Gratitude

wood stacked outside for the stove

willing big boys to keep it piled up

crackling fires

a husband that put wood in at 2am and kisses me before he leaves the bedroom

wet snow pants that line the floor

days to be meaningful

nights to reflect
silent nights

loud excited mornings

snow falling

dinner around the table

bedtime talks with my girls

baby giggles as she nurses

drives to town

prayers with my wee boy

dishes

troubles that cause me to cry out

grief that brings heart changes

cool air on my face *breathe deep*

devotions in the morning with little ones on either side

How should a Christian mother view children?

How should a Christian mother view children?

1. As a gift and miracle from God and not as drudgery.

2. She has been entrusted by God to care for them during their time on earth.

3. She delights in them and is thankful for them, even on hard days.

4. She is protective, never bad-mouthing her children to others or slandering them.

5. She understands that they are the next generation entrusted with the Gospel.

6. She knows their souls are precious to God and that He knows the number of every hair on their head.

7. She knows she is accountable to God for how she raises them, so she faithfully sacrifices her love, her patience, and her life for them.

8. She understands that even as they are in a state of infancy now that this precious season is quickly fleeting and in a blink of an eye they will grow up---so she savors the moment.

9. She welcomes the number of children the Lord gives her and treasures each one in her heart because she knows that He has a purpose for each and every single one--- even if the world doesn't see it that way. She rejects the lie that children are a burden.

10. She understands and embraces the future, knowing her job is not done when her children graduate from high school or when they turn eighteen, instead it takes on a different form of support through acts of love and prayer and continues on until she takes her last breath.

Taken from True Christian Motherhood

30 years old and 15 years born again

On Oct 23 I celebrated my 30th Birthday. The night before my close friend had a fantastic dinner party for me where they all pitched in a bought me this beautiful floor lamp I was dying to get.
Oct 23 is not only my BIRTHday but also my spiritual birthday. I celebrated being a Christian for 15 years this year. I am thrilled to say I am still in love with my first love and my heart is more on fire for the Lord than when I first began.


“Spiritual progress, therefore, is tied up in knowing Christ as our All. It takes place when we take Christ as our portion to be all things for us. Greater Bible knowledge will not do this for you. Increased religious activity or spiritual service will not do this for you. Neither will spending more time praying. Only a revelation of the vastness of Christ can meet the bill.
As I survey the landscape of modern Christianity, it seems to me that spiritual things and objects have replaced the person of Christ. The doctrines, gifts, graces, virtues, and duties that we so earnestly seek have substituted for Jesus Himself. We look to this gift and that gift, we study this truth and that truth, we seek to appropriate this virtue, we try to fulfill this duty, but all along we fail to find Him.
When the Father gives us something, it’s always His Son. When the Son gives us something, it’s always Himself. This insight greatly simplifies the Christian life. Instead of seeking many spiritual things, we seek only Him. Our single occupation is the Lord Jesus Christ. He becomes our only pursuit. We do not seek divine things; we seek a divine person. We do not seek gifts; we seek the giver who embodies all the gifts. We do not seek truth; we see the incarnation of all truth.
God has given us all spiritual things in His Son.”
Frank Viola
From Eternity To Here, 302-303
~~~

He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Therefore, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
1 Corinthians 1:30-31 (ESV)
~~~

The enemy violently opposes your finding complete satisfaction in Christ alone. He cares not what he uses, whether the world’s pleasures, or the Lord’s blessings, or even ministry. He wants desperately to keep you occupied with anything but the Lord Jesus.

Happy 4TH Birthday Rachael Joy

Everyone got to take home a real gold fish, with a little baggy of food.

Elmo cupcakes!

Elmo water bottles

Chris and I made a 5ft elmo for the top of our driveway.

Happy Birthday sweetheart!

I'm Back

I took a 3 week break from the computer. Although it was forced on me as my laptop had to be sent away to be fixed it was a much needed break for my mind.
I had deleted my Facebook account the night before I boxed up my computer and for now I will be keeping it deactivated. I have a number of reasons that helped me make my choice. I ended up catching a program on CNN one night that scared the socks off my feet, about the Facebook connection addiction. I think one of the most humbling things for me was seeing how *me* focused I had become. For example " Miranda is ........................." insert what ever status; nobody comments maybe get a couple "likes" and I start to feel a wide range of emotions, from "oh maybe that was silly to straight nobody likes me". When I took a couple steps back and looked at it, that's really REALLY silly!

This also caused me to take a look at who my "friends" are. There is a verse in Proverbs that says The righteous should choose his friends carefully I can tell you out of the 250+ friends on my Facebook account I only truly have a relationship with maybe 4% of them.

And besides they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle but also gossips and busybodies, saying things which they ought not" (Timothy 5:13)

This very verse makes me want to run and hide my face in shame. I am so very guilty. I had learned how to be idle, checking up, checking again and again. While I had lied to myself convincing my conscious that I was keeping community I have only produced weariness by knowing everything everyone else was doing. Yet I was guilty of rolling my eyes at "friends" status updates , the whole thing produced more and more weariness in me than Godly fruit.

"Our Internet-culture has created a social-networking world that effectively allows us – if we wish – to escape the Present by passing our moments onto it. And as C.S. Lewis asked, “Where, except in the present, can the Eternal be met?”

Another reason I have an almost 13 year old and I really don't want to see my children pulled into it so I had to make the step.

So maybe by coming out and humbly letting the world know Facebook causes me to fall into sin and gossip about those on my friends list is like sending myself to the slaughter. But I share this to say I need Jesus, this is the bad news of my flesh I am sinner and my crimes are against God. I can not earn righteousness or salvation through my good works or deeds of holiness. Only me coming to the cross yet again repenting and obeying receiving His blood on the doorpost of my soul and turning. A plucking of my eye of sorts, am I going to miss being in the know? you bet! I love to hear of pregnancy announcements and babies being born but the cost is not worth the judgment I will face at the end of idle words spoken.

During my 3 week break I read 3 books.

Womanly Dominion

Beautiful Girlhood

Heaven is For Real
Womanly Dominion was great very encouraging on your roles as a woman in the home.

We celebrated my Rachael's 4th Birthday and my 30th. I will have to post pictures in my coming posts.

P.S to those who worried my last blog was about them, please don't worry about anything like that, it was not about any person at all. :)

Side Tracked

Isaiah 26 says,
"You keep him in PERFECT PEACE whose mind is stayed on You, trust in the Lord forever"

I realized I have allowed people into my life that are causing me to stumble and get side tracked.
I don't want to get caught up in a "christian rabbit trail" lie. A lie that is pulling me away from my children.
I had to take a really good look at a few things/people I have let speak into my life and it's pulling away from these little gifts in my life.
I look into these eye and ask " what am I doing here? Am I really going to regret this in 30 years? do these people really matter? do they really love me?


“It is a terrible delusion to be content, even delighted, at hearing the Word and yet not being willing to do it. Actually, it is quite common for multitudes of Christians to listen to the Word of God regularly and earnestly and yet not obey it. If their own employee, for example, were to listen to their instructions but not do what was asked of him, they would be very displeased. And yet so complete is the delusion, they seldom realize that they are not living consistent Christian lives. What is the cause of this delusion?

For one thing, people mistake the pleasure they have in hearing the word for spirituality and worship. The mind delights in having the truth clearly presented; the imagination is gratified by its illustration; the emotions are stirred by its application. To an active mind, knowledge gives pleasure. A man may study some field of science—electricity, for example—merely for the enjoyment the knowledge gives him, without the least intention of applying it practically to that line of work. And so many people go to church and enjoy the preaching—but they have no intention of doing what God asks. The unconverted and the converted man alike may remain content to continue sinning, confessing, and sinning again.”

Andrew Murray

The Believer’s Daily Renewal, 44-45
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

James 1:22 (ESV)

Quiet September Day

It's beautiful outside today, the mountain air is much more crisp than town. I love the feel of the coolness.
We had a great school morning, the older two have really gotten the hang of this new curriculum I bought and just start right when they wake up. They have been done school all week before I have breakfast on the table. It's be wonderful to have that extra time with Natalie and Presley doing more than just the book work.

The older two boys have been busy out in the garage all afternoon, sorting tools and cleaning up. They have been making wooden rifles in their spare time, they are really impressive.

Jude and Rachael are at my feet playing with some blocks while baby naps. It been a quiet day, I love and long for days like this. I love the hum of my family, when I really tune the rest of the world out and really focus on them. I don't know why it amazes me to see little issues melt away when I fully mother them.

"The degree of success you achieve will be directly related to how consistent you are. Don't get lazy. Don't give up. Don't make excuses. Don�t be �on again, off again� about training your children. Keep your children with you and watch them, correcting all disobedience and bad attitudes. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Don't be afraid to set high standards and maintain them. Teach and train your children, then expect them to act in a godly manner. Require them to always act the way you would like them to act, and the way you believe God would like them to act, not the way others may let their children act. Be consistent in your training and in your expectations.
Consistency does not mean "do exactly the same thing with every child" or "discipline the same exact way in every instance." Not every child has the same personality or emotional makeup. Not every circumstance is the same. The age of the ch...ild will factor in. Some children are more strong-willed and stubborn than others. A child's motivation will vary from time to time and incident to incident. Some children have been in the habit of rebellion longer than others. These and other things must be taken into consideration as you determine how to handle each child and situation, but this should not interfere with true consistency. Consistency really means that every time your child requires correction, you get up and do it, remaining there to supervise and outlast until the message gets across. Instead of trying to handle each child and event uniformly, try to envision the end result you want, and then adjust your methods to get each child there in each situation. Strive to be �consistent� about not overlooking anything you ought to be correcting for."