WOW! This month has
been a whirlwind for me. I can’t believe
I haven’t even had a chance to post anything since January and March is right around
the corner. It’s been a crazy month! I thought I would give you a glimpse into
what I have been up to…
The month began with an awesome series launching at our
church called “Circle Maker”. It is based on a book written by Mark
Batterson. He encourages us to pray circles around our biggest
dreams and greatest fears… bold, audacious prayers. Our pastor encouraged us to set an
appointment with God daily during this series and even fast at some point setting
something aside to focus more on God. We
were given appointment cards as a reminder.
We sat around tables
on Sundays and Wednesdays. We connected
with one another as we connected with God.
It was awesome! The youth focused
on this in their services too! The
results were amazing! I have two teenage
boys who are NOT the same!
They were faithful to
keep their appointments with God! We
knew it was appointment time for one of our son’s when we immediately heard
passionate singing and praying belting out to God muffled behind a door. This month has created a hunger for MORE of
God in my boys, my family, and my church.
We are praying more, reading the Bible more, and God is stirring us
up. HE is amazing!
Besides our “Circle
Maker” series, the first few weeks were consumed with the Basketball
season. Both boys play, but on different
teams… with different practices, at different places, with different game
schedules. It felt like for a lot of the
month that I was a taxi service and scheduler, planning and coordinating the
comings and goings of the Davis
My boys LOVE
basketball and it is the only sport they choose to play so we just go
with it for the short season. Basketball
is their life. They watch it on TV,
shoot hoops outside at home, play basketball video games, shoot in their mini
basketball attached to their door in the bedroom, get basketball sports updates
on their phones, create fantasy basketball leagues, and play pick up games when
ever they get the chance. I think you
get the point! It’s all consuming!
I think this month
with our “Circle Maker” series going on, it has been a great reminder to my
boys to…. Keep God FIRST. I’ve noticed a
difference in them. I see them trying to
balance a little better their LOVE for basketball and their LOVE for God. It’s a good lesson to learn early on in life. I always love it when someone else can
re-enforce what we are teaching at home.
It seems to stick better to their lives.
In the middle of the
month I went on a Marriage Retreat with my sweetheart of 21 years. The retreat location was 1 ½ hours away so we
took our time getting there. We had lots
of talk time in the car and over the weekend.
I love these retreats. They
aren’t just for people who are struggling in their marriages. It’s for people who want to become better
TOGETHER. Marriage is work! It’s always good to hear of different ways we
can make it better. I also love hanging
out with old friends and making some new ones too while we are there. Besides the amazing sessions, I get to spend
extra uninterrupted, quality time with my boyfriend. How can I refuse?
Intermingled
throughout the whole month we have had several sports photo shoots. My husband is a photographer (Davis Creative
Photography… Check it out!). I am his
assistant. I register all of the kids picture
forms and assist him with the detail side of things. This month we had FOUR separate photo shoots
we did for various basketball leagues.
There were a lot of early mornings and late nights leaving this girl one
tired mama.
At the end of the month my boys went to a youth retreat with our church. They call it “Kindle”. It’s all about stirring up a fire inside for MORE of God. The retreat lasted from Friday-Sunday afternoon. It was powerful! I’ve noticed a huge difference in my kids since they got back. More God-fruit coming out of their lives…Which is a good thing! There is a clip from the worship time at the retreat below. My son is the one on the far right in gray helping lead worship. Enjoy!
What I don’t have time to tell you about is that I was blessed with the incredible gift of kidney stones filling both kidneys this month. Yay ME!! The pain at times was as intense as labor pains. What was that lamaze class about again, I forget? It’s been so long! It was unpredictable and debilitating at times, but I survived! I also registered my boys for their private school next year. This is a long process… lots of paper work! We had a Super bowl party too, I got a new nephew, and I agreed to lead a small group at my church. Did I mention we did our taxes on our own too…YIKES!
It’s been a busy
month, but a full one. I am so thankful
for a “Community of Circle Makers” who stood by me in prayer through all of
this. My favorite verse carried me
through. It is settled deep within me
and pops up when I need it most.
“I can do all things through Christ, because he gives me strength.”
Philippians 4:13 (NCV)
March here we come ready or not! Let’s make it amazing!
Living to leave a legacy,
Julie
