Battleship or Luxury Liner?

Revelation 2:4-5 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.  Remember the height from which you have fallen!  Repent and do the things you did at first.  If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 

Nearly 15 years later I look back and remember the butterflies I felt talking to the man I have fallen in love with more and more everyday.  I remember the many dates we spent walking and talking just getting to know each other.  I couldn't spend enough time with him.  There weren't enough hours in the day.  I wanted to be with him every second of every day.  Now 15 years later I love him dearly.  Some days I still feel those butterflies.  Some days I can't get enough time with him.  But honestly, other days I just coast along through life.  We see each other.  We talk.  But I don't long to spend moments with him.  I'm busy with this thing called life and sometimes I fit him in wherever I can.

Sounds like another relationship I have.  When I first fell in love with my Savior, when I first made Him Lord of my life I was sold out.  Sure I still have days like that here and there.  But for the most part I have spent far too long coasting through life.  My home and my walk with Him has been a luxury liner just coasting along and enjoying the day to day in the beautiful waters.  But that's not what I am called to be.  I am called to be a battleship following hard after Him.  I want to return to my first love. It's time that I start longing to spend each moment with Him again.  It's time that my every thought and decision reflect my relationship with Him.  It's time I spend my days walking with Him.  After all, that is my purpose here.

I have been challenged and it has never been more clear that it's time my family becomes a battleship for Christ and not a luxury liner.  It's time I become a follower of Christ and not a fan.  Thank you to the messenger that made that picture so clear for me.

Are you coasting along enjoying life on your luxury liner or are you a battleship following hard after Him?
Are you a fan of Christ or are you a follower?

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Open for Business

What started as a fun idea with a cousin has become a business.  My sweet oldest loves being creative.  She has decided to take her creativity and use it to her benefit.  She and a cousin who love to make fashion catalogs together got creative and made a "business" board during our mini-vacation together in June.

This is where it all started.

Oldest decided to take that idea and grow it.  She has asked for help making business cards.  She has herself all organized and ready to go.

She wasn't real happy with the idea of me photographing her notebook.  She says it's her sloppiest writing. :-)

I went through my scrapbook paper and gave her quite a bit to get started since I can't find the time to use it myself.  Then, a dear friend invited oldest over to "shop" through her stickers and die cuts.  It was like heaven to my little creative one.  It most definitely made her day.

Oldest hired her brother today.  He sorted all the new stickers and helped her put them in her notebook she purchased from the thrift store today.  She has worked out a "step program" with him.  If he does good work the next step is that she lets him watch a video about how to make homemade envelopes and he gets to make them.  After mastering envelope making he can possibly move up to making cards.  A raise comes with each step. 

Today, he got one penny for sorting the stickers.  He was very happy.  He also said, "It's okay if she's mean to me.  I work for her."  I'm not quite sure where that came from.  Interesting thought.
So, the card business is open and she has received her first order.  Right now the money earned is being saved to use at the Snack Shack at church camp as mom and dad aren't handing out money for that.  There's just one problem with the business.  It doesn't have a name.  She's come up with several ideas, but none of them seem to fit.  She says, "I'm waiting for the perfect name."  Any suggestions?