HAPPY NEW YEAR Y'ALL!!!!!!!!!


I can't wait to see what God is going to do in 2013!!!!!

When December Slips Away

Just a couple days left and then we will step into a new year. It's an amazing thing to watch the changing seasons and to see the years go by. Every year brings new changes and new experiences. Sometimes they are wonderful, and other times they are simply dreadful. However, each one helps to shape and form us into the creation that God intended us to be.

December is one of my favorite months of the year. I love celebrating Christ's birth. I had intended to post frequently about our Christmas season, but as I mentioned in past posts, my laptop died and I had a season of learning to be content without my own computer. I realized that it is very easy to become attached to material possessions. :-) Then Christmas came, and did I ever mention that I have the most amazingly generous parents ever? So, now I just have to figure out how to get around Windows 8 properly and I'll be set. :-)
Anyways, here are a couple of highlights.
We were able to attend a Christmas Ball early in December. I've gone to lots of dances and "balls" but never to a formal ball, and when I say formal I mean modest prom dress formal. It was great fun! I got a custom order for a drawing - my first commissioned piece. I'll post a picture sometime. We had a Christmas party with some friends that we've known since I was a baby and we all decorated hats that were themed after our favorite part of Christmas. I love Christmas carols and I had some fabric with a Christmas carol on it, so I made a fascinator with a small lace veil and bow. It looked a little odd with jeans, but hey, I love old fashioned things and I LOVE fascinators. We went Christmas caroling at two different nursing homes, one with our 4-H group and one with families from my brother's Alert Cadet group. We celebrated three birthdays in our family. Mom had a wonderful birthday and we had some of her friends over....she picked one of the tastiest, most complex breakfasts I have ever made and let me tell you, it was tasty!! Rachel turned 13.....ahhhhh, another teenager! No, she's wonderful and I love her. We've become the best of friends over the years, which if you knew us when we were younger you would know is a big deal! Jared turned 9, which as he loves to point out, is only half of my age. I took him to Starbucks as a birthday gift and he said it was even better than he had imagined. He also informed me that he was going to be one of those "coffee guys" when he was older. Yep, little man after my own heart. <3 p="p">Probably the best thing we did all Christmas season was go caroling at the homes of some different people we know that are hurting or lonely this holiday season. One elderly man was confined to his wheelchair and he was so delighted to have us come. He orchestrated our singing the whole time and let out a "Yah -Hoooo" after every song. We had some fun fellowship afterwards, but nothing was as fun as seeing the smiles and the tears of the people we sang to.
Then of course we had Christmas. We played musical chairs to figure out which order we got to open presents in. That was funny. :-) The next day we celebrated with some of the grandparents and then Mom and I went to see Les Miserables. I know there are differing opinions going around concerning this movie, but it was the most amazing movie I have ever seen. (I will readily agree that it is a mature film though.)
And today is my students Christmas recital. Somehow I think that January is going to feel like I'm sitting on a cloud compared to the craziness of December.

One other piece of new before I go, if anyone is interested in the above picture, I am working on getting copies up on Etsy.  If you would like to purchase one - with a frame - let me know.

God Bless to all!!!

 

P.S. How was your holiday season? Any exciting new or old traditions? Please share. :-)

 

Where the Flowers Bloom

There are moments of time in each person’s life when they must decide who they are and who they are meant to be. There are moments when the mind is made up and knows its course. And there are moments when dreams turn into the ambition which drives us along life’s winding road.


When I was young I had life figured out. I knew who I was and I knew who I was to become. But I had doubts which I would toss to and fro through my mind. I had a full proof plan, but yet it lacked the adventure and the peril which I so hungrily sought. I wanted a life of value and meaning, but was bored by the plan that others laid out so clearly before me. What glory and adventure can be found in following the status quo? How can a person find the value and meaning of their own life when they are told to live the lives of all those around them?

In the last couple of years I have battled many decisions in my head. For some perplexing reason, graduating high school seemed like the end of my present life. It loomed before me like a cliff, waiting for me to jump to certain death or board the only plane around. Now that graduation truly is nearing, I do not see it as a cliff, but rather as a fork in the road where one path is broad and well trodden, and the other rugged and narrow. Many have chosen the path well worn and walked on. I do not wish to argue that they are wrong, or that they have chosen unwisely. Many are called to walk down that path, but for me it seemed too normal, too good, and too predictable. And so I have chosen a path less trod.

I love my home. It is the place that the Lord has placed me. For me it is the entrance to the less traveled path. As I have sought the Lord’s will on where He is sending me, the answer repeatedly has been, here. For a very long time I yearned for exotic lands and foreign countries. I wanted to learn Hebrew, Greek, Russian and Italian. I wanted to save the world. But, He didn’t send me to exotic lands. He taught me to tread on the unknown lands of this life. I did not learn to fluently speak four different languages. But, He taught me the language of love which is more universal than any other language. He has not allowed me to save the world. But, He has used my life to impact others around me. Here in my home with my family, the Lord has placed me. It is not a dull life here. It is a vibrant, jubilant land of laughter and love, whispers and tears, dreams and learning. God has fulfilled more of my dreams here in my home than anywhere else in the world.

Some may look at me and see a wasted life. I do not try to combat them. My mind is made up. My heart is at peace. My vision rests solely on the One who has given me life and breath and has directed me upon this path. I am not some weary damsel that sits wilting away in a hole. On the contrary! I have a future ahead of me full of teaching kindergarten through high school, continuing my current love of teaching music, learning business management while helping to run a family business as well as run my own, polishing my seamstress skills, writing up a storm, learning to pay bills and taxes like every other small business does, and studying an endless list of subjects such as first aid, history, theology, science, art, missions, etc. not to mention learning how to care for children of all ages and run a household. The Lord has filled my life to the max with endless opportunities. I have nothing to lose and everything to gain. The Lord has given me a ministry far beyond what I ever could have imagined, and the ground zero for the whole thing is in my home with my family.

John Piper once wrote, “God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in Him.” Friends, there is nothing on earth as wonderful as being satisfied in Him. Whenever my heart begins to fear the future or feel waves of doubt, I find peace in knowing that the God of the entire universe and of every living thing has ordained, before time began, who I am and who I am to become. My past, my present, and my future are all in His hands. I have nothing to fear. What can man or life do to me outside of God’s will? I think L. M. Montgomery said it best when she said:

“…But if the path set before her feet was to be narrow she knew that flowers of quiet happiness would bloom along it.”

-from “Anne of Green Gables”

The best place on earth to be is where the Lord has placed you. And if that place seems hard and barren, know that it is He that walks beside you and wills the flowers to bloom along your path.

Happy Birthday Mom!!!!!!!

Sorry about the lack of posts lately. My laptop has died. :-( Very sad!

Anyways,
I just wanted to say that I have the best Mom ever! And it's her birthday! I cannot tell you how much I have learned from her. So much of who I am is because of her.
I would put up a beautiful picture of her, but I can't get to any of my normal files. :-) But I can tell you that she is beautiful and wonderful. I am often reminded of Christ's love for me when I see how my Mom loves me unconditionally. She is one of the most forgiving and enduring people that I have ever met. I love her so, very much!
So, I'm sorry to all of you who think your Mom is the best, but.......... mine wins! :-)
(But, I'm sure yours is the best one for you.)

I love you Mom!!!!!

The Little People

Do you ever think of how much God uses little people? Mary and Joseph were little people. Outside of Nazareth, not many people knew who they were. They were not famous or "important".

Look at Nazareth.....little town, little people, yet we recognize that town because of two little people who were willing to follow Gods call. In this vast world, with billions of people, it's easy to feel like a little, unimportant person. I'm sure Mary didn't feel like anything spectacular and Joseph, he was just a small town carpenter. They were just simple, little people, but God had a purpose for those little people, and He was able to send His Son to the world because those little people were willing to obey His call. I don't think it is accidental that God placed His Son into the home of two very little people. God sees man's heart. He was not looking for a palace of splendor, but rather hearts of humility and obedience.

So, if you are feeling like a little, unimportant person, take heart. God uses the smallest of people to accomplish His biggest plans.

O Thou of Little Faith

Do you ever feel like Peter walking on the water?
There have been many times that I have felt like Peter, wanting so badly to prove my trust and devotion, and yet I sink because I take my eyes off Christ. When Peter went to walk on the water to Jesus, it was storming. There were waves big enough to toss their ship around. If Jesus hadn't been there and Peter decided to walk on those waves, I'm assuming he would go down pretty fast. But when Peter had his eyes on Christ, he was above those waves. When his eyes were on Christ the storm could not pull him under. It was only when Peter's faith fell and he saw the wind and the waves, that he fell.
In life, there are different types of wind and waves. There are different storms that hit us, but those that keep their eyes on Christ will be lifted above the waves. Peter did not have the faith and trust in his own strength to keep his eyes on Christ. That's why he went under. But Jesus didn't let him drown. He immediately stretched out His hand and pulled Peter up.

Yes, there are many times that I feel like Peter walking on the water.
There are many times that I have looked away at the storms and been pulled under.
Every time, His hand has reached in and pulled me out.
And then He says to me, "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?"