Growing pains!

My daughter is 7 now and I did not realize with her birthday we were going to get the extreme attitude. Oh my, has it come and it is pushing me to a level I have not been since I lived at home with my sister. I have come to realize that she is very much like my sister with her actions and her attitudes. Well today I have had enough. She is doing things on her own and I am hoping this will teach her some things. Honestly, it will probably teach me more than her because some of the things she will have to do will show me just how old she really is. She is my oldest, and I am having a hard time letting her grow up and be responsible for some extra things. Anyway, if anyone has any words of wisdom on how to deal with a little girl with attitude please share because I am at a loss and willing to learn. I praise God for this challenge and am realizing that the older my kids get the more I am on my knees praying! Thank you Father for blessing me with her and allowing me to be her mother.

Blessed...

I am so thankful that the Lord hears my prayers and is faithful to answer them. Yesterday was a strange day for me, but I was counting on His words to lift me up and comfort me, and they did. The last few nights I have spent several hours on my face, crying out to Him, pouring out m my heart to Him. There are some things I needed direction for and some things I needed Him to change. Well yesterday He gave me some answers to some of the situations I had been seeking Him for. I am so excited. One of them is school and just direction and wisdom on what to do. He used a situation I had with my daughter and completely showed me how to change to give her more responsibility. Today, we changed to His plan, and it is working great! Soon, I will be able to share more with you, but for now I just wanted to give a brief update and say that things are definitely better today! I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for me next! "I possess the Greater One in me because greater is He in me than he who is in the world." 1 John 4:4

Today...

Today is an off day for me. I am not feeling 100% and there are things weighing heavy on my heart. All I have in me today is to give scripture that I am claiming today just to make it through. I hope it encourages you as much as it is me!


I am the temple of the Holy Spirit - 1 Cor.6:19
I am strong in the Lord - Eph.6:10
I am holy and without blame before Him. - Eph.1:4
I am accepted in Christ - Eph. 1:6
I am blessed - Deut.28:1-14
I am victorious - Rev.21:7
I am set free - Jn 8:31-33
I am crucified with Christ - Gal.2:20
I am His faithful follower - Eph.5:1
I am more than a conqueror - Rom.8:37
I am an ambassador for Christ - 2 Cor.5:20
I am a king and a priest unto God - Rev.1:6
I am overtaken with blessings - Deut.28:2
I am healed by the wounds of Jesus - 1 Pet.2:24
I am complete in Christ - Col.2:10
I am the apple of my Father's eye - Ps.17:8
I am free from condemnation - Rom.8:1
I am chosen - 1 Thess.1:4
I am being changed into His image - Phil.1:6
I am one in Christ! Halleluajah! - Jn.17:21-23
I have all my needs met by God according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus - Phil.4:19
I have the peace of God which passes understanding. - Phil.4:7

"When you are forgotten, or neglected, or purposely set at naught, and you don't sting and hurt with the insult or the oversight, but your heart is happy, being counted worthy to suffer for Christ, that's being Crucified with Christ."

"When you lovingly and patiently bear any disorder, any irregularity, any unpunctuality, or any annoyance; when you stand face-to-face with waste, folly, extravagance, spiritual insensibility - and endure it as Jesus endured, that's being crucified with Christ."

Those were taken from a paper that was handed out to me in a class I am taking. I want to be crucified in Christ so I can live my life that way too. Have a blessed day in the Lord!

My sweet 2 year old!

Well Saturday was a fun day here in my house. Not only was it Valentines day, but it was our youngest sons 2nd birthday. He has changed so much in the past year. He is our most animated child so far. He loves to smile and make you laugh. He also wants to get things his own way and if he doesn't throws a major fit. He loves playing with his brother and sister, and he will take your hand and show you what he is talking about if you don't quite understand him. It is so cute to see him leading his daddy around the house telling him things. At his first birthday he dug right into the cake with his hands and he was a mess. This year he had to eat it with a fork, just like everyone else. He was still messy, but not as much. He loved his cake and was very upset when it was all gone. He definitely brings joy into my day. I love his little smile, and how he will not stop yelling mama until I respond to him. In fact, his tone changes and gets this funny pitch in it the longer he goes. We will be adopting him soon and then I will put a picture of him on here for you all to see my sweet little Elijah. Until then, you will just have to imagine how cute he is.

A time of reflection

Have you ever been in a place of reflection where you go back through your journal and see what the Lord has done or is revealing to you? Where I am there. Monday was a special day in that I could just relax and not worry about anything. Since then the Lord has had me in a time of reflection where I have been reminded of times past and where He has brought me. How He has changed me and is changing me still. What He has done for me and through me. It is a hard place to be and a special place to be all at the same time. I am enjoying being here with the Lord and ready to go to the next place with Him. The Lord reminded me of His joy this past weekend and it has been fun walking around with His joy this past week. Thank You Lord for loving me this much!

I get a day off!

I just have to say that I have the best husband ever. He went away this weekend to a cabin in southern Ohio with some of his friends. They like roughing it, no toilet, no shower, no water unless you bring it yourself, and sometimes no heat if there is no wood cut or dry. Anyway, when he planned this weekend trip he decided to take the Monday after his weekend off. At first I thought it was to recover from his weekend. That is when he shocked me! He took the day off so that I could take the day off. How exciting. He is going to stay home and take care of the kids and I get to leave and do what ever I want to and stay out as late as I want to and not have to worry about the house or kids! I am so excited! He is out getting his fingerprints for the adoption of our youngest boy, then when he gets home I am out of here. I just wanted to write a short note saying what a great husband I have. I am truly blessed to have him by my side and I love him more and more every day. He is truly the best thing that has happened to me and I am so thankful the Lord brought us together over 12 years ago. He is the most handsome man I know and I am proud to be his wife. I love you Tim and thank you for today!

What a visual

Today we are getting a new roof on our house. I know it sounds weird, but we have been on a waiting list since the end of September 2008. There was a storm that came through Ohio and had hurricane winds, which is unusual here. Well we had severe roof damage and between the roofing company and the insurance company they couldn't even start until the end of November. That put us on a very long waiting list and then the weather plays a huge factor. So yesterday they came and knocked all the snow and ice off our roof and today they are up there banging away, tearing the old off and putting the new on. This reminds me of my devotional this morning. I have been studying the life of David and am in 2 Samuel right now. Today it was talking about the character traits of David and are there any that I would I God to develop in my life? Well yes, there are two that jumped off the page at me; a greater heart for Worship and a greater depth of cooperation. I want to be a woman after Gods own heart and in doing this I want to worship Him always and do what He wants me to do anytime and anyplace. So, as my roof is being transformed from old to new, I too am transforming my heart. Out with the old and in with the new. Thank you Lord for this great visual for me today!

By the way, I was born in the hallway of my house. My mother did not have labor pains so when her water broke the ambulance was on the way. By the time they got there and checked her out they only made it to the hallway and then I came rushing out. In high school I played the clarinet, bass clarinet, tenor sax, trombone and baritone - 5 instruments. Now for the lie. I did not fail my 6th grade year but it was the hardest for me. We moved from one county's public school district to another county's public school district and I went from straight A's to failing in one month. It took me all year to catch up to their standards, but I finally made it to a C and passed the 6th grade. This was fun and thanks for playing with me!

2 Truths and a lie!

So, there is a blog I follow and she did this a few days ago. It sounded like fun and so I thought today since I couldn't think of anything else to post I would try it too. I am not very good at coming up with a lie so I am not sure if I will stump anyone, but here it goes anyway.

1) I was born in the hall way of the house my house.

2) I failed the 6th grade because we moved to a tougher school district.

3) I played 5 different instruments in high school.

Timing, Tone and Temperature.

I am a part of our churches Upward Basketball leadership team. It has been such a blessing to be a part of this group. The Lord had me step completely out of my comfort zone and in doing so has blessed me for it. Anyway, we are half way through the season and yesterday we had a meeting to prepare for the rest of the season and to plan the awards ceremony. One of the leaders prepared a devotional and it really got me thinking. He was sharing that when our kids "act out" it usually isn't the best time and we need to stop and take just a few seconds to think about what is going on and maybe even why it is going on. To try not to make a mountain out of a mole hill. I thought this was funny at first, but this happens to me all the time, especially with my oldest son. It may be something little, but because of where I am at, I tend to over react and probably make something bigger than what it needs to be. Next is tone, how am I coming across to my kids in my tone? Most of the time in these situations my tone is anger, and that isn't good. Our tone creates the temperature of the situation and if my tone is anger, then I increase the temperature just by reacting to what ever the situation is. So, all of this got me thinking yesterday about how I want to handle situations with my children. I want to take a minute to listen to what is really going with my kids so my tone is under control, even if I am upset, so I do not increase the temperature of the situation. If I control my timing and tone, the kids behaviors won't be worse because of my reactions to their situation and hopefully the mole hill will remain a mole hill or even better disappear all together instead of me creating a mountain.