Giveaway Winner!

Thank you SO MUCH for being part of my first Giveaway. I don't have a drum roll, but I do have a saxophone riff!

YEA! I'm so happy for our winner! I hope you enjoy your gifts. They will be in the mail ASAP. Please, send me your mailing address at: SaxophoneWife@gmail.com

Congratulations, Robin! 

Spring Giveaway

We are in the midst of a beautiful snowfall today, but Spring is just around the corner! 

To celebrate, I have assembled a few of my favorite things into a little Giveaway. This is my very first Giveaway, so please enter, and please help me spread the word!

TO ENTER
You receive one entry each time you share a link to The Saxophone Player's Wife on your Facebook page, blog, or Twitter (#SpringGiveaway). 

Enter as often as you like. Just let me know in a comment each time you do, so I can enter your name again in the drawing. 

It couldn't be easier!

The Saxophone Player will draw the winner's name on Monday, March 25th. We will announce the winner here, and notify the winner!


PRIZES

There are seven items in this Giveaway:

A 2013 Datebook

A 30-Day Devotional Book

A Sticky Note Folio
A Small Mary Engelbreit Notebook

A Package of Pens in Assorted Colors

A Set of Mary Engelbreit Magnets

A Jumbo Paperclip

I love datebooks, and this is a great one! I know it's all ready March, but it is never too late to get your datebook in order---or upgrade to a better one. Remember: the busiest seasons are still ahead of you!

 Start Spring with 30 days of worship!

I love all things Mary!  These magnets will bring some sunshine inside. 

Can we have too many sticky notes? These have Psalm 118:24
printed on them, which makes them kind of awesome!
The folio is perfect to put in your purse, school bag, brief case, etc.

These are tools to make the most of the datebook.
I use different colored ink to organize appointments in my book
(each family member and different kinds of events have their own color).
The jumbo paperclip keeps loose papers in place
(I stash invitations or directions in my book. Plus, it's FUN!

Divine Interruption

There is a limit to what anyone can or should do, but sometimes we are so in control---or so out of control---of our life that we miss something good God wants to give us. We miss a divine interruption that may be just what the Lord has chosen to enlarge His presence in our world.

I know a couple who are the parents of five children, including two toddlers, and two weeks ago they were asked to foster parent an infant. A brand new baby.

Most people would understand and support them if their decision was, "No, we're sorry; our hands are full," because their hands are full.

Their lives are full.

However, their lives are also in order. Their priorities are straight. They know what God has called them to do.

That's the key. 

That is also why they did not turn away from this divine interruption. They did not put their hands up and say, "No." Instead, they reached their hands out and said, "Yes!" They welcomed this ordained intrusion with open arms, full hearts, and a surrendered will. 

Is it going to be easy? Of course not. Does that matter? 

There are times when we are given an opportunity to welcome God into our lives in a far greater measure than we could ever imagine, but that opportunity doesn't always show up at the best of times, or looking very appealing. 

Sometimes, looks like a travel-worn pilgrim and his expectant wife riding on a donkey. 

Or, a dusty and dirty pair of feet that need washing. 

Or, a thirsty stranger at the well.

It happens so easily, doesn't it? Those opportunities walk right up to us, but we don't have room. It will cost too much. We don't have the strength. We're "too busy." 

Oh, let's pray we don't miss these divine interruptions! Let's be willing to cast down our plan, our pride, our ambition---our selves---in order to do whatever the Lord brings our way.

"Lord, make me so mindful of Your will,
that I do not miss Your presence."

This is the link to the website where I found the above image: Click Here 

Birthday Girl

Today my Mother would have been 82, so I thought I would share some of my favorite pictures of her. 

Stella Lucille Cooper Mosqueda was the fourth of eleven children. She
is the little girl in front. She used to talk about living in this log cabin. 

At 21, Mother left for Cuba, to be a missionary. This is her on the right,
with her sister, Helen, preparing to fly off to share the gospel.

In Cuba, Stella met a young evangelist
named Ignacio Mosqueda. Their
love story is the stuff of movies.

Mother and Daddy had a wonderful life in Cuba.
She spoke of it all the time. She loved Cuba,
and loved the work they did, planting
churches and winning the lost.
This is one of my very favorite pictures.
I didn't often get to see my parents being
a couple. I know she was sorry when they
had to leave, after the Cuban Revolution. 

Here is my family/ I am in the center. My eldest sister, Joy,
is on the left. My next sister in on the right, Jill.

In 2000 my mother traveled to Africa on a short-term missions trip, preaching and teaching.  She was showered with gifts before she left, and after
she came home she shared the memories with us all.

This is from January 2012, as she hold her first great-grandchild.
Annaka brought her the greatest happiness her last year.

Last summer I decided to get a snapshot of us together. I realized I didn't have any pictures with her, and thought it might be a good way to pass a nice afternoon. It was, and I am so glad I have these memories and photos.

Mother loved sitting on our little deck, and loved drinking coffee!
Together, this was the best of times.

Before it became too cold, I wanted to get out potted plants re-potted,
and I knew she would  enjoy this. My Mother could make a rock grow!
This tree is a grapefruit tree she grew from a seed. 

I miss those hands.

This was Thanksgiving 2012. The look of love for Annaka, her great-granddaughter, as her Mommy Beth hold her, just melts my heart each
time I see it. She was truly happy, when she was with that little girl.

There were some other pictures I wanted to post, but my computer wouldn't do it for some reason. I guess these are a good enough sampling of her life and loves. There can never be too many pictures, can there? 

So glad for this woman. She taught me so many important lessons, and left me such a rich inheritance of faith, courage, and strength. Such a good woman!

Good Grief

It hit the morning after the memorial, and I began to dwell on it. Meditate on it. The "What ifs" and "If onlys" were crushing weights. Nights became days, because I couldn't sleep. My head would hit the pillow and my mind would be flooded. The images were so real. There were times I knew Panic and Anxiety were just a breath away. 

Through the miasma of grief, I heard a still, small Voice, a Voice I knew well. It was gentle. And, cautionary.

We humans think so highly of ourselves. We are sure we know how far we are from danger. We race downhill towards the abyss, confident we'll stop in plenty of time. Before we reach the edge. 

We ignore the Holy Spirit at great risk. There were moments when I became concerned, but still I wouldn't turn back. Gone can be an overwhelming word, and the Enemy had convinced me that pursuing Grief would keep her with me.

The Saxophone Player talked with me, listened, encouraged me, reminded me of those glorious truths I was forgetting (ignoring), but I kept talking myself right back into the clutches of Grief. 

I kept listening to my heart. I was this guy:

All my heart wanted to do was feel sad, so I felt sad, even though my head and spirit knew better. This was my Facebook status on 12/30/12:

We are gathered here awaiting the moment the Lord liberates Stella from this earth. It's a sobering thought, knowing that something supernatural is about to take place. Right in our very presence. The Lord is coming for His own.

Doug shared a verse and thought with me earlier today:

"He is not the God of the dead, but the living." (Mark 12:27) Mother will go from this life to an everlasting life, a greater life than she has ever known. The earthen vessel she has carried around will stay here and return to the earth, but she will live forevermore with her Savior, the One she longs to see.

Thank you all for praying for my Mother these past few years. You have walked with her on this journey to Glory. ♥

I knew she was free now, experiencing life eternal, joys everlasting---but I kept listening to my heart, and my heart kept putting my loss front and center. 

My loss. 

My heartache. 

My sadness. 

My grief. 

It was all about me.

“The heart is deceitful above all things,

and desperately wicked; who can know it?"

My spirit was not hardened to the Lord, but I was deceived. Grief had become an idol, a god. I allowed it to rule over me. It was on the throne of my heart.

Thankfully, the Lord longsuffers us. Remember the story of Balaam? He could not see he was going in the wrong direction - a dangerous direction - against God's will, so God used his donkey to save him from himself. That is kind of what happened to me Sunday night.

No, my cat did not speak to me. It was a movie. God used a dumb movie I turned on for background noise. A movie that was really a donkey, but God used it to keep me from going over the edge. 

When the movie ended, I prayed, repented, and once again received the glorious truth He had shown me so clearly even before she passed away. I had a breakthrough. 

Then, the Lord took me to Psalm 116. I was just looking for a Psalm, before I went to sleep, but God still had more to say. Oh, yes, the Bible is God's LIVING Word! He opened that chapter to me, and nearly every verse spoke straight to my heart.

I went to bed that night with a heart full of joy. My spirit was at peace. 

Oh, yes, I still miss my Mother. How can I not? I will be sad. I will shed tears. I will remember, and long for her presence. But, I will never again forget that she is not gone, just gone ahead. She is not dead, but alive forever in Christ, and with Christ. Her work here was finished. 

Psalm 116:15

But, mine is not. I have a husband who needs a helpmeet, a daughter who needs an example of godly womanhood, and a work God has called me to do. 

The days are short. I must be busy. 

Care Package

I have had a cold/mystery virus for weeks now. 

On Wednesday, I thought I was actually---finally---getting better.

Then, as we were settling into bed Wednesday night, Doug innocently asked, "Is your lip swollen?"

Ugh.

By Thursday morning, I looked pretty scary. By Thursday night my lip was three times its normal size, my glands were swollen and painful, my head felt like it was going to explode, and the body aches were the worst ever. I went from "all better," to being sicker than ever.

Very depressing. 

Plus, Hannah is out of town, and Doug is busy-busy-busy. So, that means being all alone and sick and sad.

Poor me, huh? I know I'm ridiculous, but it was discouraging. 

Well, my husband was inspired. In the midst of running all the errands for the house, he assembled this Care Package for me. It made me so happy! It was filled with just the sorts of things I love.

• Office supplies
• Cards
• Organic chocolate
• A date book
• And, toys!

He put a smile on my face. And, the datebook is something I almost bought for myself, but since I all ready have four for 2013, I decided against it. LOL Oh, well. I'll make good use of it! 

And, he said the cards were from him, but unsigned on purpose, so they can be reused. That was the best, because he was thinking of my card ministry with the men in prison. I bring cards for them to send their loved ones, and he knows how much that means to me. I was very touched. 

The next post I am working on happens to be about datebooks. 

See you then!