Fight Back With Joy

I have been reading a lot lately, a desperate attempt to keep my over active brain busy.  And of course, I am not a fan of 'light reading,'  I need thought provoking, deep books that inspire profound thought.....as if I need any help with increasing my thoughts!  

Anyways, some of the quotes I wrote down or highlighted, were worth sharing.  It is amazing to me how I have completely read two books in the past week and a half and have been working on this other book for about a month.  I read Fight Back With Joy by Margaret Feinberg and I read Safe People by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend.  My husband and I are in the process of reading If God Is Good by Randy Alcorn.  That one will take a while to complete as I am only able to read a few pages at a time, and in most cases a whole flood gate of thoughts and questions flow from those few pages each night.  What I find fascinating is how all of these books seem to be providing similar messages but yet they are all so different.  

Leo's Love

I am giving you fair warning, these thoughts might seem kind of like they are out in left field.  I don't even know that my thoughts are fully developed or if my words will be adequate to describe how Leo, once again, touched some depth of my soul.  I usually go see Leo on Monday but last Monday I had plans and I wasn't sure if I would be able to make it out to see him at all, but Wednesday worked out and I really enjoyed our time together.  It was like a mid week 'pick me up'!  I love how this horse loves me.  I love that he likes when I am around.  The peace and calm is amazing and gives me hope.  But on this particular day it was like I was seeing an analogy for God's love for us in the way this horse was loving me.  While I was sitting there brushing Leo sometimes he would like turn and put his face just about in my face, like he was trying really hard to get my attention.  Other times it wasn't as subtle, it was a nudge on the arm. So long as I was with him, he never stayed away from me for long.  He was always watching me, if I moved somewhere else he would follow me, as if to just check on me, make sure I was ok and still there, and remind me that he was watching me. And then it was time for me to leave, I told him good bye and that I would see him next time, he let out a horse cry but I figured letting him free to graze in the field would be the end of his thoughts of me.  I hung out and was petting him while he was eating and then I left.  As I walked towards the gate to leave he looked up from where he was and came running towards me.  I didn't think he would even notice that I had left. I got in the car and he sat at the gate crying.  I backed the car up and drove down the driveway and he followed me along the fence line.  I turned onto the road to head home and he followed me as far as he could until I was out of his reach.  He would occasionally let out a horse cry as he saw me get further and further away. 

And then it hit me....we can be doing one thing, and then something will happen to show us or remind us of Gods love and it will feel like it is right in out face.  Other times it might not be as subtle but is still there.  As long as we are with God, he doesn't leave us for long.  God is always watching us, he sees where we go, even before we go there.  He is with us every step of the way.  And should you ever stray from him, he won't give up.  He will follow us.  I suppose if we walk away from God it makes him sad.  He notices what we are doing and where we are going.  He sees us, he hears us, even when we think he is occupied with somebody or something else. Leo gave me a different perspective of God's love for us, and how he must feel to see us walk away from that love.

Think, Act, Be Like Jesus

Think, Act, Be Like Jesus 

Written By: Randy Frazee

Illustrated By: Steve Adams

Overview:

Written for children 6-10, the Think, Act, Be Like Jesus; A Believe Devotional for Kids is part of the national church-wide program led by bestselling author Randy Frazee that shows children how they can think, act, and be more like Jesus, with 90 devotions from the Old and New Testament.

They know the story of the Bible, but do they know what it means?

This 90-Day devotional, written by Oak Hills Church pastor Randy Frazee, is part of the church-wide, ground-breaking Believe campaign and encourages children to follow the footsteps of Jesus. Think, Act, Be Like Jesus; A Believe Devotional for Kids shares the message that the more you believe, the more Jesus can change you from the inside out to become the best person you can be.

As children ages 6-10 walk through 90 devotions from the Old and New Testament—they’ll complete a journey that will take them closer to the heart of Jesus and deeper into the words of Scripture. They’ll learn what the Bible has to say about everything from the nature of God and the identity of Jesus, to prayer, worship, and the fruit of the Spirit. Foundational and faith-building, this book can be used by individuals or in conjunction with the all-church campaign.

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed reading through this devotional.  It is great for children at the Elementary level.  There were even devotions that I enjoyed as an adult.  It would definitely lend itself to a good bed time devotional that the entire family would benefit from. I enjoyed the fact that it lends itself to further discussion with each reading. I read through a few of them with my five year old and he was engaged and responding to the questions. I would highly recommend this book. It would also make a great gift. I received this book in exchange for an honest review from the publisher, through BookLook Bloggers.

The two most incredible children....

Proud mom moment!!!  I love my boys.  Ivan has had almost an entire week of outstanding behavior and good choices!  He was usually on green, which means ready to learn.  He is so proud of himself, and so are we!  And Seth - wow - he brought home his first report card of third grade - with straight A's! I still can't believe that he is already in third grade!  He also had perfect attendance.  He is a very studious kid, takes his school work and homework very seriously.  The results of such hard work left him feeling very proud.  I love these two with all that is in me! Every night when I tuck them into bed I tell them I am proud of them and love them.  Same thing my parents told me!

"Hope"

I am on a quest this week to get back to some kind of schedule or routine.  I have not really been following my routine lately and it is greatly impacting my mental mindset.  As hard as it is some days to push through and get up and go, it is more difficult to not push through and deal with the spiral of negative thinking as a result of my inability to be still and be at peace at the same time.  So this week, after two weeks of doing minimal activity I decided to plan something for every day and stick to it.  Monday I walked with a friend from Bible study, Tuesday I walked with a friend from Bible study and had lunch with a friend from Bible study, Wednesday I am going to go visit my horse friend, who belongs to a friend from Bible study and Thursday I should probably go to bible study.  Its interesting to me how these people have become a part of my life, how there are connections to be found if you just look.  Each friendship is unique and different.  Today I walked with a friend who faces similar struggles as I do.  It is hard for me to think that anybody would want to spend time with me when there are days that I would do anything just to get away from me.  Some days the only way things get done is knowing that somebody else is counting on me  - to show up, to be there.  We took 7017 steps today as we talked about everything from our kids to church.  It was a nice way to start the day.

Pioneers of Television PBS - Robin Williams Remembered

Where do I begin?  I've heard people talk about 'triggers' before, while I believe they are real, watching this show tonight made me feel how real they are. I still cry at the thought of knowing that Robin Williams lived with a terminal illness that ultimately cost him his life, and yet very few knew of the darkness that he battled. Maybe it hits a nerve in me because I know what it feels like to battle that darkness on the inside and yet carry on doing whatever I can on the outside to make people happy. While this illness effects everybody differently, there are glaring similarities at the center of the struggle. Robin Williams is described as a 'gentle, caring soul' who would 'go out of his way to bring comfort and happiness to others,'  and all the while he couldn't find that comfort and happiness that he passed on to everybody else.

Mad Scientist Day 2015

Today is Mad Scientist Day at Crown Point Elementary, where my Seth attends third grade!  I can't believe he is in third grade!  He has been letting his hair grow instead of keeping it cut short so that he could spike his hair up for today!  Ivan's class was dressing up in costumes and doing a little parade around the school.  I got to watch his class say the Pledge of Allegiance and sing the National Anthem before getting a group picture and individual pictures.  It was a great way to start the day -- pictures of Seth as a Mad Scientist and then pictures of Ivan and his class. Ivan dressed up as a dinosaur for his class. This dinosaur costume is a 3T size but he insisted on wearing it for one more year! I love the picture of my mom with the boys this morning!

heart connections...

My husband and I are reading Randy Alcorn's book, "If God is Good."  Tonight what we read dealt with suffering and disabilities.  Since there is no way to paraphrase the line that stood out to me, I am sharing it with you word for word; "It seems odd, but usually our greatest trial is what most molds and shapes us. It gives us character, backbone, courage, wisdom, discernment, and friendships that are not shallow,"  God uses difficult situations to fulfill his purpose. I can't help but think of clay at the potters hand, on the potters wheel....being molded and shaped into something beautiful even though it didn't start that way.  Not much difference to us and the difficult situations that we face. The molding part of the trials certainly do not feel good.  Most times it leaves us feeling, tired, weak, less confident, sometimes makes us feel stupid, and we lose 'friends' who can't handle us at our worst....and yet for all the struggles we gain in every area that we feel weak.  What Satan intends for evil, God redeems for good.  The scars of life add character, the guts to push forward even though ever fiber of our being feels like dead weight gives us a backbone, it takes courage to get up and fight the same demons that leave us feeling so weak the night before, our ability to 'feel' a situation is out of this world and we gain some sort of sixth sense from the heightened senses.....and the friendships - the ones that develop while struggling to live, to fight an illness that makes you feel so weak, those friendships are far and few and the depth of them goes beyond what any words could adequately describe.   It is true that those friendships are far from shallow.  When you are faced with an illness that seemingly has a mind of its own, its difficult to wrap your head around, much less try to explain to a friend.  If you are fortunate you will meet somebody who struggles like you do or has struggled like you do, if you are fortunate you will meet somebody who 'gets it.' I think that is crucial to a healthy support structure that gives you that extra push to keep fighting when you feel like you have been knocked out one too many times.  I can honestly say that I have been blessed by somebody who has opened up their heart and not only shared it with me, but taken me in and showed me that there is still good in me, despite an illness.  While there are quite a few people in my life who could tell me this, somehow it means something different coming from somebody who has been where I am now.  My brain needs rest.......