He is my strength when I am weak

Growing up you sing the song in church Jesus Loves Me. Jesus Loves me this I know For the bible tells me so Little ones to Him belong They are weak and He is strong That last line is finally making sense to me. In my weakest points in life is where I have to rely on the Lord's strength to get me through the day. He has also given me a wonderful husband who is also there during my weak times. My pastor once said "When you think you are strongest, that's when you can be the weakest" meaning to be on guard always because even though we think we are strong in the Lord we tend to let our guard down and thats when the enemy attacks us the hardest. Like Job in the bible. I belong to Jesus. Therefore I can be strong when I am weak because Yes Jesus Loves me!!!

Hats

I love to crochet. Here are some things I have done.

Life is Crazy

Well 3 kids is proving to be crazy! But each day is a new day. A gift that I am learning to appreciate. Sam is 3 now. Avery will be 2 in October and Elizabeth(we call her Libby) will be 3 months on Thursday. Where did the time go?! When you become a mom you really learn what it is to be selfless. I fight my selfishness every single day. When I succeed with that I find the joy in it. How much my kids are behaving better or we have just overall had a fun day. Sure the dishes might still be dirty and toys everywhere but that just means I have been so busy playing with the kids than worrying about that stuff. Luckily I have a husband who understands. I have also learned you can love 3 different children all the same. Each one has something so unique that just puts joy in my heart. The Lord has truly blessed me with 3 amazing kids. I am so blessed I am able to stay at home with them. Time goes by so fast. I need to cherish every moment. My mom always tells me "Dishes can wait, your children will not." I am glad when I get that text message because it reminds me of what is important. Thanks mom!

Been A While

So, Life with 3 kids is a lot more work. Its been a while since blogging but I guess I have a good reason. A 3 year old, 21 month old and a 2 month old now. AH! Elizabeth Sue was born on June 20th at 7:02am. She has been a great addition to our family. She is easy and adorable. Big brother Sam has been helpful. Big Sister Avery has been a little jealous but loving. Staying at home is teaching me quite a bit. For one how to be a multi-tasker. I wish I had about 2 more hands though. Its teaching patience and self control. I dont get much sleep but I am learning that its ok. I need to focus on bringing up my children. And that each day is a gift thats been given to me. The Lord has really blessed us and I cant wait to see where this journey goes. I feel like I am some what back to my normal self and ready to get moving! Here goes!

10000 Reasons

By Matt Redman

[Chorus]
Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name

The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning
It's time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes

[Chorus]
Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name

You're rich in love, and You're slow to anger
Your name is great, and Your heart is kind
For all Your goodness I will keep on singing
Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find

[Chorus]
Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name

And on that day when my strength is failing
The end draws near and my time has come
Still my soul will sing Your praise unending
Ten thousand years and then forevermore

[Chorus x2]
Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name

Jesus, I'll worship Your holy name
Lord, I'll worship Your holy name

Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name
Jesus, I'll worship Your holy name
I'll worship Your holy name


I love this song. 10,000 reasons.

When you Least expect it

We have a lab/german shepard mix. Her name is Sadie. She is about a year and a half and a very lovable dog. I've shared her background shortly in my last post. I will share it more in depth now.

We found her on craiglist and the owner was saying they were going to take her to the pound if no one got her by a certain day. She looked like such a sweet dog I had to go check her out. We were moving in to our new house soon so we were wanting to get a dog. She happened to be in Rathdrum the same town we were moving to. We showed up at the people's house. A young couple, super nice. The wife was pregnant and both were working so they didn't have much time for the dog. We learned she was an outside dog. Never came inside. We first entered the backyard and she at first barked and seemed a little scared. We slowly approached her and she warmed up really fast. She loved the kids instantly. Didn't bark at them and as soon as we threw a ball she was our best friend. We decided to take her. We had to come back for her since we didn't have the keys yet to our house.

When we first brought her home, she was afraid to walk on the floor. Its the fake hardwood stuff. She was very timid at first about everything in the new surroundings. Over time she warmed up and now this is her territory and she would rather be inside snuggled up than out in the yard unless we are throwing the ball of course.

Now I will admit I have had my issues with the dog. With her being needy and me trying to keep up with the kids, I have had my share of frustrations. I have felt like lately all she cares about is food food food. Constantly at our feet while we are eating. Now I know she is still learning and she is getting better. But I have to remember she isn't trying to upset me at all. She just wants food. She also is full of love to give. Always wanting to lick your face and lay down next to you. She is never wanting to annoy me. She isn't a bad dog at all. In reality she is a very good dog and just needs some love. I know we are a good family for that.

Well recently Avery has been feeding her food to Sadie. Sadie of course would gladly accept. While I keep telling Avery that this is a no no, Sadie learned that as well in the process. So today Avery was holding her food out to her and Sadie kept turning her head. You can tell it was pure torture but she didn't give in. Not that time anyways. AND OF COURSE this got me to thinking about temptation and how we will always have the temptation sticking in our face sometimes and its whether we choose to obey and not do it. This time anyways. Its amazing how much self discipline a dog can develop as it grows yet we being sinful by nature can give in easily.

Made me think of things I give in to easily instead of listening to the Lord and obeying Him. Thank you Lord for showing me through this even if it was through our dog. You have blessed this family with a loving dog who tolerates toddlers.

Sadie is warming up to me. I know as we grow together she will become my companion through the years of being a stay at home mom.

Tantrums

Let me start with telling of my day on Tuesday...

Greg left for out of town on Monday for a couple days. Naturally kids become more whiney and the days are super long. Tuesday morning Avery woke up with a swollen eye. Great! So I called the doctor and scheduled an appt. Sam was in this mood where he decided to talk back to me every chance he got. As the day went on the more and more frustrated I became. I had to send Sam to his room several times because I needed a break from his attitude. Avery was just fine considering she couldnt really see out of one eye. Well I got the kids ready, warmed up the car which took forever due to ice, and needed to make a stop first before the doctor. I brought the dog with us too because I didnt have time to clean up all the toys and I didnt want to risk her chewing something.

We pull in to Target. I thought I would treat myself and the kids to something from the cafe place. Kids got popcorn and juice boxes and I got myself a pretzel with cheese. My favorite! Well I didnt have much time to eat my pretzel in store so I decided I would wait until we got in the car. We got the things we needed and Sam did great in the store. Popcorn helped. So we went out the the car. I loaded the stuff in the car and Sam says"mommy I have to go potty!" so I tucked my purse away(it at my pretzel in it) and ran with the kids back in the store to the bathroom. We get back to the car and Sadie(our dog) was acting weird. So I started to put kids in car seat and saw her reach in to my purse again and finish the rest of the pretzel she had already been eating!!! I was furious. This was the last straw of the already frustrating morning I was having. I just screamed out of pure anger. A $3 pretzel my dog got to enjoy. I couldnt even look at her. We went to the doctor and Avery just had a stye. Thank goodness it wasnt pink eye. We go home and I just put the dog outside. I couldnt stand to be around her. I just had a bad attitude the rest of the day.

Let me explain one thing, Our dog is great but she is still kind of a puppy being only 1 year old and we got her back in June and she had no training what so ever and was left out in the back yard all the time. So she is a VERY needy dog to say the least. So when I get on the floor to play with kids she is in my face licking it and then lays down on top of everything which then makes Sam go into whine mode. She is getting better though every day. Slowly learning.

Anyways so later that night the kids are in bed, I finally fall asleep around 10. With in the next 2 hours I was up at least 4 times with the kids. It was a battle. Each time I woke up I was more and more irritated. Being pregnant and sleep deprived is not a good thing. The last time I got up and prayed the Lord would change my heart towards my kids so that I could comfort them. Finally they went to sleep the rest of the night. Sam ended up in my bed.

I just realized I can throw just as much as a tantrum as my 2 1/2 year old can. I was so ashamed looking back on Tuesday and how I reacted. I made sure I gave the dog attention because I know it wasnt her fault for my bad day. She is a dog and two things are usually on their mind- Food and Ball. Ok well on Sadie's mind. I am sure the Lord was just saying Melissa come to me, I will help you through the day. But instead of listening I threw myself the biggest pity party.

I have to remember I need the Lord's help to get through the day. This reminds me of Psalm 61:1-2. Towards the end of that scripture it says Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

Motivation

Time obviously flies by because its been quite some time since I have written on here. Well lets hope I can keep going in a regular basis again. I like to write about what the Lord is teaching me in my life and how he is teaching me.

Sunday mornings at church we have been going through Genesis which has been amazing. Our pastor was teaching at another church this last Sunday so a gentlemen who usually speaks when he is gone, spoke on Sunday. Talking about then new year and how we all want to make resolutions but after a couple months we lose motivation and quit. We are always looking for something to motivate us. Whether its a friend to work out with or the newest workout video we can do at home. Anything to get us in the mood. Clayton, the gentleman speaking, reminded us as believers in Christ we have all the motivation we need to be doing things. Specially serving the Lord. He died on the cross for our sins. He loves us unconditionally. He gives us eternal life. We are only on this earth for a short time and then we will get to dwell with the almighty for eternity. HOW IS THAT NOT MOTIVATION?

This got me to thinking about how lazy I can be as a stay at home mom. I worry so much about getting cleaning stuff done or when I will get to rest. I want to be a Godly mother and wife. I want to raise my children up knowing who Jesus is. The Lord has blessed us with me being able to stay home with our children. This is where I am serving right now and I am not doing a very good job at it. Timothy in the bible was a great servant of the Lord and very knowledgable of Jesus. It gives credit to his mother and grandmother. Bringing him up in the Lord. I want to do this as well. My motivation? Jesus, his grace, and wanting my children to be servants for the Lord willingly and not because I forced them to.

I have to be in His word daily and in prayer to accomplish any of this. I need to be disciplined and also willing to let God work through me. I cant do it on my own at all.

Thank you Lord for motivating me to serve you. I am so undeserving of your love!