Ugh, so mad at myself for missing yesterday!!
It was just SOOOO busy I couldn't stop to blog! It was a great day though!
Made some shirts BY MY SELF :), had a play day at the park with great friends, came home and cleaned the house with the help of a precious teenager, cooked Chili and then had precious friends over for dinner!!
It was a very blessed fun filled day.
Now it's Saturday and the fun continues!!!
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Day 3
I so did NOT want to post today, but my blog was taunting me.... Saying, "it's only day three and you are already quitting??" You know, in that accusatory tone!!
So, here I am!
Today started off bad. I went to sleep about 3am because they were predicting "possible" severe weather. It will probably be a while before I can sleep through one of those weather reports again! I finally dragged myself out of bed at 8:30. Although had been awake since 7:30 with a precious three year old rolling all over me.
The kids totally take advantage of me when they know I'm tired. "Mommy, we're gonna go play outside so we don't bother you!" They're so giving an thoughtful!! Ha
We had a paint class today with this amazing South African lady in Moody. She is such a sweet Christian and teacher and SUPER talented! I'm attaching pictures of the kids paintings. They blew my mind!!
When we got home, the kids did there school for today and tomorrow because they didn't want to do school tomorrow! Oh the joys of homeschool. The only rules were it ALL had to be done and they had to work together. They finished about 2 hours ago. Worth it to them though!!
My afternoon got worse. Bad cramps and heart racing... (Which I am sure was caused by anxiety over the cramps) all normal I'm sure, but still no fun! Thankfully I put dinner in the crock pot this morning so that was done. Beef stew... Good stuff if you're not nauseous!
To top it all off, Sammy is making me watch some awful Star Trek movie from 1970 I think. OMW it's awful!!
So this is a pretty boring post. A journal entry more like it. Sorry, it's just been one of those days!
Sometimes, most times, I feel so guilty for all the comforts I take advantage of daily and that I am NOT being persecuted for being a Christian like nearly ALL of the New Testament books say we will be. But on days like today I am SO THANKFUL for these comforts and praise God for ALL the undeserved blessings I enjoy. I worry how long they will last and how in the world we will cope when they are taken from us.... But today, I am thankful!! So very thankful!!!!
Goodnight!!
So, here I am!
Today started off bad. I went to sleep about 3am because they were predicting "possible" severe weather. It will probably be a while before I can sleep through one of those weather reports again! I finally dragged myself out of bed at 8:30. Although had been awake since 7:30 with a precious three year old rolling all over me.
The kids totally take advantage of me when they know I'm tired. "Mommy, we're gonna go play outside so we don't bother you!" They're so giving an thoughtful!! Ha
We had a paint class today with this amazing South African lady in Moody. She is such a sweet Christian and teacher and SUPER talented! I'm attaching pictures of the kids paintings. They blew my mind!!
When we got home, the kids did there school for today and tomorrow because they didn't want to do school tomorrow! Oh the joys of homeschool. The only rules were it ALL had to be done and they had to work together. They finished about 2 hours ago. Worth it to them though!!
My afternoon got worse. Bad cramps and heart racing... (Which I am sure was caused by anxiety over the cramps) all normal I'm sure, but still no fun! Thankfully I put dinner in the crock pot this morning so that was done. Beef stew... Good stuff if you're not nauseous!
To top it all off, Sammy is making me watch some awful Star Trek movie from 1970 I think. OMW it's awful!!
So this is a pretty boring post. A journal entry more like it. Sorry, it's just been one of those days!
Sometimes, most times, I feel so guilty for all the comforts I take advantage of daily and that I am NOT being persecuted for being a Christian like nearly ALL of the New Testament books say we will be. But on days like today I am SO THANKFUL for these comforts and praise God for ALL the undeserved blessings I enjoy. I worry how long they will last and how in the world we will cope when they are taken from us.... But today, I am thankful!! So very thankful!!!!
Goodnight!!
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Day 2....
Today I am so tired.... It has not been a productive day to say the least. I guess two days of energy in a row is too much to ask! Ha!
For those that read this and do not know, my sister and I own our own t-shirt business. I make shirts on Monday's and Wednesday's normally, but on occasion, I make them on Thursday or Friday too. I knew today was a shirt day so I rested extra this morning so I would have the energy to stand at the heat press for two hours. The business has been a blessing. It has supplemented income for us that we really need at times. Do I enjoy it? I'd hate to lie in my blog.... Let's just say, I am thankful for it! We make cute stuff so it's fun to see our creations when they are on the finished product...just getting there is not so fun! :) For the last few months, however, we have had a helper come and help me make shirts. That has been a LIFE SAVER!! On days she cannot come, I realize just what a blessing she is!! ;)
My kids have had good days the last couple of days. I know my attitude toward them affects their behavior. I made a point that every morning when we all get up, I will spend time hugging each one of them individually as long as they will let me. I will not break the hug, when they are done, they get up. It has been great! McKain hugs the tightest and for the longest. He melts my heart. He is so soft and loving on the inside. I cannot wait to see what kind of husband he is going to be.
Last night was my Bible study with my precious sisters in Christ, God in His grace has connected me with! We talked about so much. Their relationship is so vital in my walk. God is amazing in how he orchestrated our relationship and brought us together. I honestly do not know what I would do without them in this stage in my life. They literally sharpen me with God's Word, just like it says!
We talked about parenting. The question was asked, "How do kids understand the gospel when we have such a hard time understanding it? How do we truly and fully explain it to them?" I mentioned how I pray daily for my kids that God will reveal Himself to them. That they will realize their salvation is a journey, a wonderfully difficult journey that will last their entire lives. I want them to grasp that if they hold onto Jesus, He will never let go of them. I don't want them to misunderstand and think it is going to be easy, or that they will be perfect. One of my very wise friends shared a story of how one of her friends "parents". It was amazing. I have already used it today. Let me see if I can explain it in writing... (I am going to present it as a scenario that happened and maybe it will be easier to understand)
Samantha and McKain are playing. Samantha decides, she wants the toy McKain has, so she takes it. McKain retaliates by hitting Samantha. She hits him back. The fight is on. When it is finally brought to me, they are both wounded and crying. This is were the gospel comes in.... I ask Samantha, "Why did you take the toy?" She says, "Because I wanted it." (typically answer, but I am trying to get to the heart of it, the "sin") I say, "yes, but what inside you made you think you could just take it if you wanted it?" She reluctantly says, "selfishness". I ask, "What is selfishness?" She says, "A sin". I ask, "Samantha, why do we sin?" She answers, "Because we are sinners and we are not good." I ask, "Samantha, did God give us rules to show us how bad we are?" She answers, "Um, no?". I say, "You are right, then why did He give us so many rules?" She says, (as innocent and precious as anyone with child like faith), "To show us that we need Him." DING DING DING!! She got it!! I say, "Yes baby! That is why! That is what our sin reminds us of daily!! Not just that we are awful rotten sinners with no hope of being any better, but that we need SAVING!!" I asked her, "Samantha, who is our Savior? Who has rescued us from ourselves?" Without hesitation McKain belts out, "Jesus!" I told them both, "Every time you sin, I want you to be reminded of why you sin, because you need a Savior. I also want you to remember that you HAVE a Savior, one that never sinned. He has rescued us all from ourselves and our sin." "Don't let your sin only remind you of how awful you are, but of how WONDERFUL God is!!"
It was amazing! The way they saw it, the Gospel in action. Living it daily in their own little lives!! Thank you Jesus for the Gospel! Thank you for Saving us!
We must all remind ourselves of the Gospel daily!! We must die to ourselves daily, take up our cross daily and work out our own salvation with fear and trembling!! (Luke 9:23, I Corn 15:31, Phil 2:12)
Thank you for revelations of your amazing love God!!
For those that read this and do not know, my sister and I own our own t-shirt business. I make shirts on Monday's and Wednesday's normally, but on occasion, I make them on Thursday or Friday too. I knew today was a shirt day so I rested extra this morning so I would have the energy to stand at the heat press for two hours. The business has been a blessing. It has supplemented income for us that we really need at times. Do I enjoy it? I'd hate to lie in my blog.... Let's just say, I am thankful for it! We make cute stuff so it's fun to see our creations when they are on the finished product...just getting there is not so fun! :) For the last few months, however, we have had a helper come and help me make shirts. That has been a LIFE SAVER!! On days she cannot come, I realize just what a blessing she is!! ;)
My kids have had good days the last couple of days. I know my attitude toward them affects their behavior. I made a point that every morning when we all get up, I will spend time hugging each one of them individually as long as they will let me. I will not break the hug, when they are done, they get up. It has been great! McKain hugs the tightest and for the longest. He melts my heart. He is so soft and loving on the inside. I cannot wait to see what kind of husband he is going to be.
Last night was my Bible study with my precious sisters in Christ, God in His grace has connected me with! We talked about so much. Their relationship is so vital in my walk. God is amazing in how he orchestrated our relationship and brought us together. I honestly do not know what I would do without them in this stage in my life. They literally sharpen me with God's Word, just like it says!
We talked about parenting. The question was asked, "How do kids understand the gospel when we have such a hard time understanding it? How do we truly and fully explain it to them?" I mentioned how I pray daily for my kids that God will reveal Himself to them. That they will realize their salvation is a journey, a wonderfully difficult journey that will last their entire lives. I want them to grasp that if they hold onto Jesus, He will never let go of them. I don't want them to misunderstand and think it is going to be easy, or that they will be perfect. One of my very wise friends shared a story of how one of her friends "parents". It was amazing. I have already used it today. Let me see if I can explain it in writing... (I am going to present it as a scenario that happened and maybe it will be easier to understand)
Samantha and McKain are playing. Samantha decides, she wants the toy McKain has, so she takes it. McKain retaliates by hitting Samantha. She hits him back. The fight is on. When it is finally brought to me, they are both wounded and crying. This is were the gospel comes in.... I ask Samantha, "Why did you take the toy?" She says, "Because I wanted it." (typically answer, but I am trying to get to the heart of it, the "sin") I say, "yes, but what inside you made you think you could just take it if you wanted it?" She reluctantly says, "selfishness". I ask, "What is selfishness?" She says, "A sin". I ask, "Samantha, why do we sin?" She answers, "Because we are sinners and we are not good." I ask, "Samantha, did God give us rules to show us how bad we are?" She answers, "Um, no?". I say, "You are right, then why did He give us so many rules?" She says, (as innocent and precious as anyone with child like faith), "To show us that we need Him." DING DING DING!! She got it!! I say, "Yes baby! That is why! That is what our sin reminds us of daily!! Not just that we are awful rotten sinners with no hope of being any better, but that we need SAVING!!" I asked her, "Samantha, who is our Savior? Who has rescued us from ourselves?" Without hesitation McKain belts out, "Jesus!" I told them both, "Every time you sin, I want you to be reminded of why you sin, because you need a Savior. I also want you to remember that you HAVE a Savior, one that never sinned. He has rescued us all from ourselves and our sin." "Don't let your sin only remind you of how awful you are, but of how WONDERFUL God is!!"
It was amazing! The way they saw it, the Gospel in action. Living it daily in their own little lives!! Thank you Jesus for the Gospel! Thank you for Saving us!
We must all remind ourselves of the Gospel daily!! We must die to ourselves daily, take up our cross daily and work out our own salvation with fear and trembling!! (Luke 9:23, I Corn 15:31, Phil 2:12)
Thank you for revelations of your amazing love God!!
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
31 Post in 31 Days.... hahahaha
So, because everyone else is doing it... I thought I would give it a try. Thirty-one post in thirty-one days is going to be quite a challenge for me seeing as how I post once every 6 mths... but I'm gonna give it a go.
I'm not sure if every day will have a topic, or if it is just going to be a journal.
Today is definitely a journal day....
As I type it is 3:03 on Tuesday, Oct 16, 2012. I am being constantly interrupted by children who have not finished their school for the day because they decided to play the day away instead of do their work. That's fine with me, but they hate still doing school after 3 when as they say "Real school kids are done"..... Oh the beauty and joys of homeschool.
The last few weeks of home-school have been very rocky for us. We started out STRONG, but then precious miracle #4 appeared on the scene and decided to make me a WRECK!! I have been exhausted all the day, even with 12 hours of sleep, and nauseous all the time. For a couple of weeks, I had absolutely no appetite. I had to make myself eat and usually what I wanted was JUNK!! Thankfully my appetite has come back along with an ability to function at least 8 hours of the day. I still get very tired, but it's usually after lunch just for an hour or so and then at night around 7 or 8. That's workable!
Parker Wayne turned 3 yesterday. Where did the time go? I have really wanted to enjoy every single second of his babyhood because I feel like I missed so much of the other two's. I have been so blessed to be able to stay at home with him for most of his life and watch how God is developing him into exactly who He created him to be!! He is so articulate with his words. He told me Sunday, "Mom, I can det my tumb to hold down my pinky now, see". He was making the three symbol and was so proud of himself. It's like his brain is ahead of his body sometimes... He knows what he wants to do, he just cant get his body to cooperate. He has quit the passy and is, for the most part, potty trained. (both of these task he accomplished earlier than the other two) He loves to do school with us and ask everyday, even Saturday and Sunday, if he can "do school". He knows his colors and shapes and we are working on letters and numbers. He is great at coloring and even holds his pencil the correct way. He's been doing that for a couple of years. We are still not sure if he is going to be right or left handed as he still uses both for just about everything. He is definitely the joy of our family....can't wait to see how he is with our new blessing!! :)
Spiritually I am in a rut...I've been here for a few weeks now. You know, one of those "weeding out" times when you feel like God is pruning you. Taking out those things that He doesn't like and trying to replace them with more of Himself. (notice I say trying) There has to be some part of us that is willing. I think that has been the struggle, my unwillingness. It's not that consciously I do not want God to change me, because nothing could be further from the truth. But the things about me that He is changing are things that have been a part of who I am for as long as I can remember. Sorta like, "I don't know how to be anything else". I know in the end, God will win and I will be changed and be the better for it, but man is the process painful. These are the times when I feel so far away from Him. When I feel exposed and raw, like the whole world can see my sin because it is written all over me! Don't get me wrong, I am OH SO thankful for these times because 1.) It is proof that He has not given up on me and is STILL working, 2.) I become aware of things I had no idea of and get to watch Him change them and then in return see more of Him and His word, and 3.)There is a mountain-top in my future!! :) Boy are those mountain-tops grand!!
I am so thankful for a forgiving, loving God who has redeemed me back to Himself. I am thankful that the blinders have been taken off my eyes and I am allowed to see my sin and see the truth of who my Creator is. I hurt, deeply hurt, for those who are still blind. Especially for those who are blinded by false truth. The ones who think it is the religion and the practice of that religion that will save them. The ones who think what they are doing and have been doing is their salvation and really have no clue that they are as lost and the atheist debating about the existence of a god.
I am aware of my responsibility to the lost world as a follower of Christ. I am desperately seeking Him and how I can serve Him and my purpose. I beg Him daily to use me, right where I am, or to send me where He needs me. I do not want the blessing of serving Him in this life to pass me by. I want to do all I can for The ONE who gave it all for me.
We must be purposeful on our journey. We must not just live life as though pleasing ourselves and our children is all there is, when in actuality, it's not any of it. Happiness and joy should only come from One Source. This world can not give us anything compared to riches in our Savior. His Word says so.
(Rom 8:18)
That is all for today, until tomorrow....
I'm not sure if every day will have a topic, or if it is just going to be a journal.
Today is definitely a journal day....
As I type it is 3:03 on Tuesday, Oct 16, 2012. I am being constantly interrupted by children who have not finished their school for the day because they decided to play the day away instead of do their work. That's fine with me, but they hate still doing school after 3 when as they say "Real school kids are done"..... Oh the beauty and joys of homeschool.
The last few weeks of home-school have been very rocky for us. We started out STRONG, but then precious miracle #4 appeared on the scene and decided to make me a WRECK!! I have been exhausted all the day, even with 12 hours of sleep, and nauseous all the time. For a couple of weeks, I had absolutely no appetite. I had to make myself eat and usually what I wanted was JUNK!! Thankfully my appetite has come back along with an ability to function at least 8 hours of the day. I still get very tired, but it's usually after lunch just for an hour or so and then at night around 7 or 8. That's workable!
Parker Wayne turned 3 yesterday. Where did the time go? I have really wanted to enjoy every single second of his babyhood because I feel like I missed so much of the other two's. I have been so blessed to be able to stay at home with him for most of his life and watch how God is developing him into exactly who He created him to be!! He is so articulate with his words. He told me Sunday, "Mom, I can det my tumb to hold down my pinky now, see". He was making the three symbol and was so proud of himself. It's like his brain is ahead of his body sometimes... He knows what he wants to do, he just cant get his body to cooperate. He has quit the passy and is, for the most part, potty trained. (both of these task he accomplished earlier than the other two) He loves to do school with us and ask everyday, even Saturday and Sunday, if he can "do school". He knows his colors and shapes and we are working on letters and numbers. He is great at coloring and even holds his pencil the correct way. He's been doing that for a couple of years. We are still not sure if he is going to be right or left handed as he still uses both for just about everything. He is definitely the joy of our family....can't wait to see how he is with our new blessing!! :)
Spiritually I am in a rut...I've been here for a few weeks now. You know, one of those "weeding out" times when you feel like God is pruning you. Taking out those things that He doesn't like and trying to replace them with more of Himself. (notice I say trying) There has to be some part of us that is willing. I think that has been the struggle, my unwillingness. It's not that consciously I do not want God to change me, because nothing could be further from the truth. But the things about me that He is changing are things that have been a part of who I am for as long as I can remember. Sorta like, "I don't know how to be anything else". I know in the end, God will win and I will be changed and be the better for it, but man is the process painful. These are the times when I feel so far away from Him. When I feel exposed and raw, like the whole world can see my sin because it is written all over me! Don't get me wrong, I am OH SO thankful for these times because 1.) It is proof that He has not given up on me and is STILL working, 2.) I become aware of things I had no idea of and get to watch Him change them and then in return see more of Him and His word, and 3.)There is a mountain-top in my future!! :) Boy are those mountain-tops grand!!
I am so thankful for a forgiving, loving God who has redeemed me back to Himself. I am thankful that the blinders have been taken off my eyes and I am allowed to see my sin and see the truth of who my Creator is. I hurt, deeply hurt, for those who are still blind. Especially for those who are blinded by false truth. The ones who think it is the religion and the practice of that religion that will save them. The ones who think what they are doing and have been doing is their salvation and really have no clue that they are as lost and the atheist debating about the existence of a god.
I am aware of my responsibility to the lost world as a follower of Christ. I am desperately seeking Him and how I can serve Him and my purpose. I beg Him daily to use me, right where I am, or to send me where He needs me. I do not want the blessing of serving Him in this life to pass me by. I want to do all I can for The ONE who gave it all for me.
We must be purposeful on our journey. We must not just live life as though pleasing ourselves and our children is all there is, when in actuality, it's not any of it. Happiness and joy should only come from One Source. This world can not give us anything compared to riches in our Savior. His Word says so.
(Rom 8:18)
That is all for today, until tomorrow....
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