Next Generation Women's Mentoring

Our first meeting was fabulous and with it came a couple of more confirmations that I am in the exact place that God wants me. Our great friend who has been such a blessing to us by watching Braedon for four days when Kaley was born, we swim in her neighborhood, she has went to DR appts with me, she just came over to watch the kids the other day while I had to go to the DR...she has done way too much for us and I thank God for her everyday. Anyway, I asked her to babysit during the weekend of the retreat in October because that will be the weekend before the Deacon's banquet and Andrew will have to work all weekend preparing for it. She said sure and then asked what I had going on. I proceeded to tell her about this mentoring program and she was excited for me and asked who my mentor was. She was so shocked and excited when I told her who it was...turns out they go back like 10 or 12 years! As if I needed anymore but I was asking for more confirmation because I wanted to be sure I was doing what God had planned for me. In finding out who all was in my group it turns out that I had a small connection with every single one of them but our paths had not been brought completely together until now. I didn't ask for more confirmation, I was too excited that it was going as great as it was already. Though when we received our first book, it was on the subject that I need the MOST help with right now and it is by my FAVORITE bible teacher...Nancy Leigh DeMoss who I have been following now for almost two years! I think God was just showing off at that point. I am so excited I feel like a giddy little school girl. My Creator wants a deeper more intimate relationship with me and He put these resources in place to help make that happen...amazing!

Cobb Pregnancy Services - 2009 Fundraising Banquet

A few months ago, I had the neat opportunity to visit Cobb Pregnancy Services. We toured the facility and listened to the director share amazing stories of God's work through this ministry in bringing people to Him while saving and changing lives. The center provides assistance and education to those who have an unplanned pregnancy while helping their clients realize the value of their life and the value of the life they have created. Additionally, they provide abstinence and lifestyle education. All while sharing the Gospel!

After the visit, I received a newsletter including an announcement of their 2009 fundraising banquet. I noticed that Janet Parshall was going to be speaking and thought what neat opportunity to go listen to her speak live. Soon after that I was cleaning out lots of stuff from our house and delivered some donated baby items to CPS. It was then that I spoke to Lori about the fundraiser, one thing led to another and now I find myself a table host at the 2009 fundraising banquet!

My heart has been deeply touched by this ministry and I am very privileged to be in this role as a table host at their 2009 fundraising banquet. This is a little outside my comfort zone and I am left with one huge doubt and that is that I will not be able to confirm any guests. However, I keep hearing God tell me to be a faithful servant in this role and He will bring whoever He wants to bring.

Matthew 11:28

"Come to Me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest."

Wow, what an awesome promise from God! A few days ago, weary was the only word I could think of to describe the way I was feeling. Everything with Braedon was a struggle. These battles occurred over normal daily activities like getting dressed, changing diaper, eating dinner, brushing his teeth, and going to bed, just to name a few. Braedon was getting over his second bout with Strep Throat. Kaley came down with Pinkeye and a Sinus Infection. Andrew had just gotten over being sick and I was getting sick. Our house quickly lost it's usual peacefulness and so did I. In thinking about how I was feeling and why, I found this verse and decided it was rather appropriate to meditate on, memorize, and study this week.

I am not complaining about my life. I LOVE my life, my God, my husband, my kids, my home and I thank God for them everyday. Though, life's circumstances do tend to become a little difficult at times and God gently reminds me that I need Him, more than ever, to give me strength, grace, and rest to finish the good race.

Next Generation Women's Mentoring - Assignment 1

Launch night of the mentoring program is coming up this week and will include a time of sharing the vision for the ministry, testimonies, group introductions, sharing family pictures, and sharing our answers to the following questions.

1. At the end of this mentoring year, what would you consider a successful mentoring experience to be?
I am hoping that by the end of this mentoring year I will be better equipped with practical disciplines and real-life wisdom in order for me and my family to grow closer to God and manage life better.

2. What would you like God to do in your life during this year together?
I would love for God to teach me how to let Him guide me every minute of every day. In answering this question, I thought about the areas of my life I was struggling in and need God's direction. I thought about the areas that I excel in and how God may want to use me. I thought about how much I want to bring glory to Him in all I do. This can all be answered by seeking Him and following His lead every minute of every day. However, sometimes I just don't know how that plays out in everyday life.

This is the family picture that I will be sharing.

Family Picture Day

Every now and then there comes an occasion to need a current family picture. Since our budget doesn't allow for us to get professional photographs more than once a year we have plenty of opportunities to photograph ourselves. My husband, being the good sport he is, will help me pick out outfits, help me figure out what the background should be, and setup the camera on the tripod and set the timer. Our camera will take two photos at each reset of the timer so at least we get two shots in one. However, that clearly is not enough with two small ones in the picture. The kiddos were cranky because I can never time an event such as this quite right. We stopped the photo shoot and I figured I had one good enough to use. I had hoped that they would turn out better but such is life as it is right now. My children are small and uncooperative at times but I wouldn’t trade where I am at right now for anything, even if it means family photos leave a little to be desired. Did I mention that I have the best husband in the world? I honestly can't believe he even goes along with this whole family picture thing but I sure do appreciate the fact that he does.

Oh, and what is the occassion that I need a current family photo for? I am taking the second photo listed to my first Next Generation Women's Mentoring meeting to share with my group.

Mama and Kaley

Being A Life-Giver V/S Keeping It Real

I have been wanting to write this post for a long time because I have been struggling with what to share and what not to share with people in person, on Facebook, in blogland...wherever. I want so much to be a life-giver but I also want to be real, transparent. What does being a life-giver mean? To me, it means speaking only words that are meant to build up instead of tear down. It is having eternal value conversations instead of meaningless chatter. It is having a spirit of joy and thankfulness instead of a spirit of complaining. What does keeping it real mean? It means that life isn't perfect and that sometimes I experience difficult situations or things don't turn out like I want them to. I think it is important to keep it real if I am to be completely transparent. It is super important to be a life-giver if I want to represent Christ-likeness. I have yet to find the absolute answer but I think that it is possible to keep it real with a life-giving spirit. I must always be extremely aware of my tone and attitude when speaking of anything, especially difficult topics. I want to be intentional and seek to glorify God with my words, at all times, even if I have to keep it real. To those closest to me, please hold me accountable in this!

Next Generation Women's Mentoring

I am embarking on a new adventure beginning in a week and a half. It is called "Next Generation Women's Mentoring" where I will be under the mentor-ship of a woman who is a little further along in life and has an established, mature relationship with Christ. This ministry was put into place at my church in order to fulfill Titus 2:3-5, which says:

"Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God."

I can't even put into words how excited I am about this. Since I was pregnant with Braedon, it has been my prayer that God will continue to teach me how build a Christ-centered home, glorify Him with my marriage, and point my children to Him. God has been faithful time and time again in providing people and resources for me to glean wisdom from. Now, thank you again, God for this wonderful opportunity to have a structured mentor relationship and the chance to grow some more in this area. The mentoring program will last for ten months and we will read a book a month and have memory verses. We will meet as a group (there are 5 mentorees in my group) once a month and will have at least one weekend retreat. Did I mention how excited I was about this? I am soo super excited. The other thing that I love about it is that it is pretty structured and the church is taking it very seriously. I have to sign a covenant stating that I will complete my reading and assignments and that I will be on time for events. My husband has to sign a statement of support saying that he understands that this will take away time from our family and that he will support me in this allowing me the time commitment. I just think it is so awesome that this is being taken so seriously because learning the Word of God, loving my husband, and loving my children are the top three priorities that God has called me to. Praise Him that He not only called me to this but he is also equipping me with the knowledge I need to fulfill the calling!

Hebrews 4:13

I think that I might have somewhat of a groove for my accountability bible study with my friend Michelle. At first I would pretty much wait until the end of the week, hurry to memorize it, and try to come up with some thoughts so that I could blog about it. However, now I am meditating on it and memorizing it bit by bit and day by day throughout the week. This has proven to be much more fruitful.

"Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."


This verse really sums itself up but sometimes I read scriptures like these and think it is so important yet shouldn't really be all that hard to understand. However, lots of times God's word is difficult for me to understand and apply. Although I can hardly wrap my mind around the fact that God is omniscient, I believe it completely. There are lots of things about God that I can not wrap my mind completely around and I praise Him for that because I don't really want a God that can be completely understood by my human, feeble mind. In being omniscient, God is all knowing and all seeing. He not only sees my actions but also the thoughts and motivations behind them too. He sees and knows all, discerning my heart attitude. The idea that God already knows everything is understandable but the verse goes onto say that everything will be uncovered and laid bare... This made me think about how sometimes I try to cover up my actions with reason. I think that I can be the judge of how I should or should not act, depending on the circumstances. Yet, part of being humble before God is realizing that I don't have the right to make that kind of judgement. I am called to be obedient and glorify God with my actions, despite my circumstances. When I stand before the Lord and give account, He is going to hold one person responsible for my actions...ME. Dear God, please take from me the desire to serve myself first and fill me with the desire to serve You first, being your good and faithful servant.

Hebrews 4:12

This is a great verse that speaks to the major power and importance of the word of God.

The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joint and marrow; it judges the thoughts and the attitudes of the heart.

When thinking about just how powerful something has to be to divide soul and spirit, I ended up looking both of those words up to see their definitions. From a definition standpoint, they can hardly be separated. From a materiality standpoint, they also can hardly be separated since they are both immaterial. That to me says POWER!

The bible is so often taken out of context and/or "judged" sometimes but what this verse is saying is that the word of God judges our heart. It is extremely relevant (and powerful) in our current, real-life circumstances and our hearts should be aligned with what it says instead of what we want or don't want it to say. It reminds me of something I heard a couple of years ago and it has stuck with me. Instead of looking at the bible through a "worldly" filter, look at the world through a "biblical" filter.

Be Near Me To Be Like Me

I spend a lot of time in this rocker, whether to cuddle for no reason or to comfort a hurt of one of my babies. Today while I was cuddling with Kaley in the rocker, Braedon scooted over his kid's chair right next to me. At the time I didn't think a whole lot of it. A couple of hours later when I returned to the room and saw the chairs sitting there together, I realized how special it was that he had pulled his chair right up next to mine. I sat in the rocker again, feeding Kaley, and trying to recall his manner when he did it so I could try to discover his motive. Though I could not recall any specifics, I concluded that he either wanted to be near me or wanted to be like me. God has taught me so much about having a relationship with Him through relationships with my children. This is one of those times. God wants me to scoot my chair right up next to His to be near Him and become like Him.

PLAY

We went to an indoor activity center a few days ago because we were supposed to go to the pool but it was raining. We invited Pam, an angel sent straight from the Lord to help us in this season of life. She has been such a blessing as an adopted grand since we don't have any grands local. She is such a great friend with such a huge heart and we are so thankful for her. We were supposed to go to the pool with her but since we got rained out we invited her to PLAY with us.

Trampoline

We had a blast watching Braedon jump and jumping with him on the trampoline. I am so thankful that he didn't get knocked out, knock anyone out, or break anything. It was fun but sort of scary too.

Braedon & Kaley In The Ball Pit

Here, Sissy let me show you what to do with these. I can't believe he is still doing the cheese-arm thing! Too cute. :-)

Foam Cube Pit

Braedon LOVED being thrown into the foam ball pit. He would finally get himself stood up and turn around to say "again"! It was hysterical. :-)

Jumpie With Daddy

Jumpie With Mommy

I had so much fun in the jumpie with Braedon...it has been YEARS! :-)

Juno Beach Sunrise - 2

Here are some pictures when the sun was fully up.

Sunrise on Juno Beach

Since Andrew and I got married on Juno Beach at sunrise, we try to make it out to the beach for sunrise when we visit Florida. We have only been twice so far. The first time was when I was pregnant with Braedon in September of 2006. The second time was this trip to Florida in July of 2009. The sunrise wasn't as vibrant as I expected and the morning didn't go as planned. However, the majesty of watching God turn night into day is still glorious.

Psalm 65:8

Those living far away fear your wonders;

where morning dawns and evening fades

you call forth songs of joy.

Juno Beach

We took a day trip to the beach and let the kids get sandy and wet for a little while. Kaley got hit in the face with a couple of waves and just shrugged it off without even crying. Braedon ate a handful of sand and thought it was funny. :-)