Still Waters...

Psalm 23:2-3 ~ "He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul...

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The Path...

Psalm 37:34 (MsgB)
Wait passionately for God,
don't leave the path.
He'll give you your place in the sun
while you watch the wicked lose it.

Contentment...

Some days I don't have time to finish one complete thought much less have the luxury of pondering life...allowing my mind to wander like a lazy trail in summer! Today is one of those extraordinary days when the kids are all occupied outside, the doors and windows are open and I find myself puttering around the house.

As I was fixing lunch, cutting fresh strawberries and listening to the birds, this scripture came to mind...

1 Tim. 6:6 ~ But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.

Interesting...Godliness in and of itself is not touted to be of great gain unless it is coupled with contentment! Hmmm...something to chew on.

There are times, as I look around my home, that I feel I might bust wide open, my heart is so full of joy and contentment! We live modestly by some standards and extravagantly by others. By my standards, my life is darn near perfect!

I have an amazing husband, awesome kids, a beautiful home that I have so enjoyed making a haven for my family, lots of great food, a garden I love, friends that bless me and a God who loves me unconditionally! What more could a girl ask for?

Reality is, I can study all I want, spend hours in prayer and tell everyone I meet about Jesus, but if I am discontent about my lot in life then I am missing out on untold riches that He has to show me!

How thankful I am for the heart of contentment that is beating wildly within me today! Thank you, Papa, for your unmerited favour that you have lavished upon me and for Your blessings that cannot be measured by worldly standards. For all this and much more, I am truly thankful!

Paradise!

This is the view of my back porch from my kitchen! Wanna come sit a while? How 'bout a nap?

Mark 6:31 "Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while."

Fragrance...

(The jasmine that winds its way up my back steps! This is only one plant! Wish you could smell through the picture! ;O) )

I love living in Georgia. I was born and raised in Canada, but my mom is originally from Nashville. While I loved living in Canada and I miss it at times, Georgia really is where my heart is. I even did a quiz on Facebook one day and it said I was 100% Georgian through and through! Kinda funny, huh?

The one thing I struggle with living here, though, is the heat! It starts getting hot pretty early in the year and by August I am ready to rip my hair out I am so tired of sweating. That's why I have been so happy this week...we have a rare cold front that made its way through and stayed and I am loving it. My family is freezing because I have all the doors and windows open, but they can put on more clothes. I am going to take full advantage of this last blast of cool, dry air.

Aside from the cool, fresh air, I am loving the fragrance of the jasmine and gardenias wafting through the open windows. As I lay in bed, a breeze will blow and in it comes, delighting my sense of smell. It's one of those smells that, as I go about my day, comes to me unbidden and makes me stop and trace its origin.

I was sitting here this morning, once again deeply inhaling the inviting scent, when I remembered this scripture...

2 Cor. 2:14 & 15 ~ But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation—an aroma redolent with life.

Don't you love it? Don't you love how God uses word pictures that He knows will one day come back to us at an unordained moment and gives us something to ponder?

Just as my most favourite fragrances dance around me and create a longing in me for more, our lives are to do the same for those around us. We can be so steeped in Christ and His aroma that we entice and draw others into a search for Him...a longing to inhale more deeply from all that He has to offer. It can only come from time spent with Him, allowing Him to infuse us with His fragrance.

It's time to do a smell check! What kind of fragrance do I meet others with? The fragrance of Christ rising out of time spent in intimacy with Him or that which may have once been something sweet, but has been allowed to rot and create a stench?

Ephes. 5:2 And walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

A Passion...

Gardening is a passion of mine and I love it! I always tell Tim that as long as I have flowers and a hose...I'll never need therapy! LOL!

My peonies have taken a number of years of TLC, but this year I have had between 50 and 75 blooms on 4 plants! They are so beautiful! Wanna see?

He's Five!

I am a tad late in wishing my baby a happy birthday, but on May 10th Caleb Mac became a "whole hand"! To say that he was excited is an understatement! He got maximum enjoyment out of being the center of attention for a day and we all thoroughly enjoyed celebrating the gift that he is!

While he came as a bit of a surprise, we are so thankful the Lord had planned that this boy would become one of us. He has such a joyful spirit and is always making us smile. He loves his Mama and Daddy, he loves his siblings and he loves baseball!!! He calls me "Princess" and, while some in the family think he works me a little too much, it makes me smile every time!

Happy birthday, Caleb Mac! We love you and are so thankful God knew we needed you in our family!

I Choose...

As a homeschooling mom of 5, life can be crazy! Add to that 3 boys playing ball and all the other various and sundry things that arise and life can become a little stressful! I am coming out of a time of feeling stressed and overwhelmed and, while I'd like to say I handled it with much grace, I know my attitude was left wanting at times! This morning I found an index card I had tucked in my Bible and I decided I needed to reflect on it again...

I Choose ~

*I choose to stop myself before I yell
*I choose to phrase things in the positive
*I choose to accentuate the positive
*I choose to see my children as fragile gifts that I have the ability to cherish or break
*I choose to keep short accounts with my kids
*I choose to have a cheerful spirit
*I choose to respect my children
*I choose to discipline in love
*I choose to model Christ for my kids
In other words...I choose to rise above the initial fleshly response I am sometimes hit with and respond as someone intimately involved with the One who has extended extravagant grace to me time and time again!

I love how The Message puts it ~ James 1:19 ~ "Post this at all the intersections, dear friends: Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear."

What Am I Worth?

I saw a news story on GMA this morning that they've upped the amount that stay-at-home moms are worth...$122,000! Those that work at home add another $74,000. Wonder if homeschooling 5 children, teaching Bible studies and writing counts for anything?

I actually think there is no monetary value that can make up for what I do. Besides that, I have yet to see one darn penny and I have almost 17 years of back pay coming to me. Checks must have gotten lost in the mail! LOL!!

The truth is, I would (and do) do what I do for free! I get to share life with 5 of the most awesome kids on the planet! Add to that one amazing man and I would feel bad for even thinking about accepting a salary for what I do!

Now don't get me wrong, there are days (like today) when I am ready to rip my hair out, but then one of them tells me they love me, gives me a hug, thanks me for something or asks to be rocked and I realize...there is no place on the planet I would rather be.

So corporate America, you can quit trying to pat us on the back with your platitudes about how much we're worth! We love our job! We're raising your future and that, my friends, is priceless!

F.E.A.R.

Have you ever found yourself overcome by a fear that you know cognitively is irrational, but shaking it is tough? I think anyone who has ever been a parent has had moments like this because being responsible for the life of a bunch of little people is fertile ground for fears to take root and grow.

Acronyms are often a creative way to remember things and the acronym I heard for fear is one of my favourites...

False
Evidence
Appearing
Real

Can you relate? Have you ever been consumed with a fear that was based on nothing in reality, but was simply that ~ false evidence appearing real that caused you to freak out?

I have struggled, at times, worrying about something happening to my children. I have one particular child who I have dreamt 3 times drowned! Whenever we are around water, I can become stressed because I fear that what I have dreamt was an indicator of what is to come. I fear that which is not real becoming a reality in my life.

I shared with a girl today in Sunday school that the enemy loves to encourage our minds to dwell on this false evidence because then he can wander through our minds unscathed, pointing out all the potential snares and pitfalls. The one sure-fire way to banish him is to come back at him with the Truth of God's word.

2 Timothy 1:7 says, "For God has not given a spirit of fear or timidity, but of power, love and a sound mind."

1 John 4:18, "There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love."

Do you see it? For those of us who are "in Christ" and walking with Jesus, fear does not have to be part of our lives. Sure, we're going to have thoughts that descend upon us, but we do not have to dwell on them and allow them to take up residence in our minds and our hearts!

Join me in sharing with the enemy the truth of God's word every time we find ourselves confronted with fear. We shall walk in freedom and not allow ourselves to become slaves to his lies. What a way to live!

Spring is Sprung!

One of my favourite parts of spring...LILACS!!! Can you smell them?

Parenting Is Not for Sissies!

All I ever wanted to do was be a wife and a Mama! Didn't go to college because there were no Domestic Engineering degrees offered! Given that, when Rachel was born I was ecstatic...my dream had finally come to fruition.

Being a Mama has been the most fulfilling job I could have ever hoped for. Rachel, Benji, Jesse, Hannah and Caleb have exceeded my wildest expectations. It's also caused me many sleepless nights and days spent with knots in my stomach and today was no exception.

Rachel is 16 and today...she took her driver's test. I told our friend Mac that I was fasting til I found out how she did, but that I wasn't sure if it was for the purpose of prayer or because food might make me throw up! I desperately wanted her to pass because I knew how much she wanted it. I was scared stiff she'd pass because that means she is going to want to pull out of the driveway by herself now without Tim or me in the car!

Of course, my love for Rachel outweighs my fears as a mom so I was thrilled to get the call that she had passed! My baby girl is a driver now! Congratulations, Rach! We are so very proud of you! XOXO

And On the Third Day...

As I ponder Easter and all it holds for us, I have been contemplating what life must have been like on that Saturday after Jesus died. I imagine it was a very somber day...a day of grief and hopelessness for many! They had followed this man and listened to His words. They had heard what He said and had even begun to allow the truth of what He shared to take root in their hearts. The promise of a Messiah seemd to really be walking among them in flesh and blood.

But then Friday came and He was crucified. He died a painful and bloody death, publicly humiliated for all to see. His followers, even His closest band of brothers wondered if they had misunderstood. Where they duped into thinking this man who claimed to be the Son of God really was who He said He was?

Saturday seemingly must have been a day of soul-searching...of trying to come to grips with what had happened and what was the future going to hold now. After all, He said it was going to go down like this. He had told them He was going to be killed, but He also promised that on the third day he would rise again! Could He really be trusted?

I grappled with some of the same questions and soul-searching 25 years ago as I embarked on a spiritual journey to see if Christ could be trusted...could I really take Him at His word? I read and I prayed, I asked questions and waited for answers. Slowly but surely, the truth of Christ and the life He had to offer began to dance within my heart and and His resurrection power changed my life!

The same Christ Who overwhelmed death, hell and the grave and busted out of the tomb that first Easter morning can set you free from the chains that have kept you bound and allow you to walk in the freedom which leads to eternal life!

Below I have linked to one of my favourite songs to listen to as I allow the truth of what took place that morning to wash over me. As the sun began to rise and the birds began to chirp, as people began to mill around and go about their day, it was discovered that a large stone was out of place and a tomb that on Saturday had held the body of One crucified now stood empty for all to see!

Hallelujah He is risen!

Callaway Gardens Retreat

Tim and I got to get away for a little retreat this week and it was wonderful. Spring training is a tiring time for us both and so it was nice to have some time away to only take care of us. We went to Callaway Gardens which is absolutely beautiful this time of year. Here are some pictures to prove it! :O)