Lessons

God is great and uses my son on many occasions to teach me.

Today, Nov 1, Liam had an unfortunate incident with a toy that resulted in scrapping his gums and hurting his two middle bottom teeth.

Here's how it went down. I was trying to get things ready for us to go out for the afternoon on some errands and to see Lance at the theatre. I had stepped out of the room, Liam was in his pack-n-play, safe, I thought.

Well, I come back into the room and he is screaming, crying, and holding his mouth. Now, there is a distinct difference in the "I want out" cry and the "I'm hurt, Mommy" cry (which he does rarely). So I come in and see that he has blood running out of his mouth and his little fingers are covered in saliva and blood. Making things worse with my fear and worry, I swooped him up out and into the kitchen to get some water to wash his mouth out so I could assess the damage. Well, if any of you have had a little one, you know that they don't usually cooperate when it comes to certain things. Well, Liam didn't want to have anything to do with mommy looking in his mouth. All he wanted was to stick his own fingers in and get out whatever it was that was hurting him. He didn't realize that mommy was trying to do exactly that, stop whatever was hurting him.

What I think God was showing me in this situation is: There are times when I get myself in a mess and get hurt (emotionally, physically, spiritually). Then I try really hard to fix the situation and get my hands and everything else all in the way. God doesn't want that to happen. If I will just stop, take a deep breath, pray & think about the situation, and get out of the way, He'll take care of things for me.

When I finally got a bottle of water and some ice for Liam, that's what he did; he moved his hands out of the way so that relief could come where he needed.

I pray that this lesson sits with me and that I learn from it. If I could get myself out of the way of what God wants for me during good, bad, or indifferent times, He will make amazing things happen. He will give me that living water that he wants me to have. He will cool down the things that are hurt and bothersome.

IN THE WILL OF GOD revisited

Earlier in the year I posted a statment from a friend....

"When you're in the will of God, you will fall in love with where He has you."

I'm so in love with Him right now! Today helped me to realize that even more.

It also makes me more in love with my husband who is a wonderful support, even when he's in the dumps. Thanks be to God that he helped us reach 15 years of togetherness.

I love you Lance.

God's Leadership Moment for Me.

What an amazing sense of accomplishment. We finished the first phase of the BarefootKids make-over. There are some finishing touches and some areas that need attention, but what an impact phase one will make.

As we were working today, God really opened my eyes to what serving and being in leadership is all about. When we allow people to be a part of the vision and encourage people to participate, God will not only do amazing things in the ministry but in the lives involved. I had the honor today of hearing one of our team members express how much joy they received by being a part of the Under the Sea make-over party. How awesome is that. Lives have already been affected.

While working, Nancy Challis stopped me to say, "Thank you so much for letting me be a part of this project. As I turn back to see what has happened in this room, I'm just so excited to see the response of the kids." (wording not exact)

I just have to give praise to God for allowing me to be a part of His team. To help people move closer to him while serving. To see people excited and jazzed about what they're doing to impact the community for a kingdom difference.

I learned so much about leadership from this project. That by encouraging, empowering, and equipping God's people to do what they've been called to do; God will get the glory and lives will be changed. It's nice to be able to allow people who've got ahold of the vision to let loose. Go TEAM!

Thanks again to: Heather Vaughan, Nancy Challis, Chelsea Key, Brandi Edwards, Jennifer Tucholski, Kathryn Dennis, Kina Allen, Shane, Nancy Duprez (for watching Liam), Liam O'Connor (for being such a great kid & supporting his mom), and last but not least Lance O'Connor (my wonderful husband who encourages, empowers, and equips me with his support, love, & understanding). I love you all.

Volunteer Excellence

Wow, what a day. I had a great group of High Capacity volunteers show up to help take our Under the Sea children's wing from a blah environment to a hurrah environment. It's nice to have a team that gets the vision. Being able to lay out the resources in front of a team of people and for everyone to work together to accomplish the same goal is awesome. No one was trying to assert their own creative desires, it was an actual team effort. I love when I can put my selfish, prideful self to the side. My old self would have ordered how to do things and I would've been watching every move each person made. However, this group of volunteers know what the vision is and with freedom to use their gifts and talents, they accomplished greatness. I can't wait to see the faces of the families as they walk in the doors of Under the Sea.

Special thanks to: Heather Vaughan, Nancy Challis, Brandi Edwards, Chelsea Key, Kathryn Dennis, Kina Allen, Laura Weaver, Aunt Nancy Duprez (for watchin little Liam), and Liam O'Connor (his patience with his momma) for their hard work.

Here's a sneak peek, you'll have to stop by in person to see the finished product:

Getting Back on Track

As I sit here and work through an asmtha attack, which I haven't had in a long time. I can't help but think that my creator is trying to get my attention. I sit and write because during these times I often sleep in a way that keeps my wonderful husband up. So, he's taken a head start this evening in getting to bed. My prayer is that when I finally do hit the sack, my breathing will be at peace and not bring about sleep disruption.

So my thoughts are: 1) Am I making wise choices in the things that I eat and drink? 2) Am I getting a good nights sleep? 3) Since my asmtha is usually stress or emotionally induced: are there stressers or emotions going on to contribute to the dilinquencey of air in my lungs? 4) How am I honoring God in the life that I live? 5) What immediate actions can I take today to make a change? 6) What I do, who do I do it for? 7) What do I see others as having more value than myself? 8) Can I focus upward instead of outward? 9) Who is the center of my life? 10) Am I willing to make the changes necessary to get back on track? And who can I ask to be my accountability partner?

Lord, I know that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I pray that I allow that to resonate in my heart and not just my head. Lord, my desire is to make you happy in the way that I live and lead my life. I pray that I may be the light that you've called me to be. I pray that I receive wisdom in doing the things that challenge me. I pray that I be able to embrace change and create change in all areas of my life. Change is good. As the leaves fall and winter takes its entrance. The earth begins its preparation for renewal, rebirth, and resurrection. These areas where we feel dead are great because just as Christ died, so have I and I have been reborn into his family.

Embrace change, it's inevitable.

Lessons through a child

There are so many things that I've wanted to write about but being a busy mom has kept me from the computer. So I'll share the little lesson that I received through my son today.

I was up at the church tonight working on our new First Time Family check in station. Liam was on the floor playing. He was playing with his new toy from Tupper Ware, you know that red and blue ball with the shapes....yep...he likes it. He was picking up the shapes and putting each one in his mouth. Since he's still working on his dexterity some of the shapes were getting away from him. One would fly and he would scoot to chase after it. Well, while chasing a shape a bottle of water caught his eye....his new goal, the bottle of water. So he set off to get this bottle; scooting/Crawling (military style) eagerly trying to reach what he wanted. In his path was a small changing bag, so he started making his way over this bag, which got him in a pickle because now his body was at a higher level (like he was body surfing) and he wasn't able to figure it out. Anyway, he began to reach and stretch and strain to get this bottle of water. Slowly but surely, he got his fingers on the bottle. He worked and worked and he could see his prize almost in his complete grasp. With determination and focus, he finally got that bottle of water. In his little mind he had succeeded!! Then out of nowhere, his prize was pulled from his grasp.

The lesson I got from this was:
There are many things that we try to reach for or that we want, a job, a new car, a new toy, a new relationship, or even a new life. We reach and stretch and try to push through the obstacles, sometimes with success, sometimes without success. But we push and strive for what we want. Then when we get it we are excited and feel like we have a huge victory. But then that prize is pulled out of our grasp.There are things in my life that I've pushed for and wanted and have succeeded in getting. Then God out of nowhere comes in and removes that prize. It wasn't meant for me. It's not what he wanted for me and in some cases it was not the best for me.

That was my lesson. Stop reaching for the things that I want and start focusing on the things that God has in store for me. Stop putting all my time and effort on what I want and wait for God to open the door for me.

Two ships passing through

So, I'm sitting here at home and it's 11:53pm on Wednesday night. I have to say that I do not envy single moms and find that I respect them more that I thought. I say this because I sit here at home waiting for my husband to come home from work. See, my husband works for the House of Blues of Myrtle Beach and tends to long hours. Our schedules are so opposite (hence the felling of being a single mom) he works at night and I work during the day. I know that he really doesn't care for this schedule either. He doesn't get to spend much time with the baby and when he does, he's usually tired because he came home at 2am and the baby is up by about 8:30am.

If you were to peek into our life you'd see two ships passing through the night or day, depending on the ship that you're following. This seems to be a pattern for us. There was a point in our life when we we both home by 6pm and got to spend the evenings together. That was an awesome time! I got the opportunity to have dinner ready for him and I also tried to do other things as well. I LOVED IT!! Now, I'm lucky if he eats the dinner that I leave in the microwave for him. I know that this is a season and God has a plan for us and doesn't want us to not have time for each other and family time.

About 2 and 3 weeks ago we some great family time. One weekend we took a Ferry from Southport to Fort Fisher and we went to the Fort Fisher aquarium. The ferry trip was so cool. Then the week after we went to the Ripley's aquarium. It's awesome to have a Blues Brother partner. We got a free ticket. Anyway, I would love to see us have the ability to spend more time together as a family.

Well, it's about 12:30 am and I just nodded off for a short nap. I'm off to bed. Sorry that this a little random.

Cherish time with your loved ones. Treasure the moments with your children.

Awesome weekend in Children's Ministry

We had some record numbers yesterday in Children's Ministry!! It's sooo cool to see the number of new families that came through the doors at Barefoot.

I have to say that God is AMAZING! I don't know about you, but I find myself in utter astonishment at what power God has on this world. This OnePrayer series has really brought about some changes. There have been times when there are things that make me go, "Hmmm".

It's sad that I find myself always so busy that those moments are few and far between. If I could stop for a moment and realize and stand in God's presence, the "Hmmm" moments would begin to be more than just moments.

Barefoot is about to rock the North Myrtle Beach community. I believe that there is about to be an explosion of Jesus on this city. God is ready to do more amazing things in and through Barefoot church. It's not about Barefoot, it's about God moving. He has a plan for us all and if we can slow down for him to reveal that "Hmmm" or "Aaha"; our lives would radically move to "HNL!"

We have to be willing to reach further than the clouds, through the stars, and into the heavens to receive God's full for our lives. He stands and knocks at our doors! Are we standing on the other side shaking in our Rainbows because of what he might ask us to do? Are we saying, "Perhaps" I'll open that door in a minute?" Or are you saying, "Here I am Lord, I will go?" I pray that I become more of the latter and move away from the "Perhaps" and "In a minute."

Where do you stand? Open or closed?

Check out our newest ministry tool IslandJAM Children's Ministry group web site.

God's Will

I was talking with a friend of mine this evening and she made a great comment: When you're in the will of God, you will fall in love with where He has you.

For me everyday must be Valentine's Day - because I am completely and totally in love with where God has me.

Awe and Wonder

I was sitting here this evening staring at the beautiful baby that God has given to me. I look at him and he gives me this HUGE toothless grin and I melt. What a precious moment when God reminds me that He wants me to recognize Him smiling at me like that. Over the last 3 months I have gained a new found understanding of God's love for me. He has made that ever present with my son. Just like Liam (who has become very good at giving his paci what-for when it plops out of his mouth) gives me that unconditional love and affection, God is no different. All I have to do right now for Liam is love him, feed him, make sure he's clean, protect him, teach him about the most amazing thing in the world, and that is how much Jesus loves him. How crazy is it that when we have kids we are so willing to put everything on hold, sacrifice our time, shower, ice cream, and sleep to make sure that our little bundle of joy is happy. God doesn't want all that from us. All He wants is for us to take time out of our day to seek Him, love Him with all our heart, and live a life according to His direction and will. To me, in looking at the list of things from one to another, giving God what he wants seems so much easier. But why is it so difficult? There is one area in my life that I consistantly struggle with giving up to him. You would think after the miracle He made when I finally gave my desire to have children over to him happened, I'd be able to give anything up. But my inability to make wise decisions related to my eating on a consistant basis is a major struggle. As I continue to read His word and seek His direction and meaning in my life, I pray that He will reveal to me how easy it can be for me to just give back to Him what already belongs to Him.

Finding Balance

It will be 3 months on Tuesday since our little bundle of joy came into this world; and what a wonderful first 3 months. God is great! Liam has become the biggest blessing in our lives. Not only does he bless us and impress us each and every day, but we are constantly told how much he blesses those he comes into contact with. It's amazing how God will use the tiniest little things to bring glory to his name. Over these last 13 years we never imagined that we'd be parents, now that it's all said and done I wouldn't change a thing.

Over the last 3 months, we've seen Liam grow and change in such a dramatic way. For the first 2 months we spent our days just learning about our little one and just meeting all his needs. Now he has started rewarding us with smiles, giggles, and holding on tight to our fingers. He's working on keeping his head up - and doing a great job at that.

I'm so blessed. I just can say that enough. I have an awesome child, husband, job and most of all Savior. I'm overwhelmed by the blessing that God has given me in the last 2 years. I could not imagine my life any other way. GOD IS GOOD!! All the time!