A Life of Gratitude

Today has been a really rough day with my back. I don't know why but some days the pain is just so much worse than others. Today, after finishing our school work and taking Dylan to his life classes, I just couldn't take it anymore. I had to lay down with my heating pad cranked up. After laying there for a couple of minutes, my little snuggle buddy climbed up on the couch and laid with me. Watching Sesame Street has never been so wonderful! Believe it or not, he actually did lay still for a few minutes. I enjoyed it so much. These days Evan is really busy. He runs and climbs and skips every where he goes. He doesn't sit still very often so this was a real treat.  Today I am thankful for my sweet little fella and the time we were able to snuggle together. The back pain gets really old sometimes but I never grow tired of these tender moments with my boys. I am also thankful that I have the ability to lay down when I need to, for medicine thats helps me with my pain

Sometimes I know exactly what I'll write about before I barely step foot out of bed in the morning. Other days, even though I have a hundred things to be thankful for, I have no clue what to write about. And sometimes, I change my mind 20 times before sitting down to type this blog. Today was one of those days. I have decided what to write about numerous times today but I changed my mind one final time tonight about 8:30pm.  Our church is participating in Life Action's Thirst Conference this week. The Life Action team is leading our church in a time of seeking revival as individuals, as married couples, as families, and as a church family. The children are also involved in a wonderful time of worshiping and learning. Tonight, on the way home from church, Dylan told us an awesome story. As soon as I heard it, I knew I had to write about it tonight! I'm not sure where the story takes place or who the story is about but Dylan shared with us that one of the leaders tol

At MOMS today we learned about "a wee little man who climbed up on the sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see." Yep, you guessed it, we learned about Zacchaeus! I've heard this story all my life but I've never really paid attention to the fact that Jesus called Zacchaeus by name. When Jesus saw Zacchaeus up in the tree, He looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." (Luke 19:5) Its apparent that Zacchaeus had never met Jesus before but Jesus called out his name like they knew each other. That's probably because Jesus did know Zacchaeus.  We learn all through scripture that God calls us by name so I'm not sure why I'm amazed by this but, I am. I guess it shows the intimacy of a relationship with Jesus. He created us, He knows us, and He loves us. Him calling us by name symbolizes how He feels about us. One of my favorite passages is Psalm 139: 13-18 also expresses how God feels about Hi

  During the video portion of Priscilla Shirer's study on Gideon, she shares a story about a charity that fights against human trafficking. This charity was working in a foreign country when the local police department ran out of money. Once the funds were depleted, they were unable to rescue the young girls that the charity had located. The group was devastated but decided to pray and ask God for a miracle. They prayed specifically that the men who entered the brothels would be compassionate toward the young girls and rescue them instead of taking advantage of them. That seemed like an outlandish prayer but the next day, the police department called to inform them that some of the girls that had been forced into sex trafficking had been dropped off at the department. Apparently the men who were supposed to be enjoying the girls were instead heart broken when they realized that the girls were being held against their will. The men rescued the girls, just as they had prayed. Th

As a church we have been learning to "Love the Word, Learn the Word, and LIVE the word." As part of this endeavor we were encouraged to participate in a Micah 6:8 assignment. Micah 6:8 says, " He has told you, O man, what is good;  and   what does the Lord   require of you  but to do justice, and to love kindness,   and to  walk humbly with your God?" We have been learning to be doers of the Word, not just hearers and the Micah 6:8 assignment gave us the opportunity to act on all the Word teaches us. Bryan and I decided to be doers of the Word by sharing the love of Jesus with some residents of a local nursing home. We invited our friend Melissa and her son, Shane and took the boys to the nursing home this afternoon. Did you know that today is National Ice Cream Cone day? Apparently the ice cream cone was invented on this day in 1903. So, in honor of the amazing ice cream cone, we took ice cream and cones to share with the residents of Westchester Manor. The re

After four years of waiting, yesterday was supposed to be the day that I finally found closure in my worker's compensation case. We had our settlement mediation yesterday afternoon. It started late and ended before any agreement was made. So, we're still waiting. I feel like that's the story of my life these days. Between waiting over 2 years for our house to sell and waiting over 4 years for my worker's comp case to end, I am honestly incredibly tired of waiting. Its not pretty but it's real. I am sick and tired of waiting. After the disappointment I experienced yesterday, I found myself wondering if maybe I'm believing God for nothing. Maybe I shouldn't be believing God? Maybe my hope is in something that I'm misunderstanding?  You know I'm about tell you how God put me in my place today, right?  Well, He did! Tonight, after putting the boys to bed, I went outside and spent some time reading about Abraham and Sarah. God told Abraham that

We had a women's event tonight at church that was full of personality! Actually, it was full of "purs-on-ality!"  It was a wonderful night of fellowship and prayer. The theme of the evening involved purses. Every lady has a purse that tells a whole lot about her so, each table hostess decorated her table with "purs-on-ality." It was amazing to see all the decorated tables. No two tables were even remotely the same. It was easy to see how beautifully unique the body of Christ is.  All the lovely ladies at my table My "Purs-on-ality" Table I added some purse cupcakes and lit the candles before dinner began... Today I am thankful to be a part of such a radiant group of ladies. I was blown away by the uniqueness of each table and have a new appreciation for how different we are all. God is so creative! I am also thankful that Green Street has leadership that desires to pour into the lives of women. Our women's ministry has been g

Today was Bible Presentation Sunday at our church. All of the first graders were given their very own Bible. Our church does this in celebration of a very important milestone in a child's life. That milestone is learning to read! Being literate is taken for granted in our country, especially in our generation, because most people can read but truthfully, it is a really big deal. Being able to read is a vital part of education, almost every job, and living a productive life in today's world but its also a vital part of our Christian walk.  Reading God's Word is the way we learn who God is. Since first grade is the year in which most kids become fluent readers it is a time of celebration! By the end of the year, these students will be able to read the Word of God! Today I am thankful for a church that sees the importance of celebrating our children. Dylan felt so special today. It blesses this momma's heart to know that there are so many people in our

Dylan has had the awesome privilege of being in the first issue of a new Christian magazine called "Spark!"  Dylan's Diaper Doozie's is on "center stage" in the magazine! Dylan could not be more excited about seeing his pictures in the magazine and his name on the cover! He has been showing everyone. We even took some copies to our favorite post office and they had Dylan autograph a copy of Spark! When the editor asked me to write the article about Dylan's Diaper Doozie, I was floored! I couldn't believe she wanted to publish something written by me. Seeing the article in print with all the pictures surrounding my words was absolutely amazing! And believe it or not, I've been asked to be a regular contributor to the magazine! I'll be writing an article in every issue of Spark! I am so honored and humbled and couldn't be happier to be a part of this magazine! Today I am thankful for Spark magazine. God has or

Several months ago Dylan learned about the attacks of 9/11. It wasn't something I really wanted him to learn about at such a young age but he saw some pictures, had a lot of questions, and was told the truth.  Since first hearing about the towers, the pentagon, the tragedy, and the heroes, Dylan has been really interested in learning more and talking a lot about 9/11.  My mom found several "kid-friendly" books and he has learned a great deal about the attacks.  Today, on the anniversary of 9/11, we spent much our homeschool time reading and discussing all that took place that day. One part of the story that Dylan hadn't previously heard was about Todd Beamer and the other heroes of Flight 93. Its a pretty heavy story but it was nicely described in his September 11th book and Dylan loved learning about these heroic men or "good guys" as he calls them. He was so impressed that they were willing to crash the plane to protect the White House and the hund

Our sweet second cousins, Jim and Millie, visited us this weekend all the way from Pennsylvania. Yesterday we had a cookout at our house, enjoyed watching the kids run around and then played Scattergories, which is always a hoot! Today Millie and Jim attended church with us and then we enjoyed a yummy lunch at Gianno's. The time went by so fast but we had such a great time together! Evan especially enjoyed himself! He was making everyone laugh!  Today I am thankful for the opportunity to spend precious quality time with second cousins. I'm so glad they were able to swing through our neck of the woods on their road trip!  I am also grateful for Facebook. Bryan and I have really gotten to know Jim and Millie over the past few years because of Facebook. I know Facebook gets a bad rap from time to time but we honestly wouldn't know them at all if it weren't for this awesome social networking site. God has definitely blessed our little family by al

Several months ago Dylan and I had a little contest where we each tried to say "I love you" more times than the other. I would say, "I love you more" and he would shout, "no, I love you the most." I would say, "I love you to the moon and back" and he would say "I love you times one billion." At one point he looked at me with those big eyes and said, "I love you to infinity." What tops infinity? I couldn't think of anything to top it so I just said, "I love you to infinity too sweet boy." Since then we started showing each other sign language for "I love you" and then we hold our hands up to make the infinity symbol. Each night when I tuck Dylan we tell each other "I love you to infinity" with our hand motions.  As a gift for my birthday Bryan, Dylan and Evan gave me the sweetest gift! Its an infinity bracelet with little charms that have the boy's initials on them and a little pearl t

I really do love summer but truthfully, there is something wonderful about getting back into the routine that fall offers. One of my favorite parts of my family's "normal" routine is MOMS (mothers of many seasons). The boys and I attend MOMS every Thursday through the fall, winter, and spring. Today was our first day back and it was absolutely wonderful! Evan enjoyed his toddler class and Dylan had a great time in his homeschool class. I loved the yummy brunch and awesome fellowship. The lesson Shannon shared today was just what I needed to hear too! It was so good that I'm going to recap it for you. We read from Luke chapter 24 today. It is  the story of Cleopas and another disciple walking on the road to Emmaus after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. The disciples are distraught. They are disappointed. They really believed that Jesus was the Messiah but now He is gone and they are bereft. Jesus comes walking up beside the men and asks them what they ar

Have you ever heard of a Pharologist? I hadn't until this week. I'm telling you, I'm learning as much as Dylan is during our home school lessons these days!  A Pharologist is someone who studies or is interested in light houses. This week, Dylan and are Pharologists!  Last week Dylan asked if we could study light houses during our school time. I'm not ever going to turn down the opportunity to encourage his desire to learn so I found a detailed homeschool unit about light houses to add to our lessons for the week.  We've been learning so much about the first lighthouse, why lighthouses are used, and how various lighthouses look. We've also been discussing how we are similar lighthouses. Just as lighthouses point to certain places or things, our lives should point to Jesus. Just as a lighthouse shines brightly, our lives should shine brightly for Jesus. Just as lighthouses cannot easily be hidden, our love for Jesus shouldn't be hidden. He has saved us a

Its probably no surprise but I absolutely love pictures!  I take pictures all the time. I post pictures all the time. I just can't help it. Its probably because I grew up with a professional photographer for a father. Some of my earliest memories involve having my photo made at my dad's studio or attending photography conventions where all the best photographers were receiving awards. I have always enjoyed taking pictures, having my picture made, and looking at pictures. From the day I was born until the day I got married, my dad has taken my photographs. He has been retired for some time but he recently opened a studio with a new colleague, Austin.  Last night we went to the new studio and had our family portraits made. It warmed my heart to experience my dad taking my photo again and pictures of my boys! He and Austin did a fabulous job! I am so pleased with the photos!  Today I am thankful for the beautiful photographs m