Laughter Lives Tuesday

This post is part of "Laughter Lives! Tuesday" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check our their blog to read everyone else's "Laughter Lives!" posts.

Wolverine

Lately, my 5 year old has been asking a lot of questions during our Bible time every night before bed concerning the topic of Jesus dying on the cross. He is very analytical in his thinking, and sometimes he asks questions that I get stumped on to know how to answer. My husband and I have been praying that God would give us the words to say that he would be able to understand. So, one night a couple of weeks ago, he was asking why Jesus had to die on the cross? I started explaining to him about our sin and because we sin, we deserve to be punished. But because God loves us SO much he sent Jesus to die on the cross to take our place. I share more and more details of the story based on the questions that follow each statement. Then, towards the end of the discussion, he decides to recap.. he says, "So, Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and (holding up his hands like claws) Wolverine has claws to protect us." I about lost it...I told him that Jesus is a true story and Wolverine is just make believe. I had been talking to him for about 15 minutes so I am not sure how much he grasped...but I will faithfully answer questions as he asks them and pray that one day, he will truly understand what it means to be a Christ follower.

The Tongue

My community group at CC is studying the book of James right now. We have only finished chapters 1 and 2, but we are getting ready to study ch. 3. For those of you who don't know, the first part of James 3 talks about "Taming the Tongue". Lately, I have been finding the subject of our "tongues" coming up quite a bit in events around me, i.e. sermons, devotionals, Bible study, friends, radio etc. As a mother, I have been really convicted on how I use my tongue when it comes to my children. Timmy is going through a stage right now where he is asking "why?" on EVERYTHING it seems. And I am not talking about the "why?" questions that 2 or 3 yr olds ask, I am talking about things that I don't know the answer for or if there is even an answer. It's very hard to have patience and speak in love when you are being asked questions that you don't know the answer.

For example, on Tuesday, I had to go to the Atlanta airport to pick up Ed, and we hit downtown Atlanta around 6:00pm. Traffic was bumper to bumper, cars and trucks were weaving in and out of lanes in spaces smaller than my van, so I had to stay focused on my driving. Well, Timmy decided this was a good time to start asking me some of those "why?" questions. Here are just a few of them, "Mommy, why are those roads signs green?" and "Mommy, why are the lights on the back of those cars red?", and "Mommy, why can't we just pick up our car and fly to the airport?" And on and on it went. Finally I had to say, "Timmy, can you please not ask Mommy any questions right now, I have to concentrate on my driving?" I was proud of myself because I didn't raise my voice (for once...I know...I'm bad) and I remained calm. Then he says this, "Well, then can I ask these questions to myself?" I said, "Yes, if you say them to yourself." I was thinking he would just "think" them...nope...about 30 seconds later I hear, "Timmy, why are those road signs green?" I about hit the car in front of me I was laughing so hard. He then proceeded to answer himself..."those signs are green because they are road signs". He is too funny.

Anyway...back to the topic...James 3: 7-10 says, (7) For every kind of beast and bird, reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, (8)but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. (9) With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. (10) From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. There is so much I could go on about this passage alone, but I will pull out this.

The words that come out of our mouth...are we blessing others? OR are we cursing others? (I don't believe this is referring to "curse" words - I believe it's talking about using our words to hurt someone, not building up each other). There is a verse in Psalms that I LOVE to pray over my day and it's this: Psalms 19:14 "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer." I love this verse because I think words and our heart go hand in hand. Because what is in the heart, what we think about, what we dwell on inside, is what comes out on our tongue. I want my heart to be pleasing to the Lord, so that my words will be pleasing to the Lord.

When it comes to my children, I have to make sure that my heart is where it needs to be so that I when I speak to them it is pleasing to the Lord AS WELL AS uplifting to my children. I share this today because it is something that the Lord has been dealing with me about...how I speak to my children when I am frustrated, when I am disciplining them, when I am just speaking in general. As parents, it's OUR responsibility to raise our children in a godly home. What kind of home is it when our words are not blessing our children?

My challenge to you...take 1 day and ask God to help you think before you speak. I DID this last week, and let me tell you, I was convicted about speaking some words before I spoke them, and was able to change my heart, which changed the words from my tongue. Because, once words are spoken, you can't take them back.

On My Knees in Prayer

Last fall, I came upon MckMama's blog through Angie Smith's blog "Bring The Rain". MckMama was pregnant with Baby Stellan, and at 20 weeks he was diagnosed with heart failure. At 24 weeks, the doctors told MckMama and PC that their baby boy would die. They gave Stellan completely to the Lord and trusted HIM for the outcome, whether good or bad. All of us who were praying for Stellan, prayed that God would be glorified in whatever the outcome. Well, Stellan was born FULL TERM and completely HEALED of the heart problems he was diagnosed with in the womb. Immediately we all shouted PTL and enjoyed watching him grow and amazed at the goodness of the Lord.

On Sunday, he was having a little trouble breathing, so MckMama took him into the ER. Long story short, the problems that he was having in the womb, he is having now. His heart is in SVT which means that his heart rate is dangerously high. This came as a shock to MckMama, because Stellan has shown no signs of heart problems since he was born.

I have never met this family, but having prayed for them for 8 months, and after getting to know MckMama, they feel like family to me. On Monday night, when I was praying, I felt led to read Psalm 139. This Psalm became very comforting to me during my miscarriage, and I want to share a couple of verses that I am praying over Stellan.

(13) For YOU formed Stellan's inward parts; you knitted him together in his mother's womb. (14)I praise you, for Stellan is fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are YOUR works, my soul knows it very well. (15) Stellan's frame was not hidden from YOU, when he was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. (16) YOUR eyes saw Stellan's unformed substance; in YOUR book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for Stellan, when as yet there was none of them.

Please join me in prayer for this precious little baby. Be sure to click on the picture above and read updates about Stellan's condition.

To God Be the Glory!

Not Me! Monday!

**Please pray for MckMama's little baby...he needs serious prayer!**



Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did NOT ask my older sister who is not married and doesn't have children how her "morning sickness" was going. I know the difference between "morning sickness" and "walking pneumonia". I would never have made this mistake. No, not me!

My DH and I did NOT look around our 3 bedroom apartment for 2 hours for an unopened box of baby wipes that our toddler was carrying around earlier this week, we did NOT go in every room 3 times each, we did NOT open EVERY drawer in EVERY room a million times, we did NOT even go through the trash to look for these wipes. I did NOT find them the next day in the clothes basket underneath all the clean clothes AFTER I went out and bought another box. I always know where my toddler puts things. I would never get frustrated that I looked in that clothes basket at least 3 times and didn't see them. No, not me!

I did NOT leave my 5 year old and sleeping 1 year old locked in the car, while it was still running so my 5 year old's movie wouldn't turn off, in a parking lot while I went to use the restroom on my way to NC for the weekend. I would NEVER leave my children in the car alone, and I did NOT think of all the bad scenarios of what could happen. I DID check around the area before leaving said children in car. (I will say that was the FASTEST I have EVER used the bathroom) My boys were both safe and my sleeping 1 year old did NOT wake up..thank goodness! (FYI: I WILL NEVER do this again.)

That was my week...how was yours?

I'm In A Funk

I can't believe it's been over a week since I have blogged. I had to make a change in priorities in my life so blogging got pushed aside for a little while. But now I'm back and I'm not sure where to begin. There are so many things going on in our life right now...I will try to update the best I can.

1. Ed and I have started praying together every night before bed. We started this last Monday night and I can honestly say, it has brought us closer together. Things have been so hectic in our life since 2009 started, that we felt that our priorities were ALL messed up. What is most important is our relationship with Christ, our relationship with each other, and then our boys. NOTHING should be coming in front of those things. For those couples out there reading this...I HIGHLY recommend praying together before you go to bed. It's a GREAT way to recap the happenings of the day with each other and for me personally, listening to the man of my dreams pray to our Heavenly Father, brings tears to my eyes. I fall in love with him all over again. I challenge you...make this a priority...no excuses...no matter what time! Right baby?! ;)

2. Ed and I have started specifically praying for a "desire of my heart" concerning my work situation. God has blessed us by giving me a full time job outside of the home. And due to Ed not bringing in any income at the moment, this job is the only source of income that we have. Ed is "volunteering" at ISF until if/when ISF gets funded, which would give Ed a full time paycheck. When he goes into the ISF office to work, he takes Silas with him while he is working because we can't afford child care at this time. So, on to the "desire of my heart".... I LONG to be home with Silas. I was able to stay "home" with Timmy in Texas..albeit, I was working at home as an RD, but the majority of my time was in the home. So, after 5 years, it has killed me to go back to work outside of the home. I feel like I am missing out on so much with Silas. I get to see him for about 3 1/2 hours Monday through Friday. I get to wake him up and feed him breakfast, and then feed him supper and put him to bed. I live for weekends right now when I get to spend time with the boys. I have SO many ideas of what I would do if I was home with Silas. So, many outings and time to read books and just get in the floor and play. In order for this "desire" to come to pass, Ed needs to bring in a paycheck that would cover our expenses/bills, etc. Until that happens, I will happily work at my job hoping and praying for the day that I get to be home. I am also currently taking online courses from Penn Foster College to get certified in Medical Transcription. My hope is that when I complete these courses, that I will be able to work from home even if Ed doesn't have a paycheck yet. Here's to praying and waiting on God's answer.

3. Now to the reason my blog is entitled "I'm In A Funk"...you see...here lately, I have had the HARDEST time getting motivated to lose weight/eat healthy/exercise. I have been wanting to get healthy for a while. Since I have moved to Georgia, I have lost about 15 pounds, and when January 1, 2009 hit..I was SO motivated to lose weight that I really felt like this would be the time for the "change". Well...shortly after, 5 days to be exact, I found out I was pregnant and didn't feel like I could really lose weight hardcore like I wanted to. My OB even said she just wanted me to maintain my weight throughout my pregnancy. I got so excited about being pregnant...looking forward to my belly getting larger because a baby was inside, not because of more fat. I couldn't wait to shop for maternity clothes because I had sold everything before we moved to GA, so I was looking forward to a new wardrobe. Then...the miscarriage happened and my motivation feels wiped out from underneath me. I REALLY want to get healthy and get into those summer clothes that are in the box labeled "Wish" for "wish I could wear these", but no one can "make" me do it...I have to get myself up off the couch and workout, eat right, be happy with who I am. I LOVE watching Biggest Loser every Tuesday night...and I wish I could have a trainer like Bob and Jillian to whip me into shape. But apparently those "trainers" cost A LOOOT of money...and extra money is not something we have right now. I am praying that God will help me get healthy and start today...not wait until Monday like I always tell myself....I need to start today. So, here's to getting out of my funk. Maybe I can use my blog as a way to hold myself accountable to get healthy so that my wish box can be empty by summer.

4. Family - I get to go home to NC for the first time since Christmas and I CAN'T WAIT! My little sis and her hubby just bought a house in NC near my parents!!! How cool is that....last year this time...she was living in Germany and this year she has a house for the FIRST time! I think I might just cry when I see it. We are throwing her a housewarming party Friday night and Saturday afternoon, so it's off to NC for the weekend.

5. Texas - I am a little jealous right now because my hubby is leaving early in the morning to go to Texas to visit family and friends. I can't BELIEVE he's going without me!! I miss my Texas family soooo much! But honestly speaking, I am actually thrilled he gets to go down to Texas...he NEEDS this time with his brothers in Christ...I am praying that this trip is spiritually refreshing for him and he comes back renewed and ready to meet the daily demands of our life in GA. And Ed...you BETTER come back to us! :)

I am hoping that I can manage my time better to be able to blog on a more regular basis, but this is not one of my top priorities...so we shall see how it goes.

Until next time...

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

While away on a business trip for 4 days, I did NOT send a "text message only for my hubby's eyes" to a young lady that I met only 24 hours earlier on said business trip and I did NOT realize my mistake while said young lady was sitting RIGHT NEXT TO ME. I always check to make sure I am sending text messages to the correct person and I would NEVER send a text message to the wrong person.

While traveling to and from the business trip, I did NOT plug in the portable DVD player and "listen" to the entire season 4 of One Tree Hill. I would never subject myself to almost running off the road while switching DVDs in the player.

I did NOT feel a desire to coach cheerleading again after judging for 3 days at the CCA National Christian Cheerleading Championships. I would NOT subject myself to hours and hours of practices, meetings, time away from my family again after being on a hiatus for 2 years. That would be ridiculous to think about that time commitment again.

I did NOT get disappointed upon my arrival at home late Saturday night to realize that my precious boys were already asleep. I mean, who would have thought that my darling husband would have put the boys to bed at regular bedtime at 7:30pm instead of letting them wait up for me to get home at 11:00pm. I did NOT go into each of their rooms and lay hands on their little heads and say a prayer for them and kiss their precious cheeks.

So, that was my week...how was yours?

Getting To Know You

I am participating in a blogging "Getting To Know You". Go on over and join. It looks to be a LOT of fun!

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

It's that time again. I didn't post a Not Me Monday last week because I was kid-free for a week and didn't do much of anything. But this week routine as usual, so here goes.

When driving our family to the mall this weekend, I most certainly did NOT merge right when the sign side "Lane Ends Merge Left". I always know my right from left and would have NEVER allowed this opportunity for my DH to make fun of me for hours about this.

I did NOT wait until Saturday to unpack my little ones suitcase from their week long visit at Nana and Papa's house over a week ago. I am always on top of things and I never put off unpacking for that long.

I did NOT allow my 22 month old to walk in the mall instead of carrying him towards the door and said little one did NOT fall down and possibly break his wrist. I did NOT have to take him to the ER on Friday night. This did not happen and I do NOT have a picture to prove it.



After coming home from the ER early Saturday morning, I was NOT awakened by my 5 year old with a tummy ache. I did NOT send him to his daddy in our bedroom (Note: I was sleeping on the couch so I could hear my 22 mth old cry in his sleep from having to sleep with a splint on) so that DH would have to take care of him throwing up in the bathroom. I would NEVER push my sick son off on my husband to take care of. I always get up with my sickly boys.


So, here's my Not Me Monday post that this is just from the past 3 days. How's your week been!?!!