trick or treat

pics from the haunted forest

noah and the wolf                        

                      

                                          

         no, i didnt explain to the boys what this was,

            but the students got a kick out of the decor!

                                                                sweet love

who is your hero?

So, this is kind of a long post, but it is something from a while back. It made me think: hope it leaves you guys thinking this morning! Who is your hero? Who do you let influence you and your decisions? Who are you letting influence your kids? Just remember, the people and things that you let inside your heart and mind daily have the ability to change how you think and act! Make sure it is God and God alone who is able to achieve "hero status" in your world.

 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16 

Revelation 4:2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.

How many of you have a hero? Someone you really look up to? How many of you have ever been lucky enough to meet that hero? Did they invite you into their home? Did they make you feel like you were their closest friend? Were they willing to share all of their riches with you? Seriously I bet the answers to most of those questions are no. Maybe, sure- you got lucky; maybe you did meet your hero and maybe they acknowledged your existence, but that was probably all. I would be willing to bet there was not heart to heart share time about your dreams. I bet there was no invitation to dine with them, and I am certain they did not offer to share their enormous riches with you. But you want to know something really awesome, something that could and should blow your mind each and every time you think of of it? God did and God does.

God sacrificed his most valued treasure, Jesus, in order for you and me to live. God invites you into His home each and every day and He has offered to share all of His riches with you. The ball is in your court, all you have to do his acknowledge that He is worthy of being called your “hero”. Huh, “God my hero”. I know it is hard to put Him in the same shoes as Tim Tebow, or Michael Jordan, or ARod, but lets think about it. He created time and space, land and sea, you and me.  In my mind He is the only true hero and get this, not only did He do all of that. He loves you. He doesn’t just meet someone and play nice for a few short moments to better his image, he isn’t being loving just to get a better deal. He honestly without fault or reservation loves you and me. How do I Know that? How can I be sure? Well, fist because He sent his son to ensure we could be more than casual acquaintances. He sent Jesus so that we could have a love relationship, a deep meaningful heart-felt relationship. I know sometimes it is easy to picture him as a big and powerful King far away and out of our reach. But go back and read those verses again. Yes, He is mighty and powerful. Yes, He does control the wind and the seas. But even in all of that, even in all of His splendor He invites us to join with Him. He wants to be relational with us, not only that He wants to share all of His treasures with us. Again, how do I know? Well, read the description of God’s throne in heaven, be amazed at His majesty and His glory. And when you are finished with that read Hebrews 4:16 again. Let us approach the throne of grace with confidence… What? We are to approach all of that? Our God not only loves us, He wants to be with us. He wants us to know him on a deep and personal level.

Think on that and decide fresh what to do with that knowledge!!!!!

Is it because I can or because I have to?

I just read something in Bible Study and I thought I would share it, with who you ask? Well, you, for starters and anyone else that might need it today! I am slowly doing Tammie Head's study, "Duty or Delight". It is great! I have never thought about some of the things that she mentions, but it is nice to remember that I am not the first and definitely won't be the last Christian to act out of guilt and not conviction. The coolest part though, the part that brings me to tears and makes me want to write as fast as my fingers can move is this: I don't have to be perfect for God, Jesus has already achieved that necessary perfection for me. All I have to do is trust and walk. The guilt that I feel at times when my walk is lacking is not from God. It is satan trying to cause a massive stumble, because when I feel guilty I began to act out of a sense of duty and not because I am madly, desperately in love with my Jesus. I don't often think about the difference between guilt and conviction, but today because of this study I find myself bouncing several thoughts around in my head. When I feel guilty about my behavior or things I am not doing I will usually attempt to correct the behavior myself or do whatever it is I am feeling guilty for not doing. It is usually to no avail, because guilt is not a proper motivator. It simply makes me feel farther away from everything. However, when the Holy Spirit convicts, that feeling is different. It makes me feel wanted. Sure, it may bother me because at times I/we choose consciously to make bad/wrong decisions, but the alternative is not something I ever want to experience. I would rather be convicted by the Spirit everyday than ever be separated from my "dad". Several things I read today made total sense, but the one idea that so far makes the most sense and seems to be causing my heart to dance is this; when I act out of a feeling of duty or obligation I am missing out on the best part- the love relationship between He and I. Guilt leads to shame but for me conviction leads to repentance and an even deeper walk with He who daily saves me. 

Diapers and Juice Cups

Do you ever struggle with who you want to be? Not just the kind of wife, mother, or friend you want to be, but deeper?  Deeper in your heart of hearts; do you ever truly battle with who you are and who you know desperately that you should be? Maybe it’s just me, maybe it is a personal battle that no one else faces, but something tells me that’s not true, (that if all Christians were honest with each other and themselves) that this is a battle we all face, that we all struggle and muddle through. For me it seems that the older I get the more I feel worn down by the battle. I thought the hard part was growing up, staying strong through high school, through boyfriends, peer pressure, and then College, but to be honest that was a breeze. Then I wanted nothing more than to be weird, to stand out, to be different, to be so in love with Jesus that my every move was an example of Him and his heart. But now as an adult; a mom and wife it seems that those wants get lost somewhere between the first diaper in the morning and the 50^th juice cup before bedtime. It seems that life keeps getting in my way. When there are trials it is easy to depend on and run to Jesus but when life is just moving alone at mock nine it seems almost impossible to get it right. The more I try to fix this the harder it gets. The more I try to focus on the goal the more my mind wanders. The deeper the longing is in my heart the louder the screams of the world become. The more my heart aches for Him the more I struggle through the battle, stumbling along the way. It is then in those struggles, when that powerful right hand of my Savior is lifting me up that I realize I am not alone. I cannot do this on my own. I am only me, one person. There are too many juice cups and diapers in the air for me to do this without help from Jesus himself. For me, letting go is often hard. Jesus often speaks to me through lightning bolts, so day-to-day can sometimes be overwhelming. I have no problem following in the hard times and trusting His plan, but when the hard stuff is over and the running turns to walking I often stumble. I forget to take time and thank Him for the normal day-to-day things. Walking with Jesus is a lifestyle and it requires daily participation. If I only take part in the hard times I will miss the good stuff, the love and companionship that can only grow and deepen through daily interaction. That is my goal, to go deeper. Today I am drawing the proverbial line in the sand. Today I am laying it all down and realizing that I am not alone, I am not strong, and without Him it doesn’t matter if I am walking or running, because without Him there is no reason to do either. Today I am acknowledging Psalms 63:8, “I hold on to you, and your powerful right hand takes care of me.” I want that more than ever, to let it all go and to just follow.

I hope maybe for someone this hits home. That my honesty and willingness to share my heart will remind you how blessed we are to walk and run with Jesus, how lucky we are to have a Savior who was willing to sacrifice everything for us. I hope you will take the challenge and decide to give Him your all, your everything, the desires of your heart, and the cries from your soul. Let Him have all of you, just sit back and watch, wait and see what awesome things He can do with all of us! 

1st's

so, today was my first parent/teacher conference! my sweet noah is such a big boy! we couldn't be more proud of him! he loves school, loves to learn, & loves ms. davis! he is doing so well! i love the fact that he loves to learn and that he is ahead of the game! he knows all that he should and quite a bit that he doesn't even have to know yet! one more reason to thank God! even the smallest blessings show his love and care for us! we are blessed beyond measure! 


also today me and my butter-man carved our first pumpkin of the season! he had such fun being a big boy and helping mommy all on his own! our pumpkin says "boo"! he wants to put it in his room as a nite-lite! he is such a mess but it is so cool how fast he is growing. he is the man of the house during the day and his quite impressed with his new role!!

too bad it's over..

what a great weekend! we made tons of memories! we started it off with the homecoming parade and ended with a victory in auburn!! i can't wait to do it all again next weekend! i love making memories and sharing life with my family! the little lett's had a blast riding in the parade. candy flew like missiles off the back of the truck!! they even apologized to the 200 kids they were unable to throw candy to!! yes, we ran out!! (mental note: next year don't let them throw handfuls at the start of the parade) all in all, i wish there were more hours in this weekend! 

being a mom is scary...

usually at some point each day i find myself in awe of something one of my sweet babies has done or said. sometimes it is because i think i might just strangle one of them because the heathen in them is just shining through, and then other times my face hurts because i have smiled all day. i usually try not to think about the weight and responsibility being a parent entails because to be honest it is completely overwhelming. i mean really, do you think about what God expects from us as parent's? hello, He gave his son; willingly (for us). the bar ,my friend,  is set so high i know it is unattainable but it sure does make me wanna be the best mom for my kids. i said all of that to say this- i love being a mom, but i am daily scared to death. you know nine weeks ago the only influences in my children's lives were me, darrin, and family- (and those close friends we chose to let interact with our kids), but then Noah started school and that all changed. it is so obvious that even in kindergarten kids are not all raised like ours. even now as i sit here i realize we have so much to be thankful for and so many mountains still to climb. i love my sweet boy and i love that even now at 5 (and a half- he is quick to remind me) he has a hunger for God's word. we have been learning a new verse each night, though sometimes i forget or can't get Caleb and Mc to sit still long enough for us to learn a verse, and even on those nights Noah asks for his verse. he wants to learn more scripture. i am in awe and scared to death all at the same time. what a responsibility. 

Fall is definitely Here!!

So, i dont know about you guys, but it is definitely cooler here! This morning my poor toes were like ice! I had to turn on the heat in the car to warm my poor sock deprived feet!! I have given the blog a fall/halloween face lift! What to you all think?

buTtER & nOaH @ the carShOw

 

bUtTer @ bUmBlebEe

nOaH & the CoOl cAr

This weekend "d" had a car show at the high school! I took the kids and they were able to see really cool cars! Both boys were amazed and as you can see were adamant they have pictures made with their favorite cars!! It was way more fun than what I anticipated! 

Noah's oPen HOusE

On Thursday Noah had his first Open HOuse @ school! He was so very excited! We were able to see his classroom, all his artwork, & he very proudly showed us his  seat @ Table 2! He had created several masterpieces for us to see and he even showed off his technical skills as he moved his name on the smart board! We had a blast and so did he!

jake and ryry are watching football while sweet mc loves all over her baby "waywee"

Noah's Special Day

Today was "grandparent's day" @ Noah's school! Meme and Pops surprised him and came to town! He had two of his most favorite people come eat lunch and visit the book fair with him! He was so surprised! Made me realize how lucky we are; I truly have the most loving caring parents a person could ever ask for and my sweet kids will never question how much they are loved! Seeing Noah's smiling face walking out of the cafeteria today with Meme and Pops in hand made my day! What a happy boy he is! Thank you Jesus for that sweet boy and loving parents who were willing to take off work and drive two hours for a twenty minutes lunch!!!