At the Well

At the Well
Monday, October 20, 2008
Hostess: Natalie

Blog:I Am (not)

Topic:Our home is an extension of who we are.

How does your home reflect who you are?

I have to admit.....when I read the topic for this week's post, I CRINGED!

Gosh....here go all my insecurities, the things that I don't like right now.

My HOUSE is NOT where I want it to be-

Sure, it looks great if you are just a visitor seeing what I am allowing you to see. It looks clean. The decorations are out. And, most days if you visit, there will be a candle burning.

BUT, my walk-in closet needs to be organized- it's a MESS.

I am behind on laundry- there are piles of it in all of our bedrooms.

There is dust in the corners.

The floors need to be scrubed.

The kitchen counter has accumulated junk.

I try to be organized.

I want our house to be a HOME. So, my longing is that it IS tidy, organized, clean, decorated, bread baking in the oven and a beautiful candle burning.

I visited a friend's home last week and was reminded again, I need to spend time on my own getting it back to where I want it to be- for me and for my family.

So, when I read the topic, I thought, "Oh great. My home is a refection of me- unorganized, dusty in the corners, nice on the "outside", but don't look deeper....

And then it hit me.

My home IS a reflection of me.

It isn't perfect.

It needs some attention.

AND, most of all, it needs GRACE.

I need GRACE.

When I was pondering this week's topic yesterday, I looked at my Proverbs flip chart.

Oct. 19's was Proverbs 15:6.

It read, "In the house of the righteous there is much treasure."

How true! I am righteous becaue of Jesus. Inside ME is much treasure because of what He has done. There is love. There is joy. There is peace. There is patience. There is kindness. There is goodness. There is faithfulness. There is gentleness. There is self-control.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

MY WASHING MACHINE IS BROKEN AND MY COMPUTER IS NOT WORKING. (I AM USING BRIAN'S LAPTOP). PLEASE PRAY THEY BOTH BEGIN WORKING TODAY!!!!!

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for posting late on Thankful Thursday!

Why, you wonder?

Well.....first because I am late due to a crazy morning! (Will tell you about it in a minute..) But, also because I spoke at a MOPS group this morning. If you would like to learn more about MOPS, or Mothers of Preschoolers, click here.

I am thankful for the incredible opportunity to share my beautiful Jesus with these precious women.

I am SO thankful for the organization MOPS, which connects women with other women who have young children. It gives them an opportunity to meet with other "grown-ups" a couple of times a month, fellowship, do a craft together, and listen to a speaker. Because they offer childcare, mothers are able to have a couple of hours of uninterrupted, "Mommy" time.

Today, I am thankful for a crazy morning. You know, one of those "every thing that COULD go wrong, DID go wrong" mornings!!!!!!

One thing that I haven't mentioned is that since the end of September, we have been "doing life" with 1 van (Brian's brakes went out)- which means taking the kids early to school, taking Brian to work (15 min. drive each way), picking him up, or getting him at lunch, HIM bringing me home, and me walking to school to walk kids home...... It hasn't been too bad, just a little hectic.

So, today, because I am speaking, I need to "get ready."

Andrew is the 1st one out the door. He came downstairs carrying Abigail, who had an EXPLODING poopy diaper. What timing, Abigail! Didn't have time for that!

I had forgotten to put Andrew's jeans in the dryer! OOPS! Got them in quickly.

Now, Andrew missed the BUS.... That means I have to run him to school quickly.

When I checked on the girls to make sure they were on time and on track, I noticed that Buddy, our Golden Doodle monster dog had eaten the kids' breakfast- scrambled egg sandwiches- off of the counter!

AAHH! Make another QUICK breakfast (do oatmeal raisin cookies count as breakfast? Oatmeal.....raisins....hmmmm)

Get the garbage out- it's garbage morning!

Take Andrew and get home before Brian panics- he can't be late for work!!!!!

WOW! But, on the way to Andrew's school, I realized that the devil was trying to STEAL the joy from our day- especially me getting ready to speak in less than 2 hours! He wanted me to be flustered and stressed.

I LAUGHED! I told Andrew what I was thinking and we prayed over our morning. I explained to Andrew that because I have the Holy Spirit living inside of me, I have the fruit of the Spirit- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control! He that is in me (Jesus) is greater than ani of the devil's schemes! I didn't have to get upset! I didn't have to lose my temper! I didn't have to scream! I chose to laugh! I chose to WALK in the Spirit and not the FLESH! It had NOTHING to do with ME, but all to do with HIM!

Lord, thank You for Your Holy Spirit! Thank You that when we walk in the Spirit, the fruit of Your Spirit flourishes! Thank You that You offer me peace and joy, no matter what irritating circumstances the devil will bring against me!

Thank You God!

Please visit Iris for more thanksgiving!

LOVE is an ACTION, not a FEELING!

The next two posts (WFW and a tribute to Brian) are on "love." As I was sleeping, I was waking up off and on, pondering this...(do you ever do that? think while sleeping then wish you would have written it down before waking up???)

As I was thinking about "love" and our anniversary, especially in terms of the 1Corinthians verse I use below.....

I thought LOVE, true LOVE, is so much more than a FEELING. Hollywood sells us the "feeling" line, and when the FEELING comes and goes, we think there is something wrong and that we have "lost" the LOVE. This is one reason for so many divorces. People don't "feel" the same way and think that their marriage should end. Then, they go out and look for someone else to give them that FEELING.

But, LOVE is an ACTION. LOVE is a verb! Love is CHOOSING to be patient(or the NKJ says, "long-suffering") when we feel like exploding.

Love is CHOOSING to kind, even when the other person doesn't deserve kindness.

Love is CHOOSING to not to be envious, even when you deserved the same thing the other person got!

Love is CHOOSING to be humble, not proud. It is CHOOSING NOT to say, "I told you so."

Love is CHOOSING not to be rude, even when I am tired, or when the check-out girl has made several mistakes, delaying me several minutes...

Love is CHOOSING to look to someone else above and before m own needs.

Love is CHOOSING not to lose my temper, even when I am "right."

Love is CHOOSING does not "keep score." Love does NOT remind someone of past mistakes. Love forgives and forgets, NOT dredging up failures and betrayals from the past.

1Corinthians 13:1 says, "I speak in tongues of men and of angels," (in other words, no matter what I say or how beautiful my speech is, or how correct it is), if I don't speak in love, it sounds like a resounding gong or clanging cymbal." OUCH.

Verse 2 says if I have an AMAZING faith that even moves mountains, I am nothing without love.

Verse 3 says that no matter what m good works are, even "surrendering my body to the flame," if I don't walk in love, it doesn't mean anything!

Lord, may I always WALK out LOVE. With family, with Brian, with friends, sisters in Christ, may I look to LOVE as an ACTION even when I am not FEELING like it.

Word-filled Wednesday

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." 1Corinthians 13:4-7

In honor of our 20th anniversary, I posted one of my favorite verses from 1Corinthians. Whenever I read this verse, I am reminded that GOD IS LOVE. God is always patient. He is always kind. God is never proud, rude or selfish. God is NOT easily angered. God does NOT keep a record of wrongs. God never delights in evil but rejoices with the truth. God always protects, always trusts, is HOPE. God always perseveres.

Please visit 160 Acre Woods for more WFW!

Happy Anniversary, Honey

Happy Anniversary, my sweet man!

On October 15, 20 years ago, I married the love of my life and it has been amazing.

Brian, each day I fall in love with you more.

.

When we started out, we were kids. We struggled....We lived on macaroni and cheese and didn't even have a dollar for a slice of Garcia's pizza! We didn't know HOW to love one another. But, we always knew we wanted to- we knew that God gave us to each other. We've made mistakes over the years, but we have become stronger through them.

Brian, you have always encouraged me. You have always supported me. You have always lifted me up. I could never be the mother, daughter, speaker, writer that I am without your encouragement and support.

You are my best friend. Whenever I am discouraged, you know just what to say. When I am scared, you calm me. You make me laugh. I love being with you.

You are such a wonderful father. I love watching you with the kids. They love to play with you. They have such a love and respect for you....because you spend time with them....because you love them.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it
does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is
not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." 1Corinthians 13:4-7

Brian, you are patient. You are kind. You are not envious. You do not boast...you are not proud. You are not rude or self-seeking. You are not easily angered. You keep no record of wrongs. You do not delight in evil. You protect our family.

You are the love of my life.

Happy Anniversary.