I work for The King.

The other day I was surfing blogs and came across one I just love.

www.abeautifuljourneyblog.com

On it, I found these words, that pretty much sum it up and speak volumes to my little heart.

"I work for a King. He has put me in charge of His home. When He comes to see how I have managed His possessions and His children, I do not want to be found wanting. I want to do my best. Everything I have is on loan from Him. I have room and board, and a job to do, but it is all for Him.

Therefore, I want to dress my best, and do my best in all my work. I also want to be creative, for this is a sincere attempt to glorify Him and all His beautiful creation. How I manage my home is a form of worship to Him."
~ Lydia Sherman

Trying to manage my home in a way that is pleasing to Him and brings Him worship and glory. It's so hard to do, but I know I can do it.

I was reading a book that I recently picked up at our MOPS, Mothers of Preschoolers, yard sale. It's titled "Simple Secrets to a Beautiful Home" by Emilie Barnes. So far I'm really enjoying it. It's a great reminder to me why I want to keep my home clean and neat, and welcoming.

"For home is not merely a structure of wood, brick, and metal. Home is what grows within its walls, nurtured by ther hears and souls of those who live within. Allow the joy and peace of our Lord to permeate the walls of your home and the "rooms" of your life with a spirit of welcome that only Christ himself can give you."

In only it's first chaper, this book is a good encouragment and reminder to see the heart of the matter.

I want my home to reflect the words of this Jewish blessing:
May it's doors be open to those in need, and its rooms be filled with kindness. May joy shine from its windows, and His presence never leave it.

Thank You.

"Thank You Jesus for...." That is how my daughter ALWAYS starts her prayers. Not "dear Jesus" but Thank You Jesus. When she is praying for a family memebers boo boo, or saying her bedtime prayers, praying for her food. I LOVE that! It reminds me that I need to be thankful. To come in a spirit of thankfulness for ALL that He has done for us. I don't know where she got that from, she's just always done it. And I love it. I love her. And I love Jesus and am so thankful that He's given me the job of being her momma.

Lord, help me to remember to be thankful in all things.

"We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you..." ~Colossians 1:3

"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful."
~Colossians 4:2

Devote yourself to being thankful. WOW. Working on that.

"For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.."
~ 1 Timothy 4:4

Out of the mouths of babes.... I think when she asks the Lord, with thanksgiving in the beginning of her prayer, the Lord hears her. I know He does.

"But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."
~ Luke 18:16

I know that there is power in my little girl's prayers. I don't want to hinder her coming to Jesus. With a faith like hers, I know that Kingdom of Heaven belongs to her! I pray I can continue to nurture that faith and lead her in the way that she should go.

THE BENCH!

I have had the desire to renovate my dining room, if only to change the furniture around and get a new table and chairs. We were blessed when we were first married with the gift of a table and chairs from our professor and his wife who did our marriage counceling. The condtion was that we had to give it away when we were ready to get something else. Well, I've been dreaming of a rectangular table and new chairs and a bench for the kids to sit on. I've scoured the internet for pictures and designs of a bench. Then my friend Kristie offered to help me build it. So the day after the last day of school, I packed my play pen, my 3 kids, and my wood into the mini-van and set out to Kristie's house. The girls were ecstatic to be playing with their friends! With me, Kristie and our 6 kids, we had a fun afternoon! We got down on her covered deck, (which I am ENVIOUS of!!!) and got to buildin'!

We had the kids try it out. Needed a few adjustments.

TADA!!!

While we were there, Little Man played in Kristie's little one's excersaucer and FELL ASLEEP!! He's NEVER done that before!!

Kristie helped me load the bench and off I went home, after a day filled with playing and building, to PAINT IT!

The Before picture...

The During picture...

I was so happy to find a gallon of paint in my basement stash of the same color that was used on the trim in the living room and play room of our house! SO thankful that I didn't have to buy it! AND it was very similar to the color that I had wanted to use!

In addition to the AMAZING bench that we built (I say "we" loosly, because basically, Kristie did all the work, while I helped with design and holding boards!) I was blessed that same week with a NEW to Me TABLE! My mom found it at a yard sale in New Jersey! The nice older woman GAVE IT TO HER FOR FREE!!!!! FOR FREE!!!! It is at least 40 years old! SOLID WOOD!! 3 leaves! The woman said she sat 14 people around it! I think at least 10 can fit comfortably! It's oval, so not the rectangle shaped that I had wanted, but it's all good! It has a very long, straight side that the NEW BENCH fits up to PERFECTLY! Thank you Jesus!! and Mom! and Kristie!!

I will post pictures of the final dining room "redo" SOON!

PICTURES!!

So I have been doing this blogging bit for a few months now...really liking it, if only for myself. It's a neat way for me to be both creative, and to journal some things on my heart. Things about a day in the life of this mommy, and the things that Jesus puts on my heart. It's good. ANYWHO! I just figured out TODAY how to put pictures on my blog!! YIPPEEE! So I will be making it a little more pretty! As they say, and at least have some photos to rememeber the various occasions by. Thanks to anyone who's reading and enjoying! I'm glad I get to live out a mini-dream and blog...

STRAWBERRIES!

Over the dirtroad and through the fields, a strawberry pickin' we will go! After much personal debate about the weather, should i go alone, can i really take the small ones and not the big one, etc etc, I took the PLUNGE!

We had fun! Little M picked about 1/3 of a basket, and then found a new friend and ran around the strawberry patch with her.

Little Man almost missed out on all of it! He fell asleep on the way. Thankfully we were out in the country, way out, so I was able to park in the shade, open the van doors, and pick just a stone's throw away from him.

Little M and I filled one basket, and went back to the car to put it in, and check on Little Man. He was awake, I'm sure the little boy standing near the car, calling for his own mother, "helped" him wake up. He woke up happy and I decided to brave the jogging stroller in the patch. It was difficult, but I managed. I found that if you slightly tip the stroller up and roll it only on the front wheel, you can sucessfully navigate the narrow pathways without crushing precious berries. YIKES!

I was SO GLAD that I told Little M NOT to eat any strawberries until AFTER we paid for them. I knew that even if I had let her eat "just one" she wouldn't have stopped. We also ran into the owner of the farm's daughter. She was picking for their stand. So glad my daughter wasn't stealing, er, eating their berries. :) She jokingly asked if they'd weighed Little M before we came to the patch. Because if she weighed more, we'd have to pay for those berries. Funny Lady!

I am hoping the forcasted rain this week will make the smaller berries that are left over, grow and they will have one more week of picking.

Now to do SOMETHING with the TEN POUNDS that we picked!??!

They LOVE to Dance!

The girls first week in tumbling and dance. Technically the second of tumbling, but we missed the first class due to me having a migraine and falling asleep on the couch. I woke up 20 minutes after the class was over. BLLAAHHH! Oh well! The classes were a hit! Here's a Smile Box Scrapbook of their first classes. Love these things!!

Personalize your own free digital scrapbook

Worship = Connection

I recently went to an AMAZING Night of Worship with one of my favorite worship leaders, Kim Walker- Smith. It was...AWESOME! We were also able to meet her husband Skylar. They were both so down to earth. God's people, giving their gifts that HE gave back to HIM and leading others to do the same. Pretty AWESOME!

We stayed the night with friends in a hotel room with weird mirrors. Had some good laughs and amazing talks. God was present. The next morning we went to the Pre-Conference Worship Session which Kim taught. It was for worship leaders. I'm not THE worship leader. I am a member of the worship team. So was our friend Heather, and my husband occasionally plays the drums when he's not wrestling our three kids... You're thinking, well, that's not my gift, so I wouldn't have gone..??? WELL....Kim had some life changing things to teach about worship!!!

"Worship is not a song. It's not singing. Worship is the connection we have with Jesus. It's Him pouring His love on us and we in turn pouring it back to Him. EVERYTHING in life is an expression of that relationship. EVERYTHING! What would happen if the Body of Christ fought for that connection throughout the week, and came to church already connected?! It's a fight to maintain that connection. That relationship. Worship is about the Body of Christ coming together, coming into God's Presence." ~Kim Walker-Smith

That pretty much rocked my world. There's so much more I could share, maybe for another post. But for today, I want to share this, that worship is more then a song, it's more then clapping, raising our hands...it is our daily connection with Jesus. Everything we do is an act of worship to our Heavenly Father. Everything else we do (during church) is the expression we have of our relationship with Him. When we TRULY understand what He's done for us, how much HE loves us, then our lives will be forever changed. Should be forever rocked! "We love because HE first loved us!! God is LOVE! It's ALIVE!-KWS"

The Sunday following this amazing time away, I was reading my Bible on the way to church. I felt led to read in Psalm 74. I think it was because of something I had heard during the conference. However, instead I began to read near the end of chapter 73. This is what it said;

"Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny. Whom have I in heaven but you? I DESIRE YOU MORE THEN ANYTHING ON EARTH. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak. but GOD REMAINS THE STRENGTH OF MY HEART; HE IS MINE FOREVER....But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Soverign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things YOU do." ~Psalm 73:23-26, 28

I pray that you will desire God more then anything, ANYTHING, else on earth, and FIGHT for your daily connection with Him, as you worship Him in EVERYTHING you do!!

Growers Market

Create a picture slideshow

Strong Tower

What to do when the weather has ruined your plans?? Recently our area in Northeast Pennsylvania was hit with several sudden tornadoes. We do not usually have that sort of weather. In fact, I've been known to say to my husband before, things along the lines of: "That's why we live up north! There are NO such things as tornadoes up here!" Boy was I in for a rude awakening. In our town and the two closest towns south of us, just little dots on the local map, don't even think they all make on the Rands map...surely on the good ol' internet... we were all hit by tornadoes. The storms just started. Right in the middle of the Bloss Coal Festival. I had so wanted to take my kids there this year, but I completely forgot about the dates, and did not read the paper. I am thankful that I didn't. HUGE trees are complately torn up out of the ground. Roots exposed, trees like fallen heros. Some cracked in half, halfway up. Tress on houses and cards. Electrical wires hit too. Power out for 3 to 5 days. People lost everything in their fridges. I'm very thankful to my brother, who works for a company in the gas field. He was able to borrow 3 generators. He saved my fridge and freezer, my parents, and the local coffee shops fridges. Don't know what we'd do without coffee!!!!

As I reflect on that storm, and the very small one today, that ruined plans then, and now, I realize that I am so thankful to be safe, my family and I. So thankful to a Creator who holds us in the palm of His hand and will cover us with His protection. That makes me think of His promise in His Word:
"The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe." ~ Proverbs 18:10
When we call on His name, we are safe. He will protect us. Thank you Jesus. For your salvation, and for your ever present help in times of trouble.

I shall attempt to stain my deck over the next 3 days, when the chance of precipitation is 10% or less! For now, I will go spend some cuddle time with my kiddos.