Looking Back

Christmas is over, things are kind of quiet this week. This is the time of year I get a little reflective, with one year ending another about to begin.

This has been a year of change for our family and we have much to be thankful for

My youngest son has moved closer, so we are able to visit more often. A nice little benefit, he is a short commute away from my extended family, he has been able to see my parents twice since he has moved.

My SIL now lives near us, God met us in so many miraculous ways during the crisis that prompted that move. We are all still adjusting to the change but God continues in his faithfulness.

Due to various circumstances, extended family has begun to communicate more, I now talk to siblings on a regular basis

We have a new grandchild, another little girl. I am a mom of sons,  so it has been a real treat to have little girls around the house.

Good report from physicians, health issues which seemed to have taken center stage most of the year have quieted down. 

That was our year, despite the challenges, there was much to be thankful for.

Lord you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance  Psalm 16:5-6







Pulling Out Stored Treasures

I have had this little chorus that has been playing over and over in my head the last couple of weeks. Another one of those songs we sang in church years ago based on scripture.

                       My soul escaped like a bird out of the snare of the fowler

                       My soul escaped like a bird out of the snare of the fowler

                       The snare is broken and we are escaped our help is in the name of the Lord

                       The snare is broken and we are escaped our help is in the name of the Lord

A simple little song, we sang a lot of scripture in that church. There is some value in singing scripture,  case in point....I remember it, it's like treasure buried deep in my heart.This is a scripture I needed to be reminded of, another one of God's truths

We have escaped like a bird out of the fowler's snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth   Psalm 124:7-8

Memories Made

Part of the purpose of this blog is to help me remember days past....our everyday life, so today's post is simply about marking a milestone of sorts in our family. 

We have been helping to care for our grandchildren two evenings a week for the last eighteen months. They would come to the house in the late afternoon and stay through the evening. We helped with homework, dinner and baths. These regularly scheduled evenings are now done, (their mom is excited) and although we will miss this routine, it's a good thing .... and don't feel bad for us, we will still see them pretty frequently.

The things I want to remember;

All hands on deck for dinner preparation. Stools pulled up to the counters so little hands could reach.

Table setting, it was a big deal, the kidlets took turns choosing the placements they wanted and the plates they wanted to use (I have a lot of thrift store mismatched)

Miss B and Big Guy's discussion on who's turn it was to sit next to Pop Pop at dinner, every time!

The white step stool Little Miss claimed as her own the first time she saw it, that was her dinner chair

Miss B and her books, each week there would be a new one

Helping them memorize their scripture verse for the week

The hats and tiaras Little Miss would insist that I would wear for the duration of the visit...she of course would wear one as well

Big Guy and Pop Pop playing Angry Birds

Little Miss sitting on Pop Pop's shoulder as he took her out to the car, he would gallop, she would giggle...giddy up horsey

Little ones grow up quickly and you have a tendency to forget the things that made you smile, this will help me to remember. Counting my blessings one by one.

Thorns

We continue on our journey through the gospel of Mark in church today with our passages focusing on Chapter 4:1-20, the parable of the sower and seed.

How many times have I heard this parable, I know it pretty well.... usually think of it in terms of someone hearing the gospel and whether the Word takes root into a person's heart. Today with the help of our pastor I thought about it in terms of my day to day, especially with the busyness of the season

You have the seed that falls on hard ground that never take root, then those that fall on rocky ground, seeds are shallow, never develop a deep root system. Then you have the seeds that fall on good soil but it has thorns... those pesky thorns...my bible describes thorns as tough thistle-bearing weeds that use up avaliable space, light, and water that a good plants needs.

Thorns can be a real challenge for me this time of year, there is so much that competes for my attention. My to do list is long and my quiet time is short. I know the thorns are starting to take over when I begin to feel a little overwhelmed. Can you relate?

We have made changes in an effort to avoid the thorns from taking over. We have trimmed the list, simplified, resisted the need to do just because it's expected (that's a real hard one) and have decided on things that can just be let go.

Our tree is up, grandchildren decorated it (the one in the picture is from a lovely hotel we visited last winter) so it looks a little like Christmas at our house. Praying for contentment with a dose of daily weeding

Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me  Psalm 119:133

Think About This

Listened to a teaching today from Charles Stanley, November 18th podcast "Trusting God" I heard some reminders that I knew but always need to hear again and again.

Three things to remember about God

• God is perfect in His Love
• God is infinite in His wisdom
• God is sovereign in His control

Now if I really believed these truths, why would I waste time fretting about anything?  Now in case you think I have "arrived" in this area, nothing could be further from the truth. There always seems to be something that grabs my attention with the temptation to "fret" about it. Trusting  Him, intentionally surrendering my life, I find it's a daily thing for me (some times I have to do it several times a day) Can any of you idenify?

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his mercies never fail. They are new every morning, great is his faithfulness Lamentation 3:22-24

For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose Philippians 2:13

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus  Philppians 1:6

Mail Call

Going to make this short and sweet, we received an early gift this morning, the mail contained a letter from my gastroenterologist, and after a couple of months of testing, we have been informed that my most recent MRI has shown no evidences of malignancy (with one exception this has been his preferred method of informing us of test results) He is done for now. I still have a couple more appointments this week, but anticipate all will be routine, then Lord willing, a break from appointments for awhile, it almost does not seem real, but it is! Thank you Lord!

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, he is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust  Psalm 91:1-2

Thank you to all the prayer warriors and encourager's, you are appreciated!

Smile

I love to take photos and the best people to practice on is my family. They are pretty easy to please and give lots of grace. The last couple of years we have taken pictures of our grandchildren to give to their parents at Christmas...they know we do this so no secrets spoiled.

There are now four grandchildren, so getting the picture was a bit more challenging, but in the end lots of fun. 

                                              The baby started pulling at hair right away

So first few pictures are of Little Miss crying

Then the baby started to spit up all over Miss B's hand, everyone thought that was hysterical

Then the baby started crying

And I think we are done here

We did get a picture that was usable, of course I'm not going to show it here, it's not Christmas yet