Great Encouragement!

It is just fine with God if all I want to do is to stay home and make home more heavenly. God considers it perfectly fine if I choose to skip down the street with my seven-year-old rather than help build a corporation.

Softened by Love

by Sherry @ Large Family Mothering

The Best From Resurrection Sunday

Multitude Monday

I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart;

I will tell of all Your wonders.

I will be glad and exult in You;

I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

Psalm 9:1-2

581. I am thankful that I didn't cut my finger too badly today and that the bleeding eventually stopped.

582. I am thankful that I didn't gain weight this past weekend, even though I definitely ate too much.

583. I am thankful for promises in God's Word, 1 John 1:9, that I can repent of my gluttony and know that I am forgiven.

584. I am thankful for the honor of meeting some visitors at our church who will soon become our neighbors. What a small world . . .

585. I am thankful to see my pretty girls in pretty dresses on a beautifully sunny Resurrection Sunday morning. See pix tomorrow.

586. I am thankful for a visit from my Father-in-law this weekend.

587. I am very thankful that my Father-in-law's health is much better now than it has been these past several years.

588. I am thankful that my Mom only works 4 miles from my home and could tell me that I didn't need stitches for my finger.

589. I am thankful that my Mom is a nurse, OR RN.

590. I am thankful for friends with whom there is mutual self-disclosure, prayer and concern.

What are you thankful for today?

Science at Home

With Jeramy's new schedule we can get outside more to play and explore our own yard. One day, while raking, we found about 30 earthworms! We moved them to a wonderful new home in our garden and learned that earthworms eat dirt. We've learned that: bees make honey, pine cones come from pine trees, acorns come from oak trees (right?), feathers come from birds and we found a few snail shells also.

Holy Mayfield Cow, Batman!!

G'Wanda took the girls to the Mayfield Ice Cream factory to learn about how ice cream is made. The tour costs $8 and a scoop of ice cream is included. :-D

Scenes of Spring

Milestones

Last week Shiphrah began to sit up for several minutes unassisted and Saturday morning I found her in the crib on her hands and knees swaying back and forth. She's going to crawl very soon. It's exciting, but it makes me sad too. She just turned 8 months on Sunday.

Multitude Monday

576. I am thankful for how both Moriah and Lily are progressing with their catechism questions.

577. I am thankful to see them run up and down the church isle with excitement upon doing well with their catechism.

578. I am thankful for Lily's progress with potty training. She appears to become more aware of her functions and make it to the toilet in time.

579. I am thankful that my Mom lives in Suwanee and we can go see her and have a comfortable place to stay while Jeramy does some house projects.

580. I am thankful for the sunny days that have come and being able to enjoy them more because of Jeramy's new work schedule.

In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Surrender

The Holy Spirit brings an issue to your attention -- some area of your life where you previously assumed control out of selfishness, anxious distrust of God, or disbelief of God's wisdom, goodness, power and sovereignty. In response to this divine prompting, you repent, agree to surrender and become obedient by giving God complete control and deciding to be content with however His providence and glorious desire move.

After you've surrendered, how can you take back the control you once tried to exert and still walk in obedience? It is not possible to walk in disobedience and still experience the peace and joy of close fellowship with Christ, is it? No, but fear and anxiety loom over your head like a dark cloud -- the constant presence of the displeasure and chastening of God, who is lovingly wooing you back into a right relationship with Himself. In some ways, this is a comforting thought (Hebrews 12:5-6) knowing that we are, indeed, children of God and can be assured of our salvation.

But if you leave something at the feet of Christ, the foot of the cross, laid upon the altar (whichever analogy you choose) will picking it up again provide any comfort for you? Those who do not walk with Christ attempt to control every aspect of their lives as they chase after the vanity of the world. But we are called to be obedient as was Christ. Is it possible to live as the world and still be pleasing to God? In no way is that possible. I say it is better to remain obediently surrendered to the sovereign, pleasing will of God than to regain control. It is better to struggle with whatever outcome God designs to bring, than to walk contrary to the divine conscience under the heavy disciplinary conviction of the Holy Lord God Almighty. Ultimately, although we attempt to control our destinies, we are still subject to the awesome power and will of God who, with just a word, created all things and to whom we are all accountable for every word and action committed and omitted in this short life. Any attempts to do anything contrary to His secret will is vanity.

The LORD nullifies the counsel of the nations:

He frustrates the plans of the peoples.

Psalm 33:10

"For the LORD of hosts has planned, and who can frustrate it?

And as for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back?"

Isaiah 14:27

Our 2011 Garden

Moriah and Lily helped Daddy plant this year's tomatoes and peppers. There are two full boxes of tomatoes, another box solely of bell peppers and another box with red chili, cayenne and jalapeno peppers. The other two boxes have string beans and some spring onions that survived the winter cold and are still very tasty in my recipes. Enjoy the pix.

Sitting With Shiphrah

All Things Are Possible . . .

An infant can nurse even in a vice.

Calorie Counting

As far as methods for weight loss go, I prefer calorie counting. Actually, I love it because I'm not restricted from eating any type of food I desire. The only restriction comes with the daily calorie limit.

I check out CalorieKing.com or FitnessMagazine.com and use their caloric needs calculators to determine how many calories I need daily depending on my activity level just to maintain my current weight. Then I subtract a few hundred from that so that I lose weight. It's just simple math.

Most foods have nutrition information and tell you how much a serving is. But sometimes the serving size can be vague, like with raisins. A quarter cup of raisins is 130 calories, but they're kind of squishy, you can really smash more than that below the 1/4 cup measuring line. :-) But knowing that 40 grams is the exact weight, really keeps you on target, if, you have a scale. And the same with shredded cheese, which tends to pack on the calories quick or even grapes and chocolate chips that don't have an even line and leave spaces and gaps when measuring. I get a headache just thinking about it.

Months ago I won a giveaway on Callie's blog for a gift card to CSN online store and got a scale. This has been the most wonderful thing to help me calculate the calories in all the food I prepare at home! Before the scale, I would add up all the calorie quantities for every ingredient in my food, then divide by cup (like for soup) or into a fraction (like a casserole in a 13 x 9 dish). It was hard and stressful because I might measure the divisions wrong, then the fraction portion sizes would not be equal and I knew that I wasn't getting an accurate measurement.

But now I just weigh the finished product and divide the total number of calories by the total number of food weight in ounces to get the number of calories per ounce. Then decide how many ounces I want to eat and I can change my serving size depending on how hungry I am! It's so much easier and faster! All you need is a regular calculator and internet access to a database like CalorieKing or LiveStrong.com and you're good to go. Here's my calculation for Triple Chocolate Cake -- ooh, so satisfying!

I won't be shy. I gained about 35 lbs. during my last pregnancy. I was 200 lbs. total when I delivered Shiphrah August 17th. (I know I didn't quite look it - I'm big-boned, muscular and was very swollen.) Now I weigh about 50 lbs. less by breast feeding, exercising (I love running!) and counting calories. As I lost weight, I would cut more calories too. I hope to lose another 10 pounds soon. If you want to lose weight and still eat every food you love, count your calories. You can do it.

Multitude Monday

We are still adjusting to the wonderful schedule change associated with Jeramy's new job. I didn't realize how much stress and temptation to become bitter his old schedule provided until God graciously granted us relief!

566. I am so very thankful for a bitter-free Sunday morning. I'm thankful that we could all be ready for church and get to church on time without it being a 'one-parent show,' i.e. getting everyone together by myself. It was kind of odd for me not having so much stress present.

567. I am so thankful that slipping into a new weekday routine has been sweeter than a piece of triple chocolate cake! There is so much less stress to begin the day with when Jeramy is already at work and the girls and I can just go with the flow and still get a lot done before he gets home. Jeramy coming home in the afternoons is a key motivation to get things done before he arrives.

568. I am so thankful that Jeramy has nights and weekends off. He comes home around 3 or 4 p.m. and we have the whole evening together as a family. It is quality time without the constant anxiety of clock watching: in 2 hours he has to go to work; when will lunch be ready? In 1 hour he has to go to work. Okay, now he needs to get ready for work. He needs to leave in 10 minutes. . .

569. I am so thankful that because Jeramy was home at night this past week, we were able to worship together as a family two nights, fellowship with a family from church, attend Wednesday night prayer meeting, go shopping, and plant garden vegetables!

570. I am so thankful for the grace God has given me (I suppose aided greatly by the general gratitude for the new schedule) to be able to respond righteously to temptations to get angry and be bitter. The grace came to change my thinking into truthful, Biblical, grateful thoughts when unspoken expectations were not met and to voice the gratitude aloud.

God has done great things for us.

571. I am so thankful that God has preserved the life of my friend and sister in Christ during her labor and childbirth.

572. I am very thankful that God has also preserved the life of her beautiful baby girl and that she continues to improve.

573. I am very grateful for the opportunity to visit them and pray with them during days filled with anxiety, uncertainty, ignorance, hope, stress, and submissive trust in the Lord's sovereignty.

574. I am thankful that my friend and sister in Christ was supposed to be discharged from the hospital this weekend and that I might see and talk to her soon.

575. I am thankful for God speaking to me in His Word - that He continues to open my eyes to see how closely He relates to me and understand all my concerns.

Before & After

Psalm 123

To You I lift up my eyes,

O You who are enthroned in the heavens!

Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,

As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,

So our eyes look to the LORD our God,

Until He is gracious to us.

Be gracious to us, O LORD, be gracious to us,

For we are greatly filled with contempt.

Our soul is greatly filled

With the scoffing of those who are at ease,

And with the contempt of the proud.

Psalm 126

When the LORD brought back the captive ones of Zion,

We were like those who dream.

Then our mouth was filled with laughter

And our tongue with joyful shouting;

Then they said among the nations,

"The LORD has done great things for them."

The LORD has done great things for us;

We are glad.

Restore our captivity, O LORD,

As the streams in the South.

Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.

He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed,

Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

The Best Part of Cake Baking

Chocolate Face!

Social Nursing

I love how they each decided to nurse their babies at the exact same time! It's so hilarious!

Blanket Buddies

Multitude Monday

In light of Jeramy's new job change, I have a lot to be thankful for as I look forward to the days, weeks, months and maybe years ahead.

556. I'm so thankful for the change in Jeramy's schedule - that he will be home nights, weekends and even holidays, most likely.

557. I'm very thankful that I won't be alone in the evenings anymore, on a regular basis. I have gotten used to being alone at nights, but a woman's sense of security builds up when there is a man present after the sun goes down.

558. I'm so thankful that we can all go to bed at the same time, especially Jeramy and me. I have been going to bed hours before him in order to get up early to get to the gym, but now all of us will be getting better sleep, Lord willing, especially Jeramy.

559. With Jeramy's new schedule we'll be able to fellowship with other families a lot more and have opportunities for date nights too. Most people have nights and weekends off and before we were only able to fellowship with other families one night every week, which left no other opportunities for date nights or anything else, really.

560. I'm thankful that today is the last day that Jeramy will be working dispatch and

561. I'm thankful that Jeramy is excited about the new job and what he'll be doing, at least as much as he anticipates doing. This job is associated more closely with the justice system, condemning offenders, and is therefore more interesting and respectful. So it boosts his morale quite a bit.

562. I'm thankful that Lily pooped in the toilet this morning before we left for church. She's been potty training this week with average success.

563. I'm thankful that I've been consistently losing weight and today wore pre-pregnancy (before Moriah and Lily) dress pants to church using the original button and hooks. :-)

564. I'm thankful that I can enjoy and savor Triple Chocolate Cake and still lose weight. My Mom's recipe is only 87 calories per ounce.

565. I'm thankful for winning Callie's giveaway (for a CSN gift card) to get a kitchen scale to help me count my calories, especially in foods I prepare, more quickly, efficiently and accurately.

All Things Are Possible . . .

Even nursing infants play with their food.