I realize it's been a while since I've posted, but we've been super busy around here! A sweet lamb has come to visit us for the Christmas season. His job is to help us learn about the real reason our family celebrates: Jesus! Check him out at my other blog, www.lammypajammy.blogspot.com .

And just for grins, here are a few pics to show what we've been up to lately:

 Baby dedication!

 

 

 

 

 

 Gearing up for Christmas!!

 

 

 

 

 We've had a lot of PJ days lately. It's been so cold!

 

 

 

 

 Courtney is loving 1st grade!

 

 

 

 

 While Courtney is at school, Matthew and Kaitlyn have been spending some quality time together.

 

 

 

 

 Kaitlyn learned to crawl!

 

 

 

 

 Do you see the face in this pic? Look carefully- it's on EVERY tile in my shower. Creepy.

 Mailing letters to Santa!

 We took Christmas pics at an old historic home down the street.

 

 

 

 

 Halloween- Courtney was Olivia, Kaitlyn was Snow White, and Matthew was Jake (from the Neverland Pirates)- but he refused to have his pic taken or wear his costume. Now he wears it every day, naturally!

 

 

 

 Katilyn is eating solids and has just started eating tiny finger foods.



 I've been working on my Photoshop skills. It's my "me time" go-to.

 

 

 

 

 Keith & I have been trying to do something fun with the kids every few weeks. This was our movie night- we made a huge tent that stretched across the whole living room.

 

 

 

 

 I did my first ever non-family member photo shoot! I had so much fun!! (Their little girl's flips reminded me of just how excited I was for the opportunity to take their pics!)

We took a family vacation to Hot Springs this summer- it was a blast! The only (I mean ONLY) cool weekend of the summer... it was perfect.

Melting Mountains- Scentsy Style.



 

Kiamichi Mountains in Autumn

Scentsy. Somehow I've avoided it for several years, as I'm leery about jumping on board of anything that may turn out to be a fad. However, this sweet, scent manufacturing, wickless candle company has grown and stuck around long enough for me to consider purchasing one of their products. Every time I've visited someone and asked what that wonderful fragrance in their home was, they always replied, "Scentsy!"

So there I was among some of my favorite people, sitting at a table on a friend's patio a few Sunday evenings ago. We were gabbing it up, passing little scented canisters around, piling up our favorites and discussing in depth which was best, which made us hungry, which we hated, and so on and so forth.

So I placed an order.

I was so excited that I went out first thing the next day and bought one of those cute little warmers- one that I felt matched my home decor... after all, if your home is going to smell lovely it must look the part, right? I got a Better Homes & Gardens wax block to try, since I'm too impatient to wait for my order to come, and I ran home to plug it in. Within minutes, my home was filled with a beautiful fragrance that made me want to take off my shoes, relax, and curl up on the couch with a good book and a cup of coffee. (I'm sure a candle could have done the same thing, but where's the fun in that?)

Fast forward to this morning. I was praying in church for some friends and aquaintences... several of whom are facing insurmountable odds right now. Mountains, if you will. It's as if they were just walking along the path of life and BAM!! Someone threw a mountain right onto their smooth stretch of concrete. Just when everything was going great, they're faced with a mountain: poor health, lost loved ones, job loss, you name it. So I started to pray for them, one by one, as they came to mind.

Then I remembered a verse- one of my favorites:

"The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth." Psalm 97:5

And I started praying for my friends again- that their mountains would melt away in God's presence.

But then I had an amazing flashback to that night around the patio table with my friends. Someone said that they left their Scentsy pot on all of the time so their home would always smell great. Then another friend spoke up and said that the consultant had shared with her that leaving the pot on won't make a difference, because the warming of the wax is what releases the fragrance.

I started to think about melting wax. It's slow. It's a process. The rate at which it melts is directly related to the temperature of the environment it's in and is proportional to the size of the wax block.

Now check out Hebrews 12:28-29

"Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire."

 

And I couldn't help but draw a parallel.

 

If God is a consuming fire, and the mountains melt like wax before Him, then surely the degree to which we allow God's presence into our circumstances affects the rate at which those mountains melt.

 

I've stood before mountains in my own life before and found one thing to be true: I can't carry them. I hear people say "carry your burdens to the cross." Burdens I can carry... but mountains? That's another story. Mountains are immovable by my own human strength. They are places where I need to INVITE God to come. I must invite Him to come to my mountain and melt it- remove it- for me.

 

And as He melts it away, ever so slowly at times, a beautiful fragrance is released in and through my life. And I'm reminded of 2 Corinthians 2:15, "For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing."

 

Those mountains are so hard to live through at times. Waiting for God to completely remove them can seem like eternity. Sometimes we wonder if we'll ever see the light. No one else seems to understand- they keep telling us to "suck it up" or "get over it" or "let it go." Sigh.

 

But be encouraged: You can't do it on your own, but as you invite Jesus Christ into your circumstances and walk with Him faithfully as He melts the mountains in your life, not only will you see victory, but in the process your life will be a fragrance that is pleasing to Him and ministers to others.

 

So to all of my friends facing enormous mountains today: I'm praying for you. Yet not as I was. Not that God would simply remove the mountain, but that you would have the courage and faith to invite Him into those intimate, scary places of your life where you're not sure you can trust Him anymore. That you'd rest in His presence. That as He melts the mountains away, He would grant you patience, endurance and joy. And that as He melts them away a beautiful fragrance would be released in and through you to minister to others, refresh your weary spirit and to please God.

 

 

Chasing the Vultures...

I've been thinking a lot lately about sacrifice and trust, especially as it relates to the future- the unknown. It seems that God usually gives me just enough information to spark my faith so I can trust Him for the next step, but He doesn't lay out all of the details until after I've sacrificed something. That may be my prayers, my time, my attention, or even something physical in the form of fasting.

I was encouraged one day to see that this also happened to Abram (Abraham) in Genesis 15. God told him that He'd bless Abram's offspring, creating a nation so numerous they would outnumber the stars in the sky- not only that, but He'd give him the land of Canaan, too. Abram believed God, but still asked (as I've done SO many times), "O Sovereign Lord, how can I be sure that I will actually possess it?” (Genesis 15:9) I don't believe Abram was asking God this question in unbelief, but rather innocent curiosity. He didn't have a son. How might this happen? How would it work? What was God going to do??

Instead of answering Abram's question, God tested his faith. He asked Abram to make a sacrifice. Abram gathered the animals God requested and here's what happened:

"So Abram presented all these to him and killed them. Then he cut each animal down the middle and laid the halves side by side; he did not, however, cut the birds in half." Genesis 15:10

Way to go, Abram! He wanted an answer, so he prepared a sacrifice. Now, check out what happened in the next verse:

 "Some vultures swooped down to eat the carcasses, but Abram chased them away." Genesis 15:11

Wow.

As Abram waited for God to receive an answer, some vultures swooped down and tried to eat up his sacrifice. They were trying to destroy the physical act of Abram's faith in a hellish attempt to discourage Abram from believing that God would show up at all, much less follow through on His promise.

Ever been there? Ever thought: "Why am I spending so much time praying about this? Is God even hearing me?" Or how about, "Why am I giving up my own personal time to read the Bible? I could be on Pinterest right now! Will this time really be different than any other?"

I've been there. I regret to say that I'm guilty of stopping the prayers, closing the Bible, and walking away in unbelief and discouragement... but Abram chased them away.

We all sacrifice something when we're walking in a relationship with God. Are you giving up sleep so you can get up early enough to spend time with God? How about your time? Your money? Don't give up. Are you still waiting for God to respond? Does it seem as if He hasn't even noticed anything that you're doing? Don't give up.

Guard your sacrifice.

The devil would love nothing more than for the vultures of discouragement, doubt, fear and apathy to gobble up your sacrifice before God. I'll say it again: guard your sacrifice. Abram chased away the vultures, and in the next verse God came over him with a powerful vision. He then showed Abram a miraculous sign that confirmed the covenant He had made. The vultures you're chasing away may very well be a test of your faith; and we know from James 1:3 that when our faith is tested it produces perseverance in us.

And one more thing. Vultures are not little pests. They're big. They're ugly. They keep coming back and coming back until they are defeated or find something else to devour. A little swat of the hand will not shoo these bad boys away. The Bible clearly shows us what we are to do:

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." -Eph 6:10-13

So stand firm. If some of your sacrifice has been eaten up already, present whatever you have to the Lord. Repent and seek Him through it as a child seeks the face of her father. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9. Above all else, remember that God loves you. He is with you through this long stretch and will help you through to the end.

May God bless you today with endurance, vision and a sweet taste of His presence.

Nine Months

Nine months. That's how long it has been since I've last posted on Mama Is A Verb. (SORRY!!) It's not that I haven't had anything to say- those who know me best realize how ridiculous that would be- I always have something to say. It's just that we've been so busy! So I had a few minutes of free time today and thought I would write an update for those who are curious as to what the last nine months have held for us.

Literally days after my last post (the kiddos' birthday parties), we moved. We weren't sure if it would be for one month, three months, a year, or more. My husband took a 3 month leave from his job in Dallas to move to a tiny town in Oklahoma where we lived when we were first married. We were there to help out with a tough family situation, but in the meantime Hubs started his own business - a railroad tie mill - and we decided to risk it and see if it had the potential to take off. Nine months later we're still here, still running the mill, and it it's working out great! The more we prayed about moving, the more we felt God nudging us to go. Sermon after sermon that we heard was about taking chances on the dreams God had put on our hearts. So, after much prayer and counsel, we decided to move.

Unfortunately, we did not have the internet at home, so I could not blog on a regular basis... then I just got out of the habit, and you know how that goes... again, so sorry!

In August, we started homeschooling our five year old. We weren't sure if we'd be going back to Dallas or staying in Oklahoma, so we thought it best to teach her at home. After much (much, MUCH) prayer, we decided to enroll her in public school here in Oklahoma once we knew we would be staying. She absolutely loves it. I applaud all of the homeschooling families out there- it is not an easy job. For our family, however, public school in a great school district was the better option for us in this season of our lives.

About one month after that, we found out we were pregnant with our third child. Yes, Mama Is A Verb will soon have new blog posts about babydom and all that goes along with it (we've got the internet at home now- WOOT!!). We are very excited. I am 39 weeks along now, so we should be meeting "Kaitlyn Grace" within the week! Morning sickness was brutal, but I had a few coping mechanisms up my sleeve that I learned during my last two pregnancies. I had a bad bout with Group B Strep in my urine cultures, so I've been on antibiotics since I was 9 weeks along. It's a long story with way too much info to post here. Basically: two rounds of pills, a shot and an IV didn't work, so I've been on an oral antibiotic for the last two and a half months. The kids call them my "stinky pills" because they're sulphur based and smell TERRIBLE. Baby Kait, however, is doing great. She is healthy and strong and growing right on track.

In January, once Courtney started public school, I joined the ranks of "working moms" everywhere... sort of. I got on board the sawmill train and started working with my husband. I do paperwork and run errands all day (with 2 yr old Matthew in tow!). My schedule is flexible and my boss is super cute, so it's been a great gig, haha! Once Kaitlyn comes I'll see what I can do about working mostly from home.

Ah, "home" - yes. In the midst of all of this, we have been house hunting since we arrived. Nothing has worked out yet, but we are hopeful and confident that God's timing is best. Every time He has delayed something or said no to us, I've discovered down the road that He was actually saving us from heartache and trouble, or supplying us with a blessing we couldn't see ahead of time... so I've learned to be patient and trust that He makes things happen in His time and in His way for our good. I believe wholeheartedly that when the time is right He'll line it all up and show us the way.

This has been an amazing adventure- full of joy, sweat and tears. Starting a business is not for the faint of heart (nor are business taxes, for that matter... I'll spare you my stress on that one!). We decided to take a risk and trust God, and we are so thankful that we did. He has proven faithful to us time and time again, and we are excited about what the future holds (although we have no idea what that is!). Truth be told, I wouldn't change a thing about the entire process. Thanks for keeping up with us on this little blog where my rants, ideas, mishaps and embarassing moments are thrown out into cyber space. Now that we have internet at home I'll try to be better about updating!

Here's a sweet little pic of the kids at Easter this year. They've grown so much!!