Struggling

It's funny how parenting is such an emotional roller coaster. Why is it that I see my kids better than others see them? I know my children's faults and strengths, yet everyone else seems to only see the faults. Then the faults are belittled. Instead of simply correcting and focusing on the strengths, we have to belittle them. Just confused as a parent; how do you deal with what others think? How do you teach your kids that they are not a smartallic, know it all, bully? Smart, yes. Tend to be right, yes. A rough boy, yes. It's all about the motive. The approach of my child is wrong, the motive is not. He's not trying to be a disrespectful, know it all punk. He's just an almost 7 year old kid, who has not completely learned how to speak and behave. I agree he's approach is wrong, but to belittle and label him that just seems wrong to me. So how do I teach through this process?

Life...the Craziness of it...

Let's see, where to begin...

Oh, I know...two weeks ago today, I ran away from life. I loaded up the van with luggage and kids. I dropped the kids with my parents, then went to a cabin in the woods, by myself. I love the hubby dearly, but two weeks ago it was about me. Not about taking care of the kids or the hubby. It was all about taking care of myself and my relationship with God.

It's funny how God had to have me run away to be able to tell me that all the studying of His word and praying to Him, was only 2/3 of the equation. I was missing the "Be Still..." Odd since that is the verse I have in VERY large print on my dining room wall. See, I was doing the things I knew I needed to do, but yet I was still feeling empty, even though I knew God was there. Well, I was empty, because I was not being still. You all know how it is as a wife and mother. You take care of everyone else first, then if there is time, you take care of yourself. God wants us to "Be still". We just have to be obedient and do it. Even if it is only for a few minutes each day, we have to get away from life and "Be still" in God, just listen to what He is saying to us. It's amazing what you will hear when you listen.

Also, God new I needed to refresh for days, before returning to the next part of my journey. You ask...What's next? Well, the hubby is still leading music at another church. God answered four specific prayers in a very specific way through a man in a restaurant, whom I had never met and probably never will again. One pray was...Father, please show me a burning bush. I got a burning bush.

The second part of what's next...Kid-O has been passing out. We've had an EKG which came back normal. We had the EEG yesterday. Don't know the results yet. And now we are on our way back to our favorite place, UAB to a pediatric endocrinologist. What's that you ask...metabolism in a nut shell. Looks like Kid-O is having blood sugar issues. Extremely lows and extreme highs. Indicates hypoglycemic/pre-diabetes.

It's funny how God using my children to keep me focused on Him. I have no problem placing them in His hands, and asking for His leading, but I have to choose to "Be still" and listen to what He wants me to do next. Which doctor does He want me to take her too. How far do I push until someone answers the question..."Why did my daughter start passing out, all of a sudden, at the age of 10?"

Little Man is about to be 7 and already has a powerful testimony about and for God. Maybe/Prayerfully God is building Kid-O's testimony to be just as powerful.

Curious...

So the Spirit of God is one of the three, from my understanding equal to God because He is God. Would that be an incorrect statement?

In the early church (new testament times) the Spirit of God would be present and the people would pray and worship until the Spirit was finished. They didn't stop. There was no time limit on preaching, teaching, praying, worshipping, etc. So my question: Why do we as Christians rush the Spirit? Why when He is moving do we decide we need to do something else?

Are we as a church afraid of the Spirit of God? Can fear be a bad thing? I think a healthy fear of God is a good thing. Proverbs states, "Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom." When Moses approached Mt.Sinai to receive the ten commandments from God, God tells Moses to consecrate the people for two days and prepared them for God's appearance on the third day so they could hear God. Then God speaks through the thick cloud to Moses and the Israelites. The Israelites are scared so, they tell Moses they don't want to hear God, they want to hear Moses. Did that fear not instill in them the essence and power of the one and only Holy God? I would think that it would. Don't know I wasn't there, but it seems logical to me. Seems like the Spirit of God moving would be a powerful and awe inspiring thing.

I guess I "feel" like the church is missing something today, the moving of the Spirit, but I don't understand why? Or maybe He is not missing in all situations, but He is being asked to leave because we need to move on the the next point of worship. I know there is no good answer to my question. It's just a question.

Where is the power of God? An author in a book I am currently reading states, what if you were stranded in the desert and all you had was the Bible and you had never attended a church. You read that Bible, loved that Bible, then were saved and wanted to go to church, would your expectations be different than what you currently see, hear and feel?

Points I am currently pondering/praying about...

Been a while...

Obviously, it has been quite awhile since I have posted anything on my blog. Busy, busy, busy...

During the spring, we were busy with spring soccer for Little Man and preparations for the Science Olympiad for Kid-O, school, Emmaus walks, Chrysalis flights, VBS and vacation, as well as church activities. Speaking of church activities, the hubby has been the Minister of Music at a church about fifteen minutes from here since the second week of January. He is still the interim there. We believe this is where God would have us serve; however, we are still waiting on God's perfect timing.



Life has been interesting to say the least. God has been teaching me lots about myself and my need for Him, my dependence on Him. It's funny how you think you can do things by yourself, to only have God knock you back several steps and say, "No, you can't".

See a few years back, after many hurts within the church body, I put myself inside of a box. A beautifully wrapped box. God has allowed me to keep my box while He was healing the wounds; however, I knew that God was going to make that box (my security blank, as some might say) go away. I have fought thinking, I like my box, I need my box, my box is good for me, it keeps me from getting hurt. But see here's the thing, that box does not allow me to be as effective of a Christian as God has called me to be. Because inside that box, all my fears co-existed with me.

In saying that, I can say many wounds have healed in the pasted 2 1/2 years, there was still some left; however, the box must be opened and I must move out of that box for God to continue to heal the remaining wounds, so I can be effective for Him.

By grace I am saved, through love I am being healed.

Check up...

Little Man had his cardiology check up today. Drum roll please...Everything looks good. There is no progession of the stenosis this year from last year. So no better, but no worse. So that is a good thing. We just keep doing his yearly check ups for now.

Snow Days

We have had a very unusual winter for Alabama, but needless to say we have enjoyed it. First, it started with snow on Christmas day. You can't beat that. Then we got another 7 inches or so last Monday. The kids ended up being out of school for the entire week. So I thought you all might like some pictures of us having some fun on the white stuff.

We decided the best way to sled was to use the boggy board, which worked very well. Especially by day two, when our sled path had turned to a slick of ice.

Little man figured out that if we ran and jumped onto the boggy board on our knees that we would get the most speed. Oh what fun it is to...

Here's the hubby having fun too. I'm in the picture at the bottom. By the end of the two days of playing in the snow and shoveling snow so the hubby could go back to work, we were very sore. We decided this was the first time that we officially felt our age. Oh, it's all down hill from here, but man was if worth all the pain. The picture of Mini-Me didn't upload. I'll upload one of him later.

Family Picture 2010

Here is our most recent attempt at a family picture. So why is it so difficult to get children to smile, normal for a picture. You should see some of the pictures. Little Man looks down right scared in several of them. There a good laugh. So here are the ones that I thought were the best of the bunch.

Of course you go, the hubby, myself, Kid-O in the glasses, Little Man the blonde, and then Mini-Me the spitting imagine of his daddy.

Here was a cute picture of the three kids together. Kid-O is turning into a beautiful little girl. Hoping for awkward teenage years. Not ugly, just awkward.

Here's the hubby and I, still very happy after 10 1/2 years of marriage, 15 years together. Actually, probably happier, praise God.

Bean bags

Thought this was a good picture of the bean bags.

Bean bags

Here is a picture of Papaw and Mini-Me sitting in the fluffy brown beans bags that Mamaw and Papaw got for each of the kids for Christmas.

We got rid of the couches, mainly because they were old, so they were replaced with bean bags. We love them.

Christmas Morning

As you can tell, yet again I am way behind the times. It seems like I can't get a leg up right now. I have even stopped doing some of the things I used to do to try to keep up with the things that have to be done. Anyway, that being said, I would really like to get back to blogging. It is relaxing for me, therapeutic I might say.

Here are a few pictures from Christmas morning. Kid-O got the purple pillow pet, that fluffy white pillow and the electrical circuit set. She is a little geek like her daddy. Although, I must say I am proud of my little geek. How many kids would ask Santa for that gift.

Mini-Me didn't ask for drums, but apparently daddy was really bad, or that's what he keeps saying anyway, because Mini-me got the drums. He also got the Sam's tube of cheeseballs from Santa, which is what he actually asked for. The hubby and I had a hard time not laughing when he asked for them.

Little man asked for a pogo stick, a webkinz, and a red robe. The kids seemed to have a great Christmas. I know they got tons of stuff, by the time you factor in Santa, mommy and daddy, mamaw and papaw, auntie, then grandma and grandpa.