Thank You, Lord...

The Lord has provided. He is our Jehovah Jireh... and as my husband reminded me yesterday - the one who LONGS TO HEAR US ASK HIM.

After several days of using the church 15 passenger van, we are now owners of a Dodge Caravan. It's what we needed, at a GREAT price and has tons of extras we never would have even thought we could afford. {ie: heated seats, DVD, stow n' go} I found this pic online of what we bought. Ours is gently used and just exactly what we need.

Today we are thankful for the AMAZING way that our God has once again met our every need. Rejoice with us!

"A "stay at home" ministry workers harvest"

This morning THIS was in my email inbox:

"Today I took the opportunity to take the dog for a walk after I dropped the kids at school. As I walked up the footpath I was greeted by a man who has his own lawn mowing business and who’s daughter goes to school with our children. He was tackling someone’s deep grass. He said, “Dropped the kids off, now you have the day to yourself, huh?” I laughed but it got me thinking. How do I spend my day? Is it that different to yours? On furlough many asked what I did do with my day. I don’t usually add to Russ’ updates on our website or Facebook page, but today I thought I’d share what my days look like.
Not long into our first term on the ministry field of Australia, I began to struggle and wonder if what I did mattered or helped in any way. At the time we were homeschooling, and yes, I know that was very important and vital, but it was more than that. I spent most of my days at home.
How did that help? My truly wise husband helped me to see that as I did my “job” well, it enabled him to do his that much more effectively. Coming home each evening to a clean, orderly home, dinner waiting, happy children, washing done…well, those things freed him to study, prepare, or even stay late at an event sharing the Gospel. But now the children are “in” school. That means I have approximately 8:30 am to 2:30 pm to fill as I please. Not much has changed and as you’ll see, my day isn’t that much different than yours. It is still my responsibility, one of my highest callings and I might add a great pleasure to be a manager of our home. Getting the washing caught up, grocery shopping, and even dusting or cleaning a toilet (two of my least favourite things) fill my day. Baking special treats for lunchboxes or after school is a highlight. There’s also the chauffeuring that a mum gets to do. As the year picks up Bible study starts. Friday afternoons I have the privilege of reading and helping in Caroline’s classroom. As opportunities present themselves or as I organise them, I build into other women’s lives. Maybe sharing the truth of the Gospel over the back fence. Or having a cup of tea with a fellow believer who is struggling or just needs some encouragement. Sometimes its preparing a Sunday School lesson for the little ones in our church or preparing a brief devotional to share at a ladies night.
But its not all work, work, work. I do allow myself some down time. I have regularly found ways to get out in the community and connect. Weight Watchers, karate classes and at the present, going to Curves. When I’m out and about and I pass a second hand shop or antiques shop, I love to stop if I have the time and peruse the shelves. I have enjoyed collecting a variety of tins, both Australian and American to decorate the top of my kitchen cupboards. I’m no master gardener, but there is something very satisfying about getting my hands dirty and making something grow in the earth. That first commission God gave man in the garden still rings true today. A good read on my Kindle is always a good escape. And finally a real luxury is the occasional afternoon nap.
Why do I share all this? Besides the fact that it may satisfy some curious minds, I hope it encourages those whose days are similar to mine. Just done in a different country or culture. Today I read in my devotions:
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9
This verse can be applied on so many levels. But today it encouraged this wife, mother, daughter, friend, ministry worker to keep on keeping on. My harvest may be different than yours. But God isn’t into the comparing game and I shouldn’t be either. So as I sign off and get ready to hang a load of washing, thanks for letting me share. I hope a page from the book of my days encourages you in yours.
(Russ had to comment- I am so thankful for the incredibly talented partner in ministry that the Lord has given me to work with daily. Your hard work makes me able to do my work more effectively. Cath, thanks for your transparency and I hope this encourages many who do the work you do for the sake of God’s glory. Well done and I love you!)"

And then I closed my yahoo account and cried. Big ol' fatty, hot, tears. Because THIS, this wondering if what I do matters... THIS poison that the world feeds me that I'm not DOING ENOUGH sometimes slips through the cracks of my Proverbs-a-day mindest. And I doubt. So I slack off. I don't clean rooms for days... I get bitter at little girls who need help with EV-RY-THING. I forget my true calling. I forget truth. I fail. And Satan loves those little times to drag us away... like a newly killed whatever. Dragged away after defeat.

This email was written by one of our missionary wives serving in Australia. I wanted to reach through the screen and hug her. Thank her for sharing her life and truth with the readers. And I hope it benefits and challenges you today as it did me. Now you'll excuse me...
I have a dining room that needs serious attention, because it DOES matter. :)

The MEANING of marriage

Happy day after Valentines day. :)


In my world its a busy Wednesday - babysitting all day, time with our teens tonight... long, crazy, busy, fun day. So thankful for the few hours we had lastnight, just the hubs and I to sneak out and enjoy a quiet dinner alone. At this stage in our lives... a quiet room and not sharing tiny specks of food with small children IS TOTAL ROMANCE. :) We were blessed with a gift card to a fancy restaurant and enjoyed a quick trip to Target to pick up baby wipes. Yahoo! I know. I love my husband. After 6 years he still makes me laugh and knows how to keep things light.

Gotta love the instagram. And, apparently... the bags I've accumulated under my eyes. It's like I'm almost 30 or something. Oh...wait. {gulp} But for real - thankful for this man and how much he loves me. Which brings me to my point.

As I've mentioned - we are reading through "The Meaning of Marriage" by Timothy and Kathy Keller right now. We've gone through the intro and chapter 1. Thursday night we'll come together to talk about what we learned or thought. I'm excited for this "new" thursday night activity! I'm also nervous... because I KNOW how convicting this could be, how vulnerable it will be. But who better to have total vulnerablity with then your husband!

"There is so much to do that we don't know where to start. Start here, Paul says. DO FOR YOUR SPOUSE WHAT GOD DID FOR YOU IN JESUS, and the rest will follow."

This was in my reading from this week. This overwhelming and yet so simple of an idea. I love this reminder and challenge. Christ gave himself up for the church...so, I can give up my selfishness to love, respect, and honor my husband. I ended the chapter with so many little self eval questions...one being:

- My identity lies within my husband {name change, etc}. Do I reflect him well? Do I ultimately reflect Christ by how I love and am married to Brad?

I tell ya. I have a WAYS to go. Thanks be to GOD for his Grace, Mercy, and forgiveness! I'm so excited to grow through this and learn so so much about marriage and sanctification from it. What a great end to a Valentines day...

Of Saturdays, Barbie Pools, and my strong dislike of cars.

Since I don't want to end on a sour note - let me begin by dramatically saying that I abhor cars at the moment. Since when did someone feel the need to create them? Were we really so bad off with horse and buggy? In a perfect world we would live near all of our family members, have 1 local store to choose from that was NOT overpriced {ahem...Dahls!}, and have no need to travel long distances in cars that can break down.

We still are down to one vehicle. Brad's work week combined with my schedule at home have been jam-packed-busy. As in, zero time to do anything outside of live. Our insurance check is in - all we need to do it pick it up and go shopping... seems easy enough. But, it's not. Time is a funny thing. So, this morning, I loaded my children into hubs Monte Carlo and we headed off to church. Hubs is running our middle school retreat this weekend so he is B-U-S-Y and I was hoping to be a blessing to him by helping serve breakfast...yadda yadda yadda. Half way to church the front end starts making this grinding noise - and, the car isn't in great shape, so it could really be anything. I put on the "just press through" mentality and continued on. We only like 7 minutes from church - what could possibly go wrong now?! As I begin to accelerate after the stop light turned green, the grinding sound turned into a grinding "feel" as I felt the car go lopsided. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!? It's like 8 degrees, my babies are in the backseat, and now I have a flat!? Did I mention I'm alone this weekend? Brad was away at the camp with our teens retreating. I was supposed to be helping out. Now, here I sit on the side of a road, tears misting my eyes, and my 3 year old offering to "get me a tissue" when we get to church. I had no other choice but to call hubs and have him come rescue us. It was still too far to walk and I have no clue on how to change a tire and we are all out of vehicles at this point.

THANK YOU LORD for sending people into our lives that are willing and able to help out. One of our guy youth leaders arrived with Brad and they took care of business. We loaded back up and they escorted us home... safe. Needless to say - prayers for my sanity are greatly appreciated. I KNOW we'll be ok. I KNOW we'll get a car soon enough. I KNOW things could be a lot worse. But it just feels like everything in life is breaking at once and there is absolutely nothing I can do. So, yea, anyone have a good horse and buggy we could use? :)

Saturday. I need this day.

My kids need this day. Even though Ava thinks at 6:40 she needs to start the day... I'll take it. Since its just me and the girls we've been doing all things girly. During August's morning nap Ava and I made Valentines for grandparents, including glitter glue and even the hot glue gun! She loved every second and I love soaking that all in. She's such a little chatter box of information and planning. So.Much.Like.Me. :) After lunchtime we played with her Bratz dolls that we found at Goodwill over Thanksgiving break. I must have changed a zillion outfits. August joined in on the fun and like a good big sister - Ava made her be the boy. Haha! When reaching for a pretty doll in pink big sis was quick to say, "no, no, Auggie... you be the daddy".
We made a barbie swimming pool {out of a salad spinner} and the dialog continued for a long time. It was awesome. At one point of the barbies was me! A little weird hearing your kid play with your name, but, hey... I loved it. I captured a few pics of our play time today - and the ones burned into my mommy memory are even better.


{Nope, those are not cute new bangs...those are the crazy, silly, baby hairs that I grow after EVERY baby I have.... grrr.}

I'll tell you what - after such a stressful start to our day, there is something so refreshing and spirit quieting about loving on your children. Being on their level really does open ones eyes. Make it a good one!

Similar yet different

I love watching my babies grow :) I think that fact is pretty thoroughly established in this blog. I haven't done a great job of keeping up a baby book for August - sadly, it's just crazy busy and different with #2. Thankfully Facebook is like a baby book of sorts.


My girls are so similar in many ways - but I love how they are so different, too. This morning I was looking at some pics of the two of them, both at 8 months old. And it's official...they are different children. :)

This is Ava at 8ish months:

She was standing in her bed. Had long-er hair. Had been crawling for awhile already... and was taking at least 8oz in her bottles.

Then we have Miss August Hope (now) at 8ish months:

She just learned how to crawl last week. Still only taking about 6oz or less at her bottle times. Very little hair. No where close to standing! However, MUCH more verbal then I remember big sis being. :)

I'm so thankful for these two precious ladies that God has entrusted us with. I love watching them learn and grow and change. I should dig up some pics where they do look really alike.

And, I need to throw in our funny moment from yesterday -

As I was attempting to load Ava into her carseat for church she kept bucking back out and being naughty. Annoyed, I asked her father to take over. When he asked her why she wouldn't sit still she simply says, "because I have a butt crack." Well then. Don't know why that seemed to affect things yesterday...but, good to know. :)

Truth is...

I see this phrase "Truth is..." all.the.time on Facebook. Teens put it up and then want people to write something they think is true about them - on their wall. In return that person will write something back that is true about them. For example, "Truth is... you are so pretty and easy to talk to, I love having 4th hour with you." I'm sure you've all at least seen this pop up on your newsfeeds.

It strikes me EVERY TIME I see it. Because really, in the world we live in today - Truth isn't truth at all. Truth is whatever opinion you want to believe or whatever emotion you are high on. I'm guilty of it. And I see generations guilty of it.

Just last night I had an encounter with an ugly side of myself. This...non-truth thinking self. I keep it hid well, usually, but, sometimes it sneaks out before I can put the lid on it. It was a normal Tuesday all day long. We ended the evening by taking a family trip to Target to go grocery shopping. That's normally something I do alone - for many good and holy reasons. However, we are still down two cars {basically} - so we loaded up the 15 passenger church van and away we went. We are a sight. It was fine and even enjoyable. Daddy had one little girl in his cart and I the other. We divided and conquered...something my control freak self could normally NEVER do. But, as I watched two of my beloveds walking away with their list of items to grab the thought occured to me..."man, I'm going to miss this someday." It was all I could do not to break down right there in the canned fruit aisle and bawl like a baby. My heart was heavy over the thought that someday my babes will grow and leave me and my young, handsome, husband will be old. {Lord willing} Even I would need the help of someone - and won't have my health and youth. And that's life. I smiled down at my two-tooth wonder of an almost 9 month old and just sighed at her. And, a tear escaped. Can't I just freeze these days?! Can't I just bottle up the energy and pure love of my 3 year old? The chubby legs of a newly crawling baby?! Ah, the torment we moms endure sometimes of that weird split mind feeling..."could this day go any slower/ I can't believe how fast these kids are growing up!?" Relate?

Anyway. Truth.
I went to bed lastnight and I did what I almost always do. I flip open my phone and look at any pics I took of my children that day. I looked and looked and looked... until I realized I had scrolled all the way back to when August was born. Out of nowhere I was in a battle and losing quickly. The scab was pulled back and the pain had resurfaced.

WHY DID I HAVE TO GET SO SICK?!
WHY DID I HAVE TO QUIT NURSING SO SOON?!
WHY COULDN'T I HAVE HAD NORMALCY LIKE EVERYONE ELSE?!
Because as much as I try not to compare... I still battle. I battle when I see other moms able to nurse and enjoy their babies, when I couldn't. When I meet a 6 week old my mind automatically goes back to what happened when my little one turned 6 weeks old, while I was in the hospital, separated from her. :/

And though I know TRUTH. Though I try to stay focused on TRUTH. My flesh tries so hard to believe that my emotions are what is true... and it really IS a battle. My friends, how we feel IS NOT TRUTH.

I'm reading a book right now and wouldnt you know that today's chapter was about just such things. {funny how that happens} Most specifically it was about "Thinking the truth about God and His Word". I was so comforted and encouraged - that I just needed to share some reminders for anyone else who finds themselves caught up in emotion, lies, or just past pains coming back to haunt.

"Another crucial step toward loving God with all our mind is determining to place the Bible's truths above everything we think or feel."

What is truth?

- Psalm 139:14, I am fearfully and wonderfully made, no matter what I or others think about me.

- 2 Timothy 1:9, He has a GRAND plan and purpose for my life

- 1 Corinthians 12:7-11, He has given me spiritual gifts that I can use to benefit others, no matter how I may be floundering or failing at the moment.

- Romans 8:35, I am ALWAYS loved and accepted by God

{excerpt from Loving God with all your mind}

I'm better today. I'm back to accepting God's will in my life and being thankful for two healthy children, a healthy mommy, and a happy, loving daddy. And when I'm presented with a "truth is" scenario again - I feel a little more prepared.

"God uses His truth to break the cycle of destructive thinking that leads to discouragement, despair, doubt, and depression."

Truth is...Are YOU thinking on truth today?

Date Night and Timothy Keller

It's date night. After I manage somehow to whip this house into shape...

It's after 1pm and I'm still only half dressed and the house smells like fish sticks from the kids lunch. There are about a million and two toys strewn about every inch of living space we have. I'm completely exhausted, over-caffeinated {complete with shakes}, and I really just want to go plop on the couch and flip on QVC for the next 3 hours.

But see, there's this unspoken rule, your house has to look somewhat nice if a babysitter is coming over. Dare I brew one more cuppa Keurig?

We haven't had a date night in a-while. Honestly, I don't think I remember the last time. Maybe when Brad's folks were here back around Christmas. We are lame daters. Lame. Brad would go out at the drop of a hat... I'm the one with issues. I literally have to peel my fingers off of my children, swallow that lump in my throat and JUST GO. Which is hilarious considering how much I really do need the break away. Anyone relate?

Tonight the destination is the Texas Road House. We have $25 worth of a gift card and we will drain every little cent out of it. {nevermind the fact I have a weigh in tomorrow} Then we'll enjoy some country music and hopefully some chit chat over food - that I didn't cook. :) I'm excited. Now... to change out of these blasted pajama pants.

It was a good mail day around here. We got a box from Barnes & Noble which means our new Timothy Keller books were in! Yip Yip! I've heard so many people talk about this book, and we {again} had a gift card - and these were chosen. What would the world be like without gift cards and generous people?! For.Real. Maybe tonight when it's calm and quiet and two little girls are sleeping we'll crack them open and start reading. To be honest, I know what's coming. I know I'll be all kind of convicted and drawn in and challenged. I need to be. Because I know marriage is for our continued sanctification and I believe it... but, sometimes I still battle. I get irritated and annoyed and feel that nagging disappointment from weird expectations I set all by myself. Sigh. 6 years in you'd think I'd have a clue... nope.

So, yea, date night and Timothy Keller. Sounds like a winning combo.

Now to de-fishstick-smell this house and get to a little work. And, have I mentioned we STILL do not own a vacuum. It's getting interesting around here. Without sounding too gross, sometimes mid morning I look around and think... "we could feed a small country with the remnants on our carpet". Ew, I know. Just being real folks. Just being real.