Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Every Hour...


I truly am a messed up mama in need of my Savior's grace day after day, moment by moment.  I throw the mean look to the hubs in the middle of dinner, and once again forget to pay the electricity bill (the only bill I'm in charge of!).  Earlier in the day, words to my girls cut like the dirty knives sitting in the sink waiting to be washed... again! 

Kind words, where are you?  Proverbs 3:3 is supposed to be ingrained on the brain, "Do not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart."  How I wish they were bound around my neck...

I desire to encourage, not discourage...

Yet in my own strength, I can do nothing.  That's what Jesus said in John 15:5, "Apart from me you can do nothing."  There is such freedom in that!

I read a devotional by SheReadsTruth a few weeks ago that gave the background to one of my favorite hymns and the comfort it brought was astounding.  In 1872, Annie Hawks, a wife and mother around my age, said, "I was busy with my regular household tasks when suddenly I became so filled with the sense of nearness to the Master that, wondering how one could live without Him, either in joy or pain, these words, 'I Need Thee Every Hour,' were ushered into my mind, the thought at once taking full possession of me."

She then penned these words:

I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.

I need Thee, O I need Thee; 
Every hour I need Thee; 
O bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee. 

I need Thee every hour, stay Thou nearby;
Temptations lose their power when Thou art nigh.

I need Thee every hour, in joy or pain;
Come quickly and abide, or life is in vain.

I need Thee every hour; teach me Thy will;
And Thy rich promises in me fulfill.

I need Thee every hour, most Holy One;
O make me Thine indeed, Thou blessed Son.

I need Thee, O I need Thee; 
Every hour I need Thee; 
O bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee. 



I need You every hour, Lord, to honor and affirm the husband You have blessed me with; to fulfill the divine calling You have given me in Ephesians 5; to love and respect him without wavering; to walk beside him in the calling You have given us.



I need You every hour as I spend day after day with these amazing girls You have blessed us with.  I need Your wisdom to train them to be godly women.  I need Your grace when I mess up again and again.  I need Your strength when all the little frustrations roll into something bigger than I can handle. But then again, may it remind me that I need you every single hour, that I can't do it in my own strength.   

"There is grace that will seep into all the cracks and pained places when we don't understand.  In the places when we don't understand, we get to seek.  And how lovely is one seeking truth." - written by Kara Tippetts, a woman who lived these words to the very end, who clung to our Lord in an unbelievable way, and fully understood what it means to say, "Every hour I need Thee."

Saturday, April 18, 2015

Weekend Words...


"Let's aspire to use our mouths with godly purpose.
     - to build... not to break.
     - to bless... not to badger.
     - to encourage... not to embitter.
     - to praise... not to pounce."

Words I'm reading...

- "Each day, you are writing the story that your life will tell throughout eternity.  As you recommit to God's values and priorities, every choice you make and every action you take will move you toward the exceptional life for which you were made." - Sally Clarkson, Own Your Life.

- "The key to creating fond feelings of love in a husband toward his wife is through showing him unconditional respect." - Dr. Emerson Eggerichs, Love & Respect.

- "We will pattern our lives after their poverty.  We are poor by choice.  We want to be poor like Christ, who, being rich, chose to be born and live and work among the poor." - Mother Teresa, Teresa of Calcutta

Words I'm listening to...

- Inspired to Action Podcast: Talk more, tech less (Balancing family and technology)
- Read Aloud Revival Podcast: A lifestyle of reading aloud with Melissa Wiley
- EntreFamily Podcast: Tips for traveling with kids and loving it! (I may have listened to this 3-4 times.  Inspiration!)


Random Words...

- Words written on a cow showing where we get our beef.  One of those moments, I'm thankful to be a vegetarian.


- Yet, not quite ready to be vegan as we so love our NC State ice cream...


May your weekend be full of sweet words, words that bring life, words with no regrets... "The words you speak are not neutral - they are either moving your relationships towards life or moving your relationships toward death." - Paul David Tripp

The tongue has the power of life and death, 
and those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:21

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

What happened in March, and what's left of April...



What happened in March...

(Better late than never seems to be my motto these days... late to church, late nights, late waking up, late blogging...)

- Concerning my March goals, not much happened.  Getting to bed at a decent hour is still a work in progress.  I finished Notes from a Blue Bike with a friend (great read!)  I'm on chapter 3 of Love & Respect, which is a great book, but it's a struggle to force myself to read for pleasure when I've already spent time reading aloud to the girls (not to mention I fall asleep every time I lay down to read.)  I may have read a chapter of The Happiness Project before it was due back at the library (I even tried to renew it!).  Oh well!


- All of our plane tickets are ordered and our lodging arranged.  The countdown has officially begun!  The girls have worked so hard making sea glass earrings and jars, cake pops and lemonade.  It's been special to see them give so willingly and be able to say they paid for our train passes (Naomi earned enough for hers and Chloe will be able to pay for the rest of ours, plus money for some activities while there).


- 40 bags in 40 days was such a nice thought...  We may have decrapified 10-15 bags, but let's be honest... purging is hard.  If nothing else, I was encouraged by a friend who read about it and actually did it!  Setting goals is not in vain.

- We got to celebrate two birthdays in March, my sweet husband and our littlest girlie.  Both celebrations were low key, but special.  No regrets on this goal.  

                                  

                                                   

                                                   

What's left in April...

- Really do the envelope system this month with our budget.  Even though, we're well into April, it's not too late.  I need to remember that every penny saved could be put towards our trip.

- Re-discover my love for getting outside, especially my morning runs.  I forget how fresh air and getting those endorphin's going is so vital to starting (or continuing) my day on the right foot. 

- Read more of Love & Respect (a perspective of marriage that is foreign to our culture and even in our churches), read Own Your Life, and who knows what else...

                                    

- Finish this school year well!  Our writing class is wrapping up this month, ballet recital practices are in full swing, and some intense language study needs to happen before next month!

- Buy train passes, rash guards for the girls, and start packing!!! 

- Reach out to others through opening up our home, sending encouraging notes, or even a simple phone call or text.