The Gardener of My Heart

Till the soil of my heart, Lord.

Plant the seeds that grow into the Fruits of the Spirit.

Help me to tend my garden. Help me to stay vigilant for weeds that will steal the nutrients in the soil.

Keep watch for snakes that wind their way in to hide.

Lord, You are the Great Gardener of my heart.(This is a short poem that I wrote on Easter. I find writing therapeutic and luckily for my reader, I keep things short and sweet!)

Growing Roots

God created me to be a visual person so naturally He speaks to me in word pictures. I've always had a special fondness for trees. I'm not sure why, but to me they are beautiful in any shape, size or age. I have a tendency to humanize them.

My in-laws are going through a tough time right now. My father-in-law had a stroke in January, as well as brain surgery from an infection. He's still recovering and it's been a long and life changing road for the both of them. Their life, their family "tree", was knocked over in a storm.

I was at a nature center here in TN the other day and I noticed this great big tree. This is an excerpt of an email I sent my mother-in-law the other day describing it. (I hope she doesn't mind that I share it!)

"The tree was huge and had fallen over a while back during a storm. The roots were exposed on one side yet half of them were still rooted in the ground. The roots that were exposed had new growth coming from it. It was a beautiful sight. The tree's life was forever changed during that storm yet beauty still grew from it. Your family tree has been uprooted during your "storm". Beauty will still grow out of it." (I'm sorry to say, that I do not have a picture of this tree. )

Two nights ago, we had a crazy, powerful storm. Lightning, thunder, the whole works. The next morning after the storm had passed I shuffled the kids into the van and was backing out of the garage when I saw part of a tree in the yard. It was leaning against the neighbor's house. During the storm this tree was struck by lightning and the top half of it was completely knocked off. Such a drastic turn of events for this poor tree! The trees roots are still planted and it will survive this but...sometimes that is how God gets our attention...with a quick spark of lightning.


To continue with our theme of trees, I considered my family tree and what it's like right now. I picture this...

Living the military life, you've got to be portable. You can't let your roots grow to deep because they are eventually going to be uprooted. I do look forward to the day when I can stretch my roots but until then I think I'll just continue to decorate the pot that I'm in.

And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. Colossians 2:6-7

He made all thing new

It's been quite some time since my last post and to be honest with you, I haven't been inspired to write until now. I started this blog to keep my family and friends updated on our day to day news but Facebook came into the picture and has hogged most of my "blog" time. With today being Easter, I have spent a lot of the day reflecting. We watched The Passion of the Christ and there was something that 'Jesus' said, "I make all things new." What better time to start a dedication to blogging than today when Christ gave me a fresh start. It may sound corny but blogging was once a big part of my life and I have longed for the creative outlet that it had granted me. Therefor I am publicly announcing a re-commitment to blogging.

With that said...let me jump back to my reflecting that I was mentioning. My kids have asked me about the Trinity, how Jesus can be God and vice versa. I 'borrowed' what my former pastor, Chap. Brown said once about Jesus being a Son, just like he was someone's son and Him being the Father just like he (Lee) was a father. I have always liked that explanation but just today I came to the realization of a different kind.

Throughout the Old Testament it is written that God can not be looked upon (ie. The burning bush or hidden behind the temple curtain). Humans use their five senses to judge their surroundings. So for our human brains to fully grasp who God is, He had to engage our senses... sight, touch, hear. He became flesh. He put skin on so we could finally look upon His face. I know this is not a new concept but it's one that I myself, have just begun to understand. God wanted to personalize himself, to make himself more approachable, and so that a relationship with Him would be attainable. Like I said before, we're human, we need our senses to judge what is real. We have to fit our "reality" inside of a box and test it against those senses. The God of the Old Testament was out of reach, behind the curtain. When Jesus came it was like He said, "Here I am, See Me, Feel Me, Hear Me. I AM real and I'm here for YOU."

As I close this first post in many months, I want you to think of Jesus, God with skin on and what was the reason for his descent to the earth from His Heavenly throne. You.

God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Genesis 1:27

Happy Thanksgiving!

My mom and RT came for a visit during Thanksgiving. It was a real treat to share our first turkey day back in the states with them. It was such an awesome day...very relaxing since I made most of the food a day ahead of time. I was able to enjoy the parade (YAY!) and made a scrumptious turkey. I'm so thankful for the many blessings I have and FAMILY is at the top of that list!

From white belt to yellow belt

Logan has graduated to a yellow belt in his karate class. We're very proud of him! He has shown tremendous growth in the 3 months that he's been attending. He has shown great focus and concentration in learning karate.

Fighting stance

His teacher, Mike Cassie, has been such a blessing. He is stern with the kids but it's what is needed when instructing them on how to protect themselves. They snap to attention like little soldiers at the sound of his voice. He teaches them discipline and respect for themselves and one another.

Logan and his buddy, Duke. They started the same day and made yellow belt at the same time. These guys are two peas in a pod who sometimes get into trouble because they try to make each other laugh all the time. Duke always has a smile on his face especially when the teacher requires him to look tough. It's the funniest thing!

Trunk or Treat!

Halloween night was our trunk or treat at church. What-a-crowd! It was a bit chilly out but I was happy to not sweat for once on Halloween! The boys enjoyed checking out their loot although for Ryland it was everytime that someone put it in his bucket. He thought he had to eat every piece right away! Our truck was decorate in a Navy theme. I carved 8 pumpkins! That's gotta be a record for one person, if not, than it's one for me!

A battleship in the moonlight

The Amys...hey that would be a great name for a rock band! Amy was my Navy cheerleader as she was wearing the traditional Navy colors of gold and blue. If you notice the pumpkin in the back that says Anchors Aweigh...I did not spell that wrong. I received a lot of comments about that but that's how it's spelled in the song....I swear!

I had to pry this child off of this ride. He kept trying to escape and run back to it. My guess is that he liked it....;-)

The kiddos had more fun passing out the candy than collecting their own. I had to keep a watch on Logan, his serving was a fistful and Tyler's was one piece.

Casting Crowns

Casting Crowns was one of the first Christian bands that I listened to when I became a Christian 5 years ago. I had the opportunity to see them when they were in Memphis thanks to my mother in law for buying the tickets AND my sister for watching the kids. It was an awesome concert and I received a renewing of my faith because of it. Listening to the music live was like being transported back in time to my "baby" Christian days. I'm so blessed to have had this experience. They will forever be one of my favorite bands.