Life has been lived here

Thankfulness. Thankful. Thanks.

Words that are often used very loosely, but mean much your soul.

Simply speaking these words mean little, but actually feeling them do something to your insides.

I've been thinking lots lately about the practice of being thankful and seeing things in a different light.

This lady just sort of does that to you. If you don't follow this blog, you should. I recently condensed my blog reading from a list of about 200 (no lie) to a list of about 25. She definitely made it in the Top 5 for sure.

My girls and I have started a "Thankful Journal." Reading what they jot down is precious and makes this momma grin.

I've been re-inspired to pick up my lens once again and take a mental picture of this beautiful life that the Lord has given me. I want to remember every single detail of this life and choose to put on thankfulness and take off the dirty old rags of ungratefulness.

A life that is filled with sharpie marker adorning the butcher block counter top,

.....Little girls stirring pots and peeling potatoes in the kitchen.

.....A baby girl holding another baby girl.

......newborn smells and tiny eyelashes.

......painting and loads (no MOUNDS) of laundry to prove that we've most certainly painted; and we laughed while doing so. I laughed at the mess!

......map pencils in the floor and sisters coloring.

.......Number 4 in mommas arms while her sweet little big toe peeks up through the seam. A sure sign that this outfit has seen better days, but has kept many a little girl warm and cozy.

.......Nap times filled with creativity with momma and the eldest.

.......Tiny sewing machines for tiny fingers and sewing the perfectly imperfect pocket all by her big self.

These are the memories that I'm most thankful for today.

His words tell me to,"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." Colossians 4:2

Be prayerful. Be watchful. Be thankful.

Lord, please don't let me sleep through this life. Don't allow me to be on autopilot and simply coast. I don't want to be friends with regret. Through your kindness and your mercy show me how to BE watchful and BE thankful. Fill me up full of all of these things.

I'm thankful for this house that has been worn and used and that LIFE has been lived here.....today.

Lord, tomorrow when my feet hit the floor, help me to remember this sweet truth that you spoke over me today. Help me to get dressed with the garment of thankfulness.

Around the house:::: Nap Time

There is something a bit magical about nap time.


The box fans booming.

All of the lights are turned off and blinds closed shut.


There is an unspoken need to walk on tip toes. Our floors in this old farmhouse creak anyways.

Today the oldest decided she needed a nap too. Triple bonus.


The coffee pot is brewing. The worship music is playing.

I've got a laundry situation just waiting to be tackled.

While they sleep, this momma will be conquering laundry. And it's no small task.

But, there is still a certain giddiness because it is nap time, after all.

As I look around at much work that needs to be done by yours truly, I am overcome with thankfulness for this life the Lord has chosen for me and take delight in the things He has laid out before me.

Keeping in step

I could go on and on about the imagery that pops into my mind over this photo.

Do you see it?

***it is a mystery as to why blogger decided to make these fonts all different. i've tried to fix it but can't. so annoying. oh well. ***

Apparently these are actual shoes for sale somewhere in the world. They are called “Dance Shoes”. How fitting.

This is such a beautiful picture that I can totally wrap my brain around. It will make more sense as this post progresses. Bare with me here. I’m a visual learner.

This post is hard for me.

I’ve sat down to write it several times only to find myself speechless.

How can I put into words all that has happened in my life and heart in one year?

I cannot. There is just too much. This already monstrous-size post that probably only my mom will read (love you mom) would be even longer.

How can I explain the anticipation and excitement that a new year holds without getting overwhelmed by a list of resolutions?

I’m very excited! There is just something refreshing about the start of a new year. But, how quickly I forget that is EXACTLY how the Lord is daily (Lamentations 3:22-23). His mercies (some versions say “compassions”…I love that) are new every morning. His faithfulness is on display every single day.

I almost didn’t write anything acknowledging the fact that it’s another year. I just don’t know where to begin.

How can it even be 2010? Saying “0-9” had such a nice ring to it. But, “10” or “2010” or whatever we are to call it….not so much.

For the sake of documenting my family’s little journey, here goes a very poor attempt to verbalize my thoughts at this point on the journey.

I don’t feel like I “owe it to my fans” to post something. The Lord knows that using the words “fans” and “my blog” simply don’t exist together.

This isn’t an attempt to fish for compliments either- just a fact.

I’m not a big fan of resolutions- they are fine if you dig that sort of thing.

Well, maybe I’m not a fan of resolution lists- again, just a personal preference of mine.

I tend to find myself overwhelmed looking at all of the things that I WANT TO ACCOMPLISH OR LEARN. I feel weighed down by all of the tasks and skills that have yet to come to fruition and the road that I know it will take to get there.

And I know that the Lord’s desire for me is not to live in an overwhelmed state of mind focusing all of my efforts on myself. He wants me to abide in Him and keep in step with Him.

My favorite scripture that has played throughout my mind often this year is found in Galations.

“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” Galations 5:25

For me, it’s a victory cry and reminder not to get boggled down and overwhelmed. Anytime we focus on those things entangling us, we find ourselves focused on self and not “in step” with Him.

A lot of things that I may want to pursue might not be in line with His will for my life. And if we are being totally honest here, I feel like if we are right in our relationship with Christ and keeping in step with Him, some of those things on our list will happen (spending time with Him more, honoring our bodies, eating better, spending more time pouring into the lives of our families, etc)- as long as they are within His will for our lives.

I realize saying all of this is much easier than actually doing it. Boy do I know this story all too well!!! I find myself smack dab in the grip of this struggle between keeping in step with the Spirit or off doing my own thing. I’m definitely not saying that I have this figured out and know how to do it perfectly.

My prayer over these last few days has been for Him to leave no stone uncovered until ALL aspects of my life are laid bare before Him and EVERYTHING in my life is His. EVERYTHING! I know there are still lots of things I’m holding onto and not giving over to Jesus.

My nature at this point in the year is to look back at my failures. It would be very easy for me to look back on the year and beat myself up over the things that I said I wanted to change at the beginning of 2009, but have yet to see growth in. Or all of the things I thought I would be doing by now, that have yet to be learned.

I use to live my life in constant regret from the moment my feet hit the floor. This is a very depressing state of mind to be in always looking back and never looking forward.

I’m a city girl trying to learn how to be a farmgirl. Of course that so-called list would be miles long! I’m learning so much.

I said I wasn’t a big fan of resolution lists, but I am a fan of growth and pressing forward taking the next step.

I can honestly look back at 2009, and see the hand of God growing me and molding me throughout the year. I’ve had victories in some areas and light shed on some very dark areas that still have yet to gain victory.

For now, I choose to rejoice in the victories and pray for the victories to come knowing that I have so far to go on this side of heaven in my relationship with Him in the way I do life.

This year, I resolve to be PURPOSEFUL. One word that I hope permeates my life.

The Awe Factor of God

This left me speechless. Please take 3 minutes to watch this. It's titled appropriately,"The Awe Factor of God."

Its from Francis Chan's website CrazyLoveBook.com.

I've been wanting to read through "Crazy Love" for some time now.

{{tHiNkInG}}

Forgive me for my lack of posts:). Don't know why I feel the need to apologize, but there you have it.

You see, I'm a researcher by nature. I LOVE learning, growing, challenging the way I think, and moving forward.

Frankly, these past two weeks have been so hard, but so good. There is a lot churning around in this brain of mine. The Lord is challenging me like never before in the way I think, eat, and just plain ole' do life.

I want this blog to be real. A place that I can put whatever is stirring within me into words.

Well, I haven’t had the words a lot of times these past few weeks. I’ve tried to put lots of this digging into words only to have written a sizeable novel by the time I’m done with it. Geez! Who wants to read that??

I get overwhelmed at the amount of information that is flooding my life- some God stuff, some good stuff, some downright awful stuff, some homesteading stuff, some false stuff, some sad stuff, some school stuff, some health stuff.

All of this “stuff” causes me to dig really deep in the things that are competing for my attention. I've discarded the things that don't matter and am clinging to the things that really truly do matter. That, my friend, is freeing!

But, every time I’ve sat down to write (and there have been many....you should see the posts that have began but not yet posted), I can sense the Lord just wanting me to “rest” in it for a while and let it truly sink in.

He wants me to put into action the revelation and words He is breathing into me.

My desire is to bring glory to God in everything I do. One thing is for certain....He is my Rock, my Fortress, my stronghold.

"The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm 27:1

Time is fleeting. Each day that goes by is one day closer to seeing the King of Kings- whether He comes back at any time or we go see Him.

Mi Vida Loca.....

Yep. This about sums it up.

Life has been fast, crazy, and messy at times.

I was on the phone with Jason for 30 seconds yesterday and when I hung up the phone, this is what I found waiting for me. Busted!

Those are indeed Lay's Sour Cream & Onion potato chips- only the best chips ever made! Don't be a hater. We had family night and cooked chili dogs by the fire. Absolutely nothing goes better with a chili dog, than Lay's Sour Cream & Onion potato chips.

Do you see that drawer in the background open? That would be the snack drawer- the drawer of death! After this incident, I'm not down with the snack drawer anymore. It has got to go!

I've been awfully quiet here lately. I have so many things going through my head right now that I'm trying to process. The Lord is showing me some not-so-pretty things within me that- just like the snack drawer- have got to go. I'm learning so much about my daily attitude and perception of life's happenings. Its a good thing I'm making progress. I was able to laugh my head off at the above incident instead of roll my eyes and dread another mess to clean up.

Another biggy I'm trying to process is the election. I really wasn't in shock that Obama won. I sort of expected it. Let's be honest, it was seriously one of the worst years for anyone other than a Democrat to be running for President. I don't blame people for wanting things to change and be different. They will most certainly change and be different. But, scripture tells us not to worry in Matthew 6:25-34.

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

It also commands us to pray for our leaders of authority in 1 Timothy 2:1-4.

"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be
made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth."

So that's where I'm at with all of this. Life is full of uncertainties and messes. But, if we are children of the Most High God, we can rest with the assurance that He has our back.

Nothing surprises Him.

Nothing happens that He didn't allow to come to be through His sovereign plan.

And absolutely nothing can separate us from His love and grace.

Diva Tendencies

(Those are in fact Little Mermaid socks)

Kaylyn is our girlie girl. I know that this is exactly the way the Lord made her to be because I haven't encouraged this girlishness- I've embraced it.

She definitely hasn't learned accessorizing from watching me because I hardly ever wear more than my wedding ring. I don't even own another ring that I could wear. Jewelery never has appealed to me. I don't know why.

Kaylyn is always up for dressing up and looking the part. When we went to a 50s diner that is by our house, she wanted to wear this. All of the waitresses wear poodle skirts so of course it was only fitting that KK wore one with leggings, a scarf, and sweater.


And then one cold night during the winter months on one of our fire pit nights, Kaylyn greeted us at the fire pit wearing this giraffe suit. Jason and I almost peed in our pants. She said it would keep her warm. I think she was right about that part because it is solid fleece. KK looks a little mortified in this photo probably because I'm laughing so hard at her.......in a good way!

And then a few weeks ago, I had put this outfit on her to go to the grocery store, and she accessorized it with all of these contraptions. This was entirely her own collaboration all of the way down to the belt.


And then I have to include these photos because she is just too darn beautiful in them.



All of these photos prove what I'm trying to say. The girl has diva tendencies.

But, recently she has started saying things to me like,"I'm not beautiful enough in this outfit."

Or,"That doesn't look good on me."

Or,"That's not cute."

Yep. I know. This could turn into a very scary thing apart from the grace of Jesus.

Since these thoughts have started flooding her mind (which blows my mind), we've had lots of open dialogue about beauty coming from our hearts. I'm so thankful the Lord has provided me with His Word to talk to my daughter about being beautiful in the eyes of Jesus instead of the eyes of the world.

"I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God." 1 Timothy 2:9 & 10

"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." Proverbs 31:30

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight." 1 Peter 3:2-4

I recognize that we are created in the image of the Lord. And I believe that as women, we have tendencies and a natural bend to enhance things around us to make them more pleasing.

Here is a quote from Carolyn Mahaney that explains this so well.

"God is the creator of beauty. God delights in beauty. All we need to verify this fact is to consider the beauty He created all around us: whether it is an elegant flower, or towering trees, or a meandering river, or billowy clouds or the majestic night sky. Every time we stop to take in one of these breathtaking scenes on display in God’s creation, we can’t help but be convinced that He delights in beauty! Because we are created in the image of our Creator, each of us has this propensity to make things beautiful. That means, when we decorate our homes, or plant a lovely flower garden, or seek to add some form of beauty to our surroundings, even when we attempt to enhance our personal appearance—we are actually imitating and delighting in the works of our Great Creator."

So, the sin isn't wearing jewelery, make-up, or decorating our homes. Sin can be the result of our motivation to do these things. Are we trying to draw attention to ourselves by what we put on the outside of our bodies? Do we care more about our outward beauty rather than our inward beauty? Are we more concerned with spending time decorating and cleaning our homes than in His word (guilty!!)? His word says it is what is on the inside of us and our good deeds that make us beautiful. Try explaining that one to a 4 year old!

Actually, the Lord has blessed my conversations with my daughter. She is beginning to understand and the foundation is being laid at such an early age. He has led me to set up ways to help Kaylyn not stumble so easily into this sin. We pick out her clothes together and we talk about things as we are getting ready.

She is already forming a heart towards modesty. I'm so thankful for this. If you think your 2,3, or 4 year old don't pick up on things around them.....you are mistaken!

I remember as a 3 year old KK coming up to me with her hand on the collar of her shirt pulling down saying,"Mommy, I want to wear my shirt low like this."

Oh my gracious! I was caught completely off-guard. Again, I'm not boasting about myself. The Lord has done a huge work in my heart in the area of modesty. But, praise the Lord I was able to say back to her,"Do you see Mommy wear shirts like that?"

Her answer was "no." And that settled it for her.

I don't want to squash her femininity. I think it is a beautiful thing. I love that she is all girl........a beautiful girl. There is no denying that. She probably hears this a million times a day from me and random strangers at the grocery store.

I love that she is into details and is super creative. This is a gift. I know the Lord will use this in HUGE ways someday.

But, I do want her to know that the Lord is more concerned with our hearts than our appearance. What makes her beautiful are good deeds, gentleness, a quiet spirit, and a fear of the Lord. I want to praise her more for these things than her outward beauty.

Let's be honest here. I'm still trying to learn this myself. These are difficult truths to wrap ourselves around this day and age when the focus of beauty is based on superficial things.

I'm so thankful the Lord is taking me on this journey and I can bring my daughters along with me. He has already been so faithful.

Be Encouraged!

It seems that the Lord is dealing with me ever so gently and sometimes not so gently with my issues of discipline and self control. Everywhere I turn I hear the words 'race' or 'discipline' or 'running' or 'endurance'. I've had several conversations just in this passed week about the 'marathon of life' with various people. Words are echoing through my mind.

There are sweet precious people in my life that are running races that seem never ending, exhausting, and heart wrenching. People I love deeply and ache for.

Is this a coincidence? I think not.

With the God of the universe who fashioned all of the stars into place and told them where to shine, there is no mistakes or coincidences.

Not to mention my own shortcomings that have been OBVIOUS to myself for a while now. I'm not doing so great in this daily marathon. I often get discouraged and my eye off of the prize. Impatience, perfectionism**, anxiety, laziness**, and lack of time management often gets the best of me and I succumb to this ugliness once again.

**How on earth can these two go together??? Perfectionism & laziness. I have yet to figure this out. Randomness- that's me! I'm most certainly a perfectionist about some things. And yet, I'm lazy about other things. Maybe 'consistently inconsistent' is a better term to lump these two together.**

I loved what my sister in law said the other day during our conversation about running in real life and in a spiritual sense. She is a real runner. The Lord has used this in her life to show her the rewards of running hard races in life. To sum up what she said, Heather explained that anytime you practice endurance, discipline, self-control, whether it be physical or spiritual, you will see fruit. You can either physically see fruit in regards to your body in your health, your physical strength, and your overall appearance.

Or you can see spiritual fruit by growing in your faith, overcoming a stronghold, or taking captive old thoughts that were once there and replacing them with truth. Whatever the case, the Lord can use this endurance to grow you in ways not possible on your own.

I could go on and on here with the comparisons to running a real life marathon or a spiritual marathon. The lighter the load the easier the race, or staying within the race set before us vs. getting of the track, or running with a purpose and goal.

But, instead, I'll let scripture elaborate on what it has to say about all of this. I have been reading today about running races. There are some GREAT verses that encouraged my heart........because scripture is cool like that!

*****

"The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you." Galations 5:6-8

*****

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Hebrews 12:1

*****

"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace." Acts 20:24

*****

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

I also stumbled across a poem written by a Christian mother on a blog I visit- Ordinary Mother. I was also encouraged by her words. I'll leave you with the poem she wrote.

One Mom’s Marathon

A meditation on Hebrews 12:1-3

She pours her coffee bleary-eyed

Foggy minded

Sleep deprived

Scraggly hair in pony tail

Stained pink bathrobe

Smelling stale

She makes her way to the green chair

Pulls out God’s Word

And meets Him there

At first her mind will not be still

The library books

The grocery bill

But right there in that common place

She reads and finds

She’s in a race

And though she sits there in her home

She discovers

She’s not alone

A cloud of witnesses looks from heaven

The faithful ones

From chapter eleven

She hears their voices, sees their faith

Continues reading

About the race

Throw off every weight or sin

That slows you down

Run to win

The weights and sins flash through her mind

Her unbridled tongue

Her use of time

Oh sweet relief to read the phrase,

Look to the founder

Of your faith

Jesus with joy endured the cross

Despised the shame

Suffered for us

He sits now at the right hand

Of the Father

In full command

She sits now and considers Him

Who endured hostility

From sinful men

She sets bare foot to this day’s race

She fixes her eyes on

The throne of grace

She pours the milk with Olympic finesse

Hears a spill

Sees the mess

The great crowd she also sees,

Hears the cheers

Drops to her knees

To clean the milk, not to pray

Like she cleans it

Many days

And while she serves in obscurity

Buttering toast,

Teaching History

She runs slow and steady by the One

And her heart

Hears His, “well done”.

Easter

I pray that this Easter you will put ALL of your eggs in the Jesus basket. He is worthy of everything we have and all that we are. Happy Easter!

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
John 10:11

**I didn't realize as I was taking this photo this morning that the window in the background formed a perfect cross.**

Armed with a robe and a feed bucket

Today is my 27th birthday. It is also my beautiful niece's 6 month birthday on this earth too. Thus, the reason for a cute picture of her at the top of this post. I figured people would be more inclined to read this with an adorable baby girl at the beginning of it.

What a JOY she is. You can see more of Ava HERE! I had the opportunity to snap some pictures of Ava when she came to visit us in Brenham this passed weekend.

I have already lost track of how old I am. That is bad. Not that it bothers me in the least getting older, but I just forget the actual number. I'm also blessed to have a husband who happens to LOVE gray hair too, so I think I'm good to go with the aging process. Bring it on!

I guess since we are surrounded by college kiddos living in a college area, I still feel like I'm their age for some reason. But, the reality is I'm almost 10 years older than some of the college freshman. Wow!

I didn't have the "normal" progression of high school, college, career, marriage, then kiddos. Mine went more like high school, college for 6 long months, marriage, mommy. I got married at 19 and had Kaylyn at 23.

Today started off really rough for me. I stayed up late baking a cake (sounds domestic, doesn't it?) for Jason to take to work. I didn't get in the bed until 1:30 am. That is not a good thing for me. I am one of those people who actually do need 8 hours of sleep.

Lately, I've been consistent in waking up at 6:30 in order to spend time with the Lord, plan my day, get adequate caffeine, and ready. This has made the biggest impact on how my days have played out. My heart towards serving my family, loving my family, and discipling my girls has been a heart that started off the day focusing on the Lord. You can read more about the impact of having a quiet time in the morning HERE. There, you will find insight from several wise women on spending time with the Lord.

All of this is to say, I didn't do this this morning. I slept in and Kaylyn was my alarm clock. She woke me up to the tune of "Mommy, can you please get me some juice?".

It is a lovely song to wake up to.

Have you heard it?

When I looked at my clock and it said 8:30, I knew this was not a good thing. Holy Cow!

To save you from this post being ridiculously long, we are going to bullet-point format for sake of time to convey to you lovely people all of the things that went wrong today.

• I woke up extremely late which then didn't allow for any time with the Lord.
• Laney Rae threw up 3 times in the course of an hour.
  
• ALL 6 of our pigs got loose and headed for the highway. I chased them down in my bathrobe, hair in a towel, rubber boots, and feed bucket. Not a good moment for me.
• I had some not-so-good moments with the toilet myself. Sorry! That is just the reality of letting stress get to you.
• I went to move our heard of cows and the heavens opened up and it began to rain hard.
• I had to cancel my Olive Garden lunch with my girlfriends because of incidents mentioned in the above bullets. Sniff, sniff!
  

I went into battle this morning, with a robe on and a feed bucket in my hand instead of my breastplate of righteousness and my shield of faith (see Ephesians 6). This was my 'day of evil' that is described in Ephesians 6. And I wasn't ready for it.

It is easy to battle the 'days of good times'. But, how we deal with the 'days of evil' are crucial to our growth as believers.

Instead of wallowing in this day of awfulness, I am choosing to laugh at the previous incidents and see the things that came out in my attitude that I did NOT like nor did they honor the Lord and let the Him change me. So, that when the next 'day of evil' comes, and it will come indeed, I'm fully prepared.

I learned a valuable lesson today. I sat in bed using the excuse of,"Lord, I don't need to spend time with you this morning because I was up so late being a good wife and it IS my birthday after all." The moment that I made the decision, I had no idea what the future had in store for me today. I am reminded of an incredible verse/s that pertains to this very thing.

"Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is." Ephesians 5:15-17

How foolish I was! I know what the Lord's will is.

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

I was none of these. I only wanted to sit in the middle of the pasture and cry.

I crave and desire that time with him in the morning even more so now. I need it! I know after the events of today, that I DESPERATELY need it. Every single day. No matter what day it is. I don't know what is in store for me or my family that day. I need to be prepared with my armor fully on.

Thank you Lord for my special birthday gift from you........the knowledge of my complete dependence on You and your Word! If nothing else, today I'm thankful that I'm yours and you have placed me here on this earth for such a time as this. Help me to make the most of every opportunity you give me.

Security in Christ

This morning as I was buckling Kaylyn in her car seat, I remembered this sweet lady that we met for a brief moment at Round Top this passed October. We were prancing around her antique booth when she stopped us dead in our tracks.

She gently put her hand on my arm and asked me a question with the most sincere yet panic-stricken look on her face. There was a sense of urgency in her voice. She acted as if she was on a quest.

"Do you have a 5-point harness car seat for you oldest daughter?" she asked as she glanced at our blonde beauty.

"Yes, we do," I said. I thought the question was a bit odd, but I could tell that it was a big deal to this lady.

"Good. Because- I don't know if you have heard about this- there was an awful accident in Houston a while back and a little boy about the age of your daughter was killed because he wasn't wearing a 5-point harness car seat. His parents thought they were doing the right thing by having in him a car seat. They just didn't know it wasn't the safest one for him."

We talked with this gem of a lady for a few moments and Jason and I assured her that our car seats were safe. I mean, he is a fireman after all. We thanked her for her concern and bid her farewell.

Her final words to us were,"I'm trying to warn everyone I see out here with children in car seats about this. I just can't imagine loosing a child to something like that."

You could tell she had a loving heart. She acted as if she wouldn't rest until her quest were through.

I'm not making this story up. This actually happened. And for some reason, this story crept back into my memory today as we were loading up in the car. I sat and thought about it for a moment.

How many times do I warn people of things like this?

Don't use Teflon cookware or it will kill you.

Don't use deodorant with aluminum in it or it will kill you.

Don't eat mango skins or they will kill you (not really, but it is a very high allergen- thanks honey:).

Don't drink soy milk. It has estrogen in it and will cause you to grow boobs if you are a dude or start puberty at 6 if you are a girl and are also 6 (exaggeration intended).

The list goes on for me. Although I mean well, and so do others when things of this sort come up in conversation, they matter really little in the grand scheme of things.

I'm so willing to warn people of the dangers of all of this earthly stuff that will make life a little more comfortable and safer while we are here on this earth, but what about the realities of heaven and hell?

The comforts of heaven are real and the agonies of hell are real.

What about asking those who are closest to me how their walk with the Lord is going?

Is it thriving and growing?

Is there something I could be going to the Father on their behalf for?

What about those who cross my path during the daily stuff of life and their salvation?

Does it even resonate in my heart that they might be spending eternity in a place that is too awful to even comprehend?

Why is it easier to talk about the dangers of skillets, seat belts, and soy than it is to talk about Jesus? Ughhhh! Just writing that makes me sick. I hate that this is what our society has become. A bunch of scaredy cats......and of the WRONG things! I'm not advocating that we all run around scared of the Lord. But, that we fear His wrath for ourselves and for others if we aren't living a life that pleases Him.

The truth is, none of that other stuff even matters in comparison to having a love relationship with the Lord. Cooking in cast iron won't get you into heaven. Nor will wearing deodorant with aluminum in it condemn you to hell. These things matter very little to the Lord.

Sure, honoring your bodies, treating it as a temple, and offering it as a living sacrifice is an overflow of your love for Him. But, if you don't know the very one who made your body and knows every detail about you what does all of that 'other stuff' even matter?

Our society is full of warning signs to make our lives here on this earth a little safer. It seems as though everything has a warning label on it these days. Some of them even stating the obvious when it comes to warning you of dangers.

If you don't believe me, just read the warning label on a cup of coffee at McDonald's. It says 'Caution. Contents may be hot.' Really? I sure hope my cup of joe is hot. But, not too hot that I have to wait 30 minutes to drink it........because that would be wrong.

What if the tables were turned and I were going up to random people at Round Top asking them if they knew Jesus and where they were going to spend eternity? I would be labeled a loony bird or a crazy person. Maybe people who claim to know the Lord would go so far as to label me as being pocessed since our culture as 'dumbed down Christianity' and would be in shock to see someone witnessing to another in the middle of a crowded street. Whatever the case, most people would probably run far away from me and not turn back. And although I probably won't be doing this (unless led by the Spirit to do so), I wonder how many times I shy away from talking about stuff that really DOES matter.

I desire to be so connected with the Lord that I can hear Him speak to me as I go about my days. I want to be able to hear Him say 'Tell her about me' or 'Encourage him today in my name' or 'Pray for them right now'. No one comes to the Father unless they are led and guided there by Him to begin with (John 14:6). We just get the joy of being His instruments in the orchestra of life. How many times have I missed His voice because I was scared of what others might think of me?

This precious woman really believed in her heart that she had to warn well-meaning parents of the dangers of not using the right car seat. These were people who were complete strangers to her. She wasn't scared of what we thought about her. In her mind, it was the right thing to do. She had nothing to loose, but everything to gain.

I know this post contains a lot of questions. These are questions that flooded through my mind as I recalled this incident. It is funny how the Holy Spirit uses things like this to speak to me and months later for that matter. He used this seemingly insignificant story to speak to me.

Praise the Lord that He IS speaking to me. I rest in that- fully knowing that I am His child. He speaks to me. Praise the Lord!

He has placed a sense of urgency in my heart. He is speaking to me about Him wanting and needing me to care more about the eternal seat belts of my family, friends, and people I come in contact with.

Are they fastened in securely with Christ?

After all, that is what matters. The greatest warning sign I could ever speak over someone is warning them that hell is a real place.......and the fires will burn forever.

But, the GOOD NEWS is that heaven is also real. And Jesus will greet those who KNOW HIM- not KNOW OF Him- with open arms at the gates of heaven. And we will get to sing praises to His name forever and worship Him with those who said 'Yes' to the calling of His name.

May I help you?

Do any other moms out there dread going to the post office?

Can I get a witness up in here?

Prior to children, I actually liked going to the post office. I felt so grown-up standing in line to buy stamps, or mail a package, or change my address. I would always think of how proud my parents would be to see me standing in line being an official person in the world. That is what always came to mind while I was there for some reason.

This is not the case any longer. I think I would pay my mom to go to the post office for me.

For some reason, the Lord likes to test me and search my heart while I'm there. It never fails. There is always a story to tell, a lesson to learn, and prayer to pray.

Today was just like any other day. And then, the post office came into my life.

I took both of my children in with me because that is just what moms do when running errands with children. Brenham has a busy little post office with a parking lot the size of a small swimming pool. There is always people coming in and out.

One time, when I was enormously pregnant with Laney Rae, KK and I went to the post office for some insane reason. We were walking across the parking lot when her flip-flop flipped and flopped off of her foot right smack dab in the middle. Kaylyn turned into a crazy deranged toddler at the sight of her lonely flip-flop laying helplessly in the road. You just have to love girls and their need for drama the minute they feel like an accessory is being threatened.

I turned around and bent over (which was a challenge in and of itself) to reach down and pick up her flip-flop. I was so focused on the task of bending over and clinging to my toddlers hand at the same time that I failed to see this Buick headed straight for us in reverse. It appeared to this driver that there wasn't anyone behind him in his rear view mirror because I was bent over on all fours.

Another driver that had stopped to let us walk in front of her vehicle to pick up KK's flip flop had front row seats to this fiasco and actually saved us a trip to the hospital or morgue.

She saw the same Buick headed straight for us and started blaring on the horn. The elderly Buick driver didn't hear the horn honking and continued to push on the gas.

p.s.- This is also a commercial for hearing aids.

However, this momma DID hear that horn. So, in what seemed like one uniform action I swept the flip-flop, my toddler, and my uterus up off of the pavement and high-tailed it to the curb. Pregnant women look so funny when they run.

By this time we most definitely had a crowd. The horn honker walked over to apologize for scaring KK but she didn't know what else to do but honk in her attempt to get the attention of the car headed straight at us. I expressed my appreciation for her heroic horn honking and we got in the car, thanked Jesus for saving us, and went home.

That was a story within a story about the trials of the post office. On with the original story!

So, I'm at the post office with my toddler and the baby on my hip instead of in my uterus this time around. As we were waiting in line for what seemed like an eternity, my always shy three year old decides she is no longer shy and starts talking to this very sweet elderly woman.

The funny thing about post offices is the fact that they are so quiet. Conversations even in whispers seem like people are shouting at one another. And Kaylyn never whispers when she is talking. I'm pretty sure everyone in that entire line knew more than they cared to know about this sweet woman entertaining Kaylyn by answering every single question. I was like, 'Who are you? Katie Couric or something?'

Our turn comes up and we proceed to the next postal worker who says 'May I help you?' We walk up to the counter and the man in blue is greeted by projectile baby barf.

That's right!

Laney Rae spews all over the counter, the debit machine, the scale, the floor, my entire front side, and creates a lovely little puddle of disgorgement for me to stand in........in my flip-flops. It was like a scene out of 'The Blob' or something.

In the midst of this hurl-fest, Kaylyn is still interviewing this saint of a woman now standing at the next counter over from us. She asked this woman where her mommy was. Well, by the looks of her she could have had all but two answers.

Her mommy was either....

a. the oldest living human on the planet
b. a goner

Her answer was the latter. Except she told Kaylyn that her mommy was in heaven with Jesus, which spurred on even more questions.

At what point do you tell your child to quit being friendly and stop talking? I didn't think before we got out of the car to tell her to not talk to anyone or turn into Barbara Walters on me. The thought never crossed my mind because she usually doesn't talk.

You see, it was Jesus and all of the many talks we've had with Kaylyn about being kind and speaking to people when spoken too. All it took was 'You sure are a pretty girl' from this nice lady to answer the prayer of 'Lord, teach Kaylyn to speak with kindness and love to others' or even 'Lord, teach Kaylyn to speak to others'.

Being the wise mom I am and knowing my little girl the way I do and how she loves accessories, I said 'Kaylyn, what do you think of my belt?'

Before we left home, Kaylyn asked me repeatedly to take off my belt because it wasn't a 'real' belt. She didn't give reasons why it wasn't a 'real' belt, but she was definitely apalled at the sight of her mother wearing something out of the Beverly Hillbillies.

I know, who says that?

These people were probably thinking I was even more bizarre than they already thought I was. But, that was all I had people to get her mind off of Mrs. Smith's mommy living with Jesus thus creating more questions which I did not need at this point in my life. My shoes were sitting in a puddle of puke and I was bent over on all fours again cleaning the floor and all of the other contraptions with upchuck all over them.

I loved Kaylyn's answer though. It made me laugh and pause the head swivel action and think 'you are so cute and wonderful'.

She said (not whispering again),'Silly girl, that isn't a belt, it's a rope you rope cows with.'



Yep, that's what she said. We were at the rodeo last night and she thought it was hilarious that I was wearing a cow roper for a belt. Ha! (self portrait obtained by myself:)

I just had to laugh and so did everyone else in line.

I was just glad my post office experience was ending so I could go sit in the car and laugh, cry, pray, and then go take a nice cold shower.

I learn so much when I go the post office.

He teaches me patience. He teaches me kindness. He teaches me that He is my rescuer and my rock. He teaches me to carry Chlorox wet wipes everywhere I go.

'Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me.'
Psalm 31:3

He is a good, loving, and faithful God.

I needed to go through this today.

I needed to be reminded to slow down and appreciate the sweet things in life like these two precious girls growing so fast before my eyes. In what will seem like an instant, these stories will be just that......stories.

I needed to be reminded that in the midst of wacky and bizarre He is still my fortress and my rock to cling to.

If you made it to the end of this post, WOW!

It's also alright for those who didn't. I understand.

I write about things such as this to....

#1- Document our family's lives since I don't have the best memory. I haven't successfully accomplished the scrapbook side of mommy-hood. This is the best I can do right now.
#2- See how many times I can use a word to describe regurgitating- 6, that is.