Because Mom's Don't Really Like Bugs

Shawn declared this Mom and Son day because we are about to head to the woods where him, his Daddy, and Blake would be doing a lot of exploring.  I said that I like to explore too and he said that "Mom's don't really like bugs" and there would be a lot of bugs there.  So he gave his apologies to me about my extreme, no bug liking lameness and clung to me like an extra appendage all day.

Shawn and I went to WalMart to buy way too much stuff and he became distracted by the games in the electronic section - I told him that I would be in the camera section.  When I came out of the camera section he was standing there in the center aisle and came running to me with a distressed look on his face.  He told me how he was lost and he thought that I had left him at WalMart.  I was three rows over the entire time.  This happened at the beginning of our trip.  So, every time that I would go down an aisle and leave him at the cart he would relive the horror that was the time he was lost for three minutes while I was three aisles over but he would leave out the fact that he wasn't really lost.

There was a point when he became too weak to push the shopping cart any longer; no doubt because of the extreme lostness he had endured.  So, I pushed the cart and carried the 25 pound bag of dog food on my shoulder because of all the forgetting to remember dog food when we first started shopping  Oh, and dragged a kid at my waist that was saying "Momma don't leave me what if I get lost again" over and over.  A few people glared at me.  They were probably feeling sorry for that poor boy and it never even occurred to any of them to offer help with the 25 pound bag of dog food because this is what I deserve for losing my child.

I would like to thank Jen Hatmaker for allowing women everywhere to give honest answers.  When we went to pick Blake up he was playing a game on the computer.  He kept saying that he wanted to show me something and I said I can't look right now.  He asked why and I said "because I don't want to".  Guess what!!  He didn't keep asking me and I didn't have to keep watching the jumps or whatever it is that never goes like they want the first time so they have to show you infinity more times.

Tonight we are letting the boys stay up too late and I even allowed a drink in the living room.  That's me - a son losing, honest answer giving, allowing drinks in the living room, no bug liking Mom.

God bless you all!

Yolanda, The McLean Queen

Are We Really Going To Oklahoma?

David and I are on our first vacation in our adult life EVER!!  True story!  Shawn asked us at dinner tonight if we are really going to Oklahoma.  Now I know that his Momma has taken him on some great trips, but you would think that we are taking him on his dream vacation.  We have rented a cabin at Broken Bow, which I hear is beautiful.  Shawn's cousin Blake is going with us and as long as we can keep them fed we should have a very blessed time.  

The thing that strikes me is that maybe it's not the location at all.  Maybe Shawn is most excited about the time with family.  He just loves cuddle time and I'm certain that he is the sweetest boy on earth.  I'm sorry for all the rest of you that have boys that are of an average sweetness because God has blessed us with an extra sweet boy.  I'm sure that he'll turn 12, 13, or 14 and know it all and all his parents will be so lame.  I'm actually very good with being lame - because it's the right thing to do.  Raising him to be a Godly man is the most important thing.  It's more important to raise him to be a God fearing man than it is to be popular, or cool, or his friend.  We weren't appointed to be his friends; were we?

So, while we are on vacation we will still be mindful of raising him up in the way he should go and praying that in the end he would not depart from it.  Blake too!  Get ready boys!  We will have so much fun, but we will also be pleasing to God thru all we do.

Prayer for a blessed week for you all!

God bless you all!

Yolanda, The McLean Queen

I Just Turned 13!

I was born on May 1, 2000.  I'm sure some of you are thinking that I'm taking this faking my age thing a little too far.  I gave my life to Jesus Christ on May 1, 2000.  The old me is dead and I was given a new life thru Jesus Christ.  I'm still going to celebrate the day of my physical birth (August 28, I'm just saying).  I think the date of my spiritual birth is the one that really matters.

Let me tell you how I was introduced to Jesus.  It all started in 1999 when I went to work for a company called Charles Humphrey & Associates.  This company created and framed scripture pictures.  There were drawn images with scripture on them and there were beautifully hand-lettered calligraphy pictures.  The owner, Charles Humphrey, would hold a devotion and prayer time every Monday morning.  From time to time Mr. Humphrey would call employees into his office and discuss their faith with them.  Well, I worked in the office so I was called in to talk with him often.  He would invite me to church all the time and he would give me scriptures to reassure me.  Finally on Easter Sunday 2000 I decided to visit his church.  It's not lovely, but my thought was that if I go maybe it would "shut him up".  Not a lovely thought, but it is exactly how I felt.  So I went, and there was something that made me want to go back again the next week.  So, I went on my own.  I kept going and it was just a few weeks later that I answered the call to give my life to Jesus.

I believe that according to Romans 8:28 God led me to work for Mr. Humphrey.  What I have recently realized is that God put a passion on Charles Humphrey's heart to make disciples.  I finally get it!!  I get it because God has put the same passion in my heart.  I feel a sense of urgency to lead others to Jesus.  I can see what Mr. Humphrey was doing and I am so thankful for the passion God put on his heart to make disciples.  Our church is focused on making disciples and I'm seeing the same passion grow all around me. 

So, I wonder.  Do you want to go to church with me?  Could you step into my office for a few minutes?  You want to take a walk?  So, how are you today?  No I mean really, how are you today?  Hey man, you hungry?  Hi, I'm your neighbor and I'm starting a home group - you wanna come?  Would you mind if I prayed with you right now?

Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,  

baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 

Matthew 28:19

Have a blessed weekend!
Yolanda, The McLean Queen

Daughters of the King

Daughters of the King

Last weekend was our women's retreat.  Our focus was on learning that we are Daughters of the King. Learning our value in Christ and how to properly demonstrate that we are Daughters of the King.  What struck me as I study this picture is the different events that have framed the lives of these women this year.  I know these women and I know the events therefore I know when to show them grace or extend extra love to them.  What about the women that we come across in everyday life that seem defeated and over-whelmed with life.  I have no clue what they are battling and I have sometimes assumed the worst of them.  Shame on me!

There are women in this picture that have these things going on:

1. Just found out her home was robbed.
2. Has been searching for a job for a long while.
3. Felt that she was unworthy of the grace offered by Jesus Christ.
4. Has been so damaged by her past that she feels unfit to lead.
5. Has struggled to practice submissiveness and changed her marriage.
6. Is expecting her first child.
7. Recently lost her dear Mother.
8. Believes that she is un-loved by her group of friends.
9. Her husband has been changed due to some very difficult circumstances.

Oh, there's a lot more.  This really opens my eyes to how we treat people that we don't know or that we don't know very well.  How do I treat them?  Maybe I could focus more on getting to know them.  We weren't learning to demonstrate being a Daughter of the King so that we could just show our group of friends or our families, but to extend it to everyone.

You'll be glad to know that there were many victories for Christ this weekend!  There was healing in relationships and that woman who felt unworthy made a decision for Jesus Christ!  

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; 

old things have passed away; behold, 

all things have become new.  2 Corinthians 5:17

Have a blessed day!

The McLean Queen

Yellow Flowers

I started the day reading chapter four in A Confident Heart by Renee Swope.  This is a book that I'm studying in order to prepare for a small group for women that I'll be starting in our home.  The chapter deals with using the ugly past to help others that might be going thru similar struggles.  The author writes that she kept waiting for God to give her a new story to use.  She believed that the past was just too ugly to be shared.  As she grew in Christ she realized that she was being called to use that ugly past to give glory to God today.  

I began to review my past, all the failures and disappointments.  Just last week I was praying and I asked God what he wanted me to share with these women.  What I received was one word - TESTIMONY.  Romans 8:28 is God's promise to us that He will work things for good.  Using the stories of my ugly past could help bring healing to another woman today - this is working the ugly past for good.  I'm telling you God is so awesome that He can turn something so ugly into something so beautiful.   

Today David and I were at Lowe's buying flowers for our landscaping.  We had two red rose bushes and several flats of petunias.  The petunias were in beautiful shades of pink, purple, and red.  When I thought we were ready to check out, I couldn't find David.  I found him with a sales clerk.  He was trying to find some yellow flowers about the same size as the petunias to give a pop of yellow in our flower bed.  Now David could not care less about yellow flowers, but he knows that yellow flowers are my very favorite.  He wanted to be sure that I had some yellow flowers.  Now I know that this yellow flowers story has little to do with using your testimony for good, but my ugly past has been replaced with lovely yellow flowers.  Pink, purple, and red ones too!

If you are reading this post, you have been prayed for.  

Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death,

that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father,

even so we also should walk in newness of life.

                                                                 Romans 6:4

Have a blessed day!

Yolanda, the McLean Queen

Linda Made Me Do It! God told her to!!

Hello blog, nice to see you.  It's been a long time!  You all are just as lovely as you used to be.

Well, it's been a while.  I kept thinking that I would write right after this, and then right after that, and well I didn't want to tell any stories halfway.  Then I feared I would be boastful and I didn't want to come across as bragging or give glory to myself when it all belongs to Jesus.  So, let's just say that David and I have been blessed and we see God's hand in it all the way.  What I want more than anything is to take what God has given us and bring Him glory and honor with it.  

Last weekend we were blessed to have our Pastor and his wife in our home for dinner.  We shared some really great food, but the best part was the fellowship.  Before they left our Pastor prayed a blessing over our home (that may have been my favorite part).  When David and I were cleaning up I asked him if he felt the love that was in our home.  His allergies acted up a little bit when he answered me that yes he could feel it.  So, there are many stories about how God gave us this home but I pray that there are more stories of lives led to Christ in our home. 

A couple of days ago my very dear friend, Linda, told me that God woke her up at 5:00am directing her to ask me about my blog.  It had been on my mind, but I haven't had clear direction what to write about.  Linda and I are serious prayer partners and I believe that God gave her a message for me because she prays so earnestly for me.  It took me a couple of days, but I figured that I'd like to sleep tonight so I better just write something.  Plus what if God wakes Linda up again at 5:00am or earlier?  I'm liable to hear about it! 

I think one of the reasons that I've not written is that it's very emotional.  In order to fully embrace where I am now, I must go back to where I've been.  I must be willing to acknowledge the brokenness that existed in order to see the healing that has occurred.  I must remember the names that I was called or feel the fear all over again in order to embrace the freedom.  I'm not saying that I am forever bound by the past but I do acknowledge it.  It's part of the testimony that God has given me.  Now I don't mean that the emotion is bad because the emotion is love, freedom, and redemption.  The emotion is big because the healing is big.   

Thank you, Linda, for holding me accountable and for being obedient.  Maybe the other reader of my blog thanks you too.  

Have a blessed week and I'll be back sooner than last time.

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, 

to those who are the called according to His purpose. 

                                                            Romans 8:28 

In Christ,

The McLean Queen

Broken and Beautiful

So, the McLean's went camping.  We had such a great time together.  It was cold.  David worked hard to keep us warm.  The campsite was really beautiful, the leaves were changing colors, and there was a definite crispness in the air.  On most of my short hikes to the bathroom I chose to take the path thru the woods rather than the cleared path.  I would get tangled in branches, clothes lined by spider webs, surprised by leaf covered holes, it was basically great.  After one of  these trips I returned and noticed that there was a leaf caught in my scarf.  I picked the leaf off and looked at it.  In the fall I'm always picking up leaves.  I'll find leaves that are perfect and beautifully colored and lay them on my desk so that I can admire them all day.  But this leaf was broken.  My first thought was sadness over the broken leaf, then it occurred to me how beautiful the broken leaf was.  It was beautiful because it was broken.

So, as I usually do, I searched for spiritual truth.  I realized that I've been broken!  I stopped in my tracks and prayed.  I thanked God for the paths He's taken me down and for the beauty that is my life now.  I listened to Shawn playing with the other kids, and my heart melted.  I watched David tending our camp and I felt so loved. I wonder if I would appreciate my life now if I hadn't been broken?  I believe that my faith wouldn't be as strong, that I would probably trust myself more than I trust God.  Being broken and restored has put me in a place of complete surrender.

It seems that my life verse is Romans 8:28 and I searched for one that would be more appropriate for this post, but Romans 8:28 really says it all.  At the beginning of any struggle, Romans 8:28.  In the middle of any trial, Romans 8:28. 

And we know that all things work together for good

 to those who love God,

 to those who are the called according to His purpose.  

                                                                    Romans 8:28

I really do know more scriptures, and I promise that I'll branch out in future posts.  Sometimes you just know when it's right.

God bless ya'll!

Yolanda, The McLean Queen