Faith in Your Children

We have always talked with our children about God. We have prayed over them multiple times a day, we have prayed with them, we have asked them to pray. We have told them that God always hears them, that God is always with them. And most of all we have told them that God loves them even more than we love them. We have talked about Jesus giving his life on the cross so that we can go to Heaven. We have talked about how Jesus lived again and went to Heaven with God. We have even talked about how you can have God in your heart and how he wants us to be obedient and loving. Sometimes it is hard, sometimes it is simple, but I am still amazed at the questions they ask and how much they actually do understand during these conversations.

We have just recently started working through a great little preschool curriculum with Avalyn and Harper. They both enjoy the directed activity time but it has opened up some great conversations already with Avalyn and me. We were talking about the letter a this week and the story of Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit. As we were learning about the consequences of them eating the fruit we talked about sin and how Adam and Eve tried to hide from God when he came to them because they knew they had been disobedient. We started talking about how God is always with us and knows what we do so we don't need to hide from him. He is always there, nothing is hidden from him.

At that moment I saw a little light click on in Avalyn's eyes and she realized, "But I can't see God." The pleading in her eyes and voice to understand this.

I know you can't see Him and I can't see Him either but we know he is with us. I know he is always with me, helping me when I need help. Giving me what I need. Showing me the way. When we ask him to be in our heart he is there. With us. Always. Forever. 

A slight smile starts and she pats her chest, "I know he is always with me."


And now how to explain happy tears to your kid...

Love!

My Utmost for His Highest, February 11-
Remember Whose you are and Whom you serve. Encourage yourself to remember, and your affection for God will increase tenfold. Your mind will no longer be starved, but will be quick and enthusiastic, and your hope will be inexpressibly bright.
                                                                                                               
Deuteronomy 6:4-5
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

John 15:9-14 
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.

Matthew 22:37-39
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
                                                                                                               

On this day of love, may you remember Who it is that loves you so much He created you and gave His son to save you. May you find your joy in that love and share it with others.

Love is enough!

My Sister Lacey

Today I am linking up with Kelly's Korner again for Show Us Your Life. Today is Show Us Your Singles Day so I felt like I should write about my sister, Lacey! (Lacey, please forgive me for not asking permission first!)

Lacey is 30 years old and a wonderful, Godly person. She is my best friend and has been an amazing friend and sister for as long as I can remember! Lacey has a sweet and gentle spirit and is one of the smartest people I know. She likes to laugh, play games, read, knit, do yoga, hike, exercise, teach, and bake. She makes the most amazing oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Don't play against her in any type of word game because she will beat you every time.

Lacey loves to travel and I am trying to remember all of the places she has traveled to--Germany, Hungary, Kenya, China, Indonesia, Scotland, Ireland, Vietnam to name a few! Lacey is currently teaching at a university in China but trying to decide if she will renew her contract for another year or return to the US. She will be back in the US for summer break and possibly longer if she decides to not renew her contract. When she returns to the US she will be in Colorado and Michigan!

Lacey is a loving and gracious aunt to her nieces and nephews and they get so excited to see her on Skype. When you meet Lacey I think the first thing you would notice is her smile, it is the biggest, sweetest smile and it really seems to come from the inside out. Her smile immediately makes you feel like you have made a new friend.

Lacey loves God with her whole life and seeks to be more like Him each day. She has been an inspiration to me to seek God first and keep Him first in all that I do. She knows that God has someone special out there for her and she is waiting patiently to find him. I know he is out there for her somewhere and we are already praying for him, we just need a face/name to put in those prayers!

Some of my favorite photos of Lacey...

If you are interested in learning more about Lacey or contacting her, please email me (anniemakesit (at) gmail.com) or leave a comment on this post with your email or link! Good luck in your search too. Oh, and Lacey, I hope we are still friends after this! :)

God is good!

Lots of prayer going on around here for so many different people and situations. Sometimes it is hard when we feel like there is nothing we can do but really, prayer is all that we can do and it is the best thing to do in those situations.

I have really been enjoying our sunrises lately! God is reminding me so much of his infinite greatness and his great love for us. I pray that nothing will keep me from loving and living for Him each day.

Taken this morning from our back door!

2 Corinthians 4:1-9 (NIV)

 Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 

Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. 

On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. 

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

Lamentations 3:21-23 (NIV)

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 

Thanksgiving!

We spent Thanksgiving day at our favorite fire station and had a delicious meal. Then we celebrated with family on that Saturday and had another delicious meal. We had a great time at both celebrations and are so thankful for so many things.

Avalyn has always been a little bit scared of the fire trucks but every time we visit she gets more curious and this time she asked to get in and drive! She even got to turn the lights on and she thought it was so cool.

(iPod photo, sorry for the poor quality)

Still Thankful

Ever have one of those days? Or week? Yes? Well, we're having one here. Here's to pushing through with bright hope for tomorrow!
Posting will be slim until we get our computer back from the apple genius people. I can only handle typing short posts on my iPod! Very thankful that we had a few weeks left on our AppleCare plan when our computer decided to stop working. Thankful that my husband was kept safe when his car broke down in the middle of a busy intersection! Thankful that we decided to go with a 4-foot Christmas tree and that no children were harmed when a certain 2-year old was showing a certain 9-month old how to pull the bulbs off the tree and they knocked the tree over! Ha!

But seriously I am so thankful, these things are just a drop in the bucket in light of eternity! None of these things really matter when I consider Christ and the joy of his arrival.

"See, I will create
new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered,
nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever
in what I will create,
for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight
and its people a joy. (Isaiah 65:17, 18 NIV)

"O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There's light for a look at the Savior, And life more abundant and free!
Turn your eyes upon Jesus;
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace."
-Helen Lemmel, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

Have a good day!

Giving Thanks # 23

Thankful for your book recommendations today, we have an upcoming trip that I would love to spend some time reading on. Any books you think I should read??

Giving Thanks # 22

I am so thankful for the home that God has blessed us with. We recently started a project that is taking longer than we thought it would and also requiring a bit more creativity then we intended it to but Josh is doing such a great job with it. I am so proud of all his hardworking! Thanks, Josh!

Giving Thanks # 21

Thankful that I don't blog for a job so I can take a break for a bit if I need to! :)

Giving Thanks #20 !

Crochet hooks! And kids who take extra long naps (somedays) so I can work on some fun things! The other great thing about crochet hooks is that I can use them to teach Avalyn counting while I work on projects! She loves to count stitches with me and to count up all of my spare hooks and line them up like a train. Cheap entertainment!

Giving Thanks #19

So thankful to be reunited with 2 of my sweeties today! Josh took Avalyn with him to go hunting this last week and boy was it quiet around here. Well, Avalyn didn't go hunting, she got to play with grandma and her cousins while the guys went hunting. It was a successful trip.
I was able to get a few projects done that had been waiting on my sewing pile for far too long. Now I can start working on some of the new projects I have found on pinterest.
Speaking of, are you on pinterest? Would you like an invite so you can see what it is all about? Just leave me a comment with your email address and I will hook you up. See what I am pinning here.

Giving Thanks #18

Looking forward to a freezer full of venison in a few weeks! Great job to my dad and hubs!

Giving Thanks #17

Thankful today for the creativity that God has blessed me with. I was able to complete a sewing project that I was ready to throw in the trash but eventually I got it figured out and completed it!

Giving Thanks #16

Thankful today for food and the hands I have to prepare it with.

Giving Thanks #15

Today I am thankful for this reminder from Oswald Chambers', My Utmost for His Highest.

One of the hardest lessons to learn comes from our stubborn refusal to refrain from interfering in other people’s lives. It takes a long time to realize the danger of being an amateur providence, that is, interfering with God’s plan for others. You see someone suffering and say, “He will not suffer, and I will make sure that he doesn’t.” You put your hand right in front of God’s permissive will to stop it, and then God says, “What is that to you?” Is there stagnation in your spiritual life? Don’t allow it to continue, but get into God’s presence and find out the reason for it. You will possibly find it is because you have been interfering in the life of another— proposing things you had no right to propose, or advising when you had no right to advise. When you do have to give advice to another person, God will advise through you with the direct understanding of His Spirit. Your part is to maintain the right relationship with God so that His discernment can come through you continually for the purpose of blessing someone else.
...
A saint is never consciously a saint— a saint is consciously dependent on God. 

Are you looking for a jumping off point to get closer to and be consciously dependent on God? I highly recommend reading your Bible, even if it is just a verse a day and a daily reading such as My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers. The daily entries in My Utmost also have a verse reference that you could study more in depth if you need help.
I find it is great for me to have something to 'chew' on throughout the day and these little reminders tend to come right when I need them.

Happy Tuesday!

Giving Thanks #14

Today I am thankful for my sewing machine, I have a lot of projects I plan to work on this week. Unfortunately I will not be able to share most of them on this blog because I have way too many family members who read and a lot of them will be gifts! Happy Monday!

Giving Thanks #13

Thankful for our kind, loving, and sweet church. We have so many great friends that we have met through church and have learned so much.

Giving Thanks #12

The Internet and Skype! I was able to see AND talk to my sister in China and my parents in Michigan all in one day! What a blessing!

Giving Thanks #11

Today I am thankful for our veterans. Some of which include both of my grandpas and my wonderful father-in-law and a large number of cousins and friends! Thank you for serving!

Giving Thanks #10

I really thought I posted this yesterday and then I realized I didn't so here I am, catching up!

Today I am thankful for all of my family, near and far and here and There. Family is a special thing.

Love you all!