Yes, we are here in Mississippi and all settled in.  Things are going well for everyone.  Victor is doing great and is enjoying his work.  He loves working outdoors which makes for a happy husband when he comes home which is always nice :)  The girls are doing good.  I am with them during the days and homeschooling Caroline.  That is a new adventure for us all, but so far, so good!

Here are some pictures over the past week or so.

Love to ALL!

The family celebrating Caroline's SEVENTH!!! birthday!

Excited she got a scooter!  Thanks Nana & Papa!

Our beautiful Allison (13 months)

Nana & her girls

Lovely sisters

Nana & the birthday girl

Caroline & Taylor providing entertainment on their "stage" (the fireplace!)

Papa & Allison deep in conversation

Nana & Allison

Allison talking about Mommy!

Having a good time together - too cute!

Absolutely beautiful!!!!!!!!!

Beautiful sisters!

Allison showing Nana the beautiful quilt one of our great friends made us!

Hope you enjoyed the pics! 

 

As most of you have heard by now - we are moving to Jackson, MS.  We have decided to go "without appointment" for a while due to having a tough year this past year and needing to work and deal with some personal items.  It is a very bittersweet thing - we are excited to be going back home - but we hate to leave everyone here in Houston!  But we know that the Lord is in control and we feel at peace about this move.

Victor will start a pressure washing business and is ready to hit the road running!  He has done some "practice" days here in Houston and has done really well.  I will be a stay-at-home mom (and most likely a part-time secretary for his business -haha!:)  )  

I GUESS I SHOULD HAVE PUT THAT WE AREN'T LEAVING HOUSTON UNTIL THE FIRST WEEK OF AUGUST.  So we aren't out of Houston as of yet!

Love to all!

I am reading the book "Good to Great in God's Eyes" by Chip Ingram.  It is an amazing book and I'm not done with it yet.  It goes over 10 practices great christians have in common.

As I was reading today I started the chapter "take great risks" and was blown away by some of the words I read and thought I would share them with you.

"I want to suggest that every Christian's life is marked by windows of opportunity that demand a radical step of faith in order to follow Christ and fulfill his purposes for their life.  The difference between good and great is not a matter of knowledge or pedigree but a willingness to take a radical step of faith."

"Where there is no risk, there is no faith.  That means you can be a good, moral person doing what's expected of you - reading your Bible, going to church, being a responsible spouse and parent, serving in your community - but if you're not living by faith,  you won't be very pleasing to God."  WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!  Doesn't that just hit you hard?!?!

"Here's how that works: at a critical point in each aspect of life, you will have a decision to make that pits obedience against comfort or convenience."

"Just remember that where there's no risk, there's no faith - where there's no faith, there's no power or joy or intimacy with God.  There are also no supernatural miracles, no reward, and, ultimately, no pleasing God.  Without faith, you wnd up with hollow religious activity, moralistic rules, and dead orthodoxy."

"Contrary to popular belief, it's possible to run a church without faith.  You can get people together, run effective programs, make sensible decisions about the budget and the mission of the church, teach Sunday school, and preach sermons, all without getting out of your comfort zone and expecting God to do anything supernatural.  A lot of churches that are considered great by people are considered hollow by God.  They miss the common denominator of all great Christians: radical faith." OH  MY GOODNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  This is SOOO TRUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Faith is simply doing what God tells you to do whether you feel like it or not - especially, in fact, when you don't feel like it.  You obey regardless of the circumstances because he said to and his Word is true.  Great risk-takers operate in faith in spite of their fear, and they experience God's favor - not because they're better, smarter, were reaised in a better home, know the Bible better, and have no baggage.  If those things were required most of the characters of the Bible would have been disqualified."

"We can say that we love God, go to church, and worship him with tears in our eyes and our hands raised high, but if he doesn't have our treasure, he doesn't have our heart."

"Unfortunately, many of us try to please him in other ways.  The supposed path to his approval is steeped in our culture and ingrained in our thinking.  We believe that if we can get our  morals straight, get our family in line, get married (if we're single) or have children (if we're childless), find the right kind of work in the right place at the right time, and even serve in the church or go on mission trips, we'll be fulfilled and God will be pleased.  We try to stop doing bad things, start doing good things, and assume the result will be the 'abundant life' of personal satisfaction and fulfillment.  But the goal of life is to please God, and without faith that's impossible."

"When God wants to do something broader through you than he's currently doing, your radical step of faith will often take you into a deeper experience with him.  Suffering creates dependency, and pain brings an asepct of purity to your motives that nothing else can.  But suffering because of faith always comes with God's promise that he rewards those who diligently seek him."

"Great risk-takers see faith as a verb, not as a noun.  It isn't what you have as much as what you do.  Great Christians don't play it safe.  Where there's no risk, there's no faith."

We are at the point in our lives of considering taking some great risks and this chapter just popped out at me and basically punched me in the face!  Ingram does a wonderful job just putting it out there and not trying to sweeten or soften it.  I wish everyone who "professes" to be a Christian would read this book.  It is just amazing.

Thanks for listening and reading what's on my heart.