No, Look This Way, Brother

Thankful Thursday~The Celebration

I'm thankful to celebrate ONE again. I'm thankful that I've learned my limits, to know that frozen pizza and store bought cupcakes have their place, too, in the midst of homemade and handcrafted and that what our children remember most is the atmosphere. Is it joyful or stressed?

I'm thankful for children who love to celebrate and who rejoice in the little things, who say "thank you" around the dinner table. I'm thankful for homemade pancakes and a baby who loved his balloons more than his gifts.

I'm thankful for fields of wildflowers and the color yellow. I'm thankful for cameras and buttercream frosting smeared on the tip of Sarge's nose. I'm thankful for the birthday cards and packages and birthday wishes and for the people in our lives who take the time to show they love us.

I'm thankful for the unexpected circumstances yesterday that reminded me of God's sovereignty. I'm thankful He's transforming my thinking so that I view disappointments as opportunities instead of roadblocks.

 

I'm thankful that every day the Lord lets me taste and see that He is good.

With love,
Trisha

One Year Ago Today

One year ago today, God graciously brought Elijah Henry into the world. There's a whole lot of happy going on around here today as we celebrate ONE.

(No, he's not walking, yet--but he's working on it.

 And I'm fine if he takes his sweet time.)

Set Your Heart on Doing This

I know nothing more effective for quieting a Christian soul and 

getting contentment than this, setting your heart to work in the duties of the 

immediate circumstances that you are now in, and taking heed of 

your thoughts about other conditions as a mere temptation.

~Jeremiah Burroughs

***all photos by my dear Emma

Blessed is the Mama

Blessed is the Mama who remembers well that there are some things a baby must do for himself. 

And just to be clear, Sarge was crying FOR my spaghetti, not because of it. :)

Thankful Thursday~Yet Today I Live

"Last night thousands of people entered eternity. Heart monitors flat-lined. Lungs ceased pulling in air. Brains that were once incredibly active went silent.

Yet today I live. Through the night my lungs continued to suck air, and my heart continued to push blood through my body. God gave me yet another day to serve Him, enjoy my family, watch a movie, drink coffee, play football, laugh with friends, and read a good book. I have one more day to prepare for eternity, one more day to store up treasures for that final day."

~Stephen Altrogge, The Greener Grass Conspiracy

******

Ok. So, I won't be using another day to play football or drink coffee, but I will use it to study God's Word and read it to my family, to cook and bake, to discipline little hearts and comfort them, to drink tea and eat chocolate, to look my children in the eyes...so soak up and delight in the "glory of the ordinary." Even in the midst of health and financial concerns, of uncertainty about what seems like so many things, I can rejoice in God's goodness and mercy, in the great wonder that He has redeemed me that I might glorify and enjoy Him forever. Truly, this makes for a beautiful life.

She's A Natural

The Fine Art of Jamming in a High Chair

When we focus on declaring praises to our God, Satan is ever ready to remind us of all that is unanswered. One must be firmly resolved to ignore those distractions and focus instead on the truths in His Word, on what He has done and what He is doing.

As I half-heartedly sat down to craft my Thankful Thursday post, life was interrupted with this joyful moment (see photos below), which followed the previous joyful moment of singing unto the Lord and discovering a new hymn. And these aren't the only joyful moments I've had this week--oh no, God has been so good to us. Every day He has affirmed His presence in some merciful way, but my flesh keeps wanting to dwell on what still is undone, on the things I have no answer for. It's tempting to let things I simply can't fix right now keep me from rejoicing in all things.

But babies and children, well, they're another story. They're not drawn to borrowing trouble. They're wired to live in the moment. When they experience a good gift, like hearing music that makes them want to move or eating a jam-filled breakfast treat, they don't worry about the scrape they might get when running down the road or whether they'll find their missing shoe. They just enjoy God's good gifts (most of the time) as they come.

It's not sloppy theology to say we can learn from everything around us. It's simply living with eyes wide open, remembering God's provision in every detail of our lives. So, I praise God for toaster pastries and Rich Mullins and the baby boy who can't resist fully enjoying both of them. And I praise God for this reminder that leaves me meditating on His goodness and mercy.

Our lot is supremely blessed. What a loving God we serve and what great things has He spoken concerning us! The soul is filled with wonder that the Almighty God should, in very deed, enter into Covenant engagements with the insects of a day who are crushed before the moth! Whatever may be our outward sorrows, yet when we consider these choice favors and enjoy them in our own souls, we may count ourselves, of all men, the most happy! How can we be so cold, so dead as we are? Such favors are enough to melt rocks and make hills sing! O my Soul, awake, and from now on and evermore pour forth loud hallelujahs unto the Lord!

~C. H. Spurgeon

With love,

Trisha

**Soundtrack provided by Rich Mullins.
**Super-cute feet and smile and hands and expressions given by God.
**Toaster pastry courtesy of Kellogg's.
**Mother-guilt about feeding a baby a pop-tart--completely nonexistent.