Trusting God

I had the opportunity to go to a ladies brunch through OCF this last Saturday. The chaplains' wife was the speaker (she is pictured towards the middle, striped shirt). She has an amazing testimony of God's power displayed in her life. Her first husband, an E-2 pilot, was killed in a mishap 6 years after they were married and when their son was 18 months old. She spoke about how God clearly showed her His ability to make good out of her situation and how He taught her that He is a God that can be trusted.

And then, the pastor at church on Sunday talked about how many times Jesus told His disciples, "Do not be afraid..." But He explained that it was never a command. It was always with the tone, "You can trust Me." I guess I haven't really thought about that too much but God has sort of been hitting me with a 2x4 with that point stamped across it. (I'm also in a Bible study on Tuesday mornings titled, "Believing God," very similar message).

So I've been asking myself this question, "Do I trust God?" Do I actively trust God to work in my life? To work good in the lives of those I love? Or do I try to take the reins, to take over, because I think that I can do the job better?

If I can trust God for my eternal salvation, why is it so hard to trust Him with my future here on earth? Sometimes I do a really good job of trusting Him...but I often panic when the answers aren't coming quickly enough and try to "fix" my life on my own. That always makes things worse. This is a daily battle for me. Daily I have to tell God (out loud usually just so I will hear myself say it) that I trust Him with my day.

This is what I have been learning lately. :) Thought I would share.

The Latest

I went in to get Aubrey up from a nap and this is what I found. Shortly thereafter the crib was lowered.

Blake & Stephanie took off for Arizona on Saturday. The house feels a lot emptier without Stephanie here...Blake, too, but he was never really here except to visit on the occasional weekend. Here are a few pics of Aubrey and her uncle and aunt.

"Mom, I've decided I'm gonna move to Arizona to be with Aunt Stephanie."

"She is all for the idea, too...we're talking about our plans here."

A tornado ripped through this area on Thursday morning. Cars were overturned and power lines were down around the area of the mall we go to. The local junior college was hit with micro-bursts that busted windows in and caused some damage. Aubrey and I stayed safe at the Target by our house (we were out running errands when the warnings hit) and John was up at base. By Saturday we were back to blue skies and sunny weather. Just in time to say goodbye to Blake & Stephanie. We already miss you.

Pumpkin Patch

One of Aubrey's favorite hobbies...playing the piano...WITHOUT help. :)
And a few of Aubrey in the "pumpkin patch."

You may notice the street behind John and Aubrey in this picture...yeah, it's very hard to find a pumpkin patch around these parts so churches "import" pumpkins from exotic places like Washington State to sell for ridiculous prices.

At the Beach

This weekend we had a full house and with that came a lot of fun. Blake came over for the long weekend, I think mostly to see us although Stephanie has been living with us while he's in Georgia so that might have had something to do with him wanting to come. And Craig came, a friend of Blake's from West Point and now a good friend of ours, too. :) After church on Sunday we went to the beach and Aubrey actually had fun for the first time! The latest and greatest "Aubrey face," as we like to call it.

This is the part where she decided she liked it at the beach.

And this is why she liked it...she discovered that sand was really fun to pick up and drop...on the ground, on mommy's leg, in her hair, and occasionally in her mouth.

The guys.

The baby.

The family of three.

Uncle Blake & Aunt Stephanie with a darn cute baby.

The end.

Oh What a Can of Paint Will Do

Okay, this picture has nothing to do with painting but these are the three March babies in Pensacola. Aubrey (in the middle with Hilary), born Mar. 2, Diego (with Val on the right), born Mar. 8, and Kristen (with Vanessa on left) born Mar. 20th. So fun. :) Now, here are the painting pictures. Stephanie and I painted John's and my bedroom. Some before and after shots:

I am so excited with how it all turned out. It makes me wonder why I have kept the white walls for over a year.