesus said to the twelve, ‘Do you also want to go away’ but Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” John 6:63-67
Sadly, it would be this same Peter who only a short time later would “begin to curse and swear, saying, ‘I do not know the Man!’” Matthew 26:74
Thankfully, Christ would appear to Peter after His resurrection, giving Him 3 times to declare his love for Him, showing fruits of his repentant heart, and truly trusting in Christ, in John 21:15-17

And so it was, on April 10th, 1995, that a crisis entered my life that caused me to have to answer the same question – WHO IS HE?

Is He in fact the Christ, the Son of the Living God, as I professed Him to be in November of 1990. Is He my Rock and my Fortress, my God in whom I trust? Is He my Savior and my Redeemer? Is He the one who died to free me from my sin, and the curse that came with it?

Or, is all of this (the gospel/the Bible) some fantasy, some made up story created by man to help him cope with the events of this life? What is the purpose of life? Why am I here? What is all of this for? How do I find hope in the midst of death and disease? How is it possible that any good thing could come from all of this? How could this ever be something that would bring glory to God? The questions were unending and the answers were hard to grasp.

But, let me back up a tad, you have to know how I got here, right?

My husband and I married in April of 1990, as unbelievers. We were sinners of the worst kind (perhaps that’s a redundant statement). Anyway, we were not nice people. We were not even good people. I would later learn “There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one.” Romans 3:10-12, we had a lot of company, the whole world.

It would take entirely too long to go through the testimony of my experience of being born again here, and that is not the current topic at hand. But, suffice it to say, I was not looking for God. He was however looking for me. And one night, after reading the Bible (and I didn’t read the Bible as a matter of habit) I went to my knees in my living room before a loving, righteous, just God and stood up a new creation. At the same time, the Lord was at work in my husband’s heart as well, and he also came to Christ. We were both transformed – within days/maybe hours of one another. Praise be to God!

It was 4 years later that we would welcome our first child into the world, Kathryn Grace. She was the most beautiful baby I’d ever seen – of course – and we were so proud to be her parents. I remember those first months being so totally overwhelmed. We had no idea what we were doing. Oh yeah, parenting that first one is a doozy!!

Right away we knew that something was wrong. Born with a heart murmur (which runs in my family, along with a hereditary, genetic heart defect), she was immediately under the scrutiny of a pediatric cardiologist within days of her birth. The weeks, and months of that first year would bring continually worsening reports of her condition. Every visit to the doctor, the news became more grim, her condition more of a concern, and open heart surgery imminent. Every time I would even drive in the vicinity of University Hospital I would become sick to my stomach.

I remember the last time that we saw the cardiologist there before we flew to Boston for the angioplasty that would come before her surgery. My father was with me that day, and the news was really bad, she was very sick and thought to be in respiratory failure. As we left his office, I was trying to figure out how I was going to tell Todd, and my mother, and the people where I worked (a church), and our friends and family, and the people in our own church. I remember thinking about “disconnecting” myself from Kathryn emotionally because all of this was simply too painful to absorb. I knew that would be impossible - she was my baby, my child, my precious one – and yet I felt the need for some sort of self preservation, some kind of relief. I know now that there is no relief in matters such as these, you just have to walk through them, one second at a time, and He alone gives you the grace to do so.

Fast forward to April 6, 1995, the first of 4 days that would change us forever. Kathryn went to surgery, and five hours later she was on life support. Unable to come off of the bypass equipment once her surgery was completed, the doctors made the decision to put her on a device that would do the work of her ventricles, and leave her on a respirator. Then, they came out to tell us what they had done. We were dumbfounded, in shock, unable to process what had happened. I remember when the doctor left the “counseling” room how my mom and dad, and Todd and I stood there in disbelief. My dad finally broke the silence and told all of us to join him to pray. He turned towards the little sofa in the room and fell to his knees. The rest of us followed.

It was the first of many prayers prayed those 4 days, and on Monday she died.

It would take me 40 days to write out all of the details and would take you 30 to read it all, so I’m leaving much out, but it was then that the CRISIS began…

A lot of people would be looking to see if we believed what we had been saying we believed for the last 4 years. Was it really ALL about Christ? Does He REALLY love us? Does He REALLY want what was best for us? Does He REALLY have a plan? These and so many other questions would fill our minds, and the minds of those closest to us. Why would He take a child? Oh, the agony of the thoughts of those days are still so fresh, and my words seem completely incapable of describing to you what that feeling was like.

So what sort of conclusions did we come to amidst all of this questioning? It all finally boiled down to this: Yes, we believe He loves us more than anything, so much He gave His own life to save us. Yes, it is ALL about Christ! Yes, He does want what is ultimately best for us, even when that doesn’t look like what we think it should!
Yes, He really does have a PLAN! Could His decision to allow this child to die at 13 months of age have a purpose? YES! YES! YES! And again I say YES!

So, how does all of this parallel what Job experienced in his life? (Please keep in mind that as devastating as our experiences have been, I do not in any way want you to conclude that I believe we've lived a life anything like Job experienced! We were simply asked to share things that have happened in our lives that parallel lessons which can be gleened from the book of Job, and I am passing that "message" along to you all as well.)
Job lost all of his children at once. We only had one to lose, but we lost all that we had at once too. Thankfully, no one stood on the outside (or the inside as was Job’s case) telling us to “curse God and die” as his wife did to him in Job 2:9, but it was at this point that Job had his crisis of faith.

Would he continue to trust? Indeed he would, and we too have clung to his words in agreement since those days so many years ago… Job 2:10 “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?”…and Job 1:21, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” And finally, Job 13:15, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him…”

Do we really believe what we’ve professed and taught all these years?

Yes, and again I say, YES!!!

So here are your questions for reflection:

Do you believe?
You see there are two types of belief: there is a belief that leads to salvation and one that does not. Which do you have? Do you have either? Read the following verses:
James 2:29
Romans 10:8-10

Have you experienced a “Crisis of Belief” in your own life? What was it and what effect did it have on your relationship with the Lord? How did your response to the crisis affect how others see Christ in you? Do you consider how your behavior affects what others believe about Him, based on what you’ve professed to believe?

If you have experienced a crisis of belief, did it leave you fearful of what else might happen in your life? Or, have you come to find a deep appreciation and love for the truth of God’s sovereignty in your life, and in all things? Do you understand what it means for God to be sovereign, or is this something you need to study further?

The next part of this series will focus on Job’s friends, our own fears, and the idea that sin can bring drastic consequences in our lives. We will examine whether or not bad things that happen come as a punishment for prior sins? So part two is, “Did I do something to cause this?”

As always, and especially today, I am abiding in His grace,

Lori

God's Sovereignty - a study for personal reflection.

2010-02-25T00:52:00.004-06:00

The Sovereignty of God

Well, as I promised, I am beginning a short series on the Sovereignty of God. Recently, we were blessed to spend time again with friends old and new in our Family Life small group class at The Church at Brookhills, as we shared with them a portion of our family’s journey in our walk with the Lord and how it relates to God’s sovereignty. They were currently studying the book of Job, and while we have certainly not experienced loss to the same degree, we do share many similarities with the poor guy, so they invited us to share our journey. It is always our pleasure to share, and I encourage you to do the same as you have opportunity, “Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;” 1 Peter 3:15.

As the Lord would have it, I have been somewhat providentially hindered over the past couple of weeks since I promised to write this series. The days have passed quickly by as I had another procedure done on my back, then have had both of my daughters sick over the last two weeks. Everyone, myself included, seems to be on the mend as we approach the end of this week, and its approaching brings with it a very significant date in our lives. Believing that all things are in the hands of our mighty God, and that not even minor details are without His infinite touch, the date approaching comes as no surprise to Him, and not to me either.
so, with that, I will release the first part:
A Crisis of Faith, and with it a small list of study questions for you to consider during your own private study time, on Friday, February 26, 2010, Kathryn’s 16th birthday.

I am unsure how frequently I will release each of the remaining parts. I don’t know if I will manage them at the rate of one a week, one every few days, one every two weeks, or whatever, but I believe that they will come in a timely manner, as the Spirit gives me utterance to share with those of you who will ultimately read this and hopefully benefit from it’s writing.

As I work on this short 6 part series, I pray as always - that the words of my mouth (or in this case my keyboard) and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in His most glorious sight, for He is my Rock and my Redeemer. I pray that He will give me the words to share, to point you to Himself, and to His precious Son, my Savior, Jesus Christ; as I write about faith, fear, intimacy with Him, true worship, understanding that He is always in our midst, and the revelation of His glorious restoration that is for us today and in the days to come. And I ask that He will give me the heart to hear from others who are hurting and to share in their hurt and spiritual growth in a way that brings only honor and glory to Him. Because, it is all In and Through and Because of Him, Amen.

Until then, abiding in His grace,

Lori

I'm going to get to it, I promise...

2010-02-14T23:30:00.002-06:00

I thought I would have the posts on God's Sovereignty up over the weekend, but it hasn't turned out that way.

Here's what's going on in the McGuire home... I have two sick kids. Sarah's been sick about 4-5 days, and Anna just came down sick overnight - lastnight.

I'm scheduled for another procedure on my back this week. I suppose that might be changed if I should come down with whatever the girls have. God forbid!!

So, I suppose in His sovereignty, He'll help me to get the writings together when the time is right. :o)

I appreciate any and all prayers.
Abiding in His grace,
Lori

Upcoming Series on God's Sovereignty

2010-02-10T02:51:00.002-06:00

I just wanted to let you usual readers know that I'm going to be writing a series on God's Sovereignty in the next week - ten days.

This past Sunday, we were invited back to our home church - The Church at Brookhills - to share our testimony of our lives parallel to the life of Job. We were able to share with our family life group there the things going on with the church plant that we are currently involved in, and to share lessons learned from our own lives. They have been studying the book of Job, and our life has had some similarities for sure, though we've not lost everything as Job did, we've had many lessons we've learned as we studied through that portion of God's Word during our struggles.

So, anyway, just wanted to give you a heads up that the series is coming. It will be a six part series including the following:

A crisis of faith.
Has our sin brought this on us?
He knows us intimately.
An act of worship and faith.
He is in the midst of our suffering.
Restoration - a reminder to continue our praises.

So, get ready for some heavy material. Different from my money saving posts of the past month! But, please know that I'm headed to Walgreen's tomorrow for a huge shopping spree, and the number of coupons I have to take on this trip is unreal!!!

Couponing my way through, and abiding in His grace,

Lori

A few new pictures

2010-02-09T00:01:00.014-06:00

Hi Everyone!!!

These pictures were recently taken while we were visiting with Todd's Aunt Sara, Uncle Pete and their family, at the end of last month. As almost always, there were no good pictures of Anna and I (No reflection on the photographic abilities of Todd's brother, Brian, who took these great photos!). Anna and I seem to make horrible candid shots. Somehow we do alright with posed pictures, but if someone tries to catch us "in action" the results are just downright scary photos sometimes :o) .

So,without further ado, here are two fantastic pictures of Sarah Beth and a picture of Todd - S*M*I*L*I*N*G!!!!! See, he does smile. I'd love to know what he was laughing at, he doesn't often laugh outloud, teeth showing and the whole bit. The other gentlemen in the photo is Todd's dad, and my fantastic father-in-law, Kerry.

I also unearthed some photographs of the group that went to Guatemala on the mission trip this year that Todd and Anna also had the privilege of being a part of. I can't remember if I posted them at the time, so, I'm going to go ahead and post them here now.

Enjoy!
Lori

This is the group that traveled to Guatemala, I'm not sure they are all pictured here, along with the people whom they worked with while they were there. This is the outside of the home they built while they were there that week. In this photo, Anna is in the front row in a brown jacket, and Todd is kneeling just to the right of her.

This is an outdoor stove that is installed on the outside wall of this home. The cane behind is used as a windshield.

Todd and Anna pictured here in front of one of the volcanoes in Guatemala, and Lake Atitlan. Lake Atitlan is known as one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. You can certainly see why!

I can't believe how much Anna has grown-up and changed in just the last 6 months or so! Unbelievable, she's really turning into quite a beautiful young lady. (And yes, I am completely prejudice when it comes to the beauty of my own babies, both the big one and the little one!)

My Current Read(s)...

2010-02-04T23:34:00.006-06:00

Well, along with my ever present daily time reading God's Word, here are some others I'm currently reading...

Pick Another Checkout Lane, Honey
by the ladies of http://www.thekrazycouponlady.com/

This very informative read about the ins-and-outs of couponing is also quite humorous. I have found myself, and my renewed couponing habit, on many of scenarios on the pages of this book already. In case you don't get the title, this is what you would say to the poor person(s) who get in line behind you as you whip out your multitude of coupons and price match advertisements. So, in your best Southern Drawl you'd just say, "You might want to 'Pick Another Checkout Lane, Honey'."

Another book I'm muddling my way through at the moment is
Your Money Or Your Life, by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin.

The jist of this book so far, is just the art of thinking through your purchases as it relates to the time of your life spent to make what you spent. Or, if - God forbid - you charged it, how long will you have to work to pay that off with interest!!! In other words, let's say you make $25.00 per hour in your career, which equates to an annual gross of $52,000.00/year. If you go to the store and drop $200.00 on a hand bag, you gave an entire day of your life to work for that!!! One whole day of your life, gone, for a purse!!!???? Or a coat??? Or a pair of shoes? Or a piece of sporting equipment?? Or a ___________________ (fill in the blank with your favorite purchases). It helps me remember, when I'm tempted to splurge on something for the kids, instead of buying at consignment shops, or really watching for sales AND couponing - just how many hours did Daddy have to work for us to go to the mall this particular trip. That's days of his life spent away from us! Sobering thoughts indeed, and I think you get the point.

There are a number of other books I'm currently reading, but sticking with our money saving theme, I'm only sharing these few.

Continuing to learn about how to save even more, by spending even less,
and as always -
Abiding in His grace,
Lori

Coupon trip #2

2010-02-02T09:40:00.002-06:00

Okay, so for those of you following the couponing adventure, here's my latest trip, and will be the last one I post, because I don't wish to do this weekly. ;o)

This was all purchased at CVS on Sunday the 31st.

I purchased 3 pks of toilet paper (12 double rolls ea.) at $6.99/ea. Real cost $21.00.
A tube of our preferred toothpaste at $2.99.
Batteries (2 pks AA, 1 pk AAA) at $2.99/pk for a cost of $ 9.00
3 - 12 pks of Coca-Cola products (we keep these on hand for guests and parties) 3/$11.00
2 of Todd's preferred deodorants at 2/$5.00
1 Fuze drink (an individual serving purchased just to get my Coke products total up to the amount needed for the Extra Bucks) $1.00
Jillian Michael's product for weight loss - Fat Burner $29.99 and an Apetite Supresant $29.99

My total cost was about $110.00.

I had coupons for the toilet paper, a coupon that CVS sent me by email, and Extra Care Bucks from my last trip totaling $26.00, and I earned new ECB's for my next trip totaling $32.00. So that brings my amount down to $52.00 for $110.00 worth of products.

What will I spend the next $32.00 in ECB's on????

Lori

BTW

2010-01-26T23:39:00.004-06:00

By the way, (as A would say, "This is totally random, but...")

Who would open an email from a Mr. Tan Wong with the subject line "I'VE GOT A BUSINESS PROPOSAL FOR YOU"???

I get this stuff ALL THE TIME. Are there people out there who actually open those??

Here's a business tip for you... delete that email! :O)

Ridiculous (AKA Ridonkulous!).
Lori

Coupon shopping trip update...

2010-01-26T22:31:00.005-06:00

Well, I'm assuming none of you heard me scream, since I didn't have to! If you did hear someone, please know that it wasn't me,and perhaps you should have checked into it. :o)

Okay, so I went to CVS tonight. I spent about $70, and got close to $20.00 back in Extra Care Bucks. So, I'll be able to spend them later on anything else I want from CVS. If I use them to purchase more items that earn ECB's, then I just basically get the items free, and more ECB's to spend on my next trip. Do you see how this works?? It is a bit of an "investment" if you will, on the front end or the first trip, but by using coupons, and only purchasing items you normally buy, or would like to purchase anyway, not too bad.

The only thing that threw me off today was that I ran out of milk and Pull-ups for Sarah, needed them both, and refused to go to another store. Without that purchase I would have spent $12-$15 or so less. Their Pull-Ups are ridonkulous (as Anna would say, and I'm sure she will correct my spelling)!!!

So, without those items, I would have spent more like $55-$60. I used approximately $8.00 in coupons towards the items I purchased, so that means the actual cost of the items, had I not had the coupons would have been around $60-$62.00. Are you still with me?

My actual amount spent (on the sale items I went to buy) was let's say $60, less the $8 in coupons. I then got the ECB's which were about $18.00. So, that brings me to an approximate out of pocket of around $34.00 (when you count that I earned the $18.00 in ECB's to spend again later. They can be spent on any future purchases within the next 4 weeks.) I'm afraid that must really sound confusing. I'm not sure I'm explaining all this very well.

So, here's what I got for that amount (and I'm not including my gallon of milk and the Pull-ups).

4 packs of paper towels (to stockpile for later use) there are 6 rolls per pack so 24 rolls total!!!
2 things of a higher priced lady's deodorant (again stocking up at the low cost)
1 bag of Lay's potato chips
1 bag of Tostito's restaurant style chips (I keep things like this on hand for drop in guests or for when we are going to someone's house and I need to take a snack.)
1 bag of Tostito's dip style chips (Guess who's having Mexican this week. We actually love these with Taco Soup!! I'll post the recipe for those of you who have no idea what that is.)
(3) 12 packs of Mountain Dew (Todd's drink of choice when he isn't drinking his home ground and perked Starbuck's coffee). They were on special 3/$10.
2-pack small boxes of Cheez-It's (a family favorite snack - except for me, I don't like them).
2-pack boxes of Ritz crackers (which Sarah loves and I will use as topping on the occasional casserole).

I also looked for a 2-pack special they had of Honey Nut Cherrios (which we all like), but that was sold out. It was the only thing on my list that was sold out! Everything else they had a fairly good stock of. I was pleasantly surprised!

So, not bad considering they are all things we use regularly and use lots of. I think I did okay.

Now, as for most everything else, here's what I'm going to do:

I plan to take advantage of meat specials at Publix, and to ask their butcher when they mark down their meats. If I purchase organic meat, which is what we prefer, it is rather expensive. So, if I can get it on the days they mark it down, then bring it home and freeze or cook and freeze, I should be able to save a good bit on my meat again. I just got lazy about doing this. If the markdown time is some crazy time that I can't possibly take advantage of, then just the really good sales will have to do and I'll stock up and freeze then.
Every other sale item from Winn Dixie, Piggly Wiggly, and other sources like that, I will take the sale paper to Wal-Mart and have them price match. I'll also use my coupons there. If CVS doesn't have any ECB deals that I'm interested in for the week, but carries some items on sale, I'll have them price matched as well. Remember if you do this that you must take the actual sale paper with you. You can't just go in and say, "Hey Lady, I saw these things in a sale paper for Joe's One Stop Shopping for 25 cents a pound." That won't get it! (I hope that made some of you laugh...)

For those of you who live in our area, I understand they've broken ground on the site for the new Publix!!! I can't wait to have one on this side of the mountain! I've got my Wal-mart, my bank, now a Publix! I may never go over that mountain again!

Logging off now and going to catch some sleep before my wild one gets up. She jumped from the coffee table in the front living room today, landed face first on the tile of the fireplace, and bloodied her nose. It's always something! I'd told her 4 times already just this morning that, "We do not jump from furniture", and I'd made her put the cushions back on the couch - she was jumping onto them. I suppose perhaps I should have let her leave them on the floor???? Good grief, and goodnight!

Abiding always in His grace, Lori

Couponing, is it really worth it???

2010-01-25T23:31:00.004-06:00

Okay, so I decided that I would give couponing another try. Years ago I used coupons all the time, but got really lazy with them because I couldn't find a reasonable system for organizing them and keeping up with what I actually had, and by the time I had a grocery list with the item on it, that I had a coupon for, I either couldn't find the coupon or worse yet it was expired!! AAHH! What is the point! Are coupons out there just to drive us crazy? HHMM, I'm beginning to wonder. What if it is a ploy by the liberals to try to make all of us fiscal conservatives go mad? It just might work!

Anyway, I digress. I had heard of the "coupon mom"'s website, and ran across a book she's written in the bookstore the other day. The Coupon Mom's Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bill in Half. In HALF??!!?? Without going insane?? I wasn't so sure, but being a sucker for a book, and having a perpetually teachable spirit, I couldn't help but wonder if this woman could make a believer out of me, teach me something useful, and help me to save a good deal of money every week.

Here's what I've found since almost finishing her book, and perusing alot of what the internet has to offer on the subject (mind blowing in and of itself!).

A better way to organize my coupons so that I can find them when I need them. I'm using the "binder" method laid out on TheKrazyCouponLady.com website. (Did I mention that I might know why she's K*R*A*Z*Y???) Anyway, the system seems to be more organized than the little coupon holder accordion type thingys I've tried in the past.
You can spend entirely TOO much time trying to find online coupons for sale items on your grocery list!!! See, that seems to be the catch, you need to stack coupons with items that are on sale. If you can stack a "manufacturer's coupon" with a "store coupon" with an item that's on sale, then you have hit the couponer's jackpot.

Tonight, I spent several hours working on the organization of my new "little" system. I printed and cut out dozens of coupons from the internet for items we use every week or regularly, and especially for items that are on sale this week. After strewing them out all over the bed, at about the time he was ready to turn in for the evening, I heard my dear husband mutter under his breath (rather loudly) JUST SPEND THE MONEY!!!

But, being the diligent, keeper at home that I am, I am determined to give this the best effort I can. I've got my binder all ready to go. My first stop will be CVS tomorrow. Assuming they actually have everything in stock that is on sale, and for which I have coupons, I have figured up that my grocery/household items will come up to an approximate sale price worth of $64.00, for which - after using my coupons and receiving my Extra Bucks back (which is like Monopoly money that can then be respent at CVS), I will spend somewhere in the neighborhood of $ 33.00. Hey!!! That actually IS a savings of almost half!!!

Maybe this will work after all! The biggest part of it all, I hope, is behind me. Setting up the notebook, finding some coupons to get started with (I'll continue on with just my Sunday coupons now), I think really was the hardest part. So, now that that is done, hopefully things will move along more smoothly on this try. I plan to keep it up for at least a month, weigh the time that it takes to do it against what I feel my time is worth, and see how it pans out. I'm trying to keep an open mind, and I'll try to keep you updated as I go along.

Seriously though, ya'll pray for me, because if I get to that CVS tomorrow and all this stuff I spent time cutting coupons out for is sold out, you will likely hear my screams from wherever it is you may be. :o)

Abiding in His abundant provision, and hoping for a good shopping trip tomorrow.
Lori

Never asked to borrow a penny since...

2010-01-21T22:54:00.006-06:00

This is a true story. The names have been changed to protect the innocent (yeah right)...

One day, a brilliant mother and her beautiful daughter, we'll call her Kate, went to the store to buy some things.

While they were there, Kate spied an item that she simply couldn't stand to go home without. She inquired of her mother if she might buy it for her. Her mother, being the brilliant one that she is, asked Kate if she had any money at home with which to repay her for the item. Kate replied, "No."

So, the brilliant mother told Kate that she would purchase the item for her "on credit" but that she would expect her to repay her for it. Kate quickly, happily and quite willingly agreed.

After arriving back at their meticulously kept home (oh hush, it's my story!) the brilliant mother began having Kate busy herself with various and sundry chores. Kate was not pleased at the added work, but complied anyway. The day came and went and Kate enjoyed her newly aquired item.

The next day, the brilliant mother set Kate to doing all sorts of things around the house again. Things that Kate was not normally asked to do. Finally after nearly another entire day of this Kate exclaimed, "Why are you treating me like a slave!!!" (In her most dramatic tone, some of you have heard it!)

With a knowing smile the mother replied, "Because dear, you owe me money, and you haven't yet repaid the debt. You see Kate, the Bible says, in Proverbs 22:7, 'The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.' You have made yourself a slave to the one from whom you've borrowed money, and that would be me."

Lesson learned, the brilliant mother agreed that the debt had been worked off and thus repaid. She then explained the dangers of borrowing money - for anything no matter how small - and told her beautiful daughter how unpleasant it truly feels to work all of the time just to repay your debts.

Kate has never asked to borrow money again. In fact, her grandmother offered to "spot her" some money to buy something she wanted when the two of them were out shopping together one day, and the now brilliant daughter said, "No, thank you. I'll wait until I have the money and buy it later." Ah, smart girl.

That precious one would be my Anna Kate, and she will make some lucky young man a great catch one day!! The brilliant mother with the immaculate house was me - absolutely no resemblance to the real thing :o) Now, I've just got to remember to use the same tactic with Sarah Beth when she gets a few years older!

I am desperately leaning on His wisdom in trying to train my children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and teaching them to trust that EVERY word in the WORD is there and useful for a reason - our good and His glory.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."

Abiding in His grace,
Lori

Disciplined Finances

2010-01-18T21:08:00.006-06:00

Disciplined financial living leads to peace in your life.

That's the truth, whether you believe it or not, whether you want to do it or not, whether you even care to have peace in your life. Financial chaos brings some of the worst discomfort, frustration, fear, and anxiety into your life you will ever experience.
I know, I've lived it.

So here is the question I pose to you to ponder today...

Are you willing to be disciplined in the area of your

finances and spending in order to have peace in your life, for you and for your family?

Now consider:

Hebrews 12:11

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.

Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."

You see PEACE is a fruit of the Spirit. It is one of the ways that others, the lost, see the image of Christ in our lives. Can other's see peace in your life that glorifies Christ, or do they see distress, anguish, financial dishonesty when it benefits you, or just plain financial fear?

I remember vividly the fear I felt as the year 2000 approached. Dozens of people got rich as they created fear in the masses about "Y2K". Perhaps you remember where you were and how you felt. For months I worried about not having the money to stockpile food, food I was being convinced (by Christians pedaling fear) I was going to need. I didn't have the money to put away cash that we "might need" because the World's computers were all going to crash leaving the financial institutions paralyzed. All I could do was wash out milk jugs and store up water.

We were not financially strapped, we were financially wound up tighter than a spring. I had been home 3 years with Anna, we had 2 older vehicles which were constantly in need of repair and we had racked up a good deal of credit card debt repairing them. We'd sold our former residence, a mobile home with a little property we had gotten at a good price from family. We were building our current home, using the money from our sale, and a small inheritance amount, to fund it. My Christian friends were just as worried as the lost. We were doing everything we could to work our way out of debt while still having me at home full-time with our daughter. It was not a time of peace for us, but Todd was working day and night (literally) doing all he could to dig us out, and I was at home doing my part - saving money, scrimping, and doing all I knew to do financially.

Finally, as the "Y2K Crisis" was at it's height, I just couldn't stand the pressure anymore, and finally I did what I should have done all along. I quit listening to everyone else, and began to pray and read the Word.

The Lord led me to this verse:

"I have been young and now I am old,yet I have not seen the

righteous forsaken or his descendants begging bread."

Psalm 37:25

Perhaps that is encouragement for you today. That's the great thing about the Word. What meant so much to me that day in 1999, can also mean so much to you today in 2010.

Be sure to check out the quote in Interesting Facts and Quotes (up top and on the left). Today's quote really says ALOT in very few words!!!

Abiding in His Sovereign Grace for every day,
Lori

Talking to myself???

2010-01-17T19:30:00.003-06:00

Okay everyone out there in the blogosphere... I feel as if I am talking to myself.

The numbers on my visitor counter are going up, so I know you've been here, but you aren't saying anything. It makes it hard to want to keep going on.

PLEASE! Say something!! Anything!!

It's simple, all you have to do is hit the comment button at the bottom of the post and leave your thoughts, say "hi!", agree or disagree with something I've said or quoted. Anything, I'm begging you!!!

:o) Big smiles,
Lori

More millionaire mindset...

2010-01-14T23:37:00.005-06:00

Continuing on with what we started yesterday,

2. "Is this expenditure contributing to my wealth or taking from it?... It's no coincidence that the wealthy put their money in their homes instead of their cars. Homes usually appreciate. Cars almost always depreciate."

3. "Is this an Impulsive purchase or a planned purchase? Am I being pressured to make an expenditure I'm not certain about?"

"... Never forget that compound interest is just as powerful working against you as it is working for you. What might seem like a small expense now can, in the long run, steal your wealth. Simply put, there are two kinds of people: those who earn interest and those who pay it. That's the fundamental difference between the wealthy and the desperate. The Millionaire Mentality sees clearly the danger of credit and knows that freedom and power are infinitely better than short-lived pleasure."

The final quote for today is one that resonates with me the most. It is something that I think is not only wrong, unfortunate and unfair, it's just sad. I hate that it is the truth, but I have seen it in action - way more times than I wish I had - in the lives of so many people we know or are acquainted with. They are some of the same people who are easily scammed by the get-rich-quick schemes, the lure of easy money, and the enticement of hitting it big while gambling. Perhaps the most disturbing and the most despicable to me though is that these are often the same people who are deceived into giving "seed money" to Word of Faith "ministers" in order to "receive a hundred fold harvest", yada, yada, yada, ad nauseum. I could list many verses that caution God's people from the mistreatment of the poor, but I won't try to go there now. Needless to say, He doesn't look kindly upon it.

"The poor and the uneducated are particularly susceptible to interest schemes. That's one of the reasons why they stay poor."

Some of my favorite Millionaire quotes...

2010-01-14T22:57:00.002-06:00

These are some of my favorite quotes from the book The 5 Lessons A Millionaire Taught Me - About Life and Wealth; by Richard Paul Evans. This book was recommended reading by our financial planner several years ago, and I've referred to it often throughout the years, just re-reading some of my favorite points. So, I thought I'd share some of them with you here in no particular order, and encourage you to read the whole book. Enjoy!

"Life isn't about money. It's about God. It's about love. It's about family and relationships."

"To the financially enslaved, life becomes all about money."

"... today's millionaires are remarkably frugal and careful with their money."

"Most people you see trying to look wealthy are doing just that. An expensive car or home does not make one wealthy. In fact, the inverse is more likely true."

"Taking control of your money begins with taking responsibility for it. That means knowing how much you have, where it is coming from, where it is going, and what it's doing in the meantime."

"It's a matter of personal stewardship." Learning where your money is going is the most
important step to gaining control of your finances."

"Work the day job, he said, (quoting from an unnamed Chinese Billionaire). "Get insurance and benefits and stability for your family. You owe them that. But always be looking for the side way to earn. That's where you'll find wealth." (In other words, always be looking for how to make extra money on the side. This could be a second part-time job, starting a small business than can be worked around your schedule, or beginning a home-based business. This is what Todd and I did for years before starting our own business, he worked nights and weekends doing side jobs, while working full-time for someone else who provided us with insurance and retirement, and those things for stability, until we had what we needed to go out on our own. This whole process probably took us 5 years or so. It wasn't the most fun 5 years, but it got the job done!)

Mind-Set One:
The Millionaire Mentality Carefully Considers Each Expenditure
There are 3 questions that the successful wealth builder asks himself before he spends his money.

Is this expenditure really necessary? (Or is it possible to get the same personal effect without using money or using less of it?) "The seven golden words: "Is that the best you can do?" ... Of all the advice in this book, the seven golden words are likely to provide you the most immediate and surprising success.

Stay Tuned More mind sets to come tomorrow. You can order this book online through Amazon.com.

Learning along with you and abiding in His grace to lead me through,

Lori

Save on Ice Cream...

2010-01-13T00:25:00.006-06:00

See the interesting fact for the day to your right.... save on ice cream, lose weight and provide clean safe drinking water for a family who has none - for an entire year!!

Your cost, just $30.00!! What a bargain!!!

Learn more and give through PUR's Children's Safe Drinking Water http://www.csdw.org/csdw/home.shtml

Crown Financial Ministries Money Forms and Helps

2010-01-12T23:42:00.005-06:00

These are the budgeting and financial tools that Todd and I have used for almost 20 years. They are informative, straight forward, concise and written in language you can understand.

Read them, use them, and your financial outlook will change because of them!!

Crown's Free Publications Online
November 02, 2004 -->by Crown Financial Ministries
All are available at http://www.crown.org/Library/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=263

Percentage Guides in PDF format:
Singles
Single Parent Family of Two (Married Couple)
Family of Four Family of Four (High Housing Costs Area)
Family of Six

Charts in PDF format:
30 Day Diary
Budget Analysis Form
Checkbook Ledger
Debt List
Financial Statement
Income Allocation
Individual Account Page
Insurance Needs
Investing Chart 1
Investing Chart 2
Investing Chart 3
Monthly Income and Expenses
Savings Allocations What the Ratings Mean

Information Sheets:
Austin Pryor
Balancing Your Checkbook
Clean Up Your Credit Report Yourself
Christian Farmers
College Funding
Creation Nonprofit
Crown Career Resources
David Pollock
Debt Elimination
Envelope Budgeting System
Funeral Consumer Societies
Home Business
Home Schooling
Identity Theft
Joni and Friends
Marriage Pamphlet
Mutual Funds
Prescriptions
Prison Ministry
Small Business
Student Loan Forgiveness Programs
Tax Counsel
Unemployment Fact Sheet

Pamphlets in PDF format:
Bankruptcy
Before You Say I Do
Benevolence
Debt and Credit Family Budgeting
Finances for Children and Teens
Gambling/Lotteries
Giving and Tithing
Home Business Insurance
Investing
Major Purchases - Houses and Cars
Starting a Business
Widow's Financial Guide

Also visit their site online at http://www.crownmoneymap.org/.
Your Money Map is one of the best books you'll ever read on the subject of Christian finances.

Abiding in His grace, attending to my "herds", Proverbs 27:23-24 says, "Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, And attend to your herds; For riches are not forever, Nor does a crown endure to all generations." I'm thankful in this economy that I have something to attend to at all.
Lori

See my Interesting Facts

2010-01-12T09:26:00.005-06:00

Look to your right to see my NEW interesting facts and quotes section.

Today, you'll find an interesting fact about cars that absolutely shocked me...

10 Reasons Why You Should Tithe

2010-01-11T22:45:00.006-06:00

Don't tune me out, this is a SERIOUS Biblical principle,

so stay with me on this one!!!

Perhaps you should start your reading with this article from Crown Financial Ministries, a Christian Organization http://www.crown.org/pamphlets/pdfs/GivingandTithing.pdf It gets to the heart of giving which is what all believers need to do - begin by examining your heart and what you believe about money.

Since the day when Todd and I brought home about $12,000 a year, we have tithed. As our salary has grown, the amount of the tithe has grow, as has our desire to do more for Christs' kingdom by helping to meet the needs of the poor and needy in their pain. I know that there are those of you who wander onto this blog by way of my friend John Edwards blog, so let me make a disclaimer here. God's word DOES have a lot to say about money and even money as it relates to faith. You have been brainwashed, using scriptures out of context. So,I would encourage you to read any references in their own context to be sure you understand what he saying. You must renew your mind to the truth of God's word in all of it's context. Do it NOW!!!

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The following is a list of 10 Reasons why you should tithe. It's a good read....
This article comes to us from the following webpage: http://www.ministryhelps.com/infopages.php?info_id=32

1. To Honor the Creator.
"Render… unto God the things that are God's" (Matthew 22:21).
Acquisitiveness is one of the basic drives of mankind. Children grasp their toys and cry, "Mine!" Someone has noted three attitudes in the parable of the good Samaritan. The priest and the Levite had the attitude, "What's mine is mine and I'm going to keep it!" The thieves had the attitude "What's yours is mine, and I'm going to get it!" The Samaritan had the attitude, 'What's mine is yours, and you can have it." There is another attitude that should permeate our thinking, even above the commendable attitude of the Samaritan. That is, "Everything we have belongs to God, and we are stewards of His goods'"
God owns the entire world and its substance. "The earth is the LORD"S, and the fulness thereof" (Psalm 24:1). "Behold, all souls are mine" (Ezekiel 18:4). "The silver is mine, and the gold is mine" (Haggai2:8). It is God who gives people the power to obtain wealth (Psalm 75:6-7; Ecclesiastes 5:19). We are not to glory in what God has given us, but to glory in Him (Jeremiah 9:23-24).
Why should I be grudge God ten percent when everything actually belongs to Him? If it were not for Him, there would be no land, no seed, no strength, no income, and no life. How generous He is to tell us, ""he tithe... is the LORD'S"! (Leviticus 27:30).
2. To Acknowledge My Heritage.
"And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Galatians 3:29).
Abraham was the first tithe payer of record(Genesis 14:20). Abraham's grandson, Jacob, paid tithes (Genesis 28:22). Scripture says that Levi, Abraham's descendant and the father of the tribe from which the priesthood came, paid tithes in Abraham (Hebrews 7:9). My heritage of paying a tithe precedes the law of Moses. As a child of Abraham and an heir of the promise of Abraham. I acknowledge my family relationship by paying tithes.
Jesus said to the Jews, "If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham" (John 8:39). It would be strange to claim to be a child of Abraham and yet to neglect one of Abraham's most fundamental and noteworthy acts. I pay my tithes as a spiritual descendant of Abraham, the father of the faithful.
3. To Fulfill the Covenant.
"For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious" (II Corinthians 3:11).
In every comparison of the law of Moses and the new covenant that came by Jesus Christ, the new covenant stands supreme. The characteristic word in the Book of Hebrews is better, and everything is better about the new covenant. If the law demanded tithes, then how much more should we who are under the "perfect law of liberty" give our tithes willingly. (See James 1:25). If the law is written in the fleshly tables of our hearts and we follow God's commands not from outward rules but because of our new nature, then how quickly and how easily we should give the tenth that belongs to the Lord" (See II Corinthians 3:3-6).
Some people say, "Oh, we do not pay tithes, because tithing was under the law." If that is a sufficient reason for not paying tithes, then we could also mistreat our parents, for the law said, Honour thy father and thy mother" (Exodus 20:12). In actuality, we honor our father and mother and we give our tithes because the principles of the law are written in our hearts by the Spirit of God. We give willingly and liberally because the Spirit motivates us to give what God has said is His.
4. To Show My Love.
"Many waters cannot quench love" (Song of Solomon 8:7).
Love is the strongest motivation in the world. I have seen bumper stickers that say, "If you love Jesus, honk you horn!" Anyone can honk his horn. But David said, "Neither will I offer…unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing" (II Samuel 24:24). Someone should print a sticker that says, "If you love Jesus, pay your tithes!"
For someone who genuinely loves the Lord, the tithe is only the beginning of his giving. He gives not only his tithe, but also offerings (plural), not grudgingly and not of necessity, but cheerfully with love.
5. To Fulfill an Obligation.
"Ye pay tithe…:these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone" (Matthew 23:23). Jesus did not criticize the Pharisees for paying tithes. He commended them. He said it was something they "ought" to have done. The word ought expresses an obligation or duty. It is one of the strongest words in the English language. To pay tithes is something every Christian ought to do. The word ought has three meanings: (a) obligation or duty; as in, "He ought to pay his debts", (b) desirability; as in, "You ought to eat more slowly", (c) expectancy or probability; as in, "I ought to be through by Monday." Each one of these meanings puts an obligation upon the Christian. It is desirable for him to pay his tithes, he is expected to pay his tithes, and he has a duty to pay his tithes.
6. To Escape Condemnation.
"Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me… in tithes and offerings" (Malachi 3:8).
How sad it is that people who are honest in business and who pay their debts to the bank, the store, and the government will not pay God what belongs to Him! Sometimes people quibble about whether they are "paying" or "giving" tithes, but both terms seem appropriate. The tithe is the Lord's and He expects us to pay it to Him; at the same time, He does not receive it until we give it to Him. He does not give us the authority to use His tithes for other purposes, but we have the power to spend it as long as it is in our hands. Nevertheless, a person is condemned if he spends God's money.
7. To Spread the Gospel.
"So hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel" (I Corinthians 9:14). God has ordained for people to be saved by the preaching of the gospel (I Corinthians 1:21). "How shall they hear without a preacher?" (Romans 10:14).
Tithing is God's way of supporting the ministry. In the Old Testament, the Levites and the priest were God's minister to the nation of Israel, and they were supported by tithes. In the New Testament, God has called people to minister the gospel. These ministers can be more effective if they do not have to provide for their livelihood by working on a secular job but can devote themselves full time to the work of God. They need time to give themselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word.
It is not wrong for a man to labor with his hands, nor should a minister feel too good to engage in honest labor. Yet God's plan is for those who preach the gospel to live of the gospel. When God inspired Moses to write that the people should not put a muzzle on the box that labored, God was not as concerned with the ox as He was with the principle that a laborer should receive his livelihood from his work. The application of this principle is that the minister of the gospel should earn his living from his ministry. (See I Corinthians 9:9-14).
Some ministers have endured financial hardships and deprivation in order to proclaim the gospel in needy areas. If the tithing income insures that the minister can live in a good house, drive a good car, and buy sufficient clothes for his family, why should I begrudge providing these things to a man who would preach the gospel even if he had to work on a secular job to do it? It is a disgrace to a church if the pastor has to take a secular job to supply his family's needs when there should be sufficient tithing income available to allow him to do God's work on a full-time basis. My tithing ca help to spread the gospel.
8. To Avoid a Curse.
"Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me" (Malachi 3:9).
Someone has said, "You can't outgive God, and you can't outsqueeze Him either."
Some people put their money into "a big with holes" (Haggai 1:6). They do not give God His tithe, bit they eventually spend the money for automobile repairs, medical bills, and a thousand other things that they might have avoided if they had been faithful to God in their giving.
God said that the whole nation of Israel was cursed because they had not given God His due. God asked Israel to dedicate the gold of Jericho to Him, but Achan took a wedge of gold and hid it in a tent. It became a curse to him and his whole family.
I do not want God to curse my blessings. I want to give Him His tithe.
9. To Enjoy God's Blessing.
"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse… and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it " (Malachi 3:10). (See also Luke 6:38).
God blesses the people who pay tithes. They do not always have the most money or the best clothes, but they are blessed.
However, I am wary of those who promise, "If you give God a dollar, He will give you back four." The expectation of a return should not be our motivation for giving. And His richest blessings are not necessarily monetary.
But I do want God to notice me and remember me. He noticed that the window put money into the treasury at the Temple. He noticed what Cornelius was giving. He noticed what Israel was not giving. He knows what we give and He notices when we give.
God has asked us to prove Him and see if He will not give us His blessings. I have trusted Him, tested Him, and tried Him, and I have concluded that it is better to give God what belongs to Him.
10. To Be Consistent.
"Be thou an example of the believers" (I Timothy 4:12).
For most of my ministry. I have lived on tithing income. How could I receive tithes and not pay tithes? I could not do so and be consistent. The Levites, who received tithes, also paid tithes on what they received (Nehemiah 10:38). Preachers who receive tithes should be most faithful to pay them.
Paying tithes will not save a person-everyone must be born again to be saved. But paying tithes will reap a blessing. Genuine Christian not only pay tithes, but they willingly pay tithes.
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Hope you enjoyed this article. I promise, I'll write something of my own in another few week!!
Abiding in His grade,
Lori

Shopping in Thrift and Consignment Stores

2010-01-09T20:02:00.002-06:00

For years, I have been obsessed with saving money. I've desired to get out of debt and stay that way. I can't stand the feeling of owing money for cars, credit cards, furniture and things like that. It literally drives me C*R*A*Z*Y!! A short trip at best. ;o)

For this reason, every year I select a book or resource for the first of the year to read and study through. I also select additional books throughout the year to read and study to keep me focused and on track. I have to admit that it's easy to get off track.

So, because this is one of my passions, I wanted to share with my readers some online resources to help you learn to save money, get out of debt, give more, and live financial free. I will do this regularly, until I run out of resources. That could take a really long time!!! So, read on, and learn along with me this year - more ways to be free!

For the first 15 years of our marriage (we've been married almost 20), I shopped in Thrift and Consignment stores/sales exclusively for our clothing. We rarely bought shoes, except for the kids - as they outgrew them - and I mostly bought second hand shoes for myself. But over the years as our income has increased, I found it easy to slip into the patterns of shopping at the mall, specialty shops, or Wal-Mart and Target for our clothing and shoes. In the beginning we relied on hand-me-down, used, gifted or really saved up for furniture and household items (many of which we are still using today). I highly recommend teaching this habit to your children while they are young! As they get older (and pickier) they may become resistant to this practice. If so, give them a budget - say $30.00 - and tell them to put together two or three complete outfits with that amount. They will quickly find that their money goes a lot further in some stores than others!

I don't know at what point I began shopping differently, but I do remember one day feeling like I had "arrived" somehow, able to purchase *new* items - as if that really mattered!!! It sickens me to admit. The only thing we have truly restrained ourselves with has been upgrading our home. For some time we've really desired a slightly larger home, a little more space. With all that we do here - live, run a business, homeschool, etc... things get a little crowded! But, I ran across a scripture some time ago, totally providential, and it helped me to remember to keep first things first. I can't remember the version I read it in, but loosely translated it said, Build your business, before building your house. I think it was Proverbs 24:27. That restraint has been one of the things that has kept us afloat in this economic downturn.

Anyway, this article caught my eye today so I thought I'd share it first:
How To Shop In Thrift/Second Hand Stores is brought to you from www.FeedThePig.org.
How to shop in thrift/second hand stores is posted below exactly as it is on their site... at this link http://www.feedthepig.org/node/352
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Sun, 12/13/2009 - 23:08
mgonamission -->

Thrifting has become trendy and it is a great way to save a lot of money. However, to make it worth your shopping dollars it helps to understand how to shop a thrift store.
1. The first rule of thrifting - Condition, condition, condition! Unless you are someone who lives to fix stuff, avoid the impulse of buying something that has obvious defects. Ask yourself, when would I have time to fix this, do I have the materials I need to fix it today, and have I ever fixed this kind of problem before. If you cannot answer yes to all of these questions leave it in the store.
2. Have an idea about what you are trying to find - you can throw away a lot of money in thrift stores if you browse the way you would at the mall. If you are looking for a pair of jeans, look for jeans. Have some tunnel vision. There may be other great things to tempt you with their low prices, but if you didn't need it before you entered the store you don't need it now.
3. Know your brands - do some research. All things are not created equal. We love name brands for a reason, we can predict their quality. Especially in thrift shopping the better the quality of the item, the better the bargain. It helps to be aware of the retail cost of the item you are looking for. Take the retail cost cut it in half, any price under that is a great bargain as long as the condition is good.
4. Be patient - thrift shopping is rewarding in part because it can be work to sort through items to find what you are looking for. When you do it is like finding buried treasure. That first trip to a thrift store can be daunting, it's not glitzy. They have not spent money on advertising displays to lure you into the store. All of that saving is passed on to you.
Thrifting can save thousands of dollars a year on clothing and household items. Especially if you have kids. With a little effort and some patience you can look good, feel good and keep most of your money in your pocket!
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So, this year, save money, and give the rest through a credible Christian organization like World Vision, Compassion International, or Samaritan's Purse. Join me and post your money saving ideas by leaving a comment.

Trying to save along with you all, and give more for the cause of spreading the gospel throughout the world,
Lori

The Goal of Terrorists is .......... what ???

2010-01-06T12:42:00.002-06:00

I usually do not post on things of a "political" nature. However, I have found myself severely frustrated today, and I want to make something very clear that was horribly misspoken today. This is my only other avenue of "speech" so here it goes.

It is actually of a religious nature, although the liberals involved do not see, understand or even acknowledge the link. I have been watching the Live Desk on Fox News Channel, which is my news source of choice. Yes, I do believe they are "fair and balanced" for the most part. Anyway, while watching this program, I had to stop mid-show, thank you God for TiVo, and discuss a comment made by a gentleman on the program with my 13 year old daughter.

The discussion is opened about the incident at Fort Hood, and the following quote is made...

I quote from a Jim Arkadis; Director of the National Security Project at the Progressive Policy Institute. "With terrorism, you're trying to effect a change in policy or trying to get people to change their behavior."

The Miriam-Webster definition of terrorism is: "the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion."

However, when you are dealing with Islamic Terrorists, you have a whole other thing to consider. No one on the "left" or even in the middle seems to want to use the word "Islamic" with Terrorists, but quite frankly the terrorists are Islamic - for Pete sake! Islamic Terrorists kill for a number of reasons, I comment on them here in no particular order, and the list is certainly not exhaustive.

First of all, they believe they are involving themselves in "Jihad" (definition: a holy war waged on behalf of Islam as a religious duty; also : a personal struggle in devotion to Islam especially involving spiritual discipline). They are killing others, as a means of securing their place in "paradise", where I understand they will be met with 60 virgins or something of that sort. (I've never determined - what's in it for the women and children who are strapped with bombs and sent into crowds....)

Secondly, they kill to invoke terror (extreme debilitating fear) in those involved, and those surrounding the ones bombed, and to paralyze their infrastructure political, financial, religious, etc...

Thirdly, they believe that they are doing their "duty" to kill the infidel (defined as: an unbeliever with respect to a particular religion), anyone who does not believe what they do then, is an infidel. Gee, that leaves a lot of us out here, huh?

Terrorists do not care if after blowing themselves or others up, they effect a change in policy or behavior! Good grief, what rock does this man really live under! It is a totally SELFISH death - securing their own place in their supposed paradise and killing the infidels in the process. It reminds me of Dr. Phil's classic phrase, "What's in it for you?" and another "How's that working for you?"

So what then of the Christian - we're required to live a selfless life - dieing to ourselves, not killing others. Dieing to ourselves, hmmm, when was the last time you met a Christian really trying to live like that? Trust me, I'm speaking to myself here!

Abiding in His grace, and trying daily to crucify my own flesh, take up my cross, and allow the Spirit of Christ to live in and through me.
Lori

Busy New Year and Birthday Celebrations!!

2010-01-04T11:35:00.008-06:00

Happy New Year everyone!

The New Year has been officially "rung in" with a New Year's Eve party that was much fun, and a three day long birthday celebration for Anna's 13th b'day!

We started the new year with friends from our church at a New Year's Eve party there. The kids had lots of fun playing Wii, which was set up on a big screen, and the adults had a lot of fun playing Rock Band on the X-box, also set up on a big screen. I think the adults were having more fun than the kids! (Me included!) Some of the kids played Rock Band too, but most of them don't know the songs - since they all seem to be from my "decade" which was quite some time ago. I refused to play any instruments, or sing on the karaoke microphone, but for those who were there... well, they know how much fun I had throwing in the occasional "Woo Hoo" during the numerous rounds of Michael Jackson's Beat It that were sung. What a night!

The next day we began celebrating Anna's 13th b'day with a bowling party, then pizza and fireworks back at our house. That one lasted into the wee hours of the morning as we had the chance to "catch up" with some close friends we'd not visited with in a while.

Saturday Anna had a friend over for the day and they were both exhausted from New Year's eve celebrations - so they were surprisingly very quiet.

Lastnight, we finished up with a family party here at our home which involved the grandparents and my brother's family, chili, cake, gifts, and some Mario Cart.

All in all, Anna had a wonderful 13th celebration, and now we are officially parenting a teenager. Ugh! Ya'll pray for me.

Because I am lousy at taking pictures, and my cell phone is a lousy picture taker, I only ended up with one photo decent enough to post. My sincere apologies to everyone else who joined us, but didn't make it into a decent photo that was postable. I'm afraid all of our events are destined to end with only one or two photos thanks to my sorry picture taking skills.

New Year note to self: Perhaps I should take a photography class. Hmm, that would probably lead to buying a much nicer camera than we have, and probably don't need, since I can't remember to keep batteries charged, or the camera with me.

Hope that you and your families enjoy a wonderful new year,
Lori

Anna with friends (and 2 of our Pastor's 5 children) Timothy and Tiffany.

Again, so sorry to all of the others who joined us to celebrate and didn't make it into a decent photo. I've not checked my regular camera yet, this pic is from my cell phone, but if I get some others I'll post them later. Also joining us over the weekend were the Hooks, the Hoosiers, the Jones, grandparents, my brother's family, and Anna's bff - Roxanna.

Forgetting What Is Behind...

2009-12-30T22:17:00.004-06:00

Well, it's about to happen again! Another new year!

I suppose this year I will resolve to:

Study my Bible more.
Pray more for my family and friends.
Excercise regularly.
Lose weight.
Get completely out of debt.
Be a better wife and mother.
Be a better daughter, daughter-in-law and sister.
Reach out to and disciple more "younger" women.

and.....

Oh, wait a minute, that was last year's list! Oh, and the year before that, and the year before that... you get the picture!

Does it never get easier? Am I destined to continue trying to reach the same goals every year? Probably!

Oh well, it's a good thing I love January's!

If you haven't read the information about me, this would be a good time to stop by that spot. You'll find it here http://homeforhim.blogspot.com/2007/09/finally-i-did-it.html just pan down to "the juicy stuff".

I do love me a good January and Mondays!

One funny story I must share -

Today a friend was telling me that her son has become so much more well-behaved recently, that a friend commented on it while they were together, and wanted to know what had changed. I asked her if she'd told her friend that it was likely because she was homeschooling him now. (I know that may sound biased, but it's amazing how that does make a change - I know, I speak from experience.) Instead she tells me that I am so brilliant at helping others with "discipline issues" (she's called me a few times to ask advice) that I should "teach a class!" Seriously, I was hysterical! Are you kidding me?!?!?

I told her she should have been in my house around

10 a.m. the day before - I could have used a class myself!

"Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you." (Philippians 3:12-15)

Abiding in His grace, and vowing to do better this year - AGAIN!
Lori

Home for the Holidays... ugh!

2009-12-22T11:24:00.004-06:00

When you hear the sentiment, "Home for the Holidays" it should conjure up wonderful memories of holidays spent at home with the ones you love, right?

Well, here's what that looks like in the McGuire home this week...

The 3 year old is sick, running as high as 102 fever, and coughing all over everything. We're desperately trying to learn the concept of covering your mouth (with something besides your hand). Since her birthday, she's also turned into a bit of a tyrant. At least she occasionally ends her demands with a really sweet, "Please." I've always said that the person who coined the phrase, "The Terrible Twos" just had a child who hadn't made it to 3! The 3s have always been worse for us than the 2s.
My mom has strep and pnemonia in one of her lungs, but still plans to try to cook like normal on Wednesday/Thursday for our small family gathering.
Our dog ate all of a rawhide chewy on Sunday night and then spent all night throwing it back up! Yuck! Then yesterday she started acting weird and wouldn't eat or drink. So Anna, my mom and I spent the night lastnight in the doggie ER (until about 1 a.m.) having her x-rayed and checked out. We think she's fine, but no rawhides in her stocking this year, or next, or the year after that. You get the picture.
Todd is "buried up" in work. Praises be to our amazing Lord for that! So many other plumbing companies no longer exist thanks to the downturn in the housing market over the last 2 and a half years, but that's meant alot of that work has now come our way. The flip side of that coin however is that I have a VERY stressed out husband!
All the shopping is done and gifts are wrapped, now it's just a matter of keeping Sarah Beth out of them. Thank God we got rid of the cat years ago (due to my allergies) she'd be climbing the tree right about now!
Thankfully, Todd, Anna and I are still holding out - untouched by the sickness, so please pray that we remain that way!

Would love to hear how your holidays are going...

Abiding In His grace,

Lori

It Is More Blessed to Give than to Recieve...

2009-12-07T11:19:00.003-06:00

My Bible study today has given me a number of things to write about. I am reading several books at one time (I always do) and I am filled with things that the Lord has pointed out to me about my own life as I read His precious Word and Bible studies.

The scripture passages and the books I've read from this morning have brought me to post about a few things, so I'm just going to lump them all into this one post, that might turn out to be rather long. :o)

The first book I read today is called Your Whole Life (The 3D Plan for *Eating Right *Living Well and *Loving God) by Carol Showalter and Maggie Davis. This is what I would call a "personal" book, one that really just addresses the needs in my own personal life and areas of growth I need personally. In this particular book, each day is started with a scripture reading. Today's reading was John 14:15-31. This passage is so familiar to me that I almost didn't bother looking it up and reading it, but knowing that God speaks to us most clearly through the reading of His Word and prompting from the Holy Spirit led me to change my mind. I am so thankful! I encourage you to read this rich passage of scripture today too.

Here are some of the things I underlined as I read the passage in the book written by the author's - "Obedience is the unmistakable sign of allegiance to and love for Jesus Christ." I am continually saddened by professing believers who claim to love Christ, but who openly refuse to obey Him. The Word says they are not His followers at all, but they have decieved themselves into believing that they are. The next passage I underlined, in reference to the scripture passage in John, says, "We need this sort of intense and direct word from time to time. Self-love is such a strong and sometimes hidden force that, unless something comes along to bring us up short, it can easily take over our hearts and crowd out our love for Jesus. Like the weeds in the parable of the sower, 'the cares of the world, and the delight in riches, and the desire for other things, enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful' Mark 4:19."

In our Western culture, this is something that believers have to deal with regularly. Wealth and things are delivered up on a platter to us daily - on television, through media, advertising, magazines and newspapers, at the grocery store, Wal-mart, and more. Wherever we go we are bombarded with stuff constantly! Companies spend millions of dollars on advertising every year to make you think that you can't do without all of the stuff that is available. Worst of all there is a false gospel that has spread like wildfire that teaches that the proportion of God's blessing for you is equal to the amount of money you make or the stuff you have. That is a lie! It is a disgusting misrepresentation of what it means to be a follower of Christ! It is shameful!

The next passage I noted says this, "Loving Jesus, and therefore, doing His will, is not something that we have the power to do in and of ourselves. That is His gift to us. With the apostle Paul, we can admit that without the help of the Holy Spirit within us, we are bound by the natural inclination to love ourselves above all else. The promise of the Gospel is that we can learn to have our lives directed by a new love, that we can actually become more interested in having God's will done than our own."

During my initial reading of the passage from John 14, I was struck by verse 18 in which Jesus says, "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you." As the hands and feet of Christ (which we - the Church - are as the body of Christ), what about the orphans throughout the World? I am so grateful that we adopted Sarah Beth, that she is no longer fatherless, and that she has the opportunity to know that God does not leave us nor forsake us. But, what about the millions of other children throughout the World who don't have the basic necessity of a father and a mother? As the church, we should be ashamed that we are not doing more. Instead we wish for flat screen t.v.s, sports, clothes, cell phones, cars, and more useless things. Absolutely shameful! We will answer for this. God uses the prompting of the Holy Spirit to lead us to do as we should. How many times have you had a prompting that you suppressed? I can tell you that mine is countless. I am ashamed.

The other book I'm reading is about Nehemiah's rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. It is Building Your Financial Fortress in 52 Days: The Lessons of Nehemiah by Kevin Cross, CPA. These are sobering thoughts and statistics: "There are more needs today than at any other time in history. There is also an unprecedented amount of wealth being wasted. Hitting closer to home, those who say they are 'Christ-followers' throughout the world control more wealth today than at any other time in history, to the tune of 16.4 trillion dollars in 2007.

Yet The 10/40 Window reveals 70 percent of the population in this area of the world does not know Jesus Christ. Half of the population lives on two dollars a day or less. We in America spend more each year on ice cream than what it would take to provide clean water, health care, and sanitation to the entire world. (!!! exclamation points added by me for emphasis) We will spend forty billion dollars this year on our pets. That comes out to $1,200 per year for each pet owner. The average giving family will contribute only $300 a year to send the life-changing message of Jesus Christ to those who are lost."

I can tell you from my own experience that it is indeed more of a blessing to give to those who are truly in need than it is to add one more thing to my already stuffed with stuff house.

What will you do this holiday season? Give your children a bunch of things they don't need, while others fight to stay alive because of starvation or diseased drinking water? Just think about it, that's all I'm asking you to do.

I have been the one who was doing without, not starving, but in need. I remember well how that feels. I'm now currently living a very comfortable life - because of a lot of hard work and sacrifice along the way by Todd and myself. We are now giving more than I ever imagined we would be able to. I am not most excited about the fact that I have more money to spend on things that moth and rust will destroy, or that thieves will break in and steal, but that I am able to give more to those in true need. We (and I'm including myself) no longer know what need is. It isn't a house, a new car, namebrand clothing, larger t.v.s, etc... At its very core what we need is to be obedient to Christ, and He doesn't call us to buy more stuff for ourselves, but to give - and to give until it hurts.

I've lived in a mobile home and I now live in a fairly nice home, I would go back to the mobile home in a minute if need be. It's a roof over my head, and one that is much nicer than what most people live in throughout the rest of the world. Todd and I have discussed building a new house sometime in the future. The house plan I'd picked was a nice comfortable 2800 square feet with a bonus area for Todd's office that added another 400 feet. That would be more than twice the size of the house we have now! Because of the equity in our home it would not cost us anymore than the mortgage we currently have. But, the more we discussed the prospect, we pondered the scripture that refers to "tearing down our barns to build bigger barns to store all of the stuff we've heaped up for ourselves" and we know we just can't do it! It would be nice and I could talk myself into believing that it would be a great place to have Bible studies and people over to minister to them. BULL!!! It would just be a bigger house to store more stuff, and to show off when people came over!!! We can't do it! So we are now reevaluating what is suitable to meet our needs, not our wants, so that we can continue to give liberally, which is what we are CALLED to do.

Whew, the Lord's shown me alot through a couple of verses and some commentary in a few books today. Perhaps He is speaking to you through this too. Whenever I write, I am "preaching" hardest of all to myself. I hope that my tone does not take on the sound of one who "has it all figured out" because that is not at all what I think.

Abiding in His grace, and continually growing,
Lori

Blue Moon Studios - Mt. Laurel

2009-12-06T19:27:00.002-06:00

Hi Everyone:

Recently we had some pictures taken of the girls out at Mt. Laurel by Blue Moon Studios. You can view some of the shots taken here...
http://www.bluemoonstudios.net/main_site/client_photos/mcguire3dec09/index.htm

Hoping you all are gearing up for an enjoyable holiday season with your families,
Lori

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T21:21:00.002-06:00

Hello Everyone:

I hope that this Thanksgiving finds healthy and happy and enjoying the company of family and friends.

This year, I have much to be thankful for as always. I am thankful for the little things and the big things.

I am thankful for:

The mercy of my Lord. Without His rich grace and mercy I would still be dead in my sins, lost - destined for hell - and without hope or purpose.
The love of a good husband. He is my other half, we are truly blessed to have enjoyed 19+ years together as husband and wife. Second only to my Lord, he is my encourager, my rock, my strength.
My precious children. I am blessed to have two beautiful girls here on earth and to have one daughter already on deposit with the Lord. I will be glad to see her again in heaven.
I am thankful for freedom from the curse of sin and death, the law, and the guilt and burden that goes along with not being able to keep it.
I am thankful for Jesus Christ who kept all of the Law on my behalf, and who died a horrific death that I might have life, and that He offers that same sacrifice for all who will believe.
I am thankful that we live in a free Country, and I pray that it will remain that way for me and my posterity.
I am thankful for the blessing and privilege of discipling (aka homeschooling) my children.
I am thankful for a beautiful home that is Warm in the winter and cool in the Summer.
I am thankful that I didn't break my legs, arms, or neck when I fell down our basement stairs and shattered the disc in my neck. It has been and continues to be bad, but it could have been so much worse.
I am thankful for you, and the fact that you just spent time reading my list of things for which I am thankful. Spend time thinking of at least 10 things you are thankful for today and reflect on them.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Lori

Be sure to visit my website to see the new E-books I've created and put in the "Products" section of the site. I am working on other books. www.AtHomeForHIM.com

Celebrating 3 !

2009-11-23T00:34:00.009-06:00

This weekend we had the

privilege of celebrating

Sarah Beth's 3rd Birthday!

Here are some photos I

wanted to share...

Sarah with her cake and cupcakes.

She was so ready to eat "take".

I made the cake... didn't I do good??? For those of you who know me, cooking really isn't one of my strong points, but I do love to bake!

It's time to get down to business! Now, where are the presents???

We found this sweet little dress at Belk here in town, and she is wearing a bow made with the cutest ever ruffled white ribbon, made by my friend Leslie. Visit her site if you need bows for your girls http://www.bowsbowsbows.com/.

Sarah with one of her new gifts -

individual alphabet puzzles!

Among her many gifts were Dora books, a Princess dress-up set and book, a play vacuum cleaner, some stringing beads and shapes, and a pop-up tent with tunnel! I'm sure we'll have some pictures of that soon.

This gift came from Uncle Chris, Aunt Barbara and (cousin)Rachel - some really awesome bubble blowing wands, a big bottle of bubbles and a nice pan to pour them into. This will be thoroughly enjoyed. She loves bubbles!

We all enjoyed a nice little party at home and went out for Mexican food afterwards. They all sang to her and put the huge Sombrero on her head. I've pictures on another camera of this that I will have to post later - it wasn't a digital!

Happy Birthday Sarah B!

Love, Mommy

Dining Library

2009-11-21T22:17:00.007-06:00

Oh my, this has been such an eventful day. This weekend we celebrated Sarah Beth's 3rd Birthday!!! So hard to believe she's been home almost 2 years now.

In the past two weeks her speech has totally taken off. I knew that it would, but I admit to feeling somewhat anxious about it when we were around others who's children were much younger and talking very well. She still has a good bit of trouble pronouncing some letters correctly, or at all, but I know that with lots of practice that will work itself out in time as well.

Other than my precious little one turning 3, Todd has been so busy this weekend, making one of my 10 year long dreams a reality! We've lived in our home now 10 years. Since we built it, I've wanted to have a sort of "library/dining" space. This concept is very often found in French Country design, which is my favorite style. Most importantly, we are a family of readers and homeschoolers, and we need every inch of bookshelf space we can get!

So, recently we spent a day in Atlanta and went to Ikea. I'd already been once to see the different colors and styles and make a decision about what I thought would look best with the furniture that I have. We then went back several weekends ago and bought the shelving that we needed. It fit perfectly between the window casing and the wall! It was the exact width we needed! Todd got them all put together, and finally today we got them upstairs and in place.

It wasn't long before I was loading those shelves down with all of our "floating" school supplies. Those are all of the books, notebook paper, pens and pencils, highlighters, white-out tape, and other school related items that float around all over my dining room table - the only space we have to eat besides a breakfast bar. All of the book bins I'd had sitting in the floor, and tripping over for months, were unloaded in a flash and put up onto the shelves for easy access during school.

At the beginning of the school year, I learned about Sue Patrick's "Workbox" system. I loved the idea, I am an organizing freak. So, I started using the system at the beginning of the school year and I LOVE IT!!! You can find her book at http://www.workboxsystem.com/. There are also several Yahoo boards for workbox users that have lots of people with loads of good ideas on implementing the system in your schooling.

We are using My Father's World's "Exploring Countries and Cultures" curriculum this year for a number of our subjects including Bible and Social Studies topics - Geography, and more. You'll notice on the far wall a large World map. The map we recieved with our curriculum was fine, just your average world map, but not really something I wanted to put up on my dining room wall. So, I went to Books-A-Million and purchased an "old World" style map and had it framed at Hobby Lobby. While it was definately a more expensive option, I am happy with the results. We now have instant access to a World map to locate the areas as we study through them.

So, without further ado, I will post some pictures here and you can see my new "Dining/Library" space that includes our workbox system (they are the numbered white drawers on the shelves). For those of you who've seen the turn around bookcase I purchased before, I still have it and plan to use it somewhere else later on, but it would no longer work once we bought the larger dining room table and chairs.

I am in Heaven! Well, as close as I can get while still being on Earth!

Abiding In His Amazing Grace,

Lori

This is an overall shot of the dining space. It is quite small, about 11'x11'.

This is a shot looking into my dining room from my kitchen area.

This is a shot of Anna's "workbox" space. For each drawer stack, I used the extra space on that shelf to put other books often assigned for the subjects in those current work boxes.

The shelf on the left, contains some miscellaneous book sets and reference items, and also houses my pre-school things for Sarah Beth.
This picture also shows the framed map a little more closely, and Sarah's highchair. :o)

"The Church in thy house."

2009-11-09T08:13:00.002-06:00

WOW!!! Let this writing from Charles H. Spurgeon give us all pause to think about our own homes.
In His grace and for His glory,
Lori

“The church in thy house.” — Philemon 2

Is there a Church in this house? Are parents, children, friends, servants, all members of it? or are some still unconverted? Let us pause here and let the question go round—Am I a member of the Church in this house? How would father’s heart leap for joy, and mother’s eyes fill with holy tears if from the eldest to the youngest all were saved! Let us pray for this great mercy until the Lord shall grant it to us. Probably it had been the dearest object of Philemon’s desires to have all his household saved; but it was not at first granted him in its fulness. He had a wicked servant, Onesimus, who, having wronged him, ran away from his service. His master’s prayers followed him, and at last, as God would have it, Onesimus was led to hear Paul preach; his heart was touched, and he returned to Philemon, not only to be a faithful servant, but a brother beloved, adding another member to the Church in Philemon’s house. Is there an unconverted servant or child absent this morning? Make special supplication that such may, on their return to their home, gladden all hearts with good news of what grace has done! Is there one present? Let him partake in the same earnest entreaty.

If there be such a Church in our house, let us order it well, and let all act as in the sight of God. Let us move in the common affairs of life with studied holiness, diligence, kindness, and integrity. More is expected of a Church than of an ordinary household; family worship must, in such a case, be more devout and hearty; internal love must be more warm and unbroken, and external conduct must be more sanctified and Christlike. We need not fear that the smallness of our number will put us out of the list of Churches, for the Holy Spirit has here enrolled a family-church in the inspired book of remembrance. As a Church let us now draw nigh to the great head of the one Church universal, and let us beseech him to give us grace to shine before men to the glory of his name.

Spurgeon, C. H. 1995. Morning and evening : Daily readings (November 1 AM). Logos Research Systems, Inc.: Oak Harbor, WA

Thriving on Less - Simplifying in a Tough Economy

2009-11-02T20:52:00.002-06:00

I had the privilege of receiving the link to this free download today through a homeschool site I receive emails from. It is a 27 page PDF ebook entitled Thriving on Less - Simplifying in a Tough Economy.

The site below welcomes others to share this link as well. So, I'm sharing!

I haven't read mine yet, it's printing out as I type, but I'm going to read it in just a minute. If you decide to download it too, I hope you enjoy your copy.
http://thepowerofless.com/2008/12/free-ebook-thriving-on-less-simplifying-in-a-tough-economy/

If I can learn just one more way to simplify my life, or save more money, it will be worth the paper I printed it on.

Saving along with you, and thankful most of all for saving Grace!
Lori

Dealing with Chronic Pain

2009-10-31T19:10:00.002-05:00

As most of you will know, I had a horrific fall a year and a half ago, and am now living with what the doctors have determined is permanent nerve and muscle damage. As a result, my life is completely changed forever, and I have had to make many adjustments to the way I run our household.

Recently, I completed the writing of an e-book on the subject of Managing Your Home and Life When Faced With Chronic Pain Or a Chronic Illness.

More information is available on my website here: http://www.athomeforhim.com/Products.html

Managing your home full-time can be a difficult task, but when you have health problems, it can become an almost impossible one.

If you or someone you love is dealing with chronic pain or a chronic illness while trying to manage the home, this book will help with tips on how to manage it all while taking care of yourself and your needs.

Includes a BONUS chapter on Homeschooling With Chronic Pain or Illness.

Abiding in His grace,
Lori

Two New E-Books Now Available

2009-10-24T22:58:00.013-05:00

Two new e-books are now available through my website at http://www.AtHomeForHIM.com/Products.html.

They are:
How To Begin Your Own Cooking Club

Learn how to save money and time while filling your freezer with delicious and nutritious homemade foods.Divide the labor among a few of your friends and you'll find yourself with lots of answers to the age old question, "What's For Dinner?"
$ 3.00

Create Your Own Personal Planner

When it comes to time management and organizational skills, one of the most important things you should do is create and use a personal planner. Although this may sound trivial, you will be surprised how you come to rely on it, how well it helps keep you organized and how it helps you to be in the right place at the right time.

It isn't necessary to spend lots of money to have a personal planner that works for you. In fact, sometimes, purchasing a pre-made planner is a waste of money because it doesn't have everything you need and often includes sections you'll never use.
$2.50

If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment here, fill out a form on the website, or email me at Lori@AtHomeForHIM.com.

My e-books are being reviewed by Sheri Graham of the popular site, http://www.schoolforjesus.com/. She will be posting her review on her blog site at http://nourishinghome.blogspot.com/.

She has been very helpful during this process and I look forward to hearing her thoughts on the books. Hopefully she will read through them and post her (positive?!?) comments on her blog!

Abiding in His grace, and enjoying writing like C*R*A*Z*Y!!!
Lori

Checking In

2009-10-22T23:59:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone:

I am still working on the website. I'm in the process of writing several how-to type ebooks on various subjects to offer on my products page. So, most of my writing time is being spent on that right now. Please visit the site at www.AtHomeForHIM.com.

A quick update on me, I had some botox injections in my back to help with what the doctor has now deemed "Permenant nerve and muscle damage" due to the fall I took down our basement stairs a year and a half ago. This month is one year since my surgery, and it's hard to believe how much I continue to struggle with this pain.

This month also marks the 2nd anniversary of my daddy's death. My mother seems to be holding up very well, and we have thoroughly enjoyed spending time with her and becoming closer as a family over the last 2 years.

Please remember in prayer a church member's family. His brother's child (age 3 months) died this week and they are traveling to be with the family for the funeral. This is a devastating blow to a family, and they are unbelievers. I don't think there is anyway I would have survived our daughter's death if I hadn't known God and His amazing Sovereignty. I pray this will be an opportunity for our friends to share Christ with his family during this time.

Abiding in His grace,
Lori

Working On A New Website

2009-10-06T09:22:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone:

I am working on a new website to go along with my blog. I plan to create some ebooks available for purchase there on various subjects related to homemaking, homeschooling, parenting, spiritual growth, etc.

I certainly do not set myself forth here, or there, as an expert on any of these things, but rather as a sojourner with all of you in this walk here on Earth. I can only write from what I know and so that's what I will be writing about.

I have also gone through all of the posts here and divided them out into different topics and linked them there to make it easier to read through articles relating to certain subjects.

I pray that the site will provide help to those who need it in areas where I have grown over the years.

If you'd like to take a look at the beginnings, feel free to join me at www.AtHomeForHIM.com.

Abiding in His grace,
Lori

Vigilance Against Sin - Part Two

2009-09-30T10:30:00.003-05:00

Back to our "discussion" about being vigilant against sin...

Often times we allow ourselves to get into places where it is easy to fall into sin. Not only do we often place ourselves in situations, or among certain people, that bring with them temptation, but even our physical state can cause us to be more apt to sin. For example, when I become too tired or hungry, I am more likely to fall into the sin of angry outbursts (2 Corinthians 12:20) with my children or my husband. I have learned that my body needs certain periods of rest and regular food intake along with all of my daily activities to keep me from behaving in a way that is against every part of my Spirit, yet gratifies my flesh. When I act out towards those I love the most in anger, my Spirit recoils in shame and frustration, but for a brief nano second, my flesh cries out "Oh yeah, relief!"

As a younger woman I spent alot of time with friends having "play dates" with our young children. I now, for the most part, avoid these. Why? Because for me, they often lead to the temptation to sin in the area of my thoughts and/or speech. I learned a hard lesson years ago, when my oldest was little about getting together with girlfriends. The conversations often turned into gripe sessions about our husbands or just talking about other girlfriends who weren't present. We might not necessarily be discussing anything against someone else, but rather just talking about things that were really none of our business. The scripture does have something to say about that! (1 Thessalonians 4:10b-12; 1 Timothy 5:13 specifically refers to young widows, but applies here as well). Awful!!! But true.

Women in the workplace do the same thing (and I know that there are men who fall into this temptation as well, though not as frequently as we women I'm ashamed to say). How many times have you started a new job, only to find at least one person who will almost immediately ready to give you the "low down" on the other employees. Steer clear!!! Watch, lest you fall.

I could go on and on about the types of areas that can cause a person who loves the Lord to be tempted and fall into sin, but instead, let's look at what we should do to prevent that from happening. We are called to resist and flee from temptation (James 4:7; 2 Timothy 2:22), not to take it lightly, not to laugh about it, not to joke about it, but to RUN FROM IT!!!

Looking back again at the study I mentioned in the first part of this devotional writing, The Lord's Table, the author writes -

"Jesus Christ declared that He whom the Son sets free will be free indeed (John 8:36). And part of His work of making us free is to help us to be vigilant. May we not be as those who walk many years in victory, only to fall through lack of vigilance. Watch and pray. Here are some specific ways we can do this: Make sure to attend a Bible-believing church (Hebrews 10:25). The importance of this cannot be overemphasized.

Have daily accountability (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; Hebrews 3:13)
Seek the Lord daily (Proverbs 2:1-5; Hebrews 11:6)
Drag every known sin, and even temptation (so sin) into the light. If you are struggling with something, humble yourself and talk to someone about it. (John 3:19-21).

We must be mindful of our weaknesses and careful not to expose ourselves to them as much as possible. When we are put into situations that we know cause us to be weak, we must be extra vigilant and watch for it, because it will come.

I am reminded that death to my self (flesh) is a daily process, not a one time experience. It is a daily responsibility for the Believer to crucify their flesh and to take up their cross and follow after Him, learning to pursue Him in EVERY area of our lives. (Matthew 10:38; Matthew 16:24; Galatians 2:20; Mark 10:21)

Matthew 10:38

"And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me."

Learning to die daily,
Lori

The "Radical Experiment"

2009-09-25T21:36:00.007-05:00

Today's post is written by my precious husband, Todd.

He asked that I share this with you all, an email he recently sent to many on his email list.

As many of you know, we are members of The Church at Brook Hills, but are currently helping with a church plant in the Calera area. We continue to be amazed at the way God is working in and through the life of this Pastor and his amazing heart for Christ, and the poor throughout our World.

The Radical Experiment

Recently the Church at Brook Hills proposed the Radical Experiment; a one year proposal to radically change spending habits in order to benefit the poor and impoverished. After much prayer and discussion the decision was made to partner with Compassion International, a non profit organization that cares for the poor around the world for the glory of Christ. Before their trip to Compassion International’s headquarters the leadership at Brook Hills felt God leading them to focus their first efforts toward India, possibly the poorest, most impoverished nation on the planet, with almost half of its population living below the poverty level and less than one percent of its population being Christian.

After meeting with Compassion International the Brook Hills leadership asked them what they could do to help in India, expressing they felt God leading them toward India. Compassion answered by explaining that they needed the most help with their Child Survival Program. Although Compassion has a Child Sponsor Program, the children have to be at least five years old to qualify. The problem is that most children who live in extreme poverty seldom make it to the age of five and if they do they are usually mentally and physically challenged due to starvation and preventable disease. Thus for most by the time they are five it’s already too late.

Compassion explained that the Child Survival Program was put into place to care for these children during this critical time. The program provides for the basic needs of both the child and mother through nutrition and medicines they need to survive. They explained they had twenty one of these programs in place but often lacked sufficient funding. It takes about twenty five thousand dollars annually to operate just one of these facilities and often churches will work together to support one or more Child Survival Programs.

Ladies and Gentlemen give praise to The Almighty God because the faith family at the Church at Brook Hills has provided funding for all twenty-one of these programs for the year! Through a radical commitment to God’s word and a willingness to sacrifice for the sake of the poor they alone have met this overwhelming need for all of India. So, if you think just one person or just one congregation can’t make a difference… think again!

I never cease to be amazed at what God can accomplish through the hearts of his people. I pray we would all follow the example of this faith family and give our resources and our lives for the glory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

This is what the gospel looks like when somebody gets it right. (James 2:14-17)

By His grace and for His glory,
Todd

I (Lori) am reading through Howard Dayton's book Your Money Counts - Now More Than Ever and, as God would have it, today's chapter is on giving, and talks about our responsibility to the poor. Expounding on Matthew 25:34-45, he writes,
"In some mysterious way that we cannot fully comprehend, Jesus personally identifies with the poor. If that truth is staggering, then the reciprocal is terrifying. When we do not give to the poor, we leave Christ Himself hungry and thirsty."

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep

to gain what he cannot lose."

Jim Elliott, martyred missionary to Ecuador

Abiding in His AMAZING GRACE!!!

Lori

Vigilance Against Sin - A Devotional Part One

2009-09-24T10:12:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I was reading the Bible Study that I'm currently working my way through. There were some important points I thought I would share with you all.

As Believers, we know that we are called to be vigilant to root out any and all sin from our lives. Do we continue to sin after we are born again? Yes. Does the Lord give us what we need to be free of a life of sin? Yes. Can we sin less? YES!!! But how?

In Matthew 26:40-41, Christ is addressing his disciples who had accompanied Him to the Garden of Gethsemane. He tells them, in verse 41, "Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." Christ points out that although our Spirit is willing to resist sin, our flesh is weak against temptation. In order to resist temptation, He tells them to do two things: 1) keep watching 2)keep praying. For us to cause our flesh to work in cooperation with our willing Spirit (the Holy Spirit within us), we are to be vigilant.

The study I am working through is The Lord's Table, and in regards to these verses the author writes, "Watch against a developing chain of events that lead to a fall in to sin, and remove a link in the chain. Watch for familiar areas in which you are tempted, watch for the uprising of the flesh, watch out for when you are tired, watch out for when you have just had a high spiritual experience, WATCH. But don't watch only. Watch and pray. Pray that God will keep you from falling. Pray that He would give you grace to endure temptation without giving in. Pray for power from above to extinguish the fiery darts of the devil." and "The flesh is always weak, no matter how long we've been pure or how strong we are in faith. There is no saint alive who does not have weak flesh, hence the need to watch and pray against falling."

I know what my weaknesses are, and there are many. What areas of sin are you most tempted by? Watch and pray.

More on this next time...

Abiding in His Grace, and for His glory,
Lori

Where Have I Been????

2009-09-16T22:09:00.002-05:00

I have not posted in the last week because it has been one big busy one!!!

Over last weekend we were involved with a "Block Party" put on by the church plant we are working with in Calera. This wonderfully Reformed Baptist Church - 7 Springs Baptist Church, is a one of those kinds of small starting churches with such a wonderful spirit about it. The love of the Lord is so present that I just enjoy being with God's people there. This church is very missional in its focus, looking for things within and around the community and county for ways to reach out to the poor and needy within the area.

Todd and I are are preparing to work through the Crown Financial Ministries Program to become Certified Christian Financial Counselors through our church. Our desire is to be involved with the Food Pantry ministry that we don't have completely ironed out or up and running, but that is on the back burner waiting to be put into place. We would be able, certified through Crown and backed by our church family, to work with others to go through helping them to review their current financial situation, help them to come up with a workable budget for their family, and to teach them how to get out of debt, stay out of debt and honor God with 100% of their earnings, not just 10%.

In the meantime, Seventh grade is going well for Anna, we are in about week 7 and she is flying high in math this year, which has always been a significant struggle.

My pain management doctor is currently trying to get me approved for some Botox injections in my back to relive the continued and constant pain that I am experiencing. It has been determined that I have permanent nerve and muscular damage from the shattered C6/7 vertebrae that was not removed soon enough. I live most days with very bad pain, and with usual windows of 3 hours or so in the evenings when I can rally long enough to try to get everything done (kids cared for, school work taught-reviewed-graded, home responsibilities tended to and company work done).

The Lord has showed me much in the last week as I studied through my current Bible study, but I've not had a good opportunity to write about these things. Hopefully I will get to them soon. They may come as several posts in a row.

Please be prayerful for us (Todd, Anna, and I) as we try to get it all done.
Abiding in His grace,
Lori

Why the McGuire's Homeschool

2009-09-04T00:32:00.002-05:00

I've got a friend who is interested in possibly homeschooling her child(ren). She wanted to ask me some questions, and I am more than happy to talk with her - the same way so many did for me before we made this very monumental decision for our children.

I thought I would share with you all the "Why's" of why we (the McGuires) choose to do our children's schooling at home. This seems to be a timely post considering the many ways that the government seems to be infiltrating even more deeply the public education throughout our country.

I do NOT suggest that all Believers are called to homeschool. I will emphatically say however, that we will give an account for what we do regarding all things in our lives, and am hopeful that all Believing parents diligently seek God's design for their families. My concern is that we not just go along with what we did as kids, or what our friends are doing with their kids, or what's popular in your church or community, but that we all really be willing to seek God's desire for our children and our families in all areas, including education. When asked why do I homeschool, my usual answer is because the Lord led me to. May the Lord lead all of us according to His purposes and may we be aware of His leading so that He might be glorified.

So, here is what I shared with my friend...
Dear Friend:

Okay, I've got some time before I turn in for the evening so I thought I'd write about how I came to the point of taking our daughter out of a perfectly good Christian school and bringing her home. :O)

I knew before she started 2nd Grade that the Lord was beginning to do a work in my heart. She and I have similar personalities, so each time I would feel a prompting by the Lord I would think, "You've got to be kidding me Lord, we'll kill each other." During the Summer before her 2nd grade year, I had worked diligently to sign her up for EVERY possible activity under the sun to keep her busy over the Summer, and to give her plenty of opportunities to try out all sorts of things to see what she liked. Most of the things I was signing her up for were things I wanted her to try out, not necessarily things she'd shown an interest in. (Special note - At this point in my life, I would not even consider doing that, because I understand completely that the Lord has created her for a special purpose, and that her life should reflect her God given interests, giftedness, and her own personal calling. So, I seek God and then allow her to give her own input as to what she desires to do with her extra curricular time.)

Before our Summer actually began, I came across the following verses during my quiet time, Galatians 5:7-9, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."

The Holy Spirit immediately spoke to my heart through those words and I could see that I was very busy sowing to my daughter's corruptible flesh, things that really didn't matter in the long run. But, I wasn't spending even a tenth of that time sowing to her Spirit. I became convicted of this and immediately took her out of everything we'd signed up for that Summer, and began praying about how the Lord would help me to "sow to the Spirit" in her life during the few Summer months that I had with her. Over those few months we did some simple and fun Bible study together, spent hours together working on character issues - obedience, helpfulness, kindness, desire to serve others, etc..., and enjoyed lots of fun field trips, "pajama days" and more. I found that she and I were becoming very close once I really abandoned myself to training her in godliness to the best of my ability. By the time Summer was over, I was convinced that I was supposed to bring her home and was grieving losing her to school for such a large part of the day, but we'd signed the financial commitment with her school to return in the Fall. So, I did what anyone would do in my situation, I plugged my ears and began to say "La, la, la, la, la, I can't hear You. You must mean I'm supposed to do this next year Lord."

Once school began, about two weeks in, I was in misery!! The Holy Spirit was absolutely convicting me to the point that I could not stand to continue in what I knew was disobedience. I had discussed NONE of this with Todd throughout the Summer, and was afraid he would think I'd lost my mind if I told him about all of this. Finally, I went to him and explained what was going on in my heart, how I felt led, what I thought the Lord wanted me to do, and how I saw my focus changing and my heart really turning towards being with her more and teaching/training her the way we wanted her to be raised.

I went to our area's most well known Christian school, was raised in a Christian home, and never "got it" until I was 20 and the Holy Spirit did a work in my heart. I did not want our daughter to be 20, with years of regrets, before she "got it". Todd said, "Pull her out and bring her home. If you know that's what the Lord has told you to do, I will not stand between you and the Lord."

So, that's what I did. I remember crying in the Principal's office, as though I were the student, trying to explain to her why I was bringing Anna home, and feeling certain she would be thinking I had lost my mind. Surprisingly she was very supportive. We'd made the financial commitment and felt that it was the right thing to do to gladly pay that which we had promised. But, man was I glad when that year was up!!!

So, moving along, my "Pros and Cons List" looked something like this - Keep in mind that some of this was listed because we already knew a good many others who homeschooled and had begun to be influenced by what we were seeing in their families, the behavior of their children, as well as the growth we'd seen in Anna over the Summer. As a general rule, most Christian Homeschoolers do so because they believe it to be their responsibility to educate their children, or feel led (by God) to do so. Obviously, the same was true for us.

This was my list of Pros and Cons before starting to homeschool.

Pros:
* More opportunity to study closer those things of personal interest to her and focus on her areas of giftedness. Giftedness and Interest we believe is placed in heart by her God.
* Opportunity to focus on areas of difficulty for mastery. (Math was moving too fast and she was having trouble keeping up. At home we could slow it down until it "clicked" which is exactly what we did once she was home.

* More one on one opportunities for character training with Anna.
* More individual attention than she will ever receive in a classroom.
* More control over what she's learning.
* More control over how she is learning (meaning that I could adapt it for her learning style, taking into account her strengths and weaknesses).
* Less peer influence, more parental influence during the most impressionable years of her life. (Although Anna has a strong personality, I found quickly (in Kindergarten) that she was a follower of whomever she thought was "cool" and it really concerned me. Often the "cool" was not worth following if you know what I mean. I felt sorry for her, I didn't want her blindly following around the "cool kid" and not really even being herself.)
* More opportunity to spend time with other friends who were already homeschooling.
* More relaxed learning during the early years (through about 5th grade).
* Less stress from driving to and from (The drive was about 45 minutes one way - 4 times a day for me, , which didn't make for a very nice momma.) I was constantly yelling, "Hurry up!!"
* Savings of about $5,000.00 a year (in future years at home).
* The chance to school more "year round" to prevent forgetting things and losing momentum over the Summer months. (We do usually take off a good 6-8 weeks for our "summer" though. I use this time to research curriculum for the new year, pray through and what for the Lord's direction in those areas, and reorganize school supplies and area.)
* Able to spend more time with her dad, because of his hours often spent in the office at home. It means occasional lunches with dad at home or out, that wouldn't be possible in school.
* The opportunity to travel to see the things we were studying about throughout the U.S., and now, even into other countries!!

(Now entering our 6th school year, I could add dozens more "PROS" to this list now that we're actually living it.)

CONS:
* Scared to death!
* Worried about what family and other will think (especially concerned about my parents because we lived next door to them). Instead, they became some of my greatest supporters.

The only real con I could come up with was FEAR!!
I finally decided that I was more afraid of being disobedient to God's call on our lives as a family, than I was of what anyone else would think of it. And, I made up my mind then that I would never - not do something - because of FEAR!!!

So, there you have it, this is a description of the beginnings. We've begun our 6th year at home, and Anna would have it no other way. She loves being home, she loves having special outside opportunities to spend with friends (science labs, drama classes, competitive dance, and church activities). They are opportunities that are handpicked and bathed in prayer. Hmm, living in God's call for us has brought us great peace.

As always, In His grace,

Lori

Photos and info from the Guatemalan Mission Trip

2009-08-31T15:38:00.007-05:00

This is the group on mission in Guatemala,along with some of the locals who were helping to build the home. The home, is pictured behind them.

Todd and Anna in front of one of the most beautiful lakes on earth, Lake Atitlan in Guatemala.

To the right is a photo of Lake Atitlan in the "valley"

area, the clouds all around them,

and the mountains and one of the 3

volcanos in Guatemala.

What a glorious sight...

This is a photo of the stove that was being built into one of

the homes in Guatemala. The funds were given by people in my Mother's Sunday School Class, and an additional gift added by The Church at Brookhills.

There are more pictures to share, I will post them in the coming days.

Abiding in His grace, and asking for your prayers for a personal/unspoken need,

Lori

Walking By the Way

2009-08-28T10:04:00.003-05:00

I just came across a new blog that I've enjoyed going through. She has some fantastic ideas for preschoolers and homeschool activities, for those of you with younger children.

I just had to share a post I just read from her blog, it is hysterical. Here's the link to the site
http://www.walkingbytheway.com/blog/?p=19 . The post is about things she thought she'd never have to say to her children. She's raising boys and is amazed by the things they will do and the things she's had to say to them in the process.

I had to chime in and add my own "things I never imagined I'd have to say" to her post. Although I'm raising girls, Sarah Beth has given me plenty of strange things I've had to say to her.

Here's what I added:
Why did you pour that in your food?
We don’t eat doggie food, or drink the doggie’s water!
Don’t you dare jump from there!
Why would you paint your whole body with yogurt?
If you keep doing that, you and that chair are going to go through that window!!!

With Anna, the funny things said always came from her!!

Abiding in His grace,
Lori

The Family's Heart - Family Worship

2009-08-25T10:43:00.008-05:00

I am currently working through a Bible study using a book entitled The Family's Heart - ten actions that will make your family and your church stronger.

As a Christian homeschooler, my greatest job and desire as my children's mother and teacher is their discipleship. There is no greater work during the day than this. Sure, we cover the subjects, yes we enjoy the benefits of homeschooling which are too numerous to list and include things like "jammie days" when we never get our of our pj's. But, while those are great benefits to home education, my only desire is that I disciple my children throughout the day.

Each struggle that we encounter -whether academic, relational, personal or spiritual is addressed from scripture in the natural, comfortable setting of home. For instance, if we (as individuals or as a family) are having problems relating to someone else (in a co-op class, a tutorial teacher, someone at church, in dance class, etc...) we look at Matthew 18 and determine what our role is in the relationship. We seek to be living examples of Christ and His church as we walk by the way, as we sit down and as we rise up (Deut. 6:4-9); and to disciple our children throughout the day to do the same. It is a difficult calling at best, because our children see our flaws daily, and as I say regularly, "My sin is ever before me."

One thing I've struggled with over the years is "family devotion" time. Through this Bible study, I am learning what it means to worship together as a family. I always thought that "family devotion time" was a necessary part of a healthy Christian family. As well, I thought that it should look like a miniature church service - you know - singing, Dad doing a devotional reading, and prayer. Well, we are not a "singing" family and dad doesn't really get excited over devotional readings, so for years I struggled with feeling like our family worship didn't measure up to what I thought it was "supposed" to look like.

However, during my Bible study this week, I came upon chapter 2 of the book I'm reading, "Develop Ways to Have Inspiring Family Worship Experiences." As I began to read through the material and the scriptures, I was convicted that I had set up something like an "idol" in my heart about what family worship should be. Then, every time we fell short of that, which would be daily, I would feel frustrated and condemned. Now, we all know that condemnation is not from the Lord, so wonder where that was coming from? (Romans 8:1) The "accuser of the brethren" who constantly tells us that we don't "measure up" to some particular standard? (Revelation 12:10).

Family worship includes a lot of things:
1) It includes your time in worship with your church. This is why we have always chosen to keep our children with us during worship time rather than having them participate in children's church programs.
2) It includes finding ways to focus on God and His worthiness throughout the day.
3) It includes finding ways to use the things you enjoy doing as a family as an opportunity to worship God.
4) It includes having a family ministry/mission. It can be divisive for family members to be involved in varying ministries, but unifying when you can find a way to minister together as a family.

So the study posed a couple of questions, and I will share my answers with you here:

1) What are some ways we can remind ourselves and our families of God's worthiness every day? (Hmmm, that kind of sounds like worship...)
Call to memory scripture verses as they pertain to the details of our daily lives.
Memorize scripture together as a family.
Listen to Christian music cds during the day and evening.
Daily personal Bible study, and reading the Bible with our children.
Enjoying virtuous books that feed the soul as well as the mind. (We like the Lamplighter series for this purpose.)

2) Jot down 3 activities your family enjoys doing together:
* Working on special projects together
* Family movie and pizza night
* Entertaining friends in our home

Then I began to think, I know - that can be dangerous :O) - how can we worship God while doing the things we enjoy doing together as a family?
1) Special projects: See God's creativity in the way He's made us to be creative individuals. Focus on having a servant's heart when we have the opportunity to work on special projects that benefit someone besides ourselves. This pleases the Lord.
2) Celebrate God by watching virtuous movies (I know they're hard to find), and point out un-Christlike behavior, discussing matters from a Biblical point of view, and teaching discernment to our children in the process.
3) Show hospitality and the love of Christ in our home, by the way we relate with one another. Be willing to be hospitable even when things aren't "perfect" - the house neat and clean, a fancy meal to share, etc... I've often wondered what sort of example we set for young believer's if we only entertain when things are "just so". I would not want to make other's feel unable to be hospitable because they can't live up to the examples others have set for them.

So, here's what I learned about family worship -
It won't look the same for every family, because every family is different.
It doesn't have to be a "mini" church service.
"Continual" worship is pleasing to God, and He is worthy of our worship.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from this particular lesson:

"If you attended a worship service and you were not changed, refreshed, or renewed, then you didn't really worship at all. You may have had a nice time seeing all of your friends, you may have balanced your checkbook or read three more chapters in your 'Read the Bible Through in a Year' plan, but you did not worship"

"Worship is so easy to do. It is simply coming to the understanding that God is worthy of our loving dedication. God doesn't need our love, but He is definitely worthy of it! The act of worship is geared toward reminding US who is worthy!"

Revelation 4:11

"Our Lord and God, You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power,because You have created all things, and because of Your will they exist and were created."

All glory be to Him! Abiding in His grace,
Lori

God's Workmanship - Prepared for Good Works

2009-08-16T21:51:00.003-05:00

Hi Everyone:

Today I would like to share some verses for you to meditate on as you read through the update:

Ephesians 2:10 reminds us that God has already prepared the things that our team is to do while they are in Guatemala on this trip. He has ordained every good work they will do...
"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand
that we should walk in them."

Romans 10:14-15
"How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “ How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

Before our team left for Guatemala they were told (by a couple that travel on mission trips alot) that the main word to remember was "flexability".

Todd said this evening that they are learning to be VERY flexible!!

Thinking they would be starting on the widow's house today, they learned that the "maestros" (known here as foremen) don't work on Sunday. I suppose that makes since being that we're working with a ministry there. So here's what the day looked like...

They traveled to "The Promised Land" a facility built by Impacto and used for Bible studies, church gatherings, etc... The facility is directly on the water of Lake Atitlan and they have had problems with the property erroding at the water's edge. So today, they worked on rebuilding a sea wall. Once they finished that up they had some children come in for a

Bible story and VBS type activities.

Giann Hoosier, the 15 year old daughter of Craig and Debra, went through training this year with CEF (Child Evangelism Fellowship) and worked as a CEF counselor this Summer doing backyard Bible clubs throughout the Birmingham area. She got up and told a story and shared with the children about Christ, and Pastor Luis' son translated.

Once they finished with the program they began working on outfitting the children present with shoes. Todd said they washed the feet and fitted shoes for approximately 200 children!!!! He said that they were all very appreciative, only one didn't seem very excited but it was because he was sick and not feeling well.

Once they were finished it was beginning to get dark outside and Pastor Luis told them that they needed to get ready to leave to go back to San Pedro for the night. Thinking they had provided shoes for all of the children who attended the service today, they walked outside to leave and found standing outside a group of people waiting and hoping for shoes that was as big as the group that they had just worked with. Approximately another 200 people waiting outside because they couldn't get into the building. I can only imagine how disheartening that must have been for our team, and for those who'd waited and hoped. Please pray that they will be able to get them all fitted tomorrow or sometime during the course of the rest of the week. Remember, we had 555 pairs of shoes to give out, and they have used less than half!!!

Tomorrow the men and boys begin work on the widow's house and the others will continue doing Bible school with the children, and begin the women's Bible study on the book of Ruth.

As you continue to pray, remember our workers -
1) That they would have the energy and stamina to do the work they've gone to accomplish.
2) That everyone would continue to stay well.
And remember the people they are ministering to.
1) That they would be receptive to the help our team has gone to give them.
2) That their hearts would be prepared to hear the Word of God.

In Christ,
Lori McGuire

Ready for rest, and waiting to serve the Lord... (final message from lastnight)

2009-08-15T09:36:00.007-05:00

Hi Everyone:

Just got a message from Todd, didn't get to the cellphone before it rolled to voice mail...

He said they had just finished eating dinner, everyone is doing well, they met a group of people from New York who just came back from the Lake region where they will be heading to tomorrow. They were all able to share and visit, had a brief devotion time, and enjoyed visiting with the others. He says they are all looking forward to a goodnight's sleep!

They will all be staying together in "the compound" tonight, and the team from New York will be returning to NY tomorrow. Our team will head out in the morning for a short trip to Antigua to visit the shops and see the sites there. We visited Antigua when we went to pick Sarah Beth up to bring her home. It is a city with many historical sites and ruins, and quite a bit of commerce from street vendors selling jewelry and woven goods, to a Jade factory and Jewelry store that I'm sure they will visit tomorrow also. We enjoyed the best steak we've ever had in Antigua, but I'm sure they won't be going there tomorrow.

After they finish in Antigua they will head out for the Lake Atitlan region and begin the work they went to do in San Pedro. Lake Atitlan is said to be one of the most beautiful lakes on earth. I've only seen it in pictures and I must agree. I hope to go on the mission trips they take in the future, when Sarah Beth is old enough to return. For now, we can enjoy the pictures...

For interesting facts and information about the Country where your loved ones are currently doing the Lord's work, visit this website http://www.larutamayaonline.com/guatemala_facts.php

Goodnight, and God bless, I'll check in with you all again tomorrow.
Lori McGuire

This is the Guatemalan Flag .............................

On the ground in Guatemala...

2009-08-14T18:44:00.002-05:00

Good Afternoon Everyone:

This is the first of the posts I will be making as we hear updates from the "Land of Eternal Spring". Guatemala is so called because of it's nearly year-round Spring like weather.

Our team landed safely in Guatemala and had lunch with Pastor Luis in his home.

Thank you so much to all of you who donated shoes, you will be absolutely AMAZED to hear that the grand total of shoes donated was...... 555 pairs!!!
Is that amazing or what???!!!???

I will continue to post updates as I receive them.

Remember to keep them all in your prayers, praying for their safety, for the projects they are working on to run smoothly, for the hearts of the people to be softened and prepared by the Lord, and most importantly for the salvation of souls to the glory of God! Pray that they will remain well, and no one will forget and drink the water !! My 12 year old took tape to tape her mouth shut in the shower because they told them not to even get the water in their mouths in there!!! LOL - you gotta love the ideas kids come up with!!

We've wondered if it might be possible that they could be ministering in the village where Sarah is from. We don't know where her mother and grandmother are, and her older brother. But, we know they are there somewhere. We also sponsor a little girl in Guatemala, her name is Jessica. Todd spent time studying her little face in the picture we have of her on our refrigerator so that if he were to see her he would know.

They are expected to minister to approximately 100 women through a women's Bible study of the book of Ruth. The team Anna is working with will be doing games, crafts and backyard Bible club activities with approximately 80-100 children!!

I'd have to guess that our team will sleep well tonight, even in a foreign land... they were all up and at the airport by 4 this morning!!! I had to drive mine there, so I'm turning in early myself!!

Abiding in His Grace, and caring for the Guatemalan here on the home front!
Lori

Have you been to the "Secret Place" today?

2009-08-06T10:46:00.006-05:00

I am currently reading through a book entitled Secrets of the Secret Place: Keys to Igniting Your Personal Time with God, by Bob Sorge. I wanted to share some excerpts from today's chapter "The Secret of Refuge."

We have several friends going through storms in their lives right now. We've been through many ourselves. I've often heard it said that if you aren't currently in a storm, look out - one might be on its way. At some point in our lives we experience them, some experience more of them than others. As believers we have somewhere to go and Someone to turn to. Daily time in our own "secret place" with God, where we are alone with Him and His word and prayer, is crucial to our Spiritual growth and our ability to weather the storms.

Abiding in His grace, and praying for you - my friends who are in need,
Lori

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Psalm 27:5
"For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock."

Psalm 31:20
"You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues."

These scriptures, were written by David when he was fleeing from Saul, he was not able to get to the "Tabernacle" to be with God. But, he knew that the Lord was with him in his secret place.

"While the place of prayer is a place of immunity, it is also one of Satan's favorite places to attack the devout.... So, the secret place is both a place of sanctuary and also of the enemy's strategic attacks. The assurance to the believer, however, is that when he is attacked in the place of prayer the Father is exercising sovereign jurisdiction over the entire affair. Nothing can happen to you in the secret place that He doesn't specifically allow for His higher purposes. You are totally immune from anything outside His will.

Psalm 91 deals with the tension of safety versus turbulence. The psalm launches with this powerful assurance, 'He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.' And we think, 'Great! Nothing can touch me there!' But the remainder of the psalm seems to contradict that thought. Verse 3 speaks of being snared by the fowler and being caught by the pestilence. (The fact that God delivers us from those things does not negate the reality of the pain we experience when we are initially caught in their grip.)... Verse 15 points to great personal trouble - the comfort being that the Lord will be present in the time of trouble and will bring deliverance. But waiting on God until the deliverance comes can be agonizing at times.

The closer we draw to the Lord in intimacy, the more real the warfare will be we encounter. Francis Frangipane described it with the phrase, "New levels, new devils." As the attacks increase, our cry only intensifies, 'Hide me!' While the body and soul may be afflicted with increasing harassment and abuse, the spirit is finding a place of greater protection, rest, and intimacy under the shadow of the Almighty. (see 2 Corinthians 4:8-11) ...

... Are winds swirling about your head? Run into the Lord! A refuge is something you flee into. A refuge doesn't automatically erect itself around you; you have to seek it out and run into its shelter for safe harbor. ... If God is to be your refuge, you must flee to Him. The cry is, 'Oh Lord, I am about to be consumed - I run into You! Hide me!' "

Psalm 71:3
"Be my strong refuge, to which I may resort continually."

(Note from me - I LOVE that verse!!! What an amazing reminder that God is always there for us. We can resort to Him continually!!! He is our strength.
- Lori)

God's Sovereignty Loud and Clear

2009-08-01T10:20:00.004-05:00

One thing that Todd and I have come to see in our walk with the Lord over the past 18-1/2 years is His total sovereignty over all things. I truly believe that understanding God's sovereignty is the key to understanding the whole of scripture. It is a theme that is on every page of the Bible from the first to the last.

One of my now favorite passages is one that I finally came to understand

1 John 4:17-19, "Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us." I never quite grasped this passage until I understood that it is God's love that is perfect. We can trust completely in Him, in His love for us and His sovereignty over all things, and rest. No need for fear!!! Since He lives in us, we then can show His love to others, a perfect love.

He is in control of everything. Nothing is going to happen to me that did not ultimately come from His hand. No accidents, no sicknesses, no death of loved ones, no pain or sorrow, no great joy, no amazing gifts, nothing - it all comes from Him. (See the book of Job if you doubt that.)

Because of our understanding of His perfect love and His sovereignty, it becomes easy then to see tragedies and perilous times in perspective. Then, we must trust in Him fully to submit to His plans for our lives over our own.

This weekend has been filled with some REALLY strange happenings that reminded me of these Biblical principles.

As I mentioned in the previous post, Todd and Anna will be traveling to Guatemala in the month of August, and there is a great need of shoes to be used with the "Happy Feet" ministry there. People travel from other villages when they hear that the Happy Feet people will be in town. Many travel without shoes, having never owned a pair. I wanted desperately to be able to provide a lot of shoes for them to take with them when they leave. They each have 2 large pieces of luggage to fill, but they must not exceed 50 pounds each. So, we began asking others to donate and began looking for some deals on shoes ourselves. My mother and I went to the Thrift Store and she purchased 37 pairs of like new shoes for boys, girls, women, and men. Each pair ranged from $ .99 - $2.48/pair. What a great find! A friend of her's went too and bought several more pairs to add to them. My sister-in-law went to her local Wal-Mart and found summer shoes on clearance for $1-$2/pair. Shoes that had been $5-$10/pair originally. My friend Vonda donated some of her girl's shoes that were outgrown, but still in great shape! My friend Leslie found shoes on clearance at our local Wal-Mart - men's tennis shoes for about $3.50/pair, and some shoes like my Sister-In-Law bought on clearance, so she picked those up. Others have told us they are going to donate funds for shoes, or go through their own to find some they could give. We are giving shoes to people who may have only 1 pair, the pair given to them, and out of our plenty we give freely!! That is God at work, meeting the needs of His people in another Country, through the hearts of His people in the United States!!! Amazing, something only God could orchestrate. I am not worried about the weight of the luggage, we'll pack them full, and God can take care of how much they weigh - RIGHT??? See how far reaching and involved His sovereignty is?? I have no FEAR!!!!

A family we have become close to lost their daughter 9 years ago to a brain tumor. Having lost one of our own, we have a special connection with them, even though the circumstances are different. This weekend, their oldest son had a tumor removed from his brain. He is an adult, just finished up his Masters and preparing to go to work. The tumor is malignant. They are waiting for more news to come next week about his further treatment options. They understand Sovereignty, and they are fully submitted to God's will and resting in His Sovereign Grace, and love - that casts out fear!!!!

Now, the strangest of all our weekend events... Last night, around dusk, we were in our family room watching our Friday night Family Movie. This is what we do every Friday, along with eating weigh too much (yes I spelled it that way for a reason :O) !!!) pizza. I was sitting in the floor, wiping down all of our Thrift Store shoes with a Clorox wipe, when I felt a lite bump on the floor. I said to Todd, "What was that? Did you feel that bump?" He didn't, yes we were watching it in SURROUND SOUND, so we didn't hear anything. About 5 minutes or so passed and my cell phone rang, it was my mother. She asked where we were and I told her we were at home. She then said, "Do you know that there is a girl in your driveway? She's hit your retaining wall, and she's out of the car standing in the drive." WHAT??? Todd and I rushed outside to see what was going on and I called 911. In our driveway was a red car, smashed completely into our retaining wall, the car totaled, airbags deployed, and a 4 foot iron fence post driven through the front windshield and down to her seat. The car couldn't make the curve, she lost control and went through two fences. She split an 8x8 railroad tie in half, plowed up that fence, went through some pasture, plowed up some more fence, and then drove across our yard and into the retaining wall! The girl was standing in the driveway, talking to 911, cuts and scrapes on her arm, leg and ankle, face hurting from the airbag, but other than that - totally unharmed. She refused to call her parents, for fear of their anger or punishment I suppose. I got their number and called them myself. We had every type of flashing light vehicle you can imagine, two of some of them, lined up along the road in front of our house. In God's Sovereignty, this girl's life was spared. She admitted to coming through the 90 degree curve before our house doing 55 miles per hour!!! WAY TOO FAST!!! The speed limit is about 25. She was not killed, and I wanted her and her family to know that she wasn't killed because God is Sovereign!!!!! I told her, numerous times, that the Lord was watching over her. One of the rescue workers said, somebody was riding in that car alongside her. I knew what he meant. I told her parents, and a friend that came with them, over and over again, that her life had been spared. I told the rescue workers, and the police, the wrecker driver, anyone who came past me - the Lord was with her in that wreck. By all the scientific "evidence", she should have been dead. The force of the impact should have given her a severe back or neck injury at the very least, and at the worst, she could have been impaled by the metal fence post through her head, neck, or body!! BUT, because of God's sovereignty, it came in through the top of her windshield and came to rest to the left side of her driver's seat. Unbelievable!!!! And, amazingly, our retaining wall suffered absolutely no damage. Nothing! It stands as solid now as it did before she hit at a speed of about 50-55 miles an hour. From the way things looked, she was accelerating. We learned many lessons from this particular event, about teenagers and their parents, about God's grace and mercy, and about sharing our faith with others in times of tragedy. The family was of foreign descent, they appeared to be from India. It made for an interesting Friday Family Movie night!

Please remember our friends and their son as they navigate his cancer and work with the Doctors to prepare a course of treatment. Pray for all of us as we prepare for the Guatemala trip. Lastly, pray that this family saw Christ during their short time at our home last night.

Abiding in His grace and sovereignty, resting in His love, and putting feet to faith,

Lori

On Mission to Guatemala

2009-07-28T09:38:00.003-05:00

Soon, Todd and Anna will be leaving for a trip to Guatemala. While they are there, they will be ministering to the needs of the widows and the people of a particular village. We support a little girl, named Jessica, through World Vision. I wonder if she lives close to where they will be?

While they are away ministering to those needs, I will be at home, ministering to the needs of another once Guatemalan Orphan, now an American - McGuire. We are truly in love with the people of Guatemala, and the country.

While they are in Guatemala, Todd will be helping other men build a small cinder block home for a widow and her children. The home is something you might build out back to store your garden tools and lawn mower. But, for her, it will be home, and she will be most grateful! The home will then be dedicated to the Lord as the local Pastor (whom they will be working with while they are there) prays with the woman and her children. The other residents of the village will surely be looking on.

Anna will be working with the women, doing crafts and Bible activities with the children of the village who will show up to see what is going on at the construction site. Other women who are going will be teaching a ladies Bible study on the book of Ruth.

Last, but certainly not least, those going to work on behalf of Christ for our brothers and sisters in another Country will have the humbling pleasure of washing the feet of these villagers who will travel to be involved in the "Happy Feet" ministry. During this time, they will be fitted for shoes. For many of those who come this will be the first pair of shoes they've ever owned. This is almost unbelievable to me, but I have seen their poverty in person. It is heartbreaking. These people who can be reached in 2 and half hours by plane from Miami live in a way we cannot imagine. To those of you who are helping out by donating shoes for them to take with them, thank you so much!!

Please be in prayer for them as they collect shoes, travel to and from, minister to the needs of these people and share the love of Christ with them by meeting their everyday - practical needs.

And, pray for the little Guatemalan Princess and I as I meet her everyday needs here at home - because of Christ. Adoption is one of the hardest processes I've ever gone through (taking 16 months to complete), but it is one of the most rewarding things I've ever experienced in my life. If it is something God has ever laid on your heart to do, DO IT!! Praise God that He adopted us and we are now Sons and Daughters of the King of Kings!!!!

To see what the mission trip will be like for them, visit http://www.impacto-luismartinez.org/ .

Abiding in His grace,
Lori

Homeschool books and supplies for sale

2009-07-23T01:36:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone:

The time of the yard sale this Saturday is 7:30 a.m. - 3:00ish p.m.
I've gotten most everything sorted and am beginning to price the items. This is a multi-family sale and I would guess we will have just about everything imaginable!! Specifically for those of you who homeschool and are looking for resources for the upcoming year(s), I have made a list for you of some of the items below:

I currently have for sale:
* Math U See - Beta (Includes: Teacher's Manual, DVD, Student Text with a few pages used and Student Test Book - unused), and Gamma (Includes Teacher's manual and DVD) Delta (Includes: Teacher's Manual, DVD, Test Booklet - used tests 1-10 of 30, Student Text - used lessons 1-10 of 30).
* Prima Latina - Latin Curriculum
* Veritas Press - 1st in the series Creation to ...
* Muzzy Spanish Program
* Power Glide Spanish Program
* Other miscellaneous Spanish programs
* Greenleaf guides
* Teacher's Manual for Modern Curriculum Press Math (C) which is 3rd grade.
* Some Bible items - Magnify New Testament for Kids, Bible Alive on CD, etc...
* Dozens of unused workbooks for individual subjects as well as Full-Curriculum workbooks for grades 2, 3, 4, and 5.
* Lots of miscellaneous children's books for reading level 3rd to 6th grade.
* A World of Adventure unit study for Grades 4-8 (This was fantastic and loads of fun to do!!!)
* Several Science Experiment boxed sets new/unused
* Math and language arts daily drills workbooks
* Educational games including 3rd grade curriculum game covering all subjects, puzzles, quiz cards, flash cards for several subjects.
* (2) Sets of hard back National Geographic children's science books (mostly about animals)
* And LOTS More!!!

Email me if you have any specific questions, or need directions to the sale - THIS SATURDAY, JULY 25th, 7:30 a.m. until 3:00 or so. The sale will be in the Chelsea/Westover area. On Highway 280, just passed Chelsea Park and Hwy 51. Left side of the highway, up on a slight hill. Sale put on by the Competition Team members at Dancing at Tiffeny's Center For the Arts, located beside The Appliance Doctor.

Hope to see you there on Saturday,
Lori

Children Have Their Own Angels!!!!

2009-07-16T17:43:00.002-05:00

I have been reading through the book of Matthew recently. Having read it many times, I enjoy the familiarity of the passages, but I always love being reminded of something I'd forgotten or hadn't thought about lately.

Today, I was in chapter 18, one of my favorite chapters as it teaches us as Believers how to handle conflict with one another. I have referred to it on more occasions than I care to admit. I seem to find myself in the midst of my own conflicts often enough, but am also drawn into other's conflicts at times when I must counsel them. I always use the important principles found in Matthew 18:15-35.

That is not what struck me as I read today. Rather I was reminded of something we have told our oldest daughter, now 12, as she's grown up. When she was younger she would sometimes be afraid to go to bed, scared of the dark, etc... So Todd would always remind her of Matthew 18 vs. 10, which says, "Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels, always see the face of my Father who is in heaven."

WOW!!! Our precious children have angels who are currently in the presence of our God. Now that is amazing to me!!! Great news!!! What a relief that is to me - the worrier - that God has it covered. Does that mean nothing bad will ever happen to my children, or that they won't make bad decisions or do bad things? Emphatically, "NO!" However, I still know that God is watching over them, even during those times too.

When we were dealing with the nighttime fears, we took another scripture and framed it and it sits on her nightstand. Psalm 4:8 "I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety."

Abiding in His grace as I travel this parenting road,
Lori

Mobilizing the Church to meet the needs of the hungry and homeless

2009-07-11T22:02:00.003-05:00

Recently, Todd read a book entitled The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns. Richard is the CEO of World Vision, and in his book, he explains our obligation as followers of Christ to meet the needs of the hungry, the poor, the dieing throughout our world. He read me pages of excerpts to the point that I had to ask him to stop because I was so overwhelmed by the vastness of the need, and the feeling of being unable to affect change that would really be of any help.

As a family, we are moving forward this year in an effort to "do our part", so to speak, to become more mindful of those who are hurting and less focused on ourselves, our stuff, and obtaining more stuff to fill up our already overstuffed house!

So, to that end, we chose a specific curriculum this year to use with Anna that focuses on the World as a whole and the varying cultures throughout it. The curriculum, published by My Father's World, is called Exploring Countries and Cultures, and will essentially take us all over the World to examine the people groups and their needs both physical and spiritual. The curriculum is written by former missionaries who are involved in Bible translating.

As God's Providence would have it, I stumbled across a non-Christian resource that was reviewed in the most recent issue of Practical Homeschooling magazine. The book, published by "Free Spirit", is called A Kids' Guide to Hunger and Homelessness - How to Take Action! At a short 44 pages in length, it is filled with ideas that children can be a part of in order to help those in need. Included are ideas such as - gardening, holding hunger banquets, clothing banks, emergency kits, building projects, food pantries and more. This particular resource is geared towards children in 6th grade and up.

I am planning to go through each of the different ideas and information and write in with colored marker scripture verses that would go along with the material. It's important for our children to understand that we don't do this because it is the nice thing to do, or because it is a good deed, or even because if is the right thing to do. We do it because we are commanded to.

So, I just thought I would share this with you all, it would be a fantastic resource for anyone with children, whether you homeschool or not, doesn't matter. This could easily be used along with family devotional time, or just assigned to your kiddos as "summer school" to do something profitable with their time off.

If you are a follower of Christ, who desires to make a difference for those in need, in your own community and around the world, you might want to give this resource a look. It's available through http://www.freespirit.com/.

Abiding in His grace,
Lori

Homeschooling and the "Work box" method

2009-07-06T17:36:00.004-05:00

Hi everyone:

I just had to share a little something about our homeschooling journey here for those of you homeschoolers who read my blog. We have started a modified school week (M,W,F) until everyone else starts back up in August, so that we have extra time off at Christmas, tax season (because we have our own business and I have to get everything together) and for our annual trip to the Tennessee Mountains!

A few months ago, I learned about something called the "workbox" method. After reading the book about it written by Sue Patrick (and available online at http://www.workboxsystem.com/), following many blogs, and joining several yahoo groups (one especially for those using the system with My Father's World curriculum which is our curriculum basis this year) I was sold on the "idea".

Now, for any of you who know me, I can get sold on an "idea" pretty quickly, but my follow through - well that's another story :O). So, I decided I would tread slowly and carefully into buying what I needed to set up my "system"- yeah right - I run headlong into most EVERYTHING!! I got that trait from my precious daddy, he never did anything half-way either, and he and I both shared the "dreamer" gene. I miss him dearly.

So... I bought all the stuff, set it all up, sorted out our subjects and had it all ready for Anna's first day of school - 7th grade - can you believe it!??! Here's a little peek into our homeschool day and how it went - this is a post I left on the workboxes yahoo board.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

This was our first official day of 7th grade, using Workboxes!!! I have a toddler (2-1/2) who didn't know what to make of "Sissy" being at the table with all of these interesting looking things today, but overall, she's behaved so we could get the work done. (Thank God!!!)

My daughter LOVES the workboxes! She says, "It's like getting a little present in each drawer." We are using the 12"x12" stackable scrapbook drawers (pictured above).

She got everything on her list done (and the 7th grade ECC load is quite a bit, with all of the supplemental stuff), PLUS all of her chores done! I made some file folder games for the little one and she did several of those with the her during the day today too. She's spent time on the computer emailing and im-ing with friends, watched a little t.v., had some down time, and more!!!

I am truly amazed at how smoothly this day went!! All of this while I tended to laundry, finished unpacking from our recent vacation, cared for the needs of a demanding two year old, and even took a short nap!!!

I'm sold on the workbox method (or in our case work drawers)! :O)

Abiding in His grace and enjoying our homeschool journey now more than ever,

Lori Mc.