Monday, March 30, 2009

Camping in the Cold....

....is not for me. While in the Army, I was not able to say "I really don't think I want to stay out here since it is so cold" while training to go to JRTC or NTC (training centers). In fact I was not able to suggest much those days. Today, is another story. I can say that "you know it is a big too cold for me to stay out here any longer" and then jump in the car, drive the 15 miles back to my warm bed and sleep well! And by golly, that is what I did. I did bring my 2 youngest along for that warm sleep, while my dear husband and 2 bigger children stayed at our campsite and snuggled to stay alive - I mean warm!

I had a slumber party with my little girl sleeping snuggly with me and with her brother sleeping soundly on the floor nearby. We were well rested and even clean when we got back out to our site about 7:30ish the next morning to 3 very cold men! We then all hopped in the car & headed home to avoid the 40 degrees temps with winds about 40mph all day - making it feel like the 30's. We had lunch with friends and several naps at home, before heading back to our site to enjoy a great evening campfire, supper and smore's (of course) before turning in and getting some not such sound sleep that night. It was warmer, but still in the high 30's and low 40's which makes for cold conditions anyway!

Here is the princess with her stick - just like her brothers!!
So we are now Arctic Camping certified, well I should say 3 of them are, 3 of us are not and I am okay with that!!
Here are some sunset shots from Saturday night - it was pretty but not the best Joe Pool Lake sunset!





Meanwhile, please continue to pray for Stellan, my heart just aches over this precious little boy - but man is God using him in a BIG way! I mean people all over the world are praying for him ...and thus conversing with their creator!! Always a great thing! And people are being told about him and his dear parents who are leaning 100% on their Savior and God!! And what a testimony for them, for everyone watching! Our God is so good and he knew all this would happen, and who knows why - but I just know this is glorifying him to see so many people through a simple blog come together pleading to Him for a little precious boy! A blessing indeed!

So please pray for him!

Did I mention that I thought I had strep on Saturday night? I felt so bad, my throat was killing me and I was sure! Then when I woke up I realized it was allergies! So you can imagine how bad it felt! But it is better today as I am on claritin, even though I did get my local honey yesterday afternoon to start taking regularly, I knew that as bad as this is right now, honey would not take care of it. So a few days of claritin and maybe we will turn to the honey!

We did art this morning - which is a not a regular part of school - but today we did it and we took on a fun project from here! It was fun!! This site is my new favorite for our family to add some fun art projects in that stretch my kids. Art will not be anything more than a fun little elective but this is a great site to get some ideas and develop a plan!!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

PRAYING & PRAISING

First, Please please please pray for Stellan - he is in the hospital and not doing well. Please pray from Mom Jennifer too - they are in for a tough couple days at the least! They are trusting God - and yes, he is GOOD all the time!!


And second - PRAISE - James (AKA Uncle James) is HOME!!! YEAH!!! Daddy will be there for Kayleigh Grace's arrival, mom gets some rest before and YEAH - just YEAH!! God is so good!!

Praying & praising here.....

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Back to School

Well, it is back to school tomorrow and back to turning off this crazy time stealer in the morning. SO I thought I would blog tonight so I do not have to do it tomorrow!!

James should be home tomorrow - I am so praying for an on-time arrival - a great re-union and lots of happy Lewis people!! Yeah! I know there will be one WAY Happy Mama!! I will be one way-relieved far away friend!!

We had a great weekend - Saturday at the Arboretum, Sunday lunch with friends and then yard work! Our yard is coming along so well! The peach trees are doing great!! My herbs are growing, the lettuce is getting bigger, and lots of new things are popping up in our garden!!

The kids found a frog who lives in our water shut off tube-thingy - very technical here! He has a little hole/tunnel he hides in, but he is always there. So the kids love to check on him - too much - and give me updates. So I thought we had to get out to study nature - and here it is under our noses! Not to mention the near tame squirrels at the Arboretum! They almost ate from our hands!!

Well, off for a great week of school - we have lots to do and I am excited to get back to our normal routine! Check out this fantastic art blog too! A great friend told me about it and I LOVE IT!! Cannot wait to use tons of her ideas!! So great!

Saturday, March 21, 2009

pics from today!

Here are a few pics from a fun day at the Arboretum in Dallas today!!



Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Pics

My dear son with his friend

The princess - what a life! She loves bubbles!!

The gang at the zoo - missing one hiding boy!

My latest project - a gift!
Posted by Picasa

Spring Break FUn

We are having such a fun spring break, and well, we are not on Spring Break - which makes it more fun!! We are still plugging away with school in the mornings and with a friend on Monday and a different friend Tuesday (they were brothers). They both decided they wanted to sign up for our school, but I am not sure their mom is up for that! :)
So yesterday we played with friends we have not played with in ages and everyone was very good and had lots of fun! April and I caught up on just about everything, well maybe just lots. It was a beautiful day to be in the back yard and watch the kids play and talk about gardening! We even were fortunate to see a number of butterflies from very small - hard to see - to very big! The girls loved it!
Today we are trekking over to see our favorite animals at the zoo - with friends who are on Spring Break. A morning of playing with them, and then an afternoon of roasting a turkey! Robert is going to be home early I can feel it, especially since dinner is a turkey! His favorite - well maybe next to Lobster!
So we are enjoying the flexibility of homeschooling this week especially while all our friends are home and want to play but still getting school done so we can finish in about 6 weeks!! Yeah! Of course after about a 2-3 week break we are picking up the books again to start for next year. We will start in June - 3rd grade, 2nd grade, Kindergarten, and only one left in preschool! Big Yeah!! And I think I will be struggling to not let that little girl learn along side her big brothers!!
We are also watching our garden start to fill in! For pictures check out our nature blog - our initial pics are up of the garden - I plan to get more today of the sprouts that are showing themselves throughout!! And we will be sure to post any great zoo pictures too - even though I am not sure that is "real" nature! But for living in the metroplex - the zoo will do!!
Well, off to the zoo and a fun day with friends!!

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Amazing!

It is amazing how a day without internet shows you what you have been missing!

The kitchen was thoroughly cleaned in the time I found hidden at the computer, the kids were thrilled to have mom's attention without my back to them. I finished a great novel by Ted Dekker that I started the other day. Then we had a fun night with 3 additional kids over so their mom and dad could have a night out. So we made pizza, and had some ice cream and watched the Sound of Music - an all-time great movie! my little princess loved it and hummed along for much of it!

So the "turn the computer off" idea is a great one that I plan to use again this week and I look forward to the stolen moments with the kids, with cleaning (even though I hate it, I love the results) and reading again!

Who knows what this new move will do to our family! I think it will have a great effect on all of us!

Here is a list a friend sent me of 101 ways to love your husband. Since I just finished the study on Loving Your Husband in our Apple of Gold bible study, I thought I would share.
It is a long list but a good one, some of the ideas may not work for your family - life #8 the "Art Attack" - but a great list none the less!

1~ I love to make "dates" with him, even if it is just splitting a mini yogurt in town and chatting with him across the table.
2~ I love to text him little love notes while he's at work - he doesn't text - so I usually get back the letter "k" which always makes me smile.
3~ I love to tell him in the winter when it's dark that all he needs to do is get in the shower, put on his pyjamas, and dinner is all ready for him - he's just going to relax now.
4~ I love to hold his hand when we are out and about and sneak a kiss when no one is looking.
5~ I love to tell him how handsome he is and how that blue color work shirt with his name "Art" on the front looks so nice on him.
6~ I love to tell him how much I missed him while he was gone all day at work.
7~ I love to buy some of his favorite foods as a surprise - such as sardines, chocolate covered cherries with the clear centers, or beef jerky - then watch his eyes light up.
8~ I love to yell "Art... Art... ART!" And then tell him I've having an "Art Attack".
9~ I love to run into his arms from the long pathway in our yard and have him catch me just like he's always done since we were first married.
10~ I love to make him fried chicken, spanish rice, refried beans, fresh salsa, and tortillas and watch his face light up when he sees the dinner table.
11~ I love to get an old, romantic Cary Grant movie and watch it in our bedroom with him with a big bowl of popcorn and two cups of tea between us on a tray.
12~ I love to answer my cell phone when he calls and say something romantic to him in French that only he understands.
13~ I love to tell him how good he smells.
14~ I love to thank him for all his hard work for us, and how glad I am for it.
15~ I love to hug him while he's cooking something special for me or the kids.
16~ I love to make his bedroom the most serene room in the house with sweet smelling candles glowing in the winter.
17~ I love to ask him about his day and listen to all his details about it.
18~ I love going places with him and sitting beside him with my hand on his knee.
19~ I love calling him at lunch time to see how his day is going so far.
20~ I love planning fun things for him on the weekend like going to the zoo, which we did last weekend.
21~ I love planning surprises for him like going to his favorite Japanese restaurant or walking the street fair.
22~ I love hiding sometimes when he comes in the house from work calling my name, and then jump into his arms.
23~ I love telling him how clever he is and how he can fix anything - like the toilet problem last night.
24~ I love tidying up the house before he comes home so everything is all comforting to him when he walks in the door.
25~ I love having supper in our "dining room", which is in a corner of our living room, with candles and soft music when we are alone - which was last Saturday night.
26~ I love dressing as nice as I can for him and smelling as nice as I can for him - and hearing him call me his Lavender Laine.
27~ I love having tea with him when he first comes home from work to help him relax.
28~ I love having the kids do some of his chores outside so that he is free on the weekends to hang out with me.
29~ I love getting together with friends and family and hanging out with him while we all talk and enjoy each other's company.
30~ I love helping other people with him, who might be going through a hard time - like a friend of ours who showed up at our door unexpectedly at seven one Saturday morning.
31~ I love waking up next to him every morning and telling him so.
32~ I love going to the library with him while he reads the paper, and I read magazines in these big soft chairs there.
33~ I love planning a night away with him at a very spontaneous notice.
34~ I love reading Reminisce magazines with him and swapping some of the stories.
35~ I love reading the Sunday paper with him at Starbucks early in the morning before church while we split a cafe latte.
36~ I love helping him be healthy and trying my best to be healthy for him with all sorts of good things like homemade soups from meaty bones in the winter and fruity smoothies in the summer.
37~ I love calling him, "Honey", "Love" and "Babe".
38~ I love to play soft, romantic music in the car while we drive somewhere together.
39~ I love to pray for him and with him about any of his concerns.
40~ I love sharing a slice of watermelon with him while he feeds it to me, and then the opposite happens when we share an orange together and I feed it to him.
41~ I love telling the kids how good looking their dad is while he's in the room.
42~ I love helping him make the Marines who visit us feel comfortable in our home.
43~ I love holding his hand during church while listening to the pastor's message.
44~ I love praying for him while he is sharing God's Word with someone.
45~ I love catching his eye across a crowded room and winking.
46~ I love going food shopping with him and helping him pick out a special piece of fish for our next meal.
47~ I love cooking together with him while we listen to romantic piano music.
48~ I love walking the mall with him and window shopping without a dime in our pockets.
49~ I love slipping him extra money that I've saved up special for him.
50~ I love splitting a Mexican coffee popsicle with him while we drive home.
51~ I love building a fire for him in the winter, and cooling off our home with fans for him in the summer.
52~ I love making his bed the softest and most comfortable with the highest thread count sheets and a high quality mattress pad so that he gets such a good sleep each night.
52~ I love paying all our bills in a timely manner without debt so that he has such peace about his finances.
53~ I love having dinner ready for him the moment he walks through the door after working hard for us all day.
54~ I love baking bread for him so that he smells it coming up the walkway to the kitchen, and then serving it with olive oil, salt, and pepper in a small bowl just the way he likes it.
55~ I love reading the supermarket ads with him and planning our next purchases there like we were chefs.
56~ I love hearing his dreams and helping him to achieve them.
57~ I love reading the Travel section of the newspaper and planning a trip with him on the tightest of budgets.
58~ I love telling his kids in front of him what a great dad they have and how fortunate they are to have him.
59~ I love whispering sweet nothings to him in crowded places.
60~ I love kissing his hands, because they work so hard for us.
61~ I love meeting him for an appointment so that afterward we can go on one of our little "dates".
62~ I love kissing the top of his head while he's reading the paper or eating supper.
63~ I love telling him to "drive safe" each morning when he heads off for work.
64~ I love telling him how thankful I am to live this life with him.
65~ I love working at the church with him in the library or mentoring other folks in their struggling finances.
66~ I love playing with our cat and dog in the kitchen with him.
67~ I love buying special books for him that I know he would like.
68~ I love saving special articles for him to read that I know he would like.
69~ I love encouraging him to go fishing with his buddies when he needs a "sea break".
70~ I love meeting him after his work at a coffee shop all dressed up and watching him walk in the room looking for me.
71~ I love reading the mail with him in our matching chairs in the kitchen with our feet propped up.
72~ I love reminiscing with him about the first years of our marriage in Germany.
73~ I love talking about our kids with him and hearing his prayers for them.
74~ I love making him laugh when he is frustrated about something or someone.
75~ I love comforting him when he is sick with a tea tray in bed.
76~ I love playing Scrabble with him, just like in the early years of our marriage.
77~ I love doing something special for him on Valentines Day, his birthday, and our anniversary.
78~ I love laying my head on his shoulder during prayer.
79~ I love telling him how beautiful the yard looks because of his work on it.
80~ I love telling him how much I love our home and living there with him.
81~ I love telling him how I love my floors with holes, my marked walls, my old carpets and couches, my stained windows, my faded cabinets and all the other things he wants to repair or replace for me, so that he will not be burdened mentally, physically, or financially and can do it when he is truly able.
82~ I love decorating those floors, walls, carpets, couches, windows, and cabinets with pretty things for him to help make everything pretty during the interim before repairs.
83~ I love praying for him that I might be such a help to him, and not a hindrance, in order to bring our LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ honor with him.
84~ I love Sundays with him and helping him to rest, rest, rest after church.
85~ I love Mondays with him and telling him he is just going to come home from work and relax all evening.
86~ I love Tuesdays with him and having a date in a nearby town while Abbie is at her harp lesson for an hour.
87~ I love Wednesdays with him and going to the local library because it's open late that night.
88~ I love Thursdays with him because it's payday, and he likes to bring home something special like avocados for guacamole with chips.
89~ I love Fridays with him because the weekend is at hand, and there is a feeling of festivity in the air no matter what we are doing.
90~ I love Saturdays with him and hearing him say, "What are we doing together today, Laine?"
91~ I love walking around outside with him on a sunny day anywhere.
92~ I love getting my work done as fast as possible on Saturday so that I can hang out with him, even if it is just going to Home Depot.
93~ I love going to the Bluestar Mothers Ball with him all dressed up fancy each year and having our photo taken to remember what fun we had.
94~ I love going to the zoo with him on a rainy Saturday morning, which is his favorite time to go because all the animals are moving about more freely, and sharing a cafe latte afterward.
95~ I love going to the antique stores and then over to the thrift shops afterward comparing prices with him.
96~ I love going to swap meet with him to buy his work boots about three times a year.
97~ I love hearing him say he loves coming home each day and can't wait to get there, for that has been my prayer and practice for him.
98~ I love buying him clothes in colors that I know he will like and seeing him wear them to work or to church.
99~ I love wrapping my life around his to make it so cozy and comfortable.
100~ I love my early morning coffee chats with him and having him sit down to a hot cup of coffee with me each morning with an egg, toast, or a yogurt.
101~ I love telling him that the last twenty eight years have been the best years of my life.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Internet Addiction

Well after talking with Kristen about my latest "conviction" - I have come to a few conclusions. One, I spend too much time on the computer, and yes I am on the computer now, but it is Friday, really a non-school day for us (even though we are going to do school today - that's another topic) and I need to spend less time on here.

I told her that I can sit her clicking through blogs - good ones at that - ones that inspire me with school, or draw me deeper into a longing for a closer relationship with my Savior, but really, I just need to be away from this thing more.

So she suggested something radical! I mean WOW! I would have not come to this point on my own I do not think. I mean it is radical!

Want to know what her suggestion for me was? And for herself too I might add?

TURN IT OFF!

WoW!! I mean - really, can you do that? Will life keep on trucking along? Will Facebook crash? Will email still work for everyone else, I mean how will I know what a high school classmate in another part of the country or world is currently doing? What if I need to know?

So, I am taking her advice. I am going to start turning it off when I start school and not back on until after rest time. I think 8 hours away will be good for me, my kids, and well imagine the time I will "re-gain" to read, sew, play checkers (our latest favorite), or just be with my dear children who are growing entirely TOO FAST and I am missing it because, well because the internet is sucking the life out of me and the time away from me!

So, blog posts may be less frequent, or maybe more that I will be focused while I am on and not just wandering aimlessly through the internet. Maybe a few days or weeks away will give me new strength to get on and not get sucked in, but today I do not have the strength, so I need some time away!

So, off I go to do school with the kids by the fire. We are planning now, we need to finish a week of school next week but want to play with our PS friends while they are on spring break. So we are going to use today to get ahead and try to keep up at least next week!!

The fire is calling.....

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Slow Sunday

I think this is how they (Sundays) are supposed to be but that is rare in our home.

Today we woke up on time (according to Daylight Savings and all) made it to church before our 1st graders (which is not always easy). Class was fun, we watched a video today, a first for us, on the story of Elisha. Then to "big" church, good sermon - a bit in your face about sexual purity - in your face is always good I think.

Then we invited some friends home for lunch which I described as a odd mixture in the crock pot, technically called Latin Chicken from www.allrecipes.com. You never know about a dish before you try it and are leery about inviting company, but it went well. They all enjoyed it, well minus one 7 year old. My kids had seconds - 2 of them - and Robert has lunch for many days! Not a bad deal!

Then almost everyone took a nap - except our oldest son, and many are still asleep.

What a nice, slow Sunday. I think this should be a regular thing for us, except wait - I usually have something to do in the afternoon, or find something to do. So maybe it is me. - nah that cannot be - must be something else!

Well, off to prep my school room tomorrow for a smooth starting week!

Friday, March 6, 2009

Re-learning the same lesson

Okay God - I get it.

That is how I feel right now. I get it, I got it last time, and well maybe forgot it, but I get it.

I am so thankful that God does not try to do something in our lives and give up because we are too stubborn to get it quickly. I know I would have given up on me by now! My goodness. I came back from the great conference knowing I need to live by faith and not in my flesh. I got that. I did not equate that to the behavior of my kids or a few other things. It took a day, a not so great day, to be reminded that I am still not living by faith. I am trying too hard to force things and they don't respond well to that.

So I turned to Kristen to help talk me through it, and I knew she would have a clear perspective despite the chicken pox kids (3 of 'em) and her lack of sleep, and her almost due baby, and ...... everything else. But she did not fail to do what I hoped she would. She saw things a bit differently than I was seeing them today. And she was able to get down the some key issues and not the surface ones. I love that about God - he gives us people in our life who can help us pull the weeds in the garden of our heart, and help us identify other things that may need to be pulled too. Anyway she led me to realize I am not giving my eldest enough attention in general. Something I have known for a while but I did not see how our recent issues related to that problem.

So God is saying, meet with me in the morning (have not done this all week - been waking up too late because I am getting to bed too late and not enough time to meet with him - WRONG ANSWER!!) and I will set your course for the day. Put your kids before the computer, friends, the phone, etc, etc. And do your best and I will do the rest. There it is... the Faith part. Trusting him to work on my son's heart about his behavior. Letting go of my need to be his conscience and my desire to make him perfect - Kristen said "perfect, like you?" Ouch! Yes, I get it.

But if my kids do not see me trusting that God will help me, where are they going to learn to do this very difficult life lesson of living by Faith? So I need to start again, thankfully God gives us another morning to start fresh after the night of regrets. So I will take tomorrow as a new day, not a continuation of this one. And I will set aside time to meet with my eldest and try to start filling his cup ever so slowly and ever so intentionally, and maybe together he and I can learn to turn to God to fill our cups instead of getting upset because I cannot control a situation, or acting out to get attention. But first, I will meet with my Lord, and I will ask him to fill my cup so that from the overflow of my cup I have something of value to pour into the cups of those I love.

We will see....

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Happy Day

Warm weather, slower schedule, good school days ===> Happy Days!

We have had a great week of slowing down and enjoying things. We are having some great days of school - we even started a new book - well we will start today - Viking Tales. Knowing my boys and the topic we will really enjoy it! We are getting spring fever too though and we are ready to plant some more stuff in our garden today in the 80+ degrees we will be blessed with!

And God has been really blessing me with new friends! I met a few ladies for coffee about 2 weeks ago and it has just blessed me so much! These are homeschool ladies with like minds in the area of books and children and it has just been so fun getting to know them more and share our passions! God is so funny in that he brings us a gift even when we are not looking for one! And I feel like these ladies are a gift!

Friends are just such a blessing! Even when they are far away because we are fortunate to have email, cel phones and chatting. Even though sometimes little people get on and chat back to someone who does not know that they are little people and not the mom they are hoping to chat with! Right Kristen - I love you BUZZZZZ!

Anyway, our home is operating smoothly these days, of course I have not sewn this week (except to teach my eldest to sew a pillow case as a birthday gift). And I am sure that helps because I am not pre-occupied with my tasks too much and have time to just be with the kids. It is amazing how that one little thing changes the mood of everything. And even yesterday I was able to spend many hours with a new friend and I worried the kids would be climbing the walls for my attention and instead they played wonderfully for those same hours without much need for my attention. So I am realizing this growing up thing has its perks! And my cup was filled talking and sharing with my friend! And my belly too since she brought me a wonderful coffee drink!!

So slowing down has been good for us. I am sure I could find a verse to talk about this. But these last few days I have kept coming back to the phrase "There is nothing wrong with good, but I just want to pick the great things and pass on the good" - this is books, activities, everything. I mean who wants to waste their time on a good book when you can get a great one!! And same thing with life - we have such a short period of time to invest in our most valuable treasure - our kids - why waste it with only good stuff when we can choose the great!

Well, off to school the boys are about done with math - it is time to read and share!!

Monday, March 2, 2009

Aspiring to....

What are you aspiring to do? I could finish that sentence with so many things...

...be a more patient mom
...play more and clean less (not that my house shows that I clean much)
...show the light of Jesus more
...and on and on and on....

But these days I am really aspiring to live by Faith. And that my friends is a tough goal. I mean what does that look like every day? Not just in the big things, but every day? With my kids, with my husband, with my friends?

I was saved at the age of 20 - my first year at West Point. So, I made it through 12 years of school, 2 years of college and was accepted into West Point. Up to that point I was "doing pretty well." I look back and I see God's hand in so many things - as far back as I can see in my life. But I spent a heck of a lot of time doing it on my own. I do realize that God opened many doors and was there the whole time, but as far as I knew then I was getting things taken care of.

So when you are saved at a later in life age I think the whole living by faith thing is hard. I mean, maybe it is hard for everyone, but when you are able to do most things, and have done a lot of not so normal things, it is just easier to do it in your own strength, or really in your "Own Flesh."

At the Whole Hearted Mothering Conference I was convicted of this in a BIG way. It was more in my face than something has been in a long time. I mean I know I could read more, play more, and be more patient - but can't we all? This was more - ME. Not everyone, not someone else, but to ME. Sally said when you are living in the flesh you are under more pressure, more stress, never perfect enough, and very judgemental. She said those people (me) really only do what they think they can do. They volunteer for things they can do, areas they are comfortable in. They are louder and angrier than those who are living by faith. WOW. I mean she could be describing my life. Panic attacks when the stress goes up, chest pain at times when it really goes up, anger toward my kids when I get overwhelmed by things I cannot "control" so many areas that I think I need to do better, but I do not know how and then Sally spoke to me.... well not really. God spoke to me through Sally's voice. He asked me if that was me. He asked "Do you get uncomfortable when you do not have the confidence to do and then avoid it?" Yes - lots of times. "Do you let things create stress in your life and let them get bigger and bigger until you cannot handle it?" Yes - all the time.

So I am still digging into what this looks like every day. But so far this is what I know.
1. I do not have to be on time to a playdate if it means yelling at my kids. I can be late - my friends will understand.
2. I do not need to run around and clean when someone is coming over - they are coming to see me and how clean my house is, is not a reflection of me. God does not mind that my home is a home and we live in it and play in it. And sometimes we clean it! :)
3. If something is causing us stress we need to stop and evaluate - and sometimes we need to drop it, and sometimes we need to say God I cannot do this, but I know you can help me do it.
4. If I am angry about anything I need to stop and evaluate again - then I need to respond and not react to whatever situation I am in.

You know, as I teach 1st grade Sunday School and we teach these great stories Daniel, David, Elijah, Gideon, I teach the kids that God is the one who did all those great things and he used ordinary people to do them. That alone they could not do those things, that they needed to depend on God to do everyone of them. And yet, I live Monday - Saturday doing it on my own and not looking to God to provide the way, the means, the courage.

So I am trying each day to live more by faith than the last. I am trying to let God deal with the bickering in my home, the stress in my life, and the business of my days. I am trying to listen to his gentle words more, the nudges from the Holy Spirit. And I am asking for his help every morning before my feet hit the floor. Not because I cannot do it on my own - but because I no longer want to. I want the joy of living by faith in Him - knowing I am not carrying the stress of this world, but that I am letting him.

And the bottom line, I hope that my kids start to see me living by Faith and that they are inspired to start at a much younger age and do it much more naturally than I ever will!

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...