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. 

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!

Remebrance

"Here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by Thy help I come.  And I hope by Thy good pleasure safely to arrive at home.  Jesus sought me when a stranger wandering from the fold of God.  He to rescue me from danger, interpose his precious blood."

Ebenezer?  Besides Scrooge, what is it?  It is a stone that Samuel in the Old Testament raised in remembrance of God's grace towards the Israelites.  The Old Testament is replete with stories of God's people raising pillars of stone in order to remember some defining moment in their lives.  Jacob and Laban set up heaps of stone to remind themselves that they would do no harm to each other.  Samuel raised this Ebenezer stone after a long period of Israel's disobedience to God; as a reminder of God's mercy and steadfast love.  Joshua and the 12 men from the tribes piled 12 stones at the place where God pushed the waters of the Jordan River back for the children of Israel to walk into the Promised Land for the first time.  God commanded them to raise this pillar for it to be a sign among them that when their children asked, "What do these stones mean to you?" all of Israel could say, "This was the day that God fulfilled his promise to us.  This was the day we have waited over 400 years for.  This was the day that changed everything for us."

Each of these stories is a reminder that we are so "prone to wander"...prone to forget.  We no sooner receive one blessing from God, than we forget it and begin asking for something else-something more.  But God, with His "goodness, like a fetter" seeks to bind us, to seal us.  He commands us, just like the Israelites in the days of old, to remember.  To raise Ebenezers.  Because in our remembrance, we will not likely walk away from Him.  When we remember His goodness, we cannot help but fall before Him in the adoration and praise that he desires from us.  When we remember the depths from which He saved us, the bondage from which he redeemed us, the miry clay that He took us from to set us upon the Solid Rock...well...that's when He no longer has to seek to bind us or to seal us, we will willingly set our hearts before him.  We will gladly call Him Lord...Master. 

"Oh to grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be.  Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee.  Prone to wander, Lord I fear it.  Prone to leave the God I love.  Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above."

#41.  For the Ebenezers in my life...

July 22, 1991-the day I heard him call out my name.  He said He loved me, and would never leave me, and I've never been the same!

February 1999- as a sophomore in college, God began showing me and teaching me to be totally dependent on Him.

July 10, 2004, July 17, 2005, December 14, 2007...the days that each of the most important people to me became part of my life.

March 7, 2012-The day that Elijah answered the call of God in his little life.  And for anyone who thinks a six year old can't really know what they've done when they become a follower of Christ, I challenge you to talk to Elijah about it.  He's reading a poem (that he wrote) tomorrow at school (the last day of this school year), and when I asked him what his poem was about, he very sweetly answered with, "It's about when I asked Jesus into my heart."  He has told his teacher, friends, anyone that will listen to him about the change God has made in his life.  I'm so proud of that kiddo!

May 24, 2012, the day that all of this dawned on me.  These memorials are reminders of God's steadfast love, His mercies that are new every morning, and His grace that is marvelous, matchless, unchanging, and amazing.

Multitudes on Monday #27-35

"Oh that my words were written!  Oh that they were inscribed in a book!  That with an iron stylus and lead they were engraved in the rock forever!  As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives and at the last He will take his stand on the earth.  Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see God..." Job 19: 23-26

27.  The promise of eternal life with God.  Father, thank You, for overcoming the grave, that I may say with Job that, yes indeed, my Redeemer lives.  And because He lives, I too can live...here on earth and in Heaven with my Jesus. 

"And then one day, I'll cross that river.  I'll fight life's final war with pain.  And then as death gives way to victory, I'll see the light of Glory, and I'll know He lives.  Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.  Because He lives, all fear is gone.  Because I know, He holds my future, and life is worth the living just because He lives."

Someone sang this song at my Pap Paw's funeral in 1995.  And I remember...although it was one of the saddest days of my then 16 years... I remember that song making me happy.  In the midst of my sorrow, the words of this old hymn brought me peace.  I think I now understand the song a little better, now that I've doubled my age.  Because of Christ's sacrifice, we are able to rest securely in His arms in our present and our future.  That song clearly says He holds that future, but life (the here and now) is worth the living because of that sacrifice of Christ.  I stand amazed all over again at the power of the cross...and of the Resurrection.  We can't leave Jesus on the cross or in the grave.  Without the Resurrection, the grave is as far as we would go...but HE LIVES!  And so can we...

And everything seems so trivial after that, but I do have more to thank God for today...

28.  Cooler weather.  We sure did bake this summer in Middle Georgia, and I'm glad to have some 78 degree weather.  The boys (big and small) have been enjoying it, too.  In general, I just love this time of year.  October through December just make me happy.  It's not simply because of the holidays that we celebrate...not the way we celebrate them anyway.  We skip through Thanksgiving just to get to Christmas, when the one thing that most of us could stand is a little less 'stuff' and a little more gratitude.  That's not why I love this time of year.  It's sort of the idea of retreating into my home with my guys and welcoming in those we love.  It's the cooking I get to do because it is my way of showing people that they are important to me.  It's the smell of oranges and cinnamon and apples and cloves bubbling away on my stove.  It's the warmth inside and the chill outside.  The sharp smell of little boys who have just come in from playing in the cool air. 

29.  Thankful for a week off to enjoy the lovely weather.  It's our Fall Break!  And though we're staying close to home, we've got lots to do.  We're going to visit Grandmomma and Granddaddy tomorrow and Wednesday.  We'll hit the fair this weekend, I'm sure.  The boys and I are going to paint some tiny wooden airplanes...I don't really know why; they found them at Walmart for a dollar a piece; I had the paint and brushes...there just wasn't a very good reason to say no.  I may even get some pansies and mums and get some pots going by the front door.  Or maybe something like this...

30.  Jason and I have decided to host a Halloween party this year.  It's our first time to host a real party where I'm getting to decorate and just kind of go all out for it.  A silly thing to be thankful for, but I'm so excited to be hosting it!

31.  A new down comforter that let Jason and I sleep with the windows open last night.  It was glorious! 

32.  A husband who did every.  single.  piece.  of.  laundry.  I'm serious...I did not touch laundry this weekend, because I have the best husband ever...period.

33.  A new book waiting for me on my Kindle.  Charles Frazier's new book Nightwoods.

34.  I am thankful for the blessing of counting these gifts.  That I am able to look past my circumstances (which aren't all that bad to begin with) and thank God for what he has poured out in my life.  I will not let people (at the hands of the devil) steal my joy.  I want to spend my time praising God for his blessings, not harboring anger and bitterness in my heart. 

35.  Where I'm From (With respect to George Ella Lyon)

I am from front porches
from porch swings and creek banks
I am from maple trees and mountain breeze.
(cool--napping at midday in the summer
     heat)

I am from white half runners and "better boys"
the old barns
whose smells I remember
as if they were they were as fresh as a new baby.

I'm from chocolate balls and homemade dills
     from Doris and Rondal U.S.
I'm from sneaking out at nap time
     with Pap Paw for an ice cream
     at the country store.
I'm from unknown languages and
     Victory in Jesus
Mam Maw's strong soprano in the choir

I'm from George and Neva's land
     Day-old biscuts and black coffee
From the leg my grandfather lost
     in the War.
From the scar on Daddy's foot from
     the pitchfork

In my closet--quilts and afghans
an old cow bell--remnants of by-gone days
when the world seemed simpler.
I am from the warmth of these moments
The distant flicker of
lightning bugs in the night.

Multitudes on Monday 18-21

18.  Shopping for school supplies.  I always loved this as a kid.  A new lunchbox with a thermos.  A new box of crayons.  These little purple and pink pencils with the individual lead cartridges (they smelled like grapes and strawberries)

 Now I'm getting to take Elijah shopping for school supplies.  He is so excited to start first grade.  I love seeing these moments through the eyes of my own children. 

19.  A weekend visit to my grandmother's house in North Carolina.  I'm so thankful to have been able to grow up visting these mountains during the summer, and now I'm thankful to have been able to take my own children to visit this place that is so vivid in my memory.

20.  A few date nights with my husband before school starts.  Momma and Daddy have the boys, so we don't have to pay daycare for them this week.  God bless my parents...they are the BEST grandparents in the world.  I know how exhausting my two kids can be...read the post called "War Zone" for a picture of what a day with my kids looks like.  It is quite an adventure.  I sure do miss those little boogers when they're not with me.

21.  A new school year.  It makes me sad to see the summer come to an end; all that time with the boys now behind me until next year.  But I am excited to see what God has in store for this new school year.  Having lunch at the Swanson with all of the ladies was the perfect way to start the school year.  Now I just pray that I can get everything done before next Monday.  And I pray for a blessing on this new year.  New students.  Clean slates.  Lord, use me in the lives of my students.  Help me to be a blessing in the lives of the people I come across every day.  Be glorified in my classroom, Father.  Allow it to be a place of peace in the lives of my students.  Help me impart wisdom to these young ones that you are trusting me with. 

Multitude on Mondays #11-17

11.  The boys were up early this morning.  Jason came to the bedroom and shut the door so I could stay in bed for a few extra minutes...My word, how  I love that man.

12.  The smell of freshly perc-ed coffee when I got out of bed this morning.  Made by Jason...did I mention that he's the best husband...EVER?

13.  Watching the news in bed this morning with a cup of that coffee.  I'm enjoying all of these little moments in my last week of summer...next week, it'll be a cup of coffee while I'm driving to work.

14.  A bright, sunshiny day.  I am thankful for the rain and reprieve from the heat we got this weekend, but I'm glad to see the sun again.

15.  A pool and a float.  Again...not too many days left for this!

16.  Angry Birds on the iPod.  It keeps Sawyer busy while I take a shower. 

17.  Have you heard the song "Oh Happiness" by David Crowder?  It is ah-mazing.  Download it to your iPod immediately.  It really makes me happy.  It's about God's grace being big enough to take care of me...yet there's still enough to go around for you, too.  It's a funky little upbeat song.

Twenty years gone and back again...

Ok...so unlike Odysseus, I haven't been gone for twenty years.  I did, however, go off a-roaming for a while.  My little family spent a week in the mountains of Tennessee "camping."  I use quotation marks because our "camping" trip was spent in my parents RV with beds, a refridgerator, stove, and most importantly...AC!  So while we weren't without some luxuries, we did go for a week without the things that so distract us in our modern world.  No cable television.  No internet.  We did take a few movies with us to fill the time between the boys bath and their bedtime.  But aside from those movies, we spent our time busy as a family with trips to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, days at the campground pool and waterslide, by the creek and trout pond, s'mores and coffee by the campfire.  When the day came for us to leave, Elijah, my oldest, cried.  And it sort of made my heart hurt.  Made me long for days spent tossing rocks into the creek and making simple memories with these boys.  That week did my heart good for a few reasons...

Look at God showing off...

Brothers actually loving each other

We got to do things like this...

...and this...

We got back from our trip just in time to celebrate America's birthday with some friends.  And then one week later, Jason and I celebrated 7 years of marriage.  July 10, 2004, Jason and I made the committment to love, honor, and cherish each other for as long as we both shall live.  And it's been 7 good years...blessed years.

Be patient while my heart skips a beat!  Oh how I love this man...

This past Saturday, we celebrated Elijah's 6th birthday.  He won't be 6 until July 17...but our friend Mindy and her kids are leaving for Texas that weekend (leaving Shawn behind...we'll feed you Shawn!), so we decided to have the party a week early so they could be there.  I'm going to do a whole post on Elijah and his birth story on Sunday.  I'll finish today with my "Thankful Thursday" # 6-10.

6.  America!  To quote Lee Greenwood...I'm proud to be an American.  Thank You, Father, that you blessed me by letting me be a part of this great nation.  Lord, I pray for this country.  Turn the hearts of the people back to you.  Hold off your judgment.  Stay your hand just a bit longer.  I'm praying for revival.  Send your Holy Spirit fire, Lord God.  Let us stand with Israel.  Let us live within our means.  Let us learn the value of hard work and simple faith once again.  I beg of You, Father, start with me.

7.  My parents...I love you Momma and Daddy.  Thank you for everything you do for us. 

8.  Reconciliation...with people here on earth and with the Heavenly Father through the blood of Jesus Christ.

9.Friends...Shawn and Mindy, Ian and Owen.  I'm so thankful that God brought this family into our lives.  We are truly blessed to know them and to love them!

10. Time away from the bustle of my crazy life. Time away from the computer, television, running here and there. Time to witness God's handiwork. Time to see that boys really do love each other (even if they don't act like it most days). Time to fill them up with sugar because there hasn't been time for a nap.  7 years of time that have gone by in a blink, but 7 years of time that have been blessed beyond my wildest dreams.  Simply...time. Precious Lord, may the time be long...amen.

The beginnings of our "Thankful Stars"

Thankful Thursday

3.  I am thankful for this idea from Ann Voskamp.  On her blog, A Holy Experience, Ann posted an article titled "How to {help} raise grateful kids."  In it, she talks about how every day she has her children write on a flower shaped sticky note one thing they are thankful for.  She then hangs them on her window in her "garden of gratefulness."  So I am totally swiping the idea...I bought some star sticky notes and we are going to "count our blessings that outnumber the stars in the sky."  We're starting tonight.  I'll post pictures of it later.  I also bought some thank you notes, so we can start thinking of the people in our lives we should be grateful to.  Watch out!  You may get a thank you note from the Cooks at some point :)  Look at the cute flower pen Elijah made at VBS today :)

4.  RAIN!!  It's coming a decent little shower here right now. 

5.  I'm praising God for these sweet baby blues that greeted me after naptime.  He crawled up in my lap to snuggle while he woke up.  There's nothing in the world like little boy lovin'!

From the 1000 Gifts Blog...

How long do I really have to figure out how to live full of joy?
So my husband might find himself married to a woman he loves being with, a woman who knows how to laugh at the days to come? So our children have these memories of a mama who smiles easy, listens long, makes jokes and praise and all these good days out of crazy messes? So the Christ in me, Joy Himself, “the gigantic secret of the Christians,” is apparent to the world around me, Joy to the world, rescuing the world?


So I sit here, asking myself these same questions.  Why don't I find more joy in my life.  I know it's there.  God has blessed me with the most amazing man for a husband, boys who are funny, smart, kind.  I have a job I love, a beautiful house to live in, plenty of food on the table...so why do I grumble and always want more?

As I approach my 32nd birthday, and watch these boys grow up so fast around me, God is pressing on my heart that I need to be more aware and more thankful of what He's blessed me with.  So it is with a humble heart that I start my own 1000 gifts.  I don't know how long it will take me to get to 1000, but I will...I know I have much more than that to be thankful for.

1.   I'm obviously going to start big.  I'm thankful for the Blood of Jesus that cleanses me from all sin.  Without the hope that comes from being adopted as a child of the King, I'm not sure where I would find myself today.
2. I'm amazed at God's grace, that he would see fit to trust me with these three in the picture below.  After the Blood of Jesus, these three "men" are the most important things in my life.  They love me inspite of how mean and hateful I can be.  Sitting here writing this makes me realize how I need to be more patient, loving, gentle, and kind.  Please, Father God, make me so.