Letter to God

Dear God,

You have shown me that I need a miracle with my parenting! I fall so incredibly short as a mother of my children.  So, just as the boy brought his fish and loaves of bread to You expecting a miracle, I am bringing what little I can offer as a mom and asking for a miracle.  I fail daily to be who I need to be for Addy and Ashton! I cannot do parenting without You! Thank you for reminding me that You are completely capable of miracles.  You ask, ” Do you have faith?”  I am responding, “YES, LORD!”

In the waiting, I am concentrating on being a mom who has I Corinthians 13 love for my children.  I will be patient, I will be kind.  I will not envy, I will not boast, I will not be proud.  I will not be rude, self-seeking, easily angered, or keep a record of wrongs.  I will not delight in evil but rejoice with the truth.  I will always protect, trust, hope, and persevere.

Forgive me for being the opposite of this in so many areas (especially today!) I trust that as I concentrate on giving You all that I am, You will give me a “Then He . . .”  (Matthew 9:29) moment.  Thank you for being worthy of my faith and able to do more than I can even ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).

Your child,

Angie

That is how I made you!

Exodus 4:10 – 12

“Moses said to the Lord, ‘O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant.  I am slow of speech and tongue.’  The Lord said to him, ‘Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”

As I was reading this passage this morning I was struck by my similarity to Moses.  When God calls me to do something in obedience to Him, I so often come up with excuses of why I am not the right person for the job.  I point out my weaknesses to Him or “draw His attention” to how others I know would be such a better choice to carry out His plan. But, God says to me, “I know who you are, Angie.  I created you! Remember? I gave you those parts of your personality, those character traits, that unique mix of abilities.  You are the one I have called for THIS job.  And, like Moses, I so often continue to drag my feet in obedience, coming up with more excuses or re-hashing the same ones over and over again.  Then, God says to me as He did to Moses, “Now go!!!!” It is so reassuring to know that God not only calls me to follow Him in obedience, He created me for the purpose of being obedient to Him and He will be there with me helping me and teaching me how to follow Him in complete surrender!

Happy 1/2 Birthday!

My sweet Ashton,

Since Mommy wasn’t keeping up with things when you turned one, I decided to write you a letter for your 18 month birthday. So,

Happy Birthday, Little Man! You are such a joy to our lives! Your enthusiasm for life is contagious.  I love how excited you get about so many things.  You have such a joy that permeates from you and have such an incredibly happy disposition.  You are so gregarious; you wave to everyone we pass while we are out.  You are full of BIG love.  You pucker up for kisses with Daddy, Addy, me, and anyone who is willing to reciprocate your affection.  You love to give hugs (even though they sometimes tend to end in tackles).   You are full of energy and love to be active.  You adore fish which you pronounce “Pih” and will sit and “read” your favorite book which is currently Big Al and Shrimpy. You have a great laugh when you think something is funny.  I pray that Jesus will capture your heart at an early age, and I can’t wait to see how God uses each of your unique personality traits to glorify Him! I love you, buddy!!!

Love,

Mommy

Return to Blogging World

I can’t believe that it has been SO LONG since my last blog post! Over the past few months, I have thought often about writing a post, but I was overwhelmed at the challenge of getting “caught up.”  So, instead of catching up, I have decided to simply return.  Our lives have been full of change over the past year and maybe sometime I will go back and explain some of the ways God has grown me over the past year.  However, for now I am simply returning.

In light of returning, I want to share my heart for tonight.

1.  I LOVE our new home!!! The other day I took Addy and Ashton downtown and was overwhelmed in the moment that I sat down for a picnic at Marion Square Park in Charleston with how good God is! He has granted me an absolutely AMAZING place to live and raise our family!!!

2.  I LOVE my church!!! Andy and I had visited Newspring Church several times over the past few years when visiting the upstate area for Christmas, etc.  Each time I was there, I was impressed, but as I have come to know more of Perry’s heart and witness the life change that is taking place at Newspring, I am privileged to be a part of such an incredible church where the people are genuine seekers of Christ and where I am being challenged each week to grow in my faith.

3.  I LOVE my family!!! I have the most fabulous husband EVER! Daily , I am surprised by the fact that my love can grow deeper for him, but he makes it impossible not to love him more each and every day.  He is incredible!!!   I am also having so much fun hanging out with our kids.  I have really enjoyed establishing our routine in our new home and spending time with Addy and Ashton.

4.  I am currently reading Lisa Welchel‘s book, Friendships for Grownups, and being challenged immensely by its content.  I began reading it without any expectations other than letting her know that I enjoyed the book she had given me.  I never expected to be challenged in my relationship to Christ and others.  In the first few pages, I knew I was in for a momentous read.  I have realized how much work I need to do to open up my heart to my current friends and those that I will make in the future.  Through her explanation of how she has worked toward more authentic friendships, I am seeing how I need to be more vulnerable in my relationships.  I know I have a LOT of work (and blessing) ahead of me in this area.

5.  I am overwhelmed with Christ’s love for me! He is reminding me over the past few days that His love for me is not dependant on me.  I have such a task-driven personality, and it is very easy for me to transfer this mentality into my relationship with Christ.  However, there is no room for this in my relationship with Him.  He loves me DESPITE me!!! That is hard for me to understand, but I know that it is true and am trying to “work it out” in my view of Him!

Precious Friends

One of the things that I began praying for as soon as we found out that Ashton was being created in my belly was that Addy and Ash would be great friends.  I prayed for a peaceful home, for their acclimation to one another, that they would love each other deeply, respect one another, and be wonderful friends throughout the course of their lives.  God has answered this prayer to the fullest at this point in their young lives.  It is so great to be a witness to the prayers that I prayed and continue to pray.

Halloween

So close!

Ash is so close to crawling! He still hasn’t figured out how to move forward, but he does a lot of rocking back and forth on all fours.  Here are some pictures of him trying to figure it out. . .