weak and unable...

This is from a great old(er) book called A Mother's Heart, by Jean Fleming:

"Henry Venn, an eighteenth century pastor, once wrote to a concerned widow about her son who had a greater appetite for pleasure than for God. Venn said that this painful experience should teach the mother about ...your own weakness and inability to give a single ray of light, or to excite the faintest conviction of sin, or to communicate the least particle of spiritual good, to one who is dearer to you than life. How ought this to take away every proud thought of our own sufficiency, and to keep us earnest, importunate suppliants at the door of the Almighty's mercy and free grace."

Helpful Article

From an article on creatively and intentionally finding time to pray and read the Bible in even the busiest of seasons...

There are two things you can be sure of with motherhood (or life, really). The first is that God won’t change. The second is that everything else will. Just when you think you’ve found the one, true solution – the cure for sleepless nights, or disorganization, or prayerlessness – circumstances shift sideways.

After struggling to find ANY quiet time, she didn't give up (like I would have).

Starve me of prayer, and eventually I get desperate (this takes far longer than it should). The other day, I’d had enough. Kids on the couch and all, I closed my eyes, only to be interrupted: “Mummy, look at this!”; “Mummy, I’m hungry!“; “Mummy, mummy, mummy…”. For once, I was determined not to give in: “Sssh, boys, I’m praying. Wait till I’ve finished, then tell me.

Read More Here - Finding a "Quiet Time" in a Mother's Life That's Far From Quiet I'm humbled and convicted by this mother's resolve.

Tiny Update to a Dusty, Old Blog

Hooray! We moved (just to a different apartment in our complex). Packing with a big belly and 2 wiggly boys was, well, interesting at times. Unpacking is more fun. :) We're SO thankful for all of the help we had, thankful for a 1st floor apartment with more space, thankful for the Lord's provision, and thankful Daniel decided not to make an early entrance before the move. Now, we eagerly await his arrival! That's a tiny update from the Butts' home!

Laugh!

Music and Pictures

Every year, I think we'll get our game on and finally do some Christmas cards. I almost feel guilty getting such cute pictures and sweet cards from all of my people. They brighten the mail each day, and I don't return the love. :) Then, a certain window of time passes, and I start thinking... well, we'll do an e-newsletter, that's more economical. Faster. I can do that! And, then, I start wondering if even that will happen. So, for now, here are just a few pictures of December happenings around here that might be included should I ever get to cards or newsletters. Consider it a sneak peek, although probably a peek of something that won't quite come to fruition. Here's some music for you, too: http://matthewsmith.bandcamp.com/album/your-king-has-come. We're celebrating our family Christmas tomorrow, since we're going to TX next Saturday!

This kid turned 3 last Monday!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Lord Will Provide

We had the privilege of attending a Matthew Smith concert recently. I've especially been enjoying his new version of an old hidden gym by John Newton called, "The Lord Will Provide." Though troubles assail and dangers affright, Though friends should all fail and foes all unite; Yet one thing secures us, whatever betide, The scripture assures us, the Lord will provide The birds without barn or storehouse are fed, From them let us learn to trust for our bread: His saints, what is fitting, shall ne'er be denied, So long as it's written, the Lord will provide We may, like the ships, by tempest be tossed On perilous deeps, but cannot be lost. Though Satan enrages the wind and the tide, The promise engages, the Lord will provide. His call we obey, like Abram of old, Not knowing our way, but faith makes us bold; For though we are strangers we have a good Guide, And trust in all dangers, the Lord will provide When Satan appears to stop up our path, And fill us with fears, we triumph by faith; He cannot take from us, though oft he has tried, This heart-cheering promise, the Lord will provide He tells us we're weak, our hope is in vain, The good that we seek we ne'er shall obtain, But when such suggestions our spirits have plied, This answers all questions, the Lord will provide No strength of our own, or goodness we claim, Yet since we have known the Savior's great name; In this our strong tower for safety we hide, The Lord is our power, the Lord will provide When life sinks apace and death is in view, This word of his grace shall comfort us through: No fearing or doubting with Christ on our side, We hope to die shouting the Lord will provide credits from All I Owe, released 07 November 2006 Words: John Newton Music: Matthew S. Smith ©2006 Detuned Radio Music (ASCAP)

The Growing Boys!

It's hard to get them to look at the camera.  I put something on my head to be silly and get their attention.  When it fell on the ground, then the smiles came out.  How do the professionals do it?  :)  Thankful for these two silly brothers!

EE sings about Dirty Dishes :)

In my last post, I talked of my deep admiration for Elizabeth Elliot. She talks with godly, beautiful wisdom on suffering, marriage, homemaking, trusting God, discipline, etc. And, in this talk, she even sings about dirty dishes. :) http://www.blueletterbible.org/audio_video/comm_topic.cfm?AuthorID=44&commInfo=40&GroupID=0 Click on Guide to Contentment and go to 30:18-30:40 (ish). Enjoy!

May I Recommend...

...the archives of Elizabeth Elliot newsletters (1982-2003)? Not to mention the daily devotional, radio broadcasts, and other resources you'll find on this website. http://www.elisabethelliot.org/newsletters.html My husband and I have been having some discussions about incorporating solid devotional material to our morning routine to stir the soul. (Helpful when you are plugging through Leviticus, for example.) I so admire this woman, and I love reading her stuff. Maybe I'll post some reasons why and quotes in the near future, to give you a flavor. Until then, may these warm your affections for God.

Adios, Helmet!

These aren't the best pictures to show Timmy's original head shape/flatness. There's actually one picture that was more pronounced, but I can't find it. Anyway, if the numbers don't lie, our little man went from having diagonal differences of 13.6 mm down to 6.5 mm, in something like 4 1/2 months. We're thankful for the progress, which seems to be more unpredictable when older babies/toddlers are helmeted. Just deciding to get the helmet was a very tricky process for awhile. You hate to throw down a lot of money if it's not clearly a need, but looking back, we're encouraged that it was a worthwhile choice. Those helmet pictures sure were cute, but we don't miss the stench of the helmet. :)

Gals and Social Media

The ladies over at GirlTalk have been churning out a helpful and rather lengthy (proof of the need for such discussion) series on Social Media (Our Connected Heart).

I have been reading these posts, not always because I want to, but because, I know that I need to.

I actually don't tweet. I honestly don't even facebook much anymore, although I go through spurts where I do more often. Getting a bit more tired of pinterest, although I love finding recipes and rainy-day activities - a goldmine of a resource! Yet, which social media we use or don't use isn't really the problem here. I think I inwardly pride myself on the fact I don't use some of the more trendy social media forms. But, seriously, how many hours a week do I use e-mail, search blogs or even peruse recipes. How does that hold up to the weekly minutes spent in the Word? How does my time spent connecting or browing compare to my desires and commitments to pray, study Scripture, or serve others, especially my little ones and husband (and church family)?

And, just to preface the series, know they aren't saying quit your facebook, never tweet, etc. Read up, and you'll see that loud and clear.

Today, I'm going to take the Social Media Challenge. I'm not here to tell you what that will look like in my home. Shew, I don't even know yet. I need to take an honest look at my habits and think through that personally. But, I know I want my kids to grow up seeing WAY more of mom's front than her back. I am positive I want them to see me in the Word more than typing words. I'm sure I want to serve people face to face more than facebook to facebook (although that can be a real source of encouragement). I want to enjoy the sunshine. Have clean clothes and yummy food ready. I want to know God and know others. But, on a lot of days, what robs me of these basic desires is, yup, the Internet.

This isn't to discourage or make you feel crummy, the girltalkers are wonderful at reminding women of God's great grace to us and His wonderful calling on our lives.

So, be encouraged. I'm ready to take a harder look at my daily habits as they relate to time, priorities, the computer, etc. And maybe fill up some of my previously wasted time with some more profitable pursuits.

Here's the link to the posts - Social Media/Less Is More

Yellow Cake!!

Ok. A break from pictures of kids and random links. Maybe we'll move back to more substantial, thoughtful posts one of these years. But today, I'm typing up some new favorite recipes. Thought I'd share! You'll love this. The evil part about it is you probably have all of the ingredients on hand. I know - it's calling my name too. Just buy some storebought chocolate icing (if you're lazy like me) and make your people smile! Oh, and I love that it's a one-bowl recipe. Nate "helped" me make it awhile back. Old-Fashioned Yellow Cake

Multitasking.

Meet my new favorite Potty Training picture. This has been quite the 3 days. We win some, we lose some, but he's doing great overall. And, he's had some hilarious one-liners. And some funny pictures I won't share, so he'll thank me one day. But, this is sharable. And, this is often our reality. It's hard to slow down to work when you're having fun. I hear ya, Nate. Multitasking is not my forte - ask my husband or close friends. But, maybe Nate has a future in accomplishing several things at once!

"Long Before Batman Ever Rises..."

A dear friend sent me this link. You've got to hear this story...

Speaking of Marriage...

Anniversary!

We're celebrating 6 years of marriage (on Sunday, the 22nd)!

I so love my Dustin!!  Thankful to God for His mercy towards us.  In light of this milestone, I look forward to listening to this talk by Tim Keller, called Marriage in Gospel Focus.  You can listen here.

A wonderful husby and...

 a wonderful daddy!! 

Visit From Cousins!!

We have been busy having a BLAST with our wonderful nephews and Dustin's sweet sister and sweet mama - the best sister-in-law and mother-in-law I could ever have asked for! 

Here's a sweet cousin picture.  We're not sure we'll ever get a girl in this family, but we sure love little boys! 

What Every Husband Should Know About Stay-at-Home Moms

This is a helpful article for families.  I definitely have my days of outer and inner chaos, and I'm thankful that Dustin strives to understand and encourage me in it.  Enjoy!  

http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/what-every-husband-should-know-about-stay-at-home-moms#

A Sampling

Aaron Menikoff, our dear friend and the pastor of our church here in Atlanta, has a very helpful blog.  It's called Free to Serve, it can be found here, and I've personally been thankful for this resource and the last 5 posts specifically.  The topics covered in those posts have been evangelism, joy, family worship, leaving and joining a church and what is an accountability partner.  You should check out these posts to encourage, challenge and equip you in these areas.  Of course, his blog has addressed many other topics over time, so enjoy the archives as well!  I'm thankful for godly ministers like Aaron who strive to equip and strengthen God's people for living Christ-centered, Gospel-driven lives for His glory.  Be encouraged!