Welcome Home!

“I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages.” -Charles Spurgeon

Wow! My friend Dana introduced me to the quote above. This quote, Ephesians 3, the song “Welcome Home” by Shaun Groves are all urging me to lay myself at the feet of Jesus and ask Him to work in my heart and my life. I am so thankful that even when I do not make it easy for Him, that God pursues me, loves me, and continues to work in me. “Savoir, please keep saving me.” -Josh Wilson. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 urges me to,  ^“Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” Here are some of things that I am thankful for this week.

We had family fun days at the zoo and the aquarium this week. My children love the big cats.

My children are cheap dates. They loved Taco Bell. We don’t eat fast food that often, so they were excited about it. Tacos and coke for the win.

We had a fun play date at a good friend’s house.

I have friends who will pray with me after church.

I mentioned it above, but I am loving what I am learning from the book of Ephesians with the ladies at my church.

I have a friend who shares with me when she sees free books on amazon. I love free kindle books. 🙂

What are you thankful for this week? Please share what you are thankful for with me in the comments.

 

 

 

Five Minute Friday Slow

I must confess that I am not very good at slow. My son was walking around with shoes on the wrong feet the other day, because I rushed him to put them on. This is typical of my experience with hurrying. I end up needing to take more time to correct mistakes that I have made or prompted others to make due to rushing.  I often joke with my children when they are rushing me, “Mama’s has one speed, slow.” I need to give them grace and allow them to slow down also. I need to stop rushing them from one activity to the next. I need to slow down and enjoy family dinners, bed time stories, and dance parties in the living room. I need to be fully present and not planning the rest of the day in my head while I am spending time with my children. I want to enjoy my Cuddle Bug pretending to be a cat. I want to watch my Little Man’s matchbox car races, and I want to talk about the beautiful colors that my Princess uses in her art work. I want to slow down, before I wake up one day ten years from now and wonder where the time went.

Every Friday I gather with a wonderful community of writers for Five Minute Friday. We write for five minutes on the topic of the week. This week’s topic is slow. Come by Kate’s place to join the fun.

Multitude Monday

I received some fun mail this week. My fun mail was my anniversary gift from my husband. We celebrated eleven years of marriage about a week ago.  I love fun mail!

My children had a fun play date with their friends, and I had a great time talking with other moms.

I am really enjoying studying Ephesians with the ladies in my church.

My Princess and I enjoyed baking a cake together.

I was reminded this week that the way we live our lives can be an act of worship a song of praise to God. One of my friend’s eulogized a faithful man in our church, saying that his life sang for God. It truly did! What a wonderful legacy this man left his family and friends.

My Cuddle Bug loves sand cats.

My Little Man likes to help me with the dishes.

Kara Tippet’s book Big Love really inspired me this week.

I love beautiful warm, sunny weather in February.

What are some things that you are thankful for this week?

 

Five Minute Friday Weak

          Sometimes, I laugh when I think of my younger self, and all of my preconceived ideas. My college-aged self thought that marriage and motherhood would be easy compared to the waiting for the “right guy” to come along. After all, I loved being around children, and had dreamed of being a wife and mother, since the days of rocking baby dolls in a toy cradle. As a mother of three children, seven years of age and younger, I can now say that being a wife and mother has humbled me.  Is it easy? No not at all. Is it worth it? More than I could have imagined. I often feel very weak in my roles as a wife and mother, and I really want to be an excellent wife and mother. It is comforting to know that God’s grace is enough. I sometimes repeat to myself the sentence, “Your power is made perfect in my weakness.”, to remind myself that my husband and children do not need the perfect wife and mother. They need one who knows that she is weak, and finds her strength “in the shadow of His wings.” Times up. 🙂

 

Every Friday I gather with a wonderful community of writers for Five Minute Friday. We write for five minutes on the topic of the week. This week’s topic is weak. Come by Kate’s place to join the fun.

Testimony Tuesday Come as you are

Psalm 46:1-3

God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah

I  am thankful that I can come when I feel beaten down and broken and find rest, peace, and comfort in God. I don’t have to have it all figured out. I can just come as I am.  I don’t have to worry about the next steps that I need to take. I can fall at His feet and know that God will make my next steps clear in His perfect timing. I need to surrender my will to His. God is good all the time. I need to trust in this truth. I need to pray, “Thy will be done” and really mean it. As I pray the prayer, “Thy will be done.”, I also need to be ready. God may lay on my heart, the next step that He wants me to take.  I love the example of David in 1 and 2 Samuel, he inquired of the Lord nine times in scripture, and after he received his answer from God, he did what God said. I know I need to pray more, inquire of the Lord, more instead of rushing into things. Maybe if I was praying, inquiring, and resting more in God, I would be a less grumpy more grace-filled Mom. “So, God what You wanna do today?”- New World Son.

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Five Minute Friday Breathe

“Every breath I take, I take in You. You make me breathe Jesus. Every breath I take I breathe in You.” I sang along with my daughter to one of her favorite worship songs. As I consider those words I wonder if I remember the truth that Jesus makes me breathe, would it be easier to take a step back and breathe when life gets crazy, or scary, or I feel overwhelmed? Would it be easier to slowly breathe in and exhale  before I reacted to whatever was causing me stress? Could I stop the feelings of stress before I allow my feelings to cloud my decision making process? Could I just breathe, and remember that that I am dearly loved by God? May I remember that being desperate for God’s mercy and grace is exactly the place where I need to be. I can breathe in His grace and breathe out praise. I am so thankful that God’s grace finds me, when I remember to stop and breathe.

 

I am joining with my friends over at Kate’s for Five Minute Friday. . Every Friday we take five minutes and write on the topic of the week. This week’s prompt was breathe.

Three Word Wednesday Love never ends

I am so thankful that in this chaotic ever-changing world that God’s love never ends. His love will never fail me. I can trust in it completely. I can rely on Him fully. I need to remind myself of God’s love for me daily, “preach the gospel to myself” as my Pastor likes to say. When I remind myself of God’s love for me, when I really immerse myself in God’s love I can share that love with others. I am also thankful for people who share love with my little ones and me in tangible ways. I am thankful for a visit with my in-laws, and that my father-in-law fixed my children’s closet door, and that my mother-in-law helped me organize my children’s clothes bedding and other random items that we found in the closet. I am thankful for friends who pray for and encourage me. I am thankful that I can call my mom anytime, and she is never too busy to talk to me. I am so blessed by the way that others live out the love of God in their lives. “With every act of love, we are the Kingdom Come.” May the love of God take over me today, and may I live it out in every area of my life.