Thursday, August 28, 2008

Kindergarten Milestones

Well folks, not only has my precious Miranda started school, just 2 whole days ago, but she also lost her first tooth! She noticed it was loose on the first day of school then came home the next day with it very loose and today it was stuck by a thread. I said, "Miranda, do you want me to go ahead and just pull it out."
She said, "Well, ummmmm, yes!" When we got home I was checking my email and had totally spaced my commitment. She came up to me with 2 kleenex's and said, "One to hold the tooth so you don't get blood on your fingers and one to catch it with when it falls out so it doesn't get dirty."

So sweet. I yanked that sucker out and placed it on the pantry door with all of our other trophy teeth. See our tooth fairy leaves money in the bags, she has too many teeth so she lets Mommy keep them. :-)

Well, it has been a big week this week. School, falling teeth and I started my book again today, although this time, I think I might actually get further than one page. Jessi starts school next week...hopefully I won't cry while I start running to train for the Mud Run.

Until we read again!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

First day of school

I just wanted to drop a quick post. Today, my 5 year old started school. I thought it would be an easy day, but it wasn't. I fought back tears several times. Maybe it would have been better to let them just come instead of eating them.

I wish I had pictures, but I don't right now. I still don't have a working digital camera. I did take pictures with my disposable camera though.

After the Boo Hoo breakfast at school, I went to Heidi's house for a Moms and Muffins Prayer Breakfast. This was our first annual one. A bunch of us moms got together to have some breakfast and pray over our kids, each other, our teachers and the different administrations responsible for our schools. It was moving. It helps you not feel so alone in this ever changing world of children. It was led by someone who still cries every school year when her college age kids and college graduates call her when they start school every year. One of them is a teacher. She said that it doesn't change. Every year, she is still moved by the experience. Wow, how incredible is that? It puts things in perspective. God gives us these babies to raise and give back to him. He trusts us with his precious children. We are his precious children too though and I bet he crieswhen he sends us off too. You know we are the coolest kids on the earth right!?? He loves us more than anything in the whole world right???
He wants us to run in the door at the end of the day and tell him all about how our day was too. How awesome is that???

Just some ponderings from a tired mom.
Peace be to you from the Lord most high!
Until we read again...

Friday, August 22, 2008

Another dream

Wow, when it rains, it pours. I guess, since I showed God that I was ready and willing to listen, He decided He would give me a opportunity. I will pass this along for you to pray about. Maybe it's for you too.

I was fighting in some kind of war. We were in a riverwalk type place. I, along with 2 other women, were captured, although I never did see who I was fighting against. They were people, but with undescript faces. Our hands were tied behind our backs and we were led into an open area, like an outdoor restaurant without tables. It looked like it had been made into a holding area with couches and pillows. Our captors removed our bindings and told us to sit down on a couch up against a far wall. They handed us some handcuffs, only there weren't with locks, they were yellow padded and had velcro instead. They asked us to put them on behind our backs. The two women next to me did. I started to, then realized that if they can't see what I am doing, then I will pretend. When they left the area, I looked to my commanding officer and asked her what the plan was. She said that they had taken our belongings and held them in the Dollar Store across the walkway and we needed to escape and sneak over there to get them. She said with the bushes and trees down to the river, we could get down there and then sneak back up outside the store. She then said that they were not going to go. They didn't want to leave. I knew that I was not going to stay, I know what happens to POW's and I didn't want to be any part of that. When no one was looking, I jumped up and ran outside the area down the hill. I turned around and hid behind some bushes to see what was going on. The captors realized I wasn't there, so I was not going to be able to get my belongings. It was just a matter of time before they came for me. I ran down the hill as fast as I could and jumped into the water. I stayed near the bushes and trees for saftey, but did not go onto ground because I didn't want the hounds to catch my scent. After running for a little while, I turned around and saw that no one was coming after me. I came to a clearing and there sat my family. All but my oldest daughter. They were not happy to see me though. They didn't believe what I was fighting or what I was fighting for. I didn't have any food and wanted to eat so I explained my plight to my husband and asked him for a couple bucks. He said he didn't want to but pulled out his wallet anyway. Then I woke up. The ringing in my ears was calling me to read Psalm 74.

I got up and read Psalm 74. I had never read it before. It is a prayer to God to use his limitless power. If you haven't read it, stop right now and grab your bible and take a gander. Kinda scary.

After I got done reading it, I read over my notes from my dream again. As I read it, I had feelings of what it meant to me so I wrote those down too. I am positive it was from God. Here is what I got -

It is a dream about spiritual warfare. The unseen army were forces of darkness, which is why I could not see their faces. The velcro handcuffs can only hold us if we allow them to. Our enemies don't actually put the bindings on us, we have to put them on ourselves. We talked about getting away, but the other 2 captives were not willing to take the velcro bindings off and were willing to risk death to stay. I could not go get my things when I finally escaped because if I would have ventured up the hill to get them, I was risking going back into the very bondage I just got out of. I can't take the things of this life with me in this war. I was not ever afraid in this dream. I did not want to be captured anymore. The enemy is always waiting for me, but they did not chase me. They lay in wait and set traps and wait for me to come back because they know I will. My family was upset because I was fighting in a war they didn't want me in. They didn't realize that they should be fighting in it too. All of Gods children are fighting this war, some just don't know it yet. My oldest was not at the table with everyone else because even at her early age, she is fighting in it. I think that when God was with her while she was in her coma, she was being prepared for early battles. I feel like I need to be doing a better job of equipping her, but that is another story altogether.

So that is my story. I pray that God uses it to touch someone out there. I know that my eyes and ears are open now and I pray that God continues to use me.

Until we read again!
wt

Monday, August 18, 2008

Extra Extra, Read all about it - God uses Wendy!

This is the word that He wanted me to share on Sunday - I hope it touches you too.

I could not sleep last night. Have you ever had those nights? I was watching Discovering the Jewish Jesus. God started nudging me when I heard two things I had spoken with Darlene about on Friday were repeated just as I left the bathroom to get into bed. Insecurities and fear holding me back from being close to God and me not taking enough time to be still and know that He is God. So, I need to give you a little background on this before I go into what I believe I am supposed to share. It is rather graphic so I will not get too detailed.

I am a dreamer. I have been since I was little girl. I don’t just dream black and white. I am a full color motion picture dreamer. Details and everything. I feel like this is the way God uses to get to me because I am so preoccupied that I don’t hear him during the day. I have known that this was an issue and try to work on it, but I always make excuses.
I am not proud of that.

This past week or so, I have had 3 dreams in particular. The first two, I fought with evil dark figure, which I can only assume was Satan. I was scared and the only thing I could do was to call on the power and light of God to save me because I was his child and He did. I was carried away to safety. When I awoke, I was refreshed and satisfied that I was able to stand on God promises and he would take care of me, in spite of me not being as obedient as I should be. On Thursday night however, I was not so lucky. I was in the middle of an office type place and was looking at some young girls and was thinking how someone should tell them about God’s love for them and give them hope. The door to the office opened and in walked the dark stranger with a gun. Without anymore details than that, it was the worst nightmare of my life. I was shot and killed. I woke up gasping for breath as the final bullet entered my head. It was awful. I couldn’t help but start doubting my safety in God. I was not reading my bible or doing all the things I could or should be doing and maybe this was God’s way of telling me that. I love to write, so I wrote the dream down thinking that maybe if I got it out it would be okay. It didn’t help. It actually made it worse. I was trying to think of who I could call to talk to who wouldn’t think I was crazy! Not one minute after I was done writing though, my phone rang. It was Darlene and her first question was, “how ya doin today?” I told her terrible and start to cry uncontrollably. Bless her heart, she jumped in the car and came right over. When she got here, I told her that God must have told her to call me and told her what happened. After a long talk, I came to the realization that that dream was not from God at all. It was Satan taking advantage of me at my weakest moment. He took all my chaos in my head and used it all against me and killed me, just like he wanted to.

I felt led to tell you all this. I think that God wants to remind us that Satan is here to lie, cheat, steal and destroy our lives. He will use any weakness that we allow him to have. He will even wait to catch us off guard when we are not thinking about it. I was on the top of the world in my dreams. Every time I fought him, it was head on and I knew he was coming. This last one, I didn’t. He walked right in and looked right at me before I even knew it was happening. I didn’t even get a chance to ask God for help.

I don’t know if anyone needed to hear this today, but I have one more thing. Tonight after I heard 2 of the very things Darlene and I talked about yesterday, I still could not go to sleep. I laid there wide awake with a pressing feeling to get up and go the living room and pray on my knees. I finally did. When I did, I didn’t know what to say, so I said, God if you are there, please show me. I felt a sensation all over my body and heard in my head clear as a bell, “Read my word”. I have been reading a chronological daily bible. (when I read it.) and that is the one that I saw in my head. After sitting there for a moment in shock and trying to figure out if it was really happening, I got up and got the bible. When I opened up to the next daily read, this is what I read.

Why Righteous Die - Isaiah 57.1-2
The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart, devout men are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. Those who walk uprightly enter into peace, they find rest as they lie in death.

I have a New Century Version also I would like to share –
Those who are right with God may die, but no one pays attention. Good people are taken away, but no one understands. Those who do right are being taken away from evil and are given peace. Those who live as God wants find rest in death.

After I read those two, I knew that I was supposed to share and it has given me a feeling of peace to know that I am headed in the right direction.

Faith Writers