Slow Dance

A couple of weeks ago, before we became house bound with rebounding sickness, we had the awesome experience of visiting a 24 hour old colt and his mother and father. The kids and I were enthralled with the beauty of their love and concern for each other.

Even the colt's daddy would nuzzle up his nose to him through the fence, to make sure he was okay(my five kids and I are quite the frazzling crowd at times).

My in-laws have a few guests staying over indefinitely and one of the sweet ladies brought her horses, goats and dog along with her. She also makes glorious goats milk soap!

We so enjoyed the surprise call to come and visit this newborn colt and appreciate the magnificence of God's creation.

I've captioned the pictures of our little adventure with a poem I believe to have been written by a terminally ill girl, looking at life from the perspective of it's end being close at hand.

It's a good perspective to be reminded of, prompted by and spurred on because of.

Have you ever

watched kids

On a merry-go-round?

Or listened to the rain

Slapping on the ground?

Ever followed a

butterfly's erratic flight?

Or gazed at the sun into the

fading night?

You better slow down.

Don't dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music

won't last.

Do you run through each day

on the fly?

When you ask how are you?

Do you hear the reply?

When the day is done

do you lie

in your bed

With the next hundred chores

running through

your head?

You'd better

slow down

Don't dance so

fast.

Time is

short..

The music won't

last.

Ever told your

child,

We'll do it

tomorrow?

And in your

haste,

Not see

his

sorrow?

Ever lost

touch,

Let a good

friendship die

Cause you never had time

To call and say, 'Hi'

You'd better slow down.

Don't dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won't last..

When you run
so fast to get somewhere

You
miss half the fun of getting
there.

When you worry and hurry

through your
day,
It is like an unopened gift....
Thrown away.

Life is not a race.


Do take it slower

Hear the music

Before the song is over.

Simple Lovelies

When sickness invades,

or cloudy skies stay over;

when life seems hopeless,

thankful hearts ought not leave us.

When circumstances,

are far from bright and joyful;

simple lovelies can

still be found hiding near.

A choice: make and see

ten blessings around you now;

comforting, real, warm;

though blessed with them everyday.

-mommy



1. Good ol' blue jeans.





2. Schooling together.
Here we are doing our Color the Classics activity. We listen to music written by the particular Hymn composer we are studying at the moment as we color a picture that coincides with the history reading about that particular person. Right now, we are learning about Martin Luther.




3. Family Photo Walls
They just make me smile every time I walk past.



4. Happy healthy baby mornings

5. Popcorn
My life diet saver for the past 3 weeks!

6. Spring's green peeking up through the remnants of last fall.

7. Organic green tea

8. Gift's from the hearts of little ones.



9. and 10. Google and The Yeast Diet.
After 21 days on the yeast diet, I am wrapping it up today! WOOHOO!!! While I celebrate, I am reminded that this isn't quite the end of a restricted diet, in fact it's just the beginning. For years before this diet, along with many more symptoms, I was bogged down, energy deprived and often covered in hives and at my wits end about what I could be allergic to. After cleansing my body, I am feeling 100% better and have my suspicions that gluten and/or dairy could be the culprits.  As I add foods back into my diet over the next few weeks, I am going to have to pay CLOSE attention to how my body reacts to them and hope to get tested for those particular allergies as well.
I am SO THANKFUL for the Lord's guidance and sustenance in this area of my life!!



What are YOU thankful for today? (:

War

The world's filthy muck has a dark hold of me.
My feet are death gripped by the heavy sludge of sin and rejection.
A once beautiful creation, now marred and disfigured. Covered in the stench of blood and death, I reel with doubt.

Evil clings. Weaves and lies it's way inside to become one. It reigns.
Movement only sinks my feet deeper still as all feeling hardens to stone.
The rancid smell of sulphur steaming from hell below, seemingly streams with laughter down the bars around me. Air has turned thick with ash of the bodies claimed before.
Terror tightens my chest. My lungs seize.  My breath shortens and ever living again becomes but a dream as I sink lower still.

The war raged on inside of me but the outcome had seemingly already been written. The ending had already begun.
I struggled. Death beckoned. Then threatened. Hands were useless. Words are empty. Life was definitely slipping away.
The blackness grew stronger. Hope left. I was alone. I could taste the bitter end.
As my last tear fell, I shuddered and became limp as steamy hot breath engulfed my neck.
"Succumb," he hissed, "succumb."

"Jesus..." a prayer flowed from desolation. The rush of the Spirit instantly opened my eyes. My heart confessed and started beating once more.
"Jesus," I whisper again through parched cracked lips as I strain to keep my head above the suffocating nothingness...
"I need you."
"I need YOU."

Instantly my feet we're met with solid truth. Light and life stream from the blackness of the furthest corner of my prison. My broken heart felt again. Relief. Gladness.
I was drenched in renewed strength and joy bubbled from the depths below as out of the blackness my feeble body rose, resting steadfastly on a large wooden cross.
I fell to my knees. Trusting. Staking my faith in Christ and His death on the cross. Which is forever constant. Able. Enough. The end to all ends.

I turned my face into the strong cleansing wind that had begun to mightily blow taking with it the stench of death and the crippling weight of sin and mortality. The disfiguring thickness of earth's mire melted from my skin. Clarity came. Movement began again. Freedom won.
As I turned to face the wind, I saw following closely behind, a mighty roaring refining fire. Purifying. Cleansing as it engulfed. Painfully burning away parts of me twisted with cords of evil. Completely breaking it's hold on me.

Walls crumbled. Hell defeated, roared away, being eaten alive by pure light. Perfectly beaten.
My frame, lifted up as a feather floating to safety became utterly drained of failures. Disappointments and fear. Being filled instead with healing light.
Dead to mortal life. Giving up on me. Hoping once again in Him. Alive. Alive.
Healing tears of joy streamed down my cheeks and soaked into fresh soil below the new green grass-a growing season had now begun. A newly washed heart healthy and thriving, blossoming under the goodness of grace.

"Come"  He said beautifully as only a heavenly melody speaks. "Hold onto me." Grace poured from his lips as Jesus reached out, both arms streaming with light and love, revealing his scarred wrists. My hands lifted to embrace His. He smiled tenderly and pulled me safely to his side, "Come, walk with me again, dear one", as we turned towards Heaven, His all-encompassing presence swallowed me up to glorious eternity.

Goodness... is loving kindness in action.

         And it does not come naturally! My dear children and husband, though wonderful gifts they are and though deeply, deeply in love with them I am, will still on occasion feel like a heavy burden or look like the fiery enemy himself just begging to be smacked, rebuked and shunned... but I am called to love them anyway.  Even when I'm tired, hurt or angry, instead of acting on my superficial feelings I can make a choice to grasp firmly onto the truths of God's Word, putting on the love of Christ, and being bathed in goodness!  Taking care of their needs, loving on them and incredibly finding that my feelings, though slightly slower at jumping onto the kindness band-wagon, begin to follow the Spirit's leading and begin to be transformed.  What a gift I can be as a wife, mother and friend, constantly aware of how I can be of help and laying down my life in service to others.  If only we all had a little more of His attitude, maybe we'd all get a little more of that goodness in return. My heart this morning:

So I've found it is not words that win over

nor mere thoughts of kindness.

At our best we still fall entirely short.

When slanderously provoked,

quietly bearing, waiting;

actively returning blessing for evil

seems much too impossible.
Needy gratifying of the flesh ~versus~ a higher calling to do good;
an unseen spiritual tug-of-war ensues.
It IS possible to "do good to those who hate you."

God's readily available supernatural goodness,

actively permeates ever inch of this world.

We have only to deny self, open our hearts

and let him play beautifully through

the instrument that is our life.


"The supreme test of goodness is not in the greater but in the smaller incidents of our character and practice; not what we are when standing in the searchlight of public scrutiny, but when we reach the firelight flicker of our homes; not what we are when some clarion-call rings through the air, summoning us to fight for life and liberty, but our attitude when we are called to sentry-duty in the grey morning, when the watch-fire is burning low."
-F.B. Meyer

I'm busy, Lord!

I'm busy, Lord. Surely You can see

The thousand things that wait for me!

The dishes still lie in the sink-

I cannot stop to pray and think.

Lord, I know You understand,

For You gave these children to my hand;

And now they cry and need me so,

Lord, You understand, I'd better go.

Now I've got them all to sleep,

I'd better go dust and mop and sweep.

I must thaw out the meat for stew,

And the ironing is long overdue!

And kindly my Lord answered me,

"Why do you from My presence flee?

I have so much for you today.

My child I want to hear you pray.

"I love you child; I want you here

To rest and listen-to shed a tear.

What if Paul had stopped to say,

'Lord, I'm too busy to write letters today!'?

"No, My child, I'm what you need,

Through household duties you can speed,

Yet when you're through, there's emptiness

If this quiet time you miss."

Oh, thank you, Lord for reminding me

How much I need to wait on Thee.

For what's an undone dish or two

Compared to sharing time with You?!

-Nancy Stitzel

Random Conscious Thoughts Thursday

This week I have been so busy enjoying my family, visiting with dear in-laws, kids' swimming lessons, witnessing the magical result of cousins enjoying each other's company, running, and so much more, that I haven't had time to get on my laptop, and I LOVE it. Living real life. Not an alternate online one. I've had no desire to even get on the Internet or on the computer, just relishing in the pure bliss of children completely spellbound by enchanted moments, spending time with and investing in people close by and within arm's reach. 

I'm so excited for my husband because this weekend he is heading to the great outdoors, his second love in life, for some good old camping, hiking and man time.  He and 4 friends are heading up to Hyndman's peak on Friday and will be gone until Saturday night.  I love seeing my Main Man get some refreshing down time, doing the things he loves. It makes my day, month, no, make that my year. My heart is mega full of joy when I see him doing the things he loves.

Oh my gracious, I'M SORE. Played softball on Sunday, and it was awesome, but just as I expected my years are beginning to show and I can't just go out and do some major physical activity, that I haven't done in years and not expect to pay big time for it the next few days. It was so very worth it, though.  Go Calvary Chapel Softball TEAM-Calling all women in the surrounding nearby area-if you've ever played softball, watched softball, even if you've only ever seen an actual softball once-come on out and join the team-we're short a couple of ladies!

My 5th blessing is completely adorable. But she is in this stage of yelling and grunting and screaming, throwing her arms up and whining and even rolling on the floor throwing fits when she wants something. I've had one other child, I believe, who went through this stage... though, for the life of me, I cannot remember who it was!  Hmmm, pretty sure it was one of my girls...darn, that only narrows it down by one... anyways, I'm working on words and sign language with her, but this transition period is draining and needless to say grating! It's neat to see the ways the Lord uses our children and the training of them to train us, their parents as well. Always growing, always learning, patience being stretched, never getting comfortable.  That's the place we are most moldable, useful and effective. God is good to always bring us back to that real place.

I watched a really good movie "Bright Star" (2009) last night with my husband. I would label it a 'tragic romantic drama' that takes place in London in the 1800's. It's based on the true story of renowned Poet John Keats who tragically died at the young age of 25. A true tear-jerker, pleasingly romantic and exceptionally clean!

I will leave you with one of his moving poems to mull over for the day.
To Autumn

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,

Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;

Conspiring with him how to load and bless

With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;

To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells

With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,

And still more, later flowers for the bees,

Until they think warm days will never cease,

For summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?

Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find

Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,

Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;

Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep,

Drows'd with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:
And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep

Steady thy laden head across a brook;

Or by a cyder-press, with patient look,

Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.

Where are the songs of spring? Ay, where are they?

Think not of them, thou hast thy music too, -

While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,

And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;

Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn

Among the river sallows, borne aloft

Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;

And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;

Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft

The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;

And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

~John Keats~ written while in Winchester, 1819, published 1820