The Days of March

I realized tonight that it has been a month since I last blogged. Pitiful....p-i-t-i-f-u-l. I've been too busy living life this past month to actually write about it. It's been a super busy, exciting, and sometimes draining month. So, in an effort to put something fresh on the blog because I'm tired of looking at what I wrote a month ago, and to maybe jump-start my brain to say something new, here's a quick update of what March has involved.

LIFE Ministries began. Randy and I are enjoying working together so much and seeing all of the pieces of this dream God has given to us come together. We have worked so very hard, and have many busy months ahead, but we are energized as God gives us a vision to pursue. There is the exciting part of the early days of this new ministry, and we are blessed to have wonderful people sharing our dream and supporting us along the way. There's also the heartbreaking part as we talk with people almost daily in desperately hurting marriages. The enemy is relentless in his desire to destroy marriages that have reflected the heart of God in the past. We desire to offer hope and encouragement and support...but we hurt for those we love who are in so much pain. So, joy and sadness have filled our month.

We have been eagerly working on finishing our marriage book this month. There's a little more work to be done, but we hope to have it completed and in print by our LIFE Ministries Launch Banquet on April 30th. Keeping our fingers crossed!!!

We got to spend several days with my sister, her husband, and baby girl! It's so much fun to have 2 babies in the house! We love when they get to come to visit!

We spend last week in Florida visiting Randy's parents for our Spring Break. It was great to get away and enjoy some time with them. The weather stunk for the most part (in reality it didn't really stink - but it wasn't typical Florida weather which meant not much swimming), which was a bummer, and we had various illnesses between our boys, but we still had a good week away from the grind of work and school, and that was refreshing.

Sickness. There's been a lot of that over the last few weeks. Between 3 children we've had strep throat, ear infection, croup, vomit, fever, more vomit, terrible coughing, and more vomit. We're hoping that April brings good health for us all. We paid our dues this month!

And now we're down to just a few more days of this month. April will bring lots of activity and some fun times that we're looking forward to...Caleb's 8th Birthday, celebrating the resurrection of Christ, completing our book, preparing for and experiencing our LIFE Launch Banquet, a trip for me to GA to see Beth Moore with some girlfriends, and many more things I can't think of right now. Can't wait!

One of these days I'm going to do better about posting pics of the family...but that's not today!

Hitting the Wall

After an exciting, crazy, busy month of preparing for the launch of LIFE Ministries next Monday (oh my word, next Monday!!), caring for a 4 month old and making some transitions in his feeding, taking care of a very active 4 1/2 year old, and walking through all of the complexities of being an almost 8 year old in a not so nice world, I am EXHAUSTED! Let me say it again... EXHAUSTED!!! So tired this morning that I feel like I can barely put one foot in front of the other. So, I'm trying to slow it down today. Maybe no shower. I might not even brush my teeth... at least for a little while. I know...gross...but it would take so much effort right now. :-) I've got to take care of a sick little Brennan. And walk through the joys and confusion of figuring out what is making little Asher's world turn today. My to-do list would fill up a legal pad right now, but I gotta take a day and just chill a little bit. I am pooped! Praying for God to restore me physically. Praying for my mind to rest. Praying for my body to relax. I'm so excited about the new beginning that next week brings for me and Randy. We will continue doing much of the same work we've been doing, but there are also new ideas and new plans that God is bringing to us. So, even though I feel like I might not make it up the stairs in my house today without needing to lay down at the top, my mind and spirit are filled with joy and anticipation about what God is up to.

On another note, my sweet husband is blogging again after a 3 month break. Randy has a gift with sharing his heart and God's heart in him through writing. His new blog address is www.lifeministriesnow.blogspot.com. Check it out!

Things I'm learning

Well, a mild stomach bug has been making its way through our home over the last week, and I'm the current recipient of the bug. I had planned to make it to church this morning, but when I wasn't sure I was going to keep my breakfast down, I decided that was a bad idea... for me and for everybody there. So, I spent some time in the word courtesy of my Breaking Free Session 7 video with Beth Moore. These are a few things God spoke to me today through the study, that might be for someone else along with me...

Our passion will be birthed from our pain. As much as I hate the truth of that...because that means I will go through pain that I don't want to go through...I know it's true. I am passionate for things that I never would have been without the pain that I've experienced.

Self-protection is the #1 way we can work ourselves out of our callings. Whoa! I have a deep appreciation for self-protection. Have I missed part of my calling because I've protected myself from the very thing it would have been birthed from? This statement will have me thinking for days to come.

In our culture, irritation has been redefined as tribulation. How true... how many things consume my mind and emotions and feel so huge that are actually just irritations of living on this planet, with broken human beings. I can't let the irritating things that we all face on a daily basis steal away my joy or my focus to serve Christ... isn't that exactly what Satan wants?

God wants to clean the impurities that are deep within me... the unhealthy, impure, immature, handicapped places...He will allow me to go through things that will draw those impurities to the surface, so He can deal with them, free me from them, and make me healthier and more whole. Praise God that He is always at work within me to continue to clean, heal, restore, and make me more into His image. The very things I struggle through are the situations He's using to make me more like Christ. Embrace them. He's not done with me!!! Hallelujah!

I was led to listen to some Steven Curtis Chapman songs following my Bible study time, and I ran across this song... the lyrics to the chorus of "Much of You" are my prayer today...

I want to make much of You Jesus
I want to make much of Your love
I want to live today to give You the praise
That You alone are so worthy of
I want to make much of Your mercy
I want to make much of Your cross
I give You my life
Take it and let it be used
To make much of You

I am grateful that God is working in me every single day even through circumstances that seem to have no good to come from them... to make me into His reflection. He has a long way to go and His work is cut out for Him, but thankfully He knows that, and He's not giving up! I want to make much of Him today....and every day...


BTW, breakfast stayed down... Yea!

Frustration.... and some Pictures!

Well, after hours of trying to get videos loaded onto here, to no avail, I have given up on that for now and I am putting up some pictures to enjoy. I hope to figure out the video thing, but after hours of my computer sitting and doing nothing but saying it was doing something with no results, I have given up. So, here are the Hempboys!

Caleb at school last week in PE - Square Dancing!!!















Caleb & his dance partner, Sally, getting their groove on at the square dance.















My 3 sons... how sweet. This picture was taken on the first Sunday that Asher went to church.















Caleb & Brennan being goobers.














Brennan rocking his tobaggan!




















Asher...just being cute!




















Asher sitting in his Bumbo seat for the first time.




















Asher playing in the Megasaucer for the first time... oh the memories of C & B in that thing! Check out his hair - it all stands straight up every day!














February 6th - Asher's 4 month birthday




















I so wish I could include the videos... Caleb dancing, Brennan singing at his school's Muffins for Moms program, and Asher "talking" to Brennan one day. I think my files just may be too big, so maybe I'll figure out something else with them.

We had some snow today... it was fun, but sadly, the snow has stopped and now the yard is just a mess. But the boys got some playtime and Asher went out for a few minutes for pictures... but that was after I downloaded all of the others, so those pics will come soon. I can only handle so much at one time...

Well, I'm missing Opening Ceremonies so I have got to get back to that. This post only took half of my day... and there's not that much to show for it. Must be why I don't blog more!

LIFE

Where to begin? When you have a couple of weeks away from blogging, it feels a little overwhelming when you return to it to know where to start. Mine and Randy's lives have taken a major turn in January, and there's been so many things going on, that I've just not had the time to even sit down and write about any of it. Even though my to-do list is a mile long, I'm taking a few minutes to sit down here and try to start getting caught up. Besides the major life transitions, there's some things related to the boys I want to share too. So, guess I'll be doing a lot of posts (hopefully) to get caught up to present day life!

The major transition that God blew us away with in January is that we are starting a brand new ministry of our own called LIFE Ministries. We have been serving with dear friends over the last 2 1/2 years with a ministry called Encounter, but God decided it was time to shake us up a bit, and push us out of our comfortable boat and into the water on our own. We are super excited as we begin to plan and dream and follow God in this journey. We will be doing very similar ministry to what we have been doing with marriages, men, and women, but this also will open up new opportunities for us that we haven't even begun to dream about. We will taking the month of February to transition and prepare, and we will launch LIFE on March 1st. To say the we have a few things to do would be a major understatement. But even the parts of this that seem overwhelming are things we are enjoying because we feel such peace as we are moving forward. As a friend said to us a few days ago, "God must be all over this, because this is just crazy!" We agree! It is pretty nuts, but God has been all over it from the beginning, so we're stepping out in faith and obedience, and letting Him show us what's next. We could not do this without the prayers and support of our friends and families and we are so grateful to not be doing this all alone. We can't wait to see what God wants to do with this. I'll update as we take the next steps.

I hope to get back on here in the next day or so to share new pictures of Asher at 4 months - which he turns today, and some video of Caleb square dancing at school - so sweet! And I'll throw in some of Brennan just being himself, which is funny enough!

One more thing... if you read this blog, click the "follow" button over there on the right. I'd love to know who is following our life and ministry. Thanks!

Jesus is LIFE!

17 Years Ago

Today is a very special day, because it marks the 17 year anniversary of the day I met my wonderful husband Randy. We were the very young age of 18 when we met on our way to a Baptist Student Union retreat with a group of students from Campbell University in Buies Creek, NC. Funny how when we got onto the school vans that day we had no clue that we'd meet the person we'd spend the rest of our lives with. I still remember what I was wearing that day... nothing special, but I remember. On our way to the location of the retreat, where we slept on church floors (ouch!), we stopped at someone's parent's house to eat, and that's where we met. Near a pool table I believe. He and his roommate and me and my roommate. And a friendship began. The four of us hit it off and ended up spending most of the retreat together. We had some hilarious times that weekend. Shannon and I returned back to school thinking that we had met our 2 newest best friends... and how excited we were to think they weren't interested in anything but friendship! I pictured all of the fun things we'd all do together, and was relieved that there was no pressure to date.

Well, we girls were mistaken. It didn't take long for Randy and his roommate to make their move. Funny thing was that they indicated that either one of them would be interested in going out with either one of us. How's that for romantic? A hilarious week ensued, and fortunately for me, Randy and I ended up going out that following Friday, January 29th on our first date. And I fell asleep. But only because I was so exhausted from hanging out with him all week already! We ate Chinese food. We went to see "A Few Good Men" (where I fell asleep). We rode in Randy's old truck that sounded more like an airplane than a vehicle...we had to yell to talk to each other in it! And six weeks later we were talking about the possibility of getting married one day.

Oh, how young and silly we were. But there's something very sweet and innocent about those days. Our entire adult lives were ahead of us. We had dreams for the future and we wanted to spend that future together. We had no idea what lay ahead. And we still don't. But God blessed me beyond words that January 22nd, 17 years ago, when we gave me the honor of meeting such a wonderful man. I love Randy with all of my heart. I certainly don't deserve the beautiful life and marriage that we share. He is a Godly man, who loves the Lord more than anything, and spends each day serving me and his 3 sons. I am humbled that God chose someone so special for me. I wouldn't want to live a day without him.

Randy, I can't adequately express to you how thankful to God I am that 17 years ago I began this journey with you. You are simply wonderful. In every way. You make me laugh. You make me feel safe. You love me well. You love our boys well. Happy "Beginnings" Anniversary! We've only just begun to live the life God has called us to. I am so thankful that you are the person I will share it with. Thank you for being you...I love you always.

(Picture is from our 13th Anniversary, June 2008 - not 17 years ago. Picture from back then would have involved bigger hair and big glasses. Not so pretty!)

What God Has Done

God has done so much for me. I don't even know how to adequately describe all that He has done. He has saved me from eternal separation from Himself. He has saved me from myself. He has saved me from much of what this world has to offer. I am overwhelmed today by His saving mercy. Almost 9 years ago, I started down a path of complete destruction. I veered off the path of following Christ, and began following my own wants and desires in order to fill an emptiness within... places unhealed. And I ended up so far down in a pit of destruction that I saw no way to ever get out, much less be healthy or whole. I wanted my life to end, because it no longer had any value in my eyes. And the pain of the life I made for myself was almost unbearable. And then Jesus came. Wow. Even typing those words, I can once again feel the depth of His embrace of me in my darkest, most painful hour. He came... for me. And pulled me up out of the pit of darkness and despair. And every day, every hour, oftentimes every minute, He reminded me of His love for me and of my value to Him. How overwhelming. I had nothing to offer, and found out that He knew that already, and wasn't needing me to offer anything anyway. I was desperate for His grace, and He gave it in abundance. I was desperate for His mercy, and it was vast. I was desperate for Him to heal me, and He cleansed every wound. I was desperate to be whole, and He filled me to overflowing.

That process with Him began 6 years ago this month. My life has not been easy during that time... MUCH transition, much loss, much seeking, but He continues to come. My walk with Him has had some of the most beautiful times I have ever known. And there have been days when I didn't know how to complete a sentence in prayer. But I stand amazed in His presence this morning... longing for more of Him, longing for His touch, His presence, His peace to fill my heart, His vision for my life. I long to know Him, and to share Him with others. I long to be a voice that cries out of His grace and mercy, so that others may know and believe that it is available to them too. I long to fill His tender embrace today, and to offer it to my husband, my children, and to anyone I can.

Jesus is enough. He is enough for our pain, for our fears, for our questions. He came to heal us. By HIS wounds we are healed, the scripture says. He came to make us free. I choose freedom. It is mine, and I feel it to my bones today. I want to become ever-more free as I walk with Him.