Grits

Being Southerners, we have learned to love grits! We all (except for Josh) eat them, buttered, cheese, or just plain with salt and pepper, white or yellow, we love them all! I usually make a pot of them every morning, and all that's left is what we couldn't scrape (but not for lack of trying!) Some days, like Sundays, when it's an early morning rush to get to church, I leave everything to make it to church in plenty of time. I leave the dishes in the sink, and sometimes even he pot that had the grits on the stove. Consequently, I have learned why grits have their name. When I come home after church, and I have a pot of grits that has been allowed to sit and dry, I am left with a mixture so hard and so strong that I think it might have been able to have held Rome together. And the grits are exactly like sandpaper...the really "high grit" kind. It got me thinking about the times when I have allowed sin or offense to just sit around in my mind and heart a little too long. Those times when I should have quickly dealt with those specific things in the right way, but instead, I chose to hold on to them little longer out of laziness, or bitterness, or feeling justified to do so. No matter what the reason for holding on to them, the result was always the same. My heart became hard and rough, two characteristics that are fatal to any heart. In the natural, if our heart becomes hardened, death is not far behind, unless we make some radical changes. The same goes in the spiritual. Our hearts can become so hard and rough, so calloused by those things that we have decided (foolishly) are too important to just let go. We end up fooling ourselves into thinking that we are just fine, and wondering what is wrong with everyone else around us, as we go day by day like walking dead men. We are all guilty of letting our sin or offense fester, whether is is for a moment, a month or a lifetime. Only God can turn our heart of stone into a heart flesh once again. And only God can give us the strength to never pick up the offense or the sin in the first place. That is our wonderful hope. God can do it!! As for my pot of grits, my only hope is to deal quickly and swiftly with what remains. Put off my laziness and clean that pot!

Here are just a couple (of the many) scriptures on the subject:

Ephesians 4:18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.


Hebrews 3:12-13  See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

At my feet

The other day, I was sitting at the kitchen table, finishing up some reporting for church. I looked down and noticed that Lily had crawled under the table and was sitting at my feet, playing with her little glow worm. She was so content to just be sitting where I was, even though it was a hard floor, and I wasn't giving her my undivided attention. My "Mom's heart" welled up with joy, just knowing that my girl wanted to be right there with me.

I'm sure that's just a portion of the way the Father feels when we take time to sit at His feet. But the best part is that we always have God's full attention, His listening ear and His loving arms. He never says wait a minute, I'm busy or I'm almost finished with this one thing. He's never irritated with our closeness or number of times we visit a day.

This is one of my favorite passages from Isaiah 40:

Do you not know?

Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

Josh turns 9

Here's some pictures of our family at Chuck E. Cheese's in Greenville for Josh's 9th birthday. It was PACKED (should have known better than to go on a Sunday afternoon!), but the kids had a blast.

 Lily with her Dada

 Jonathan still loves all things cars!!

Rocket pops, ice cream sandwiches, and fruit punch...no wonder why they can't sleep tonight!

The snow is gone (finally), and the kids have returned to school after a week of cancellations. Although we get a bit of snow here, and it is beautiful for a few days, I am glad it's not a regular occurrence here in the winter. Of all the things that I miss about living more North, 5 months of snow is not one of them.

Things are moving along down here. I can't believe we are half way through January. Josh will celebrate his 9th birthday this Sunday. He is so excited to be in his last year of single digits. He is doing really great in school. All A's and B's this in school this quarter (except Reading which he missed a B by 2 points.). He ended up with a 100 in Social Studies. Must have gotten THAT gene from Luis!!! His favorite "subject" continues to be P.E. and he is excited for baseball to start soon. (I can't wait either!)

Jonathan came home from school yesterday with a script that he needs to practice. He is going to be on the news at school, and he has to say a few sentences. I love how serious he takes everything. He definitely has a different "bent" than his brother, but that's what makes life so beautiful. He told me the other day that when he grows up, he wants to be an artist and a soccer player. Funny combination, I know, but that's Jonathan-not afraid to be his own person.  I love that about him, most of the time.

Lily is getting so big....she has eight teeth. She left walking for running last week, and I have to make sure I have her hand when we are heading for the car, or else she'll make a bee-line for the road. Thankfully, our driveway is twice as long as the one in Arizona was, and I have a little time to grab her before she becomes a tortilla. She has developed a bit of an attitude (complete with tantrums), something I am attempting to nip in the bud. Her hair has grown to her shoulders, and is very curly. Right now, it's dark brown, darker than both her brothers. We Skyped (video chatted) with Grandma Carmen on New Years,  and she looked so happy to finally get to see Lily.

Everything else on the home front is going smoothly. Luis job continues to be the miracle on Miracle Mile Drive, and our little church is plugging along. We both feel like the Lord is going to do something great in Greenville, and we are excited to be a part. Change is on the way, but God-change is always a good thing! Keep us in your prayers as we listen to the Lord and flow with Him. There is no greater joy than doing a work for the Lord, no matter what kind of work it is! We are about halfway though our 40-day fast, and we have already seen God answer prayers. Can't wait to see what the next half brings.

Snowed In

We have been officially "snowed in" by Anderson County standards...OK, compared to our NY winters, this is just a typical January snowstorm, but the whole county and surrounding areas had come to a complete standstill. I am assuming the town doesn't even own a plow, since I haven't seen one pass by since the snow started falling three days ago. Luis's work has been closed for two days, and the kids have been home from school all week. They have already announced that schools will be closed again tomorrow, as they are expecting a second storm to pass through the area tonight. As expected, the kids have been in their glory outside, using my laundry basket for a sled and having snowball fights. This is the most snow Luis has ever seen, and I think he has cabin fever already. I have only ventured out twice with the kids. It's been so cold that I haven't brought Lily in the snow yet. She stands at the back door and watches her brothers through the glass. We woke up this morning to a thin layer of ice on everything. So pretty to look at, but I am looking forward to the 50 degree weather coming next week. 

Happy New Year!!

What a great Christmas season we had here. I kept telling Luis that this was the best Christmas that I have had in a long time. I am not sure why...maybe it's because we are out of debt...maybe it was because Luis was home for the whole week after Christmas...maybe it had something to do with having lots of snow fall on Christmas Day...probably a combination of everything. I guess the bottom line is that I just feel very blessed. Blessed to have a beautiful home, with a wonderful family, and the peace of the Lord in our hearts. Luis returned to work this morning, and the boys go back to school tomorrow. My routine will slowly get back into the groove. 2011 has begun!

Luis called for a 40-day fast in our church beginning today. There is a personal need in one of the families in our church that we are praying for, and we are also praying for God to work in our little church. We are also supposed to make a list of things in our own life that we would like to see God accomplish this year, and keep that list the whole year through to see how God has answered our prayers. I am excited to see what God has in store for this new year. In going along with the prayers, I am fasting facebook and sweets...two things that call my attention way more than they should! The harder of the two is facebook, but since Luis is also giving it up, we won't be tempting each other with it. (So, if you are reading this, and usually talk to me on facebook, send an email or text instead.)

So, I wish you all a happy, peaceful and prosperous New Year! May God's blessing abound to you and yours all year long!