Mainland USA Driving, Four States in a Day

Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the Heavens and on earth is yours, O LORD, and this is Your kingdom. We adore You as the One who is over all things. (1 Chronicles 29:11, NLT)

We are well under way and blogging our Full Return adventure. Early this morning, my Bestie gave us a ride from Ada to Oklahoma City. As always, we had a great trip. Any time spent with her is like being on vacation. Within five minutes of being with her, I was relaxed, laughing, and ready for our great adventure. Since we are separated by over 4,000 miles and have been besties for almost 30 years, we made a commitment to one another to meet up somewhere at least once per year. I'm really looking forward to that. It seems as if life spins at a very accelerated rate, please make commitments today and purpose to spend fun times with family and friends.

A side note, if you ever need a hotel in Ada Oklahoma, choose the Laquinta Inn. It is a very nice facility with a pool. It is super clean and their staff is courteous, friendly, and helpful. Thanks ya'll!

Another side note, during our Ada stay, we took a road trip with my baby brother to Krebs Oklahoma and had dinner at Pete's Place. The salad and service is great. Totally worth the road trip. Highly recommend.

Once we picked up our rental in Oklahoma City, we headed to Brick Town and ate Italian at Zio's. Another highly recommend. Brick Town is very pretty and the food at Zio's is top notch.

We were treated to many sights along the way and my girls were able to see things they've never seen; such as, coyotes, the Canadian River, and Tinker AFB. They also learned they were in "America's corner".

After lunch we stopped by the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum. If you are in the area, please stop. You will be glad you did. The link below will give you more information www.OklahomaCityNationalMemorial.org 

The pictures below are taken from the sight.

The twin gates, The Gates of Time, are located at the east and west entrances of the memorial. The East Gate, 9:01, represents the innocence of the city before the attack. The West Gate, 9:03, represents the moment Oklahoma City was changed forever. There is a reflecting pool that holds shallow, gently flowing water. There is a field of empty chairs with a name etched in glass symbolizing loss of life, including children. The Survivor Tree is a 90+ year old American Elm that witnessed the violence. The message there reads, "The spirit of the city and this nation will not be defeated; our deeply rooted faith sustains us." A fence was installed to protect the Murrah Building site where people still leave tokens of love and hope. 

Across the street from the memorial is a statue depicting Jesus.

Hopefully you can see from the pictures, the memorial is done very well and worth a visit if you are in the area.

Next state: Kansas

Oklahoma Highlights

Mike: Chocolate milkshake at Braums with extra malt (yuck).

Genice: Precious time with my Bestie

Mikea: Uncle Ferm's farm

Gracie: Seeing Auntie Babs, Uncle Ferm, and playing with my cousin

Immediately crossing the Oklahoma/Kansas line, we were blessed with another rare treat. We saw a big buffalo ranch. My girls were very excited because being island girls, they'd never seen live buffalo before. We also saw windmills, drove past the Eldorado Lake, and crossed the Neosho River. Cool Kansas names, with brown water. 

Mike's "take" on Kansas: 

Rolling plains covered with brilliantly colored flowers. Huge racked bucks lurk behind every corner. Turkeys gobble from behind every tree. Truly a sportsman's paradise for hunting, trapping, fishing. For anyone who enjoys the great outdoors, Kansas calls their name!

And of course, we had to stop and visit Bass Pro Shops.

Next state: Missouri

Kansas Highlights

Mike: Bass Pro Shops

Genice: Resting in the "wife waiting area" at Bass Pro Shops 

Mikea: Seeing the buffalo

Gracie: Same as sissy

Ahhhh, my girls got to smell something they've never smelled before, a skunk...three different times. They are not a fan.

Crossing the Missouri state line made me miss my Missoura peeps. Missouri is like a second home state to me. By the time we got into Missouri, it was dark so we didn't get to see much except the beautiful city lights.

Next state: Iowa

Missouri Highlights

Mike: Anticipating our road trip

Genice: Chatting with my friends

Mikea: Crossing the state line

Gracie: The building with all the changing lights 

It is currently nightfall so by the time we cross the Iowa line, we won't be seeing anything but city lights. Tomorrow we will include pics and Iowa information.

Thank you all for joining us on this amazing road trip!

Most loving Heavenly Father, thank You for all the amazing sights we were blessed with today. You are great, powerful, glorious, victorious, and Your majesty is shown in Your beautiful creation! Everything in the Heavens and on earth is yours, O LORD, and this is Your kingdom! We adore You as the One who is over all things! Thank You for all the beauty You created for us to enjoy. We look forward to tomorrow as You continue to direct our steps. Thank You for blessing us beyond anything we could ask or think, we love You!

1 Chronicles 29:11, NLT

The Scar

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2, NIV)

When Mike and I got married, he bought me the most beautiful bedroom suite I have ever seen, before or since. We had spent a lot of time searching for the perfect set. When we found it, we were looking at a catalog in a furniture store and I turned the page to a set named, “Precious Memories”, we both said, “That’s it!” Marital agreement is a good thing!

We still have that bedroom suite. It has been transported many miles, from Oklahoma, to Washington State, across the Pacific to Oahu, back across the Pacific to Missouri, back across the Pacific once more to the Big Island. That is a lot of crossing!

Early in our marriage, during the move from Oklahoma to Washing State, the cedar chest that belongs to the suite was damaged by not being properly cared for by the people responsible for it. It still has a deep scar because we’ve never correctly dealt with it. The cedar chest did nothing wrong resulting in the scar. I know that may sound absurd, but there is a point to the statement.

The allegory being, at times we are scarred simply because we weren’t properly cared for and not by means of our actions.

All these years, all the moving, all the day in and day out of daily living, the cedar chest still has the scar. All these years, I have strategically covered up the scar with flower arrangements, my favorite clock, or candles.

Today, I researched how to correctly deal with the scar at Lowes.com. Below is a brief excerpt.

“When refinishing furniture, you must do the most unpleasant part of the job first. Removing the old finish can be a cumbersome and messy task. For a while early in the process, until you start getting down to the wood underneath the mess, you may feel that you have completely ruined the piece. Have patience. Once you get to the final stage of the wood, you will have graduated from making a mess to creating a masterpiece. When you are finished, you will be proud of what you were able to create.”

To read the instructions in their entirety, please use this link. The process is quite lengthy.

http://www.lowes.com/cd_Refinish+Wood+Furniture_39774404_

Today, I had to remove some flowers that covered up the scar and I was again reminded the root issue had not been dealt with. For over fifteen years, the scar remains.

But today, instead of cringing when I saw the scar, I smiled because God has changed my perception. Now, the sight of the scar reminds me of how deeply God has changed our lives over the past fifteen years. Today, the scar brings me joy unspeakable and made me sing, “Look what the LORD has done!”

I am no longer reminded of what the enemy tried to do. (John 10:10)
I am reminded of everything God has done! (John 10:10)

If we choose to hold onto offense, the list of emotional scars can be quite lengthy. We can decide to cover up the scars with pretty things, but the scar remains. Whether we were or were not properly cared for and a scar or scars resulted, God’s Word remains the same, forgive and you will be forgiven. (Luke 6:37) God has set before us the choice to choose life! (Deuteronomy 30:19)

Dr. Larry Ollison's book, "Breaking the Cycle of Offense" (www.faithman.org) will help you walk out this process.

Dealing with emotional scars and furniture scars can be quite lengthy. When dealing with emotional scars we must do the most unpleasant part of the job first, removing the root, which can be a cumbersome and messy task. For a while early in the process, until we start getting down to the root issue underneath the mess, we may feel that we have completely ruined things. Have patience. Once we get to the final stage (deliverance), we will have graduated from making a mess to allowing God to create a masterpiece! When we are finished, we will be so well pleased of what God recreated! God doesn't cover the mess up, He makes all things new! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

We don’t have to go through daily life covering up scars. Do your scars remind you of the wonderful goodness of God? Or do your scars bring pain that has just been covered up and not properly dealt with leaving the root issue intact?

I thank God we don’t have to go through the same process with emotional scars that we have to with furniture scars! Did you read all those instructions? Mercy!

He is easy and light! Fix your eyes on Jesus, forgive, receive His healing by faith, (Even if your mind doesn’t currently understand, just have confidence in His Word.), walk in the belief you were healed (1 Peter 2:24 & 2 Corinthians 5:7), and you will dance for your King and sing, “Look what the LORD has done!”

This is so AWESOME!

This week, I’ve had a few of what I call “mini trials”. I titled the trials of this week as such because when adversity (a condition marked by misfortune, calamity, or distress) comes I have a “placement test” as I quickly assess the situation and assign it properly. In other words, is this a big deal or is this not a big deal?

For example:

1. Is anyone in or headed to the morgue? No. Praise God! Proceed to step two.
2. Is anyone in or headed to the emergency room or operating room? No. Glory to God! Proceed to step three.
3. Are we all (meaning my immediate family), together? In other words, is my family unit still intact (no affair, not separated by natural disaster, fire, robbery, no one is missing, etc.). Yes. Thank You Jesus! Proceed to step four.
4. Are we all safe? Yes. Hallelujah! Proceed to step five.
5. Since we made it to step five, the current adversity is assigned the title of a mini trial; therefore, Psalm 34:19. The only thing I have to do is Matthew 6:33 and 1 Timothy 6:12. He has always and will always do all the rest! Psalm 136!

Every answer I need to every problem I face is found in His Holy Word. His Word is ALIVE! His Word is ACTIVE! His Word changes everything! His Word is absolute truth! This morning, I grabbed my ipad to do my daily bible reading and even though when I was finished with my bible reading last night, I was not in James…today, when I opened up my bible, I was in James. I was going to go to Proverbs and Psalms but I got a check in my spirit to read James. Let’s just see what God has to say to us through James today.

Verily, verily I say unto you! Ok…that’s not James, that’s me! As you can tell, I’m very excited today! God is so good to me!

The title of the scripture and verse I was about to read was entitled, “Profiting from Trials”. I had to do a throw my head back belly laugh! I was so encouraged!

I placed emphasis on the following, please read slowly and absorb every critical word of this passage!

Consider it wholly joyful, (please note it does not say partial joy) my brethren, whenever (please note it does not say, if ever) you (please note that does not say everyone but you) are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience. But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing. If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him. Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind. For truly, let not such a person imagine that he will receive anything [he asks for] from the Lord, [For being as he is] a man of two minds (hesitating, dubious, irresolute), [he is] unstable and unreliable and uncertain about everything [he thinks, feels, decides]. Let the brother in humble circumstances glory in his elevation [as a Christian, called to the true riches and to be an heir of God], And the rich [person ought to glory] in being humbled [by being shown his human frailty], because like the flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun comes up with a scorching heat and parches the grass; its flower falls off and its beauty fades away. Even so will the rich man wither and die in the midst of his pursuits. Blessed (happy, to be envied) is the man who is patient under trial and stands up under temptation, for when he has stood the test and been approved, he will receive [the victor's] crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him. (James 2:12)

GLORY to GOD!

In May of 2008, I heard a life changing message taught by special speaker Dennis Burke at Walk on Water Faith Church in Osage Beach, Missouri (www.faithman.org) He taught on Mark 4:17. Why do adversities come? Adversities come for the Word’s sake. Adversity doesn’t come just to jack up our day; although, if our day gets jacked up it is a side benefit for the enemy. Adversity comes in an attempt to steal the Word.

We must have root! We must count it all joy and seek Him!

Yesterday on Facebook I saw this post by Jesse Duplantis, “What you focus on determines what you live with! So, are you focusing on God or your circumstances?”

As for me and my house, I focus on God! 

As for me and my house, circumstance can take a long walk off a short bridge!

What is your focus today?

How can you take His Word and change your circumstance today?

Count it all joy!