Last Thursday I had a wonderful blessing. I went to the introduction for the Bible Study Fellowship for next fall. Oh, I'm so excited! I wish I would have done the study this spring, but I was so nervous about leaving Marian I just couldn't do it. God knew I'd need some help leaving her in a larger class and not just with friends so he provided a lovely lady named Ms. Clemens. She is the assistant children's program director and she has type 1 diabetes! She called me last Tuesday before the introduction class to go over Marian's needs and tell me the carbohydrate counts of the snack.
I was blessed by the welcoming attitude of everyone I met and how they reacted to joyfully looking out for Marian. That would have made my day if that was it, but then the lecture was so encouraging! It was based on 1 Peter 3-5. The teacher went over submission in suffering, refinement in suffering, leadership for suffering and service. The topic was suffering! A topic that Mark and I have spent a lot of time talking about in the last 6 months. I was so refreshed after this 45 minutes, but then I went back to pick up the girls and they were so excited. Marian talked for two days about all she did in her new "class." I am so grateful for a place that I can look forward to digging into the Word, but also for a place that the girls are learning and growing in the Word as well.
Thank you to the ladies that were so welcoming at BSF and for my friends that are already involved and encouraged me to join!
Grateful for God, community and family that remind me daily that I'm not walking alone.
Showing posts with label grateful. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grateful. Show all posts
Monday, May 14, 2012
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Gratituesday- Momma's Little Helper
Sofia awoke from her nap with the same words I hear every day at 3pm. "I'm hungry 'gain." Her snack choice was an apple or banana with peanut butter. She went with her typical choice of banana with peanut butter, this kid would only eat bananas and peanut butter if given the option. After her little snack she wiped her hands, walked over to the dish washer and neatly (yes neatly!) placed her plate in the dishwasher! I'm pretty impressed for a 2 year old! So today I'm grateful for the joy Sofia has in serving others and how absolutely cute it is to see her mimic something I do 100 times a day.
Photo credit to Becky Hadeed (Another reason to be grateful! She babysat the girls and took adorable pictures while doing it!)
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Gratituesday- Breakfast with a Friend
A day late:)
I am by no means a techie, but I'm grateful for technology! The wonders of skype has allowed me to have breakfast with my friend, Aly, whom currently lives in Malaysia many times. She wasn't really having breakfast this time, she was eating a nighttime snack before bed thanks to the 12 hour time difference.
It was a wonderful start to my morning to begin the day first having our girls talk. We've taught our girls that they share the sun and moon. When one family has the moon the other has the sun, its the only way we've thought to explain why one family is going to bed while the other is eating breakfast. Two and three year old skype conversations are quite amusing. Typically conversation consists of showing various toys or books. Marian played a rousing rendition of "Jesus Loves Me" on the harmonica this time. Skype even lets you enjoy the fun of young children learning musical instruments. Once my friend's kids have gone to bed and my kids are off playing (or sitting/climbing in my lap) the adults get to talk at least in theory. Sometimes this works better than others.5
Before they left for Malaysia, I typically saw Aly 3-4 times a week. It was a tough adjustment not getting to call her whenever I wanted, thankfully there is email. This morning we were able to talk for a long time about everything from weather (its been quite an adjustment moving from Maryland to Malaysia) to language learning to homeschooling to what God's teaching us about Himself and ourselves. I've always respected Aly's humility and joy in her relationship with Jesus and its been beautiful to see it grow greater as she lives in a foreign country.
I am by no means a techie, but I'm grateful for technology! The wonders of skype has allowed me to have breakfast with my friend, Aly, whom currently lives in Malaysia many times. She wasn't really having breakfast this time, she was eating a nighttime snack before bed thanks to the 12 hour time difference.
It was a wonderful start to my morning to begin the day first having our girls talk. We've taught our girls that they share the sun and moon. When one family has the moon the other has the sun, its the only way we've thought to explain why one family is going to bed while the other is eating breakfast. Two and three year old skype conversations are quite amusing. Typically conversation consists of showing various toys or books. Marian played a rousing rendition of "Jesus Loves Me" on the harmonica this time. Skype even lets you enjoy the fun of young children learning musical instruments. Once my friend's kids have gone to bed and my kids are off playing (or sitting/climbing in my lap) the adults get to talk at least in theory. Sometimes this works better than others.5
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| By far my favorite Ari and Marian picture:) Picture taken 3 months before they left. |
Before they left for Malaysia, I typically saw Aly 3-4 times a week. It was a tough adjustment not getting to call her whenever I wanted, thankfully there is email. This morning we were able to talk for a long time about everything from weather (its been quite an adjustment moving from Maryland to Malaysia) to language learning to homeschooling to what God's teaching us about Himself and ourselves. I've always respected Aly's humility and joy in her relationship with Jesus and its been beautiful to see it grow greater as she lives in a foreign country.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Gratituesday- Silence
I have never appreciated silence more than this current stage in my life. I guess their are two types of silence in my life. One is when the girls are silent I know something is wrong, thank God for those little indicators of mischief or disobedience. The second silence and the one I'm REALLY grateful for is silence when the girls are asleep or I'm driving alone in the car. I don't think I'm an introvert nor have I ever been one to seek out silence. Music was always on in the car once I began driving and Mark and I frequently had music on in the house before kids. Now, if I'm in the car alone there is no music or talk radio, just beautiful silence. As a note I used to think my mom was weird for not listening to the radio, sorry mom; I totally understand now;)
Today I had one of those really wonderful silent times while the girls napped. I sipped hot chocolate, sat on the couch looking at the pink blossomed tree in front of our house while I read a very encouraging book (Faithful Parent by Martha Peace and Stuart Scott) and journaled. The silence and rest was refreshing.
What are you grateful for today?
Gratituesday is part of Heavenly Homemakers
Today I had one of those really wonderful silent times while the girls napped. I sipped hot chocolate, sat on the couch looking at the pink blossomed tree in front of our house while I read a very encouraging book (Faithful Parent by Martha Peace and Stuart Scott) and journaled. The silence and rest was refreshing.
What are you grateful for today?
Gratituesday is part of Heavenly Homemakers
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Gratituesday- Can You Feel the Mountains Tremble
Can you hear the oceans roar? When the lost began to sing of Jesus Christ the risen one...
I love the sound of the ocean, I love that every time I see it I want to sing praise to its creator, and how time stops at the beach. It's a nice pause in the speed of life, especially because at times I tend to go a bit too fast. "Be still" isn't my strength and is definitely something I have to work on!
This weekend my dad and step-mom let us use their ocean front beach house in Holden Beach, NC. Ahhh, so wonderful. It's a killer ride but oh so worth it. We broke up the first drive by visiting Mark's brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephews in Norfolk area which helped.
It was perfect weather, warm enough to be out on the beach without jackets yet not blazing hot. The water was freezing but Mark and the girls still waded in all 3 days. I refrained because I've become my mom and hate cold water. See picture of it hitting me while taking a picture:
We all enjoyed time picking up shells, wading, flying kites, building sand castles, and eating meals on the deck. It's amazing to have the privilege to teach our kids about creation through such fun play. Sofia and I walked along the beach talking about who created the shells we were picking up and how the sound of the waves reminds us of God's might.
Sunday morning our family took a moment to sit on the porch (with coffee and chai for the adults) and worship our Lord. What wonderful object lessons the crashing waves provided regarding God's greatness. I'm grateful for a husband that leads us well.
What a great weekend! What are you grateful for today?
I love the sound of the ocean, I love that every time I see it I want to sing praise to its creator, and how time stops at the beach. It's a nice pause in the speed of life, especially because at times I tend to go a bit too fast. "Be still" isn't my strength and is definitely something I have to work on!
This weekend my dad and step-mom let us use their ocean front beach house in Holden Beach, NC. Ahhh, so wonderful. It's a killer ride but oh so worth it. We broke up the first drive by visiting Mark's brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephews in Norfolk area which helped.
It was perfect weather, warm enough to be out on the beach without jackets yet not blazing hot. The water was freezing but Mark and the girls still waded in all 3 days. I refrained because I've become my mom and hate cold water. See picture of it hitting me while taking a picture:
We all enjoyed time picking up shells, wading, flying kites, building sand castles, and eating meals on the deck. It's amazing to have the privilege to teach our kids about creation through such fun play. Sofia and I walked along the beach talking about who created the shells we were picking up and how the sound of the waves reminds us of God's might.
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| Mark looks good with the pink princess kite. |
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| 24 weeks pregnant! I'm HUGE:) |
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| Our Object Lesson |
What a great weekend! What are you grateful for today?
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Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers! |
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Gratituesday- Landscapers for the Condo Association
We live in a first floor condo. We have a 6 foot by 6 foot porch as our "front yard" and about 15 feet of sidewalk to the road. Along this sidewalk has been English Ivy. I have a strong dislike of this ivy that has grown over the past 3 years. One because its poisonous if ingested by wee ones...something my wee ones have tried numerous times. Two it provides a beautiful, moist, shaded, warm breeding ground these nasty little biting bugs called mosquitoes. They actual swarm on our front porch in the summer. It's pleasant. This beautiful winter (another reason to be grateful!) has shown that I can allow our girls to play with chalk on our front porch. It's a beautiful thing to cook dinner while the girls play a bit outside. They are happy during what my mom calls the piranha hour (4-5pm) and I am able to cook dinner quickly. I love having the girls cook with me, but I find dinner is not the meal to have this happen on a daily basis.
Okay back to my lovely ivy. I decided that before baby #3 arrives I wanted to pull it out so that hopefully it would help with the swarming mosquitoes and allow the girls to play outside while I nurse or just so all of us can be outside during the summer without getting eaten alive. On another nice winter day I asked one of the men from our condo's landscaping company about pulling out the ivy. "Instead of saying sure go for it lady." Instead he called his boss and pulled it all out that evening! What a blessing to be able to cross that off my to-do list without having to actually do anything! Now I have this wonderful space that the girls are LOVING and hopefully come spring we can plant some herbs and flowers that will be pleasant to look at, not kill my children when ingested, and provide a bit of food. An actual garden isn't allowed by the condo association nor do we get enough light to grow most veggies or fruits so that goal has to wait until we have a yard. I'm also going to be in my third trimester of pregnancy by then realistically I will not keep up with a full sized garden no matter how ambitious I am. :)
I'm grateful for God providing help to do a job that was a bit more than I was probably going to get to.
Okay back to my lovely ivy. I decided that before baby #3 arrives I wanted to pull it out so that hopefully it would help with the swarming mosquitoes and allow the girls to play outside while I nurse or just so all of us can be outside during the summer without getting eaten alive. On another nice winter day I asked one of the men from our condo's landscaping company about pulling out the ivy. "Instead of saying sure go for it lady." Instead he called his boss and pulled it all out that evening! What a blessing to be able to cross that off my to-do list without having to actually do anything! Now I have this wonderful space that the girls are LOVING and hopefully come spring we can plant some herbs and flowers that will be pleasant to look at, not kill my children when ingested, and provide a bit of food. An actual garden isn't allowed by the condo association nor do we get enough light to grow most veggies or fruits so that goal has to wait until we have a yard. I'm also going to be in my third trimester of pregnancy by then realistically I will not keep up with a full sized garden no matter how ambitious I am. :)
I'm grateful for God providing help to do a job that was a bit more than I was probably going to get to.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Gratituesday- Grateful for Well Timed Sickness
I know it sounds odd, but I'm grateful for our entire family getting sick this week instead of last week. We all came down with colds Sunday morning that we just haven't shaken, its been 4 days, but that is super rare for us to be sick more than a day or two. I'm grateful it didn't happen last week when we had a Valentine's Day party and Sofia's second birthday party along with all the planning that goes with it. We were able to celebrate with our family and then get sick:) We then spent Sunday through today (Wednesday) spending quality time as a family. At least we didn't have to worry about making someone else sick. President's Day Mark had off work so we taught the girls to play bingo, did lots of puzzles, and watched a movie. Normally we'd be doing house projects or running around, Mark did finish painting our new headboard...it's awesome. It has been nice to just stop and spend large amount of quality time together without feeling like the house needs to be cleaned or needing to go to a meeting or run errands.
On that note, I am hoping we all shake this cold soon:)
On that note, I am hoping we all shake this cold soon:)
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Gratituesday
Laura from the blog Heavenly Homemakers does Gratituesdays with a post about what she's grateful for every Tuesday. I've always loved it! What a great way to focus on praise and not complaining! I'd like to do the same thing.
I know its Valentine's day so maybe its a bit corny but I am so grateful for my husband. He is a man that loves God more earnestly seeks to love God and live as he's commanded. He's not afraid of taking the hard road even if it means some sacrifice, which is sometimes a bit scarey as his wife;) He works full time goes to seminary part time and stays involved at church. Our pastor has been gracious enough to allow Mark to preach about 6 times a year. I love when he's preaching! I learn so much, possibly because I hear the sermon at least 2 times. He preaches with honesty and humility always taking us back to the cross. I look forward to the day when I get to hear him preach every Sunday.
As a father, he seeks to be involved and shepard our children well. Considering he's from a family of all boys, he has done a wonderful job learning to play dress-up, dolls, and house. Of course our girls can also build a tower with legos to rival most 3 year old boys and have learned how to throw snowballs at an early age. I think Sofia was hit with her first snow ball at 3 days old.
I love having a husband that cares for me well and seeks to serve me even when I don't deserve it. As a bonus he sometimes even cooks. Like tonight when he made me the crab cakes I've been craving.
I know its Valentine's day so maybe its a bit corny but I am so grateful for my husband. He is a man that loves God more earnestly seeks to love God and live as he's commanded. He's not afraid of taking the hard road even if it means some sacrifice, which is sometimes a bit scarey as his wife;) He works full time goes to seminary part time and stays involved at church. Our pastor has been gracious enough to allow Mark to preach about 6 times a year. I love when he's preaching! I learn so much, possibly because I hear the sermon at least 2 times. He preaches with honesty and humility always taking us back to the cross. I look forward to the day when I get to hear him preach every Sunday.
As a father, he seeks to be involved and shepard our children well. Considering he's from a family of all boys, he has done a wonderful job learning to play dress-up, dolls, and house. Of course our girls can also build a tower with legos to rival most 3 year old boys and have learned how to throw snowballs at an early age. I think Sofia was hit with her first snow ball at 3 days old.
I love having a husband that cares for me well and seeks to serve me even when I don't deserve it. As a bonus he sometimes even cooks. Like tonight when he made me the crab cakes I've been craving.
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