Counting blessings!

Feeling thankful this morning . . .

303. A very nice and warm weeked! I needed to see the sun!
304. A friendly contest to help spur this married couple toward healthy habits!

305. The amazing creativity of God. And to think, this waterfall inside a cave was glorifyin God long before it was ever discovered by humans! (photo courtesy of rubyfalls.com)

306. Loads of laundry! If I wish away the laundry, I would have to wish away the kids and I would NEVER want that!!
307. My clean car - loved vacuuming and washing it yesterday in the almost sunny weather!
308. Thankful for Southernsavers.com for organizing coupon deals for me every week! It makes saving money very easy!
309. Cabinets overflowing at the end of the month - pure blessing!
310. phone call from a Friend - Thanks for the chat, Lori!!
311. Finding a Ladies Bible study - it's been a long time!
312. watching my kids perform at "Mason's Theater" for after dinner entertainment!

Do you believe God?

That seems like an easy enough question. Most of us would say rather quickly, without a thought that yes, we believe in God and in the Bible. But do we actually believe HIM. As in, believe that what He tells us through His Holy Word is true? Again, I think I would too easily say, "Yes! I believe Him! I know what He says is true!" So, if I believe Him, why do I find myself questioning Him in the smallest of truths? I'm not talking about the really hard truths that deal with pain and suffering, trajedy and loss. I'm just talking about the simple day to day truths that are in conflict with what the world says.

Here's one example that some of you may be able to relate with. About a year ago, I had the priviledge of having my little sister point out my very first gray hair. Now, I didn't actually believe her until about a month later when I for myself found 3 little white strands of hair on my perfectly young head of hair! I was past shocked - I was in disbelief! How could this be? How could I, who still feels so young, begin showing signs of old age? I was only 31.

I proceeded to pull those 3 strands of gray out of my full head of brown hair, but the more I began looking for gray hairs, the more I have found. Now I am stuck with a dilemna? Do I continue to pull those ugly reminders of old age or do I color them?

In the midst of this dilemna, I had to stop and ask the questions, "Why do I want to stay forever young? Why do I want to look like I am young and not aging properly? Why do we think it isn't beatiful to grow old with wrinkles and gray hair?" I had to admit that I have chosen to believe the lies of Satan and this dark world that tell us that only youth is beautiful and old age is worthless and ugly. Isn't that what the world believes? Don't I affirm those beliefs every time I pull a gray hair or contemplate coloring those few strands of ugly grays?

Now, I'm not saying that I think it is wrong to color my hair or even that I won't, because I probably will one day. But why, if I really believe God, do I not live like I believe Him when he says, "Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life." Proverbs 16:31

My God thinks gray hair is beautiful, a crown of glory! Do I believe Him?

That's just one example for today! Maybe I will share more later. What ways do you struggle to believe God over the loud voice of this world?

Happy Birthday!

From the looks of this gaudy cake, you ought to be able to tell whose birthday we celebrated last weekend!

It was Ham Bone, of course!

She made a very specific request for a tiered, chocolate cake with chocolate icing and covered with candy. It ended up looking pretty bad, but she loved it! This is the first time we have offered one of our children a chuck-e cheese birthday (Robbie's request) or a swimming party (my request); but instead, she chose a make and bake party so that she and her friends could make crafts and bake cookies.

And for her present, all she wanted was horse riding lessons. Actually, all she wanted was a real horse, but she had to settle for riding lessons! We can't wait for the weather to warm up so she begin lessons!

Happy 8th Birthday, CH!!

Sleep Overs

For those of you who know us, you probably know that we don't "do" sleep overs. You might even wonder why we don't "do" sleep overs. Even if you didn't wonder, I thought it might be good food for thought to explain! We have several reasons for not wanting our children to spend the night at other people's houses but it's hard to put a top reason for this decision. They are all so important to us, that I can't figure out which one is the most important. So, here they are in no particular order!

#1 - We value this time when our children are so very impressionable and we want to be the main influences in their lives right now. We think friendships are important, but not nearly as important as the bonds they are forming within their family. We want to foster the sibling friendships and use the time over the weekends to have special family sleepovers in our room. When the kids first started asking if they could sleep with us, we usually said no because it meant that no one would get a good nights sleep. Then, we came up with the alternative that they could "camp out" on the floor once or twice a month and watch a movie in our room, while sleeping in sleeping bags on the floor. It dawned on us one day not too many months ago that our children won't always want to sleep with us. There will come a time when they think they are too cool or too old for snuggling in bed with us, so why not take advantage of this time and really have fun with just us, our family "sleeping over" together.

#2 - There are very few people, I'm talking one or two, that we know intimately enough to trust what goes on in their home while our children are away from us. All it takes is one time of "accidentally" looking at pornography at someone else's house or a brother or father or neighbor saying something inappropriate, or a TV on with something we would not approve of (which is almost anything that comes on cable TV) or any host of other inappropriate behaviors that could occur. When my children are sleeping, especially, I want to know that they are safe. That no harm will come to them in as much as I can control it. It's a sad fact that we have to be proactive against child predators or images or language today. But we do. And our idea of "safe" images or language probably differs largely from many other Christian families. I know that there will come a day when our children are armed and ready to embrace our family values and boundaries, but for now, that is our job as their parents to protect them from dangers they don't even know exist.

#3 - Do you remember what you did as a kid during sleepovers? Oh, even from the 4th and 5th grade I can remember talking about boys and who I was going to marry and what the names of my children where going to be! We would take walks to "see" boys and prank call boys and play those silly games Like MAD (is that right??) where you choose what kind of car you will drive, who you want to marry, how many kids you want, what kind of house you wanted to live in and so forth. We don’t want to “awaken love’ before it’s time in our children and we sure don’t want them to awaken that desire in a raw moment when they are looking for acceptance in friendships at a sleepover.

Once I was older, like Junior High (yeah - it used to be called that!), we had some "innocent fun" like rolling yards (No TPing - I never got that until Robbie explained it a few years ago), sneaking out the house at night, and walking down country roads with our shirts off. Yep, we did. And probably the worst, was talking so badly about other girls and "sowing discord" amoung friendships. Sure, you could say I turned out alright in spite of sleepovers, but the goal for us is not to have our kids "turn out alright". We want them to know Jesus and live for Him, even in their free time with friends. And children don'tjust "know" how to discern right from wrong. We have to teach them and pray for the Holy Spirit to indwell in them and guide them.

Maybe these things won't happen in 2nd grade or 4th grade (though they did for me), but when do you pull in reigns? After you have already allowed the privilege? We prefer to use this time to train our children. We love for friends to come over and play so that we can help them know what is appropriate and what isn't. But with sleepovers, too much time is spent away from parental supervision. And, honestly, we believe that "foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child" (Prov. 22:15) and foolishness loves the cover of darkness.

#4. If we allow our kids to sleep over at the 1 or 2 peoples' homes, how do you explain to the other parents that don't know or won't let our children go to their homes? This is a touchy subject and one we feel our children should be shielded from. They should not have to explain to friends that they are only allowed to go to so&so's house and not yours. It's just easier all around if we just say no to everyone and stick with having fun during the day when Mom and Dad are awake!

We believe that not only is it a good thing to "shelter" and "protect' our children, it is our job. We shelter them from physical pain and tell them not to touch fire. Mama Bear steps in when my kids get picked on and we want to protect them from bullies, so why do we think it is a bad thing to protect our children from the desires of the world? Or from the dangers of "practicing" love as children? Or from the unforseen dangers of the internet? But, with sheltering and protecting comes teaching and training. As our children get older, we teach them that the fire is hot and it can burn you. We teach them what steps to take when faced with a bully. And, we will teach them the reasons we don't do sleepovers, in an age appropriate way. That's our job, our high calling as parents to these 5 growing arrows!

Now you know!

Saving!!!!

So thankful for Cassie giving me a heads up on a HUGE savings deal this past week! I get the paper weekly, use coupons occasionally, but never have I really taken the time to shop with a plan and look for deals to make all the work of couponing worth my time. But last week's Super Double sale at Harris Teeter was just the motivation I needed to get in gear and save some money on my grocery bill! My first trip I spent $60 and saved $112! I actually came away thinking "that was so much fun!" And the very best part of it was my husband's excitement for me and us. He said "give yourself a check mark for loving me today because you show me that you love me when you are frugal and save money." I had no idea that me being wise with money spoke love to him! What a great motivation to keep up the hard work! And it was hard work, but that little encouragement from my hubby made it all worth it!

Hard Workers!

We really are blessed to have some hard working kiddos! We have lost a lot of our structured work and responsibilities inside the home with 4 in school and them leaving so early, but these guys all work hard whenever Daddy needs their help outside. And hauling firewood is really hard work! I get out of breath just after one trip of pulling a sled full of wood up our hills. I am very thankful that my 4 big kids aren't afraid to break a sweat or get their hands dirty because, this time, it cut my part of the physical labor down immensely! Thank you, Masonites, for working hard for Mommy and Daddy! We pray that you will always be diligent, hard workers who strive to honor God with your whatever your hands find to do.

1Thessalonians 4:11

"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands . . . "

Colossians 3:23

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men"

My favorite Christmas present!

A few days before Christmas, we finally had someone come over to clean the chimney and make it safe for use. Safe, meaning it shouldn't catch on fire inside the chimney, but you must remember that we are really city slickers and only country wanna-be's. Neither of us really knew much about how to start a fire inside a house. Outside it's pretty simple - all you have to do is throw gasoline on it! (Wink-wink!) But inside, well those big logs don't do anything but smoke! And, to make matters more complicated, we have a two-sided fire place. So, both doors have to be open (we found this out after filling the house with smoke 2x when we left one set of doors closed) and with both doors open, we have logs falling out of the fireplace all day long!



But, we love it!! It's our new favorite place to read bedtime stories, morning devotions, do homework and even relax in style while recovering from the stomach bug (which 5 out of 7 of us had the pleasure of doing last week)! Now, we better see a significant reduction in our heating bill to help justify all the "fire tending" we do durin our waking hours! It's fun, but it sure is a lot of work!


Baby W relaxing fireside while sick with a stomach bug!

It's a New Year!

Happy New Year!!

I am actually excited to begin fresh this new year, a feeling I don't think I have felt for quite awhile. The difference for me is I finally have a plan! Not just a thought in my head or a plan written on a scrap piece of paper to be lost in the flood of papers that enter this home. But a plan with a goal in mind, and written on paper, and stored neatly in my Bible so that it can't get lost! Two years ago, I wrote a New Year's Resolution post on I John (you can read it HERE) that really spoke of a few of the heart issues that have plagued my adult life. And like every previous year, my new resolutions stayed in my head for about a month and never took up residency in my still wicked heart.

But this Christmas, as I focused so much more on Jesus and my need for a Saviour, the only One who could set me free from my sin, I began to see a picture that I didn't like. Yes, Jesus left His throne in Heaven to set me free from sin, but I keep running back into prison. Maybe I don't know how to live life on the outside or maybe I think it's easier to succumb to the desires of my flesh than to give them to Jesus once and for all. Why do I keep taking them back and trying to stay inside the prison He came to free me from? Why can't I have victory over the areas in my life I know are not pleasing to the Lord?

I think My Jesus, in His ever patient and loving way, is slowly revealing the answer to me. Actually, I am more likely slowly learning to hear His voice when He speaks. God has not called us to be hearers of the Word only, but more importantly to be doers of the Word. I like to talk about what I need to do and even write about it when I am feeling brave, but if I don't put it into action I only deceive myself and the rest of you out there who hear (or read) my words.

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does."

James 1:22-25

I want to be a faithful servant and not guilty prisoner, but sometimes I don't know how. I have known for awhile that I need help on this journey Homeward. I rarely like to ask for help, but I am learning that I need it. I don't need help with the house and cooking like my husband thinks I do. That' my job and I just need to prioritize my time and do it. I do need help,though, on this journey of the Christian life. But, asking for help with my walk with the Lord is just a little too personal. It's too much work and too much time commitment. But we need each other. At least I do. I need my helpmate and husband to encourage me to be a faithful steward of our finances, of my time, to take care of my body where the Holy Spirit makes His home. I need a friend to check in with me and ask me how I am doing in loving my husband and teaching my children. I need someone to ask me what I am studying in my Bible and how it is changing my heart to reflect the heart of my God. I need accountability and I need a plan!

So, here's my plan! I'm in the process of working on an accountability partner and my husband has agreed to help me as well! For my own accountability that I can share with these 2 people, I have typed my goals for 2011 onto a bookmark to keep in my new One Year Bible. I made the bookmark as a monthly grid with each goal listed on the side and the days of the month as a box so that I can place a check or minus mark on every goal every day of the month. I really think this is going to help keep the convictions God has laid upon my heart at the very front of my mind each day throughout the whole year, not just for the first month!

Here's how it looks. One bookmark will last me 2 months, with Jan. on the front and Feb. on the back. I really can't wait to get to tomorrow so that I can grow in the areas I know are my weaknesses. So, what are my weaknesses? Oh man! Here it goes . . .

1. Bible Reading/Growing in the Lord

2. Exercise

3. Cleaning House (Goal: leave house picked up every night before I go to bed)

4. Cooking - (Goal: be diligent to plan meals and do NOT eat out)

4. Loving my husband - (Goal: do one thing each day that speaks love to him)

5. Fried foods - banned! (if I cook at home, this one will be easy!)

6. Sweets - (Goal: only have dessert once a week)

7. Words - (Goal: "Only speak words that make souls stronger) **MUST READ POST IN BLACK**

8: Save - (Goal: utilize coupons, spend less)

So there you have it. This is what I will be working on this year, with #7 being the hardest by far! If you want a bookmark for yourself and don't want to take the time to make one, leave your email address in the comment section and I will send it to you! Praying for grace to be faithful!

"O to grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be! Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love; here's my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above. "

Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing