A God Move...

Good morning friends,

I want to share a God story with you today. A story of hope, perseverance and faithfulness. Several dear friends of mine have told me not to wait til our story is done to share but rather to let everyone know what God is doing now in the midst of the journey. So sit back, grab a cup o' joe and I pray this will bless you!

If you are a friend of mine on Facebook, you have probably noticed lots of items for sale, lots of talk about moving, packing and decluttering but you may not know exactly what is happening. Let me start at the beginning because truthfully, it all starts there.

Thirteen years ago Josh and I were married and we lived in a small mill house in our town. Due to work circumstances, we had to move shortly after we were married but were able to purchase a brand new home from the ground up (do you know how exciting it is to pick out your own siding, carpet and countertops!?) So we moved into our new home in April 2006 but God quickly placed it on our hearts that we wanted a new direction. We wanted land and room to garden. We wanted to raise our children on the fruits of their labor and allow them to experience all of the goodness that comes from using God's resources.  

So in February of 2014, we put our house on the market. We were excited to see what God would do! We prayed that if it was God's will, He would send the right person to buy our home and He would help us find ours. However, over the period of a year, we had several offers and we looked at more than enough houses for ourselves that we thought could be our forever home, but then........NOTHING!!! No offers, no purchases....everything just kind of stopped. 

We decided to take our house off the market and stay for a while longer, while all in the back shadows, God...was...working!!! So here is where it gets fun! God is fun isn't He!!

We still wanted the land and everything that came with it, in the back of our heads but we needed to wait on Him to move. So, while being patient and constantly praying (1 Thessalonians 5:17), we felt the hand of God move. We were approached with the opportunity to buy the house next to Josh's parents, for around market value. I want to ramble here but I will try to keep my composure because it is just the beginning! 

So, we prayed and prayed some more about this decision (which is a no-brainer, but we wanted to make sure it was what God wanted for us). We spoke to the current owners, which are probably just as excited as we are, and everything was on GO! We will have land and space for a garden, space for my girls to run and play everyday, and can I tell you my kitchen sink will have a ledge and window for herbs!!! Wahoo!! The purchase of the house will allow us to save and build on later if we so choose. My girls will have love on top of love from the next door neighbors "mamaw and papaw". The house is in excellent condition and move in ready! 

We spoke with our realtor and started the ball rolling. I was told to begin the decluttering process and packing everything we didn't need or use on a daily basis. The girls and I got to work. Boxes upon boxes we have packed and carried out, not even worrying about what went where. We have cleaned out cabinets and packed up things I forgot I even had. We have repainted the entire inside of our house, pressure washed the outside and all while attempting to homeschool, keep a clean house, and tend to a nursing baby......whew, it's been a challenge!  But God is working...these are not things we did when we put our house on the market the first time, to be honest I don't even think we thought about it, or God didn't place those thoughts in motion. He does that ya know?!

Did you know that when God blesses you and things are going great, the enemy starts to get angry? He wants to steal your joy. Hey, I'm up for the challenge because I know who will win!! My God is bigger! In the midst of it all, we discovered a leak in the kitchen that has allowed us to replace the entire kitchen floor, but God worked it out to where insurance covered a good part of it, which we were not sure they would. Thank you Lord!  The Lord put a financial idea in place to where Josh was able to make a very smart move with our savings and allow us to take care of the rest. 

Where do we stand? Our house will be on the market within the next 2 weeks and our realtor is confident about selling within a month or so....guess what? SO AM I!! Not because of us and what we have done, not because of our realtor and his vast expertise but because this is a God move. His hand has been in this situation from the get-go and it has been an incredible journey to watch. This will be our forever home....our God home and I can't wait to see what He has in store for us next! I can't wait to share more with you as our story unfolds but for now I am letting God move!!!

Strength

Good afternoon friends, 

So, this morning I woke up at 6:00 am with about 4 hours of sleep under my belt, got the children up and ready, nursed the baby and was out the door by 7:15 am to run (I walked) my second 5K! 

Now, I did not prepare myself or train like I did with the first 5K and I had a baby 4 months ago so I have quite a bit of extra baggage that I am toting around. However, I did it! It took me 1 hour and 4 minutes pushing a stroller with my 15 lb chunky monkey, but I did it! Some would call that strength. 

But where does our strength come from, and I am talking about inner strength here?  Does it come from that morning cup o' joe? Does it come from perseverance? What about life's circumstances, have they made you strong? Recently, I saw a Facebook post that said " It takes someone strong, to make someone strong". Do you agree with that statement? Here are my thoughts:

I have 3 daughters. I have to be strong. My whole life has been full of situations that have made me stronger whether it be physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually, but where does my strength come from? 

The verse that comes to mind is Isaiah 40:31 "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." I have put my hope in Him. The one who controls ALL things! I have put my hope in Him that I will have a better marriage than what I saw, love my children unconditionally, physically tackle any strongholds that took attack on my body or mind, become the god fearing women that He created me to be. My hope lies in the constant prayer that one day He will come back to take me home and He will say, "well done, my good and faithful servant".  

My strength is not only for me but for those who come after me, for those that I have been given the extreme privilege of raising up into godly women. I have to be strong to make someone strong. I want them to see my inner strength as opposed to my outer strength (be there any, lol). 

Now, please don't misunderstand me in this letter to you. I tend to wear my heart on my sleeve and I want my children to know that that is not wrong, in fact that is a good quality to have. I just also want them to know that when they are facing trials or struggling to where things feel beyond their control, that there is a power greater than this world and greater than anything they could ever do alone. I want them to hit their knees and call upon His name, the name of the Lord God Almighty for their strength. He is "our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble." (Psalm 46:1 )  I want them to know where their strength comes from!

So, ask yourself ....where does your strength come from?

Til' next time,
Jessica
P.S.- sorry for the highlighting, I'm not sure what happened :(

Better..i

I want to give up.

I'm not going to lie to you, sometimes that thought enters my brain.....and probably more often than it should. Often times throughout the day I am not the mom I should be and I am not the mom I know I can be. The kids are screaming at each other, the baby is crying, my husband is late from work, dinner is burned, laundry is still piled up, the living room looks like the roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote had a wrestling match in it and MY looks leave much to be desired. So I beat myself up over and over again....and for what?  I fall asleep at night wondering, "What could I have done better?"

God's Word says, "the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning" (Lamentations 3:22-23) Every day is a new day for us to make it better. To BE better. Better moms, better wives, better friends, better Christians, better people! Pull up your boot straps and be better than you were yesterday. Don't give up. Jesus already knows what you are capable of, you just need to call on Him to help you recognize it yourself! 

So, tonight as you lay your head down on your pillow, know that your slate is wiped clean for tomorrow's chance to be better, close your eyes and fall asleep to the sound of God's grace welcoming a brand new day full of mercy!

Are you listening...?

So...I'm gonna be honest with you, yesterday was hard....really hard. I overslept, kids ate poptarts for  breakfast, we rushed through school, had errands to run, blah, blah, blah. My day ended with me running into the house with a diarrhea covered carseat and baby in tow.....does this sound familiar to anyone else or is it just me?
As I leaned over the bathtub to give my sweet baby a head to toe washdown, the tears began to flow from my eyes as I thought to myself, "Am I a horrible mom?, what happened today?, why is this so hard sometimes?"
Yesterday was a fail! Have you ever felt this way? Are you a weary momma? Well, pull up a chair and lend me your ear because I want to tell you something...are you listening?....

STOP AND BREATHE

Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, "Come all who are weary and I will give you rest". REST!!!! Did you hear that, I'm not even sure I know what that word means anymore, but guess what? Jesus does and He has promised to give it to us, if we just come to Him. Come to Him with our burdens, our sorrows, our fears, our failures, our worries and our shortcomings. He already knows it all anyways He just wants you to bring it to Him. You know how it feels when you talk to your best friend over coffee, He is that best friend! He wants you to talk to Him, day or night, in the car, in the shower, wherever you can because He is always there, always awake and always listening...and He wants to tell you something too!

Right now as I sit hours later, holding my now clean and sleeping baby, He is telling me,"I love you my sweet daughter, lay your head down on my shoulder, tell me your troubles, it's been a hard day I know but my mercies are new every morning, so rest now my precious child and remember I made you, so stop trying so hard to make everything perfect, just be you and I will take it from there". That is what He is telling me........

What is He telling you and are you willing to listen?

Just....?

How many times have you heard someone say, "you're just a mom", "you're just a wife", "you just stay at home, that's not a job...you don't work"? I can't even begin to count how many times I have heard those phrases since my husband and I made the choice for me to stay at home. However, tonight as I sat cradling my newborn daughter in my arms, looking down at her sweet face, I thought to myself, "you will never be....JUST anything"!

God has called me to the 2 greatest responsibilities on this earth...motherhood and wifehood (is that a word?). With His help everyday, I am building up armies, raising arrows (Psalm 127:3-5), and bringing up the next generation of godly women. God has called me to be my husbands helpmeet (Genesis 2:18). I am not a slave, nor do I ever feel used or degraded. My husband appreciates all that I do for him, whether it be ironing his clothes, fixing his plate, or greeting him at the door with a smile after work, and he lets me know it everyday. It is in my heart to follow God's will for my life and become the Godly woman He designed me to be! It can sometimes be a struggle with outside influences saying, "don't do that for him....make him do it....he can do that himself", but when I listen to my heart, it is out of love and respect that I do what I do. Love and respect for my husband and love and respect for my Creator! He made me specifically for this purpose...to be a helper, a homemaker, a caretaker, a wife, a mother!

See, I will never be JUST anything....I will be their doctor when they're sick, their chauffeur when they go places, their referee when there is a battle, their maid (I use this term loosely, lol) when things need cleaned, their cook when they need to eat, their teacher when they need to learn, their mentor when they need advise and their example when they need someone to look up to. I will never be JUST anything........I will be EVERYTHING! Why you ask....because this is my God-given responsibility, my calling.....my legacy. Did I do enough with the time He has given me here on earth? Only time will tell but while I am here, I will do my best to be everything more than....just!

For my momma friends that need this tonight! Sometimes this road of motherhood isn't always easy..it's really hard but YOU CAN DO IT! Pray to God for the strength, courage, love, passion, determination, motivation and faith that you need to finish this race all the way through! What a blessing and an awesome responsibility to be a mother! I believe it is my calling and God's will for my life to be a wife and mother. I will strive to give it my all....for them and for Him!! Th...ank you Lord, for my precious children, the two I have here with me, the one who you hold in your arms tonight, and the ones that may come......I stand in awe of Your mighty works in my life and I stand in awe of You! I AM BLESSED! Rest and take peace, weary friend and mother, in knowing that He loves you and is watching over you tonight! I love you all and am praying for each of you!!
-Jessica

(this part is from a post from The OldSchoolHouse)
Hey Mama,
Spit and sticky junk in your hair. Dirt under your nails. Your shirt always has something smeared on it. Your lap is used for cuddling babies, but also for bigger kids who won't budge; they don't even fit there right, and hang over. And it's messy. Pants are meant to be dirtied and smudged; yours, anyway. Tears soak your shoulder and your neck is always sweaty (your sweat or theirs, or both). Eventually vomit doesn't really smell all that bad, right? You're so used to it. Wiping noses? Gross, but you're a pro.
^^That's a chapter. A chapter of your life.
And it feels like an ENTIRE lifetime, but it's not. It's a season, and that's it. Once it's gone, you're not getting it back with these same kids. They'll be adults, and the relationship will change. You'll still lend a shoulder and be there for their tears. You'll still hold their hand (maybe when she's in labor having your grandchild). They may mess up your heart instead of your shirt for a time, as they transition. But that's yet another chapter, another season to come. Good and bad, joy and pain, happiness and tears. It's a messy life. So messy.
A beautiful mess. You wouldn't trade it. It's yours and you fiercely defend it.
No one promised a perfect family live. No one offered you children who never mess up. No one said every slot would be filled with the right sized slate. Because that would not be reality. And you are a real kinda Mama. Transparent. Genuine. Realistic. Human. Alive. Willing. Available. Never leaving these kids. Never taking for granted what the Lord has given you - Motherhood.
That's you. A true blue Mother. And His hand is on your head tonight.

Why my daughter will NOT take dance

In watching so many of the dance shows today on tv and from local dance companies, I am saddened! What in the world are we teaching our young children? Why is it ok to think that a 6-7 year old should be able to shake her booty, pump her chest in and out, or thrust her hips front and back? What are we teaching them? Do we think that just because of their age, that it is "cute"? Guess what parents? IT'S NOT!!

The little girls you are watching dance this way and teaching that this kind of dancing and behavior is "ok", are going to be the very ones that you will have to unteach later in life that it is not ok to dance this way. If Jesus was her audience would you think it was "cute" then?? Just a thought!

The clothes and outfits that these poor little girls are portrayed in are not modest at all. We should be teaching our children, especially our little girls to keep themselves covered. Now, I know for some that will read this may say "oh my word, aren't you taking this a little too far?" I don't think so. It breaks my heart today that we can't go into a store and find our little girls cute outfits, shirts and shorts without their rear-ends and chests hanging out and parents who condone this are making it worse! Women and mothers we must teach our little girls to keep themselves modest and protected, saved for their future husbands!

   MODESTY IS BEAUTIFUL!!!!