A Cheerful heart

This morning proved to be a little overwhelming. The other two boys started school today, and although I have been very excited for them... It was harder than I thought it would be. I was once again flooded with memories and emotions involving all of the hours spent schooling them at home. They weren't all lovely. A lot of those moments were painful and even ugly. In my heart though, they are all beautiful because they were all moments of learning together and part of what defines "us".

After everyone had been dropped off for school this morning, my throat began to feel quite lumpy. To be honest, I suddenly had this overwhelming desire to go directly home and hide under my covers while having a good cry. Maybe that would make it all better, right? Then... I turned on my radio.... Tuned to K~Love of course. The morning gal shared some scripture and right away I heard the Lord speaking to ME!

~ Proverbs 17:22 ~

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.


God knew I needed the proper kind of "medicine" this morning, and it didn't include tears or bed pillows. It involved HIM! He picked me up and filled this Mama heart with joy for my children. I immediately thought of everything that they will get to experience in this new season. I remembered that a bigger portion of the world will now to get to know them and see for themselves what incredible young men they are! My spirit is not crushed, it is lifted high with the one who loves us and sees to our needs. He is so full of mercy for His children... So incredibly faithful!

Praying that you are able to go about your day with a good dose of God's medicine... A cheerful heart. It can change everything in a matter of seconds.

Singing and Dancing!

A little over fourteen years ago I held my first born for the first time. I smelled him, I gazed long at his tiny perfect face. I dreamt of all the things we would do.... Parks, birthday parties, long naps together, playing ball in the back yard, etc. etc.. One event that never crossed my mind was dropping him off for his first day of High School.

This morning I did just that. I warned my other two sitting in the back seat not to even THINK about rushing into doing the same. People always told me this day would come fast. I really had no idea though. It came faster than fast! It was quicker than a blink of an eye!

As I started my car back up after grabbing a quick cup of coffee at Starbucks, a song came on that could NOT have been more perfect. The song talked about the Lord delighting in us... About Him singing and dancing over His children! It talked about how fear can sometimes grip our faith, but it never should because of the fact that He delights in us. He wants to cover us. He desires for us to know that our faith is stronger than any fear of anything... Including the unknown. I knew that this song was especially for me on this particular morning.

I prayed for my son as we drove into the HS parking lot. I prayed that the Lord would continue to speak His Word, love and peace into Luke's life as he starts this new chapter. As I prayed those things, I looked over at my incredibly calm son. He has no fear about this day... No anxiety at all. What a gift! Then, as I listened to this song, I heard the Lord whispering the same words that I prayed over my son into me. He delights in me! He delights in Luke! Everyday that he steps onto that campus, the Lord will be singing and dancing over Luke. He will be singing and dancing over me as even I start another chapter in my own life.

Today is a big day. Today there is much to be thankful for, but most of all, I am in awe of the fact that once again, God took care of the details. He saw where my heart needed speaking to, and He spoke.

There is much singing and dancing over His children today!

He's About Beauty

Psalm 27:4

One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek;
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the
Lord
and to seek Him in his
temple. ~

Outside of my dining room window, stands a peach tree. From this window, the only part of the tree visible is the tree top. Right now it is covered with dark green leaves. There is one limb that stands alone though. It has no leaves. It sticks up straight into the sky.

Every night (almost at the same exact time) a bright red dragonfly appears on that bare branch. It flies in and hovers over the tree for a bit and then makes it's landing on that branch where it stays for a good long time. Colby and Luke have both been out to take pictures of it. They have even put a ladder out there in the middle of the yard so that they can get a closer look at it's detail. The amazing thing is that it doesn't fly away! It just stays there for us to behold it's beauty.

I have come to realize that this dragonfly is an offering. Every night as I prepare dinner for my family, it is there to remind me of the details that God is capable of. More often than not, I enter the kitchen exhausted at the end of the day. It's really the last place I want to be. That dragonfly puts an instant smile on my heart and face. It changes my perspective every night! Those are the kinds of details God delights in taking care of. As that smile appears on my face, so does a smile appear on His.

My God is all about beauty. He mastered it in things that surround us every day. He created it in even me. I have found that to stop and notice it is giving God the credit He so deserves! There is so much blessing in seeing the beautiful ways in which He takes care of every detail of my life and the lives around me.

I pray that you see the the beauty and the purpose in your dragonfly today...

The Heart's Capacity

Our little silver sedan fell silent this morning as we drove home with one less boy. The only audible sounds were those of the tears hitting our cheeks and noses sniffling. It's true, when the alarm clock sounded this morning, I rolled over and said to myself, "I don't want to do this day". This morning Clement began his journey back home to France.

When the boys and I returned home, I broke the silence with a request to gather together in the living room. I hugged them tightly and told them how proud I am of them. They didn't hold back their tears... Not even with the crowds that surrounded them in that parking lot. I shared with them that I have learned during these past three weeks about the capacity of my own heart, as well as theirs. We all gave of ourselves more than one hundred percent. We fell in love with this young man from a small village in the middle of France. He was gifted to us, I believe, to show us exactly what the human heart is capable of. He was only here for three weeks, but in that short amount of time we came to love him as one of our own. He shared himself with us in this same way. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why he became one of us so quickly.

It became almost an expected thing to spend every evening sitting together in the living room and sharing life and lots of laughter. He told us that his family in France is on the quiet side. Those of you who know us well know that we are anything BUT quiet! I think when Clement gets home his family will see another side of him. I pray that they enjoy this side of him as much as we did, and that Clement always feels the same comfort of being himself and bringing about laughter like he did here.

Through the tears that continue to find their way down my face I am thanking God for this experience. All five of us have learned so much about God's design for our hearts and how he desires us to love others. We have learned how to effectively share life... Without holding back.

France is oceans away. The love that we now share with our "french son" makes the distance seem so much shorter though. The loose change is already being thrown into the big vacation jar so that we can make our first journey out to France. Our goal is to make it out there for his high school graduation. That is only two years away, but I know that God will provide.

He gave us Clement, and He will continue to see us through each other's lives.