Oh life!

Two years ago this week, I said "I do" and jumped head first into this journey of married life!! Looking back at our wedding there were so many precious moments, standing on that stage before our friends and family committing ourselves to a Godly marriage, that stand out in my mind! My brother-in-law playing our music, the fact that we washed each others feet, dancing out of the sanctury to Stuck Like Glue, so many special moments, but one stands out in my mind more than any other!  The moment my niece, who was 7 at the time read a passage from 1 Corinthians out loud! While my heart has always loved this passage, the emphasis her little voice put on the last 3 words has stuck with me! LOVE NEVER FAILS! 

There have been many great moments and memories over the last couple years and a few hard ones, but our love for each other and the love that Christ has for us as a couple has truly stood firm!! 

To say that our life is a roller coaster would be an understatement! We have lived in a 4 bedroom rental home, an air matteress in Sudan, and now we reside in a 32 foot travel trailer in my in laws back yard, but that too will soon be changing! In September we will pack up our Texas lives and move to Indiana to be close to my family and help my Mom as she continues to battle MS! My emotions about this move are a rollarcoasster in and of themselves as we love our community here in Texas, but miss my family in Indiana! We have watched God open doors for this move and so we are trusting in His good and perfect will! 

This summer is another huge milestone in our lives! A year ago in July we welcomed this bundle of Joy into our lives and we have watched her blossom and bloom into this little busy body!! 

Along with all our milestones and changes come the growing of our little family! Here we grow again! At the end of this year we will welcome another little one into our family and our lives will be forever changed yet again! We love the way The Lord is so faithful to us and continues to bless us on a daily basis! 

Homosexuality and Boy scouts

I have been thinking a lot about the recent decision to allow gay boys to participate in Boy Scouts. I have been trying to put myself in several different people's shoes looking at this situation, the parents of Boy Scouts, the actual Boy Scouts themselves, the scout leaders, the different churches and organizations that now are faced with a tough decision to continue to support Boy Scouts and I have even tried to consider what Jesus would think and feel about this situation if He were walking this earth today. So with that being said these are my thoughts on the subject, everyone is entitled to their own opinion so you don't have to agree with me, just sharing my thoughts with you. 

The main thought that has crossed my mind over and over and over again throughout this topic is LOVE! Are we not, as Christians, called to love everyone? Is it not our duty in life to show others, especially those that are lost, the love of Christ? I feel like Christians in general are trying more and more to seclude themselves from the outside world, to not allow other sinners into our churches, homes, and now Boy Scout troops! It makes my heart sad, because if there is a young boy who is lost and living this lifestyle, isn't he the one that we should be reaching out to? Isn't he the one that needs to be shown the love of a savior more than anyone else? 

I don't know much about Boy Scouts, but from what I do understand it is about teaching young boys about wilderness survival, teaching them to fish and tie knots, going on camping trips, ect. I am sure there are VERY important lessons that are taught and learned through these experiences, so why is it that a young boy who is gay should not be allowed to have those same experiences?

As a parent of a baby, I have found myself looking at our world and all the junk that is in it and wanting to shelter my child from it, but the more I seek the face of The Lord, the more I see that He needs to use the children too! If I were to shelter my children, never allowing them into the public world, never allowing them to be a part of Boy Scouts or any other organization that doesn't totally and completely line up with the Word of God, then how would The Lord use them to reach others?

 As Christian parents we need to be, no we MUST be, very hands on and involved in our children's lives, they need to be taught right from wrong and we are going to have to teach them hard truths about the world we live in and how it grieves the heart of The Lord. But, we are also going to have to teach them about LOVE! About living a life that overflows the love of Christ! So that when our children are in this crazy awful world we live in and they encounter gay Boy Scouts, for instance, that they know right from wrong, but they also know that our Jesus loves and is just as passionate about that boy as He is for our own children. 

We live in a fallen, very messed up world and rather than trying to keep the world out of everything we do, I think it is time that we just start loving the world! We should not condone their lifestyle and the sins they are committing, but we should love them, because if you ask me, that is what Jesus would do! He would live the sinner despite, their sin! After all, don't we all deserve death anyway, aren't we all sinners? It is time for Christians to stop putting on this high and mighty show and to start loving people!!! 

Tough like her Daddy!!

We always knew our little girl was tough! She is, after all, her Daddy's daughter!

However, on Monday when I took her to the doctor for an immunization and explained to the doctor that she had a slight cold, he proceeded to look her over, just in case, before giving her the shot! She was all smiles and giggles, so i didn't really expect him to find anything other than some dried up snot in her face! As he was looking in her ears, he asked if she had been tugging on them at all, I said no! He was very surprised! Not only did my sweet little girl have an ear infection, but she had a double ear infection!!! Poor baby girl! :-( At least that meant no shot! :-)

As we were driving away from the doctors I began to think about how tough my little girl is!! I mean, here she was with a double ear infection just smiling away!! Her Daddy commented that she was tough like him and probably a little stubborn too!

So my dear sweet Makayla, here is my advice to you:


~ Be tough when you are standing up for what you believe, don't be afraid of adversity!
~ Be stubborn when other people are trying to lead you astray, stick to what God's Word says!
~ Be tough when other people make fun of you, remember we are all made in the image of Christ!
~ Be stubborn when you are following the path that God is leading you on, don't allow earthly influences to led you astray!
~ Be tough when life is hard, clinging to Christ for strength!

But most of all, my child, remember that on the days when you just can't be stubborn and tough anymore, that Mommy's arms are always a safe place to come! Don't be afraid to admit that you may not be as tough and stubborn as we think you are, because the truth of the matter is - all of our strength comes from Christ!! So cling to Him darling girl!!

Remember

Maybe it is because I just lost my Grandma or maybe it's because its almost Easter, but for whatever reason tonight at church as we were singing Remember by Tim Hughes, I started thinking about what Jesus' funeral would be like if he died today! How many people would show up to share stories and memories? How many people would come because He impacted their lives?

At my Grandma's funeral, so many family and friends had stories to share about her life, about how well she loved and about the impact she had on their lives. I have shared stories and memories with people that never met her and I will continue to! I can't wait to share with Makayla how much her Great-Grammy loved holding her, how she sang to her and even wanted to hide Makayla in her room at the nursing home! I will remember, I will share her stories, not for my glory, but so that people can get a glimpse of who she was!

Shouldn't we be even more willing to share about Christ? If you were going to His funeral and had to share memories and stories about how He has changed your life and impacted you, what would you say? Would those stories and memories stop after we leave that funeral? After we step foot out of the church, should we stop boasting about Christ? This might seem like a silly analogy for me to be making, but it really hit me how we are quick to share how much special people in ours lives have impacted us, but are we that quick to share what Christ has done for us?

So that is my goal this Easter season, not only to remember His life but also to share the impact He has had on my life and to share the story of the cross!  I will REMEMBER!!

Guessing game!!!

Okay, tomorrow puts us at the 38 week mark, meaning that our little baby girl, Makayla Joy will be here before you know it!! Are you ready to have a little fun? I just thought it would be fun to play a little guessing game, it might help the next few weeks go by a bit faster for this Mama! :-) Comment on this post with the date and time you think little Makayla will make her apperance along with how much she will weigh and how long she will be!! The winner will get....the joy of knowing they were right!! :-D

Sweet Baby Girl (Part 2)

Dear Sweet Baby Girl,

Well, you have a name now, Makayla Joy Mullins and you are beyond loved by so many people. We made it to July, the month you are supposed to make your big appearance!! We are still getting some things situated around here and according to the calculations you still have 3 more weeks of growing to do in me, so don't be in any hurry to come out!! ;-)

I have been thinking back over the last 8 months:

- knowing I was pregnant, even when the first test came back negative
- taking another test last than a week later and seeing 2 lines!!
- breaking the news to your Daddy who was so very excited!!
- taking sweet pictures in the YWAM field, so that we could share our news with everyone!
- making a big announcement on Thanksgiving!!
- our first doctor appt - hearing your sweet little heart beat for the first time!
- months of morning sickness (you sure weren't always very nice to your Momma :-)
- spending time in Indiana over Christmas and getting to show off my ever so slight baby bump!
- meeting our midwife for the first time (she's really sweet, you are gonna like her!)
- Daddy and Mommy both putting in notices at work so we could leave for Africa!
- packing up our house into a small storage unit
- preparing for our 3 months in Sudan!
- finding out on Valentine's day that you were a GIRL!!! :-)
- visiting family in Indiana for a few days before Africa
- taking your very first plane ride(s) - those were a long few days!!
- sleeping on the floor in a church in Juba as we tried for days to make it to Wau!
- finally arriving in Wau and starting to really make it home!
- tons of ups and downs all through out our time in Wau
- having your Daddy find your heart beat every week or so, just to hear that steady beat
- feeling you kick for the first time
- months of on and off UTI's - ( those were really not fun in Africa, over squatty potties)
- praying for you constantly as I did and ate things that most pregnant women wouldn't do!
- finding your name and knowing it was perfect for YOU!!
- walking many many miles all the time (you would always kick and be so happy when Mommy finally laid down to rest! :-)
- loving on and praying for the South Sudanese people
- having to walk away from a sweet Grandmother who begged us to take her precious grandchild, knowing that this was not God's will for her or for us and trusting that God will continue to take care of that sweet baby!
- Swollen feet, ankles, fingers - alot of that was due to the excessive heat!
- watching as the Northern bomber plane flew over our city
- preparing to leave Sudan a month earlier than we planned
- feeling so very at peace while your Daddy worked really hard to make sure we got out safely!
- getting back to Indiana 2 weeks after we felt like we were to leave
- spending a month with your Grammy and Poppy - just relaxing and enjoying precious time with family
-  grieving the loss of my sweet cousin Melinda - (she would have loved you Makayla)
- watching your Uncle Timmy graduate from high school!
- Baby Shower number 1 - thrown by your Aunt Sara and cousins Kayleigh and Kinsey! - it was really cute, lots of monkeys! :-)
- buying our trailer - our home - your first home (it may be small, but Makayla it is filled with love and joy!)
- your Daddy and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary!! (1 year down, only 99 more to go ;-) I am sure you will hear that joke many times in your lifetime!
- moving back to Texas!!
- making the trailer, the shed and your Grandma and Grandpa's back yard our home! (your Daddy worked really really hard to make it all work - you should be proud of him! ;-)
- Baby Shower number 2 - thrown by your 3 Texas Aunts - Michelle, Nicole, and Jana and several of the sweet ladies from Soma! (we spent some precious time praying for your Grammy's complete healing!)
- Washing all your clothes, sanitizing bottles, preparing a space for YOU!!


WHEW!! What a crazy 8 months those were and now....now we wait! We only have a few weeks left sweet girl, and I know that they will fly by so you keep growing and thriving in there and come meet us whenever you are ready, we sure can't wait to meet you!! Remember that your Grammy is coming on July 16th, so if you can wait till after that she would really appreciate it! ;-)

Your Daddy and I love you a lot and are SO very excited to see what the next few months have in store for us, one thing is for sure - this life we are living is nothing short of a crazy adventure that the Lord is taking us on and we can't wait to share that adventure with you!!

I love you my sweet little monkey,

Mommy

Trusting God and Living Life

It's been almost 2 months since we returned to the US. I can't even begin to count the number of times that I thought to myself "I need to update my blog," or even had blog ideas rolling through my head and just never took the time to follow through and post an update! Just in case you missed the details of our return trip and why it had to happen so quickly and so much sooner than we expected, the gist of it is that the North declared war on the South and the airport in our town was shut down, so we took a UN helicopter out of Wau. You can read the more in depth story on my husband's blog HERE or my sister-in law's blog HERE. It was definitely a crazy experience, but through the whole situation I was able to rest securely in the peace of my Heavenly Father. I think it helped a lot that Christopher remained so calm and in control, even when we watched the Northern bomber plane fly over our city. The Lord was so faithful and provided for our every need all the way home.

This morning as I lay in bed at 5:30 AM - the new time my body likes to wake up thanks to pregnancy insomnia - I listened to the sound of my husband breathing next to me, the birds chirping outside, the hum of our AC and the crow of the rooster, I began to think back at how faithful He has been to us!! There is no doubt that He was faithful in getting us to and from Sudan, for providing for our every need and even some of our wants while we were serving in Sudan. There is no doubt that He was faithful on the mission field. Now here we are almost 2 months after returning to the US and I find myself having to search to see how He is providing for us. You see it isn't that He has forgotten us, surely He hasn't!! However, it is a lot easier to see His faithfulness when He is all you have to depend on. When we were in Sudan and things were hard which occurred more often than we imagined it would, we had no one else to run to, no one else to really help us, we HAD to rely completely upon God!! Now that we are back here in the US we expected things to be easier, we expected for Christopher to be able to get his job back when we returned to Texas, we expected things to be a lot smoother than they really are right now. What I am learning is that often times we have to throw our expectations out the window and continue to trust God!! If Our God is faithful enough to get us out of a war situation, to provide for our every need in Africa, to give us amazing amounts of safety while I was pregnant in Sudan, than He can surely provide a job for my husband (even if it is not what we had expected) and He will surely provide for all of our needs!!

 I rolled over this morning and just watched as my husband slept (yup, I'm that creepy wife! ;-) There is a lot of weight on his shoulders right now. He is supposed to be able to provide for his family, his daughter will be arriving within the next month and yet the job market is harsh right now in his field. One would think that because the man has no job that he has a lot of free time on his hands. This is just not the case with my husband. I watched yesterday as his foot slipped through the ceiling in his parents kitchen while he was trying to get another electrical line run out to our trailer. Praise the Lord that he only has scraps and bruises and didn't fall all the way through!! He has spent countless hours at the birthing center where I am going to give birth in a few weeks, helping do construction and other things in exchange for our midwife's services. He is currently outside in the 100 degree weather building a shed for us to be able to store our stuff in since this trailer is just a "little" smaller than our 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom rental was! :-) He has spent hours fixing up an old truck that we bought to haul our trailer to Texas so that he can flip that truck and get good money out of it. You see, some men who are unemployed get stressed and depressed because they have nothing to do, not my husband, he adds more odd jobs to his list, he keeps himself busy and continues to do the best that he can to provide for our little family, but most importantly HE TRUSTS GOD!! Every time we have a discussion about this job situation he says with confidence that God is going to provide, that the Lord is faithful!! Sometimes its hard to see His faithfulness when things are grim, when you are jobless and it just seems like the storms of life are pouring down on you. However, you just have to keep trusting in His faithfulness!!

My sweet baby girl is due in 20 some days and in spite of the fact that neither my husband or I have worked a real job since February, she has everything she will need and then some. The Lord has been faithful in providing our every need for her! I know that my God is faithful and so I am throwing my expectations out the window and just trusting that He has the perfect job for Christopher and that He will provide it in His timing and that we need not fear, just trust!!