You  might think this is a  post about the the things I love about MY home.  Well, it is and it isn’t.

This is me being thankful.  Thankful for the things around me.  I’m a stay at home mom, so I look at every room of this house every day.  And after awhile, it just becomes a house.  When we moved 2 years ago, I wanted a bigger house.  A place to accommodate our rapidly growing family, a place for our family to have room to stay with us instead of at a hotel.  But lately, I look around and after awhile, honestly, a house is just a house.  It’s a shelter.  Filled with so much stuff, right now, I can barely navigate through all the toys and clutter.  It has to be cleaned.  I have to continuously organize.  I do laundry twice a week (yes only twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays), I have to make meals, I have to vacuum.  And in the midst of all of this, it’s easy to just think of this place I live in as a house.  A house I am always behind in, always striving to get a handle on the clutter.  A house I just seem to become frustrated with and feel overwhelmed in.

Really?  Why do I feel this way?  It dawned on me recently that I have lost my perspective.  I have lost the joy.

Rather than seeing the place I live as a house, I need to be reminded that this is my home.

I need to be thankful.  I have prayed for this life for many years; being a wife, a mom, staying at home and loving on children.  This is the life I have dreamed of and desired my entire life.  I don’t want it to become a business, something I am responsible for and have to manage.  Now, don’t get me wrong, there are an immense amount of responsibilities and management that need to be done, but I don’t want to miss the purpose of a home.

I think of a book by children have, A House is a House for me.  But, a home is not just a house.  A home is so much more than that.  I want to look more deeply into the place I spend the majority of my life.  I want to see beyond the surface, the day to day, the structure of my house and see it as a place I call home.

And I think it starts with being thankful.  Seeing your house for more than just walls and rooms, but seeing it as a place where your family will grow and love and live together.  It’s where memories are created and creativity is expressed.  It’s where we all learn about life and how to develop deep meaningful relationships.  It’s a safe place.  It’s where you belong, when you may feel like you don’t fit in anywhere.  It’s where you can safely “fail” at things and realize, the importance of trying again.  It’s where you learn to say, “THIS IS WHO I AM!”  Where else can we learn to be ourselves but at home.

So, here are 10 Things I Love About My Home

1. A wonderful kitchen: This means I have a central meeting place for my family.  This is where I spend the majority of my time.  This is where I fix PBJ sandwiches, where I wipe beautiful faces after dinner, where I sweep multiple times a day because I have 3 messy eaters! We hang out in our kitchen.  This is where we have meals together, where we are teaching manners and the art of communication.  The kitchen is where we can celebrate friends, and family.  It reminds me that families grow around the kitchen table at meals and gatherings.  There will be many conversations around our dinner table over the years.  I want it to be a place of substantial “meat”, not just meat we eat, but a place where we grow and learn and pass on wisdom.  It will be a place that my children will learn responsibilities and learn to help.  I am thankful for this “center” of my home.

2. The walk-in closet:  This means I live in America and have an abundance of good things, and all my needs are met.   As big as our closet is, it reminds me to live with less.  It is big enough for my husband and I to be in there at the same time.  We have conversations there.  It is  also a space so perfectly created for a prayer closet.  A space where I can just go to sit with God quietly. As I look at the burn marks on the top of the cupboard  (more on that story later), it reminds me to be thankful that our house just didn’t recently burn down and not to pack our suitcase by candle-light.

3. The kids bedrooms are close to the kitchen:  This means I have children to love and pick up after and train and just lead through life.  I am thankful to be able to hear their laughter and tears from the kitchen.  They are just down the hall.  I love being able to take a few minutes while I’m cooking or cleaning to just pop in and play with them.  They are filled with things that will help them explore their creativity and help them enjoy their childhood.  I look forward to watching their rooms change over the years, where they can exert some of their independence and imagination.  I look forward to those bedtime conversations and prayers that will impact my children and us for the rest of our lives.  It reminds me that they will all grow up and one day they will move out of these rooms onto bigger adventures in life.  Oh Lord, thank you for reminding me that these rooms will be empty sooner than I ever can believe.  Thank you for helping me to enjoy their little messes and who they are becoming.

4. Everything is on one floor: This means we can have races and games of chase!  We have a super long hallway which is awesome for races!  I love it when one of them pushes the other in the baby stroller.  It’s hilarious!  We have it on video.  You can hear there screams of joy all throughout the house.  I’ve thought of putting furniture in the dining room, but it would really detract from our fun and interfere with the running.  And always running!  I am thankful for children running and screaming through the house.  I have great memories already of pushing kids down the hallway in laundry baskets, laughter and squealing.  And I’m thankful I never had to worry about anyone falling down the stairs in the middle of the night!

5. Great pantry: This means I will not go hungry.  I am thankful for so much food.  Oh, how I take this for granted. We are not in need of anything.  I am thankful that the kids love to stock the shelves.  They still enjoy helping me unload the groceries (I’m enjoying this while it lasts).  We live in a country where we can get organic, healthy foods.  I can find gluten free foods for Cruz easily.  I just keep praying God gives me an overwhelming desire and joy to cook!

6. The double oven: This means I have plenty of room to cook for guests in my home.   Yes, I struggle with cooking.  But I wanted a double oven, even though I don’t necessarily utilize it as much as I would like.  But I LOVE having people over for holidays.  Easter is especially a time that I love to have friends and family come over.  The more the merrier.  When I see it in my kitchen, it reminds me that we are blessed by the people in our lives.  And I’m very thankful for my father-in-law who always helps me make the turkey for Thanksgiving!

7. All of the windows: This means we can enjoy the sunshine even indoors.  Our last home just didn’t allow for much sunlight.  I love sunshine.  We are outside as much as possible.  I am so thankful that we have windows that I can clean.  More windows, more sunshine!  Especially during the spring in Texas, I love to open the windows and feel the fresh air blowing in.  When I open the windows, it’s like the house can finally breathe.  I hear it saying, “Ahhhhh…thank you.”

8. There is an extra room for our family to stay when they come to visit: This means that both of our parents are still alive and healthy and love to come see their grand babies.  I am thankful for family.  I’m thankful to be able to provide a place for them to enjoy and interact with us.  I love having room in our home for people to stay with us, especially since all of my family is in Iowa.  We have room to practice hospitality and I so look forward to teaching that to my children.  What a lost art!

9. Spacious living room: This means that we have a large space to do life with our family and with our friends.  We have a small group in our home from church that comes once weekly.  We ‘do life’ in our home.  I love the living room.  It’s open and inviting.  The kitchen looks into the living room so I can be doing dishes and watch the kids roughhouse with their daddy.  It’s a great place to be.  The living room is where I envision our family just hanging out together, playing board games (love them) and just resting.  I look forward to movie nights and popcorn and right now, the daily gymnastics that occur on the couch!

10. We can see the sunset out our front door: This means that we can be reminded nightly of a wonderful day and of God’s creation.  I love front doors.  What a symbol of being welcomed and invited.   We live on the edge of town, so even though we are in a neighborhood, when you look out our front door, it’s like we are in the country.  When we open the front door, we see nature and freedom.  We have a beautiful view of the stars.  It’s so peaceful and serene, unless of course there are wild hogs out front.  But mostly serene and beautiful.  Thankful for where God has placed us.

So, there are my 10 things I love about my home.

You see, it’s not really about the house, but about what is going on inside my home.   Home is where my heart is.

Home isn’t just where you live, it’s where you love.

Next post, I will be delving into what God’s word says about our homes.  The word HOME is used over 200 times in the bible!  Stay tuned to Part 2 and we’ll learn the truth about what it means to have a home.

What do you love about your home?  What are you thankful for?  Please share below!

Live With Confidence

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord.  He will be like a bush in the wastelands;  he will not see prosperity when it comes.  He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.  But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.  He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.  It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.  It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

Jeremiah 17:5-8

I opened my bible to this passage yesterday.  It spoke volumes to me.

Trust in the Lord.  Not man.  It was as if God was speaking directly to me, “Alissa, trust in Me, not in people.  Then you will have confidence.  Not fear and worry.”

Who doesn’t want confidence?  I certainly do.  Honestly, I live a life reigned with fear and worry.   There are so many things I would have loved to have done or do currently, but fear keeps me from moving.  Fear paralyzes.  I have had this dream of becoming a writer and speaker for so long, and yet the only thing that has prevented me from pursuing it, has been fear.  And you may think of fear as “scary movie” type fear.  But fear that is even more disabling is the fear of failure, fear of losing control, fear of losing something, fear of rejection, fear of not being good enough.  These fears are real and I experience them often–sometimes without even realizing it.   So, am I destined to live with this fear?  Will I always struggle and never fulfill the plans God has for me because I am afraid of taking a risk?

And life with God is a risk.  It’s called faith.  There is no guarantee of personal success, or happiness, or safety, or a life without sadness.  Life with God is about trusting.  Believing that He is God, that He is who He said he is!

Yes, Lord this is what I desire!  

But… how am I trusting in “man”, other people, myself, my husband?  How am I NOT trusting in you?

This question plagued me.  I love the Lord.  I placed my faith in Him 12 years ago.  I DO trust in Him, don’t I?  It was like God spoke to me, “Then why do you fear?  Why do you worry?”

Well, I long to be transformed by His word.  I know He is calling me to live differently, to follow Him, to pursue him with passion, to live a radically obedient life! I do want this!  I desire this in my heart, in my spirit!  But in the body, my flesh is weak.  But, I must remember that in my weakness, God is strong!  He is strong enough, big enough, good enough, powerful enough, loving enough.  He is ENOUGH! He alone can break this stronghold of fear in my life!

Jeremiah 17: 7 says our confidence is in the Lord, trust in Him!  There is no fear.  There is no worry.  Get that?  None of it.

So, I ask myself, what is confidence?  It means having certainty, freedom from doubt, a feeling of trust, confident hopefulness.

Then, what is fear?  To be afraid, feeling worry or concern or insecurity, uneasy, apprehensive about a possible situation or event.

Which one do YOU want?  Confidence or fear? You cannot have both. We are either confident or fearful.  They are in opposition to one another.  If I am confident, I am not lacking security, uneasy or apprehensive.  If I am fearful, I am not free from doubt, trusting and certain.

Wow.  I either trust God and have confidence in Him.  Or I live in fear.  They cannot exist simultaneously.  Now, do I struggle with fear in the midst of my faith in Christ?  Absolutely.  Following Jesus doesn’t mean I will always have confidence and never fear.  It means that when I begin to fear, I must remind myself to realign my heart to trust in Him once again.  To believe He is who He says He is and believe He will do what He says He will do.  And then, with courage, listen to what He is telling me to do and obey.  Its about obedience!  Life isn’t about growing in our faith so we feel good.  He calls us to move!  To go!  To get up and do something!  We were never meant to be stagnant.  We were never meant to be comfortable.  I look around me right now as I sit here writing this and I am comfortable.  I live in America.  I have a beautiful home, an abundance of things.  We are safe and my kids are playing outside in 70 degree weather.  I am healthy, and well fed.  I am comfortable.  So are you.  But Jesus never called us to be comfortable.  He says in Matt 28:19,

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Did you read the same verse I just read?  There are some verbs in there: go, baptize, teach, obey.  These are not words of a stagnant, comfortable person.  But us women are really good at reading His word, listening to a great sermon or a great speaker at a women’s event and thinking, “Boy that is awesome!  I’m pumped up!  That was inspiring.” and then never do anything with it.

James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves, do what it says.”

I don’t want to just be inspiring.  I want women to respond to the Holy Spirit’s calling on their lives and get up and start going after God!  I want women to have a passion for what God’s passionate about and I want them to be transformed through His word!  That is what Jesus wants.  That is what I want.  I want that for my own life.  I want that for your life!

Psalm 71:5 says this, “For you have been my hope, O sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth.”

It’s not about just hoping for confidence, its about knowing we already have confidence.  In this verse, confidence is a noun!  God is our confidence.  He is our certainty.  He is a sure thing, now and forevermore.

There is no fear where there is confidence.  Let me end with Psalm 27: 1-3.  Oh, how I pray this will speak truth into your hearts.  I know I haven’t won the battle with fear today.  But, I am committing to read this verse daily for the next month.  I challenge you to do the same.  And then, inevitably, when God’s truth is spoken into our hearts day after day, it will become our truth.  And only then will fear of my flesh begin to fade away and my confidence in the sovereign God of the universe begin to grow.

Psalm 27: 1-3  “The Lord is my light and my salvation-whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life-of whom shall I be afraid?  When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.”

We all struggle with fear.  What fears are paralyzing you from moving forward in your life? What dreams would you pursue if you had confidence in the Lord?

“To love reading is to be a lover of words.” –Karen Andreola

I absolutely love to read.  Love, Love, Love to read.  Those who know me, know that I have about 4-5 books going at the same time.  My favorite books are Christian books about life, inspiration, encouragement, truth and God himself, fiction books about the Amish, biographies and classics.   These are a few of the books I am reading currently:  Experiencing God by Richard and Henry Blackaby, A Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan, What’s it like to be Married to Me? by Linda Dillow, and A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.  I am forever seeking knowledge and love to learn.  Sitting in a comfortable chair or my bed, listening to classical or jazz music, sipping tea and reading a book brings joy and peace to my soul. Ahhh….

Although, I do have a few ibooks, I prefer the old fashioned feel of a real, honest to goodness book in my hands.  I love to flip the pages.  Highlighting, underlining and writing in my books is meaningful to me.  I think it helps me to interpret and really comprehend what I’m reading.

Of course, before I had children, I found much more time to enjoy the comforts of a book.  The last 2 1/2 years of raising children has changed the quantity of my reading.  At first, I was a little embittered because “I didn’t have time to read anymore”.  I love having children dearly and feel that being a mama is one of best things God has given me.  But if I’m completely honest, there have been times when my perception was that they were preventing me from enjoying and pursuing past passions.  And that, for a time, I would have to lay my desires aside and pursue their best interests and needs.  Which, to some degree, is a reality.

But, as I’m growing, learning and finding myself again-in the midst of mothering-I’m realizing that my passion for reading is important.  In this culture of “stuff” and “more”, I found myself on the treadmill of buying and acquiring for my children “more and more” toys and things.  I was so focused on making sure they were attended to and happy and had different toys to stimulate them, that I forgot how important a love a reading really is.  Don’t get me wrong.  I have ALWAYS read to my kids.  But I was missing the vital part of instilling a love of reading into my children.

So, I’m refocusing on what is necessary.  Nurturing and growing a passionate love of reading is one of the most important goals I have for my children.  I want them to be enthusiastic, life-long learners.   How do I help them develop a love of reading today so that they will remain passionate about reading for their future?

Here are 10 important ways to instill a love of reading in YOUR children.

1. Read to them.  This is obvious.  If you want your children to love to read, they must be read to at a young age.  Reading aloud to them accustoms them to words.  As a mother of young children, I’m constantly busy doing many things.  This is where intentionality is crucial.  Make reading to your little ones a priority.  We have made it a habit to read first thing in the morning, snuggled up on the couch with their milk and blankets, before ANYTHING else.  They look forward to this every day, even Cruz has started asking for a book after he wakes up. We also read every night before bed and at least 1-2 other times during the day.  I bought the Before Five In a Row reading companion for preschoolers which helps give some extra thought and ideas to the traditional books it recommends.  I love this reading companion and highly recommend it.  There is a Five in a Row reading companion for kindergarten age children as well.  In addition to our scheduled reading times, we try to read a bible story every morning as well.  As beautiful as this all sounds, know that we are flexible!  The morning and evening reading times are set, but reading times during the day can vary.  This isn’t pass or fail.  Just read to them, as much as possible!

2. Have books readily available to them.  If you want them to love to read, let them have access to books!  Place them within their reach and in their play area.  They can’t learn what they don’t know.  We have 2 baskets of books in the living room for them to rummage through as well as a large basket of books in each of their rooms.  Do not worry about making them all neat and tidy and stacked alphabetically.  For toddlers and preschoolers, I’ve found baskets much more  user friendly to a young one’s curiosity.

3. Make reading a priority to your kids.  Children learn what is important in life from us.  I decided that when my children come to me and ask me to read a book or want me to see something in a book they are looking at, I will stop what I’m doing (as much as possible) and pay attention.  If I have time, I will sit right there on the floor and read the book to them.  But if I’m in the middle of cooking dinner, for example, I will at least smile, look them in the eye and affirm the interest they have or make a positive comment about something in the book.  They learn “Hey, I get mom’s attention when I bring her books.  Books must be important.”

4. Let your children see you reading.  Much of character and knowledge is caught rather than taught.  Let them “catch” you reading.  Children will imitate you and your behavior.  If we want our children to use good manners, we must use good manners.  If we want our children to speak respectfully to adults, make sure you are speaking respectfully to your husband and family and friends.  If you want to instill a love of reading in your children, let them see YOU reading.  I find that when I pause to read a book I enjoy, it also helps me to stop, be still and rest as well,  which makes for a much happier, calmer mama in the end.  A great time for me to read in front of my children is in the afternoon while they are playing either outside or in the living room.

5. Establish times of quiet reading  for them.  When they are preschoolers and toddlers, it is necessary that we read to them.  However, even at a young age they can begin to “read” to themselves.  For my two and three year olds, instead of “nap time” we have “rest time”, which means they have to stay on their beds and well, rest.  They are allowed to bring books into their bed to “read”.  This isn’t play time,  and although my 2 year old still likes to challenge this a bit, my 3 year old loves reading and listening to music for his rest time.  And when they take a nap, its a bonus! As an extra dose of culture, I will occasionally play classical music for them in their rooms.

6. Get excited about books and reading.   Make reading books an adventure for your little one!  They will feed off of your emotions.  When we are sad, they feel it.  When we are happy, they are happy too.  When we get excited, they sense our excitement!  Get the picture?  I don’t make them read.  Instead I ask, “Who wants to read?  Who wants to go on an adventure?”  Of course they jump up and down and say “me!”  Sometimes we’ll read in different rooms to change it up a bit.  I always make it a BIG deal when we get a new book.  Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program is an awesome way to build up your own library.  They get one new book each month until they turn five!  We have 4 1/2 more years left….that is A LOT of books!  And in my opinion, they are high quality books.  Another way to get kids excited is to let them pick out the books they want to read.  Remember also, it’s not necessarily about reading every book word for word.  Vary your time with books by just looking at the pictures, and if the kids want to just flip the pages and jump around, let them!! Exploring a book is great for their curiosity! So, make books a big deal!

7. Teach them to respect books.  I have emphasized from early on that we take very special care of our books.  Ripping pages out of, writing on, stepping on, or throwing books are not acceptable behaviors. They are learning that books are important.  Children will values what they learn is important and worthy of respect.

8. Read different types of books.  As my children are getting into the preschool years I have begun to add poems, nursery rhymes, fables, and longer stories such as Beatrix Potter’s Complete Tales.  Picture books are still our primary reading choice for my one year old, but he’s learning to sit as I read longer books to the other ones. Remember to get some new books once in awhile to keep their interest and curiosity. Libraries will have sales often, and I just purchased 45 children’s book at our Friends of the Library Sale for $12.  Now you can’t beat those prices!  Instead of toys for holidays and birthdays, ask for books.  SimplyCharlotteMason.com has a super list of highly recommended books for all your children’s ages.

9. Act out the stories in the books.  I think this is super fun!  A fabulous way to help them build their imaginations!  Currently, one of our favorites is We’re Going On A Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen (One of the books in Before Five In A Row by Jane Claire Lambert).  This is also just a way to have FUN with your children and laugh and smile, which will absolutely benefit everyone!

10. Engage them in a conversation about their books.  Ask them questions about the scenes, the characters, the story.  What are the characters feeling?  What are they doing?  Ask them about the pictures, the colors, the animals.  Recall their memory to a book at a different time when you aren’t reading together.  You will be amazed at how quickly they can recall a story from a book.  Certainly, at a young age, they will not be able to tell you the entire story, but  I am impressed how even Gavin at age 3 remembers different characters and  how they were feeling.  In her book Charlotte Mason Companion: Personal Reflections on The Gentle Art of Learning, Karen Andreola shares what she has learned about Charlotte’s philosophy of education.  Charlotte Mason founded her “House of Education” in England in 1892.  She had a heart for learning, particularly in home education.  But whether or not you are formerly homeschooling your children, I firmly believe the home is the primary place for learning, especially for young children.  And I absolutely love her theory on narration.  “She believes in the “art of telling” and that narration (retelling what has just been read) is the best and most natural way for a young child to organize and demonstrate the knowledge he gains from books.  She observed that what the child digs for himself becomes his own possession.  Narration develops the power of self expression and forces the child to use his own mind and form his own judgment.”

You may ask, “Aren’t your children only 1, 2, &3?”  Why, yes they are.  However,  NOW is the time to get them acquainted with books and with reading so that as they mature to grade school level, their love of reading will have been planted, nurtured and thriving.

Reading is important.  Are you making this a priority?  Share how you are instilling a love of reading in your children.

Well, February is behind me already.  How did I do with my meal planning?  Well, I did it.  Was it perfect?  No.  Did I turn myself into a gourmet cook?  Hardly.  But I accomplished what I set out to do.  So, today being Monday, is still meal planning day.  Which I will do this afternoon for 30minutes.  Perfect amount of time for a show to keep the kids busy!

Am I still making my bed, you ask?  Yes!  And still doing great with that.  

Onward to March!

This month it’s my goal to drink 64 oz of water daily.  Ok, I’ve tried this in the past and it is going harder than you think.  Sixty-four ounces of water daily is a lot of water.  Even though I realize that is what is necessary to rehydrate myself, it is still challenging.

So, if you are needing some reasons to drink more water everyday, here they are.

5 reasons to drink water

1.  Keeps your hair and skin healthier.  And who doesn’t want shiny hair and skin?!

2.  Essential for your body’s overall function.  We are made up of over 70% water.  Your body’s cells need it to function properly.  And don’t forget it’s importance for flushing our kidneys and digestive systems!

3. Decreases your appetite.  When you consume 8 ounces of water prior to a meal, it decreases your hunger and thus will decrease your caloric intake, helping you to lose or maintain your weight.

4. Flushes out toxins.  This can decrease the risk of kidney stones and bladder infections.

5. Decreases muscle cramps.  Proper hydration will keep your muscles more elastic and less likely to strain.

6. Save money!  It’s FREE.  Even if you are drinking bottled water, it’s still cheaper than buying caffeinated or sugar beverages such as soda, juice or tea.

There you have it.  No more excuses.

One more piece of advice.  Use a 16 oz or 32 oz water cup, that will make it much easier to gauge how much you are drinking.

Are you up for the challenge? Can YOU drink 64 ounces of water daily?

Let me know how successful you have been so far in creating your own 12 month health plan so far!

Yesterday was my husband and I’s 6th anniversary.  And as much as I wanted to post on this yesterday, I just didn’t have time to do it.  I had been speaking at a friend’s church at a Single Moms Retreat, which was a wonderful event with many endearing, sweet women.  It was a pleasure to be a part of something so special.  And then when I got home last evening, my daughter was ill.  So, no blogging time for this mama.

But I just wanted to say it’s been a crazy, wonderful, exciting, beautiful, roller-coaster ride the last 6 years with my husband.  We’ve had many ups and downs, trials and celebrations.  I can hardly believe it has been this long and yet it seems like it just flew by.  So much has changed in six years.  I’m so thankful for how God has developed and grown our family and how we are still going strong and looking forward to many more wonderful years together.  So, I wanted to take this time to post 10 reasons why I’m thankful for my husband.  Yes, of course, there is SOOOO much more, but I thought I’d start with 10.

10 REASONS WHY I’M THANKFUL FOR  MY HUSBAND

1.  He seeks to follow Jesus in all aspects of his life.

2.  He is a devoted family man.

3.  He is a super, awesome daddy and loves spending time with our children.

4.  He works hard to provide for our family.

5.  He isn’t afraid to pursue his dreams.

6.  He is always seeking to grow in his relationships, his spiritual life and personally.

7.  He is fun and loves to laugh.

8.  He helps me clean up around the house when needed.

9.  He never hesitates to serve or be generous.

10.He is committed to this marriage and loves me unconditionally.  Even when I may be unlovable.

 

Just want to say “Thank you” babe, for 6 fabulous years!  I look forward to many more years on this adventure of life by your side.  God brought us together for a beautiful purpose and I know he hand picked us for each other.   Which reminds me of a fun story…

When we were courting, I lived in Iowa, he was in Texas, so we sent a lot of letters and cards.  So, once we got married, I wanted to continue the tradition.  So I sent a card to him from our own address of course, but in the return address spot I wrote “Your Best Friend”.  So, he got the mail and brought it in the house. I saw he had the letter in hand.  So, I sat there with a smile, waiting for his response.  But instead of looking lovingly at me when he read “Your Best Friend” in the return address spot, he looked at me puzzled and said, “Why would Brian send me a card?”  Hello?!?! My countenance fell as I sadly corrected him, “I’m your best friend.”  Wah, wah. Although I was a little deflated, he recovered remarkably.  We laughed and added it to our memory bank.  So many great memories.

Honey, you are still my best friend and companion and I can’t imagine life with anyone but you.  I’m grateful for your love and attention.  I know life will only get better as we continue to grow and seek our Lord together.  Thank you for you.

Happy Anniversary!

Love, Your adoring wife

Image courtesy of stockimages/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

My husband recently signed us up for a 5K.  On March 1st, in two weeks.  Now if you’ve read my “About Me” page, you know that I don’t run.  Nor have I ever had the desire to run.  But in 2 weeks I am supposed to run a 5K?  Really?  So, what does someone do who is supposed to run a 5K in 2 weeks?  You guessed it.  I started running.  Well, not exactly a full run, more of a run-walk.  I ran for 1 min, and then walked for 2 minutes for 2 miles.  We all have to start somewhere, right?  Well, I was running by my friends house and she saw my running shoes, my running gear, my stopwatch and said “Are you training for something?”  Yes, I guess I am.

What are YOU training for?

I’m training to run a race.  So, what does it mean to “train” for something?  I looked up the word “train” in the dictionary.  It means to “exercise in order to prepare for an event or competition”.  Check.  That is exactly what I’m doing!  But, that wasn’t all.  To “train” means so much more!

• to create by teaching
• to teach and supervise someone
• to educate for a future role or function
• to develop behavior by instruction and practice
• to cause to grow in a certain way by tying and pruning it

That last definition is my favorite!  Prune means to weed out unwanted or unnecessary things.

Train=to cause to grow in a certain way by weeding out unwanted or unnecessary things

 What are YOU training for? (verse)

We are all training for something. We are all preparing, creating, teaching, educating, developing and growing…for something.  Are we training for godliness, or grumbling?  Are we preparing our hearts for God, or ourselves?  Are we developing greed, anger, laziness or righteousness?

What are YOU training for? What are you preparing for?  How are you developing?  Growing?

At bible study the other day, we were talking about fighter pilots.  We have an air force base in our town and many of the women in our church are pilots wives.  We discussed how they have to train an tremendous amount of  hours for the very unlikely chance we will go to war.  Our military trains for war every single day.  They are preparing their hearts, minds and bodies to automatically react and respond in a certain way.  They are training.  They are preparing for a potential future event.  They are creating our military force, they are being taught to fight and protect, they are being educated about war and every aspect of their roles and responsibilities to work as a team, they are developing a standard behavior by repetitive instruction and practice, and they are growing in knowledge and skill and weeding out the unnecessary elements so they can be the best they can possibly be for their duty and the people they have been called to serve.

Are we training for war?  Whether we realize it or not, there is a war going on around us. A spiritual war against an enemy that is far more dangerous, an impending devastation on humanity that is at constant work to devour and destroy.  One that is growing in power and intensity.

We went to see The Hobbit last night and as with all the Lord of the Rings movies, I was impressed by the spiritual comparisons.  I will spare you the movie summary.  But just as in the movie, there is a spiritual darkness that is enveloping us, closing in on us,  and gaining strength.  And we, as followers of Jesus Christ, have a choice.  We can sit back and ignore the reality of this darkness, or we can unite together, preservere and fight the good fight (2Tim4:7).

My friend could tell I was training for a race by what I was wearing and what I was doing.  Can your friends and acquaintances tell what YOU are training for?  Do they know what we are preparing for?  Can they tell we have been developing our behavior, and our character?  Would they say that we are training for a spiritual battle?

What do we need to do to train ourselves spiritually?  Read God’s word.  “Train yourselves to be Godly.  For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” 1Tim4:7-8.    2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”  We need to grow to become more like Christ and weed out unwanted and unnecessary things.  John 15:2 says, “He (God) cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.”  God prunes us!  He helps us to identify what is unnecessary in our lives!  I’m so thankful we have a personal pruner and a personal trainer!

How are we preparing to fight?  Ephesians 6:12-13 tells us, “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.  Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so that will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil.  Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.”  We, my dear friends, are either training and preparing for battle, or we aren’t.  There is a battle, a war, already taking place around us.  It’s against a powerful, unseen force that is deceptive and enticing.  If we aren’t grounded and standing firm in the Word of God, we will not be able to resist it.  It is essential that we put on EVERY piece of God’s armor; truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation and God’s spirit.  Read all of Ephesians 6: 10-17.

Paul says it beautifully in 2 Timothy 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.”  If I’m going to cross the finish line, I have to start the training,  I have to run the race.  I just started running today.  I didn’t start because I love running, but because I had the end in mind.  My race is before me.  Its already marked out.  I’m already signed up as a participant.  Am I going to run to finish well, or am I going to wait to start running the day of the race?  I could do that but I’d be missing the journey, the experience, the joys and trials of the training.  Training is something that we must look at as a need, as a joy, as a blessing, an opportunity and a privilege.  Our soldiers see their training as an honor and a privilege.  They are a small part of something much bigger than they are, united to fight a battle against an enemy that threatens to destroy their freedom.  How much more so should we see our training in righteousness in the same light.  And how much more is our spiritual enemy out to destroy our freedom that Jesus Christ paid for on the cross.

So, I have a choice, I could have begrudged my husband and said “no I won’t do it”, or “I’ll try but I doubt I’ll be able to do it”, or “I’ll try but its going to be really hard and there is going to be a lot of better runners than me”, or “I will run it to the best of my ability amd with perserverance, I will train and prepare myself for this race.  I will take on the challenge as an honor and privilege.”  In the end, I want to proclaim, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.”

It is my choice.  It is your choice.  What are YOU training for?

“Image courtesy of Keerati / FreeDigitalPhotos.net”.

How can I expect my children to obey when I’m not obeying you, God?

If I am unforgiving, and have a bitter attitude, how can I expect them to forgive and give grace?

Change ME Lord so my children don’t learn fleshly behavior through me!  My life is a living example of who YOU are.

What is my life telling my children?  These precious ones are the biggest ministry I could possibly have.

Help me to see the urgency and importance of seeking God and growing in my own faith.  And faith is something I cultivate.

Faith says, “Do you trust me?”

And humbly, I must learn in every circumstance, in every decision to say, “Yes Lord, I do.  Always.”  

Those are the words my Savior longs to hear me utter.  “I trust you.  I believe you.  I love you.”  There is nothing else.  If I miss this, I’ve missed God. I don’t want to miss experiencing Him in my days.

Lord, open my eyes and ears to see and hear you fresh and new everyday.  May your word penetrate my soul and speak truth to my heart.  Fill me with your goodness.  Empty me of me, so I may have ALL of you.  May I cease striving and start resting in the truth of who you always have been, who you are and who you will always be.  You are freedom.  You are victory.  You are God.  Amen.

Yes you read that right.  I was in a car accident yesterday.

I am completely fine.

My van was the only sufferer of any injuries.  Which is a total bummer .  I had just left our church from attending the IF:Gathering Women’s conference and was so inspired and pumped up from listening to Christine Cain’s message.  I was heading south thinking, “I loved that!  I want to do what she does!”  Right at that moment, I saw a black truck in my left peripheral vision moving toward the road I was traveling on.  It all happened so fast.  And I soon realized this truck wasn’t stopping.  I laid on my horn and swerved slightly to the right and WHAM, he ran into the back left quarter panel of my minivan.  The van swung around and before I knew it I was facing the other direction about 50 yards from the incident.  Whoa.  I was just hit!  Yikes.  The car was still somewhat drivable and I drove the wrong way down Maplewood to pull off to the side of the road.  It was 20 degrees outside, very atypical in Texas. We stood outside, shivering in the cold.  I was very appreciative of the owner of the black truck.  He was very kind and apologetic and admitted he wasn’t paying attention and took full responsibility of the accident.  Neither one of us had passengers.  My babies were safe at home.  It hit right where Gavin normally sits in the back seat.  He would have been hysterical.  I was so thankful I was alone.  We exchanged insurance and personal information.  And after another apology, we got in our vehicles and headed home.  As I drove home, my first thought was, “I shouldn’t have gone to the women’s conference.  If I’d just stayed home this wouldn’t have happened.”  and “Our van is now damaged goods.  What if it won’t drive right after this, as it wasn’t driving like normal on the way home.  Is this going to affect our resell down the road?”  Seriously, these were the thoughts I had initially.

But after I came home, told my hubby the details, hugged my sweet children, called the insurance company and was able to process the situation, God gently reminded me of three things throughout the rest of the night.

What My Car Accident Taught Me

• Be thankful.  Be thankful I wasn’t injured.  Be thankful my children weren’t in the car and were safe at home enjoying life.  Be thankful my car can be fixed.  Be thankful the guy who hit me has insurance and was very nice and apologetic.  Be thankful that I’m alive.  Many others in accidents aren’t as fortunate.
• Don’t store up treasures on earth where moths and rust and instantaneous car accidents can destroy.  All the material things I have; house, vehicle, bed, TV, cell phone, computers, etc are ALL replaceable, or fixable.  Human lives are not.  What am I investing in?  Do I place too much value on the THINGS of this world?  Am I missing out on the most important relationships in my life because I spend too much time managing, buying, fixing, cleaning material things?  “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  Let my treasure be in my awesome God, my sweet husband and my precious children.
• I am NOT in control.  God is.  I think I have pseudo-control of my life, of my days, of my hours and minutes.  I am disillusioned into believing somehow that I am controlling what happens in this life.  And it took yesterday’s accident to remind me that God is in control.  He can change the direction of my days in a moment.  Am I flexible and willing to bend to God’s will?  Am I seeking His plans for my life?  Am I aligning my life with His kingdom?  Or am I so set in my ways, that I’m missing the calling and direction He is trying to lead me daily?  Am I sitting on the throne in my self focused world, or is God sitting rightly on His throne in my life?

I realized that it wasn’t my fault for going to the women’s conference.  It really wasn’t a matter of “I shouldn’t have left the house.”  Accidents happen.  Quickly.  Without a plan.  The issue was me feeling out of control.  Losing control is scary.  But letting go of control of my life is absolutely necessary.  When life is moving smoothly in a forward direction, God is in control.  When life swerves out of the “normal” path, God is in control.  When life completely changes and I can’t really understand how I got to this place or how I ended up in this direction, God is in control.  God reminded me, “In case you forgot, I have always been and am still in control.”   Thank you God for this necessary reminder.

What is God teaching you right now?