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Are we truly desperate for the Spirit of God? Oh God, may it be. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Just a little...

Superhero...Graham has been wearing his cape almost everywhere:-)


Basketball....John David trying to help this little boy to shoot. J would cheer him on...."good job that was really close. You are getting better." The boy finally made it and was so excited!









Chillin... HUD on his way to Grandma and Grandpa's house!!!!! We woke them up a lil after 6 and they were smiling from ear to ear and practically ran to the car! We are driving the "Bama van" and the boys are thoroughly enjoying watching the TV! Thanks papaw and mamaw!


Here we come Grandma, Grandpa, Kali, Kloe, Kobe, Karli, Kase, Aunt Kristy and Ryan, Aunt Leah and Bur and lil baby "k"......can't wait!!


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Merry Christmas!

Praying the worth of Christ to fall upon each of us. ADORE HIM today!

Pondering the beauty of the baby,

David, Emily and 'lil Gossett boys

Just thinking and praising

I was just thinking about my boys and thanking my Father for such good good gifts.


We have been so proud of J. He has had a broken collar bone but still cheering on his bball team. He was so tough but finally dad said no more and he had to sit out a couple of games. This last game he played and had such a great time! I love watching him laugh and have so much fun! He is so special to me! I love seeing how God works in him at such a young age.


Sweet Huddy! He ate three big slices of meat Iover's pizza at mellow mushroom the other day! I just want to eat him up!! :-) He makes me smile! He is the best snuggler in the entire world! He gives some good hugs and kisses too! He is such a good boy! We are so blessed!

Little gw! We had just finished baking a cake and he licked the icing before I had a chance to stop him! It makes me smile to think about how many times i say to this lil guy: "no wild-man graham, you gentleman graham" sometimes he will laugh and say "no mom, I just graham"...oh boy...graham is so much fun! I love his laugh and personality!


I trust our Father has such good plans for each of these boys. It's precious to me to think about how God will use these boys and their personalities and their strengths and weaknesses. Oh how I pray and long that Jesus would become their treasure. That the worth of Christ in their lives would make them bold, courageous, and so so humble. Father, mark these precious young boys for your kingdom. For your praise. Your glory. Your fame.

For you are worthy. Thank you, Jesus.




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From Cairo to Huntsville

Welcome to Egyptian Peppermint Tea! After vomiting all over the country a couple of kind Christian Egyptians urged me to drink this tea-I guess feeling empathy for me after seeing how terrible I looked! They took care of me so gently and kindly. It was a sweet reminder of the character of Christ being formed in His children all over this planet. The peppermint in the tea is suppose to be good for tummy aches. Before I was done drinking I was already feeling better. (My mom said it was like I was a wilted flower coming back to life!) Within a half hour or so I was feeling tremendously better! So I bought several boxes and brought them home with me. Sweet Blair was the first time I used it here. He finished the cup and was feeling better in about half hour too! I think you can buy it here at a health food place...I think it's worth stocking up in your pantry:-)

Our wonderful guide while in Egypt. He is emailing David to show him that I was being well taken care of.

Yum :-)

Mommy is back!

So glad to be home with my boys....

The Lord gave us such a wonderful trip to Egypt, Jordan, and Israel. Lord willing, I will post about the trip soon, but right now I am enjoying spending time with my boys....

Movie day:-) You might can see that J lost his front tooth...I'm sure I will always have that sweet toothless grin in my memory. love it. These boys are such a gift. Wonderful, wonderful gifts. Praise the Lord for sons. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth.

Gifts. Grace. Gospel. Sweet, sweet Jesus.

-"Mom, take a picture of this"

Precious Graham

J started playing basketball with the city league. His first game is coming up. He's a big boy!

Leaving for Israel today!!!!

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Loving the Fall

Blair with some moves


Sweet Huddy


Rico slamming David


Toboggans and basketball!! Dai dai and David


Precious Graham


A lil bit of football


Kent


Dad


Raheem


Me


Crazy J



Playing space warriors...


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Smiles from the Lord

Another young boy, sweet precious Jashawn, bowed his head yesterday afternoon to say YES to the person and work of Jesus Christ! God revealed Himself and did His work! As Jashawn was praying, his serious tone and disposition turned to a big smile as he finished the prayer with thanking God for saving him. His head was bowed and his face shined with a smile that was straight from the Redeemer's hand. There is nothing greater to treasure. May we each exult, finding great joy, in our salvation. Jashawn is.


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A Celebration in the Streets

Luke 10: 20 "....Rejoice that your names are written in Heaven."

(After watching the movie Courageous tonight. It is great!)

The sweetness and majesty and grandeur of our precious Lord! Out of His great mercy He has saved another! Bought by His blood. Adopted. Reconciled. Praise you, God!

I am thrilled to be a part of the kingdom of God, the bride, the royal family, His people being ushered in for His glory! Tonight one of our boys, Dai-Dai, was added to that number! Hallelujah!

We have been praying, working, and loving on Dai-Dai to come to know the reality of the Gospel in his own life. Tonight was the night when God called him out and rescued Dai-Dai for Himself! For His glory and His Renown!!

There is nothing in this world like seeing someone you love so dearly be given the gift of faith in Jesus Christ. Tonight Dai-Dai jumped out of the car as fast as he could, with that big handsome smile, and told me that he had just accepted Christ into his life. Seeing this can never get old. It's like you can see a part of heaven, a part of Christ Himself, right in the eyes and smile of the newborn child of God. I absolutely love it. I was following behind David tonight and we came to Dai-Dai's house to drop him off. No one got out of the car. I waited. Dai-Dai didn't get out. The boys and I immediately stopped talking and prayed and prayed and prayed. We rested on His promises and we prayed. We texted asking for others to join in more prayers. We prayed, we sang, and we waited as the car still lingered in front of us. The longer it got, the more excited the boys and I got!! I cried and we prayed some more, watching and praying. Then the door opened and Dai-Dai dashed out with the good news! The most wonderful news in the world!! The music was still playing, You Alone Can Rescue. I got out of the car and we had a celebration right there in the streets!! God is so good! So wonderfully good. Perfect. And so so sweet to my soul. And so so sweet to yet another young boy tonight. Oh the heart of our Father! He passionately longs for His children! May they come out of every crack and crevice, may His children be freed and adopted. A Heavenly citizenship. Oh that each of us would have a part in bringing His people back to Himself! What Joy! We are His chosen means. May we get on our knees with the Word of God, lingering and allowing Him to ingraft His heart more and more into ours. May we wait for God, always praying and always watching. "Hearts full of love and love of pure obedience."

Our lives for the Gospel.

I love this picture of the flap of John David's Bible with the people we are praying for God to save. While we were waiting and praying in the car behind David, we just knew God had to be saving Dai-Dai! While John David and I were praying J said, "Well mom, I guess we can take Dai-Dai off my list!" Haha! I love my family. All of my family.

I am so thankful for my husband, my best friend, and my leader. I love walking this life with him. It will soon be over but the rewards of this marriage will be eternal. Thank You, Jesus!

"The call of God is like the call of the sea- no one hears it except the person who has the nature of the sea in him." Oswald Chambers

58: THE FILM Trailer from LIVE58NOW on Vimeo.

Loving His Redemption

As I think about the frailty of man, the complete dependence we have upon the nature, character, and essence of God in our everyday lives as well as our eternity, as if there were any way to truly separate the two, I can’t help but to ponder the magnitude of God’s grace- God’s grace being what brought my mind to think upon the frailty of man in the first place. It is everywhere on us, this grace of God. I do not fully understand the depths of my own frailty- finding myself putting trust and hope in my self or others far too often, at times when I don’t mean to or even realize that I am until God deems it well to bring it to light. At other times, I know it full well, confessing it and fighting against it. I am thankful that His perfect grace covers both- covers all. But pondering the magnitude of my own failure, how there is no way, in me, to achieve any real goodness- that there is a never ending cycle of rebellion in the deepest of my heart- if left alone. Rebellion may not even be the right word for me, for if it was rebellion it would seem that I would be seeking after the rebellion, but this is not it- I am swept under the current of my own self- If left to my own; stepping out of dependence upon the God of the universe and depending upon mere man. I pray that I would feel the inner deepness of my own helplessness in more and more satisfying ways. Satisfying in the sense that as I see and feel my own helplessness deeper and deeper, the worth of Christ will also root itself into my most inner being deeper and deeper- elevating the name of Jesus Christ, his true personhood and essence as God Himself. I am so thankful that I am not left on my own. That there is nothing good in me, but I have been given everything Good and Perfect in Jesus Christ. We can taste our own failure from perfection, but as one who has put there hope and trust in Jesus the bitter taste becomes sweet. I exult in my salvation. I rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, found in the face of my Savior, Jesus Christ. I rejoice in my Savior that is my hope. He is my hope. Not heaven, not earth but Jesus. That is why we sing of the sweet blood of Jesus Christ. The death of Jesus Christ becomes increasingly sweet to us- in the same breath we shiver at the sight. God is in the heavens, doing what He pleases. The death of Jesus Christ pleased Him, sweet to Him- but in the same breath great mourning. This can only be in the soverignty of our God- He knew the end, the victory, the sweet savoring of His name among the nations- that there would be, in the end, because of Jesus Christ, a great multitude of people from every tongue singing and glorifying God- “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” In His presence is fullness of joy and treasures forevermore.

Savoring His mercy.....

"What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace." Romans 6:1,2,14

Video

I once read a post from a woman on Christianity and abortion. It has stuck with me. She asked why so many Christians were speaking out about abortion, but there were so few willing to take children into their own homes. The world must hear us and SEE us. Our lives for the gospel.

Undeserved Grace

The Lord is consistently putting us in situations that are deepening our love and affection for the undeserved grace of our Lord. The Lord has reminded me today of how the attitude of our speech has such an impact on our hearers. Especially as parents we have the power to bring a sense of defeat and worthlessness to our children by the tone of our voice. Today I was placed in one of those situations where Christ allowed me to see the vivid results of a mother's own voice- that there is true power that is hidden underneath what flows from our mouths. I was broken over the situation at hand and convicted over my own tone with my little boys. May our speech be continually full of grace- that undeserved, sweet sweet grace. Its like my soul can taste it's goodness. I want my little boys to get a taste of that from their mother's lips every time she opens her mouth. Fully truth. Fully grace. May we continually show our hearers and watchers this great gospel of undeserved grace- bought by the blood of God Himself. May the gospel be ever-growing and ever-sweetening in our lives.

We are safe from the devastating tornadoes that hit Alabama. We are thankful for the Lord's protection upon our family but in the same breath our hearts are aching for the people of our city and state. I pray our hearts would overflow with His grace in the days, weeks, and even months to come.


May the gospel, founded on the true character of God, run forth.

Investing

“Compassion is entering into someone else’s suffering, that is something so counter intuitive- almost just doesn’t makes sense until you do it, and then when you realize and invest yourself in someone else’s suffering there is embedded in that suffering, great JOY.”

“The best investment you can make, time, energy, money, talent, is an investment in another person.”


John Fitts, missionary to Haiti, sent me this video- thought I'd share it with you all.

http://vimeo.com/20798650

Trashbags and smiles!

This afternoon we were out on the front porch having a “watering flowers" reward with John David, Hudson, and a young guy named Micheal. While we were snacking on our white powdered donuts John David looked up at Micheal from his chair and asked, “Mike, Do you have Jesus in your heart?” Mike looked at me and we smiled. Mike responded honestly, “ I don’t know.” John David continued without even looking my direction, “Well, is Jesus your Savior?” - This past fall Mike made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. Micheal is a 15 year old young guy from the “hood” (that’s what they call it). Micheal made a profession this past fall, but has been struggling. This past Wednesday night he walked away from me, his last words telling me that he was “done” and with a shrug of his shoulders and hands held out wide he walked down the street towards someone’s apartment- he didn’t come to church that night. He has gone back to saying he can’t feel his heart. It’s just been a struggle for Micheal. There’s sin and heartache at every corner. Sin and more sin- then more sin heaped up on top of that. Strongholds, bondage. A hard life. It’s going to be a long road for Micheal, but we serve a God of miraculous grace! I am so thankful for that miraculous grace in my own life. What He has done for me, He can do for Micheal. Our circumstances might be different, but the truth is we are all fighting a battle against this thing called flesh. The impact of the fall of man in the Garden of Eden permeates our society today and our homes today and our very beings today. But, praise the Lord- He is bigger! He is higher! He is able!! He has made a way! “ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”* Later this evening Mike and I were talking, “So, God knows your heart... right?” he asked. “Yeah- of course he knows your heart.” Mike responds back, “so you know those questions that John David asked me?” (I love this- after all day and three basketball games later he was still thinking of those questions that a “not yet five year old” asked him over some white messy donuts.) “Yeah” “Well, the answer to all those questions are yes- because God knows my heart.” Yes, He does Micheal, Yes He does! I say that with joy and hope but with fear as well. God does indeed know his heart. I pray Mike sees God for who He truly is. My heart longs for Micheal to submit himself to God! Micheal has a long hard road ahead of him, but God’s grace is limitless! He loves Micheal! He has come to rescue him from himself. Christ is at work today to rescue Mike from the bondage that Satan has schemed to ruin him. I am convinced that what Satan intended to harm him with, God can use it to accomplish His purposes. God has set infront of Mike a choice. A choice of life or death. He has placed infront of each of us this day: life or death. Micheal is a loner. He likes to be a loner, but hates it all at the same time. Micheal told me, “Kids normally are afraid of me. They normally yell out that I am a hobo and run off. It makes me feel good that your kids like me.” Micheal left tonight with four trashbags full of clean clothes and a heart that I do believe was smiling!!! Oh what gifts God has given us! (If you are still reading this, maybe God wants you to pray for Micheal...or maybe someone like Micheal that you know.) We are oversoaked with the goodness of our Lord. The reason I wanted to share this story is so simple- It was such a good reminder to me how God uses simple little things (even like dirty nailed little boys) in a crazy weaving of a beautiful story of His divine glory and grace. My little boys tonight were used in the Kingdom! Three little wild boys used for the King’s work! Jonah 2:8 says, "Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.” How many times do we cling to things that just don’t matter and forfeit a heavenly measure of grace. And then those of us that have children- when we forfeit grace that could be ours, we forfeit grace for our children to share in. What a blessing (and terrifyingly humbling) to see Micheal’s smile as he looked at me and told me that John David had a mind like his mom’s! “It’s like I’m talking to two of you now,” Micheal laughed. Yes, kids can catch it. Faith is more caught than taught. What are our kids catching from us? Oh how I pray my precious boys will catch glimpses of God’s glory that will ignite a passion in their little hearts to throw their lives at the mercy of a good, good treasure of a God. Oh how I desire it for myself too! What a reason to get up in the morning! Not my glory, but for His glory. Living for Something bigger than yourself- living for a Plan that stirs the same emotions as when you are standing at the top of a mountain’s peak- Yes, I am small and I love love the view!

*1 Cor. 15:56,57

Romans 11:33-36

"Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowlede of God!

How unsearchable His judgements, and His paths beyond tracing out!

'Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?'

'Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?'

For from him and through him and to him are all things.

To him be the glory forever! Amen."

-Romans 11:33-36

"Few disciples ever felt their own nothingness as she did, and it was this ornament of a meek and quiet spirit- the only ornament she wore- that made her seem so beautiful to all who knew her well enough for this 'hidden man of the heart' to be disclosed to their vision. Did not that ornament in the Lord's sight appear as of great price? Truly "the beauty of the Lord her God was upon her."

Written of Lydia Mueller Wright by A.T. Pierson

What sweet and lovely delight in her soul she must have had, having lost herself in Him in such a way.