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10 years ago
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Victoria
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Where did last year go? For that matter, where did the last decade go? I can't believe that we already have one foot in the door of a new year and a new decade. It made me start to think about what I have accomplished so far in my life and where I would like to be heading in this new season of life.
I decided long ago that making resolutions was a waste of my time mainly because I put very little thought into making them and very little effort into keeping them so a couple of years ago I resolved to not make resolutions anymore and then I could save myself the humiliation of breaking them all before spring even arrived, but then I read this quote from Benjamin Mays that says "the great tradgedy in life does not lie in not reaching your goal, the tradgedy lies in having no goals to reach." I knew that I needed to set goals in order to keep focused and to have something to strive for and maybe if I spent time in prayer and thinking about what I really want to accomplish I would find that I might achieve better results. This past decade has been spent planning, having and starting to raise a family. I have tied up almost this entire decade planning preganacy, being pregnant, changing diapers, potty training and generally taking care of children and finding a new identity as a saty-at-home mother of preschoolers. I am thankful to God for this season of life but now I am ready to take on a new challenge.
I have spent a lot of time this week thinking and praying about what my goals for this coming year should be and need to be. I figure if I write them out and post them then it will help me to stay accountable and hopefully achieve the best results.
1. Get healthy-Stay healthy! I am not vowing to lose weight although if I strive to be healthy then that should come naturally. Jason and I have had a wake-up call after he went for a routine exam and found that his blood pressure and choleserol were high and that he needed to get on a healthy diet immediately. I am commiting to eat healthy, cook healthy and exersize regularly this year so that both of us can be around to see our children grow. How can I teach them good health when they don't see it modeled?
2. Discover me again. Before I was Emma and Lydia's mommy, I was Victoria. I liked to scrapbook, trace my family history, and work jigsaw puzzles. I was an avid reader, antique collector, and although I am not particularly good at them I like to draw and play the piano. I was a hairdresser, with a job, and a decent wardrobe that consisted of more than sweatpants and tee shirts. One of my biggest goals this year is to get back to being me. I have spent the last 6 years being pregnant, changing diapers, playing with dolls, singing ABC's, reading Dr. Suess and watching Dora. Now that Emma is in school and Lydia is getting bigger I am looking forward to finding my identity again. I am ready to enjoy grown-up hobbies. I still look forward to play time, picnics at the park, tea parties, cuddles and cartoons but they also need to see who their mommy is and what she likes to do as a grown-up.
3. Travel! Jason and I love to travel and before we had children we took one big trip a year. We went to big places like Cancun, Las Vegas, and Disney World. We went to small places like Jonesborough, TN, Williamsburg, VA, and Chatanooga. We miss traveling and now that the girl's are big enough we want them to see that there is more to the world than the mountains and the beach.
4. Volunteer/ mission trip- I have felt God calling me to do something in missions for a long time but I have always had an excuse why I couldn't volunteer or go on a missions trip. Who would watch the girls? Where do I start? I don't know what to do, etc. I have discovered lately that Emma has a heart for missions. She loves collecting money for charity, taking clothes and toys to children in need. She loved doing the Operation Christmas Child shoebox and she is still praying for the children who received them in Rwanda ( we tracked them online this year) She always prays for people with no homes and during Advent she reminded us every night to put our money in the jar for the Shelter Home. I teach her as much as I can about making a difference but she has not seen really seen me model it for her. The Bible says to train up a child in the way they should go. I have to train her not only with my words but with my actions. God has been leading me to do more for His kingdom so no more excuses it is time for action!
Jason and I also have some goals we have set together so we are ready to start a new year focused on God and family. I am thankful to God for a new year and a new start and I am hopeful that this will be the year that I achieve my goals!
I decided long ago that making resolutions was a waste of my time mainly because I put very little thought into making them and very little effort into keeping them so a couple of years ago I resolved to not make resolutions anymore and then I could save myself the humiliation of breaking them all before spring even arrived, but then I read this quote from Benjamin Mays that says "the great tradgedy in life does not lie in not reaching your goal, the tradgedy lies in having no goals to reach." I knew that I needed to set goals in order to keep focused and to have something to strive for and maybe if I spent time in prayer and thinking about what I really want to accomplish I would find that I might achieve better results. This past decade has been spent planning, having and starting to raise a family. I have tied up almost this entire decade planning preganacy, being pregnant, changing diapers, potty training and generally taking care of children and finding a new identity as a saty-at-home mother of preschoolers. I am thankful to God for this season of life but now I am ready to take on a new challenge.
I have spent a lot of time this week thinking and praying about what my goals for this coming year should be and need to be. I figure if I write them out and post them then it will help me to stay accountable and hopefully achieve the best results.
1. Get healthy-Stay healthy! I am not vowing to lose weight although if I strive to be healthy then that should come naturally. Jason and I have had a wake-up call after he went for a routine exam and found that his blood pressure and choleserol were high and that he needed to get on a healthy diet immediately. I am commiting to eat healthy, cook healthy and exersize regularly this year so that both of us can be around to see our children grow. How can I teach them good health when they don't see it modeled?
2. Discover me again. Before I was Emma and Lydia's mommy, I was Victoria. I liked to scrapbook, trace my family history, and work jigsaw puzzles. I was an avid reader, antique collector, and although I am not particularly good at them I like to draw and play the piano. I was a hairdresser, with a job, and a decent wardrobe that consisted of more than sweatpants and tee shirts. One of my biggest goals this year is to get back to being me. I have spent the last 6 years being pregnant, changing diapers, playing with dolls, singing ABC's, reading Dr. Suess and watching Dora. Now that Emma is in school and Lydia is getting bigger I am looking forward to finding my identity again. I am ready to enjoy grown-up hobbies. I still look forward to play time, picnics at the park, tea parties, cuddles and cartoons but they also need to see who their mommy is and what she likes to do as a grown-up.
3. Travel! Jason and I love to travel and before we had children we took one big trip a year. We went to big places like Cancun, Las Vegas, and Disney World. We went to small places like Jonesborough, TN, Williamsburg, VA, and Chatanooga. We miss traveling and now that the girl's are big enough we want them to see that there is more to the world than the mountains and the beach.
4. Volunteer/ mission trip- I have felt God calling me to do something in missions for a long time but I have always had an excuse why I couldn't volunteer or go on a missions trip. Who would watch the girls? Where do I start? I don't know what to do, etc. I have discovered lately that Emma has a heart for missions. She loves collecting money for charity, taking clothes and toys to children in need. She loved doing the Operation Christmas Child shoebox and she is still praying for the children who received them in Rwanda ( we tracked them online this year) She always prays for people with no homes and during Advent she reminded us every night to put our money in the jar for the Shelter Home. I teach her as much as I can about making a difference but she has not seen really seen me model it for her. The Bible says to train up a child in the way they should go. I have to train her not only with my words but with my actions. God has been leading me to do more for His kingdom so no more excuses it is time for action!
Jason and I also have some goals we have set together so we are ready to start a new year focused on God and family. I am thankful to God for a new year and a new start and I am hopeful that this will be the year that I achieve my goals!
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Victoria
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A new house, a new church, a new tradition...Advent. Prior to coming to Lenoir and visiting Mt. Vernon my only knowledge of what Advent was consisted of a wreath in the middle of the kitchen table with candles that you lit each Sunday before Christmas and a calendar with windows that the girls would open each night in December to discover a small piece of chocolate which they would usually fight over before breaking it in half and heading to bed. I never knew the real meaning behind Advent or the purpose of celebrating it, but that has changed this year thanks to Mt. Vernon and MOPS ( a mothers of preschoolers group that I now belong to at the church). This church encourages the celebration of Advent and it has brought a new level of joy in our home. After taking a class at the church on what Advent was and how to celebrate it I decided that this would be a great way to keep the girls focused on the true meaning of Christmas and it would be a wonderful time of family togetherness.
The class began by helping me to understand that Advent meant "coming", and just like the people of the Bible waited eagerly for God to reveal His promise in the coming of a Savior, we also can spend this Christmas season waiting with joy and anticipation on the birthday of Christ. I then set out to make an Advent log which is different than the wreath because you light it every night of Advent instead of just on Sunday. I decided this would help our family stay focused. I wanted the girls to know what it was like to anticipate Christ being born just like the people in the Bible so we start each morning with a "reason for the Season" box. This is a small box that contains a "heart reminder", a scripture to go with the reminder, and a little paper ornament with the heart reminder symbol on it which the children hang on a small tree called a Jesse Tree. This is based on the proverb which says "Put something where you can see it so your eye will remind your heart" ( you can Google Jesse tree or heart reminders to get the verses and the list of items) this starts the day already with a sense of anticipation. Then in the evening after dinner and pajamas we begin our time of Advent. The girls get a little cushion to sit on ( we made one out of a white pillowcase that they drew on with Sharpie markers and stuffed with cotton) and I give them a little snack in a cup to hold while we are doing the devotions ( this helps keep them still mostly...haha!) each night of advent the snack gets a little better starting with something like Goldfish and then as it gets closer to Christmas we may do ice cream or sugar cookies ( in keeping with the building of anticipation) then we light the candles and we begin the devotion time with Jason reading the nightly scripture. I was given a notebook at the church class that contains the scripture for each night but you can look up Advent scripture readings online and find some listed. The ones that I have are grouped into a theme for each week of Advent starting with week one "Reflecting on the Promise" which contains short readings from the Old Testament about why we needed a Savior, the second week is "Waiting on the Promise" which contains readings from prophets in the Old Testament, the third week is "preparing for the Promise" which are readings from Isaiah and the New Testament, and then the fourth week until Christmas day is "Celebrating the Promise" readings from the Christmas story ending on Christmas day with the birth of Christ. After Jason reads the scripture I usually explain what it means and then we say a short prayer. We then go over a Christmas memory verse that was chosen by me to teach the children- kind of like a theme verse for all of the Advent season. We then end this devotion time with a prayer for a missionary, lost family members or church staff members. Then I let one of the girls (we rotate who it is) pick out a Christmas book to read. ( I mix Christian story books and secular story books but some people only do Christian based Christmas books). After we read the book we blow out the candles. Total time for all of this is about 20 minutes. We then have an Advent paper chain that counts down to Christmas and we rip off one about 10 minutes before bedtime. Each link has an activity written on it that we do before bed. Some of them are as simple as talking about Mary and Joseph and giving your mommy and daddy a hug, some are crafty things to do like draw a christmas picture for your room and some of them are family time activities like pop popcorn and watch a Christmas movie. I made most of them up on my own but I had an idea sheet that they gave me at our class. Another thing we do each day, which we normally do in the afternoon when Jason gets home from work, is that we have a mason jar on the counter and I have a calendar that says things such as " put a dime in the jar for every birthday you have had" or "thank God for giving you shelter put a nickel in the jar for each room in your home" We then collect that days money from each person and put it in the jar. Once Advent is over we will donate it to a local charity. This was an idea that one of my Sunday School couples gave us and we have had a lot of fun doing it.
I have enjoyed learning about Advent and in the midst of presents, parties, programs, and Santa I am looking forward to taking this time each evening to direct our family to the true meaning of Christmas and help our children to focus with joy and anticipation the birth of our Savior. May you have a blessed Advent season and a very Merry Christmas!
"but when the time had fully come, God sent His son." Galations 4:4a
The class began by helping me to understand that Advent meant "coming", and just like the people of the Bible waited eagerly for God to reveal His promise in the coming of a Savior, we also can spend this Christmas season waiting with joy and anticipation on the birthday of Christ. I then set out to make an Advent log which is different than the wreath because you light it every night of Advent instead of just on Sunday. I decided this would help our family stay focused. I wanted the girls to know what it was like to anticipate Christ being born just like the people in the Bible so we start each morning with a "reason for the Season" box. This is a small box that contains a "heart reminder", a scripture to go with the reminder, and a little paper ornament with the heart reminder symbol on it which the children hang on a small tree called a Jesse Tree. This is based on the proverb which says "Put something where you can see it so your eye will remind your heart" ( you can Google Jesse tree or heart reminders to get the verses and the list of items) this starts the day already with a sense of anticipation. Then in the evening after dinner and pajamas we begin our time of Advent. The girls get a little cushion to sit on ( we made one out of a white pillowcase that they drew on with Sharpie markers and stuffed with cotton) and I give them a little snack in a cup to hold while we are doing the devotions ( this helps keep them still mostly...haha!) each night of advent the snack gets a little better starting with something like Goldfish and then as it gets closer to Christmas we may do ice cream or sugar cookies ( in keeping with the building of anticipation) then we light the candles and we begin the devotion time with Jason reading the nightly scripture. I was given a notebook at the church class that contains the scripture for each night but you can look up Advent scripture readings online and find some listed. The ones that I have are grouped into a theme for each week of Advent starting with week one "Reflecting on the Promise" which contains short readings from the Old Testament about why we needed a Savior, the second week is "Waiting on the Promise" which contains readings from prophets in the Old Testament, the third week is "preparing for the Promise" which are readings from Isaiah and the New Testament, and then the fourth week until Christmas day is "Celebrating the Promise" readings from the Christmas story ending on Christmas day with the birth of Christ. After Jason reads the scripture I usually explain what it means and then we say a short prayer. We then go over a Christmas memory verse that was chosen by me to teach the children- kind of like a theme verse for all of the Advent season. We then end this devotion time with a prayer for a missionary, lost family members or church staff members. Then I let one of the girls (we rotate who it is) pick out a Christmas book to read. ( I mix Christian story books and secular story books but some people only do Christian based Christmas books). After we read the book we blow out the candles. Total time for all of this is about 20 minutes. We then have an Advent paper chain that counts down to Christmas and we rip off one about 10 minutes before bedtime. Each link has an activity written on it that we do before bed. Some of them are as simple as talking about Mary and Joseph and giving your mommy and daddy a hug, some are crafty things to do like draw a christmas picture for your room and some of them are family time activities like pop popcorn and watch a Christmas movie. I made most of them up on my own but I had an idea sheet that they gave me at our class. Another thing we do each day, which we normally do in the afternoon when Jason gets home from work, is that we have a mason jar on the counter and I have a calendar that says things such as " put a dime in the jar for every birthday you have had" or "thank God for giving you shelter put a nickel in the jar for each room in your home" We then collect that days money from each person and put it in the jar. Once Advent is over we will donate it to a local charity. This was an idea that one of my Sunday School couples gave us and we have had a lot of fun doing it.
I have enjoyed learning about Advent and in the midst of presents, parties, programs, and Santa I am looking forward to taking this time each evening to direct our family to the true meaning of Christmas and help our children to focus with joy and anticipation the birth of our Savior. May you have a blessed Advent season and a very Merry Christmas!
"but when the time had fully come, God sent His son." Galations 4:4a
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Victoria
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A couple of days ago Emma's teacher asked her to share with the class one Thanksgiving tradition that her family had, so she came home and asked me what she should share and that is when I realized we were in trouble. You see, we don't really have any Thanksgiving traditions other than eating lunch with my family and eating dinner with my husbands family (not the most exciting thing to share with your class). It was kind of sad as I began to think about what we did year after year and couldn't really think of a single thing. Finally Emma said she thought of one and I breathed a sigh of relief. "What are you going to say?" I asked. "I am going to tell them that we eat ham" she said. Great! The only thing the poor child could say with confidence that we did every year was eat ham....pitiful! I began to think about the legacy of tradition that we were passing down to our children and realized we have very little in the way of tradition that we do for any holiday. We get so wrapped up in just getting done what we have to do to prepare. Then the actual days are spent in a whirlwind of travel between families, lots of eating and chaos and then the final drop into bed late at night, a quick sigh of relief that we made it another year, and the next day it is time to prepare for the next thing. No family traditions that belong to just our family for our kids to look back and say "we did that every year and it was great" and nothing for the next generation to pass on. I decided at that moment that we were going to have a tradition for each holiday that we celebrate. Something just for our own household to do that our children can look back later and say it was our tradition to do this...
This Thanksgiving we are making a Thanksgiving tree, just a small branch, and everyone gets to write on their paper leaf what they are thankful for and hang it on the tree. Emma wanted to help bake a pumpkin pie, which I have never done before, and Lydia wants to watch a movie with nana and papaw after we eat our Thanksgiving lunch. I will be watching the Macy's parade, which is my own little tradition, while I cook the tradtional lunch meal with the main course already set- ham!
I also have been thinking about what I am thankful for this week. I decided to focus on the little things that I normally take for granted but that I need to remember that God wants us to be thankful for ALL things no matter how small. Here are some of the things I have thought of:
1. The love of my husband! I feel blessed to not only have a good husband but to have a husband who shows me love daily. I love that I still get excited when I know he is coming home and I still look forward to having him here. I am Thankful that he still hugs me, holds my hand while we walk, tells me he loves me everyday, kisses me in front of our children, tells me I look nice, tickles me while I am trying to cook, rubs my shoulders after a long day and always helps take care of the girls. I am also thankful that he spends quality time with us and always puts family time first!
2. My children! I am blessed to have to healthy children who are sweet and thoughtful (most of the time) and who love God and still think that their parents are heros...ha!
3. My parents and extended family.
4. My new home.
5. The ability for me to stay home with my children for another year. God has blessed my time with them and I am so thankful I have not had to miss a single minute! I love being a stay-at-home mother, it is the best job in the whole world. I prayed and prayed for God to let me have children and I am thrilled that He not only gave me two of them but gave them to us at a time when I could spend this time with them. God's timing is truly perfect.
6. Jason's job. Although this year has been stressful and we have had to move away from all we have known God has blessed us tremendously when so many others are struggling- Thank you God!
The list could go on and on but I have to go pick up Lydia from her nana's house so I will stop for now, but please take the time to be Thankful to God this week for all He has blessed you with and don't make your legacy to the future generations be what you eat. Start a new tradition!
" Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever." Psalm 107:1
This Thanksgiving we are making a Thanksgiving tree, just a small branch, and everyone gets to write on their paper leaf what they are thankful for and hang it on the tree. Emma wanted to help bake a pumpkin pie, which I have never done before, and Lydia wants to watch a movie with nana and papaw after we eat our Thanksgiving lunch. I will be watching the Macy's parade, which is my own little tradition, while I cook the tradtional lunch meal with the main course already set- ham!
I also have been thinking about what I am thankful for this week. I decided to focus on the little things that I normally take for granted but that I need to remember that God wants us to be thankful for ALL things no matter how small. Here are some of the things I have thought of:
1. The love of my husband! I feel blessed to not only have a good husband but to have a husband who shows me love daily. I love that I still get excited when I know he is coming home and I still look forward to having him here. I am Thankful that he still hugs me, holds my hand while we walk, tells me he loves me everyday, kisses me in front of our children, tells me I look nice, tickles me while I am trying to cook, rubs my shoulders after a long day and always helps take care of the girls. I am also thankful that he spends quality time with us and always puts family time first!
2. My children! I am blessed to have to healthy children who are sweet and thoughtful (most of the time) and who love God and still think that their parents are heros...ha!
3. My parents and extended family.
4. My new home.
5. The ability for me to stay home with my children for another year. God has blessed my time with them and I am so thankful I have not had to miss a single minute! I love being a stay-at-home mother, it is the best job in the whole world. I prayed and prayed for God to let me have children and I am thrilled that He not only gave me two of them but gave them to us at a time when I could spend this time with them. God's timing is truly perfect.
6. Jason's job. Although this year has been stressful and we have had to move away from all we have known God has blessed us tremendously when so many others are struggling- Thank you God!
The list could go on and on but I have to go pick up Lydia from her nana's house so I will stop for now, but please take the time to be Thankful to God this week for all He has blessed you with and don't make your legacy to the future generations be what you eat. Start a new tradition!
" Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever." Psalm 107:1
Posted by
Victoria
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A couple of weeks ago I attended a revival service entitled "Why don't we get our prayers answered?" and it totally changed the way that I think about prayer and the way that I pray. I went into the service thinking I was pretty much on top of things in my prayer life and in the course of a couple of hours I came to the realization that my prayer life was probably the one aspect of my christian walk that needed the most work. Amazing how God can change our heart so quickly. There were a lot of points that were covered in that sermon but the two that struck me the most were 1. That we give up too soon and 2. We aren't diligent. Prayer takes repetition and patience and I lack both of them when I pray. I also learned that a holy hour is much more effective than a holy five minutes and that my quiet time truly needed to be QUIET! I don't need to be praying, reading, and singing worship songs the whole time. I learned that if I spent more time being quiet that I may quit wondering what God wants from me and I might quit wondering why God isn't answering me and I might actually get to see God work and hear God speak. As I look back now I realize that the one thing that I spent the least time praying about, and the most time complaining about, God was actually working out and I was too impatient and noisy to see or hear it...
When I began to realize we were actually moving I began to pray. I prayed about school for Emma and I prayed for my parents who had never had their only child farther than a few miles from home. I prayed about our new neighbors and friends for my children and I prayed for Jason and his job but the one thing I didn't really focus on was church. I prayed occasionally that God would lead us to a church but I just took control of that one and began to research churches in the area online. I already had my list of prospects. I knew exactly which ones I was going to visit and was positive that I could find one in a short time, after all I live in the bible belt, there is a church on every corner. No problem God I've got this one covered.
The last Sunday we were at Center Grove (our home church) a girl named Julie visited my Life Group and heard me ask prayer for our move. She asked me where I was moving to and I told her. Amazingly she had just moved to the area from the same town I was moving to and so I laughingly asked her what church they went to because I would be looking. She said they had been members at Mt. Vernon and that they loved it and missed it greatly. That was not one on my list but I promised to look it up, which I later did, and determined that while it looked fine it was kind of far from my house and didn't really seem to have the "programs" I was used to so I dismissed it and went on. One week went by and I began to visit the churches on my list. The first one was huge and seemed to be active but the people were not friendly and as I sat there alone ( Jason was working) I began to feel very out of place. No one spoke and when the pastor announced that everyone should shake a hand no one even turned around to me. I didn't know a single song they sang and when it was over I found myself praying on the way home that God would lead us to the right church. Week two came and I visited another large church on my list and while it had a more friendly congregation it was very far from my house and I knew that I would never be able to be involved like I wanted to and the largeness of it made me feel lost in the crowd. I began to pray a little more but I still had some more on my list. Week 3 came and went and I visited yet another one. This time Lydia cryed when I left her and begged to go back to "our" church and I spent most of the sermon in tears as I thought about my home church and missed my family, who I never worshipped without. Week four I prayed like I had never prayed and my mom called that week and said that she had a new member in the choir who was from the area I was living in and she went to a really good church in Boone called Mt. Vernon. Her name was Julie and my mom thought she was so sweet and maybe I should check it out. I looked again but was still hesitant to drive up the mountain in my old car alone with two kids and try it so I passed...again. Week 5 Jason was off and went with me and now I was down to the last church on my list and I just knew this would be the one. I had looked at it online and talked to someone in the office and they were very friendly and positve so I was happy. Jason and I sat through the sermon...not bad, we made it through the welcome of guests... pretty good, we were excited when the childrens minister got up to speak and then as he read his letter of resignation and the church body began to weep and people were angry and hurt I realized that my ability to find us a church home was gone. My list had run out and I had drug my children to a different church every week since we moved here and I began to cry and I decided that it was time for me to listen and let God lead.
My dad called that week and he had just gotten out of an ushers meeting. The new intern at church had led the meeting and talked about his home church, afterward my dad said he asked him what church that was and the intern said Mt. Vernon in Boone. I began to wonder was God answering my prayer and I just wasn't listening? Two days later my mom called and said she had been asking the music minister to pray for us because we couldn't find a church and he asked if we had tried Mt. Vernon. He had heard great things about it but didn't know if we lived near enough to try it out. O.k. God, I hear you now, I think I will try it out. So the next Sunday I packed up the girls, took Jason's more reliable car and the GPS and headed up the mountain to Mt. Vernon. From the minute I walked in the door I felt like I belonged there. The people were welcoming and friendly, the church was very spirit-filled, the girls came out with a smile on their faces and I knew that God had led us to that place. God answers our prayer so much better when we stay out of it.
Since that first week I have experienced a new awakening in my personal walk with God. I was able to attend the revival, which was an awesome experience, and I have joined a Sunday Schoool class and begun the process of making new friends in Christ. The first week Jason went with me he was nervous. Jason is very quiet and he has never gone to any church other than the one he grew up in, but God worked it out. I prayed before we went that Jason would feel as at home there as I did and that he would feel God leading us there also. Within five minutes of arriving, he saw a guy named Patrick from our home church that he grew up with. We didn't even know he attended that church but he has been a member for several years. He was able to talk to Jason and introduce us to the Sunday School class we now attend. I have also seen other people that I know there and just last weekend we were at the fall festival and saw yet another couple from Center Grove whose parents go to Mt. Vernon. We enjoyed talking to them and getting to meet their family. God has truly blessed us and would have been willing to bless us sooner. I could have saved myself a lot of trouble had I just been patient, diligent and QUIET! Prayer is answered and God does speak we just have to ask diligently, be patient and then hush and let Him be God!
"Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act." Psalm 37:7a
When I began to realize we were actually moving I began to pray. I prayed about school for Emma and I prayed for my parents who had never had their only child farther than a few miles from home. I prayed about our new neighbors and friends for my children and I prayed for Jason and his job but the one thing I didn't really focus on was church. I prayed occasionally that God would lead us to a church but I just took control of that one and began to research churches in the area online. I already had my list of prospects. I knew exactly which ones I was going to visit and was positive that I could find one in a short time, after all I live in the bible belt, there is a church on every corner. No problem God I've got this one covered.
The last Sunday we were at Center Grove (our home church) a girl named Julie visited my Life Group and heard me ask prayer for our move. She asked me where I was moving to and I told her. Amazingly she had just moved to the area from the same town I was moving to and so I laughingly asked her what church they went to because I would be looking. She said they had been members at Mt. Vernon and that they loved it and missed it greatly. That was not one on my list but I promised to look it up, which I later did, and determined that while it looked fine it was kind of far from my house and didn't really seem to have the "programs" I was used to so I dismissed it and went on. One week went by and I began to visit the churches on my list. The first one was huge and seemed to be active but the people were not friendly and as I sat there alone ( Jason was working) I began to feel very out of place. No one spoke and when the pastor announced that everyone should shake a hand no one even turned around to me. I didn't know a single song they sang and when it was over I found myself praying on the way home that God would lead us to the right church. Week two came and I visited another large church on my list and while it had a more friendly congregation it was very far from my house and I knew that I would never be able to be involved like I wanted to and the largeness of it made me feel lost in the crowd. I began to pray a little more but I still had some more on my list. Week 3 came and went and I visited yet another one. This time Lydia cryed when I left her and begged to go back to "our" church and I spent most of the sermon in tears as I thought about my home church and missed my family, who I never worshipped without. Week four I prayed like I had never prayed and my mom called that week and said that she had a new member in the choir who was from the area I was living in and she went to a really good church in Boone called Mt. Vernon. Her name was Julie and my mom thought she was so sweet and maybe I should check it out. I looked again but was still hesitant to drive up the mountain in my old car alone with two kids and try it so I passed...again. Week 5 Jason was off and went with me and now I was down to the last church on my list and I just knew this would be the one. I had looked at it online and talked to someone in the office and they were very friendly and positve so I was happy. Jason and I sat through the sermon...not bad, we made it through the welcome of guests... pretty good, we were excited when the childrens minister got up to speak and then as he read his letter of resignation and the church body began to weep and people were angry and hurt I realized that my ability to find us a church home was gone. My list had run out and I had drug my children to a different church every week since we moved here and I began to cry and I decided that it was time for me to listen and let God lead.
My dad called that week and he had just gotten out of an ushers meeting. The new intern at church had led the meeting and talked about his home church, afterward my dad said he asked him what church that was and the intern said Mt. Vernon in Boone. I began to wonder was God answering my prayer and I just wasn't listening? Two days later my mom called and said she had been asking the music minister to pray for us because we couldn't find a church and he asked if we had tried Mt. Vernon. He had heard great things about it but didn't know if we lived near enough to try it out. O.k. God, I hear you now, I think I will try it out. So the next Sunday I packed up the girls, took Jason's more reliable car and the GPS and headed up the mountain to Mt. Vernon. From the minute I walked in the door I felt like I belonged there. The people were welcoming and friendly, the church was very spirit-filled, the girls came out with a smile on their faces and I knew that God had led us to that place. God answers our prayer so much better when we stay out of it.
Since that first week I have experienced a new awakening in my personal walk with God. I was able to attend the revival, which was an awesome experience, and I have joined a Sunday Schoool class and begun the process of making new friends in Christ. The first week Jason went with me he was nervous. Jason is very quiet and he has never gone to any church other than the one he grew up in, but God worked it out. I prayed before we went that Jason would feel as at home there as I did and that he would feel God leading us there also. Within five minutes of arriving, he saw a guy named Patrick from our home church that he grew up with. We didn't even know he attended that church but he has been a member for several years. He was able to talk to Jason and introduce us to the Sunday School class we now attend. I have also seen other people that I know there and just last weekend we were at the fall festival and saw yet another couple from Center Grove whose parents go to Mt. Vernon. We enjoyed talking to them and getting to meet their family. God has truly blessed us and would have been willing to bless us sooner. I could have saved myself a lot of trouble had I just been patient, diligent and QUIET! Prayer is answered and God does speak we just have to ask diligently, be patient and then hush and let Him be God!
"Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act." Psalm 37:7a
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Victoria
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The moment I have waited for for a couple of months now has finally arrived. God, in His perfect timing, has sent a buyer and my house is now "under contract". I was begining to think this day would not come, although in this housing market and economy it came relatively quickly compared to most, and I feel blessed.
Lessons Learned:
PATIENCE- I have never been known for patience, although I pray for it daily, but God has shown me that if I would take a breath and patiently wait for Him to work or lead, I would be much better off. What has seemed an eternity to me, has actually been amazingly fast by most people's standards and by real estate standard's it truly is a miracle to be under contract this fast.
In all things- PRAY!- I have worried through every step of the process- would my house sell? would Emma get to move before school? Would my house pass an inspection? Would we find a house we like? Would we be able to live in a nice area?...on and on and on. After much worry and stress I finally began to pray through it and turn it over to God. - God, please send a buyer soon. God, please let Emma get settled before school. God, please lead us to a nice area and let us find a house we can afford. God, guide the inspector and help him only see the good things in about our house (haha...although I did pray that) and as usual I learned that God's ways are not ours and if we just trust Him it will all work out for good!
FOLLOW- I like to lead and be in control of things in my life and it is hard for me to step back and admit that I have no idea what to do and just let myself follow, but I have discovered throughout this process that if I just follow and let God lead, the path is so much easier!
I have learned so many more things that I can't even put in here, but things seem to be working out for the best. We have a buyer that appears to have things together so we believe it is going to close on time. We have found a home, in a very nice area, that was on the market when we first started looking up there and we thought it would be sold by now, but they were waiting on a house in Florida to be finished and so here we are with it under contract. Emma is going to get to go to a nice school I believe and we will be able to get settled before school starts so she will hopefully get to know some kids before she goes. God has blessed us so far throughout this time and I hope He continues to bless us as we seek to follow Him down this new path in our life.
"Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise Him all creatures here below, Praise Him above the heavenly host, Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost- Amen!"
Lessons Learned:
PATIENCE- I have never been known for patience, although I pray for it daily, but God has shown me that if I would take a breath and patiently wait for Him to work or lead, I would be much better off. What has seemed an eternity to me, has actually been amazingly fast by most people's standards and by real estate standard's it truly is a miracle to be under contract this fast.
In all things- PRAY!- I have worried through every step of the process- would my house sell? would Emma get to move before school? Would my house pass an inspection? Would we find a house we like? Would we be able to live in a nice area?...on and on and on. After much worry and stress I finally began to pray through it and turn it over to God. - God, please send a buyer soon. God, please let Emma get settled before school. God, please lead us to a nice area and let us find a house we can afford. God, guide the inspector and help him only see the good things in about our house (haha...although I did pray that) and as usual I learned that God's ways are not ours and if we just trust Him it will all work out for good!
FOLLOW- I like to lead and be in control of things in my life and it is hard for me to step back and admit that I have no idea what to do and just let myself follow, but I have discovered throughout this process that if I just follow and let God lead, the path is so much easier!
I have learned so many more things that I can't even put in here, but things seem to be working out for the best. We have a buyer that appears to have things together so we believe it is going to close on time. We have found a home, in a very nice area, that was on the market when we first started looking up there and we thought it would be sold by now, but they were waiting on a house in Florida to be finished and so here we are with it under contract. Emma is going to get to go to a nice school I believe and we will be able to get settled before school starts so she will hopefully get to know some kids before she goes. God has blessed us so far throughout this time and I hope He continues to bless us as we seek to follow Him down this new path in our life.
"Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise Him all creatures here below, Praise Him above the heavenly host, Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost- Amen!"
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Victoria
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My house looks the best it has ever looked, to bad someone else is going to get to enjoy it. All the work we needed to do is finally done. It has been so hard to get it all done quickly on a tight budget with two children who are always needing something just at the moment you open the paint can and dip in the brush or right when you climb all the way up the ladder and find just the right spot to balance everything so it won't fall off the ladder. I think it has been God's way of helping me let go because now that I have painted and nailed and boxed up clutter, and scraped, chipped, repaired, and scrubbed I am done not only with the work, but the house itself. I am kind of ready to see it go. We have great memories here (it is the only house Jason and I have lived in since we have been married) but I am ready to make memories in a house that requires less work and more fun. I have been looking at houses in Caldwell county for months now and I have seen some go that I really liked, so now I am ready to find the one God leads me to. I know that the one for us is out there, and I am excited to find it. Emma is anxious, and worried, and I am ready for her to be able to settle in and know that this is where we are going to stay. I want her to understand that all of her things that she loves will be with her. She asks me everyday if her bed is going and if her dog is going and if her sister is going. She is so confused and it bothers me to see her upset about the unknown. I really want to get up there and get settled so that we can all get acclamated to the area before school and fall activities start. I would love to have a relaxing summer learning the area and getting familiar with everything. I am praying every day and every night that God will help send a buyer to our home. The economy is bad and the housing market is worse and we live in a little old starter home in a corn field in the middle of nowhere. Not exactly ideal circumstances for selling a home, but I am convinced that God has led us to this place and He will not leave us stranded.
"Answer me when I call to you, oh my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer." Psalm 4:1
"Answer me when I call to you, oh my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer." Psalm 4:1
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Victoria
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Easter... one of my favorite holidays. I didn't really know it was my favorite holiday until I had children. My favorite time of the year is fall. I love to watch the trees change, I love the crisp air, fall festivals and the beginning of winter. I have always loved fall and winter and Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. The birth of my savior is a great reason to celebrate, but I also enjoy the presents and the cookies and the music... Spring is one of my least favorite seasons. Don't get me wrong I love warm air returning, and flowers blooming are o.k., but I don't like head colds ( which I get every Spring), allergies, bugs, yardwork, and rain, all of which arrive in the Spring. I never look forward to the arrival of Spring, but I have found myself looking forward to Easter this year. Easter celebrates the greatest moment in all of History, Jesus overcoming death and the grave. I like that Easter is simple. Christmas is so busy and I feel as though it is hard to keep my family focused on the true meaning of Christmas in the midst of shopping, cooking, entertaining, shopping, presents, Santa Claus, did I mention shopping? I don't have to shop for weeks and weeks to get everyone I know a present for Easter and I don't have anything to wrap or take back afterwards. I enjoy getting dressed up and letting the girls dress up to look their best to worship Christ. I have gotten so casual in the way I dress for church and sometimes my attitude is a reflection of how I look and feel. I want my girls to know what it is to look nice and give your best for Christ. I love that the activities that we do at Easter are just family time activities, dying Easter eggs at the kitchen table, baking cookies with the girls, going to nana and papaws to eat dinner and play. I love to see my children get excited over a simple basket of candy and a stuffed animal. I love that I don't have to worry if the true meaning of Easter is getting drowned out by the world's view and the hype because Easter is about Jesus. Emma asked me the other day what we celebrated Easter for and I told her because Jesus is alive and we celebrate the fact that He died to save us and that He lives so that we can live also and that was that. I didn't have to keep reminding her to focus on the true meaning, and I didn't have to worry that she was going to miss it in all the chaos. She could see it in the bird's nest full of new life on our porch, she could hear it in the songs about Christ as we drove down the road, she could read it in her Bible before bed. The meaning of Easter was coming through loud and clear, all the world had to offer was the Easter bunny and the Easter bunny is no Santa. The Easter bunny is fun and the Easter eggs taste good and look pretty, but Jesus is what it is all about. A simple holiday that has such a huge meaning in a season which brings new life. HAPPY EASTER!
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead..." 1 Peter 1:3
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead..." 1 Peter 1:3
