Family

What is going on in this head of mine tonight? I’m thinking about a word that means the world to me. Family.

What makes a great family? What makes a close family? What makes a strong family and keeps a family together?

I have been in the ministry all my life, and have observed many families. What stands out the most to me when I see a family that has that extra ‘specialness’ is one thing. Love. There is a little plaque that I put in a very conspicuous spot right out side our front door. Everyone that enters our home sees it. It reads, ‘Love is Spoken Here’. I’m really big on this. Our family not just ‘speaks’ love, but ‘shows’ love. To some who have not been raised this way, and look at our ‘way’ as ridiculous, or unnecessary, ....I don’t feel intimidated or in the least bit daunted…I just feel sorry….for you.

There have been times over the years when we felt immense pressure and had to take stands regarding the way we raised our children. We were ‘over-protective’, or ‘over-bearing’, …..etc….. Peer pressure comes outfitted a whole lot of different ways, and from a whole lot of different kinds of people. However, to this, we would stand tall, square our shoulders, smile, and, do it our way.

The ‘over-bearing’ mantra has never intimidated me. Proverbs…”She watches over the affairs of her household.” It is my job before God! (And when she does), “Her children arise and call her blessed.”

Love causes you to do a lot of things you didn’t think you were strong enough to do. One of them is sometimes standing up to people, and not always taking the easy road.

We are not finished raising our kids quite yet, but we are already blessed with little rewards that mean the world to a loving mom and dad…..

One of them happened just a couple of nights ago, when my beautiful daughter approached me, and trusted me with her heart. These are times that I stop and reflect, and thank God for the bond that we share.

Other rewards are when one of David’s clients (whom I have never met) sent me a 2 page letter giving me honor and thanking me because of the quality son I have raised. **David does her Pest Control.

Other rewards are when your own children call you blessed. A few years ago Jonathan left a message on our answering machine thanking us for the way we have raised him, and how much he appreciates us and loves us for it. The message was so heartfelt and touching that I have saved it to this very day, and listen to it frequently….it just makes my day so much brighter.

Although a little fragmented, I hope my rambling thoughts encourage a parent today. Don’t be lazy. Don’t be easily intimidated. Pray and ask God for guidance, wisdom, and direction. After doing that, just simply STAND. Stand and Love.

I have all the faith in the world that when you do this, you will have a great family, a close family,…a strong family that stays together through everything that life brings your way.

***I could go on and on!!!! Maybe I will....There just might be more to come!! =D

Let's Age Gracefully Ladies!

Yes, that's my title....'Let's Age Gracefully Ladies'.

What is worse than seeing a 'mature' lady walking down the street, trying her hardest to look like a teenager? Something just doesn't add up, does it? You get embarrassed for them and want to discreetly take them by the hand and very nicely let them know their really not pulling off the 'look'....

I have used the analogy of a flower when discussing this subject. The flower goes through all states of development much like a female. It has a bud stage, and then it goes through the height of its color, then to the fading stage before it one day dies.

There comes a time when the 'bloom is off the rose', however, when you stop trying to capture what is gone, and live and love the new season of your life, you will be so much happier!! My delight is not looking in mirror, but now it's seeing my beautiful daughter walk in the room, in the 'height of her color'.

I say, take the botox, take the articles on looking 'ten years younger, take the 'obsessed with myself' mentality, ....take it all and throw it under the nearest bus!! Deal with it! Stop spending thousands of dollars trying to turn back the clock! Enjoy every season....and spend more time with what's on the inside instead of the outside.

Aging steals, your physical beauty If that's, all you have to show So you better have, a deeper beauty That's everlasting, this I know, Time, can be so cruel And the years, can take a mighty toll Wrinkles, sagging, and all such Been the same, since times of old, You can, spend a fortune But the aging, will go through It's something, you can't stop Going on, inside of you, So develop, your inner beauty And don't neglect, the outer too Cause both of them, together Make up, what God, has made of you.

The Great Falling Away

I woke up this morning with this on my mind.

I have heard all my life that there would be a ‘great falling away’. Scripture refers to it…"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first..." 2 Thessalonians 2:3.

I know of many people that are ‘falling away’. Good people. People that I have enjoyed friendships with. People that I have loved, and dearly love to this day. People that have sat in the same pews as me and worshipped in the same church as me. Many have lead in the worship experience, many have been in the ministry, and many have been raised in the ministry. These good people are simply ‘falling away’.

This term ‘falling away’ or ‘apostasy’ means; to depart from revealed truth, to lead away, seduce, mislead; to defect, to blind the eyes of the people by manipulating the truth. It's a walking away from the truth that you've once known in favor of something else. ….(In Matthew 24, verses 4-12, the Lord specifically warns about this time.)

One of the things that most disturbs me, is no one appears to have any fear of the Lord, or even of Hell any longer….(that hard stance is surely politically incorrect and ‘uneducated’). Although the Word of God clearly tells us that millions of those who claim to be Christian will stand before God and be quite surprised when they hear, “Away from Me, I never knew you.” Though they will tell him of all the great and wonderful things they did in His Name, He will still say ‘I never knew you’.

I ask myself, “How can this be?”….I am sure that there are many factors, but can one be that they have allowed things into their lives that has desensitized them? Did they open their selves up to television, media, internet, ‘higher’ learning,…and now they can no longer discern right from wrong - Holy from unholy - The pure from the profane?

The spirit of this world is ‘the old ways/paths are archaic - we need change.’ There are so many spiritual and political parallels that I see. Obama’s campaign mantra was ‘CHANGE’. ‘There is a new and better way to do this.’… Now the White House sports shirtsleeves, bare arms, and have replaced the once ‘Sacred’ Office, with an informal, laid-back posture - where EVERYTHING is accepted. Can you see the parallels??

We have seen young couples marry, and after the parents in all faith and trust give their daughters hand over in marriage, the young man all of the sudden has a ‘new and better’ way, and pulls the young new wife (who was lovingly been raised in the ‘old paths’) into the web of deception and apostasy (‘Change’). Oh the sorrow that this has brought the parents, it is one that I cannot even imagine. My husband has described the actions of this young man as the highest form of ‘treason’, and has gone so far as saying that when he marries our daughter, he is adding vows in the marriage ceremony that vow the young man to keep the sacred beliefs that we lovingly and fearfully raised our daughter in.

Oh what a time we are living in. It makes me want to embrace the truth harder and more intensely to my heart than I ever have before. I desire more than ever to love what God loves and hate what God hates. I pray for discernment, so that I can discern right from wrong, holy from unholy, and the pure from the profane. I will ALWAYS have accountability in my life. I will NEVER do away with Elders in my life. They are my balance. I NEED them in my life. I pray that I will not only have a love for God in my heart, but always a healthy fear of God in my heart.

If you are reading this and if any part describes you, - go back. You are not enlightened, just the opposite…you have been blinded. Find that real Man of God in your life and come home. The Prodigal did, and what a homecoming that was!

Why is my love for them so deep and my bond with them so strong??

I've heard it said that in any given congregation,

20% of the members are the 'workers', or the

'movers and shakers' so to speak--while the

rest enjoy the benefits. I have never sat down

and proven or disproven that statistic in our local

assembly...I'll leave all that stuff up to God! As a

pastors wife, I find a way to love them all...but I've

got to say that some just make it SO easy!!!! Tonight

was one of those nights when I looked around and my

heart burst with gratefulness and love.

It is the beginning of our cherry season, which in other

words, it's the beginning of our 'sacrificial season'. Precious

saints that work all week, reserve 4-6 of their weekends

*in a row* for one thing...to work for God's Kingdom.

***Asking nothing in return.***

Tonight I was so touched when I saw each of them coming

in after a long hot day of cherry selling. They unloaded their

trucks, and then moved into the sanctuary for our weekly

all church hour of prayer. My heart burst with pride and love

and gratefulness. These faithful saints are heroes in my eyes.

They are the ones who make FMT shine. They are the ones

that make FMT what it is.

Thank you Lord for giving us these precious, faithful saints...

And now you know why my love for them is SO deep and my

bond with them SO strong!!!! =D

Memories of Kauai

Two weeks of bliss is really what it was.....

We jumped on a plane headed for the Pacific Ocean. Our calendar had a big red X on 2 weeks worth of days. This is the longest we have ever went away together -ALONE ....no one but US!!!! **That's just what you do when you are celebrating 25 years of marriage!!

My honey had spent hours and hours planning this trip. His goal was to make it special and memorable....and that's exactly what it was.

Staying at 3 different sides of the island, we were able to experience the WHOLE beauty and wonder of this paradise called 'Kauai'.

We did so much....a scary helicopter ride, jumped off cliffs (him NOT me!), spent a full day on a Catamaran and saw hundreds of dolphins and whales, went scuba diving, watched a play, quads, incredible dinners, long walks, and so much more **Can't forget the imminent Tsunami that the world was watching!**

...But my favorite thing to do was to get in our convertible-top down,turn on our 'special cd' *had all our special songs on it*, and just drive. We would talk about our life together. What we've done, what we've accomplished. The children we made and nurtured, the church we have given our heart to. We would laugh out of sheer joy of just being together. When our sentimental talks would bring tears of love and gratefulness - we would burst out into laughter because we would see that the 'other' had that same deep love that sometimes just makes you cry. These were my favorite moments.

Memories that will last a lifetime were made on this special trip - I will hold them close forever, and play them over in my mind like a movie.

Looking forward to growing old with 'My Guy' and making many more special memories.

You know our love was meant to be -The kind of love that lasts forever
And I want you here with me- From tonight until the end of time
You should know, everywhere I go-You're always on my mind, in my heart
In my soul, Baby

You're the meaning in my life - You're the inspiration
You bring feeling to my life - You're the inspiration
Wanna have you near me - I wanna have you hear me sayin'
No one needs you more than I need you

And I know, yes I know that it's plain to see - We're so in love when we're together
Now I know that I need you here with me - From tonight until the end of time
You should know, everywhere I go - Always on my mind, in my heart
In my soul

The Value of a Girl

The beautiful sunny 'San Diego' weather that we are so blessed with was hiding its splendor this last Monday, and Mr. Rain had taken it's place. Some of our youth at church, my daughter included, had a day off from school and wanted to just be together. We opted to have lunch in the food court at the local mall. We are a very creative bunch, and also took some games, so suffice it to say that we spent a very healthy amount of time at a table in the food court. We were not the only 'creative' bunch that had decided to make the food court our personal rain shelter. I noticed 2 girls and a boy sitting very near to us. They had already been there when we first sat down, and although were not eating, they were there the whole time we were. I have always had a burden for young people, and I just kind of felt drawn toward one of the girls. She was a very beautiful YOUNG girl. The make-up and seductive clothing didn't fool me. The guy that was with them could have starred in the music video 'Pants on the Ground'...Now enters Mr. Gangsta. As I played our latest craze, 'Monopoly Deal' with my daughter Chantal and these incredible young people from our church, I found it harder and harder to stay focused on the game. My laughter and joy began take a drastic turn. My heart was breaking and I was shaking with anger and sadness inside as I sat in this mall where people were deciding the 'value' of 'things' and buying and selling 'things'..... all the while there sat 2 young girls in the very same mall who didn't know their own 'value'. I shook with anger as I watched 'Mr. Gangsta' go from one girl to the other. He would sit on their lap and put his hands ALL over them. After spending time with one, he'd go to the other. As I sat there I began to feel VERY angry. I got up at one point and asked an employee to call Security. I was told that if there was no immediate danger, I would have to go to the information desk and make a request. Meanwhile my daughter had sensed something wrong with me. The other kids as well. When they noticed what was taking my attention, they all began to feel the same feelings of compassion, anger, sadness. I felt like something had to be done. As I was preparing to get up, I noticed one of the girls quickly walk away, followed by the other girl (the one I had been drawn to). This was my chance. I stood up and said "Excuse me, excuse me"...got her attention and she came over to me. My first question was 'How old are you?' I learned that this beautiful girl was 13. I wanted to cry. I began to talk to her about her 'value'. I told her that she was very beautiful and deserved so much more than to be treated how she was being treated. I could tell that I was reaching her, but when my daughter stepped in and began talking to her, I KNEW we were reaching her. We made friends with her and gave her our church card. When she left our table she left with the knowledge that she had 'value'. She was worth so much. That day really impacted me and the young people I was with. We saw so many things on this girls face in a matter of minutes....shame, embarrassment, regret, then... hope? A spark of hope?? It was a 'Real Life' lesson for them seeing that this kind of behavior doesn't bring bliss, but brings shame. It was a 'Real Life Lesson' when they saw the power of looking someone in the eye and telling them how 'valuable' they were to God and to the people of God. The value of one girl.....worth the whole world.