I nearly forgot to post Malachi’s 10 month pictures….good thing I remembered 5 days before he turns 11 months 
We are so enjoying this precious little guy…he already say’s three words and learned them in this order: “Uh-Oh!” “Book! (comes out like Buuuhh!) and he calls “Ellllllieeeee!” So sweet! Oh…and how can I forget? But 10 months marked the beginning of M’s crawling adventures. He’s a little tornado, but oh-so-cute! By far, he is the least-serious baby out of our 4.
Emma Watson, one of the most currently sought after actresses since her Harry Potter hit, seems to have grasped something uncommon to much of fame’s women who have fallen prey to the lies of this world. Whether or not she fully grasps it, the wonder of our bodies are a precious gift to the one whom God has gifted us with as a spouse or whom He has waiting for us.
and more than that, modesty is a prized gem because “The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
“The Rock follows you, and that Rock is Christ.” -C.Spurgeon.
A wealth of gratitude today..but, namely, the mighty strong rock on which we stand.
I have been wanting to switch out our coffee table for a while now…with white sofa’s, a white coffee table was driving me crazy. So…we’ve seen all these cool ideas on pinterest on how to make a coffee table out of an old door. I love the rustic, natural, comfortable style we have flowing through our house, and I knew this would help to enhance that style even further. Only problem? I don’t use saws and I don’t make furniture. Enter husband. Sweet, sweet, husband – who does not consider himself a handy-man. But I just knew he had it in him. So I ever-so-kindly asked if he would attempt this project and he agreed! My brother gave us an old door, so this project cost us nothing. My man surprised me with his woodworking expertise and the table turned out amazing. I sanded it a bit (to try and keep splinters off of baby hands) and we left it as raw and un-touched as we could to keep the rustic feel. LOVE it!
I also hand-sketched the lettering of one of our favorite hymns which we now have hanging above our fireplace. What a sweet reminder…
I finally tackled a project that I’ve been wanting to do for years now (yes, years!!). For some reason, the idea of this project haunted me…..sanding and painting a large piece of furniture was not my idea of fun. And then one Saturday morning I woke up and had this urge to do it and I am SO. GLAD. I. DID….
BEFORE”:
AFTER: with a coat of Martha Steward “Schoolhouse Slate” – amazing what a coat of paint plus primer will do!
And….because re-doing this hutch freed up space in our kitchen, I got to work on my sewing/office area and it is now newly re-organized too!
And, of course, my little helper!
I’m so thankful for the Lord’s steady, constant pursuit of me amidst this full season of life. Oh, the friend I’ve found in Jesus!… who meets me in my weakest moments, pours forth abundant grace and encourages me ever-so-sweetly along the way with such creative channels of pursuit – through kind friends who selflessly give, pray and let me know they are thinking of me (and understand that friendship doesn’t look like it once did when we were without little ones), through the precious gift of music and the way it drills at this prideful heart, through the squeaky little voice of my 3 year old who is always saying “I wuv you mama”, through a husband who sends me away to spend some time in the Word and through endless articles, scriptures, sermons and books that have pushed me deeper into the sanctification process. This morning as I was feeding the baby in his nursery, I grabbed my copy of “Seize The Day with Deitrich Bonhoeffer.” This little treasure of a book has brought forth some hard but good challenges and truths. Today, this is what I read:
“The more that we are kept safe and secure, the more that we become candidates for temptation. This is not to suggest that being protected is not a wonderful thing. But we readily fail to appreciate God’s protecting hand over our lives and begin to take things for granted. In this way we become candidates for temptation. For there is no more vulnerable place than the one where we assume that everything is okay and where we fail to look to God.
The place of safety can only be where we walk humbly with our God, are aware of our vulnerability, and constantly look to Him to keep and sustain us.”
For some, this “comfort” might lie in family size, salary, job security, a full pantry, physical or emotional health, life-style preferences,a happy marriage, appearance or perceived style, our children, our cars, our relationships with others, our homes, or even our comfortable Church family. May we, { Lord may I !} not become prey to temptation because we are too comfortable.
Just keepin’ it real on a Saturday morning when the pastor-husband is gone all day working at a Church seminar, the house is a mess, I’m planning for the week, sweeping, cleaning, menu planning and about to venture out to the grocery store with all 4 kids for the first time in a long time. These are the messes and the crazies that I’m thankful for. May your Saturday be filled with finding joy in your messes too….
Worry doesn’t get us anywhere. I’ll be the first to admit it. Our family has lived a very “adventurous” life – much against the grain of culture. We married in college, moved many times in order to pursue ministry, planted ourselves into a less-than-comfortable neighborhood, raised support for many years in ministry, added 4 children to our quiver before we hit our 30’s. This is only to mention a few. So my tendency to worry has been great at times, to my regret. And then comes these sweet little babies who turn into little people, with big sinful hearts much like my own – and many more tendencies to worry about who they will become, how they will turn out, how we will afford them etc. etc. can come flooding in to rob me of the assurance that God, in all of His grand sovereignty, has ordained every second of our lives, and theirs. Enter trust. A place I pray that God will enable me to remain.
“Some women worry over real issues: health issues or spiritual issues or money issues or marriage issues or wisdom issues. But other women worry over what might be an issue in ten years. This is called borrowing trouble. It’s not pretty and it’s not cute.
Trust is lovely. Peace is beautiful. Cast your cares on Him for He cares for you..”
-Nancy Wilson
(for more of her article, go here)
