Long overdue!

My weekly blogging has been lacking with all the summer fun at our house, but the daily gifts from the Father never fail!
Lord, thanks for...

386. Jacob's contented temperment

387. Zac's spirited, ambitious temperment

388. Hallie's sweet, thoughtful temperment

389. Jake on the car ride to Kearney spontaneously saying, "Mom, isn't that a beautiful sunset."

390. God's mercy in revealing Himself to my child in a sunset.

391. Zac handing me a heart bead and saying, "Mommy this is my heart. I love you!"

392. Knowing God is working on his heart because all love is from the Father.

393. Hallie always picking family first.

394. Hallie is talking about being baptized. She told us about her understanding of Jesus. She said, "I know that I make bad choices and that is sin. Jesus died for my sin and I choose to follow Him. And, He told me to get baptized." His gift of eternal life for my dear daughter.

395. Sleeping in my childhood room under soft, cozy sheets.

396. My daddy taking care of me...he gave this 34 year old gas money and a $5 for a coffee on the way out of town.

397. My parents energy to lovingly and enjoyably spend a week with each of my kids this summer.

398. Summer yard projects with an enthusiastic husband.

399. Great summer reads... Son of Hamas, Screwtape Letters, Ruth...Love, Loss and Legacy. (Insights to come if I have the time to jot down my thoughts on this blog)

So, Jake told me...

...he was reading the bible. I had my suspicions because he can not yet read. So, I asked him to show me. He picks up his King James Bible and says, "See I made it this far." He is well into the new testament and so I say, "Wow! So, how are you doing that?" He told me, "Well, I go through the pages and find words I can sound out and then I read those. It's really hard."

No kidding!

Quote of the Day from Zac

Zac has been at "Ranch Camp" aka VBS this week at church. They are collecting things for children in Romania with For God's Children International.

This morning Zac says to Ryan, "Dad I need some money because there are all these kids that are orphans and don't have a mommy or daddy and we need to help them."

Just love this wonderful son of mine!


(Zac with tape wrapped all around him because he wanted stripes like a zebra)

No Matter What...

...give thanks!

Today was one of those days. Not terrible, not life altering just one of those days when you take a deep breath after all the kids are in bed (and then one comes down to tell you that can't sleep because it's too bright outside).

I am one that can let my emotions get the best of me if I am not careful. Today is when the discipline of giving thanks redirects my thoughts and keeps my eyes focused on the Author of my faith and not the daily grind. (As I listen to the boys thumping something against the wall in their room when they are supposed to be sleeping).

So, I give thanks for...

367. Healthy children.

368. Riding bikes together as a family.
369. Corporate worship, singing praise to the Father.
370. Dandelion bouquets from my little sweetheart.
371. Watching Daddy teach the boys.

372. Dirty, grimy summer feet.

373. The thrill of loosing yet another tooth.
374. Summer baseball games.
375. Laughing with my middle on the couch, just the two of us laughing so hard our sides hurt.
376. Hallie remembering her brothers and bringing them a treat.
377. A Sunday afternoon drive in the rain.
378. When the kids say "please" and "thank you" without being asked.
379. A quiet evening.
380. Reading, talking on the front porch swing (that is where I am going next.)
381. My beautiful ballerina. Her super smile on stage.


382. Hallie and Jake confidently playing piano and introducing themselves at their piano recital.


383. Grandparents who choose to be involved and present in our lives and our children's lives'.



384. Looking at the garden growing each day. Green tomatoes on the vine.
385. Color. All the beautiful colors in nature that reflect a touch of God's glory, creativity and beauty.


Lord, it is good to give thanks!

Sabbath

"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy." Exodus 20:8-11

Tomorrow is the Sabbath. I must be honest in telling you that in the past I have actually said to myself that "keeping the Sabbath" is one command that I can't really seem to fit into my life and week. I chose to disregard one of the ten commandments!

Recently, I had to confess this sin to my Heavenly Father and with His fresh forgiveness I began to ask Him what the Sabbath was all about and how my family can "keep it" each week.

As with any of God's commands and laws, the Sabbath is meant to bless us, not be a drudgery. So, if the Sabbath is meant to bless me and my family then it must not be legalistic, right?

I can see how the Sabbath and it's blessing may evolve and change over the years depending on how God wants to use it in our lives and hearts, but for now I have determined a few things that I think are important in keeping the Sabbath in my family.

1. Prepare for it. It is meant to be a day of rest but I know it can not be restful if my house is a pit. So, during the week the kids and I have chores we do each morning to prepare the house for Sunday's rest. Tonight I even filled the coffee pot with water and laid out the coffee cake, so breakfast would not be work, but instead restful.

2. Don't work. Play and rest! I am so inclined to constantly be picking things up instead of resting or engaging in fun games with my kids. On Sunday I am deciding to quit picking up and instead enjoy my family. All the work will still be there on Monday!

3. Worship the Lord. This means we go to church in the morning or in the evening for the late service. It also means we continue to talk about God and His blessings with our children as we go about our day.

4. It's not about rules, it's a matter of the heart. Our activities (watching a sports show, playing games, going to the pool, playing in the backyard...) may be different every Sunday but we need to let the Spirit guide us into a day of rest, and not make rest a chore because we have to "do it right." I could see myself getting fussy with my family if I had an agenda of everything we had to do or not to do to make the Sabbath "perfect." So, no rules, no agenda.

With that being said, I am looking forward to our Sabbath rest tomorrow with my family and church family!

She's growing up

Hallie and I had so much fun this past weekend. We enjoyed many moments together and it was a blessing to teach her, laugh with her and love her one on one.

A few stories that make me smile and stirred my heart to give thanks once again to the One who makes all these moments possible...

361. Hallie and I thought we should practice her hair and make-up for her upcoming dance recital this weekend. She usually does not like to curl her hair, so this was a major treat for me!! She was so beautiful with curls and then later with a ballet bun! The best part was the half hour we got to spend talking and "being girls."

362. Next we did make-up. She even let me put mascara on. She was a little leary about it hurting her eyes, but when it did not hurt she turned and looked in the mirror and said, "Oh, mom I like that! It makes my eyes look pretty!" The next day she woke up and asked, "Mom, can I wear mascara today?" My reply was, "absolutely not!" (but I totally understand where she is coming from!).

363. After putting on her costumes she went in to get her daddy's approval. He was wonderful in telling her how beautiful she was. She just glowed and showed us some dance moves in her ballet outfit. Then, we got to talk about how God made girls to love beauty. I just love these memories!




364. Next day I was getting ready to mop the kitchen floor and Hallie asks if she can help. OF COURSE! So, she and I mop the floor together and I got to show her how to get all the little nooks and crannies. In the middle of it she says, "Mom, this is so much fun! Maybe you could give me chores like this to do all summer? I think it would be a lot of fun!" She doesn't have to ask twice!

365. Finally, we headed to the kitchen to make a pasta salad for dinner. My lovely daughter wanted to do it all! So, together I taught her to cook the noodles on the stove, chop the vegetables, mix it all together, and cover it with saran wrap. We had such a delightful time together!

366. During our cleaning and cooking I was able to talk to her about how wonderful it is to be a homemaker and how someday she will bless her husband and kids with a peaceful, clean home and yummy foods to eat. It is such a joy to share the heart of a woman, made in the image of God with my growing girl!