As most of you know we found out last week that we are having a little girl. We were both very excited and started making plans right away. My plans have been on decorating the nursery, buying the cutest clothes that I can find and finding the perfect name for our little girl. Brian's plans have been to start preparing how he will handle her first date, how he will ever say "No" to a little girl, and he too has been on the lookout for the perfect name.
Everyone's first question has changed from "Do you know what you are having?" to "What are you going to name her?" To be perfectly honest we really don't know and we may not know for sure until her birthday. We have looked high and low for the name that we feel will best suit our little girl. Our hope is to find a name that she is proud of, a name that we can both agree on, but most importantly a name that when spoken is known for her heart for God.
There are so many names that when spoken we associate something with them. Some good, some bad. In the bible there is Ruth - I think of loyalty, David - a man after God's heart, Paul - a changed man that loves God more than himself, Mary - a scared girl that chose God's will and promise over her fear. The list could go on and on. Then there are names in our culture like Lady Gaga - crazy dresser, Kanye - too outspoken, this list could go on and on as well.
I guess what I am getting at is that it is more than the name. It is the legacy that goes with the name. Our prayer for our little girl is that the legacy that goes with her name is one that honors God, one that keeps His commands. We pray that the footprints she leaves on this life show that she is a woman of God, that she loves Him more than herself, that she is good to the best and to the least. The name itself doesn't really matter (and lets face it... not everyone will like her name) but the legacy; the legacy that is associated with her name matters. We pray everyday for this angel to love the Lord and to live her life in a way that pleases Him. We will continue on our search for that perfect name all the while praying for a child that loves the Lord.
Babbling Brooke
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
$100 Challenge
A couple of Sundays ago Jeff's sermon was on the parable of the talents. He talked about how the master went on a journey and entrusted his talents to his 3 servants each according to their ability. One servant he entrusted 5 talents, one servant he entrusted 2 talents and one servant he entrusted one talent. When the master returned from his journey the servant with 5 talents had doubled it. The servant with 2 talents had doubled his and the servant with 1 talent had just that 1 talent. The master was upset with the servant with 1 talent. He had buried that talent and not even made an effort to use or increase it.
At the end of Jeff's sermon he called 5 teams up front. Brian and I were one of these teams, each team was given a $100 bill and instructions to use this money in the next week in a way that glorified God. We were to come back the next Sunday and report what we had done and what we had learned. It sounds so easy it's 100 dollars and there are millions of things that we could do that glorified God. Brian and I both felt a pressure to do something really amazing but also to do something that God was telling us to do and not just something that we chose.
Last week we spent the majority of the week talking with friends, praying asking God to show us, listening to other people's experiences, and talking to each other about where we felt that God was leading us. After countless prayers and conversations on Thursday night we decided what we would do. We gave our $ to a couple who have both been laid off within the last year and they are trying to raise their 9 year old grandaughter. We attached an annonymous letter with the money just telling them that this money was truly a gift from God and that we had prayed and we felt sure that God intended for them to be blessed with it. We also told them that we knew their finances were tight but we knew they had other gifts of their own that they could share with others. We asked them to please share their gifts for the glory of God. Gifts meaning time, prayer, a listening ear...the list is endless.
On Sunday night all 5 teams went before the church to share what they had done with the money and also what lessons they had learned. We all had very similar experiences and we all learned similar things. Brian and I learned 2 very big lessons. The first, on Wednesday we listened to a CD of a pastor talking about this same type of challenge but one of the things that he said that struck me was this "In a Tale of Two Cities the book opens by saying "It was the best of times it was the worst of times" he said how sad is it that in church a lot of times we cannot differentiate the people going through the best of times with the people going through the worst of times? The people experiencing these best of times aren't sharing they aren't being open to allowing others to see their gifts' This hurt me because I felt guilty. God has given me so many gifts and so many times I don't share the things I am best at instead I bury them in the ground just like the servant in the Parable of the Talents.
The second lesson was by far the most profound for us...All of last week we spent time trying to find someone that truly, in our eyes, deserved the money. Someone that wasn't going to waste it, someone that was going to really really appreciate it. We made stipulations on who should get this without even stopping to realize what we were doing. On Thursday night I layed awake and was just praying about this challenge and I realized how wrong we were. Jesus, precious Jesus he died for people who are going to waste it, he died for people who aren't going to appreciate it. He died for people who bury their gifts and their knowledge of Him. I laid in bed just thanking God. Thanking Him for the generosity, for taking a chance for giving His greatest gift even though He knew that so many would turn their backs or not appreciate it.
As you can see the $100 challenge was a lesson but also a gift for me and Brian. May we all use the gifts that we are blessed with and share them with everyone even those that we don't feel deserve them.
At the end of Jeff's sermon he called 5 teams up front. Brian and I were one of these teams, each team was given a $100 bill and instructions to use this money in the next week in a way that glorified God. We were to come back the next Sunday and report what we had done and what we had learned. It sounds so easy it's 100 dollars and there are millions of things that we could do that glorified God. Brian and I both felt a pressure to do something really amazing but also to do something that God was telling us to do and not just something that we chose.
Last week we spent the majority of the week talking with friends, praying asking God to show us, listening to other people's experiences, and talking to each other about where we felt that God was leading us. After countless prayers and conversations on Thursday night we decided what we would do. We gave our $ to a couple who have both been laid off within the last year and they are trying to raise their 9 year old grandaughter. We attached an annonymous letter with the money just telling them that this money was truly a gift from God and that we had prayed and we felt sure that God intended for them to be blessed with it. We also told them that we knew their finances were tight but we knew they had other gifts of their own that they could share with others. We asked them to please share their gifts for the glory of God. Gifts meaning time, prayer, a listening ear...the list is endless.
On Sunday night all 5 teams went before the church to share what they had done with the money and also what lessons they had learned. We all had very similar experiences and we all learned similar things. Brian and I learned 2 very big lessons. The first, on Wednesday we listened to a CD of a pastor talking about this same type of challenge but one of the things that he said that struck me was this "In a Tale of Two Cities the book opens by saying "It was the best of times it was the worst of times" he said how sad is it that in church a lot of times we cannot differentiate the people going through the best of times with the people going through the worst of times? The people experiencing these best of times aren't sharing they aren't being open to allowing others to see their gifts' This hurt me because I felt guilty. God has given me so many gifts and so many times I don't share the things I am best at instead I bury them in the ground just like the servant in the Parable of the Talents.
The second lesson was by far the most profound for us...All of last week we spent time trying to find someone that truly, in our eyes, deserved the money. Someone that wasn't going to waste it, someone that was going to really really appreciate it. We made stipulations on who should get this without even stopping to realize what we were doing. On Thursday night I layed awake and was just praying about this challenge and I realized how wrong we were. Jesus, precious Jesus he died for people who are going to waste it, he died for people who aren't going to appreciate it. He died for people who bury their gifts and their knowledge of Him. I laid in bed just thanking God. Thanking Him for the generosity, for taking a chance for giving His greatest gift even though He knew that so many would turn their backs or not appreciate it.
As you can see the $100 challenge was a lesson but also a gift for me and Brian. May we all use the gifts that we are blessed with and share them with everyone even those that we don't feel deserve them.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Never Look Away
Last December I started training for a half marathon. This was one of the most challenging and rewarding things I have done for myself to date. There were days where I would have an awesome run, I would stay motivated and sometimes even run further than what my goal for the day was. There were other days where I just really didn't want to run so I would set out to run and the entire time my mind wasn't focused and I would end the run discouraged. On one of these "bad" run days I was running with my husband and he told me to look straight ahead and pick a focal point far away. I did and I told him what it was and then he said "don't take your eyes off of it until you have reached it." This became my method for running I would pick something out a billboard or a tree and not take my eyes off until I reached it. Once I had reached it I would pick my next focal point and this would keep my mind occupied until my run was complete.
In the 9th grade Brian decided that he wanted to be a dentist. He says from that point on his focus for studying for getting up and going to class were all driven on being a dentist. In college when he took Organic Chemistry and hated every second of it he says the thing that got him through was focusing on the ultimate goal he had set for himself...being a dentist. On weekdays when his classmates skipped class to go float the buffalo he stayed back and went to class because his eyes were still on the prize that he had set in the 9th grade.
A couple of weeks before Christmas I went to my grandma's house to pick her up to go shopping. While she was still getting dressed I sat in her den. On her coffee table her bible lay open and a post it was stuck to the page that was open and it read "NEVER TAKE YOUR EYES OFF JESUS." At the time this was precious to me and still as I type this my heart is warm for the love that my grandma has for Jesus and for the lesson that this post it note taught me. NEVER TAKE YOUR EYES OFF JESUS...it sounds so simple or maybe it sounds so silly b/c we can't really see Him.
The prize, the goal is Jesus? I say I believe that but then I get distracted by wanting the goal to be that new purse I have been saving up for. Or I make the goal about decorating the babies nursery. There are so many distractions in this world. So many things that take my eyes away from Jesus the true focal point. My prayer for this year is to keep my eyes on the prize. To look onward to the goal of Jesus.
In the 9th grade Brian decided that he wanted to be a dentist. He says from that point on his focus for studying for getting up and going to class were all driven on being a dentist. In college when he took Organic Chemistry and hated every second of it he says the thing that got him through was focusing on the ultimate goal he had set for himself...being a dentist. On weekdays when his classmates skipped class to go float the buffalo he stayed back and went to class because his eyes were still on the prize that he had set in the 9th grade.
A couple of weeks before Christmas I went to my grandma's house to pick her up to go shopping. While she was still getting dressed I sat in her den. On her coffee table her bible lay open and a post it was stuck to the page that was open and it read "NEVER TAKE YOUR EYES OFF JESUS." At the time this was precious to me and still as I type this my heart is warm for the love that my grandma has for Jesus and for the lesson that this post it note taught me. NEVER TAKE YOUR EYES OFF JESUS...it sounds so simple or maybe it sounds so silly b/c we can't really see Him.
The prize, the goal is Jesus? I say I believe that but then I get distracted by wanting the goal to be that new purse I have been saving up for. Or I make the goal about decorating the babies nursery. There are so many distractions in this world. So many things that take my eyes away from Jesus the true focal point. My prayer for this year is to keep my eyes on the prize. To look onward to the goal of Jesus.
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