There are so many times I want to blog, but don't have much to say...or I'm bubbling with excitement, or crushed, torn in disappointment. Today, I just thought I'd take a snapshot of life at this moment:
"All done!" "All done!" "ALL DONE!!" DQ screams at me from the kitchen. Time to put her down for a nap with Fluffernutter, the elephant. "Book!" "Book!" She demands before sleeping.
"Can I play Angry Birds on your phone for a while, Mommy?" sweet Anneli asks. Yes. Of course.
"Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!!!" Oliver drives yet another tractor through the house, completely consumed in his own world.
Missing Jensi today. She's on a little overnight with the grandparents Thomas. A great thing for them and her. Precious times.
I sit and read and cry about the families who have lost EVERYTHING in Joplin and another family who didn't just lose her possessions but her children--ripped from her arms--in Oklahoma City from deadly tornadoes. I wonder why we have not had our turn in such devastation.
I upload an order of baby announcements and kill a spider crawling across my desk.
I move the laundry, clean the kitchen, peer at the fish.
I listen to the excited chatter of A and O who tell me about the baby birds who flew from much-watched the nest today! (Oh, Lord keep the day far from me when THEY fly and make my nest empty!)
Get a phone call from our Congressman's office who has been checking on the status of our USCIS application. Good news: they will have it approved a month before what they had told me!
Love messages come in on my phone from Brian at work.
I scan and email our Ugandan lawyer yet another piece of paperwork.
I finally get a shower, due to a late day workout after snuggling with the 3 kids in bed for "too long" (there is no such thing you know!) I didn't get my workout in early as I like to. But it was a good trade!! :)
I check in on my Beachbody coaching business. 7 new coaches added! Awesome! I love this team!
Got an email from a yet another broken hearted mom suffering after the stillbirth of her two sons. Oh God, give me the comfort You've given me to pass on to her. Give me your words!
Fold some laundry.
I listen to a little more of The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom as I fix my face and hair for the day and pray for the people God has laid on my heart.
I think about where I was 2 years ago right now: in a hospital, awaiting the birth of our final child. I was SURE it was going to be little Halsten, our boy. After all that movement just like Oliver and Oskar, SURELY he was on his way!! The child even went breech during labor!! But I was due for a great surprise tomorrow morning...
And I wonder about a prayer that I have so faithfully prayed for years on end now: "Lord, use us overseas." Yet we are here. Ohio. Buckeyes, Mennonite people, endless soybean fields. I love Ohio, my family is here. Don't get me wrong, but I am called to a far away land. But He has me here.
My mother in law told me one time, "whatever your NOW is...that's God's answer to your prayer from before." I didn't particularly like hearing this, but I can see she was right. I may have an idea for my life, but God knows me better, knows the plans He has for me (Jeremiah 29:11) and knows what I need to be ready to do it.
I may not be living in a remote village, speaking a foreign tongue or spending my days with the precious people of a different culture, but I do have purpose here. And interestingly, it's the same purpose: live my life unto God, share what I am given with others and love deeply. There is great joy in that, no matter where I am!
************** ************** ****************
If you want to read about and pray for the family mentioned above, go here to their Facebook prayer page or watch this video in tribute to their sons who were ripped from their mama's arms and died in the tornado just 3 days ago. I wonder if YOU wonder, why NOT me? Are you ready to have it all be over? Have you made peace with God? I would love to talk with you about this if you like...or you can go here to learn more about what Jesus did on your behalf.
"All done!" "All done!" "ALL DONE!!" DQ screams at me from the kitchen. Time to put her down for a nap with Fluffernutter, the elephant. "Book!" "Book!" She demands before sleeping.
"Can I play Angry Birds on your phone for a while, Mommy?" sweet Anneli asks. Yes. Of course.
"Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!!!" Oliver drives yet another tractor through the house, completely consumed in his own world.
Missing Jensi today. She's on a little overnight with the grandparents Thomas. A great thing for them and her. Precious times.
I sit and read and cry about the families who have lost EVERYTHING in Joplin and another family who didn't just lose her possessions but her children--ripped from her arms--in Oklahoma City from deadly tornadoes. I wonder why we have not had our turn in such devastation.
I upload an order of baby announcements and kill a spider crawling across my desk.
I move the laundry, clean the kitchen, peer at the fish.
I listen to the excited chatter of A and O who tell me about the baby birds who flew from much-watched the nest today! (Oh, Lord keep the day far from me when THEY fly and make my nest empty!)
Get a phone call from our Congressman's office who has been checking on the status of our USCIS application. Good news: they will have it approved a month before what they had told me!
Love messages come in on my phone from Brian at work.
I scan and email our Ugandan lawyer yet another piece of paperwork.
I finally get a shower, due to a late day workout after snuggling with the 3 kids in bed for "too long" (there is no such thing you know!) I didn't get my workout in early as I like to. But it was a good trade!! :)
I check in on my Beachbody coaching business. 7 new coaches added! Awesome! I love this team!
Got an email from a yet another broken hearted mom suffering after the stillbirth of her two sons. Oh God, give me the comfort You've given me to pass on to her. Give me your words!
Fold some laundry.
I listen to a little more of The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom as I fix my face and hair for the day and pray for the people God has laid on my heart.
I think about where I was 2 years ago right now: in a hospital, awaiting the birth of our final child. I was SURE it was going to be little Halsten, our boy. After all that movement just like Oliver and Oskar, SURELY he was on his way!! The child even went breech during labor!! But I was due for a great surprise tomorrow morning...
And I wonder about a prayer that I have so faithfully prayed for years on end now: "Lord, use us overseas." Yet we are here. Ohio. Buckeyes, Mennonite people, endless soybean fields. I love Ohio, my family is here. Don't get me wrong, but I am called to a far away land. But He has me here.
My mother in law told me one time, "whatever your NOW is...that's God's answer to your prayer from before." I didn't particularly like hearing this, but I can see she was right. I may have an idea for my life, but God knows me better, knows the plans He has for me (Jeremiah 29:11) and knows what I need to be ready to do it.
I may not be living in a remote village, speaking a foreign tongue or spending my days with the precious people of a different culture, but I do have purpose here. And interestingly, it's the same purpose: live my life unto God, share what I am given with others and love deeply. There is great joy in that, no matter where I am!
************** ************** ****************
If you want to read about and pray for the family mentioned above, go here to their Facebook prayer page or watch this video in tribute to their sons who were ripped from their mama's arms and died in the tornado just 3 days ago. I wonder if YOU wonder, why NOT me? Are you ready to have it all be over? Have you made peace with God? I would love to talk with you about this if you like...or you can go here to learn more about what Jesus did on your behalf.
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