Blessed Be The Name

The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. That's how the song goes. How many of us, though, bless His Name when He takes away? We are very quick to praise God when a check mysteriously shows up in our mailbox, but when a good friend announces she is moving far away or a dear Christian tells you he has cancer and has less than a year to live, do we praise God? Is it possible? Should we tell God, "Thank you for giving my fellow worker, in Christ, a disease that is inoperable? The answer is one I, in my flesh, have trouble verbalizing. The song says, "Blessed be Your name, when the sun is shining down on me, when the world's all as it should be, Blessed be Your name. Blessed be Your name, on the road marked with suffering, though there's pain in the offering, Blessed be Your name." That to me, says, the answer is yes. I can't say "Thank You" right now. I'm not happy. I'm deeply grieved over these two situations that have become realities to me this past week. A friend shared with me, who has become very special in my life and the lives of many others, that she and her family will be moving by next summer. I know God has a plan, but it's hard for me to be excited or thankful. I know that shows my spiritual immaturity (as Oswald Chambers would probably say), but I will try to praise Him nonetheless. A dear brother, in Christ, who is close to my father's age, has an inoperable malignancy on his pancreas. He will be taking chemo and radiation to try to delay the pain that often comes with a growth that develops on nerve endings and blood vessels. I am praying for total healing. I know my God is fully capable of restoring Brother Jim to perfect health if He so chooses. It wouldn't be the first time.

Another one of my very close friends is having a mammogram today. Her doctor found a mass and wants to see what's going on. I pray we will know something by the end of today.
I ask you, if you read this and you are a believer in Jesus Christ, please pray for these families. They have a lot of hard decisions to make over the next few months. One way or another, God is good all the time and all the time, God is good, Amen?

Week of Visits

We've had a busy week! I had Amy come last Sunday. Then we had two families from our church come over for games last night, then tonight, my friend Kristie came over for a visit. We had a great time. I got to meet her son, Noah. He is adorable! Big brown eyes and gorgeous skin! He was so good. I think the only time I heard him get fussy was right before they left. It was past his bedtime.
Motherhood is hard. Can I get a holla? Kristie and I were discussing some of the things we have to deal with when we enter motherhood. I guess I had the romantic idea of how things would be before I had kids. I just assumed that my kids would never misbehave. And, if they did, I would immediately catch it and punish them severely.......Can anyone relate? It's so different when they are your children. Emotions cloud your judgement. Everything changes when you have a little person to care for 24 hours a day. I appreciate my down time. I wish I had more of it, sometimes. At first, for me, it seemed like I was giving up so much of my freedom. I now realize it has just made me appreciate it. I took it for granted. Young blog readers, value the time you have before children. It's so precious. Having children is precious, too, but it's a job where you never clock out, and you don't get paid. The time I have with my children is treasured and I don't regret my decision to have them, but I do look forward to a time with more freedom again.

However, I read with Michael tonight, and it's so sweet to just snuggle on the bed with him and listen to him get into the books we read. Those are the moments I will miss when I have my freedom back.

Lauren Rides!

I can't wait to say Lauren rides, again! Yesterday, Amy, a good friend from our church, told me she would be working with her horses and if I wanted to bring Lauren by, she would let her ride. I kept this info from Lauren just in case it rained. I knew it wouldn't go over well if I wasn't able to take her. I have never seen her so comfortable! She was totally in her element. Normally, she is a bit timid with new things, but this, for her, was just like second nature. She even asked Amy if she could go faster. She told her she wanted to gallop! I don't know what it is about her having a passion for something, but it fills my heart with overflowing joy to see her enjoy something sooooo much. I wonder if God feels the same way about us when we are using the gifts He has given us. Just some food for thought.......

Old Friends Reunited

My friend, Amy, who I have known since age four, came for a visit this past weekend. We had a great time. We haven't seen each other since we were nine years old! It's funny how it seemed as though we had never been apart. It was fun to catch up and I hope we can do it again soon. It's been wonderful to be reunited with a friend who is a believer. Our fellowship was sweet and our friendship is one that will carry on into eternity. Isn't that awesome?

Soccer Season

Eric is coaching Michael's soccer team this year. He is so good with the kids. I can't wait until the games start.
We will have good water running to our house very soon! I can't wait. No more staining and iron in the water. It will be nice to be able to drink water right from the tap. I can't wait to take a shower and not come out smelling like metal! I can't wait to be able to run the dishwasher and the clothes washer at the same time! I can even give the kids a bubble bath! Our water doesn't allow soap to lather! It's been very frustrating! Eric is seen here digging the trench to the house to run the water and electric lines. What a chore that was! I know he will be glad when all this is over.

Lightning stinks

Okay, I know it's been a while since my last blog, but I have a good excuse. I've been spoiled by fast internet. Tuesday, we had a really bad thunderstorm and lightning struck and fried our modem. The service guy came out on Wednesday to replace it, but it must have fried something inside our computer, too, because our internet is running really slow. So slow, in fact, that I don't even want to take the time to wait for pages to upload, thus no blogging. I finally caved, and decided to let everyone know why I haven't posted. I know you've been really concerned (not!).

Eric finished Michael's room and it looks really cool! My mom bought Michael a camouflage nightlight that is animated. I think he will like it. My parents are coming today for Emmy's birthday. It's a little belated, but better late than never. Eric's parents weren't able to make it because Eric's mom just had cataract surgery. She is not having very much fun right now. Hopefully after she recovers her vision will improve.

I will post a slide show of Michael's room when we can figure out how to get our computer working properly again.........until later.

Fasting

I was so blessed with our services yesterday. Especially last night. Eric preached on fasting and prayer. He used the scripture from Nehemiah 1 and it was so rich!
Have you ever fasted? I've tried, but I haven't been very successful. I don't believe fasting is just something we should wake up one morning and decide to try. I believe God will impress it on our hearts. My flesh cringes everytime I think of trying to fast. If I do, it will probably not be food. Fasting is giving up anything that is very important to you and using that time to spend in God's Word and prayer. I need to fast from TV and internet. I spend a lot more time doing those things than I do in prayer and reading God's Word. How about you? How do you spend the majority of your time? It's something to really think about. Remember, "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1), but I do believe we need to be convicted and compelled to do good works for Him, who did the ultimate good work for us.

Dress Up Birthday

Tonight we celebrated Emmy's 2nd birthday. I cooked fried shrimp (Publix had a great sale), broccoli and corn. We had chocolate cake for dessert. Emily really didn't want any cake. She was rather cranky for some strange reason.......oh yeah, she's two. Here are some pics from this evening.

My Birthday Girl

I can't believe my baby is turning two! I don't know how it's possible that it's been 2 years since she was born. I feel like I was really just hoping for her to get out of that early, needy, breast-fed baby stage. I never did enjoy the first couple of months. Don't get me wrong, I was totally in love with my kids from the start, but I always looked forward to the sitting up, giggly, happy stage. Emily was the best, sweetest little baby. She rarely cried. My how time changes things! She is in the terrible twos! We've nicknamed her "Destructo" because she is like the Tasmanian Devil. Everywhere her feet take her she leaves destruction in her path. Books, toys, crayons, food. You name it, she makes a mess of it. Emily is also very funny. I believe she will be the one making everyone laugh. She just has a way with words. She is a talker. She has been talking since before her first birthday. The only one of the three that did that.
I'm really thankful God blessed us with our three. We planned for 2 and Emily was a huge surprise. Not in our plan. I can honestly say, I cried for the first 4 months. Not straight, but very often. Eric was out of a job. We were going to lose our insurance. We had to move. The timing seemed rather bad. I'm so glad things seemed bleak. God was our only hope (He always is). He provided in HUGE ways. Eric got a job, we were able to keep our insurance and we found a place to live. We became a part of a church that has become our family. God is so good!!! Jehovah Jireh, my provider....