Reminding lessons...

Reminding...that is what God is so good to do in my life...remind me of who He is...and reminding me of who I am not...reminding me of His great love and His great mercies that are new...and fresh every single morning of my life...if only I will trust it and walk in these truths...

I have a sweet friend and mentor that I love more than words could ever say...she has walk beside me thru...literally my darkest days...she reminded me of a story in the Bible...the one with great pain and loss with little answers...at first...Lazarus...she reminded me...both sisters said...Lord if you had been here this wouldn't have happened...you know at that point in their life...it just didn't look like they dreamed it would...they hoped it would...they prayed it would...and yet all along our Lord knew EXACTLY what He was doing...for the GREATER glory...for the glory of God the Father to be seen...

What in your life is the greater glory of God that WILL be seen...honest answer...most of us probably simply do not know that yet...it is a scary question...because will it be something we recognized immediately or not...is it something that will be relatively painless or will be be agonizing? Will we walk through it willingly our will we fight it ever step of the way...

The Lord brought another reminder to me today...we were singing how great is our God...ending the song with the chorus to "how great thou art"...and I was overwhelmed with emotion...emotion for my sweet family seeking answers...guidance...overwhelmed with the fact that I am a walking testiment to His hand on a life...

As a very young child...not raised in a christian home...I had the priviledge of going to church camp one summer...and I bought the sheet music to "how great thou art" (still have it)...I was probably about 10 years old...I was reminded today of a young 10 year old girl laying on the picnic table in her backyard...thinking of those words...

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

I remember thinking how there must have been something so much bigger than I could every see or image in my little world...something...that I now  understand was becking me...

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.
Something or someone who had made all this that  I could see with my 10 year old eyes...I didn't understand it at the time...but it absolutely facinated me...

And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.
never got this then...but oh the thought of this now...makes me fall to my knees in thankfulness...knowing I received it but not understanding why He would offer it...

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"
and finally...if this doesn't make you want to jump a pew then you have got some SERIOUS issues...I try to image this...as hard as I tried as a 10 year old child to image the "bigger" picture then...something beckoning me...and something I long to see...but will not fully understand until I see it...

 

I had 100's of  images of my life flash through my mind this morning as I could see myself lying on that old picnic table...to where I am today...my wedding day...my babies being born...my salvation...my struggles...my hope...Through Christ...my ministry...friends...family...loses...gains...victories...life...my life

 

and so...I find myself pondering all that He has reminded me of lately and while I don't know what the future holds...for me...for us...I do know WHO holds the future...I know that He loves me, us, no matter what, I know it is ultimately about Him and not me,  and THAT is the reminder that will get me through the night...into tomorrow and into the future...thank You JESUS...

Katherine....

that's what alot of people thought we should name her...Katherine Elizabeth...my word can you just imagine being 5 years old and trying to learn how to spell it...our Katie has always been very smart but that just may very well have turned her love for learning into pure hate!

Her birthday has come and gone and by a kind reminder...I realized I haven't blogged about her 22nd year yet...so here we go...

Katie you have a zeal for life that I wish I saw in more people...a passion for others that we could all take a lesson from...a devotion to your family...(if you mess with her family...she may not say it but she WILL think...you are ugly on the inside AND the outside!)...that makes us all know we are loved and valued!

I'm so proud of the woman you have become...I've been a little on the sentimental side lately, and so I've remember so many things as all you kids were growing up...we were so sure after Michael we were done with our family...Oh how much we all would have missed without you!

Sorry I wrote this late to you...you have and continue to be one of my biggest heros...(as well as your other siblings...each of you in your own very important way)...I'm thankful you have so much of your daddy in you...

here is to you Katie Elizabeth...I love you!

Momma

Hims not a father...Hims a daddy...

We have had an amazingly busy past few weeks. Michael has been crazy busy working on Maw Maw's house. He is remodeling it and hopes to be living there before Christmas...Mom's not sure how on offical empty nest will be but I'm must admit I am drooling over his bedroom...our entire married life (minus the first 12 months) we have been cramped in our room...to help make room for all our children...so now after Katie's departure we have a guest room/toy room and as Michael begins his new adventure called life we will not longer have the "Griffith Trucking" office in our bedroom...we will have an office and a work area for crafts...I plan to be able to sewing in this room as well as do some scrapbooking...so we will see if that will be enough to help overcome the empty nest...I remember thinking many many years ago...this day would never come and if it did...well I'd already be dead so it wouldn't matter...but the days crept by and the years sped by and now I'm facing a new time in my life...I realized the other day that I have NEVER spent the night alone...even when Scott was gone all the time...at least one kid was here with me...I think Tbow may be my new best friend and protector on the nights that Scott is out of town...just another change though and I'm learning more and more the although change is not always fun it is just part of life and if change is not happening...why not? It is all we know anymore...we are even getting...dare I say...accustomed to it...

 

I think I may have spoken about this before but as I sat in church yesterday...we were singing "What a wonderful Maker"...and as we sang..."and the heart of a Father"...I couldn't help but think of a conversation I had with our little Caleb the night before...his dad gave him ice cream and Michael and I told him to say...thank you Father...Caleb curled up his little nose and said..."hims not a Father...hims a DADDY" and that is what I thought about God yesterday...He has the heart of a Father...but He desires to have such a personal relationship with us that He is our daddy...I have not experienced that on earth...I have a dad and a wonderful stepfather but to be able to call my dad...daddy never happened and I think I was way to old to call my stepdad that...and yet has I've witnessed my own kids be able to call their father...daddy...(some still do to this day)...I thought someday I'll have that and now I do...in the ultimate DADDY...my heavenly Father...the other night I was so worried about something I couldn't even calm down enough to sleep...and then I started saying...over and over again...what time I am afraid...I WILL trust in YOU...and I drifted off to sleep...with my head in my Daddy's lap finding peace and comfort there...

 

I have someone else in my life that I can find that as well...in Scott...who is who he is all the time...take him or leave him but he is not fake, he is not one way at home, another way at work and yet another way at church...there is a scripture in Acts 4:13 at the end, it said people recognized they had been with Jesus...that is a picture of Scott and I so desire for that to be true in my life, my children's lives and my grandchildren...nothing and I mean nothing else matters....I don't care if we are rich or if we are good at an activity or even what others think of us as long as they can recognize that we have been with Jesus...what a heritage to pass on!

 

Ephesians 5:1-2 says..."Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.  Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God."

 

Can we say this is how we live our lives...pleasing God and not men...JD was preaching yesterday and he said..."is it all about others?"...and I thought..yes I try to live a life to help others...but he wasn't done with his question...and the rest of the question...pierced my heart...he said..."OR is it all about God..." I think I get in such a hurry I don't slow down enough to think about the whole picture and who the picture belongs to...it IS all about God...may we be found...Imitators of God in EVERYTHING we do...as a sacrifical aroma pleasing to the Lord...

 

so here is a poorly asked qustion but I gotta ask anyway...Who's your daddy??? some of you can say I have the best daddy this side of heaven (my kids can all 6 say that)....and if that is true...can you even begin to imagine how much greated our heavenly Daddy will be? and if you can't say that...yours wasn't, isn't good...or maybe you didn't have one...can I just tell you...you do have a Daddy and he gave everything up for you...and He loves you. This doesn't mean He keeps us from ever walking thru a trial or hard time...BUT it does mean you will never walk thru it alone...never, ever...and on those nights you are scared or overcome with things...you can lay your head in his lap...like I did last week and you can sleep and find rest as He holds you...