2 Feb
for my tay …
Sweet child of mine …
You are walking a long and hurtful path. You know loss. You know grief. You know loneliness.
Your courage and heart continue to amaze me. I stand in awe of you … at times taking for granted the darkness you have seen … but so in awe of the Light you are shining into those dark places {read John 1:1-9 … go ahead, read it!}.
Tay … precious Tay … you. are. beautiful.
You were made for so much more than this. You are. so much more than this.
If all else in this world fades and let’s you down … always remember … you are treasured … you are sacred … because you are His.
You are beautiful.
And I love you … always and forever … no. matter. what!
Beautiful
:: MercyMe ::
The days will come when you don’t have the strength
When all you hear is you’re not worth anything
Wondering if you ever could be loved
And if they truly saw your heart they’d see too much
:: chorus ::
You’re beautiful
You’re beautiful
You are made so much more than all of this
You’re beautiful
You’re beautiful
You are treasured, You are sacred, You are His
You’re beautiful
I’m praying that you have the heart to find
Cause you are more than what is hurting you tonight
For all the lies you’ve held inside so long
They are nothing in the shadow of the cross
:: chorus ::
Before you ever took a breath
Long before the world began
Of all the wonders He possessed
There was one more precious
Of all the earth and skies above
You’re the one He madly loves
Enough to die
You’re beautiful
You’re beautiful
In His eyes
:: chorus ::
You’re beautiful
You are treasured, You are sacred, You are His …
Posted in family thoughts, music, taylor
23 Jan
and then i remember …
Crazy. Literally. My life is literally crazy.
~ a five year old’s ruptured ear drum
~ cat pee in curtains
~ using face toner to remove eye makeup
~ using hair gel as face moisturizer
~ rotting roof that needs repair {in numerous places}
~ mold in the hvac system
~ having the house hepa-vacc’ed
~ unexpectedly making dinner for 15 that are homeless
~ an eight year old with a hurting heart
~ never. enough. sleep
~ living and sleeping with industrial machines and fans so loud we can’t hear each other talk
~ mental stresses too detailed to mention
~ dogs eating cat poop and dragging it through the house
~ said dog’s lunch doesn’t sit well and I’m cleaning her mess off the carpet
~ nine year old in tears thinking “Bob” {the water dragon} died. thankful for false alarm
~ ten workers in the house sterilizing it and the air
~ consoling a teen in tears, in the middle of the kitchen with crazy literally swirling around us
And then I remember . . .
1. A place to find joy amidst my sorrow.
6. A husband who asks for prayer.
12. Happy texts from daughters thankful for homemade french onion soup.
20. Sweet notes written to the tooth fairy.
25. Peace for today.
32. Courage to stand up for, and share our trials.
33. Walking in on daughters saying prayers aloud.
45. Blessing others and filling them with wakeful joy.
53. Taking time to slow down and listen to a hurting child.
54. Charlie Brown band-aids stuck to my sheets.
62. Signs revealed when we need to touch His hem.
70. Trusting my {writing} voice.
Are you making Joy a habit?
Posted in 1000 gifts, family thoughts
9 Jan
god is in the details …
The girls and I were unexpectedly blessed this weekend and I wanted to share how I believe God is in the detail business!
Piper was set to have a “marathon” sleepover this weekend. Her friend {and her friend’s sister} would be sleeping over both Friday and Saturday nights. But when I met up with the girl’s mom {also a new friend of mine} for the transfer of weekend necessities, she told me they were surprising the girls {and their family, they have 6 kids}, with a weekend trip to the beach. They’d just closed on their new beach house the day before. So that meant only one night sleepover.
Only she didn’t want me to tell the girls because she was going to surprise them the next day. My heart pretty much immediately broke for Piper, as this sleepover weekend was all she’d talked about last week!
Anyway, come Saturday morning, I covered Piper in my prayers and started thinking of some other fun things we could do that day. A couple hours later, whaddaya know? I get a call from my friend with a crazy idea! She invited the girls and I to go with for the weekend. She knew I didn’t have anything else going on and said they had plenty of room.
Yes! Yes, we’d love to go! And when we finally told the girls, they were all ecstatic!
With my four, her six, two other friends, and 3 adults … there were 15 of us in 3 cars headed to Isle of Palms, SC!
The beach house was beautiful and well … right on the beach! I’d never stayed on a coastal beach before … just tropical. So this was something different for us and we all had a great time! I even got an adult night out to dinner while all the teens stayed home with the younger kids.
Anyway. I was worried and hurting for what I knew would be Piper’s hurting heart. I prayed for her Saturday morning and literally a couple hours later, an unexpected blessing came our way. It’s one small way {if you choose to look at it that way} to see that God is in the detail business. He cares about our hurts and worries.
Ann is once again counting 1000 gifts in a years time. She’s calling it the Joy Dare and has invited all of us to join her. I’m in! And so are my girls.
This year especially, I want to be uber-aware … I want my girls to be uber-aware of every detail, every blessing, every gift that comes their way. How better to understand and recognize that God is on our side, is with us always, and cares about the smallest of details?
Posted in blessed, family photos, family thoughts
26 Dec
right now …
Right now I’m:
- sitting outside in the cool breeze looking at palm trees and beautiful blue waters
- waiting for my girls to emerge full of energy and excitement with questions of what today will hold
- mourning many, many things
- thankful for new friends at Christmas dinners
- researching
- getting ready for the release of my new ebook, 31 Days of Faith
- fighting the enemy’s lies that my ebook won’t sell, it’s not good enough, and no one cares
- thinking of a friend on a flight to Dubai
- praying for unity in my family
- thankful God has given me a voice
- deciding whether or not to tackle the 1000+ posts in my google reader
- wondering if the girls will let me take a nap today
- thankful my children are rooted in the Word of God
- sad for men that have to eat gas station sub-sandwiches in their hotel rooms far from the family they love on Christmas night
- thankful that God’s Word never returns void {Isaiah 55:10-11}
- wondering why I haven’t taken a single photo while we’ve been here
- loathing my new MS medication {I’m thinking of a post titled “stings like a bee” to share with y’all}
- wishing I could read every thought and feeling going on inside my girls … the things they don’t verbalize
- wondering if it makes sense to “force” people to like your Facebook page, or subscribe to your blog by offering a free download or something or other … I’m thinking I’d like people to subscribe because they want to … not so they’ll get something? Just wondering …
- wishing Piper and Wynter would include Hunter more
- wishing Hunter didn’t whine so much
- debating another cup of coffee
- missing my favorite salted caramel mocha at Starbucks
- about to read the Bible expecting to find a nugget of wisdom to ponder throughout the day
- thankful for Emmanuel … God with me
- taking this week off from the blog to focus on the girls and some other writing projects
- thankful for this place to write, share, dream, encourage and inspire
- thankful for 5 year olds who love Jesus …
Update for Taylor:
- I’m thankful for daughters who trust their mothers enough to share what’s in their hearts
- I’m incredibly proud of my teen
- I’m thankful for my two furry grand-daughters
- I’m wishing my teen would focus on her schoolwork :P
Posted in exuma, family thoughts, random
23 Dec
mary did you know?
Mary said, “I am the servant of the Lord.
Let this happen to me as you say!” Then the angel went away.
Luke 1:38 {NCV}
“Let it be as you say!” A few simple words of faith uttered that day. Do you think Mary had any idea that her baby boy would one day be the Great, I Am?
Do you think she had any idea that agreeing to deliver this Child would cause her pain, trials and suffering?
This Christmas song gets me every.single.time I hear it. I can’t listen to it without being covered in chill bumps. “When you kiss your little Baby you kissed the face of God?”
Do you think she had any idea of the Glory to come through her simple words of faith?
By trusting God, accepting His wishes for her … her Son was Lord of all creation.
What an incredible story … example … of faith.
Oh how I could learn from Mary … “Let this happen to me as you say!” In our human understanding and knowledge, we simply have no way of knowing what glory beholds us. But what if we simply believe? Believe that His plans are far greater than we could ever imagine?
Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!
Luke 1:45 {NIV}
Won’t you believe with me today?
Mary Did You Know?
:: Clay Aiken ::
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy has come to make you new?
This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you.
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will calm the storm with His hand?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little Baby you kissed the face of God?
Mary did you know …
The blind will see.
The deaf will hear.
The dead will live again.
The lame will leap.
The dumb will speak
The praises of The Lamb.
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day rule the nations?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy is heaven’s perfect Lamb?
The sleeping Child you’re holding is the Great, I Am.
Posted in christmas, faith, family thoughts, music
