Salt

Well, we have been back from the beach for a couple of days now. I am already ready to head back. There is just something special about the beach. Don't get me wrong, I love being home, we are so blessed, but the beach is just healing, in a way.
While there, I was shopping and found a plaque that I brought back to my mom. It said this:
"Anything can be cured with Saltwater- Tears, Sweat, or the Sea"
I love that quote, for me, so so true.
It was a week of relaxation,reflection,family time, joy, new experiences, and memories...new memories that were made with my family, and also memories I already had...which included the two separate times each of my grandmothers took me to the beach, years ago...even though they weren't there with me this time, somehow I felt close to them there...I wrote their names in the sand, as to wave a little hello up to Heaven...



Anyway, I am so thankful the Lord blessed us with a vacation, it was so carefree and a much needed time for our family...I'm not saying we deserved it anymore than anyone else, but we've had a heck of time lately.
Here are a few more pictures from the past week...





I so can't believe the Summer is almost over :-( bummer

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Well, it's Monday...again!

I did not spend my anniversary,on July 3rd, preparing, cooking, serving, and cleaning up after others. I didn't forgo special time spent with my hubby to have some one's bday bash at my house, instead. And even if I did, I wasn't secretly wishing I was on some romantic getaway with my hubs...not one tiny bit. I am a really gracious host and would never, ever...

I didn't spend half of my life savings on fireworks so we could enjoy time together as a family and feel patriotic. After I didn't spend a small fortune on them, I certainly didn't spend the evening being anal about how, where, and when the fireworks were set off, because, ya know, fireworks are totally safe and I am not concerned about my 12 and 8 year old with matches. I didn't force all the children to stand a mile away and watch them. I also didn't smother them with OFF so they wouldn't be mosquito magnets and contract the West Nile Virus...or whatever it is they're carrying these days.

After making our vacation plans, I didn't sulk about having to go to the beach since Mexico, then Disney were my choices before that. I mean, with the way the economy is, most people would be glad they are even getting a vacation...so I would never complain about that, it would be so immature and such a horrible example for my kiddos. I'm the best mother/role model in the world, and I would never...

I didn't let my daughter go three days without washing her hair this past week. That would be disgusting, and CPS should be called if you ever hear of any mother doing so...a child can't be very well cared for if they are not even made to scrub their scalp. Hello!?

I did not get baby fever and start to long for another child, and then realize I had lost my mind and was so thankful that I only had three kiddos all in one hour...that sounds like some hormonal, freak of a woman...of which I am not!

I do not secretly wish someone would come pick up my three kids plus my two nieces I almost always have and go entertain them while I head to the Spa. I was so ready, thrilled, psyched for Summer vacation/school to be out and now that these precious blessings are home with me all day, every day, every minute, I do not wish I could just get a moment's rest...some quiet time...Nope, not me, I would never wish time away from my babies!

Last but not least, I did not waste my time away on FB and my blog, while considering putting all these children to work with chores...I would never think about having them slave away while I sat on my rump wasting time...Not I, not this Mamma...NOT EVER! After all, I'm mom of the year, Remember?!

So, I hope you all have a fabulously blessed week, month, Summer...I hope you get quality time with your kiddos...and to yourself ;-)

Prayer

This morning, in church, Pastor Jason talked with us about the importance of prayer. He told us how powerful, meaningful, and awesome prayer is.
He also spoke of Romans 5:1-2...Prayer, is a privilege.
I am thankful & blessed I can speak to God, but I can't honestly say I've ever thought of it as a privilege...
We should not only pray, but be grateful we are even blessed enough to be able to pray.

I pray daily, at different times, for different reasons.
I pray for others often, just like most people, but today I was reminded that we should be praying even MORE for others. We should spend (or at least I should) more time interceding on the behalf of others...those who are lost, hurting, and suffering...those in desperate need of healing.
Our nation, our town, our leaders...also all in need of constant prayer.
Pastor Jason reminded me that I can help the children of Uganda, the people in Costa Rica, etc...without ever leaving my living room...I can do it with prayer.
So, I am going to try my very best, to start a prayer journal.
It's a way I can hold myself accountable to being more committed to prayer, especially for others.
I want prayer to be even more, mean even more, than it has in the past.
I want to look at my journal and see what I have prayed for and be renewed in my Faith by seeing God has answered my/our prayers.

I am also super excited that Pastor Jason's sermons will soon be available on the Internet...I think this is awesome because my ADHD mind doesn't always soak everything up, and I'm not a good note taker...so it will be great being able to come back and listen again to what we learned, in my own time...I think it will stick with me better that way, too.

Hope you all had a very blessed 4Th of July...God bless America, you, and your families :-)

Waterpark fun

A few pics from the Waterpark this weekend, some MUCH NEEDED time away with the familia...

TRYING to count it all as joy...trying being the key word here...

This past week has started a new chapter in my life, one I never thought would be included in my book. It has been a wake up call, a reminder (as if I really needed one) to how cruel this world can really be. How people can ever make it though suffering and trials without having hope in our Savior, is beyond me. He is the only reason I am able to move forward, trusting there is a plan. Looking back on trials in my life, as hard as it was to go through them, as much as it hurt at the time, I believe I truly came out of it ALL a better person. My suffering made me draw nearer to Him, and that can only result in a positive outcome...if you get my drift. I mean, the outcome may not be what you want, but ultimately He knows better than we. I have noticed that the closer I become with God, the more I know Him, the more the world is against me. I think that is probably true for all Christians who really do TRY their best to live for Him.

This is the verse that spoke to me...

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

It's from the book of James...
and while it sounds like a great idea, to count all suffering as joy (such a perfect, Christ-like idea), it is definitely easier said than done. So, I am trying my best to count it all as joy, but even if I don't succeed, I know my Father is here with me, helping me/us through, and in the end of this trial, I know I will be able to look back and see how He walked me/us through...I will owe ALL the praise to The Famous One. :-)

my reminder...

I am nothing. I am unworthy of His mercy, His healing, and His grace.
But, He continues to fill me with ALL of this, anyway.
I am thankful that even on the darkest days, the Lord holds steadfast to me.
He is amazing. He is strong. He is my true Father.
I am thankful the Lord knows our heartbreaking stories long before we ever reach the reality of them. You cry out to Him, but He already knows. I am even more thankful that He already has a plan of healing set in place. I am so thankful that I can find comfort in His name, alone.
His greatness really does shine through in our times of weakness.

If your heart is broken, If you are lost, If you are in despair...cast it all at the foot of the cross, He WILL bear your burden. He WILL restore your soul.

Thank you, Lord, for my reminder today.

Not me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.





Noooooo...this is not my first post since my last "Not Me Monday" post...that, my friends, would make me a slacker. And a slacker I am not.

No. I did NOT use the back of my son's homework and pink craft paper to print out coupons just because I had let my regular computer paper run out .

And no, I am not pretending school is already out for us and letting the kids stay up a little later than usual. I mean, if they stayed up later, that would make them somewhat more difficult to deal with...and I would NEVER do that to their teachers.

I did not feed my husband, who worked a 13 hour day, chips and salsa for dinner just because my dad took the kids out for Chinese and I didn't want to have to cook. That would make my husband start wondering why he ever married me in the first place, and that's silly because I am a fabulous wife.

I didn't allow my kids to watch Stuart Little today, because you know, that cat says the "D" word. Only a sinner of a mother would let her kids watch that filth.

I do not have a weeks worth of mail/paper/bills/fliers/junk stacked up waiting on me to sort through. Again, that would make me a slacker. Which, I already said, I am not.

Last but not least, I did not misread the info on my son's school calender about the day/time of his awards ceremonies. Because, if I had misread it, I would've called his teacher, all in a tizzy about the mixed up days. That, in turn, would have gotten said teacher all in a tizzy as well. I would never stir up drama like that just because I don't double check what I "thought I read". I am a perfect mother, and I'll have you know I would NEVER make a mistake like that.

Nope, not me. And certainly not on a Monday.


Have a blessed week, ladies!