So how is your garden?

Took a zoo trip today with the family.  Maddax second trip, but first with mommy.  While we were there, walking past the elephants, we heard this annoying sound.  There was a man behind us speaking to his wife in a very loud so nice voice. Chris and I noticed it about the same time and turned to see this "not very not nice", as Makenna calls him, fella.  What was most shoking was not the look of the fella but of his shirt.  He was belittling his wife in public while wearing a shirt that said, "JESUS ROCKS."

"...for a tree is known by his fruit." Matt 12:33   His fruit definitely did not match his shirt.

This got me to thinking.  How is my fruit? 

Last week at church the preacher spoke about this very thing.  He talked about how people are always wanting to grow the "Fruits of the Spirit" but are not preparing their garden for the seeds.  How can we grown the Fruits of the Spirit if our garden is over-grown with weeds.  He went on to say that we can pray all we want for the fruit to love our wife (eg) but if all we are doing is watering the weeds of lust, they will choke out any chance the fruit of love has to grow.  A lightbulb went off. (doesn't happen alot)

I have been praying for more patience and self-control lately, especially with Makenna and homeschooling, but I forgot to weed out my garden first. Dugh!! I have been watering bitterness and self-pity instead of using the power of the Holy Spirit to uproot them.  Yeah at times I pluck them out with a prayer here and there but I have never really dug into the soil and pulled them out by the roots. Why you might ask? It is painful and surely not any fun.  Kinda like weeding the garden in the spring to prepare for flowers.

Now that I realize how to prepare my garden, how can I make my fruit grow to its fullest.

"Every branch that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit."  John 15:2

So now I am going to be pruned!!!! Ahhhhh!!! It makes me think of two things.  First pruning is painful and second reminds me of my mom talking about mums.  She tells me that if I want the fullest (most fruit) flowers from my mums that I have to pinch off their first blooms. Eventhough the first blooms are pretty I have to pluck it bare to reap the greatest benefit. The flower must go through a time of "ugliness" to reach its fullest potential.  Just like us.  Some of the pruning God will allow us to go through is down right ugly and painful but the rewards of our fruit are beyond what we could ever imagine. 

So what am I getting to. 

First we are to be know by are fruits and we should want to be bountiful.
Second when we do this "...by this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit..." John 15:8

Isn't that why we are here? Isa 43:7 "Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."

I do not know about you but I want to glorify my maker by a bountiful harvest of the Fruits of the Spirit in my life.  On top of that I want to show my daughter and son, by example not by words, the life that glorifies the Lord.  And I want to be able to explain to them that mommy is far, way way way (did I say way?) far, from perfect but through the power of pruning she shows "...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." Gal 5:22

So...How is your garden?

The Freeing Power of SUBMISSION

So here is goes ladies.  I know you will think I have lost my mind, but hear me out and then make a judgement call.

When Chris and I got married 11 years ago if someone told me I would be a submissive wife today I would have laughed so hard I would have wet my pants.  Being submissive was the farthest thing from my mind and I had no desire to even entertain the idea.  Why might you ask?  My mother was the finest example of a submissive wife and I was not going to be her.  I know that sounds backwards considering that I just  said she was the finest example, but I was going to be independent.  I was determined to rely on no man.  Hence the problem.  I was a christian but not completely relying on God, dependently.  There was some insecurity in the unseen.

John 20:29 "...blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

I knew this Bible verse but could not put it into practice.  I thought I new better.  So fast forward to a girl who was not about to rely on any man. I went to college and got my degree with an awesome job.  I wanted to always be able to  take care of myself.  In a sense I was preparing myself for the worst case scenario and not the best case scenario.  Chris gave up his dream of being an officer in the military so I could finish school.  I realize now what a huge sacrifice he made for me to finish school so that I would not have to rely on him or God.  Wow how incredibaly selfish I was, and I could not have been farther from where I am today. 

After the birth of Makenna I began to have a hunger to be a stay at home mother.  Financially we were not at a place we could make that move. Being a mother was exactly what God had intended but somewhere deep inside I was fearful of letting go of my identy and my independence.  I began searching Gods Word and asking him to guide my family in what we should do according His will.  Chris and I prayed for Gods direction.  That was when it all began to change. 

Chris was a member of the Elizabethtown Police Department and was at SWAT school in Oldham County one day.  He came home with a look on his face that I had not seen in awhile.  He said he met some officers from Oldham Co  who said they were hiring.  He went on to say that if he got a job there it would change our financial situation to allow me to stay at home more.  What in the heck?  I was never in a million years going to leave Elizabethtown.  It was my safe haven. My security blanket. That was one thing I told Chris when we got married.  I was NEVER leaving Elizabethtown, EVER.  Well it is amazing how God can rock your world if you tell him never.  See years before that I told God that I could never live with out my mom.  About a month later her and my dad moved to New Mexico.  It was like he said, "What was that about not being able to live without your mom."  I did not find it funny at all but it was a lesson I needed to learn.  It taught me to lean on my husband instead of my mom which I am so thankful for now.  This was another one of those situations.  We prayed again and after some very, very, very long talks between Chris and I we decided to put it into Gods hands.  He tried out for the Oldham County Dept and was the top pick after all the testing (Gods hand at work).  Next step was if it was Gods will we would sell our home. Take into consideration that this was when the housing market was plundging and on top of that we lived out in the county where there was not alot of traffic.  We sold our house in 6 weeks to a family that lived in North Carolina who did not lay eyes on the house till closing day. (Purely Gods hand at work)

I began to hear God loud and clear.  He knew what was best and I was slowly letting him take complete control of my life.  The sell of our house was followed with more changes in our marriage.  We left Elizabethtown, I went to working PRN which gave me the opportunity to spend most of my time with Chris and the kids, and I gave Chris complete control of the checking and saving accounts. 

Now if any of you know Chris you would know that he was never the best at managing money, but I look back now and realize he was never given the chance.  I was always in the way.  He does an awesome job and I am no longer stressed with the bills.  Now I have an allowence and a panic credit card but I have no earthly idea how much is in our checking or savings account and get this, I DO NOT MIND. How liberating.

I decided humbled myself to the Lord and finally submitted to him and Chris.

Eph 5:22,25,28  "Wives submit to your husbands, as to the Lord...Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her.  So husbands ought to love their own wifes as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself."

It hit me like a ton of bricks one day in the shower.  I have alot of quiet time with God in the shower mostly becasue that is the only quiet time I have during my day.  The verse has listed first that wives are to submit then secondly is listed that husbands are to love their wives like Christ loved the church.  In that order.  God was telling me that I would never feel the love from Chris like Christ loved the church till I SUBMITTED.  Makes complete sense now.  I was to independent to let God show me this years before.  To think of how many blessings I have missed in my life because I refused to obey Gods Word.  Well I will be the first to tell you that I do not plan on missing out on anymore blessings.  The thing that I keep going back to was that I had this constant example of a submissive wife thoughout my entire life but I chose to ignore it.  Thank you so much mom for the shinning example you gave and continue to give me.

Now do not think for one moment that if you submit your husband will miraculously change.  More than that it is not your job to try to change him by verbally telling him that he is not loving you like Christ does.  Yeah I have been there too.  In fact, I am still learning.

I Peter 3:1  "Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives."

I felt a burden on my heart to share this with you.  And I am trying to be a shinning example to Makenna and to Maddax by my actions.  Chris is the boss.  He makes the final decisions and I submit to his authority.  I just hope Makenna can implement this as soon as she marries and not miss out on the greatest blessings God has for her. 

Yes this is not the norm.  Society thinks I am wack.  But my heavenly father is so pleased with me and I have never felt so loved from Chris and liberated from satan's hold on my marriage.  In the words of Jesus, "BEHIND ME SATAN" Matt 16:23

Still think I am crazy?

Mister Mobile

Well my little man continues to amaze me.  He has about conquered, yes it is sad, walking.  I have watched him go from a helpless little infant to Mister Mobile.  He is growing up so fast and I cannot help but want it to slow down.  He has slown down a bit from Makenna.  She walked when she was 9 months old and was everywhere.  Maddax on the other hand does not tend to wonder off too far from me in the house.  Now at Aunt Sherries he loves to explore. 

Tonight in the kitchen he kept chasing around this little red ball. Reminded me of a dog.  He would pick it up, throw it, and then chase it down.  He loved it.

Then when he tried to zing when he should have zagged, down he went.  I wanted to reach out and catch him but I realize it is all apart of learning.  So he fell and then he did what we should all do. He got right back up.

 

I try to teach my kids the same thing in life.  Do not give up.  Phil 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength" and that God says"...I will never leave you or forsake you"  Deut 31:8.  I want my kids to know that even when mommy and daddy are not there that their heavenly Father is and he will ALWAYS catch you when you fall.

Gate (Date) Night

I love my husband. For many reasons but the one that stands out the most lately is is his willingness to be an awesome godly father to Maddax and Makenna. My sister and her husband take their kids out on date nights to give them one on one attention and so we decided to borrow this idea. (Note: most of our cool ideas come second hand from my sister or from a book she has lent me. She rocks)

Makenna favorite thing to play or be right now is a princess so we went with that. During regular devotional time at home we make mention of how Makenna is a princess in Gods kingdom and she loves to hear that. Now we have added that she is daddy's princess while she is here on Earth. She often asks if she will one day get rings like monnie has from her prince daddy. We tell her yes when she is older. Chris makes every attempt to tell her daily she is daddy's princess and you can see it in her eyes how much she loves to hear him say that.

We planned a date night for her and daddy to go out and spend some quality time together. She kept calling it a gate night. Like her daddy she tends to mix up words. I find it rather cute and attempt to write them down in a journal I have been keeping for her since I found out I was pregnant. Sorry for the tangent. Back to the story. So Makenna and daddy headed out the door. She was smiling from ear to ear knowing she was going to be out with her prince without the Queen (Me) tagging along. Daddy lets her do more things than monnie would. I guess every once in a while will not hurt. Right?

Chris took her to Mr. Gattis to eat pizza and play games. I for one would rather not eat there. Can you say High Fructose Corn Syrup. Yuck!!! But Makenna loves it. I think more the atmosphere and the games to which she gets tickets to buy treasures (JUNK). She came home later so excited from her date with daddy. I tucked her into bed and she said, "Daddy will always be my girl." She is not really good at using genders appropriately in conversation. She meant, "Daddy will always be my boy."

I am so glad he is developing that realtionship with her. It makes me fall in love with him all over again. And I am so thankful that our heavenly father so wants to have those kind of realtionships with us. We do not have to wait till he is off work for us to have time with him. He is always willing to listen and offer answers. May not always be the answers we want but Thy will be done.

Cooking 101

Is it too early? Never too early. I am trying to plant seeds in to Makenna to be a good homemaker. She loves to cook so why not facilitate what she likes while she likes it instead of trying to teach her when she is older and not interested.

I was making a lasagna tonight and she begged to help. I told her to pull up a chair. She climbed up in the chair wearing the latest cooking attire, complements of Chloe her cousin, and was ready to offer a hand. I let her spread the meat in the bottom of the pan, though at first more landed on me and the wall than the pan. After a few refining techniques she succeeded in covering the bottom of the pan.

Makenna was also being a teacher as well. Can you see Maggie (Little People) watching her as she spread the meat mixture. Makenna gave her the play by play as she completed this delicate task. Maggie was a very good listener but we all agreed she was too young to help.

Next was the noodles but I did that part independently. Makenna tried but the noodles kept ripping them and eating them. So for fear that I would have to fix more I took over. She finished with the cheese. She was an expert cheese spreader. I was so proud of her attention to detail to make sure all the lasagna was covered evenly.

I hope I can teach her a love to cook, from scratch, for her family. But until then, for us now with help and on her own when she is older. I know it would be easier to do it on my own but then she will never learn and her poor husband may starve. Plus I love spending time with her and enjoying her company while completing tasks that have to be done. Here is to planting another seed.

"...that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed." Titus2:4-5 (emphasis added)

Turn your hearts to your CHILD

"And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers..." Malachi 4:6

This translates to," If you turn your heart to your child, then the child's heart will be turned to you." If we want to win Makenna's heart we need to put time into activities that mirror her love language "QUALITY TIME."

With the vast amount of snow that was dropped from the heavens this morning we knew God was saying, "go out and play with Makenna." Chris and I reluctantly put on our cold weather gear, if you could call it gear, and faced the elements with a joyful 4 year old. We played outside for about an hour doing all the fun things a child would love to do in the snow. Chris shoveled the driveway into a large pile that Makenna and I packed down. Then we began the meticulous job of carving out the inside to her igloo. She helped pull out the snow and even crawled inside a few times before it was finished to monitor its progress. It was finally finished and it fit not only her and daddy but also a rotten Maddax, who got introduced to his first experience with snow. She loved it and enjoyed every minute spending time with Monnie and daddy. By the way we loved it too.

We spent the evening trudging around town near and far in hope of finding an adult sled for Chris and I so we could conquer the slopes here in town. Not a one to be found. Wal Mart, Dicks, Target, TSC, Meijers and a second Wal Mart all left us empty handed. Time had ran out and darkness was upon us as well as the beginnings of the second wave of snowfall. We decide to call it quits and attempt it tomorrow after breakfast.

The evening concluded with the first of many, I hope, family movie nights. Makenna and I popped popcorn (microwave popcorn can cause cancer FYI) in a popper I got on clearance at Kroger. She loves to help cook. Then daddy, myself, and Makenna piled into our bed(which Makenna loves) and watched the movie "Cars". She was so excited. Like a kid in a candy store. We made it just like the real movies. Big bowl of popcorn, lights out, Sprite (rarely ever gets soda), and Zero candy bar (also rarely ever gets and my favorite). The three of us snuggled up on the bed and enjoyed every minute. Not of the movie but of being with each other uninterrupted and completely devoted to the moment. When the movie ended we decide to let her sleep in our bed (her most favorite thing to do). She smiled at me and I smiled back. I so love that little girl.

A great leader

So I woke up this morning with an extremely sore abdomen. I could not for the life of me figure out what was wrong. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. On Monday at work I had to get re-certified in CPR on a computer dummy. I spent and hour and 40 minutes in there, thus the sore abs. All I can say is if you are an infant, I can save a life. If you are an adult, the compressions may be too fast, too slow, too deep, or too shallow so you might survive. Needless to say I know why my stomach is so sore.

Since my last update I had been on a hunt for a kids snuggie. Chris bought me one for Christmas and Makenna was beside herself to get one as well, "In pink monnie." I asked her where her money was and she said, " In my giraffe bank that I got from Nana at Christmas." Smart kid. So thus began the hunt. After many a Walgreens and a few Bed, Bath and Beyonds, the snuggie was found. Hers came with matching pink socks that are so big I can wear, but she did not seem to mind the growth hanging of the end of her foot. She was one happy and warm little girl. Now she and I wear our matching snuggies on the couch when we do quite time.





Maddax has been learning to walk but not with the intentional toy that promotes walking with wheels. No my little man is creative. He stands at either his leapfrog toy or the kitchen chair and proceeds to do a pelvic thrust to advance the object and himself forward. I know, he gets his weirdness from his father of course.





Kenna decided to play dress up yesterday and I found her preparing for the Nutcracker Ballet as she stated. I said where are your tights? She returned like this and I was left speechless.






Today during our family devotional Chris ended with a prayer for the people of Haiti. Makenna being her curious self asked about those people. We told her that there were a lot of hurt kids and mommies and daddies from an earthquake and that they needed our help. I asked her if she wanted to donate some money to those kids who were hurt and she said yes. She went and retrieved her Giraffe bank. Daddy told her whatever she decided to give he would match. She pulled out a $20.00. I was so proud of her. She gets her giving from her father. He is one of the most selfless givers I know always helping others in need. I am so lucky that he is the one God chose to lead our family.