It's time to remind myself of the big things God has done in my life. Do you ever do that--make a list of the miraculous things he's done over many years? Without such a list it's easy to forget what a faithful, omniscient God we serve. Feel free to make a short list from your own life in the comments section? It would bless others!
God's miraculous works in my life:
- A very small percentage of people come to the Lord after age 18. The Lord grabbed hold of me at age 31! I still cry tears of joy over it, knowing how blessed I am.
- When I was thirty-two years old, a wonderful Christian man stepped into my life. We met during a church hiking event. Nine months later we married--me at age 33, him at nearly 41--first marriage for both of us.
- I was engaged twice in my twenties, while a non-Christian. The Lord kept me fickle and single for a purpose. I thank Him often for that, even though it's painful to look like I could be my two-year-old's grandmother. Divorce is one of the ugliest things humans do, and as Christians, we have God's power to avoid it--to forgive and persevere through His power, not our own. (I don't mean to imply here that you should stay in a home with an abusive husband. Be safe.)
- I have four wonderful children who bless my socks off every. single. day.--despite the fact that I started baring children ten years later than most women, and in my teens through my late twenties battled a nasty case of endometriosis (thank the Lord for blessing me with a laparoscopy and a good OBGYN surgeon).
- I had $26,000 in outstanding student loans when I married in 1999. My husband hated that debt and prayed regularly that we'd be able to pay it off in a lump sum, by some miracle. I thought he was a bit crazy to keep praying that, but in 2005 the housing market had boomed enough in California that we were able to pay it off with the sale of our first home--a home we'd owned less than four years!
- I lost my first baby and two months into the grief, I wanted the Lord to take me home. I hurt and I didn't feel I had anything to live for. Not too many years after that, I thanked Him for that experience--for the heart-wrenching pain of lying in a maternity ward, knowing I would soon be dilated enough to deliver my dead baby at 21 weeks gestation, while all around me on that hospital floor, active, loud heartbeat monitors advertised the joy that wouldn't be mine. I knew I'd be going to a funeral home, making arrangements, while the other women learned to nurse their beautiful new babies. Yes, I still thank Him for that experience. It was a gift--changing me in ways I could never have willed to happen in my own heart.
What kind of God turns some of the worst pain you can imagine, into a conscious blessing?
My God!
John 20:30, 31 “Many other signs therefore did Jesus in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye may have life in his name.”
Rom. 10:17 “So belief cometh of hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”
.....to be continued.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
blessings and a Good Samaritan
My heart is thankful, so thankful today, for...........
- anger outbursts (Peter's) that disappeared as mysteriously as they appeared (Praise God for peace!)
- siblings involved in imaginative play, thanks to brother Peter, who leads them and concocts wonderful playtime scenarios
- that there haven't been any new white hairs in my head for awhile. I think I'll be okay without color for a couple more years, maybe? Grace of God, that is, since I don't have the money to color my hair right now!
- paint, beads and other crafts--they delight my children so much!
- Geronimo Stilton chapter books, which we found just as Peter was finishing up all the Magic School Bus Chapter books.
- Beth's excitement over training diapers she can slip on and off easily. Makes things easier for Momma, now that Beth has taken to stripping down naked many times a day!
- My Mary's many hugs.
- the Good Samaritan we encountered at the library last Saturday. Our van has 200,000 miles on it (I just checked today and was shocked)! Two door handles have broken from the outside, the second of which is the big slider door handle--happening as we were getting the troops out to enter the library last Sat. Husband was beside himself with frustration, because we couldn't close the door and it was 5 degrees outside. This happened two days after a flat tire occurred on a bitterly cold night on his way from one job to another, with no flashlight in the car, and only one glove available. The spare tire was ancient and he wasn't sure it would do him any good, but it held up well enough to get him through his graveyard jobs and back home.
Anyhow, we took the kids into the library and then he went back outside to continue working on closing the door. I think he was frustrated enough to almost cry, to tell you the truth. Life is very complicated right now, due to things breaking frequently in the house and with the van--and no money for repairs.
I was thinking to myself that there was no way God was going to leave us with a van--our only vehicle--that had a broken slider door. I spoke these words into my husband's ear as he left the library. I think a frequent visitor to the library, who has seen us several times on Saturdays, heard part of the conversation (husband's voice is prominent when he's frustrated). He watched my husband go back outside. He then quickly checked out his books and began helping my husband. Twenty minutes later they learned how to close the door without the handle, which was problematic because the inside of the door has broken parts and is really just a shell of a door (we've been living with that situation for awhile).
Sorry for the long story, but it taught husband and me so much! Faith is a day by day walk--sometimes even moment by moment. We mustn't lose heart!
- anger outbursts (Peter's) that disappeared as mysteriously as they appeared (Praise God for peace!)
- siblings involved in imaginative play, thanks to brother Peter, who leads them and concocts wonderful playtime scenarios
- that there haven't been any new white hairs in my head for awhile. I think I'll be okay without color for a couple more years, maybe? Grace of God, that is, since I don't have the money to color my hair right now!
- paint, beads and other crafts--they delight my children so much!
- Geronimo Stilton chapter books, which we found just as Peter was finishing up all the Magic School Bus Chapter books.
- Beth's excitement over training diapers she can slip on and off easily. Makes things easier for Momma, now that Beth has taken to stripping down naked many times a day!
- My Mary's many hugs.
- the Good Samaritan we encountered at the library last Saturday. Our van has 200,000 miles on it (I just checked today and was shocked)! Two door handles have broken from the outside, the second of which is the big slider door handle--happening as we were getting the troops out to enter the library last Sat. Husband was beside himself with frustration, because we couldn't close the door and it was 5 degrees outside. This happened two days after a flat tire occurred on a bitterly cold night on his way from one job to another, with no flashlight in the car, and only one glove available. The spare tire was ancient and he wasn't sure it would do him any good, but it held up well enough to get him through his graveyard jobs and back home.
Anyhow, we took the kids into the library and then he went back outside to continue working on closing the door. I think he was frustrated enough to almost cry, to tell you the truth. Life is very complicated right now, due to things breaking frequently in the house and with the van--and no money for repairs.
I was thinking to myself that there was no way God was going to leave us with a van--our only vehicle--that had a broken slider door. I spoke these words into my husband's ear as he left the library. I think a frequent visitor to the library, who has seen us several times on Saturdays, heard part of the conversation (husband's voice is prominent when he's frustrated). He watched my husband go back outside. He then quickly checked out his books and began helping my husband. Twenty minutes later they learned how to close the door without the handle, which was problematic because the inside of the door has broken parts and is really just a shell of a door (we've been living with that situation for awhile).
Sorry for the long story, but it taught husband and me so much! Faith is a day by day walk--sometimes even moment by moment. We mustn't lose heart!
Monday, January 24, 2011
He said Yes!
Praise God! He said yes to our prayers! Ann Voskamp's newborn niece has recovered. Her sister writes so beautifully of the journey here.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
I'm crazy about my two year old
Why I'm Crazy About My Two Year Old
- She is potty training herself.
- When my Mary, age four, asks me to turn on the bathroom light so she can use the bathroom, Beth, age two, comes running, excitement spilling over, yelling "I do it!''. She hoists her tummy up onto the bathroom counter and turns on the light for big sister.
- When I announce a meal time, Beth squeals with glee and runs to her booster seat, trying so hard to fasten her belt by herself.
- When Momma sneaks a handful of chocolate chips from the baking cupboard, Beth instinctively knows, and must have her share.
- She's a crazy sleeper, moving every which way, sometimes even plopping herself onto my shoulder or chest as though they were pillows--giving me the gift of a long, long hug. All daytime hugs are short....far too short. Though it will feel good to really sleep well again one day, I'm not in a hurry for her to leave my side at night. God's grace prevails, knowing I particularly need these memories more than a prescribed amount of sound sleep.
- Her curly light brown hair bounces down her back as she scurries around the house, getting in mischief. Her scurry is a gleeful gallop--one I'll fondly recall.
- She pushes the wet laundry into the dryer like a champ.
- She removes clean dishes swiftly from the dishwasher, forcing Momma to hurry with the breakables before Miss Beth grabs them, too.
- She colors for three minutes, paints for ten minutes, builds train track for two minutes, plays tea time for six minutes, folds washcloths for four minutes, and finally......she tries on and changes outfits found in her pajama drawer for twenty minutes! Will she love fashion, do you think?
- Her smile is one-of-a-kind adorable, memorable, dreamy, melting every heart.
- She stays with me most of the day, helping, getting into cupboards and drawers in whatever room we're in, wanting to be a Momma herself.
- When she wakes up in the morning she crawls out of our king bed, grabs my slippers, and either puts them down on the floor just right for me, or, if I don't spring out of bed fast enough, she throws them at me.
- When she strips herself naked, which lately happens seven times a day (remember she's potty training herself?) she loves to run through the house squealing, buck-naked. At two, she thinks she needs to remove all her clothes to use the potty.
- She dangles off the bathroom counter and puts the toddler toothpaste on the brush herself, brushes, rinses, spits, and then allows Momma to brush them again, for good measure.
- She listens attentively to every word around here, and if leaving the house is talked about, she grabs me and inquires with fervent hope in her eyes, "I go too?"
- She prays at every meal, and though we don't understand most of it, she is delighted with herself and her Jesus.
- She wakes up in the middle of the night at least twice, saying so sweetly, so sleepily, "Nurse, please?"
Now the tears are flowing..........
The average age to self-wean (worldwide) is about four years old. I hope my little one will give me at least one more year of sweet nursing memories. Sigh.
Is there any better companion than a two year old?
- She is potty training herself.
- When my Mary, age four, asks me to turn on the bathroom light so she can use the bathroom, Beth, age two, comes running, excitement spilling over, yelling "I do it!''. She hoists her tummy up onto the bathroom counter and turns on the light for big sister.
- When I announce a meal time, Beth squeals with glee and runs to her booster seat, trying so hard to fasten her belt by herself.
- When Momma sneaks a handful of chocolate chips from the baking cupboard, Beth instinctively knows, and must have her share.
- She's a crazy sleeper, moving every which way, sometimes even plopping herself onto my shoulder or chest as though they were pillows--giving me the gift of a long, long hug. All daytime hugs are short....far too short. Though it will feel good to really sleep well again one day, I'm not in a hurry for her to leave my side at night. God's grace prevails, knowing I particularly need these memories more than a prescribed amount of sound sleep.
- Her curly light brown hair bounces down her back as she scurries around the house, getting in mischief. Her scurry is a gleeful gallop--one I'll fondly recall.
- She pushes the wet laundry into the dryer like a champ.
- She removes clean dishes swiftly from the dishwasher, forcing Momma to hurry with the breakables before Miss Beth grabs them, too.
- She colors for three minutes, paints for ten minutes, builds train track for two minutes, plays tea time for six minutes, folds washcloths for four minutes, and finally......she tries on and changes outfits found in her pajama drawer for twenty minutes! Will she love fashion, do you think?
- Her smile is one-of-a-kind adorable, memorable, dreamy, melting every heart.
- She stays with me most of the day, helping, getting into cupboards and drawers in whatever room we're in, wanting to be a Momma herself.
- When she wakes up in the morning she crawls out of our king bed, grabs my slippers, and either puts them down on the floor just right for me, or, if I don't spring out of bed fast enough, she throws them at me.
- When she strips herself naked, which lately happens seven times a day (remember she's potty training herself?) she loves to run through the house squealing, buck-naked. At two, she thinks she needs to remove all her clothes to use the potty.
- She dangles off the bathroom counter and puts the toddler toothpaste on the brush herself, brushes, rinses, spits, and then allows Momma to brush them again, for good measure.
- She listens attentively to every word around here, and if leaving the house is talked about, she grabs me and inquires with fervent hope in her eyes, "I go too?"
- She prays at every meal, and though we don't understand most of it, she is delighted with herself and her Jesus.
- She wakes up in the middle of the night at least twice, saying so sweetly, so sleepily, "Nurse, please?"
Now the tears are flowing..........
The average age to self-wean (worldwide) is about four years old. I hope my little one will give me at least one more year of sweet nursing memories. Sigh.
Is there any better companion than a two year old?
Saturday, January 22, 2011
grief beautifully expressed; God in the words
Remember the mother who lost her toddler in a horrible, heavy-dresser accident? She writes of her grief, of her hope for the future, so beautifully. Her blog is now on my sidebar: roscommonacres.com. I don't actually get to many of the blogs listed there myself, but if you have time, hers is so worth the time.
It probably seems strange for me to refer you to a grief blog, but even as raw as her pain is right now (pray for her!), I still see Jesus in her words. Expect to see Him reveal Himself through her story, more and more each post.
It probably seems strange for me to refer you to a grief blog, but even as raw as her pain is right now (pray for her!), I still see Jesus in her words. Expect to see Him reveal Himself through her story, more and more each post.
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