God confirms

Could this be any more appropriate?? I am telling you, there are days that I think God is speaking to me, and he knows how to confirm it to me that yes it was HIM.

I finished posting my last entry, went to read my email and found this devotional for the day from proverbs 31 in my mailbox. I'm just going to copy the entire thing. These type of things are just NOT a coincidence! :) Here it is......

Power to Overcome22 Jun 2009Rachel Olsen

"By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence." 2 Peter 1:3 (NLT)

Do you find yourself doing what you know you should not? Do you find it hard to stop? Yeah, I know.

I've had several discussions lately with people stuck in patterns of behavior they want to quit. They're stuck in sin. What's more, they feel completely awful about it. Guilty. Shameful. Some to the point of hating themselves. And yet they feel powerless to stop – powerless to resist.

The Bible says when we return to our vices again and again, we are like dogs returning to our vomit (Prov. 26:11).

Ick!
So why do we do this? According to the Bible, Christ has conquered sin on our behalf and we have the capacity to be free from its power. Yet that is far from the reality of many Christians' lives. Why?

Why does sin have any power over us? Why does it have any dominion in our lives? The answer is the same reason a dog returns to her vomit. She likes the taste.

Sin has power because we enjoy it. It promises something we want … pleasure, escape, esteem, wealth, etc. Sure it always has consequences we don't want, but in many cases those don't over power its feel-good moments or perceived benefits. In short, sin has power because we love it.

Earlier this year I quit drinking my favorite drink, a particular diet cola. Now, I'm not saying diet colas are evil or sinful, just go with me here! The first time I tasted this diet drink I didn't think it was all that yummy. BUT it promised to save me calories so I decided it was wo rth the slightly strange chemical taste. In short time, as it grew familiar, I began to like the taste.

Wasn't long before I was flat out addicted – wanting, even needing to have my beloved drink daily or I grew headachy and irritable. Sad thing is, it didn't help me lose weight at all. But that didn't matter because now I loved the diet drink. Furthermore, I was convinced if I gave it up, I'd not only get headaches but I'd gain more weight. I was enslaved in a way.
It was my drink of choice: I smiled when I had it and frowned when I ran out, or if a restaurant didn't serve it. And I'd get worried anytime a health report questioned the safety of aspartame, a main ingredient in my diet cola. But loving it so, I returned to it day after day. Even though I'd begun to feel guilty about that.

What helped me give up the diet cola? I found a different, healthier beverage I really liked and developed my taste for it. I was willing to give up that because I now had this. It's the same way with sin.

What can help us overcome the sins we love, but hate loving? A surpassing love. A greater love that carries with it no hate, no guilt, and no shame. A love that actually delivers the many, many benefits it promises. A love that is full of wisdom and compassion, not vomit. A love more attractive and powerful than the allure of sin. It is the love of God displayed in Christ.

When we catch hold of that love - when we read of it regularly, drink it in, and see it at work in our lives and in its glory - we cannot help but love Him back with all our heart, soul and mind. And in that state of all encompassing love, sin pales in comparison. Its power grows feeble. It no longer tastes as good.

When we immerse ourselves in the everlasting love of God that has made us its object, we're more than willing to walk away from the vomit. We can give up that because we have this.

Dear Lord, forgive me for the sins I return to. Cleanse me with Your majestic love and grace. Reveal to me the depth of Your love, the extent of Your sacrifice, and the beauty of the mercy You grant me daily. Open my eyes to see Your love afresh and may I be empowered to walk away from sin towards Your heart. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Mars Hill church

I have a new addiction but I think it's a good one. Listening to Sermons from Mars Hill Church. Pastor Mark Driscoll is an awesome speaker.

A friend of mine from a message board led me to watch some sermons on marriage from this church. That is where it all started. He has SO many great sermons!! I would be switching Church's in a min if he weren't in Seattle! No offense to my church but this is the kind of speaking I need in my Christian walk. The one I listened to this morning was this~ On Self Indulgence. Unfortunately that is one of my big sins. I have a hard time with self control when it comes to pleasure and indulging myself. Kevin and I were just talking about it this weekend, how I can get off my food addiction and put Jesus first. Mark pretty much nailed it for me this morning.You either love Jesus or you don't. If you DO then your life should show change. If there's no change, you don't know Jesus and you are not saved. Plain and simple. Get to the changing Amy. Exactly what I needed this morning. God is faithful because he has been convicting me of my sin, and he brought me to a sermon this morning to put it very black and white for me. You love me? You give up your idols. Period. Wow. Thanks God.

I think I've been looking for excuses not to do it. I don't know why, but it just seems to hard to give up self. It IS hard. But is Jesus worth it? I'm quite sure he is.

If you want to grow in your walk with Christ go listen to some sermons from this church.

The one on marriage is the Peasant Princess and it is a pretty awesome series too! Kevin and are currently listening to those too! :)

Family Update

I am seriously overdue on a family update on here! When I started this blog I wanted to write down things that I didn't want to forget, no matter what it pertained to. It has kind of turned into a blog about my journey with Christ, which is ok, but I'd still like to have some family stuff in here too!
So I'll start with our "new addition" to our family, Henry. He's the brown dog in the pictures. We got him as a puppy in Jan of this year, next month he will be one already! The white dog is Brutus, he's been with us now for 5 years. He is loving being the "big brother" of Henry.


The dogs.
Henry after a haircut.

Henry before his first haircut. So stinkin cute, but was hard to take care of all that hair! :)

The kids together.... I tried SO hard to get a picture of these kids all smiling, but that just never happens!! This is in our front yard.....

Ben and Gracie on the front porch......

Ben, Autumn and Jake, I think this was around Easter.

Jake...

Jake is almost a teenager. I can't believe it. It seems like yesterday he was a baby, time really does go as fast as people say it does! When I'm out somewhere and someone says, "enjoy them while they are small, they grow up fast!" They are not kidding. They sure do. This was Jake's last year in grade school. Next year he'll be in 7th grade. Here's a picture of him at school on the last day of grade school with friends....

The Eve of the last day of school at the dinner......

He is just so cute. lol. I think he was actually a little sad about leaving grade school, he had an enjoyable 6 years there so it was bittersweet for him to say good bye to that school and move on to bigger and better things.
When I talk about home schooling Jake says, "no, not ME! Only the other kids" I guess it's a good thing he likes school.
Jake is a good kid. I am proud of who is he becoming. There were a few instances he made me really proud as a Christian mother, when he had an MRI done and they asked him what station he'd like on the radio and he said K-love! Or in his time capsule for school, on the sheet for 2009 he put as his favorite book~ The bible! :) That's my boy! He also made a shield when they were studying Medieval Times and he put a cross on his shield and wrote on the back that the cross stands for Jesus and he's a Christian. I cried when I read that!
He loves to play Halo, loves sports, right now he's only in baseball which is fine with me! He spends a lot of time now swimming in neighbors pools and playing kick ball outside.
Something else that Jake has surprised me with in the past 6 months is that mess drives him crazy. He would get up at 6 am before school, come downstairs and start cleaning! Or come home from school and start cleaning the house. He even tells me when I need to clean the kitchen floor! How many 12 years olds do this? lol. Hopefully that will be a good thing when he gets older and not something he gets upset with his wife for. :) Speaking of a wife, Jake is officially now interested in girls. I'm not sure if this is good or bad, I think it was easier when he wasn't very interested but I guess this time was going to come sooner or later. Let's pray he keeps his head on straight and remembers what God expects of him.

Jake is my first "momma's boy" , he will always be my baby even when he's taller then me. It's kinda funny how the boys like mom more and the girls like dad more.

and on to Autumn....... (aka, daddy's sweetie pie girl)

Our sweet Autumn just had a Birthday a few days ago. She's now a big 6 year old. She survived her first year in school, and is VERY glad it's summer.She's enjoying not having to be woken up in the morning for school. She is NOT a morning person and was giving me a seriously hard time getting her up for school in the mornings. So that takes some stress out of my life now.
She's still a daddy's girl but has decided this year that she loves me too. ha. It must have been me helping in her classroom that changed her tune. who knows. She is starting to become better friends with the neighbor girl who is almost a year older then her, which is nice to have someone so close for her to play with. Autumn also recently started sleeping in her own bed, in her own room by herself. That is a big accomplishment in our co-sleeping family. Hooray for Autumn!! We are SO very proud of her. She's usually a pretty loving little girl, but went through a phase not too long ago where she said she liked having the devil in her heart. It was not pretty but we are back to the sweet girl again, thank you God. lol.

Autumn loves to do art, she likes to write, color, paint, and make messes with her artsy stuff.

She also likes to play with babydolls, play house with her siblings, draw with chalk outside, play dress up.
Here's a recent pic of Autumn in the yard....

Now for Benjamin.....(aka, Ben, Baloozee)

Ben has recently taken it upon himself to change his name to Baloozee. I don't even know how we started calling him that, It just started as a fun nickname, and now he doesn't' want to be called Ben anymore. He says, "my name is Baloozee" lol. How funny is that. I wonder how many years that will stick. I am thinking he might not like that name in his teen or adult years but for now it fits him well.

Ben is our sweet "big" guy. He's almost at the same weight as his sister Autumn and he's darn proud of it too. He does NOT like to be called little.

His favorite thing to do is hang out with his big brother Jake. There's nothing that Ben loves more then to be with Jake. I think it's so sweet how much he loves Jake, and at times I wish they were a little closer in age. Obviously because Jake is almost 13, hanging out with his 4 yr old brother isn't his top priority, but he does make time for him and Ben soaks it all in.

I am proud to say that Ben is a "momma's boy". I am not complaining!

Somethings I love about Ben is when he prays at night. He prays for the sweetest things, like, fans, nightlights, xbox, his teddy bear. He really appreciates the little things in life and is thankful for them. It was ironic the other night our power was out during the night and 3 of my kids couldn't sleep without their fans or nightlights. lol. Guess Ben is right in thanking God for them when they do work!

Ben loves to be at home. When we need to go somewhere he always argues that he is staying home. I'm pretty sure if I let him, he'd stay home alone. :)

Last month Ben was in a cast for 10 days. He fell in the driveway and refused to stand on his left leg for 3 days before I took him to the doctor. He was just getting heavy! They had to error on the side of caution so they put him in a cast. By that night, he was running around with it. We were so thankful to get that thing off!

Here's a picture of the cast..... He picked blue.....

One of his other favorite things to do....swinging in the backyard....

Last but not least, Gracie. (Aka- peanut, twirp, spitfire)

Gracie, Grace. She's something else I tell you. It must be that she's the youngest, I can't come up with any other excuse. She has daddy wrapped around her finger. She LOVES daddy and wants to spend every waking min with him, but when he has to go to work, mom is "good enough". lol.

she's VERY bossy, and when she doesn't get her own way she says, "Naughty mommy!!" or Naughty whoever or whatever is making her upset. :)

She hold her own with her bigger siblings, and when they make her mad she lets them know by pinching or hitting them. ( I Know, not good, we try to tell her that's not acceptable!)

Grace is still pulling her hair out with her NUK. Not sure why she enjoys doing this but its so very annoying to me. We shaved her head once trying to get her to stop, and it did work for awhile till the hair grew back. I know, we need to take the NUK away, but the daddy that is wrapped doesn't want to do that. lol. Grace loves to be outside, and has mastered riding the battery operated 4 wheeler and thinks it is "HERS".

Gracie in the backyard....

Eating "I keam"

I'm sure there's many things I forgot and maybe I can come back and edit it later, but the kids need treats and to be taken to bed......
I'm so thankful for these kids. They are such a great blessing in my life..Thank you God.

God is in control.

I realized this morning that I was not letting God take control of a situation in our family.
Recently I felt the pull on my heart that God was leading me to home school my younger kids.
I think it came upon slowly, by God putting families, and children in my path that were home schooled and slowly changing my heart and opening me up to the idea.
Since I came to the conclusion that this is what God wants for us I have been pushing my husband to jump on board. Granted we are in different places in our walk with God, and maybe that has something to do with it, ,maybe not. Regardless, I have been asking Kevin to read articles and books on home schooling. He did read some yesterday but wasn't exactly what I would call willing and happy to do it.
This morning he told me that my approach was backfiring on me. I was pushing him to read or listen to things he didn't want to. It made me think about it. I am trying to control the situation. I am trying to change Kevin's heart and get him to agree to something. I have to keep in mind that if God wants this, he is going to change Kevin's heart about it. God can do that. Did I forget that? That GOD is in control? That God loves our kids more then we do? That I can just give this to God and let him take care of it? I guess I was thinking that if God wants me to do this, then I have to help Kevin want it to, I have to make it happen! That was wrong thinking. God is God and if he wants it, he'll make it happen. I need to give the controls to him and stop stressing myself out over it. I have been wondering why I've had a headache for the past two weeks. Maybe, just maybe this has something to do with it. Maybe if I hand the controls over to God my stress headache will go away. As Carrie Underwood would say, "Jesus take the wheel!"

Three in one

I learned something interesting this morning, kind of a new outlook on the God head.
I am doing the Beth Moore bible study Living beyond yourself, and she was explaining in this chapter what the three do.

She describes it like this-

The Holy Spirit applies the energy of the God head.

Jesus, the son is God's word. The greek term for word is Logos, which means, "the power of speech, delivery, eloquence."

How she put it was-

He directs us through ~

The Fathers will~
The son speaks the fathers will through the word~
and the Holy Spirit supplies power for us to obey!
When we accept the gift of salvation, the Holy Spirit comes into us. How awesome is it that God gives us the Holy Spirit to give us power to be obedient?