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Sunday, August 24, 2008
Saturday, August 23, 2008
London's 15
London turned 15 on August 21st. We celebrated it last night at home with several friends. It was a small but good party! She has been celebrating it all week though. She got a new cell phone, which of course is the main priority in any 15 year old girls life. Her and Dastena went to six flags Thursday. Then last night with friends, they had oreo ice cream cake and opened a few more presents. We ended the night with going over to our other house (which is out of the city limits) and popped a few fireworks.
It is hard to believe they grow up so fast. It seems like it was just the other day that she was playing with her little tykes play kitchen. She use to love making us muffins in it. She has grown into a young woman that we are very proud of. She is well grounded and loves God. She has her struggles but knows "WHO" helps her in those struggles. She loves church. She is so smart and makes great grades in school. Rarely do I have to stay on her to do her schoolwork. Chores are a different story!!
It is hard to believe they grow up so fast. It seems like it was just the other day that she was playing with her little tykes play kitchen. She use to love making us muffins in it. She has grown into a young woman that we are very proud of. She is well grounded and loves God. She has her struggles but knows "WHO" helps her in those struggles. She loves church. She is so smart and makes great grades in school. Rarely do I have to stay on her to do her schoolwork. Chores are a different story!!
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Keeping my hiking boots on
The reason I am calling this blog "Field Trips" is because it is never ever boring at the Parker residence. God has told me through a Bible Study that... he hasn't called me to wear my pretty church shoes ( which are very pretty still and hardly used at all ) and he doesn't want me to get use to my comfy house shoes ( which never get out of my comfort zone) but he has called me to wear hiking boots. If I will continue to walk with him, he will show me the things that his heart beats for. If I continue to walk with him, he will show me the way that Jesus walked and the things that he saw. He wept over Jerusalem. He saw them as sheep without a shepherd. He is the good shepherd. Desiring to keep his flock from harm. But, like sheep gone astray we tend to wander. God knows that my hiking boots are worn already, but he says... keep walking. Follow me. When you can't walk anymore, I will carry you!
This week I have experienced losing a child to Texas Youth Commission because of his wandering and choices. Oh, how I want to keep him safe. How my heart hurts for him, knowing that his wandering is putting him at great risk. I guess that is how God the father feels when his children wander away. I believe that Shawn has a call from God on his life and he is running as hard and as fast as he can. Father, bring him home soon.
Well, some more excitement... London has a friend who is going to be staying with us for a while. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away! She is precious. She has had a hard life for a 15 year old. Her mother is a prostitute. She doesn't know who her Father is. She has nobody to love her with the love of Christ. She loves going to church and she is hungry to know more about this God. She has been living with a couple from Turkey who are Muslim. The man of the house is abusive. Please pray for her mother and the Muslim family. My husband and I have been praying about this field trip for about a month. There was some reservations and quite frankly some fear. Some of the roads we travel, we don't necessarily want to. We both knew though that we would be like the religious leader on the way to the synagogue to worship who walked on the other side of the road to avoid helping the beaten up man. We were made aware of the tragic problems in Dastena's life and we just couldn't look the other way. She begged us to let her stay. The verse that says," If you know the good that you should do and don't do it, it is sin," kept ringing in our ears! So... after a month of telling God, " Don't we already have our hands full, Lord?" He answered with a "That's why you have to let me help you carry EVERYTHING."
So, with his strong arms and guidance, I believe that we can make this journey too. There will be times when we need help from our friends to help tie our boots when our backs are too sore to bend over. My dear friend and mentor Sandy has helped me lace them many times. She even double knots them with truth when I feel like everything is coming undone. I told her I didn't think I was ready for this field trip. But the permission slip is signed in Jesus' blood. There's no turning back now! Might as well, keep walking!
This week I have experienced losing a child to Texas Youth Commission because of his wandering and choices. Oh, how I want to keep him safe. How my heart hurts for him, knowing that his wandering is putting him at great risk. I guess that is how God the father feels when his children wander away. I believe that Shawn has a call from God on his life and he is running as hard and as fast as he can. Father, bring him home soon.
Well, some more excitement... London has a friend who is going to be staying with us for a while. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away! She is precious. She has had a hard life for a 15 year old. Her mother is a prostitute. She doesn't know who her Father is. She has nobody to love her with the love of Christ. She loves going to church and she is hungry to know more about this God. She has been living with a couple from Turkey who are Muslim. The man of the house is abusive. Please pray for her mother and the Muslim family. My husband and I have been praying about this field trip for about a month. There was some reservations and quite frankly some fear. Some of the roads we travel, we don't necessarily want to. We both knew though that we would be like the religious leader on the way to the synagogue to worship who walked on the other side of the road to avoid helping the beaten up man. We were made aware of the tragic problems in Dastena's life and we just couldn't look the other way. She begged us to let her stay. The verse that says," If you know the good that you should do and don't do it, it is sin," kept ringing in our ears! So... after a month of telling God, " Don't we already have our hands full, Lord?" He answered with a "That's why you have to let me help you carry EVERYTHING."
So, with his strong arms and guidance, I believe that we can make this journey too. There will be times when we need help from our friends to help tie our boots when our backs are too sore to bend over. My dear friend and mentor Sandy has helped me lace them many times. She even double knots them with truth when I feel like everything is coming undone. I told her I didn't think I was ready for this field trip. But the permission slip is signed in Jesus' blood. There's no turning back now! Might as well, keep walking!
Sunday, August 17, 2008
God uses Text Messaging
I woke up Saturday morning with the thought. " I am unlovable."
Let me explain... the week that was now gone, had been one of the worst ones in my life! My teenage son, Shawn, was back in jail. Shawn struggles with mental disabilities and has had more struggles in his short life ( 16 years ) than most adults will ever have to experience, hopefully. He has been in and out of hospitals and now incarcerated for the second time.
We also found out that my husband has a daughter 29 years old that neither of us knew about. My other daughter, London, who is 15 lives at home with us and is enduring the craziness of it all with us! Thank God she is well grounded, but living in chaos tends to take its toll on everyone.
Anyways... my husband and I had an argument that Friday night. If you were an outsider looking in, you would not have been able to tell I am saved! I said some horrific hurtful things to him. I now realize that I was letting fear take over. So, I went to bed that night feeling very bad about the things I had said and was feeling unlovable. As I was waking up and feeling the dread of another chaotic day to begin, I heard my phone beep. I thought to myself, who could be text messaging me? I never get any text messages except from London when she needs to be picked up or something. Besides, it was way before noon, that means she is still asleep!
I tried to focus my eyes to see the small screen. I really wanted to continue with my pity party, feeling unloved and sleep a little longer! The text message was from a man that I had met twice in my whole life. He is very involved in prison ministry and I had talked to him three times in my whole life.
The text message read: Did you wake up this morning knowing that God loves you? What a powerful thought!! The love of the Most High for you. To bathe in his love and to be covered by his grace. Know this THAT YOU ARE LOVED BY THE GREATEST AND PUREST OF ALL LOVES, THE LOVE OF GOD. God told me to tell you this, this morning so that you would know!
Needless to say, I jumped up out of bed! Rubbed my eyes, thinking, " Is this a dream?" After basking in the warmth of God's message to me, I fell down in repentance and true worship! The whole creator of the universe found a faithful servant and out of obedience to him, texts a message from God to me! Thank you Lord!
I had an awesome quiet time with God that morning and thanked him for his grace and love. Even when we blow it and feel unlovable, God forgives and loves us enough to reach down and tell us so! When I went to visit my son later that morning, I told him the message from God. It is God's love that leads to repentance! That is going to be my message to the juvenile prison ministry that I am involved in. How much does God loves us? Enough to wake us up with a text message, enough to send a car with two lights on top of it, to stop our destructive behaviours. Enough to sit us down in a jail cell with only a Bible? Enough to put faithful servants in our lives and prayer warriors! YOU BET!!
In His Love,
Dee Ann
Let me explain... the week that was now gone, had been one of the worst ones in my life! My teenage son, Shawn, was back in jail. Shawn struggles with mental disabilities and has had more struggles in his short life ( 16 years ) than most adults will ever have to experience, hopefully. He has been in and out of hospitals and now incarcerated for the second time.
We also found out that my husband has a daughter 29 years old that neither of us knew about. My other daughter, London, who is 15 lives at home with us and is enduring the craziness of it all with us! Thank God she is well grounded, but living in chaos tends to take its toll on everyone.
Anyways... my husband and I had an argument that Friday night. If you were an outsider looking in, you would not have been able to tell I am saved! I said some horrific hurtful things to him. I now realize that I was letting fear take over. So, I went to bed that night feeling very bad about the things I had said and was feeling unlovable. As I was waking up and feeling the dread of another chaotic day to begin, I heard my phone beep. I thought to myself, who could be text messaging me? I never get any text messages except from London when she needs to be picked up or something. Besides, it was way before noon, that means she is still asleep!
I tried to focus my eyes to see the small screen. I really wanted to continue with my pity party, feeling unloved and sleep a little longer! The text message was from a man that I had met twice in my whole life. He is very involved in prison ministry and I had talked to him three times in my whole life.
The text message read: Did you wake up this morning knowing that God loves you? What a powerful thought!! The love of the Most High for you. To bathe in his love and to be covered by his grace. Know this THAT YOU ARE LOVED BY THE GREATEST AND PUREST OF ALL LOVES, THE LOVE OF GOD. God told me to tell you this, this morning so that you would know!
Needless to say, I jumped up out of bed! Rubbed my eyes, thinking, " Is this a dream?" After basking in the warmth of God's message to me, I fell down in repentance and true worship! The whole creator of the universe found a faithful servant and out of obedience to him, texts a message from God to me! Thank you Lord!
I had an awesome quiet time with God that morning and thanked him for his grace and love. Even when we blow it and feel unlovable, God forgives and loves us enough to reach down and tell us so! When I went to visit my son later that morning, I told him the message from God. It is God's love that leads to repentance! That is going to be my message to the juvenile prison ministry that I am involved in. How much does God loves us? Enough to wake us up with a text message, enough to send a car with two lights on top of it, to stop our destructive behaviours. Enough to sit us down in a jail cell with only a Bible? Enough to put faithful servants in our lives and prayer warriors! YOU BET!!
In His Love,
Dee Ann
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