he grew up in a weeks' time

My little guy started pre-school last week. I thought I'd be a little upset, but strangely, I was very cool with it. For whatever reason, I sort of mourned his ripe age of four a few weeks ago when his big sister started fourth grade. I was already lamenting the start of kindergarten 2012 a whole year prematurely. That sadness made me see very clearly that if left in his current daytime environment, he would not be ready to start school.

I prayed, begged, and put out as many feelers as I could to find a pre-school, or at least someone who would work with him on the basics. An answer came quickly, much to my amazement and delight, and he is now in week two of a stimulating, encouraging environment. My husband and I saw immediate changes in him:

• He's calm.
• He has an interest in sitting down to draw, write, and color.
• He has always been inquisitive, but his questions are becoming more mature and thoughtful.
• His attention span seems longer as it appears he has learned how to focus, somehow.
• He now has patience that he didn't have before.

How can all of this be? I can only say that God's hand is in it. From the circumstances of who his teacher is and a history our daughter's share, to the Christian learning environment I longed and prayed for, to the refinement of my son's behavior, that's the only explanation there is. It was time, and the Lord provided.

So now for something super cute. My little guy is sitting here with me, coloring away. Abruptly, he stopped coloring and I could feel him looking at me. I looked up and he said, "if you eat too much, you get a baby in your belly." I stifled a laugh and asked who told him that (assuming it was something crazy his big sister passed along), and he said it was the four-year-old girl he's attending pre-school with. Those two must be having some deep conversations!

With a Joyful Heart,

a song to carry me through

Do you ever hang onto every word of a song? Sometimes it's like food for the soul for me. The one feeding me today is Made My Glad by Hillsong United.

I will bless the Lord forever

I will trust Him at all times

He has delivered me from all fear

He has set my feet upon a rock

I will not be moved

And I'll say of the Lord

You are my shield,

my strength,

my portion deliverer,

my shelter,

strong tower,

my very present help in time of need.

Though times are tough, I trust that I'm right where He intends for me to be. He is my shield, my strength, my portion deliverer, my shelter, strong tower, and my very present help in time of need. Amen.

 

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him. -Psalm 28:7

did you notice?

You might have noticed that I seriously dropped the ball on my 60 days of blogging. *sigh* I just couldn't keep up with it everyday. It's truly a large task for a full-time, hard working lady like myself. But I digress.

In my absence, I've had many moments when I wanted to write and had plenty on my mind. However, what's on my mind doesn't always have to come out through my keystrokes. I don't know if anyone wise has said something similar, but I'm pretty sure heeding said advice probably saved my tush a time or two, or at least saved some folks a day of heartache.

Courtesy http://donhall.blogspot.com/

Notes from the past 45 days (give or take) include ...

• I am not a fixer. As much as I try to live my life in a Godly way, I can't make other people live His way.
• I am not perfect. Well ... this one wasn't just realized, but I thought I'd mention it, given the "Godly" reference above. I slip, I ask for forgiveness, and I try again. Aren't you glad for The Cross?
• As hard as I try to be accepted by some, my attempts fail. Miserably. You might ask why I need acceptance. Generally, I don't seek it much. Those days are falling farther into my past, including the recent past ... like just five days ago in the past. It's not like I'm trying to change who I am in order to be accepted, it's that I continually try to explain myself. I'm rather tired of that. It's like talking to a wall and I'm done with it.
• God is good all the time, and I mean all the time. In the tough spots, He is good. In the embarrassing spots, He is good. In those moments where we lack understanding, He is good. God is in everything and everything is in God. Though we might not be friends, God has a plan. When you get old, I anticipate that I'll be caring for you. I may not like it, but for me to love God, I must love people. And that includes you.
• New friends can yield a lot of love. Especially like-minded Christian friends who pray passionately with and for you. Try it sometime.
• My children are growing too quickly physically, but perfectly in God. For example, my son, who will be four in ... wow, three short weeks, caught me by surprise the other day when we had this quick exchange.
  Me: "You're getting so tall! I think you got those long legs from your Daddy."
  Him: "No I didn't!"
  Me: "Well where did you get them from?"
  Him: "God gave them to me."
•  My daughter is me. This realization requires a lot of patience and prayer. And not even an ounce of gratitude for my mother, who wished her on me. Ha! (Thanks mama! You know I wouldn't trade that child for all the world.) And good luck world. She's a firecracker.

So there are my random thoughts for now. Time to throw a hot dog on the grill and enjoy the rest of my Sunday. Y'all go enjoy it, too.

Much Love,

tgif

Who do you live for? Or, maybe the question is better asked, what do you live for?

Friday.
My spouse.
My kids.
The next paycheck.

We all have a master. You may not think of it that way, but I challenge you to argue it. Whatever it is that you live for - whoever - that is your master.

What should be your master? God. He's a loving Father, a generous Provider, and our only Salvation. If you're going to dump all of your time into something - a hobby, a person, etc. - make sure it's in a way that glorifies God and would be pleasing to Him.

Rather than "Thank God It's Friday," why not, "Thank God I'm Forgiven"?

Loving you because He first loved me,

Gettin' Her Groove Back: 17/60

new devotions

I might fall off the blog radar a little more, but will try not to. I'm about to embark on some devotional writing. It's time to get serious and I've been approached to do more of it. God opens doors for me to improve and share, so I need to walk through them.

Taking on these extra initiatives in addition to my job and home life will be a stretch. But isn't that what God does? He stretches us to our potential.

Be praying for me,

Gettin' Her Groove Back: 16/60

everybody else is doing it

No doubt that as a child you probably looked at your parents and whined, "but everybody else is doing it!" Often, it seemed like a compelling reason (to you, not them). We haven't lost that whine. That same phrase still lies within us. Ever heard of "keeping up with the Jones'?" Yeah, that's the "everybody's doing it" mentality. The trick is to funnel that whine into something good.

Courtesy
www.TogetherWeFlourish.com

My pastor presented a powerful sermon this morning challenging us to live the life that will get us to heaven. One of the tasks laid out for us is to be His witness. As Christians, we're to go into the world and share the plan of salvation. That's tough sometimes, but one positive step to getting there is to display Christ-like characteristics - put others before yourself:

• hold the door
• let someone with less items go ahead of you in line
• say "please," "thank you" and utilize other manners yo' mama taught you
• buy the homeless person on the corner a cup of coffee as you're getting one for yourself
• share whatever you have - money, food, etc. - with someone who has an obvious need

Why are self-less tasks like I've mentioned above so hard for some people to fulfill? Because they're not the normal things to do (anymore). They're kind, humble and personal ways to show you care, which is not what our society is about anymore. No one cares about anything. Actually, I take that back. People care about saving animals, global warming and other causes that aren't important for The Kingdom.

How is it possible that we've lost the "human element" and elevated animals above each other? I'm all for adopting pets instead of accessing puppy mills, but I'd much rather my money and real efforts be used to help those who don't have hope somehow find hope. Make tomorrow count for more than yourself and the next stray animal.

I say, let's start a revolution beginning with the small stuff. Let's look to those who curl their nose and ask why we're being so nice and tell them, "everybody else is doing it." And we should add to that, "and because it's the right thing to do." Doing the right things in life are the first steps to receiving a heavenly reward. When you begin to take care of others, the walls will fall and you'll be able to move on to the deeper conversation of salvation.

What will you do for someone in need this week?

Gettin' Her Groove Back: 2/60
On my mind for tomorrow: showing compassion

precious life and love

Life is a whirlwind. We get caught up in our moments and time passes in a blink. Don't take those moments for granted.

In my weeks of blogosphere silence, I've come to know that two marriages have folded, a life has dangled dangerously close to the edge, one has actually fallen over it, and two other lives flirted along the guardrail.

During this season of reflection and appreciation, life tends to mean more than any other time of the year. This is when families draw close and love is shared until cups overflow. Christmas is when some of the most precious memories are made, and I say to you tonight that this Christmas will be an unforgettable one to those lives mentioned above.

For the family that is broken, this will be a Christmas where a mother's strength must rise above her heartache for the sake of her sons. For the wife who watched her husband walk away, this will be a Christmas to surround herself with family, friends, and those who can bring her just enough joy to get through it.

Just as much strength is required for the family watching their son fight cancer, the car accident victims who are nursing battered bodies, and the father with two small boys who will share their first Christmas without a wife and mother.

It is absolutely not acceptable that we take life for granted. In a flash our friends, mothers, fathers, and children can be taken away from this earth. Everything we "know" can be taken away. A world upside down. Reality inside out. Shaken and stirred.

My prayer for every set of eyes reading this is that you will embrace your loved ones, say "I love you" and thank the Almighty Giver of Life for every breath He gives you.

I can't pretend to know what heartbreak each of these on my heart is experiencing, so it's easy for me to tell them that God is near the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18), that He will never leave or forsake them (Hebrews 13:5), and that He only wants to give them hope (Jeremiah 29:11). Yet, that is what I have to share and know to say. It is what I know. I know these things to be true. Please, cling to them. Recite them. Tuck them away into your heart and know them, too. He is the only remedy for brokenness.

Much Love and Many Prayers,