Needy, oh so needy!

"But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me:
thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God."
Psalm 40:17

I know that I need - I MUST HAVE - Jesus every day, but there are days, like today, when I am reminded over and over and over......that I need Him....I need Him so badly. I canNOT do life without Him.

As I sat on my deck today reading and praying I just closed my eyes and begged God for His wisdom - His help. I reminded Him of what He already knows so well - I am a needy creature. I am helpless without Him. I am a mess. I NEED JESUS. With tears in my eyes I asked Him for His help and for His wisdom. I know He will help and I know that He will give wisdom...I am so thankful for that, but then I realized how frustrated God must get with me. He is ever willing and WANTING to help, but so many times I wait until I am at the breaking point before I really, REALLY reach out to Him.

Why do I do that?

Am I so forgetful that I just forget to ask?
Am I so busy that I don't take time to ask?
Am I so full of pride that I think that I can just struggle through alone?


It is probably a sad mixture of all those things - and others. How pathetic I am.....but how loved I am......Jesus takes ME: a forgetful, too-busy, prideful person and He LOVES me. HE LOVES ME. He knows I am needy, YET - THE LORD THINKETH ON ME!!! (I might just have to AMEN myself right there!!! :))
The Lord thinketh on needy 'ole me!

I am needy - YOU are needy, yet the Lord thinketh on me...He thinketh on YOU!!

Praise the Lord!!!!

Family Devotions

Each night we have a family Bible time together. Audrey is usually in bed by this time - a 20 month old has a hard time sitting still. :)

On Saturday night my husband was telling the kids a Bible story, as he always does. The story that night was about Lot, his family and the destruction of Sodom. Now our 8 year old listens carefully. He pays attention and really thinks about what is being said.

Our 4 year old lives in another world. She lives in a world filled with imaginary friends, imaginary trips....a world in which she doesn't have to take a nap or eat broccoli. She is hilarious, but more often than not, she is in this pretend world during devotions.

After the Bible story my husband will ask a few questions - just to make sure that they were listening...even a little.

He asked our son a question - his answer was right, of course.
He asked our daughter, "What happened to Lot's wife when she turned back? What did she turn into?"

Her answer:
"A pillow."

"No, not a pillow...a PILLAR. A pillar of what?"


Her answer:
"Of sauce."

So, obviously, Lot's wife was turned into a 'pillow of sauce'.

That is right, folks.....the Dolls are rewriting the Bible, one family devotion at a time. :)

Catching Up....

Last week my parents came for a visit. They live in Michigan, and while that isn't 'the other side of the world', it is just far enough that visits don't come as often as any of us would prefer.



I am blessed with amazing parents. They are on staff at a church in Michigan and they are such hard workers.

My dad was called to preach when I was young, and when I was in 6th grade we moved to Northwest Indiana for my dad to attend Bible College. He worked and provided for his family while in college AND got all A's!!!! I remember times when all we had to eat were potatoes, but my dad never complained. I don't know that I have EVER heard him complain....and I KNOW there have been many, MANY times when he wanted to - and probably would have been 'justified' in doing so, but he didn't. I am so thankful for my dad!

I always tell my mom that she is a loon! HA....and I mean that in the nicest way....really. My mom is a crazy woman with an amazing energy and zest. She NEVER stops....nothing stops her - not even when she had cancer almost 3 years ago. She is hilarious and will do ANYTHING.

I am blessed.

I am so thankful for the time my kids have to be around their grandparents....learning from them and loving them.

Sooooo much!!!

I know that you have been on the edge of your seat waiting for me to have a new entry in my blog! :) I do have so much to write about.....my parents came for a visit, my husband and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary, and we had a great tour group sing at our church, to name a few things....

So, I will post about these things....I will.....

But, first....

Laundry.

I will be right back.

(If you don't hear from me in 24 hours please call for help.... :))

My Father Planned it ALL!!

Isn't a comfort to know that even when the circumstances of life are not exactly (or at ALL!) what you would choose....our Father planned it all?!?!?

The past 2 days at our house have been an 'adventure', to say the least. On Monday morning I walked into our lower level bathroom/laundry room only to find water EVERYWHERE.

This is not good.

I dug out our dehumidifiers, mopped and mopped, and mopped.......and then called my husband. He, of course, was not happy to hear about this, knowing that plumbing problems most of the time are NOT inexpensive problems. My husband came home, made a few phone calls, and began to dig.....and dig......and dig......to find the "thing" he was looking for.

(I would try to explain it to you, but it deals with plumbing, with the septic system and with gross-ness in general. :))

Several men from our church came over bringing with them their strong backs and shovels. After several hours of digging, they found the 'thing' they were looking for, and were able to find what they thought was the problem. A plumber came this morning and was able to fix 'it'. I can now do laundry and we can again flush the toilet!!!! :)

Obviously, this 'little' issue was not a part of our plan. We didn't choose for this to happen, and given the choice, we would have chosen a lot of OTHER things instead of this, but MY FATHER PLANNED IT ALL!!!

After the men had finished digging last night, and my husband had cleaned up, we went to my in-laws house for dinner. They had graciously delayed the family grill- out until we got there....that, and my father-in-law and both brother-in-laws were at our house digging! :) While we were eating I began to think of really how BLESSED were are.....yes, this problem will cause a few financial issues, but we are BLESSED. We were sitting around a table full of food surrounded by family that we love, and amazingly enough, love us, too. I thought of my friend, Amy, who recently lost her father-in-law....I thought of how I am sure that she would gladly trade places with me - sewer issues and all - so that she could sit around the table and eat dinner with her father-in-law again.

I don't know WHY God allows the things He does....from small things like our sewer issue, to big things like loosing a most dearly loved one unexpectedly, but THIS I DO KNOW.....

My Father Planned it All.

......and I can trust Him.

Saturday night

Tonight I am packing my Sunday School bag.
Laying out church clothes for the kids.
Bathing said kids....they spent the day on the river and they are extra sandy and dirty tonight.
Preparing food for our church picnic tomorrow.
.....and packing extra kleenex in my purse.
I am prepared to do MUCH crying tomorrow. I always do on the 4th of July. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for our country and for those who have fought, and are fighting for our freedom.
I will cry when we sing "God Bless America".
I will cry when we sing - and I really think about the words of "My Country Tis of Thee".
I will cry when I think of how good God has been in allowing me to be born in America.

God Bless America.....God shed His grace on Thee.
Have a wonderful 4th of July.