Today I went to the school for two different things.  First I was the secret reader in Addie’s class.  We had a great time talking about pretending and dress up before reading Skippyjon Jones - the crazy Siamese cat who pretends to be a Chihuahua - by Judy Schachner.  If you have not read this you should.  Skippyjon has a bit of trouble obeying his Mama, so a little commentary is needed to round out the story.  But his imagination is awesome, and reading it is fun due to the spanish accent you must read it with.  “Holy Frejolies”

Secondly, I was at the school to help Emma’s class in the library.  While there I got to see Emma’s teacher Mrs. Norton.  Mrs. Norton took the opportunity to tell me that Emma recently wrote about a Christmas memory and the story was so dear that Mrs. Norton decided to share it with another teacher.  Emma brought her writing home today.  Here is her writing:

“My memory about Christmas is when Jesus was born on Christmas Day.  I love Jesus so much.  Jesus is the real meaning of Christmas not presents and tress. I believe in the true Christmas meaning.”

Merry Christmas!

In November we celebrated not only Thanksgiving, but Emma!  It was Emma’s seventh birthday.  We celebrated by taking her, her two sisters and one friend to see Disney on Ice.  She kept asking me “is it going to be like a movie, or are they really going to be there?”  I watched her face when the first characters took the ice and it was classic!  She was so excited.  We had a super time celebrating her!

For Thanksgiving we traveled to Raliegh, NC to be with Brian’s brother Alan and his family.  It was our first opportunity to meet Lily and to see their new home.  It is always a blessing to be able to be with family, especially since our family is spread out over many states!  Owen really liked Alan and Michelle’s dog Maddy, who is a chow dog.  I am pretty sure Owen thought she was a lion!!  Owen would roar at her everytime he saw her - precious memories.

While in Raliegh we got to meet up with some special friends at the park who were visiting family in Raliegh as well.  Our girls were delighted to get to see the Despres and play with Sophie.

If you would like to see some of these special moments, check out the newly updated gallery.

I came across the following clip of a challenge that Ed Young of Fellowship Church (main campus in Grapevine, TX) and when looking into it further found that his challenge has received some national press, and many people weighing in their opinions.

It seems that when you consider it in context and what they are encouraging in their church that this is a really healthy way to focus on building up marriages.  Check out the comments from he and his wife on his blog.  My biggest concern when I heard this was thinking about all the marriages that have much emotional pain in this area of their relationship and how it wouldn’t go well without some major counselling…I pray (as he and his wife are also) that many will seek wholeness in their relationship through this challenge and that many will be encouraged towards greater intimacy in marriage.

This made me think of the Tommy Nelson sermon series on Song of Solomon that Mandy and I listened to on our honeymoon roadtrip.  Those are great messages, revealing the heart of God when it comes to marriage and sexuality!  What a blessing that God created!

…Now, how about that challenge!?

I am enjoying Beth Moore’s Bible study Living Beyond Yourself, a study on the fruit of the Spirit listed in Ephesians 5:22-23.  A few weeks back I had the opportunity to teach the beginning week at Study and Share.  Below is the podcast of the lesson:

 

 No Fruit Without the Spirit [36:46m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (41)

This week my thoughts turn to peace as I prepare to teach on this fruit next Tuesday.  It is always such a joy to be able to study and apply God’s Word and then have the opportunity to share it with others.

This morning I find myself energized!  I think it is mostly because I got over eight hours of sleep last night and I had been sleep deprived for several nights due to schedule, watching Hurricane Ike (concerned for family) and Owen who had been waking over and over at night.  So, all that to say that one can feel like they can do anything with a good nights sleep.

This brings me to a recent thought that has been circling in my head about how the Holy Spirit empowers us to live the life God desires for us.  I recently started the Beth Moore Bible study Living Beyond Yourself, on the fruit of the Spirit.  We will be doing this study in the woman’s Bible study at Calvary, Study and Share, which you have heard me talk about before.  I am looking forward to continuing the study with other ladies and having the opportunity to teach (what a joy!!).

The first two weeks of the study focus on Galatians and the work and person of the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit is the one part of the trinity that we shy away from talking about very much.  Or at least that is true in some denominations.  And our difference in doctrine drives us to separate ourselves so completely from what we do not agree with that we loose some of the greatness of the truth.  We even go so far as to refer to the Spirit as “it” rather than “he”, and the Bible refers to him as “he”.  He is the power, energy the very breath and wind of God’s action, and He is personal!  In Genesis 1 the Spirit is the power in creation.  In Acts 2 the Spirit enables the disciples to tell the mighty works of God.

I want to understand the Spirit and his work in my life.  I want to be living in the Spirit and not in the flesh!  This morning it appears to me that my good nights sleep is a bit of an analogy with life in the Spirit verses life in the flesh.  In the flesh I am worn out and tired,in much need of sleep!  In the Spirit it is as if I just awoke from a good nights sleep feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day.  And He is so much more than that!!  Maybe it is similar to if I went and got myself a cup of coffee and after drinking it, I then felt that I could take on the world (caffeine does that to me!)

I am looking forward to pondering the Holy Spirit, His work in my life and the fruit He produces.  Hopefully, I will be more like Him in the end feeling refreshed and energized!

Ok, we finally got our pictures posted from our Costa Rica Trip!

http://gallery.themooresonline.org/main.php?g2_itemId=3873

We went for 10 days, mainly working with Green Earth Coffee in a village of the Cabecar indians in the Cartago Provence.  This was our first mainly humanitarian type trip that we have worked with (even though we ended up in a 2 hr. church service in the dark with some Cabecar people each night after 10-12 hr work days).  What a fantastic team we went with!!  I have never lead a team where everyone was so eager to work hard with ANY job and not complain.  I know that the connections we made there will stay with us for the rest of our life!

This will make you chuckle and want to run to the rescue!  Enjoy!

While on our trip to Costa Rica I really wished I could update my Facebook status, but there just was no internet connection in the village!!  So when I returned home I came up with this list and posted in on Facebook, and since many of you are not on Facebook or not my friend yet (for shame!) I am putting it up here.  For those not familiar with Facebook status lines let me explain.  There is a place on each persons page where one can type what they are currently doing.  (Mandy is … working on the computer.)  And it is super fun to write your own updates and read what others are doing or thinking.   So with no further introduction here are my status updates from Costa Rica - enjoy

Mandy:
is enjoying coffee at the missionaries house in Costa Rica.
is up at 4:30 in the morning heading to the village in Costa Rica.

(we decided all status updates should end with “in “Çosta Rica!”)

is stuck on the side of the road (for three hours) in Costa Rica.
is off roading making it to the village in..CR
is on the side of the road again in .. CR
is hiking in a rain forest in ..CR
is carrying a 2×6x12(? IT IS BIG!) with Anna Schrott in CR
is sleeping on the floor in .. CR

is up and working by 6:00 am in..CR (was this just one day?? it must have been 3!)
is building a bridge in CR
is digging a trench in the wrong place in .. CR

is dead weight for the day in..CR
is totally out of her comfort zone scared in the back of a truck off roading in CR
is singing songs to fix her eyes on Jesus!
is loving hearing about how the Lord works in peoples lives while working in..CR

has ring worm in CR
wonders if she was healed in CR (where did that worm go?)

is crossing the river in .. CR
is collecting rocks in .. CR
is making up songs about rocks in.. CR
is saying too much in CR (sanguine hangover!!)

is headed back to the city in .. CR
is in culture shock!! in a Costa Rican city (there are lights and mirrors)

is hiking a volcano in CR
is buying soccer jerseys for my kids in CR
is loving her pillow in CR

is dancing the salsa in CR!
is doing the dishes in CR (somehow they always find me, those dirty dishes)

is talking to her kids over skype in CR and crying!!
is on her way home from CR
is talking to an amazing bus driver, AJ, who needs prayer!
is home and kissing my kids in bed!

IS MISSING COSTA RICA!!!!