Grace in the Midst

     I am an open book.  I wear my heart on my sleeve.  You can see right through me.  Three phrases that many of you might think describe me.  Well, yes and no.  It is true that I am more open than many and that I often talk about the elephant in the room, but there is an elephant in my heart that I casually mention here and there, but not even I knew how big he was until recently.  His name is Pride.  I have been praying that God would take him out of my heart because there is not room for him, but let me just tell you - if you have been warned not to pray for patience, then I beg you - don't offer up your pride to God.  He will take it.  I am joking, of course, about not bringing your pride before God - but not about the cost of doing so.      About two weeks ago I noticed that Pride had moved into my heart, and I'm not talking about the good kind.  Now, he (Pride) had lived there for a VERY VERY long time, but I just never really noticed him.  Eventually I realized he was

873. The word of God encouraging me to come before Him with PRAISE and THANKSGIVING 874. The ability (though I don't always use it) to do so - no matter what is thrown my way. 875. Asking God for help in front of and with my boys 876. The process of learning how to put off the "old man" and put on the "new man" 877. The growth that comes with teaching your children concepts that you are still learning yourself 878. Blake greeting me every morning with arms spread wide 879. Simplifying 880. Flower toast (butter two sides of a slice of bread, use a cookie cutter to cut a flower, put both parts in pan, add an egg where the flower used to be, flip it...wahlah!) Protein + Fiber + Big Smiles :) 881. Confession and forgiveness 882. Blake and Cole wanting me to cook everything on the table so they can "help" 883. The pan my Aunt Marie bought me that makes that possible 884. Simple recipes 885. Swinging in our hammock with Blake crawling all over me 886. The

852. A new friend reaching out 853. The common ground fair with 3 adults and 3 kids (wow, 1 on 1!) 854. Babysitting for the weekend barely working out, but God providing the perfect solution(s) - thanks Laura & Jen!! 855. A friend who cares enough to say whats on her mind 856. Blake sliding (or trying to slide) down a hill on a piece of cardboard 857. Cole imitating his big brother 858. Getting the the Parenting Matters conference on time (barely) 859. Being surrounded by humility 860. Old friends who encourage as they grow 861. Inspiration 862. Hope 863. Being on "the same page" with folks I just met 864. God's grace 865. Knowing I have a lot of growing to do, but not being in a hurry...a day (or a step) at a time 866. Feeling (and understanding the difference between)conviction vs condemnation 866. A new day 867. Matt and blake sitting together on a boulder in a large pond 868. Rest 869. Blake, Cole & Daddy building a river 870. Toy dump trucks 871. "ch

 1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.  2  Worship the LORD with gladness ;   come before him with joyful songs .  3 Know that the LORD is God .  It is he who made us , and we are his [a]; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.  4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving  and his courts with praise ;   give thanks to him and praise his name .  5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever ;  his faithfulness continues through all generations.

1  The LORD reigns ,    let the nations tremble; he sits enthroned between the cherubim,    let the earth shake. 2   Great is the LORD in Zion;    he is exalted over all the nations. 3  Let them praise your great and awesome name—    he is holy .   4  The King is mighty , he loves justice —    you have established equity; in Jacob you have done    what is just and right . 5   Exalt the LORD our God    and worship at his footstool;    he is holy .   6  Moses and Aaron were among his priests,    Samuel was among those who call ed on his name ; they call ed on the LORD    and he answered them. 7   He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud;    they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them.   8  LORD our God,     you answer ed them; you were to Israel a forgiving God ,    though you punished their misdeeds. [ a ] 9  Exalt the LORD our God    and worship at his holy mountain,    for the LORD our God is holy .

829. Snuggling & reading to the boys first thing in the morning (while feeding Avonlea) 830. Actually doing my morning stretches 841. How much God loves me even on the mornings that I don't have it in me to do either 842. Avonlea eating rice cereal - she is growing so fast (perhaps thats ugly/beautiful) 843. Blake singing about the 10 commandments 844. Playing the game - Mommy says (like Simon says) 845. Blake and Cole entertaining themselves for hours with a squirt bottle 846. Two friends "just happening" to stop by at the same time (neither knew the other was coming) and pouring out some much needed encouragement 847. Looking forward to getting away with Matt and learning more about this crazy adventure of mommyhood at the Parenting Matters conference 848. A chat with a friend about "piecemeal-ing" our lives - figuring out that we will NEVER be just like anyone else - no matter how much we respect them - and that in actuality we take little bits

Sometimes I let things build up and say things that are discouraging to my husband, I'm afraid this morning was one of those mornings. This morning I'd like to focus my gifts list on him because I want him (and all of you) to know how blessed I am with who God has given me as my spouse... My husband is an incredible blessing to me in so many ways... 806. He is creative, talented and a hard worker 807. He shows me his love in wonderful ways around our house....he's made me a:           - pantry above my stairs           - a rack to hang my dishes           - book shelves           - a laundry room that is set up in a "weird" way, because he knew it would be easier on me           - an incredible wood floor & carpeted stairs (he learned how to lay a wood floor and carpet just by talking to an employee at Lowes           - a ceiling fan (well, he installed it)           - a room upstairs (even though he would have preferred staying downstairs)      

Just how we all long to start our mornings... an entire $9.00 bag of frozen blueberries spilled ALL over the kitchen floor.  But, this time the morning went quite differently than it would have a few months ago.  I can't remember the exact conversation, so I'm going to tweak it a bit, but it was something like this... BLAKE - "Mommy, why you not mad?" (I had dropped the blueberries, not him). ME - "Well, mommy is trying to learn how to think happy thoughts even when bad things happen." BLAKE - "Why?" ME - "Because God gives us SO many great things to be happy about...sometimes even things that seem bad are really good - like spilling blueberries." BLAKE - "Did God make you pill the bwueberwies?" ME - "I don't know, but I know that He gave us the blueberries." BLAKE - "Why?" ME - "He gives us LOTS of things - like food to eat, and toys to play with, friends to hug" B

806. Waving at our wonderful Morrill friends from the back of our bean bag truck 807. Visiting and sharing things I love @ the Morrill Harvest Festival 808. The boys kissing Avonlea (one boy on each of her cheeks) over and over again as she giggled contentedly 809. Avonlea being an angel as she hung out with me in our bean bag/jockey tent 810. Friends who helped 811. The way Cole says thank you when he means to say ok 812. Ugly/beautiful - our oven breaking/we can buy a new one because of our tax return 813. Ugly/beautiful - the fly that is flying around my head DRIVING ME CRAZY - i'm sure there must be something beautiful about it...but I can't think of one right now - any suggestions?

1 Sing to the LORD a new song,  for he has done marvelous things ; his right hand and his holy arm  have worked salvation for him. 2 The LORD has made his salvation known  and revealed his righteousness to the nations. 3 He has remembered his love  and his faithfulness to Israel;  all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.  4 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music;  5 make music to the LORD with the harp,  with the harp and the sound of singing, 6 with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—   shout for joy before the LORD, the King.  7 Let the sea resound, and everything in it,  the world, and all who live in it.  8 Let the rivers clap their hands,  let the mountains sing together for joy; 9 let them sing before the LORD,  for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in  righteousness  and the peoples with equity .

795. Praying with the boys 796. "Bear" - Blake's favorite stuffed animal joining our prayer circle 797.  Blake and Cole's love of their children's Bible - or "Buble" as Cole calls it 798. Cole wandering around the yard with a bucket hung over his elbow 799. An incredibly steam cleaned van thanks to Jamie @ Community Cleaning 800. Bartering 801. Getting my dishwasher fixed - oh, how I missed it! 802. Matt, Blake, Cole and Avonlea swinging on the hammock 803. Growing daily (and I don't mean around the waist) - even when it hurts 804. Enjoying Avonlea 805. Figuring out that LESS = MORE in SOOOOO many areas - especially toys

1 The LORD reigns, let the earth be glad ;  let the distant shores rejoice .  2 Clouds and thick darkness surround him;   righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.  3 Fire goes before him and consumes his foes on every side.  4 His lightning lights up the world;  the earth sees and trembles.  5 The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,  before the Lord of all the earth.  6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,  and all peoples see his glory .  7 All who worship images are put to shame,  those who boast in idols— worship him, all you gods!  8 Zion hears and rejoices and the villages of Judah are glad because of your judgments, LORD.  9 For you, LORD, are the Most High over all the earth;  you are exalted far above all gods.  10 Let those who l ove the LORD hate evil,  for he guards the lives of his faithful ones  and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.  11 Light shines [a] on the righteous  and joy on the upright in heart.  12

781. Cole "joining" the worship team 782. Visiting with new friends on a Sunday afternoon 783. Friends with learners hearts 784. Blake - "Mommy, black is not my color" 785. Chatting with a dear friend from my Chop Point days 786. Pressing on towards the goal - even when the goal is a counter full of dishes 787. Little boys with swords 788. Castle cakes 789. Realizing I forgot my stroller and a friend just "happening" to show up with an extra one 790. Avonlea's peaceful nature 791. Learning to say "yes" to God even when it feels like an interruption 792. My family that loves me - specifically my mom, my Grandma and my sister 793. Advil 794. Finding out I have LOTS in common with a friend and fellow poster, Tanja 795. Singing with my church family - and meaning the words with all my heart.

      As I read through my last post ,  I realized that the message I was trying to share wasn't perfectly clear. It is really very simple.  Three words, actually. I have HOPE.      Yes, life is hard.  Yes, some days are worse than others.  But - and this is a big BUT, no matter what goes wrong - whether my kids disobey, whether my attitude stinks, whether I can't find a matching pair of shoes in my entire house - I have hope.  I will always make mistakes, so will my husband, my children and my church family - but we have someone in our lives that does not make mistakes.  He is perfect, forgiving, compassionate, loving and FULL of GRACE.  He paid the price for our mistakes with his life.  He is more than just a Christmas story - He is Jesus Christ, our Savior.      Have you ever really sat down and though about the word Savior?  Savior from what? Do we really need saving?  I know I do!  I am so thankful He paid the price for my mistakes.  He doesn't stop there though -

 1 Sing to the LORD a new song;  sing to the LORD, all the earth.  2 Sing to the LORD, praise his name;   proclaim his salvation day after day.  3 Declare his glory among the nations,  his marvelous deeds among all peoples.  4 For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise ;  he is to be feared above all gods.  5 For all the gods of the nations are idols,  but the LORD made the heavens.  6 Splendor and majesty are before him;  strength and glory are in his sanctuary.  7 Ascribe to the LORD, all you families of nations,  ascribe to the LORD glory and strength .  8 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;   bring an offering and come into his courts.  9 Worship the LORD in the splendor of his [a] holiness ;   tremble before him, all the earth.  10 Say among the nations, “ The LORD reigns .”  The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved;  he will judge the peoples with equity.  11 Let the heavens rejoice , let the earth be glad ;  let t

      This week has been really hard for me.  I've been struggling.  Kids fighting, toys everywhere, dinners burning, bad attitudes, constant accidents (from falling down to wetting pants), miscommunications with my husband, a never-ending to do list, no "me time". Noise. Noise. Noise. I'm wiped.  I wake up early, spend time with the Lord, count blessings and think to myself - today I am going to have a positive attitude, not let things get to me, enjoy my children, train them (but not let it get to me when they don't seem to be responding), and allow God to work in me and through me no matter what happens.  At 5:00 am I think - I have this all under control and wonder - why doesn't everyone have more children?  Then they wake up.  They read books for a little while and then I head into their room - we sing, play, read the children's bible and tidy up their room.  Doesn't that sound sweet?  It is - and their are lots of great things about it...but the

770. Taxes DONE! 771. My church family - both at Morrill and in general 772. A desperate call to a friend - her wisdom and encouragement 773. Making it through an entire day - sounds simple...but lately it hasn't been 774. Blake's arms extended for a hug (the first thing he does every morning) 775. The boys running to me, laughing and saying "MOMMY!" after spending a few hours apart 776. A chiropractic appointment with no temper tantrums 777. A dear friends blog -  My Journey to Authenticity 778. An incredibly encouraging video - http://lysaterkeurst.com/2011/09/yes-to-god-webcast-replay-on-demand/ 779. Comforting Avonlea with the word Shhhh - and associating it with the word Shalom (peace) 780. Trying to cherish the noise and remember that I don't have to deal with the very lonely thought - "the silence is killing me"

1 Come , let us sing for joy to the LORD;  let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.  2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving     and extol him with music and song .  3 For the LORD is the great God ,  the great King above all gods.  4 In his hand are the depths of the earth,  and the mountain peaks belong to him .  5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.  6 Come , let us bow down in worship ,  let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;  7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care . Today, if only you would hear his voice,  8 “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,[a]  as you did that day at Massah[b] in the wilderness,  9 where your ancestors tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did.  10 For forty years I was angry with that generation;  I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways.’  11 So I declared on oath

762. Blake - "Cole, wanna read the bible?"  Cole - "Thank You."  - as well as the fight that followed when Blake changed his mind. 763. A successful MESSY MONDAY - we browned meat, boiled eggs,  made flour, whole wheat bread, zucchini bread & oatmeal cookies 764. Morning Focus Ideas - I am hoping to get the kids as involved as possible in each of these...      Messy mondays - baking & cooking ahead      Thorough Tuesdays  - cleaning the house      Where-about Wednesdays - appointments & errands      Thursdays - something for or with friends at my house - babysitting etc...      Farmer Fridays - Farmers Market and/or Grocery Store 765. Naptime/Worktime Focus Ideas - I have so much work to do during naptime that I often don't know where to start - sometimes I have so much work to do that I don't do anything      Monday - Matt's Missions - he emails me regularly with business things that need to be done      Tuesday - Taxes - going

  1  The LORD is a God who avenges .    O God who avenges, shine forth. 2   Rise up, Judge of the earth;    pay back to the proud what they deserve. 3  How long, LORD, will the wicked,    how long will the wicked be jubilant?   4  They pour out arrogant words;    all the evildoers are full of boasting. 5  They crush your people, LORD;    they oppress your inheritance. 6  They slay the widow and the foreigner;    they murder the fatherless. 7  They say, “The LORD does not see;    the God of Jacob takes no notice.”   8  Take notice, you senseless ones among the people;    you fools, when will you become wise? 9  Does he who fashioned the ear not hear?    Does he who formed the eye not see? 10  Does he who disciplines nations not punish?    Does he who teaches mankind lack knowledge? 11  The LORD knows all human plans;    he knows that they are futile.   12   Blessed is the one you discipline, LORD,    the one you teach from your law; 13  you grant them relief from days of tr

1  The LORD reigns , he is robed in majesty ;     the LORD is robed in majesty and armed with strength ;    indeed, the world is established, firm and secure . 2  Your throne was established long ago;    you are from all eternity.   3  The seas have lifted up, LORD,    the seas have lifted up their voice;    the seas have lifted up their pounding waves. 4  Mightier than the thunder of the great waters,    mightier than the breakers of the sea—    the LORD on high is mighty .   5  Your statutes, LORD, stand firm ;     holiness adorns your house    for endless days.

Hurry up.  Faster.  Come on.  Not right now.  Maybe later.  Are you coming? We don't have time. We're gonna be late. No. Quickly. These words come out of my mouth on a regular basis.  I have been trying to slow down and enjoy the gifts that God pours out daily, but I can't believe how often I hear myself using these phrases. Are a 1.5 year old and a 3 year old really supposed to be in such a rush? I'm thinking about making a chart and recording every time I use the words I mentioned above. No, I know myself - I will quickly feel like a failure. Maybe I'll do the opposite.  I think I am going to try to keep a tab on the following words: Yes, we can do that.  Wow!  That's awesome.  Want to try? What do you think that does? Why do you think God made that? OK. Check that out.  Look at this.  Yum, smell this.  Isn't this great? Want to try? Look. Slow down, silly.  Glad we didn't miss this.  Which one is your favorite? Want mommy to help? Father God,

When Avonlea (4.5 mos) wakes up in the mornings, she is very hungry.  I sit down to feed her right away.  Often, she is so hungry that I struggle with her to get her thumb out of her mouth. I take it out of her mouth and try to offer her the real thing.  She goes for the thumb again.  Sometimes it takes two or three times before she latches on and eats until she is fully satisfied. Oh how often I do that to God.  He has something amazing for me. but I think I know whats best.  My prayer this morning that I will take my thumb out of my mouth, seek and find what he is offering. Only He truly satisfies.

752. Going to bed early & waking up early 753. Reading books & snuggling with Blake & Cole 754. Back to pre-baby weight!!! 755. Edible flowers 756. Having big boy conversations with Blake 757. Finally learning and acting upon the "less is more" concept 758. Making smoothies with a sweet friend, 2 eager students & 2 messy little boys :) 759. Hammock time with the boys 760. Blake saying please, thank you & may I without being reminded 761. Parenting humbling me daily

1  It is good to praise the LORD    and make music to your name, O Most High, 2  proclaiming your love in the morning    and your faithfulness at night, 3  to the music of the ten-stringed lyre    and the melody of the harp.   4  For you make me glad by your deeds, LORD;    I sing for joy at what your hands have done. 5  How great are your works, LORD,    how profound your thoughts! 6  Senseless people do not know,    fools do not understand, 7  that though the wicked spring up like grass    and all evildoers flourish,    they will be destroyed forever.   8  But you, LORD, are forever exalted .   9  For surely your enemies, LORD,    surely your enemies will perish;    all evildoers will be scattered. 10  You have exalted my horn [ b ]  like that of a wild ox;    fine oils have been poured on me. 11  My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries;    my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes.   12  The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,    the

Psalm 91 1  Whoever  dwells  in the  shelter  of the Most High will  rest  in the  shadow  of the Almighty. [ a ] 2  I will say of the LORD, “He is my  refuge  and my  fortress , my God , in whom I  trust .” 3  Surely he will   save  you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. 4  He will  cover you  with his feathers, and under his wings you will find  refuge ; his  faithfulness  will be your  shield  and  rampart . 5  You will  not fear  the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6  nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. 7  A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. 8  You will only   observe  with your eyes and  see  the punishment of the wicked. 9  If you  say , “The LORD is  my refuge , ” and you make the Most High your  dwelling , 10   no harm  will overtake you, no disaster  will come near your tent. 11  For he will  command

752. Meeting new people - specifically the encouraging ladies I met last night at my Jockey party :) 753. 2nd chances (yes, this one has made the list in the past...and probably will again. 754. Productive mornings 755. God's grace 756. Blake - "Momma, why is Jesus the King?" 757. Learning new things from Blake...literally.  He has showed me how to do multiple things (with his toys) that I couldn't figure out how to do.  And, he's only 3! 758. Staying home all week (except in the evenings) 759. Long conversations with my husband 760. Tough conversations with dear friends 761. Getting a bit down, but God QUICKLY lifting me back up 762. Experiencing a patience that I know is not my own 763. Early morning prayer chats.