A Tree Firmly Planted

I know that I skipped my usual weekend wrap-up yesterday, but I had a really busy day and just didn't have time to write an entry. I also didn't have much to wrap up. Gene didn't get home until close to 7:00 Friday evening and by 8:00 we were putting the girls down for the night. We were both tired and turned in early. Exciting, I know.

On Saturday, we stayed home all day, hanging out in the yard while Gene did the yard work. He had chair set up at the church at 5:00. He left around 3:30 to run another errand first and didn't get home until close to 7:00 again because only 8 men from his set-up team showed up to set up 800 chairs for Sunday morning worship. Gene has back issues and is still hurting this morning.

On Sunday, we had a wonderful morning and night at church. As I have said before, I love corporate worship so Sunday, as busy as it is, energizes me.

This morning in my quiet time, I didn't really want to study too deep, just read a little bit, so I turned to my favorite, the Psalms.

I read Psalm 1 several times and wanted to share a few verses.

Psalm 1:1-3
"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers."

I know I have shared these verses before because there is so much truth to learn in them. I was reminded how often as a woman and a mom, I look for advice in all the wrong places. I watch talk shows, read Parenting magazines, or read self-help articles looking for an answer to some question that I have. Those things are equal to "walking in the counsel of the wicked". God's Word promises to be everything I need. As I continually read His word, delight in it, and meditate on it day and night, God says that I will be blessed. More specifically He says that I will be "like a tree planted by streams of water". I want to be firmly planted in Him. I do not want to be tossed about by different waves of thought or instruction. I want to yield fruit for God in my Christian walk and in my mothering abilities, fruit that will not wither. I want the things that I do to prosper.

For those things to happen, I have to make time to read God's Word every single day. I need to write down a verse that speaks to my heart and read it throughout the day. As I do that, I am meditating on God's truth and putting that truth down into my heart. I want to be full of God's truth and not the truth of this lost world and that is a constant battle, isn't it?

Start growing your roots today by committing to daily Bible study and prayer.

The fruit that comes from it will be juicy and delicious.
Psalm 34:8 says, "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!"
He is good! He really is!

Until next time...

Couponing

I am really trying to do better with the money that I spend at the grocery store. My older sister introduced me to Publix and their insane policy of accepting manufacturer coupons and competitor coupons. You really save money when you shop their sale items and then have 3 plus coupons on that sale item.

Yesterday I did pretty good if I must say so myself. We eat a lot of granola bars around here and Reagan likes them for breakfast on the go, and Publix was having a sale on many varieties of bars that we eat. Boxes of granola bars can run around $3.00 each so I loved this week's sale. I spent $17.00 and bought...

2 boxes of Nature Valley granola thins

2 boxes of Nature Valley sweet and salty bars

2 boxes of Cascadian Farms chocolate chip bars

1 bag of Doritos

2 bags of Chex Mix

1 packagae of Solo plates

1 roll of Reynolds wrap aluminum foil (75 feet)

and


wait for it....






wait for it...






wait for it....




4 bottles of Right Guard Total Defense deodorant

And all for $17.00! Isn't that crazy?

The deodorant was the best deal I have made yet while shopping the sales. They normally run $3.99 a piece, which would be over $16.00. Publix had them Buy One Get One Free so I could get 4 bottles for $8.00. I had a $1.00 off coupon for each one, which brought my total down to $4.00. Then I had a $3.00 off two coupon which brought my total down to $1.00. And last, I had a $1.50 coupon off two which brought my total down to -0.50. I made money on these suckers and I shouldn't have to buy deo for a LONG time. (Gene already had a couple of these in his cabinet.)

I love this!

Of course couponing is taking a lot of my spare time. I guess we will have to call it a new "hobby".

Right now it is worth my time and effort because I have seen a huge reduction in our grocery budget and my cabinets, frig., and freezer are FULL.


Do you coupon? If you don't you should! Start today!

Calgon, I Mean God, Take Me Away

Do you remember that old Calgon commercial where the stressed out woman who was at the end of her rope would cry out, "Calgon, take me away!" She would then be transported into a luxurious spa-like bubble bath complete with soft music and candle-light, with all her troubles fading away.

I had one of those long days yesterday. I did not have a bad day by any means, just long, and with young children, tiring.

My day started around 5:15 a.m. because I desperately wanted to start my day in the Word and prayer. By 6:30, Reagan was awake and by 7:00 Gracen was awake and we hit the ground running. We left the house at 8:00 to take Reagan to school, and then, I had some errands to run that lasted until 11:30, the time that I have to pick Reagan up.

Errands are a little more tricky with a 15 month in tow. Gracen was pretty good, but I stayed in entertainment mode, trying to appease her while concentrating on what I needed to do. I think every mother knows what I am talking about.

When we arrived home, I immediately started making lunches and from that activity up until 4:30, when we left for church, I was either cleaning up, dealing with one child or the other, getting everybody ready, packing bags, etc. Again, nothing bad...just that constant activity.

When we arrived at church for dinner the battle of eating and dealing with Gracen started. She has decided that she does NOT like to sit in her highchair and will make the embarrassing scene about it. So for the last several Wednesday nights I struggle to eat with one hand and feed her and hold her down with the other. Eventually she ends up in my lap while we both continue to try and eat.

After dinner, I was truly looking forward to dropping her off in the church nursery and going to worship. I love corporate worship and my soul needed refilling. Well, as I walked up to sign Gracen in, the nursery director told me that 5 people had not shown up to fulfill their COMMITMENTS, so I ended up keeping Gracen's age group, with not just one 15 month crawling all over me but several. During that hour and a half, I was very thankful that I didn't have multiples.

We left church at 8:00 and I had to stop by Wal-Mart, which I never do that late at night. After getting what I needed and standing in a ridiculously slow line, I finally made it home around 9:00. At this point, I wanted to climb into my bed and hide from the world, or at least from the two small children who were staring at me, extremely cranky and ready for bed. Gene is now preaching a college service after our regular worship service so he gets home around 10:30...meaning it's all me for the bedtime routines.

I finally crawled into my bed around 10:30 having done nothing for myself all day or receiving any nourishment at church. I wanted to cry, knowing those my two precious dolls would be up by 7:00 a.m. and then...."Here we go again." Yes, at that moment I was thinking, "Calgon, PLEASE take me away."

How easy it is to forget that I have a very present help in my moments of pure exhaustion.

Psalm 18:1-3 says, "I love you, Lord, MY STRENGTH. The Lord is MY ROCK and MY FORTRESS and MY DELIVERER, MY GOD, MY ROCK, in whom I take refuge, MY SHIELD, and the HORN OF MY SALVATION, MY STRONGHOLD. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies"...(not that my children are my enemies, but you get the idea).

Like the mother in the Calgon bathtub, I can be transported to a place of complete peace and rest. At any moment, I can quiet my soul and go to Him in prayer and ask Him to fill up my empty places and be my strength.

Your stress may be different from my stress. It may be a colicky baby, marital strain, In-law problems, physical illness, a rebellious teenager, financial pressure, a bad attitude, stress at work, caring for aging parents, etc. Whatever it is you can know that God is there in that situation. He has not left you or forsaken you, but you have to cry out to Him and ask Him to be your refuge and your shield in times of trouble and need.

This morning my children slept until almost 8:00, and I got up about 6:30. I chose to spend that time with HIM, instead of getting started on all the things around here that needed doing. In that time, my stress started to melt away. Today, with God's help, I can do all that He has called me to do.

Psalm 46:1 says, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."

What a great verse to memorize and get down into your heart.

He is with me...moment to moment...as I focus on Him, I will be able to do all that I need to do.

Until next time...

Being Intentional

Lately, I have been trying to be very intentional in teaching my girls about the things of God. If I don't do it, who will?

One thing that we are doing is turning off the TV and listening to praise and worship music together in the mornings. It is amazing how it quiets my soul to have the "noise" of the black hole gone and words about God filling the house. Reagan and Gracen both love music so they have been enjoying the change. I will raise my hands with certain songs and Gracen will raise her hands too. It is pretty cute.

I have noticed that from the songs, Reagan is starting to ask questions about different biblical words or phrases that she hears. The words are starting to penetrate her little heart and that is very important to me.

We are starting our day with prayer and a few Bible verses and Gene, as he has done for the past 2 years, leads a longer devotional time at night. Reagan will literally cry when Gene is not home to do this or is too tired to do it. I try to take over when Gene has had a really long day and it is just not the same for Reagan. She listens but she would much rather Gene do it. She loves him so!

When Reagan complains about something or someone, I am trying to give her a biblical response of how she should respond, rather than how I would respond in my flesh.

I am trying to point out things outside that God made or that we should be thankful for.

When we see an ambulance or a fire truck with its siren on, we pray for the people who might be involved.

We pray before our meals, and I am trying to encourage her to pray as much as possible. Gracen will even bow her head when we pray as a family and mumble something that sounds like "Amen" when we finish.

I am allowing Reagan to see me reading my Bible and praying throughout the day so she sees that mom needs God.

All of these things will work together to open Reagan's eyes to the fact that there is a God in heaven who created her and loves her, and in the future Gracen will see this as well.

I am praying every day that Reagan and Gracen will accept Jesus as their Savior and that their lives would bring glory to Him. I want to do my part to point them in that direction.


Deuteronomy 6:6-7 "And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise."


Moms, some days are really difficult, but if we are consistent, in the future we will see the fruit of our labor, we will shoot out Godly arrows into a dark world.

I want to encourage any moms who read this blog to be intentional in teaching your children about the things of God. It is THAT important! Their futures are at stake.

Weekend Wrap-Up

This past weekend was busy with different activities.

Thankfully, I kicked it off with a pretty quiet Friday. Gene had a late night with the college students and was suppose to be home around midnight. I headed to my mom's house around 3:30 to visit with her and really just to get out of the house. The girls both love going to their Gram's, and we decided to eat pizza together, which means that I didn't have to cook. It was a win-win for me. I wanted to be home by 7:30 so I could get the girls in bed early. I successfully had both of them asleep by 8:00 and enjoyed 3 hours of solitude before I fell asleep. I needed that alone time, and I soaked up every moment drinking decaf coffee and reading a good book. It was heavenly!

On Saturday, we were home most of the day. Gene did the yard work and I played in the big blow-up pool with the girls. Around 1:00 we had to start the process of getting everyone dressed and ready for a wedding that was in Montgomery. This was Laura Lovelady's wedding, and it was absolutely beautiful. Thankfully both girls were very well behaved. We left Montgomery around 5:30 and went to Chick-Fil-A and grabbed a bite to eat. I would have really liked to eat at the reception, but Gracen makes that pretty impossible. I prefer to go to places where I can strap her down in a chair, rather than standing around with punch in one hand and a dainty food plate in the other. After dinner, we headed to a few stores, pricing appliances. My stove has died and my fridge, and microwave have their own issues, so we are looking at replacing every kitchen appliance, updating from white to stainless steel. We did not make any final decision of course. I am very indecisive and could never make that kind of decision without checking every store within a 50 mile radius. So I will keep you posted on that. For now, I am cooking on my stove-top and in my crock-pot, which is working out fine.

On Sunday, I had a marathon of a day. We went to worship and Sunday School, as normal, and then a couple from our church wanted to treat us to lunch at LongHorn, which is our favorite restaurant. Against my better judgement, I went. Well, let's just say I should have listened to my inner voice of reason. We got out of church at 12:15 and Gracen is normally asleep every day by 12:30. She was rubbing her eyes when I picked her up from her class, which should have been a signal to this mom. Long story short, let's just say that Gracen pitched the biggest tantrum that I have ever seen. She would not sit anywhere and cried and climbed all over me for a solid hour. I did not get to eat even a single bite of my food, and I felt like the entire place was staring at the mom who could not control her brat of a child. When we left the restaurant, I was sweating, and told Gene not to ask me to eat lunch out again with Gracen for the next 2 years. I don't think he would have anyway.

After lunch, I sent the kids home with Gene, who, by the way, ate every bite of his lunch, home with the kids (Yippee!) because I had to make a trip to Baptist South to visit a friend who had just had a baby. Unfortunately, baby Rachel is having some mild complications, so Cassandra Hicks, Leslie Dedon, and I went to pray with her and try to lift her spirits. I enjoyed the time of fellowship and finally got to eat my boxed-up lunch from Longhorn....in peace.

I made it home around 4:00. Gene had to leave at 4:15 and both girls were just getting up from their naps....joy. We immediately had to get ready and leave for church. We made it back home around 8:00, ate supper, bathed the girls, and headed to bed.

Sunday was exhausting!

I thought about my quiet Friday night many times throughout that busy day.

The next 3 hour block of solitude won't get here quick enough!!!

Until next time...

Are All Things Really Good?

We have had a very busy couple of days with the passing of my sweet friend Beverly Easley. Her husband Bryan is on staff with my husband at East Memorial, and Gene has been away from home everyday since Sunday, from early morning until bedtime, and this schedule will continue until Saturday. He has had a lot of things to help with in relation to Beverly's passing, the visitation, and the funeral, and so have I. On top of the busyness, I have been an emotional wreck, literally, and just haven't had the desire to sit down and really "think"...which is often necessary if one is going to write a blog entry.

The question that has stayed on my mind during all of this is..."How is the passing of a beautiful godly mother and wife a good thing?" I have asked many people that question over the last few days, I have said it to people as I have cried with them, and I have read my Bible looking for a new nugget of truth to help me process this event.

Gene I were talking about this in bed last night and he said it basically comes down to what we really believe about God. Is He good or is He not? We cannot pick and choose what we believe about God. We cannot view Him as a good God when everything is going good and then turn our backs on Him or get angry at Him when something bad happens. We believe ALL of scripture or none at all. So, do I trust God or not? Will I continue to follow Him in the bad times, as well as the good times? My answer to that is YES, because I love Jesus, and I cannot imagine my life without Him. With Jesus there is always hope.

That was the overarching theme of Beverly's homegoing celebration, a funeral like none other than I have been to. It was made clear that if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you have accepted Him as your Savior, then you WILL see Beverly again. Her father, a retired minister, wanted to do her funeral and what an amazing job he did. Despite his incredible sadness over the earthly loss of his daughter, he was able to have joy because of the strong foundation of faith that he has. He reminded her children, his grandchildren, to "stay close to Jesus to stay close to Momma". Her entire family and all her friends could be comforted because we are SURE she went to heaven because of her steadfast love and devotion for Jesus. We were all able to realize that God is still in control, and as believers, we will see Beverly again. Heaven is a wonderful place! Her 3 years of battling cancer are over, and Jesus has wiped away every tear from her eye. She is rejoicing right now. That truth is comforting.

So, are all things really good?

Romans 8:28-29 says, "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. "


God has a kingdom purpose for Beverly's death and for every single thing that we endure. Many individual things do not feel good, but we have to trust that ALL THINGS works together for our spiritual and eternal good and the spiritual and eternal good of others. The verse is speaking of a long-range good, a good that we may never see. How easy it is to forget that God is not working to make us happy, but rather to fulfill His global purposes. Many, many things HURT in this life, but the believer can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is using it for a greater good.

An example of this are the 2 souls that were saved at Beverly's funeral when an altar call was given. The gospel was clearly laid out and 2 publicly accepted Christ and who knows how many more were touched...or at least had a seed planted in their hearts.

Only God knows how this event will be used in the lives of her husband, children, extended family, and friends' lives....10, 20, 30, 40 years from now and beyond.

Is He good...yes, He is!

Reagan's First Day of K-4

Reagan started K-4 today at Coosada Baptist Church. She will go three days a week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8:30-11:30. That time frame is still sufficient for me. I am not sure I am quite ready to release her for 5 days a week from 7:30-3:00 yet. That is a hard thought when we have been together almost every waking hour since she joined our family. This schedule gives us the best of both worlds....days of school and days at home.

She was so excited this morning. Let's just hope that excitement sticks. She is super pumped about her teacher and the fact that she has several friends in her class. Reagan is my social butterfly, so knowing people will probably get her in trouble, but I still think having friends in the same room is a blessing. Here she here right before we loaded the car. I thought she was just adorable this morning, and I am so thankful that I am home with her to take part in all these big events.
Here is her teacher, Mrs. Vicky Lowman. This is the teacher we requested and come to find out, she requested Reagan. That felt good as a mom. Mrs. Vicky just oozes love and affection for all of her students. She is bubbly and energetic and has "preschool teacher" written all over her. I am thrilled that she is Reagan's teacher this year.

Here is Reagan with Drew Hicks, a friend literally since birth. These two have grown up together in the church nursery at East Memorial. Reagan is looking forward to playing with Drew each day. Like I said, I hope they don't get each other in trouble.

And here is Reagan with another East Memorial buddy, Katelyn Crosby. Reagan was equally excited about this little cutie being in her room.

Reagan had a great first day of school and told me she wanted to stay with Mrs. Vicky forever. I think that is a pretty good first day impression. She talked about her day the entire way home. That made me smile.

Her great first day was a happy point in my otherwise sad day. I am still in shock about the loss of such a dear friend. I can not get her precious family off of my mind and have been praying for them throughout the day. I have cried way too much and I know my children think I have finally lost it.

Life is hard isn't? Some things are just way too hard to comprehend. When an elderly person dies, it is still sad, but more expected in a way. When someone dies that is about your age, it is hard to see what good could come from it. But yet, that is what God's Word says, that all things work together for the good for those who love Him. Today, I just don't see the good, and I guess I probably won't until I am in heaven myself.

Until next time...