For the New Year

Tim and I were talking about the past year and goal setting/resolution stuff. I have A LOT of things that I would like God to change in me for 2008. Instead of giving God a To Do List, I want the coming year's theme to follow a prayer that I keep on my refridgerator. I'll share it here so that you all can remind me of it when I get whiny this year!

Whatever Thy Will

Whatever Thy will,
Lord, keep me still.

Thy way is best;
So let me rest.

Let come what may
To me today,

Sunshine or rain,
Pleasure or pain,

Gladness or grief
Distress; relief,

May I believe
All I recieve

Is sent in Love
Down from above.

So let me rest;
Thou knowest best.

Whatever Thy will,
Lord, keep me still.

-Author Unknown

Hope you all have a fun night tonight! Happy New Year!!!!

Boys.

I just have one. My husband. He just came home from buying groceries and was so excited to share his find. I mean REALLY excited. What was it you ask that could bring my husband such joy? All in one 'Hair and Body Wash.' NO. Im not kidding you. One bottle just solved all of his hygiene problems. I think if it was minty fresh he might just pour it on his toothbrush. Sheesh. I do love him though! But I'm really glad I'm a girl. :)

Flu-tide Greetings! (Only borderline funny, I know... Sorry. I need to get out more.)

It started with one teeny tiny germ that I picked up somewhere and BAM my whole world is put on hold. I have the flu. I've had it since Christmas Eve...so for days now I've sat and looked at the Christmas toys and trash and coats and laundry and everything else pile up in my germ infested home. Tim has of course been as much of a help as he can be in the time that he is home, but I am ready to clean my own house. Two cans of Lysol and a gallon of bleach await my recovery. I'm even ready to do laundry...and I HATE laundry. (SHICAH gasps.)

BUT while I have been on this couch of mine I eventually got board with analyzing which side I should lay on to make the snot drain out of my sinus'. (Which I have gotten pretty good at by the way...its kind of like when you are on a Tilt-a-whirl...it takes just the right timing of when to shift your weight to the other side...I know, you're jealous.) So anyway, after that got old...God finally got my attention. He showed me that I did it...the very thing that every Christian determines to NOT do each December. I let the parties and the shopping and the cookies and the family and the sick kids and then the flu overshadow my worship. I feel so robbed. Would you all mind if we did Christmas again? Just for me? Life Chuch wouldn't mind doing all 20,000 services again would they? Ok, probably not going to work out. I do think I will have my own little Christmas re-run though. Just me and Jesus. I've missed Him.

Catching Up

Well...between Ice Storm 2007 and just feeling yucky this week I am behind on blogging! SO...Here's what's new...

My Natalie turned SIX!!! I can NOT believe it...If I knew how, I would post a sweet baby picture and a big girl picture, but I don't. She is just classic. I was looking into her eyes earlier today, which are BIG & BLUE and I told her that when you look in someones eyes you can often see into their hearts. In her eyes I see pure innocence. I just love her. We got her tickets to see The Nutcracker. She is taking hip hop right now, but she is a ballerina at heart. We spent half an hour watching Nutcracker performances on YouTube. She is your classic girl. Happy Birthday my sweet Natalie Kate!

We were out of power some...overnight and then again the next afternoon. Not enough to be miserable, but enough to feel horrible for those still without. A not so fun winter wonderland.

I am really struggling with waking up in the morning before my kids. That time with God is the defining factor of my day. I have been really feeling just not good this week. Maybe the weather. Pray for me to have strength to get out of bed tomorrow! The next week and a half are SO VERY busy. Isn't it funny how badly we need God's strength to make it thru the celebration of the Prince of Peace!!!??? Alainis would think that was Ironic, don't ya think? Sorry, that was a little 1997 for ya!

Well now you are caught up on the world of Christie! Tune in tommorow when Christie talks about the Do's and Don'ts of worshipping thru laundry and hairbows!

Our Second Pet

This is one of those random things in my life that I need the world to know. Our second daughter, Natalie, will be 6 on Monday. Natalie has a pet turtle....a plastic turtle. Here is the part that I need everyone to know.

His name is....TURD.

I still can NOT say it without laughing! I am the only one in our family that finds it so funny. HOW can they say it with a straight face...Let me point out that this is VERY serious to her. She and Turd are pretty tight. A couple of weeks ago while Tim was putting up our Christmas lights up on the house, the girls were riding their bikes, and we lost Turd in the grass. By the way, Turd is not a big guy. His shell is less than an inch in diameter so it turned into quite the search. There were many scary moments and lots of tears involved. It was very interesting though because once we noticed him missing Natalie, who out of our four girls is by far the most maternal, went into the natural 'I can't find my child' phases...

Phase 1: Routine Head Count, "Hey! Where did they all go?"
Phase 2: Think like the child, "Oh, knowing them they are probably..."
Phase 3: Ok, No One Panic, "NOT Funny, Get where I can see you NOW.
Phase 4: OK, EVERYONE PANIC AND PRAY!

Just so you can sleep tonight, we did pray and we did find Turd. I have to say that I was pretty excited to be the one who found him. It never hurts to pad your 'Best Mommy Ever' title.

REJOICE!!!

Matthew 1:23

"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God with us."

Zephaniah 3:17

The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."



OK, So I can't type the full dialogue that God and I had or all of the things He showed me thru my studying these two verses, but I could NOT help but tell the world this one major thing He taught me today....



WE rejoice because of what we read in Matthew 1 that He is Immanuel, God with US.....BUT Zephaniah 3:17 says that HE rejoices because WE are with HIM!!!



I explained it to my kids this way...If Mommy was on a really long trip, like a month long (which in itself is hard to imagine!) when I got back you girls would be SO excited to see me, right? (right???) Of course you would...but guess what? I would be just as excited to see you!!!



UGH! I asked Him all last week to show me how HE parents, so that I might be able to mother my children in His image. Once again He came through! Oh He is so good!

He IS the PERFECT PARENT!!!

Ephesians 1:4-8

"Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son. Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need,"

I first read these verses and celebrated God's heart towards me. But He then turned my heart to my affection toward my children...HIS children. When I re-read these verses through that lens this is what I read...Long before my children were born, they were at the forefront of my mind, their coming was all I thought about, they were the focus of my love. I took such pleasure in planning for their birth. I celebrated their coming with my closest friends and family with baby showers and 'lavish gift-giving'! But here is where it gets tricky...Do I STILL, 8,6,3, & 1 year later, wake up anticipating each day with them the way I once did? NO! Honestly, I begin each day begging God to help them to be EASY to love! To be happy, agreeable, and obedient children with smiles...THEN I will have joy...when my children are joyous! Hmmm...Sounds like conditional love to me. Oh, I still HAVE love for them...but do I actively SHOW love to them when they are wild, crazy, and disobedient? No, sadly I don't. I often show anger and frustration....SO, today He is challenging me to RESPOND in love as He does...not react in frustration. To remember that they are CHILDREN, they are supposed to act this way...That is why God gave them a mother...to TEACH them!!! UGH! I'll let you know how I do!

TRUST

I've discovered how important trust is. Again. It's one of the many things you don't miss until its gone. My life experencies have not provided a very good place for a strong level of trust to take root, but the last several years God has done a work in my heart and in my circumstances that has allowed me to open the doors of my heart a little bit wider. But every so often an earthquake causes my heart to tremble and slam those doors back shut. Thankfully, He has trained me over time to come to Him and accept His strength to trust again, more quickly each time....but a stab to the heart still hurts no matter how quickly it heals.

My tendency is of course to not trust again...to run and hide and quickly build that wall back up around my heart before returning as a functioning part of society. But He won't let me. He reminds me that to love Him is to love others....And to trust Him is to trust others. Yes, we are wise to set bounderies so that we do not enable the offender to hurt us continually, but when the one who has hurt you is truly repentant we are to respond just as the Lord does to our repentance...with nothing but mercy and grace.

Also, if you are on the other side, and you have something to confess to someone let me speak for the one you are not being honest with. First, they probably know that SOMETHING is going on. They may not know exactly what is going on, but if they are close to you at all, they know things are not right. Second, as much as it might hurt initially, they WANT to know. There is such sweet freedom in knowing the truth.

"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:32