She opens her mouth...

...in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. Proverbs 31:26

Ouchie. Kindness; we must be intentional to show it.  Intentional is the buzz word this week.  It was used several times this past weekend at the Sally Clarkson Conference.

I was convicted to intentionally carve out blocks of time for opportunities to praise my children with Godly character traits.  There is the normal "I am so proud of you", "good job", "I appreciate your help", etc.  However, they don't always balance out the, "how many times do I need to tell you to...", "answer the question that is being asked" and "what? really?".

We will discuss Godly character traits frequently.  I will speak more life into my children.  We are going to have daily tea (or some kind of liquid) when we read great stories outloud. We will be diligent about not missing too many of these days. My children will be filled up with the love of Christ and my love.

God is good, He loves me and rebukes me with His word.  He also encourages me with His word.  I need to do that with my words.  I don't want to find my kids in a deficit.  I know how that feels and it is not fun.

Am I willing to give up things to sew into my children's lives? ~ Sally Clarkson

Yes, yes I am. PTK!

Love,

Exceedingly More

This week has been a challenging one in regards to our health.  Luke and Hannah had been running fevers, coughing and complaining of sore throats for a few days before we decided to take them to the doctor.  We don't have health insurance for such visits, so I wasn't looking forward to it.

As I sat in the waiting room, I thought about how much it was going to cost per kid.  It wasn't that we didn't have the money, it was that I didn't feel like giving it to a doctor ;).  I sent a text to a friend asking that she pray that we get a 2 for 1!  Sitting there, irritated, I was humbled.  Who was I to ask that I get a discount???  What nerve I had to ask God for special treatment.  I had already been praying for healing along with everything else.

We went back to see the nurse and I asked if she would just see Luke and then we'd go from there.  The doctor looked at Luke's throat and asked him some questions.  Then he turned to look at Hannah's throat and then asked me some questions about how I was feeling.  "Coincidently", I had started feeling bad that morning and by then was running a fever too.  When we finished up, the doctor gave us a prescription that was large enough to cover all THREE of us and only charged us for a 1 person visit.  Even that charge was less than I had been quoted from the receptionist as a cash price.  God immediately brought to my remembrance Ephesians 3:20, "Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think".

God is good, all the time... even when we don't feel worthy.

Praise His Holy Name!!!

A Righteous Man

The Nativity Story movie is not just for Christmas time.  This movie is a great example of what happened years ago when our Savior was conceived and born.  Every time I watch it, I think of Joseph and how much he loved God and his wife.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.  And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.  Matt. 1:18-19

Can you imagine how Jospeh must have felt when he found out the woman he was going to marry was pregnant (and not with his child)?  This scripture tells us he was a righteous man; he did not want to disgrace Mary.  That is a man after God's heart.  That is the man God chose to raise His one and only Son.  A man who thought more about others than he did of himself.  What a great example to follow.  And a great example did follow, we call Him Jesus!  Praise the King!