A Soft Answer ...

The weeks have flown into the next and before I have realized .. here it is Spring! The season of renewal and fresh beginnings. I have taken some weeks off to get my mind focused on priorities .... no, not blogging and status updates ... but my family; my husband and girls. The result with my girls has been tremendous! Calmness in the house, they are not battling for my attention .... all wonderful things that I am daily thankful for!

We have also been focusing as a family on the verse, 'a soft answer turneth away wrath...'

How many times have I snapped and had a hard answer to a very simple question?! I shudder to think at the answer if I was being completely honest. 

As moms, we have those little eyes on us all the time, watching our reactions, observing how we handle fear, anxiety, joy, sorrow .... the list goes on! And as those little ones grow and mature, they will take many of our examples with them into their adolescents and adulthood, namely the way they face everyday situations. Do they yell in response, or keep their cool remembering that verse they learned as a child and saw lived out in their homes by their parents.

I find myself throughout the day reminding myself, as well as the girls, 'a soft answer.'

Who wouldn't want to turn away wrath (anger, bitterness)? If we speak lovely to people we will be amazed at how that draws the 'lovely' out of them. 

Daily I find myself falling before God and pleading with Him to make me a mom who has a soft answer. And to raise up that desire in my girls! The challenges are great, yes. But, we have a Great God who, through the power of the Holy Spirit, works in us!!! 

May we all determine that we will be women and families with a soft answer!

A Froward Heart

'They that are of a froward heart are an abomination to the Lord, but such as are upright in their way are His delight.' ~ Proverbs 11:20

This was a verse from our Sunday School lesson this week in my young ladies grade 6-8 class. I am thankful to be one of the teachers of the class, and we have been doing in depth studies of different topics found in the book of wisdom, Proverbs.

'Froward' might be a new word for you. Some of your Bibles might say 'crooked' or 'perverse.'

To be froward is to be defiant, disobedient, difficult to deal with.... you get the idea.

This verse has been on my mind constantly since I heard one of the young ladies read it aloud. If I have a 'froward, defiant, disobedient' heart that I am 'loathed!' (abomination)

What a sobering thought! Of course, I know that we all want to have wise hearts; hearts that are compassionate and obedient to what we know we should do. But is that always how I am?

If I am honest, I would have to admit that at times my heart has been 'froward.' I have been difficult for some to deal with at times, and probably stubborn. I don't think any of us intentionally tries to be like this. I think that this is human nature.... the sin nature.

We live in a society that tells us that really the one that matters is us! We should please self and not worry so much about how it affects others around us. How contrary this is to what we need to do! We need to be reaching others ... doing what we ca

n for them, encouraging them, lifting them up, being there for others through joy or sorrow.

How I have been praying already this week that God would cleanse those 'froward moments' and impart a heart of wisdom and obedience. That He would keep me upright in my ways, so that I may be a delight to Him.

Imagine, me being a delight to the Almighty! But I can be, if I diligently surrender every day to be used for Him, and to live with wisdom instead of defiance.

Isn't living with joy so much better anyway? How great do we feel when we are hard necked about something? But oh how much better things are when we let that go and embrace the joy that He can give so freely!!!

~ a little one who is enjoying her daddy's new iMac :)

~ freshly fallen snow ... pure and clean!

~ that our hearts can be 'white as snow!'

The month of Love!

As I did my grocery shopping this morning, I was amazed at how many red hearts I saw floating from the ceilings, pink balloons, cinnamon candy hearts, boxes of chocolates, flowers, white and pink napkins and big signs reminding me that Valentine's Day is on the 14th. Like I could forget with all that around me! ;)

I got to thinking about how we have one day a year that is devoted to 'love.' And then I started thinking about the love of God! His love for us requires nothing from us ... there is no other love like His to me! Wasn't it love that drew Him to the cross, and held Him there? His love for me and His desire to redeem me!

The scripture is clear that He first loved us and that is why we love Him! ~ 1 John 4:20

And what can separate us from His love? Nothing!! ~ Romans 8:35-39

Isn't that an amazing thought? That He would love me so much that He would offer up His life a sacrifice for my pardon! I often think of standing before the judge and being sentenced to death and then One stands up and says that He will take my punishment. Do I know him? No .. never seen him before in my life. But there he is, offering to take the debt that I owe. Incredible!

Do I thank Him every day for this love, or is it just in this month that it comes to mind?! This love of His requires nothing from me, but He gave everything. God so loves me ... can you feel that love? Can you feel that love enveloping you and lifting you up? I hope so!

And what about those around us, our family and friends who mean so much to us? Do we tell them we love and appreciate them, or wait for a day that society chose? Let's use the day given to us, each day, to share His love, most importantly, and expressing our love for those around us who mean so much!

As this 'month of Love' continues, may you feel His wonderful love, and share it with others!

~ a God who loves me regardless of my faults

~ whispering 'i love you' in my honey's ear

~ hearing little voices say, 'i love you mommy!'

~ the love of God .... immeasurable ....

The Big News

The news is out ... our family is expanding! We were delighted to discover in November that a new baby would be joining our family ... however, I must admit that given the last pregnancy experience I had, I had a hard time feeling 'joy' about it!

I feel guilty even typing it!

My last pregnancy had progressed to 12 weeks and then abruptly, cruelly and painfully ended. That hit me hard. I delivered a little one that we laid to rest alongside my dad.

Where was the joy there? I didn't look for it .... I didn't want to.

So when the stick turned blue this time, I had that question come to my mind immediately, 'Lord, will you allow this one to stay?' Is this the answer to what we have prayed, and pleaded for?

For the past 12 and a half weeks I have asked that many times. I was beyond thankful to reach the 3 month mark this past week, and am beginning to allow myself the feelings of hope and joy that come along with a promised and precious little life.

I must make one thing perfectly clear .. I believe God makes no mistakes. That was truly put to the test though with our loss. But how can I say then confidently, that He makes no mistakes ... because He has shown me time and again.

When all looked lost to the disciples when the Lord was crucified, what happened? He did as He said He would, and was resurrected! When they felt they were being left behind when He ascended to Heaven, what did He do? He told them He would give them a 'comforter!' One who would always be with them, never leaving them.

Oh sure, things may look bleak to us, but He has already seen the end. The glorious ending and He is walking along the road with us, holding our hand, and guiding us along. He has shown Himself mighty countless times .. why should this time be different? He will do it again!

And so, as this journey of adding to our family continues ... I give thanks. For another day to grow a little life. For the miracle that He has allowed to happen. That He heard my prayer, like Hannah in 1 Samuel. That He has given the child that we have prayed for. Could something unexpected happen? Oh, yes. Can something glorious come out of those trying times? OH, YES! And we are living proof of that!

~ a little life, beating heart, fingers, toes, a little soul

~ dreams of my oldest girl ... wanting to make a difference!

~ this man that I think about every day ... a wonderful, godly father.

~ for the man who sticks with me, always beside me!

~ The Eyes

Aren't our eyes incredible? Do you know that when your eye doctor does a scan of your eyes they can detect high blood pressure, signs of stroke, risk of heart attack ... the list goes on.
To me, that is incredible and only an incredible God could design such a thing!

We show gratitude, love, assurance, appreciation, acceptance, and affection. We can calm the fears of others with a kind, reassuring look ~ however, our eyes can also show disgust, disappointment, anger .... and other things I don't even want to list!

Our eyes reveal what is in our heart! Aren't they referred to as 'the windows to the soul' and
rightly so.

Today, Hannah took part in a spelling bee and did a fabulous job! As I looked around at the
parents and friends of the other spellers, I watched their eyes! I could see all that they were
thinking and feeling. Pride for their little one, the encouraging smiles and bright eyes saying
'you are doing a great job!' Imagine... all that through the eyes!

What do I show my girls through my glances and looks? Am I showing them love and care, or
am I careless and showing things through my eyes that do nothing to encourage their spirit and
hearts? Oh, what a sobering thought!!

Oh, Lord help me to make every look count so that it encourages and builds up those around me!

Do I want my girls to remember the exasperated looks or the looks of love? What do I want my
days to be filled with? Of course the answer wells up within me ... who would choose
exasperation when we can choose love?!

I choose looks of love, encouragement, assurance ...

And the naming of gift continues ...

~ my little speller :)
~ a little sister who was there to cheer on her big sister
~ family and friends that came to support Hannah!
~ the love and joy that was shown to her through the eyes of others
~ giggles and joy over homemade pizza night
~ that I can see my girls, their smiles, their faces, their joys
~ the love in my husband's eyes for me, and for his girls :)

Let us commit to use our eyes to show our love ....

The Question ~

'Mom?' Hannah asks this morning on the way to Montessori... 'aren't you going to ask who wants to pray?'

'You're right, Han! I didn't realize we were this close! Who would like to pray?'
In my rear view mirror I see a little hand go up and voice exclaim, 'I want to, mom!'
'Ok, Grace. (my not so little 5 year old!) Go ahead when you are ready.'

And so begins a beautiful little prayer asking the Lord to give them a great day with their friends, learning and playing. For happy hearts and attitudes as they go about their day. For their daddy to come home safely from work today, and our family and friends.

And then the line that hits me ... 'and thank you Lord, for ALL You do for us!'

There it is .. 'ALL you do for us!' How do you list out the ALL....

I got up this morning, breathing and rested. I had a warm shower, with clean water, and was able to put on clean clothes. My girls slept in warm beds last night, while the storm howled outside. They had breakfast this morning and warm clothes to put on to go out into the cold... the list keeps on going...

This dare to find joy and count the gifts.... well, the list grows and grows!

All brought to mind from a little one`s prayer. Reflecting on what that word really means.

The dare continues ... counting ALL that He does for us.

Will you start naming His gifts ... there is no time like the present!

He is Good!

One of the amazing things about 'The Joy Dare' is choosing to see things as gifts. Yes, that's
right ... I said 'choosing' Because isn't that what we do? We choose to see things as either gifts
or as something else.

These past 2 years, our family has dealt with many things. We said goodbye to a beloved dad, my
girls have seen 4 of their grandparents be promoted to heaven, a much anticipated little one was
chosen to go straight to heaven before their earthly appearance, and a few more. Where do
things like this leave a mom? Where do things like this leave a family? Where do things like this leave a families relationship with an all knowing and perfect God?

I will freely admit that I struggled, and have those days which are more challenging than others.
Some days the joy flows freely, and my heart is overflowing with praise ... other days I have to
look harder for the joy. But ... I do look for the joy!! Isn't joy everywhere? Isn't all that He does good?

Psalms 119: 68a ~ 'Thou art good, and doest good!' There it is right there ... plainly and simply..
He is good and what He does is good! How can I dispute that? I might not always understand
what He is doing, but I believe that what He is doing is GOOD! That is God's very nature. He is
a GOOD GOD!

As we go through this dare to look for joy and find it .... I remember that His graces are all around us ~ they are just waiting to be numbered and He is just waiting to hear and receive our
praise. Will you give Him praise today for all that He has done for you?

This is an incredible journey ~ one that never ends ~ one the doesn't stop until we get to Glory where we will praise Him personally!! Until that day, I want to be one that is counting the gifts
of grace and giving Him the praise for them!

~ the ability and privilege to homeschool my children!
~ seeing my oldest get a new concept :)
~ watching the smile my little girl gives as she completes her math ~ a job well done!
~ seeing sisters, feeling yucky, snuggle for an afternoon quiet time.
~ the joy of a new day and all that lies before us!

Will you take the dare? Will you look for the gifts that surround you everyday and give the praise
to the One who is sending those gifts? You can join up any time and to find out more ~ visit
www.aholyexperience.com (Ann Voskamp's blog)

Join us on a life changing adventure ~ I guarantee you will never regret that you did!! :)