Thankful Tuesday

I am blessed..... And thankful to God today for the many blessings I don't even begin to deserve!

Today I asked Adelyn what she was thankful for and she said her grandparents and her daddy. So so sweet!! Love her!!

And let the peace of God dwell in your hearts...and be thankful!! Col 3:16

James 3:13-18

13 Who is there among you who is wise and intelligent? Then let him by his noble living show forth his [good] works with the [unobtrusive] humility [which is the proper attribute] of true wisdom.
14 But if you have bitter jealousy (envy) and contention (rivalry, selfish ambition) in your hearts, do not pride yourselves on it and thus be in defiance of and false to the Truth.
15 This [superficial] wisdom is not such as comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual (animal), even devilish (demoniacal).
16 For wherever there is jealousy (envy) and contention (rivalry and selfish ambition), there will also be confusion (unrest, disharmony, rebellion) and all sorts of evil and vile practices.
17 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure (undefiled); then it is peace-loving, courteous (considerate, gentle). [It is willing to] yield to reason, full of compassion and good fruits; it is wholehearted and straightforward, impartial and unfeigned (free from doubts, wavering, and insincerity).
18 And the harvest of righteousness (of conformity to God’s will in thought and deed) is [the fruit of the seed] sown in peace by those who work for and make peace [in themselves and in others, that peace which means concord, agreement, and harmony between individuals, with undisturbedness, in a peaceful mind free from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts].

The Scripture in my journal from a year ago today.....

Where there are many counselors, there is safety. Where there is no counsel, people fall. Proverbs 11:14

The wicked man does deceptive work, but he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward. Proverbs 11:18

As righteousness leads to life, so he who pursues evil pursues his own death.  Proverbs 11:19

⁵ Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. ⁶ So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. ⁷ For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. ⁸ That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.
⁹ But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)
And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. ²⁷ And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. ²⁸ And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Romans 8

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, authorities, powers of darkness, and against the spiritual forces in the heavenly realms. Eph 6:12

And the beloved Psalm 91:

 With all the definitions included it reads:

He who dwells (remains, sits, abides) in the shelter (the secret place, covering, protection, away from the slanderous tongue) of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow (the shack of protection) of the Almighty (THE MOST POWERFUL ONE). I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge (shelter from rain, falsehood, storm, or danger) and my fortress (stronghold); My God (ruler, judge, the TRUE GOD) in whom I trust (having confidence in, being bold or secure.) Surely He shall deliverer (snatch away, deliverer, rescue, save, strip, plunder, tear oneself away, RECOVER, deliverer from sin or guilt, to be plucked out) me from the snare (calamities, plots, source or agent of calamity) of the fowler (the bait layer) and from the perilous (bad desire, chasm of engulfing ruin, destruction and calamity) pestilence (plague, A widespread affliction or calamity, especially one seen as divine retribution- supernatural punishment of a person, a group of people, or all humanity by a deity in response to something done.)

God is:

MOST HIGH

ALMIGHTY
MY LORD
MY REFUGE
MY FORTRESS
MY GOD
THE ONE I TRUST

.....

Fairies & Pumpkins

 Yesterday it was "Circus Day" at school. You could dress up however you wanted to as long as it wasn't scary and Annabelle really wanted to be a fairy and she was such a cute one.

 We decorated pumpkins with glitter last year and it was a HUGE success and so we decided to try it again.

We all had a blast!

I hate it that I got so behind on blogging! I have started a post about Marmie and PapaDaddy's Visit, the zoo, a birthday party, I wrote a Thankful Tuesday post on my phone that got erased and here I am.  We have had so much personal stuff going on that hopefully I will get back to blogging soon!


^{Romans 8:26-39}

²⁶ And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. ²⁷ And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. ²⁸ And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. ²⁹ For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ³⁰ And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory. 

³¹ What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? ³² Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? ³³ Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. ³⁴ Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

³⁵ Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? ³⁶ (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) ³⁷ No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
³⁸ And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. ³⁹ No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Thankful Tuesday Psalm 103

¹ Let all that I am praise the Lord;
    with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
² Let all that I am praise the Lord;
    may I never forget the good things he does for me.
³ He forgives all my sins
    and heals all my diseases.
⁴ He redeems me from death
    and crowns me with love and tender mercies.
⁵ He fills my life with good things.
    My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!

⁶ The Lord gives righteousness
    and justice to all who are treated unfairly.

⁷ He revealed his character to Moses
    and his deeds to the people of Israel.
⁸ The Lord is compassionate and merciful,
    slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
⁹ He will not constantly accuse us,
    nor remain angry forever.
¹⁰ He does not punish us for all our sins;
    he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.
¹¹ For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
    is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
¹² He has removed our sins as far from us
    as the east is from the west.
¹³ The Lord is like a father to his children,
    tender and compassionate to those who fear him.
¹⁴ For he knows how weak we are;
    he remembers we are only dust.
¹⁵ Our days on earth are like grass;
    like wildflowers, we bloom and die.
¹⁶ The wind blows, and we are gone—
    as though we had never been here.
¹⁷ But the love of the Lord remains forever
    with those who fear him.
His salvation extends to the children’s children
¹⁸     of those who are faithful to his covenant,
    of those who obey his commandments!

¹⁹ The Lord has made the heavens his throne;
    from there he rules over everything.

²⁰ Praise the Lord, you angels,
    you mighty ones who carry out his plans,
    listening for each of his commands.
²¹ Yes, praise the Lord, you armies of angels
    who serve him and do his will!
²² Praise the Lord, everything he has created,
    everything in all his kingdom.

Let all that I am praise the Lord.

.....

Ballet and Other Things

The girls have ballet every Tuesday and it is just one of my favorite times of the week! They just love every second of it. We always get their clothes on just a little bit early so they can "practice." I want them just to stay this age forever they are so cute! Although, Adelyn did hit the 3s this week if you know what I mean. The attitude came out of nowhere and I was shocked my little two year old baby who sometimes threw tantrums on the floor now was telling me in sentences to "leave her alone" etc. You know, you've been there I'm sure. Another stage, another growing experience for us all. :) :)


This week has been so strange for many reasons, most I cannot share here but this week has been so full of joy and excitement and confusion. But, God has been so faithful. One of my favorite things I came across this week was this:

 {Ann VosKamp}

And here are some others from this week:

 {Matthew}

 {John 3}

 {Lisa Terkeurst}

{James}

What is your favorite part of the week? What has God been teaching/showing you this week?

Painted Nails

 Today, while Annabelle was in school Adelyn and I went to get her nails painted for the very first time at the nail salon. :) I love the special mommy time Adelyn and I get to spend while Annabelle is at school and I can tell Adelyn likes it too!

When we walked into the salon, Adelyn saw the candy jar and asked for a peppermint so I gave her one and she still had some of the "leftover" on her face. So cute! She had to be very very still and she was, she did great!

I could tell by the look on her face that she felt so special and I was so glad. She was so so sad she couldn't go to the pumpkin patch with us for Annabelle's field trip so I was glad she had something special going on this week too. Boy, do I love this little face!

Thankful Tuesday

 Today is Thankful Tuesday! I asked Annabelle what she was thankful for today and she paused for a long time to think and then said: "The sun, her friends, and her little pumpkins." It was so sweet. I think she kinda understands.

We had the privilege to take Annabelle on a field trip with her preschool today. I am always so thankful Adam can come too. It was a great sunny day for a field trip. This morning she wanted Adelyn to come with her too. It was a precious moment for me. I'm so glad they love each other so much!

 

 It was really really cold like felt like 39 and I just did not dress me or Annabelle appropriately and she was freezing but she had a great time despite the cold.

 Last year she wouldn't feed the goats but she did a great job this year!

She even wanted to put her head through this year! :)

Annabelle's favorite activity to do at Leed's Farm is the zip line! She loved it!

We went on a hay ride and then got to pick our pumpkins.

What a great day at Leed's Farm! So thankful for this memory!! We can't wait to go back with Adelyn!

When we got home Annabelle wanted to paint the pumpkins with Adelyn so they did. I was glad they shared so nicely :) I am beyond thankful for these two and my family. I am deeply saddened for Julee and Matt's friends and family as they grieve his loss tonight and tomorrow. His death has made me take a look at all I have to be grateful and thankful for. Please continue to pray for them.

Also, my mom had a test today on her heart. The results come back tomorrow. I am praying so very hard for her that they do not find anything wrong with her heart but if they do I know there are so many medical options today that it is going to be ok. When I sent out a text I said, "God is in control." I said that because 1) I know He is   2)Sometimes it is good to remind yourself by telling someone else 3) It's in the times when we are tempted not to think He is in control that it is the most essential to practice trust in Him.

So I practiced today, "Ashley, do not be anxious about your mom, but pray. (God help my mom, comfort her today, heal her heart if it needs to be healed, help me to trust you, fill me with belief in You when I don't feel like believing you are a good God, when I don't understand fill my brain with Your word and truth.) And His peace that passes all understand was mine today." Phil 4

I am thankful.

Blog Day of Silence tomorrow 10/10/2012

we will use this day to remember to pray for Julee and her family!