Preparation Precedes the Blessing

A couple of weeks ago, Clark opened our Sunday evening service with the following scripture and thought. The more I think about "preparation preceding the blessing" the more I want my life to be prepared in worship and praise so that we can be ready for whatever blessings the Lord wants to send our way!  We had a hail storm/tornado move through our area on April 27th .  Clark has been working night and day ever since then due to the damage that so many received.  We rarely see him, other than at church, and WE MISS HIM.  I worry about how hard he is working and what little amount of rest he is getting.  HOWEVER, I am so thankful for the blessing of all the work!  To see more of our worship service visit us at http://www.factv.org/...

John 2:5-7…This is when Jesus was at Capernaum, the wedding where he turned the water to wine.

Verse 5: His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.

Verse 6: And there were set there six water pots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.

Verse 7: Jesus saith unto them; Fill the water pots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.

In every example in the word of God, we see where preparation precedes the blessing. These water pots contained 2 or 3 firkins apiece. The research that I was doing said that a firkin is about 60 gallons of water, so that would be 120 gallons per water pot. For those of you accustomed to that, it would be 24 trips with a 5 gallon bucket per pot. It was not something that just happened on accident. The creator was there, and he could have spoken the water into existence and filled the water pots. But he didn’t decide to do that, He told them to fill the water pots with water.

There are many theological thoughts that you could take out of this scripture, but I like the last part of verse 7. It says - they filled them to the BRIM. They didn’t settle for half way. They didn’t just do five trips with a five gallon bucket, and say that is enough for me, but they filled them to the BRIM. Because HE said fill them up. If you let your life be full of worship, full of praise then he will do exceedingly abundantly above what you ask or think!

Happy Birthday to Selina!

Happy Birthday to my forever friend Selina LeAnn Arwood.  We have been friends from the moment she was born.  I was almost 2.  We were born and raised in the Aurora, IL area.  We both love Chicago style hot dogs, Portillos, Batavia fireworks, and Oberweis ice cream.  She met and married a man from Tennessee, and we were all sad that she was moving so far from home.  A couple of years later, I met and married my own Tennessean, although he was from the opposite end of the state, and also moved far from home.  For ten years she lived in E TN, and I lived in W TN.  Then we moved to her city of Maryville.  I love that our kids are growing up together.  Avery & Riley think that Tyler is the absolute coolest and Landry is determined to one day marry Allison.  Her are a few pics from our past that I thought I would share.  Happy Birthday, Selina!  Love you much!

I wrote this poem for Selina after she was in the hospital in 1982.  Sheila found it a few months ago.   LOL!  LOVE IT!  The stamp on the envelope was very interesting...it was a Tennessee stamp!!

Remember, the greatest gift is not found in a store

nor under a tree,

but in the hearts of true friends. 

... Cindy Lew

Landry...Class of 2011!

Landry is officially a FIRST GRADER! Amazing!

In 2002, I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Due to the treatments that I received, the doctors told me that I most likely would not have any more children. I was devastated. Avery and Riley brought us so much happiness, but my heart longed for one more.

In November of 2004, the Lord showed that He grants me the desires of my heart, and Landry Clark Presson made us a family of five!

I was weepy (surprise, surprise) the entire day of his graduation. I kept thinking of how life would be without him running through my house, and how quiet it would be without his constant chatter. He has brought us so much joy, in the truest sense of the word. He makes me LAUGH each and every day. He gives love and hugs freely and often. He is our miracle boy, and growing so quickly. I was saddened by how fast the past six years have flown. How many times have I said, “If only time wouldn’t go so quickly, if only he could stay little just a bit longer, if only…”

However, Landry relishes all of his growing up moments. He did a great job walking across the stage and receiving his diploma! We had a fun graduation party at my parents along with family and family-like friends. He was VeRy excited about his big night, and proved this with much running, jumping, silliness, and of course, HUGS!

A few of the latest lines by Landry that have given us a chuckle…

"It was really thundering and lightening at school this morning. I am glad no one was wearing tinfoil clothes!”

After capping a bowl of strawberries with my handy dandy Pampered Chef decapper and leaving them on the counter, I hear Landry yell, "Mom, someone has taken a bite out of EVERY SINGLE one of our strawberries!!"

"It does not matter if you put the cereal in first or the milk, but it does matter if you have a bowl or not." This was said to Aunt Lisa after spending the night with her.

Avery and Clark were discussing an upcoming Science Fair Project in which they planned to build 2 bridges out of Popsicle sticks. Landry’s comment, “How are we going to eat that many Popsicles??”

Congratulations Landry! Mama & Daddy are so proud of you and we love you SO much!

A Highest Calling

I have been privileged to be asked to write the Mother's Day article for a particular magazine for the past three years.  The previous year's articles can be found here and here.  The following is the 2011 article.  Hope everyone is having a wonderful MAY!  Today is a chilly May day for Tennessee!  The boys and I are hoping warmer weather comes SOON, since summer break is one week away!

I have a high calling. I am not a world leader, I do not pastor a church, nor have I been called to the mission field. I am a mother. Today, more than ever before, mothers need to understand that we hold a high position in God’s kingdom. Training, nurturing, and teaching children God’s Word and His ways are perhaps the most important jobs on the face of the earth. As mothers, it is our responsibility to hand off the baton of the gospel to our children who will then take it to all nations.

I hold the highest respect for those of us called mothers. Dr. Dobson, a well-known Christian psychologist, said that there are few assignments in any human experience that require the array of skills and wisdom needed by a mom in fulfilling her everyday duties. She must be a resident psychologist, physician, theologian, educator, nurse, chef, taxi driver, fire marshal, and occasional police officer. Success in these responsibilities means we get to do it all over again…tomorrow!

Much has been said about the influence of mothers throughout history – everything from, “The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world,” or “The single most powerful word in any given language is ‘Mother’.” But my all time favorite is, “If Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy!” It might be a comical statement, but truer words were never spoken! Mom, you set the tone for your home and we have tremendous influence over the moods, actions, and lives of everyone who calls us mother. You have no choice about whether or not you are an influence – the choice is what TYPE of influence you will be. Your actions and words will either shape your child for good or for bad.

I was studying the book of 2 Kings, and I kept running across a common thread. Every time a new king was mentioned, it read like this…

2 Kings 12:1-2 “In the 7th year of Jehu, Jehoash began to reign, and his mothers

name was Zibiah…and Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the Lord.”

2 Kings 14:1-3 “In the 2nd year reigned Amaziah , King of Judah, and his

mothers name was Jehoadden, and he did that which was right in the eyes of the

Lord.”

2 Kings 21:2, “Mannesseh reigned 55 years in Jerusalem, His mothers name was

Hephzibah, and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.”

These scriptures have almost identical characteristics. The king’s name is mentioned, his mothers name is mentioned, and then it tells if he was good or evil. I began to search to see if these mothers were mentioned elsewhere in the Bible, but they were not to be found. That was their one claim to fame. I began to question, why were they mentioned? What was the point other than a record of the genealogy? Perhaps the kind of King that these men turned out to be was directly related to the type of mother that was raising them. And a record of their deeds was forever written down in history.

Were these kings taught, trained, and nurtured in the ways of the Lord? Were these mothers the type that built up her children with words of kindness and encouragement? Or was the way that they spoke to their children a result of what had happened at work that day, or the pressure they were under due to life not going the way they had intended?

We as mothers are to be encouragers of our children. The way we speak will have so much impact on them. I often find myself wanting so much for my sons that I am continually correcting and scolding. During any given day the commands can run the gamete, “Don’t run in the house!”, “Redo this homework with neater handwriting!”, “Get along with your brothers!”, “Don’t swing on the ceiling fan!”, “Say yes ma’am and yes sir!” With so much reprimanding and scolding, I can get so caught up in correcting the negativity that I forget to praise the positive. Praising the positive is like building blocks to our children’s self esteem. What are we speaking into the lives of our children? Are we speaking positive things of love, praise and kindness? Or are we speaking negative words of anger, bitterness, and stress? A famous proverb says, “A soft answer turneth away wrath; but grevious words stir up anger.” The Message Bible says it this way, “A gentle response defuses anger, but a sharp tongue kindles a temper-fire.”

King Josiah is my favorite King that is mentioned in the book of 2 Kings. He was a good king. He did what was right in the sight of the Lord. And yes, his mother’s name is mentioned. He is my favorite because he became king at the young age of eight years old. The awesome thing about Josiah is that all of his goodness was established before he became king. This proves to us the necessity of setting the tone in our home when our children are young. His mother succeeded in doing this at an early age so that greatness could come from her son’s life!

Dear Mom, Mama, Mommy or Mother, let the tone of your home be set with kindness, calmness and love. Let it be filled with warmth, grace, forgiveness and fun! You may be exhausted from feeding a crying baby in the middle of the night. You might be shocked by the 2 year old that constantly questions your authority. You might be overwhelmed with the changing teenager that now lives in your home. Never forget that God sees your sacrifices. He will reward you. Enjoy every stage of motherhood from rocking your newborn to making a heart connection with your precious teenager. It is your responsibility, with the Lord’s help, to make sure that your home is a place that everyone wants to come home to at the end of the day.

God chose you to raise your children and not another. He gave you the highest calling. When you accept this highest calling and take it to heart, the fruits of your labor will, in the end, rise and give you praise!

Happy Mother's Day!  This is such a special day to me! I am so thankful for the Godly mother-in-law AND Godly mother that I have been blessed with. My mom has always made every circumstance in my life special. She has been my biggest cheerleader. According to her, there isn’t anything that my brother, sisters and now grandchildren can not do. Her favorite comments about her grandkids is, “They are so talented!” I honor her today for who she is in my life. She is my measuring stick for the mother I am trying to be.

A recent sermon brought to mind a game that many girls play with a folded piece of paper.  It "foretells" if you will grow up to  live in a mansion or a shack, and who you will marry. The preacher talked of girls who made long lists of their dreams. I was SO one of those girls.  I still have spiral bound notebooks boxed away of lists that held my dreams. When people would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, my immediate answer was, “A wife and mother.” I attended public school. I was the only Apostolic in my high school of about 400. I was known as the girl who always wore a skirt-even in gym class. We would periodically have sessions with our counselors concerning our career goals. I would try to explain that I simply wanted to be a homemaker and assist my pastor in any necessary duties. Since I went to a public school this was highly disturbing to them. I also had on my “list” that I would marry a wealthy man with black hair, and have three girls with black curly hair and pink hair bows. Thankfully, I accomplished one of the three goals. I did find a husband with black hair. I missed out on the wealthy part and the three little girls with black curly hair. However, I have been blessed with a Godly, hard working husband and three healthy boys. Perhaps lists aren't so important after all.

A friend and I were watching my son practice in for an upcoming school production.  She commented on how intent he was on his special part.  I mentioned that he is my most emotional son.  She smiled and said, "He will make a wonderful husband."  I laughed at her comment, and responded, "I hope all of my boys make wonderful husbands." 

Later, that comment slammed into my heart, and I began to think how much drastically my methods of motherhood need to be changing.  I am moving into a new season of mothering.  Especially with Avery, and soon for Riley.  I no longer need to focus on training them to be well-mannered boys, but powerful men of God who will someday marry wives and raise families to be active in the work of the Lord.  The advesary will soon begin to try new tactics to sway the souls of the three the Lord has given to me.  My prayers must become more frequent, more fervent.  My goal - to focus on the changing seasons of babes to boys to men.

 Ann Voskamp posted a powerful quote this week. 
It takes all the years of making a boy into a man -

to teach a woman how to be a mother.

My boys are continually changing, teaching me to be a better mother.  I will never receive a diploma in this education of motherhood, because my lessons are never ending.  My prayer...lead me Lord, guide my words, my actions, so that above all else they see YOU in me, so they will desire YOU in them. 

Happy Mother's Day to all! 

May you have a wonderful day celebrating this highest calling!

...just wanted to share of few of those fleeting, precious moments

 that we wish we could push the pause button...