It's all about perspective

Commonly we as people categorize ourselves into two categories when it comes to optimism.  You're either a glass half empty person, or a glass half full.  But aside from how optimistic we are, how do we categorize how we view things that are "have to's" in life?  Like laundry, like work, dishes, the one hour commute?  When we look at those things as "have to's" instead of "get to's" then it is kind of like we are always a "glass half empty" person.

Yesterday as I was sweeping up the dried mud my husband had left with his work boots, I started to grumble inwardly.  No sooner had I started, than God had whispered to be "Be thankful that he is working, and that is able to work".  Wow.  When you think about it like that, the perspective is a WHOLE lot different.  Anything we do in life can be looked at as "I have to".  Or we can look at it as "I get to".  It is all in the way we choose to view life.

Let's all try this for just one day.  Let's be thankful for all the chores we do.  Let's be thankful for things that seem like work.  If you are working you are alive.  Be thankful to be alive, to get to spend one more day with your family, your friends. 

Confess and be Healed

Last night during evening church service, my pastor Dan Gutenson gave us a very inspirational sermon about the healing power of prayer.  The focus was not so much on physical healing, as it was on spiritual healing.  The scripture that he used was from  the book of James .  James 5:13-16 says "Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. Confess your faults one to another, and pray for one another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

Brother Dan shared with us that afflicted doesn't necessarily mean ill.  When you look up the correct translation of the word it means weak.  Tell me one time in our lives when we weren't weak and down trodden?  That study of the word and especially the last verse, Confess your faults, spoke to me.  The Holy Spirit used that sermon for me to speak up, and ask for the congregation to pray for me to be in God's word daily, and not just to say I have done so, but to actually receive a message every day from it. 

I would like to ask you all now, whomever is reading this, to also pray for me.  I need it.  I will also pray for you.  Thank you Brother Dan for delivering what I think God wanted you to say just to me :) 

A Bittersweet Memory

Yesterday was the day we chose to celebrate all of my children's birthdays.  Since their actual birthdays are all within one month, we give our family a break, and let them all join in at one time.

The day was marked with chili, lil' smokies, cake, ice cream and presents.  Lots of kids, laughter and a few tears.  But a day I feel blessed to have witnessed.  My children and those that got to attend had a wonderful time.

In just a couple of weeks, it will be the anniversary of my nephew Jeffrey's death.  He was 26 when he passed.  When he died, he had very few possessions.  One of his mainstays was his shotgun.  While the search party were searching for him, they found this laying in the grass just a bit away from where he was eventually discovered.  I would dare say that when we saw he left that behind, we knew we wouldn't find him and smile about it.

My father took Jeffrey's gun.  He got it completely redone.  It was rusty and dirty, and when finished it looked like a completely different gun.  Yesterday, at my oldest sons birthday party, my father gave it to him.  Jeffrey's mom, my sister Lisa, told my father that Jeffrey would have wanted Jakob to have the gun.  Watching my son be handed that gun was one of the saddest moments of my life.  I wish Jeffrey could be here to pass it to Jakob, to teach him to shoot it and to take care of it. 

Jakob receiving Jeffrey's gun

Jakob will treasure it.  As he treasures the memories he has of Jeffrey.  He will always be in our hearts.  I will always live my life, knowing he never got the chance. 

Dear Friends,

God bless my friends tonight
Help them through this life
Thank you for sending them to me
I pray that they're alright

Bless the one that pains
She needs a brighter day
Lead her, heal her, strengthen her
Please take the reigns today

Bless her mate restore his will
Give him a loving calm
His cup I ask for You to fill
He needs your hand to guide him now

Thank you Lord for those most dear
Whatever your purpose, I know not yet
But when You chose to show it to me
I promise not to forget

~:D

3 Winter Babies… Why did that seem like a good idea?

Not only are all my children winter babies, they were all three born within the same month.  Baby 1 was Jan 10, baby 2 was Dec 29 and baby 3 was Jan 25.  What was I thinking when I … wait.. I wasn’t.  Anyway, in accordance with most Western (and I’m sure lots of other ern countries) I prepare for the birthday.  And I do mean THE because we have a single party for all three.  How could you get all that family to come to three parties, in wintertime, in Kentucky?  What a whop on the wallet that is!

Isn’t life wonderful though?  I have good friends, most I’ve never met.  Kinda like it that way.  I know they love me for me.  Not what I can do for them.  I have a wonderful family.  Insane, and God given.  I love each and every member.  And I have a wonderful God.  What more can a person want? 

Nothing. Amen

My Shoes

Imagine I said I hated you

For the color of your eyes

Well you could get some contacts

We could compromise

For those dear souls that are hated

For the color of their skin

A solution can’t be found for that

With a trip to the 5 and 10

Walk a mile in my shoes

Before you decide to hate

If you don’t even know me

Can’t you pause, just wait

Why spend your life hating

When there is so much more to do

Life is much more worthwhile

When you love like God can do.

Ten Years Of Motherhood

I woke up this morning and thought, ten years ago at this moment, I was in the hospital in labor with my firstborn.  I had all 3 of my sisters by my side.  At 6:30 pm I welcomed my son, Jakob Ethan Mink into the world.  At a whopping 7 lbs. 7.5 oz., he would forever change my life.  I went from Christina to Mommy in an instant.  All the sappy movies and books can’t prepare you for the indescribable love you feel when you hold your child for the first time. 

Motherhood is a very long and hard job.  But it is the one job that I’ve had where the rewards are worth it.  To see my children grow up to hopefully be God centered people, who care more for others than they do themselves will be my reward.

I thank God on this day for allowing me to be the vessel to deliver three of His creations.  I feel blessed that He trusted me enough to care and nurture three souls that He created for a specific purpose.  That the Creator of everything deemed me worthy to be the mother to three of His children.

Thank you God. Happy birthday Jakob.

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.