Tag Archives: marriage

Sunday Morning

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Paul has always said, “the person who wrote “Easy Like Sunday Morning”, did not have children to dress for church!”.

A week ago Sunday, we were having one of THOSE days. You know the one where you start with the best of intentions and everything seems to go backwards from the moment your eyes open.

To be honest, Saturday night, I wasn’t exactly sure if I would attempt church by myself. Paul was out of town and it would be he first Sunday to get up and have everyone dressed and out the door without his help.

I should have been more prepared. We should have gone ahead and sat out clothes, buckled the car seats, etc., but I was tired Saturday night and decided to just wait until Sunday to see how I was feeling (at this point, Jackson was still not sleeping more than 2 1/2-3 hours at one time).

So, Sunday morning arrived and I felt pretty good– even after having had very little sleep in the night.

I jumped into the shower and got dressed, even down to my makeup and hair and proceeded to start working on the baby.

At some point, I realized that pretty much all the littles were missing a shoe, or pants, or something. Trying to be positive, I thought, if one of the littles has to go to church without a shoe, it won’t be the end of the world.

(I REALLY love being at our church on Sunday. It’s just sad when we miss that fellowship during the week!)

It was about mid-morning when Paul called. He was several hours from home just checking in with me to see how our morning is going (sweet man!).

As I was speaking with him, I began to hear yelling and crying….I think pretty much most of my house was coming unglued.

I started to feel so warm (keep in mind, I’m a multi-tasker…I’m dressing Jackson, talking to Paul and trying to manage everyone dressing for church).

I looked down to realize Jackson had relieved himself all over my right side. It wasn’t a small “happening”, I actually had puddles on my shirt sleeve in the folds of fabric just above my elbow.

Ahhhh………….

I know better than to leave a little boy uncovered for long. I know better.

*Sigh*

You would think that would have been the end of the morning, but as I was explaining to Paul that I needed to go and was going to need to get a shower and dressed again, I heard a CRASH from our kitchen.

The top rack of our dishwasher actually fell off the tracks and crashed to the floor shattering a good many of the dishes that were glass, including my favorite mug.

Not just any mug.

This was the mug Paul had made and mailed to me when he was away for two months last summer and just happened to miss my birthday. (You know, the same day I sent my son on his first flight and the beginning of his new job and months in California??). It was one of the things that kept a smile on my face last summer...and believe me, that was hard to do.

In any case, at this point, Matthew was crying (he was the one unloading the dishes), and I was beginning to cry.

I told Paul what was going on, and hung up with him. I explained to Matthew this wasn’t his fault and that we needed to figure out what just happened with the dishes and the dishwasher.

I stopped to pray for peace in our home and made the decision that those dressed and ready could go on to church, and those of us who weren’t needed to stay.

Just like that, it was over and everyone was smiling again.

Half of my family enjoyed church. The other half worked to straighten up the mess of the morning, and enjoy our time at home.

I tried not to think of my mug too much. It made me sad.

About mid-week, this little package arrived:

and in it was this:

Paul, had re-ordered my mug. <3

Paul Lambert, you remain one of the most thoughtful men I have ever met.

I love you more than you know, and I’m so glad to have my little mug back!

For My Children….

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I loved this post by Kelly Crawford over at Generation Cedar.

“A Letter to My Children About Marriage”, is really a letter to us all….
I’m planning to print this out for my own children.

If you are married, planning to be married, or know someone married, this is a MUST READ. Our society is too caught up in the emotion of relationships. We forget there is a greater purpose.

Clothesline, Day 2

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This is my clothesline, closed. To be making such an impact on my home keeping in general, it really isn’t that big.

With that said, when we are on the land that we plan on having for the rest of our lives, I would like to have iron T-bars ran, stretching the span of a good distance so that I can watch all my quilts and my sheets and even the tiny baby clothes blowing around in the breeze! I’ve said it before….if you can’t find anything else relaxing in your home…this is pretty great. It’s just a reminder to stop and slow down for a little bit.

I finished with all my haircuts yesterday. It ended up taking me pretty much all day, but they are done and everyone looks nice and neat again. I’m glad to have that one behind me for a few weeks!

Have you gotten your glass jar for sour dough yet? Just a reminder that I will post the first “class time” segment on Tuesday for us to make the sour dough starter. This weekend would be a great time to find a jar!

I’m sure I’m going to have a hard time posting this next part today. I can already tell I’m probably going to be editing and re-editing all day. This is so important….I don’t think that my words could ever relate what is in my heart but here goes:

Prayer Requests:

Before the posted prayer requests this morning, I would like to ask a special prayer for the young man and remaining family members in Pennsylvania. Why would a 24 year old man want to kill his family, (the youngest only being 5)?

I have such a heavy heart about this today. It’s a horrible thing what is happening in America. We are growing a generation of broken homes and broken families. We have allowed, for too long, lies to permeate the very fabric of who we were created to be.

As Mom to five sons, I’m disturbed greatly by what I see our society telling men that they should and shouldn’t be. I know that God has placed within each of them the information and the guidance they need to become men. What happens when the world tells them all they know inside about themselves is a lie and they don’t have to have faith, they don’t have to have family, they don’t have to be the men they were created to be. The Bible tells us men can find satisfaction….He even tells us how. We, as a society, have to start turning back to the only truth there is. Without it, we are only doomed for failure.

Now you, Mom, hold this tiny acorn in your hand. Today is just another opportunity to nurture it and help it to grow the way it should, so that tomorrow, it can be the tree it was always meant to be.

Hug your children. Appreciate and grow the qualities in your sons that make them want to open doors for women and protect their families.

I’m going to step down off my soap box now and get back to your regularly scheduled prayer requests! : )

My Grandmother’s birthday is tomorrow!

My husband’s meetings today (yes, we’re having two more!).

For a productive weekend for my family.

I don’t have an update yet, so please keep Krista Lawrence on your prayer list.

The “situation” brewing in Iran.

Beverly Daffron to have a great birthday!

Today, I’m Thankful For:

An early start to my day!

The opportunity to spend a special evening with my husband (more about this in a minute!).

Being able to spend some time with my Grandmother tomorrow.

My friend, Christy who sent me the best note this morning and closed by saying that she hoped “God blesses the fruit of my hands”! That’s a great blessing! Thank you, Christy, and thank you Lord for such a special friend!

For my husband ….despite my never ending lists of things to do just smiles and knows that I’m always at work “feathering my nest” and never complains, but instead is always willing to help in any way that he can!

I’m so blessed!!

Tracy’s Task:

Two tasks again today. We are on Friday which always has me looking toward the weekend. This weekend take a few minutes to spruce up your mailbox. You would be amazed at how nasty they get over the winter. You might think about repainting it or adding some cute little flowers around the base. Whatever you decide to do…make everything inside and outside your home, to the best of your ability, a reflection of your family and a reflection of the Lord.

I’m sorry, I can’t resist one more soapbox for the day! I’m getting stirred up just thinking about it! We have the misfortune of living in the neighborhood with a teenager who apparently has nothing better to do than destroy mailboxes. I’m not sure how to describe this other than that for several weeks straight, over the winter, we would go out to our mailbox to get the mail and our mailbox flag would actually be rolled up, top to bottom. Needless to say, over time, it has fallen off. I would have already replaced it except….I CAN’T FIND AN ALL METAL MAILBOX! I don’t want a plastic one…they never hold up over time. Even the metal mailboxes now have these cheap plastic flags. It’s almost like they want them to break so that you have to replace them. UGH! Where has product quality gone? I’m even willing to pay more if I can find one, but so far, we’ve had no luck!

Anyway, work on your mailbox! : )

The second task is to plan a special night over the weekend to have dinner with your hubby. We live on a budget, and of course have several littles, but this doesn’t mean that we can’t have a special evening.

I usually plan to have dinner with my husband over candle light after the children have gone to bed. They think that it’s funny and we’ll hear little giggles and see them peaking around the corner at us, but we know that it is important for them to see us spending this kind of time together.

Today, I’m going to print my hubby out an invitation on the computer and place it on his desk. Tonight, I’m setting a pretty table and we’re going to eat a special meal together…just the two of us!

Try to make time to plan something special for your sweetheart. In a world so hurried (as we certainly are), it’s important to always remember to make your special someone feel extra important to you!

What I’m Learning:

Here’s the funny today. I mentioned I’m feeling old in a post a couple of days ago. I don’t think that I’ve ever felt older than yesterday.

Jessica was writing something and asked me what the date was. We shared a couple of comments about how fast time was flying this year and then she asked: “Mama, did they have CALENDARS when you were little?”. There was, of course, dead silence from my end of the room.

Today’s Scripture Meditation:

Eccl 11:9

“Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.”
(NIV)

*I’m sorry to have been so long winded this morning! I guess next time, some of ya’ll are going to sit down with a glass of tea before you come to read my post! : )

I hope that you have a great weekend!

Just Say No!

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We’re pretty good around here today. We always have something going on. Today we’ve been sealing seams in our new hall flooring. We chose composite vinyl tile. I thought that it might look too “industrial” for a home but I’m really pleased so far. It’s been very inexpensive, very easy to install and seems to really be withstanding the floor traffic.

I’m also working on ideas for my new website for large families. There is, thankfully, more information on the internet for us these days, but it’s still hard to find a good place to share ideas and support. I’m really excited about this new project. I’ll post more details as we get closer to working on it.

Prayer Requests:

My sister in law, Melissa. She is due with their second baby, Austin in a little over a month.

I know it’s a strange request but Tammy Faye Messner (formerly Baker). She lingers on my mind today. I happened to catch her last night on Larry King Live and I was so touched by her interview.

She has stage 4 cancer in her colon. Her prognosis does not look good but she still holds fast to her faith. She is a true champion. She displayed such an open sweet spirit and never once said anything negative. She only said that she knew that God was in control and she was leaving her life in His hands. She is a true inspiration. Please pray for peace for her and if it is His will, for healing over her body.

Today, I’m thankful for:

The calm after the storm. We had bad weather blow up last night and it was quite a rough evening. I’m thankful for my family’s safety and that there seemed to be no storm damage in our area.

I’m thankful for the love of my husband, Paul. He knows me so well. I’m so thankful to God for the love of this man.

I’m thankful for the peace that the Lord gives to me. I tend to have a very restless spirit. I love that the Lord speaks peace over my soul.

I’m thankful for all the little flowers blooming in my yard and my children who love to bring me handfuls of them. How blessed am I? ….I must admit that I’m planting flowers in my yard this year just because I love for my children to pick them and bring them in to me!! : )

I’m thankful for this place to share God’s love. It hasn’t been that long that the internet did not exist in the form that it is now. I’m so glad that it is here now and gives an opportunity, an easy opportunity, to be in a mission field without ever leaving your own home! What a powerful tool!

What I’m learning:

This one is big! I heard a comment a couple of days ago that brought to mind the drug campaign in the 1980′s: “Just Say No!”. I was talking to my husband and told him that I thought it was ridiculous and that if you raised your children right they should automatically know to “just say no”. My husband disagreed. He said “how will they know if you don’t tell them?”. I said “they should just know by the lifestyle that their parent live…let’s ask our kids”. (Now keep in mind, we don’t drink, we openly talk to our children frequently about the dangers of drugs, etc.)

I called my son, Joshua, age 12, into the living room and asked “Josh, what would you do if someone offered you drugs?”. His response took me by surprise. He said “I would take them and when I got a chance I would throw them away.”. I was shocked! We of course, corrected him, but that had me sitting and pondering what would have happened if that was reality and someone had offered him drugs. I don’t think that the police would have accepted that as an excuse. It certainly wouldn’t have helped one of his younger siblings if they had gotten a hold of it. …and what if he had decided that maybe this once it wouldn’t hurt to just try a little and see what it’s all about. His life would never be the same.

What I’m learning is that it’s never enough to even raise them right. You have to be very specific with children. We have to teach them in all things…not just expect that they will know. Sometimes black and white aren’t all that clear and sometimes the temptation can be too much. “Just Say No” is such a simple way to teach them to avoid the things that could hurt them. Teach them to not even weigh it out…even if you aren’t sure…”just say no”!

Our Scripture Meditation:

We are continuing on to the next part of Titus 2.

Titus 2:4-5

“Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. NIV

Here we go. In today’s society it is not readily accepted that women should be subject to their husbands. What exactly does this mean anyway? Are we supposed to be slaves to these men in our lives?

No, actually, it means that we are supposed to submit our will to our husband’s as an act of obedience to God. The fact is: submission does not always require obedience, but does require a calm and prayerful spirit.

Do You Love Him?

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I love my family. I’m so thankful for the little smiles that come and pile into my bed in the morning just to get a quick hug and kiss!

This morning I was looking at my baby daughter, Emma, thinking how blessed I am to have her….just like the rest….I’m so thankful to God that He let me borrow her, even for this short time on earth. I can’t imagine my life without her, without any of them. I am blessed!!

This morning, I am thankful for my daughter’s cinnamon biscuit recipe (no, this one is NOT on the diet)…YUM! She is turning into a really good cook!

I’m also thankful for my loving hubby. He surprises me sometimes by the things that he says…he makes me feel so adored! I love you, sweetheart!

I’m thankful for my friend, Christy. I commented to her just yesterday that when sorting through my photos, I realized that her family was in a good bit of them. She has been part of my life for so long…I’m glad that I have her. We don’t get to talk as much as we used to but I always know that she is there!

I’m thankful for my loving Lord. I know that I don’t always see how things in my life will turn out but He knows. How wonderful to be in the Master’s hand.

Today’s prayer requests are for my traveling husband.

Also for my friend, Tanya, who has been on my mind this week.

Please also keep the Young family in your prayers…they are expecting their 5th child soon.

This week I’m learning:

(I should already know this!) Don’t leave a fresh baked batch of peanut butter cookies in a ziplock bag on the counter when you go to bed. This morning, Paul and I woke up to the sounds of one Mr. Benjamin (age 2), and one Mr. Timothy (age 4) munching away in the kitchen. Of course, they were in trouble…they were also not very hungry for their breakfast! I guess we’ll be baking again later today! At least I know they tasted O.K.

I picked this peanut butter cookie recipe up a few years back! It’s delicious and VERY easy:

1 egg
1c peanut butter
1c sugar
1t vanilla

That’s it! No flour needed! Just bake in a 375 degree oven until done. They are the best tasting peanut butter cookies I’ve ever had. I made them with organic peanut butter last night and they were even better!

Diet really does make a difference! In everything! I can tell that I’m not thinking as clearly and not as creative this last few days as I’ve been off my eating program. I’m going to have to get back on!

Today’s (and actually on into the rest of the week) scripture meditation is on being busy at home.

The scripture comes from:

Titus 2:4-5

“Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. NIV

Let’s look at the first part of this scripture….“train the younger women to love their husbands”

What does it mean to really love your husband? If we don’t really know how to ourselves, how can we teach younger women?

There are so many references to love in the Bible. I think that the one that first comes to mind is in Corinthians.

1 Cor 13:4-8
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”
(NIV)

Whoo! What a tall order! Today, pray and examine your heart in regards to the love you have for your husband. I, personally, struggle with many of these qualities on a daily basis. It’s hard to always be kind…and oh boy! to let go of the things that I get angry with Paul about or to not get angry in the first place! How about to always have hope and always persevere…through good times and bad? Remember ladies, these are some of the very things that you vowed to do the day you were married. Oh, and what about to never fail your husband?

I love my husband so much…I have to work on each of these things.

It took me a long time to really learn to love my husband. I know, I thought that I loved him the day that we were married. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him, but the real love starts two years down the line when he didn’t call you to tell you he was going to be late for dinner. Will you be rude to him, or will you show him kindness and have hope that it will not happen again?

This is so hard. We live in a society that tells women that they have to first look out for themselves and that they were made to be more than doormats in a marriage, stuck at home with the kids and a husband. We’ve been trained since our birth that if we don’t look out for ourselves that no one will. How sad. It’s with this very thought process that marriages fail, and wives never learn to love their husbands. They must be willing to truly examine what love is and establish selflessness within themselves to see the true beauty of what love can be.

The Two Become One

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Today we are battling some little cold “thing”. I hate for my family to be sick! Some would think of me as a germ fanatic but I’m just a mama who can’t stand to see my little ones feeling under the weather.

We’ve actually been very fortunate to have not had any illnesses this year until now.

My praise today remains for the beautiful weather we are having here. Cool enough to remind you that it’s still winter time but warm enough so that the children can play comfortably outside. It’s really the best of both worlds.

We had an exciting night last night as we had an electrical fire on our stove top. Today’s big thank you is for my sweet husband who is working on getting us up and cooking again. Although he didn’t learn to fix these things growing up, he’s really venturing out and teaching himself to make repairs around our home. He’s a good guy and I’m very thankful for him.

Let’s see, on my continuing list of things that I’ve learned this week…

Sesame oil does not smell very good poured out over bedding. Ask me how I know.

Last evening while on the phone with my Mom, my two little boys decided to try some and I guess when they realized it wasn’t going to taste very good they just decided to play in it instead….in their bedroom!! So to add to that new found knowledge (not that I would have ever dreamed of sesame oil and bedding going together anyway….) the homemaking lesson for today is if you have not purchased water proof protectors for your pillows and other bedding, it is not that expensive (under $5 for the allergy relief/waterproof covers at Walmart), and it is well worth the investment.

We’ll just chalk this experience up to having lots of littles. These things happen and you have to learn to laugh!

Today, we are continuing to work on our home and I’m going to have to make time to get some sewing done. I’ll post pictures when I have a chance.

Speaking above of my husband, I wanted to share a little about what the Lord has been showing me about marriage. (This will have to be short today as I just heard one of my children from the other room tell someone else that they were a “bad apple”. Where do they get this stuff???)

There is much said about the Biblical relationship that a husband and wife are supposed to have. There are those who take it very much out of context and use it as an excuse for abuse or misbehavior. There are also those who not understanding their gender roles (Beware! We are about to venture into a topic that definitely is not politically correct.), are annoyed with the concept of being a submissive wife and feel that they must not hold the same importance in a marriage to have been put “under” a husband’s authority.

Let me assure you, this is not something that I grew up knowing, or anything that just clicked for me. It is information and understanding that the Lord has revealed to me as I have studied His Word.

Marriage is meant to protect women. The Lord gave us emotions and compassion and all the things that make us feminine so that we could be wives and mothers and so that we could feed the hungry and clothe the needy. For this same reason, sometimes our emotions cloud our view and we can’t clearly see things for what they are. I know, if you are a woman, you have an appreciation for this. There are those days when you just cry for no reason.

What the Lord has shown me about this is the following: when Paul feels strongly about something and makes a decision, I might not agree, but ultimately it is his decision. I really have to weigh out why it is that we might not be in agreement and sometimes it is because my views are clouded in a way that might make it difficult for me to see the situation clearly. In contrast, if I trust that the Lord will speak to my hubby, I can just put my faith in that, not worry and be glad that I’m not the one who will be ultimately responsible!! : )

These scriptures are not meant to make us feel inferior. We as women need to learn to rejoice in the things that make us feminine. Next time you kiss a boo-boo and wipe a little one’s tear away, thank the Lord for the feelings that you have. He has designed marriage to complete us. To make a perfectly complimentary pair with which to raise a family and change the world for Him. Together, a husband and wife make a perfect package.