Praising Him in the Storm

My emotions go up and down on a daily (or hourly) basis. It is hard to hold it together as a woman sometimes, because we are the "glue" in the family. God is certainly the center of our family, but any Mom knows what I mean. We run the house and have to be there to make sure everybody else has their needs met. We are often the last ones on our "to do" list and sometimes that last item gets skipped altogether for lack of time or energy.

Lately, I've had to put a "game face" on a lot. It is hard to be in the midst of a storm with 4 small children and a husband that is hurting also. Everybody's lives seem to go on as "normal" and here we are mourning one of the biggest losses of our lives. It is hard to still wrap my mind around all that has happened in a very short period of time. It is impossible to figure out the 'why' of the situation and 'how' people can be so unloving.

Sometimes when Jamie and I are lying in bed we talk to one another about the raw feelings that we are still going through. Sometimes I cry and have a strong sense of sadness over me. Sometimes I'm just so angry that I can't even express it. Some days are OK and we don't even mention the elephant that is in the room. We both know it is always there, but why dwell on it.

These events and people may be in our past, but doesn't make it hurt less. We are going without many things that people find "normal" in their own lives. I've learned over the course of the last couple of months never to assume how people should feel in a situation. Never assume that someone has to die to go through mourning process. And never assume because people are smiling that they aren't hurting.

But, I sat here today and thought to myself. We have been under attack by Satan. We have not turned against God and we have praised him for our blessings that we have had. We are buying a house, we are healthy, Jamie loves his job, we do have a temporary roof over our heads, etc. If Satan is attacking, then maybe we were doing something right at least. Doesn't Satan attack where God is at work? Doesn't Satan hate it when we are doing God's will? Satan knew exactly where to punch. He knew exactly who to use and what would finally get us out of the way.

So, if things are going great in your life....praise God for that! If you are in a storm...praise God for that, because you may have just been doing something "right" all along.

Micah got the LEAD!!!

I'm so proud of my budding actor! When we moved in May, he left behind a pretty decent sized part in Owensboro in "How to Eat Like a Child" which he was already practicing for. He was disappointed and so were we. As soon as I knew we were moving, I started researching the community theater here. We found out that the play was going to be "Willy Wonka kids" this summer and that is one of his favorite movies. So, that helped ease the pain of leaving the other behind.

He had auditions last week and had his heart set on being "Charlie" which is the main character of the story. I've given him the pep talk all week about not being disappointed if he didn't get the part he wanted. There were a lot of kids there, and they don't know us here, so I didn't know how it would turn out .

Today started the day camp and I went to pick him up . I was scanning the crowd looking for him and he runs up to me and said, "Mommy, I'm Charlie!" I gave him a hug and a small kiss on the cheek and whispered close to his ear, "I'm so proud of you!" He was grinning ear to ear and I was too! I was ecstatic for him to get what he wanted. He really deserves it this time! Especially with the move and everything that they've sacrificed this summer. It was the perfect beginning to the week!

On another note, I'm teenage sitting this week. My sister and her husband are taking a much deserved vacation and I'm hanging out with some pretty good teenagers this week. The kids are all excited to spend time with them. In 2 weeks, we have the production and then we start school on August 2nd:-)

I'm one proud Mommy right now! This is something he'll have fond memories of forever!

Are you really loving others?

1 Corinthians 13

⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. ⁸Love never fails.


Have you ever really looked at these verses? I know you have heard them at almost every wedding you have attended and you may have memorized them at some point in Sunday School, but do you really practice them? Have you really thought about the words?

In all honesty, I don't think many of us do. If we did, then the world would be different. Homes and churches would be different. People would gravitate towards church doors that really truly showed love towards people no matter their past, no matter their clothes, no matter their attitude, no matter their current beliefs, and no matter their flaws. How often do Christians judge others? How often do we just write someone off or turn our backs on another person, because of something petty and small? If we were living by the verses above, then that would never happen.

One of my homeschool goals is for my children to learn to love through Christ. I want them to not only show love for the people in our house, but to others out in the world. If they can accomplish this in their lives, then they will be able to minister to people more effectively. They will build stronger relationships and they will grow closer to the Lord.

I'm also keeping all this in mind as we go church looking soon. I know that God will show us which church to be a part of. He knows what we've been through and he knows what we need to heal and move forward more than anybody. I trust that he'll provide the perfect fellowship for us to be a part of and minister with.

Better Late Than Never

Here are a few pictures from our recent vacation. With all the house stuff going on, I never got around to posting pictures.

We went to the pool 3 times during the week. The kids loved it and it was relaxing. Well, except for Chloe trying to drown herself on the last day. Such a little daredevil. She tried swimming without her water wings or life jacket and needless to say, it didn't work out very well.


They were really asleep in this picture. Vacation is just much to tiring!


We went to the Ripley's Aquarium and it was very good. The kids enjoyed it, but we did too. Here is a picture of Abbi in front of the crabbie tank. Those things were huge!

We went down to the Little Pigeon river one day. The kids liked throwing rocks in and touching the water.



On the home front, we are at the mercy (and speed) of the system at this point. The house got a good inspection with no major red flags. We have begun our paperwork, got insurance quotes, and the rest is just a waiting game. Our tentative closing is August 15th. Our realtor is trying to speed that date up since the owner still has 14 days after closing to move out. So, maybe we'll actually be IN the house by mid-late August. There is some sprucing up we want to do before we officially move. Between homeschooling (aug 2nd), house fixing, and master's classes for Jamie, life will be in a whirlwind very soon. A very good whirlwind though!