Guest Post #1

I was fortunate enough to be given the opp to do a guest post....met Annalyn through Supah Mommy's Post-It Note Tuesday suggestion of visiting the site of the comment above you. I did just that and saw she was in need of a guest post for this weekend! Thank you Annalyn of All Things Lovely for inviting me onto your site!

My good friend Shaina Herrman helped me out with the camping pics as I haven't been camping for awhile. And, I had a typo in her watermarks. :( What kind of friend am I??? I suppose that's the backlash of trying to get a post done in a few hours! Her REAL link to see some more of her beautiful photograpy is http://www.shainaherrmannphotography.shutterfly.com/ so try that instead.

The closest I've been to camping is our annual trip out to the Black Hills - Lead, SD to be exact - to stay in a huge cabin/house with all of the in-laws. There's 17 of us that fit quite comfortably in this house.

Here we all are:

And here's some of the cabin:

But I didn't bring you here to show you a bunch of pics about a cabin. :) So stop back again! We're just getting started around here...exciting things are coming soon!


Thank you for stopping by! May you have a blessed day!

Things are moving...

It's pretty bare-threaded around here still, but things are moving.  And maybe at a snail's pace, but hey, that's better than nothing!! 

he snail does get where he's going E-V-E-N-T-U-A-L-L-Y....

As soon as our 'poop is in a group' we will have a few writers hitting you with posts, so hang in there.  And don't worry, I won't put a picture of poop below this line.

Grace Breeds Gratitude

Continuing on in my 1000 gifts list with Ann at A Holy Experience, here is my list for this Monday.  I think Monday's will be our 'Gratitude Breeds Grace' days, depending on how we get things coordinated around here. 

One of these days our 'ducks will be in a row' and our 'poop will be in a group.'  

Yes, amazing it will be!

My Gratitude List
11. The opportunity to see people blessed by singing to the Lord.

12. A Sunday afternoon nap.

13. Sleepovers at Grandma's house...for the kids. And date night for Mommy & Daddy.

14. Truth-speaking pastors who are brave enough to preach it like it actually IS in the bible.

15. Coming before the throne of God in prayer. EVERY time I pray. Wow.

16. A comfy bed to sleep in.

17. A husband who rolls over when I elbow him in the night to interrupt his snoring.

18. Having friends over to visit.

19. God's faithfulness in the midst of trials.

20. Cell phones.

My Complete Gratitude List

Gotta have this all in one place, otherwise I'm going to repeat the things I'm REALLY grateful for more than once.  This will be an continually updated post, so I apologize in advance for your having to read this again (and again).


My Gratitude List
July 19, 2010
1. God pushing me to start a gratitude list TODAY (7/19/10).

2. A fun weekend with the kids.

3. Safety for Rick and his dad traveling this past weekend and for the opportunity they had to help a motorcyle accident that involved a pastor.

4. My hard-working husband who loves to help people.

5. A church who lets me sing in front of people. haha Won't ever get over this one!!

6. People's faithfulness in ministry despite the hardships.

7. Gifts/talents God has given me and the opportunity to use them.

8. Kids who pray by themselves before eating lunch.

9. People who accept and love me for who I am, despite my sometimes prickly exterior.

10. Friends to laugh with and get encouragement from to face life's trials once again.

July 26, 2010
11.  The opportunity to see people blessed by singing to the Lord.

12.  A Sunday afternoon nap.

13.  Sleepovers at Grandma's house...for the kids.  And date night for Mommy & Daddy.

14.  Truth-speaking pastors who are brave enough to preach it like it actually IS in the bible.

15.  Coming before the throne of God in prayer.  EVERY time I pray.  Wow.

16.  A comfy bed to sleep in.

17.  A husband who rolls over when I elbow him in the night to interrupt his snoring.

18.  Having friends over to visit.

19.  God's faithfulness in the midst of trials.

20.  Cell phones.

August 2, 2010
21.  Not getting any water in our basement w/record rainfall for the months of June & July.

22.  The kids NOT getting parts in the play this week - we can relax a bit more and get some things done around here too.

23.  Discernment

24.  Patience (for today anyway)

25.  God's word

26.  online courses for renewing teaching licenses

27.  Francis Chan

28.  Living close to the kids' grandparents, aka our parents.

29.  A quiet moment

30.  A sunny day to dry out the water-logged ground.

August 9, 2010
31.  An opp to soak up as much summer as we can at the last minute.

32.  Wisdom that comes from other things besides books.

33.  Health.

34.  Allergy meds to help w/health when it isn't so good.

35.  A clean shower at the end of a hard day of work.

36.  Friends who write beautifully and encourage/inspire me.

37.  Openness and honesty.

38.  Forgiveness.

39.  Full stomachs.

40.  A God who says "Fear not" even though He should be the most feared.

August 16, 2010
41.  Last day of summer vacation.

42.  First day of school.

43.  Christian teachers who are dedicated to teaching at a Christian school - no matter how low the pay is!!

44.  That no one else has this stomach bug I've been dealing w/the last 3 days.

45.  For time w/Little Man to learn and discover new things.

46.  Endless piles of work that make me feel needed.

47.  Friends who don't give up on me.

48.  Sweet corn, watermelon, green beans, the harvest of summer's bounty.

49.  Carpooling.

50.  Not as much rain this last week so things can dry out a bit.

August 23, 2010
51.  Experiencing worship at a different church.

52.  A hot weekend at the lake.

53.  An understanding.

54.  A lesson.

55.  Another foot-in-mouth moment to humble me.

56.  Great in-laws.

57.  The last snuggle before bed.

58.  A good guard dog.

59.  Dreams.

60.  Hearing the voice of God thru those around us.

August 30th, 2010
61.  Automated washers and dryers

62.  Soap - millions of kinds and sold in stores everywhere

63.  Insulation.  And Tyvek.

64.  Cars.  Roads.  Airplanes.  ANYTHING transportation-wise that's not a covered wagon.

65.  Electric stoves.

66.  Furnaces & gas fireplaces.

67.  People who sew - clothes, quilts, blankets, coats, gloves, etc.

68.  Freezers.

69.  Electricity period.

70.  Chocolate chip cookies & peanut butter.

September 13, 2010
71. A husband willing to serve.

72. Beautiful weather, sunshine and clear blue skies.

73. Strollers.

74. Kind-hearted famous people

75. Famous people who are kind to my daughter

76. Moments when you learn the world is smaller than you thought.

77. Clean water.

78. The cross.

79. A desire to learn new things.

80. Your peace when I feel overwhelmed.

81. A good, Christian school

82. Eyes wide open

83. 10 fingers to type with.

84. A glimpse of heaven.

85. Being a mom.

86. Blogs that I can read about a trip to Guatamala and feel as though I'm there. (by Ann, Shaun, Amanda, Lindsey)

87. Renewed joy.

88. Older women who don't belittle me and my problems, no matter how insignificant they are.

89. A husband who makes time to listen.

90. Knowing You are there when I feel alone.

September 20, 2010
91.  A quiet night and morning.

92.  Science experiments.

93.  Finally getting to share a secret (aka surprise).

94.  The opp to give to others out of my bounty.

95.  The internet.

96.  A kid who gets up EVERY morning without a problem and gets ready for school without any hassle.

97.  A hubby who fears the Lord.

98.  Rice Krispie bars

99.  Shoes without holes.

100.  Prayer journals.

October 4, 2010
101.  For still being pregnant.  A good friend who was going to be due only a couple days after me miscarried a couple weeks ago.

102.  For calmer weekends at home.

103.  Fall weather.

104.  A husband who really is trying to live this out, despite my moodiness, gagginess, and all-around fun-ness during this terribly hard first trimester (hardest out of all my 4 pregnancies).

105.  Naps.

106.  Zofran.

107.  Citrucel.  Miralax.  Carob.  You get the idea.

108.  My Dyson vacuum.  It really sucks.

109.  Good neighbors.

110.  A strong God I can lean on.

October 25, 2010
111.  For still being pregnant (again).  I have another good friend who announced her pregnancy but is concerned of a miscarriage.  She is four weeks behind me.

112.  For safe travels to and from California.

113.  For the wisdom to buy a seat for Little Man on the way home from Cali.  He is definitely NOT a lap child, despite only being 1.

114.  For Sugar Free Jolly Ranchers and little oyster/soup crackers.  Sometimes those are the only things that get me through a gaggy evening.

115.  For the opportunity to go to Legoland before my Lego-maniac had 'aged out' of most of the rides there.  I didn't realize how 'baby-ish' the rides would be. 

116.  For my mom and all her energy to have been along to Cali.  What great memories with Grandma.

117.  Being able to return to serving on worship team at our church after a couple months off because of that cabin.

118.  Friends who are honest with me.

119.  An opportunity to mentor someone and grow myself along the way.

120.  A beautiful fall here in SD.

January 3, 2011
121. For still being pregnant. The total count of friends having miscarriages who would have had a baby close to my delivery date is up to 3 now.


122. For all the things I got done in the last 2 months.

123. Figuring out how to hem pants so by Big Boy could have pants to wear.

124. All the resources and comforts we have here that we totally take for granted.

125. The resources to be able to anonymously send money to people in the mail.

126. Being part of the Christmas Eve service at church. Even though it was almost a train wreck, it taught me a few things – like what it’s like to be part of a different worship team, what I am capable of when singing harmony by myself, and what it felt like once again to be off-the-charts nervous (haven’t felt that way in a loooong time).

127. Living close to family. Every person who asked if we were traveling for Christmas always responded with ‘That’s nice’ when I said that everyone lived in town so we didn’t have to go anywhere. While it can be overwhelming during the rest of the year, it IS nice at Christmastime.

128. Naps.

129. The ability to organize. I love this time of year with all the organizing stuff in the stores. I have to restrain myself when out running errands.

130. An opp coming up in a couple weeks.

Starting a Graditude List

Here it is a Monday again!  The start of a new week, a new chance to show God's grace to those around me.  A new opportunity to be reminded of the grace I have received.

I have always been one who struggled with trying to NOT naturally find the bad in everything. I have even thought "Is it possible to LEARN to be more grateful or do I just resign to having a "Wednesday child" personality?"  (you know, "Wednesday's child is full of woe")  Hubby says I would have made a very good architect or inspector because I can walk in and find the one little spot he missed in the freshly painted room! 

Anyway, is it possible to learn gratitude?

Yes it is!

But it's definitely not something that will happen overnight. 

One of the books I've read this summer is Nancy Leigh DeMoss' Choosing Gratitude.  It is a very good book and I would especially recommend it if you have the tendency to see the glass as 'half empty' instead of 'half full'.  At the end of Nancy's book is a 30 Day Devotional Guide to Grow in Gratitude - she also has a gratitude challenge on her website you can find here.

I've finished the book but have held off on starting the Challenge at the end because I wanted to wait until the kids went back to school next month.  But this morning I was pulled to Ann's site, intrigued once again by her Gratitude Community. 

I guess the Lord is calling me to start it NOW and not wait. 

So without further adieu....thanks God.



My Gradtitude List
1.  God pushing me to start a gratitude list TODAY (7/19/10).

2.  A fun weekend with the kids.

3.  Safety for Rick and his dad traveling this past weekend and for the opportunity they had to help a motorcyle accident that involved a pastor.

4.  My hard-working husband who loves to help people.

5.  A church who lets me sing in front of people.  haha  Won't ever get over this one!! 

6.  People's faithfulness in ministry despite the hardships.

7.  Gifts/talents God has given me and the opportunity to use them.

8.  Kids who pray by themselves before eating lunch.

9.  People who accept and love me for who I am, despite my sometimes prickly exterior.

10.  Friends to laugh with and get encouragement from to face life's trials once again.


If you would like to join the Gratitude Community, click below.  Otherwise check out Nancy's challenges in the links above.

And, THANKS for stopping by! 

Waiting

The weekend is here!  I'm probably not going to make a habit of posting on Saturdays, but since my DH is gone and I'm not working as hard as I would be if he were here, I thought I'd post while I was at the computer taking a brain break.

I've been reading here, reading there; trying to figure out this whole blogging thing and have had quite a few ideas be sparked to use for this devotional style of blog.  I have loved reading A Holy Experience and been inspired by Ann's writings.  I feel like a long-lost twin to Kat at Inspired to ACTion with her love for the Lord and for music AND for getting people to DO something. 

I know I've only posted personal stuff so far, but I'm not sure where to start.  I've got many ideas I'd like to do; series I'd like to start, posts I'd like to link to.  I could just dive in.  I know I could - no, I should - just start SOMEWHERE. 


But I also don't know how deep the water is.  I don't know if there are rocks underneath I can't see from here.  I don't know what....to....write....about. 

And so I'm waiting.  Waiting on the Lord. 

Waiting for a clear direction in which way to go on this crazy bloggin' ride.  I'm wading through the waters beforehand to get an idea if it's safe to jump.

It doesn't help that I want to create a path of my own, to find my own unique voice in this bogged down platform.  But it feels like the grass is matted down from so many having gone before.  It's hard making a NEW path in the midst of matted down-ness. 

And so I wait.

Psalms 130:5
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.

Why I Need Grace #1

So the kids and I were out driving this afternoon. Almost a daily occurance, it seems. How have things gotten so busy? What happened to the lazy days of summer?  :)

Anyway, we were stopped at a light and once we started moving again, I could see that the person in the lane next to me wanted to get over.  She had her blinker on, which helped immensely in my determining she wanted to change lanes.  Amazing how that works, isn't it??  haha  I wish everyone had the sense, or courtesy, to use their blinker to tell the world what they were doing! 


So I slowed up a bit so there was plenty of space for her to get over; and, that she did.  She even waved an ackward backwards armed kind of 'Thank You' to me.  At this point I could have basked in the joy of being a good witness, of showing God's love through the kindness of letting a person squeeze into a congested lane of traffic. 

"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."  (Matthew 7:12 NIV)

But no.

What did I do instead?

Well, the lane opened up ahead of me because everyone was moving over into the turning lane.  So I saw an opportunity to catch up and drive by her - so she can have the opportunity to see the fish on the back of my van. 

Yes, I have a fish on the back of my van.  And, I'm not the World's Most Perfect Driver either.  Not a good combination I am aware.  Have I had to cut people off?  Yes.  Have I driven over the speed limit?  Yes.  Have I gotten in an accident?  Yes ( a 4 car pile-up, none the less). 
 
I'm not usually conciously thinking about waving my 'fishy flag' around, so I don't know what my deal was today.  Maybe because of my history of poorly using the fish on the back of my van I wanted to redeem myself a little bit by showing this gal that yes, people with fish on the back of their vehicles were nice people. Did I have to speed a little to 'catch up' to her?  Unfortunately, yes a little bit.  That's when I realized I just cancelled myself out, in a sense.  Oh dear. 


For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world. (1 John 2:16 NIV)



Thank you, God, for the grace You so freely give me.  Even when I fail You so miserably.

Older Women Teaching....

I've been reading alot of blogs lately. Actually, I think I found my 'twin' in one of them. I really didn't know there was someone out there so similar to me!! That could be good, or that could be bad - I guess it depends on who you are. :)

My husband has been talking lately about wanting to find a mentor for business ideas, practices, etc. His longing stirs up in me the void I've felt for a long time - the lack of an older woman (or women) who I can look up to and who reach out to me in a Titus 2 sort of way.

Then they (the older women) can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 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. Titus 2:4-5

I used to have quite a few in my life but have now been in a sort of 'drought' for 3 years. There were even a couple of 'em I tried to reach out to earlier this year but they, like many of us, suffer from the busyness of our society and didn't seem to catch my hints of wanting to get together to glean info from them (some of which were not so sutle!). haha I have found some online resources that have taken the place of a real person for now. But I will say that online recordings don't really measure up to a living, breathing person sitting across the table from you!

So, you may be saying, ok, so what? Yeah, boo hoo for you, Amy. Not. haha Well, my being grateful for all things during my 30 day challenge is that in this drought I have had time to develop a good relationship with a younger gal (I'm an 'older woman' to some ya know) and have been able to develop my mentoring chops a bit. I've been able to help this younger woman learn to focus more on God, manage her life with less chaos, and grow in the spiritual disciplines. Is she perfect now? Well of course not! But...neither am I! So we go through the process together, creating community and growing in love so we can better allow God's love to shine through us. And that is definitely something to be grateful for. :)

So, if you are lacking an 'older woman' to teach you to live the Titus 2 way, why not reach out or speak up - be bold and ask someone to come alongside you. What's the worst that can happen? They'd say no? Well let me tell you it's not so bad if they do. You can always ask someone else OR you can start looking around for what YOU can teach to a younger gal!

My New Box of Crayons...

Remember when you were a kid and it was time to get your new school supplies? Most people would say their favorite supply to get was a new box of crayons - and I would have to agree. I think a new box of crayons even warms the hearts of most adults!! haha

Even though I never had the priviledge of having one of those GINORMOUS boxes of colors, I still enjoyed opening the crisp, stiff box of my small 12 or 24 counter to find all the perfectly-tipped crayons in their neatly organized rows just waiting for me to create a masterpiece with them.

Well, this blog is my 'new box of crayons'.  Just like the crayons sitting there in that new box, this blog holds potential - for being something greater than myself, for encouraging others to live a life of grace, and for being an outlet for sharing some not-so-graceful moments that help us all remember the gift of Grace we have received.  And, like those crayons in the box that don't stay perfect forever - some get worn way down and have to have their paper peeled off, some break in half, and even some get eaten by the dog and end up making colorful piles of doggy doo - this blog won't be perfect either.  It will be a process, just like our lives are. 

Life is meant to be lived and lived to the fullest, just as crayons are meant to be colored with and not just stuck in a box for eternity.  A life filled with perfection....no.   But a life filled with 'missing paper, broken pieces, and yes, even doggy doo' all covered with Grace....YES!