First Things...

"Children grow up I've learned to my sorrow, so quiet down cobwebs and dust go to sleep, I'm rocking my baby, cause babies don't keep."

How true that is. We've had some "big" events around here. Not huge, but silent markers of a life that is full and alive...and fleeting. The first was last weekend when Julia was ready to take the plunge and get her ears pierced. I was shocked by the look of sheer determination that she wore on her face while she climbed on that chair and got her birthstones punched through her little ears. I think I was sad. I love her ears, and I felt like they were sweet little baby ears. Then I wondered if I was allowing her to grow up too fast. Wondering if there was some spiritual conviction I should have regarding the right age and appropriateness of having ears pierced. I decided that no, I do not have any convictions, they are sweet and we love them, and she is adorable and growing faster than I like and more beautiful that I could imagine and I am full to overflowing with love for my Julia...and her ears. So, here she is...




The other first for Ms. Jules is soccer. One of her sweet friends from church was playing and her father was coaching and the invited her to join them. When I first asked her she said that she wasn't interested, then I told her that Susanna was playing...then she couldn't wait. We are extremely thankful for friendships that the Lord gives our children now that we can nurture over time. Hopefully some wise friends that they can walk with...encouraging and spurring on toward love and good deeds...and having fun. So, Mike is the assistant coach and today was their first game and she did a super job! I'm not just saying that either! She ran hard in the correct direction and she wasn't afraid of the ball. I have bad memories of getting my glasses bashed in while kicking the ball into the wrong goal. Thankfully that generational curse has not fallen on my children. I'm serious about how thankful I am for that...for real! I made a special game day bow for her, and even though you can not see it, I love it...I love that it mattered to her. She matters so much to me.






The last and craziest of all is our 3 "first" as we got a dog...again. For those of you who know us well know that we have struggled in the past. This time is SO different. We rescued a sweet guy last weekend and he has been such a wonderful addition to our family. I suspect this is what it is supposed to feel like to have a dog. He was pretty much crate trained and potty trained and just really thankful. With the risk of sounding nuts, I really think our dog knows he was spared. He and his litter were on their way to be euthenized when they ended up at a Pet Adoption Resource Center (PARC). It's like he knows what could have happened and he's just thankful. We are too. His name is Sonny and he is about 7-8 months old and is a lab-mix, maybe with hound of some sort. I will say that I had just e-mailed a friend and told her that he was so great and wasn't chewing anything and blah blah and then last night we were all sitting around the table and heard this noise and dismissed it and then it started up again and it was the dog GNAWING on the legs of the table! So, there are a few things I've thought about spiritually since having him, but for now, I'll just keep it simple. We got a dog...and it's pretty great.





So, that's some news from here. Just life stuff...but isn't Christ in it all? Thankfully, He sure is. For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory and honor forever and ever. Amen!!!

My School Room

One of my favorite things to do, sort of, is look at other people's school rooms. I am not sure why that is so much fun to me, maybe because they all look so very different, but I got to thinking about my school room. Maybe I should post this on my other blog, but I hardly ever post over there, so I'm posting here instead. So, I thought that I would post a picture of my school room. What do ya think? I'll post more pictures later, but thought this would be a great start. Here's is why.

We are all homeschooling. The greatest lessons come from this place, for all of us. Some of us may spend a bit more time in our "school room" but we all have one. Don't believe me? Take a minute, walk out the door that you walk through when you are bringing in your groceries, then walk to where you get your mail. If you haven't gotten your mail yet, go ahead and grab it, then as you turn around close your eyes and then open them. That's it! That's your school room. As you walk back into the door you just exited get ready to walk into the most important place in the life of your family. Your home. Does your home have a smell? Not necessarily a bad smell, but do you know I can still smell things and say, "That smells like Oak Leaf Ct, or this smells like the Beach House." What do you hear in your home? I still love remembering walking into my home from college when everyone was home. It just feels good. Your kids love that place. Don't believe me? Tell them that you are selling it. They'll flip...or start talking of what they'll do with all the added space! The conversations that take place in the school room that is close to the oven and the fridge are big time. Some of the best conversations happen around that table, whether it's game playing, eating or pencils and papers. It's big.

I could go on. I just wanted people to know that you might not be a "home schooler," per se, but you also have a school room. It will look different from mine, but you are still the primary teacher. You are still the one that is in charge. Those children are still yours. We are all teaching our children. We are all loving them and hoping that they will grow to be passionate with a purpose and willing to invest in those things that are unseen and eternal. We all have a school room...everyone is teaching something, and everyone is learning something, from the school room in front of the mailbox through the door where the groceries come. What's your school room look like? What are you learning?

Yertle the Turtle

I do love Dr. Seuss. I haven't read him enough lately, but last night Ella was pretending to be a vet, and when I asked her what her name was she said, "Dr. Seuss." Pretty clever that little spunky thing! The other day we were, however, reading Yertle the Turtle and this line caught me. First let me say that Yertle is a very grumpy turtle that wants to be ruler over everything that he can see. In order to be a bigger ruler, he stacks more and more turtles on top of one poor Mack, and apparantly forgets why he is so tall. Listen,
"You hush up your mouth!" howled the mighty King Yertle.
"You've no right to talk to the world's highest turtle.
I rule from the clouds! Over land! Over sea!
There's nothing, no NOTHING, that's higher than me!"

As I read that I thought, "Yertle, you fool, you are only high because you are standing on their backs! They put you in that position and listen to how you speak to them!" I won't tell you how it ends, in case you want to find out for yourself, but here's the thing, anything that I am, or will be, is because I am standing on someone's back. I think of the great cloud of witnesses that have gone on before us, those Amy Carmichael's and the George Mueller's. The Livingstone's and Ten Boom's. Those courageous souls who were willingly and joyfully obedient and have paved the way for many believers to do some pretty super things for the glory of God. We stand on their shoulders. We stand on the shoulders of the One who took our cross on His shoulders and lugged it bruised and beaten all the way to Calvary. The relationship that I have with my Father, I have because of Him. May I never forget that and speak as harshly as ole' Yertle did, who eventually was King of the Mud. Hmmm. I've been there a time or two.

So, whose shoulders are you standing on? And who will stand on yours?

All Night All Day...

My childhood is sometimes spotty. One thing that I do remember well is singing the song, "All night all day, angels watching over me my Lord." Do you know it? It's a sweet song, comforting, especially since it came right before the prayer, "If I should die before I wake I pray the Lord my soul to take!" WHAT??? I love the idea of being watched...by nice celestial beings...not stalkers! You know what I like even better? Now that I know Jesus I have learned that He is watching me. I almost cried (really I probably did cry) the other day when I saw what that looked like.

I have girls. I love doing nails and hair. Not to make them perfect, I just find it fun. Right now my nails are blue. I must give a shout out to Jo because every time I look at my toes I think of you! You would totally dig the color. It's blue in some light and purple in another...anyway...I finally had a taker on dance class. I really think Julia would be good at dance, so I asked her if she'd like to do a dance camp to check it out. She's rather reserved and she declined my offer. Her sister, however, thought that was SUPER exciting and wouldn't let me rest until she knew she was enrolled in Tinkerbell camp. It was this week from 10:00-11:15. I didn't love having to be somewhere everyday at the same time, but what can I say? I'm a team player. The recital was on Friday. It was PRECIOUS! I'm very thankful that my Mom, 2 sisters, 1 brother-in-law, husband, nephew, and other 2 children could make it to watch her spin and hop and jump.

Y'all, it was no swan lake. She was a bit nervous and didn't really do the stuff like her teacher said, but I thought it was AWESOME...why? Because SHE is awesome. She is mine! I had the camera on her the entire time. Just sitting there, doing nothing. I didn't want the other kids in the frame because she was the one I was there to watch. She was the one I came to cheer for. She was mine! Everything she did was adorable because she was trying (sort of). Her little bun and tu-tu...her face! Sweet!

Then the Lord whispered to my heart. "Ali, I watch you like that. You are mine. You don't do it right but it brings me joy to see you." I must be honest, I've been riddled with fear. I've been out of the Word and avoiding prayer (WHY do I do that???) and I've just been downright afraid of what the future could hold for us. I'm scared that I might make decisions that would make God unhappy, because maybe they wouldn't be spiritual enough. Example: "Would God be mad if we moved into a house that had a little bit more room?" Um. No. Or "Will God be mad if we want to live closer to Mom and Mike's work?" Um, probably not. Paralyzed I tell you! Frightened that my PERFORMANCE will determine His love for me. Y'all, Ella is not an incredible ballerina, but my heart was full to overflowing watching her! That really is how the Lord of heaven and earth looks at me. He rejoices over me...and you...with singing. He never sleeps, He never slumbers...He will let no harm come to me. He has loved me with an everlasting love and has every hair on my head numbered. Because of the perfect performance of Jesus Christ...I'm in! I belong to the One true living God whose being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth are infinite, eternal and unchangeable! Praise the Lord.

I don't twirl when I'm supposed to. I certainly can't fly through the stars like a graceful fairy should. Yet there is still a treasure for me. Just like those little girls got to dig through the treasure chest for their treasure, I have One as well.

Every day I have an opportunity to dig in the treasure He has for me everyday in His word. Everyday I get to marvel at the creation that reveals His glory. Every night when I lie down to sleep, God watches over me. It's true! He is my treasure, and you know what the crazy thing is? Because of Christ, I am His.

Dance, ladies, dance! You might not be the best ballerina, but you are His.

9 Foot Sunflowers and 1 in faith

"I got 9 foot sunflowers out there." Mike was on the phone with his Mom. I'm thankful for the pleasure in the conversation. There was a brief pause, "No, I didn't do anything. I just put em' in the ground."

My heart stopped a little bit in the realization of that statement. "I didn't do anything, I just put them in the ground."

"What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe---as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters in anything, but only God who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded acording to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building." 1 Corinthians 3: 5-9

I heard it preached on Sunday and it was as though rain was literally falling on my parched and thirsty soul. My legalism can certainly get the best of me and I can cheapen grace with the best of them. When I see fruit in my life I think, "God is SO VERY LUCKY to have me on His team. I am probably the MVP or at least the Most Improved!" Then when there is no fruit and my temper is quick and my mouth is foul (from the darkness of my heart) I wonder if I'm even saved. "How could a dirty wretch like me even believe for one second that Jesus would have anything to do with me?"

Then I hear things like, "I just put em' in the ground." and in seasons where my faith is the size of a smaller than usualy mustard seed, I am relieved. Really? Could that really be true that any fruit on the vine of my life, or those around me is there because God is the One? What a relief. Then there are the days when I think, "Well, if He's going to be the One responsible for fruit...why am I slaving away like this?" Here's the thing, I do need to tend the garden. Mike didn't just throw the seeds in the ground and hope for the best. He sort of did that, but he also made his own soil "cocktail" and watered every day sometimes twice a day. He inspected the garden for bugs and checked for fruit daily. He did not however, produce the fruit. Hmmm.

There are so many things about God that I know without a shadow of a doubt are true. My life, however, says otherwise. I am so very thankful that my ability to believe the truth doesn't change the fact that the Truth is the Truth. And the Truth is that it is God who makes all things grow. We can pull the weeds that would choke out the fruit. We can tend the soil and water the roots, but when it all comes down and those 9 foot sunflowers just keep growing. All we can do is be amazed...just like everyone else.

A Cup of Ramble

So, yesterday I was just sort of unsettled and wanted to look around at what everyone else's school rooms looked like. That's a super bad idea for me because I do not have a school room. I do not have a dining room, bonus room, laundry room...blah.blah.blah. I will say, that I love where we are. We are about central to everything and our little house has taught us a great deal. However, sometimes I just get the wants. I saw one picture where the family had a basement as their school room (I'd say most basements are bigger than our home!) and they had massive bookshelves and tables and chairs and supplies OH MY! I was frustrated, and then I saw these cute "nature shelves." They were simply CD towers that must have been wood and were painted green (a nice soothing green)and the children were able to store their treasures there. You know what treasures I'm talking about don't you? Sticks, rocks, shells, bits of string...stuff that belongs outside! There is one stick currently on a table by my door, and another piece of interesting wood on the porch, after I asked someone to get it out of my room. My kids would love that. So, I glanced around my house wondering where this could go and thought, "Yeah, right. One more thing." Then I considered the porch. AHA! We could build some little tables and the children can sort and do whatever they want with their treasures. I felt like a winner, and was reminded that God has always and will always have a spare corner for what we need. All that to say, when I was telling my Mom about it I said, "You know how my kids always have their pockets crammed with heaven." Wow. What else would I want them to cram their pockets with? If you aren't cramming your pockets full of heaven, do you know what you are cramming them full of? Hmmm. This world. This perishable, fallen world.

I consider my own pockets. The nooks and crannies of my home and my heart. What am I cramming them full of? I read an article recently that stated American homes are getting bigger, but our families are getting smaller. We are, essentially, replacing people with stuff. I wish I could remember the article because the author said that parents are essentially parenting stuff. That was hard to hear. Hard to consider. Am I cramming my house full of heaven or earth?

On those same lines we were reading from Joshua in our Chronological Bible (we are in March and we started last year) and Mike and I were so tired of hearing what clan got what land and on and on and on and...the kids listened so carefully. It was shocking. When I shut the Bible I said, "Why is this in here? What can we learn about God from all this?" We came up with the fact that God assigns land. There was always land enough for the people and even pastureland. So we talked about how this house, on this street...this is God's provision for us. Isn't that something that some long passages in Joshua about the allotment of land can speak to the dark secret places. Those places that wander around looking at what everyone else has.

Meanwhile, my children are cramming their pockets full of Heaven. Let me come to Him as one of them.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy and where theives cannot break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

So, today, Father, help me to empty my pockets so that I can cram them jam-packed full of Heaven. Amen

Need Anything?

Some friends of ours are currently in the process of adopting from China. There is a yardsale tomorrow and the proceeds will go towards the cost of the adoption. If you are in Augusta and want to support them...head on over there tomorrow morning!

HUGE Multi-family
Yard Sale and Bake Sale
at Queensborough National Bank in Evans by the Ford Dealership (on the SHADY side :)
7am - 1pm this Saturday 6/26


TONS of Baby and Toddler gear and clothes, train table, strollers, nursing pump, toys,
bikes, furniture, matching twin beds, desk, dresser, decor, pet accessories, tons of DVDs (good ones!), lots of books, and much more!
And last but not least....chocolate, fresh baked bread and other goodies! Lots of yummy baked goods!!!
All proceeds go to our adoption - getting our baby girl here from China!
(All those who want to pay by check can receive a tax deduction receipt through our partnership with Lifesong for Orphans).

So, as you tuck your little ones in, say a little prayer for this family, and so many others that are waiting on all of their children to be home!