Thanksgiving

Some pics of Thanksgiving with my family.

Me, Mom & Dad

Emily

Emily & PaPa

Olivia

Olivia & PaPa

Olivia pretending she can throw a football

Olivia & Meemer

Crazy Smith Girls

Mom & Dad

Comfort in Affliction

"Then they will seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me." 

Hosea 5:15

"O My people, has not My hand fashioned for you many signs and wonders?  Have I not ministered to you in miraculous ways?  How is it you say therefore in your heart, 'I will turn again to human strength'?  How often have I spoken to you and never failed to keep My word?  Will you not, then, trust Me now in this new emergency, even as you have trusted Me in the past?

"Your need is greater this time, and so I have made the testing more acute.  I strengthen you in the furnace of affliction and purify your soul in the fires of pain.

"Lean hard upon Me, for I bring you through to new victories, and restoration shall follow what seems now to be a wind of destruction.

"Hold fast to My hand, and rest in My love, for of this you may be very certain:  My love is unaltered; yes, I have you in My own intensive care.  My concern for you is deeper now than when things are normal.

"Draw upon the resources of My grace, and so shall you be equipped to communicate peace and confidence to your dear ones.  Heaven rejoices when you go through trials with a singing spirit.  Your Father's heart is cheered when you endure the test and do not question His mercy.

"Be like a beacon light.  His own glorious radiance shall shine through you, and Christ Himself will be revealed."

~from Come Away My Beloved by Frances J. Roberts

Olivia's birthday

Tomorrow is Olivia's birthday...My firstborn. What a precious sweet gift she has been to me!! She was the perfect first child, the kind to make you want more. I thought she was the most beautiful little thing I had ever seen. People would stop us in the mall to look at her.

I cannot fathom where the time has gone...19 years. She's no longer a baby but a young woman in college who will be going to China one day to fulfill the call of God on her life, the call she's known since she was 12. I wish her dad were here to see the awesome person she's become. He'd be so proud. I know I am!!
 

Happy birthday, Olivia!!! I love you so much!!

My friends

I love my friends. They make me laugh. There have been times I don't think I would have made it without them.

My friend, Shelly, was my college roommate. She was the one who introduced me to my husband. She was the one who was with me when he died. I remember her telling me the day after he died, "I feel like I've failed you as your friend. I wish I could have helped prepare you for this." I looked at her and said, "How could you have done that?" "I don't know." We laughed. She helped me be able to laugh at a time all I wanted to do was cry. She continues to make me laugh.

There's Renee, my sister. We've always been close. The older we get, the closer we seem to be. She's a second mother to my girls. She's the one who understands the dysfunction that is our family!!

Diane is the one who speaks her mind. She's bold and passionate. She pushes me to be all God created me to be.

Girlfriends...Thank you, God, for the ones You've placed in my life!! I don't know what I'd do without them!!

Dinner with the family

Tonight was great!! All the family met at Longhorn's for dinner - all except Wendy's family. They live just too far away :(

As we were finishing up dinner, I thought how great it was that my girls get to spend time with their grandparents, cousins and aunts. I remembered times spent at my grandma's house when my mom's family got together. I hope my girls treasure these times because unfortunately they seem all too few and too brief.

The kids are growing up and all have such different plans for their lives. As they grow and possibly move away, how often will we have these times together? How long will my parents, their grandparents, be around?

I don't have answers for these questions, but am so thankful for our time together tonight!! I just wish Olivia didn't have to go back to Tennessee tomorrow. Only a few more weeks and my babies will be under my roof for the summer!! I can't wait!

Time to Think

Well, I've missed another week of work with a pulled muscle in my back, but am choosing this time to listen for God's voice in the quiet. He's so good to me & my family.

I've been reading a blog from a couple who lost both their precious children in an automobile accident last July. Their faith humbles me. Their grief reminds me of my own - so unexpected at times and quite overwhelming in its strength.

However, we have a hope that those who don't know Christ don't have. We KNOW we will see our precious loved ones again. And in our imaginings we can see them laughing, joyful, whole, in the presence of Jesus.

For to us, to be absent from the body is to be present with Jesus (2 Cor. 5:8). That's where they are now, and where we will be one day. Oh how I long for that day!!! But for now will continue to have hope in the One who sustains me day by day.