Our current events

If I physically wrote down every blog post I thought of, I would probably be updating my blog at least once or twice a day. Obviously, lately that has not been the case. For now, just a few random thoughts and a brief look into our lives for the last few months.....

*IT'S A BOY!  We are expecting our 4th child and our 3rd boy May 5th! I am very excited for Sammy boy to have a little playmate and it should work out beautifully that they will eventually share a room together.

*Sammy thinks the ornaments on our Christmas tree are shiny pretty balls.  Needless to say, we now have fewer shiny pretty balls on our tree. :)

*Tim had two weeks of vacation in November and early December. It was so wonderful to have him home. We played a lot of Farkle and UNO. The kids loved having him home and so did I.  We enjoyed so many rich and thought provoking conversations. Today is his second day back at work and I miss him being here so much.

*I think I am going to paint (have Tim paint) our kitchen Lime Sorbet and our entry way and really nice goldish yellow color.

*A Sarah Grace quote: "Mommy, I wish I had Grace Kelly's wardrobe!"  Love this girl. :)

*We recently had a scare where we thought Justin had appendicitis, it turns out he pulled a stomach muscle playing football with his Daddy.

*Why do women post pictures of themselves in bikinis on Facebook? I'm just saying........

*I have not purchased even ONE Christmas gift.  Oh my!

*I cried this morning over_______________________. Yep, fill in the blank. I read Psalm 145 and was so comforted by the Lord's kindness and patience.

*I miss being with our families for the holidays. Maybe I will never get used to living out of state this time of year.  On that note, my mom is coming out for a visit mid January and my sister just might be visiting in February! :)

*Our church family has undergone so much suffering this year and yet there is such a spirit of praise and thanksgiving to God.  I am deeply challenged in all of my inward and outward grumbling about  meaningless difficulties.

*Tim bought the book, "The Valley of Vision" and read a prayer of thanksgiving to me last night before we went to bed.  I pray I can have a heart filled with gratitude like the Puritans, just beautiful and inspiring.

*Lastly, Sammy boy is yelling in his crib-reading time is over! I hope to get on here again very soon.

Until next time,

Missy

The Gospel

It's a slow start kind of Monday morning.  Praying this blesses you as much as it does me today!

(HT: JT)

Until next time,

Missy

And the clock keeps ticking.....

I have a rare moment of silence in our home.  Tim took Justin to youth group and Sarah tagged along with him!  Sammy boy is now fast  asleep.  I sat down on the couch and thought about what I might do with my time.  I have been so convicted about all of the media I take in and we don't even do TV anymore.  However, I still have NETFLIX, social media, radio, and of course the Internet to peruse. I waste more time and it just kills me.

Today I read a devotional in John Piper's book, "A Godward Life-Book II". It  hit on all cylinders.  It was entitled, "Please Feed Me More, The Cry of Dying Faith".   His opening paragraph:  "Faith feed on the Word of God.  Without a steady diet it gets weaker and weaker.  If you are dissatisfied with your Christian courage and joy and purity of heart, check the way you are feeding your faith."  And that about sums it up.  Back to my first point about wasting time; I know that media in itself is not evil, it is the desire of my heart that I have a problem with.  The things I mentioned above are things that typically dull my affections for my Lord Jesus Christ.  After engaging in such things for too long, I am left feeling like an empty shell and dull in the mind.

So you might ask, how are you feeding your faith? Honestly, it's unsatisfactory. My morning devotional time with the Lord is just so short, mainly because I wake up just minutes before Samuel  and with that  the Mama hat goes on.  At this stage in the pregnancy, by nightfall I just want to climb into bed and sleep.  I can hear my dear friends telling me that it's just a season and this too shall pass.  But I know that this life is a vapor and I am not guaranteed tomorrow.  I don't want to waste another day with idleness!

And this is my prayer:
Lord God, thank Your for Your Holy Spirit Who convicts me of my sin and the precious blood of Jesus Christ that makes it possible for me to be in right standing before You. Please forgive me for my wastefulness and selfishness with the minutes of the day.   Please change my heart Lord. Please help me to desire You more and put to death the deeds of my flesh.  Please give me a hunger and thirst for Your Word,  for in that will I find true satisfaction.  As Your child, You created me for Your glory-please let it be.

Until next time,

Missy

Fall is in the air!

Fall is in the air!  Finally, a wonderful cool day here in TX!  Today the kids (including Sammy) spent most of the day outside, what fun!  We had a great summer and with a lot of family from Arizona coming out to visit. In fact, in six weeks time, we had 21 days of company.  The kids thoroughly enjoyed visiting with their cousins and their Aunts, I think we all did.

We typically start school around here after Labor Day, but this year decided to start a week early.  Everyone was ready to jump in and get rolling and that's quite refreshing for me as their teacher.  Tim is taking over History and Geography this year and it's already proven to be such a blessing.  He's a great teacher and the kids really enjoy the extra time with him.

We had some surprising news last week; it seems that the Lord has added to our family once again!  I am expecting and the Lord willing, due in May!
 
May the Lord bless you and keep you and my His face shine upon you and give you peace.

Until next time,

Missy

Counting it all joy!

2 "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that  the testing of your faith  produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

James 1:2-4

It's been ten days in our new house and we are counting it all joy:

New home ownership

Ants and ants and ants and ants and ants and ants..........................................................

Pest control visit

More ants

An overflowing washer

Roto Rooter visit

More ants

A plugged up toilet

A visit to Home Depot for snake rental

Sewage back up

Have I mentioned ants?

A LEAKING PIPE

Wet carpet and padding

A sewage pipe break

Ants................................................

Waiting for Pest Control to make another visit

Seriously, God has been very gracious to us and He is the best provider. He has given us peace even in the craziness. I will admit when I got the analysis from the plumber today I almost cried, but I remembered that God is sovereign. He is totally in control and that even this seemingly abysmal situation is nothing for us to fret about. Psalm 37:8

Thankfully, my Bible Study this morning was on Joseph and God's sovereignty. Joseph was wronged by his brothers to put it lightly (Genesis 37) and in the end was able to see that although his brothers misdeeds were meant for evil, God is sovereign and He meant it for good! I LOVE that.

Having "situations" with our house is certainly nothing like being sold into slavery or being imprisoned, but the principle remains the same. Our great God is sovereign and there is nothing that touches us that doesn't pass through His hands first. Today we are considering this little trial as a chance to exercise our faith and count it as pure joy, because we know that we are developing a steadfastness that only comes with the fire.

Thank you Lord for your tender mercies that are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness to us O Lord.

Please help us to continue to rejoice in You. You are sovereign and Your understanding no one can fathom.

Until next time,

Missy

Thankful

It's a new day in our new house; our first Tuesday to live here. Spring has sprung in our back yard and I am so thankful to gaze through our dining room windows at our beautiful trees scattered through out. Tim said he spotted a cardinal a few mornings ago, I hope it will come back to visit soon.

I am ever so thankful to the Lord for blessing us with our home. The closing of our house took several months-very long months, but I wouldn't trade the waiting. We learned so much about God's provision, sufficiency, grace, and joy in the midst of waiting. Our kids learned the lessons right along with us and we know that our home belongs to the Lord.

We have visions of hospitality, (ever notice the word "hospital" in that?), laughter, tears, growing children, many visits from family, and lots of late night talks around the table. We are thankful.

At the moment I am aware that a crazy amount of boxes await me in the garage for unpacking, so off I go.

Thank you Lord for your bountiful provision and your sustaining grace. You are good and your love endures forever.

Until next time,

Missy