The Devil Don't Drive A Big Bubba Truck

Disclaimer: I know this isn't good grammar, but for a moment you grammar crazy individuals will just have to deal with me while I explain myself. Disclaimer: If you happen to own a Big Bubba Truck, I am not trying to offend you in anyway. It is your choice, so whatever floats your boat... My neighbor has a Big Bubba Truck. You know, one of those big trucks owned by men who want the entire neighborhood to know when they are coming and going. They buy extra doo-hickies to make their trucks louder and more manly sounding. So I know exactly when Tony comes and goes and when he is going fishing because I hear him backing up and going forward however many times it takes until the boat trailer is hooked up to his satisfaction. There is no way he could ever sneak up on anyone without them knowing. Ever. (Lucky for me, I'm a hard sleeper and don't wake easily so I only notice him when I'm awake.) I think sometimes we think the devil is going to appear like that big loud truck, revving his engine, just to let us know he's decided to tempt us or declare war. Nope, the devil drives a nice quiet Hybrid that has a push button start and you can't hear coming. He's stealth like that. That doesn't mean he isn't coming, but just that you'd better be ready when he attacks because he isn't giving you any warning so you can get prepared. Most of the time I think he wins because we don't live prepared for his attack and we don't even realize we have been declared war on until after we have lost. So be aware cause the devil don't drive a Big Bubba Truck. That would be way too easy.

I love lists...

especially when you get to check them off. Honestly, sometimes I make lists of things to accomplish after they are done, just so I can mark them off and visually see what I've been able to complete. We do this at work too, since we are cool like that. Ha! Today has been a very productive day and I feel fabulous about it. The past couple of weeks have been trying, but I have survived and I was able to celebrate by having a productive day. On my day off I was up at 7 (not on purpose, trust me. I love my sleep even more than being productive. Sometimes.) and had showered, been to the grocery store and bank and back home by 9:30. I had great plans to go to Cardio Dance at the gym at 11, so I ate an egg sandwich and got all ready to head out, only to discover that Charlotte wasn't teaching today, so I nixed that. Then off to get my shopping done. Ulta, New York and Company, and JC Penney. Home by 1. My list is completed and I still have half of the day left. Don't be deceived and think that I am completely out of things to do. If you know me, you know that simply will never happen, by choice. So, now I'm on to the normal things I do on a typical Saturday - mainly getting ready for church tomorrow and all that involves. And dishes and laundry. Is it just me, or do these just seem to never end? Relative to some of you, I know that we have fewer dishes and laundry since there are just two of us. What's the point of making the bed or doing the dishes or laundry? I mean they are just going to get dirty again, right? And yet, because I like a made bed and I need clean clothes to wear and dishes to eat on, and I know they won't clean themselves, off to dishes and laundry I go.

Adopting God's Kids

So I know that some of you keep up with our adoption process via this blog, so I thought I'd give a little update. Actually, nothing new has happened since the last update that is even blog-worthy. We keep getting information and kids and submitting our home-study but are yet to hear anything back from anyone. We have "put our application in" for lack of better terms 4 times. Sometimes you hear something, sometimes you don't, so we are just here waiting. Sometimes we forget that God is concerned with the details, so I remind myself that he is working the timing out for our adoption perfectly with our schedules (which can be a little much at times). See, his will is not just that we adopt, but that we adopt the kids he picked for us before the creation of the world at the perfect time he planned before we even existed. I love planning, so I can appreciate that God is working out all the little details so everything is perfectly according to his divine plan. I haven't had time to really think about the waiting, so time is just flying for me. I just finished (well, almost finished) our crazy month of year end payroll deadlines. And before that was the holidays. So, we are definitely staying busy for the most part. Starting in January, I am no longer helping with children's church, but I have taken over coordinating our Wednesday night girls groups at church called Missionettes. I've had a lot of help this month (thanks, LeAnn!) but things seem to be going smoothly for that. Everything is pretty much been planned out the same as prior years, so its not like starting from nothing and creating a system. Most things are already in place and I am just carrying it through and making sure it all gets done and organized. I've been slowly but surely going through things in our house and getting them ready for a yard sale we are having at the church in April. I figure whatever I can get rid of now I won't have to later, and adding kids and their things to my house will be easier and not seem so unmanageable. Getting rid of stuff we don't need or use feels so good. You should try it sometime, really! We did buy a new kitchen table and chairs/bench over the holidays that seats 6 or 7 for our family, so we can accommodate our kids for meals together in the kitchen. At this point we can't really buy anything else because the furniture we need is very dependent on what age kids we get. It could be a crib or it could be twin beds, so we are just waiting to see before we go spending unnecessary money. I secretly think I have been driving to lunch at work because they know that as soon as we get our kids, there won't be room in my car. Shannon, my coworker, told me to buy car seats and put them in my car so I could get out of that already. Ha! Life as we know it will definitely change when that time comes. On a totally separate note, I have problems blogging about things sometimes because I know that one of the girls in my Sunday School class reads this pretty regularly. Often when God shows me something, it becomes the subject of my Sunday School lesson, so I try and wait until after class to blog about it, but after the lesson is shared, the urgency to share is gone, and I feel like I'm being redundant. Does that even make sense? All of that to say, when there is a real adoption update, trust me that it'll be posted here. But for now, we are praying and submitting and waiting for God's will, whatever that is. So if you want to, pray for God's will for us in this whole adoption journey. We know that God is faithful, always!

Grace Vs Law

As Christians we hear many sermons, Bible studies, discussions about God's grace and mercy. Grace - getting more than you deserve. Mercy - Not getting the punishment you deserve for your sin. Grace and mercy are a big part of serving God because we couldn't even come to him if it weren't for his grace. We don't deserve to approach him. We don't deserve to be a part of his family. Quite frankly, we don't deserve anything that God provides for us, but his grace covers us. God's grace truly is amazing, but somewhere we have come to believe that God's grace is an excuse to do what is comfortable for us and what comes easy. You speak what you know and you live what you believe, so even if you'd never admit it to yourself or others, our actions say something else. Somewhere, God's law has become second to his grace. We don't hear lessons on the Ten Commandments or the requirements we have as a part of our relationship with God. We have turned our nose up at legalism and rules and have decided that we will preach the nice, warm, fuzzy parts of the Bible and overlook the ones that make us less comfortable. And we forget that just as we expect God to provide for us and love us, he expects us to obey his law. The Old Testament talks a lot about the covenant relationship we have with God. And whether you want to see it or not, this covenant, like any other, has conditions. I'm not trying to say that we have to be perfect because I know we are imperfect people, but maybe, just maybe, we should revisit what it is that God is requiring of us. To many of us, the Ten Commandments seem like common sense. You know you shouldn't steal or kill or lie, but what about the one that says don't take God's name in vain? Everywhere I go the air is filled with God's name over and over, in vain, just like another curse word. It is so common that there is even a shortened way to take God's name in vain. We type OMG as fast as any other word and give it no second thought. I don't expect the world to live to God's standard but God's people should know better. God's grace doesn't make it okay to disobey his law. And my heart hurts for God. In the Old Testament, God's name was so holy, so revered, His people wouldn't say His name aloud. It was sacred and special. But we've made his name an expression of frustration or anger and not given him the due respect. We've replaced God's law with his grace and mercy instead of allowing both to live in unity as God intended. We have ignored the Holy Spirit, who convicts our hearts of sin, for so long, he doesn't even bother any more. As if we don't need to concern ourselves with our actions, but just count on God's grace and mercy to cover us. We've made God human and forgotten that he is God and he cannot stand our wickedness. Our sin hurts him and we are too busy or too comfortable to even notice. Yes, God loves us, and yes, he forgives, and yes, his grace and mercy cover us. But that is not license to live as you please and do what is your habit and what is normal. God, forgive us for making you one of us and not the awesome, holy God that you are. Forgive us for making you common and familiar.

New Year=New Opportunities

On New Year's Eve, BJ and I went to a short church service at RLC before coming home, and BJ going to bed. He had to work on New Years Day, so staying up to ring in the year was out of the question. I did stay up and watch The Sound of Music, one of my favorite movies/musicals of all time. I really enjoy being by myself. Not that I don't love people or love spending time with my hubby, but when I'm by myself I just get to decompress. Ok, back on topic. At the NYE service Sis. Edna shared a verse from Revelation 3:7:

"What He opens no one can shut, and what He shuts no one can open."

I haven't really given the verse second thought until today. I am believing God for a lot this year. This verse has reminded me that God is the one who is in charge of the opportunities laid before me. So, I trust him to lead me by opening and closing doors according to his plan. I am believing for a year of new opportunities to do things I haven't done before. I am not satisfied being the same me for 2011. I want God's heart and God's plans for me and I expect him to do GREAT things beyond what I can even imagine. Even in just these few days, I have seen God's hand at work. I know that he is changing me everyday and getting me ready for whatever this year may hold. I know that it is all in his hands and he will lead us. Speaking of opportunities, just today B.J. has gotten two new websites to create for clients. God just knows what he is doing. We don't see the whole picture but he does and what he sees is good.