challenging questions

I found some questions earlier this week that are intended for a small group setting that I thought were very challenging and hopefully helpful to evaluate heart issues. I thought I would share them as I go over them and find myself at the Mercy of the Lord!

1) Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?
2) Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?
3) Do I confidentially pass onto another what was told me in confidence?
4) Am I a slave to dress, friends, work or habits?
5) Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?
6) Did the Bible live in me today?
7) Do I give it time to speak to me every day?
8) Am I enjoying prayer?
9) When did I last speak to someone about my faith?
10) Do I pray about the money I spend?
11) Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?
12) Do I disobey God in anything?
13) Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?
14) Am I defeated in any part of my life?
15) Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy or distrustful?
16) How do I spend my spare time?
17) Am I proud?
18) Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisee who despised the publican?
19) Is there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold resentment toward or disregard? If so, what am I going to do about it?
20) Do I grumble and complain constantly?
21) Is Christ real to me?

References: Village Church – “The Path” sermon 2 in series. Village used from John Wesley’s Class Meeting: a Model for Making Disciples, by D. Michael Henderson, Evangel Publishing House, 1997, pp. 118-9

I got mail...

I was SO excited on Saturday when our mail arrived; I got a package and I knew just what it was!!

It was coffee!!! Anyone who knows anything about me knows I LOVE a good cup of coffee!

But this coffee is MORE than just a good cup of coffee... this coffee also supports and amazing cause!

Just Love Coffee is helping bring together orphaned children and their forever families. Not only do they assure that the coffee is purchased under fair conditions (Fair Trade Coffee), but they are also allowing families in the process of adopting a way to help raise money for the extreme cost that can go into the adoption process.

Our dear friends the Caceres Family have had it laid heavy on their hearts that adopting is what God is calling them to do. This process is long, sometimes overwhelming, but a great joy is brought forward in their obedience to the Lord and the excitement is building to meet their newest child whom God will provide. The financial cost to adopt is pretty amazing, I am sure there are many who have looked at the overall numbers and decided it wasn't the choice for them, but Just Love Coffee has seen the need in helping families with the process by finding a way to make fundraising available.

If you happen to purchase a bag of coffee at your local coffee shop, grocery store or online; I would ask that you consider making this purchase through Just Love Coffee to support the Caceres's Family in this very exciting process. You can purchase one bag or two or put yourself on an automatic monthly order. You can do something to help give a child a home... you can make a difference. Please visit the Caceres's path to adoption page to read more about this process and what God is doing in their lives!

An Amazing Story...Written by Christ

Okay everyone, this is officially Bill's first entry in the family blog. It should only be appropriate that it is baseball related!! I want to share a story with you about Josh Hamilton. He is a Major League Baseball player that carries with him an amazing story of ultimate trials and tribulation.

I started following him as a player only because of his high baseball statistics for this season and found so much more. Now I follow him because of the great respect I have for him. He acknowledges his love of life, baseball, and more importantly...GOD. Instead of rambling, I am attaching a video below of an interview given by Jim Rome.



Also, here is an article from The Dallas Morning News that tells the story much better than I can do here. The link to the news story is:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/012708dnspowebrangersz.218a1b6.html

How great is our God!! What an inspirational story this guy brings, giving credit to our Lord and Savior.

Signing off of my first post...Billy!!

Simple Sunday

Sunday was a great day; we had a wonderful worship service at the church we have been attending and a great time of prayer! After church we had the pleasure of having lunch with some friends and most importantly some wonderful company. One of the girls dear friends Micah made them a small bouquet of flowers from his garden (Thank you Micah). Both were thrilled with them (Syrah fell asleep in the car holding hers). Sadie immediately took them to her flower press (she loves to press flowers). Syrah wanted her to be in a vase in her room. I thought this picture captures the beauty!

A penny for your thoughts

It has been a while since I have found a day worthy of mentioning here… I will say it is quite entertaining however to read about the days that there are!! Tomorrow (May 23rd) is Lucky Penny Day…why did I think this was a fun one to pick? Well, I thought I could share a little story with you about Pennies. Oh and my wish for each of you... that you find MANY pennies along your path!

You always hear the usual stories of pennies on the sidewalk being good luck, gifts from angels, etc. This is the first time I've ever heard this twist on the story. Gives you something to think about.

Several years ago, a friend of mine and her husband were invited to spend the weekend at the husband's employer's home. My friend, Arlene, was nervous about the weekend. The boss was very wealthy, with a fine home on the waterway, and cars costing more than her house.The first day and evening went well, and Arlene was delighted to have this rare glimpse into how the very wealthy live. The husband's employer was quite generous as a host, and took them to the finest restaurants. Arlene knew she would never have the opportunity to indulge in this kind of extravagance again, so was enjoying herself immensely.

As the three of them were about to enter an exclusive restaurant that evening, the boss was walking slightly ahead of Arlene and her husband. He stopped suddenly, looking down on the pavement for a long, silent moment.

Arlene wondered if she was supposed to pass him. There was nothing on the ground except a single darkened penny that someone had dropped, and a few cigarette butts Still silent, the man reached down and picked up the penny.

He held it up and smiled, then put it in his pocket as if he had found a great treasure. How absurd! What need did this man have for a single penny? Why would he even take the time to stop and pick it up?

Throughout dinner, the entire scene nagged at her. Finally, she could stand it no longer. She casually mentioned that her daughter once had a coin collection, and asked if the penny he had found had been of some value.

A smile crept across the man's face as he reached into his pocket for the penny and held it out for her to see. She had seen many pennies before! What was the point of this?
"Look at it." He said. "Read what it says."

She read the words " United States of America "

"No, not that; read further."

"One cent?"

"No, keep reading."

"In God we Trust?" "Yes!" "And?"

"And if I trust in God, the name of God is holy, even on a coin. Whenever I find a coin I see that inscription. It is written on every single United States coin, but we never seem to notice it! God drops a message right in front of me telling me to trust Him? Who am I to pass it by? When I see a coin, I pray, I stop to see if my trust IS in God at that moment. I pick the coin up as a response to God; that I do trust in Him. For a short time, at least, I cherish it as if it were gold. I think it is God's way of starting a conversation with me. Lucky for me, God is patient and pennies are plentiful!

When I was out shopping today, I found a penny on the sidewalk. I stopped and picked it up, and realized that I had been worrying and fretting in my mind about things I cannot change. I read the words, "In God We Trust," and had to laugh. Yes, God, I get the message.

It seems that I have been finding an inordinate number of pennies in the last few months, but then, pennies are plentiful! And, God is patient.

(This story is not in regards to one of my friends; this story was passed along)

Just Because...

There have not been many "days of the month" worth mentioning (National Cheeseball day, Look alike day, National Jelly Bean Day, Take a Chance day, National Prime Rib day)... So, I wanted to just say let just have a beautiful, appreciate the beauty that was created for our Joy day!!

I am going to take some time today to really look around at all the beauty this world has to offer and appreciate the things that I often take for granted.

Have a BEAUTIFUL DAY and while you are at it; take a moment to Thank God for it all!!

Reconciliation Day April 2, 2008

Reconciliation Day is a special day to patch relationships and to make amends. It's intention is to re-establish relationships between family, friends and couples. Life is too short to hold a grudge between those we love.

Since 1989, newspaper columnist Ann Landers has promoted April 2and as Reconciliation Day. She writes an annual article dedicated to this day. She posts and replies to readers' questions and issues on reconciliation.

The Ultimate Reconciliation:
Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. ~Romans 5:11

In our small group a few months ago we were studying the word "encouragement" and it was discussed that there is "encouragement day" one of several days that we can choose to celebrate. That has been on my mind for some time and so I started looking into what other "days" existed… over the next weeks and months I thought it would be fun to share some that I feel are worth mentioning and maybe a few that are just plan silly - like April 2nd also is Peanut Butter and Jelly Day! I hope you will check back to see the fun "days" ahead!!

In trying to clean up my site, I deleted and condensed this into one post… thank you for the feedback about the fun of having some "days to look forward to".

Simply feet

I have been having kinda a rough day; a day where I find myself less patient, more irritable and full of anxiety about situations I have no control (sounds like I am assuming I ever had control). I have no real reason, just using "the day" as my excuse, but then I open to read my Bible and this picture pops into my mind. Why this picture? So, I start reflecting on why God might put this simple picture of my daughters precious feet in the front of my mind.... I searched under feet, but that doesn't seem to be what I am to find, for I still can't seem to avoid the feeling in which God has placed on me over this picture. I stop and spend some time in prayer, about my day, about my anxiety, about this picture and I receive an answer: it's the path! I can't see the path right now. I know it is there, I can feel it strong and steady under foot, but I can't see ahead and it's making me foggy. He's not unsteady, He knows my path, He has His plan underway for His glory, but here I am impatient, irritable and anxious because I want Him to give me answers now. I turn to:

Psalm 25:4 ~ Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.

This was what I was meant to read, but there was more... the entire passage of Psalm 25 was calling me and as I read this I again find myself in prayer, but this time asking God's forgiveness for my selfish desire and asking His help, His will in the path ahead and so a simple picture of two precious feet are placed on my heart so that I can feel His peace.

~Theresa

Starting off the year with some rambling...

Our family - all in their pj's and party hats (compliments of the girls) for the first day of the year!!!

Now some rambling...

For many people the New Year represents a time in which things can be evaluated. We can see where we have been and look forward to where we want to be. We can see the changes we want to make and we can reflect on where we have come from. I was so excited as this New Year approached to sit with my family and have a discussion about the blessings we have experienced in this last year. I wanted to make a game of it, where we all shared and spent some time in reflection.

However, what ended up was not that…since Christmas evening our family has been sharing illnesses and it feels very much like when one of us feels better, another gets hit down. Even myself personally; I felt a glimmer of hope yesterday and then woke up today feeling like a MAC truck had ran into me. My point is… it took all I had yesterday to reflect on blessings when all I really wanted to do was to think about how horrible I felt or how horrible everyone in my family was feeling. It was hard for me to reflect on blessings when what I had "planned" for the day crumbled as each of us woke up not miraculously better from the day before.

I spend more time in prayer yesterday morning then I have in a long time… talking to God about how we are feeling and how I wondered if Jesus had ever had a touch of the flu or a cold and how he would have come to his feet and face the day. I talked to Him about the year ahead and how all I really want in this future year is to clearly see His will in each of our lives, which means I will be walking closer to Him. I know that my talking in prayer with Him yesterday is the only way I was able to pull any positive into the day.

We ended up doing some "year end or year beginning" organizing around the girls rooms. We had a nice family lunch together, had some nice quite rest time, each doing their own thing for just a bit of the day, then we had one of Billy's favorite meals (which up until yesterday I had never attempted to make) and played family games for almost 3 hours. We started a 31 day family devotional and ended Pilgrims Progress, which we have been reading for what seems like months… two pages at a time, but only as a family (meaning sometimes we would go days and days without reading). It turned out to be a very nice day… one that flowed and felt peaceful even in the midst of the runny noses, headaches, sore throats and aches and pains. We all were able to look past ourselves and focus on our family, thanks to the answer to a prayer to get through the day even if it didn't turn out how I had pictured it in my head.

This last year I have learned a valuable lesson in letting go; I am a planner by nature and I know for many things that is a blessing from God. However, every blessing can be pushed to far and this is where I have had to learn. I think of this lesson which was taught sometimes painfully this last year often. However it wasn't until this morning that I realized how that lesson was a gift and had I not had the several (sometimes several a day) little lessons along the way, I would have not been able to pull yesterday together. Not that "I" did anything special yesterday, but what I did do, was come to the table with what I had and made the best of it rather then bringing my frustration, anger and disappointment that things weren't going "my way". My learning to go with the flow is far, far from over, but at least I was given a gift of clarity to see that those days that feel so frustrating and disappointing were there to stretch and grow me.

Happy New Year, Theresa

You are who you are for a reason....

A small portion of this was read in a sermon months ago and it has called to me several times since then. I wanted to share it...

You are who you are for a reason....

You are who you are for a reason. You're part of an intricate plan. You're a precious and perfect unique design, Called God's special woman or man.

You look like you look for a reason. Our God made no mistake. He knit you together within the womb. You're just what He wanted to make.

The parents you had were the ones He chose, and no matter how you may feel, they were custom-designed with God's plan in mind, and they bear the Master's seal.

No, that trauma you faced was not easy. And God wept that it hurt you so; But it was allowed to shape your heart So that into His likeness you'd grow.

You are who you are for a reason, You've been formed by the Master's rod. You are who you are, beloved, Because there is a God!

by: Russel Kelfer

Twelve Photos of Christmas (plus one that sums it up)!

Our family is blessed with family; we have tons and tons of family!!! Christmas celebrations often last days in our lives. We had our first Christmas celebration with Theresa's dad and fiancee Kelly on Saturday the 22nd. It was a great time of food (Kelly made an amazing meal!), gift exchange and games!

The girls with Grandpa Duane & Kelly!

On Sunday morning we were given tickets to attend a Santa Breakfast which benefited the Arthritis Foundation. The breakfast was at the Sherton downtown where the annual gingerbread houses are on display. Here is the girls with just one of the several amazing pieces of art work on display!

Theresa's mom Valerie (known by most as "grandma") was able to come with us for the Santa breakfast. Here she is with her most favorite girls (well, wait... Theresa isn't in there!).

Here is the four of us on our way out from the Santa Breakfast, it was very nice that we were able to attend the event!

Sunday evening we had some dear friends over for dinner, it was so nice to spend time with them that we forgot all about capturing the moment, so we will lock that away in our hearts!

The next day was Christmas Eve; that evening we had dinner with Theresa's dads side of the family. It is a pretty large gathering at the Hopper house that evening and to end off a fun gift exchange the "grand-children" all do a fun game:

All the kids sit in a circle and choose a gift from the center (each year the gift is a theme) one year it was cereal boxes; this year it was large candy boxes. From youngest to oldest they get to either take someones candy or open their own box! It is a lot of fun and the kids enjoy the creativity of the game... out of 20 kids not one of the candy's was a duplicate!

After the game, the girls went and put on their new PJ'S they received from Grandpa Bill & Grandma Cindy in Oregon.

Then came Christmas morning; this year it was a bit different than it has been in the past because we stayed home the entire day. Here are two of the treasures that the girls received:

One of our favorite family activities is game time... we have all ready played Apples to Apples (which is super fun and I highly recommend) and Syrah has played hungry hippo 100's of times with whomever would play and if we were busy, she would challenge herself! The girls wanted Molly (who experienced her first Christmas in our home) to have a stocking too... she got some new beads (if you know Molly, you know why!).

Then we had a cinnamon roll picnic breakfast! Yummy!!

For the first time we hosted Christmas dinner at our place; Theresa really enjoyed putting little details into the table and into the dinner!

It all comes down to this... It all starts with God! It isn't about the food, the gifts, the games, the details on the table. It comes down to being about His son that was born and whom we celebrate with a spirit of family and giving. The reason for this season is because of only Him, His love and desire to have a relationship with each and every on of us.

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord has said through the prophets: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" which means, "God with us".

Matthew 2:22-23