In the wee hours of the morning, I will praise you oh Lord!!!

In the wee hours of the morning, I will praise you oh Lord!!!

I dropped a friend off at the airport Tuesday morning (sorry a few Tuesdays ago... I just could never get my words on here right). I was up by 2:45, we left at 3:30 AM. I brought along Victoria, so just the two of us were driving home together. My first thought was
"Oh no! I forgot my itouch, I wont be able to listen to anything wonderful and inspiring about God on the drive home..." to which I immediately thought, "Great, my better idea is spending this time fellow shipping with you God" And so began the BEST hour of my life...

I began by talking and singing and praising my Lord. I told him about everything my mind was pondering lately. I cried. I was having a really deep heart to heart with him. I told him, "Lord I can hardly see the road right now, I need you to take the wheel, otherwise Id better just pull over." And I'd have one message from Him after another. "Yes, I need him to take the wheel. In every aspect of life." Only He can drive perfectly, only He knows what we need.

Another thing He told me was, "That just like a farmer plants a cover crop for the winter, to protect the soil from the weather, but every spring he plows under that crop. He doesn't do it to waste the good grass, the grass had its purpose but now it is not needed for anything except adding nutrients to the soil for the REAL crop the farmer has planned" SO IS YOUR LIFE AMANDA. All my efforts and good works are just like the cover crop, going to get "plowed under" by God. At first it might seem like they are going to waste, but really its just that I need to see that God has something else intended for my life, he wants me to be fruitful and produce a crop for him to harvest one day. So I must not sorrow right now at this time in my life where it feels like God is plowing under my ENTIRE LIFE. All my child hood, youth, all these years as a wife and mother, and it feels like God is just now got me in the right season to start PLANTING, so he needs to plow my thoughts, heart and soul , EVERYTHING, in preparation for planting season.

I told him, I understand, I see the whole picture... I'm willing Lord to do whatever it takes, follow wherever you lead. Planting time is here,... so plow under everything, both good and bad. Thus turning EVERYTHING I have ever done and thought into the ENERGY/ food to actually live the life he calls me to do, what he wants me to be. Plow it under LORD:
the wasted time, the fears and anxiety, the slothfulness, the bitterness, the jealousy, the selfishness, unkind unloving heart of mine, the stress, the neglected relationships...

Create in me a new heart... help me to love unconditionally, help me to be a wonderful time manager and always be on time and make the most of all my time, help me to not be afraid or anxious or stressed, give me peace, please, help me to be thankful and joyful in every precious thing you have given me. Help me to focus on what is important in this life: the relationships around me. The example that I set for every watching eye. What do I reflect of you Lord? Is it what you want? I want to be a light that is pleasing to you! That you want me to be.

I saw the sun starting to peak over the mountains to my left and I prayed, "Lord please keep the sun from rising, just a little longer... I don't want this moment to end." I eventually made it home just fine, I still feel like that was the best hour of my entire life... and I told God, "If every morning was going to be this amazing I would have no problem getting up early to spend with him..." so here I begin to truly try putting him first: physically, really truly, getting up and spending my first hour with him each morning: I hope to keep you slightly update...

Today... I got new grass

My husband is so wonderful. He knows I have been working really hard at making my back yard look nicer. However the many beloved feet that tread on my grass have sadly worn a large bare patch. With this last week of rain and my children playing in the back yard… it has officially become mudd, no grass. So what does David do, bought me instant SOD. Not 4 or 5 pieces that would have “patched it up at bare minimum, but he bought me 18 pieces!!!! Enough to cover both bare spots and ease its self onto the thinning grass just after it. It looks amazing. My yard is COMPLETLEY covered with grass right now!!! Now it looks so clean and new and fresh. Especially with the sunshine we have had today.

Thank you Lord for the sunshine, my new grass needs a few days of it really badly to “perk back up”. Thank you for the little blessing you place in my life.

Rose hip infused honey

Rose hip infused honey

I went out to my moms for a nice visit a week or two ago. While we were there we came across a rose bush with LOADS of rosehips, bright red, fully ripe!

So we picked ourselves a large bag full to experiment with. I have always wanted to try making something not only useful, but tastey too from them. So we picked off the dry crumbly flower remains, and just threw the whole bunch in my croc-pot with lots of water on LOW for two days. Then I drained off the juice into a bowl, put the rosehip remains in the blender with a little juice. Dumped the whole blob on a towel and squeezed every last drop out of it and into the bowl.

I then took all that wonderful, healthy juice and poured it into all my honey jars. Ratio probably 2 honey: 1 rosehip juice. Shook them up and put them in the fridge. Not sure how long they will last, or how I’m going to tell if it has gone bad. Following morning I made whole wheat pancakes, we slathered them in butter and rosehip infused honey. It was marvelous!!!! The children call it the yummy syrup J Hopefully I can go out there again next week and get another bag full. I want to just plop them in my food dryer and store a big batch of dried rose hips for more experimenting…

Just trust…

Just trust…

We just need to trust him. Know that he really does love us more than we could ever love ourselves!!!! That he already fixed our greatest problem for us. He paid the price for us. There is nothing harder for us to ask of Him than what he has already done. Without our even needing to ask, he die for us because he knew he would lose us if he didn’t. This is a stronger romance story than ANY thing you will ever hear. You and I, all of us, marching up to Calvary’s cross sentences to death. We must pay the price for all the lying, stealing, deceit, tantrums, slander, gossip, malice, adultery, coveting, murdering, hatred, jealously, selfish self centeredness, pride…. But wait, out of the cloud comes forth our love. Running to our side pleading with us to just hand over our cross to him, because he already paid for us!!!! He wants to take our cross and burn it with all the others he already saved. He wants to swoop us up in his arms and carry us away to his mansion. He wants to hold and comfort us.

God is Good!!!

God is Good!!!

God is SOOOO good!!! When you have something bad happen, or feel pain, or even see something AWFUL!!!! Our responds should not be anger, disgust, or defense but rather.... STOP and take a LONG look at the situation; there is ALWAYS A BLESSING or something good that can come out of it. Our responds should be: thank you God for showing me that, thank you for teaching me that, thank you for caring enough about me to chasten me. When you have a thankful heart, his love replaces the pain with JOY (not happiness) but real pure JOY, overflowing JOY, AMAZING GOD-GIVEN JOY.
THANK YOU GOD!!!!

Only God can turn PAIN into JOY

God is SOOOO good!!! When you have something bad happen, or feel pain, or even see something AWFUL!!!! Our responds should not be anger, disgust, or defense but rather.... STOP and take a LONG look at the situation, there is ALWAYS A BLESSING or something good that can come out of it. Our responds should be: thank you God for showing me that, thank you for teaching me that, thank you for caring enough about me to chasten me. When you have a thankful heart, his love replaces the pain with JOY. (not happiness) but real pure JOY, overflowing JOY, AMAZING GOD-GIVEN JOY.


THANK YOU GOD!!!!

Not a chance we happened but a witha plan we were created

I was just thinking about the lesson I will be giving the boys in the morning. We have been having so much fun with school now that we have our new books. We start off with a lesson out of "little people" program for our devotions. Every night before I pre-read the next mornings lesson, and as I was reading this one I just thought how wonderful it is that my children and I are so blessed to be able to study and freely learn about our creator!!!

So this lesson has an illustration I am supposed to give, take 10 coins write the number 1 - 10 one them, lay them out in order so the children can see that I want them in this exact order. Then take them and toss them in the air and see where they land. NOT in the exact order that I wanted, do this a few times so they see that it is highly unlikely for them to land exactly in order, probably impossible.

This leads to a further discussion about how creation/ everything is so perfectly made exactly right with every detail. How slim the odds are that anything could line up exactly right in creation... LET ALONE the fact that EVERYTHING is lined up perfectly!!!! our God is so amazing.

It was so fun last night, I went to a fiesta in Independance and when it got late I took my children in the car and let them fall asleep a little earlier than David wanted to leave. The three little ones were fast asleep, and just Alex and I were awake watching the stars, when we both looked up at the sky at the same time and saw a shooting star and both looked at each other and saw it at the same time. I know he will remember that forever. A memory of something so fun to see as a child. I dont think I ever saw one before until this summer. Another thing I can bring up to discuss in the morning. How amazing everything is, and let them ponder on that...

"Thank you Father for every precious, beautiful thing you have made that my eye get the pleasure to look upon :) "

Poor Mint Plant... Poor Boys...

Early this morning while I was setting the times on all my sprinklers, I was looking around my back yard and thanking God for each and every small little blessing he has recently given me.


My three precious little chicken AND the material to build their little yard AND that at least two are already laying.

The rabbit that Marcus has a pet to take care of and feels included when his brothers are doing their chores AND that it is making me a beautiful big fertalized area where my garden will be next year. For my newly installed sprinkler system that I put in all by myself!!!! That I finally got it right and that it covers every square inch of my back yard including all flower beds :) I am thrilled to peices about that one....

As I was admiring God for all the little things in life that make me smile, I noticed my newly transplanted mint plants... :( not doing so well. In fact they were flat out wilting and probably done for. I wanted to save them from the chickens so I moved them from the chicken pen to a small flower bed that receives NO sunlight, thus no ability to draw up its necessary water, hence why it is not going to make it.

I began to reflex on that and thought that (here is a little honesty so don't judge me too hard please ) I feel like I have kept my boys from the world with good intentions, to protect and shelter them. (like protecting the mint from the chickens) But in moving them to the protection of my home only I feel like they don't get enough sunshine (the poor mint being in the shade) I guess it feels like I need to smile at them a lot more, laugh with them, tickle, and just PLAY with them. I have begun to let life sweep me along again. I have also forgotten to include friends for them to play with, grow up with, and safely learn that there does exist other like minded, christian, "safe" friends which we can let our guard down around. My boys seem like life is just a bit boring, or dull or missing that spice and joy that friends put in it. (the mint needed to be planted in full sun in another area of the yard)

I want to make their life one to look back on and say "we had a BLAST together" even if it is doing the chores, do it all in fun :) I want them to not just live, I want them to THRIVE!!!!!