Thankful Thursday Christmas Edition

I am beyond thankful for the manger, for Jesus coming to our world and being born to die for our sins! How truly amazing that we have a Savior who came in the form of a baby born in humble conditions, but yet, the most High King~ how I imagine Mary and Joseph kissing the face of our Savior... I love the song Joseph's lullaby, it's one of my favorite Christmas songs by Mercy Me.

Go to sleep my Son
This manger for your bed
You have a long road before You
Rest Your little head

Can You feel the weight of Your glory?
Do You understand the price?
Does the Father guard Your heart for now
So You can sleep tonight?

Go to sleep my Son
Go and chase Your dreams
This world can wait for one more moment
Go and sleep in peace

I believe the glory of Heaven
Is lying in my arms tonight
Lord, I ask that He for just this moment
Simply be my child

Go to sleep my Son
Baby, close Your eyes
Soon enough You'll save the day
But for now, dear Child of mine
Oh my Jesus, Sleep tight

As we are preparing our home and lives for Christmas with family and friends, I want to remind myself that this is all about Jesus, not the gifts, the clean house, or the good food, all of which are wonderful, but aren't the reasons for this wonderful time of year. May the eyes of my heart and music in my soul, worship Jesus and thank God for sending us His son to save the world! What a perfect gift! How excited I am to share this gift with the people in Italy, to share Jesus with everyone around us, to be His eyes and ears and words to those around us, no matter where we go! Praying for His peace this Christmas, it can be a hard time of year for people, and sharing Christ's love and taking time to really see beyond our own noses is so important.

I had the opportunity to ring bells for the Salvation Army with some 8th grade boys from Lincoln Christian School on Wednesday, and I had the wonderful privilege of meeting a man named Joe, he was ringing bells before and after our 2 hour shift. I was able to chat with him for a bit and hear about his journey and pain, sharing with him the hope we have in Jesus, he shared his apartment had burned down last Christmas and he was homeless for awhile and had nothing, literally the little he had owned burned up. Although he shared that he was living in another apartment, he was still struggling to make ends meet, he was currently out of work, and yet he felt like giving back and ringing bells for the Salvation Army. Listening to him talk about his hard times and hearing how he thought that all kids today were selfish, but he said after watching these 8th grade boys and hearing them talk about why they were there, he said he was so happy to hear that not all kids are as bad as he thought. Here was a 54 year old man who was changed his opinion about youth by seeing four 8th grade boys give time. How often we just aren't willing to give of our precious time.. I am praying for Joe this Christmas, praying that he feels the love of Jesus, and that others will come along side him and nurture the seed that was planted yesterday.

May this Christmas be wonderful for you and your family and may the Savior of the World Jesus be the gift you cherish most!

Christmas week...

Well, I've been a bit busy and sadly have not posted for a bit.. but I just wanted to say that I am very thankful for this busy season! I have enjoyed many Christmas Concerts and felt all together excited about Christmas festivities! I have a day of cleaning planned at home and at the kids' school where we clean once a week too... so this day will be filled with preparations and tidying up! I am thankfully feeling a bit better, I have been battling a sore throat the last couple days, but it seems to be on the mend! Praise God! Who has time to be sick? I will post more later, as of now I'm off to clean!

Monday motivation...

Well, it's Monday and I am not feeling very motivated, I must say.. I have things to do, I usually change sheets on all the beds on Monday, but I am lacking some motivation this morning. My thought process was that maybe I would find this missing motivation while typing out the to do's of the day... and slowly I am realizing that sitting here at the computer on my comfy couch is not really helping.. So, I must get off my duff and actually work at it! Motivation is found while working toward it... effort is needed!

Much about this fundraising process or deputation is work! It takes us working towards God's end goal of Italy to get us there. His motivation is found when I seek it.. I have to choose to move towards it.. and some days I will admit, it's not my top priority...but I am asking for God's motivation today, motivation to run the race set before me, taking those strides to see His goal achieved.. pray for me that I would not lose focus of the work before me, that I would not become lazy...

I am off to do some housework.. motivation within reach! :)

Thankful Thursday

Cookies were created and boxed with Oasis Youth Group and H2O to give to the community


I made the icicles out of village snow material and then hung little bells off some of the ends to dress up my cabinet


this is our master bedroom tree.. it's rustic inspired


Our front room tree love shiny bright ornaments and old family ornaments

Christmas brings out my creative side. It's been a fun few days of primping and fussing with decorations! I have scoured through magazines, blogs, old photos, and windowed shopped for ideas wherever possible. I am a research kind of girl. I love digging for information, gathering it, and visually making those ideas come to life. I am thankful for art! Art for me is inspiring! I feel inspired after looking at other people's creative fingerprint. I feel energized and accomplished when I finish a project. Hope you enjoyed seeing some of the little projects! :)

boom, pound, clunk

Today the roofers have started roofing! It started out to be somewhat of a startle, even though we knew they would eventually reach our complex.. the sound reminds me of Santa and his reindeer on the roof, just that they are very very loud... I am grateful for the new roof, grateful that we live in a complex that puts money back into a making our home well kept. I don't know if tomorrow I will find this noise as endearing as I do today, wondering just how long this will take them... all along hoping that they don't fall through our roof.... :)

I am reminded however, of one of our team members Grayson, who is a roofer by profession and I have been reminded to pray for him, it's cold outside today and I can't imagine actually getting on a roof and walking around, it seems dangerous.. and chilly for sure! Thankful for people who are willing to get up there and make the roof secure and keep the water out!

Thankful Thursday

Be Thankful
By Author Unknown
Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire.
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?
Be thankful when you don't know something,
for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.
Be thankful for your limitations,
because they give you opportunities for improvement.
Be thankful for each new challenge,
because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes. They will teach you valuable lessons.
Be thankful when you're tired and weary,
because it means you've made a difference.

It's easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who
are also thankful for the setbacks.
Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles,
and they can become your blessings.

My mom always said I was a "wordy" person, it was probably a nice way of saying I liked to talk a lot! Which is true, I enjoy talking. I like cards that have a lot of words in them, I love reading, I am good about filling a void in conversation, chatter to me is never meaningless!

Last night at Oasis Doug preached on self-control; we are going through the fruits of the spirit this year with our high schoolers. This topic and fruit made for interesting conversation in my small group and more importantly Holy Spirit spoke to me about my words. My words need to reflect a grateful heart! I am incredibly grateful, however, it's easy to miss my gratefulness because my words probably don't sound all that grateful to my husband at the end of a long day of running errands or cleaning up the house. I tend to be an open book and share a lot about what's on my heart, but what is on my heart? Is my heart thankful? If it is, then my words should line up with that! I felt convicted.... I desire to show the world that God is Good, not only in the wonderful, easy, blessed times, but in the hard, ugly and stressful ones too! May the words on my lips this day, be marked with Thanksgiving!

Psalm 69:30 I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.

Fourteen Years!

Today my hubby and I are celebrating fourteen years of marriage! It's amazing how time flies! Thinking back and reminising about our wedding day and looking back at how young we looked.. because we were eighteen and nineteen years old! Wow, we were young! We spent the day together, went to Fireworks resturant for a wonderful lunch and then shopped around. It was a wonderful day! I am looking forward to many, many more wonderful anniversaries! We talked today about what anniversaries 16-20 will look like in Italy! What a blast those will be too! But we are off to clean the school tonight...now that's romance. :)

Thanksgiving!

Oh, what a wonderful day we have had! We woke up around 8:00 and put in the turkey, we watched the Macy Thanksgiving parade in our jammies, drank coffee, ate donuts, and had an all together merry little thanksgiving! Had all the fixins about 1:00; turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, warm rolls, and if I do say so myself amazing gravy! I made two pumpkin pies, that we will enjoy after the Christmas tree is up.. it's in the process right now! My wonderful hubby is an amazing lighting expert and has put about 800 lights on our little 6 and 1/2 foot tree.. he decided to add a bit of red to our gold lights, and wrapped them around the trunk of the tree and hung gold all around! It's gorgeous! My heart is full! I am thankful beyond words, thankful for a warm house, wonderful family and most importantly in awe of God's amazing love! My son and daughter made me cry as we prayed today at the table.. Caleb prayed for blessing on Michael who provides the roof over our head, the food on our table, and is a great daddy.. Faith prayed for the people down at People's City Mission in Lincoln, we served together as a family last night at the homeless shelter with our Oasis Youth and Faith prayed for those who had no table of their own to sit around.. and we prayed for Italy... reflecting on all we have and how blessed we are.. all Glory to God! This is one of my favorite days of the year for sure! Family, great food and laughter! Blessings to you and yours!

Favoring Friday!

Oh how I love knowing the weekend is only one day away! There is something about Fridays that makes my heart sing! I love that I get to have a lazy Saturday tomorrow with my kids and can sit around in my pj's and watch cartoons with them! Snuggling under a blanket and eating cereal in the front room.. weekends are so wonderful! Michael is working this weekend, but it's his opening weekend, which means he gets to be home with us in the evenings.. I don't mind these kinds of working weekends so much.. it's the closing ones that are hard! I am just feeling really pumped about having time to just veg tomorrow! As I am preparing to head to the store and figure out our weekend meals, I just wanted to share how much I am enjoying my day! Dreaming of lazy couch time and snuggling with my kids!

Thankful it's Thursday oddities edition

I am feeling the need to just be thankful for Thursday! This is a day that reminds me weekly to sit down and share what I am most thankful for... there are so many things in my life that are great blessings; good friends, amazing family, awesome husband, wonderful kids... So I thought how about sharing some quirky things that I am thankful for? That's what I am thinking for today, the strange little things that I really appreciate... should be funny! :)


yeah.. nuff said


I am a sucker for limited edition anything :)


I carry this everywhere


Love spraying this on my sheets or when I want to freshen up the linen closet...

Just thought I'd share some funny things that I am thankful for... next week will be more serious.. maybe :) Enjoy your Thursday!! :)

Conversing

(the picture in my kitchen fits the mood perfectly!)

This weekend was filled with laughter and fellowship! Nicole came and spent Saturday night and Sunday with us and we had the most enjoyable weekend! We caught up and dreamed about all the things the future may hold. It is always so wonderful to say things that are in your heart and watch them take wings in conversation! This weekend was all about that! It was about being amazed at how God works! Only He could have orchestrated the meeting of Nicole and I... we both allowed that to sink in and just laughed at the way in which things can come together! How grateful I am that our paths crossed, how grateful I am to call Nicole friend! It was a wonderful weekend that went too fast! I am still basking in the joy of our time together!

A Word from Our Kids Part II

Caleb's Viewpoint

I am very exited to get to be a missionary. Knowing I get to be used to do God's work is great. Even though he doesn't need us he uses us anyway. That's pretty cool to think about. Although there have been some struggles. There are some times where people think we're going just for fun or that it is going to be tough living in Italy (which is said in sarcasim). Which make's me very upset. We are going for one reason and one reason alone. To reach the unreached and to expand the Kingdom of God. We also want to feed the hungry and help the poor!

And Now A Word From Our Kids Part 1

A Word from Faith~

In my life some cool things have happened, but not as cool as what I'm going to do. I'm really excited for what's to come of my family in a new country. Yes I will be scared of some things there but not as scary as going into a plane for the first time. Yet I'm really excited to try new foods, and get a dog too! This isn't all about us this is about God using us to make a difference in the world, by telling others about Jesus dying for our sins. The Lord loves everyone, so we should try to tell everyone about his love. God has given us many things in our life, we are blessed with great things, but what about the people who don't have God or aren't as blessed as we are? We are going there to help them and to serve the Lord. I don't need an all American life, I'll do just fine in a different place. I might not have the same schooling system but I'm really excited to see what other schools are like. I can't wait to go and I'm excited to see what the future brings.

Ponderings

What if? What if someone had said, "There is one church in Omaha, don't build anymore!" Or, "Let's stay in England, who needs religious freedom?" Or, "Why become a Pastor? There are plenty of Pastors in the World!" Or, "Why be a missionary? Aren't there other missionaries?" Arguments and discussions about religion happen all the time, everywhere! There is persecution of the church no matter where you are. No one ever said to Mike when he was looking at seminary and said, "Don't do that, there are more than enough Pastors." Praise God! We never found the push back of our convictions until we said we were going to be missionaries in Italy. It's weird that people have such strong opinions now about our path and yet, when Michael was planning to be a youth pastor, we didn't have the same kinds of reactions. It just makes me ponder, why it's okay to be a Pastor in the United States, where there are churches at every corner and people don't seem to be up in arms about doing that job... yet, when you say we are leaving and going to another country that they feel is less deserving of being reached for Christ based on the fact that this said country has a "Catholic heritage"... I mean really? Doesn't the US have a "Christian heritage" and yet, still people are becoming priests and pastors here... are people as outraged by that? I know that not everyone will understand or agree with whatever decision we make about ministry, there will be those that think that Pastors are unneeded as much as they think that missionaries are unneeded. And I don't need to justify my position or make people understand, but there is this feeling I am wrestling with that wants to ask why Italy doesn't deserve missionaries? Why because you consider it a vacation destination and not a place that is greatly in need of the love of Christ? I wonder, what if Jesus has said, "Well, we tried, but they won't ever get it, so why die?".... I am glad that He is wiser than I! I am glad that He died in spite of my pride and while I was yet a sinner! Because who can understand the height and depth of the love of Christ? His love is moving! Here I am Lord... all my innermost ponderings and questions and I pray that I will keep firm on the call you have placed on our hearts! I pray that I will show your love in spite of my frustrations and that I can fully rely on you! You are all that matters, I don't need the world to understand, help me to not worry about what other people think, help me to keep my eyes fixed on you! John 16:33 In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

Deputation

Will I look back at these deputation days with great feelings of warm fuzzies or feelings of thank God it's over? As more letters are preparing to go out and we are intentional about making more connections before the Christmas Season takes over, I know that God has continued to bless our fundraising! It's been a fast a furious kind of deputation so far! We are doing really well in raising up supporters and partners in the Mission to Italy! We are over 20% raised for Italy monthly with a matching request out and waiting to see what God does with that. It's amazing to think that we could be at 40% soon... There is still a long way to go though. We are trying not to lose focus and momentum.. but it's hard to keep up the intensity sometimes. I wonder if I should put a pictures of Italy all around my house to remind me visually of the goal? Hoping that when some of our teammates visit Rome soon that they will have lots of photos to share! Looking forward to Michael going over to Italy this Spring with the leadership team and deciding upon the city in which we will be serving... knowing the name of the city will make it even more real I think... because some days it seems unreal.. I am asking that you would pray for us as we continue to raise funds! Pray that more people will stand beside us and that we can be fully funded soon!

Sunday Bliss

I just felt like I should update a bit. It's been a good week and since this is technically the beginning of a new week, I thought I should jot down some thoughts.

- Going to Kirk & Natalie's for what you think will be a quick stay.. never actually is a quick stay!

- Having Halloween candy at easy access while you are watching a movie empties the bowl really fast!

- Having dinner as a family is like the best thing ever

- Watching your child shine on stage doing something they love.. makes you feel like you will burst with joy

- People who hold a note while singing longer than everyone else make me giggle

- Sweatpants are the best

- Christmas ornaments create memories that we will unpack and share for years and years to come

- Sharing life honestly with people takes time and effort but the rewards are so worth it

- I lost 5.5 lbs. this week

- Meeting a friend tomorrow for lunch... going to catch up and talk about Italy...

Random important thoughts that impacted my week.... there were many wonderful experiences this week! I am grateful to be so blessed!

Thankful Thursday!

Well, it's November and so it seems very fitting to be doing Thankful Thursdays! Looking forward to Thanksgiving and all it's yummyness! That's my inspiration today.. yummy food! Maybe it's because I am on a diet and looking at food doesn't mean I am eating such food... Here's my run down on foods I am thankful for! :)


Bruschetta!


Heavenly... whoever thought of this combo is genius!


Ebelskiver! We have these on Christmas Morning and sometimes for company just because! :)



I am kind of skipping ahead to Christmas dishes I love.. Baked Oysters!!


My Grandma Knudsen made a killer cranberry sauce... miss it every year.. someone in the family needs to learn how to make it.. maybe I will attempt it this year!


Okay, this really isn't a food.. but it's an amazing condiment!! Weird fact: I love this drizzled on bananas!

Busyness!

I have come to the conclusion that the one thing that seems to accompany parenting is busyness! Having kids = lots of activities! This has been a very busy school year for us this far! Caleb is involved in Student Council, Drama, Pep Band, Choir, and Basketball right now.. he is gone almost every night with something, it has been a blast and he is loving every moment of it, but whoa the schedule is packed! I am thankful that Faith is still in grade school and even though she is involved in things, it doesn't seem to take up our evenings yet the way that Caleb's activities do! Look out next year... a High Schooler and Middle Schooler...

I had taken the previous week off of facebook and have to admit, I didn't miss it all that much, I was too busy most nights to have the time to think about it! But it was the days at home when I missed it most... the lull at lunch or after I got the kids off to school where I thought.. geez it would be nice to check and see what my friends are doing... I missed the birthday reminders! I didn't realize how much I relied on that! :)

Off to run a few errands or maybe just check my facebook before the night of running Mom's Taxi Service begins! :)

Time for giving thanks!

Understanding the places in your life where thanks needs to be given and where God has blessed us is often times overlooked... I have found that the things we want to change or the things that have not gone the way we wanted are far easier to recognize... I think it's because we become so self focused that we don't recognize the joy and blessing in every day life! Each day is a gift, regardless of how we feel, God never changes.. He is constantly loving, giving, gracious, and so deserving of our praise well beyond how we feel.. Glory needs to be given for each moment he gives us.. beyond the pain, fear, disappointment, or whatever we are going through.. our praises need to lifted to our Lord! Thankfulness is a decision... God sometimes puts us through things and we don't understand why, but in order for us to get the reason we have to go through the pain, sorrow, or anger to reveal God's greater plan. He is constantly molding us.. and that often times requires us to go through things that are difficult and tiresome.. but God's grace is enough! I have been reading Job and I tell you what, I want to reflect the faith that Job had! I want to praise God's name regardless of my situation! To never doubt that God loves me, to never blame God for my pain, but to rejoice always knowing that God is above all circumstances!! I have experienced some disappointments this week.... but I have rejoiced in the Lord, sang out praises to Him until I lost my voice, because He is worthy! I am thankful for the circumstances that have brought me to my knees and humbled me this week! I am thankful for my prayer time and my desire to read my Bible, I am thankful for digging in deeper and seeking God when my heart was heavy with questions~ God is Good!!
Isaiah 55:8
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.

Losing my voice

How awesome is it to lose your voice because you were all out worshipping God? Yeah, that's what I did tonight while we had prayer and praise at Oasis. The band Ambience from Lincoln came to lead our group in worshipping God.. it was so amazing!! Isn't it encouraging to praise the One True Living God with fellow believers! How I needed to be with God tonight... I needed to be with my brothers and sisters in Christ, standing shoulder to shoulder, lifting our voice to the God who is so deserving of our praise! Singing it out until you lose your voice... nothing better!!

Decisions

Life is all about decisions. Deciding what to eat, wear, go, work, ect. The last two mornings due to my son's decision to play basketball, I have had to wake up at like 5:15am. Now, I would not say that I have enjoyed this early routine, but I have enjoyed the prayer time that has come out of it. The house is very quiet up until about 6:40, when alarm clocks start going off for the usual days routine.. so that good hour I have before I take Faith to school has been spent in prayer. Now, I could have decided to go back to bed or wasted time watching TV, but I decided to pray. What I have found is that this decision that last two mornings has been such a huge blessing! The spirit has been working on me and I have felt convicted to pull away from the things that distract me... so I decided to give up facebook for a week. This is not an easy decision for me, I love catching up with people on facebook, looking at what's going on with everyone, finding old and new friends, playing the time wasting games, it's a social outlet for me. However, I felt God pressing me about letting it go for a week... So I am. There are some people in my life right now that have been heavy on my heart and this next week I will have more time to focus on lifting them up in prayer. I pray for my family and friends daily, but I think that not having all the distraction of the computer will help me to remember to pray more often. Who knows maybe I will decide to give up facebook all together after this week..... nah! :)

My heart sings for my Deliverer

Inspired by the reckless abandon that cries out in my heart today... I am praising God for the ways that he stirs the desire in me to be free... He has given me freedom! I am celebrating and rejoicing...

Impact

Reading through my team members blogs and seeing where their hearts have been long before we knew that we would be on the journey with them has blessed my heart tonight. I have been on this journey of missionary for such a short time that it amazes me sometimes just how much it has already impacted my thought process. I grew up in church, had parents who taught me about who God was, I accepted Christ as Savior at around the age of 6 or so, I can't really think of a time when I didn't know God. I however, ran from Him and walked my own path... I am so thankful that He never left me. So here I am, walking with Him to Italy. Who'd have thought? I wonder what my high school Renee would have said if she knew that this was going to be the future. Don't you often wonder if you could sit down with your younger self and let them know that all the decisions that at the time you thought were so monumental were so not! I thought I had my whole life figured out, but boy was I wrong. Here I am thirty two years old, mother of two, married for almost fourteen years, and a missionary. Never would I have seen this life when I was sixteen. However, I wouldn't change a thing about where I am now. I have had my share of struggles and doubts, fears and failures, successes and losses, but through it all God had a plan. He knew where I was heading even though I had no clue and most days I will be honest I take one step at a time and even that one step is filled with blind faith. The steps are leading me one step closer to Italy and I can't wait! I feel like I'm in good company though.. can you imagine being a fishermen, getting up doing your normal morning routine, getting your boat ready, checking nets, heading out to fish and a man calls from shore and says, "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." (Matthew 4:19) It gives me great hope that God is willing to call who he sees fit, far from who we would think would be "qualified"... My heart is joyful for I know that following Jesus wherever He takes me will be the best journey of my life!

Friday Night LIfe

Finding myself alone on this late Friday night, it has left me the opportunity to just ponder lots of things about life in Italy.. I would say that I am a very visual learner.. and having not seen the place that we will be in about twenty months I have let my mind run free with imagined surroundings.. google images helps too :) So here's some pictures of my imaginings...

Servanthood...

God is stirring my heart today about servanthood.. what it looks like... I don't really have the words to reflect on everything that He's been teaching me but I just wanted to share that this is what I most desire to show others that I am not concerned with my own needs above theirs, that God is about them.. that it's not all about me... may I be willing to pour out myself for the glory of God, that I would consider myself less... what if everyone did this? what if? This missionary journey has showed me some amazing things about myself, about what God is doing, about how little life is really about my own little world and how much it's about His heart and passion for the lost, for the broken... for those that think that they are neither... Seeing now that this is the heart I need to have more often, that I need to be willing to not be concerned with my own selfish desires.. reprioritizing my life.. it's a messy process, let me tell you.. but wow, what God is showing me through it... how I am seeking Him more is well worth the mess!

Love this Mother Teresa Quote: "I belong to Jesus. He must have the right to use me without consulting me."

Thankful Thursday!!

You are God's Good Idea... I am God's Good Idea...

Ephesians 1: 3,4

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love

You were created in the mind of God before you were conceived in a womb. You were God's idea. And God is the One who made you for a specific time and place on this earth. You aren't an accident, a mistake, an error, an incident, or a mishap.
He is the One who brought you to an understanding of Jesus Christ as your Savior and raised you up so that you could fulfill His purposes and reflect His glory in spite of every effort of the enemy to destroy you, diminish you, defame you, or discourage you.
The fact is, if you hadn't gone through everything you have gone through, you wouldn't be the person you are today. And God knows that! He has been in the process of creating you, fashioning you, molding you, designing you, refining you, and perfecting you since the moment before the foundations of the earth when He first thought of you!
He gave you your own personality, your own abilities, your own spiritual gifts, and your own identity in Christ so that you, and you alone, might praise Him the way you praise, give what you give, minister like you minister, and love as you love.

He chose us before the foundation of the world... He knew I would be before He created everything... He thought of me on the cross while he suffered and died... and He thought I was worth it! God not only thought of me, but he thought of everyone.. His love and grace covers each and every person... Wow, I am shaken to the core that He would consider someone as messed up, selfish, and unworthy as I to pour out His love upon.. my thanks to Him should be seen in every choice I make, thought I think, and action I make... but it's not.. but God also knew that and He died anyway for me... Jesus' death on the cross was not a stipulation, He didn't die because He knew I would get it all right, He died because I wouldn't and He knew I needed Him! I am so thankful for the fact that I don't have it all figured out, but I know the One who does! I don't have to rely on myself... Praise God for that!

May I listen more closely today to what God is saying.. may I rely less on myself and more on Jesus... Help me to be your hands and feet and your eyes and ears today Jesus.. Help me to remember that I was created for a purpose, but more importantly may I see those around me, wether at the gas station, store, driving.. where ever I go.. as people who are yours, may I show kindness, compassion, grace, and patience... I want to reflect you today... use me to minister your love and love as you love....

Living Life...

So tonight was filled with laughter and I have to say I have really missed my high school girls! Being a small group leader with a bunch of Juniors and Seniors is like the best thing ever! I love their honesty, perspective, joy, & enthusiasm for life! They make me think about scripture differently and challenge me in ways far beyond my capabilities sometimes it seems.. they make me dig in to the Word and open my eyes to how wide and deep God's love is for us... I love their love for God and each other.. they bless my heart by trusting me and letting me into their lives one Wednesday at a time... how I cherish the moments and will hold onto nights like these that remind me how much I have to learn and how greatly God gives to those who ask for His wisdom... we have a very gracious and loving Father.. how thankful I am for that! God is so Good!

Sitting around a table discussing the Fruits of the Spirit and learning how God is impacting and changing their lives and how He is changing mine through His Word is so awesome! I am living in the moment with these young ladies and feel so privileged to do so! But I still can't help but think ahead to life in Italy... I imagine nights much like the one I had tonight, sitting around with people, talking life and allowing questions and discussions and checking Scripture together.. what could be better.. no matter what language your speaking... how I look forward to nights like this in Italy! But for now, I rejoice in nights like this in Crete, NE...

My world...

I think I need to be reminded every now and then (okay like ALL THE TIME!) that there's a bigger picture.... Chasing after you God... chasing after your heart.. chasing after your will.... ugh, how often I chase after mine...

So, you need to know that this week has been a bit rough for me emotionally... I've been struggling with feeling sad about not being pregnant... yeah, I really want more children, I would love to have at least two more... but if you've read other blogs then you know that with my PCOS it's quite a process to get pregnant... and although there are times that I am okay with it, there are times when I am overwhelmed with sadness about it.. That would describe this week for me.. sad... I haven't really talked about it much outside of talking to Michael about it.. he is used to hearing me process this.. he's a patient man... Facebook does not always help with these sad feelings.. it seems like everyone I know is either pregnant or just had a baby.. really! Like everyone! So, that's when I need to remember that God has a bigger picture.. He never stops loving me.. He's here when all I do is cry and don't have words to utter... he knows my unspoken words and my spoken, He can handle my anger and questions and He really is my All in All... So, I am breaking out of my own little world and looking forward to enjoying a weekend away with good friends and family.. how I look forward to celebrating a time of togetherness... how I need to laugh and enjoy myself... breaking out of my own little world of pity..

Thankful Thursday..

Here's 10 reasons I am thankful for my husband...

1. He knows my heart... we were married when we were eighteen and nineteen years old, we've grown up together in many ways and he just gets me... he knows all he needs to do is listen, that I don't need him to "fix" the situation, I just want him to be there.
2. He cooks! He cooks for all family gatherings we host, he cooks for company, he cooks just because! Isn't that wonderful.. he loves cooking and we love eating whatever he makes! :)
3. He loves God... (I know this probably should have been number one, but these are in no particular order) He is a man who lived a hard life growing up.. he could have been a man who was far from God, but he chose to follow God.... I am so thankful for his passion for those who are lost and hurting.. his understanding of that life breaks my heart, but Wow, the ways its brought Glory to God is wonderful to see... You should hear his testimony! :)
4. He is a good Father... he takes time to talk to our children and involves himself in their life and activities.. he prays for them, teaches them how to cook, teaches them about God, works hard so that they are able to have their needs met and their wants taken care of too... He plays board games, gives piggy back rides, takes them to concerts that they are dying to see, I could go on and on...
5. He is a night owl... which leads me to stay up way past my needed bed time most nights.. our kids need to be up no later than 6:30 every morning to get ready for school... which leads me to #6

6. He lets me sleep in sometimes... due to him being a night owl and I tend to require more sleep.. which will lead him to whisper to me in the morning when the alarm goes off, "I have to be to work early, stay in bed, I'll get the kids to school." Love him!! Which is what he did this morning. :)

7. He doesn't wear matching socks.. as a kid he was like in the 7th grade (I think) and he didn't have matching socks clean and it was the time when tube socks with the stripe on top were "in", so he had two different tube socks, so he rolled the tube socks so that you couldn't see the stripe, but as the day went on the socks came unrolled and he was made fun of by the "cool kids" and he was of course hurt, but decided from that day on that he would wear non-matching socks intentionally.. and so he has... he never matches his socks, which makes him quirky and I love that.. which makes doing laundry for me easy when it comes to matching his socks.. I don't have to ;)

8. He goes to the store just to buy ice cream.. When our kids were babies and toddlers.. sometimes after the end of a very long day and the kids were finally in bed, I would ask Michael to go and get ice cream or candy at the store and he would.. this began the late night tradition of candy dates.. where we would be sitting around watching TV and he would be like, "want some candy?" to which I would say "yeah!" and he would run to the convenient store and get some.. we still do this sometimes even now... it's funny... but I love that about him.
9. He loves clothes shopping for me or him.. He is a natural shopper, he loves looking at what's new and he also loves picking out clothes for me... he is a wonderful shopping buddy.. he picks stuff out while I am trying stuff on in the dressing room to add to whatever I am already trying on.. he is honest about what he thinks looks good or not.. he knows my sizes in everything and he is never afraid to buy something when I am not there.. isn't that fun?!

10. He tells me he loves me everyday.. at least one hundred times... He is a man who never forgets that I love for him to say those words.. he is thoughtful and patient and lets me know that he loves me for me... I am so blessed..