Tuesday, May 4, 2010
The hard to answer questions...
So, last night after Cole finished his bedtime prayers he looked at me and said "Mommy, I don't see Jesus - he can't hear me". So, of course I tried to answer with Jesus hears all our prayers, even though we can't see him he's with us always. Yeah...to a child who takes everything in a literal sense...this was a tough conversation. I was stammering around, and, really did not have confidence in the answer I was giving him....so how was this 4 year old supposed to buy it? Any suggestions as to how to continue this conversation are welcome!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Unthankful?
(this was from a blog I read this morning, it was too good not to pass along...we can really wallow in our own self-pity when we want to. this is such a great reminder to pull ourselves out of that pit and be thankful for EVERYTHING!)
I have so much to be unthankful for. I could write a list that is pages long. I could rant and rave to all my friends about how this life has treated me bad, how my husband doesn’t love me like he should and about how my children give me a headache. I could lament about the way I was raised. I could fill my heart with all manner of bitterness towards life and God because things don’t go the way I want.
BUT I CAN'T
“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying it’s power. And from such people turn away!” 1 Timothy 3: 1-5
I could walk around with a scowl on my face. I could complain and grumble about the way the lady at Wal-Mart treated me, about how my clothes are too tight and about the condition of my 2nd bathroom. I could wax on about the miseries of having 6 children and homeschooling them. Oh the stories I could tell!
BUT I WON’T
“…because although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened…” Roman 1 :22
Instead, instead I will choose to be thankful. I will be thankful for every little thing no matter how small and insignificant. I will find the thing to be thankful for in the midst of a storm, in the center of a crisis, at the end of a hard day. My heart has been filled with an indescribable joy. My mouth gushes the goodness of God. My eyes twinkle at the crabby lady at Wal-Mart and the irritating receptionist at the dentist. Because God had laid this on my heart and has given me a mandate to remind His people- BE THANKFUL!
SO WE CAN…
“Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.” Psalm 100: 5
I have so much to be unthankful for. I could write a list that is pages long. I could rant and rave to all my friends about how this life has treated me bad, how my husband doesn’t love me like he should and about how my children give me a headache. I could lament about the way I was raised. I could fill my heart with all manner of bitterness towards life and God because things don’t go the way I want.
BUT I CAN'T
“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying it’s power. And from such people turn away!” 1 Timothy 3: 1-5
I could walk around with a scowl on my face. I could complain and grumble about the way the lady at Wal-Mart treated me, about how my clothes are too tight and about the condition of my 2nd bathroom. I could wax on about the miseries of having 6 children and homeschooling them. Oh the stories I could tell!
BUT I WON’T
“…because although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened…” Roman 1 :22
Instead, instead I will choose to be thankful. I will be thankful for every little thing no matter how small and insignificant. I will find the thing to be thankful for in the midst of a storm, in the center of a crisis, at the end of a hard day. My heart has been filled with an indescribable joy. My mouth gushes the goodness of God. My eyes twinkle at the crabby lady at Wal-Mart and the irritating receptionist at the dentist. Because God had laid this on my heart and has given me a mandate to remind His people- BE THANKFUL!
SO WE CAN…
“Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.” Psalm 100: 5
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Boys Day Out
Today Jason, his Dad (Norm), and, Cole went fishing. Cole had so much fun! He's beginning to really love fishing as much as his Dad. I have a feeling that I won't see much of the two of them when Cole gets old enough to fish tournaments with his Dad!
Today Cole caught 4 bluegill all by himself - he was so proud. Unfortunately he wouldn't get his pic taken with any of the fish. You can tell Mom wasn't there, I would have forced this photographic moment!
When I asked Cole if he brought the fish home for us to eat he said "Oh no Mom, Catch & Release....you have to leave the fishies there for the next person". Spoken like a true tournament fisherman. I miss the days of my Dad & Grandpa bringing home ALL the fish and having huge fish fries :)
I survived week #1
Well, it's now Saturday, and, I have officially survived week #1 as a SAH Mommy. It was really pretty amazing to get to be with Cole, experience all parts of his day with him, and, of course - to see the shock everyday when he would ask "Mommy, are you going to work today?" and I would get to say "No, I'm staying with you".
We still have a lot of "kinks" to work out. First of all....a good schedule! I have really enjoyed not having to wake up to an alarm clock...hence, getting out of bed at 7am, and, rushing to get Cole to school by 8am. I need to sharpen the pencil a bit on the AM routine. We are also still struggling with "rest time". I get that he's getting a little old to keep taking 2-3 hour naps (although, he did for Grandpa!), but he still needs time resting - otherwise he falls asleep at 6pm. He's really pushing that button right now.
I do think that as the weeks go on, and, I continue feeling better - I will have to take up a hobby of some sort. For now reading has been enough for me to stay "busy" outside of household stuff....but I can see how after awhile I might begin to get bored with it. Since Cole's scrapbook is about 4 years behind...I'm hoping that will peak my interest again before our new little peanut arrives :)
We still have a lot of "kinks" to work out. First of all....a good schedule! I have really enjoyed not having to wake up to an alarm clock...hence, getting out of bed at 7am, and, rushing to get Cole to school by 8am. I need to sharpen the pencil a bit on the AM routine. We are also still struggling with "rest time". I get that he's getting a little old to keep taking 2-3 hour naps (although, he did for Grandpa!), but he still needs time resting - otherwise he falls asleep at 6pm. He's really pushing that button right now.
I do think that as the weeks go on, and, I continue feeling better - I will have to take up a hobby of some sort. For now reading has been enough for me to stay "busy" outside of household stuff....but I can see how after awhile I might begin to get bored with it. Since Cole's scrapbook is about 4 years behind...I'm hoping that will peak my interest again before our new little peanut arrives :)
Monday, April 26, 2010
Our circumstances may change, but the will of God does not change.
As I'm writing this this morning, I'm listening to an amazing message online from Pastor Michael Obi. I love how someone can speak for 90 minutes, and something they think was just one statement - will stay with me forever. In this message, it was the title of today's entry. "Our circumstance may change, but the will of God does not change". This is so relevant to us right now.
If you haven't yet heard. I'm now a full-time, stay-at-home Mommy. This wasn't planned...but, it now is our circumstances.
While I have always loved the thought of staying home with Cole, I felt a strong calling to the Ministry at LW and felt God wanted me to work in both outlets. So...when that calling changed last week - it was very scary for me (and Jas). It was hard for us to trust it was the right thing to do. (Have you ever gone from 2 incomes to 1 - just like that?) But, circumstances were changed for me, and, we felt the path had been laid.
My biggest fear is that I will feel my "purpose" is gone. I'm struggling trying to figure out how to reprogram my mind that being a Wife & Mother is my purpose right now. God is taking me on a spiritual journey that, I pray, will lead me to contentment that I am living in His will now.
Of course we have very real/immediate fears too....my health right now is a huge concern (and was a factor in the circumstances of this situation). The health & development of our unborn baby is at a crucial point - and, I'm still battling this illness daily. Our Dr's have done all they can do at this stage, I need Gods' healing & strength for this baby, myself & my family.
We also have to relearn how to live our lives. We have always lived very carefree with our finances....that is drastically different now. We have extremely limited funds & will be tested weekly on our self-control.
Jason's Parents made HUGE sacrifices to help us make this happen. They believe so completely this is the will of God. I stand amazed how someone can give up so much personally - because they know that this is right. I want that Faith.
This is the scariest thing we have ever done - but, yet, there is a part in both of our hearts that believe this is where God has been leading us. That alone is enough to help us to jump.
We would appreciate your prayers as we continue on this journey :)
If you haven't yet heard. I'm now a full-time, stay-at-home Mommy. This wasn't planned...but, it now is our circumstances.
While I have always loved the thought of staying home with Cole, I felt a strong calling to the Ministry at LW and felt God wanted me to work in both outlets. So...when that calling changed last week - it was very scary for me (and Jas). It was hard for us to trust it was the right thing to do. (Have you ever gone from 2 incomes to 1 - just like that?) But, circumstances were changed for me, and, we felt the path had been laid.
My biggest fear is that I will feel my "purpose" is gone. I'm struggling trying to figure out how to reprogram my mind that being a Wife & Mother is my purpose right now. God is taking me on a spiritual journey that, I pray, will lead me to contentment that I am living in His will now.
Of course we have very real/immediate fears too....my health right now is a huge concern (and was a factor in the circumstances of this situation). The health & development of our unborn baby is at a crucial point - and, I'm still battling this illness daily. Our Dr's have done all they can do at this stage, I need Gods' healing & strength for this baby, myself & my family.
We also have to relearn how to live our lives. We have always lived very carefree with our finances....that is drastically different now. We have extremely limited funds & will be tested weekly on our self-control.
Jason's Parents made HUGE sacrifices to help us make this happen. They believe so completely this is the will of God. I stand amazed how someone can give up so much personally - because they know that this is right. I want that Faith.
This is the scariest thing we have ever done - but, yet, there is a part in both of our hearts that believe this is where God has been leading us. That alone is enough to help us to jump.
We would appreciate your prayers as we continue on this journey :)
Sunday, April 4, 2010
I have reached 11 days of severe sickness. At only 7 weeks along, I have barely been out of bed in the last week :( My family has been wonderful - taking turns coming & sitting with me around the clock while Jason works. Cole has really appreciated having someone to feed him!
I spend most days in bed until early afternoon - the on the couch for the rest of the day. I'm trying hard to work a few hours each afternoon, but, it's been hard with how sick I have been. I am on medication around the clock to try to help. The Dr. said I have severe hyperemesis....which is just basically the worst kind of morning sickness/all day sickness.
The worst part for me is that I feel like I'm getting very down in the dumps. I want to be excited about everything happening for our family, and, instead I feel sad & depressed about how sick I am.
I am really praying I get some relief soon.
I spend most days in bed until early afternoon - the on the couch for the rest of the day. I'm trying hard to work a few hours each afternoon, but, it's been hard with how sick I have been. I am on medication around the clock to try to help. The Dr. said I have severe hyperemesis....which is just basically the worst kind of morning sickness/all day sickness.
The worst part for me is that I feel like I'm getting very down in the dumps. I want to be excited about everything happening for our family, and, instead I feel sad & depressed about how sick I am.
I am really praying I get some relief soon.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Wow...A LOT can change in a week.
Yeah, I was really, really sick this week. Today the Dr told me I needed to go to the Hospital for fluids & anti-nausea meds. I'm so thankful Greenville ER was fast - they got me in & out and home to my boy. Cole was so sad today when we told him I had to go to the hospital.
They found a UTI when I was in the ER today, so I'm on an antibiotic for that. Pumped me full of fluids and Zofram.
I'm feeling a little better this afternoon, and, praying it keeps up. I desperately need to feel semi-normal and be able to take care of my family & my work.
We are getting our first sonogram on Wednesday. I'm excited to get an exact due date :)
Yeah, I was really, really sick this week. Today the Dr told me I needed to go to the Hospital for fluids & anti-nausea meds. I'm so thankful Greenville ER was fast - they got me in & out and home to my boy. Cole was so sad today when we told him I had to go to the hospital.
They found a UTI when I was in the ER today, so I'm on an antibiotic for that. Pumped me full of fluids and Zofram.
I'm feeling a little better this afternoon, and, praying it keeps up. I desperately need to feel semi-normal and be able to take care of my family & my work.
We are getting our first sonogram on Wednesday. I'm excited to get an exact due date :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)