I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
- John Waller While I'm Waiting

My dh and I have seen this movie when it was at the theater but after watching it again last night this song really spoke to me. I need to be peaceful while I am waiting on my Lord. Often I find myself getting anxious and stressed.

Thankful Thursday

Ok here goes this is my list of 5 things that I am thankful for this week:

1. I am thankful that my husband is coming home tonight. It is hard to have little ones and not have your husband around to help. Just having him for adult conversation is a blessing that I can take for granted.

2. I am thankful for the quiet of nap time! Yesterday was a rough day for Z she missed a nap and we all knew it. I am glad that she is able to get the rest she needs today and I can have a bit of peace to replenish my self.

3. I'm thankful for the wonderful time I get to have talking and reading God's work with my 11yo dd. She is such a joy and has so much insight. Its wonderful when you can have discussions with your kids.

4. I am thankful that with my husband out of town I got extra time to spend in God's work and reading Grace Based Parenting.

5. The last one is hard because my ds can be difficult at times but I am thankful that I have to chance to pray for him, talk with him, and spend time with him. I am thankful for a God that gives me the grace and strength to do it. I pray that God would help me reach his heart.

baby Ava 6 months old today

Ava having you get older is bittersweet. I love to see how much you have grown, in personality and size. I am amazed that God has brought us through us so much in this wonderful 6 months! Ava I worried about you so much before you were born and then those moments after you were born and you didn't cry was the scariest feeling that I have ever had. But God has a plan for you little Ava! He knew that you would do things in your own time and that the little baby girl that didn't want to eat would soon be eating whole bottles in record time. That the joy of hearing your first cry would be even more wonderful when I had to wait a bit to hear it. Now I get to hear you laugh and I love to see the wonder fo your personality. I still pray for you all the time but now it is with a trust that you are not just precious in my sight but in a Might God who is awesome to save!! Lord it is my prayer today that you let me led Ava to your wonderful love. Thank you Lord for what a wonderful blessing that she is to me! Help me to remember this time with her because I know that it goes by so very fast.

Her Cup Overfloweth: Muffin Tin Monday

Her Cup Overfloweth: Muffin Tin Monday

Muffin Tin Monday

Since they shared there are some repeats. Cheese, marshmallows, yogurt, apples, pb, grapes, pineapple, pears, apples, pears, grapes, cheese.

This was my first time trying a muffin tin meal and I have to say that my kids loved it. We went out and got new muffin trays so the kids could each have their own. Lots of fun.

Then Sings My Soul Saturday

When my sin is all that I can see
Your grace remains the shelter that I seek
And when my weakness is all I can give
Your gentle Spirit gives me strength again
And oh, the beauty of Your majesty
On the cross You showed Your love for me
Beautiful Lord - Leeland

Every time I hear this song I am reminded of what a wonderful gift I have been given from my Lord!! I pray that the His grace will remain my shelter.

crafty crow giveaway Monday

I just love going to Crafty crow daily! Today they are giving away vintage valentines and a wonderful book check it out!!
http://belladia.typepad.com/crafty_crow/2009/01/giveaway-monday-books.html

Psalm 139 (NLT)
1 O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3 You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
5 You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!

7 I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave,[a] you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.

13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.

17 How precious are your thoughts about me,[b] O God.
They cannot be numbered!
18 I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!

I have the first 3 versus down! So now I am working on 4-6. I read the whole passage whenever I sit down to feed the baby. But I am going to focus this week on versus 4-6

Creating Space to Dance Together

When we feel lonely we keep looking for a person or persons who can take our loneliness away. Our lonely hearts cry out, "Please hold me, touch me, speak to me, pay attention to me." But soon we discover that the person we expect to take our loneliness away cannot give us what we ask for. Often that person feels oppressed by our demands and runs away, leaving us in despair. As long as we approach another person from our loneliness, no mature human relationship can develop. Clinging to one another in loneliness is suffocating and eventually becomes destructive. For love to be possible we need the courage to create space between us and to trust that this space allows us to dance together. - Henri Nouwen

Do I look to others to take my loneliness away!? I have come to realize that no one besides my Lord can take it away from me. I am spending time searching God's word for His truth regarding me. There is no where that I can go away form God. Even though God know every thing about me (He has examined my heart), He is still with me. What an amazing thought.
Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. Psalm 25:16

But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. Luke 5:16
Today I am going to spend extra time in prayer and work on memorizing Psalms 139!

Thankful Thursday

I'm joining Truth4thejourney for Thankful Thursday. The task name 5 things that I would like to thank God for today. So heres my list:

1) Being pain free!! After living through months of pain I am daily thankful to be free of pain. I can walk!

2) I am thankful for my children even the ones that are screaming!! With a teenager, preteen, a baby and a toddler that are days when I need to remind myself what a blessing that they are. Today I enjoyed the laughter of my baby as my dd entertained her. The cuteness of the toddler praying at dinner. The teenager is harder but he was nice to his sister which was something to be thankful for.

3) My wonderful husband who is a godly man and loves me! Even though that are days when I don't deserve it.
He was even kind enough to stop by the store today and pick up some tom products.

4) I am thankful for a nice warm fire on a VERY cold night. Enough said!!

5) I am thankful for my Bible study! It has been encouraging me to be in God's word daily!! Not always an easy task for me. I have recently be encouraged by another blog to try to memorize Psalms 139. Even if I never accomplish it I am loving spending time reading this Psalm and attempting to hide it in my heart!!

No time for flash cards

Another site that I just love for idea for the kids is No time for flash cards!! The site has a ton of wonderful ideas and it is so much fun to visit it every day!!

http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/

crafty crow

Every day I check this blog for craft ideas for the kids. There are tons of wonderful ideas on here!!
Check it out.
http://belladia.typepad.com/crafty_crow/

When the storm is raging all around me
You are the peace that calms
My troubled sea
And when the cares of this world
Darken my day
You are the light that shines
And shows me the way
- Beautiful Lord by Leeland

There are a few blogs that I check on often and Bring the Rain is one of them. I am so moved by Angie and all that she has been through. Tonight as I find myself unable to sleep I watched a video on her blog. I am amazed by her strength and I find myself crying at her loss. How easy it is for me to lose the focus on all that God has done for me. Lord, help me to remember that when the cares of this world darken my day you are the light that shines. Lord I life Angie up to you send her your peace. I thank you that her words can be so encouraging to me. I thank you for the 4 wonderful blessings that you have given me.

Full of faith, or having faith is the definition of faithful. Faith is essentially an act of trust or reliance on God. Rather than being passive, this leads to an active life of obedience to the one being trusted. At least that is what wikipedia tells me. But how do I live my life with faith? I am hoping that I can figure that out by blogging. 2008 really tested my faith! I had some wonderful things happen in my life (my son graduated and I gave birth to my 3 daughter). My baby was born 6 weeks early and stayed in the nicu for 11 long days! Most of the year I was in constant pain. During my pregnancy I herniated a disk in my lower back that required spinal fusion.
I often wondered during all of this where God was in my life!? I went through times of serious doubt. I was pregnant and not able to take pain meds. So at times the pain was all consuming. I prayed for healing and had other pray for me but yet I felt like God was not answering my prayers.
What I learned (or hoped that I learned) is that just because God doesn't answer my prayers the way that I want doesn't mean that He's not God. When the baby was in the hospital I would pray for the strength I needed to make it up to the 2nd floor and walk all the way to see her. I keep telling myself I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me.
Looking back I see may blessing that came out of it. Many friends and family helped us out doing what ever was needed. Often some one would bring meals or come over and clean. I truly felt God moving through his 'body" of believers. My husband was another wonderful blessing through it all. He showed unconditional love even when it had to be hard. He cared for me and did so much above his normal (he is wonderful!). Since I couldn't do much but lay on my side I spent lots of time writing down Psalms when I couldn't focus long enough to read. Through it all I learned I could depend on God even when I didn't get what I wanted. I could depend on others even when it is very hard for me to do. I grew lots last year hopefully this blog will reflect me growing more this year.