Hearing the Lord

I have the distinct privelege of being surrounded by women of faith.  Women that have nutured, cultivated and honed their ability to hear the Lord.  Every single one of these women have influenced my life and my walk with Christ, even unintentionally.

One of these women is naturally -my mother. 
My mother has always been a strong, spiritual leader in my life.  From child devotions over breakfast, to praying specifically, to leading by example, to showing continual grace.  I continue to learn a lot from her.

The second most impacting woman in my life is my Grammy.  She is faithful to listen, pray and guide in good times and bad.  I can call with spiritual questions and she never passes judgement.  I can explain circumstances and she is quick to explain why.  She is a wealth of biblical knowledge, and who I want to be when I "grow up."  :)

That being said, my grammy once told me something that just clicked.  You see, my husband and I went through some fairly severe struggles for about 3 years.  Financial, marital and moral.  I felt like the head of my household had abandoned his post.  Abandoned ME.  Sure, he was here everyday, working, being a good father, providing (kind of), but there was so much we disagreed on.  Like most other difficult times, there comes the proverbial "straw that breaks the camel's back."  For us, it had to be rock bottom.  A very scary situation. 
When we did finally hit the depth of dispair, I was so thankful that it brought us together and did not tear us apart.  Already struggling, we really only had a 50/50 shot.  The Lord was 100% in control and now -when I look back on it, I can see Him in the most minute details.  We ended up at Grammy's farm, seeking.  A place where my girls could explore, play, be secure and comfortable in their surroundings.  I am certain we were looking for that too.  To have a place of solace like that is immeasurable.  We discussed and prayed and cried and poured our hearts out.  We were weary, but we were TOGETHER.  We had searched and found all the missing pieces to our happiness puzzle.  We just needed help to re-assemble it.  Grammy told us, "This has been your 40years in the desert.  This has been your proofing-fire.  The worst is over.  God has shown you that YOUR way is not what will make this life good.  It's got to be His way, and this is you two hearing the Lord." 
I knew it.  I knew she was right.  In my commitment to my husband, I assumed his burdens.  He assumed mine.  Un-knowingly, we had walked through the desert together.  I can only imagine how much easier the journey would have been had we been attempting to work together -not alone.  Satan was trying to destroy my marriage, but God prevailed.  We trusted.  Maybe a little late, but I'm thankful that he doesn't expect us to be perfect.

Everybody goes through the "proofing-fire."  Prove your faith.  It's so hard to live this everyday; maybe a stress that we shouldn't subject ourselves to, but the reward is in the ease of life when living God's will. 

My marriage has grown abundantly and our personal faith walks have bloomed.  We truly have harvested the sweet fruit that God promised.  I hope to be inspirational in my daughters' lives as these women have been in mine.  I still have so very much to learn, but learning to hear the Lord is my joy.

Isaiah 30:21 informs us, "Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it,' whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left."

This was a very good article that helped me understand.  Good reference when in question:
http://www.hurtingchristian.org/PastorsSite/foundations/nb-findinggodswill.htm

call·ing [kaw-ling]:

noun

1. the act of a person or thing that calls.

2. vocation, profession, or trade: What is your calling?

3. a call or summons: He had a calling to join the church.

4. a strong impulse or inclination: She did it in response to an inner calling.

 

A calling. That's what I have. This inner urge to fulfill what God has laid on my heart. I truly believe that being a wife and mother is the most important job. Ever.

Titus 2: 3-5 states:

" The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed."  KJV

 

Whaaa?? <gulp> No pressure, right?

I struggle. Everyday. This is not easy. To be responsible as a help-meet, as a nurturer, to walk the fine line between leading your children and obeying your husband. And what if your husband's personality is not bent in the leadership role? Oh, so many variables that can and do go against the grain. Somedays, it takes all I have to get back up. Satan likes to see us lose our cool. He relishes when we fall away from God because our un-worthiness is too much to handle. We are human and think we know a better way. But ladies......as women of God, we need to stand firm in our faith. Stand strong in the belief that if Jesus brought you to it -He will bring you through it.

I continue to pray for what I need for the day....for the morning.....sometimes even for the moment. I do my best to remember that Jesus is waiting for me. He will comfort me in my time of trouble, just as my daddy did when I was a child. He is our father, He has a plan. He just desires our willingness. As the saying goes, "God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called."

Encouragement and affirmation. We all need these things. Women especially. I pray that the Lord continues to show us how important WE are and how important our job is. I have to hold my head high, know that I am a protected child of God, and try again. Just try.

 

Those nasty "back-to-school" germs....

You know the type of sickness...cold, virus, whatever you want to call it, that causes you to get kind-of, sort-of sick?  Yeah, well it has visited our household, one person at a time.

I mean, really?  I'm glad they don't feel terrible, but at the same time -it poses the school question.  Keep them home, or not?  When you do, they are 90% better by 10am and jumping on the furniture.  When you don't, the nurse is calling before lunch.  Ugh.

This half-cocked virus has visited me as well.  I was all too happy to crawl back in my bed after carpool this morning, only to get a phone call from the school about my sweetie Lu-Lu.  Kept the youngest home yesterday, now the oldest tomorrow.  I really wish I could just shout from the elementary roof top to KEEP SICK CHILDREN AT HOME! 
Then maybe the rest of us wouldn't get it. 

All that being said, the large soapbox now back under my bed, we have a super busy weekend planned.  Gotta work on getting these sweet babies better.  Oh yeah.....better work on the momma too! 

Ahhh....the first "reveal" post (of many)

We have done quite a few projects over the last year.  We bought this house 6years ago and of course promised the proverbial, "Live here forever!"  We have been back and forth about selling.  The building of a new house seemed just that....new.  Deciding on the location was difficult.  We never reached a consensus, so alas....here we are.....making this house ours. 

One of the first projects I set out to do was a knock-off of the ridiculously priced Pottery Barn Typewriter Keys wall art.  Inspiration:

After finding just the right piece of plywood in the clearance section at HD for only $5, I brought it home, sanded and sketched out my blocks in pencil.  I decided to trace a small plastic cup, (thank you Olive Garden kids menu) and then I painted each one by hand with black acrylic craft paint I found in my stash.  I played around with some fonts on my computer and decided the size, then printed out all letters, numbers and symbols.  I used the tracing method -pressing down hard to make indentations in the wood, then filled in with white acrylic paint.  As the last step, I glazed the whole piece with Ralph Lauren glaze in Tobacco.  I wasn't really sure how a stain would affect my white paint.  The glaze gave it a rustic, weathered look without being too dark.  So...without further ado -here it is:

It now has a place of honor, as one of my first large successes, proudly displayed in my home office.  It was definitely a labor of love, but I like it and I really like the price tag!!  Yay for all things DIY!

 

Blogging? Who knew?

If I had to sum up my life in just a few words……

Bwahaha! Who am I kidding? Me?…Just a few words? As. IF.

I decided to start this blog simply to collect all of my ideas, DIY-attempts and final outcomes; good, bad or indifferent. All of my marital and parenting adventures, my recipes, crafts, and the small bits of wisdom I have gathered along the way.

You see, I have finally reached that special decade in my life. My thirties. My mom once told me that my thirties would be my best. My marriage would be long-standing and secure, my children would no longer be babies and therefore more self-sufficient, my body will have not yet reached it’s limits, and my brain will blossom. Well, I have chosen to embrace this decade, because so far -she is 100% correct. I love this time in my life. I love to have an idea, design, or vision in my head and watch it come to fruition. I love who I am and what I am called to do. Life is just good and I am so very thankful.

I serve an awesome God. I believe in His everlasting power, grace and daily sustenance. I desire, in my heart of hearts, to define the role of a Proverbs 31 wife. I want to live Titus 2 in my childrens’ lives. I fall short everyday, but through His will, I keep my face turned toward Him and try again.

It is my hope that anyone who reads this will walk away with something……even if it’s a laugh or two at my expense. I am the “Head Momma” around here and together with “Big Daddy,” we are navigating this thing called Life and making it a good one, one moment at a time.