Beautiful Day... ♥

It's been a beautiful day with these two girls... ♥

Thank you, MaKayla & Mallary, for blessing my life in the amazing way that you do... ♥

Ocean... Sand...

Ocean... ♥

Sand... ♥

Free spirited... ♥
Always changing... ♥

Never the same... ♥
Carefree... ♥

Constant... ♥
Never changing... ♥

Predictable... ♥
Always there... ♥

Best friends... ♥
Soul sisters... ♥
Together... ♥
For always... ♥
For ever... ♥

There are “friends” who destroy each other,

but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.
Proverbs 18:24

Pray and Love...

This week has been a tremendously productive week. With the exception of a full day of running on Wednesday, the girls & I have been able to be HOME EVERY DAY doing school & life. I've learned over our many years of homeschooling that HOME is where I long to be. I've learned that I function best when I am at HOME. For a long time I simply couldn't figure out why I would get cranky & irritable when I was out & about for days in a row. One day after a season of busyness i was mulling it all over in my mind when the Lord ever so gently spoke to my heart, "Mendi, I created you to be HOME. I designed your heart, your mind & your spirit to be content at home. That is where I desire you to nurture, to work, to learn, to live life." Ever since that day, I make sure that I am very prayerful & in-tune to the Lord's leading when I am committing to things & placing events on the calendar. It's been good to see MaKayla & Mal work diligently on their studies. It's been encouraging to see housework stay caught up & extra projects get accomplished. It's been refreshing to have our evenings here at home as a family. It's been a good week.

Ever since Christmas, in my few minutes of down-time here & there, I've been reading a book about Jim Bob & Michelle Duggar. It has been quite interesting & inspiring to learn about their lives, their faith & how they orchestrate such a large family. Even though our family is such a small fraction in size to theirs, many of their ideas are very neat & creative. One thing I read the other day that I have been trying to implement here at home myself is to work on projects or tasks in fifteen minute intervals. After you've worked one specific thing for fifteen minutes, move on to something else & then come back to finish the other task. It's been a motivating factor for me in an unmotivating season of life... It's helped me to stay on task, day-to-day in getting some things accomplished. It's reminded me to make "To Do" lists & work on them bit-by-bit, scratching each one off as I tackle it. :)

Yesterday afternoon/evening was a busy time in the kitchen taking on several recipes at once. Those are the times that I wish our kitchen was a shy bit larger... All four of us working on something feeling like we are on top of each other. MaKayla working on homemade dinner rolls, Kyle cutting up chicken, Mal peeling potatoes & myself making cream cheese pumpkin muffins. Mallary has been begging for fried chicken ever since the last time I made it so, I dug some hindquarters out of the freezer, thawed them in cold water throughout the day & made her one of her most favorite meals. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes & gravy, homegrown canned green beans & dinner rolls. Yum! :)

Just as we sat down for supper, one of my dearest friends sent me a text sharing some life-changing happenings of her day, saying she could really use a hug & wondered if they could stop by for a bit a little later. Of course I said, "Yes!" We finished up supper & quickly cleaned it up. Mal & Kyle went down to the music room to record some songs for another friend & MaKayla & I played a quick round of Bananagrams & Yahtzee while we waited! I love spontaneous, unexpected texts like that...especially from someone I love so much that I don't get to see near as often as I would like. Awesomeness! We had such a nice visit catching up on life while MaKayla gave her a relaxing pedicure & new paint job on her toes! :)

This morning as I was getting around for the day, I was praying for someone that I deeply love. Some concerns crossed my mind. Some questions breezed through my thoughts. I found myself a little unsettled on certain things that I simply don't understand. Just as quickly as I started to ponder those things, the Lord spoke to me & said, "Mendi, not everyone sees life the same. Not everyone perceives life in the same light. Not everyone processes situations & circumstances in the same manner. Everyone is unique. Don't question. Don't judge. Don't criticize. Don't condemn. Pray and love. Be patient and encouraging. Pray and love." I tend to be the type that wants to understand everything. I want to "fix" it all. I want to be IN CONTROL. Especially when it's someone that I love beyond measure. And when I don't understand or when I can't fix it, I feel out of control and it tends to send me into an unrighteous way of thinking, feeling & acting. It turns my unconditional love into conditional love which in no way glorifies the Lord. God says to pray and love...to encourage and be patient...to leave the rest to Him. We all do life differently... He calls me to pray and love... To be understanding even when I don't understand... To encourage and be patient... May I be more mindful...

I love when God teaches me. I love when He instructs me. I love when He corrects me. I love when He nurtures me. I love when He restores me. I love the God I serve. ♥

It looks to be a relaxing weekend here at the O'Riley home & I am glad. Lots of good family time. Lots of little tasks to work at & complete.

May your weekend be blessed as well... ♥

Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud:

and He shall hear my voice.
Psalm 55:17

A friend loveth at all times...
Proverbs 17:17

At. All.

The house is quiet as the girls work diligently on school. Classical music is playing while MaKayla finishes out another book she is reading in history & Mal whittles away at her math. We are all very tired & seem to be struggling to stay focused & awake. Mal had an orthodontist appointment 45 miles away at 7:20 a.m. this morning... Ugh!?! I just about caved & rescheduled but then decided the responsible thing to do would be to go and get it out of the way. She is NOT wanting braces. At. All. I told her that we would go for the consult, see what they thought & then regroup. She still hasn't changed her mind.... She does not want braces. At. All. MaKayla always thought braces would be a fun thing to have so when they were recommended for her, she was all for it. And then there is Mal... She has said all along that she didn't want them... At. All. And I don't think we will change her mind. It's one of those toss ups. Of course when Kyle & I were kids, braces weren't the norm. Only the "well off" group of kids could actually "afford" them so for us, it wasn't even an option. Now it seems abnormal if kids don't have them because most orthodontists would find reason why everyone needs them. So...we will pray & visit some more & then decide. Our budget would be much happier if we chose the "no go" route but then I wonder if Mal will have regrets as she grows older...

This draft has been sitting open all day on the computer...
School was completed...
Lunch inhaled...
And off again...
This time to the dentist... Yuck!
There are very few things I detest but the dentist is one of them. It's nothing personal towards the nice man who takes care of our teeth, but I simply don't like people messing around in my mouth. The possibility that they could cause me pain makes me a little (or alot) uneasy. Dr. V too concluded that Mal really needs braces. Blech... Not for cosmetic reasons but to prevent her from having major issues as she grows older. I can't say I'm still 100% convinced so much discussion & prayer will go in to the decision. I can say that I am thankful for a child who doesn't find value in vanity, as Mal has always said, "I don't mind the way my teeth look. They don't bother me a bit." :)


After our check-ups, the girls & I ran a few very quick errands, met Kyle & then came home for them to switch their belongings out & then head off for Worship Team Practice. I'm home alone & have tried to stay focused so that I can be productive in my solitude... :) Of course my thoughts now are very different than they were at 11:00 this morning... :/

I will say that in my "down-time" throughout today...while waiting at the dentist office, riding in the car, tidying Kyle & I's bedroom, feeding Zeke...my mind has been prayerful. Lots of things racing through my "gray matter", as my dad calls it, that only God can care for...fix...heal...resolve... It brings my heart such peace to know that He cares. He sees. He hears. He knows. He answers. I'm thankful for such a faithful Savior. One who is ever present in our every need as well as our in our times of victory. What a great God we serve!

Off to finish supper & spend time with the Lord before my people arrive home. :) It's been a very busy day but a very good day & I am thankful... ♥

Unholy Natures...

It's been a busy few weeks here trying to get back into the swing of "normal school" after a little glitch in our schedule. Even last night Mallary said, "I'm really looking forward to school tomorrow." I loved the sound of her words! ♥ Last week I spent a great part of a few days updating hours & grades in my log book which was a feat in and of itself. Why I allow myself to get behind on those tasks I will never know, because after getting caught up, I vow to stay on track only to get behind again... Ugh!?! I will begin anew! :)

This is about the third blog post that I have started in the past several days... Just can't seem to collect my thoughts long enough & well enough to compose something that is understandable... :/ Lots going on in my mind... Many things to process... Burdens that are heavy... Tasks that loom like black clouds over my head... No motivation... Life...

As I sat during my quiet time Tuesday morning, the Lord really began speaking to my heart... Through Oswald, He posed some things He wanted me to ponder & some questions He wanted me to answer... He was challenging me to dig deep... He was compelling me to acknowledge things in my life that He simply wasn't "okay" with...

What is it that blinds you to the peace of God "in this your day"? Do you have a strange god--not a disgusting monster but perhaps an unholy nature that controls your life? More than once God has brought me face to face with a strange god in my life, and I knew that I should have given it up, but I didn't do it. I got through the crisis "by the skin of my teeth," only to find myself still under the control of that strange god. I am blind to the very things that make for my own peace. It is a shocking thing that we can be in the exact place where the Spirit of God should be having His completely unhindered way with us, and yet we only make matters worse, increasing our blame in God's eyes.

"If you had know...." God's words here cut directly to the heart, with the tears of Jesus behind them. These words imply responsibility for our own faults. God holds us accountable for what we refuse to see or are unable to see because of our sin.

~Oswald Chambers~

As I read, reread & then really began to ponder these words, the question the Lord kept bringing to my remembrance was, "Do you have a strange god--not a disgusting monster but perhaps an unholy nature that controls your life?" I started searching my heart... "What god is present in my life?" I could think of many "things" present in my life that at times are "gods"... Things that take me away from being fully committed to Him... Things that interfere with time in His presence... I knew that is where Satan wanted me to stop. He didn't want me to search any deeper than that "surface question". He didn't want me digging any further. But the question that really pricked my heart was, "Mendi, what unholy nature controls your life?" Wow! Ouch! Really? Again, I knew Satan was trying to put a veil over the windows of my heart. He didn't want me to see... Yet the Lord kept prompting me to search... Seek... Examine...

Little-by-little, bit-by-bit, fragment-by-fragment, pieces came to the surface...
One linked to the other...
The list lengthy...
Reaching the end...
One big thing tying them all together...
Truly something I never even recognized...

After Kyle got home from work that afternoon, we sat at the table & visited. I shared with him what God has spoken to my heart through the devo & then how He applied it to my heart. I asked him if he saw this "big thing" in my life. Nope, not really. Yet the realization of it's presence, brought a great deal of clarification to some of the things I struggle with.

Kyle, the girls & I went on a significant road trip over the weekend resulting in several hours in the van. It was a great opportunity for me to go to the Well & drink. A great time for me to go to the Table & eat. A perfect chance for the Lord to clarify what He was wanting me to grasp. I'm stilling thinking, pondering, praying, meditating... I'm still journaling "bone fragments" that continue to rise to the surface...

I wondered why I had really never recognized this before & then the devo a few days later answered my wonderings...

When you grow and develop the right condition inwardly, the words Jesus spoke become so clear that you are amazed you did not grasp them before. In fact, you were not able to understand them before because you had not yet developed the proper spiritual condition to deal with them.

Our Lord doesn't hide these things from us, but we are not prepared to receive them until we are in the right condition in our spiritual life. Jesus said, "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now" (John 16:12). We must have an oneness that with His risen life before we are prepared to bear any particular truth from Him. Do we really know anything about the indwelling of the risen life of Jesus? The evidence that we do is that His Word is becoming understandable to us. God cannot reveal anything to us if we don't have His Spirit. And our own unyielding and headstrong opinions will effectively prevent God from revealing anything to us.

~Oswald Chambers~

It's a humbling thing to examine the unholy natures in your life...
To recognize them...
To acknowledge them...

It's a choice to surrender them to the Lord....
To let go...
Hand them over...
Raise your "white flag"...

It's freedom when you realize baggage, baggage you were even unaware of...
Is lifted from your shoulders...
The weight is gone...
It's lost it's grip on you...

But thanks be to God!

He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:57