Brrrr...

It amazes me how quickly our bodies have acclimated to the Georgia climate. I quickly developed a much higher tolerance for heat and have now realized that I'm losing my ability to cope with cold weather as well. The last few days the temps have dipped into the low 30's overnight and have warmed only to the low 60's during the day. I am downright cold! We're excited to head north for Christmas and have been missing our northern folk lots, but I'm sure hoping that the weather is kind to us while we're up. I'll admit that the thought of sub freezing temperatures or driving in the snow is not a welcome one anymore.

On an unrelated note, I've been working hard lately on a sewing project. My knitting needles and stamps have been gathering dust for a while. I'm pretty proud of my results, so tune in tomorrow for some pics!

Oh, and kindly keep your cold weather north of the Mason-Dixon line, or at least ship me down some wool socks! :-)

Family Arithmetic

Have you ever thought about the simple math involved as God grows our families? First there's addition. We marry (that's a +1 for sure) and then he sometimes sees fit to bless us with children. I thank Him each day that I'm a +5, just in my own immediate family. He continues this growth by multiplication. I've seen Him at work in the families of our parents. My husband and I were the first on both sides of the family to marry and to have children. In just over a decade he's multiplied our families with 3 additional marriages and the blessing of nine children!

The flip side of this would division, and while I wish it weren't so, it does exist. I believe this comes not from our heavenly father, but is the unfortunate result of sinful individuals living in a fallen world. At times we're incapable or unwilling to do the things we should to promote peace and prevent conflict, myself included. God gave us the gift of free will, so I think that conflict within our families will always exist to varying degrees. While he does not prevent division, he does prevent subtraction and I thank Him for that. Even if family members become estranged and eventually when they pass away, they are not gone from us. They live on in our hearts and memories.

As much as conflict pains me it's often an opportunity for growth. An argument within my own extended family has troubled me lately, but serves as a reminder that my happiness is not determined by the people or circumstances that surround me. My fulfillment comes from above. He will fill me to the point of overflowing if I let him. I can always find peace by looking up, even when I'm surrounded by strife.

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Proverbs 15:1 (NIV)

Lord please help me to act in ways that will promote peace and temper anger. I wish for my family to be marked by growth and not division. I ask this in your name. Amen.

Six months?

Ican hardly believe that our little one is six months old. It feels like she was just born yesterday. I remember trying to take care of our older girls at home while running back and forth to the NICU to be with her as much as possible. She was so fragile when she came home. I'd watch her breathe and live in fear that her apnea alarm would sound if I looked away- even for a moment. How wonderful it was to introduce her to her friends and family up north this summer and then to return to the peace and quiet of home here in Georgia. Don't let her know, but I almost miss those early weeks where I'd find myself rocking to her and singing softly at 3AM. I recall first baths, first walks, first trips to church, first smiles, and first giggles. I thank the Lord for you each day and ask Him to be with us as we celebrate many, many more firsts together. Happy 1/2 birthday, little one. I love you!

I Am By Mark Shultz

Here's another favorite of ours. Enjoy!

Love

1 Corinthians 13
Love
1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
(NIV emphasis mine)

This chapter of scripture is such a gift, it has always spoken to my heart. The people that God has surrounded me with, my family and friends, are truly blessings to me. I hope that they know that whether we agree or disagree, whether or not I may "like" them at a given point in time, I always love them. I belive that I always will. I believe that love never fails.

Foto Friday 1

Here's our oldest two sporting face paint from the end of the season soccer celebration and littlest from her command center, aka excersaucer. She loves standing up in it and enjoying a better view of everyone. "See" you next week!

Stuck...

One of my favorite childhood books is "Where the Red Fern Grows". It's a story about animals, growing up, love, and loss. A young boy wants to learn to coon hunt with his dogs. First he goes on a journey to raise money and purchase his pups and then he sets about training them as hunters. In order to do so he needs a coon hide for them to chase. His wise grandpa suggests a deceptively simple trap: a wooden box with an opening just large enough for a coon stick his hand through with some shiny metal 'bait' inside. The boy is skeptical, all the coon would need to do is let go of his metal prize and he'd be able to remove his hand. Grandpa proves right when he traps his first coon using this method.

I'm more like that simple raccoon than I'd like to admit. I often find myself stuck simply because I refuse to let go. Sometimes I'm holding on to something that I truly believe is important, but all too often I'm holding on to something that's just, well stuff. All that holding on can definitely hold me back.

Jesus spoke about this several times during his ministry, a few of my favorites are the ninth chapter of Luke and the parable of the rich young man. My prayer today is a simple one...

Lord please help me to let go of anything which is holding back. In your name, I pray. Amen