Our girl continues to progess with karate...Here she is receiving her new belt from Master Johnson...
Master Johnson has played, and is playing, a special role in our family...Brianna is the third member of the Moore family going through the ranks of Paks and he has been a part of instructing each one!
Master Johnson and I sometimes reminisce about the first day David and I took Brianna to the dojang. He really did not think after her first class that she would stay...but now we have a hard time keeping her away! It has only been 6 months, but the transformation is remarkable! I wait with anticipation to see how God will transform my girl over the next couple of years as she continues on her journey to black belt...
Oh, and that's Mr. Doug in the background. He is serving the testing process in the picture, but he is also someone Brianna takes classes with on a regular basis. Mr. Doug is teaching Brianna to kick him in the center of his chest guard...that's pretty high for her little legs, but she's getting better! Mr. Doug is also the dad of Brianna's friend, Mollie. Of all the kids I have gotten to know at Paks Mollie has won the most special place in my heart. She was the one who taught Brianna to skate at the Paks skate party. She stuck by Brianna the whole time...and she has no idea just what an answer to prayer she was for our family that day. Brianna was VERY nervous about going, and almost didn't. She only went because Nick talked her in to it. She was so nervous! Who would be there? Would she have a friend? Would she be all by herself? And then there was Mollie...I just stood by the wall and cried tears of joy most of the time. SO, thanks to Mr. and Mrs. P for raising a wonderful friend for my daughter!
Lord, I pray special blessings on Mollie's life! Please continue to nurture her heart, even at this tender age, and use her for Your kingdom ALL the days of her life!
I started this post with a different title...and a different purpose. But as I reached the end of it I realized that God had another plan...So, without further ado, I would like to honor my Uncle Eddie...someone very special to me.
My father (Mickey) came from a big family...he was one of 9 siblings and was just one above the middle child. The oldest sibling, his brother Eddie, has been a very special person in my life. Not only was he the one to bring me (and my mom) home from the hospital when I was born, he has stuck by me through almost 39 years of life, AND he has fathered two of my cousins, who were always like big brothers to me...Darren and Craig.
Darren and his wife, Sonja, and their son, Austin, came to visit Labor Day weekend. JUST in time to keep Darren's promise for our families to get together within 6 months of my wedding. You see, although David and I had been friends for 6 years prior to our courtship, not many family members got to meet David before the wedding because they all lived so far away. SO, at the wedding Darren made the promise to David that we would get together so he could get to know the man who put THAT smile on his cousin's face...And he kept his word! =D
It was a lot of fun to have our cousins all to ourselves for a few days...but more than fun, it was a glimpse into the sovereignty of God. You see, while Darren is older than me and has been that big brother figure all of my life, Darren consistently reminds me that I am one of the 4 people God used to bring him to salvation a few years ago. Every time he would say it I would think "Okay, if you say so." I never really saw how I was such an influence...or that it was such a big deal.
BUT...when Sunday rolled around and we loaded into Sonja's beautiful new minivan, Darren mentioned that if I (and the other 3 friends) had not shared the Gospel with him we wouldn't all be sitting there...You see, if Darren wasn't a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ he would not have met Sonja...or if he had she would not have married him because she is a believer! So, Sonja wouldn't be his wife, and Austin wouldn't be his son if not for God's saving grace!
There I sat in the back seat...stunned. Did God really use me as a tool in His hand to help establish this sweet family? Wow.
That was rolling around in my head during church...and then when we went to lunch I was overcome! I was sitting next to Sonja and I grabbed her and spoke into her ear. Here's the jist of what I told her....I LOVE Sonja. I'm pretty sure she has no idea just how special she is to me because our lives are so far apart...But I really like her and love her and enjoy her and appreciate her. But at that moment I was overcome with the fact that because we are believers we would eventually know each other, if not here then in eternity. Which is great! BUT GOD, in His kindness, allowed her to be my sister in the Lord AND my cousin here on earth. I don't just get to see her in heaven, but I get to see God sustaining her through this life we live. I get to rejoice with her that He saved Darren so she would have just the right husband and just the right son. I get to learn from her example as she seeks to glorify God with her life. All because God chose to make her my cousin.
Do you see the sovereignty of God? Only because God saved me from my sin do I get to experience life with this amazing woman of God...And God used my family to bring us together! I look back to my grandparents and I see how God has woven us together for His purposes.
My grandparents (Ed and Charlotte Kiley - also Darren's grandparents) met in an orphange where they both lived. When they became adults and had to leave the orphanage they got married and had all those kids...who all but one of them got married. And most of them had kids...the Kiley Cousins. And those cousins are also friends. And those cousins' kids are friends. And God continues to call Kileys to the kingdom...It was another uncle, my Uncle Jimmy, who married my Auntie Hon, and had 2 of the best friends of my life...Amy and Allison. And it was also Uncle Jimmy and Auntie Hon who shared the Gospel with me (and Darren) through their words and their lives...and here we are!
You may be wondering how this is honoring to Uncle Eddie...Uncle Eddie, it was your devotion to the Kiley Family that encouraged us to be together over ALL those years...All of us! And while we can't all fit in one house any more, and while we live scattered here an there and don't get to see each other very often, Thanksgiving and Christmas to me, in my heart, is with the Kileys. No matter where I go or who I'm with, it's just never the same as with the Kileys. It was all of those family get togethers that gave the cousins the opportunity to be friends...And it was those friendships that God has used, and continues to use, for His glorious Gospel...that Christ took our sin and paid our penalty, freeing us from that sin and giving us life eternal with Him.
As a judge Uncle Eddie knows that crimes come with consequences...may not at first, but eventually it catches up with a person. And when the conviction comes there is a penalty that needs to be paid. Sometimes it's monetary...sometimes there is a sentence to be carried out...and sometimes it's execution. It's the same with sin. Sin is simply breaking God's law...and the penalty is death. BUT GOD...has a plan of salvation. He sent His Son to pay the penalty for ALL the sin of the world. We need only to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that He was crucified for our sins, He died and was buried, and God raised Him from the dead. It's that simple. No bribes...No appeals...Simply believing. We get to be released from our death sentence because Christ died in our place!
Romans 5:6 says: For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
I am SO grateful for the rich heritage God has given me! Each and every person has made an impact that has helped move me toward Christ as my Savior.
Uncle Eddie, I just wanted to tell you that I love you and you are special to me. I am so very grateful for your love and support! I hope you enjoy these pictures of Darren and his family with me and my family...I know you will!
