RUSSJONES.US

My story is one that tells the hope and future that God has given to me. My husband & I were college sweethearts. We married when we were 20, and decided to wait 5 years to have children. In our 5th year of marriage I went into respiratory distress. My lips, and fingernails turned black, and my eyes were bloodshot and bulging. At one point my husband was told to call the family together that I had less than 20 minutes to live. Instead he called upon God. Within 20 minutes I had done a 180 degree turn. I was told I could never have children. I had acute asthma. My lungs could never sustain childbirth. Even if I did get pregnant the large number of steroids that I would have to take for the rest of my life would most likely cause severe birth defects. We were crushed. I remember the pain of seeing others have children, and thinking how unfair it was. Why were they so blessed? I remember the countless nights crying out to God for a child. Over the next 2 years God slowly began t

Yesterday I walked out of Office Depot and find this embedded in my tire. Arrrrg!!!  I really, really didn't want to see this.  And if you don't know, DON'T PULL IT OUT!!  It let's all the air out and now you've got to change a flat. Well on the way back to church there is a tire shop I go to occasionally.  So I stop in and ask, "How much?" Waiting, Waiting, Hyperventilating, Waiting, Waiting "2 tires - $202" "Dude, you got anything cheaper?" "Nope, that is the cheapest ones we have?" "Are you kidding me?  I've use to come here and get this done for $150." "Yea, those days are gone." "Fine, put the tires on." Oh, I am not happy.  Then I asked him about some certain brand names that I have used in the past only to discover they are now as much as the premium brand tires.  WOW! So I go outside and have them pull the screw out of the tire.  This is what I see. A little, itt

As most of you know, Anneka loves to dance.  Musical Theatre, Tap, Lyrical, Acro and Ballet.  Now here's the weird thing about all of this.  She is really, really good at it.  Anyone who knows me and Betty knows that we're known for a lot of things, but dancing isn't one of them. So when Anneka wanted to learn how to dance, back when she was 3 or 4, I said - OK.  But in my mind I was thinking, "This won't last long."  Well, weeks turned into months and months and turned into years.  But, early this year I was seeing the signs that this was about to run its course.  Then the light bulb went on. The photo above is exactly when it happened.  The dance was called, Spanish Panic.  And that smile on her face isn't the one that I had seen before.  This was the one that let me know.  We're going to be dancing for a long time.  That's what you see when the lightbulb goes on! To say that I am proud of my daughter is an understatement.  There are many

Ps 127:3 says  Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him. (NLT) The question I want to ask you is, how do you treat your gifts?   When someone gives me something, I treasure it with all my heart.  (Yes, even the bad gifts.)  Why?  Because it isn't about the item - it's about them.  They honored me with a gift.  Recently, a friend of mine gave me something that I really will enjoy and treasure.  I would not want to part with this gift for anything.  Why?  Because I love it?  No.  Because I love them.   Now with that said, How do you love your children?   You might say.  I provide for their needs.  I tell them I love them.  I work extra hours for those lessons they take. etc.  That's good.   But let's consider this.   God gave you your children.  (See verse above).  He has entrusted to you a soul.  A soul that will spend eternity in heaven or hell.  What are you doing to influence their life into heaven?  I am amazed how some parents do

Sorry that I haven't blogged this week that much. I'm getting back into the habit of doing it again after a short hiatus. But yesterday was a day worth blogging about. When you get up in the morning, I'm sure that you have some kind of idea on how your day is going to go. You're going to do A) B) C) then eat a quick lunch then go on to - and on and on and on. Well that was the plan yesterday morning, but God said - NO! Now before I go on, let me say this. God is more interested in you doing what He wants you to do than what you want to do. This isn't an insult to your intelligence. The truth be known, you're suppose to be that way too. The trick is to see it when it happens and go along with it. So I was awakened to a number of text messages this morning. Some were easy, others were a little more challenging. Both came back to be a blessing to me. I've been looking for someone to do a brake job on my car. The cheapest shop around was $