Our Family Circus

I am less then eager to take the nativities and Christmas tree down this year. I love hearing 2 year old Blake yell, "there Dezus(Jesus)" or "more Dezus" when she sees a nativity. When praying at night she will pray for "More Dezus" as if that is His name, but what a great prayer....praying for more Jesus and less us, in our lives. My friend read in Home Life magazine last year a cool idea she suggested I share with you. Instead of throwing Christmas cards away or taking them to the recycling center, put the cards in a basket and pull a card out each week to pray for that sender(s.) What a great idea!! If you sent us a card or put a card on a gift.....we will be praying for you this year! If we don't have enough cards to get through the year, we will repeat so you might get 2 weeks of prayer out of us! Hey, if you are glad Michele shared this idea-post a shout out to her! When we draw out a card, we will be praying that the sender knows Jesus as their

This is my 2nd attempt to record all the things I want my heart to remember about today. I am reminded there is no textbook or degree that can prepare you for parenting. I am constantly amazed at how I am stretched. By noon, I had cleaned up 2 potty misses and removed a pair of toddler pants now marked by lipstick. I attempted to explain potty misses as gross which apparently is a fun word to repeat but obviously carries no meaning for the tiny speaker. On a good note, a crinkled nose on a red head saying gross will lower your blood pressure. After lunch, a dinner glass was knocked off the table and broken. An apology came quickly. The glass was empty and I told the little darling, I did not like that glass anyway. One less glass to wash today! I commended Middle button for always being remorseful and mentioned that when big brother was little, he would clam up after an accident and refuse to apologize, probably out of fear. Clay hearing the comment responded, "I'm sorry, I

A friend once asked me if I faced Spiritual Warfare on Mondays. Her simple question made me realize that Thursdays were far worse! Wednesday night is AWANA night so on Thursdays, Satan liked to rough me up a bit. I knew they were hard, but had not considered why. Once I realized, I faced the day differently. I kept my expectations low for the day. I stick my Bible in the bathroom and grab a read at my appointed time (don't knock it, until you try it!) The sad thing is, Spiritual Warfare makes me anxious and bitter. My patience is less and frankly, I, and the family who has to live with me, are NOT fans of Spiritual Battle! Sunday night, I had the privilege of singing in an adult Christmas Performance. I have always wanted to do one but babies and My Dear's schedule have ruled it out in the past. This year, I went for it! It was work for me but I SO enjoyed it! When I worship, I move and I got to do just that, sing and sway. At one part in the production, I was unable to sing my

It happened last night and it happened again tonight! As I put the girls to bed, Blake (2) is always eager to pray! She prays for the people in our home and many of them more than once because she does not recall who she already prayed for (or maybe they just need it more...huh.) She occasionally will add someone else like a grandparent or a teacher at church or her beloved "Mami" who cares for her during our small group. I prayed for the children and our children we have not met yet . This includes the spouses of our children and generations to come as well as any other children God adds to our family. I also prayed for the grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and those folks who call us family since we do not live close to any family. Then Miss Lydia, prays for, " all the mamas and daddies and children that are sick in the whole world ." As if I did not learn from that prayer, tonight she prayed for, " everybody she knows and everybody she does not know .

For any of my "cheerleaders" as I call them checking in on the fundraising for the March mission trip to Vnam.....I am only $1000 away! WOW! I have been amazed, floored, and blessed all over! When I heard of the trip I knew I was to go. I had 2 ideas of how I was sure God would supply the funds. 1. You may have read before, but it was to sell some property that did not sell once, twice, or 3 times! STRIKE OUT! 2. Maybe it was a part time job in our county. I never got my ducks in a row for that one and have since felt that it was not what I was supposed to do. So God, I tried it my way, now let's try Yours! 1. It amazes me how He calls and then equips us when we are obedient. It also amazes me that I chose one man to be my husband and got this AMAZING package that came with him called his family! 2. It also amazes me the folks I did not send a letter to but they are financially supporting me. A lady, new to our church, sent me a note that God told her to support me. She

Last year, I posted several ideas of what our family does to keep Christ the center of Christmas. (Check them out from last December's post.) This was an idea that I had heard about but had never tried. Our older children are 8 and 5 1/2 and they are enjoying creating a bed fit for the newborn King. We cut yellow pieces of paper into strips to represent hay. Each time a child gets caught doing something kind for someone else, a piece of "straw" is placed in a basket to make a fluffy bed for Baby Jesus. The children have nominated one another and have told me what the other child did for them. I write that deed on a piece of the "straw" and deposit it. We have just started so here is what the bed looks like as of right now. Clay helped me make my bed today so I put a piece in for him. Lydia complimented Clay's good work at school, so he put a piece in for her. Our hope is that the manger bed will be full of fluffy straw when we lay Baby Jesus on it