Life is precious ~ Prayers for the Rays

I have a dear friend on hospice care right now. Today I am writing to you about his family with the permission and blessing of his wife. He and his sweet family were my next door neighbors for five years. I would so appreciate your prayers for the Ray family. There is no doubt that they are going through one of the most difficult seasons of their lives. Pray for relief from pain for Carlos and rest and encouragement for his wife Lori, their four children, and their extended family.

When I walk into their home, I see joy and peace in their family. Carlos is such a dedicated Christian, husband, and father. Their family has no doubt he will be fully healed and rejoicing with his savior soon. He has loved his family well and created a legacy that will live for generations to come. He will soon be rewarded with an eternity in heaven that includes no more suffering. He will be greeted by his savior saying “Well done my good and faithful servant.” He is a shining example of a life well lived.

        His wife, Lori, and their children are truly an amazing example of what it is to live with your hope in the Lord in the midst of suffering. What a light they are during this time. Of course, there is grief and sadness, overwhelming at times. But there is no despair in their family because their hope is in the Lord. As Christians, that is easy to say but sometimes difficult to live. They are living it well and pressing into God for strength.

          There is no doubt that the Ray family wishes they had more time with Carlos, but they have peace as they place their trust in God. As you remember them in your prayers, hug your loved ones tight as well for each of our days are numbered.

This picture is Carlos and Lori visiting when Jaxson was born. They brought us this precious painting they had a family member paint for him that still hangs in his room.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Romans 15:13

Back to school (For moms)

Back to school, back to routines! I have some catching up to do on the blog due to all of the traveling I got to do this summer. I had the privilege to spend some time in an orphanage for the first. I will be sharing more about that here soon!

Today I want to write to moms as we start back to our first week of school here. The first week for our family is a little different since we home school, but a lot of it is the same too. I am filled with gratitude that I am able to be home with my boys every year. But we also mourn the end of summer and getting back into routines.

The thing that I have struggled with the most as a mom is wondering if I am truly making a difference. My short time in the orphanage taught me so much about the importance of parents in a child’s life. All of those little things that can seem so insignificant add up to make a huge difference! So moms, I want to tell you today that what you do is making a difference!!!

Every breakfast cooked

Every diaper changed

Every hug and kiss

Every lunch made

Every boo-boo kissed

Every time you offer comfort when they have a bad dream

Every nose wiped

Every time you help your toddler rush to the potty

Every bath you give

Every time you patiently (or even not so patiently) help them wash their hands

Every time you listen to how their day was at school or the latest drama with their friends

Every time you help them with their homework

Every time you tuck them in at night, even if you are tired and impatient sometimes:)

All of the little things you do for you kids add up to make a huge difference! Keep on keeping on. The biggest gift you give your children is to love them unconditionally. Never underestimate how much that means. Having someone in your corner no matter what is huge! Remember to tell your children that whatever happens, you are always pulling for them.

Hope you guys are having a great week! I would love to hear how your first week of school is going.

Hands and Feet

Tomorrow I am leaving for the Dominican Republic for a mission trip. I am so excited! It has been 15 years since I have been on a mission trip. I hope to never wait that long again. My last trip was to Mexico with my church. The very next summer, I was expecting my oldest son. That trip planted a seed in my heart for missions that has lasted all these years. I have anxiously awaited the chance to get to go again. God has brought me the perfect opportunity this summer. I will be traveling with a team of all women who are teachers, the perfect fit. I am so excited to be able to go and serve this week. I promise to send updates as I can, but will most likely be after I get home. Here is a link to the ministry we are traveling with if you want to read more about what they do. 

https://www.stchm.org/our-ministries/international-ministry/

As I think about the chance I get to serve on this trip, I also realize that we are surrounded by opportunities to share the love of Jesus right where we are. God put us in a specific place for a reason and if we just keep our eyes open, we will find ways to encourage others everyday. We can be the hands and feet of Jesus wherever we are. It is so easy for us to get caught up in our everyday busy or our own problems that we don’t make the time to reach out. God created us to live in community but we have become a society that is too independent to do that. There are people all around us who are hurting and a text, phone call, or coffee to check in would mean so much. Life is messy and sometimes difficult, a little kindness goes a long way. As Christians, we need to be willing to enter in and be the hands and feet of Jesus. The same people you encourage today may just be the ones encouraging you one day too.  

I would appreciate your prayers for our trip this week. I would also ask that you pray for ways you can be an encouragement to those God puts in your path. I pray that you will have a blessed week and look forward to sharing with you about the trip soon!

Surprises

        I have always LOVED surprises. I love that someone has cared enough to put their time, effort, and energy into doing something thoughtful just for me. That is just what God does for us all of the time! If you are on the lookout, you can find them all around you. I have heard them called unexpected blessings. God loves us so much that He has put them in place in ways specific to each of His children. One that He has really used to encourage me is the appearance of hummingbirds at just the right time. Hummingbirds have come to have a very special meaning in my life, a sweet reminder that there is so much good in life if we are looking for it, even in the midst of the hard.  

        My week has been full of surprises, some good and some not so good. (OK, so mostly very bad like finding a rat in my backyard, but I am trying to be optimistic here!) It has been a rollercoaster of a week! Some surprises I could do without and they leave me feeling drained and weary. This morning God brought Psalm 23 in front of me twice within a few minutes. I love when He does that! There is no doubt that He meant it specifically to encourage me this morning. It is a very familiar passage to me but the words washed over me in a new way as I read them this morning.

        Last night I gave my four year old a surprise I had gotten for him at the store. He was giddy with excitement as he opened the box to see what it was. He exclaimed “Thank you, Mommy! Thank you, thank you!” as he opened the box. Before he even saw what it was, he was so grateful and excited because he trusted me to bring him something great. It is the same way with our heavenly father, we can say “Thank you”, knowing that He has great things in store for His children, far greater than anything I could ever do for my own children. Many great surprises await us!

        For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10

       I am attaching an adorable video of a little cutie reciting Psalm 23. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsNptw29OyQ

Beauty that surrounds you

          I just got back from spending a week in my hometown celebrating my dad’s birthday. I haven’t lived in Amarillo for 20 years now. (So hard to believe!) There are so many things about it that I didn’t appreciate or even notice when I was growing up there. I never thought the flat prairie with no trees was beautiful, but now I appreciate it. I didn’t think twice about being able to see stars forever in the clear night sky, the amazing views at Palo Duro Canyon, or even the quirky Cadillac Ranch. I actually had never even been out to the Cadillac Ranch until this trip. It wasn’t until I moved away that I began to notice and truly appreciate the things that make my hometown special. Some of these things I never thought about until friends who had never been there were asking about things to do on vacation. Then I started to think about it in a different way. What I thought was dull and boring when I lived there, has taken on a new light now that I live 10 hours away.

         It reminds me of an object lesson from a Bible study earlier this year about vultures and hummingbirds. Both of them fly over the same area. Vultures seek out and find death and decay. Hummingbirds seek out and find beautiful flowers and sweet nectar. Both can be in the same place at the same time, but find something completely different. It is all in what they are looking for. The same is true for us, our perspective has such an impact on what we look for and find. What a great reminder to look for the beauty that surrounds you right where you are!

         Enjoy some of the beauty of the Texas panhandle as well! Here are a few of my favorite pics. 

Do Something

Living life without knowing your unique purpose and passion is sleepwalking through life. It feels like you are just getting through the daily drudgery of tasks to be done, but not really living to your full potential. As Christians, we know that God has us here to draw people to Him. Often the details of how to live that out are fuzzy and nebulous. Christy Wright says “The things that are important to you are a part of you.” That revelation was huge for me!

 I have been praying about how God can use me to make a difference for orphans who I feel so passionate about helping. Then I got an e-mail from a small orphanage in Taiwan that I have fallen in love with online over the past few years, named Taiwan Xi En. http://taiwanxien.org/ I love their heart for getting children into Christian homes and the way they love the children in their care. I think you will fall in love with them too!

Here is a link to their most recent newsletter. The short of it is that they need to raise funds by June 10^th for their next step in expanding to house more children. They are currently full and have to turn children away. Please take a look at this link and pray about donating to help support their ministry. If you send a donation, please e-mail me and let me know at captivatingjoyphotography@gmail.com I don’t want to know how much you gave, just that you gave. In the words of Matthew West “It’s time for us to do something!”

http://us6.campaign-archive2.com/?u=b6f68f0c7e368a0224fcfb19d&id=147b591e14&e=c1c3cc7f4b

Summer's coming! What about today?

My Bible study yesterday had a great illustration. Imagine a bank account with $86,400. No matter what we do, as long as we live, we receive the same amount each day. The only thing is that it you lose what is left at the end of the day. It doesn’t carry over.

That bank account is time. We are given 86,400 seconds every morning. Each night we lose what wasn’t invested. When we fail to use today’s deposit wisely, the loss is ours. This really hit home for me as I am learning to be more intentional with my time. It reminds me of the DC Talk song that was popular when I was a teen “Time is ticking away. Tick, tick, ticking away.” (Now I can’t stop it from playing in my head. Enjoy the song today. You’re welcome!)

Time is finite. You always have to make choices on how you spend your time. If you are always giving your time and attention to the squeaky wheel, you are going to be stressed. You are stressed when you don’t have time for what you care about. The things that are important to you are a part of you. Intentionally put your own values at the top of your list.     ~ Christy Wright, Business Boutique 2016

What does my calendar say about what I value? As we are wrapping up another school year and filling up the summer calendar, it has me really thinking about choosing what is best for each of my family members. I am looking forward to making memories with my family this summer in the cool, beautiful mountains of Colorado, lazy days by the pool, and a more relaxed schedule. I am also excited about launching my new business and going on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic for the 1^st time. What are some of your summer plans?   

As I have a natural tendency to get excited about future plans I am making, I am reminded to live in the moment today. How am I going to use these 86,400 seconds that I can never get back?