A Lesson In Giving

Wow! What an awesome week we've had! I was so blessed this past Monday that it has changed me. You could say.."oh, someone gave you money and you're just happy about that"---PLEASE don't miss the message I have to share....and please don't misinterpret this as me bragging....I just want to share what God is doing in my life as a testimony of His faithfulness, in hopes that someone out there reading this may also be changed..or maybe some perspectives may be changed.

I've realized that had we sold the house right away and/or received a profit, I would have given God the glory but would I have learned what I did about God and His awesomeness??? You see, we felt like we were in a hopeless situation and without asking anyone for help, God showed us that He was in control and handled it all for us. It is a small miracle for us!! But is any miracle small? In my opinion it's not....

As a result of what God did for me, I was so grateful and so amazed at His goodness that I surrendered to serve Him wholeheartedly while we are here. I've been so caught up in sadness, loneliness, boredom, and fear, that as I've been serving Him, I was not able to give Him all of me. He used someone to meet our needs and that someone was willing to let God use Him. He had the means to meet our needs and gave it wholeheartedly to us. We've never been the receiver to such a tremendous monetary gift but unfortunately, it has taken this gift to show me that we have got to be "givers" to meet the spiritual needs of others. It doesn't have to be money as the gift, but in my situation, God used money to meet my spiritual needs (as well as physical) by showing me how God is faithful to keep His promises. I can't meet anyone's needs through giving money like this man did BUT... I can give my service to help meet the needs of others. I can give my gift of time to listen to others. I can give my gift of prayer to intercede for others.

A lady who was once in our church years ago was in an automobile accident 2 years ago and her husband was killed instantly. She was hurt by the last pastor in our church and is not currently an active church goer. Recently, she went to Denver to have a procedure done on her heart and bottomed out while there and spent a week in ICU. Because she lives alone, she couldn't return to her home because she was unable to dress herself or lift anything due to weakness. She stayed with friends for a while but called me this week when she returned back to her home and asked me if she could hire me to clean her house for her. I agreed and set up a time to go over the next day. However, I felt the Holy Spirit showing me that I could give to her by doing it without pay, not because she couldn't afford it, but because He wanted me to share with her what He was doing in my life. I had an overwhelming need to give back to someone....and I believe that spending time with this lady while helping her in her home and doing it with a loving, servant's heart, blessed her. We talked the whole time and I made a new friend......and Praise GOD...she was at the Fish fry tonight at our church!

Remember that "Lesson in Friendship" two blogs ago? I was walking Wednesday night at football practice with some of the other mothers and shared with them the amazing story of what God had done for us. (Let me remind you, these are my "cursing and drinking friends") When I finished my story, one of them actually says to me "I think you are here for more than just that church in Vallecito....I think you are here for us too. We are all just a bunch of women wanting more of God....Jennifer (one of the other mothers) didn't even believe in God but last week, she asked Him to prove Himself to her and He did! (the Holy Spirit drawing her to HIM before I had even met her) Maybe we should just have a 10 minute bible study at football practice".....what?? God was using her to show me my purpose! WOW! She also said that she had not been to church in a long time and that her pastor and his wife (whose's son is on our team) never comes and sits around and talks to them like we do and that has meant a lot to her......WOW! It's just the gift of giving our time to be with them while at practice that has had an impact on them. Yes, I am uncomfortable with their mouths at times and listening about their lifestyles but I accept them as they are and hope that they see God in me and long for that! Thank you God for the gift of time and showing me how to use it for you!!

I went to see Chonda Pierce last Friday night on her "This Ain't Prettyville" tour. Her message was that we need to be real with people and not try to hide that we as Christians have problems too. And that we need to really listen to each other and support each other as we continue to struggle with sin. Being there for one another.......that's a way of giving. Grace gave to us in their support, service, and time. Vallecito has given to us financially. They are equal in blessings when given from God's direction. Peter said in Acts 3:1 "Silver and gold have I none but I will give you what I do have. In the name of Jesus, rise up and walk"......Peter had the power of healing thru Jesus that he gave to the man because that's all he had to give him!!
I sure hope that I am making sense in all this. I've given and I've served in the past....but now my perspective is so much different. I pray that we all might give "in the name of Jesus" whether it's giving our time to listen to someone, to pray for someone, to serve or help someone, to encourage someone, or to meet their financial need because I have finally come to the point in my life that Acts 20:35 is alive in my soul....."It is more blessed to give than receive"....Praise God for showing me that I can give myself for others in His name and be blessed from it! So can you and I pray that you will, doing it all, not for them, but for Jesus!

God's Faithfulness

So much has happened today that I can't even remember what else I was going to report on for last week!! Before sharing what God has done for us, I do want to mention that Mason's team won their football game again, 32-6. He was a team captain this week.....here he is walking out to meet the opposing team captains for the coin toss...

He was also the kick-off kicker this week and did really good...along with making 8 tackles...

GO BAYFIELD!!! They are an awesome little team!

OK, today I am overwhelmed with the sovereignty of our GOD. He has proven Himself faithful to fulfill His promises to us and we are amazed at His mighty works! We have been so discouraged about the sale of our house; how every offer we have received has been a lot lower than what we needed. We just thought that thru our obedience in moving out here, God will sell it fast for us and bless us in it. I have clung on to Prov. 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all thy heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight".....I kept reminding myself that His ways were not my ways, that I could not try to understand this in my own thinking but just had to trust Him...and isn't that so hard to do when you can't see the end result???!!

Anyway, before we left for Alabama, a man in our church told Mike that he wanted to give him a certain amount of money to go towards the house. It was such a large amount that Mike told him that he couldn't take it but was humbled at the offer. I want you to understand that we have asked the church to pray for the sell of our house but they had no idea what our direct needs were and we didn't talk about it that often either. So we go to Alabama and while we are working at the house on that Wednesday, our realtor comes over with an offer that is the highest we've received thus far. It is still pretty short so we counter back and wait. On that Friday night, another man from our church called to tell us that someone had anonymously donated money to go toward our house. This amount and the amount that the first man had offered was the exact same amount so I assumed it was from the same man. However, when I revealed who had tried to give us money the weekend before, Bill said that it was not the same person; so therefore within 7 days, the same large amount of money had been offered to us. It soon hit us that the total of the two amounts was what we would have needed had we accepted the offer presented to us on Wednesday!! WOW!! I felt that God was showing us that He was in control and He would "supply all our need".

So the story goes that she didn't accept our counter offer and after God had shown us all that, we went back and said that we'll take the first offer, returned to Colorado, and waited. After 3 weeks passed, we figured that the lady had changed her mind and I had resolved that God will be faithful to provide an offer thru someone else. However, last Thursday we got an email from the realtor saying that she is presenting the same offer and he will email us the contract when he gets it. On Friday we get the contract and after talking to our realtor, he gives us a figure of what we'll actually get minus all the closing costs. I then call the mortgage company to get a pay off quote and we realize that what we'll have to pay to get out of this is 50% more than what we had thought orginally and this is money that we did not have. Both of us before signing the contract had a lot of doubt on whether we should do this....but I kept vocalizing that God had shown us 3 weeks ago in Alabama that He was going to take care of us as long as we were doing the "right" thing (as opposed to letting it go into forclosure since we knew we were just losing money on it). Now let me say that we were not going to go back to the first man who offered us money and ask for it back....but we did know that the 2nd offer of money that was donated was available if we needed it. So we knew we had access to 1/3 of what we needed....but that 2/3 was still needed and to us, it was a huge amount and a huge step of faith to sign that contract and send it in. Once signed on Friday, I came straight back to my room and opened the bible to read out of Colossians. As I was reading, I thought "I don't remember this being what I read yesterday" but it was good! It was actually Phillipians Ch. 4 instead of Colossians that says "Rejoice in the Lord.....Don't be anxious about anything but with prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God, and the peace that passes all understanding will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus".....WOW! He led me straight to that passage so I started quoting it over and over and even printed it out and posted it around the house. I started feeling that peace and Mike would come in with that expression of worry on whether we are doing the right thing and then it would make me worry...so I would repeat the passage again....and again.....and again.....Thank you God for your WORDS and PROMISES!!

So Sunday comes along and Mike tells the church that he had fully intended on preaching out of Colossians again but that God had shown him in a dream that night to preach out of Acts, the story of Peter's hopeless situation in jail and how God provided an angel to get him out. It was titled "What To Do When You Don't Know What To Do" and the essence of the message was that you trust God and just let Him be in control. This applies to all situations when there is just nothing else you can do......in sickness, in relationships, in finances, etc. I felt great about our decision and confident that God would provide but the blessing that God showed me came during the altar call.....precious 83 year old Dan Throckmorton came to the alter with his wife Millie who has Alzheimer's Disease and is slowly deterierating day by day. God showed me thru this precious couple that my problems and my needs are nothing compared to what Dan faces everyday. I was so broken as God revealed to me how small my problem was and how much time I have wasted on worrying over such an insignificant thing as money. It was a revelation from God....and I received it as a blessing. I also think that Mike preaching about it helped him to have peace about whatever the outcome might be.

Well, we didn't have to wait long at all. God used Dan and Millie to teach me a spiritual revelation and meet my need for peace and trust in God on Sunday, and then he used Dan and Millie today to meet my physical need for that 2/3 still needed to pay off the house.....that's right, he came over today and wrote us a check for the remaining amount we needed...and again I was so broken at the amount of the gift! I was so broken at the way God was faithful to that promise that He would "supply all our need according the riches that are in Christ Jesus" and that there was a willing servant of His that had such a giving heart!! I have been overwhelmed by the love of God, by His faithfulness, by His people, by His promises!! ALL PRAISE AND GLORY BE TO OUR GOD!!

It is very humbling to be the receiver of such a huge gift but Dan told us that we would rob him of the blessing of giving if we didn't accept it. This experience has increased my faith and made me want to be more of a giver. I hope this testimony can encourage you in your daily walk with Christ and I want to say "THANK YOU" from the bottom of my heart to all who have prayed for our house to sell over the past 10 months. When Peter left the jail, he went straight to the people who had been "earnestly" praying for him to show them what God had done and increase their faith; I, in the same way, am coming to the people who have earnestly been praying for this situation to tell you what God has done.

May your faith be strengthen as well....To GOD Be the GLORY!

A Lesson in Friendship

What a week I have had! It's been a week of ups and downs and God has shown me a lot this week through His word. I struggled at the beginning of the week with loneliness--really missing my precious friends in Cullman. Although I have some friends here, it's just different....the relationships are not very deep...you know the type where you can just really share your heart with them because you know that they'll love you no matter what's said?...that's the relationship that I miss. Now I know that I can call my sweet precious friends in Cullman any time and they'll listen to me (and thank you for that), but because we are living such different lives now, I need someone that is like me, that loves me, and that values the same things I value. Sometimes I feel like I am in a foreign land here!! Anyway, I say all that to say that God has shown me this week that friends are out there, and although they may not be just like me, He has a plan to use me in their lives for His glory.
I was able to help my friend Michelle who has 5 children, ages 3-17, whose husband lives/works in Washington, DC. And I'm lonely?? At least I have my husband here! Michelle is a great christian lady and my hearts desire when I first met her was to be able to assist her when I could since she is essentially a single mom. She attends church in Bayfield, but as a result of VBS this summer, her 2 smallest really got to know me better and now feel comfortable with us, so on several occasions the last couple of weeks, I kept Jack and Annie for her so she could have some time with her older kids. Now we are carpooling to school in the mornings and Michelle and I have gotten a lot closer.
At football practice, I have spent time with some of Mason's friends moms which has really made me feel better. Now they are going to start walking with me during practice. These "friends" are nothing like me....on occasion they leave practice to go get a margarita or glass of wine, and their vocabulary is not the cleanest (and they have no filter!), and they are wealthier than me. As I was walking and listening to one of them the other day, I got to thinking that what if because I am with these women at practice, the other mothers (that I don't know) think I am like them? But then God showed me later in mine and Kristin's conversation that developing a relationship with these women, will hopefully let them see Him through me!! Whoa! I could possibly be the only person in their lives that knows Christ....what an awesome responsibility!! So now I am just seeking opportunities to minister to them in love and pray that somehow and someway, they will seek the awesome forgiveness, mercy, and redemption that our Lord wants to give them....
Then, there's Sandi...thank God for Sandi.....she is one of those friends that is like me. So much a like that she can be hard to read (so to speak)..and I know I'm that way too before you get to know me well. We have a lot in common and mainly it's our desire to live a life pleasing to God. Chonda Pierce was in Farmington, New Mexico, on Friday night and I wanted to go but I messed around and didn't get tickets before they had sold out. Sandi had already agreed to go with me and I felt like I let her down by not getting the tickets in time. So I told her we were going anyway, on faith that someone would have extra tickets to get rid of and if we didn't get in, we'd just catch a movie or go shopping. It is about an hour and 30 minute drive, so we got there, went right up to "will call" table and told the lady that we had just come out on faith to get in tonight and she handed me 2 free tickets! Chonda is a "christian that is a comedian" and brought two "up and coming comedians" along with her and they were all so good! I laughed and laughed and it felt sooooo good! Thank you God for a night of laughter...."it does good like medicine"!
I know it may seem like I'm rambling but I wanted to share what God showed me about friendship this week and give Him glory for the friends He has placed in my life here since I haven't appreciated them very much. Unfortunately, all too often, I have lived on the side of friendship that looks and appreciates what that friend does for me (example- love, acceptance, laughter)and I'm sorry for that. Now, I am learning that instead of trying to have friends to meet MY needs, I need to BE a friend to help meet other's needs. Thank you my Cullman friends for being an awesome example for me to live by and I am sorry that I haven't appreciated you enough. I miss you soooo much but I know that because of our Christ connection, we'll always be life long friends. It's hard to live day by day without you in it........(pause for tears..yes, I am crying b/c I miss you!)
May God bless my sacrifice for His Glory alone and use me to introduce others to Him

I have a lot more to share about this week but since it's midnight, I shall pick it up another day.

"The Lord is my strength and shield; my heart trusts in Him and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song" Psalms 28:7

School's Back in Session!

School started yesterday and this is how they felt about it.........HA!

It was Mason's first day of Middle School and he loved it. His locker is on the bottom which stinks but he has many of his friends in his classes. The first 9 weeks he has computer and Art as his specials. We were disappointed that Chance didn't get in his class but he does get to see him at lunch. Now Landon's first response when I picked him up was "Is it too late to be homeschooled?" I said "what happened?" and he said "we had to run around the gym 5 times in PE and every time we go to PE we're going to have to do it more and more"......that's so Landon!!

Sporting their Alabama backpacks...>Roll Tide Baby!!!

We are the proud owners of another 7 passenger van....whoo-hoo! Last year, Mike was pretty passionate about selling our van and purchasing a car with better gas milage because our gas bill was outrageous. We purchased a used 2008 Dodge Avenger which has been great for gas milege but the boys have been soooooo uncomfortable in it. Haven is still in a car seat and will be for a while because she is still at 33lbs.....Anyway, an older couple in our church had a van that they wanted to sell (we heard about in May). Course I wanted it right away but in trying to be good stewards of what God has given us, we felt we needed to wait on the house to sell before even talking to them about it. The couple ended up buying a new vehicle last week and were ready to sell so we had to jump on before they sold to someone else. It is a 2003 Chev. Venture with 52,000 on it, almost as much as our Avenger has on it!! It's in excellent condition with low miles and they gave us a great deal on it...so Praise God! The boys are very, very thankful for it.

So now we have an 08 Avenger for sale! Pray that we'll sell it soon and if we can just get out house sold, we'll be debt free!

Speaking about the house, there is an offer coming and I'm pretty sure we'll be taking it. Please pray for God's provision as we get this house off of our hands! It's not the amount we need but we will trust God to help us.....-Lori

Go Bayfield Wolverines!!

Mason's first game was Saturday and they won 13-6 against Cortez! Supposedly Cortez was suppose to be the toughest team so we'll see.....

Mason did awesome too! He is playing Offensive guard, linebacker, and defensive end. He played every play in the game and loved every minute of it! As you can tell from the pictures to follow, he is one of the biggest on the team. He is in the middle of the next picture and look at him compared to the ones on the left!! And they are all starting 6th grade!

I was really dreading football but it's been fun so far...when he played in 2nd grade, we didn't win a game so it was fun to win yesterday (but sorry for Cortez!)

After the game, we had a picnic at the park in Cortez....we had to drive 1 hour and 30 minutes to get to Cortez. Cortez is located on the other side of Mesa Verde National Park. Check out this merry-go-round....

I love how much my kids love each other and get along!



This was the view from the park....beautiful!

Tomorrow is open house for Landon and then football practice for Mason.......last day of summer for them!

Winding Up Summer...

Well it finally warmed back up a bit during the day and it's feeling like summer again....We are trying to make the most of our last week of summer. Tuesday we went back to the Durango Mt. Resort to use our tickets from the rain check day....the boys love the alpine slide..,

Haven joined us this trip and loved it also......

Haven got to do the trampoline this trip...the boys did it the first time they came....she loved it!

More pics of Haven on this one (Jeff Silvey-HA!) because I posted the pics of the boys doing all this stuff the last time we went. We ended the summer Friday Night Youth this past Friday and last night was the last Wednesday night Movie Night. Yesterday, friends Cooper and Tommie Jane came over and we went swimming in the lake. Tomorrow, we are going to Durango to the Rec Center to play at their splash pad and indoor pool. Mason has had football every night and went last night to spend the night with his friend Chance. The past two nights we have been outside in our lounge chairs, covered up in about 4 layers of blankets, watching the meteor shower. Last night, Landon said "Daddy I love you...thank you for doing this" referring to setting up everything and sitting out there with them. So precious!

I have been blessed with many cabins to clean this week (my closest friends are so surprised that I actually LIKE cleaning cabins--- it's good money, flexible, and close to home). Mason's first game is Saturday so we'll be traveling almost to Mesa Verde to play Cortez. So that's what's been going on in this household.......hope you feel blessed today...you are a blessing to me!

--Lori

Summer???

Since we've been back, it's like summer is over......it's cold (54 tonight), the tourist are gone, the lake is receeding and it's AUGUST!! Honestly it's like we've had one month of summer. Some of you think that would be wonderful, I know, but this girl is a summer loving idiot! Bring on the sun and the water! Anyway, still trying to be content........

We finished up VBS this week and will be finishing up youth night tonight (for a while anyway). Mason started football this week, 5 days a week for 2 weeks, and then his first game will be the 15th, before school even starts! Then practices will be 3 nights a week. They start school on the 18th so we have one more week of freedom! If school could just start at 10:00, I wouldn't dread it so much.......

Yesterday we went to eat lunch with Jennifer and Chaz Shafely who are summer residents but live in Durango in winter. Their place is gorgeous and the location of their house is amazing....

it's over at Granite Peak Ranch on the other side of the lake. I had to take some pictures of this place....the house was a cabin and it was decorated so cute on the inside...

These next shots are taken from their front yard....





I have a couple of prayer requests for you guys today....

-----My dad is having hip replacement surgery today...pray this goes well and that he has a speedy recovery.

---I know you are probably sick of us asking you to pray for our house to sell, but we received an offer, then counter offered and they didn't take it. So we went back and told them we'd take the first offer. God has showed us that He will provide so all we can do is trust Him. Please pray that these people will take this offer back and that the house would pass inspection. The waiting is agony!! I hope to one day be able to share with you what God has done to show us His provision.

Love to you all---- Lori

Summer Trip- Part 3

Alright....to finish up this trip that has been drug out way too long....My birthday was Monday, July 27th and it was an awesome day! Mike and the boys left from Fayette the night before and Mike took the boys back to Cullman while he went to Georgia to play golf with his cousin Jackie and Uncle Herman. This totally left the day open for special birthday time with Mom. After some shopping in Tuscaloosa (my favorite place in the world to shop!), a visit to see my friend Cathy Bell's new gorgeous home, and a trip to Olive Garden for lunch, we went to my Aunt Terry's house and Ashley had made me this awesome cake!

Haven had a blast playing with Taylor, Riley and Ridge! She even was brave enough to go off the diving board! She learned to swim last year but because she has not gotten to play in water much this summer, she had to work her courage back up....

Mike got back from Georgia on Monday night and here's the cake from him.....

So personal, HUH! But good all the same! (In his defense, no one at Walmart could write on it at the time he went by). We left Gordo after lunch on Tuesday and went to Cullman to Bonnie and Shane's to pick the boys up. They so graciously let the kids invite some of their church friends over and we thank you Bonnie and Shane for helping make the kids visit much better. The boys on Monday spent some time with Blane and Carly Pope also, so thanks Christy for having them at your home also. We met friends Jeff and Tammy Silvey for supper and then it was off to Nashville to prepare for an early morning flight. It is so hard to leave Alabama when we come but we thank God for the short amount of time He allows us to visit. WE ENJOYED SEEING ALL OF YOU AND THANK GOD FOR THE GIFT OF FAMILY AND FRIENDS!

Summer Trip- Part 2

On Thursday of our trip, we headed to Gordo to see our family......it's hard for them that they have to share their time with Cullman friends but they are very understanding (thanks Mom and Mama Kaye!!). Kaye's sister Gail and her son Brandon came up from Cuthbert, GA, to see us and stayed thru Saturday. Thanks Gail and Brandon for coming up! We love you and enjoyed getting to see you! Hope your trip home was not as bad as your trip there!

We thoroughly enjoyed the precious times we spent with our families. I love the bond of cousins and the kids have so much fun together. Here are some shots of the Owen families......

Carter, Sydney, Haven, and Landon...

Kayci, Angela, and Denise.....

Denise and Mark...

Brent and Hannah (getting married Oct. 10th)!!

Carter and Parker.....

On Friday we ate lunch out with my dad. He seems to be doing well but is having hip replacement surgery on August 10th. Please pray for him during his surgery, recovery, and pray for protection against depression (which he had after his last surgery). Saturday night, I got to visit with friends Angie and John Junkin and see their precious daughter Maggie finally!(Clint wasn't home :() I remember Angie when she was around 3 and 4 and Maggie looks so much like her mommy and uncle Eric! So adorable!

On Sunday, I joined mother at FBC at their 10:00 service to meet her new pastor and hear him preach. This is my home church and it was great to see many of the people who helped to mold me into the Jesus follower I am today. Mike preached at Emmanuel Baptist Church (his dad's church) at 11:00 so we scooted over there after FBC's service. They are such a loving little church and it was great to be with them all again. Ms. Peggy, it was great to get a hug from you and see you again!!(she's a faithful blog reader!) Thanks Emmanuel for all your prayers for us...we feel them!

After lunch with the Owen's, we went to Fayette to Kerry and Renee's who hosted a family gathering for my birthday. My brothers from Sylacauga and Caledonia, MS, met us there along with aunts, uncles, and cousins. It was a sweet time for me because I miss being with the extended family which usually only happened at Christmas and now that we've moved, I'll miss that. We feasted on shrimp and all the fixings.....Thanks to all who came out and to Kerry and Renee for hosting! It was a special time and I'm so glad I got to see everyone! Here are some pictures of the day.......

All of Mom's grandchildren...

Robby and Mom

The kids enjoyed the swimming pool..

Landon, Mason, Hallie, and Faith

Me with sister-in-laws and Mom

My brother Mike

Faith, Hallie, and Haven

Mason and Landon with Hannah

My brother Kerry with Uncle Bill

Uncle Steve and Aunt Diane with precious twins Lillie and Reagan



This is my nephew Colton who just turned 16...it's a better picture than his birthday post

Cousin Rita, Kerry, Hannah, Aunt Rose and Renee

My cousins Chastiy, her daughter Caylin, and cousin Ashley

Ashley's daughter Taylor and Reagan

My niece Chloe with Zoe (Lucee's sister)

When you don't get to see your family much, you especially cherish the time with them! There were others there that I didn't get a picture of so I apologize but thank you for coming by for a visit! We love you all and hope you know how blessed you are to have each other!