My Wedding Dress

My sweet friend Sheila Williams is doing something so touching and special, that maybe one day I will do it too. She just started this over the summer with her daughter-in-law. They knit baby blankets for the babies in the NICU. They are called Kangaroo Blankets. It is so the baby and the mom/dad can have skin to skin contact. The babies seem to respond and get better faster.

Another neat ministry she is doing, called Threads of Love, is much more heart wrenching. It is to sew outfits for the tiny pre-mature babies who die. Many of them do not fit into anything for their burial. She told me that women donate their wedding dresses for the cause. So that is what I did. I did not get my wedding dress heir loomed like most do. It was tucked away in my closet. It was fun to try it on one last time--there were no photos for this!! I am not the size I was back then, but at least I could get it zipped.

It was fun to let the girls put it on. They had a blast.

Here is Katie in her momma's wedding dress.




And here is Lisa.
It was so much fun to see my girls wearing my dress.



I bought that dress for $200.00 at Bride's Mart back in 1997. It is a cream-colored dress that was perfect for an island wedding. It fit almost perfectly except the length. The funny thing is that when I went to put it on for our wedding, it still had that "do not steal from the store" alarm thingy in it. I wonder if the lady who altered my dress thought I stole it.


Our wedding was anything but perfect, and so has been our marriage. God has performed mighty miracles in our lives and I am so thankful for this man whom God gave to be my husband.



Mike and I on our wedding day (we look so young--I was 25 and Mike was 29)
October 21, 1997
St Thomas, USVI.



This is my very favorite picture from our wedding.

It was not hard to want to donate my dress. My prayer for Lisa and Katie is that they get to wear white dresses for their wedding, that they do not conform to the world or follow their "hearts". That they remain pure until their wedding night.

Create in them a pure heart, O God, and let that purity of heart be shown in their actions. (Psalm 51:10)

Jury Duty and a good book

On Monday I had to go fulfill my civic duty. Of course I really didn't WANT to, but after getting there, it was not so bad.
I was potential juror #15. It was in civil court over a custody battle between a mother and a father who both claimed to love their elementary age boys. Neither parent had major issues, one may have had a bout with depression and the other was wealthy. The attorney asked me my opinion after hearing everybody else give theirs. I thought how selfish this mom and dad were being. I essentially said that and needless to say, they did not pick me.

I lost my parking ticket while fulfilling my civic duty and had to fork over $16. I could not believe that. I would have only had to pay $8 for all day parking. I know I lost it when I had to empty my pockets to get into the justice center. I cried. I just did. Crying did not make me feel any better, and knowing I get $6 for the day did not help. It is robbery--I bet the parking lot attendant makes minimum wage, plus it is not like the whole parking lot was empty (or full). The person/people/city are making money on parking. To have to pay DOUBLE--that is insane.

OK, enough of that.

I am reading a wonderful book by the president of World Vision called "The Hole in our Gospel." I am only half way through, but it is humbling and inspiring. Richard Stearns talks about his own journey from a corporate CEO to the CEO of World Vision. He talks about how in America we have a shallow and diminished view of the world and poverty and advancing the kingdom of God. That is so true, as I sit here behind a computer in an air conditioned home with running water and electricity and a refrigerator full of food and a closet full of clothes.

I think it is going to boil down to this- obedience to God. After all, is not obeying God the way to tell if we really know God?

Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. 1 John 2:6

We do sponsor 2 little girls in Honduras through World Vision, help the homeless here in San Antonio, and also do "microfinancing" through Kiva, but it is not enough and we can do more.

Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it is written: "He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little." 2 Corinthians 8:13-15

There is a quote from John MacArthur in this book: "The true gospel is a call to self-denial. It is not a call to self-fulfillment."

Learning about God's faithfulness

The summer has gone by so fast. Tomorrow we go get registered for school. It already starts in two weeks.

Today we came home from our "one last hoo-rah" before school starts.

We went to the coast for a short get-away. It could've been shorter as far as I am concerned. It started with a stinky RV--whoever used it last didn't empty the sewer line, so Mike came to the rescue and emptied it at 1:00 in the morning (my hero). I don't know if that had anything to do with the roaches in there this time. I HATE roaches. Can't stand the little suckers. They freak me out. Then the flip flops I wore rubbed my feet the wrong way and I had two sores on the tops of my feet. Good times.

But I must say, the beach was clean and the girls had a blast. Yesterday I got a free coffee from the restaurant we got our food to go from. That is always fun. The air conditioner was working in the RV. We are home now and that is good.

This morning I got to have my quiet time on the beach and God really showed me how faithful He has been in my life. The song on Pandora was "It is Well With My Soul" and I turned in my journal to two years ago in August when we had mom at the coast with us. That is when she fell and fractured her hip and everything seemed to go downhill from there.

In light of the uncertainty and moments of wondering if we were doing the right thing, God was there carrying me through those times. He was reaching for Cindy, He was showing me how to love my mom in her state of dementia, He was teaching me patience with Lisa and Katie and mom. He was showing me what kind of husband He has given me. Most important, that He loved my mom.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:8