I remember back in the early days of my marriage and motherhood.  We had many young ones very close together.  (we still do)  Our older children are closer in age though than our younger ones.  I remember how busy I was then and how many people when they should have been encouraging a young mother of many instead found it their place to discourage.  I remember very well doing the math and realizing that one day I would have five teen age children at the same time.  So many tried to discourage me by saying things like how they felt so sorry for me, how they were glad they were not me, how they would shoot themselves rather than being in my place, how I would regret having these children, and the open ended “just wait until” comments.

Thankfully, I did not let those comments discourage me.  In fact, I often did and still do feel sorry for those people who did not realize the blessing of children and young adults.  I remember speaking with my husband and saying how we knew it would be different.  Yes, it doesn’t matter how well you parent, you can still have a wayward child.  But, when you are raising your children for the glory of God and being dependent upon him and fully engaged in prayer for your children trusting in the promises of God, there is hope and confidence in who those children will grow to become.

I used to say to myself that I would wait and see when the day came whether those discouragements were valid.  One amazing thing I have discovered in this journey of parenthood is this, if you see your children as blessings that is what they end up being.

Well, we are in the midst of birthday season and I am now the mother of five teen age children and I can easily without reservation say that they are each a blessing!  Not only a blessing but a tremendous blessing!  They do not give me heartache as the naysayers said they would.  I am honored to be their mother!  I am honored that the Lord blessed me with them!  My life is fuller and richer because of them!

Having five teens is not the disaster so many told me it would be.  It is not full of heart ache and grief as many warned.  I still have my hair and it is not white!  I am blessed beyond measure!

So to all those naysayers, I hope you can see that children and young adults truly are a treasure, a blessing, and a gift of the Lord!

This past weekend the ladies from the church we attend threw a baby shower for the baby and me.  I have had many a baby shower thrown for me and my newborns but this was by far the biggest blessing of them all.  I love these ladies so much!

Everything was perfect!  There was a cute little safari theme with little monkeys,  a dessert made especially for me with my favorite ingredients, and an amazing group of loving ladies to share conversation with!  These ladies are there to share joys and struggles and to offer encouragement.  There were even the adorable little baby gifts!

BUT…….

What I loved most…..

about the day was that this baby shower was not filled with the typical baby shower games.  Those can be fun but that is really all they are.  My friend who organized the shower suggested something completely different.  Instead of playing the usual baby shower games we had a time of group prayer.  I had several prayer requests that I sent to my friend and she shared them with the ladies who attended.  It was so amazing to have such a godly group of ladies praying over me, my newborn son, and the rest of my family!

They prayed for our little Nathan, that he would grow into a strong, godly, young man.  That he would come to know the Lord at an early age and live a life honoring the Lord.  That he would be healthy.  That God would be preparing a godly wife for him even now.  They prayed for me and for my husband as we teach and train him.  That I would be patient even amidst sleepless nights.  That I would have compassion.  That I would not grow weary and that I would rely upon the Lord in the great task of being a parent.  They prayed the same things for my husband as he leads our household.  They prayed for our family with our upcoming move. They prayed for our other children, for our schooling, and for there to be a good relationship cultivated between our newest son and our oldest who has already moved out.

It was such an unbelievably sweet time of prayer!  I do not ever recall people praying for our family in such a way!  It is an amazing blessing that I will always cherish!

I think of all the gifts that we received that day the time of prayer was by far the most special, most desired, and most needed of them all!

As I thank the Lord for my new son and my entire family, I will be thanking him for the church family he has blessed us with.

Thank you Lord for each of those ladies!  Thank you Lord, that we can come before your throne in prayer!

Thank you ladies of Faith PCA Anchorage!  Thank you for showering us with prayer!!!

I am not one for yard sales but I do love a great deal!  This past week the Lord provided overly abundantly for us!    I went into Anchorage to go to the homeschool bookstore.  This is a great little bookstore and it is run by a wonderful lady.  I make several trips there.  I usually go to see if there is anything I need that they have on the shelves USED.  I have turned in several things that we no longer need for her to resell.  She is pretty picky about what to resell so you can always be sure that even if it is used it is a current item and in good condition.  For any item that she can resell she will give us a small percentage of the original price as credit to put toward the purchase of other USED items.  So I had a substantial amount of credit piling up and I occasionally go in and see it there is an item I am in need of in used condition.

The other day when before I ventured in I began praying in the car for a particular item to be there in used condition.  I had checked several trips before and there has never been any used.  Still, I prayed for that item to be there.  I walked into the store and went straight to the science shelves.  Guess what I found???  Exactly what I was looking for and praying for and it was a used copy!!

Apologia’s Marine Biology SET!  This sells for $85 new!  With a little bit of a lower price and  my in-store credit I paid a whopping $1.50 out of pocket!  I told the lady that I ALMOST felt too guilty to leave having only paid $1.50!  Almost being the key word!  So, there you have it, the Lord’s great and abundant provision!  Thank you Lord!

OK, I can’t keep quiet any longer!

I have known for a whole week!   The news has leaked out here in Alaska but now we are going public.  I found out two days AFTER my hubby left.  It would have been nice to celebrate together. I would have known sooner but just misread the physical symptoms as pre-deployment stress.   Obviously, that was not the case.  I can now literally say my I have my hands full.

Baby number ten is on the way.

I am feeling pretty good so far considering how sick I usually am.  I am nauseous, sleepy, having a few migraines, and I can no longer stand the taste of my regular diet coke, but thankfully that is all.  Of course, that is ALWAYS open to change!  I would love not to have months of the usual vomiting and dry heaving though!

We already have a boy’s name and have narrowed our girl name down to three.  Due date as of now is November 23.  We will be having a very thankful Thanksgiving!

Psalm 127:1a Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.

Psalm 127:3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.

Psalm 139:13-16 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works;my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret,intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance;in your book were written, every one of them,the days that were formed for me,when as yet there was none of them.

Praise the Lord with us! And please pray for our family.

I serve an amazing God! He is sovereign over all, fully of mercy, grace, and justice. He is one who acts providentially. He provides all things often times above what we can ask or imagine.  This past week during our daily devotion time we have been going over question number eleven of the Westminster Shorter Catechism and studying through the book of Esther.

Q. 11. What are God’s works of providence?
A. God’s works of providence are, his most holy, wise,and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures, and all their actions.

Westminster Confession – Chapter 5: Of Providence by Westminster Assembly

I. God the great Creator of all things does uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to the least, by His most wise and holy providence, according to His infallible foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel of His own will, to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy.

God has shown himself once again to be abundant in his graciousness and providence in our lives.
In two days this past week there have been expenses adding up to thousands of dollars that have just melted away. Some may chalk it up to coincidence or good luck and timing but I know what an amazing God I serve. I see his handiwork in how he orchestrates my life and am awed. To God be the glory!  All the while we are studying about his great providence, he provides us with tangible examples in our daily lives.

Let me share with you how God provided for us this past week.

• My older children were going to be attending an event which they told us would be at a cost of $60.  This fee was waived!
• My older girls just joined a figure skating performance competition class.  One daughter received a discount I did not expect and another was able to take her class for free due to the fact that she teaches there.  Another $60 waived.
• My hubby’s pay raise was more than anticipated by an amount of $85.
• My son, who has had a problem tooth for almost nine years, was in need of a root canal.  We have been putting it off because we just could not afford it.  We do have insurance but they did not have a preferred provider who works with our insurance that they would refer us to and with the dental costs being higher here in Alaska our portion was a very large amount.  My husband decided to take him in to the military clinic just to see if his case would be deemed an “emergency” case and could be treated there.  This was just a quick look over kind of appointment on a walk in basis that he was hoping to be able to get him in to be seen.  When he arrived they said they had an appointment that had been canceled and would look him over.  They went ahead and did the root canal then and there.  He has an appointment next week for the crown.  A total cost to us of $0!  This saved us close to $2000!

The Lord knows our earthly needs.  He knows our desires.  He providentially provides both when in his plan!  His plan for us is best.  The creator of our life knows what is truly needed and even provides that which is not needed but desired.  Praise be to God!

More importantly than our earthly needs and desires, He knows our eternal needs!  He provides that for his children!  Praise be to God!  In fact, that is his priority.  I am thankful that even when I miss seeing his hand at work, when it seems that earthly needs are not met, that I can trust in the fact that he has a plan and is working it out.  I can trust that he has eternal benefit at mind first and foremost.  He causes me to be amazed all the more and I pray that his glory is seen when at work in my life!

O lover of the loveless,
It is thy will that I should love thee with heart, soul, mind, strength, and my neighbour as myself.
But I am not sufficient for these things.
There is by nature no pure love in my soul;
Every effection in me is turned from thee;
I am bound, as a slave to lust, I cannot love thee, lovely as thou art, until thou dost set me free.
By grace I am thy freeman and would serve thee, for I believe thou art my God in Jesus, and that through him I am redeemed, and my sins are forgiven.
With this freedom I would always obey thee, but I cannot walk in liberty, any more than I could first attain it, of myself.
May thy Spirit draw me nearer to thee and thy ways.
Thou art the end of all means, for if they lead not to thee, I go away empty.
Order all my ways by thy holy Word and make thy commandments the joy of my heart, that by them I may have happy converse with thee.
May I grow in thy love and manifest it to mankind.
Spirit of love, make me like the loving Jesus; give me his benevolent temper, his beneficent actions, that I may shine before men to thy glory.
The more thou doest in love in me and by me, humble me the more; keep me meek, lowly, and always ready to give the honour.

FROM: Christian Love, Valley of Vision

Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!
Sing to him; sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!
Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!
Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles and the judgments he uttered,
O offspring of Israel his servant,sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!

He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.
Remember his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,  the covenant that he made with Abraham,his sworn promise to Isaac,  which he confirmed as a statute to Jacob, as an everlasting covenant to Israel,   saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan, as your portion for an inheritance.”

When you were few in number, and of little account, and sojourners in it,  wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people, he allowed no one to oppress them;he rebuked kings on their account, saying, “Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm!”

Sing to the Lord, all the earth!
Tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and he is to be held in awe above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his place.

Ascribe to the Lord, O clans of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him!
Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth;  yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice, and let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!”
Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;  let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

Say also:

Then all the people said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord.

1 Chronicles 16:8-36

In the verbal actions of the psalms—rejoicing, asking for help, and expressing thanks (see 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)—we talk to someone else, in this case, God himself. It’s fair to say that having a “quiet time” is a misnomer. We should more properly have a “noisy time”! By talking out loud you live the reality that you are talking with another person, not simply talking to yourself inside your own head. Of course “silent prayers” are not wrong—1 Samuel 1:13, Nehemiah 2:4, and, likely, Genesis 24:45—but they are the exception.

……………………………………………………………

God wants to catch your ear in order to awaken your voice. When you have your ‘quiet’ time, or as you walk outdoors, or during your commute, may the decibel level rise to joyful noise and cries of need—and may God listen to the sound of your voice!

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE:

via Should We Really Call It a ‘Quiet’ Time? | CCEF.

Let me know your thoughts on the article after you have read it.  Please head back here and share your insight.

My best friend is having a birthday! Isn’t he a handsome guy? He is the best guy you could EVER meet. There are so many adjectives that I could use to describe him but let me just say…… He is a godly man, my best friend, and I am so glad that I married him!!!!! Happy Birthday my love!!