greet the day with gladness

with sleepy eyes i greet the morning

these rainy days keep coming

but on this day

like every day

i must greet the day with gladness

this day...another gift from the Lord

a day for me to use for His glory

sadness

anger

anxiety

worry

they creep in 

but His words are clear

These things I have spoken to you,

that my joy may be in you,

and that your joy may be full.

{John 15:11}

whatever the day may hold

sickness, happiness, work, rest, good things and bad things

we must find the joy, His joy, in us

for when i say remember when she turned 2 {pic post}

an educator's broken plea

i feel broken 
or maybe just broke
and all the talk of the legislative decisions
has made me think i made the wrong choice
i don't know what their thinking
but maybe they think we are greedy
and have too much money

but i don't want a pay raise so i can have more
but so i can pay for what i have
my car payment
my house payment
my medical bills
my children food and clothing
and the stuff i buy my students
because sometimes it's the only thing anyone ever buys them

in just a few weeks
we will take our broken selves
and keep on keeping on
because i haven't made the wrong decision
teaching is my mission
it is what i'm called to do
and when i stand before them
it's not about the money
or the master's degree
it is about them
each of their beautiful faces, minds, and futures

even with clouds ahead the road will still be beautiful

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16 33

lovely linky
Lisa Jo @ Five Minute Friday

30 things about turning 30

sunrise on my birthday on my back porch

1.  Remember how smart you were at 20 by 30 you realize you know nothing.

2  You might make a list that may not get completed and it's ok, you should still make a list.

3.  It's not that your getting old so much, but your parents are and you may have to sit with them at the hospital all day on your birthday but you want to.

4.  Getting up before everyone else and having a quiet house is a treat!

5.  When you turn 20 crazy people are running around  at 11 o clock and the night is still young and when you turn 30, crazy kids are running around and by 11 o clock you are hoping to be sleeping like a baby.

6.  By the time you are 30 you start to have a clue about who you really are but you still don't have it all figured out.  Maybe that comes at 40.

7.  You have lived 15,778,500 minutes and wasted quite of few of them or at least I have.

8.  You hope your kids do better than you did, even the kids you may not have yet.

9.  You start to sound like your mother.

10.  Your dreams get bigger and your wallet gets thinner.

11.  Cartoons, music, and amusement parks are not what they used to be.

12.  You have figured out who you real friends are and why they are and hopefully how to be a good friend yourself.

13.  You have lost people who you loved and loved you.

Me on my 30th birthday with my birthday necklace and
my son photo bombing in the back.

14.  You realize you have done some really stupid things but at the time were great ideas.

15.  Your body starts to make noises and things don't work like they use to.

16.  You start sentences with "You remember that time...."

17.  Responsibility has snuck into your life....well for most of us, most of the time.

18.  They have started playing your childhood music on the classic rewind channel.

19.  Shoes are no longer about looks but comfort.

20.  You begin to realize the sacrifices your parents made for you.

21. You have seen the human race do horrible things and amazing things.

22.  You have mastered cooking at least one thing and you have to take it to ever family gathering and holiday event.

Birthday presents from Above

23.  You probably have more debt than you want.

24.  You have bought something big with money that you earned all by yourself.

25.  Things have happened to you and maybe you questioned whether you would live to see the age of 30.

26.  40 no longer seems that bad.

27.  Family has became more important than your self.

28.  Beauty is not skinny, tan, and perfect....it is stretch marks, scars, wrinkles, and grey hairs.

29.  The little things have became important and it is not the end of the world when you don't get your way.

30.  By 30 you have had your heart broken, you have loved deeply, you have attended a funeral of someone you don't won't to let go of, you have seen injustice, you have had your feelings hurt, you have worried, and you have been loved and along the way you have created a journey that is only yours.

my rambling on being present

the dishes are piled in the sink 
the clothes are folded on the couch but not put away
there is a giant fort in the living room
the beds aren't made 
the bathrooms are not spotless

but yesterday when i crawled in this fort and brought with me oreo cookies
their faces
their conversation
that was being in the present
living in the now
not thinking about the number of days till school starts or till christmas comes
but just loving that minute

i then looked over at my son after putting little girl down for nap
and said what are you doing as he lay across a bench with his hands on his chest
he replied by showing me a heart with hands and saying
"i'm showing my heart to God and saying I love you to Him"

that was being in the present
living in the now
loving God right then and right there

Owen and I pulled over on the side of the road to take a picture of these sunglasses in the clouds yesterday.

Thankful God is always present with us, where ever we are, what ever we are doing.  He says I'll be there.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9


lovely linky

Lisa Jo @ Five Minute Friday

green beans in the garden

Your mind is a garden...

Your thoughts are the seeds...

the harvest can be either flowers or weeds.

William Wordsworth

or maybe...perhaps....some pretty green beans.

Combs' Garden 2013

prayers from David

sometimes it is a whisper

sometimes it is a shout

but it always without a doubt

that i lift my voice to you my Heavenly Father

yesterday as we discussed King David and his plan to build God a temple and Nathan telling Him God said No....What?.....God said No...He doesn't want a temple built by me....because

"The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you."

 2 Samuel 7:11

this idea David had is not foreign. we are all building "temples" for God expecting great blessings but we forgot how good God is and that He will build a house for me, you, and David

So David prays this prayer:

Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant—and this decree, Sovereign Lord, is for a mere human!

 “What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, Sovereign Lord. For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant.

 “How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.

2 Samuel 7:18-22

So as I am mere human....I ask who am I, Father, that you have brought me this far and gave me so much....let me remember that there is no one like you and there is no God but you.  Thank You and I love you.

http://www.swtblessings.com/2013/07/chalk-verses-set-2.html
free printable from sweet blessings

lovely linkys

beauty in my day

lightening bugs

dirty plates

sunlight through the rain

a garden growing

wild curly hair

fireworks

parents holding grandbabies

the song of singing children

handprints

boys bags packed for their first father son camp

the sound of God clapping through the night

my husbands sweet face

ann voskamp's words on patriotism

kendal's words on beauty

my grandma's flowers

the many shades of the sky

my hummingbird that's not really mine but i call him mine

the faces of my children

God's word

 In that day you will say: “Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;   

 make known among the nations what he has done,and proclaim that his name is exalted.  Isaiah 12:4

where are you finding beauty today?

Lovely Linky:

Lisa Jo @ Five Minute Friday

words to hold on to

yesterday the lady at chick fil a looks at my exasperated face and says

the days are long and the years are short

and as i take these long summer days and try to make memories

while putting up with the whining and arguing

i must remember this short sweet statement

because in 22 days i will have a 2 year old little girl 

who sings when she wakes up

and dances even if there is no music

and in a couple months I'll have a 2nd grader 

who will still hold his moma's hand

but doesn't need her to reach the things in the cabinet for him anymore

the days are long and the years are short