Tonight...Jesus Spoke

Tonight was like any other evening in our home. Our daughter comes home from school, does homework, we eat dinner, have play time, do devotionals, then bed. *A little history* This year my eldest son has decided to read the Bible in a year and was doing so in his personal Bible (Dan's old one). We were clearing out some books to donate when I came across my Chronological Bible that I never used. (When I read through the Bible I prefer to use the Chronological schedule, but my own Bible, so I keep a print out of what to read each day in my ESV Study Bible.) Anyways, I thought my son would love it and he does! I ran across it on Monday and he has been in it every night and prior to Monday, he was in his personal Bible every night since January 1st.

Prior to this year, he has read through Revelations (yes, I know! Wow) and the Gospel of John. I couldn't be prouder of him...for REAL! He has cried a couple times this month because he lost track of time and it got too late for him to read his daily reading! It was hard on him, like really hard! Praying his future wife is growing in Jesus as well!

So, back to tonight --

Jesus spoke to me! After dinner, I came in the living room and sat down on my laptop to find "Duck Tape projects - Yes *shaking head as I picture duck tape stuck EVERYWHERE like hair and blankets. Oy!* *now shaking head and thinking maybe I should rethink these duck tape projects* Haha. Okay, so I am researching said projects and in comes Payton. He sits down, grabs a blanket from behind the sofa, grabs his Bible from the table, takes out his bookmark and settles in for his time with the Lord. My heart, friends!!!

So, here's the "thing" that God laid on my heart tonight! We have never made our children read their Bibles, we have never made them feel guilty for not reading. We encourage, we talk about how our relationships with God are nothing without time spent with Him. We have talked about how our lives are to consistently glorify our Lord. So, we read...we study...we intentionally put Jesus in our day!

So, seeing my kiddos read their Bible and know that this is because God has prompted their hearts to Him is unexplainable. I have seen many times how our children learn more out of watching, than by hearing, but this put a whole new look at what I already knew. Our kids see what we do (I know nothing profound, but can't explain this new feeling I got)! When we feel like reading is a task, or we get angry because we are interrupted, or when we only study when our kids are asleep, or when we "don't have time", our kids see! Our children, whom God has entrusted us to grow to glorify Him, are seeing that our time with the Lord is not a blessing. 

We need to live intentionally and know that our kids are watching! Our kids see our joy in God when we truly have joy in Him! We will mess up! Wow, do I mess up! Too often do I look at studying as a task or I want to rush it to get to something else. I know I do this, then I decide I'm not going to think like that, then two days later I think it again. Ugh! Satan get out! How many times do you say that? I feel I need to say it a lot! Like when Jesus turned to Peter and said, "Get behind me Satan!" He wasn't saying that to be funny or sarcastic, He was saying it because Satan was using Peter to temp Jesus away from His divine plan of dying on the cross for you and me!

I know that Satan uses my own flesh against me to keep me from my divine plan, to keep me from intentionally living for my children's divine plan. Like when I see my second oldest son and how amazing he is with the littles. I have NEVER seen a more helpful, loving, caring boy in my entire life. He will get his little brother's coat on and out in the car, grab Danté in his carseat and take him out, start the car, make bottles, etc without being asked. He is loving. So loving! However, sometimes he "gets in the way" as my flesh would say. Satan get out! I have to say this out loud and I have to say it often!

I want to live intentionally for my children to see the love of God we have in our hearts. I want to live so they see my faults and mistakes and how God uses them to strengthen, teach, and shape me. I want them to know that their faults and mistakes will bring them closer to God because He is the only one who can use them for something so much bigger! 

So, as God laid this gentle reminder on my heart I couldn't help but feel that I am not the only one who needs it... am I?? 

Here is to living and loving intentionally!

Five Things We Learned This Month

The beginning of January, I wrote This blog about starting our 31 Days of Zero Spending without any expectations. Though our month is almost over, we will continue to do this randomly throughout the year and there are many lessons we will carry with us as a forever change. Here is my take on this month.

Five Big Things We Learned in the 31 Days of Zero Spending (some we knew, but had light shed on them in a new way):

1. When we take away convenience, we find something much better! We made beef jerky in the dehydrator last week and made a yummy marinade. It called for a lot of worcesterchire sauce, we ran out, so I made my own. It was so much better than the store bought stuff. We truly loved it so much that I made more to fill the bottle back up. I also made chili powder as we ran out of that, too. So good!!!

My daughter had a birthday party she attended, so she made lots of cards, gave her own toys and made a bracelet for her friend. She planned this gift for over a week and it was much deeper and far more heart felt than anything we would've went and bought.

2. We learned the true power of preparedness. We learned that at any given moment in time, we can well survive for months - even with our slew of kids! We love canning, freezing, and keeping our pantry stocked and it paid off! We had very balanced meals every single night. We had lots of sandwiches for lunch, but breakfast and dinner was always well done! Prior to this month, our canning and such was more for the yummy factor, but we learned how needed it could be.

3. We learned the love of a community. Dan and I are blessed financially, so this 31 Days was not a form of getting on track in that area, but it didn't matter to our dearest friends! From friends offering to buy dinner, to waiting to pay for something until February, to buying a coffee and getting us gift cards to take a night off of cooking. Seriously, so blessed to see that we have friends who understand and love us enough to support our decisions - as crazy as they are! :) To those of you who supported us full fledged, we appreciate you. To those who will be doing this, please tell me so I can pass on that support and love!

4. We learned that we live in an amazing area with a lot to offer for FREE! When we go places for fun, we usually spend LOTS of money for our family to get in places. We had our very first weekend with Dan last week where he wasn't working or we weren't traveling, so we HAD to do something. Getting online and looking at the QC Events Page we realized there is really so much to do for FREE! We wen't to the John Deere Pavilion, the Icestravaganza, we did a craft at the Figge Art Museum and we walked the Sky bridge. So simple and so fun and so free!!! :)

5. We learned the love of contentment. We learned the power of not getting what we want, but taking joy in it anyways. The first few weeks were the hardest for the kiddos as they "needed" clasps for their rubber band bracelets, one "needed" batteries for her Furby, etc, etc. There were many nights I "needed" a bowl of cereal and a few mornings where I "needed" a coffee. There were many days where we "needed" a certain ingredient because we wanted to have this certain meal. We learned a lot in the terms of pointing out how blessed we are even when we don't get what we "need". Everything we truly needed was here all along, it just took a few weeks for us let go of our wants.

So, what our hopes were when we began, God provided every single one of them and then some. During this month we also learned the power of divorcing our phones. We have a basket that sits on the kitchen counter and our phones do not leave that basket. We learned that living simply is overly satisfying and just enough. Not a single day going through this have we complained about anything. Not a single day did we want to take the easy way out. Satan tried, but God defeated!

Another fun advantage was the fact that we saved extra than normal and that savings is more than enough to pay for our son's braces that he's getting in a couple weeks. That's awesome, huh?!

This month was challenging at various times, but I assure you, the blessings have far outweighed the temptations. Plus, those temptations have taught all of us self control on a whole new level. They have taught us another form of gratefulness. We make desserts often and we didn't have much this month, but when we did, it was much more loved and appreciated from everyone.

The most important thing in the way we live is that we have contentment by focusing on the eternal, not the temporal. Whether we have money to save or not, whether we are able to keep our pantry stocked, whether we live in a circle of giving believers, whether we live in a huge home or small one, whether we never have a financial concern or we battle one every week, we are to focus on the eternal, not the temporal. 1 Timothy 6:6-8 says, "Now godliness combined with contentment brings great profit. For we have brought nothing into this world and so we cannot take a single thing out either. But if we have food and shelter, we will be satisfied with that."


We all will be taking what we learned and carrying it through as a daily walk of life. I'm so grateful that God laid this on our hearts and I'm so glad we came out far happier about these "little things" than when we started. I would truly encourage everyone to go through a period of Living Simple so we can Simply Live. Go ahead, give it a go!

Why I'm Proud of an F...

As my sweet daughter walked into the house after school, I asked the normal questions: How are you?, How was your day?... Her reply, "Good, I got my report card, mommy!" Nervous and anxious I replied, "How'd you do?" A little shaky she replied, "Well, (smiling and putting her head down) I got a couple A's, a B, and a C." "Oh that's great!" I said. She continued, "Well, I also got an F, too. Am I grounded?"

During report card time, I always see parents bragging about their child's grades and it reminded me of my child's grade. Don't get me wrong, I would totally brag, too - and I am - right here! I think it is wonderful to see children thriving in school and love hearing parents speak so highly of their children. I am celebrating with each of you :)

Our daughter arrived to our home the beginning of November, she was pretty chipper right away. It took a few days, but then she asked to call us mommy and daddy. It wouldn't be until January that we really started to find more out about her life.

I will not share details, but I will say that we have spent many nights up late crying with her. We have spent evenings with therapists and afternoons speaking with teachers. This lack of knowledge in academics was stolen from her. She did not have a choice to thrive. From being in more schools than one could count to learning survival skills that elude me. Her survival skills included lying, dramatizing situations, acting dumb, never showing emotion, whining and complaining.

In the two months she has been home we have grown together so much. Our family has strengthened and I know some may wonder how, but I couldn't give you an answer if I tried. My best guess would be because we have someone showing us true thankfulness, true humbleness, true neediness, true passion for family. Seeing the family pull together with each other is beautiful. Seeing our kids grow compassion and love makes me speechless.

In the two months she has been home, she has learned SO MUCH. From not knowing what a state was to learning what all four hemispheres, countries, and continents are. From never doing an event at night to participating in concerts and basketball games. From nibbling food to make it last to learning when she is full. This love bug has learned so much.

She has been through a ton. If I shared (which I wouldn't even outside of this blog because it is her story) what she has gone through in the past ten years, she would have a medal. How she has grown in the past two months is immeasurable. We don't handicap our children and we don't let them handicap themselves. Seeing how she has learned who God is, asks multiple questions about Him, and volunteers to pray after devotions, before dinner and at bed time is simply beautiful.

So, when she said she got an F, then asked if she would be grounded. Our response? Our response was, "That'll happen sometimes. What we're going to do is try harder - all of us. We are proud of you!"

Sometimes an F means so much more! So thankful that God has given us opportunities to see deeper and I pray you do, too!

How I Study God's Word

I get questions all the time that include: what commentary do I use, when do I find time to study, what do I define as study, do I read only what I'm studying...

I would like to share just how I spend my time with the Lord in case anyone out there is wondering where to begin, what you can add, etc. I learned a lot of this in a session at a youth group summer camp for TEENAGERS :) We are never too old to learn :) This study style works for me and may not work for you! That is okay!

I always, always, always end with praying for my husband in our marriage journal! I blogged about that HERE if you would like to start that with your spouse or for your future spouse!

I sometimes study in the morning, sometimes late morning and other times after lunch. Honestly, I don't have a set time to study. I am a mom who homeschools and fosters, and my mornings are not always the same. So many people think you have to study first thing in the morning, well, you don't! We need our daily time with God, yes, but it does not have to be before a certain time in order to be a good Christian. It does need to be a time when we can truly focus and our hearts are with God. Pray before starting. Ask God to open your heart and eyes to what He is wanting you to see. Pray that He quiets your actions and stills your thoughts.

Secondly, when I study I get my tote with my pens, highlighters, notebook, and commentary out. Do you need all this? Absolutely not! I am a writer. I love pens. I love to write things in my Bible. When I pray for someone, I write their name, date, and short description of prayer for them in the margins. When I learn something, I write it in the margins. I underline, I highlight. I underline notes, and things in the introductions.


There are a few reasons why I do this. One is because I love the reminders! I love turning to a passage and seeing why God put it in my heart before and what new thing I learned from it today. Another is because it is my legacy to my children one day.

The notebook is for my notes from the commentary. This notebook is strictly for my study time. I write out every verse that I am studying. So, say today I was studying Ephesians 1:1-3, then I will write that passage out to start my study time. Secondly, I read through the commentary while cross checking along in my Bible. If something catches my attention, then I take note of it in my notebook and may write something in my Bible. For instance, when I found out Saints in the Bible means the same thing as Christians, I wrote that down in both places.

My commentary is written by James Montgomery Boice, I get them from Amazon. He is a wonderful writer, easy to understand, and very descriptive. The chapters are set based on how much is packed into each passage. Sometimes the passage is one to three verses and other times it could be six verses. I line up doctrinally with this pastor spot on (SUPER IMPORTANT). I use Logos as a study tool as well. It is more on the expensive side. Biblia is a free version sponsored by Logos. It doesn't have as much that you can do, but still good.

My Bible - well it is an ESV Study Bible.  This version is very as closely translated as possible. Other versions like NIV or NLT is translated a passage or sentence as a whole. ESV is translated word for word. NASB and KJV also translates word for word. KJV is much harder to understand so find one that works for you. All of these are great and we each have a preference - and that is OKAY!

These tabs on my Bible - well, these are my questions. Areas I have come to in my Chronological reading and haven't found an answer that has felt complete to me yet. God has spoken through people and I have removed a few this past year, then I add another, lol. Never ending - like when you're cleaning your house with kids - pick up one thing to turn around and see two more in its place :) It's good!

I am also reading the Bible chronologically! This is the second time I have done this and love it! Every time I finish, I start over again. Every time, I read something, I see something I didn't see before! This is my reading when my mind needs a break. Sometimes I start with my chronological reading and other times I end with it or do it in the evenings. My ten year old just said his goal this year is to read through the Bible, so he is starting at the Beginning :) <--- INTENTIONAL LIVING RIGHT THERE!!! :)

Most importantly, do what you do! Find your style, find what works. What time of the day works best. For my husband, his time is at work. He takes his to work every day and does it there. Sometimes he can't fit it in his lunch hour or he works through lunch so he sits in his truck in the driveway when he comes home. Find your time that you can solely be with God! Maybe a digital Bible or commentary is better for you to listen to while in the bath or driving home from work. WHATEVER IS PRIORITY, WILL BE PRIORITY! Don't fall into the trap where we say, "I don't have time". We all have time for what we want to do.

So, there you have it! Find a comfy chair and dig in...it's good :)

This May Be Surprising To You...

So, I am about to share something that may be surprising to a lot of you! 

I first want to say that I love the Lord with every ounce of my being. I spend time with Him every.single.day! My hubby leads our family spiritually in every way possible. Every evening he leads a devotional with our children, he teaches Sunday School for fourth graders and is the leader for 3-5th grade boys at Awana. I am a youth group leader and the leader for K-2nd graders at Awana. We are very involved with our local orphans, spreading awareness, and doing what we can to take them in.

We DO NOT feel that we deserve any praise, we are simply where God has called us to be - something we all should be doing, right?! We will always take prayers and continue spreading awareness.

With that being said, we are sinners! We are in church three plus times each week and we sin every day. I spend time with God every day and I still need to ask for forgiveness before my time with Him. I know that I'm going to sin - I can't stop it from happening! I can change what I can with God's help, but I can never stop sinning. 

This big debate over gays is hard for me (this is not a blog about gays, but rather our hearts as Christians)! You see, I have an aunt (whom is the best aunt in the history of aunts) and she is gay. She has loved me selflessly, my husband and now my kids. She is humble and funny!

So many people are afraid to talk about it and I don't understand why. I don't believe "Christians" act the way they are supposed to when it comes to gays - at all! We are called to LOVE! In the New Testament, Jesus said to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind and all your soul. Next is to love your neighbor as you love yourself. There is no greater commandment than these. (Mark 12:30-31) 

You see, Jesus does not put exemptions on these commandments - there are no "ifs". I do not agree with the gay lifestyle, I do believe it goes against all of what the Bible teaches. However, I also know that lying, pride, lust, jealousy, love of things, selfishness, women leaders in the church also go against what Jesus teaches.

I am not saying it is right to sin in any of these areas, gay, pride, jealousy, etc. It is not and we should not be content in any sin! I do believe that marriage is meant to be between a man and a woman! But, just because I believe these things to be wrong and am convicted many times when I forget, does not mean I have to judge and bring wrath down onto others who choose to sin. 

God speaks of love so much in the Bible and that is what we sometimes forget. We are so caught up on what this world has in the spotlight that we forget what God put in the spotlight - love! We don't have to agree with people to show love to them. We don't have to make people exactly like us! We just need to love, stand firm in our faith in God and let Him do the rest! He will change hearts if He wants, He will judge each of us when our time comes! Don't give satan any hold on you! 

I have prayed for you! As you read this, I have prayed that God softens your heart to loving our neighbors! Love is selfless! Love is NOT arrogant or rude! Love does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in truth. Love believes all things, bears all things, and endures all things. Love never ends. (1 Corinthians 13)

Matthew 5:14-16 (this is actually my homeschool group's verse) says we are "the light of the world" and that we are to "let our light shine so others may see our good deeds and glorify our Father in Heaven".

I just ask that we start a revolution of love! A revolution that shouldn't have to be mentioned, but surely it does! Let's unite to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Love our fellow sinners, the gays, the selfish people, the murderers, the liars, the thieves, those whom are jealous! Let's invite them to fellowship in the house of God! Let us not judge - it is clearly not our job.

In John 8, Jesus is with an adulterous woman and He said, "let any of you who is without sin be the first to throw the stone".  In Luke 6, Jesus says, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?". We do not have to agree, but we are called to love!

Love People!!!!

What will you choose to see?

What do you see when you see this face? 

I see a sweet, blonde hair, gorgeous blue eyed boy! I see a boy who had a rough start to life and needs a helmet to get things set right. I see a boy whose family obviously loves camo and Da Bears! Haha 

What we don't see when we look at these pics is this:

The yucky yellow parts around the helmet where the foam is separating from the plastic because the glue is getting old (or the basketball team running around like crazy in the background and the floor that needs swept) -

What we don't see is the piece of foam that has been clawed at because he gets so sweaty and so itchy inside (or that I don't have any makeup on, hair pulled back, and the dishes in the sink) -

 

What we don't see is the string and fuzzies stuck to his velcro or the smell! Wow! The smell sometimes, haha. And, I wash that thing every single day! 

Facebook can be one of those places where we see a lot of good things, a lot of proud moments! I used to think that I was bragging or being prideful when I said how awesome my child did, so I refrained a lot. I don't want to make other women doubt themselves (because I would feel this way at times). However, I think it is also really good that we choose to see the good, awesome moments!

It is SOOOOO hard for me to listen to negative talk. Anyone close to me knows that this is not fun for me. I see the silver lining in the worst of circumstances...it is sometimes a fault.

It is a good thing that we choose to post the awesome moments in our life, but we as the viewers have to remember that there are other things that we can't see. Everyone has fuzzies stuck to their velcro, we just can't see them. Those posting pics, I pray, are doing so as a way to encourage and share proud moments with their friends that love, support and are truly happy alongside them (I mean, that is why we are friends right?!). And, we must know that outside of these happy moments, they are regular, normal sinners just like the rest of us. Hahaha. For real though!

I have let satan get in my head with Facebook more than once, God tells us to protect our hearts in Proverbs 4:23 - "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life". I realized it had nothing to do with the person posting their achievements, but from my discontent heart. I would become dissatisfied with my friendships, my parenting, my home. I would think I needed to look like my friends. I would get so hard on myself thinking I wasn't doing a good enough job. I wasn't seeing their fuzzies, only mine.

Please don't think that our friends are all perfect. Whether it is canning season, gardening season, the mom who gets down on the floor and plays with her child all day, the one who has dinner on the table every night when her hubby gets home with candles lit and food garnished with fresh picked herbs or the one who has a very successful career. Whether it is the husband who spends every evening with his family leading devotionals or the man who surprised his wife with a surprise getaway.

We ALL have our fuzzies and our glue might be separating. Be content and love what God has given you with a joyful heart. You may not do anything I just mentioned, but that DOES NOT MEAN IT'S WRONG!!!  I read a post before that said, "A Christian Home Can Look A Thousand Different Ways!" So true!!! Rejoice when our friends are rejoicing and weep when they are weeping ~Romans 12:15. Remember that a picture is just a snapshot of a couple seconds in a person's life.

Here is to looking at our family and friend's lives and loving them!!! Here is to having pure joy! I choose to see the blonde hair, blue eyed boy who is being raised to love the Bears, camo, and currently a pacifier! How 'bout you? What will you choose to see?

31 Days of Zero Spending

Today was our first day of zero spending. I actually wanted to run into the store as I needed tissue paper for a gift, but resorted to using wrapping paper from my basement. So it begins...

I stumbled across this blog about spending zero! At first, I read it and ignored it thinking it was not feasible. I kept thinking about it! I then shared it with my husband! Of course it went just as I expected - he loved the idea! I seriously think he would've got up and started dancing if it wasn't presented to him as a guest was making his way to our door.

So, we are going through the month of January with zero spending. Just to clarify, this is zero spending outside of necessities. If you are interested in doing this now or another month, I'll go over our necessities and what made the cut!

Exceptions:

• Tithing
• Bills
• Milk, bread, eggs
• Diapers
• Gas
• Christian concert and home party already planned
• Animal food
• Toiletries

We will not be buying any additional food until we use up everything possible in our pantry. We have a lot of food (and I'm sure most of us do) that we don't use. We either don't feel like it or get bored with it. Either way, we will be using up everything in our pantry. As far as meats go, we have enough for a year as we get whole hogs and beef from our farmer friends. If you don't have a stock, I would suggest going shopping or put food into your exceptions.

We will not be eating out or going shopping. We will not be getting paper towels when we run out or syrup and ketchup when it is gone. I will not be buying a Starbucks after I drop my boy off to see his birth mom every other week or that creamer I love :( 

Our goal this month is to reflect on how little we truly need and how blessed we really are. We hope to save more than we normally do and clean out our pantry. Our kiddos are excited and so are we. We are not doing this because we secretly have spending issues or because we got our credit card statement. Haha. In fact, we don't use credit cards and are very good at saving. We simply want to live simply :)

If you want to take this challenge, then I would encourage you to sit down with your spouse and figure out your necessities. If you already have something planned (like birthdays, etc), then do as you see fit. We just set a budget for said events.

I am really excited to get this going and hope we stay strong throughout. I know I will need to get creative with meals to completely use what we have, but it will be good :)  So, here goes 31 Days of Zero Spending. 1 down, 30 to go :)