Realizing....

Reading

So who's reading what this summer? I just finished the book Desperate by Sarah Mae and Sally Clarkson. It was really good. It had parts that I really loved. I am reading 2 other books. One paperback and one on the Kindle. The paperback is about Revelation and the one on my Kindle is about marriage. Both are something that is keeping my attention. I love to read,but don't have that much time. I really don't see how any stay at home Mom of small one does!

Diving deeper

I have been doing a study with the Good Morning Girls on Facebook since the first of the year. We have made it through chapter 16 of the book of Luke. It's been awesome! I joined a group online since I couldn't get enough of women in the community to have a in real life one. It's been a blessing. We will start the book of James next week and then pick back up in Luke when Fall comes. It has really challenged me and has pushed me.

Some of my heart

I was thinking the past couple of weeks about homes. Since we desire one of our own,whether it be a mobile home or a brick/wood home. At one point I was getting so upset over it. Our apartment is fairly tiny for a family of 5. We have no yard of our own with easy access. We live upstairs and do have a side yard on our end,but it's not as convenient as we would want to have. All I could think about was homes we have looked at over and over. Some nights I could not even sleep well. Crazy isn't it,how we let things take control? I finally threw my hands up in frustration. Not only could I not find one that I loved,but my husband and I could not agree on one solely. He liked some and I didn't or I liked some and he didn't. I just said no more looking for me. I needed to take a break and realize somethings.

• I realized that I am asking for what I already have. We have a home. When I say home I mean apartment/trailer/house. I believe any of these can be a home,it's not so much the structure that makes the home. It's where you feel comfortable,loved,and cared for. We have all that in our 840 square foot apartment in the city. We never go cold or hot for long ( we have had quiet the problems with our a.c unit and did go almost a week with no air at all). We always have a soft place to sleep. We have shelter from storms. We have a home. It's not as big as we want obviously. It's getting pretty cramped in here, as far as storage. It's not where we want it to be located either. We are country folks who want to live in the country. I'll get to that one later on.
• I realized that this home is not my true home. It's only borrowed from my Father. He owns everything,that includes every home on the face of this planet. So why should I get bent out of shape if He doesn't loan me another one? I kept saying I can't wait to get our home,our washer and dryer (we don't have one in our apartment,we do have a laundry room on site we use), our this,and our that. It's not mine,none of it is, whether I have paid it off or not. 
• I realized that we have a yard. It's not as easy to access as I like. I want one I can just walk right out into or watch my boys while inside doing dishes or sitting on the porch. I can't do that here,but it is a nice side yard that they enjoy playing on. It's a beautiful view of greenery and has a huge Oak tree to play under. It has some dirt for them to dig in and plenty of grass to run in.
• I realized that God may not want us in the middle of nowhere. He has used it here to minister to others and be ministered too by others. Our landlord has been such a blessing to us. Somethings that she has done for us, I am still grateful for. Our first maintenance man was someone we were able to minister too, along with our landlord. My husband wants to be in the middle of nowhere. I just want to have very few neighbors with less likely hood of any moving in. Ha! The more I have lived here the less I like people, really. People can be rude, annoying,and mean. Well, may be God wants us to have neighbors that need Him or that would bless us. It's not something I like,probably the lest of them all. I think of all the horrible things that could happen to us with neighbors,especially close ones. So this country family may have to stay in the "city".

These have not been easy to realize at all and some I still don't want to believe them all. I want to believe God will give us just what we want. He will,once we surrender to Him and delight in Him, He will change our hearts desires to His heart desires. He has been doing that.,even with my husband. We actually thought on the same  about how God may want us to have neighbors and when I brought it up. He said jokingly don't even go there,God has already dealt with me on it and I'm not really happy about it. I am glad we can be honest and open with one another. My husband is not a people person,but God has been transforming him to be His spokesperson.

So that is just somethings that are going on in my mind and heart right now.

Summer break here we come!

I've been pretty quiet lately. It seems life just picked up again. Times and seasons change so often in life,it seems even more so when you are raising children. It's turned summer here,though it's not officially summer until June. Hot and humid are not my favorite combinations. We are almost done with schooling. I am as excited as the boys are for it to be summer break. I won't get the pleasure of sleeping in,but I will have that free time that school usually takes up, only to be taken up by something else I am sure. The boys are growing so fast and learning so much. Daniel is 5 1/2 and is officially potty trained in all areas. He's been day trained since he was about 3. Now he is night trained and no longer needs a pull up. He is growing so much. He's so smart and talkative. He's like his Mama,a social bug. He loves to draw and loves anything Military related. It's amazing to watch him grow. Aaron is 3 1/2 and acts much older than that. He is a comical one. He loves to sing and dance too. He told me the other day he was going to be a worship leader. It made my heart smile. He already can recognize all his ABC's and his coloring in the lines has improved also. He loves cars,trucks,tractors,and anything that goes vroom. He is a little boy through and through. He is a tender child too,so sweet. Johnathan,aka Binky, is 23 months. He will hit the big 2 June 29th. Wow. He has grown so much in the last couple months. He is potty training and doing so well. He started about 3 months ago on his own. He is getting to the point where he knows when he needs to go. He even wakes up some mornings dry. He amazes me to be his age and be able to comprehend what he does. I know it's because of his brothers. He is saying words and even has put short sentences together like "I want that Mommy." or "I want down." He is a mixture of the oldest two. He is comical,outgoing,quiet,loud,and sweet. He loves horses,particularly the Black Stallion series. Oh my. He is just plain adorable!

We are still living in our small apartment, not sure what we will do about living. We may stay here and we may not. Sort of in a waiting period I guess. It can be frustrating,but whatever God wants we will do. Sometimes it is so hard to know what He wants. So we go with our peace. We had a chance on a home last summer and once we got into the process of it,we had no peace. So we backed off. We're trying to be content where we are because God is still blessing us here. It seems when you try to be content you are tested. That is not an easy thing at all. This week has been our first week in 3 weeks without something going wrong at the apartment. It can almost make you want to give up,but we didn't. We can't really. We are too determined to loose the fight. Our boys are fighters too and I love it. We are instilling them the values that used to and still is (but far and few between) be instilled in children. Hard work, love much, and follow Jesus. Simple, yet profound. I love to home school because I can impart in them things that will be there forever. I get too make an impact close and personal with 2 human souls. What a job! I fail so many times,but I ask for grace and strength to do the task set before me. I am blessed to have a man by my side that wants what I want for our boys and future. I couldn't ask for better that's for sure. He is the perfect match for me.

Our church family is incredible too.We love our small yet giving church. Our Pastor is an anointed man of God. He's so shy until he is preaching. When he is preaching the Spirit of God is speaking through him. He's one of a kind now days. Our boys are making friends and learning more in children's church and teaching others too. It feels good to be back in a body of believers. It's not a perfect church and if it were we would have to go or else we'd mess it up. It's an imperfect body of believers serving a perfect God.

That's our life right now. Raising children for the glory of God!

Thankful Thursday

Rain. I am thankful for rain. It can be inconvenient at times for sure. Like today, we are going to have supper/play date with a family we are good friends with and go to church with. We were looking forward to letting the kids play outside. It is supposed to be raining and some thunderstorms. You know what though? God knows we must need it. Rain is so refreshing to listen too when it's not the stormy kind. The other night it rained,but was the pleasant kind. The boys and I sat on Aaron's bed and raised the window so we could hear and enjoy it. Rain cleanses the earth. It's like God's grace washing away all the filth. It helps our plants grow and our gardens flourish. I used to love sitting on our porch and watching it rain. The smell after the rain  is refreshing too. So though it may put a damper on our plans today, I am thankful we get rain.

What are you thankful for? Join Iris @ Grace Alone for more posts. 

Thankful Thursday

What are you thankful for today? Join Iris @ Grace Alone to share what is on your heart.

I'm thankful for clothes. It sounds so simple,but it's not. There are many in other countries and even in America that don't have lots of clothes. I was able to go shopping today for some church clothes. Every other year I have been pregnant since 2007 and this year I am not. I have lost some weight and needed some clothes that fit me. My hubby kept all 3 boys while I went out at lunch and was gone until late this evening. I enjoyed myself and didn't rush. I stay on a pretty tight schedule when I am at home,so it felt good to just relax. I found some pretty skirts and maxi dresses to wear to church. I like to dress modest and now days that is hard to do unless you really take time. I looked and looked and tried on so much. I found things that are appropriate for church and anywhere else. It's funny how clothes to make you feel good. They keep us warm or can help us cool off. They are such a wonderful thing to have. I'm thankful I have clothes I not only need,but that I want.

What are you thankful for?

Friday's Fave Five

Join us as we look back at our favorites or blessings from the week. Susanne @ Living to Tell the Story is our host,so be sure to link up with her.

1. Softball Sunday... Every 4th Sunday when the time changes and the evenings are longer, our church doesn't have night service. We gather back together to grill outside and fellowship. The kids play and the adults do too. I think it just took on the name softball Sunday because the adults played softball. We had a great time this past Sunday. We invite others who don't have anything to do that evening.
2. Spring cleaning... We did some deep cleaning Tuesday and Wednesday morning. I love to clean! I love the smell of the freshness. My husband steamed cleaned our carpet,which needed it badly. We cleaned windows,the bathroom, and replaced some things. 
3. Great conversation... We had some friends over Wednesday evening for supper. They go to church with us and have a boy and a girl close to our boys age. Jenn brought a Greek salad and I baked chicken spaghetti. We had a great time!
4. Resurrection activities... The boys took upon themselves to draw some pictures at breakfast this week. Daniel is a good little artist. They drew some pictures of Jesus on the cross and of the empty tomb. We did role playing last night of the Passover and betrayal of Jesus upon their request. Today we read the first part of the crucifixion and are doing the scene with a Resurrection set I printed out. We have Jesus on the cross and will take him off and put him in the tomb this evening. Sunday morning I am going to take him out and they will look for him. We also watched the Passover,Betrayal,and Crucifixion last night. It's a great animated story I found. We had some good discussions. We don't do eggs,easter bunny,or baskets.
5. Coffee.. I bought some new coffee today. It's called Seattle's Best. I have been drinking Dunkin' Donuts,but wanted to try something new! I found a great creamer by Bailey's. It's Almond Toffee and it's so good!
6. Bonus... We are starting Spring Break Monday. They are pretty excited and so am I!

I pray you all reflect and meditate deeply on the crucifixion today and tomorrow. Think of how our Lord suffered so we may be in right standing with God,our Father. How awesome!!! Yet, how sad at the same time. I hate that Jesus had to be put through so much pain for the whole world. My perspective and feelings have changed over the years at how I look and observer this holy time. I pray you know our Lord and know He is risen and He is alive! 

Thankful Thursday

This time of the year for Christians is so vital in who we are today. I'm so thankful for Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross. I look at Resurrection day a lot different than I used too. Growing up we dyed and hunted the eggs,had baskets with goodies,and always got a new outfit. We knew Jesus died and came back to life,but it was not a focal point for us. My Mother was born again,but my Daddy was not. It wasn't until I was almost 24 that I really started looking at "Easter" different. My Lord was in so much agony over this that He prayed/cried so hard drops of blood fell from His head while in the garden of Gethsemane. He was beat so bad he was unrecognizable. That is not something pleasant to think about. He would take on the sin of the world! He would be separated from God because of it. God would literally turn His back on His Son and not look at Him. That is not something to take lightly. It's not something to overlook either. It was a very sad and horrific day for the followers of Jesus. I am thankful Jesus did this for me and for you. He made a way for us to be reconciled back to the Father. How awesome! How glorious! The joy came in the morning when Jesus came back to life just as He said. That is the happy part. I still think it's not to be taken lightly. We want our boys to know the true meaning of Resurrection day and we don't want to take the focus off of it for one second. I want them to grow up knowing what Jesus did for them.

What are you thankful for? Join Laurie @ Woman Taking A Stand for more posts and to link up!

Friday's Fave Five

I didn't get to link up as early today,but still wanted to get my post in! Join us and share your favorites from the week.

1. Bonding time... My husband took our 2 older boys camping for one night this week. I missed them a lot,but it is awesome to see my husband take up time with my boys. There is so much more he could have been doing,but he chose to spend time with them.
2. Giving... I love to give! I make jewelry and I did a give-a-way on my Facebook page this week. It was so much fun and always is to do. I made 3 pieces to give away. From the Heart Jewelry by Heather is my page for anyone interested.
3. Outside time... we have had such great weather this week and I took the big boys out while the toddler slept in this morning. We had a blast! They found some snails,worms,and rollie pollies.
4. Friends... We went to some good friends house yesterday evening for a birthday party. It does me good to see my kids forming friendships. They had fun and I had a great visit with a good friend of mine.
5. In-Laws... My oldest SIL came over today and one of my nieces. It's always fun for the boys to have family come over. We even made a trip to Michael's,Hobby Lobby,and to get ice cream. 

Hope everyone has had a wonderful week! Link up with Susanne @ Living to Tell the Story for more posts.