"My Utmost for His Highest"

Eric and I thought this was a great devotional from "My Utmost for His Highest" this morning. So I thought I'd pass it along. You can also read "My Utmost for His Highest" daily devotionals here.


Lord, I will follow You, but . . . —Luke 9:61


Suppose God tells you to do something that is an enormous test of your common sense, totally going against it. What will you do? Will you hold back? If you get into the habit of doing something physically, you will do it every time you are tested until you break the habit through sheer determination. And the same is true spiritually. Again and again you will come right up to what Jesus wants, but every time you will turn back at the true point of testing, until you are determined to abandon yourself to God in total surrender. Yet we tend to say, “Yes, but— suppose I do obey God in this matter, what about . . . ?” Or we say, “Yes, I will obey God if what He asks of me doesn’t go against my common sense, but don’t ask me to take a step in the dark.”


Jesus Christ demands the same unrestrained, adventurous spirit in those who have placed their trust in Him that the natural man exhibits. If a person is ever going to do anything worthwhile, there will be times when he must risk everything by his leap in the dark. In the spiritual realm, Jesus Christ demands that you risk everything you hold on to or believe through common sense, and leap by faith into what He says. Once you obey, you will immediately find that what He says is as solidly consistent as common sense.


By the test of common sense, Jesus Christ’s statements may seem mad, but when you test them by the trial of faith, your findings will fill your spirit with the awesome fact that they are the very words of God. Trust completely in God, and when He brings you to a new opportunity of adventure, offering it to you, see that you take it. We act like pagans in a crisis— only one out of an entire crowd is daring enough to invest his faith in the character of God.

(From Oswald Chambers' "My Utmost for His Highest" May 30)

15 Years...

Today, Eric & I celebrated our 15th anniversary! What a blessing it's been to have him in my life! On our first anniversary, I made a picture collage for him with highlights from our first year of marrriage. He told me that I would have to do that every year, so I have. I took a picture of each one to share with you...they are not the best pictures but I think you'll get the idea.

1st Anniversary-1996

Two highlights--our honeymoon to Michigan & buying our first house

2nd Anniversary-1997

Highlight--We got our first puppy, Jake

3rd Anniversary-1998
Highlight--The Ropes course with the PALS

4th Anniversary-1999

Highlight--Evan was born on March 18!

5th Anniversary-2000
Highlight--Building our dream house

6th Anniversary-2001

Highlight--Going to Maryland for Kevin & Ami's wedding

7th Anniversary-2002
Highlight--Going to Atlanta, GA, with the PALS for

International Community Problem Solving Competition

8th Anniversary-2003
Highlight--Going to Glorieta, NM, with our church

9th Anniversary-2004

Highlight--Evan singing in church with his Daddy playing the guitar

10th Anniversary-2005

I don't have a collage because I made a scrapbook for our first decade.

Highlight-We decided to begin the process of adoption.

11th Anniversary-2006
Highlight--Taking Evan to the beach in Pensacola while visiting Eric's parents

12th Anniversary-2007
Highlight--Ethan was born in September & we finalized his adoption in April!

13th Anniversary-2008
Highlight--Family trips to Hot Springs, Sci-Port in Shreveport, and Illinois

14th Anniversary-2009
2 Highlights--God called us to move to Malakoff &

Our whole family came to our house for Easter

15th Anniversary-2010

Highlight--Family Trip to DISNEY WORLD!

Eric,

thank you for your wonderful sense of humor,

for always taking care of us,

for being a great dad,

for your beautiful voice,

for using your talents for God's glory,

and for loving me unconditionally.

I love you! Kim

My Husband is the Best!

Today, Eric hosted a wonderful 40th birthday party/picnic at the Kiwanis Park in Athens. He was so sweet to plan and invite our friends from church. He was determined to do everything by himself and he did an excellent job!

He used this new "evite" that we discovered from our friend, Donna, to invite everyone, and we were so pleased that we actually had a few friends show up! :) We are truly blessed with wonderful friends at our church here in Malakoff...it makes life a little easier since we miss our family.

So here are a few pictures from the day. I was sad that we didn't get to take more but my camera died & my spare batteries were still sitting in the charger in the kitchen at home. :(

Eric made a delicious homemade chocolate sheet cake. YUMMMY!

Don't you love his decoration?

Kristi, Nathan, Asher, Kim, Penny, & Jeff enjoying the hamburgers & hot dogs.

Here's a view from the other end of the pavilion. We were really happy that we were able to get to use the picnic tables...it was a crowded day at the park!

Jenna & I had quite a hard time getting our boys to sit down to eat...I think Ethan ate a total of 3 bites of his hot dog. He did NOT want to quit sliding!

I was SOOOO excited to see our dear friends, Taffy & Buddy, walk up! I was so surprised that they drove from Waxahachie to eat with us. I miss them so much!

More sweet friends...Shelley, Glenda, Sharon, Clyde, Nathan, Michael, & Kristie.

It was pretty hot but the wind was blowing, so it wasn't TOOOOOO bad.

We did manage to get one picture of Evan in the background & cute little Kolson eyeing some food. Jenna said he approved of the baked beans.

Ethan was not too happy that he had to stop playing to take this picture. I'm not sure where Evan was...it would have been nice to have one family picture. :) Oh well. Maybe next time.

Thank you, Eric, for working so hard to plan the party for me. Thank you, Parkers & Wrights, for helping us transport the grill & set up everything. Thank you, all of my dear friends, for making my day special. "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you." (Phillipians 1:3)

It's really weird to think that I'm 40...I don't really feel that different...I really feel much younger...I guess it's all a matter of perspective.

Flash From the Past - Part 2

Decade Two
The 80’s

Well, yesterday was the big day…I turned 40! And it was ok. It was a Wednesday, so I didn’t really get to do much different than the normal "go to school & to church," but Eric did take me to lunch at a nice Italian restaurant in Athens. One of my former Calculus students was working there and gave us a complimentary cheesecake for my birthday! Yum!

So…I know a total of 3 people are waiting for my next installment of “Flash from the Past.” I was going to do this yesterday but our wireless router on the computer decided to NOT work all evening and I just HAD to be able to scan a few of my big hair pictures before I could post this.

I thought it was pretty funny that Daddy had his own favorite memory of mine that he had to include in the comments from when I was 2! It’s not a “memory” of mine because I don’t “remember” it…I was just too young. :)

So here are a few random memories from my second decade of life.

1. My 5th grade teacher at Nash Elementary, Mrs. Roberts, was my favorite teacher. I do believe that my best friend, Jennifer, and I were teacher’s pets.

2. I loved competing in Bible Drill. I won at the state level during 4th-6th grades.

3. I learned how to write in calligraphy, make crepes, and play the cello in my PICT class that I got to go to once a week at Oaklawn Elementary.

4. I played French Horn in the band from 6th-12th grade. Marching season was the best!

5. I wrecked our family car just 3 weeks after I got my license at 16 when an ambulance hit me during a rain storm (but it was still my fault). My heart still races when I hear an ambulance…especially if it’s raining and I’m driving!

6. I met one of my best friends, Pam, in typing class in 9th grade. We always had fun in band together and in church.

7. I LOVED Science Fair…I won Best of Show in 10th grade with a project on thirst quenchers.

8. I was VERY competitive in school. I always wanted to make the best grade…but I had major competition in high school with Eric, Susan, and David!

9. I achieved my goal of graduating in the Top Ten of my class…I was #5! And I found out on my birthday at our Senior Awards Assembly!

10. There was a big group of friends that would go bowling on the weekends during my senior year. I was not good at all…I don’t think I ever broke 100! But I had fun!

11. Mrs. Penny was one of my favorite all-time teachers! She taught journalism & yearbook. She was such an encouragement to me!

12. My first job was in the “Facilities Services” office at Texarkana College. I worked there for the first two years of college...I followed in my sister's footsteps.

Well, that was more than 10 memories...I could think of 100 more I'm sure! I LOVED high school and college...junior high--not so much!

Here are a few more "big hair" pictures that brought a smile to my face as I was looking through old pictures. (I know there are a lot more but I think they must be at my parent's house. I'll have to dig some out when we visit them in a few weeks.) Enjoy!

Our Senior English Class

Celebrating after graduation at our house with my friends. Oh, my sister wanted me to mention that I had a meltdown that night when I dropped the crab dip on the floor before the party. :0

I love this church directory picture of my brother and me. Don't you love the hair?

Flash From the Past

Decade One

The 70's

(I was almost 2 years old here.)

Since I'm getting ready to embark on a new decade of my life, I thought it would be fun to reminisce about the four previous ones.

Here are 10 random memories from my first decade of life:

1. I broke the same leg twice when I was only 2 years old...once when I was mushroom hunting and once when my cousin was carrying me and fell.

2. When my cousin, Jeni, and I were 4 or 5, we got locked in the bathroom at our house. I remember my Uncle Vernon having to take the door down to get us out!

3. I got saved in a small country Holiness church in Redmon, Illinois, when I was 5. My daddy was the preacher there for a while.

4. We lived next to railroad tracks when we lived in Redmon. I remember the men on the caboose would throw candy to us as we watched the train go by.

5. We had foster brothers & sisters. Our favorite was Jeremy…he lived with us for about a year until we moved to Texas.

6. I still remember my address & phone number to our house in Paris, Illinois…714Water Street, Paris, IL 61944, 465-5552. Why do I still remember this???

7. I don’t remember anything about 1st grade.

8. I got my first B in Ms. Witcher’s class in 2nd grade…it scarred me for life!

9. Our family moved to Nash, Texas, when I was 8. It took me a long time to learn to say “y’all” and I still can’t make myself say “fixin.”

10. Christmas Day at Grandma’s house was always the best! I loved being with all my relatives!

(I think I was about 5 in this picture.)

There you go...a few memories from my 1st decade...onto the 2nd decade tomorrow...and perhaps some wonderful 80's hairdo's!

Memory Verse #10

Happy Middle of May! I LOVE the month of May...maybe it's because it's full of holidays (May Day, Mother's Day, my birthday, our wedding anniversary, and Memorial Day) and usually the end of the school year. I also LOVE the spring weather and the beauty of the flowers in bloom.



You've probably heard it said that we use the word "love" so loosely in regard to so many things, but sometimes I forget to make sure that I have a heart full of love and to show that love to those around me. Recently, Beth Moore talked about this during the So Long Insecurity Simulcast. She said if we don't have "love," then nothing else we do really matters. She said that God was telling her to memorize the "Love Chapter" (1 Corinthians 13) again. I'm not really good at restating all that she said, but I remember feeling very convicted about the amount of love in my heart. The verse kept coming to my mind, "For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." (Matthew 12:34 & Luke 6:45) (I guess that's a pretty important concept since God put the same exact sentence in His Word TWO times!)



So...that brings me to the first of my verses to memorize this time.



1 Corinthians 13:1-3

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing."



And here's another one that I've been working on that goes along with the love issue...



Ephesians 4:29

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

A Snake & A Volcano

This week Evan had to make a "volcano" for science class, so they could try the mentos/diet coke explosion. Well, he didn't tell us until Monday night, so we only had Tuesday to put it together. Luckily, it didn't have to be really elaborate. We had fun getting a little creative & dirty.

We also do not want to forget the little bit of excitement that we had on Monday night. I was walking by the back door to turn off the light & noticed something slithering across the back porch. I looked a little closer and saw that it was a SNAKE! Eric took one look & said that it was a poisonous copperhead. Lovely!

I told Evan to keep staring at it (through the window of course) until Daddy could get a shovel & whack it's head off. He's our superhero!

Out of the Mouths of Babes

I wanted to post this a few days ago, but our wireless internet connector has not been working on our computer this week. For some reason, it's working right this minute, so I thought I'd check my email and blogs really quickly! I've really missed getting to read blogs this week! I guess I'm getting a little addicted. :)

Ethan is at such a cute age right now...he says some of the most profound things and I want to remember them forever!

On Tuesday morning, it was really foggy outside. Eric emailed me when he got to work to share this with me:

This morning Ethan pointed to his window as we rounded the curve on Star Harbor Rd.

“What is that, Daddy?”

“Fog,” I replied. “It is bad because I can’t see to drive.”

“OH. WE NEED TO GET A FAN AND BLOW IT ALL AWAY!” he exclaimed.

How does he think of things like that?

Then, that evening he came to the kitchen while I was making supper.

He said, "Mom, what are you making for supper?"

I told him, "spaghetti & strawberries!" (Two of his favorite things. I know they don't "go together" but he needed some fruit on his plate.)

He then proceeded to say in a very dramatic tone, "No, I don’t want any. You can just throw it away."

Needless to say, I didn't throw it away. And after a little talk about how that was not a good choice to say that, he ate all of his supper and was so proud that he made a "happy plate!"

And here's one more funny thing he did this week. He got in the box & kept covering himself up with the blanket & yelling for me to find him.

Getting ready to hide.

Where's Ethan?Here I am!

Let's do this again, Mommy!
One last picture of his dress-up with the blanket. This is a daily ritual for him. Actually, he just saw this picture, ran to his room, & came back in covered up again! :)