Summer Time Fun

Well it certainly has been a long time since my last post. To catch you up on the Leake household, we now reside in Hampton, Va. I would love to post some new pictures but my camera is down for now so that will have to wait for a future post. The Lord has given us a new church up here and it is in Norfolk, Va.. We are still awaiting "hearing" from the Lord on what to do as for what I like to call, "Decision 09"... We have until November of this year to decide whether to re-enlist and continue in the Naval life aboard a Naval Carrier or to get out and leave the military life. It is decision we will await to get from the Lord. We continue to pray for wisdom and guidance and can't wait until the Lord reveals His will to us. As for now, we feel led to put a resume out and see what happens. We would appreciate your humble prayers for our family. It has been many months since my last post but I rejoice in saying the Lord has not waivered in being faithful to us. He is so good and I'm very blessed to be able to serve Him in a country where I don't have to be scared to go to worship. The children are growing like spring flowers and summer is definitely here on the peninsula. I would love to post pictures but that will have to wait. The Lord came by on June 9th and saved my daughter Hannah. It was the most precious thing I've ever witnessed. Since then, she has been so excited to do something for the Lord. She is constantly bringing me songs that she has "written" for the Lord. She loves the bible and loves to learn about God's word. There has been no greater joy for me as a parent then to see her love for God at such a young age! I pray that one day my boys too will be saved and give their heart AND their life to the Lord. Until that day, I just keep a praying! If things don't change then Shawn will have off this Saturday for the fourth of July and we hope to spend the entire day outside. Any day with daddy has been a blessing since he has been working so many hours. Our family looks forward to spending the entire day with him. God has been good!

Fall Blessings

Last weekend the Lord gave me a blessing in my husbands surprise visit from Virginia. We had a wonderful weekend. After one of our meals and "family alter" we (he and I) sat on the couch and watched the 3 children play around in the living room. Sitting back and watching can be such a blessing. A moment of delight. There is no training, no correcting, no chastising, no sounds. Just sitting back and watching the blessings of reaping what you try to sow. How could God be so good to us? Well He has been. There is no greater joy!

What A Friend We Have in Jesus

Do you ever just have a bad day? Does Satan defeat you and leave you feeling guilty, sinful and unworthy? If you answer yes to any of these questions then you should hear what God did for me. It's been some months back but I was really having a bad day. Just as Saul in the Old Testament liked to be calmed w/ David's harp playing, I too liked to be calmed by sitting at a piano and playing old hymn's and songs. As I sat there playing, the song "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" came to mind. As I begin to play and sing (I always belt out when it's just me and the Lord...lol) I starting "hearing" the words of that song. Everything in my heart was forgotten and for moments it was just me and the Lord. I pondered on that thought........ What a priveledge to carry, everything to God in prayer......... That is an amazing statement! If you think on that for a minute. Really think! God is Holy! I could and WOULD NOT have made it to heaven without his son bearing my sins on a cross. Have you ever studied the law in the Old Testament? Without Jesus, my soul was doomed for an everlasting death. I am a blessed person to have parents who took me to church so I could hear about him. I am a blessed woman to have a husband who's parents took him to church so he had that same oppurtunity. That was enough to make me forget all my problems! I thank God for a friend who does stick closer than a brother. Not only is He my Saviour but He's my friend to whom I can confide anything. Is there anything sweeter? I don't take for granted the times the Lord has walked with me. It is an experience like no other. Salvation is the best! Is it without trials? No, but no life is without trials. Just sweet fellowship when we allow Him to stay close to our hearts. He has been my friend! I am thankful for my salvation, my family and my church family! It's all because of Him!

God Still Answers Prayers

It has been a while since my last post but God is still doing marvelous things in our lives. He answered our prayer and it looks like we will be moving to Norfolk, Va. Moving is bitter sweet. Getting comfortable in a home or in a church is what pleases the flesh. Picking up and starting over can be challenging but with God at the center, very much rewarding! After eight years of praying, God has blessed my sister and she is "with child". The news came as such joy and humbleness that the Lord would bless and answer a prayer after so many years of asking. He truly wants only our heart. God wants to give us His blessings. Just as we want the best for our children, His interests rely on glorifying Himself and giving us the desires of our heart. Forty years in the wilderness must have seemed like complete desertion from a Holy God but....."He was there...all the time.." If the Israelites only knew then, what they know now, oh how things may have been different. I once heard a preacher say that when we get to Heaven, we will truly see ....all those times we thought we had made it through something, or thought we had accomplished something...well, in Heaven God will reveal how it was actually Him who pushed us or guided us through those situations. What a Holy Example my God is. It's been a privilege to serve Him. I rejoice in saying that He lives! He's not man made nor can he be burnt up in a fire as Josiah did to the evil god's in the Old Testament. If you are reading this and you have prayed for us in the past, know that God Does Still Answer Prayer!!!! We are thankful for all that He has done in our life and look forward to serving him when we move up to Virginia. The Lord is Good!

Saying Goodbye

This world is not our home. We're only passing through.....Well, it's a song a lot of people have heard. As I sit back and reflect on some of the lessons God has allowed me to learn, this one sits heavy with me. This life we live is not really "ours" to live. One of the easiest things to say is that we give our lives to Him and that this is not our life to live. Unfortunately, it's easy to say but hard to live. Saying Goodbye to our own wants and our selfish flesh and doing what God truly wants us to do is something that has to be "worked" on daily. I truly understand why Paul said that he "dies daily". It is extremly hard to deny the flesh, control. It's something in my life that I have to strive towards every day. Not just with my husband but with my God. We're raised from little babies to get what we want. It starts with the desire for milk, then a desire for love. Those are truly things we need but it also feeds the flesh to get what it wants. Once we're saved and start reading the bible it's opposite. Living by Faith is absolutely that. Not needing and getting (or taking) but praying and receiving. As I sit here and type, we are currently awaiting to see what God is going to do with our life. Oh, people may say...it's the military. Everyone goes through moving. That's what you signed up for. But I say military or not, we are ALL bought with a price if we're saved. We belong to Him. It's truly been a blessing "waiting" on the Lord. It builds our faith and allows us to depend on Him. Denying the flesh is one of the biggest faith builders that there is. People often say, where do you want to move if God moves you but our answer really lies in where does God want us? It's something we've failed poorly at in the past and things really are better when we allow God to have His way. We've left before and went through a very dark valley spiritually but when we resolved to "give it to the Lord", He turned it into a beautiful thing. We grew with him! If our Father lets us stay we will be overjoyed and humbled for finding Grace in His eyes. If He does not let us stay, we await finding out His will so we can please Him once again. There is nothing sweeter than finding grace in the eyes of our God. Noah found grace and it literally saved his life. We just want to please the Lord. If that means saying goodbye to friends, or simply saying goodbye to our fleshly wants, it worth it all to find favor in our Lord! He is the best if you do not know him! Jesus has been the difference between walking through a valley, and being carried through one!!

Thanksgiving Blessings

It has been a while since I last wrote but we had a wonderful holiday and are still thanking God for all the blessings in our lives. We were blessed to spend Thanksgiving with our family in Tennessee. God is still continuing to work miracles in our lives and we are so greatful to Him! This week I decided to feature Jeremiah Daniel. He is so precious. His picture definitely shows his precious personality. Jeremy was born on January 8th of this year. Like our other two children he came weighing in at 8lb. 10oz. It has been such a joy to watch him grow up. He has been walking now for about a week. He absolutely LOVES that he can follow Hannah and Timothy around. He lights up to anyone of us family memebers. You don't have to work hard to find a smile from this bundle of joy. I was cleaning in one room the other day to hear my 2 year old saying in a warning voice, "No, no baby". I came into the kitchen to find him trying to get in the cabinet. We have always taught ours from a young age what things are acceptable and what things are not. It was a blessing to see a 2 year old brother looking after his 10 month old sibling. Jeremy will be no differnt than our raising of the other two children. I thank God for Jeremy. The book of Psalm puts it best when God writes....Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord. I don't deserve my 3 blessings but I'm gonna do whatever it takes to raise them up to be the king that the book of Revelations says they will be one day. Thank God for my children!

....Rags to Riches

Most everyone has probably seen the old fashioned movie Rags to Riches but a short encounter the other night has given that title a new meaning to me. Our family went out for a nice dinner the other night. As most of you know, we live very close to the Interstate and we were eating in a bbq restaurant up near the interstate. The waitress sat us in a booth so Hannah and I were on one side and across from us were Timothy and Shawn, with Jeremy sitting at the end. While we were enjoying some conversation waiting on our food to arrive, I noticed Hannah start giggling under her breath. I then noticed there was an older gentleman and his wife sitting in the booth behind Shawn. From across the tables the older gentleman was smiling and winking at Hannah. She got very tickled with him. He wasn't by any means making a scene. I explained to her that it made him happy to see her smiling and giggling at him. His face beamed as if a grandparent holding their grandchild for the first time. I told her that he probably was traveling and had stopped in for a bite to eat. I also told her he probably had a grandchild out there somewhere that he missed very much. It was quite a blessing to watch the two of them. They were very quiet but their smiles just beamed across the room. Our food finally arrived and she would eat some and then smile or wink back at him. It was rather sweet to watch the two of them. We continued with our dinner and after about 10 minutes the older gentleman and his wife got up to leave. Not really paying them any attention, the man stopped when he got up next to me, patted me on the shoulder and in a soft voice he said something I"ll never forget...."You are Very Rich" "God Bless You" and he smiled and walked away. Sometimes when I'm reminded of the blessings God has put in my life, I think back to what I used to be and where He brought me from. Before I got saved, my life was "..as filthy rags..." just as my righteousness was. I TRULY went from RAGS TO RICHES!!!! I know my biggest riches will be claimed when I get to Heaven but God has truly blessed us w/ so much here on Earth! We don't deserve any of the blessings He's given to us. I truly am a rich person. It's not because of any money that I have but it's because of the blessings that I have. The one's that CAN NOT be purchased. That's what makes me rich today!