Answered Prayer in April

It was a silly request.

We had received free tickets to see the Mets play at Shea Stadium in April. We are all big Met fans. They will be tearing down Shea at the end of the season. We really wanted to get there before it was demolished. But they were calling for rain.

So we asked God to stop the rain. We asked for a dry Shea. It seemed silly to ask for such a thing. With so much going on in the world, so many people needing His help. It seemed so insignificant. To ask the Lord of the Universe to keep His hand over a baseball stadium so we could watch our favorite team play a game.

Just a week before we went to our first small group meeting. We met some amazing people. We discussed prayer. We talked about asking, really asking for what help you need even if it seems small to us. To not add the 'if it is Your will, Lord'. To to just ask, straight out. Without the fear of getting no for an answer.

We asked the Lord to stop the rain. Even though He didn't have to do it, He did. We were able to watch the entire game without one raindrop (I even had four ponchos waiting in my bag if we needed them).

The Lord did shower blessings on us. We watched a fun baseball game (the Mets won by the way...), my husband totally enjoyed being at Shea one more time (it brought me such joy to see the expression on his face...), we were able to spend really good quality time with our older two children without the baby, the baby bonded with her grandmother back in NJ and we were able to praise the Lord together as a family in the parking lot of Shea Stadium.

Isn't that the way God works? You think you know what you want or need and He can give that to you but then He gives you so much more...

Hold on to these memories

What do you remember from your childhood?

As I put my scrapbook pages together, I imagine my children's faces, their eyes, their hearts as they might be all grown up.

What would they want to know, what would they want to remember about their childhood?

I hope they will be able to look back at these scrapbooks and learn about themselves. That through these pages they will be able to see little pieces of themselves. The Lord is using each of these memories to build them into the person He knows they are. I pray they will celebrate each one and know that God was with them with each and every step.

What a Beautiful Spring Day

Fourteen years ago today I married my best friend and sweetie. It was a beautiful spring day. I did not grow up with a picture or dream of what my wedding day was going to look like but as our day unfolded I knew that everything was just as it was supposed to be. Simple, muted colors, beautiful blue sky, an outside ceremony with a small group of family and friends, delicious finger foods....

We did not know the Lord on our wedding day. That would come later in our journey. On this day we were lost yet searching and the Lord blessed us even though. We were married by a retired pastor. After the ceremony I remember thinking that he brought more 'God' into his words than I thought he was going to based on our previous meeting. I look back now and KNOW that the Lord was there in the midst of our marriage ceremony, blessing our union and maybe even whispering...'I am here, in your marriage, I am here.'

This morning, so many years later I was blessed yet again by a husband who now loves the Lord. Who honored me today by talking to me about spiritual matters. As we talked about what we believed about a certain theological question I again knew that the Lord was whispering to me "I am here...". More than our love, more than our friendship, what my marriage has become is two believers, knit together, taking this faith journey together, hand in hand. I am blessed beyond words to be married to such a faithful man. Happy Anniversary, Sweetie.