Why do I blog?

I was lying in bed last night thinking... Why do I blog? I wonder how many people have looked at my blog today? I wonder if anyone likes my blog? The Holy Spirit completely convicted me; I am not blogging for approval or for how many people look at my blog. I am blogging because God has laid compassion on my heart for other moms. He has given me two children, and He knew when He gave me Noah that I was way in over my head. So, now that I have two I'm very much in over my head. The only way that I can stay sane is through Christ alone. So I had a ticker on my blog and I took it down. I do not want to be tempted to seek the approval of others. I want to simply write because I want to share my story and my life with others.

There are many things that contributed to me starting this blog. I'll give you a little peep into my world...

I am standing in my laundry room folding clothes. I am yearning for joy while buried behind the laundry baskets, kids are screaming, my marriage is desperate for attention, we have debts, the constant battle between being content and always wanting more. Some days it was even hard just getting out of bed, but thankfully I have a comforter. I just want to be real with my fellow moms because I think that a lot of us just need to know we are not alone in our struggles.

I graduated in May of this year. Noah was 13 months old and I was 7 months pregnant with Anna. The weekend after I graduated, we moved to Birmingham. After living with my parents for 6 weeks, we moved into our LOVELY house on July 11th. On July 17th, Anna Caroline Lee was born 7 pounds, 13 ounces, 20 inches long. Lance was working at his new job, which is more demanding of his mind and energy than his previous one. Plus, traffic makes him get home later. When we first moved here we originally went to Liberty, where I had gone when I lived in Chelsea before. After a few weeks of going we felt that there was something missing. We bounced from church to church for about 6 weeks and still....nothing. We weren't trying to find a "perfect" church, we are well aware that there is no such thing. You know the saying, "Don't try to find a perfect church, and if you do find it, don't go there because you will mess it up!" After much prayer, we realized we were trying to find a church exactly like Immanuel (our church in Hattiesburg). We went through more changes in 4 months than we have been through in our entire lives.  One of those nights, when Lance was out of town, I had a poor pitiful me party. Even though my pity party was not deserved it led to some great prayer time and me just being still before the Lord. I realized that my faith lacked diligence. 

That week I attended Moments for Moms for the first time at Liberty. They welcomed me with open arms, and I had a great conversation with a fellow mom about her church hunting struggles. I love going to Moments for Moms now! It is such an intimate time of worship for women. Especially since we have such heavy burdens of parenting laying on our hearts. These are burdens that we need to place at the feet of Jesus. After all, He says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30). A wonderfully sweet woman that led worship last month said something that was so profound to me. God has a name that is a name above all names, its a name above all our diseases, our struggles...His name is greater than parenthood! Her words were so perfect and used by God at that moment to comfort a worn out Mom like myself.

Now that the Lord is my comforter, and I can go to Him when I'm worn out...now what? The Lord wasn't finished..well He never really is, is He? He started to reveal to me how little time I actually devote to him. I'm so busy with the kids, how can I spend more time with the Lord? Well, I can always spend more time with the Lord in my quiet time... Jesus would go for a great while before the day as he departed to a solitary place and prayed (Mark 1:35). I started reading this book given to me by a dear friend called, The Beautiful Fight by Gary Thomas. It's about allowing the Holy Spirit to transform my whole body to serve the Lord. A revelation came upon me, not really something that I had never thought about, but this time it was different...

Holiness is not about what we do or don't do. Holiness is about letting myself be transformed into a vessel for the Lord. Thomas says this,

"Today's believers often lose touch with this sense of the glory of being a Christian. We settle for so little—a tame religion, a few rituals, maybe even an occasional miraculous answer to prayer—and so pass our lives without understanding our true identity in Christ, embracing our calling as God's children or fulfilling our divine purpose."

What does this mean for me? Well, should I be spending time with the Lord as I am doing the laundrY? While I am consoling the kids' cry? While I am missing Lance? Surely! I have so many things to be thankful for, how could I be so frustrated with my life?

We woke up 15 minutes late this morning, and it turned into us rushing around the house to leave on time for church. On top of that its RAINING! Thanks to the book, One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp, it occurred to me that when I stop to consider all that I have to be thankful for, it's hard to be so frustrated! We left only 5 minutes late, and we have an awning at our church so I didn't even have to get wet. Just the fact that we have a car and the wonderful church building is enough to take away my frustrations.

Now that I am spending more time with the Lord and trying to live in thankfulness. I have noticed that one minute I'll be filled with the Holy Spirit and everything seems well, then one.little.thing. will happen and I'm in a frenzy! Why is that? Why do I fail so much? Well, right now I'm just going to take it one step at a time. I have to remember what Thomas says, its not about what I do or don't do, its about a relationship.  Continue growing in the Lord and remain thankful, and when the going gets tough; don't give up!

Why do I blog? To glorify HIS name, to spread HIS praise and honor!

While you are decorating...

Now that Thanksgiving is over, it is officially the Christmas "season". However, I always get too excited and put up my decor early. Each year I go to Hobby Lobby with stars in my eyes to see the new Christmas decor. Often times we get so preoccupied with the ornaments and wreaths and such that have so much pizzaz, that we overlook the humble manger scene. It is the perfect picture of what Christmas really is. God so loved the world that he gave his only son. Jesus, who is God, has been seated in heaven since the beginning of time. He is God who reigns in heaven! He came from royalty to this earth. That demotion might be something we think lightly of because we live here. However, for Jesus to step down from heaven, and to be a humble servant to the people he would die for is so humiliating. Love actually came down on Christmas, for me and for you! So when we put up our manager scenes we can remember that it stands for when God intervened on our behalf; He sent his son to earth. You cannot get that kind significance from a Christmas tree.


Great worship song for you and your family!

You are Special-Children's Literature

Last week I tried out the library at Liberty. I got five books; that way we will have a book for every night (Wednesdays and Sundays we get home pretty late so he normally falls asleep in the car). Last night, we read You are Special, by Max Lucado. This was an amazing book, and now on my favorite list for children's literature. This book was great for children especially since kids are always wanting to "fit in", and want the approval of their peers. I can relate to this so much as a Mom. We never want anyone to think we are less than perfect. I try my best to seem like I have everything "together", but the truth is that most times it's pure chaos. I am so forgetful and absent minded (my husband would second this!). I have weaknesses but where I am weak, He is strong (2 cor 12:10) and God has made me wonderfully and fearfully (Psalm 139:14). Along with these weaknesses, He has given me strengths and talents.

We do not need to walk around letting the world tell us what we are worth, or give us "stars and dots" as the Wemmicks did in the book. God says that we are made with a purpose and are His workmanship, created to do good works. Let's go to God and let Him decide what are worth.

Gary Thomas says " Your weaknesses means nothing in the light of God's equipping call. In fact they can bring more glory to God by making it clear that you are God's instrument and you have been transformed" (paraphrase)

Power of Prayer-Sweet Dreams

Noah has always been a great sleeper. He started sleeping all night at 6 weeks old, and was sleeping in his own bed at 8 weeks. The only time he ever wakes up in the night is when he is sick. About a month ago, Noah started waking up in the middle of the night frantically calling, "Momma!! Momma!" When my grandmother passed away we spend an entire week on the road hopping from relative to relative. This reinforced the interrupted sleep pattern that he had formed. When we returned home, he learned how to open door knobs. His frantic habits became panic for me! One night, he left his room and fell asleep in my floor. When I woke up to feed Anna, I did not see him. I checked in his room and he wasn't there. Needless to say, I panicked!!

While all of this was happening in Noah's world, Anna started waking up in the middle of the night wanting a bottle. I went to Moments for Moms on Nov 4th. While I was there, Leigh Ann brought up that while her daughter was having nightmares, she started playing Amazing grace on repeat while her daughter was sleeping to prevent the nightmares. Immediately, I knew this was more than Noah going through a phase! This was a direct attack from the enemy. Last Friday I prayed over Noah, his dreams, and his room. I played Jesus loves Me on repeat all night, and PRAISE GOD he slept soundly the entire night. I have repeated this each night, and tomorrow will be 1 week of no waking up!

I am so thankful to have godly moms around me to encourage me and to give me advice. I am so thankful that God is faithful. I know that a month of sleepless nights is a far cry from being in a "valley" however with other circumstances involved, I must say that the song Blessings by Laura Story fit perfectly to what God has been doing in my life.

Family's Ten Commandments

Hey Ladies,

I posted this on our group a while back, and I thought I should share it on the blog so that we could easily access it.

Found at http://www.christianbook.com/commandments-for-our-family-framed-print/pd/022870

Our Family's Ten Commandments

I. We will seek and worship only the Lord our God.
Great is the Lord and worthy of praise... one generation will commend His works to another; they will tell of His mighty acts. Psalm 145:3a,4
II. We will make our family a priority.
Seek first God's will in our family and the other things will come as He desires. From Matt. 6:33

III. We will speak to one another with kindness and love.
Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a kindly word spoken. From Proverbs 25:11

IV. We will worship the Lord together and keep the Sabbath day holy.
O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our maker. For He is our God... Psalm 95:6-7a

V. We will honor each member of this family as God's special gift.
Live in harmony with one another; love, be sympathetic, compassionate and humble... bless one another so that you may inherit a blessing. 1 Peter 3:8-9

VI. We will encourage each other with words, attitudes and actions.
...Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32

VII. We will be faithful to the ideals and values of our family.
Two are better than one... if one falls down, the other can help him up. A cord of three strands is not easily broken. From Ecclesiastes 4:9-10,12b

VIII. We will not take joy from one another.
Above all things put on love, which holds everything together in perfect harmony. Colossians 3:14

IX. We will speak the truth in love.
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14.

X. We will be grateful and content with the blessings God has bestowed on our family.
Learn to get along happily whether you have much or little... for we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Philippians 4:11,13

In Deuteronomy it talks about how we should obey God's word and "Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates" (deut 11:18-20)

I am going to post these on our fridge as a friendly reminder of how we are treating each other.

Weekly Prayer List

I have had a friend and pastor share something with me that has greatly increased the quality of my prayer life. I have modified this to fit my life, but I wanted to share this with you in case it might be of some help to you! Please don't think that I think you should pray these things once a day, only one time a week. I just think that we get so busy sometimes we pray only for the things that we think of right off, or our prayers are too general. We need to be praying without ceasing and our God is big enough to hear our specific needs!

Here goes...

Monday- Pray for my husband. I use the book, The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian. It has 30 items to pray for, so really there is something for every day of the month!

Tuesday-Pray for my children. We have spent the past month praying for our children, so those topics are typically what I pray over my children.

Wednesday-Pray for extended family and friends. This is the day to pray for those people who you say you are going to pray for, but normally forget! I am so bad about that!

Thursday-Pray for your Pastor, His family, and God's church. Often times I forget about my Pastor because he has everything "together", he is our shepard..But he needs our prayers as much as anyone else. He bears a burden so few of us would be willing to bear.

Friday-Pray for the lost, hurting, and helpless. God has called us to be conformed to the image of Christ. Jesus spent is whole life being a missionary. We should be missionaries in our daily lives, as we go to walmart, etc. However, being a mom of little ones makes me feel like I can't go outside of that realm to be a missionary. Therefore, Friday I will spend praying for those whom I cannot physically care for. We need pray for those who we CAN physically touch too. I have several family members who are lost.

Sunday- Pray for personal growth. If we intend on training our children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, we will have to be growing. Children learn by example. I will be using the book of Colossians for the next month to help encourage these prayers.

I hope this is encouraging to you!