Pinterest and Pumpkin Pancakes

Pinterest has made my life crazy. Good crazy. I've seen a pin for pumpkin pancakes no less than 30 times. And, while I love Pinterest, I want to actually DO and enjoy some of the stuff I pin.
For dinner last night, I made pumpkin pancakes. Not the recipe from Pinterest, but one from allrecipes.com. There are lots of recipes out there made possible via Google, but thankfully I enjoy reading recipes. I usually read at least 5 recipes before I decide on one. (With 3 little ones, this is where smart phones are so helpful- I usually read these while giving Caleb his bottle!)
Anyhow, this recipe is easy to follow and it has special touches to it: Beating the egg whites until soft peaks form and making Hot Cider Syrup to serve on top. I don't know why but these things (for me) give a regular dinner a touch of special. (Probably the crazy cook inside of me!)
Check out the recipe on my recipe blog...and make them soon! I guarantee it will be a treat for your family and friends!
***No pics b/c everyone ate them up FAST!***

Rollie Pollie

However you spell it, Caleb is rolling everywhere!

Blogging from my phone!

I know many of you have been doing this for years- I definitely am not a first mover with technology. But! I think this could be fun!!!

So here is a conversation between Eli and my cousin:
Rebekah: You're funny.
Eli: No, you're funny.
R: You're funny looking.
E: You're funny looking.
R: You're Mama is funny looking.
E (laughing): Yeah, she definitely is!

New Favorite Blog!

Thanks to my friends at Pinterest I have a new favorite blog!
Kate is a hair stylist in Raleigh, North Carolina.  Her blog has the best videos about hair!  And, I do love her hair!  She also blogs about jewelry and recipes (and her cats, but I don't read those!).  Anyhow, here is a picture of Kate and a link to her blog!  Enjoy!

Believing God

Oh, I do love the Believing God Bible Study I'm in! I always leaving wondering, "Why isn't everyone in a Bible Study?!" I love the pursuit of learning and encouragement I get from the other ladies.
In Tuesday's video session, Beth said this, "The enemy watches us and finds out what we fear we are most and sets out to confirm it." You may have to read that a few times. This morning on facebook Lysa TerKeurst wrote, "A moment of conflict handled the right way is hands down one of the greatest ways to shame Satan back to hell."
Today was a tough milestone. It was the kids last day at their pre-school. I have not looked forward to this for a few weeks now. I've tried to prepare the kids (Eli thinks he's going to college!) and even more so, to prepare myself. A day without structure is often a not.very.good parenting day. Know what I mean? I want to keep the learning going so I'm contemplating (more mental at this point) pre-homeschool material and plans for our days at home.
Anyhow, I can relate to Beth's comment about what we fear we are most. For me, it's a not very good Mom. I don't know why because I know I'm not the worst Mom out there, but it's a tough world I'm probably my own worst critic. Or, Satan wants me to be my own worst critic.
Back to this morning. We did a pretty good job getting ourselves together in a timely manner. I made mention to someone that today was my last day of freedom to do what I wanted for a few hours. And, there response was, "Yeah, you'll actually have to watch your kids now." Salt to a fresh wound. On a scale of 1 to 10, my response was probably a 3. My internal response was a 10. Thus the cycle of critical thoughts about myself and my mothering.
Hold.the.phone.
"We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 2 Cor 10:5
And, I recited my points from the Bible Study: In God's love I am blessed, chosen, adopted, accepted, redeemed, and forgiven! And, I'm believing God!!!
I don't believe this person's comment was meant as spiteful, but they still hurt. I spoke with this person a bit later and this person had obviously not given second thought to their comment. Which, on contrast, I have.
But. I have not spent the day wallowing in my fears of my mothering skills. I firmly believe in forgiveness - asking for it and extending it to others. One of my main parenting principals. I will not do everything perfect. We will have rough days. All I know is to hug it out- literally.
So, in summary, do what you have to do to be able to discern truth from fiction. Know what the Lord, your kinsmen redeemer, has to say about you. And, Believe God!
{Also, if you happen to see or talk with a Mom, please share an encouraging word or complement her!}

Southern Belle's Heart the Hogs!!!

For years (not exaggerating!) my cousin and I have not been able to find Razorback shirts made by Southern Belle.  We have had to endure our family members sporting their LSU shirts for ages.  The streak ended today!!!  Praise the Lord, Hibbett Sports in NWA carries Southern Belle shirts - including Razorback ones!!!  I'm pretty sure the sales people at the store in Siloam got quiet the kick out of our giddiness (Abi's included!)!

So, today, as the Hogs take on the Tide, I will be wearing this beauty:

Is there a better slogan for a Hogs tee???  So.in.love.with.my.find!

WOO PIG SOOIE!

Check out the Southern Belle's website and let me know which is your favorite!  I have several and always room for more!

The good stuff...Part 2

This post is a testimony of God's touch on my life.
Although the Lord was ever kind in sharing with me in Lamentations 3 I had to have some tough conversations with others. Due to life's circumstances we are having to withdraw our kids from their preschool. Ahhh...cuts me to the core. But, I swallow, remember the verses about the Lord being my portion and waiting on Him. And, I press on. Chris was kind to cancel his plans for that evening so I could attend the Bible Study.
So, I show up to the study with 25 other women I've never seen before in my life. I looked around at the workbooks of the ladies nearest me (yes, I am that person!) and was in awe of the depth of care they put into their study. Highlighted portions, notes scribbled in the margin...and I thanked the Lord for bringing me there among Jesus Seekers. Right where I was suppose to be.
I soaked up their testimonies of what they had learned the past week. The leader did an excellent job at engaging the women, stretching our thoughts.
The video introduced week 4 - Believing You Are Who God Says You Are. Another area of my life I continue to go before the Lord with. Beth said some key things that I want to high light. 1) A season of sifting does not necessarily mean you are walking in sin. What a breath of freshness. Chris and I were like, "Show us the unrepented sin and we will repent!" It was God's kindness to show that sifting does not always associate with sin- but, God does have a place for us to go with Him...and somethings just can't come along on the journey! 2) Obedience comes from faith. This is ever true, but one of the hardest truth's to apply. All I know to do is to continue doing what God has said in his Word. To obey, to be faithful, to praise, to trust, etc. It is by faith in Him that makes obedience possible.
She spent a good portion talking about righteousness (and this is where it get's GOOD!!!). Righteousness was always a "thing" that seemed so lofty, foreign. Like, "Be Holy." She shared out of Romans 4:3, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." Every time we believe God over our circumstance/emotion/reality, it is credited to us as righteousness. Ohhhhh. Verses 7-8 discuss the forgiveness of our willful and planned sin, along with sin in general and that the Lord does not count it against us. The terms used "count" and "credited" have their roots in accounting (I'm tuned in b/c of my love for all things business!)- God is not calculating backwards (our sins), but calculates forward based on our opportunities to believe Him. So...why is this so enlightening? Here are verses 4 and 5:

"Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness."

I about had to get up and immediately rush home to tell Chris. Did you see it? To the man who does not work but trusts God it is credited as righteousness. Chris later said, "We are busting the bank!" This is the Living Word. This is the sweet stuff. As I lovingly say, the hot-pink butter cream icing stuff! Just better than what we knew as best! And, in a room full of strangers I am quickly full of the Spirit- aware of His presence. Thankful for His encouragement. And, oh, how I longed to share it with my man- to encourage him. In fact, I got all teary eyed (for the 6th time that day...at least!) sharing with Chris God's very Word for us. So sweet.

Yesterday, Wednesday, September 21 - WAIT - time out...if you recall from my previous posts, Chris had an interview on Tuesday with AT&T. He said it went really well, but we have been down that path before. He said they would let him know on Friday. So, we arrived at church early. I was in the kitchen sharing with Ms. Gwin (a beloved Jesus Seeker who encourages me so) about the study the night before. As I was twirling about (seriously giddy with God's revelation), Chris stepped in the kitchen door and smiled big, "I GOT THE JOB! HE JUST TOLD ME!" WHAT?!?!?! We had a precious precious strong hug. One where I'm sure it looked ordinary to all the on-lookers (all 5 of them), but to us was wrapped up in years of prayers.
Brandon (read previous posts to find out about him) stopped by the daycare to pick his son up and saw Chris. He said, "Well, congratulations! I was going to wait until tomorrow to call you, but I thought I'd go ahead and let you know now." I later asked Chris what he thought when Brandon told him that and he said, "Seriously? Thank you." And he said he felt like he could finally rest, that he had been so tired. Ah. Brings tears to my eyes as I type this. We just never really know how things affect our spouses.
I immediately called my parents who were out of town on a trip. They were elated. The next two phone calls were to two of my best friends in the whole wide world. The first I had to leave a message, filled with tears. The second, I got to talk with my sweet friend and we laughed through tears at God's goodness. This, dear readers, is true friendship. These girls have prayed for me, their husbands have prayed for mine, they have spoken Truth to me and over me, they have texted me encouragement at the Spirit's prompting, and they have allowed me to be a crazy mess on the phone. It is by God's grace they would even answer their phones when I call!
The Lord is so kind to allow this good news to be heard at our church. Our church body has prayed along side us for a very.long.time. Men in our church have cried (literally) before the Lord, asking for work for Chris, to honor his service to Him. To honor his desire to provide for his family. During the past two years Chris has surrendered to ministry- and he serves as our minister of music and youth. His heart is for ministry to be full time, but that is not the Lord's will at this time. A big hurdle to finding a non 8-5, M-F job was his need to be available on Sundays and preferably Wednesday nights. The Lord has heard his heart. So, it is just another opportunity to give Him praise all around! Our church body rejoiced and cried alongside us as we shared this great news!
Because everyone has other things to do than read these many posts (for instance, I would like to shower before getting the kids at school...and just saw the time and that will not happen!) I want to honor some key people.
Our parents have showed their love and support to us in different ways. But, they have all prayed for us and allowed me to get endless amounts of toilet paper and paper towels from their homes. (It's expensive people! Especially to the unemployed!)
Our brothers and sisters and their families have been ever kind to us. Giving us room to be ourselves and giving us opportunities to laugh. They have also been so good to our children. When we have not had money to buy them things or take them to fun places, they have stepped in. It has not gone unnoticed or unappreciated.
Our extended family and friends - your prayers have sustained us like no other. I know what it means to be out of words and out of groanings before the Lord. Knowing there were prayer warriors standing in the gap for me is priceless.
Our children who love us unconditionally. They have endured their crazy mother. Their mother who loves them dearly. A friend, mentioned before, told me that if at the end of this we loose everything but still have our marriage and family in tact, then we have gained it all. I have not once lost perspective on that. I trust our children have seen God's hand throughout this. In fact, I will close with their sweetness and their life verses...
I had the kids gather together and pray for Chris and his interview on Tuesday. Last night when we got home and settled in our pj's, we huddled together on the floor and prayed to thank the Lord for his favor on their Daddy. Eli prayed, "Thank you Lord for my Daddy. Thank you for being kind to him. Amen." From the mouth of babes...
"Let everything that has breath praise the Lord." Ps 150:6- Eli
"Every word of God proves true, He is a shield to those who seek refuge in him." Prov 30:5- Abi
"But, as for me, it is good to be near God." Ps 73:28- Caleb
"God has been very good to me." Gen 33:11- Osmon family verse
Thank you Jesus for turning towards me. Hearing our prayers. To You be all the glory.
Blessings...