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Monday, December 15, 2014

Stop picking flowers! And updates

So here it is...2am. And I'm wide awake. Lately I've been wide awake till at least 4am. Starting a new medicine is no fun. Oh silly me, I just remembered my last post was last year so I should probably do an update first. Ok so big changes in the house. Juliana is now 16. Jocelyn is 15. Mariyah is officially a teenager at 13. Michael is 8. We now raise chickens, 5 ladies. Um.... Still working part time at the pet store. Still homeschooling and going to church. Etc etc. Same same. Oh Michael and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary this past July. I love him more than ever. It just keeps growing more and more as the years go on. Which is awesome!
Ok so back to blogging. I was called on to testify this morning in church and I bombed. Ugh. All the time I have these sweet testimonies to give and I'm all pumped about saying them, but I never get called on. So P.A. calls my name and I'm like having a brain fart and can't remember anything cool to say. So I just said what came to mind and that was about having a good place to come to and how much I love spending time with our church family. I'm thankful to have a place where I don't have to worry about what my kids are hearing or being exposed to. How much I trust the people in our church etc etc. NOW, that is all true. Some people may take for granted that their entire family is in church and therefore share the same beliefs and values as you. That's not the case for us. We have NO family in church. None. Not a third cousin. Not a married into the family uncle. Not even a friend from life before church. It's just us. So we have to be careful. I'm not downing my family at all. I am far, so very far, from being perfect. However, I can't pretend there are not times when I just want to avoid certain situations. It's because of my unique situation that I am thankful to be able to have a holy place to let my kids be free in. No judgement. No swearing. No sex talk. Etc.
Now what I really wanted to testify and say is this: the other week, my son wanted to get his sisters some flowers from the grocery store. He is usually just downright a brat to them so I jump at the chance to have him show love to them. He picked out 3 carnations and gave them to the girls when we got home. They thought it was so sweet. Few days later he asked me why they always die. -side note: I never am able to come up with witty comparisons or metaphors relating one thing to God so this next part I'm really pumped about- OK, so I tell him it's bc once u remove the flower from the plant it is no longer fed by the root. You can put plant food and give it clean water and it will live for a little while but eventually, those things are not enough and in the end it will die. So then I said it's just like church. The church is the roots. The members are each a separate root. Coming together and growing together is how we, as the flower, stay alive. Sure some roots are longer than others, stronger than others and feed the plant more but they all contribute to keeping the flower alive. If that flower or person is cut from the plant or decides to leave, they will eventually die (in their spirit). Yes they can get nourishment from other places like TV evangelists, radio programs, books, etc. Just as the plant can be kept alive by water and plant food. But it's not enough to sustain you. You need your church, the preaching, the fellowship, the ministries, the small groups and so on. Those are your roots. I could go on and on about how a flowers growth compares to our life in Christ. Even to say, what do you do with dead flowers someone bought you? You throw them in the trash and never think of them again. But flowers who die on the plant because they are old or their time is up-they are done blooming. They fall of the plant and fertilize the ground so new plants can grow even stronger. Like the people in the church. One flower or members contributions lead the way for stronger future generations of flowers. Hopefully that makes sense. It makes sense in my head lol! Well that is all. I was hoping some screen time would put me to sleep but no luck. 4am here I come! Eventually my body will get used to it and I can sleep normally but adjustments must be made to find the right solution.