The blog has been quiet lately.

I've been busy.

Kids are sick.

Learning daily what it means that the LORD is God - and how that relates to my every.day.life.

Because if He is God. Then I have nothing to fear, nothing to worry about and there are no surprises for Him who sits upon the throne.

Are there surprises for me? Oh yeah.

Should they throw me for a wild ride?

Um.....do they? often yes.....should they? well, see...here's the thing about giving thanks and living what I believe. It's that God is in everything and part of everything so if it doesn't surprise Him, it shouldn't effect the me. I should (notice I say should and not do!) still trust Him and praise Him and follow where ever it is He takes me.

Even when I feel like I have made the wrong decision. I know that He can still use it for Him, for conforming me more into His image.

And that, is what I want.

Instead of Decorating

Our first snow this morning. At least first in which it stayed on the ground.

Great big fluffy flakes....it always reminds me of a shaken snow globe in the way it softly floats to earth.

I wanted to decorated for Christmas...but I don't want to listen to my kids excitedness for the next month and a half.

So...I took Christmas pictures instead. 

 Um, excuse, Owen....you need to stop growing! When did you grow up?

Lead Me

Morning Dawns

I watch the sun rise this morning, a golden hue breaking through the darkness. The thick blanket of frost that covers the ground this morning will, by noon, be a memory. An after thought. A reminder of the winter that is soon upon us.

Dawn breaking is a reminder to me, this morning, that it is light that melts the ice, that brings forth hope in darkness. 

It's not so much different then the Light that melts the ice of my heart, that spills rays of hope in the dark places I hide. And I am thankful.

It has been far too long since I have come quiet before Him, opened Word and let it soak in. I can feel it, see the evidence of that neglect in the words that tumble out, in the thoughts that look for escape, in the frustration and impatience that bubble to the surface.

For from the overflow of our heart, our mouth speaks.

Grateful that I can turn, ran to Light and Hope and just be still.

Thankful for so much right now. Life is scattered and busy but really, it's no excuse to place the important to the side. For the closer I draw to His goodness, the more I am changed.

Do I hesitate for fear? Because as much as I long to change - to love like Him, to live like Him - stepping out is a little scary. It requires openness, a willingness to be real, to let others see inside to the places that i would rather hide. 

But if God can change me, work in my life, I know that there is no stopping what He can do in the lives of those around me. So what is holding me back from stepping out in trust? In faith? In the knowledge that my God is all I need to sustain me?

My list of grace, of thankfulness, of snippets of joy continues to grow longer. 

* that hunting season is, for my family, over for the year.

*meat filling the freezer bringing with it the knowledge that we will be well fed this season.

*clothes drying on the line strung in the basement and the smell of clean that fills the house as a result

*decisions that bring wonder and shock and awe all at the same time. that show me God hears.

*apple cider tea with caramel. 

*frost and the colour it turns in the sunlight

*the quiet of a morning

*the arms of my Father and His lavish care

*a theme in sermons and bible studies and convict and encourage at the same time (Change!)

*homemade apple pie

*orange rice krispie squares

It continues, flows, never stops. This giving of thanks.

Hallowe'en and a Random Pondering

 My Big Scary Dragon

 My Princess

(gotta love flower girl dresses!)

 Agent "P" (or Perry)

(From Phineas and Ferb)

 The 3 hooligans hyped up and ready for candy ;) 

Why is it, that as a society in general, we feel the need to make kids/teens grow up faster than they need to?

Why is it, that adult, think kids and young adults should be able to *get over* and adjust to problems and situations quickly and smoothly, without causing ripples? Adults seem to want to put a time constraint on the limits of what is deemed acceptable for whatever. But it could take an adult just as long (or longer) to come to terms with the situation.

Thoughts running through my head tonight and aching for situations that I am only indirectly involved in and longing for God to reach down and heal the hurt, the pain, to fill their lives with His presence.

If you leave someone to fend for themselves when their world has been turned upside down, is it any surprise when they start to fall apart at the seams too? When they push boundaries and put walls in place? When their hurt has no where to go but in, the long term consequences are huge. But so often it is easier to push aside the little, day to day, moment to moment problems that crop up, to explain it away or to simply say "grow up and get over it".

Aren't we (as adults) called to walk along side, to mentor, to provide help and encouragement and a *safe* place?

Aren't we called to do that for each other? Let alone those who aren't younger, who have seen less of the world?