Truth

Just a quick word today. Connor is upstairs in his bed, but I think I hear him moving around, so trust me when I say, I don't have longJ. In this world, I find it very difficult to see a lot of truth. Everything is so wishy-washy. There are tons of decisions to be made, and let’s face it…it can be hard to know which way to turn. BUT, praise God, we have a Savior who is truth ALWYAS. Whatever this world throws at us, we can look upon His face and rest (yes, I said rest) in his truth. No matter the 1000 different directions we feel we’re spinning, we can be still and allow him to hold us in his arms. He is the answer. No matter what decision, task, or question we are faced with today, He (Jesus) is the answer. He is right. He is the truth. He is our constant. He is never changing. He is trustworthy. So today, rather than putting our focus on others, TV, various media, or worldly expectations, lets look to the truth. In every moment, let’s look to Jesus.

Verses for Today:

John 8:31 If you hold to my teaching you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

John 14: 6 I am the way and the truth and the life.

Psalm 46:10 Be still and know that I am God.

Karson is such a little athlete, and Connor, although he is too young to play on her team, "needed" a jersey of his own (when I say it is three sizes too big, I am not exaggerating). This is them at the Central Railroad Festival a few weeks ago waiting to get on the bouncy.

I know this isn't the best picture ever, but Connor was so excited about sitting on Thomas. Actually "Thomas" was parked for a lunch break. Anyone who knows Connor will understand when I mention that Connor was perfectly willing to go ahead and hop on even though he probably wasn't supposed to ha!:)

                                                            Jess and Madi on the train ride.

 

Karson cracked me up wearing this head band on her forehead. She is definitely her own person, and I love it!

Hope you all have a great day.

Love you!

Jodi

Off to the Beach

This past week, we took a girls' trip (well, girls and ConnorJ) to the beach. We had the best time.
My Favorites From the Trip:
Karson is literally a fish...she loved diving for rings in the pools. 
The way Karson becomes friends with random kids at the drop of a hat.
Connor being so proud of himself for going under the water and him playing in the submarine/kiddie play area for over two hours...as happy as could be
Connor loving his styrofoam water shooter
Conch Cafe Buffalo Shrimp (Yum! That's all I can say.)
The presence of God felt while looking out at the ocean at night
Sitting on the balcony talking to Jess (my AMAZING sister)
The ride back home laughing with truly the world's most wonderful Mom
Seeing Benjy when we got home.

I have included some pictures below from our trip.

 What's on my heart spiritually? The Holy Spirit, but that is just a little too deep for today. Look for it soon, though. Actually I'm discovering the topic isn't as complicated and allusive as I once thought, but I digress. What else? A reminder of the constant power and comfort we can take in God's word. I can't say I read the Bible for non-selfish reasons. It is truly my daily source of sanity. Every morning, I get up and have coffee with Jesus. There is just nothing like being in a quiet house, with little sleepy heads upstairs, praying, reading my Bible, and of course drinking coffee. For those who don’t know, I am a big coffee drinkerJ. Lately I've been reminded of the power of praying God's word. The Bible says in Hebrews 4:12 that "The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword…" I have found the Bible to be full of verses corresponding to every feeling, emotion, circumstance, hope, etc. I’m experiencing in my life. If you don't know how to find them, let me introduce you to a word called GoogleJ. That will do it. Just type, “Bible verse on ___________”and fill in the blank. After you find the verse, put it on an index card, and pray it. When you pray God's word, you are praying His will. I will give you an example. “Lord, please save me out of all my calamities and distresses.” This is my prayer for today taken from my quiet time this morning in the book of 1 Samuel. God's word is real, powerful, and pertinent to every day of our lives. Give it a try. I promise; it works.

Thank you so much for reading my blog.

Love,
Jodi

My beautiful Mom (Granna) with the kids

Karson and Madi (my sister, Jessica's, daughter)

                                                        My sister, Jessica, with Madi

Baby Steps

I have always been more of a New Testament reader; however, over the past couple of years, I have tried to dig into the Old Testament. Recently, I read the book of Ruth. Ruth finds herself in a really awful position because her husband has died, and in those days this meant being poor and destitute for the rest of your life…unless you marry your late husband's brother. Yes, that sounds very weird to me, tooJ. You know Ruth had to feel sad and hopeless, but she just kept living and obeying God day by day. This serves as such a reminder to me that as Christians we don't have to think too far down the road. We just have to say "yes" to God in this moment, this day, this week, this year. Jesus says in Luke 16:10, "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much." We cannot control the future, but we are held accountable for whether or not we are obedient in the present. This means doing the right thing in the small/every day. In my life this can be me saying, “At this moment, I will choose to have a gentle tone with my kids. At this moment, I will not say negative things about others. At this moment, I will forgive. At this moment, I will spend time with my kids instead of cleaning. At this moment, I will give into my alarm clock and get up to have time with Jesus instead of sleeping. In this moment, I will put someone else’s interests above my own. At this moment, I will not be easily offended.” I think people are afraid to make a commitment to Christ because they feel like they can never measure up. Obeying God in the small adds up to obeying him in the big, and it makes living the Christian life a lot less overwhelming and daunting.

Here are some pictures our sweet peas on Easter.

Our Trip to Charleston

I am married to a great man named Benjy, and we have two children. Karson, our daughter is five and a half, and Connor, our son, just turned three on Thursday. Words can truly not explain how blessed I am to have these three in my life. Over Karson's Spring Break (she is in kindergarten) we went to Charleston. Below are some pictures. Looking back through the pictures reminds me of how much fun our kids always seem to have...like they have no worries in the world. I think it is because they know their Mommy and Daddy will constantly be there to protect them. We, too, can live that way. We have a God who holds the future and will bring us through any situation...working each event for his glory and our good, yet we so often worry and forfeit the peace Jesus paid dearly to give us. In our Wednesday night Bible Study at church, we are reading What Women Fear by Angie Smith (great book by the way). She wrote about a very sad time of her life in which the adults were crying, yet the kids were in the pool playing and having a blast. I assume they knew the adults were feeling enough sadness for everyone, so they might as well have some fun:). I want to live my life in such a way that I rejoice always...making the most out of every minute and allowing God to do the "worrying" for me. Jesus says in Luke 18:17, "Truly, I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." So, let's do as our children do...jump in the pool and leave the worrying to an extremely capable God.

 

 

 

 

Saying, "Yes."

I am feeling Jesus leading me to start a blog. I don't know exactly why yet. I am excited about the idea of it and will try to post when I feel the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This is actually a really great day to start the blog because our precious little boy, Connor, turned three years old!  
Today, God has reminded me to seek him first in sticky situations. He should be the one I turn to before venting my feelings aloud. It is so funny how my "feelings" often change after I have been on my knees. This reminds me of the amazing verses in Proverbs 3:5-6 that say, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." You know, he really does give us the peace he promises to give if we only lay it all at his feet.