teary-eyed...

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27

That was the scripture verse in one of my devotionals from this past week that I didn't get to read until today. This weekend was a great one on so many levels, and a sad one on others. Richard and I took the kids to Hot Springs with another family we are blessed to be friends with and spent the weekend fishing on the boat, eating...fishing...eating...you get the picture. It was a great, relaxing weekend. My kids got to go "tubing" for the first time...I could hear them laughing from the balcony of the condo we were in as my husband drove them past the area in the boat. It was such a sweet sound.

My husband and both the husband and wife of the other couple we were with are active duty members of the Air Force, and getting to spend Memorial Day weekend with them was great. I hope you all took the time to thank a member of our armed forces this weekend, and took the time to remember those that have fallen in our country's defense. My grandmother's brother died in WWII in the Battle of the Bulge..here's a link to his memorial page..http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=56280135
He never got to meet his child that was born after he left for war. Those were such different times from today..when my husband deploys or goes TDY, we can call each other, Skype, email..all kind of communication that make the separation somewhat easier. When my grandfather and my great-uncle were off to war, all they had was the postal service to deliver what I can assume was far between letters as they relocated from one place to the other. My grandmother took pictures of my aunt that was born after Grampy left for war and sent them to him on a regular basis. He did not get to meet her until she was 3 years old. THREE YEARS OLD. Kind of makes me feel silly for complaining about a 6 month deployment here and there. Those are the heroes that we need to remember..the ones that have put their lives on the line..physically and emotionally to defend our country's freedoms.

This weekend also marked a day of sadness for a local family that had to say goodbye to their sweet angel that had been battling an illness so bravely for several months..Katie Caroline Ward was 6 years old when she went to meet Jesus on Saturday. 6 years old. My baby girl is 7 years old. I can not imagine the pain that this family is going through knowing they will have to go on without her.
I have always been thankful for my children, but somehow this story has caused me to see them in a much different way...I've been slower to chastise for silly things, and have come to tears hearing their laughter with the thought of never being able to hear it again. Please pray for the Ward family.

Please also continue to pray for Rachel's classmate and friend Madalyna as she continues to fight her battle against Faconi Anemia and is recovering from her bone marrow transplant. She has a long road ahead of her.

Please pray for the families in Missouri, Oklahoma and Alabama that are rebuilding their lives entirely after the recent tornadoes that have ravaged their areas. Many have lost their homes, but many have also lost loved ones that can not be replaced.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27


This scripture is resounding in my heart tonight as I reflect on the lives lost that this weekend honors..the lives lost in the last few weeks to illness and the damage of nature...to the lives that will be saved eternally because in some way they have seen Jesus through these happenings..to the lives that are struggling with their faith because of these happenings...

Pray for your loved ones..reach out to your friends and families in need..hug your babies and listen to what they have to say as they tug at your shirt. You never know when you may not have that opportunity again.