sports weekend...whew!

what a weekend we just had! it was all day sports day on saturday....
noah and nate both had opening day baseball games...nate's team the owlz played first...then opening day ceremonies....a quick lunch....then noah's team the bats played....with team and individual pictures mixed in as well....nothing a like a nice spring morning and early afternoon at the ballpark. i'm so proud of noah and nate both....the both played the pitcher fielding spot for their respective teams and both were the leadoff batters in the lineup. Both played exceptionally well. with all the excitement there was a little sadness...another "last first"....it was nate's first baseball game...i realized as he was playing that I would not have another first baseball game with one of my sons....they are growing up so quickly.
and speaking of growing up...luke is now 13 years old...i can't believe it....he is on the aau basketball team i'm coaching....we played in our second tournament this weekend....so after two baseball games that morning we were involved with 3 basketball games that late afternoon and evening....what a day! the team did really well and luke played great! we were 4-1 on the weekend with all four wins over 20 points each....we lost in the championship to a team that finished 5th in the nation last year....now we know what kind of work we have to do....i'm really enjoying working with these 13-14 year old boys....watching God work on them little by little is amazing and rewarding.
whew!

what is sustaining?

only one thing....Jesus!

in John 15:5 Jesus says the He is the vine and we are the branches...and that by staying connected to Him we would produce a lot of fruit....just as a branches is sustained by the vine it is connected to so are we sustained when we are hooked up with Him!

we try to find strength, joy, encouragement in all kinds of places....we try to find it in the people we love....we do lots of different things in search of that ultimate feeling or experience....but I'm learning through some hard things right now that Jesus is who sustains me....I can find all that I need in Him!

my prayer today: Lord, help me stay connected to you. Sustain me with all that I need from You today. Teach me not to look anywhere else, but to look to you. Amen.

refuge...

where do you go to find refuge when life gets a little uneasy? where do you find strength? it is so easy to turn to places of comfort...friends, family, food...all kinds of places to turn to for comfort and to feel safe. what do you do when the storms of life are affecting all the places you feel safe?
turn to Him....Psalm 73:26 says "...my flesh and my heart fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever..."
i am learning more and more that everything I have is sustained by His strength....He is the strength of my heart, the strength of my peace, the strength of my joy, the strength of my understanding, the strength of my forgiveness, the strength of my love....
when i take refuge in Him i find this strength!

i make my dwelling in the shelter of the most high...therefore i sing!
i find my rest Lord in the shadows of the wings of my king!

my prayer today...
Lord, I choose today to open my heart and take refuge in You. Give me a song to sing today as I recognize and experience your strength in every area of my live! I love you Lord. Amen.