Prayer

"Pray without ceasing."

-I Thessalonians 5:17

Prayer.  It's something I struggle with.  But why?  It's a GIFT God has given to His children; it's an honor, a privilege to be able to talk to the King of Kings, Creator of the Universe, Holiest of Holies as a child would talk to his father.  It's a gift to be able to come to the King with all of our requests, burdens, joys, frustrations, worries, hopes, etc. as a child - no need for complicated words or fear of not being heard or helped.  What a true and amazing GIFT!

Prayer fills us with joy as we realize that God cares about every detail of our lives.  "But even the hairs of your head are all numbered" (Matthew 10:30).  He knows me better than I'll ever know myself.  He knows what I really want, really need, really desire.  He knows everything I'll ask before I even think it!  So prayer isn't for God...

Prayer is for us!  Prayer is our God-ordained method of communicating with Him.  Prayer makes us holy and more-Christlike.  Prayer is God's means of providing for our every need.  Will God answer our every prayer?

"And this is the confidence we that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to His will he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him." (I John 5:14-15)

Although God won't say 'yes' to my every request, He always has my best in mind.  And I am so thankful for the times He says 'no'...I don't know what trouble or hardship He is preserving me from.  What Paul is saying in I John 5 is that if we live in submission to God's will (as outlined for us in His Word) and seek to please & glorify Him with our lives, our prayers will be much more in line with His will for us.  By asking for God's will to be done in our prayers, we can bank on the best outcome...whatever that may be.

Makin' A Splash

Aidan 'made a splash' this weekend at the local aquatic park!  It was a super hot day; the perfect way to cool off.

 Despite the water, our little man's cheeks turned very red.  Unfortunately, I think he takes after his mom...Red Face.  Poor kid.  But he's still cute, right!?

Mommy & Aid - we love the warm weather!

 This picture is dedicated to my bestie Kgal and Ry.  Aidan LOVES his swimsuit and rash guard (you know, those big Iowa waves create quite the rash).  We brought his little hoodie along as well, but it was too hot to wear.  Thank you for the wonderful gifts, Gallies!  We love and miss you.

My favorites.

Our sweet friends joined us and showed us the ropes.  They were minus one -we missed you, Myra!

N loving the frog slide.

R bustin' some moves.

Aid loves his Karla.

We have a membership to the park now so we hope to go there often this summer.  It's super nice - a kid's dream.  I'm sure we'll make many special memories there with our little man - can't wait!

Round About Update!

My Round About quilt is coming together!  Last night our sew club met in Mary's hay mow to sew, sew, sew and eat a few treats!  We were the first group to break the barn in for the season, and it was so fun to hear the chickens, geese, and goats underneath us, as well as see the beautiful countryside out the windows.  I'm all about the farm animals.  Until I smell them.

This is my work station.  Mary has ironing boards set up along the perimeter, but we don't iron.  We press.  What's the difference?  Ask Mary.  I just do what I'm told. ;)

The crew.

Me.  Hard at work.  Can you tell?!

I sewed four small circles of wild colors and polka dots on a 9 inch square.  I did this to 36 squares.  Yes, 36!

All the other ladies sewed only three circles on their squares.  Why?  Well, I didn't read my pattern.  Oops.  I told Mary should could make a new pattern...after me.  ;)

All 36.

Favorite part:  lovies from Izzy.  I just don't like face kisses.  I want a goldendoodle.  Just like Izzy.  Only red?

Izzy loves her mama.

Then I cut my squares in half.  Then in fourths. Yes, all 36.

My stacks.  Now they're going into a bag where four will be randomly selected at a time and all 36 squares will be resown together.  Yes, all 36.  [But that's not the worst part.  The worst part is that all 36 will have to be ironed...or pressed...or whatever.]

Yay!  1/36 is finished!

That's the update.  I'll keep sewing and keep you updated.

Abiding

The last few months have left me discouraged.  Discouraged at the lack of holiness.  Discouraged at the lack of holy ambition.  Discouraged at the [apparent] satisfaction in the mundane and not in Christ.  Instead of wallowing in my discontent and discouragement, I went to God's Word for answers.  I long for joy and encouragement from Christ...not discouragement!

My devotional this morning was from John 15 and it fit my struggle perfectly.  How do we find joy in all circumstances?  By abiding in Christ.  Abiding in his love and in obedience.  Abiding is clinging to Christ.  Abiding is obeying Christ.

Because God loves us, He allows us to be pruned as a gardener (like me!) prunes his plants to keep them healthy and beautiful (although I haven't done any pruning - not sure how!).  The goal of pruning is to make a stronger plant.  As abiders in Christ, we must 'sit still' and let God cut away what needs to be cut in order to make us more holy and Christ-like. I can confidently cling to Him because He loves me and only does what is best for my life.

Abiding brings me in tune with God's will and conforms my desires to what He wills for my life.  But I must be obedient to His word: "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love."  

This leads to encouragement as I sit, clinging to Christ and being obedient (not a complainer or full of discontent!) even though this pruning process may be, at times, painful.

But Jesus loves me, this I know.  And I am so thankful He does.

(Devotion from Lydia Brownback: Joy)

Pastoral Stats

Wow.  I pray the LORD protects our little ministry family from these sobering statistics:

Don't Make Your Pastor A Statistic?

Garden Update!

When I got home from church on Sunday, I found some garden label tags in my diaper bag.  I think Marian (the experienced gardener) was worried that I'd be in a state of utter confusion since I didn't label any rows.  [But I did draw out (and label) a diagram of it! I wasn't concerned. ;) ]  However, Marian 
stopped by this morning as I was taking these pictures, and she was so surprised to see how well the garden is growing - I even told her (no labels necessary) what each row is!   Although, in regards to its growth, I am just as shocked as Marian!  But it's true: when God gives us sun and rain, He also gives life to all things.  Take a look:

 [See the church in the background?  My hubby has the world's longest commute...]

Lettuce (and some weeds...)

Spinach (or Swiss chard - I need to check my diagram)

Green beans!  These are by far doing the best.  Aidan has been loving this veggie lately so I'm thankful they're growing so well.

Carrots.  Difficult to decipher from the little weeds.

Peas.  Sugar snap.  Yum.

Beets.  My dad and I love beets.  But everyone seems surprised I planted them.  Doesn't anyone like beets?  Or are they hard to grow?

I sprinkled wild flowers (perennial) on the last row.

Happy early Father's Day, Brian! We bought him this Badminton set at Menards.  But it's so cheap...the birdie gets stuck in the rackets each time we are [finally] able to volley.  Hmmm....

 Our new fire pit!  A farmer dropped off the tractor tire ring and Brian & his dad put the brick around it.  We're excited to roast our first s'mores of the season sometime soon!

That's the update!  I'll let you know when we're partaking of the garden yummies.  If you're close by, we definitely want to share with you.  Thanks for taking an interest in my garden!  It's been so fun to hear all of your neat gardening stories and fond memories.

Heavy Heart

My heart is heavy today.  My friend in elementary school (who, unfortunately, I haven't seen in years) lost her baby girl last night.  Sweet Gracie was a week shy of her first birthday.  Now that I am Mom to Aidan, I just can't imagine losing a child. 

"Has God forgotten to be gracious?

Has he in anger shut up his compassion?

I will remember the deeds of the LORD;

yes, I will remember your wonders of old."

Psalm 77: 9, 11

As tears roll down my cheeks, I have to remind myself that the LORD is always compassionate.  He is always kind.  He is always good to those who love Him.  I am reminded of this as I remember His faithfulness to past generations and trust His future promises.  During these faith-shaking, fear-generating experiences God desires that we draw closer to Him, enabling us to know Him more and dispel our misunderstanding of what it means to be a Christian.  God calls us to deeper faith during trials; He calls us to a faith that trusts Him even in the midst of unimaginable pain. 

It is my prayer that Gracie's family will cling to God in the midst of this crisis, discovering that Jesus is for them, loving them and drawing them near-er to Himself.

Give your kids an extra tight squeeze today and thank the LORD for His graciousness in giving them to you.