Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Bonk! Bonk!

Go with me for a moment to a strange little world I call "My Life".

We are driving down the road and we come to a red light. It is a more rural area so the street is lined with houses and mail boxes that belong to the houses. So we are stopped at a light and in front of us over to the side is a girl walking along the side of the road towards her mailbox. She looks about 15-16 years old. She is on her cell phone and chatting away. From the back of my car comes this:

"Hey Mom!"
"What Peyton?"
Very seriously she says,"You should Bonk the horn at that Girl."
"Peyton! That wouldn't be nice."
"I know Mom, but it would be funny. And she would Pee her pants!"


~LL~

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Attack!

Do you ever wake up in the morning and realize you didn't sleep? I woke up this morning and felt like *crap (*Tribute to Andie :-). My stomach hurt and I emotionally was a wreck. I stumbled around getting my day started and then it hit me. I remembered that I had horrible dreams last night and the night before.

The past couple of days I have had alot on my mind and some things bothering me. I wanted to sit and talk it out with Hubby, but...... that didn't work out the way my female, emotional, unpredictable, did I say emotional?, mind wanted it to work.
So needless to say the past 2 nights I have gone to bed upset at him. Notice I said I went to bed upset AT him....... not WITH him.
WITH would imply it was a 2 way street. It wasn't! In fact he will probably read this and be like....What??....you were upset??.....when??......was I there??.....did I know??.....did I know I was there???? :-) I will rescue him for a minute and say that I own 99% of it. And I will just put it as a chapter in the book I will one day write, "How to Deal with the Emotional Female".

Anyway all of that to say, I felt pretty rotten this morning. As I thought over my dreams for the past 2 days I realized that it was my dreams that had really put me in a funk. They were so vivid and real that I was emotionally attached to them.

Now don't judge. If you have never had dreams like that then fine, just humor me with an attempt to understand. If you have then you get it. I think and write very passionately so why wouldn't I dream the same way.

I sat down and starting thinking/praying.....and decided that I would fight. Not with my darling husband but with the true enemy. God began to show me this morning the source of my hurting. John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
I laid out my battle plans this morning....they include reading the Bible through in 90 days and alot of prayer. After being pulled out of my funk by a gracious and loving God I step forward with new Hope. Seeing that I don't have to fight alone or unarmed.
When It happens again...I will be ready. I will not let Satan get a foot hold in my family, my marriage, my life.

Something I have come to love is Pandora. I set whatever music I want and it plays in the background as I study His word or even now as I blog. I love letting worship music play as I do whatever. It is like a warm blanket that covers my soul. As I began to write this morning this is the song the covered me:

When the lie is deeper than I know
You capture me and You carry me home
You see these wounds and rescue me
You always heal things beautifully

And I close my eyes
And You can still my heart
And I call out Your name…
‘Cause You always know
You always know where to find me…
You always know
You always know where to find me…

And where could I wander that You wouldn’t be?
Whom have I but You who really knows me?
Proven to be the God that sees
From strength to strength You’ve lifted me…

And I could cry from the depths of the earth
I could stand on a mountaintop
And I can speak Your name out to the wind
And You go before me…
And You fall around me…

‘Cause You always know
You always know where to find me…
You always know You always know where to find me…

-WaterMark


Jehovah-Sabaoth
I cry out to you to protect us in this battle. I pray that all the battles of our Life will bring honor and glory to you. Please protect my marriage and my family. It is you oh God who commands the Sun to stand still and the waters into tide. It is you who gives breath
and takes it. I pray your grace upon on lives as we serve you and live for you. Thank you for always knowing exactly where I am and still loving me.



~LL~

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Tiny Blessings

After reading this blog it prompted me to write on my blog. Thanks Andie!!


As I think over the events of the past week, my world seems so small. My problems seem so silly. And my seemingly HUGE moments of blessing, become tiny. I am once again reminded that life is so fragile. James 5:14 " You do not know what will happen tomorrow! Your life is like a mist. You can see it for a short time, but then it goes away."


Andie asked:
What tiny moments have blessed your life lately?


~My tiny moments this week seemed like big moments at the time. But Haiti has caused my eyes to refocus.~

-Date Night-
A rare moment in our busy lives that allowed a couple of hours of adult conversation. A moment that allowed me to be a wife more than a mommy. No sharing with children, no walking someone to the restroom, no ordering for someone else, no counting bites, no guarding the butter, no breaking up fights, no coloring. Just talking together and being together. (Those moments are rare!)

-Snuggling-
Snuggling on the couch with my #2 man. Barron! He came up and sat with me while I watch Food Network and said, "Mommy can we snuggle?" Are you kidding me? The kid that turns into Luke Skywalker in a moments notice. The kid that sword fights with EVERYTHING. The kids who constantly sings on the toilet. The kid who will only clear his plate if you promise him StarWars on the Wii. That one...wants to snuggle? ABSOLUTELY!!!

-Steak Sandwich-
The best meal I had all week, must make it into the tiny moments list. Funny thing about it....it was left over from date night. Not a sandwich. But the steak that I later used to make the BEST steak sandwich I have ever had. (just thought I'd share....the thought....not the food :-)

Other tiny moments~
-A Mello Yello.
-Surprising the kids with S'Mores for snack time on Tuesday
-60 degree day :-)
-Starting a new book that I have been dying to read
-Video chatting with my hubby during the day time (when I normally never see him during the day)
-Sarah Palin going to FOX News


These are some of mine....what are some of yours?
What tiny moments have blessed your life lately?


~LL

Monday, January 4, 2010

Happy New Year

Today is basically the first day of our new year. Schools back in, Hubby back at work, and our routines are back in action. It is a huge sigh of relief to be back to "normal". As much as I love Christmas, I hate not having a routine. Between working, church, and family, our lives have been out of whack for a while now.
But I can't complain because it has been a wonderful Season. After the Blizzard in early December I got to see both sets of my parents. It was so nice to have them here in our home. Right after Christmas we got to travel to Atlanta to see my brother and his family. While we were there we had the opportunity to watch VT play TN at the Chickfila Bowl. This was a big deal because my family is such HUGE Tn fans and Steven is such a HUGE Virginia Tech fan. We had a blast!

As I have sat down today and got back to real life we have stated a couple new books. One is a book that I will be using with older girls for Homeschooling Bible. It is called Women of the Bible. It has 52 weeks and highlights 52 women. It is a devotional but we are using it as a text. My other new book walk me through the Bible in a year. Both started today with in Genesis and our Woman this week is....you guessed it....Eve.

As I have read and talked through the first part of Genesis God has opened my eyes to one theme: Hope. It amazes me how God sees all time. So when He formed Eve from Adam He knew what she would do. He knew what she would choose. But in the same sight He knows what we will do and what we choose. And yet He created us anyway! He had a plan for them and He has a plan for us.
I am so hopeful for this new year. I pray that I will walk where He leads and listen when He speaks. I pray that our family will be who God created us to be and live the way he created us to live. I pray that our Church will go to new levels of reaching people far from God. And more than anything I pray that I will love as I have been loved.

God is so good. Blessings to you as you step forward in 2010.


~LL

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

What Christmas means to me.

I was watching The Nativity Story the other night with Steven and the kiddos. We have seen it before and really enjoy it. This was the first time "the Littles" had seen it. It was neat to see them watch (seemingly) real pictures of Baby Jesus (instead of cartoon). Especially when Jesus is born. Pey says," I saw Baby Jesus' booty!" Because they hadn't seen it and it was a little over their head, I found myself commentating all the way through. As I told what was happening I found myself getting emotional as I told the story of our Savior.

When I was a child I accepted Christ as my Savior. I prayed the prayer, believed in my heart & got dunked in the water. I completely believe that I became a Christian when I was 6. I know there is always debate over salvation and children, but I know what I know and I know what I believe. The true issue was Lordship. At 6 I don't know that I understood or was taught what Lordship was. It wasn't until much later in my life that I began to grasp this.

I made alot of choices through middle school and high school that were evidence of my Lordship issues. As far as I was concerned, I was in control of my life. I was making the good and bad choices and I was reaping what I sowed. (Do you see the theme? I I I I I I I I)

I was driving down the road one day I realized how badly my life was crumbling. I was a single mom with 2 kids, I had made so many bad choices that I couldn't see straight, and I was on the verge of loosing one of the greatest gifts God has ever given me.

I stood at a crossroad. The Promised Land being one path and 40 years in the desert being the other path. I felt like God was saying to me....."I'm done. I have given you many chances to make me Lord and you have chosen poorly. This is your last chance." God had given me 2 beautiful girls, a family to support me, and a man who loved me in a way I didn't deserve. God was laying the Promised Land in front me, a life full of blessing and I just needed to make Him Lord and step into it.

I sat on the side of the road weeping. I finally got it. Salvation wasn't only about saving me from Hell it was also about saving me from self. Salvation was about letting God rescue me instead of me rescuing myself. Salvation was about Him being in control NOT me.

As I sat watching The Nativity Story I thought about all that I went through because of my choices. I thought about how much God loves me that He was willing to fight for me. I watched this little baby on the TV and was reminded that He came so that I/we could have life. And not a crappy life and ABUNDANT life. John 10:10

What does Christmas mean to you? For me it represents a time to remember and reflect on the greatness of God. A time to say "Thank You" to the God of the universe who loved us enough to become human so that we can have eternity with Him. As I sit quietly beside my beautiful Christmas tree I imagine the bitter life that I could have had. I probably could have written a book called The Hopeless Life of a Strong Willed Child :-) But instead my life is filled with a hope and a future. A future that I live day by day by the grace of God.





That is what Christmas means to me.