Do You Hear What I Hear?

As a parent, I require certain things from my children.  I don't expect them to do all that I ask perfectly everyday, in fact the more I grow in Grace the more I realize just how little I should assume from these miniature adults.  That is the goal right?  To train them to be responsible law abiding adults who contribute to society? (Proverbs 22:6)

The hardest thing I have found up till now is getting my Children to truly listen.  Not just to be obedient, but to truly hear what I am saying when I speak.  I notice my oldest when he stops to hear me but halfway through my sentence I lose his full attention; already he has merely guessed what I wanted and is eager to accomplish the task he thinks he knows I am giving him so that he can resume doing what it is that he likes to do.

I do the same.

I wake up each morning eager to accomplish all that I have planned for my day, but usually something triggers a domino affect of gargantuan proportions that by the end of the day I wonder how I survived. 

Am I expecting too much from the waking hours I am blessed with?

We read Psalm 119 last night, and the recurring theme throughout is David asking God to Change him, to Teach him, and thanking the Lord for His Law.  I don't understand the fullness of what this means as of yet, but I can guess that David, ever striving to please God, really meant what he wrote!  David listened to God, chased after God, longed for God!  Never once did David claim to know enough, or now that he practiced the Law he was perfect, or that he had nothing else to learn from His Creator.

I can never assume because of the knowledge I have that I know enough.  I need to take a cue from David and stop whatever it is that draws me away from The Word, and seek after God wholeheartedly.

I want to hear what my Father is saying.

John 10:27-28

Palpably Human

I hurt my back.

Quite bad.

In fact, at one point I thought Jesus was taking me home.  I was a wee bit disappointed when after the haze cleared I was in fact lying on my family room floor.

Thankfully, my loving Mother took it upon herself to take my children for a few days so that I could rest.  You can guess the enormity and selflessness of this offer because she suffers from Chronic Neck and Shoulder pain, and has many other obligations she must get done....if I wasn't in such bad shape I would not have put her through it. 

That rest reminded me just how busy I need to keep myself to not go insane.  I enjoyed the peace and quiet for a day.  The second day I had to have the radio and TV on.  The third day I prayed fervently thanking God that He gave me five little people to care for at this stage in my life.  However the positive part of being alone caused me to reflect and plan for the future a bit more. 

The idea my Husband and I have is to raise each of our kids to be self sufficient and out of our house by 18 years old; I may give them a few more years, so let's say 20.  My youngest is 3.  So that means I will be 49 years old when he's gone for good. (I hope)  That is still super young as far as I am concerned.  This caused me to bring forth plans and dreams I had long since tabled after birthing babies.  It got me excited.  I am not suggesting I haven't enjoyed this role as Mother, but since a girl I wanted to do more, experience the world at face value, move, explore, travel, and all the while use my creativity to capture all life has to offer and use the talents God gave me to help others increase their enjoyment.

 Children force roots, which is good.  

One Root will remain after my offspring leave.

I have zero regrets (Besides the things I needed to repent of) because thus far my life has been perfectly executed by its Creator.  

I do remember that no matter what plans I make, God has already set my course, and I can in no way turn from the path He has set me on.  This is in fact very comforting.  He will keep me from stumbling.  Jesus Christ is guiding me as The Perfect Shepard.  I am enjoying my life as much now as I will later.

Whatever my hands find to do, I will do to The Glory Of God. Ecclesiastes 9:10

I will just do it carefully.

Algia Neuralgia

Instruction

I have noticed a pattern in my daily schedule.  I am not quite sure when it started, or why, but when Husband walks out of the house he always tells me to 'be good.'

Me.  Not the children.  Not the dogs.  Me.

I wonder what gave him the impression that I am anything but?  His offspring is healthy, happy, learning everyday.  His sock and underwear drawer is always full.  His meals are always prepared for him, so what else matters?

I guess my Man understands me better than I realize.  The only reason I can accomplish any task is because Christ strengthens me.  The only reason I survive each day is by knowing that if I am not smiling at the end of it the problem resides with me.

So hearing, 'be good' from my Partner reminds me that I need to cling to the feet of Jesus, it's His good that pours out from me.

A Poem, Not By Me.

Truth In Jesus

Life-Giving God,

Quicken me to call upon Thy name,

for my mind is ignorant,

my thoughts vagrant,

my affections earthly,

my heart unbelieving,

and only Thy Spirit can help my infirmities.

I approach Thee as Father and friend,

my portion forever,

my exceeding joy,

my strength of heart.

I believe in Thee as The God of nature,

the ordainer of providence,

the sender of Jesus my Saviour.

My guilty fears discourage an approach to Thee,

but I praise Thee for the blessed news

that Jesus reconciles Thee to me.

May the Truth that is in Him

illuminate in me all that is dark,

establish me in all that is wavering,

comfort in me all that is wretched,

accomplish in me all that is of Thy goodness,

and glorify in me the name of Jesus.

I pass through a vale of tears

but bless Thee for the opening gate of glory at its end.

Enable me to realize as mine the better, heavenly country.

Prepare me for every part of my pilgrimage.

Uphold my steps by Thy Word.

Let no iniquity dominate me.

Teach me that Christ cannot be the way if I am the end,

that He cannot be redeemer if I am my own Saviour,

that there can be no true union with Him

while the creature has my heart,

that faith accepts him as redeemer and Lord or not at all.

~~~

From The valley of vision 

Edited By: Arthur Bennett

Yo Doggie Dogz

My how time flies by!  An update on my fabulous existence, we got another dog.  Yes.  It is true.  Now I am a Mommy to 7; 5 will be leaving me at some point, two I hope to keep around until at least my youngest is off to Collage.

Remember Zeke?

Meet Pippin.

Zeke loves his new pal.

I have wanted a Papillon forEVA.  Well, at least the last 7 years.  Being an expensive bit of fluff, these past few years spending that kind of money on a four legged creature wouldn't have been wise.  But, the whirlwind of financial blessing God has poured out on our family recently has enabled me to research a bit further into purchasing a pup.

I had been in contact with a Breeder, and I bit the bullet and took the chance telling her that we couldn't afford to pay what her pups were worth, but we could guarantee our home is loving, safe and responsible, being homeschoolers we can spend a lot of time giving the dog what it needs.

Lo and behold, a few weeks later I received an email giving us the opportunity to come a pick a puppy, for a reduced price, because we are the kind of family she wants her dogs to go to.

We got first pick.

Can you imagine?

I could not wait to go see the puppies on the day she said I could.  I purposely did not tell the children, except for my oldest as I was leaving because we were going to the Children's Museum first, after that to the Breeders place on the way home.

Longest morning of my life.

Besides being in Labour, but that's a whole other post.

I have a bad habit of manhandling every single puppy, in an almost abusive way.  The logic behind this method is, my children will be rough at times, so the dog has to be able to handle that.  Luckily the Breeder was familiar with the ways of young children, and thought my tactics ingenious.  The only brown faced boy seemed to enjoy the attention.  Even being dropped by my toddler he still didn't yap as same said toddler went to pick him up again, like most of the pups did.  The Breeder thanked me, she now knew which pups would be suitable for family pets or just companion dogs.  *smile*

So, deciding on our little guy, we tag teamed held him in the van through city traffic, while whoever didn't have him screamed that it was their turn the rest of the time.  Pup went from quiet to chaos....I felt a little bad for him.  He ended up being in my lap as I drove, I think he knew I wasn't going to squeeze his internals out.

We made it home, and my oldest was super excited to hold him.  Of course, instant bond between them.  T has a knack wit da ammimals. Zeke was curious and happy, slobbering over the cotton ball as he tried to keep his balance being nosed by the larger canine.

We finally decided to call him Pippin, Pip for short.

Huge LOTR fans up in here.

He is ours, and he is perfect.

Here We Go Again

Easter weekend is upon us yet again.

I blogged last year about how I view the Holiday, and although I think it is good to take one day to remember Christ's gift to Christians, I think as Christians we need to dwell on this fact daily, when we're awake, year round.  We were commanded to by Our Lord Jesus to celebrate Him weekly, by partaking in communion with those His Father has gathered together after worship of Him.  I also believe when fellow shipping with others who belong to The Family of God but attend other local gathered Churches (Who are also bodies of Jesus) in their area, there is also an element of observance of what The Almighty is doing with their lives that I find a great encouragement.  I also enjoy hanging out with those who clearly aren't living for God.  Why?  Because.  It's a great reminder of God's Glory and Power to see His work in His creation whether converted or not. 

The one thing I do tire of, is constant bombardment of those insisting on celebrating Passover.  Their persistence of focusing on a mere shadow of the real thing baffles my mind.  It is a clear picture of the blind leading the blind.  Oh sure, they include their thankfulness of their Messiah when they fail, but 'truly they are following in His very footsteps by continuing in something Jesus himself celebrated'.  I agree with their logic to a point.  Jesus had to follow the Mosaic Law, like everyone else.  However, Jesus knew the Mosaic Law pointed to Him.  That is why when he referenced The Law he always said, "Your law" or "Their Law."  All the Mosaic Law was good for was pointing the need for a Saviour, who is Christ.  The Passover was indeed another picture of salvation, but by continuing blindly in celebration of it is in fact denying the person of Jesus Christ and what He has done and is doing.

Another aspect attached to this weekend is the whole Bunny thing, which I haven't really looked into because my brain can only hold so much and I would rather fill it with memories that count for something. My children were asked by many strangers this week if they would be attending any Easter Egg hunts.  They would promptly say "No."  And I would feel like the worst Mommy ever.  How to you explain to someone making small talk about all the food allergies without looking like a nut job?  I know why my Creator gave me such a huge Ego.  It does have it's own Postal Code people.  Parenting does not boost it, trust me.

I am not hoping to change anyone's mind by writing this post.  In fact I can not reach in and change a persons will, nor would I desire to be responsible for that.  I understand what Paul wrote in Romans, some observe certain days, food, times etc....and if they are different than mine I love them anyway. 

These are just my thoughts on the matter.

Let us keep the focus on whom this holiday is about, whether Jew, Gentile or Other.

Big Hint: he's not furry.