Joyful Heart

I have no problem with insects and spiders being outside.  That’s where they belong - in nature.  Let every insect and spider be forewarned, however, that once they crawl into our home they are traveling into dangerous territory! 

We had our lawn service spray the foundations of our home a couple weeks ago - to keep the insects and spiders OUTside.  Well, all this week we have been seeing ants INside on our main floor and up in our bedrooms.  Argh!  The lawn service came back out and reapplied the spray and left a note stating, “Please remember:  This is a barrier treatment.  It not only stops insects trying to come in, but also prevents them from going out…”  So, since the ants were here before they sprayed, they are now stuck inside our home and have no place to go, except up and inside our house.  Just what I wanted to hear =)

So, to eradicate the ant colony(ies) we need to get some ant bait/traps.  (Love, if you are reading this, please stop by and get some ASAP =))  Until then, I have been seen on my hands and knees, squishing the ants, sweeping multiple times, and removing rugs or anything else that would normally be on the floor in the areas where we have spotted the little guys.  I have been doing this so much in fact that one day this week our toddler was calling to me from the basement playroom and asking, “Smoosh ants, Mommy?”  Um, yes.  The kids have even got in on the ‘fun’ of finding them…

You know, I am going to great lengths to make sure we get rid of the ants in our home, but what measures am I willing to take to eradicate the sin areas in my life?  One of the areas that God has recently pointed out to me is my use of time -specifically my time spent on (uh, oh) the computer.  Do I really need to check my email every time I go to the office to get something? Must I check the homeschool forum to see if any additional answers to my question have been added -again?   Do I have to check your blog to see if you have posted any new entries for me to read ?  The answer I am hearing - No! At least not as often as I have been.  Nothing is wrong with these things in and of themselves.  I need to have support and correspondence with other moms, but I also need to set some limits so that I can better manage the affairs of my household.  

Maybe I should place my Bible or a verse to memorize near my computer and read that instead.  Then, I could go read a book to my children, sit on the floor and play a game with them, play cars, etc.   I want to build strong and deep relationships with my children.  That doesn’t just happen by chance.  I have to make my little ones a priority over those times of ‘quick’ checking of my email and what I am discovering are actually a few moments of trying to escape my responsibilities.

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
Ephesians 5:15-17

Some days just start off on the wrong foot.  I get to bed late, wake to a crying baby wanting to feed earlier than normal as well as a toddler who wakes an hour earlier –no Bible reading, no time to think before my feet hit the floor and I’m off and running through my day.  I can either 1) shirk back under the covers and pretend I don’t have to face the day or 2) pray, rise up, and give praise to God.  Now granted, it may take me an hour or so to get to the point of praying and praising, but I highly recommend the second option as opposed to the first.

A lot of days lately, I have noticed that I am getting up and going, but, sadly, with a grumbling spirit.   I need to intentionally pause to pray as I rise and to thank God that He goes with me and before me, that He is a Holy God who cares intimately about every detail of life.  He knows all about what I must face today -the sibling squabbles and whining, the multiple attempts to calm a crying baby, my fears of inadequacy as a parent, my difficulty in trying to juggle or balance the needs of each child with the needs of myself, others, and things around our home, etc. etc.  If my focus is rightly on Jesus my Savior, He grants me a renewed sense of peace, strength, and energy amidst what can otherwise feel like chaos.

Portions of Hosanna by Paul Baloche…

Praise is rising, eyes are turning to You
We turn to You
Hope is stirring, hearts are yearning for You
We long for You
‘Cause when we see You, we find strength to face the day
In Your presence, all our fears are washed away
Washed away
Hosanna Hosanna
You are the God who saves us,
Worthy of all our praises
Hosanna Hosanna
Come have Your way among us
We welcome You here Lord Jesus
Hear the sound of hearts returning to You
We turn to You
In Your kingdom broken lives are renewed
You make us new . . .

Hebrews 12: 1-3

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,
let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame,
and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men,
so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Thank you, Lord, that when I see You,
you grant me strength to face the day.

I thank God that He has given me a very patient, loving, tender hearted, servant hearted, wise, and godly man to be my husband and the father to our children. God is faithful.

On May 15, 1993 (15 years ago today!) Chris and I were married.  Chris was 21 and I was just 19.  Looking back, it is hard to believe that we were married so young, but leading up to that day, we had already dated for five years.  I have known my husband for over half of my life!  What a blessing.

I was reminiscing today with the kids,  looking at our wedding album and humming a song that was played at our wedding…I Will Be Here by Steven Curtis Chapman.

Fifteen years later, we now have four more beautiful blessings from our Lord.  They are 6 years, 4 years, 2 years, and 3 months old.  They all absolutely adore their daddy.  I love watching him interact with each of them - whether it is reading the Bible with them before bed, rough housing with our little guy, dancing with the princesses, lovingly holding and comforting our littlest one, or taking the time to sit down and pray and discipline them.  He is faithful in his role as their daddy to them.

Thanks be to our faithful God!
Happy Anniversary, Love!  I love you and feel blessed to be your wife.

Love,
Misha

I have a small spiral bound notebook that I keep with my Bible.  I like to write down verses from Scripture that really speak to my heart and that I want to reflect and meditate on more.  I seem to reread these more when I am feeling especially anxious, weary, or under a spiritual attack.  You might call these God’s love notes to my weary and faint heart.   Below are just a few verses (emphasis added is mine).  I am posting them here so that I might have just one more way to speak them to my heart.  May you let His words encourage your soul as well….

Psalm 55:16-18
But I call to God,
       and the LORD saves me.
Evening, morning and noon
       I cry out in distress,
       and he hears my voice.
He ransoms me unharmed
       from the battle waged against me…

 Psalm  55:23
Cast your cares on the LORD
       and he will sustain you;
       he will never let the righteous fall.

Psalm 68:19
Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,
       who daily bears our burdens.

Ephesians 6:10-11
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
Put on the full armor of God
so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

Psalm 105:4
Look to the Lord and His strength.  Seek His face always.

Psalm 116:5-9
The LORD is gracious and righteous;
       our God is full of compassion.
The LORD protects the simplehearted;
       when I was in great need, he saved me.
Be at rest once more, O my soul,
       for the LORD has been good to you.
For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death,
       my eyes from tears,
       my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before the LORD
       in the land of the living.

Psalm 118:14
The LORD is my strength and my song;
       he has become my salvation.

Psalm 63:7-8
Because you are my help,
       I sing in the shadow of your wings.
My soul clings to you;
       your right hand upholds me.

Psalm 121:2-3
My help comes from the LORD,
       the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip—
       he who watches over you will not slumber;

Psalm 62:5
Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;
       my hope comes from him.

Psalm 29:11
The LORD gives strength to his people;
       the LORD blesses his people with peace.

Lord, Your Words are the healing medicine that my faint heart needs.  You are my strength, my protector, my sustainer, my rest, my hope, my song.  To You belongs all praise.

Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Yes, you read that correctly -
A lesson FROM my two year old, not a lesson FOR my two year old.

Whenever something isn’t working right, our little two year old guy brings it to us saying it is ‘boke’ and to ‘fi  it’ (translations: “Broke.” and “Fix it.”)  Often it is a toy that needs the batteries replaced.  Today, I specifically remember him saying that two times, but not for toys.  This morning, he pointed to one of our lights in the kitchen.  It has burnt out and needs replaced.  He wanted me to turn it on and I told him that it couldn’t be turned on because it was broke.  He quickly replied back, “Ba rees!”.  I tried to explain that it didn’t take batteries to fix it, but that we needed a new lightbulb.  I don’t think he quite got it.  Anyway, tonight, at church, he was in the nursing room with me and his baby sister when he noticed that there was a TV.  (We are blessed at our church to have a nursing room with a TV hooked up so that nursing moms can still watch and hear the sermon on Sunday mornings while they care for their littlest ones .)  Well, you guessed it, the TV has not been working for a couple weeks.  I told him it was broke and he thought we could ‘fi it’ with ‘ba rees!’  Too cute. 

While I was thinking about this tonight, I thought, ‘Wow.  Wouldn’t it be great if we could fix everything with batteries?  Just switch out the old batteries when they are used up and replace them with new?’  I don’t know about you, but as a stay at home mom to four little ones  five and under, I am feeling like my ‘batteries’ are pretty worn down right now.  I see it.  I feel it.  I hear it in my voice.  I’m tired and at the end of my energy.    

But wait!  Whose strength am I relying on?  Whose ‘batteries’ have been charging me to get up and go each morning (and to keep going throughout the day and into the night)?  Hmmm.  I have been doing lots of ‘good’ things that do indeed have to get done for my family or for church, but I have not been making time for what I know I need first thing each and every day in order to complete them to the best of my ability and for the glory of the Lord.  If I am honest, I would have to say that I have been lax in my time spent with God each day - the Source of my strength.  I need to go make a point to read, and pray, and fall at my Savior’s feet. 

Do you not know? 
      Have you not heard?
       The LORD is the everlasting God,
       the Creator of the ends of the earth.
       He will not grow tired or weary,
       and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
       and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
       and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
       will renew their strength.
       They will soar on wings like eagles;
       they will run and not grow weary,
       they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:28-31