Bright Sunshiny Day

Not too long ago....

I had lunch with a friend.

This is unusual because:

1. I had no children with me and it was the middle of the week.

 2. It was as if I was sitting across from myself.

 The girl I was ten or so years ago. Have you ever met yourself coming and going? Not in the frenzied, "where did I put my keys and why I am trying to leave anyway?!" kinda way...but in the way that screams "Do you REMEMBER THAT GIRL?" And you know, God is so gracious to me, because I do remember that girl! And as I sat across from my precious friend I just nodded my head and said, "Oh. Yes. I remember." And I 'm glad I do. Because God knew what he was doing when I walked the same road she has found herself on. And He knew that I would need to remember. For my friend. Life throws us into a direction that we would not have chosen for ourselves. Most of the time. But along the way, God gently leads us to those who can comfort and those who need comfort.

Girl, I've got your back.

And I'm so glad you eat ranch with your chips and salsa.

The Last Day of School!

Thirty five weeks ago, in the back seat of my van, I had two little girls FULL of nervous energy.  One with zero front teeth and they were both singing as loud as I would let them:

Now, Billy Joe McGuffrey
was a really clumsy kid.
On the first day of first grade
I'll tell you what he did.
He tripped over a pencil box,
flew up in the air,
landed on a kangaroo
who pulled out all his hair!
He needed first aid in the first grade,
first aid in the first grade,
first aid in the first grade.
You could buy a zoo with all the doctor bills he paid.

Today, I brought home two little - but bigger little girls.  One with her big girl front teeth all grown in and one who just the other day lost her first front tooth.  My goodness.  How things change around here!  Super Bubbie had just turned two and now he's nearly three!

We've left behind most of our picture books - and replaced them with chapter books.  Andrew has outgrown even his biggest onsie - but still loves his paci  and we left behind hair bows for a brief amount of time....only to embrace them again.....along with a new interest in what we look like on the outside.  Thankfully, they still want my help and approval on any sort of outfit/combo/hair inspiration that they come up with. 

This summer holds a promise of being a sweet one!  The little girl years are slipping by and I have to say that I hate to see them go....we still have so much to learn!  So many things to discover together.  I've loved first grade~I've loved having two first graders and a two year old this year!  My son knows grammar jingles, the Ten Commandments, and our Ancient Egyptian history song.   This year has brought so much change in our life and we scratch our heads and whisper thank you to the Heavenly Father who has been so, SO good to us.

I'll leave you with one little girl's first journal entry.  It's just too sweet not to share....and my goodness....to those who have walked along beside us this year, I hope this touches your heart, too.

I have a nice worm (warm) house.  Worm (warm) as can be.  Everything in it is very cozy.  It is a happy place.  Come and see.  Everyone in it are as nice as can be.  I love my sweet puppies outside my door and I love my worm (warm) bed.  It is nice.  Everything there is so full of love.  Everything there on rainy days are snug-a-bug!  Everyone there are happy and the kids will play with joy!

Blogging again?

Shall I catch you up a bit on the past two months?  Or just plunge right in with a blog that pretends I've been blogging all along?  I suppose I'll catch you up on our lives, but keep in mind, you will be getting the Cliff's Notes version of it all and for that I am very sorry.  These past two months have been life. lived. Unexpectedly.

This year started with a quiet surprise that turned into a life halting, re-arranging, when will it end? kind of adventure.  One that took me to the OB's office no less than 10 times, once to the ER and finally to the OR.  Mix in several sonograms and not really being about to leave the house for nearly 8 weeks because of sheer fatigue and blood loss, you find yourself getting a little restless.  God's hand guided us through it - and I must say being on THIS end of it all is much better!  Whew.

After recovering I found myself enjoying a busy weekend with the sweet women from my church for our annual retreat.  Loved. IT.  Bonus was that Kris joined me!  We enjoyed fellowship, yummy food and wonderful Bible teaching from Margaret Ashmore.   

The next wonderful thing was taking E to see Sara Groves at a church in Dallas.  We had a great date! Charlie Peacock was also there as well as Christopher Williams.  I loved all of it.  Emma tolerated the "boys" and wished for more Sara.  Bonus this weekend was that Elaine and her oldest sat right beside us!

But this weekend.  This weekend was such a treat.  Friday I loaded every kid that I have in the car and drove to Las Colinas.  Met the Greatest Hub ever in the parking lot of the Marriott and handed him the keys to the van with all the kids in it and headed into the hotel, never to look back again.  I spent Friday evening and all day Saturday at the Wholehearted Mothering conference.  I listened to wonderful wisdom from Sally Clarkson.  Things like this:

"Don't let someone else's law (or way of doing things) determine how I feel about myself"

"I will never be perfect (in mothering, homeschooling) and get it right every time.  I must seek to please God in everything I do and accept my limitations - and seek God's will in my life"

"If I want to influence a heart, give grace and accept them for who they are"

And to always remember...."those who are forgiven much, love much"

And all that is just from ONE PAGE of my notes.

I bought great books for my kids, one or two for me, wrote down a TON of book titles, and felt encouraged to seek out a life of beauty for my family.

Oh two more quotes,  "Is this a time to throw a fit?  Or to celebrate life?  Joy is a choice!"

"Some of you got off the fashion train....and forgot to get back on!"  Girls, we MUST take care of ourselves!!

"Nothing great is EVER accomplished easily!"  So true, so true.

While at the conference I also at TWO Three Musketeers bars, enjoyed a room service breakfast, great food from the Taco Diner....and precious time with my friend Elaine.

This week brings a busy week of homeschooling, birthday (mine!) and choosing joy in all that I do.

Even if it is cleaning up after the furry babies that tend to leave a trail of who knows what behind.

I'm Dreaming of a White....

Thanksgiving?

Y'all.  It SNOWED.  Big, HUGE, fluffy, wonderful flakes!  We were outside chatting with some neighbors when all of a sudden....POOFY SNOW! SO! EXCITING!  ((please excuse my beauty in the above pic.  I know it's distracting.  I just can't help myself.  But there I am.  If you ever wonder what I look like at any given moment....just click here and gaze.  I wear my cammo pants at every available opportunity.))

Anyhoo!  Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope your day was as great as ours ~ and we're not done yet!  Tomorrow the girls, Gigi and I are having a bake-a-thon in our matching aprons and our Thanksgiving Feast on Saturday.

Love. It.  Stay warm.  Brrrr!  It's cold outside.

The One That I Didn't Want To Write...

Just in case you were wondering....it hasn't been pretty around around here.  Bright Sunshiny Day! Land hasn't been pretty in a while.

It's been downright cloudy.  Stormy.  Unpleasant.

Yes.  The silence in the ol blog is telling, eh?  Because if I don't have great! fun! things to say, then I'll just cease and desist with the blogging.  This is my blog after all,  and since I never asked my family if they cared  should I decide to hang out all our dirty laundry....I'm not gonna do it.

I will, however, share mine.

It has been brought to my attention that I have begun to see certain people in my life as a hindrance, inconvenience, or shall we say royal over the last month.  Or two.  We might even go ahead and say three.  And the more irritated I became the more irritating the royal pain(s) became.

Like I said, not pretty.

Storms brewed and wars have been fought.  None of us won, however, we did survive. And that survival is what I have decided to call "The Gift".

The Gift was presented to us for the billionth time over the weekend.  This Gift is the Gift that keeps on giving and I've already opened it a thousand times today.  It's called Grace.   And I am so thankful for it.   Friday and Saturday, we claimed our Gift at a conference featuring Dr's. Tedd and Paul Tripp.  Brothers. Pastors.  Our thinking was shifted, our hearts softened and our apologies spoken.  We asked for and received forgiveness.

As time marches on, I hope to share more about what has gone on here and what we've learned.  These terrible but wonderful lessons MUST be shared.

"I'll Have the Pellets, Please!"

What?  You mean that you didn't have a giraffe stick his head in YOUR sunroof this weekend demanding some lovely pellets?  No?

How about this guy?  Seen him lately?

He even kissed, no, gummed my hand when I wasn't looking.  Yep.  I screeched like a girl.

We had a great day on Saturday at Fossil Rim.  Our kids had a absolute BALL, driving through the acres with their heads sticking out of our sunroof and feeding the animals. 

Seriously.  How can you not like sharing the road with this guy

Super Bubbie was less than impressed with all the animals.  What's the big deal?  He's got a giraffe in his crib that's a lot less messy than the one that kept sticking his head in the car.  However, he did get to wander freely about the van as we drove along.  That made all worth it in his lil mind!  Animals,  smanimals...."I driving!"

And finally, making friends with the goats is always fun!

So CUTE!

Lookie!  You must click on this picture to see our baby bird!   You can only see one in the pic, but there is a sibling right behind him. 

And if you wonder why I never answer the phone....well, chances are I didn' t HEAR it.   See why?

Emma is playing the pe-AN-O (piano) Caroline is beating, er, drumming on a cake pan...as is Super Bubbie.  In this pic he has taken a break from developing his muscial talents and has decided to snap a pic of his Sissies with his most favorite Hello Kitty camera.

And another..

And still another...

Why so many pics of the kids all tangled up in a loud, jumbly mess?  Because you can't see me, but while they are bangin' and praisin' I am right there at the stove working on dinner.  It's what counts. What matters.  What means the most to ME!

This is it folks.  Me working on dinner, the kids banging and playing....waiting for Daddy to come home.

Joyful noises.  Really  joyful noises!

Still with the Noah stuff

So when things finally fall into place - whatever those things maybe, it causes  you to look back on the searching and questioning a bit, eh?  Don't you think when it finally started to rain that Noah said, "aaaaaahhhh, this feels right!  Safe, clean and dry!"

But then as  you look back on the searching and questioning....you realize that it was necessary.  Necessary.  Most, no, ALL the things in our life are necessary - for growth, improvement and to glorify God. Whatever those things are and whoever is involved in them, if the searching and questioning in done prayerfully, then  you always come out on the upside!  That is, if you listen.  Listen and obey.

Yes.  I'm still feeling like Noah.

Only a little less so.

For a while now some aspects of Bright Sunshiny Day-land have been hanging in limbo a bit.  The questions that we've been asking have sounded a bit like Noah.

"What to do?"  "What is right?"  "What is the motivation?"  "What is OUR motivation?'  Perhaps instead of Noah, we actually sounded more like the Israelites as they wondered in the desert behind Moses. 

But hopefully, we've found a place to land.

I sure hope so.

Run! And listen to Nancy Leigh DeMoss today!

Leslie Basham: Where do people most need to repent? Capital Hill? Hollywood? How about the church? Here’s Dr. Henry Blackaby.

Dr. Henry Blackaby: We’ve lost our spiritual credibility. Now, should we then repent? We better. We cannot keep blaming everybody else for the condition of America.

When it dawns on us that the condition of America is a reflection of the condition of God’s people, at that point, we will then cry unto God, “O God, show us what’s missing from our life and how do we return so that God will once again manifest His presence?”

But I’m afraid we have become content to live without the manifest presence of God, and that is fatal.

You can read the entire radio program here.  It's worth your time EVERYDAY to spent 13:55 minutes listening to the teaching of Nancy Leigh Demoss.

Seriously.

Having some trouble?

Life got ya down?

Well.....look on the bright side.  You are not Abraham....

Genesis 22: 1 Later on God tested Abraham's faith and obedience. "Abraham!" God called."Yes," he replied. "Here I am." 2 "Take your son, your only son – yes, Isaac, whom you love so much – and go to the land of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will point out to you."

Yes.  God is asking the old man to take his much prayed for, anticipated, and loved  son to the mountains and sacrifice him on the alter.  And Abraham obeyed.  How would I have done on that test?!

Here are some highlights from the video we watched at yesterday's Bible study.

God's will is always intentional.  Think that thing you are dealing with is TOO big?  Take comfort in knowing that yep, it's big...but God is so unbelieveable sovereign that the thing, while being a difficult thing, is never out of the will of God.

Don't believe me?

Ephesians 1:11

Furthermore, because of Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, ^F2 for he chose us from the beginning, and all things happen just as he decided long ago.

Our tests have on name on them.  Be glad you don't have my tests.  I am glad I don't have yours!

The hardest tests involve our deepest loves. But you already knew that, right?  I sure did.  Abraham certianly did.

We are not powerless in our tests.  How we take them is entirely up to us.  Obey.  Trust.  Wait on the Lord.  Or plow ahead with our feeble control.

Obedience is not the hardest part of our most trying tests.  Keeping the faith is. This point is a bit sticky to me.  I often look around for some approval when I "pass" the initial test or easy part.  Hanging in there for the long haul is the hardest, yet sweetest part of obedience.

And like Abraham, we are likely to discover the harder the test, the further the implications.

Let's finish reading about Abraham for a minute.

3 The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son Isaac. Then he chopped wood to build a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place where God had told him to go. 4 On the third day of the journey, Abraham saw the place in the distance. 5 "Stay here with the donkey," Abraham told the young men. "The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back." 6 Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac's shoulders, while he himself carried the knife and the fire. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac said, "Father?""Yes, my son," Abraham replied."We have the wood and the fire," said the boy, "but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?" 8 "God will provide a lamb, my son," Abraham answered. And they both went on together. 9 When they arrived at the place where God had told Abraham to go, he built an altar and placed the wood on it. Then he tied Isaac up and laid him on the altar over the wood. 10 And Abraham took the knife and lifted it up to kill his son as a sacrifice to the LORD.

11 At that moment the angel of the LORD shouted to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!""Yes," he answered. "I'm listening." 12 "Lay down the knife," the angel said. "Do not hurt the boy in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld even your beloved son from me." 13 Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a bush. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering on the altar in place of his son. 14 Abraham named the place "The LORD Will Provide." ^F67 This name has now become a proverb: "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."

15 Then the angel of the LORD called again to Abraham from heaven, 16 "This is what the LORD says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your beloved son, I swear by my own self that 17 I will bless you richly. I will multiply your descendants into countless millions, like the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore. They will conquer their enemies, 18 and through your descendants, ^F68 all the nations of the earth will be blessed – all because you have obeyed me."

What blessings are missing from God because we are hanging onto our Isaac?