Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Today...


Today I took time to enjoy my kids. it doesn't always come naturally.  Some days I am running around like a frantic lunatic to get everything on my to-do list done.  Some days I am so irritable that if one of my kids so much as chews too loudly in my ear...

But not today.

Today we did not go anywhere.  We stayed home.  Actually I had three of my friends' kids over so I guess on paper i should have been a bit frantic. but I wasn't.  It was nice.  So what was different about today?

I didn't have a to-do list, for starters.
And I just felt thankful.

Me and Waylon played in the back yard and looked for tomatoes in the garden...I made cardboard creations with my kids (ones which they played with all day! go figure!) We had sherbert with sprinkles, and when the girls were done with their showers I brushed and blow dried their hair (which is not an every night thing).  We read our devotional and talked about how to show God's love at school tomorrow.

But the best part about today....

Tonight as I told Hailie (my foster daughter) how special she was and how much I loved her, she looked up at me, fighting back tears.  They were welling up in her eyes and I could tell that her walls were falling down but she just didn't know how to let them.  She said nothing to me, just hugged me real tight.  But I know she heard me.  It might take some more time, but one day I hope she trusts me enough to believe me.

Lord, don't ever let me get too busy that I forget the importance of encouragement.

 "whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away."  James 4:14

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Hope

2 Chronicles 7:14
if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Back in Noah's day it must have gotten pretty bad.  I mean, God decided to flood the entire earth because of all of the sin and evil in the world.  Noah was faithful.  He trusted God no matter what.  He did what he knew was right despite all of the negativity he received from his community. 

How bad does it have to get before Jesus will come back for us?  Look at us.  We've had slavery, the holocast, over 50 million babies killed in abortions and the latest news of doctors delivering babies alive and beheading them!  We have grown men who believe God made them to love little boys, little girls being sold as sex slaves, porn addiction at an all time high, drugs and violence in schools, and governments who are taking God out of their practices.  How can we possibly be asking God to bless this?  the world is filled with broken hearts.

These thoughts come to me at a time when I am questioning the path that I am on and where God wants me to be.  My life is His and I want to glorify Him, but I am struggling with being content as a foster mom because it is soooo hard at times.  But today it came to me...

The world needs Jesus.  And it doesn't have to come in the form of a big to do.  It's got to be grass roots style.  It will start in the hearts of our children.  I have seen such growth in my foster kids in the three short months they have been with us.  How could I give up now?  The love of Jesus can move mountains, and it can move hearts. It can change the world...If we let it.

If God has you on a rough road, hang in there.  Look for opportunities to share His love with someone.  Jesus is coming no matter what...our gifts to Him will be those times we served Him.

I will leave you with Colossians 4:2

"Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving"

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

2013...and my thoughts on the new year

Well it's a new year and like everyone else I have some things I would like to do differently this year...Some "new years resolutions", and yes of course on that list is to eat better and exercise more.  But everyone puts that on their list right? Every year right?  Well this is my year for that...haha...i mean it!  I'm pushing 32 and I just can't eat chocolate cake like I used to!  But as I have approached the new year I really have had some things on my heart that I would like to change and I have to get them down on virtual paper (aka my blog) because if i don't see them I will most likely forget what my original intentions were!  SO scatterbrained!  (and yes, accepting that part of me is on that list too!)

I started this blog a few years ago when we lived on a farm in Richmond Kentucky.  Our house was probably over a hundred years old and was falling apart and we lived on 175 beautiful acres with not a neighbor in sight.  We moved out there to get away from the city.  It was so simple on the farm.  I did not frequent walmart.  We ate what was in the garden.  I made dinner from scratch and new clothes from old clothes.  We hung out under the pear tree and hiked around the property.  we burned our trash and hung our clothes on the line.  I loved it there.

When we moved off of the farm, things changed.  We became a foster family, we had another baby.  Life got busier.  I slipped slowly into the routine of consumerism...more than i would have liked to.  

fast forward to today.

I realize more and more that my kids are growing up too quickly, God has given us foster kids, and before we know it they will be grown.  This year I vow to never take for granted my family.  They mean everything to me.  I vow to play with them more and prioritize that over cleaning the house.  the house will always be messy no matter how much i clean...that's just life with little kids.

This is the year of simplicity for me.

I will not get too busy to spend time with God every day. (I had a cup of coffee with Jesus this morning...i want that every day)

I will REALLY enjoy my kids (even the teenagers!)

I will prioritize my life (which means more reading and less facebook)
 
I want to write more, spend time with the people I love, accept myself and love myself for who God made me to be....to not be so worried about what others think of me, to really pursue God's will for my life, to make homemade tea like i used to, and to really just enjoy the little things.  This may seem like a long list but it is all integrated in my scattered brain and it makes sense to me.

God has been working in my heart a lot lately and I truly believe that this year HE is going to do big things through me.  But only if I abide in HIM...and that I will <3 font="font">

"They delight in doing everything the Lord wants; day and night they think about His law.  They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season without fail.  Their leaves never wither, and in all they do they prosper."  Psalm 1:2-3

Happy New Year! The best IS yet to come!!!