Birthday City

Well goodness!

August is birthday city for our family. Keren, Mom, and Dad all have birthdays within two weeks of each other – it’s like Christmas in August with all these gifts goin’ around! But, I love it… I love celebrating them, and I believe they deserve to have days equally (if not more) as wonderful, fun, & giving as they are to those around them.

Last weekend my mom and I had the privilege of going up to New Jersey for the weekend to celebrate Keren, my beautiful sister-in-law and soon-to-be momma. It was such a joy to be able to share that time with her family members as well… if you know me, you know that I love everything about family. I love the inside jokes, the pestering, the gathering, the love, the accountability, the counsel… the list goes on. Everything about it is such a gift. But, I think the thing that I have enjoyed most, as of lately, is the growing. Our family is so fortunate to have in-laws that we have been able to get to know and love as our own. Instead of one brother and sister, it’s as if I have two of each. Each of them older, wiser, & have unique life experiences that are helpful to learn or gain wise counsel from. They bring so much joy to my heart.

[Sharlee Rother Photography]

One of my favorite memories from this past weekend was from the different dinners we shared with the McKinney’s and Jezequels (Keren's family). These meals not only brought together people we love, but they were filled with people who are all also anxiously awaiting our new sweet niece or grand-daughter (that sweet pea doesn’t know what she is in for : ).

All in all, the weekend was filled with lots of fun, and I had plenty of mommy/daughter time in the nine hour car ride there and back – yikes! Although the car rides were long, and there may have been a bicker or two while stuck in stand-still traffic, there were multiple times I kept thinking “I am so grateful for a mother like her. I’m so happy she was born, and that she is uniquely mine.”

My mother’s birthday is August 9^th and my Dad’s birthday is August 11^th – same year and everything… fun, huh?! My mother likes to think that those 48 hours make her much wiser and more mature. She is a hoot, a firecracker, spunky, spicy, a DI–VA : ) but, she is a God-fearing diva, and she loves the Lord an outrageous amount.

My dad on the other hand is a little goober… Sweet as a peach, patient, hard working – he is our teddy bear, but such a rock for this family of five. Together, these are two goofy peas in a pod – but I love them so, and without their Godly counsel, wisdom, & guidance I would not be who I am today.

Ever since I was a little girl, I can remember them as two people whose lives had been altered by the understanding and truth of who Christ is and what He has done for us. They have hungered & thirsted for more, and have done what they can to maintain accountability to increase in their knowledge and love for Him.

"Blessed are those who hunger & thirst for

righteousness for they will be filled"

// Matthew 5:6

My parents not only desire to live a life worthy of the Gospel, but they have an even deeper passion to see that our family is not just a “Christian family”, but that we are a Christ-centered home. He is not just a part of our lives, He is the center of our lives.

I can remember my parents encouraging us to notice that Christ is an aroma… His Spirit is something that has the ability to be sensed, or “smelled”, on others when you just say a quick hello, give a smile, or a gentle hug… His Spirit lingers long after you have left, and imprints on others, making them wonder what was different? There was something about him/her? Only to later realize that it was the sweet "aroma" of Christ within them… I can still picture the verse that was printed out on a piece of paper in the downstairs bathroom of our old home:

“…As far as God is concerned there is a sweet wholesome 

fragrance in our lives. It is the fragrance of Christ within us,

 an aroma to both the saved and unsaved all around us.”

// 2 Corinthians 2:15 (LB)

My parents may have different personalities, but their hearts are in sync with the same passions, driven by the same principles. Principles that they have now impressed onto us. There are three things that I can distinctly remember as reoccurring themes when growing up:

1. The power of prayer

– my mom has always been a woman who earnestly seeks to demonstrate the power of God in the amount of time she spend pleading with Christ on our behalf. She will pause anything to pray for someone she sees who has a need to be met, whether it be a stranger or a loved one. My father on the other hand is the man I can call throughout the day and ask to pray over me through the phone right then and there. But he doesn't stop there – once he is finished, he writes it down in his prayer journal, takes it to his Monday morning meet with his accountability partner, and then the two of them then re-cover the situation in prayer.

2. The joy in giving

– I can remember the first time this clicked for me… I came home to our kitchen and our two comfy club chairs that we loved were gone. I asked my mom in shock where they had gone. She told me that she ran into someone who was in need… what?! My heart was changed for the better on that day. There are multiple times where my father has given of his time and service to others, but one example in particular brought me to tears. There was a drawing at our church one Sunday for a gas card, and my dad who had just claimed he never wins these things... won! Woo, go Dad! But, what happened next blew me away… someone came up ecstatic about the gift card, and he just turned and gave it away. No one saw but me, he did it out of pure generosity and love. Amazing.

“So when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” 

// Matthew 6:3-4

... and lastly,

3. We work hard, we play hard

– this is my mom’s motto, kind of funny : ) … she always says “work as if you’re working for Jesus and not for man, because you represent God first in all that you do and your family second.” She would encourage us that we are held to a higher standard, called to be different, and if we proclaim the things we do, we will be held to those. And after you give all you’ve got, you can "play hard", living your “life to the full” (John 10:10) and enjoying the blessings that come with each and every day.

I’m so thankful to have parents that have been great examples through their constant growth in both hunger & thirst for the Lord, encouraging & loving us all along the way… happy birthday weekend, Mom + Dad – I’m so happy you two were born.

Love + Miss you all,

Mere

…Oh!

P.s. Guess who comes home in less than a week… this girl. Let’s get coffee, chat, grab lunch, anything! I can’t wait to be on flat, dry, red-dirt soil in good ole’ Oklahome.

P.p.s. What's "birthday city"? (Blank) city is something our family uses to describe when there is an abundance of that around... e.g. "cute city!" - when there is cuteness all over the place. It's really quite simple : )