Where Do Our Priorities Lie?

The older I get, the more heartache I see in the world, the more I see the frailty of life, the more I ask myself, "Are you redeeming the time?"  I am quickly closing in on my 50th year and I realize that I have most likely lived longer than I have left to live.  Do I make everyday count?  

Sad to say…I do not.  There are days when I lose my temper, speak in frustrated tones to my family, spend too much time doing things that matter little in the scope of eternity, spend too little time reading the Word and praying which matters greatly in the scope of eternity, living more for that "utopia" that will never be, and not living in the reality that God has given me with a thankful heart.

I am so frail.  I am so imperfect.  I fail so very often.  I am like a flower that quickly fades.  I am so finite.  But I am so thankful that the Infinite God has chosen to love me despite all those flaws.  I so don't deserve it.  Really, none of us deserve His love, mercy, grace, redemption.  But how much we should rejoice that we have it.

I am praying that God helps me to redeem the time He has given me.  To be light and salt to those around me…to live out my thankfulness to Him by living moment by moment in His Spirit.

How are our priorities?  What are you doing today that will further the Kingdom, draw you closer to Him, be a witness to others?  Our time here is so short…let's redeem every moment for the glory of God!

Confessions of a Negligent Blogger

Okay, I must confess....I have been a negligent blogger.  I will try to do better.  So many things have been happening...I thought I would share a few of the things that have kept calling me away from my blogging world.

Well, there is the lovely campus to see.  Lots of things to explore there!  Oh, and we have just finished up our end of year testing...I was a little late on that one!

There are produce stands and farmer's markets!

Plenty of toads to keep a mother happy!

Beautiful butterflies outside my windows.

Skies only God could paint!

Our friends that come and feast at the edge of the property.

Some of the most beautiful moths I have ever seen!

The first Luna moth I have seen in person...landing on my wedding hat. 

And then there are the not so beautiful things...like huge slugs wrapping around my daughter's arm.  You would be proud of me...I didn't even jump.  I don't want to be "that" kind of Mom.

And did I mention...my five blessings...who make my days so blessed.   I really will try to do better...but if I am negligent again...you will know why!  Have a blessed day!

What the Last Few Weeks Have Been Like

I thought I would show you a glimpse of our last few weeks.  This first picture is from the hallway of the house we just moved out of.  Jonathan was getting boxes we stored in the attic so we could pack for our move.

We did a partial move ourselves through Uhaul.  As you can see, the truck was backed up to the front door for easy loading.  Here my husband is placing one of our red bookcases.

Many of the boxes that we packed ourselves were full of books.  Even though the boxes were small, they were a little heavy for one child to carry themselves.  But, our children still desired to help.  And they were a very big help at that too!  Here the girls are carrying a box together.  They would carry them out and then Jonathan would put them in place.

My boys in action.

Joy carrying one by herself.  She has a thing for going barefooted.

Finally hitting the road in the Uhaul.  The children took turns riding in the front with Daddy. 

After we unloaded the Uhaul at our new home, it was right back to Fayetteville to prepare for the movers to come and pack/load everything else.  When you move as much as we do with moving companies, you learn to have a "no pack" corner.  These are the things that you want to be able to put your hands on as soon as you get to the new place without sifting through hundreds of boxes!

Our den soon became an obstacle course.

This is the bonus room in the new house.  See why I have not been blogging much lately?  Most of the rooms looked like this. 

I hope to show you some pictures of this room when it is finished.  I still have quite a ways to go.  This is going to be school room/library/craft room...so there is a lot to put away and find places for everything.  I am so thankful it is a nice large room and there are so many windows.  I just love having the light shine through most of the day. 

Oh, I wanted to show you a creature that was attempting to be a stowaway.  So glad the children didn't catch him.  They would have been smuggling it to the new house.

And this is the view of the house we are living in for the next 14 months...until we get ready to do this all over again! 

And this my friends is what we all did when it was finally over!