My Little Turkeys!

Tonight my nephew Sawyer is spending the night with my boys. They are having so much fun. As you can see they made turkey cookies. These are a hit for the season of Thanksgiving (Thanks Sharon, for the idea). Anyway, being with the boys reminds me of so many things I am thankful for. My boys are at the top of the list of course.

I had a really rough week at work and needed some cheer which God provided through these precious smiles. Yes, they are my joy boys. I thought about making a list of things I am thankful for, but it would just be too long, it would go on and on and on.

Some days, like this week, it takes more effort to look and find something to be thankful for. Life can be so difficult. But even in the dark days the blessings are there. Our blessing, our Beloved, our God and Savior are always there.

It is amazing to remember that all we are and all we have to be thankful for, come from our Father. Thank God for our families and friends, our homes, our provisions, our health, our salvation, our future...Thank God for God!...all he is, all he does, the Trinity is our Treasure. So lets all say THANKS! Gobble Gobble. Oh, and eat some cookies!

The Tooth Fairy

My little Max lost his first tooth last weekend. He has been waiting for this a long time and was so proud. He is reportedly the last one in his first grade class to loose a tooth. Most of his classmates lost thier first one last year in Kindergarten. In fact he wanted it to happent so bad that he kept knocking his teeth on things on purpose, softly of course so it didn't hurt. I remember doing that as a kid. Mine came out really late also. Poor kid.

Yes the toothfairy came. Max asked me during the day when he lost it, how much the tooth fairy would bring him. He thought that the first tooth must be worth more than the rest so he wondered if he would get $500 dollars for it. I told him no, that the tooth fairy had a lot of kids to give to, each kid had a lot of teeth in thier mouth so that added up to a lot of money for the tooth fairy. She has to make sure she has enought for all the kids. He seemed to accept that well, since it made sense to him. And yes, he actually believes in the tooth fairy and it wasn't an actual ploy to get more money out of his parents.

Max explained to Sam that the tooth fairy paid to get your tooth since she collects them. He wondered what she did with them. He thought she made things with them like maybe she puts them in a pencil sharpener and makes them sharp so that they are made into needles to sew. Jason said that she grinds them up into a powder and makes calcium supplements with them. Yeah, Max liked that idea that she made medicine out of them. Anyway, it has been fun for everyone. I just thought that my kids couldn't get any cuter, but what is cuter than a kid smiling with a tooth missing? Hugh? Adorable.

My Little Pumpkins!

My Little Pumpkins!!! I love the way they attacked the pumpkins at the pumpkin patch. I wish I engaged life this way. What an attitude. These two little pumpkins are my joy boys. Let me show you just one of the many reasons why. My oldest, Max has been telling me for two or three weeks now that he can't wait for school! He wants me to hurry so he can get there. He says this year is even better than last year. He loves first grade! He told me that he likes to work hard and that the more work he is given at school, the more fun it is. Yeah!!! Just keep hold of that attitude cutie. We talk about how if we never learned anything new or never worked hard at something then life would be boring. That is what makes life interesting, exciting, fun and worthwhile.

This is the way God and Jesus want us to engage life. I admit I often fail miserably at this. I tend to worry and look for all the things that could go wrong, as if this could prepare me or change anything. Anyway, I learn daily from my little guys how to carpe diem and make the most of each day, each moment. They help me see the little blessings all around us all the time. We do have such a good God. My boys tell me that often. Oh, how I love to hear those words coming out of those sweet little mouths. They can speak God's truth much more eloquently and clearly than I ever can.

Look for God's blessings today and thank him for all he has done and continues to do for us. His mercies and grace are never ceasing.

The Death of Complacency

One of the hardest things to do in our Christian walk is to fight against complacency. Life gets so busy and hectic that it is easy to lose sight of our goals in the juggling of all the demands thrown at us. Many times I have thought how wonderful it must be for monks and nuns. Thier only demand is to serve God. I feel like I am serving God and all the rest of mankind...(my husband, kids, extended family, friends, clients at work, the list goes on and on.) I fear God and Jesus get lost in the shuffle. There is an urgent and important battle between our priorities.

We must realize that the good often becomes the enemy of the best. We must constantly ask ourselves not if something is good, because there are sooooo many good things out there for us to do, even with the right heart and attitude, but if it isn't the BEST, the Thing that God has called us to do, then it is a distraction and that can be deadly to the cause of Christ. It can also be damaging to our walk.

We wonder why we are so worn out, tired, frustrated and burned out. It is because we have committed to more than God has asked us to do. We must be wise as serpents with the gift of free will and choices. We must excercise the word NO more often, not to God or Jesus, but to ourselves and others. This is part of the sacrifice involved in following Him.

Think of an athlete training for the olympics. They have to give up a lot of things, many of them good, in order to devote enough time to accomplish thier goal set before them. We must remember to do the same. Don't forget the goal or plan God has for you in the furthering of his kingdom. If we have nothing worth dying for then we have nothing worth living for. Jim Elliott said that, "He is no fool who gives up that which he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." How wise these words are.

Part of our call as Christians is to die to ourselves, mainly our old nature. Only then can we be transformed. If we want to stop struggling with complacency we must die to ourselves and live each day for Christ's plan and not our own selfish desires. I cannot place God and Jesus into a safe little box that doesn't touch the rest of my life. No, it must permeate and transform every part of my life and all that I do. I can no longer be the boss, I must give that role up to one much more worthy.

One of my biggest fears is to find out at the end of my life that I didn't fulfill that plan which God had for me. I don't want to dissappoint him or myself. To think of my life wasted. I want to live a life that shines for Him and blesses others. Don't we all want to do great things?! But we also don't want to give up things/sacrifice in order to make that happen. Why does sacrifice have to be such a dirty word? I wish I could embrace it more often by realizing what it can accomplish.

William Barclay said it well, "The Christian must realize that he is given life, not to keep it for himslef, but to spend it for others; not to husband its flame, but to burn himslef out for Christ and men." An anonymos quote says, "If we don't find something greater than ourselves to serve, we will end up serving ourselves." That would be a tragic end to our lives.

Remember that even Jesus struggled with sacrifice when he prayed in the garden of Gesthemene and asked, "Lord, if it is possible, take this cup from me, nevertheless, not my will, but thine." We all struggle. This is part of working out our salvation with fear and trembling. Just don't give up the good fight. It is worth it. Fight on!!!