Joy of the Lord...

I got to see the joy of the Lord this weekend. Now what did I do you ask? I went 5 hours away from home with fourteen yes 14 teens to a winter retreat. We were there with 565 teens from all over the state. All there to have fun, fellowship with other believers and just possibly get a glimpse of God's face. We did that and so much more.

I just have to tell you - in case you don't already know ;) - I'm not the fun mom. Never have been, likely never will be. I'm ok with that. I was there for crowd control. Or that's what I kept telling myself when I signed up to go. Amazing how the Lord works even with those of us who are reluctant (that'd be kicking and screaming "I don't wanna - I don't think I can") participants.

Now let me tell you what really happened. I got to be with 14 of the coolest, fun, amazing, intelligent, beautiful people on the planet this weekend. And yes they are all teenagers! I had the best conversations with these young people - some at 2 in the morning, others sitting on a stairway in the middle of a building, and still others driving down the road. The genuine love these kids have for each other and for the Lord just blows me away. The light in their eyes and the joy on their faces as they sang and danced while praising the Lord was a beautiful thing to behold. And yes, to be a part of!

I saw them step outside their comfort zone, open up to the Lord, let go of some baggage that was not theirs to carry and accept the Lord where he met them. I saw others gather round and love on each other and yes pray for one another. I saw them help one another through and the giving spirits they all have.

I prayed with kids, cried with kids, hugged kids and punched boys in the shoulder (gently of course) - 'cause you know boys don't like hugs. ;) And the entire time I thought "Lord please be with me, help me to know what to say and what NOT to say to these beloved children of yours. Lord, I am woefully and grossly unprepared for this." I pray that I was a blessing to these wonderful kids - they surely were a blessing to me.

So today try to figure out a way to spend some time with the teens in your life. I promise you won't regret it. I surely don't. I'm ready to go back next year!

In Christ's Amazing Love,
Peg

How are you living?

I heard a song today about living in the moment and enjoying your life. I wondered how most of us live our lives? Are we living for the next thing to happen? Are we living in the past - focused on what might have been? Are we trying to live someone elses life instead of our own? I know it sure seems attractive when your friend's lives seem much more fun, easy, loving etc. But that's not OUR lives.

Are we living the way the Lord would have us live? Are we telling those we love that we love them? Are we hugging our kids and taking the minutes to look into their eyes and see who they really are - Who God created them to be? Are we allowing ourselves to grieve when we need to? Are we joyful in the small and the big things? Are we willing to sacrifice the ideas of what the world would have us do for what the Lord wants us to do?

I know that I want to be the light the Lord would have me be and I want to be of use to him here and now. How that is to play out I surely don't know but I'm done waiting on for that next thing to happen. I'm here and willing and I'm ready now to do whatever He calls me to do. My God has plans for me to live abundantly and to prosper me. I want to live MY life! I don't want to miss out on one single thing He has for me!

So how about you? How are you living your life? Is this where you want to be? Is this where the Lord would have you be?

In the Midst of Christ's Plan,
Peg

What a weekend!

I made it through and the kids were great. At one point we had 13 kids here. My father in law came to fix something for me and brought his friend Donald with his three kids to help. They thought they'd come to a playground when they realized we had 10 kids here! My crew just welcomed them on in and had them all playing together in minutes.

Today we left home at 9:50 a.m. for church. We just got back in at 10:45 p.m. We have been to: Church, had lunch there, to Newport News to Lowe's, dropped the girls off at my friend's house (I had her's yesterday - she got mine today - not that it was planned that way though), went back to Williamsburg to the funeral home for Landon's family viewing, then back to Newport News to get our kids. We ate with them and then finally left just before 10 to come home.

Whew I'm worn out just typing that up! We made it through. One of these weekends soon I'd like to just stay home. Novel idea, huh?

In Christ's Abiding Love,
Peg

10 kids...

Today I have 10 kids here. All under the age of 14. I have my four girls, my friend's almost 2 year old, and my other friend's 5 kids. Praise the Lord for older kids. And for kids willing to play together. And for Wii. Thanks again for that Mimi and Poppop!

I like the idea of having a big family. I don't know what the reality would be like but I like the chance to see how I'd manage in a day.

I'll let you know how it goes! And if you don't hear from me call and check on me. ;)

In the midst of Christ's many blessings,
Peg

May the Lord use my life for His glory.

Most of you know me and mine. What you might not know is that we have 8 children. Four girls here with us and four babies with the Lord. We have a son named Zebulon Adam (we call him Zeb) and three babies we'll get to meet when we get to heaven.

Zeb was born in 2001 at the end of May. He was not due to be born until the fall. We went in for a routine doctor's appointment and came away preparing to go in the hospital the next morning in preparation to deliver a baby we weren't going to take home. He was already home with the Lord. Our church family and friends carried us through that time on the wings of their prayers. The bible says God keeps our prayers in golden bowls - that they are incense to him. Well let me tell you they were a protection around us, an uplifting under us and a love surrounding us during the days we were in the hospital waiting to deliver. Always in the time that followed we trusted the Lord would use that time for His glory at some point.

Well let me tell you how he has done this so far. We have been able to minister to many people in ways that we never would have before. We have a bond with others who have gone through the same thing. And we are able to step up with true love and say "what do you need, we've been there". Sadly, this week we have had that chance again - and it's not over yet.

This week has been a long week for us here at La Geron. Dear friends of ours lost their baby grandson in a similar way to how we lost Zeb. Regular doctors appointment, no heartbeat, into the hospital to deliver a baby they aren't taking home.

We have lifted them in prayer and today went to see them at the hospital. We were there in the waiting room with them while their son and his girlfriend delivered their baby who was already with the Lord. They only had a few weeks left to the due date unlike us. Today they delivered their baby and were able to hold him for a time.

We did not get to see them while we were there. We'll love on them some more later. They needed their family around them then. We're praying for them. We ask that you do the same. And we ask that the Lord would show them one day how He can take this terrible tragic thing and turn it into something He can use for their good.

And so I end another day asking the same thing I start each day with; "Lord use my life for your glory... USE ME where you will... In any way you need me I am there." May that be something you would desire as well.

In Christ's Lap tonight,

Peg

School again!

We've had a long break for the holidays and now it is time to do school again. The girls and I had a hard time getting up this morning. But we all managed to be up and doing school before 9 a.m.!

So we're back to work and doing fine for the first day in a while. Our favorite part of the day is reading together. Each girl has a read aloud that we do together so by the end of the day a lot of times my voice is shot but it is so worth it. The stories are so interesting and we all enjoy each other's read aloud.

Hope your day is great and you learn something new.

In Christ's Love,
Peg

Things we rely on without realizing how much...

we need them until we no longer have them at our disposal.

Our dryer is broken. The repair man is supposed to come out tomorrow to look at it. We're praying that it can be easily (and cheaply) fixed.

In the meantime, we had to make a trip to the laundry mat with the dirty clothes. I washed some at home and took them there to dry them. We still had a huge pile of laundry to wash. $50 in quarters later we have all the laundry clean for once and a HUGE pile of clean socks that need to be matched up. And just so you know I'm not kidding about how huge a pile it is...



And then the reward for our efforts:



We have a ton of socks! Of course we have 12 feet to cover in this house so we need quite a bit of socks. However I don't think we need this many. I still have a hamper of whites to match tomorrow morning when there is better light. At the end of the weekend what doesn't have a match gets a new home in the TRASH CAN! Yes I'm going to throw them away!

One of my resolutions this year is to let go of excess things. This is where I'm starting! And all thanks to a broken dryer.

In Christ's Love,
Peg

Happy New Year!

2009 is going to be a great year. I can't wait to see what the Lord is going to do in our family's life. Hope you all have a blessed year.

In Christ's Love,
Peg