Last night was my nephew Caleb’s 14^th b-day celebration at my in-laws. I’ve shared before that it’s always a good and relaxing escape to go over and be with them and Mark’s brother and sister and their families. You know it’s really funny, my father-in-law is quite the jokester and you’d never know from the outside looking in. But he always thinks of funny things to do, and actually does them in order to preserve a memory for his kids and grandkids. Like making funny videos, and building canjos. Gretel does lots of things to build memories too. They’ve made movies, scrapbooks for each grandchild of their lives, Gretel makes a quilt for each child when they graduate, that is patterned for whatever they’re interests and color preferences are. When Mark and I got married Meagan was 7. They went right to work to do anything to blend Meagan in as a grafted in grandchild so that now she feels like she was planted there.

Well Debbie brought over a video that Ray had made of the grandkids in 1998. He comes out and says his little funny opener and then interviews each grandchild. It was hilarious. It’s so funny how similar their mannerisms are today compared to ten years ago. It was really sweet when Ray said “We’re missing one of our grandkids today. Meagan’s not here. So we’re gonna let Adam tell you about her.” Then Adam proceeded to describe her. It was so funny when he said “Oh, she LOVES to watch me play video games.” It’s funny because the truth is that Adam loved Meagan to sit and watch him play video games, but she only did it when she bargained for him to do whatever she wanted in return.

As I think back to those 10 years ago, so much has happened. There was no Chloe in that video, and I’m not sure anyone thought there would ever be a Chloe. Three of those kids have graduated high school. One’s in his final year of college, but in the video he said he was just going to be a car mechanic. We’ve all had extreme ups and extreme downs and been through things we didn’t expect, and weren’t sure we could endure. I bet Ray and Gretel at times thought it was tough to endure having some days of baby-sitting all 8 of the grandkids in the summer. Just when the 7^th was almost ready to start school, Mark and I said “Guess what!” putting 5 more years on them to be the day care. Somehow, I don’t think they’d have it any other way. I look back on times when Chloe was a baby, and the ear infections. The entire night after night after night of crying. Living with 5 people in an 1100 square foot house, with Chloe in the room with us until she was 2. The stomach problems with Chloe. The times when Adam was young and would be scared at night. The times when Meagan’s Asthma would require breathing treatments, and trip after trip to the Dr. The time when Mark had a bleeding ulcer and almost died. The time one year ago when we didn’t know if I was going to have major reconstructive kidney surgery or not. Kids getting speeding tickets. Kids having car problems. On and on and on and on the list could go and still continues to go. My sister-in-law told me years ago “that which does not kill me, makes me stronger” and it’s true

I don’t about you today, but I am really needing the hope of tomorrow. I think back to the times Chloe was little or sick, and I thought she would never sleep for an eight hour stretch in her entire life, but now she does. I know that many of us look at our country, or our churches, or our finances, or our kids, or our marriages, and a host of other things in our every day lives and think “This is it. It will never get better.” I understand. I’m right there with you questioning what I should give up on, what I should keep hoping and praying for, what direction I should take.

Matthew 7:7-11“Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This isn’t a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we’re in. If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? If he asks for fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? As bad as you are, you wouldn’t think of such a thing. You’re at least decent to your own children. So don’t you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?

Why is it that we so often think that those words mean anything other than exactly what it says?  God hasn’t changed, at all.  His promises remain.  For some reason we (including Christians) are in panic mode.  I’m not blind.  Things around us are terrible.  The Bible has told us this will happen.  Why are we so utterly shocked???

2 Timothy 3:1-5Don’t be naive. There are difficult times ahead. As the end approaches, people are going to be self-absorbed, money-hungry, self-promoting, stuck-up, profane, contemptuous of parents, crude, coarse, dog-eat-dog, unbending, slanderers, impulsively wild, savage, cynical, treacherous, ruthless, bloated windbags, addicted to lust, and allergic to God. They’ll make a show of religion, but behind the scenes they’re animals. Stay clear of these people.

But we are not doomed. God will rescue us. Over and over He rescues us. We realize how dependant we are on Him when things are terrible, but we are equally as dependant on Him when things are wonderful.

2 Corinthians 1:8-11We don’t want you in the dark, friends, about how hard it was when all this came down on us in Asia province. It was so bad we didn’t think we were going to make it. We felt like we’d been sent to death row, that it was all over for us. As it turned out, it was the best thing that could have happened. Instead of trusting in our own strength or wits to get out of it, we were forced to trust God totally—not a bad idea since he’s the God who raises the dead! And he did it, rescued us from certain doom. And he’ll do it again, rescuing us as many times as we need rescuing. You and your prayers are part of the rescue operation—I don’t want you in the dark about that either. I can see your faces even now, lifted in praise for God’s deliverance of us, a rescue in which your prayers played such a crucial part.

Speaking of terrible times……………my morning.

I got up late and had to take a shower, which I always shower at night, but didn’t last night. Chloe’s alarm wasn’t set, so she sleeps late. Everything’s sort of ok time-wise ‘cause I’ve already decided I’m just going to leave the house in it’s super tornadic state. Then at about 7:32 or so………………….the phone rings. (My hair is still damp, I’m not dressed.) I run upstairs to find the phone. When I find it, it stops ringing. My cell phone rings and Chloe gives it to me, it’s Meagan. Meagan is telling me some long drawn out story about how she’s going to come home with a friend, come to my work and interview Marvin for a school project, and then have Cole take her back to school. In the meantime the house phone rings again. Mark’s on one ear, Meagan the other. It’s 7:38, I’m still not dressed. I’m in the bathroom, and I hear, “Mommy, Mommy, where are you.” Chloe runs in, semi crying. “I lost my other tooth, it hurts so bad. 7:40, not dressed. You can figure out the rest.

http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=264421e8e43eb04839f9