The title of the event was “Jeremiah, author of Lamentations, Eat Pray, Love, One women’s search for everything across Egypt, Israel and exile.”

This was both of our first times to a Living Proof event, so we weren’t sure what to expect.  It blew my mind.  We had great seats, row F, from the floor up, which were not bad at all (it was open seating).  We were at eye level with whoever was on the stage. The worship that Travis Cottrell and the praise team did was incredible.   With voices shouting praises, hands raised in honor and hearts crying out to Jesus we belted it out.  In the moment, total connection.  There were 11,000 women from 29 states, that’s alot of women!  Here are two of them:

Beth M. brought a powerful teaching from Jeremiah.  She picked out scriptures that helped us remember Eat, Pray, Love.  She spoke alot about brokenness, desserts, idols and pretence.  God wants to meet us in our brokenness so that we can heal and be a witness for him.  God wants to come to the desserts in our lives and plow up the land.  A dessert is anyplace that we don’t allow God access.  Idols will cause us tons of trouble.  This statement was huge, ” we become what we follow, we will be like the idols we follow”  so what are you becoming?  God wants us to stop pretending.  How we worship, live, serve and love.  Stop pretending!   Be real, be free and be who Christ called you to be.   Big time stuff.  Deep pondering things.  It was what I needed for where I am right now.  Praise Jesus!  If you can ever get to a Living Proof Live event GO!  They are incredible and powerful.

Well, I am gonna leave you with some pictures.  Carol and I did have an awesome thing happen.  After the Friday evening session we sat in our seats allowing the crowd to clear out of the stadium.  While sitting there I glanced down at the stage and saw Travis Cottrell chatting with 10 or so women.  I told Carol to get her bags we were heading down there.  We got to meet him! Such a sweet guy who puts his whole heart into what he does.  He signed out program and we got a quick photo!  Isn’t that the coolest!!  What a way to end the summer for me.  Have a great weekend!

The great thing is that now we can focus on our family.  Things are in the past, we are in our new accessible home and we can begin a whole new book.  The old book is finished, complete.  I love that feeling!  We can set new goals and dreams moving  forward!   It has been quite a journey with many mistakes and many, many blessings!  God has been faithful and mighty!  We have fond memories but there is just something about moving on. 

Speaking of being finished, the morning bible study that I go to is finishing up our study this week.  We have been on an incredible journey through “Experiencing God.”  If you have never done this study I would strongly encourage you to.  It is life changing.  You will learn how much God loves you and desires a relationship with you.  You will learn how to know when God is speaking to you, how to believe HIM and adjust your life to him so that you will experience all he has for you.  It’s all about not having a religion but a relationship!!  

I have to say that I am really sad.  I will miss my small group gals.  We  had some wonderful, deep conversations and have had tremendous growth in our group.  We have witnessed answered prayer and have seen the hands of God at work within us.  I will be eagerly be anticipating our reuniting in the fall!  This brings me to another topic.  What to study over the summer?  Summertime is always hard.  The kids are home, time is scarce and the days begin to run together.  All the activities keep you hopping.  But, that is one thing that I learned through Experiencing God, you have to stay in God’s word, staying connected and growing.  Just because it is summer doesn’t mean that we place God on the back burner.  We don’t put our time with Jesus on hold.  What if he did that to us?  What if he sent us an email telling us that he had some bigger fish to fry and he would be back with us in a month or so???  WHOA..that makes me think about how I treat my relationship with Christ.  What do I allow to become more important than HIM?  Sleep, t.v. shows, phone calls, housework, friends, kids activities, emails, facebook, twitter or searching the web.  This summer I want to make sure I am in the word, studying and growing.  So, if you have participated in a great summertime bible study, please share.  I would love some suggestions.  If you did, was it by yourself or did you do it as a group?  If it was with a group, how did you handle the kids?  Did you meet in the morning, afternoon, or the evening when dads are available?   Thanks in advance and I look forward to seeing what you all have done to stay connected to God!  Praying we all experience Jesus daily! 

P.S.  I hope to post some photo’s this week  from Easter and the new home!

Things are fun around our home.  We are getting ready for school, buying  supplies, orientations to attend, schedules to lay out.  Natalie will be in 4th grade and Phoebe is going to Kindergarten.  This will be such a huge change for us.  I have always had a preschooler at home.  Now my baby is going off to school. 

My motherhood season is changing.  I have been a preschool mom for a long time.  Now there are no  preschoolers in the Cross home.  We have entered a new season.  PUBLIC SCHOOL!!  I am excited, but nervous.  I have always had a schedule that consisted of:  getting Natalie ready for school, feeding Phoebe breakfast, getting in some exercise, shower, load Phoebe in the car and head out the door.  We either ran errands, went to preschool, play dates, bible study or attended MOPS.  My routine is changing.  I graduated from MOPS and now will be taking a kiddo to kindergarten. My mind still has a hard time with it. 

 It’s funny how you get comfortable in the season you are in and sometimes that comfort allows no room for growth.  I believe that the Lord wants us to grow continually.  I think he loves to see us enter into a new season.  He anticipates it.  Jesus loves to see us grow, especially in him.  This new season will allow me some much needed time and growth.  Though I am sad that my baby is going off to school and growing up, I am eager to see what God has planned for me.  I have spent alot of time in prayer for direction and guidance.  I know for myself I can get my plate of obligations cleared off and before I know it my plate is abundantly full again.  I have to be cautious and in prayer over the activities I choose to participate in.  I read in a book that sometimes we think we are the ones being called to aministry or organization when in reality Jesus just wants us to pray for the “called” person to step up.  That was huge to me.  I get all these ideas in my mind, believing that Christ is calling me to lead them or orchestrate when he is really just placing it on my heart to pray for it and them.  It is okay to just participate.  It’s okay to take days off and rest.  It’s okay to allow others to step up.  When we think we are the “called” ones and we aren’t, we are stealing the blessings of others and stressing ourselves out!

We do have a full fall season planned.  We are building a new home, which is very exciting.  I am attending a bible study at church.  Natalie will continue with physical therapy and Phoebe is going to start in American Heritage Girls.  I think that is enough for now, although I am praying about a Moms in Touch group.  If you attend or have attended a Moms in Touch group I would love to hear how it impacted your life and your children’s lives.  For those who are not familiar with Moms in Touch, it is an organization that get’s moms together once a week for an hour to pray for their children and their children’s school.   

For now, I am cherishing the last few days of summer break and cherishing my time with my family before we are back into the hustle and bustle of things.  How about you??

I have to say that when I walked into my first MOPS meeting in 1999, I had no idea I would still be going to meetings in 2009.  MOPS has meant so much to me.  I have met wonderful, amazing women.  I have developed friendships, served on the steering teams, and grown as a women, wife, mom and friend.  When life was extremely difficult, my MOPS buddies were always there to carry me.  When Natalie went through her tragedy, MOPS really stepped up. The women loved on me, they brought meals..to the hospital and then when we were sent home they came there too.  They sent cards and became strong prayer warriors. 

MOPS has allowed me to grow closer to Jesus.  It has helped me deepen my relationship with Christ.  I desired to be a godly women, wife, mother, friend, daughter and sister.  The women in the groups I have attended  allowed me to be me.  The good, bad, and ugly.  It has given me leadership skills that I didn’t know I posses.  It has been my outlet and my security when needed.  I am so proud to call myself a MOPS alumni. 

This chapter of my life is closing.  I have graduated from MOPS.  God has some other things planned and I want to be obedient in his destiny for my life.  I am sad, but also excited.  I know that I have built a foundation that Mops has helped pour.  Thank you MOPS for loving, encouraging, supporting, teaching, growing, serving and accepting me.  I will never forget all you have done!! 

Here is a link for MOPS International.  If you are not in MOPS and you have children, newborn to kindergarten I encourage you to check them out.  You will be blessed!

Each season allows God the opportunity for growth in us.  We all need to be fed and watered.  Although, no matter how much we are think we are, we’re not the head gardener.  Trust the “Head Gardner”  He knows what he is doing.  At times we seem to droop and fall, that’s when stakes come in handy.  They hold us up when we are down.  We need to learn to accept help and love from others so we may face tomorrow. 

Our gardens will go through problem stages, weeds, bugs, and pests.  Have patience and realize we are not promised a rose garden all of the time.  We will have trials and failures, but we need to prepare ourselves on how to handle them.  Allow yourself to rest and have patience so we can endure what life gives us. 

1 Peter 4:12-13  Dear friends, do not be surprised by the painful trial you are suffering,  as though something strange is happening to you.  But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.

Seek proper guidance for caring for your garden.  We also need to learn to relax and enjoy our gardens.  Sit, rest, have fun in life.  The seasons change too quickly.  Recognize that we reap what we sow.  Choose wisely the soil for your heart and garden. 

Galatians 6:8  The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

Choose what flower you are and nurture yourself.  We are all so different and that is what makes things fun.  Learn from one another.  How deep is your roots?  Don’t allow your relationships to be so shallow that when the wind blows you break!  Nurture all the areas of our garden, from being a wife, mom, friend, daughter and sister.  All of these need to be fed and fertilized to grow. 

 Love and cherish your garden knowing that the Head Gardener is seeding and sowing in your life.  Stay under his umbrella of grace, mercy and direction for your life.  When we move out from under his umbrella with our own agenda’s we get wet!

When life hands you a race it is the same.  We all have races to run.  It could be an illness, disability, aging parents, becoming a new parent, an unbelieving spouse,  a shift in our belief that has us questioning, children that are wayward,  loneliness, isolation, marital issues, grief, sorrow, etc.

We are called as Christian’s to run the race before us. 

Hebrews 12:1  Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 

Back in September 2001 our precious daughter suffered a major brain injury.  I knew than that the race we had ahead of us was gonna be one full of valley’s.  We had a decision to make.  Do we pound our fists and blame God or do we dig deep into his word and find our hope in him?   We choose the second.    This event changed our family dynamics.  We daily have to look for hope.  We daily have to give God control.   In the beginning our hope was small and there have been many trials.   The one thing that amazes me is my growth in Christ.  I had to place all at the throne of God and allow him to be in control.  Now, I have not done this well all the time but it’s a growth process.  There are times that I am trying to control circumstances and the Holy Spirit nudges me and asks me when I am gonna give up trying to do it and give it to God.  There have been times when I am flat on my face begging and pleading to God to take it and I feel him say to my soul, ” This is the race I have called you to run.  Run it with strength, power, focus and passion in me.  I love you so much, place your hope in me, you can do this, you know me and I know you, run!” 

So, what is your race?  Are you in spiritual shape for it?  Dig deep in God’s word.  Get to know the creator.  Pray without ceasing.  Praise him for the blessings that he gives you.  Make an effort to find those blessings daily.  Surround yourself with other Christians for support and encouragement.  Be grounded in Christ. 

2 Timothy 4: 7-8  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept my faith.  Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day- and not only  to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 

That is my goal.  To run this race, stay focused on my relationship with Christ and have faith with all my heart and soul.  To allow God to be my coach.   He is the best qualified!   Don’t get me wrong.  Tough times are ahead and life is mean.  God is bigger and his power is stronger.  He can pull you out of pits that you have dwelled in for a while.  He delivers us from ourselves.  He delivers us for His glory.   Have the determination to finish the race.   Focus on the finish line!