So much to do, so little time...

I'm not referring to my to do list for today, or even tomorrow....but the bigger scope of things...


Psalm 139:16 "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."
God knows how many days I have here on earth to do the work He has given me...but since I see through a glass darkly, the number of my days on earth and exactly what all He wants me to accomplish is not something I know.

Lately I have been thinking a lot about this - I have known two young people whose life on this earth was far shorter that I could have ever imagined! One was killed by a drunk driver, my neice, Leah, and the other was a son of a friend on mine who drowned in our local river while cooling off after work....I have heard of so many others whose lives seem to have been cut short, ended suddenly, without any warning....no good byes, no last opportunities to accomplish anything, no time for anything. I can't help but wonder what would go through my mind if I were to suddenly find myself staring imminent death in the face, with only minutes until I will face my Redeemer.



What would go through my mind...how would I finish this sentence:

If only I had......

This is a great thing to think about...for me, I find myself living through each day/week/month with little thought to what I am doing and planning, and before I know it, this day, this week, this month, this year has flown by and I find I really have no idea what I have truly accomplished.

I don't mean to be morbid, but I have been reading "Loving God with all your Mind" by Elizabeth George and she has much to say about the following passage:


Philipians 3:13,14 "I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

Am I pressing on toward the prize? Am I living every day to accomplish God's will in my life? Do I take the responsibilities God has given me seriously every waking moment? Am I loving/supporting/helping my husband as God wants me to? Am I raising my children in the fear and admonition of the Lord? Is my life, all I do and say, showing forth the light of Jesus to those I know and come in contact with?



But most importantly, when I come into the presence of Jesus, will He say to me "well done my good and faithful servant" (Matt 25:21) or will our conversation look more like this:

'Lord, Lord, did I not give my testimony, and go to many Bible Studies, and teach younger women to love their husbands, and do many other works in your name?' and Christ says to me 'I never knew you; depart from me, you worker of lawlessness.' (Matt 7: 22 & 23 with liberties taken)

It comes down to this - I must have a vital relationship with God, through Jesus Christ or everything I do is in vain. How can I have a vital relationship with God? I must spend time getting to know Him (His Word, The Bible), talk to Him every day, share my struggles, my victories, my fears with Him. Allow Him to help me, fill me, work through me...

Spending time everyday with God, is vital to "pressing on toward the goal" because only God sees the big picture, and only He can show me what I need to accomplish today/this week/this month/this year in order to accomplish the ultimate goal...the goal the God has set for my life.

So what am I changing in order to do this? I am trying to spend time in God's Word, trying to remember to ask God to guide me each day, to grant me the wisdom to know what is important for today and to have the strength to accomplish that.



At first it seemed to complicated, mind boggling, to try to figure out what it is that I should be doing...what I would regret not doing...but the answer is so simple....ask God!


Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds (Matt 7:7.8)

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. James 1:5

"Pure Heart" Conference...What a Blessing!

I got to spend 10 hours today with Jessica, Rebekah, and Rachel soaking up the teachings of Amy Vest of Loving The Lord Ministries!

Spending a day at Cedar Spring Retreat is a blessing all by itself, especially if it's sunny and the swans are out...but add to that friends, daughters, God's Word, wonderful singing, books to bring home a devour (I brought home "Created to be His Help Meet" by Debby Pearl and I might even start reading it tonight!), winning a beautiful coffee cup as a door prize and listening to inspiring teaching, and it becomes a day you not soon forget!
She had so much to share with us, and I took tons of notes...the girls talked about using their notes for their quiet times for a while (there's hundreds of scripture passages to read in there). Here are some of the highlights of what I took to heart and hope to use to make change in my heart, mind and life...

Pursue a close relationship with the Lord - Press on to know Christ

If the devil can't make you bed, he will make you busy...

When we compare ourselves to other around us, we may look pretty pure, but when compared with the pureness of Christ, our "righteousness" is like dirty rags

An idol is anything that takes God's rightful place in our lives (hobbies, recreation, people...in and of themselves they are wrong, but if that is what we go to first in our day/free time, then we should really take a look to see if they have become an idol)

"Purity is always smart, impurity is always stupid" (I can't remember who she was quoting)

Amy Carmichael said "Our feelings do not effect God's facts"

Know what you and believe and why

The one thing that just stunned me was when she asked for someone in the audience for a pencil...she was handed the pencil and she took it and broke it in half...shocking! She then pointed out that it was really her pencil...she went on to say that when the pencil seemed to belong to someone else it was not OK for her to break it, but if it was her pencil then it was OK for her to break it, right?
"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?
You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." I cor 6:19 & 20
WOW...now there is food for thought...
Well, I've got to go to bed...I'll try to blog more about what I learned today on Monday...have a blessed Sunday!

Common Sense....

So often people talk about "use your common sense"....or "that's just common sense"...

When discussing things that people do that are out of the ordinary, their "common sense" is questioned.

When people have questioned why we homeschool, choose to not use birth control, or live in the middle of no-where, or any of the other many things our family does that is not common in our culture, more often than not, something will be said about "that's just not common sense"....or "your not using your common sense"...and it always makes me think "but is common sense what we should base our decisions on?" But is "common sense" so great?

But God says in I Corinthians 1:26a "For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom..."

So, we strive to make decisions for our family based on God's Word, with little concern for the present culture or what others may think about how we are raising our family...and for us, that means that our lifestyle does not "go with the flow" and is unique to our family. We, as parents, are accountable to God for how we are raising our children, and every morning I ask God to grant me the wisdom to know His will for me as a wife and mother that I may follow His lead, and not follow along with the rest of the world, doing whatever every one else is doing just because everyone else is doing it.



You might wonder why I decided to blog about this today...well, no particular reason, I just came across that passage this morning in my Bible reading - and I thought it was cool to find it today as Daryl and I were just talking about that passage on Sunday when we were talking about what we believe about God and "family planning" and that verse just happened to be in the chapter I read today (I'm reading through the New Testament).

So, let me challenge you today - are you raising your family using "common sense" or "God sense"...if you are using "common sense" your family will probably look like most other families you know, but if you are using "God sense" then your family will look unique, because the God of the universe is so amazingly big that He has a unique plan for you and your family that probably doesn't look like any other family...God is not in the business of making cookie cutter people!

31 for 21....well maybe 14 for 21...

Grab This Button

I was not aware of this until today - it's a challenge to bloggers to bring awareness of Trisomy 21 to our world...
Why now? Because it's Down Syndrome Awareness month!
So here's my first blog entry for "31 for 21"...But I think I should get some credit for creating and blogging about the video montage I created about Esther's first year that I posted already this week, don't you???

And, lastly, I haven't had many comments lately...is anyone reading my blog anymore? I know I am not very faithful, and some of my friends have accused me of failing at blogging, but I am hoping that changes I am making now, will make it possibly for me to blog more, especially about personal/family things...

If you have been reading my blog, and would even be willing to follow me if I switch blog platforms where I would only blog only about me/my family, please post a comment to encourage me to continue!!!

So check back soon as I hope to blog more about Esther, Down Syndrome, and all things related!

I did it!

I made my first ever video montage!
See for yourself:

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Pray for these babies

God has put some very special babies in my path lately - Verity is a 2 weeks old who has Down syndrome and a heart defect. She was able to come home, but is really struggling with eating/gaining the weight she needs to be big enough for her surgery. Her mom is battling a uterine infection and mastitis, and some of her other 9 children have another illness. Needless to say, this mom is tired and discouraged at times. Please pray that she will get the sleep she needs, that her body will fight off the infections, and that little Verity can continue to get what she needs each and every feeding.

Little Emily was born last week, and she also has Down Syndrome and a minor heart defect. She is doing pretty well except for regulating her body temperature and feeding. Her mother did not know that Emily had Downs before her birth, but she's got a great outlook, seeing this as a blessing and that God put this special baby in her arms for a purpose...Praise The Lord! Pray that Emily will be able to go home soon and be with her family.

Also, there are over 200 babies in the world with Down Syndrome who are living in orphanages, waiting to be adopted, and many families wanting to adopt them...the only thing keeping these babies from joining the families who love them is funding...visit Reece's Rainbow and see how you can help these precious little ones!

Thanks in advance for praying for these little ones!

A wonderful Summer Weekend!

The weather was beautiful...on the edge of too hot, but not quite there. We took the kids bowling Saturday morning, then out to watch Reuben play his first game of softball (his team won, but all the boys put in a great effort!). Then it was home for a movie and baths.
Sunday morning meant church, and finally we all got to go (it's been weeks since we were all healthy and able to attend!) to church, then Dairy Queen on the way home, lunch, naps, a BBQ dinner.
Then we went to the annual baptism service and it was so inspiring! Wonderful singing (it was like there was electricity running through the room...) and the testimonies were all so inspiring! The 6 baptism candidate ran from age 12 to 20, but they all had changed lives and a desire to live their lives to bring glory to God. Amazing!
The we came home and made Strawberry shortcake our way - angel food cake + fresh, local strawberries, topped with oodles of whip cream!
A wonderful way to start my week!