But God does!

Posted on Friday, December 5, 2008 at 05:50 by connie - 1 Comments - Post Comment - Link

I just have to tell you this story, for anyone who might be reading and doubts that there is a God.  Let me just tell you how much this God cares for those who know and love Him. 

 My story in short version:

I have this friend.  She moved away.  We don't talk as often as I would like,  or even see each other as often as I would like but we are still good friends because we both understand how busy life can get when working and raising young children.  So when we don't talk or see each other- it's ok.  We are not the high maintence kind of friend that NEEDS to hang with their friends on a weekly basis.  We laugh about that fact and just enjoy each other's company when our busy schedules allow.  Well for about the past 6 weeks she has been coming to my mind.  When she does, I pray for her.  The wow part of my story is WHEN she comes into my mind.  Every time I iron my husbands clothes for work in the morning, she comes into my mind.  At first I didn't really think anything of it, other than to pray.  But it kept happening, every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday morning.  I was convinced God was trying to tell me something.  Lo and behold, I bump into this friend out of the blue.  I  tell her  that God is having me pray for you while I iron my husbands work clothes.  I ask her if this has any meaning for her why it is always when I iron my husband's clothes.   She breaks down in tears and tells me her husband and she seperated in late September.   We didn't get to talk but she knows the Lord and there are people standing in the gap praying for her and her family.  I tell you this story because God knew she needed help and He sent that help.  I didn't know that she had been going through this for the past 8 weeks, but God did.  I didn't know I was going to see her, but God arranged it.  I didn't know that my story and letting her know I was praying would touch her and let her know that God had not forsaken her and that he wanted her to know He loves her, but God did.  My dear friends, please join me in prayer for this family.  You do not know her , but God does!

Basketball

Posted on Monday, December 1, 2008 at 04:44 by connie - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link

My boys have started basketball and are thoroughly enjoying it.  The coach is fabulous and they are having so much fun while really learning the game.  It is so cute to see them out there. 

Coach going over the rules.

Gotta stretch!!

Parker playing defense

Dribble, Dribble, Dribble

And that was all I could take before my camera died.  I was so upset!!!  I LOVE to take pics of my kiddos and now I am camera-less.    I did get a video of each boy doing their warm-up drills.  For some reason they are not going onto the entry page.  To watch them click on the comments button and go to the end of the entry.  If anyone knows how I can fix this....please let me know!   Thanks!!

A day with no kids=deepclean

Posted on Friday, November 28, 2008 at 11:04 by connie - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link

Today my mother took the kids  to the movies.   They had plans to see the movie Bolt and to shop for snow boots.  My mother informed me that we are supposed to be getting some snow on Monday and my children do not have snow boots or snow pants.   

 I have spent the past 5 hours in my bed room and bathroom cleaning.  I know 5 hours sounds a bit ridiculous.  Believe me what I threw out is a bit riduculous.  The old saying less is more is soooooo true.  I now live by the rule....If it hasn't been used or worn in a year it's gotta go!   It is so liberating not hoarding junk.  I got rid of 2 garbage bags full of crap, 2 bags of clothes, and collected 2 laundry baskets full of stuff that just plain does not belong in my bedroom.  I then washed all the furniture in my room, vacummed, washed walls, and shampooed my carpets.  I also scrubbed my shower and bleached my window in the bathroom, of all things.  The steam in the bathroom was causing mildew to grow on the window.  Ewww gross, I know.  So now my room is squeaky clean.  I love being able to tackle a room like that but never have the time with my children home 24/7 and now working.  Well now that I have eaten and taken a break, lets see what else I can clean before the kids come home.

Infomercials

Posted on Saturday, November 22, 2008 at 05:21 by connie - 1 Comments - Post Comment - Link

Roofer for hire....NOT!

Posted on Saturday, November 15, 2008 at 05:01 by connie - 3 Comments - Post Comment - Link

I spent Tuesday and Wednesday of this week on the roof of one of our apartment houses.  I am definately more educated on how to strip and reshingle a roof.  I am however, lame as a result of it.  My right arm is in such pain.  I can't even type.  I am doing this with one hand and one finger from the right hand.  Just trying to write is painful.  And all from stripping the shingles, pounding in nails, snipping the shingles, and then picking up a dump truck full of shingles.  My husband thinks it's muscle.  I have been alternating between ice and heat for the past two days.....but no relief yet.   Man I gotta give a big round of applause to all the carpenters out there.   That is one back breaking job.  Thank God we knew two who came and helped us out on Wednesday.  If it had not been for Forrest and Travis, we would have never finished before the rain came on Thursday am.   My hubby thought he could finish the roof in one day, seeing it is only a 700 square foot apartment.  Perhaps he could have in a excellent senerio,  but this was not.  There were at least 4 layers of shingles, which meant 8 at the peaks.  And a decent amount of the roof was rotten, which he spent a good amount of time trying to replace, and the help he had for most of the day on Tuesday was me and his mother.  (Not the fastest or strongest of help)  His mom did call a friend, Ed, who came in the afternoon and did some stripping.    But I am happy to say it is all done.  The last of it was being finished as it was getting dark and we have not gotten a phone call that it is leaking so I praise God! 

Eric with our help sent from above....Travis, Forrest, and Dad

Working

Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 at 04:47 by connie - 1 Comments - Post Comment - Link

I came home Friday afternoon to my boys working hard.......

Mama's so proud!

Fire Deptartment

Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 at 04:38 by connie - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link

Last week the American Girl History Club took a field trip to the Fire Department.  In the book that we have been reading, the character's house burned down.  Seeing October was also Fire Prevention month, I booked it.  The fire fighters were very patient and kind and showed us the ins and outs of the house and their job.  I think everyone involved enjoyed it.  Here is a picture of our group and of the firefighter all dressed up in his gear. 

Ok God I get it!

Posted on Monday, November 3, 2008 at 12:44 by connie - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link

Every where I turn and everything I read has been pointing to the same thing- my thoughts and emotions and how to bring them into control to that which would honor God.  It is definately something I struggle with and something God is definately trying to teach me.  My bible study I am currently doing deals with it.  Things my husband has said deals with it.  Even my devotions are dealing with it.  I hear you God ...loud and clear.  Help me now to not just be a hearer of the word....but a doer!  This was my devotional this weekend that I thought was so good that I would share.

	Devotional
	Mastering Your Emotions by Martha Matthews "How dare he tell me I'm blowing things out of proportion? They are my feelings. No one is going to tell me how I should feel!" Does this sound familiar? The wife gets her feelings hurt and she lets her husband know in no uncertain terms all about it. She feels justified in her actions because she doesn't think it is wrong to express how she feels. Of course her husband has no idea where all the emotion came from. He is puzzled because he didn't even realize that he hurt his wife's feelings. He wonders what he did that upset her so much. Emotion--it is something we all struggle with as women. Sometimes we feel trapped by our emotions, unable to express how we feel, and other times we feel out of control and unable to keep our feelings inside. We say and do things because of our emotions that later we wish we could take back. Our emotions are complicated and definitely a challenge to control. As Christians we want to do what pleases the Lord but our emotions are always right there pulling us in a direction we don't want to go. As the Apostle Paul said in Romans 7:15, "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do." (NIV) If you could use some help controlling your emotions in a godly way, then read on for some biblical guidance and encouragement. Get the Big Picture Genesis 1:26 "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.'" (NIV) God created us in His image. That doesn't mean we were created to be physically like Him. Instead God created us to be spiritually like Him. His desire is that we would imitate His heart and His character in every way. He gave us a soul so that we could connect with Him spiritually and He gave us emotions so that we could understand how He feels about things. God also gave us emotions so that we could experience life in all its beauty and fullness. Our emotions allow us to experience feelings such as love, joy, peace, hope, compassion and gratitude. Yet, because we live in a fallen world we can't always trust our emotions to guide us. Just as Satan deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden, he plays on our emotions to distort the truth and cloud our judgment. Get a Clue 1 Peter 5:8 "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." (NIV) So how do we master our emotions so that we are not lead into sin as Eve was? One way is to be aware of how we react in our flesh. We need to understand our own sinful nature in order to be able to recognize how and when Satan will attack us. When we feel an intense emotion, such as we might in the middle of a heated discussion with our husband, we need to pay careful attention to how our flesh is reacting. It is precisely at times like this that Satan can get a foothold in our heart. We have a choice to make. We can be weak-willed woman that are swayed by all kinds of evil desires (2 Timothy 3:6) or be spiritually strong woman who are clued-in to Satan's schemes. Get a Grip 2 Corinthians 10:5 "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (NIV) Satan is the Father of lies (John 8:44). He rejoices when we believe the negative thoughts he plants in our minds. Get a grip on your emotions by taking captive every negative and ungodly thought that Satan throws at you and make them obedient to Christ. Get Prepared Feelings do not always equal truth. We may have feelings of hopelessness, jealousy or anger which are clearly not what God desires. That is why it is so important to have a deep knowledge of the Bible. Let God's Word guide you, not your feelings. If you struggle with a particular emotion, study it out in the Bible. Then memorize scriptures that will help you to fight off Satan's attacks. Jesus fought off Satan with scripture (Matthew 4:1-11). God's truths are our weapons against Satan's arrow. It worked for Jesus and it will work for you also. Get Real Philippians 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (NIV) When you are overcome with emotion, be open with God about how you feel. Go to him first, before you say or do anything. If you do this you will be in very good company. Consider the prayers of King David, the Apostle Paul and Jesus. They all poured their hearts out to the Lord in times of great difficulty. Jesus poured out his heart to God with loud cries and tears (Hebrews 5:7). Getting your emotions out in the open before the Lord will help you get the healing you need (Psalm 55). Often our first thought is to go to a friend to discuss things under the guise of "getting things off our chest". A friend may give good advice but the Lord is the only one with the power to change a situation. Let us not make the same mistake as Judah did (Jeremiah 17:5). We must rely on the Lord first and foremost. Get a Life John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (NIV) Jesus came so that we could have life to the full. God wants us to rely on Him, not on our feelings. Through faith in Him, prayer, Bible study and an honest appraisal of our sinful nature we can master our emotions. All things are possible with God. Heart Challenges How do I usually handle my emotions? Do I pray to the Lord first or go to a friend first? What are the emotions I struggle with the most? For example: anger, hopelessness, distrust. What are some scriptures that I can memorize to help me fight against Satan's attack on my emotions?

Who did this?

Posted on Saturday, November 1, 2008 at 05:45 by connie - 1 Comments - Post Comment - Link

Who was eating candy this morning?

Just treats

Posted on Saturday, November 1, 2008 at 05:09 by connie - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link

Last night we sucked down dinner and ran out the door to visit the great grandparents and an aunt.  They were thrilled to see the kids in their costumes.  This is my grandmother and a few of her friends from the elderly housing.  It blessed my heart to see how excited and thrilled they were to have young ones around. 

Then, we went to DH's grandmother so she could see the kids. 

Right up the road from DH's grandmother lives his aunt, so we stopped there and she was so happy we did

Then it was off to church for the harvest party.  I was reminded in the news last night why we don't go trick or treating.  It is so sad to hear about the deaths of young children at the hands of crazy people.  My heart goes out to them.  We went to our church for costume contests, games, candy, and a hay maze.  The kids had a blast and got so much candy, my hubby brought a bag to work and I made two bags up to give away.  Our candy jar is overflowing with candy that will surely take us a year to get through.  Here are some pics of my little Moses(Kaleigh) , Joseph and his coat of many colors(Parker), and Blake - running the race for Jesus.

Blake picking out a prize for winning 3rd place in the costume contest.  Parker won 2nd place for his grade level.

Parker playing a cork gun game to win some candy.

Kaleigh testing her aim