A devotional I wrote, published in "Women at Southern: A Walk Through Psalms"

This is a devotional I wrote for a book that is being published by Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.  You can buy  the book on campus.  There is a devotional  for every day of the year...I'm May 17th!  :)

May 17th

Background passage:  Psalm 66:16-20

Focal Verse: 

“May God be praised! He has not turned away my prayer or turned His faithful love from me” (Psalm 66:20).

Reading this passage over and over again has kicked conviction into high gear in my life.  The psalmist is declaring that we should announce to those who fear God all that He has done for us, and how He faithfully hears and answers our prayers. 

I envision standing on a mountain surrounded by the awesome beauty of God’s nature, and shouting for the world to hear: “May God be praised!” However, when it comes to my actually doing something like that, well, I’d much rather give a little shout out to God from the comfort of my couch.  More of a “hey, God, You’re awesome” with a thumbs up for good measure. Too often I lose my eagerness to tell people what God has done for me and how He has answered the prayers in my life. When I read verse 18: “If I had been aware of malice in my heart, the Lord would not have listened,” then I’m suddenly more aware of my sins, and how I’m not even worthy to approach the throne of God; but, verse 19 goes on to say that God listens anyway and He “has paid attention to the sound of my prayer.”  Amazing!  There is no greater motivation in the world than to know that God listens!  God cares!  God answers! That’s enough to kick anybody off the couch and onto a mountain!

What an immense comfort it is to know that God has not turned away from our prayers, and that He continues to faithfully love us.  Oftentimes we truly feel that God is not listening when we speak to Him and our hope begins to wane; but, this passage is one of promise.  Let it put praise in your heart!  Never neglect to tell those around you of the wonderful things God has done.   

Dear Father, thank you for hearing my prayer, even when there is sin in my heart.  You deserve praise!  There is no one on this earth who is faithful in loving me the way You do.  Thank you, Lord.  Amen.

Made It Out of Doors!!

Well, I made it to the walking trail behind our house, and enjoyed the beautiful fall day with The Guys!  J. is suffering from pink eye, so he did not get to participate in my amateurish photo shoot!  :)  Got some cute pics of W. and A..

Had to bribe A. into sitting still for the shots with the promise of throwing rocks into the creek once we were done.  It was the highlight of his day.  That, and, we saw a snake...still unclear as to whether it was a copperhead or a water snake.  Either way, W. put his knowledge of poisonous things to work (learned from his school counselor) and alerted A. to the dangers of such a snake!  Bravo, W.!  Hubby was there to save the day, and also another little boy (not our own) who dived into the water and tried to grab the reptile.  A hero!

Catching up...

On a blogging rampage!  Maybe it's because my three little guys are currently being entertained by Mega Blocks, so that I may type frantically before they notice I'm not giving them my undivided attention.  While we're planning for a new baby (which was quite the surprise to be having another so soon) we are also preparing for the holidays!  We all love this time of year, and hubby and I were actually talking about Christmas shopping the other day.

This year, we're counting our pennies even more due to the fact that we have an extra child with us this Christmas.  Now, you may think that a 7-month-old wouldn't be too interested in presents, but J. absolutely loves TOYS!  He can sit on the floor and play for hours with his toys.  And, he's so much fun to watch as well!  His expressions and his laughter are priceless.

It's that time of year for fall pictures, and I'm anxious to take my antiquated digital camera outside and get some new shots of my guys!  Hope to post some soon!!

Fantastic Fall

We're enjoying the fall season.  Me and my husband and three sons (hereto known as "the guys") have hauled in pumpkins and pulled out the fall decor in our home.  God's blessings are surely upon our lives in many ways.  He has granted us good health and He's given us each other.  We really couldn't ask for more!

But, the newest blessing, is we're expecting our fourth fantastic baby!!  He/she is due on tax day, April 15.  :)  We can't wait to meet this little person.  There are those who think we are past due on a girl, but only the Lord knows what gender we will have, because this one will be a surprise. No ultrasound tech will be giving away the news to us.  Delivery day will be extra exciting because of this. It's always fun to wait and find out.  And are we wanting a girl?  Yes!  But, the real question is, are we wanting another boy?  Yes!  We will be happy with either.

Our sons are growing, growing, growing...we feed them well (and often!)  :-)  W. is 5-years-old now and in kindergarten.  He loves school, and loves learning.  We hope he'll continue to do so!  A. is 3-years-old, and he's what we affectionately call, our "stinker pants".  His favorite thing to do is pick on his brothers, play with bugs, and listen to bluegrass music.  :)  J.  is 7-months-old and he's our happy child.  Hopefully they're all happy, but J. just really seems to be happy all the time...and he loves to show off those little dimples!

Above all, we are happy to be fantastic followers of Christ!  The hubby is very busy as a student minister, and I'm very busy helping him as much as I can.  We are partners in every way in an amazing journey!
Please keep checking back for more posts about our family and our adventures together!