I love my friends!!!

What a special visit we had last Monday when my cyber-friend Susan  who  also  became my face-to-face friend  and her family got to come spend some time with us on their way to Arkansas! What an even more fun time we had today when they made time to come back and spend more time with us   on their way back to California!!!  Their son Zach had such fun riding horses with Naomi , who had just as much fun with his equine kindred spirit! After an almost "obligatory ' dip in the pool, Naomi and Zach were out to the pasture to catch Sugar and Lucky and saddle up! Kallie was still holding back, so swam a bit more and  watched movies with Leah, Rachel and my grand daughter Mady.  I fixed my oh-so-delicious and OH -SO-FAKE  chicken enchiladas as a casserole for dinner (another friend had used my exact recipe but instead of rolling tortillas with the chicken , etc mixture, she tore up the tortillas and layered all the ingredients in a casserole and it was REALLY GOOD too so I copied  her tonight) in two huge pans with Susan and Mike helping tear up tortillas and layer all the "glop" and cheese so we could bake it up. AND WHAT FUN that Kallieann loves guacamole as much as I do ! AS I put chips, salsa and guacamole out as a side dish, she was so excited!!! I got back from a few last minute errands  just after Susan and Mike, Zach and Kallieann arrived so I walked in to find Susan already cuddling on Daniel. What a beautiful picture my mind snapped as a "memory photo" !  After dinner, Kallie  FINALLY got up her horse nerve and had Naomi lead her around the yard and pasture on Sugar's back, Kallie loved it!! Too soon it was time for all the Brenners to pack up  and hit the road for the next part of their long trip back to California. I don't knwow when we will see each other again; I am sure it will be  too long from now, but I am so thankful for these precious friends and their children!  SAFE TRAVELS DEAR FRIENDS!!!
Earlier today anothe friend and her 4 daughters came by for   a visit but also for an "interview". Something at their  church  led to a challenge to ask someone how they came to invite another person to join their family, essentially  about adoption. The 10 year old daughter thought  of our family and wanted to interview us. She knew we had a large family and quite a few children who were adopted, but had not heard our "5 Loaves and 2  Fishes"  story. It was so fun to share our story with her and her mom and sisters! Lori, the mom,  had not heard all of our story either and she was thrilled at what all I had to share. She kept saying "WOW!!! THAT is a GOD THING! Nothing else!!" and she was so right!! I love being able  to share our story  and the bottom line, as I reinforced to these young girls is that we should never say "NO"  to God. He may say "NO"  to us, but we need to always be ready and willing to tell God "YES LORD!"  and let Him guide our steps, that we never know what all God has for us until we ask, but if we back off of something and spew all the human  excuses for why "a thing" is impossible or too hard, we may cheat ourselves out of a blessing God  has for us. I hope and pray  that God uses this time together to reinforce something or stir up something in that young girl, or her mom and little sisters. I am so aware of God's hand on us  over the years, and it is ONLY GOD who has brought us  to the place we are now. Had we said "NO GOD" at any point in our incredible life journey, our story would be so different, if not in visible , tangible  circumstance, in spiritual growth or maturing attitude. If we were to say "NO GOD" tomorrow, the awesome blessings of our  yesterdays  would  be little more than stale bread, and I have no desire to accumulate stale bread! I want , I crave, I desire,  and I am pursuing and  aiming for a John 10: 10  life...Life and MORE ABUNDANTLY!!! (more modern versions and translations say   "The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.  or   " LIFE TO THE FULL")  Isn't that what YOU want?
I am reading Lysa TerKeurst's book  "Made To Crave, satisfying your deepest desire with God, not food"  and this is a wonderful book!! I am not particularly struggling with food, but Lysa's point is that WHATEVER we crave above our craving for God needs adjusting. Her intro says "This book is dedicated  to you, my friend. While I don't know your name, God does. I believe He led you to pick up this book because He wants you to know  your issues with food are not a curse but a gateway through which He can touch  the rawest places of your heart and help you discover a deep satisfaction only He can give.  Go ahead and dare to believe that this time around things will be different!"  I am reading this book to let God root out what my "food"  cravings may be so that God can work in my life to cause me to want HIM ALONE  as what / WHO  I crave above all else!!!   (She is the Proverbs 31 Ministries Lysa TerKeurst, btw)
 My heart sings "  You are my King! In all I do, let me honor You!"