The Cocoon

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force it's way through that little hole.

Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and could go no further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.

The butterfly, then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.

Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of it's life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

While the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were nature's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into it's wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us.



"Therefore I am content with weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong."

~ 2 Corinthians 12:10

What I Learned Today...

My heart has been so heavy the last few days. So many people are losing their jobs, homes and their life savings for retirement. i keep going back to the simple yet profound truth that "God is still on the throne!" Although this is black and white and should be so simple to remember, I am struggling. I was heading to my doctor today and was listening to Chuck Smith Sr. on Kwave. What a GREAT message he had for us. He was talking about troubles and hard times and how they are inevitable. God never promised us a life without trouble or pain. He does promise us that He is always with us. Pastor Chuck then went on to share how God is refereed to as "fire" several times in the bible. Fire as we know it can be so destructive, it can consume and destroy...leaving ashes behind. Fire on the other hand can also be a refiner. Look at what happens when gold is put in the fire and how when you heat it the impurities disappear leaving a pure gold behind. So, those are our choices....are we going to let the fire consume us and destroy us or are we going to let it refine us, transform us into something pure and beautiful? This is a questions that changed my outlook today. The devastation is still there, but my perspective has changed and I am looking for ways that this fire in our economy can refine me. Let us not forget though that we must hold each other in prayer during these times as sometimes there is pain during the refinement.

Church at Home

God is so amazing and He is generous with His blessings! On Saturday my girl didn't look well at all...she had glazed eyes, a fever and a cough. Bubbas was just getting a little better from being sick. Charlie was out of town at Rancho Community's Mens Retreat, with our old Pastor Mike Fabarez speaking!! Charlie had a life changing weekend...thank you Jesus! Anyway, I woke up Sunday morning and laid in bed thinking, Lord what should I do. Do I take all my kids sick and all and attempt church knowing the outcome to be stressful...my kids get a little cranky when they are not feeling well. When I was done praying I had clear direction to stay at home and create church with my family. I thought that my kids may not desire to do that but I went and gathered them all up to tell them we were staying home and asked them if they wanted to do church at home? Their response was one that I will never forget;

Alec immediately responded by saying "So, do you want me to prepare something, I can pick some verse based on what you want to talk about and we can memorize a verse." I said well what do you think we should focus on? Alec replied, "I think we should do it on respect."

Jake then responds, "Can we worship? I will find some songs to sing."

Bubbas just smiled, jumped up and down and displayed excitement as his brothers created the plan.

Samantha then stopped everyone in order to have their full attention and says "We need to do a craft or coloring, something about Jesus."



I literally sat in amazement and was so full of joy. So, on their way they went and in 45 minutes we were ready for church. We went in the living room and Alec brought his iPod with 3 songs that Jake and the boys picked. We sang to the Lord and were so blessed through our worship. We then prayed and prepared our hearts for the Word. Alec shared his verse on showing respect to God and what that means. I began then to share how we are to respect one another but that is only truly possible by having that respect for God first. Bubbas then wanted to share a verse with us and so he began to read. We talked and talked for over an hour and God and loving others. Throughout the conversations I had a few of my favorite questions;

Bubbas even asked "Should I ask the girl I want to marry if she loves God?" Jake asked "Can I be baptized, because I want to live for Jesus every day!"

We of course ended the morning with coloring! Alec went on the computer and printed out some pages to coloring of little children praying. Samantha set us all up with our own little coloring station. She was very organized!

We had a beautiful morning sharing with each other and worshiping the Lord. Sometimes we can't get to our family at church on a Sunday morning, but the Lord reminded me how when necessary you can create it in your home. Thank you Lord for your love! You are my life, my first love, my friend.

Ephesians 6: 5-8...5Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. 6Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. 7Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, 8because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.

Love & Blessings

Marriage

I am so excited to say that Charlie & I are taking "The Love Dare"! The Love Dare, by Stephen & Alex Kendrick is a 40-day challenge for husbands and wives to understand and practice unconditional love. Whether your marriage is hanging by a thread or healthy and strong, The Love Dare is a journey you need to take. It' time to learn the keys to finding true intimacy and developing a dynamic marriage. Take the dare!

This book is used in the movie called Fireproof, http://www.fireproofthemovie.com/ and I have heard it is an amazing movie. This Christian made movie is from the creators of "Facing the Giants". If funds are tight right now and you can't make it to the movies, we are going to have an open invitation to play the movie in our home once it is released.

We all need to continue searching and practicing for the love that God tells us about. The kind of love that He intended for us to have for one another. The kind of love that brought each one of us together with our spouse. I shared with a friend the other day to look at her ring and remember everything about it, what put it there, how it all started, but most importantly the very man who put it there. To remember that "Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails." 1 Cor. 13:-8

I pray for all of our marriages, that we may learn to make them what the Lord intended them to be. That as wives, we love and submit sweetly to the wonderful men God gave us. I pray that His loves overflows from us onto our husbands, lavishing them and leaving them with the frgrance of Christ.

My 37th Birthday!

Today was so special, not because it was my birthday, but because I realized once again how blessed I am to have so many precious people in my life. My day started off with my phone ringing at 8:00 am...mind you I was still sleeping for the first time in a while! It was my dearest friend Jennifer, singing "Happy Birthday" in her cute morning voice. We spent a good part of the morning talking about what we love most...being a mom! I miss my friend Jennifer and the times we would always share, but being so far apart makes it hard. The one thing I always know is that she will always love me & my family and that means the world to me and is the best birthday present....EVER!

As I came down for coffee my sweet husband and 4 beautiful children came in to say "Happy Birthday" with many hugs and kisses! Charlie then walks in with the most awesome camera I have ever seen! I was so not expecting this, but he knows how much I love taking pictures and how bad I wanted a good camera. The best part was each one of my children put in money from their heart. Bubbas was so cute and told me "mom I paid $5.35 for your camera!" How amazing is that! I love my husband and kids so much and am unworthy of their unconditional love for me.

After that I called Auntie Cilla and she wanted to call me right back because I shouldn't have called her on my birthday, crazy girl! The phone calls from there just came at the perfect time, making me feel so loved...My dad who called twice and when I called him back he said "Happy Birthday Toby", I love my daddy! Aunt Kimmie singing her famous "Happy Birthday" and then she even spiced it up and sang a new version on my home phone....sis, stick to your funny cards! Just Kidding, I love you...Shabro called with such a sweet Birthday wish, along with her hindsight on our bible study and my presence...we won't talk more than that...Brewer called with her uplifting heart to say "Happy Birthday" friend! I always smile when I talk to her. Tausha called to say Happy Birthday and wanted to come by to give me the most precious gift...a "Gluten Free" Strawberry Cake. It was sooo amazing and thoughtful, her card was beautiful and words of love that I will cherish. For the cake, I ate 3 pieces by the nights end. Who knows the calories that packed on my cute thighs. The greatest blessing about my cake was that it came from her heart, a few trips to the store, crying babies, flour in the pans...oops no flour, and the most adorable flower right in the middle, all making for an amazing present.

It was around 12:30 pm when my dearest mom came out from San Clemente to take me to lunch, an annual tradition for as long as I can remember. We headed to Chili's with Samantha to enjoy a fabulous gluten free lunch. She brought my gift in, just want to mention that it was in a brown and blue polka dot bag with the words "Baby Boy" on it! Well with the weight I have gained, people probably thought I was expecting...oh my! I first opened my card and began to read the most beautiful words...it brought tears to my eyes! She always make me feel so loved and cared for. Then I opened my baby gift, I mean birthday gift and it was full of "Spa Moments" and a silver ring that I am wearing already! When I got home Samantha took it all upstairs and placed it decoratively around my tub. Tonight I will light my candle, put salt in the water, rub a mud mask on my face and use the body scrub to exfoliate!
After Lyn left with the 3 boys I got ready for our night out with the Montgomery's! What would a birthday celebration be without them! They are dear friends to us and are like family in more ways than desired sometimes...ha-ha! They came over to pick us up to go to Outback for dinner. Well my friend brought in a cute little white basket full of the "Perfect Workout" for me. It came with a video, mat, water bottle...all the essentials for me to finally do something physically. Yippee! Then we went to dinner and laughed so hard my stomach hurts as we speak. It is funny that when we all go out, that is what seems to happen...we laugh about everything and just are full of love. I am so blessed that when I moved out here that the Lord brought her into my life. Everyday I am thankful for our friendship and the joy she brings me and my family, BFF! Oh yeah, did I mention that before they left home, the boys changed Montgomery's front tire...WOW! I then went and picked up Sam from Tausha's to find a little girl showered and adorable with new little treasures from Tausha. As I am driving home I read a text from a coworker, Jacquie..."Happy Birthday" she says with cute texting style!

All of this to say, Thank You to all my friends and family. I love you all so dearly and each of you hold a place in my hear forever. I know that I may not always say or do the right things or always be there for you...but I do love you so much and each day I try to grow in the image of him.

Thank you for making my birthday so special.

Our Family Vacation

Alec's 13th Birthday

We had such an amazing time celebrating Alec's 13th birthday! My parents had us over along with Mom Clare and 5 of Alec's friends from school. It was so neat to watch our son celebrate with family and friends this milestone in his adolescent life. It has been challenging at times as he is learning to walk his pathway according to the choices he makes. As a mother this is more difficult that I ever thought it would be. Letting go slightly as he grows older takes a lot of trust and prayer and patience as some of the learning's of life are sometimes learned through failing, pain and disappointment. Back to the party~ Alec & his friend Kellen won $40 in the Horseshoe tournament and Darryl's mom drove him from San Diego after his all day basketball tournament. We saw and big daddy barbecued an amazing lunch and dinner full of great food...not to leave out Linda's amazing side dishes and extra love touches throughout the day! The best part of the day was that my parents opened their home to have the party there. The lavished us with their generosity and love...I have the most amazing parents!