Video Of Alexander

Alexander wouldn't take a nap yesterday. I took this video while he was watching Toy Story. He couldn't keep his eyes open, it was hilarious to watch.

My Dad Is Coming!

My Dad is coming for a visit tomorrow. He is moving from Colorado back to Seattle. About a year ago my Grandpa died so my Dad moved to Colorado to be closer to my Grandma. He couldn't find work so he is moving back to Seattle. He is going to stop here and stay the night on his way back to Washington state.

I'm excited because I haven't seen him in a year and he hasn't seen Asher yet. Derek and I have been talking to my Dad about the Lord for a long time now. I firmly believe that someday he will make a commitment to the Lord. I know he is close, but there are some things he has to get past.

Please pray that God will give us the right words to speak and that my Dad and Step mom will have safe travels.

I Got It Back!

I got my motivation back. Thank you Lord! I just kept trying to pray and read, even when I didn't feel like it. I had for about a week had absolutely no motivation when it came to my household "duties" which is odd because I love staying home and completing the tasks that I have here.

I felt like there was no hope or end to the trial we are in right now. I knew in my head that that was not true, but my feelings were taking over. I had to read and pray that God would align my feelings with His Word and what I knew to be true. He was faithful!

Lord, keep my feelings in check with Your Word. Keep my eyes on You. Minister to my soul Father God. Keep me from getting too focused on myself. In Your name I pray, Amen.

He Blessed My Soul

This morning I was reading my bible and He gave me Psalm 33:20 "Our soul waiteth for the Lord: He is our help and our shield."

What an encouragement! I know He is there even if it doesn't feel like it sometimes.

Thank you for the encouraging words. They were a blessing yesterday.

God Bless!

Sadness, Discouragement, And Some Regret

I'll go with the first word: Sadness. Sadness because I miss my family so much. I miss the big gatherings and all the kids running around. I want my kids to have kids their age to play with. I want to be there while my sister is pregnant and support her. I want my Mom over for dinner. I want to watch her play with my kids, see their milestones, and watch them grow. I want to go to church and have friends and family around that care about what you are going through.

I know this is a lot of "I wants". I know how this sounds. Trust me, I do. We've been in Montana now for almost 3 years. In all that time we haven't found a church to go to. And not for a lack of trying. I was doing pretty good about my family until recently. I really do feel that God had us move here, but it's been a struggle the entire time. I would go through it all again though. Because I've done so much growing in the Lord. I've also grown as a wife and mother. As of late I've felt that maybe we are supposed to move back. I've been trying not to be biased though. I'm thinking, "is it because I want to move back?" or does God really want us to move? I keep giving my will to Him and asking that His will be done.

The second word: Discouragement. I'm discouraged because Derek has applied for two positions in Washington and didn't get either of them. Now goes the question game with God. Are You telling us we aren't supposed to move? Or is there a better position for him there? Can You please show us what to do?

Do all Christians go through these things? Or am I an immature one? I feel like an immature Christian because I can't tell God wants right now. Even though I really do feel like we are supposed to move back sometime, the when is the unknown.

The final word: Regret. I regret that I've spent the last week sad and discouraged. I regret that my Easter was spent sad and discouraged instead of rejoicing on what the day was supposed to mean to me as a Christian. I regret that I've been selfish and self centered. I regret that I've ignored the duties of being housewife this week while I struggled with all of these feelings.

In short, please pray for me. Please pray that I keep God the center of my focus. Pray that we will know His will when it is presented to us. And finally please pray that I will accept and be happy about the time we have here in Montana no matter how long that may be.

I'm Going To Do It

I'm starting my book. It's not my original book idea, but I believe this one is from the Lord. It's Christian fiction and that's all I'm going to say right now.

Does anybody have any tips? I'm scared of getting stuck, I'm scared of writer's block and most of all I'm scared of failing.

I'm passionate about this book and I want it to be good. Right now it isn't really about getting published, it's about getting the book out of my head and onto paper. It's about making these characters come alive. I hope that someday this book can touch even just one person.

Thanks for listening. Have a good day!

Did You Ever Notice?

Did you ever notice how self involved and selfish our society is?

We have magazines with titles like Self and All You. We shop at stores with names like Vanity.

People are too busy to notice the mother with a stroller and her arms full to hold the door open for her. People are too busy or too much in a hurry to notice the elderly having a hard time reaching for something in the grocery store.

These are just a few scenarios that I can think of at this moment. Things I have experienced and seen at one time. I'm not saying I'm not guilty of these things because I know I am. God is showing me daily through my kids how selfish I am and can be.

Matthew 16:24 says: Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."

This is a hard thing in its self, but when you have a society aiding narcissism it makes it even harder.

I have to pray daily that God would help me deny myself because I can't do it by myself.

I know that when He gets of rid of me inside me it makes more room for Him. He can fill me up and use me, but He first has to empty and clean me out. It's a hard process, but exciting to know I am becoming that much closer to being used for really great things for Him.

And Now They Are Broken

Alexander's glasses broke yesterday, but it wasn't Alexander or Ashley that broke them.

It was me.

I was trying to adjust the nose piece because Alexander was complaining that they hurt and when I moved it, it snapped off.

We took them in yesterday and they are still under warranty (considering he's only had them 5 days, I should hope so) We should get them back sometime this week.

They told me to let them do the adjusting from now on.

We Got 'Em!

We got Alexander's glasses on Friday. He's been doing really well with them. He got a Scooby Doo case with them that at this moment is M.I.A. He'd sleep with them on if we let them. Ashley is pretty curious as to why Alexander has glasses, but so far she's only tried to take them off 10 or so times.

God is good!

In Need Of Some Advice

I need advice on how to potty train a little boy. Alexander won't poop in the toilet! I know he knows where the poop goes and what to do, but he just won't do it. How did you get your little ones over the fear of pooping in the toilet?

Any advice on this topic would be most appreciated.

Something else I would like some advice on is teaching my kids their letters and numbers. What is a good way to teach them their ABC's and numbers? I really want to spend time with them to set these foundations, but I don't know how to go about it.

Again any advice on this topic would be most appreciated.

Have a good day and God bless!

That Still Small Voice

Don't you love His still small voice? I know I do. God is always good to me that way.

It's been on my heart for a couple of weeks to take Alexander to an opthamologist. He's had a problem with one of his for a while now and there are a lot of eye problems on my side of the family. I also read a blog where this woman talked about getting your child's eyes checked. I knew then that I needed to make the appointment.

I called and they got him in right away. I took him in on Wednesday and sure enough he needs glasses. He is severely farsighted. The doctor said it was a good thing we brought him in when we did. Praise God!! He knows Alexander's body and knew how bad his eyes were. I'm so thankful to Him. I've learned the hard way a couple of times that when I hear that still small voice or feel that impression on my heart that I need to listen and do it right away.

We get his glasses in about a week. He is going to be so adorable. I'll take a picture and post it on here so you can see Alexander in his glasses.

I Love His Timing

As we all know God's timing is perfect, even if it doesn't always seem that way. The same day I posted My Secret Struggle Is Not So Secret Anymore I started reading Beautiful In God's Eyes ( I think, either that or it was the day after).

Rachel had left me a comment saying she uses the one year Bible for her reading time. I thought that that sounded like something I wanted to do, but I didn't have a one year Bible. Anyway, I open up B.I.G.E. and I found a bookmark that has a "program" for reading through the Bible in one year! I was amazed, I love how He works. I have been doing this for the past 3 days or so and it has been great.

I prayed and asked the Lord to show me what to do with my devotions and He answered so quickly and clearly. He is good!