We are sad.  The high school students are missing their friends.  The parents in our town are shaken because it hits too close to home.

There is no answer that comes to mind when I think about why this should have happened.  I can’t wrap my mind around the pain and suffering the parents of the teens are experiencing right now.

What I do know is that God is the God of comfort and peace and will meet us at our time of need.  So today I am praying for our community and especially the family members who are walking through this incredibly dark time.

So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved kindness, and we will find help.   Hebrews 4:16

This morning I am enjoying my cup of coffee, all by myself, in a QUIET house.  I am thankful.

Thoughts running through my mind this morning?

1.  How did Jessie grow up so fast?  She is not my baby anymore.  I told her today I wanted her to stay little and she told me, “I am a yittle bit yittle…”

So what about you?  What is running through your mind today?  I am reminded that without Him, I can do nothing.  John 15:5.

I must confess again that parenting is such a challenge and seems to get more confusing as my kids get older. There are a few things that I have been surprised by the last couple of months that I have had to learn about in order to stay ahead of the curve…

1.   Most of our preteens/ teens have twitter accounts.  They are using Twitter to connect with their friends and also share with the world their feelings…I am now on Twitter and read it daily to keep up with my kids and their friends.   If you need help figuring it out, just ask your teen or find me at church!
2. Kids are smoking synthetic marijuana.  It can be purchased legally at many convenience stores and is more lethal that pot!  I had never heard about this until this fall and have talked with folks who have caught their teen with the stuff. Talk with your teen about it and the dangers of it.   BE NOSY!  Look through your kid’s room and purses/backpacks.    Look for warning signs…Has your kid lost interest in school?  Are their grades failing?  Are they sleeping all of the time?
3. Nothing new here but our kids are heavily influenced by their friends…stay tuned into their friends….ask them who they sit with at lunch and have kids over to your house for hangouts.

Most of all, we need to seek the Lord and ask Him for guidance.  We also need the support of our church family and Christian friends.  No one is alone on this journey…Praying today for you and your children…asking that you would continue to lift up mine!

It wasn’t long before I realized that he was not much older than my son (when did I get this old?).  I began to feel sadness well up inside of me as I thought about Joelan and how he will be on his own in three and a half, short years.  Is he ready?  Am I ready?  What will he be doing and have I prepared him well enough?  

I don’t think any parent is ever ready to let their child go.  At some point though, we have to release them and trust that what we did was good enough.  There are many things that I wish I could do over with Joelan.  He was our first and the guinea pig.  The poor kid had way too much protection from this overbearing momma.

Back to my airplane buddy.  We ended up playing Angry Birds together on my I Pad.  He gave me lots of good tips!  Then I asked him about his faith.  He told me he was more or less an atheist but was curious about religion.  I shared with him Romans 6:23 and drew out the bridge diagram.  Then I handed him several pages from my bible study book with verses on them.

Not sure what will happen to my new friend.  But I am praying for him today.  That he finds the Lord and draws on Him for strength in the days ahead.

A big thank you goes to Katie Landress, Kelci Cowan, Lucy Donely, Pat Ball, Paula Conn and Mitzi Bishop.  They have invested many hours getting trained and preparing each week for the club.

Excited to see God working in our community!

Over the summer a church friend asked me to start a women’s discipleship group, which sounded like a good idea.  I agreed and prayed that God would lead women to the group.  I also began to seek out friends that were looking for a group to plug into.  I never thought that this group would become one of the most meaningful activities of my week.

We are an eclectic group.  Some are single, some have babies, some are divorced, some have teens.  This week alone, one lost a loved one, one cared for an aging grandmother who broke a hip and femur, one listened as the doctor delivered difficult medical news to her husband, and one tearfully celebrated the 13th birthday of her daughter that died 5 years ago.

So in the midst of extreme sadness, how to we have joy?  What gives us the courage to push forward?  How do we overcome depression?

Our lesson today was on the word of God.  It is living and active.  It is our nourishment.  Meditating on it allows us to prosper. It is right, perfect and trustworthy.  It revives our soul.  It is the truth that sets us free.

I had the sweetest hour.  Thanking Jesus for fellowship with ladies who love Him and are striving to know Him more….

Is God mad at you?

I don’t think so.

I have felt far from God before.  There have been times that for one reason or another, I let my walk with the Lord fade.  I quit thinking about Him and neglected time in the word.  I have to admit that after months of living that way, I was afraid to go back to God.  Afraid that He was mad or disappointed.  I thought that it would take too much out of me to start living right again.

Each one of those times, I eventually had the courage to take that step of faith and return home.  I asked him to take me back.  And you know what?  He did.  Immediately.  Without hesitation.

And do you know how I felt?  Overjoyed.  Relieved.  At peace.

Is it time for you to go back to God today?  Do you need help?  You can’t miss Graystone services this Sunday.  It is for you.

This week what I am learning is simply to OBEY!

A year ago, God placed something that He wanted me to do on my heart.  I dropped the ball and did not take action.

Yesterday, as Nate was preaching about true religion, God nudged me again.

So today I made the call and Jonathan and I are taking the next step of faith in obedience to God.  Not sure where this journey will lead us but I will keep you posted.

There is nothing sweeter than the joy that comes from obedience.

How involved should I be with their homework and studying?  How much should I pry into their relationships?  When and how do I discipline and when do I get out of the way?

I woke up this morning with more questions than answers.  Then as I worked through my bible study, God gave me so many answers.  Here are a few….

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.  Proverbs 3:5-6

⁸ “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the LORD.
⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.   Isaiah 55:8-9

⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. ⁶ But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  James 1:5-6

I am turning it all over to the Lord this morning and trusting that He will guide me.  Praying for you to do the same.