Proverbs 31

This morning was a bust on the "this momma has it all together" continum. I woke up feeling a little off and decided to be grumpy about it. Positive choice, right?  Then all three boys needed 100% of their mommy's attention at the exact same moment and chaos seemed to be the theme of the day. I did not think I would ever get them all dressed, fed, and out of the house before school started. We ended up only being 20 minutes late to school and things have greatly improved since then.
The baby and I got in a 30 minute walk. The weather was perfect, baby boy dozed, and I enjoyed having a few minutes of quiet time with Jesus. Then my sweet daddy treated us to lunch. So thankful for days that start out less than perfect but take a turn for the better.
Also, thankful for this lady and the 24 years I spent with her. Momma would have have been 58 on September 30th. This was taken less than a year before she died. Wasn't she beautiful?

 

She is clothed with strength and dignity;

she can laugh at the days to come.

She speaks with wisdom,

and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

She watches over the affairs of her household

and does not eat the bread of idleness.

 Her children arise and call her blessed;

her husband also, and he praises her:

 “Many women do noble things,

but you surpass them all.”

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

 Honor her for all that her hands have done,

and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Proverbs 31:25-31

 

 

A lesson from the jelly jar

 If you say, "The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
 no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.¹

For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”

Psalm 91: 9-16

Have you thanked God for HIS protection today? I, for one, am often guilty of taking my and my family's safety and health for granted. I do not always think to thank God that my van's brakes worked at the appropriate time, that the elevator we all rode on operated properly, or for the countless other ways he keeps us out of harms way EVERYDAY!  It is so easy to ask God to help us through troubles; yet how often do we forget to praise HIM. Today, I am thanking Jesus for HIS goodness, HIS grace, and HIS protection. This was a typical day. I was fixing a sandwich for the older boys while the baby played at my feet. (He is so mobile now. Crawling, pulling up, and cruising all around the house. Boundaries are pretty nonexistent at this point.) I grabbed the peanut butter out the pantry and opened the refrigerator to get the jelly. Brand new jar. Glass this time rather than the plastic one I normally buy. You guessed it.  It slipped and broke shattered into what seemed like 1,000 pieces ALL around my precious baby. I was almost scared to look as all the possibilities raced through my mind. But I didn't hear the cry I expected. Praise Jesus! There was glass literally all around him, but not one single piece had touched him. Coincidence? No. This was only possible with GOD. He had his arms around McCann protecting and shielding him. I immediately felt the prescence of our Lord. Tonight as you put your babies to bed hug them a little tighter and thank Jesus for their safety!

Lots to learn

I love love love the Experiencing God devotional by Henry and Richard Blackaby. We completed this study at our church in 2008. Since then I have reread and referred to this workbook numerous times. Each and every time, God teaches me something new. In it, the authors explain how God has always spoken to HIS people in unique and special ways. For example, Moses is the only person known to have heard from God through a burning bush. Furthermore, other than Jonah's in-the-belly-of-a-fish situation, no one has heard from God on the INSIDE of an animal. That's just how God works. There is no one-size-fits-all way HE communicates.
I love that God created us as individuals; completely different, yet so much like those around us. And how awesome is it that the KING OF THE UNIVERSE would choose to speak to me and you. No matter how we experience GOD (through the Bible, prayer, church, circumstances) we can be sure that God will handle us uniquely. Why? Because he loves us. We are HIS chosen children. (Romans 9)
So what has God been showing me lately? Just as HE deals with me as an indivdual, I need to raise my children as unique and separate. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it."
Kevin and I have 3 boys. They have the same mother and same father. This is where the similarities end. They are all so different - it continually amazes! It is easy as parents to use the same tactics (regarding communicating love, discipline, and self-worth) with each child. How wrong we are to do this? God is convicting me of trying to mold my children simply by treating them the same way. Don't get me wrong I am certainly not promoting favortism. I fully believe we should love each of our children equally, however I don't think we have to treat them the same to show our love.
My Manning is sensitive. He responds quickly to discipline because he is attuned to feelings. (Not only his own feelings but to those of others.) He hates for his brothers to be upset and is quick to come to their rescue. My Myers, however, is ...well....not sensitive. He is the sweetest, most loving child ever. BUT....he is not sensitive to the discipline techniques that work so well with Manning. He simply doesn't seem to care. (His laid back persona is going to be very beneficial later in life!) So right now, we are re-evaulating how we teach and guide Myers. And I am sure in 2 years we will be at this same point as we try to figure out what works best with McCann.
I am so thankful that our Heavenly Father gives us the perfect example of personalized relationships.

Home

“Home wasn't a set house, or a single town on a map. It was wherever the people who loved you were, whenever you were together. Not a place, but a moment, and then another, building on each other like bricks to create a solid shelter that you take with you for your entire life, wherever you may go.”
    Sarah Dessen


We need I want a bigger house. When Kevin and I met he had just finished building a small teeny tiny itsy bitsy house. After we got engaged, we decided there was absolutely no way that Kevin and I (and let's be honest all my stuff) could fit in his house if it stayed it's current size. So we added on. Addition #1 was 2 bedrooms, a bath, and a laundry room. It was still a little house but it met our needs. It was even ok when in June 2008 we added Manning to our family. Then in August 2009 we found out we were expecting Myers, that's when we knew we either had to move or add on once again. So we called a contractor and this time added on a large playroom/den and a huge walk-in closet to our master bedroom. Time rolls on and here we are almost 8 years after that first addition and we have FIVE people living in this house. Things are tight. Manning and Myers share a room, Kevin and I cant get ready at the same time, (because our bathroom is too tiny to accommodate both of us in front of the mirror) and our wedding presents are still in the storage containers my momma packed them in while we were on our honeymoon. So you ask, "Why don't we just move?"

That is the million dollar question.

We want to and we even have plans to do so....but as much as I want to move forward there is a whole other list of reasons why I want to stay in our house forever.
They are more emotional than practical. Nevertheless, they hold us here at least for the time being. First (and probably most convincing) is the point that plenty of families live in much smaller houses and have more kids than we do. Secondly (and more significant to me) is this house holds our memories. Kevin purposed to me right here in our living room. This is where our life together began; where a blind date became a lifelong relationship. This is the only house of mine that my momma ever saw. I remember pulling in the driveway, returning home from our 7 day honeymoon cruise, finding our moms waiting on the front porch to welcome us back. She told me how beautiful I looked and I remember thinking how happy she was. For so many years, we wondered if she would live long enough to see me grow up and marry. She had made it. (She died a short 11 months later) This is the place that I have brought my three babies home to. The list goes on and on.

So for now we stay and wait. We both know that God will open the doors for us to move when He is ready. I pray that I will be content no matter how frustrated I get with the lack of space and also that my heart will be ready when the time inevitably comes when we decide to move.

Hallways

Right now, I am waiting. I have so many big plans and goals that I want to pursue. However, I am in a holding pattern. I am waiting on God to open the doors giving me complete confidence and peace in my decisions. I know if I jump ahead of HIM there is a good chance I may get it all wrong. So I am waiting and like most people it is not something I enjoy. I like instant rewards and clear cut directions. Ambiguity stresses me out. That's where faith comes in. Over and over in the Bible, we read about God's people waiting on HIM and in turn being blessed because of HIS faithfulness. Just think about Hannah praying year after year for God to bless her with a child. The Bible never tells us exactly how old she was when Samuel was born, but it does make clear that she was very old.  How convicting to think that I get impatient waiting days and weeks and persistent, faithful Hannah waited YEARS. Then there is Anna, whom we meet in the book of Luke. In just a few short verses we gain an excellent example of patience and faithfulness.

There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

Luke 2:36-38

"That very moment" that the scripture refers to is when Anna meets Jesus when Mary and Joseph take him to the temple. It is humbling to consider the decades that Anna waited to meet our Savior.

I have often heard if God hasn't opened a door for you, praise him in the hallway. (Just like Hannah and Anna did way back in Bible times!) So I am in the hallway and I am committing to praise him while I am waiting.