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Amazing Stuff

I just want you to know that

God is amazing!

I am in such awe of the things that God has been doing and teaching me lately! I had an amazing answer to prayer yesterday that I can't really talk about in detail (some of you know) but God totally led and directed in a situation with student and...well, it just pays to trust God! He is totally faithful!

Yesterday morning in my devotions I read the verse from Romans 8 that says,

"We are more than conquerors through Him that loved us."

And the emphasis was on the "through HIM" part -- that we just need to "let God do it!" Let Him fight the battle and trust Him to win! Pretty cool, and it was just what I needed!

And then yesterday, I listened to my new David Phelps CD, "Life is a Church" (really great CD by the way, and yes, I know, I'm behind because it's not really that new!) and heard the song "That's What Love Is" for the first time and that totally spoke to me! You have to hear it to appreciate it completely, but here are the lyrics, and for those of you that know yesterday's story, you know how well this fits. Again, just what I needed!

It’s the only thing worth life and death.

It’s the first moment and the final breath.

It’s a broken heart keeping a solemn vow

And a lost soul being found.

You pray for faith when it’s hard to believe.

You choose to stay when it’s easy to leave

And when hope is gone you’re the one who keeps holding on.

That’s what love is

When you give until there’s nothing left

And it makes you give the very best.

That’s what love is.

It can make you laugh and make you cry.

It can let you down and lift you up so high

When you find the only reason left to live.

That’s what love is.

It’s the dream you give up for someone else.

It’s being strong when you’re weak yourself.

Though it tears you up you trust again.

Hatred loses and forgiveness wins.

You turn your cheek when you want to fight.

Sell all you have and lay down your life

And when hope is gone

you’re the one who keeps holding on.

It’s reaching out and holding on so someone else will know.

Love is in the not letting go.

If you ever get a chance to hear the song, do it! The whole CD is actually worth listening to.
Anyway, my point in all this is to just let you know, if you were wondering or doubting, that God is entirely faithful. He does not just leave us to our own devices, but He always makes a way! It's so exciting to serve Him and to see Him work! I'm so excited about what He's done, and the work He's continuing to do, in my life and in the lives of those that I love!

God bless your weekend! Love to all who read!

Go There

Go to www.xanga.com/tawnyasmith to see pictures and descriptions of my spring break. I just don't feel like reposting it. So go there if you want to see! :)

Love to all who read!

Comments are welcome!! :)

Life to the full

Hey everyone. I don't even know if anyone still reads this, but I guess I'll keep posting. I get more comments on my Xanga, but oh well. I'm not really doing it for the comments anyway. Haha. (Altho comments are nice...so if you read this, you could comment to let me know...hint, hint! hehe) ANYWAY, I am still in Idaho -- it's about 1:30 AM here and I think we're gonna leave around 8 AM to go back to Colorado. But I just needed to share this before I hit the bed.

One of the great things about this vacation has been the extra time I've been able to spend with my best friend, Jesus. And it hasn't come naturally or easily -- being in a small house with four other adults and two babies doesn't leave much time for "extras" or a whole lot of privacy either. BUT I have been making an effort, and it has been paying off. I hope to be able to share some of the things God has shown me this week.

I received this in an e-mail today and it spoke to me so strongly that I wanted to post it. It's from a book by Bishop Jim Earl Swilley called A Year in the Now and it references the verse John 10:10.

1. Today I will live in the now because I have learned how to appreciate my life-to celebrate all of it-reveling in my victories, learning from my defeats and simply enjoying the journey. God is Good, Life is Good, It's all good!
2. I will be happy and thankful and positive and light. . . . . . with a good attitude. . . .
3. Today I will not waste my time for celebration by regarding regrets. . . . .
4. Today I will praise the Lord Who is great and greatly to be praised......
5. Today I will live in the moment...seize the day, rejoice and be glad in the day the Lord has made. I will embrace the world around me and love it unconditionally.
6. Today I will enjoy abundance and favor and prosperity and success......Joy flows out of my heart like a river, bringing life to the desert of depression where so many are dying.
7. Today is a day to thank Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals by making bitter experiences sweet. He has turned for me my mourning into dancing and has given me the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. I celebrate his life in me because he has girded me with gladness and caused my cup to run over. Today he anoints me with the oil of joy above those around me and today, I will LIVE IN THE NOW.

May God grant us all the grace and strength to truly LIVE IN THE NOW. To forget the past and all its hurts and regrets, and move on to all the wonderful things He has in store for us! I intend to live today and every day in the abundance of God's riches that are mine thru Christ.

God bless you all!! More Idaho updates will be coming soon...with pictures! :)

Idaho

It's beautiful! So beautiful here. I'm taking pictures, which I will hopefully be able to post when I get home! Here is a synopsis of what has happened so far:

Saturday my uncle and I left KC about 7 AM for Colorado. We went thru Iowa, a little corner of Wyoming (I think) and Nebraska, which I had never done before, and which proved to be quite interesting. I've always just gone straight west on I-70 which is completely boring. Anyway, we got to Berthoud, CO (where my cousin Aaron lives) about dinner time so decided to go eat Chinese. Cara finally got there (after getting lost--heehee!) and Aaron went to pick up Alyssa and we all met at the Chinese restaurant. It was really good food and we all ate too much, and we found out President Bush has eaten there before! It was snowing beautifully when we got done eating! We went back to Aaron's, and he put Cara and I on the hide-a-bed which was kinda hilarious. Especially since he only had one teeny-tiny blanket for us to share! But we survived and the next morning we went to the Loveland Church to see the KCCBS ensemble. They did a marvelous job!! It was so cool to see everybody!

My uncle and I left straight from church to head for Idaho. We drove for about 5 or 6 hours, up into the mountains, and discovered that due to the weather and weather-related accidents, they had closed the roads! So we ended up having to spend the night in a little town called Green River, Wyoming. It's a beautifully picturesque little town, and if you ever get a chance, you should go there. Of course, the only reason you'd really notice it is if you had to stay there, which would mean the roads were closed, so I wouldn't really wish that on you. Anyway, we got up and left at 5:00 the next morning (Monday morning) and made it to Caldwell, Idaho by about 3 PM. It was a brutal trip! The mountains were incredibly beautiful though!! I took pictures but they will probably not do them justice.

After we got here, we went over to Jeff and Deb's old house and finished moving them out (they just had a bunch of last minute stuff in the garage) and then we just sat around, I played with the kids, and we talked until like 1:00 in the morning.

This morning I slept till about 10 and then got up and we all just kinda messed around and then tonite after Jeff got off work we went into Boise and the guys shopped at Best Buy while us gals and the babies went to TJ Max. Other than Madison doing a nosedive out of the shopping cart, the shopping was uneventful. (She was okay -- mostly scared. Grandma was scared most of all.) Then we all went and ate at Texas Roadhouse, then came home and I read Madison stories before she went to bed. Then all the grownups went to bed. Except me, obviously, since I'm still up and typing like mad.....

I just gotta tell you, these kids of Debbie's and Jeff's are sooo cute! I know they're my cousins, but still. They are cute! I will post pictures of them and you will see! Madison is two (she'll be 3 in August) and she is pixie-cute! Chase is 9 months old today. He is precious! He has the biggest, bluest eyes ever, and the most adorable chuckle you've ever heard. He's very much like his Uncle Aaron.

Well, I am gonna quit for now. My brain is starting to shut down, and it's always dangerous to keep writing when that happens. I hope everyone is having a marvelous week and that you are warm, safe, and happy!! I miss all you KC people and Cara...I'll see you soon!! Love you all!

SPRING BREAK!!!

Okay, kids! I'm headed off -- out of town, for spring break! Tomorrow my uncle and I are leaving at 7 AM (actually, I guess that's this morning!) and driving to Denver and spending the night at my cousin Aaron's house. We will get up Sunday morning, go to church (I think we'll be at the KCCBS service at Loveland so I'll see some of you there!) then we're gonna head for Caldwell, Idaho, where my cousin Debbie and her family live! I'm very excited about seeing them and their new house and where they live and...just everything! It's going to be fun! I will not be back in Kansas City until the evening of March 20th. Yes, for those of you that are paying attention, that means I will miss that day of school! Never fear, you'll have a wonderful substitute and I'll be back on Tuesday!! I'll miss you all!! Hope everybody has a great week and I'll try to be in touch as much as possible. Hopefully I'll have some great pictures to post!! Love to all!!

God is faithful, God is good, and He definitely answers prayer! He has spoken to me in so many ways the past few weeks, and revealed Himself in such new and exciting ways that I can't even express it. It's much too late for me to be trying to express anything adequately anyway, but I just wanted to give a shout-out to God because He's awesome! I love Him with my entire being, and HE LOVES ME! AND YOU!

Thank you, Jesus, for rocking my world, and making me realize anew how amazing you are!

Hey Everyone! I heard this song today on my way to work. I have been rejoicing in recent weeks over the fact that God is always so willing to meet me exactly where I am. And this song says it so well! Not just in salvation or other "crisis" experiences -- as important as those are! -- but in the ups and downs, the ordinary and the extraordinary, my Heavenly Father goes the extra mile!


When God Ran
Almighty God
The Great I Am
Immoveable Rock
Omnipotent, Powerful
Awesome Lord
Victorious Warrior
Mighty Conquerer
Commanding King of Kings
And the only time
The only time I ever saw Him run

Was when He ran to me,
Took me in His arms, held my head to His chest
And said "My son's come home again".
Looked in my face, wiped the tears from my eyes
With forgiveness in His voice
He said "Son, do you know I still love you?"

It caught me by surprise when God ran

The day I left home,
I knew I'd broken His heart
I wondered if
Things would ever be the same
Then one night
I remembered His love for me
And down that dusty road
Ahead I could see
It was the only time
The only time I ever saw Him run

He ran to me
Took me in His arms, held my head to His chest
And said "My son's come home again"
Looked in my face, wiped the tears from my eyes
With forgiveness in His voice
He said "Son, do you know I still love you?"

It caught me by surprise
It dropped me to my knees
When God ran


Then, in our faculty meeting this morning, Mr. Blake started talking about the chapter of "Lost Things" in the Bible (Luke 15) and how it's notable that with each of those lost things, the owner went out and physically and literally looked for it until it was found. And the father of the lost son was no different because the original language implies that the fact that the father saw the son coming down the road was no coincidence -- he was watching for him, and had been since he left! What a beautiful picture of the God that I serve! I'm so glad that He looked for me till He found me; and that even now, when I mess up, stumble and fall, stray from His path -- He meets me right there, forgives, restores, and heals. Praise Him forever!