A Beautiful Legacy

Kari Renee Bouchie Luoma

            Kari was one of the most beautiful people I have ever known.  Memories flood my mind.  Christmas and Thanksgiving get-togethers at Grandma’s house, New Year’s Eve at my parent’s place, sleepovers in her bear-filled bedroom, birthday parties, wedding showers, walking around Target, coloring pretty pictures, sitting at the piano together, singing in the car as we drove around town, long conversations, and so many more… they are memories I will cherish forever.  I was beyond blessed to grow up knowing her in such a special way! 

            I was blessed to watch her graduate from college and receive her diploma.  I was blessed to serve as her personal attendant at her wedding, and blessed to have her as mine for my wedding.  When I was pregnant with my first child I spent many weeks on strict bed rest.  Kari came and spent a day with me.  She brought me a purse she had knitted and painted my nails.  She pampered me with love. 

            If I were to choose one word to describe Kari it would be: loving.

            Kari loved to sing and she loved to laugh!  Whether it was something silly, serious, or a burst of praise to the Lord, she always had a song.  Kari was full of joy.  She had a great laugh that would pull you in.  Oftentimes she’d laugh so hard she’d cry.  She was so much fun!  I can just imagine her singing and dancing with the angels in heaven! 

            Kari loved kids! She had a passion for all the little ones she worked with at church over the years, the girls she counseled at camp, and the neighborhood kids around her.  The last time we talked, about two weeks before she died, we were talking about Vacation Bible School.  She was telling me about the summer she had a little mini VBS at her house with five kids from her neighborhood, and how fun it was.  Kids brought her joy.  Kari wanted to be a mom so badly and was really excited about the adoption process that they were in.  But now, she’ll be my baby’s mommy in heaven.  And that is a special thought to me!

            Kari loved her family!  She bubbled over with love and excitement at getting to be with her loved ones.  You’d walk in and she would hurry over with a huge smile on her face and her arms up in the air ready to give you the biggest hug!  You could count on it. The last year of Grandma Vivian’s life Kari spent a weekend every month with her.  What a gift!  She cared so much about people….

Kari loved Jeremiah!  They have a beautiful love that will never die.  Jeremiah is a gift to our family.  Kari and I never had a conversation that didn’t include something sweet about her wonderful husband.  Their wedding was beautiful.  Jeremiah was the luckiest man that day! 

            Most of all, Kari loved God.  Through everything - heart surgery, brain cancer, losing her dad, etc… Kari persevered.  While shedding a tear was pretty normal for her tender heart, she would find the good in any situation.  She clung to the Lord and praised His name.  She loved Him dearly and she knew who she was in Christ – a daughter of the King, His beloved, His child, His servant.  There was never a phone call that ended without her asking how she could pray for me; Never a conversation that didn’t include what the Lord was doing in our lives.  Kari was inspiring!  She leaves behind an amazing testimony and legacy!  The last post she made on Facebook spoke amazingly of who she was.  She wrote this: 

            If you’re looking for God’s will for your life check out 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

            16 Be joyful always;

            17 Pray continually;

            18 Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

            My beautiful Kari, I can just imagine you hearing, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”  Thank you for serving the Lord, loving others unconditionally, and persevering in this life.  Thank you for your big Care-Bear hugs and smiles that never ceased to brighten my day.  I will miss you so very, very much.  But the next time I see you will be a wonderful joyous day before the Lord.  I love you…..

                                                                        Love, Kelsey

Just Believe To Be Saved

Luke 23:39-43 "One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: 'Aren't you the Christ?  Save yourself and us!'  But the other criminal rebuked him.  'Don't you fear God,' he said, 'since you are under the same sentence?  We are punished justly, for we are getting what are deeds deserve.  But this man has done nothing wrong.'  Then he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.'  Jesus answered him, 'I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.'

I can't imagine what it must have been like to be the believing criminal.  To hear the Lord speak such words when you know you are in your final hours must have been amazing!  His hope was in nothing until that point.  I can imagine the self-condemning thought process for someone like him that must have gone on.  And yet, in one way I do know what he was feeling.  Today and tomorrow are not guaranteed.  I had NO hope until I trusted in the Lord and He changed my life.

Another thing I really like about this passage is that it shows the truth about how one is saved and goes to heaven.The man simply had to believe and trust that Jesus was who he said he was and could do what he said he could do.  And now he gets to rejoice in heaven!  How AWESOME!

John 14:6 "Jesus answered, ' I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.' "


Some churches have taught that you must baptize your child (along with other requirements) if that child is going to get into heaven.  Many people struggle with it.  This passage in Luke clearly negates that thought.  The believing criminal never got baptized.  But look what Jesus said to him.

We are to believe and THEN be baptized.  Baptism is only an outward sign of what God has done on the inside.  It's you speaking out and saying to others that you are going to live your life for the Lord because He has changed you and made you new.  Water can't save you.  Being washed by the Holy Spirit and saved by the blood can.

Eternity Possible with God

Luke 18:18-30

"A certain ruler asked him 'Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?'... 
'You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.'  
'All these I have kept since I was a boy,' he said.  
When Jesus heard this, he said to him, 'You still lack one thing.  Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.  Then come, follow me.'  
When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth.  Jesus looked at him and said, 'How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!  Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.'  
Those who heard this asked, 'Who then can be saved?'  

Jesus replied, 'What is impossible with men is possible with God.'  

Peter said to him, 'We have left all we had to follow you!'  
'I tell you the truth,' Jesus said to them, 'no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life.' "

We can't do it with our own strength, good intentions, or imperfect will.  Jesus makes all things possible.  I am thankful.

Trust in God, Not Mortal Men

Psalm 146
"Praise the Lord.  

Praise the Lord, O my soul.  I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
  

Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.  When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them - the Lord, who remains faithful forever.  He upholds the cause of the oppressed the Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous.  The Lord watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.  

The Lord reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations.  

Praise the Lord."

John 12:43

"For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God."

Where do I put my trust and hope?  Where do I find my worth?  From God alone.  He is the God who was, who is, and who is still to come.  There is nothing he does not know and I can put my trust fully in him.  He calls me beautiful and holy.  I am a daughter of the King.  My worth is in the Lord and how grateful I am for that!  Look to the Lord for the praise you need.  Seek out His will to know if you are doing well.  For only He can satisfy.  His opinion is worth for more than we can hope.  Man's opinion is worth so little.  

Father, help me to cling to you.  All that I am and all that I do should be for you and you alone.  Remind me of who I am in you.  Let my discouragement go by the wayside.  You are true, just and loving.  I praise you!

Daughter of Eve, Heir of Christ

Hebrews 4:12-13 "For the word of God is living and active.  Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.  Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight.  Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."  And then there is the encouragement.  I do not answer to a dead god or to a priest who doesn't understand or who plots my destruction because I am not holy enough.  Hebrews 4:14-16 "...let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin.  Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

Someday I will give an account for what I have done in this life.  Nothing will come as a surprise to God.  I lay bare before him.  My heart is open.  Nothing I do can cover up.  Adam and Eve tried to hide and put makeshift clothing over their bodies as though it would keep the Lord at a distance.  Can I learn from their mistakes?

A daughter of Eve, but an heir of Christ.  That is what I am.  

I have been adopted into the family of Christ and that is where I must reside.  My life, body, mind, everything that makes up this child - it belongs to God.  HIS WORD.  That is where I find out who I am.  It's the place I can go to seek out the answer to life's hardest struggles.  It's the place I can always be assured of God's passion for my life.  How beautiful it is to know the truth.

Forgetting to Give Thanks

"Suppose for a moment," Reardon had said, "that God began taking from us the many things for which we have failed to give thanks.  Which of our limbs and faculties would be left?  Would I still have my hands and my mind?  And what about loved ones?  If God were to take from me all those persons and things for which I have not given thanks, who or what would be left of me?"
An excerpt from 'Out to Canaan' by Jan Karon

Remember to give thanks!  Do not take for granted the small, seemingly insignificant things that have a great deal to do with who we are, what we do, and how we live.  God is a giver of good things.

Point to Jesus

In Bible times the Lord often gave his disciples the ability to heal the sick, cast out demons, etc...  I can't imagine what that must have been like!  Luke 10:17-20 says, "The seventy-two returned with joy and said, 'Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.'  He replied, 'I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven,  I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy, nothing will harm you.  However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.' "  Jesus is encouraging them to keep their focus where it should be.  So often our flesh get us into trouble.  Rather than giving all the glory to the Father and keeping a humble and grateful attitude, we get a big head.  With out God, we are nothing and we have nothing.  But without keeping a heavenly, God-centered mind set, we begin attributing the gifts, qualities and benefits to ourselves instead of pointing others to Jesus.  It's a very dangerous road to travel!  So slippery.  Satan knows how pride loves to rule in our hearts.  It's one of the quickest ways to put distance between you and Jesus.  The farther you move from Him, the closer you move to Satan.

Another thing I notice about this passage is this: "...I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven... rejoice that your names are written in heaven."  I have to wonder if Jesus was eluding to the fact that when Satan fell, it was a scary, horrifying thing.  The fact that they belong to God is something to never cease rejoicing about!  How awful and scary to belong to Satan!
Thank you Jesus for saving me and loving me when I am so undeserving!

Living as if We're Dying

At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon

I am not half way through this book yet, and have found two lovely points being made.

Olivia asked her pastor what he thought she could do to make the remaining months of her life worth something.  They came to a consensus rather quickly.  Father Tim's final thought... "In the space of precisely seven minutes, which he reckoned to be the full length of her visit, he had been told a terrible truth, discovered the answer to prayer, helped someone find a ministry, and been unutterably refreshed in his own spirit.  Perhaps, he thought, we should all live as if we were dying."

...

Cynthia read aloud from a book of lectures by Oswald Chambers, " 'Faith by its very nature must be tried,' he says.  Do you agree?"
"Absolutely!" Tim replied.
"I've never been one for physical exercise," she said, "but what God does with our faith must be something like workouts.  He sees to it that our faith gets pushed and pulled, stretched, and pounded, taken to its limits so its limits can expand... if it doesn't get exercised," she said thoughtfully, "it becomes like a weak muscle that fails us when we need it."
"Would you agree that we must be willing to thank God for every trial of our faith, no matter how severe, for the greater strength it produces?"

...

In Colossians 4 and Ephesians 5 we are told to make the most of every opportunity.  In 1 Thessalonians 5 we are told to, "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

1 Peter 3:15 "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.  Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.  But do this with gentleness and respect."

1 Samuel 12:24 "But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you."

Mark 16:15 "Go into all the world and preach the good news to everyone."

Do I live with a fervent desire to serve the Almighty?  Do I live as though I only have 6 months left?  My tomorrow is not guaranteed.  I want to live for him wholeheartedly.  I want to share Jesus with those around me.  Lord, help my will to align with yours.  Keep me heavenly minded.  May my hands be yours.  Use me in ways I can not fathom, Father.  Glory be to Your Name.

A Chosen People

1 Peter 2:9-10  "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy."

Psalm 139:13-14  "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made..."

Ephesians 2:8-10  "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

I am God's child, dearly loved and beautifully created.  He has a plan for me!  There is nothing in me that is not from Him.  I am chosen in Him.  Praise God!

Father, I am willing.  Please show me how I fit into your plan.  Give me wisdom and discernment in this walk of life.

Inexpressible and Glorious Joy

1 Peter 1:3-4  "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade..."


1 Peter 1:8-9  "Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls."


1 Peter 1:13  "...set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed."


Where does joy come from?  True joy.  Not just the happy giddy feeling you get when something wonderful happens.  Joy that can overcome when darkness crowds in.  Joy that fills the heart when nothing else seems right in this life.  I want that joy.

Jesus.

And it's not that we should look to Him to feel better.  He is our only hope.  We are to cling to God.  For we are loved with an agape, sovereign, God-love that can never be replicated.  A love that we will never fully understand. 

Overwhelming feelings and questions of:  What can I do?  Will I ever be enough?  How do I make it?  They are answered only through Jesus Christ.  He is the only way to have hope and true joy.  In James 5 it says to pray if we are in trouble and to sing songs of praise if we are happy.  There is no patting ourselves on the back when things go well.  The Lord gives and he takes away.  There is nothing we possess that is not from Him, the Most High - The giver of Life.  

When life gets hard and it feels like there is nothing to possibly give thanks for, then look UP!  Refocus.  If we are eternally minded as we should be, then there is always a reason to give thanks!  (Colossians 3:2
"Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.")  The free gift of salvation through Jesus, and the gift of being able to serve Him and walk with Him is enough reason to have us jumping up and down from the roof tops shouting out, "I AM BLESSED!  My God, YOU are SOOOO Good!"

Nehemiah 8:10  "The joy of the Lord is your strength!"

Embrace the Consequences

My imagination-filled four year old sits in time out.  I hear his hands clap shut as he quietly talks from the stair well. "Dear Jesus, can you help me to be good and to be kind so that I won't get any time outs or spanks.  Thank you.  Amen."  Then there is silence and I sit here contemplating the words to his prayer.  A prayer of repentance?  What was his motivation for that little prayer?

To escape the repercussions.

I know he is only four and hopefully with time he will learn.  At least it's a step in the right direction...  But my heart is saddened a bit.  How often do I go before the Lord and ask his forgiveness, or ask for his help, with the motive being that of a young child's?  I know what the Bible says is sin.  And yet, is this my heart?  I don't want to keep reaping these consequences, Lord.  Please help me to do better.  What happened to hiding His word in my heart that I might not sin against Him?  (Psalm 119:11)

Sin is grievous to the Lord.  Am I grieved because of my sin and the pain it causes my God?  Or do I view it as a mere "oops"?  How often I have heard my child say, "But I didn't mean it," as he tries to talk his way out of time out.  Frustration threatens to brim.  Self-teach, Kelsey.  Then child-teach.  My sin nature is just like his.

Eucharisteo
117.  ...for a time to teach life lessons. 


Do I try and talk my way out of the consequences my sin brings?  It's just another "oops".  Please have some mercy, Lord.  And then realization hits me once again.  His mercy permeates.  His gift has saved me from the worst possible consequence ever!

Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death.  But the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord."

 I want to be refined.  I want to be like Him; to be brought back to the state in which I was created when sin didn't rule my nature... because I was made in His likeness.

Refine me, Lord.  I know the things I go through will refine me.  I know you will bring good from every situation.  Help me to be thankful for these times.  Keep me from falling into the trap of self-pity.  Show me what you have for me and keep me heavenly minded  Help me to embrace the consequences. 

Both Point to Jesus

I LOVE how the Old Testament points Jesus over and over again.  It gives proof that the two testaments are one.  It gives proof that Jesus is God and that He 'lived' long before he stepped onto this earth.  It is evidence that the Holy Spirit is just as much God as the Son and the Father.  It shows how our awesome God had a plan from the very beginning to bring his people back to him.  And my saving grace of which I am ever grateful for:  It is undeniable the LOVE that our Creator has for us!

Ezekiel 36:26-27  "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws."

Jeremiah 31:31-34  " 'The time is coming,' declares the Lord, 'when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.  It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,' declares the Lord... 'I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.  I will be their God, and they will be my people.  No longer will a man teach his neighbor or a man his brother, saying, "Know the Lord," because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,' declares the Lord.  'For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.' "

I love the last half of that verse!  Religious teachers who say you have to go through them in order to ask God's forgiveness don't know what they speak of.   Their understanding of what the cross did is greatly lacking!  To truly know someone the way God says that we can know Him (because of what Jesus did for us) is to be extremely personal with that person.

There are many other places in the Old Testament that speak of Jesus.  I want to dig deeper.  A greater understanding of who Jesus is and what he has done - AND realizing all the evidence that shows it is infallible - will only grow me deeper in my relationship with Christ.  This is my desire.

God's Decrees

You shall have 

no other gods 

before me.

As I read in 1 Kings chpt 9 I am amazed.  He is ever so stern!  I can see how, if you don't look at the big picture of who God is and why and when he does certain things throughout the Bible, someone might read this and think He is not a God of grace.  (vs. 6-9) "But if you or your sons turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name.  Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples... because they have forsaken the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them - that is why the Lord brought all this disaster on them."  God's commandment of "you shall have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:3) is serious.  He meant business when he wrote that on the stone tablets for Moses to bring down to his people!  There's no messing around with that - and for good reason!

If you look at Sodom and Gomorrah and the terrible, godless people they had become, there's no doubt why God has rules for us.  He isn't just wanting us to obey him and bow down like cowards because he's a control freak.  God KNOWS what happens when people walk away from him and his decrees.  Sorrow and despair, anger, corruption, jealousy etc.... take over the hearts of his people - which is exactly what Satan delights in - and destroys them.  Hope is nowhere to be found.... except through HIM!  Our good is His intention.

Over and over again throughout the Bible, God gave 2nd and 3rd chances to people.  I am grateful for the grace that God gives.  His patience is amazing and his love is unwavering.  God is "...not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)  I want to be humble before my King.  I never want to forget that what I have and who I am is nothing without Him.  

By Faith

Hebrews 11:1-40

        "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for 

                  and certain of what we do not see.  

       This is what the ancients were commended for.  

    

    By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

    By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did.  By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings.  And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.

....
    By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.  By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
    By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.  By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him with the same promise.
....
    By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice.  He who had received the promises though God had said to him, 'It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.'  Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.
    By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.  
    By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
    By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.
    By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.
....
    I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.
....
    These were all commended for their faith...."

Mother's Day

My Mama is someone special.  

She's my best friend. 

     Until recently, we lived not too far apart.  When things were hard with the kids I knew I could call her and she'd drive over to spend the day with us.

     I never worried about not being welcomed at her house.  Games, talks, crafts, and yummy little snacks...  One another's company was the best thing a day could bring.  Target trips for no reason at all - I miss these things that miles now separate.


     When I was little there was always a hug for a sad face, a band aid for the scraped knee, a book to be read as we snuggled in the rocking chair... trips to McDonald's, a Mommy day date, Dairy Queen treats, and Camping at Norway Beach... and those special notes left for me ending in xoxo just to say she loved me.  So many special memories.

     Whether sleepy or just curled up in her lap, a favorite song was usually sung; one she wrote for her babies, and I now sing to mine...

"I love you, I love you, I love you, I do.  You're Mommy's sweet baby, I love you I do.  Oh you're my little sweet heart, you're my little girl.  I love you, I love you, I do."

     My little boys already have such fond memories.  Kisses, hugs, kisses, hugs, and still more kisses - never enough of those!  Picnics outside, silly "I'm thinking of something..." games, playing animals in the lego zoo she built with matching colored pieces...

and those stories!   

Snuggled up in Grandma's room - there unfold the most interesting tales 

of the nature trail, animals, and adventures at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  

My little boy could sit for hours and listen to her stories.  

Back and forth, back and forth they go 

with giggling and whispering floating from the doorway... 

I have the best Mama and

My boys have the best Grandma...

...I am thankful.

He Turns One

My baby boy is one year old today.  I have to admit it makes me a little sad.  No more babies will be hearing my heartbeat from inside or coming home from the hospital for the first time.  I'm not really ready to let go of this baby stage.  My arms already ache to hold the infant from my womb in it's small form.  Yet, I rejoice to see the beautiful little boy he is becoming!  What a gift my great God gave to me!

90.  Birthdays to celebrate God's gift of you.  Eucharisteo

My prayer is that the Lord will grow my two little boys to be strong men of God.  That their hearts would overflow with love and dedication to the One who created their inmost beings.  The teen years will come and I pray they will be bold in their faith and stand up for what is right.  That no worldly influences would mar their minds and hearts.  That in retrospect regrets won't be what they dwell on.  I pray they look first to God and second to us as their parents.  I pray they have compassionate, honest, and passionate hearts for the people around in light of God's calling for their lives.

Proverbs 22:6  "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."


Father God, be the center of their lives.  Do not allow the Devil a foothold in their lives.  Give us wisdom to be the parents you call us to be.  Thank you, Father, that you are faithful.  Thank you that you love them more than we ever could!  Thank you for the incredible gift of two beautiful little boys.

Dirt Smudged Laughter

Eucharisteo...
64.  Fingers clinging to my shirt
...
71.  Three legged races with my boy
...
74.  Camden's fast running legs
75.  Open-mouthed baby kisses
...
78.  Sunshine to play in
79.  Water balloons and laughter
80.  Dirt smudged cheeks
81.  Sleeping baby warm against me
82.  Band aids for little scrapes

Being a mommy is wonderful!  Making memories is the best part of my day.... and I cringe at the many times I fail to remember this and simply push through the day as a matter of survival.
One day my children will be grown.  Will my heart be filled with regret from lack of memories to pull from?  Or will an abundance of moments flood in to bring peace and joy when loneliness sets in from no more little feet pattering across the floor?
I want to make the most of every opportunity.  Not just in fun and laughter, but for their spiritual lives too.  I want my boys to remember memory verses, Bible stories, and discipline in love.  What kind of impact will be left with the hugs for scraped knees, shoulders to catch tears, and serving others in their needs?  A heart for the Lord.
May my heart mirror you, Lord.  May my life be a love song to you!  May my children be left with the example of a godly woman.  By your grace, Father.  There is no other way. 

Eucharisteo

My list of Eucharisteo:
...
6.  The sun shining brightly
7.  The sparkle of snow glimmering
...
10.  Hot showers
11.  A friend I can call for no reason at all
12.  Chocolate cake
...
28.  Pretty songbirds
...
35.  A God who knows all and sees all
36.  Parents who taught me modesty
37.  My boys giggling in the bathtub
...
47.  Little cheeks to squish and kiss
48.  God's Word to help me parent
49.  Elias' shy head bow and twinkly smile
50.  Small hands picking flowers for Mama
...

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18  "Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."


Ephesians 5:19-20  "...Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."


With two little boys my day can easily become cluttered with the messiness of life.  The to-do lists, the discipline, the teaching, the laughing, the cleaning of messes, and on it goes... until I forget what my day is supposed to consist of.  Ann makes such wonderful points in her book, 'One Thousand Gifts'.   Here are a few things that have really stuck out to me this week:

"Stay calm, enter the moment, give thanks."
"It's only the amateurs - and that I have been and it's been ugly - who think slow and urgent are contradictory, opposite poles."
"Is this what the life experts know?  That in Christ, urgent means slow.  That in Christ, the most urgent necessitates a slow and steady reverence."
"Life is dessert - too brief to hurry.  You don't wolf it down."

"...eucharisteo precedes the miracle."

Matthew 14:19-20  "Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves... They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over."


Psalm 69:30  "I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving."


I dare to suggest that 99.9% of the time, in order to live fully right where you are, your heart is what needs adjustment - not your circumstances.

Father God, you are a giving, merciful Father!  You gave the greatest gift that could ever be given.  You are not a God the consists of only rules.  You love to see your children smile!  Keep my heart in tune with this, Lord.  I know I fail to see your miracles and blessings when I forget to be thankful for what has already been given.  You are beautiful and magnificent!  Give me eyes to see and a heart to recognize, I pray.