.....that is, time for my last baby to fly the coop.  In four days we take our dear daughter to the airport for her trip to Canada.  She is almost packed and tomorrow has been set aside to finish that task completely.  I have mixed emotions.

As any mother would, I have sad feelings about my daughter leaving home.

On the other hand, as so many friends keep encouraging me, this is what we raised her up to do.

I've cried a few tears......but don't tell anyone!  (Only my pillow knows about that.)

But I've also thought about a few things I just might look forward to......like taking over her little bathroom for myself!

I'm anxious for her.  I want her roommates to like her, I mean, REALLY like her!

And I'm excited for her to spread her wings and really FLY!

So, basically, I feel like a mess......a happy, weepy, proud, blithering idiot MOM!!!!

We are having Vacation Bible School this week.  We have had small numbers like 9, 7, and 11 kids.  We have enjoyed the opportunity to really be with the kids and have conversations with them instead of just referee-ing or herding them. :-)  Our dear friend Mr. Tim is leading and doing a wonderful job as always.  The kids listen to him so well and he understands how to teach a full range of ages all at once.  Dear daughter's boyfriend is here for the week to help out, too.  So when the Preacher comes down and I come in with the older daycare kids there is a pretty sweet worker to kiddo ratio.

"Pray without kissing"    (the Bible word is ceasing so it was a good guess for a young reader!)

"Mr. Tim, can you come back and do VBS again before summer is over?"

"Mom,  I didn't want you to come back yet...."       (this little guy wanted to stay alot longer!)

One little girl was awfully bashful on Monday morning.  By Tuesday morning she ran into the opening rally and was happy to join in and smiled all day long.  She just needed to feel comfortable.

And my heart is full of love and joy as I see us having an impact on little hearts for eternity.  Well, GLORY!

As kids, my brother and sister and I used to look forward to the occasional opportunity to wrestle with our dad on the living room floor.  For some reason we pronounced it "rassle" and it was pretty much a free-for-all!  Our daddy was a county deputy and he always seemed to have some special move up his sleeve.  He would get one or the other of us pinned down and start the whisker rub.  I tried to tough it out when I was in this uncomfortable situation; after all, I was born believing I am one tough chick.  But at some point even I would give in and holler "Uncle!" when I thought I had had enough.

Yesterday was one of those days when I wanted to holler out to my Heavenly Father and shout "Uncle!"  It was no one thing, it was just one of those tough days when everything was a challenge.  The Bible is clear that God will not give us more than we can take, but so many times I wonder how much more my Father thinks I can endure!  At the end of one of those days I just want some milk and cookies and my nice soft bed.  I feel like that is my due reward for toughing it out.

I suppose you can already see the comparison here.  It's not that deep of a thought!  Just like my daddy would pull some new move on us and make us work a little harder to tackle him, my Heavenly Father sends new things to me and makes me look at my life just a little differently in order to tackle the challenge of the day.  And, let's face it, it seemed like a much more palatable choice to holler "Uncle!" and get the whisker rub over with so we could get back to the fun than to just wait it out for my daddy to decide to stop! :-)  And I guess there are alot of tough days when I give in pretty quickly and try to holler "Uncle!" to my Heavenly Father so I can be done with the challenge and just get back to the usual routine.  But I wouldn't have this special little memory of my daddy and my siblings and I "rasseling" around and being tough with each other if I just hollered "Uncle!" at the first rub of the cheek.  And I wouldn't have stories in my heart of times when God made me tougher....or softer.....or more humble....because of the challenges He brought to me if I had given up every time it was a bit uncomfortable.

Thank You, Heavenly Father, for making me face challenges each day that make me stronger in You.  Thank You for not always listening when I started to holler "Uncle!" but You knew the lesson I needed!  Ps 73:26

This past weekend I spoke at a Ladies Retreat in Wyoming.  The theme verse was Romans 12:5 "So we, being many, are members of the body of Christ, and every one members one of another."  We talked about the different systems in the body that must be healthy and working in unison to have an effective body.

The brain is  the control center of the body.  The pastor is like the brain.  The Central Nervous System is the coordinator of communication and behavior.  Sounds like the pastor's wife to me!  She relays messages about pain and illness and helps get out the word for reactions to these situations.  She gives instructions to organize programs and activities.

We talked about the skeletal system being made up of bones and cartilage.  These are designed to support and protect the vital organs where the life is.  The circulatory system is about moving or transporting.  We compared communication to moving and how good communication moves you along a happy path and poor communication moves you along a, well, bumpy path.

The digestive system shows a wonderful picture of reading and studying God's Word.  The Word in us makes us healthy.  I have coined a term that I call "anorexic Christianity."  People who suffer with anorexia eat just barely enough to survive and do not have a healthy life.  Many Christians just listen a little in church sometimes and think that is enough to make them spiritually healthy.  It takes personal study of the Word of God.

 And then, it was easy to talk about the Excretory System......yup, the poop.  If the health and nutrition of the Word of God goes into our hearts, then the waste of sin will be taken out of our lives.  If sin is allowed to build up in our lives, we become filled with toxins and are no longer profitable but poisonous.

All the parts must be working together in harmony to have a healthy  body.  A church is made up of all kinds of people who have all different kinds of talents and abilities.  We all need to have a check up and be sure we are doing our part to make the body of Christ healthy and effective.

Yesterday I was reading Facebook.  Now, I know that some people hate FB, but I look at it just like anything else in life......it is the responsibility of the user to behave and not abuse the tool.  Anyway, a certain post caught my attention and made me very sad.

According to the Urban Dictionary the Bible is apparently an ancient novel full of murder, incest, homosexuality, corruption and more that is often read to children on Sundays.  This is not an exact quote but does include the major descriptions listed.  I was so sad to read this.  I realize that not everyone accepts the Bible as Truth or believes in the saving power of Christ.  There is so much wisdom and so many wonderful miracles in the Bible that even if you just wanted it to be a story book it would have so much to offer.

I want to go on record here that the Bible has changed my life.  The God of the Bible is real and alive.  He has made my whole life completely different than it would have been without Him.  That makes me happy!

Don'tcha just hate when someone asks you, "what are your priorities?"  That means I have to stop and evaluate things.  Then, of course, I have to start picking and choosing what things I need to do first.....and sometimes that is not the same as what I AM doing first.  Keeping the main thing the main thing can be so hard.

In my family right now, the priority is helping my dear daughter keep on track toward getting ready for a 6 week mission trip to Canada followed immediately by heading off to college.  She is not always the best at sorting through which project needs to be done first and is often distracted when she finds something more "fun" that could be done.  I am easily distracted by "more fun" or sparkly things too :-)

This morning we sat down and discussed some of the things she needs to have accomplished.  A few of them had been completed and I just needed to get an update.  Other tasks were starting to overwhelm her.  And a few things had been intentionally pushed to the very back of her mind.  Pretty normal!  We discussed a short list and evaluated how much time was really available early this afternoon.  The departure date is still a ways off, so at times it feels like we have forever to get ready, and then days like today it feels as if we are way behind!  But the date is scheduled and she is leaving.

It made me think of Christ.  Oh, He never lost track of His priorities, but have I lost track of keeping Him in first place in my list?  He IS coming back.  The date is set.  Sometimes it feels like it will never get here and other days I just can't believe He is still waiting.  And I have certain things to accomplish before that date as well.  I must be busy about my Father's business of sharing with everyone I can that Christ wants a personal relationship with them and I can tell them how to start that process!  I must be busy training my kids, and even though one is already married, I still have a place of influence in his life, so the job goes on.  I will have a responsibility for grandchildren someday.  I do have the responsibility of daycare kids now.

I can't get all sidetracked with the "fun" things like singing His praises and testifying of His blessings.  I have to keep those things in proportion to the work that I am to be doing.  Priorities.  I must keep evaluating my life and be sure I am as efficient for Him as I can be.......because He is coming back!

People say things like "She's really going through a test" or "That family has had one trial after another".  Are these two things the same? What does each of these words mean?

Trial   Think of a courtroom where a trial is going on.  What do you see in your mind's eye?  Do you see the judge and the attorneys and the defendant?  Do you see the media?  Do you see.......the public?  That's the key to understanding the use of the word trial.  When we are given a trial or are tried by God it is a very public thing.  People around us know about it like our family members and our church family.

Test   For this word, think of a classroom.  Now what do you see?  Do you see a teacher or proctor?  Do you see several students sitting at desks with their sharpened No. 2 pencils ready?  Do you hear the teacher say, "You may open your tests and begin, but keep your eyes on your own papers"?  That is the key!  A test is something that only you see; it is personal and private.

Sometimes God gives us trials like when we lose a job or when we have a serious illness or death in our family. At other times He gives us personal tests like when we are struggling to control jealousy in our heart or when our child's attitude is grating on our nerves and we are tempted to lose our temper.  Both kinds of situations come from God and are designed to strengthen us in some way....just sometimes privately and sometimes publicly.