After a busy weekend, Monday came around & though I went to bed at a decent time, the alarm clock seemed to ring before I was ready to get up.  Mine doesn't actually ring.  It plays some music that starts out quiet & then gets louder if I don't wake up to shut it off.

The kids were none to thrilled to wake up so early either. Gabby has always been a sleeper & she was extra hard to get out of bed this morning.  Thankfully she did & still had time to get ready all the way.  So after the older 3 were off to school, Sadie & I snuggled on the couch for a little bit but needed to get ready to help in the library at Morgan's school.  It's something I think we both look forward to on Mondays.  It's always nice to get to say hi to so many teachers & staff that we've come to love over the last several years that the kids have attended Lemmer.  They are like extended family, especially since having 3 kids attend there we've had several of the teachers.  Sadie is getting more headstrong in what she wants to do and it is becoming more challenging to keep her occupied & out of trouble while we're helping.  Today she walked around the Library with my cell phone and took pics of the kids. I forgot about it until now. I'm sure I'll have a good laugh when I see the pics she took. lol

I talked to a few people on the phone & then felt as though my goal today was to listen to some Biblical teachings.  I have found that when I take notes on what I'm listening to, I learn & retain far more of the information.  I was thankful for Sadie falling asleep for her nap so I could take notes but ended up with a few more phone calls that ate up some of my time.  And she awoke before I was able to get off the phone with the last call.  We had lunch & I attempted to listen and take notes a little more but that's not what Sadie's plans were so I put my podcast away & played with her in the playroom for awhile.  We laughed & enjoyed our time together. I thanked her for making me smile & thanked God for sending her to us because she has brought us so much joy.  I do believe He knew exactly what we needed when he blessed us with her.

Some angels blessed us with a delicious chicken noodle soup for dinner today which was nice since I ended up helping Gabby with some math homework & was still trying to listen to more of my podcast.  I have learned that I need to just listen when I can & not be upset when I am unable to listen to it entirely in one sitting.  That's the perfectionist in me.  The point is, I'm sure there are many of you that have some perfectionist tendencies and sometimes put things off because you just don't seem to have the time to do something all at once so you don't even start.  Well that's not helpful.  Start where you are & work from there.  Don't compare yourself to anyone else.  Do your best and don't worry about the rest.  Find a balance, not perfection.

As I was getting ready this morning a song came on.  I knew I should have written down more of the lyrics because I really wanted to share it with you.  (don't you dislike when that happens?)  It touched me and I'm sure it would have touched you but alas...I have forgotten for now which song it was.  The important thing to me is to keep my eyes focused on Christ and to fill my mind and spirit with Him.  That being said I will share something else.  I like words.  I am drawn to them.  To write them, speak them, sing them, read them....  My kids laugh at me because I really like a lot of word art whether in a subway form or not.  I even have a trash can that has word art on it.  Words appeal to me and I know that they are powerful.  Once said, you can't take them back. They can be used to build up or tear down.  I've probably said this on here before but it is worth sharing again.

Words are very powerful.  (Proverbs 18:21  21Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
            And those who love it will eat its fruit.)   And because words are powerful we need to be careful what we say, what we listen to, what we read, watch, etc.  This is something I have told my children more than once and so I leave you with one of my favorite artists and songs.  Speak Life by TobyMac.  It is my prayer that the words that I share with you will speak life to you.  Please take the time to speak life into someone's life this week!

Speak Life

TobyMac

from the album Eye On It

Buy on Amazon | iTunes

 Play sample

Some days, life feels perfect.
Other days it just ain't workin.
The good, the bad, the right, the wrong
And everything in between.

Though it's crazy, amazing
We can turn a heart with the words we say.
Mountains crumble with every syllable.
Hope can live or die

So speak Life, speak Life.
To the deadest darkest night.
Speak life, speak Life.
When the sun won't shine and you don't know why.
Look into the eyes of the brokenhearted;
Watch them come alive as soon as you speak hope,
You speak love, you speak...
You speak Life, (oh oh oh oh oh oh) You speak Life. (oh oh oh oh oh oh)

Some days the tongue gets twisted;
Other days my thoughts just fall apart.
I do, I don't, I will, I won't,
It's like I'm drowning in the deep.

Well it's crazy to imagine,
Words from our lips as the arms of compassion,
Mountains crumble with every syllable.
Hope can live or die.

So speak Life, speak Life.
To the deadest darkest night.
Speak life, speak Life.
When the sun won't shine and you don't know why.
Look into the eyes of the brokenhearted;
Watch them come alive as soon as you speak hope,
You speak love, you speak...
You speak Life, (oh oh oh oh oh oh) You speak Life. (oh oh oh oh oh oh)

Lift your head a little higher,
Spread the love like fire,
Hope will fall like rain,
When you speak life with the words you say.

Raise your thoughts a little higher,
Use your words to inspire,
Joy will fall like rain,
When you speak life with the things you say.

Lift your head a little higher,
Spread the love like fire,
Hope will fall like rain,
When you speak life with the words you say.

So speak Life, speak Life.
To the deadest darkest night.
Speak life, speak Life.
When the sun won't shine and you don't know why.
Look into the eyes of the brokenhearted;
Watch them come alive as soon as you speak hope,
You speak love, you speak...
You speak Life, (oh oh oh oh oh oh) You speak Life. (oh oh oh oh oh oh)

You speak Life, (oh oh oh oh oh oh) You speak Life. (oh oh oh oh oh oh)

Some days life feels perfect.

It's kinda quiet & dark

As I sit here typing I hear a soft voice talking to the computer from behind me.  The house is mostly quiet & dark.  Why?  Half of our family is missing....well, not really 'missing' but away and it feels strange.  There is a timer ticking on the game Morgan is playing and Sadie's day has been completely disrupted for getting her up early & out the door so her nap was early but after grocery shopping after picking Morgan up from school, she simply couldn't keep her eyes open and fell asleep on the way home.  Who could blame the sweet girl.  It's been quite an unusual day.  But she's tough & resilient. I'm just nervous that she'll stay up far too late & that means I will too & perhaps school will still be on if this storm doesn't really hit.


The wind is gusting outside and we are snug & warm tinkering away at the keyboards.  I am thankful that though it was a whirlwind to get Adam, Gabby, & Braly packed yesterday to leave for Kids Blast early this morning in order to miss driving through the storm that is supposed to hit, it was worth it. They arrived safely & will even have some extra time to spend in the water-park.  What fun!  I miss going.  I kinda wish I would have been able to go this year since I enjoy spending the time with not only my kids but the other kids from our church.  It's so neat to see them connect with God.  It's great to see about 2,000 people worshiping God together in song, giving, & learning from his Word.  The classes to choose from on Saturday are done in the fashion that most conferences are and it is a fabulous opportunity for kids of younger ages 3rd-6th grade to get to experience.

A few years ago there was a class about not being fearful that a certain girl attended.  She used to be quite fearful and after the class & much praying, the fear that seemed to grasp so hard at her subsided.  It still crops it's ugly head sometimes but all in all, that fear is in check.  There have been some great classes taught in the years past and it's neat that the kids get to form better friendships with other kids from our church.  I am thankful that our older two get to attend this special event & that Adam gets to attend it with them.  He's such an amazing dad & does a phenomenal job with the boys he helps with on the trip & he's a good safe driver!

Morgan was so bummed that she didn't get to go again this year.  It will be her chance sooner than she could ever imagine.  She got a small taste of it when she was younger & we brought her along as we helped out.  And now each year she asks if she can go again.  Not yet we tell her.  Soon.  She cried BIG tears this morning as they were climbing into the church van.  She just squeezed my leg and cried silently.  She still had to go to school for the day.  I walked her in since she brought Gabby's talking globe to share with the class as they learn about Africa & Tanzania, which is where their amazing teacher got to go this past summer.  They even get to Skype with some people she met on the trip & keeps in contact with.  It's a great way to introduce 1st graders to the world around them & show them that the Earth is a big place.  They've learned Swahili and Morgan just loves it.  As she walked down the hallway to the gym for me to pick her up today, she was telling everyone bye in Swahili.  So cute!  Mrs. M., you are an AMAZING teacher!  Simply PHENOMENAL!!!!

I am thankful for this special time with my two youngest, especially after having some time on Sunday with the older two alone.  God has blessed us so much!  He is faithful. Always faithful.

Let me leave you with my life verse.  This verse has ALWAYS been my favorite

since I was a little girl about 5 years old.  And the neat thing is, it keeps showing up in the book I've been reading and is such a personal & great reminder to me.

Hebrews 13:8  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever!

Blessed with an Opportunity today

I'm very excited today to have the opportunity to spend the day with my favorite Gabby & my favorite Braly in the whole wide world.  We had signed up for the Drama Club trip at the start of school and had every intention to do the fundraiser to help with the cost of our tickets for the Musical we would watch but with other events taking place, the kids missed the fundraiser info and with the extra cost of medical stuff we had talked about it & told the teacher in charge that we'd be unable to go.  At Christmas, we were blessed with tickets to go anyway.  And so that's why I'm very excited to spend this time with my older two children.  They are growing up so quickly and regardless of everything going on, it's just really nice to be able to spend some special time like this with them.  We head to Appleton on a charter bus this morning to watch Wicked.  I really enjoy Musicals and I hope that this is no exception.  Time for me to finish getting ready for our adventure for the day!  And thank you very much to the people that made this happen.  You have blessed us with a wonderful opportunity and memories we get to share!  Pray for us as we endure 6 hours on one of these buses filled with excited kids. lol

Fun Family Evenings this week

This week seems to be flying by so quickly. Probably due to a few fun evenings this week.

Monday we had the opportunity to go to Morgan's school and make Valentine cards that are given at the local Assisted Living facilities.  We've attended this event each year since they started it a few years ago.  I think it is a great idea on how to show some love to others & is a great community service project for my kids to participate in.  So proud of our school for coming up with the idea and hosting it each year.  What I loved was watching the kids, not just mine, but all the kids create cards for these people they don't know.  And it wasn't even just the kids but pretty much all parents & grandparents that come end up making some too.  The kids make as many cards as they like and then they are all collected into a box & distributed to the people in the facilities.  Soooo sweet to tell them Happy Valentine's Day & hopefully they feel special receiving these cards.  Sadie even made one this year.  When the kids are done coloring, cutting, gluing, using stickers and such to make their cards, they get a sugar cookie with frosting and get to add some sprinkles if they want & then eat their sugary treat.  Thank you Lemmer for hosting this each year. Teaching our kids to think of others is so important.

It was great to bring my kids to a community service project like this & also get to see a lot of the teachers & talk with them.  Teachers from this year as well as the kids' previous years.  Nice time to catch up a little for me and the kids.  Everyone was so kind & said I look great.  Honestly, I feel pretty good too!  Praising God for removing the pain.  And that he has given me a peace that passes all understanding and I'm happy to hear that others see it as well.  It is not me, it is God within me that has brought me peace to keep moving forward.

Philippians 4:7

King James Version (KJV)

7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Yesterday the kids didn't have school because some of the schools were without power & they weren't sure when they'd get power back so they canceled school after calling a 2 hour delay.  The kids enjoyed being home but then were upset when I had them do about 15-20 minutes of cleaning late in the afternoon.  You'd think that I asked them to do something dangerous & horrible the way they reacted. Lol.  Then we got to attend Italian Night at 'The U' for a fundraiser for Gabby & Braly's school.  They have spaghetti, desserts, pop, & some raffles.  We didn't win anything but I'm sure that the fundraiser was a great success.  A LOT of people showed up despite there having been no school.  Gabby was part of the Leadership Team that helped set up, wash tables, set place mats, & clean up after. I was proud of her for taking the initiative to call the school office to ask what time she needed to be at the school for set up since she was originally supposed to stay after school.

And since today is Wednesday, there was of course classes at church tonight.  Braly gets to start making his car for the Grand Prix race in a few months, so Adam took the kids tonight.  I stayed home with Sadie & after fighting the tiredness, she finally fell asleep.  Tomorrow I get my Thirty-One order and I'm so excited to get things more organized.  It brings me joy to organize.  Too bad it's so cold outside...I ordered a few things to organize the van a little more but I will not be messing out there to put them in.  Not until it warms up a little LOT more.

My new goal!

Last night I told Adam that I have tried several times to read through the entire Bible but I have never finished it.  There are books that I find for lack of a better word, boring.  I'll admit, some of it is quite confusing.  I have been a Christian for most of my life. I asked Jesus into my heart when I was 4 years old and even though I have heard & even read many of the verses in the Bible, I've never read it entirely and I've always wanted to.  Why?  Because I know that it will give me a better understanding of God and what he has called me to do and called me to be.

I subscribe to a blog that is called The MOB (mothers of boys) Society.  It has been a great resource for me over the last year or 2 that I have been reading it.  These moms personalize scripture to pray over your boy(s) and give practical & wise advise on how to address many situations.  When a tragedy happens, they often talk about how to discuss it with your children & usually use a biblical perspective.  I received an email titled:  Tips for Reading Through the Bible for the First Time BY JACQUE WATKINS.  You'll find a link below if you are interested in reading the blog post yourself.  Or like I said, you may be searching for help with how to raise your son. Check The MOB Society out for great resources.

Mob Society Tips for Reading Through the Bible

I found Jacque's tips to be helpful and I know that in my quest for seeking God, the manifestation of the healing he has for me, and sharing about God with others, this will help me be more focused and in tune with God and I'll finally achieve my goal of reading the entire Bible. I already printed the reading sheet in chronological order and plan to start at the beginning. I'm a month late in starting the way the plan is written up but that's okay. I will take it at the pace that is reasonable for me and I will let you know when I have reached my goal.

Nearly 2 weeks ago when Gabby was throwing up and I had to miss church for the 2nd week in a row, I used a sermon on cd to have church. It wasn't quite the same as being with the body of Christ but I was seeking God and he met me where I was. That Sunday, I watched Veggie Tales Esther and The Prince of Egypt with the kids. And then later that week we watched Joseph: King of Dreams. Even watching those made me crave to seek out more of God's word and find out what the Bible says exactly about the story of Joseph so I could explain to my children which parts the movie makers embellished in order to try to paint a full picture. I found myself reading chapter after chapter and that's when I had the thought that it was time for me to read through the whole Bible. And then I received the email from the blog on tips to help one read through the bible and now I have a new goal that I fully intend to accomplish.

 

On an update note, things are going good for us.  I am trying to get back into the swing of things now that the pain is gone.  I've been going through closets to take out too small of clothes and catching up on things that I had to let go for awhile.  We have been having family game time when we can.  We played  Hedbanz which was quite interesting.  Really made us think which was fun and good practice for all of us.  We played Pictionary Junior without teams since Adam wasn't home.  I was hoping we'd be able to play another game tonight but we've got a meeting for Gabby going into Junior High next year instead.  Perhaps after school tomorrow will work instead.

Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.

Prayer Warriors:

1. That the healing that I believe God has done, will fully manifest (with the tumor being completely gone, the bones, lymph nodes, and anything else that has been affected will be restored supernaturally, & that there won't be any lasting issues from the medications & procedures I have had done or will have done).

2. God's protection and blessing will be upon my family and me.

3. That God will continue using us to glorify His name & that we will be attentive to Him to lead and guide our every step.

4. That I will be consistent with my Bible reading goal.