Help an Orphan!

Starting now, you will start to see a lot of stuff about orphans, the orphan crisis in the world, and links to blogs of families that are trying to adopt. I hope and pray that you will be just as moved by this as I have been. Anything helps. Prayers are needed, money to help fund adoptions, or feed orphans, or even just spreading the word.

This first blog I am linking to is the Walser family. They have just started out in their adoption journey and are selling absolutely adorable T-Shirts to try to raise the funds for their home study fee. Stop by and check their blog out!

Words to live by

Happy moments, praise God
Difficult moments, seek God
Quiet moments, worship God
Painful moments, trust God
Every moment, thank God

Not merely coincidence....

I have had this "idea" swirling in my head for quite a while now. Going all the way back to when I was still just in high school. The last month or so, it has really been pressing on my mind and heart. I feel like I truly struggle at knowing what God wants me to do and that path He wants me to take. But I feel I may be close to figuring it out. I think maybe I am on the right path. A friend who got a special phone call which brought this feeling in my heart back to the forefront, a link to a blog to read, which lead to more blogs to read, which leave to "meeting" people, which leads to driving by a sign on a church yesterday that said...."Where God guides, He will provide." And it all ties in to the "idea" swirling, that I am trying to wrap my mind around, and put it into logical steps. Maybe, just maybe, this is possible and I haven't truly lost my mind. :)

My children melt my heart!!

(This is a duplicate post from the kids' page....sorry, but I was so happy I had to share twice!)

For as long as I can remember, whenever the kids go to put clothes on that don't fit any longer, I take them and put them in a box. I then tell the children that those clothes are going to babies or younger children who don't have clothes that fit them, and really need some. As soon as I got busted taking toys from their room, I told them the same thing. They had so many toys and there were children in the world who didn't have any, so let's share our toys. When we were moving last year, I even sat toys out and asked the kids to pick out what toys they wanted to share with others and what ones they wanted to keep. And they probably willingly gave away more than half of what I was hoping to.

A few weeks ago, Jazmine even came with me when I took a few boxes of food, clothes, & toys to the Union Gospel Mission. She was so very excited to be giving to these children she always hears about. The absolute heartbreak on her face when she realized she couldn't personally hand them to the children broke my heart. I explained to her that the wonderful nice gentleman that we did give the things to will take good care of them and make sure the kids get everything. After a few minutes of talking, she was okay again, and couldn't stop talking about the nice man helping her to help the kids. (Absolutely melts my heart!!)

Yesterday, totally out of the blue, Jazmine and Isaac both started putting books and toys on my kitchen counter. Needless to say, I was confused. I asked why they were doing that, (because they know better...LOL) and Jazmine looked at me with those big blue eyes and said...."These are books and toys for other kids who don't have any." And Isaac said... "I am going to go get more books!" Pretty impressive for 2 and 3.

Now, I know I am not perfect, and some days I would tell you I don't think I am even that good of a mom, and God must of made his first mistake when he made me a mommy....but when those children were going through their room and putting toys on my counter for me to give away, it gave me goosebumps to think that maybe, just maybe, I am doing okay. :)

Prayer for Today

Dear Lord,
Help me to hear your voice
even when the noise of life
threatens to drown it out.

Just for Today

Just for today, I am going to be more patient.
Just for today, I am going to read the children an extra book.
Just for today, I am not going to stress about things that I can't control and don't matter.

Fallen off the wagon.....

That is what I feel like. I feel like the last couple months I have fallen off the wagon. I have lost focus on what is important in life. I have veered the last couple months from my New Years Resolution that happiness, fulfillment, strength, can only come from the Lord. Through HIM all things are possible. I am getting refocused right now. Some how, though she has no idea she does it, my dear friend Helen is always the one to help me get back on track. Whether it is by a book to read, a bible verse she posted, a website to check out, she helps. And I am so grateful to her.

As I was thinking through how to solve this dilemma of having fallen, I started to try to think of something to help keep me focused. I am a reader. I love to read. But for the very life of me, I struggle so much with the reading of the Bible. I know it's the Lords words, I know I will benefit more than I can possibly imagine through the reading of it, it is just so "not my style". I feel like a terrible Christian and child of God for saying this, but I get bored. So I have ordered two books I am hoping will help me read the Word better. I am so very excited for them to get here!!!

I am such a slacker

I have been so terrible about blogging lately. Trying to do tons of projects, but also just been pretty busy. In all honesty, I was going to write about what I have been up to this past month, but I got sidetracked. My typical "routine" when I log in to Blogger is to see what my friends have been posting first. Once I feel I am done catching up with everyone else, then I take some time to do a little blogging myself. However, in the process of catching up with everyones blogs I came across a message that touched me. I needed to hear it and didn't even know. I need to thank Helen for posting this..... and I am going to re-post it!
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"When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus." Acts 4:13 (NIV)

What if someone followed me around with a video camera all day documenting my every move? Catching on camera all of my words, facial expressions, actions, and reactions. And then what if someone packaged it all together and played it on some sort of reality TV show for all the world to see? What would be the glaring message of my life?

I am convicted thinking about this.

You see, if someone were to ask me, what are you all about? I would have some nice sounding answers. But what actually happens during the strains of everyday life can sometim es betray my best intentions.

I want to be a loving wife. Yet I can sometimes be found in a grumpy, selfish mood and view my husband as a business partner that better hold up his end of helping out.

I want to be a wise and patient mom. But my kids know the exact buttons to push that send me into a tailspin of emotion and exhaustion.

I want to be a strong witness for Christ. So why is it that I can read my Bible first thing in the morning and then find myself honking at the person that cuts me off in traffic just an hour later?

I realize there is a place for God's tender mercies for me in all this. But I also know that while no TV cameras are following me around, my life is speaking a message about what I really believe and I want that message to honor Jesus. I once heard, "Great sermons are not preached, they are lived." Oh how I long to live a message that speaks loud and clear, "Jesus is true and the principles found in His teachings work!"

Let's just be honest, it's tough being a sold out soul for Christ stuck in a body that is so tempted to sin. That's why it's essential I view my time with God each morning as a preparation and an invitation.

• Preparation: Every verse, devotion and prayer is all part of God's preparation for me that day. Instead of just rushing to check off my to do list that I spent a few minutes with God, I must allow His teachings to seep into my heart and mind. Then I must ask God to interrupt my natural flesh response and remind me throughout the day the truths He taught me that morning. That's the preparation part.

• Invitation: The next essential view of my quiet time each morning is recognizing I've just invited Jesus to do life with me today, so I need to look for His activity throughout my day. My minute by minute theme then becomes, "Not my will God, but Yours be done." So if my husband forgets to do something he promised, or my kids push my buttons, or a person cuts me off in traffic, or one of the other one million things happens that causes my flesh to want to rear up and act ugly… I can say, "Not my will God, but Yours be done." This slight pause and acknowledgement of God redirects my frustration and replaces it with grace. And most wonderful of all, it helps me connect my time with Jesus to everyday life choices. Making that connection is how we personally hear from and experience God!

I know, sometimes it's hard to spend time with Jesus first thing in the morning. And I'm certainly not trying to make this just another demand on our time. But, why not spend just a few minutes… even if it is just a few… letting Jesus prepare us for whatever we'll be facing that day and invite Him to intervene before our natural reactions to things betray our best intentions. Then and only then will my life speak to the fact that I have spent time with Jesus… and without saying a word, my imperfect life will be a God-honoring sermon.
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This was taken from a wonderfully inspirational site HERE

The thing I miss the most about working....

....is that feeling of "Ahhhhh.....it's Friday!!". Knowing that you had at least one day of sleep, rest, relaxation, doing what was on your own agenda, etc...

Norma!

What a wonderful week last week!! It has been a crazy busy last couple weeks with Lenny's mom coming to visit for a week, 4th of July, the Fair, Lenny's uncle visiting, my mom coming, and then last week...NORMA was here. :) I have not seen her in 15 years no thanks to some so called "family". And it was awesome! I have missed her so much, and to finally sit around and just talk, and see her little girl was awesome! She even brought her two wonderful nieces with her. They are all truly amazing girls. We hung out a little, and went camping. The weather was perfect (well, okay, it was a little hot...LOL) the children had a blast playing and swimming, we all hung around talking and laughing, and even played some Monopoly. It was definitely a time to cherish. Hopefully she is headed back here soon!!!