Llama Love

This is one love-sick llama. Should I be worried?

Mary and Martha Revisited

**This has nothing to do with my family, just some thoughts.**

I'm sure this isn't an original thought, but it's new to me.When Jesus came to Bethany and Martha opened up her home to him, (notice the scripture says it was her home, not the home of Lazarus or Mary) she busies herself with preparations.

Not being an expert on Bible history, here are some questions. Why does the home seem to be owned by Martha? Was Lazarus a young kid? Were they all orphaned? Did Lazarus have his own separate home? Were Mary or Martha married? If so, why are their husbands unmentioned? If the home really does belong to Martha, how does she afford to keep it up? Are she and Mary in the marketplace?Well, regardless of the other questions, why does Martha ask Jesus to only reprimand Mary? Is it because she also owned the home, so it was her duty as homeowner to show hospitality? Was is more a statement of Mary not staying in her place? You know, women in the kitchen, men about the business of learning from Jesus.

I've always been taught that Mary and Martha are a study in contrasts of resting versus being busy. What if even more was being said? What if when Jesus said that, "Mary has chosen the better part" He made a huge statement implying that women were allowed to choose to sit alongside the men of the day and learn, that women didn't have to perform all the duties of the home? Why didn't Martha ask for Lazarus to help her? He may not have been there at that time, but what if he was?

This passage has always meant a lot to me affirming the priority of resting at the feet of Jesus. How much more it will mean if the Lord is affirming me as a woman. We see Him doing this throughout scripture, I've just never applied it to this passage.I'm not saying this is a correct interpretation of what transpired that day. But here lately the Lord has been challenging a lot of assumptions I have held. Assumptions about Him, how He works and moves, what my role is as a woman, how we are to really walk out our faith as Christians, etc. I think God likes it when we ask Him questions - it means we're thinking.

Noah McKinney Terrell

Here's Noah! The first place winner of the Awana Grand Prix at FishHawk Fellowship Church!

Noah is our first born child. He is six years old and finishing up Kindergarten! He graduates on Thursday. He has a little cap and gown. I think that is so funny!

Noah is amazingly smart. I'm not just saying that because I'm his mom. It's true. He taught himself how to read when he was three. Academically he is far beyond his peers. Emotionally and socially he's right on target. So what do we do with him? Todd used to get irritated when he would hear me speak of how smart Noah is. Now that he's staying home and he interacts with a lot more kids, he realizes what I've been saying. Noah has taught himself how to tell time, math concepts, more facts about space than I have ever known even as a former teacher, and an amazing amount of trivia. He remembers everything, but more impressive is how he is able to figure things out and make connections.

One of the most unique qualities of Noah is his tender heart. He wants the best for everyone. He loves people and animals. His love for the Lord and his desire to please him is amazing. He accepted Christ as Savior when he was 5. Even as a five and now six year old, he is able to walk out his faith.

I know God has great things in store for Noah. I can't wait to see what the next few years have in store!

Daisy Girl!

Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do. I'm half crazy all for the love of you...........

She has grown up hearing that song! Daisy is 4 years old and finishing up her first year of preschool. She is such a cool kid. She has this incredible sense of who she is. I don't think I've seen anything or anyone intimidate her. In large groups, she sometimes comes across as shy and reserved. The real Daisy is anything but!

Daisy is our middle child. She is slim and petite. She is about to dance in her first ballet recital. As it turns out, she is quite an amazing tiny dancer! She really seems to love it. She is quite athletic and has a great sense of balance. She also sings very well.

One of the fun things about Daisy is how she likes to "tuck in" all of her dolls. Not just her dolls, she'll put little pieces of fabric on the cat too - and on her brothers or anything that apears to be sleeping around her. Her room is filled with various dolls, toys and stuffed animals in make-shift beds with blankets. Very precious!

Daisy is also notorious for mispronouncing words. I really think she does it on purpose. Noah is a stickler for doing everything right, and she seems to delight in driving him crazy with her Daisyisms. For example, instead of saying "all gone" for years she would say "all gonk." That's one of her famous ones.

Daisy seems to resent my job at church more than the boys. She is very demanding of time alone with me - just the girls. She wills herself to wake up around 6 am on Sundays so that she can come with me to church to be my helper. I never wake her up - but she never misses a Sunday! I try to do all I can to meet her need for my time. It isn't easy!

Daisy got her name because while she was in the womb she seemed carefree and happy. She seemed to be so content and at ease. I wanted to pick a name that captured that spirit. She reminded me of a field filled with flowers. Hence the name, Daisy. It has been a perfect fit!

Short and Sweet

Well, Gabe and I have been sick with a cold this week. He'll probably have to stay with me at the Welcome Desk today at church. Each time I get this cold it is less severe and I get over it more quickly. I must finally be building some immunity!

Everyone else is doing well. I plan to post about Daisy next, and then Noah. That is, unless I learn some profound life lesson between now and then that I feel compelled to share with the world.

My Baby Gabe-y

I have to admit, my youngest son Gabe is quite an adorable child. He has this way of being so darn cute all the time, I sometimes have a hard time disciplining him like I should. Just look at this face. The bowl cut is gone now and replaced with a "surfer cut." I'll have to take a new picture soon.

When I was pregnant with Gabe I knew he would be a big strong boy. He kicked harder and more frequently than the other two. The last trimester was very painful because of the force of his kicks. When we were thinking of names, I searched for a name that meant strength. We chose Gabriel because it means, "strong in the Lord." We call him Gabe because we like the sound of it. Isn't it funny how you can already tell what your kids are going to be like even before they are born?

Gabe has a way of making everyone feel special. He gets very excited to see people. He is an affectionate child and loves to give hugs and kisses. He loves having books read to him. I think his very favorite thing all week long is being an "only child" for a few hours each Tuesday and Thursday when the other kids are both in school. He will go back to his room and play independently for hours. As much of a people person as he seems to be, he also seems to cherish this time alone.

Gabe's full name is Gabriel Neslon Terrell. He got saddled with Nelson because of Todd's love for Willie Nelson. That's right. Willie Nelson. Gabe does seem very musically inclined, who knows?

Gabe is a great kid. We love him dearly. Stay tuned to read about Noah and Daisy!

There are two sides to everything......

Caveat: This is not about the Terrell Tribe. It's really about what I experienced today and what it taught me.

There are two sides to every story. There are always at least two ways of looking at situations. You can be a "glass half full" or a "glass half empty" kind of person. I had an interesting set of circumstances happen today. I could tell the story two different ways, with two different outlooks, and both stories would be true. However, only one telling conveys the whole truth. Here it is.

In case you don't know, I'm the Director of our Preschool and Children's Ministries at church. On any give Sunday, we have about 80 Preschoolers (birth-4yrs old), about 85 K-3rd graders, and about 30 4th and 5th graders. We're looking at close to 200 children each Sunday. I guess you could say we're a moderate sized church.

Well, today I had a sense in my spirit that God was in control of the day. That's a good feeling! Sometimes I feel in my spirit that God says, "Hold on, today is going to be a bumpy ride!" But today, He said, "Don't worry - I've got everything worked out." I'm so glad He told me that on the front end of the day, because I was greeted this morning at 7:30 am by my Pastor with a message that a volunteer wouldn't be in today. That volunteer was supposed to lead our children's church at 11:00. Pastor said, "I am really sorry to have to tell you that." I just smiled and said, "It's okay. God will work it all out." I meant it too.

Long story short, I was more short on workers this Sunday by call ins and no shows than perhaps any other Sunday since I've had this job. Oh, and the message Pastor gave me about that volunteer, was really about a completely different volunteer. Neither one was there, so at least I was prepared for the worst.

Here's the really cool part. This is the good stuff. This is the kind of stuff that affirms my calling and makes me so thankful that God lets me see His omniscience and His care for all of the details. This is the stuff that makes missing worship services, plunging poop clogged toilets, holding paper towels over bloody noses and cajoling crying kids to go to their classes while I'm missing my own class, all worthwhile.

We were short in preschool (3s and 4s) this morning. By 8:30, our early service time, I had no workers. However, I only had 3 children between both classes. That NEVER happens. One set of workers came late, we combined the classes, and all was well. God had that under control. At 9:30, a choir member came up to me and asked, "Where do you need me? I'm not singing today so I figured I should see if you need any help." At the time, I didn't think I needed any help, but responding to a prompting by the Holy Spirit I said, "Yes. Go at 9:45 to the three year old Sunday School class. The teacher is always by herself, and having you come in would be a real blessing." 12 kids showed up in that class this week. The teacher could not have done it alone. We didn't know that, but God did.

I made a mistake this week and forgot to call 3 sets of "5th Sunday volunteers" to tell them that their spots were covered (long story) and they didn't need to serve. This is not ordinary for me. I'm pretty detailed and seldom overlook conveying important information like that. Well, with our call-ins and no shows today, I actually did need my 5th Sunday volunteers. The Lord knew I would need them all along. We didn't have to scramble, close any rooms, combine any classes to an unsafe capacity, etc. God is so good!

There are more bits to the story that I haven't written that just make the point even stronger that God has everything under control. I just don't have time to write them all now.

There are 2 sides aren't there? I found myself recounting the day with Todd and focusing on all that went wrong. The Lord quickly reminded me of the peace He gave me in my spirit, and that all the things that "went wrong" were already taken care of in the heavenlies. He really did have it all under control. How cool is it to see God work in such a real and practical way? I am truly blessed!