New Address

Moving Day....... Well since the house isn't sold and I can't literally move. I am moving my blog address which is something I have needed to do for awhile. You can read all my old posts and all my new stuff too!

http://ourbeautifullifeblog.blogspot.com/

Can't wait to see you there!!

Easter Story

My new all time favorite version......

You can't stop us!

My heart is saddened today by the latest church to fall victim to the recent church fires here in East Texas. Fire fighters responded to a call at Prairie Creek in Lindale this morning. The prayer chapel was on fire. I doubt that was coincidence either.

What I guess frustrates me the most is that in all of the recent fires while this may be an inconvenience, it will in NO WAY hinder the church. The people of these churches have all responded with such a common resolve.

For centuries man has tried to crush the church. I am not talking about a denomination I am talking about the body of Christ. Jesus told Peter that he was the Rock on which the church would be built and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it.

Let's pray for our churches people!

Tomorrow

So I woke up this morning thinking about tomorrow.

Tomorrow Todd goes back to work in Dallas. In my head I keep telling myself that it is no different than all the times before when he went to Dallas for a few days. However, it is different. January 19th was the day marked on the calendar that he would "officially" start in Dallas. He will still come to the Hawkins load center once or twice a week until March 26th which is their last day, but officially he is now employed at the Coppell office.

What all that means to me is that he will now "officially" be gone more than he will be home. :(

Someone showed the house this weekend while we were out, so that had my spirits up a little. In my head I know it would be best for us to not sell the house until late spring, so that Madelynn can finish school without a bunch of upheaval, but my heart just says that I don't want our family to be separated for that long.

In the end, it doesn' t matter what my heart wants or what my head thinks. The house will sell when it sells and we will be together again.

In the meantime we took the kids to Dallas this weekend to look around and let them do some fun things. We drove around looking at houses in the Frisco area. I liked it a lot and the schools seemed great. Now to find a house in our price range. We'll see.

We took the kids to the Grapevine Mills Mall and they really enjoyed it. We did glow in the dark Putt Putt and rode the miniature train and the carousel and then had supper at the Rainforest Cafe. They slept the whole way home. In all we really had a great time, but don't even get me started on Toll Roads. UGH!!!

I never carry cash with me, and so when we had to pay the $1.20 for the toll, I asked if they took debit cards. Um, no but you can write a check. GREAT!!! Except I just used my last check on Friday and I didn't grab a new checkbook. I thought Todd would kill me. He gave the standard "Sorry, we aren't from around here" as our excuse.

HEAVENS TO BETSY!!!

Compassion

Last night, our little family of four crammed around the PC and studied pictures of children. Not just any children mind you, but the children who are waiting for sponsors from Compassion International. And not just any children from Compassion International, but ones who have been waiting over 6 months for a sponsor.

I have to thank Kelly for making such an impact on my life with her personal journey with Compassion that I had to become a part. Our family has always been committed to missions giving (it's the old school A/G way you know), but this seemed somehow more personal and more relevant. I wanted our children to see how our giving was impacting an individual life.

So last night we found Guiselle, she is 5 and will turn 6 in April just like my Madelynn. We thought that was super special that they could be and would be pen pals for life. We decided right then and there that when Zachary becomes school age and starts to write letters that we are going to sponsor a little boy to be his far away penpal/brother too! What a wonderful way to teach your children that they can make a difference.

So I am anxiously awaiting our packet with all of Guiselle's information. (Welcome to the Smith Family Guiselle!) In the face of the devastation in Haiti, I might feel overwhelmed like I can't do anything, but thanks to Compassion International, I can make a difference anywhere in the world.

Compassion is also making incredible headway in Haiti right now. There presence in that region is an absolute Godsend. If you want to help and don't really know how, just follow the link below.

https://www.compassion.com/contribution/giving/disasterrelief.htm

We Wish You A Merry Christmas

While the rest of the preschool class was sweetly singing their Christmas Carols. This is what my son was doing.......

Final Exam

Well the greatest test for the Smith's this year came right towards the end of 2009. Just when I thought we had passed all our tests! I guess this is like a Final Exam. 

Todd was told last week that his job is being relocated to Coppell, TX which is a suburb of Dallas. So with much prayer and consideration it looks like all signs are pointing that we will relocate in 2010. Of course the house has to be sold first and who knows how long that will take in this economy?

But in all things we give thanks, because he has a job, and this year so many people are going without. My organizational planner self would like to jump off a cliff in the face of all these unknowns and uncertainties but, I am pretty proud of how I am handling it all in all. Learning to rest in His faithful arms is a life lesson, but I think I am getting the hang of it.

At first I kept dwelling on all the things that I would miss. My family, my church family, my work family, I even was upset that I wouldn't be able to use the same auto mechanic anymore. HA!  But then the Holy Spirit whispered sweetly "Count Your Blessings"

I began to focus on all of the good things. And if I couldn't think of one; well then I would stop and re-evaluate until I came up with something. I am sure it sounds silly, but it really has helped to see that He always goes before us and that our steps are ordered by Him.

So I am not sure yet, but I think I may just Ace this Final!