Super Glue!

We have been to the doctor this afternoon, David had to get his head glued back together!

I was sitting in carpool line waiting to pick the boys up from 3-K this afternoon and their teacher called me on my cell phone. She said that David had hit his eye and I should probably come in; so... I parked the car and ran in. David was screaming and crying and blood was everywhere!

It ended up being a rather small cut but it looked a little deep so we decided I should take him to doctor to be checked out. So I called the doctor and told them we were coming and then called James to meet us there. (It is so nice that he works right down the road from their doctors office, he can usually always meet me there. Sometimes being at the doctor with 2 is really hard!)

We really didn't have to wait long at all, and we got to visit with some 16 year old twin boys in the well baby waiting room. I can't imagine my boys being that big, but they will be one day. One even had blond hair and the other brown!

Anyway, the doctor said the cut was very straight and went back together really well so he could just glue it instead of having to stitch it. That was fine with me! It took about 5 minutes and then we were out of there. David can't have a bath for 5 days!! I guess I will have to give him a sponge bath, I don't want any stinky boys in my house!!

We stopped at the library on the way home and we are all watching "Finding Nemo" right now, since we missed nap time today. Hopefully I can put them to bed early tonight and have a relaxing evening with James!

Wordless Wednesday #4

Wordless Wednesday #3

Paul & David, Our Double Portion Covenant Blessings!

Today is Paul & David's 4 year old birthday! We celebrated their birthday Saturday with a party and some snow! They still think it snowed just for their birthday party!! We started off their party with a tour of our local fire station and then came back to our house for presents, cake, and ice cream! James, in now his yearly tradition, created them a wonderful fire truck birthday cake. I baked it (4 rectangular cakes) and he did everything else; I think he did a wonderful job and the boys were absolutely thrilled with it! They were, however, very upset when he took the remainder of it to work yesterday; we just didn't need that much cake for the 4 of us.

On this their birthday, I wanted to share my story of Paul & David and the gift of their life, so here it goes:

When James and I were engaged, my first bridal shower was a blessing shower. Everyone that came brought a Bible verse to share with me to encourage me in being a wife, shared with me some Godly counsel, and prayed over me and our future marriage. My Bible study teacher at the time, Marisa Lewis, prayed over me that we would experience God's double portion covenant blessings (remember that!). On the day of our wedding there was a double rainbow over our church! All of that was in 2000.

Fast forward to 2003, we found out we were pregnant in July of 2003 (we did not know yet that we were having twins). We found out that we were pregnant the day after my granny died, and 3 months after my grandfather died. So in that horribly sad time we were able to give my parents some happy and good news to lift their spirits. After we had told them, I remember hearing my dad say "The Lord takes one but He gives another." Little did we know!

A few weeks after we found out we were pregnant, there was a double rainbow over our house. I remember thinking that it was a sign of God's promise that everything would be fine.

In September I went for my 3rd doctors appointment. James almost did not go with me but he changed his mind and met me there. I was having some really bad pains in my left side, and the doctor was a bit concerned because he thought it was a bit early to be experiencing pain from stretching ligaments; so he sent me to have an ultrasound to make sure I did not have an ovarian cyst. Well, the lady doing the test was very quiet the whole time, and then finally she said, "Here is your baby, and here is another one!" I said "What, there are 2?! But I didn't do fertility!!" She said, "That happens sometimes!" Then she called James back and told him, and all he could say was "ok". So we left the hospital that day very excited and slightly overwhelmed! I was so overwhelmed that I could not find my car in the parking deck and James had to drive me around until we found it!!

As I was driving home, it just struck me like a ton of bricks, these babies were God's "double portion covenant blessings." There was and is no doubt in my mind that Paul and David are our double blessings from the Lord, and what a joy and a blessing they are! God has been so gracious and so good to us, blessing us with healthy, happy children; even though they were 8 weeks early and stayed in the NICU for 3 weeks (they came home on Valentine's Day!). God's hand is mighty upon our family and I am so thankful for His presence, His protection, His guidance, His love, His grace, and His mercy. It is my desire that Paul and David grow up to love and serve the Lord wholeheartedly, and to bring Him honor and glory with their lives, and to know that I consider them my "double blessings" straight from God Himself.

Happy Birthday Paul & David!! Mommy loves you very, very, very much!!

It Snowed!!!

Well, we had snow on Saturday! The boys were very excited, not only because it snowed, but also because it snowed for their birthday party!! How cool is that, that you get to have snow at your birthday party when you live in Alabama. Here are a few pictures of them in the snow and of the snowman that we made. Check in tomorrow for more details about their birthday party. I will write about it tomorrow, on their actual birthday. They will be 4 years old, can you believe it?!

Ignore the piece of a picture on the side, I added it again so you could see it better, but could not get the part of one to delete, oh well.

Wordless Wednesday #2

We've Been Sick

Well, we have all been sick, except for Paul. We all had strep throat. David went to the doctor on Thursday, I went on Saturday, and James went on Sunday. Thank goodness Paul did not catch it and saved us from having to pay another $30 co-pay!! But thankfully we are all back into the land of the living now, and it feels wonderful to feel good again and to have energy. Today the boys went to 3-K, I came home and cleaned a little, then got my haircut, and met a friend for lunch! It was so good to do normal stuff!

I am such a pitiful sick person... James and the boys drove me to the doctor on Sat. morning because I was very weak and he didn't think I should drive, I did not complain. I had had fever and chills all night and didn't want to do anything but lay down. So they took me to the doctor, where I waited an hour and a half in the lobby before finally getting called to the back. After being checked out and finding out yes I did have strep throat, the doctor said he would order me a steriod shot and a round of antibiotics. So the nurse comes in to give me my shot, in my bottom!! Well, I don't do well with needles, never have, and after getting my shot I feel sick and light headed, almost ready to faint. The nurse notices and makes me lay back down on the bed and holds my feet up in the air. After a few minutes I think I am better and she walks me to the check out area, where once again I get light-headed and faint feeling. She makes me sit down, takes my prescription to the pharmacy for me, and calls James to come get me. She then walks me to the waiting area, gets me all situated with my feet up in a chair, and finally James arrives to rescue me!! Praise God for a wonderful husband who takes such good care of me.

Well, the "highlight" of my being sick was on Friday night. I had gone to bed right after dinner and James was taking care of the boys and getting them ready for bed. I heard someone walk into the room and walk over to my side of the bed, I opened my eyes and it was James and the boys, they had come to pray for me. Paul and David stood there so still beside James and listened quietly as he prayed for God to make mommy better, and then he helped each of them pray their own prayer for mommy. It was so precious, I had tears rolling down my cheeks but joy in my heart. I can't describe what it was like to hear my little ones saying their heartfelt prayers to God on behalf of their mommy, but it touched me and it is one of those memories that I will forever treasure in my heart.

A Prayer For Women

I came across this prayer for women by John Piper in a Revive Our Hearts newsletter as I was cleaning out my clutter pile in the kitchen. It is a wonderful prayer, one to read and ponder over, so I thought I would share it with all of you ladies who read my blog, but men are free to read it and pray it for those ladies in their lives! You can go to the revive our hearts website and download it if you like.

My earnest challenge and prayer for you is . . .

. . . That all of your life—in whatever calling—be devoted to the glory of God.

. . . That the promises of Christ be trusted so fully that peace and joy and strength fill your soul to overflowing.

. . . That this fullness of God overflow in daily acts of love so that people might see your good deeds and give glory to your Father in Heaven.

. . . That you be women of the Book, who love and study and obey the Bible in every area of its teaching; that meditation on biblical truth be the source of hope and faith; that you continue to grow in understanding through all the chapters of your life, never thinking that study and growth are only for others.

. . . That you be women of prayer, so that the Word of God will be opened to you, and so the power of faith and holiness will descend upon you; that your spiritual influence may increase at home and at church and in the world.

. . . That you be women who have a deep grasp of the sovereign grace of God which undergirds all these spiritual processes; and that you be deep thinkers about the doctrines of grace, and even deeper lovers of these things.

. . . That you be totally committed to ministry, whatever your specific calling; that you not fritter away your time on soaps or women’s magazines or unimportant hobbies or shopping; that you redeem the time for Christ and his Kingdom.

. . . That, if you are single, you exploit your singleness to the full in devotion to God (the way Jesus and Paul and Mary Slessor and Amy Carmichael did) and not be paralyzed by the desire to be married.

. . . That, if you are married, you creatively and intelligently and sincerely support the leadership of your husband as deeply as obedience to Christ will allow; that you encourage him in his God-appointed role as head; that you influence him spiritually primarily through your fearless tranquility and holiness and prayer.

. . . That, if you have children, you accept responsibility with your husband (or alone if necessary) to raise up children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord—children who hope in the triumph of God—sharing with your husband the teaching and discipline they need, and giving them the special attention they crave from you, as well as that special nurturing touch and care that you alone are fitted to give.

. . . That you not assume that secular employment is a greater challenge or a better use of your life than the countless opportunities of service and witness in the home, the neighborhood, the community, the church, and the world; that you not only pose the question: career or full-time homemaker?, but that you ask just as seriously: full-time career or freedom for ministry? That you ask: Which would be greater for the Kingdom—to work for someone who tells you what to do to make his or her business prosper, or to be God’s free agent dreaming your own dream about how your time and your home and your creativity could make God’s business prosper? And that in all this you make your choices not on the basis of secular trends or upward lifestyle expectations, but on the basis of what will strengthen the faith of the family and advance the cause of Christ.

. . . That you step back and (with your husband, if you are married) plan the various forms of your life’s ministry in chapters. Chapters are divided by various things—age, strength, singleness, marriage, employment, children at home, children in college, grandchildren, retirement, etc. No chapter has all the joys. Finite life is a series of tradeoffs. Finding God’s will, and living for the glory of Christ to the full in every chapter is what makes it a success, not whether it reads like somebody else’s chapter or whether it has in it what only another chapter will bring.

. . . That you develop a wartime mentality and lifestyle; that you never forget that life is short, that billions of people hang in the balance of heaven and hell every day, that the love of money is spiritual suicide, that the goals of upward mobility (nicer clothes, cars, houses, vacations, food, hobbies) are a poor and dangerous substitute for the goals of living for Christ with all your might and maximizing your joy in ministry to people’s needs.

. . . That in all your relationships with men (not just in marriage) you seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit in applying the biblical vision of manhood and womanhood; that you develop a style and demeanor that does justice to the unique role God has given to man to feel responsible for gracious leadership in relation to women—a leadership which involves elements of protection and provision and a pattern of initiative; that you think creatively and with cultural sensitivity (just as he must do) in shaping the style and setting the tone of your interaction with men.

. . . That you see the biblical guidelines for what is appropriate and inappropriate for men and women not as arbitrary constraints on freedom, but as wise and gracious prescriptions for how to discover the true freedom of God’s ideal of complementarity; that you not measure your potential by the few roles withheld, but by the countless roles offered; that you look to the loving God of Scripture and dream about the possibilities of your service to him. (For a detailed list of service possibilities, see the pdf titled, Opportunities for Ministry.)

Excerpted from Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism by Pastor John Piper.

A Trade for some Joy!

I thought I would share with all of you in blogland what the Lord spoke to me this morning in my prayer time with Him.

I got out of bed this morning while my whole house was sleeping and climbed the stairs to go up to meet with my Lord (I like to think I am climbing up to the mountain of the Lord, like in the scriptures). I had my quiet time, reading my Bible and my new devotion book I am working through; then changed into my outside clothes to go for a power walk with the Lord.

I like to walk and pray, and I like to be outside when I do. I am not distracted by things around the house, and I feel closer to the Lord when I can look up into the immense sky. Anyway, I was walking and praying, at times just not saying anything to the Lord, but listening in case He wanted to speak to me. I walked past a young boy and girl waiting for the school bus, told them "Good Morning," said a short prayer for them silently, and just kept on walking. Well, then I hear the boy start to sing, and at first I did not recognize the song, but then I did. Then they both started to sing, and to sing rather loudly. They were singing "I'm trading my sorrows, I'm trading my sickness, I'm trading my pain, I'm trading it all for the joy of the Lord, yes, Lord, yes, Lord, yes, yes, Lord, Amen" and on they kept singing.

And it was then that I felt the Lord was speaking to me, He asked me what did I need to trade for the joy of the Lord? And I answered. I told my Lord that the frustrations, the irritations, the stresses that come my way on a daily basis are what I want to trade for the joy of the Lord. So I am determined that when I feel that frustration begin to creep in, that irritability start to rise up, and that stress start to overtake me, I am going to say "Yes, Lord, Yes, Lord, Yes Yes Lord - I will trade all of that for the joy of the Lord!!"

So what about you? What do you need to trade for the joy of the Lord?

A Moment

We had a sweet and precious moment at breakfast this morning and I thought I would share it.

We were eating breakfast, all 4 of us. We get to do that since James doesn't have to leave for work until around 8:30. I was eating some really good strawberries that I got at Publix earlier this week, and offered some to the boys. They declined them, of course. But then I started telling them about how my Granny and Maw-Maw used to take me to pick strawberries when I was a little girl. They looked at me rather odd, and I explained to them that Mommy had a Granny and a Maw-maw, like they have a Granny and a Grandmother.

Then David looked at me and asked, "Where are they?" I replied, "They are in Heaven with Jesus." David asked me "why?" I wasn't quite sure what to say, I don't know that they understand death, we have never really talked about. I just looked at James, and he answered for me and just said that they had died. David asked again, "Why?" Oh, that famous question!! I told him that they had just gotten old and died, and that we all will die someday. Then David said, "Did Daddy die?" Now what prompted that, James was right there with us! I told him no, of course.

David sat there and thought for a few minutes, and then asked me, "Did they die on the cross?" Now I just thought that that was precious! You see, we have talked about death, the death of Jesus. They know that Jesus died on the cross and that He died for our sins, though they do not grasp the gravity of that right now, so they related the death of my grandmothers to the only death that they know about, the death of Jesus. I then shared with them that my Granny and Maw-maw did not have to die on the cross, because Jesus had done that for them so they could go to Heaven and be with Him. And that was the end of it, he just continued eating his waffle and then got down to go play.

Oh, to be a child! But you know what, I am! I am a child of the King!! And I love it!!

Wordless Wednesday #1

Plans for 2008!!!

This past Sunday our pastor talked about making plans, and planning in order to have an excellent spiritual life. Last year I actually set some spiritual goals for myself and have worked diligently towards them. The one I am most proud of is memorizing the whole book of Philippians. I have always had trouble with memorizing scripture and remembering the "address." So I thought, why not try to just memorize a whole book. Well, I actually did, almost. I still have about 10 verses to go but then I will have memorized all 4 chapters of Philippians, and I am very proud of myself. I think the Lord knew I needed to have my mind in and on these scriptures, because it seemed that whatever portion of scripture I was focusing on was exactly what I needed to implement in my life, isn't that just like our Lord!! And now I also feel like I have a much greater understanding and grasp of what Paul was trying to say to the Philippians since I have spent so much time with his words.

Anyway, with that said, I have once again set some goals for myself for 2008, and just thought I would share them:

1. I plan to memorize the book of 1 John.
2. I plan to read the Bible through in a year.
3. I plan to be more diligent and faithful in my prayer life.
4. I plan to be more diligent in keeping a journal of how the Lord is working in my life and what He is showing and teaching me. I was pretty good at this before marriage and kids!
5. I plan to take better care of the Temple of the Lord, my body. My eyes were opened this past year in the Beth Moore Bible study that I did (A Woman's Heart, God's Dwelling Place) to the awesomeness of being God's Temple, and what it truly means. It is a mighty and glorious thing, and I feel one that is not to be taken lightly.
6. I started running in 2007, so I have set myself a goal of running a 5K sometime during 2008.
7. I plan to be more consistent in disciplining and teaching and training my boys.
8. I also plan to learn to do inductive Bible study. My sweet husband gave me an Inductive Study Bible for Christmas, and a book on learning how to study the Bible.
9. I plan to have more friends over for dinner and/or just times of fellowship.
10. I plan to continue my scrapbooking!!!

I think that is sufficient, I am getting tired just reading back over them! But it is good to plan and to have things to work towards. I know that God always blesses our efforts when we are seeking to do things that would draw us closer to Him. So what about you, do you have any plans for 2008?

If you did not read my Top 12 Memories of 2007, go back 1 post and check them out!