HOW TO PRAY

At 6:02am, he came in asking for 2 milks...without saying good morning, he asked.

 

Knowing what he'd want before he made request, my mother's heart wanted to give so I began, then realized.

 

"Hey Buddy, how about saying good morning to your mama first?"

 

"Good morning, Mommy. May I have 2 milks please?"

 

And when I offered his mug I waited for the thank-you, his eyes fixed on his 2 milks instead of me.

 

"Thank you," he said, just barely looking up. And how I love this child!

 

I know he loves me too, but I still crave time with him and even thank-yous.

 

. . . . . .

 

There it was, the ton of bricks the Lord intended for me this morning...and every morning, noon, night.

 

He loves me. He offers good gifts. He knows what I need and even want before I have to ask.

 

He listens when I present my requests to Him and He is able to give more than I can imagine.

 

It's His pleasure to bless me, His child.

 

But our God is a relational God. He desires communion with us and has taught us how to pray.

 

"For your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Pray then like this:

 

'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.^'"

Matthew 6:8-13

 

Lord, remind me continually how you would have me pray. Help me to keep my eyes on you daily, to greet you first each day with praise, to seek communion with you even before presenting requests, and to do it all with genuine thanksgiving in my heart.

 

"Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you."

James 4:8

 

Lord, may we all be more focused on you than anything else, especially self or circumstances, receiving your will as perfect, wise, and good.  May we find peace and rest for our souls as we turn our gaze upon you continuously, because we trust in you. And may we be content, grateful for your patience and love and that your Word teaches everything we need to know in life...and even how to pray.

 

"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you."

Isaiah 26:3

FATHER'S DAY

 

 

His heart is turned toward home. He models the Father's love. He pours into the ministry of fatherhood.

He's a very special guy.

 

"And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers."

Malachi 4:6

 

He's pretty fun too...juggling our crew with gentleness and earnest care for each individual one.

Thank you Lord, for choosing this incredible man to father these beloved children!

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth.
Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!"
Psalm 127:3-5

His commitment to raising our children in the discipline and
instruction of the Lord is a blessing with eternal implications.

 

"Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger,
but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord."

Ephesians 6:4

 

His compassion emulates the heart of Christ.

 

"As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him."
Psalm 103:13

 

Because he fears the Lord and walks in His ways, there is fruit.

 

"Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways!
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;

you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house;

your children will be like olive shoots around your table.
Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD."
Psalm 128:1-4

 

Brodie, thank you for your dedication to the mission field here in our home.
Thank you for laying your life down for us all with constant willingness. You inspire us!
 

We are all SO blessed because of how you obey the Lord and how He works through you!

You are so very loved today and every day!!
 

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!
 

"Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments!

His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed."

Psalm 112:1-2

INDIA IS 3!

 

India...How are you 3?! Just 4 days old you were when God led us to you.

Surely He knew the blessing you'd be. He knows all the days He's planned for you.

 

"Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them,

  the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them."

Psalm 139:16

 

 

"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news."

Isaiah 52:7

 

And it's our honor to raise you up to know Him, to teach you how He loves you!

You make us laugh. Your energy fills a room. How dull would we be without you anyway?!

 

Happy 3rd Birthday to our Indi girl!

May the Lord shine brightly through you all your days!

 

"Let your light shine."

Matthew 5:16

PRAYING FOR A MIRACLE

 

We're praying for a miracle. God's Word tells us to pray.

We're praying for a miracle, but He knows we're fine either way.

 

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication

with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."

Philippians 4:6

 

These, just some of the thoughts that mull through my head lately.

We've waited, prayed, been patient, prayed, waited some more and continued to pray for God's will.

 

"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

Mark 11:24

 

We have so much faith that frankly it makes us foolish to a degree. But that's the kind of faith we want to have. "Irrational" as my dear friend likes to say. And when I watch her pray, I see God work through her. I love it! It's inspiring. We want to pray like that too.

 

"Faith like the Centurion," she and I like to say.

 

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him

must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."
Hebrews 11:6

 

We've never been the types to cower before an opportunity. We stick our necks out far at times.

 

"Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace,

that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."
Hebrews 4:16

 

Why not? We know there's no end to what our great, amazing, uncontainable, omnipotent God can do!

 

"You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples."

Psalm 77:14

 

Yet, we trust God's sovereignty infinitely more than our own finite thoughts and understand that He says no sometimes.

 

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens

are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Isaiah 55:8-9

 

We know that His will cannot be thwarted and that He's the Author of His incredible story. There's purpose in all that He does.

 

"For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return

to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it."

Isaiah 55:10-11

 

And we believe that God is good (ALL the time!) and that He loves to give good gifts to His children just like we love to give to ours.

 

"If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,

how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!"
Matthew 7:11

 

So, we're asking and we're hopeful, and we're trusting and we're loving Him no matter what He deems best.

With faith like the Centurion and to testify for His glory...we're praying for a miracle. We are.

 

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him."
1 John 5:14-15



DADDY + WILLOW

 

I love how the Lord teaches us about Himself through our parenting.

 

"As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him."
Psalm 103:13



COMFORTING WILLOW

Oh, the nursing and carrying and bouncing we do in a day...the dance of mothering a newborn.

 

{cherishing the seconds with precious Willow so close to my heart}

 

"You shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip, and bounced upon her knees.

As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you."

Isaiah 66:12-13

MAKING IT WORK...BACKYARD EDIBLE GARDEN

For many years we've hoped to move to an area where we could have land to roam, sink roots, grow food, and raise animals,
but this hasn't yet been God's will for us. Though we accept our reality, we also aren't interested in "waiting for our real life to begin"

...never have been, so instead we bloom where we're planted and make it work. We want to be good stewards of what we've been given and pray we can glorify God in our acceptance of His will for us...for now. All the while, we continue to pray for the changes we'd enjoy even as we make it work here. These things said, we've got a new venture up our sleeve this week/year as we kick off stage 1.

 

Here's to documenting our latest project...a backyard raised bed edible organic garden:

 

First, we made our plan and cleared the area to get started. Everyone got involved as we made
assembly lines and carted bricks and rocks out of the area we planned to use, even the little guys.

 

 

Next, we did some math and measurements, then sent the guys off to buy the wood for the boxes.

 

 

Boden, in particular, was especially helpful.

 

 

His patient big bother too.

 

 

We decided on cedar fence slats after doing some research on safe building materials for food and also considering cost effectiveness. We will be able to build our boxes for nearly half the cost of some of the other options we looked into, most of which were treated wood anyway, so all around this seemed like our best option.

 

(such a big boy these days)

 

Once they returned home, the guys got to work leveling the area and building the boxes while the girls and I took care of the home, food prep, and little ones (an equally important job through the course of any project). All hands on deck!

 

 

(first box!)

 

(such helpful little women)

(having fun chatting and sorting through the soil pile for our bottom layer in the boxes)

Once the boxes were finished, we started laying the walkway using the materials we'd removed at the start of the project.
We also transplanted our little fruit trees from the front yard into boxes to try and nurse them back to fruit-producing health.

(We also sprinkled ground cover around the stepping stones.)

We moved our swing near the hammocks and sprinkled clover between the stones, which sprouts up fast and remains hardy.
The swing has always been a peaceful place and should be a nice spot to watch our garden grow, read, or just sit and be.

Next, the guys headed off to buy an organic soil/compost blend from a local soil distributor.

This was the highlight of the project for the boys!

Especially Boden!

Everyone helped to get the dirt from Daddy's truck to the garden beds.

 

It was hard work...in a good way.

 

 

Once the beds were filled we started searching out local garden resources.

It was lots of time, patience, and work just to prep our garden...a good lesson for life in general.
And now for the part we've all been waiting for...planning and planting what we would like to eat.

Brodie took the girls to a variety of garden stores.
They asked many questions and got many answers...and plants!

When they got home with round 1 we planned our 6 boxes...

 

...and got started planting!

 

 

1- strawberries

2- herbs
(rosemary, basil, cilantro, thyme, oregano, green onion)

3- lettuce
(arugula, romaine, tango, mixed spring greens for starters)

4- berries
(raspberry, boysenberry, blackberry, blueberry)

5- tomatoes
(roma, cherry, grape, yellow lemon boy, yellow pear)

6- rotating misc.
(purple potatoes, rainbow carrots, baby bell peppers for starters)

We decided to begin with mostly starter plants for quick results, but we also planted from seed as well.

We've learned so much already as we've started our little garden.

The best part is that we have an ongoing project now and one with rewards and future lessons in store.
And, we're not quite finished with our beginnings just yet. Next up...chickens!
 

"Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.
And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it."

Genesis 2:7-9,15

PROVERBS 31 GIRLS

 

We wanted them to feel appreciated, our older girls these days.

 

They've worked so hard since Willow was born, helping me, serving our family. They've kept things running smoothly at home (while I've spent countless hours nursing and recovering physically) and they've done it all with joy. I've been blown away by them, truly!

And since they've blessed us so, we wanted to bless them too, recognize their efforts and attitudes,

praise them like Proverbs 31 says, remind them of their value.

  "Her children rise up and call her blessed;
    her husband also, and he praises her:
'Many women have done excellently,
    but you surpass them all.'"

Proverbs 31:28-29

 

So their doting Daddy took them out on a triple date to share his heart with theirs.

They ate fish and chips with bottomless Shirley Temples and he commended them. They've earned it!

(I'm so proud of these girls...They're such faithful friends to me.)

"How do you do it?" ...a question I'm asked often, knowing the reality is I don't do "it" (our tall order life) alone. I am on a team!

I'm always quick to say so. And though my role on this team is important and different than other members,

I can't imagine what I'd do without them all. How beautiful it is to be family.

"The whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped,

when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love."

Ephesians 4:16

 

Just like the body of Christ, our family functions as a body with many moving, vital parts, each gifted in their own

unique and useful ways. I love the variety in how we all serve. I love the harmony of collaboration.

 

(This guy at the head...Brodie, you love me,

love us all so well! Thank you!)

And our older girls (with little ones eagerly watching, serving in their own capacities too!) make things work here in our home

and especially so this past 6 weeks postpartum. What a blessing they've been to their daddy and to me!

 

And so we praise them, praise God for them. Lord, thank you for my blossoming Proverbs 31 girls.

 

"Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates."

Proverbs 31:30-31