Thanksgiving with Family

HAM

On grandma's lap

Some of the girl cousins gathered around Trav.  He's one popular dude with these little ones!

After the meal was digested, it was warm enough to play around outside.  The girls enjoyed a 4-wheeler ride from Uncle Andy.

 Playing duck-duck-goose

I got a kick out of her little ensemble!

Mommy's Helper

Lily spilled my water on the carpet so she ran in the kitchen, grabbed my Norwex cloth and started dabbing at the wet spot.  It's exciting that she can start pitching in around here!

Thanksgiving Every Day, Every Moment

So, as I've said before, the book One Thousand Gifts changed my life.  Changed. my. life.  Well, almost as much as the Bible.  So this year, I felt like Thanksgiving Day was not unlike any other day for me.  Which is what we all really desire, right?  To be thankful in all circumstances, for this is what God desires for us who belong to Christ.  I had blinders on before.  I would say my thanks to God with broad sweeps - "Thank you God, for my salvation, for my family, my friends, my church and my health."  Really?!  That's sufficient?  God shows His love to us in the details of life.  In the ordinary, every day small things.  We just rarely take the time to pause and see them.  So now that I've been practicing this kind of life, I am aware of God's presence in a new way, as my Abba Father - my Daddy - who gives me good and perfect gifts many times a day.  I ran into a friend at church this past weekend and it was clear to me that the Lord had shown clearly to her this intimate love.  She has been struggling with feelings of loneliness and as we stood and talked awhile, she shared that the tears she was crying were not of sadness but of humility and gratitude because God had specifically arranged that she would see people at church that her soul needed to see.  He knows her - you, me - deeply.  Our innermost parts that were woven together by His hands and knit into being.  He knows exactly what will bring joy and music to our hearts and places those things in our line of sight - if we will only choose to see.  I started my gift list and I'm happy to say, I'm at #641 currently.  It was hard to narrow down my favorite quotes from the book but I definitely wanted to share some, so here goes:

"Could I live that - the choice to open the hands to freely receive whatever God gives?  If I don't, I am still making a choice.  The choice not to."


"A nail is driven out by another nail; habit is overcome by habit.  This pen: this is nothing less than the driving of nails.  Nails driving out my habits of discontent and driving in my habit of eucharisteo."


"In naming that which is right before me, that which I'd otherwise miss, the invisible becomes visible."


"This act of naming grace moments, this list of God's gifts, moves beyond the shopping list variety of prayer and into the other side.  It really is a dare to name all the ways that God loves me."


"Life is not an emergency.  Life is brief and it is fleeting but it is not an emergency."


"The spirit to spirit combat I endlessly wage with Satan is this ferocious thrash for joy.  He sneers at all the things that seem to have gone hideously mad in this sin-drunk world, and I gasp to say God is good.  The liar defiantly scrawls his graffiti across God's glory, and I heave to enjoy God...and Satan strangles, and I whiten knuckles to grasp real Truth and fix that beast to the floor."


(From God's point of view) "You may suffer loss but in Me is anything ever lost, really?  Isn't everything that belongs to Christ also yours?  Loved ones still belong to Him - then aren't they still yours?  Do I not own the cattle on a thousand hills; everything?  Aren't then all provisions, in Christ also yours?  If you haven't lost Christ, child, nothing is ever lost."


"Worry is the facade of taking action when prayer really is.  And stressed, this pitched word that punctuates every conversation, is it really my attempt to prove how indispensable I am?  Or is it more?  Maybe disguising my deep fears as stress seems braver somehow."


"Are stress and worry evidences of a soul too lazy, too undisciplined, to keep gaze fixed on God?  To stay in love?  Isn't joy worth the effort of trust?  Because I kid no one: stress brings no joy."

"Every time fear freezes and worry writhes, every time I surrender to stress, aren't I advertising the unreliability of God?"


"To give thanks is an action and rejoice is a verb and these are not mere pulsing emotions.  While I may not always feel joy, God asks me to give thanks in all things, because He knows that the feeling of joy begins in the action of thanksgiving."


"The way through the pain is to reach out to others in theirs."

And lastly, in honor of this being my 29th year of life, I'll share the first 29 things on my list.....
1. Light filtering through the blinds
2. The smell of borrowed clothes
3. Wagging puppy dog tails
4. Warm cookies
5. Special package delivery
6. Children's laughter
7. Lily's hugs
8. Husband's arms wrapped around tight
9. Candle flickering
10. Glass of Moscato
11. Old hymns
12. Freshly cut grass
13. Food on the grill
14. Soul stirring worship
15. Toes in the sand
16. A toddler's mess proclaiming "I was here!"
17. The forming of a good habit
18. Manly facial hair
19. Gender surprise at birth
20. Learning
21. A handshake
22. Flowers emerging from soil again
23. Hiccups in utero
24. Laugh lines
25. Sweet perfume
26. Clank of ice cubes in a glass
27. Making goofy faces
28. A sparkle in the eye
29. Curiosity

So, yes, ALL is grace - everything God gives.  The big, the small, the simple, the hard; everything!  Will you take some time today to notice all the things around you?  To put a name to the ways God shows His love. I promise you, it will transform the way you live your days!

Basket Blues

Lily kept asking to get inside this basket, so I helped her get smooshed in and then this was her reaction.

So, sensibly, I helped her get back out.  Which was followed by another, "Peeeez", asking desperately for me to help her try to fit again.  Ok, maybe she'll think it's fun this time.  NOPE!  More tears.

And that's the stubbornness of my 20 month old in a nutshell.....or a basket, however you wanna look at it.  Oh how I love her so.

The Bicycle

Pretty in Pink

My Best Friend's Birthday

My best friend, Kristen and I, happen to have been born only 16 days apart in the same year.  And we're both first borns, both detailed event planner personalities, both.....well, you get the point.  So last Friday night, we gathered at Americana to celebrate her 29th birthday, along with the 30th birthday of another girl that I used to be in a women's bible study with - a duo celebration!  As always, her husband Jon was the life of the party and had everyone cracking up most of the night.  Good times, good food, good people!

Happy 29th Beautiful Lady! (aka "K", as Lily likes to call her)

Jon and Kristen

Birthday @ Trostel's Dish

Since I was out of town the weekend of my actual birthday, Justin planned a girl's night for me the following week at Trostel's Dish.  It's such a fun place to go with a group of friends because the appetizer size portions are great for everyone to share.  We sat at a large table that had a lazy susan in the middle so it was perfect for passing all of the food around for each of us to enjoy!  I literally liked everything I tried, the place is top notch!

Crispy fried avocado.  Nice presentation, eh?

 Popcorn shrimp.  It actually had little pieces of popcorn on it - very unique!

 Dessert Sampler - the creme brulee & chocolate cake were equally my favorites!

 The lovely ladies who joined me to celebrate

And thanks to my amazing husband for coordinating the whole thing!
  29 feels pretty darn good.

Hearts at Home

 Last weekend, I had the privilege of attending the Hearts at Home conference in Rochester, MN for the very first time.  Talk about an awesome getaway for moms!  I went into it being a little nervous about leaving Lily for the first time (without Justin with me) and came away from it thinking, 'I can't wait to do this again'! 
On Friday night, comedian Chonda Pierce spoke and she had everyone rollin'!  Then on Saturday, the day was split up into a main session at the beginning & end of the day with workshops in between.  I learned a lot from the 4 workshops I went to and I'll try to briefly tell you a bit about my main takeaways.

Morning Main Session: Jennifer Rothschild
She became blind at the age of 15 and her story had me bawling!  I had goosebumps when she was telling the story of returning home from the doctor the day they diagnosed that she would soon be completely blind.  She sat down at her piano and for the first time played by ear.  And what song was it that God moved her fingers to play?......"It is Well With My Soul."  I couldn't stop the tears from flowing at this point.  She said that through the course of her life, she's learned to say, 'It may not be well with my circumstances but it is well with my soul.'  When we sang this song at the end of her session, I kept thinking about the fact that the next face she sees will be the face of Jesus.
Here are a few other things I took away from her:

• Allow your child to face their fears.  It will help them see the sufficiency of God's grace.
• God has given her "participant grace" and her loved ones "spectator grace".  It's just enough for her to bear the burden of blindness and enough for her loved ones to watch.  (I've often thought of this concept when someone I know goes through a tragedy - that God must give them a special kind of grace to walk through it....a grace that no one else can understand unless they've personally gone through it.  I'll now think of that as "participant grace"!).

Workshop #1 - Prayer: More Than Just Words
Speaker: Connie Johnson

• Praying together is one of the single most important things you can do in your marriage.       --This is something Justin and I have wanted to start doing anyway.  We decided that praying together for an extended period of time (more than just 2 minutes at the dinner table & at bedtime) would be doable for us if we designate one day a week.  Now I'm excited to begin doing this together!
• Asking your kids, "How can I pray for you?" helps them to share openly in a non-threatening way.  Healing time takes place when you pray with your kids.
• God may not answer the way we want but He will provide a season of blessing following our suffering. (1 Peter 5:10)
• Learn from David's example.  He prayed every single emotion to God through the Psalms and God always responded with love.
• "You can never learn Christ is all you need until Christ is all you have." - Corrie Ten Boom

Workshop #2 - Momology: Shaping Great Kids

• God designed ME specifically to mother my child(ren)!
• You become a resilient mom when you learn to give up control and develop the ability to adapt to whatever God gives you.
• We have to be intentional in building our relationship with our kids.  Our time with them is too short to be passive.  Be: Loving, Touchable, Available, Predictable, Responsive, Intuitive.

Workshop #3 - Getting Real in Your Marriage
Speaker: Yvette Maher

• Do you want to BE right or DO right? (Convicted by this one!)
• Obedience precedes emotion.   --I've learned through my experiences that most times I have to obey first and then the love feelings will come as a result.
• Pray: God, give my husband a new wife and let it be me!

Workshop #4 - The Scriptures Are Alive
Speaker: Wendy Pope

• It's ok to not understand everything you read in the Bible the first time.  If we did, we wouldn't keep going back to it.  God created this love letter to us to keep us in relationship with Him.
• God reveals to us what He wants us to know, when He wants us to know it.
• We cannot pass on something that we, ourselves, do not possess. (referring to passing on a love for Scripture to our kids).
• Live out the Scriptures.  How do we do this?....1) Spotlight them.  Ask God to give you a "spotlight verse" for the year.  2) Yield to the verses.  Don't simply read them to check off your list.  Instead, yield and do what they're saying.  Change doesn't happen overnight!  3) Pray verses back to God.  Praying out loud is very effective in fighting off the enemy.
• Don't be afraid to dig into the Word.  The more we dig, the more treasure we'll find.

Afternoon Main Session: Jill Savage

• Think of being a mom as a profession.  You will be more purposeful and intentional.
• Wife first, Mother second.
• Our value is not based upon how our kids look or behave.  It's who we are in Christ and that is the only thing that will never change.
• There is nothing I can do to make God love me more and nothing I can do to make Him love me less.  Ask yourself - is this how I love my husband and kids?
• When your child spills milk, they don't need a lecture; they need a rag.  Children need to know it's safe to make mistakes and safe to fail.

WHEW!  I'm almost as exhausted typing all of that as I was at the end of the conference (in the best way possible)!  Here's a picture of us girls who went together and had so much fun.

 Me, Marisa, Megan and Jenni

Wanna come with me next year? :)

First Snow of the Season

Even with her snow boots on, Lily didn't like to step in the snow.  She was perfectly content to be outside and play on the sidewalk or driveway where it was mostly melted but she preferred to stay out of the yard.  I plopped her down in the front yard hoping to catch a couple of cute pictures but as you can see below, she despised the idea and would not budge from where I left her.  She liked it much better when looking at it from afar inside the front door!

What a cute grumpy face :)

Affirmation

Yep, this blog post affirms to me yet again why we made the decision over a year ago that we would do whatever it took (mainly prayer but also being responsible with our finances and making necessary adjustments) for me to stop working outside the home.  It pretty much sums it up.  I feel so much peace being exactly where I belong, doing exactly what God designed me to do.  And reading these things from time to time is like God speaking it loudly to me all over again.  Thanks, God!