Take 2--snow, snuggles and splendid Savior moments...

 "I will give you every place where you place your foot, as I promised."   Joshua 1:3

This verse~

It radiates deep this week.  God called us out of our "safe" place over 4 years ago into uncharted waters.  We bought a house while still owning a home that we had NO idea what was going to happen with it our why or how we would handle two mortgages.  GASP!!

Now, here is where I am called to be very honest and tell you that I did NOT at all want to step into what was promised to us.  I was bound in the sin of fear and worry.  Also, the selfishness of not truly liking where we were headed or four walls we would about to purchase and call "home."  However, my man said we were going.  He heard God's call.  He stood firm on knowing it was exactly where we are supposed to be.  I trusted him (with my feet dragging).  He was the spiritual head of our home and I was going with what God told him.  

This is the promised part~where the faith and trust we are called to shines brighter than the sun.  We have NEVER paid a single house payment on the home since the day we moved out.  God sent the most perfect family to us not even 2 weeks after we moved out who wanted to settle into my loved home and make it their own.  Here we are over four years later.  Today, we closed on this house for good!!!!!!!  Feel free to jump up and down with me here:-)  

With all the excitement, I almost feel sick if I let me mind wonder to what promises would have been missed for not only our family but this other precious family if we had grab hold of my stronghold of fear rather than my husband's faith.   I will NOT let the enemy shame me though.  God gave me this man of mine to overcome when I can't.  Yet another faithful promise.   

(Side note insert of how God can change our selfish hearts--I fell in love with the house God and my husband chose for us.  I now adore its rustic charm and the opportunities given to add my favorite styles and sentimental value to it.)

I love the book of Joshua.  It has so many claims of obedience.  The book showcases how our Father will be faithful when we step out in obedience to draw near to His wonderful resources no matter how Earthly crazy we may look.  It is also full of warning examples of what happens when we don't fully claim what is God's will to be ours.

Little faith will bring your souls to heaven, but great faith will bring heaven to your souls.  

Charles H. Spurgeon

I am so in love with my God.  

This week of "PAUSING" due to much snow has allowed for lots of extra quiet time with my Savior.  He has been so close-revealed so many areas I need to repent while contradicting them with the sweet ways He has showered His great love over me, too.  His voice of truth wrapped me up warm inside like the fleece blanket I'm snuggle inside of while a fire burns here at my right side.  Definitely feels like heaven in my soul.  

 

This one special devotion from my trusty, ragged Streams of the Desert devotion has been one I held close to this week while rereading it several times and digging through Joshua for renewal.  Thankful for others who study and share revealed truths of the word.  It allows God to speak it individually into hearts like my own in a fresh, new way.  

As the soon melts away outside, my face softens with smiles as I sort though captured moments on my camera from the week.   

These are my people...

we venture through the good, bag and ugly all together. And, I would have it NO other way.  

God uses them to teach me lessons in obedience and me to teach many to them.   An interesting, sometimes very hard parallel but I love how all the pieces of life with these loves I have been given fit together.

(one last thought for today~~~Lord, Please send SPRING very, very soon!!)

Adelynn just came down in jeans and her new target sandals...

we are ready for some WARM sunshine.

Early Morning Snow Day...

 The morning crept in slowly as I woke up several times through out the night wondering if we would truly get some snow.  Even the slightest bit, enough to call off school. 

I had one girl, especially, who wanted nothing more than a day off for snow.  I wanted it for her more than anything.  

My 5:30 goodbye kiss on the forehand happened like normal as Jon headed out for Tuesday morning bible study.  I groaned..."Is it okay to drive?"  and he begrudgingly replied "yep, school's in, honey."  We both wanted to surprise the girls with the day off.  

So, the morning went on as planned.  Up by 6:20, everyone fed, dressed, packed up.  Phone checked multiple times in disbelief that we are still in school with all the other area schools already cancelled.  I smeared my fake smile on and offered all the positive reasons I could come up with for why we needed to be headed off to school with joy.   The bus picks up the neighbor girl at 6:45.   At that point, I knew for sure the day was NOT going to grant us a "free winter pass."  

Almost immediately, the phone rang....School message that is had been cancelled.  Insert SCREAMS (more squeals I guess from this house of girls).

Me, I had to really fight the urge to be pretty mad that we had already prepared, dressed and were basically fully ready for the day when they called it off.  What's the point if we are already up and at it.  (however, as I lay here at 11:00 still in my pjs, I completely withdrawal my complaint.)

Poor kids on the buses, had to be returned as mine threw on snow gear and headed out the door.  

Yep, we were up and enjoying snow by 8:00 this morning.  It was a mighty fine time!!

Thankful for this FREE pass...it's not much snow but to use Southern girls, it seemed like more than enough! 

It was hard not to be extremely tickled at this silly pup discovering snow for her first time.  She was a wee bit frisky.   But, within a quick minute, she was extremely confused.

 

 it may be bitty, but its a snowman none the less

True to the family way, the snow fun ended with fire and hot chocolate.  

The memories of this exact scenario flood my mind.  

Being a kid was a blast~~

(short of being the bride of their daddy) 

being a mommy of THESE kids, not a single thing of this Earth compares!!

I know there's not much white, fun fluffy goodness out there...

but with each passing day, the good Lord has taught me, that life is what we make of it.  He's given us every opportunity to have peace and joy despite any circumstance.

Pledge to grab hold of it today!

Love, Mande

Magnified Weaknesses vs. Unleashed Strengths...

Today is Ash Wednesday, and being completely honest, I have never observed Lent.  Not as far as I can remember anyway.  This year, its something I feel called to do.  I ache for a closeness with my Savior lately in a way that is truly indescrible. 

During the past year, He has made Himself completely and abundantly clear that I am loved by Him in a way that He will not let me escape, run from or hide away no matter the tremendous effort I have (ashamed to say) given some days.  Sadly, I have tried to side with the enemy and believe that this "all things work out for our good" is simply not true.  I wanted to accept that circumstances that I did not "like" meant I was being punished when the truth was so clearly the opposite.  God stripped my life of things to drop me to my knees at His very feet.  To stop my path of selfishness and turn my shoulders around to see those standing so close to me who need my love and desire to pour theirs onto me, as well.  I am so overwhelmed with thankfulness due to His pursuit of me that I have anxiously awaited this Lent season.  Anything that draws me closer to my Savior...well, sign me up! 

I understand that the most special aspect of this "occasion" is the attitude the heart.  And, that indeed, is what excites me the most.  My heart belongs to my God.  Whatever He asks of me, I want to be wiling to obey.  It's real life.  It's dirty, yucky and plain right H.A.R.D.  However, when my heart is focused on the cross, everything else seems....just silly!   It took a real tough year to get me to where I truly know this despite how I may "feel."  Where I can say "it is well with my soul" and feel it deep down to my toes.  My God is for me!!!!  Wahoo~that is worth shouting over!  There is nothing I want to be except T.o.t.a.l.l.y. and completely HIS! 

It's easy to get caught up in the rituals surrounding this occasion and all that it technically means to those who observe the traditions.  To me, its another way to lay down my heart before Him and repent of my terrible weak, sinful habits.  An effort to beg Him to expose in me ways I can rid myself of ME so that I can, in turn, become more like His Son. 

As I sat in the local christian bookstore this morning with my favorite cup of coffee and my devotional "gear" ready for some one on one time with my Savior, I decided to shift through my journal from the past year.  Square in the face, God hit my with the exact thing He wanted me to see this morning.  A statement I had pondered over and journaled on last January needed to resurface in my life. 

"Your weakness will stay magnified and unused as long as you focus on it instead of the strength of God it's meant to unleash."  Gideon~Priscilla Shirer 

I'm no spring chicken, I know that the more you focus on something the larger and more evident it is.  My mom taught me years ago that the bigger deal I make of something, the bigger deal it will actually become.  So, that wasn't the part of this statement that settled in on me. 

It was the word "unused."  God intended our weaknesses as a way to for us to be used by Him.  Hiding and being ashamed of my weakness is only forbidding God to use me and allowing Satan to win. ~DING~

That can be more simply stated as PRIDE.  Ouch!  It was a call to step up.  A time to own them as what they are...a part of me that needs redeeming.  Not for a week or a short period of time and then try to cover them up again, but really OWN them as part of what makes me LOVABLE---NOT what makes me worthless.  Without them, I wouldn't need God and He couldn't use me.  Don't know about you, but without a weakness, then what good am I to the Kingdom?  Despite the judgement, the lesser value to some and downcast looks, I can happily say "I am weak in areas so I can be made strong in Him."  That is news I can definitely rejoice over!  


The Weak can become Strong~

We traveled to Uncle Matt Matt's cabin this weekend to watch Ailee compete in a gym meet.  I get amazed when I see her in her element.  She literally beams with the brightest smiles and I can feel her joy from the stands.  She's doing what she loves and it makes her feel strong and worthy.  Yet, not every time is a win.  How she handles those days is what makes me love her so.  She comes out stronger when she recognizes her weaknesses.  I believe God designed our spiritual lives to be the same exact way.  I got a few pictures back from a sweet mother on the team who enjoys capturing these girls doing their thing.  I cherish them and every time I think to myself "dang, she already looks stronger than last meet."  She identifies her obstacles and tackles them with faith rather than fear.  I can learn a lot from this cute, little gymnast.  And, its not any of the skills you see below.  But accepting my faults can ultimately make my heart a stronger vessel for the one who made me. 

Here's to Lent---a time to pause and ask for renewal through recognizing, accepting and blooming in who we are in Christ. 

If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.  1 Cor. 11:30

...My grace is all you need.  My power works best in weakness.  1 Cor. 12:9

"The fact that God's power is displayed in our weaknesses should give us courage and hope.  As we recognize our limitations, we will depend more on God for our effectiveness rather than on our own energy, effort or talent.  Our limitations not only help develop Christian character but also deepen our worship, because in admitting them, we affirm God's strength."  
(commentary from Life Application Study Bible book of 1 Cor. 12)

 Radiating JOY...

 Someone who trains us, disciplines us, believes in us, holds us up when we fall and cheers us on when we succeed...