Tag Archives: Five Minute Friday

Korey and Alicia: A Guide Post for your Wedding Day

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Korey and Alicia: A Guide Post for your Wedding Day

This post is too long for a #fiveminutefriday submission but today’s word prompt and the occasion is my excuse to tie in my youngest son’s wedding today and the word, Guide.

I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye Psalm 32:8.

No one likes to be called a baby but the youngest in the family takes on that title role rather unwillingly, for a while unknowingly and hopefully wears it proudly, as mine likes to say, “Why have any more when you created the best?!”

Korey Ross Elkins came into our lives almost 26 years ago and has been guided and protected by his brothers from Day One. They are each a little over five years apart so there was quite a spread between the oldest and the youngest. But, it never seemed to matter, especially as they have all grown into adults, I have seen the three of them be angry, even furious with the other but you better not let anyone else do the same or you would have all three of them to tangle with!

When we first made the decision to sell all and move to Latvia, for what was initially a long-term adventure, Korey decided to go with us for the first six months and make sure there was a music team for outreach and church planting. He was 18 years old. It forever changed him and was such a great time for all three of us learning to be guided and even protected by The One True God, Jesus Christ. We have gone through things together that others may or may not understand and we will forever have those memories of the big and the little things that God did just for us…right on time…every time.

But today isn’t all about Korey, because Korey has found Alicia Melynne Hudson, who just happens to be the baby of her family too. (I didn’t look up statistics on the possible day-to-day pitfalls of that arrangement.) If you follow them at all, you have heard that they can create beautiful music together. Understatement! Alicia has the voice we all wish we were born and blessed with. She sings with passion, anointing and allows her ministry to be guided by the Holy Spirit. Walking a pathway of brokenness, she has a ministry to the hurting, the lost and the lonely, giving assurance that this great God we serve never, ever leaves us even when we are sure we can never rise above our circumstances or our past. You can see some of her writings here on her blog, So Far, So Good and her newest recorded Spoken Word here.

Together, they are allowing God to use them, however He chooses, putting Him first and their ambitions in His hands. And with them they bring a pure bundle of joy that has won our hearts from the very first day, Lark Lynnette.

 

This precious, bouncing, never-know-what-she-will-say two year old beauty is the icing on the cake. There was no doubt  from our first meeting that The Sweetheart and I would love her and spoil her rotten because that is what Nana’s and Poppy’s role is.

But we also want to be part of the influence and guide in her life, along with her other grandparents. (She is blessed with so many!) What we do and say in front of these little ones impacts them for the rest of their lives and I want her to have memories of us with her in church, hands raised to God, and even more importantly, I want us to live it out in front of her. The best teacher is LIFE and what she sees at church, and around church people had better be what she sees when she is in our home. Let it be, Lord, let it be.

So, we will be thankful today, even with happy tears, that what God has brought together, no one can put asunder. I finally looked that up after hearing it for 56 years! The common definition is to tear apart, into pieces.

The Middle English used to know the word asunder as distinguish or tell apart. And that makes today even more special, whether those words are actually spoken over them or not, that as they are united in marriage, that they will truly be one, as the Bible declares, that no one can distinguish them apart from the other, no one can tell them apart because they forever belong together. “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” Mark 10:7-9

The NKJV says it like this:

“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” Mark 10:7-9 NKJV

Korey, Alicia and Lark, as you begin this journey as a family, may you always put God first and your family as the utmost second, let nothing get in the way of allowing Him to guide your every thought and purpose and then no one, absolutely no one, can tell you apart or tear you apart.

Love,

Mom

 

 

What Place is This?

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What Place is This? #FiveMinuteFriday! Say what??! I know I have been absent and this post will explain a few things, hopefully. Join Kate and the others and check out their take on the word prompt, Place!

Habakkuk 2:3 “For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.”

Places. I’ve been to quite a few places in the last several years. Seventeen fabulous countries, countless states in the good ole’ United and untold adorable and quaint small towns. As Johnny Cash so ably crooned, “I’ve been everywhere, man.”

But there are other places I have found myself in that were not a dot on the map. Some might call them seasons instead of places. Whatever you title them, they have been times of learning, listening and hopefully, growing.

When I first came home from Latvia in 2012, I was restless because of some severe back pain and SI joint issues I was battling. My days were long and painful and I was discouraged because I didn’t seem to have a place to land. Enter Hope in the Healing. I struggled so when God first nudged me to start a blog. Oh, how I resisted! I cried, I wrestled like Jacob and prayed like Moses. Surely, God didn’t mean me!

He did. And I gave in and for the last five years I have tried to write what He has given me.

It was a wonderful place to be, meeting so many new people, making friends online and in real life all because of a blog. A book was even born because of a season of fasting with online friends. All of these things were God-ordained at the time and I know my life was impacted. I hope a few others were as well.

But, every season transitions and the last year and a half have been quiet on the blog. I cannot explain it but when I go to write there is just silence. I have countless, amazing titles for articles that I just am at a loss to put a body with. There is calm, there is stillness at the edge of my pen.

So, what does God want for Hope in the Healing? What does He want for me? I wish I knew the answer to that. The anointing to write may return, I pray it does. But if not? There will be another season, another place that He wants me to land, minister, glean, give, and pour into. The key is being willing to be led, willing to be used and willing to go when He says, “Go” and to stop when He says, “Enough.” Until then, much as I look forward to fall when it is a stifling summer or spring when winter is brutal, I will look forward to the next season, guided by the One who is in control of all things and resting in the peace that only He can give.

Do you find yourself in an unfamiliar, uncomfortable or even, unwanted Place? Wait for His voice, His prompting; His guidance. It will come, it will be clear and it will be right. Your Place, your Season, is in His Will and sometimes there is quietness, a stillness that will be even more strengthening and relational than any platform could ever be, preparing you for your next step.

For the kingdom

 

 

Hidden in plain sight.

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It’s #FiveMinuteFriday! Loving the word prompt today, HIDDEN. Hope you enjoy my true story of something I thought I had lost. Join others who are writing on the same thing today by clicking here!

Hidden in plain sight.

Have you ever lost something that you thought was gone forever? I have a couple of times. Once, 35 years ago, I lost my engagement ring and wedding band. We searched high and low, you can read the funny, or not so funny story here.

I have moved another eight times since that loss that was never found. In this latest move, my sons were helping us load a truck and go through boxes at the same time (I do not suggest this) and they opened a box that literally brought tears to my eyes. When we sold our home in Missouri, and moved to the country of Latvia in Eastern Europe in 2010, I sold almost every thing I owned to be able to pay, and stay, for the duration of our commitment. From Longaberger to Hoosier cabinets, I parted with treasures. But ever since that move, I could not remember what I had done with our china. I had never seen it again and yet did not remember selling it. Did it get left behind in the old house? That was a possibility because the storage room there was endless and complicated. Regardless, the beloved pattern that I had picked out with The Sweetheart some 40+ years ago, was gone.

So, back to the story…Kris and Korey came upon a box marked fragile and there it was. Every single piece, including the crystal stemware, was in perfect shape, no chips, no cracks, nothing was broken.

hidden

Hidden. For years, something that meant so much to me was hidden from me and yet I had probably touched it, brushed by it, stacked other things on it, etc. It was right in the room with me and I never saw it!

I felt a whisper from the Lord about that. Is He so near at times that we could reach out and touch Him but we do not even realize He is in the room? Do we brush by Him, too busy to really dig deep and get to know Him, too careless with other things that we stack on top of Him, pushing Him to the bottom of the heap?

It happens. He is hidden from us and we do not realize it. We are busy, we are rushed, we are sidetracked with LIFE and yet there He is…waiting to be unpacked, to be used, to be glorified in our lives so that we might lift Him higher for others to see!

We aren’t perfect. We stumble, we fall, we get back up again. We strive for perfection but we will not be perfect in this life. Yet, we don’t have to be!

The Christian isn’t supposed to be perfect, he is to point others to the One who is!

As I unwrapped my china, washed it, dried it and put it in a cabinet that was easy to get to, and something I would see every day, I noticed the insignia on the bottom.

treasure

Treasure Chest. I had a treasure hidden from me for years, wishing I knew where it was at times, remembering it when special occasions rolled around and wondering if it would ever be a part of my life again. Would I be able to leave this treasure, special to me, for my children or grandchildren?

When Kris and Korey saw the china that had made me tear up they made the comment that not only did they not remember it but they did not remember ever having a meal with it on the table. Yikes. Treasures are not meant to be hidden! I promised the next meal they have at my house will be eaten on china even if it’s Papa John’s. I’m going to use it.

Even more important than 40 year old china is this One we call Jesus, the lover of our souls. Don’t let Him be hidden from you, don’t just bring Him out for special occasions or spend your life wondering if you will ever truly know Him. Take Him out of His box and use Him today. He is waiting to be unwrapped.