"Trey Tuesday" - November 15, 2016

Shining Stars

This week's Super Moon is so close and so bright!  Have you seen it!?!

These crisp, clear nights offer such a contrasting view!  It takes the dark to shine the light the brightest.

Well, Joe and Bella are shining stars in my book!  :)

I had the opportunity to be at church with Joe this Sunday.  He listened and responded to the sermon like an adult!  Such a smart, kind, hysterically funny, TALL, soooo sweet to his grandma kind of kid!  :)


And my Bella....my heart leaps as I think of her super smiling face as she performed her baton twirling routine on stage this weekend!  She beamed!  Such confidence!  Such pride!  Her eyes, reflecting her joy coming from deep down inside her, matched her sparkly uniform!  :)

Joe and Bella have endured some very dark "nights" in their young lives, and yet they continue to laugh, smile, share, love, hug, and most importantly, live!  :)

"Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever."  Daniel 12:3

"Trey Tuesday" - November 8, 2016! :)

Hilarious!

So.....today is Election Day!  Finally!  The day we have all been dreading/looking forward to/looking forward to being over!

Today's date was also the date of the first day of our precious Trey's viewing, a day of sharing our heartbreaking loss with family and friends.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand today is my birthday!  :)

What a roller coaster of emotions all surrounding November 8.  I used to treasure that date.  As a child I would beam with pride when election day fell on November 8.  Everywhere people drove, they passed by signs that had MY birthday printed on them!  :)

As the calendar years flew by, I gave that "thrill" up.  I still enjoyed celebrating my birthday, though!  :)

And then came the BIG decade birthday years.  Yep!  Still enjoying my party!  :)

Birthday 2014 - the loss of Trey just days before....acknowledging that his viewing will begin on my birthday.  Believe it or not, it was a precious gift to/from Trey.  I "got" to share my birthday with Trey!  We gave each other that gift that day.

God asks us to be givers....cheerful givers!  :)
This Election Day, November 8, 2016, I put my trust and joy in the Lord.

I give my birthday - and every day - to God as a hilariously cheerful giver!  :)

Will you join me in my party?

"God loves a cheerful giver." 2 Corinthians 9:7

"Trey Tuesday" - November 1, 2016

Outlive Yourself

Time is valuable: Have you ever paid to hire an attorney?  Do you remember how quickly your newborn baby grew in to a teenager?

Memories are precious: All these Halloween photos are snapshots of happy, silly times together!

But a legacy lasts a long, long time - perhaps in to eternity!

Some of you may be wondering what this "Trey Tuesday" post is all about each week.  Well, it's the remembrance of a little boy (my nephew) who lived and loved on this earth waaaaaaaaaaaaay too short a time.  "Trey Tuesday" is an opportunity to pause to remember, reflect and grow from the influence of our sweet Young Warrior.  His story keeps going....it now includes you!  :)  His life was not just well lived....God is still using Trey's journey to share life, love and hope because of the love and power of Jesus!

What can you do this week/month/year that will pass on your legacy and help you outlive yourself?

"Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal."  Matthew 6:20

"Trey Tuesday" - October 25, 2016

Seasons

Most of us are feeling the chill in the air tonight....well, OK...let's call it like it is - it's freezing cold out there!!!  It was 85 degrees last week and now this!?!?  But...the fall season also ushers in memories of bonfires, apple cider, and overflowing Halloween candy bags!  :)

Despite the calendar, what other season(s) are you in?  Pregnancy, new job, divorce, college, moving, new team, caring for a loved one, busy-ness, loneliness, overwhelmed, underwhelmed, boiled, fried or well done....seasonal change is hard.  We want to stay comfortable right where we are, right where we know the routine...

Back in Old Testament days, after Moses rescued his people and led them away from slavery through the miraculously parted Red Sea, can you believe that the people complained about the new season they were in?  They wanted to go back to the old miserable abuse and torture!  But once again, God performed miracles to show them how much He loved them and cared for them in the new season.

How's that working for you?  Are you grumbling in the desert?  Or can you remember how God has blessed you and provided for you in previous seasons? 

"The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of His bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands."  Deuteronomy 28:12

"Trey Tuesday" - October 18, 2016

Mole Hills and Mountains

Do a quick Google image search.  Look at a picture of a mole hill - a rinky dink little pile of dirt.

Then look at a picture of a mountain - majestic, enormous, immovable rock solid structure.

We face both each day.  The mountains of faith and hope, trust and love, patience and joy loom far off in the distance - ever present, ever necessary, ever totally attainable.  And then we trip over the mole hills - laundry, deadlines, drinking your 8 glasses of water, flossing, filling the gas tank, etc!  Mole hills are slippery slopes we must deal with as we strive toward God's mountains.

Our busy schedules make these mole hills seem like mountains, though.  An empty refrigerator can feel like a mountain to a hungry teenager.  Technology can distract you from remembering the mountain!  A minivan loaded down with snack remnants, overdue library books and a whole lot of everything else prevents you from being able to even see the mountain!

And then there are some mole hills that are like mountains - illness, loneliness, poverty, abuse, etc.  We must keep God and His huge mountain before our eyes. His mountain reigns supreme!  Always!  In all ways!

We don't know the mole hills in each other's lives, but God does.  His Word speaks directly to each one of us, personally, compassionately, and with great love, overflowing with strength, grace, and mercy for the mole hills AND the mountains in our lives. 

Psalm 121:
"I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip—He who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm—He will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore."

"Trey THURSday" - October 13, 2016

Weary?

Are you weary tonight?  Worn out?  Beat down?  Fed up?

It's America 2016 - we're all tired and exhausted, right?  This week, though, has been an exceptionally exhausting one for me....thus, the Trey THURSday!  :)  My dad has been hospitalized for a myriad of symptoms which doctors are trying to diagnose and cure.  It's sort of a cross between an obnoxious algebra problem and an episode of Monk!   Tomorrow is a big day for my dad, facing 3 procedures if God, his body and the surgeons allow.  We're weary.

And then I think of Trey.  Chemo, scans, meds, ports, surgeries, pain.  Never tiring. 

Never ever.  (except maybe when he was bored at home with his parents and siblings!)  :)

But over all that I lean on God's loving advice to us:

"The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary.He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak."  Isaiah 40:28, 29

The everlasting God....the One who stays awake with us during the wee hours of the dark night

Does not grow weary....He constantly and forever is present and powered on - especially when we throw our hands up and our heads down in exhausted surrender!

Batteries, energy drinks, and yes, even coffee will run out, but God will renew our strength for the road ahead.  Are you weary tonight?  You are not alone.  And you are not without Power to press on!  :)

"Trey Tuesday" - October 4, 2016

Feeling Salty?

Salt and light.

God calls us to be both in this world.  People of many walks, beliefs, faiths, and practices often refer to the light.  Light points to the right way, the good way, the bright side. This one is easy to imagine, practice and sort of easy to do.

And then there is salt.  What does it mean to be salt?

"You are the salt of the earth."  Matthew 5:13

Salt?  The coarse white stuff that tastes weird and melts ice?  That's what we are supposed to BE?

Light is easy - you just glow wherever you are and people have to turn their own heads to notice your shiny self.

Salt is different.  You have to get close to salt to notice it.  You have to rub it in.  You have to get reaaaaaaaal close to feel the effects of salt.

Your young child doesn't understand that the ocean isn't like your swimming pool, until he/she gets knocked under a wave and tastes the difference!  :)

What kind of an influence are you in your world?

A far off light?

Or salt up close and personal?

Be forewarned - salt burns.  Tears are salty.  Sweat is salty.  Loving deeply can hurt.

During Trey's funeral week I think I cried enough tears to supply salt to every chip and pretzel factory!

"Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other."  Mark 9:50

p.s.  Here's a bonus Bible verse about salt that just cracks me up:  "Can something tasteless be eaten without salt, Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?"  Job 6:6

I love that the Holy Spirit would include a question like that in God's Word to us!  :)