What does God think about New Year's Resolutions?

I have a love-hate relationship with New Year’s. I absolutely love the feeling of a fresh start, renewed resolutions, and the idea that ‘this year will be different.’ However, I also have a sense of dread that comes with New Year because I know that I will fail. And since I am going to fail…AGAIN, then why even try, right? Has there ever been a year that I was able to keep any of my resolutions anyways? Well…does anyone, really? I mean… let’s just be real.  I am sure if you’re reading this, you’re not one of those people that have super powers and can somehow magically accomplish everything on your resolution list. All I have to say to those people is…YOU ARE NOT HUMAN! You are probably from Krypton and should say ‘hi’ to Clark for me!

In writing what I am about to say, know that I am NOT saying I have all the answers. I’m just sharing a bit of my heart and experience with you. And if it encourages you like it did me, then writing this was worth it!

 

There’s so much I have been thinking about change, failing, and God. I really don’t know where to start to express it all. Maybe, if you’re like me, you’re disgusted with yourself with the habits you have allowed in your life, the lack of discipline, and how “unspiritual” you are. I mean… come on people, there’s only so many times I should have to go around this mountain, right? Are you picking up what I’m settin’ down? Can you relate?  If so, keep reading. First of all, let me start off by saying I am one who has an issue with failure. I totally fear failure to the point that if I think I may fail for the 100^th time, I won’t even try because I don’t want the disappointment of that failure again. Let me also say, that is PRIDE. Here we go…let’s start swinging. Thinking that I can live an error-free life is symptomatic of an unhealthy pride. *gulp* Instead of dwelling in the past, I am called to release my mistakes to God and move forward. Longing to undo past regrets is a waste of time and energy, leading only to frustration. (Can I get an AMEN?) Within the last year I have come to experience God’s grace like never before. The sweet things He has spoken to my heart have propelled and motivated me to keep going and not give up in the areas that are too hard for me.

One thing we first have to determine when it comes to change is, why do you want to change anyways? Is it to feel victorious? Is it because we feel like God will love us more and be more pleased with us? Is it because we want to please others? What is the motive of your change? If our motive for personal change is anything other than wanting to be closer to Jesus, then we have missed it. The purpose of any change should always be to draw near to Him. God’s love for us will never change regardless of whatever great things you are doing for Him, or the lack thereof. Whether you are the super human who keeps every resolution, or whether you are like me, flubbering in your failures, God’s love for us is the same. However, the choices we make can enhance, or hinder, our enjoyment of our relationship with Him.

 

I have learned one of the greatest keys to keep going in the midst of failure, is to let the Lord in your mess. One of the sweetest things the Lord spoke to me concerning this was, “Failing WITH me is better than any victory WITHOUT me.” We were never called to live this life in our own strength and in our own power. God wants to be a part of our every moment of every day. We are called to abide in Him. Any time we just say, “The heck with it” (so to speak) and just give up, we essentially are shutting the door to the Lord. We forfeit His grace, mercy, and help. But if we allow God in our mess, in our failures, and in the times we fall, that is more important to Him, than having any success we have without Him. God never called us to perfection so quit trying to be perfect! He is the only one who is perfect so LET HIM be perfect for you. Whether you have victory or failure- never shut Him out! Quit trying to walk on your own. Quit trying to be a Christian without Christ!

 The Lord also went on and said, “Because you know failing ‘in me’ is not possible.”  Psalm 37:23-24 in the amplified version says, “The steps of a [good] man are directed and established by the Lord when He delights in his way [and He busies Himself with his every step.] Though he falls, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord grasps his hand in support and upholds him.”  Another version says “though he stumble, he will not fall.” We may stumble in this life, but when we have the Lord in our midst we get back up and keep going. He is upholding us. I picture holding the hand of my toddler as I go through a parking lot. Suddenly, they trip, but they do not get that skinned knee because I was holding their hand. I never let go. Had they NOT been holding my hand they would have gotten that skinned knee. Hunny let me tell you, that’s what this verse is like! There’s no skinned knees when you have the hand of the Father in your hand. He will hold your hand until your feet get planted on the ground again, and ya just keep walking. Disaster will always be averted when you are abiding in Him. In your weakness HE is STRONG!

 It is also important to remember that God is the one who working in us and He promises to complete the work in us. Philippians 2:13 says, “[Not in your own strength] for it is God who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire] both to will and work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight.” Did you read that? Maybe you better read that again…He creates the POWER and DESIRE!! How cool is that?!? You WILL fail in this life, but it’s what you do with those failures that count. Do you let them drive you closer to Him as you recognize your dependence on Him? Or do you let the enemy use them to discourage you, keep you from Him, and stop you in your race of life?

So if you are one who is disappointed in yourself, I encourage you to get back up. Quit trying to do it in your own strength. Even though you have circled that mountain 100 times, go around again the 101^st time. Get your eyes off of you and your imperfections, and put them on the Author and perfector of your faith. God never meant for us to dwell on our struggles. He meant for us to dwell on Him and enjoy Him. God is not displeased with you. His face is always smiling on you…even when you blow it. Close your eyes right now and picture Him smiling at you. Nothing you can do will make Him love you more, and nothing you can do will make Him love you less.  In the midst of your yuck- He delights in you.  You may be in a pit you cannot get out of. LET HIM LOVE YOU OUT OF YOUR PIT! His love is the wind that propels you to fly.

 

Now let’s get up and run our race and show those super human’s what it’s all about!

 

~Danielle~

P.S. If you related to any of this, I’d like to hear what part impacted you! J And if there’s any way I can help you run your race better, please message me!

 

 

A letter to the 21 Egyptian Christians Myrtyrs

Dear Egyptian Christian Brothers who were murdered,
I watched the entire 5 minute video last night that ISIS released of your awful death. I saw your heads covered in sand and decapitated from your bodies. I saw the Mediterranean Sea colored red from your blood. I saw your brave last moments as I heard you cry out to Jesus. I saw your enemies make threats to the world and to the rest of the followers of the cross.

 

My eyes watched fear in your eyes.

My eyes watched bravery.

My eyes watched anger in the enemy.

My eyes watched sadness in your eyes.

My eyes watched evil barbarianism.

My eyes watched hope.

My eyes watched cowardly men hiding behind masks.

My eyes watched strength.

My eyes watched brutality.

My eyes watched a moment that changed me forever.

I cannot even begin to imagine what you, and countless other martyr’s before you, went thru as you gave your lives for the cause of Christ. You had the opportunity to renounce Christ, yet you didn’t. You had the opportunity to save your life here on this earth, yet you didn’t. You gave all you were for your Savior Jesus Christ.

My emotions are going all over the place as I reflect on what just happened. My heart aches for your families, your fellow country, and all who are mourning over the personal loss of your lives. I am grieved as imagine what it must have been like to have known you were about to die. I can’t imagine what it was like having your face in the sand unable to breathe and knowing it was your last. Then seconds later, a knife to your throat as they ripped your head off and (I assume) threw your bodies into the sea.  But then, Ahh…BUT THEN, MY HEART REJOICES, as I imagine what it must have been like in only a few moments later, having your Savior greet you with a tear stained face, and holding the biggest smile his cheeks can possibly withstand as he embraced you and told you how proud of you he was. To go from a completely barbaric moment, to a moment of utter bliss….I cannot fathom.

This morning when I woke up, I happened to read Psalm 37. I could not help but think of you the entire time I read it. It said things like not to fret because of evil men because they will soon wither. It said not to fret when evil men succeeded in their ways and carried out their wicked schemes because evil men will be cut off. It said that in a little while the wicked will be no more and that the Lord laughs at the wicked, because he knows their day is coming. It said that, “The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright. But their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken.” Then it went on to say how the Lord will not forsake his faithful ones and how He will protect them forever. It said that He is your stronghold in times of trouble and that the Lord helps and delivers the righteous from the wicked. I have to say, I felt mad when I read that. I felt like God abandoned you. I felt like God failed you. I said that out loud to my husband who was sitting right across the table from me, “Chris, God says he will save the righteous from the wicked but he didn’t for them.” My husband responded with, “Did God abandon Stephen, the first martyr? Did God abandon any of the martyrs? Our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers and principalities in the Spirit. It’s a spiritual battle, Danielle.” This is truth as well. Visually it may look like the enemy won with you. But in truth, all the enemy has done, is stir the embers to the fire that is about to happen. Hasn’t the enemy learned by now that any time you try to snuff out Christ, He only gets proclaimed further and spreads faster? Take a dandelion for example, if you pick one up in full bloom and try to rip it’s head off, there will be many more dandelions next year to take care of.  

Your death has caused MY HEART TO BURN with passion all the more for what is about to take place in our world. Your death has given my heart a greater boldness to stand up for the cause of Christ, to take my place of authority over the enemy, and to not fear the days to come and the suffering that will occur.

 

Know that your death was not in vain. Your death has started a fire within the souls of Christians all over the world. Your death was victory for the cause of Christ and we rejoice at the glory that is being revealed in you.  Your death causes me to dig my heals in deeper, and anchor in Christ more than ever. What the enemy has meant for evil, God will use for good! ISIS said that this was “A message signed with blood to the nation of the cross.” The last time someone dear to me left a message signed in blood, He started out with only 12 followers and changed the world. The enemy doesn’t know what he’s started. It’s only just begun!

Ever wonder if your kid will turn out ok?

So maybe I’m just being too sensitive, but it seems as my oldest son grows up, his heart is not as sensitive as it used to be. Maybe that’s what happens when little boys grow up. Fear and sadness try to creep into my heart as I think about what “THIS COULD MEAN? Will my son love Jesus? Will he love me? Will he love his wife? Will he be a decent human being that contributes to society? Will he ever hunger and be passionate for the Lord? Will he… will he… will he?” Then it transitions to me. “Oh my gosh, I’m the worst parent ever! My son doesn’t do (fill in whatever “Christian” thing you’re supposed to do) and so how will he ever turn out right? What am I doing wrong? What do I need to do different as a parent? Why does parenting having to be messy? Why can’t it be a black and white formula?” Then other times I laugh and tell myself that I am over analyzing everything. Gee ya think? The poor kid is only 10 years old!

Whether I am being super sensitive or not, really doesn’t matter though. Whether my desires for my son ever manifest in the future or not, really doesn’t matter. What matters, is RIGHT NOW. The desire to control the happy outcome of my son’s future is meaningless and futile. But what I can do, is live in this moment right now!

So tonight when these thoughts tried to overtake and grip my heart with fear, I decided I would do something to connect in this moment. Although my heart wanted to get in his face and freak out about the meaning and purpose of life, “Do you realize what life is all about? Do you get this? Do you know what Christ did for you?” Instead… I decided to dance. Yep. I cranked some fun dancing music on in the kitchen while I cooked supper, grabbed my 10 year old and said, “Come on…dance with your mama.” Of course I could tell by his slumped shoulders and painfully long face that he was real excited about this idea. Through my encouragement and silliness, he wasn’t moving. Finally I said through my sweet dance moves, “Come on boy, some day you will regret not dancing in the kitchen with your mama!”  Something clicked. He said, “You’re right mom. Someday I will.” At that moment, he got silly with me and started dancing and swinging through the kitchen. The schlump turned into smiles and laughter. The dancing didn’t last long between him and I. Soon the rest of the kids were all dancing in the kitchen and we were having a party as I took breaks to add ingredients to the dinner on the stove.

I am so thankful for my 5 minute dance party. It connected our hearts together, showed him I was in love with him and that I enjoyed him, and got me out of my freak-out funk. Although our hearts didn’t connect on the spiritual level that I am desiring, they did on an emotional level. We connected TODAY. And today is the only thing I have with my son. I don’t have tomorrow. I have today.

 Maybe this is a normal process to feel like you are losing your child. Maybe it’s not? Maybe I really am doing something wrong and need to reevaluate my parenting and relationship with my son. Regardless, the bottom line is, trusting the Lord. The Lord loves my son more than I do. He wants what’s best for him even more than I do. He will pursue my son, just as He pursued me. God’s got this. He will give me wisdom and show me the paths to take as I seek His face.  Yes, we will (and have) both make mistakes as we grow and mature. But for now, it’s good to be reminded that I am not God, and sometimes… we just need to dance.

"Sure" - How this word impacted me

I am realizing that I am a visual learner. Object lessons stick with me. I may even be able to tell you what you were wearing when we met. (However, for the life of me I will probably not remember your name until after the 4th time. Go figure.) Because of this learning style, I love spending time with people and families whom I respect. I learn so much from just observing them and how they interact and respond.

On one such recent occasion, I observed my friend respond to her son in a way I realized I was not doing. We were eating dinner and her son made a request. "Mom, can you get me another tortilla?" It was something this child could have grabbed himself. In my home, I would have said, "You are 2 feet away from this. Don't be lazy and just grab it yourself." Or maybe not quite so mean and at least said politely, "Oh you can just grab it." But, that is not how my friend responded. She said in the most cheerful way, "Sure." That's it. I was convicted. I have been working with my kids on responding cheerfully to requests made of them. When I worked a secular job, if my boss made a request of me, I always tried to respond cheerfully with, "Sure. I'd love to." Did I feel like I'd love doing it? 99% of the time, NO. You may say, "You lied Danielle!" I used to think that too. Until I realized the answer to this question, does my heart love and want to serve? YES. Therefore, I was not lying. It was truth. My heart's desire is always greater than my flesh. All that to say, I want my kids to have the heart of a servant and respond cheerfully. BUT HOW CAN I EXPECT THEM TO DO SOMETHING THAT I DON'T EVEN DEMONSTRATE IN FRONT OF THEM?

If I want my kids to have the heart of a servant, then I need to live that out in front of them... not just to others, but to THEM. They need to see it and experience it. Paul said in the New Testament, Imitate me as I imitate Christ. Isn't this how it should be? Our children will learn to imitate Christ by watching us do so.

So, in light of all this, the past month I have been working on my responses to my children's requests. When the answer is "yes," I have been answering with a very cheerful, "Sure." Have they noticed? I doubt it. They probably just think, "Mom's in a good mood today. She must have had extra coffee." LOL

Today was one such moment where I had an opportunity to respond cheerfully. My 3 year old asked me to turn on a movie. I said real cheerful, "Sure." He says, "Mommy, are you turning it on cuz I asked so nice?" My immediate thought was, "Pffft. No. I am turning it on because I want to show you I am nice, and how to respond to requests." BOOM. Immediately I was convicted. Again. So often we think our Father God answers our prayers because WE prayed so hard. Or, WE had enough faith. Or, maybe it was because I spent so much time in prayer. In 3 year old terms, "Cuz we asked so nice." Don't get me wrong...these are all very important. But may I suggest to you, that perhaps God answers our prayers because of who HE is? I wanted to turn on that movie, not based on anything to do with my son at all. I wanted to show him how to respond cheerfully to requests. I wanted to reflect the Father to him.

God wants to respond to us because HE is good. He wants to be generous to us so that we may bring Him glory by being generous to others. "Freely you have received. Freely give." (Matthew 10:8) "As Christ has forgiven you so you must also forgive others." (Col. 3:13)
The two motives I had with my son was,
1. To show him an identity.
2. To teach him a response.

These are the VERY SAME MOTIVES God has in responding to us.

1. To show us HIS identity of who He is.
2. To teach us how we in turn should respond to others.

This life is all about loving God and loving people. When we do these things, we bring glory to the Father. When the Father gives to us, we can't help but love Him more. Yes, God brings healing, provision, and life to us because HE loves us. But ultimately, He does everything for HIS glory. The greater revelation we have of who He is, the greater glory it brings Him. When you become full of awe over who He is and what He has done, you can't help but share it with others. Again, bringing Him glory. When you know Him, you love Him. You can't love someone you don't know. God gives not based on our works and efforts, but based on WHO HE IS. The bible says that He gave his son to die for us while we were yet sinners. We deserve hell. He gave while we didn't deserve it. This is WHO.HE.IS! Every good and perfect gift comes from heaven because HE is good and perfect. There is never a moment we deserve anything from Him.

God longs to display Himself to us. That is why He loves when you ask. He says, "You have not because you ask not." (Matthew 7:7) Every prayer request is an opportunity for God to reveal Himself to you, causing you to fall more in love with Him, and thus causing you to overflow HIM to others, thus bringing Him glory. Do you see the big picture?

So the next time you talk to your Father-God, picture Him with a smile saying, "Sure. I'd love to." Let it shape who He is to you so that you may fall more in love with Him. 

And now, if my friend only knew what her simple, "SURE" has given me, she would probably laugh. Did she know that her "sure" would spill God on me? Did she know it would then impact me, my family, my prayer life, and my perception of the Father? Probably not. But I am "sure" glad it did. (pun intended. :-)

Who I am- going deeper

An old friend visited our church on Sunday and said, "Oh Danielle! I googled you and found your blog from like 3 years ago!" I died. I think my heart may have stopped for sheer embarrassment. Yes, I was that blogger who started strong, and then slowly faded away. I still cringe.

Wowzers! Has it really been over 2 years since I posted? Oye! Ok people, so here's what happened...I had a 4th baby... and life got crazy...and that ended my blogging days. UNTIL NOW! I have had on my heart to start writing and studying again for some time. I finally am at a point where I have a bit more of that precious commodity we call, TIME. What is my excuse now, right? If all else fails, I can at least post this one post and call it good for a few more years right? Because I mostly post my funnies on facebook now, I rarely deem it necessary to blog. I have literally turned my facebook posts in to hard copied books that sits on my coffee table. But for whatever reason, there is a desire in my heart STILL, to bring life to people through laughter, or an encouraging word. And sometimes facebook is just not the right outlet for that. I know...hard to believe even for me. :-)

In the past few months I have come to articulate about myself a few things.  Not only do I value authenticity and real relationships above all, but the bottom line is this: I LOVE LAUGHTER. I love to hear people laugh, I love to make people laugh, and I love laughing! I prize this more than a good cup of coffee and any other small treasures life has. I am talking good, clean, wholesome laughter. I am embracing this fully as I realize, THIS IS WHO I AM. And I am ok with that.

I am also realizing more and more, that my heart desires to bring such encouragement to people. Something I desire deeply, is to bring LIFE to people. To be able to help bring wind to someone's sail, joy to a sorrowed heart, or balm to a wound...please Jesus, USE ME for your glory. This also, is the passion of who I desire to be.

These are two passions that are emerging greatly in my life as I reflect more and more. God has used me during the past 7 years in the business of massage to bring life to people physically, spiritually, and emotionally.  And it has been an incredible journey. But the fire in me is greater than just massage. I feel like have more to give.

So with that being said, I have no idea what I will write about. (Real encouraging for you reader, eh?) I just know that these two passions are weaving into more areas of my life. God has a greater purpose that I don't yet see. So for now, I take the first step of where he's leading me by picking up my blog once again.

If you are someone who needs a bit of encouragement, loves to have a good laugh, and values being real, then I encourage you to stay tuned for more to come. As I re-read the last paragraph in the "More about Me" section, I was encouraged to see my heart in what I had written 4 years ago, still applied to me today. "I have nothing to impress you with and I have nothing to hide." It's just me wanting to connect with you. I am excited for this new journey.

And although I had a moment of sheer embarrassment that Sunday morning, I am so thankful for it. It confirmed in my heart what was already shouting to me. "Start writing again Danielle. It doesn't matter that you don't know grammar. Just write." So thank you, my dear friend, you know who you are, for googling me and reading the outdated version of my life. Here's to a fresh start!

August Funnies

So I have a hodge podge of cute little things that the kids have done and said lately. This post is a collection of the most recent.

8-8-12
 Luke woke up and asked where Isaac was. I told him that he was at Kid's Camp today. Grace woke up shortly after this and Luke said to her, "Isaac's at Camping Kids."

8-8-12
At Target today.
Luke: I'm doing good at the store. I'm not running around, or screaming, or fighting.
Grace: That's cuz Isaac's not here.

8-8-12
Luke asked if we could all play "ring around the bridges." So...hmm...which one are we supposed to play?

8-13-12
Isaac's friend to Isaac: Is this your skateboard?
Isaac: Yeah...but I can't ride it...It's for talented people.

8-17-12
ME: Ohhhh I'm so bummed! I'm out of my favorite coffee drink!
ISAAC: Mom....
ME: yeah buddy
ISAAC (real sweet-like): You still have Jesus!

8-22-12
I didn't realize Isaac was listening as well to the audio version of my daily bible with me as I did the dishes. It was in the book of Job. Isaac had lots of questions and asked me to pause the reading while he took the dog out. I thought...man...of all books of the bible to want to hear! LOL! He came back in and we chatted some more and I said, thinking Isaac could relate, "...yeah...Job's kinda being a drama king right now." Isaac says, "No...he's just having a pity party." If anyone else would like the "commentary" on the book of Job from a 7 year old...I guess you should stop over. HA!

8-23-12
This is a picture Grace (6) made today. Here is what it says,

"I love my house and my family and I love myself. I don't care if I have too many brothers. And God gave me everything. I love God very much. I love everything that I have."

I didn't realize that she thought she had too many brothers! LOL!

8-23-12

 I'm so glad my kids thought this was funny.

 

We just keep laughing thru life! :-) I'm blessed!

 

 

 

 

Pilgrims on the Cauliflower???

Just wanted to post a few quick little giggles from this week. This picture is one of all 4 of them on Uncle Adam and Auntie Kinsey's hammock. This was the first time the kids got to swim and see their new place! Woohoo!

(Isaac 7, Grace 6, Luke 3, Jonathan 15 months)

• Chris was asking Isaac if he knew what Independence Day was all about and why we celebrate it. Isaac says, "Oh yeah...isn't that where those people came over on that ship...the Cauliflower?"
• We were all picking peas in the garden and the flies and mosquito's were so terrible. They were buzzing in our ears non-stop. We hear Lukey say, "Bees...leave me alone. I'm trying to pick peas. I can't play with you right now!" Grace looks at me and giggles. A few minutes later we hear him say more emphatically now, "BEES! I told you! I'm trying to pick peas!! I can't play with you right now!
• This morning as I was taking a shower Luke decided to lock the door...from the outside! (FYI...this required getting a stool to reach the lock because it is out of his reach) I had to search for a couple of minutes to find something small enough that I could shove in the crack to unlatch it so I could get out. I went to my room and I happened to notice a little tuft of blonde hair hiding behind my bed sitting VERY still. I hopped on top of my bed to see what the little munchkin was doing. HIS MOUTH WAS FULL OF BUBBLE GUM that he had found from CHRISTMAS! He could hardly chew because his mouth was so full, and it was practically dripping out. Although I didn't enjoy the mess on his face, I certainly enjoyed his little stinkin cleverness.

Lukey's funnies...and AMAZING Grace

Our little Luke will be three this month. Anyone who meets him falls in love with his sense of humor and the cute things he says. I forget to post some of the things he says here often, but here were a few I remembered that I didn't want to forget.

• The first one I wanted to share was about him praying at bedtime. Daddy puts the kids to bed every night. They read stories, the Children's Bible, and pray. Many times when the kids pray we agree with their prayers as they are praying. Luke decided he was going to agree with his own prayers while he prays now. So his prayers go something like this, "Thank you Lord for Mommy...umhmmm...and for Daddy and Gracie...uuuhuh...ummhmmm." It's so stinkin' cute. You have to hold in your laugh every time. It's just too precious.
• The second one happened yesterday at church. There is this sweet little old grandma who goes to our church who can't be much over 4 feet tall. She bent down to say "hi" to Luke. Lukey smiles at her and says real sweet, "You sure are getting big." Apparently, people must tell Lukey that he is getting big a lot. He is quite the charmer and likes to be the center of attention. We are enjoying him but wonder what kind of clown he will be as he gets older.

I was having a more intense day the other day. Luke had been changed into several sets of clothes before 1:00 p.m. It was just one of those days. If you're a Mom I need not explain any further...you know what I'm talking about :-)  I went to check on him in the back yard. I came out to see him sloshing the ashy rain water in our fire pit around with the fire poker. He was getting so messy and my first reacion was to freak out. I screamed, "LUKE!!!" I wanted him to stop making such a mess because I had just changed him from sloshing in the neighbor's mud puddle. On a normal day I wouldn't probably want to freak out so much. But as I had mentioned...it was just one thing after another that day. When he saw me approaching he said in his cute Lukey way, "Look Mommy! I'm fishing!!!" As I still felt such huge frustration it was like I heard the Lord say to me smiling with a big grin on His face, "Look Mommy...he's fishing." I could feel the Lord's smile. I immediately stopped feeling frustrated with him and started to enjoy him. He was being a kid. He was being a boy. He was doing what little boys do best. Making a mess. He was using his creative imagination. These are things to be enjoyed. I still made him stop sloshing the dirty ash water. But I was able to calmly stop him and redirect him to something else. I was so very thankful to the Lord for helping me to enjoy Luke in that moment instead of react out of my frustrated day I was having. I have been praying for grace to respond better to my kids in certain situations. The Lord delivered sweet grace to me that day by smiling in my face in the midst of my heated emotions. The Lord's grace was made perfect in my weakness. I got to witness it first hand. I'm so thankful to have the Lord to help me in those moments. What an awesome Father I serve!

 2 Corinthians 12:9 (Amplified Bible)

⁹ But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and ^[a]show themselves most effective in [your] weakness. Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may ^[b]pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!

The Dancing Ring Bearer

My brother Adam was married this weekend and my middle 2 kids were involved as Ring bearer and Flower girl. As they were walking in Luke heard the music and started dancing. He was so proud of his dancing that he decided to announce it to everyone! He wanted someone to pay attention to him! When he got to the end of the asile he found someone he knew, "Look Auntie Annie! I'm Dancing!!" We had a pretty good chuckle over it. He's the little boy in back. Here's the video of it:

I thought I should post it here. Anything to keep Laughing Through Life...right? :-)

Too much time around Papa

So yesterday we went to the library. As I was returning the books, my kids went to go look at the birds. All the sudden some little boy comes up to Isaac and starts kicking him for no reason whatsoever. I had a friend with who saw the whole thing. Isaac looked up at my friend so confused as to why in the world this little boy was kicking him. Next thing I know. Isaac comes over to me and says, "What the hell was he thinking?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing and though I must have heard wrong since Chris and I don't say that. I said, "What did you say?" He repeated himself with no shame, and that confused look on his face, "What the hell was he thinking?" I turned around and died laughing. When I maintained a little composure, I explained to Isaac that when we say that word like that it's a swear word and we don't say that. I then asked him where he heard that. He wasn't sure. But he just spend about 2 full days with Papa. My dad says that ALL THE TIME. I'm pretty sure he picked it up from him. We also told him that from now on what he hears from Papa he doesn't repeat without first asking us. HA!

Introducing Lilly... the new puppy!

So let's just say...Jonathan is no longer the new cool thing at our house. Why we decided to get a 9 week old puppy.....I'm still trying to figure out. I really don't know what possessed me to think that we needed or wanted a sweet little puppy. We would not consider ourselves, "dog people." However, little puppies are just so darn cute! I'm a sucker when it comes to baby anything. They are so adorable! We had been mulling the idea of a puppy over for several months... never anything serious though. When I mentioned to Chris that I wanted a puppy his response to me with a grin was, "You just want a puppy cuz I'm in school. Once I'm out of school you won't want one any more." Hmmm Chris, what are you trying to say? :-) When he saw the type of dog I wanted he wasn't opposed to it at all.... which really shocked me because he's always wanted a BIG dog. (Personally, I think he just liked that she looked like an Ewok to him.) The perks of the little dog, in comparison to a big dog, that we thought of were these: little poop to clean up, no shedding, don't have to feed it as much, and of course cute....and did I mention smaller poop...oh hey...what about little poop??

So yesterday we found ourselves buying a 9 week old MORKIE!! A Morkie is a cross between a Maltese and a Yorkshire Terrier. I really wanted a Yorkshire Terrier but they were a bit spendy. This one did the trick just fine for a little dog. She will probably get to be about 6 lbs. Grace and I really pushed for the name Lilly. It was Gracie's favorite. Daddy wanted to name her after an Ewok. Then he discovered Ewoks don't have names. So he then came up with GIZMO. Umm...no, she's not being named after a GREMLIN!



Here's our little Lilly jumping for the camera

Lilly meeting Grandma Karan today

As you can see the kids LOVE her!

(Sorry I can't rotate this picture but it's still a fun one of Luke watching Lilly chew her bone)

The day we brought her home weren't prepared at all. Well, I take that back. The people we bought her from sent us home with a nice list of how to care for her and some starter stuff. We set her on the floor and she ran around and decided to start pooping her guts out.  I saw her start to go on the carpet and quick picked her up to bring her outside the patio door. But wouldn't you know the screen door was frozen shut!! Chris was outside and I  hollering to him to come help me with the poop dog. In the mean time Jonathan was crying and started scooting toward me. He scooted RIGHT IN THE DOG POOP!!! Chris is upset cuz he can't get the door open, I'm freaking out cuz Jonathan just scooted through poop and I can't do anything about it cuz I'm holding the dog, Luke is crying about something and Isaac and Grace were currently not listening about something at the moment. The puppy continued to poop all over the floor in several different places in a very short amount of time. She was VERY excited to say the least.

At this point I wondered....what did I just get myself into!! (You don't need to email me and tell me this is normal that they poop yada yada yada...I know)

We now have a nice little set up for her. The kids are so in love with her! We have to set a timer though for when they get to play with her because they would play with her all day if I would let them. They don't understand that puppies need to sleep and rest.

The adventures today were quite exciting too. Grace STEPPED in the dog poo and tracked it everywhere!!! AND later on I heard the kids scream, "JONATHAN HAS POOP IN HIS MOUTH!!!" I was about to freak out! Nope, it wasn't poop. Just a nasty piece of DOG FOOD! ACK!! (Believe it or not we really do have a set up so he can't get to the puppy) So yes, we have a puppy. Yes, it is chaotic. Yes, we are crazy. But YES, we sure do enjoy her! I think she will bring even more life to our crazy family. She has already created much more laughter in our home. Who woulda thought I'd have a smelly pet?? Yuck! But...I think I can handle a little one for now :-) She's super cute and very playful. She's very content and I believe is adjusting well. If anyone wants to meet our newest addition, feel free to come on over. We welcome any advice you may have!

5 Favorite Elliott Funnies for the Week

We have had a fun few days here at the Elliott house with some extra random laughs that I thought I should share since that is what I LOVE to do...LAUGH! I have a hodgepodge of stories, pictures, and videos and wasn't sure which one to share. So...I figured I would squish a bunch of my funnies in together in this one, big, random post. :-)

FUNNY #1
Grace (5) has been on this kick to help mommy clean lately. She locked the bathroom door to "clean" it for me. When she finished, she was so proud to open the door and show me. I praised her thoroughly for the beautiful job she did. I then opened up the toilet lid and saw her cleaning cloth of choice....TOILET PAPER! I looked on the mirror and there were little, white, dried pieces of toilet paper on it. The bowl was FULL of little wadded up pieces of toilet paper! It was so cute! I determined we needed another cleaning lesson after this. ;-)

FUNNY #2

Ok... do I really need to have a caption here? This picture just cracks me up!

Jonathan (almost 11 months old)

FUNNY #3

Luke (2) gets some of his words mixed up at times. He particularly gets UP/DOWN and IN/OUT mixed up. So the other day he told me it was his "Happy Bir-day" and that he was going to blow up all his candles! :-)

FUNNY #4

Ok, I wasn't sure if I should share this next one. It makes me laugh. I apologize if it offends anyone. I was rough housing and playing with my kids the other day. Isaac saw ...well, let's just call it an "opportunity." We were playing a game at the moment, where we were drawing on each other's back with our finger. So I was laying on the floor as they were drawing a frying pan and food on my back. Isaac saw my underwear and decided it was time to give Mom a WEDGIE!! He screams out obnoxiously, "WEDGIE TIME!!!" and proceeds to give me the greatest wedgie a 7 year old can give. I was screaming and laughing at the same time. Grace and Isaac burst out in giggles and must have thought that Mom actually likes this because she's laughing. So they proceed to both go at it together. Oh boy. It was quite the sight I'm sure. They learned that this is not something they will ever get to do again. But at that moment they had their fun...that's for sure!

FUNNY #5

I saved my favorite for last. My precious Luke loves to play, Duck Duck Grey Duck. He used 2 little toy men to play with. He would hold them against his back as the were "getting" him. He would squeal and laugh. it was sooo cute. I caught the last time of him playing it on video. He didn't squeal on this one but it was still so priceless!

Let me know what your favorite "FUNNY" was! :-) Until next time....Keep laughing!
Danielle

Creating a Cuddler

Don't you just love when your little ones lay their head on your shoulder and cuddle with you? There's just nothing like it in the whole world. My 2 year old Luke is the BEST cuddler around. When he was a baby you could push his head on your shoulder and he'd leave it there forever. This is not the case with my sweet 10 month old, Jonathan. I'll never forget when we were in the NICU with him the nurse said, "Yeah, this kid is 0 to 60. When he's happy he's happy but when he's mad he's really mad!" I was thinking she was so wrong and that she really didn't have my kid figured out. But honestly, she totally did! Jonathan's personality has been so hilarious to us. He's the happiest baby but he's super intense and doesn't want to miss out on any part of life. Because of that, he rarely will put his head on your shoulder or cuddle with you. He's very sensory oriented and cuddling is quite opposite of that for him. But.... just because he's naturally like this, doesn't mean I'm not going to try!! You better believe I'm going to try! I've been determined that I am  going to "create" a cuddler. Thus far, my mission has been quite successful.... if I do say so myself.

With all of my children, while they cuddle me, I have spent time rocking and singing to them for a little while before laying them in their crib. When I would try to do this with Jonathan he started out bouncing and whacking my face a couple times. He absolutely REFUSED to lay his head on my shoulder. I added a soft fuzzy blanket to the mix and he started to nuzzle his head into it for a short time. Again, coming up and bouncing around, whacking me, and squirming quite a bit. After much time he has finally come around. He now will nuzzle his head into the blanket and keep it there pretty much the entire time I rock and sing to him before laying him in his crib. Yeah!!!

I was thinking about how this is so much like us sometimes with our Father God. Often times we want to do our own thing and we think what's around us is more fun than what God wants for us. We think what we want is what is truly the best! Jonathan didn't realize how much he would love to cuddle with Mommy and thought that looking at the room, and touching things would be more interesting that receiving the cuddle time with Mommy. But Mommy knew he would enjoy it just as much as she does if he would just let go, and allow me to love on him. Often times our Father is calling to us to let go of our busy lives, come away with Him, and allow Him to love on, and cuddle with us. The Bible says, in Zephaniah 3:17 "He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs." God delights in you and sings over you. Can you hear Him? I challenge you to ask youself if you've been allowing yourself to be cuddled by your Father. Yes, I said CUDDLED! If this is something you've never done I encourage you to get alone, possibly put on some worship music if you have it, and imagine yourself sitting on your Abba (Abba means Daddy) Father's lap. Let Him refresh you as you bask in His love. Try it!
I DARE YOU!

Matthew 11:28 from the Amplified version says:
"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]"

You may think you don't want to or won't enjoy it like my son did. But I'm pretty sure you will be mistaken. :-)  Will you be God's child who cuddles with him? God wants to create a cuddler out of you ... will you let Him? :-) I hope so!

Top lines from facebook over the last month

So, I know many of you that read my blog do not have facebook and are not able to see much of my life anymore...since I haven't blogged in FOREVER! Sorry Grandma Lorraine :-)
So, just for you...I have clipped different facebook posts and put them into this blog entry. I probably should be typing most of them in the "Line of the Day" page of my blog, but for now this works. They are listed below from most recent, to oldest.

1-15-12 My daughter has a hoarding problem. She has so much crap on her top bunk bed that when I check on her at night, half the time I can't even see her. I finally had enough. I told her that her bed needed to be cleaned off before I got home or whatever toys she had left on the bed were going to the basement. I got home and shortly later we heard this loud crashing sound. She was shoving everything from her bed to the floor as quickly as possible. I wanted to laugh and scream all at the same time

1-9-12 I asked Grace to keep an eye on Jonathan while I took a quick shower. Even though she knew what i meant she proceeded to close one eye and put the other one on him. She's such a crack up!

1-6-12 This morning as I was in the kitchen preparing Jonathan's food Luke (2) was sitting on the potty. He hollers, "Mommy...my poop hurts! Pray for my butt?" So I went in placed my hand on his shoulder and prayed for him. He says, "No...my butt!" He wanted me to lay my hands on his butt and pray for him. Did I do it? Nah...I said...."go see if Daddy will pray for you!" Heehee. I kind of wanted to hear Chris' reaction anyway.

12-24-11 OK so the highlight of my day (other than the crab legs) would be teaching my kids how to slide down the steps faster... through demonstration of course. 1st, I got the slippery sleeping bag. 2nd, put Grace on my lap. 3rd, we counted off and slid down my parent's steps me screaming and laughing the whole way because we went so fast. At the bottom we hit the banister and I knocked a post out. And to top it off, I peed my pants from laughing so hard and the sheer shock of it all!!! Not quite like I remembered doing it as kid. Papa nixed the sliding down the stairs after that. Gee...I wonder why?

12-18-11 Lukey burped this morning and said, "Daddy...I tooted out of my mouth."

12-15-11 So I glanced at Isaac who had taken his shirt off and was looking at his reflection and making muscles. I asked what he was doing. He said, "I'm looking under my armpits for hair. (To which I started laughing) What?? I'm a boy...I can do this. I'm just being a boy."

12-12-11 We were searching for Luke this morning. The only reason we found him is because we heard him giggling at Daddy having fun with Isaac and Grace. We found him hidden behind the curtain....EATING A BOX OF MILK DUDS!!! You Sneeeeaky Lukey!!

12-11-11 Just glanced at myself in the mirror and noticed I was wearing 2 different earrings....nice. Nobody at church said anything. HA!

And of course I had to include a picture that cracks me up every time I look at it!! :-)

Jonathan wasn't dressed for the occasion but we thought we'd throw him in the picture real quick since it was already a doozie. Taking a "nice" Christmas picture is always a challenge...but it makes for a great laugh! Don't be surprised if some year you get something like this for your Christmas picture! LOL!

And last but not least I had to include another picture that pretty much sums up life here at the Elliott house:

(Don't mind the gazillion bags. Sorry.) He climbs up there and gets stuck and can't get down. I think he's finally learned his lesson now though.

I hopefully can start keeping up with my blog again. I always feel like unless it's really worthwhile, I shouldn't write it... because I don't want to bore you. But..hey, I guess you don't have to read it then right? :-) It's been a busy season but we are all doing great and enjoying life as much as possible! Have a great day and take every moment you can to LAUGH!!!
-Danielle
P.S. Don't you want to sign up for facebook now Grandma??

Baby Syrup Face

I recently started putting Jonathan in the walker. His toes barely touch the floor so I have yet to see him move the thing. Last night I stuck him in it while I went upstairs with Isaac to get him started on a shower. The kids had just finished eating pancakes and I had the dishwasher open with only a few dishes in it. When I came downstairs this is what I saw:

Needless to say...he had a bath after this! AND he can obviously move the thing!

He also threw quite the fit when I took the plate away. He had never had so much goodness in his little 8 months of life. I'm wondering what I'm in for here! ;-)

Straw-li-lee's

Tonight I was frantically running around trying to get the house picked up before my massage clients arrived. After I was done vacuuming I realized Luke was not in sight and was awfully quiet. I did the ole' shout out of "Where's Lukey?" I went to the kitchen and discovered him with his belly on top of the counter and his legs hanging off the counter with face and hands covered in red and brown. He decided he was going to go for Mommy's homemade chocolate covered strawberries! I should have grabbed the camera because it was a sight to see. But I was in such a hurry to keep moving that it didn't cross my mind until later on. I have been trying to get Luke to say the word, "strawberry" on video for awhile now and this was the opportunity. As you will soon see my whole goal was to try to get him to say the word, "strawberry." Well, Lukey decided he was going to go through the whole order of events. He even goes on to tell us that after he was done eating the strawberry... he pooped. (Another word I've been wanting to get Luke to say on video, "poopt-tid." He delivered tonight!) The video is then cut short because he wants to see himself in the camera. Enjoy! :-)

The adventure of our first pet!

So over the years my kids have asked when they can have a dog or any other animal for that matter. At this point in our lives Chris and I have no interest in cleaning up dog poop during this busy season. Having 2 kids in diapers is more than enough poop for us, to be quite honest. :-) So the other day when the pet conversation came up again with Isaac, I was explaining to him that pets take responsibility. I went on to tell him that he doesn't even put his pajamas away in the morning. If he couldn't be responsible in that how would he be responsible for a pet? I told him that when he can show me responsibility with something like that then maybe...MAYBE we could get a fish for him to take care of. A couple days went by and I started noticing that he was putting his pajamas away in the morning without being asked. This was impressive to me. That day we were in Walmart. EVERY time I take the kids to Walmart, and we get to the section with the milk, the kids beg to go see the fish. Well, this time was like no other and the kids begged to not only SEE the fish, but to BUY a fish. I saw the gold fish for like $.38 and I figured I might as well give it a shot. If it doesn't work out I can always flush 'em. The kids were ecstatic!! I got one fish for each kid.

Now, I already had a tank and fish stuff from when Isaac was about 1 year old when we had a few fish in Tulsa. The kids had no knowledge of this. When I pulled it all out when we got home and Isaac saw all this stuff he could hardly contain his excitement. He saw that not only did I have a little aquarium, but I had some pretty rocks. He exclaimed, "Oh MOMMY!! You have pretty rocks?!?" Then he saw a little plant thing, "OH MOM!! You have a TREEEE!!! OH You're the BEST MOM EVER!!" And he gave me this giant hug. It was quite hilarious. The fun part about the fact that he is a drama king is that not only are his lows really low, but his highs are really high! He was so dramatic. It was hilarious.

After we got the fish settled they had to come up with names for the fish. Isaac named his fish "Gabriel," after the angel Gabriel. Grace named her fish, "Sunny." Then Grace named Jonathan's fish "Rollie Pollie." Isaac and Grace decided the best name for Luke's fish would be "Destroyer." I'm sure you can understand their reasoning and justification for the naming of Luke's fish. Just to be sure I had to ask why they named Luke's fish that name. They matter-of-factly said, "Because he destroys things Mom."

Here are the kids making fishy faces this morning

The awesome thing about these fish is that Grace really wants to feed them too. So not only has Isaac been cleaning up the clothes off the floor, but Grace has kicked it into high gear as well. She REALLY wants to feed the fish too. So I told her she could if she could be responsible for her clothes as well, then she could feed the fish too. It has thus far been awesome. The kids know I have no attachment to the fish and that the threat of flushing them is real. I know...I'm a mean mom. So, we will see how long this lasts. My guess is that Luke will get into them at some point and do something to kill them. You'll get that post later when/if that happens. But for now, the kids have their first pet and the Mom is loving having PJ's and clothes picked up off the FLOOR!! Woohoo! Who woulda known that spending less that $2 would bring me such happiness!?!

Luke's Supper Prayer

We captured Luke praying for our food at supper time. It was too cute to not share. ENJOY! :-)

Picture Giggle

Several weeks ago Chris was trying to capture a picture of all four kids smiling at the same time. Now if any of you have this many kids you know the challenge he was taking upon himself. I decided to go help him out. I said, "Here, I'll take the picture and you make them laugh." Boy did we have fun. To this day I don't exactly know what Daddy did to make them laugh...but it worked. Well...almost worked. Jonathan was more scared than anything. Needless to say, it made for a funny video. So I thought I'd share the picture of the first time Daddy was silly as well as the video of the kids giggling. Who doesn't want to hear kids giggle right?

Like I said, this was the first picture I captured of them seeing Daddy do it for the first time. Chris didn't know I was videoing them at the time. He thought I was snapping pictures. Now here's the video...

We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did and that you got a few giggles from it. Hey..whatever it takes to keep...LAUGHING THROUGH LIFE right? :-)

Revive Massage Give Away!!

I am giving away a free 30 minute massage! Everyone who "likes" my Revive Massage facebook page will be entered into a drawing. The winner will be announced on October 1st! Go, click, win!! :-) **Be sure to click the actual "like" button on the Revive Massage page. Those are the only ones who will be entered in the drawing.**