God is GOOD!

God Is Good!

In my distress, I called upon the Lord

Psalm 18:16

When things got rough, I would just start to pray. I learned that staying afraid or overwhelmed only made it all worse. If I would just stop and pray and even do it out loud so the kids could hear me, it would all begin to workout.

Now, I'm a get it done NOW kinda person so God has taught me to be PATIENT in all things. We can't rush life like we do. Life is meant to enjoy and treasure. I was stuck in a way of life where I did my to do list first and then took time to enjoy and treasure what was right in front of me. That is NOT possible here! Life is my to do list! Don't go so fast that you miss the little things in life that mean soo much more than what is on your to do list for the day!

  

So, today was a church day for us and we were going to try out a new church.  We liked the church from last week, but we wanted to make sure that we found the right place for all of us.  Today I am OVERLY grateful for this amazing man that God has given me.  I REALLY wanted to spend the day in our PJs hanging out at home.  Rusty was encouraging us all to get dressed so we can go meet some new people and check out this new church. 

So, we all got dressed and loaded up in the car.  Natalie kept saying that her tummy really hurt and didn't really know why.  I told her that my tummy hurt too.  I explained to her how when we meet new people or go to new places, our tummy will always feel a little different.  Sometimes it is because we are nervous, sometimes it is because we are excited, and sometimes it will be because we are really scared.  All of the feelings feel the same but if we just try to figure out which one it is we can pray about it and ask God to help us not be so nervous. 

As we walked into the church, it was Natalie who found the front door first.  I think that made her feel better about going in.  As we walked in we saw three American families in the congregation, and they all had small kiddos. 

We were welcomed by two families and they explained how their church worked.  They had the kids go into the service until sermon time and then the kiddos would go to their own Children's Church.  This was great because it helped the kids get used to the new place before they went into their own room.  

When the songs began, the first song was "Forever God is Faithful".  Denman looked up to me and smiled.  This was his FAVORITE bible school song that we sang during a bible school in Daingerfield.  Natalie began singing it too.  It had a little more beat to it, but it was the same words which just made my heart smile!  I loved it because this was the week that the Methodist Church in Daingerfield would be doing VBS.  I LOVE LOVE VBS!  It is such an amazing week that allows us all to reach out to kiddos by teaching songs, telling stories, and just letting them know that they are loved.  I can't wait to hear all about how Lindsay does as the Music Person this week. :)  I thought about all of them as we sang one of the MANY songs that we learned at VBS.

The next songs were all new ones to us, but all very upbeat and fun.  The kids then headed to Children's church and as I made sure they made it to the right rooms, I met a new mom.  She was so sweet and told me about picking up the kids.  She also said that they would have biscuits and coffee after the service and we should stay.  I told her we would.

When I walked back into the service, the sermon was getting started and the topic was "Finding the JOY in all we do!"  Now in Texas, I'm all about JOY and how to help someone find their JOYFUL place, but here.....not so much!  I was having a hard time "Keeping the Joy".  I had moments where I was great, but then other moments where I just wanted to loose it.  My LOOSE IT time is at nighttime when all is quite.  The anxiety and fear sets in at night which makes it VERY hard to fall asleep.  That is why I now take that time to blog and read the "move" books to help me through it.  Joy can be a part of EVERY piece of our day if we will just let it.  So, I knew then I needed to start finding the "joy" and getting some sleep. 

After the sermon, we met up the American couples and met three couples that were either moving to Houston from here or just moved here from Houston.  It was so fun to talk about all the crazy changes going on with all of us.  My favorite talk was with the couple who just moved back here from Houston and were on a mission to find out how to get Velveeta!  I love it.  They were missing the TEXAS QUESO too.  There is just NOTHING like Velveeta and Rotel!

When I picked up Natalie and Denman, Natalie said, "Now, THIS is the church that I want to go to!"  It was priceless.  It was just a confirmation of exactly what I was thinking.  I can't explain it, but it was like when we walked into the church, it felt like home.  It is in our neighborhood too which meant some days we could even walk to church.  It was an ANSWERED PRAYER!

Now, I don't know if it will be our home for our entire stay here, but I for sure know it will be our Church Home for NOW!  Today, I can breathe because I know that...

"In HIM all things hold together" Colossians 1:17

So if we got distracted or off our path, we now have a group of people who will lead us back.  I'm just hoping now we can find a small group to help us grow even further.  There is NOTHING like having an extended family at church to help guide your decisions in life and keep you focused.  We had the most AMAZING small group in Houston and we are on a mission to find a way to get connected in that way so we call all grow deeper in our Faith.  ( We miss you guys, and we are Praying for you all DAILY!)

I love this verse.  The world grabs us and takes us places that we just don't need to go.  If we keep following the way of the world, we will remain LOST and ANXIOUS!

Romans 12:2  "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-- His good, pleasing and perfect will"

Isiah 41:10  "Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, surely I will help you."

Matthew 11:28  "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."

 

We decided that we needed to get ice cream to celebrate our Answered Prayer!

This is a picture from this week at the mall. 

Natalie had our waiter make her a flower balloon.

Natalie said this carpet must be for the Queen.

Denman ran up and said, "And I am the Knight!"

Denman fell asleep on the way home from church!

Check out our puzzle!  We finished it tonight. :)