It is well...

Some of you may know this story, but for me it's the first time I have heard it. We sang this song in church yesterday, and because God seems to be really trying to get my attention I believe that this, too, isn't a coincidence that this happened to be a part of my devotions this morning.

"H.G. Stafford was a dedicated Christian who lived during the 1800s. Although he was a businessman, today he is remembered for words he penned during an excruciatingly painful time in his life. He had just suffered a financial reversal and was leaving for England with his family. He sent his wife and four daughters ahead on the SS Ville du Havre. In the middle of the ocean, the ship carrying his family collided with another ship and sank quickly, with 230 people losing their lives. Spafford's four daughters were drowned, but his wife was rescued. The message that she wired to her husband read, 'Saved alone.' So afford felt incredible grief; he had lost all four of his daughters to the sea, and his wife was on the other side of the world, alone. But out of his grief he penned some amazing words that still encourage us today:

When peace like a river attenders my way,

When sorrows like sea-billows roll; 

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,

"It is well, it is well with my soul."

John 14:27 reads: I am leaving you with a gift--peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn't like the peace the world gives. So don't be troubled or afraid. 

Today, it is well with my soul, and I am so grateful. 

Praise Him \0/

{1} Mumma Life...

       I love that the girls often enjoy helping out with chores around the house. Chores other then cleaning their rooms, making their beds and putting their laundry away. They enjoy helping dust, and putting dishes away, sweeping and vaccuuming. And even using the swifer wet jet mop in their rooms.

       I find with wood heat you have to dust every other day at least, good thing I don't have too much to dust. So today, Savannah wanted to dust. And she did a pretty great job. The house has a nice lemon-y scent to it now. And most of the wood surfaces are nice and shiny again. She enjoyed every minute of it. Sparying out the pledge, seeing the dust disappear, filling the air with a clean aroma. It was great, and allowed me to finish up the lunch dishes and sweep.

      There was only one down side really... She used half a can of pledge! The dust cloth was SOAKED! HAHA!!

Sweet little Savannah,

I love your willingness to help around the house,

taking part in thingsso everything runs smoothly. 

Thank you for your help!

Hurry Up...

HURRY UP!

Those two words probably come out of my mouth WAY too often. Hurry up is what I tell the kids as they get ready for school, eat their breakfast and brush their teeth. Hurry up is what I say as they are getting ready for bed, or when we are getting ready to go somewhere. Hurry up is what I say to my husband when I want to get the chores done at the barn because inside my head I am telling myself to hurry up because of the dishes that need washed, the laundry that needs folded, the dusting that needs done, the floors that need mopped, the bread that needs made. HURRY UP!

Well, I really need to hurry up and stop saying that so often. I mean, really, what am I in such a hurry for?!?  I guess the reason that it is so present in my mind right now is because tonight, as the girls and I were reading scripture, I uttered those words, to hurry up, pay attention, settle down. Great way to enter the word, huh?! Yeah.... maybe not so much. I apologized to them, telling them that our time in scripture is so important and it shouldn't be rushed. (Especially when you have girls like mine who LOVE to hear the stories of Jesus, or read how it all started in Genesis, or about how moses was found... you want me to hurry up and move on, don't ya!) I shouldn't rush their questions, their curiosity, their love story with Christ. I only have these little girlies for a short time before they stand on their own. And let me tell you the time is F L Y I N G!  I believe I will never have the time to teach them everything I feel I want or maybe even should.

I am very thankful that no matter how much of a hurry I am in that God never tells me to hurry up and be perfect. Hurry up and memorize the entire bible, today, in an hour! Unlike how I expect my kids to do so much in an hour. (and how I generally want God to hurry up and let me know what it is He is up to!!)

Instead, He does tell me to:

 

"Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world." ~Psalm 46:10

 

"Don't worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need , and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience the peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard our hearts and minds as you live for Christ Jesus." ~Philippians 4:6&7

 

"Jesus replies, 'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself.'" ~Matthew 22:37&38

I love how no matter how much of a hurry I am to want an answer, direction, love...God is always on time.

Praise Him \0/

Dominos...

Have you ever played dominos? I used to call it this when I was a kid, when in actuality it wasn't the way you played dominos at all. You know, standing them all up just a few centimetres apart making a super cool trail with lots of twists and turns. Then you knock that first one down and watch them all fall. Occasionally it will only go so far because you have placed a few tiles too far apart and they won't hit. So you try again, standing them all up again, making the necessary improvements and then you knock down that first one again. There was something so satisfying about resetting those tiles especially around the turns just to see them all fall smoothly! You just can't help but rejoice in success.

When I think about some of the trials I have been through I can relate it to a big game of dominos. Everything is going so good then all if a sudden there is a malfunction. A malfunction in my relationships, my communication, my love for others. So, I try and learn from my mistakes, and try again, hoping this time I can get past this "turn". Usually I am ready to learn really quick wanting the mess to just be over.

But why not rejoice in the mess as well?

Why only in the end, when things work out?

Why not walk with open eyes, an open mind, an open heart to see what it is I am supposed to be learning, see the way I am supposed to live as a better Christ follower.

In Romans 5:3-5 it reads:

 

'We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens or confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given is the Holy Spirit to fill out hearts with His love.'

 



Can you see the domino effect there? Our problems help develop endurance, which leads to our character being strengthened, which leads to hope. Hope in Christ and what He came here to do. A hope that doesn't lead to disappointment (this part was my favorite...I have hoped so much in things... just to be disappointed...) Hope that leads to God's great and unending love for me. And for you.

So rejoice.

In the beginning, the middle and the end;

 of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

 REJOICE!



2013...

This year:

I want less sleepless nights,

       less heartache,

               less confusion,

                                         less fear of the unknown.

 

This year:

I want to read more.

Write more.

Love more.

 

This year:

I want to run.

                                  ...Well :)

 

This year:

 I want to grow deeper in my faith,

 and be broken,

       humbled,

             stretched

                                             challenged by scripture.

 

This year I want to go in His direction.

 

This year I want peace.

 

This year, is like no other year. And it is already filled with so many blessings. My husband, my children, my family. I have a house and food and a vehicle. I have a job I love where I can bring my kids with me and see my husband more (seriously, it's awesome)

 

This year...really, I have little control over, but there is One who knows exactly what will unfold, and for that I am so thankful.

Giants...

        I know I know, it has been f o r e v e r since I have updated. Life has been a bit overwhelming and so my thoughts haven't been really straight to blog. I have opened this page up many times, began to write, and then... nothing. I am sure many know this feeling: so much emotion, thought, and activity that you don't even know what to say... that equals my life over the past several months it seems. I am longing for simplicity. But I guess we aren't always promised that in this thing called life. And I guess that's alright. Don't really have a choice do we?! :)
     
        Question, when you seem to be in the middle of a "storm" in your life, how do you handle it? Do you go against it face on? Do you let it blow you this way and that? Do you hide from it, hoping it will pass? I have probably done all of these things, all the while wondering, searching, and hoping that God will teach me (and quickly...Ha!) what it is He wants me to learn. Through reading and searching, there is one story that keeps coming to mind... One that I have read over and over.

         David started out as a shepherd, he was a poet, a king and an ancestor of Jesus. When you read about him, you can get a real sence of what it really means to worship. He wasn't perfect, He committed adultry, disobeyed God, and arranged a murder, but he was a man described by God himself as a man after his own heart. He weathered storms...

        Of course the most heard story of David includes Goliath. Goliath, the giant with attitude. He dressed of bronze and strutted his stuff challenging those around him to fight, one on one. For 40 days he did this. Although he was big, and he had all the "gear" He was missing one of the greatest strengths... God.

       When David told the king that he wanted to fight Goliath, the king tried to dress David in similar armor, but David was uncomfortable. He took them off and picked up 5 smooth stones. He was armed only with his shepard staff and a sling, and he went to fight the giant. Of course the giant basically laughed at the sight of him. I love what David says in defense :"You [Goliath] come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord..." (1 Sam. 17:45)

       "As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. Reaching into his shepherd's bag and taking out a stome, he hurled it with his sling and hit the philistine [Goliath] in the forehead. The stone sank in and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground." (1Sam. 17:48&49)

       David was a shepherd. A regular sized man. Facing a giant. With a sling and a stone. And with God's help, he defeated a giant. When others looked at Goliath, they saw an opponent too powerful to deafeat: when David looked at Goliath, he saw a target too big to miss!

       When I face a giant-like storm, I confess, I see it as something too powerful to defeat. I feel weak, illequipped, and lost. But slowly, (I'm a bit of a slow learner :) ) I am learning that I have exactly what it takes to rage against the storms. God gives me all the tools/weapons I need to face the giants in my life. (Ephesians 6:10-18) And I need to be like more like David, and "quickly run" out to meet it, so that God can be glorified!

        What is your Goliath? Do you look ahead at something too big to conquer or something too big to miss? In Romans 8:31 it says, "if God is for us, who can ever be against us?" Face giants knowing that God is for you.

Potty Training...Day 1

I always tell people that you can do anything in 3 days, when it comes to common parenting milestones. Like taking a soother away or bottle, getting your child to sleep through the night, changing a bad behaviour, or potty training. Now I know some of you are thinking I've fallen off my rocker, but I believe that with a lot of consistancy and patience you can do many things in three days.

Today I started training my youngest (and last) child. It is bittersweet to not have a "baby" in the house, to be rid of diapers, and "onsies", but every stage in a family brings new joys, and as good as these last stages have been, I know that the joy ain't goin' anywhere! :)

Isabella is the 6th or 7th child that I have trained. Having an in-home daycare in the past sure adds up the amount of times you experience potty training! I have learned several things when it comes to potty training that I thought I would share. Take 'em or leave 'em.

1. Set small goals. Very small. This leaves very little room for disappointment.
2. Flood train. A good friend of mine works with autistic children and they use the "flooding" method to train. She told me about it when I trained Savannah. This way there is no guessing game. You know they are going to pee, and likely a lot which hopefully allows opportunity for some success. (Thanks great friend....you know who you are ;) )
3. Be patient. Don't get frustrated with little puddles, and the 10 changes of clothes on the first day.
4. Be the ultimate encourager. I find that kids don't really need treats or bribbery. It may help you both, and that's ok, but what they need most is a LOT of encouragement. For instance, tell them how great they are doing just sitting on the potty. Every time. No matter how little or how long they sit there for.
5. Get excited! There is nothing that I love to do more then get excited after a little tinkle ;) I mean, I shout and holler and jump up and down and dance and sing and laugh and hug and kiss... which makes little ones giggle and smile and shout and holler and jump up and down and dance and sing and giggle and smile more and more!!!!! They beam with pride!!!

Isabella isn't trained...yet. But I just set a small goal today (see #1) I hoped that she would know when she was wet. That was it. And guess what....she did!! I guess that's what happens when you give them lots to drink (#2) By being patient with her (see #3) I didn't get frustrated with the puddles (or when she peed right on me, or in my chair....twice...little monkey), she wasn't nervous or unsure of anything. She was free to learn, even learnign to help clean up the puddles :). That goes right into encouraging her. (#4) Every time she had an accident I would get her to sit on the potty. And I would say, "this is where your pee goes" which she would reply, "oh" LOL. I know that she just needed some time, and finally I caught her at the right time, and she made it to the potty in time!! (See #5) WOOT WOOT!! Once a child sees that excitement and recieves all that love and encouragement, I know that it just helps the process along :) Now remember, it wasn't my goal to have her pee in the potty today (Although I was sure hoping for it) In my eyes as far as I was concerned, if it had ended there, and she just kept having accidents, I would have considered the day a great success. But it just kept getting better! All together Isabella had 10 accidents and 6 successes :) The very last time she went, she went all by herself to the potty, before having any accidents. And everytime she did have an accident this afternoon, she went to the potty right after without me even having to ask her!

Potty Training Day 1..... huge success!!! I'll keep ya posted on how things go tomorrow.