Answered Prayer

Let me brag on God's goodness for a minute here, and tell you what a humongous deal it is that we got to be a part of what He was doing. Kendra has a friend named Michael that we met at the beginning of the year. He is a high-energy, fun-loving guy, but there was a darkness about him. We were struggling first with wanting her to maintain a friendship with him, for fear of it causing her to stumble, but instead of doing anything, Kendra and I committed to praying for him. More recently, my other daughter, Kaitlyn started having a recurring dream about Michael being attacked by demons. She had it over and over. She was sitting at the island in the kitchen last Saturday telling Kendra and I about it - when.he.called to see if he could come by. She said she knew that God wanted her to pray with him, but she didn't want to. Not because she didn't want to pray for him, but because she is the shier of the two girls, and putting herself out there like that is not something that comes naturally to her. When he got here Kaitlyn told him about her dream and asked if she could pray with him, so four of us in our kitchen put our hands on him and she prayed with a sincere heart for this friend. It was so awesome to see her obey in something that was difficult. But the best part of all is Michael couldn't wait to come over and share with us all that God had taught him through the week when he was at camp. He stopped by on his way to work this afternoon and came in carrying his Bible! I can't explain how I know but he was just different. You could feel a lightness in his presence and see it in his eyes, and he was excitedly telling us all about all the things that he has come to understand over the past week. Praise the LORD!

T13 Edition #4 - Thirteen Things I Would Do With a Million Dollars

This T13 list is actually inspired by the movie The Ultimate Gift. My kids and I saw it yesterday. I didn’t know it was put out by “Fox Faith”. It was a great feel good, family kind of movie.

13 Things I Would Do With a Million Dollars

1. Send a large check to some of my favorite missions organizations, including personally to any missionaries that I know.

2. Release my husband from the 9-5 daily grind, to free up his creative energies to do things he’s always wanted but never had the time or resources to do.

3. Plan a family mission trip to an impoverished country.

4. Pay for my mother-in-law and both of her sisters to have their homes and property maintained, or help them in any way needed.

5. Get my hair done by a hairdresser with ears. (Refer to previous post!)

6. Set up savings accounts for my children to use for college, a down-payment for their first house, have full body tattoos, or whatever they would choose to do with it that would make them happiest.

7. Buy an RV and make it homey to use on semi-annual visits to see friends in WV, and family in NC.

8. Take a cross-country trip with my family to see places like Yellowstone, Laura Ingalls Wilder exhibits in several locations, the Grand Canyon, DEFINITELY the Badlands, the Rocky Mountains, etc. including every beach, mountain range, plain and forest.

9. Go to Walt Disney World in Florida.

10. Use it lavishly for random acts of kindness.

11. Enroll in Bible college and immerse myself fully in word study, theology, etc.

12. Build a library in Baborigame, Mexico and stock it with good books written in Spanish.

13. Move my house to a more secluded piece of land, and buy our whole family 4-wheelers.

The truth of the matter is, regardless of how hard I stretched my brain to think, none of the things I could do with a million dollars would really make the world a better place. I would not be a better wife or mother, a more loving friend, a more faithful follower of Christ. I could not buy my dad a new back, or heal my mom's mind and heart. I know I wouldn't be any happier.
In the end, the only thing that truly touches the world in an attempt to make it a better place is an abandoned giving of self. The message I got from the movie, one I’ve always known, is that the best things in life aren’t things, and that what you gain when you give of yourself is far more valuable than what you can obtain with money.
It was fun to think about anyway!

Funny Things Kids Say - "School" Dream

Kullen usually gets up and gets into bed with me when Travis gets out of bed to get ready for work in the mornings - sometimes his daddy is still there and he just wedges in between us. This morning was one of those mornings. He cuddled up to me in a half-asleep state and in a slightly amused voice said, "Mom -- I dreamed last night that I went to school!" I said, "You did? Did you like it?" "No," he said, "All we did all day was sit around on a bed." I opened my eyes now, and looked at him, slightly concerned that this child really had NO idea what "school" was like. I said, "Kully, have you ever seen a school before?" To which he condescendingly replied, "Yes mom!" So I tried to make my point, "They don't have beds in school." At this point he was really worried about me, so he explained, "Mom, it was a DREAM!"

Another funny point about this early morning conversation is that last night when I was reading The Magician's Nephew to him, something in the story triggered a conversation wherein I was explaining to him how adults often lose their ability to use their imagination! HA! Caught me!