• Mar. 16, 2009 - As unto the Lord
Posted By Drewe Llyn
I poured my life into them. I worshiped with them. I prayed with them. I cried and celebrated with them. I spent many thoughtful hours preparing gifts for them. I genuinely loved them. But in the end, I was betrayed by many of them. My broken heart was confused and indignant. How could this have happened after all I’d done for them? Pouring my life into these ungrateful people now seemed like wasted time and energy. Is there no reward for effort? If I had only known it would turn out like this….
You know what I mean. You’ve been there. I don’t need to tell you who “they” are. “They” can be anyone. Family. Students. A spouse. A congregation. “They” can be friends, co-workers, or an organization.
God’s been there. Jesus poured His life into people. He worshiped with them. He prayed with them. He cried and celebrated with them. He spent many thoughtful hours preparing a gift for them. * He genuinely loved them as no one else could. But in the end, the majority betrayed Him and killed Him.
Christ’s heart was broken, but not because He was confused or indignant. He didn’t whine, “How could this have happened to me?” He did everything good knowing exactly how it would all turn out. And how did it turn out? After the bloodshed, after the pain and suffering, after having His heart broken from the weight of the world’s sin, He sat at His Father’s side victorious. Mission accomplished. His effort received a priceless reward…Us.
Anything and everything I do for people is wasted time and energy. But anything, everything done for the Lord will be rewarded. Our priceless reward? Him.
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” ~ Colossians 3:23-24
* Think Garden of Gethsemane.
(c) Drewe Llyn Jeffcoat 2009 |
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• Jan. 15, 2009 - Moved and on Dial-up....
Posted By Drewe Llyn
We are finally moved in to our new place of residence. For a while we thought we wouldn't have any internet service at all, but we did find a dial-up provider. Because of this, our internet usage has gone down. We're having to pick and choose what we can and cannot do online. Hopefully we'll be able to go to the library sometimes to do more surfing. That said, during this "dial-up-unsettled-waiting-on-God" season of our lives, I won't be doing much blogging here at Homeschool Blogger. It just takes longer than my blogger account. I will be updating my other blog much more frequently, so look for me at:
palmsofhishands.blogspot.com
God Bless!
~ Drewe Llyn
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• Jan. 8, 2009 - The End is the Beginning
Posted By Drewe Llyn in
Life
Well, tonight is our last night in the place we've called home for 6 1/2 years. All week we've been packing, sorting, moving things, and making Waste Management earn their money this week. If I weren't so tired and so busy I'd be sad.
We've lived here longer than any other place in our married life. My kids were 14, 11, and 8 when we arrived. Now they are 20, 17, and almost 14. The oldest is in college. The middle child will go to college next year. It is a severe time of change.
A large number of the happy memories I have here involve activities and people from our church. Now those recollections have a bitter twinge to them as people and circumstances didn't turn out as I hoped. I've been disappointed. Wounded. Disoriented. Angry. Discouraged. Devastated. Worried. Heart-broken. All from people I loved and trusted. Sometimes I wonder if this 6 1/2 year section of our life journey was a failure. What did all the energy and love we poured into this ministry amount to? Yet I am reminded once again, because I need to be reminded quite frequently, that it's not about people's love for me or people's devotion to me. It's about my love for them. And I did genuinely love them. I still do, which is why it hurts so much. Perhaps that, above all things, shows I did what God intended me to do. If love betrayed doesn't hurt, it wasn't really love in the first place. Love hurts. Just ask Jesus.
I don't know what the next stage of our journey is, though I feel it has to do with refocusing on Christ, resting, and renewing my strength in Him. We're moving to a temporary location that is in the proverbial "middle of no-where". (I know this is true because there is no high-speed internet there, only dial-up. I'll be forced to come to grips with my internet addiction. *grin*)
Lessons learned:
1. People will fail you.
2. God won't.
3. What is seen is temporary.
4. What is unseen is eternal.
5. Life isn't about what others can or cannot do for me.
6. Life is about having God's love for people, even when it hurts.
7. My world can be shaken, but not destroyed when my hope is in Christ.
I'll be around the internet some, but won't be posting a picture a day like I wanted to.
I pray God's richest blessings on you all. Happy New Year!
~ Drewe Llyn
(P.S. For those who have no clue what I'm talking about you can find out here.) |
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• Jan. 5, 2009 - A Picture a Day...except when...
Posted By Drewe Llyn
My friend Lori over at Just Pure Lovely has joined Project 365 which is simply to take one photo a day for a year. It sounds like a great idea; literal snapshots (or digital shots) of 2009. I can't do Project 365 since it is day five and this is my first photo. Also, I have serious doubts I'll actually remember to take a photo every day. However, I will attempt to post daily except when I forget, when I don't have time, and when the internet is not working.
Here is today's picture:
Here Cassie and Candace are carrying "treasures" from their old rooms into our new (temporary) residence. The forecast was for 70% chance of rain, but we managed to get two loads transferred today.
Bonus shot:
My precious Trio on Christmas Eve. |
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• Dec. 15, 2008 - Christmas Scenes
Just sharing some scenes of Christmas around our house:
Here are the snowflake cookies we baked celebrating the first snow of the season. (But not of the year! Two snowfalls in one year in Mississippi! Who'd have thought it!)
Oliver LOVES the tree skirt that sports handprints of my kids through the years.
My two favorite girls in the whole world in front of our "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree!
Remember how to make the origami stars I posted several days ago? (If you don't, click here.) Well, yesterday I made some out of the Sunday comics. Even my girls think these are cute. (Be extra careful if you make these out of comics, the paper is thinner and more prone to tear.)
More scenes later! |
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• Dec. 10, 2008 - Christmas Gift Bags
I have quite a few "Happy" gifts to give this year. You know the kind - tokens of love for friends, family, Sunday school classes, party favors, etc. Wrapping can get expensive, even if the paper, bags, and bows come from the $-Tree. I know this idea isn't new, but I thought I'd share what I'm doing this year.
Take a regular paper bag. (This is a lunch bag. I hope to get some white ones later.) Measure and mark 4 and 6 inches from the top and draw lines on both sides of the bag.
Gently begin rolling down the top edge all the way around. This is the tricky part. Do it slowly. There may be some tearing, but it shouldn't show when you are finished.
Keep rolling it down until the top edge meets the 4 inch line. Make sure the fold is crisp. (Sorry I didn't get this picture turned around.)
Now do the same thing with your new top edge. This time meet the 6 inch mark.
Walah!
Decorate any way you want using paints, markers, crayons, whatever! The possibilities are endless! Punch holes and add ribbon handles in the color and style of your choice. A little tissue paper will complete the look.
Aren't they adorable? |
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• Dec. 8, 2008 - Go Saints!
Posted By Drewe Llyn in
Life
March, 2008, Cassie decided to purchase the perfect gift for Raymond...tickets to a Saints game. (When she saw the price she decided it would be the perfect Birthday-Father's Day-Christmas gift.) Her plan was to buy a pair of tickets for her and Raymond, but Kyle really, really wanted to go. Since Cassie wasn't willing to buy his, he paid for his own. Even way back in March the rival game between the Saints and the Atlanta Falcons was nearly sold out, and she couldn't purchase just three tickets. They only came in sets of two. I paid for the fourth one and was reimbursed by my MIL who wanted to go too.
We held that wonderful secret until Father's Day when Cassie presented her perfect gift. Raymond was speechless and in disbelief. It was, indeed, the perfect gift for him. Then came the long wait from June to December 7th. During that time Mawmaw had her terrible accident. There was no way she would make the game. She graciously gave her ticket to me.
Yesterday was the big day!
Louisianna Super Dome!
Pictures don't do it justice. It's breath-taking to view the field for the first time.
Awwww...brother and sister love each other...at least when Mom makes them smile. :-)
Part of my favorite team...the Jeffcoats!
It was an awesome day, and the Saints won 29 - 25! |
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• Nov. 27, 2008 - Happy Thanksgiving!
Posted By Drewe Llyn
A Happy Thankgiving to all! Our family of 5 will celebrate here at home, then travel to the hospital to spend some time with my Mother-in-Law who is doing well in rehab after accidentally cutting her foot off over a week ago.
Our menu for today: Grilled Ribeye steaks (Bought on sale!)
Yeast rolls - from scratch
Mac and cheese - from scratch
Butter beans - home grown, picked, and frozen
Deviled Eggs - from scratch
Pecan pie - from scratch
Cherry Cheese cake - from a box mix :-)
Yum! Yum!
I'd better get back to cooking now. |
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• Nov. 18, 2008 - My Mother-in-Law Accidentally Cut Off Her Foot
Posted By Drewe Llyn
Now, if that doesn't get your attention, I don't know what will. My First reaction was WHAT?!?!?!?! I mean, how does one accidentally cut off their foot?!?!?!? Well, some of the details are sketchy, but here's what I think I know: She had just hooked her little dog to a cable in the yard before going to revival. Somehow the cable unknowingly got wrapped around her foot and she drove off severing her foot just above the ankle. I'm not exactly sure how help came, but Johnny (Raymond's step-brother) managed to get her to the hospital in Poplarville, MS. (Which is a very, very small community hospital.) From there she was air-lifted to Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg where they did surgery to clean up the wound. They were unable to re-attach her foot. She received 3 units of blood. The family was able to see her before surgery. She has a long road of recovery ahead of her both physically and emotionally. The doctor said there will most probably be other surgeries. I'm not sure what this means for our immediate family. She will need care for a long time. Will she come live with us? I'm more than willing for that to happen, but we have to move from this house by the middle of January. We have a couple of temporary options, but we need permanent ones. Raymond has a temporary job, but we need a permanent one. It has been a very, very trying few months for us. Yet God has generously provided our needs and I'm more than grateful to everyone He's used to do that. I keep hearing God say, "I'm in control. Wait on Me." When I got in my car last night to drive home "Everlasting God" was playing on KLOVE. If you know that song it says, "Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord." That's what I'm trying to do today. |
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• Nov. 12, 2008 - Huh?
Posted By Drewe Llyn
I read a CNN article today that begs for comment. It seems that D.C. buses will soon be carrying this message: "Why believe in god? Just be good for goodness' sake". Believe it or not, that's not what I'm commenting on. Top of the page bullets summarize the article. The last point being: "Humanist spokesman says agnostics, atheists feel isolated during holidays" This is where I go, "Huh?" I mean, why should agnostics and atheists feel isolated during the holidays? Let's face it, Thanksgiving and Christmas (or Hanukkah or Ramadan for that matter) aren't their holidays! There is no one to thank on Thanksgiving and no one to celebrate on Christmas if there's no God. Why should they feel left out or even care?
My family and I lived in a Muslim part of Europe for two years. We never felt "isolated" during their holidays. Though we are Christians we'd sometimes be invited to share in a special meal (and awesome goodies such as baklava!!) for friendship's sake, but never did we feel isolated. Why should we? We weren't Muslim; those weren't our holidays!
America is a free country; if people don't want to believe in God (or don't care about God) that's their right. But don't whine about the holidays! After all, the word "holiday" is a contraction of "holy" and "day". If someone doesn't believe in anything holy, then they've missed out in more ways than one. That's their choice. If they happen to be included in the festivities of people of faith, then do it for friendship's sake and be blessed. Ooops! Can't be blessed if there's no "Higher Power".
I'm off my soap box now. |
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