tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62078321505051720882024-03-13T10:25:57.855-07:00Mommyhood AdventuresMommy Reghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04705903418962739263noreply@blogger.comBlogger449125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207832150505172088.post-38861297939656106632020-09-21T17:21:00.000-07:002020-09-21T18:43:17.359-07:00Reflecting God's Glory<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Have you ever just sat and watched as the sun sets and the light bounces off the clouds as they quickly</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">change colors?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">I love watching God paint the sky.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">God paints the most mesmerizing masterpieces.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">It was a warm summer evening, glancing out the window I noticed the crimson clouds and the blazing,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">fiery sun peeking through the branches of a tree in our front yard.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">This was a sunset I knew I did not want to miss.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a1HGnjgjj9k/X2k8Ulin5CI/AAAAAAAAYM0/iTG1Bxu-zT0uDgwEAnLcnWmqOWB0rRtrgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1881/Sunsetwide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Are you reflecting God's glory?" border="0" data-original-height="1100" data-original-width="1881" height="374" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a1HGnjgjj9k/X2k8Ulin5CI/AAAAAAAAYM0/iTG1Bxu-zT0uDgwEAnLcnWmqOWB0rRtrgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h374/Sunsetwide.jpg" title="Reflecting God's Glory" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>The heavens declare the glory of God,and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands. Psalm 19:1</i></span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">The girls and I decided it was imperative to get a better vantage point in order to fully enjoy the</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">masterpiece that God was painting.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">We ventured out to the front of the driveway to have a less obstructed view of the sky as it became</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">more illuminated with flaming reds and with vibrant oranges mixed with streaks of yellows and hints of</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">purples adorning the clouds. The glowing sun pierced through the clouds and was reflecting its red</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">glow on everything the light touched.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">My daughter climbed up on the mighty anchor that graces the front of the property to get a better view of</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">God’s work in progress. I looked up at her knowing she had found the best vantage point to enjoy the</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">symphony of color dancing before us. I could not help but take this picture. There is so much truth</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">captured in this fleeting moment.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TscuGBTOzfA/X2k-c20ZOqI/AAAAAAAAYNA/nwBqyflg7swmzIa7OMu2W7KaGkw2AyCUACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/KSunsetcropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Are you reflecting God's glory?" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1449" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TscuGBTOzfA/X2k-c20ZOqI/AAAAAAAAYNA/nwBqyflg7swmzIa7OMu2W7KaGkw2AyCUACLcBGAsYHQ/w452-h640/KSunsetcropped.jpg" title="Reflecting God's Glory" width="452" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">The solid foundation that the giant anchor is supported on.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">My daughter seated securely on top of that great anchor.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">While wearing a shirt that says “<i><span style="font-family: georgia;">faith</span></i>” in the design of a cross.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Her face reflecting the radiance of the sun as she looks intently at the sunset.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What a perfect picture of what our lives in Christ should look like.</span></span></span></i></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Is Jesus your foundation?</span></i></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">“Therefore the Lord </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: small-caps; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">God</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> said:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">‘Look, I have laid <b>a </b></span><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">stone</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> in Zion,a <b>tested </b></span><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">stone</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">a<b> </b></span><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">precious cornerstone</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">, a</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> </span><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">sure foundation</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">;</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the one who believes will be unshakable.</span></i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">’”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Isaiah 28:16</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><i><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Is Jesus your anchor?</span></b></i></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“...we who have fled for refuge might have </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">strong encouragement to seize the hope set before</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">us</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">. We have this </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Jesus has entered there on our behalf as a forerunner,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">because he has become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Hebrews 6:18b-20</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Where are you securely seated?</span></i></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">“God—he </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">clothes me with strength</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> and makes my way perfect.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">He makes my feet like the feet of a deer and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">sets me securely on the heights</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Psalm 18:32-33</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><i><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Who do you put your faith and hope in?</span></b></i></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us,</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">keeping our eyes on Jesus</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">the pioneer and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">perfecter of our faith</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">For the joy that lay before him, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">he endured the cross</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">, despising the shame,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Hebrews 12:1-2</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><i><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Does your face reflect the glory of God?</span></b></i></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">“As Moses descended from Mount Sinai—with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">as he descended the mountain—he did not realize that</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">the skin of his </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">face shone as a result of his speaking with the Lord</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Exodus 34:29</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><img height="84" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/294/FF4F08764BDE143C6AF17A2E28D642FD.png" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; border: 0px none;" width="143" /></p>Mommy Reghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04705903418962739263noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207832150505172088.post-1331512713079650862020-07-02T11:19:00.001-07:002020-07-02T11:19:46.806-07:00Surviving 2020 - I Will Not Be Shaken<p dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-2241c964-7fff-144e-ddbb-4cc6b02d5fb1" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Congratulations! <br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">You have survived 183 days of the year 2020! We are now in the second half of the year.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Give yourself a pat on the back and a high-five.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">A trophy is in order right now too but I think some chocolate would be a good substitute.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vt98e_EkErQ/Xv1X3D3vwHI/AAAAAAAAWtY/SXALy_qUukUEOmYpueHJZQqeXYtcnKsNQCK4BGAsYHg/s3643/PhotoGrid_1593654337837-01.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="mommhyhoodadventures.blogspot.com" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="3643" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vt98e_EkErQ/Xv1X3D3vwHI/AAAAAAAAWtY/SXALy_qUukUEOmYpueHJZQqeXYtcnKsNQCK4BGAsYHg/w400-h225/PhotoGrid_1593654337837-01.jpeg" title="Survivng 2020" width="400" /></a></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">2020 was so full of hope and promise just 6 months ago. <br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Jesus Followers were crying out for and anticipating revival.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Expectation was in the atmosphere and for those who had a hard 2019,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">a much welcomed new beginning was on the horizon.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">But here we are, halfway through the year and the hope and promise that we had</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">at the beginning of the year has been crushed, trampled on and all but annihilated</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">as if it were in the pathway of the most destructive bomb ever invented.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">With the tribulations and trials that have been hurled at us by a blind machete thrower</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">at a throwing competition, it’s a miracle we have made it this far. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Where is the revival that so many had said God told them was coming? </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Where is all the good that many said 2020 would bring? </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Where are the new beginnings? </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">And, where is the joy this year was to be filled with? </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The fact that we have lost the ability to meet in large groups,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">and do the things we think define our faith and who we are, is in my opinion,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">somewhat of a good thing.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">We needed to get out of the religious rut and get back to a relationship with our Creator.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">In some ways I have seen similarities to the Isrealites’ exile in what we are experiencing.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">We have in a sense, been uprooted from our churches, work places,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">gathering places with friends and families, and all that we know to be normal.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The Isrealites were removed from their homes, their livelihood, unable to worship in the Temple,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">and sent into a land that was not friendly to them.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I am not saying that God poured out sickness, destruction, murder, fires, earthquakes, tornadoes,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">and everything else as vengeance or wrath or judgment.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I am saying that through ALL of this,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">God is SOVEREIGN and uses EVERYTHING for His good and His purpose.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QyNGrXcbelg/Xv1czlQ535I/AAAAAAAAWt0/WXaReO6hx903eSfTv8aPu2NJU6C1il_jwCK4BGAsYHg/s3643/PhotoGrid_1593662571563.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="mommyhoodadventures.blogspot.com" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="3643" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QyNGrXcbelg/Xv1czlQ535I/AAAAAAAAWt0/WXaReO6hx903eSfTv8aPu2NJU6C1il_jwCK4BGAsYHg/w400-h225/PhotoGrid_1593662571563.jpg" title="Surviving 2020" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I have been diving deeper into God’s Word this year, deeper than I have ever gone before.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">(Come on in, the Living Water is amazing!)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I have seen a pattern that I have seen in the past but I have noticed more this year. <br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Humans were created for intimate relationship with the Creator of the universe.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">We (humanity) walk in relationship with God for a while trusting His wisdom and goodness,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">then we sadly choose to do what is right in our own eyes.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">This puts a fissure in the relationship and bad things happen. We live and act in our brokenness.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Then, when it gets so incredibly bad that we think it cannot get any worse, <br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">we come to our senses and return to God.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">He accepts us, heals our brokenness and restores us into a renewed relationship with Him,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">only for us to turn from Him and choose to do what is right in our own eyes, again.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">It is a cycle that continues throughout the generations. Psalm 78 sums it up really well.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">At the beginning of this year many people quoted Joel 2:28 when saying that God</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">was going to do something big this year.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"></span></p><blockquote><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">“...I will pour out my Spirit on all people.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Your sons and daughters will prophesy,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">your old men will dream dreams,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">your young men will see visions.”</span></p></blockquote><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">We really need to look at the first part of that verse,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">then also more importantly read the first chapter and everything that happened before Joel 2:28.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The first words of Joel 2:28 are “<i>And afterward</i>,” <br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">those very important words are often ignored when quoting God’s outpouring. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">You have to ask, "After what?" <br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Let’s look and see.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">First, there is a complete destruction of the land through locusts.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">So much so that it would be talked about for generations.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Then an army stronger and more destructive than any before, attacks the people.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">It kinda feels like we are living in the time of Joel to a point, doesn’t it?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Imagine, so much despair and loss of hope.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">In the midst of this turmoil there is a call for deep repentance, twice.</span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 40px; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Joel 1:13-14 and Joel 2:12-17 <br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">God says to return to Him with all your heart.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">We can see that the people have chosen to do what is right in their own eyes.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> <br /></span></p><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bPmoi99C-lo/Xv1YI3raq-I/AAAAAAAAWtg/H1oeRrloYfs6VSXnCR41M6oxtWaWDViagCK4BGAsYHg/s2730/PhotoGrid_1593651447169.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="mommyhoodadventures.blogspot.com" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2730" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bPmoi99C-lo/Xv1YI3raq-I/AAAAAAAAWtg/H1oeRrloYfs6VSXnCR41M6oxtWaWDViagCK4BGAsYHg/w400-h300/PhotoGrid_1593651447169.jpg" title="Surviving 2020" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-right: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">God is calling for a repentance that is not an outward showing,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-right: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">not virtue signalling, or empty words.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-right: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">He requires of us a true, humble and complete <b>heart change</b>.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-right: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-right: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">What are you doing that is right in your own eyes, but not in God's? <br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-right: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">It may not necessarily be wrong or sin, but it isn't God's best for you.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-right: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Not only are the Israelites called to examine their hearts. We must examine ours.<br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-right: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Then, after repentance, will God pour out His Spirit. <br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-right: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">We also have to realize that the pouring out of God’s Spirit has already happened.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">If you read Acts 2, you will see Peter quoting Joel,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">when God’s Spirit poured out as tongues of fire.<br />And the Holy Spirit has continued to pour out from that moment, all the way to the present. <br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">This outpouring was not a one time, isolated event.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">It is a continuous event that we are still experiencing today.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">So what we are actually asking is for, is a fresh outpouring, a new awakening.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">A fanning of the flame that has already been ignited.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">All of us are needing a renewal of spirit and mind.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">We are all weary and the burden right now does not seem light.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">It seems as if chaos has taken over and peace is nowhere to be found.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">While we begin the second half of the year that seems to never end,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">get yourself into a place with God.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Get in God’s presence. We do not need a Sunday service in a church building to do this.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Spend time reading His Word - May I suggest Psalms to start. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Play worship music- Worship is a great way to combat the chaos and stress, it brings peace.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">In fact when I feel like I am under attack, I start to worship.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Get alone and go for a walk and just talk to Him.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">It’s okay to tell Him you are stressed, feeling defeated, angry, confused…</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">He wants a relationship, and an honest conversation is integral to a solid relationship.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Then, after you do any of the above, be quiet and listen for Him to whisper to your soul.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">He speaks, He comforts, He strengthens, He restores, He brings rest, peace and joy.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">2020 is a year that will be remembered. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Will you remember it as a year of hardship and defeat? </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Will you remember it as the year of a new not normal?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Or, will you remember it as a year when God showed up in a monumental way</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">and did more than just carry you through.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">A year where you had a fresh outpouring of His Spirit and a new revelation of who God is. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">He is gracious, compassionate, rich in faithful love. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">He is the God who sees you, the God who heals you, the God who fights for you,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">the God who supplies everything you need, the God who gives you peace,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">the God who gives you rest, the God who gives you joy,<br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">and the God who comforts you.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"></span></p><blockquote><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Rest in God alone, my soul,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">for my hope comes from Him.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I will not be shaken.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">My salvation and glory depend on God, my strong rock.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">My refuge is in God.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Trust in Him at all times, you people;</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">pour out your hearts before Him.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">God is our refuge.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Psalm 62:5-8</span></p></blockquote><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/294/FF4F08764BDE143C6AF17A2E28D642FD.png" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; border: 0px none;" /></div>Mommy Reghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04705903418962739263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207832150505172088.post-27511303151410547752019-08-23T10:23:00.000-07:002019-08-23T10:23:24.943-07:00Until Jesus Takes Me Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Words spoken 22 years ago to my beloved in his parent’s backyard in front of family and close friends. A garden like scene, something the little girl in me always wanted. And a setting that plays out in Song of Solomon, one of my most favorite books in the Bible. A story of love that is unfettered and an allegory of God’s love for us.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>To have and to hold.</i></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>For better, for worse.</i></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>For richer, for poorer. </i></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>In sickness and in health. </i></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>To love and to cherish. </i></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Until Jesus takes me home.</i></b></span></span></blockquote>
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I married my best friend, the only one I want to do life with. I am eternally grateful that God orchestrated our paths to cross. Even on that night we first actually met, full of sorrow and loss. God used that night to bring me His absolute best that He had been preparing for me. That night in June all those years ago is proof that <b>everything the enemy desires for our destruction, God uses for His glory and for our good.</b><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CPH0CdOraFE/XWAdJ-szoiI/AAAAAAAARKI/CoYpbjvbHrcM7EnAVGcQBYgqrHrwe7WCwCKgBGAs/s1600/PhotoGrid_1566579822227.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="mommyhoodadventures.blogspot.com" border="0" data-original-height="840" data-original-width="1600" height="168" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CPH0CdOraFE/XWAdJ-szoiI/AAAAAAAARKI/CoYpbjvbHrcM7EnAVGcQBYgqrHrwe7WCwCKgBGAs/s320/PhotoGrid_1566579822227.jpg" title="The Day I Married My Best Friend :: Mommyhood Adventures" width="320" /></a></div>
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We have had seasons full of laughter and joy. Thanking God for all He has done and will do. And seasons scarred with tears and stress. While pressing into God, knowing <b>He is our Comforter</b> and gives us rest.<br />
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We have had seasons when we are able to live life without worrying about how we are going to buy milk. Thanking God that <b>He is our Provider</b>. And seasons of job loss and empty cupboards. Trusting God that He is still our provider, and He is always faithful.<br />
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We have had seasons of health and rest. Thanking God for His protection as we maneuver through our days. And we have had, and are going through, a long season of sickness. Trusting that <b>God is our Healer</b> and that He will restore that which the enemy has taken.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b><i>Song of Solomon 8:6-7</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm. <b>For love is as strong as death</b>; <b>ardent love is as unrelenting as Sheol</b>. Love’s flames are fiery flames - the fiercest of all. <b>Mighty waters cannot extinguish love</b>; rivers cannot sweep it away. If a man were to give all his wealth for love, it would be utterly scorned.</i></span></blockquote>
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<b>Through every season.</b> The delightful and the miserable, we walk, there is a deeper love growing that is not conditional on circumstances, or emotions. <br />
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<b>Through every season</b>. The times we are spiritually filled and the times it feels like we are running on empty, we have learned how to cling to each other and run after Jesus together. <br />
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<b>Through every season</b>, The years of weakness and the years of strength, we have learned how to carry each other in prayer.<br />
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Our marriage story is full of hills, steep cliffs and dark valleys, raging oceans and glorious peaceful meadows. <b>In every season God has been there</b>, holding us, guiding us, and being our strong fortress in the time of trouble.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b><i>Psalm 18:2</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>The Lord is my<b> rock</b>, my <b>fortress</b>, and my <b>deliverer</b>, my <b>God</b>, my <b>mountain</b> where I seek refuge, my <b>shield</b> and the <b>horn of my salvation</b>, my <b>stronghold</b>.</i></span></blockquote>
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Jesus hasn’t taken either one of us home yet. I am so glad that our story is not over. And God is still working on us. While our marriage is far from perfect, and neither of us are always at our best. God is faithful and has continually shown us His best for us, especially while we are hanging onto the cliff over the darkest valley for dear life or trying to keep our heads above water in the raging waters of the darkest storm.<br />
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<img src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/294/FF4F08764BDE143C6AF17A2E28D642FD.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0;" />Mommy Reghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04705903418962739263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207832150505172088.post-74521782300550559962019-08-20T18:07:00.000-07:002019-08-21T09:39:21.376-07:00First Day of School and Great Expectations<div style="text-align: justify;">
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First Day of School!</div>
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A clean slate.</div>
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A fresh start.</div>
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A new beginning.</div>
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I love the beginning of a school year. The new books, freshly sharpened pencils, notebooks with blank pages waiting to be filled. The expectation of something great.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WwKuFZKwkvE/XVyVVznJlcI/AAAAAAAAQ-8/EXGcQaiv7B8Dgc5tMQ1gAnBPPCjuuiqDwCKgBGAs/s1600/PhotoGrid_1566346254294.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Be a people who walk by faith. With mercy in your heart and glory on your face." border="0" data-original-height="838" data-original-width="1600" height="167" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WwKuFZKwkvE/XVyVVznJlcI/AAAAAAAAQ-8/EXGcQaiv7B8Dgc5tMQ1gAnBPPCjuuiqDwCKgBGAs/s320/PhotoGrid_1566346254294.jpg" title="First Day of School 2019 - Mommyhood Adventures" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Preschool - Junior High - Senior High</td></tr>
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This year marks the beginning of our 16th year of homeschooling. Believe it or not, I still do not feel like a seasoned homeschool mom and I absolutely do not think of myself as an expert in homeschooling. I constantly battle doubts that I am making the right choices in educating my kids, and am always afraid I am forgetting to teach them some valuable piece of information. </div>
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We try to have an overarching theme or goal for each school year. It gives us purpose and direction for our homeschool year. We are homeschooling not only to give our children an education tailored to their learning styles and personalities but also, to point them to Jesus so that they may walk in His truth. </div>
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Last year, we asked the kids what God was calling them to that they did not feel equipped for. God will always work through us for His glory if we just say yes to what He calls us to. Ephesians tells us that <b>God is able to do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine</b>. This truth is what I wanted the kids to learn to walk in. </div>
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No matter what God calls us to do, He is more than able and faithful to bring it to completion. This became our question and mission for the whole family as a unit and individually. We are continually asking God what He is calling us to that we feel completely inadequate to do. Because that is where God does His best work in us and through us. </div>
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By the end of the school year, I knew that God was only just beginning to show His call on our kids and He is not finished yet. He will continually reveal His call on our lives.</div>
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This year, we have a mission statement, again for the whole family. <b> </b><br />
<b>I want this year to be full of opportunities for us to learn how to be a people who walk by faith with mercy in our hearts and glory on our faces. </b><br />
We are called to be lights in the darkness because Christ lives in us and He is the light of the world. Our scripture focus for this will be</div>
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<b>Philippians 2:2-18</b><br />
<i>So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to desire and to work out His good purpose. Do everything without grumbling and arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world. Hold firmly to the message of life. Then I can boast in the day of Christ that I didn’t run or labor for nothing. But even if I am poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. In the same way you should also be glad and rejoice with me.</i></blockquote>
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I am excited for what God will do during this school year. Our philosophy for homeschooling is to teach to the eternal and let the temporal fall into place. I love watching God write His story on my kids lives through our homeschooling adventure.</div>
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A renewed focus.</div>
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A refreshed purpose.</div>
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A continued journey.</div>
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<img src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/294/FF4F08764BDE143C6AF17A2E28D642FD.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0;" />Mommy Reghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04705903418962739263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207832150505172088.post-16407643847788751282019-08-12T13:15:00.000-07:002019-08-12T13:39:51.051-07:00God Is Not Done Writing My Story<div style="text-align: justify;">
Do you count down the days until Christmas? (135 in case you are wondering.) Or do you count how many days since something has happened? Like when you say your newborn is 3 days old. (In case you are wondering, my youngest is 1,209 days old.) It has been 1,095 days, since I died and lived to tell about it. Today marks my 3 year ReBirthday! I count the days that God has given me since He almost took me home. I am so very thankful that God already knew that the number of my days are not over yet. In Job, it says that God has determined our days and our months depend on Him. In Psalms we read that all our days are written in His book;</div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Your eyes saw me when I was formless;<br />
all my days were written in Your book and planned<br />
before a single one of them began.<br />
Psalm 139:16</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>God is writing the most beautiful story and we have the privilege to be a part of it.</i></span></h4>
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Everyday, I look at my littlest and thank God that she is able to live life with her mommy, today.</div>
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Because I never wanted part of her story to include losing her mommy while she was a baby.</div>
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Everyday, I look at my hubby and thank God that he doesn’t have to do life without me and that I still get to do life with him.</div>
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Because I know our story isn’t over.</div>
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Everyday, I look at my older kids and thank God that they haven’t had to say good-bye, yet.</div>
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Because their story still includes their mom.</div>
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Everyday, (well, almost) I ask God to show me what He is doing and how I can follow His lead.</div>
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Because His breath is in my lungs and I choose to live my story through Him and for Him.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d02Vlt7UHNI/XVHENTKnMmI/AAAAAAAAQoA/t-6F7pyB8igk5Eoz2cHrg3NARFj9QTt0ACKgBGAs/s1600/PSX_20190812_115341.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="God is good all the time; all the time God is good." border="0" data-original-height="840" data-original-width="1600" height="210" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d02Vlt7UHNI/XVHENTKnMmI/AAAAAAAAQoA/t-6F7pyB8igk5Eoz2cHrg3NARFj9QTt0ACKgBGAs/s400/PSX_20190812_115341.jpg" title="My Story: Mommyhood Adventures" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Celebrating 3 years of God continuing my story.</td></tr>
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Today, I celebrate 3 years of my story not yet being over.</div>
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Because 3 years ago today, I died and through medical interventions and God performing miracle upon miracle I am still alive.</div>
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For anyone who doesn’t know my story, here is the Cliffs Notes version. I went in to have a simple outpatient surgery to remove my gallbladder after having our little surprise number 5. My body reacted to the anesthesia and within 90 seconds of them starting to put me under, my heart stopped and I was in full cardiac arrest. It took 21 minutes of chest compressions and other interventions before my heart just barely started beating again. I was on full life support for 4 days before I started breathing again on my own and finally woke up. I miraculously walked out of the hospital after the doctors told my husband to be prepared to put me in a care facility if I ever woke up. Reactions like that are so very rare, like less than 1% and I haven’t fully recovered from everything yet. But God is so very faithful and I know that in His perfect timing my body will be fully restored.</div>
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Mommy Reghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04705903418962739263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207832150505172088.post-15136369858170156482019-08-03T19:15:00.000-07:002019-08-03T19:15:50.201-07:00Snuggle PartiesToday in my Facebook memories a picture popped up of me holding my sleeping little one, with me saying I had so much to do but was choosing to hold her. And now, knowing that just over a week later she almost lost me forever, I am so glad I chose to ignore the tasks at hand and just hold her. Those responsibilities were eventually completed and that precious moment proved way more valuable than anything that needed to be done.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v-slI7iFukg/XUY9avP-M3I/AAAAAAAAQbU/vZWhPJcY3o8Bc1Wq_zYLQyUzvZfSW2ecwCKgBGAs/s1600/PhotoGrid_1564882115119.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v-slI7iFukg/XUY9avP-M3I/AAAAAAAAQbU/vZWhPJcY3o8Bc1Wq_zYLQyUzvZfSW2ecwCKgBGAs/s200/PhotoGrid_1564882115119.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"My list of things to accomplish is so very long.<br />
But holding this little one while she gets some much needed sleep<br />
after a very restless night is the most important thing to do right now.<br />
And honestly the most fun."<br />
- August 3, 2016 -</td></tr>
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9 days later, I went into cardiac arrest; 9 days later, I was clinically dead for 21 minutes; 9 days later she woke up and I wasn’t there. Life has not been the same since I miraculously walked out of the hospital. But now, I don’t feel guilty for choosing to spend the extra time with any of my kids. They can go to bed late, if that means the extra conversation happens. Their chores can wait, if that means we get a few minutes more to spend on a project. Those extra moments are more important than anything else. You may not get them tomorrow.<br />
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Today she told one of her sisters that I am her mommy because I comfort her. At least once a day she comes up to me and asks for a snuggle party, and every time I stop what I am doing and hold her. Sometimes for a few moments, sometimes longer.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Every day is a perfect day for a Snuggle Party</td></tr>
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Choosing moments to hold, comfort, read a story to, and just be with our little ones should never come with guilt or shame, or a feeling of laziness. It’s okay for chores to wait, they are only little for a moment. It’s okay if the sink stays full, even overnight, you may not be there to hold them in the morning. The truth is we are not promised any moment in our life. At any minute life can change forever.<br />
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<img src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/294/FF4F08764BDE143C6AF17A2E28D642FD.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0;" />Mommy Reghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04705903418962739263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207832150505172088.post-59966591314926937442019-06-20T18:14:00.000-07:002019-08-10T18:47:23.912-07:00Every Mom Needs Encouragment<div style="text-align: justify;">
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Watching Amelia, our momma hen, train her chicks to be independent has me thinking about our jobs as parents. The chicks are already six weeks old and Amelia has begun pushing her three littles into being more independent. Letting them go a little ways off on their own to scratch for bugs and grubs while she watches from a distance. They often try to stay by her side but she seems to be insistent that they learn to be independent chickens. She is constantly clucking instruction to them wherever they are and they are always following her everywhere she goes. We still see the littles trying to hide under her wing and snuggling with her. She will seem to sigh, and then let them in. The sign of a mom.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MXt0iXU40qI/XQrrxTbQl1I/AAAAAAAAPcE/zea_m7_DDRoNpdjwnsGB-YqOkNBSRUnewCKgBGAs/s1600/PhotoGrid_1560994574407-01.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="mommyhoodadventures.blogspot.com" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MXt0iXU40qI/XQrrxTbQl1I/AAAAAAAAPcE/zea_m7_DDRoNpdjwnsGB-YqOkNBSRUnewCKgBGAs/s320/PhotoGrid_1560994574407-01.jpeg" title="Every Mom Needs Encouragment :: Mommyhood Adventures" width="320" /></a></div>
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Amelia has been through a lot since she showed up at our coop door last summer and shortly after when she lost all her friends when a dog took out our entire flock except her. Her ability to fly is what saved her from the attack. (It is also how she got her name Amelia Egghart.) She is still mournful over losing the other chickens. She seems to be memorializing her loss and has collected nearly every feather from the other chickens that she has found in the coop. She has been placing them all in a special nest. Hannah found one of our roo’s feathers the other day and Amelia looked at her mournfully, Hannah gave it to Amelia and she added it to her pile or nest of feathers. </div>
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There are the days when you can see a look on Amelia’s face that is so very familiar. It is a look you see in all moms of littles and not so littles. A look any mom will recognize as we have all had it at some point. It is that universal look a mom makes when she just needs a moment to breathe. To quickly enjoy a piece of dark chocolate or maybe a few sips of coffee that is actually hot. Just a precious moment to think clearly, if only for a second.</div>
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All moms need that moment. All moms feel that need. Sometimes we are just tired and really do need a break. When naptime means doing the dishes and the laundry instead of taking a break from doing. Because we know the importance of clean dishes and clothes outweighs our desire to just be for 10 minutes. Mothering is hard. And all moms are in this mothering gig together. </div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JoNWW4yJZ0A/XQrlnwYc18I/AAAAAAAAPbU/ryrfm2M41VIw-K5aJUfjwUK1Z7g9LEhYgCKgBGAs/s1600/PhotoGrid_1560993977429.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="mommyhoodadventures.blogspot.com" border="0" data-original-height="961" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JoNWW4yJZ0A/XQrlnwYc18I/AAAAAAAAPbU/ryrfm2M41VIw-K5aJUfjwUK1Z7g9LEhYgCKgBGAs/s400/PhotoGrid_1560993977429.jpg" title="Every Mom Needs Encouragement :: Mommyhood Adventures" width="400" /></a></div>
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As fellow moms, we should not be judging other moms for doing the very best we can at the moment. We don’t know the day or week or even the year that mom and child you encounter are walking through. We don’t know the life someone is living. We need to be cheering on our fellow moms and lifting them up with encouragement or prayer or help whenever the opportunity arises. We all need help and encouragement. We cannot walk the walk of mothering alone. God called us to be in community. I am very independent and while my kids were little my community was very small and at times almost nonexistent. There are times I remember feeling judged by the moms who only fed their kids organic and they didn’t have TVs to watch. These were moms who were supposed to have my back. I hope I have never made another mom feel like I am judging them because they don’t mother like I do. We all do our best to mother our kids in a way that is best for them to become independent, because let’s face it, they will be independent adults before we blink and they will be adults longer than they will be our littles.</div>
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Amelia is a great Momma hen and I do not blame her for wanting a moment to herself so she can breathe. I understand her sadness as she mourns her loss. Other hens would help keep the chicks distracted and she is walking the walk of mommyhood alone. I’ve been there and even though she is a different species, I know that feeling and I encourage her through extra treats. The chicks are going to be full grown before she knows it and then they won’t be underwing all the time. Though we are pretty sure she is ready to start laying again and she is trying to hide her nest ready to go broody yet again.</div>
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Next time you see a fellow mom, or dad, ask God to let you see them through His eyes. You might then know if they need a simple, warm, "I’ve been there," smile, or a quick prayer for extra grace, patience and wisdom, or a helping hand or quick word of encouragement. Sometimes a, “Hang in there.” and a smile is all it takes to brighten ones day.</div>
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“Now we who are strong have an obligation to bear the weaknesses of those without strength, and not to please ourselves. Each one of us must please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even the Messiah did not please Himself. On the contrary, as it is written, The insults of those who insult You have fallen on Me.” Romans 15:1-3</div>
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Mommy Reghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04705903418962739263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207832150505172088.post-31447800809187870142019-06-12T14:01:00.000-07:002019-06-12T14:01:35.105-07:00Further Up and Further In<div style="text-align: justify;">
I love The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. I have read the entire series more times than I can count. There were many nights as a child where I would read my book by the night light in my room until the wee hours in the morning and then take my book to school so I could read it whenever there was a moment. I love how each story intertwines with the previous story and the deep symbolism that is written into every tiny detail. Every time you read the series you can find new little nuggets of connection between the stories. If you only read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe but have not read the others, you have read a very incomplete story. If you have only read the first three but did not read the last four you have also not read the complete story. You must read all seven stories in the Narnia Chronicles in order to have read the complete story. And you should really reread the entire series so you can fully appreciate the epic adventure, of a creator who pursues his creation, that C.S. Lewis unfolds, layer by layer, chapter by chapter, book by book. Reading the Bible is the exact same. The Bible from Genesis to Revelation is the story of The Creator pursuing His Creation.<br />
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Growing up, I was told the Old Testament was less important than the New Testament for Christians. I was told the Old Testament is good and foretells of Jesus but Christians don’t really need to know the Old Testament like they do the New Testament. As a Sunday School Graduate, I can retell every simple Bible story from Creation to Paul and Silas and everything in between. If it was on a flannel board, I know the story inside and out. I also, could quote every over-quoted memory verse without fail. And in Sunday School there was the mindset that the Old Testament was not as important as the New Testament to a Christian, even though we learned every Bible story from both the Old and the New. I remember sometimes a nagging question about a story or lesson I learned that I would dismiss as doubt because the Sunday school teacher is supposed to know everything. (At least when you are 8, that is what you think.)</div>
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Fast forward to being an adult and reading through the Bible from start to finish more than once. Noticing not so subtle similarities between what Jesus said and what was said by a prophet or psalmist of old. And some of those nagging questions began bubbling up to the surface. I started digging deeper, going further in, seeking out what God was really saying. God was showing me that the Old Testament is just as important as the New Testament. The New Testament is a continuation of God’s story, not a new one. And the New Testament is really a part of the Old because they are woven together to tell one continuous story. When Jesus spoke, he would quote the Old Testament and then expand on it. He said he came not to destroy the law but to fulfill it. When Jesus spoke during the festivals he would tell the people how he was fulfilling what the festival represented. (The Passover lamb to name the most obvious.) The letters written by the apostles quote the Old Testament and talk about how Jesus fulfills the prophecies and the laws. And how to take the Old and live in the New, because they are very much intertwined with each other.</div>
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Recently I heard a message from one of my favorite people to listen to, because I always rethink what I already “knew” and learn that there is so much more that God wants to show me. It was a message on the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. If you did not already know, Jews did not talk to Samaritans, ever. It was a huge deal that Jesus, a Jew, would even talk to this Samaritan, who was a woman. Men did not talk to women in public. And she was of poor status, she was probably marginalized for being a woman who had been with five different husbands/men during her life, she was not one who would be sought out by any person of importance. Oh the uproar that passer-bys might have been in as they realized what was transpiring. I can just imagine the gossip that started to ensue right there at the well in the middle of the day. A Jewish man was talking to an unimportant Samaritan woman in public! As a kid, I would hear this story and be told that she was living in sin because of how many husbands she had. I think also there is this mindset that because she wasn’t a Jew, but a Samaritan, she must be a sinner. But then as a kid I would have that nagging thought in the back of my head, was she really an adulterous, harlot, sinner who did not follow the laws of the Old Testament? Jesus didn’t call her a sinner, he did not tell her to sin no more. Whenever Jesus ministered to or healed someone who was a sinner, he would call out their sin and tell them to stop sinning. He didn’t do that with her. And that is where the sermon spoke so clearly to me. This time, I was being told, it is possible that we missed the mark while reading this passage. If we dig deeper, we might find that we were wrong on the surface and what is underneath is so much better than just Jesus talking to a sinner. I won’t go into all my notes as there were many and some were written so quickly that they are now illegible, but here are a few thoughts.</div>
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Jesus talked to this woman, he initiated the conversation. It was not permissible for men to talk to women in public like that. She was of no special social status, Jesus chose to minister to those who were outcasts, marginalized, and of poor social status all the time. Jesus went through Samaria to meet this Samaritan woman. He did not need to go (he could have taken a different route), he chose to go through the place that Jews of that time would avoid at any cost. Jews of the time refused to have anything to do with the Samaritans. Jesus didn’t actually call out her sin. He agreed with her statement about not having a husband and then told her that he knew she had been with five men. (Why she had been with so any men wasn’t said. It could have been that her first husband died and then she needed a new man who then left her because she burnt his toast. Who knows. But in that time, a woman needed to be with a man for survival, she would end up a prostitute or desolate without having a man to provide for her.) Jesus gave her a word of knowledge so he could tell her what he needed to tell her. This encounter where Jesus declares to her he is the Messiah, the one everyone was waiting for, was at a well. In the Old Testament we find that Jacob met his bride Rachel at a well and that Moses met his bride Zipporah at a well. Jesus was meeting his bride (the Samaritan represents all of us) at a well! That is not the only deep significant part of the story. It is just one facet of a deeper story, one that cannot fully be known unless we know the whole story. What does the Old Testament say about what was spoken at this well? So much more than I can type in this already long post. If you read the exchange that John writes and then dig deeper into what is said in the Old Testament not just the New Testament, you find that this divine encounter was one to show that Jesus came to save everyone. Oh the love he has for us that he wants a relationship with us. He was willing to ruffle feathers and break with tradition to have encounters with everyone so that everyone could hear his message of truth, love and redemption. Yes, she was a sinner as we all are. But I am sure that was not the point of the story that John was telling.</div>
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My point is this. You cannot dismiss the absolute importance of the Old Testament if you are a Jesus follower. The Bible in its entirety is for us to read and then read again and then read again. Finding the connections and symbols between old and new. </div>
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What does God want to show you in something you have read over and over again? Slow down and meditate on His Word, dig deeper. Ask questions and also understand the culture and time that the story was written. Don’t dismiss the Old Testament as being less significant because the New Testament is saturated with the Old Testament. And without it, you will not get the full story. The epic love story of God pursuing you and wooing you with His unconditional, unfailing, unconstrained and immeasurable love for you.</div>
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<img src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/294/FF4F08764BDE143C6AF17A2E28D642FD.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0;" />Mommy Reghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04705903418962739263noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207832150505172088.post-82275750800009811222019-06-05T19:53:00.000-07:002019-08-14T12:04:32.631-07:00God of the Impossible<div style="text-align: justify;">
George Muller is one of my heroes. Many people have never heard of him but I think that is how it is supposed to be. It isn’t like he sought out fame and fortune. In the 1800s he founded many orphanages and schools in England. He trusted God to provide everything that was needed for his ministry through prayer instead of asking for donations. He took God at His word, prayed and trusted God with reckless abandon. Every donation that came in for his ministry was a result of George’s persistent prayers and steadfast trust in God. As a result, hundreds of orphan children were off the streets and living in the orphanages he established where they were taken care of, fed, given an education and the skills necessary to be successful when they grew up. And most importantly, they were shown the love of God. Because of George’s unwavering trust in God and His promises, countless lives were changed.</div>
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Muller understood thoroughly that God delights in giving us all good things. I love being able to give my kids things and opportunities they need and desire. Little Z comes to me knowing that I will give her whatever she needs without begging or pleading. Today, she came to me, handed me her empty milk bottle and said, “Thank you.” She has confidence in her position as my daughter that I will take care of her. I will give her what she needs and she can always come to me with thankful expectation to have those needs met. God is just like that. Jesus says we need to come to the Father like the little children, just like Little Z when she handed me her empty bottle saying thanks for what she knew what I was going to give her.</div>
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Ephesians 3:20 tells us that God is fully capable to do exceedingly more than we can ever ask for or imagine. And, In Matthew, Jesus tells us to seek His kingdom first and then everything will be provided. Philippians 4 tells us that if we take everything to God in prayer, we will be filled with peace and that God supplies all our needs in abundance according to His riches in glory. The Bible is overflowing with God’s promises to take care of us. There are countless examples of when He has taken care of those who follow Him. All we have to do is pray with thanksgiving and expectation, trust and follow His direction.</div>
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What impossible circumstance do you need help with right now? Maybe your whole life seems like it is in total chaos with no peace in sight. Seek God, pray with expectant thanksgiving, take Him at His word and trust that in His timing in His way He will do more than you can imagine. Because God is the God of the impossible. And God always keeps His promises.</div>
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Mommy Reghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04705903418962739263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207832150505172088.post-58301873072767175262019-05-24T16:41:00.000-07:002019-05-24T16:41:08.089-07:00Harmony is Hard<div style="text-align: justify;">
The other day I was outside taking pictures of a butterfly and the bees that were gracing a bush with their presence. I was watching the butterfly hanging out on a bunch of flowers where there was also a wasp enjoying our brief moment of sunny weather. They were both doing their thing, and pollinating the flowers as they enjoyed the nectar without any squabbling. I could not help but think how crazy that was. That two creatures who are characteristic opposite, at least here, were living together in harmony with each other. Around here, the wasps are evil little jerks who seek us out to chase us. Seriously not pleasant to be around, ever. The butterflies dance in the air with each other and peacefully flit around the flowers enjoying life. Later on in the day, I opened one of my Bible apps and Romans 15:5-6 was the Verse of the Day. </div>
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Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement allow you to live in harmony with one another, according to the command of Christ Jesus, so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with a united mind and voice. Romans 15:5-6</div>
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I could not help but think about the wasp and the butterfly I had seen earlier and marveled at how God, once again, put nature in front of me to bring His truth to life. I posted the picture on Instagram to share this little bit of truth with anyone who wanted to read about what God had showed me, thinking that was all He had for me. But I was of course, so very wrong.</div>
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A quick background. When Paul wrote the letter to the Romans, it was late in his ministry even though it is placed right after the book of Acts in our Bible. The church in Rome had become exceptionally divided in their beliefs in what it meant to be a Jesus follower. The last part of the letter (chapters 12-16) is all about how we, as Jesus followers, no matter our customs or convictions should live together in peace and unity because we are all saved or justified not through the law, but through Jesus who fulfilled the law. </div>
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Now back to the verse. This week, I kept rereading the passage. I kept thinking how it was sort of awkwardly worded. Why did Paul say that God is the giver of endurance and encouragement before telling us to live in harmony? Then a conversation with one of my daughters happened. She was expressing how she had to be diligent in order to walk in peace and harmony with some other people she had worked with. It’s not that she doesn’t like these people or that they are mean or anything, it’s just hard to always walk in harmony with them. And immediately the verse came to mind. God is the giver of endurance because living in harmony is HARD. We need endurance in order to walk in harmony with our fellow believers because we all have different opinions, likes and dislikes, thoughts about how to do things best, and strong wills. God did not take a cookie cutter and make a bunch of clones. He created each one of us to be very different from anyone else. God is the giver of encouragement because it can get discouraging to walk in harmony with others when there are great disputes and when others do not care to walk in harmony.</div>
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We glorify God when we live in harmony with those that God called us into family with. I am not just talking about our physical family, even though I know all too well how difficult it is to live in harmony with your physical family. But also our spiritual family as well. </div>
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Mommy Reghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04705903418962739263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207832150505172088.post-40669155381919406532019-05-21T16:24:00.000-07:002019-05-21T16:24:05.792-07:00A Momma Hen and Her Chicks<div style="text-align: justify;">
Hatching chicks and raising chickens is such a great learning opportunity for kids of all ages. (Well, having animals in general.) In our homeschooling journey, we have always had the mindset that every life experience is a learning opportunity. You are never too old to learn more, and you don’t need a textbook to learn new things.<br />
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It has been so fun to watch Little Z learn about where chicks come from and how they grow. She has enjoyed playing with them and getting to name one of them, Chocolate. As she gets older she will learn more. I have learned more about chicken behavior and development with every experience and I know that I have not learned everything yet.<br />
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If Ethel turns out to be a roo we will call him Ricky.<br />
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We set 6 eggs under Amelia and 3 hatched out on day 21. Each chick emerged about 12 hours after the first little pip in their shell. 3 eggs did not hatch out. I have read in several places that the momma hen will push out the dead eggs from her nest if she decides that they are not viable, but after 2 weeks, she is still holding out hope, even though there is no way they will hatch this far out. I like that quality in her. She is not giving up on those 3 eggs that will not hatch for whatever reason. It’s the sign of a true momma. At the same time, we are watching her let her littles play while she clucks instruction to them, and as she shows them how to take the food out of the feeder and then walk in the waterer, stamp on the food and make it wet. Because, that is Amelia’s favorite way to eat her feed, as it was also the preferred method of our other hens. She is showing them how to scratch for bugs, dust bathe and all the other activities that chickens do. They come when she clucks at them. She pecks them on the head when they do not listen and then they obey. She fiercely protects them from any perceived danger. And they mimic all the behavior she models.<br />
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As mommas, we hold out all hope for our kids, whatever the conflict they are walking through, that they will overcome and succeed. If they are walking through the valley we pray and hope that they will be able to climb the mountain and reach the top. We also show them what we have discovered is the best way to do all the daily tasks and the best way to eat our favorite foods. It is what mommas do. We model what we have found to be beneficial. They trust her and if we are doing our job, our littles trust us. Just a few observations as I watch Amelia walk out her life as a momma hen.</div>
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Mommy Reghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04705903418962739263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207832150505172088.post-12743928918467106922019-05-14T10:25:00.000-07:002019-05-14T10:25:17.836-07:00Take the First Step in Faith<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This was the question I asked my kids at the beginning of this homeschool school year, even the two graduates. Usually at the beginning of the school year I write a verse on the board and it sets the overall theme and direction for the year; this year God set me in a different direction. This is more than just your basic, what do you want to be when you grow up question. It is a question that sets the course of the next chapter in your story. It causes us to earnestly seek God so He may reveal His plan for us. We were all created with a purpose, a destiny of hope and security in Him if we listen and follow the prompting of the Lord to walk into what He is calling us to.</div>
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For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10</div>
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Chances are, you probably do not feel equipped for or feel prepared for what He is calling you to in your finite world view. And that is just how God wants it. God speaks to our future. He is calling us to step into our future relying on His wisdom and strength. He does not call us to do that which we are capable of doing fully on our own. God loves to work through us when we are at our weakest so that His strength and glory shines through. It is our job to say yes and follow His leading. </div>
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And now, I pose the question to you. What is God calling you to that you do not feel equipped for? I encourage you to seek God out and ask Him to reveal to you what is next in your story. Because when we are walking out God’s plans for our lives, we thrive. Even in the midst of the hardships of life that will inevitably come our way, we will still thrive. Remember, God is able to do above and beyond anything that we can imagine. So you can take that first step of faith and accomplish what He is calling you to do, go where he is calling you to go, and speak what he is calling you to speak with complete confidence that He has it all under control. If you need some inspiration, check out Ruth, Gideon, Esther or Mary all beautiful examples who said yes to what God had called them to.</div>
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<img src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/294/FF4F08764BDE143C6AF17A2E28D642FD.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0;" />Mommy Reghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04705903418962739263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207832150505172088.post-91806275533077957082019-05-06T17:12:00.000-07:002019-05-07T13:48:24.515-07:00Hatch DayIt was fairly early in the morning, hardly anyone was awake and the coffee had just started brewing. Having yet to taste the elixir of life, I was not at full brain capacity yet but already the goings on of the day were in full swing, at least for some of us. Hannah had been outside to feed the chickens, which of course our roo had made sure all were awake about a half hour before dawn, when she came in with the most curious question.<br />
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“Mom, there is a little chicken trying to get into the chicken coop, what do I do?” </blockquote>
Now, we have a flock of chickens, our neighbors to the south of us past a small walnut orchard have a flock of chickens, and the neighbors to the west of us who share our fence have a flock of chickens. This stray could just be trying to find a home for chickens who love to be spoiled as the other flocks, are not spoiled like my hens. She could have easily heard that our coop is the best coop in the neighborhood. I’m sure that’s what the roos are crowing about some days. Bragging about their coops, hens and my roo, I’m sure, bragging about his crazy chicken lady (that’s me) and her girls who love to give them treats.<br />
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I told Hannah to let the hen into the coop and we would rescue her. She clearly had no flock that she was a part of from how she was acting. Her place of origin was a mystery. Our best guess is that a hen had hidden her eggs in the orchard and was attacked by a possum, skunk or racoon and this young hen was the only survivor. We fed her, and let her free range with our flock. We think she was about 12 weeks old at this point. Solomon our wonderful roo was happy to welcome a new hen to his flock of ladies even though the other hens were all on the fence about it. No hen wants to give up her place in the pecking order unless it means a promotion. The girls aptly named her Amelia Egghart as she is a rather proficient flyer. She was establishing herself as part of the flock and the rest of our ladies were beginning to be friendly to her. A few months later, a dog took out our flock, including our beloved rooster Solomon and amazingly Amelia was the only survivor. Our little rescue was able to survive the gruesomely vicious attack and became our one and only hen. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Girl and Her Chicken<br />
Yes that is a chicken the house.<br />
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She became broody last month refusing to get off of her eggs. Instead of getting her to snap out of wanting to sit, we decided she needed companions. I asked a friend of mine if I could buy some fertile eggs from her and she graciously gave us for eggs from different breeds for us to set under Amelia. We were ready and able to now expand our flock giving our lonely hen some much needed companionship.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barnevelders, Sussex, Americauna, Cream Legbar</td></tr>
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Amelia was more than willing to bring the eggs in under her, we had six eggs and she wasn’t too sure at first if she could fit them all under tiny body, but she figured it out and sat dutifully for 3 weeks. They are hatching out today, starting with a little pip on one and then quickly a couple of others. I know that the rest will be quick to follow. We recently did some research and figured out that she is a rosecomb blue bantam hen. These hens are not known for egg laying or going broody , but this little survivor is very much a great egg layer of the cutest little cream colored eggs and a very broody little hen.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eager to be a Momma Hen<br />
These eggs are more than twice the size of the egg she lays.</td></tr>
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We cannot wait to see how many eggs hatch or if we get roos or hens. Hopefully we won’t get all roos. Waiting for the little chicks to actually hatch out of their shells once the pip appears is a superb exercise in patience. It has been about eight hours since we saw the first little pip and they are still working on breaking out of their shells.<br />
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<img src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/294/FF4F08764BDE143C6AF17A2E28D642FD.png" style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; border: 0px none;" />Mommy Reghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04705903418962739263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207832150505172088.post-71628634876132424942016-12-31T21:20:00.000-08:002016-12-31T21:20:48.990-08:00Life Abundant<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For both 2015 and 2016 the Lord gave me the word abundance.</div>
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Last year it was an abundance of His provision and of His love and this year was an abundance of LIFE. When people talk to me about this year the first thing they think is that it wasn’t a good year, because I died. No, really I did. More about that in a bit. When I think about this year all I think about is how Jesus came to give us life abundantly. Not in that He came to give us anything we want, or that God is our personal vending machine. But that we can live life to the fullest knowing that our identity isn’t in our circumstances but in Him alone. As I reflect on this year I can see everywhere that God did indeed reveal Himself in a truly abundant way.</div>
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I started off the year enjoying as much as I could the miracle of life growing inside me. After giving up all hope that our little family would grow I had life growing inside me. God is so faithful and His timing is so perfect. Life Abundant</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My dearest and extremely talented friend took pregnancy photos of me.</td></tr>
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The beginning of the year flew by so quickly. Until mid-March when every day seemed like a lifetime as we counted down the days before we would get to meet our little miracle. </div>
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In April we finally got to meet her! Our little baby Z has been such a breath of life in our family. Every single day her smiles make us smile even when we are having a hard day. Life Abundant</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby Z </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Water baptisms in the creek, this is Life Abundant</td></tr>
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This summer was full of business as my oldest went to his second YWAM summer program with a mission trip to Mexico. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My not so Little Man ready for a summer full of growth and challenges.</td></tr>
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The rest of us spent time with family, chased chickens, enjoyed our garden and stayed busy. He came home in July and we started planning his last year of high school. Life Abundant</div>
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Then came August</div>
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August 12, I went in to the hospital for a very routine outpatient surgery. Seriously, one of the most routine surgeries you can have, gallbladder removal. I had to do it. I had been controlling gallstone pain for years with diet and this last pregnancy aggravated it so much that I could no longer keep the pain, nausea and reflux under control no matter how hard I tried. But, as I have learned over the years, you must hold your plans loosely. I had told my mother-in-law that morning when we left for the hospital, that I would be home by noon. There was enough pumped milk in the freezer for 3 days, and the baby would be fine. </div>
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I went in; everything was fine until they started the meds they give before they actually give the anesthesia. My blood pressure dropped and they couldn’t get it back up, then my heart stopped. I had gone into cardiac arrest. After 20 minutes they barely got me back but I was on full life support. As my cardiologist puts it, I was mostly dead. For 4 days my husband faced the reality that he could lose me. I was unconscious and only alive because a machine was breathing for me and another machine was helping my heart beat. There were a lot of unanswered questions about what happened and why. Was it a reaction? Did I have a heart condition and not know it? We still aren’t sure and will probably never know. There was talk of sending me to a bigger hospital and a heart transplant because I wasn’t responding to treatment. But there was even more prayer. See, God is the giver of life and the only one who knows what happened and how to fix it. God was in control every single moment and it is His breath that caused me to breathe again. I found out this week that when I started breathing on my own and they extubated me, I actually started to struggle again right after and they almost had to reintubate me, but the nurse in the room knew God could make me breath again. She prayed and I started breathing on my own. </div>
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I spent over two weeks in the hospital learning how to walk again and how to compensate my balance after losing an estimated 40% of my muscle mass. What I know is that every nurse who witnessed my story witnessed a miracle. They saw God work and give life. I was not expected to wake up, or have brain function like I do, or even now, have a heart that is working half as well as it is. God has given me LIFE, ABUNDANT LIFE</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Celebrating the little things that really aren't so little.</td></tr>
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I have gotten to celebrate baby milestones, and firsts. I celebrated Hubby’s b-day and our 19th anniversary in the hospital. They were the best celebrations even though all we did was enjoy a meal just the two of us in my hospital room. Celebrating my birthday this year was special. And Christmas this year, with my kids smiling and laughing. That is life abundant. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby Z's first Christmas!</td></tr>
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Life is hard; it isn’t supposed to be easy. Life is full of obstacles; it isn’t supposed to be a smooth path. Life is full of adventure; it would be boring if it wasn’t. Life is messy and full of learning opportunities; or we wouldn’t grow. And life is full of the unknown; or we would have no reason to put all of our trust in the one who created us. That is what Life Abundant means. When you face the hard, know that is how you find God’s abundance. You could say that 2016 was a horrible year for me, but I see a year full of abundant life.</div>
Mommy Reghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04705903418962739263noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207832150505172088.post-80412741357331623652014-10-10T21:37:00.000-07:002014-10-10T21:37:56.367-07:00The Mystery Layer <div style="text-align: justify;">
We had a mystery layer. </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FdylFv9Co1Y/VC-CM4rtrLI/AAAAAAAAE94/C6kK6ROo8Zk/s1600/092814egg%2B(511x640).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Egg" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FdylFv9Co1Y/VC-CM4rtrLI/AAAAAAAAE94/C6kK6ROo8Zk/s1600/092814egg%2B(511x640).jpg" height="320" title="Egg" width="255" /></a></div>
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When we only had two laying chickens, we found an egg that looked much different from Penny’s white eggs and Oreo’s oblong pinkish brown eggs. It was more of an orb shape and a bit darker brown. We found it on a Sunday afternoon after church in a nest that hadn’t had an egg in it yet. It was cold and none of the chickens were giving up their secret as we inspected and interrogated each brown egg laying chicken. We suspected Sparky was the newest layer. However, we could not be sure. She had been showing all the signs that she was ready to start laying for a couple of weeks, but so had Daisy. It was time to be on egg watch. I calculated the approximate time the mystery egg was probably laid. Then figured out the earliest time the chicken would lay again. </div>
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On Monday we were all on high alert. Checking the coop almost hourly to see who would jump in the box. We were so disappointed when Oreo was the only chicken that showed any interest in the boxes and she laid a very oblong pinkish brown egg. No other chicken laid on Monday. Super bummer. </div>
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On Tuesday we went into the coop in the morning and there was another egg. None of the chickens were anywhere near the boxes when we approached the coop. And none of them were talking. Except to let us know they wanted out of the coop. Not one of them had the afterglow of laying an egg and none of them were singing their song. {{ humph }} This is such a frustrating dilemma. I have been meticulous with recording who has laid an egg on each day. </div>
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On Wednesday Oreo graciously gave us an egg. But no other excitement in the egg diaries.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-stbw2b0xssg/VDissizg-JI/AAAAAAAAE-8/EFcYuojyz8c/s1600/oreo%2B(640x513).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Chicken" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-stbw2b0xssg/VDissizg-JI/AAAAAAAAE-8/EFcYuojyz8c/s1600/oreo%2B(640x513).jpg" height="256" title="Black Sex-Link Chicken" width="320" /></a></div>
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Thursday we kept checking the coop every hour and again every time we heard any amount of clucking at all. Around noon we heard some clucking and decided to go check. There we saw an egg in one box that looked just like the other two mystery eggs. Daisy was in a different box clucking out a song with all her soul. Peaking in there we saw a cute tiny little beige egg! It looks nothing like the mystery egg from Sunday and nothing like the egg in the box next to her. Daisy laid her first egg! It was so cute and she was so proud. She got out of the box a little while later all the while still clucking and placing straw on her back. Even after she was out of the box.<br />
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This made us deduce that Sparky was our mystery layer. But we hadn't found her in a box yet. That Friday our goal was to catch Sparky in the act. Checking the coop constantly we were determined that this would be the day we would confirm she was the layer. How hard could this be? Checking the coop every half hour I was sure we would catch her. Harder than you would think. We did eventually find her in a box laying late that afternoon. Watching her, we watched Sparky go in and do her thing then jump out. Total time was less than 30 minutes, a very efficient chicken indeed. In the 13 days she has been laying, she has given us 9 eggs. Not bad for a chicken who just started laying.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ll8mplnitec/VDismixq6uI/AAAAAAAAE-0/hb97J_vLh1k/s1600/sparky%2B(640x513).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Chicken" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ll8mplnitec/VDismixq6uI/AAAAAAAAE-0/hb97J_vLh1k/s1600/sparky%2B(640x513).jpg" height="320" title="Rhode Island Red" width="400" /></a></div>
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/294/FF4F08764BDE143C6AF17A2E28D642FD.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Mommy Reghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04705903418962739263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207832150505172088.post-60839765395432798612014-09-21T23:40:00.000-07:002014-09-21T23:40:01.184-07:00Fall and Photosynthesis Unit<div style="text-align: justify;">
It's finally here! </div>
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The first week of fall!</div>
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I love fall immensely. </div>
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Well… almost immensely.</div>
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The arrival of fall means winter is right around the corner. I am not a fan of winter as it is cold and gray. I am not a fan of cold. And really gray isn’t my favorite either. But then after winter, comes spring! I adore spring. See, there is always something to look forward to.</div>
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Besides the yummy tastes and smells of fall, that are so awesome, God paints the trees in such amazing beauty. I love how the trees change colors right before our very eyes. It is like watching the greatest painter ever complete His masterpiece in its entire splendor. And we only have a brief moment to take all of that majestic glory in before it is gone for another year.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1gM-oQmumM8/VB-ZGJLnobI/AAAAAAAAE9Y/8qu1T5AwlTA/s1600/gen2.9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Genisis 2:9" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1gM-oQmumM8/VB-ZGJLnobI/AAAAAAAAE9Y/8qu1T5AwlTA/s1600/gen2.9.jpg" title="Autumn Tree" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Do you see the phrase, "pleasing in appearance?"<br />
God's creativity is beyond anything we can imagine and He creates nature for us to enjoy.</td></tr>
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Fall also ushers in the natural time to study why and how leaves change color. This year I decided to also go deeper into the process of how plants create their own food, also known as that big giant word; photosynthesis.</div>
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Of course that means checking out as many books on the subject from the library and enjoying some educational videos online. We are also going to put together a lapbook and the older ones will most likely have some type of notebooking and research essay to write. And of course no science unit will be complete without at least one or several experiments or hands on activities.<br />
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<a href="http://mommyhoodadventures.blogspot.com/2014/09/fall-and-photosynthesis-unit.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Photosynthesis" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yqd-qM3Iu-E/VB-ZG5wJT2I/AAAAAAAAE9g/ddnw2niqlUE/s1600/photosynthesis.jpg" height="320" title="Photosynthesis Teaching Resources" width="256" /></a></div>
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Below is my list of resources I am going to use this week as we explore and learn. I am sure as we go through our study I will find some more great sites, however this is a starting point that will get us moving in the right direction.</div>
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<a href="http://mommyhoodadventures.blogspot.com/2012/11/homeschool-chromatography-lesson.html">Leaf Color Activity</a> - What color will the leaves on the trees change? Answer this question with this fun activity that can be done with almost any age group to some degree. We have done this particular activity a few times and we will be doing it again this year. The kids love it. <br />
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<a href="http://www.neok12.com/php/watch.php?v=zX5f4866425a444c725f6045&t=Photosynthesis">Photosynthesis Video</a> - This quick animated video shows the process of photosynthesis. <br />
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NASA put out this very cool video that shows <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1XilneV3cJI">Photosynthesis from Outer Space</a>. <br />
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Ellen Mchenry's Basement Workshop is a goldmine of <a href="http://www.ellenjmchenry.com/homeschool-freedownloads/lifesciences-games/botany.php">botany and photosynthesis activities</a>. There is also a lapbook with some very cool mini books. The lapbook elements will work great for notebooking also.<br />
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<a href="http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/leaves.html" rel="nofollow">Science Made Simple</a> has a quick and easy to read page about photosynthesis.<br />
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If you have Netflix, Magic School Bus Gets Planted (season 3 episode 11) is a fun episode about photosynthesis. There is a very cool activity on their site also that would really be fun. <a href="http://www.scholastic.com/magicschoolbus/parentteacher/activities/planted.htm" rel="nofollow">Gets Planted - A-maze-ing Plants</a><br />
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There are of course the fun art projects that include reading the book <a href="http://www.harcourtbooks.com/leafman/teacherguide.asp" rel="nofollow">Leaf Man</a> and making leaf men or other fun pictures, leaf rubbings, and even preserving leaves by ironing them between pieces of wax paper. Of course a nature walk or two are in order this week as well. What are you going to do to kick off fall.<br />
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/294/FF4F08764BDE143C6AF17A2E28D642FD.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Mommy Reghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04705903418962739263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207832150505172088.post-32767606957129584912014-09-13T23:34:00.000-07:002014-09-13T23:34:17.138-07:00Our First Egg!<div style="text-align: justify;">
If you don’t follow me on <a href="http://instagram.com/mommyregloves" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a> then you probably didn’t see my huge announcement… the first egg was laid!!! We are all so very excited about this. It was a moment of taking so many pictures. </div>
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Now, we were sure that our black sex-link Oreo was going to be the first to lay. She had been showing signs that she is ready to lay for about a month now. But no, we were really surprised by which chicken laid today.</div>
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This morning started out with us trying to figure out the configuration new roosting bars to help eliminate the roosting wars we have going on. (An entirely different saga going on there.) We had to kick the chickens out of the coop while we were installing it. And outside the door to the run all we could hear was serious squawking by Penny our Ideal. Now this chicken will squawk at you whenever you are not doing what she wants you to do so I didn’t worry about it. She couldn’t be roaming the coop while we were moving everything around. After Hubby got everything secured we opened the run door and Penny came marching in giving us a stern clucking to. Then she jumped into the nesting box she has claimed as her own and settled in.</div>
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We watched her for a few minutes then we decided to give her some privacy. Not even 10 minutes later she laid her very first egg! </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jlhobSTmid0/VBUtDUwYeaI/AAAAAAAAE7s/K8a60lSpSas/s1600/091314egg1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="First Egg!" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jlhobSTmid0/VBUtDUwYeaI/AAAAAAAAE7s/K8a60lSpSas/s1600/091314egg1.jpg" height="256" title="Ideal Chicken 21 Weeks" width="320" /></a></div>
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Now I am sure she was a bit confused about the whole ordeal. I would be. I let her sit there for a while as I was busy taking pictures, of course. Penny stood there for a few minutes then she started checking out her little baby egg. And she would then look at me and then look down. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What just happened!?!</td></tr>
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Then the last thing I expected happened. She rolled the egg under her chest and proceeded to lay on the egg. I watched her for a bit longer and she started getting more comfy and settled in. She started rearranging the straw in the nesting box around her. It was so very clear she was not planning on moving – she had gone broody on me! What!?! Broody? Really? Who has ever seen a hen go broody with her very first egg? This chicken has shown no signs of having a broody personality at any point in her short 21 weeks of life.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VjTzEcYsOTQ/VBUtJjVYbrI/AAAAAAAAE8A/EdFuDVshm_c/s1600/091314egg3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="First Egg" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VjTzEcYsOTQ/VBUtJjVYbrI/AAAAAAAAE8A/EdFuDVshm_c/s1600/091314egg3.jpg" height="256" title="Broody Hen" width="320" /></a></div>
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What was I going to do with her? I gave her some more time to come to terms with the major ordeal she just went through. Then for a brief moment she stood up to rearrange her egg and nest and I seized the opportunity to grab the egg. </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gbelkERN3Q8/VBUtMnl1AOI/AAAAAAAAE8M/aux4fpQjVzA/s1600/091314egg5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="First Egg" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gbelkERN3Q8/VBUtMnl1AOI/AAAAAAAAE8M/aux4fpQjVzA/s1600/091314egg5.jpg" height="255" title="Ideal Chicken " width="320" /></a></div>
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But not wanting to stress her out I put a golf ball that was in a different nest into the box. She was not happy with me putting my hands anywhere near her and she bit me. She settled herself in and I proceeded to tell the world of Instagram. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XeAFagKHc0A/VBUtN-nC2sI/AAAAAAAAE8U/e61A_8Flpcw/s1600/091314egg6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Tiny Egg" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XeAFagKHc0A/VBUtN-nC2sI/AAAAAAAAE8U/e61A_8Flpcw/s1600/091314egg6.jpg" height="256" title="First Egg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's so tiny! Just a little larger than a golf ball.</td></tr>
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Sometime later I went out to check on her and she was out of the box and acting like her normal trouble making self. </div>
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I wonder who is going to lay next…</div>
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/294/FF4F08764BDE143C6AF17A2E28D642FD.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Mommy Reghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04705903418962739263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207832150505172088.post-21281151464244669382014-08-25T22:39:00.000-07:002014-08-25T22:39:11.395-07:00Egg Watch<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cfBqaXtSID0/U_wMqJQxa8I/AAAAAAAAE6c/ihYYCPx7WuM/s1600/082514%2B201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Mommyhood Adventures" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cfBqaXtSID0/U_wMqJQxa8I/AAAAAAAAE6c/ihYYCPx7WuM/s1600/082514%2B201.jpg" height="256" title="Black Link Chicken" width="320" /></a>We are on egg watch here at the backyard chicken coop. Three of our chickens are 18 weeks old this week and two of them are closer to 19 weeks. And from all my research, most chickens start laying between 16 and 24 weeks depending on the breed. We are so excited about the prospect of walking into the coop and finding a beautiful egg that we check on the chickens several times a day. We haven't found one yet but believe me I will announce it to the world.</div>
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Oreo, our black sex-link, is one of the younger chickens but we are sure she will be the first to lay us an egg. Her comb and wattles have fully grown and became very red when she was about 15 weeks old it was then I knew it was time to start switching out the feed and add a dish of oyster shell free choice in the coop. Then a couple weeks ago she started acting like she was going to lay soon. She is nesting like she is preparing for an arrival, constantly building nests everywhere she can. One of those nests is in the bushes in the back yard – not where I want her laying eggs. What has thoroughly convinced us that it will be any day now is the afternoon she started clucking and pacing around the coop totally agitated and somewhat confused. And I kid you not, her facial expressions are exactly that of a girl who just started her cycle and was really not as prepared to deal with all of what comes with that as she thought. She kicked every other chicken out of the coop and kept pacing back and forth completely confused about what she should do next. We put her in a nesting box and let her stay in there while she kept clucking. After a few more minutes she started playing with the straw in the box and checking everything out. Then she just stopped and looked at all of us humans (me and the girls) who were staring intently at her.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Yd1bVJoOdN4/U_wOMqF0dcI/AAAAAAAAE7Q/82xifaqacBE/s1600/082514%2B207.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Mommyhood Adventures" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Yd1bVJoOdN4/U_wOMqF0dcI/AAAAAAAAE7Q/82xifaqacBE/s1600/082514%2B207.jpg" height="225" title="Black Chicken" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oreo in the Nesting Box</td></tr>
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She had become completely calm and acted like nothing was wrong. She jumped out ate some food and drank some water then went out to the run with the other chickens. Everything she did was exactly what a laying chicken does (from everything I have read) when they are going to lay. The only difference… no egg! I was so bummed that after all of that, there wasn’t a prize in the box. A few more times she has behaved just like that since then and every time we see her, we very quickly put her in a nesting box hoping she gets the idea that if she feels like her bottom is going to explode (seriously I feel for those girls going through that almost every day) she will hop in a box herself.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Jd8u5Jc7rK8/U_wMtOMSunI/AAAAAAAAE7A/1LklLSjeL2Q/s1600/082514%2B206.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Mommyhood Adventures" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Jd8u5Jc7rK8/U_wMtOMSunI/AAAAAAAAE7A/1LklLSjeL2Q/s1600/082514%2B206.jpg" height="320" title="Black Chicken" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oreo ~ 17 Weeks</td></tr>
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I am thinking of taking a poll about when she will start laying and then
who will lay next.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gzRB7h-Hdn4/U_wMs4BxeEI/AAAAAAAAE68/O0CfmbgJL3s/s1600/082514%2B205.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Mommyhood Adventures" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gzRB7h-Hdn4/U_wMs4BxeEI/AAAAAAAAE68/O0CfmbgJL3s/s1600/082514%2B205.jpg" height="400" title="White Ideal 236 Chicken" width="283" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Penny ~ 18 Weeks</td></tr>
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What do you think?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xurMHLPFjms/U_wMqj3uJPI/AAAAAAAAE6k/4_f_-DFMbLM/s1600/082514%2B203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Mommyhood Adventures" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xurMHLPFjms/U_wMqj3uJPI/AAAAAAAAE6k/4_f_-DFMbLM/s1600/082514%2B203.jpg" height="283" title="Rhode Island Red Chicken" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sparky ~ 18 Weeks</td></tr>
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When do you think we will be
getting our first egg?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1J1bBi0HXlY/U_wMqRlKH_I/AAAAAAAAE6g/ayzzC_LqngY/s1600/082514%2B202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Mommyhood Adventures" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1J1bBi0HXlY/U_wMqRlKH_I/AAAAAAAAE6g/ayzzC_LqngY/s1600/082514%2B202.jpg" height="320" title="Speckled Sussex" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vanellope ~ 17 Weeks</td></tr>
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And what lucky chicken will be next?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c960RqNnnHQ/U_wMrfDXKKI/AAAAAAAAE60/EDYw-7LqctE/s1600/082514%2B204.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Mommyhood Adventures" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c960RqNnnHQ/U_wMrfDXKKI/AAAAAAAAE60/EDYw-7LqctE/s1600/082514%2B204.jpg" height="320" title="Buff Orpington " width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daisy ~ 17 Weeks</td></tr>
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Want to make a
guess? The prize? The satisfaction of being correct.<br />
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/294/FF4F08764BDE143C6AF17A2E28D642FD.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Mommy Reghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04705903418962739263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207832150505172088.post-6693164793256813012014-08-16T17:28:00.002-07:002014-08-16T17:28:31.968-07:00Things To Remember<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This month I am beginning the planning of my tenth official homeschool year. It is crazy to think that if you include kindergarten that we have been a homeschool family for a whole decade! For us homeschooling isn’t just how we school, it is such a part of our lifestyle that I could not imagine what life would be like if we weren’t homeschooling.</div>
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<a href="http://mommyhoodadventures.blogspot.com/2014/08/things-to-remember.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Encouraging Advice" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tmnG47pCpm4/U-_01RraU7I/AAAAAAAAE6E/p9dL9mRwR88/s1600/RememberPin101.jpg" height="256" title="Remember" width="320" /></a> I often find myself in conversations about homeschooling. Many times those conversations are with a mom who is just beginning her homeschool adventure. I love these conversations. I love giving encouragement more than advice to moms who are beginning their homeschool adventure. But there is some encouraging advice that I think is so important for all homeschool moms. Even veteran homeschool moms need to hear encouraging advice from time to time.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Remember</i></span></span> that you do not have to recreate the classroom at home. One of the reasons you homeschool is so that your kids can learn at home so why turn your home into a classroom? There are many who have a school room or area set up in a classroom style. That is great if it works for them. But if you designate a room or area and find yourself on the couch or at the dinning/kitchen table instead, then maybe a classroom at home isn’t what your homeschool needs. When we moved to our current home, everyone told me how great it was that I could use the extra room as a classroom. I started to set up the room as a classroom and quickly realized that is not what we needed. We school where we are most comfortable and that is how it should be.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Remember</span></i></span> homeschooling should be a joy. There should be a joy in the learning adventure. I am not talking rainbows every day that is not joy. Some days will be hard and some days you will question why you made this decision. But joy is different. You and your child should look forward to what the day of learning has in store. Find what they love and teach to their interests. Make learning enjoyable and fun not monotonous and boring. And enjoy the journey together. Don't be afraid to change things up once, twice or several times finding what makes your homeschool a joy for both you and your kids. Lord only knows how many times I have.</div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Remember</span></span></i> homeschooling is about relationship. The greatest benefit of homeschooling is the relationship you get to cultivate with your child. The best part of homeschooling is that you get to spend so much time with your kids! Being able to spend your days hanging out with your kids gives you the opportunity to build strong relationships with your kids. </div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Remember</span></span></i> your time with Jesus. This is so vital. Your time with the Lord is the <u>most important thing</u>. That is what will carry your throughout the hard days. That is how your good days become great. My time with the Lord is so important to my day. The days I don’t spend time with the Lord, shows in my reactions to what the day brings. My patience is short, and I get stressed faster. </div>
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Enjoy your adventure and remember there isn’t a one right way to homeschool. What works for your family is unique to your family. </div>
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/294/FF4F08764BDE143C6AF17A2E28D642FD.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Mommy Reghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04705903418962739263noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207832150505172088.post-73829427718912297092014-07-22T20:59:00.001-07:002014-07-22T20:59:36.595-07:00The One About a Depressed Chicken<br />
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Poor Vanellope. </h4>
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Oreo decided that she was no longer happy being at the bottom of the pecking order. Being at the bottom of the flock really happened by default as she is the youngest of the chickens. When we brought them home she just naturally ended up at the bottom. In fact it seemed like for the longest time the pecking order was actually their age order. Oreo realized she wanted to be higher up and not at the bottom anymore.</div>
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So one day Oreo started to challenge Vanellope (who was number 4 in the line) for her spot in the flock. Have you ever seen a chicken challenge another chicken? I wish I could get a picture of this but sadly every time I see it, I don’t have any photo taking device on me or ready. (shocking I know) It happens rather quickly and randomly, so I would have to be just standing their waiting and waiting for her to decide to show her stuff or just be really lucky. Oreo would run up to Vanellope and puff her chest out (think chest bump) then sometimes peck her. Vanellope sometimes pecked back and other times she would just turn around and walk away. And then Oreo would go about her day. Until she decided to do it again.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dkRTE2QpKj4/U82zSPZ6EFI/AAAAAAAAE4k/hCeWYu04aUY/s1600/072114MA+102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dkRTE2QpKj4/U82zSPZ6EFI/AAAAAAAAE4k/hCeWYu04aUY/s1600/072114MA+102.jpg" height="285" width="400" /></a></div>
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Vanellope lost her position and is now at the bottom and became a bit depressed. Yep that’s right, depressed. Did you know chickens could get depressed? I didn’t know chickens could get depressed. What does a depressed chicken look like? Well, let me tell you.</div>
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Vanellope started to mope around her head not held as high. She would sit around off to the side instead of roaming the run or the yard scratching and pecking for bugs with the others. She would be the last one to go after any treats we put out. Sometimes she would hang back and just not go after any of them at all. She even stopped hanging out with Sparky all the time. Those two were practically inseparable when they were little. I felt so bad for her I decided to make a point of giving her treats before setting them out for everyone. We would go in to the run or coop and seek her out first before saying hi to the others. We made a point of making sure she knew that her position in the flock didn’t matter. She is still a great little chicken. After a few days she started to perk back up and be more playful. She stopped hanging back and starting moving in to inhale as many of her favorite treats before the others. While she is still at the bottom, she seems to be more okay with it. And she is running around like her energetic self again. </div>
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This pecking order thing has many rules that this human doesn’t understand. How do they make the decision not to fight for their spot? When is it decided that there is a new order? Do the others have a say in the change? I just don’t completely get it. Chickens are quite fascinating creatures to study. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://mommyhoodadventures.blogspot.com/p/chicken-adventures.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XvdoQO3hC08/U5HviLuOfeI/AAAAAAAAE1s/2x3x5YE8u6s/s200/BCA-1.jpg" height="160" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click here to read about our <br />
Chicken Adventures</td></tr>
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/294/FF4F08764BDE143C6AF17A2E28D642FD.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Mommy Reghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04705903418962739263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207832150505172088.post-29061927562308189372014-07-11T22:52:00.000-07:002014-07-11T22:52:22.019-07:00His Grace Is Sufficient<h4 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Grace</i>: Generous and undeserved favour, love and kindness. From the Greek I read it means "that which brings delight, joy, happiness, or good fortune. It’s a gift, you cannot earn it or buy it. God gives us grace even though we really don’t deserve it. He gives it to us because He loves us dearly.</span></b></span></span></h4>
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That was my word for the day. God gave me this word before I even had a chance to have a quiet time. It was such a clear word that I decided to write on my glass of iced tea to remind me throughout the day. I quickly understood why this word would be so very appropriate for today. When I woke up, I had no idea what today would hold but God did. He knew
that I would need to extend a lot of grace today and that I would need
Him to pour out grace upon grace on me. </div>
<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://instagram.com/mommyregloves" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s40abt6-6gw/U8C_bscl6nI/AAAAAAAAE4Q/AMccRXLQ5A4/s1600/grace.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My mug posted on Instagram.</td></tr>
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I read 2 Corinthians 12 this morning. I have read it many times as evidence by the many colored markings on the lovingly worn pages of my Bible. Today God showed me something that I am sure I noticed at one point but as with familiarity it has gone unnoticed for a while.</div>
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Paul writes that he has a thorn in his side. Someone is really getting on his last nerve. Someone who is being a stumbling block for him. It's someone who he really doesn’t want to deal with any longer. He is just done; you know? He asked God to take care of this person for him, make him leave Paul alone. God actually said no. Really? No? I mean why would God allow a stumbling block to stay around? God’s answer is something every Sunday School Graduate knows inside out and backwards. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Did you get that? God will allow those who drive us crazy and perhaps even weaken us so that His power will be made perfect. Those circumstances that we really are just finished dealing with even though we can’t be; His power is made perfect in our weakness.</div>
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This week I encountered a lot of people and happenings that had God not poured out His grace, I may not have handled the week as I should have. In fact in some moments I really almost lost it. I need sufficiently abundant grace for me and then I can give grace to them. And walk in grace through every happenstance. Today I experienced God’s grace to deal with the day that was thrown at me. It wasn’t a bad day really but after a stressful, overly busy week, I needed a bit more grace to handle one more weekday. And tomorrow I know that I will need His grace to deal with whatever it holds for me.</div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
2 Corinthians 12:8-10 (ESV)<br />
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Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.</blockquote>
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/294/FF4F08764BDE143C6AF17A2E28D642FD.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Mommy Reghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04705903418962739263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207832150505172088.post-20105501049609291872014-07-02T14:06:00.001-07:002014-07-02T14:06:12.670-07:00A Divine Encounter<br />
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<blockquote>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Hebrews 13:2</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers,</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.</span></i></blockquote>
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She was walking up the driveway looking a bit dazed and confused. It is not out of the ordinary for people to walk my driveway, I manage a storage facility. People come by all the time, looking a bit lost when they are looking for the office not realizing it is my house. But this time there was something different. She walked in from the street, no car or bike could be seen. I went outside wondering what kind of encounter this was going to be. <br />
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“Can I help you?” came the unsure words out of my mouth as I approached. <br />
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She looks up asking if this is the office. “Why yes it is,” I say ready to find out how I could help her. <br />
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“Can I sit down for a minute?” <br />
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“Absolutely come sit.” I was a bit confused about her request but more than willing to let her sit on my porch steps.<br />
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She comes and sits down on the steps of the porch. I sit down next to her.<br />
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“Here is my story,” she starts off. “I recently had surgery and was going for a walk. I was going to walk to the light on the corner but can’t make it. Can I use your phone to call for a ride?”<br />
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Of course, absolutely. I step inside to grab the phone. She dials a number and asks a friend if they were free to pick her up. She hangs up after she finds out they aren’t able to come get her. So she asks if she could just rest for a minute.<br />
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I sit down next to her making sure she has some water to hydrate while she regains her strength. And then we talk. She wasn’t expecting me to sit down and be an ear. She just really was hoping she could rest in the shade. She had no idea the person who she would encounter would be willing to take time from her busy day to be a friend to a perfect stranger.<br />
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Hearing about what she was walking through at the time and the current trials she was facing, I became that confidant she needed at that moment. I can now pray for her and intercede for her while she walks through her valley.<br />
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My encounter with her was an answer to a prayer, or more like a complaint. I have friends who talk about their divine encounters. One friend has encounters all the time and I love hearing about them. I must admit that I was getting jealous though. I stay home pretty much all day every day. I am not out and about that often which means I rarely get that opportunity to be Jesus to a stranger. I asked God to give me a divine encounter. I really wanted one; I hadn’t had one in such a long time. I asked and He answered. He gave me a desire of my heart, a divine encounter.<br />
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/294/FF4F08764BDE143C6AF17A2E28D642FD.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Mommy Reghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04705903418962739263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207832150505172088.post-20375070705378146392014-06-16T13:51:00.000-07:002014-06-16T13:51:01.372-07:00Meet The Girls AKA Chickens<br />
Meet the flock! When we determined it was time to buy chickens we decided to go to a friend’s feed store in a nearby town. It was a great excuse to go see them and get all we needed to keep the cute fuzz balls alive. Well... now, they aren’t so fuzzy but they sure are cute full of feathers. They love to do everything as a group and rarely will you see any of them doing their own thing. If they are, the others quickly follow suite as not to be left out of any of the fun. If you didn't know, chickens are very social and if you plan on raising chickens plan on having at least 3 chickens. (That way if something happens to one of them you still have two.)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dNnPGR3B40w/U54waDoo17I/AAAAAAAAE2I/2PDiw84_5QY/s1600/B.Y.C.A+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dNnPGR3B40w/U54waDoo17I/AAAAAAAAE2I/2PDiw84_5QY/s320/B.Y.C.A+001.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sparky - Rhode Island Red</td></tr>
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Our Rhode Island Red named Sparky the oldest of the little chicks. Our son named her and as of late, the girls have taken to calling her Sparkle. She is the one in charge of our little flock. She will actually herd everyone into the coop if she suspects danger. And she seems to always be on guard keeping everyone safe. When she is ready to roost for the night I have seen her pacing and calling everyone to get them all to come in so she can sleep. It is quit amusing. She just started to try clucking which is hilarious to hear. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VsggdwTj_f4/U54wb8mN11I/AAAAAAAAE2g/tG2v8QfaoFM/s1600/B.Y.C.A+004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VsggdwTj_f4/U54wb8mN11I/AAAAAAAAE2g/tG2v8QfaoFM/s320/B.Y.C.A+004.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Penny - Ideal (Like a California White)</td></tr>
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Our white and black Ideal named Penny Peckerton, loves to preen all the time. I have so many pictures of her preening her feathers. She loves hanging out with the humans and if we bend down she will jump right up on our hands, arms, shoulders, back or lap (if we are sitting). Then she will tell us all about her day. She was like that from the beginning. Our first night with her was like having an infant in the house. She would peep loudly calling out for us to come. As soon as she saw us she would stop peeping. Sooo incredibly cute and annoying all at the same time. Over all she is very docile and friendly and extremely gentle.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tt1AloLmY0E/U54wdFdnjSI/AAAAAAAAE2o/iAeiHWJO-do/s1600/B.Y.C.A+005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tt1AloLmY0E/U54wdFdnjSI/AAAAAAAAE2o/iAeiHWJO-do/s320/B.Y.C.A+005.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daisy - Buff Orpington</td></tr>
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Our Buff Orpington Daisy is one of the most docile chickens on the planet. She loves to be held and doesn’t mind any of the crazy antics my youngest might be up to with her. If you are anywhere close to being able to be perched on, she will perch on you. Even your head if you bend down while she is wanting some attention. When she was still a fuzz ball she would fall asleep mid stride, bite or whatever she was doing it didn’t matter to her. Such an easy going chicken.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Sa7GwLzm-CI/U54wbYMicII/AAAAAAAAE2U/sildLMN6dqM/s1600/B.Y.C.A+002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Sa7GwLzm-CI/U54wbYMicII/AAAAAAAAE2U/sildLMN6dqM/s320/B.Y.C.A+002.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vanellope - Speckled Sussex</td></tr>
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Our Speckled Sussex Vanellope is always busy and hates to be in one place for long. Catching this little chicken has proven to be quite the hilarious spectacle. She loves to run free but enjoys it when we are nearby. When we first got the chicks she was fourth in of the pecking order however little Oreo challenged her and now she is at the bottom. She got depressed (yes chickens can be depressed) for a few days. We would go out and give her treats first and spend extra time with her. Now she is a happy little hen again. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uzrtVag-zXo/U54wa7rMubI/AAAAAAAAE2Q/a4GA-PU4MGo/s1600/B.Y.C.A+003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uzrtVag-zXo/U54wa7rMubI/AAAAAAAAE2Q/a4GA-PU4MGo/s320/B.Y.C.A+003.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oreo - Black Sex-Link</td></tr>
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Our Black Sex-Link, Oreo is the youngest of the bunch, though from the beginning she has totally been able to her hold her own with the older ones. She seems to be the most distractable one of our little flock. She will be off doing her thing and then when she realizes that she isn’t with the rest of the chickens anymore and will quickly run to catch up.<br />
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It is amazing how each chicken has their own personality and preferences. It is so fun watching my girls with them and I love that they will go out to the coop just to hang out with the chickens during the day. All of the kids are learning the ropes of chicken keeping and I cannot believe how fond of these little chicks I am.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://mommyhoodadventures.blogspot.com/p/chicken-adventures.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XvdoQO3hC08/U5HviLuOfeI/AAAAAAAAE1s/2x3x5YE8u6s/s200/BCA-1.jpg" height="160" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click here to read about our <br />
Chicken Adventures</td></tr>
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/294/FF4F08764BDE143C6AF17A2E28D642FD.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Mommy Reghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04705903418962739263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207832150505172088.post-25499534425189653482014-06-06T09:49:00.000-07:002014-06-06T09:49:33.643-07:00Baby Chick Adventures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Baby chicks! A little over a month ago we embarked on a new adventure. We decided to start raising chickens! I spent over a month reading every book at the library and started researching online so we could know everything we needed to know about chickens before we even got them. What I have learned so far… as with raising children there is a ton of advice out there and until you actually become the owner of chickens you can only learn so much in advance. The rest just comes with experience.<br />
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We inherited a rather large coop that is almost 200 square feet; it just needed some – okay - a lot of cleaning and a bit of fixing up. And we needed to put up some fencing to make a run. We have been spending our weekends working on the coop and run and making sure our chickens are as happy as they can possibly be. <br />
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We bought 5 baby chicks all a different breed mostly so that I could tell them all apart. Each of the kids got to choose one and I chose the last one. The funniest part of the whole thing is seeing how each one of them is like a little chicken counterpart to the kid that chose it. Their personalities are almost completely the same.<br />
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I decided to start a whole series about this grand new adventure. We are all enjoying observing all their personalities come out. And I am really having a blast watching the girls try to train them to sit, stay and come. They have learned the word treat, very well and love it when we come bearing gifts of fruits and veggies. What about you? Do you have chickens? Any advice for a novice chicken owner?<br />
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/294/FF4F08764BDE143C6AF17A2E28D642FD.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Mommy Reghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04705903418962739263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207832150505172088.post-38358852195139886592014-02-06T23:21:00.003-08:002014-02-06T23:21:54.561-08:00Winter Olympic ResourcesI love, love, love the Olympics. Every two years our normal routine stops so that we can watch all of the very talented athletes make their countries proud. I love rooting for Team USA or the underdog if we aren't competing in a particular event. I love watching the reaction of proud moms and dads as they cheer on their sons and daughters. And I love that for two weeks, the whole world comes together in one giant melting pot of athletic awesomeness.<br />
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We have fun learning about the country in which the games are being held. We love learning about the little details of the games like the torch, the medals and the mascots. We follow the medal count and even the weather at the venue. And we watch a lot of sports for two whole weeks.<br />
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We started talking about the Olympics last week during our Coffee Time. We talked about the places that the past Winter Olympic games have been held and marked the locations on a map. This was a lot of fun. I found a printable map online that had the longitude and latitude guides. Then using the info on <b><a href="http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/infopage/olympic.htm" target="_blank">this site</a></b>, and an atlas, I gave the kids the coordinates of each location and they found it on their map marking it with the year. Talk about a fun way to practice map skills and learn a bit of geography. With help even the little ones learning to write their numbers can do this activity.<br />
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Below are links to several resources I will be using this year during our study. I have been researching and deciding what we will focus on this year. We will be compiling what we learn into a lapbook so we have a written record of all the learning we do. The most fun about doing the Olympic unit is the opportunity to learn about history, and culture that you would probably not get a chance to otherwise. And to remember that learning is supposed to be fun and inspire curiosity which leads to more learning.<br />
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The Games</h3>
<b><a href="http://www.sochi2014.com/en" target="_blank">Sochi 2014</a> </b>- This is the official site for the 2014 games.<br />
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<a href="http://www.olympic.org/" target="_blank"><b>Olympic.org</b> </a>is the official Olympic page. Here you can find out about past and future Olympics along with of course this year's Olympics. <br />
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<b><a href="http://www.nbcolympics.com/" target="_blank">NBC Olympics</a></b> - If you live in the USA this site is a must. It has the television schedule for all the events. A must if you want to know when curling will be on. This is also where you can find out more about the athletes of Team USA.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWojpPkfFoY" target="_blank">Sochi Venues</a></b> - This video shows a quick look around where the games are being held.<br />
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The Mascots</h3>
<b><a href="http://www.sochi2014.com/en" target="_blank">Mascot Page</a></b> -This is the official Mascot site. Here you can find out more about the The Polar Bear, The Hare, and The Leopard. You can also find out about the Paralympic Mascots The Ray of Light and The Snowflake. Clicking around you can also find the history of the mascots and past mascots.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.freekidscoloring.com/sports/winter-olympics/" target="_blank">Coloring Pages</a></b> - This site has coloring pages of the Mascots.<br />
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The Medals</h3>
<b><a href="http://www.sochi2014.com/en/about-medals" target="_blank">2014 Medals</a></b> - Here you can find out about the key features of the medals... what they are made of... how big they are, and more.<br />
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<b><a href="http://en.ria.ru/photolents/20130530/181422730_1/Sochi-2014-Olympic-Medal-Set-Unveiled-in-Russia.html" target="_blank">Medal Unveiling</a></b> - This link takes you to when the medals were unveiled. The close up pictures of the medals are well worth the click.<br />
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The Torch</h3>
<b><a href="http://www.olympic.org/news/sochi-2014-torch-unveiled/188231" target="_blank">The Torch</a></b> specifics and designs.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2014/02/05/sochi-olympic-torch-adventures-from-pole-to-space-to-world-deepest-lake/" target="_blank">Torch Relay</a></b> firsts and fun trivia. From the depths of a lake to to outer-space this torch relay has had it's moments of glory.<br />
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Watch the videos of the torch going to the <b><a href="http://www.olympic.org/videos/olympic-flame-reaches-the-north-pole" target="_blank">North Pole</a></b>, blasting off into <b><a href="http://www.sochi2014.com/en/videos/sochi-2014-olympic-torch-travels-to-the-international-space-station" target="_blank">outer-space</a></b>, plunging into the depths of the <b><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ku1-bVLw6PA" target="_blank">World's deepest lake</a></b>. <br />
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Science</h3>
<b><a href="http://www.nbclearn.com/science-and-engineering-of-the-2014-olympic-winter-games" target="_blank">Science and Engineering </a></b>- This site by NBC Learn has several very cool videos about the science behind snow, ice, bobsleds and even half pipes.<br />
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<a href="http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/olympics/index.jsp" target="_blank"><b>Science of Winter Olympics</b> </a>- The National Science Foundation has videos about friction, air lift, and drag just to name a few. We watched these during the 2010 Olympics and loved them.<br />
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History/Geography</h3>
So far this time for history we have been reading books about Russia that I picked up from the library. We have also read the Magic Tree House book <u>Hour of the Olympics</u> and used the Study Guide.<br />
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For some quick reference material I have used <b><a href="http://www.nostos.com/olympics/" target="_blank">this site</a></b> in the past. <br />
<b><a href="http://www.timeforkids.com/destination/russia" target="_blank">Time for Kids</a></b> has some pictures, quick facts and a few other fun things.<br />
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Activity Packs and Other Stuff</h3>
<b><a href="http://www.dltk-kids.com/sports/2014.htm" target="_blank">DLTK</a> </b>- A site full of Olympic crafts and activities for Pre K to Early Elementary<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.homeschoolhelperonline.com/lapbooks/olympics.shtml" target="_blank">Homeschool Helper Olympic Lapbook</a></b> - I used this lapbook as a starting point when we started lapbooking years ago. <br />
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<b><a href="http://wellnurturedplantsandpillars.wordpress.com/2014/01/28/free-winter-olympic-themed-printable-pack-for-k-3rd/" target="_blank">Printables for Kinder thru third</a></b> these are some fun Olympic themed activities.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.kidzone.ws/math/w-olympics/" target="_blank">KidZone</a></b> has some fun math pages with the Olympic theme.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.3dinosaurs.com/printables/packs/winterolympics.php" target="_blank">Winter Olympics Pack </a></b>this pack is huge and has something from preK through about third<br />
grade.<br />
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Here is just a small sampling of what I have found so far. I will be adding more to this list throughout the games so feel free to check back often.<br />
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What resources have you found? I could always use more fun ideas.<br />
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54490/294/FF4F08764BDE143C6AF17A2E28D642FD.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Mommy Reghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04705903418962739263noreply@blogger.com0