Monday thoughts.....

Wow - I just looked and its been almost a week since my last post. Not short on words the past week but just short on time. Looking forward to Wed and hitting the road. I love road trips ...even the ride to the cabin is an adventure as the excitement builds to being at the destination. We will be stopping some time Wed evening just outside of Daytona Beach Florida. I am really looking forward to hanging out with our rock group families and just being away having some fun. Yes its a crowd for sure but a good crowd.... its how the Batemans roll :)
I am also looking forward to no computer, no facebook, no electronic posts, no email, and NO CELL phone ...especially for the kids that are going. Its so annoying trying to have a conversation and invest some time and energy into "MyKids" and they are texting like crazy. Sad they just don't know when to turn the things off and let it roll until when its appropriate to do so.
Carol is sick today so I had to get Kate to school and Kyle to the bus...will be running around this afternoon with taking Kate to doctors and then getting Kyle from the bus. Hope to get to the gym in there somewhere....and maybe a shake with Morgan tonight for some much needed talk time. I had the best time Friday night with Kyle, Zach and Madison at the cabin. It was like camp all over again. We stayed up pretty late after laughing and laughing at the movie Uncle Buck. There are some funny liners in there and we just had the bestest of time. A good conversation after the movie really makes me appreciate the time invested in them because they trust me enough to open up on some things. I value that trust so much .... and thankful to be at a place where we are really doing life together. Probably weird for some folks because I am not their parent but its the way God intended us to live. To be a bigger part of His family and carrying each others burdens in life. We are not meant to do this faith journey alone. One part of our long talk as I often do my best is to have a faith based answer to any question - being What would God think of that question and how would He answer it? Its always on my heart to share that view and not just the view of the world that so often is the answer people hear. I began to explain that God wants us to have a kind and gentle heart no matter if we are guys and or gals.... a kind and gentle heart in our relationships, with our coworkers, our marriages, in our families, our neighbors, people we don't know.... even in our arguments and struggles... I bet its hard for God to work in our lives when we walk around angry most of the time, full of excuses, negativity, and complaining.
So as I shared that this past Friday night, I opened my bible this morning to 1 Peter 3:4 and even though Peter is in the passage topic of husbands and wives, I think it completely applies to everyone... no matter who you are. Peter is talking about inner beauty and what we should look like on the inside. Its the inside that matters most anyways, right?

1 Peter 3:4 Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.

Think for a moment where a kind and gentle spirit will lead you in life. You would probably be more compassionate, more loving, more patient with things and people, more attentive to the needs of people, more caring...easy to talk with ... be willing to serve others, most people would want to be around you more... because you would become a person of peace - and PEACE is what you will have because of Jesus. It should just be who you are .....
More tomorrow.... Peace out.
Lonnie~