A Godly Legacy

Wow! It's been a long time!  It's good to be back.

I love it when you read a passage and suddenly God opens your eyes to a new world!  That happened to me this morning as I read 1 Timothy 2:15.  That has always been one of those unclear scriptures but I have been listening to a series of sermons by John MacArthur that shed new light and decided to read it again this morning.
"But women will be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint."
It dawned on me that our legacy comes through raising godly children.  This is a question I often ponder: how do I raise godly children? I do know that they become like who I am, not who I want them to be or even teach them to be.  This requires my walk with God to be dynamic and growing. Growing how? In faith, in love, in sanctity and in self-restraint. 
Each of these deserves an in-depth study (stay tuned, I intend to follow up). But a quick overview of my life revealed this to me.
Faith is "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Growing in my faith is to make my daily decisions in a way different from my usual, analytical thinking. It's to consider God's promises as I make plans for my day, instruct and train the kids and handle our finances.
Growing in love for me means to lose the immediate attitudes that seem to pop up and instead, serve, encourage, and uplift my husband, my kids, my friends and strangers.
Sanctity is a little elusive in its meaning but could it mean purity? Having a pure heart.  Wow, that's a tough one. That's going to have to come from the Spirit. 
Self-restraint, or discipline, is something that I have so little of  in every area.  God will not stop hounding me about this, thankfully.  Hard as it is, it is crucial in our walk with Christ.  I have seen growth this year in this area, which makes me thankful and hopeful.
I look forward to a deeper study of these four areas that will produce fruit in my children and myself!

The Long Event

We had quite the week. The original plan, since it is our off-school week, was to paint the living room. So Monday morning I get all set up ... then Jake and Julianna demonstrated how much they needed some obedience training, so I abandoned all painting plans and devoted myself to the two of them. It seemed a rather bleak day and then, after the thunderstorm, God shone his wonderful promise right over my house. It was like a kiss from God that I had done the right thing by dropping all my plans and following His!

Tuesday Julianna finally got her cast off and we celebrated by going swimming. Wednesday we spent the day with some friends we don't get to see much. Thursday we spent the day with some other friends who live in Michigan and we see whenever they are down. Friday we had our Bible study group in the morning and in the afternoon Julianna had her first physical therapy on her arm. And today ... I mowed the lawn and cleaned my bedroom! Wow, did it need it!

There is a mountain of laundry and the house is a mess but we will have a great FOURTH OF JULY!! Happy Birthday America!!

Long time, no post!

It has been some time since my last post and I didn't think anyone looked anyway and then Dana noticed!! I was so encouraged that someone actually looked at my blog that I was inspired to post! Plus, we got another camera and now I can take pictures again. It's no fun without pictures.

Well, this is what we do when it is too hot to go outside. Decoration courtesy of Julianna, posing by Jake.

Long time, no post

Summer Fun!

Boy the summer has flown by! We have spent some fun time at the beach and in Atlanta, and some not so fun time in the hospital. Lots of outdoor play and visits from friends. School starts in a few weeks and that will be an adventure too!

God Always Makes Himself Known

We rarely come into contact with God's creation these days. Concrete sidewalks, blacktops, carpet, A/C and heat. We are so civilized that we seldom walk in the grass or (as I never have) sleep under the stars. I think I miss out on so much of the wonder of God. However, through all our efforts to expand ourselves, we can never overcome nature (which is God). If a street is not maintained, blades of grass break through the concrete! Imagine being conquered by a blade of grass!

All of this brings me to my point. In Tony's workshop he hangs his tool belt amidst extension cords and various tools. Well, inside one of the tool belt pockets, a little house finch built herself a nest. Tony left the tool belt intact, (not sure what he's been using) and made sure the garage door was always slightly open so the little mother could get in and out. Suddenly, six little eggs appeared in the nest. The kids kept close tabs on them and then ... six little birds appeared! Not only that, but when the birds were ready to start flying, the girls helped them to learn! It was thrilling! (By the way, it's an old wives tale that the mother bird will not return to the nest if it has been touched by humans. We just found that out from Sherry.) Then one day they were gone and oh the tears around here!! But what an incredible gift from God!

Captain Melony

We went on a Girl Scout field trip to Savannah today to tour Juliette Low's (the founder of Girl Scouts) home. As a side note (and the absolute highlight) we took a 2+ hour dolphin sighting boat tour. It was wonderful! We saw many dolphins and being on the water was beautiful! But the best part (for Melony especially) was that she boldly asked the captain if she could ride up there (whatever that is called) with him and he let her. Then he actually let her steer the boat! She will remember that as long as she lives ... Julianna was invited to "park" the boat in the dock. It was a very special day.