"SANTA SCARE"

This was the first year that Barrett was all about going to see Santa. Branton on the other hand was terrified. Bless his sweet heart. I will say that this Santa was one of the nicest Santa's I have ever been around except for the one I am married too. HO!HO!HO!!

Finally!!!!

It has been way too long! I decided to spend some time updating since Branton is sick and we will be home today! The boys are getting so big. Branton is almost 22 months and Barrett will be five in March. This past month has been a whirlwind. God has really allowed me to have a thankful heart and spend some time reflecting on the positive instead of the negative. Praise number one, we are still living in the house we are staging as we are finishing up on building. It's looking like we won't have to move twice in the midst of everything. Praise number two, Barry's work has been such a blessing. He truly is building a business. He has been working so hard for our family and I am so proud of him. Praise number three, I am finally over the sickness of this pregnancy and we cannot wait to find out what this little munchkin is.

I keep telling myself that I can't wait for '09 to be over but in all realization I needed to stop for a minute and reflect on God's goodness. We truly do have so much to be grateful for. I am ready for the year '10 for sure because I am excited to see what it holds.

"Where Do I Begin?"

As I look back over the past month I can't help but think what a whirlwind it has been. We have experienced some of the hardest weeks ever. The one thing that keeps coming to me is that I can't wait to see what is on the other side of all the hardship we have gone through with friends. I know that without a shadow of a doubt that God has something so great in store.
We do have some exciting news for once! We are expecting baby number three come May. I will be eight weeks this week. We went to the doctor last week and saw the heart beat so that was very encouraging. I will say that I have been a lot more fearful this pregnancy and have been super sick. Please pray for a healthy pregnancy and trust in the Lord's unfailing love.

"Grant Her Peace"

"And the peace of God, which transcends all our powers of thoughts, will be a garrison to guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7 Weymouth

As I researched a little about peace this morning I found that it is associated with someones well-being and security. Security is such an important aspect to be able to proceed in life. My prayer is that today Kirsten will feel a tremendous amount of PEACE that truly surpasses all. Pray for her heart today and that the Holy Spirit will surround her through every second of the day. PEACE! "GRANT Her PEACE."

"Will it Ever End"

I am so ready for all this suffering to stop. I know deep in my heart that we have to endure it so that we can cling to our almighty Savior but it is still so hard to watch and experience. I can't help but think, God is Good! God is Good! God is Good! But right now I am having a hard time believing that. As I got the phone call yesterday about our dear friend John Carlton I literally fell to the floor in disbelief. This isn't suppose to happen to one of my best friends. "NO LORD, PLEASE NO!" Please pray for my dear friend Kirsten and her precious boys as she is about to approach some difficult days ahead.

Psalms 138:8
"The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me."

"Make New Friends but Keep the Old"

This past weekend a group of us girls all got
together in Fayetteville to celebrate Brooke and Lindsey's 30th
Birthday. We all had such a wondeful time catching up and
staying up late even though we forgot what those days were like.

The old roomies minus Alyson. We missed you

Alyson!

"And Life Goes On"

We are on our way to take Barrett to school. Branton
is so excited because he gets all Barrett's toys to him-
self.




He is getting so big.

Barrett's first week of school.

"A Word From My Sweet Sister"

This is something I just received from my sister and thought it was so good that I wanted to share it with all of you.

"Some things really spoke to me a few weekends ago when I was able to attend our church's women's retreat.
Seems like lately we have all been bombarded with bad news and many trials and suffering of our friends and love ones.

In one of our talks, I felt like God was talking directly to me after what all we have gone through lately. It was on "Suffering".

As Christians we can count on suffering in our lives, God promises that to us. Suffering is not, in itself and essential good. BUT..... Suffering is ordained by God, and is intentionally used by Him (God) as an instrumental good. We can count on it so should be ready for it when it does come our way. We will suffer!

Suffering can sometimes be Gods designed and appointed means of judgment. Isaiah 10:5-19, Numbers 16:31-35, 41-50
Suffering can be used to call his wayward children back to him. Proverbs 3:12
Suffering can be an appointed means for the growth and strengthen of believers in Christ. Romans 5:3-5
Suffering can reveal human weakness so Gods glory may be on full display. 2 Corinthians 4:8-12
Suffering is simply a necessary and expected part of ones discipleship to Christ, in that it will prove and test our allegiance to, and hope in him ALONE! This is made to make you like Jesus! 2 Timothy 3:12

Nothing will EVER ever enter your life that is not for His glory or your ultimate good!!!!!!!!!!! Romans 8:28-29

Clinging to these truths gives me such HOPE in our trials and suffering times.

The Joy will come!!"

Thanks Ivey! Such wondeful words and what a great reminder!

" A Summer of Sovereignty"

When I think about the sovereignty of God I will always reflect on the summer of 09. He "works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will" It has been one of those summer's where God has been so prevalent in the good areas and the bad. The verse that keeps coming to my head over and over again is "His love endures forever." (Ps. 136) Yesterday was one of the hardest days I have ever experienced. It was a day of grief, love, grace, hope, and peace all thrown into one. I can't help but think about the Lord's sovereignty and how He has chosen to save his people from their sin and consequences if we decide to trust and follow Him.
Isaiah 61:1 "The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of the vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn." May I find the Lord's favor in this year even if I am so ready for 09 t be over. GOD IS GOOD. May I not just type it but truly BELIEVE it!

Acts 14:22

"We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God."

"A Heavy Day"

"Our God may drench us with grief, but He will refresh us with His mercy. Our Lord's love letters often come to us in black-edged envelopes. His wagons rumble, but they are loaded with benefits." As I have been reflecting and praying for the Rowe family today the Lord brought me this through my quiet time. If you have never read the devotional Streams in the Desert than you are missing out. My dear friend Courtney introduced it to me and it is wonderful. We have to remind ourselves that God is merciful even in the midst of grief. He is a good God and does love us.

Our New HOME!

We finally started our house and are finished with the block.

I am ready to get to the fun part.

Feels Good.

To those teethers.

Tropical Snow

Barrett's first tropical snow. Yes, It was just as good as

I remember.

"My Big Ole Jesus Swimmer"

It was a BIG week at the Rush household. On Monday night Barrett asked Jesus into his heart. Yeah, I know you are saying he is so young and this will be one of many but he was determined. We have been doing this devotional at night and it was about heaven. It stirred his little mind and he wanted to know how he could go to heaven one day. We told him whenever he has ready he could ask Jesus into his heart. He was ready. I am sure this will be one of many but you have to start somewhere. Later in the week JoAnne said, "Barrett I see Jesus in your eyes." and he said, "No you don't Jesus has a beard." I thought that was pretty precious.
The house we have been staging has a swimming pool and we have enjoyed it so much. It has given us an opportunity to really work with Barrett on his swimming skills. He decided this week that he would take off on his own. Branton on the other hand decided to jump in on his own but not to swim to sink. It was pretty scary but luckily Dad was there to rescue him in slow motion.

Good Friends!

Barrett is about to start K-4 at Arkansas Baptist. I can hardly believe the summer is almost over. Sunday night we went over to the Clinton's for dinner. Avery Clinton is going to be in Barrett's class and he is just thrilled. They play so good together. I also tried to introduce Susanne to the blog world. We worked on setting her up one so we will see.

"A Weary Weekend"

Where do I begin... On Friday the 24th my sister's brother-n-law went missing. He was found on Thursday the 30th and sad to say he didn't survive. It was a tragedy to say the least. I wish I could share all the details but it is a mystery in and of itself. I got a phone call Thursday morning it was the voice of my sister wanting to be with her family so my mom and I loaded up the car and headed to Dallas. His wife and three daughters don't know what to think or much less how to approach another day. The Lord showed me so much through this weekend. Without Him we have no reason to live. I am so thankful that I know Him in a way that gives me hope. It gave me a new perspective on reaching and saving those that are so lost. It was a "Weary Weekend" because when others don't have the hope in heaven or in Jesus Christ where does their hope come from? I was so blessed to get to help my sister with her precious children and just be there for her. Isn't that what family is suppose to do?

No CAVITIES!!!!

Well, today was a pretty dramatic day for Barrett Michael. He had his first dentist appointment. He asked a million questions on the way and when we got there he looked right into my eyes with the most serious look in his eyes and said, "This is not going to be okay." He actually did really well. The only thing we have to address in a few years is his cross bite. The most important part was NO CAVITIES!

Another Weekend Away!

As some of you know we are staging a house that is for sell while we build ours. It is beginning to get a little old considering we have basically been showing a house since October. My outlook on it is this is my job and if this is how we can save some money and make some money I am all about it. There was an open house this weekend so we decided to go over to Lake Hamilton and spend the weekend with Barry's grandmother. The boys loved it.

Such a PAIN.....

So we woke us this morning to go about our business with a little surprise awaiting. Barry went out to get into his truck to find that it had been broken into over the weekend. They didn't take anything but his checkbooks. After calling the bank there was a $450 transaction to Burlington Coat Factory. Oh well I guess today will be dedicated to getting all that straight.

July 19, 2009

We went to Fayetteville this weekend and had a great time. Elizabeth introduced me to the blog world. She helped me get started and I don't think I would of ever done it without her help. Barrett and Branton fell in love with their dog "Tosh." Barrett and I slept together and the first night he talked in his sleep all night. He kept telling Tosh to quit licking his feet and to get off of him. Little did he know there was no Tosh in the bed. When he woke up the next morning he said "Daddy, did you know that Tosh slepted with me last night?" His dream was so real that he literally believed the dog was in the bed with him all night. It gave me a better perspective on his sleeping habits. Let's just say I sure am glad he has his own bed. Thanks Bella and JoBo for a fabulous weekend. It really was like a retreat! Yall are always so helpful with the boys and we really appreciate it. Love you!