Alabama Judge

Alabama
Judge


Some of you may be wondering what Judge Roy Moore has been doing since he was removed from the bench for refusing to remove the Ten Commandments from his courtroom wall. Please read the poem he wrote.


The following is a poem written by Judge Roy Moore from Alabama ... Judge Moore was sued by the ACLU for displaying the Ten Commandments in his courtroom foyer. He has been stripped of his judgeship and now they are trying to strip his right to practice law in Alabama ! The judge's poem sums it up quite well.



America the beautiful,
or so you used to be.
Land of the Pilgrims' pride;
I'm glad they'll never see.

Babies piled in dumpsters,
Abortion on demand,
Oh, sweet land of liberty;
your house is on the sand.

Our children wander aimlessly
poisoned by cocaine
choosing to indulge their lusts,
when God has said abstain

From sea to shining sea,
our Nation turns away
From the teaching of God's love
and a need to always pray

We've kept God in our
temples,how callous we have grown.
When earth is but His footstool,
and Heaven is His throne.

We've voted in a government
that's rotting at the core,
Appointing Godless Judges;
who throw reason out the door,

Too soft to place a killer
in a well deserved tomb,
But brave enough to kill a baby
before he leaves the womb.

You think that God's not
angry,that our land's a moral slum?
How much longer will He wait
before His judgment comes?

How are we to face our God,
from Whom we cannot hide?
What then is left for us to do,
but stem this evil tide?

If we who are His children,
will humbly turn and pray;
Seek His holy face
and mend our evil way:

Then God will hear from Heaven;
and forgive us of our sins,
He'll heal our sickly land
and those who live within.

But, America the Beautiful,
If you don't - then you will see,
A sad but Holy God
withdraw His hand from Thee.

~~Judge Roy Moore~~


Blessings, ♥T

Michelle's Birth Story

This is a re-post, but I just wanted to share again, since today is her birthday! She is such a joy and blessing in my life!

First off none of my children were accidents :) but she was a surprise! I don't know why but I really didn't think I was pregnant! Normally I pretty much know right away. I'm always a little paranoid for the first 12 weeks. Never had a miscarriage, but came close with Makenzie so I always worry til I get past 12wks. Then I usually am perfectly fine! No worries at all! With Michelle my worry didn't go away, it got worse! I was really afraid she was going to die. I was in a car accident when I was 6 mos along. That was really scary! It wasn't a really bad accident but I was already worried and then I started having contractions. They stopped the next day and everything "seemed" fine. I continued to have this overwhelming feeling that she was going to die though. Everytime I got that feeling (which was quite often) I would just pray (Lord, please keep your hand on her, protect her, keep her safe!). I ended up going 2 weeks late with her. My midwife (whose name is Michelle :) tried to naturally induce me on the 7th. It didn't work. She sent me home & told me that if I didn't have her by the next day I'd have to go to the hospital on the 9th. I really didn't want that. I also had an ultra sound a few days before to make sure everything was ok. The U/S showed everything was fine. But still I would get that feeling! It was so overwhelming that I would just cry and cry and pray! I went into labor around 4pm on the 8th. My contractions were hard but not too painful. Even as they got close they were "easy". I was actually falling asleep between them. No drugs were doing that, it was God. When the midwife said I was complete she broke my water and said I could push, I did. After 1-2 pushes she said "her heads out, stop pushing" I actually did NOT feel her head come out. I was still pushing thinking I needed to push hard to get her to come down! I pushed her shoulders out and the midwife handed her to me. She was beautiful! I was so enraptured and absorbed in her...then the midwife said "Twylia, you're bleeding PUSH." It wasn't easy cause my body wasn't ready for that phase yet. But I did. As soon as the placenta came out the midwife sat back and said "The Lord has had his hand on you!" The exact thing I had prayed for nine months! Apparently her cord had implanted into the side of the placenta. It had a velamentous insertion ( which means the veins/arteries running through the placenta weren't inside of it they were exposed. And about an inch and a half of the whartons jelly was gone from her cord where it meets the placenta. At any time in the pregnancy if she'd have moved wrong she could have ripped the cord and bled to death. If the labor had been hard or my water broken before she was about to come out, it could have ripped the cord and she would have bled and possibly died or had serious complications due to lack of oxygen. If...But no if's! God took care of it all! I had the shortest(6hrs), easiest labor & delivery! Even through the car accident He protected her! I looked it up afterwards and the mortality rate is like 95%! She had a 5% chance of survival, and the injury rate was like 99.9%. She has absolutely nothing!!! She is perfectly normal in every way, even advanced in some ways! (she can memorize so quickly it's amazing! she memorized the 23rd Ps. in less than a week @ 4 yrs old!) God is GOOD! 

James Michael's Birth

Wow, I can't believe it's been 12 years, since the birth of my first child! It seems unreal. He is such a blessing in my life. My right-hand man :) He is always helping me with everything. He has always been such a good child. Hardly have to discipline him at all. (Mainly just attitudes occasionally) A good hard worker. Loves his little brother and sisters. Loves to take care of babies. He is quite the artist and is now cooking quite a bit, and likes it :)

His birth story...

I found out I was pregnant with him at around 5 am one morning. We were ecstatic! All my life, all I had wanted to do was get married and raise children. (my standard answer for how many kids I wanted was "so many you can't count em" LOL) So, I couldn't wait!

There were no midwives available in the area at that time, so I was seeing a nurse-midwife that was actually a friend of our family. I loved her. I saw her through my entire pregnancy. I got very sick at the beginning. I don't throw up, but I was so nauseous I couldn't eat and lost weight. I gained 35+ pounds, but my tummy was very small. People didn't believe me when I was over due! They thought I was still around 6 months along :) About a week and a half before he was born I got into a slight car accident. I was driving a little car and a big pick up truck didn't see me and slammed, twice, into the side of my car. (he was trying to back out of a parking lot, but didn't look out his back window) It hurt my neck and back, but not bad. I was very distraught about it though. (he just drove off) I didn't have a phone so I had to go home to make a call. Side note: I have no idea why no one stopped him. He was an old man, but still. No one called the police. No one asked if I was ok. They all just stood there and stared. Quite the absurd! Anyways, so I was very upset and called my husband, who was working about 2 hours away at the time. So he called my mom and she came and picked me up and took me to the doctors office. (she only lived about 20 mins away) They checked his heart rate and it was fine. The were going to hook me up to the non-stress test machine. Now mind you I was still VERY upset at this time, not hysterical, but very upset. So when she went to put the jelly on the monitor she realized the tube was empty, so she got a new one. She opened it and started to put it on and apparently there was an air bubble in the tube. Half the tube shot out, over the monitor piece and right into my face! And all over the rest of me!!!! I absolutely died laughing! She was horrified and so embarrassed, and I just kept laughing. My mom was laughing too. She tried to wipe it off me, which made me laugh harder! She finally was convinced I was ok. I think she thought I'd lost it :D They finally got me hooked up and he was fine. So I went home. Past up my due date and 6 days after my due date had my doctor appt. I saw the NM and asked her how much longer she thought it would be. I was very anxious to have him. Partly because it was my first and I wanted him in my arms, but majorly because I had been feeling this overwhelming feeling that something wasn't right and he needed to get out. So she stripped my membranes and set up an induction for the next day. Ah, how naive I was! I figured that since I was a week late that it was "normal" to induce :P  So we went home and had my family over to eat, KFC. I don't think we slept at all we were so anxious :)

We got to the hospital early the next morning. Got checked in. They took me to my room. My mom got there (she was so afraid she'd miss it that she flew, like over 90 mph, to get there). The put in the gel to soften my cervix and contractions started. That was around 8am. So around 12pm they hooked up the pitocin and broke my water. I didn't really have "water", it was more like thick pea soup. Apparently he had already had his first poop :) Most likely from the stress from the car accident. So they were all very concerned. In addition to a the regular nurses they would have a neonatal nurse with all the special machinery for suctioning him ready for after he was born.

The contractions really picked up then. I finally thought it was bad enough that I let them convince me that it was "OK" to take medicine for it. So I received a shot of stadol. Wow, that didn't do much :P mainly just made me sleep between the contractions. I don't remember the times exactly but I received another shot a few hours later as well. Around 6ish my mom and husband took turns going to eat. While hubby was gone, things started to get really intense, read transition :) So I was really worried he wouldn't make it back in time and started telling them to get him. He came back in plenty of time ;)  I finally was a 10 some time right after 7. The doctor came in and the neonatal nurse and they got everything set up. (I had the doctor at the practice because the NM was unable to attend for some reason :( I started pushing. And pushing. And pushing. For a half an hour. The doctor didn't do much besides give me some shots and watch. Finally my mom said "Wouldn't it help if she had an episiotomy?" The doctor said "yes, but she said she didn't want one" WELL, after 30 mins of pushing I was desperate to get this baby out so I said "if it'll make him come out then do it!!!" LOL...the things women do in the midst of labor. Very bad time to make decisions! Now while this was going on, my husband was support one of my legs. My mom the other. And suddenly my mom says to DH "are you OK?" and everyone looks at him...He was white as a ghost! He shook his head and so MY nurse took him over to the couch and the neonatal nurse came over and held my leg! I could see him over there with my nurse giving him a cold cloth and asking him if he was ok, while I was pushing our son out :D (he thought there was something wrong because of how jelly like the head was, but that's just normal as they're coming out and being compressed like that) So...once the episiotomy was done, his came out pretty quickly. And then I had to push his shoulders. And then I had to push his chest. And all the time I'm thinking "why isn't he blooping out?" Why you ask? Well, because my birth story goes...I pushed your head out and then you just blooped out! So, I was apparently expecting all my children to just "bloop" out! LOL...it's so funny the things we think sometimes! So anyhow, they put him straight up on my belly, which was nice. He was breathing fine and they just suctioned him out right there. I got to nurse him and hold him for quite a while. Then the nurse took him and weighed him and I think she suctioned him again. Then once she was done, she just let him sit there under the heat lamp. I was getting sewed up at this time, and was getting very anxious to hold my baby again! So I kept asking for him. Finally the doctor said pretty loudly "I think she wants her baby!" So they finally gave him back to me. He nursed like a champ! He was so beautiful! I was so in love! Daddy recovered and was also so in love! 

We had to stay a full 24 hrs from the time he was born because I had tested positive for group b strep. I was so glad to be released and go home! We ended up moving a week later. Back to the town both our parents lived in. When he was 2 weeks old he caught a "cold". Well by the time he was 4 weeks old his cold turned out to be whooping cough with secondary pneumonia. We had taken him to the ER, where they gave him an antibiotic shot and gave me a prescription for a 2 week course of strong antibiotics. This happened to be the Saturday before Easter. James and I stayed up all night holding him, praying for him, and watching him cough so hard he turned blue and would stop breathing. Never in my life had I been so scared. Praise the Lord he lived through the night and the next day both of our families came over to celebrate the holiday. He got better slowly, but surely. I weakened him though so that he was sick very frequently during his first year. We were in the ER so many times with him, thankfully nothing as serious though. 

He is now a very healthy, handsome, wonderful, smart boy! He has always been such a sweetheart! I thank the Lord for His protection over him and His blessing me with my son!

Encouragement

"I'm in the depths of despair!" Well, that's how I feel at least :) I know I'm depressed. I know it's hormonal. I know things aren't as bad as they seem. But I still feel lousy. I do not want to be like this. I know others feel like this at times so I wanted to write something encouraging!

A friend and I have both been working on similar goals. We both are having our ups and downs. I truly believe that it's nothing more than satanic attack. Making choices for our, and our families lives that is moving us towards the Lord has opened us up for resistance from the adversary. Well, I for one am not going to let him have the victory in my life! While I may mess up, I will not let my LIFE be a failure! So I am going to put some verses that have been helping me through this time!

1 Chronicles 16:11 Seek the LORD and His strength, seek His face continually.

2 Corinthians 12:9 And He said unto me "My grace is sufficient for thee: For my strength is made perfect in weakness." Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ will rest upon me.

Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly of heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

Phillipians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:8-9 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.

Phillipians 4:13 I can do ALL things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

2 Thessalonians 3:13 But ye brethren, be not weary in well doing.

Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season we will reap if we faint not.


Isaiah 40:11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Isn't it good to know that the Lord will never leave us? That no matter what we're going through, He is there to help us? I can definitely see/feel a difference though, when I'm seeking Him and when I'm just trying to survive on my own. We really can't do much on our own. We are setting ourselves up for failure when we try. If we seek Him, we will find Him. If we find Him, we will have the peace that passeth all understanding! And it's the peace that passeth all understanding because no one can understand why we're so at peace when our world seems to be crashing down on our heads.

And now, I'll leave you with a song :D

The joy of the Lord is my strength,
The joy of the Lord is my strength,
The joy of the Lord is my strength,
The joy of the Lord is my strength!

He gives me living waters and I thirst no more,
He gives me living waters and I thirst no more,
He gives me living waters and I thirst no more,
The joy of the Lord is my strength!

He fills my heart with laughter HA-HA-HA-HA-HA,
He fills my heart with laughter HA-HA-HA-HA-HA,
He fills my heart with laughter HA-HA-HA-HA-HA,
The joy of the Lord is my strength!

Simple, yet effective :) LOL

Fire Pics

The pictures speak for themselves

Fire!

We had a very chaotic/emotional day...Our day started not so great...We are trying to change the way we live our life, to please the Lord. We stayed up til after 3am this morning talking about purging our house of anything not beneficial to our walk with the Lord. So as is usual, we got a lot of adversity today. We were trying to get things done, and it wasn't going well. One of my sons cleaned the fireplace and took the ashes outside...The normal process is to leave them for at least the day or two and then dump them in a box for the chickens to use to keep away the bugs. For some reason, today he decided to dump them right away. He came back in and then took some garbage out to the trailer which is over by the propane tank. He came running back in yelling "there's a fire by the propane tank!!!" We obviously panicked, sent the kids outside, grabbed shoes and ran...I couldn't think much past "Oh God, help us!" I sent the kids down the road and James ran to the back side of the fire. I yelled for someone to bring me a shovel and James was hooking up the hose. The fire in the front of the house came within 5 feet of my van, and just a few feet of the side porch (which is of course all wood). I had grabbed a jacket and was hitting it out with that. One of the boys brought me a "shovel"...It was a trench digger. Didn't help much :) I had called 9-1-1, but apparently they couldn't find our house on their system. (That is a call I'm going to make later when I'm not so emotional!) I kept hitting fires as they came too near the house. Put out a fire on the lawnmower bag. Put out a fire around the electric pole, then realized the fire was in my backyard and only a few yards from my house. I ran back there and was hitting it out at the first spot I got to. Once I got that out, I went further in and James yelled for me to hook the hose up. I couldn't find the hose. James Michael brought a 2x4 and started hitting fires out with it, but then threw it to try to hook up another hose. The hose caught on something and caught fire though so it was rendered useless. As this was happening the fire came through the fence and flared up bad in my face. The "shovel" I had was of no use so I ran in the house and filled up a big pot. I ran back out and poured it on the fire. It didn't do much, but it was enough to slow it momentarily. At that point Jason came back and said the girls were screaming so I went to make sure they were ok and to try to stop the fire from jumping our driveway. (the other side of the driveway is very tall, very dry grass) I sent the girls further down the road away from the smoke and then the first 2 firetrucks got there. They started to work on the fire and then realized James was in the back so they went back there to work on that fire. Thankfully they did right then, because the fire flared again and was also very close to our rabbit hutch and chicken coop. James pointed at it and they got it away from there and then got it away from our house. I continued to try to stop it from jumping our drive, James continued to help in the back. The wind was really bad though and it finally jumped and flared so bad that I yelled at the boys to run and we hightailed it out of there. The fire immediately overwhelmed the grass on the opposite side of the driveway and took off. From there it jumped the road and was burning the neighbors field. At that point James came around and was able to drive the van through the fire (me and all the kids were on the wrong side of the fire, where we were, we couldn't have gotten out because the road was engulfed in flames) to get all of us. We got in the van and went back to the front of the house where James got out and went back to the back as the fire was coming up towards the house again and the 2 man fire team that was there was trying to stop a major grass fire from erupting. I drove the kids down the road and watched, waited and prayed. Finally three more fire crews and the big tank truck showed up and were able to get the fire under control. I went back to the house and picked up James and got some things we needed from the house. (my makeup, I couldn't go to town looking like I did ya know! LOL) Then we went to the doctors. Me and the kids had x-rays done and 2 kids had breathing treatments. But were otherwise (thank the Lord!) Fine! James went to the ER and the doctor he got was a "bad" one. His oxygen levels were down to 92, but the doctor basically said that since even though his lungs hurt and his O2 levels were low, that since he wasn't standing in the flames (yes I mean he said that since he wasn't literally standing in the flames) and his shoes weren't melted (they were melted) that he was fine. Just to take some Tylenol and Ibuprofen. Yes, we have some of the worst doctors on planet earth here! He came into the room with us and said what happened so the doctor we were seeing gave James Michael a refill on his inhaler and said for "anyone" who needed it to use it.

So, needless to say, We are SOOO Thankful that the Lord had His hand on us! We know He is the One who protected us and kept us safe from harm. As well as preventing our house from burning down! We realize that our most important possessions (our Children) were kept safe, but we don't have insurance on our house right now because of finances, so it was nice to not have that burn down. Plus we kinda like having a house to live in and having all our clothes and possessions! :)

God is Good!

Salvation

I am so thankful for my salvation! I am so glad that I will spend eternity with the Lord. I feel so sorry for people who aren't secure in their salvation. I realize there are people who will disagree and that's fine. I just really felt the need to put into writing my beliefs. Sorry if it's just a jumble of thoughts :)

First John 10:27-30  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one.

And Ephesians 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

Sounds pretty secure to me! I can't be plucked out of His hand and I am sealed unto the day of Redemption!

I've read and been quoted other verses that seem to say that you can become un-saved, but I find most of them to be either mis-quoted or taken completely out of context. Really I find it sad that people live in fear of losing their salvation. 2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. And Romans 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. Also 1 John 4:15-18 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. God did not intend for us to live in fear. If we fear losing our salvation, we are living in bondage. Romans 8:15 leads to my next thought. The laws of adoption, are that once you adopt a child you can never disown him or her. While you may not like what they are doing and may have to put them out of your home for a while to protect your other children they are still your children. I feel like this for my own children as well. My next point, the Bible says that we are joint-heirs with Christ Romans 8:16-17 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ;  The other verses speak of names or things being written in a book of life. There is a book of life and there is a book of life of the Lamb. Everyone's works are written down in the book of life. Saved and unsaved alike. We will be judged on the day of judgment on what is written in that book. However, if our names are written in the Lambs book of life we will be entering heaven! Do people really believe that Jesus writes our names in His book with His blood and then if we sin too much He erases it? What a sad existence! To live not knowing for sure whether you're saved or not. Not knowing for certain that you will spend eternity with God.

There is no perfect person, we were all born sinners. We all have to come to that point of realizing it and accepting Jesus as Lord of our life. But what about people who do that and then fall away? Are they then unsaved? What sin makes you unsaved? What is it about falling away that makes you unsaved? God says all sin is the same to Him. I, humanly cannot understand that, but he does. If you are saved, and you sin, your sin is no worse that someone who isn't saved and sins. Your sin of (fill in the blank) is no worse than someone who commits murder or some other such heinous act. 1 John 5:17 says "All unrighteousness is sin". Unrighteous, put simply means "that which is not right" in other words anything that is not right is wrong and is sin. So even as a "saint of God" we still commit sin. That does not put us back in our "sinner/unsaved" state does it? There are many people attending church who love God and truly want to do His will and please him and yet they live in a bondage to a certain sin. Each persons' is different, but it's still there. So then what sets us apart? What makes us saved? Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. If salvation is a gift that we get through faith not works, then how can we lose it by works? I know some will argue that you can lose your faith. But then I would argue, that you can't truly know what a person thinks. God looks at the heart. How can we know whether a person has truly lost their faith? We can't anymore than we can know whether a person is truly saved. People can appear saved as much as someone saved can appear unsaved. Yes, we can look at fruit and see whether a person is putting forth fruit of a Christian, but what if that Christian is a dormant fruit tree? We all go through times of questioning I think, but that doesn't un-save us. I think there are times when people feel like Christianity is too legalistic, feel like they can't measure up and quit trying, but do they suddenly lose their salvation? I do not believe so. I believe that if a person is truly saved (something which only the Lord knows) they cannot lose their salvation. I truly got saved, I love the Lord, I have believed on Him, called on His name, confessed, repented and had my name written in the Lambs book of Life! I know without a doubt that I will go to heaven when I die. I also know that I will fall short, I will sin, I will not live up to His standard, I will mess up, I will fail, but I can always get up again and continue on my way in Him and ultimately arrive at my destination...HOME!

Happenings

I was feeling really down the other day, but then the very next day I was reminded again what an awesome God we have! We had 2, yes TWO, poopy toilet over flows, Not fun cleaning that up, but then we also had a very funny homeschooling day, the kids and James made me laugh so many times today, it was hard to be down. I tried to not be too irritable, didn't quite succeed, but I'm not mad at least! Then here I am all discouraged because I can't get the things I really wanted for the kids for Christmas (silly since I don't want them getting a ton of "things") and the first box of stuff from my MIL got here. She ordered the stuff I had told her we wanted from Vision Forum. Now I gave her a very long list of things, mind you. The things that were in the box were the 3 most important things I was wanting right now! Of course you know that's how God works! I can't wait for the kids to get them, I'm probably more excited than they will ever be, but that's ok, because I love it when God reminds me He's bigger than my silly little problems!


Otherwise, things have been going O.K., Zachary is getting over his pneumonia. Kathleen is very cranky, but getting over her croup. She was so bad Sunday night she was throwing up from coughing so hard. School is getting down, albeit slowly. There are some things that I'm still tweaking to work for us. I want school to be simple and enjoyable. We are getting to that point :)


 We are having friends over this Thursday and a church Christmas dinner on Friday. Alissa (my step-daughter) will be here next Tuesday. The kids are looking forward to Christmas. I am looking forward to some relaxing...hahaha, that's not too likely ;) The kids are enjoying the new dogs. We have a 2 yr old female lab/pyrenees, Buttercup, and a 14 week old male lab/pyrenees, Prince. I don't really like animals that much, but oh well. We are going to start with training them this week. So much to do, so little time to do it. 


I still want to make some diapers. I need to switch back to cloth full time. Antibiotics and rashes made me go disposable. I am making some diaper cream that's cloth safe, hopefully it'll turn out. I am trying to slowly go more homemade with things. I make my own laundry detergent, cloth diaper, now the diaper cream and making diapers. I am thinking of making my own mascara as reading the side effects link with using it kind of makes me wonder if it could be causing my hormonal imbalances. Thinking of making my own soap too.


Well my break is over, I need to finish eating so we can start on school.

Roller Coaster

That is what our life has been recently. Up and down, in and out, curves and turns. We thought things were going one way, but now it's all changed and we haven't a clue what we're doing :) Children are all well. Kids are doing and enjoying school! Yay! Life is Good, because God is Good!

When I cannot understand my Father's leading,and it seems to be but hard and cruel fate,
still I hear that gentle whisper ever pleading God is working, God is faithful - only wait!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We sure did! We were so blessed to be invited to our very best friends house. We hadn't seen them in 10 months! That's a long time. We hadn't even seen their tenth baby yet, and she's 8 mos old. Time passes so quickly and things keep getting in the way of visiting them. All of us had a great time visiting. The kids had a blast reconnecting with their friends and we had a wonderful time visiting with our friends : )

Zachary is still doing better. He is eating foods again. He's still being picky and doesn't like some things he liked before, but at least he's eating and not being so cranky anymore. I'm certainly thankful. It's so hard to have sick little ones.

We had a great school week too. We didn't accomplish much "school" but we did learn about discovering America and the first thanksgiving. We also did a couple crafts. Major accomplishment for me as I am not a craft loving person : )  We made woven placemats one day and hand turkey's the next. I'll try to get some pictures on here soon. The kids loved it. I really didn't mind it as much as I usually do. O.K...I had fun too, I admit it!

Still don't know what we're doing about the house. Depends on several things happening. And some of those things are other people, so it's out of our control. We are getting some things done. Although it's not as much as James would like, I feel like I'm accomplishing something, so I'm happy. Working on getting the house cleaned mainly. Still haven't unpacked my suitcase : )  And with switching out clothes and rooms things are a bit messy.

This week we are just going to focus on doing school everyday and cleaning the house. Maybe getting some of the extra stuff out of it too. We are also going to really focus on attitudes. Bad, mad, angry, mean, hateful, cranky, selfish, whiny, etc. attitudes. A saying I picked up yesterday "Happiness is a Choice"! That is going to be a motto around here I think : )

Have a great week!



Happiness is a Choice, and Love is a Decision

Again...

Once again, I lost it. I got upset cause I was disappointed about something. And didn't look to God for help. So after a very frustrating 2 days. Unhappy doesn't even begin to describe it. I finally called out to God for help and guidance. Once again, He worked things out for the good. It's kinda funny too, cause I get verses emailed to me everyday and they both were what I needed to hear...Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator. 1 Peter 4:19 (KJV) and But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. 1 Peter 5:10 (KJV)...While my "suffering" may seem petty to some, it's everything to me. So, to know that after I have suffered a while, he will make me "perfect, and stablish, strengthen, settle me"! Why is it that at times it seems so easy to give everything to Him and then at others it's like our "burdens" have to be yanked out of our hands? Will I never learn? "Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest, Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light"....That's a promise from Him so let's take Him at His word! If we will surrender our burdens He will give us rest/peace! Another song : )

1. All to Jesus I surrender;
   All to Him I freely give;
   I will ever love and trust Him,
   In His presence daily live.
   • Refrain:
     I surrender all,
     I surrender all;
     All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
     I surrender all.
2. All to Jesus I surrender;
   Humbly at His feet I bow,
   Worldly pleasures all forsaken;
   Take me, Jesus, take me now.
3. All to Jesus I surrender;
   Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
   Let me feel the Holy Spirit,
   Truly know that Thou art mine.
4. All to Jesus I surrender;
   Lord, I give myself to Thee;
   Fill me with Thy love and power;
   Let Thy blessing fall on me.
5. All to Jesus I surrender;
   Now I feel the sacred flame.
   Oh, the joy of full salvation!
   Glory, glory, to His Name!

FROG!

FROG...if you read my last post you know what that stands for....Fully Rely On God! Through Him is the only way you will accomplish anything! No matter how big or small that thing is! As I (and my friends) are finding...you take some babysteps to get in the right direction and satan hits you with everything he can to bring you down and stop you in your tracks! It's so much easier to just quit and yet it's absolutely necessary we don't! We are everyday living a testimony. What is your testimony? I don't want mine to be that of a quitter, a whiner, a complainer, or a slothful person. I know I can't be a good testimony though without spending time in the Word. It's a daily battle to be there though. So pray for me and I'll pray for you, that we will do the simple, yet difficult, and read the Word everyday! It makes such a difference! If you don't do it and only do it once in a while, you may say "doesn't seem to make a difference to me". But if you start doing it consistently everyday, and then you don't do it once in a while, you will notice a major difference.

As mothers especially, even if we never go out "soul-winning", we are everyday having an influence on the little lives watching us. And in that how many thousands of lives are we influencing? I wonder if Susanna Wesley ever thought about that? And yet even if she never did, her life and the lives of her children have had a influence on thousands throughout the years. What if you child is the next John or Charles Wesley? Or the next Amy Carmichael or Gladys Aylward? So today, tomorrow, next week, next month, this year, this decade (see the pattern) keep doing what you know is right. Rely on God, He will give you the strength you need to accomplish the important tasks before you. And remember what the IMPORTANT tasks are. They aren't necessarily a clean house or perfect children. Those would be nice, but your tasks are the eternal ones of being a servant of the Lord and proclaiming the Gospel of Salvation!

2 Corinthians 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.


Didja see that? Your strength is made perfect in weakness! God can use you just as you are with all you imperfections and perceived weaknesses!

Looking Unto Jesus...

Well, we have internet and phone again for at least the next month. Yay! I am really behind in everything...I really need to get over this whole "all or nothing" attitude. We are spending today catching up on laundry. Got alot of the girls clothes done, still got around 2-3 loads of theirs left though. I'm hoping to get all of the girls clothes done today and then some towels too. Tomorrow, blankets! I looked at the Flylady zones and decided that I would start with the zones Monday, today I'm going to work on the decluttering. Today is the purse and car. I actually did my purse a few days ago but I'm gonna do it again, just cause. And the car we mostly cleaned out Tuesday, so we just need to finish it now. So nice that I actually kinda have a start on both these. The car would have been so overwhelming!

I am trying to keep a positive attitude about things, and it's really difficult at times. I tend to start looking at surroundings and things just seem so overwhelming, depressing or irritating. So last night I had an epiphany! Really it came about because of the way God made me :) And all women! Our brains are like balls of wire, with no beginning or end. (Mens are like boxes on a shelf, but that's another story LOL) So, anyways, I was thinking about something (can't remember what) and then I started singing a song, and something in that song reminded me of the verse that talks about keeping our eye on the prize, then I thought "and we really need to keep our eyes on the cross", and the cross is really Jesus, so we need to keep our eyes on him, and then I thought that's what happened to Peter (ironic too cause I'm reading 1 Peter in my bible reading) He took his eyes off Jesus and SANK! That is what we do! Something amazing happens (Jesus walked on water), We get out of our comfort zone (out of the boat), Start doing something amazing ourselves (walking the way Jesus walks), and then we start looking at circumstances and panic (Peter took his eyes off the Lord and looked at the water), then we go under (life is miserable, depressed, overwhelmed, etc...), but you know, if Peter had kept his eyes on the Lord he wouldn't have sunk. He'd have walked all the way to Jesus (gotten to Heaven which is essentially eternity with God), and he would've done it the way Jesus did. We are so much like Peter though. We take our eyes off the Lord and what he's told us to do, and we start looking at our circumstances and BAM! we get discouraged, depressed, overwhelmed, etc... If only we would keep our eye on the prize, which is eternity with Jesus, and if only we would keep walking the way Jesus walked (in obedience to the Father). We would have an amazing life! We'd be walking on water! Keep your focus on the Lord, keep your eye on the prize, don't look around you at life, Keep doing what you know is right, even if you have to start small get started, and (from the sermon Wednesday) be CONSISTENT! Don't give up! (which just reminded me of the t-shirt they used to have with the bird eating the frog, with the frogs arms coming out it's mouth and strangling the bird! :) Which also reminded me of the acronym F.R.O.G. Fully Rely On God! Don'tcha just love the way God made us! :D

Happenings

 So, we officially have no internet...It'll be big gaps between posting, unless I can get to town! So, I had a great birthday! James took me to Mimi's Cafe, I LOVE their carrot bread! Then we went to the movies, and got some movies and went home...We stopped at some stores too. It was so nice! I know I'm not really cursed, but I usually don't have good birthdays, so it was nice to finally have a good one!

The kids and I are kinda hit and miss with school, but I try to do something everyday that is related to school...even if it's just playing a game that includes some math skills. Sometimes I have the little girls try to read words to me, or I ask the older kids some questions, or I talk to them about a subject that somehow came up in our day...i.e. science, history, general information.

I haven't been doing great at my house but I have been trying to at least keep it straightened up during the week...We are working on getting a daily schedule so that we can be more efficient at doing our chores.

I haven't been reading a chapter a day of my Bible, but I at least read 2-3 verses. It's really amazing how the Lord works. In ways you don't expect! I'm  not shocked but I am so grateful! Things have been so chaotic financially. It's really been stressing me big time! I talked to  my pastor's wife and she told me to just pray about it and don't make a decision until you have peace about it. I really didn't have peace about any of the options I had. The very next day I did something I thought would help. I wrote to my BIL. About 5 mins after I sent it my SIL got on FB and told me she had read it and that  my BIL had sensed something was wrong and had left 3 1/2 hrs before! He was already on his way! God had answered my prayers before I had done anything about it. It was like I was thinking I could do it. Get him to come and that would help. And God did it first so I would know it was Him not me that had done it! It was a great thing! Things got done. My hubby is finishing all the projects they started. In addition to that, we have been trying to sell things for a while and nothing was selling. After all my prayers things are finally starting to sell! And finances are being taken care of in other ways as well. It is evident that it is the Lord that is working! Everything only could have happened through Him! God is Good! I am so blessed that He is working in our lives!

Going Ons!

Well, a lot is going on around here. Some good, some bad. We no longer have a phone, which I hate. We have internet, but for who knows how long. My sister had her baby, I didn't get to be there. I can't wait to see him. The kids are finally all healthy. Zachary's a bit fussy, but I think he's getting his top teeth. He's growing like a weed. The Lord's been dealing with me a lot. Through many different situations. I am trying (it's very difficult) to lean on Him and Him alone and trust that He will take care of everything. Is. 42:16  And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them. Has become my new life verse. He is leading me in a way and on paths I don't know and He will show me the light in all the darkness. All the bad things in my life. And he will make all the crooked, messed up things in my life straight. He is a good God. I know He is in control, I just need to give things to Him and not take them back. That is usually my problem. I take things back. I don't like feeling like I'm not in control. It's the perfectionist in me. And the self-sufficiency in me. It is so awesome how He works and when things happen and you know it's got to be Him cause it's just impossible otherwise it's just the most awesome thing in the world. We are starting to get things accomplished and hopefully we can get them taken care of quickly so we can move. I really want to be close to my family. I hate being so far away from them. I want my kids to grow up knowing their grandparents and cousins and Aunts and Uncles. And vice versa! 


I have been reading my Bible more. I'm reading through James. It always seems as if at least 2 or 3 verses are speaking directly to me. 


I have been doing school with the kids more. I'm not too worried about doing it everyday, or doing it for a long period of time. We are just working on reading, devotions, and our logic book. The kids are enjoying it so I will keep it that way for a while. I want them to enjoy school not dread it. I think I'm gonna have them start doing math flash cards with each other. They think it's a game and have fun and they learn! Although I figure they're getting plenty of math in the games they already play. Adding scores and such. And they have been doing some cooking too which requires division and multiplication. 


I am not doing my food journal. I am trying to change the way I eat but I will find out Monday if I'm diabetic and then I will change the way I eat to work with that. I need to know in order to know which diet I can do.


Well, I guess I'd better go watch the kiddos :)