you can take a night off, but we are never off duty!

daddy getting a quick story in before work

So it is almost midnight and I find myself wide awake. I have a couple of things weighing heavy on my heart and pressing on my soul. One is an old friend that I haven't spoken with in a couple of years. I believe they are overseas right now, fighting for our freedom and I have been pulled wide awake with them on my mind so will you just take a minute to say a prayer for them for me......?

The other thing is a really incredible moment Tony and I had tonight. We were blessed enough to be able to take a night out - ALONE!!! We haven't had a night to ourselves since long before we moved to Pennsylvania, and this was overdue. We went to dinner at a local Italian restaurant, Francos (HELLO - highly recommended!!!), and then from there we went to Starbucks to 'blow' the rest of the evening we had off. All throughout dinner, we were able to talk about things OTHER than work, house work, or Chip. We were able to connect, reconnect, ask silly questions, learn something new about each other, and remember. We remembered the days before Chip and what we did for fun and how the important things then are mere side notes in our lives now.

what a ham!

But the interesting and incredible moment came when we were wrapping up our visit to Starbucks. The barista was having a conversation with a patron about this new restaurant that they had visited, and with Tony and I being new, we were intrigued and so asked the patron to tell us the restaurant, as she highly recommended it to the barista. Well she told us the restaurant, we mentioned Francos, the conversation went a few more seconds and she asked if we were from here (OBVIOUSLY NOT), we told her we were from Alabama, she asked why we were here, and Tony quickly told of his job at Faith - our standard conversation with strangers - LOL. As Tony told her of his job, she immediately asked him if he had a card, that her niece had just moved in with them a few weeks ago and they were looking to possibly plug her into a church.

so mom isn't a fan of the ducks, but Chip loved them!

I'm uncertain if they are church goers, as that is not the important thing, but a conversation had begun. We sat for another 30 minutes or so talking about Alabama, our families, Thanksgiving traditions, the upcoming 'winter', the moment we see snow, and all kinds of other surface conversations that you have with people you have just met. In those moments, though, a mini-relationship was formed enough so that Tony and I asked their names twice before we left and we said a mini-prayer for them in the parking lot. Once we got home, Tony and I felt incredibly compelled to pray for them to find peace in their lives, and to plug in, themselves AND their niece, to a God-loving church, wherever that may be!

gooooooood morning! 

Psalm 139:1-16 talks about the omniscience and omnipresence of the Lord in our every day lives. He knows when we sit and when we rise and every thought that passes through our minds! Even Tony, who can read me pretty well, who knows me better than any person on this Earth, doesn't come within miles of this! The God we serve KNOWS when we need to take someone to church, KNOWS when we need intervention in our lives, KNOWS when we have fallen astray, and KNOWS how to put people in our paths that we can either pass by or make a difference in their lives! Now the flip side to this coin is that we in fact do NOT know the plans the Lord has for our lives, we do NOT know the reasons behind certain things happening in our lives, and we do NOT know whether our seeds will fall on fertile soil or dry clay, but He calls us to obedience anyway!

getting ready to head out to play in the cold

a snack always makes the cold better!

1 John 2:3-6 says "We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did." We are called to reach out, be the hands and feet of Jesus, even if it means leaving a business card along with your tip at the restaurant, or inviting a complete stranger to join you for worship and making it a point to remember their names, in hopes that they show up! As Christians, we can always take a night off or even a night to ourselves, but we are never off duty! There will always be a hurt that needs praying for, a healing that needs praising, and a hand that needs holding! Keep an eye out for those opportunities, and never let them pass you by!

 Hugs to you all from PA!!!!!

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Rebecca