Weekend sunshine

The weekend was full and fun. For two weekends in a row we have enjoyed visits from long distance family whom we haven't seen since Christmas. Last weekend it was my parents, this weekend it was Dave's brother and my friend, who just happen to be married to each other. I got to spend time with two of my nephews and a niece. I see them so rarely, that watching them run all over the yard with Buster and the boys was really heart warming.

I'm so thankful for:

- Talks with a friend who I am can be real with (I don't leave dirty dishes in the sink for just any body!)

-Little cousins in matching John Deere PJs

- Hanging out with college students. Making dinner for Dave's student employees and getting to know them. Not particularly thankful for the 'retrieval game' they encouraged Noe in. May they all have many children someday who frequently throw things with the expectation that they will pick them up and return them only to be thrown again.

- Apple snickers salad (Any thing with 'salad' in it's title has

to be healthy right?!).

- Singing a song, that means so much to us, this morning in church with my sweet husband.

- A one year old who has learned to say "please".

- A five year old who has learned to say "mine". (May seem strange to have this on the thankful list, and we are teaching him sharing and respect as he gets more aggressive. Having said that, we actually are thankful to see K beginning to vocalize his wants and needs. Since there was a time he was very docile and quiet, some wondered if he would ever be able to verbalize these things. So it's cool...and now comes the work!)

- Sunshine and beautiful warmer temperatures! Spring is here and I am loving it.

- Climbing trees

That is a very condensed form of the busyness that was our last couple of days. It really has been an enjoyable weekend!

I mentioned singing in church this morning and wanted to share a little bit more about that. I don't sing in front of people. I have a couple of times, but tend to get really nervous. Our church averages about 350 people each week. Many of them are really talented musicians. I was a bit anxious to delve into the vulnerability that singing in front of every one would mean for me. I am so thankful for the lessons that I continually learn. This morning Dave and I sang from our hearts. It wasn't professional. It wasn't flawless. It wasn't in perfect pitch (a little pitchy in spots dog...). But it didn't have to be. I definitely had to combat the feelings of nervousness and the 'what will people think of me if I totally kill the song?' anxiety. After all of that I got up there and sang from my heart the song that puts into words my testimony and philosophy of life. I will never have the talent and beautiful voices of many in our church. But I don't need that. I am learning, ever so slowly, to just be me. I don't want to miss an opportunity because I am afraid of how people will perceive me. Those who know me best know what a step of growth it is for me to turn my back on people pleasing and proceed with living my life in faith. Dave did a beautiful job singing with me and I feel like we were able to bare our hearts. Mission accomplished. This is what we sang:

All things work for our good
Though some times we don’t see how they could
Struggles that break our hearts in two
Sometimes blind us to the truth
Our Father knows what’s best for us His ways are not our own
So when your pathway grows dim and you just don’t see Him
Remember you’re never alone

God is too wise to be mistaken
God is too good to be unkind
So when you don’t understand when you don’t see His plan
When you can’t trace his hand trust His heart

He sees the master plan and He holds our future in his hand
So don’t live as those who have no hope
All our hope is found in Him
We see the present clearly but He sees the first and the last
And like a tapestry He’s weaving you and me
To someday be just like Him

Chorus

He alone is faithful and true
He alone knows what is best for you

Chorus

When you don’t understand when you don’t see his plan
When you can’t trace his hand Trust His heart
Trust His heart

I am now turning my heart and prayers towards another dear friend, who also happens to be a sister in law. She will be going in for shoulder surgery tomorrow and she is never far off in my thoughts. I also feel very prompted to continually pray for this sweet lady, who's blog I ran across a couple of months ago. If you know of the Christian singing group "Selah", this is the lead singer Todd's wife Angie. They will be meeting their baby daughter tomorrow afternoon and the Doctors have not given this sweet little one much hope for survival. Please join me in lifting this family up in prayer.