Queenies Little Kingdom

Yesterday, all three kids and I went with hubby to church. Out in the country! Really, out in the country! The church sits in the middle of tobacco fields around 30 minutes from the nearest town. This isn’t total culture shock for us. We’ve been in small country churches many times. Years ago, hubby pastored the sweetest little church hidden down a clay road in North Florida. If it rained, we were in trouble. No one could get down that road to the church and all was cancelled. That only happened a few times while we were there. We loved those people. Most were farmers, but many were professional people that just lived in the middle of nowhere. It was so sad to leave them behind. But, seminary called. Off to Louisville we went. I cried. They were so good to us.

Our current circumstances won’t allow us to serve this little church full-time. We have grown up enough to know that it takes money to pay the mortgage and the costs of raising teenagers isn’t the same as baby days. We would love to drop everything and live the simple life, but that just can’t happen at this time in our lives. So, hubby agreed to preach for them until they can find a pastor. Of course, they love him and want him to stay. So tempting! But again, reality folks. We couldn’t pay our bills and that surely doesn’t honor God. I know minister’s face this all the time. We’ve done it ourselves…..we have served in places that the money wasn’t there to cover the cost to keep us afloat. It’s scary! Something happens to those guys in seminary, they feel as if they aren’t living in faith if they turn down a position that can’t pay them enough to make it. That old…..if you can’t be faithful in the small things….how will you ever be faithful with the big!?! I think they want so badly to obey that they tend to miss some of the reality of those situations. I know we did.

I don’t want to sound cynical or weak of faith. That’s not how I roll. I’m all for following God…and stepping out on faith. But, honestly. If you cannot pay your bills (not buy jetski’s and hd t.v.’s) bills! or buy your kids shoes and diapers or go to the doctor. That is not disobeying God for not serving there. Am I making sense? Churches that are small and cannot pay for a full-time pastor are great bi-vocational churches. Which is sort of the situation my hubby’s in now. He has a real job that can pay the bills and he can still serve them and most of their needs. However, our kids are plugged in at church in town. They are active in the youth group and we don’t want to flip that apple cart. It’s something we’re convinced must be consistent at this stage of their lives.

Here are a few pictures of the kids outside after church yesterday. We loved being there with the folks and will visit them again. We enjoyed being with dad too….we’ve never in our whole lives gone to different churches. EVER! Until this time. So being with him was great! We’ve missed his preaching! Who knows what God will do? We will trust Him and follow Him…even when it’s not in an ordinary way. Trust! Follow!

Ally, Gates & Gavin

If you’ve watched any democrat convention coverage….and felt like you were left with, huh? What? This will crack you up. I love this ministry. I have watched most of these and never get tired of sharing them with others. I wish more people would speak up about what they believe. Even more than that, I wish they really KNEW what they believed and understood why!

To find more of STOPLIGHT….go to Citizen Link

This was the summer my husband didn’t have a job! We’ve never experienced one like it. So, in a way we were bummed out. On the other hand, we had many things to be very thankful for. We still choose to praise God….even if we didn’t get to do our summer trips to the beach and to Florida to see family.

One exciting tradition that we did keep for the summer was our trip to The Beach Waterpark in Cincinatti, Oh. We went with a group of best friends and it was the most fun! Here we are living it up……beach style in Ohio. Woohoo!

We always spend the entire day riding everything in the park. We eat lunch pic-nic style and have icecream in the park. After we leave the park, we stop at Bob Evans for some good home-style food and pig out! We usually close them down. It’s a great tradition and we love doing it every summer. If you haven’t been to this waterpark and you are in Cinci…..go try it out. It’s small but still packed with family fun!

A lunchtime break….pose for picture!

With a lil touch up work!

Hangin in the wave pool!!!

I’m not a secretary! Not even in the pretend world. I stink! One summer my husband needed a secretary at the church. He thought that I’d be a great fill-in and the extra money in our pocket would surely be a fun bonus. Hmmm! No, to both of those ideas! I hated it! I quit almost everyday of the 2 months that I worked there. He was no fun to work for. Plus, I hated the whole idea of office work. Misery, folks!

First problem? I had kids at home from school (at this time they were about 3rd, 5th & 7th grade) just babies as you might agree. I felt so torn to be there and take care of them. The office hours were just mornings, but I’m not a morning person. So my arrival time was a problem for the boss, my husband. I would get to the office around 9:30ish (ideally he would have preferred 8-8:30ish). What Ev! This was a frustration for him and for me. I really needed to handle the house and kids before I could traipse off to some “fill-in” secretary job. I was difficult, I suppose! But my priorities were my kids.

Second problem? Our beloved labrador, Maggie had delivered 8 PUPPIES!!!! Do you know how big lab pups are? They are huge! She was a busy mama and the work from these creatures was FULL TIME! We had puppy jobs ALL day long. Every day that summer! Do you know how much poop 8 puppies poop? I had NO free time to do anything else! But, there I was, at church working in a secretary job for a few bucks. Ridiculous! I was so torn! I couldn’t concentrate at all while I was at the church.

On top of all those problems, was the simple fact that I’m not designed for that type of work. I’m not a computer guru and every single thing I had to do there…….was on the computer. I had to ask the boss questions about every single thing. Oh, and did I mention how busy he was? Yea, he was constantly busy. So many people want to talk to the pastor…..every time I needed him…someone was in there. Dang! It was crazy frustrating! Then when he gave me something to type up, I would want to change it completely. Inevitably, it would not make sense. I felt like I was always finding mistakes or making changes that he didn’t want. I was not the right person for the job. Period.

Today, I had to fill-in as a secretary for one of my principals. Oh yea, it was eventful! It happened to be incredibly busy in there, of course! His regular secretary had surgery and wouldn’t be able to return until next Tuesday. I hobbled along, faking every duty as I went. It seems nothing catastrophic happened under my service…but those old memories came back. I am at peace with my calling in life. I’m a rock in a classroom! Bring on a lesson plan…..and some kids to teach. I can do it! I love teaching! Tomorrow, I’ll be going back in to help him again. The one good thing about it, TGIF! I’ll be wearing my game face and taking on each challenge as if……God himself asked me to do it. I’ll work like it is my privilege to be there. Isn’t that what God expects of us? He expects excellence! I want to be that! Sometimes, we have to step out of our element to grow. I’m willing! Are you?

The greatest fear a mother has in her life is the death of one of her children. I’d like to tell you about two mother’s that I have been praying for since the loss of their beautiful daughters. Neither knows the other yet they have an exclusive membership in a club no one wants to belong to. One of living without a child that God had entrusted to them. Why do things like this happen? I don’t know. It’s not my privilege to know and for that matter, what could I do? I’m just human, not God. He is the giver and taker of life. It is He that we must trust….in life and death!

I’ve been friends with Teresa for about six years. We work together at the same high school. Her daughter, Tara is the same age as my son. On April 30th, the Wednesday before the Senior Prom, Tara was running late for school and pulled out in front of a truck loaded down with cynder blocks. She was killed instantly! I can’t describe the devastation felt across our school and community. Tara was a flash of excitement! Her life was so full and she had so much to live for. I always think of her as a “rockstar”! She was that amazing! People stopped to look at her when she walked in a room. She wasn’t afraid to speak the truth and she usually said whatever was on her mind. Tara was so good at making friends and she made others feel accepted when they were around her. Her crazy behavior got her into trouble and her laugh was infectious! She was FUN! Everybody loved her and if they didn’t…..they wanted to. She left an incredible mark on this world. Tara also left behind a son, Colin. She was a teenage mother. A choice that she took responsibility for. She was a sweet and loving mother. Tara was planning her future, a wedding to the love of her life, Ryan.

My heart broke that day for my friend. It still does today. There are no words that can take her ache away. I can’t change the reality of what happened. I wish that I could. God has all authority over heaven and earth. Who am I to question him? I can’t! He is the Alpha and Omega. I must trust Him. Even when it doesn’t make sense. I’ve watched Teresa wrangle with her grief and at times it seems it will overtake her. She will never be the same. How could she? A part of her is gone from this place. Eternity has called and Tara is now truly home.

Just two days before Tara died, in the lone star state of Texas another daughter died tragically. I found Georgia on the blog of Vicki Courtney (founder of Virtuous Reality a ministry to teens and moms). She was sharing about the loss of her daughter, Rachel. Around the same time I noticed her posting on the LPM blog as well. Her only words were, “I’ve just recently lost my daughter, please pray for me!”. My heart instantly broke. I couldn’t imagine what this mother was going through. I found her blog and read all about her sweet Rachel. She was just fifteen years old. Rachel took her own life. She left no note. Only a 15 year lifetime of precious memories and the many questions of why. She was beautiful, popular…..a successful student, cheerleader, on the flag team and track team. She was the baby in her family. Her brother was in basic training in the military at the time and had to return with his grief all alone. What a way to grow up, huh? How does a heart withstand such hurt?

I checked on Georgia every chance I had this summer. Sometimes, she wouldn’t post for a while. I didn’t blame her. I prayed for her and I hurt for her. Even questioning God, why? Why this child? Why Tara? Both of these mothers….how could their hearts ever mend? Only with God and his tender mercy. It’s been amazing to see God at work through Georgia. Her testimony to God and His faithfulness in this tragedy is unbelievable! While her heart is broken she knows without a shadow of a doubt that she will see her Rachel again. The sweet promise of heaven! I’ve learned some valuable lessons from their grief. Do not miss sharing your love with anyone especially your family. It can be gone in an instant. Never take one day for granted. Say what you feel and hold the ones you love longer than you normally would. Take in every bit of them. They are only on loan from God, we do not possess them! Thank you God for sharing! Because of You, Lord, we are blessed to be called mothers.

Both of these mothers have precious sites dedicated to honoring their girls. Go see for yourself and meet these beautiful young women. If you are a mother, you will feel an instant connection with these ladies. God has a purpose for both of them. He’s not finished with either of them. Remember to pray for them and lift them up to God. Each month that passes must bring with it a renewed feeling of loss. Pray that God would fill their hearts with love and peace….comfort that can only come from Him. Maybe even leave a note of encouragement. God bless them both……and hold them in your hand.

Go meet Tara……..

Go meet Rachel……..

My sinus headache has taken me to a new level of misery!  The burn in my throat every time I swallow reminds me that I’m certainly not cut out for the profession of “fire breather”!  It’s killer!  It all started with Ally.  She spent the entire weekend in bed feeling so sick with the sinus gunk.  Runny eyes, nose, aching all over (as if she’d fallen out of a moving car) and the ever lovely throat thing.  I did my mother-lovin best to doctor her back to good health, only to be struck myself on Sunday afternoon.  Little did I know what a whopper of a dude this sickness would be.

This morning, in my first period class.  The tutor who comes in to assist was sick and so were three of our students.  We were a total mess.  Snotty nose blowing misery!  Each of us whining and comparing the horrors of our particular illness.  It seems these Indiana allergies are alive and rampant.  Leaving it’s victims worn out and exhausted. Oh red-eyed and red-nosed too. Not a hot look!

I guess we could think of sin sorta like these pesky allergies. It sneaks up on us (when we least expect it) and it engulfs us before we know what hit us. Once we are strapped with the infection we have to suffer until it’s all cleared up. With sin, we suffer until we clear it all up with God. The medication for sin? Repentance and change! If you were allergic to cats you wouldn’t agree to “cat” sit a friends kitty while he’s on vacation. Same with sin, if you know the path it takes to put you back in that sin spot……don’t take it! Flee!

I’m guilty of making the same mistakes more than once and I bet you are too. But with God’s help we both can avoid the pits of the past and live victoriously. We can feel free and carry on with peace and joy in our hearts, like God desires. He is the master of forgiveness and lover of our hearts. Yes, our hearts (as wicked as they are)! Have you any sin that needs clearing up today? If you do….I pray you meet with God right now and do it. Unlike allergies (they tend to linger), He is always ready to take sin away pronto!

Psalm 51:1-2 “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion, blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.”