Full of Joy

It's nearly impossible to predict how and when Jesus will completely and abundantly refresh my soul. I feel as if my soul needs refreshing on a daily basis. But there comes a point in time where to the depth of me I am completely dry and worn weary. Mothering plus ministry life has a tendency to overwhelm me to the point of crazy, if I'm not careful.   Jesus watches over me so tenderly and knows exactly what I need, when I need it. Last weekend, I had the honor of attending a wedding shower in Northern VA (our home before we moved to PA) and decided to visit with some other friends while I was down there for a quick 30 hour trip. Every friend I visited with, every hug I received, every gift that was given, every conversation, every smile, every laugh, and every moment of prayer filled my heart until it was practically bursting with joy. Jesus is in His people.      My dear friend, Denise and I met years ago through a Bible study. We ended up doing several B...

I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. This past Tuesday was the first Tuesday I haven't posted since the re-launch in November. I am disappointed in myself. Certainly if anyone raced to my blog last Tuesday they lived to see another day, even though I hadn't posted. Yet, somehow this flaw for the first time in 10 months really BOTHERS me. I am bummed. It has helped me to realize I have too much going on. I've been taking a serious look at things and have decided I need to cut some stuff out- even good stuff. The Spirit has been leading me to stillness. To quiet. To rest. To listen. It's been an incredible discipline, one I am more and more drawn to. I know He will lead me to the things I need to sift out. But for today, I apologize for not being faithful to my Tuesday post. The kids and I went peach picking with some friends yesterday, so thought I would hold you over with some pictures. I'll meet you back here on Tuesday. Lots of love to all. ...

The concept of books written for children about Hero's from the Bible is excellent. I appreciate any resource that can be used to teach my children about the Bible. Author Victoria Kovac, and illustrator David Ryley created a book I believe best suited for elementary age children. While reading the Daniel book to my toddler-age son, I had to leave out a lot of the story. Since he's so little, I don't like to read stories to him that focus on bad dreams and wicked men. The use of words like, "Israel, Babylon, Jerusalem, and conquer" cause my son to be uninterested. He really likes the pictures, so if I share my own version of the Daniel story with words he understands, he will stick with it. I have attempted to read the Miriam story to him several times, but he's only been interested in hearing it one time. I think he simply likes hearing about Daniel because Daniel is a boy! Again, I don't like reading stories to my young son that include words lik...

Last night I was boiling fresh  from a Pennsylvania farm corn on the cob. I had set the timer and then moved on with dinner prep, which also inevitably included breaking up a toddler WWE tournament. Sigh. Right in the middle of one of their matches, I heard this sound in the back of my mind. It took a couple moments for the sound to register in my brain as BOILING water BOILING over. Sizzling. Splashing. Lid rattling. Explosion ready to happen. I sprinted to the stove to turn down the burner, and tipped the lid to let some air in…ahhhh. All was well. If only dealing with the pressures of life were that easy. I feel sick to my stomach thinking about it. The pressures of life. Ick. They make me feel on the verge of blowing the lid off my mental boiling pot at any minute. Let’s just start with emails. “Are you going to be joining such-and-such group in the Fall? Please respond ASAP.” “Do you need child care for such-and-such group. Please sign up ASAP.” “Here are the notes for su...

Last weekend, Chuck and I spontaneously decided to take the kids on a little getaway. We’ve had a long, emotional, and tiring summer so we needed some time together alone as a family. On Thursday afternoon we headed down to VA where Chuck’s family has a house. A long car ride with two toddlers is NEVER enjoyable, but we finally rolled into town and stopped at one of our favorite dives- Cook Out. It’s cheap, it’s yummy, it’s NUT free, and oh yeah, it’s cheap! Dinner went rather smoothly and my heart was full as I looked around the table and saw all of us enjoying a dinner out. Chuck and I were extra joyful because it was the first restaurant Basye has been able to eat out at due to her allergies! Plus, Jase was doing amazingly well at potty-training and even announced to us during dinner he needed to go. Please don’t roll your eyes- this is a serious victory people! Our table of 4 was cheering and clapping and celebrating like it was Christmas when Jase got back from the restr...