A Promise

So I'm having one of those weeks- those months, really. You know the kind. The kind where you know God is working but you REALLY need to see His hand because you don't know where your next meal is coming from. We have bills coming out our ears and beause my husband's work is SOOOOOOOOOOOO SLOW right now, we are sufferring deeply. I have no idea what happened- except to say that we are in a recession and Kyle's work is not the kind of work you want to be in when there is a recession, so my husband, who relies solely on commission is now looking for another job.

In the mean time, we are a little stressed. Sad. Occasionally depressed even, but that nagging glimmer of hope hasn't left me. My prayers have been simple- pretty much just "help!" I keep praying for a supernatural miracle. I keep hoping I will check the mail or the bank account and there will have been a miracle. But today as I checked the mail and- no miracle- I got a little anxious. I came inside, very tense and prayed that God would show the hope I desperately need to see. So I felt like I needed to go look in my Bible- for a glimpse of wisdom, for anything. When I opened it, this is exactly what I opened to:

Isaiah 9: 1-5 "Hope in The Messiah"

Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory. The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness,a light will shine. You will enlarge the nation of Israel, and its people will rejoice. They will rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest and like warriors dividing the plunder. For you will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders. You will break the oppressor’s rod, just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian. The boots of the warrior and the uniforms bloodstained by war will all be burned. They will be fuel for the fire.

What did I take away from that? Hope. A promise. Thank you God.

Message 8-17-08

www.woodsedge.org/mp3player.htm?theFile=multimedia/messages/daniel1011and12-jeffwells-08172008.mp3&wW=200&wH=65

Click on the link. This message is profound and has blessed my soul.

The Armor of God

Ephesians 6:10-18

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Trinity's First Day of School

Sooooooooooo, we did it!!! This morning we took our little angel to her first day of kindergarten. The tears? They did come, but not until after we were back in the car on our way home and a song came on the radio that opened the flood gates. I kept my self distracted this morning by taking pictures (hence the large amount of pix below). :) But I am really excited for her to begin this new era of her life. The tears were because she is growing up so fast and I already miss her. But we've been praying and I know she is in good hands. I have a really good feeling about her teacher (pictured with her below) and the school she is in. So when you pray today, keep my little Trinity in your prayers. She's all grown up now- see her first day pictures below. :)

Trinity's First Day of School

Work

I AM a stay at home mom. It's what I do and really right now, it's who I am. Not ALL of who I am, but at the moment, it's a really big part of who I am. I love being at home with my kids. I am the pen God is using to write in the books of their lives. I am the one who is teaching them about life, about God. I am the one who gets to see all of their milestones and I couldn't be more excited.

So why am I thinking about going to work? My husband is in a really bad industry to be in when there is a recession and whether or not the government wants to admit it, we are in a recession so our family is hurting. I told him I would try to find some part time work to help him out- to help shoulder the load until things either get easier at work for him, or until he finds a new job. His current "new job" option would be working on an oil rig. My first thought is that this would be awesome- perfect even. It would be consistent income. But then I have to consider his moral character is at stake. If his character changes, our family could be at stake and I definitely cannot put our family at risk like that.

So I guess when you pray, please pray something else would make it self available for him or pray that I can find a job that allows me to still be here with my babies at least most of the time. I selfishly want to be the one who raises them and I want to be here when they get home from school to help them with their homework. So pray for work that can be done around their schedules and work for my husband that is more consistent income.

And I guess on my end, I will just keep trying to remember that God is still in control. He has a plan to prosper us, not to harm us. (Jeremiah 29:11) And most importantly, He knew all of this would be happening now so pray that we would remain dependant on Him and seeking His will, not our own.

In The Middle Of The Night...

Seriously. Why is it always in the middle of the night when you get sick? Last night my "tummy" was upset but I thought the worst was over and had finally fallen asleep when it happened. That feeling when your face gets hot and you know you have approximately 5 seconds to make it to the bathroom or else... When I looked at the clock I noticed it was exactly the middle of the night and I laughed to my self. Then after bleaching my entire bathroom (walls and all) I crawled uncomfortably back to bed and passed out... for about 30 minutes until my little girl came in, sharing in my sorrow... all over my floor. Good times.

Today everyone seems to be feeling somewhat better but I want to know- why always the middle of the night? :)

Just A Mom?

I got this e-mail and had to share it. So cute.

JUST A MOM?


A woman, renewing her driver's license at the County Clerk 's office,
Was asked by the woman recorder to state her occupation.

She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself.

'What I mean is, ' explained the recorder,
'do you have a job or are you just a ...?'

'Of course I have a job,' snapped the woman.

'I'm a Mom.'

'We don't list 'Mom' as an occupation,

'housewife' covers it,'
Said the recorder emphatically.


I forgot all about her story until one day I found myself

In the same situation, this time at our own Town Hall.
The Clerk was obviously a career woman, poised,
Efficient, and possessed of a high sounding title like,
'Official Interrogator' or 'Town Registrar.'

'What is your occupation?' she probed.

What made me say it? I do not know.
The words simply popped out.
'I'm a Research Associate in the field of
Child Development and Human Relations.'

The clerk paused, ball-point pen frozen in mid-air and
Looked up as though she had not heard right.

I repeated the title slowly emphasizing the most significant words.
Then I stared with wonder as my pronouncement was written,
In bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.

'Might I ask,' said the clerk with new interest,
'just what y ou do in your field?'

Coolly, without any trace of fluster in my voice,
I heard myself reply,
'I have a continuing program of research,
(what mother doesn't)
In the laboratory and in the field,
(normally I would have said indoors and out).
I'm working for my Masters, (first the Lord and then the whole family)
And already have four credits (all daughters).
Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities,
(any mother care to disagree?)
And I often work 14 hours a day, (24 is more like it).
But the job is more challenging than most run-of-the-mill careers

And the rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money.'

There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk's voice as she
Completed the form, stood up, and personally ushered me to the door.

As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up by my glamorous new career,
I was greeted by my lab assistants -- ages 13, 7, and 3.
Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model,
(a 6 month old baby) in the child development program,
Testing out a new vocal pattern .
I felt I had scored a beat on bureaucracy!
And I had gone on the official records as someone more

Distinguished and indispensable to mankind than 'just another Mom.'

Motherhood!

What a glorious career!
Especially when there's a title on the door.


Does this make grandmothers
'Senior Research associates in the field of Child Development and Human Relations'
And great grandmothers
'Executive Senior Research Associates?'
I think so!!!
I also think it makes Aunts '

Associate Research Assistants.'

In My Imperfection...

God used me. In all of my imperfection, in all of my brokenness, He used me. Sunday in class we were actually talking about God using broken people and a girl in our class, who had been feeling very wounded, very angry with God admitted that she had not accepted Christ because she was so mad at Him. Though I already felt like I had overshared and was trying to be quiet, God laid a word on my heart for this girl. Against my will, I spoke out and God blessed this girl and in turn, blessed my husband. I ran in to this girl last night at church and in her hands, she held a packet for new believers- she had accepted Christ. Oh praise God!!! He used me to show her He loves her in spite of her anger and He wants to heal her. How beautiful!!! Now this precious angel has a home in Heaven and I could not be more excited!!!

Jacob August 2008

So my baby is just over 6 months old now- a good 6 and a half months old... wow. Where did the time go? He went from laying helplessly in our bed to sitting up and then this past Saturday night as Kyle and I watched with great anticipation, our little angel crawled for the first time!!! Seriously! Our excitement may have traumatized him but in time I'm sure he'll recover. We screamed and he screamed because we screamed... good times. :P Poor kid. We've never been together to watch our children go through milestones so it was absolutely perfect and precious! I am still happy to report that Jacob is a near perfect baby. :) So keep praying for him and keep praying for us... looks like mommy has a whole lot more cleaning to do now that her lil man is mobile. YAY for Jacob!!! :) Enjoy the pictures below.

New Jacob Pics

It's My Party...

So excited. No crying here. For the first time in ages I am having a party to celebrate my birthday. Tonight. And I could not be more excited. Last year my awesome friends threw me a suprise party, but this is the first party I have thrown my self since I was a child. I chose a children's jumping place to host the event but the catch is- no children (except nursing newborns). :) SO basically I see the evening playing out like this: people arrive around 8:00-ish (yes, super cool: 08-08-08 at 8:00). Then we bounce and jump and act like children on these huge inflatables for about an hour and a half. We eat cake and we go home- just like my kids' party last year. I wanted to do something fun and random. This is the last year of my roaring twenties and I wanted to go out in style. So tonight while you fun people are watching the olympics, I'll be sweating in style with some of my closest friends as we come together to celebrate another year of life that God has granted me. :) So happy birthday to me! Praise God for another wonderful year! :)

*P.S.- LOTS of picturs coming soon!*

I Wanna Be...

So last week during VBS we taught the kids four songs that we sang every day. By the end of the week, we all had our favorites, but mine was most definitely "Thankful". The chorus begins: "I wanna be thankful, I wanna be grateful. I wanna remember all the things that The Lord has done." So I was singing that with Trinity the other day while we were doing some housework and as we started singing that song, it hit me. I haven't been thankful. I haven't been grateful. I haven't taken time to remember all of the things that The Lord has done for us (and trust me- there is soooooooooooo much!!!) Instead, I have been negative. I have been really distracted by the issues with Timothy that I haven't really stopped to see all of the good God has done and to really be thankful.

John 10:10 says this: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

So this week I have a new perspective. I realized that a heart of gratitude is a choice- my choice. Rather than dwelling on what we are going through with Timothy, my heart is thankful. God is such an awesome God and has done so much for our family. Satan would like nothing better during this time in our lives than to steal any joy we might find. He wants us to believe that we should sit down and pout during this time rather than praising God. Matt Redman put it best when he said: blessed be your name on the road marked with sufferring, though there's pain in the offerring, blessed be your name. So, while it's not super easy to be thankful and to praise God, I choose to bless His name. I choose to praise Him. I wanna be thankful.

VBS

So this week our church had their annual VBS for the children and for the first time, I got to be a part of it. I just have to say- soooooooooooooooooooooooooo much fun!!!!! My friend and I got to kind of "M.C." the event, so this is pretty much how it went: Christi and Renee on stage in front of about 220 kids, dancing, singing, being goofy. I may have looked like my sanity was in question, but I was having a blast teaching these kids worship music and sharing the love of Christ with them. Overall the week was incredible! The kids were so precious, so excited, so fun and I only hope we get to do it again next year. :)

SO I asked Trinity what her favorite part of the week was, and she couldn't narrow it down to just one thing. She enjoyed every part of the week. If you ask me, my favorite part was watching from the stage as these precious angels sang praise to God with their hands held high and their eyes wide open and and smiles reflecting hearts of love. It was an awesome sight- hopefully one I will have pictures of soon. In the mean time, I am going to nap. What a week!!!