What else is there...

On this day, six years ago, we buried my Mom. 

On this day, six years ago, I learned a lot about what the other people in my family feel about death, life and what happens to us at the end of it all.

On this day, six years ago, our faith became more real than it ever had been up to this point. What do we really believe? We had nothing left but faith, hope and an utter reliance on all of the things we had hidden in our hearts, our minds and our life.

Yet, some in my own immediate family are choosing to believe that this is the end. She simply ceased to exist and is lying in this spot forever. That there is no life beyond what we physically know right now. 

What hopelessness. 

What sadness.

What grief.

I am confident of this, friends: My Mom is not in that grave. This spot simply stands as a memorial and a resting place for her body until her Savior returns! 

WHAT HOPE WE HAVE IN CHRIST

There is no way around it. Those who choose not to know Him, will never understand the peace, the hope, the comfort and the strength that comes from no longer being blinded to the truth.

What will be on your grave marker? What will you believe? 

We have a tendency to believe that everyone that dies goes to Heaven because it makes us feel better. All dead people create angels. Am I right? "Don't worry, they are looking down on you" "She's an angel in heaven now" "God must have needed a new angel" We can spend a lifetime choosing not to believe in God, live our life for Him, seek Him...  but as soon as someone dies we suddenly believe they go to heaven by default.

No!  It's SO much more than that! Not everyone goes to heaven! 

So, where are you going to be? 

When that grave marker has your name on it and your loved one is standing by dealing with the fact that you are gone... where will you be? 

My Mom is in Heaven with her Savior. Her first love. She has been redeemed and even though she doesn't deserve to be in Heaven (after all, we are all sinners!), she is there because she knows that Christ died for her and she has been forgiven and chose to give her life over to Christ. 

She is not sitting on a cloud, looking down on me and acting as God in my life. She is enjoying time with Jesus and who knows what else!! What matters, is that I will see her again one day.

I know this, because I too am a sinner redeemed by Christ. 

I, too, am promised an eternity with Him simply because He chose to forgive me and call me His own.

Life doesn't end in that grave.

You are going to go somewhere.

Where will it be?

Weekend at home

We often travel quite a bit on the weekends as most of our friends and family live out of town. This weekend, however, we stayed home and spent some time with just the three of us. A rare occasion because we all love to spend time on the weekends with Grandpas or friends!

We took advantage of our time and we headed up to the Delaware County fair on Saturday. We had a really fun time and we were all exhausted by the end of our time there.

 

So, if you couldn't catch what was in all of these pictures, we did some exploring, Emma rode some actual rides for the first time, we watched a lawnmower race and then we stopped for ice cream later that evening.

It was a great birthday weekend and a great way to spend time with my two loves!

Weekend Away

This past weekend, we finally accomplished a long awaited goal:

Those are Sternwheeler fireworks!!  Since Emma has been born, something has come up every year and we have not been able to make it for the fireworks in West Virginia.  This year, we made it!

Emma had a great time and we were both mesmerized!

More importantly, we were able to spend a weekend with our friends, Tim and Joanna. Our time always goes way too fast! We had a wonderful weekend and Emma was excited to finally get to play with Andrew, Little Lady and Baby G. 

On top of all of that, Joanna made Reese's Peanut Butter Bars.  Need I say more?  

Thanks to Tim & Joanna for a great weekend, putting up with us and a few 3-year old tantrums!!  Can't wait for the next Sternwheeler! :)

Things I've Learned...

Yup... that's me in the middle picture on the far right.. this was in week 2 and that is a 10-pound'er. 

I have been participating in this boot-camp for 5 weeks today. I have learned a lot of things that I want to write down so I never forget them: 

1. Even when I think I can't do one single rep more, God has made my body capable of so much more than my mind allows.

2. Results may not happen right away, but they come with time. They do come.

3. Nothing lays your heart bare like a painful, laborious, hard workout. 

4. I am a walking, breathing (sometimes gasping), living example of Christ to the people around me.

5. Emma is watching my every move, listening to my every word and doing as I do.

These last five weeks have been laden with some of the most physically painful and emotionally difficult days. Aside from the physical pain, I have found myself surprised on more than one occasion by what these workouts bring out in me. 

The good:

1. A feeling of accomplishment and hard work towards my goals

2. The realization that I am setting a good example for Emma and how excited she gets when there is no one else but us there and so that means she gets to "exercise" with Mommy ( very safely, of course)

3. The energy that it gives me every day

4. The lack of cravings for sugar. Working out every day has nixed a lot of my strong cravings for sugar, much to my delightful surprise

5. The encouragement that my husband gives to me, the praise that comes from him not because of my physical appearance, but my level of commitment, endurance and accomplishment. 

The bad:

1. I have snapped at Emma on more than one occasion in the midst of the workout and acted annoyed with her. It would be difficult for any child her age to sit still for an hour, especially for a child that wants to do what everyone else is doing and be a participant. However, it is dangerous...  and so when she walks towards me without asking and I don't see her while I am in the process of flinging a weight over my head, the opportunity for injury is huge... and so when this happens, I have snapped "Emma Sue get back to your play spot right this second." "Emma no! Back to your spot"  "What do you need right now? You are supposed to be sitting down in your spot!" 

2. I have found myself tempted by things I did not expect to be tempted by. I have had to stop myself more than once from cheating ("no one will know if I only did 40.. I just can't do 50), from using language that is inappropriate in my opinion ("oh my God!" "holy crap!" "there is no frickin' way!"). I guess on the bright side I am not tempted to actually cuss! Silver lining?  Hmm... probably not. 

3. I apologize a lot for everything: I'm sorry I smell, I'm sorry I didn't do that right, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.. over and over. If it's becoming annoying to me I can't imagine how it must annoy those around me.

The ugly:

1. I have not made it known that I am a believer. 

2. I have relied more on my own strength than relying on God for the strength. Just think of how much better I could be doing if I prayed before, during and after my workouts? 

3. It took 3 weeks of these workouts before I even realized that I had some heart issues... and I'm not talking about physical heart issues.

Truth is, this has been one of the most spiritually challenging things I have done in a long time. I have surrounded myself in an atmosphere that is not filled wholly with other believers and I am sadly not representing very well. I mean seriously, it takes me 3 weeks to consider the fact that I am in a sort of mission field? That how I treat my daughter, how I complete my workouts, how I interact with others, how I express my exhaustion and frustration... they are all a living testimony to Christ in me? 

It has been a long time since I have been in the workplace and constantly surrounded by others that do not believe and love God like I do. I have forgotten how much prayer is required to keep my guard up, keep my head on straight and keep my heart in the right place. 

This boot-camp is transforming me... but not just physically.. spiritually. It is giving me an opportunity to work out my faith, work out my grief and work out my body.  What an awesome opportunity. 

Lord, help me to be a shining light to your people. Help me to represent you well in all areas of my life!

Labor Day Fun

This year for Labor Day weekend, we headed to Troy to stay with my Dad-in-law. We had a great time! We were joined by over 36,000 people who came to Troy for the Gentlemen of the Road tour with Mumford & Sons.  Pretty amazing to see so many people in a small town.

Before Labor Day, our week was spent without Daddy, who was travelling all over the place for work from Monday morning (ahem... 4:30 a.m.! yuck) until Thursday late afternoon. It was a long week but we made the best of it.  We spent time at the free zoo (aka - the pet store):

Spent a day sick on the couch eating popsicles and trying not to move because it made her throw up:

 Then we danced the afternoons away until Daddy came home.  Thanks to the Cirque show we took her to, we receive at least one show each day by Emma Sue :)

Daddy flew home and we un-packed, re-packed and headed on to Troy for the long weekend.  We were lucky enough to have super hot weather *insert sarcasm* but we made the best of it. We headed downtown to check out the people flowing into town for the Mumford & Sons concert.  Pretty amazing to see all of these tents everywhere:

In the evening on Saturday, we drove down and happened to find a great, free parking spot. This is truly amazing because parking spots were going for $25!  So, we pulled into our spot and sat on the river bank by the levy and listened to the first few songs that Mumford & Sons sang. It was cool :)  Plus, Emma met a new friend who loved to dance and they danced non-stop the entire time we were there:

Sunday we went to church and had lunch with Uncle Patrick & Aunt Brandy. We had a nice, lazy Sunday and enjoyed every minute of it!

Monday we headed to the Piqua Heritage Festival. It was way bigger than I expected and was a lot of fun! Emma met another new friend, Charlie. She spent time at his Grandpa's tent playing with him and it was one of her favorite parts. She is such a social kid!

Daddy made us a very yummy dinner and then we headed back to Columbus and back to our regular routine. It was a nice, long weekend while it lasted and now we dive head first into our fall/winter schedule. Fun times!