All for Jesus

I am praising God this morning for this time of year, that we can celebrate the incarnation of Christ and ultimately the sacrifice Jesus made for those who belong to the Lord.

Ephesians 1:7 (English Standard Version)

7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,

My mind has been on Jesus these past few days because of some conversations I have had with friends lately. I shared part of my testimony the other day and I was reminded again of the depth of God's love for me and the incredible sacrifice Jesus made and responsibility that He bore - for me and my sin. OH! That I would remember this and carry this with me every minute of every day!

There is such comfort in knowing that I am His!

Psalm 100:3 (English Standard Version)

3Know that the LORD, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

So as we enter this Christmas season, the Lord has renewed in me the true reason for this celebration.

Oh what a joyful time of year!

In light of all this, my mind and heart has really been on those I met while I was in India. Especially the little kiddos in the orphanage. They are so hungry for truth there and I long so much to be able to go again and share the gospel with the Indian people.

Inside a classroom at the Christian school in Chennai

I pray the Lord will allow me such an honor again to labor for him among the people I love so much.

Those Mighty Milestones!

This week has been one of the busiest ones I've had in quite a while. Since my brother and sister-in-law are out of town this week, my mom and I are taking care of the girls, getting them to school, dance and girl scouts. Mom still isn't doing well after her surgery, and I've gone with her to either a doctor's appointment or medical test every day this week. She finishes up with a stress test in the morning. On top of it all, I've been trying to keep up with my work. Not that I'm complaining, but I seriously have a renewed respect for all moms everywhere!

But today, as I was trying to get my head together to remember everything on my mental "to-do" list I suddenly began to feel overwhelmed. Way too many things left to do and not enough time to do it all before the girls got out of school. And once they're home, there's no chance at all of me getting to my things until after homework, dinner, dishes, laundry, bath time, a bit of entertainment and finally bedtime. So what became a crazy, busy hectic day was completely made worth it in one little moment.

One of the things Lauren has to work on this week for school was learning to tie her shoes. My brother told me this morning that she was close to doing it all the way - but not quite there yet. I almost forgot during homework time (which was also cleanup time from dinner) but I saw the reminder on her homework paper, grabbed her shoes and seated her high up on the bar to see how much she knew.

She made an "eleven" with the strings, then made an "X", then a bunny ear sprouted quickly from the right side. With a little instruction and a few attempts, she nimbly stuffed the final bunny ear through the hole and learned to pull it tight. At the sight of the completed product, her little face just lit up with pride and excitement at the fact that she just tied her shoe on her own!! I couldn't resist but to take a picture (mainly to drive home to her how proud we are of her achievement!) It totally made today - and this whole week worth it!

I love little moments like that, and I'm so glad that the Lord has made me an aunt to share in such joys. I love these girls so much!!!