Visiting with Friends

                     
                      Friday night we had friends over and it was a great time of fellowship for all.  These first few are just some stuff the kids were doing before the night got started.  Jacob has taught himself a new trick!  Our kids had a fun time just laughing and doing some silly stuff, later on it was coloring time, tricks with cups and some games.   A very fun night!
                         

Our week in Pigeon Forge Part 1-May 2014

    
    In mid May we went up to the Pigeon Forge area and spent the week.  It was such a nice time to be up there.  We met up with a couple families and enjoyed some time together on two different days.  These are pictures from 3 different days.  Mostly the last two because of all the excitement the first day we didn't get many.  It was a week away to celebrate Morgan's graduation.  She asked if we could go up and spend the night some place but we surprised her and planned our visit to last longer.  It was a wonderful week and one of our favorite family trips to remember.  

 

 

 

 

Samuel turns the big "5"!

 Samuel is such a sweet little boy.  He is very affectionate and loves to give a hug and kiss.  He always greets you each morning with a hug and "good morning" with a big smile ready to start the day.  Almost always the first one up too.   One day at the public library ( one of his favorite places to go) we discovered the old Superman shows from the 50's.  That was it for him, he quickly became a Superman fan.  So he wanted a Superman birthday, no request for gifts just the Superman theme.  We searched and searched for Superman things but mostly what we found was Spiderman.  So we went with lots of red, blues and yellows and it all came together really good.  The pictures don't show all the streamers and balloons but we finally ended up finding quite a bit of stuff.  Oh yes he did have 2 requests; Superman undies and Clark Kent glasses, I forgot about those.  I thought that was so funny, just what you'd hear from a 5 year old.    Now all our guys (and girls) are big Superman fans.  I need to get a picture of all of them with their Superman shirts on.  Of course Samuel and Stephen have capes on theirs.  For about two weeks straight Samuel would take his off at bedtime, we'd wash it and hang it to dry and then right back on him in the morning.  Little boys are so much fun and quite comical too.   Happy Birthday Samuel  (our Superboy) we love you!!!

 

 

No, my life is not a fairy tale!

Sometimes life just seems hard.  What will I make of it?  To live with self pity, to be angry, depressed to roll in the muck and mire?    A few weeks ago I was at the store and ran into someone that I really barely remember.  I felt bad but I just couldn't place her.  Apparently she knew I was "still" married and living the " fairy tale life" like I did in high school.  What?!?!?  My life was in NO WAY a fairy tale back then.  I really didn't know how to reply because no my life is not a fairy tale and never has been.  I have a great husband and wonderful kids but I do live in the real world and life is never easy nor a fairy tale.  I still don't know how she meant that, a bit hateful but almost with a sadness about her own life too.  When I ran into her that day I had been up the entire night before trying to figure out why people can be so mean and hurtful, I was reading over some of the meanest and ugliest "pins" from pinterest that were directed to me and my children.  Trying to figure out why grown adults can say things and think its okay.  Not to mention that it's okay to bring your children into it.  All Moms know that's a big no-no, don't mess with the kids, now you've really messed up!!!!! What I wanted to say but didn't- Yes, I am so thankful for my life!  It is rewarding when you see your kids making good choices, learning from mistakes and also learning that people can be mean and vicious but in spite of that learning to forgive.  It is hard work raising a family, teaching and training at home without any family support (other than my husband, obviously), trying to teach them what the Love of Jesus means because that is our greatest example of love!!  So lady that was so sarcastic to me, you know nothing about my life.  You don't know that I have a mother that lives 500 feet down the road but has chosen to once again forget she has a daughter, son in law and grandchildren that love and care about her.  For some reason she just has more important things to do.  What that could be I'll never know.  I should be used to it  by now but I'm not.  How do you understand when you and even the kids were told that she would never stop coming around again but here we go again!!!!  I can't make sense of it all, I'll never understand it.  So that's what I wanted to say to that lady but I didn't, I kept my mouth shut and just smiled because in a way I felt bad for her.  Her life probably didn't turn out the way she thought it would and neither did mine.  Never once did I imagine myself being so blessed as a wife and mother.  Maybe I should be more thankful for the grief I have went through with family, it made for a lot of great late night conversations with me and my husband trying to figure it all out.  Then when tired husband would go to sleep it would make for even more great conversation with me and the Lord.  So I guess it made me spend more time in prayer and for that I am very thankful.  So what did the Lord show me, here's one thing and I'm still trying to do it, I believe the Lord told me to be the Mother to my children that I wish I had with my own mother.  He showed me to not feel sorry for myself because I can't fix it and it might always be broken.  He gave us 8 children, 7 of which I have with me every single day.  Not to spend the day agonizing over what in the world went wrong but to teach them by example that life can be hard but with God's help and God's help only, we can make it. Life is full of a lot of disappointments, some can really hurt.  You can't make people love you and want to spend time with you no matter how much that was the way God intended for the family to be.  Sometimes it just doesn't happen!  But thankfully God always loves us, his love for us is constant  because we are his children, he created us!  Now that's what I need to be teaching the amazing love of God, so big and so beautiful we can never totally understand it.  So I've decided if I happen to run into that person again I'll tell her that her words really stuck with me,  my life is not a fairy tale or maybe actually it is, I guess it just depends on how you look at things.  I'm a Little House on the Prairie fan, I always wanted a Ma like Laura had when I was younger and when I grew up I wanted to be a Ma just like Caroline!   They faced so many struggles, were far from rich, dealt with loss, had to be content and satisfied and learn that less is usually better. Well I'm definitely not Caroline but my kids know that I love them.  Trust me that is really important. They have a Daddy that would do anything possible for them, that teaches them about God's Love, reads the Bible to them, spends his time with them and lets them know that his favorite thing to do is spend time with us!  That is an awesome Dad!!!!  So now that I think about it maybe my life is a fairy tale, just a Little House on the Prairie kind of fairy tale!!!  For that I'm thankful!  

Sarah's 6th Birthday

 

  

 

 

 

                                                                             

Making Memories

I love to make memories. My children are growing up so fast I wish sometimes I could hit the pause button. I was reminded of that tonight when my youngest girl Sarah started singing a song as I played it on the guitar. I'm not sure of the name of the song but it is from the movie "Summer Magic". It's one of the few movies we watch as a family. The song goes something like.."All I want to do, when the day is through, is linger here on the front porch with you". I really wish I could "linger" sometimes, but time goes on. My prayer is I make the most of the time God gives us. Sarah will be grown before Mom and I know it, but the scripture tells me that God can redeem the time that I sometimes waste and He can do that for you too. I pray you all have some "Summer Magic". I know I'm really enjoying this one.

Ephesians 5:15-16

English Standard Version (ESV)

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

Before You Click Send/Post/Pin

You meet them all the time. You know who I'm referring to. The person who claims to love and represent the Lord and then it happens. Yep, they open their mouths. I've seen this behavior for years and it hurts the cause of Christ. These mouth explosions pass and most mature Christians forget it and go on remembering the fall; but there has been something brewing over the past several years that is an alarming trend. Al Gore claims he started it, but we know better. It's called the INTERNET. Do you realize that some people think that using social media is like talking in a two way private conversation? They don't realize that delete doesn't take it away from this socialistic world and years later when attempting to get a job, or running for political office; it bites them. It's not a memory forgotten, it's recorded. We all need to be reminded of this and here is a great little article doing so:

http://www.paulchappell.com/2011/12/02/before-you-click-%E2%80%9Csend%E2%80%9D/

Going Private

We've decided to take the blog to a private status but would love to keep in touch with you.  If you would like an invite to continue reading our blog please send us a private email with your name and email address.  Our email is parrismissy@gmail.com!  Hope to stay in touch!

Mother's Day

We so enjoyed Mother's day and being able to celebrate with my wonderful wife and mom. So many mothers will not embrace this high calling as Missy does. I am so thankful for a Godly wife, mother, and friend. I'm copying a short article by Nancy Campbell from "Above Rubies". This lady truly loves the Lord and is an inspiration to all.....

Disarming the Gainsayers, No. 206

DISARMING THE GAINSAYERS 

Zechariah 8:12 (NLT), “I believe, therefore have I spoken.”  
“Who am I? Have you sighed these words on your difficult mothering days? It’s a good question, for if you don’t know who you are, you will flounder in life. Fortunately, it’s not a hard question to answer. God created you uniquely, like nobody else on earth, with special gifts that no one else has. But, transcendentally, you are a mother. You have an in-born urge to nurture. If you don’t want to mother children, you will find yourself mothering something else, maybe your pet dog or cat. It is distinctive to us as females.
  
God created you with a womb and with breasts to nurture and nourish life. Why not embrace who you are? Be the best at who God created you to be instead of running from it. Start enjoying it. Disarm the feminists! Disown the lies! Destroy the deceptions and delight in motherhood. 



Love from NANCY CAMPBELL 
http://aboverubies.org/

PRAYER: 

“I thank you, Lord, that you created me to be a mother. Help me to shine with your glory and lift up your truth wherever I go.”  

AFFIRMATION:

I am heralding the joy of motherhood wherever I go.

We will update with some pictures soon.......

Sammy

Short Term Missions

Great video on how important it is to keep the "Gospel" center in missions.......

Easter 2014

Resurrection Weekend: Forgiveness/Repentance/Judgement

I am often puzzled over the things "Christians" say I pray out of ignorance to God's Word. One of which is the understanding of Forgiveness, Repentance, and Judgement. Any beginning bible student hopefully understands that they are all linked.

Peter once asked Jesus how many times you are to forgive your brother......Here's Jesus talking....

Matthew Chapter 18 verses 15 - 22
   
¹⁵ “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. ¹⁶ But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. ¹⁸ Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed^[f] in heaven. ¹⁹ Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” ²¹ Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” ²² Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.
  . 
On another occasion, John (The Baptist) was baptizing those that were trusting in God in the Jordan River and in Matthew chapter 3 he says something quite strange from a "Worldly" perspective. Some of the Religious "Fake" leaders called Pharisees came to see what all the excitement was about......................

Matthew Chapter 3 verses 1 - 12 

1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ² “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” ³ For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare^[a] the way of the Lord;
    make his paths straight.’”

⁴ Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, ⁶ and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸ Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. ⁹ And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰ Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
¹¹ “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Sounds a little judgmental to the "knowledgeable" people today doesn't it. Please notice the reference to "fruit in keeping with repentance". This means that the Pharisees were fake because they wanted to be called "Righteous and Holy" without living out true Holiness. They were wanting to have Forgiveness and be Right with God, without CHANGING.

Then again there is the time when Jesus is talking about the "thorn" in the eye and not to "Judge", but please continue to read further....well, here it is from God's Word: 

Matthew Chapter 7 verses 1 - 7
      
 1“Judge not, that you be not judged. ² For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. ³ Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴ Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

Notice why he calls the "Fake" leaders here Hypocrites; because they will not look at themselves before looking at others to help them. So from this understanding it's not WRONG to point out another's faults in the right way, but you should make sure that you are right with God first.                .

Here is the point, if you take the ENTIRE council of God's precious Word, you will find that if you truly are sorrowful and want to change, you will, (Repentance) and you can have a right relationship with God and others and He and others will accept you, (Forgiveness) and you will not live under condemnation (Judgement) from the result of your wrong behavior.

Please understand, I'm not saying that you can be perfect, but it does mean if you have God in your life you will recognize when you fall and be quick to repent and seek forgiveness. If you're not willing to do this, I plead with you because you are standing in Judgement for your unholiness before God and your only escape is in trusting in the Life, Death, And Resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ. There would be no better weekend to do this than this Easter Weekend.

May God open your eyes,
Sammy