Am I really growing? And if I am ... in what areas? My personal life is by far one that is being stretched right now. I continue to tell myself "Lori, you need to trust God in all areas! Especially the ones that you are uncertain about. All the times I ask why or how ... trust in God." With the big and little things in life. It hit me this morning when I was reading from 'my little Bible story devotional book'. I read of how a blind man named Bartimaeus was healed. He was a man that never, ever saw a thing, and was healed and could see. Can you imagine when he heard the crowd starting to stir and he asked them, "What's going on?" When they told him that a healer, Jesus, was in town, can't you just see him stand up and wish with all his heart that he could see Him. Meet Him. Ask Him for healing!!! This was maybe the first time that he felt hope!!! Maybe he would be able to see? He wasn't taking any chances. The Bible says in Mark 10 that he was yelling out for Jesus. Others that were nearby told him to be quiet. Not a chance!!! If Jesus was coming, he was going to try his hardest to get His attention. That's what happened!!! Jesus heard this mans plea and asked for him to come to Him. He asked the blind man, "What do you want me to do for you?" Bartimaeus said, "Rabbi, let me recover my sight." Jesus said, "Go your way; your faith has made you well." And immediately he could see!!! Bartimaeus followed Jesus on the way. Wow!!! All Jesus wanted from the blind man was his request!!! Why do I ever question if my small prayers are worth praying for? God answers our prayers? He listens. He loves me. He really cares for me!!! I wish to be more simple and down to earth with my pleas to God!!!
I also see our family growing! Ashlyn's 'terrible two's' did subside! That has been such a blessing. I think she finally is seeing that throwing fits and screaming is really not the best way to act! We are still doing a whole lot of disciplining and the parenting journey never ends, but we are seeing light at the end of this tunnel!!! Someone give me a cheer!! :)
The other two children are growing up fast too! Hadassah is just about as tall as me. I think I am OK with that? Sometimes I just look at her and think "where did the time go?" She can wear my shoes. She is very responsible. She studies for her tests without me reminding her. She is still playing the piano. She was really wishing to not do more lessons. The practicing for 20 minutes a day gets so old for her. However, I think someday she will thank me for all these lessons. So, at the start of the new quarter at school, we left it up to her. You know what? It's the best thing we could have done. She now chose on her own to keep doing lessons. She is even excited to be playing a piano piece in their school Christmas program. Hearing the Christmas carols being played by her on the piano is really "music to my ears". I love that!!! I love this girl so much!!! Matthew is growing tall and still lean. :) His toast and two over lite eggs each morning is giving him a great start to each day! He is looking forwards to switching bedrooms with the girls and having a room all by himself. (Ashlyn is still in her crib in Matthew's room. The two of them are such a howl to tuck into bed.) He set a goal this school quarter to up his reading grade! He is blowing us away with his reading this week! His teacher and I set a goal of him reading three books before Thanksgiving. He looked at that and got determined. He is already on his fourth book now and I really need to come up with a great prize!!! I know that if he keeps this reading up, he will up his grade! No problem!!! I am so proud of his efforts!!! I love you Matthew!!!
Our marriage is growing too!!! It's like a beautiful flower in bloom right now!!! I just am so amazed at how much love keeps growing and growing. I loved him like crazy when we dated. Then more on our wedding day. More than ever on our 5th anniversary. Still more on our 10th! And even more now!!! Mike and I are truly in love and all the time we spend together is treasured. I love this man so much!!! Every waking moment with him right now is pure bliss!!! We are praying for God's guidance and direction in a few areas in our lives right now. One area is our house. We are looking at house designs and praying about remodeling our home. Mike has said for years that he would never rip around our home here but would rather start new or go somewhere else. Well, you know how the saying goes, "Never say never." :) The children are voting for us to remodel. We've been keeping our eyes open for a number of years now for something a little bigger and nicer. Nothing is seeming to pop up. So, maybe God wants us to stay right here and remodel!?! I am not one that likes a lot of changes and I really like my routine. So, please pray for me! Just searching for some new bedding and furniture for the girls was a job! Now I have to decide on new paint colors for the two rooms. I can't wait till the switching of bedrooms is complete! :)
Watching the sunrise come up this morning was refreshing! After fighting with a cold and sore throat yesterday, I am ready for a fresh start! Our weekend is packed full with fun events! I need to gather some spa goodies and then some Hobo clothes together ... so stay tuned in. I hope to have some great pics to show you next week!
What areas are you growing in? Tell God your troubles and your victories!!! He really wants to hear all about them from you!
PS ... We keep telling Ashlyn that she needs to be five years old before she's aloud to ride on the bus. She don't care. She still gets her back pack and shoes on. This was her this morning with her siblings. Waiting for the bus to arrive!
