Tipton Children's Home

(Visit tiptonchildrenshome.com)

Tipton Children's Home will soon be recognizing 91 years of child care.  TCH exists to help those who are in need. It is a residential care facility for abused/neglected children ages 5-18 located in Tipton, Oklahoma. The children are in cottages....homes....each home with a mom and dad who serve as houseparents.  

Children at TCH often come from referrals from people such as YOU.  There are current openings available for those in need.  Do TCH a favor, won't you?  Please help share the news about TCH.  So many of those who need our help get caught up in the system and fall through the cracks never knowing of the services TCH can provide. If TCH can help you or anyone you know in any way, please call or have them call the office at 580-667-5221.  And, if you're on social media, please share this post or one of the pictures. Thank you.

Coming Home

Later on this afternoon, our oldest child will be back home. Lauren will have completed her first year of college!  She will officially be a Sophomore.

It seems like yesterday that we dropped her off, driving back home without her, tears streaming. We weren't sure what life would be like without her here. But, just like she did, we adjusted. We learned to enjoy her weekend visits. At Christmas she was here longer, then transferred closer where we've been able to see her a lot more often.  And now she'll be home for three and a half months.

There will, most likely, be an adjustment to Lauren living back at home. Her brothers have adjusted to life without an older sister bossing them around, for one! Ha ha!  She will have to get used to being home, too.  She won't have quite as much freedom as she had before, but will have more, in a way.  My rule for her coming home was that she didn't have to help around the house if she was here for only a weekend, but if it was more than three days, she was no longer a guest. She was part of the family....and the family works together! :)

This relationship between a college child and her family makes me think of God and His children.  Maybe the reason some of His children feel distant from Him is that they aren't around Him enough.  Maybe they just visit from time to time, but don't ever stay long enough to be really familiar with Him.

God longs for His children to be close to Him. He doesn't want just occasional weekend visits. He wants full-time custody!  He wants His children to feel so comfortable with Him that they can tell Him anything - and they do.  He wants that closeness. He wants their hearts.

When we give our lives fully to Our Heavenly Father, it won't be an adjustment each time we come home to Him.  It will be natural.  Coming Home.......that's what God wants from His children.  All of them.

The Chronicles of Biscuit - Homesick

The Chronicles of Biscuit: Stories about our youngest son, Tyler, whose nickname is Biscuit.

Biscuit is at church camp this week.  Our oldest (daughter) is there, too, as a counselor for the young girls.  Biscuit wasn't sure about going to camp, even though he loves camp.  He's always gone, but it's always been with his daddy and I - not as a real camper.  This time is very different.

Several days before camp, Biscuit was kind of moping around.  I asked him what was wrong.  He said, "I think I'm going to miss you when I'm at camp."  I told him I would miss him, too, but that he would be just fine.  He went to bed and the first thing he said the next morning was, "But, I still think I'm going to miss you!".  I'll miss him and am missing him, too!

I got a message from my daughter saying Biscuit fell twice and scratched his tummy and arm.  He thinks camp is awesome, but he is missing home.  I'm not sure if he's missing his daddy and I and his two brothers - or just being at home and getting to play outside.  He likes being home.  He is homesick. He really doesn't like to be gone.  Obviously, camp is going to be great for him and I know it will be a great experience!

I said several posts back that my parent were moving.  Well, it happened.  They did move.  Today is the first day they will wake up and be real Texans....not just visiting Texans.  I'm sure they'll adjust, but for today and many days, they may be feeling homesick.  I'm sure they are, actually.

Being homesick isn't fun.  It's like something really important and really special is missing.  It tugs at your heart.

As Christians, we should all be homesick, but not for an earthly house/home.  We should be homesick for our heavenly home.  We should long for that home - and look forward to that home.  We should WANT to live there soon!  However, sometimes I'm afraid we don't long for that heavenly home.  We get too attached to this earthly life and earthly home.  I know I do!

What could be better than a heavenly home in the presence of God and Jesus???  NOTHING!  That's right - NOTHING!  There is nothing that could ever compare to that.  It will be wonderful!  There will be no pain. No sickness. No sorrow.  No bad things.  No sad things.  Everything will be beautiful!  Everything will be perfect!  On this GRATITUESDAY, I am grateful for God's promise - that those who are His children will live in that home!

Let's be homesick - for Heaven!

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But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Philippians 3:20-21

A Gift from God

When we bought our home, our three youngest children were five, three, and almost two.  We were so excited! We were glad to be getting a larger home with another bedroom since the youngest was sleeping in the dining room.  There was no other place for a baby bed to go in the little house.

I'll never forget the night before the papers were signed for the purchase.  Earlier that day my husband got a call that said we needed to pay $2,000 for closing costs the next day.  We didn't have it.  I was upset and most likely crying. 

Later on that day our daughter asked us to go with her to the living room.  My husband and I followed her and our oldest son.    She had gotten her oldest brother to help her and they had gotten their piggy banks in the middle of the floor.  Some of the money was dumped into a pile and some was left in the container. She told us that we could have all of their change to help buy the house.  I'm sure I cried again after that....but happy tears thinking of what our children had done for us. It was so sweet and so precious!  I'll never forget it! We thanked them for their generosity and explained to them that they could keep their money....that it would all work out and be okay.  And it did work out and it was okay (thank you, God!).

What tender hearts children have!  I told them this story recently.  They like hearing stories about things they did when they were little.  I like telling them, too!

Children truly are a gift from God!

Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him.

Psalm 127:3 (NLT)

Our Disney World Vacation - Clutter and "Stuff"

Because there are six of us in our family and to save some money, we rented a house in Kissimmee, Florida.  We did the same thing in 2008.  The two houses have been within 10 minutes to Disney World, so it's not far, but the advantage to renting a home is being able to have many meals at the house.  Another big advantage is having plenty of room and a washer and dryer.

This rental home was cheaper than many hotels would have been.  The only catch is that most rental homes require a minimal seven night stay.  We stayed ten nights.

We chose this particular home for the way it looked (mostly me....I like to see how they're decorated) and for the game room (mostly for the kids, of course).  We especially liked the Mickey Mouse decorated room for the younger two boys.

The kitchen was equipped, though the "equipped" part was lacking in this particular home.  Still, we were able to have all breakfasts and several main meals at the house.  We also took sandwiches for lunch or for snacks to the parks each day.  Disney doesn't mind their guests taking in food or water at all (probably even bottled soft drinks would be okay).  Taking snacks and water saves a bunch at the parks.

When  we arrived at the rental house, we were excited to see the rooms.  You'll notice that it's decorated, but there is NO CLUTTER!  That is such a great feeling!

There are not piles of junk mail, no mounds of laundry waiting to be taken care of.....in fact - no piles of ANYTHING!

The garage/game room is neat and in order.  The floors are clean.

Beds are made.  The boys rooms are without toys, trash, and "stuff".

Everything is neat and tidy.

But then WE arrive.  Then we bring our STUFF into the home.  We buy STUFF.  We collect papers, pamphlets, Disney World memorabilia.  We get our clothes dirty.  We cook.  We live.....and pretty soon.....there's "STUFF" and CLUTTER all over the place.  JUST LIKE HOME!

We even sent a Christmas tree and other decorations to the home to make it seem more like home and more like Christmas. (Yes, more stuff - boxes of stuff!)  Of course, at the end of our stay, it was up to us to get rid of all of that stuff.  Much of it came home with us.  Some of it was mailed home.  Some of it was thrown away.  We de-cluttered the house before we left so that it could be cleaned and ready for the next house guests.

I was thinking about our lives when we first become a Christian.  At that moment, our lives are uncluttered.  They're made clean by the blood of Jesus.  Our sins are washed away...all the "stuff" is gone.  But sometimes, little by little, we allow clutter and "stuff" to come back into our lives.  Sometimes this is deliberate. Sometimes it's not. Sometimes some of it is beyond our control.

Each January brings a new year.  For many it brings commitments to live differently in some way (diet, exercise, Bible reading, deep cleaning a room, house, etc.)  Maybe now is a good time to de-clutter our lives?  Maybe there is some "stuff" we should get rid of?  Just as our Florida vacation home began with just the bare necessities, but began filling up with "stuff", maybe we should take the time to analyze our lives.  Maybe we should take the time to get rid of all of the things that get in the way of our Christian walk.

The Houseguest

Today our sermon lessons, both in the morning service and the evening service, focused on the Lord's Supper/Communion.  One of the verses our preacher used was Matthew 28:19, which says, "He replied, "Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, 'The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.' ".  This celebration of the Passover would be the Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples before he was crucified.

After reading that verse I thought to myself, "What if Jesus had been talking about coming to my house for his last supper?"  How would I have responded?  As a mom and wife of a busy household, the first thought that comes to my mind about unexpected guests, is "The house is a mess or this isn't a good time.  Or perhaps even, "We've got somewhere to be. We're going to be late!"    But, what if Jesus was the one wanting to come to my house?  Would I really tell Him no?  I would like to think that I wouldn't say no to Jesus.

What about the story of Zaccheaus?  Jesus looks up in the tree where Zaccheaus has hurried and climbed up to get a glimpse of the Savior.  "When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." Luke 19:5.  What would my response to Jesus have been that day?  "No, sorry, Jesus.  I'm busy today.  I've got laundry to do, bills to pay, grocery shopping to get down.  Can you come some other time?"  But look at Zacchaeus' response in verse 6, "So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly."  Zacchaeus welcomed Jesus into his home gladly.  Without hesitation.

To tell you the truth, if we are having company (known company), we use our bedroom as the "pile everything into" room.  The whole house can be almost spotless totally clean, but that one room gets neglected.  It's the one that gets all the junk.  We've been known to put a "Keep Out" sign on the door - especially if it's a large group coming over.  We don't want anyone to get lost in there to see it.  It's off limits.

Isn't that what we do in our own lives?  We'll open ourselves up to Jesus, but there's one part that we say, "Keep Out"?  We won't let Him in?  There's a closet...a room....a section that we don't want Him in?

As a Christian, we've welcomed Jesus into our heart - into our life.  But, is He gladly welcome in all of our life?  In all of our home?  In all of our heart?  We need to make sure we give Jesus the same response Zaccheaus did.  We need to welcome Him gladly.

Being Grateful - Even for the Messes

This past weekend was filled to the brim, but resulted in very little sleep for me.  Monday morning, when the alarm went off, I seriously wanted to just turn it off and go back to sleep.  But, I knew I had to get up and get the kids breakfast and off to school.  I was tired and grouchy.

As I made breakfast and packed lunch boxes, I looked around and saw messes all over the place. Some of those messes were made by others in my family, but some of them were made by me.  However,  I let those messes that were made over the weekend (but that we didn't have time to take care of) get to me and I allowed them to change my attitude. 

As the kids ate breakfast and my husband was in the kitchen and ready for work, I was allowing my attitude to spoil the little bit of time we were going to have with all six of us together for the whole day. I began emptying the dishwasher and rinsing off other dishes getting them ready for the dishwasher. I wanted to yell out, "I'M NOT YOUR MAID!", but I didn't. Thankfully.

Suddenly, I stopped.  I thought about my attitude and my family.  I thought about the water running and the dishwasher ready to fill up again.  Last week we were without power and without hot water for five plus days.  We were sooooo excited when it came back on. Now here I was, six days later, getting upset and complaining about the messes I needed to take care of, and that I was going to be able to take care of with the conveniences of electricity and hot water.

At that moment my attitude turned to gratitude.  I chose to be grateful right then - even for the messes. For ALL of the messes. Not that I don't expect my family members to help out and take care of their own messes, but grateful that I have the resources to take care of those messes.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

Colossians 3:15-16

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