Gratitude...

Then the King will say to those on His right, “Come to me, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”  Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thrirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and cloth you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’  The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

There is no way to express how thankful I am to my God this morning.

I love the body of Christ.  I love the people God has called together to be brothers and sisters in order to honor His name.

Friends and family have come together to bless our family with school supplies... A clarinet, clothes to fit Jake for athletics.  Others have said they would like to help buy some of the things that were not given, and give some more of the clothes that will be necessary for them this year.  A friend dropped off some school supplies on my porch this morning.  I don’t have words for the gratitude in my heart.  Of course, gratitude for these precious people.  But, also - and more so, to the God of the universe that brought us together as a family and knows every need we have before we even ask it.  That is the God I serve.  The God that is not bound by anything - but is over all things and so loving to His children.  I know He will reward the precious people who “did for the least of these...”

God is providing everything we need through the hands of His precious children.  I am in awe of His beauty this morning.

Isaiah 54:10, “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken, nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you.”

I cannot wait to see the way He will meet every one of our needs.  I look forward to watching Him be who He loves to be.

Maranatha (Oh Lord come!)

In Need...

There was a song we used to sing in worship called "In Need" - I believe it was written by Ross King.  It said, "in need of grace, in need of love, in need of mercy reigning down from high above.  In need of strength, in need of peace, in need of things that only you can give to me.  In need of Christ, the perfect lamb, my refuge strong, the great I Am.  This is my song, my humble plea, I am your child, I am in need."  It makes me sob buckets right now.  It is perfectly beautiful to describe how we are every day - even when we don't realize it.

I do not like to ask for help (usually because of PRIDE).

The Bible tells me PRIDE is not okay.

I believe the Bible is 100% correct - and that brings me to the point.

For my friends who like lists and not words...  Scroll down and you will find the list of practical needs.  :)  For my other friends who don’t mind all my words... Here ya go!

Life has not been a bowl of cherries for us over the last 6 months.  There have been some really difficult things.  These things have tested my ability to rest in Jesus while seemingly everything around me swirled into oblivion.  But, I DID (and still do!) trust Jesus - and He has come through.  He has never let us down.  Each month, we have sat literally stunned by how He took care of things.  It has been so cool (and yet, so hard) to watch him teach us what trusting Him for  our daily bread really looks like.

That is the second reason I have hesitated to “post” any of these requests.  I know that God can meet every need we have.  I believe that with my whole heart.  But, if I don’t let people know our needs - well - but, there is still the Holy Spirit...  See my dilemma?  Am I taking things into my own hands by asking, is that some lack of faith that God will provide?  I don’t think so.  I think, for now, He has laid it on my heart to share our needs and watch Him take care of things.  But, I have to be honest, there is a voice in my head that tells me I lack faith and I am trusting in myself and not my God to provide.  - Go away stupid voice.  I love Jesus and I am confident He will accomplish more than I can even imagine.

With that said, there are some practical things that we really need and if someone else has them and doesn’t need them, we would be blessed.  However, I do not want anyone to give under compulsion - as I can assure you God will provide.  He promises He will meet every need we have, and He is FAITHFUL!

*  size L mens maroon athletic shorts - yes I am an Aggie, but it is really because that is the color the school insists he has. He probably needs two pair - one to wear while the other one is washing.
*  Assorted notebooks and spirals (one black binder for Maddy’s band) and spirals of any color for all three of the kiddos.
* A clarinet.  Used is fantastic - I just don’t know where to begin to find her an instrument and she really wants to be in band. There are many things that are needed for this (reeds and cleaning cloths and such).

I have to stop for a minute and tell you right now tears are rolling down my cheeks.  This is so hard to do.  Yes, pride... Yes, because it is hard to literally not be able to give my kids the things that they need for school...  Yes, because I would so much prefer to be on the other end of this email - searching for ways that we could help.  It is so not fun to feel unable to help someone else.  Probably one of the hardest parts of it all...  Ugh.  So. Not. Fun.

* a lawnmower (or someone who is good with stuff like that who could come fix ours that is broken)

* shorts for Maddy for athletics (also maroon I think)  size S/M - women’s.  She is about a women’s size 3 or 4.  I don’t know what they call that for athletic shorts.

* Other school supplies (like pencils and specific notebooks that I haven’t even found out about yet).

I want you to know from the deepest place in my heart that I am more thankful for your prayers than I can say.  I know what it is not to be able to help someone with a list -so if that is where you are - know that praying for us will do far more - and go much further than you could ever imagine.  So, from the bottom of my heart, I want to say thank you for every one who reads this - and even just for that moment - prays for our family.  God will provide and I can’t wait to share how He did it with you.

Much love,
~Christy