JP Turns FOUR!!

I can't believe our baby is already 4! The end of January came before I knew it and our little man was more than ready for his 4th birthday! 

He started his birthday by opening his gifts from Mom, Dad, and big brother. Then we had some yummy rolls for breakfast! Topped with sprinkles, of course! 

He wanted a dragon cake for his birthday this year. 

And when Grandma Doris asked what he wanted for a gift, he exclaimed that he wanted an orange bowtie with polka dots; just like the one he had just noticed on Daniel Tiger. Grandma came through and he has been wearing them both to church and with his pajamas. 

It seems like just yesterday we brought this sweet little bundle of squishy goodness home. 

He had red hair and the cutest little nose. 

His big brother couldn't get enough of him. 

And neither could we. 

We love you so much Jeremiah Patrick. We thank God every day that we get to be your Mom & Dad!
 

Letting Go

 It has been almost 17 years since we were married. And not long after I was ready to be a Mom. If you know our family, you know that our oldest will be 9 in two weeks. So needless to say, that whole becoming a Mom thing didn't happen quite as quickly as I was expecting it to. I have wrote many times about our journey to parenthood that looked nothing like we had expected. And while from the outside (and at times from the inside too) it looked like trial after trial, waiting and more waiting. It truly was a more magnificent plan than I could have ever came up with myself. Now I can't fathom a life that didn't include me being mom to my two incredible boys. I thank God every day that He didn't answer my prayers of pregnancy. Because although we always planned to adopt one day,  now I can see that our timing perfectly lead us straight to these boys and their amazing birth moms. Sometimes God is calling us into moving, leading, or taking things on. Other times He is simply calling for us to let go. To stop holding on to whatever it is that is keeping us from trusting Him completely with our futures and circumstances. 

We can always trust Him, friends. Pray for the Holy Spirit to guide you. Pray for His peace to overtake the anxious situations. And then wait in trust that He will be working in and through you. There is such peace in truly letting go and giving our circumstances over to Him. It isn't always easy, but as we become intentional of taking each anxious thought captive and giving it over to Him, we will find that our minds can slowly learn to trust. Letting go will become more natural each time. And what joy and freedom we will find in walking in faith, knowing our Father is in control. 

"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."-2 Corinthians 10:5

Thank you Father, for the beautiful life you have given us! 

Love One Another

Valentines Day seems to be a holiday that people either love or hate. And while I can understand that we don't need a day to celebrate something we should be doing everyday, what an opportunity we have as Christians to show the world a different kind of love. The unconditional, unfailing love of Christ. 

I love, love. I love showing my people that I love them. I love any reason or opportunity to show someone I care. I love to celebrate love. I have a shelf in our china cabinet full of pictures of our parents and grandparents together. I love the display of a bunch of imperfect people, committed to one another despite their hardships and imperfections.

God loved us so deeply that He sent His only son to die on the cross for us, while we were still sinners. He loves us every minute of every day despite all of our mistakes and imperfections. What an opportunity we have to share unconditional love with those around us and shine the light of Jesus. To truly love someone by serving them and expecting nothing in return. And when we serve others with a heart like Jesus, it changes us. 

I have a hard time feeling sorry for myself and my situations, when my focus is on Jesus and loving His people well. When my goal is to bring glory to God and my heart is full of gratitude, I can't help but feel the joy of the Lord. 

Instead of focusing on yourself this Valentines Day, focus on the people that God has placed in your path and the ways you can make them feel loved. It doesn't have to be anything big, just be intentional. Maybe find a way your family can work together to bless someone else. On a day that was made to showcase love, let's shine a light on the One who is love Himself. 

7Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. {1 John 4: 7-12}

 

Expectantly

Recently I was reading the start of Psalm 37:7 " Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for him", and the word "expectantly" stood out to me. I'm guilty of coming to read the word and pray, but not waiting in expectancy for Him. If I am praying for closeness and to deepen my relationship with Him, shouldn't I be waiting with joy and excitement for my time with Him? Shouldn't I be eager to be with Him, learn about Him, and hear from Him? 

How often do I pray and ask God to work, but not live or even pray like I expect Him to be enough and to come through for me? My heart longs for a deep relationship with the One who created me. My hope is to live a life that reflects the One whose grace has saved me. How do I do this? By making time each day to come expectantly to spend time in His presence. To pray, read His word, and wait with hope and expectancy of hearing His voice. By trusting that His words are absolute truth. And trusting that He cares for me more deeply than I can imagine, and will take care of my needs. 

26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? -Matthew 6:26-27

Father, thank you for your deep love for us. Help us to seek you with expectant hearts and minds. To trust that You are always with us, always in control, and ALWAYS enough. May we have content hearts that seek and love you above all other things. Amen. 

                        

When You Seek True Rest

 So much noise. All of the
arguing. The stress. The Sadness. Busyness. 

Maybe your heart is like mine. Searching and longing to get back to that place of peace. Of true rest. To find some stillness. The place where your heart is able to let go and find peace and calm. 

I’m so thankful for a Heavenly Father who offers me this true peace and rest. Peace that is not dependent on my circumstances. How much work I got done. If my house, my kids, my job, my health, are all just what or where they need to be. Peace that is mine just because I am His and He gives it to me freely. 

Friends, I know how hard it can be to truly be still when not only the busyness of our daily lives is loud in our minds, but the weight of such heavy things in our world are making our hearts and minds spin too. 

But He is there. And He is waiting eagerly for you to come to Him. Seek Him and let Him fill you with His peace. Let Him give you true rest. He is what our souls are longing and searching for. 

     “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

‭‭                    Philippians‬ ‭4:7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The Beauty in His Creation

 There is such peace and joy to be found in the beauty of nature. ☀️Thank you God, for the daily reminders all around us. Help me to slow down and truly appreciate the beauty all around me. 🌻

Fix These Words of Mine in your Hearts & Minds

Years ago I realized how important it was for me to truly dig into my bible. To know the word of God for myself, not just trust on what I had heard from others. And I realized the more I dug into God's word, the more I memorized it, the more it changed me and my relationship with Him. I realized that seeing reminders of His word throughout my day made such a huge difference for me. So if you were to come over to my house, you would find sticky notes of verses stuck to mirrors and inside cabinet doors. I also started to decorate our home more with signs that reminded me of his truth. 

In God's word we are called to remember Him and His word. And as I look around my home I can see verses that remind me of different times in our lives that we needed certain verses to cling to. Reminders of his goodness. 

And as a parent, I wanted to there to be visual reminders for our children as they began to read. Our oldest in about to turn 8 & is really starting to love to read any and everything he can. I had bought a new sign from a very talented friend and was planning to get it hung up yesterday. I was showing the boys the sign as they were playing in the basement and our oldest read the sign to me. I asked him if he liked it and he said yes. 

And as he was walking away he said,  "the goal is not to love ourselves, it's to love Jesus". Which is a sign I have sitting at the bottom of our basement stairs. He told me he reads it every time he comes down the stairs and has it memorized. 

Earlier that day I was talking with my husband about the importance of having God's word available around our home. And I had wondered aloud if the boys would notice what the different signs we hang around our home say. We work hard to be intentional with our time so that our boys see the importance of time in their bibles and spent with God. But I am seeing that the messages we leave around for our children are picked up, even when we can't always see it. We need to be just as intentional with our words and the messages we are leaving with them. 

 "Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates..."

Deuteronomy 11:18-20

Lord, let the messages found in my home be messages of hope. Messages that point others back to you. Reminders of who you are and your promises over us. I pray that each person who enters our home leaves with a reminder of your love and goodness. I pray that my boys see messages that fill their minds with thoughts of you and your truth. Thank you for your word and the reminders of the importance of remembering You, now and always. 

A New Year

There is a major battle that is going on. And it is happening between my ears. And I bet the same is true for you. Every single day, the world, Satan, you name it, are filling our minds with lies and negative thoughts. I knew my negative thoughts were there. I just didn't realize how much they were affecting me. I needed to be reminded of the freedom that is promised through Jesus. And find some practical ways to renew my mind.
I recently read two books that I feel like, go together perfectly! Rhythms of Renewal by Rebekah Lyons and Get Out Of Your Head by Jennie Allen. Friends, I hope you find the time this year to read these books. I promise they are worth your time.
Reading is something that helps me relax and fills my cup. It is one of the things that I noticed I was missing when I was spending entirely too much time staring at my phone screen. So I challenge you to find your joy this year. What is something that brings you joy, that you haven't had the time to do? Maybe you don't have the issue of wasting time scrolling like I struggle with. But if you do, put down your phone and go outside for that walk. Read that book. Paint that picture. Cook a meal together with your family. There is so much freedom and joy to be found when we create things and spend time in community with others.
I want 2020 to be a year of spending my time wisely. Making time to be with others. Time to do things with my family and friends. To love others well, as Jesus would have. To think of others first. To rest and restore my soul. What do you want your time to be filled with in 2020?

GOOYH

Rhythms of Renewal

Eyes To See The Best

Our last week has had it’s share of tough moments. Some harder than others. In the past I have struggled with letting my anxious or angry thoughts run wild. This tends to result in me struggling to stay motivated or ending up with a full blown, excruciating headache. But I have been working hard to take my worries straight to God. And to rest in the peace that He is always with me, always in control, and loves us beyond what I can understand. And then choosing to intentionally see the best in the world around me. Find that joy. See the blessings. 

I plan to share more soon, about two books that have been life changers for me. But for now, here are some things I found while looking for the beauty & blessing around me. 

 

Another gorgeous winter sunset, out my back window. And a boy full of joy, enjoying the outdoors.

A loaf of fresh bread baking in the oven, while my little guy waits patiently to taste its goodness!

Celebrating Grandma’s birthday. Spending the day making memories together.

Thank you Lord, for all the little ways you show up each day. Give me eyes to see you all around me. And a grateful heart for all that you provide for me each day. I’m so richly blessed by all the good things you have surrounded me with!

Weakness

Reading in Matthew for my She Reads Truth study today and I always get stuck on this verse about Peter. Upon remembering the words of Jesus and realizing he had denied him, he wept bitterly. While my heart aches for Jesus throughout these chapters, at this point my heart always aches deeply for Peter. Because his flesh was weak, just like mine. It opens my eyes to the countless times I give in to sin (in little and big ways) each day. My flesh is weak. But thankfully I know the rest of the story. I know that it is in my weakness, God uses me. I can’t do it on my own. But when I let God work in and through me, His power is made perfect in my weakness. And I am lead to a place of deep gratitude for Jesus & His gift of grace through the cross. 

Stuck

Real talk today.

 Sometimes when life gets chaotic, (or maybe right now it is also has something to do with a long winter) my brain just sort of shuts down or gets stuck. My brain seems to be trying to decide what task to take on first and when it looks around and doesn't know where to start, it just panics. Over the years, I have learned that not enough time in my bible, getting overwhelmed, and not taking care of myself all lead me down this path. Satan totally gets this too. It never fails, as soon as I seem to get into a pattern of consistency, something happens to get me off track again. 

But thankfully, through a lot of prayer and paying attention, I have started to realize these patterns and stop them sooner. I can see when I am starting to get stressed and too busy. And most importantly, I am learning to push myself through my feelings or lack of feelings, to do the things that make me a better person, wife, mama, daughter, sister, & friend.

This girl needs a whole lot of Jesus and His truth. And I am so thankful He is always there and never lets me down. Today the very last thing I wanted to do was work out. But am I ever glad that I did. I am always so surprised and thankful for how great I feel when I consistently take care of myself. And I am definitely learning to take things a day at a time. What am I doing today to keep my focus on God and His will for me? And what am I doing to take care of myself today? 

This is real life. No makeup. Tired eyes. A messy house...

But also a full heart, a mind on Jesus, and a determination to run my race well. 

Intentional

It has been a long time since I have posted here. I haven’t stopped writing. I just needed to take some time to pray and listen. I have had so many thoughts floating around in my mind and topics weighing heavy on my heart. But even heavier was the thought of how easily our words can impact a person. I want to be an encourager. Someone who lifts others up and helps them find joy. I want to share the truth and joy that God brings into my life, with others.
I saw too many people willing to share thoughts and opinions, all without a shred of compassion. All without trying to listen or understand where someone was coming from. And it broke my heart to watch a world becoming more and more divided. I’m willing to bet we all have a lot more in common than we think. But we live in a time where we know everyone’s opinions on pretty much everything. And that isn’t always a good thing. We choose to focus repeatedly on the differences between us and others. But how beautiful would it be if we chose to intentionally seek to find the good in others.
This year I am working on being intentional. Intentional with my time, my words, my relationships. And being an encouragement to others is something I want to be much more intentional with as well.

The Long Winter

I love snow in November and December. The Christmas lights sparkling in it just makes my heart happy. And even though it is cold, it is bearable. Once January rolls around, the cold becomes bitter. And although I can't help but find a calm snowy night beautiful anytime, there seems to be a lot more cloudy days with a lot less sun. And the toll of being stuck inside without much fresh air begins to set in. Sometime around the beginning of February my body usually has enough. I feel like I will never be warm. I ache for sunshine. And it gets harder to find my joy. 

That is when I usually realize I need a perspective shift. And that is when I pull out this book each year. I adore reading anything by Laura Ingalls Wilder. And I especially love that a lot of what happens in her books, happened near where I am right now. I remember the first time I ever read "The Long Winter" in school. I just couldn't put it down. And I have loved anything Little House On The Prairie ever since. 

I find it hard to feel so sorry for myself when I am in my warm house, not waking up to snow piled against my bed. When I know I don't have to wonder if we have enough food to make it through a hard winter. And I love the many reminders of how a simpler life just brings you so much more joy. So if you need a break from the cold and from all the tasks of your day to day life. Or if you just want to find joy in the simple things, take some time to read about the Ingalls family and their long winter. I hope it fills you with all the warmth and joy you need to get through your own long winter. 

Baseball

We LOVE baseball! And our local team, the Sioux Falls Canaries came to visit our library this summer. Liam was so excited to meet the players and was so excited when he got to see Nico at the next game and tell his new buddy hi. It was also Jeremiah's first game. There is nothing like a night of watching ball. Liam even went out on the field to do the YMCA with a bunch of other kids. It was such a fun night! 

More sweet summer days

Summer time was full of countless hours spent outside. I love fresh air, seeing all the beautiful colors of God's creation, pool parties and frog catching with cousins, and time spent in the yard, and visits from dear friends. I am so anxious for spring to bring back all the beautiful colors of nature.