The Adventures of Minnie Mouse

This beautiful little mouse has been working hard at packing for the upcoming trip to Europe. She has her passport and wallet, a sling bag that zips, flaps AND hooks for extra protection from would-be pickpockets. She also located a super-cool power converter that collapses on itself at Office Depot ($23, Targus brand). Stay tuned for more updates as Minnie Mouse travels the world. She will likely be the only one sporting high heels as we all see the palaces, museums, and Eiffel Tower in just two weeks.  :-)

Europe 2012!

The time has almost come to leave the red, white, and blue behind for a fantastic trip to Spain and France! I am so excited to go, and I can't wait to see how things have changed since I was last in those two countries. I was in Paris in 2008 and Madrid in 2007, but it has been since I was a senior in high school (way back in 2000) since I visited Barcelona. I am looking forward to blogging about our experiences when wifi is available. More to come soon!

-Ruschelle

Queen Esther

When I was little, I used to read the book of Esther every Sunday in church. I know, I should have been taking note of what the pastor was saying, but I was in elementary school and didn't really relate to anything but the funny illustrations (so I thought). Instead, I read my favorite story found in one of only two books named after a woman in the Bible.

When Pastor Matt annouced that he was going to be preaching on Esther this morning, I was thrilled...until then I remembered that quotable phrase from the story that he was most likely going to focus on. You know, the "such a time as this" phrase that never fails to convict? That one.

You see, for some time now, Cody and I have known that God is calling us to do something outside our comfort zone, but neither of us really feels ready for that big step. We say, "Yeah, God! We'll follow You!" but we really mean, "Sure, God. We'll follow you in a while...just let us get settled here first."

Interestingly enough, God did convict me--heavily--during the sermon. It was not, however, "such a time as this" that got to me, though. Instead, the part right before that famous phrase hit me between the eyes. Let me give it to you straight from the source:

"Mordecai sent this reply to Esther: 'Don't think for a moment that because you're in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed. If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die.'" He then goes on to ask if Esther has considered that maybe, just maybe, God made her queen so that she could be there for this exact moment in history. Hmmmm...

For some reason, I tend to get this cocky attitude with God...like HE needs ME and not the other way around. How egocentric can someone be? It is a blessing, a privilege, to be chosen to be here for such a time as this. If I choose not to be used for His great work, I am the one who will miss out, not God and His plan. There are others who will be obedient, and likely do so with a better attitude than my track record shows I have. Am I willing to let these opportunities pass me by when I could be like Queen Esther? She was a queen that showed courage. Let me never have to be coaxed to do His work, even when faced with seemingly insurrmountable tasks.

Dear Francis Chan, why must your books be so convicting?

In Sunday School at Journey Church, we've been going through "Crazy Love," a book by Francis Chan all about loving God and God's love for us. We've now finished that book and are on to "Forgotten God," a book written about the Holy Spirit (the forgotten God). It is absolutely unreal the simple truths he states that have such profound ramifications in my life. They are truths gleaned directly from God's Word, but presented in a different way. For some reason, they rip at my heart.

"We are not all we were made to be when everything in our lives and churches can be explained apart from the work and presence of the Spirit of God." Is this the way I am living? Am I content with my life? God designed us to be people who need a Savior, but do I even hint at needing anything? Our Sunday School teacher quoted John Piper last week, asking if we were in "heaven" with all the things we ever wanted, all the people we ever loved, no hurting or suffering, but God was not there, would we be okay with being in that "heaven"?  Good question.  The good little Baptist girl in me says, "Oh, no, of course not!" However, my life says something different, and if I examined my heart, would I really be okay with that right now?

We must come back to the place where we desperately need (long for, can't live without) God's presence in our lives. The Christians in other parts of the world get it...why can't we? God, bring us back to you! Give us a thirst for your Spirit and a hunger for your Word. Don't let us fill ourselves up with empty things. Show us the way back to You.

Summertime!

It's summer, and I'm now a stay-at-home mommy full-time! Of course, things never go according to plan, so even though I'm a housewife, I have no house. That's ok, though. All in God's time. The tornado last May 22 changed everything, and I'm betting that there will be even more change in the future before "normalcy" kicks back in (assuming it ever does).

God has been doing a great work in our lives. It has been amazing to see how he uses situations to grow us closer to Him. I have been doing a Bible study by Priscilla Shirer called "Jonah," and it has been such a hard study. It's not because the work is so difficult, but because there are such hard questions to answer. What have you been running from? What is God calling you to do? What is your attitude like when God gives you direction?

Beginnings

A blog must begin somewhere, and this is such a place for this blog. I'm hopping on the bandwagon in an attempt to connect with family living far away, organize my otherwise disheveled thoughts, and preserve my pre-texting writing abilities.

There are so many changes that happen in the first year of a child's life, and I have experienced a ton of exciting milestones with my daughter. I have failed, however, to document many of those great moments in writing. I hope to note the small daily progress and shout out the great leaps forward in my daughter's very exciting life. We'll see where the journey takes us...