To Pray Without Ceasing

This morning I read a devotional over at Crosswalk. (This is the first time I have read one from there. I actually just googled free daily devotion, and that's the first one I picked.) It focused on the following verses from 1 Thessalonians...

16 Rejoice evermore. 17 Pray without ceasing. 18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

As a mom it really had me thinking, am I being joyful with my children always? Am I keeping them in prayer at all times, in all situations when they arise? Am I giving thanks for every thing? My job is to show them how to live in this life, in this world. Am I showing them to be joyful, prayerful, and thankful in ALL things?

As these questions are buzzing around in my head, thoughts of my being UN-joyful, UN-prayerful, and UN-thankful come to mind. Oh how that aches my heart! Just yesterday, after a long day, I was NOT joyful in my approach to one of my boys. Oh how I could have handled that situation so differently! I should have stopped, prayed about it for a moment, and let the Holy Spirit guide me. My un-calm tendency to pounce on the misbehaving child, at the end of a long, tiring day, is NOT what the Lord would have me do. He would have prayed without ceasing. So, by the time the day was coming to an end, He would still be joyful.

For me, these 3 short verses, speak volumes. In order for me to give thanks continually, in all things, I need to be prayerful in all things, so that I can be joyful in all things. I need to let the Lord handle all of these trying parenting times. They only last for a short time, but make such a lasting impression on my children. I desire to be like Daniel, who stopped and prayed 3 times a day, no matter what he was doing. He probably scheduled it in! (That is something to me because I have been working on a schedule in my home. Something that works for me, and everyone, so that we can keep our little selves out of trouble. But that's another post, that hopefully I will someday get to!)

It truly is amazing how effective prayer is. Even the simplest prayer. If you're opening your heart to the Lord, He is listening. And, He does care. He loves us SO much. It can be hard for our human eyes to see just how much He loves us, hard for our human brains to understand just how much He loves us. But, you know what? He does! More than we can fathom, He loves each of us!

It is a special prayer of mine today for ALL moms, that we are joyful with our children in ALL things, prayerful in ALL things, and thankful in ALL things. Why? 18b for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Fundraisers & Baking

Well, I just finished my first fundraiser. It went pretty well. I didn't quite make my goal but I did come pretty close. So, I'm happy. The fundraiser was for a sweet home-schooling family who is adopting a little boy with disabilities. Well, it turns out they are adopting 3 sweet little ones instead! They are super excited, and I am so very happy for them to be able to bring those children home!! You can check out their journey here.

(Let me also point you in the direction of 2 other families on their own adoption journey's. The Churchill's and the Newsome's. 2 more amazing families that are following the Lord's calling. I look forward to the day they each get to bring home a new family member.)

With the fundraiser now over, I decided to do some baking. Mainly because when we moved I discovered that I do still own a bread machine. And, the bread machine makes making bread, pizza dough, rolls, and the like, so much easier. First I made some pizza dough, it turned out pretty well. Although, I did make a few mistakes, so next time it should be MUCH better. Today, I made cinnamon rolls. YUM! They were pretty big though. So, next time, I won't cut them so large. The icing I made to put on was good also but a bit too sweet for my taste. Of course, the hubby and kids thought it was just right. Next time I bake up some yummy homemade bread-lisciousness (totally not a word but I'm using it anyway), I'll take some pics and share with you all. I may even dedicate a blog post a week to baking/cooking.  I mean, I am in the kitchen most of the time anyway. These boys think they need to feed every hour!

I am also ready to do some more sewing. I haven't sewn in a week! Crazy. I know. I really want to perfect my  Bible cover. I almost have it. I gave up for a bit because I got irritated. My needles kept breaking. Then, I realized, I was using the WRONG needle for what I was sewing. Duh! But hey, I figured it out and should have no major issues now.  =)

Lastly, I do want to say that the Lord has been showing me some things lately. He really is working on me, building my character to be more like Him. Slowly but surely, everyday. God is SO amazing, I don't even have the words right now. But, that is for another post, another day.  =)

What Have I Been up to Lately?

Sewing!!!  =)  I decided to go ahead and take a little break from school. I needed it, the kids needed it, so why not?! I have been wanting to sew some skirts but didn't have the time. Break time means sewing time for me! Have a look...

This is the first skirt I made. I made a few mistakes but it's wearable! And no, I didn't hem the bottom! I will get around to it... eventually! =)

The 2nd skirt is MUCH better! It's made with a knit fabric and is super comfy, and pretty!

I had this really cute knit material, so I had to make something for baby girl! It's a top. )Sorry I didn't iron it for the picture!) The bottom still isn't hemmed either. It's not very 'finished'. And, it's way too big for her to wear. I'll have to see if I can take it in a bit.

Then, I decided to take these jeans and make a skirt.

Not the best but it was the first time I made a skirt from jeans. So, not too bad!

I have also made a few tote bags. Here's a tinkerbell one. Great for a little girl, and it's for sale for $15! It's part of a fundraiser for a sweet homeschooling family that is adopting a little boy with disabilities. You can see the whole album HERE.

And this is the new tote I made for me! =) It's very roomy, great for all the books we check out at the library! (And fun stuff too.)

So, there you have it. That is what has been filling my days. Okay, not filling my days, the kids do that, but it has been my 'me' time. =)

Our Garden

This year we were able to plant a garden in our backyard. It was planted a little late because we didn't move in until mid-March but it is doing pretty well! We even have corn!! (The pictures are from newest to oldest. Weird, I know. I just loaded them up, and that's how they came.)

This is the corn, today! We currently have 7 ears growing.  =)

The cucumbers are really taking off! We *may* have some to share! ;)

The grapes as of today.

Squash. This is our big squash plant. We have some more but not nearly the size of this bad boy!

The corn a few weeks ago.

A whole row of cucumbers. This picture is before the one a few above.

Another shot with the tomato, green bell pepper and there are strawberries next to the tomatoes.

Green bell pepper

That's a whole row of tomatoes. And, that is our first tomato!

Grapes - Green and Red

Herbs

Fig tree

Mandarin orange tree

We also have a pear and a peach tree. I'm thinking I may need to learn how to can! So, if you have any pointers, or helpful sites, let me know!