Are we excited Christians?

I was convicted of something yesterday. I was talking about the premiers of my favorite shows on T.V. this past week. As I was recalling all my favorite quotes and parts of the show, I thought to myself, "Do you call your friends excited about God's word?" And, "Do you remember scripture and recite it back to friends and family because you liked it so much?" The answer, unfortunately, was no. I have from time to time sent out emails or daily devotions, sure, but I have so much room for improvement in this area. God desires us to be enthusiastic about HIM, about what HE is doing in our lives, and about HIS unfailing love. Why is it so easy for us to share things of this world that we get excited about? For example: new skin care products, T.V. shows we love, a new brand of something, etc. As of today, I have cancelled my Myspace account, and clicking that "delete account" button was difficult for me, because it has been something I have enjoyed being a part of, however, I was allowing myself to be so consumed by it. I literally woke up in the morning, excited to see if I had any messages or comments, and instead of waking up and thirsting for God's word, I was thirsting for Myspace. I am ashamed to even admit this, but I know that since God convicted me of this, then HE would want me to admit it out loud. Not only was it time consuming, but I found myself wanting quantity and not quality. What I mean is that I had so many people on my friends list, and only a handful that really wrote to me. We, as Christians should be concerned with quality. Quality of life, quality of our faith, quality of our love.
Philemon 1:6 "I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ."

Family is what it's all about

Why do some people float through this fleeting life thinking it's all about them? As a born again believer, I know that is absolutely not true. When I look into the eyes of my children, I am reminded of how much God has blessed me with. Even without the house, or the clothes or the cars or the money, God has made me rich indeed! Family is such a precious gift, and I want to honor and thank God for allowing me the great privilege of growing and raising godly children. I know I will fail, everyday most likely, but if I remember that it is not about me, then I believe God will guide me through the rest.
Thank you Lord for giving me another day to love, to learn and to give my life to you!

A Day of Rest

What is it about Sundays that just make you wanna stay in bed all day and snuggle with the ones you love. Unfortunately, as a mom of little ones, I do not have that luxury, but I have had a lovely day with my girls. I got to sleep in (even though I was up about 3 times in the night for Anna) till almost 8 o'clock! Boy, did I feel rested. After spending about 40 minutes with just Kayla, which is always a treat for me, Anna was ready to start her day too! We have a church picnic today, and since Anna slept in, we didn't make it to church today. Kayla is VERY excited about the picnic...it's all she can talk about. She will get to ride on the train, and the carousel, and eat hot dogs. What more could a little girl want?! David will be meeting us there, so I'm excited that he'll be able to be apart of it all too! I am feeling very blessed today to have such a wonderful, healthy family. Thank you LORD!!!!!

A Wonderful Loss of Control

Isn't it wonderful how, just when you think you're settled into a good "groove" or schedule in life, God has a way of spicing things up? I, myself, find that in my adult life, I have struggled with the need to be in control. Becoming a wife and mother has certainly lessened that need, but I still find that it lingers from time to time. I recall when I was pregnant with Anna, that most people I talked to warned me to try and prepare myself for a child that was opposite of Kayla, and since she was such a great sleeper from very early on, I was a little worried. Now that Anna is here, I've come to find that it's true! Although, I know it could be worse, Anna has proven to be a light sleeper, while Kayla could sleep through a train going through her room! All this to say, I have had to give up the control in this area of my life, as frustrating as it's been. There are nights that I pray for a night of uninterrupted sleep, but after that doesn't happen, and Anna is up for the day, I find myself just gazing into her puffy little eyes and all else melts away. I know that God has blessed me with not one precious child, but two, and for that I will forever be grateful. So what if I don't have the control....after all, it's not about me, is it? It is about serving an awesome God.......

Giving HIM the glory

I feel kinda icky today, and so I'll keep this short and sweet.
Even though I haven't felt great today, I decided to push through anyways and do my best to have a productive day. Well, I'm glad to say that I did. As I was doing some of the mundane household chores, I thought to myself,"Why do I even bother...it's going to get messed up in 2 minutes anyways!" Then God whispered in my ear "I will praise God's name in song, and glorify him with thanksgiving." (Psalm 69:30) What better way to glorify God then to take pride in my beautiful home, with which I would be without if it weren't for God's amazing provisions. Sure, I get tired of doing the same load of laundry, washing the same dishes, and picking up the same toys, but it is all for the glory of an awesome God that I serve. Thank you Lord for teaching me to be thankful.

Anticipating a blessed tomorrow....

LIttle Sponges

You always hear that young children are like little sponges, but I could never appreciate that saying until just recently. Kayla is a full blown toddler now and I can honestly say that nothing could have prepared me for this stage. Everyday with her is such a joy. One day, I told her that she was gorgeous and now she's always saying to me, "Mommy, I gorgus!!" Another day, I was listening to the 80's station on the radio, and "Shake your booty" came on. Ever since then, she walks around shakin' it and singin' her little heart out.
I can't help but think about her future and how bright it is. I want so many good things for my children. I want them to not only think of me as mom, but as a friend. Anna is already almost 9 months, and I can hardly believe it. To think that she's going to be one in just a few short months absolutely blows my mind. I am really trying to savor every day with my children, as if it were the last. I think that is how God intends for us to be. To not take things, but especially people and relationships for granted. After all, it is from those people and relationships that we learn the most in life. I for one am proud to say that I have already learned so much from my children. I anticipate the years to come with great joy....

Putting my faith and love in HIM.....

My purpose

Purpose....this word has taken on a whole new meaning as I am now a mother. I know that being a mother is WITHOUT A DOUBT the single most amazing gift I could have ever been given. At the same time, it is one of the most challenging jobs of my life. I recieved a pretty amazing email the other day about how incredible and detailed the great cathedrals are, and that the men who built them didn't even get to see the end result. Was their work in vain? Absolutly not. Just as they contributed to something amazing and great, I am also by sewing seeds and raising Godly children. I may not get a "way to go mom" for doing the laundry every day, or a "thanks mom" for fixing 3 square meals a day, but the rewards of my job leave me feeling at peace with the decision to be a stay at home mother. My hope is to raise my children to know God, to love God, and to obey God.

Now....if you are reading this, then I sincerely appreciate you taking time out to come visit my blog. I was truly convicted to be more purposeful and fruitful with my time, and I thought that this would be a good place to start. Some days may just be a funny little story about the girls, or a thought for the day. Other days I may get more deep and do a little "preachin." I don't promise to be an outstanding writer, but I do promise to write from the heart. My prayer is that God will use this outlet for me as a way of spiritual growth.

Till tomorrow....may you be blessed richly!

~Ali