Dear Parents...

Happy Friday! :) It's a quiet & peaceful morning here on our home front. Kyle is off to work & the girls are still sleeping. Yesterday was a full day of school for Mal & sewing for MaKayla followed by a late night of Dad/Daughter shopping for me. ♥ I'm not a big gift person but they feel it necessary to have packages under the tree for me. ♥ Anyway, with the late night of past (there have been many of them over the previous four weeks), and with a magnificent surprise looming in the air for this evening (it will be another late night...with a very busy day again tomorrow) I want bodies to be well rested in order to enjoy upcoming Christmas festivities AND as an avenue to stay healthy despite a heavy viral season at hand. Kyle has something planned and the girls have NO IDEA... He left them these this morning...

I will only say one thing...when I read the letters within, I cried... ♥ And since I vowed to keep my lips sealed, I will say no more. Pictures & details will be posted on this later... After the fact. :)

It's been a crazy, busy, wonderful past month with Thanksgivings & Christmas'...
Sewing...
Sewing...
Sewing...
School...
Bible reading...
Bible reading...
Bible reading (we are in 1 Thessalonians)...
Family gatherings...
Broken hips...
Hospital visits...
Shopping...
Shopping...
Shopping...
Movies...
Family time...
Baking...
Cooking...
Creating...
Card ordering...
Picture taking...
Decorating...
Decorating...
Decorating...
Elf hiding (and finding)...
Egg collecting...

Can you believe it's mid-December & Christmas is only 12 days away... I can't.

I really hadn't planned to sit & blog this morning as I have much to accomplish in this day yet as I attempted to sleep last night, God kept bringing the same thing to my remembrance over and over and over again & I felt compelled to share...

I find people watching as entertaining as I do shopping so as Kyle, MaKayla & Mal journeyed around the mall last night, I sat & observed.

Young & old.
Short & tall.
Stick thin & overweight.
High-maintenance & attractively simple.
Couples ~ friends.
Men & women.
Boys & girls.
Glowingly pregnant... ♥

One thing in particular I repeatedly observed...
Girls are seen & treated as objects.

I would glance at men, young & old, watch young girls as they walked along...
And I wondered...
What are they thinking?
What are they seeing?
What are they envisioning?
To be honest, it was quite disturbing...
Unsettling...
Heartbreaking...

All I could do was intently pray that some day, one day, God will faithfully provide our girls with integral young men to lead, to love, to nurture & to care for mine & Kyle's two most precious blessings...
MaKayla & Mal...

I see these young girls, many of them very obviously in impure relationships, & I wonder if they realize the damage in giving their hearts & bodies away...
To anyone & everyone...
Before marriage...
And I pray for God's mercy.

And just as that thought completes it's cycle, my eyes catch the picture of a precious pre-school aged little girl...
Left hand holding Mommy's...
Right hand holding Daddy's...
Pink shirt...
Sweet leggings...
Black fuzzy boots...
Blonde curls bouncing with each skip she took...
And I wonder...

Do they grasp the reality that day-by-ever-fragile-day, this one that they hold the hands of is growing up...
She won't be this little forever.

Do they grasp that the way they are allowing her to act, dress, speak & carry herself at the age of three, four, five, six, seven, will spill over...
She's developing personality.

Do they grasp the concept that this little one now, will all-too-soon be an adolescent & then a teenager & then a young woman...
She's becoming someone.

I wonder if they stepped back & pictured this precious one ten or fifteen years down the road, would they do things differently now?

Sadly, like me, most parent's don't consider the "then"...
They only see the "now"...
And then the years are gone.

Even when our babies are babies & then toddlers & then pre-schoolers & then young children...
We are raising adults.
What we promote & allow of them now, will be who they become in future years.
Boys & girls alike.

What they watch (movies)...
What they see (tv shows/commercials)...
What they listen to (music)...
What they hear (foul language/disrespectful tones)...
What they wear (modest or immodest)...

How they act...
How they respect...
How they treat...
How they carry themselves...

Some things may be cute/funny/entertaining today...
But tomorrow...

The choices they are allowed to make today are shaping them for tomorrow & for next week & for next month & for next year & for the years to come.

If you don't believe me...
Go park yourself in a mall & observe.

Dear parents...
Take a moment & consider...
It will be worth every moment of your time.

Blessings to you on this wintry Friday. ♥

The Same Bi-Product...

13 feels like 2...
With highs in the mid-thirties today.
It's cold.
It's fall.
It's soon to be winter. :)

Mal was quite disappointed that we didn't get the slight chance of snow that was forecasted for our area yesterday. I assured her that the time would come and after the first few snows, she'd be ready for it to be gone & begging for warm temperatures to return. I conclude that for every nice, non-snowy day we have now, we are one day closer to spring. Woot-woot. Yet as a friend on facebook said last night, "The first snow is always magical." :) I whole-heartedly, 100% agree. Mal is even more eager to see the white, fluffy stuff fall from the sky because in MaKayla's recent plague of ailing, the multitude of Christmas movies have emerged from the "Christmas Movie Shelf".

MaKayla caved & our holiday media is in full swing...

MaKayla ended up being sick all weekend long & finally yesterday, although still not at all up to par, was upright for the majority of the day. What started out as a scratchy throat, emerged into something completely more, different & miserable. Not a fun weekend for her. In the midst of her feebleness, glued to the couch, she & Mal watched the five-hour version of 'Pride & Prejudice', Kyle & I made her homemade chicken noodle soup, blankets were washed so they were nice & soft & cozy and as a family we did Bible reading, movie watching & lots of being together. And she took naps in our bed... ♥ Not how we would have chosen our weekend, but blessed just the same. ♥

As I journey on in this life that God has given me to live, I'm finding that happiness is a choice.
A choice each person must make for themselves.
No one can choose happiness for them.
No one can take happiness from them.

- happiness - 

feeling pleasure and enjoyment because of your life

showing or causing feelings of pleasure and enjoyment

enjoying or characterized by well-being and contentment

expressing, reflecting, or suggestive of happiness

glad, pleased

having or marked by an atmosphere of good fellowship

This is the kind of life I want to live...
This is the kind of life I want to extend to others...
Express to others...
Reflect to others...
A life of happiness.

And yes, I realize that joy & happiness are two very different things, yet both have the same bi-product...
Radiance.
Warmth.
A sense of comfort.

And to be honest, unhappiness had become a lifestyle for me...
A bad habit.
A common way of choosing.

And that is changing.

As I've spent time these past several weeks really seeking God, I recognize where I've allowed life, people & situations to steal my joy & rob my happiness. 
And in a sense, it's sin. 

I find no where in God's Word where He condones grumbling, impatience, irritability, displeasure... 
A downcast spirit. 

It doesn't mean that we aren't going to have those occasional moments but when the occasional moment grows & compounds into every day living, breathing, choosing...
Compounds into a presence that affects everyone in it's reach...
And in a negative way.

Something needs to change.

As Kyle's GI doctor told him last week, "Stress is a part of every day life. It's not going anywhere."
Yet how we choose to deal with stress...
Hard situations...
Trying people...
What we see as the mundanity of day-to-day living...
Is up to us.

You.
Me.

We choose.

It's not the person...
It's not the situation...
It's not life...

They only have as much influence as I allow them...

And for me...
My perspective is changing.

I've made up my mind.

I'm releasing the negativity.
I'm letting go of the gloom.
I'm freeing the downcast spirit.

I'm calling it quits on unhappiness.
Separating.
Divorcing.

Un can go it's way...
Happiness goes with me.

I choose to be happy.

Summing it all up, friends, 

I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things 

true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—

the best, not the worst; 

the beautiful, not the ugly; 

things to praise, not things to curse. 

Put into practice what you learned from me, 

what you heard and saw and realized. 

Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, 

will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

~Philippians 4:8-9

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Catching up on thankfulness...

Apple slices for an aching gut...♥

A daddy who carries his feeble girl to the car for an ice cream run...♥

A ginormous egg in the coop...♥

Egg on left, typical;
Egg on the right...ouch for that hen.

Christmas music listening choices straight from Mal's heart...♥

Yes, Bing is a fave...♥

Sunday morning Bible reading moments as a family...♥

Comfy couches, soft pillows & warm blankets for a sick girl...♥

Minds that concentrate...♥

Hands that intricately work needles...♥

Being loved by the best homemade waffle maker God ever did create...♥

Delicious Sabbath morning breakfasts...♥

Nursing covers completely sewn...♥

Bone broth straight from the freezer & labeled with lots of love...♥

Farm raised...

Hubby butchered...♥

Daughter plucked...♥

Self cleaned, hens...

Baked & deboned for homemade chicken noodle soup...♥

Baby girl burp rags all stitched up...♥

Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name;

make known among the nations what he has done.

~1 Chronicles 16:8

It's Coming Full Circle...

By the time last night rolled around, MaKayla was sick.
Down.
Flat on the floor.

I hate when either of our girls are sick. Period.

So today, she finds herself on the couch rather than in the sewing room, with Mal by her side. Watching the five hour version of 'Pride & Prejudice'. I get her what she needs & then go back to laundry, handstitching detail work on her craft show projects & flitting from one task to another around the house. :) It's the job of a mom, no matter how old a child grows, and I love it. ♥

I would choose to be no other place...♥

I know some think she is old enough to care for herself...
Most kids her age are off to college...
Or married...
Or on their own, doing their own thing...
But she isn't.
And Kyle & I know she is exactly where God wants her at this place in time.

I am reminded of a family not far from us that are preparing to watch their precious child slip from his present life on earth, to his soon-to-come life with Jesus. No doubt they are counting every breath, heartbeat & movement in order to etch it deep within their aching hearts. I'm sure they are caressing the skin that encapsulates the body that they can instantly recall bringing into this world not so many years ago.

I would be...

And if I would do that for a child preparing to advance to their heavenly home as a result from a deadly disease that has riveted their body...
Why would I not do that for a child who is suffering from a virus...
Or exhaustion...
Or just the weight of life...

So today, I'm a mom caring for a sick girl...♥
And I'm a mom interceding for as set of parents preparing to bid their last farewell...
Preparing to release their child into the safe & secure arms of Jesus...

Humbling...

As I have been sitting this morning stitching yo-yo after yo-yo onto nursing covers for my girl, the Lord continues to bring to my mind the portion of Scripture that I blogged about Thursday... Remember? The blog that I completely lost due to the loss of internet or maybe I lost it simply because the words contained on the page weren't exactly the words that God wanted people to read. But since He continues to bring it to the forefront of my mind, I discern that it is something He wants me to share. It somewhat goes hand-in-hand with this post...

In Mark's gospel, chapter 12, verse 14 we learn this about Jesus...

They came to him and said, "Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth."

As I read this a few weeks ago, I was drawn to the fact that not being swayed by men & paying no attention to who they (men) are is directly correlated to the word integrity. Any time I think of the word 'integrity', I think of definitions like: honorable, trustworthy, upright, respected, yet as I took this verse in, my curiosity was peaked.

When it comes to fully understanding something from Scripture, one of my closest friends is always insistent on learning the Greek & Hebrew of the word in question, and because of her, I have become much the same way. When I really want to know what it means, I start digging...

Surprisingly what I found as I searched was that integrity is all about being uncorrupted...
Whether it be allowing the pressure/influence of others to lead us to sinful behavior...
Or as a result of allowing the thoughts & words of men to corrupt the way we see ourselves...
And the way we live out our convictions...

As I discovered these things, it made perfect sense in regard to how the word 'integrity' was used in this portion of Scripture describing Christ.

Not swayed by men...

Paying no attention to who men were...

I think about the temptations He was faced with...
He didn't bend.

I think about the ridicule He endured...
It didn't phase Him.

I think about the accusations hurled in His direction...
He responded humbly.

Plain & simple, He wasn't swayed.
Point blank, He gave no thought to man...
For He knew what they were made of.

He was Spirit.
They were flesh.

Kyle & I sat at the kitchen table for a very long time one afternoon upon his return home from work discussing the reality of this & how God would have us to apply it to our individual lives. I mentioned to him how different our salvation would be had Jesus believed the cutting, questioning, demeaning words of the Pharisees.

Think about it...

What if He had taken their offensive words to heart?

What if He had allowed their words to change the direction of His ministry?

What if He had cowered under & concluded that, "They must be right..."?

There wouldn't have been a cross...
Or a crucifixion...
Or a resurrection...

There wouldn't be grace...
Or victory...
Or the promise of eternal life...
For us as Gentiles.

And then I ask myself, how often have I taken the offensive words of others to heart?
Believed them.
Allowed them to change how I see myself...

Through their eyes...
Rather than Christ's.

And in turn changed how I allow God to use me?
My life?
The gifts/talents He has entrusted to me?

I'm just as guilty for believing them...
As they are for speaking them.

- integrity - 

uncompromising adherence to moral & ethical principles

honesty

soundness of moral charachter

the quality of being whole or undivided

a sound or unimpaired condition

Jesus wasn't swayed by men...
And neither does He want me to be...
Or you to be...

So as my fingers worked the needle & thread this morning, God asked me again...

"Whose words will you believe?"

Mine?
Or theirs?

Simply put, I'm sick of believing the lie...
And only I...
With God's help...
Can change that.

"Mendi, your life is a reflection of who you believe..."

It's coming full circle...

And it's a challenge...

But I'm up for it.

Are you?

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

A thankful heart for...

A thirteen-year-old who loves to read...♥

And shares with me all she's learning...♥

The deliciousness of homemade pizza...♥

A stay-by-your-side sister...♥

Supper veggies cut & ready for the grill...♥

Healthy snacks of bananas & peanut butter...♥

Thanks to Bri...♥

This apparatus...♥

My diffuser...

That diffuses these...♥

My vast collection of essential oils...

If you want to turn your life around, try thankfulness. 

It will change your life mightily. 

– Gerald Good

He Cares About The Heart...

The girls & I are settled cozily in the sewing/craft room again today. It seems to have become our current daytime abode. :) Mal is busy with school, MaKayla is cutting burp rag after burp rag & I am sewing fabric yo-yo after fabric yo-yo. We make a good team. ♥

MaKayla woke not feeling well this morning. To bed with a scratchy throat. Up with a sore one... Along with plugged ears & a congested head. She is chugging the water... And working on sewing projects. Life goes on amidst feeling crummy. She's a strong girl, that she is. ♥

Two conversations that I've had this morning have contained the word:

- exclusion - 

to prevent (someone) from doing something or being a part of a group

to leave out (something/someone): to not include (something/someone)

to think that (something/someone) is not worth attention

to prevent or restrict the entrance of

to bar from participation, consideration, or inclusion

to expel or bar especially from a place or position previously occupied

Two separate people.
Two separate situations.
Yet the same reality.

It happens in all arenas of life...
Family...
Friends...
Co-workers...

Some exclusions could simply be perceived...
Some exclusions are clearly real.

Don't look like me.
Don't act like me.
Don't know if I really like you.

Cliques.

The feeling of exclusion surfaces many different emotions...
From anger to sadness...
Depending on the person.
From emptiness to hurt...
Depending on the process of working through.
From bitterness to longing...

Not good enough.
Not smart enough.
Simply just didn't fit.

Groups.

As I pondered these discussions, I recalled times I, myself have felt left out, not-a-part, barred...
And times I more than likely made others feel expelled.

Nothing in common.
Wrong interests.
Not the right type.

Popular crowds.

Maybe visiting about a certain situation/circumstance within ear shot of someone who simply isn't involved or connected...
They know it.
And so do I.

Wounded.

Maybe I did it to nonchalantly reinforce to the person in ear shot that they simply don't belong.
Maybe it was done to me for the same reason.

Scarred.

Or possibly something was said without thought as to who could hear...
Or how it would affect.
Innocent.

Regardless of the how or the why...
The damage has been done.
Another wall within someone's spirit has been built.

We say we don't care...
But we do.

And then as I think it through...
God doesn't care about cliques...
Groups.
Popular crowds.

He sees us all the same...

He doesn't care about the specific what we're excluded from...
He cares about the heart that has been wounded.

He excluded no one for no reason.
The woman with the issue of blood.
The leper.
The tax collector.
The cripple.
The woman caught in the act of adultery.

No, He met them where they were, healed them of their infirmity, cleansed them from their sin & released them from the bondage they once found themselves tied to.

He welcomed them.
Accepted them.
Adopted them into His family.

I've been the excluded...
I've been the excluder...

I've been scarred...
I've wounded others...

My morning conversations have convicted me & brought me to repentance...
At the same time, they've brought freedom to my aching spirit.

A healing mix. ♥

He's met me where I'm at...
He's healed me of my infirmity...
He's cleansed me from my sin...
He's released me from the bondage I once was tied to...

It doesn't mean the pain immediately dissipates yet it helps to put things in perspective & gives me sight to see things through God's eyes.

Friday's Thankfulness:

♥ Watching Mal "teach" Kyle Yoga...
His GI doctor suggested it for stress relief...

♥ A cold bedroom to sleep in...
Both windows open, the waking temperature of our room as 40 degrees...
This photo was taken an hour after the windows had been shut... :)

Excuse the ugly school room thermometer...

♥ Set out just for me again this morning...

♥ A girl who chooses Bible study over other activities...

♥ Notes left by a daddy who loves his girls...

♥ Breathtaking sunrises painted by the One who loves me most...

♥ Sweet birthday invitations...
Where have the past three years gone, anyway?

♥ 64 oz. French Vanilla coffee creamer...
He says he's gonna kick the habit...
Ain't happening... :)
Perfectly fine with me...♥

♥ Hand made creations by Miss Mal...

For MaKayla...♥

For me...♥

The unthankful heart discovers no mercies;
but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and as the magnet finds the iron,
so it will find,
in every hour, some heavenly blessings!
~Henry Ward Beecher

It's The Way We Do Things...♥

Date nights with my amazing husband always catapult joy & happiness & belonging within me...
They remind me that he loves me...
And assure me that he still wants to be with me...♥

He talks with me...
Holds my hand...
And listens to my heart. ♥

He helps me work things through my garbled brain...
Proposes solutions...
And takes control of the things he feels aren't mine to carry. ♥

He laughs with me...
Prays with me...
And reminds me how much I am cherished. ♥

I am a rich woman indeed. ♥

So thankful today for:

Doctor's appointments that turn into date nights... ♥
And thread shopping...
And make-up buying...

Just him & me...♥
Just me & him...♥

And...

Chipotle... ♥
We always share a bowl... ♥
For here or to go? For here...
White or brown rice? Brown, please.
Black or pinto beans? Black.
Grilled veggies...
1/2 chicken...
1/2 steak...
Pico de galo...
Corn...
Sour cream...
Lettuce...
3 small soft shells...
Chips on the side...
Two waters, please... ♥
And then we huddle in a corner booth & enjoy a simple meal together. ♥

Followed by Coldstone...♥
Coffee ice cream with mix ins...
Graham cracker crumbs...
Chocolate chips...
Chopped pecans...
In a chocolate dipped waffle bowl...
Per Kyle's request... ♥
And then I feed him alternating bites as we drive down the road home... ♥

It's the way we do things... ♥

♥ Taylor guitar coffee mugs left out just for me...

 ♥ Nala prints left neatly on the frosty deck rail...

♥ Shimmering leaves...

♥ The promise of heat on a cold fall morning...

♥ Heavily frosted grass...

And yes, I had a lengthy post all typed up & then the internet went down & everything was lost.
And no I don't go by notes so only God knows what it said...
And...
Remember the essence of yesterday's post?

Today, above all else (discouragement, frustration, impatience, irritation, minor set backs, lack of understanding), I choose JOY! It drowns out the darkness & radiates light. It's gonna be a beautiful day!

For the sake, health & well-being of all involved, instead of getting discouraged, frustrated, impatient or irritated, I chose JOY! They are grateful & I am happier. :)

We would worry less if we praised more.

Thanksgiving is the enemy of discontent & dissatisfaction.

~Harry A. Ironside

No Matter What...

Our day is being spent in the craft room with Mal intently focusing on school work & MaKayla intently focusing on sewing projects. Thankfully, today is unfolding much smoother & more peacefully than yesterday. Putting it mildly, Tuesday was a roller-coaster, frustrating & difficult day for MaKayla. Until... She was able to spend a few hours at Jon & Jane's caring for baby bullies & loving on their momma's. Once she settled into her "element" of the bully world (the canine kind), the nerves & frustration of a sewing machine that wouldn't stitch properly, melted away. ♥

She crawled in kennels...
She cleaned...
She did laundry...

She talked to puppies...
And put their momma's on her lap...
She straightened (making sure everything was positioned at right angles)...

She fell in love with at least one...
A little bully girl...
White with brindle...

One that she helped deliver...
And stimulate to life...
One that isn't spoken for...
Yet. ♥

Yes, I wish I had had the camera...
But surprisingly, I didn't.

Mal corralled the babies on the floor as MaKayla cleaned & scrubbed.
It's always a delight to watch them enjoy this blessing of "employment".
Lots of work...
But so much fun.
With the bonus of such special friends who affirm & encourage our girls.
It all equals out. ♥
And we end up getting the better end of the deal. ♥

As I watched MaKayla allow the stress of the incorrectly stitching sewing machine wreak havoc on her day, I couldn't help but admit that she had learned such behavior from me. Her mom. The one she has watched & observed & patterned her coping mechanisms from for nineteen plus years.

A humbling realization...
Coupled with heartbreak & sorrow...

But then I was reminded of a Scripture I read out of John earlier this week...

In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. 

The light that shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

~John 1:4-5

How many times has that Life that lives within me...
That Life of light...

How many times has He tried to outshine the darkness that dwells within my life...

Those situations that I allow to cast a dark cloud rather than a ray of sunshine...
Frustration...
Irritation...
Not-go-as-planned circumstances...

Crunched for time...
Too many things to get done...
Something that won't work right...

Yet I would have nothing to do with it. 

I insisted on my own coping mechanisms and...
Gave way to anger...
Emotional outbreak...
Impatience...

Or that the Life of light was attempting to radiate...

Attempting to push out the darkness...

Those difficult, can't figure it out moments that...
I defaulted to dealing with the difficulty in the ways of the world.

But I did not understand it.

Or chose not to.

He is the Light...
And He is always shining...

But all-too-often I decide rebellion...
Or ignorance...

Thankfully my rebellion & ignorance could never nullify the promise, fact & truth that the light of His life will remain bright. That is unchangeable.

But with that rebellion & ignorance comes consequences...

It effects those I love most...
It prevents the light of His life from radiating through me...
It steals my joy...
And robs my happiness.

It fills my heart with despair...
And guides me down dead-end roads.

It inhibits me from being a witness for Christ...
And diverts the glory from the One who deserves it.

It digs my pit deeper...
And my trench wider.

It gives the enemy a victory.

This week has been one where God is allowing me to see things from a different perspective like never before.

He's challenging me to choose JOY...
No matter what.

For darkness & rebellion & ignorance will never produce fruit that points to God.
Never.

If I desire to make much of Him as I say I do, I must allow the Light to shine...
I must choose JOY.

Even if I don't feel like it...
Even if I don't want to...

I can't change what our girls have learned from me in the past, but I can establish a new standard.

Today...
I choose to allow the Light to shine...no matter what.
I choose JOY.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

On this Wednesday, my heart is thankful...

For fun craft projects created...♥

For waking to laundry neatly folded & stacked that I forced myself to do yesterday afternoon/evening (yes, I am very particular about my laundry...)...

For notes of thankfulness found on the bathroom counter in the early morning hours...♥

For perfect math papers...♥

For another sewing project nearly completed (super-duper cute)...♥

For a husband who brings smiles to my face & laughter to my heart...always...♥

Joy is thankfulness,

and when we are joyful,

that is the best expression of thanks we can offer the Lord,

Who delivers us from sorrow and sin.

~Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica

And yes, once her padre' as she calls him, arrived home, the sewing machine "issue" resolved itself...

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

It ended up being a wonderful, productive & peaceful family evening in the sewing room. ♥

All-the-while watching 'Despicable Me'. :) 

Per Kyle's choice. ;)

Everyone Wants To Be Chosen...

It's a cloudy, gloomy, rainy kind of day.
A day where one would like to stay in their jammies, curl up in a blanket (with the love of their life of course), watch a sappy movie & sip a good cup of coffee.
One like me...♥
But the reality of it is, life goes on...
Even on the cloudy, gloomy, rainy kind of days. :)
Work to go to.
School to be done.
The essence & beauty of life to live.

Enjoying the day I have been given.
Blessing & loving well those within my midst.
Making much of the grace Christ has lavished upon my life.

I am rich indeed. ♥

Truly, I am one of those kinds of people who would stay in my jammies all. day. long.
And many who know me very well, know I live more in my jammies than I do in street clothes.
Until a few weeks ago...

I would do my hair...
And most days put on my face paint to cover the bags under my eyes & the blemishes that sprinkle my complexion...
But clothes...
Nah.

Mal is a get up, get around, get dressed & prepare yourself for the day ahead kind of gal. She dresses for success & her style & diligence in this area would make Kate & Claudia's Aunt Sharon a very proud woman. ♥

So a few weeks back, Mal challenged me to get dressed first thing in the morning if for no other reason than so that when the neighbor  kindly brings produce to our door to share with our family, I can answer it instead of hiding behind a counter pretending we aren't home. :) I mean, how fitting is it for me to answer the door in my pajamas at 10:30 in the morning. On a Saturday, maybe. But not on a Tuesday or a Wednesday or a Friday...

So today, I'm dressed.
In real clothes.
As I have been for the past two weeks straight.

It's a nice feeling & I'm wearing things that have been hanging in my closet unworn for weeks...months...years... :) And I'm finally able to comfortably wear jeans that have been in my drawer for a very long time due to the healthy eating plan (coupled with a wee bit of stress) we have been following for several months now.

Mal is proud of me...
And she tells me often. ♥

One day as I was busily making mine & Kyle's bed, I was thinking about various things in life (my brain rarely rests) & the thought came to me...
Do people need me more...
Or do people want me more...

I mean think about it for a minute...
Do people need you more...
Or do people want you more...

There is a difference, you know.

Needing:
laundry
meals
dishes
transportation
money
assistance in things someone else is incapable of doing
help in accomplishing things that is undesirable to someone else

Wanting:
companionship
embrace
comfort
laughter
assurance
an understanding heart (even if you may not agree with what is being said)
a smile

As I thought about it, God brought a visual picture of this little guy into my mind.

Tuck...

He's like most other little kids...
When they see someone they really like or are familiar with...
Their eyes light up, they get a wide mouth smile & they run towards the one they want...♥

I've seen Tuck do it many times...
And when he does...
It makes the person he is going towards, feel wanted...
Loved...
Special...♥

As I processed these thoughts, I had to ask myself the question:
How do I make people feel?
Wanted or needed?

Everyone wants to be needed as well as wanted but when the needing dominates the wanting...
One begins to feel used...
Taken advantage of...
Resentful.

I'm guilty as charged.

Initially the thought that went through my mind was:
Sometimes, I just want to be wanted...
I get so tired of only being needed...

But then as I mulled it over, I realized that I'm just as guilty as the next person.

When someone feels wanted...
They feel:
Loved...
Special...
Valued...
Appreciated...
Chosen.

Not because someone needs them, but because someone chooses them.
They have been chosen.
And everyone wants to be chosen.

Remember those days back in elementary school when sides were being picked for a game?

You wanted to be wanted.
You wanted to be chosen.

Some things in life never change.
Just as God intended.

So today I ask you...
As a person, do you feel wanted?
Or just needed?

I also ask you...
As a person, do you make others feel wanted?
Valued?
Special?
Appreciated?
Loved?
Chosen?

Or do you simply make them feel like an unnoticed asset?
Simply needing them for what they do?
Or what they have to give?
Yet not appreciating them for who they are...

It's something I'm really working on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today, I'm thankful for last night's heart biscuit formed just for me...♥

Molded by hands that I love...♥
Hands that love me tenderly...♥

Hands that reach out to hold me...♥

Hands that touch me softly...♥

Hands that embrace God's Word...♥

Hands that affirm MaKayla & Mal...♥

Hands that create...♥

Hands that work hard...♥

Hands that make music...♥

The hands of the one I love most...♥

For Kyle's hands...♥

I am thankful.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

I'm also thankful for my girl that challenges me...♥

And stretches me...♥

And showers my life each & every day with abundant joy...♥

Today...

I am thankful. ♥

We pray for the big things & forget to give thanks for the ordinary,

small (and yet really not small) gifts.

~Dietrich Bonhoeffer