Humbled To Be Awarded!

Yesterday my precious friend, Katie, over at Intentional Pursuit awarded me with the Liebster Blog Award. Frankly, I'm not even sure what to say... I'm surprised... I'm thankful... I'm humbled!

I'm not sure of the origins of this award, and apparently they are hard to find. However, Katie says she learned that "liebster" is German for "dearest"... Aww, thank you Katie!! :) This award is for "small" blogs (under 200 followers), and I certainly fit into this category, LOL. The purpose is to spread awareness of a "small" blog you love with others so they, too, may have the opportunity to enjoy it.

Their are a few rules to passing along this award to other fellow "small" bloggers.
1. Show your thanks to the blogger who nominated you by linking back to their blog.
2. Nominate five other happy little blogs by posting a comment on their blogs.
3. Post the award on your blog.
4. Now you get to stop by and see what these up and coming blogs have to offer.

I would gladly oblige to these rules. Unfortunately, I only follow two "small" bloggers, one of which nominated me. But just in case you aren't familiar with them, let me tell you a little bit about them...

1. Intentional Pursuit by Katie

Katie loves Jesus! She is very intentional in her pursuit of the things of God, and desires to train her children to do the same by example (hints the name of her blog). When she blogs, she generally always makes me think about a concept in an abstract way. I love her use of Scripture in her posts as well... Katie LOVES God's Word!! She inspires me to dig deeper, pray harder, and be more intentional in my own pursuit of the Lord! If you don't know Katie, take a few minutes to listen to her heart.

2. The Kindle Crew by Jennifer

Right now, Jennifer is on a hot pursuit to see the Lord work in new ways in her own heart and that of her family. She desires obedience to God and to share the love of Jesus with those she comes in contact with. I admit, I'm a little drawn to Jennifer's blog because her children remind me of my own childhood: 3 boys and then a girl. :) Jennifer writes in a compelling but down to earth manner. So grab your coffee and share a cup with her. She's a great friend to listen to!

Thank you both for being such an inspiration to my walk with Jesus! I cherish your friendships!! :)

Closing This Chapter of our Life

For those of you who don't know, we own a home... but we don't live there. The Lord asked us to leave our home in Forney, TX in November of 2009. After prayer and much fear of taking the first step, we sold many of our earthly treasures, packed up what was left along with our two children (at the time) and moved to Pennsylvania.

We knew the Lord said He would take care of the house, but in our limited understanding of His ways, we immediately assumed that meant it would sell. However, after a month of absolutely NO interest whatsoever, not even on the internet, we thought God might've had a different plan... so we went back to ask Him.

We felt the Lord leading us to try to rent it out using a leasing agency who would handle everything from finding the renter to repairs and random home inspections. Within a week of going this route we had three appointments to show our house, and one of the three quickly signed a two-year lease.

That lease is coming to an end in about a month... and then what?

Honestly, our desire is to sell the home and cut all ties to it. It has been like a dark cloud looming over us for the past two years. It reminds us of a time when we weren't really seeking the Lord, but the world. It was a time when family time suffered to pursue earthly treasures. We are thankful God's grace drew us out of that mire into the light of His Word. We have been so blessed by living more on faith an serving others than paychecks and shopping trips since leaving that season of our life.

OUR desire is to end that chapter of our life! But what is the Lord's desire for that house? That is the most important question. Is His will that it sells? Are we ready to move on to new adventures... in new places? Does He want us to rent it out again to someone who needs a place to stay? Or (and this would be my least favorite option... but like I said, HIS will is most important) is His will that we moved back in there, rent out the entire upstairs (which is the only way we could afford to do so) and love on, serve, and disciple strangers out of our own home? Perhaps He wants something entirely different than any of these choices...

But, we're praying! And praying... and praying... and, well you get the idea. Our deepest desire is to stay on the Lord's path. It's easy to carve out our own way, to run ahead of him, or even to lag behind because we're afraid of what He's asking us to do. We've been in all of these scenarios, but we've learned that it is most rewarding and joyful to walk WITH Jesus!

Please pray with us that that is exactly where we will stay, and we'll be willing to joyfully choose His will for this house. We feel a peace about putting it up for sale right now. So, as of January 1st, it's officially on the market. We will see what the Lord does between now and mid-March. Here is the link to see our house: www.127stone.info If you know someone looking to move to the Forney area, please feel free to pass along the web address.

It's all in Your hands, Lord. I know Your will is the best one for us. We desire to obey, even if it's hard. Thank you that You remain in control of our circumstances... thank you that You already have it all worked out!

The Lord is Speaking

Ok. I don't really like to make New Year's resolutions because, well frankly, I'm horrible about keeping them for 12 months! So don't consider this set in stone.

The Lord has been speaking to my husband and I for the past few months about prayer... A LOT!! Then to put icing on the cake, He confirms to me on the last day of 2011, that YES! He wants me to communicate with Him more... to be a visual example of that communication for my children... to not only pray with them at bedtime, but pray OVER them throughout the day... to stop and do the most important thing I can at any given moment: set aside the temporal "urgent" stuff to invest in eternity! I believe Father is asking me to resolve to come to Him more and bring my children with me. He desires for us to draw near to His throne of grace for more than just requests. He wants us to bless Him, worship Him, thank Him, intercede for each other and those not in our immediate family... He desires for us to grow closer to Him in relationship, not just knowledge ABOUT Him.

I know He's been gracious in allowing me to slowly examine our relationship together. I admit, I've been found wanted. My Father wants more of me in His presence, sitting at His feet, letting Him speak to me and sing over me. He wants me closer so I can feel His comfort, hear His whisper of love, correction, and exhortation. He's drawing my heart... I just need to discipline this ugly flesh of mine!

Maybe you have a very healthy prayer life. Maybe you're like me, and it leaves little to be desired. Either way, take some time to ask you Father if He is pleased with where your relationship is currently and where it is heading. Or does He miss those talks you once had together? Have you told Him you'd meet Him routinely, only to allow the temporal "urgent" business to draw you away momentarily?

Anniversary Blessings

Today Dwight and I celebrate our 10th anniversary of marriage. I'll be honest, that first year I NEVER thought we'd see this day arrive. However, with the Lord, all things are possible! He has given us a greater desire to seek Him and His will for our lives. In turn, we've grown to love His Word, and I believe, it's caused the following to occur:  We love each other more now than we did when we first married, we've learned to be less selfish and help each other more, we've learned to love and welcome the blessings He puts in my womb, we've learned to serve others with greater appreciation, and joyfully share the things God has given us.

I am so thankful the Lord has given us this day to share!! He controls our every breath, our every sunrise and sunset, He's still in control when our circumstances seem to go haywire. He even controls the areas in life we think WE have control over... our income, our living situation, the number of children we have, and so on. We should have great peace knowing that our loving Father doesn't ever lose control. He never forgets to do something important. He isn't surprised when disaster comes upon us. He allows even those things to come so it may strengthen our faith and cause us to lean harder on Him.

It may not be a 'special' day for you, but take some time today to tell the Lord how thankful you are to have another day to cherish and serve your family the way Jesus did.

This is our latest family picture. It's so beautiful to me to see how the Lord is growing our family!

Merry CHRISTmas!!

Dwight & I gave the children their gifts last night. I can't believe how big Corbin is getting. One of his gifts this year was his very own "real" Bible (as he calls it). He's worked very hard this school year learning to read, and really enjoys having Bible studies with his daddy. He was so excited to receive this gift! He later came to me & told me it was his 'most favorite gift he got for Christmas'. :)

May all of you have a wonderful day today with your families celebrating the King of Kings & Lord of Lords!! Merry CHRISTmas...

Saying Goodbye

Well, my grandma didn't make it to Christmas. She left this world yesterday, December 21st... which also happened to be the 30th anniversary that she had to say goodbye to her own husband. I pray they are together in heaven rejoicing at their reunion. If they are, I know they are thrilled to hear one another's voice for the first time. Both of my grandparents were deaf... and I'm sure my Granny has much to share with him after so many years apart!

The hospice facility caring for Granny gave us ample material to help prepare us for the end-stages of life. I read them all, more than once, and thought I was really ready to face the last leg of our journey together. However, I find myself in an unexpected place now. I was completely expecting to feel a major relief. What I wasn't ready for was the array of emotions I would go through.

Caring for Granny has been a journey of good days and bad... ups and downs... laughter and sorrows... joys and frustration. I admit, some days I wanted to throw in the towel and give up, and there were days I thought, "How can I continue on like this?".

They say hindsight is always 20/20. Well, looking back, I realize how blessed I am to have had this time to not only help Granny, but also bond with my mom in a whole new way. We now share memories and feelings only we can have because we have that shared experience. And what a blessing it can be when you are obedient to the Lord's will... even if it means you have to make a sacrifice or two along the way!

This was my first time to watch someone take their last breath and step into eternity. It's definitely something you don't forget... it leaves an impression on your heart. It has given me a greater understanding of our bodies being just temporary vessels. Yes, 93 years is a long time in our minds, but it's so, so short in light of eternity! Our time on this earth is only a vapor in comparison... What are you doing in this life to prepare for the next?

A world of hurt

I am just sitting here this morning pondering so many things: my feelings, my to-do list, how much will be left undone on that list, and so on. But there's one thing that stands out more to me right now...

It seems like there is so much hurt going on in the world... even if you don't know anyone personally, just read the online news, pick up a paper, or turn on the tv. Maybe it's because of the Christmas season, but there's just something that makes your heart hurt when you hear of someone losing their life this time of year. In just one day, I found out 2 people I know of died, 1 found out they have breast cancer, and my own grandmother may be the next to leave this life... probably before Christmas day. Yes, it's difficult to say goodbye to someone you love when this season is supposed to be filled with joy and happiness...

Truth is, Jesus is what makes this season special, but if you are a child of the King, you have reason to celebrate EVERYDAY of the year. Praise the Lord for that!! People are losing their lives daily by the multitude worldwide. Sadly, most of them probably have a very grim eternity. We should rejoice for those leaving this life who have secured an eternity in Heaven... and those who don't, well, that should grieve us even more!

Embrace today, tomorrow, everyday as if it were your last. Take time to share the love of Jesus with those around you and those you don't know... because you never know if that day it will be THEIR last.