The Nutcracker

Some nights are just the kind of nights you want to put in your pocket and remember forever. That's what The Nutcracker was for me and my girls. Every once in awhile it's fun to get dressed up and leave the farm farm for a night in the city. 

{We got crammed into this elevator and thought it was CRAZY having so many people in there at once.} 

When I was young my mom took me to the Symphony and I still remember it to this day. It's been a few weeks since we went to The Nutcracker and my girls are still talking about it. I hope it's one of those memories that stays with them forever. 

My Spunky Girl

When we first moved to the farm, she was days away from turning two. She was spunky even then, and her love for God was already budding. When she wasn't much taller than my knees we were witting in church, about to take communion, when I told her she couldn't have the bread and juice until she had given her life to Christ.

She began to cry. 

Not a selfish, fit kind of cry. 

But a deep sadness kind of cry.

I asked her what was wrong and the through her tears she got out the words, "But me love Jesus, Mama." 

She kept repeating it over and over again.

"But me love Jesus, Mama. Me love me Jesus."

She was two and half and my type-A very practical mom brain couldn't imagine that she really knew what she was saying. But then a thought came my mind in that moment__

"Who are you to say whether or not your little girl really loves Jesus?"

I immediately justified my hesitation with the thought that she most likely just wanted to have a snack more than anything else.

Then my little peanut cupped my face and said, "Mama, Jesus love me and me love Jesus." 

____

That day, she took communion. With zero ability to speak theology, my innocent little Reese knew that all God asks of us is to believe in and to love, Him. "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 

I don't know exactly what the Lord has up His sleeve for this little gem, but I know that she loves fully without reserve. And I know more and more each day that she has this unshakable passion for her Jesus. He loves her and she loves Him. 

So last Sunday, my precious girl stood up in front of our church and told the everyone about her love for the Lord. Our pastor gave her an opportunity to share something if she wanted to, {and of course she wanted to! She loves every opportunity she can get to use her voice.} She brought with her a letter that she had written to the President of the United States earlier this year. Then she proceeded to tell everyone how she loved Jesus so much that she wrote a letter to the president. 

She read the letter. 

She hopped right into that horse trough.

Her Papa read a prayer from Ephesians over her. 

And this amazing little girl declared to the world that she's in love with her Jesus. 

Reese was the youngest to get baptized... And this sweet, sweet, 90 year old man, was the oldest. 

The days when my kids seek the Lord on their own accord are the absolute best days of my life. Their faith needs to be their own. I will keep on telling them of His glory, but what I love most about our Savior is that He is able and willing and wanting to reveal Himself and His glory to them, with or without me. 

Today was a good day.

No, it was a great day. 

Aleppo Love

A few weeks back I shared a post from Ann Voscamp about Aleppo with the kids.

I told them how God didn't place us here on the farm so that we could merely speak compassion, but more so that we could LIVE it, and live it generously. I told them how $65 could feed a family for a month. I told them how even though we might not be able to fly across the world right now and serve those in Aleppo with our hands, there are always ways to lavish love. 

The next morning when I woke up, I saw $40 on the fridge. My oldest saw me looking at it and said, "It's for Aleppo, Mom." By the end of breakfast there was nearly $80 of their hard earned money and a love note from a little girl on the fridge. 

One of these treasures gave every last penny she had ($17.36) and I couldn't help but think about the woman who had only a penny but she gave it all to her Lord, and He was pleased with her. So much so, the story of her willing heart ended up in the Bible for millions of people to read. Another little boy said he only had coins and didn't think that was enough. I told him there's no such thing as giving too little, and before I knew it there was a bag full of coins on the fridge.

We got online and donated all their money to http://www.preemptivelove.org. There's a video on their site that explains a little more of what they do and the kids and I watched it together. 

They still wanted to do more. 

My Hal wanted to do something a little more tangible. Ann's blog post had a link to another organization that collects kits filled with basic supplies to help meet everyday kind of needs for refugees and other people in need around the world. WE decided on a couple different kits and came up with a supply list. The list felt a little daunting to do on our own so we sent out an email to a few friends. Our goal was 30 kits. And within 24 hours?? We had enough supplies to put together 40 kits! The kids were blown away that people would come alongside them so quickly and willingly.

Today was our packing party. 

Everyone brought their supplies. 

My Hal gave a short testimony sharing how the Lord has been working in our family's hearts about Aleppo.

We wrote notes and drew pictures in hopes of letting their hearts know that they are far from forgotten. 

We spent some time in prayer over the people in Aleppo. It is such a gift to be able to send some much needed supplies, but as we spent time praying, my heart begged the Lord to not only meet their physical needs, but their heart needs. Above all things many of the people in Aleppo need Jesus. He is the only source of true hope and peace in this fallen, broken world. 

Today was more than just packing boxes, it was a time to pause and ask the Lord to lavish His extravagant love on the people of Aleppo and on people all around the world who might not yet know the glory of His wild & glorious grace.

Here's a short video of my Hal's heart...
pASSWORD: aleppo

My Movie from Kacy Clark on Vimeo.

I'm grateful for these opportunities to bless. 

But I'm even more grateful for Jesus. 

Grateful that Love came down. 

Grateful that He laid it all down so that we might have this mind-boggling, glorious hope.

The Tree

This is the year that this kid had a dozen and a half meltdowns.

This is the year that the three-year olds walked by themselves and not in a backpack.

This is the year that our oldest boy carried the tree back to the van all by himself. 

This is the year that it took us awhile to find that perfect tree.

This is the year that the Charmer lost his hat in the woods and the Ninja informed me that he had to pee AFTER we had put all his snow gear on. 

This is the year that Miss Shiloh slept through the hunt.

We've ventured into the woods with these lovely friends for six years now. The group changes a bit every year, but the Gaws and the Clarks have stuck together each year since we moved to our little farmhouse out in the sticks in 2010.

And this is the year that the Lord gave me joy through it all because this is the year that our tribe was, well, our tribe. And when we hunt for our tree each year with this tribe, there is exploring, and adventure, laughing and often times a good amount of crying. Someone almost always looses something and by the time we all pile back into the van there are those who have conquered and those who are disappointed and those who have tucked a dozen unspoken joy-memories into their pockets to treasure for a lifetime. We don't venture out with this crew because it's convenient and care free. We venture out because there is ALWAYS joy to be found, even in the midst of our controlled chaos.

Our oldest asked me to make a video of our hunt. So here it is... ENJOY! 

pASSWORD: christmas

mUSIC: Ragin Cajun Redneck Christmas

December 2016 from Kacy Clark on Vimeo.