Baby Dedication

David Jasper on the big screen.


We did David Jasper's Baby Dedication this past Sunday night at FBC Jax. He did great. Sarah Mae and Samuel did great as well. It was a sweet time to be reminded of our responsibility as parents to raise David in the ways of God.
Deuteronomy 6: 5:-9
Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
Well, it looks like I have my work cut out for me!
As we did the baby dedication I was also reminded of how much help and support we received while I was pregnant. My pregnancy with David was a challenge, from nausea to bed rest. I was quite needy. So, thank you to everyone who was able to help us out. We were blessed with people bringing meals, cleaning the house (even the bathrooms!!!), doing laundry, taking the kids places, and just being encouraging and supportive. Thank you! Thank you!
Have a great day sweet friends!
Love you all

Tristan

Hello friends.
Please pray for a family from FBC. Their baby boy, Tristan was born Dec. 3, 2007 with Trisomy 18. He passed away this afternoon. I cannot even imagine the pain that they must be feeling. The mom is Yvette, dad is Trayc and brothers Tanner and Tayden. There is a link to their blog on the right.

In Training

What are you training for? That is a common question among runners. We sign up for a race, plan our weekly schedule and plot out the mileage. When 5:30am rolls around we put on our shoes and get out there. Our run yesterday was quite the challenge. We started at 6am (we got to sleep in), it was dark, it was cold and it was raining. Fun. Fun. But it had to be done. It was part of the training. Once we finished we were so happy. :) Several months ago I started praying that God would give me someone to run with. Within a few weeks I met Julie. She is in my bible study on Thursdays and her son is in kindergarten at Sarah Mae's school. She has 3 kids, I have 3 kids. She even scrapbooks and is an AWESOME trainer. What a blessing she is to me.
At first I thought it might seem silly to pray for a running partner. I am so glad I did. God is interested in every detail of our lives. There are actually 6 girls total that run together. We are all moms. We are all in training. We are training for the Donna Hicken Breast Cancer Awareness Marathon/Half Marathon. Some of the girls are running the full 26.2 miles while myself and another girl are running the Half, which is 13.1 miles.
I love to run. I am not fast and I am not always consistent, but I know it makes me a better me, so I try to keep it up. Once I finish this race I will run more, but my training will never be over. I relate it to my relationship with Jesus Christ. I am in training everyday, all day. I have to do things each day that will get me closer to my goal. My goal for this upcoming race is to run it in 2:20, that is 2 hours and 20 minutes. My goal for my relationship with Jesus is to know Him a little more each day, to be more like Him each day and to draw others to Him each day.
The training may not always be pretty (as was our run yesterday). But I know the rewards will be worth the challenge!
May God give you strength in your training and endurance for your race!

Solid Food

There ain't nothing solid about it! The whole family gathered around David Jasper for his first taste of food. We went with the oh so yummy, rice cereal. That stuff just looks gross. Sarah Mae and Samuel took turns feeding him and daddy took the photos. David Jasper did good, but he prefers RB and LB. Can ya blame him! He is growing like a weed (like the ones in our flower bed).

Submission

Wives submit to your husbands.
Ouch! Are you kidding me?! Sure. Ok. Whatever!
These are some of the replies we voice when someone tells us we are suppose to submit to our husbands. What does the word actually mean anyway? According to the dictionary the word submit means - to yield oneself to the power or authority of another. The word submissive means - inclined or ready to submit; unresistingly or humbly obedient.
OBEDIENT!!! Are you kidding me! Am I suppose to be obedient to my husband? Obedience is so much more fun when we are referring to our children and telling them to be obedient or maybe even when we desire to be obedient to God. But obedience to our husbands. What in the world.
Well, if we desire to be obedient to God we have to be submissive to our husbands. Now, that does not mean we are door mats, sit back and do nothing or let him lead us to ways that are not God's ways.
Now for the apply it to my life part...
Paul and I are visiting other churches. After much prayer, we felt that God was leading us somewhere else. The whole leaving one church to attend another is not easy. Especially, if you have NOT moved. If you move to another city you have to find a new church. No one really thinks anything of it. But, if you feel that God is leading you somewhere else and you decide to be obedient, it can get messy. People assume you are ticked at the church and are leaving for negative reasons. Then people say, "Oh, those poor sinners, they left our church and now they are backslidden and listening to false teaching." Or some might say,"I hate to see you go, but I understand if you feel that God is leading you somewhere else."
(I like that one) We all care about what other people think, esp. our christian friends. We wish we didn't care what people think, but we do. We want others to see us as men and women of God and be a good advertisement for the christian life in order to lead others to Christ. So, how do we go about all this? Good question.
Back to the submission thing. I decided (actually God told me) that I should allow Paul to make the decision about what church we visit. Well, isn't that just precious of me, to actually be obedient and let the man lead. I am just so spiritual and he may need me to take the lead. (ha ha) I am the mom, I know what the kids need. I know what questions to ask. I mean, I did attend seminary. Does the church believe the way we do or do they ask you to bring your own snake? How will he ever be up to the task? Well, believe it or not the man does have a brain and spiritual bones in his body. It is amazing what can happen when we sit back, keep our mouths shut and be obedient. No fun, I want to take charge. First, I have be obedient and now you want me to be PATIENT too.
What will people say? Where will the husband take us. Will we hinder the upbringing of our youngins by going somewhere else? Are there other churches out there? Will I meet genuine christian friends? It can be very lonely visiting other churches, not knowing people and not seeing your friends. These are all questions and concerns. But guess what? God is in control and He WILL lead us. My job is to listen and be obedient.

Sweet Feet

Galations 1:15-17
"God, who set me apart from birth and called me by His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who where apostles before I was, but went immediately into Arabia."
We are set apart. Even those cute, tiny feet in the picture above. Those feet are already set apart to proclaim the good news of Jesus. It is MY responsibility to see to it that those feet know how and where to walk to proclaim Jesus. I do not need to consult 14 people to get their opinion on how to raise those feet. I do need to stay close to God and allow Him to show me how to raise those feet. Friends of little ones, we have a HUGE responsibility and honor to train our children. I love what my mom says, "Amie Jo, you are raising those three youngins to further the kingdom of God." WOW! What a job description. So, the next time you change a diaper, do a load of laundry, cook a meal, pack a lunch, or even wipe a behind, you can know you are furthering the kingdom! Have a great day ladies. Love you all!!

Obedient and Thankful

I thought I would start off this post with a photo of the big baby and the little baby. :) They are so cute!!!
I have thought all week about my new years resolutions. I have prayed and asked the Lord, "What do you want me to accomplish this year?" He did not respond with a long list of "to dos". The words obedient and thankful kept coming to mind. So, my goal is to be obedient to what He has called ME to do and to be thankful for everything He gives me. Sounds easy, but we all know it is not that easy. The obedient part can be a challenge for me at times. I can think of huge list of things I need to do that go under the obedient category. As far as being thankful, I believe contentment is a huge part of that.
It is going to be a great year and I can't wait to see all that God has planned!!!