Multitude Mondays

876. working with the kids over at Grandpa and Grandpa Oesterles....serving them
877.  worshipping this Sunday with Jake on the keyboard
878.  Dysart family who let us borrow keyboard and drumset to use at HUB
879.  Holy Spirit prompting me to challenge the boys to do something "radical" - to ask adult leaders at quizzing to allow time for discipleship.  God already has them in a group of peers and they are already in the Word (thru memorization), but the Holy Spirit has been laying it heavy on my heart that we all are missing the opportunity to disciple one another... The boys loved the idea but have doubts as to the response they'll get.  Please be in prayer for them that the Holy Spirit would be softening the leaders hearts to hear..."for those that have ears, let them hear".....
880.  blisters on both hands from playing drums....Ted got the drumset all in working order again and the excitement that followed led to Isaiah and Nate getting blisters from the sticks!

881.  celebrating Benjamin's 11th birthday with friends....played at the Aunt Cheryl's pool, made calazones & slushies, watched movies....stuffed ourselves so much we had to postpone the cookie-cake and icecream to Sunday morning breakfast! 

882.  faithful buddies

883.  time out to shop for school stuff with Amy B....sitting in B&N drinking coffee and talking like old times
884.  crazy-fluffy hair

885.  Grandpa Sinnaeve coming to so many baseball games to sit with us and encourage the kids
886.  Tony, Leaha & Lauren coming to church....love spending time with them
887.  playing Ga-Ga at church property at VBS....Matt S. & I have the kids a run for their money!  It is so much fun and addicting. 
888.  cute message on the machine from cousin in G.R....."Jake, I got my Tellie....holding it right now...call me!" and then listening to the boys talk to him.....love their relationship and how much they love each other....

Multitude Mondays

Our summer has been busy and my weekly gratitude list has gone by the wayside, but we have had plenty to be thankful for.....

842.   return to Silver Lake camping for the Oesterles....watching the soccer playoff game...riding in Kip's Jeep....devotion time and singing songs from our youth

843.  tradition of walking the dunes...big cousins carrying little cousins...people yelling which way to go...thinking, "This has to be the last hill!"

844.  sharing experiences only with my daughter....putting on Rachelle's baby shower, washing dishes together at camping (don't ask me why this last one is just a mother/daughter thing...my boys have hands too....) 

845.  Benny's first camp experience at Camp Barakel....how I missed him all week!!

846.  the end of Moose season  

847.  the blessing TEC was in Jake's walk and seeing my eldest FREE 
848.  tradition of camping with the Sinnaeve family - this year @ Sand Lake and Lake Michigan, Manistee

849.  playing Egg-Chicken-Dinosaur w/ Sinnaeve family - pure silliness!

850.  swimming goggles and funny faces

851.  girl-time for Madeline

852.  Grandpa & Grandma Sinnaeve's family building ideas

853.  joy and unchecked interest in feeling a baby girl growing

854. camping at Mom & Dad Oesterle's with Townsends

855. watching my youngest and his interest in fishing

856.  crazy-poker-cardplaying-cousins

857.  powdered sugar covered smiles

858.  Ben joining Charis and I this year in cleaning ~50 fish

859.  yummy fried fish

860. camping alone for a few days before being joined by the Dysarts

861. 4 exhausting, beautiful days of Unity Festival
862.  burying kids in the sand

863.  Ga-Ga dirt-covered kids, dirt was up their noses, all over their face, hands, arms and legs
864.  laughter

865.  watching sunset over Lake Michigan

866.  coming home
867.  Allie's bowling birthday party

868.  Isaiah's decision to be baptized

869. Saturday cleaning on a Friday - it has been too long!
870. Francis Chan podcasts and conviction and truth
871. 20 years of marriage, with all it's ups and downs

872. God's creations...walkingstick...large blue spotted salamander...frogs...kittens....degu...hedgehog

873. Elisabeth Elliott sermon mp3's
874.  Oreo, our new kitten...he showed up on our church bench late one night with the dogs circling him, once he realized he was safe he wouldn't let me stop petting him and he was very thin...since then he's gotten fat and loves to follow the kids around in the woods and still loves to be petted...a few days after having him around, Nater was trying to ask where he was and he said, "Where's smore's?"  He remembered that we named him some kind of food item, but got it mixed up.

875. practicing the discipline of slowing down

Before School Starts....Laughed out Loud!!

All you homeschoolers out there have to go read this blog by The Pioneer Woman! Made me laugh out loud at 6 a.m. in the morning!
before-school-starts-a-reminder

Slowing Down

I hate being late...Don't know exactly why....I just want to respect people's time, want them to respect mine, and probably don't want to pegged the person who is always late with a van-load of kids. Today the older boys had ortho appts. and we wouldn't have been late, until amidst all my "Let's go! Someone kennel the dogs! Grab a book so you won't be bored!" Ben came in from the van and reminded me that the van is on E and we'll need to stop and get gas.

Grrrr.... I hate that when that happens. So since I hate being late, I focus the whole way there on driving at the edge of speeding, checking the time again and again and thinking, "We may just may make it on time." Jake talks to me from the front seat and I seem to pay attention, but in reality my thoughts are consumed by not being late.

Then as I'm passing a truck that is moving too slowly for my time-table I realize, on the other side of the truck is my exit!! I immediately am mad at myself, mad that I had to get gas, mad that I'm going to have to loose time by going to the next exit and backtracking.....when I possibly hear someone say, "Mom?" I turn the music down some and listen... "Mom?" I ask, "What?!" (because you know I'm irritated at being late) and Isaiah says to me, "I'd like to get baptized."

I'd like to pretend I responded in a perfect mom way, but you already know I'm not perfect and so I said, "That's cool...Okay." As I really am focused on speeding up a little to approach the next exit quicker and turn the music back up.

Then a few seconds later I realize I'm missing it again! I'm missing the Joy exit, the Love exit, the Gift exit! So I turn the music back down and ask Isaiah why - what has happened or changed that he's wanting to do this.... and he says, "I dunno....it's probably from listening to Francis Chan the other day and what he said and I just want to give God everything" as his voice breaks.

As a parent, sometimes I'm oblivious to how God's working because I'm so focused on MY agenda and I'm grieved to admit how much of my days are task focused. A few days ago, I was doing school planning in the dining room and playing some Francis Chan sermon podcasts and my kids were in the living room playing, but Isaiah was sitting just listening....God was at work in his spirit....

Lord, please continue to teach me to slow down...Don't let me "miss" another exit of Jake telling me something HE finds interesting, don't let me "miss" another exit of being there to rejoice in what You're doing in others' lives, don't let me "miss" another exit of closeness with my children - whether that's reading them a book, snuggling in the early morning hours, being there mentally to hear their heart and what they are sharing....My heart longs to be free of my agenda so that I can savor Your agenda in my life, the moments each day you give me. Thank You for the gas tank on E, for the missed exit, for the lesson to pay more attention to people and less attention to me. Thank you most of all for Isaiah's decision to identify himself with You, to die to himself publicly and to be a reflection of You. More of You, less of him. More of You, less of me.

20 Years of Dancing in the Minefields

Last week on Wednesday, it marked 20 years of marriage. We were camping and going to Unity Festival, so we told each other we'd celebrate after we got home. Today we are going to celebrate.  When I look back over our 20 years of marriage there has been many minefields and without Christ we wouldn't have survived together.