Trip of a Lifetime

Thanks to Scott (and our wives) we were able to go to a place in the middle of New York where there are beautiful rolling hills and a lot of history. Abner Doubleday invented the wonderful game of baseball in Cooperstown in 1839 and therefore 100 years later they inducted the first class in the Hall of Fame that you see above. We had the nostalgic feeling throughout our time in town and in the hall as you looked at the greats enshrined for their place in history. I couldn't help but feel the rush inside to put on the cleats and grab a bat and see what I still have...or don't have...or never had!!

(Photos include Babe Ruth's locker above with the original inductee class: Us outside the hall; original baseball gear from 1830's - 1900; Gashouse gang uniform; Stan the Man and his locker; Me standing next to Stan the Man's enshrinement; and the enfamous hitting averages placed on balls in the strike zone for Ted Williams...there are more!!)

As you'll see below the hall photos, we also had a good time on a beautiful course down south towards Pennsylvania. High rough and hard greens hurt the ego a bit, but we had a great time nonetheless as Dad must have been feeling nostalgic and almost beat us! Thanks Scott for putting this together as I loved my time with you and Dad and you'll have to tell me the results of a little bet you told me about.

Remember...God is in a good mood! Todd

Tooth Fairy and Batman

Andrew and Isaac both lost a tooth a day a part the first week in August. This was Andrew's first tooth and Isaac's 8th tooth to say goodbye to. The next morning Andrew asked us if we were the tooth fairy and by our reaction and proceeded laughter he knew he was on to something. We were caught a little off guard and had to confess we were and he just smiled and said, "I knew it!"

Marcie recently found this little batman outfit in the attic and little O thought he was really cool when I came home from work to see him standing there waiting for my reaction. He also really likes Larry Boy right now. He's talking more and more each day.

My little picture at the bottom is a preview of some pictures coming from our Hall of Fame trip to Cooperstown. Be blessed everyone!

Blog Sabbatical

I will try to put up a picture soon of Andrew and his missing tooth at Nana's request. After that, I think I will take a long break from the blog business. Out of respect, I will keep things between me and God for a while. If I kept blogging, I would eventually have to share...be blessed.

Todd

Open Heaven

One of the amazing things about God is how He chooses to use us over and over...even when we make so many mistakes. He uses us even when our faith is so small that He's begging us to even have the faith the size of a mustard seed. Despite our weaknesses and lack of trust in Him on a consistent basis...He still uses me!! I am blown away and honored that God desires to use me and trusts me with His power and all Glory and Honor goes to Him.

I want to share a story that happened in our backyard two weeks ago today. I had just had my alone time with God while exercising (for some reason I hear Him more clearly while exercising??) and had come home still cooling off. It had been a great time with the Lord sharing emotions of joy, mystery, and wonder with God and how He doest things. I walked out straight to the backyard as the family is out there playing on the fort (Marcie was watching...ha). The boys come to hug me (I'll enjoy that while I can) and Isaac jumps off the fort down the metal pole only to land very awkwardly. Isaac lets out a scream that we hadn't heard since he broke his arm several years ago. Marcie and I run straight to him and his right knee is already very swollen and his right leg is turned unnaturally to the right. Immediately God poured out a Spirit of boldness and urgency on me and while Marcie had already started praying, I started praying very boldly for healing in the name of Jesus while cradling his knee in my hands.

For some reason I didn't doubt, didn't question whether He would do it, and didn't have any spirit of fear. That isn't always the case when I pray for healing for someone or our children. God's Spirit was overwhelming at this point and then something happened...while I was holding his leg and rebuking the Spirit of infirmity and commanding the joints and knee to straighten...his leg straightened out right in my hands! My eyes get big and I look over at Marcie in wonderment and awe of God and then look back at Isaac's leg and immediately the swelling just vanishes in front of my eyes. At this point Isaac stops screaming and is looking at us wondering what just happened. The boldness continued and we prayed for 100% healing and for the pain to be gone 100%. We told Isaac to get up and walk on it and he hesitantly pulled himself up off the ground and started walking pain free!! I just started laughing and looking up at the sky as heaven had just opened and poured itself out on our little 7 year old. Humility an awe overcame us and we started rejoicing as a family and celebrated with what else...Popsicles?!

After the Popsicle and thanking God for what He had done, Isaac was pumped and wanted to play baseball in the backyard. In a span of no more than 10 minutes my son is screaming with a very swollen knee and crooked leg; to jumping up in the air catching baseballs with no pain and a HUGE grin on his face. God is amazing...God is a mystery.

What do you do with something like this?? I am choosing to focus on God's love He has for us and how He still works in mighty ways today. I'm not going to focus on the times things don't turn out as planned or prayers that aren't answered as quickly as we may like them to be answered. Focusing on those will steal the seed planted in my heart two weeks ago. Heaven opened in a mighty way in our backyard and I stand in awe at the mighty power of God and simply thank Him and realize how blessed we are that He chooses to love us and let us experience a taste of heaven. I am so unworthy...yet He makes me worthy. I am so ill-equipped at this parenting thing...yet He equips me with His Spirit. At times I am timid and fearful in this world of sin...yet He gives me courage and faith to stand strong and walk it out.

God, you truly are amazing and do more than we ever ask or imagined according to your power that is at work within us. May we not be afraid to ask and when things don't get answered immediately may I not fall back to unbelief and fear. He who is in me is greater than he who is in this world...Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever and He lives inside of me. May my boys experience Him through me and God please cover all of the flesh they see in me! You have come that we may have life...and life to the full. Reveal to us what prohibits us from experiencing that fullness at times and give us the courage to overcome it...you are the Redeemer!

In conclusion, the next night at church I had already planned on sharing how much Jesus loves us...if there is any reasoning to hold onto as to why He healed Isaac's leg it's just that...He loves us. I felt convicted to share the testimony of Isaac's healing and the star running back came to me right before class started and asked if I could pray healing over his knee after class was over. He had just hurt it in practice that day. I asked him if it was his right knee and he said yes...I told him the testimony was for him and to come to me after class. God's Spirit moved that night and Courtney came up to me right after class and I see this big black guy with tears in his eyes and he simply said it didn't hurt anymore. We rejoiced together and still went and prayed thanking God and the tears flowed from his eyes. I share that to let you know why I share this on the blog. There is power in testimony as I consider the cardboard testimonies they just did in Springfield at East Sunshine. I pray what you just read increases your faith and awe of God and that you feel loved more fully by Jesus Christ. READ PSALM 91 in the NLT and Be blessed!

Todd

Feeling Tropical

Well, Marcie and I have just faced our second tropical storm of the summer going from Dora to Fay. Yesterday was a day of sheets and sheets of rain falling down with sustained winds from 30 to 40 miles and hour and gusts over 50 miles an hour. There were spin up tornadoes that popped up all around us and I eventually put the Ipod in my ears last night listening to Chris Tomlin rather than hear the wind that was consistently gusting over 50 last night. It went all through the night and now it is relatively calm outside...thank you Jesus. We got up to 7 or 8 inches yesterday...and not all stayed outside the home.

We love our old home but we found out last night that the windows aren't tropical storm proof. We had a lot of leaking through the night and used a lot of towels as water came leaking through several windows, especially through the front windows, let alone the door. Won't complain though as we saw people on the weather channel going around in boats in their neighborhood. We got a late tax return the other day...now we know where it will go as we go window shopping here shortly. We are all safe and just had branches blow down as no trees got uprooted like a lot did around town. If a hurricane comes in the future, can we evacuate to Franklin or Nolensville?? In the mean time, we need to blow our cushion on some windows (ha). Love you all and wanted to give a little update from L.A.

Todd

Love

This picture was taken shortly after Easton was baptized. He and his cousin Adam have a special relationship as Easton has always been very sweet to Adam and they truly love each other. In this moment Adam had been overwhelmed by the baptisms he'd just seen and was feeling the desire to be baptized. Adam's Dad couldn't be there so it wasn't meant to happen that day, so Adam was visibly sad. Easton saw him and went over there to encourage him. This was Easton's first ministry opportunity after he was baptized and it was one of those moments that warms your heart as a Dad.

I taught on Love last night to the teens and highlighted John 13:34-35. Loving each other (family, friends, neighbors) is not an option and it has an everlasting impact on the world on how we love each other. Love starts with your family and stretches outward to a world in need. I'm amazed more and more at the depth of love my Savior has for me. This amazing love ultimately pours out through our relationships with each other. Maybe the more I receive and believe in the love our Father wants to pour out on us the more easily I can pour out that love on to others. To do this we must spend time with our father and may we hunger for that time as I really don't have any excuse not to no matter how "busy" things may be.

While we continue to train our children on their strengths and weaknesses, God trained me when I saw Easton loving on his cousin Adam. His natural response was to love him and encourage him and Easton does that to me on a daily basis. I know I'm not worthy to receive the kind of love I experience daily from my boys or the amazing love I receive from my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. You know...we are never the same once we receive love encounters from our good Father. There truly is nothing better than resting in His love for us and the opportunities He gives us to love others as He loves us. Love is the birthplace for God to do mighty things through us...may we receive the love He so freely offers! I love you Lord!!

Todd

Thirteen

Yesterday marked the day that 13 years ago Marcie and I made a covenant in front of the Lord to become one. It wasn't your typical anniversary as we were worn out from our trip, I didn't get the opportunity to talk to my family, we went out as a family to Jim and Nick's with a shake from Dairy Queen to top it off, and ending the night with me mowing the yard. Pretty romantic huh?

Didn't seem to matter too much after the weekend as God is enabling us to pass on the faith and Spirit of Jesus to our boys. The cool connection came after we were looking at our wedding and engagement photos with our boys last night. I was laughing at how much we have changed and feeling nostalgic looking at a picture of Grandma Miller kissing me. She readily passed on affection and her faith the best way she knew how and that's what we are trying to do with our boys. There is a generational responsibility I have and as the Spirit works in me, I'm seeking full deliverance from things such as anger that can hurt a marriage. I'm still trying to stay on the path of full deliverance from selfishness but stray from the path at times.

God put me with someone that covers my weaknesses. God put me with someone who's "living" example shows me what peace and servanthood are to look like. God put me with someone who loves me despite my weaknesses and loves me unconditionally. Someone who has a child-like faith to make up for my tendency to need "seeing" to believe...as for her, believing is seeing. I praise God for the strengths He has given me that make Marcie a better person as we both seek God to point out any offensive ways in us and lead us on the path of everlasting life (Psalm 139). It's not easy as marriage is a great crucible to either refine and purify you or it can be a great spontaneous combustion waiting to happen.

Amazing how long it can take sometimes to fully trust your spouse as your "ally" and let them and God refine you into a better person. Marriage is a great test of surrendering and soliciting when it comes to realizing you can't become like Jesus without God and the community around you. That vulnerability has to be risk-taking on both sides and ultimately we surrender our hearts and control to each other and God...this is a daily process that I sometimes struggle with. Children take this to a whole new level!

Although painful at times, I'm enjoying the refining and the veils being removed of how far I have come with Jesus...and veils being removed of what I need to confess and still be delivered from. I truly believe that the deeper levels of intimacy we dare go to in marriage, God will take us to those deeper levels with Him.

As I look back to those times I saw Marcie my freshman year at Harding in those three classes I was prompted to tell Dad, "Remember the name Marcie Fouts". I realize now that was the Spirit leading me as only God could have joined me through the prayers of my parents with someone like her. I praise you God for my wife and for the boys you have blessed us with...I feel so unworthy at times and yet receive fully as You make me worthy and You can do more than I ever asked or imagined. I pray these next 13 years take us from the Glory to Glory that you promised in the New Covenant (2 Cor. 3) as the Spirit makes us more like Jesus. I love you Marcie and want to thank you for loving me as fully like Jesus as a human is capable of. May we pray for our children's future spouse's with faith and a sense of urgency!! In the Name of Jesus...
Todd