Dealing with Life's Disappointments

Hello, everyone,
It is a beautiful day here in Overland Park, KS. Our weather has been so lovely lately. I'm not working today, so I have been puttering around here. Haven't gotten as much done today as I wanted to. Oh well, tomorrow is a new day and I'll be back to work.
Have you ever been disappointed? We all have. I have just recently been going through a disappointing situation in my own life. How do we deal with that? A friend of mine pointed out a passage in one of the books that I have listed in my favorites section, "Classic Christianity" by Bob George. In the following quote from this book, Mr. George is speaking of the necessity of the Christian to live out Romans 12:1-2 in his life. This is the passage where Paul exhorts us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice completely to God, so that we may be transformed by God's power. Mr. George is saying that we must surrender all of our rights in this life to God and then live with a thankful spirit. "One of the most fundamental things that we are surrendering to Christ is all claim to personal rights...I'm talking about things we tend to demand from life-things like a right to happiness, the right to be noticed, the right for life to be fair, the right to be appreciated, the right to get my own way. There's a very simple reason why this must be so: You can't hold on to rights and maintain a thankful spirit at the same time. The essence of a life of faith is a thankful heart."
Whoa! I have no rights! That is exactly right. I have no rights. I must give them all to Jesus. When I do that, I am free from being disappointed when I don't get my way! When I do receive gifts, I can be thankful for these "extra things." This is a hard teaching, but one we must seek to embrace.
I would like to hear any of your thoughts on this subject. Write and tell me how you have been learning to live this out in your own life.

Vacation Bible School

Hello, everyone! It has been VBS time again this week! What a week! We traveled back in time to the land of Egypt and learned about Moses, the children of Israel and the ten plagues. We had nearly 40 different children ranging in age from newborn to 15 years old. Each night was a busy time as we started with singing and story, puppets and a visit from King Pharaoh himself! We took our groups around to four different stations where we had snacks, did crafts, learned Bible verses and played games outside. We all returned to the auditorium for an ending time. We had several children from the neighborhood! I'm so glad to be a part of a church that wants to reach out to others. Tomorrow is our program at 11 am. The second two pics are from our "worker party" Friday evening. Hope to hear from some of you soon!

Hello, everyone! I have a new nephew! His name is Karson Jay Wright and he was born on July 18, 2008. He is a very beautiful, perfect little guy. My brother Michael has been so excited to be having a boy! He described himself recently as having ADD! Little Karson joins his big sissies, Luanna, Esther and Juli. He's going to have the ride of his life with three girls older than him!!! Here is a pic of his sweet little face. Enjoy!

Hello, again, all you in blogger land...just wanted to share some of the words of the song that I sang this AM at church...have you ever felt that no one cares about you? We all feel that way at some time or other in life...

"He cares when you're troubled and the whole world seems wrong.
He cares when the trials try to silence your song
He cares when you're lonely, though you laugh with the throng
Jesus, cares.

Yes, Jesus cares
He cares when your heart aches
Take Him your many burdens
Jesus Cares." -John W. Peterson

"Casting all your care upon Him for He careth for you." I Peter 5:7

Hi, everyone! I wanted to show you this pic of my mom and dad's "new to them" house. They recently purchased this house in Gardner, KS. They are now about 30 min from where I live. The house has three bedrooms and 2.5 baths. It's so nice and light inside, that you hardly need many lights on in the daytime. The kitchen and Living Room and dining area are all basically open to each other which they really liked. It's great for hosting gatherings which my mom and dad like to do. Hope all of you are doing well...it would sure be nice to hear from some of you...

My New Laptop Part 2

Hello, everyone. This is my first blog post that I have posted using my new laptop! It is quite the sleek machine...Windows Vista...wide screen...clear, crisp graphics...voice and video calling capability...web cam...you name it...WOW!
Tonight, I went with my parents to their church in Olathe. On Sunday evening, they have a more cottage prayer meeting type of service. We sang several songs and prayed. The pastor led a Bible study through part of the book of Jonah. Jonah is an interesting book. We find a man who thought that somehow he would be happy without God! He is just like so many people in our world today. They run from God and try to find their "Tarsus." But, they never find what they are really looking for...peace with God. We didn't finish the book of Jonah tonight, but I already know that Jonah did realize that obedience to God is the only way to live. I'm glad that God gives us second and third chances to obey Him! Aren't you?

My New Laptop

I have finally joined the 21st century! I bought a laptop last night with my tax stimulus check. I'm doing my part, I guess. I called my brother Jonathan, who is a true computer lover, and asked him where I should look for one...well a few hours later, I was the proud owner of a Toshiba, larger size model! On sale at Best Buy! Then, he got it going on the set up. Now, if I can just figure out how to get onto my wireless network!!! Now, you can see why I'm glad I have two brothers and a dad who are computer geeks! Funny, though, MANY years ago, Jonathan used to beg me to play Pacman with him....little did I realize how things were going to turn out!!!