Happy Birthday little man!
Today is my little nephew, Roman's, birthday. He is five years old and this is his first birthday celebrated in the United States. A year ago he celebrated his special day in an orphanage in Siberia. And I met him for the first time just days later. That's when my husband Dave and I met up with my brother and sister-in-law on the other side of the world to help bring Roman and his brother Jadon home to meet the rest of their family. It seems like a lifetime ago and I can't imagine our world without this precious little man in our lives. He stole my heart from the moment we met and will always hold a piece of it! So this day we celebrate you, sweet Roman. We celebrate your birth, the family God chose for you, and the future God has in store for this, your one life!
Labels: family
Happy Valentines Day!
In case you are new to this blog and missed last years Valentines Day post, below you can read an excerpt of last years post on our annual family Valentines tradition. It's one of our favorite days of the year because it's a time when we all take a little time out of our day to appreciate and acknowledge our love for each other.
..the Kush Family Valentines Day consists of the following and has evolved, food-wise as the kids have gotten older....
I begin by shopping in advance for token gifts for Dave and the children, something I know would be special to each of them. I buy conversation hearts and a couple of other Valentine candies and always the same cards.....the ones with an animal on front and big chocolate lips attached, you know the kind.
I begin preparing for dinner around 3 p.m. with layered chocolate pudding in wine glasses, crab legs, salad and peirogies (as per the kids' requests!). I always set the table with decorations and dinnerware appropriate for a special occasion. I position their festively wrapped gifts at their place setting and declare the dining room "off limits" until dinner time!
Everyone is instructed to write what they love about each person in our family on a handmade card and then I put it under that persons dinner plate. When it's time to have our seats we pull out our notes and read them and it always brings tears to a mothers eyes to hear what their siblings love about each other! That's my favorite part! We then open our gifts, pray, thanking God for his love for us and our love for one another and then dig in to our much-anticipated meal of the year.
On a side note, this years event was slightly different. We added Parker & Lexy (nearly extend family!) to the mix and I accidentally purchased Spanish conversation hearts! What I want to know is, do they sell those in Indiana or Kansas???
Labels: family, holidays
Twelve years ago Nancy Leigh DeMoss, out of a burden for revival in the hearts of Christian women, birthed a daily broadcast on Moody Radio called "Revive our Hearts." This broadcast has been a blessing to women worldwide over the past decade and a movement began as a result of its success.
That movement started in 2006 with the planning of the very first True Woman Conference. Two years later, in October of '08, with several partners on board (Moody Publishing, Family Life & Moms in Touch, to name a few) the Revive Our Hearts team gathered with over 6,300 other women in Chicago, Illinois for a national conference which unveiled the True Woman Movement and the signing of the True Woman Manifesto. It's purpose is to help women:
-Discover and embrace God's created design and mission for their lives
-Reflect the beauty and heart of Christ to their world
-Intentionally pass on the baton of Truth to the next generation
-Pray earnestly for an outpouring of God's Spirit in their families, churches, nation and world
The conference itself is just the beginning of their vision. They are praying for "a widespread movement of revival in the hearts of 100,000 Christian women around the world." It starts here - they are asking women from across the globe to read the Manifesto and sign it. You can read it yourself
here. After signing the Manifesto you can begin the 30-day True Woman Makeover.
I've just signed it myself and will begin the 30- Makeover immediately! Click
here to see who else has signed (my name was added upon my signing!). Won't you join me and the 3,914 other women (besides the 3,500 at the conference) who have signed it online?
Labels: fun facts, ministry
A Prayer for "Worshiping Warriors"
I'm still reading
Warren Weirsbe's "Real Worship." It's a meaty book that's taking me a littler longer than usual to get through because I feel like I need time to digest each chapter before going on to the next. Today I finished the chapter titled "Worship Involves Warfare." Once again more eye-opening truths. At the end of each chapter Mr. Weirsbe pen's a prayer. I'd like to share with you this chapter's prayer and ask that as a church we join together in this cry. It's based on
Psalm 149:6 and it's powerful.
Lord of Hosts,
Your Son has won for us that decisive victory over Satan and all his hosts. He has "disarmed principalities and powers."
Hallelejah!
I realize now, O Lord, that there is a militant side to worship. You are calling me to have Your praises on my lips and Your sword in my hand. The enemy is subtle and strong, and I cannot win the battle in my own strength.
Help me to remember that my battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers of darkness and the hosts of spiritual wickedness. May I not depend on the arm of flesh. The weapons of this warfare are not fleshly, but spiritual.
O Lord, help Your church to be a conquering army! May we not trust the externals--our budgets, our buildings, our impressive statistics. May we trust You and have clean hands and pure hearts so that You might fight our battles with us. And remind us that we are not fighting flesh and blood; we are fighting spiritual wickedness. Lord, give us unity. May we fight the enemy and not each other. Help us to be more than conquerors through Jesus Christ our Lord.!
Amen.Labels: books
World's Worst
According to the
Christian Post, here are the top ten countries to pray for in 2009:
World Watch List 20091. North Korea
2. Saudi Arabia
3. Iran
4. Afghanistan
5. Somalia
6. Maldives
7. Yemen
8. Laos
9. Eritrea
10. Uzbekistan
Labels: news
Snow Bird Season is Upon Us!
It's been a little busy around here. If you've lived in Florida for any length of time you have a total and complete understanding of the words "snow birds." Yes, it's that time of year and it begins and ends like clockwork each winter/spring. Cousins, Aunts, Uncles, etc. find their way to the warmer climate we enjoy in order to thaw their bitter bones. This year is no exception. Our first round of visitors arrived late last week and we enjoyed catching up with relatives from my mom's side of the family who reside in the cold northeast. It's a blessing every time we're given an opportunity to be with family. Thanks Rich, Annette & girls, and Judy & Chet for sharing a bit of your vacation with us!
Labels: family
