We all have scars, some that can be seen, some that are hidden in our souls. Show your scars of life and be PROUD. It proves that you survived. My son does. Isn't he gorgeous!!!!! The top picture was taken last October, I can't believe how much buggies has changed in under a year.Ok, my mom is done with the proud stuff,
High School is crazy, it's busy, and really nice to be around my friends again. I am still trying to figure it all out. Love to all,
Myles and Sherry
12 comments:
The Thorns of Sin
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
“Evil people’s lives are like paths covered with thorns and traps.”
Proverbs 22:5
The fruit of sin is thorns—spiny, prickly, cutting thorns.
I emphasize the “point” of the thorns to suggest a point you may have never considered: If the fruit of sin is thorns, isn’t the thorny crown on Christ’s brow a picture of the fruit of our sin that pierced his heart?
What is the fruit of sin? Step into the briar patch of humanity and feel a few thistles. Shame. Fear. Disgrace. Discouragement. Anxiety. Haven’t our hearts been caught in these brambles?
The heart of Jesus, however, had not. He had never been cut by the thorns of sin. What you and I face daily, he never knew. Anxiety? He never worried! Guilt? He was never guilty! Fear? He never left the presence of God! Jesus never knew the fruits of sin…until he became sin for us.
OH!!! MY!!! GOSH!!! Myles look at you!! You have gone from a little man . . .to a man! You look great!! WOW! Hope all is well. we had a great weekend. Actually visited with your dad for the first time in 15 years!! Please look at my face book page. Lots of pictures!! YOU all are loved!! Many thoughts and prayers continue!! Aunt K8
Examine Your Tools
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
“Kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you.”
2 Timothy 1:6 NASB
When I was six years old, my father built us a house. Architectural Digest didn’t notice, but my mom sure did. Dad constructed it, board by board, every day after work. My youth didn’t deter him from giving me a job. He tied an empty nail apron around my waist, placed a magnet in my hands, and sent me on daily patrols around the building site, carrying my magnet only inches off the ground.
One look at my tools and you could guess my job. Stray-nail collector.
One look at yours and the same can be said. Brick by brick, life by life, God is creating a kingdom, a “spiritual house” (I Pet. 2:5 CEV). He entrusted you with a key task in the project. Examine your tools and discover it. Your ability unveils your destiny.
Hey MYLES!! Hope all is well, school is going well for you. Today is a stunning day in Northern Virginia, and i am hitting the road running. YOU are loved, as is your mom, give her a big hug for me!!! ~aunt k8
He Weeps with Us
Friday, September 05, 2008
“Jesus wept.”
John 11:35 NKJV
Jesus…weeps. He sits between Mary and Martha, puts an arm around each, and sobs…
He weeps with them.
He weeps for them.
He weeps with you.
He weeps for you.
He weeps so we will know: Mourning is not disbelieving. Flooded eyes don’t represent a faithless heart. A person can enter a cemetery Jesus-certain of life after death and still have a Twin Tower crater in the heart. Christ did. He wept, and he knew he was ten minutes from seeing a living Lazarus!
And his tears give you permission to shed your own. Grief does not mean you don’t trust; it simply means you can’t stand the thought of another day without the Lazarus of your life. If Jesus gave the love, he understands the tears. So grieve, but don’t grieve like those who don’t know the rest of this story
Hope school is going well~ Much love and continued prayers to ALL Aunt k8
The Reality of Faith
Monday, September 08, 2008
“Surely this was a righteous man.”
Luke 23:47 NIV
If it is true that a picture paints a thousand words, then there was a Roman centurion who got a dictionary full. All he did was see Jesus suffer. He never heard him preach or saw him heal or followed him through the crowds. He never witnessed him still the winds; he only witnessed the way he died. But that was all it took to cause this weather-worn soldier to take a giant step in faith. “Surely this was a righteous man.”
That says a lot, doesn’t it? It says the rubber of faith meets the road of reality under hardship. It says the trueness of one’s belief in revealed in pain. Genuineness and character are unveiled in misfortune. Faith is at its best, not in three-piece suits on Sunday mornings or at V.B.S on summer days, but at hospital bedsides, cancer wards, and cemeteries.
Faith . . . God says, without it, it's impossible to please him . . .yet, he only asks for the faith of a mustard seed. That's not much is it! WOW, it amazes me!! Much love to you Myles. Thanks for posting such encouragement to 'big' Myles!! YOU are loved!!! Aunt k8
The Departure Date
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
“Your life is like a mist. You can see it for a short time, but then it goes away.”
James 4:14
You, as all God’s children, live one final breath from your own funeral.
Which, from God’s perspective, is nothing to grieve. He responds to these grave facts with this great news: “The day you die is better than the day you are born” (Eccles. 7:1 NLT). Now there is a twist. Heaven enjoys a maternity-ward reaction to funerals. Angels watch body burials the same way grandparents monitor deliver-room doors. “He’ll be coming through any minute!” They can’t wait to see the new arrival. While we’re driving hearses and wearing black, they’re hanging pink and blue streamers and passing out cigars. We don’t grieve when babies enter the world. The hosts of heaven don’t weep when we leave it.
Hey!! Hope all is well. I've emailed a lot of people you updated pictures. They can NOT believe how great you look. I tell them. . . it's the POWER of PRAYER. I love you Myles!! Aunt k8
Is It Loving?
Thursday, September 11, 2008
“[Love] is not rude.”
I Corinthians 13:5 NIV
When defining what love is not, Paul put rudeness on the list. “It is not rude.” The Greek word for rude means shameful or disgraceful behavior.
An example of rudeness was recently taken before the courts in Minnesota. A man fell out of his canoe and lost his temper. Though the river was lined with vacationing families, he polluted the air with obscenities. Some of those families sued him. He said, “I have my rights.”
God calls us to a higher, more noble concern. Not “What are my rights?” but “What is loving?”
Do you have the right to dominate a conversation? Yes, but is it loving to do so?…
Is it within your rights to bark orders at the clerk or snap at the kids? Yes. But is it loving to act this way?
HEY!! I'm at wise with Kaitlin for a few days. So yesterday was filled mainly with travel. Hope all is well. Much love and continued prayers for all!! ~aunt k8
Too Incredible
Friday, September 12, 2008
“The One who comes from above is greater than all.”
John 3:31
The idea that a virgin would be selected by God to bear himself…The notion that God would don a scalp and toes and two eyes…The thought that the King of the universe would sneeze and burp and get bit by mosquitoes…It’s too incredible. Too revolutionary. We would never create such a Savior. We aren’t that daring.
When we create a redeemer, we keep him safely distant in his faraway castle. We allow him only the briefest of encounters with us. We permit him to swoop in and out with his sleigh before we can draw too near. We wouldn’t ask him to take up residence in the midst of a contaminated people. In our wildest imagination we wouldn’t conjure a king who becomes one of us.
But God did.
Hey all. Hope all is well. I am enjoying the mountains of southwest virginia with Kaitlin. It is unbelievable, the beauty that God has given us. Sometimes we just have to sit back an enjoy it. Much love, and continued prayers for all! ~K8
A Second Chance
Sunday, September 14, 2008
“I came to give life—life in all its fullness.”
John 10:10
Not many second chances exist in the world today. Just ask the kid who didn’t make the little league team or the fellow who got the pink slip or the mother of three who got dumped for a “pretty little thing.”
Not many second chances. Nowadays it’s more like, “It’s now or never.” “Around here we don’t tolerate incompetence.” “Gotta get tough to get along.” “Not much room at the top.” “Three strikes and you’re out.” “It’s a dog-eat-dog world!”
Jesus…would say. “Then don’t live with the dogs.” That makes sense doesn’t it? Why let a bunch of other failures tell you how much of a failure you are?...
It’s not every day that you find someone who will give you a second chance—much less someone who will give you a second chance every day. But in Jesus, you find both.
Hey all!! Keep Kaitlin in your prayers, she's having a rough time away from home. She needs ALL of us!! Much love and continued prayers! Aunt k8
Obsessed with Stuff
Monday, September 15, 2008
“Be on your guard against every form of greed.”
Luke 12:15 NASB
In 1900 the average person living in the United States wanted seventy-two different things and considered eighteen of them essential. Today the average person wants five hundred things and considers one hundred of them essential.
Our obsession with stuff carries a hefty price tag. Eighty percent of us battle the pressure of overdue bills. We spend 110 percent of our disposable income trying to manage debt. And who can keep up? We no longer measure ourselves against the Joneses next door but against the star on the screen or the stud on the magazine cover. Hollywood’s diamonds make yours look like a gumball-machine toy. Who can satisfy Madison Avenue? No one can. For that reason Jesus warns, “Be on your guard against every form of greed” (Luke 12:15 NASB).
Good advise. Hope all is well. You all remain in our thoughts and prayers. Much LOVE Aunt k8
A Symbol of Love
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
“He is not here; he has risen from the dead.”
Luke 24:6
When John arrived at the empty tomb the burial wraps had not been ripped off and thrown down. They were still in their original state! The linens were undisturbed. The graveclothes were still rolled and folded.
How could this be?...
If for some reason friends or foes had unwrapped the body, would they have been so careful as to dispose of the clothing in such an orderly fashion? Of course not! But if neither friend nor foe took the body, who did?...
Through the rags of death, John saw the power of life. Odd, don’t you think, that God would use something as sad as a burial wrap to change a life?
But God is given to such practices:
In his hand empty wine jugs at a wedding become a symbol of power.
The coin of a widow becomes a symbol of generosity.
And a tool of death is a symbol of his love.
Hey all!! Hope all is well. Myles, how's school?? We have Celia's children for the week, as David and Celia celebrate their 15th wedding aniversary. They're good kids, and it is kind of nice having small kids around. Much love to all!! Aunt k8
Jesus Planned It All
Thursday, September 18, 2008
“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
John 1:29
Jesus planned his own sacrifice.
It means Jesus intentionally planted the tree from which his cross would be carved.
It means he willingly placed the iron ore in the heart of the earth from which the nails would be cast.
It means he voluntarily placed his Judas in the womb of a woman.
It means Christ was the one who set in motion the political machinery that would send Pilate to Jerusalem.
And it also means he didn’t have to do it—but he did.
Hey all!! Weather is beginning to change. Oh how I love Fall, Philadelphia here I come, i'm up to Phila, for the distance run this weekend. And spending time with Uncle Mike. Much love and continued prayers to all!! Aunt K8
Submerged in Mercy
Friday, September 19, 2008
“[God] has not punished us as our sins should be punished.”
Psalm 103:10
Do you really think you haven’t done things that hurt Christ?
Have you ever been dishonest with his money? That’s cheating.
Ever gone to church to be seen rather than to see him? Hypocrite.
Ever broken a promise you’ve made to God?
Don’t you deserve to be punished? And yet, here you are. Reading this book. Breathing. Still witnessing sunsets and hearing babies gurgle. Still watching the seasons change. There are no lashes on your back or hooks in your nose or shackles on your feet. Apparently God hasn’t kept a list of your wrongs.
Listen. You have not been sprinkled with forgiveness. You have not been spattered with grace. You have not been dusted with kindness. You have been immersed in it. You are submerged in mercy. You are a minnow in the ocean of his mercy. Let it change you!
Crazy day yesterday for us. Scotty boy had to have emergency Gallbladder surgery. He is doing well, but he could use a couple prayers his way. . . MUCH love to all of you, and continued prayers to all! Aunt k8
Post a Comment