I’m not like my husband who only orders soft tacos when we eat Mexican food. I like to change my food up a bit. But when it comes to life changes, even GOOD change can be stressful and hard for me.
Change. I’m finding I’m not a lover of change.
But change happens. LIFE happens. And one of the things I promised you, Readers, was that, if you joined the FFS Community, I would be real with you. So I’m gonna lay it all out for you. Continue reading
I’ve had a miscarriage. There are quite a few of us in that not-so-fun club. But I think, during situations such as miscarriages, the daddy often is overlooked. Miscarriage seems to be a subject no one wants to talk about. So if a mama has a hard time talking about it, how much harder the daddy?
Some wonderful friends of mine lost their baby this past week. The mama was 16 weeks along. April 2014 seemed far away, yet so within reach. The following words were written by the daddy. Both are grieving, as are their five children.
After you read, please say a prayer for this lovely family. Thanks, Friends.
Dear Baby Doll~
I meet you today. You don’t know me yet. And I don’t know you.
I’ve seen a few pictures of you and your pretty blond, curly hair. You had on a Minnie Mouse shirt. Do you like Minnie Mouse?
I hear you like to wear bows in your hair and sparkly necklaces around your neck. We have plenty of each at our house. We even have sparkly fingernail polish. Won’t that be fun?
Our family has prayed for over 2 years for our Baby #3. When we filled out the paperwork at DSS and went through the 8 hour training course we had no idea we would be waiting so long. But God’s timing is perfect.
In a few hours when I see your tiny face and your large eyes, I hope you can’t see the trembling of my hands and the flutters of my heart.
I’m so scared you might not like me.
But even if you don’t like me, God has chosen to put us together. I will start out being your Foster Mama. And I pray that a judge will choose to let my family become your Forever Family through adoption.
You don’t know me yet; and I don’t know you. But I know the God who knows us both.
And I plan on introducing Him to you.
Love,
Your New Mama
There comes a time when God moves so that permanent change takes place. There are moments when His glory is so profound that one cannot help but brake because of the light that is shining and piercing the soul. There comes an instant when a person realizes that the gauntlet has been thrown down and God wants His child to respond.
So how does one respond at such a time?
How do I respond?
I responded tonight with a broken heart and total surrender.
He takes my fears and my insecurities and transforms them into jewels in a crown of righteousness.
Reader, I know that all 300 or so of those following FFS do not read this blog every time I post. That’s just how the blogging world is. But YOU are reading now, and I want you to know that I am writing this blog for YOU. I am writing to the mom who just wants to get through the day without baby spit-up on her shirt. I am writing to the working dad who has wonderful grandchildren. I am writing to the Children’s Ministry worker who wants to do well for the Lord. I am writing to the homeschool mom who feels she just doesn’t have her act together today.
I have YOUR attention for a few minutes of the day, but it is my heart that the words you read here point you to Jesus EVERY time you choose to open up a post. Do you know that I pray for you? I do. I may not know your name, but God does.
Reader, I pray that God does something amazing with you today. OWN your brokenness. Surrender. Do His will. He has you exactly where He wants you…for such a time as this.
Go be extraordinary for Jesus today!
When was the last time you drove down the road and saw a person standing on the side with the piece of cardboard that said, “Will Work for Food?” What are the thoughts that flood your mind?
Poor thing.
Get a job.
I don’t trust them.
I’m not giving him any money.
I don’t have time.
I hear it’s a con game.
I have some of those thoughts fly through my brain at a moments notice when I see such a person. It’s one of those times when I know I should be taking every thought captive. And it’s SO easy to just drive on. But God doesn’t tell us to walk the easy road. He tells us to walk in His ways.
So here is an idea…… Continue reading
The family and I went apple picking this week. It’s just a good fall thing to do. And if you are near southern North Carolina and can drive to a great place to pick apples, I recommend Sky Top Orchard. Continue reading
I really didn’t expect Sunday morning to go as it did. It seemed normal enough. In fact, it was quite peaceful. The kids got dressed in a timely fashion and we were only about five minutes late. We dropped the kids off at Sunday School and my husband and I went to our own Sunday School class.
Normalcy.
But God isn’t normal.
In fact, God is beyond, beyond the supernatural.
In the middle of Sunday School, I asked a question based upon a struggle I have had lately. I had no idea of the magnitude of the power of the Spirit that would envelope me.
Christian, if you are honest with me, would you state that you struggle with some sort of sin? I do. And it bothers me that over and over and over I succumb to this sin. And it bothers me that in my Bible I read that if I love the Lord, then I will obey His commandments.
And yet I sin.
Again. Continue reading
If you’ve been around FFS since the beginning, then I hope you’ve noticed changes and improvements as they take place. Some have been little, but lately I’ve found a “whole new world” in the blog-o-sphere.
One word…PicMonkey. {It’s FREE!!} And if you blog, I highly recommend it. Perhaps this is old blogging news to you, but I’m just beginning!
Wow. I’ve been having fun creating all kinds of images! I hope you’ve noticed some of them, and maybe even pinned one or two of them.
Just like anything, one must practice in order to learn. So I have been practicing making images in PicMonkey to see what the program can do and how to be creative.
So here are some of my favorites and the latest. Keep your eyes open for them. And if you see any that look yucky…let me know, in a nice way. Continue reading
I sat down at the piano last evening and pulled out a book of hymns. The first one in the book was “The Little Brown Church.” I was amazed at how just the title of the song could bring back such wonderful memories.
Do hymns do that to you?
I can remember my daddy sitting on my bed when I was a little girl. He would sing to me as he put me to bed. He would sing at other times as well, but when he would sing to me at bedtime I remember feeling content and peaceful. My dad was with me. I was safe.
There’s a church in the valley by the wildwood
No lovelier spot in the dale
No place is so dear to my childhood
As the little brown church in the vale
(Oh, come, come, come, come)
Come to the church by the wildwood
Oh, come to the church in the vale
No spot is so dear to my childhood
As the little brown church in the vale
Another song he sang was “In the Garden.” Oh, his voice was (and still is) amazing when he sang that song.
I now sing these songs to my children.
Hymns are like soft blankets of comfort. We pull them out when we need to surround ourselves with peace, warmth, and love. There is something magical about hymns. Perhaps, they are sweet gifts from an Almighty Father who wants to sit on our beds and sing us to sleep. And as we lose ourselves in the melodies of eternal victory, rivers of life, and the sweet by-and-by, we can remember that our Abba is with us.
And we are safe.
The kids and I went to visit family while my husband was on a mission trip to Nicaragua. We had a great time. We even took a quick stop in Savannah to ride one of the ferries. But THIS was my drive home:
I have been under a great deal of stress before, but I don’t think I’ve been under such intense pressure for such a long time. I drove through FIVE hours of pouring rain and flooding. I was terrified I would either hydro-plain off the road, or someone would run into me. I decided to get off the interstate because it had become a parking lot. Instead, I drove on smaller two lane roads. At one point in one little town, the police were blocking roads because of the water gushing down the street. Continue reading
Future.Flying.Saucers 