Oh Saturday, Oh Saturday!

So today we are suppose to get a winter storm. yuk! Right now as I am typing it has begun to snow. Yes, little flakes that are whisking around not ready to touch the ground just yet. The wind is picking up and sounding more like it is trying to rearrange our yard and anything loose fittin on the house. Yikes! Hope all this lasts but maybe a second..........hmmm

I just finished the book Radical. Loved it. I knew I would and I certainly knew I was meant to read it. Lot's of things stood out to me. Alot of things he mentioned it seems like I already knew just hadn't seen it in print before. It spoke to my heart, the same heartbeat that I was already on. I would love to see his passion spring up everywhere. I have had that secret wish inside for years. I have felt that same desire for change since the beginning of this millennium. I have always had a passion for all the children left without. Whatever the " with out " means to them.

I am just now getting ready to read UNconditional? The Call of Jesus to Radical Forgiveness.

This book is written by my very own Pastor, Brian Zahnd. I absolutely love, love, love our family's Pastors. Brian and his wife Peri are simply sweet people. the sweetness just drips off them. I tell you the truth. I can't imagine where our family would be if we set under any other authority hear on earth. God has brought so much to us through Word of Life Church's Ministry, I just can't say enough about them. I haven't spoke about them much on this blog b/c I never wanted to mention someone by name on here in case-well just say I never thought it was using my manners. So, I will say this I believe EVERY person that has ever heard of Jesus should read THIS BOOK. Not b/c it's our Pastor as the author. It's b/c I believe that God worked in our Pastor to give us a " seed in season ". So to speak. I believe that everyone would be blessed beyond what words can say. If you? are interested in reading this book you can pick it up at Amazon dot com. I must say also that this book is being endorsed by Miroslav Volf, Eugene H. Peterson, Brian Houston, Clancy Martin, REV. Adam Hamilton, and Vinson Synan. that is quite a list. But none the less a must read. Be blessed!

Another note- we are heading up north tomorrow right after church to see our granny chil' sing her little heart out at the Christmas Program. this is the highlight of my life. We have been blessed with a gorgeous granny chil' that happens to love to S-I-N-G! who knew. Only God. So we will be sitting in the highest place of honor tomorrow watching with all the wonder and excitement possible for these two middle agers. Lovin every minute of it.........

Blessed! Yes, we are. thank you Jesus!

Ever have problems sleeping??

Well, that was my problem a couple nights ago. I just couldn't shut off the day. I then started to pray in the spirit and I began to think about something my husband and I had talked about one day.

He was sharing with me about his childhood adventures with his brother. Just one day in the life of a child living on a farm, but the story he shared started to really have an impact on me.

He shared about how he and his older brother would watch their dad leave in the mornings to farm the fields and they would run out to the yard and play themselves as they imagined their dad was farming.

He recalled that they would get their toy tractors and trucks and small hand made bales of hay and work the fields that they created with their hands.

They would make paths for the tractors to travel to and fro and they would reconstruct in their yard a whole play land that would resemble one day in the life of their father.

Then he recalls that one of the tractors would suddenly get a flat tire and they would have to stop farming and tend to the tire.

They would work fervently on that tire-taking a trip back to the farm w/the other tractor and loading up all the tools necessary for the repair.

They would load up such things as chains so they could hoist the tractor up and change that tire.

This is what began to impact me.

These little boys would re-act one day in the life of their father by playing as they " thought " their dads life was.

But............. their dads tractor tire would not need repaired b/c their dads tire was just fine.

These boys decided that their experience in life would be best if there were trials in the adventure of it.

You see, they were not even interested in just a simple day-nothing goes wrong-everything works for the good-kind of play day.

They knew that they would need the trials in the adventure to make the experience better.

They would get more out of the play day if they threw in the trials and the tribulations of the journey.

To them, these small little boys, life was best when there were complications to the day.

Their days were most remembered in the trials they created b/c it caused them to go about something off the beaten path so to speak.

The trials in their play were not distractions they were mountain overcoming miracles b/c they knew they would find a way to recover and their adventure would be best lived out b/c of the trials.

They knew that the experiences would be richer. That they would be richer b/c of the experiences.

Isn't that just amazing.

It reminds me of a scripture- Is. 11:6b NLT

and a little child will lead them all.

This is so significant to our lives right now. There is so much adventure for us to experience and we will be richer for it. If.......

We allow the God of the universe to form us by the trials and trust that HE has found a way for us. Every tire will get changed its just a matter of resting in HIM.

How many times do we watch our children play??

Our little girls trying to be little mommies and yet every time their baby seems to always need to go to the doctor.

Our little boys need a motor changed or a wreck happens and they need to haul the vehicle home.

What are our little ones trying to teach us???

Maybe we are formed by the trials and just maybe the trials in our lives are not distractions but character building treasures that only we " human beings " get to live out.

Of all God's creation- we are fully alive in Christ. What is your experiences in life that you remember the most??

Are they the ones tied to a trial?

What makes us fully alive is our experiences..........

Have a blessed day.