Funny how

Funny how when I go for a run, the words just flow. I could write a sermon. Or ten posts. Or a book! Maybe not a book, but the ideas never stop. Sometimes I get so excited I wind up sprinting. Not very often, but sometimes. Then I eek out a chunk of time to blog and....nothing. Funny how.

God is at work. Will you get on board? Will seek out where He is working? Will you challenge yourself outside of your comfort zone to find where YOU fit into the bigger plan? There's always a place for us in God's greater plan. No matter what season of life we're. Funny how.

I am feel challenged this week to think outside the box and believe for greater things. I feel surrounded by stifling circumstances so it seems the time is now. When we are pressed by circumstances, what is that oozes out of us? Hopefully its faith. Hopefully its joy. Counting it all joy is on the docket for me today. How about for you?

Eat your spaghetti, not your children.

Pretty sure I am not a natural mother. I mean, obviously I am a mom and I think I do alright at that job, but I'm not one of those girls who always wanted to be a mom. Who know the type, the one who swims in the refreshing pool of motherhood bliss every day. The ones who make it look easy. Or the ones who just love it  so much that nothing else matters.

Nothing about mothering, except loving my boys, comes naturally to me. I have to work at it.

For example, I love to cook. Love it. But having to make dinner every night for picky eaters and a starving husband is not where I find my joy these days.

I have to work every day at not being so selfish, at putting my boys ahead of myself. I have to remind myself constantly that its better to read a book for the hundredth time than to surf Pinterest. That spaghetti (again) is better than spicy vegetable curry if that's what they'll eat.

Pass the garlic bread. At least its homemade and whole wheat.

Maybe I shouldn't need to remind myself of these things, but I do.

Nothing has worked to sanctify me like the raising of my littles. Its takes a lot of Jesus for me to be a good mom.

I am thankful for the sanctification process b/c I want my boys to be drawn to Jesus and the more I am like Him, hopefully the more that will happen.

I am also not one of those mom's who is drawn to other people's kids. Though I did make my first cool million babysitting and working as a nanny, since hitting college, I stopped being the person who seeks out the kiddos.

Don't worry, I'm not talking about your kids, yours I love.

Its hers I merely tolerate.

I do, of course, adore my own. Duh. Have you seen how cute they are?

In fact, some days I am so overcome by their cuteness that I actually worry that I might eat one of them. Straight up.

yum, yum, yum

I think the fact that I want four kids (someday) is a sign of God's miraculous power within me. Because I'm not Michelle Dugger, and my natural desire is not to live for my children. (Not that hers is, but she certainly has a gift of mothering.) 

I have my own dreams and desires that don't necessarily include my boys and I am excited about those things! But I am also willing to wait and trust God for His timing of those things. I can tell you, that in and of itself, is sanctifying as well. 

So here's to believing God that I really CAN have it all and to believing that He can make an AWESOME mother out of me yet!  

(No, I am not prego, in case you were confused.)

I heart zombies, I mean, twins.

So...confession time.

Truth is, one of our guilty pleasures is zombie apocalypse movies/shows.

It's true. For better or for worse, we are hooked on The Walking Dead. I know we probably shouldn't like it, but we do. 

And we have found a lot of comparisons between life running away from "walkers" and raising twins.

Ha! 

Yes, I'm serious. And delirious. B/c I am so tired. 

Tired from running away from walkers.

I mean twins. I mean chasing twins.

(Hey, this blog can't always be serious.)

Walkers don't speak, they make grunting noises. So do the twins.

Walkers walk with an uneven gait and fall down a lot. So do the twins.

Walkers don't get winded. Neither do the twins.
If you stop moving for a moment, walkers will inevitably overtake you. Just like the twins.
Walkers will work together to push free from whatever contains them. So do the twins.

Walkers try to bite you. So do the twins (sometimes)

This is obviously a little tongue in cheek, but certainly gives you an inside look into our life and what we find humorous. It's times like these that I know for sure I married the right man.

For better or for worse...

Time to boil the creek water and reload the shotgun.

Happy Thursday.

Manic Make-over Monday

MMM, Take 2

Once again, I don't have a before picture. Well, I do have one...somewhere. I looked for a few minutes, but if you can imagine this, my "our pictures" folder is quite a mess. At least I get around to taking pictures. Organizing them, ordering them and sending them to beloved family doesn't happen. But at least I take them. Maybe someday....

Yeah, maybe someday I will start scrapbooking too.

And break dancing.

A girl can dream.

Today's make-over update brought to you by Jackson.

 His very blue room. He made is very clear he only wanted blue. Definitely not green like the babies room.

That stuffed animal holder is a repurposed outdoor wall planter that I got at a garage sale. 

Don't worry, it usually doesn't look like this. I cleaned. 

Dinos, dinos, everywhere, dinosaurs.

And the mini-man himself :) 

Love this wall hanging that I got from a friend at a craft sale. They sell them to raise funds for adoption.

Well, that's it for today. This Manic Monday Makeover brought to you by a momentarily quiet house and a rewarmed cup of old-ish coffee. Time to spend a little quality time with Beth Moore. Peace.

Mercy Triumphs

Sometimes, when there is prophetic gifting in a person, there can also be a lack of a strong mercy gift. So in my family, we have this joke about how God knew that my brother and I really, really needed Tim and Ellen, my sister-in-law extraordinaire, to balance us out. They are very merciful, gracious, loving, and pastoral. We need them.

So a few months ago, we were joking about this over a family dinner and I made some absurd comment about how I don't need mercy b/c I have Tim.

Famous. Last. Words.

I sleep soundly. I know I should probably wake up every time one of my children rolls over in bed, but I don't. I am exhausted all the time and I sleep like it.

Not that night.

That night I was tossing and turning and could not figure out why. Hm. Duh. Finally, the light goes on and I begin to pray, asking God why He is hindering my sleep.

And so begins my well-deserved rebuke. Basically the Lord told me that I needed to pray for a mercy gift, to seek one out and to chase after it until I found it.

Well, the very next day I randomly ended up at a Christian bookstore. Now, this is not somewhere I frequent, AND, I was there without kids! So I am perusing through the store when low and behold I stumble across a new Beth Moore study. (I just love her.) Her study is on James and it's called Mercy Triumphs. Sold.

God is good.
And merciful.
Soon, I will be merciful too!
Tim can't wait.

List of 10

Two weeks since my last post...for shame. I blame the rain. Worked for Milli Vanilli.

Today I shall do a little list, b/c why not. Worked for my soul sister, Monica.

10 Things for Today:

1. I am not depressed, just transparent. But thanks for the calls. Love you girls. I have been depressed, really depressed and I am not going back there. Ever. Praise Jesus!

2. As it is getting colder here, my zest for running is waning. Or is it waxing? Can't be sure. Either way, I don't really want to go anymore. But I still do. I even put the word out that I am looking for a treadmill.

3. I need a lot of Jesus to be a good mom. A lot. I am not ashamed. I also borrowed that from Whitney Capps. Great speaker. Straight up.

4. I like to think that if I didn't have kids, I would be a vegan. Guess we'll never know.

5. Loving the fall weather. It means jeans, scarves, boots and a plummet in the price of canned pumpkin.

6. My moms group is doing a new Beth Moore bible study on James called Mercy Triumphs and it. Is. Awesome. This coming from someone who usually doesn't think bible studies are very good. So good. God basically told me I didn't have much mercy, so I needed to do this study. But that story is another post.

7. If I put a treadmill in our basement and take up all that room, I will be forced to use it on principle alone. This is both good and bad.

8. Since becoming a stay at home mom, I have never once missed working full time. Maybe that's b/c I never had a career I loved, but I am certain I could only love a career that provided me with the freedom to be home with my boys.

9. I am so in love with how my husband gives me the freedom to really be me. I adore him.

10. There are about 8 cans of pumpkin in my laundry room. I need to restock.

Promise to post soon.
Let me know if you have a treadmill I can borrow.
Or if you want some pumpkin bread.
Or maybe a vegan black bean burger.
Maybe.