Weekend Wrap-Up

We kicked off the weekend by having dinner at my sister, Lindsay's, house. She has made the decision that we should get together for dinner once a month, swapping houses, so the kids can play and develop close bonds. Of course, I didn't think to bring my camera so I don't have any pictures to share, but, we had a wonderful time. Lindsay made a delicious meal and the kids had a blast. It was nice to just sit around and chit chat with my sister and her husband, Brian. It made me long for my older sister, Lori, to live closer. I would love for all three of our families to be able to get together. Lori...the next one is at my house during the last weekend of February. You and yours are welcome to make the 2 hour drive.

On Saturday, God gifted us with a beautiful day. I am so thankful for the warm, sunny weather that we were able to enjoy. I spent almost the entire day outside with the girls. It was the first day in a long time that they were able to just get out in the yard and play. They ran around the yard, rode their little motorized vehicles (Gracen has her own now), played kickball, played in the sand box, played on the swing set, jumped on the trampoline, and swung on the swings. Gracen LOVED the swing. I know she stayed in hers for close to an hour, and then when we got home from church on Sunday, she got out of the car and made a bee-line for her swing again. Gene went out and swung both girls while I made lunch. Both days were so nice....long and lazy.

Well, Saturday was lazy for me and the girls, but not so much for Gene. He had to be at UPWARDS at church from 9:00 until 1:30, and then had to set up chairs at 5:00. He did come home for the few hours in between because he said he knew that we were outside enjoying the day. It was hard for me not to fuss because gas is at almost $3.00 a gallon. I was actually very glad to see him....but I did think about that gas. Just saying...

On Sunday, we had church. Thankfully, both girls are well, at least for now, so I was able to go to worship. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Randy did a great job and the music brought me to tears. I love good praise and worship music.

We had breakfast for supper and then pulled out the air mattress for a family movie night, complete with popcorn and Sprite, of course.

Gene and I have been talking about the LIFE groups at our church and several have asked why we aren't hosting one. Our main two issues are childcare and living so far out of Prattville. We have decided that we aren't going to let those two things hinder us anymore. We feel like we should be leading a group, so we are going to list our group in the bulletin this Wednesday and Sunday and see if anyone is interested in making the drive.

Our group will meet here at our house every Sunday at 4:30 beginning February 13th. We will go through a Bible study, which is still undecided, and then take a month or so off. Please give us a call or email me if you're interested in joining our group. My email address is www.gldevaughn@yahoo.com. We had talked about walking through the Book of James because Gene has taught through that book before and that is what I am currently studying. But, Gene received word just today that two other groups are starting and they are studying James, too. Gene really wants us to have some variety with these LIFE groups, so he wants us to choose something else. I am trying to "submit" to his leadership and get excited about something different, but I really want to walk through James because it has been so good.


Prayer Request:
I wanted to encourage my readers to pray for Cricket Jones and her unborn baby boy, Tate. Cricket doesn't go to our church, so many of you might not know her personally, but her family does attend our church. Cricket is the daughter of Danny and Grethen Loftin. She received some devastating news about her precious little one. You can go and read about his condition HERE. I am praying for them everyday and would love for you to join me. God is the God of all miracles and I am begging God to perform one on behalf of this family.

Until next time...

James 1:1-18

I have been studying the book of James for the last two weeks, using the SOAP method. The SOAP method is where you...
S-write down the scripture, which has been 1-3 verses each day...
O- write down any observations from the scripture...
A-write down any applications for my life from the scripture...
P-pray over what I am learning.

I have to admit that at first, I wasn't too sure about doing this. I am kind of a Bible study junkie. I love going through Bible studies written by authors like Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer, Kay Arthur, etc. I told Gene I just didn't feel like I was doing a "real" study because I didn't have much of a guide. I know...I probably shouldn't have admitted that!

I have been pleasantly surprised at how much I am learning and how God has opened my eyes because I am spending time focusing on one or two verses per day. I am not really reading someone else's interpretation of the Bible, as I normally do in a study, even though I do have a commentary I am using. The one verse just rolls around in my head throughout the day, and I have already been able to encourage a few people with the particular verse that I studied that morning. It is neat when that happens!

I have studied James 1:1-18 over the last two weeks, and my eyes and my heart have been opened to the purpose of trials.

James 1:2-8
"Consider it all joy, my brethen, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect work, so that you may be perfect and complete. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."

Consider it all joy....yeah, right! Clearly we are not going to consider it joy and jump up and down with excitement when a trial hits your life. But, you can absolutely trust that God is good and that every single thing has a purpose and has been filtered by His Hand. If I yield myself to His purposes, the end result will be good, and that can bring me a sense of joy while I am on the journey. When I get to the end of my life and meet Jesus...after facing many trials and enduring them with God...then I will be perfect and complete.

Problems are necessary. Problems strengthen our character. Too often we become frantic to cut short the trial without consulting the Lord about His purpose for it. And then it is possible that we just might have to undergo an even longer trial in the future before His particular purpose is realized in us. No problem is too great for God, but some problems might not be removed. We must learn to accept them and to prove that His grace is sufficient. Others are removed when we have learned our lessons from them. Most of us (myself included) lack wisdom to view the pressures of life from God's standpoint. We adopt a short-range view, occupying ourselves with the immediate discomfort. We forget that God unhurried purpose is to enlarge us through pressure. (That came from one of my commentaries, but I don't remember which one.)

Verses 5-6 talk about asking God for wisdom and then not doubting. If you look at these verses in context, they are referring to praying to God for His wisdom IN the trial. We need to constantly ask God to see things from His perspective....and not our own. We must trust that He is good and nothing is impossible for Him. If we doubt His goodness and His power, we will have no stability in times of trouble. One minute we will be resting calmly (in the trial) and the next I will feel like God has forgotten me....like the waves of the sea...back and forth my emotions will go.

Oh, there is so much more....but Reagan is begging me to read to her and this post is getting long.

I encourage every person to find a method of Bible study that works for you. The Word is life changing and worth every effort you put into studying it!

It's not too late to join Dana Roten and myself as we walk through the book of James and email each other every day with what we learned. Let me know if you are interested and I will get you started!

Until next time...

Sisters

Today I wanted to share a few snapshots that I have taken of the girls over the last week or so. I am starting to see this little relationship develop and I deeply desire for that relationship to be a positive one. I have mentioned this before, but I want Reagan and Gracen to love each other, to protect each other, to respect each other, and to want the best for one another. I am not exactly sure how to achieve this goal. I do not allow them to yell at one another, to call each other names, or to hit (or hurt) one another. Throughout the day, I have to stop what I am doing to talk to Reagan about how God would feel about the way she is treating her sister and share a Bible verse with her. Yesterday, she rolled her eyes....perfect! That was the exact response I was going for.

I will persevere though. It may be years before I see the fruit, but I am trusting God for exactly that... fruit...love and respect in their relationship. I know that His Word will not return void.

Here they are sitting in a chair in the den, watching television together.Sorry for the ugly bowls in the picture. Reagan gets those out to "drum on" with spoons. One morning following one of our family movie nights.... We didn't put the mattress up and they laid together for a while.

I loves these pictures. Both girls were in Reagan's room and Gene and I noticed it had gotten really quiet. We walked in to find this...

This was a big deal because Reagan had been very stingy with her new Leapster, a Christmas gift, and Gracen had been very curious about it. Reagan was talking to Gracen about the pictures on the screen, and Gracen was very content to just listen without trying to grab it out of her hands.

And here is one that I posted recently...making cookies together. Gracen wants to be right beside Reagan at all times.

I found a great blog entry with suggestions of how to nurture the sibling relationship. I wanted to give the link in case any other mothers out there feel like I do. You want to encourage a healthy sibling relationship, but you're just not exactly sure how to do that.... You can read the blog entry HERE. I thought it gave a lot of great tips.

Until next time...

Birthday Celebration #3

Reagan's birthday party was this past Saturday and we had an absolute blast. The theme was based on the book Pinkalicious which is about a love for pink and a love for cupcakes. The main character also loves to dress up like a princess, so we used that in a party activity too.

This is mainly just a post of pictures for my family. If you are friends with me on Facebook, you have already seen these photos.

Here is the cupcake table, waiting on girls to decorate their own cupcake.

Here is the cupcake cake made by Debbi Gordon....and some other pink foods. Debbi has made cakes for us for about 3 years now and she always does such a great job.
Goody bags ready to go....minus the crowns and wands that the girls will make.

Craft table...crowns

I haven't brought out the wands yet.

Playing the game "Pin the Cherry on the Cupcake"

Making crowns and wands

This took some time and the girls were so quiet and focused on the job at hand.

Reagan busy at work.

The birthday girl with her finished crown and wand.

Decorating their cupcakes

Time to blow out candles...and then we brought out the pink ice cream and pink lemonade.

All the girls in Reagan's room

Opening presents

Like I said at the beginning of this post, we had such a good time. Reagan loved it and thanked me and Gene repeatedly for her party. Even when she woke up Sunday morning, she said she wished she could have her party all over again. I consider that a successful party!

And in case you are wondering, Gracen was there, but she was asleep for most of the party. I planned it that way...and it worked out beautifully. She did get to play with the girls for about 30 minutes or so after Reagan opened her presents. Gene was also there but I never took any pictures of him. I guess I was busy!

Birthday Celebrations 1 & 2

We had a fun day with Reagan on her birthday.

We woke her up with a birthday tray containing one cupcake (her breakfast request), chocolate milk, and a present to open. We walked in singing "Happy Birthday" to her and she immediately starting smiling and said, "I'm five!"

Here she is blowing out the candles.

Here she is opening her present...We redid her bedroom for her birthday (notice the pink walls and the new curtains and bedding), but I still wanted her to have something to open. I will have to post a picture of her entire bedroom because it turned out pretty cute. The pink will hurt your eyes, but she loves it.

She loves the book Pinkalicious so I bought her the other two books in the series. She was tickled "pink" about that!

And here she is enjoying her cupcake.

Reagan had to go to school after all the fun was complete, and I took cupcakes for the class. She said that she had a fabulous day. She got to wear a crown all day long. She got two smiley face stamps (one for each hand). She got to hold Mrs. Vicky's hand at the front of the line. Her class sang to her and she got to help pass out the cupcakes. She thought all of that was pretty cool. Her friend and classmate, Drew Hicks, even remembered her birthday and brought her a birthday gift. It was a kit to make her own jewelry and she loves it. Thanks again, Cassandra.

Then we headed home to have a pizza/cupcake celebration with Gene and both sets of grandparents. They wanted to see Reagan on her birthday and I was thrilled that she had a little party on her actual birthday.

Here she is about to open the present from my Mom and Dad.
With my mom...Gram!

Hugging my Dad...Pap!

Opening her present from Gene's mom and dad.

Gene 's mom...Gran!

Enjoying another cupcake...her third for the day.

We ended the day going to church. She was looking forward to holding the flag in Cubbies, which apparently is a pretty big deal and something you only get to do when it is your birthday. She told me all about it when I picked her up from class.

I think she had a pretty good day.

And we still have her "Pinkalicious" party this coming Saturday.

I am so excited and of course, will post pictures.

Happy Birthday Reagan

Today is Reagan's 5th birthday! I cannot believe that she is 5...that we have had her in our lives for 5 years. She still cannot comprehend what a gift she was and still is to our family. After 10 years of marriage and 8 years of trying to conceive, she was God's answer, through adoption, to our greatest desire for a baby. What a blessing! What a gift!

These pictures, taken by my niece Ariel Reynolds, totally exemplify Reagan. She is so full of joy all of the time. She talks all the time, sings all the time, and totally enjoys herself wherever she is...just like with these leaves. I showed a few of these pictures in my Thanksgiving post, but I had to post them again in honor of her special day because I just love them.

I think she is absolutely beautiful.

I am honored to be her mommy.

Just this morning, as I was studying in the book of James, I was reminded of the trial that I endured during all those years of infertility. It was hard and I am glad that it is behind me.

Am I thankful for the trial of infertility? Yes! Would I go through those years again? Yes!

I learned so much about God and His faithfulness during those years. I learned how to pray. I learned how to dig into His Word. I learned how to search for Him. I also wouldn't have Reagan without the process. So I would never wish that away.

James 1:2-4

"Consider it all joy, my brethen, when you encounter various trials knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete."

In studying these verses, I found this in a commentary...

"Too often we become frantic to cut short the trial, without consulting the Lord about His purpose for it. And then it is possible that we just might have to undergo an even longer trial in the future before His particular purpose is realized in us. Most of us lack wisdom to view the pressures of life from God's standpoint. We adopt a short range view, occupying ourselves with the immediate discomfort. We forget that God's unhurried purpose is to enlarge us through pressure."

I would definitely say that during my infertility I was frantic to see it come to an end. I didn't see it from God's perspective and I certainly didn't count it all joy. Looking back though, I can clearly see that He never left my side.

God has a purpose for every single thing that touches our lives. Problems are necessary. They stretch us and make us grow. The fruit of the Spirit cannot be produced when all is sunshine... there must be rain and dark clouds too.

Trials are going to come until His purposes are realized in me...until I am perfect and complete. I won't be perfect and complete until I draw my last breath and meet Jesus face to face. That tells me that trials will continue to be a apart of my life, and I need to yield to them and allow God to use them to refine me.

Happy Birthday Reagan. God used you to teach me so much. He is still teaching me much through you and your story.

I love you more than words could ever say.

It's Monday

I know it is Monday, but I really don't have much of a weekend wrap-up. I have literally been stuck at home since Wednesday with a sick child, except for 2 visits to the pediatrician's office, if you can count that as an outing. Thankfully, Gracen is so much better. The only symptom left is a green, snotty nose. The rest of us took a homeopathic supplement that is suppose to stop the flu, and so far so good.

Yesterday afternoon, I was able to take the girls outside for a little while to get some fresh air because it was much warmer than it had been. It was so nice and made me yearn for spring. Then we had an early supper and did one of our family movie nights. Gracen did really well this time, sitting for most of the movie.

The James Bible study starts today that I mentioned last week. The main web-site is http://www.goodmorninggirls.org/. This is what I have settled on for my quiet times in the mornings. Dana Roten and I are doing it together and emailing one another for accountability. If anyone would like to join us, please email me at gldevaughn@yahoo.com. It is not too late to start. I will get you the links and help you get started. And, Beth Moore is currently writing a Bible study on the book of James and I would love to do it when I finish this 3 month study. I hope it comes out about the same time.

This week is a big week at our house. Reagan turns 5 on Wednesday. We are redoing her room for her birthday and she has been asking for a room that is pink and purple...it is currently pink and brown, which was my choice, not hers. Just last night she said, "Who picked this anyway?" She was talking about the brown portion of her room because she no longer likes brown. She says that it is a boy color. I guess it is time for a change. So today, we are going shopping to let her pick out her new bedding and some accessories and then we will go and pick out a matching paint color for her walls.

On Wednesday, her actual birthday, she informed me that she wanted a cupcake for breakfast, complete with a candle. I said, "Really...a cupcake for breakfast, huh?" She said, "Oh, yeah, and I am not kidding." Funny!

She has preschool from 8:30-11:30 and I will be taking cupcakes to the class. Then her grandparents will be meeting us at my house for lunch, more cupcakes, and a time of opening presents from them. If you are counting, this will be three sessions of cupcakes on Wednesday. My apologies in advance to the Cubbie workers at church that night. She might be bouncing off the walls.

On Saturday we will be having her Pinkalicious birthday party. I think I have everything I need.

I am so excited for her. I still cannot believe that she has been mine for 5 years, after waiting so long for a baby. She is a gift, a reminder every single day of God's goodness.

Until next time...