From My Heart

In the last few weeks and months, A LOT has been going on around here!

In late August, my family and I assisted in breaking an official world’s record. Very cool!

We made this attempt at the 4th annual Half-marathon that is a large fundraiser for our local children’s hospital.

The record to be broken was “to gather the most amount of ‘superheros’ in one place at one time”. We did this to help raise money for our local (only) children’s hospital where my son Cameron is treated for leukemia.

Not only did we break the world record, we shattered it! In addition, hundreds of thousands of dollars were raised. ) Praise God! It was a day filled with fun, excitement, anticipation, and great praise to our dear Heavenly Father.

See, last year, at this same event (minus trying to break a world record) my son was so sick, he was unable to cross the finish line on his own. A dear friend (and our school principle) actually carried him across the finish line while I kept him covered with an umbrella in the POURING rain!

But this year, not only was Cameron able to cross the finish line on his own, but he was able to participate in all the events, encourage other children with chronic illnesses, and inspire an entire community. ) Again, Praise God!

After that wonderful day, we soon learned that we were 1 of 5 families in our state to be ‘finalists’ to receive a “home makeover” from the popular TV show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

To make a long story a little shorter, on September 28, 2009, much to our surprise, we WERE in fact chosen and Ty Pennington was in our yard screaming “Good morning Marshall Family!” WOW!!!

The clock began to run at warp speed and God was showering us with blessings by the second!! Praise God!

The experience was nothing less than amazing and we now live in an incredible, SAFE, HEALTHY, home. Yes, it’s extravagant and luxurious, I couldn’t have ever imagined living like this. But one thing hasn’t changed.

We KNOW that it wasn’t Ty Pennington OR ABC OR Extreme Makeover: Home Edition who gave us a fresh start and who provided a safe home,…..it was our dear Wonderful Heavenly Father.

At the end of the week, Ty said, “Welcome Home Marshall Family, Welcome Home” , it was classic!

Getting a new house doesn’t solve all of our problems, but it sure is a wonderful, exciting, and extravagant gift that we did nothing to deserve.

Isn’t it great that our Heavenly Father offers His gift of eternal life to everyone, even when we have done nothing to deserve it?! What a priceless gift!!

Share the gift of God’s Word with everyone you know.

Imagine God saying, “Welcome Home” to them and help them have an Extreme Makeover: LIFE Edition! )

“I have no greater joy than to hear my children are walking in the truth.”

3 John 4

Before I sat down to write this morning, I opened my bible and read 3 John.  I was brought to the pinnacle of truth and realization that reminded me of a conversation I had with a friend yesterday. 

I left that conversation with the thought that, “all that really matters is that my kids truly know what the truth is and that they grow up to be adults who are madly, crazy in love with Jesus.”  Nothing else matters!

It’s just that simple.

There is so much going on in our daily lives.  I think we get side tracked and distracted to the truth ourselves.

We rush through our days thinking about all that needs to get done, who needs to be where at what time, what’s for dinner, disciplining children, ….. things get ‘lost in translation’.  I mean really.  There will always be things that need to get done, places to be, children to discipline, and you can bet, that every single night, dinner time will come! 

But how many times during the course of your day do you think, “all that really matters is that my kids truly know that Jesus loves them and that they too love Him.”  I know for me, it’s typically at meal time prayers and bedtime prayers when that thought crosses my mind.  But rarely does that thought cross my mind as I loudly proclaim (across the house) to a child, “your room better be clean or you’re not going anywhere”!  When I’m rushing through a room before guests arrive, I hear myself saying, “please take this to your room”, “who left their shoes here?”, “See, this is why I told you, ‘no food on the rug’!” I am very focused.  I am not behaving like, “All that really matters is that my kids truly know the truth and that they love Jesus”, on the contrary.  My thoughts at that moment are, “Guests are coming over and look at this mess!”  My thoughts get lost in, “What if it were Jesus coming over? Look at this mess!” 

I need to re-focus and remember that ‘true hospitality’ is showing the love of Jesus to others, including my own family.  Maybe my house doesn’t look like Martha Stewart’s, that’s okay.  Maybe my kids are dressed in coordinating outfits and spotless, that’s okay.  Maybe, the meal I can offer my guests (or my family) is a simple and frugal meal without all of the trimmings, that’s okay. 

What I really want is for my guests (and my family) to feel welcome, comfortable, loved.  I want them to leave thinking, “I love spending time here, I can’t wait to come back again”. 

After all, when my kids grow up and start their own families, I want them to think of home fondly. I want them to remember how much they enjoyed sharing the love of Jesus with guests (and each other) in our home. 

Is your home warm and inviting?  Do people feel welcome there?  Do you feel like you can invite someone over spontaneously?  How do you feel when you go to other people’s homes?  Do you remember every meal that was made for you and what the décor was like?  Is that what really matters?

I would like to encourage you today to make hospitality simple.  I would like to encourage you to practice hospitality with your family, not just your guests.  Focus on what really matters and remember what ‘true hospitality’ really means. 

If you wait until the house is perfectly clean, the perfect meal is made, the kids are perfectly dressed, … you may find yourself sitting home alone wishing someone else would invite you over!

In July of last year, our 9-year-old son Cameron was diagnosed with leukemia.

Since that time, God has shown us many wonderous things and we’ve been given many opportunities to see God at work and just how ‘real’ He is. 

God has provided for us abundantly and He has shown us such incredible grace and mercy through this challenge, it’s hard to put into words.

In my opinion, Cameron has been the one to suffer most, so I asked him if there was anything he wanted me to make sure I let you know.  This is what he said.  “Let everyone know that it’s not all bad.  It’s only bad if you make it bad.” 

I wasn’t completely clear on what he meant, so I asked him what could possibly make it good.  He answered me by saying, “your attitude”.

I understood where he was going with his thoughts, but I still wanted a better way to articulate what ‘good’ could mean to a 9-year-old boy.  I asked him, “How can you find it in your heart to have a good attitude when such stinky things are happening to you and you feel so crummy?”  His answer was, “You just have to make a choice to be grateful and thankful it’s not worse.  It can always be worse.”

My last question for Cameron was what I admired most.  I asked him if he has had times during this challenge where he has been mad at God because he got leukemia and if so, how did he get past his anger.  He said, “Yes, I’ve been mad.  But I know that it’s part of His plan, and I trust Him.”

I TRUST HIM.

What an incredible thought!

The faith of a child is so precious. 

The day that Cameron’s symptoms began to appear, I immediately called my husband and asked him to clear his schedule to go to the doctor’s with us.  He did and came right home.

That night, I remember my husband praying over Cameron and saying, “God, please show Cameron your hand is in this.”

The next morning came and within an hour of being at the doctor’s office, we knew Cameron had cancer. 

The doctor wasn’t sure exactly what kind, but she showed us his x-ray which showed a large mass in his chest and that was the telltale sign.  In shock, we prayed.  Our doctor, who had been Cam’s doctor since he was 6 months old, prayed with us, cried with us, and assured us that they would do everything they could to help him.

We then walked right over to the cancer center and met an incredible group of people who began telling us what was to come.

At that point, it was like God entered the room.  He began to comfort and assure us just like my husband had prayed for.  

The “ironic” events of the first day at the hospital were nothing near “ironic”, they were God. 

God has truly brought to life these verses in the book of Philippians.

“Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in EVERYTHING, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 4:4-7

God has given us a peace that truly passes all understanding.  God has picked us up and carried us, just like in the poem of the footprints in the sand.

Our God is a god of hope.  Our God is a god of mercy.  Our God is a god of strength.  Our God loves us more than any of us could love each other.  Our God is truly AWESOME!

I think that just like the theory that you can’t see a rainbow unless it rains, is just how suffering is.  You may not enjoy the suffering, but the joy that can come with the suffering, the joy that comes after the suffering, is something words cannot describe. 

We will all be asked to suffer, but if you’ll keep in mind that our ultimate joy comes from, through, and with God in eternity, you will be able to experience that same childlike faith Cameron has.

“I TRUST HIM” Cameron said.  “I TRUST HIM”.

GOD is so much more faithful than we are, trust Him!

Know that in suffering there IS joy.  Our Father’s joy.

Suffering may sound awful, but remember, you cannot see a rainbow if it doesn’t rain.   ;o)

In reading the book of John (specifically 21:15), I began thinking….

Have you ever tried to make sourdough bread?  I tried once.  I wasn’t very confident in starting the process, but I really wanted to try it out.  Someone gave me a starter along with explicit directions on how to use it.  They were confident I could not mess it up!  \ 

After I began believing that this stinky little piece of dough could soon turn out to be a wonderful creation, I did just as I was told.  I followed the instructions like “law”. 

I fed the dough with flour.  I mixed the dough with water.  I used my hands and shaped it.  I let it sit for hours.

The dough grew, just as it was supposed to.  It seemed so light and soft, so tender and was really starting to smell lovely.  I then, ‘punched’ the dough down.  Taking it back to a smaller piece of dough and not looking as soft and pretty.  Then, I waited. 

As I waited for it to grow again, I stared at it.  I realized that this bread was sort of like my sins.

Sometimes sins start off as this small, insignificant ‘thing’ that is just a ‘starter’ to something else.  I might not believe it will grow into anything, but it could.  It might even be a bit stinky.  \

Sometimes, we know about this small ‘thing’ and sometimes we don’t even notice it.  We don’t think it’s the beginning of anything, but it is.  If it gets fed just the right ingredients, it will grow.  And it could grow into something really beautiful (like a great life lesson) or, it could grow into something really stinky!

Sometimes we wait.  Sometimes we wait too long.  We sometimes have to learn the hard way.

Sometimes, we immediately take it to the Lord.  Once we do that, it’s as if we ‘punched’ it down and went back to the beginning.  At that point, we can usually see how it all started.  If we repent, then God can make it into a learning experience where we can grow into something wonderful, lovely, and that can feed others a life lesson. 

In all honesty, I made a beautiful piece of bread that day.  Praise God! But, what I had leftover, what I was supposed to start another loaf with, died. 

Do you have days where you make that same beautiful bread to feed others?  Do you have other days where it dies? 

If we feed our families and those we care about bad dough, it will produce nothing.  But if we feed them the right recipe, we can nourish them in a beautiful way.

What will you do today?  Will you take your thoughts to the Lord?  Let Him feed you and teach you so you can grow. God will be glorified, and others will be fed!  Go to Him today. 

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for being there for me.  Thank you for loving me so much, that you are willing to wait for me to come to you to ask for forgiveness just so you can make me into something more beautiful.  Thank you for providing the perfect food for my heart through Your Word.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Portion Control

Lamentations 3:22-24

Over the years, I’ve struggled with my weight and my food choices.  For a long time, I didn’t understand what the problem was, and why I was, well, f-a-t.

I tried many methods of weight loss.  Okay, I’ve tried just about every method of weight loss that exists to mankind!  I’ve bought, and sometimes even read, almost every book about weight loss that has been written in this century.  In addition, I’ve even purchased, and sometimes used, some amazing weight loss tools (equipment) and STILL not lost weight!

In all seriousness, I really have struggled, I really have tried, and I really have learned. I have tried some weight-loss methods that resulted in ‘success’, but nothing really ‘permanent’.

I’ve learned that French fries don’t count as a vegetable.  I’ve learned that a box of macaroni and cheese is not only a “bad carb”, but not one serving.  I’ve learned about sodium, fats, proteins, fiber, and the all important lesson,….portion control.

The most important thing I’ve learned is that I have to make changes.  In order to make those changes, I’ve had to make choices.  And, in order to make those choices, I need the truth, not the latest fad.

In studying the truth, I’ve learned that I have to ‘choose’ (which sometimes takes great effort) different foods.  I’ve learned that I have to ‘choose’ wholesome, unprocessed, ‘clean’, and healthy foods.

Ironically, I’ve had to learn all of these same lessons in my walk with Christ.

I’ve learned that my good works don’t count as salvation.  I’ve learned that being in the word, not just in a self-help book, is what I need to read daily.  I’ve learned about verse memorization, devotions, being more than a “Sunday Christian”, and the all important lesson,…..portion AND control.

I’m not in control. I can’t be in control.  I don’t want to be in control.  I want the Lord to be in complete control of my life. 

I have to make a choice to study truth.  I have to choose to spend time with the Lord.  I have to choose to fill my mind with pure, lovely, admirable thoughts.  (Philippians 4:8)  I have to look to my Heavenly Father to fulfill my needs.  (Lamentations 3:24)  I have to be consistent.

Choose Jesus.  Let Him be in control.  His word is the only book you need to read.  Jesus won’t let you down. 

Dear Lord, Thank you for loving me.  Thank you for giving up your life for me.  Regardless of how many mistakes I’ve made.  Regardless of how many times I have failed.  Regardless of how many sins I have committed, you love me.  Please cleanse me.  Please forgive me for all my sins.  Fill my heart with your love, your strength, and make it your home.  I want you to be in control.  I choose You.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Something to think about:

Where are you today?  Are you still eating processed foods?  Are you on a diet?  Do you count on someone else to fulfill you each day?  Do they live up to those expectations?  Do you need to make a change?  Do you need to make a choice?

For further reading:

Philippians 4:8

Lamentations 3:22-24

Deuteronomy  30:19,20

Joshua 24:15

Resources:

www.T2CHK.org

www.Proverbs31.org