Faithful God

Lamentations 3:22-25, 39-41
The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning;

great is Your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul. “Therefore I have hope in Him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.
Why should any living mortal, or any man, offer complaint in view of his sins? Let us examine and probe our ways,
and let us return to the Lord. We lift up our heart and hands toward God in heaven….

I am so thankful for God’s promises. If we seek Him, He is good to us!! And every morning, when I wake up, He is still the same–He never changes. What an awesome (and comforting) thought! I know I am never the same from day to day.

Curling up with a good book….

I have been working at a daycare for the past year, and it has been both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because I could take the kids with me and have them close all morning, a curse because I was trying to raise other people’s children for 4 hrs and not paying attention to my own. The girls have come to dread going with me every day, and I can see it playing out in their behavior. So, long story short–after much prayer and deliberation, I have decided to quit. And to help make up that money, I am trying to start up my book business again.
I do not intend to use this blog to propagate business for myself, but in order to get started up again, I am hitting all of my avenues. If you need books for homeschool or want to get started on Christmas shopping, I have set up an “e-show” on my website:
1) Go to www.sarahsbookshelf.com
2) Click on the e-show under my name (it’s on the right side)
3) Order through that site–it will come straight to your house!
(And whoever orders the most will receive a free book of their choice (max. $15 value)–I will mail it to you after the show is closed!)
No pressure, but if anyone wants good, educational books for your kids–I would recommend these–ha! Email me if you want to know about any of the products. (oregongirl77@ charter dot net). Happy shopping!!!

Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore? ~Henry Ward Beecher~

Children are made readers on the laps of their parents. ~Emilie Buchwald~

A bit of inspiration!

My college friend Sara sent me this original painting as a prize for winning her contest. I was so excited, and I love how it looks in my dining room. It is the first thing you see when you walk into our house. Thank you, Sara—I love it! (Look on her blog for a better picture of it.)

And it also inspired me to be creative on my own. As I just blogged about, our friends Tiffany and Phil just moved away. They worked in the youth group with us, and we wanted to give them something to remember all of us by. I thought one of those photo boards that you hang on the wall would be cool, but I could NOT find one in colors that would match her spare bedroom. So the thought came to me–why not make it myself?! If any of you know me, this is probably rather amusing to you right now. I do not have a shred of artistic talent and to make matters worse cannot sew more than a button (and even that is questionable!). So this task did not seem do-able but I decided to try. Some nice old lady in the Walmart craft department helped me gather my supplies and armed with me with suggestions. Although I would not be able to sell it at a craft fair or anything, I was rather proud of the outcome. Just imagine how much better it would have looked if I hadn’t slapped it together in a matter of 2 hours!!!

Self-portraits by Mommy

The girls have enjoyed their little wading pool on the deck this summer. (I have enjoyed them enjoying it also!!!)

And everytime Littlest E is on his changing table, he is happiest. We are not sure why, but it is a good spot to place him if you need a moment…..

So long, farewell….

We said goodbye to some good friends last week, as they are moving to FL to work in a ministry down there. Tiffany and I enjoyed a common adoration of coffee, as well as a kinship as West Coasters. I will miss her tons, and will now have to find some reason to drive to the desolate tip of Florida!

I told Tiff that she was not to be offended if I did not cry when I told her goodbye. For some reason, the realization of separation from a dear friend or family member never hits me until later. Then it kind of overwhelms me in a sudden flood of sadness and bittersweet memories. It is also easier for me to say goodbye now that I am an adult with a family (I think because I am too busy to dwell on my loss!). But I have noticed–and commented to Josh–that I do not make such close friendships as I did in college. So when one does slip away, it is slightly more depressing.

All of this to say that lately I have been having a “poor me” complex because I do not have “bosom friends” surrounding me as I did in college. When I have a bad day and just want a girlfriend to vent to over a cup of coffee, I do not have as many around as I used to. And then just this morning I was strongly convicted…..I am sure I have mentioned this before, but it really hit me hard this morning. Christ is all I need! Obviously, friends and their encouragements are an added blessing in our Christian lives–but if I never had a friend to talk to again, I would not be poor and helpless and abandoned. God is the author of comfort and solace and…. “relationship”, really. I MUST be content in Him, no matter how alone I feel. He desires to meet my every need. And to tell you the truth, most of the times that I feel abandoned, I just want someone to sympathize with me and my “hard life”–when in fact, my hard life is brought about because of my lack of patience, trust and contentment. It all boils back down to one basic fact: God is all I need!~

Psalm 116:1-2~ I love the Lord, because He hears my voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live.

P.S. I don’t mean to sound like a lonely hermit, sitting morosely in my house with narry a soul to talk to. My dear husband is truly my best friend, and I have many sweet friends in my life. But I sometimes miss my “soul sisters”…you know who you are!!! Then I vent on my blog! That is what it is for, right???

An easy $10……

Hey everyone–I posted about my favorite online shopping site awhile ago. I just received my $15 check today for shopping through them (I think I made 4 purchases), and saw that until Sept. 15th, you can receive $10 for signing up and making a purchase! Plus anyone you refer will receive $10 and so will you! I am all about “free money” so I just wanted to encourage you all to try it.
I need a book and some pictures from Snapfish, so I am off to shop and save!!!!

That’s my boy!

Little E is getting so big already! I forget with each child how fast they change and grow. He loves his Exersaucer, and has starting eating cereal (several times a day in fact ! ) I am blessed to have my little boy, and pray that I will have the wisdom to raise a member of the “rougher sex”. Ha!!

Michigan vacation

My favorite time of day :-)

Back to life, back to reality…..

We have been on vacation for the last few days, so I am extremely behind on the blogging world. You know how it takes 2 or 3 days to catch up on everything after a vacation. Josh and I decided that next vacation, we are staying home–it is so much less work!
I promise to post soon, with many pictures that I have not shared yet, as well as vacation pics. And I have to catch up on all of your lives!!!! I’m sure I have missed out on much…..