It always warms the deepest cockles of my heart when I get emails from you asking where I've been when I don't post for a few days in a row. I absolutlely love being missed! All I can tell you is that life has been coming at me faster than I can process it.

A pitiful excuse but it's all I got.

I want to say thanks firstly to all you girls who have commented on the Church Conflict post. Your insight is SO incredibly helpful to me. I still have some remarks to make and I'll try to get that complete tomorrow.

In the meantime, for you sisters who are currently in the midst of conflict, please know you are in my heart and prayers. Practically speaking, one of the most important things you can do is to make your home a refuge from all the chaos you are experiencing at church. One thing I do is try not to ask Luke to regurgitate details until he has had time think and pray through his feelings. I say I TRY not to do this but I don't know a one of us who doesn't want to know everything that was said the moment the meetings/discussions are over. If I force Luke to begin telling me particulars before he's ready, I can incite him to be more upset than he would have been otherwise. I've also learned to accept there are many things he doesn't share with me because he is protecting me from anything that may turn my heart towards individuals at church. (Just to be clear to all my church peeps out there, I'm talking in generalities - there is no conflict in our current church home, Praise the Lord! :) With that said, give your husband the liberty of deciding which things are best kept between him and Jesus.

The thing I take the greatest comfort in when I know Luke is facing a trial are the words of Jesus in Revelation 1 when He speaks of holding the seven stars in His right hand. The seven stars there represent the angels, or messengers (pastors/elders), of the seven churches in Asia Minor. Most scholars agree the letters to those seven churches both had a present meaning and a future meaning for congregations in this age. I believe with all my heart that God holds a special affection for those He has called to shepherd His flocks and that He, much moreso than I ever could, will protect my husband in critical times. And because we are married to these men (and the two became one flesh) I also believe this affection carries over to you, dear ministry wife, to comfort and uphold you when it seems Satan has the upper hand. Let God be your justice. There is no amount of manipulation or exposure you can orchestrate that will trump his perfectly executed defense of the innocent.


Totally changing the subject, my second son turned 10 last week! We had a major blowout of a birthday party Friday with 9 boys other than my own 3. I am devastated to tell you we sent one home in need of stitches as a result of a playground accident.

Nothing like sending your boy to the preacher's house and getting him back looking like a P.O.W.

Thankfully, mom was a doll and understood the whole concept of 'boys will be boys'. That does nothing, however, to alleviate my feelings of being a totally inadequate mother and chaperone. Geesh. Please tell me I'm not the only one to have ever returned someone's kid maimed as a result of being in her non-care? I'd feel ever so much better if you'll tell me I'm not alone.

So that was Friday. Saturday we had two basketball games and a bowling birthday party. And Sundays unfortunately are anything but a day of rest even though I enjoy them most of all. The kids are out of school tomorrow for MLK day. Oldest boy has a friend spending the night and they are happily bouncing off the walls of the new playroom. Have I mentioned that is absolutely the best thing we have ever done in our lives? If you have an extra garage lying around, I'd totally recommend finishing it for your kids a den immediately. You'll thank yourself everytime you can shut the door and not have to listen to the latest imaginary cage match or American Idol audition.

Speaking of American Idol, is anyone else out there going crazy trying to get Renaldo's 'We're Brothers Forever' Song out of their minds? I'm about ready to put an icepick in my ears.

That information is totally free. So I won't be the only one with this guys voice in my head, here's the link. What a stinkin' scream!



Well, I am off to bed. The alarm is being turned off. The phone is going off the hook and if God loves me like I think He does, He'll let us sleep until at least 8 a.m.

Cya soon!