Messed up; new words

Well, in every human being's life, there comes a time when they have messed up. Actually, daily we "mess up" or fall short in one area or another, but there are fewer times when it can put you on the spot. Most times, our short falls (sin) is known by us, affects us, and is for us to deal with one-on-one with the Lord, then there are other times when it is known by us and others, affects us and others, and it has to be dealt with us, others, and the Lord. And this is one of those times for me. For obvious reasons, I can't go into detail, but I can tell you that I should've stood up for what was on my heart every time I felt it. Though none stand with me, I will still follow. Isn't that what we've been singing in GAs for a long time, and on Sunday mornings for alter call? So, then why would I find it hard to do as a 33 year-old mom of three girls? INSECURITY!!!!!! Insecure in my abilities. Insecure in my walk with Christ. Fearful of rejection. Fear of not being eloquent enough in my words or backing. Yuck!! Those insecurities have put me into an uncomfortable position for this afternoon, and now I must be truthful, upfront and honest not only in front of the original people, but now with several others.

The scripture I'm choosing to memorize for the next two weeks is Jeremiah 17:7- Amplified version: Most blessed is the man who believes in, trusts in , and relies on the Lord, and whose hope and confidence the Lord is.

My personal translation: Most blessed am I, Elizabeth Anne, when I believe in, trust in, and rely on the Lord, and when my hope and confidence is the Lord.

Honesty, even when it's not been solicited is always the best way to go. When the Lord says "speak", you "speak".

Girls, when I give you this book for a Christmas gift later this year, please read this: To stand in full confidence in the Lord, is to stand with Him. He loves you so very much and never intends for us to shy away into a corner. There are times to speak and times to listen. Listen when He says, "Ssshhh!!!!!", and open your sweet mouths when He says, "Speak!!!!" You will be blessed if you allow your Holy Spirit to prompt you each day, in every circumstance. Your mom loves you beyond words and I pray for you daily!!!

A little nervous . . .

Okay, so have you ever attended the first session of your Bible study and thought to yourself, "I'm not sure if I can hang!?!?" Well, that's how I feel after hearing how the Covenant Study from Kay Arthur is going to go. I'm so intimidated and I'm not sure why. I've been through some pretty tough studies, but this one seems very in-depth to me. Perhaps it's because it's my first Kay Arthur study and all I can picture is my mom. I remember hearing about Kay Arthur since I was little, so now that it's my turn to give it a whirl, I'm kind of chicken. I wrote a prayer out on the bottom of my "intro session" page, and asked the Lord to give me a deep yearning for His word and to give me confidence to work through this study. I want to learn more and study more, so that I can shine more!

So, I'm tippin' my hat to a new study! A new adventure through the pages of God's Word for EIGHT WEEKS!!!

Pandora, Root Beer, and Emotions

A little late in posting such a picture since we're well into January of a new year, but hey.......I can always use the sight of two pumpkins in a patch.

Pandora is running, the girls are watching "Willy Wonka and the Very Long Title", and Andres is right by my side registering for his very own Pandora account. I'm tellin' ya, if you haven't used Pandora, it's amazing!!! Put in your favorite artist/song and it will create an entire radio station with similar artists/songs..........FREE!!!! I listen to it all the time and let the words of truth, and encouragement pour through this laptop.

It's time for me to search for my new scripture. I'm not sure what the topic should be or what words need to be impressed upon my heart, but tonight I'm opening the Word to find the words to memorize. Can't wait!

So, this week has brought a lot of emotions. One friend's husband lost his job (and it hits close to home because he's also an architect and we know all too well how hard it can be to quickly find another position), my parents have an amazing job offer that might take them to Tucson, Arizona, we have some friends who have officially finished their adoption paperwork/training as of 4:45 p.m. today, and we just found out that Andres' grandpa will have his foot removed b/c of diabetes. A lot of things going on around us, and this doesn't begin to hit on local, state, national, and international news!! Hang on to the foot of the cross and rest in His promises!

Well, two pot-pies are ready to go into the oven (one beef for Andres, and one chicken for me). The girls have already eaten and are ready for their root beer floats. Yumm....

With much love on this very rainy, cloudy day!

Elizabeth

Fire...Derby...not yet

It's 7:51 p.m. on a Thursday evening and I'm just sitting by the fire, and desperately trying to find words worth blogging. There are so many times that I just want to sit on my blog and write something, just because I can. I really want to go on and on about much of nothing and document every detail of the day, so that at the end of this year, when I buy the Kristin Paige book, then I will read through my entries like a diary of sorts.

I am excited to announce that I've memorized my first scripture for 2011. Translation mine:

Titus 2:5-6
In the same way, I should be an example to my girls and to the young women in my life; not gossipy or in love with the things of this world, so they may one day love their husbands and children, be sensible, pure, and good homemakers, so that God's word may not be slandered and return void.

Woohoo!!! A friend of mine told me today that her mother quotes scripture if she's having a hard time sleeping. Not to say that the Word is boring, rather it brings rest to her restless soul. She starts with A and recites a scripture that begins with A, like "All have fallen short of the glory of God. B, "Be still and know that I am God", and so on. Isn't that profound and fun?!? I thought that was a really neat way to see where you are in hiding God's word in your heart. Thank you Mrs. Peggy for lovin' the Lord and for being a Titus 2 woman to your daughter, and to the rest of us.

Katie is out with Andres on a "date night". They are buying her Derby race car decorations. Derby racing?!? Yes, friends. Katherine Elizabeth (100% girl) is going to enter into a Derby race with her father. I can't wait to see what types of stickers she picked out and what color she is going to paint her car. Andres has been researching "how to win a derby race" and he's finding some extreme measures to win, right down to the type of nails to hammer in. Wow!! Who would've thought!?

Sofie and Brie are already in bed. I found Brie asleep at the books. She had her MP3 player on and it was playing the song "Temporary Home" and I laughed and said "no more", and she woke up and said "uh, huh. it's not 'til we get to Heaven" Wow!!! She still sees her home with us as temporary because she's not home yet until she's face to face with God. Yeah!! Lord, I pray that you keep her heart tucked so close to yours. Please watch over her and give us wisdom on how to guide, and nurture her . Thank you for choosing us to be the parents of Melissa Brianne. She's a precious young girl, and it's with delight to watch her come into the young lady you've had in mind since her conception. From conception to adoption..........she's yours!

The sounds in my home right now are: crackling wood on the fireplace, Daisy grace snoring, cars passing by, the rustling of Sofie's crisp sheets, and the keyboard. I can hear so many things when I sit in silence. Lord, help me hear you in the silence of the evening. Thank you for the provision of warmth in our home, while so many spend night after night without a warm place to call their own. The fire that burns in my peripheral vision is but comfort to me, a way to paint the scene. It's not my only hope to warm the bodies of our three girls. In plenty we fall asleep, and in plenty we awake. Thank you!

La Madaline...DOTS..and wordsearches

It's Friday afternoon and what a beautiful day it is! I'm listening to http://www.pandora.com/ which is so worth your time if you've not checked it out (you make up your own radio stations), my kids are working on their wordsearches for their Spanish quiz, Mrs. Blue shared a few DOTS with me, and last night I met with my "Girl's Night Out" (sounds more risky than it really is) group at La Madeline for our monthly meet up.

It's been a while since I've last blogged. I can't believe that just came out of my mouth "blogged", and if a former co-worker ever knew that I've entered into the world of "blogger moms", then she'd call me an imposter. Oh well, what can a girl do when she gets the opportunity to type 20 words to every 7 that she could write out?!? Actually, I'm blogging so that I can do what my sweet friend, Kristin Paige, does.......purchase a book with all my entries. Is that not the best?!? If you raised a brow, said "no", or "whatever", then you just don't understand my love for writing for the girls to have one day. They may never read one prayer that I've jotted down, a side note in my Bible, a blog post, nor my millions of e-mails that I've saved for memories, but my heart will be left on paper.

Ooohh!!! Gotta run.....the chess club is coming in for their meeting. No....I'm not the chess club sponsor......in fact, quite the opposite. Check mate...

Titus Two to who?

Who should I be a Titus Two To? First, just out of curiosity, can you say that fast three times: titus two to who? Phew! I can barely type it twice, let alone, say it quickly.

I'm starting my year off by memorizing a scripture, every two weeks. I'm going along with the Siesta Sisters Scripture Team from Living Proof Ministries. Beth Moore does it every year, but this year they have this really cute flip chart thing (doesn't even begin to describe it), and you write down your scripture every two weeks. I'm choosing "balance, self-control, etc." for my theme for this month and I will memorize two scriptures this month that relate to such a topic.

So, for the next two weeks, here's my scripture (this is a personalized writing of Titus 2:3-5):

I need to be reverent in my behavior, not gossipy or drunk with the things of this world, so that my girls and other young women will learn to love their husbands and their children, to be sensible, pure, good homemakers and submissive to the heads of their homes, so that God's word will be evident in their lives and not be slandered.
What a charge to me as a mom, a teacher of young people, and as a friend to younger women in my life!!! What a challenge.....

When I look at Brie, Katie, and Sofie, I get overwhelmed at the great responsibility of raising THREE GIRLS FOR HIM! I also know that when I look at them, that it's not me that molds the clay, but their Potter and I get to watch the lump turn into a masterpiece right before our eyes. Thank you Lord......Creator of the Heavens, Earth, and my family for shaping us!

As I close for today, I can't help but think of sweet Ms. Shirley from our church. She's a tall, beautiful black lady that wore a large hat to church about every Sunday. She was the door greeter and she would declare every Sunday when she saw the girls running to the door, "My, my here come some pretty girls. How are you girls this morning? You look so pretty." They would wrap their arms around her leg and she would hand each one of us a church bulletin. Often, Mrs. Shirley and I would talk about meeting up for coffee (her house), but the time never came for coffee nor her Christmas Poinsettia that we intended to take to her. She went home to be with the Lord yesterday morning. She had a massive stroke a few weeks ago (suddenly), and yesterday Andres, the girls and I arrived to her rehab center with a gift all wrapped up so pretty. The ladies at the front desk told us that she had gone to the hospital (with a "not so good look" on their face), and I knew then that she had passed on. We went to the hospital just in case, and walked away without a gift in hand (gave it to her family), and without a Ms. Shirley to greet us on Sundays.

We do praise Him for her wholeness!!! She is NOT the kind of lady to not be able to speak, walk, or visit with others. She would NOT have wanted her life to end with months, or even years without an ability to spread the "good news" or even share old stories of how she used to pick cotton on the very land where our church was built. So, for that I praise Him for loving her so much to take her home. He literally gave her all of 2010 to be with us and to visit with loved ones, and on the very last morning of 2010, He whisked her away into His arms. Isn't that profound? To realize that He has our very minute, day, month, year to the day we go home. He knows our very last breath! He knows what we must accomplish and once we do, it's time to be complete. AMAZING! MIRACULOUS! ONLY SOMETHING GOD COULD DO!

So, it's off to a date night with Andres! Yeah! Dinner, a drive through the backroads of Ovilla/Midlothian/Cedar Hill, and CONVERSATION!!!!!!! We love our twelve, six, and four year-old, but we need our time too. :)

Happy New Year's Day!!!! Let a New Year begin and let the pages that have been written for us, live out to the fullest!!!