And We're Back!

So after a couple of weeks without power (no cable, no Internet... no distractions) we're back! Everything starts fresh today. We had the cable guy come out and fix everything that was awesomely messed up with our lines and now we have full Internet again so I can post away. In the mean time- while we did not have power, some very interesting and awesome things took place that I'd like to share here... and then I seriously need to get back to housework while I have no children. Yes, it's true- that disease is back- the one where I have free time and all I want to do is clean. Where did that come from???? I could so be reading or napping right now. Oh well. :) I love a clean house so this time will just be very fulfilling for me.

Anywho... while we were without power, we prayed, and we prayed and we prayed some more. We prayed for all sorts of things, but one big one for me, was that I would find a part time job. I REALLY wanted to be at the church and even if it was just for ten hours a week, I really felt like I would enjoy working there. So I started praying and an opportunity to help a friend who works there came up, but it wasn't paid. It was just a way that I would be able to bless her and take some of the stress off of her shoulders. So I jumped on it. This woman is precious and just works herself in to the ground sometimes. She is very committed to her job and very good at it. The downside is that she works all of the time and really didn't have any help. So it blessed my soul to be able to help her out- to make her smile.

I was just doing my thing, rolling along, and she asked if I would be interested in helping out for a little extra money. My heart skipped a beat and I told her I surely would. I knew it wouldn't be a ton, but at this point in our family, anything helps! So she said she would begin to search and see if she could find any place in their budget to hire me very very part time. It took a couple of weeks, but this past Thursday she said that she had worked out out to where I can now be a paid helper. Like I said, it's not a ton, but it's a double blessing! I get to help this woman and help my family at the same time! How exciting for me and for my Kyle. He paraded all weekend with a smile- it was a smile that reflected his pride in me and his gentle relief.

I feel like for so long we were under attack from the enemy. We almost gave in to the pressure and split a couple of times, but God used different people to encourage me, to pray with me, and to model Christ-like love and perseverance and God prevailed, chipping off bits and pieces of these walls we both had formed around our hearts and leaving us both with joy in our new found friendship with one another.

This didn't just happen because I started working a little. This happened because I chose to pray. I chose to seek God and what He gave me in return was my best friend back. I have my Kyle- the one I fell in love with. He is not perfect- nor am I, but our relationship has come through some seriously scary and doubtful times. God has begun the work of restoration on my husband's and my soul and I couldn't be more excited. So like I said, we're back- in every sense of the word. I praise God for Ike. I know there has been some major devastation but so much good has come out of this time as well. I have never spent so much time with my husband. I have never prayed so much and learned so much about the character of God. I have never had to trust Him so much and in return, I have never seen His face so much. I feel grateful- eternally grateful for having been able to go through this time with my family and friends. Ya, it was a little uncomfortable, but God has a way of moving us out of our comfort zones sometimes to see how we can best be used and without our complete lack of power, I never would have noticed certain things God did for us and certain areas He was working. So praise Him.

So glad to be back!

No School Like the Old School

I am at our church right now, on an office computer. Our home, like so many, is still without power. But I am not complaining. Seriously. Aside from smelly laundry and a clogged disposal that emits a certain unpleasant odor, the whole situation has really not been all too bad. In fact, I would even venture to say Hurricane Ike is probably one of the best things to ever happen to our family, to our community, to so many. The word community has begun to really resonate as families are forced to be away from their precious televisions and venture outside in to the unfamiliar territories that lurk within our neighborhoods. These territories are marked by unfamiliar faces living on 20 feet away. These faces belong to children my kids now call friends.

Who would have thought that only one week ago, my Trinity didn't even know how to ride a bike and now she is on her very own "big girl bike" without training wheels zooming down the street. Who would have thought my once shy daughter would ever make a friend on the street- let alone the near 20 friends that now seem to permanently occupy our driveway? I forgot what it was like to have a life outside of our home and our church. We have been so sheltered, we never even made time to realize there were precious people only feet away from us who could maybe use a little encouragement, a friendly hello, or some extra chicken that we had to grill from our now stale freezer.

I can remember "back in the day" when being outside was what we did. We didn't have the Internet and my mom didn't really allow us to watch much television. So my sister (hold your breath) actually read. She read books (you know, those things with paper and words...) And I was an outdoorsy kind of girl. I played outside until mom was screaming "time to eat!" I missed those days. I didn't even know I missed them until my kids grew in to them and now I was the mom screaming "Time to eat!" Wow. Thank goodness for no power. Thank God for Ike. In the midst of all of the destruction that surrounds us, we can see God's hand and I couldn't feel more blessed.

In the days to come I will post more of what I have been learning. It's been a very eye-opening week for me and I still have about 4 more days without power.

The Perfect Creamer

Seriously. Finally! I have found it! The perfect coffee creamer. I was a big fan of the cinnamon vanilla cream flavor but I ran out and while searching for a new flavor, I stumbled across this flavor yesterday and am now enjoying my second cup of decadence! The flavor is Vanilla Chai. It's soooooooooooooooooooo creamy and wonderful! Let's hope they don't discontinue this one with the other "experimental" flavors. :) I am off to finish my coffee and the next chapter of this amazing book I have started called Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala. Check them both out for a duet of greatness. :) Have a wonderful day!

Life-breathing people

Can I just say I love how God works? I love how He sends people in to your life to encourage you, to lift you up, to breathe life in to your world when there seems to be none. I praise God for every friend He has brought in to my life that has helped to walk us through this situation and other times in our lives. I praise Him for using those people to be His hands and feet to us. I was so downtrodden, so depressed, so hopeless and God sent one person after another to pray with/ for us, to encourage us, to make us laugh, to offer wisdom, advice, and hope. It's been a great weekend. The situtation is not over yet but praise God there is a light at the end of this tunnel. Thank you, God for my friends. :)

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