Love

I have always thought of February as the love month. Of course I am sure it is because of Valentines Day, even though I have never been one to "celebrate" Valentines Day. I will admit, the past 2 years we did get into it a bit more as the kids were involved in parties, but I still have not gotten that into it.

This year I felt God really pulling at my heart to slow down in February and think about love. As I meditated on it I am reminded that we are to 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.' Mark 12:30-31. Are we doing that? What could we do to love on others and really make an impact? Are we really  loving our neighbor as our self? And are we really loving God?

Chris and I got together and as a family decided to do a couple things. First, through the recommendation of a dear friend we came to Family From Afar, where we were able to begin the process of sponsoring a child from Africa.  Oh, my heart sings when I see a photo of Dirbe. We headed to the store as a family and picked out as many fun/necessities we could fit into the required size bag and on Valentines Day shipped it off to the group of people that will be able to hand out the "treasures" to the kids.

Second, last weekend we were able to pack food with Feed My Starving Children through a Community Food Packing Hunger Initiative. The goal, 1,000,000 meals packed in 1 day. We started the day off with the first shift and in just 2 hours were able to pack enough food to feed almost 70 children for a year. Children that would otherwise starve to death. In a day the goal was met the and exceeded  and thousands of lives will be saved. What an impact for not only those people but also for our family. We (the boys included) are looking forward to doing it again.

The last item on love was a personal decision. It was time for a hair cut, a big hair cut. Locks of Love is a wonderful organization and donating some hair was a way to bless someone else that needs it.

Before the cut and after.....

As I reflect back on the month of February I am reminded to love your neighbor as yourself.

And They're Off!

Who would have thought that a block of wood, 4 wheels and some spray paint would be so much fun! This month Noah was able to participate in his first Pinewood Derby for AWANA. I would recommend this or other events like it if you have one in your area (yes I do mean the derby and AWANA). The derby gave Noah some extra special time with his dad. They got to spend time working in the shop sanding, painting, picking out a race number, laughing and just having fun.

As we entered the derby room and saw the trophies Noah asked with much excitement, "Do you think I will get one of those?" Time to sit down again and remind him of all the fun he had making it, all the things that he learned in the process, and that not everyone wins and takes home a trophy. In my heart I was excited for him and really did want him to win.

The time for racing came. Car number 22 had a loud cheering section. As it raced down the track 4 different times racing various cars in various lanes it did amazing every time. It was so heart warming to see Noah and his brothers so excited! Finally the time came to reveal the winners. They started with 3rd place, 2nd place, still they had not said his name.... was he going to win?

In the end, he did win and take the trophy for 1st place in speed category. It was great, but the best part about it was not the winning or the trophy. The best part about the derby was the time with dad, the learning, the laughing and the joy filled heart that he has. Thank you Lord for Noah.