My devotions were so good this morning I just had to share. First of all, I must confess that when I woke up this morning, I groggily opened my Bible to Psalm 61, read it, and then promptly forgot most of it on my way to the bathroom. I have come down with a cold, and last night I prayed that God would give me rest...real rest, His rest. Isn't it neat how He answers us? This morning, I laid Caleb in his crib for his morning nap and began to sit and rock with Joshua, who promptly fell asleep in my arms. Both boys also have colds, and they need rest, too. Instead of napping, my 'Breaking Free' homework was calling me. Truthfully, God was calling me to come and find rest in Him. He is so good to me! My only boast is in Him!
This week, I'm learning that the key to freedom is obedience. The "workbook" talks about how we need to daily enjoy God's presence rather than just rely on Him in moments of crisis...just like we would be okay with someone picking us up in an ambulance in an emergency, we probably wouldn't swap phone numbers and hang out together on a regular basis. The homework started out with
Amos 3:3 - "Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?" Then she talks about how long she asked God to walk with her...when suddenly she realized that He wanted her to walk with Him. There is great blessing in doing what God says! After all,
Jeremiah 29:11-14 says "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the Lord, "and will bring you back from captivity..."She tells the following story, then, which I'm copying word for word so you can also enjoy it:
Imagine going to heaven and standing by God as He lovingly shows you the calendar of His plan for your earthly life. It begins with the day you are born. Once you received Christ as Savior, every day that follows is outlined in red. You see footprints walking through each day of each week of your life. On many of the days, two sets of footprints appear. You inquire: "Father, are those my footprints on the calendar every day and is the second set of prints when you joined me?"He answers, "No, my precious child. The consistent footprints on your calendar are mine. The second set of footprints are when you joined me.""Where were You going, Father?""To the destiny I planned for you, hoping you'd follow.""But, Father, where are my footprints all those times?"He answers, "Sometimes you went back to look at old resentments and habits whil I was still going forward, hoping you'd join me. Sometimes, you departed from my path and chose your own calendar instead. Other times, your footprints can even be seen on another person's calendar because you thought you liked their plan better. At other times, you simply stopped because you would not let go of something you could not take to the next day.""But, Father, we ended up OK even if I didn't walk with You every day, didn't we?"He holds you close and smiles, "Yes, child, we ended up OK. But, you see, OK was never what I had in mind for you.""Father, what are those golden treasure boxes on certain days?""Blessings, my child, I had for you along the way. Those that are open are those you received. Those still closed were days you did not walk with me."She then gives Biblical background for her story in Genesis 3:8-9. Talking about our daily walk, we then went to
2 Corinthians 2:14 "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him." She challenged us to look up in a concordance how many times God asks us to "walk in His ways," (which I have yet to do). Then we were to think about the past week...where was our calendar, walking with Him? Thinking about where we tend to go has three purposes: to see how deliberate God desires for us to become in seeking to walk with Him, to think about where we go when we leave His path, and to identify the undeniable link between blessing and daily walking with God.
Isaiah 33:2-6 2 O LORD, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress... 5 The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness.
6 He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure.We learn in the work book that wisdom is the application of knowledge 0r knowing what to do with what you know. And, we looked up
Isaiah 47:10 to discover what God says about human wisdom and knowledge...it can lead us astray!
I also enjoyed
Psalm 119:105 "Your word is a lmap unto my feet and a light unto my path." I've song the Twila Paris song for years...but thinking about how much light a lamp would illuminate, we can draw the conclusion that God's Word sheds light on our "present" path and our immediate future so we'll know what steps to take, but for further instruction we'll have to walk again with God and keep checking!
We then read
Isaiah 50:4-11 - God gives us the daily treasure of a fresh morning word (v.4)...in
Matthew 6:33 we are to
"Seek FIRST His kingdom and righteousness..." again stressing how important it is to start our day off first thing in the morning with time with God.
Outside the realm of this Bible study, I've thought about God requiring our "first fruits" which I don't think is just tithe (money) but also time. I also spoke one time and asked who would get up an hour early each day for $1,000...what more treasure we have in store for us if we would get up each day for something eternal vs. something that will pass in this lifetime!!!
I've not been doing well with my morning devotions, but God is so faithful and keeps on asking me to walk with Him.
Job 23:10 reminds us that
"He knows the way that I take." Please, Lord, help me to spend time with you each morning!
I hope you were as refreshed as I was by the Word of God today!!!
Joshua is so much fun these days! Literally almost every night before turning out the lights, Shawn & I share with each other what Joshua said that was the funniest to us. We laugh and laugh - he brings us so much sunshine!
Today he woke up from his nap and said, "Hi, Bean!" then I heard more talking (to himself) and a prompt "Uh-oh!" I knew it couldn't be good - I told him it was okay to come on out. He immediately ran for his "Clifford-Foof-Foof Book" and asked me to read it to him and rock. He loves to lift up the flaps, but his memory is too good - he knows where Clifford is on every page and no longer lifts the millions of other options where he's not.
My favorite thing that he's saying these days is "WOW! What's this?" He says that at least 10 times an hour as he's discovering new things and building his vocabulary, which gets better by the day. I'm surprised by things that he knows already! Today he cracked me up when he said, "Oh, man!" when a toy fell. He sounded just like me! He also told me that he was being "careful!" before I said it when he was at the top of the stairs. Each day, I giggle at his personality coming through.
He loves to play with Caleb and puts his face near Caleb's hands so that his brother will grab his cheek or nose and then he laughs and says "that's silly!" Joshua also loves to turn the pages in his books by himself when I'm not available to read to him, and he LOVES to color. He also insists on every boo-boo getting a kiss to be "all better," even if they're our boo-boo's.
He still loves to cuddle occasionally, too, but not as much as he once did. He also loves to say "JUMP!" but still can't seem to get both feet off the ground at the same time. My favorite thing he does is sings. Last night in the Wal-mart parking lot, he sang me the entire "How much is that doggie in the window" song. I think he'll be a hoot at Christmas! I was trying to work with him to say "We wish you a Merry Christmas!"
This morning at MOPS, he went right through the little door to play with no tears. He was also FANTASTIC the whole way out. So, I was relieved that I didn't have to relive our earlier experience. :) I think he thinks through things more now. I can see some shread of logic between his actions, and he understands more when we explain things to him. I also will guess at some of the things he's saying that I don't fully comprehend, and if I don't get it right, he'll shake his head and proclaim "NO!" He's also learned the concept of "mine." And, at night, he now likes to be under the covers and asks us to pull up his "colors" as we tuck him in. He must have his beloved blankey, his washable t-bear (thanks, Ma-maw!) and the "colors" to be fully comfortable. He now says "night-night, t-bear, (kisses it) I'll see you in the morning!" So sweet!
Joshua also says "I love you" which melts my heart. I don't know if he understands it yet or not, but I think so. He does say it repeating us.
Joshua's curioisity is also getting bigger by the day, which I know is normal but it also can drive me crazy-go-nuts! He is now getting into everything, and things that were once high out of his reach are now within reach. So, it's often that we hear "Woa - what's this?" and he's got something he shouldn't have. He digs through drawers and doors and throws things around after careful examination. He is a sponge, and I know this is his way of learning about the world. But, I feel like he once again needs constant supervision whereas for awhile I didn't think he was getting into much anymore. Oh, was I wrong! He is testing our boundaries daily to make sure that things are still not okay and that we'll follow through when we say we'll give him a spanking or a time out. Some days I'm completely exhausted til the end of the day (like today). Most days, though, I wouldn't trade my job for all the tea in China. Joshua is so precious! And so is his brother! I love my boys. Happy 26-month birthday, Bean!
So, we set the date for Wednesday, November 12, for a moring gathering of sorts. Poor Joshua was starting to get a runny nose, but I told the other moms who didn't seem to mind. That night, though, is when I started to feel somewhat yucky and I felt bad that we may have spread our germs. I haven't heard from anyone else, though, that they feel sick. After I offered to have everyone here, I counted all the "possible" people and children and realized that with kids, our group could have 23! Wow! So, I thought maybe we should try some pudding painting or something constructive so it wasn't chaos. It ended up that only three other moms could make it, though, which ended up being a nice size group with kids and all. Anyway, first to arrive was Becca and Alayna (pictured above). Next arrived Margie, who doesn't live far from us, and her adorable son Henry (both pictured below).
Later, Renee arrived with her two kids, Nathan and Lila/Laila (sp?). As you can see from the pictures below, they were the best at the finger painting with pudding. This little gal LOVED to put her hands in the bowl and paint her paper. It was absolutely adorable! And funny! She even started licking the bowl!
Nathan, who's a couple years older than Joshua, loved his toys, especially the baseball ones. Joshua fell apart that morning at first as children started playing with his toys, but I gave him a little time to cool off and regroup in his bedroom, and I was astounded at how well it worked. He came back down in ten minutes a brand new kid. And, I think he enjoyed playing then. Little did I know that he was getting a severe cold - and not that I like to make excuses - but it is hard to be sweet and nice and self-controlled when you're not feeling well.
Thanks for coming, friends! We'll see you tomorrow at MOPS, hopefully!
Look at this cute little face!
I fed him again last night, and I forgot how long it takes to feed drippy rice cereal to a smiling baby. He was having a blast, holding onto my sleeve, trying to steal the spoon until we got him another one, dropping the fake spoon and putting his hand to his mouth - a total mess, getting another spoon and promptly putting that into his little mouth so I couldn't get the spoon of real food in. I think before I may have been annoyed at the procession, but I realize that they grow all too quickly and it was kind of funny. It's not like he knows any better!
Each time I would feed him a bite, he would promptly spit it right back out, which I guess is somewhat normal. He did eat quite a bit last night (compared to barely anything on Friday). But, each time he would pause to grin at me, his Daddy, or his brother, rice cereal would drool down the sides of his mouth onto his chin. I wiped his face clean with a wet paper towel, only to smear it up to his eye brows. Yes, these are messy times, but fun times that don't last long enough! My sweet boys are growing so big! I can't believe how well Caleb can sit up (in the high chair), and I truly feel like I just brought him home with us from the hospital.
Last night on the way to school, I heard Christmas music. Yes, I was aghast, too! How could they be playing Christmas music...after all, it's July, right? Then I realized that Thanksgiving is right around the corner (and I'm hosting this year, so I should know that!). While I realized the time has changed and the weather has turned colder, for some reason it really didn't dawn on me how soon Christmas will be here. Life seems to stop once you have a baby and doesn't start rolling again for six months, I think, and by then you're so out-of-whack with your calendar, you never really 'catch up'!
So, I was horrified at the tunes...and then I started to sing along. Why be bah-humbug? I won't actually dig out the Christmas tree or decorate until Black Friday...first comes being thankful then we can get into the holiday spirit. However, I want this year to be about rejoicing at the Lord's birth. I wonder if He gets as excited about His birthday as we do? I LOVE birthdays! When I was little, my parents made us queen of the castle on our birthday - we got to lick the batter out of the bowl from the cake that mom baked (a special treat) and we opened gifts and we were just treated specially. I still love birthdays (although I'm not looking forward to getting older anymore...truth be known I think I'm at the perfect age and wish that nothing would change - I would like my kids to stay these ages and me and my husband to stay just the way we are and nothing to move, but I know that's unrealistic). Anyway, I'm excited that each year God shares the specialness of his birthday with us! Hallelujah - our Savior was born!
If you think of it, please pray for my mom. Jamie died literally just before Christmas last year, and she's having a really, really hard time. Keep her in your prayers, and if you have time a phone call or a nice letter would go a long way this holiday season to making her feel loved. She is so special to me! And, I want her to be happy rather than sad on Christmas, even though I understand (or try to) her loss.
Lastly, if you're looking for good Christmas tunes, my absolute favorite Christmas song is "Pretty Good Night" by Unsearchable Riches (well worth downloading) and I also like "Eternal Gifts" by Leigh Anne Nash (even though it's a little bit country-sounding for my taste). Get ready to enjoy all the fun that comes with holidays...the lights, the decorating, the cookie baking, the gingerbread houses, the shopping, the wrapping, the wonder of children at the thought of Santa, the stockings hung with care...and don't forget to take time to remember who this special day is about...HE IS AMAZING!!!
Sesame Street
Colors, Shapes and More!
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Then I called Shawn and told him that he HAD to come home...we won't get too many more days like this! He agreed to come home at lunchtime so we could do yardwork. The boys have been napping and we've been tirelessly working. My back is breaking, my knees hurt, I'm covered in sweat and dirt...and our stupid yard doesn't look much different. We've filled bags with weeds, I scraped ivy off our bricks while Shawn used powertools to trim, we cut back most of our dead stuff from summer and still the side of our house looks like a jungle...literally. I could cry, but it wouldn't do much good. I'm taking a break as he dumps our many bags in the Manheim Township yard waste compost, and then we'll go back out until the boys wake up. We had a quote from someone to do this work for $1,000. We didn't have that kind of money right now, so we declined. Now I'm thinking it may have been worth trying to whore myself on the street rather than doing this... maybe not, but it does seem easier right now.
Either way, we're enjoying some fresh air and time outdoors. Thank you, Lord, for the gorgeous weather!!!
Today we went to JCPenney's to get pictures of Caleb taken. I also got a cute one of the two boys together - I can't wait to get them! We were there FOREVER, though...they were soooooo sloooowwwww!!! Afterward, we met Daddy for lunch. When we dropped him back off at work, Joshua said, "Bye-bye, Daddy! I miss you!" It was so sweet!
