New Years Eve Random Thoughts

We are having a great get together at church tonight....I couldn't believe how many people were there. It was amazing. I am home early, though. Moms of babies and toddlers and young kids in general can't be staying out until midnight...well, not without regretting it the next day! :) The little ones are in bed, my husband is still at church and I am going to enjoy a bit of quiet time.

2009 ----- what a year. It is impossible to count the ways that God blessed, provided, comforted and cheered. God is so good. I am excited to see what God has in store for 2010. (so, how do YOU say that....'twenty-ten'? 'two thousand ten'? :))

Things have been slow here for the last week - it has been wonderful! Audrey is finally over her ear infection....one that lasted most of the month of December. I am taking her to the chiropractor next week and hopefully we can deter any more illness on her little body. She has been smiling and laughing a lot in the last few days...I have missed that. Emily seems to be growing up just before my eyes. The other day she picked up a piece of Tupperware and said, "OH MOM....this is just gorgeous!" What a goofy angel she is! Jacob is missing school - well, he misses playing basketball at school. He is seven and is getting really tall....nearly up to my shoulders. I sure love my munchkins....I am blessed.

I cannot even begin to express how thankful I am for my husband. We will celebrate 12 years of marriage this summer. We dated for almost 3 years before that. We have been 'us' for almost half my life....I am so thankful. He is stable, wise, sure of himself, loving, tender, stubborn-at-the-right-time...and the list goes on. I am blessed.

I am so thankful for my church. We are truly a family. A growing family. I took a new 'attender' out for lunch yesterday. I saw our church fresh through her eyes and I am so thankful. Sometimes when you have been in a church for a long time your eyes are naturally drawn to what needs to be fixed/changed. This dear lady was bragging about all the wonderful things about our church....it was all true....God is working in our church. You can feel it. I am thankful. I am blessed.

I pray you have a wonderful last few hours of 2009 and a blessed 2010...however you say it! :)

He's More Than Wonderful

I am a fairly musical person. I really enjoy good music and I really love to sing. God often gives me a song that really speaks to me in different circumstances of life. My song right now is "More Than Wonderful". Have you heard it?

He promised us that He would be a counselor
A Mighty God and the Prince of Peace
He promised us that He would be a Father
And that He would love us with a love that would not cease.

Well, I tried Him and I found His promises are true
He's everything He said that He would be.
The finest words I know could not begin to tell
Just what Jesus really means to me.

For He's more wonderful than my mind can conceive
He's more wonderful than my heart can believe
He goes beyond my highest hopes and fondest dreams.
He's everything that my soul ever longed for
Everything He's promised and so much more
More than amazing, more than marvelous
More than miraculous could ever be
He's more than wonderful, that's what Jesus is to me.

I stand amazed when I think that the King of glory
Should come to dwell within the heart of man
I marvel just to know He really loves me
When I think of who He is, and who I am.

For He's more wonderful than my mind can conceive
He's more wonderful than my heart can believe
He goes beyond my highest hopes and fondest dreams.
He's everything that my soul ever longed for
Everything He's promised and so much more
More than amazing, more than marvelous,
More than miraculous could ever be
He's more than wonderful, that's what Jesus is to me.

As I talked to many people in the last few weeks this song kept coming back to me.

He's More Than Wonderful -
When we spend Christmas with the family that we love.
He's More Than Wonderful-
When that money comes just when we need it.
He's More Than Wonderful-
When you FINALLY find a job.
He's More Than Wonderful-
When you see God answer that 'impossible' prayer.
He's More Than Wonderful -
When the cancer test comes back negative.
He's More Than Wonderful -
When that loved one finally LISTENS to the Gospel for the first time!!!

But...

He's also More Than Wonderful -
When the money is gone.
When you spent another Christmas alone.
When the cancer test comes back positive. Very positive.
When you discover that a loved one has once again gone back to
the besetting sin that they have struggled with for years.
When your child is diagnosed with medical issues.
When your spouse will enter Heaven at an 'early' age after giving
his life for missions. (PRAY FOR THE KALAPP FAMILY!!!).

These are the things that I am thinking when the Lord brings this song to my mind. These are the people that I will be thinking of when I sing this song in church on Sunday morning. Jesus IS more than wonderful. I am thankful for it, and I will be praying that He shows Himself very real in each of your lives today.

I'm in love

Have you seen one of these?

SWIFFER VAC
(okay, so that picture is advertising the replacement filters, but on the box it DOES show the actual swiffer vac. :))

I AM IN LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had a personalized "I love you" from Jesus yesterday and it was one of these amazing machines. I may never use a broom or dustpan again!

This thing is great.

In our house we have a wood floor in our living room and hallway, and despite the fact that there is no eating allowed in that room, the crumbs migrate. It is a many-times-daily task of sweeping in there....but this machine makes it fun! :) It works great on the laminate in the bedrooms and on the kitchen and bathroom floors, too. So, I am off to continue my Monday cleaning....and I can't wait!

(do you think that I should contact Swiffer and see if I can be compensated for my 5-star endorsement??? At least a box of cloth refills would be nice. :))

Life is hard, but God is good

Have you heard that song before? I haven't heard it in quite some time, but the title and a few lyrics kept coming back to me over and over this week. It seemed that every day I would hear of a dear Christian going through a trial or heartbreak. One particular day I heard some truly heartbreaking news - about the loss of a child. My heart hurt for this family that I knew briefly while in college. My heart was so heavy for their grief. I prayed and prayed for them. "Life is hard, but God is good" kept going over and over in my mind. Despite the fact that life IS hard, aren't you glad that we have Jesus? He truly is so good. I am so glad that I can trust Him with my life.

I love Sunday!

I think that I say this every week, but it is true. I really do LOVE Sunday!!
I love my Sunday School class. I teach High School girls and they are so fun.
So honest.
So real...what you see is what you get.
I love them.
I love seeing each family in church. I love seeing the visitors God is bringing in each week. I love it that the auditorium is FULL and we are struggling to quickly find ways to accommodate our crowds. I love it that God is working in our church and in our community.
I love sitting around the table on Sunday afternoon having the kids tell me about their Sunday School classes and Junior Church. It brings me such joy to hear them talk about what they are learning. I pray that they will always LOVE church and the Word of God.

I love Sunday!!!!!!!! How was your day? :)

Rambling....

In the days since I have started this blog, I have become more aware of the 'style' of the other blogs I read.
I love Amy - who doesn't?
She is so real.
She has ELEVEN kids.
She homeschools. (With 11 kids I am sure that I would be looking into boarding schools.....in Switzerland. Just kidding. I think.)
She is amazing.

I enjoy Julie Fink's perspective as a fellow pastor's wife.

Those are just two of the blogs that I frequent - some more than others. Each blog has its own 'personality'....have you noticed that?

Have you also noticed that I am struggling to find my 'blog personality'?
I have always been more of a private person.
I type out a post and the re-read it.
Too much information, I tell myself.
I RE-type a post.
Too boring...not enough information.
But then I wonder - does anyone care what I did today?
And then I remember one of the main reasons I decided to start this blog - to remember. To remember my kids when they are older. To remind myself of all that I forget when I get old.

So.....to that end, I am going to find my blogging personality. Not too much information. (I had toast for breakfast....whole wheat bread and just a touch of butter.) Not too boring. (I am wearing a brown skirt.)

And now I must close. I was going to type more, but my older kids are trying to shove my baby into a kitchen cupboard. Really.

Have a great Sunday! :)

Dearest Blog....

Dearest Blog ~

You poor neglected thing, you.

Should I use our newly fallen 14-ish inches of snow as an excuse?

Or perhaps our sub-zero temperatures?

Mounds of laundry?

Baking lots of yummy things?

EATING lots of yummy things?

Perhaps I should be busy EXERCISING???

Hopefully, dear blog, you won't be neglected much longer.

Friday and playing catch-up

This last week has been such a whirlwind. It all started the day before Thanksgiving. My sister, her husband and their 4 boys arrived just before church. Then, just before 2 a.m.(*YAWN*) my brother, his wife and daughter and my parents arrived after driving 13 hours.

By the time Saturday hit, Jacob had 'partied' out....he was sick all day, but by Sunday morning he was feeling fine. Saturday was also Audrey's first birthday!!

Audrey wasn't feeling all that great and was totally unimpressed with the birthday 'hoopla'. In fact, she took only one bite of her birthday cake. She proceeded to be very cranky all day Saturday. On Sunday in the church nursery she got a fever. I thought maybe she just had a flu bug, but by Wednesday afternoon she wasn't better. Her fever had come and gone but the crankiness remained....oh, did it remain. I am not the kind of mom that runs to the doctor for every sniffle, but all my 'remedies' hadn't helped the poor baby. By the time we got in to see the doctor on Wednesday I was ready for drugs. If nothing was wrong with Audrey, then the drugs would be for me.....either way, one of us was leaving that office with a prescription - preferably for something STRONG :) Audrey has/had an ear infection, so an antibiotic was given....I asked for drugs for myself, but all they did was laugh?!?!? I was serious!

Audrey has improved some and isn't crying ALL.THE.TIME. anymore. Amazing what a little amoxicillin (however it is spelled...wouldn't you think that would make it into the spell check?? :)) and a good nights rest can do for a mom's sanity!

Christmas preparations are now going strong and with 3 semi-healthy kids I am ready to tackle the decorations....but first, laundry. :)

Wowzers.....

What a week.....

My amazing family was here for Thanksgiving. It was the first holiday together in 3 years. It was wonderful, loud, messy and soooooo fun. There were 16 of us, including 8 kids - ages 8 and under. That is a lot of baby wipes and bibs. :) We stayed up late and laughed so much. Everyone headed home on Saturday. Jacob was sick all day Saturday and Audrey is sick now. Eventually I will write more about our Thanksgiving and post pictures. (and in the midst of it all, Audrey turned ONE on Saturday!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Happy Monday....we'll chat soon! :)

Tuesdays

I love Tuesdays.

Truly.

I love them.

Each and every Tuesday my husband comes home at 12:30 p.m. and stays with the girls until I pick Jacob up from school. I leave the house ALL ALONE. I go wherever I want. I drive in a car ALL ALONE. I get a cappuccino to drink ALL ALONE. Did I mention I am ALL ALONE from 12:30 until 3 p.m. every Tuesday?? :) My amazing husband is so thoughtful. I am blessed. I never do anything spectacular with "my" time....usually just browsing at the library, or walking through a store with many breakable things. Those kind of things are so much easier to do without baby hands reaching and wanting. It is enough to deal with MY hands. :) Yesterday I had errands to run....the post office to mail eBay stuff......the CAP office (our 'goodwill'-type store) to drop off a load of outgrown baby clothes and then the scariest stop of all --- WAL-MART just a few days before Thanksgiving. WOW. It was crowded, but it didn't matter because, did I mention I WAS ALONE???? :)

Now, some might read this and think that I don't like my children. Every MOM reading this, however, understands EXACTLY how I feel. I adore my kids - most of the time I just want to kiss them to death. :) I love them MORE after I have some time away from them. Make sense? I knew it would.

Happy Thanksgiving.....isn't God so good to us?

Saturday Randomness

Random thoughts and things from today....

~Our chest freezer died today. The Lord was so good to us, though. He allowed us to make this unfortunate discovery while 99% of the food was still frozen. The 1% was put on the grill tonight and we were able to enjoy a great meal with my brother-in-law and his family. A nice impromptu family time.

~Deer hunting season started today. We now live in the country and you could hear many, many gun shots all morning. (I hope someone got that big buck that I almost hit last night!!!!!!!!!! :))

~Jacob got a much needed haircut. I am so thankful that I started cutting his hair when he was little. The boy has MOUNDS of thick hair and it needs to be cut often. Every time I cut it I am thankful for the money we save by not going to the barber.


~Audrey is walking EVERYWHERE now. She had pink-eye this week. While at the doctor's office to get the drops for the pink eye Audrey was weighed. She is just 20 pounds. I know that may be HUGE for some of you, but my kids are NEVER small!! Audrey is the smallest at this age - by a good chuck. I think she is almost petite. Almost. Her FIRST birthday is next Saturday. How on earth did a year go by so quickly?!?!?

~When Audrey and I weren't at church on Wednesday night one of the ladies asked Emily if Audrey was sick. Emily told the lady that Audrey had 'purple eye'. :) Emily is my sweetie.

~I was reading about "Black Friday" sales today. I wish that the nearest 'city' to shop in wasn't 60+ miles away. I am NOT leaving my house at 3 a.m. no matter how cheap that blender is.

~MY WHOLE FAMILY is coming to MY house for Thanksgiving this year. I am thrilled beyond measure. I haven't seen my sister in EIGHTEEN months and I am dying to see her face-to-face!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is going to be a crazy few days, but I can't wait.

~Tomorrow is Sunday. I love my church. I love my Sunday School Class. I love my Pastor most of all. :) He is sure easy to look at while he is preaching! HA HA!!!

Have a great Sunday.

Mini-Blinds

I strongly dislike mini-blinds. I don't like for my kids to say 'hate' about anything (except the devil....we hate the devil!!!), so I won't say 'I hate mini blinds', but if I could say it, I would! Let's back up a bit first......

We are still in the process of putting together the house we bought this summer....window treatments (still don't have those), rugs (still working on those), etc.... Most of the windows in the house needed mini-blinds, so I buy one each week. My husband, who is incredibly busy and who has done every.single.thing to make this house wonderful, has installed each one that I have bought. Today, however, I decided that I would help by installing the mini-blind in the girls' room. Please note that I am NOT handy with tools. I am NOT mechanically inclined. I am VERY MUCH a girl when it comes to that sort of thing. Phillips vs. Flat screwdriver.....all Greek to me. I have tried to learn a bit so that I can be somewhat of a help to my husband, but not much has sunk in through all this hair on my head. ( I think all that hairspray I used in the 90's burnt up some precious brain cells. :)) Anyway, since I had watched my husband install several blinds, I thought that this would be a no-brainer.....'no problem', I thought, 'won't Andy be surprised'. Well, he was.....

It started out alright and then quickly went downhill. By the time I was done (I was done, the mini blind was NOT) I was crying, all sweaty and sooooooooooooo frustrated. I had wanted to help so badly and I ended up making more work for my already busy husband. He was so kind. He praised me for trying. Bless his heart. I know he wanted to kill me. I am sure he was thinking "DUH!!! It is a MINI-BLIND not a rocket....how hard can it be???" For me, oh so hard. He encouraged me to keep trying. We'll see. :)

No moral of this story, really, just to say that I am blessed to have a handy husband. One who doesn't mind cleaning up my messes and fixing my mistakes. He has had a lot of practice.

Cast your burden

As a pastor's wife I have the unique privilege to know the specific burdens of many people, to pray for these burdens, and to hopefully encourage those who are burdened. It is a daunting task at times. Life is hard. Walking through life with Jesus at your side helps bearing burdens more "bearable', but it doesn't take those struggles away. There are times that I am overwhelmed by the burdens that others are bearing......not to mention my own personal struggles.

In my Bible reading I came to this verse:

"Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee...."

Psalm 55:22a

I looked up the word "CAST".....

Webster defines it as: to cause to move or send forth by throwing

I then looked up the word "SUSTAIN".....

it is defined as: to give support or relief to also to keep up, to prolong

In other words, when I have a burden I should THROW it on Jesus, and HE will keep me going. He will give me support and relief. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it???? YES!!!!!!!!!!!

BUT -

How many times have I prayed and GIVEN my burdens to the Lord, only to get up from my knees, PICK UP MY BURDEN and continue to carry it with me? I do this so often. I ask the Lord to bear the load, but I WON'T LET GO OF IT. How foolish I am. I get tired, overwhelmed and stressed because I won't allow God to do what He says He will do. Today, let us all purpose to cast our burdens on Jesus - give them to the Lord - and leave them there. Remember the hymn?

"Leave them there....Leave them there....

take your burdens to the Lord and leave them there....."

"Burden bearing" is a part of life, but today I have decided to not only take my burdens to the Lord, but I am also going to leave them there!!

(I have also decided to bookmark this post, because I KNOW I am going to need to remind myself of this almost daily!!!)

Have a great day!!

Monday

Monday mornings are a little slow at our house. Sundays are a huge day.....church in the morning....home for lunch and most of the time company.....a quick nap for the kids (and if I am really lucky, a nap for me!!!!!!!!!!!!) and then back to church. We get to bed late on Sunday nights because of music practices and 'fellowshipping' (is that a word??? My spell check says no, but I'll use it anyway. :)) after church. I LOVE SUNDAYS, but we pay for it a bit on Monday mornings.

A worthwhile exchange.

I am so thankful for my church. I am thankful for the amazing friends and family that are a part of our church. I am thankful for our pastor.....I know, he is my husband, but I am thankful for him as a pastor, too. He is so wise. From time to time someone will ask me if it is weird to have my husband be my pastor. My answer is always the same, "Not at all." When he is preaching he is the Man of God.....he is the Pastor delivering God's message. I am thankful for his preaching.

Tomorrow night and Wednesday night we are having special meetings at church. Dr. Chuck Harding ( http://www.awakeamericans.org/) will be speaking. Being the history nut that I am, I am especially looking forward to hearing him speak again.

Here we are.....

Hi....I guess that is how I am supposed to start out. :) I opened this blog weeks (maybe months) ago and just never posted anything. I debated over and over if I wanted to even be a 'blogger'. I had decided that I wasn't going to be...that I didn't have the time to be, and then yesterday happened. I was looking through my kid's baby books. All through their books were sticky notes.....sticky notes full of cute little things that they had done or said. As I read through them I came to the conclusion that I had better start writing more things down so that in my geriatric years (HA!) I can look back and remember.......so, here we are.......blog land. (is 'blog land' one word or two?? :)) All in all I guess this part of the blog will be more for ME than for YOU.....if YOU do read, let me know, but if not, that is okay, too. :)

We'll start out with an introduction. (this is for YOU.....hopefully even in my nursing home years I will at least remember ME! :)) I have been married for 11 1/2 years to the love of my life....Andy. He is amazing, fantastic, out-of-this-world. I love him MORE today that I did the day we got married. (okay, I am hearing all of you groan now, so I will stop with the lovey-dovey stuff.) I am sure I will be writing A LOT about this handsome man. We dated for almost 3 years before we got married. It seems that I can hardly remember a time when it wasn't "US", and I like it that way. I love my husband and I love being on his team. We have 3 amazing kids.....Jacob turned 7 in May, Emily is 4 and Audrey Grace will be a year old on the 28th of this month. We live in beautiful Wisconsin, which is truly GOD'S COUNTRY!! Andy pastor's Bible Baptist Church - which explains the title of this blog. I have often heard of the pastor's home/family referred to as a "goldfish bowl" because people are always watching you. So, through this blog you will get a bit of a view into our 'bowl'. ;)

So, with that intro over, I must go tend to the 'bowl'........ :)