A Good Sign

This was my Christmas present from my dear friend Heather. I've been meaning to add it to my blog for a few months now but each time I tried I couldn't locate the photo (did I mention I'm still learning how to use the Mac? Cuz I am. :) Anyway, this sign is lovely and it makes me happy every time I see it. Thank you Heather for your friendship, your kindness, your thoughtfulness. I just love you and am so thankful for you and our friendship! So glad God saw fit to have us meet 11 years ago. I'd be LOST without you and fun night wouldn't be fun without you, Brandon and Lia Grace!




Happy Friday y'all! I pray you all have a friend like my Heather! :)

The Source of All Happiness

The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions
By Aurthur Bennett

I love this book. I had never heard of this book until I listened to a CD called Voyage by Christine Dente. She is a favorite of mine and her newest CD was about this book. I fell in love with the CD and immediately bought the book. It's an oldie but goodie and the prayers are so beautiful and thought provoking. I personally love to read a prayer out loud each day and I think that today's is the best one I've read until I read the next day. I love when that happens. If you don't own either book or CD, definitely check them out. You will not be disappointed. You will be encouraged and strengthened and renewed in your love and pursuit of the One who loves and pursues you. I wanted to share the prayer that I read today. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

God Enjoyed

THOU INCOMPREHENSIBLE BUT PRAYER-HEARING GOD,
Known, but beyond knowledge,
revealed, but unrevealed,
my wants and welfare draw me to thee,
for thou hast never said, "See ye me in vain'.
To thee I come in my difficulties, necessities, distresses;
possess me with thyself,
with a spirit of grace and supplication,
with a prayerful attitude of mind,
with access into warmth and fellowship,
so that in the ordinary concerns of life
my thoughts and desires may rise to thee,
and in habitual devotion I may find a resource that will
soothe my sorrows, sanctify my successes,
and qualify me in always for dealings with my fellow men.
I bless thee that thou hast made me capable
of knowing thee, the author of all being,
of resembling thee, the perfection of all excellency,
of enjoying thee, the source of all happiness.
O God, attend me in every part of my arduous and trying pilgrimage;
I need the same counsel, defence, comfort I found at my beginning.
Let me religion be more obvious to my conscience,
more perceptible to those around.
While Jesus is representing me in heaven, may I reflect him on earth,
While he pleads my cause, may I show forth his praise.
Continue the gentleness of thy goodness towards me,
and whether I wake or sleep, let thy presence go with me,
thy blessing attend me.
Thou hast led me on and I have found thy promises true,
I have been sorrowful, but thou hast been my help,
fearful, but thou has delivered me,
despairing, but thou has lifted me up.
Thy vows are ever upon me,
And I praise thee, O God.

***
Beautiful, isn't it? I just love it. I wanted to share so much with you my thoughts about this particular prayer but I find myself at a loss for words, which if you know me well, doesn't happen all too often. I will say this, I am drawn to the line that says, "thou hast made me capable of enjoying thee, the source of all happiness."

Truly, it is. Enjoying God is the source of ALL happiness and He has made us capable of enjoying Him.

Have you enjoyed God today?

The Start of Something Good

Summer!

175 Days of School have come and gone. Can I get an Amen?

So here we are now experiencing summer vacation. YAY! It's a cool 72 degrees outside....but this is all new to me. Not the weather, ok, well maybe, since I live in New England but still. This summer vacation thing is brand new. I haven't had a "real" summer vacation since I was a teenager. This is my first summer without a job and having my kids home with me. What a year it's been. So thankful for grace. I'd be lost without it. I find myself a little nervous for the summer. We are once again down to one car and I'm not sure what to do with all my time. I was journaling on Thursday asking the Lord to help me use my time wisely. To be a good steward of the moments that I can never ever get back. I need to start each day with that thought in mind and remember His grace that is new every morning.

317. A walk on the beach
318. Crashing waves
319. The sun glimmering on the water
320. Spending time with my only brother and his lovely fiancee Brianna
321. Birds chirping in the early morning
322. Early morning walks
323. My new haircut
324. The last day of school
325. Summer vacation
326. Potty accident-after a week of being accident free :)I know he can do it!
327. Watching Brandon play baseball with such enthusiasm
328. Being haunted by God (thanks to Oswald Chambers):)
329. Repenting of worry, self-reliance, self-sufficieny and pride
330. Truly trusting God
331. Life hidden with Christ in God
332. Soul dwelling at ease
333. Abiding companionship of God
334. Book: Glimpse of Grace by Mary Forsythe
335. Not being lazy or procrastinating this summer
336. Doing the dishes even when I'd rather leave them for the next day
337. Jordan's nap
338. A hot shower after a long day
339. Reading a good book in bed after hot shower
340. Loneliness

"Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart." Psalm 119:111 ESV

Lord, you are the joy of my heart. I know you are with me and I'm never alone. I love you for that.

Days Like This

Today was one of those days. We've all had them so I'm sure you can relate on some level. I let the forecast really bother me today. It's gray, cold and rainy and will be ALL WEEK LONG. Except for Saturday when it will just be gray and cold so that we can go sit at Brandon's baseball game for no less than 3 solid hours. See why I need to be grateful today? I need to remind myself that "as long as thanks is possible, then joy is always possible" Thanks Ann VosKamp. I love her! :)

Side note: My husband just came in the room and asked me what I was doing. I told him I was writing a post for my blog and he goes, "You have one? Since when?" Then I said, "Yes, since last June." SWEET COMMUNICATION. Hi Bryan, nice to meet you. LOL

ANYWAY...

#179-203

rain everyday this week
long days at home
uneasiness
fear
freezing cold baseball games
Lia turning 3
meaningful friendships
enjoying my role at home
leaving notes in my husband's lunchbox
new music thanks to an itunes gift card from my brother Mike & Brianna
Homemade cards from my boys
Amazon box containing 5 new books (my Mother's Day gift)
both boys not eating dinner tonight
SALLY CLARKSON
Courtney Joseph
reading to the boys before bed tonight
playing chutes and ladders-SuperHero Squard Edition
having dinner ready when Bryan gets home from the office
phone calls with Beth
dying to self
new ways of doing things
returning a purchase that was an impulsive one
summer book club (The Ministry of Motherhood)
weeping cherry tree that we are going to plant
good intentions

Praise the Lord that tomorrow is a new day. Rain or shine and I get to choose my attitude. Thanks to the VeggieTales Devotional For Boys for pointing that out to me tonight as I was putting the boys to bed. It's my choice. Lord, help me choose well.

31 Days to Clean

Who wants a clean house? That isn't just the catch phrase for the popular TV show, "Clean House". Although, it is a great question to ask, the answer is even better. Why do we want a clean house? What motivates us to clean? My dear Sarah Mae of Like A Warm Cup of Coffee has offered up a challenge for the month of May. You can download her e book for $4.99 on Amazon Kindle or on her website www.likeawarmcupofcoffee.com.



Today we are learning about ways to create a sense of "Put Your Feet Up" as part of the Mary Challenge and the Martha Challenge is to clean the microwave inside and out. I love this challenge. It's not about doing everything in one day and then having no extra time for anything else. I can be all or nothing at times so this challenge comes in handy for me personally.

I, like Sarah Mae, sometimes what to just quit when things don't go quite right or the way I have planned things. Lord, help me to press on and do hard things. She recently wrote about that on her blog and it resonated with my spirit. I have full confidence that if she and I knew each other in "real life" we would be kindred spirits and friends for life. I can relate to her on so many levels. She is a breath of fresh air and if you haven't read her blog, you are severely missing out. So, what are you waiting for?

For good clean fun go and check out her website. :)

So Good

I had debated with not going to the Homeschool Convention last weekend because of a bunch different situations. It always seems that these sort of "situations" pop up when you ARE supposed to go somewhere. For me, it's this struggle....should I go or not...asking yourself this 100 times or more. It's like you want to go and when you get there, you are so thankful that you endured the problems and pain because the message was exactly what you needed.

Enter Dianne Craft. www.diannecraft.org

She is a remarakable teacher and her research on Brain Integration Therapy is revoluntionary and is going to change our homeschooling for the better. The information is just what I need to hear. It's ok that my son is behind in math; it doesn't mean that he isn't smart. She shared that these are bright children with a glitch and one of their "gates" is blocked (auditory,visual,writing). It has given me so much hope. I thank the Lord for this word in due season. My precious child. I will do whatever it takes to help him feel successful in his efforts. I have never been more excited to homeschool and to take the time that is needed to invest in him. He's a joy to me. We were working this morning on the Writing Eight exercise and he said to me, "Mom, you are so calm." Thank you Lord. Help me to be calm everyday. Help me to give him the time he deserves. All other things can wait. Such revelation! Amen!

So it's Monday again. I love Monday's. Being grateful and thankful is where it's at y'all. If you haven't started your list of 1000 gifts, what are you waiting for? Join me. You will be so glad you did.

144. Brain Integration Therapy & The Biology of Behavior
145. Dianne Craft
146. Homeschool Convention
147. New Ideas
148. Giving Beth her own copy of OTG
149. Letting go of hurts
150. Releasing people that have hurt me & my family
151. Communion service at church
152. Texting Sharon all weekend in Shakesperian
153. Words with Friends App (how have I lived without this? lol)
154. Going to the park with Brandon
155. Playing baseball with Brandon
156. Encouraging him while working on school work
157.20 days of school left
158. Having a playdate with a friend and her kids tomorrow (YAY)!
159. Proverbs 25:28
160. A day with just Brandon
161. Fingerpainting
162. Letting go even more
163. New Cirriculum for September
164. Abundant life that is found in Him
165. Creativity


Lord, you are SO good. I just love You.

Multitudes on Monday on Wednesday :)

This song is my prayer. I would sing it if I could. I can't, so I will show you the Youtube video of someone who CAN sing. :)

I'm getting ready to attend the MassHope Homeschooling Convention on Friday and Saturday. I am leaving tomorrow night with 3 other friends are am looking forward to learn ways to make homeschooling fun...for next year. Ahem! My goal is finish this year strong. We have about 24 days left(but who's counting?) and then the planning begins. I love to plan so don't feel bad for me.

I missed my update on Monday as I was preparing for a funeral out of town. I have been adding to my one thousand gifts lift and wanted to share a couple here:

107. Grace that knows no end
108. Choosing worship over worry
109. Intimate fellowship
110. No sweeter name than the name of Jesus
111. Praying for my husband over the phone
112. Faith-mustard seed size
113. Overflowing peace
114. Warrior Prayers (thanks, Brooke) :)
115. Speaking the Word outloud
116. Learning to trust
117. Crown of Thorns
118. Kindness that leads to repentance
119. Redemption (thank you, Jesus) :)
120. Personal Revival
121. Open hearts
122. Unity
123. The passion of the Christ, our Lord
124. Ears to hear
125. A burning heart
126. To be ready in and out of season (thank you, Oswald Chambers) :)
127. Responding to who He is

God is so faithful and I love living for Him.