2013 goals

This is me. 

These are some goals for me this year.

Kind of intimidating sharing these goals but alas here they are. 

When you sit down to make a list like this, some things come to you 

quite easily and others are brought to your attention throughout the 

day as you see you need to work on that. 

Some of these things might seem totally ridiculous but this is where I am at. 

I just had a baby and would love to lose all the weight. 

We just paid off our bills so we are able to save money now. 

I used to think I had a good vocabulary but I haven't learned new words for awhile, so it is interesting to me to look up words that I come across to learn their actual meaning and not just skim over them. 

I have had an anger problem in the past but am learning to have grace

just as Jesus gives me beautiful and patient grace all the time. 

The list is so much longer than this. We all have so much to learn and grow in. I love to see the growth in life as we live day by day and year by year. 

The sugar thing is going well, which will help with losing baby weight. ;) 

 The marriage goal is going well also. I sure love the man in my life! His Valentine's card was hilarious!! 

Turns out life is so busy for a mom of four that the internet has taken a back seat lately. Thank you God for working that one out for me! 

I haven't taken the time to learn new lighting or posing tricks yet. 

I also have not been reading the Bible as often as I would like. 

Maybe that's why this picture is going to be printed out and put up on my fridge so I can see it every day and GO FOR IT!

Feels like Spring today and that is so darn encouraging! I vacuumed out my car  and man does it feel good to get some fresh air and not be freezing at the same time! 

It's a good day, yes it is!! 

Up the mountain & a ridiculous amount of photos

This last weekend we rented a cabin with some friends and family. 

It's been far too long since we have done this and man was it fun!

I had never been to McCall. It sure is beautiful in the mountains. 

I can't wait to go back in the summer and hang out at the lake all day. :) 

The cabin was gorgeous. I loved taking more landscape pictures this weekend. It is one of the areas I want to grow in. I used to not take ANY photos without someone in them but am appreciating the faceless photos more these days. ;) 

Part two coming soon...... sledding!

Motherhood

Quite a few years ago I was inducted into the motherhood club. It's a big club but not all mothers think alike. That's okay. I happen to have some pretty strong ideas on being a mom as do most mothers. 

A couple books that have really resonated with me are Stepping Heavenward and this new one in my life, Home-Making. It is a high calling to be a mom and at one point I probably took it too lightly, not even realizing what I had gotten into. I have always loved being a mom but didn't know all that it required (still don't!). I learn a little more of what being a mom is with every child I have and every new stage that comes along. When my third child came into this world a dear friend sent me an email, (wish I had kept it) and this is what it basically said, "What a job you have ahead of you to train this little boy to be a warrior for God's kingdom!"    

WHOA! What? I just had a baby. Not a warrior. I just get to enjoy his sweet coos and change his diapers right? SO wrong! Every single little baby is born with purpose and as a mom I get to shape and mold this life and help them find their purpose, the mission Christ has set out for them. Yes indeed, it is a high calling to be a mother.

I am on the parent's part in Home-Making and there is a lot of highlighting going on! Here are a couple passages taken from this book......

"Oh that God would give every mother a vision of the glory and splendor of the work that is given to her when a babe is placed in her bosom to be nursed and trained! Could she have but one glimpse into the future of that life as it reaches on into eternity; could she look into its soul to see its possibilities; could she be made to understand her own personal responsibility for the training of this child, for the development of its life, and for its destiny,- she would see that in all God's world there is no other work so noble and so worthy of her best powers, and she would commit to no other hands the sacred and holy trust given to her. "

"O mothers of young children, I bow before you in reverence. Your work is most holy. You are fashioning the destinies of immortal souls. The powers folded up in the little ones that you hushed to sleep in your bosoms last night are powers that shall exist for ever. You are preparing them for their immortal destiny and influence. Be faithful. Take up your sacred burden reverently. Be sure that your heart is pure and that your life is sweet and clean. "

Beautiful!

 I can honestly say I don't have a feminist bone in me. Maybe I haven't thought the whole topic through but as far as I can see it just doesn't add up. I am so thankful to have grown in a Christian home and to really know the God of the Bible and His ways. I don't have to fight to be heard or loved or understood. I don't have to figure out my identity wrapped up in self. I don't have an identity outside of Christ. Maybe that is why some women get scared but it is not scary at all, this dying to self, it is the most rewarding and secure thing I have in my life. 

We are not meant to BE somebody, we are meant to KNOW Somebody. - John Piper

Basically all I am saying today is what a joy it is to be a mother and to know that it is a worthy thing to be spending myself for. I am thankful to spend my days with my kids. It may be exhausting but such is life! Get used to living a tired life right?!! It's blessed. 

On a side note, I love this blog and this particular post caught my eye and heart. Really could it be that feminism has killed more people than so many wars put together? That saddens me beyond words. 

Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act. - Bonhoeffer

Let's speak up for these babies and take action!

Second side note.... I just ordered this book on Bonhoeffer and I can't wait to read it!!