God Moved In Mighty Ways Today.

Last week I posted about Liana's accident and the staples she had gotten.  They had to stay in for 7-10 days.  I wanted to take her in Thursday, but John had to work. Something kept coming up every day.  Last night I told John I would take her after church today.   Well, that ended up not happening!  God had other plans in store for us today.  Let me tell you about them.


In order to share with you the amazing events of today, I must start with yesterday.  I fell off the wagon.  I forgot to take my meds.  I had planned to run to Knoxville to go to Life Way to purchase the October Baby novel.  By the way, the DVD comes out on Tuesday!!!   On the way I stopped at Salsaritas to eat.  It is my new guilty pleasure. I LOVE their food.  They have some of the best tacos.  I am trying to learn how to make healthy choices when I go there.  However, I was given some wise advice in the beginning that I shouldn't make anything totally off limits because then it makes me want it that much more.  I indulge cravings when I want them (within reason), but I try to eat as healthy as possible the rest of the time.  On the way back home I stopped at Wal-mart to call my Dad and Bonus Mama.  My house is always very loud so I try to make time to be out when I call them.  It was 7:30 PM so I figured it would be a short call since we would both be getting up for church the next morning.  We talked and talked and talked.  Around 11:30 we finished our call and I was hungry so I stopped to get an order of hash browns at Waffle House. They were good. 


It was nearly 1 AM when I went to sleep so imagine my surprise when I got up at 8 AM this morning. Apparently, John decided to get up with the kids.  We were still planning on going to church, but I just couldn't get going in time.  We decided to skip church and I would take Liana in early to get her staples out.  When I took her last week we were there FOREVER so I assumed today would be the same.  Around 9:30 AM the kids were playing in the girls room and I went to mine with the intentions of getting clothes out to shower.  John came in and started talking to me. That was when God allowed me to witness something that changed my life forever.


A little back story.  I didn't grow up in church per say.  I read my Bible and home churched by myself a lot. I didn't start attending church regularly until my late teens.  When I was young Mama usually worked Sundays.  Aunt Flossie didn't drive so we watched The Mulls and TV preachers.  As I got older Mom struggled with finding a church she liked so we home church with TV preachers.  I went to church with neighbors occasionally, though.  I was 16 when she found found our church via a TV program.  I remember writing the church and asking them to pray for me about something.  That lead to the church contacting us and we eventually started attending the church.  I met a couple of friends who would give me rides to church when Mom didn't feel like going.  I got involved in youth group and that's all there was no going back.  Despite my lack of church attendance in the early years, I got saved at the age of 11.  It was in April.  We had planned on having me baptized on Mother's Day in my grandparents church.  My grandmother passed away a couple weeks before that would happen and I didn't get baptized until August.  Afterwards, I vowed that I would remain pure until marriage and I would only marry a Christian man.


Years passed and life got in the way of my commitments.  Looking for love in all the wrong places lead to choices I will regret the rest of my life.  God NEVER intended for sex to be outside of marriage.  I have baggage that I still carry to this day.  John and I both choose to learn from our mistakes now and are doing our best to raise our children to wait to even kiss.  Two years later I met my husband.  We met at church.  I had talked to him a couple times before.  My best friend set us up and we have been together ever since.  What more could I ask for?  I had a man that adored me, a Christian man...or so I thought.  A few months ago, John shared with me that he wasn't saved.  This crushed me.  No one wants to think of something happening to their loved ones and not seeing them again when they get to Heaven.  My oldest son tried to talk to Daddy about what God wants for our lives but he would always brush it off. 


This morning setting on my bed and talking to my husband led to one of the greatest experiences of my life.  I was able to lead my husband to Christ!!  We prayed.  I cried.  We talked.  I cried some more.  We had a great time of fellowship.  I am so thankful that God allowed me to be a part of this miracle.  This is why we are here.  There is no greater job for a wife and mother than to see to her family's spiritual needs.  Please keep John in prayer as he grows in Christ.  I pray God continues to give him wisdom and discernment as he becomes the spiritual leader for our family.


Afterwards, Liana and I got ready to leave.  We had lunch and I stopped by the Dollar Tree to get her a coloring book because I was sure we'd be in the ER forever.  It took us 20 minutes to shop.  She picked out 4 things she wanted and we headed to the ER.  We hadn't even got registered when they called us back to triage.  They popped her staples out in triage and we were on our way.  We shopped for distractions longer than we were in the hospital. LOL

Two Week Anniversary - Baptisms and Baby Dedications

Yesterday, I witnessed the most precious things in the lives of my children.  A year ago I had the pleasure of praying with my oldest and leading him to the Lord.  There is nothing better for a Mama's heart than knowing that your child will spend eternity with you and knowing they have made the choice to follow Christ.  Two months ago we were sitting in church when they made the announcement that they were going to be baptizing in June.  After we left church Sam asked if he could be baptized.  I told him to pray about it, because I wanted to make sure he was doing it for the right reasons.  After a week of talking about what it means to be baptized, I called the church office to put  him on the list. 

They had things scheduled so that Baby Dedication was supposed to be last week.  Due to a schedule change, Liana and Isaiah were also dedicated. As parents, one of the most important things we can do for our children is to give them back to God.  We learn about this in the book of Samuel.  This happens to be one of my favorite stories in the Bible.  Hannah was barren.  She cried out to God and asked him to bless her with a son.  When God granted her petition, Hannah took Samuel to the temple and gave him back to God.  With a baby dedication, we promise to raise our children in the fear of the Lord. 


Yesterday, service started off by baptizing 11 people.  Sam was one of them.  John went back with him and then helped him get dressed afterwards. As he stepped into the baptismal, he disappeared.  The pool was taller than he was.  I was a mess.  My heart was overjoyed and I couldn't stop crying.  I have a lot of dreams for each of my children. But, there is nothing I want more for them than their salvation; without that, nothing else matters. 


Then, John and I stood before God and promised that we would place our children in HIS hands.  I was so emotional I could barely stand up.  As the elders gathered  behind us, I know they thought I was going to fall.  I immediately noticed several hands on my back.  ;-)  Each of them was given a Bible. 


After church, we went out to lunch at Chili's.  Everyone was very excited because Aunt Cindy, Ms. Cyndee and Aunt Kathy not only joined us at church, but they went to lunch with us as well!  My kids surprised me by behaving relatively well during lunch. 

Yesterday was also the two week anniversary of meeting my Dad.  That seems so unreal.  It seems like it's been a lot longer than that.  So much healing as taken place during that time.  Life has been so busy, also.  It seems like I have barely stopped for anything.  My big focus right now is getting Dad's Father's Day present finished. 


Being the youngest (and a huge surprise) in my family has it's benefits.  Mom wasn't the greatest about keeping stuff, but thankfully my siblings have kept things.  They all have pictures of me.  The other night, my brother gave me pictures from when I was little and a picture of my Dad.  That meant the world to me.  Yesterday, my sister gave me a packet of photos to make copies of, too.  There is one picture of me that looks just exactly like Liana.  If it wasn't for the "old photo" look, I would've sworn it was her.  I really wouldn't be surprised to one day find out that we are some how biologically related.  Stephanie has always called her Mini Lisa because she looks and acts just like me.


My day was nearly perfect.  The only thing that would've made it better, would've been to share it with my Dad.  I am going to get the DVD of service, though.  One day we will watch it together.  I am so blessed with a great family.  Life is amazing and so worth living. 



For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness. - Psalm 107:9 (NKJV)



Blessing,


Weight Loss Mama