Mothers Day/Mini Vacay

Mother's Day was GREAT - my mom has a conference in Houston all this week, so she came in on Saturday, we had mother's day and baby dedication at church on Sunday, then Boston, Dash, and I accompanied her to her hotel in Houston on Monday -- we went ice skating at the galleria, then visited the aquarium and had dinner there. It was pretty awesome - here are some cool pics:

Riding the carousel at the aquarium


All of us at the "picture spot" -- boston said this was the shark from Shark Tales



Boston as a scuba diver

Ice Skating -- woo hoo - what was I thinking? Really, it wasn't that bad - he just needs to learn to keep his feet straight!

What is that look?

Kisses on Mother's Day

They make me a mother!

Me and my mom (and a little bit of Dash's head and hand - couldn't crop anymore)! Am I the only one who feels sorry for their mom the older they get? Because I realize all of the sacrifices she makes/has made just for me to be comfortable or happy or taken care of -- she ALWAYS puts me ahead of herself and I grow more and more thankful of the mom that I have the older I get. They tell you this will happen when you have kids, but you never believe them (whoever "they" is). It's true, though, and I'm just glad that God is in control of who we are - who our parents are, who are children are -- He makes that happen, you know? AND, He knows exactly what He is doing. I'm so glad that's true -- I'm really glad that He gave me a picture of the type of mom that I want to strive to be for my boys, through my mom!

Mother's Day Lunch at Buca di Beppo - (Lance was there, he's just taking the picture)

My Pleasure

Awesome picture painted by none other than, my wonderful 3 yr. old, Boston:
I asked him to do something for me yesterday while I was feeding Dash (it would be a much better story if I could remember what that something was, but I can't -sorry). He did whatever it was and I said, "Thanks, Boston." His response: "It's my pleasure!" How funny is that? He's THREE years old!
So, how many times does God (via the Holy Spirit) ask/prompt us to do certain things? Answer: all of the time! Question: How often is our response -"my pleasure!"? The answer there for me is - rarely! That's sad, isn't it? I totally desire for my life to be all about Him, for my sole purpose to be to glorify Him, so why don't I take pleasure/find joy in doing all of the things that He prompts me to do? Why do we find it so hard or boring or (insert word meaning lame or weird or something of the like) to serve Him? We were created to enjoy God -- why is it so hard for us to see that? Why do we try to find pleasure in all of these other meaningless things?
My goal: For my response to God to always be: "It's my pleasure, Lord!"

Philippians 4:4 - "Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice!"
Psalm 100:2 - "Serve the Lord with gladness..."
Psalm 16:11 - "You show me the path of life; in Your Presence there is fullness of joy, in Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisified in Him." -John Piper

And, we'll end with a pic:

Glorify Him

What up? Just wanted to post some new pics of the kidd-o's getting big! Fun, huh?

Anyway, here's my question of the day: What's my job/responsibility when people just don't get it? It being our reason for being on this earth. (That reason, by the way, is to glorify God) It just frustrates me when people just don't understand. I'm not saying that everything that I do brings glory to His Name, but I understand that it should, you know? So, the question is - how do I deal with people who don't understand this, but think that they do? I want to be loving and I want to be welcoming, but at the same time, I want them to understand. I want God to be glorified in their lives, you know?! So, how does one handle such a situation?

My Thoughts on Prayer - Revisited

I wasn't kidding when I told you that prayer was very mysterious to me, so you shouldn't be surprised that I am blogging about it again, but with some new insight!!! (I had to seek out the insight since no one commented on my 1st prayer blog)!

Check out these 2 verses:

John 14:13-14: “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”

John 15:7-8, 16: “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples . . . . You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.”

So, where do you think I might be going with this?! It's pretty awesome really and it totally helps prayer make sense in my finite mind and seem so incredibly important to me, and here it is:
THE AIM OF ALL PRAYER IS THAT GOD MIGHT BE GLORIFIED!
How awesome is that? And so totally clear when you look at those verses, huh? God is glorified when our prayers are answered. Prayer exists to show that God is supremely glorious! "Hallowed be Thy Name!" -- look at the Lord's prayer -- what comes first? HIS GLORY -- hallwoed by thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done -- then, and only, then comes the next part: asking for daily bread. THE GOAL IS HIS GLORY!!

This makes me want to pray all day long -- it's sad, I know, that I have been a Christian for over 20 years and I am just now realizing that prayer is not about us, it's not about "feeling it," it's really not even about praying for things or healing or protection - it is ultimately about His Glory! My prayers can be for healing or protection or whatever if He be glorified in that healing or that protection or whatever it is.
I totally apologize if this makes no sense to you, but it is a HUGE breakthrough for me and I am excited about it.
Do I have prayer figured out now? No
Did God reveal some incredible insight into prayer to ignite my heart to have a passion to pray? ABSOLUTELY!!!

Fat Bottom!

"Look, mommy, I'm almost as big as you, but I don't have a fat bottom like that."

4 Types of People

In my very modest opinion, there are 4 types of people in this world:

1. those who are NOT athletic and embrace that

2. those who are NOT the most athletic and try so very hard to be

3. those who ARE extremely gifted, athleticly speaking, and flaunt it

4. those who are usually the best at everything they do and are extremely humble about it

Now, which one of those would we all rather be? #4, of course! And how many of us know people like that? All of us do! BUT, how many of you are married to a #4? I am currently raising my hand (okay, I'm actually typing, but you know what I mean).

So, I took my one month old and my 3 year old to a 30 and over league basketball game lastnight. Why? Because my #4 husband plays in said league (no, not my 4th husband - I only have one)! Someone on the other team was DEFINTIELY a #2 and it was quite humorous to watch. The sad part of it was that I totally saw myself in that guy. YIKES! Now, I said there were 4 types of people in this world, but I, of course, fall into a 5th category where I am extremely athletic, but just not the BEST at everything and that frustrates me. Ha! Seriously, what I saw in this guy was that he could not stand the fact that HE was not in control over the game, the officials, other players, and he made that quite clear. I do exactly the same things in sports and I guess I always thought it was permissable when I was young, but to see a grown man act this way was eye-opening for me.

I really have tried, in the past, to not make such a big deal out of whatever sport I am playing, because I know it isn't THE most imporant thing in life, but it is just so hard when I am in competition mode. Anyway, I guess the spiritual application here is:

1. I'm thankful that God allowed me to see this #2 guy and give me a visual of what I don't want to be!

2. When God asks me to glorify Him in all things, that includes whatever sport I am playing, even when I'm NOT the best and may be playing with a #4!

3. Give God Control -- that may not seem so hard for some of you, but for those of us who like for things to be "right" and "fair" all of the time, it's hard. I was reminded, during this game, that I can't always be in control and I don't know everything (yes, I did just say, or type, that)! Just let God be in control of all the details of my life and maybe I won't act like an annoying #2!

Also, I just want to add that my #4 husband is AWESOME! Seriously, I was so glad that he was husband and not this #2 guy! He is extremel y humble, even though he usually is the best at everything that he does. Isn't that cool?

By the way, the pictures at the top of the post have nothing to do with these 4 types of people, they're just cute, cuz incase you didn't know - I make cute kids!!!

I Forgot!

Yes, I just made a new post without publishing a picture, so don't let this picture cause you to miss the other post from today down below. Isn't it a funny picture -- it sort of looks like they are looking at each other - kinda silly!