Pam Coxwell

I ran across this wonderful artist on Ebay named Pam Coxwell.
She draws these gorgeous pictures and writes scripture around them. I ordered more than a few of her drawings to hang in Luke's room, and plan on ordering a few more for the girls' rooms.


Her prints are not just "stuff",
but a beautiful reminder about the promises of God!


.Here's a link to her items on Ebay:
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZfromtheheartartQQssPageNameZSTRKQ3aMEWNQ3aMESOI


.
And her website is: www.fromtheheartart.com

If you're at all creatively challenged when it comes to decorating your home, her prints are a great way of putting scripture on the walls without having to stencil it yourself!

ENJOY!

When God Is Silent

Silence. Do you experience it? I can honestly say that silence doesn't come often in our home! With a family of seven, at times I can't decide if it's more like a zoo or a farm. Between the giggles, the squeals, the arguments, and "Mooooooooom", it's hard to determine if I'm hearing cows or children!!!

Have you ever experienced God's silence? I have. And it's always when I'm too loud.

No comments are necessary on that one, Friends!

I would imagine that God doesn't like to be silent. Because I know how much He desires to be in a close relationship with each one of us, I can't imagine that He really enjoys being silent. In our relationship with Him, I mean. It's like being frustrated with your son because no matter what you try to say...he's not listening...he's just being too loud.

God is silent when we decide to be too loud (even though He's still working). And why shouldn't He be? After all, He's wasting His breath...His time...His effort, when we refuse to listen to Him. When we complain about our life...when we complain about our lack of control over the things that enter into our lives. We tend to be discontent so much of the time.

So how do we stop being so loud? It's simple...

Shut-up.

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Pray.

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Read your Bible.

.

and...

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LISTEN!

Give God time to speak, and HE'LL BLOW YOUR MIND!!! He's waiting everyday to reveal something incredible to us, if we'll shut-up, chill out, and give Him the opportunity. No matter what, He's working in your life with every breath you take.

He is so crazy about you! And He has ALL the answers! What in the world are we thinking to NOT sit at His feet every single day? It's the only time that it's okay for the laundry to sit. For the dishes to wait. And for you to tame the zoo animals or life on the farm.

Give Him a little bit of time each day, and He'll give you the desires of your heart.

So when you realize that you haven't heard from Him lately...just realize that sometimes God is silent until we are silent.

Then...SHUT UP!

Trust

This blog is for one of my soulmates, whom I love and trust.

And that's saying A LOT.

.

Trust...we don't have much of it. Whether it's in friendship, marriage, work, or our relationship with God.

Oh, sure...we trust that our couch is not going to fall through the floor when we plop down on it. We trust that the bristles on our toothbrush won't fall out when we put it to our mouth. We trust that there will always be a spring, summer, fall, & winter...

But will there?

In Ecclesiates chapter 3, God promises that there is a time for everything. "a season for every activity under heaven". So we know that there WILL be seasons. God isn't just speaking of the weather.

He's talking about life.

.

He mentions a time to be born...a time to die. A time to plant...a time to uproot. A time to tear down...a time to build up. A time to kill...

And a time to heal.

A breach of trust kills. But God heals. In fact, God is the only One who can ever truly heal.

Trust is fragile. And it's something that God takes seriously. He wants us to trust Him in everything. In every season. But...there are always challenges for us to overcome in order to trust God. We must walk with Him daily, even when the hurricanes of life devastate, and we barely know our own name. We must communicate with Him daily, even when we struggle to make sense of those hurricanes. We must communicate with Him daily...period. God never promised that life would be easy. In fact, while He promises that life happens in season, He includes the downers of life...tear down, kill, uproot...die. We mourn these events. We hurt. We die in certain aspects.

Which reminds me of why we experience death in the first place. Death of a friendship...death of an idea or dream...death of a marriage...death of a way of life. So many times, we experience these deaths due to lack of trust. Do you trust that your friend will truly care about you? Do you trust that your dreams are reasonable?...that your idea of life is achievable? Do you trust that your spouse will always keep your best interest at heart and stay loyal? Do you trust that the way of life that you love so much, will always be there?

Let me stress to you, friends, that the only One we can trust for ANYTHING is our Creator. Every other person that you ever encounter in life, no matter how dedicated, will disappoint you. No way around that fact. Sometimes we're disappointed in how someone reacted to us, or we feel that our trust was misplaced. But sometimes, it means the death of a relationship and/or the way of life we know.

We may never know the answers to why our trust in others is broken. Of course, when hurtful things happen to us at the hands of those we trusted, we have no other option than to withdraw any ounce of trust in that person. Understandable...completely. But there is Someone we can never make the mistake of pulling away from. Someone who has NEVER broken our trust. Someone who may cry with us, when our heart breaks, but is not knocked off His throne or surprised by any season under the heavens.

The ultimate form of Truth, He is.

God.

He knows every detail of every hurricane that has ever come into your life. And guess what? He is still on His throne. He is still in charge. He has not forgotten you. In fact, He saw the bad weather coming long before you actually experienced it, and has, in ways you may not realize, even prepared you for it. And if you'll have the faith of a mustard seed, He'll speak to you more loudly than the winds of the howling hurricane. And you'll have more peace than you could ever explain.

Remember that in the same verse of Ecclesiastes, God promises us that there are times to be planted...a time to be born...times to build up...

And times to heal.

As my beautiful friend off of Ebay (Pam Coxwell) reminded me today...

"My God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus" Phil 4:19

Soulmate...this is your time to heal,

this is your time to trust God.

Painting the Town, Blue & Brown

Most of you know that I'm not crafty. And I don't lose sleep over knowing that about myself. One of my closest friends, Lisa, made sure that all of my MOPS mommies knew about my lack of creative skills, when she visited and was our special speaker at our December MOPS meeting last year. Since then, I've been teased A LOT (thanks Lisa!), and have been so tramatized, that I have an even harder time being crafty (did I mention that I'm also a drama queen??!!). Crafts is no fun if you don't have somebody to help pass the time as you participate in a feeble attempt to be creative. Okay, okay...it's no fun if IIIIIII don't have somebody to help pass the time as IIIIIII participate in a feeble attempt to be creative!

I've learned something about creativity lately, though, and I'll share that with you in a minute.

My feeble attempt led me to Liza Moz tonight. Actually, my friend and MOPS Sister, Erica, led me there. She's been fussing at me about not participating in our MNO's (Mothers Night Out). So I decided I'd go and try something different. Being crafty is different for me. Fortunately, last week, Summerlyn used her "kid coupon" that she had earned, to drag us all to Liza Moz. Okay...she was dragging ME, and the other kids actually wanted to go. We went, we painted, we made a mess, and we actually had fun! The fish tile is my handiwork. Cute, huh?

Back to tonight.

As we all chose our pottery pieces and colors, we started blabbing and painting (a dangerous combination for me!). At Liza Moz, you definitely want to pay attention to what you're doing, because you just about have to take out a loan to purchase your piece of pottery there. So I'm painting away with my chocolate brown colored paint, holding my football stencil (should be easy with a stencil, right?!), when a lady who works there came over to see what we were doing and asked me if I'd outlined the stencil with a pencil before beginning to paint.

"Uuuuuhhhhh...no." I said. "Well, your paint is going to bleed. You need to always outline your stencil first." she told me. I pulled the football stencil away, and sure enough...

it looked like Luke had painted it!

To make a long story short, the dude who was our "helper", didn't tell us how to paint the pottery. So my mug was suffering. I asked the lady (who was very nice) if I could have another mug, since our dude didn't tell us how to paint the pottery. She called the owner, who said no...to try washing it off. She washed it, and it was ready to paint again.

Problem was...she totally "went there". She made the comment to me that the owner just couldn't replace every piece of pottery that customers messed up or he'd go out of business.

She left the situation alone after my reply. Which was something like this, "I could understand what you're saying IF the customer messed up their own piece of pottery. BUT, part of the service that we pay for at Liza Moz is directions on how to paint the pottery. SO, that was YOUR fault, not mine. And in THAT case, when YOUR worker fails to supply all of the information needed in order to paint successfully, the piece would need to be replaced by YOU."...or something close to that. "That's the only honest thing to do"...with a "I don't have to come back here" thrown in.

The nice lady went her way and I fussed a little bit, but continued to paint, messing up my football a couple more times before getting it right. Messing up my "swirlies" and resorting to "dots" before finishing up. My sweet MOPS friends got a truly honest look at my skills this evening! And the nice lady and I got along nicely the rest of the night.

It's was truly funny, and we all had a great time!

Now...let me tell you what I've recently learned about creativity. ALL creativity is inspired. By who? you might ask. A child...a lover...a friend...beautiful scenery...or maybe a simple desire to make a change. But guess Who inspired those inspirations?

God.

It's that simple.

God is the inspiration for everything we do.

I remember a time a few years back, when a friend of mine and I signed up to decorate and host a table at the annual Spring Tea at our church. We were rackin' our brains trying to think of a spectacular centerpiece for our table. Something unique...different. I was sitting in the floor of my living room one Saturday, talking out loud to myself about what to do, when the Lord whispered something to me...just like He was sitting on the couch leaning over my shoulder.

He said...Bunny.

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Bunny? I thought...as in...B*U*N*N*Y?

Yes Carmen.

Oh...REAL funny, Lord.

I'm serious.

Okay, SERIOUSLY, Lord...I need a reasonable idea...I'm not playin'.

You could reasonably have a live bunny for your centerpiece.

Lord...ummmm...really?

Yep.
So I very excitedly called my friend, who laughed and said I was crazy, but agreed to a live bunny as a centerpiece for our table. I can't tell you how incredibly wild and what a tremendous blessing that was to ALL who encountered the live-bunny centerpiece at the annual Spring Tea! I still hear about it!!! And ask anyone who knew me then...I've told them that God gave me that idea. He inspired me that Saturday afternoon.

Maybe you don't know God. I mean really know Him. Talk to Him daily. Read the Bible, where He's placed all the answers for your life today. Believe Him. Trust Him. Do you?

.

Well...He's been teaching me that while being creative with paint, scissors, a sewing machine (Mom...YOU'RE the sewist!!!!), or even in putting together a beautiful room, may not be exciting for me, He can inspire even me to participate in things that I thought He'd forgotten to bless me with (like writing my name...for you dear MOPS girls!). He is the inspiration for ALL creativity, whether you realize it or not.

You ARE the way you ARE because He MADE you that way!

So whether you have a personal relationship with Him or not, you are still HIS handiwork...HIS painting project...HIS Liza Moz pottery piece. In fact, He doesn't just paint you, He actually molded you in the beginning, and seeks to perfect you now. There are so many times that He has to wash you off and start again...or take our mess and make it work.

But in the end, you're beautiful. Because HE says so. Because HE inspired you.

And God don't make no junk...

Prayer

God is truly amazing! Despite my shortcomings and flat out failures, He remains faithful. I'm so glad my God is that way!Typically, whatever God leads me to teach in Sunday School is something He's dealing with ME on.

We are starting our discussion on prayer.

I've always known prayer is important. I've seen the power of prayer in my own life, over and over. I've been taught that prayer is the key to living out our Christian walk with God.

So...

What IS prayer?...you may ask. HOW do you pray? And, why pray if God already knows what we need?

Prayer is our conversation with God. Some people have confusing ideas about prayer. Prayer is simple...It's when you talk to God. Just as we talk to our family & friends, we should be talking to God. Prayer is not a holier-than-thou act, and you don't just talk to God while burning incense, on your knees, in a church. To pray is to talk...to the One who created you. Sometimes that talk is by way of begging God to change a situation. Sometimes it's in utter gratitude for the way He answered a request. Yet, other times we're plain 'ole MAD when we talk to God. Then, at times, our prayers consist of worshipping Him for the many blessings He's given to us.

And there are times, we approach Him with a broken heart, in overwhelming grief.

Don't misunderstand what I'm saying...there are many times that we come to God with reverence, mindful that He is Lord...period. But there are plenty of times, we run to Him as our Daddy, or our Friend.

Yesterday, I approached Him with a heavy heart. My friend and MOPS Leadership Team Sister, Lori, was taken to the hospital by ambulance yesterday morning. With bleeding on the brain. Lori just gave birth to baby Andrew, 6 days ago. She is a tiny lady, who is down-to-earth, and plays a major role in keeping our MOPS team grounded. There are no pretenses with her. What you see is what you get. And that's one of the things that I appreciate about her the most. She has great ideas and isn't afraid to share them, and she works well with our close-knit MOPS team. Lori was just here at my home, 12 days ago, at our annual MOPS retreat.

Talk about prayer...!

So many have been lifted to our Heavenly Father on her behalf.

I couldn't help but think yesterday, that God makes sure to get His point across when He leads us to a new perspective. Not that anything about Lori's situation has anything to do with me. It's not about me. But it IS about God answering our prayers to know Him better, and serve Him better. It IS about knowing Him. It's about prayer.

Currently, Lori is sedated. She's in CCU. The doctors want to give her brain time to absorb the excess blood. They've ruled out the "really bad stuff", such as an aneurysm and a blood clot.

Praise God!!!!!

Without a doubt, we all have a slightly different perspective on prayer, which changed within a 24 hour period.

So what IS prayer? A conversation with the only One who has all the answers. How do you pray? You bow your head, close your eyes, fold your hands...or, you talk to God while you're folding laundry or driving down the road. And you talk. Share your feelings...your hopes & dreams. Your heartbreak.

Why pray if God already knows our needs? Because OUR perspectives are the ones that need to change.

We need to recognize our need for God.

Do you have a few minutes? Grab some coffee and let's talk...

Making Changes

Last Friday afternoon, I felt the need to sit down and talk with Dean about splitting the girls room into 2 rooms. I'm not sure where that urgent prompting came from. You might say that it was a challenging day with the girls, which would explain that. But it wasn't really...challenging, that is. True, I could name numerous days when that explanation would fit. But not necessarily last Friday.

So we talked, and Dean committed to putting up the wall, cutting the door, and removing one of the closets.

Then came trouble...literally...when Tyler got home and brought the action with him (see previous posts).

Then came an incredible peace about our room project. God's timing.

So Saturday morning, we were ready when I found an unbeatable deal on craigslist, for 2 twin beds w/all bedding (a few pieces are custom), all box spring & mattresses, a huge dresser, nightstand, and desk. A set, I might add, that came from one of those gorgeous million-dollar neighborhoods out West. So we knew it would be well taken care of. After contacting the number and finding that it was still available (she had posted it only hours earlier), we made an appointment to see it. We were not disappointed! The furniture is beautiful and just perfect for my Summerlyn!! The home we purchased it from is only a fraction as beautiful as the owners...Godly people who were an absolute joy to meet! God's timing.

It's kind of funny...when it's time to make changes, it's our human nature to fight those changes. Tooth and nail, in some cases. We fight change. Why is change so scary? ANY type of change. Like...my kids can freak out if Luke's diaper needs a change. And won't it benefit ALL of us if the poopie diaper is changed to a clean one? HELLO!!!! Yes!!!! Okay...how about changing which direction I vaccuum? I know...this one is serious-HA! If I change the direction in which I vaccuum, it actually helps the carpet stand up and look better. How about changing the way we eat? Even though raw carrots dipped in ranch dressing isn't nearly as appealing as a big 'ole slice of fresh homemade peach pie, it WOULD benefit us to choose the carrots over the pie, except on rare occassion. Do you get my point? Even though the benefits are nicer and the end result is better in most cases, we still fight change. Now, I know that not all change is good. But the value of change in and of itself is incredible!

That brings me back to Tyler.

He was less than thrilled to learn that his room would soon be a lot smaller. But considering all that is going on in his young life at this time, I'm not really concerned about that. I told Dean that our project was going to benefit Tyler more than anyone.

Humility and change will do that to a person. Actually...God will.

Impossible

Some days I don't feel restored. Some days I just feel frustrated and discouraged.

It's interesting how the day can be going fine...relaxing, slow moving, accomplishing a lot...and then BAM!..."fine" is over.

Yesterday was one such day.

The hardest thing about yesterday was having to referee the girls. That's usually a daily event, so I'm used to it. It doesn't ruin my day, most days. The hardest thing, that is, until approximately 6:30pm.

That's when my 17 year old son got home from a week at youth camp. He brought a little bit of action with him. Actually, a lot of action.

My husband and I had spent the week trying to work out the minor accident that Tyler had caused at the end of our driveway 7 days ago. Minor, if you don't mind calling $3300.00 worth of damage to the OTHER PERSON'S vehicle, minor. Dean thought he had it figured out. It was possible for Tyler to keep driving while paying his own insurance. Because we drive older vehicles, and because we only have 2 vehicles listed, it was possible.

The action Tyler brought home with him made that possibility an impossibility.

Does that ever happen to you? You're strolling along in life and for all your efforts, you are handed an impossibility.

"For nothing is impossible with God"...Sound familiar? It's from Luke 1. Ummm...what that indicates is that my impossibilites are God's possibilities.

Back to the action.

As I was cleaning out my office area/mudroom, I noticed Tyler angrily walking toward the house. I immediately went outside and asked him what was wrong, but he would not say. In fact, all he would say was "stay here". Riiiiiiigggghhhhhttttt. Those of you who know me, know that his "directions" went in one ear and out the other. I followed him as he headed back across the yard to the neighbors driveway. I followed him all the way to the crest of the neighbors driveway when I saw it.

Tyler had wrecked again.

He had pulled into the neighbors paved driveway, apparently a practice he undertook a while back, to enter into our parking area. The neighbor was coming down the driveway and hit Tyler almost fully head-on. Nobody was hurt. Not even the neighbor's 5 year old little boy. Impossibilities.

Luke was right when he wrote the God-inspired words, "Nothing is impossible with God." I've borne witness to that many times. But most things are impossible without God. Except totally and completing messing things up. That's entirely possible without God.

I would say that the insurance issues surrounding these 2 wrecks are impossible. God would say, "Nothing is impossible with Me". I would say that the issues surrounding my son's thinking in both situations is impossible. God would say, "Nothing is impossible with Me". Impossible defines itself to me as parenting, on certain days. God says, "Nothing is impossible with Me". And while I'm struggling to figure out the next step in making parent-like decisions concerning Tyler's actions, I must remember that the word "impossible" doesn't exist in God's vocabulary. Oh He's aware of that word...we use it all the time. But He graciously chooses to offer us hope in every situation. Every circumstance. Therefore, He has graciously removed that word from His list of options.

That's a good thing for me.

That's a really good thing for Tyler.

Crusty

So you'll probably be a little grossed out in reading this entry. It's about feet. Before you move on, I do plan on making a point, so if you'll stick with me, you'll learn something valuable.
This one's for Cyndi.

I inherited crusty feet. My Mom's feet are crusty. I use the word "crusty" because that's the most accurate word to describe dried-up, flaky feet. There are many "cures" for crusty feet. PediCURES, lotions, deep-hydrating lotions, scrubs...just to name a few. But the truth boils down to this: maintenance. It's all about taking the time to use one of these "cures" consistently. Honestly...how can we possibly think that ONE pedicure or ONE good scrubbing of the feet can forever end any issues we may have with crusty feet? Do dishes pile up everyday and load themselves into the dishwasher alone? Do clothes launder themselves? Does dust decide to disappear? I WISH!!! Of course the answer to these questions is: maintenance. All of these things have to be done repeatedly in order to HAVE order.

Our relationship with God is exactly like crusty feet. (Mom, before you gasp and tell Him that you didn't raise your child to be sacrilegious, let me explain!!!!) Much of the time, when someone commits their heart & life to Christ and is saved, they think that there is nothing more to be done. They've accepted the free gift of salvation and life can go on. While it's true that if out of conviction you've confessed that you sin, and that you need forgiveness, and you ask Christ to come into your heart & life to be Lord, that's all that is required for salvation...there is more to be done concerning your relationship with the Lord. There is: maintenance. Just like any other relationship in your life requires contact, time, effort (maintenance), so does your relationship with Christ! Guess what happens when you don't work to keep up a relationship...it gets crusty. Our relationship with God is based on OUR level of commitment, not His. He's ALWAYS there. He doesn't change and He doesn't remove Himself from our life. For those who know Him and have that relationship with Him, we have the assurance that no matter how crusty we allow things to get...He'll always give us a delightful pedicure of the heart and mind, if we'll communicate to Him that we want it. It's US who seek to cure the crust by turning to temporary "cures". Just like the temptation to buy into the latest gimmick on the forever cure-all for our crusty feet, we buy into the things of this world, which will never cure us. Only God can do that! We must place our faith in Him, and not in this world.

Pedicures or MANicures will never work.

What we truly need is a Christ-cure.

Truth & Hope OR Lies & Sin?

I was reading a profile off of a popular "connect to your friends" community this morning. It was one I have known about, but until this morning, haven't had time to read. It's actually someone I know...or used to know...a family member. It's shocking, actually, to realize that someone in the same family as you...within the same gene-pool, can have views so opposite from yours. This is actually true in most families, I suppose. But the defining factor is whether or not those views are violently opposite. If you disagree on certain moral issues, that's one thing. If you disagree and mock the other's views of those issues, that's a whole separate ballpark. I'm one who can disagree with someone and state my point, believing in my mind that they are wrong. I'll even argue my point, if the situation calls for that. BUT...unless the topic is open for conversation, I generally won't bring it up. And if the other person can't see the error of their thinking (snicker, snicker), I don't look to humiliate them or mock them. So here's the deal...Why is it when people disagree with your views on Christianity, their argument is based on misconceived ideas that are not scriptually based? Why do they feel the need to not just disagree, but attack your faith? Oh, I could generally say that it's a lack of maturity or that the person is insecure in their lifestyle. But really, that lifestyle lends itself to a warped view of thinking. And that warped thinking only comes from one place. 1Peter 5:8 says, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." When we sin, no matter if it's a "little white lie" or a life of choosing sinful behaviour, we have chosen to let the devil snap his teeth at us, and even pull off some of our flesh. The devil wants to literally eat us up! He desperately wants us to give in to whatever sin we find ourselves facing in life, thus we place ourselves in a position to be devoured. Part of giving in to that sin, while rolling our eyes at Christianity is desiring to make Christianity a fanatical form of wierdness or nothingness, so as to attempt to take away the truth and hope of another and place them on the same miserable level as the ones who truly have no hope. Thus, it's not just a difference of opinion or beliefs, but an all out attack on any form of truth. God grieves over those who have been manipulated by the enemy...those who won't accept His truth. Those who seek to defile His truth and mock it.

Here's some truth for you...the devil can't stomach the fact that his time is nearly up, so disagreeing simply isn't enough.

He wants an all-out war.

And guess what?

He's going to get one.

Smashed

I smashed my finger yesterday. It happened when I was shoving wet clothes in the dryer. I was moving pretty fast and didn't notice my right hand was in the way, thus I slammed the dryer door on my finger. Immediately I howled. Dean came running downstairs to make sure I was fine (I was on the floor by then), and Scarlett ran to see if I was okay. For a moment, I thought I'd puke. It's that instantaneous reaction your body has when you experience a quick flash of white-hot pain. Scarlett placed her arm around me, and I thought for sure she was going to get it (puke). When that nauseous feeling comes over a person, you just can't be touched! In less than 5 minutes, the extent of my pain was a throbbing finger, and I was fine. I smashed my finger, and my Tyler smashed his truck. At the end of the driveway, he slammed into another truck carrying a couple and their pre-teen daughter. It happened when he was in a hurry to get to his friend Tanner's house and hang out before having to go to work. He was moving pretty fast down the driveway in his old red truck, and didn't notice the other truck until it was too late. He slammed on the brakes, which locked up, and he literally slid into the other truck. Our neighbor, Damien, came running up to the house to ask me to come to the end of the driveway. I did, and was fortunate enough to have 3 of my MOPS ladies come with me. Tyler was mad. He was blaming the brakes, of course. I've spent some time reflecting on both incidents and why they happened. We get in a hurry. It's that simple. God gives us 24 hours in a day, and plenty of time to do the things HE'S put on our daily calendar, but we cram a bunch of other stuff on it. Before you know it, you've smashed yourself just doing something normal. It was not the brakes fault that Tyler was driving too fast down the driveway, any more than it was the dryer doors fault that I left my hand in the way. It was Tyler's responsibility to pay attention to his actions, as well as my responsibility towards mine. Painful things happen when we fill up our days with things WE think are so important, instead of taking those 24 hours to freely do what our Creator has in mind for us. He certainly doesn't cause the stress to smash us up in a day's time...that's all our wreckage.
My finger feels much better today, although I still can't decide if the nail will eventually fall off or not. The consequences are some kind of sore. Tyler, however, may have way more serious consequences, depending on how we go about dealing with the wreck. In either case, we would fair much better if we simply slowed down.

Weary

That's me. Today. All week, as a matter of fact. And NO! I'm not pregnant!!! It's been a challenging week. But I knew that it would be in some shape or form. Our MOPS retreat is tomorrow, and God is moving. I've been tested all week. And my body is so so tired. Thought I would blog real quick before I go to bed.

One of the challenges this week has come through my 17 year old. He's a doll! And I'm crazy about him!!! BUT...there are still the teenage issues to deal with, and sometimes it seems as though there is no end in sight. God, help me give the proper credit to my Mother. I was SO mouthy in high school, I'm not sure how I made it out alive! I have come full circle in the realization that I now know exactly how she must have felt during those rough times with me and my mouth. My wonderful son has that mouth. And I think it's worse than mine...don't we always think we have it worst of all? The crazy thing is that sometimes we just have to come to the end of our rope in a situation before throwing up our hands and saying..."God...You can HAVE it!!!!!". Which, I might add, is EXACTLY what He wants us to do. Since He's omnipotent, we should back off and let Him do His thing. It would be so much easier than US trying to figure it out!!!! The Bible says His ways are not our ways, and I believe that wholeheartedly.

Will you pray for me? Will you pray that nothing will keep me from relaying God's message to these wonderful ladies tomorrow and Saturday, as we go through the course of our time together...? MOPS is such an awesome ministry for so many...not the least of which is me! Please pray that I have energy and open ears for the Lord to tell me what He must.

And maybe that roaring lion (1Peter 5:8) will shut his mouth!!!

Thomas Luke (Kid #5)

Mom told me yesterday that my blogs are long. But my mind is so full, so it's hard to not write BUNCHES of stuff. And it's nice to share my thoughts and what's on my heart on my blog, since my closest companions each day are between the ages of 18 months and 17 years old.

The blog today is all about Luke. He's a MESS! Luke was entirely unexpected. One of God's surprises. I well remember the day I discovered him. I was working in my office/mudroom as Tyler & Dean were working on the garage. Dean came to the door and asked me if I had "started". I said no, but things were moving, so it would be here anytime. He started singing, "Yooooouuuuuu are preeeeeegnant". I was like, "NO I'M NOT!!!!!". As the afternoon progressed, Dean kept teasing me, so I finally told him that I had a pregnancy test upstairs and would he shut-up if I took it?!!! Grinning, he followed me upstairs. I closed and locked the door (w/him waiting out in the hall!), and took the test. I COULDN'T believe my eyes!!!!!! Dean said, "Well?". I said, "It takes a few minutes. Plus, it's an old test.". He started singing again, and I opened the door. The plus sign VERY bold. Dean was so excited that he drove to town RIGHT THEN to purchase another test to be sure. I, on the other hand, cried for 2 days. I was not prepared! I was shocked! I was afraid of what could happen, considering my pregnancy w/Scarlett was a high-risk pregnancy. Through the course of my pregnancy, God was ever so faithful. I was horribly sick the first trimester, but fine the rest of the time. I only gained 23 pounds. And Luke was strong & healthy. I wouldn't trade him for anything, and I'm so grateful to God for giving Luke to us! Luke is a gorgeous & busy, busy, busy little boy. He is also a symbol of God's grace and mercy towards us. My pregnancy w/my precious Scarlett was a hard one. Not physically, but emotionally. We took those tests that they administer around the 16 week mark, and mine came back that Scarlett had Down-Syndrome. I was devastated. As most of you know, she's perfectly healthy, and incredibly bright. She excels in school, beyond her years. Such a glorious example of His faithfulness to us. I love ALL of my children SO MUCH. But these last 2 pregnancies were definitely more challenging than the first 3!!!! Scarletts, because of emotional stress-Lukes, because of AGE and shock! I must have questioned God a hundred times over why He would bless us this way again. Sounds ridiculous, right? He blessed us, for heaven's sake! But GOD! I was fine with my four!!!! Well, God was honoring a request. Here you go:

When I was about 6 months pregnant (September) w/Lukie baby, my wonderful husband and I went on a date. We do that sometimes. We were rolling along, heading to Aubrey's (a favorite), and my honey started talking. I kinda faded out, with my mind on the big fat fresh salad that I was craving...until I heard, "that's how Luke got here!" from Dean. Excuse me? I said. What did you say? Dean just laughed and started repeating what he had said..."I gave up my whole first paycheck back in January as a first fruits offering to the Lord, and I asked Him for a baby boy.". YOU DID WHAT??!! "You're not talking to the Lord ANYMORE!!!" I hollered in my hormonal state. Dean just laughed...he knows God's faithfulness. It's the laugh that's filled w/the Holy Spirit. With joy that can only come from Him. I told Dean that He would PAY!!! And poor wonderful hubby has definitely done that!

So that's Luke's story. And I'm sure glad I can tell it!!!!

Pig #2

Meet our pig #2!!! Bacon is so social that we decided she needed one of her brothers to keep her company! His name is Sausage...

We'll have about 800 pounds of pig come November!

MOPS Part 2

So here I am a year and a half later...the annual MOPS retreat is this Friday/Saturday at my house. I'll have approximately 10 women here. We'll spend the time bonding and praying over what God's goal is for the coming MOPS year. We know that He would have us minister to these Moms in a way that makes them feel refreshed...appreciated...purposeful. That's the thing really...sometimes as a Mom we feel as though we're floating around from day to day with no greater purpose than to do laundry and dishes. As small as we think of our daily chores as Moms, God views them as incredibly important!

Proverbs 31:10 says, "A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies."

Do you realize what God is saying? Nothing has more value than a wife of noble character! A woman who cares for her husband and children God's way is rare. She's a worker and knows how to handle her home and finances. She is busy...with the household! These things are incredibly important!!! Caring for your home and family, no matter how big or small, is what helps make your family what it is. And God takes that very seriously. Read Proverbs 31! It will shed new light on your job at home.

There is plenty of time for fun! In fact, God wants you to have fun with your children and family. But He wants you to enjoy caring for them, as well. Something crazy happened to me last Friday. Most of you know that I have never been interested in things like decorating my home, etc. As Lisa so nicely put it when she spoke to our MOPS group last December...she used to complete my craft at MOPS, as simple and easy as they were, because I hated doing them period. And they never looked like crafts when I got through with them, so it was much nicer if Lisa finished them up! But last Friday (July 4th), God inspired me to do some decorating around the house. It looks beautiful! And guess what? I actually enjoyed doing it!

I was partially inspired by my friend Cyndi's purple kitchen. Yes, purple! The kids and I loaded up to go to her house to finalize the details for our MOPS retreat (she's my partner in cryin'...I mean crime!), and her home was beautiful. But it wasn't some traditional type of decorating. I super-dee-dooper admired the fact that she decorated her home the way that SHE wanted to. She doesn't care what the "in" thing might be. She cares about her home reflecting her personality and the life of her family. Cool, huh? When people "moon" over my Mom's decorating, she has always said, "I just buy what I like". I know what she means now!

Cyndi's home directly reflects her family. That's what a home should be like! So I stretched beyond my own strength and creative abilities and God met me there. Some of you may not think that God cares about things like that...but He does. He actually cares about EVERY DETAIL OF YOUR LIFE!!!!!

So my passion is the family. And my family is not perfect. But we do love God and the things of God. And in MOPS this year, I'm hoping to teach other Moms to love God, too.

And to love the family that God gave them.

MOPS

Some of you may not know what MOPS is. It's an acronym for Mothers Of PreschoolerS. God called me to start this ministry at Grace in January of 2007 and we had our first meeting last September. I truly love MOPS at Grace. And God brought it to me at a time in my life when I was struggling with purpose. Here is the story:

As I stumbled back to bed on a cold January morning, I was hopeful that I'd get at least a good 3-4 hours of continuous sleep. Luke had just nursed for the 2nd time and it was now 4am. I settled back under my warm electric blanket for some much needed rest. Luke was barely a month old and my wonderful husband was gone on a mission trip to El Salvadore. As I laid there waiting for the fog to settle on my brain, I started to roll over...and over...tossing and turning, not able to get comfortable. An hour later, in utter exasperation, I spoke aloud, "Okay Lord! What now???!!!". Go down to your computer. "Are you ON something Lord? I'm sooooo tired. Can't you just put me to sleep?"...Go down to your computer. "Lord...who do you want me to pray for? I'll pray for whomever. But Lord, I'm tired and I don't want to go downstairs to my computer. Plus it's cold."...Go down to your computer...I want you to do something." "You know what, Lord? That's so nuts at 5am, that I think it's not You who's telling me to go to my computer! It must be the devil bothering me...maybe." Get out of the bed and go. That's the only way I'm going to put you back to sleep, is if you do what I tell you to. So I whipped back the covers and went down to my computer. On the way down the steps, God said, Look up MOPS. "Is THAT what You wanted me to do??? I could've done that in the morning!!!!". You don't listen to me in the morning. Ouch...that one brought some conviction...enough for me to change my attitude. "Okay, Lord...here's the MOPS webpage. I know, I know...you want me to look up the nearest MOPS group and see about attending the meeting." After looking up the groups in my area, I decided the best one would be at Sevier Heights Baptist Church, which was a "haul" for me to drive to get there. "It's OKAY, Lord...I'll go. I get the point! Now can I go back to bed?". No. You aren't going to attend a MOPS group, you're going to start a MOPS group at Grace. "Okay...now I KNOW I'm dreaming! God, you must be joking! I have 5 children, including a newborn. I couldn't possibly start a MOPS group at Grace! I'm going back to bed now...see ya!". Carmen...pray about it. "Lord...here's what I think:

5:19am, 1-25-07

I feel so friend-less sometimes, Lord. I’ve been awake since 3am, when I fed Luke. I’ve been talking to you about bringing some Godly ladies into my life for social purposes. I need that, Father. Please. Also, please lead Dean and I into a SS class where we can serve and grow. Lead me into whatever you want me to do. Sometimes I think it’s starting a MOPS group at Grace or something like that. Sometimes I think it’s teaching. And I know you want me to be more attentive and spend more time socializing with my children. That’s so hard sometimes. I have to discipline, and it’s overwhelming to have 5 kids. They all need me. I need “girlie” time. I need time with Dean. I need some “Carmen” time. But God, help me to remember what You showed me last week...and that was what you’ve called me to do right here at home with my husband and these children is no less important than being a missionary in Africa. It’s not about the size of what we’re doing. It’s all about if we’re being faithful to You with what You’ve called us to do. Are we being obedient? That’s the question. That’s what matters and what You’ll judge us on. When people talk about “what did you do with Jesus?”, it can kind of be misleading. Doing something with Jesus doesn’t mean for some what it means for others. We can’t all be foreign missionaries, but we can all answer whatever call You lay on each of our hearts. My mission is right here at home. Help me, God. That may be a lot harder than traveling to Africa.

Carmen, I want you to commit to thinking about and praying over starting a MOPS group at Grace." "Well, maybe I don't want to think about it." Yes, you do, because you want to serve Me, and this is what I'm calling you to do. After sitting there with my heart racing for a few more minutes, I told the Lord I'd THINK about it. I turned everything off and went upstairs to climb into my comfy bed. And I told God once again that I was only THINKING about it...NOT committing to start a group. And then I had to chuckle when I heard Him laugh...

Bacon

My wonderful husband decided to add to our growing family! In addition to Basil, Sadie (our 2 German Shepards), Shadow, Frisk, Brillo, Honey (our 4 tomcats), Meme, Jet, and the flock (a total of 7 sheep), our adorable 11 chickens, Tyler/Summerlyn/Savannah/Scarlett/Luke (our 5 children)...we now have Bacon (our Hampshire pig)! She's sooooo cute! She'll taste really good, come November!!!!!

Please welcome...

BACON

Please don't eat me!

July 4th

The Jones Family

wishes you and yours, a very happy

July 4th!