"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!