Favorite photos of April. . . and May

Here is Sophia with a perfect marshmallow. We love fireside suppers. 

A sweet friend from church stopped by as we were finishing our first fireside picnic of the year. As we sat there shivering I had to ask, "Whose crazy idea was it to eat outside anyway?" It was mine. (This one's for you Alice.)

Not staged. Emmy was folding laundry and also trying to read a book. She propped it open with her feet. 

Another tea time, only it was lemonade this time. 

Remember that orange marker I mentioned? See the previous post.

I was chopping onions and Tob's eyes were burning so he needed goggles. 

My lovely chocolate mousse, created by my sweet sister-in-law Esther for my birthday. She and my friend Jules planned a party for me in a "Life is Good" theme. Check out Jake and his goodies HERE. 

And then a most delightful visit from my dear friend Angie. How fun to remember the "good ole' days". I'm so grateful for the friends God has given me: the ones from long ago and the ones who have only recently become friends. 

Movie night trivia: Guess who had a nap and who didn't. 

Elsa at a very cold picnic in our back yard.

These guys LOVE each other!! Most of the time. 

Tristen could have stood by the reservoir for hours just throwing rocks in the water. 

The kids enjoyed the pond at Mom and Dad's house. No, I didn't let them go swimming. It was just too cold. They were wishing. . . 

In April we attended IHC in Dayton and then spent two days at Mom and Dad's house near Columbus, Ohio. Daniel attended a prayer conference. The kids and I enjoyed being with Grandpa and Nana. And playing outside. The girls helped Mom plant strawberries, onions, and a few other things. 

Papa and Tristen come down the stairs this way often. 

A day in the life. . .

• It's Thursday, but it feels like Monday for some reason. 
  
  
• Daniel spoke for high school chapel at Belleville Mennonite School this morning.
  
  
• That left me in charge of math. I hate math.
  
  
• The play dough I made for the boys several days ago is ruined. They pulled it out this morning and it stuck in nasty stickiness all over the kitchen table. I had to use a spatula to get it off.
  
  
• Even after mixing extra oil and flour into the nasty mixture, it was still sticky. I threw it in the trash. Hopefully the trash guy doesn't see it. 
  
  
• Oh, and while I was dealing with that nastiness, sweet daughter, age 9, was toiling over a math pyramid. It made sense to me, but not to her. 
  
  
• Then the mischievous 2 year old took the dish soap from under the sink. I asked him to put it away. As he obeyed, he lifted the bottle high over his head, upside down, squeezing the bottle as he went. Palmolive in a nice neat trail across my kitchen floor. 
  
  
• Sweet daughter, age 8, offered to clean up the mess. Thank you Lord for helpful children.
  
  
• Sweet daughter, age 6, had to be reminded many times to finish her simple addition. A promise of "no lunch until you're done" did the trick. Amazing how the thought of no food motivates some children. 
  
  
• And did I mention the several phone calls that came while I tried to rescue the nasty mixture. Or the phone calls that came while I listened to sweet daughter, age 8, read aloud. 
  
  
• Or the cries of delight that came from the upstairs bathroom as the three youngest played in water in the bathroom sink. Mischievous son, age 4 and mischievous son, age 2 each had to totally change their clothes. Do I throw the clothes in the dryer since it was just water, or do I put them in the laundry for later? 
  
  
• Then I hear, "Oh Mama!" This time it was mischievous son, age 2, who had discovered the sheer delight of an orange marker. His pants and arms now have not-so-mysterious streaks of orange. 
  
  
• And we haven't even had lunch yet. 

When the faith of others blesses me. . .

I recently finished "Come Away My Beloved" by Frances J. Roberts, available HERE on Amazon. I was a little sad to complete it. But now I must move on to some of the other books on the stack by my bed. 

One of the last readings was called "You shall come forth as gold." Here is a wee tidbit:

"Be not over-charged with anxiety. I am your burden-bearer. Be not anxious for the morrow, for on the morrow I shall be your sure supply. Praise me NOW, and let your confidence in Me be manifest. So shall the faith of others be encouraged, for your life is a witness to many."

A day or so later the Lord brought a reminder of one of those "chosen of God" in a very unique position of influence and leadership: Alaska's Governor, Sarah Palin. I'm one of those "others" whose faith was encouraged. For the life of the First Lady of Alaska has been a witness to many. Including me. 

Mrs. Palin recently gave birth to baby #5. He was just a teeny little guy, born about a month early. Three days following his birth the Governor was back to work, bringing baby along so he would have her constant care and attention. The family was delighted to have a new son. 

Trig Palin is a special gift from God. A special baby with one extra chromosome. Trig has Down's Syndrome. The Palin's express nothing but gratefulness to God. My sister forwarded an article from Alaska Daily News about the family. You can read the whole article HERE.  

So often when I'm covered in difficulties like a cold, wet blanket I forget that my life is a witness to many. And even aside from the "many" I have children who are watching to see how I will respond to the trials God allows in my life. Will I retain the joy that I have in the "good" times? Will my trust and confidence be in God alone? Will I allow God to glorify Himself in me in the midst of uncertainty? 

Oh, may the Lamb of God find in me a place to glorify Himself. 

Blue bowls and a haircut

Yes, when there are 5 children ages nine to two in the house, bowls will be bowls and do what bowls do when they are dropped. I've discovered that $1 bowls are the way to go. Available at your local dollar store, or at Big Lots, where I purchased these. 

Tristen's hair was so long it was rather difficult for him to deal with. I love it long. 

He is a dedicated fan of "The Lone Ranger"--- or "The Lone Manger" as he calls it, so the masked man came to the rescue during haircut time. 

Transformation. 

His personality always changes a little after a haircut. He's 110% little boy.

More about Faith

I'm still pondering faith. And I'm realizing that the deeper I go with Jesus, the more intentional I must be about my faith.

In other words: Faith doesn't just happen. "Faith comes by hearing." And I must not be a "hearer only" but also a "doer" of the Word. Hmm.

I find myself catching my breath between crises. But they are no ordinary crises. They are crises of faith. 

The battle is intense, the fog is thick, the enemy fire is heavy. I fight for all I'm worth. For days I battle. And then the warfare slows a bit and I try to catch my breath. Then the barrage begins again. 

But this is no paltry battle of nations against nations. This is a battle for my soul. This battle has Eternal repercussions. So, having God remind me of this battle, I pray the following things:

1. I ask God to renew my mind. This is something I cannot do. He must be the One to do it for me.

2. I put on the whole armor of God. Eph. 6. 

3. I pray intentional prayers for my husband and children, for they are under enemy fire too. 

4. I "take my thoughts captive". For if I don't, no one else will do it for me. 

I know this isn't an exhaustive list on "how do warfare with the enemy" but for now it's my simple list. I'm not at a place in life to handle "40 easy steps to defeating Satan". I'm learning more about Who God is. After all, we've been dropped into a story (part way through the story, I might add) and the story isn't about us. It's about Him. A large thing my small brain often forgets. 

This is God's story. And it's about His glory! 

And somehow in the middle of God's story, I'm learning faith. 

What a journey.

Phonics Phun or perhaps, Foniks Fun?

Not all the children in our house learn the same way or at the same speed. The two oldest are having a difficult time understanding why smallest sister is catching on to short vowels so very slowly. And why is Mama coming up with all these great, fun, creative ways to enjoy vowels that they never had a chance to experience? I had to explain that when the previously employed methods don't work, I am forced to either find or invent new ones that will work. 

Hence, the chalk on the cement pad in front of the garage. We played vowel hopscotch. It worked wonders. That's smallest sister above in the yellow fleece and orange rubber boots. Biggest brother liked hopping too. In his green froggy boots.

Any old pattern will work. I used 10 squares with 2 each of the vowels. Mama calls out a sound and kiddo jumps to the right square. Then kiddo calls out sounds and Mama jumps. And before you know it, everyone else will be wanting to play vowel hopscotch too!

You gotta' try it. 

Faith

The last month has been a month of roller coaster emotions. Of faith being tested. Is God really good? Does He really know what I'm facing? How can I bear a life that is overwhelming?

When I think of faith I realize I can immediately rattle off at least a solid half dozen Scriptures that have to do with the subject. "Faith comes by hearing. . ." "Without faith it is impossible to please God. . . " Those many times Jesus said to his good friends, "Oh ye of little faith!" "If you have faith as a mustard seed. . ." "Your faith has healed you. . ." And Jesus' words, "And when I come, will I find faith on the earth?"

There have been circumstances in my past in which my faith was "broken". And it wasn't God's fault. As I wrestled with thoughts, emotions, and issues again last night, God's Spirit broke into my world through the prayer of my husband as he knelt beside me. I know it was God's Spirit because it totally revolutionized my heart. Daniel prayed that God would "heal my faith". Now to some of you that may seem totally weird. How can faith be healed? To be honest, I don't even know myself, I only know that it witnessed to my spirit. I realized that if my faith was "healed" then all of my "issues" would become insignificant because my faith would be in God alone. When my faith is "healed" I'm able to trust God in completeness. 

Maybe not rocket science, but a beautiful release in my spirit as I have come to understand that God is healing my faith. No, life is not pristine. But there is peace in my spirit as I realize once again that God will take us through whatever is necessary to bring us to those places where we learn to trust Him completely. 

Thank you, my gentle readers for the lovely birthday wishes you left for me! You made me feel so loved. And to my friends (near and far) who gave lovely gifts and sent kind words and tea bags tucked into envelopes: God used you to show me His love. Thank you. 

May your day be blessed by the presence of the Spirit of the Living God. And may your faith increase. And if you, as I, have a broken faith, I pray the Lord Jesus will "heal" your faith even as He is healing mine, that we might learn to trust in the goodness of our God in spite of the surrounding circumstances that challenge us to disbelieve our Creator.