The Joy Thief (Part 2)

    Allowing our circumstances to overwhelm can certainly be a thief of joy. No one is immune to difficulty in this life. It will come. The past few weeks, I had felt myself slip into a joy-zapped place that I couldn't see out of. It was because of my focus. I had focused so much on the difficulty, that I had missed the blessings. Blessings have come during this season of our life in bucket loads! We've seen God provide for us in miraculous ways, often through His people, and once through a bank "oversight"!
     My hubby reminded me recently, that the enemy (Satan) cannot attack what has God has done in the past, so he tries to get us to focus on the future.The unknown. That's where doubt can live and lack of trust can thrive. It's a dangerous place to be when I forget what God has done and worry about the "what-ifs" (remember the children of Israel, wandering in the desert?)As Shawn told me that, I began to intentionally focus on the blessings of God. The things He had done. Little by little, I felt the joy I had been missing work its way out of me.
     One thing I have been asking the Lord in my time with Him, is that I would see Him working in the everyday things. When I am abiding in Christ, He keeps my eyes open for those very moments. Here are a few little things I've seen and have been so grateful for:
 1. Free bang trim for the girls at JCPenny last week! Seems little, but it was a blessing to us!
 2. Friends inviting us over for dinner and visiting.
 3. Vegetables growing in our garden!
 4. This one is pretty big- The hospital sending us a notice that after MONTHS of back and forth paperwork, that our bill is now $0!!!
 5. Summer rains that water our garden without having to spend money :)
 6. Tent making in the summer sun.
 7. Water balloon fights
 8. A growing caterpillar and excitement over how it tickles

So my list in my journal is growing, but it's my attitude that's really becoming revived. So, allow me to challenge you, friends. What can you be grateful for today? How is God working in your everyday life?

The Joy Thief (part 1)

I was compelled to write this two days ago and didn't. Today, I need to write it as a reminder to ME.This may have to be a 2-part deal, as I get a bit wordy (shocker!)
     Many of you know, we moved back from Hawaii in October and have been waiting on the Lord to show us where/what is next. And we're still here. Still.
     There have been more interviews, resumes and possibilities than I can count. Still, none of them have come with the voice of the Spirit saying, "Go". As someone who enjoys a good "to-do list", this is quite the struggle. The voice inside me saying, "If we just... or maybe I could...what if we..." and the Accuser's voice saying, "He isn't listening to you... He doesn't care... You really messed it up this time". Many times during our journey, I have seen so clearly the hand of God in His provision, and His peace. There have also been times when I felt like He was silent.
     A few weeks ago, I had really allowed our circumstances take center stage in my mind. All of the uncertainty, all of the financial stress, and it completely zapped my joy. I thought our situation had become hopeless, and that's how I felt inside. Out of that despair, I heard my Hubby speak some sweet truth into my life. Shawn has been learning so much through this time in our life, and when we shares what he's learning, the Holy Spirit renews my mind. It returned my thoughts to truth, that my struggles do not define my standing in Christ. My circumstances are ever changing, but the faithfulness of God is UNchanging.
     James 1 tells us to count it all joy when we encounter various trials, because the testing of our faith produces endurance. He also tells us to "let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." We all encounter trials, whether health related, relationship difficulties, unemployment, family issues, etc. But our joy cannot be dependent on our circumstances, but on the unrelenting grace of God.  A friend recently told me, "don't rush the process". The trials we endure are actually producing something in us. In my own heart, it has produced gratitude.
    My circumstances haven't changed, there is no job we've suddenly fallen into, no magical fairy offering to grow a magic money tree in my yard. Yet, my hope is in the Lord. The unchanging one.

Gardening rookies

     This spring, with the help of our neighbor, we started our first garden! I have wanted to grow veggies before, but with little ones, it's sometimes a difficult endeavor. Most of the work happens at the beginning, and that's where I had the hardest time.... until this year! My hubby worked hard to make it happen and now we are harvesting our first summer veggies.It's been such a great learning experience for our entire family. We've prepared the ground, planted the seed and waited for God to grow the harvest. It's hard not to see the spiritual connections as we garden also.Maybe I'll post about that one later. For now, here's the fun process we began with our garden.

This was Easter and as you can see, Shawn had just started laying out the boundaries of our garden.

After our initial planting: tomatoes, zucchini, kale, lettuces, sugar snap peas, strawberries.Later, we added peppers, green beans, melon and sweet potatoes. 

Everyone pitching in to help...even the littlest.

We had to add a little shade, as our lettuces were starting to bolt early. I'm really impressed with my hubby's ability to research and adjust what we're doing.He's a keeper :)

The sugar snaps are climbing the netting and the lettuces are getting bigger! We put up aluminum pie pans (an old school tip) to scare the birds away.

What I grabbed from the garden today! Some kale, lettuce and our first zucchini! We had a few sugar snap peas, but Nathan ate them while I picked the rest of this...any tips on keeping the 3 year old from getting all the veggies? Just kidding, I'm glad he's enjoyed the fruit of the harvest!

December catch up~

Well, we're certainly not in Hawaii anymore! This month in Ohio has been full of freezing temps and snowy weather. No complaining here, though, it has really been a fun time for us all. This month we've enjoyed some fun actives like picking out and cutting down our family Christmas tree. The kids really wanted a big fuzzy, bushy one, but Mom had to veto that one. We continued our family traditions of sleeping by the Christmas tree one night and decorating Christmas cookies! We also went snow tubing with my mom and dad when they visited this past week. Everyone had a blast, even our little guy kept saying, "One more time?" Even on the biggest hills!
     This year, my mom and I took our girls and some sweet friends to see The Nutcracker ballet. It was a fun time to get dressed up and go downtown. The girls loved the ballet, and all decided they wanted to be ballerinas when they grew up :)
    Well, certainly was a quick update...hopefully there will be more soon!

Across the Ocean

Just a few short days ago, I was at the beach for the last time in Hawaii. It's still hard to wrap my mind around the fact that we are moving back to the mainland. I say "moving" because we are still in limbo (homeless, temporarily).We left Hawaii Sunday night and arrived in TN late Monday night. It's funny,  the entire day Tuesday, I kept thinking it was Monday. I guess I lost it while traveling all day long~
     We are visiting our family and friends in TN for a little bit and then heading to Ohio where we will wait on our home to be ready. Some of our amazing friends are taking us in...all seven of us!!While in this waiting room, I've felt such a great peace, knowing that my Father is leading us.    
     Looking back over the past year and a half of living in Hawaii as church planters, I can testify that not only is God's timing best, but His process is best. He has taken my husband and I on a journey that if I'm honest, some days, I didn't want to be on. Some of my most desperate, loneliest moments have been in this season of my life. I often cried out to God to remove the suffering because it was so unbearable, or intervene the way I wanted Him to. There were times I thought I heard nothing, but then, oh friends, then there were times when it felt like He spoke so loudly from His Word that I looked around to see if anyone else heard! Like clay in the hands of a potter, He is molding me. There are days I still panic, anxiety grips my mind, makes my heart pound out of my chest, leaves me breathless....But, I just remember what I have come to know, He will never leave me or forsake me.

Climbing the walls

     With five children, I'm no stranger to the phrase, the kids have so much energy, they are "climbing the walls". But, last week, we did just that. Our family went to the windward mall to a great indoor activity...climbing walls! The kids were pretty brave even at first, but I was really shocked at our little Ava, who showed no fear. She climbed over and over again without wanting any help. Of course, Shawn and I were right there just in case. We all enjoyed the family time, and even Shawn and I got to "wow" the kids with our amazing upper body strength (glad they are easily impressed). I love being able to hit the beach often with the family, but we've gone a lot lately, and that means more sand,
washing towels, and baths. So, I was super happy about an activity with less clean up!

Camping by the Ocean

Some of my favorite times with my family growing up are when we would go tent camping in Florida. It would be a great time of being outside, spending REAL time together and enjoying God's creation. Last month, we took our first family camping trip together. I wasn't sure what to expect, but we were so excited to go!
     I can't think of a more beautiful place to camp than Hawaii's North Shore. We had a few of our church families come with us and it was a great time to spend together.Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate very well. It was CRAZY windy most of the entire weekend. In fact, we had to secure the tents pretty tightly or else, we would've been flyin' away! With the wind, came the cold air, and for us warm blooded folks, it was way too cold to swim in the ocean. Of course, my water girl got in to do some snorkeling along with one of our friend's son.
     We had a lot of fun doing other things though. The campground had a basketball court, and we were on it ALOT! We also went crabbing a couple of times at night. Ava was so brave and would just pick up the crabs and toss them into the bucket. It wasn't until one of them pinched her that she flinched when they scurried around. Suzy was hilarious to watch...I'm pretty sure I laughed at her jumpiness more than anything :)

Walking on the reef was a fun past time

My ocean-loving girl exploring. She was in heaven!

 This was such a beautiful atmosphere for our first camping trip. We saw kite surfers, and parachuters. There was an airfield right across the street from our campground, and all day long, we'd see people jump out of planes and parachute to the ground! Sleeping right next to the ocean was unforgettable too.The waves sounded like they were coming right up next to us. 

We hope to go camping again soon...maybe in a less windy area next time!