The Beach - 10 Years Later

Once upon a time there was a young family. Through the years, these parents took their three kids on an annual vacation to the beach. Myrtle Beach, to be precise. Twelve consecutive years of memories made. Eventually other events took priority and the kids grew up. 

Lo and behold, ten years pass with no beach vacations, when the parents have a brilliant idea. "Even though they are grown, two in college and one married, maybe they might still want to spend a week with their parents and each other in the South. In March."

Much to the parents' surprise and delight, the answer was yes! Some very generous and kind friends offered us their beach house. We hit the road a few weeks ago and this is what it looked like.

backseat shenanigans - brothers will always pester younger sisters

After a 14 hour drive, it took us approximately 15 minutes to empty the car and get ourselves outside.

It seems we had enough to satisfy our sweet tooths (teeth?)

Something on Drew, Ben and Ally's to-do list was to visit one of the many souvenir shops they frequented as children. And take a picture.

Which led me to dig this out. Turns out it was taken on our last trip. Did I mention it was 10 years ago?

waaaaaa!

God gave us day after day of abundant sunshine and warm temps.

This is pretty much what we did all day.

This guy here got some new sunglasses.

For a whole day I kept looking at him and wondering who he reminded me of. I couldn't rest until I figured it out.

Do you see it too?  Any guesses?


Ahhhhhhh yes......Dr. Nefario from Despicable Me.....of course!


Because Brittany is officially a Burtis now and certainly fits in with the family nonsense - she made her father-in-law a friend.

Do you see it now? Imagine the white lab coat.

You should really pray for this patient man. He doesn't deserve us.

Yay for beach toys!

We got in trouble for leaving this hole (which was much deeper than shown here). Apparently a deer was euthanized just the week earlier after falling in a similar hole. They are illegal on the beach. It's an official ordinance. Who knew?
PS..turtles can fall in too - which is also frowned upon.

                   Gorgeous sunrises...for those who got up early enough to see them.

Some, who will remain unnamed, even after years of experience with sunburns still prefer to learn the hard way, even though they are gently reminded (not nagged) to use sunscreen.

Natural consequences

Chocolates do not make that mistake and can stay in the sun longer. Mocking their mother's hat, however, is completely unnecessary.




This is what we did one day to keep the vanillas occupied.

I asked for one picture here under the pier - just one - and this is what I got. If you know these people, you probably know which one (think blue shirt, black shorts) started this shenanigan.

Every night we played games, all sorts. So much fun. Endless ridiculous humor.

But the best part of the week - the very best thing of all - also happened around this table.

Before we arrived, Scott gave us an assignment. We were to take turns giving a family devotion. One night per person. Can I just tell you what a gift this was?

We sat around that table for almost an hour each evening after dinner, everyone with their own Bible, discussing and commenting on the content chosen by the speaker. So many important things said. Weaknesses were confessed, struggles shared, while hope in God and His Word was declared as the ultimate goal.

Night after night God gave us a glimpse into the work He is doing in each of the hearts and lives of our children. Amazing.

Fellow moms who want to raise awesome kids, may I encourage you to make dinner a priority in your home? No electronics. No tv. Just full on eye contact and important topics intentionally brought to the table with the expectation that everyone participates. 

Insist on it. This is where the fruit we are hoping will appear in their adult lives begins growing.

Hard times will come to all, but a firm foundation has been laid that will give them something to always stand on if it is chosen.

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the truth. 3 John 4

                       (and that they still want to go on vacation with their parents)

Maybe It's Not That Hard

Lots of negative things going on these days. Bad things happening in the news.  Endless political bickering. Worrisome future government. One could get discouraged. One might wonder what God would want His children to do.

Lots of theories flying around. Seems like everyone has an opinion on what the right thing to do is. I've been reading and listening to all of them, probably like you. One thing is for sure, there aren't many unified thoughts. 

We need to have something firm to hold on to. 

I've been reading through the Bible these first months of the year and like a true type A book nerd, have also been taking note of themes (yes I am an underliner!) and repetitions because they are intentional and need to be noticed (and/or highlighted). In these first five books that may seem boring and irrelevant at first glance I'm finding what seems too simple to be true. A clear, uncomplicated proposition from Almighty God our Heavenly Father, to us, sinful man.

 God created man out of His enormous capacity to love. He wanted (and still wants) a people to call His own who will obey His Word and reflect His amazing character to everyone else.

See for yourself:

That's it - over and over again.

The privilege of this offer of relationship should be reward enough but God is the greatest most generous gift giver of all times (James 1), which means there is more. Reward! Blessing! If we do things God's way, we get all sorts of promises.  Check it out:

Earlier I wrote that when we are tempted to confusion, we need something firm to hold onto. The reason is that if we don't, we'll fall for anything. This is very dangerous when you live in a slick, slimy pop culture news media driven society.

I had an emotional conversation with a sweet friend the other day. Through tears she explained, "But a long time ago, many times, I asked God to tell me if what I was doing was wrong and I never got an answer. He was silent. And now I'm here and I still don't know what to do."

Because I've been around the block a few times and have come to understand what the Bible says about her issue, I know the answer she asked for. It's not complicated and it's not confusing. It's clear. In the Bible.

God isn't going to answer that kind of prayer in some new way. He already has. See, here's the thing - we'll know what to do if we read His Book.  God knew we would need help and instruction, so He took the time and effort to write it all down and preserve it for us and every generation to follow. What a gift!

That's the simplicity of it all. She was aching and crying because she is so much deeper into a situation that she as a Christ-follower never should have entered. Because she didn't "hear" an answer to her prayers, she just did what felt right.  Basically what her heart wanted to do in the first place.

My heart went out to her in her pain (because I've been there and done the same thing) and I gently responded, "God already given the answer in the Bible". Telling someone that there are times when prayer is unnecessary sounds kind of sacrilegious, doesn't it?   

But it's true.

If we spend time reading and understanding God's Word (often referred to as His love letter to us) we will find black and white instruction to countless areas we may in our ignorance, think are grey or not even mentioned. But they are!

Which brings me back to the current state of affairs in our world. How can one group of Christians be in one camp and another group diametrically opposed? What's a Christian to do and how is a Christian to vote? Will God tell us what to do? Or is He indifferent about it?

At the risk of sounding simple and uneducated, both of which I admittedly am, I suggest the following:

• What if we spend more time reading our Bibles than reading editorials and popular opinion?
• What if we vote according to which candidate's views and agenda is closest in line with the Biblical values we claim are important to us in every other area of life?
• What if we choose a leader who is most similar to the character and integrity of true Biblical heroes/champions of our faith?

And that brings us right back to the Bible again.

Buried in these ancient pages we will find countless examples of strong, effective leadership that resulted in the positive physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being of its followers.  We will also find the very opposite characteristics and the horrible consequences suffered.

I fear some have been duped by culture and not realize it. Perhaps we've traded desires - Biblical values for earthly comfort and security.

Beth Moore, my favorite Bible teacher, once said, "If we aren't actively fighting the culture and making daily counter cultural choices based on our faith, then you can bet we've already been sucked in." I was raising pre-teens and teenagers at the time and took it to heart with a vengeance. She was referencing Romans 12:1, 2. I like the way the Message translates those verses:

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Believe God loves you and wants you to be part of the people He will call His own.
Be the people He longs to call His own by obeying His commandments out of love for Him.
Show that love to others.
Don't worry about your physical, earthly well-being. That's God's job and He's promised to take care of you to the end.
Fix your eyes on Him and do not fear.
Be diligent in displaying God's reflection and character in everything you do and say while aligning yourself with those endeavoring the same goal.

 Blessings or curses? The choice is ours. Just like all those Old Testament passages describe. (I think Deuteronomy is fast becoming my favorite one!)

Maybe we will find we don't even need to pray about some things very much, because the answers are right there in black and white.

We really are the keepers of Good News. We should be the most peaceful and confident people in every room. Let's act that way. 

There is a world of confused people who would benefit from following our lead.