Count Your Many Blessings

Name them one by one, Count your many blessings see what God has done...

That was one line of one of my favorite hymns growing up.  I am so blessed, and I know as do many of us, I take those blessings for granted sometimes.  This day, Christmas day, I want to reflect on all the blessings that I have, and some of those that I've lost so as not to take anymore for granted.

This year for Christmas, instead of getting my babies a bunch of toys and things that would eventually wear and tear, I decided to give them the gift of giving.  Together Jakob, Kayleigh and I created homemade Christmas cards and took them to our local nursing home to pass out to all the residents.  Each time one of my children handed out a card and told the recipient "Merry Christmas", I felt God's spirit in my heart swell up.  Not from pride, but from love.  I was so happy that my children were not only participating, but fussing about who got to hand out the next card.  Each person that got a card stopped what they were doing, and if their hands still worked, opened the card and read it right then. 

Many of the residents of the home no longer have relatives to visit them.  Some are all alone in the world.  I got to share my children with some very weary, loving people.  To see my children and interact with them made them smile.  The whole building got a card (even a few of the workers) and it might have cost a whopping 3 dollars in construction paper. 

Christmas isn't about what you spend, it isn't even about you or your kids.  Christmas is about God's son.  Jesus' life was giving.  He gave of his time, and he gave his life.  Make next Christmas about giving of something besides extravagant toys.  Show your children the true meaning of Christmas.  They won't forget it and neither will you.

Winter Wonderland

IT'S HERE!!!!!!!  What some refer to as "the white death", I prefer to call "God's Cold Blanket"... whatever your nickname, it has reached my area of Kentucky in a BIG way.  I'd estimate we have at least 4 inches.  School was cancelled today, and preemptive cancelled for tomorrow.  The kids have had a super day, we did some math homework from workbooks I bought at the store.  Trying to give them a little school on a snow day won't kill them.

But for the most part, it's been a play for-all free for all.  Kayleigh has helped me wash dishes and do a load or two of laundry.  And we also got some of our home made Christmas cards made.  It will take us quite a few days to get them all finished.  But it will be great when we get to deliver them. 

On Christmas eve or Christmas day, the kids and I are going to take the cards that we've made to our local nursing home and pass them out to the residents.  I hope that the messages of God's love my children wrote on the cards can bring a smile and a sense of love to the people that receive them. 

A few of the people in residence there don't have anyone (family or friend) to come visit them.  And one thing most all of them love are children.  So I thought it would be great to share mine with them for a bit.  Who knows, maybe someone in the home hasn't accepted Jesus as their Saviour and we can help them do that.

Anywho... I am glad for a little time with my kiddos.  It has been great.

A Day Such As This

Today has been different. Let’s just say that.  Not bad per se, but not good by any means.  I felt like I needed to write it down, just to get it out of my heart.  It will still be in my mind, no doubt, but maybe God can take it from my heart. 

Words hurt.  Whether they are meant to or not they do.  And I have been guilty of saying things without taking three seconds first to think about the ramifications of the words.  I pray that those instances can be fewer, but nonetheless they occur. 

When those hurtful words come from someone that you love, it is completely different than when they come from a stranger.  I am not making any sense really and I am sorry.  This is not going to be a poetic piece, it is just kind of a word dump to make me feel better.  I hope it works. 

God Bless Friends

I have been blessed to share parts of other people’s lives with them, sometimes for months, sometimes for years.  Many people have said they were my friends, but few I actually would call friends.  There are a few who will always be in my heart and have been a very influential part of my life.

My teenage friend, was my soul sister.  This young lady taught me things about life that I had never thought of learning.  She was my voice of reason and my angel.  Unlike some smarter than I in the Bible, I ignored my angel and she went away.  I followed the wide path, and she the more narrow.  I miss her terribly and wish if I could change one part of my teenage years, it would be that I would have told her how much I loved her. 

I have had many “friends” since her, but none that can compare.  None that truly cared for me just for me.  Not for what I could give them or do for them, just for me.  I thank God for the small window of time I got to have her in my life and want to say (if she reads this), that I am sorry I didn’t listen.

Now some friends you share time and space with and some you simply share time with.  Another friend is a man that I will most likely never physically meet.  Through “social networking” we met.  Completely different backgrounds, completely different people.  I just feel a kinship with him.  Like the awesome brother or uncle or…I don’t know just awesome.  He has a beautiful wife and a beautiful family and his words of kindness have brightened many of my days.  He is wise and a devoted father and husband.  I know we are destined to be friends a long time for no other reason then that his wife and I share the same favorite movie.

God places people in your life for a reason.  There is nothing in your world that is coincidence.  Take note of your surroundings, be thankful for the people in your life. 

God bless you both.

A Blog to Be Inspired By

Sometimes God places someone in your life completely unexpectedly.  Seemingly random, seemingly meaningless.  And then in awhile, you say “Ahhhh I gotcha now God”.  Today was one of those days for me. 
This morning I started off by working on my Experiencing God homework and this is the last week.  Day 3 of week 12 talks about your children and how they are yours for reason.  That each step you take with them should be led by God.  Never looked at it like that before.  Never thought of it like that before. 
When I first started this blog, I went up to the button at the top that says next blog, clicked it, and read over the blog I was brought to.  One of those “seemingly random” blogs was “The Daily Poop :)”.  Cute title huh?  Anyway, an anonymous poster wrote her a nasty comment about the upcoming child she is carrying, saying that she shouldn’t be having another when she is not in a financial place to do so and that she has children with special needs already.  Her response to that really spoke to my soul.  I believe that God placed her blog on my radar for this very important day. 
Sandy, I thank God for you. 

http://blessedfam.blogspot.com/

Sometimes

Sometimes all a person needs

Is for you to say “Hi there”

Sometimes it requires a bit more

To show them that you care

Whatever it takes, please try your best

To help them have a smile

It will come back to you tenfold

In just a little while

God says what you do for the least of these

You do also unto me

Blessings you have given freely

Shall comeback to visit thee

He blesses us more each day

More than we deserve or need

The least we can do for Him

Is to do for His children a good deed

A smile isn’t so much

In the larger scope of things

But to a person that has nothing

We don’t know the joy it brings.

Wow I could use some help…

I have realized, although not just now, that I will never win the honor of “World’s Best Parent”.  I’m mostly okay with that, the kids probably aren’t.  I have asked God for patience, but I’ve not noticed a big change in that area as of yet.  Maybe there is a reason for that.  I know that I get upset over things that would only upset an old woman, but try as I might I cannot make myself not get frustrated. 

Do you think I could get points for at least acknowledging that I am impatient?  But I am not just impatient with kids, it is with adults too.  I love to be punctual.  I love to be more than punctual.  My day goes horribly if I am late for anything.  Why is that?  It reminds me of an old country song by Alabama “I’m in a hurry to get things done, I rush and rush until life’s no fun”.  And it seems like if I know this I  could change it, but for the life of me I haven’t mastered it yet.

SO this is my written plea for God to help me be more patient.  I know that He hears my prayers, but it never hurts to have it in writing. 

Did I miss something?

It appears the older I get the less Christmas is actually about the Christ.  How did that even happen?  Why is it more important for us to give the best gift that our loved ones will remember for years, then to give our time or resources to those who know nothing of luxury or even comfort.  How about this for a statistic, there are over 2.7 billion people on this planet that have NEVER heard the good news of Jesus’ birth, death and resurrection for everyone’s sins!  How is that even possible?  If each professing Christian told the story to at least one person a day, we could eradicate that number easily. 

Guess what?  Not gonna happen sitting around the Christmas tree though.  I highly doubt there are any unreached people groups around your tree,  Let’s all vow that we will always show God’s love in our life, and that we will actively seek people who are lost.  It is our great commission.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  ~Matthew 28:19-20

Please check out this site..  http://www.thejoshuaproject.net

God Bless and please remember why we even celebrate Christmas.

Questionable for Cause?

As with most of the world (it seems) today, I also have a Facebook account.  Aside from the cutesy little status updates, or birthday party announcements, I really don’t get into all the applications and stuff.  I have noticed a note has been circulating for a couple of days that says something to the effect of in support of breast cancer awareness you are to put on your status a word (in this case it is a type of alcohol) as it correlates to a code system of relationship attachment.  I don’t remember all of them but I remember what my status would have been.  I am married so I would have wrote beer as my status.  Now the point of this is for people to be aware of breast cancer, but what in the world does beer have to do with breast cancer awareness? 

I think that social media entices us to do questionable things for a good cause.  I remember the last one of these status update things was to put in your status where you like to place your purse when you come home and it was to say “I like it on the”… Now to someone who doesn’t know what that is about, that could come off as vulgar.  I also opted not to do that one. 

Where do we draw the line?  How do we separate our values, or inherent conscious from something that is for a good cause but a little risqué? 

When we start compromising what we think is right, then we wind up in the wrong direction.  I don’t think that there are many people on this earth that don’t know about breast cancer, so telling people in a code about it isn’t going to help the cause. 

If you would like to know more about breast cancer or donate to help find a cure, there is a link right below to help you do so.

http://www.breastcancer.org/  (For information)

http://ww5.komen.org/  (For information and to donate)

 

A true warrior. My granny. Double mastectomy.

God Grant Me Resolve

My church has been taking the study “Experiencing God” by H. and R. Blackaby and C.King for 11 weeks now.  On this week God has convicted me.  God gave me a feeling, an overwhelming feeling that I was neglecting Him and what He had told me to do.  And I was.  Evidence- today I did the whole weeks worth of homework for this study.  It is not designed to be done like that.  I was told by my pastor not to do it that way at the beginning of this study.  Tonight is class night, so I had to get caught up.  If I can quote a bible verse used in this weeks study, let me tell you how it was reaffirmed by God to me that I was purposefully lost. “Do not love the world or anything in the world.  f anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For everything in the world-the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and boasting of what he has and does-comes not from the Father but from the world.” ~1 John 2:15-16.

Yesterday God told me just this.  I was putting my want for more money even though He has provided well for me, to come between us.  If not for this study, I might have not gotten this affirmation so clearly. 

Thank you God.  Thank you God.

Lost by choice

It isn’t very often that we say in life that we have gotten lost by choice.  But I can say that at this moment.  I have come to the realization that I have taken focus off of God and put it into trying to earn extra money.  I know that my relationship with Him has suffered for over a month now.  I give Him lip service only.  I haven’t yet found a good balance between work and God.  So if I can’t I feel like I need to slack on the money.  Maybe this venture isn’t what He intends for me.  It is written that “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much” in Luke 16:10.  I feel God has given me tasks to do and I have put them in second or sometimes even last place to try to get my business going.  I have not been honest with what he’s given me.  I thank Him for his light bulb moment that He sent me today.  I will begin to put him first again.

From the Mouths of Babes

This picture was taken when my daughter was in 1st grade. The kids in her class were asked what they were thankful for and to draw pictures of those things.  Here is her drawing.

And he said”Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.~ Matthew 18:3

Hectic Much?

I pray that I am not the only mother on this earth who finds it difficult at best to gather children together in an organized fashion in order to make even the smallest of trips.  And please tell me I am not the only one that has children that cannot leave the house without bringing some toy no matter how seemingly insignificant the toy.  Even a trip to the grocery store is like I am on that old prank show on MTV (I think) called Boiling Points.  The only problem is I never win any money.  

I can't even fathom how mom's who have kids with a plethora of after-school activities manage.  My kids (at this point) are not interested in any thing and I will not be ashamed to say "Thank God" for that.   How can your child even have time to breathe if they are in 3 or 4 different activities?

On the other hand, I know that one day I will miss these times of aggravation and messy memories.  When my children are off to college or where ever they go, I will look back and say "Man I miss those days".  But that will be then.  It is hard to take time to see where you are, when where you are is in the middle of a mess.

How Great Thou Art...

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee, How great Thou art, How Great Thou Art!

Today on this day, although it is not technically Thanksgiving, it is my Thanksgiving day.  And on this day, I reflect on all those members of my family that I would love to be able to hug and talk with.  My aunt Geneva, whom we always called Auntie but since we're from Kentucky, it always sounded like Annie with a long a.  How Great Thou Art was her favorite song, and I would love to be able to hear her sing it now.  My grandma Kelsie, we called lil' granny, man was she an awesome granny.  I spent almost every weekend there at her house.  My grandfathers Dan and Arthur whom I barely got to know and my grandmother Sadie who passed away long before I was born.  My most recent loss, my sweet nephew Jeffrey who was only 26 when he died would have been here eating me out of house and home! 

I give thanks to God for all the memories of these precious people and I also thank Him that he has given me one more day to be with those of us left.  My prayer for this day is that we love each other to the fullest, that we never take one second for granted and that we can all put little tiffs behind us and look forward. 

Thank you Lord for my family.

Share in the Abundance

When we look around us we will see a myriad of people of all economic backgrounds.  But here in the United States, even in the poorest of neighborhoods, when you look at our poor and impoverished, it is incomparable to those in areas that many of us could never thrive or even survive in.  Many children all over the world starve to death daily.  And when I say many I mean that every day approximately 16,000 children die every day from hunger-related causes.  That is astronomical!  Can we really say that we have it so bad when there are babies dieing because they are hungry?  That makes the everyday worries that we have seem trivial at best. 

What I say all this for is to get to this, while you are preparing for Thanksgiving, Christmas or birthdays, look around, I am sure that you can find a spare can of food you can take to your local food bank.  How many toys do your kids really need?  Donate your time and efforts to those children of God that will not get even one present or bite of food this holiday season.  Not only will your children get over it, they will love you for it later.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you and may God Bless you all.

Use it or Lose it

Sometimes we go through life and we miss tons of opportunities that we don’t even recognize.  Today I think I actually saw one and took it.  Here’s the story:
This week (albeit the shortest school week ever) is my daughters week to be star student.  During this week the child gets to bring in photos of themselves and family, mementos and a special toy.  My sweet angel has a dolphin on her dresser and it is a cute statue, except for the broken fin.  She wanted to take it and me, wanting to protect her from ridicule, said no at first.  But then I remembered where she had gotten it from.  Here in Kentucky there is a special home in Casey County called the Galilean Home.  This is a very special place that was founded by a husband and wife (Sandy and Jerry Tucker).  Since they first felt God’s calling for this ministry, they have adopted hundreds of children from all over the world.  They take no federal funding and every penny they have is donated or earned from one of the businesses on or around the property.  One of these is the store where Kayleigh got this dolphin with the broken fin.  Sandy passed away and so now it is Jerry and his MANY children that run the home.  They have adopted children who without them would have perished in their home land.  Boys and girls with limbs blown off from hidden land mines, and many children with developmental delays have been adopted.  There is also a ministry called “Born Free” where the Tuckers take in babies that are born in prison or babies that have mothers in prison and take care of them (free of charge) until the mom gets out or the child turns 18.  Isn’t that awesome?  That is God’s love.
So without a mini lightening bolt from God, reminding me of a way I could help my daughter be witness of God’s love, an opportunity could have been lost.  I wrote a letter for her teacher to read to tell why she bought this dolphin already broken and where it came from.
God gives us opportunities to share His love daily, we just have to be aware of our lives enough to see them.  Below is a link to the Galilean Home website.  Please check it out.

http://www.galileanhome.org/