Joy Dare-3 Gifts Full (#57-59)

A Full Life

Bursting at the seams-full of noise and movement and Lego's and kisses and sword fights and Sunday School art and laundry and Bible verses and prayers and...

Oh Love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in Thee.
I give Thee back the life I owe,
That in Thy oceans depths its flow
May richer fuller be.


...at times weariness.

But in spite of my daily struggle to keep up with all that I have to do as a wife, mother, teacher, God manages to show me His abundance.

57.  A pool full of water to splash and play on a lovely June evening.

58.  An iPhone full of songs that fills my home with worship and "dance parties."

59.  A lap full of praying boys.

...and a bonus...

60.  A flower bed full of these beauties...that remind me of my mother...

"Old Maids"

Joy Dare-Gifts at 8, 12, and 2 (# 54-56)

54.  8:00-A new dress to wear to church this morning.


55.  12:00-My first Compassion sponsorship

56.  2:00-Being able to fill a grocery cart with a week's worth of food without having to worry about not being able to pay for my other bills.

I am SO BLESSED!

Emptiness

I have neglected Ann Voskamp's blog "A Holy Experience" for far too long!  I followed it faithfully for a while, and for whatever reason, I stopped checking in.  Well, I checked in today and she is counting three gifts a day all year until it hits 1000!  So I'm going to start today in counting at least three things I'm thankful for each day...I'll call this #51-53.


Thankful for emptiness.  That seems to be an impossibility.  Emptiness is always equated with loneliness...uselessness.  An empty tank in a car takes you nowhere.  An empty stomach causes a gnawing ache inside.  But what about an empty life?  Is it painful?  Is it lonely?  Is it useless?  This world would tell us "yes."  Why else do we try so hard to fill our days with movement, noise, activity, acquaintances, busy-ness?  Even Christ-followers are guilty of filling our time according to this world's standards.  We satisfy ourselves on the things of this world, and because we are so full of the world, there is no room left for Him.  The Bride has even become guilty of filling our lives with "church" instead of worship.  We have become Martha...too busy to join Mary at the feet of Jesus.

So why should we be thankful for emptiness?  Because unless we are emptied of ourselves, of the world, we have no room for Jesus to fill us.  John the Baptist said, "He must increase, but I must decrease."  I must be emptied of myself every single day.  Because when I am full of myself and the world, that is when I become useless in the hands of the Potter.  My emptiness...our emptiness of ourselves allows God to fill us to overflowing with his mighty, victorious power.  So yes, emptiness is something to be thankful for.  Emptiness allows God to use this weak and broken vessel for His glory.

51.  An empty gas tank...because it means that I got to make a trip with my boys to visit Grandmomma and Grandaddy.  I'm so thankful for my parents and their love for their grand babies.  I hope my boys grow up with sweet memories of their time with their grandparents.

52.  An empty composition book in which to scrawl and doodle and muse.

53.  An empty classroom...because I desperately needed this summer break!

Father...that You may increase and I may decrease.  Empty me of the troubles of the world and fill me with Your love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. 

(ground) Beef...It's what's for dinner!!

Cheeseburger Macaroni...it's super easy, and I promise you'll never want Hamburger Helper again!  This was a Pinterest find from my sister, and it is SOOOOO good!  There are quite a few lovely recipes on this website.

Oh...look what I bought today!!

I've got a whole box...other than just eating them out of hand (which I will do lots of) I've got to turn them into something yummy!  This makes me very happy :)

Multitude on Monday 42-50

Ahhh...sweet summertime...

This time of year brings me so much to be thankful for.  After spending nine months taking care of other people's children (which I do love doing...otherwise God wouldn't have called me to be a teacher), I get six(ish) weeks to spend with mine...just Momma and Elijah and Sawyer.  We've got a busy summer ahead of us.  Fun things...a week at the beach and days at the park.  Not so fun things...Sawyer's going to have surgery this summer (tubes, adenoids, and tonsils).  But in the midst of it all, God is giving me precious time with these precious boys. 

Ready for T-Ball!!

42.  My Keurig coffee maker...I seriously LOVE being able to have a cup of coffee in less that a minute!  There have even been a couple of mornings that have been cool enough to drink it on the back porch, listening to the birds, feeling the breeze, enjoying the sweet time.

43.  Exciting opportunities...Friday I have the privilege of interviewing with the Georgia Cyber Academy.  This job would allow me to still be a part of the profession that I have a deep love for, but at the same time it would allow me to be more present in my family's life.  I long for time to volunteer at my children's school.  To be able to attend plays and parties without having to beg someone to cover my class.  This job would most certainly give me those opportunities.  I'll also have the choice of schooling for my children.  Jason and I are praying about bringing Elijah home to home school him if this job pans out.  We have done some research on the Veritas Classical School and we are very impressed with what we have seen there.  Sawyer would go to school at least next year for Pre-K and then we might do the same for him.  But the key is...this job.  Y'all join me in praying that God's will be done in all of this and that Jason and I follow His leading in this area.

44.  15 pounds down!!!  YAY :)  Many more to go, but I'll take this for a start!

45.  Time to do my working out during the day...instead of late at night after the boys have gone to bed.

46.  God is still working on me in the idea of "remembrance."  I can't tell you how many times in the past two weeks God has brought this into my life.

47.  Fresh peaches, watermelon, and all foods "summer."  My sweet friend Jan Morton and I are going to do some canning and freezing in the next couple of weeks.  I'm so very excited about it!

48.  Being able to make corn dogs for the boys' lunches today!  They LOVED them, and it's something that I don't get to do all the time.

49.  HYDRANGEAS!!  God perfected flowers when he created these.  My all time favorites :)

50.  A stack of books waiting for me to crack them open...I would post a picture, but it's on my phone and not easily gotten to here.  But reading is something I don't have time to do much of during the school year (at least not books that are on my personal reading list), so I'm so very excited to get the chance to pour over a stack of books during the summer.  My reading...not something I have to read for school!