Resolved!

I am resolved to do what God has been giving me to do and satan has been trying to steal. I am resolved to stop being frustrated and to keep moving forward, knowing that my Heavenly Daddy is going to move the obstacles and open the doors for me to do what He is calling me to do. I am resolved to write what He puts on my heart, exercise like He has instructed, get up, get moving and do ALL, not just part, of what He is instructing. I am resolved to memorize scripture so I can readily use it as a sword against satan and as encouragement when I get weary. I am resolved to stand in the fact that I am “equipped for every good thing” and that my thing is perfectly designed for me, so I will rejoice in it! And, I will rejoice with others in their thing. I am resolved to stop choosing lazy and lukewarm and be hot and on fire knowing that my God speaks to me and lives in me and I have a purpose and calling to fulfill. I will NOT be pulled back into the old, when I can live victoriously and with great blessing in the new. I am resolved …. I will not look back. “I can do all things (exercise, cook, teach school, raise children, be wife and whatever else He calls me to do) through Christ who gives me strength.” Now that is exciting!

"Mom"-In-Law

I know, because I have friends who don't feel this way, that I am tremendously blessed. I am blessed because I have a mother-in-law who I think is terrific. Not only is she a lot of fun, but she is a prayer warrior, loving, generous, thoughtful, has great taste and is a great cook! She genuinely loves me and our girls and, of course, her son. I think it is an incredible gift that God has surrounded my husband with Godly women (his mother, my mother, the girls and me) who pray for him daily and love him infinitely. How awesome is that? And, I am thankful that God gave me a mother-in-law that I am proud of, brag on and am pleased to call my friend. Thank you, Lord.

Girly girls and Grandma with marvelous manicures!

The t-shirt says it all ...

My mother-in-law went to Branson and all Brian got was this t-shirt … this awesome t-shirt! On the front: “This is the t-shirt someone doesn’t want you to read.” On the back ...

Job 34:4

This is one of my favorite things about home school ...

"Let us learn together what is good." Job 34:4

Home School P.E.

We start home school p.e. next week and we are really excited. The wait list is LONNNGGG to get in to this program because it is so awesome. Praise God one of the sweet things He did for us last year was that we got in a week after being on that long list. This year we’ll play kickball, tennis, t-ball, basketball hockey, karate, bowling, soccer, ultimate frisbee, work on endurance and finish up with field day. Phew! Now you see why the girls wanted a head start …

Geronimo ...

"Hai - yah!"

Grace

Grace: favor, good will, kindness; the free unmerited love and favor of God;

the spring and source of all the benefits men receive from him;

a state of reconciliation to God; favor, mercy, pardon.

1828 Noah Webster Dictionary

I thought of this today … grace, God’s amazing grace, while I was reading someone’s blog post about how they never understood grace as a child. God brought to my memory last week when one of my children was in trouble … she wasn’t going to get to do something she wanted to do as a consequence of a bad choice. She was quiet and lamenting, then returned to participating in a dialogue with her sister and a friend. And, then, she said, “Mom, can I have grace this time?” Her friend said, “What’s grace?” She said, “It’s when you get to not be punished for something.” It came to mind because I want my children to understand consequences, but I also want them to understand and feel grace. The grace that God has bestowed on all of us in His mercy and tenderness. Grace that my daughter is understanding in a small way because of a couple of occasions that I have shown her grace. Isn’t it awesome! Something good I have taught her in the midst of all the mistakes I make. I am not sure I fully understand grace and I definitely don’t always embrace it for myself. But, thank goodness that God has shown me grace that I might show it to others and especially to my children.

Learning

I am learning. I have been asking God to show me my family through His eyes. To fill me with His Spirit and allow me to see what He sees. I have to admit, some of what I see in me is not pretty, but I am thankful for the insight so, with His help, I can change my heart and thus, my behavior. Today I was reading on Jerri’s blog and she posted an article by Bill Yount. The whole article was good, but this part really struck me …

LIGHT DOESN'T SAY A WORD...IT JUST SHINES!

Matthew 5:14, 16, "Ye are the light of the world...Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven."

When you walk into a dark room you don't start fighting the darkness so light can come. You just turn the lights on. The light of the world does not argue with darkness, fight, or even try in any way to remove the darkness. It cannot be extinguished by any darkness. It is the light! Darkness can only exist in the absence of light. Light is a symbol of spiritual presence and power.

"Sister, do you see that light bulb up there in the ceiling? It is giving out light without saying a word! Jesus wants you to be the light in this house for your family. Just let that light shine and your family will be drawn to that light inside of you, which is Jesus."

Lord, fill me will your Spirit today so that your light shines from me without my saying a word and so that I might bless my family.

The Rainbow

I am always awed by the many ways that God speaks to His children. It seems there are no two ways exactly the same and that makes sense because He created us all different. On Saturday, there was a beautiful rainbow in the sky. Madison spied it and called us all outside. It was full and brilliant in color. God has used rainbows to speak to Madison. He spoke to her specifically about her Daddy two years ago on October 18, 2006, when she saw a rainbow at her Grannie’s house. It was tucked half in the rain and half in the sunshine. I said, “Look girls, God put a rainbow in the sky to say that He loves us.” She said, “No Mommy, it’s a sign that God is fixing my Daddy.” God showed it to her again on May 4, 2007, on the way home from Six Flags … reassurance of a promise. “Mom, I wish I could see a rainbow again. You know, like we saw at Grannies?” “Do you remember what it means?” “Yes.” “Well, let’s pray for one.” I kid you not, there was a brilliant, beautiful, double rainbow in the sky as soon as we finished praying. There was a third one on October 8, 2007, my birthday, when I had to put my kitty to sleep … on a day that looked somewhat dreary, but where there was a keen sense that God was about to rock our lives with His miracle come to fruition. A fourth on the way to Hermitage on July 17, 2008. Brian pointed it out … a reminder that God is with us in this restoration and reknitting our hearts together. Then, a miniature one on the way home from Cousin Camp, July 21, 2008. Madison noticed it. She is a rainbow seeker. She grabbed the camera and took a bunch of pictures of it. And then, last Saturday, August 23rd, ... the one that prompted this post. A beautiful rainbow. This incredible symbol of hope. This sign that God has been faithful to our family … actually to all of us. This sign that he wouldn’t destroy the earth by water again, that He uses to reveal His incredible love for us.

“Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was

the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.” Ezekiel 1:28

Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth." Genesis 9:16

I am so thankful that God speaks to us. That He uses incredible things, like rainbows, to show His glory and His majesty and His faithfulness. I am thankful for eyes to see and a heart that knows it is Him speaking. I am thankful that, in our lives, it is a symbol of faith in a daughters’ heart. I am thankful that a heart for the Father is growing in Madison and Peyton … and Brian and I. Thank you Father for eyes that see You!

First Day of School

God is working on me about discipline. Not discipline defined as punishment, but discipline in life that produces character. He is working on my example with our children. Where am I leading them by example? As I was pondering and planning, God gave me direction for His daughters for this year in school. I am excited! Today was our first day. It was a great start! Breakfast, new routine, more focus. We finished all that needed to be done and a little more ... no yelling or tears! Throw in a couple loads of laundry and I call that success. Thank you, Lord!

Madison: “Mom, can we do school on the first day in our pajamas?”

Me: "Wow, you read that really well. I didn’t know you could read that well.”

Peyton: “Thank you! I was saving my good reading until I could read the Bible.”

Rainy Day Fun

Last week it rained … and instead of staying cooped up inside, the girls embraced the opportunity to have some fun. They headed out to the trampoline. In order to stay “dry” while jumping, they put on raincoats. Not sure how well that worked, but I am sure that it was pure joy! Thank you, Lord, for joy!

Music and Memories

I am moved by music and listening to it can bring me back to places and times of great joy, sorrow, laughter, fun and reflection. I can even close my eyes and go to that place in my mind and smell the smells and feel the feelings. It’s awesome that our Heavenly Daddy created us to remember, particularly when we remember how good He is and how He blesses us.

I opened up a huge box of cassette tapes … yes, I said cassette tapes. I know that dates me. It was the way we entertained ourselves in between customers at the garage sale... listening to old … some really old … songs and remembering. Remembering college years, growing up, music our parents listened to on 8 track tapes, old friends, dorm rooms, dancing, laughing, dating, chick flicks, road trips, hanging with family and friends ... simplicity. It was awesome and I couldn’t let myself sell any of them. Maybe I’ll sit with the girls one day and share some of those stories of my life. Won’t that be fun? Thank you, Father, for music and memories.

Nostalgia

I sold my desk and bookcase. It was the first "really" furniture I bought when I had an apartment all to myself in North Carolina. Big move. Big job. I bought it unfinished and my Mom and I enjoyed white-washing it together. I’ve had it a long time and will hang on to the memory of that day with my Mom even longer. I took this picture of the top of the desk … a reminder of my little girl who loves her mommy. It was Madison’s inscription and looking at it always made me smile and take a deep breath and praise God for three of my best gifts from Him … Madison and Peyton and my Mom.

Garage Sales

We had a garage sale this weekend. Out with the old and, prayerfully, in with only a little bit of new. The Lord blessed us with bearable weather and I got to hang with my friend, Renee. I made my goal … enough to get a refrigerator and return the one we’ve borrowed and a little extra for a bedspread … since I sold the one right off our bed in order to motivate myself to get on the task of making our master bedroom a haven. Two cool things happened those two days … we met some fun people who shared their garage sales stories, but really, it was little bits of their lives, with us. And, I was reminded, again, of how God always provides when we ask in faith.

Artists

It's the time of year when home school classes start and one of our favorites is art. We are constantly awed at the skills and talent that God has blessed the girls with. How cool is it that our Heavenly Daddy would share His gift of creativity with us. Here is just a sampling of our favorites from the last two years. Thank you, Lord, for creativity!

By Madison: Blue City, Weasel, Great Whale and Eagle.

By Peyton: Flowers, Puppy, Orange City and Penguin.

Cody

We had a great time celebrating with Cody and a large majority of the Morel siblings in Decatur, Texas, last Saturday. Cody recently “graduated” from Army boot camp. It was a proud moment for his Mom and Dad, but also for those of us who have been standing in Cody’s corner in prayer for his future. Cody not only looked much slimmer and handsome, as always, but there was an air of maturity around him that hasn’t been there before. Comes with growing up and having responsibility, I guess. We are very proud of our nephew … and the other two nephews, Jeremy and Josh, who are serving our country in the Navy and Army.

Brian and Cody

Of course, there’s a photo opportunity in every event …

here’s a group shot of 5 of the 7 sister-in-laws and 6 of the 8 siblings. We were missing Nathan & Rolanda and Joe & Vicki.

Jenni, Stacie, Shelly, Addie and myself ...

Justin, Bubba, Travis, Stacie, Heath and Brian ...

I'll let the fellows explain the horses' pa-tootie!

A Little Gushing . . .

I want to thank my sweet friend, Gina, for this awesome blog design. God has gifted her in so many amazing ways with creativity. If you know her, you know what I mean. Wow! So, thank you, Gina, for your cool design (and for fixing it when I made a boo-boo). She can design something amazing for you, too. Just click on the right on “Little Black Desk Designs,” and let her wow you! And, thank you to my sweet friend, Kimberli, who God has gifted with an eye to take pictures in His light. The picture at the top of this blog is one of many she has taken of our family and life events. Now, we’ve had our family photo’s taken before and thought they were good, but these …. wow! To contact her, to browse her gallery and see God's amazing work through her or just to contact her, click on the right on “Inner Light Photography.”

Why Blog?

Lots of reasons to blog … because it’s fun, it’s a great way to keep family in the loop, it’s a way to show off how awesome our girls are … but it strikes me, too, that it is another way (besides journaling and photography) to record and share God’s glory in our lives. Throughout the Bible, and a lot during the journey out of Egypt and into the promised land, the Lord instructs Moses to “write this down,” to “remember,” to “tell the story.” He instructs it a lot throughout the Bible. Why? Because when we write it, remember it, rehearse it, tell it … our lives are changed. We remember that He will not forsake us. We get to see and share His Glory. We can review it when satan is lying to us and know the truth. We begin to live with the reality of how great our God really is. I get why God told the Israelites in Deuteronomy 11:18-20 to … “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates ….” so they wouldn’t forget that He loves them, that He does miracles, that they really are miracles, that He shows up to the party (actually, it’s His party), that He is faithful to His promises, that all He has in mind for us is good. So, we started this blog for that reason … to share His glory in our lives with you. Thank you Jesus!

A Party in Heaven

I know we rejoiced with the angels in heaven as our oldest daughter Madison put on Christ in baptism on Sunday, August 3rd, 2008.

"I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."

Praise God and what a glorious day!

Darren & Misty

I love God stories … Darren and Misty are linked here. I don’t know them, in fact, I have never met them, but I know the journey they are on. They are waiting for God’s word to them to manifest on this earth … they have been given a word that Misty will be healed on this earth. Misty has stage IV brain cancer and six weeks ago was sent home with only two weeks to live. Since returning home, Misty has only progressed … God’s glory! She even beat pneumonia in a body that isn’t supposed to heal … God’s glory! I link them so you might pray for them, but also be inspired by their story. Never give up. I can’t wait to hear the full testimony from Misty’s mouth when she is fully healed and can speak again. Go God!