My Soul Delights

Today was a huge day.  2 of my daughters were baptized.  There is no prouder a moment for a parent than seeing your children accept Jesus Christ and participate in the outward showing of their new walk in faith. Not to mention their papa performed the baptism at church!  Keara asked the most faithful man in our family to welcome them into their "new life", and he was so emotionally touched and proud to do it. Rick was not a Christian all of his life, went through a lot of trials and setbacks on his path to real freedom.  He loves Jesus like no one I know and has a passion to bring others to know and accept Christ; specifically strangers which I find so real about him.

Keara's baptism

                                                                                 

Abigail's baptism



I've kept a special secret to myself for many years.  It's been my birthday wish, my Christmas list (of one) and my prayerful request.  Every Sunday as I'm in service I keep a chair next to me available...on the off chance my husband might need to sit there.  Long shot, I know.  He's a recognized atheist.  He admits it, tells us there is no "God" and that he will be reincarnated one day. Well, the girls asked him to come to their baptism and he said yes.  And he did! I had my entire. family. in. church. Me, our 5 kids and my non believing husband.  Now don't get me wrong, he came because his daughters asked him to.  I won't even say he supports them, but they are his little girls and he didn't let them down.  I'm sure the entire 30 minutes he wished he was anywhere but there, I could tell by his body language and breathing/mumbling.  Heck, he made a b-line out there and I wouldn't of known had I not been waiting by the door for the girls to come out of the bathroom.

 

You see, I may have been praying and hoping for him to come to church with me one day but I never said it had to be as a believer.  My prayer was just to "get him in the door" so to speak.  For him to have a small glimpse of what we worship and what his children are passionate for each week. I sat back and thought to myself, "I wonder how much energy it takes to be that defensive, that angry, that resentful and that bitter to Christianity?  How hard does one have to work to deny what he sees in his children and his wife?"  Then my dear friend made a statement to me that validated everything I was thinking; she said, "The reality is if it didn't mean anything to him he would have just stayed.  Things that truly don't matter to us don't bother us."  Could she have been any more spot on? I rest assured that the Spirit is working in Josh, I have faith in this if for no other reason than he is having to fight what the rest of his family is living.  The Bible is true, God does win in the end. 

 

He may never come back to church, he may never accept Jesus Christ.  I'm okay with that; his salvation is between him and God.  But if I die tomorrow I will leave this earth having had my entire family in church with me. Once. And it was my 7 and 8 year old daughters baptism that made that happen :)

 

Welcome to your new lives girls.  I hope you bask in Love, Joy and unwavering Faith and that your prayers for your daddy come true.

 

"The LORD is good to those whose hope is him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD...For men are not cast off by the Lord forever.  Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love."

 

(Lamentations 3:25-26, 31-32)

To The Mac Daddy

It's been 9 1/2 years since we met, 8 1/2 since we joined as one and we've welcomed 4 beautiful, inspiring kids into our lives since then.
Today I just want to thank you. For fathering our 5 children in a way no one else can. for loving them, loving me while I grew them and playing such a huge role in not just their delivery but the first months of their lives. I am honored to watch you grow as a daddy with each one, as each year passes. 
Our kids are blessed to know such love from a father and in turn my love for you continues to grow beyond measure.

Happy Fathers Day Josh, we love you.

Family, Schmamily.

What greater thing is there for human souls than to feel that they are joined for life - to be with each other in silent unspeakable memories.  ~George Eliot

The memories I have as a child are mixed.  On the one hand, I have upsetting ones.  Mostly of the times from my dad moving out to moving to Texas and the struggles that followed.  Then on the other hand, I have these awesome ones of family get-together's, summers at my dad's and time spent with my grandparents.  Surprisingly, the good outshine (I don't think they outweigh) the bad.  I love reminiscing about family picnic's at my Aunt Betty and Uncle Ray's farm, spending time with them and helping with the work.  Weeks spent with my grandparents or in Canada at my aunt & uncles with my 2 cousins. Better yet, camping with my parents (or my dad after the divorce), time at the lake (Ontario is awesome) and running all over the neighborhood playing with friends.  Can't forget how my crazy grandma Schultz would load us kids up for field trips (those times were awesome) and after dinner drives with my Templar g-parents for an ice cream :)

Nowadays, it seems no one has time for that.  Our culture and society have placed more emphasis on the me rather than the we.  Throw in the fact that families just don't stay geographically close anymore and you have part of the breakdown of the American family. 

I am trying.  I want to cultivate that kind of family bond in my children.  My desire and hope for them is that they will stay somewhat close in proximity to be a support to each other.  Even if it's a couple hours distance, it's enough to lean on each other in times of need.  I want them to know they can lean on each other, to be best friends. You see, my 5 kids are pretty much on their own.  Cousins? Eh.  Ian has 12 who he sometimes sees, but he's the oldest...not to mention the most put together, intelligent and has a grounded Christian foundation.  The other 4, neither side of their family cares to bond (those with kids close in age, at least) and I try to stay in contact, but it's usually one sided. There are no family get-togethers, no picnics, no real outreach for holiday bonding.  [And speaking of holidays...I will be requesting no gifts from now on {grandparents excluded...you have every right to spoil them}] 

I'm at a phase in my life where I really don't care if Josh took a job in Indiana for I don't really think we'd be missed and wouldn't see anyone any less than we do now.  My children make friends easily and I can work anywhere.  Don't be surprised if you don't hear from me.  If my usual holiday invite becomes obsolete or I disappear from the dreaded facebook.  My focus is my family, the 7 of us that I am forging a legacy for. This is why I always wanted 4-5 kids, because I was torn away from a fairly large family...at least larger than the 2 members I had when we moved here to Texas.  I want my kids to know what that bond of love and togetherness feels like.  So even if they don't have the group of cousins like I did, they will have each other and then their children will have each other, in hopes of rekindling a generational family.  Maybe not, but at least I am willing to make it a priority.   

I am a Missionary

Nursing.  My calling. My ministry.

I've known all my life, without any doubt, that I would be a nurse.  I wrote in my baby book at age 7 that when "I grow up I want to be a nurse".  As an adult, I can now say it is what God called me to.  It wasn't an easy path to becoming an RN, it was a road riddled with potholes and detours.  {breaking for a crying baby}  Not all the detours were bad, though.  My proudest accomplishment is having a baby at the young age of 19 and now watching him forge his own paths as he follows Christ and searches for his calling.  Ian is growing into a fine young man, responsibly living on his own.  Without my trials and struggles, the evil that tried to consume my life, I would not have him.  It was my birthing of him that kick started my pursuit of nursing school. Now I have the honor of affecting, changing and impacting lives each time I am at work.  I get to love, heal and touch people in a way that resembles Christ love for us but in a microscopic way.

 2 Cor 9:12-13 "This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. 

Sunday Bruce spoke on the topic of the Great Commission, John 20:21-23.  There are times that I am utterly amazed, break out in goose-bumps and/or welled up with emotion at how his sermon speaks to me at just. the. right. time. I went back to work when Brenden was 9 weeks old, a bit sooner than I usually do.  Everyone I came in contact with would ask me "why so soon?" or "I'm sure it was hard" to which my reply was, "no, because it's my calling.  It's my ministry."  When you feel so passionately about what you do, it's not a job.  It's not work.  It's as if you are disobeying the LORD in what He has blessed you with by not doing it.  Sunday confirmed that.  You see, it's not just in being a nurse that I am called to, it's at home and in my community.  At home, I am the only spiritual leader.  Most of you know that my husband is an atheist, agnostic at best.  Our beliefs differ, but we have the same hopeful outcome for our lives and children.  So I am the sole example on living a Christian life to all 5 of our kids.  I say that knowing that now Ian (our 19 yr old son) is forging a path for the little ones to follow as well. I have to be very mindful in how I portray myself as a mom and wife to my girls.  I set the Proverbs 31 example.  I must show them how to be modest and godly, not just tell them.  This truly brings me full circle to 1 Peter 3, my daily reminder.

"Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives"

You see, WE are the mission, WE are the movement.  Not what we do, not the church.  Christians. Us. Bruce reminded us, rather enlightened us to the fact that if we call ourselves a Christian that we are a missionary.  You can not separate being a follower of Christ from being called to spread the Gospel just as you can't pick and choose what part of the Bible you want to obey.

Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that he breathed {Gen 2:7} on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." (John 20:21-22)

As the church, the body of Christ, we are the hands and feet commissioned by Jesus Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit to go and make disciples of the nations.  Whether the nation is another continent or in your own neighborhood, you have the power to make a difference.  As a Christian you are a missionary.  Now say that out loud. 
Go and be one.