eucharisteo

He won't let me get past this theme in my life...

He has been etching these truths into my heart over the past two years as i have wrestled with the verse, "The joy of the LORD is my strength"

then these, today...

• You will have the free gift of complete forgiveness of all your sins extending into forever (Romans 6:23).
• You will never have to merit your justification by keeping the law (Galatians 2:16).
• You will have all your real needs provided while on earth (Philippians 4:19).
• You will receive all the grace you need at all times so that you will abound in every good work God has for you (2 Corinthians 9:8).
• God will complete the good work he began in you (Philippians 1:6).
• You will be raised from the dead and never, ever die again (1 Corinthians 15:52–53).
• That means someday soon you will see Jesus, be with him (2 Corinthians 5:8), and be like him (1 John 3:2).
• In that day you will know for the first time full, unpolluted joy (Psalm 16:11).
• You will be completely free from all corruption (Romans 8:21).
• You will have God forever (1 Peter 3:18) as your exceeding joy (Psalm 43:4).

you can read the whole post at: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/how-can-we-give-thanks-in-all-circumstances

because He just loves us this much.

birthday-ed

what does it look like to have two birthdays just three days apart in one crazy family?!
for starters, it means baking two different desserts in one day, because the attempt to celebrate each birthday on different days just completely failed!

every year i tell myself that next year i will plan better, prepare more and make both kids feel like their day is totally about them! then every year i blow it and end up celebrating both birthdays on the same day, one feeling like his is late, the other feeling like her's is "borrowed". :)

 agh! alas...here we are...late november, and i am doubling up once again! HA!

 Praise God these little ones are so forgiving!

 my head can't even wrap itself around how they are suddenly 8 and 6!?!

precious and fleeting are these mothering moments...and filled with endless (albeit wild!) joy!!

(pray that my little miss sunshine here doesn't one day completely disdain the fact that i always forget to take her headgear off for pics!!)

characters!

 

 halloween transformed my sweet four into

 super heros, flowers, furry monsters and...well...

i have no idea who samuel is...but i am told he is from star wars, episode ??? :0

            selah's was my favorite for sure! she came up with the idea and designed it herself!

                                                           the sweetest sully ever! :)

month two

8 weeks.

that's how long we have been at this new way of learning. well, actually 9 weeks, cuz there are 5 weeks in october, but hey, who's counting, right?!

we are starting to (perhaps) hit our stride. :)

i finally feel like i am no longer drowning.

the slowed pace is catching up to us, and it feels so nice!

we have enjoyed early morning treks, field trips on trains to get yummy "dairy fresh" milkshakes, pumpkin patches and hay rides, biking to the park, cooking together, cleaning house together and grocery shopping "family style" (not for the faint of heart!).

we are also starting to hear better...listening more clearly, to each other and to His voice...

during our 6 years in LA we gathered tons of community, love, support...family! we were rooted, invested, planted and blooming!

here in fresno, i feel completely uprooted...my soul feels bare and vulnerable, especially as the cooler weather settles in. i'm realizing that Our Great Gardener is busy pruning us back, preparing us to bear even more fruit for Him. but the process is painful, slow, lonely. being transplanted into a new climate, different soil, odd surroundings...it often feels like we may just whither up and die.

the central valley has so many trees that change colors with the seasons, an artistic object lesson for my spirit. watching the leaves willingly give up all the sunlight they have soaked in over the year, yielding to the changing temperatures, falling quietly to the ground, it reminds me how our lives, too, are seasonal.

there must be this giving up, falling into Him, an accepting of His wise pruning, if we are ever to bear more fruit. so much trust is required to allow our fragile souls to be planted again, and again, in strange new soil. there really isn't much else for one to do, but to trust. the watering, the sunlight, the pruning, it all comes from Him.

just to trust...and turn upwards to Him...if we are ever to bloom again.