Does your baby sleep through the night?

I have this picture positioned in a very visible spot in my living room for one main reason...encouragement. Through the days, weeks, and months when Austin was such a restless sleeper, this picture gave me a glimmer of hope.

I have asked the question many times of mothers with infants..."So, how does your baby do at night? Are you getting any sleep?"

I'm sure you have asked that question too, out of curiosity, out of sympathy, maybe out of a lack of not knowing what else to say.

I used to not mind it when people asked me that question. I felt like I was doing a great job with the fact the my first two boys slept through the night from early on. I was thankful for good sleepers, and I couldn't understand how other moms had a hard time getting their babies to sleep at night. 

Now I know not every mom thinks like this, but is there anyone else out there that felt a little pride in the fact that your babies successfully slept through the night? I sometimes felt like I earned my mommy badge in the sleep department and I could move on to bigger and harder problems. 

I was very black and white about the whole sleep thing...if your child didn't sleep, you were obviously doing something wrong as a parent.

Then along came our third boy. I felt like my mommy sleeping badge was ripped off my chest. I felt like a failure. I tried everything I had done with my other children. I read books on sleep and tried different techniques. Nothing consistently helped.

It was about that time that I felt like everyone was asking me, "So, how are you sleeping at night?" As if they new my failure. 

In my tired state I wanted to shout back at them, "I'm not, I'm exhausted, and I don't want to hear your suggestions!"

I was discouraged, and tired, so tired. I was desperate too. I remember so many times falling on my knees before God without even knowing what to say. I wanted to complain, I wanted wisdom, I wanted sleep. 

In the midst of my tears, He kept assuring me, "Be still and know that I am God."

I wanted answers, not silence. But silence was what I needed. I can't explain the peace that came when I stopped searching for sleep solutions. In the stillness before God, I realized that I didn't need a solution or a quick fix to my problem. 

I needed to know that my God was near me when I felt so discouraged. That He heard the wordless prayers of my desperation. That He gives grace upon grace to face the challenges of each day. I had to set "Emily's Solutions" aside and rest in the fact that God would guide me through this time in my life. 

You know, the pressure of finding answers to pressing problems fades away quickly when you give the problem and the need for answers over to God. "Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established." Proverbs 16:3 Yes, God even cares about guiding me with wisdom in how to care for my children. AWESOME!

So I never found a complete sleep solution, and there are still nights when my 10 month old is restless. But I realized that just because my baby doesn't sleep at night, doesn't mean I have failed in some way. (I'm not writing this for sympathy at all, it is just something I had to come to grips with.) I also learned that just because someone else's child may not perform specific things at certain milestones doesn't mean that they are parenting incorrectly. They may just do things differently, parents and babies alike. And that is okay! 

And in 15 years from know, I bet my third boy will be the hardest one to wake up in the morning :)

Up on the mountain

(One year overdue...this all happened September 2012)

After traveling for three weeks in Alabama, Oklahoma, and New Mexico, we had a "week off" with no meetings scheduled. Last year when this happened we were able to assist a ministry in Colorado Springs, CO and we truly enjoyed it. We were surrounded by the Garden of the God's park, and we were able to see Pike's Peak from a distance.

Since we needed to stay out west for up coming meetings, Jonathan tried to see if we could help the same ministry. They told him that the main ministry location didn't need our help, but they had a camp that had been damaged by the summer forest fires that could really use some man power. 

The camp was only about 20 to 30 minutes from Colorado Springs...on paper or as the crow flys...but when you add in the mountain roads...it was pretty far away. Little did we know we would be up IN Pikes Peak National Park.

As we were climbing up the mountain, my husband turned on the gps feature that told our altitude. 8000 ft...8500 ft...I finally told him to keep it to himself. I didn't want to know. I was about 25 weeks pregnant and altitudes always do weird things to me when pregnant. I just wanted to be ignorant about the fact that we were really 9300 ft above sea level.

Unfortunately I wasn't the only on who didn't like the altitude and mountain climbing. As we turned onto the dirt road to camp, our truck started smelling and pouring out fluid...transmission fluid. So for the time being we left our camper and truck parked on the dirt road, loaded up the boys and myself and a few essential belongings into the remaining working truck and proceeded to camp...on the bumpiest road I've ridden on during all 3 pregnancies. Jonathan seriously thought I was going into labor.

After much work and many helpful hands as well as the wonderful provision of God we figured out we  blew the transmission on our truck and the Lord allowed it to be replaced in time for us to make it to our next week of meetings.

But that was only the beginning of the week! I found myself huffing and puffing the rest of the week around our cabin and up the stairs. The couch and the bathroom were my two favorite friends for I could not keep much food down. The boys were entertained by their fisher price basketball net and old PBS kids episodes on the internet. The scenery was beautiful, the rest of the team accomplished much in cleaning up the forest fire debris...but I was counting my days to get off that mountain!

And miraculously as soon as we came down, I could eat again!! I've never been so thankful to be able to eat before! Let's just say this week was truly a learning experience...one of complete dependence and one where I realized that I must continue to surrender to God moment by moment or I simply wouldn't make it.

The view was gorgeous!

Our cabin was awesome too!

Begging me to take them outside

Keeping busy in the cabin

Ethan is looking for a troll under the bridge

The main camp building where we ate

View of part of the camp. The fire damage was just beyond those pine trees

Flee or follow? That is the question

(This post is a continuation from my most recent post about our response to trials & frustrations. You can read part one here.)


Joseph's life gives a perfect illustration of how to respond to unwelcome, unplanned, and unfair events!

For quite some time (like years!!), Joseph didn't get the answer to why he was sold into slavery, why he was betrayed by Potipher's wife, and why he was left in prison. I am sure he probably asked God, "What about those dreams you gave me so long ago about my brothers bowing down to me? What happened?"

Had God really forgotten about Joseph? Even after Joseph's correct response to trail #1 in his life, God still allowed trial #2,3,4....Was the Lord not honoring him for his obedience?

Psalm 105:17-19 gives us a small picture of what God was doing.

"He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant: whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: until the time that his word came: the Word of the Lord tried him."

God was using His word to try Joseph -- refine him, purify him. According to Joseph's own words, "God meant it for good" (Gen. 50:20).

In retrospect, Joseph saw God's good hand at work through each trial.

God uses trials, daily frustrations of my plans, to humble me by causing me to realize that He is in control and I am not. He wants to purify me!

If I flee from the trial, quit and trow in the towel, I refuse to let God change me. I refuse the blessing of being drawn closer to Him. I miss the peace of absolute dependence on His Word. And I may never see how God wanted to use the trial for good in my life.

So will you flee or follow?

Source

Have you ever thought, "I just want to give up!"

Source

There are some days when this thought goes through my mind often! I hope I'm not the only one...I think not. That is our initial human response to frustrated plans, hard days, and trials.

Yesterday, Ethan demonstrated clearly how I often act. As we were sitting at the table working on a puzzle, he was having a hard time getting the pieces to fit together so that the puzzle would lay flat on the table to form a proper picture.

First he tried pounding the pieces together with his fists. After seeing that didn't solve the problem, he pushed the puzzle away and said, "I'm just not going to do this puzzle anymore." (insert pouting lip and furrowed brow)

Things were NOT working out the way he liked, so his response was to quit. 

How often is that my first response when God brings something into my life that wasn't in my plans? Recent "unplanned" events that we had to deal with were stolen computers, health restrictions, vehicle problems and our family being apart for quite sometime. 

These to me are the "big things," yet there are small things that happen every day that challenge my plans. What about a day full of disobedient children when you had planned to get SO MUCH done? Or how about those unexpected nights where your children need you and your sleep goes out the window? Maybe your air conditioning went out during the heat wave. I'm sure you can fill in the blank with your own frustrations.

When trials big or small come, I have to be honest, not only do I want to give up, but I start asking God, "Why me? Aren't we serving You and telling others about Jesus? Haven't we already sacrificed so much for You? Why does everything bad seem to happen in succession?"

Flee, Give up, Quit, says my flesh.


After pouring my heart of grievances and accusations out to God, in the stillness, His Spirit says to follow.


Follow??

Yes, follow even when I don't know what the next step to follow is. Follow even though I may not know the exact answer to why God allows hardship into my day.

His Word gives me the answer to the question of why is this trial in my life...

"No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly." Psalm 84:11

But how do I know how to follow God in the next step?

"Trust in the Lord and do good,

               Delight thyself also in the Lord,

                                Commit thy way unto the Lord." Psalm 37:3-5

I may not immediately have concrete answers for what action to take next. I don't need them right away, although my mind would love to work in overdrive to formulate a plan.

The simple commands God wants me to follow are trust, delight and commit. Do the next thing God wants me to do (i.e. make supper, take care of the children, go to church...everyday acts of obedience in the job assignment God has given me).

Such simple commands, but impossible to accomplish without God's grace. 

Source

Joseph's life is an excellent example of this! Post about him soon to come!

A Woman's Worth

"We live in a day when what you do equals who you are. A woman's worth is determined by her work's value and the amount she accomplishes. But a mother's work is never finished or is constantly coming undone, and few people reward or recognize the nurturing skills used in mothering."

(Believe it or not, this quote was taken from a Publix magazine that I get with recipes from time to time. I have since thrown it away, so I can't document the source!)

I have to be honest with you. Many times I find myself thinking, "I could get so much more done during the day if my kids didn't always need my attention."

Wow! While that thought is true, it is also so WRONG! It is so easy to get caught up in the world's mindset, my fleshly mindset, and think that I must accomplish something and have rewards for my daily labor.

As the day comes to a close, I can easily look around the house that was straightened, cleaned, even smelling good at one time during the day to see all my work undone and get discouraged or even frustrated at those who ruined my masterpiece (aka: a clean house).

Each day, and multiple times a day at that, I must ask the Lord to change my heart and redirect my focus from seeking after accomplishments to doing whatever the Lord has planned for me that day. He as given me 2 precious boys to love, enjoy, and share Jesus with. Whenever I feel myself get frustrated at having to constantly take care of children, play with toys, answer questions, change diapers...I have to ask the Lord to change my heart!

One day I will probably have a house that stays clean for longer than 10 minutes, a laundry pile that is easy to tackle, and even time to plant a beautiful garden to enjoy (one of my dreams). But at the same time I won't have little boys to laugh with, chubby babys legs to squeeze, or peaceful dreamers snug in their upstairs bedroom.

Cherish each moment!

A Home is for Hospitality

What would you do if a family of four showed up on your doorstep one night with four suitcases, garments bags, a pack-and-play, a box of toys, a potty chair and various and sundry bags besides? My first instinct would probably be to turn off my front porch light and close the door and post a sign on the door saying "No room in the inn." Ok, not really, but my jaw might drop in amazement at the task before me of fitting all that stuff with those people included in my house. Not just for one night mind you, but for a whole week.

This is us...every week. I wish we could interview those who we've stayed with to get their initial reaction of all our stuff that kept coming off the truck bed and into their house. Maybe I don't want to know. But in my defense, I've gone over and over how I can pack lighter, but there is just no way with two toddlers to take care of. 

Needless to say, I've learned MUCH about hospitality these past several weeks. I guess I've also learned how to be a better house guest too :-) I find myself wishing I were home more so I could put into action what I've learned. So I am by far not the expert on this subject. The Lord has just given me opportunities to learn from the experts as I've stayed with them.

So if you ever find of family of four standing on your doorstep with loads of luggage or even if you are having someone over for dinner these tips might be of some use to you.

• Make sure you have enough comfortable seating. I'm putting this one first because it seems like something I always forget, especially when we have couples older than ourselves over.
• Whether you are entertaining overnight guests or just having dinner guests, inform your guests where they can put their belongings while at your house. No one wants their things in the way or in high traffic areas. Also remember to help them gather their belongings when they leave.
• If you know you will be entertaining kids, toddlers or babies...
• Scrounge up any age appropriate toys you may have and set them out for your little guests to play with. Kids have excellent memories and will associate you with those special toys you let them play with while they were visiting.
• Put up any breakable or not-so-easy to replace items. It relieves parent's tension if they know there is nothing their child could accidently (or purposefully) break.
• If you have some kid-friendly silverware, cups or plates, set them out for your little guests to enjoy. Make the meal simple for them by providing them with lots of paper napkins or having them eat in a place that is "spill-proof" (ie: you may not want to seat a child on your newly cleaned white carpet).
• Do they need a place to sleep while at your house? Toddlers and babies might. Let the mom know where they can lay their little ones down in a quiet part of the house.
• Be considerate of their schedule. Try not to keep them out too late if possible.
• For out of town guests or overnight guests, offer them something special. Try to find out what their favorite snack is or maybe their favorite dish. My husband loves when people ask him what his favorite cereal is. Another fun idea is putting a gift bag of goodies on their bed. You can give them anything. Candy bars, snacks and drinks for the car, a map of the area, lotion, soap... Just make sure it is something they can fit in their suitcase :-)
• If you have out of town guests, suggest interesting places for them to visit while in your area. Take them to a favorite area restaurant or out for ice cream. If you know of good deals in the area, give your guests the "inside scoop." Just recently we were staying near Plymouth, MA and our gracious hostess, Sarah, helped us get discounted tickets to visit the Mayflower and Plymouth Plantation. She also watched our boys so we could go on date :-)
• One of my favorite tips (also learned from my sweet hostess, Sarah)...let them have access to your personal "library" of books/movies. I love to read, but as I travel across the country, my space is limited and I can't go to just any library. How nice it was to read something new!

To sum things up...when you have visitors in your house, let your house become their house during their stay. You want them to feel at home! I have been so blessed and refreshed by so many who have opened their homes in such a gracious way to our young family.

Let me encourage you not to shy away from being hospitable. It is so easy to talk yourself out of having guests in your house, whether for an evening meal or overnight. But if you are waiting for "just the right time" to have people into your house, that time may never come and you will be missing out on a blessing. 

"Distributing to the necessity of saints, given to hospitality." Romans 13:13 

This is the Day

Have you ever had the thought..."I'll be a happier, less edgy person when this day is over" or "I can't wait till this stage of life is past." Admit it, we have all longed for summer in the midst of a cold winter, more sleep when we haven't had much, or something to do when we are completely bored. The grass is always greener on the other side, isn't it?

That's exactly what I was thinking the other day. I'm still adjusting to having 2 children in my care. And it's been 3 months. I guess I like to get a handle on things immediately, but this has been a challenge for me. No better way to remind me of my need for constant dependence on God. As I was in the midst of my "woe is me" thoughts, the Lord brought this verse back to my mind

"No GOOD thing will He withhold from them who walk uprightly."
Psalm 84:11
Guess it's a good theme for a blog :-) This time in my life, difficult though it may be to get a "handle" of things, is exactly what God planned for me as good right now. If I keep waiting for "better days" to serve Him with a joyful heart, I will miss the days at hand that He has given me to glorify Him in.

So though I may be stuck in the house for a few days with sick kids or both kids may be crying at once and I feel like I might go crazy, "this is the day" that God has given me to serve Him.


"This is the day that the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24


Image from:
Image: Keattikorn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

God still answers prayer!

I don't know about you, but I've often read missionary stories with wonder as they tell of specific answers to their prayer. At times I finish reading a book and think how wonderful it would to be that missionary. Their faith in God always seems much stronger than mine will ever be, and they always seem to receive such amazing answers to their prayers. I often doubt that I could ever be like them.

As these thoughts swirl around in my head, the Holy Spirit frequently, yet gently guides my thoughts in another direction...I may never actually be like them by experiencing the same adventures in their life of faith. I may never have the same prayer requests they have, but I do bow before the SAME God. Even though my requests may seem small and insignificant compared to the great victories read about in missionary stories, my God receives just as much glory in answering my prayers as He did in answering their prayers because both of us are depending on Him.

So as I share these simple answers to prayer, glorify God with me and see what simple requests you can bring before Him to receive your own answers.

If the shoe fits...

My husband has been in need of black dress shoes for a long time. I don't even know how long...the only way I found out was by asking him why he wasn't wearing his black suit to church. He then finally showed me the problem with his shoes. (Obviously a big male/female difference...he just stops wearing something to solve the problem, I on the other hand would be frantically looking for new shoes.) Church shoes can be on the expensive side of things, so I started praying right away for some new shoes for my husband. This was sometime during the summer months. I didn't feel like it was really a "need" because he has brown shoes and a brown suit that he was still able to wear. Off and on I would price shoes in the store to see if they would fit in our budget. Off and on I would pray for the shoes. Several Mondays ago, the Lord answered! I hadn't even thought about it for sometime. I was visiting a thrift store with a pastor's wife we were spending the week with. It was half price Monday!! I had a few things in mind to look for while there, but shoes were not one of them. It was so hot and crowded in there too that I really wasn't focused very well on getting a "good deal." Well, while allowing her to have time to shop I scanned the store over a few times. I really just found myself stuck in the men's aisle with people on either side of me. While waiting to get out, I saw men's black shoes right in front of me in excellent condition. I picked them up with little faith that they would be my husband's size, but they were! And they fit him too! What a great reminder that God hears our prayers and remembers them, even when we may have forgotten.

Our old truck and hospital bills

At the beginning of our journey this fall, I was hospitalized overnight for what turned out to be the flu. Since then we have been praying that God would specifically provide for whatever bills we would receive. Upon returning home from our travels, there were several bills in the mail but also a surprise check! Somehow I must have overpaid one of our doctors last year and they were sending me a check for the discrepancy. The following Sunday we learned that we were finally able to sell Jonathan's faithful but now old and dead truck. We never even imagined we would get paid for it. We thought we would have to pay someone to take it away :-) Those two blessings combined were enough to cover the costs of the pressing doctor bills at the time. Another great encouragement!!

I just wanted to end with a verse that I have been bringing before the Lord often in my prayers. "And my God SHALL SUPPLY all your need according to His RICHES in glory by Christ Jesus." Phil. 4:19

Be Still...

We heard a wonderful message at church this morning about standing still and allowing God to be God. It was one of those messages that was exactly for me to hear. Now that we are home I have been looking back to all that happened to us during our travels. Many of the things that came our way were not circumstances that we would have asked for (we have not even left home if we knew ahead of time what was before us.) For me it wasn't just the "big" things like car repairs or illness, it was also the small things like missing family and friends, having to use yet another gas station bathroom, putting my son to bed way past his bedtime again... that caused me to question why God has called us into this ministry right now. Whether big or small problems, it does no good for me as a Christian who has hope in Christ and the promise of His CONTINUAL presence with me to question whether He knows what is best or to cry out to Him with a complaining heart when things seem unfair.

Today's message focused how the Lord lead the children of Israel to be "trapped" between the Red Sea and the Egyptian army. Moses' command to the Israelites was to "Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord" (Ex. 14:13). Standing still at that point doesn't seem like the first option I would I have chosen. I would instinctively say "Run!" or "Hide!" But when they stood still, God did greater things than they could have ever imagined!

It may feel at times that the Lord has backed me into a corner and I have the option of either trying to find my own way out or simply standing still to see what God will do AND what He wants to teach me through it. I know how hard it is for me to stand still and wait for God when I don't physically see anything taking place or I don't have the answer handed to me in clear terms. But, I do have the unfailing promise from God that He will never leave me nor forsake me (Hebrews 13:5).

Praying for Others

Have you ever had someone just "pop" into your mind that maybe you haven't seen for a while? That happens to me quite often! This poem is a great reminder to pray for those "random thoughts." I believe the Lord brings people to our mind for a specific purpose, so take time to pray for others!

I can not tell why there should come to me
A thought of someone miles and years away,
In swift insistence on the memory,
Unless there is a need that I should pray.
We are too busy to spare thought
For days together of some friends away;
Perhaps God does it for us -- and we ought
To read His signal as a sign to pray.
Perhaps just then my friend has fiercer fight,
A more appalling weakness, a decay
Of courage, darkness, some lost sense of right;
And so, in case he needs my prayers -- I pray.

Lessons Along the Way

"When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee: and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee...for I am the LORD thy God...since thou wast precious in my sight." Isaiah 43:2-4

After sitting down many times and thinking to myself "Can anything else go wrong?" and "Lord, why all of this for us, right now?" these verses came to my mind. Comfort, reassurance and love shine clearly through these verses, but so does the truth that there will be times when you "pass through the waters and the rivers." At those times, like no other, I know that I am in a place where I can go to no one else but God! Through all the circumstances of these past few weeks and changes even months before, God knocked down all my feeble plans in order to clearly show me that there is nothing else and no one else I can depend upon but my God.

I have come to this point many times in my life before, but sadly I forget the important truths of complete dependence on God and get comfortable with my circumstances, my problem solving ability or my future plans. It is so easy even when things in life get shaken up a little to try to figure out "plan B" on my own without seeking God's plan. (I'm sure I'm not the only one to do this!) In pride I trudge forward, confident of my own way. When the trials come and my plans are knocked out from under me, the battle in my mind begins. To be honest, it is not easy for me to surrender right away and realize that even through difficult times, my God still cares about me and wants to change me. At this point, I am so thankful for the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God that works to break my proud heart so that I can be taught. There is no sweeter place to be than bowed down before the Lord with a surrendered heart and will.

The other important lesson my God has been teaching me if found in James 4: 13-15

"Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that."

I am a planner and I easily set my heart on my plans. Anyone else like that? So, I am easily disappointed and frustrated when my plans fall through or are changed. How foolish I am to hold my plans over God's will, God's perfect plan and get upset when my plan doesn't work. Does this mean that I don't need to plan any more? No. But I must continually bring my plans and dreams before the Lord and surrender them to Him. I want Him to guide my plans, even the making of them. When this is my attitude, my response to any change in plans won't be that of disappointment or anger, but rather joy that my God's plan is being worked out for the best.

There are many more lessons God has been teaching me along our journey, but I will save those for other posts :-).

The Infamous St. Louis Trip

The first stop on our journey this fall was St. Louis, MO. Missouri was the state of my birth and I hadn't been back since I was a little girl. I wanted to see what it was like, so I was excited to go! On the way to St. Louis we stopped in KY to visit with family and get a good night's sleep. Before pulling out the next day, I noticed some green fluid coming out of our truck. Apparently that funny smell and the lack of cool air conditioning was due to some problem with the coolant. So the rest of our traveling team drove on to St. Louis while we stayed in KY to find out what was wrong and fix the problem. We are so thankful that we had family in KY to help us out! Jonathan's sister gave me and our little guy a place to nap while she took Jonathan around to repair shops in order to diagnose the problem. Thankfully through the help of friends the leak was fixed at no cost and we were able to get on the road the next day.

Once in St. Louis, I started feeling like I was coming down with whatever cold Ethan had had the week before. Fever, chills...you name it, I had it. By the end of the week I was getting a little concerned for the baby, so I tried to get into see an obgyn, but no one would take an "out-of-towner." So they sent me to the emergency room. I knew I was sick. I just wanted them to check the baby and make sure everything was fine there. After drawing blood, they found I had a low white blood count and high blood pressure and didn't know what was causing it. They wanted to keep me overnight in order to watch me. Oh boy! Hospitals aren't the best place in the world to recover from an illness because I knew every ten minutes they would be coming in to do something to me, so there went my idea of sleeping! Finally they did take an ultrasound of the baby and found all the be well. At this point I was about 16 weeks along. My husband and I asked if they would be so kind as to tell us whether it was a boy or a girl. So one good thing about the hospital stay was finding out we were having another BOY! Anyway, after much pleading and begging on my part to be released the following day, they finally let me go after reviewing my blood tests and telling me I had a virus. Thank you very much. I really could have told them that from the beginning. Maybe they needed some more money?? I did realize the importance of taking it easy. I am one to keep going and going whether I'm pregnant or not.

Well, the same night I entered the hospital, my husband went home to take care of our little guy. After putting him to bed, he found out someone had hit our truck while backing out of the parking lot. Upon coming inside, he realized our trailer plumbing was backed up somewhere. He gave up for the night and went to bed :-). I spent the next week recovering and my husband worked on fixing all the other problems. We had to pack up our overnight bags and camp out at the Pastor's house while our trailer was being fixed. Once the trailer was fixed, our truck went in for repairs. By the end of the week our trailer's plumbing was backed up again. At this point, the rest of the team was ready to move on, so we stayed behind once again to take care of our problems. We are so thankful for the pastor and his family who so graciously hosted us several times throughout the week. After revisiting the repair shop on Monday, our trailer was "good to go." We were just ready to pull out of town for the next week of meetings when our trailer got stuck in a ditch after a sharp turn! Thankfully, we were still in town and the Pastor was able to call someone to help us get out. Praise the Lord that our trailer came out of the ditch all in one piece. (I have to admit that I went inside while they were trying to move the trailer. I couldn't handle the suspense or the possibility of our "house-on-wheels" crashing before my eyes.)

As we pulled out of St. Louis, we have never been so thankful for the many we know were praying for our safety and grace to face every trial. After traveling about 3 hours, the work the repair shop had done on our trailer was "falling apart." Thankfully my resourceful husband took pictures of the damage and was able to salvage it before it fell off on the side of the road. And praise the Lord for the reimbursement coming our way for the poor quality of work by the repair shop.

The story does end well, don't worry! We arrived in Greeley, CO safe and sound, in one piece, plumbing working, truck fixed and a healthy family. Hopefully we won't keep up our tradition of coming into the next few weeks of meetings a day late!

My purpose for describing in detail all we went through is coming in the next post. This one's getting too long!!

Why don't I praise God more?

Throughout the summer I have been studying various Psalms. I have not taken the time to count how often the psalmists take time to praise God. It is easy to skim over that part and get to the verses that you feel like you "really need." But doing a study of Psalm 145 made me stop and think. Maybe what I really need is to praise God more. I am not just talking about making sure I add in "Praise God more" to my daily schedule. What I mean is praising God with my whole heart, being in an attitude of praise. Why is it so hard to praise the Lord sometimes. There are other times when I praise the Lord, but I do it rather skeptically. My heart of unbelief takes over and questions if God truly is Who I am praising Him for or if He will really do what He says He will do in His Word. I never realized how much faith has to do with praise. But doesn't God say

Without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11:6

Faith carries over into every part of my Christian walk, especially in my praise of God. My praise of God will be weak when my faith in Him is weak. I must confess my heart of unbelief and claim God's promises as true and then my heart will open up in praise to God. I want my children to know and praise the God I love and serve. I long for people I come in contact with everyday to be drawn to God because I can't stop speaking about Him. It all starts with faith.

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare Thy mighty acts. Psalm 145:3-4

Good Things

I have been thinking much about the verse in my blog title over the past few days. What does it mean when God says that He will not withhold from us any good thing? Does that mean that I won't ever have hard days or sleepless nights? Does that mean that I will always get the answer to prayer that I am seeking? Does that mean that I will always have what I want? No. But it does mean that God has designed each part of my day, all that He "gives" me every day, for good. That's a hard thing to reckon with when (like yesterday) my optimistic and joyful outlook on a fun day at home was greeted by a badly teething, therefore grumpy & whining little boy. Is this just something that "happened" by chance? No. This was something that God knew about and allowed as "good" for me at the time. Really?? Yes, and not because my God does things to frustrate me or make me angry. All that He has planned for me revolves around His desire to make me more like His Son. A grumpy teething boy was part of His good for me yesterday. Also a part of that "good" was realizing that He has given me all patience, joy, and strength to care for my little boy as I yield to His control. He gives good things all the time!!

(Remember the story of Joseph? He had a lot of "bad days" What did he say about it all? ... Genesis 50:20... Joseph recognized that all that "bad" situations in his life were designed by God for his, as well as thousands of others, good)

Here are some of the other "good" things God has blessed us with...

Yes, that cute little boy is one of the good things, but I was really trying to get a picture of my lilies. I love watching these flowers bloom every year, and I was afraid I wouldn't have the chance to see them this year because we were not home for a majority of spring. I was so happy to see them still in bloom when we came home. What a small thing to be thankful for, but God cares about little desires like that!

My family!! I don't get to see them very often, so it is very special when we can ALL get together.

Birthdays!! I love celebrating birthdays. My poor husband could care less, but he had to celebrate his birthday "my style" this time.

God is GOOD all the time!

Holding Nothing Back

Have you ever been on vacation or visiting family and have come to the point where you just want to go home? Even though what you're doing may be fun, you just want to get back to your own bed and your own schedule. Well, after being away from home and living out of suitcases, and moving from house to house every week for 2 months, I came to a breaking point. I felt like I had enough and just wanted to go home! I questioned what God was doing in calling our family to travel across the country. I questioned how it could possibly be good for my little toddler to go to bed late and get up early (he doesn't know what sleeping in means yet). I just wanted my own house that I could clean, meals that I could plan and prepare for my family, a garden I could plant and my own house that I could make a home out of. As I was pouring my complaints out to the Lord (all of which I felt were justifiable), He began speaking to me about full surrender. Surrender? Haven't I already surrendered enough? I mean, most people don't just leave their job, home, family & friends to travel and tell others about Christ. (what proud thoughts!) I was wondering what else I needed to surrender. . . It was the small things. Those small desires I had to take care of my family it the way that best suited me. Simple desires to have my day run according to my schedule. My ideals on how to raise our little boy . . . With these small things in my life, I couldn't obey Christ's command to "Seek FIRST the kingdom of God." What was I seeking after? My own desires. Were my desires wrong? Not all of them. God has given me the task of taking care of my family. But I wanted to take care of my family in the environment that suited me most. It is important to set a schedule. But I was so frustrated and upset when my schedule was changed. So how do I seek first the kingdom of God? By holding nothing back. Even "small things." Giving those small desires, plans and ideals to God everyday, all day. But that's not all. He promises that all these "small things," the details that have been occupying my mind, will be taken care of by the Creator of the universe. What peace this brings!! And you know, I have realized that no matter where we are staying each week, and even when our drawers have turned into suitcases, I can still make our "house" a home.

So, what are you holding back?