Christmas Eve waiting for Santa
The One Whom my heart desires.
Santa Land
Alyse 2 years old
2009 was filled with many 'firsts' I ran my first 5K with Aimee. The year would bring 3 more.
Alyse and Mama sliding at the park
Another first: toes in the sand at the beach
Vacation 2009
My Babies
Macy 8, Kate 11--first time to taste the salt of the ocean
Macy and Bob
Alyse climbing fences
Alyse reading stories, her favorite thing to do.
Kate 11
Alyse
Tadd with his first baptism
Boys beware...these Mann girls are beautiful!!!
Mann Family 2009
"I cry out to God most high, to God, who fulfills His purpose for me." Psalm 57:2
As I pause in reflection of 2009, I know two things to be true: 1. God is faithful. 2. I am truly blessed and I don't take that lightly.
I haven't blogged in over a year for good reason. I couldn't pretend things were perfect for the Mann family and lead my readers to think so. In my 32 years, this has been the toughest season yet.
In February, Tadd, my quiet, sit on the back row in church, be the last one in and the first one out, and for sure not say anything, husband, came to me and said that he felt the Lord calling him to ministry. With prayer and petition he came to the realization that he was to start a Cowboy Church in this area. I won't bore you with the details of getting the church up and going. But I will share with you my great fear of this. You see, I had been the faithful, outspoken, loud one! I wasn't sure God knew what He was talking about with Tadd. He wasn't equipped for this!! Needless to say, my faith wasn't what it should have been, and it hadn't been in a while. There were things of the flesh that preacher's wives shouldn't do that I didn't want to give up....and anyways, I have two tattoos!!!! I guess you could say, I went down kicking and screaming. I DID NOT WANT TO BE A PREACHER'S WIFE! I even told people for months, "This is Tadd's calling, not mine." Let me just say, God was quick to serve me some humble pie.
Satan also didn't want this church to happen. The spiritual attack on our family and our home could have been worse, but I sure don't want to imagine it. For poor choices regarding renters, Tadd and I were stuck making 2 house payments. One on the house in Lubbock and one on our home in Plains. This is not a good thing on a Teacher's salary and Cowboy wages. Anyone who has struggled financially knows, it takes a toll on your whole being. Soon, it weighs down on relationships. The words of Jim Cymbala rang true to me during this time, "God is attracted to weakness. he can't resist those who humbly and honestly admit how desperately they need him. Our weakness in fact, makes room for His power." There were so many more factors Tadd and I both dealt with that again, I won't bore you with. All I can say is, thank God for prayer warriors and our beautiful mamas. Even when Tadd had decided that God surely had chosen the wrong person for this job he was gently reminded that God doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called. We both held on to the truth that His strength is perfect when our strength is gone.
Now, hear me out, I was able to praise God for the fact that the attack we were suffering, didn't affect our children necessarily, and luckily, Tadd and I had, for the most part a very strong marriage. So, Satan attacked on our already weakest areas. Praise God that we have healthy, strong children, and that I have a husband who would go to the ends of the Earth for me. Because, I surely was hard to love for a good bit. :) I finally was able to totally surrender. Funny thing is, those things of the flesh, they're not my stronghold any more. Tadd's calling is my calling too. We are in this together, 100%. I know this to be true, even in my greatest weakness, God is faithful.
I am proud to report that Sandhills Fellowship of Christian Cowboys is now averaging anywhere from 65-100 people in attendance. We will soon sign a lease for the Denver City arena and show barn where we will worship. We started in our home, moved to the park, and have been in feed store barn for 3 months. We are so excited to start the arena ministries this Spring. Tadd really feels this is where the 'Soul Saving' will happen. He baptized his first two believers a couple of months ago in a water trough. I am amazed every Sunday as I sit on the front row and listen to my husband deliver God's Word.
With all of this going on there are still children to wrangle, animals to be fed, and a home to be kept. Alyse turned 2 in May and is spunky and fast. She is potty trained, but (sigh) still sleeps with mama and daddy. Her famous words are, "Mama, I need you!" How sad I will be when she doesn't say that anymore. She makes us laugh every single day. Yesterday, she called Macy (whisper----STUPID). Macy came and told me spelling out the word. I said, "Alyse! What did you just call Macy???" She had heard Macy spell out the word so she spelled the only word she knew how, "A L Y S E" :) Then she grinned the sweetest grin. She did get a stern talking to after I turned my back to swallow the laughter. Her red hair and brown eyes melt my heart.
Macy just turned 9. Her love for animals is still growing strong. She is a lot like her daddy in public. She tends to be quiet, but boy, you turn her loose with animals, and she in some ways becomes one. She has a passion that I admire. Guess we are going to have an Aggie on our hands. At this point in time, she is vet school bound. She doesn't understand why no one will race her at school anymore. I can't get it through her head that they get tired of getting beat. This isn't just a proud mama talking, I see it happen, I have recess duty during her recess time. She is mama's girl and comes by my classroom several times a day just to give me a hug and tell me she loves me.
Kate turned 11 in April. She is in 6th grade and is an amazing student. She plays the saxophone in band and still saws on her fiddle. We sadly lost her fiddle teacher to Nashville in July. Lessons with her new teacher are going well. She is artsy and beautiful. She is a people pleaser and loves entertaining. She lives for horse sale Saturdays (2nd Saturday of every month at Lubbock Stockyards). She pads her pocketbook and spends it as quick as she makes it. She took a pretty hard fall off of her horse recently and spent a few nights with icy hot and a heating pad, but she told me, "What doesn't kill me makes me stronger." Ouch...those are painful words for a mother to hear. But oh how proud I am of my little girl.
I just can't believe that God gave lil ole' me, these three beautiful girls to raise and a husband who puts up with more than any man should ever have to, but loves me despite all of it. I am blessed and I don't take this lightly.
"I will lift my eyes to the Maker of the mountains I can't climb. I will lift my eyes to the Calmer or the oceans raging wild. I will lift my eyes to the Healer of the hurt I hold inside. I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You."
Bebo Norman
