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.