Giving Thanks, In Everything...

It's been a little while since my last life update. Things get busy and health struggles are hard and I honestly just don't always have the words to share what it's been like over the past couple years. Something that stays on my mind so often though is this verse in 1 Thessalonians, "In every thing give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

In EVERY thing give thanks? That's something I admittedly struggle with not just doing but at times even wrapping my mind around. When I'm only responding with my flesh and focusing on my circumstances anyway. But when I take a step back and look at it from a spiritual perspective and ask God to really help me see how blessed we are regardless of what we are going through, oh how things change. Or my attitude towards thing changes at least and that makes all the difference.

The past couple weeks have been rough(er). Moving again, health issues flared up severely, trying to find a new church, being consistent with schooling, financial struggles, and just every day life stuff. Let's just say that remembering to still give thanks in the middle of it all has been a challenge. One that some days seemed more of a duty than truly heart felt. And I fall into the attitude of thinking that of course it's not wrong to feel discontent with how things are! Who could be thankful for all this? And my focus is completely on the bad with no thought for any blessings, which obviously is not a good place to be.

Then at the same time we are seeking God's will for our lives and sometimes doubting and questioning if we know what that looks like or if we are truly "getting it right". But then I read an article like this and it convicts me and reminds me of that verse all over again. And I go back to read it one more time. Only to find that not only do I have so much I should be giving thanks to the Lord for, but that is exactly how I can be in His will right now!

I'm not belittling what us and many other families are going through, some with way worse trials than ours(like the article above). I truly believe it's okay to be real about struggles because that's needed too so that we don't all feel alone in hard times. But at the same time I don't want to get hung up there and completely neglect to still give thanks.
Because the truth is, God is good. And every day that we are alive is due to His mercy and grace. If He never gave another gift or blessing to me besides just the fact that He gave His own Son to die for my sins and saved me from hell, that's enough to give thanks for. In spite of the hardships in life.

And just like the woman in the Bible, who begged Jesus to help her daughter even though she was just a Gentile "dog", He gives way, way more to us than just the crumbs off the table. He never leaves us, never forsakes us, and always provides exceedingly, abundantly more than we can ask or even think. It doesn't mean there aren't trials, but only that He is with us through them. And that He's leaving handfuls of blessings on purpose if we take time to get close enough and look for them. And He wants us to take time to thank and praise Him for that!

I'm going to wrap this post up with those thoughts, but next time I plan to be more specific on things I've found to give thanks for during these hard times. I hope this was an encouragement to someone and that you'll join me....


                                             Tyra

Good and Evil

I've had so much on my mind lately as I look around at the way things are going. And although the condition of the world and what unbelievers are doing is scary and sometimes shocking, I have to admit that what bothers me most isn't that. It's the choices of those who claim to know Jesus. Who say they are believers of the same God I serve. But yet how they view His word and the truths in it are so completely different than what actually is reality. That is the scariest thing I see these days. But while it does bother me greatly and make me extremely saddened as well, it also makes us step back and reevaluate ourselves. Look at our own family and the choices we've made or are making. We want to hold to the truth of God's laws and not compromise or change them just because it seems like that's what the majority are doing in order to be more comfortable in this world. Saying all that, the Lord brought these scriptures to my mind this week and I wanted to share them (as well as the thoughts I've had along with them) with you all. They seem to speak almost perfectly of how things are these days and most especially to those who are willing to act like sin isn't all that bad anymore.

^{I saiah 5:20} Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
²¹ Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
²² Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:
²³ Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!
²⁴ Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
²⁵ Therefore is the anger of the Lord kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

I just can't seem to get away from thinking about these words. The ones in verse 20 have stayed with me the most and just keep running through my head. I don't want to call evil good and good evil! We want our family to be holy and separate from the world and willing to stand up against sin no matter who is doing it. And no it isn't easy but we want to do it because it's right! There's another verse in Romans that says to "abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good" and we want that to be true in our lives. It's so very easy to let worldly things slip in slowly and not even realize how far we've gone until there's been so much compromise that we've vexed our righteous souls and caused our witness to others to be hindered. Our prayer is that God would help us to stand strong against the lies that Satan (and our own flesh!) try to trick us into believing about things that can harm our fellowship with the Lord. We want to stick to what's good and not fall into the trap of excusing evil rather than hating it. There is SO much out there now that can start out seeming so innocent but in reality leads us away from righteousness in our lives. I want God to keep reminding us to stay vigilant against those things or to become so again if we've let anything slip in.  
Will you join us in praying that as well? That we as Christians will stop calling evil things good (such as movies, music, clothing, attitudes, and other openly, sinful behaviors that don't honor the Lord) and instead pursue true holiness. I think choosing to lay aside the things in our life that have quenched or grieved the Holy Spirit and then seeking His help in having a touch on our hearts to live in a way that's more pleasing to Him is the first step in seeing true revival and repentance in our churches and country. May God burden us even more in these days to live for Him so that the lost world might see a difference and be saved before it's too late! I don't want to be counted as one who has brought woe on themselves by becoming too comfortable with sin. Do you?

Mama Wars....the Good & Bad {part 2}

*If you haven't read part 1 yet then click here.

Last time we talked about what I consider some pointless subjects for mama's to war over. Things that while very important are still personal decisions that each family must make for themselves and should be respected by others. The ones I mentioned are by no means an exhaustive list and I'm sure there are many more like them pertaining to individual families but suffice it to say I am totally for not getting all excited over what others do or don't do in a lot of areas.

But on the flip side of that I'm also fully convinced that there are some things that we should be fighting for as a mama....and I truly believe the Lord has been showing me some things to enforce that belief even more just recently. While there may be several things that I mention here that seem separate, in reality they are all very closely related to each other. I hope that sharing here helps your own heart to be challenged to go to war with me!

~ Modesty: Yes, I know, it's an old subject that gets brought up pretty often by some and can be a huge controversial issue. But y'all, it really is important or the Bible wouldn't have it in there! It's an area that has long been near and dear to my heart and one which I believe is becoming more and more needed to take a stand for as time goes on. Regardless of your thoughts on what style of clothing choice is right for women (and men) the truth is that there is an overall, Biblical standard of modesty if you search it out that should apply to everyone. It's important for SO many reasons not limited to but including-being honoring to God with our bodies, respectful of ourselves, others, and most especially our spouses, helping to prevent struggles with lust, and showing a difference from the world and those who don't know Christ. If I hadn't already been taught how we should be set apart in this area there have been a couple of things I've experienced just recently that have confirmed the conviction in my heart even more.

One such experience happened at a parade, where we ended up standing next to a family with the mom, a daughter, and two sons. The girl was probably about 8 while the brothers were older with one of them probably being about 13 or so. As the first band that had cheerleaders/dance girls walked by the sister loudly proclaimed that her brother would like seeing them and joked about him looking at them, etc. The mom laughed and played along with her even though the son was seemingly embarrassed by it. Then the little girl heard the next band and peaked around us to see the most scantily clad girls yet and proceeded to laugh gleefully while once again telling her brother that these would be his favorite of all while the mom laughed when he asked her to hush and said she's got your back. I just stood there completely stunned and saddened by the entire episode. How awful that not only did this young girl already have such a skewed view of how dressing immodestly attracted the most attention, but she also viewed the idea that her brother lusting over the ones with the least amount of clothes on was totally normal and expected. The worst part? Her mom encouraged it and was amused by it! Even after knowing how far our world has come in the area of what is appropriate and Biblical in showing nakedness and Godly, sexual behavior I'm still shocked every time seeing or hearing it first hand.

Another instance recently was when taking the girls to the Nutcracker on ice performance. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed seeing the play but afterwards while waiting to be picked up the behavior and attitudes about modesty were once again extremely disappointing and saddening. 3 of the girls were supposed to be Arabian dancers and while their performance really wasn't over the top suggestively their costumes left a lot to be desired when it comes to covering up. (think Jasmine's outfit from the Aladdin movie) As they pranced around in the lobby having pictures snapped I noticed the older man dressed as Santa Clause giving them extra special attention each time he passed. And even going so far as to sneak in "playfully" on one of the pictures while putting his arms around the girls bare backs/stomachs to pose. Did they know him? It seemed like it. Was it still appropriate? Not in my opinion. Oh, but the worst part once again? The adult women/mothers who were joyfully taking their pictures and bragging about not only how fabulous the costumes were but one went so far as to say that they picked the perfect girls for them because of how good their bodies looked in them. And everyone smiled and agreed like that was such a good thing! Not to mention they all seemed to think that the older man's attention was just all in good fun. Needless to say, I was once again totally amazed by it all. 

I shared these two incidents to not only show just where things are in regards to how people view modesty and covering up, but to also point out that there are so many that actually know better who instead of fighting it choose to just look the other way, excuse it, or go along so as not to "hurt anyone's feelings". I'm declaring today though that this is an area that I think is worth battling over, both for our sons and our daughters! Modesty (both outwardly and inwardly), sexual purity, and standing against the world's view on these matters ARE important to the Lord. (1 Tim. 2:9, Matt. 5:28, 2 Cor. 6:16-18, 2 Tim. 2:4 and many more scriptures) And that makes them important to me too! Jesus loved sinners while he walked on the earth but He always, always stood against their sin as well. Sadly, just as in His day the ones who are sometimes the ones that fight against what's right the hardest are those who claim to know Him best. But that just makes the battle so much more important so that we can show those who don't know Him what the truth really is!


I truly think that we can live out a Biblical standard of modesty ourselves, speak the truth in love to those who will hear it, and then separate from those who won't that would be a stumbling block to our own families. Not to be prideful or arrogant or bring glory to us but to honor the One who we belong to and be more holy and pleasing to Him. "But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. For not he that commendeth himself is approved,  but whom the Lord commendeth." 2 Corinthians 10:17-18
"As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy." 1 Peter 1: 14-16

This has become a much longer post than I intended and I've only hit on one thing that I wanted to talk about "warring" over! I guess this may just have to turn into a longer series than I thought. Before I go let me just say that I think the BEST way to fight these issues is with prayer. For us as mama's to have wisdom, for our children to be protected and become discerning of what's right and wrong for themselves, for our husband's who are bombarded with images (both real and not) that make their battle for purity more challenging, and most of all that those around us who are choosing the wrong path and maybe not even thinking about where those choices may lead them, their children, and others as well. But after we pray, pray, and pray some more then I think we also need to take action. 

What are your thoughts about mama wars? Do you agree that there's some things we have to fight for? I'd love to hear from you while we wait to continue the discussion next time.....

                                     Tyra 

(linked up at The Modest Mom blog here) 

A Day of Thanks

The kids and I have been studying various things about Thanksgiving the past couple of days and today we read the first proclamation given by George Washington after the House of Representatives requested that he declare a public day of thanksgiving and prayer. Here was his response a few days later in October of 1789. 

By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation.

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor-- and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.
Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be-- That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks--for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation--for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war--for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed--for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted--for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.
 And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions-- to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually--to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed--to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord--To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us--and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

Go: Washington

What a blessing to read about what a strong foundation this country was established on! But at the same time saddening to think how far we've come. We also read that the Pilgrims dug seven times more graves than they built huts......but still chose to set aside a day to be grateful and praise God. How discontent and ungrateful I so often am in comparison! While going over some of these things the verses in Colossians came to mind that say...."all things were created by Him, and for Him; and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist." What a reminder of why we should be thankful to Him, not just tomorrow but every day....because without Him we have nothing and are nothing anyway! Just the thought of Him loving us enough to give us Jesus should cause us to praise Him. And I know most of us have WAY more to blessings in our lives than that! I'll leave you with just one more verse of scripture that's been on my heart a lot recently that sums up how I want to feel tomorrow perfectly: Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah. I looked it up and one of the meanings of selah can be to pause for praise or worship. That's what I want most for our family on Thanksgiving, is to take time to stop and acknowledge everything God has done for us! I hope you and your family will be doing that as well.

                                                   Blessings,
                                 Tyra

I Believe.....But?

So many thoughts, worries, and emotions I've had over the past few months, weeks, and especially days as this baby gets closer to being born. Unplanned and unexpected, this pregnancy has thrown me for a loop in numerous ways. (as did the last one as well) Please don't misunderstand, we love our children more than anything and are extremely blessed and thankful to have been given them by God, not to mention that we've always desired a big family. But with all of my health problems I have already, adding in pregnancy is more than a little challenging. That being said, I am so grateful for how our prayers have been answered in so many ways during this one and how the Lord has brought us through the hard stuff to make it until now.

As I wrote in one of my last updates, my health issues as well as some from Blake as well we think, have always gotten passed down to our babies. And even seem to be multiplied many times over or maybe are just harder to deal with when they are so small. Whichever the reason, it unfortunately results in alot of sickness and pain for them after being born. Needless to say, it's a scary thought to bring another little one into the world having to wonder just how sick it will be when it gets here.

Ever since we found out we were expecting again (well, after the shock and numbness wore off anyway!) I've been hoping and praying that this baby would be different. But at times I have to admit that I've been almost afraid to ask for better health since we did the same thing last time only to be disappointed. It's like even though I'm wishing for a better outcome, I'm already mentally preparing myself to not get it and for things to be bad. Not exactly what I would call praying in faith! Over the past couple weeks the Lord has really been pointing this out to me and dealing with my heart about it but to be honest I'm still struggling. My fears of what might be are greatly keeping me from trusting in what He could do.

I've also realized after having some conversations with Blake over the past few days that he's pretty much in the same spot....and really hadn't even noticed it himself. After talking with him about my feelings and how not only was I discouraged thinking about it but that I'd gotten even more so hearing some of things he said as well. Pretty much like we were both expecting a negative outcome when Daxton gets here, even though we say we're praying for the opposite.
After discussing it again this morning before he left for work I was thinking about how little faith we had obviously had that God would truly answer our prayers. And although I fully understand that we sometimes get a different answer than the one we want or ask for, I still think that it's important to actually believe He can and will do whatever it is we're praying about. And then just leave the outcome up to Him.

While I was thinking about all that, the Lord brought the scripture to my mind about the father who brought his son to the disciples to be healed of an evil spirit but they were unable to. Then when Jesus came to ask what was wrong he said if thou can do any thing, have compassion and help us. (kinda sounds like he was already doubting? definitely familiar!) But Jesus told him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. Then it says that the father cried out and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief. The man acknowledged that he believed Jesus capable of healing his son, but that there was still a smidgen of doubt and fear in his heart that he just couldn't seem to overcome without God's help. But instead of trying to hide that or pretend it wasn't there, he admitted it and asked for mercy anyway!

This is exactly where I am right now too. My heart wants so badly to believe our prayers for Daxton to be healthy, able to sleep, nurse well, etc will all be answered, but there's still a part of me that also just doesn't believe it's possible after seeing 3 other babies suffer. As the day draws close for him to be born, I don't honestly know what the outcome will be. But my heart's cry is that I truly do believe God is able to work a miracle and I need His help with my unbelief that He will. I'm praying that He uses this somehow to strengthen our faith and teach us to just trust in Him and His goodness more. No matter what. I definitely need grace in order to do that though. And I'm trying to learn to depend on Him for that as well. "Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him. How I've proved Him 'ore and 'ore. Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus. O, for grace to trust Him more!" 

Will you please pray for our family in the coming days that we'll truly believe and just rest in His peace? 

New Every Morning

Feeling a little more than overwhelmed the past few days for different reasons. Seems like last night and this morning it all just kinda came crashing in. But I'm thankful that when I don't have much left to go on in myself that I have One that never fails to help me if I seek Him. Just wanted to share what I was thinking on after praying and reading His word earlier. Maybe it will be a help to someone else who's struggling today......


"And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the Lord......(but then)

This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in Him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord." (Lamentations 3:18,21-26)

"My flesh and my heart faileth, but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever." (Psalm 73:26)

Something the Lord had shown me from those first scriptures a few months ago stuck out to me again this morning. It talks about His mercy and compassion and the definition of those two words and what they can tell us is amazing. Mercy is "the feeling that motivates compassion" and then compassion is "a deep awareness of and sympathy for another's suffering, usually with a desire to help relieve it". It blesses my heart and definitely gives me that hope when I think about knowing and serving a God who is not only aware of what I'm going through but wants to help me with it as well! And that doesn't always mean that things change for the better immediately, but it's good to remember that while I'm waiting, hoping, and seeking....He's having new mercy and compassion on me. Every. Single. Day.

The last verse came to mind while I was thinking on these other things. It truly feels like some days that my flesh and heart are failing and I just can't take anymore. But when those feelings become more than I can stand, He always reminds me I can just trust in His strength to carry me through. So that's what I'm doing this morning. Hoping in His mercies and compassion, waiting on His help and salvation, and leaning on His strength. Best of all I'm grateful that He showed me once again how great His faithfulness really is and that He will always keep His promise to never leave me nor forsake me.

It never fails to amaze me when I think about how gracious and loving the God I serve is. I may still be discouraged by some of the things we are dealing with right now, but I can't stay that way entirely when I realize what a wonderful Saviour I have. And remember how blessed I am to be His, no matter what my life's circumstances might look like! So thankful for His spiritual blessings on me today. And now I'm off to get the rest of this day started. With alot more hope than I had before. :-) 
                                              Tyra

The Best "Things" in Life

Sweetest thing ever is when your 20 month old says, "Momma, baby read Bible."  and then lays on the couch like this while she pretends to do just that. My heart is so thankful to be blessed with copies of God's Word and that I have the amazing privilage of sharing it with my children! May I never take it for granted and always seek to instill a love of it in their little hearts by them seeing me feel that way about it myself. Here's a picture of the sweetness for ya'll to enjoy as well....

"And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." 2 Timothy 3:15

Tyra

Grace and Glory

It seems like most of my posts lately have a similar theme. Lots of allergy issues for everyone, pregnancy stuff, lack of sleep, and me being super tired from it all. But alas that is just life at the moment for us I guess. My emotions tend to be all over the place some days, but I'm trying to work on the times I feel totally overwhelmed and remind myself that it will get better and that until it does we'll make it. The only problem is that I also know it's been worse before so I tend to let fears of that sneak in and discourage me even more. Ah!

I'm also trying to remember that most importantly is me seeking the Lord for help and grace to get thru these hard times. Days that I do that are definitely much better than the ones I forget to. I've been thinking alot about those verses in 2 Corinthians that says, 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.

Now let me just say that I have not fully arrived at the "gladly glorying in my infirmities part" most days. But I am learning more about His grace and want more than anything to lean more on His strength when I'm weak. My hearts' desire is to show my children that we can trust and praise Him during the hard times as well as good and pray that I'll let His power rest upon me so that they can see more of Him and less of me.

I hope maybe these verses might help someone else who is struggling today. Regardless of what comes our way let's just focus on His grace in our lives and choose to glory in the hard times with gladness that we can have His power on us. Now I'm off to try and do just that with the rest of my day!      

Proudly Announcing....

                       ~Daxton Judah~
     (don't you just love the little handprints at the top?!)


Who will hopefully be safely arriving sometime near the end of August! We are beyond thrilled to be having another baby boy. And very thankful that everything looked good with him so far. Now for the interesting details leading up to finding out what he was......

So in the last couple of posts I mentioned that we did a practice ultrasound last week while I was volunteering. Partly for training purposes (of the lady doing it), partly for fun, and partly out of curiosity to find out the gender a few days early. The kids wanted to do a party or something to reveal the surprise and it worked out better to have it this past weekend. Anyway, long story short we were able to see the baby and when trying to figure out what it was got what we thought was a pretty clear picture. My first impression was boy just for a second but after looking more closely it really seemed more like a girl. It was so hard not to be dissapointed since we were really hoping for a boy this time! (and Dathan seriously wanted a baby brother!) Still, we weren't entirely convinced and decided to wait until yesterday to confirm since there's always a chance of being wrong.

But after getting home I looked at lots of pics online, read about how to tell the difference on u/s, and showed it to a couple other people. By the next day we were almost 99% sure it was probably a girl. We still decided to just wait on the party though and maybe just ease the idea by the kids so maybe they wouldn't be totally shocked with the news when they went with us to the doctor. But Dathan accidently saw a message I sent to someone about it and asked what it meant, which of course led to Delancey wanting to know too....altho she wanted us to "surprise" her by telling it in a fun way. So we talked to Dathan and told him we were pretty sure what it was and even let Delancey find out by opening a box of pink balloons. Yes, people, the picture was that convincing!! :-)

Okay, I know ya'll are probably laughing right now but for real we were like grieving over the whole thing at first. I mean, we just so had been thinking it was a boy and already had the name and everything! (that reason being because it was picked out before Delancey was even born) It was a weird feeling knowing that we would love it to death and be thankful for the baby either way, but realizing that our hopes had really been totally up for a boy. Guess we hadn't done the best at being neutral on the whole thing after all....you know, since there is always that 50/50 chance there. So anyway lots of talking, praying, and focusing on that if it was a girl then that was God's will for whatever reason but that it was okay to feel dissapointed went on for the next couple days. As well as scrambling to start coming up with girl names beginning with a "D"! (which unfortunately wasn't going so good, so we're thankful that isn't necassary now! lol) The whole weekend just felt weird since I still had a hard time thinking of it being a girl but telling myself I better hurry up and get used to the idea!

Blake was able to be at the u/s last week so decided not to take off work to come to this one so I asked mom to go with me and the kids. We were all in pretty good spirits and excited to see the baby again. Everyone was accepting of the girl idea by now, except for the whole "no name" thing for me, of course. (I was obsessing over that part just a bit I think. haha) She asked if we wanted to know the gender and we said yes, but that we actually already felt we had a pretty good idea and mostly wanted confirmation. Then lo and behold the very first look was so obviously a boy! It took just a second for it to register with all of us and then we were ecstatic! She got so many good shots of it that there was no doubt what it was this time. ( I promise! lol) 

Who knows why all that other crazy stuff happened the way it did?! Maybe the Lord just wanted to help us learn (and show the kids) how to let go of what we wanted or thought was best and trust Him, even if we didn't understand. Whatever the reason, I think He definitely brought us to a place where we were just thankful and accepting of the outcome....and I have to admit that it felt good having that kind of peace. And especially seeing Dathan have it as well. I do think it made the news yesterday just that much more special for all of us! :-)

So there's the long version of the big news! We are so thankful for the good report on the baby and of course that God did grant the desires of our heart in giving us Daxton. Even though the alternative would have definitely been more than okay too! Please keep him in your prayers as he continues to grow and get ready to be born. I will update more later about my own news and health since this has already turned into a short book. haha Until then I will just finish up with these verses that came to mind while looking at the u/s pictures this morning....

"For Thou has possessed my reins; Thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are Thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well......How precious also are Thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them." Psalm 139:13,14,17

Stay-at-Home Encouragement

No matter how hard the days may be sometimes.....

....or how many long nights you have......

.....always remember that.....

"Faithful is He who calleth you, who also will do it" 1 Thessalonians 5:24

So when you feel like you're a failure......

....and maybe even question giving up....

....just stop trying to do it all yourself....

....and let Him!

"And let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season, we shall reap if we faint not." Galations 6:9

These scriptures encouraged my heart today and I hope they will yours as well! I'm thankful to serve a God who is faithful to help us when we need it. What encourages you when you're going through a hard time?

On My Heart

I've seen and heard so many things lately that have saddened me and also caused me to really think about what it means to be a child of God. I sometimes think it's easy for us to forget just how holy Christ was when He walked on this earth and that the reason those who were saved after His death were first called Christians was because they were seen as being Christ-like. I'll be the first to admit that I don't always do a good job of that. And I don't believe that in any way changes my salvation, but I do think it can change my witness to others and my personal fellowship with God.

I may get around one day to writing about some of the specific things that have bothered me recently, but for now I'll just share these verses that the Lord has kept bringing to my mind the past few days. I pray that us who are truly saved will choose to take these verses to heart, allow God to show us what they should mean in our own lives, and then be strong enough to do it. I'm thinking the next time someone asks why our family does or doesn't do certain things I'll just remember to tell them this.....

"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men. Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world. Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority....."

It's not always easy and definitely not popular these days, but I want to be more willing to be peculiar for the Saviour who gave Himself for me. And maybe, just maybe someone else will want to know more about Him because of it. But at the very least it will also show how grateful I am to God for that amazing grace that brought me salvation, which I am so unworthy of. And if that means not fitting in either with the world or even other believers, then I want to be brave enough to do it anyway. For Him.