If We Only Knew.....

Well I have returned from pilates...and am now ready to enjoy my day as a sore mommie! Everyone teaches pilates differently...my friend teaches it beautifuly! The fact that I work out non-stop everyday didn't make a difference in that class...LOL! Okay, enough about working out today ;-) I am home with my beautiful family and ready for an awesome lunch!

Well my quiet time this morning was a little shorter than I would have liked it to be.......so I will make sure I set aside some time tonight for just me and the Lord! It can be challenging to do at times with homeschooling my babies and the fact that I love to be with them all the time! I am starting to wake up at the crack of dawn to make sure I get that quality time with the Lord that my heart longs for day and night. All I can think about lately is how FAITHFUL the Lord is too His children! How He loves us no matter what! I than think about how much I don't deserve Him and the awesome life He has given me! His mercies are new every morning.....if we only knew how many times He has bestowed mercy and grace upon us daily.....we would be in awe if we only knew!

A Look Ahead....

I am excited this morning.....my hubbys is on vacation ;-) I look forward to a beautiful week of family time, home remodeling, birthday parties, church, garage sales, donations to Goodwill, working out at the gym everyday & of course one of our favorites, Photography! I am heading out to my pilates class....a dear friend I have known for 15 years is teaching it....and she is also a personal trainer :-) I look forward to the rest of my day! I will share a little about my quiet time with the Lord when I return from my class.....we are expecting some rain.....can't wait!

A Beautiful Sunday...

Today was a beautiful day in the Lord!

We watched most of the church play softball for a few hours.......still not sure of the score, but hey it was relaxing! The kids had a blast on the jumping thing they had for them.....too much fun & constant screaming with lots of laughter!

Well my hubby and I are excited about all of the awesome things the Lord is revealing to us.....so many awesome things! It is amazing what you will hear when you truly listen to the Lord.....He is speaking but are we listening to Him or this world around us? The more I read my Bible and spend time with Jesus.......the more clear I hear the Lord! I want to hear the Lord over all the crazy things that go on in my everyday life....that is one of my prayers......and He will anwer!!!!

I have got to go to bed....yes it is early for me....but I'm exhausted! Good night and many blessings upon all who read! Goodnight Jesus...I love you ;-)

Dying to Self...

Oh the hurt of waking up early on a beautiful Sunday morning....I am exhausted...and for some reason Sundays are the only day of the week that are so hard for me to get up so early :-) Now as a Christian that has walked with the Lord for many, many years this comes as NO surprise! If it were a Tuesday or even a Saturday it might be difficult to get up but not like Sundays! These are the worst for me...my dear hubby comes to me with the sweetest, most gentle voice....and whispers "baby...it's time to get up for church...your coffee's ready"....so sweet and so kind but...man, I am tired.....can't I sleep just a minute more......maybe 15 minutes...that's all....no more! Well being as kind as my dear, sweet husband is.....he will let me sleep in another 15 minutes on top of the 15 minutes I requested! Well needless to say, that "AIN'T" good! Oh no! I jump up running like a crazy woman!!! My sweet husband was just being kind......he was wanting his wife to feel rested....just being his amazingly loving self.....so unselfish! Well I wake up and well......I will stop there...LOL!
Well this is not a typical Sunday morning...praise God..but it has happened a few times...and it causes me to recheck myself....my attitude...my words, etc!
I find that Satan will use anything he can to cause confusion....strife....division, etc. I am learning to discern those situations that could be open doors in our home!
My prayer today is "Lord break me in two......expose my heart....any unclean thing in it that would hinder my walk with You. I want to die to myself today....not walk in the flesh but in the Spirit....I want to walk in Communion with You, Lord....not this world!
I find that when it is hardest to sit down and read the word....intercede or get up early and go to church............these are the times you should do it most! We serve such an Awesome God, who seeks us out everyday....He is wanting our attention....He is just waiting there for us to talk with Him....how rude I have been so many times!!!! It breaks my heart to know that the God of the Universe is desiring to sit with me....and so many times I "get busy"! What a shame that is.....how can we have a marriage with our spouse and not talk with them for days....our marriage wouldn't last....
The Bible says that we are married to Christ.....we are His Bride! So why aren't we talking with Him constantly? We wait until we "need" Him.....we have financial problems.....our child becomes ill, etc. What a merciful God we serve.....the Grace He gives us....we don't deserve it for one second...not an ounce of it...but He gives it....oh and He pours it out on us...and we can't even spend 5 minutes a day with Him!!
"My heart yearns for you Lord"! I thank you for the mercy you have poured out on me and my family.....the grace you have given us! I bow at your feet today....break me...mold me...into the person you desire for me to be! I need more of you today.....I am weak and need your strength! I praise you and love you Jesus.....and I am sorry for the times I have given attention and time that is meant for you to other things! I don't deserve you but you so freely give yourself.......I am honored to be your child! Thank you Lord for this day ahead!

From My Babies....

I am reminded daily of God's grace, mercy and faithfulness......thanks to my children! The Godly wisdom I have gained through the simple words of each of them is amazing! I look forward to the sweet words I will hear from each one of my precious children tomorrow morning.....thank you Lord for ministering to me through each of them~ The peaceful look on my precious Hannah's face.....she tells me she dreams of Angels......doesn't get any sweeter than that! Goodnight!

Just Like Old Times....

Today was a beautiful day! I got to fellowship with some of the most amazing women I've ever known! One of my dearest friends baby shower........it was so special! It was like old times with her and her family.....it meant the world to me ;-) Now it is time for family time....then hopefully to bed at a good time....so we can get to church early in the morning! Then we get to enjoy my dear hubby's vacation this week.......our home remodeling is underway......painting....flooring, etc~ God has been so good to us.......He is so faithful!

The Death of a Christian....

Oh how I love the feeling of the wind on my face on a beautiful cool day!

Today is absolutely gorgeous outside....sunny, cool & just beautiful!

I have enjoyed my time with my babies this morning......they wanted to watch a Bible show and then we sang a few of their favorite songs!

I am going to a dear friends baby shower today......I am so excited for her.....it is her first baby and it's a little boy! I had always hope we could have been pregnant together but God had other plans in mind....LOL!

The Lord is so good to His children....always~

In my daily quiet time with the Lord I read in my Bible....and I enjoy reading David Wilkerson's Blog...devotions! They minister to me so much each morning.......He is an amazing man that hears the voice of God! Below is a devotional written by David Wilkerson~

TO DIE IS GAIN?
Paul said it: “To die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). That kind of talk is absolutely foreign to our modern spiritual vocabularies. We have become such life worshippers, that we have very little desire to depart to be with the Lord.Paul said, “I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better” (Philippians 1:23). Yet, for the sake of edifying the converts, he thought it best to “stay in the shell.” Or, as he put it, “live in the flesh.”Was Paul morbid? Did he have an unhealthy fixation with death? Did Paul show a lack of respect for the life God had blessed him with? Absolutely not! Paul lived life to the fullest. To him, life was a gift, and he had used it well to fight a good fight. He had overcome the fear of the “sting of death” and could now say, “It’s better to die and be with the Lord than to stay in the flesh.”Those who die in the Lord are the winners; we who remain are the losers. Death is not the ultimate healing: resurrection is! Death is the passage, and sometimes that passage can be painful. No matter how much pain and suffering wreak havoc on these bodies, it is not even worthy to be compared with the unspeakable glory that awaits those who endure the passage.Any message about death bothers us. We try to ignore even thinking about it. We suspect those who talk about it of being morbid. Occasionally we will talk about what heaven must be like, but most of the time the subject of death is taboo.How different the first Christians were! Paul spoke much about death. In fact, our resurrection from the dead is referred to in the New Testament as our “blessed hope.” But nowadays, death is considered an intruder that cuts us off from the good life we have been accustomed to. We have so cluttered our lives with material things that we are bogged down with life. The world has trapped us with materialism. We can no longer bear the thought of leaving our beautiful homes, our lovely things, our charming sweethearts. We seem to be thinking, “To die now would be too great a loss. I love the Lord, but I need time to enjoy my real estate. I’m married. I’ve yet to prove my oxen. I need more time.”Have you noticed there is very little talk, nowadays, about heaven or about leaving this old world behind? Instead, we are bombarded with messages on how to use our faith to acquire more things. What a stunted concept of God’s eternal purposes! No wonder so many Christians are frightened by the thought of death. The truth is, we are far from understanding Christ’s call to forsake the world and all its entanglements. He calls us to come and die, to die without building memorials to ourselves, to die without worrying how we should be remembered. Jesus left no autobiography, no headquarters complex, no university or Bible college. He left nothing to perpetuate his memory, but the bread and the wine.

I have learned through my walk with Christ that I must die to myself daily.....to truly die hurts but in the end it brings forth a life like no other!

My Life~

This morning began a little later than usual in our home.....sleepy children and a mommy who was up all hours of the night with a precious little angel. The unspeakable joys of being a mommy of a very large family are amazing......and too numerous to count! Our day usually begins with mommy having a yummy cup of coffee, preferably hazelnut! The little ones choose from a variety of fruits, oatmeal or other whole grain cereal.......whichever their little hearts desire~

In our home we always start out our day with Bible reading, prayer and intercession for others and time of worship! Some days it goes smoother than others....but for the most part....the kids look forward to our quiet time with the Lord!

My hubby and I are very relaxed...easy going....go with the flow kind of people...that helps keep peace in the home....true peace is from the Lord!

Our Homeschooling seems to flow quite well now that we have begun our new curriculum! The kids complained that is was too difficult at the beginning and of course as their teacher I thought "Bingo, we've found the right stuff"! I love to challenge my kids....and our new work is definately a challenge ;-) I am currently Homeschooling 5 of my 6 kids daily.....my baby(18 months) is taught sign language and of listens to the alphabet, colors and numbers...but no math, reading and writing yet!

One of the beauties of Homeschooling is learning your childrens learning style.....strengths & weaknesses.....it's amazing what you learn about your children when you are with them morning, noon & night!

I use to pray for patience and well God gave me SIX amazing children all 1 1/2 to 2 yrs apart...close in age....called me to Homeschool them all throughout highschool and well, I am getting what I prayed for.....His patience is given daily to me and I praise Him for that!

I just love being a wife, mommy and teacher! I am also a professional photographer.....along with my awesome husband (a true man of God)! We live a fairly busy but relaxed life and praise God for it!

This morning has been great.....some of us are a little tired but hey the Lord has given us another day to spend together as a family......and I praise Him for that!

I am off to see what amazing things I will learn from my children today......a beautiful thing ;-)

The Wisdom of the Lord

Oh...to have the wisdom of the Lord...is such a beautiful thing! That is my desire today Lord.....to come to know you in a more intimate way than ever before! This morning has been so sweet....I have enjoyed my time with my Lord and Savior.....had quality prayer time with my babies and am about to begin a wonderful morning of Homeschooling ;-)

In my quiet time with the Lord today....I studied Matthew 6. So many things come to my mind when I read this awesome book of the Bible~

.................Treasures in Heaven 19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
Do Not Worry 25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

While reading this passage in the Bible...the fact that God tells us that he will supply all of our needs is very important! In Matthew we read that he makes sure the birds eat and have shelter in their nests.......we are far more important to Him.....this brings to my mind Philippians 4:19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

I have found in my journey, walk and relationship with Jesus Christ that not one of my families needs have ever gone without being met! If you don't have it and can't afford to get it then we need to seriously consider that it just might be a want.....! God has made a promise in His word that He will meet all of our NEEDS.....yes I said NEEDS NOT WANTS! Oh now don't get me wrong...the Lord also loves to bless us with those things that we WANT sometimes too......but when we become heavenly minded our wants and needs become better defined....and become in line with the Word of God.....

Thank you Lord for your many gifts....I praise you for who you are....;-)

Today is a beautiful day in the Lord! My hubby walking in the door from a quick jaunt to the local grocery store for some fruit and veggies.....precious! I am ready to read the Word of God and then go to the gym for a hard workout again! Then back home to finish homeschooling my babies.....my dear hubby will start schooling while I am at the gym....then after school we will go back to the gym again....kid's workout class is so exciting for them....fellowship and exercise! We are redoing our floors right now......spring cleaning and just cleaning out for donations....

Our days are quite busy but with things that we enjoy spending our time on....praise God for that! The Lord has blessed our photography~ http://www.emmagracephotography.com/ ~ in such a beautiful way! My dear hubby worked out with me last night.....and we had an awesome time together! I go to the gym everyday and feel so good....healthy! I am running/walking 4-5 miles a day and it feels awesome.....I praise the Lord for His blessings that He bestows upon me and my family everyday....He is Faithful always!!