I look back and can only say thank you Lord. 2013 was filled with many blessings - one of them being a new addition to our family - our dog Oreo. Though it has not been a smooth walk - I can't see our family without him.
There have been many lessons which have come my way - some were good and others were very painful and others humbling.
Some very special youth graduated high school and gone away to college and I am enjoying seeing them mature in their new stage in life and listening to their stories, about their new friendship and adventures. I am so blessed by each one of them.
And it also means changes in relationships, letting go and starting new ones.
When looking back sometimes its hard to keep track of all the blessings that the Lord did in our lives and we tend to be a forgetful people. We become like the Israelites - "When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” Exodus 14:10-12
Its easy to point the finger at them and say how could they - but how many times have I forgotten the goodness of the Lord - and asked why? or why not?
And because of that I love to write... I love to write letters to Jesus, my prayers, words, stuff... and in order to write and doodle, I love to get new notebooks and pretty paper - or I'll type about what the Lord is doing in my life.
A couple of weeks ago while strolling down the aisle in Staples I found some beautiful red Martha Stewart books in the clearance section!! Well, I love books, they were red (my favorite color) and from the Martha Stewart collection - at a super cheap price, how can I leave them there... I was sure I would have a great idea on how to use them. So I put all four of them in my cart.
What to do with these books - why not use it as part of my New Year's Resolution!!!
Why not use it as a journal and a the same time give each one of my kids one... and yep that is exactly what happened. I wrote all of our names on the books and today, January 1st - I presented my kids with their own journal and shared with them how we were going to get together each night for at least 10 minutes before bedtime to share and "journal".
My prayer is that in doing this - they will be able to look back and be reminded of God's blessings, they will be able to write down their prayer requests and the requests of others and pray more specifically, it will be a time of bonding for us, but the most important one is that I hope that in doing this with my children I will be able to help them work on their relationship with Jesus and make it more personal and intimate and go deeper into His word.
When my children were very small and we saw certain qualities in them, we claimed something special for each of them... and even though my husband teaches them about the Lord, I felt that my responsibility as their mother is to also "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6
When looking back sometimes its hard to keep track of all the blessings that the Lord did in our lives and we tend to be a forgetful people. We become like the Israelites - "When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” Exodus 14:10-12
Its easy to point the finger at them and say how could they - but how many times have I forgotten the goodness of the Lord - and asked why? or why not?
And because of that I love to write... I love to write letters to Jesus, my prayers, words, stuff... and in order to write and doodle, I love to get new notebooks and pretty paper - or I'll type about what the Lord is doing in my life.
A couple of weeks ago while strolling down the aisle in Staples I found some beautiful red Martha Stewart books in the clearance section!! Well, I love books, they were red (my favorite color) and from the Martha Stewart collection - at a super cheap price, how can I leave them there... I was sure I would have a great idea on how to use them. So I put all four of them in my cart.
What to do with these books - why not use it as part of my New Year's Resolution!!!
Why not use it as a journal and a the same time give each one of my kids one... and yep that is exactly what happened. I wrote all of our names on the books and today, January 1st - I presented my kids with their own journal and shared with them how we were going to get together each night for at least 10 minutes before bedtime to share and "journal".
My prayer is that in doing this - they will be able to look back and be reminded of God's blessings, they will be able to write down their prayer requests and the requests of others and pray more specifically, it will be a time of bonding for us, but the most important one is that I hope that in doing this with my children I will be able to help them work on their relationship with Jesus and make it more personal and intimate and go deeper into His word.
When my children were very small and we saw certain qualities in them, we claimed something special for each of them... and even though my husband teaches them about the Lord, I felt that my responsibility as their mother is to also "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6
I have to do my part as their mother and this is what God has called me to do. Its not going to be an easy challenge - 1/2 an hour after we finished our journaling experience I was already working myself up to a frenzy ay ay ay!! But this year our goal is found in Joshua 1:8: "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."
Let us not be a forgetful people - let us always remember His blessings and love toward us - and lets pass it down to future generations...
