Blessings

Our time here in Lincoln has often been interesting, often difficult, often fun, but none of those things compare to how often we are blessed by God's goodness living in this place. We tend to notice the hardships and sacrifice and merely give a nod to the blessings. Even when Scripture clearly states that we are to "come into His presence with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise." We pray and plead and whine and complain with a quick "thank you for your many blessings."
 So, to break this habit in our family, we began our Blessings and Miracles List. You know the hymn...Count your blessings, name them one by one. We decided to do this during a particular time  when we needed patience and trust in our Heavenly Father's plan. We started out with tears over a certain disappointment and ended with laughter and praise with a different sort of tears.
Here's a few on our list.
We started with older miracles, such as, Alana's birth and subsequent time in the NICU. You can read about that here, if you're interested.
We progressed to losing some friends and a very difficult time thereafter when God gave us comfort and peace. We  moved on from there to my Mom's health and how God provided strength for all of us during her treatments and how He allowed the treatments to take affect and help her get better. From there, we got more up to date.

Amazing provision during a time of joblessness for Mikayla's high schooling and Nate's and Alana's school books.

Amazing open doors for scholarships, both for her high school and for her college.

Amazingly, we forgot about some funds that we had through BJU Press and they were made available for Mikayla so she could start her Freshman year of college on time.

Amazing provision during a recent stint of joblessness. It was just constant. A steady stream of people whose hearts the Lord touched and used to provide for us. Whether just a word, a card, or a few staples for our pantry, the Lord used it all to bless our bodies and souls.

 Amazing peace over our future, because without a job, we would have to relocate.

An amazing growth spurt in our family, not just physically for which He provided clothing, but spiritually as we were forced to rest and wait on Him again. Our whole family was touched in one way or another during this time, and learning to rest in Him is one of the most difficult lessons.

An amazing vacation was provided for our 'weary in well doing' spirits by our loving family and a few others that slipped us bills on their way out the door with whispered words of appreciation and care. Ah, yes, that's what turned the emotion completely around!

Amazingly, even when the joblessness has ended, the provision has continued daily. Daily fresh vegetables from generous people's lovely gardens, so my grocery bill has been almost cut in half.

Amazing peace after praying that God would lift a burden and disappointment from my tired heart. Peace came, easing the disappointment and helping with the burden.

Amazing leading and strength to do VBS at our church this summer. We were tired. We were whiny. We didn't want to do it AGAIN. We complained that we  didn't see much fruit from the labor that is VBS. But, encouraged by older, wiser Christians, we pressed on, threw ourselves into it with all our might, praying everyday to let it be used of God, and falling dead tired into bed every night. What a blessing for our church family and ourselves to be able to lead ten children to Christ one evening after the lesson. It's like God was grinning at us and saying, "Not a fruitful endeavor, huh? Let me show you what happens when you serve me with all your might, mind, and spirit." With tears of repentance, I came to Him for forgiveness after that. What a lesson.

Amazing strength to start teaching a Junior in high school, when I had no particular trust in myself to be able to do it, and a downright panic attack as the start date loomed. I added all my other responsibilities on a big long list and steamed over it and ranted about it. Until....Oh, yes, I remember, "My help comes from the Lord which made Heaven and Earth." It's not me that's doing it, that is for sure and certain.

Amazingly, God has smoothed out some rough spots as Mikayla started her Sophomore year at college this week. She hadn't been able to find work after the place she was working closed unexpectedly. Because of this she had very little money for books, but all her books are purchased and her first tuition bill paid in full as of the today. Other spots that needed smoothing, God took care of, too. She was worried, we were praying. Spots are smoother. God is good. He works in our children's lives. She is learning and growing and maturing, too, as He teaches her patience and trust.  It's been fascinating to watch. In this, Mom and Dad have to learn to let go. God is at work and His way of teaching is much better than ours. His plan for her is perfect.

Oh, my, I could go on and on, but this is already long enough and you get the point. What did we learn/relearn from the exercise?  That God provides daily, often before we ask. He provides for every aspect of our lives, no matter how big or small. He give grace to the humble, strength to the weak, mercy to the sinful, and love and comfort when we are low in spirit. His mercies are new every morning. Praise His name!

Here's a favorite song for me lately. It touches my heart every time I hear it. May it bless your heart as well.

Mercies Anew.

Youth Group Fun

Fun at Camp

Here is a link to our Church's blog. The young people had a great day out at our camp recently!

Talented BBC Young People

Bible Baptist Church is very blessed to have some very talented young folks right now. They work so hard and enjoy what they do. Plus, they do a great job! I am so very proud of them. I just can't keep it all for myself, though, so here are a few videos for you to enjoy. They also worked hard on the VBS scenery. You can check that out here.

Sisters blend so nicely!

One girl sings a solo while another accompanies beautifully on the piano.

The Gospel of Parenting According to Pinterest

Recently, I had a few down minutes to sit at the computer, so I hit Pinterest for a bit. One of my friends had posted a blog link about "No Fuss Parenting". I laughed, snorted, and generally scoffed at the post...at first. I mean, come on, NO FUSS???!! Gimme a break! Parenting is tough! I have "fussed" for, what, almost 18 years now??  Whilst snorting and choking on my freshly brewed iced tea, I decided I had to check this out, if just for the humor factor. I have to say, I was so pleasantly surprised that I had to blog about it and share the link. This woman, bless her, has put into words what I have been TRYING to tell young parents for years. I have to admit that I had given up on the current generation of young parents. A young parent would say to me, "How do you get your kids to sit so nicely in the restaurant?" I would reply with something like, "Well, it takes some work at home. My children have to sit nicely at dinner time." or, "How come your kids sit so nicely and color or look at books quietly in church, while mine are chewing the hymn racks off the backs of the pews?" I would reply, "Well, I started when they were very little having them sit quietly on my lap while I read to them, or while Papa read a Bible story during family time." The sweet young mother often replied with something like, "Oh, I could never do that. Have you seen my kids? They're louder and wigglier than yours and have ADHD and emotional disorders and OCD and a strange attachment to the backyard tree. I could never teach them this!" Ok, I admit that that is an exaggeration, but just barely. ;) Normally developing children CAN learn these things! My three kids are all very different and are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. I have one with a will of iron, one that will argue with everyone or anything including, although not limited to that back yard tree I mentioned earlier, and one that will melt into a puddle of despondent tears with just 'the look' from Mom. I have one that studiously listened and soaked in everything, including things you'd rather they didn't hear (so, yeah, she was easy), one that HAD to ask questions CONSTANTLY and was already asking the next question before you formulated a reply to the first, and one that HAD to move. I am guilty of sarcastically thinking to myself, "What do they want, some "sit quietly in church" pill?"  Forgive me.  SOOOO, here it is.
No Fuss Parenting.

DISCLAIMER
And yes, I realize that there are real disorders, special needs, and whatnots that parents have to deal with, and that I probably don't understand, but I really believe that those are often labels overused and attached to children without a real cause, as the author of this post says, as well. And I promise that I won't judge some one's parenting until I really know what they have to deal with. And I promise that I am not this sarcastic to young parents. And, no, I don't think there's anything wrong with Junior Church. I just like to add humor to my blog posts and I'm so good at sarcasm.

Don't let the title deceive you. Parenting is difficult. There is no pill to make it easier. (I know! Sorry.) It takes a lot of time and effort. This post that I am sharing has to do with teaching your children to sit quietly. Who knew that anyone else even bothered anymore?? I mean, that's why you choose a church based on whether or not there's a program in place for every single service for your kids, right? I thought it was a lost art, but there you have it in true 21st century blogging style. Also, according to this woman, I apparently DID NOT abuse my kids when I made them learn to sit quietly in church. All this time, I was assured that I had.
The other posts about no fuss parenting are just as good. The "No Fuss" part coming AFTER the hard work has been done. See?
This one Pinterest post inspired me to do a Pinterest search on child rearing/parenting. The posts were absolutely hysterical, for the most part. Posts ranging from Scream Free Parenting and Reaching Your Child's Heart to Raising Children, How Less is More. How to raise a child who respects animals to how to raise boys who hunt.  How to Raise A Truly Green Child to How To Raise an Eco Friendly Baby. (wait, what?) Raising Readers (ok, I liked that one) to Successful Unschooling. (SIGH) Yeah, so Pinterest Parenting is usually not a good place to go for advice. Maybe if you're more specific in your search that I was. Maybe....
Seriously, though, now that my kids have all hit their teens years, one is off to college, one in high school, and one in middle school, I can honestly say, that I am still glad that I did these things when they were little. Teenage years are difficult, and I am always STILL seeking advice, as I did when they were little. Just, not usually from Pinterest.  ;)