My Squishy Heart

Family Christmas Fun!!
December 25, 2016

The recent holidays were chocked full of family fun … from the annual gathering of Tim’s family at his sister’s home for Thanksgiving, Christmas weekend with my momma and brothers in Indy, to a Christmas/New Year’s celebration with our own kids and little ones. It was a busy time and we were oh so blessed!

This squishy heart of mine thrives on every moment spent with our kids … our big kids, those two who will forever hold the key to my Mommy heart – the heart that feels the same way it did 33 years ago, times 1000! My loves, my concerns, my prayers, and my admiration of the adults that they have become … my squishy heart is full and running over, melting into an ever-growing puddle of love. Love for them, their loves, and a couple of little loves along the way.

This past weekend was filled to the brim with those little loves, our BubbaLou! (My combo nickname for Bubba and Lou, better known as Cole and Lillie) It had been October since they had been to Mimi and Pawpaw’s house be-out (Lillie’s word for ‘without’) the parents, which is always a different kind of fun! Going to exciting places, playing games and toys, eating special tasty food, cuddling and reading books and watching neat kid videos for morning devotions … making memories is what it’s always about! Filling their hearts and minds with fun, adventure, love and Jesus … and of course, Mimi and PawPaw!

Mimi and her Loves
Saturday, January 28, 2017

Tim and I chuckled and exchanged looks of shared amusement as we listened to dramatic conversations, attended a concert re-enactment performed by the infamous Branch Troll (a very colorful paper version) and Poppy Troll, and were quite surprised by their collaborative creativity with their mom and Uncle Ryan’s aged Legos. Then later when we looked through the photos taken during the weekend, shock was the emotion we felt as we saw how tall both kids are getting and the realization that time is quickly slipping through our fingers.

As I stood on the platform with the praise team on Sunday, we sang the words to the Chris Tomlin song … “Age to age we stand, and time is in His hands – beginning and the end … How Great is Our God, Sing with me How Great is our God, and all will sing How Great, How Great is our God!” I looked out into the congregation and saw Tim holding Lillie, with Cole standing beside them, and I began to think about the “age to age” and how time is in His hands! My heart pounded as I thought about our mothers and our aunts and uncles, cousins, our siblings and their children – and of course, our own beloved immediate family. An overwhelming and immense Presence came over me with an urgent responsibility to pray and to love my family more than ever.

The world around us is becoming more and more volatile and distracting … Satan is out to deceive, divide and destroy any of us who do not have our focus completely on Jesus. If we are not careful, we will allow worry, anxiety, and fear to dominate our thinking, our actions and our voice. The Good News is that our God IS great … He’s greater than the one who is in the world!

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them,
because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
1 John 4:4

Do not be terrified by them, for the Lord your God,
Who is among you, is a great and awesome God.
Deuteronomy 7:21

This squishy heart of mine loves deeply … and that love drives me to pray.  Won’t you join me in loving and praying for our families and friends?   Life is fragile, but God is great!

Until next time,
Debbie

 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you,
since I have you in my heart and,
whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel,
all of you share in God’s grace with me.
God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound
more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,
so that you may be able to discern what is best
and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—
to the glory and praise of God.
Philippians 1:7-11