Coincidences? I think not!

No one is where he is by accident, and chance plays no part in God’s plan.
A Course in Miracles 

When you pray for something: clarity, guidance, understanding, etc. you are looking for answers and a response, right?  I think so!  I hope so! 

Growing up, I remember my mother constantly saying, "There is no such thing as a coincidence!" At the time, I never questioned, doubted, or even wondered what she meant by this.  Now, as an adult I have decided that no, there is in fact no such thing as a coincidence!  

God knows.  He has a plan.  He understands and has paved the way for us and will guide us where He wants us to be, no matter what.  All we have to do is be willing to wait, listen, be patient, and continue to pray!  

This year, we have been praying about something very specific for our family.  The past week or so, it seems that the longer I look, the closer I pay attention, the more open I am to hearing God's answer and not mine...the more I see, the more I hear, and the more I realize!  

I know that this is a vague explanation of my realization that there are in fact no coincidences in life.  I have my reasons for being vague, but here is one example of what I am talking about and I would love to hear what you think!

3 times I have gotten in the car and a certain song was playing on the radio...one that means so very much to my husband and I.  This one song, "Until the Whole Word Hears" by Casting Crowns has played a huge role in our walk through missions and has touched our hearts since our very first trip to Honduras.  No, not a coincidence...but a memory being brought back to the forefront of my mind!  

Here is the video we made back in 2010!



The past 24 days of 2013 have been extremely eye-opening and we are super-excited to see what God has in store for the rest of the year and years to come!

OMGoodness...It has been a while!

I cannot even wrap my head around the time that it has been since my last blog!  I am ready to get back at it and I have made it a personal goal to put my thoughts out there in the "Blogger" world on a more consistent basis!

It seems that I tend to get extremely excited about blogging and about processing my thoughts through blogging when there are major things going on in my head and in our lives!  Crazy how that happens...and no I am not saying that my life has been "boring" for the last year and a half!  Busy...YES!  Are you kidding me, I have 3 boys ages 8, 5, and 3!  Our lives are ANYTHING but boring!

As this new year gets underway, there are so many things weighing our hearts and we feel the comfort of God's calling getting louder and clearer as each day passes.  I am asking a favor of the world right now...please be praying for our family!  Be praying for the excitement that is brewing!  Here are some specific requests:

1. That we continue each day to grow closer to our Lord and Savior!
2. That we grow together and that we are ready and listening as God leads the way and answers prayers daily.
3. That we stay focused on what the end goal is and that each decision and step we make is to glorify Him and to get us where we know He wants us to be.
4. For our boys and that we can guide them and prepare them for the life that God has planned for them!

Deep Breaths

As I sit here...reflecting on the day, the week behind me, the week ahead of me, and where I am at RIGHT NOW...I realize that sometimes I just need to take a deep breath. I allow myself to get so extremely busy, so busy that I forget to stop and breathe. The days start running together, the months go by so so fast and the years are getting shorter. So I ask myself, where has life gone? My baby is already 6 1/2 and almost finished with Kindergarten. My middle son is about to start Pre-K and my baby baby is already almost 2. Again, DEEP BREATH...it gets me emotional when I force myself to stop what I am doing and to take a look around only to realize that I have done it once again... "IT" being that I have been flying through life without stopping to take in every moment, every cute laugh, every innocent question or joke! So with this blog...I am once again REMINDING myself to slow down, to take a DEEP BREATH and to soak up every single moment like a sponge thirsting for water! Because, someday when I am living a slower life and every breath I take is a deep breath...I want to be sure to remember all the crazy moments that I had along the way. Thank GOD for all of the blessings and the amazing family he has given me. Thanking Him for the craziness and for all the busy things we have going one...thanking Him for every single minute of every single day! Thanking Him...because He chose me and loves me and is ALWAYS there for me...

OH what a Happiness...I MEAN JOY!

As I am reflecting on the bible study that we had this evening with our small group, I decided to reread the first chapter of Philippians. So I began with the "Introduction" that my NIV Life Application Bible offers on the first page of Philippians.

It begins by saying that the WORD happiness brings us visions of various things in our minds such as unwrapping gifts on our birthdays or on Chirstmas morning, vacationing with our loved ones, etc. "EVERYONE wants to be happy; we make chasing this elusive ideal of a lifelong pursuit: SPENDING MONEY, collecting things, and searching for new experiences." (L.A.B.) - all of this in which I am envisioning in myself and thinking...so? Doesn't God want us to be happy and He blesses us with so much, right!?!

Then I read on..."But if happiness depends on our circumstances, what happens when the toys rust, loved ones die, health deteriorates, money is stolen, the newness wears off and the party's over?" - (UH OH...but don't we all see this in our own lives? In our friends' and families' lives?)

"In CONTRAST to happiness is JOY. Running deeper and stronger, joy is the quiet, confident assurance of God's love and work in our lives - that he will be there no matter what! Happiness depends on happenings, but JOY DEPENDS ON CHRIST." (L.A.B.)

Okay, so why am I writing a blog about THIS? Because, as I was reading this I had to stop and ask myself how am I living MY life? Am I "CHASING" happiness or am I focusing on the Joy that Christ brings to my life? Hmmm..

As a believer in my Lord and Savior I can have profound contentment, serenity, and peace...NO MATTER WHAT "happens". So if I am focusing on chasing my own happiness, I am depending on myself and my own strength in life, which isn't much might I add! If I am focusing on chasing the JOY in life, I am depending on HIS strenth instead of mine! *SIGH*

Now, as I am sinking lower on my couch in shame...over our purchase of a silly camera that I "HAD to have" and I was so "HAPPY" when we got it, I chased happiness so fast and so far that it ended up RIGHT on the credit card. WHICH, doesn't God want us to NOT be in debt? UGH, then today I realize that I wouldn't have "needed" that camera had I been focused on the fact that God calls us to find Joy in Him and that in order to have that, I need to not rely on what I have or what happens to me, but on Christ within me!!! In other words, the old camera would have worked just fine if I had stayed focused on finding Joy in Christ...not happiness in a toy from my favorite electronics toy store.

Okay, just a personal confession that I am NOT focused on living my life in all areas on my Lord and Savior, and if I were...then THAT is where my contentment would come from!

As a side note, I do not think it's bad to be excited and happy over purchases and gifts...as long as that is not where your source of happiness in life comes from. The JOY in your life MUST come from God! Through Him ALL things are possible...even the most unimaginable, most ideal life situations are ONLY possible...through Him!

Oh goodness...and I haven't even started with Philippians Chapter 1 yet!!!

What else?

So Thursday morning I was eating...RED HOTS...of all things. UGH! They were delicious and I was quite enjoying myself until...I gasped, I was no longer just chewing red hots, I WAS CHEWING PART OF MY TOOTH. YUCK!

I have had plenty of teeth problems in the past and I should have known better. BUT NO, I still do things like, crunch down on chewy red hots on teeth that have already had fillings put in them. So, I went to the dentist and now I need a crown. I was still feeling comfortable with that concept because you know, I am an insurance paying citizen and I am even a smart insurance paying citizen because I have DENTAL INSURANCE!!! But wait, apparently that doesn't mean much because AFTER insurance, my balance (lucky me!) is $600. WHAT? Are you kidding me? So I left the dentist and came home cringing with the thought of having to tell my hubby, but he of course said that we didn't have a choice. That my teeth are an important investment!

I am proud to announce that I will have a crown on that back stubborn tooth as of next Friday, July 2nd!

THEN...(and please don't think I am complaining, because I AM extremely grateful for so much!!!) THIS MORNING, Brian decides that our dish washer is broken. My response of course was, "Oh, come on! Are you kidding me?" I figured that he must not know what he is doing because he had to of pushed some button that is making it act different than what he is used to. BUT...low and behold after a thorough investigation I have also come to the conclusion that our dish washer is a gonner. SIGH....

Even though these are two great expenses that are staring us straight in the face...today is a great day! In about 10 minutes, my precious nephew, Mekele (see prior posts) who was adopted from Ethiopia, is coming over to play! I get to babysit him for the first time tonight and my boys and I are thrilled beyond belief over this! It'll be a fun...definetely boy-filled evening!

OH! Our special guest just arrived!

The Goings On of....

There are so many different things going on...why is it that when summer comes and we have the greatest intentions of relaxing, having lots of "doing nothing" days...it turns out to be quite the opposite?

Brian took Brady to his 9 month check up - which was actually when he was already 11 months old, ugh! The doctor had mentioned at the 6 month check up that she was concerned about Braydon's head being tilted slightly to the left. At the "9" month check up his head was still slightly titled. In addition to the concern over his head and neck, she felt that one of his organs might have been swollen in his abdomen.

Following that check-up we went to get a sonogram to see what was going on in his little tummy. Thank goodness the results showed that everything looked normal. He may have just had poop in there...sorry for being so blunt, but it was an EXPENSIVE poop!!!! But, it is also a blessing that everything checked out!

Next stop was to the pediatric opthamologist. The pediatrician thought that maybe he was tilting his head due to an eye development issue so she wanted us to get check out by the specialist. We learned that Brady's head is not tilting due to his eyes! However, he is VERY farsighted and we have to go back in for a check-up on his eyes in December.

So, we start physical therapy on July 1st! We are praying that after the P.T. evaluation we will be told that after some excersizes that he will be cured and his head won't tilt anymore!

God has a plan, he has a reason, and he already knows how this will turn out. We still pray and we put our faith in Him and we turn our troubles over for Him to hold so that we don't have to. He is our Father in Heaven and he loves us...he does these things for us to help us get through trying and frustrating times. In the end, the only thing that will matter is being with Him, our Lord God almighty! Praise God for all of our blessings, and I pray that He continues to give us the strength and peace to get through this little journey, called life!

Planning

I am SUCH A PLANNER!!! A lot of times the actual process of planning is just as much fun to me as whatever it is that I am planning to do!!! I know, WIERD! Whether it's planning out my day with a simple "To-Do" list, a family outing, or a trip to another world, I love every minute of it!

Right now, I am planning so many different things, I am struggling to keep everything straight in my head. Not struggling in a bad way really, because like I said, I love the planning process!!! On Tuesday, I lost my calendar...which with my phone it shouldn't be that big of a deal, but you would have thought that I lost my wedding ring because of how freaked out I was! I realize this is a bit over the top for a calendar, especially when I pretty much had everything electronically saved in the trusty phone, but I LOVE having the calendar in front of me so that I can see the week and the month spread out before my eyes!

The most important and highest priority when planning is to be sure to LEAVE GOD IN CONTROL, even though it's not fun when the plans fall through, the plans as a whole mean nothing without God in the driver's seat! I didn't realize that until about 8 months ago now. December 19th to be exact! I've blogged about the significance of that day before, but that is when I realized that it doesn't matter how badly you want something or how hopeful you are, or how expectant, when it comes down to it...the only PLAN that matters is God's!

One of the things that I am planning right now, that I am overcome with excitement about is....THANKSGIVING MISSION 2010! My friends, Alex and Laura, at www.reachouthonduras.org, even posted an announcement of this event on their organization's website! There are 3 words that go along with the ReachOutHonduras logo...PRAY, GO, GIVE! Whether you have been on a mission trip before or maybe you've never been anywhere on missions, this experience is ABSOLUTELY SURE to make an impact in YOUR life.

If you are at all interested to learn more about this opportunity to serve God by reaching out to the people in Puerto Lempira, Honduras...let me know and I will get you more information!

Until then, I am praying for people to come forward to join this effort, I pray that each and every one of us recognizes who is really large and in charge! It sure isn't us!!! I pray for continued focus and awareness of the priorities and the things that are important to our Lord, not the things that I want. I pray that He gives me the continued sense of peace when I hand over the keys and get in on the passenger side for this journey we call life, because no other way that we could get to our destination is as effective or fulfilling.