The Call Amidst the Storm

I had to write a poem for an English assignment this week. I thought it turned out pretty good. The theme of the assignment was the TRUE meaning of greatness. Greatness being not measured by fame, worldly successes, or any of the world's faulty standards. True Greatness is measured in our response to the storms of life. The question is not will the storm comes, but when will the storms come? Secondly, when the storms come, what will your response be? Will you give up, lay down and die, or will you fight and persevere through the storm?

A Christian friend once handed me a slip of paper with these words:

"Some times God calms the storms. Some times God lets the storm rage, but calms the child." This precious Christian lady suffered the loss of her oldest daughter, having been brutally raped and murdered. A loss no parent should have to endure. What was her response to the storm? She endured, she stayed the course. She did not let Satan have the victory he sought. She chose fight, rather than flight. Through it all, God received all Glory. Can we be asked any less? Are our storms so severe that our case is different? The small measure of suffering that I must endure are but small and insignificant when compared to the price my savior paid for my ransom. To Him be all glory, honor, and praise. Christ is Lord, He is Lord of all. I am but his humble bond slave. If in this life my small and insignificant trials can bring Him but the slightest hint of glory, are they not infinitely worth it? I think they are. Here is the poem I wrote. I hope you like it.

When life assails and life's wind hails
Your sails are torn and tattered
Prevail you must and sail onward just
Though the ship is worn and battered

The shore draws near and rocks you fear
No safety calls and beckons
But strong must stand the Captain's hand
His hand assured and reckoned

Resolved you must and causes just
The hope that drives and wills thus
No fear too great uncertain fate
When duty falls and certain calls us

In His Service,

Micah
An unworthy sinner saved by a marvelous and amazing grace!

My Favorite Non-Biblical Quote - It says it all!

“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

Theodore Roosevelt 1858 – 1919

"Where are the nine?"

I've seen a lot the last couple of weeks about what people are thankful for. I think that is a great thing. I wonder though, to whom are they thankful? We say all the time how thankful we are for this and for that. But how often do we stop and consider to whom we owe ALL thanks. The following passage ought to serve as a powerful reminder that all of us, and I mean all of us are blessed beyond measure. Certainly life is not always easy, but there is much to be thankful for. Have you stopped and thanked the one to whom you owe your thanks? I wonder, are you one of the nine or one of the very few who come back to the feet of your Master and give Him the thanks He alone is due.

"And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole."
Luke 17:11-19

Which will you be?

May you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving holiday and may you thank the One who matters most. To Him be all glory, and power, and majesty. Jesus Christ is Lord of all or not Lord at all.

In His Service,

Micah

My Son's Poem About My Six Year Battle with Lyme Disease

My 14 year old son Zachary wrote this the other day. He has watched me fight my illness for over six years now. He has missed so much, years I should have been there playing with him, wrestling, whatever, he has missed. At times I've been too sick to get out of bed. I've suffered so much pain and he has had to watch me endure it. He has to help me out of the floor when I fall. He has had to help me to bed when the seizures have come. It has taken its toll on him but he has come a long way. He went through some angry years at God and there are still days I know he wonders why. He has learned to try and see God's hand in all of it. He is an incredible young man.

He wrote this the other day. I just thought it was good and shared so much of what my illness has put him and really our family through. So parents, when you think your trials only affect you, remember they affect your family just as much if not more.

He wrote this:

My senses have faded, my mind has gone numb,
I just feel so jaded, it strikes me dumb.

A decade and a half, he's spent serving you,
the rod and the staff, is far from his due.

I don't know your plan, don't pretend to know why,
All this on one man, all the pain in his eyes.

This is my plea to you, this is my heart,
Come down, pull us through, before we're torn apart.

I close with this, God is on His throne. I trust Him fully. He is sovereign in my life. If there is a valley to walk through, I accept it as the smallest portion of the cross he bore for me. To God be all glory and power and praise.

To my son, I say thank you and I love you.

Dad

Samuel's First Pee Pee in the Potty

I'm coming Momma! I'm a big boy now!!!

Today was a momentous day in the Mauldin household. My wife put Samuel on the potty and by the shear luck of timing and his bladder the little man went pee pee in the potty! Of course the house burst into applause, praising him as if he'd just won the Olympic Gold! He, of course, being 19 months old looked at us all like we had lost our mind. Don't get me wrong, he LOVED the praise, but hadn't the foggiest idea what all the commotion was about.

So, for the rest of the day my wife faithfully put him on the potty every time she would change his diaper. He'd just sit there and look at his weenie.

It is going to be a LONG road to potty training land! ;-)

Love you all!

Micah

Most of these pictures were taken at a recent visit to the Fair Grounds park. Samuel had a blast! We just had fun watching him explore and have fun. The kid is fearless!

Bubba knows everything, and he showed it all to me!

Ok Bubba! Let's do that slide thing again!

Woopie!!!! OH man, a diaper wedgie!!! :-o

Daddy, I love you, but I am MUCH too busy for sugars!

Can you tell from my hair I had a rough night?
No sheets, no covers, stripped them all, a regular habit of Samuels!

Busy, but Good!

Yep, blessed with two pretty great boys!

Keeping this short today, but I do have some new pictures. I've been a negligent blogger these past couple of months, but I'll try to do better. :-) Life is so very busy, but so good at the same time! Since we've moved to Texarkana, God has blessed us with the most wonderful church family, a great home, the chance to reconnect with so many old friends, a chance for me to go back to college, and the hope of starting a new job soon that will let me work totally from home. God is good, all the time!

The boys are growing like weeds, we can barely keep them fed. Samuel is only 17 months old, but is about the size of a 2 1/2 year old! Can't imagine where he would get that from? :-) Zachary is growing and growing. He is under strict orders to stop, but he keeps ignoring my orders! Can't you ground a child for growing too fast?

Carrie is wonderful as always. (got to get my brownie points in!) She is busy juggling more things than you can imagine, but always manages to keep it all together. I'd be lost without her.

My health is up and down at times, but I can't complain a bit. God has been so good to me, only the goodness and greatness of God can explain how wonderful he has been to us. His love and watchcare are never failing. We thank all of you who have prayed for us and our new church family these past few months. If I may ask, please keep it up! We covet all your prayers. These are exciting times for us, we need all the wisdom and guidance we can get. Thanks!

Now to some more recent pictures:

I SURE do love my Bubba!

Howdy! (Samuel in the church nursery)

What can I say, the child is just gorgeous! :-)

Me and Piggy just watching the tube!

PIG SOOOIIEE! GO RAZORBACKS!

Yeah, I know I'm cute! (Samuel with his cousin, Allondra)

Zachary with his cousin Hassavi, two good looking kiddos!

I'd say the boy was tired!

Man! Sesame Street is the Bomb!

Samuel going in for some sugar from his girl Jaylee!

(notice Jaylee's lips puckered up, they kiss A LOT!)

Life in Texarkana

Hi All,

Seems like we are getting settled here in T-Town. We've been here about six weeks or so now, and it seems like we've been here much longer than that.

Carrie continues to chip away at all her little projects on the house. She is trying to get them all done before she starts keeping kids. I don't know if she is going to make it, but she sure is trying!

Zachary has been a huge help since moving here. He is a huge help with the baby, as always, but is becoming quite the little painter while he is at it. He helps me with whatever project I'm working on, and jumps in there when Carrie is working on something too. He'll be quite the handy Dan by the time he gets married! (which we are praying is a VERY long time away!) :-)

Samuel is, well, he is, I guess......just plain HUGE! Man this is one big kid! He isn't fat, just tall, heavy, and strong as an ox! He is gorgeous, just looks so big to be just shy of 15 months. I just can't figure out where he might be getting his size from. :-) He is cutting four molars all at once right now, but maintains an even keel most all of the time. He is such a good baby, just like Zachary was. Samuel isn't quite the traveler that his bubba was, and he hates getting his diaper changed to this day. He is quite an amazingly good baby though. Don't get me wrong, he is bad to the bone when it comes to doing things and grabbing things he isn't supposed to! Of that there is no doubt! He is just a well adjusted bad baby! :-)

The church is going great! We are six weeks in now, and God just continues to bless and bless and bless. I am so fortunate and blessed to be a part of what God is doing. I continue to be humbled at what God is doing around me. Many have said, and I agree there is such a sweet sweet spirit in our church. I pray God continues to keep it as such. We are quickly running out of room in our current meeting place, so make that a matter of prayer if you will. We need a place to call our own, at least something we can afford to rent that will give us a little more space and some additional rooms to use for nursery and children's church. Thanks in advance for those prayers!

Here are a couple of recent pics of the little man. Don't have any new ones of the rest of the family. I guess we are all just too busy:

Oh yeah, I'm a mess!

I think I should replace these gaudy Gold balls!
(he lost these permanently soon after,
they don't go real well with my flat screen tv!)

Hey, this almost fits!!!!
I love my new room, and Mommy finally got rid of this purple paint!
Now my room is a good old boy blue!
(well, half of it is, Mommy isn't finished yet!)
Thanks Mommy! :-)