Max Lucado

For the last few days I've been focusing on a an excerpt from Max Lucado's book Grace for the Moment.  It's actually not even part of the daily devotions - it's between his preface and chapter 1 - not sure what that makes it...  Anyway, here it goes.

It's quiet.  It's early.  My coffee is hot.  The sky is still black.  The world is still asleep.  The day is coming.  In a few moments the day will arrive.  It will roar down the track with the rising of the sun.  The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged for the noise of the day.  The calm of solitude will be replaced by the pounding pace of the human race.  The refuge of the early morning will be invaded by decisions to be made and deadlines to be met. 

For the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day's demands.  it is now that I must make a choice.  Because of Calvary, I'm free to choose.  And so I choose.

I choose Love...  No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness.  I choose love.  Today I will love God and what God loves.

I choose joy...  I will invite my God to be the god of circumstance.  I will refuse the temptation to be cynical... the tool of the laxy thinker.  I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God.  I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.

I choose peace... I will live forgiven.  I will forgive so that I may live.

I choose patience...  I will overlook the inconveniences of the world.  Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I'll invite his to do so.  Rather than complain that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment to pray.  Instead of clinching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.

I choose kindness...  I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone.  Kind to the rich, for they are afraid.  And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has traeted me.

I choose goodness...  I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one.  I will be overlooked before I will boast.  I will confess before I will accuse.  I choose goodness.

I choose faithfulness...  Today I will keep my promises.  My debtors will not regret their trust.  My associates will not question my word.  My wife will not question my love.  And my children will never fear that their father will nto come home.

I choose gentleness...  Nothing is won by force.  I choose to be gentle.  if I raise my voice may it be only in praise.  If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer.  If I make a demand, may it be only of myself. 

I choose self-control...  I am a spiritual being...  After this body is dead, my spirit will soar.  I refuse to let what will rot, rule the eternal.  I choose self-control.  I will be drunk only by joy.  I will be impassioned only by my faith.  I will be influenced only by God.  I will be taught only by Christ.  I choose self-control.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  To these I commit my day.  If I succeed, I will give thanks.  If i fail, I will seek his grace.  And then, when this day is done, I will place amy head on my pillow and rest.

As you can see I've been focusing on the fruits of the spirit.  I subscribe to All Things Heart and Home and today I recieved this in my inbox...Hearing God Through Circumstances
This makes me smile.  Thought it might make you smile too : )

Prayer Warrior

I'm just going to share with you what my journaling time was about this morning (don't let that fool you I don't get to do that every morning).  I want to be a prayer warrior.  I use this term because it's the first one to come to mind to describe what I'm talking about.  Maybe you've heard this passed around.  What it means to me is this:  someone who regularly spends commited, focused time in dialogue with God.  Who often times keeps a prayer journal that is consistent and often times has recorded answered prayers.  I'm going to admit to you that I am presently not a prayer warrior.  My time set aside for prayer is often hurried and usually if I have a prayer list going I'm reading through it.  Granted my time to myself is very limited.  And I can hear the voices in my life giving me the benefit of the doubt (mother : ).   

But, what I really want is to have that sweet time that I usually experience during praise.  Those whispered encouragements and instructions that come from God alone when you have set aside time to meet with Him.  I know He's there waiting for me - and yet I so rarely make it a priority.  I heard once that prayer warriors just can't help it.  That they feel compelled to reach out to God and lift everything up to Him.  That's what I want.  Because once again I find that I am too weak to do it on my own.  That I need His help.  So here it is, I want God to make me a prayer warrior.  To compel me to that sweet time.  To battle it out for my family.  And I want Him to give me a love for His word.  To renew my mind with it - to be compelled - to have a thirst for it that just can't be quenched.  A student of it.  Lord, give me wisdom....  the list is unending.  This is why I need to be a prayer warrior!  There's so much that needs His attention in my life. 

Are you a prayer warrior?

Absolutely wonderful

I love this message!  And while I'm making my way to posting birthday pictures and Halloween pictures AND telling you about Women of Faith, I'll share this from All Things Heart and Home...

The other day I was in the middle of a hurried week. My ‘to-do’ list was getting longer by the second. Every time I looked at it, I felt confused about what to do first, so mostly I was running in circles. Standing in line at Target, I checked email from my phone. There was a message from my friend Jenn: “The trees are stunning. Interesting that the leaves are the most beautiful as they’re dying.”






For a brief moment, time slowed. Jenn’s words went straight to my heart where I knew they would swirl around gently until I caught the message.






The next morning, still thinking about what God might be saying to me, I asked The Husband: ” If age compares to seasons, what season are we in”?






The corners of his mouth hinted upward, “probably autumn, does that bother you?”






“Nope”.






A few hours later standing on our upper deck, I stared at sunlight filtering through autumn leaves and prayed, I feel like you have a message for me Father, what is it?






The trees looked celestial, transforming their little space into a glorious display of purple- reds and orangey-yellows that made me almost forget their former selves. Most of them anyway. There were a few trees that seemed to be skipping the whole autumn display of color stage and moving from luscious green to crispy brown in a matter of weeks.






But why, I wondered. Why were some red, some yellow, some just ugly brown?






I stepped inside and did what I sometimes do when I’m wondering about things…






I googled.






What I found was interesting on a couple of levels. Hang with me for a second…






Seems that some trees build up pigments over the spring and summer, when the leaves are young and green. When the green (chlorophyll) diminishes in autumn, the yellow pigments that were already there become dominant.






Hummmm, so in life perhaps, some people build up beauty in their youth. The kind of beauty that’s inside and doesn’t fade. Beauty in the form of Godly attributes like gentleness, humility, meekness, kindness and patience. When their youth diminishes, their inner beauty shines through. And it’s rather glorious.






I know people like that.






But what about those people who move into the autumn of life without a lot of inner beauty, is there hope for them…for me?






Well, it seems that those redish autumn leaves have an entirely different process:






As the chlorophyll diminishes, a red pigment, which was not previously present, is produced in the leaf.






Here’s what one source says about this phenomenon:






“…the trees expend resources on creating red pigments just as they are about to shed their leaves”






So these trees flourish just in the nick of time.






Whew.






I know people like that too. I think I may be one of them.






“Father“, I breathed deep and whispered a prayer, “help me expend my energy on things that last. And please, don’t let me move through this season without beauty like those trees that go from green to brown…”






I grabbed my never ending to-do list and felt absolutely no confusion about what to do next.






*****






I’m still counting gifts~ #991- choices made easy when I see them through autumnal eyes.






~Have a beautiful day Sweet Ones~

My Devotion by Sarah Young - Jesus Calling

'Meet me in early morning splendor.  I eagerly await you there.  In the stillness of this holy time with Me, I renew your strength and saturate you with Peace.  While others turn over for extra sleep or anxiously tune in to the latest news, you commune with the Creator of the universe.  I have awakened in your heart strong desire to know Me.  This longing originated in Me, though it now burns brightly in you.

When you seek My Face in response to My Love-call, both of us are blessed.  This is a deep mystery, designed more for your enjoyment than for your understanding.  I am not a dour God who discourages pleasure.  I delight in your enjoyment of everything that is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable.  Think on these things, and My Light in you will shine brighter day by day.   Isaiah 40:31, Psalm 27:4, Philippians 4:8'

A couple of years ago I went through a season of time when God almostly solely wanted to impress on me His love for me.  Kind of wish that was the only lesson he ever wanted me to learn!  It was an awesome time.  I like Sarah Young's devotions because she really 'gets' His love.  And she writes devotions as though they are directly from Him through those lenses.  Pretty cool.  The part about this time not being for my understanding really hits me.  For some reason I want to make sense of everything - probably that control thing of mine.  And knowing that I won't be able to make sense of everything b/c He functions at a (much) higher level (the only level) of understanding frees me just a little bit. 

Happy Happy Birthday...

Miss Lola was 3 yesterday. We had chocolate chip heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast. :D Boy, that's a mouthful. I also made an m&m cookie cake for dessert after dinner. It was a high sugar day! I can't believe she's so old. She'll start preschool in the fall. Seems like we just brought her home from the hospital. The pictures of that day are precious. Powell still looks like a baby in them. Talk about a mess of a post. Random thoughts all over! Well, let me try to organize a cohesive thought...

I've just started a new study on the book Crazy Love. So far I love it. I've always been taught to start prayer by praising God. Telling him how awesome and majestic He is. And while He is all of those things, that doesn't really roll off my tongue well. But, in this first chapter of Crazy Love Francis Chan talks about the scripture that actually describes God in the Bible. Jewels... glowing.... angels contstantly singing 'holy, holy, holy'.... with their hands over their eyes...

And he shares this clip that I've linked to below, that shows how teeny tiny the earth is. And suddenly the few moments that I have in the morning before the house wakes up are much more focused. I don't just start throwing my stuff out at God's feet like a laundry list that needs to be covered in prayer. I just look out the back door at the stars and the snow and I think about who God is... and inevitable I think about how grateful I am. And suddenly my laundry list of worries and requests seems so insignificant and small. My God can easily care for those needs.

And you know what? The last few days have been really hectic. But, I have been very content, and even patient! There's a part of me, the realist I suppose (although my husband would tell you that I don't have a realist inside anywhere), that says the answer to day to day contentment and peace and patience isn't that simple. But, what if it is? Doesn't it make sense that if I just keep my priorities lined up with how big God is they won't get out of whack or overwhelming?

Stay tuned...

Crazy Love

Prayers

Okay, so when the kids pray they usually talk about their day. Remember the Speedway? Powell has been thanking God for the speedway for 3 days now. And Maryanna keeps correcting him - I think he really enjoyed himself.

Day to Day Goals

We were home ALL DAY TODAY. Yes, I know that's not that big a deal to most of you out there, but it's a feat around here. Especially, if I can get through the whole day and make sure everyone gets all of the attention that they need AND not lose my temper. The kids just need more entertaining when we're home and by the time Hubby gets home at the end of the day someone at some point has done something to cause me to lose my cool (potty accident, hitting, spilt milk, etc.).

One of my current goals (to help prevent me from getting to the breaking point and therefore snapping at the kids when they're cranky) is to praise as often, if not more than, I instruct or discipline. FYI, I usually have about 10 different goals like this that I'm holding together on a regular basis. On the days that I can manage to do this, we usually have amazing days. 'I love my life' type days. But, sadly, more often than not this is a pretty difficult thing to do. And NOT because my kids aren't amazing. My 4 1/2 and 3 year old do an exception job of using their manners and minding their Mommy. My 16 month old is a very low maintenance, sweet, wonderful 3rd born. But, the things they do get in trouble for are usually things they have just gotten in trouble for 3 minutes ago. Just kidding 7 minutes ago.

You get the picture.

So, back to my previous point, we had an amazing day, home all day today. I would be remiss if I did not point out that my amazing days always have one thing in common. Prayer time. A committing of my day to God. A request for reserves of patience and strength that I do not have. When I spend this time with my God in the mornings I actually have a fighting chance of putting any of my goals in place for the day...

Praising the kids.
Eating right.
Disciplining without heat.
Staying focused on household chores without getting tunnel vision and getting frustrated when the kids need attention.
Keeping my other interests (cakes/photographs & graphics/blogging) to a minimum during the day when the kids are/ought to be my focus.

I'll stop there. You can see that this could get out of hand quickly. Each day is another opportunity to have an amazing day. I think we're having them more and more often. I think.

So, I've been absent. I know, I know. But I've been packing! Like. A. Mad. Woman.

Seriously.

We had four weeks to get out of here and we're kind of at a standstill until the week of at this point (after just 2 weeks). That's how crazy we've been packin'!

So, I finally got sat back down at the computer today. Played with some pictures. Had a lot of fun. I'm going to post all of them here. I haven't touched Powell's birthday pictures yet. I'll post those with a more indepth description later. I managed to get the Memorial Day pics in there. There were only a couple - mostly the swimsuit pics.

Now, since it doesn't seem that I'm going to take the time to talk/blog about it any time before or after the move if I don't say something now, here it goes.

Here are the bare facts. God sold our house in 6 weeks. He was very clear. He brought two buyers. He closed with a buyer who didn't have a contingency. We found our dream house 5 days later. We prayed that He would make it clear which house He wanted us to buy. He eliminated our top 3 interests. The house we bought was everything we wanted (but weren't expecting)right down to the willow tree and the windows the morning sun shines in. Then there's the fact that it backs up to farm land, the lot's 3/4 of an acre, there's plenty of room for the kids and Hubby's office... We can build a building... The kids can play in the driveway and the cul-de-sac... This is the only house that we looked at that was a possibility long term.

Okay, so that's more than the bare facts. Got a little carried away. But I'm so excited not just by the move and the house, but God's constant answer to prayer these last few weeks. Through the process of selling He revealed things He wanted me to deal with that were completely unrelated to selling the house. He's been so faithful. I've been reading The Prayer of Jabez again and right before He sold the house He was reminding me that yes, He is a just and holy God, but He is also my Father God - and that He loves me very much.

As we've sought Him in this decision we've drawn closer and He's used it as an opportunity to point out a few things. I am so in love with my Savior and I can't wait to see what He has planned in our new home.

So much to say....

Okay! Well. Let me just start by saying, our house is on the market. Do you have any idea what it's like to keep a house virtually perfect with 3 children under 5? I keep thinking Powell's going to use the bathroom right before we leave and I'm not going to catch it. How embarrassing. He so doesn't always flush.

Anyway, so far it's gone fairly well. Although, we have had so many showings, I'm thinking, will someone just buy it already? Literally, one every day and two on Saturday. This makes me a very short-tempered mother. How do you spend time in your house with so many youngsters trying not to mess anything up? Anxiously. That's how. Every time they play with anything I'm looking at the clock trying to figure out if I'll have enough time to clean it up if we get a thirty minute notice. I will be really, really happy when we are no longer selling our house.

Speaking of, I have to tell you, this has been an interesting journey for Chris and I. We have been thinking about moving for a couple of years now. For many reasons. In that time we have prayed for God's will and purpose but it was in the last few weeks that we committed to each other to really make it a priority. Obviously, we felt led to put the house on the market. As we did, we began focusing on specific scriptures and praying for God's will with expectancy. We sought out our small group leaders and asked for their input and prayers. I believe, Wednesday we will ask the rest of our small group to pray. Of course, we asked our families to pray. With the number of lookers I tend to think that God's going to sell our house and I'm very excited (although I'm trying to wait till He does so to BELIEVE that we're moving).

Having said all of that, I still struggle with an age old fear of mine. I'm just now beginning to realize that it's the same one rearing it's ugly head. And here it is: I am terrified I'm going to irreversibly and irrevobably mess up my kids. I'm so afraid that whatever decisions I make that will affect my kids' lives (FOR-EV-VER!) will be the wrong ones!!! Is this the fear of every parent? Or is this just me and my irrational need to control? I have had thoughts that go along the lines of - what if Powell's future wife is here and I move him away from her? WHAT?! That is SO not the way God works! And I know it! So, why can't I seem to get rid of this fear for good? I have concquered it in other areas of my life, but here it is again in a new area. Will it ever go away? With practice and time (and, of course, my never ending pleas to God), will I become a confident parent?

And what about the effect my fear has on the kids? I am certain that there are consequences to living in fear. Not what I want. So, if you will, please pray for me in this area of my life as I continue to face it and to ask for advice from fellow moms and mentor moms.

Summer Is Here...

Check out my girl taking in the view from her bumbo! Have you ever seen such cute bulldog cheeks? Apparently, her toes are fascinating...

We spent some time on the deck as a family this weekend. It got so hot on Saturday we got the kids' kiddie pool out. Check out my other favorite little girl taking in the rays.

Powell started saying 'dah' instead of 'yes' this weekend. I guess we're bilingual around here. We went to dinner at an old neighbors' house on Saturday night, the church and the park (for smores with the Tiffanys) on Sunday, and Mom and Dad's on Monday (More time outside and in the pool and a little fishing too. Watch out when my kids have a fishing pole :). When we were praying for God to bless our time at the park on Saturday at dinner Powell prayed too, 'Zjacob and Weah, Amen!' He's started adding to at the end of each prayer. That includes Mallory's boyfriend Tyler at bedtime. Maryanna will pray for our entire family and extended family (with a couple of repeats), 'Bless Mommy and Daddy and Lola and Powell and Me and Lee and Mommy and Justin and Powell and Lola and Grandma...' You get the picture. And when she's finished Powell will stand up and say, 'And Tywer, Nana! And Tywer!' They're too cute...

We got home last night and put the kids to bed, then sat down with some popcorn and a little tv. My homemade bouquet opened up over the weekend and turned out really pretty. Thanks, Babe.

I think I'll end here. What a random post. Maybe I'll manage to round this out this afternoon :)