My Prayer Today

God, please forgive me for my dissatisfaction, my desire for worldly possessions, my dependence on money instead of You, and my poor attitude.

Give me contentment with what I have, what you have blessed me with and entrusted to me! Give me joy in my everyday life that comes from what I have with You, Lord, and not what I have in my possession or bank account. Make my happiness come from You, and not depending on how much I can get or how nice I can make my house or the clothes that I wear.

Forgive my vanity. Forgive my concern for what other people think. Forgive me for taking my wonderful children and my sweet husband for granted sometimes.

Take away my love for things. Take away my desire to be beautiful to this world. Take away the security I feel in having money. Take away my wrong intentions and bad motives. Take away my dissatisfaction and my feelings of inadequacy and my stress.

Purify my heart and cleanse my life. Show me how to take captive every thought and conform it to Your thoughts. Help me to be a better mother and better wife.

Amen.

Which Jesus do you follow?
Which Jesus do you serve?
If Ephesians says to imitate Christ,
Why do you look so much like the world?
Cause my Jesus bleed and died
He spent His time with theives and liars.
He loved the poor and accosted the comfortable,
So which one do you want to be?
Blessed are the poor in Spirit,
Or do we pray to blessed with the wealth of this land?
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness,
Or do we ache for another taste of this world of shifting sand?
Cause my Jesus bleed and died for my sins
He spent His time with theives and sluts and liars.
He loved the poor and accosted the rich,
So which one do you want to be?

"My Jesus" by Todd Agnew

I did it!

Last night, I pulled Mikaela's tooth! I can't believe I did it! It was sooo loose. She was terrified, but I just yanked it out. She couldn't believe it didn't hurt. She got $5.00 to put toward her American doll. She wants an American doll so bad, but they are about $100.00 and I told her that I loved her, but I wasn't spending that on a doll. So she's saving her money. She has almost $50.00 now. I can't believe she's still saving. Usually she'll spend her money as soon as she gets it. But I guess she really wants this doll.

I'm taking Eli to the doctor today. Rod is going to stay with Mercie. Eli and me need a day together. He is the kind of kid who NEEDS individual attention and he doesn't get it nearly enough, being the middle child.

Mercie's birthday is coming up! I can't believe she's almost 1. When we say patti cake, she'll clap her hands. It's sweet. She is walking soooo good now. She can get anywhere, almost faster than me. She still hates the nursery. But I teach Sunday morning , so she has to go. I asked Mrs. Billie if she cried any less yesterday than she had been and Mrs Billie said, No.

I'm going to post a picture of Mikaela and her tooth soon.

nothing really

Mikaela has a birthday party tommorrow for her friend Marissa. She is spending the night tonight with her, and then they are going to eat pizza and go skating. I can't believe Mikaela is old enough to have slumber parties. Of course, I know Marissa's mom and dad really well. Rod went to school with her mom, and they live not too far away.

Eli is just playing with his action figures and Mercie is taking a nap.

I'm just browsing the internet for Sunday School curriculum for my kids at church.

Just wanted to post a few words.

Cute Things

Eli never ceases to make me laugh. Mikaela and Eli both have an astounding memory.

We went to the zoo a few weeks ago, and if you'll remember, they were amazed at the birds that could talk, say "hello". They kept saying hello over and over in the bird's voice for several days.

Today Eli and I were going over his abc's, and I said, time for animal sounds. He loves to be silly. I said, tell me what a bird says. Eli squaked "hello" in the bird's voice, so seriously, and looked at me like, wasn't that good? I burst out laughing and hugged him. He was so happy, but wasn't sure why I was laughing. Then he said, tell me what a lion says. I said, "Roar!" and he grabbed me, pulled me down and started fake laughing. I couldn't stop laughing, he couldn't stop laughing, it was one of those times you just want to bottle up and save. He has the cutest little grin.

Mikaela is selling cookie dough for school. I had been teaching her how to sell, what to say, that kind of thing. Sunday night, Cole, my brother in law, came over. She ran and got her cookie dough sheet and said, "Cole, I want you to look at this and tell me how many you're going to buy." He laughed, but he bought two buckets!! She didn't say, tell me if you want any, she said tell me how many you want. Didn't give him much room to turn her down. Not that anyone would, she's just so beautiful.

Today it is so pretty outside. I took Mercie and Eli outside, and let Mercie walk around the yard. She just got to where she can walk well enough. There are tons of leaves on the ground, and every step she took would *crunch*. Every time she took one step, she'd hear it crunch, and look down at her feet, like what is that noise? She did it about ten times, then finally forgot about it. She had a blast. Then Eli rode her on his Power Wheels four wheeler. She loved it! She was waving and smiling. After about 3 minutes, Eli said, "That's very good, Mercie. Now get off." And pretty much, shoved her off, as nicely as he could! *sigh* Boys.

Well they are both still asleep. I did some laundy and mopped around their eating area, but I guess I need to go take as much advantage of the quiet and I'm sure I can find plenty to clean around here!

P.S. to Mom-- I'm starting the Esther study as soon as Ashlie brings me the book. I'm so excited.

Quiet.

It's quiet around here tonight. Rod, Mikaela and Eli went to church. Mercie was sooo tired, being that she didn't take a nap all day, and she conked out at 6. Which isn't too early for her, considering she goes to sleep usually around 6:30 or 7. The only sound is the washing machine and dryer, to me that's a comforting noise. I'm just so weird!



Last night, I cooked deer meat and it was sooo good. All I did was marinate some deer ham in Worsishire (sp.), milk, an egg, and some steak sauce (yes, steak sauce). Then I put it in a pan, covered it with a can of cream of celery, chopped onions and bell peppers, covered it with foil and cooked it about 3 hours. It was delicious, juicy, tender...and so easy! I made some rice and toast, and it was a very filling meal. We eat a lot of deer meat around here. Rod loves to hunt.



Mikaela has a loose tooth, and it's very loose! Her first one, and I'm so nervous. I told Rod he had to pull it, because Mikaela won't, and I don't think I could. She told me today, "I'm gonna be prayin' for that tooth, for God to loose it up some more, so it will fall out soon." It was so cute. Eli made me "wiggle" his not even close to being loose teeth, and then "wiggled" mine. He got so upset when Mikaela told him her tooth was going to bleed when it came out. He was rubbing her arm and consoling her. I love when they act like they love each other! It makes me giddy inside and brings tears to my eyes.



Mercie finally said "mama" today! I know, I know, she's almost a year old. She walked at 10 months, but all she'll say is "dada", "da", and "de" for deer. I was so upset that wouldn't say "mama." This morning, Rod and Mercie and me were in the bed and I said, "Mercie, please say Mama!" And she said "mamama" and then wouldn't say it again. Oh well. At least she said it once.



She went to the health unit for her check up Tuesday and weighed 24 pounds, 28 inches long. She's in the 94 percentile for her weight, and....the 24 percentile for her height! LOL. My mom said she's a box. She is sooooo fat!! But so beautiful. She already in size 4 diapers, 18 month clothes. Eli was wearing some of his 18 months short last summer...and he was 3!! She also got her finger pricked, and didn't even cry. I was so proud. She just looked at the nurse like, What do you think you're doing?! She's growing up too fast. Before I know it, she'll be talking up a storm and hopefully have thinned out some. I think I'm gonna get her a thigh master, lol. Just kidding. But seriously, her thighs are bigger than Eli's....I know, cause I measured them with a tape measure. She has saddle bags, and a big ol' booty. But she's so pretty!



I was teaching Eli number concepts today...1,2, and 3. He caught on real fast, we might move on to 4 and 5 tomorrow. I taught him how to write the letter A, he still needs practice because he's not steady with a pencil and doesn't have basic writing skills. I've tried, but he's only 3. He wants to learn though! He can't sit still long, but we're working on his concentration. 5 minutes at a time! He drew a picture of himself, because we learned that God made us unique, and he actually for the first time drew, and not just scribbled line and such.

I drew the eyes to his specifications, but he drew the rest. Even the purple mouth. He's prettty talented, but then again, so are all my little blessings!!

God sent Himself

Last night at church, I took Mercie into the nursery because she was getting fussy. When I walked in, Ms. Billie was reading a book to about 5 kids. At the end of the book, she asked them, "Who died for our sins?" All of the kids said, in unison, "God!" And then she made this profound statement that really hit me. "God sent Himself to die for us, in the person of Jesus Christ."

Now, I knew that. I knew God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit are one, yet are three distinct persons. But I always, like everyone else, say "God sent His Son Jesus to die for us." And that's true. But to hear her say God sent Himself in the person of Jesus, I almost teared up. Can you imagine? He sent Himself, in the form of His Son. I am going to start saying that, because I think it's so important for our children to realize that God Himself died for us.

Developing

I have just been thinking about some things today.

I have been doing a bible study "The Mind of Christ", and I'm on Unit 10, titled, "Living in the Spirit". Day 1 was called "The Spiritual controls the Material." It was a really really convicting, powerful lesson. I am going to put an excerpt down here from page 146.

"Ask the Lord to guide you to victory over..the following:

Set your mind on things above -- the spiritual.
Allow God to renew your mind with a Christlike mind set.
Deny yourself and the importance of the material.
Follow Christ in giving priority and emphasis to the spiritual.
Ask God to help you emphasize the spiritual in practical ways.
Write notes to yourself about the things you sense God is guiding you to do."

Well, that is what my goals are!! I really want to have the mind of Christ and to exhibit His actions and attitudes in my every day life. Denying myself and the importance of material things...that is what I long to do, yet it's so hard. I will think I'm doing well, and then start talking about "I want this...I want to do that to my house...I would like things better if I had this..." etc. And I'll stop myself and realize that I have a looooong way to go.

On another note...we went to the party today. It was fun, as fun as a 6 year old party can be I guess. Mercie's first birthday is coming up...it's always so exciting, their first birthday.

Well pray for me that I can develop the mind of Christ.

Just ramblings...

Today I went with my sister to the OB in Monroe. Everything is fine with her pregnancy, she's having a boy!! Then we went to Target. I absolutely love that store!! We had fun. We made our husbands stay home with our kids. LOL. They had fun, but Rod was on the couch when I got home, Eli and Mercie were asleep, and I think he was to! Yeah...it's good for men to see how tiring it can be having little ones at home, trying to keep things clean and keep children happy. But Rod was a good sport, and the house was actually clean when I got home!! Thank goodness for that.

Tommorrow Mikaela's friend Lila is having a birthday party at 12:00 at the park. It's gonna be cold, but I'm sure the kids will have fun anyway.

Rod's speaking at church Sunday night about his trip to Nicaragua, and I think Mark's getting a slideshow together. Then we're eating breakfast afterward. I love eating at church!! Ha, ha.

Mercie almost electrocuted herself the other day. She grabbed Mikaela's nightlight and somehow her fingers got inside the prongs while it was still plugged up. Good thing I was right there! She was screaming...her finger was so hot when I got it out. It scared me. The child never ceases to scare the heck out of me. More scares with her than Eli...although I did call poison control several times over him.

Money, money, possessions

"Lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor dust corrupts, and theives do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matt. 6:20-21

Jesus placed little value on the things of this world. The King was born in a stable, among the animals. The Prince of Peace was a carpenter, working with His hands. He had no 'place to lay His head'. (Luke 9:58) He traveled to different places all the time. Do you think He toted around a big suitcase full of clothes, shoes, soap, etc? Nope. Probably just the clothes on His back. Do you think He stayed in Holiday Inns? Nope. Wherever He and His disciples were welcome, usually at the home of someone they knew. Sometimes out the open air. He didn't have many possessions, and what He had, He would have freely given away to someone in need. He didn't love the things in the world. After all, what's the point of accumulating things?

As for us...do we love the things of this world? Are we always trying to accumulate more? We get so excited about going shopping for clothes, when we have plenty of clothes we don't even wear! We go and buy things for our home, then get home and have no room for them! We buy our kids more toys, and they have tons of toys they don't play with, not because they don't like them, but because they don't have time because they have so many other toys! And we keep buying them new toys. We want a new car, but what's wrong with our old car? We want this, and that, but do we need it? Why do we want it?

Why don't we take what we have and give to people who need it, who will appreciate it? When we go and buy a new shirt, why don't we give one we already have away to someone who needs it? When we go buy our kids a new toy, let's give away one that's gently played with to a kid who doesn't have many or any toys? Before we just "blow" our money, let's make sure there's not a better use with it...say for God's kingdom?

Be on the lookout...your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion...looking for someone to devour

Rod is home!! Yea!! They had a wonderful, successful trip to Nicaragua. And I'm glad he is home safe! Praise be to God for His protection on them.

Yesterday was my Dad's birthday. We went over and ate lunch with them after church.

Last night, church was awesome. The message was about spiritual warfare and how we should be set apart. We lose our focus was too often. We, and by we I mean me, turn our focus on things that aren't as important as we make them out to be. Things like money, material possessions, debt, our jobs, our house, etc. And we take our focus off of the Lord. We quit being on 'high alert' for the devil's schemes, and just assume because we aren't being attacked by him, then we're safe. Wrong! If we're not being attacked by the devil, then that means we aren't a threat to him, which means we aren't doing our job for the Lord. The devil should never want to leave us alone! He should attack us constantly, because we are a threat, because we are out there witnessing and winning souls for Christ, because we are different from the world, because we don't care about money and bills and having more and more things. Things aren't important. A beautiful house isn't important. A nice new car isn't important. New electronics, cell phones, ipods, game systems, flat screen Tv's, that is not important. What is important is our relationship with Christ, our service to Him, and our dedication to Him.

Well, I guess I said what was on my mind this morning! Sorry if I rambled on and on.

Rod is coming home tomorrow!! I can't wait. I really miss him. This week has gone by sort of fast, sort of slow. Nighttime is the lonliest. I usually talk to Rod, eat with Rod, watch movies with Rod, etc. And by myself, well , I don't like it!! The kids and I are going to meet him at the airport. They are so excited to see their daddy!

We haven't done much this week. My mom came and stayed the night on Tuesday night. She was off work Wednesday and Thursday. Mikaela didn't go to school yesterday, and I'm considering pulling her out and homeschooling again. I'm going to talk to Rod about that. She went today...but there is a teacher at her school who was sending inappropriate email and text messages to a 14 year old male student. And the teacher is still teaching and coaching!! That makes you wonder...who else is teaching your kids? While they are at school for 7 hours, who is with them, supposed to be their role models?! This teacher, she was supposed to be a good Christian, she was 26, had a good family, nice husband, she was attractive. What makes somebody do that? You would have never suspected her to do something like this. That is what makes this so unbelievable. A small school, really small school, and this happens? And they are letting her keep on teaching? And she hasn't been arrested yet? And they have all the proof they need to arrest her? Crazy.

My Bible study I'm doing, The Mind Of Christ, I'm on the Beatitudes. I'm memorizing that part of scripture. Man, when you start studying scripture, you see it a whole lot differently than when you just read it.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are they that mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.
Blessed are those that are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 5:3-10

I typed that from memory, believe it or not! I hope I got it correct.

Have a blessed day everyone!

More Pics from Last Saturday

Here is Mercie reading her menu at Chili's...she chose the Quesadillas and Black Beans.

Me and Eli (taken by Mikalea)

Rod and Mikaela - she is her daddy's girl!

Meaningful Mondays for Moms

Ephesians 4:29

"Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers."

I usually think of "corrupt word" being curse words or vulgur words. I looked up 'corrupt' in the dictionary and one of the definitions was 'putrid'. I looked up 'putrid' and it said "rotten or decaying; very unpleasant".

Hmmm...as a mother to young children, I ask myself, do I speak corruptly to my children? When they make a huge mess, when they disobey, when they break something, do I speak rotten words to them? Am I unpleasant? Do I tend to lose my patience?

The answer, ashamed as I am, is yes. Not all the time, but more often than not, I lose my temper. I say things to them that don't lift their spirits and edify them. By the way, I looked up 'edify' and it said "to instruct or improve morally". Am I improving my kids morally by the words that proceed out of my mouth? I sit here, ashamed and embarassed before God. The beautiful children He has blessed and entrusted me with should not be spoken to rottenly. As I ask His forgiveness, I also ask for His help.

We need to watch our words, our attitudes, our pleasantness. Our children observe everything we do and say, and everything we don't say. Although we do need to discipline when necessary, we also need to disciple on a more consistant, daily basis. We need to lift up our children, encourage them, and improve them morally! (I just love that definition!!)

I am putting off all rottenness, decay, corruption. Whoo, do I feel better!

These are my sweeties playing in a band for me! The kids had got out thier instruments, even little Mercie had her drum, and then Rod decided to get two deer horns to hit together, and volia! A world class band. It was so funny and loud. Mikaela and Eli were both singing, too. Different songs, by the way.

Rod is in Nicaragua! He called this morning and they are alright, they were heading to the little village in the mountains. I probably won't get to talk to him again, though. Remember him in your prayers!!

Also, someone I know lost their baby Friday. She went in to get her, and she had stopped breathing in her sleep. Pray for her and her husband and family. I cannot even imagine losing a baby. The baby was 4 months old.

I was wondering why a 3 year old can be so stubborn sometimes. I think he does it on purpose. Yesterday I was in the kitchen and he came in there. Conversation as follows:

Eli: I want a cookie, Mama.

Me: I don't have any. Sorry.

Eli: But I want a cookie.

Me: I don't HAVE one.

Eli: But, Mama! I want a cookie, please!

Me: (losing patience, hate to admit it) Eli. I. Don't. Have. Cookies. DON"T HAVE.

Eli: Okay...

Me: Do you want something else to eat?

Eli: A cookie.

Me and the kiddos at the zoo yesterday. They had so much fun!! Eli wasn't too thrilled about taking a picture here.

Rod and the kids at the zoo. He is such a good husband and father. I think he had just as much if not more fun that the kids did! He makes everything fun for them, and for me!

We also went to Chili's and ate. The kids were so good at the zoo and at the restarant. We had the best time. I love my family so much. God has really blessed me.

Rod left this morning to go to Nicaragua. I miss him already. Please pray for him.

New Year Resolutions

Thought I'd post my resolutions. I make them every year and then they are soon forgotten. I've never written them before, so maybe if I can look at them and remember them, I'll keep them!

1. Start and finish an in depth Bible study.
2. Increase my prayer time and alone time with God.
3. Talk kinder to my kiddos.
4. Play more, clean less.
5. Pray more, sin less!
6. Be more frugal with my money. I've been over spending at the grocery store!
7. Don't get stressed out when the house is a mess! I have 3 kids under 6...it's not gonna be Better Homes and Gardens worthy!
8. Get a little more organized in my closet. A little.
9. Be more loving to Rod.
10. Learn to sew. I've always wanted to sew...

Pray for Rod, Mark, Jimbo and Shane. They leave Sat. Pray for me and the kiddos, Pat, Beth, Michelle and thier 2 kids.

We're going to the zoo tomorrow! It's supposed to be 63*F, so if it's not windy it should feel great outside. I'll take lots of pics and post them.

Oh, and Happy New Year!! Live For Yeshua!