It's that time of year again!

Pictures to make our memories last longer...

 The above photo was taken the day of Justin's dad's funeral.  I helped gather photos for the picture boards...and how glad I was/am that I've kept up with family pictures!  The one below was taken a few Christmases ago...  Pictures do make memories last longer :)

Memories from last week...

"don't waste time...don't waste time...don't waste time...."

We were able to celebrate the lives of two special people this past week, with the passing of Justin's dad, and also a long-time family friend of ours.  I've had lots of thoughts the past week about the importance of t-i-m-e.  Psalm 139 states that our days are numbered even before we are born.  We're given such a short time here on earth...what will we--what will I do--with that time God has given me?   There are just times when life forces us to stop...and consider life, and death.

Am I doing anything today that I'll regret?  Am I not doing something today that I'll wish I would've done?  Life is so short.  I remember my Grandma telling me after one of her 60 anniversaries, "A lifetime is never long enough."  Wow.  Even after living "it all"... it still seems short!

Never before have I realized how important relationships are.  I knew in my head they are important...but never felt it and lived it like I have this past week.  Relationships is where it is at.  Family, friends, church, and community relationships are the way we express and receive love: rejoicing when there's something to rejoice over, and weeping when there's something to grieve over.

Last night, after the visitation and in anticipation of the funeral today, I couldn't sleep.  Memories kept flooding my mind...keeping me awake till what seemed like forever.  The sound of her voice, her inflections, and special way she'd laugh and gesture kept replaying and ringing in my ears.

The reality of these people being gone seems surreal to me.  I know they are not "lost" or "gone"...but to my earthly mind, I can't comprehend what it means to be "absent from the body, and present with the Lord"  On this side of eternity, I suppose it can't be fully understood.  Helping our children understand death, in some ways, simplifies it for me.  Hearing my wise husband patiently explain these things to my children, helps me understand it in a small measure.  It's one of those things we really don't sit down and talk about until life forces us to.

Death is so final and so permanent in this life.  I realize eternity is long, but comparatively, life here, is just a "vapor"...as short as the life of a flower, as the Bible describes.

Life is just too short to:
be angry
be frustrated 
hold a grudge
not forgive,
be caught up with the "good" instead of the "best"
have priorities upside down
be too caught up in political issues, world events & national financial crises
be shaken constantly by "daily life"
live "stressed out"
speak harshly
be exasperated with my kids...

Let me be...

a little kinder
a lot more gracious
way less critical
offer more words of encouragement and affirmation
more thankful--especially to the people I love
more interested in others
a better listener
"roof off/walls down" type-of-gal
less me-focused & more others-focused
wiser with: my time, energy and my resources
more mindful of my example, my emotions and my attitudes

Let me take the time...
to kiss longer and more often
look eye-to-eye with my kids and tell them how special they are to me
to sit and play with them
to intentionally have "no agenda"
to stop and watch them dance, swing, laugh, and build
to be silly
to tickle
to greet my hubby when he comes through the door
to communicate love, appreciation, thankfulness and respect to him
to give him my full attention
to dream with him or them
to laugh
to "thank" God instead of always "asking"

Life has the tendency to "get in the way"  Death has stopped me in my tracks and caused me to consider my life, the time God has given me, eternity, and my relationships.  What if tomorrow was my last day here on earth?

I want to live life to the brim...and overflowing.  To savor all the special gifts God has blessed me with...to cherish the memories, love more, complain less, pray more, talk less.  Enjoy it--laugh--and sing. 




"What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me?  I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord...
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints."  Psalm 116:13 and 15

"Enjoy the life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your life..."  Ecc. 9:9

(I shall be reading the book of Ecclesiastes this week...for a perspective refresher...)

A Cheery Exhortation...and Application...

I had a friendly little nudge this last weekend, to post more often.  I know it's so boring to hop on here and check, and see the same post for a month.  So, for those of you that still check my blog...I'm going to attempt to post more often.  I do have a little "series" of sorts coming about our favorite home remedies and helpful resources and books.  Too many people seem so helpless when it comes to sick kids...not that I know that much, but maybe it would help someone else to hear what I do when we get sick and what I do to help prevent it.  This topic is important to me, b/c having sick kids is no fun...and when ya have 4--well, let's just say, it can be a long, painful process. :)  But, anyway...on to the pictures:

 My Grandma has another batch of kittens.  She and Grandpa aren't that thrilled, but of course, the kids are delighted!

 Benjamin's post enjoyment of somethin'...that's why we call him "Tank"  lol

 Family time! 

 Benjamin likes to do what the kids are doing.  Here he's doing his "math"  Tee hee...he sure tickles us!

 And, yes, the legs, are just awesome.  Crack.me.up!   The other day, I found him on the stool, unloading the silverware for Madeline.  Wow...it doesn't take long for the younger ones to want to hop in and do what the olders are doing!  Makes their example very important!  He'll also fake fuss if one of the kids is whining about somethin'--so it does work both ways!

 My hilarious hubby took William down our big hill on "The Hog" 

 Chicken Farmers...went w/ my parents to drop off 100+ chickens at "chicken heaven"  Sounds like it was quite the trip!  My Mom has video to prove it. :)

 Oh, and by the way...we have a freezer full of whole, free-range, super-duper-healthy chickens for sale...just in case any of you are interested. :)

October...

Well, blogger has been acting up, but today, uploading pictures worked! Yay!  These were taken a few weeks ago while we were on a family hike. :)

Of Utmost Concern

The following quote is from Volume 1 of the No Greater Joy books, written by Michael Pearl.  His thoughts express one of the main desires of my(our) heart too.

"The success of a tree or a man is measured by the fruit that is borne.  The fruit of a man or woman is their children; everything else is falling leaves. 

Let me die poor; let me die early; let me be ravaged by disease; but let my children rise up and call me blessed.  Let me not measure my giving by the dollars I spend on them or the educational opportunities that my station in life affords them, but rather, by the hours we spend in fellowship.

May they graduate from my tutelage to become disciples of the Man from Nazareth.  May they know good and evil from the pinnacle of obedience rather than from the pit of despair.  May they have the wisdom to choose the precious, and the courage to reject the trite and the vain.  May they always labor for the meat that endures.

May they be lovers of God, coworkers with the Holy Spirit, and a friend to the Lord Jesus.  And when their trail ends, may it end at the throne of God, laying crowns at the Savior's feet."