The Word on Wednesday...

wor·ry [wur-ee, wuhr-ee]
verb, -ried, -ry·ing, noun, plural -ries.

–verb (used without object)
1. to torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts; fret.

–verb (used with object)
2. to torment with cares, anxieties, etc.; trouble; plague.

–noun
3. a worried condition or feeling; uneasiness or anxiety.
4. a cause of uneasiness or anxiety; trouble.
5. act of worrying.

Philippians 4:6-7- "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

2 Timothy 1:7- "For God has not given us the spirit of fear (worry); but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

1 Peter 5:6-7- "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."

Philippians 4:8- "Finally, brothers, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things."

Are you a worrier?

Some people do exercises, such as Yoga, to relieve stress and worry. Some people use things like worry beads, squishy balls, rubber bands, and other objects to relieve stress and worry. Some people vent to friends and family to relieve stress and worry. Some people pray to relieve stress and worry. Do I think that all of those other tactics are all bad? No, not necessarily. But, I do firmly believe that praying is the absolute best way to relieve stress and worry.

There is a difference between worry and concern. Does God expect us to pray, and then do nothing else? No, there are true concerns that we need to pray about, and then follow God's guidance and take care of them.

There is an interesting set of statistics which indicate that there is nothing we can do about 70 percent of our worries:

What We Worry About:
40% are things that will never happen.
30% are about the past- which can't be changed.
12% are about criticism by others, mostly untrue.
10% are about health, which gets worse with stress.
8% are about real problems that can be solved. **

Sometimes the distinction between worry and concern can be confusing. In the book, Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, JoAnna Weaver breaks down the difference:

Concern
-Involves a legitimate threat
-Is specific (one thing)
-Addresses the problem
-Solves the problem
-Looks to God for answer

Worry
-Is often unfounded
-Is generalized
-Obsesses about the problem
-Creates more problem
-Looks to self or others for answers

God never promises us an easy, carefree life. But, He does promise that if we come to Him, He will give us "the peace of God, which transcends all understanding." I have had many "concerns" lately: When and where will Zack get a job, will I find two more students to fill the positions in my preschool, how will we pay next month's mortgage, etc, etc??? My prayer and desire is that I will not worry and obsess about these things, but "cast all of my anxiety on Him" and think of "lovely,admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy" things. Let's remember that the tongue is a powerful tool. It is important to speak the Truth, to speak positive, and to continue to give God praise and glory through good times and bad!

Father, thank you for your wonderful promises! Thank you that I can lean on you, trust in you, and come to you with all my concerns- big and little. You are such a loving, caring, comforting, understanding God. I give you glory and praise for not making my life easy and carefree, but giving me trials and burdens, so I can become closer to you! You are so awesome and I love you so much! Amen.




**"An Average Persons Anxiety Is Focused on..." quoted in John Underhill and Jack Lewis, comp., Bible Study Foundation Illustration Database, Bible Study Foundation Web site (www.Bible.org).

Sweet Pea!

My little baby is still growing up!! He is getting more precious everyday and is so much fun!

Finally, he's growing hair! We didn't know if he was ever going to have hair. I've been spiking it lately and I think it is adorable!

He is getting little curls in the back just like his daddy had when he was a little boy. I love them!

Zayde is so photogenic! Zack thinks he could be a baby model. :)

Zayde and Mia playing at Nana's...

Daddy is always trying a new trick with Zayde!

We had an evening rain shower last week, and Zayde wanted to go outside sooo bad. Since it wasn't thundering or lightening, we let him play in the rain. He had so much fun!

Still my little climber!
"Why get in the car the easy way, when this is so much more fun?"

"What? I'm just riding in, I mean on, my car!"

Zayde LOVES to sit in the driver's seat and pretend to drive. This time he explored a little too much and got stuck between the steering wheel and dash!

Happy 30th Birthday, Christa!

My sister, Christa, turned 30 years old on July 2nd. She rented a limo and called all her "girls" to go out and celebrate! We had such a blast!

Birthday Girl!


Tiffany


Bridgette


Lisa


Enjoying our limo ride!


Three beautiful sisters!! (Amy, Tamara, Christa)


The Maxwell Ladies... Amy, Christa, Lisa, Melissa, Tamara


Our first stop was dinner at a sushi restaurant...

I had my first bite of sushi!

Melissa, Ashley, Tiffany and Amy posing for the camera. :)



All the Girls!

Guess who we saw hanging out in NW Arkansas?!?!?!?!?






Have you guessed, yet?





Jerry Rice!!
...the "Dancing with the Stars" celebrity! (You may know him as the amazing wide receiver for the 49ers:) *Yes, we even checked the Super Bowl ring on his necklace to make sure he wasn't a look-a-like! It said "Rice"!

Christa and Jerry

Me and Jerry

Tif and Jer

Jerry and Tamara

Lisa and Jerry

Kim, Ashley and Amy

All the Girls!
Becky, Amy, Christa, Valerie, Bridgette, Tiffany, Tamara, Lisa, Ashley, Kim, Melissa

The Word on Wednesday...

"... as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15

I don't have anything profound to say this Wednesday. I have just been thinking about how thankful I am for my family and the memories that we have made this summer. I know that all the praise goes to the Father, because He has blessed us to able to travel and has kept us safe. I never want to fail to praise Him and serve Him in all I do, even on vacation!

"Thank you, Lord for my precious family! Thank you for the wonderful times we have had this summer and the unforgettable memories we have created. Help us to always be a family who serves the Lord."

The Duggers, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and a Rain Storm...

Several weeks ago our friends, The Deans, got invited to go to the Duggers' home church. (If you don't know, the Duggers are the family with 17 kids.) They asked us to go with them and we gladly went! It was such a neat experience to have church with them (there were about 4 other families there as well), tour their home, watch their children and visit with the Duggers. My friend, Christy and I visited with Michelle Dugger in her bedroom for almost an hour while Christy nursed her baby, William. It was so fun, Michelle is truly a genuine, sweet lady.

Zayde kissing William

Zayde kissing William's Grammy

For the 4th of July, we went to Tulsa, OK, where Zack's sister lives and celebrated. We went to an incredible fire works show Friday night, and went out with Jessie and Cleveland Saturday night. We went to the Cheesecake factory and then to a comedy club. We had such an awesome time!

Jessie and Cleveland

Zack and Amy

Jessie and Amy

A few weeks ago, Siloam had a huge afternoon thunder storm. The lightening and thunder didn't scare Zayde! He wanted to go outside and play in the rain soooo bad. But, I made him stay inside and just watch it from the door.

I'm Back!!

Wow! It's been over a month since I have posted- I almost forgot my user name and password! Not only did our cable line get struck with lightening, which caused our Internet to go down, we have been out of town for pretty much a whole month. We have had a fun, busy, crazy summer. We have been to Maumelle, AR, Tulsa, OK, Destin, FL, and all over Texas!! I have TONS of pictures to post and can't wait. For now, I just wanted everyone to know that I am finally back online and look forward to checking out your blogs and hearing from you. I hope you have all had a great summer!!