Camp Update, Obedience & a Challenge

We took CJ to camp yesterday. The place is beautiful - a 400 acre farm with nearly 20 horses, tennis courts, an archery range, go-cart track, & a man-made lake. I left her making new friends & giggling away. R & I stopped to have dinner on the way home, enjoyed a ride of conversation without interruption, and settled in for a movie.

As soon as the ending credits started rolling, it hit me that my little girl was going to bed without me tucking her in. Poor R! Tears started flowing. Fortunately, he's had plenty of practice in calming me down over the years. My tears caught me off guard. I thought I'd cried enough Saturday night, and that I'd be fine until about Thursday. But bedtime was tough for me.

I hope it wasn't nearly as tough for her.

We can't talk to her until Saturday. I'll be able to see pictures on-line every night and I can send her cards & emails. But I won't hear her voice until we pick her up Saturday. The reality of that is setting in.

I took the day off. R's at work until this evening. I have the next 10 hours alone. So, I'm going to put on my iPod, and get moving to organize my laundry room & our bedroom closet. But first, I need to finish the obedience series.

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A couple of weeks ago, close friends lost a family member in a horrible car accident. I never know what to say in times of tragedy, because it's so hard to make sense of what God's doing. I guess the trick is to realize we can't wrap our human minds around God, and to just TRUST that He's working.

My friends came to church the Sunday following the accident. God specifically told me that I needed to pray with them during altar call. I realized I wouldn't know how to pray for them, and quickly decided to pray with someone else. During the altar call, I literally watched God take away every other person I intended to pray with rather than be obedient to Him. Finally, in the third stanza of the invitation hymn, I walked to the back of the church to pray with my friends. I didn't know what to say, but He took over & took care of it.

The wife called me that night to thank me for being obedient. While I was arguing with God, she was seeking Him. When she saw me walking toward the back of the church, she prayed I would stop at their row. Her insistence in prayer moved the Holy Spirit to move me! I was humbled, and ashamed that I had been so stubborn. I was unspeakably grateful that He still allowed me to be part of that sweet, sweet moment.

Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other. Keep his decrees and
commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the Lord your God gives you for all time. -Deuteronomy 4:39-40

#5 - Obedience Brings Blessing - When we trust Him and do what He tells us, we will bless others & He will bless us. There will be times the things He asks us to do won't make sense. We won't understand. We won't like it. We'll be stubborn. We'll miss out.

But in those times when we can put ourselves aside and JUST DO IT, He'll be glorified. We may see it, and we may not. But He promises to bless us if we simply obey.

I don't know about you, but I could use some blessing. So could the people in my life. Particularly my husband. Christine at Fruit in Season has started a 30-day challenge to honor our husbands. Scripture calls us to bring honor to our husbands. I can't think of a better way to put what I've learned about obedience into practice!

My Goals for the Week:

1 - Like Christine, I need to greet R when he gets home from work. Too many times, I'm at the computer or on the couch.

2- Leave him love notes this week, telling him how much I appreciate him.

3- Remember to speak kindly TO him and ABOUT him.

Want to join me? Head over to Fruit in Season & link away!


Melissa