Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for:

Gods Holy Word

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Prayer, I am thankful for prayer, I am thankful for a Living God who hears and answers prayers

For silly little monkeys

And even sillier little girls

For sweet little children

and all the Joy they bring.

Join me today in giving thanks to the Lord!!!

Praise for my Family

I just love this little guy. He is so energetic and bouncy, always looking for something to explore. He is always ready for a hug and kiss (especially for me, He is a mommas boy) I love the way you wake up ready to tackle the world, or rather tackle a big bowl of oatmeal and a sippy cup of chocolate milk, but you always wake up on the go, and want so much to do everything your big brother and sister do. I Thank my Heavenly Father that He sent you into my life, you are such a joy everyday and you are are growing so fast that I can hardly keep up. Oh and your many many faces, they make me smile just thinking about them.

Where did time go? You have grown up so fast and turned into an amazing little boy. I just love the way you think Pa, Pawpaw and Daddy hung the moon. You absolutely love to farm, and those overalls, you wore them all day yesterday and just came and asked if you could wear them again. I think you are pretty special. You are a quiet boy, not always at the front of pack, but you never miss a thing, and have such a great memory. You amaze me with your willingness to work, and you do such a good job at whatever you tackle. You wake early everyday with a desire to work, more often than not you are up before I am, waiting on me to get up so that we can go to the garden together and bring in all the veggies. Oh and how could I not mention how brave you are, You just love to ride those sheep at the rodeo and boy, are you a good hand with that rope, You sure are a great little cowboy!! How blessed I am that God sent you down to be my little boy!!!!

My lovely daughter, you are such a confident little girl on the back of that pony, especially when hes bucking with you, even more so when he is running 90 miles an hour around those barrels. I just love to watch you ride, you are getting better with every run. But you know what I love more than that, is your desire to listen to Friendships youth choir CD and sing at the top of little lungs right along with them. For all the confidence you have on a horse, you are sometimes unsure of yourself, but you don't let that stop you from making new friends or trying new things. You just love the camera I gave you ,and like your headphones, it is never far from your reach and you do such a good job taking pictures. I just love talking to you, You are full of thousands of questions and you have to study everything out down to the tiniest detail. You love your brothers very much, you just sometimes don't like to show it, but I can see how much you care by the way you are always taking care of them and letting them do things with you. Eli just loves to snuggle up in the chair with you and play with your hair and you love to let him do it. I am looking forward to seeing the young lady that you will be. I will never forget the day you were born and how thankful I am that God gave me such a precious gem.

My husband! What can I say, sometimes I could smack you, but I will always love you!!! You are a wonderful provider and a great father to our children. You support me in our rodeo adventure even though its not your cup of tea and you definitely support and encourage our kids. We have our bad days, days when it don't seem like we'll make it, but I couldn't imagine my life without you in it. I love you!!My crazy gang!!! I love you guys!!

Gods been good, In my life!!!

Thoughtful Tuesday

Today I have spent alot of time thinking about how good God is to me and how I can see His hand moving in the things I have been praying about. I am so full of rejoicing that I do believe I could shout to the world that I serve an amazing and powerful God.

However I do still have a few prayer request that I would love for all of you to remember:

My sister and her family

That the Lord would continue to move in my husbands heart about homeschooling our children( I have already seen God move so much in this and I can't wait to see the end result)

My family trading in our van, that the Lord would provide us with the vehicle that he wants us to have.

My church and the young people that attend there.

My best friends brother and his new baby girl

I have a few of these that have wayed heavy on my heart for several days and I still believe in the power of prayer and the ability I have as a child of God to go to Him, with all of my needs. So please join me in prayer today and let me know if you have any prayer request, I would love to help pray for your needs to.

Mondays Mess

You ever have those days (or weeks in my case), that absolutely nothing gets done. And I am talking about housework here. Well for the last two weeks I haven't been able to get anything done around here, really nothing done!! MY laundry is outrageous and my floors are a mess. Most of the time I am okay with a few things being left undone, so that I can do things with my kids, but I woke up this morning, took one look at my house and decided that something had to give, Man was I behind on my work. So I called my mother-in -law and asked her to watch the kids for awhile and what do I do when I get back home, I sit down at the computer and catch up on all my favorite bloggers:) Well then my husband calls and says "Hey, why don't you get the van cleaned up, and while the kids are at moms we will go and trade the van in" Now don't that beat all!! I am trying real hard not to let it get to me, the work will get done and life will go on!! I only hope that the work gets done and soon or I think I may go crazy, maybe I already have! (some would probably say that was true).
Anyways, I don't guess this blog really has a point today, I was just needing to vent, and what better place to vent than on the world wide web, where everyone can read about your misgivings as a housekeeper.
So I think that I will go now, I will let you know how much work I get done, and Hey if you get the chance stop over at prairie prologues blog and join in at the well I think that you will find it a real blessing, I know I did. And if you get the chance say a prayer for me!! Have a great day in the Lord.

Thankful Friday :)

Friends

I am thankful my daughter has such wonderful friends!

Little Feet!! I just love the feet of precious little boys.

Friends!! I know I already said it, but this time I am thankful for this wonderful friend of mine.

Sand Boys! He had so much fun letting his sister bury him in the sand, I do believe it was the highlight of his entire trip.

I missed thankful Thursday this week, so I decided to have a thankful Friday instead. I am so thankful for the people that God has allowed me to have in my life. They truly are wonderful!!!

Wednesdays Wisdom

But be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
James 1:22

How often have I read this verse and thought about what it says, And then just went on about my business. Well today this verse has been on my mind very much and I thought that I would say a few things about what it means to me.
It seems like the more I listen(or Read) to people talk about their walk with the Lord, I hear them say things like, I need to be more aware of the wrongs in my life, or I need to find more time for the things of God in my life, or How do I make more time for bible study or quiet time in my day, and even talk about what to study and how. And you know while all of these things are good and we do need to be more aware of them there comes a point and time when we need to "Just Do It". I am always saying "I really need to get my laundry caught up, or I need to clean out my storage building, but things don't get done on good intentions.
To me this verse of scripture is saying, do the things you read about, don't just hear them. I think we sometimes think that hearing them is enough and that in hearing them we are doing them, but I feel like it is then that we are deceiving our own selves. Hearing Gods word just isn't enough, we Have to do Gods word.
I spend so much time planing out my day and things I need to do that they never get done, I just hear myself talk about doing them. I waste more time trying to figure what I should do that I never get anything accomplished. I plan on planning, and I study about studying. Than it will finally get to the point that I will be so stressed out that I am no good to anyone.
So today I determine that I will be a doer and not just a hearer. Oh I agree that there are times that we need to be still and hear the things that God is trying to tell us, so I'm not saying to just run around like a chicken with its head cut off with no direction just so that we can say that we are doing something for the Lord, but I am saying that it is time we start to do the things we spend so much time talking about doing. If you need more quiet time with the Lord than just stop putting it off with the excuse that you have to much to get done and just do it, If you have things in your life that you need to get out of it , because you know they are hindering your fellowship with the Lord and you have just put off getting rid them because of your own selfish pleasure than today should be the day that you just get rid of it. There may not be anyone out there in blogland that needed this post today, but I can tell you that I sure did. It is time that I be about my Fathers business and I can't possibly be the mother, friend, or witness that I should be if I am only a hearer of Gods word. My prayer is that this post will help someone else today in the way that it has helped me.

What a Trip!!!

So glad to be back, My family and I had a wonderful time while we were away, but it is always wonderful to come home.

I always stand in awe of the greatness of God when we visit the ocean. I stand on the beach and feel like I am standing on the edge of the earth, I am reminded that God is the creator of all this beauty, When I watch the constant rolling in of waves and the tides I am reminded that God is a God of order and not of chaos and confusion, ( which is so often a part of my day). I remember that He holds the plans to all of this world and I feel a peace that passes all understanding.


I am still amazed that the One who laid down the foundations of this whole wide world, created me, knowing how often I would fall and He would have to pick me up, knowing that I would take for granted sometimes His goodness and mercy, how that I wouldn't always be an obedient child, He still loved me so much that He sent His only begotten Son to give His life for me.
I love you Lord, and I am so thankful for Your salvation and for Your Hands that hold me close, for the times that You let me see and learn more of You through Your awesome creation. Thank You, Lord for You blessings on me.
It is great to be back, I missed my blogland friends and hope to catch up with all of ya'll very soon. Have a great and blessed day!!!

Gone to the Beach! See you guys in week!!

Funny Friday

Today I am packing up my family for our trip to the beach next week and things around here are pretty chaotic at times. So I thought I would lighten things up a little with a few funny things my children, neices and nephews have said or done.

Out of the Mouths of babes.....

"Mom, does the bible say if he buggeth you, you CAN buggeth him!!!"
dear daughter at age 5

Sunday School Prayer Request " pray for my nana, she had a heart attack, but it didn't killer."
when asked what happened, He replied, "when Emmy fell off her pony my nana said she liked to had a heart attack" nephew Bry age 4


My neice Emmy told her pa, whom she had never seen ride a horse, but who can ride, as he was saddling up a horse to go round up a wild cow " Boy we gonna see a rodeo now, Pa I love you, but you gonna die, cause that horse is gonna kill you!!" Niece Emmy age 4

"Mom, don't the bible say that if you believe in Jesus and love Him that you will have everlasting life" "Yes ",I answered, " it sure does." "Well, she said, than I guess Papa must love Jesus cause he sure has lasted forever." ( he is 81 years old) dear daughter age 8

I hope that these little words have made you smile today, they sure have made me laugh in the mist of my chaos. I would love to hear from you about the funny things your kids have said. Have a great day .

Thankful Thursdays

Helpful Little Two Year old Boy

Perfectly content five year old boy

Sweet precious eight year old daughter

I am thankful for three little lives that the Lord has entrusted into my care. I am thankful for every thing they bring my way, when they empty shampoo bottles on my couch, I am thankful that it wasn't my floor, when they run through my house with muddy feet, I am thankful that I have a mop, when they chop down perfectly good squash plants, I am thankful that they were trying to help, when they ask me ,why? a thousand times in a row, I am thankful that they are wanting to learn something more. But most of all I am thankful that I get to spend each and everyday with them, no matter what that day holds.

Wednesdays Wisdom

I had so much fun with the old sayings from last week that I thought I would see if I could come up with up a few more this week.

I was talking to a good friend this past week and we were discussing a storm she has been walking through, and she made the statement " sometimes the matter is so big you can't get your mind around it" and that is the truth, the storms of this life do sometimes seem so big that we can't seem to wrap our minds around them .

So my saying for the week " Instead of looking at the problem, Look to the Problem Solver" I think this little tidbit puts everything in perspective, don't it. We often get so caught up in the howling winds of our storms that we forget that we have the ultimate problem solver. And the best part is, that when He calms the storms of this life, we can always trust that He will do what is best for us and our lives!!
Westie-Girls wonderful momma reminded me of this great saying this week and I just had to let all ya'll know. So now I want to hear from you guys, what are the little tidbits that ya'll love to hear. Drop me a line and let me know!!

A Tuesday full of Thoughts

Have you ever had one of those moments when the Lord says Hey straighten up!!, and you realize that you had fallen into some habits that didn't set a good, strong godly example to others. Well I must confess that I had recently fallen into some not so good habits, and I thought to share some of my thoughts to all ya'll here in blogland today on the habits I found myself in.

I read in the bible about Abraham, a righteous man and Lot, his nephew, who was more worldly minded. Now Lot followed Abraham until there was a fuss that came up and they decided to split. Now Abraham gave Lot the choice of which part of the land he wanted and the bible says that Lot cast his eyes toward Sodom. And while at first that might not have been bad, it didn't take long until Lot took his eyes off God, and we all know what happen after that. Things just got worse and worse for Lot and his family. You might be wandering where I am going with these thoughts and I am about to tell you, We all at times take our eyes off of God and our true purpose for being here on this earth, while we might not get as far away as Lot did, we are still far enough away for the devil to have an opening into our lives, and that my friend is dangerous.

I realized this week that I was slowly allowing things into my life ( changing my radio station to country instead of gospel, reading a book, that while it was a christian novel, it wasn't my bible,) that didn't strengthen my walk with the Lord but rather, it was weakening it. I cry as I sit here and write this because I am ashamed that I let such seemingly small things make a wedge in my fellowship with the Lord. Now I realize why God sent this message about Abraham and Lot to my pastor Sunday morning because He knew that I needed it. I am thankful that I realized what I was doing before I let these things get to strong of a hold. I Love the gentle way God brought me back to Him(before I had to take a real whooping).
There will always be a refining process to this christian life and that's OK with me, because that is what brings me closer to the one who gave His life for wretched old sinner like me.

I love the verses of scripture in Luke chapter 9, verses 23 and 24 that says "And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. "
Matthew 16:26 says " For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Nothing in this world is worth losing the fellowship I have with God. I don't want to ever cast my eyes toward Sodom(the world) and lose sight of the Lord Jesus Christ just for a few worldly pleasures. Jesus gave so much for that I should be willing to give my life to Him. I know that this post is a little raw, but I just needed to share with these thoughts. I hope and pray that this will be a help to someone else out there in blogland today. Be sure to join me next Tuesday when I tell you my thoughts on Sunday nights message, It was just as revealing as this one!!

Wow, What a Weekend

Wow, What a Weekend!!! I had a wonderful weekend full of family, friends and lots and lots of fun!! Thursday we celebrated Independace Day and my baby's 2nd birthday with my family. Boy did we have fun!!
MY baby boy and his cousin N are having fun getting into the cake! It must taste better when you sneak a few bites,(But now I wouldn't know anything about that)


T-man and his cousin bubba were having lots of fun going down this big hill on the tricycle , and then T-mans big sister gave them a little advice, I'm not sure what it was but I don't know that they will listen to her anymore...








Things were going along just snappy for a few minutes and then there was trouble... (lets just say things went downhill from here)
They were making it look so fun that I wanted to try it for myself until.......

Now it wasn't as bad as it looks and there were no serious injuries(although I do think a few mommas yelled) But just look at Callbell she don't have a clue that a major crash just took place( I think thats because she just spotted a trike that was open, and she was gonna get it)

This is the precious little Callbell who was trying her best to get this bike back up the hill so she could have a turn going down the hill.
We only had a few family feuds this year as well!! (I know how you feel Callbell I really wanted to go down that hill to)

I am very blessed with a wonderful christian family, with a father and mother who nutured and raised us in the things of God, with sisters and my brother and all the memories we made! I am so thankful,Lord, for this Family. Oh and I almost forgot, T-man wanted me to show the picture of his HUGE fish he caught this weekend,(it almost pulled him in the water). He is such a serious fisherman, but he sure was proud of this fine catch.

What a great weekend we had! I hope yours was just as fun. Drop me a line and let me know.

Thankful Thursdays

I am thankful for birthdays, this week especially, Tuesday was my 30th birthday and Sunday will be my baby boys 2nd birthday (where does the days go)


I am thankful for Prayer, for I truly believe that prayer changes things

I am thankful for my bountiful garden

I am thankful for my papa, who even now at the age of 80, is the greatest grandpa a girl could ever want. He is one of those clouds of witness that my gracious heavenly Father has allowed me to have here on this earth.


I am thankful that I am redeemed, that I can stand before the Lord and not be ashamed, for when He looks at me He sees His Son.

So what are you thankful for? Drop me a line and let me know.

Wednesdays Wisdom

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I spent the day yesterday breaking beans with my dad and my grandpa, and we spent alot of the time reminiscing about all the old sayings that my papa has been known to say. Growing up in the south on a big ole farm there is always plenty of work to be done and as a child one of those jobs was chopping out tobacco patches, boy were we ever glad to see the end of every row. More often than not my grandpa (or papa as we call him) was always right there beside us and if we slowed down or took to long to get a drink of water, He would always say "We're burnin daylight,lets get after it." Oh how I hated hearing those words as a kid!! My family has always grown a big garden too and we can all of our vegetables, I can remember working in the garden, planting beans, diggin taters,(eatin maters when no one was lookin) and using that dreaded gooseneck hoe again, He would often say "You don't work you don't eat". That would always stop my complaining,(cause i love to eat). The point I'm trying to make is that when I was little these saying never really made much since, but now as an adult I can see that they really are wise words to live by. (And by the way I love my garden now and my old gooseneck hoe)

That is my dad and my papa along with two of my children and they are getting to learn first hand what it means to "Work all summer so you can eat all winter" (another famous quote) I can only pray that when they are grown that they will look back and see what papa was teaching them with all the wisdom of his old sayings. Now these are just a few of them, cause let me tell you I could type alot more, but then that would make this post really long. Think back to when you were a kid and see if you remember any old saying that you used to hear and then let me know what they are. Can't wait to read them!!

Am I a Mary or Am I a Martha

Today i read a favorite blog of mine and was asked this question, Am I a Mary or a Martha. To be honest I am a little ashamed to answer. I would have to say that i am, more often that not, a Martha. The bible says that Martha was so busy doing things that she didn't take the time to sit and learn at Jesus's feet. And you know I get so caught up in what I am doing and what I have to do, that I don't stop near enough and just learn more about my Lord. I want to change that! Luke 10:42 Jesus is speaking and says " But one thing is needful: and Mary has chosen that good part,which shall not be taken away from her." I don't want to constantly be doing. And even when things are chaotic or my beds haven't been made yet, or dinner dishes haven't been put away, and my whole day seems crazy I need to remember the one thing that is needful, that is that the Lord and His word are the most important part of my day. I would definitly say that Mary had a closer walk with the Lord because she had her priorities right, God First, and then I think that every thing else will fall into the right places. You know I really want to see the lessons that God is teaching me in every situation that comes my way during the day, I would really like to be a Mary all day long, learn from the Lord while doing that which is pleasing to Him. I really think that it is a choice that we have to make, we each have alittle of both in us, part of us(or me) has the gotta do, gotta do, please everyone , rush around and get it done to perfection attitude, while at the same time trying to learn from the Lord and more often than not we miss out on Gods lessons. I hope this is making sense. So today I choose to do that which is needful and good, to be more like Mary and learn from Him, because I think that, that will make me a better Martha in my home.