Thankless or Thankful

The trees are in full color now and the  summer's hot breath has turned into a soft coolness that speaks of the winter months to come. Things are cozy and coffee is in hand as I write.

As I sit here I think about all the things I'm so thankful for. I have a roof over my head, a beautiful family, a Savior who loves me, and a beautiful day ahead. You know those times when you just feel blessed and overwhelmed by the goodness of God? That is me in this moment.

I wish I could say that every moment of the day I was thanking the Lord. The truth is, I have a fairly thankless heart. I am selfish and prideful. Often times I forget about the blessings I see daily. I forget that we have a beautiful home. I forget that all of us are healthy. I forget that we are so so so amazingly fortunate. I forget that there are people out there shivering in the cold and wondering where their next meal will come from. How is it that I could possibly forget? I'm not really sure. All I know is that I earnestly ask the Lord to give me a heart that is thankful for even the struggles. Thankful for every waking moment that I get to be a part of His wonderful plan and creation.

Thank You Lord.

Toppling Kingdoms

Life is hard. Wasn't meant to be easy was it? The Bible says trials are what help to perfect our faith in Christ. I'm writing this on a rainy day after a pretty hard week of loneliness, emotions, and some other crazy things that are going on. It's so so easy to feel hopeless sometimes. It's amazing how quickly our finite personal kingdoms topple. In many ways that is a good thing. We shouldn't have "our kingdom", only God's Kingdom. That is what my poor little heart is daily coming to see. I exist for Him. He doesn't exist for me. My daily struggles are meant to refine me. What I choose to do with the struggle is the important deciding factor. Will I look to the one who made me and say, "Though I walk through fire, I will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn me..." (Isaiah 43)? Will I succumb to the lies that Satan is ever whispering in my ear? I want in the best way to be the one to cry out to God and trust His promises when the road gets rough. I pray that the Lord would help me to build on His kingdom and not my own. If my eyes are ever fixed on His glorification, how can I possibly have time to throw myself a grand ol' pity party? Anyways, This was just something I'm sure I have written about before but I thought would be encouraging for me to write it down. I hope it encourages you as well.

"Lay 'Em Down" - NeetToBreathe

Pray for missing Pilot

Please pray for the family of a missing pilot. Kyle went missing Monday when his plane went down. It was found in the Yukon River, but his body was not recovered.

Read news story:  http://kyuk.org/post/plane-found-pilot-missing-search-continues

Little Beauty

     I saw this little beauty up in a small town about fifteen minutes from where we live.

     Probably the least practical car I have always dreamed of owning! Honk if you own a VW bug!

7 Months of Motherhood

    Eva is seven months old today. Tell me please, where have the months gone?! Wasn't it just yesterday that I was staring at a positive pregnancy test with anticipation for what the Lord might do? I never understood just how fast time would fly once she arrived. She is now rolling over, sitting up, and starting to eat puree'd foods on occasion.

 Here are some pictures from when she was a few weeks old.


 

My Yoga Mat

     I finally broke down and bought myself a yoga mat (yes, I have succumbed to the latest exercise fad. Don't judge me.) I got mine at Marshalls, where I paid about a 3rd the price it would have cost me if I got it from a yoga guru retail store. I have only used it twice, so I can't tell you a ton about it other than it is indeed a yoga mat (smart observation, right?). It makes things easier on my knees, elbows, and other joints (that used to scream when I got down on our hardwood floor). It is also nice to sit on while I check my email and write to you lovelies out there who read my blog 😍.

     When you hear me talk about exercising, please don't get this picture in your mind of "crazy fit mama" cuz...who am I kidding. As much as I would like you to think I am "one of them", I just don't have the time or motivation to get myself out of bed to run, jog, go to the gym, or even take a fyoga class (which might end up being a little freaky knowing how serious some yogis are about their yoga). When you hear me say, "exercise" I'm most likely talking about a walk with the dog (and baby, and stroller) or a few YouTube yoga videos that happen to be friendly on healing postpartum mama tummies. Yeah, no crazy ripped abs around here. Just tummies that remind me of the happy little blessing I'm exercising to try and help my body keep up with I care for daily (Love you Little E 😍).

     Well, I should probably go and do what awesome moms do, right? Yeah, I'm going. I'm actually hiding from my house, and my laundry, and the dishes...and everything... You weren't supposed to read that...