Top 10 lists

Top 10 joy givers in my life right now (in no particular order)...

10)Snuggling with my children (even when Taylor asks for us to come "lay with her for just one second" as a major delay tactic to going to bed)
9) Opportunities to speak that God has given me (challenging, sharpening, and just plain fun!)
8) Coffee, and just being in coffee shops
7) Wednesday's (my day to meet with people, work on talks, run errands, and fill my tank!)
6) Lake Forest Church
5) Blogging (and reading other people's blogs)
4) Reading good books (Right now, I am reading "The Prodigal God" by Timothy Keller)
3) Spending time with the women in my Thursday morning prayer group
2) Spending time with friends
1) Date nights with Phillip

Top 10 things I am looking forward to...(Again, in no particular order)

10)Taylor starting ballet classes at Kingdom's Feet
9) Speaking on the Lake Forest youth retreat in September
8) The FALL and cooler weather
7) Celebrating my Birthday with many women who mean a lot to me
6) Pumpkin Spice Latte's
5) Oasis starting back and getting back into a regular routine
4) The Christmas cups at Starbuck's (I know it's weird but I get excited every year!)
3) Seeing where God leads me
2) Anniversary trip with Phillip
1) Did I already say cooler weather? (-:

A good word on mommyhood

"Being a mommy is both a gift and a burden. The responsibilities are never ending and sometimes feel all consuming. Yet the day will be won or lost, not based on my accomplishments, but based on my attitude. The grace of God can set my attitude free to be the mommy. By His grace, my frustrations can be replaced with peace. By His grace, I can speak calmly and listen patiently. By his grace, I can forsake my to-do list and play with my children. By His grace, I can celebrate this season called Mommy. Would you let the grace of God set you free to be the mommy?"
by Angela Thomas Guffey "Tender Mercies for a Mother's Soul"

Thank you, Angela, for the gift of these words today! I don't know you but it seems you have read into my heart, and maybe even the hearts of other mom's just like me!

I blew it!

 ^1-3Generous in love—God, give grace! Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record.
   Scrub away my guilt,
      soak out my sins in your laundry.
   I know how bad I've been;
      my sins are staring me down.

 ^4-6 You're the One I've violated, and you've seen
      it all, seen the full extent of my evil.
   You have all the facts before you;
      whatever you decide about me is fair.
   I've been out of step with you for a long time,
      in the wrong since before I was born.
   What you're after is truth from the inside out.
      Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.

 ^7-15 Soak me in your laundry and I'll come out clean,
      scrub me and I'll have a snow-white life.
   Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,
      set these once-broken bones to dancing.
   Don't look too close for blemishes,
      give me a clean bill of health.
   God, make a fresh start in me,
      shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
   Don't throw me out with the trash,
      or fail to breathe holiness in me.
   Bring me back from gray exile,
      put a fresh wind in my sails!
   Give me a job teaching rebels your ways
      so the lost can find their way home.
   Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,
      and I'll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.
   Unbutton my lips, dear God;
      I'll let loose with your praise.

 ^16-17 Going through the motions doesn't please you,
      a flawless performance is nothing to you.
   I learned God-worship
      when my pride was shattered.
   Heart-shattered lives ready for love
      don't for a moment escape God's notice.

 ^18-19 Make Zion the place you delight in,
      repair Jerusalem's broken-down walls.
   Then you'll get real worship from us,
      acts of worship small and large,
   Including all the bulls
      they can heave onto your altar! (Psalm 51, The Message)

Well, I blew it tonight! I really messed up. The warning lights were flashing but I did not heed them. I am so thankful tonight for God's amazing grace...that He knows I am going to blow it and He still loves me. I am so glad that He takes my sin and removes it as far as the east is from the west. Sometimes I see things in me that make me so sad. BUT I know that God's mercies are new every morning. I can not go back and erase tonight, though I wish I could. My prayer is that when I see the warning lights going off, knowing my tank is empty, I pray I will make better choices. I pray I will take a "time out". I know I need God to change me every single day-it is just that tonight I am a little more aware of that than usual! Thank you God for your grace!

Serving others

"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." Mark 10:45

I have been thinking some lately about serving others. I had an experience last week that brought this thinking more to the surface. I am in a very busy season of life...busy in the sense that with two small children in the house, it seems like the physical daily demands are high. I can find myself getting tired easily. I can also find that I get frustrated easily. The day in/day out challenges of two small children can empty my tank pretty quickly, so here is where serving comes in...

Even Jesus did not come to be served but to serve and He was God!! When I find myself getting stuck, I have realized that the best thing I can do is to serve others. There are SO many people around me who are in the same boat I am in, so it makes a difference to find ways to serve them. Also, it is amazing to me what a difference it makes in my heart when I do serve others...when I step outside of "myself" and think "What can I do for someone else today?"

So, even when I am serving others, there is a blessing to be found. I hope I can continue to keep this on the forefront of my mind. My circumstances may not change for a while, but my attitude and actions in the midst of it can definitely make a difference.

Celebrating two VERY special people in my life!!

Yesterday was Taylor's 4th Birthday!! She told people all day long that it was her Birthday and she has continued to tell everyone today that she is 4!! She truly is excited about being four...so excited that she came in and woke me up, dressed and ready for the day yesterday at 5:40a.m.! If you know anything about me, mornings are NOT my thing!! It is 11:05pm right now and this is the time of day I am still on! Mornings are a different story-and does 5:40am even count as morning-or is that the middle of the night??? Anyway, I digress...

So, to me, Birthday's are a time to slow down and celebrate someone's life and what they mean to me. Taylor, my wild child 4 year old!! Taylor is a wonderful ,spirited, strong willed, loving, funny, inquisitive, dynamic, outgoing, beautiful little girl. She has blessed my life in so many ways and has stretched me in so many ways as well. I want more than anything for God to take her energy, her spunk, and her influence and channel it to be used for the Kingdom of God! I pray for God to soften her heart and to turn her heart towards Him. It amazes me that God has entrusted this little life to our earthly care,and I pray I do the right thing with her. I want her to fall in love with Jesus and live her life for Him. I can think of no greater joy. Well, Happy Birthday sweet Taylor! Your mommy loves you,Teeter Bug!

And TODAY is my sweet husband's Birthday! Yep, the day after Taylor's!! There are so many things I love about Phillip. He truly has a heart of gold. He is far more grace giving than I am and he has overlooked so many of my faults over the years. He is kind, giving, generous, patient, loving, faithful, loyal...and not to mention handsome and very much a gentleman!! He is also an incredible father to my children. Thank you Phillip for loving God and for leading our family towards God. Thank you for praying with me every night , even when the words barely make sense because you are so tired! It matters.

Taylor and Phillip, I love you both and THANK GOD for you! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Special place in my heart...Kenzi Harwell

Today, Kenzi Harwell babysat Zach and Taylor. Kenzi took a ton of pictures today with the kids,and these are just a few. Taylor had such a great time, and it made me so happy to hear Taylor talk about her day with Kenzi!

I have known Kenzi since she was in 7th grade and she is now heading off to her freshman year in college! I met her when I was the youth director at Mecklenburg Community Church. Tonight after I got home, Kenzi and I went to Chik-fil-a with the kids...we chose CFA so we could actually have a conversation while Taylor played in the "play area." I loved spending time with Kenzi, listening to her talk about her senior year in high school, hear how she has grown in so many ways, and hear about how she feels about going off to college!

It made me miss working with high school students. Kenzi is one of the students that made my time being involved in high school ministry so rich. She is authentic, teachable, loving, fun-spirited, and has a deep faith. Kenzi holds a special place in my heart. It is really cool to see someone whose life I have invested in, turn around and give so much love to my own children!

As Kenzi heads off to ASU in a couple of weeks...I pray that she will continue to hold tightly to her faith. I pray she will choose friends that help her grow, and I pray she will continue to be a light to those around her. Thank you God for Kenzi, her sweet spirit, and the love she shared with Taylor and Zach today!!!

The little things

Tonight I am thankful for the little things...

There have been a handful of things that have made me happy this week, including:

1) A coupon that came in the mail for a free pint of Starbuck's ice cream.
2) Getting two free tickets to go see a sneak preview of a movie...and it turned out to be a really good movie!!
3) $10 off of groceries this week for being a Harris Teeter e-VIC customer
4) A note my husband left tonight thanking me for dinner
5) Getting the guitar chords for, and playing, "I Will Rise" by Chris Tomlin during Taylor and Zach's nap time today!

It doesn't take much, does it? (-:

Look for the little things.