He Giveth...and He Giveth me him.

This ministered to my heart today:

"He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater, 


He sendeth more strength when the labors increase; 


To added affliction He addeth His mercies,


To multiplied trials His multiplied peace...

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,

When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,

When we reach the end of our hoarded resources

Our Father's full giving is only begun...

His love has no limit,

His grace has no measure,

His power no boundary known unto men; 


For out of His infinite riches in Jesus 


He giveth and giveth and giveth again."


--Annie Johnson Flint

And since I was absent from blogging on September 21st,

Happy 7th Anniversary, Bill.

Thank you for choosing me. 

Thank you for asking me to marry you.

Thank you for always growing, deeply loving, and seeking Him daily.

You're an extraordinary man. 

You're a beautiful father.  

It's a privilege to be your wife.

I will forever be in with love you.

Blogged for today....check!

Checklists…do you use them?

I love checklists. First of all, I love to feel organized enough to know what I need to do. Made my checklist. Check!

Then, I love to feel that I’ve accomplished something. Nothing makes me feel more successful than a Daytimer page filled with items checked off at the end of the day. However, the reverse of that is also true….if I have a page only partially checked off, it can potentially cause me much distress.

There is so much that can interfere with accomplishing a list of tasks for the day. Focus-robbers, that’s what I’ll call them. Unimportant distractions that are allowed into the day, such as...television….e-mail….blogging….or just Internet surfing. There are many things that can come first, if I don’t protect myself from these distractions.

Of course there are times when I consider my sweet little guys to be “distractions” from my TO-DO checklist, but those are distractions I need to spend time on daily! Time with them requires an entirely different focus.

Working through this 40-day Love Dare has been interesting so far. I’m trying to process through what I am learning….and will let you know when I process it all. The book is structured with a checklist of love dares, to do for 40 days in a row. I love this, of course, because I love checklists!

There are two take-away nuggets I have learned so far. One is that I have discovered that my marriage is also an area in my life where I truly have allowed focus-robbers. They distract me from being intentional in my marriage relationship. So many times it’s the exact same robbers I allow in my daily to-do checklists…television….e-mail….blogging…Internet….and yes, even the kids fall in this category, as it pertains to Bill. What used to be so easy in dating (time and focus) now requires intention.

The second thing I’ve learned so far is that loving the way God requires of us in His Word requires putting pride aside. I knew I was proud, but wow…..when even the simplest of actions seems so difficult, it shows me how proud I am.

I’m really excited to see what else God has in store for me to learn about this. I’ll keep you posted. So for now, I need to go do my daily love dare. I can’t wait to check it off!

Small window in a big picture

I have an obsession with simplicity. In my (hopefully not too ill) mind, simple days are not cluttered with activity. There is apple pie cooling on the window sill. Children obey… immediately, when asked. Marriage is filled with laughter and romance. Ok…I know. I’m getting carried away. I’m not sure who’s reality THAT is, but it most likely doesn’t belong to the masses. AND…is that really “simplicity”…or is that a “fairy tale”?

Again…that takes me back to one of my previous posts, where the question was “is simplicity actually fairy tale situations?” OR “is simplicity a state of mind when circumstances are less than ideal?” I still don’t know the answer. You would think 3 entire weeks later I would have this concept completely licked.

My weekly reality is filled with budget talks, working 20-hour weekends part time, and a full time job around the clock being Mom to toddlers….piled up laundry….carpets that need vacuuming…menus that need planning…and the groceries needing to be purchased.

That reality is so far from my dream of simplicity.

I constantly tell my 4-year-old that he has the CHOICE of his attitude for that particular day. It dawned on me one day….so do I! So there is a constant (and healthy, I hope!) tension between my idea of simplicity (my fairy tale in my head), my reality and my attitude about it all.

That’s what the big picture of my crazy mind looks like.

In the small windows, there are scenarios that God is working in my life. One such area is my marriage. Please know, I have a really good marriage. I am married to a wonderful man. I am blessed beyond measure. Truly. But again, reality may not always be the fairy tale. There is always room to make things better, stronger, more focused.

Bill and I watched the movie Fireproof last night. It was such a sweet, feel-good movie about God’s amazing love for us…and His ability to heal and redeem us and our marriages.

I have also started the 40 day Love Dare (mentioned in the movie). I’m on Day 4. It is a challenge to help us truly grasp what it looks like to love our spouse the way GOD intends us to. I’ll keep you posted each week on how it is going.

But for now, I will give the small scenarios and the big picture to God every day…and hold on tightly to His leading. Maybe then, I’ll even be able to enjoy some of that simple chaos in my daily life.