Embracing the Storms

The first thing most people generally tend to do when a storm comes is become downcast or even depressed. The cold, rain, dampness, & noise add to the wallowing effect that comes with it. Just take a look at how a child looks at a rainy day-they are bored, whiny, discontent, and sometimes just plain old cranky. They feel restricted from running free, burning energy and steam, their creativity stifled by 4 walls....or is it???

Lately I have been asking myself-Is this how God would want us to act-to use a storm as an excuse to exhibit all of the above emotions?

Of course as we all have experienced the storms of life rage all around us and we tend to get tossed around quite a bit. We have the choice to follow the tendencies that accompany a storm or a rainy day or we can choose to rejoice and even dance in the storm!

More often than not I have to admit that I usually am quite like Eeyore from Whinnie the Pooh when the storms of life surround me. I do find this quite funny because i actually LOVE storms! To me, a rainy stormy day is refreshing-like a breather of sorts. It to me is like God's way of telling me to rest a bit or take it easy-have a day off routine! So why is it that there is such a drastic difference in my responses to both "storms"?

When God leads us through a storm it can be scary, especially if we are right in the middle of it. Imagine how the Israelite's felt as they would flee Egypt with no where to go but towards the Red Sea. What were they thinking? Would fear, worry and doubt grip many of them? Im sure!! But what did they then do.......
They stood still and let God move and boy did he! He parted the sea and made a way when there seemed to be no way.

I think the reason I love stormy days so much is that the storm is outside and I am inside, I am safe and have walls and a roof as protection around me and it doesn't seem quite so scary. What I have learned over these past 2 weeks of some fierce storms is that even in the middle of the storm I DON'T have to fear and I have the same protection as my walls and roof, I just need to trust God whole heartedly and not fear. That is tough, especially for me but its what God is trying to teach me right now.....Stand Still and let Him move! Embrace the lesson he is teaching you, don't be so quick to rush the storm away but quiet your heart and listen to it.

He will always prove faithful and make a way!

The Bontrager Family Singers

We were blessed and fortunate last week to see the Bontrager Family Singers perform. They are a family of 12, Dad-Marlin, Mom-Becky and Children: Chelsy, Mitchell, Allison, Carson, Joshua, Denver, Taylor, Elizabeth, Hudson & Rebecca. They live and work on a dairy/hog/grain farm in Iowa. They travel for part of the year as God opens doors, and they minister with a gospel/bluegrass style of music in churches, festivals, prisons, nursing homes, and street missions.

They believe "As God has called us to ministry, so we endeavor to shine His light wherever we go, in whatever we do, with “all our heart, & soul, & mind.” Because of Him, we have a reason to sing!"

It was a truly uplifting and inspiring evening for us but especially for our children. For them to see children, some their age, some older and some even younger, up there singing and playing instruments all for the purpose of glorifying God was very thrilling. To see and hear how they as a family work together and how the brothers and sisters love, help and serve one another really gave a great model to our children of how to work together for the God's glory no matter what he has called us to do.

Please take some time to stop by their website at www.bontragerfamilysingers.com and be inspired by this family! Their music is fun and upbeat and a wonderful mix of all age voices making a joyful noise unto the Lord! They also have a blog where you can keep up with them on the road and what they are up to at http://www.bontragersingers.blogspot.com/

Most importantly, pray for them. They are doing such a wonderful mission and sharing the Gospel through song, story, and testimony. To God Be The Glory!

The Joy in Being the Comforter

One of the joys I have in being a mother is comforting my children when they are hurt, sick, scared or just in need of a hug and a smile. There is nothing like the feeling of knowing that you are of great comfort to that child, that whatever was bothering them, hurting them, scaring them is now eased because you were there to show them love. The power of a mother's hug is huge in a child's life, the comfort of the arms wrapped around them tightly extends beyond the physical arms but show them that you truly care and your there to help take away their pain.

As I was putting this into action today after one of my little ones woke up scared from a nap and he had his head nestled deep in my shoulder, i thought to myself.....this is EXACTLY what God is for us. He WANTS to be our comforter- to listen whats to bothering us, hurting us, or scaring us. He WANTS to give us that hug and have us climb up on his lap so to speak and let our tears, fears, worries, doubts flow from our mouths to his ears. But more often than not we do not give him that privilege. We take things into our own hands and try to figure things out ourselves by finding solutions, fretting, making plans, pro/con lists......

But he is still there.
Waiting patiently until we are done and hear his gentle whispering to give it to him.
He is there.
To take our burden and sorrow and give us peace and joy in our hearts.

Our children freely and willingly run to us for comfort first, why don't we do this? It would look a bit strange for a toddler to fall on the playground and then proceed to get up and worry about how he will handle the fall wouldn't it? His first instinct is to run to mommy or daddy.Why isn't it ours?

Are you in need of a hug? Go ahead and take a deep breath and tell it all to our heavenly Father, who wants to comfort us, we just need to let him.

•  God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1
•  Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7
•  O LORD my God, I called to you for help and you healed me. Psalm 30:2
• You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.
  Acts 2:28
• Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

Will you let him?
Want to be encouraged further, check out the following linkups:
Raising homemakers, Walking Redeemed, Deep Roots at Home,Raising Mighty Arrows

Strawberries Anyone?

This is probably one of my favorite times of the year....its strawberry season :) We have a wonderful local farm that we go to and the kids can pick their own strawberries. This past trip we ended up with quite a few! Everyone in our house loves them and while I had every intention of making some jam with them, the never ending train of hands in the fridge to get "just one" didn't leave many for jam! I did however get to freeze a bunch of them for smoothies and we did have fresh waffles topped with strawberries, strawberries for breakfast, dessert, etc.....

Here is one of my favorite smoothie recipes! I find it a GREAT way to sneak in some greens and not taste them!

-3 cups Almond Milk (or any other milk if you choose)
-2 cups Strawberries
-1 tbsp lemon juice
-1 small orange, peeled
-1 banana
-1 cup of frozen or fresh chopped spinach (I have also used some wheatgrass powder for the greens)
-1 scoop vanilla protein powder (optional)

Blend well and enjoy!! Makes about 3-4 servings.

Im just not getting it all done......

This has been a challenging and stretching week for me thus far. I think i have felt every emotion possible at some point or another. I think there are times in every mommy's life that they just feel like we can't get it all done, the never ending list keeps growing and the time goes by faster.

Our youngest, Gideon who is just shy of 22 months has reached some great "independent" milestones this week. He has figured out how to climb out of his crib (honestly i was thanking God he didn't figure it out sooner...haha) and has decided that there is no need to wear a diaper around the house...*SIGH* Having a 4 month old puppy and a newly potty training toddler is quite interesting if you've never experienced the "guess who did that mess" game or my personal favorite "don't slip in the puddle"!!

With these new discoveries of his independence comes more time of my day trying to stay focused to diligently train him with patience, kindness, and love. Nap time has not been spent napping but a routine of bringing him back and being firm over and over & repeated again at bedtime and well im sure you can guess how the diaperless bum has effected my day!

 One thing i found myself doing earlier this week though was getting frustrated that everything i NEEEDED to get done wasn't getting done. But thankfully the Lord tapped me on the shoulder rather quickly and reminded me that i am indeed getting done everything that i NEEDED to get done. This is so very important and vital and how my heart and attitude are while im doing it is crucial. Its all perspective really. There will always be dishes, laundry, floors to clean, phone calls to make but there is only these wonderful privileges NOW. These "inconveniences" are not that at all, but blessings and I am honored to be able to do them. I am honored to be able to be their mom and time goes by so quickly that I will savor every trip back to bed, repeated instruction to them and yes even the surprises.......

A Day with Winter

We were very blessed and fortunate to be able to visit the Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Clearwater, FL this past week. It was a really fun day with lots of interaction with some local sea life. This small aquarium that was once in financial trouble now is a very popular stop thanks to this one creature....

This is Winter the dolphin and she has one amazing story to tell!! At only three months of age, Winter found herself wrapped tightly in a crab trap line and was unable to escape. She was rescued from Mosquito Lagoon (near Cape Canaveral) and transported to CMA to begin a long rehabilitation. Unfortunately, Winter lost her entire tail as well as two vertebrae a result of the serious injuries that she had sustained.

WINTER'S STORY

At only three months of age, Winter found herself wrapped tightly in a crab trap line and was unable to escape. She was rescued from Mosquito Lagoon (near Cape Canaveral) and transported to CMA to begin a long rehabilitation. Unfortunately, Winter lost her entire tail as well as two vertebrae a result of the serious injuries that she had sustained.

Although her story is intriguing, it is also very rare, as many dolphins unfortunately die in monofilament and crab trap lines. Despite the odds against survival, Winter's energy and ability to adapt to her new physical form has surpassed the expectations of many experts. Winter has done amazingly well in the short time since her stranding. She has completely healed and has learned to swim with a specially formulated  prosthetic tail.

You may be thinking you have seen or heard this story before....well there has been a major motion picture made about her story called Dolphin Tale. It is a very good, clean, funny, heartwarming movie that is GREAT for all ages and for family movie night! Along with admission to the Aquarium, we were able to take a trolley ride to their other exhibit, Winter's Dolphin Tale Adventure, which is a huge building that is set up to make you feel like you are right in the middle of the set of the movie! There are tons of actual props used in the movie and lots of little tid bits of information from the wonderful staff and volunteers to make you feel as if you were right there! It was truly a blast of a day and we will definitely be going back!

If you would like more information about seeing Winter, want to read up on her amazing story of survival, or about the Clearwater Marine Aquarium and what they are doing to help save more "unwanted" and endangered sea life, please visit www.seewinter.com

Oh boy its Monday

Ever feel like this on a Monday morning and you haven't even stepped out of bed yet?? Ever hope for someone to not feel well just for an excuse for everyone to lay around all day?? Anyone......???

So thats just me huh?? LOL
I have to admit there are some Mondays that are EGR.....Extra Grace Required!

On these days I need to take a deep breath and remember that it may also be "Monday" for the kids as well and I can set the tone for the day by my attitude and my countenance.

A kind word and soft tone goes a long way and a smile can change even the biggest sourpuss pickle pants!
Happy Monday!