Yesterday...

Seeing Life...

It is such a beautiful morning here so therefore I tried sitting on the patio while doing my devo and spending time with the Lord. Within minutes the sprinkles started to fall pushing me back into the cool but confined air conditioning of our home. I love wide open spaces, and being in the midst of God's magnificent creation always draws me into a different level of closeness with Him.

As I relocated inside all the while packing my Bible, journal, devotional book, cell phone and laptop, Kyle and I chatted about some upcoming plans for our family and some decisions we are praying over/contemplating. We both know that the Lord is moving us in a new direction which requires a change in the way that we think, respond and "do life"... As we ended our conversation, the Holy Spirit compelled me to move to my knees on the couch and turn around in order to look out the picture window. At that moment He said, "Have you ever looked at the outside world from this view? Your children see things this way on a regular basis and your nieces and nephews always see the outside world from this perspective any time they visit. You even have one that lays on the back of the couch in order to see things in such a way." The simplicity yet profoundness of this instruction really spoke to my heart. It really shook me into a reality that I have never before considered...

How often do I expect our children to see life through my eyes rather than choosing to view life through theirs?

How differently would life look to me if I viewed life through the eyes of a child rather than through the eyes of a tired, frazzled, overwhelmed adult?

Is this not where the mundanity and insanity of life begins?

Isn't it all in our perspective?

Why do we expect and push this way of seeing things on our children?

Is this how we want them to view, do and face life?

What if we looked at life through the eyes of innocence, adventure, excitement, fun and wonder?

Maybe:
*the weight of the world wouldn't be so heavy...
*trust rather than skepticism would be a reality...
*opportunities would be a thrill rather than just another decision that needs made...
*we would be content with simplicity rather than always jumping to complexity...
*the beauty of God's creation would be miraculous...
*color would be more vibrant...
*a little money would seem like A WHOLE LOT...
*laughter would be constant and contagious...

The list is endless and I plan to add to it as I commit to seeing life through the eyes of two of my greatest gifts...our children. I desire to see life as they do...

Thank you again Father, for showing yourself to me this day in awesome & wonderful ways! I am forever in love with You!

You have made known to me the paths of life;
You will fill me with joy in Your presence.
Acts 2:28

It Just Has Been...

Life's been a little tough for me lately... Not because of anything anyone has said or done... Not because of really anything... It just has been... I find that these times in my life arrive to draw me in closer to Jesus... To seek Him with an earnest heart... To long for His friendship, presence and fellowship... To learn of Him... To be taught by Him... To be held by Him... To grow to be more like Him... It's a time of refining...sifting...purification... A time and season that is uncomfortable... A time and season that tests me to the limits... A time and season that lays all of the contents of my heart out in the open... Not so He can see...He already knows... But so that I can see... Therefore I can realize and acknowledge that which needs to be crucified and transformed through the power and perfection of His precious blood... These times and seasons humble me so that I am raw...teachable...vulnerable to the Holy Spirit...


*Love without limits...

*Forgive without boundaries...

*Cease to measure...

*Fail to control...

*Simplify again and again and again...

*Empty to be filled...

*Terminate judgement...

*Overuse kindness...

*Submit without reservation...

*Analyze less...

*Transact more...

*Overextend affection...

*Disengage "feelings" in decision making...



Many heavy weights have been lifted from my heart...

The freedom that comes from listening to the wooing of the Holy Spirit and receiving the instruction He is imparting simply is unexplainable. The reality of it all brings invaluable liberty and I am thankful!

God is so good! He's so good to me!

Blessed be the Lord, because He hath heard the voice of my supplications.
The Lord is my strength & my shield; my heart trusted in Him, & I am helped:
therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; & with my song I will praise Him.
The Lord is their strength, & He is the saving strength of His anointed.
Psalm 28:6~8

Revisited...Asked...Petitioned...

I always feel so rich when I KNOW without a question of a doubt that God is speaking directly to my heart... Especially when it is in an area in which I have been struggling or yearning to find answers.

The past several weeks my heart has been unsettled and to be honest, I have been in a deep spiritual valley. A painful, difficult and lonely valley. The only other time I can really remember feeling this way is after MaKayla was born and I was really struggling to find the balance between being a mom, a wife and living life. I was so enthralled and obsessed with being a mommy that nothing else around me mattered. Nothing else mattered until my consummation with being a mommy reached a point that I was isolated from everything and every one.

Kyle has been quite concerned about me as I am not typically a "down" person. Day-by-day he's seen me sink a little lower until he knew that this wasn't a "quick fix", "If I do the right thing she'll feel better" situation. It's been a little scary for us both however I recognize that I am in some intense spiritual battles and therefore with the Lord's presence and the direction, voice and guidance of the Holy Spirit, I have nothing to fear. The Lord has me in this place to grow me, change me, stretch me and strengthen me. As painful as it is, I know that and rest in that truth.

As I was out watering flowers early yesterday morning in the quiet of the day, the Holy Spirit began speaking to me...very clearly...very loudly...very profoundly... He brought to mind specific situations, choices and ways of thinking that have arrived me in the place of confusion, instability and lack of joy in which I find myself. Situations, choices and ways of thinking that have been out of ignorance, yet just the same, wrong, disobedient and very short of His will for my life. Situations, choices and ways of thinking that now that I see them for what they are, leave me feeling very humbled. Situations, choices and ways of thinking that God's rich and wonderful grace covers but ones only I can control.

Throughout the remainder of my day, I revisited what the Holy Spirit had spoken, I asked the Lord to plant the truths that I had been shown, deep within the freshly tilled soil of my heart and I petitioned God to give me the strength and courage I need to live out the correction I had received and the lessons I had been taught.

I sat in my favorite rocker with journal and pen in hand and documented...
lest I forget and need to be reminded...

I sought the Lord, and He answered me... Psalm 34:4

17 Years...17 Things...

17 years ago this day...

Our lives were changed...

The world was impacted...

By the presence of a life...

This life...


You were a baby with joy...

You were a child of creativity...

You were a girl with a flair for life...

You became a teenager of determination in all you set out to do...

You love fashion...

You have an eye for design...

You strive to perfection...

You can be nothing less than a servant...
it♥simply♥is♥who♥you♥are...

You will settle for nothing short of organization...

You long to be YOU...

You desire God...

Your hands are diligent...

You have a beautiful spirit...

You are becoming an amazing woman...

You bless the lives of others...

You are growing in confidence to be YOURSELF...

You are an awesome sister to Mal & an amazing daughter to your daddy & I...



♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥



17 things...
Red
Every meal I fix is your favorite
History
Ladybugs
Shoes
Nail Art
Gardening
People-pleaser
Spontaneous
Strawberry Limeades
Fashion
Say Yes To The Dress
Jigsaw puzzles
Wedding Dresses
Musicals
MAJOR dislike (hate) of snakes
English Toffee Cappuccino


The Lord dances over you with singing and delights in your presence!

We celebrate your life today & every day MaKayla Dawn!

Happy 17th Birthday!

We love, love, love Y♥O♥U♥

Stepping Out...

Ending a wonderful weekend is a very bitter-sweet experience. Bitter due to the fact that the reality of having Kyle home during the day with us is over, sweet due to the fact that the previous few days were full of fun, laughter, friends, family and lots of love.

The Lord has been speaking a great deal to Kyle and I about tearing down the walls of self-protection and self-preservation we have gradually built around ourselves over the past five years. Not only until recently did we clearly see the reality of these walls or the consequences of their presence. You see, for the first fourteen years of our marriage, we lived in the same small rural town as much of my family lives. We attended the same church with Kyle serving as worship leader & deacon and I as women's ministry coordinator & Sunday School teacher. We served where we were needed and stepped in nearly every place we were asked. Our kids were active and involved in church activities, a homeschool group and little league. We were always on the go running from thing to thing...place to place. That was until we moved here... Forty miles from my family... Country living rather than community living... Twenty miles from any town... At that point God really began to speak to our hearts about "simplicity"... He began to compel us to look at how we were investing our time and He directly asked us if we were truly living for Him or if we were simply going through the motions...living the "American way". We listened to His voice and bit-by-bit through His guidance made decisions to change the course of our lifestyle. Through that time we somewhat entered a "spiritual seclusion"... Placing our focus totally and completely upon God Himself. Exchanging the busyness of daily living for the freedom of being a family. Letting go of "activity" and grabbing hold of simplicity. It was exactly what God wanted us to do. We were exactly where God wanted us to be. We're still there...yet He is calling us to "step out" and "work out" what He has shown us, taught us and how He has changed us.

Through this time, we have truly learned about who God is and what it looks like to seek Him, hear Him, know Him and follow Him...He Himself, not just a principle. Through this time, we have truly learned to let go of the fear that has so easily entangled us and cling tight to the freedom, assurance and certainty we have in the Creator of the universe and the Savior of the world. Through this time, we have truly learned the essence, meaning and reality of family. A family built on the one and only Cornerstone...Jesus Christ! It's who we are... What we do... How we live...

We are recognizing opportunities to "step out" and "work out" and the reality of that is exciting even though somewhat unfamiliar. We see God moving us out of the "seclusion" and into something new. We hold tight to the essence of "family" yet move forward into a spacious pasture prepared. A pasture where we are called to invest our lives for the sake and glory of Jesus Christ. We release the idea of self-protection and self-preservation in order to rest in the sovereignty and perfection of our Heavenly Father...the only one who provides divine protection and preservation.

This past weekend was such a blessing for our family. It was a time of "stepping out" and it was wonderfully fulfilling! God has great things in store...

Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
but to Your name be the glory,
because of Your love and faithfulness.
Psalm 115:1

Lest I Forget...#1

Lest I forget the events of yesterday...

Moments afforded by God alone...

*Numerous tears of brokenness...

*Spirit-filled worship...

*A soggy tent...

*Sweet fellowship as a family...


*Shooting off year-old fireworks...

*Dew laden grass...

*French-tip fingernails...

*MaKayla organizing beds inside the tent...

*Hot dogs roasted over the firepit...

*Rockets...

*Quiet time in favorite books...

*Down pouring rain...

*A crazy dog...

*Sidewalk chalk...

*A long visit with My Man...

*Retrieving parachutes in a field with an anxious bull...

*Mal meandering through the campsite munching on chips...

*Kyle building a warming fire...


*Smores...

*Blue checkered table cloth...

*A calm pond...

Lest I forget...