Take Action!

I am humbled today and exhilarated all at the same time.

I am humbled because I know that so many days I get wrapped up in what is going all around me, that I forget to look and see where God is at work and join Him in his activity.

AND then I had a real "who knows" moment today.  A what??? you ask??

You know in Esther and Joel when the writers say, "who knows".

Okay--work with me here and I will do some explaining.

I have been studying the book of Esther with a great group of ladies.  (We are using the Beth Moore Bible Study--It is really an amazing study.)  Anyways,  we have recently arrived at the most famous verse from the book of Esther.  You know--"And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" Esther 4:14

It is the part of the story when Esther must choose to be silent and do nothing and die or take action and go before the king and probably die.  You know one of those easy decisions in life!

I've never unpacked the words, "who knows" before in that verse.  But they have really come alive for me.  The writer is using what is called "sudden silence" in this sentence.  He is leading the reader's mind to be more impressed with what is left unsaid then with what is said. 

The writer could have said, "And God has placed you in this royal position for such a time as this."  We would have gotten the message, but think about the words "who knows".  We usually ask this question when we don't know.  BUT the author KNOWS who knows and we, the readers, get to infer WHO KNOWS.

WHO KNOWS why Esther was placed in this position at this exact time in history?

The only answer can be God Almighty, the creater of our universe, the God who forgives us and saves us from utter despair--that's WHO KNOWS!!!

Even though the name of God is never once mentioned in the book of Esther--we get to see HIS Hands all over this book.

Which brings me to be exhilarated today.

I woke up to a message on Facebook today from a dear friend.  She was telling me of a situation that is taking place for a couple of families in her life right now.  I can't go into any details, but suffice it to say that these families need God to show up in a mighty way.

Immediately, I thought of a possible mini-solution, but it will only meet a partial need.  I have also tried to look into some other possibilities, and I am waiting to get an answer back from some inquiries that I made a little while ago. 

How cool is it that God lets us use information, our finances, our influences, our friends/families, our sisters and brothers in Christ, our talents/skills, our locations etc. to be used "in such a time as this".

The truth of the matter is that we are each placed in positions where we have to make decisions that requires action.  God puts something in front of us and we make a decision, we either act or we fail to act.

We are living right now in the exact place that God wants us to be so that we too can act in obedience to His Plan.

Proverbs 24:12 says, "Don't try to avoid responsibilty by saying you didn't know about it.  For God knows all hearts, and he sees you.  He keeps watch over your soul and he knows you knew."

Once a task has been placed before you by God--don't delay--Take Action!

(and yes--I'm talking to ME too!)

In Him who is Able,

Julie

All Kinds of God's Creatures!

I took my kiddos to the zoo on Friday.

Nope--we weren't playing hookie from school. 

The kids were out for a mini winter break/President's Day celebration.

We had a lot of fun together--it sure was a much different trip than the ones we used to take when the boys were little and we lived in Ft. Worth.  They made the trip a completely unique trip--and I might add that the Jacksonville Zoo may never be the same. (Really--it was just the way the boys and girls interacted with one another.  You'll see.)

So sit back and Enjoy!

Just beginning the day

Big--Little--Big

Cheese!

Look here--no there!

Hanging with our Family!

Needing to take a break.

Faster--Faster!

Planking at the zoo?

Monkey see . . .

Monkey do!

At the end of the day . . .

We got carried away!

See ya later!

I'll be posting pictures of the other creatures that we saw later!

A Little of This and That

While we were busy having a fundraiser for the Parker Family, we were also busy living life.


SO to catch you up on the details here we go . . .

Weekend in Florida with the Davis Family

Leighanne and Kaitlin helping Hannah "Walk the Plank"

Exploring in the Water

All dressed up



Kicking off our Chinese New Year Celebration at the
University of North Florida Chinese New Year Production





Our Family with Kevin and Bailin



Our Good Friends Bailin and Yan



Hannah got her new prosthetic eye and glasses--Isn't she adorable?
She also "fixed" her hair.  LOL!



Austin just can't stay away from the "Tattoo Parlor"

Look at this dedicated artist--her other helpers
( Leighanne, Sara and Taylor) got out of the picture!

And finally,  No Pictures were allowed-- but Austin and Jordan got their wisdom teeth taken out on Friday.

Wish you could have been with us on our trip home.

Austin kept trying to get us to get the "sharp screws out of his mouth" and Jordan laughed at everything Austin said. 

We were a comedy act on the road.

Next up for this Agee Family--more shots this week for Hannah and Sara, then Sara gets two teeth removed in the next couple of weeks and soon after that--braces!

Always busy in our little neck of the woods!

Much love,

Julie

$10,000 IT IS!!!

Look at what our Amazing God has done!!!

I got a phone call today--it was someone wanting to give the last $600!  And so, the last $600 needed is being deposited today at Auburn Bank.  WOOHOO!

We want to personally THANK YOU for helping to raise this money for the Parker Family.

Thank You for giving of yourselves to bless others.  Blessing others is what we have been created to do. 

And it is still not too late.  I know there will be more expenses along the way for the Parker Family.
The fund at the bank in Auburn is always available to receive donations.
You can send a check to:

Auburn Bank

Attn: The Carly Marie Parker Fund

P.O. Box 3110

Auburn, AL 36831-3110

Again, Thank you so much--we are overwhelmed with joy and thanksgiving!

Julie

It's Time to Fight 4 Carly!!!

This is a message from Miki (Carly's mom) about the surgery yesterday.

Dr Hanna said he spent 2 hrs trying to pinpoint the area and even find the tumor (it is cancer...another mesenchymal chondrosarcoma). It said it was actually hidden in a little pouch area. He took out what he could visibly see. There is a section, the base of the sphenoid sinus, that he could not tell if it was clean or not. To the visible eye it looked clean, but the only way to know is to take the bone. But he can't, because it protects the optic nerve and carotid artery. So he left it. He had to. He said the surgery went better than he had hoped, but it was very delicate, and somewhat risky. I know God was guiding him today!

She did end up having a spinal fluid leak, which is a risk of this surgery. He patched it and said she should be fine. He is keeping her overnight as a precaution to check her eyesight. So far so good, but she could swell which would cause eye sight issues. He called Dr Pressey while sitting with us and they discussed the case. So now Dr Pressey will go to work, planning the next steps.

Thanks to everyone for your continued giving and prayers--I know God has a plan for Carly and her family!!!


The ChipIn Does NOT reflect the checks that are being sent to Auburn Bank.  If you sent a check, please email me at: julie@ageeweb.com and tell me the amount that you deposited or sent.  

Remember the first $2,000 (checks or ChipIn) will be matched and will become $4,000.  


We will be including updates with check amounts throughout the fundraiser.

You can still send checks to:

Auburn Bank

Attn: The Carly Marie Parker Fund

P.O. Box 3110

Auburn, AL 36831-3110

We want to thank you so much for Chipping In and Fighting 4 Carly!

In Just a few short Hours . . .

It will begin! 

FIGHTING 4 Carly Fundraiser!

Ok--I admit the post with the CHIPIN button is already written and scheduled to go online at 12:01AM Eastern Time!

It's Ready because I am excited to watch God work on the hearts of family, friends, colleagues, workout buddies, friends of friends and really total strangers to bless this family.

I know He's already at work--I've gotten some really JAM-UP emails that are telling me so!

AND  I talked with Miki and Scott (Carly's parents), and they shared some more of God's activity in their lives. 

SO really, I'm just giddy with excitement today--in fact I wanted to go ahead and post that CHIPIN Button--but I held back--we said tonight and tonight it will be.

But I did promise a winner for the "MINI-Get Out the Word Contest" and so Sara, our newly adopted treasure from China, just pulled out the winner of the $20.00 Amazon Gift Card:

Marina in Hawaii (and what a sweet post it was!!!)   See I told you God is at work--people all over are reading about this Fundraiser. 

AND--You can still get the word out--you won't win anything but the joy of knowing you helped the Parker Family! 

Which is plenty to be happy about in my opinion!

I am SO EXCITED!!!!

And so let me begin with this . . .

"I will thank you, Lord, with all my heart;  I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.  I will be filled with joy because of you.  I will sing praises to your name, O Most High." 
                                                          Psalm 9: 1 - 2

Today I got an amazing e-mail from a couple who is going to double the "Magic Number."

That's right the Magic Number is now $2000.00!!!

So now, when the first $2000.00 is matched it will become $4000.00!!

That's what I'm talking about--I like that kind of math!

And THANK YOU to the matching donors.  We are so very grateful.

The Fighting 4 Carly Fundraiser will begin on Saturday, February 4th until Wednesday, February 8th at midnight.

You can donate 2 ways:

1) Write a check to:

Auburn Bank

Attn: The Carly Marie Parker Fund

P.O. Box 3110

Auburn, AL 36831-3110

& then email me at julie@ageeweb.com and tell me the amount you donated so that we can keep a count of the matched funds.

2) Donate on our blog through the ChipIn Button with your Paypal Account, Visa, Mastercard, Discover and/or American Express. ChipIn uses Paypal which is a secure website.

I can't wait for the Fundraiser to begin!

Julie

And the Magic Number is . . .

$1000.00!!!

I promised you it would be better than $500.00!

So here's how this will work.

Beginning February 4th and going through midnight on February 8th you can come back to our blog and donate on the ChipIn Button with your Paypal Account, Visa, Mastercard, Discover and/or American Express.

If you would like to make out a check please send it to:

Auburn Bank

Attn: The Carly Marie Parker Fund

P.O. Box 3110

Auburn, AL 36831-3110

BUT PLEASE email (julie@ageeweb.com) me with the amount so we can keep a count of the matching fund.

The first $1000.00 will be matched.  That means that when $1000.00 is raised, than that amount becomes $2000.00. 

So, please continue to get the word out and lets

FIGHT 4 Carly as she fights cancer!!!

Thanks to those of you who have helped get the word out, and don't forget to leave a comment or send a note to my email letting me know how you got the word out.

We will announce the winner of the "Get the Word Out" Contest on February 3rd at 12 noon.  You can leave me a comment or email until 11 AM.

Love you guys,

Julie