Is there a stop button for life? I need a moment to catch my breath. This week went by and I think it left me back on Monday. I need a ton more hours and a ton more sleep. Got a busy busy weekend ahead. My brother and wife are over tomorrow along with my parents to celebrate his birthday (a tad late) and then on Sunday my wonderful boy T-man is being baptized. He is so excited, he just can't stand it. I will write about the day afterwards, but right now all I can say is I am beyond humbled and proud to be his Mama. His relationship with Jesus is flourishing even now and I'm so amazed at what adult thoughts he has and how mature he is. He has even written some songs about Jesus and how much He loves us and how much we love Him. (not sure if he wanted it public knowledge, so if anyone out there knows him and sees him and reads this, please don't mention it yet.) He has a really wonderful voice, he draws like a crazy man and looooves Soccer. I am looking forward to seeing how this weekend unfolds. While Halloween is big in many houses, this year, and for years to come, the most important thing to me on that day will be remember my son and his commitment to being a follower of Jesus Christ and wanting to tell the world that they will miss out on life if they don't have a relationship with a Savior who loves them unconditionally and who saved them from death by His GRACE!!!
I love you T-man... you make my life better just by being you. Love, Mama
Friday, October 29, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Slow learner
Yup, that's me. Slow learner. I tend to take a long time to learn things. MOSTLY I must admit this is due to my small stubborn side. (those of you who know me have now realized how much prayer I truly need :) ) At any rate. I have all the grandios plans to do so many scrapbooking type projects and have yet to finish ANY of them. Drives me nuts. So... THIS year for Christmas I am doing a "December Daily". Ali Edwards is walking through it for I think the 4th time this year. It has been so much fun to plan and pick and sort through all my Christmas papers and stickers! I forever hear from my sweet GH that I need to use some of the stuff I have and stop purchasing so much! Well, while I did purchase a couple things for this project, none of it was scrapbook related. I got some rings and some plain chipboard. I can't wait to post a few photos of what I've done. I don't expect a gaggle of oooo's and aaaahhh's, I am just excited to post things that I loooove to do and let a few people I love who don't live near by see what I do for fun.
Many people ask me how I get this stuff done with 3 young boys running around. Well, other than 1 being at school all day and 2 taking naps in the afternoon I have this amazing, wonderful and supportive GH that sends me to fun events and gives me time to get stuff done. I don't know what I'd do without this man in my life! The other major component is my mom and by extension, my dad. My mom will come visit from time to time and play with them while I chat and work on things. And just this last weekend I got to go up for a visit for the first time in about 5 months. I got a ton finished on my little December Daily album and it was all cuz (yes, I abbreviated) she let me just get stuff done and plow on through.
And here we are to today looking at some beautiful rain outside :) I love rain. Yes, a hot cocoa, blanket, book and fire inside kinda gal! I am excited for the rain all week. It's so fun to be nice and cozy inside and enjoy the rain outside.
I have no amazing epiphany in the way of God inspired tidbit today. Just trying to stay in the moment and not let it fly by. I am also pretty thankful for my treadmill today. Without it I might not have zipped through my 3 miles this AM :)
Blessings to you all!
Many people ask me how I get this stuff done with 3 young boys running around. Well, other than 1 being at school all day and 2 taking naps in the afternoon I have this amazing, wonderful and supportive GH that sends me to fun events and gives me time to get stuff done. I don't know what I'd do without this man in my life! The other major component is my mom and by extension, my dad. My mom will come visit from time to time and play with them while I chat and work on things. And just this last weekend I got to go up for a visit for the first time in about 5 months. I got a ton finished on my little December Daily album and it was all cuz (yes, I abbreviated) she let me just get stuff done and plow on through.
And here we are to today looking at some beautiful rain outside :) I love rain. Yes, a hot cocoa, blanket, book and fire inside kinda gal! I am excited for the rain all week. It's so fun to be nice and cozy inside and enjoy the rain outside.
I have no amazing epiphany in the way of God inspired tidbit today. Just trying to stay in the moment and not let it fly by. I am also pretty thankful for my treadmill today. Without it I might not have zipped through my 3 miles this AM :)
Blessings to you all!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Women of Faith and learning to be a sheep!
Hello world! ok, hello me, but really anyways....
I truly have no idea where to start or how much to say about my experience with Women of Faith. It was wonderful to have a time to get to know my husband's cousin a lot better. It was wonderful to get to know her and meet her hillarious BFF :) I doubt she reads this, but just in case... Joy, YOU are a joy!!
I had been planning and packing for this trip for about 3 days. Of course the actual packing for it took about 10 minutes. I mean, seriously, what do you take when you are just gonna sit on your butt for hours and listen to people encourage you? So jeans and t-shirts and sweatshirts and comfy jammies. Had great drive down to my friend's BFF's house. Didn't get to sleep until after 11:30pm and woke up nice and early to get to Starbuck's for coffee/oatmeal and of course a DOUGHNUT!!! I hadn't had a doughnut in months and it tasted so fabulous! Then off to the Rose Garden for the Friday slate of speakers. Sheila Walsh, honestly, how can anyone not love that women when she speaks. So amazing. The only main things from her I wrote down were to remember that Jesus knows where to find you so just concentrate on being a sheep and going where He leads. Tough stufff to remember when you are in the midst of stress and strife. Backing up a bit, I truly wrestled with whether or not to go to WOF (Women of Faith) because our finances are really tight and I really wanted to make a good choice with my money. Despite my poor mother's warnings of not spending too much money, my sweet husband encouraged me to go and have a wonderful time. Needless to say, to some of you, I really felt like God had planned for me to be there. I always feel like God plans for me to go places and all I have to do is listen. I am so thankful I listened. The gals I went with surprised me with a night at a hotel nearby. I love them. They are so wonderful and I can never repay them for all the love and encouragment and laughs they gave me over that weekend. But boy was it nice to wake up and just be a little over 15 min. away (walking) to get to Saturday's group of speakers. Sheila Walsh spoke again and so did a few others. There were two things that really struck me and stuck with me. I listened to Karen James speak. She is the wife of the climber, Kelly James, who died on top of Mt. Hood in Dec of 2006. She hadn't been back to Portland since then and it was amazing to hear her story of what she went through and how God walked with her through the whole thing. If you have a chance to read her book "Holding Fast: The Untold Story of the Mount hood Tragedy" I highly recommend it. Ok, so it is the next book I'm going to read, but honestly, we heard an overview of it in her talk and it compelled me to check it out of our library.
The second thing that stuck with me actually deserves a bit of background (yup, I'll keep it short). Just before I left I had been in the throws of praying a little baby that I truly didn't know (didn't even know the parents). He was born with Tetralogy of Fallot in a severe form. This poor boy was subjected to so many tests, surgeries and tubes I just can hardly talk about it. Having seen my last baby boy, little mr. J, in the NICU at Swedish and having to leave him there for 1 week and not take him home was hard enough, but to listen to this baby's mama describe her feelings and what she was going through watching him try and heal was so impactful. Sadly, just a few days before WOF, baby Ewan died. I have never cried for another unknown person like I did for that sweet baby and his family. Even now, I am tearing up at the thought. I truly felt like I walked with them through that with prayers. So, fastforward to Saturday and Natalie Grant (Christian singer) gets up to sing a concert. Now I have always liked her, heck she is from the area so it is sort of one of those "support the hometown girl" sort of things, but after she was done singing I can honestly say she ranks right up there with Steven Curtis Chapman or Michael W. Smith when it comes to impacting my heart with God's words. If you have never heard her song "Held"... wow... again, wow. I love and hate that song at the same time. It talks about dealing with losing a child. I felt for baby Ewan's family all through it. I prayed for them again, as oddly enough, at that moment they were in the middle of their memorial service/funeral up in Washington and there I was praising Jesus and singing in Oregon. I must have had a lot of tears stored up because by the time we left I don't think I had anymore tears left in me. And I have to clarify this a bit, they were not tears of sadness per se, they were tears of Joy. Yup, used a capital J for Joy. That kind of Joy is God given and God breathed. Being filled with Joy of how much God loves me as I am and never leaves me and knows where I've been and where I'm going and knew me before I was even in mother's womb and as I grew up with many many struggles (some of which I have come to terms with and others I am sure I will at some point). As my old BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) leader used to say: God is Good, ALL the Time!! Everything that is good comes from Him. I am so thankful that I grew up knowing that He loved me and that He is in complete control. I'd hate to have grown up thinking that when I die, it's just over. Bleck! Or as my uncle says, Bluck Pooey! The legacy I hope I leave here on Earth is one for Jesus and his free saving Grace for those who want it. No strings attached. He died for me and ALL of us and in two weeks I get to rejoice with family as my oldest boy, T-man, is baptized. I am so proud of him and who he is. He is truly a joy (ok, frustration, too) to me. I am a better person for having had him as my son and one day I hope I can be as sweet and wonderful as he is. I am one blessed mama.
Ok.. wow.. don't think I've ever typed this much. I gotta quit so I can clean up my kids and their dirty hands from lunch.
I am so thankful for my WOF weekend. Praise Jesus I live in a country where that is legal and we are able to worship and praise the awesome and wonderful God we serve!
Have a blessed week ... the few of you who read this... if any. But hey, I am actually excited to have an online journal. When I go back to Paris someday I want to be able to write about my trip somewhere I can always see it.
I truly have no idea where to start or how much to say about my experience with Women of Faith. It was wonderful to have a time to get to know my husband's cousin a lot better. It was wonderful to get to know her and meet her hillarious BFF :) I doubt she reads this, but just in case... Joy, YOU are a joy!!
I had been planning and packing for this trip for about 3 days. Of course the actual packing for it took about 10 minutes. I mean, seriously, what do you take when you are just gonna sit on your butt for hours and listen to people encourage you? So jeans and t-shirts and sweatshirts and comfy jammies. Had great drive down to my friend's BFF's house. Didn't get to sleep until after 11:30pm and woke up nice and early to get to Starbuck's for coffee/oatmeal and of course a DOUGHNUT!!! I hadn't had a doughnut in months and it tasted so fabulous! Then off to the Rose Garden for the Friday slate of speakers. Sheila Walsh, honestly, how can anyone not love that women when she speaks. So amazing. The only main things from her I wrote down were to remember that Jesus knows where to find you so just concentrate on being a sheep and going where He leads. Tough stufff to remember when you are in the midst of stress and strife. Backing up a bit, I truly wrestled with whether or not to go to WOF (Women of Faith) because our finances are really tight and I really wanted to make a good choice with my money. Despite my poor mother's warnings of not spending too much money, my sweet husband encouraged me to go and have a wonderful time. Needless to say, to some of you, I really felt like God had planned for me to be there. I always feel like God plans for me to go places and all I have to do is listen. I am so thankful I listened. The gals I went with surprised me with a night at a hotel nearby. I love them. They are so wonderful and I can never repay them for all the love and encouragment and laughs they gave me over that weekend. But boy was it nice to wake up and just be a little over 15 min. away (walking) to get to Saturday's group of speakers. Sheila Walsh spoke again and so did a few others. There were two things that really struck me and stuck with me. I listened to Karen James speak. She is the wife of the climber, Kelly James, who died on top of Mt. Hood in Dec of 2006. She hadn't been back to Portland since then and it was amazing to hear her story of what she went through and how God walked with her through the whole thing. If you have a chance to read her book "Holding Fast: The Untold Story of the Mount hood Tragedy" I highly recommend it. Ok, so it is the next book I'm going to read, but honestly, we heard an overview of it in her talk and it compelled me to check it out of our library.
The second thing that stuck with me actually deserves a bit of background (yup, I'll keep it short). Just before I left I had been in the throws of praying a little baby that I truly didn't know (didn't even know the parents). He was born with Tetralogy of Fallot in a severe form. This poor boy was subjected to so many tests, surgeries and tubes I just can hardly talk about it. Having seen my last baby boy, little mr. J, in the NICU at Swedish and having to leave him there for 1 week and not take him home was hard enough, but to listen to this baby's mama describe her feelings and what she was going through watching him try and heal was so impactful. Sadly, just a few days before WOF, baby Ewan died. I have never cried for another unknown person like I did for that sweet baby and his family. Even now, I am tearing up at the thought. I truly felt like I walked with them through that with prayers. So, fastforward to Saturday and Natalie Grant (Christian singer) gets up to sing a concert. Now I have always liked her, heck she is from the area so it is sort of one of those "support the hometown girl" sort of things, but after she was done singing I can honestly say she ranks right up there with Steven Curtis Chapman or Michael W. Smith when it comes to impacting my heart with God's words. If you have never heard her song "Held"... wow... again, wow. I love and hate that song at the same time. It talks about dealing with losing a child. I felt for baby Ewan's family all through it. I prayed for them again, as oddly enough, at that moment they were in the middle of their memorial service/funeral up in Washington and there I was praising Jesus and singing in Oregon. I must have had a lot of tears stored up because by the time we left I don't think I had anymore tears left in me. And I have to clarify this a bit, they were not tears of sadness per se, they were tears of Joy. Yup, used a capital J for Joy. That kind of Joy is God given and God breathed. Being filled with Joy of how much God loves me as I am and never leaves me and knows where I've been and where I'm going and knew me before I was even in mother's womb and as I grew up with many many struggles (some of which I have come to terms with and others I am sure I will at some point). As my old BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) leader used to say: God is Good, ALL the Time!! Everything that is good comes from Him. I am so thankful that I grew up knowing that He loved me and that He is in complete control. I'd hate to have grown up thinking that when I die, it's just over. Bleck! Or as my uncle says, Bluck Pooey! The legacy I hope I leave here on Earth is one for Jesus and his free saving Grace for those who want it. No strings attached. He died for me and ALL of us and in two weeks I get to rejoice with family as my oldest boy, T-man, is baptized. I am so proud of him and who he is. He is truly a joy (ok, frustration, too) to me. I am a better person for having had him as my son and one day I hope I can be as sweet and wonderful as he is. I am one blessed mama.
Ok.. wow.. don't think I've ever typed this much. I gotta quit so I can clean up my kids and their dirty hands from lunch.
I am so thankful for my WOF weekend. Praise Jesus I live in a country where that is legal and we are able to worship and praise the awesome and wonderful God we serve!
Have a blessed week ... the few of you who read this... if any. But hey, I am actually excited to have an online journal. When I go back to Paris someday I want to be able to write about my trip somewhere I can always see it.
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