Engaged To Be Married

Jesse and Charsie are engaged to be married!

 I love these 2 and I love these 2 TOGETHER even more.

They compliment each other and are definitely the very best of friends.  

I have rarely seen 2 people that enjoy each other's company as much as they do. 

I am learning more about marriage than I ever knew before.  :)

I'm totally serious.  

I have dove into God's Word and listened to sermons and prayed like a mother.

I have asked the Lord to show me His will and to help me to get on board with His plan for my girl, not my plan, but His.

God gave us a very precious girl to raise and now he has brought a man into her life. 

 We, with much prayer and preparation are getting ready to celebrate and bless these two being joined in marriage.

I want what is best for Charsie and Jesse to grow in love with 

Jesus,

 because He is the one and only 

TRUE LOVE.

 In all my recent zeal of seeking and praying and listening and learning about marriage, 

I have learned and understand some truths, that are new to me,

 and some refreshers as well.

Bottom line:

Marriage is not about us! Ha!

Marriage is all about Jesus.

  Imagine THAT!!!! 

As Christians...EVERYTHING IS ABOUT HIM.

Our very lives are His and His alone, so it only makes sense that marriage between 2 of His own would be all about joining together

as one

 to be about

 THE ONE and ONLY!

Marriage is a  picture of relationship, a covenant of love and commitment, that is to be lived out to remind us, teach us, and show the world how Jesus followers, are the Bride of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our relationship with God is possible because of His sacrificial love and commitment to us.

Ephesians 5:25-28(ESV)

25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.  28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.

 God is a good Father and He gives good gifts.  

Marriage is one of those gifts that He gives us to be lived out and enjoyed for

 HIS GLORY!

   Jesus is the  Bridegroom and one day He is coming back for His Bride.

GLORY!

Revelation 19:6-9 (ESV)

6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

“Hallelujah!

For the Lord our God

    the Almighty reigns.

7 

Let us rejoice and exult

    and give him the glory,

for the marriage of the Lamb has come,

    and his Bride has made herself ready;

8 

it was granted her to clothe herself

    with fine linen, bright and pure”—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

So, on that note,

I'm excited for these two to get married and live out a beautiful picture of 

LOVE and COMMITMENT.

Whenever I think of marriage in terms of the world and finances and hardships and all the stresses and strains that come with life, and double trouble with married life, I can let fear grip my heart!

When I keep my eyes on Jesus, and His purpose and gift of marriage,

I get excited and want to cheer them on and give praise to the Lord.

They have the Father's love, protection, provision, and His guidance. 

 Those things are worth more than anything and everything the world could ever offer on it's very best day in the very best circumstances.

I see these 2 seeking the Lord together and individually and it blesses my heart; I know that they have all that they need to make it, and make it count

FOREVER AND EVER.

AMEN.

Charlie had the privilege of baptizing Jesse before we even knew him. 

 Jesse stepped up at church one evening to make a commitment to Jesus and be baptized. Only God knew that night, that it was Jesse's future father-in-law that was baptizing him.

God must have been smiling about that.

*Charlie says if he would have known then what he knows now, he would have held him under a little longer...just to make sure he really super baptized.

  haha. 

Father to the Fatherless

Psalm 68:5-6New International Version (NIV) 

A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,

    is God in his holy dwelling.

6 

God sets the lonely in families,[a]

    he leads out the prisoners with singing;

    but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

Here's the thing that has been pounding on my heart lately; 

 I heard it said once, "If God is, and he says he is; the father to the fatherless,

 and the Church is the Bride of Christ, 

doesn't that make us (the church, His followers) the mother to the fatherless?"  

What is a mother to do with all these kids?!?

We, the church, have to step up our game. 

 A bride to Christ, should not let all these kids go around not knowing who they are or where they belong or how valuable and loved they are. 

 We, as the Church will have to answer for all the people we watched go through life without a clue.

I heard a testimony about my Aunt Diana who would not let her kids get out of the car for school if they couldn't tell her 

WHO THEY WERE!

They were to know and to tell her every day that they were,

 God's kids,

  sons and daughters of the

 KING. 

We sell ourselves short if we think that He is only calling us to kids that are ours to raise or maybe sometimes support those with no parents, but I know it's more than that.

  Some parents are unable or unequipped at different seasons or areas to be available or helpful.   I think anyone in our lives that are needing help and teaching and direction, and someone to walk alongside them for however long as it takes to give them direction and their feet under them, is what we are called to.  

Everything God gave us is ours to share.  

If we have a skill or a knowledge,  we are called to share it.

We are not only called to take care of the fatherless over and over in the Bible, 

 we are called to disciple.

  Isn't this the same thing...just maybe a different level?  

A mother (the church) brings the baby in and loves and nurtures it, and then when it's time for the next step, it is time to disciple. 

 So, in my mind...we are to be there for people to love them and care for them until Jesus comes back for his bride.

I'm  thankful for the people that walk alongside my kids to disciple and love on them at different points in their life.  

  My kids even have a wonderful, Jesus loving, smart, handsome, hardworking, hunk o' love earthly father,  who teaches them a ton, but it takes a whole bunch of voices speaking the same truth and beating the same drum to get these kids to believe and live in the truth taught to them.  

People, and especially men, if you are following Jesus please grab every kid you can, every time you can and point them to Jesus, and share what you know. 

  Teach them how to be the people God created them to be. 

Be like my Auntie Diana and don't let them out of your "care" until they can tell you who they are.

Deuteronomy 11:18-21English Standard Version (ESV)

18 “You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 20 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth.

Summer Update

I wrote this post: Best Summer Plans before Summer even started. 

 I had a bit of anxiety coming into Summer as I could see how many people I have, and how many different activities that represents and how many hours of being 'on' and how many or few hours of 'down time' that would all add up to.

But God!!!  He is faithful and merciful. 

He did not lighten my load, but He gave me the grace and the energy and the JOY to do it all.  I have had one of the busiest summers and one of the best summers. 

 I had prayed for 'happy chaos' and 'wild peace' and I can say with complete confidence and  gratitude, that has been exactly what we have had. 

 We didn't do anything huge, but we did a huge amount, and I was somewhat sane for most of it.  haha

The events of celebration and activity ranged from,

 engaged to be married 

to learning to roll over and giggling,

Psalm 126:2(ESV)

2 

Then our mouth was filled with laughter,

    and our tongue with shouts of joy;

then they said among the nations,

    “The Lord has done great things for them.”

to pig farmin'

 and every sport and birthday in between.  

Along with all the hustle and bustle of runnin' kids here and there,

I had the opportunity to lead a Bible study at our church and also do a Bible study at home with Charsie this summer. 

Time in the Word and prayer with ladies that I love; it doesn't get any better than that.

For me, this was the biggest gift of the summer. 

 It kept me grounded in the Word and moving forward in a positive Way, while living on the fly.

God knows I need my mind on Him at every spare moment or I get sidetracked. 

 So, as I logged a lot of miles on the car and the stroller, there is potential for some stray thoughts....I had to take those moments and focus and pray and prepare for Bible study.

He knows how to keep me on His track!  I praise HIM for this.

John 14:6 (ESV)

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

 

Jesus Loves Me This I Know!

Jesus loves me this I know!!!!

I just had a weekend that was flooded with blessings.  

I got to spend the weekend with all my girls and my grand girls.  

We spent a weekend in Boise, and jam packed as much GREATNESS as possible into one weekend.

When we checked into our hotel....I asked if they had a room with another bed, because as it was, we were going to have to have a few on the floor.  

The customer service agent said, "Oh, we already upgraded you to the penthouse suite." 

Whaaaat, how does that even happen...........? 

 Jesus loves to pour out His kindness on us, and He did that kinda stuff all along the way this weekend. 

 He just plain showed off and we all knew it and enjoyed every second of it.

We went to a Beth Moore conference and got FILLED up with the Word and awesome worship.

We did some wedding shopping for this beautiful bride to be and FOUND EXACTLY what we were looking for!!! 

 Beyond BLESSED!!!!

These two Ugandan beauties, laughed late into the night both nights and it blessed us all to the bone.  These girls know how to laugh and have fun together. 

 They also were INCREDIBLY helpful with all the littles. 

Thank you Jesus!  

God often gives me  life lessons along with what I am learning in His Word, and this week in a Bible study that Charsie and I are doing together, we are learning about the kindness and goodness of God.  Oh boy, I'm pretty sure I might camp on this "fruit" for a good long while. 

 hehehe.  

Friends All Over The World

I have been so excited and floored by the beauty of the body of Christ and how wonderful it is when people come together and work together for one purpose.

We have recently had a very special friend visiting from Uganda, and his name is Mulondo Patrick.

Patrick is a Jesus follower first and foremost, and God has given him an amazing talent and opportunity to become an artist.  

 His art motto is "giving life to scrap".

He uses his art as an expression of what he knows to be true with his life in Christ.

His life has gone from living on the street in a very hopeless situation to traveling the world and connecting with brothers and sisters in Christ and sharing the love and beauty of Jesus.

He shares how all our lives are dirty and broken and Jesus comes in and makes something new and  beautiful.

  Patrick has so many connections to people all over the USA from different parts and different ministries. He has traveled his head off and seen so many people and so many new places.

  It's fun to watch people from so many different walks of life work together to schedule time and activities with this amazing guy. 

He works very hard in Uganda with his art and also serving in several different ministries there, so it is nice to see him relax and a enjoy a bit.

  Many of the people that have connections with Patrick here in the USA did not even know each other prior to him coming, but we have communicated and worked together to get this young man where he needs to be and everyone has been excited to show and share their life here, with him. 

 Many of us have visited Uganda at different times and seen his life and culture there, but this time it has been our turn and our pleasure to host him and show him around.  

We hosted a "Uganda" night at our house while Patrick was here.  

We enjoyed friends and Ugandan food and music.  

 The best part of the evening was that Patrick gave his testimony, starting from when he was a young boy until now.  It was such a wonderful blessing to hear him tell of all the things God has done in his life.  He knows he is blessed by God and he gives God all the glory and the praise.  He spoke to many of the kids that have been adopted from Redeemer House and it was so encouraging to everyone.

We had our fun! 

 And now he is off to the next adventure.

We pray for God to bless Patrick! 

 He has sure been a blessing to us.

Charsie Lee "18"

Happy Birthday to Charsie Lee Brewer!!

Today we celebrate Charsie!

  This kid is truly one of the greatest humans I have ever known. 

 She is one of the hardest workers around.  The thing of it is though, she makes it look so easy and she does all her chores and jobs (and there are a lot of them) with such joy and ease that it doesn't look like she's working.  This kid graduated from high school with a 4.0 and she took some seriously hard classes and she never even looked like she was doing anything.  She just works her head off and looks so happy doing it that she looks like she's playing.

I have said for years Charsie is my wife.  She is my right hand and that is no joke.  I'm so excited to see what is in her future, but I grieve a little bit about how I need to free my wife up a bit and let her do her own thing some more.

The thing I am most proud of about this kid is her walk with the Lord.  She loves Jesus and she wants everyone to know it.  She also wants everyone to love Him too.  She is full of life beyond this life and it just glows out of her.

Charsie has a great sense of humor and knows when it is appropriate and when it is not.  She is loud and excited MOST all the time.  I can put her in the most awkward situations ( and I do...consistently), and she knows how to handle it all with ease.

I am blessed beyond to call this kid my own.  I am thankful every single day for her and what she brings to this family, our church, our community.  Charsie has one of the most generous and giving hearts I have ever known.

I love you Chars, and I thank my God for giving you life my sweet girl, and letting us be a part of it!