Praise Him.

I love my church. Being home most days with my children means on the weekends, I have to make wise choices about where we go and what we do. I want every moment to count. Church is high on my list and the grocery store with it :) I am so encouraged there and I love the worship. I live on worship. It is my daily bread... and too often through the week, I go hungry.

Recently, I started volunteering in the elementary room. It's the age I taught when I was a teacher, an employed teacher. And it's good for me to be around these guys, a little like that daily bread bit.

The point of this all is:

Tonight there was a volunteer appreciation deal going on, and I was invited! So, it rained all day, and my husband got home late... And I was still wearing my pajamas from the night before- ewe! But the week before I had been strongly encouraged to go. So, I went for it. And I am so glad I did!

First, I put my kids in bed, so they wouldn't suspect anything. Then changed clothes, because- ewe! I have a little self-respect and I went. Lots of fun conversation and yummy treats... some giveaways. Which I seemed to miss out on the giveaway ticket bit, and I would have won, if I had entered a ticket, but I didn't and it's hard to win with no ticket.

And then there was singing! One reason I really love being at church is the opportunity to sing. We have an awesome worship leader. The Bible says, 'Make a joyful noise'. And I let all that is in me PRAISE! And sometimes, I have a sore throat afterwards, but it is totally worth it! So, tonight, I really enjoyed the band's music and I really wanted to sing along, but I had respect for the people around me, and since noone else was singing so much, I just kept that all to myself... .

But, then she invited us to sing along... And you know something?! It blesses me to sing praises to my Lord.

And some days are hard. Being a mom is a hard job. IF all I'm living for are the full tummies and the happy children and the clean dishes and the clean laundry and the ___ and the ___, I am setting myself up for some serious disappointment. And I have been disappointed, in myself and my struggles with mothering.

BUT, to live for something else, to live to Sing and make joyful praises to my King, my Lord, my Saviour, my God, lying in a manger and hanging on the cross, but most of all redeemed and preparing a place for me... There can be no disappointment in that. And, it fills me up and keeps me going for another day. So, when I sing, I SING. And, I don't know what it sounds like when it comes out of my mouth, but I pray that the Holy Spirit makes it pleasing to His ears.

And tonight, someone noticed. And that is a little embarrassing, because I don't want to draw attention to myself, only to Him. So, maybe He can take this talent, and use it for His purpose and His kingdom. That'd be good.

That's all.

Christmas Cookies

I didn't post my thankfulness last night, because we were doing this:

And I don't have an excuse for the night before... exhaustion, perhaps?!

I'm linking to Fight Back Friday. I haven't done that in a long time... but I'd like to get back into that habit.

Last night, we used the Arrowhead Mills cookie kit to make Christmas cookies. There were sugar cookies and little gingerbread men. I loved this kit!

The ingredients were all natural. They also didn't include any dairy or egg or nut products. I was able to substitute oil for butter and egg replacer for eggs and not worry about my boys having an allergic reaction.

I love to bake with my kids; there are many lessons to be learned throughout the process. However, I really appreciated the convenience of adding a couple ingredients and being able to get to the fun part quickly! The cookie cutters were small enough for my kids to comfortably use and be independent. And small enough that they could eat a few without having to much sugar.

You could purchase or make icing for these cookies. A recipe was included for icing. I chose to add some all natural sprinkles and a little sugar before baking, and the toppings stuck on just fine.

Merry Christmas! Thanks for reading.

P.S. I wasn't paid for posting about Arrowhead Farms. I just really liked this product, and my kids did too!

a picture is worth a thousand words.

But tonight, I won't be writing a thousand words.

The mother of the young lady I am tutoring is a photographer for a local studio. She borrowed a camera a month or so ago and did some photos of my children. I have been itching to see some of the prints. Email me, why don't you?! I even asked if I could give her a disc and get them copied?! PLEASE?!!! You see, I knew they were really great photos and I was so eager to see them- and make some copies to send to grandparents for Christmas. But, wait I must. And I did.

Until today!

Because today, y'all. She gave me a gift. A most beautiful gift. She had done some editing to these precious photos and made my children look so beautiful... Really. They are beautiful, but these pictures captured it like no picture I have ever taken. And you know what she did? She had them made into a book for me! A real book. It is so beautiful, I about cried.

Because some days are tough. Parenting is tough. But to see my children in this light. Beautiful photos. Well, words just can't say it. It just makes me think about them for the way God wants me to think about them- blessings. Real. Life. Blessings.

thankful

This evening I'm so thankful for my church. We've been attending for about a year now (after leaving a church split a few years ago and looking around for just the right place), but I've really gotten involved in the past six months or so. It's so fun to build new relationships. There are a few ladies, slightly older than me who are encouraging and uplifting to be around. I am so thankful for them and their direction.

This past weekend, the children's church hosted a special service for the families. We got to watch our preschoolers sing and dance on the stage. My little boy just stood there on the stage, mouth gaping, looking all around him, seeking out a familiar face (even though he knew the words!!!). It was so sweet! And my little girl, who normally is so careful and LOVES to dance all around, stood their stiff as a board, but still singing her heart out. And trying to clap. Poor thing, she's got my lack of rhythm.

Having an active role in an environment which blesses me is an extra blessing!

assignment

I am tutoring a young lady in reading and writing. My goal is to make her a life long reader/writer because now she just isn't into it. So, I've given her an assignment and by giving it to myself too, I hope to get blogging again. Here's my assignment:

Take 5 minutes at the day's end to write about one of these things

• Something which happened and I'm thankful for it,
• Something which happened and it challenged me or made me grow in some way,
• Some way in which I saw God working in my life to teach me something or to bless me,
• or anything else along these lines...

My assignment begins tonight! Here's hoping I don't get too repetitive or boring, but hopefully this will get me back to thinking each day! Writing is thinking.

You are still holy

I have so much on my mind these days, so much in my heart and I don't know how to express myself.

I understand the definition of Christianity. I understand that I am saved by grace that I may look forward to eternity with my Saviour.

But I want more in this life. My desire is to be full of the Spirit of the living God, so full that I pour it out in my love life for my husband and children. I believe it is a desire given to me by the One who created me and I so much want to experience it.

I've had it before. I know it is the outpouring of His spirit that gave me the strength to work two jobs and attend college full time. It is by His strength that I was able to achieve my goals then. It was His strength that transformed me from victim to survivor when I confronted the abuse in my childhood. And, I used to play the piano. For ten years I was classically trained. Then, I would play at church or an event and I could feel His power performing through my fingertips... How I long for that feeling again!

These past months, I have felt so empty. I'm stuck in the brokenness of my childhood and I want out!

I want to be so full of His Spirit that His love pours out of me onto my children. That they will know His love by my submission to His Spirit. I feel so empty. I just want more Jesus.

We sang this song in church Sunday and it made so much sense to me. I have to bring my brokeness to the foot of the cross and leave it there. It seems I have done this before, but somehow I keep going back to pick it up again. This time, let me leave it. And in exchange, let me pick up some Holy Spirit power to fuel my day to day, caring for the needs of my children.

And so,

I hope to make a change in this blog of mine. I want to focus more on rejoicing in the moments of our lives. More focus on the little things that will bring me joy, and maybe others too.

The lyrics to You are still Holy:

Holy, You are still holy,
Even when the darkness surrounds my life
Sovereign, You are still sovereign
Even when confusion has blinded my eyes
Lord I don't deserve Your kind affection
When my unbelief has kept me from Your touch
I want my life to be a pure reflection of Your love

CHORUS:
And so I come into Your chambers
And I dance at Your feet Lord
You are my saviour, and I'm at Your mercy
All that has been in my life up to now
It belong to You
You are still holy

Holy, You are still holy
Even though I don't understand Your ways
Sovereign You will be sovereign
Even when my circumstances don't change
Lord I don't deserve Your tender patience
When my unbelief has kept me from Your truth
I want my life to be a sweet devotion to You

CHORUS:
And so I come into Your chambers
And I dance at Your feet Lord
You are my saviour, and I'm at Your mercy.
All that has been in my life up to now
It belongs to You
I belong to You

And so I come into your chambers
And I dance at Your feet Lord
You are my saviour and I'm at your mercy
All that has been in my life up to now
It belongs to You
I belong to you

You are still holy, You are still sovereign
You are still holy, Lord
You are still righteous
You are all knowing
You are still holy, You are still holy ~ Kim Hill

Further more...

This life I have right now, where I'm wife to man who loves me beyond measure and mom to three amazing, beautiful, (usually) happy children, blesses me deeply. And if it took that to get here, then I'd gladly suffer again.

Further more, my suffering is NOTHING in the light of the cross. My Savior took on my burden of sin so that when He comes again, He can take me home. Surely that moment will be full of joy, and because of that, I can live in joy now.

My God, how GREAT you are!