Hey all! I just wanted to let you know that I am moving my blog..... my new address is http://www.cheritriplett.com/. Please come visit me there! Leave a comment!
God Bless!!
Friday, September 30, 2011
Sunday, September 25, 2011
My Dream Come True!
When I was in kindergarten or first grade I heard the story of Florence Nightingale. From that day forward I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up....a nurse! I never wavered. It was never a question of which major to pick in college...there was no question, I was born to be a nurse!
Some of my earliest memories of my nursing passion was having a nurse's station for my younger siblings. As my very determined younger sister decided to teach herself how to ride her bike came lots of crashes. So, I saw an opportunity! I smuggled all of the bandages out of the bathroom outside to the front porch and set up shop!
I believe God plants dreams in our hearts. Based on His all surpassing knowledge, He created us and knows us well. Psalms 139:13,16 says, "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb....... All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." God planted another dream in my heart that I had forgotten about....
When I was 7 yrs old I remember one of my parents' friends asking me, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" My response, "A Nurse and a Pastor's wife!"As I said before the passion for nursing never changed but the Pastor's wife thing is not something I held tight to accomplishing. To be completely honest so much happened in the eleven years between that question and the day I met my husband that the last thing on Earth that I wanted was to be a Pastor's wife!! God never forgot the plans He had for me. When I met Jason the last thing either of us had planned was a life in ministry! Again God had other plans and I am SO thankful for that! Jason has been in ministry for almost 8 years and I would not trade it for the world!!
God planted another dream in my heart about 10 yrs ago. A dream that would use my gifts and talents as a nurse and my passion for the Love of Christ! I have dreamed about going on a medical mission trip! But, being that we have 4 kids that are so young I always thought that I would have to put that dream on the shelf until my kids were raised. The Dr. I work for goes on an annual mission trip to Haiti. This year the team going was short on nurses. About five weeks ago he invited me to go. I could not believe it! Something I have dreamed about for the past 10 years would now become a reality!
About two weeks ago my passport came in the mail the same day as my mission T-shirt. I remember holding them both in my hands staring down at them and the reality of it all hit me! Anxiety, excitement, joy, fear, and peace all at once! Along with all those emotions thankfulness too! If God had not given me such a supportive, loving, involved husband there is no way I could even consider this trip!
As the time draws near to the trip I am a little overwhelmed! I cannot believe this dream God has place in my heart 10 years ago is coming true! I cannot wait to use the nursing skills God has given me to help the Haitian people physically and share the Love God has given me to help them spiritually. To be an instrument of God! Shine His light! Not to leave out the fact that I am also a little unsure and nervous, not sure what to expect. But, I know this is God's plan for me and He will never leave or forsake me!
The theme for Women of Faith this year is Imagine with the theme verse....
"God can do anything, you know -- far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!" Ephesians 3:20 (the Message)
I know there are other plans and dreams God has for me. I cannot wait to see what He has for me next!!
Some of my earliest memories of my nursing passion was having a nurse's station for my younger siblings. As my very determined younger sister decided to teach herself how to ride her bike came lots of crashes. So, I saw an opportunity! I smuggled all of the bandages out of the bathroom outside to the front porch and set up shop!
I believe God plants dreams in our hearts. Based on His all surpassing knowledge, He created us and knows us well. Psalms 139:13,16 says, "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb....... All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." God planted another dream in my heart that I had forgotten about....
When I was 7 yrs old I remember one of my parents' friends asking me, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" My response, "A Nurse and a Pastor's wife!"As I said before the passion for nursing never changed but the Pastor's wife thing is not something I held tight to accomplishing. To be completely honest so much happened in the eleven years between that question and the day I met my husband that the last thing on Earth that I wanted was to be a Pastor's wife!! God never forgot the plans He had for me. When I met Jason the last thing either of us had planned was a life in ministry! Again God had other plans and I am SO thankful for that! Jason has been in ministry for almost 8 years and I would not trade it for the world!!
God planted another dream in my heart about 10 yrs ago. A dream that would use my gifts and talents as a nurse and my passion for the Love of Christ! I have dreamed about going on a medical mission trip! But, being that we have 4 kids that are so young I always thought that I would have to put that dream on the shelf until my kids were raised. The Dr. I work for goes on an annual mission trip to Haiti. This year the team going was short on nurses. About five weeks ago he invited me to go. I could not believe it! Something I have dreamed about for the past 10 years would now become a reality!
About two weeks ago my passport came in the mail the same day as my mission T-shirt. I remember holding them both in my hands staring down at them and the reality of it all hit me! Anxiety, excitement, joy, fear, and peace all at once! Along with all those emotions thankfulness too! If God had not given me such a supportive, loving, involved husband there is no way I could even consider this trip!
As the time draws near to the trip I am a little overwhelmed! I cannot believe this dream God has place in my heart 10 years ago is coming true! I cannot wait to use the nursing skills God has given me to help the Haitian people physically and share the Love God has given me to help them spiritually. To be an instrument of God! Shine His light! Not to leave out the fact that I am also a little unsure and nervous, not sure what to expect. But, I know this is God's plan for me and He will never leave or forsake me!
The theme for Women of Faith this year is Imagine with the theme verse....
"God can do anything, you know -- far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!" Ephesians 3:20 (the Message)
I know there are other plans and dreams God has for me. I cannot wait to see what He has for me next!!
Friday, September 9, 2011
I AM a Mom....and God is God!
One evening last week Hunter and Jakob were hanging out in the kitchen with me as I was making dinner. I had been at work all day so I was enjoying hearing all about how their day had gone and what they had been up to. Hunter (the 6 year old) says, "Hey Mom, can you whistle?" I said, "NO" (don't laugh at me! I just never learned how to whistle!) Hunter comes back at me with, "But Moms know everything!" (see my blog post "Mom's Know EVERYTHING!" posted June 2011) Then, Jakob (the 4 year old) looks at me and says, "Guess you are not really a mom then!"..........WHAT????
I wanted to look at my boys and say "EXCUSE ME" I carried you both for nine months! I have a combined total of 50 hours of labour under my belt! I was either pregnant or nursing from 2001 to 2007!! I birthed you from my loins!! I have been peed on, pooped on, puked on, and had my clothes soaked through from breast milk cause some other baby was crying the next isle over at Wal mart!!! I most certainly AM a MOM!!!
Over the past week I have reflected several times on Jakob's comment. I thought of the times in life we may say to God..."I guess your not really God." You know the times when something really rocks our life and we say...."If there was really a God then this would not happen." Sometimes it is hard to look at all that is wrong in the world and make sense of it all.
I went through a time like that in my life. A time where none of it made sense and I did not see the point in even praying. I could not even say bed time prayers with my kids. I would kneel by their bed and have them say the prayer cause I could not utter a word to God. I could not see where God was in my circumstances and certainly could not understand why He had allowed such things to happen!
I am not the only one....most of us have heard the story of Job from the Bible. Job was a faithful servant of God who lost his children, his home, his wealth, and his health. After enduring such loss and agony he begins to question God....for about 6 straight chapters he asks God, "why me?" And then God answers Job.
God said to Job, "Brace yourself like a man; I will question you and you shall answer me." Then for the next 4 chapters God asks Job questions that remind both Job and us who HE is..."Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Who marked off its dimensions? Who shut up the sea behind doors? Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place? Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Who can tip the water jars of the heavens when the dust becomes hard and the clods of earth stick together?...."(Job 38)
I, like Job, need to be reminded sometimes of who God is. My prayer is that the next time I face things that may tempt me to say...."If you were really God you wouldn't...." my reply will be that of Job's....after enduring God's questioning him like a man Job replied:
"I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. You asked, 'Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?' Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know." Job 42:2-3
I wanted to look at my boys and say "EXCUSE ME" I carried you both for nine months! I have a combined total of 50 hours of labour under my belt! I was either pregnant or nursing from 2001 to 2007!! I birthed you from my loins!! I have been peed on, pooped on, puked on, and had my clothes soaked through from breast milk cause some other baby was crying the next isle over at Wal mart!!! I most certainly AM a MOM!!!
Over the past week I have reflected several times on Jakob's comment. I thought of the times in life we may say to God..."I guess your not really God." You know the times when something really rocks our life and we say...."If there was really a God then this would not happen." Sometimes it is hard to look at all that is wrong in the world and make sense of it all.
I went through a time like that in my life. A time where none of it made sense and I did not see the point in even praying. I could not even say bed time prayers with my kids. I would kneel by their bed and have them say the prayer cause I could not utter a word to God. I could not see where God was in my circumstances and certainly could not understand why He had allowed such things to happen!
I am not the only one....most of us have heard the story of Job from the Bible. Job was a faithful servant of God who lost his children, his home, his wealth, and his health. After enduring such loss and agony he begins to question God....for about 6 straight chapters he asks God, "why me?" And then God answers Job.
God said to Job, "Brace yourself like a man; I will question you and you shall answer me." Then for the next 4 chapters God asks Job questions that remind both Job and us who HE is..."Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Who marked off its dimensions? Who shut up the sea behind doors? Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place? Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Who can tip the water jars of the heavens when the dust becomes hard and the clods of earth stick together?...."(Job 38)
I, like Job, need to be reminded sometimes of who God is. My prayer is that the next time I face things that may tempt me to say...."If you were really God you wouldn't...." my reply will be that of Job's....after enduring God's questioning him like a man Job replied:
"I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. You asked, 'Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?' Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know." Job 42:2-3
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