Life...Liver tea and to the publix for which it stands...

Life can sometimes be crazy and at some point you realize that you can no longer fix your child's owies, especially those of the heart with a hug and a kiss.  Life with a tween is showing me that your children have to face some battles only God can help them with.  You can support them.  You can pray with them and for them, but somethings they have to learn to rely on God for.  That has to have been learned from us as parents.  When you child is having a problem you can't fix, leaving it in God's hands...is easier said than done.  We want to rush in and fix it, but we know we have to let them work through it with our love, support and prayers. 

Sometimes, our heavenly Father while He is with us...has to let us work through something instead of rescuing us out of it.  It is for our greater good for us to walk through the trial instead of being taken out of the trial. Christopher, has faced somethings the past few days that I have had to pray, and support and love him through but let God fix it.  I did my part.  Christopher has to do his.  He has to let go and let God.  Teaching that concept to your child is not easy but necessary.  I prayed with him, I did the Mommy stuff I could do but teaching him to go to his heavenly Father is done by talking to him and supporting him and guiding him but not by doing it for him. So...I watch as my son walks this road of life and learns through hardships and tests that we should: James 1:2-4

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

As adults that is hard to understand as well, much less as a 10 year old.  I leave this battle in my Lord's hands.  I support my child in prayer and love and I will teach him that in all things he must trust the Lord.  I did everything as a parent I could do.  Now, the Lord will do His part as he grows something special in my son.

Jenny has been saying the pledge as of late:(again)

"I pledge awegiance to the flag and to the publix in which it stands one nation under God with liver tea and justly for all. amen"  She is so cute when whe does this and has been doing it for a while.  I may not want liver tea but she means well...LOL.

So when you drink your tea remember......be thankful it isn't liver tea and that while America may not stand in Publix...that God is for us and if He is for us..no one can be against us.

PreK news and hijinks...and the word NO can be love

I may be bordering on insanity how happy I get over Jenny's preK progress and when she does something cute and smart and witty.  She is doing great with PreK.  She can read some words now...cat, hat,mat, dog, mommy, daddy, Jenny, Christopher and Hannah  plus sound out some more with help.  She read a first stage phonics book and loves to do worksheets.  That girl goes through worksheets like they are candy.

Today as I posted on facebook, she asked for puh, puh, pizza for lunch.  Made me literally laugh out loud for the joy and fun of it.  It means she is applying what she learns.

This brought to my mind how happy our Father must be when we His children, get something He wants us to learn. When we do something He wants us to do.  It must be akin to the joy we feel when our children accomplish things.  Their first steps....oh how much rejoicing the Father must get when we take first steps in faith.  Each new experience requires from us a new step of faith. When we take that step at His leading what joy He must feel.

When we hear our children say "I love you Mommy, I love you Daddy"...what sheer happiness and warmth it brings to our hearts.  The same goes for our Father.  When we say I love you and we praise Him it brings Him pleasure and joy.  He loves us far more than we can ever love our own children. 

Today as I willingly and happily gave my daughter a slice of pizza, we had frozen as leftovers..it made me realize what joy it brings the Lord to fulfill our needs, wants and desires.  However, they must line up with His will.  Just as if, Jenny had only asked for ice cream the answer would have had to be no, because ice cream is good but not as a nutritious lunch.  Our Father is the same, He knows what is good and beneficial for us.  He answers accordingly.  Yes sometimes, He makes us wait.  Sometimes, He says yes.  And oh my sometimes He says NO. 

What is my reaction when He says no.  Do I throw a tantrum?  Do I get down on myself and say I must not be good enough cause He said no.  His no is for our benefit.  He knows we aren't happy with a no but how we react is crucial.  We can even tell Him we are upset, but we can not let us stop us in our tracks as we wallow in the no.  We must take those steps of faith and keep on knowing and believing He is our Father who LOVES us.  Loves us enough to let His beloved Son bear our sins.  That is a Father's love.  The Son did ask if the cup could pass but even so if it could not..He would willingly lay down His life for us.  The answer was no to Jesus.  He could not do it another way.  He willingly bore it all to the cross and the Father had to turn His back on the sins Jesus took for us.  That is love.  No is not always a bad thing.  No can save a life. No can build character. No can be the catalyst for us becoming more in God. 

I am trying to listen to God more...not just react to the stuff that happens in our lives.  When He says no...I am trying to take it with grace and love and not get bogged down with the no.  Does it keep me from asking ...not necessarily because sometimes it is wait. Unless God clearly tells you no..keep asking and believing until it is clear what His answer is going to be.  Once the answer is clear...walk in the faith God, our loving Father had a reason for that answer.  Easy to say...not easy to do.  Faith...comes in to play when God says no.  Are we going to keep on loving Him regardless of His answer?  My choice is to love Him no matter what and trust that His way and will is the best.

The Silver Lining laced with prayer

So many times we see the trouble and the pain and everything that is wrong...especially when it seems as if everything that can go wrong does go wrong.  But I have learned something the last couple weeks. 

Christopher has pneumonia.  Where is the silver lining one might ask?  The very fact my son is not in the hospital and with pneumonia has still been able to be active, play and be himself.  In the past, before he was healed of asthma...pneumonia was almost a sure trip to the hospital with an admission.  He would turn a deathly, grey, blue color and look as if he'd take his last breath at any moment.  This time.....THIS TIME.....he has been home.  He has played...he has been active..had a few treatments but never been air hungry or in respiratory distress.  And that my friends is the silver lining that was laced with prayer.  Prayer brought about my son's healing.  His miracle!  Watching my son battle this as if it were a common cold instead of a fight for his life....let me tell you it has been amazing. 

There have been times in the past, I carried my son limp,blue, and grey into an er screaming for help.  Nurses rushes us back and pushed me back as they saved my son's life.  Watching him fight with some cough medicine and antibiotics instead of injections and hooked up to some type of oxygen support..........what a revelation as to how deep his healing has been.  No pneumonia is not a good thing.  But if you have walked where we walked and traveled roads we have traveled you would know just how wonderful plain pneumonia without the addition of asthma is!  Sounds crazy to some...I know.  But so many times, I have almost lost my son and God restored him.  Now that asthma is not an issue fighting off illness has become something new altogether.  God's promises...are true.  We waited and prayed and waited and prayed...did God deny us all these years.  Absolutely not!  Why it took so long for his healing?  I have no idea.  But God in His infinite wisdom and mercy brought it about.  He didn't  "just grow out of it" as some want to say.  He WAS HEALED.  How I know well because he hasn't grown enough to have "grown out of it". And the change was phenomenal. 

Our silver linings in life..are laced with prayer.  God hears each and every one.  How...when...why...He answers is up to Him.  But the silver lining on our dark clouds of life is our hope and our strength because prayer connects us to the one with the answers.  God is faithful.  Never ever give up on your miracle...because prayer works.

New Year...New Me?



Resolutions...we all make the attempt or most of us do.  I do want a new me.  A healthier me.  A deeper in Jesus me.  But getting to the new me, takes work, perseverance, and patience. 

My "resolutions" this year:

• Lose some weight...which I did accomplish some last year.
• To be more organized and increase my housekeeping abilities.  Now I am not trying to be the next Martha Stewart, but I sure do have room for improvement in this area!  I will tackle things one at a time, instead of trying to do a million and one tasks at once.
• To find real, quality time with the Lord instead of the way I do it now, when I do get it in.  Life has a way of getting in the way.  Busyness is good if it doesn't take away from God or family.
• To do more than talk about exercising.  To actually DO the exercising.
• To find ways to encourage my husband that I haven't done before.  To let him know how treasured he is in the big ways and the small ways.
• To sow stuff into my children that will last a life time, more so than before. We are facing a time in society that it is all that more important to sow good things into their hearts and lives
• To encourage friends and family.
• To have a positive effect on the lives of others that others will see Jesus in me. 
• That I will always be true to my calling by the Lord and not doubt what He is doing in me.
• To make life fun and my home of place of laughter and a stress free zone. That is not saying our home is a home of chaos but I want to nurture this aspect. 
• To help the kids grow in the Lord and compassion.  My kids are compassionate God fearing little people but we all can grow in Him.
• To seek first the kingdom of God in all areas of my life at all times of my life.  To kick doubt and fear that enters into all our lives to the curb.  I am not giving it a free ride!  It goes out with the trash.
• To play more.
• To love more.
• To learn more.
• To live more.
• To hug more.
• To pray more.
• To sing more.
• To be more.