Out of the mouth of babes comes blessings. . .

I had to take Nora to Urgent Care this morning because her pediatrician’s office was completely booked today. She has a snotty nose, congestion and a PITIFUL squeaky voice. While we were waiting she made friends with Justin the almost 3 year old sitting behind us. They were singing the ABC song. I (as was most other adults in the room) was watching TV and fixated on the news reporting about yesterday’s election.

The presidential candidate I voted for didn’t win. Am I mad, angry or scared even? No . . . just a little disappointed. This was no surprise to me and NO surprise to God. In MY opinion this country’s condition is not the result of past or present Presidents. It is the fact our nation has turned its back on  the BASIC Biblical truths which it was established by and founded upon.  

Jeremiah 12:7

I have forsaken My house,
I have abandoned My inheritance;
I have given the beloved of My soul
Into the hand of her enemies.

Freedom is not based on laws of the land or the U.S. Constitution. The only true freedom one has is being a bond-slave to Jesus Christ. To the non-believer that statement is ridiculous. To the believer it is JOY! We as Christians need not to put our hope in a presidential candidate but in the person that hung on the cross. JESUS is our savior!

The ABC song and my disappointment was interrupted by a different song Justin was singing. . . .

Stop; and let me tell you
What the Lord has done for me.
Stop; and let me tell you
What the Lord has done for me.
He forgave my sin
And He saved my soul,
He cleansed my heart
And He made me whole.
Stop; and let me tell you
What the Lord has done for me.

Out of the mouth of babes comes TRUTH!  What a blessing it was to hear him sing!! Folks this is what our focus should be today. Teaching the next generation truth! So they will be able to discern what is right, wrong, just and unjust when they are old enough to vote (if we still have that privilege in 16 years). To me it was God’s way of speaking to me personally letting me know today HE is still God and HE is still in control.

 

Calling all Christians. . . STOP and tell someone what the LORD has done for YOU!!!

My baby girl is TWO years old today!!! She is my mini me but a Daddy's girl. Her favorite toy is her Minnie Mouse and she loves to watch Elmo's World (over and over and over and over again!). She loves to sing the ABC song, Jesus Loves Me, Itsy Bitsy Spider and I'm a Little Teapot (which we sing The Teapot song in different genres . . . country, rock and roll, opera etc). No matter what Mommy sings she is my biggest fan and claps every time and says "Do it again Mommy."

She calls Ethan “Bubba” trying to say brother and I think it may take her awhile to outgrow calling him that. :) She is funny and SO smart! The doctor said today at her checkup that she was off the charts verbally! Can't imagine where she gets that from?? LOL What a blessing she has been to us! Happy 2nd Birthday Nora Paige! We love you!!

 

 

Watch out FIRST GRADE here I come!!! Can't believe he is in 1st grade.  . . .sniff sniff. . .

Love this song! Thank God for His AMAZING grace and REDEMPTION!!

Ephesians 1:3-8
 
³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
 ⁴ According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
 ⁵ Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
 ⁶ To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
⁷ In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
 ⁸ Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;

My Arrow Ethan

Six years ago today God blessed us with our first child. At 11:46 pm Ethan arrived! All 7 pounds and 13.5 ounces of him. It was a surreal moment when they laid him on my chest and I tried to focus to count all his tiny fingers and toes. Sam and my sister cried. I didn’t cry . . . . I was just so happy to FINALLY see him. . . and I was exhausted and hungry! LOL

Ethan is a gift! God intricately designed him with his strong-will, mechanical math mind (gets that from Sam) rambunctiousness, love for reading, tender heart, outgoing personality, humor and sweet spirit just for ME! JUST FOR ME! He isn’t exactly like any other child on this entire planet. He was made precisely the way God wanted him to be . . . just for me. Isn’t that AMAZING!?!?! Motherhood is hard. Yet on those hardest of hard days I remember what a blessing my children are. They are truly gifts from God wrapped in the best paper and ribbons and entrusted to us.

Do you ever wonder if you are worthy of such a gift?  Am I worthy of the calling of Motherhood?  Some days I feel I fall very short! On Mother’s day Ethan gave me a gift he made at school. I still almost cry every time I look at it. A picture of it is below. His kindergarten teacher asked them to go through magazines to pick out things about your mom. It was a "Mom's Magazine Scavenger Hunt" where he had to find pictures of Something Mom likes to eat, Shoes for Mom, A present for Mom, A purse for Mom, etc.

In the block that said "Something Mom Likes" was a picture of Jesus! I asked Ethan, "Who is this a picture of?" (Just to make sure he wasn’t saying I like long hair men with a beard because Sam used to have both.) He smiled and said, “JESUS!” My eyes welled up with tears. At some point on some day I must have gotten something right!

Your family is your first ministry. My calling as a mother is to do everything I can to point my children to JESUS! I pray both my children know and share the love I have for my Savior. That they know the grace he so freely gives us all the time. Especially on those days when I totally blow it! Ethan loves to read the Bible and I pray he always LONGS to be in the word.

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 (NASB) 6  These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7  You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. 8  You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as [a]frontals [b]on your forehead. 9  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

I pray God continues to guide me on how to answer all Ethan’s “theological” questions. He is fascinated with the trinity and keeps me on my toes when questions arise. I pray he comes to know the Lord at an early age.

People may look at me with my kids and say “wow you have your hands full.” YES I DO! Full of BLESSINGS from the gifts that have been placed in my care.

Psalm 127:3-5 (NASB)

³ Behold, children are a ^[a]gift of the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
⁴ Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
⁵ How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;
They will not be ashamed
When they speak with their enemies in the gate

Is motherhood a calling? Yes! Read the blog below by Rachel Jankovic

http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/motherhood-is-a-calling-and-where-your-children-rank

Turning 39 Manifesto

Definition of Manifesto (yes I had to look it up)
: a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer

I'm 39 today. Last year of my "thirties." Boy how time flies by. The past week I've been reflecting on the past. Typically I don't do this on my birthday because birthdays don't bother me like they do some people. But those decade birthdays make me pause and think about the previous 10 years.

During the years 19 to 29 . . . .  I attended and graduated college. Met Sam and got married.  I had many different occupations (receptionist, DJ, retail manager, AP Clerk). Bought my first house (ALL 970 square feet and you had to sit on the toilet sideways). I bought a motorcycle and learned to ride. Bought my first new car and sold it (Thanks Lisa Marie). When I turned 29 I got 3 tattoos. It's just ink!! :) Traveled lots. Met people from all over the world and made some pretty good friends.

During the years 29 to 39. . . . well we bought another house. The day I turned 30 I flew for the first time on an airplane to Los Angeles. . . . that was a long trip. Sam and I spent about a week in LA, went to the Price is Right, met Bob Barker, and wrote my name in the sand on Santa Monica Beach.  I went back to college and I got the job where I've worked almost 7 years. I became a mother to two BEAUTIFUL babies!! Suffered the loss of people I dearly loved (accident, suicide, cancer).  Experienced personally the torment of cancer and chemo. Had financial gain and financial loss.

Life has been an ebb and flow. So has my relationship with the Lord. He's ALWAYS been there even when I withdrew from him. I can pinpoint times in my life when I was so close to Him and other times when I was far removed. In a Bible study a few weeks ago we were discussing the ups and downs of our Christian walk and what is the root. A wise Titus 2 woman said it's because we forget we have to surrender DAILY to the Lord. Not once a week or once a year but DAILY. It is a DAILY surrender and a relationship with our Lord that keeps us close to Him. We are the ones that move. . . not Him. Not a religion but a RELATIONSHIP. A relationship like we would have with our BFF. As the old hymn says, "What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!" Prayer a privilege? YES!!!

My "manifesto" (not really but I like saying that word. Say it with me /manəˈfestō/ LOL) or motive is to encourage you to have a relationship with the Lord. Don't have an incline and decline in your walk with Christ like I did. AVOID IT!!  Talk to him daily, read his word and listen. I'm thankful I'm not the person I was 10 years ago or 20 years ago. Those who know me well know that I'm not even the same person I was 6 months ago! Thankful for the relationship I now experience with my Savior who has pressed, shaped, and molded me into the person I am today.

On my 39th birthday I'm thankful for so many blessings in my life. I'm still the free spirited, fun loving, JESUS loving 19 or 29 year old Beverly I was  . . . . but hopefully by God's grace  . . . just a slightly better version!

I Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain. . .

Pomp and Circumstance

Pomp and Circumstance . . .  what is that anyways other than something that is always played at a graduation?? Definition. . . .formal ceremony or occasion I suppose. Tonight's P&C was more than a formal ceremony for us. . . .but God's grace allowing us another victory.

After 2+ years of college, brain injury, and cancer. Sam walked across the stage tonight and received his  Associates in Applied Science (Mechanical Engineering). He was diagnosed with cancer 2 days after he completed his final exam. 2 years and 7 days prior to that day he suffered a brain injury from an accident. In both we have seen the mighty hand of God do miraculous things.

Giving GOD all praise, glory and honor for this pomp and circumstance!