America, America!

America, America!
God shed His grace on thee. 
And crown thy hood with brotherhood
from sea to shining sea

America as a nation in general is disappointing.  We are fat, lazy, selfish, faithless, liars, sinners, thieves, always worried about getting ahead.  The internet, TV, billboards, posters, radio is all filled with sex, homosexuality, and filth.  Can you tell it's depressing me? I don't know if i'm just now noticing it or what, but it's all over the place, in my face and penetrating right through my heart.  For example:  I was walking through the mall the other day and passed a H-U-G-E sign on the bath and body works wall of a naked woman.  No, I could not see anything because she was covering them up with her arm, but still.  I was like what the crap?!  Our poor boys and men... they are bombarded with it right and left... can't even walk through the freakin mall without seeing a naked woman.  Geez.  So then last night I was watching Law and Order SVU, one of my most favorite shows and one of the only shows I ever watch.  If you don't know... they are the special victim's unit... so they handle rape cases.  After I watched two episodes of disturbing rape cases... i thought to myself  "why did I just watch that??" Really... it is not uplifting in the least bit and it only makes me afraid.  Stupid.  And not only that... they had some really not so right comments about pornography and how it's ok.  Anyway... all that to say, I shouldn't watch it anymore.  Lately I've seen and heard stuff constantly.  I think society, and Christians too have become numb to all of the filth in our lives.  Oh, they're sleeping together? Oh well... it's just reality.  Oh, there's graphic sex scenes in this movie? Oh well... i'll just fast forward it.  Oh, he's gay?  Oh well, nothing we can do about it... that's just how he is.  Wrong, Wrong, Wrong, Wrong.  Yes, there is grace and forgiveness, but there is also still God's wrath.  And I am sad thinking about what will happen to our country if we don't start praying and repenting. 

I have been reading the New Testemant, but wanted a little break.  I was ready to read some stories.  So I landed on 1 Kings (The Message).  Odd book to just land on right?  It has really been a breath of fresh air and quite convicting for me.  It starts out with David on his death bed and him passing the crown on to his son, Solomon.  So then Solomon asks for wisdom from God and God is really happy that he asked for that instead of wealth or long life... so God decides He will give him the wisdom and also throws in the wealth and long life because He was so pleased with Solomon's request.  It then goes into the story of how Solomon builds the Temple.  In great detail it describes the extravagance of this place.  It sounds really beautiful and Solomon says in 8:12 that God will dwell in this place.  It took him 7 years to build the Temple.  At first, I closed my bible and sat there on the couch... legs crossed, ready for work and started praying... "God, thank you for this day... " and I stopped... all of the sudden the words I read began to stir my heart.  I fell to my knees and told God I was sorry for not giving Him the praise he deserves.  That I just read how Solomon and David loved and worshiped God and were in constant Awe of Him and His beauty and His power, and I should too.   It was one of those moments in life where you stop, step back, and re-evaluate how you do things, how you pray. 

On a little lighter note... We are headed for Guatemala on Saturday.  I am excited and nervous at the same time.  I think it will be life changing and I'm so excited to be able to experience a mission trip with Stephen.  This is his first overseas trip.  Please be praying for our team and the people we will be ministering to. 

May Madness

First of all thank you Emily for the new and improved blog!! I am going to try my very hardest to update it more often.  Maybe twice a month instead of twice a year :)

May has been full of some madness! From bachelorette parties, to picture editing, to family time, to birthdays, to remodeling, to weddings... it's been crazy, but fun! We are enjoying our yard so much right now.  I planted a little garden.. which has turned out to be a failure.  We are getting a few tiny tomatoes, but that's about it.  All the other stuff is dead or not producing anything but leaves. 

Stephen's birthday was on the 17th.  At the beginning of May a neighbor had an old 1985 Toyota 4-runner sitting in his front yard with a big fat for sale sign on it.  That night Stephen came home and without coming out and bluntly begging me for it... told me that this was a deal of a lifetime and he has wanted one of these since he was a little boy, "just ask my dad".  In the back of my head I was tossing around the idea, but I didn't want to let him know... so I said that it would be a stupid purchase and another expense we don't need to pay.  He agreed and left it at that.  The next morning I bought the 4 runner.  Bad decision. 

why was this a bad decision you ask?  Because now the transmission is out and it's sitting in my yard, killing my grass.  Psh.  Oh well, it was fun to see him get excited.  Not so fun to see the look on his face when he realized he would have to replace the transmission. 

In other news... Adelle and Emily came to visit!  It was so fun to see them and be able to just hang out.  She is crawling around and looking oh so cute.  We get to see them again in July and I can hardly wait!!

We also had a fun time with Mark and Esther in may.  They came for mothers day weekend and stayed with us.  It was so good to spend some time with them.  And like Adelle, Hadassah and Liam are growing like crazy!  Liam laughs all the time.  at everything.  And Hadassah is now up to my hip! TALL! Liam is doing very well and has had great check-ups.  We are so very thankful for that!

Katie's wedding was also in May.  And It was B-E-A-utiful! She looked absolutely stunning.  Everything magically fell into place.  I had so much fun hanging out with all the girls.  It was very refreshing.  Below are a few pictures I stole from someone else from the wedding. 

We also had our frist trip to the Vet... which is another post in itself.  So we'll leave that one for the next post. 

That's the month of May in a nutshell folks.

Emily, are you proud?

Crazy Love

1.  I know I stink at the whole blogging thing... When I actually think of something to write about, it's not the most opportune time. 

I just finished "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan.  By far one of the most convicting books I have EVER read.  Each chapter left me in deep thought and deep prayer.  It inspired me to take the bible literally.  Be a radical Christian... give more... love more... seek Christ more.  It also made me realize how little time we have to share Jesus' love with others.  Our days are numbered (Lamentations 4:18).  We dodge death everyday, and yet think that we will live to be 90.  We live as though we have plenty of time when we should be living as though we only have today. 
The other night I was watching the grammy awards.  Normally I wouldn't think twice about watching it, but for some reason I kept getting that squirmy feeling... like maybe I should turn this off, but I kept resisting so I could watch the Michael Jackson tribute... which turned out to be a flop I might add.  Anyway after MJ was worshiped I turned it off and thought "what if Jesus would have come back while I was watching that.."  Not really what I want to be doing when He returns.  It really convicted me.  Made me aware of what I do throughout the day... what my thoughts are... what I watch and listen to.  Now I am not saying I'm going to throw away my tv and never watch it again... just made me aware. 
This morning I read Matthew 24.  To sum up it up... Jesus is warning his disciples about the end of the ages, about His second coming.  He tells them more than once to be on watch, to stand guard.  He talks about how we'll be at work and one of us we'll be taken and the other left behind (vs 40-41).  I don't know about you, but I really don't want my neighbor to be left.  Reading that really convicted me to do all I can to witness to those I come in contact with.  Do you want to look Jesus in the eye when He asks you "what did you do with what I gave you?" and say "Nothing. I didn't even tell anyone about the gift of your Son."  I don't.  That sort of terrifies me and humbles me at the same time. 
So my new goal for 2010 is to live like today is my last.  Join me?

Grace

"Put Bluntly, the American church today accepts grace in theory, but denies it in practice. We say we believe that the fundamental structure of reality is grace, not works--but our lives refute our faith. By and large, the gospel of grace is neither proclaimed, understood, nor lived. Too many christians are living in the house of fear, and not in the house of love." - Brennan Manning, The Ragmuffin Gospel

How true is that! We are told to accept grace, but do we practice it? He talks about how the word "grace" has lost its flaire. It is misused and overused. We live in a world that teaches us to earn everything, to work for everything, that we get what we deserve, that we have to earn love. To God, grace is his gift to us. I cannot do anything that makes grace "more deserved". He also talked about how we tell others about grace and love and blah blah blah, but we dont accept the homosexuals, the "sluts", the drunks, or the poor. We give them cold stares when they walk through the church doors or we become obviously uncomfortable. We have become "wounders of the healed, rather than healers of the wounded". We are trying too hard to impress God, we try so hard to find another way to get to heaven, another way to have a relationship with Christ instead of simply accepting his gift. We rely on ourselves, because its just too hard to trust in the God who made us. It's too hard to trust our Father, the one who GAVE us our hands, eyes, and minds that help us to "earn" everything else that we have. A gift. Everything is a gift from God. Not deserved, not paid for by anything we can give, not a debt held over our heads that God expects us to pay back. Its just simply a gift. ... he gave us grace because he loves us and He wants to have a relationship with us. Plain and simple.

By denying grace... by trying to get to Heaven by our good works we are telling God "The blood wasn't enough.. I need to do more."  Ouch. 

Just some food for thought. 

A day in the life of the Townsends

Sunday Stephen tells me that he was invited to a "work" baby shower but that the invitation (email) said he didn't have to bring a gift.  I quickly told him that it would be rude to attend the baby shower and bring nothing... so I told him to get a box of wipes or diapers and a card... "and not the off brand!". 

Yesterday afternoon Stephen comes home and says: 
Well, I attended the baby shower.  "oh yeah, how was it?" .  I walked into a room full of women and once they saw that I was there WITH A GIFT they ran over to me saying "awwwww, he brought something!"  They quickly pulled a chair over to the circle and told me to have a seat.  I was stuck in the middle of them watching this girl open all her gifts and saying "awwww" everytime a new one was opened.  (I'm rolling by this point).  Then there was a pause and Stephen says:  Theyre naming their little girl Emily Claire.

Story #2
So we're house hunting right now.  Yesterday we were scheduled to look at a house at 6:00 pm.  I made chili for supper so that I could just leave it in the pot cooking while we were gone.  So the tea and rice is made by 5:30 and the chili is on the stove cooking.  I'm feeling pretty good about myself.  The phone rings... it's Stephen.  "Hey, i'm running a little late... i have to stop and get gas so could you just meet me there?"  I guess.  We have driven to this house twice... two different ways. Now before I go on I need you to know something about me.  Nothing stresses me out or frustrates me more than being lost by myself.  Nothing.  So with that in mind... here it goes.  I leave deciding I would take the route that we took 6 months ago thinking it would be quicker.  "Oh shoot, i'm almost out of gas... I can make it there and back."  So off I go... down Shreveport Hwy.  I see a familiar sign and decide with much confidence that this road will lead to Ates Rd.  I then enter a neighborhood that I have never seen before.  Frustrated, I try to wiggle my way out.  It's now 6:03.  Late.  As i'm wiggling my way out of this neighborhood, I begin seeing the same houses over and over again.  Crap.  At this point, I felt my neck and back start getting hot.  (this means im getting ticked off).  Finally I find my way out... Ok... I'll just stay on Shreveport Hwy and it will eventually take me to the service road.  Wrong.  I end up at Pineville High School.  When I realize where I am (pretty much back to where I started) Stephen calls.  The whole time I was lost, I was saying things out loud like "This is all Stephen's fault"... "Yeah, this is what you get Stephen for not coming to pick me up".... "cuss word".... "cuss word". 
So when he calls, this is how our conversation went:
"HELLO?"
"Molly?  Where are you?"
"IM LOST STEPHEN"
"Where are you now?"
"IM AT PINEVILLE HIGHSCHOOL STEPHEN!"
"Molly, calm down."
"I HAVE TO GO... I'M TRYING TO GET THERE"
"Did you come the way we came last weekend?"
"NO I DID'NT WANT TO COME THAT WAY"
"Well, I can explain it to you if you just come the way we came"
"I'M NOT DRIVING ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE EXPRESSWAY."
"That's the only way I know how to tell you"
"I'LL FIGURE IT OUT STEPHEN... I'LL GET THERE WHEN I GET THERE.  BYE!"
(I knew I had to go the other way, but was too prideful to sit on the phone and have him explain it to me)
Dingg.... gas light
cuss word, cuss word


At this point it was pouring down rain and I arrived at 6:38.  Yep... drove around for 40 minutes.  I was still mad as heck at Stephen.  Poor guy.  We ended up liking the house alot so that significantly helped my mood.  When we got home, I explained to Stephen that if he wouldve just picked me up... i never wouldve gotten lost.  Again... I know... poor guy.  He said he didn't think it would be hard for me to find the house being that we just drove over there 2 days ago.  In all reality... I was just mad that I was lost and I needed someone to blame, so poor little Stephen got thrown into the line of fire.  We laughed about it later... but he still couldve picked me up.  ;)

Why?

I watched a video today about a group that travels through Africa in the "brush" to find remote villages that no one knows about.  The group came up on 2 starving children laying in the dirt.  Both suffered from polio.  A few minutes later, their sister comes out from the bushes.  She had just walked miles and carried a bucket of water with her.  She had no access to food, but knew she could access water.  She bathed both her brother and her sister.  This video basically ripped my heart out.  I will post the video at the end of the post, but fair warning... if you are bothered easily, don't watch it. 

I started thinking about it.  Asking God how do we reach them all?  Why these tiny children?  Why do I get to be loved and full and sleep in a bed, but they don't?  The video has a good ending.  The children are taken to a hospital and nursed back to health.  But you can't help but think about the millions who arent helped... who arent discovered and nursed back to health.  When I started getting upset about this God reminded me that I cannot change the sadness in this world.  I cannot feed millions of people... so take what I give you... talents, gifts, money, and use it to glorify me.  I will take care of what needs to be taken care of... trust Me. He also brought this verse to my mind... and it showed me my part, as well as these little children's situation. 

But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. Luke 12:48

Just some food for thought... here's the video:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=576631493#/video/video.php?v=1058106391442&ref=share

One Year!

Well, Because my sister keeps bugging me about writing on this thing, I am.  Here's to you Emily...

Warning:  We have no children or animals, so this blog could get boring. 

We will be married for a whole year on Sunday!  How exciting!  We're going to Hot Springs for our anniversary... not spectacular, but a great get-away.  I'll post pics after the trip.  Here are the high-lights of our first year of marital bliss (in no particualr order)!
1.  Learning to live with the opposite sex... I am truly a lucky woman.  Stephen is a very clean man.  He washes the dishes every night after dinner if I cooked.  We have also learned each other's funny quirks.  Such as... Stephen likes for me to put the whole toilet seat lid down after every sitting for fear of something falling into the toilet.  I don't like for Stephen to put his feet on me.  Stephen had to learn to wash out the sink of any shaving cream puffs left over from his shave... it gets in my hair when i'm brushing my teeth and I smell like a man the rest of the day.  I had to learn to pick up my makeup,hair dryer, and anything else off of the counter... Stevie likes it to be clean and clear! 
2.  Stephen got a new job in July!  WHOO!  He works for Central Management Company (a company who owns and manages nursing homes around the state of LA).  He got a company car and gets to travel all over the state every week... not to mention a pay raise.  He loves it and I love to see him happy with his work. 
3.  Learning how to enjoy each other's hobbies.  I love to run... Stephen doesn't.  But he goes with me anyway.  Stephen loves to bike... I only kind of like to bike, but we do that together too.  Stephen loves to hunt... I do not.  And we rarely share that hobby but i try to go with him once a year even though climbing in a stand scares the mess out of me.
4.  I love quality time.  Stephen loves to be affirmed by my words.  We are still working on that one daily, but getting better! 
5.  Adelle was born!! (Our neice)
6.  It's the best feeling in the world to know that you get to wake up to your very best friend for the rest of your life.

That is all.  I'll try and be better at this.  Happy Thursday!!