I Heart Faces Photo Challenge-Hands

I Heart Faces Photo Challenge-Hands, a photo by janelleh1 on Flickr.

This photo was entered into the I Heart Faces photo challenge – www.iheartfaces.com

Scripture

Lately, my husband has made it a priority of his to ensure I have time in the Word each morning. I have been feeling distant from my faith and lacking time to do my devotions even if I get up early. Now we both get up and make a little breakfast and give eachother 10-15 minutes of alone time with God. This has been such a blessing. The scriptures I have read have been exactly the right words for me to dwell on during each day.
Yesterday, it was Ephesians 4...2-3:Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 14-15:Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. And 26-31(I will finish the rest in the next post).
We can so easily be proud and tossed to and fro. But I want to be anchored on the Rock, Jesus Christ. I desire for my faith to grow and bear fruit for and through my family. I want more, not materially, but spiritually. I feel hungry to grow in my faith again and I don't want to let it pass by!
Praise the Lord for a godly husband, who sees the importance of my spiritual growth and doing what it takes to give my time with the Lord!

Oh how fast things can change...

It's kind of a bitter sweet thing... change. It's crazy too how fast things can change. Just this week, the baby (almost 13 mo) of our family decided to take her first steps! I cannot believe it. And although she hasn't "taken off" yet, I don't think it will be long... even more I hope it's not long before she decides it's the way to go. She is so strong willed so no form of encouragement will sway her from her lightening speed crawl until she decides it's time. How can she be walking... it feels like the baby stage is coming to a close. I will soon have to take the bottle away and then it seems like she will officially be a toddler. I honestly can't say I long for the baby stages but when they are over, it's still brings a sadness with the joy.

Also, this week, Hannah and Bekah (2 1/2 years old) decided it may be ok to use the potty. Yesterday in fact was a big break through; they decided they liked underwear! I thought at the beginning of the week it was a fluke, but as of last evening, I think it's worth working on. I would love to have 2 less children in diapers for many reasons. But this too would end a season and make them seem more like preschoolers. These are all things I'm proud of and thankful for but wondering too how this next stage will feel.
Jack too is growing up so much. As we all count, say the ABC's, learn letters and numbers I'm amazed and overwhelmed by the amount of things children learn in such a short period of time.
So things are changing fast but I hope all for the good...

She's back!

In Jack's words..."our Emily" is back. We are so blessed to have Emily (my husband's cousin) here again this summer. She lives with my in-laws along with her brother who is helping on the farm. She comes to our house twice a week to take care of the kids, help with chores and bring extra joy into our lives. She is so fun to have around. I feel like I will get to know her better and just enjoy her presence this summer as last summer Julia's was a newborn and I was consumed with her care.

We have already had some adventures... we went to our local county park yesterday and played, did some swinging and swimming but I forgot towels, lifejacket, etc. It was still fun especially for our first real summer day. It was high humidity and 90 degree temps so we played in water all day and cooked outside plus tried to stay hydrated.

They are a tough crowd but they had fun. We didn't get pics of the sprinkler or appliance moving for cleaning (long story with laughter) but they were great too. I plan to repaint my entry so we started with removing some uppercase living letters from the wall and Emily transferred them to a mirror so I can still use them in the redecorating process... this will be separate post.
Anyway... we are so glad to have Emily with us again this summer. I hope to document her stay better this time around.
Hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July weekend! Enjoy.

It's time to detox!

I've been wanting to do a detox diet for a while. I remember once,about 10 year ago, a friend of mine at work did a detox diet and my interest was sparked. Now this many years and four children later, I felt the need to explore my options. I have felt, well, like I could die. I do not say this lightly. I truly, most days, did not feel good at all. I was tired from the moment I woke up until my head hit the pillow at night. I had no energy at all somedays and caring almost took too much out of me. I feel like I and those around me suffered. Now it seemed like I would have a few "good days" with bursts of energy when I would get some things done but those were getting farther and farther apart.

So I went to my chiropractor. Now this was a HUGE step for me. The Nutritional Response Testing that he does seemed like a hoax to me. But when all my labs were back and his guess to what was wrong and treatment was presented to me, I could not deny it's accuracy and validity. Long story short... low iron, low vit d, thyroid disfunction, low vit b and possible gluten intolerance. Other than the gluten intolerance, none of this surprised me (and I plan to expand this subject in a separate post). I cried when he said he thought he could help me! Many doctors have told me for year that there is nothing wrong! (and I always knew there was)

So fast forward... I accepted treatment. Some of these things have been life long and the rest were only adding to my overall poor health. I was ready. So on June 1st, 2011 I began a new journey. My first plan of action was the Standard Process Purification Program.
Let me just say, it was hard but so worth it. I think I would like to make it a once a year thing if we can handle the cost. So this was a three week program which toward the end of a found out that I was highly gluten intolerant... but I feel better. I'm not even sure what a 100% improvement looks like but I'm definitely a percentage closer! I hope to continue with this program which I will expand on later but my hope is that through documentation of this journey and other happenings in our lives, I will help someone.

God is my Portion

God is my Portion

Interestingly enough the verse this blog post is based on is the verse that keeps saturating my mind lately... I don't think it's by chance. It's the verse I want as my life verse, for at least this season of my life. It is the verse that I want to base this blog on.

"But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in him.'" Lamentations 3:21-24

Believe me, I need new mercies every morning! Praise the Lord that my Savior can provide that. I don't know where this blog will take me or anyone else but hopefully it can provide encouragement to me and others and most of all bring glory to God! I will end there for now as a 7 month old squirms on my lap, but I hope to return again more regularly with our life and my daily challenges, adventures and daily happenings of a family seeking to do the will of the Lord.

Goal... to make this a song in my children's hearts!

By the grace of God and a will to surrender.