Ahh...a life raising sons!

Sticky fingers, dirty face
Rugs and pillows out of place

Cars and trucks here and there
Playing toys without a care

Gold and silver have I none
But worth trillions are my sons!

--Prom

God's Many Provisions

The last two weeks the Lord supplied a few things that we needed, and again, prove His promises that He always supplies all our needs and we lack nothing because we are His children.

-Someone donated the repair of our sewing machine which would have cost over 200$ to get fixed

-Someone donated their time to dry clean one of the girls' wedding dress which would have cost over 200$

-Someone donated a riding lawnmower which also would have cost us over 900$ to purchase

-Someone packed our van with lots of household items and decor that they didn't need, but helped to upgrade our home.

-Every two weeks we unload our van full of fresh fruits and vegetables that are worth 300$-400$ if we had to buy it (not including all our other provisions like meat, eggs, milk, frozen goods, dry goods, laundry soap, dish soap, health food, children's clothing, women's clothing, hotel rooms for free, etc. that we get on a monthly basis.)

Next week one of our girl's will be getting her hair cut and styled for free which would have cost her between 30-50$ just to get done. Thanks to the hairdresser contact who schedules her time to help anyone in the home who needs to get their hair trimmed, cut, dyed, styled, etc. at her hair salon shop.

God is so good to us and we have so much to be thankful for! It's just awesome and rewarding serving Him!
--Promise

Leadership is Influence

There have been numerous leaders throughout history. Some did a better job than others at actually leading. But few were what you would call “inspirational leaders.”

By inspirational, I simply mean that they had the ability to motivate others to accomplish something significant, perhaps even heroic. William Wallace was such a man.

Remember his speech in BraveHeart before the battle of Stirling Bridge. He said,

"I am William Wallace. And I see a whole army of my countrymen, here in defiance of tyranny! You have come to fight as free men. And free man you are! What will you do without freedom? Will you fight?"

A veteran shouts, “Fight? Against that? No, we will run; and we will live.”

Wallace responds,

"Aye, fight and you may die. Run and you’ll live ... at least for a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin’ to trade all the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they’ll never take ... our freedom!"

The men are inspired and Wallace leads them into battle. They defeat the British, who were more numerous and better equipped.

Later on in the movie, Robert the Bruce has a discussion about leadership with his father. He understands that there is a fundamental difference between having a leadership title and actually being an inspirational leader.

Robert the Bruce: “Lands, titles, men, power ... nothing.”

Robert’s father: “Nothing?”

Robert the Bruce: “I have nothing. Men fight for me because if they do not, I throw them off my land and I starve their wives and children. Those men who bled the ground red at Falkirk fought for William Wallace. He fights for something that I never had. And I took it from him, when I betrayed him. I saw it in his face on the battlefield and it’s tearing me apart.”

Robert’s Father: “All men betray. All lose heart.”

Robert the Bruce: “I don’t want to lose heart. I want to believe as he does.”

Fortunately, in real life, Robert found his heart and became a great leader. He led the Scots against the English in the First War of Scottish Independence and eventually defeated King Edward II at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.

What does this have to do with us? Everything. Each of us can become that inspirational leader— a leader who can inspire others to give their best efforts for the sake of the greatest cause--to live and die for Jesus.

Remember the movie We Were Soldiers? (Mel Gibson as Lt. Col. Hal Moore)
Prior to leaving for service in Vietnam, Moore delivers a moving speech to his troops. He says,

"I can’t promise you that I will bring you all home alive, but this I swear: I will be the first one to set foot on the field, and I will be the last to step off. And I will leave no one behind. Dead, or alive, we all come home together."

Moore then literally fulfills this promise. He is the first one to step into battle and the last one to leave. This is real leadership. True leaders don’t ask their people to do anything they are unwilling to do. They lead by example. They model the behavior they want others to manifest.

The ultimate goal of course is finding your place in the Lord's highest will. This is incredibly motivating. Your job is to help people understand that what they do, not only matters in this life, but in the life to come. It will “echo into eternity.”

We all get bumped and bruised as we go through life. Circumstances constantly come up to undermine our esteem. It’s easy to lose heart—to begin doubting our ability to handle the challenges we face.

That’s why it is so refreshing to have others in our wonderful Family who can support and encourage us. But the most admirable thing about those folks is their willingness to verbalize it. It encourages and gives us that faith and confidence that maybe we do have what it takes.

Great leaders—like great parents—help people believe in themselves. They look for opportunities to catch people doing something right. They focus on their people’s strengths, not their weaknesses. And, they have a knack for offering encouragement at strategic moments—when someone in your home or team needs it. Not everyone is put in a position of leadership. But, as Robert the Bruce pointed out to his father, leadership is influence. And that is something all of us have.

Man Carves Wife a 6,000 Stair Path in Mountain

I just stumbled on this sweet love story:

A weird love story has come out of China recently and managed to touch the world. It is a story of a man and an older woman who ran off to live and love each other in peace for over half century.
Over 50 years ago, Liu, was a 19 years-old boy, fell in love with a 29 year-old widowed mother named Xu. At the time, it was unacceptable and immoral for a young man to love an older woman.
To avoid the market gossips, the couple decided to elope and lived in a cave in Jiangjin County in Southern ChongQing area. In the beginning, they had nothing, no electricity or even food. They had to eat grass and roots they found in the mountain, and Liu made a kerosene lamp that they used to lighten up their lives.
Starting the second year of living in the mountain, Liu began, and continued for over 50 years, to hand carve the steps so that his wife could get down the mountain easily.

A half century later in 2001, a group of adventurers were exploring the forest, when they surprisingly found the elderly couple and the over 6,000 stairs of hand carved ladder.
“My parents loved each other so much, they have lived in seclusion for over 50 years and never been apart a single day.” Liu MingSheng, one of their seven children said, “He hand carved more than 6,000 steps over the years for my mother’s convenience, although she doesn’t go down the mountain that much.The couple had lived in peace for over 50 years until last week. Liu, now 72 years-old, returned from his daily farm work and collapsed. Xu sat and prayed with her husband as he passed away in her arms.
So in love with Xu, was Liu, that no one was able to release the grip he had on his wife’s hand even after he had passed away.
“You promised me you’ll take care of me, you’ll always be with me until the day I died, now you left before me, how am I going to live without you?” … …
Xu spent days softly repeating this sentence and touching her husband’s black coffin with tears rolling down her cheeks.
The local government has decided to preserve the “love ladder” and the place they lived as a museum, so this love story can live forever.

Happy Birthday Honey!!!

This is the man who knows me better than anyone else. He has seen me through the best of times, through times too embarrassed to speak of, through the fun and happy times , and of course, he even stuck with me through the sad, frustrating, painful moments that also come through the growing process my life has had to go through as part of my personal training here on Earth. It’s interesting to see how someone can commit and be the closest thing to you than anyone or anything else no matter what you go through, how you are like, and how you change through the years. They are there for the rest of your life and share experiences and moments you also go through from their eyes. You trust them more than anyone, because you know they are there to stay and still love you anyway. That’s the key—LOVE—it’s unexplainable, but that’s the underlying force that makes me so dependent on my other half—his love which comes in the best ways he knows how to show it—support, care, work, time, fun, friendship and so many other ways that I feel and see each day. Thank you honey for everything about yourself and what you are that makes you the most special person in my life. I know this is a little late for your birthday, but I finally got some time today as I watched the kids fall asleep to tell you from my heart to yours that you mean the world to me and more. I am really looking forward to another year with you, it’s exciting! I love you and Happy Birthday!

Happy 5th Birthday Ryan!!!

Ryan has accomplished so much this year. He completed 3 sets of readers (he was always a book worm), is almost finished with K5, became the older brother for the second time, loves reading the Word on his own, and has grown up in so many ways. His mind is so alive and he loves to soak up what he sees and hears around him use--he has a thinker's mind, that's for sure! It was so cute hearing him read to everyone his birthday prophecy from Jesus to him. Him and Bradyn had alot of fun at the blowing bubbles activity, followed by an outdoor treasure hunt which was then topped off with the birthday cake Ryan specifically asked for (thanks Terri!). All in all, it was a fun filled family day and we are so proud of you Ryan for all that you are and mean to us! We love you so much! Happy 5th Birthday and year ahead! We'll be enjoying it with you!

It's late but......

Gosh, two birthdays in one day! I have my son and my husband both born on the same day (May 26) which is cool (Toshi’s firstborn, a son, and born on his birthday) I regret not putting the name “Toshi” somewhere in Ryan’s name, it would have suited the occasion too well. Anyway, I’m putting up their birthday posts real soon once time and more time allows me too. Till then…