There they go...

Our 3 big kids are getting ready to start basketball and, unfortunately, have outgrown their basketball shoes from last year. Tim was going to take them on a trip to Dick's Sporting Goods and decided to take the 2 little ones as well so I could have a couple of rare hours at home by myself. Since this almost never happens, I was thrilled!

So they loaded up and were pulling out when I was hit with the words to a song by Kenney Chesney that go like this ~

There goes my life.
There goes my future, my everything.

It's true! Apart from my relationship with my Lord, they are the reason I get up in the morning and meet each day with expectancy! Those 6 people are my life!

So, I am off to workout during my me-time while asking the Lord to PLEASE keep those special people safe until we are all back home together!

Beauty in the Mundane!

Mundane ~ relating to the commonplace: ordinary...

Translated ~ laundry, cleaning, making beds, cooking...the list goes on!!!

We have had a crazy last 2 weeks! We have been in full birthday mode for so long that mundane is welcome! I find myself rejoicing today in the mundane...finding beauty in the smell of freshly laundered towels, a tidy bedroom, the sound of my washing machine and dryer doing their stuff, a home-cooked meal...

I just let out a deep sigh and realized that there is much contentedness in the mundane! Prov. 31:18 in The Message says, "She senses the worth of her work." I am convinced that is the root of it all! If there is not great worth in the mundane, then the extraordinary becomes the standard and who can maintain that for very long without growing exhausted!

Thank you, Lord, for the mundane that brings such joy!!! For in celebrating the routines of life, we can rest in the knowledge that godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. (1 Tim 6:6)

Living the Dream!!

I really am "living the dream". Not the American dream which is tanking fast, but MY dream...the one that was birthed in me so many years ago!!!

As a little girl, I am sure I had many aspirations and more than one future occupation! The one that always seemed to rise to the surface more frequently than all the rest, though, was the one that had me being a wife and a Mama! On December 1, 1990 my dream began its journey to fruition when I became Mrs. Tim Cash! Aaahhh...what a way to start!

Now some have said we started our family quickly, but when we're talking about waiting to fulfill a dream, the next 22 months seemed to take a lifetime. It happened, though! On October 11, 1992, as I held that perfect little bundle of pink close and stared into her eyes, the waves of a dream-come-true crashed over me and I wept with joy! I was living my dream and it was more wonderful than I could ever have imagined!

The last 16 years have added three brothers and a sister and the dream has gotten better and better! I wouldn't trade being a wife and a Mama for anything in the world! For me, no job, no fortune, no public or professional recognition could ever replace what being a Mama means to me.

So thank you, Rachel, for helping make my past dreams become my present joy and spur me on with renewed hope for the future! You have brought more joy to me than I deserve and have been the kind of daughter most people can only dream of! I love you, baby girl, and am so very proud of you!

Love you,

Mama

A perfect Mama moment!!!

Caleb ONLY wears boxers around the house. We can come in the house and within 30 seconds he has stripped down. It makes for lots of soft skin to rub, though, so secretly I like it!

A few minutes ago he crawled up beside me on the bed and snuggled. I rubbed his bare belly and kissed his cheek! Now this is where it gets good! He sighed and said, "Mama, you just make everything better! How do you do that?"

Gulp!

Love, baby boy...love! XO

My longing fulfilled!

A few months back, Tim and I had a night away at a B&B! It was in a lovely old house in Madison, GA with a screened-in porch on the back. On the porch was an old iron bed and it was heavenly to lay out there and listen to the rain and the crickets. I could picture a bed just like that on my beloved screened-in back porch, but I also know a bed like that is not cheap! A girl can hope, though, can't she?

Well, I did keep an eye out for a bed that would work, but never found anything quite right in my price range...virtually free! ;O) I was at peace that I may never have a bed like that on my back porch, but there was a tiny shred of hope hiding in the back of my heart!

Well, last weekend my very dear friend, Sheri, was having a yard sale. I drove in her driveway, parked in the yard and had no sooner gotten out of the car than I spied it! I am sure there was a heavenly spotlight on it and I imagine the sound I heard faintly in the distance was a choir of angels. It was beautiful, it was white and it was definitely in my price range! I pounced on it and immediately tore off the price tag. I told Sheri it was sold and I was thrilled! Sheri,being the amazing friend she is, would not let me pay for it! (I'll return the favour one day!)

So we disassembled the bed and put it in my car. A couple of days later I found a very nice used box springs and mattress for $50. Sheri's son and our other friend brought me the mattress in their truck and I already had the perfect linens to use on it! I got all this done before Tim got back from Arizona so I could surprise him.

So here is Papa's gift to me...just because! Not because I deserve it, not because I even needed it, but just because he desires to give good gifts...longed for gifts...to His kids!! Isn't it pretty?! :O)

She's 6!

6 years ago today Hannah Joy Cash entered this world with a bang!! She decided midwives were over-rated and Daddy was the only one she needed to catch her!! We should have know then that the Lord was letting us know we needed to buckle our seatbelts because life with Hannah would be an adventure!

Hannah has been just what her name implies...a joy! She is sweet, bossy, funny, smart, motivated and a VERY prissy girl! She loves all things glittery and pink and she embraces life with lots of passion!

We are so thankful the Lord saw fit to entrust us with this treasure wrapped in a little blonde fireball!

Love you, baby girl!! XXOO

Caleb Mac is named after our dear friend, Mac Powell of Third Day! Mac named his son, Cash, after Tim, and we were thrilled to reciprocate when Caleb came along! Caleb loves Uncle Mac and frequently asks to call him so he can see when Uncle Mac can babysit! :O)

Well, last Saturday Caleb got his first opportunity to see Uncle Mac sing live! He was thrilled and talked about it incessantly for days before...and after! Here is a picture of Caleb, Jesse, Uncle Mac and his kids Scout and Cash!










Rachel and Benji with Uncle Mac!

It's beginning to feel a lot like fall! \O/

Many of you know I am Canadian born and bred, now living in the deep south! I love living here, but the heat is another story. I can handle it pretty well the first few months, but by mid-August I am ready to rip my hair out!

I am presently, as I type, sitting on my screened-in back porch. There is steam coming off my cup of coffee and there is a slight chill in the air. It feels even better because I just got done working out and was "glowing" quite a bit! ;O)

Now, the leaves down't get as pretty down south as they do up north. If you have never enjoyed a northern fall, you really don't know what you're missing! I'll take these cooler temps, though! The air is crisp and humidity-free and we can sleep with the window open! Woo! Hoo!

So I'm off to finish my coffee, open all the windows and light my fall candles! While I'm at it, I think I'll bake some pumpkin bread! Might as well go all the way! ;O)

HAPPY FALL!!!

My baby!

Hard to believe, but my baby is playing ball! Here is a slideshow of KK's first game! So cute...but of course, I AM a tad prejudiced!

Florida Vacation

What Have I Done?

Do you ever find yourself saying yes to something and at the same time you hear yourself say the word you realize you must be crazy? Happened to me today in a big way!

I have a passion for ministering to women! I love encouraging them, challenging them, praying for them, admonishing them and giving them food for thought...often the very same thoughts I have had to wrestle through myself. I really do love it...on a small scale.

The funny thing is that I want to love getting up in front of a lot of women and speaking! Kinda hard to do, though, when you absolutely hate to be the center of attention! I prefer to be the one in the family who prays for the one in the family who has been called to speak! ;O)

Do you see where this is going? Any clue? Would it shock you then if I shared that I heard myself saying yes to being the speaker at our church-wide Ladies' Christmas Tea? Was I nuts? Did I have a brain-freeze...momentary loss of sanity? 300 women? Ackkk!

Tim always says that when you run out of the natural then you are a candidate for the super-natural! Wow! Am I ever a candidate!

So, if you think of it, would you pray that the Lord would give clarity of thought, nerves of steel and a lock on my mouth so I don't commit to anything else in the near future! Thanks!

Narrowing it down!

Well, I must admit that I always thought by the time I was 44 (the age I am now) I would have this walking with Jesus thing figured out! What a joke! At the age of 44 the only thing I know for sure now is that I have a lot less answers and a lot more questions!

On Saturday we were able to attend the Braves game and the Steven Curtis Chapman concert. Many of you know Tim is the chaplain of the Braves and he was the MC for the concert/sharing time! Because of a one hour rain delay, we were able to spend some quality one-on-one time with Steven.

Steven's 5yo daughter was killed tragically on May 21st. It has been such a painful time for them and a time of brokenness and searching. He shared that after 30 years of studying, writing songs and leading others in worship, he has had to kick to the curb much of what he thought he believed. He said the few things that are left are what he is passionate about and what he is willing to die for!

What he has found is the same thing I have been wrestling with and, while the struggle can be intense at times, the result is a freedom like never before. Much of what I thought I believed was more man-made rules than scriptural truths. Much of what I thought was really important turns out to be little more than wood, stubble and hay! There are a few absolute, irrefutable truths, but so much of the other stuff is totally subjective and varies from person-to-person.

So here is my beginning list of what I know for sure. It will not be complete, but is rather something I am going to continue to ponder in my heart and add to as time goes on. So here goes...

* Jesus is the Son of God
* He is sovereign
* He rejoices over me with shouts of joy
* He will share His glory with no one else
* He is omniscient...I am not

Will you join me? Will you begin to make a list of only those things you know for sure? Only those things for which you can find black and white evidence?

Tim says we should spend more time questioning answers than answering questions! That's pretty profound if you stop and think about it! Makes me realize afresh why He says we should be quick to listen and slow to speak!

Dear Lord, I invite You to speak to me. I am laying aside all my pre-conceived pat answers where you are concerned and asking You to show me what You want me to focus on. What truths do you want to brand on my heart? What to you want my focus to be personally and in the things I share with others! Help me rejoice in the struggle!

As a very wise friend just shared with me, right in the middle of the word wrestle is the word rest! Must mean it is possible to be at peace even in the midst of sorting it all out!

Remember Me!

When you remember me, it means that you have carried something of who I am with you, that I have left some mark of who I am on who you are. It means that you can summon me back to your mind even though countless years and miles may stand between us. It means that if we meet again, you will know me. It means that even after I die, you can still see my face and hear my voice and speak to me in your heart.
Frederick Buechner

We all have people in our pasts who have impacted our lives greatly and whose influence has left ripples for generations to come! I got to join my husband recently as he spent time with just such a someone!

Tim has often shared stories with the kids and me of his days playing Little League, college and professional baseball. As you can well imagine, the years were filled with many coaches and some were more memorable than others. One coach whom Tim has always referred to as an influencer and a man from whom he learned a lot is Chase Riddle! It has been said that Chase Riddle has forgotten more baseball than many men ever knew in the first place! To say that he loves the game of baseball is an understatement.

Coach Riddle himself played professional baseball and he coached and scouted at the professional level. By the time he entered Tim's world, he was coaching at Troy State University in Troy, AL where Tim went to pursue his dream of playing pro ball! Coach's sun-weathered skin hinted at the Indian blood that coursed through his veins and the stains on his jersey were evidence that he had long ago embraced chewing tobacco as a viable pastime!

Coach Riddle taught his players to be smart when they played! He taught them with integrity and wisdom and a lot of passion thrown in! Coach taught his players a lot about baseball, but he taught them about life as well. He taught in such a way that he would endear himself to his players and they would be drawn back whenever the opportunity presented itself!

On the way back from a Florida vacation, our family had the opportunity to spend an hour with Coach and Mrs. Betty. It was a special time of rekindling old friendships and forging new ones. It was a chance for our children to glimpse back into their Daddy's past and see someone who helped shape him into the man he is today. Baseball stories abounded and there were more than a few laughs!

As we prepared to leave, Coach walked out to the car with us. It meant a lot, for he was still recouping from surgery a few weeks ago and even a short walk like that was sure to be tiring. He and Tim embraced one last time and Tim got in the car. No sooner had the door closed, than Coach was knocking on the window. He apparently had one last thing to say, and he had saved the best for last!

Coach Riddle, the one who had spoken life into the lives of so many, had a final admonition. He leaned into the car and with an urgent tone, gave Tim one last charge..."I see how close your family is and how much they mean to you! Hold them close and don't ever allow anything to become more important than the time you spend with them ~ not baseball or ministry!"

Thank you Coach and Mrs. Betty! Thank you for allowing us to spend time with you in your home and thank you for continuing to be influencers of others. Thank you for making relationships paramount to everything else and encouraging others to do the same! You have left your mark and we are forever grateful!

My light bulb moment!

Being in ministry is so rewarding and I am so thankful the Lord has called Tim and I to do what we do! Being in ministry is so hard, though, and I sometimes wonder why He called us to do what we do! How is that for a double-minded wo-man?! ;O)

Seriously, though, it is so hard to pour yourself out in service to others and then have them turn around and attack you or just cast you aside because they don't like something you have shared. My friend, Sunny, helped me so much recently because she reminded me something I have encouraged others with...if a person can discredit the messenger (you) then they don't have to receive the message you are sharing!!! My how I needed to be reminded of that!

That's not my light bulb moment, though, and it gets even better! :O)

Tim and I were watching The Bucket List the other night with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. It was really a very well done movie and was very moving at times. These 2 men have learned they are both terminally ill and their time on this earth is coming to a close. They decide to make a list of all the things they want to do before they die and they then set out to accomplish the list together.

At one point during the movie, Jack Nicholson has shared his painful past with Morgan Freeman and Morgan, soon after the telling, decides to intervene and devise a way to help Jack pick up the pieces of life with his daughter. Jack becomes irrate and says...

"Just because I shared my story with you doesn't mean I invited you to be a part of it!"

Instantly upon hearing that line, I felt a spiritual slap up side the head and a still, small Voice said, "That's why they get mad! They have shared their story (sometimes repeatedly), but they have never invited you to be a part of it!!" What freedom I experienced!!! It was if I was able to emotionally divorce the pain of the rejection because I suddenly understood the root of it!

Now don't get me wrong...it still stinks to give and give and give and then get shut out! No amount of realization can change that! I can now rest in the knowledge, though, that I haven't done anything wrong ~ except to maybe to care too much!!!

1 Thes. 2:1-20 (NASB-U) For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain, [2] but after we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel of God amid much opposition. [3] For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit; [4] but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts. [5] For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness— [6] nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority. [7] But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children. [8] Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us. [9] For you recall, brethren, our labor and hardship, how working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. [10] You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers; [11] just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children, [12] so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory. [13] For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe. [14] For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews, [15] who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out. They are not pleasing to God, but hostile to all men, [16] hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved; with the result that they always fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them to the utmost. [17] But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short while—in person, not in spirit—were all the more eager with great desire to see your face. [18] For we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, more than once—and yet Satan hindered us. [19] For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? [20] For you are our glory and joy.

Thank you, Papa, for the assurance that you know my heart and my motives in ministering! Thank you that even when grace is not extended by others, You meet me with open arms! \O/