Pursuing More

What a new newborn does to a person! I’m in love. *sigh* Papa and I were able to spend almost a week with this new sweet-one when she was newborn.   Introducing Little Miss Alaya Jane . Isn’t. she. just. adorable? She’s my little Peanut. We’ve had 3 new granddaughters in the past 10 months – which makes a total of 5 little girls in 2 ½ years, and we are loving it! You can catch up on the first 4, Sweet Pea, Chickadee, Honey Bee, and Squirt, in the archives. (I'm having difficulty with linking to certain posts at the moment.) Oh, how the grace of God is so faithful! We have been reflecting on how proud we are of how our kids have grown to be adults who love God and married spouses who follow Him too. To see them start families and train their little ones to live to “make Jesus happy” – to put it in toddler terms. This leaves this Papa and Mama so happy… and humble. We weren’t perfect parents. We tried to be good parents, but often fell short. We are so thankf...

I'm sharing this in the Titus2sdays Link Party! Check out the other encouraging posts linked there! Tired of the whining? Tired of dealing with disobedience? Tired of getting up at night? Tired of mess after mess? Tired of dressing them, feeding them, wiping noses…and bottoms? Tired? That’s normal. It happens . Even to the best mamas. So what do you do with these feelings? These frustrations? You can’t hide. You can’t change your name. You can’t run away. So what’s a mama to do? The middle of winter is when it usually hit me. Cabin fever sets in both you and the kids. And you find yourself coming down with a bad case of the Blues.   The Poor Mama Blues. But this can’t be blamed on anyone but yourself. Your emotions and attitudes belong to no one else but you. You are in charge of them. You are in charge of what your emotions and attitudes are in any given situation. Sounds harsh? Yes. But honesty is your friend here. Your emotions come upon you without no...

The alarm woke me at 5:45 and pulled me back into my somewhat normal routine after almost 2 weeks of busy-wonderful Christmas break. The verse highlighted in bright pink caught my attention as I thumbed through the pages of my bible. Psalm 90.6 (NIV) May Your deeds be shown to Your servants, Your splendor to their children.     “ I want to see Your splendor. Lord, show me your splendor today.” I declared right there in my kitchen, while it was still dark outside and the day had not yet began for many. Only then I made breakfast, had another cup of coffee, made my bed, packed my lunch, threw some laundry in and went to work. I went on with my very ordinary day and forgot all about it. I forgot to look for His splendor. I was too engrossed in my day to watch for Him to show up. It wasn’t until the next morning that I even gave it another thought. I really do want to see His splendor. I want to see it right in the midst of my oh-so...

Whew! October…what a crazy month! It’s always a crazy month for me, requiring extra hours at work. Add to that having just moved to a new home and starting a children’s clothing shop with my girls… and this year October felt like a marathon! Not that I really know what a marathon feels like. Since I absolutely do not run. At all. But I can only imagine …. It feels good to have that crazy month over and turn a new page on the calendar. In my bible studying lately, I have become mesmerized by the Exodus. And the Wilderness. The Israelites were in bondage for 400 years. That’s a long time. Hard work that only got harder. Slavery that only got more oppressive. And then, in one evening, they were free. Free! What must that have felt like? No more harsh foremen. No more beatings. No more gathering straw. No more making bricks. Free. Take a deep breath…. Ahhh! That’s the smell of freedom. But like a new car, freedom doesn’t keep that new smell for long. They missed the good old...

After being out of town for 2 Sundays in a row, I was looking forward to being back home in “my” church with my church family again. Then I noticed the nursery schedule .   It was my turn.   After I had just taught Sunday school. I fought the whine welling up inside. I had missed the fellowship and theological discussions in our adult class and now I would miss the message again... for the 3rd week in a row. Grabbing my things, I headed back to the bright nursery room to do the job required of me. As I began to talk with the toddlers and preschoolers, I was reminded in my heart that nursery work is important work . These are little souls who need cared for while their parents are fed from the Word. Nursery time isn’t just about keeping kids corralled; it is the first phase of ministry .   The time spent with those little ones builds relationships that bring godly influence into their lives. Once I changed my attitude, I actually enjoyed my time with th...

Have you ever wondered about the Bleeding Woman in Mark chapter 5? While we are on the subject, I seriously think we should consider giving her a name, that’s not something anyone wants to be known as. Maybe we should call her the Woman of Faith... But back to the subject. Or maybe it is part of the subject now that I think about it. I’ll get to that in a bit. Instead of receiving healing and going on her merry way as I often do, she moved to a position of worship in front of Jesus. Her faith compelled her to go to Jesus for healing and her faith also compelled her to worship Him publically. I don’t mind God knowing about all my junk, but I don’t necessarily like anyone else to know. Are you with me? I tend to want to only show the good and keep the bad and ugly hidden away. Keep it just between God and I. To move in front of Jesus and publically worship for healing meant others would know her problems and that she needed healing. She opened herself up...