Baby Blessings

My cheeks are still tear stained..I can't dry my eyes.  I saw a fb friend's status today about remembering her angel in heaven.  I saw another friend's status about praying for the family of a baby who just died.  I found these two stories (don't look at them if you don't want to cry)!   Mamie       Miller

My heart just hurts.  I can't even describe it.  I can't imagine the pain of giving birth to a stillborn or having a baby in heaven after only a few weeks here.  I know the pain of miscarriage, but not having carried a baby full term and loosing her.  I have a few friends who have been there.  Yet they have hope.  I guess that's the only way to keep going....to believe that God has a plan for it. 

So...even though I'm still crying this was good for me to consider.  I've had a rough week with my girls....but I have them!  They are with me, I can feel their sweet warm skin and smell their breath and stroke their hair and hear them giggle.  They may not always listen or do what I would like, but they are full of love and energy...and they are here!!! 

• I will remember how blessed I am to have such sweet girls the next time they are whining or screaming or not sleeping. 
• I will remember that God chose me to be their momma and He has a plan for their lives and mine. 
• I will remember that God will give me all I need to be their momma...so when I am short on patience I will go to Him. 

Thank you Jesus for this reminder today!  Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be a momma.  Let me never take it for granted.  Remind me that it is your strength that will make me the momma I desire to be.  Let me always be thankful for the precious girls you have given me.  Lord, comfort those who have lost their babies-just hold them. You have a plan for their pain-you will heal their hurts...call them to you!  Thank you Lord for your goodness and mercy.  In Jesus name.  Amen

Darkness

I have been feeling sad...don't know why...just struggling right now.  My sweet husband came and took the girls for a couple of hours this morning so I could pray and get better.  Life today was on in the background before the girls left and I heard them talking about being free and discussing Psalm 74.  So I turned there and this stood out to me:

Do not hand over the life of your dove to wild beasts;

do not forget the lives of your afflicted people forever.
Have regard for your covenant,
because haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.
Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace;
may the poor and needy praise your name.
Psalm 74:19-21

This is how I feel today.  I know we can't always trust our feelings...but today I feel afflicted and oppressed.  It helps me to know that I am not the only one to ever feel this way. I remember the freedom I felt when I received that revelation-David was up and down emotionally and he was described as a man after God's own heart.  Elijah was a prophet and still ran...after God powerfully showed himself.  (see 1 Kings 18).  So if these men can still be used by God, so can I-I will not be condemned for my feelings. 

Father's love letter

This is a precious letter I found on another blog this morning....click here to watch it on video, or just read it below. 

My Child,


You may not know me,

but I know everything about you.

Psalm 139:1



I know when you sit down and when you rise up.

Psalm 139:2



I am familiar with all your ways.

Psalm 139:3



Even the very hairs on your head are numbered.

Matthew 10:29-31



For you were made in my image.

Genesis 1:27



In me you live and move and have your being.

Acts 17:28



For you are my offspring.

Acts 17:28



I knew you even before you were conceived.

Jeremiah 1:4-5



I chose you when I planned creation.

Ephesians 1:11-12



You were not a mistake,

for all your days are written in my book.

Psalm 139:15-16



I determined the exact time of your birth

and where you would live.

Acts 17:26



You are fearfully and wonderfully made.

Psalm 139:14



I knit you together in your mother's womb.

Psalm 139:13



And brought you forth on the day you were born.

Psalm 71:6



I have been misrepresented

by those who don't know me.

John 8:41-44



I am not distant and angry,

but am the complete expression of love.

1 John 4:16



And it is my desire to lavish my love on you.

1 John 3:1



Simply because you are my child

and I am your Father.

1 John 3:1



I offer you more than your earthly father ever could.

Matthew 7:11



For I am the perfect father.

Matthew 5:48



Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand.

James 1:17



For I am your provider and I meet all your needs.

Matthew 6:31-33



My plan for your future has always been filled with hope.

Jeremiah 29:11



Because I love you with an everlasting love.

Jeremiah 31:3



My thoughts toward you are countless

as the sand on the seashore.

Psalms 139:17-18



And I rejoice over you with singing.

Zephaniah 3:17



I will never stop doing good to you.

Jeremiah 32:40



For you are my treasured possession.

Exodus 19:5



I desire to establish you

with all my heart and all my soul.

Jeremiah 32:41



And I want to show you great and marvelous things.

Jeremiah 33:3



If you seek me with all your heart,

you will find me.

Deuteronomy 4:29



Delight in me and I will give you

the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4



For it is I who gave you those desires.

Philippians 2:13



I am able to do more for you

than you could possibly imagine.

Ephesians 3:20



For I am your greatest encourager.

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17



I am also the Father who comforts you

in all your troubles.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4



When you are brokenhearted,

I am close to you.

Psalm 34:18



As a shepherd carries a lamb,

I have carried you close to my heart.

Isaiah 40:11



One day I will wipe away

every tear from your eyes.

Revelation 21:3-4



And I'll take away all the pain

you have suffered on this earth.

Revelation 21:3-4



I am your Father, and I love you

even as I love my son, Jesus.

John 17:23



For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed.

John 17:26



He is the exact representation of my being.

Hebrews 1:3



He came to demonstrate that I am for you,

not against you.

Romans 8:31



And to tell you that I am not counting your sins.

2 Corinthians 5:18-19



Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled.

2 Corinthians 5:18-19



His death was the ultimate expression

of my love for you.

1 John 4:10



I gave up everything I loved

that I might gain your love.

Romans 8:31-32



If you receive the gift of my son Jesus,

you receive me.

1 John 2:23



And nothing will ever separate you

from my love again.

Romans 8:38-39



Come home and I'll throw the biggest party

heaven has ever seen.

Luke 15:7



I have always been Father,

and will always be Father.

Ephesians 3:14-15



My question is…

Will you be my child?

John 1:12-13



I am waiting for you.

Luke 15:11-32



Love, Your Dad



Father's Love Letter used by permission Father Heart Communications


© 1999-2011 www.FathersLoveLetter.com

Hot Dog

It's HOT here!  Last week several men were in the heat all day (and all night in some cases) to make hot rod camp a success by sharing the love of Christ with 10 boys.  A week ago Saturday we got to hear the start up of the 1923 T bucket and the 1997 sportster that the youth from Tulsa Boys Home put together that week at Hot Rod Camp with the guidance of some dedicated men (including my husband!!!).  It was awesome for me to hear my husband address the crowd and tell the kids that the bike was cool but the reason they were there was to share the love of Christ.  It was also great to hear those same boys tell of the week as the best of their lives!  Last Sunday my heart was so happy hearing my husband speak in front of our church family telling what Hot Rod Camp had meant to him. 

1923 T Bucket that was restored during HRC 2011

Seeing the men work on this project had me thinking alot about my daddy.  This is something he would have LOVED to do.  He had a 1916 Model T (and some others I can't recall) that he had planned to restore before he died.  As I thought about how much I respect the men working at hot rod camp, I realized that I hadn't really respected my daddy.  Recently, I had a conversation with my baby brother about our daddy and I was amazed at the nice things he had to say about daddy.  That led me to think about how I saw daddy and what needed to change. 



One of the cars Daddy had around 1990

After realizing that I didn't properly respect my daddy while he was here on earth, I recalled this verse:

Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God], the people perish; but he who keeps the law [of God, which includes that of man]--blessed (happy, fortunate, and enviable) is he.  Proverbs 29:18 I never had a redemptive revelation of my daddy....meaning that I never saw him through the blood of Jesus.  I saw him as an alcoholic and experienced that rejection as his little girl. 

I thought that I had forgiven him, but I see that it wasn't complete before now.  Even though my daddy wasn't able to meet all my needs as a little girl and made many mistakes-he is forgiven.  He put his trust in Jesus and became sober shortly before he died.  I saw the change and try to always remember those times, but never really let go of the hurts from before that time. When my daddy but his trust in Jesus, he was made brand new!!

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17

Because daddy trusted in Jesus he was justified...it's just as if he'd done everything right.   This is what Jesus did for me when I fully put my trust in Him, it's what He did for my daddy when he trusted him, and it's what He will do for all who call out to Him and fully trust in His finished work on the cross for their salvation! 

Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs. Isaiah 61:7

My daddy and I ~1978

On this father's day I am thankful for my daddy.  I am thankful for the grace to fully forgive him and I choose to see him through the blood of Jesus.  Daddy was a hard worker and did his best to care for his family.  I think if he were still alive today his life would demonstrate the righteousness Jesus gave him. 

I am thankful for my husband who is a wonderful daddy to our precious girls.  I am thankful for the redemptive revelation of him- that he is the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus and that I can teach my girls to respect and admire him. 

  

My family with Harley that was customized at HRC 2011



On a lighter note...the title of this post comes from one of Aleigha's prayers.  This two-year old's prayers are just precious, as seems she usually just copies what she has heard prayed before.  One of her prayers last week was "Amen God made hot dog camp, Amen God made my daddy work hot dog camp".  Obviously, not knowing what Hot Rod camp was, she just filled in with a word she knew and gave us many giggles:)! Yep-she says her Amen first, it's really cute to her momma, she's done it like this since she first started praying by herself.  Now that I think about it, it's really neat-she's saying she believes what she prays before she even says it! For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. 2 Corinthians 1:20