Gods Heart: Adoption

Take the time to watch this video!! It makes you really stop and think. I watched it a couple of weeks ago, and just couldn't get it off my mind. It spoke to me in so many ways, so I finally figured out how to post it on my blog!! Hey, I'm beginning to figure this blogging thing out! Enjoy!

Super Studly Survivor

Super Studly Survivor....was the name of the surprise 16th birthday party we had for Kole. As you can see below, we had quite the RACE OFFICIAL...He kept things in good order, anytime things would get out of hand he would blow that whistle and get the kids attention, and then they would take one look at him, and knew HE MEANT BUSINESS...and things would turn to instant worse chaos.









We had a killer obstacle coarse that took the kids ...........


......through the pond........


.......roping a dummy........

.........scootering.........

..........shooting a free throw......

.........slip and slide...........

........throwing a football..........

...........shooting a paintball gun........

.........running through the arena...........

...........EATING A SARDINE...............

and we had 20 kids compete and then we had the final round...which was the winner of the other heats.....and guess who won...........none other that Super Stud.......Charsie Brewer.

That kid was a elbowing right with the big football players and she out pushed, out slid, out swam, and definitely could out do ANY guy in the sardine part. She could just throw her head back and swallow them disgusting things WHOLE.

We had a great time!!!! Fun kids!!!!! I could hang out with this bunch of kids everyday. They are fun, kind, and energetic. We are soooo thankful that our kids have such great friends. It is truly a blessing from above!

Happy 16th Kole!

Happy Birthday Kole!!! Today Kole David Brewer is 16 years old!!! Kole does not read my blog, so I can tell you what I REALLY think of this kid.

This guy is one of my favorite people in the entire world. He is amazing.

Every year with Kole gets to be more fun. I'm not kidding either...I truly enjoy him more and more the older he gets and the more independent and the more of his own person he becomes. The better I get to know who he is, the more proud I am of him.

Kole is sooooooo many things....he is BIG!!! He has a size 13 shoe. That is Crazy...my little baby has a size 13 shoe.

Kole is funny, he gets funnier and funnier the older he gets. He loves humor. Kole is SMART!!! This kid is scary smart in my book. He can read things and retain it like nobodies business. Kole is a very hard worker. He may not be the fastest worker, but that is because it is PERFECT when it is done. Whatever the job is....it is done PERFECT. Kole is loyal, Kole is moral, he is thoughtful, he is sensitive, and he is handsome.

Kole loves the Lord, he is very serious about God's Word. He is a student and wants to know learn as much as he can about it, and in it. He reads it with intensity, like he does everything. He asks for Bible studies with Mike McLane to be discipled by him.

He is a 3 sport athlete in school, and he can do about anything he tries. He will work at it until he gets it right. From the time he was very little he could show up at a baseball field coming straight from a rodeo with spurs on, head into the bathroom, and come out of the bathroom and be a baseball player. Cracks us up...it is still happening...the other day, he had football practice, a basketball game and a baseball banquet all in the same evening. Kole is fun and energetic and thoughtful....he is a friend, he is a boyfriend, he is a son, a grandson, a brother, a cousin.

He is so many wonderful things! I thank God for him he is such a blessing to me and our family and many others!!!

I'm so blessed that I get to be called his mom!

Fasting

Isaiah 58:6-7 (The Message)
6-9"This is the kind of fast day I'm after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts.What I'm interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families.Do this and the lights will turn on, and your lives will turn around at once.Your righteousness will pave your way. The God of glory will secure your passage.Then when you pray, God will answer. You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.'









I know this can be a wierd subject, but had somebody not talked about it with me I would not know about it.....the subject matter is FASTING!!!







So, I was always under the impression that it was something that the Old Testament people did. I mean, we have grace, and the Spirit living right inside of us, why in the world would we need to go without food to get God's attention. He lives right inside of us....so why not just talk to him....with a full belly and move on. Doesn't He hear us.....every word we say every thought we have....why not think these thoughts and pray these prayers in the car with a diet coke handy?? I wasn't meaning any disrespect by it, I just didn't get it......







And then in the last year, I have been drawing nearer to the Lord and I've been wanting a deeper intamacy with Him. So I have done some things and tried some things...and one of those things is....FASTING!



No this is not for everyone, we are all in different places and each have a personal and very individual relationship with the Lord. This is also NOT for those with eating disorders.







The thing with it is......it's not really just to get God's attention, He is already quite focused on the tasks at hand, it is to get our attention. Don't get me wrong God does love when we do anything to draw nearer to Him, He has done amazing things when people have fasted and prayed and cried out to Him. He did it in Bible times, New and Old Testament and He does it TODAY! He may not always answer us the way we want, but He does love when we reach out to Him.







I heard it said, you are basically saying, " I want Jesus MORE than I want food." We think that is a no brainer....but wait until you go a meal or 2 without....you have to constantly remind yourself what in the world you are doing and why.











I've had some big "ole prayers lately that were very urgent in my world, and maybe fasting and praying didn't bring an immediate answer, but it sure got me down to business with God and if that is what it takes for this weakling then I ought to consider doing it a lot more.





Last night there was a prayer meeting at our church here in Powell Butte, and a few of us fasted yesterday to just get in tuned and ahead of time for the meeting. It was kinda funny, but Charlie and I did this without telling eachother until it was over, we had no plan, and we couldn't talk about it because he was out of cell service up until 1 hour before the meeting, and when we finally talked we compared notes. It was just confirmation. The prayer meeting was sweet and poweful, and it is going to continue every Wednesday night @ 6:30pm.





Funny, how we love to gather with our friends for food and celebrations of all sorts, but not nearly enough for prayer. So, I hope that changes, because there is nothing better than getting together and talking to our Lord with the people we love.



I'm a work in progress and learning as I go here, I have read verses, listened to sermons, read books and blogs on this subject, so I encourage you to do the same, because I am a total rookie and don't want to pretend I know more than I do.



Ezra 8:21-22 (The Message)
21-22 I proclaimed a fast there beside the Ahava Canal, a fast to humble ourselves before our God and pray for wise guidance for our journey—all our people and possessions. I was embarrassed to ask the king for a cavalry bodyguard to protect us from bandits on the road. We had just told the king, "Our God lovingly looks after all those who seek him, but turns away in disgust from those who leave him."







Isaiah 58:6-7 (New Living Translation)
6 “No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. 7 Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.

Fathers

Happy Father's Day Dad!!! My dad has 4 daughters! I am number 2 and that is what he calls us...by number. If you don't think 4 daughters don't make you a real man, than you don't know my dad. This is a man that has more knowledge and experience in subject matters concerning child birth, hormone changes, wedding planning, shower planning, and all that goes on with GIRLS!! He has handled all this quite amazingly through the years. He has been a real man through it all, he has been a provider, a leader, and a defender to all us girls. He forgets that we've all grown up sometimes, and just wants to keep us under his wing and have us under his protection. He has always taken his job of being a dad very seriously and has made it his total priority! He has done a great job if I do say so myself....I think we all turned out pretty good, and I know he would agree, even though we don't always do what he wants.....he always wants what is BEST!!! He has a big 'ole teddy bear heart, and he can't even pray over a meal without crying. He has a tender heart and a love for the Lord.

I thank God for giving me such a great Dad!

Happy Father's Day!! Charlie is the father of my 5 beautiful children. He is MY man. Charlie is my most favorite man in the whole world. He is the best dad ever, he's the provider, he is kind, and passionate. He is soft hearted, ( even WAY more so since he's been home from Africa). He is the hardest worker I know. He loves the Lord and his friends and family with his whole heart. He is CONSISTENT. He started a "ministry" of texting verses every morning well over a year ago and he has NOT missed once. My man is handsome, (even when I make him go through Richard Gere phases). My man is funny, and he is a great story teller. Everyone that knows Charlie at all.....loves him too!! He's irresistable!

I thank God for giving me such a great man to be Dad to our kids!!! (I think he's so great at it we should have more.) hehehe....just saying......

Withdrawl!!

Ok...so for the last 2 1/2 years this is what you would hear come out of my mouth 500 times a day...

Where's the binki
Who has the binki
Did you get the binki
Give him the binki
Grab the binky
We need to find the binki

Needless to say...it has been more of a security blanket for me more than Reece....so last night it is only me, Luke, and Reece at home. WE LOST THE BINKI!!! 2 hours solid searching....NO BINKI!!! I was in a complete panic....Reece however was walking along happily yelling, "Binki, binki," he was not panicked at all. So finally in complete exhaustion I decide to lay him and I down without the binki....I was expecting the worst. He was VERY chatty to say the least...but never once dropped a tear. He slept through the night...usually he loses it in the night and we search in the night...he did not wake up once. So this morning he did wake up a bit on the cranky side...and he was asking for his binki, but I decided we have made it through the worst, so I drove right by Wal-Mart and did NOT get a new one.

I picked Charsie up this morning and told her that we no longer have a binki and she was SO PROUD OF ME!!!! She said, "Good job Mom!!!"

I loved that, she was proud of me for doing it, and she was mostly proud of me for doing it without her.

We are now binki free!!! I wonder if I will just run out of diapers and then decide to potty train...I bet Charsie is hoping she is gone for that one too!!

Choices

So I had a crazy 12 hours on Saturday into the wee hours of the morning on Sunday. I am choosing to be thankful, but I have to keep reminding myself....to be thankful.



First off Charlie gets pulled over in our driveway, as I was on the phone with him telling him to hustle he was going to be late taking Kole to football camp. So, as Charlie pulls in so does an officer with his lights a flashing. So after a good long lecture, (that Charlie took VERY WELL) he got off with a warning, and was told it could have added up to about $350 between the ticket speeding and the one for talking on the phone. So I am thankful for the warning!



Then Charlie and Kole get home about 10pm from the football camp, and I had been watching Reece as he was resting, he had been sick that day, and even as he slept he looked and sounded like he was struggling to breathe. I ask Charlie to watch him for a few minutes and tell me what he thinks...he says,"We need to take him in", um, that interprets to me that we actually need to call 911 because Charlie never thinks our kids are in need of medical attention.



So we then get to the hospital...and long story short 2 breathing treatments, 2 hospitals, and a near ambulance ride from one hospital to another we were released by a wonderful Dr. who did not charge us, and hung out with us for 30 min. in the emergency room until the nurses and the respiratory therapist brought us exactly what we needed so we could go home. We just thought he was doing so much better and needed to go home to rest. God had answered our prayer, we asked for guidance and also asked that Reece would be better and that we could just go home. When we left Redmond his oxygen level was 91% by the time we got to Bend it was 95%; that is only the Lord.

We headed home at 4:00am...I was holding my sick babe in the back seat and Charlie was driving. Charlie fell dead asleep and he woke up as we were full speed ahead in the ditch on the left hand side of the road, he manage to pull it back and the road and we hit the ditch on the right hand side....we fishtailed about three times like that until he was able to get it under control. Praise God...we did not hit a tree, we did not roll, and we did not hit another car. He totally protected us from what could have been the worst. I could and have said how could God allow this to happen, I mean Charlie has driven hundreds of thousands of miles and never fallen asleep, or I can and I am thankful, that nothing happened, we are all safe and sound.

So we get home and I get to texting my running buddies to tell them I will not be running in a race that we have had plans to run for a year. This is a yearly event that I have done for the past 7 years. This would be year 8. I text Holly and say, I'm going to spend some time praying and thinking and I will let you know what I'm going to do. I open my Bible to where I've been reading and my eyes fall into place on Isaiah 58:13-14

Isaiah 58:13-14 (New International Version)
13 "If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD's holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
14 then you will find your joy in the LORD, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob." The mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Well, I love this because the Lord knows just how literal to be with me. He even mentions my feet in this passage. He knows me so well, and He is so faithful to speak and what I got out of this more than anything was the assurance that He was hearing me ALL NIGHT...when Charlie was talking to the officer, when we were in the hospital, when we were headed to the second hospital, when we were headed home and in a near wreck. He heard it all; He was letting me know very clearly, that He had heard each request, and He was there the entire time, with us. He wasn't always giving me the answer I wanted, I wanted TO run, I wanted to NOT have a sick babe, I wanted to NOT have Charlie fall asleep while driving, but it all happened, and it was all allowed, but He was so with us every step of the way, He was helping us, He was protecting us, He was guiding us, He was listening and He was answering prayer and he just confirmed it to me in a verse when I was asking Him about a silly run.

What an awesome God we serve!!!

So, I choose to be thankful, and sometimes my mind wanders to why us why now...blah blah blah, but then I choose to be thankful again and again. Choosing it, because it does not happen very naturally, my nature wants to complain and whine, but again, I choose thankfulness.

Crazy....Truth

Disclaimer: I know who my readers are and they are in the 20% that I am referring too!!! This is made to encourage us 20 percenters not guilt us into more.

So why is it that no matter what you are involved in 20% of the people do 80% of the work? And more than likely it is the same 20% involved in multiple things of which they are holding up 80% of the work load.

Here's what I have figured out...maybe everyone else already knows this....but, again, if we would just get ALL of God's truth, if we would take His Word literally and DO IT, we wouldn't stumble and fumble around for so long trying to figure it out ourselves.

Titus 2:14 (The Message)
11-14God's readiness to give and forgive is now public. Salvation's available for everyone! We're being shown how to turn our backs on a godless, indulgent life, and how to take on a God-filled, God-honoring life. This new life is starting right now, and is whetting our appetites for the glorious day when our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, appears. He offered himself as a sacrifice to free us from a dark, rebellious life into this good, pure life, making us a people he can be proud of, energetic in goodness.

The truth I'm referring too...is when we do good things for others, we actually have more energy and more time, and more to give. Seems like it would be opposite, and like most of the Bible, the world and The Truth are very different thought patterns.

I came to realize this more than ever with the whole Africa thing again...it amazed me that the team had the energy to serve the way they did, and yes they came home very tired, but energized in a way I have NEVER seen. There is a beauty and energy that doesn't make sense when you give all you have to give in the name of the Lord for others. As Charlie frequently brings up....that during his trip the people would thank him for blessing them, and he quickly says he is the one who has been blessed, and when he says it he says it with all that is in him, because it is the truth and he feels is passionately.

Galatians 6:8-10 (English Standard Version)
8For(A) the one who sows to his own flesh(B) will from the flesh reap corruption, but(C) the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9And(D) let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap,(E) if we do not give up. 10So then,(F) as we have opportunity, let us(G) do good to everyone, and especially to those who are(H) of the household of faith

So when you feel tired of giving or doing....remember it will actually energize you to do something for someone else. Just look at those precious church ladies. They are old and they do more than anyone, I can't even hold a candle to them, but they have figured out this truth and are putting into practice and they can do circles around most people.

One more thing....I think it is also very necessary to take some time for ourselves...maybe not the way some people do, but to take the time and have an outing with friends, or with our family or just some girl time....(hint hint for my girlfriends) or just a quiet time alone, these are also necessary. Jesus would even sneak away to spend time alone with His Father, and he would slip away from the crowds, needing to be refreshed and renewed and rested. Many times He would spend time with only His 12 disciples. So, there's no guilt in these times, these are good and necessary. It is so easy to be refreshed when we have done something good. Also, it is amazing that there is MORE time to do these kinds of refreshing things the more we do the more we give because we are just more energetic positive people. Crazy....but TRUTH!

Celebration!!!

What a glorious weekend. I'm still just on high as to how wonderful everything went this weekend. We had so many amazing family and friends come and help us celebrate Lashae's great accomplishment or graduating from high school.

We had all 3 of my sisters and their families...from 3 different states come and help us celebrate. I'm telling everyone right now...the key to having a great party is having sisters and mom come help. Every single person here was such a great added blessing to the day.

The love and support and energy was just BURSTING on this property on Saturday. Thanks to everyone who made such a great day for Lashae. Thank you for being involved in Lashae's life and our lives for the last 18 years! When they say it takes a village to raise these kids I believe it, and we have the best village in the world.

I just give all the glory to God for not only a beautiful weekend, but for 18 years of love and support and friendship, and relationships, and going through all the good times and the bad times! I can not even put into words how thankful I am.

Here's a big shout out to ourFaithful Father in Heaven and everyone that He has so graciously blessed our lives to be a part of!!!

Note to Lashae: We are so stinkin' proud of you we can hardly even think these days. Thanks for being such a great kid and such an amazing person. We learn so much from you every single day, and we are so excited about your future. Keep letting that Light shine sweetie, that is all that matters. You are shining brightly and it is so evident that God is very alive in your very heart, and NOTHING blesses this mom more than that. Be Bold!!! Everything you do; do it for Jesus and you will NEVER go wrong!

FlipShare - Private Video Sharing

FlipShare - Private Video Sharing

If you click on the link above you can watch Lashae and Sydney's Valedictorian speech from Friday at graduation!!!