Interceding

"Possibly the hardest part of praying for our children is waiting for our prayers to be answered. Sometimes the answers come quickly, but many times they do not. If your child has made poor choices, don't berate yourself and stop praying. Keep communication lines open with your child, continue interceding for him or her, and declare God's Word." from my devotional today...Love it.

I have prayed for almost as long as I can remember. Once I started having children, I started praying for them, too. "Lord, please keep my child safe and healthy, be with them constantly, help them know how much I love them, how much YOU love them, God, etc, etc, etc". That used to be my typical prayer. Then a few years ago I was introduced to a new concept. Not just praying for my kids future, but really praying for my kids future. Prayer for the present, the future, and for no ill effects from past events. Praying in detail, "Lord, keep my children free from ANY type of abuse every day of their lives, Lord, keep my child free from any addictions or peer pressure, drugs, alcohol, sex, tv, internet, etc, etc,. Help them to be accepted and help them to lovingly accept others. Lord, I pray for their future spouse, that they are Godly and able to follow Your will together in life." Those are just a FEW of the things I am now led to pray for my children for. I feel like I am giving them a head start in the battles they face on this Earth. It doesn't mean they won't face challenges, or make mistakes, or that they will turn out perfect. But, I am specifically using scripture and prayer to get a head start on these battles for them. I feel like it's one of the greatest things I can do for them as a parent. I may loose my patience some days, or not get to brush all the tangles out of Izzy's hair, some days Joseph's energy may spur me on to a mini meltdown, and Andrew's teen attitude may get the best of me, and some days, we may even have (gasp) ramen noodles for dinner. But, in the long run, even though I've got much room to improve as a parent, I know those things won't make or break them. I don't care if my children grow up to be janitors, as long as they delight in the Lord. I don't care if they live in a shack, if they are following the Lord. I don't care if they never get married, or decide to give the Duggars a run for their money, as long as they are living for the Lord. I desire for my children, that they accept the Lord as their Savior, and make good choices and decisions to follow Him, to worship Him. Sure, I will still get caught up in the day to day grades, sports, friends, chores, etc...but when I lay my head down at night on my (really awesome, I might add) pillow, and I pray and pour my heart out to Him on behalf of my babies, I know I'm giving them a better chance in life. I'm so thankful I have a living God, that hears me, that LISTENS to me, and cares for me and my heart, and that answers me and has a perfect will for me, and my children. It's so hard to grasp, but I have to remember these three, beautiful blessings in my life, really, aren't even mine at all, but are being lent to me & David by Him, to raise according to His will. Now, that's something to try and wrap your mind around. It does help me remember, though, that He has His children's best interest at heart...and then I am able to sleep a little better on my really awesome pillow.

9 years ago today...

9 years ago today I was giving birth to a beautiful baby boy, my Joseph! After having Andrew who looked like his dad's twin, I was thrilled to have a little one that favored my side of the family. He was beautiful, pleasant, and perfect. Joseph has brought me many many days of happiness, and also challenges throughout these past nine years. A very special boy, who marches to the bit of a tad bit different drum. He is so smart and creative, a one of a kind. Though times are sometimes tough, I'm thankful for those times, because it forces me to open my mind and my heart and step out of my comfort zone. My heart has gone places with him that I never knew it could go, he has taken my love and desire to understand others to a whole new level. He has taught me to accept, not judge, those who are just a little different. And, while I'm still not perfect, it's because of him that I've come as far as I have. Thank you, Lord, for knowing just what you were doing when you placed this blessing, Joseph, into our lives, into my life. I know he is destined for greatness. I pray you will keep him close, protect him, guide him, comfort him, and bless him all the days of his life. Happy Birthday, boo!



"You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound" Psalm 4:7

Happy New Year

Weather you eat black eyed peas, or hate them
Weather you make resolutions, or despise doing so
Weather your sitting at home, or celebrating it up
Weather you are right where you want to be, or just starting a new journey
I'm wishing you a Happy New Year, a blessed beyond measure 2010

This is God's Word on the subject: "As soon as Babylon's seventy years are up and not a day before, I'll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.
Jeremiah 29:11

Christmas traditions

There are several Christmas traditions we have, some passed down through generations, and some David and I have come up with for our own family. There are two additional traditions I've read about several times over the past couple of years that I have wanted to start, but never seem to get around to it. They aren't hard, but it takes a little time and effort, and I'm always fresh out of those...haha. These are the two things I hope to add to our list NEXT Christmas...


“A very old Christmas eve tradition in Germany was to hide a pickle [ornament] deep in the branches of the family Christmas Tree. The parents hung the pickle last after all the other ornaments were in place. In the morning they knew the most observant child would receive an *extra gift from St. Nicholas. The first adult who finds the pickle traditionally gets good luck for the whole year.”

*I was thinking instead of an extra gift, they would be the first to open one of the gifts they already had

Also, the Elf on the Shelf book & elf...I want this! I don't know why I haven't up and ordered it, I want it every year. Oh well, again, next year!
Most of you probably know about this, and may already be doing it in your own home, here is a link if you don't...
Elf on the Shelf



So, do you have any Christmas Traditions you would like to share or that you would like to start doing with your family? Share! (All 5 of you readers should insert a comment here LOL)!

Merry Christmas...may it be blessed and bright!

Coke right now

So, Izzy, my 4 year old, brings me a can of Coke.
"Open this Coke right now".
"You don't need a Coke, and that was a rude way to ask anyway"
"I need it"
"You don't need it, it's full of sugar"
"Just open it"
"It will rot your teeth and make you sick"
"I want it, I want the whole thaaaaaaang (yes, she said, "thang")
"No, but I can get you something else to drink"
"But my body neeeeeedddsss it, Mom"
"No, No, No...No Coke...what else would you like to drink"
Then with her big, beautiful brown eyes and long batting eyelashes,
"Mom, I really just want this coke, pleassssssseeeeeee"

sigh....


!POP! (that's the pop of the Coke can opening, or me being a bad mom because I don't stand my ground, or me just being a sucker for an adorable brown eyed girl...
you decide while I talk her into giving me a drink... :-)

Resolutions...

So it's not quite Christmas, and here I am blogging about New Year's...well, kind of. I am talking about "resolutions". Quite honestly, the word has always kind of freaked me out. I mean, it just sounds like I'm setting myself up for failure even saying the word. I mean, I get why people make them, duh...especially at the start of a New Year, a new year, a new start, out with the old, in with the new...I get it. I do. But. It seems like the resolutions are always such a big feat, and within a month we are right back where we started, we want to change for the better, but never really set up how we are going to accomplish those goals.
Anyhoo...I am normally NOT a resolution maker. It's just not my thing. (Not that there aren't MANY things I need to change for the better in my life...just sayin').
But here's the deal. I'm working with an ADHD mind. It's not easy. I can't, for the life of me, get things organized, or make a schedule (and stick to it anyway), etc. I'm sick of it, but what's a girl to do? EVERY single morning, I'm nagging the kids, "Let's go, Let's go, we are late"! I am late everywhere I go. I don't want to be, I don't like to be, I think it's rude and irresponsible, and I'm teaching that bad habit to my kids. Not cool. I just don't know how to do it any other way. It seems no matter how early I get up, allow for more time, etc, it just doesn't work out for me. School mornings are not the only time, is always! I'm forever forgetting stuff, having to turn around, go back, do one more thing. Anyway, let me get to my point here...
I am going to make a resolution this New Year. I'm gonna do it. I'm a little scared. Actually, I'm a lot scared, of failure. But since spending some time thinking about it...if I do fail, and I do end up right back where I started, will it really hurt anything? Hopefully not?! So, I am going to start dreaming and scheming on how to get this time thing, among some of my other "issues" figured out. I know it's going to involve scheduling LESS...period. Less activities, less commitments, etc. Also, I am going to need to allow more time for each thing. I know, I know, some of you (out of the 5 people reading this) are thinking, "Why doesn't she just do it...what's so hard"? Well, people, for me, it just is. I don't know how to make you understand it, but that's just the way I tic. So, I am going to be doing some serious thinking over the next couple weeks. I really want this next year to be a little more peaceful, not as fast paced, I want to enjoy it, relish it a little more. I want to be on time, without earning a gray hair every time (not that I have any gray hairs, because I don't...I'm just sayin'). So, this is going to be my resolution, I figure I better start figuring out a plan for success now, and I'm prompting you to do the same. Although, most of you don't have crazy minds like mine, surely there is something you want to do differently? So, there it is. You've been warned. The time is now and the place is here! Get busy people. :-)

As I'm listenting to worship/Christmas music this morning, I began to think about Jesus' birth. I thought about how eventually God sent his precious child, his son, to the cross. We hear it so often, especially those of us in church, how God gave His son for us. It means a lot, but I personally hear it so often, that sometimes I forget to ackowledge the powerful meaning behind that. My children are my most precious blessings, and while there are several people I would give my life for, not one of them would I give one of my children's lives for. My heart aches at the vision God had to bare, watching His sweet son suffer. Just the thought alone is horrible, so to actually go through that, there are just no words to decribe it. I mean I really can't think of sufficient words to describe what torture it must have been to watch your child be tortured and ridiculed, and then left to die. Even more amazing, with the blink of an eye, God could have put a stop to it. But, he didn't. He sacrificed one, for many. What a giving, loving, selfless God we serve. I haven't been doing my part to help Jesus bear His cross.
I haven't.
I think about my blessings, but they are never enough. I complain that my house is too small, but to those that are homeless, they would be ever so thankful. I complain that we can't eat out more, that I have to cook, and then clean it up...what about those who have no food, who dig in the trash or have to steal just to feed their children. I complain because there are days when, as much as I love them, my children's non stop chatter and activity drive me insane...what about the mother and father watching their child slip slowly away from a terminal illness...how blessed would they feel to be driven insane by their healthy children. I gripe when I have to run errands, pay bills, everything is so expensive. Instead, I should be thankful I have a car, with a tank full of gass to get where I need to go. Thankful my husband has a job, that he isn't lazy, but a hard worker, that God has provided us with these blessings so we can pay our bills...so we can have hot, running water, lights, heat and air, etc. I get annoyed when I can't go shopping and buy everything I want, but my children are clean, with clothes and shoes to spare. I hate paying such high doctor and medical bills, but what's the alternative? I should be praising God that we have insurance to cover so much of the costs, and that I am able to take myself, and my children to a good health care provider, that they can have medicine when they are sick. This doesn't even begin to cover how blessed I am, but yet, I find myself complaining so often. I am so thankful we don't have to be perfect to get into Heaven, God would have crossed me off the list LONG ago. I am grateful that I only have to believe in Him, and accept Him as my Savior. Still, in my heart, I know I need to be helping Him bare the cross He carries, after all, He carries it for me, for my children, for all those willing to take Him up on His offer. I'm thankful that I am not "stuck" in my current place, but with God, have the ability to grow in Him, and work on myself to become more like who He wants me to be.

And He said to all, If any person wills to come after Me, let him deny himself (disown himself, forget, lose sight of himself and his own interests, refuse and give up himself) and take up his cross daily and follow Me (cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying also).
Luke 9:23