chaos ensues

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Illness has invaded our home.  In the wake of Mommy being laid up… chaos ensues. Mini bodies are clothed and fed. I am praising my Lord for a dishwasher! But toys are scattered. Crumbs get smaller with each passage of pitter-patter through the house.


For the rest of the week everything will be washed with hot water and tea tree oil to kill some germs!


 But what about the spirit that aches? -the Mommy-heart that hurts over canceled activities and a less-than-compassionate attitude that can take over when a body just feels… iiiuhhh.


 While yet taking a break from typing this, as most posts take several “sit sessions” to complete, I rested, made yet another meal, and kept repeating… “what did you say?” over. and. over. and. over. and not always in a pleasant manner. {my ears a horribly stopped up}


 While medicine and sleep can {usually} take care of the body, who or what can takes care of my soul?


 Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me: LORD, be thou my helper. Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing…girded me with gladness…to the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever. Psalms 30:10-12


 The Lord takes care of my soul. His mercies are new every. single. day. And they fail not. I ask for His joy… He makes my mourning to dance and lifts me with gladness.


 When I allow a merry heart to take over {it does good like a medicine, you know}, or… as sometimes happens… I look for a merry heart, I begin to have my spirits raised and while my body still aches, my soul is lighter, happier… my face can have a smile amid cracked lips and a sinus pressure headache. 


 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones. Proverbs 17:22


 Some days all I need to find a merry heart is to STOP. and look at and listen to my children. With 4 around, someone is bound to be bringing amusement. I take an active role in playing with them, asking what they are playing… and that has yet to not lift my spirits.


 Other days I think through our church members, browse my facebook friends for those who do not post very frequently…and look. actively seek out. someone who needs my prayer, or maybe a note. When I get outside of myself, I find a solace for my soul that is not there when I am focusing on me… even on my blessings. 


 So, while my body is still struggling {contemplating a doctor visit :(}, my soul has become lighter, healthier, more peaceful… because Jesus is said to be the Great Physician… and sometimes my soul needs more healing than my ill body.


remembering….

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{This was copied by permission from a friend… He captured well the essence of Misty’s spirit-reminding me of what MY goal should be. She was a friend. Today marks 13 years since this crash that claimed 2 lives and injured 3 others, and I pray these thoughts are an encouragement to someone–to keep on… or to get back on the right path!}

 ~~~~~

According to my earnest expectation and my hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it by by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. [Philippians 1:20]

I met her for the first time at 7:00 a.m. on the back porch of the college bookstore. I found it a great place to go before class each morning to read and pray, watching the sun rise over the East Tennessee hills. 
Misty had come to the same conclusion apparently, as I turned the corner and saw her sitting there watching the sun rise. “I was just leaving,” she said as she rose to go. 
“Take your time,” I replied. 
As the months passed, I came to know her well. She was somehow different than many of my other college friends. There was something about her that glowed inwardly. I came to  realize that Misty Carrier had a walk with the Lord Jesus Christ unmatched by anyone her age I had ever met before. 
She was just 21 years old. I know personally that she spend hours in prayer and personal Bible study each week, in spite of a heavy class load. She was a soul-winner and had and inner passion that set her soul afire for the lost. 
I often wondered what great work God had in store for her life. Her parents were missionaries in Papua New Guinea, and she spoke often of their work there. The conversations we had were not the normal chitchat of college friends but were deeper and more thoughtful. She spoke with a passion of wanting to be such an instrument of Christ so as to be controlled each moment of every day by His divine hand. 
Her life verse is given above, and it was her guiding light. She wanted to magnify Christ, no matter what that meant. She had few close friends, but none so close as her precious Savior, for whom she longed to be ever closer. She would pray, “Lord, if you can use my life to save some soul today, take it. I just want to be close to you.” 
In September of 1999, the Lord took her up on her offer.

Just a few hundred yards from her dormitory, she was pulling her car onto the road one evening and was struck by a drunk driver. 
He walked away. 
She did not. 
Standing over her casket at the funeral, her grandfather she loved so dearly, announced with tear filled eyes that he had finally accepted Christ as Savior. 
The cost? Misty’s life. 
Though we may ponder the value of the trade, Misty did not.
Though we may question the judgement of the Lord, she saw only the outcome: Christ shall be magnified.
In James 4:14, the Bible asks this question, “What is your life?” 
For Misty Carrier, the answer was simple. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

I received these words in an email about 10 years ago. They struck me, and I contemplated them. 

After printing it, the page stayed in my Bible for years, along with a hand-penned note from my dad… about how he was proud of me. 

After a while, neither was safe where little hands could reach {since they routinely fell out of the pages :)}… so they are both tucked away, safely. But I read them often. 

Their words inspire me to live so that 

1. others will remember Jesus when I’m gone… 
2. those who have invested in my life will be proud to have done so.

what the Lord helped me accomplish!

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I did this post on my family’s blog also, but thought I would share it here as these are what consumed much of my time the few weeks before school began!
—-
Here are the girls’ dresses the Lord allowed me to put together in the weeks just before school began. There are a few that did not get photographed yet because they were either dirty or being worn… I’ll see about getting pix of them another day. Please excuse the need for pressing.
Kyria
close up of the braid we did on the collar
Kyria
Anya {the green spots are turtles}
Anya
Anya
Anya
Kyria {one of my favs!}
Mikalah
Mikalah
Kyria {the one that has a Molly match}
close up of the ruffle
Here is a wonderful tutorial if anyone out there wonders how I did this. I measured from their shoulder down to their waist to know where I wanted to trim the shirt. I used the excess from the shirt bottoms to create the ruffles. As long as your shirt is not tight and has some give, and the skirt is at least as wide as the shirt stretched out a bit, you do not actually have to measure how wide, etc. like in the tutorial. But if you are starting from scratch with a T and some fabric, the fabric should be at least 1.25 times as wide as the bottom of the shirt. {if that makes any sense :)}
Every single one of these came from a thrifted skirt-so I did not have to hem anything! Praise the Lord. 🙂 And most of the t-shirts were thrifted also. The skirts for Kyria were actually ladies’! I can hardly believe how tall she is getting. I also do not usually talk about how much things cost, but ALL of these dresses plus the few that did not make it into the pictures cost less than $40 total {that’s 14 [+?] dresses!!} plus 4-5 days of “mommy moments” {15 minutes here… 30 minutes there…} to put them together. and THAT is exciting to me! YEAH!! God is good.
—
so there you go. 🙂 School is now in full swing, and the girlies are enjoying their new dresses!

a new blog!

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Today you can find me over here:
a new blog for moms! 
Stop by and let everyone know you were there by leaving a comment saying HI!
And I have a couple of posts in the works for my “home blog” too!

thoughts on singleness

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thoughts on singleness

I had a conversation recently with an unmarried lady friend. She has a growing ministry with small children and visions for that ministry to thrive! I appreciate her zeal, and her love for God is evident.
Yet, she told me that she receives comments regularly from people about her unmarried status. I assume these are well-meaning people, as they seem to think the singleness she finds herself in somehow prohibits her from having a full, vibrant life and ministry.
Let me tell you, my unmarried friend, your life can be as full as you let it be – whether you are married or not! [I have knowledge of more than my share of people who are married yet have neither a full life nor a vibrant ministry for God!]
Singleness lends itself to a bit of freedom that those married, especially with children, do not have. I married right out of college. I do not have experience of the trials or temptations that come with serving the Lord as an adult while still single, but I have witnessed those who do it well as well as those who do it poorly.

In light of that, all ministries are simply an opportunity to serve God. And when we allow Him, He puts us in place to have certain ministries. No where does He tell us that ministry is only for married people. Actually, Paul was given liberty to tell us that if you are content to be single, then that can actually give you opportunities that would otherwise be a closed door [I Corinthians 7:1-9].

Serving God is a command to all Christians: single, married, divorced, child or adult. [Matthew 20:26-28; 28:19-21; Mark 16:15-16; I Timothy 4 {especially verse 6 and 10-12} and many more].  Telling someone their ministry cannot be full for whatever reason {unless pointing out an error in love: Ephesians 5:6-11} is not helpful or Christ-honoring.

As married ladies and mothers, we should pray for those in singleness-that they would be content in Christ. Pray that the Lord would protect them from temptations or “evil” appearances. We should befriend them, on a personal level, so they realize and understand our genuine concern for them as people! When we see evidence of genuine service to God and growth in His word, we should even point them out {but NOT elevate} to our children as an adult to trust and point out areas of their life that they should emulate {such as a humble, teachable spirit or a willing, helpful attitude} and show our children that life is not all about growing up and having a family. Life is all about learning how to SERVE JESUS!

And to my single friends, remember that you are part of the body that is the bride of Christ! You have his love to comfort and protect. You have His peace to be your companion and guide. You have His wisdom to direct your steps and His tender mercies to correct you when needed. [There are MANY Psalms as well as other passages that speak of God’s comfort and protection and peace and guidance and tender mercies! These for for ALL Christians, not just married people.] Never let anyone’s personal opinions on your marital status allow you to believe that anything you are doing for God is somehow less valuable than what us married folks are doing!

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

{While I am a married lady and my main reason for starting this blog was to encourage other married ladies and mothers, I would not say that this blog is only for married ladies. While many of my posts have examples from married life or from being a mother, the premise for designing31 is not just for married ladies!! We were all created and designed to work together towards reaching others for Christ. While my personal goal is to become the wife and mother God wants me to be, I also want to learn to be the lady and friend God desires me to be too!}

I had a conversation recently with an unmarried lady friend. She has a growing ministry with small children and visions for that ministry to thrive! I appreciate her zeal, and her love for God is evident.
Yet, she told me that she receives comments regularly from people about her unmarried status. I assume these are well-meaning people, as they seem to think the singleness she finds herself in somehow prohibits her from having a full, vibrant life and ministry.
Let me tell you, my unmarried friend, your life can be as full as you let it be – whether you are married or not! [I have knowledge of more than my share of people who are married yet have neither a full life nor a vibrant ministry for God!]
Singleness lends itself to a bit of freedom that those married, especially with children, do not have. I married right out of college. I do not have experience of the trials or temptations that come with serving the Lord as an adult while still single, but I have witnessed those who do it well as well as those who do it poorly.

In light of that, all ministries are simply an opportunity to serve God. And when we allow Him, He puts us in place to have certain ministries. No where does He tell us that ministry is only for married people. Actually, Paul was given liberty to tell us that if you are content to be single, then that can actually give you opportunities that would otherwise be a closed door [I Corinthians 7:1-9].

Serving God is a command to all Christians: single, married, divorced, child or adult. [Matthew 20:26-28; 28:19-21; Mark 16:15-16; I Timothy 4 {especially verse 6 and 10-12} and many more].  Telling someone their ministry cannot be full for whatever reason {unless pointing out an error in love: Ephesians 5:6-11} is not helpful or Christ-honoring.

As married ladies and mothers, we should pray for those in singleness-that they would be content in Christ. Pray that the Lord would protect them from temptations or “evil” appearances. We should befriend them, on a personal level, so they realize and understand our genuine concern for them as people! When we see evidence of genuine service to God and growth in His word, we should even point them out {but NOT elevate} to our children as an adult to trust and point out areas of their life that they should emulate {such as a humble, teachable spirit or a willing, helpful attitude} and show our children that life is not all about growing up and having a family. Life is all about learning how to SERVE JESUS!

And to my single friends, remember that you are part of the body that is the bride of Christ! You have his love to comfort and protect. You have His peace to be your companion and guide. You have His wisdom to direct your steps and His tender mercies to correct you when needed. [There are MANY Psalms as well as other passages that speak of God’s comfort and protection and peace and guidance and tender mercies! These for for ALL Christians, not just married people.] Never let anyone’s personal opinions on your marital status allow you to believe that anything you are doing for God is somehow less valuable than what us married folks are doing!

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

{While I am a married lady and my main reason for starting this blog was to encourage other married ladies and mothers, I would not say that this blog is only for married ladies. While many of my posts have examples from married life or from being a mother, the premise for designing31 is not just for married ladies!! We were all created and designed to work together towards reaching others for Christ. While my personal goal is to become the wife and mother God wants me to be, I also want to learn to be the lady and friend God desires me to be too!}

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