So much for that...

...all my plans both domestic and otherwise.  Yup, cuz THIS is how I've felt for the last few days.

Yup, you read that right...DAYS. I used to have migraines quite frequently...but thanks to regular exercise and cutting out processed foods...they are rare. I think, a combination of Hurricane Isaac weather systems, new schedule stresses, and hormones brought this doozy on.

Sorry if this picture freaks ya'll out. If you've never had one...it's a pretty good pictorial description! So, as I pondered this...all my stifled plans for this week...I tried to rally an eternal perspective on things.

God is in control. This whopping headache wasn't a surprise to Him. So much for...MY plans. It's not like God's Word doesn't warn little list makers like me...

Proverbs 19:21, "Many plans are in a man's heart, But the counsel of the LORD will stand."

Proverbs 16:9, "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps."

Psalm 33:11, "But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations."

 I feel VERY comforted.  I'm happy to be reminded...that although it is frustrating to not be my normal dependable self, the LORD is determining my steps...and my lying downs too!  He is the only thing worth building a foundation upon...a FIRM FOUNDATION! 

1. How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, Is laid for your faith in His excellent word! What more can He say than to you He hath said— To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
 2. “Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismayed, For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid; I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand.
 3. “When through the deep waters I call thee to go, The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow; For I will be with thee thy trouble to bless, And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
4. “When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply; The flame shall not harm thee; I only design Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.
5. “The soul that on Jesus doth lean for repose, I will not, I will not, desert to his foes; That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.”

Hear It on Sunday, Use it on Monday

Photo Source: Pinterest via Observando

I just love those Sunday sermons that create intense, deep conversations with the Loverbrains...so we BOTH don't take a nap. DUH...m!

Pastor Mark is currently doing a series on THE WILL OF GOD.  Watch out...if you don't like having your toes stepped on...this series is not for you.  Yesterday, was on how does our will relate to God's will.  Obviously, it should be yielded and in alignment with God's or we're out of whack.  But, as is often the case...Pastor didn't deal with the obvious.

I knew I was in trouble when he started talking about the struggle between our will and God's will;  how we just aren't ok with things not going our way.  We are to offer REAL WORSHIP to God...in spirit and truth.  He said the word is PROSKUNEO in Hebrew (Er, hello...NT...I meant GREEK!)...and it means to offer or bring to someone...in this case HONOR.  I looked it up and found, "meaning to kiss, like a dog licking his master's hand), to fawn or crouch to, homage (do reverence to, adore): worship." It occurs 59 times in the New Testament. It originally carried with it the idea of subjects falling down to kiss the ground before a king or kiss their feet.

So, how do I offer worship?  Does it please Him??  So, a sermon I thought was going to be on the will of God...was really about what makes up genuine worship.  Hmmm...interesting connection.

First, we need to GIVE FROM A WILLING HEART.  Luke 21:1-4...genuine worship doesn't care what anyone else sees. 2 Cor. 9:7...which is the only way to be a cheerful giver.  This isn't necessarily about giving money either.  (I know how much people love to have their wallets challenged..ha)  I chose to take this personally on the level of giving my time, my talents too.  It's all about heart motive.

Next, we need to YIELD FROM A WILLING MIND.  Is. 6:1-8....when we recognize our sinfulness and God's holiness and His amazing forgiveness, we are humbled and it all demands genuine worship.  We don't argue with Him!  God has the "right of way"...HIM first.  1 Chron. 28:9...one of the hardest things to control is my thoughts.  Does He have my mind?

Last, we need to SERVE WITH WILLING HANDS.  1 Chron. 28:21...no matter who or what we do we need to be willing to serve for any kind of purpose.  2 Cor. 5:8...willing to be what God wants me to be.

If we are offering true, genuine worship...we will be willing to live selflessly, unselfishly, and honestly before the world.  Very different from the world.

And, in case you're wondering...our deep, napless discussion was on the struggle to yield God's Will...to the unknowns that the future may hold...but He actually does hold.  And, why it's so frustrating when people tell you not to consider the future because we're in the "end times" and how TRUSTING GOD is at the root of just about everything.  I love my deep thinkin', very patient, Loverbrains!

 

Renamed and Routine!

I'm discovering the sometimes quilt patterns have very odd names!  For example, this one is called "You Want Me To Piece A What?"  I think it's one of those you had to be there sort of names.  Probably hilarious to it's creator...but sort of odd to everyone else.  

Because you cut 1.5" of all four sides of the 9-patch and swap the centers...I think it should be called "Switcheroo"...which I'm planning to call it.  By the way...SHHH...this is my brown bag project for this year.  I'm trying to get on it EARLY.  I feel it's safe to post it here...but last year I had my Aunt Bev...so....that wouldn't work well.  But...I'm trusting ya'll to keep the secret!

They need to go on point...this icky looks like baby poo blender was included with the bb fabric.  I sort of really hate it...but it does work....Hmmm?  What to do...what to do....?

Caleb has been so cute...and so lonely...these last few days. With his sister in school he is rather discontent with life. SO...he plays for a bit...and then I give him fabric to sort or we go for a walk or something...or he sits on the chair in my sewing room and tells me what's happening outside.

Even though he's bored...I'm sure enjoying some special time with my little man.  He'll be happier once Bible Study and library storytime start up in a few weeks.  My kids are a mess without routine.

Quilt Camp 2012

Well, a real genius would have remembered her camera...but...anyhew...I had a BLAST!  I got this back from my brown bag switcheroo!  It's gorgeous.  I also learned many new things and...

...stayed up way to late.  Hey, have I shown you my sewing room?  It's GREAT...and the treadmill is doing just fine in the dark laundry room...hahaha!

This room has a great view of the backyard too!  Very handy if I want to sew and the Sweet Boobahs want to play.  NOTE:  Daddy goes "camping" with the kids while I got to quilt camp!  Hehehe!

SO many ideas floating through my head....where to start...where.to.start?!

I finally got to reveal my brown bag...I had my Aunt Bev!  She loved her quilt...even if I did scare her by making her think I used peach...a color she struggles to embrace!  HA!

Future Zucchini Bread!

Sewing in the Spirit!

 Sometimes it seems like cancer is all around...

I have many people I want to be praying for...and one at church specially...so, I found making a "Bobbi Blanket" (as she calls it) would push a lot of prayers into one object.

 My Mom got dibs on making one for my Aunt Cindy...but there are prayers for her in this quilt too!

 What has tickled me most...is that my friend shared that during her surgery stay this quilt with it's attached verse...opened doors for her to share about Jesus with her nurses and doctors.

 That is precious! The verse she picked is, "For I am the LORD, Your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says, Do not fear I will help you!" Isaiah 41:13

Praise God for the leading of His Spirit in prayers...and sewing.

Mish Mash Vacation Pictures!

Sorry, I sort of ran out of steam regarding the vacation picture posting. It's a lot of work coming home after vacation...so many little stuffs to do...and big stuffs. SO...here are the rest of the pictures (well, most of them)...
Papa and Loverbrains went fishing...

...and we all went for boat rides.  I stick to the paddle boat personally...rowing is hard work!

We all went to the county fair...which I LOVE!  My city kids don't get to see farm animals much...

....Emma was licked by a Jersey heifer...I think she thought her hair was yummy hay!  Emma shrieked.  It was a surprise!  HAHA!

The little piglets are always a treat!

This goat is super amazing...FOUR horns!

One young girl was trimming her sheep for showing and let us pet her!

A nice young man from Papa and Nana's church was there...and he let us pet a chicken!  They are VERY warm and soft!

The boys enjoyed the tractor pull...of course!

SO, so many gorgeous quilts!  I took a lot more pictures than this...but...I'll spare you!

We swam almost every.single.day...and the water was 89 degrees!  Woot woot!

We walked up the mountain almost every morning...which is my favorite!!

Nana's kindergarten teacher cohort and lifetime friend came over to enjoy my kiddos and do puzzles...per tradition!

Lubby bought a bow and arrow with his birthday money.  It was well worth every dime...Hehehe...He's a pretty good shot!

We even went for a tractor ride...very fun...and bumpy!

It was wonderful...but now we are home...and Emmer is turning 7 and school is starting..today, actually!  I will share pictures soon!!!

Lasting Friendship

On our third day of vacation we took a lovely scenic trip (ie. many back roads..some of them dirt and straight uphill, phew!) to visit my childhood friend Sarah and her husband Nick.

We have attempted to keep in touch, even amid life's many changes.  In truth, she's a bit younger than me but we were fellow PKs (Pastor's Kids) in the same fellowship most of our lives.  Around college we started writing...and even with the hiccups of marriage and family we've kept at it. 

I've had other friends that I've tried to keep in touch with...and it's hard work.  Our common faith is a great blessing to our friendship...and it was so encouraging to hear what God is doing in their lives as they strive to trust and serve Him more.

The kids found a katydid and played with it all day...we learned it had a broken leg...maybe it was in  pain and couldn't escape...hahaha!

Later, Mr. Nick took Emma on a four-wheeler ride...Caleb wouldn't go but he did sit on it for a minute!

It was a great visit...well worth the extra miles on wacky roads!

ER Excitement!

We decided to end our first full day of vacation with a drive to one of our favorite ice cream places. It's surrounded by gorgeous mountains, has little playhouses for the kids, and the best coffee ice cream I've ever had.

Unfortunately, I made a momentous MomE blunder.  Having been spoiled by our fabulous Ella's Frozen Yogurt that caters to Non-Dairy folks...I asked if the sherbet had dairy or not.  The young teen working the front said that no, it was made with orange juice.  Okay, right there I should have been suspicious cuz orange juice would curdle the cream...but I wasn't.  Even when it came and I saw it was creamy I didn't ask further questions...and watched my little man consume the whole whopping serving.  At first, he ran around with the best of them...until he started vomiting and swelling up.  Even with Benedryl he was covered in a rash from head to toe.  It was horrible!

So, off to the ER we went...you know you are a serious case when the check-in nurse calmly reaches up to hit the call button and they wisk you away while your husband stays to fill out the entrance paperwork.  Lubby was just irritated...and concerned about needles.  After being pumped with steroids he felt much better and wanted to go HOME!  Around midnight, we did!

But, he was up and headed out for our morning walk up the mountain at 7 AM!  I let poor Loverbrains sleep...and trucked along with the Sweet Boobahs.  It was a gorgeous morning...misty!  It made me think..."O LORD, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress."  Isaiah 33:2

See!  He looks fabulous...and alive!  Phew...thank you, Lord!!  His sister was very doting...she worries about him!  She's one of his best advocates!

We found many Red Efts...or salamanders that morning.  We like to rescue them by pointing them away from the road!

Later, we snapped beans...something that can be enjoyed by children of all ages...hahaha!  They were yummy too!

Big Birthday!

Our first day there we helped celebrate Grandpa's 80th Birthday!  My kids get in on the birthday action...because Lubby has one just before and Emmer-bean just after!  Gotta love summer birthdays!