Nothing left to say...

My dear blog readers I am speechless. Yet another tragedy in the life of someone I deeply respect and love (though I do not know them personally). Last night Nichol (Smith) Sponberg, formerly of CCM trio Selah, went in to check on her 10 week old son Luke and found him not breathing. Paramedics were unable to revive little Luke and he is now in heaven with Jesus and his cousin Audrey Caroline. Please keep the Sponberg family and the Smith family in your prayers. This has been a rough year for them thus far and I know they need you now more than ever. If you'll remember, Nichol's sister-in-law Angie (married to Todd Smith of Selah) just lost her little girl Audrey Caroline only 7 weeks ago.
We know that God is in control and that He is faithful in ways we will never understand and we praise Him for that. But, it is still hard and it will still take time. Please lift these families up in prayer today along with your continued prayers for the Chapman family.

Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed. Because His compassion fails not. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion" says my soul, "therefore I hope in Him". Lamentations 3:22-24

Your Prayers Are Needed!

Last night, shortly after 5:30 p.m. a precious little girl named Maria Sue (just 5 years old) went to meet Jesus. She is the daughter of Contemporary Christian Artist, Steven Curtis Chapman. In a tragic accident at the Chapman farm in Tennessee, Maria's brother failed to see her in the driveway as he pulled his SUV in last night. Please be in prayer for this sweet family who means a lot to me in a lot of different ways. Maybe I will post about those reasons in the days to come, but for now please pray as the Chapman family grieves the loss a daughter while supporting a heartbroken son.

Above is the latest SCC hit, "Cinderella" written for two of his adopted Chinese daughters, Maria Sue and Stevey Joy.

Jon and I watched a great movie last night so I thought I'd use today's post to reccommend it!
As a part of Lifetime's Mother's Day Weekend they were able to show a new Michael Landon, Jr. movie named Saving Sarah Cain. The movie is based on the Beverly Lewis book, The Redemption of Sarah Cain.
Having spent several weeks in Pennsylvania last year I was able to experience some of the Amish culture and quickly fell in love with their plain ways. This movie gives you just a little taste of what it's like by telling the story of 5 Amish children who are left in the care of their Aunt Sarah, an Englisher who lives far away from their home in Lancaster County. A truly touching story, Saving Sarah Cain is a must see for you and a must buy for me!
So, until you can see the movie enjoy this GodTube video of Point of Grace singing "How You Live" with Saving Sarah Cain excerpts.

Happy Mother's Day Weekend!

To my favorite mothers...

There is but one and only one

whose love will fail you never.

One who lives from sun to sun

with constant fond endeavor.

There is but one and only one

on earth there is no other.

In Heaven a noble work was done

when God gave man a Mother.

Irish Blessing

Happy Mother's Day... I love you!

P.S. Momma, I can't wait to give you your gift :)

A Sad Day

Well, I knew it was coming.... but I still wasn't ready. Last night, my favorite American Idol bid farewell to the show. Jason Castro was a long shot I know, but I loved him none the less and can't wait for him to produce an album. Maybe we'll get really lucky and it will be a CCM album to boot! I know that I'll be the first in line to support him if he does. Until then, I am left with videos of my favorite performances like this one. Here's Jason Castro with Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Bro. Iz's version). Enjoy!!!

Spring Cleaning

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit." Psalm 51:10-12

This is my prayer today... create a clean heart in ME! Sometimes we just need a spiritual "spring cleaning" you know? It's often said that we are headed for, in the middle of or just coming out of a storm. If that's where you are today, and trust me we all fit into one of those categories, pray this Psalm for yourself. Don't merely read it and hope for change, but pray it... all day long! At the end of the day I promise you will be a different person if you allow God to minister to you through His Word.

Blog Travel

Good morning! I have been reading all of my favorite blogs this morning and a couple in particular just jumped out at me. I have a lot of favorites, but these two are particularly high on my list and I wanted to share them with you.

The first is 22 Words, http://twentytwowords.com/ , blogging by Abraham Piper, son of John Piper. Each day he atempts to sum up his thoughts in only 22 words and each day I count them just to make sure he doesn't go over :) Todays post is really simple, but makes a bold statement. Abraham says, "Tactics that make the gospel memorable are worthwile - if they're truly for the message, not the messenger." Wow! How many times do we get that one wrong? I know that I have and so as not to get on a soapbox I will simply encourage you to check out 22 Words for yourself... you never know what you might stumble upon!

My second inspiring read for the day comes from Angie Smith who is married to Todd, lead singer of the awesome trio Selah. Todd and Angie just recently gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Audrey Caroline. Audrey only lived a little over 2 short hours, but she left a legacy bigger than most. If you are broken and need to be lifted... if you need to be humbled... if you need a reminder of just how big our God is then head on over to Audrey Caroline: Bring the Rain and read Angie's posts. She is one fabulously talented writer and I know you will be inspired by her story.

As for me I am off to read the rest of my feeds for the day! Happy reading to you too!

I Cross My Heart

This weekend I had the priviledge to attend a beautiful outdoor wedding where another one of my "younguns" tied the knot. Matt was one of my first kids to babysit and now he's all grown up, married and going to be a daddy. No doubt he will be wonderful in all of his new roles. I however am not doing so well in my new role of "old person" who used to babysit and teach these kids in Sunday School. None the less, he's another one of those kids that I am proud of and I was proud to be there for his big day! Here is a picture of the new couple... Matt & Sarah Eaves.

The Eaves, May 3, 2008

Currie & Pam

This is Matt's little sister Currie and their mom, Pam. If you know my family, you will recognize that they are pretty much family to us too. Currie is the little sister I never had and she is growing up entirely too fast... But isn't she beautiful!?!?

Same yesterday... and today!

Okay, so I missed posting yesterday... oops! I thought about it around 9:30 last night and decided that I didn't feel like pulling the computer back out to say I posted. But, I am here today so here goes. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8 Consequently this post is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow :) Have a great weekend!