End Times

It is an uneasy time in America and the world. I'm fairly sheltered and even content to live in my house, on my street, with my family and not be interested in what is going on "out there." But even here I see the news, I see the shootings, racial tensions erupting, and politics redefining what we know to be truth.

This weekend our pastor spoke to these things. Of course, being the rule follower and list maker I am, was thrilled he was going to give our church's stance on these topics, but he did not do that. In fact, he addressed them all together in the BIG PICTURE. I was pretty let down at first, wondering why he didn't take a stand, and then I realized, he did.

What I learned:
1. We don't fear God. We neither have reverence or delight in Him in the everyday actions of our lives. Therefore, it's easy for us to get caught up in every uproar society puts out.

2. The Big Picture is that Jesus died for it all. God wins. He has a plan. It has not changed, and He is not surprised by what is going on in the world. In light of this, the issues do not matter as much as the outcome.

3. My mind should be constantly focused on THE HOPE for our future. I should be teaching my children there is but ONE WAY to peace and truth. Therefore, protecting them from emotional waves that come from the horrible things going on in our world. They are there, but we have HOPE.

Our pastor says there has never been a better time to be plugged into the church. Of course, that sounds like something a pastor would say, but he didn't mean just our church. He means THE CHURCH. "Things are not going to get better. The church is the source of Hope." And JESUS is that hope.

My take away, to ask myself, "Lord, is there anything in me that is not like you?"

Well, of course there is! I'm full of self-centeredness, laziness, fear, bad thoughts, pride, and more...
I should be working to get rid of these things and seek Him more.

From Hebrews 10: 26-31
If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgement and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.  Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.  How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?  For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people."  It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 

Father's Day Weekend

Our first holiday in Russellville...and Lauren came home from camp to surprise us! We celebrated Richard on Friday night, Saturday afternoon and Sunday at lunch! He loves having a houseful of kids! It was fun having Katelyn here for the weekend and Lauren popping in Saturday and Sunday!

More from Camp C

RL Conference

I didn't tell anyone I was going on a cruise, it sounded frivolous to even me. We moved Monday, the second truck arrived Tuesday. Monday night I had my first VBS meeting. Richard was out of town Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday I flew to Ft Lauderdale at 6:30am. We loaded the Majesty of the Seas in Miami on Friday.

I love getting together with other RL owners, they are fun, smart and challenge me to think outside the box. Our sale won two awards for sell through. This means out of 74 sales we were second place in the Spring, and FIRST place in the Fall. It doesn't matter that I don't have the biggest sale, we sell what we have. I'm super thankful to represent the River Valley and all the great folks who help me host our event.

I brought back a sunburn as my souvenir and as a super treat when I got home...Richard secured a GREAT location for our next event!

Blessed

I'm completely thankful for the last 7 days in Russellville and the friends who have reached out to us. The day before we moved one of Jordan's friends from church told us about a local day camp that is for kids 1st-5th grade. We looked it up, realized lots of our friends were going to be there, and signed Cam and Jordan up! 

But before the camp began...Jordan and Sheridan went to a free basketball camp put on by the high school. Jordan made a new friend and won the 2 on 2 basketball tournament. Sheridan made new friends and won her 2 on 2 championship! 

Richard recognized Jordan's friends' parents at the basketball camp and they exchanged phone numbers. She's already been asked to play in a ball tournament this next weekend in Conway. 

Meanwhile, Sheridan invited over her new soccer and basketball friend and was asked to practice two times a week with a couple girls to keep up her skills. She also spent the night with another friend from church.

Monday morning Cam and Jordan were all smiles headed to Camp Caudle. All week they've played in a mud pit, learned archery, had Bible study, enjoyed a slip and slide, fished, had snacks and lunch together, learned a new song and dance, and made crafts! They've met new friends, and enjoyed being outside and busy. One of my friends working the camp (and sending me pics of my kids) asked if Sheridan wanted to help her and go Thursday and Friday. She got to go and see what it was all about and see Cameron and Jordan in action!

One week...new friends and a great start to SUMMER! 

Farewell

SO, tomorrow we change zip codes. For the first time in 20 years. I've had trouble not driving to our old house, how in the world am I going to get around Russellville? I'm going to only be in town 2 days until I go to RL owner's conference for 5 days. It's going to be unreal to step away from the boxes and the children.

We've signed a one year lease so we can have a place where we can settle while we build. Who knows what this next year will hold? Some days it's exciting, but some days it's a little scary. I'm trying not to think about it.

Today in church the pastor talked about how there's a gap between our expectations and our experiences. That is certainly true for me, maybe I think about things too much, but things are seldom like I expect and I often feel let down after things, especially big things. But the pastor went on to say how an ENCOUNTER with Jesus can bridge the gap and make our experiences better than we thought. I'm looking for an ENCOUNTER.

She's 12!

When you're 12 years old and every birthday has been spent with your older sisters...it's a FUN thing when they can FACETIME you on the morning of your birthday because they're not at home! SO thankful for technology on days like this.

We picked up 7 of Sheridan's friends in the morning and headed to Rsvl for lunch and then to Altitude Trampoline Park in LR for the party that she's been planning all year. It was a fantastic birthday but also a great way to spend time with her friends on her last Friday in Clarksville. These girls have been friends for a long time. Thankful!