More Than Enough

Last Sunday our church gathered for our annual end-of-the-summer picnic at the lake. Even though it usually feels like it’s 110 degrees outside, it’s definitely one of the most fun things we do together as a church family all year.

This year the youth played ultimate Frisbee and the adults sat around and fellowshipped with old friends and new comers alike. Then, after dinner, we all gathered near the water’s edge to listen to the praise band, worship and celebrate the gift of baptism. I was re-baptized there myself last year, and as I watched others being buried to their sin and raised to new life this time, I was reminded of all the Lord had washed from my soul just 12 months before.

I officially died to my pride that day at the river last year. Not to say that I haven’t struggled with pride since then or that I’m the most humble Christian on the planet, because I have struggled, and most days I certainly wouldn’t consider myself humble. But, I died to the hold pride had on my heart. I surrendered myself and my will to God, making a new commitment to walk in obedience with Him, and things certainly have been an adventure since then.

After several people dedicated their lives to the Lord through baptism, we broke into groups to share communion. It was during this time that God spoke to my heart and shared something with me that I hope I never forget.

As I took the bread and the wine, I stepped away from the group and looked out over the lake God had used to swallow my sins and give me new life. The sun was setting behind the mountain and the water reflected the warmth of the evening sky with golden ripples. I breathed deep the beauty of life with Jesus and silently prayed, “Thank you, Lord, for loving me enough to die for me.”

That’s when He spoke. It was simple, yet deep and convicting.

“Enough” to die for you? I felt Him say. Oh, I love you way more than that.

I hadn’t thought about it that way before, but it’s true – God’s love didn’t just go as far as the cross and stop there. Jesus didn’t just love us to a certain extent and then hit a wall. No, His love extends far beyond those nails and His pain. I think I’m beginning to see that the Cross was just the start of His love. His daily touch on our souls is proof that He loves us more than we can ever imagine, even more than we reason He must have to want to die for us.

How about you? What makes you realize that God loves you more than “just enough” to die for you? How has He loved you deeply lately?

I’m looking forward to keeping the eyes of my heart open the next little while to see the deep confirmations of His heart in the smallest of things in my life.

I’m so amazed by my Jesus today!

Noah? Are You In My Basement?

So I haven’t posted in a few days, but it’s because life hasn’t been very predictable around the Roberts’ household. Preschool went great on Thursday, and Big Brother and I got to spend some time together - the first time it’s been just the two of us for a whole day since he was two. That part was great! It was the next day that things started to get complicated.

Saturday morning Shane went downstairs to get some milk for breakfast and found himself wading through a small pond in what we had always assumed was a garage (and not an indoor water source). It took him a while to find the culprit - our water heater had apparently decided it was high time the contents of our storage area were baptized, and was well on it’s way to accomplishing this in the true Southern Baptist spirit of full submersion.

I give him props, though. He didn’t panic or even curse. He simply came back upstairs and informed me that we had a problem.

And he even remembered the milk.

So, anyway, long story short (and $800 later), we are still recovering. I think the basement carpet is finally dry and the carpet people will be back tomorrow to pick up the fan. Then we can start restretching it and moving the furniture back in. After that we get to tackle the white mildew lines on the concrete in the garage. Fun, fun!

But something struck me in the midst of placing disaster calls Friday morning - I suddenly realized that I was neither panicking or that upset about it all. The water heater itself was covered under our home warranty (even though the pressure valve and about 3 other things weren’t), and we had the money to pay for everything already sitting in the bank (that’s a big deal and pretty unusual for us). Nothing major was damaged, and it happened on Shane’s day off so he didn’t have to take time from work. We were really ok! It definitely could have been a lot worse.

I know the peace that I felt had to have come from the Lord. Even though I had no idea that I was going to wake up to something like that Friday morning, I somehow felt prepared. There was no doubt in my mind at any point this weekend that He was right there in the midst of our little disaster taking care of things and bringing us comfort.

So in the end, this thing that should have been a major source of stress turned out to be not so bad. And the big bonus of it all was that Shane took the boys out for about 5 hours on Saturday for the carpets to be cleaned, so I got my writing time after all!

I’m thankful today for the Lord’s provision and His peace.

(And for brand-new water heaters that don’t leak!)




Here’s a little snapshot of the first day of preschool. Do you think he was excited?

Storm Warning: The Winds of Change Are HERE!

We've been having a tough time with Little Man the past couple of days. It has involved a lot of yelling and time outs and even a couple of spankings, even though I'm not a big fan of those with him. He was so bad at the grocery store the other day that when we came outside and realized it had been storming the whole time we were shopping, Big Brother put his hands on his hips and yelled, "Way to go, Little Man! You made it rain!"

Sure, why not? He had caused everything else to go wrong that day. I thought the lady next to us was going to die laughing.

But things are about to change in his crazy little world. The preschool called while we were out today. School starts Thursday.

I really, really, really thought we had a couple more weeks, but no - we have one more day. One day! So much for working on potty training and trying to get him psyched for school. It leaves us with a lot of work to do, and not a lot of time to do it. When I asked him today if he's excited about going, he informed me that he wasn't. And furthermore, he let me know that he most definitely wasn't going. But a trip to Wal-Mart and one lunchbox featuring the Hulk later (totally appropriate for a kid with rage issues, don't you think? He picked it out, and at least it has Spider Man and Iron Man on it too...), and we're a little step closer to wanting to go.

I can't believe he starts preschool in about 36 hours. Or that his brother will be in Kindergarten in 10 days. It feels a little like we've been preparing for a hurricane like we used to back in Florida when I was a kid, only the storm changed course and it's going to be here sooner than we thought. It's just that same feeling of "it's coming, and there is nothing we can do to stop it".

Oh why do they have to grow up so fast?

Old Teeth?

Ok, now I’ve seen it all. While reading my Reader’s Digest I came across an ad for “age-defying toothpaste”. Really? Is that a problem? I don’t think I’ve ever had this conversation:

“Wow, she has the body of a 25 year old!”

“Yeah, maybe, but her teeth are going on 62...”

Age defying toothpaste. Amazing. Better get some of that - I wouldn’t want my teeth to have cavities and wrinkles…

Any Suggestions?

I need some bloggy friend help. I've been asked to teach a seminar at our fall women's conference in August. Originally I was asked to teach about mentoring teenaged girls (which I'm realizing now I probably should have stuck with). But I asked if perhaps I could teach a session on bargain hunting and couponing. They said yes, titled it "Creative Budgeting" and everyone was excited.

Then something changed (yet again) in the economy.

Now instead of getting stuff for free and $.20 every week, I'm happy when it's just under a dollar. Most of my best secrets aren't really working right now - the sales are fewer and we don't even get coupons some Sundays.

So here's where I need your help. Do you have any great tips on bargain hunting or couponing that you could share? I'd love to hear them. And who knows? If you give an absolutely fabulous tip, you're name might show up in my Power Point...(ok, don't let that scare you off...I really need some help!)

Post a comment below and share your best advice. Then say a little prayer for me that I come up with some good stuff for this seminar!

What's That Smell...?

A couple of months ago, I was going through a “nesting” phase (no, again, I am not pregnant…), so I thought it would be a good idea to adopt a cat. In a lot of ways, it has been a good idea, and we’ve enjoyed Alley being a part of the family. But I think I may know why this totally gorgeous Siamese was put up for adoption in the first place, and I’m pretty sure it didn’t have anything to do with the excuse the previous owners gave the shelter. I do think it has everything to do with what has happened to our favorite blue chair.

It seems that Miss Alley has an issue with even slightly dirty litter boxes. Like she won’t use them. At all. Instead she finds the nearest pillow or bean bag (or anything else that’s of the right “squishy” consistency), and lets us know of her discontentment. It took us a while (and one papasan chair, 2 bean bags and a couple of pillows) to figure this out. Imagine our absolute thrill the first time we discovered her little personality quirk. Oh yeah - it wasn’t pretty.

We’ve now learned that we can avoid having to buy new furniture if we just clean out the litter box once or twice a day (we even got her an automatic one that cleans every time she goes). Of course our brilliant deductions didn’t exactly come in time to save Daddy’s blue “man chair”.

Unlike the other showered items, the blue chair isn’t going in the trash. It’s a favorite and too expensive to replace. I’ve absolutely bathed that thing in Kids N Pets (the best stuff on the market for stains and odors, by the way), but apparently she can still smell the remnants of her misadventures. And those of you who are cat lovers out there know - that means she’ll just keep going in that same spot, clean litter box or not.

The only deterrent we’ve found is to lay a long sheet of tin foil over the top of the cushion, which apparently is some thing that cats don’t like. It works just fine, but it rather looks like we are trying to summon contact with aliens using our living room furniture.

As long as we keep that tin foil on there and cover up what’s apparently left of her mess, she’s fine. But the minute that foil gets knocked off and no one’s around to shoo her away, we find ourselves scrubbing Kids N Pets into the cushion yet again. It’s a very frustrating cycle.

Believe it or not, though, this whole experience has caused me to better understand something the Bible has been trying to teach me for years (and no, it isn’t “Thou shalt not murder”). The verse I’m learning about is Proverbs 26:11 - “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.” (Sorry Karla, I don’t like that verse either…)

I’m starting to realize that if Solomon had been a cat lover, that verse might have read “As a cat returns to it’s pee…” Either way, the concept is ringing rather loudly in my heart. We tend return to the stench of our sin that has saturated our hearts. We come back to the filthy messes we’ve made, and we make them even worse. And we will continue to do this - continue to sin in the same, disgusting ways - until we allow our hearts to be deeply cleansed with the blood of Christ.

I think it’s important to remember that just like my cat, there’s no way we can clean up the mess ourselves. It’s a job that’s too big for us, and too complicated for us to ever understand. But our Master knows just the way to get it done. All we have to do is allow Him the time to work in our lives.

Sometimes the cleaning is simple, like a washing. But sometimes (figuratively speaking, of course), the whole chair has to be thrown out. Sometimes the filth has soaked in so deeply and the stench is so bad, that He has to carve out that piece of our lives and start over fresh with something new. It’s painful and most certainly involves some sort of loss, but it’s a necessary part of becoming whole in Christ.

I know it’s true that we may never be completely clean and free of the soiled pieces of our hearts this side of Heaven, but it’s a goal we should strive for all the same. We want our hearts to be a pleasing place for our Master’s Spirit to dwell, as well as a place that is fresh and usable by Him.

Is there a stench in your heart you find yourself returning to time and time again? I know there is in mine. Let’s make a point to stop trying to cover it up in hopes that it can be avoided in the future. Instead, let’s find the strength to give it over to God and allow Him to cleanse it from our lives once and for all.

Well, that being said, I have to go steam clean the blue chair before my mother-in-law comes to visit in a couple of days. I really would hate to hear her say “I told you that cat was a bad idea…” By the way, does anyone know if cats can wear diapers? Now that would be helpful…

Yee-Haw!

Boy howdy did we have a birthday on Friday! Here are a couple of pictures from the day:

If you want to see a few more pictures, click here (I didn't want to bore the rest of you). It's the first time I've ever post-dated a page, so I hope this works. If it doesn't - let me know.

I can't believe he is already 3! I'm so thankful that the Lord has shared us with him. He has such a firecracker personality (that sometimes blows up and burns you, I admit - but it can be a good thing). The Lord has taught me a lot about joy through his smiles, and He's continually teaching me patience through everything else. I love my little cowboy!

I'm glad he had a great party, and I'm super glad that he had a special guest at that party......

'Cause Daddy's home! Yay! He's done with youth trips for the summer, so he's all ours! Now that calls for a "Yee-haw!"

Enjoy the pics - I'll be back soon,

Um, Do They Make Calgon Anymore? I Could Use Some.

Ok, so I'm totally having one of "those" days. First of all, I should mention that Daddy is gone for the week at youth camp (back off creepy web stalkers - my parents are in town and staying with me...and my dad's way bigger than Shane). When Daddy's gone, things are, well, stressful to say the least. It's possible that it's just because I have to do all the feeding/dressing/putting to bed/cleaning/cat care all by myself (or at least without the "Listen to your mother" verbal backup). But it might also have something to do with Little Man's incessant need to argue with me while the "alpha male" of the house is absent. You think I'm kidding.

Today on the way into Wal-Mart, he was holding my hand and walking along rather nicely. Then I had to open my big mouth and make a silly little comment like "Alright! Let's walk in there and get what we need!" I'm not even kidding you - he stopped moving his feet and became a dead weight. Just because I said the word "walk".

Would we have had any problems if I hadn't said anything at all? No way! But the minute he realized that I had just verbally admitted to wanting him to walk, he quit. Yep, that's awesome Little Man. You're hilarious.

And that's the way it's been all week. Forget "reverse psychology" by the way - he's totally too smart for that. Trust me, I've tried.

Today the defiance really got to me, though, because it happened to be one of "those" days. If you are a female and alive and breathing at all I'm sure you know the kind of day I'm talking about:

The kids were driving me so far beyond nuts I thought about putting myself up for adoption.

My hair had "perma-bubble" in the back from all those summer ponytails I've been sporting lately, and I couldn't do a dadgum thing with it (except, of course, revert to yet another ponytail).

The lamp I saw on clearance yesterday at Hobby Lobby and thought about all night was gone when I got back today. I totally knew that would happen.

I used the wrong credit card at Wal-Mart - not a big deal, but definitely not my preference.

All that and then while in Wal-Mart with a buggy full of groceries, my tired mother and two unruly children, the bottom fell out of the sky and it started raining at a rate that would have made Noah nervous. Not a problem except that WE LEFT THE CAR WINDOWS OPEN. Bonus. I think I seriously could have qualified for the Olympics with the speed that I ran through the flooded parking lot, and yet by the time I got there the car seats were pooled and I was absolutely drenched.

Then I had to go inside and add two towels, a new shirt and a pair of flip flops (which I later discovered are really, really too big and insanely uncomfortable) to the ever growing mound of birthday party groceries in our cart. I'm not sure my Asics will ever dry before I turn 40...

So, yeah. That's been my day. But it has gotten a little better. Daddy called and talked to the boys. They've been a little nicer - now their attention is focused on tormenting the cat. Too bad for her, but I'm kind of enjoying the break.

Anyway - I'm looking forward to tonight after all the little people in the house have gone to bed, when I can sink into a really hot bath and just spend some time with Jesus. Not that I haven't spent any time with Him today - we've definitely had some words - but I mean, like nice time. Quiet time. Maybe time involving some form of chocolate....mmmm, chocolate....
I can't wait. But please, please, please - don't tell Little Man, ok?

Yeah, It's Real

Ok, so last week I was on vacation - this week my parents are on vacation...at my house. We're also planning Little Man's 3rd birthday party for Friday (it's a "Yee-Haw Cowboy!" birthday), so we've been a little busy. I haven't had much access to the computer this week, but I'm going to try and sneak in a post in the next day or two.

Sorry for the delay.

Until then, check out this guy:

Big Brother saw this and said, "Mom, are you sure that's real?" Oh yeah, buddy. I've totally had days like that...

I'll be back as soon as I can.

In Him,

Samantha

Love, I AM

Just checking in from vacation, where things are going well! We've been swimming and golfing and eating our hearts out. It's been fun!

I've also been re-reading the last few chapters of Lysa TerKeurst's "What Happens When Women Walk in Faith" (because apparently I waltzed through them the first time without much faith in my steps). In the chapter I read yesterday one of the assignments was to think about ways God has shown His love for me. I thought in lieu of a long post (I know - some of you are about to throw a party right now), I'd post some pictures of the ways God has embraced me this week. So, without further ado, here are a few of my God hugs:

Thanks, Papa.