Contentment...

Some days I don't have time to finish one complete thought much less have the luxury of pondering life...allowing my mind to wander like a lazy trail in summer! Today is one of those extraordinary days when the kids are all occupied outside, the doors and windows are open and I find myself puttering around the house.

As I was fixing lunch, cutting fresh strawberries and listening to the birds, this scripture came to mind...

1 Tim. 6:6 ~ But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.

Interesting...Godliness in and of itself is not touted to be of great gain unless it is coupled with contentment! Hmmm...something to chew on.

There are times, as I look around my home, that I feel I might bust wide open, my heart is so full of joy and contentment! We live modestly by some standards and extravagantly by others. By my standards, my life is darn near perfect!

I have an amazing husband, awesome kids, a beautiful home that I have so enjoyed making a haven for my family, lots of great food, a garden I love, friends that bless me and a God who loves me unconditionally! What more could a girl ask for?

Reality is, I can study all I want, spend hours in prayer and tell everyone I meet about Jesus, but if I am discontent about my lot in life then I am missing out on untold riches that He has to show me!

How thankful I am for the heart of contentment that is beating wildly within me today! Thank you, Papa, for your unmerited favour that you have lavished upon me and for Your blessings that cannot be measured by worldly standards. For all this and much more, I am truly thankful!

Paradise!

This is the view of my back porch from my kitchen! Wanna come sit a while? How 'bout a nap?

Mark 6:31 "Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while."

Fragrance...

(The jasmine that winds its way up my back steps! This is only one plant! Wish you could smell through the picture! ;O) )

I love living in Georgia. I was born and raised in Canada, but my mom is originally from Nashville. While I loved living in Canada and I miss it at times, Georgia really is where my heart is. I even did a quiz on Facebook one day and it said I was 100% Georgian through and through! Kinda funny, huh?

The one thing I struggle with living here, though, is the heat! It starts getting hot pretty early in the year and by August I am ready to rip my hair out I am so tired of sweating. That's why I have been so happy this week...we have a rare cold front that made its way through and stayed and I am loving it. My family is freezing because I have all the doors and windows open, but they can put on more clothes. I am going to take full advantage of this last blast of cool, dry air.

Aside from the cool, fresh air, I am loving the fragrance of the jasmine and gardenias wafting through the open windows. As I lay in bed, a breeze will blow and in it comes, delighting my sense of smell. It's one of those smells that, as I go about my day, comes to me unbidden and makes me stop and trace its origin.

I was sitting here this morning, once again deeply inhaling the inviting scent, when I remembered this scripture...

2 Cor. 2:14 & 15 ~ But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation—an aroma redolent with life.

Don't you love it? Don't you love how God uses word pictures that He knows will one day come back to us at an unordained moment and gives us something to ponder?

Just as my most favourite fragrances dance around me and create a longing in me for more, our lives are to do the same for those around us. We can be so steeped in Christ and His aroma that we entice and draw others into a search for Him...a longing to inhale more deeply from all that He has to offer. It can only come from time spent with Him, allowing Him to infuse us with His fragrance.

It's time to do a smell check! What kind of fragrance do I meet others with? The fragrance of Christ rising out of time spent in intimacy with Him or that which may have once been something sweet, but has been allowed to rot and create a stench?

Ephes. 5:2 And walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

A Passion...

Gardening is a passion of mine and I love it! I always tell Tim that as long as I have flowers and a hose...I'll never need therapy! LOL!

My peonies have taken a number of years of TLC, but this year I have had between 50 and 75 blooms on 4 plants! They are so beautiful! Wanna see?

He's Five!

I am a tad late in wishing my baby a happy birthday, but on May 10th Caleb Mac became a "whole hand"! To say that he was excited is an understatement! He got maximum enjoyment out of being the center of attention for a day and we all thoroughly enjoyed celebrating the gift that he is!

While he came as a bit of a surprise, we are so thankful the Lord had planned that this boy would become one of us. He has such a joyful spirit and is always making us smile. He loves his Mama and Daddy, he loves his siblings and he loves baseball!!! He calls me "Princess" and, while some in the family think he works me a little too much, it makes me smile every time!

Happy birthday, Caleb Mac! We love you and are so thankful God knew we needed you in our family!

I Choose...

As a homeschooling mom of 5, life can be crazy! Add to that 3 boys playing ball and all the other various and sundry things that arise and life can become a little stressful! I am coming out of a time of feeling stressed and overwhelmed and, while I'd like to say I handled it with much grace, I know my attitude was left wanting at times! This morning I found an index card I had tucked in my Bible and I decided I needed to reflect on it again...

I Choose ~

*I choose to stop myself before I yell
*I choose to phrase things in the positive
*I choose to accentuate the positive
*I choose to see my children as fragile gifts that I have the ability to cherish or break
*I choose to keep short accounts with my kids
*I choose to have a cheerful spirit
*I choose to respect my children
*I choose to discipline in love
*I choose to model Christ for my kids
In other words...I choose to rise above the initial fleshly response I am sometimes hit with and respond as someone intimately involved with the One who has extended extravagant grace to me time and time again!

I love how The Message puts it ~ James 1:19 ~ "Post this at all the intersections, dear friends: Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear."

What Am I Worth?

I saw a news story on GMA this morning that they've upped the amount that stay-at-home moms are worth...$122,000! Those that work at home add another $74,000. Wonder if homeschooling 5 children, teaching Bible studies and writing counts for anything?

I actually think there is no monetary value that can make up for what I do. Besides that, I have yet to see one darn penny and I have almost 17 years of back pay coming to me. Checks must have gotten lost in the mail! LOL!!

The truth is, I would (and do) do what I do for free! I get to share life with 5 of the most awesome kids on the planet! Add to that one amazing man and I would feel bad for even thinking about accepting a salary for what I do!

Now don't get me wrong, there are days (like today) when I am ready to rip my hair out, but then one of them tells me they love me, gives me a hug, thanks me for something or asks to be rocked and I realize...there is no place on the planet I would rather be.

So corporate America, you can quit trying to pat us on the back with your platitudes about how much we're worth! We love our job! We're raising your future and that, my friends, is priceless!