Memorial Day

My brother-in-law is in the reserves and he and his wife (my sister) have given a lot for my freedom.  When my sister was 6 months pregnant he left for 6 months of training, leaving her with 3 of her own grown children and 2 twin boys they adopted that year from Haiti.  He came back for a few days when the baby was born and then had to leave for another 3 months in service to our country.  Leaving her to raise all 6 children on her own. 

Hundreds of thousands of men and women have given similar sacrifice so that I can live in freedom, so I can spend time with my children, so my husband can stay home and watch his girls grow up.    

Others have paid the ultimate sacrifice leaving behind wives, sons, children, daughters, husbands, so that I can live this wonderful life of freedom. 

So I wanted to pause and say, "THANK YOU, thank you for all you have given.  Thank you for your sacrifice.  Thank you for allowing yourself to live through times of fear, uncertainty, separation, instability, and deep sadness, for my family.  I am humbled and so grateful for your sacrifice." 

Women's Retreat Revelations

A few weekends ago I was blessed to be able to attend the women's retreat hosted by our church.  I have never been to a women's retreat before and truly didn't know what to expect.  What I discovered was that when you put a group of women together with a sole purpose of hearing the Lord speak, He Does. 

And God moved mightily in my life.

We discussed the thoughts of our mind.  We were shown different thoughts that the enemy may try to bring, thoughts of fear, doubt, insecurity, unbelief, depression, jealousy, failure, discouragement, etc. and were told that when we accept these thoughts as truth, we are sinning.  I never looked at it this way.  In fact I was a little irritated to hear that those thoughts were sin.  We were encouraged to ask for forgiveness for these thoughts, and then to believe that the Lord had forgiven and delivered us from them. 

And I am confident of this: God broke me free from fear, doubt, and insecurity which have all brought weakness.  I am now able to walk in the boldness of the Lord, because I am no longer going to listen to the voice of the enemy.  Oh, he will continue his attack, but I will no longer believe his lies. 

Thank you Jesus for your revelations that bring life and life to the fullest!

Oh, and we had a little fun too, racing at speeds of 35 mph down the beach!  We were wild women. :)

Kylia's Thoughts

The eyebrows looked a little like this.

As I was braiding Kylia's hair this morning she spoke in a matter of fact tone, "Mom, I have special powers."  "You do? What are they?", I asked with great curiosity.  "Warmth! I can make myself warm. All I have to do is this," she then proceeded to raise an eyebrow and turn her face red, and voila, "Now I'm warm, mommy!"  "I can make my legs warm too.  All I have to do is this."  I have to admit, I saw nothing in her demeanor, stance, or appearance change, but she then informed me that she was tightening the muscles in her legs and again, voila, "My legs are warm!"

I never knew my daughter had super powers, but today she revealed her super secret to me, and I have to say that I feel quite privileged to live in the same house as a super girl. :)

Zoie's thoughts

While driving to Bible Study, I told Zoie that her birthday was "just around the corner".  She squealed with delight, and was so excited to know that her birthday was coming soon.  Then on the way home from Bible study, Zoie asked, "Mom is my birthday straight ahead or is it still around the corner."  I love the mind of a child!

Above and Beyond-Part 2

Coming out of the shower in the morning, I heard dishes clanking in the sink, and other noises coming from the kitchen.  I continued to get ready for the day, and when I emerged from my room there was my four year old standing on a chair by the sink, washing dishes.  The table was set for breakfast, and there was a big smile on her face.  "Mommy," she said, "I wanted to go above and beyond for you today." 

Then this afternoon, Adalie came running downstairs with a smile on her face and stated, "Mommy, come up here!  We have a surprise, but it is too big to bring to you."  So, up the stairs we went and there at the top of the stairs was a clean bathroom, clean bedroom and clean playroom.  Toys were put away, beds were made, clothes were picked up!  "We wanted to go above and beyond for you mommy!", Adalie shared, smiling from ear to ear.  All three girls stood there barely able to contain their excitement because of what they had accomplished. 

I wrote a post a little over a year ago about wanting to teach my girls the importance of doing their best in all situations, of going Above and Beyond what is asked, and now, a year later this lesson is still being remembered.   This may not happen all the time, but for today, YAY!  This makes me so happy. :)

Just Cute

The other morning I awoke a bit late and there was Zoie waiting for me to emerge from my warm covers.  So, I climbed out of bed and began my morning ritual (a visit to the restroom).  After completion, I opened the door to my daughter standing as close to the door as possible, with her Bible in hand, smile on her face, and the words, "I'm ready to read my Bible with you."  We headed to the living room to cuddle on the couch to read our Bibles.  "Oh, just a minute," Zoie stated and ran upstairs.  She came back down with her special journal and fat, pink pen in hand ready to journal. 

Zoie is 4 years old.  She is not yet able to read or write, but the joy she brought her mom in that moment was immeasurable. :)  Her desire to spend time with me, reading God's Word, was simply precious

Remembering my Childhood

This is my dad. :)

As we were walking to the park, a friend of mine found a penny and with excitement picked it up.  Instantly, the Lord brought back to memory a story from my childhood that brought me so much joy. 

My family loved to go on walks.  We talked, threw a football, sang songs, raced each other, etc.  We were always thinking of new ways to make walks fun and one day dad came up with a doozy. 

As we were walking along, my sister looked down at the pavement and observed something shiny.  She squealed with delight as she discovered a dime waiting to be discovered.  Then a few steps further down the path, there lay yet another shiny treasure.  This got the three of us siblings excited as we now began a wonderful hunt for treasure. 

What we quickly discovered was that these treasures had not be waiting long for discovery, but dad was actually throwing them ahead of us simply to bring us delight. And so, a new adventure had begun, and to this day, walking with mom and dad, we may discover a shiny treasure in our path, and a daddy with a silly smile on his face.