Five Things Friday

Wow. It's been a while.

Were to start?

How about a quick update Five Things Friday style? Then, I'll be back next week with fun pictures and more stories.

1. First off, let me apologize for the time lapse. In the past month or so that I've been away, we've celebrated 8 family birthdays! And, we welcomed a new little one to the family through the birth of my sister's third child, Howard Van Becksfort. He's a snuggle bug.

2. Secondly, my time away has been emotional. {No, I'm not pregnant.} I have been in the refiners fire, so to speak. But I am thrilled to be there because I am seeing God's promise that my inner man is being renewed day by day (2 Cor. 4:16). And through this God continues to bring women into my life that are willing to walk along side me and pour their knowledge, wisdom and their very lives into mine. I continually feel the fullness of God's love through my family and these women. And I am full of thanks. I'll share more in future posts.

{via pinterest}



3. Time with the girls has been extra fun lately. There is no better way to describe it than sweet. {Although we had a rough week a few weeks ago when both girls got into a fire ant hill, both girls had pink eye and Maggie was teething...that was a sad week.} AC is eagerly awaiting her birthday and thinks she might like a Sleeping Beauty themed party. {There was a day she changed her mind to Dora, but she's back to Sleeping Beauty now.} Here are some pictures of my real-life sleeping beauties...

4. I got a new car while I've been away. Actually, I had a wreck and therefore had to get a new car. The moral of that whole story {which I will spare you the details} is: Never cross over traffic to turn into a shopping center. Even if two rows of traffic are waving you through. Not a good idea. In fact, don't even wave people through. This story does have a silver lining {silver car} for me, though. And I've already put a sticker on it.

5. Finally, it's starting to feel like FALL! The morning air has been crisp. Football season has started. I have been getting out fall decorations and sorting through the girls fall clothes this week. I had my first {and second} pumpkin spice latte of the season. And, we even had a yummy cabbage soup for dinner last night. Bring on boot season!

{via pinterest}

Resurrection Cookies

We made resurrection cookies at Mimi's house on the eve of Easter.

The kids seemed to enjoy cooking...

And their sweet little ears heard the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And the finished product was pretty tasty, too! :)

God is Never Wrong

I get it wrong. A lot.

I forget things...I remember things incorrectly...I seek out to conquer things within my own strength...often to find I was seeking the wrong thing in the first place.

But, despite my flaws, I can rest in the blessed assurance that God has appointed me to be sanctified.

"For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Thessalonians 5:9

He did not choose me because I am perfect {thankfully, because I'm far from perfect}...

Or because I go to church {thankfully, because despite my best efforts, I still miss church every now and then}...

Or because my laundry room is organized {thankfully, because who knows how long that will last}.

He simply chose me out of His mercy and grace...because I'm broken, and sinful, and I fall short...and I need a savior.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9

Satan wants us to to feel like we're not good enough to receive salvation...or that we have to get our life together before we can approach God.

But, the truth is, not one of us is deserving of the gift of salvation.

"God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

Although I am imperfect, God chose me...and finds pleasure in me...and in all of His children.

"He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will" Ephesians 1:5

And God is never wrong.

Praise be to God!


Not certain if you're a child of God...or would you like to better understand what is means to be a Christian? Read this paper by Tim Keller.

Coffee's Brewing

Yep. Working on my second pot of coffee.

I've been up since 3:30. So, when Chris got up at 5:30 to head off to Downline, I decided to brew us some coffee and send him off with a kiss and a smile. {I'm usually in bed, so no send off.}

For those of you that don't know me well, I should tell you that I'm not a morning person. For those of you that do know me, you already knew that. :) But, to all of you I must say that I am having a GREAT morning. The house is quiet. My coffee is great.

I was going to finish up some painting projects. But instead I decided to spend the morning praying and catching up on my correspondence {well, email and facebook...correspondence just sounds better}.

I got an email from a missionary that I support that works in Arizona with The Navigators, a group that ministers to college age kids. With school starting back, he is on day 7 of what he calls the "critical 10"...the first 10 days of school. {Where freshmen tend to start getting plugged in on campus.} This time of year it never fails that he and his family and his ministry are faced with many obstacles. {For example, at this time every year his computer dies.} He went on to say,  "Commenting on the life of King David, Chuck Swindoll said 'The obedient Christian is always in trouble and always rejoicing.'  In our fallen world, there is always something driving us to desperation and yet always reason to rejoice."

Can I get an Amen?!

That's exactly where my heart is right now. I am so desperately dependant on God's strength, and yet I am so full of joy!

Lately I have felt tired. And beaten up. And stretched thin. {You get the picture.} And yet I've also felt so tremendously thankful. Thankful for my salvation. Thankful for my awesome family. Thankful for my sweet friends. Thankful for new opportunities. {And all of this thanks and praise brings tremendous joy to my heart!}

This past Sunday our women's minister revealed our ministry's verse for the year. I loved it so much that I decided to make it our family verse for the year.

Look to the LORD and his strength;

seek his face always.

-1 Chronicles 16:11

I have always needed God's strength, but God has brought me to a place in my life where I finally recognize how dependent I am on it...and how freely He offers it to us.

Ooo...I hear a Maggadi crying. Off to feed my sweet girl...

Grace

Our sweet friends are currently going through the unimaginable.

Their 20 month old daughter Evie Grace went to be with the Lord just last week.

Yet, in this great devastation, their faith in God is pulling them through this incredibly difficult time.

I cannot begin to describe in words the wonder of God's love for His children. It is nothing short of amazing to witness. Especially during times such as these.

As I read my friends blog post, 2 Corinthians 12:9 rushed to mind.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

I am truly amazed by my dear friend. Because of her love and devotion to our Lord and Savior she has been able to be so strong. I can see God's loving arms wrapped around her. I can see His power at work in and through her family. I can see the comfort and strength He brings them even in the midst of such pain and suffering.

Thank you Lord for being our rock, our refuge, our stronghold in times of trouble. Thank you for staying close to the brokenhearted and lifting them up during the darkest of times.

Please keep this sweet family in your prayers.

Prayer

Twirling

A blog post I read this morning got me thinking about twirling.

I mean serious twirling.

Like a sweet little girl in her favorite dress does for her daddy. {More on that later.}

The post also got me thinking about praying scriptures.

I firmly believe in the power of prayer. And I also believe that prayer is one of the most powerful ways I can impact my daughter's life.

And, there is something particularly special about praying scriptures.

Fern Nichols, Founder and President of Moms In Touch International, wrote this in the forward to Jodie Berndt's book Praying the Scriptures for Your Children:

"When we pray the promises of God for our children,

our faith increases because we are praying back the very words of God."

Do you have a Bible verse that you pray for your child {or children}?

HH and I chose Colossians 1:9-14 for DD.

And this is the verse that Emily over at Jones Design Company {the writer of the blog post I mentioned earlier} chose for her little girl:

PLEASE go to her post titled twirl and read the story of how she chose this particular verse. It is such a sweet story.

And, don't forget to twirl!

Eat. Pray. Love.

I never read the book, but I'll admit that I think the movie looks pretty good.

How can you resist Julia Robert's smile, after all?

But I say this with a BIG warning:

The underlying message of self-love and self-worship in the film is a big, fat lie that, unfortunately, many women will believe.

Please take a minute to read this insightful post by Redeemed Girl:

Redeemed Girl's Response to Eat Pray Love Redeemed Girl Ministries

My point is not to tell you to boycott the movie, but to ask you to pray for the women that will see it and get swept up in the lies of this world.

God designed us to need Him. We all yearn for Him!

Nothing else will fill that void. Period.

So, please take a moment to pray for the hurting women of the world that are searching to fill that void.

Pray for their salvation. Pray that they will come to know the true freedom and happiness only found through our loving Savior, who so selflessly died for the forgiveness of our sins.

Standing Alone

My little Sugar has been standing up all by herself without support this week. {Way to go, big girl!}

In a letter HH recently wrote to DD {for her baby book} he noted that even at 9 months old she has a bit of an independent streak that he can't help but notice and admire.

I pray that she will one day use that independent nature to stand firm in her faith in God. That she will not cave to the pressures of this world. And, though she may feel like she is standing alone at times, that she can take comfort in knowing that she is always standing in the presence of her loving Savior.

For some reason the new feat of "standing" makes me think of the hymn The Solid Rock.

I love the truth spoken in this hymn of grace. Nothing in this hymn ever hints that any work on our part can add to Christ’s work in order to secure our eternal salvation. And, it reminds us that even in our darkest times God has not left us...Even in our darkest times we can take comfort as we "rest on His unchanging grace."

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.

When darkness seems to hide His face,

I rest on His unchanging grace.

In every high and stormy gale,

My anchor holds within the veil.

His oath, His covenant, His blood,

Support me in the whelming flood.

When all around my soul gives way,

He then is all my Hope and Stay.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,

Oh may I then in Him be found.

Dressed in His righteousness alone,

Faultless to stand before the throne.

Refrain:

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,

All other ground is sinking sand;

All other ground is sinking sand.

Dedication Day

This father's day Sunday, Handsome Hubby and I dedicated our sweet little one to the Lord.

We vowed to do everything within our power to raise her in a godly way - to teach and train her in God's Word, and to earnestly pray for her.

Then, hopefully, she will one day make a commitment on her own to follow God and ask Jesus into her heart.

Our little family.

DD with her great-grandmothers, whom she is named after.

Dorris {Catherine} Woods and Patsy {Ann} Roney.

The  fam. So thankful they were there to support our commitment.

DD in her gown.

One more shot in the gown, for good measure.

After the service, we had everyone over to our house for lunch.

The table.

Hydrangeas from our yard {and Tootsie's yard}.

I placed them in silver baby cups.

More hydrangeas in a julep cup.

HH grilled pork chops {in the 100 degree heat}. We all proceeded to eat until we were sick.

And, then I read the sweet blessings that everyone had written for DD. 

Here are some excerpts from one of them:

-I’ve just witnessed today for the first time you being able to crawl. It will be exciting to watch you walk and begin to talk. I look forward to watching you grow up and being a part of your life.

-I will be praying for you to be a little girl after God’s heart, acceptable in his site and pleasing to him.

I'm going to put these blessings in her baby book so she can read them for herself one day.

NEWS FLASH

TIM KELLER {from my summer reading list} is coming to speak at our church!! Yippee!

I am SO excited!!

I have no idea what he is speaking about, but I really don't care, because I'm sure it will be fabulous!

Who: Tim Keller
What: Speaking about ??? {I'll fill you in when I find out}
When: Friday, June 25 at 7:00 pm
Where: First Evangelical Church, Memphis, TN

Be there or be square!

In Christ, I Really DO Have It All

I have a confession to make.

I've recently had a jumbo-sized pity party for myself.

I've been having a severe case of "working mommy guilt" and convinced myself that I should waller in misery because I'm not at home with Darling Daughter and am zapped of all energy {while fully aware that I would be equally zapped of all energy if I was at home all day}.

I rushed to the internet {of all things} to see how other working moms deal.

It seems impossible, after all, and someone out there has to know the secret to getting it all done while remaining sane.

It didn't take long to find that I wasn't alone in my feelings of guilt. But, that's when it hit me...like a big 'ole slap in the face.

I don't want to gripe and moan and waller in self-pity like the random internet moms I'd found.

And, I shouldn't.

I have the comfort of a loving Savior, a Mighty Counselor that actually wants me to turn to Him in times of need!

Duh!

I prayed the whole way home from work yesterday. Seeking forgiveness for my selfishness, and for not turning to Him sooner. I admitted that this is hard for me, and that I know I will need to continually seek His strength and comfort.

I could literally feel the peace of the Holy Spirit as I prayed. Ahhhh.

I felt assured that I CAN do this. I can work outside of the home and still provide for my family's needs, and with great joy. All things are possible through Christ who gives me strength.

I continued to make my way home, counting my many blessings along the way...

1. I have a loving, supportive, flat-out awesome husband,
2. We've been entrusted with a sweet baby girl,
3. God's continually provided loving people to care for her,
4. and on,
5. and on...

Suddenly my "problems" felt very, very small {and so did I}.

I am so thankful for my strength in Jesus Christ.

I am thankful for my circumstances - I am blessed far beyond measure!

I am thankful for the joy God has given me in my life.

And, I am eternally grateful for the love and comfort of my Mighty Savior!

I really DO have it all!

Five Things Friday

Last night, while I was feeding Darling Daughter, I watched Vince Gill's flood relief telethon.

It was so surreal to see Nashville, another city I love, completely under water. The Opryland Hotel {where Handsome Hubby and I stayed before we flew out on our honeymoon}, the streets of downtown {where I once interned}, the Grand Ole Opry and so many other beautiful places are completely destroyed.

People's homes and cars are washed away or standing in muddy water. They don't have food to eat, water to drink, or clothes to wear...

I'd like to dedicate this "Five Things Friday" post to the people of Nashville, and people all over the Mid-South that have been devastated by the flooding.

Five Things to Pray for the People of the Mid-South:

1. "The Lord is good, a refuge in a time of trouble." I pray that, during this time of devastation, people will take refuge in our Father.
2. "{God} is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us..." I pray that His people will trust in Him for their provisions and that He will provide for their needs exceedingly and abundantly beyond all they can even ask or think.
3. "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." I pray that He will ease their minds and give them rest.
4. "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." I pray that God would heal their wounds, physical and spiritual.
5. "In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." PRAISE THE LORD!!! Is that not the best news you've ever heard?! I pray that God's people will rejoice in His victory despite their current circumstances.

Everything's Coming Up Roses

I love roses.

I love to cut them from our back yard and place them in tiny vases around the house.

They make me smile.

These roses blossomed up out of stumps of former bushes that were pruned back because they had gotten out-of-control-big.

I was sad to hear that in effort to clean out the flower beds and re-plant with something more manageable, Handsome Hubby had pruned our rose bushes back to stumps. But, deep down I knew I didn't have time to take care of them right now anyway. I thought they were gone for good.

Then, Darling Daughter and I went for a stroll in our back yard and found these pink and red roses stretched up toward the sun as if they were singing praises.

In pondering our creator and His creation this morning, I came across this verse in Isaiah:

The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. - Isaiah 35:1

A commentary I read suggests that the kingdom of Christ is the great subject intended in this passege. His grace can take a soul that was a wilderness and make it sing and rejoice and blossom...much like the roses in our back yard.