A lesson in feeling small...

Nasa revealed some really awesome pictures this week. Here are some of them with a little perspective...

"Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing." Isaiah 40:26

"Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades? Can you loose the cords of Orion? Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons? Job 38:31-32

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the earth." Psalm 19: 1-4

"The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good."

Proverbs 15:3

"He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." Colossians 1:17

"And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth. And it was so.

God made two great lights-the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.

God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and night, and to separate light from darkness.God saw that it was good.And there was evening and there was morning-the fourth day. " Genesis 1:14-19

Peace is something I have been struggling with lately. Since Caden was born, the other kids have been having a hard time adjusting. They are getting better, though, learning that he is a permanent fixture in our house now. Charlotte is equal parts doting mother hen and attention hog. She is ever bringing him toys, blankets, diapers, and is constantly trying out new holds on him that resemble professional wrestlers or those snakes that wrap around the mice, strangling the very last breath out of their bodies.

I've learned that silence is something to be feared.

Ethan is struggling with finding his place I think. He wants to be the big boy, the helper, but he doesn't usually like to do things he doesn't want to do and so he finds himself in trouble. Alot. He asked me the other day why he gets so many spankings. It just about broke my heart when he asked me if i still loved him.

So lately Ive found myself on my knees. My heart had been heavy with a desperation to be a happy, loving mom and wife, the kind of woman Proverbs 31 exalts. I didnt want to be the nagging, critical, harried person I felt had crept inside of me and taken over, bringing others down with her negativity.

Isnt it funny how the longer you stay out of God's Word, the more unChrist-like you become? Clever God we have isnt he?

And it is just like Him to answer our prayers when we are humbled before Him. He is gracious and merciful, loving, and kind. He lifts up those who cry out to him, and helps the afflicted.
Even little old me who is just a stay at home mom who sometimes lets things overwhelm her. I feel like the psalmist who wrote today's Verse of the Day, just staring up in awe at the vastness of the night sky, and feeling so so small. And wondering why in the world the God who made all that would even care to make something like this. But knowing he did, and that I wasnt even an afterthought.

Peace in the heart is worth a messy house now and then. ( Did someone say that once?) I have learned in the last week to let go of the Martha and grab hold of the Mary. Some of you will know what I mean by that.

When I asked God to make me a better mom, I heard " Be a mom. " Everything that was making me feel frustrated and anxious were things around the house that took the place of things I should have been doing- reading my bible, playing with my kids, enjoying the weather with my family, talking with my husband. See, Satan is real, and he is a sneaky little devil (for lack of a better word) and he would like nothing more than to coerce God's people away from Him by convincing them that they dont need Him. That they can do everything on their own. It worked in the garden, and it worked in my house.

So that is kind of why I want to keep this site-besides keeping in touch with everyone, it keeps me accountable and in the Word, since I will post a new verse everyday. And together we can conquer the devil!! (Just kidding. You-know-who already did that.)

Oh- so I have been making a point to involve the kids in my daily activites so a)we can
spend more quality time together learning hands-on stuff and b)they can learn to clean up their own messes, 'cause I dont like doing that. (just keepin it real)

So I let Ethan sweep up his cereal he spilled this morning. He loves to help me, and I will usually let him hold the bucket while I sweep, but today he asked me if he could sweep by himself. It took almost 10 minutes because everytime he would move the broom, it would spread out the mess even more.

Then he went to empty the bucket and spilled the cereal all over the floor again.

But he finally got it done.

Then he said" Mommy thanks for letting me sweep it all by myself. I love you so much."

Potty Mouth

Charlotte has shown some interest in potty-training.

Let me rephrase that.

Charlotte has become obsessed with potty-training. She's not even two yet, so I'm not expecting her to really get it for awhile, but hey- I'm all about encouraging independence in that area, since we have two in diapers now. So I'm humoring her.

Alyssa gave us Olivia's potty seat. Charlotte loves that thing. She takes it all around the house with her, and she will play with it all day long if I dont hide it when she's not looking.

Welcome!!

Remember in middle school when you kept a diary? And in high school? And part of college? (when you called it your "journal")

And remember when you would write everything that happened on a given day, no matter how trivial, because you wanted, someday, after you were gone, for your children to find it in the attic when cleaning your house to sell. And dusting it off and bringing it down to their kids, they would all gather 'round and your kid would say " My mom was a great woman. Look what she left for us to remember her by" And he would with great flourish open your well worn diary (or journal, whatever) and begin to read:

March 24 :

Had lunch with Tiffaney and Sarah. Derek walked by and I finally had the guts to say hi, and he turned and looked at me!! He said Hi!! Then he laughed and said "Um, you have cheetos in your braces"

No?

Me neither...

Anyway, if I could relate, I would say that for some reason I feel like that is how this adventure into blogging will turn out.

Welcome to my world.