Blessings...

I feel myself in a shower of blessings lately:

We're expecting our 5th child in February of 2010! (and so far, I feel GREAT!!)

I have a live audition/interview with Atlantic Records in New York City on Friday, 6/19/09!
(hopefully, I'll still be feeling GREAT on this day and will NOT be knee-deep in morning sickness!)

It's often tempting for me as a Christian to wonder if I've done something to "earn" blessings that the Lord delivers. It's also tempting for me to almost immediately begin to wonder when the "other shoe is going to drop" so to speak, and the blessing(s) is undone in that moment.
Both are quite dangerous to a person's faith; to MY faith. For a faith that is based on results, outcomes, expectations, or "what ifs" as I call them is really no faith at all. I must constantly remind myself that true faith just trusts no matter what is happening in life.

I return to the Lord's Word daily and remind myself of His promises to me. To all who Believe.
My salvation is not based on what I can do, earn, give, be, or anything else. My eternal security and love from God is based solely on the faith that I have in Jesus Christ and what He has done for me at Calvary.
When the Lord chooses to bless, it isn't because I've been some All-Star Christian Gal. He longs to bless us at all times! His Word proclaims this! This is where my faith comes in: whether I'm in a season of blessing or a season of grief, His plan is for my highest good. I don't have to "DO" anything but love, follow, trust, and proclaim His love to the world. He will bless me always. Even when I don't feel like I'm being blessed-I am!!

"May the Lord bless you and keep you. May He make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace" Numbers 6:21

Glorious Spring!

I love Spring!

The way it bursts forth into our wide world as if being contained any longer would be its death...it's so life-affirming and even romantic.

Spring for me always feels like a fresh start. A new beginning. A chance to LIVE with more LIFE. Perhaps that's why our Glorious Creator chose to raise His precious Son from the grave on our behalf in this season. That's the most wonderful part of Spring: the resurrection!

Be blessed today in knowing that you can have a fresh start at the foot of the cross and at the mouth of the empty tomb!

"I know that my Redeemer Lives!"

"Time, time, time...see what's become of me..."

2009 has pushed its way into the world.

I remember as a very young teen thinking that in 2009 I would turn 40 years old. This seemed utterly impossible to me at the time as for some unknown (and slightly morbid) reason, I always thought I would die long before I turned 40! I never allowed myself to entertain thoughts about what my life would be like. While my friends were thinking of their future husbands, children, careers, college transcripts-I was only going through the motions of each day. I just never thought it would come to be, so I never dreamed or fantasised. I never knew I'd be blessed with an amazing husband and 4 amazing kids to homeschool-that's for sure! I never thought I'd get to sing/write for the Lord I love as a national recording artist. I never thought I'd even BE a Believer in the Lord Jesus and have Eternity in Heaven to look forward to! I certainly didn't realize I'd have SO MUCH grey hair! I will never get used to this, but that's another reason my hubby is so awesome-he touches up my roots for me every 4 weeks! I will say that 40 absolutely felt like the geriatrics ward, and not at all "the new 20" that folks call it today!

I always feel a bit of anxiety when the New Year comes to life. I suppose there's always more I wished I'd have accomplished in the previous year, and there's trepidation about all the things (some transferred over from the past year!) I'd like to see come to fruition. I think it common for women especially to entertain the "what ifs" and in so doing, sort of snub the "right nows". I guess I've completely changed in that regard since my early teen years!

I must consistently remind myself that all of my "what ifs" are not really mine. They are in the Lord's hands. All my dreams, aspirations, desires, fears, disappointments-the whole lot-belong to Him. If He can spin the earth, place the stars, and make sure the sun dawns on a New Year faithfully, I can rest in knowing that He can sort out my cares. The trick for me is to REST in that truth.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. " Matthew 11: 28-29

What a wondrous Scripture to start the New Year off with!! Praise the Lord that we can each claim this Truth for our very own!! To have rest is to have peace of mind or spirit. Oh, how I long to rest. Not to be idle, mind you, but to rest in knowing that as I make my way through each and every day the Lord blesses me with, my mind and my spirit are at rest in His plan for my life. Thank you Lord for all you are and do for me!

Happy (healthy, blessed) 2009!!

Christmas Pictures

Well, it's that time of year again. The time when one humble, amateur photographer Mama tries to get all her chicks together for the annual Christmas Picture. It's ALWAYS a crazy, laughable, stressful, blood pressure raising experience to say the least!
There's almost a 6 year gap between our youngest son and our oldest daughter, so up until about 3 years ago, the boys were absolute pros at posing for the camera. When Wren came on the scene though, followed by her baby sister Brecken Faye, everything changed (in more ways than I can tell you!). What begins as a sweet, tender moment capturing session in my mind ends up a screaming match of: "Smile! Everybody look at the camera! Look at Mama! Wren, put your dress down. Keep your legs together (praise God, she's only 3!) Stop jumping up and down. Stand still. Smile! Look at Mama! Brecken, stop licking all the leaves! Brecken, look at Mama! Kyler, get out of the mud! Everybody smile!"....and on, and on, and on. I know, it's exhausting just reading it! Needless to say, as far as photographing them, I can't wait for them to get older!
Here's the one shot (out of about 150) that made the cut for our Christmas picture this year...
I need to remind myself when I'm ready to tear out my own hair, to enjoy every moment of it! That soon enough, my children will be grown and gone and our little family will turn into something else. That my precious husband and I will be alone without these lights in our everyday midst. Oh, don't let it happen too quickly, Lord. Let me savor these moments a bit longer!

Sweet Thankfulness

With yet another Thanksgiving just a day or so away, I've decided to sit and contemplate just what I am thankful for. Sure, there are all the usual and truly wonderful things that I'm thankful for everyday like my precious husband and our children, my family and loved ones, that all of our needs are met (and even exceeded, in this country!) like our home and belongings, our good health and vitality, even the food that will be on our table this Thanksgiving day, and most of all for the Supreme Savior who died and rose again for us all. I know, I could go on and on, but you get the general idea.

I'm thankful that I can make mistakes and still be forgiven. I'm thankful that I'm staring my 40th birthday right in the face, and I'm not nearly as screwed up as I used to be! I'm thankful that I can sing and praise the One who made me. I'm thankful that each moment can be a brand new, white-as-snow beginning for me.

The Lord loves us so lavishly. He wants each and every one of us to return to Him...there He is holding His arms open like a Daddy to a child. Run. Just run like you've never run before! With all the wild abandon and excitement and expectation you can muster!

I'm thankful that at any moment, I can run into those ever-loving, ever-waiting arms and be home and free at last, knowing that one Perfect day, I'll never be OUT of those arms again, but safely tucked inside them for Eternity!

What are you thankful for?

Humble Pie

I was just wide awake at 4 a.m. this morning, and I felt the Lord stirring me to meet with Him in His word. I feel like I got a bit of a Heavenly spanking. Though this is never pleasant, it's so necessary. I found that the Holy Spirit kept bringing to my mind my precious and precocious three year old, and my shortcomings in training her. I'm so impatient with her, yet the Lord is so SUPREMELY patient with me. Well, here's where the humble pie bit comes in! As I was on my knees, my tears falling to the floor as I ran into the Lord's open arms, my little Wren came to my mind and I determined to (with the Lord's help and ONLY by His grace and provision) be more patient with her. To pay more attention. To be easier on her when she disobeys (which anyone will tell you is a zillion times a day!), to hold her close more often than I do, and tell her how lovely and special and precious she is to me and to Jesus. Just to be intertwinded with her heart so that I can hold it in my hand as the fragile thing that it is.

Oh, it all goes by in a blink. Truly. I don't want to look back when Wren is grown and regret that my heart was not inclined to her as it should have been.

So often as a parent, I get too fixated on my own "issues" and I'm not as present with my children as I really should be: as they deserve me to be. I can do nothing without the Lord, and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. It is a choice to call on Jesus. To refuse to parent (or anything else I set out to do, for that matter) in my own strength, but to CHOOSE to allow the Spirit of Truth and Wisdom to speak and act and live and breathe through my very life. Sometimes for me, the choice to step aside and let the Lord do His mighty and gentle work is one of the hardest for me to make.

I prayed that the Lord would show me and help me, and above all things, NOT to leave me the same.

"He that has started a good work in me is faithful to complete it."

Crazy, blessed days!

"This is the day that the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!"

It's Monday. Again.

As each new work week dawns (and the only reason I refer to it as a work week is because my precious husband has to go back off to work!) I try to have a better attitude about Monday. It's not so much that I dread Monday itself. I think I dread all of the expectations that each new Monday holds. I really would rather have my husband here at home with the kids and me all day, so that's the first bummer of Monday for me. I really would like to get my lazy body out of bed earlier to get in an invigorating work out. I really would like to have prepared a lesson plan for school with my kiddos rather than flying by the seat of my pants. I really would have liked to have finished the laundry over the weekend and had my meals planned out for the week.... you get the point.

There's a bit of comfortable familiarity to it all, though, and one thing I can always hold fast to is that my Precious Lord is in the midst of it all with me. In my weariness. In every season.
So no matter what, the one thing I am this Monday morning in the chaos of fussy, teething babies, mess-making toddlers, hormones, and preparations for lasagna dinner...is thankful and Eternally blessed!