B-enefits

Psalm 103:2-5

Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His BENEFITS:
-who FORGIVES all your sins
-and HEALS all your diseases
-who REDEEMS your life from the pit
-and CROWNS you with love and compassion
-who SATISFIES your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles

Whoo-hoo. We were encouraged to know those benefits last Sunday. I'd learned them a while back but was just refreshed to read them again. They are benefits for the children of God! And not just health care! (Although that seems to be included!) Heh.

This week, I especially liked the one about satisfying your desires with good things... so that your YOUTH is renewed like the eagles. "Jill" means "youthful" and so lately youth-y verses stick out to me! And to be renewed like the eagles! Just reading it is renewing! Heh. (The other youth verse that I have written down in my Bible is Isaiah 40:29-31 about ..."youths grow tired... but they that wait on the Lord will renew their strength. They will mount up on wings like eagles..." Guess eagles and youth go together?! Heh.)

Forget not His benefits!

kevin and jill

Top 10

Kevin and I celebrated our TENTH wedding anniversary on August 17th! Whoo-hoo!! Or as he likes to say, we celebrated the anniversary of our honeymoon... Heh. So I thought it'd be fun to list the top 10 reasons I like being married to Kevy bear! Here goes, in no particular order...

*Having a sleepover every night with your best friend
*Five lovely children
*Road trips
*Crawford family late night band
*A home to invite friends to
*Snuggling
*Comfortable - dressed up or dressed down
*Nick names - my Kevy bear
*Laughing (& teasing)
*Waving on the overpass
*Growing - Iron sharpens iron
*Advice - always someone there for help
*Praying together
*Moving to Russia
*Abundant life!!

Okay, there's a few years to go on, too, I guess! I could come up with a ton but I'll just say that I love being married to Kevin! Here's to another 75 years!

Queen of Heaven

Tonight as we were discussing heaven, and how we are actually princesses and princes (Cinderella days...) because God is the king and we are His children... the question came up - who is the Queen then?

"There is no Queen."
"Why not?"
"No one knows."
"Someone knows."
"Who??"
"God. He knows everything"
moment of thought...
"I know who is the Queen!"
"Who?"
"Grandma Helga!"

Grandma Helga just might be the queen, I told them. She was the darling elderly lady who sat across from us every Sunday in church. She passed away in March and the kids are thrilled to know that she is now running in heaven! Even though we do miss showing her our loose teeth and so forth...

Maybe now she is the queen.

Double Egg

A while back, we were going through a tight time financially (which never ends, really, I just happened to be a little worried about it then...). I was cooking supper, scrambled eggs, and I was half praying half thinking about how we were getting low on food and the pay check wasn t for a few days. As I counted out two eggs for each person and looked to see that we might be short an egg or two - I looked down to see the egg that I had just cracked open was a double egg!! That gave me the right count in my pan and a little more hope in my heart!

Well, tonight - there was that double egg again! Another reminder of God s provision! And this time it was not only one double, but two! So instead of me having two scrambled eggs, there were four in my pan! I just smiled, then laughed. Eli did, too. The girls came running to take a look...

Makes me think of the verse in Ephesians 3 abou how God able to do above and beyond all we ask or imagine. I hadn t even thought to ask for double eggs! And then there they were again, along with my double portion of hope.

Lord of the Rings-HOPE

Have you seen the movie Lord of the Rings? I think Kevin's seen it something like five times. Now I have twice. After it came out on DVD, Kevin got the extended version and so last week we decided we should watch them all... it took us about a week! (Naptimes and bedtime...) Anyway.

Guys love the fighting and strength, girls love the love stories and the courage of the women. What we found we both loved this time was hope. If you've seen it, did you notice that? There are several times hope is mentioned, or even a speech is given about it! Courage and hope. Don't give up. My favorite hope part is the flower on the dead tree... if you've seen it you know what I'm talking about! Hope. Life. Don't give up.

The greatest of these is faith, HOPE, and love...

Lessons in a Public Restroom

Ok, so in June we spent two weeks in missions training in Springfield, MO. One afternoon, after just hearing, in some detail, about all the parasites and worms we would for sure experience overseas... and how we'd get used to planning our day around how our stomaches felt... I had to use the restroom! Between our classes I had a slight stomach ache. So just before next class and I headed to the bathroom. As I sat in there, I thought, "Man, I don't really like being here in the public restroom..." knowing I would probably be in several other public restrooms in other countries!! And then the thought came to me... Would you rather stay in your own home all comfy and cozy to use your own bathroom or would you like to live an adventure, chasing after abundant life in Christ - even if it could mean having to use an unfamiliar bathroom?! My choice was obvious. While that was not my favorite thing to do, I knew that excitment and life would be waiting for me. I'd rather live life to the full than to stay safe and know my own bathroom is handy! More to this life, right?! And I was back in class before the teacher began! He is faithful, even in the restroom! Heh.