I'm so thankful that Brent has had a passion for the upkeep of this website. It's been such a positive focus for us to express ourselves.

Even though the weather has been icy and kept us indoor bound, we haven't minded too much. Doing nothing suits me fine. A little cleaning, a little scrapbooking and watching movies has been the order of the day. Our school is out for the Martin Luther holiday, so I have one more day of leisure - whoo hoo!

The Proverbs 31 woman is the scriptural ideal. She sounds super human. She doesn't even sleep for crying out loud. She kind of annoys me. Who can measure up to those standards? I certainly do not measure up to the kind words my husband generously gives.

The previous music teacher at my school (a guy) was named "Teacher of the Year" his third year at the school. The sales lady at the music store here in town refers to him as "sharp." Now why should I feel put down for these things? My logic tells me I'm being unreasonable, but these facts, not even about me, make me feel that I don't measure up, however illogical that may be.

Articles were written about our son after his death, one in particular in the Baptist Messenger called "The Measure of a Man." I scrapped it yesterday. I even found some ribbon that looked like a ruler - (I was pretty excited about that find!) BJ truly didn't have any titles other than the ones we gave him: son and friend. He wasn't president of anything or the star of a team or anything like that, yet we are assured that he found favor with God and was found faithful in his short life. That is huge! He didn't have titles, but he had a whopper of a testimony. My prayer over and over is to be thankful for the gift of my son and be inspired to live with HOPE because God doesn't forsake us. He gives us our own testimony.

Billy and Cindy Foote are hands down my favorite worship leaders. I love them, they inspire my deepest, most heartfelt worship! It is a travesty that you don't hear them on Christian radio. Billy said this and I echo his sentiments: "Every week I remind myself that I am doing this so that I may be found faithful."

To be found faithful in all things. What is that like? I sure want to find out! We're imperfect human beings but when we seek God daily, we find our way, our purpose, and to be dramatic like our son, our destiny!

My life verse since BJ's passing has become Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. (a phrase that's repeated many times in Joshua 1 - I think it's an important one) Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

I love Joshua 1. Moses has died. Joshua is overwhelmed with the task before him. We're overwhelmed at times. We feel inadequate for the task before us. We feel put down and left out in the cold. We don't think we'll measure up. God looks at the heart, He sees what isn't always obvious and He never forsakes us or leaves us. (verse 5)

1 Samuel 2:3 part of Hannah's prayer, a wise, godly woman.
"the Lord is a God who knows, and by Him deeds are weighed."

Press on!
Deanna