The 5 Simpsons: 2010

I know I have to be the WORST blogger in the history of, but hey I am a busy girl! We have been very busy and the next few months which is supposed to be titled the "lazy days of summer" are going to be anything but! Next week we have a short week and then the next is our North Central Family Camp at Budd Creek. I really do look forward to that. Last year I went to teen camp and quickly realized I was not a teen, no where near a teen, and well, I think I will like Family camp better. WE'll see anyway. The 17th is Mine and Cody's 4 year wedding anniversary. It's hard to believe in some ways, but our 3 children are a quick reminder it has been a little while since I walked down the aisle on a VERY hot June day! The 19th is Casey and Jade's wedding in Rector and Noah is going to be a ring bearer. I cannot wait to see if he actually goes through with it, but for their sake I hope he does! Then in July we have VBS. I am teaching the 1st and 2nd graders and am very excited about it. Last year I taught the 4 and 5 year olds and will be glad to get a little older one's this year! Our theme is 'Soul Survivor on Danger Island' it's pretty cute and does have lessons about Bible Character's not mentioned that much like Gideon. I always like lessons that the kids cannot always finish the rest of the story for you!

Speaking of VBS and the Lord, I was thinking of how complacent I and my family have become. Cody and I were on our way down to My mom and dad's house today and we listened to a sermon given to Cody by our friend Luke Moore from Jonesboro. I don't even know who the sermon was by, but he did a great job of sharing the gospel reminding me that I am so blinded by this world and the things it has to offer. Satan doesn't have to try to get church- going people into drugs, alcohol, even pornography instead, all he has to do is get us distracted with buying new things or having the latest and best of everything. Satan is beautiful and his ways appear to be beautiful but the end of them is death, destruction and a desire for more. I am so convicted about this in my life! For example, I will be at church and see someone witha cute shirt on and I will think, "you know, I could really use some new clothes". I will be so convinced by this claim that I will spend money that I really don't have OR money that could be used to further the cause of Christ in some way to buy myself new clothes even though my closet is completely stuffed with clothes already! Another example, my CHI went out this week. To those of you who know me, you KNOW that I DO NOT go anwwhere (Costa Rica, Jamaica...etc...) without one! I have medium/curly hair and it is frizzy and sometimes very difficult to deal with. B.C. (Before the CHI) I had to 'straighten' it with a curling iron.... it took forever, and didn't even work all that well. When I was telling Cody the 'history' behind the CHI in my life he quickly (oh, ever so quickly) reminded me that we really did not have the money for me to buy a new CHI. So, much to his suprise and my own I might add I told him that I did not want one anyway. He did not believe me at first, and to be quite honest I didn't believe myself. However, I remembered the verse in James that talks about letting God perfect us which means going through 'rough' times.

Now, to conclude this before I lose you, let me just say that I know that going without a $140 straightener is not necessarily a 'hard time' for most people. I have owned a CHI for 8 years now and to go without it is a major INCONVENIENCE! However, I want God to work in me, and I want to learn that I cannot always have what I want just because it might do the job better than the cheapo. There are starving children in the church that I attend, how in the world can I justify in my mind that it could be right for me to purchase a new CHI? The truth is I would love to go to JC Penney when they have their's on sale next week and buy one. I am 100% certain that with a little arguing and persuading my husband that a CHI is truly a necessity (and will benefit him in some way) that he would give in to my incessant nagging and just say 'go get one!' . That is the fleshly side of me, but the spirit woman inside of me wants to stick this out and be content with the $10 straightener from Fred's which does happen to be my favorite color, PINK! That's always a plus.

The point? God is all we need. Bro Mullins preached this morning that God was the Great I AM to Moses in the Bible and he is our I AM. Meaning he is everything we need for every situation in our lives. (No, he's not going to be a straightener...i wish, but he will provide and help my hair, he did make it afterall!). Seriously though, he is our comforter when we are broken. He is our healer when we're sick. He is our shepherd when we're lost and most importantly he is our Savior all the time. We are in such a need of JESUS, MASTER, EMMANUEL! Praise the Lord for the Lamb that was slain and bore the sins of the world! What sacrifice, what devotion, and what a pricey gift that was given by the Father. What does it take to follow Christ? The A,B,C prayer? admit, believe and confess? No, we're lying to kids when we say this to a point. Jesus said whoever wants to follow him they must pick up their cross daily and follow. The cross in the 1st Century was like our electric chair today...imagine saying you must pick up your electric chair and follow Christ daily. We must count the cost that it takes to follow the Savior. When we do count the cost, our lives will be forever changed. Sometimes I wish I could ignore the Holy Spirit and other times I really do, but submitting to the Lord is beautiful. Lord, do your work in me through this somewhat trivial ordeal. Thank you for your son and the sacrifice you made by giving him up! Happy Memorial Day, and may you remember the day of your Salvation and the Price it Cost our Lord and Savior! Much more than the price of my CHI! :)