Thank you Mr. President.

Well, I'm glad the President released that birth certificate so that people can shut up. To Mr. Trump--taking credit for the release only makes you look petty and silly, because as it turns out, Mr. Obama was indeed born in the USA, and so it was a huge waste of time--and probably money that our government doesn't have (as not all are as fortunate as Mr. Trump to be gazillionaires).

In other news. I'm supposed to be training for a half marathon. It's an awesome goal. And I really want to do it. HOWEVER--I have a terrible lack of motivation to actually train. This would be ok if I were in shape and had ever run a mile full on in my life, but I haven't. The rain isn't helping. Without wasting money on a gym membership (as I want that money to take me to disney) I must run outside. IN THE RAIN. Maybe, if it were 2 weeks until the race, and i could do 2 hours of running straight, i would commit to that. I will not commit to that when I would just basically be wandering aimlessly in the rain for 30 minutes pretending I was a hard core runner.

If you are able to provide me with more incentive or motivation than getting in shape and going to Disney, let me know.

Tricked ya!

I bet a ton of you (the 4-5 that still visit this page) thought I would update my layout (like i do once a year) and then not be back. SURPRISE!! Here I am.

Last night Ruby, Danielle, and I went to Kohls and picked out Ruby's easter dress. Then to ihop-where we talked about life, death and Jesus.

Today, we went to Westbrook and participated in their egg hunt. It was really fun. They had a story time, craft, egg dying center, snack and easter egg hunt. It was like a 2 hour VBS. Ruby had a great time.

Also, for those of you who don't know--I start the official princess training program this week. Good luck to me!

A new commitment to blogging.

I started a devotional blog a few years ago, and then abandoned it. Why have two blogs, when I don't update the one I have? Anyway. I copied them over here. If you’re interested they are below. Good reminders. Good solution. One Blog. I can do this, now it will be a healthy mix of stories about my life AND some of my thoughts on faith. Those things go together, so lets get to it.

Fear: another life lesson from Peter

What are you afraid of?
What overwhelms you?
What makes you want to hide in the closet?

Peter was impulsive. He did things with passion and excitement. He had what some today would maybe even call a "flare for the dramatic". He was always doing something crazy. Like cutting off the ear of a soldier to protect Jesus. He was always bold. Never afraid, right?

We know Peter as the "rock" the disciple Jesus chooses to build his church. The strong one. The caretaker. Jesus tells Peter to "look after the flock" in John chapter 21.

So Peter, the strong, passionate, brave one can even be overcome by fear. Let's look at the story of Peter walking on the water.

Meanwhile, the boat was far out to sea when the wind came up against them and they were battered by the waves. At about four o'clock in the morning, Jesus came toward them walking on the water. They were scared out of their wits. "A ghost!" they said, crying out in terror.

But Jesus was quick to comfort them. "Courage, it's me. Don't be afraid."

Peter, suddenly bold, said, "Master, if it's really you, call me to come to you on the water."

He said, "Come ahead."

Jumping out of the boat, Peter walked on the water to Jesus. But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his nerve and started to sink. He cried, "Master, save me!"

Jesus didn't hesitate. He reached down and grabbed his hand. Then he said, "Faint-heart, what got into you?" --Matthew 14:24-31 the message

So Peter, jumps into the water, to do this amazing thing he sees Jesus doing. All the other disciples are probably mumbling about how Peter is showing off again and some probably are hoping he succeeds, while others are probably hoping the show-off drowns.

Peter takes a few steps. Kinda cocky. Looking Good. Setting the example. Trusting Jesus. Then all of a sudden, he looks around. He takes his eyes off of Jesus. He notices how dark it is, he hears the water swishing and feels it cold against his feet. He hears the faint voices of those still safely in the boat. He feels the wind blowing his clothes, the smell of the water gets into his nose. He looks down into the swirling water and begins to sink. He's terrified--he's probably thinking "This isn't some kiddy pool--this is deep water!!" So he's scared, he's ovewhelmed, and he can feel the water now raging all around him as he sinks deeper and deeper. In desperation, he calls out to Jesus to save him. Jesus grabs on, and helps him back into the boat. Then Jesus asks him this important question: WHY DID YOU DOUBT?

How often in our own lives do we try to do something, only to get scared and back off. Do you feel Jesus calling you to come, to try and step out and then you take your eyes off of him only to become overwhelmed and feel like you're in over your head? It's easy to be passionate. It's not always easy to follow through on that passion. Peter loved Jesus. Believed in him--trusted him. Except once he got out onto the water, he decided to trust himself and what he knew more. The end result: He's all wet, he's scared and he's desperately searching for salvation.

Standing up for what you believe, even when others disagree. Seeking to do the right thing, even when it hurts. Staying to hold someones hand when walking away is the easiest choice. Living for Jesus when people laugh at the lifestyle. We step out of the boat all the time, excited about the adventure of walking on the water. Then we begin to trust ourselves, and our own experiences. We get hurt. We get scared. Life gets too hard. We can feel the water creeping up around us, and the waves crashing over us. We feel the wind burning our cheeks in powerful gusts. Do we trust ourselves to calm the storm, or do we cry out to Jesus--trusting that he will pull us out and dry us off?

Jesus is there, waiting for our cry. Hoping we're passionate enough, and that we are brave enough to step out again. Asking that we keep our eyes on him to get us through the storm.

Failure.

Often in life, we make commitments to things and then don't follow through. We fail to do the things we set out to do. What are the reasons for these failings? Is it because it got too hard? Or we got too busy with other stuff? Or someone criticized you? made you feel like you weren't good enough?

Lets look at the definition of fail: –verb
: to fall short of success or achievement in something expected, attempted,
desired, or approved
: to be unsuccessful in the performance or completion

Well, we're all failures. None of us can, on our own strength live up to every expectation set before us. We fail our friends, by not taking time to go to lunch when they're hurting. We fail our parents by breaking rules, or by not believing as they believe. We fail our families by burning dinner. We fail ourselves because we set the bar too high. We expect to be able to do everything well and we end up getting overwhelmed and failing everything.

We all have a fear of failure. Sometimes, we set a goal, and then, we get scared of not making it, so we give up all together. I see this a lot in the lives of others, and a lot in my own life. We get scared, and so we walk away. Or we do something half-way, and that way, later on--if we fail, we know we didn't try our hardest, so its ok that we failed.

It's a terrible feeling, to fail. To know that you aren't "good enough". The good news for us is that Jesus doesn't care. In fact, the disciple that we see fail the most is the one Jesus chooses to build his church. Peter was a failure. Lets look at just a few examples :

The words were barely out of his mouth when Judas (the one from the Twelve) showed up, and with him a gang from the high priests and religious leaders brandishing swords and clubs. The betrayer had worked out a sign with them: "The one I kiss, that's the one—seize him." He went straight to Jesus, greeted him, "How are you, Rabbi?" and kissed him.

Jesus said, "Friend, why this charade?"

Then they came on him—grabbed him and roughed him up. One of those with Jesus pulled his sword and, taking a swing at the Chief Priest's servant, cut off his ear.

Jesus said, "Put your sword back where it belongs. All who use swords are destroyed by swords. Don't you realize that I am able right now to call to my Father, and twelve companies—more, if I want them—of fighting angels would be here, battle-ready? But if I did that, how would the Scriptures come true that say this is the way it has to be?" --Matthew 26:-47-54 (the message)

So here Peter immediately becomes battle ready--without any instruction from Jesus and Jesus tells him that fighting isn't the answer. How do you think Peter felt? Here he is, trying to defend Jesus, and Jesus--in front of the entire crowd calls him out and tells him to knock it off.

Not long after, something else happens to Peter:

All this time, Peter was sitting out in the courtyard. One servant girl came up to him and said, "You were with Jesus the Galilean." In front of everybody there, he denied it. "I don't know what you're talking about."

As he moved over toward the gate, someone else said to the people there, "This man was with Jesus the Nazarene." Again he denied it, salting his denial with an oath: "I swear, I never laid eyes on the man."

Shortly after that, some bystanders approached Peter. "You've got to be one of them. Your accent gives you away." Then he got really nervous and swore. "I don't know the man!"

Just then a rooster crowed. Peter remembered what Jesus had said: "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." He went out and cried and cried and cried. Matthew 26:69-75 (the message)

Peter, ready to defend Jesus to the death just hours before, becomes a coward. He can't stand up for the very cause he was willing to die for. In Luke, it tells us that from where Jesus was being charged, he could see into the courtyard, and looked at Peter. How do you think Peter felt later, as he watches Jesus dying on the cross, and the last interaction they had was Peter's repeated denial. Talk about failure--but then something amazing happens. Look at John chapter 21, verses 15-18 (the message):

After breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" "Yes, Master, you know I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."

He then asked a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" "Yes, Master, you know I love you." Jesus said, "Shepherd my sheep."

Then he said it a third time: "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was upset that he asked for the third time, "Do you love me?" so he answered, "Master, you know everything there is to know. You've got to know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep."

Jesus is instructing Peter to go out, build the church and be a pastor--a shepherd to the people. He tells him to look after the believers after he is gone. Peter, the impulsive coward. Peter makes me feel good about myself. I mean seriously, as much as I screw up-- this guy spent 3 years day and night with Jesus, recognized him as the Christ -- and STILL screwed things up. I think that Jesus knows that we're not perfect, and he doesn't expect us to be. He just expects us to do our best to follow him. If we get lost, or screw up, its ok. As long as we are working toward being like Jesus, and trying to show his love in all we do, I think we're on the right track.