Scripture Only Sunday

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of  Christ.  What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.  I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.  I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.   Philippians 3:7-11

Thankful Thursday

192.  The pool is finally clean and the water clear…
193.  School is almost over for this year…I’m ready for days to only play….
194.  The children are able to go to kid’s camp with our church this year…and helpful son is going on the youth trip…
195.  Today is moving day for my mom…her new room and bath are pretty much done and she is able to move her things in.

Father – thank You for all the blessings You place in our lives. 
196.  We have a place to live and enjoy one another, and even get on each others nerves from time to time. 
197.  Thank You for helpers, challenge son building walls for the new rooms and helping with the flooring and running the plumbing and electrical wiring.
198.  Helpful son helping with paneling the rooms and and putting taking down and putting up the ceiling fan, painting and installing the new toilet and hanging shelves for the new closet
199. Fun son helping with the flooring and putting down the baseboards.
200. Sensitive son helping put away the tools and clean up and bring materials to his dad. 
201.  Thank you for princess daughter who brought refreshing water to those who were working and who made sandwiches when we were hungry. 
202. Thank You Father for a dad who is willing to take the time to teach his sons, even though it makes the project take longer. 
You know God, it is kind of cool that if I will stop and consider the blessings in our lives the list seems to grow and grow.  From an overflowing, abundantly grateful heart…
In Jesus,

Getting In Shape

Do you ever feel like God is speaking to you really loudly?  Well, here is how it has gone for me…

About two weeks ago Precious husband brought home a set of exercise DVD’s.  It is a 90-day plan for exercise and diet.  Knowing we are really out of shape and need to refocus on these areas, we started the program.  It is not easy to be disciplined when you are a couch potato and love junk food.  But so far things have been going pretty well.  Each day the children and I put on our exercise clothes and shoes and head to the basement for our hour long workout.  We are slowly trying to eat healthier foods – this is really my downfall.

So this past Sunday at service our Pastor announces that the Wednesday night classes for summer are titled…get this… “Get in Shape: Be a Body Builder.”  Needless to say my ears perked right up.  The goal of the classes is for us to learn more about how God has created us uniquely to build His Kingdom. 

Hmmm…uniquely created in body and spirit by the Creator of the universe for His purposes and glory.  

Father – I’m listening and longing to hear what You have to say regarding my place in Your Kingdom…

Scripture Only Sunday

“Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.  Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.”  Luke 12:22-23

Thankful Thursday

Every Thursday I try to take time to remember and be grateful for all the blessings God has placed in my life.  I try to be intentional in looking for the miracles in the daily life God has graced me with.  Today I want to focus on being grateful for the country I live in…no matter how flawed it is.  I am sure there are many areas of this country that are filled with poverty.  People who struggle and wonder every day where there next meal will come from.   Gratefully, this has not been the issue in my life.

My Precious husband’s mother was a single parent who raised six children on her own.  After his parents were divorced she had the responsibility of caring for all the children on her own.  The laws back then did not provide for recovering income from fathers’ who did not give financial assistance for their children.  I have heard my husband tell stories about making sandwiches from mustard and ketchup and being grateful there was bread in the house to create those sandwiches with.  This is as close to poverty as I have been personally.

 By God’s grace I was given parents who worked hard to see that our needs were provided for…and many of our wants as well.  All this to say that in talking with my mother about her trip to Brazil, one of the statements that has stuck in my mind is her statement that “Poverty is pretty much the same wherever you go in the world.”  This from a woman who has travel to Romania three times, Mexico once, Honduras once, and now Brazil to serve as a short-term missionary.

 My mom and her team members getting ready to work on the church they came to build.

 Mom and her roommate learning to lay brick for the church.

Mom’s team continue to work on the church.






After the first day my mom and some of the ladies spent time organizing a Vacation Bible School and working at the training center the missionary serves.  The missionary’s goal is to train the people with a real life skill to help them provide for their families as there is no industry in the town.   Mom taught a sewing class…teaching the young ladies a skill.




Old sewing machines…

Getting new machines….
 
Success after a job well done. 

When I asked my mom her favorite memory from the trip her reply was, “Seeing how people from different countries can work together to accomplish a common goal.  Even with the language barrier things can get done.”
“Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."  Matthew 28:18-20

Mother’s Project and Mission Trip

Well, Sunday came, went, and the project is still not complete.  The bedroom is totally done…

 

 

bathroom should be completed by the end of this week.  Precious husband will be running all the plumbing  and electrical on his two days off this week.  Hopefully she can move in by the weekend.

I can say with excitement, however, that gold-hearted mom arrived safely home from her mission trip to Brazil.  She tells me the trip went really well.   Tomorrow I plan to update with some photos and maybe a video (if I can load it) and a short interview with my mom.  Much was accomplished while her team was there.  I’m so glad things went so well.   God is always so amazing!

Congratulations!!

Big shout out and congratulations to our Darling daughter and Dear son-in-love on their one year anniversary.  Glad you had a good time on your anniversary get away.  You guys are wonderful and such a blessing in our lives!!!   

 

Scripture Only Sunday

Against all hope, Abraham in hope, believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”  Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead – since he was about a hundred years old – and that Sarah’s womb was also dead.  Yet he did not waver through unbelief, regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.

Romans 4:18-21

Project Interrupted…

I was once given a plaque that reads…"This family interrupted on account of baseball season.” Well, our project has been slightly disrupted on account of two baseball games yesterday evening and one this evening. It is all good and lots of fun. Saturday will be a long day because we have an early morning game. I’m believing we will get things mostly finished since we will have all the rest of the day to work.

By the way, Fun son on the blue team lost their game. He did get to pitch part of an inning, played shortstop and hit a double and single.

Sensitive son had two games in two days and his team won them both. They played the same team two nights in a row. So this makes them the first half champions and headed to the championship game at the end of the season. This son has the game early in the morning.

Time is Growing Short

Yeah, today the flooring was finished and the baseboard and quarter round were installed.  I managed to get one room caulked and one wall painted.  Tomorrow while Precious husband is at fire station we will finish caulking and painting the bathroom. 

I am disappointed the painting has not been completed already.  Oh well, someone has to be the gopher, running to the hardware store for supplies.   Then we do still have to eat and take care of the daily chores that have to be done no matter what. 

But I am feeling the clock ticking now.  My mom gets back Sunday and hubbie still has to finish the plumbing.  Two days left….

Flowing Along

With Precious husband back home today there is a LOT going on.  Quite a bit of plumbing work got done.  Then there was a big snag…I went to get the flooring.  Unfortunately Precious husband’s truck would not start after we loaded it up.  A dear man in the parking lot tried to give the truck a jump.  However, I still had to call Precious husband to come help as the truck would not start.  Turns out after an hour of working with it that one of the bolts was stripped.  Hubbie put in a little larger bolt and the truck started right up.   I am so grateful he was able to get it started.  He is a pretty amazing guy.

By tomorrow the transformation should be really major.  Walls will get their final coat of paint.  Trim and doors will be painted.  Flooring should be done.  Then it will just be the finish up of all the plumbing and electrical work.  Hanging light fixtures and installing shower curtains.  Saturday is approaching FAST. 

Why We Blog…Thankful Thursday

My comment in her comment box reads:
Lyla - Oh you have phrased it so much better than I could.
"So I’ve always written, because I can’t not write.
But I always quickly put it away for no one to see."
I have journals filled with my writing, searching, praising, struggling, learning from my heavenly Father. Blogging has become my public voice, my daily reminder of how God works in our lives. Sometimes it is just our lives, daily, common. But each one is God's gift and I wanted to remember and learn from every one of them. Wait...this is turning into a "Why I Blog" post on your blog. It is just your writing has touched a cord inside. Thank you for facing your giants as a grasshopper in Christ and sharing your story.
All this said because a gifted writer, Jennifer@ Getting Down With Jesus,  asked why we blog. http://gettingdownwithjesus.blogspot.com/2009/05/why-we-blog.html
I did not mean to answer the challenge, I really sometimes wonder myself why I blog. Then I read, Why We Blog: Blame It On The Grasshoppers, over at Lyla’s blog, A Different Story, and, well, my comment turned into why I blog.
I write because God has given me a unique perspective and voice in His kingdom. This is how I share the voice He has given me. Blogging challenges me to live in the moment and see the Holy Spirit moving in our lives.
187. I am grateful for this outlet, this blogging journey.
188. I am grateful for other inspired souls who lend their voice to Christ’s amazing work of grace in their daily lives.
189. I am grateful my mom made it to Brazil safely.
190. I am grateful the seeds planted are beginning to grow.

Day Three…

Today Precious husband had to work at the fire station. So we did not get as much accomplished as I had hoped. We did get all the rest of the carpet and padding pulled up and removed from the room. I managed to get all the walls primed. Challenge son managed to get some baseboard down. However, we were unsure about cutting the crown molding. Best wait until hubbie arrives home tomorrow. But the rooms are coming along nicely.

The biggest excitement for me today was checking out my adventures in gardening. I am so excited to see things actually growing! The cherry tomatoes and lettuce, green beans, and broccoli are plantings from seeds. Look they are actually growing.

The squash and yellow tomatoes are plants we picked up at a local coop. They both have blooms on them.

I am amazed at how quickly the seeds have sprouted. I thought it would take about two weeks and it has only taken about seven days. Wow! It runs through my mind about how we plant the seed of God’s Word into ourselves and our children. We wait to see the results, the growth. Sometimes it seems like what has been planted is slow in growing or dead. However….

“Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near…”For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways,” declares the Lord. “As high as the heavens are above the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth; it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

Isaiah 55: 6;8-11

God’s Word goes forth, every time we speak it, live it. It takes longer for us to see the growth, because we are works in process. Because He is faithful it will not return empty. What a wonderful visual reminder. I am so enjoying our journey into gardening. I feel like my father’s daughter (earthly and spiritual). Which is pretty cool.

Day 2 Mother’s Day Surprise

Today is day 2 of the new master suite for my mom.  After moving everything out of an existing den into a formal living room we were ready to frame the bathroom and closet.  Two oldest boys spent the morning framing before one had to go to work.As the day wore on Precious husband and Challenge son had the electrical work done, plumbing roughed in, and almost finished putting paneling up.  We live in an older home that once had nothing but paneling throughout.  My parents had slowly been painting the paneling and installing baseboards and crown molding for a more modern look, as you can see from the walls in the closet.  We will paint the new paneling to match. By the end of the day the walls were paneled and the doors were even hung.   This little closet looks pretty good.

 My job (and three youngest children) for the day has been to rearrange the basement to store all the formal furniture.  Except for moving two pieces of furniture, a sofa and pine hutch, everything has been moved.  The basement has received a good cleaning as well.  Yeah!  Challenge son has made one trip to our local landfill today and will make another in the morning.  I also have a local recycle mission coming to pick up things I have sorted through that we no longer need.  Merging our home with my mother’s is taking a while.  I am slowly letting go of things I have hung on to for much too long.  Learning that less is really more. 

Well, it has been an industrious, productive day.  Tomorrow we will remove the remaining carpet in the room, prime and paint the new walls, put down baseboards, and put up crown molding while Precious husband is at the fire station. 

Happy Mother’s Day…

So Saturday, May 9th, my mother left America to travel to Brazil with a local mission group.  The group she is traveling with will be helping to build a church in a poor section of Brazil.  While several other ladies do bible studies my mother will be teaching a sewing class.  When they are done they will leave the sewing supplies behind so the ladies in the community can continue to sew clothing for themselves and their families.  Needless to say I have one pretty amazing mother!  I can only thank God for that – one of His gifts to me.

Last July my father died.  In October my family of seven moved into the home my family has lived in since my grandmother was very young and where my father and mother were living.  I may have mentioned before that my children are the fifth generation to live in this home that has been expanded and renovated many times over the years.  It is a three bedroom, two bath house (not including a bath in the basement).  One son is sleeping in a spot in the basement that we have closed off with curtains.  He is fine with that since there is a bathroom down there.  Another son has been sleeping in a converted sewing room.  Two sons are sleeping in converted attic space.  Princess daughter, gold-hearted mom, precious husband and I occupy the three bedrooms.    Well, now to my point, our gift to my mother.

Beginning last evening after she left we began moving furniture.  Merging a den area with a formal living room that is unused space.  This morning when precious husband arrived home from work we laid out our plans and started our project.  When my gold-hearted mother arrives home she will have a new bedroom and bath – a master suite in this old house.  (I’m writing this post counting on the fact that she is out of the country and unable to read my blog for the week because we have a surprise for her.)  I plan to move son out of sewing room to give that room back to her as well.  Hopefully this will make the living spaces a little more functional for everyone.

I am excited about this project even though it means the house will be turned upside down.  It will be a hectic week but I try to post our journey as a reminder of the gifts God continues to give us.

 

 

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY – MOM!!!  SURPRISE!!

Scripture Only Sunday

The Lord protects the simple-hearted,

when I was in great need, he saved me. 

Be at rest once more, O my soul,

for the Lord has been good to you.

                   ~~Psalm 116:6-7

Thankful Thursday

I am grateful for….

182. Mom & Princess daughter tea party

183.  A small garden planted in faith…I am no farmer…may God give the increase

184.  Birds nest discovered

  

185.  A day to play

186.  Flowers after a spring rain

Stillness

I feel a quietness, silence in my soul

A troubling stillness, a gaping hole

I search for significance, I look all around

I always end up with my face to the ground

Humbled by your grace, tears on my face

The fragrance of God’s presence I find in this place

Such wonder, such peace flows from above

Here in the solitude I rest in Your love.

--Nancy Kourmoulis