Jaime - We hear you!!!!!

I don't know if Jaime will ever see this, but if she does, we're here, we hear, we care! If you're not Jaime, say a prayer for her please!! Thanks.

Follow Me

I'm gonna call this "Get Your Praise On Friday"!!

Remember that all He asks is for us to follow Him!! Do it and be blessed!!

How funny is He?

My lands, God never ceases to amaze, astound, and down right CRACK ME UP!!! He is the biggest show off - and I mean that in the best way!! Over and over He has done things that at first reaction make me catch my breath, then I start cracking up at His Hand and then it drives me to my knees in gratitude!! (guess that should really be my 1st reaction, huh?)

Sometimes it's HUGE things, like getting a check in the mail to cover an unexpected expense, or getting some side work when there's more month than money, but sometimes it's just a little thing like plopping a duck down in a pond as I drive by. (God and I have a thing with duck's but that's another blog to share) Or sometimes it's an email from a friend just to say "hi" or other encouraging words when I'm feeling lonely. Or sometimes it's my 9 yr old coming in the room and hugging me for no reason! (that's gotta be a God thing since he's a boy! haha)

The bottom line is this (I think). He listens to me all day. He listens when I'm in my prayer time, He listens when I'm praising Him in the car, He listens when I'm whispering "Help me not to beat this kid senseless", He's listening. Now, unfortunately I can't walk around with my Bible in my hand all day for Him to speak back to me - though maybe it would help decrease the "beating" prayers - but all these "little" things He does are His way of talking back to me. Every time I see a hawk circling overhead - which is just about daily around here - that's another gift from Him (another blog story), every time I turn on my radio and they're playing just the right song I need to hear - that's His hand! That's Him showing off!! That's Him saying "Girl, I love you, I'm here, you're not alone, you're not forgotten!"

Don't you just love that about Him? Don't you love that we serve a God who delights in showing off for us? A God who wants nothing more than for us to have a relationship with Him and to serve Him out of the gratitude of the gifts He gives us! I just love Him!! For so many reasons I love Him but today I love that He's a show off!!!

Show me more, Abba Daddy!!!

Pass it on...

Lately the Father and I have been talking about some things that make me VERY nervous. Like mission trips, teaching a middle or high Sunday school class. Things WWWAAAYYYYY out of my comfort zone. Give me a mic, turn on some tunes and I'm ready, but make me speak - UGH! I have a few friends who are some speakers/teachers and WOW! what a great job they do. How smart they are! But me? All I can say is this, if it happens, it'll be a TOTAL God thing because I can do some talkin' but for it to matter for eternity...that'll be HIM!!!

So, then today He takes me to Psalms 78. Let's all open up our Bibles (yes open yours if it it's handy - which it should ALWAYS be - haha) and take a little glance at the Words He sent me today. "O my people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old - what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done." Ps 78:1-4

Ok, now don't think I'm claiming that I've suddenly been given the gift of teaching. I'm still not sure that's exactly what He wants at this point, however, I certainly need to do a better job in my own house!! How often do I miss opportunities to tell my kids at those "teachable" times of God's power and might?! Of His marvelous wonders! How often do I just move on to the next "job"? God forgive me! My kids know most of the "big" Bible stories. They know Noah, Jonah, David and Goliath, the Nativity, but what about Melchizedek? Have I ever told them about this mysterious "priest of God Most High"? I don't think I have. God forgive me!

Let's do this ya'll! Let's find some of these interesting (hard to pronounce) people the Father has told us about and let's tell our kids. Let's show them the countless wonders that God has done in the "big" stories and the "not so familiar". (started to type small but is there really anything SMALL about ANYTHING in God's Word - I THINK NOT!!!) I'm gonna start today. I'm gonna get my kids up and instead of taking them to the free movies about NOTHING I'm gonna tell them the story of Melchizedek! (Won't they be thrilled?! hahahaha) Really though, God give me wisdom to find every opportunity to tell my kids of all the marvelous things You've taught me. All the "praiseworthy deeds" You've done in my life and the multiple lives in Your Word. Forgive me for not doing a better job of that and thank you for prompting me to pick it up!!!

I love you Lord!! You are the "God of Wonders"!!!

I am blessed...

It's finally here! I'm 30(something) today and I still LOVE my birthday!!! We like to call it the "12 days of Valarie" at my house. Actually, as much as I HATE to admit it, the last few years I've not made QUITE the spectacle of my birthday as I used to. (I'm sure you may find that hard to believe but I was WAYYY worse than I am now) I guess that's what having kids does to you. They humble you right away by making you work for them regardless of what day it is!! ;-)

Well, this morning the Lord led me to Ps.121:5-8 "The Lord watches over you - the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm - he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore." As I read those promises this morning I realize how faithful God is and always has been to me. He has protected me in so many ways from so many things!! He has kept His promise from this verse to me over and over and I am honored to be called His daughter.

The Lord has blessed me so many times throughout my life. He gave me the most AMAZING man!! He might not be perfect but God knew that he was perfect for me!! God has given me the privilege of being Mommy to 3 of the most INCREDIBLE kids you'll ever meet! My oldest - the defender - is funny, charming and compassionate, my middle - the lover - is sweet, caring and affectionate, my baby - the princess - is loving, kind and just so sweet I could pinch her head off!!! (I mean that in a good way! haha) They're a handful and keep me hopping but God has blessed me, for now, with these and I couldn't be more grateful!! (Don't panic! There's not plans for more! haha) He's provided for us over and over with our home, our vehicles, everything that we have needed! He has kept His watch over me!!

So, today I don't begin to toot my own horn!! Today I celebrate God!! Today I celebrate that the Creator of the Universe saw fit on June 26, 19.... to bring me into the world to fulfill His purpose and plan!! Today I celebrate that the very One who spoke and breathed the Breath of Life into Adam saw fit to breathe that same Breath into me!!! God is so good! I thank Him for every good and perfect gift He's ever given me and I can't wait to get home and bow at His feet and then squeeze His Holy Neck the way a daughter squeezes her Daddy!!!

Ya'll have a blessed day! I know I'm going to!

National Holiday!!!

Today launches the week of national holiday celebrations. I'm sure you're thinking that NEXT week is the week of the 4th and that I've lost my mind, but TOMORROW is my birthday and I like to kid myself into thinking that WAY more people care than actually do! teehee It's a delusion I'm happy to remain in.

The celebrations have already begun. Yesterday at our church we did a "Celebrate America" program which (as part of my delusion world) is subtitled "and Valarie's birthday"! It was GREAT! However, the best part of the whole program came in a person who drove 2 hours just to come see me! My sweet friend Tracy from Greenville!! We met thru the LPM blog and have "chatted" both online and on the phone since we saw Beth Moore in Columbia but yesterday we FINALLY got to squeeze each other's "scrawny" necks!! God is so funny!! He just cracks me up how He brings people together in such creative ways!!

Anyway, I'm hoping to have a great week and I hope the same for each of you! Feel free to throw a "It's Valarie's Birthday" party wherever you are, even if you've never met me!! I know they're having one in heaven!!teehee

Group 1 Crew - Love Is A Beautiful Thing (Video)

My favorite song of the month!!

Salt and light

As I told you this is VBS week at our church and I'm taking a car load with me every night. It's been hectic but I'm praying that it will be worth it.

Jesus calls us to be salt and light to the world and my intention with hauling all these kids around was to teach this command to my kids. They're getting it, or at least in part, because my middle son Josh has asked every kid at the pool, at the library and even one in the grocery store! But my oldest son Chase only wanted to invite one boy. (Josh wants to feed the masses - Chase is a one on one kinda kid! haha) When Chase told me who he wanted to ask I was thrilled! This boy's parents do not attend church and he told us he only goes to church when he visits his grandmother about once a year. (As a girl who was in church in the womb that's hard to comprehend)

Anyway, last night at bedtime my boys began to share with me some things that have been happening with this little guy. During worship rally he's been changing some of the lyrics of songs to say bad words or disrespectful things, he's been talking while teachers are talking, running around - basically, he just has no clue how to act in church. Now the behavior things are to be expected but the language things...well that's another issue. I'm certainly aware that my kids will hear bad language - if they haven't already - from all sorts of kids, but to hear it being done in their church?! Unacceptable!!

This is where I feel my challenge as a mom. Of course I immediately told them that this was their opportunity to stand for what they believe and tell this boy that they don't think his words/behavior is funny - ESPECIALLY when it involves making fun of their Jesus/church - and I have told him that I knew he was doing it and if it continued I would tell his parents that he could no longer come with me. That's where my real challenge is. What I WANT to say is that he can't come back to VBS, but then isn't that what satan wants? To keep this boy out of church? I MUST and will protect my kids at every turn, however, finding the balance of protection and discipleship is a struggle.

I don't want my kids in the same church "bubble" that I was raised in but I certainly don't want to dangle them in front of the wolves either!! The weapon...prayer! Pray for my kids protection. Pray for my discernment in teaching/exposing them to things. Pray for my witness and theirs. Pray for the children around them to see the difference in us and want to know more about our Jesus. Pray! That's about the best thing I can do! Pray, pray and then when I'm done, pray a few more times!

VBS and other fun stuff

This week is VBS at our church and I have the FUNNEST job there! I'm part of the team that leads the "worship rally" for the kids before they go to their classes! SO MUCH FUN! Where else can 30-something women get on stage with a mic and dance - not Baptist two step I mean cut the rug - and sing and praise Jesus?! The kids LOVE it and so do we. THEN I get to go and lead the preschool "worship rally" with the most precious 4 and 5 year olds! (I say that because my baby's in there haha) What a fun way to introduce these kids to having a blast with Jesus! I LOVE THAT!

It's also been such a blessing to have the neighborhood pool! I mean, it's a bit gross when you think about swimming with all those other kids, but I just keep telling myself that if the bugs hit the water and die the chemicals will surely protect me! haha My kids have LOVED moving into this neighborhood because they FINALLY have other kids their age to play with. That is a huge blessing!

We took 3 kids to VBS with us last night! Yes, 3 plus my 3! NOISY in my van! But I got so encouraged as we left and one of the Senior adults in our church looked at me and said "Good job Mommy, you spread those seeds!" I was floored. Here I was complaining about having to keep up with them all and their "crafts" and trying to keep them from getting plowed over in the parking lot and God sends this sweet woman to throw me some encouragement. He's so good!

So that about sums up my week thus far. VBS, library, pool. Not bad. At least I haven't heard the dreaded "Mom, I'm bored" yet. Of course now that I've gone and said that I'll hear it 10 times today!! haha
I pray ya'll are having a good summer thus far as well. God is good!

Happy Father's Day!!

I am and always will be a "Daddy's Girl"! I'm proud of it and I don't care who knows it! ;-) There's something about the bond between a daddy and his girl. My daddy had 3 girls so the fact that I - being the third - can say that he ALWAYS made me feel special is a testament to the kind of dad I had.

You see, my sweet daddy went home to be with Jesus on Nov. 14, 2002. He was diagnosed with brain cancer on March 11, 2002 and we had 8 WONDERFUL months with him after that. He was at work when he had his first seizure - working as a security guard as he was a retired painter/paper hanger - and he had just done a "concert" at a local church in York, SC 2 weeks before that. He sang and played piano. That's what my dad did. He worked. ALOT. If he wasn't working for the Lord - his first job - then he was working for our family.

As a child I remember being disappointed when dad couldn't make my games, or to see me sing because he was working but now as an adult I know he was working so that I COULD be in those games and sing with the choirs at school and church. The one thing I do know is that whenever he could he was there. He did his best and now that he's gone that is what matters most to me. I was able to tell him that too before he passed. He always felt that he'd let me down but I was able to reassure him that he was my hero!

So today, I honor my daddy! Though he's singing at the feet of Jesus - and I'm sure he's down front directing - I still honor him! I miss him in a way that I do not have the ability to put into words. I miss his smile, his laughter, his stories (he was the MASTER story teller), his smell (usually paint -haha), his touch, his widsom, his ingenuity, his ability to make something from nothing, his singing, just his presence in my life. But I know that he's in heaven cheering me on and that one day I'll see him again. I'll sing with him again in heaven with our Jesus forever and ever!

I know you can't hear me singing but if you know this song sing it - YES I MEAN SING IT - as I sing my daddy's favorite song. I love you daddy and I can't WAIT to see you again!

I would love to tell you what I think of Jesus.
Since I've found in Him a friend so strong and true.
I would tell you how He changed my life completely.
He did something that no other friend could do.

No one ever cared for me like Jesus.
There's no other friend so kind as He.
No one else could take the sin and darkness from me.
Oh how much He cares for me.

In loving memory of James Stuart Hunter 9/15/31 - 11/14/02.

Callin out the "Lupies!"

If you or someone you know has lupus would you please have them contact me? I was diagnosed almost 10 years ago and have had some new issues come up that I'd like to discuss with someone who's been there. Thanks.

Anything better than pretty toes?

Last night one of my sweet girlfriends treated me to a pedicure and manicure!! WAHOOO! Not only did my feet and hands need it but so did my spirit! She actually treated another girlfriend and I because we had helped her with a project at church. Then another girlfriend came along so we just made it an official girls night! There were the four of us "queens" up in our chairs getting our feet rubbed and what were we doing...talking, of course!

This particular set of girlfriends of mine are no holds barred!! We laugh til we either cry or pee our pants - sometimes both! We cry over things the Lord is doing in our lives (except for one who NEVER cries - haha) and we talk, and talk and then when we're done we talk some more! As women we all have a tendency toward "sharing" that if we would be honest is gossip. However, this group of friends is quick to call you right on out! "Girl, that's starting to sound a bit like gossip"! So knowing that about these girls makes it easy to not be lead down that road. When someone brings something up that you have "the scoop" on and you start to go there another will slam on the brakes so hard your face smacks the windshield! LOVE THAT!!! We also can appear to be merciless in our teasing of each other. But we are working on that as well. WE know we're kidding but do those around us? Again, we're a work in progress!

Anyway, all of that said to say we had a BLAST last night. My sweet man was kind enough to stay with the kids so that I could go - OH HE'S SO GOOD TO ME! - and we just had an awesome time. One of my girlfriends is leaving on the 23rd for a mission trip to Ecuador which in itself is a miracle of God! This particular girlfriend - who I know wouldn't mind me sharing this with ya'll - likes her cute clothes and has LOTS of them! When she was told she could only take 3 -4 outfits for her 8 day trip she just laughed but God has worked in her in ways that has blown me away! Watching her grow and be stretched has been nothing but PURE joy for me.

Last night was just a reminder to me that God created us for relationships. One of the nail techs asked me if we were family or friends and I told her "both". She looked a bit confused (because we certainly don't physically look like family - I'm a head taller than the rest of them) but then I told her we're friends who love the same Lord and that makes us family! God wants us to have a relationship with Him but He also created a need in us to relate to one another.

As women we can be so tough on each other! I wish we could ALL stop and see each other the way God sees us. Individuals doing His work, fulfilling His plan for our individual lives. Not as competition! There's no room for that in the life of a Christian. The ONLY one I want to defeat is satan - and guess what he ALREADY IS!! Not defeated by me - of course - but by my Jesus!!! So is there anything better than pretty toes? You bet! Spending time with my girlfriends talking about what God is doing in our lives and having the opportunity to show Jesus to a few nail techs and waiters/waitresses, that's the best!! The toes...well that's just icing on the cake!!! Thanks guys for a great time last night and thank you Jesus for being there with us!!!

My Baby Girl's FAVORITE Song!!

This is Kayley's favorite song and the message is one I'm glad she's learning at 5!!

Please pray...

One more thing I forgot to mention. If you would, please say a prayer for Jamie today. She's a young woman with a difficult life who needs Jesus. Just pray that the Holy Spirit will draw her to Him and she'll have the courage to ask Him into her life and to walk away from the situation she's in. Thanks. May God alone be praised!!

ARE WE THERE YET?

Oh those famous words for any parent who ever took their kids well...anywhere in a car! It's only day 3 of our summer break and so far we've been to the pool, to the movies, to a play date, to the library, dinner and movie night at a friend's house and still my kids wake up this morning, "Mom, I'm bored." WAKE UP BORED? Are you kidding me?!

Then I got to thinking...scary thing....how often have I been bored in my spiritual walk? How often have I picked up the Word, read it, and walked away unmoved? Why does that happen? As I pondered over what to do to occupy my kids it kinda hit me that part of their boredom is THEIR fault! I mean, their room is full of toys, they have bikes and scooters, they have friends in our neighborhood to play with (which we've not had before), they have TV and movies and gameboy. And still they have the NERVE to say "Mom, I'm bored". KILLS ME I TELL YA!

Then the Father whispers into my heart, "See how it feels?" He's given me His Word which promises is "alive and active", is full of AWESOME stories of faithful and not so faithful men and women, is full of romance, drama, murder, revenge, comedy even and yes I have the NERVE to pick it up, read it and walk away unmoved?! KILLS MY FATHER I TELL YA! I'm SURE that is absolutely MY FAULT! God has given me all the tools I need to never be bored in my walk so if I'm bored I'd best be gettin a good look in the mirror of my soul and finding out what the problem is.

God has me on a trip. He's driving and I'm riding along and I'm continually asking "Are we there yet?" but instead of giving me an impatient "Not yet" the way I often do my kids, He looks over at me with more love than I could ever imagine and says "Not yet, my daughter, not yet!" "Just hold on, it won't be long!"

Keep your fork...the best is yet to come!

One of the many benefits of going to a church the size of mine is the variety of pastors!! Last night at church our Brazilian pastor Rev. Airton Pupo preached and oh how I LOVE his passion!!

This week I had a "conversation" with a woman who is lost (does not know Jesus as her Saviour) and the one thing that kept breaking my heart for her was her sense of hopelessness. No matter how much we told her that God loves her and wants to rescue her she just couldn't get it. Of course, I know that I, nor any other human being, can EVER give her hope but we were certainly trying to share our hope with her. Only Jesus can give you hope.

Then last night at church Rev. Pupo preached from Rom 8:18-25. He talked about sufferings and how none of us, saved or unsaved, are exempt from suffering, exempt from pain, exempt from disappointment but God in His wisdom and mercy sent Jesus to pay the penalty of sin to give us HOPE! To make us hopers!! No matter what we face, no matter how grave our circumstances, we have a HOPE! We have PEACE!! We have JOY!!

He said that these are the reasons we are able to face our difficulties in life. 1. Hopers learn to let anxious feelings prompt them to pray. 2. God never calls anyone to a life of chronic anxiety. 3. Hopers learn to become clear of what they CAN control and what they CAN NOT. 4. Hopers learn to make the choice of where to put our hope.

He told of a woman who found out she had cancer and was only going to survive weeks or months at best. She made all the arrangements for her funeral with her pastor but had one request that intrigued him. She asked to be buried with a fork in her right hand. He thought this was a STRANGE request and she gave him the reason but asked him to wait until her funeral to share it with everyone. At the funeral everyone came and saw her body, her flowers, her family but everyone kept asking "What's with the fork?" but no one knew. Finally the pastor spoke, sharing the gospel of Jesus with all who were there. He ended by asking if everyone was wondering about the fork. It seems that at every church dinner this woman had attended her FAVORITE part of the meal was after the main course was served, plates were collected and they would tell her to keep her fork. The anticipation of what was to come was her FAVORITE thing. Knowing that if they told her to keep her fork it wasn't going to be just any dessert but something AWESOME! She wanted everyone at her funeral to know that she went to heaven with her fork in hand!! She knew the best part of her life was coming!!! She was ready!! How awesome!

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in HOPE that the creation itself WILL BE LIBERATED from its bondage to decay and BROUGHT INTO THE GLORIOUS FREEDOM of the children of God." Rom 8:18-21 (emphasis mine)

That's it in a nutshell! Our hope is know that we are delivered (liberated) from bondage and set FREE!! My prayer is that you know this freedom. That you know this hope. That you know my Jesus!!!

God is in control...

Well I've had a very interesting couple of days. Started with a checkup on my lupus this week, ended with me on a table having a CT of my head yesterday. I think she was just trying to prove once and for all that it IS full of air!! (that's what my brother would say!)

I've had some issues with hearing loss - which is genetic - some ringing in my ears, headache, blurred vision, dizziness and a few other things. By God's grace I have a Dr. who is quite aggressive and starts the search for the diagnosis by knocking off the big items - tumor, nerve damage, etc. With lupus there's so MANY things that can happen that you just gotta start by the process of elimination to figure out what's going on. So...here I sit, waiting...waiting for results...waiting for answers...waiting...but you know what, I'm not one TINY bit worried.

Whatever happens I know that God is not gonna say "WHOA! DIDN'T SEE THAT COMIN!" I know that before He formed the foundations of this earth He knew that I'd be having these issues and He knows what the diagnosis is. He has a plan for it all. His plan is to prosper me and give me a hope and a future so I WILL trust in Him. He loves me so much that He has woven my life into a tapestry that will give Him ultimate glory in the end so all I need to do is sit back, surrender to Him and do what He asks me to do. If that means face something medically challenging...then I'll face it! I'll put on my helmet of salvation, my breastplate of righteousness, my belt of truth and then I'll pick up my Sword of the Spirit and I'll FIGHT!!! I'm ready!!! Thank you Father for equipping me for the battle!! You are GOOD!!!

WWAHHHHOOOOO

Thank you JESUS the AC is fixed!! In fact, it was so cool in here earlier I had to turn the air up!! LOVE that!!! Thanks for prayin' for us!

GOD IS GOOD!!!

HOT HOT HOT

Let me tell you that it has been hot, hot, hot around my house!! My AC has been out since Sun and our landlord is sending someone to fix it today! We do ok in the morning but man by 3 or 4 it is MISERABLE! That's why I haven't been online much this week. Can't stand to sit still long enough.

The Lord is good, isn't He? I just can't begin to tell you how much He's done in my life. I'm certainly not one who's at a loss for words most of the time (as you can see by this blog) but God leaves me speechless!! I think that's been the real reason I haven't blogged much this week. God's just been blowing me away lately and I'm having some "Be still and know" time with my Abba Daddy!!

I pray ya'll know Him. I pray that if you're reading these words that you don't only know Him but that you are having a REAL relationship with Him. Not one like I used to have. One where I went to church on Sun, Sun night and Wed night EVEN, but that was it. One where God was spoonfed to me by my pastors. (though they are AWESOME) Now that I've tasted for myself what this relationship is like, there's no going back!! There's no more spoonfeeding for me. I'm gettin my GRUB ON in the Word!!! Let me tell ya'll that it's the finest foods ever!! Open up your Word, get out your cups and get ready for the fillin' of a lifetime!! It's worth it ya'll!!! DIG IN!!!

What a weekend...What a Savior

Hallelujah What a Savior! Hallelujah what a Friend! Saving, helping, keeping, loving. He is with me to the end!!

Ya'll, I just love my church!! We are such a blessed congregation. Today our sweet Dr. Rummage preached on sexual purity. Yes, I said sexual purity!! (don't worry it was the G-rated version haha) He just broke that Word up and called us all to a higher standard. Not just unmarried folks but us who are married are also called to sexual purity. How you ask? Anybody ever had an "innocent" flirtation at work or school or wherever? Well that's certainly NOT sexual purity! Anybody ever took a little peak at some online "pictures"? HELLO! That one speaks for itself. He mainly said that sexual impurity ALWAYS hurts SOMEONE!!! Whoa! Tough stuff, but he spoke a Word I'm tellin' ya!!!

This weekend has been CRAZY! My baby turned 5 on Friday and we had a party with my sweet friend Melissa and her baby girl at Chuck E. Cheese's. Yes, CEC on a FRIDAY night!! We have gone insane! Actually, it wasn't that bad and the kids had a BLAST!!! Then Sat. came and well, it was just a wild day. Today was awesome and I'm ready for the week to come! God is so good.

My friend Leigh is starting Beth Moore's "Believing God" study and they're trying to make it so you can access it online. Check out her site www.leighhargisgray.blogspot.com and get yourself a book and DO THIS STUDY!! It is AWESOME!!!

All I can tell ya'll is that I'm exhausted from my trip to WV and the party and my wild Saturday and my day of worship so I'm gonna sign off for the night. Ya'll I love me some Jesus! I pray you do too!! Have a good night.