A busy, fun summer.

When the school year ended I sat down with the kids and asked them what were some things they would like to do this summer. We wrote them down and have slowly been checking them off. So far we've had a busy but fun summer.

On June 19th we went to Battleship Cove with my parents. The kids had a wonderful time running around the ships and learning about life in the Navy. It was also great to have my dad there since he served on two of the types of ships they had (a destroyer and also a submarine). We also toured a Russian built ship and a battleship. As a side note: I found out about this thru the website Family days Out USA. They have listings of fun things to do in each state; you can filter the results by indoor/outdoor activities and by age ranges.

The following week the kids went to VBS (Vacation Bible School) at the church associated with the school they are attending. It was a fun, busy week. They are looking forward to VBS at our church next month. It is always a lot of fun but both churches do their VBS in the evenings so it makes for some late nights.

The weekend of July 4th was also busy. Although we didn't make it to any fireworks we did have a fun weekend. On Saturday the 3rd we went to the Roger Williams Park Zoo. We all had a great time. We had never been to this zoo before but had heard great things about it, we certainly were not disappointed. They had a great variety of animals and I really enjoyed the fact that the paths are mostly shaded so despite the weather being in the 90's we were comfortable (even with me having Titus in the carrier).

The 4th was spent at church. We had a great dinner after the morning service and then an afternoon service of singing and sharing testimonies. It was a fun and uplifting day.

This past week has been pretty quiet since we've been staying inside a lot due to the heat. We're hoping to get out this next week for some more fun adventures. Here are a couple pictures from our zoo trip and a recent picture of Titus (since you can't really see him in the zoo picture :) ).

Keira taking a rest by the bald eagles

Ethan & Hailey very excited to see the elephants.

Titus napping thru the excitement :)

Titus - two months old

A new book, new lessons, challenges and encouragement

Since finishing "The Power of a Woman's Words" I have been reading thru a book titled "Sandpaper People: Dealing with the ones who rub you the wrong way" by Mary Southerland. This is proving to be another challenging yet encouraging study.

I chose "Sandpaper People" to learn how to better deal with the difficult people in my life; however, God has also used this book to show me the "beam" in my own eyes and how some of my tendencies can be like sandpaper to others. It's been a very humbling experience but also encouraging to see that God does not give up on us...He continues to show us areas we need to change.

While there is a lot I could share about this book (and many lines I have underlined) I want to give you a glimpse by sharing some of the things in one chapter. The chapter is titled "Be Strong: Develop Endurance" while this book is dealing specifically with difficult relationships there is so much wisdom for any difficulty we face. This chapter focuses on the life of Esther and how she endured in dealing with Haman and despite her fears stepped forth in faith allowing God to use her mightily.

"In dealing with people who rub us the wrong way, we need to
embrace the truth that while our strength is inadequate, God's
strength is more than enough"

She lists four choices we can make that "invite Him to permeate every part of a relationship with His persistent love and regenerating power." These choices are based on Peter's words regarding suffering in I Peter 5:6-10

Choice 1: Choose Humility over Pride:

- "Humility is painful at times but is powerful at all times. Humility chooses total abandonment, a complete submission to God."
- "When we choose humility over pride, we acknowledge the power of God and give Him permission to transform every difficult relationship into a showcase for His transforming love."

Choice 2: Choose Peace over Worry:

- "We need to daily, minute by minute, take those difficult people to God and leave them there, in the palm of His hand."
- "When we live in peace, we are paving the way for difficult people to encounter Peace Himself. Choose peace over worry."

Choice 3: Choose Knowledge over Ignorance:

- "We often assign sandpaper people the role of "enemy", when they are not our adversary but rather, our mission field."
- "Faith is our shield of protection in every part of our spiritual walk; it is the covering for every healthy relationship."
- "misplaced faith is powerless. When it comes to dealing with sandpaper people, we must be careful not to place faith in our own human ability to handle that relationship."

Choice 4: Choose Character over Comfort:

- "all through life, the greatest strength is forged in the broken places."
- "Suffering comes in many ways, but always with the purpose of making us strong enough to endure pain and weak enough to rely upon God."
- "We can insist on comfort and forfeit character, or we can embrace the brokenness, knowing that God will use it to make us strong."

I pray that you have enjoyed this glimpse into what God is teaching me in my life right now thru this book and also that it is an encouragement to you to endure...moment by moment...whatever difficulties you are facing knowing that God is very near and that His Word is "true and righteous all together"

"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 8:37-39

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