Miracles Do Happen!

This sweet little face is my great-nephew.  God really wanted him to make it.  He was 9 1/2 weeks early and we weren't sure if he would make it or if he did if he would be "normal" or not.  He weighed a little over 2 pounds when he was born.  He is now a healthy, ornery, sweet, active 2 1/2 year old sweet boy! I don't get to see him much as we don't live very close to each other. As I look into those sweet little blue eyes, I am reminded of God's miracles.  Some people don't believe in miracles, but what they don't realize is they are a breathing miracle themselves.  We take life for granted way too much.  We are way too quick to blame God for all of our problems or "unanswered" prayers.  We should focus on what we have and the fact that we are breathing, walking, talking, and for the most part, healthy.  Be thankful for what you have and the life that you have.  It is our fault if we are not living our lives the way we should, NOT God's!  I am very thankful for all my friends, family, and life.

See no Evil, Speak no Evil, Hear no Evil

Part of being the best parent as you can possibly be is keeping your children as pure as possible as long as possible.  With the world the way it is today, that's next to impossible!  Psalm 119:9-11 says "How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.  I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you."  Do you realize what this verse means?  We as parents, have to live right before we can teach our children to live right. I have said it before and I will say it again, I MESS UP, but God is the all gracious God and He forgives, thank you Jesus!  I am not perfect and God doesn't expect me to be perfect, that's what Jesus is for!  However, He has trusted me with His most precious beings, His children!  I must do everything possible to keep these children safe and pure at heart.  It's not an easy job!  I constantly feel like the world is saying "yes" and I am saying "NO", then I have to deal with the arguments and the whining of children that don't yet understand 100% that I am only trying to protect them.  As I sit here and talk about how awful the world is and how it's not a good influence on God's growing children, I have to say my kids are trying so hard to understand and are constantly learning how to be mighty warriors in God's army.  So as I close this entry, I reflect of Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!

Where do I start??

Well, I am new at this whole blogging thing.  I know lots of people that do it and I have always told myself that since I love to write, I should do it to.  I like to express myself on paper rather than in person.  Who knows, maybe you will learn something from me or I will learn something from you. 

I have titled my blog "Being a parent requires Amazing Grace" because those of you that are parents know exactly what I mean.  Those of you that aren't parents, well it takes Amazing Grace just to get out of bed every morning!  So everyone on this earth has experienced some sort of Grace in their lifetime.  Amazing grace just so happens to be one of my favorite songs too!  Imagine that!

Let me tell you a little bit about me, now that you know sort of why I created this blog and named it what I named it.  I am a sister, daughter, granddaughter, friend, wife, and mother of 3 children and 1 dog.  I have experienced what it's like to be a teacher, preacher, doctor, nurse, taxi cab driver, social worker, counselor, referee, veternarian, crying shoulder, and lots more!  I know I have probably left something out, but you get the point!  I am a busy mom and wife who loves her job, but I will be honest with you, at times it is very stressful and I make mistakes!  This is where my "amazing grace" comes from.  I couldn't do it without my Father Above!  There is noone on this earth that would be willing to grant me as much grace as He has in my lifetime.  We ALL mess up, but there is only one that will stand by us and love us anyway.  Thank you Jesus!  SO, back to telling you a little about me.  My husband and I go way back, about 18 years to be exact.  We were highschool sweethearts.  Almost 16 years ago, we said our "I Do's" and tied the knot with a kiss and shortly after, a child.  Our first child and only daughter was born 15 years ago.  People say your life changes when you get married, but it REALLY changes when you have a baby!  It changes so much from sleepless nights, sleepless days, to stealing your breath away everytime you look into those sweet little eyes and hold that sweet little hand.  It's amazing!  I think God "giftwraps" the gift of Grace and hands it to you as soon as you become a wife and mother!  I believe He "regifts" to us everyday!  After being a mom for a couple years, we decided it was time to do this again and sure enough our second child and first born son joined our family.  I needed lots of Grace by this time. As sweet as that bundle of baby boy was, he sure cried allot.  He had colic really bad.  The first 4 months of his life, God had to triple my dose of grace.  We made it though, he is almost 13 years old now!  I think my grace is getting bigger by the minute!  Oh and my oldest, well she will be driving soon!  From the time my son was born and till about the time he was 5 years old, I prayed everyday to be a stay at home mom.  See I worked so much, I came home just in time to kiss the kids goodnight.  That broke my heart more than anyone knows.  Having children, being a mom and a wife was a hard job, and I didn't feel like I was doing it to the fullest.  I made a promise to God (if you ever make Him a promise, be ready He delivers!) that if I could only be a stay at mom, our family would get back involved in Church again.  Well, when my daughter was about 7 and my son about 5, I had a really bad argument with God because I found out I was pregnant again! WHAT!  I said I wanted to be a stay at home mom, not be a mom again!!!  I really thought that God was hard of hearing, maybe He was busy listening to someone else and heard the last of my conversation with Him rather than the whole thing!  Well, a long story made not so long, God knew exactly what He was doing!  Things happened, I became a stay at home mom through my pregnancy and through the first several years of our third child's life!  Our third baby is a boy!  Gotta love those boys!  Right before he turned 3 we were moved to another part of Oklahoma!  We grew up in Enid, my husband and I lived there all our young lives, and suddenly picked up our family and moved them from the only place they had ever known. Ahhhh the move, that was hard and another story for another day.  After the move, we immediately got involved in our church of 6 years now and loving every minute of it.  God makes things happen for His purposes and He never forgets a promise!  So until next time, remember Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, " Plans prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Our family, now complete with three of God's most beautiful and precious gifts!