THE SHOCK FAMILY

Here it is...  I am Charlie Brown -- Satan is Lucy -- I keep falling for the same old lies! Proverbs 26:11 As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly .  Everytime I watched this cartoon as a kid, I always just wanted to scream at him  "Stupid Charlie Brown! Why are you falling for it ONCE AGAIN?????"  Is that not what we do all the time?  same old lie, maybe packaged a little differenly . My friend Jane pointed this word picture out to me last week.  I keep thinking about it, and it has helped me sooo much!  I am putting this picture up all over my house...  I will NOT kick the football! watch video here: http://www.hgtv.com/videos/the-elusive-football/8751.html

My only sister! She thinks I will have nothing to say about her... believe me, I have plenty! Kath is 13 years older than I am, and I am pretty sure I have been following along in her footsteps my whole life.  From being a majorette, to homeschooling, to reformed theology...  the way that she has lived has so much shaped who I am!   Of all of the women I have talked about so far, I have to say...  she is my favorite!  Can I say that :)???  All of the others have come in and out of my life due geographics and circumstances beyond our control...  but Kath...  she has been the one "constant" in my life.  She has always been there...  no matter how far apart we live!   One of her gifts is that she is such a good listener...  and we all know that is a must if you are in my life :)...  she will listen, and listen, and listen some more... and then have such encouraging words to say at that end, always pointing me back to Christ! I can remember being on a walk with her before God s

Ok... I know the Big Game is only a few hours away, but I want to tell you about my dear precious friend Cindy... and then I promise I will put my "game face" on! I was just thinking about her a little bit ago, and how she said to us one day "I'm tired, and I could go take a nap, but I think I'm gonna go for a bike ride instead. After all, energy breeds energy ya know!" I LOVE THAT!!! I want to LIVE that out in my life... She is the older woman that I had been praying for since we moved to Columbus. I just kept praying that an older, wiser woman would step into my life... and God answered so hugely with Cindy! Last fall, I met her when we worked together out at Leed's Farm. I could see instantly that she has such a peace about her, and I admire that so much. At that time we were in the heat of wedding planning, and I was stressed to the max. Cindy would just keep reminding me to ENJOY the time... it would go by fast. She was so right! I w

Momma Lori! What can I say about Momma Lori? Better known at Blackhawk as "Korban's mom"... and at first that is exactly how I knew her... but when she and David started coming to our small group, all of that quickly changed! It was so nice to have some gray hair in the midst of all of us "20 & 30 somethings"! She became not only my mentor, but my biggest cheerleader... she so has the gift of encouragement!!! Kevin and I would go to the Miller's house and sit on the couch and eat some of David's famous popcorn... and just listen to them... ok, maybe I talked a little ;).... they had so much wisdom to pour into us about child rearing, ministry, relationships etc.! I got to see up close and personal just how Lori could befriend someone at work and bring her into the family of Christ~with Jane Treece. Jane is an amazing testimony of how Lori could love someone and lead her into a vibrant walk with the Lord! My favorite trait of Lori&

I am half way through "My Tributes"... and I have to pause and say something. This morning as I was out walking/praying/trying to run, I had a sort of revelation. I'm just gonna be honest here. I realized how much I am wondering if the three ladies I wrote about have seen what I wrote... wondering if they liked it, if I offended anyone, if I did not do them enough justice (sidenote, they all 3 know me well enough to know that I would be thinking that :)!). In the midst of all that thinking, Chris Tomlin's "All The Way My Savior Leads Me" came on my ipod. As I was listening, I felt like God was saying to me (not audible btw!) "Ya big geek (ok, maybe He didn't say that, but it sure did sound like it), Why are you so worried about what others think? I am right here.... THANK ME for those women in your life. Who do you think put them there? Who knew EXACTLY what you needed and when you needed it? Who gave these women the words that t

I am so excited to write about Laurie D.! If I had to use one sentence to describe her it would be "She walks with God"! The first time I met her was in a youth leaders meeting at Blackhawk. we were told to write notes of encouragement to each other. Laurie wrote one to Kev and me (I still have it)... she signed her note "Desiring Him Alone"... and Oh, is that true in her life! Laurie taught me so much about living for Christ every waking moment! I remember being at her house for bible study and thinking she was CRAZY for not having cable and not going to the movies. One time, somebody asked her if she was fasting from TV… her response was, "yes, I'm on a life-fast from TV." NO WAY could I EVER live like that! She explained to me that it isn't about saying "NO" to that stuff... it is about saying "YES" to Jesus! The more we draw near to Him and "taste and see that He is good", the more we notice the th

I know the Titus 2 women are supposed to be older, but this next mentor of mine falls into "younger, but wiser" category! When I met Laura, she was newly married, no children, living in a new city, and her husband Ryan had just become the youth pastor at our church. She was only in D-town for about a year... God knew that was all I needed to learn some valuable lessons on being a wife, being humble, but most importantly, Laura exuded an unshakable and unashamed FAITH in God! I remember us sitting in McDonalds and pulling out our bibles. She had me pick a Psalm and we just prayed through it... read a verse, pray, read a verse, pray... it was uncomfortable at first, but I've loved it ever since! She also had me make a "Top 10 List"... a list of 10 prayers that I wanted God to answer, but seemed impossible at the time... like my father-in-law being saved (happened June of 2003). That "Top 10 List" was Amazing! I prayed everyday and watched

This friend came into my life at a time when I was completely OVERWHELMED with little ones, with homeschooling, with housekeeping, and most of all up to my eyeballs in fear! She had a way of knowing how to get my mind off of my troubles, and she could make me laugh more than anyone I had ever known. She and her husband Sam had a few years on us... and they were both so good about giving Kev and me HOPE for the future! Gretchen was (and I am sure still is) the QUEEN of organization! She helped me so much with my house. She would come over and we would just go room by room throwing the junk out! Man, did she laugh at me... especially when she found 50 million wet wipes from KFC stashed in my kitchen drawer :)! I am sure the whole process would have made for a great tv show. The most important lesson I learned from Gretchen was taught by her example alone. She fasted every Wed. for her children and their spouses. At the time, I thought she was crazy... seemed like we always

As I am quickly approaching the BIG 4 0, I have been reflecting on God's faithfulness through the years. He has been so faithful to continue to place older, wiser women in my life... for which I am eternally grateful! This week I want to tell you about a few of those Titus 2 women that God has used so powerfully to teach me on my journey.